I was seriously so excited by the number of reviews I got on the last chapter that I wanted to write more, so here's another chapter! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I almost cried tears of joy because of you amazing people taking your time to read this. I love you! Okay, end of my sappiness, here's the chapter…
"Cassie, are you sure this will work?"
Cassandra simply sighed and rolled her eyes. She loved her best friend, but when it came to Rachel, the woman was so insecure that she asked a million questions and demanded so much reassurance. "Yes, Shelby. Trust me. If it doesn't, you forget that she has class with me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
"Okay," Shelby agreed. She had butterflies in her stomach. She wanted to see Rachel's Broadway debut opening night like she promised the girl, but something always kept her from going. Deep down, she knew it was because she wasn't ready. Seeing Rachel drains her emotionally and it's mentally exhausting to have to keep her composure. Funny Girl was in a huge theater and Shelby Corcoran was not about to let so many people see her cry.
She clutched the folded piece of notebook paper in her hand, and pulled down her dress as it was riding up. It was almost identical to the one Rachel wore on Ellen, only it was purple and the sleeves were longer, falling six inches above her wrists. Still, the dress hugged her body so perfectly. She couldn't remember the last time she wore this much makeup. Being a mom to a three and a half year old and working at a daycare where she ran around all day, getting made up wasn't exactly a top priority.
She had left Beth with a sitter, one of the daycare employees, and she made her way to the theater with Cassie. Her best friend created some elaborate scheme to get Rachel's attention, and it was up in the air as to whether it would succeed or not. Shelby was to write a letter to Rachel, and give it to security to give to her. Okay, so it wasn't that elaborate and hundreds of fans did this on a weekly basis, but it gave Rachel all the contact information she needed to get ahold of Shelby without forcing the girl to do so by seeing her in person. This way, there was no pressure, and she got to see her baby girl perform.
Their tickets got scanned and they climbed the stairs to their seats in the balcony. The show started in thirty minutes, giving Shelby all the time she needed to deliver the note. The piece of paper weighed a thousand pounds as she left Cassie at their seats to seek out someone who could deliver the message. Out in the main lobby, she looked around in the midst of the many people who were piling in to see the show and buy merchandise. It was making her dizzy frantically searching for security. Finally, she spotted someone with a badge that clearly allowed for access backstage.
She jogged over to the man, not caring how dumb she probably looked doing so in a dress and heals, and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "Excuse me."
The man stopped walking and turned to the woman attempting to get his attention. "Yes?"
"Hi, I know this sounds crazy, but I have this for Rachel Berry and I was wondering if you could deliver it to her. If not, maybe you could point me in the direction of someone who could?" Shelby realized she sounded far too desperate than she wanted to, but again, she didn't care.
The man smiled at her. "Yes, I can. Rachel loves reading stuff from her fans, and insists any and all letters or gifts get put in her dressing room."
Shelby sighed in relief. "Thank you so much." The man simply nodded and kept walking. She hoped he would really deliver the note. She didn't want to think about him simply throwing it away, so she stayed optimistic and told herself Rachel would get it.
When she got back to her seat, Cassie looked up at her waiting to see if her friend had been successful or not. Shelby only smiled a nervous smile, confirming that so far was so good, and sat down beside her. She made perfect timing, because just then the curtain arose.
All the way through the show until intermission, Shelby cursed herself for not seeing the show earlier. It was amazing, and her beautiful star had a voice that was piercing the souls of everyone in the theater. She wanted to stand up and scream, 'THAT'S MY DAUGHTER'. But first and foremost, it was inappropriate, not to mention the fact that she hardly had the right to claim Rachel as hers.
The curtain fell and lights came on to begin intermission. Shelby immediately stood and turned to her friend "Did you see her?! She was amazing! She's so beautiful! My baby is a star, she'll be nominated for the Tony's and –" she snapped her mouth shut, as she realized how loud she was being and that everyone was looking. Her excitement was also a tad out of character, as she hardly showed so much feeling unless it had to do with a role she was playing.
Cassie smirked in amusement. "Yeah, Schwimmer's pretty great."
Shelby took a second to turn on her phone to check on Beth, and was surprised to see that she had three texts. This was unusual as the only person she ever really texted was sitting right next to her.
The first was from her sitter, sending a picture of Beth holding up a toy microphone. The caption read 'mommy's mini-me', and Shelby laughed and quickly showed Cassie the precious picture.
The second was from a mother of one of the kids who just began going to the Broadway daycare. It read, "Thank you so much for creating a daycare service like you have! It really has brought Jacob out of his shell, even after just a week of going. He can't stop talking about how much fun he has!" Shelby smiled and quickly replied to the mom's text. She couldn't believe this was her life now, after so many years of chasing after a dream on Broadway; but, in all honesty she wouldn't have it any other way.
The third was from Rachel.
Cliffhanger, and this was really short! I'm sorry, but I think you guys will really love the next chapter! I'm so excited to write it, and I'm just as anxious to get to Shelby/Rachel fluff as you are! Hang tight, it's coming. Please give constructive criticism!
