Rachel stared at her reflection in the mirror, smiling at the way the veil fell perfect over her slightly curled hair, they had just won Regionals and now she was about to marry Finn, the man of her dreams. Her dress was simple, plain but elegant, it was short and the skirt puffed out. But the longer she looked at it the more she felt the pang in her chest...The pang that no bride wants to feel on her wedding day.
This wasn't her dress.
And Finn wasn't the man of her dreams.
She knew who the man of her dreams was,and he was currently in New York about to hit the big time while she was still stuck in Lima, Ohia. She couldn't help but feel guilty at that thought, she shouldn't be blaming Finn for choking on her audition and possibly ruining her entire Broadway career, but she couldn't help of her knew that if she didn't concentrate on the wedding so much and focused more on her audition she would have aced it. The nerves she had that day weren't for Madame Tibideux but in fact for saying yes to Finn, she had never truly believed that she should have said yes.
The ring that was on her finger felt hard, cold and heavy, like her heart right now.
A soft knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts, "Come in" She breathed, hoping that it wasn't Finn,she didn't want to face him with what she already knew but was still inevitably denying. The person who walked through the door, was the last person she expected to see.
"Rachel" He greeted, his signature smile plastered on that handsome face of his. Rachel spun round and meet his blue eyes, neither of them speaking for a few moments.
"Jesse" She breathed
Jesse stepped into the room, closing the door behind him gently before taking a better look at the love of his life, she looked stunning, as always. but that was not her dress and this was certainly not the wedding for Rachel Berry.
"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked, making him chuckle
"Isn't it obvious? I'm here for the wedding...Well, not the wedding per say more for the Bride you see" He smiled sadly and closed the distance between them so he was now standing directly on front of her. "A little birdy told me that a Miss Rachel Berry was planning on marrying the Frankenteen she had a stereotypicl high school romance with and well...That didn't sit well with me you see"
Rachel felt her heart hammering inside her chest, she couldn't bring herself to look Jesse in the eyes, he was the only person apart from Kurt who understood and knew her on a different level. He was basically her male alter ego, they were so similar it was scary. And the fact that he was probably reading her mind right now wouldn't surprise her.
"Oh really? And why would that be?"
"That would be because I know she is making the worst mistake of her life...And she knows that too" He whispered
"You're wrong" Rachel snapped quickly, almost too quickly. Jesse cocked an eyebrow at her
"Defensive are we? I know you're a fiesty one Rachel but this isn't you"
"How nice of you to be observant for once, but you're wrong Jesse, I love Finn, I'm marrying him today...This is the right decision" She looked down at her shoes, trying to believe her own words
"If this is the right decision you look me in the eyes and tell me that, if you can do that I'll leave and never look back" Rachel felt her eyes begin to water as she looked up at Jesse, at the one man who truly understood her and respected her. Yes he made mistakes, but so did were young and stupid, they were easily mislaid and manipulated. Their relationship may not have been true at the beginning but they truly did fall for each other. Finn wasn't her first love, it was Jesse. Finn was nothing more than a high school girl fantasy, a safety blanket and with everything going wrong in her life she was settling.
"You know I'm right Rachel, this isn't is not your wedding and this is most definitely not your dress, it's beautiful yes but it doesn't scream drama and flare like you do" Jesse chuckled sadly and put a finger under her chin to tilt her head up so she would look at him.
"You belong on Broadway, playing the lead beside me" He smiled.""Finn is not your future, Broadway is, And if you choose Broadway well,you're going to have to put up with me for a long time because I'm planning on not losing you if that doesn't convince well...I have nothing else left to lose" Rachel raised an eyebrow before she felt Jesse's lips encapture her own, and for a moment she froze, afraid of what would happen if someone walked in right now, but then she didn't care. Her hand dropped the bouquet of flowers she was holding and instead wrapped around his neck, before entangling them in his slightly growing curly hair.
Jesse made her feel everything Finn couldn't,He excited her,made her feel wanted and special, it felt easy and real with Jesse, nothing was ever a problem and if there was they would work it out instead of breaking up and then getting back together. All too soon the kiss was over, Rachel was breathing heavily as she reopened her eyes to stare into the blue ones she had missed so much.
"You're right Jesse...I can't do this" she whispered, and Jesse felt his heart soar. She was finally choosing him! He didn't care if he just ruined a wedding (it was in a court house it didn't count) the important thing was that he got the girl he loved back,and they were going to take Broadway by storm.
"God why was I so stupid? I should never have said yes, an engagment ring shouldn't feel like dead weight on your hand" Rachel looked sadly at the small silver ring on her hand and sighed as she removed it, hastily placing it on the table before writing a scribbled note. Jesse watched in awe as she sorted herself out, was this actually happening? She took the veil off and sighed, grabbing her pink suitcase from by the door
"Already planning an exit before I arrived huh?" Jesse raised an eyebrow and chuckled, dodging the kitten heel she threw at his head
"No...Well maybe...I don't know! All I know was that after this we were going to go to New York"
"Well guess what Rachel"
"What?"
"You are going to New York" Jesse smiled, making her confused
"What are you talking about Jesse?"
"You're coming to New York with me, right this second. I have it cleared with your Dad's, they were actually the ones who invited me back, not that I wouldn't have found out about this on my own because lets be honest I do like keeping tabs on the Berry drama you find yourself in daily." He grinned and took hold of her hand, while taking her suitcase with the other.
"Your Dad's are going to come to New York tomorrow with the rest of your things, you're going to be staying in an apartment with me in Manhattan, no strings attached...not for the mean time anyway" He winked, earning a playful slap."With us you never know! But anyway yes, I have a quaint 2 bedroom apartment and I'd quite like a roommate...Preferably a small, gorgeous brunette firecracker from a little town called Lima, I think you've heard of her? You call her Rachel Berry"
Rachel felt the blush creep up on her cheeks and she smiled, "Even after all this time Mr St James you still make me swoon" She giggled and intertwined their hands."Let's get out of here before my ex-groom tries to stop us" Jesse nodded and opened the door, raising an eyebrow as a sudden blur of pink began running away. He glanced down at Rachel with an amused expression.
"Fuscia...Kurt said they'd go well for a fall wedding" Jesse rolled his eyes
"Of course you let Kurt plan your wedding" He sighed as they headed for the double doors, not noticing the fact that not only were Rachel's Dad's peering around the corner with interest, but also Burt and Carol, who (as sad as they were for Finn) were ecstatic for the reuinted couple and this went towards their future.
"Told you, there was only one person who could truly talk Rachel out of this" Leroy smiled at his husband and their friends as they watched their little girl finally go get her dream.
