After dinner, there was a campfire. An honest to God campfire. It was horribly cliché, but I kind of loved it anyway. One of the counselors suggested that, since we were going to be singing all day every day for the next month, we might as well get started now. When he asked for volunteers, my hand shot up reflexively. Rachel Berry never missed a chance to perform. But looking around, I saw that no one else was raising their hand, or even looking remotely interested. Realizing I looked too eager, I lowered my hand but not before the counselor saw me and motioned for me to come stand in the center of the circle. I hesitated.
"Come on, there's no need to be nervous," he said encouragingly. I tensed. I was not nervous! Stars don't get nervous. With that in mind, I proudly stood and strutted to the center. I heard a girl giggle. Ok, maybe I was the tiniest bit nervous. I gulped, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and began to sing.
On my own, pretending he's beside me…
When I opened my eyes, everyone was looking at me in awe. Apparently no one had expected me to be any good. That might have hurt a little, but I liked being able to surprise people. As I sang, my gaze drifted over to Jesse. He smiled appreciatively. He liked my voice. My heart swelled with pride. I finished my song and sat down primly, smiling graciously at the people who were sweet enough to applaud and ignoring the evil glares I was getting from my now insanely jealous bunkmates.
That night, I left the cabin to go take a shower. The showers, along with the bathrooms, were in a separate building from my room. I thought it was incredibly inconvenient but I supposed it was all part of the camp "experience." So, pajamas in hand, I made the trek to the showers. I was beginning the second verse of Defying Gravity when I heard the door slam as someone came in. I stopped singing.
"Is someone there?" I asked. My question was met by muffled giggles and a few shushes. "Hello?" I called, but my only answer was the door slamming shut again. I peeked my head out of the shower, clutching the curtain closed, and realized in horror that whoever it was had stolen my clothes. I groaned. If I were the cursing type, I most certainly would have cursed. At least they had been decent enough to leave my towel. I finished my shower and, wrapped in said towel, peeked out the door, desperately hoping everyone would already be in there cabins and no one would see me. It seemed I was in luck, because the distance between here and my cabin looked deserted. Grabbing my toiletries, I hurried out the door and walked as quickly as I could while holding up my towel.
"Rachel?" I heard an incredulous voice say. I winced, and slowly turned around.
"Hello Jesse," I said, trying to sound non-chalant. His face was a mixture of confusion and amusement. I was blushing, furiously, I just knew it.
"Why are you only wearing a towel?" he asked.
"Someone stole my clothes," I explained, looking away.
"Oh," was his response. I couldn't stand this torture any longer. I gave him a quick nod then turned and started toward my cabin, tears stinging my eyes. "Wait," he cried after me, "Can I walk you to your cabin?" I turned around and stared at him. This was an absolutely mortifying situation, and he wanted to drag it out? Why couldn't he just let us part ways here? Still, he looked so hopeful, I just couldn't say no.
"Sure," I said, and he fell into step next to me.
"You were great tonight," he said. I beamed at him.
"Thank you," I replied.
"You're welcome." He paused. "Listen, at the end of camp, there's this talent show. Every year I've done a solo, but I was thinking this year I might mix it up and do a duet," he explained, looking at me pointedly.
"And?" I prompted. Jesse looked at me, flustered. He obviously had thought implying his request would be enough for me to volunteer my services. He hadn't expected to have to actually ask me. Suddenly, he looked a bit nervous.
"Well… I was just wondering if you would want to, um, do a duet, you know… with me," he stumbled. We had reached the door of my cabin. I turned to him and grinned.
"I would be honored to do a duet with you, Jesse," I said.
"Great," he said with a smile. Then, impulsively, he leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I stood there in shock as he smiled again then turned and walked back to his cabin.
The girls started laughing when I walked into the room. I had suspected they were the culprits. The counselor got onto me and I made up an excuse about forgetting my clothes, she scolded me and told me not to let it happen again, then I went and got dressed. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. The lights were turned of. Slowly, I let my hand drift to my cheek, tracing where Jesse's lips had been.
I fell asleep smiling.