The introduction of Jesse :)

Disclaimer: Do not own Glee


Rachel hears Quinn's voice travel down the hall, "Okay, I'll see you on Wednesday then? Great, bye!"

Quinn enters their room with giddy excitement, her face positively glowing. Rachel couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm guessing your first day went well?"

"I'm having lunch with Jesse on Wednesday!" Quinn exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"I thought you were gonna wait until the weekend?" Rachel asked.

"I couldn't allow him any time to forget about me. What does it matter, anyway? He agreed to have lunch!" She walked to her bed, setting down her bag. "Aren't you excited for me?"

"Of course, Quinn. I just think you should get through the first week of school before you focus all your attention on this boy," Rachel reasoned.

"It's just lunch. And he doesn't have all my attention, Rach."

Rachel decides against arguing with her anymore. Instead she changes the subject. "So how was your first day?"

"It was good. I actually have a few classes with Emily and Sarah which is great. How about you?

Rachel grinned, "I absolutely love it here. I'm so excited to just get started, you know?"

"Of course. So did you actually sing anything today?"

"Unfortunately, no. We were introduced to our instructors and given information. That's about it. But they said we would be tomorrow."

"Yeah, we didn't dance either. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous to dance among all these people who could potentially be as good or better than me. What if I just don't measure up?" Quinn casts her eyes down.

"You can't think like that, Quinn. We'll do great. I'm nervous too, but there is not doubt in my mind that we want this just as much or more as everyone else here."

"Your right. It just really hit me that this is the start of our future. I can't mess this up."

"You won't." Rachel assured.


After their second day of classes, both Quinn and Rachel felt their nerves double. The instructors seemed to critique every little detail in what you did. They also liked to make a point in telling everyone that although they might have been the best dancer or singer in their hometown, things were different here. It was no wonder you have to have tough skin to make it in show business.


Finally, it was Wednesday. Rachel was attempting to help Quinn get ready for her 'date.'

"I think it's best to just wear a pair of jeans and cute shirt, you agree?" Quinn asked, holding a shirt up to her chest.

"Yeah, I mean, you don't want to look like your trying too hard."

"But I want him to know that I'm interested. I don't want him to think I just want to be friends."

"I think he knows your interested," Rachel laughs, "Or else you wouldn't have called him to go out."

"Whatever. I just want it to be perfect."

After spending an hour getting ready, Quinn looks in the mirror and pushes a stray hair behind her ear.

"Okay, I'm ready. Wish me luck!" Rachel walks over and pulls her into a quick hug.

"Good luck."

Shutting the door behind Quinn, Rachel looks back to their empty room. She decides to head over to the practice rooms to run over the techniques her instructors advised her to do. Once she arrives, she hesitates to enter upon seeing another student practicing. She opens the auditorium doors slowly, hoping to not disrupt. Rachel is shocked to hear the girls beautiful voice echo throughout the room. She is singing Celine Dion's 'Power of Love,' one of Rachel's all time favorite songs.

'Whenever you reach for me, I'm gonna do all that I can. We're heading for something, somewhere I've never been...'

Rachel felt goosebumps spread across her skin. When she finished, Rachel held her breath in fear of being noticed.

"Can I help you?"

Her eyes wide, Rachel scanned the room in hope that the girl was speaking to someone else.

"I saw you walk in a moment ago. Is there something I can help you with?"

Rachel walked out of the shadows hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you, I just came here hoping to be able to practice. I'll just be going." She turned to leave.

"Well I'm just finishing up. The place is yours." The girl grabbed her folder and bag heading down the stage stairs. "I'm Lauren, by the way."

Rachel smiled, "I'm Rachel, nice to meet you. You have an amazing voice," she said, gesturing to the stage.

"Thanks. Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you before."

"Yes. I'm a freshman. I'm a singer also."

"Oh really?" Lauren gave Rachel a once-over. "So how do you like it so far?"

"I love it. It's pretty intense, but I wouldn't expect anything less. I'm ready to do everything I have to in order to get better."

"That's good. You need that attitude to succeed here." Lauren looks at the clock on the far wall. "Look, I have to get going, but if you ever need any help or want an honest opinion, let me know." She reaches in her folder, pulling out a piece of paper, and her bag for a pen. "Here's my number. I'm a junior so I know what your going through. So don't hesitat to call." She hands Rachel the strip of paper.

"Thank you so much. This means a lot." Rachel gives her a warm smile.

"No problem. Good luck, Rachel." Lauren smiles and turns to exit the auditorium.

Rachel focuses her attention towards the stage. The spotlight raining down across every inch of the floor. This is where she belongs. This is her home.


Arriving home a few hours later, Rachel feels great. She only hopes that Quinn's lunch went well also.

She opens their door and see's Quinn sitting in front of her computer. Walking into the room, Rachel has a hard time pinpointing the look on her face.

"So..." she says, her voice close to a whisper. Immediately, Quinn's face breaks out in a grin.

"It went amazing!" she says excitedly. "And guess what? I'm seeing him again this weekend, which means your going to meet him!"

"That's great, Quinn. I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you! This is so great. His friends are throwing a party this weekend at their house. Maybe we can set you up with one of them."

"Or we can just go and have a good time," Rachel offers.

"Come on, Rach. You need to let loose and have some fun."

"I will. But that doesn't mean I need a boy to do it. I'm just focused on my goals right now. What's wrong with that?"

"You haven't been serious with someone since Greg. You need some lovin'," Quinn says.

Rachel laughs, "You did not just say that."

"Okay, okay, fine. I won't try and set you up. But you will come to the party, right?"

"Yes, of course. It'll be fun."


After a hard first week of classes, Rachel admits that she needs a little bit of fun. All of the hard work and practice she was putting in was exhausting.

She actually allows Quinn to pick out her outfit for the party, and they continue to get ready together. As they walk with Emily and Sarah over to the house, Rachel starts to get kind of excited. This was her first real college party. Hopefully she would be able to meet some new friends and enjoy herself.

The house is crowded as they enter. Quinn recognizes someone who she introduces as Paul, one of the owners of the house, and gestures over to Emily, Sarah, and Rachel. After the common introductions, they head downstairs to where the keg is. Taking in her surrounding environment, Rachel takes a deep breath. Music is vibrating throughout her body as she is enclosed in an enormous crowd of people bunched together. All of a sudden Rachel feels Quinn pull at her arm, guiding her towards Emily and Sarah. Waiting in line near the keg with a red cup in hand, the girls talk amongst themselves while scanning the basement.

"Rach," Quinn says, moving closer to her friend.

"Yeah?," Rachel breathes.

"That's him," she says nodding her head to the left. Rachel looks over to be met with the sight of Quinn's mystery boy, Jesse. The only thing she can think is that Quinn definitely was being modest when describing his looks. He was possibly the most gorgeous boy Rachel had ever seen.

But her thoughts were quickly dissipated when she saw Quinn glide over to him. Jesse smiled and pulled Quinn into a hug. As she whispered something into his ear, his eyes seemed to settle on Rachel. She immediately looked away, a blush rising to her cheeks. Looking back, she sees Quinn waving for her to come over.

"Rachel! This is Jesse, Jesse this is Rachel," Quinn yelled, in order to be heard over the music. Jesse raised his hand to Rachel.

"I've heard a lot about you, it's nice to finally meet," he said, his blue eyes meeting hers.

"Likewise," she says, ignoring the look of anger Quinn is sending her way. Rachel cursed her big mouth. Of course Jesse didn't know Quinn was talking about him non-stop since they met. Jesse smiles over at Quinn, her face a bright red.

Quinn speaks up, "I told Rachel how you were a singer as well." Jesse nods.

"So Rachel, how are you liking your classes so far?" Jesse puts his gaze back on Rachel.

"I'm really enjoying them. It's hard to hear the criticism, but I'm learning a lot." She feels comfortable with her answer, considering the butterflies overcoming her stomach.

"Don't let the criticism get to you too much," he says in a smooth voice. "But I don't see any need to worry, you seem pretty confident in your ability. That's good." Rachel smiles.

"Rachel, Jesse went to high school here in New York. How lucky, right?" Quinn says.

"Really? I would have given anything to grow up in the city. Did you sing at your high school?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah, I actually participated in my glee club. We won four National titles, maybe you heard of us – Vocal Adrenaline?" he says with a sexy smirk. Rachel's jaw drops as realization hits her. No freaking way.

"Oh my god, your Jesse St. James," Rachel says, eyes wide. Quinn gives her a look, clearly confused. "I am such a huge fan. I can't believe I didn't recognize you. I used to watch Vocal Adrenaline videos of you guys at Nationals."

"Well I'm sure the videos weren't the best, I doubt you can capture the quality of our performances unless you see it live," he shrugs.

"Nevertheless, you guys were absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, Quinn and I's glee club didn't make it to Nationals until our senior year. But we ended up winning as well," Rachel beams with pride.

"That's what I hear. A belated congrats," he says.

"Thanks," Rachel grins.

"Maybe we could sing together sometime. There's this little pub down the street that has karaoke on Thursday nights. Most of the people are awful, but it can be fun," he says. Quinn squeezes his arm, drawing his attention from Rachel to her. "That sounds great. We could sing together, too," she smiles.

"Yeah, of course."

Just then, Jesse looks over Rachel's shoulder and waves to a friend, "Ladies, if you will excuse me, one of my friends just arrived. I'll talk to you later?," He turns his attention to Rachel and smiles. "It was nice meeting you, Rachel."

As he walks away, Quinn takes a few steps towards her roommate, "So? What do you think? Isn't he amazing?" she asks. Rachel gives her a smile, showface firmly in place.

"Yes, he's great, Quinn." Quinn grins and moves to join in the conversation Emily and some other girls are having. This leaves Rachel to deal with the all-consuming realization that she really does think he's great. Maybe too great.


Thanks for reading! Review if you like :)