The rush of the crowd was always the highlight of his evening. Sure, performing in front of thousands of people every night proposed a high in its own right, but there was something about the vis-a-vis of the stage door that warmed his insides.
At only eighteen years of age, Jesse St. James had managed to become an extremely well-known Broadway star. Of course, this had required starting at a very young age. He played Gavroche in Les Mis at age seven, Chip in Beauty and the Beast at age eight, Kurt Von Trapp in The Sound of Music at ages ten through twelve, and had gone on to play Friedrich in the same production the following two years. And now, after filling the shoes of past Broadway actors, he had finally been chosen to create his own role. This was officially Jesse's chance to shine as an individual, and boy did he.
With a nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Musical in his back pocket, he was expected to be taking that trophy home with him after this year's TONYS. In short, Jesse's life was going exactly like he wanted it to be. Theater and performing was his everything, and that's how he wanted it.
Spring Awakening was the hit, rock the ages musical that Broadway needed, and the response to it was a impressionable and large as that of RENT. And, just as girls back then had fawned over Adam Pascle, he found himself acquiring a rather large female following after originating the role of Melchior Gabor.
The past year of playing an 19th century rebel had been the highlight of his stage career, and he loved every second on that stage. Tonight, though, was his last night as Melchior. Jesse wasn't one to drag things out longer than needed. He knew when it was time to move on, and it was time to step out of his Doggie Biscuits and let the next hopeful try and fill them as he had in the past.
So tonight he was expecting a very large crowd at the stage door because it would be the last one he would do for at least a while. Last week, he had gotten the call saying that he had gotten the lead male role in what was expected to be the biggest TV series of next year's television rotation. It was true, Jesse St. James was leaving The Great White Way for the glitz of Hollywood.
And his biggest regret of it, no more stage doors.
Tonight, he was staying until he had a picture with everyone that wanted it, signed an autograph for any who requested it, and made a video for anyone who couldn't make it. He didn't care if it took all night. So, with a deep breath and a solid show face, he slipped out of the stage door and was met with a throng of squeals and applause.
Suddenly the show face fell, and it was replaced by a legitimate grin. As promised, he posed for photos, scribed his name, and made many "Hey! I wish you could have come" videos, until there were only two more people left in line. The first being a blonde cheerleader type who looked extremely giddy, and the second a petite brunette dressed in a skirt and sweater who looked relatively bored.
"Hey," Jesse greeted and the blonde smiled with excitement.
"Hi! I'm Quinn," she smiled then frowned slightly when she turned to her friend. "And this is Rachel, sorry, she's not a big fan of musical theater."
"Really?" Jesse questioned with a quirk of his eyebrow. He took the playbill that Quinn held out to him and signed it with a flourish.
"Yeah," Quinn frowned. "I had to drag her here, but there was no way I was going to come alone."
"Well, Rachel," Jesse said turning to the darker headed girl, "Did you like the show?"
"The show itself had a rebellious draw to it, and the pure emotion and relative topics kept it interesting," Rachel replied with a shrug.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jesse grinned.
"Actually, I think you're singing on 'Left Behind' fell flat at the end, so-"
"Rachel!" Quinn interrupted her best friend with a fierce look. She turned back to Jesse with her cheeks taken on a reddened shade of embarrassment. "Sorry about her. She has no filtering system."
"It's no problem," Jesse insisted with a smile. He was beginning to like Rachel, she had spirit and apparently no problem speaking her mind. "So, do you two live in New York?"
"We do," Quinn confirmed. "We're actually Seniors at LaGuardia Arts."
"Wow," Jesse said, clearly surprised. "That's really impressive. I've heard it's quite the talent show over at LaGuardia."
"Thank you," Quinn smiled.
"What's your poison?" Jesse asked.
"Oh, I don't drink," Quinn's smile slipped and her cheeks turned red again.
"Not that kind of poison," Jesse laughed. "I'm talking performing arts wise."
"Oh, dance," Quinn supplied.
"Nice. What about her?" Jesse asked. His eyes shifted to Rachel and then back to Quinn.
"Oh, she's-"
"I can answer for myself, Quinn," Rachel interjected just as Jesse thought she would. He found himself enjoying her annoyance. "I'm part of the singing and acting programs."
"Singing and acting, but you don't like musical theater?" Jesse repeated in confusion.
"I don't do them together," Rachel explained with an eye roll.
"Of course," Jesse nodded and then with sarcasm he added, "Now it makes since."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, the bite of annoyance was still in her tone.
"You're one of those people," Jesse stated as if it was obvious.
"And what people are you referring to?" Rachel persisted.
"The kind of people that see acting as a serious commitment that takes a strong ambition and indisputable talent while also thinking that singing takes intense dedication and emotional depth, but when you put them together into an emotionally-straining, time-consuming, passionate performance it's cheesy and overproduced," Jesse explained with an eye roll of his own.
"I only believe that because it's true," Rachel threw back. "Acting is a strong force on it's own, and so is singing. When you put them together you get an overworked mess."
"Really?" Jesse laughed without humor. "So your telling me that people like Barbara Streisand and Patti LuPone have no talent and went into the wrong profession."
"I didn't say that," Rachel exclaimed. "Barbara Streisand was a brilliant actress and an outstanding singer. She changed boundaries and developed poignant characters."
"All through musicals and musical theater. You've put yourself in a Catch-22 position here."
"I admire Barbara Streisand for her talent, not her work choices."
"Well that doesn't make any sense."
"Rachel," Quinn interrupted quickly before the argument could continue. "We told your dads we'd be home by midnight. We still need to catch a cab."
"Nice to meet you, Quinn," Jesse said with a smile that was complete contrast to the frown that had been on his face as he fought with Rachel.
"Nice to meet you too," Quinn yelled back over her shoulder as she dragged Rachel away towards the street. He watched as Quinn immediately haled a taxi, and he waited for them to drive away before stepping into the car that was waiting for him on the side of the street.
Oh yes, he thought as he reran the meeting in his head, I'm definitely going to miss the stage door.
Two years later, Jesse's new TV show was an enormous hit and he went from Broadway icon to Hollywood Hot-lister in a span of a few months. His life was now filled with scene filming, interview taping, and walking around in sunglasses.
It was definitely different than life had been in New York. In New York, people scarcely recognized you. Most days he could just walk down the street without anyone paying any mind to him, but now that he was on a hit TV series, it seemed that he couldn't go anywhere without someone yelling out his name. It was like his entire life outside of the studio was a stage door.
But, Jesse had to admit, he loved doing TV. The aspects of camera acting were so different from those of the stage, and Jesse liked that he seemed to be learning something new about the process everyday. He had come into this particular branch of the profession a rookie, but he now knew the ropes as well as the best of them. His acting style, personality, wardrobe, and looks were compared to those of the Hollywood Golden Year members. Reporters jokingly called him the next James Dean or Gregory Peck, and with the new movie contract he had lined up, things were just getting started for Jesse St. James.
The first meet-and-greet of the cast of said movie was were he was heading right now. His manager had described the cast as fresh-faced with tones of potential which really didn't bother Jesse. Some actors would have turned the job down if they were getting cast with a bunch of unknowns, but it wasn't hard for Jesse to remember when he had stepped into LA as one of them. Sure, he had the Broadway background, but film was an entirely different ballgame. So, he was excited to meet and work with people who could become Hollywood's next big thing.
His driver pulled the car to the curb and announced that they had arrived at the studio. Jesse nodded and thanked him before opening the door for himself and walking to the door. He let himself in as they had told him to do, and looked around at the unfamiliar faces that lined the room. At first, they didn't notice him enter. All of the people he assumed were his future costars were wound in their own conversations, but then Nick Railey, the film's casting director spotted him and called out his name happily.
Suddenly, all eyes were on him. He barely had time to smile before he was flocked with people telling him their names and previous things they had seen him in. They all recited who they were going to be playing and how excited they were to get to work with him. He just smiled and nodded.
Once again, it felt as if he was standing with a stage door behind him. And the flashbacks only increased when there was only one person left standing in front of him with a reminiscent smile.
He recognized her immediately. She hadn't changed much, her dark hair still fell in thick cascades down her shoulders, her teeth were still perfectly white, her stature still petite, and her wardrobe still consisted of a skirt and blouse. She did look older though, and not in a dated way. Only more mature. Overall, if anything, she had only become more attractive than she had been the first time they had met.
"Rachel Berry," she said with a mischievous glint in her deep brown eyes. "I'll be playing Hannah, your love interest."
"Jesse St. James," Jesse said with a mischievous look of his own. "I think we've met before."
"Alright, enough about how successful you are," the blonde talk show host laughed. "Let's talk about your new relationship with your past costar, Rachel Berry."
A picture of him with his arm around Rachel's waist at the Emmys popped up on the screen behind them. Jesse just grinned and waited for the applause from the audience to die down.
"What about it?" he asked coyly.
"How's it going?" the host asked with a grin.
"Pretty great," Jesse replied honestly, gesturing to behind them were the photo had changed to one of Rachel and him kissing before he went up to accept his award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy.
"I guess we can see that," the blonde agreed before adding, "You two were so cute together in that movie. I knew your chemistry had to be more than just on-screen."
Jesse shrugged and replied honestly again with, "It's hard not to fall in love with someone you constantly argue with."
"Argue?" the hostess asked with confusion.
"Yup," Jesse affirmed with a grin. "We're completely different people. The only thing that makes us remotely the same is the fact that we're both so stubborn. We fight over the best movies, actors, songs – everything."
"But you'd still say things are going great?"
"Of course," Jesse laughed. "I'm dating Rachel Berry. I don't think I have any right to complain."
"Well," the woman continued with her smile still firmly attached to her face, "I love hearing stories about two actors who fell in love while filming. So, come on, tell us the story!"
Jesse scratched the back of his neck a little awkwardly, but covered it up with a fond smile. "We actually didn't meet on set. Rachel actually came to see me at a stage door in New York-"
So this is my entrance into the St Berry Challenge set by Gemelli22:)
Thoughts?
Oh... and disclaimer! I do not own Glee or any Broadway productions/characters mentioned in this story!