Title: Second Chances
Pairing: Rachel Berry & Jesse St. James St. Berry
Summary: Blame It On The Alcohol: The Way. AU. Jesse comes looking to apologize to Rachel…the same night that she let Puck convince her to throw a party.
Author's Note: The more I watch Seasons 1 & 2 over and over again…I'm becoming a huge Shipper! Though I do still ship Finchel AND Puckleberry. Each coupling has the dynamics for such diversity and ultimate awesomeness. Anyway, I was watching this episode and the HORRIBLE way Finn was being to Rachel. I know. She kissed Puck. GUESS WHAT. Quinn? Yeah she forced him to get a job and lied to him about a baby that wasn't his. She tried sucking him into that life and having him pay for her bills. So that's where this inspiration came from. So from the moment she asked who wants to play spin-the-bottle, it's all shiny and new!
"And then we come around full circle right back to you. Rachel and right now you are being the needy girl drunk. Hanging all over me, being overly lovey. It's not cool."
"Well, what kind of girl is this?" Rachel asked, the sting of his brutal rejection still stinging. "Play spin-the-bottle. Who wants to play spin-the-bottle?"
"I do." Jesse had thought about leaving. No one had noticed his entrance after all. Had he not been able to overhear the harsh words Finn threw at Rachel, Jesse would have slipped in and out as easily as a ghost.
The entire party seemed to come to a stop. Rachel turned her attention to the newcomer. The complete shock of his arrival seemed to sober her up a minuscule amount. She couldn't help but revel in the dramatic entrance and timing of his arrival. The corner of her mouth was threatening to turn upwards into a smile at the theatricality of it all.
"You don't belong here." Finn's words were full of hostility and anger. Anger that he didn't have any right to feel as far as Rachel Berry was concerned.
"I don't believe its your house, Finn." Twenty minutes ago she would have loved the idea of Finn defending her honor and showing her that he cared for still, in any way. But after the way he'd talked to her, he had all but pushed her into Jesse's arms. Again.
Jesse didn't bother to hide smug smile that tugged his lips as Rachel informed him of that. After all, her back was to him. It wasn't that he was here to play Rachel but he couldn't help enjoying that Finn was being shut down by Rachel. He knew why Rachel hated him, why they all hated him. What he had done to Rachel was horrible. It was the worst thing he had ever done. It was the thing Jesse St. James regretted most.
When Rachel turned to look at him the smug, boasting was but a ghost replaced by a hopeful expression. "What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, her words slurring slightly. Damn the alcohol. This was not the way he was supposed to see her. Being pushed away and yelled at by Finn was no less humiliating than eggs in her hair.
Thankfully the rest of his audience was far past intoxicated. Otherwise he might have stepped into an angry riot scenario. Santana was crying to her boyfriend and the others seems occupied or at least as though they weren't trying to stare. The only blatant hostility aimed his way came from Finn.
"I came to see you."