*I tried to make Jesse more in character this chapter, not sure if I succeeded. Thanks again for the reviews. I'm so glad you guys like it!*

Rachel woke up to the sound of the shower. Still half asleep, she looked at her clock. Why in the world was Erin taking a shower at six thirty in the morning? If there was one thing she knew about her roommate, it was that she wasn't a morning person. Especially since she'd no doubt been out late at the karaoke bar… Rachel shot up in bed as she remembered. The karaoke bar; Jesse! She heard the bathroom door open and turned to see Jesse standing there, hair wet, a towel wrapped around his waist. For a split second a look of surprise crossed his face but then he smiled. It was the tight-lipped, smug smile she knew, not the wide unabashed grin he had worn last night.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," Rachel replied, quickly looking away so as not to stare at his shirtlessness. "How are you feeling?" Jesse snorted.

"Hung over," he said wryly. "Uh, Rachel?" he asked after a moment of silence. She turned to look at him. He was staring at the ground, looking truly uncomfortable.

"Yes?"

"Well, I'm a little fuzzy about last night," Jesse said sheepishly, "and I woke up in bed next to you. Did we-"

"No!" Rachel interjected as she realized what he was saying. She cleared her throat. "No we didn't. You crashed on my bed and I tried sleeping on the couch but it was tremendously uncomfortable." Jesse sighed loudly.

"Good," he said.

"Good?" Rachel repeated, a little hurt by how relieved he sounded. Jesse nodded.

"Yes, good," he replied, crossing the room to where she was sitting on the bed. "Because if I finally slept with you and didn't even remember it," he put a hand on her cheek, "that would be the greatest tragedy." Rachel sat there, speechless. Jesse certainly wasn't drunk anymore. He was in top form this morning, effortlessly spewing lines that made her melt into a puddle of extremely talented, though slightly obnoxious, goo. And she couldn't have that.

"You want some breakfast?" she asked as she leapt from the bed. Jesse looked surprised that she could move so fast.

"Breakfast?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," Rachel answered quickly. Anything to get out of this room, where she was in close proximity to a very dangerously wet half-naked Jesse St James. Jesse studied her for a minute then shrugged.

"Sure. Why not?" he said. Rachel nodded firmly and turned on her heel to leave the bedroom. Jesse got up to follow but she said over her shoulder,

"You should probably get dressed first." With that, she escaped to the kitchen to start with breakfast. She was in a mood for Rick Berry's Famous Berry Pancakes. Thank goodness Daddy had taught her the recipe before she moved to New York. She was gathering the ingredients and setting them on the counter when Jesse walked out of his room. His hair was still wet, hanging down on his forehead. Rachel had only ever seen him with his hair perfectly coiffed and styled. She immediately decided she preferred it the way it was now. He strutted in and leaned over the counter on the opposite side so she couldn't look up without seeing his face. Suddenly the ingredients on the counter became very interesting.

"So do you have class today or anything?" Jesse asked, making small talk.

"No, I'm done with school for the year," Rachel replied.

"You made it through your first year? Congratulations. More than I can sa-" he stopped mid-word, his face pale. She realized he was remembering more and more of last night. "I told you all that?" Rachel didn't exactly know how to respond, so she just nodded. Jesse put his head in his hands. "Crap," he muttered. Rachel felt helpless. She knew if she tried to comfort him the way she did last night, it wouldn't be received quite as well.

"So since I'm done with school, I'm going home for a few weeks," she said, changing the subject. Jesse looked up, a small grateful smile on his lips.

"Going to see Finn?" he asked. Rachel shifted uncomfortably.

"I'll probably see all of my fellow glee clubbers," she answered vaguely.

"What, did you and Finn not work out? Because I heard you two got together almost immediately after we broke up," Jesse said, his voice tinged with years old jealousy.

"You mean after you dumped me?" Rachel retorted sharply. "Yes, we got together, but we broke up junior year. He was still kinda in love with Quinn."

"What about…" Jesse struggled to remember the name of the father of Quinn's baby. "Puck! What about Puck?" Rachel blushed and smiled sheepishly.

"He was still kinda in love with me," she replied. Jesse raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything so Rachel continued. "We dated part of junior and all of senior year. But we both realized a long distance relationship wouldn't work, especially not for Noah. So we broke up, but we keep in touch," she explained. She had started mixing the ingredients of the pancakes into a bowl.

"Wait, I thought you were a vegan," Jesse stated as he watched Rachel pour 2% milk into the bowl.

"Being a vegan in New York is very expensive. I just couldn't afford it so I've settled for being a vegetarian. It's still pricey, but less so," she said. Jesse walked over to her fridge.

"Well then let's make some scrambled eggs or something," Jesse said, scanning her fridge. Rachel looked down.

"I still don't eat eggs," she whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She looked back up at Jesse. He was frozen, still holding the refrigerator door open, a look of absolute guilt on his face. He walked over to the counter, putting both hands on her shoulders.

"Rachel, I am so sorry for what I did to you," he said. She just laughed dryly.

"You think I don't eat eggs because of that? Please, Jesse, that was three years ago, I'm over it." She sighed. "I don't eat eggs because it's still killing animals. I can handle drinking milk because it doesn't actually hurt the cows." It was a well-rehearsed line, and Rachel was a good actress, but she knew Jesse wasn't convinced.

"Even so, the way I treated you was reprehensible. I am truly sorry. I regret the way things ended between us almost every day," he said, looking quite sincere. Rachel knew that she couldn't let things go on like this, or she was going to do something she'd regret. Namely, forgive Jesse St James. So she went back to busily making the pancakes.

"Here, chop the berries," Rachel said, handing him a bowl of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries without making eye contact. Jesse chuckled.

"Ok," he said, smiling to himself.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"You haven't changed a bit," Jesse said. But you have, Rachel thought. Jesse was trying to retain his same old smugness, but Rachel got the feeling it was just an act. Jesse had grown up. Maybe, just maybe, one day she could forgive him for what he did when he was still a child. She finished cooking in contemplative silence. While they ate breakfast, they talked about show choir and musicals and ballet and everything they had in common, which was a lot. Rachel was amazed. Spending time with Jesse was just so easy. Not like it had been with Finn. She had always felt so nervous around him, afraid she was going to do something too crazy and make him break up with her again. With Jesse she could be as crazy and dramatic as she wanted, and he didn't care, because he was crazy and dramatic too. Around nine thirty, Erin finally rolled out of bed to ask them if they could keep it down. Rachel apologized as Erin just rolled her eyes and went back to bed. "I should probably go anyways," Jesse said, standing from the table. Rachel wanted to tell him not to leave, but she knew that would sound desperate. Instead, she walked him to the door. "Thanks for breakfast. And everything else," Jesse said, before giving Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Jesse," Rachel said, stopping him before he left. Jesse turned to look at her. "Sweeney Todd," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"The right role for you. I think it's Sweeney Todd," Rachel told him. Jesse looked at her, then, slowly, he smiled.

"That sounds… perfect actually. Thanks Rachel," Jesse said. He gave her a quick hug then left with hope in his eyes. Rachel smiled as she watched him leave. But her smile vanished as it hit her, oh God, she was still in love with Jesse St James.