Jesse didn't have any reason to be on the lot today other than because of his plans with Rachel later on. It was one of his incredibly rare days off now that the filming of his last picture had just wrapped up. Rehearsals for Loveless Romance should start soon and he and Rachel would soon be thrust into the world of incredibly long and grueling rehearsals with choreographers from hell. Even though he could be at home relaxing or off anywhere else, he didn't regret coming in to the studio today one bit because he would be spending the day with Ms. Rachel Berry.
He had managed to arrive earlier than he had expected, so he went on a quick walk around the lot to say hello to a few friends. Walking up to the front gate, he pulled the door open to the guard's booth and sat down on top of his desk without a word.
"Well hello to you, Mr. St. James," said Sam, sitting back in his seat and shaking his head. "Nice of you to swing by."
"I have good news, Evans. You're going to love me," he assured him with a confident smirk.
"Okay, St. James. Lay it on me," he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"I got you an audition for Loveless Romance. Before you get excited, it's not a huge part. But it'll surely get your foot in the door if you get it," he said, handing him a sheet of paper with the audition information.
"You're kidding!" Sam replied, shooting up from his seat like a puppy being offered a bone.
"Proof is all there, Sammy Boy," he said, pointing to the paper.
Sam grabbed it from Jesse and looked it over. Seeing his name on the list made him even more excited.
"I need to buy you a drink! Let's go to the bar after my shift?"
"Now, now. Don't get too excited. Once you get the part, which you better because I put a good word in for you with Schuester, you can buy me as many drinks as you please. But today, I'm afraid I have a rendezvous with a certain brunette co-star of mine for my next picture," he muttered with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah. I heard about that. Quinn must really be taking it easily," he said sarcastically.
"Tell me about it," Jesse muttered, rolling his eyes. "But she's still in it. She plays the part of my character's original girlfriend and they're in a—you guessed it—'Loveless Romance'."
Sam nodded in understanding and sat back down.
"Then comes what's her name—the new girl's character to whisk your character away for a real romance," he said.
"Her name is Rachel Berry, but yes. That's generally the storyline," he said with a nod.
"Rachel Berry. That's a cute little name," smiled Sam.
"She's quite a cute little woman. No kidding on the little part. She's so short. But its endearing," he insisted, laughing softly to himself.
Sam raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, letting the front legs lift off the ground slightly.
"You like her," he said with a smirk.
"No comment," Jesse replied, looking away innocently.
"Oh, yeah. You like her," he chuckled. "This is gonna piss Quinn off…"
"Keep it up, Evans…" Jesse muttered, giving him a small nudge with his foot that almost made him tip over backwards.
"Alright, alright," he replied, raising his hands in resignation.
"Yeah, good," Jesse muttered, hopping off of the desk and walking around him towards the door. "Anyway, off to meet her now."
"Try not and over do that St. James charm, lover boy," he chuckled.
Jesse shook his head and swiftly moved his leg to knock the chair backwards. Sam waved his hands madly in an attempt to grab onto something so as not to fall, but there was no use. He fell down hard on his back and groaned when he tried to push himself up.
"Okay, geeze. Did you really have to do that?"
"Just be at your audition, okay?" Jesse asked, bending down to playfully tap Sam's face.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there," he muttered, pushing himself up slowly.
"Good. I'll see you, then," he said, placing his hands in his pockets and heading back into the studio lot so he could go find Rachel.
They had agreed to meet in front of the statue of Leo the Lion in the center of the lot. He strolled up to it and found the brunette already waiting there dressed in a lovely yellow dress. He walked right up to her, but she failed to notice his presence because she had her nose so deep in the script for Loveless Romance. He cleared his throat to get her attention and she quickly poked her head up from it in surprise.
"Jesse!" she squeaked, immediately putting the script away in her bag. "I'm sorry. I guess I was so distracted by my reading."
"What part are you on?" he asked curiously, leaning against the statue of the lion like he knew the studio head hated.
"The love scene," she said, looking down with a blush.
"I read it last night. It's really romantic, don't you think?"
"Incredibly so," she nodded.
"Well, shall we get to the grand tour?" he asked, holding out his arm for her to take.
"Yes, lets," she replied, smiling as she hooked her arm with his.
"Okay, you've already acquainted yourself with the costume department thanks to Kurt," he said, pointing to the building next to them.
"It's magnificent in there," she said with a nod.
"Should be for all the money the studio puts into it," he said, pulling the door open and stepping back so she can enter first.
Even though she had already gotten a chance to see the costume warehouse when Kurt helped her replace her stained dress before her audition, she still had wished she could get some real time to actually browse the selections for her own entertainment. Once she was inside, she grabbed Jesse's hand and immediately rushed towards a pink princess gown hanging in a rack near the corner.
"I wish I could wear something like this," she sighed, grabbing the skirt of the dress and holding it out to her legs.
"Why don't you," he replied, grabbing the hanger and handing it to her.
"I wouldn't get in trouble?" she asked, looking around for any sign of security.
"You're a star now, kid. That means you can do practically anything you want. It's high time you get used to it," he smirked.
Rachel was still having a little difficulty getting used to her new status around the lot. There were plenty of people who didn't know her name. Some of those who did scoffed at the mention of her name because she was "That nobody who got cast next to Jesse St. James in his latest picture". But she was going to prove them that Rachel Berry was indeed a somebody who was a force to be reckoned with.
Grabbing the dress from Jesse, she practically skipped over to the dressing room and quickly changed from her yellow dress to the princess costume.
"I hope it fits!" she called from inside the room. "If the studio thinks I need to diet, I may not squeeze into their standard sizes."
Jesse leaned against the wall next to the fitting room door and shook his head.
"Have you seen yourself in the mirror, Rachel?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" she replied, pushing the door open and stepping out in front of him.
Jesse's eyes scanned Rachel's body as he took in the sight of her in the pink princess gown that seemed to be perfectly tailored to her. The hand stitched bead work on the bodice that Kurt had probably spent days on looked incredible when worn on Rachel's body. The dress was a little long on her, given her short stature, but she still looked as radiant as ever in it.
"Wow," Jesse whispered as she spun around to give him a full view of the dress on her.
"What do you think?" she asked, grabbing onto the skirt and giving him a little curtsy.
"You're gorgeous," he whispered, unable to form any other words because she had completely taken his breath away.
Rachel brought one hand to her cheek and bit her lip. He was getting better and better at making her blush every time he tried.
"Thank you," she murmured as she reached down to smooth out the dress on her. "Anyway, what did you mean before when I was getting dressed?"
Jesse suddenly remembered what he was trying to say before she had completely stunned him with the sight of her in that gown. Reaching for her shoulders, he spun her around towards the mirror so she could look at herself.
"I asked if you even bothered looking at yourself in the mirror," he said, pressing up against her from behind.
Rachel's eyes scanned herself in her reflection and she couldn't help but smile. She had to admit that she looked good right now. Her smile was short lived, however, when she remembered about the grand makeover that she was supposed to get tomorrow morning.
"What's wrong with me that they want to fix how I look?" she asked quietly, bringing her hands up to her face and turning her head so she could look at her profile.
Jesse's smile faded at her question. Her voice was so vulnerable and hurt that he just felt like pulling her into his arms. The thought alone confused him because he had never felt that way for someone before. Even during the many times the studio put Quinn down, he never reached the point where he wanted to hold her and whisper words of love and encouragement.
"I'll never begin to understand the studio's impossible standards," Jesse muttered, letting his head rest on top of hers as he continued to look at her in the reflection of the mirror. "But you need to trust me when I say that there is nothing about you that needs to be changed. We're just going to have to find a way to make them see that. Any sort of modifications they may try and make on you will only lessen that natural beauty that makes you who you are. I'd hate to see that happen."
Rachel found herself leaning back against Jesse for more comfort. They may have been crossing some sort of line by being this close, but it still felt so incredibly warm and inviting. The fact that he spoke such tender and sincere words about how he felt she was beautiful as is made it even more comfortable and warm for her. She knew right there that if the tour ended here, she'd be content simply staying this close to Jesse all day.
She sort of felt bad for thinking such things when Jesse was in a relationship with Quinn Fabray- a relationship that was likely heading down the aisle according to all the gossip magazines—but she couldn't help how she felt. Even though she didn't know very much about him, she still felt this strange sense of home whenever she was with him. Everything just felt safe and right with him and she didn't think she'd ever get enough of it. It was quickly making her develop even more feelings that would likely make things worse later on, but she couldn't bring herself to care as much as she should now that she was so close to him.
"Are you trying to make me blush, Jesse?" she asked, turning in his arms and giving him a playfully suspicious frown.
"Maybe a little," he replied with a chuckle. "But I mean every word."
"You're too good at that, you know," she said, reluctantly breaking away from him so she could change back into her dress.
"I wish you'd believe me," he said quietly, his tone more serious.
She paused with her hand on the door and nodded silently before heading in and changing into her dress. Once the dress was safely back on its hanger and she was back in her usual clothes, she placed it back on the rack and followed Jesse out of the building so they could head off towards their next destination.
On the other side of the lot, Quinn Fabray stood in front of the Tech building where she knew Finn stayed in between jobs on the lot. Looking down at the card he gave her that verified this was the right building, she pushed the door open and looked around for any sign of him. Spotting a young man with a strange hairstyle that looked like he had a dark strip of hair running down his head, she cleared her throat to attract his attention.
"Well hello, hello. If it isn't Quinn Fabray," he said smoothly, leaning against the desk. "What can I do you for?"
"Why does your head look like you've got a squirrel's tail running down it?" she asked, tilting her head curiously.
He sighed and ran his hand over his oddly styled hair.
"Lost a bet. The guys shaved part of my hair off as part of it," he explained. "But you know what? I think I make it look good."
Quinn raised an eyebrow and shook her head.
"Name's Puckerman. Noah Puckerman. But everyone around here just calls me Puck. You can call me the man of your dreams," he said smugly.
"Oh God, you're worse than Jesse," she muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Oh, St. James? He's got nothing on me," he shrugged. "You just wait and see. Someday I'm going to be the biggest male model around here and I'm going to get picked up by a football team when I try out. I'll be known all around the country and every girl will be screaming my name."
"Really, now?"
"Really, really."
Quinn chuckled and looked away from him for any sign of Finn.
"Anyway, what brings you down to the home of the technicians and stage hands?" he asked, drumming his fingers along the edge of the desk he was leaning against.
"I was hoping I could find Mr. Hudson," she said, running her thumb over the card in her hand.
"Finn?" he asked, raising his eyebrow curiously. "What on earth do you want from him?"
"It's not exactly any of your business, is it?" she asked, giving him a stern look.
Puck raised his hands to back down, not wanting to poke the dragon any further. Turning his head, he looked around for any sign of the guy and sighed when he couldn't see him.
"HUDSON!" he shouted, seeming too lazy to actually go find him.
Finn poked his head out from a door at the end of the room and looked around. When he spotted Quinn, he straightened up and ran his hand over his messy hair in an attempt to make himself look a little more put together.
"Quinn," he said with a half smile, walking over to her.
Puck glanced between Quinn and Finn suspiciously.
"I was hoping you could help me fix something?" she asked, running one of her hands over her perfectly curled hair.
"Sure," he nodded, following her out of the building.
When they were safely far away from Puck, she sighed with relief and began heading towards the commissary.
"Where are we going? What do you need fixed?" he asked, looking around in confusion.
"Finn…" Quinn sighed, turning back to look at him. "You should know by now that when I ask you to fix something for me, I don't actually mean that I want you to actually fix something."
"That's so confusing, though."
Quinn reached up to smooth the collar of his shirt and smiled up at his confusion.
"You're cute, you know," she muttered before turning away to continue walking.
"Where are we going, then?"
"I was thinking we could have some lunch?" she said as she pulled the door to the commissary open and went straight for the front desk.
After muttering a few words to the host, he left for a moment before returning with a basket filled with only what Finn could assume was food. Licking his lips, he put his hands in his pockets as he waited for her to come back to him. She thanked the host and returned to Finn's side before leading the way to another location.
"Let me take that," he offered, not giving her a chance to refuse. "Where are we going now?"
"I thought we could have a picnic in one of the unused studios," she explained.
"Some place far away where nobody can walk in and notice that we were actually together?" he asked with a raised brow.
Quinn bit her lip and gave him an apologetic look.
"It has to be this way for now," she insisted.
"Fine. Whatever," he shrugged, following her off to the empty studio.
Once they were safely within the confines of the empty studio, Quinn grabbed a blanket from the basket and placed it in the center of the stage as Finn worked at the lighting booth so they could actually see what they were doing. When it was all set up, they both sat down next to each other and she began unpacking the picnic basket.
"I got a deluxe burger for you because I know how big your appetite must be after all the hard work you do," she said as she handed the box of his food to him.
"Quinn… you didn't have to. I could have paid for it," he said in embarrassment.
"I didn't pay a dime for it. Food is free for me around here," she explained as she reached into the basket for the bottle of wine.
"Wine, too?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What else do you have your meals with?" she asked as she reached for the glasses and pouring them out for them.
"A coke is usually the standard," he muttered with a shrug.
"Mother always said that you can't have a meal without a glass of wine. It simply isn't healthy," she explained, handing him his glass and picking up hers.
"What's this for anyway? I thought our date was tomorrow night."
Quinn looked down and shrugged.
"I didn't want to be alone today," she explained quietly. "Think of it as a pre-date date."
Finn noticed that she seemed upset and figured that it was still over what happened yesterday.
"Okay. But tomorrow, I pay for dinner, okay?" he said, giving her a look that told her that he would not back down on the matter.
"Fine."
"Great."
They both tapped their wine glasses together before drinking from them.
Finn grabbed his burger and took a bite, groaning at how amazing it tasted. As he chewed on his first bite, though, he noticed that Quinn didn't have any food out for her.
"What are you gonna eat?" he asked after swallowing and wiping his face on a napkin.
"I had a big breakfast," she said quickly, bringing the glass of wine back to her lips.
Finn eyed her suspiciously. Something was definitely off. She didn't look him in the eye at all when she said that and quickly ducked her face in her wine glass afterwards.
"Well if you want half of my burger, you're welcome to it," he offered.
She shook her head and set the glass down.
"Have a bite," he insisted.
"I could never eat something like that," she said, eyeing the burger hungrily.
"Just one bite?"
Quinn bit her lip and looked up at him, knowing that she couldn't fight it any longer. Not only was he convincing, but she was absolutely starving.
"Just one bite," she said, leaning forward to take a nibble.
"There is no way that that's a bite," he said, continuing to hold it out so she could take a real bite.
Quinn rolled her eyes and took a large bite, causing the juices from the meat to dribble down her chin. Finn chuckled and reached his thumb to brush it off before bringing it to his lips to taste it.
"Now that was a real bite," he said, grabbing a napkin to wipe the rest off her chin.
Quinn shook her head and sighed, grabbing her wine glass for another sip. She knew that she'd probably punish herself later for allowing herself to eat such fattening food, but right now it all seemed worth it.
"Next on our grand tour is the rehearsal studio," Jesse said, pointing to the big building in front of them. "You'll grow to hate it like the rest of us eventually."
Rachel smiled and shook her head as she followed him inside the building.
There were so many rooms of different sizes, all complete with giant mirrors along the walls so they could get a perfect view of their dancing. Some rooms were big enough to hold hundreds of people, while others were small and intimate for a select few.
Jesse pulled her inside a smaller one and went straight for the shelf of records in the corner to find something to play on the record player next to it. When he heard Rachel wince, he peered over his shoulder back at her curiously.
"You alright?" he asked, walking over to her and sitting down next to her on the bench.
"I'm fine," she insisted as she stretched out her legs.
"Did you pull something?" he asked, looking down at her feet.
"No… my feet just hurt. All the walking we did, you know?"
Jesse sighed and shook his head as he dropped down to his knees in front of her.
"You should have worn more comfortable shoes, you know," he said as he pulled off her heels and set them aside.
Rachel watching as Jesse grabbed one of her feet and began rubbing it to ease the pain she was feeling. Leaning back against the wall behind her, she smiled down at him and couldn't believe that he was actually doing this for her. He wasn't like all the other stars she had heard about—at least not with her.
"You don't have to do this for me, you know," she muttered as he grabbed her other foot and began giving it just as much attention as the first.
"It's no problem," he shrugged as he continued to massage her feet. "Does that feel good?"
Rachel looked down at him and bit her lip at his question. It was a simple question, and yet it filled her with so much desire for him that she knew was completely inappropriate. She knew that such thoughts were natural, but they weren't even together. He was even in a relationship with someone else. It simply wasn't right at all. Still, she couldn't bring herself to stifle the moan that escaped her lips in response to his question.
"Feels amazing," she murmured. "Thank you."
Jesse's mouth watered uncontrollably at the sound of her moan. If he hadn't already wanted her before, he did right now. But he knew that now was definitely not the right time for that. Things had to be done the right way if he wanted to be with her in any way, shape, or form.
"Better now?" he asked, looking up at her with a smile.
"Much."
Letting go of her feet, he nodded and pushed himself back up so he could resume his search for some music for them to dance to. He smiled when he found some dance orchestra music and slipped the record out of its case. Flipping it around in his hands, he carefully placed it on the turntable and placed the needle where it needed to be to start the music.
"May I have this dance, Ms. Berry?" he asked, holding out his hand for her to grab.
"Oh but of course," she replied, grabbing it and spinning in his arms so that she was against his chest once more.
He placed his hand at her waist and held her close as they began doing some of the popular steps that were the biggest craze right now. He knew them like the back of his hand because he had to learn them for many of the musicals he had done with Quinn. Rachel was able to keep up with his fast paced steps with ease because she had put just as much practice into her own dancing in an attempt to break free from her status as a chorus girl. All the work paid off incredibly.
They laughed as they danced easily to the song. When it was over, Jesse dipped her and found himself staring into her eyes for longer than he probably should. She was too busy being entranced by his eyes to notice.
"I really can't wait to work with you," he admitted as he pulled her back up to her feet.
"It's going to be quite an experience for me," she confessed, running her hands over her dress to smooth it out. "Getting to work with the star of MGM, himself."
"Oh please," Jesse muttered, moving over to the record player to replace it with something else.
Once he had the new record in place, he turned it on and the sound of a much softer tune filled the rehearsal space. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him so they could dance together slowly.
"Rachel, I am a star, but I don't want you to think of me as someone who is above you. We're equals now. As a matter of fact, given your incredible talent, we've always been equals."
"Thank you," she murmured before he twirled her slowly and pulled her back to him.
Jesse smiled and pulled her closer so they could dance more intimately.
"I really like you, Rachel," he murmured, looking down at her with eyes of affection.
Rachel looked up at him and could tell that he meant something much deeper than just normally liking a person. The look in his eyes and the softness in his voice said it all. He was actually interested in her in a way that one was when they were falling for someone.
"You do?" she asked, unable to break their eye contact even if she wanted to.
"I really do," he whispered. "Let me take you out to dinner."
Rachel's eyes widened as she processed the fact that Jesse St. James had actually asked her out on a date. She wanted so badly to just say yes, but the thought of his relationship status made it impossible.
"Jesse…" she murmured, pulling away from him and heading back over towards the bench.
Jesse's heart dropped as she pulled away from him. He followed after her and sat next to her as he waited for her to continue.
"What about Quinn?" she asked, looking over at him sadly.
At the mention of Quinn, Jesse sighed in relief and chuckled.
Rachel raised a confused brow at him, feeling completely baffled as to why he'd laugh right now.
"There's nothing going on between me and Quinn," he said, leaning his head back against the wall and looking over at the brunette.
"What do you mean? There's all this talk about the two of you possibly getting married and you didn't exactly deny it earlier," she said, crossing her arms.
"It's a sham, Rachel," he explained. "The studio thought it would be great publicity if their leading couple dated. The press ate it up."
Rachel gasped at the revelation and looked back at him for any sign that he was messing with her, but he looked completely sincere.
"So you want to secretly date?" she asked quietly, feeling sadness start to rise inside of her at the thought of being Jesse's secret.
"No," Jesse murmured, moving closer to her. "I don't want to hide. Let me deal with Quinn. Just go out with me?"
Rachel bit her lower lip as she quickly thought it out. Who was she kidding? There was no way that she could say no to such a night with the guy whom she felt herself falling for.
"Okay," she murmured.
"Tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully.
"Tomorrow would be lovely," she nodded.
Jesse smiled and leaned in to kiss her cheek, but Rachel touched her hand to his face and moved his lips to hers. The kiss was short and sweet, but it still made fireworks explode beneath her eyelids. Pulling away slightly, she licked her lips and looked up into his eyes. It was definitely not the proper behavior a lady should be displaying, but Rachel didn't really care for what was conventional right now.
"That was good," Jesse whispered, licking his lips.
She smiled and looked down before getting up and grabbing his hand so they could dance to another song.
"If our date goes well enough, you might just get another one tomorrow night," she winked.