We Went Our Own Ways
By: marauderette-47
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the songs used in this work of fiction.
A/N: Welcome, welcome, to my second Glee multi-chap fic! I know I suck with updating, but I'm hoping that this fic will be the big change for me, and I'll actually start updating on time. I hope everyone enjoys this story! It's not going to be as confusing as most second generation fics, I promise! It's mostly from the point of view of one character, and you'll get to see tons of the characters you already knew and loved. (i.e. Rachel, Finn, Quinn, Puck, Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Brittany, Jesse St. James, and more!) I hope everyone enjoys, and please review!
It had been a really long time since I'd had such a good dream. It's not that my life wasn't happy - on the contrary, I probably had one of the happiest lives out of anyone in the world - but I usually just didn't dream. My nights passed quickly, and in the morning, I rose at the usual time (6:00), prepared for school, and went on my way. For some reason, I was especially eager to share this particular dream with my mother - she, of all people, would be able to help me understand its meaning. Suddenly much more awake, I jumped out of bed, turned off my alarm clock before it even had the chance to ring, and got dressed for the day. I decided that today was going to be casual Wednesday - a simple pair of jeans and a nice blouse would get me through the school day. I ran a comb through my curly hair, appraised my reflection in my wall-length mirror, and ran out of my bedroom without looking back.
As I dashed through the hallway, I stopped and peeked through the keyhole of Freddie's room - of course he was already awake. He'd probably been with our father at the theater since sunrise. Even after the dramatic horror that I came to call 'The Big Move', some things just didn't change. I rolled my eyes fondly, and raced down the steps of the house that I still couldn't call home. I could smell breakfast cooking, and I knew that my mother was probably in the kitchen. I suddenly realized that it was French Toast I smelled - my very favorite. Mom was probably just trying to continue sucking up to me so I would stop being mad at her for moving us to Ohio from New York. It had been my parents' personal goal their whole lives to make it big on Broadway and live in the Big Apple. Both of those dreams had come true - being the daughter of two famous Broadway legends made myself and my whole family very famous. When Dad first declared the move to us, my first thought was that the paparazzi had finally become too much for my parents, and they wanted my brother and I to have normal lives. They claimed that that wasn't the reason at all, but I doubted their integrity. What other reason would the St. James family have to move away from stardom?
"Barbara!" my mother called sweetly. "Are you awake, darling? Breakfast is almost done!"
I stifled the urge to roll my eyes - my mother knew that I was awake. I arose early every morning without fail. I called back, "Coming, Mom!" anyways, though, and proceeded to finish my way to the kitchen with a light jog.
"Good morning, sweetie." my mother greeted. I internally groaned - Mom had changed so much in just the week we'd been in Lima, Ohio. Back in New York, Mom had ordered breakfast from the finest venues in the city, and had made it a point to look like she was going to a movie premiere at all times. Now, she was standing in the middle of the kitchen with her hair pulled back, wearing an oversized Carmel High School sweatshirt and yoga pants. Her eyes were lit up, however, and it would be a crime to pretend that she didn't look happier. I wondered if Dad shared her happiness, and realized immediately that he probably did. When Mom was happy, Dad was happy.
"Morning," I grumbled in response. I took my plate of French Toast without another word, and gently began to chew on the edges of it. I could feel my mother's eyes on me, and I nervously ran a hand through my hair. I didn't feel like having another confrontation with her this early. While yes, we were both drama queens in our own rights, there was only so much drama I could handle in my life at once.
"Barbara, please, can't we just talk about-" my mother began hopelessly. I angrily put my plate down on the counter, and swerved around to face my mother full-front. She wanted to see my famous St. James anger flare? Fine.
"No, Mom, we can't just talk about this. Did you know that I woke up this morning thinking we were still in New York? I was in such a wonderful mood, and I was thinking about how lucky I was to have such a great life. But then I remembered that we're in Ohio, today is my second day at McKinley High School, and I have absolutely no friends. But hey, as long as the Broadway Queen is happy, the rest of the world doesn't matter, right?" I said my monologue bitterly, not caring how badly I hurt my mother. She obviously hadn't cared how much moving had hurt myself and Freddie, right?
"Barbara Maria St. James!" yelled my mother angrily. I didn't even flinch - I had been on the recieving end of my mother's anger enough times to know that once she was done with her rant, nothing would change. I let her continue. "Don't you dare speak to me that way! I am your mother, and I deserve to be shown respect by my daughter! You don't get to make the choices around here, young lady. I am the parent, and you are going to listen to me! I'm sorry if moving away from New York hurt you, but you have to understand that I know what's best here. Great stars come from humble beginnings, and there is nothing more humble than Lima, Ohio. When you're 18 you can do what you want, but for at least three more years, you live under this roof, and thus must follow the rules your father and I set down. Am I making myself clear?"
"Crystal." I smirked in the same way Dad would have. Without another word, I stalked out of the kitchen, retrieved my new backpack from where I'd thrown it last night, and walked out the front door, making sure to slam it hard. I saw my brother suddenly pull to the curb up in my Dad's old Range Rover, and he honked the horn several times. I got a ride to school with Freddie every morning (or, at least, now I did. Back in New York, we were able to walk to school). I must have been right - Dad and Freddie had gone to the local theater and done warm ups for most of the morning. Freddie - like me - must have been planning on auditioning for The New Directions - the McKinley High glee club. I opened my door, threw my backpack in the back, and allowed Freddie to drive. He had my Dad's platinum Queen CD playing, so the silence in the car wasn't awkward, but I wished Freddie would have said something to make me feel better about being in Ohio. I was always exceptionally close with my older brother, so he should have realized that something was up. Obviously that wasn't the case, because by the time we pulled into the school parking lot, no words had been exchanged between us. I sighed, grabbed my pink Vera Bradley backpack, and made my way into hell.
At my old school, I had always been ontop of the social heap. I was the famous young ingenue that everyone rooted for, with the talent, the looks, the grades, and the hot boyfriend. Everyone wanted to be me, but it already seemed that things were incredibly different at McKinley. For one thing, it wasn't a school for the dramatic arts, so my talent could only take me so far. While the memebers of Glee weren't exactly unpopular here, they weren't popular, either. It seemed that the athletics prevailed here, which was awful for me because the only sport I was good at was dancing. I made my way down the hallways, thankfully not lost, and got to first period without a problem. First period happened to be English, which I excelled in. I got the answer right whenever Miss Williamson called on me, and a few people even turned around in their seats to smile at me. I shouldn't have been too upset that I didn't have any friends yet - it was only my second day, after all - but I was so used to everyone wanting to talk to me that the quiet and lack of chatter was somewhat unsettling. Nothing remontely interesting happened until lunch, when Freddie and I made our way to the Spanish classroom. The reason?
The New Directions.
Their director, Will Schuester, was also the Spanish teacher. Unfortunately for me, I knew absolutely no Spanish, but I was nearly fluent in French. Freddie strode into Mr. Schuester's classroom with barely a knock, and I followed behind. The both of us exerted nothing but confidence, arrogance, and purpose. We were hoping that our lack of nerves and awkwardness would earn us a place in his memory, and he would be more likely to accept us into the club. We knew from experience that solo auditions were wonderful, especially at times like now, in the middle of the year, when no one else was trying out. We smiled our brightest smiles at him, taught to us by Mom and Dad, and waited for him to say something.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked politely, running a hand through his graying hair. Freddie and I smiled more, and I answered Mr. Schuester's question.
"Yes, Mr. Schuester, as a matter of fact there is. My brother and I would like to be in The New Directions." I said happily. Mr. Schuester gave us a warm smile, and stood up from his desk. He was about a head taller than my brother, meaning he was three heads taller than me. I could tell he was joking when he raised an eyebrow.
"Why haven't I seen you two before?" he questioned lightly. I was sure to keep my showface on while Freddie answered.
"We just moved here," he said politely, just like my Dad taught him. "From New York."
"That's quite a ways," said Mr. Schuester. "What are your names?"
"I'm Freddie St. James, and this is my sister, Barbara." Freddie said. Mr. Schuester's eyebrows shot straight into his hairline, and he directed his next question at me.
"Are you - by chance - related to Jesse St. James?"
"Yes," I smiled brightly. "He's our father. Did you know him?"
"Yes," Mr. Schuester replied. "I worked with him, in fact."
"Excellent," Frederick said. "And about the Glee Club...?"
"Oh, yes!" said Mr. Schuester suddenly. He chuckled. "I'd almost forgotten about that. Silly question, since you're Jesse's kids, but can you sing?"
Freddie and I exchanged a glance, and nodded. I took Mr. Schuester by the arm and led him to the auditorium, where we were already set up with our music and lighting. Mr. Schuester sat down in the fourth row of seats, and Freddie and I took our places on the stage.
"And what will you two be singing?" Mr. Schuester asked, amused. I kept my head held high as I answered.
"A mash-up, Mr. Schuester. Of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'My Man'."
"Interesting choices," said Mr. Schuester.
"Our parents," Freddie explained. "They were both in show choir. These were two of their greatest performances before stardom. With all of their guidance and expertise, we figured we'd be able to show them up with our immense talent and carefully constructed genetics."
Mr. Schuester laughed, and told us to take it away. We began.
Mama...just killed a man.
Oh my man I love him so - he'll never know.
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead.
All my life is just despair - but I don't care.
Mama...life had just begun.
When he takes me in his arms - the world is bright.
And now I've gone and thrown it all away (Alright!)
What's the difference if I say - I'll go away
When I know I'll come back on my knees someday
Oh whatever my man is - I am his forever more.
Mama - oh! Didn't mean to make you cry.
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on
As if nothing really matters (What's the difference if I say - I'll go away)
Nothing really matters! (When I know I'll come back on my knees someday)
Anyone can see - (Oh whatever my man is -)
Nothing really matters - nothing really matters (I am his)
To me! (Forever more!)
When we finished the mash-up, Mr. Schuester just stared at us. It was at least two minutes before he made any move at all, and then it was just to clap. Freddie and I turned and grinned at each other - we were used to this kind of reaction to our talent. On his own, Freddie was amazing. On my own, I was spectacular. But when we sang together, it was absolutely unbelievable, and we took pride in making most audiences cry while we sang. We had surely inherited our parents' gifts.
"Great job, you guys!" Mr. Schuester finally said. "We have rehearsals on Thursdays at 3:00 - we're preparing for Sectionals in a few weeks. I think that the St. James siblings would make an excellent addition to The New Directions."
"We're actually known as the Dynamic Duo around Manhattan," I said smugly, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "But we appriciate your time, Mr. Schuester, and we'll be sure to see you on Thursday, 3:00, sharp."
"Thanks, guys - and Barbara?" Mr. Schuester added.
"Yes?" I replied, cocking an eyebrow.
"It's Mr. Schue."
Freddie looks exactly like my Dad - I'm not even exaggerating. Everything from their sense of fashion to their hair is nearly identical. I take more after my Mom, besides the curly hair, but the way that Freddie looks like Dad is uncanny. So it was incredibly difficult not to laugh at dinner that evening, when my Dad and Freddie were sitting by each other, dressed nearly the same, moving their forks to their mouths in synchronization and chewing at the same speed. I'd always found it not to laugh when the two guys were near each other, because they were so similar it was just frightening. I still wasn't exactly speaking to my mother - not after the words we'd had that morning. She just irritated me so much sometimes - it was like she had never been a teenager! She just didn't understand me - not like Dad did, anyway. I had made up my mind nearly an hour earlier to talk to him later, and see what his stand on everything was. I found it hard to believe that my Dad would give up Broadway to move back to Lima, Ohio. It just wasn't him to -
I was snapped out of my inner monologue suddenly by the sound of the ringing phone. No one else was making any move to get it, so I sighed and got out of my chair. I raced to the nearest phone - in the kitchen - and picked it up breathlessly, with my routine, "St. James residence, Barbara speaking."
"Hi, Barbara," the voice on the other end said casually and cheerily. I didn't recognize the speaker, so I waited for her to continue. "This is Sue Hudson - you're in my Algebra II class."
Sue Hudson...I was pretty sure I remembered who that was. She was a really perky blonde who wore a cheerleading uniform to school everyday. She didn't exactly seem to be the type I would generally hang out with, but she was nice enough. So I made the decision to hear her out and find out why on earth she was calling me. "I think I remember you," I told her. "You're the cheerleader who sits in the front, right?"
"Yes!" she said excitedly, sounding like I'd made her day. "Yep, that's me! I got your number from the office, so don't think I'm stalking you or anything. Mr. Schuester stopped by Cheerios practice after school today and told me and Mick - that's my brother, Mick, he plays football - that you and your brother are joining Glee!"
"Yeah," I said, surprising myself with the wide grin that spread across my face. "Yeah, we tried out for him during lunch today."
"Excellent! Well, Mick and I are the captains of the team, so we sometimes schedule events for the club, and we were thinking about maybe going bowling this Friday night after the celibasy club meeting around 6:00. And since you are in the club now, I got your number to see if you maybe wanted to come with us? I know it's gotta be hard starting out someplace where you don't know anyone, but the club wanted me to let you know that we hope you can come to think of us as a family, and - "
"Okay!" I cut her off, laughing. As annoying as I'm sure her perky attitude could get, it was an appriciated change from the usual gloom I associated with Ohio. In fact, if I let her in, I was sure that Sue and I could become pretty good friends.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized quickly. "I'm rambling, aren't I? My mom says I do that a lot."
"It's okay - it's a nice change." I replied honestly. "I can't speak for Freddie, but Friday night sounds great."
"Yay!" Sue cheered. "Wonderful, I'm so glad you'll be able to come! We're going to meet in the school parking lot at 5:30, okay? We'd meet at the bowling alley, but it's kind of hard to find if you haven't been there before, and we don't want you to get lost, so we'll show you the way, okay? Oh, and if your parents are worried about no supervision, tell them not to worry - my Daddy volunteered to chaperone."
I felt an urge to roll my eyes, but stopped myself and forced a smile on my face. "Sounds great - see you tomorrow!"
"Okay, bye!" I put the phone on the reciever, and made my way back to the dinner table with a slight skip in my step. My parents noticed.
"Did a boy just call you, Barbara?" my Dad asked defensively. I laughed.
"No, Dad." I replied, sitting back down. "It was a girl from my math class. She's in Glee, and she said everyone was going bowling Friday night and she wants me and Freddie to come."
"Oh, I remember when we did stuff like that!" Mom gushed. "Of course you're going to go, aren't you?"
"Of course," I replied, momentarily forgetting my anger at my mother. "If it's okay with you? Her Dad said he'd chaperone."
"Oh, it's fine, sweetie!" My mother replied, seemingly just happy about having a decent conversation with me. "Who is this girl, again?"
"I think she said her name was Sue Hudson," I responded. Mom's face fell slightly, and she turned to face my Dad, who suddenly looked kind of angry. I wondered if they knew Sue's parents or something, but decided that I didn't want to know. I picked up my plate, put it in the sink, told my parents I had homework, and went up to my room. I hoped and prayed as the sun set that tomorrow would be better now that I had Glee. Since I was officially going to have to wait until I was 18 to get back to New York and get on Broadway, I had to get used to this place and make some friends. My heart ached a little bit as I thought of the people I left behind back in the northeast. I checked my cell phone to see if any of them texted me, but no one had. Sighing, I got under the covers of my bed and fell into an uneasy sleep. Tomorrow would be better - it had to be.
Meanwhile, the parents of the St. James children were in their kitchen, scrubbing the dinner plates. Their son, Freddie, had just gone to the loft to catch up on his video game playing, and their daughter, Barbara, claimed she had homework. There was somewhat of a tense silence, and the St. James's father - Jesse - was the one to break it.
"I don't want her hanging out with Hudson's spawn, Rachel." he said angrily. "You heard her - he's going to be chaperoning. Barbara looks so much like you, he'll recognize her and stalk her."
The St. James's mother - Rachel - rolled her eyes at her husband. "It's been years Jesse, let it go. I'm sure Finn won't recognize anything. And if he does, who cares? He's happily been married to Quinn for some time now, he's forgotten about me."
"No one can forget about you, Rach, especially those who know you personally and not just from Wicked." said Jesse. He looked his wife over, and was surprised to see how calm and easy-going about everything she was. She was usually the one who liked to start the dramatics...Jesse was the one who usually fed into them.
"I'm not worried about it," Rachel smiled, turning off the tap and drying her hands. She walked over happily to her husband, and wrapped her tiny arms around his broad waist. "The past is the past - Barbara and Freddie will get used to Ohio and love it, and they'll appriciate New York much more someday. Until then, I want them to have the experiences we got to have down here, Jesse. Let Freddie hit on all the girls who think he's cute, and let Barbara drool over the stupid neanderthal of a quarterback. They've been in the spotlight for too long - this is good for them."
Jesse sighed, and leaned his forehead against Rachel's. "I trust you," he murmured gently.
"I love you," Rachel whispered. "Who'd have thought, huh? After everything, it was us who ended up together."
"It wasn't a dream or anything, dear," chuckled Jesse softly. "It was an inevitability."
Rachel romantically moved her hands from her husband's waist to his neck, and Jesse placed his hands on his wife's small waist. They started gently swaying back and forth, completely lost in the moment; it was almost like they were young again, at prom or even at their wedding. As if Jesse was reading Rachel's mind, he softly began to sing,
I've been alone with you inside my mind
And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times
I sometimes see you pass outside my door
Hello? Is it me you're looking for?
Rachel blushed, and quietly joined her husband in song. It seemed like years since she'd heard it, and she craved the sweet sound of Jesse St. James's voice. It brought her back to the first time she'd seen him perform, and now she could hardly believe she was standing in his warm embrace.
Suddenly, however, the moment was interrupted by Freddie.
"HEY, DAD?" he shouted from the living room. Jesse and Rachel both sighed, then chuckled, and Jesse called back, "KITCHEN!" Rachel went back to her dishes, and overheard the conversation shared between Jesse and their oldest child.
"I wanted your opinion on something," Freddie said quickly.
"What?" asked Jesse, in total parental mode.
"I don't know about Barb, but I'm coming up with a number for Glee on Thursday, and I narrowed down my song selection to two choices." Freddie explained. Rachel decided to join in on their little discussion, and turned around asking:
"Well, what song did you audition with?"
Freddie grinned. "Barbara and I did a mash-up of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'My Man'."
Rachel raised a brow. "Really?"
"Yeah," Freddie nodded. "Anyway, I have it narrowed down to two songs but I can't pick which."
"Why don't you sing them?" suggested Jesse. Freddie grinned eagerly, and led his parents down to the basement, where the St. James family had had a personal auditorium built, complete with sound system, microphone, seats, and stage. Freddie took the microphone from center-stage and put it in the corner, giving him more room to bust a few moves. Jesse and Rachel took seats directly in front of the stage, and eagerly awaited their son's performance.
Rachel loved watching Freddie perform, not just because he was her child, but because he was wildly talented and sounded exactly like his father when he sang. She'd once had father and son record themselves singing, and when she played it back later that evening, she couldn't tell whose voice had belonged to which of her boys.
Jesse put his arm around his wife as Freddie began his first song, which was a sped-up version of 'Under Pressure', by - of course - Queen. He nailed the song, and didn't even have to dance that much. His parents clapped for him when it was over, and he awaited their critique.
"Must you always sing something by Queen?" laughed Rachel. She felt Jesse shaking with laughter beside her.
"Of course he must!" exclaimed Jesse. "You were named after Freddie Mercury, after all."
Rachel smacked her husband's chest - hard. "He was not!" she insisted venemously. "We just liked the way the name 'Frederick' sounded before 'St. James'. You swore to me that you did not name him after the lead singer of Queen!"
Freddie smirked at his parents' bantering, much as Jesse did at the expression on Rachel's face. "I was just kidding, dear." Jesse insisted, while at the same time Freddie said, "It's not an insult to be named after a legend, Mom."
"Fine," grumbled Rachel. She turned to her son. "What's the other song? 'We Will Rock You'? 'Let Me Entertain You'?"
"No," chuckled Freddie. "Sorry Mom, it is Queen though. But I dance much more in this, so you can just watch that if you don't want to hear my impressive vocals. I'll understand."
Rachel rolled her eyes while Jesse laughed. Freddie pressed play on the sound system, and an impressive beat started pounding through the speakers. Rachel's breath caught in her throat - maybe it wasn't always a good thing that Freddie sounded so much like Jesse.
Steve walks warily down the street with his brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound but the sound of his feet, machine guns ready to go
Are you ready? Hey! Are you ready for this? Are you hanging on the edge of your seat?
Out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat
Yeah!
Another one bites the dust -
As Freddie continued the song, Rachel and Jesse both tensed up. Rachel felt fifteen again, watching Jesse onstage breaking her heart. Jesse felt eighteen again, up against the female lead of Vocal Adrenaline watching the heartbroken look on his girlfriend's face. His heart gave a giant squeeze, and he tightened his hold on Rachel.
When Freddie finished the number, he looked expectantly at his parents. All Jesse could say was, "I think you should stick with 'Pressure', son."
I didn't know where else to end this. I hope you liked! I know that this chapter was mostly Rachel/Jesse and their kids, but Chapter 2 will have way more people, I promise! I guarantee we'll be seeing Kurt, Finn, Finn's kids, Mr. Schue, Emma Schue, the Schue's youngest kid, more of the St. James family, Brittany (briefly) and her daughter, and we'll hear about Mercedes. So...yeah! Reviews inspire me to write more quickly, so you should definitely do that! I look forward to seeing everyone for chapter 2!
