Chapter 1

Rachel's Point of View

"Rachel Berry speaking… What do you need to talk about?... I promise I won't freak out… YOU DID WHAT?!... I can't believe that you would deice something like that before asking me… I think I should get a say, if our voices aren't compatible then we might as well kiss Nationals goodbye… Mom, we have the potential of being amazing and shocking everyone with the secret weapon, but it won't work if this new lead can't keep up with me, after all I'm a star and you should know that… This is NOT about me sharing the spotlight, this is about my genuine concern for the group, and we can't throw away the National's title… I'll see you this afternoon… What do you mean you don't want me to come?... Mom, you won't even tell me the male lead's name… Fine, I won't visit today… love you too mom… bye." I hung up my phone and smirked to myself. If my mom honestly though she wouldn't see me today then she is seriously underestimating me. If there is one thing I learned from her, it's that you never reveal your true plans until it's too late to turn back.

I closed my locker and make my way to the school's parking lot. I would normally be on my way to see what the New Directions are wasting their time on this week, but I had bigger fish to fry. I unlock my white Beetle and the school's head jock jogs over to me.

"Rachel, aren't you staying for glee club today?" He asked, his puppy eyes searching for an answer in mine.

"I can't, I have a doctor's appointment and then my dads want to go out for dinner tonight to celebrate their anniversary. I'll be in school tomorrow though." I gave him a small smile and he leaves. It's pathetic how gullible he can be and it's painfully obvious how much he likes me, but I don't have time for a boyfriend. It's not that I don't want one, my I gave my heart to one boy and he played it to the beat.

I was lost in my thoughts, and before I knew it, I was pulling into Carmel's auditorium parking lot. It's filled with Vocal Adrenaline's classic black Range Rovers, which are a stark contrast to my little punch buggy. Inside of the theater, I see my mom on stage and the rest of the team sitting in the first three rows. I stayed hidden in the shadows, wanting to know what she is going to say before I make my presence known.

Jesse's Point of View

"Jesse, please come to center stage." Shelby said, I stood up and obeyed. I'm not sure as to why she wants me front and center unless she is using me for an example.

"As all of you know, Jesse is our new male lead, which means he needs to be ready for when we bring in our female lead because we all know how picky she can be. That being said, I think that it's best to let Jesse sing a solo before we prepare him for everything our female lead will say." Shelby smiled and the rest of the group nodded in agreement. Wait a second, there is another lead? Why didn't Shelby tell me this sooner? I am a star; I shouldn't have to share my spotlight with anyone, especially if I don't even know their name. Obviously they are talented if they are the lead for Vocal Adrenaline, but no one is as talented as I am and no one, I mean NO ONE can keep up with Jesse St. James. It's just unheard of.

I waited for the music to begin, but instead of the opening notes to my very well prepared solo filling the room, it was that of a Broadway classic.

"On my own

Pretending he's beside me

All alone

I walk with him 'til morning

Without him, I feel his arms around me

And when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me" A voice sings and the entire team seems to pale recognizing who it was singing. I try to spot the owner, but she has hidden herself well amongst the shadows.

"In the rain

The pavement shines like silver

All the lights are misty in the river

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight

And all I see is him and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind

That I'm talking to myself and not to him

And although I know that he is blind

Still I say there's a way for us" She manages to make her way down the isle in a very similar way to that of female lead from the New Directions during sectionals. But her voice holds so much more power and emotion, there is absolutely no way they should be the same person.

"I love him

But when the night is over

He is gone

The river's just a river

Without him, the world around me changes

The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers

I love him

But every day I'm learning

All my life I've only been pretending

Without me, his world will go on turning

A world that's full of happiness that I have never known

I love him

I love him

I love him...

But only on my own…" She face me full on during the ending an I was at a lost for words. There she was. Rachel Berry. The girl I met in the music store and she is the exact person I convinced myself she wasn't.

The team was left speechless and I can't say I blame them. I looked behind her at Shelby and raised my eyebrow.

"I know you think that our little impromptu concert in the mall was a sign that we belong together, but I am just so out of your league. Now I suggest you leave before you make a bigger fool of yourself." I tell her and she laughed. My brows knit together in furry. No one laughs at Jesse St. James.

"It's cute you think I'm here because of you. Honestly I found your preformance of Lionel Richie's Hello lacking in emotional depth." She retorted words similar to what he said about her Sectional's preformance. "But then again I'm just the female lead of a small little show choir. Maybe you've heard of them?" She paused for a minute to act as if she were trying to remember the name herself. I was just about to answer for her but was cut off when she beat me to it. "Vocal Adrenaline."

Rachel's Point of View

"Rachel Barbra Berry! I told you that you were not to show up today! What will happen if the New Direction's coach gets suspicious? I cannot have you blowing our cover!" She yelled at me and Jesse stepped in.

"Hold on, Rachel is the brilliant spy that you sent to the New Directions? She is the reason why they won Sectionals!" He stated as if that was something that Shelby didn't already know.

"Jesse, I told her that she was allowed to sing the solo for sectionals, although it defeated all the work she put into leaking the first set list, she deserved to spend her time in the spot light. But, none of that matters because she just blew her cover. Rachel you can't have a doctor's appointment on the same two days for the last three weeks." Shelby sighed and I internally curse at myself before I get a brilliant idea.

"I can, if they say anything about it I'll just come clean, I'll tell them that they are right and I haven't been going to the doctor's, that I have actually been seeing an old friend and things between us are starting to get serious." I smiled to myself. I knew that it is a risk and that Shelby was going to insist that I now needed to pick someone to play the role of my fake boyfriend, but at least I knew it won't be Jesse.

"So now we need someone to play you old friend turned boyfriend. Any volunteers?"

Justin raised his hand and I beamed. He was my best friend on the team and the mastermind behind my undercover wardrobe. I mean the way I usually dress and the way McKinley Rachel dresses are polar opposites and that's why it's perfect.

"Jesse!" Shelby said with a smirk. "Thank you so much for volunteering. I think this would also give you and Rachel the perfect opportunity to get to know one another and be the perfect leads I expect you to be."

Jesse opened his mouth to protest but shelby left before he could say anything.

"Well at lest we have a decent cover story as to how I met the lead of Vocal Adrenaline, but just so you know, they're going to think you're using me to get information." I told him and he rolled his eyes.

"But if we are going to date, you have to let me pick out the outfits we are seen together in." Jesse stated and I smirked.

"I mean I don't have a problem with that but you have a very limited selection. After all, I need to keep in character, or they'll get suspicious." He raised an eyebrow to my response, it was clear that he didn't believe me. "If I had a choice I wouldn't be caught dead in these outfits. But Rachel Berry from Lima loves the vintage preppy look. And apparently get's dressed in the dark."

"So if you aren't Rachel Berry from Lima, who are you?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"If you really want to know, you'll have to buy me coffee and lucky for you I know the perfect place we can stop at on our way to Lima and you can ask me every question you have." I told him and he nodded.

—

"Lima Bean? Really? They couldn't come up with a better name for their establishment?" Jesse scoffed and I surpassed the urge to roll my eyes. I have to agree with hi the names of most places in Lima are rather cliche and filled with puns.

"That is not a question I can answer." I winked as we walked in. He held the door open and I bit my lip to stop from smiling, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't the first time the door was held open for me.

"Then enlighten of questions that you can answer." he simply stated and before I could respond my eyes locked onto a group of all too familiar people.

"Rachel? Is that you?" Someone called out, they had yet to recognize Jesse because he had his back turned to them.

"Hey Kurt, what are you and the entire glee club doing here?" I asked trying not to seem nervous. Jesse raised and eyebrow and smirked, clearly I was failing.

"We're having an impromptu meeting. Actually I think we could use your opinion on this." He said and I nodded and walked over, Jesse following behind me but keeping his head down. As much as I wanted to I couldn't run away, that wouldn't be how Rachel Berry reacted.

"Well then you must be desperate if you tried to hold a meeting without me. What are you guys working on?" I asked and starting looking at the papers they had in front of them. They were profiles on the Vocal Adrenaline members, I furrowed my brow confused as to why they were studying a different team.

"Well Finn said you had a doctors appointment and dinner with your fathers, but that clearly isn't the case." Mercedes spoke up and it was clear that her words were pointed at Jesse and I sighed.

"Yeah who's the guy, man hands?" Santana asked and Jesse picked up his head.

"Rachel what are you doing with the competition?" Kurt asked and I raised an eyebrow, as did Jesse.

"Jesse St. James, meet the New Directions. Everyone, this is my boyfriend." I said still very confused as to why Vocal Adrenaline would be our competition. I mean sure both clubs are going to Regionals but the likelihood of the two clubs competing before Nationals are slim.

"He does't love you Rachel, he's just using you to get information on us so they can beat us at Regionals." Kurt said and my jaw dropped. I could feel Jesse silently laughing and I jabbed him with my elbow, discreetly of course.

"Kurt that's insane Jesse would never use me to spy on us." I defended him and it wasn't like I was lying. Technically I'm using Jesse to spy on them.

"Besides technically you're the one trying to dig up information." Jesse spoke up picking up his own file from the table. He read through it and smirked. "But what can I say, Vocal Adrenaline is perfect."

"Not exactly, it says here their former lead mysteriously disappeared after they won Nationals last year. What's more odd is that all videos of her preformance have been taken down. You can't ever find a picture of her." Artie stated and everyone groaned in frustrated.

"Guys we are't going to beat Vocal Adrenaline by playing their games, frankly they're just too good at it. What we need to do is lock down on a set list and nail every aspect of it." I stated.

"And risk it being leaked again? Not happening, Berry." Quinn chimed in.

As if on cue Jesse's phone started to ring and he rolled his eyes. "I need to take this, I'll be right back Rach." he placed a kiss on the top of my head and headed out of the coffee shop.

"I don't trust Jesse St. Jerk." Santana said and everyone in the group agreed with her.

"Jesse isn't going to spy on us. Vocal Adrenaline has a very rigid rehearsal schedual, so he wouldn't even have the time to make it to our meetings."

"You better be right because it's your spot on the line." Quinn stated.