A/N: I cannot stop writing these St Berry one-shots. It is a problem, really, considering that it is finals here. But...I will think of it as my way to manage stress. So..expect a lot from me in the coming weeks :)
McKinley High Reunion
She hadn't planned on going. It was silly, after all, the whole operations seeming terribly archaic. A reunion, who was she kidding? These people hated her for her entire time at McKinley (slushie facials, anyone?), and even the few she considered friends didn't manage to stick once they all graduated. Still, she had been convinced to walk into that decorated gym filled with those who had taunted and abused her.
"This is your chance," her friend had urged. "You can stick it to all of them now. You're a successful Broadway actress. Say, top that bitches!"
Rachel did not intend on saying that exactly, but she did plan on listing all her shows and accolades upon any slight inquiry.
"How have you been?" would suffice.
The gym looked like McKinley handed glitter and streamers to a group of blind men and said, "Have at it!". They tried, though, that much was evident. There was cheer and nostalgia nearly dripping from the walls, and people were reacting accordingly. Smiles were plastered on every single face, the majority of them genuine, and the air was filled with a steady hum of conversation. The reunion seemed to be a hit, no doubt influenced by the bowl of heavily spiked punch. Just one sniff had made her feel light-headed.
She looked around, waiting for that one familiar face. She placed bets in her head on whether it would be Finn, or Mercedes. Maybe Puck, and he'd make some inappropriate comment about her dress. She turned around at the sound of her name, plastering on her friendliest smile. She hadn't recognized the voice over the din of conversation, but the face she recognized immediately, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Hello," Jesse St James said, with a chesire grin. "Fancy meeting you here."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, silently swearing at her luck. Of all the people she could have run into, she had to be found by the one person she did not want to see. "You went here for, what, three weeks?"
"Four," he corrected.
"Oh, I'm sorry. What a difference," she answered dryly. He moved his eyebrows, as if to say that it really was, and she sighed. "Anyway, why are you here? It's not like you kept in touch with any of us."
"Which is exactly the reason for attending a reunion," he told her, giving her a look that said this should have been obvious in the first place.
"Oh, so you're here to bask in the glory of your success?"
"Is that a compliment?" he asked with a grin. He eyed her punch as she scowled and asked, "Walk with me to get some punch?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Rachel told him, making a disgruntled noise when he took a hold of her arm and began to drag her toward the punch.
"Come on, be nice," he chided gently, sending her back a little wink. She didn't know what to think of this. Winks in general unnerved her but the sender of the said wink made it even more disturbing.
"I see you haven't change," she sniffed, ripping her arm from his grasp. He glanced back at her as he filled his cup and chuckled. "Neither have you, Rachel."
"Excuse me?"
"Stubborn as ever."
Her mouth fell open and she snapped it closed before hissing through clenched teeth, "Funny, I was going to say the same about you."
"Look at us, still alarmingly similar," he said. "Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?"
"Hardly. More like a stabbing sensation in at the back of nearly every pressure point."
"Huh, strange. You should get that checked out." She rolled her eyes, although a bit of her had to admit his remark was clever. "So, why are you here, Rachel? Basking in the glow of your successes?" She didn't answer. "That was a compliment. In case you weren't sure."
"I'm here to reconnect with people from my past," she sighed, not wanting to stand through any more of his praise. It bothered her more because she could tell that he meant it.
"Who better than me?"
"Oh, so we can reminisce on all the good times?" Rachel mocked, setting her mouth into a firm line. "Because I honestly can't recall any. The one memory of you breaking an egg on my forehead seems to overshadow the others."
"Are you still bothered over that?" he said tiredly.
"Seeing that you never apologized, yes."
Her simple response seemed to surprise him and he blinked once, and then twice. Three times and he finally asked, "Is that really all it would take?"
"I'm not really taken to holding grudges," she said with a shrug. "Besides, you were young. We both were, and we both made mistakes."
He looked at her oddly. "What mistakes did you make?"
"Getting involved with you when I was still in love with someone else."
Surprisingly, this still stung and Rachel noticed the way Jesse's eyes hardened for a moment. "Ah, Finn." She nodded. "Well, that was hardly a mistake. He hurt you and I was a convenient bandaid."
"It was wrong of me, though."
He nodded, somewhat awkwardly replying, "So was my breaking an egg on your head." He paused. "My God, that really is awful. I'm honestly sorry that I did that."
It was strange to see something sincere leaving Jesse St James' mouth, but she could not deny that his words were heartfelt. Even he seemed a bit befuddled by it, his face screwing up into some look she couldn't define as his eyes went off focus. After a moment, his eyes landed on her face again and he murmured, "I really was an ass in high school."
"Yes," she told him. "You were."
He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and said, "I'm afraid it didn't go much better at UCLA, either."
"It's okay, you have more than enough time to redeem yourself."
His eyebrows shot up and he asked, "Is that so?"
She caught his meaning and quickly began spewing some nonsense, and he let her go on for a second or so, before tilting his head toward the dance floor and asking, "Care to join me?"
"To dance, you mean?"
"That is the general idea."
"Okay," she said, surprised by her immediate answer. There was no hesitation and he didn't give her a chance to reconsider as he pressed a hand lightly on her lower back and led her to the dance floor. Some song from their high school years was playing and both danced awkwardly, him not knowing whether or not to touch her while she was trying to decide whether or not to let him. The song ended and the tempo slowed, both of them feeling like they were in a scene from some bad romantic comedy. The exlovers being thrown back together at a high school reunion, efforts to keep distance thwarted by a Colbie Colait song.
Take time to realize
That your warmth is
Crashing right on in
"You mind?" Jesse asked, moving his hand gingerly toward her waist. Rachel took a deep breath and shook her head, allowing him to put a hand on her waist and taking his free hand with her own. She wrapped her other arm around him, feeling lightheaded at the closeness.
Take time to realize
Oh, I'm on your side
Didn't I, didn't I tell you?
She felt his fingertips press into her side and then the hitch in her breath. He was much too close but she couldn't pull away. She didn't want to overreact. She didn't want him to know how much he affected her, even after all these years.
And she didn't want to pull away.
But I can't spell it out for you
You know it's never gonna be that simple
No I can't spell it out for you
She fought the urge to look up at him, afraid she would find him looking back.
If you just realized, what I just realized
Then we'd be perfect for each other
And we'd never find another
Just realized, what I just realized
We'd never have to wonder
If we missed out on each other
Jesse had forgotten how it felt to have her in his arms. She was still small, childlike even. One glance down, however, getting a nice view of her cleavage, he thought to himself that she was most definitely not a child. She was not that sixteen year old girl he had left on that stage, either. She was a woman. And he was a man.
Hadn't Barbra sung some song about all this?
But it's never the same
No it's never the same
If you don't feel it, too
If you meet me halfway
If you would meet me halfway
It could be the same for you
"I didn't come back to reap the benefits of my success," Jesse said quietly, glancing down at her. "I didn't really even consider coming, until one thing dawned on me."
"And what was that?" she asked.
"I thought you might be here."
She had felt this admission coming, but it still surprised her. "You-you did?"
He nodded. "And I wanted to see you. Figured this was one setting where you couldn't slap me."
She snorted. "Just be happy you found me when I was holding punch."
"I'm serious, though. I knew that most the people here hated me, or had no idea who I was, but it was worth a shot at seeing you again."
"You know, you're pretty charming," she said after a moment. He grinned and replied, "And you're pretty memorable."
She bit back a grin, pressing her face against his chest so that he couldn't see the silly grin spreading on her face. She realized a moment too late that this gesture probably spoke more than the ridiculous grin.
"So, what are the chances of you saying yes if I ask you to get a drink with me after this?"
"There's punch here," she mumbled against his suit jacket.
"Yes, but I mean a real drink."
She took a moment for real consideration. Did she want to get a drink with him? Did she want to let him back in her life after all these years of dreaming of his certain demise? It seemed rather anticlimactic to run straight to his arms again.
"Rachel?"
She glanced up at him and had such a desire to kiss him that she had to physically step away from him. She could tell from his expression that he took this as a bad sign and as he went to make up something she told him, "Ask me again after the next song."
He looked surprised. "Okay."
She moved back into his arms, and took his hand. "Okay."
Take time to realize
That your warmth is
Crashing right on in
A/N: This was so cheesey that vegans would be offended. Couldn't help myself, though ;-)
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