Opposites Attract
Chapter 2
Rachel really doesn't want to return home to Ohio to spend her summer vacation. She was currently in Scarsdale, New York where she attends a very prestigious private school. It was one of the best schools in America in terms of education and extracurricular activities. She received the best education money could buy plus she could take classes in singing, dance and theatre.
There were many other classes that Heathland Private School provided; languages, art and even cooking classes. It was a school that provides the best start in life for those who could afford it and for Rachel it was the stepping stone she needed to get into NYADA.
Rachel's dream was to be on Broadway, it had been since she was just a little girl. She got the love of the stage from her Mother, who was a nationally ranked show choir coach.
When Shelby was younger she had an ambition to be on the stage, to be a Broadway star but after she was blessed with a child she said motherhood had changed her and she decided to change her career path and do something that was worthwhile and gives back to the community. So she became a teacher at a private school in West Lima.
It sounded like the perfect story of a woman who wanted to give back to the community she grew up in by ending her acting career and instead shape the minds of the young people in Lima but in reality it was the biggest pile of crap Rachel had ever heard.
It was true that Shelby ambitions were set for the stage but that all ended when she got knocked up by Leroy Berry at the age of twenty one.
She had just graduated from Julliard, she had landed a few off-Broadway parts whilst she was in college and had managed to get herself an agent. There was a buzz around her, people thought she could be the next big thing and then she found out she was pregnant.
She told her boyfriend, they had been together since high school and she knew she could tell him anything.
Leroy was adamant that she kept the baby, he was a young politician that believed strongly in family values. He proposed a week later, saying that it wasn't just because of the baby but it was because he loved her and that he couldn't wait to be a family with her and their child.
Her dreams of Broadway were slowly beginning to fade, no one would give a part to a pregnant girl no matter how good they were. She thought that when Rachel was born that she could somehow get it back but she was married to Leroy whose work was here, there was no other option other than to live with the fact that she was stuck in Ohio.
When Rachel got a bit older Leroy agreed to get a nanny for their daughter so Shelby could go back to school. She decided to become a teacher, even if her dreams didn't come true that didn't mean she couldn't try and help others to try and reach theirs.
Rachel had always shown signs of a musical talent so Shelby signed her up for singing lessons, dance classes and as soon as she was old enough she applied her to the Heathland Private School in New York. If she couldn't become a star then she would make damn sure that her daughter would become one.
Rachel lived in one of the on campus dorm rooms. There were two large buildings one that contained the girl's dorms and one for the boys. Each room was spacious and had its own bathroom, the very least you'd expect from such a prestigious private school.
Rachel was packing her suitcase for her trip home, usually for most of the break she would stay in New York with her best friend Kurt who was currently sat on her bed watching her pack but her Dad had insisted that she return home because of some campaign he was working on.
Her Dad was the Mayor of Lima she knew that much but she didn't really know what he did, to be honest she didn't really care. She loved her father, she really did but she hated what he believed in.
"I can't believe you are leaving the beauty that is New York to return to that cesspool called Lima" Kurt says from his position on the bed.
Boys weren't supposed to be in the girl's dormitory never mind in one of their bedrooms but somehow Kurt always got around that rule.
"I don't want to but my Dad is making me, I even have to attend a meet and greet party on Saturday night"
"Oh my God a whole night surrounded by bigots and fascist, I'm so jealous" Kurt mocks.
"Please don't remind me, I can't believe they won't let me spend the summer with you"
"I know and my Dad just bought me a new Lexus , we could have driven to the beach or spent the day on the boat"
Kurt's Dad, Burt was a self-made man. His parents weren't very wealthy but gave him five thousand dollars when he turned eighteen and told him he could do what he wanted with it. His parents hoped that he would use the money to go to college, every parents dream but it wasn't Burt's.
Dirk was a mechanic and had shown his son how to fix cars since the age of ten. When he was old enough he offered Burt a job working in the tyre shop. Burt loved cars and he loved fixing them so when his parents gave him the money he decided to buy a couple of cheap cars and fix them up.
Once he had fixed them up he would sell them for a profit and when he was twenty he opened his own used car dealership.
He now owns six dealerships in three different states that sell both new and used cars but that doesn't stop him from working in the shop every single day, getting his hands dirty and fixing up old cars.
"Must you torture me? We can't even do our annual Broadway week" Rachel pouts.
Their annual Broadway week consisted of buying tickets to as many different Broadway shows they could fit into a week. They would spend the week in The Plaza hotel before heading back to Kurt's house in Long Island.
"Your parents really suck" Kurt says.
"I know but hopefully it will be over sooner rather than later and I can come and spend at least a few weeks with you. You know, you could always come to Lima for a week"
"Oh great and where would I stay in a fleabag motel or in your house with your homophobic father? You know what, I can't decide both options just sound truly wonderful"
"You know sarcasm is very unbecoming beside my Dad isn't homophobic"
"Yes he is. He campaigns for strong family values between a man and a woman and is totally against the idea of gay marriage. Your family used to spend vacations at our summer house with me and my Dad but when Leroy found out I was gay you stopped coming"
"No we didn't, he was just busy" Rachel argues.
Kurt gets off the bed and walks over to Rachel, taking one of her hands into his own.
"Rachel please stop making excuses for him. I know you hate to think of him like that and I understand that he's your father but you can't ignore it"
"I know and I'm sorry but it's hard to see him like that, all I know is the man who raised me and loves me. That's why I hate these times when he's campaigning and I see another side to him that I really don't like." Rachel says.
"You should be proud of yourself you know, you could have turned out just like him but you haven't. You're very open minded and even have your very own gay best friend"
"I do love my gay best friend" Rachel smiles and pulls Kurt into a hug.
"And I love my little Diva. Imagine what your Dad would say if he knew you were checking out girls asses"
"I wasn't checking her out, I was watching her dance. It was a dance class"
"People don't dance with the asses Rachel" Kurt teases.
"Yes they do" Rachel mumbles into Kurt's shoulder.
"I'm really going to miss you Rachel Berry" Kurt sighs.
"I'm going to miss you too, you could still come to Lima and see me. You know I live in Lima Hills, where there are no fleabag motels in sight just luxury five star hotels."
"Okay I promise to visit you. I just need to remember to get a tetanus shot first"
Rachel laughs as she pulls out of the embrace.
"Stop distracting me, I need to finish packing. I have to be at the airport in an hour."
"Why did you leave it until the last minute, that is very unlike you. I had my bag packed by last night and it's waiting in the car"
"I was trying to put it off, I thought that if I could put it at the back of my mind I could forget all about having to go back to Lima"
"Rachel Berry procrastinating, I never thought I'd see the day"
"Very funny, I'm still following an itemised list I wrote with everything I need to pack but I'm only going home anyway it's not like I'm packing for a trip around the world, most of it's school work"
"It's despicable making us do work during our break, the only difference is I'll be reading To Kill A Mocking Bird on a beach and you'll be reading it in a slum" Kurt laughs.
"I'll be reading it on a sun lounger by my Olympic sized swimming pool, thank you very much. You really need to see where I live, I live in the hills not the heights"
Kurt resumes his position on the bed and picks up the magazine he was reading and without having Kurt distract her Rachel finishes packing her suitcase.
Kurt was on his second magazine when Rachel announces that she had finished. He was reading an interesting article about a woman whose husband had run off with her brother. Kurt couldn't believe that the gay alarm bells hadn't started ringing for the woman sooner especially when for their anniversary he had surprised her with tickets to see Cher and she wasn't a Cher fan.
"Will you carry my suitcase to the car or will I have to get real man to do it"? Rachel asks.
"How do you expect him to carry it when they aren't allowed in your dorm room? Anyway if you have a hunky man stored away somewhere why haven't I met him?"
"Because you're leering would scare him away"
"I don't leer" Kurt mutters before exiting the room, leaving Rachel to carry her own luggage.
Rachel laughs at Kurt as he leaves. She really didn't care if he carried her suitcase or not, it had wheels. She just likes to tease him, it's how their relationship works and he deserved it after he continuously mocked her.
Kurt is waiting in the car when Rachel arrives, she puts her luggage in the trunk before getting in the passenger seat. Kurt was driving her to the airport and then he was carrying on to his own house in Long Island to see his Dad.
"Since we are missing Broadway week, I think we should put on our Broadway playlist" Kurt says.
He pushes play on his Ipod and the opening bars of Defying Gravity pour through the car's speakers. It was their song, they had recently sung it as a duet at Nationals where they won for the second, consecutive time.
After Broadway week they would normally spend the ride back to Kurt's house like this, listening to music, talking and laughing. Rachel sighs when Kurt pulls up at the airport, a big reminder that she was on her way back to Lima and not going home with Kurt.
She gets out of the car and this time Kurt does helps her with her suitcase by getting it out of the trunk for her. They share a long embrace, neither wanting to let go of the other. They will only be away from each other for a few weeks but it will be the first time that they have spent so much time apart from each other since they first met.
They share a quick I love you before Kurt returns to his car, leaving Rachel alone. She checks in and makes herself comfortable in the first class lounge. In a couple of hours she will be back in Lima Hills.
A/N The first two chapters were an introduction to the characters and to show you their backgrounds but don't worry my Pezberrians they will meet in the next chapter.
Just a quick note to say I do try my best with Americanisms and geography but I am English so if I ever make a mistake please let me know.
Thank you to everyone that left a review your reaction was overwhelming and the fact some people were excited about this made me excited to write, so thank you.
The next chapter will take longer to post considering it hasn't been written yet but I finished this chapter so I thought I might as well post it.
Live_Young.