Thanks for reviews and stuff!
And now, the man we all came to see, Puck, is in this very chapter!
P.S: I stole the song lyrics from a poem called "Love Doesn't Make You Fat" from a poetry website I'm evidently not allowed to put here because this clever website deleted part of my sentence *roll eyes.*
The next morning, head bursting with information about their marriage but still not memories, it only took Rachel ten minutes to find the living room after her shower, where Jesse had suggested she relax for the day. Upon entering the lavishly decorated room, her eyes fell first upon a note that had been left upon the mahogany coffee table. She walked over and picked it up.
Honey, I figured you might want to see your show, so I left the DVD in the player. Also, your new car will be arriving at about noon, though no worries if you don't feel like driving it yet. All my love, Jesse xxx
New car? Rachel didn't drive. What little money she had in what she now called her past life was spent on getting to and from auditions. She had never been able to find the fifty dollars per lesson people had been expecting her to pay, and anyway, if she did, she wouldn't be able to buy a car to do it in. It was on her list, but not above getting a job. And a boyfriend.
Though, now she guessed she actually had a man in her life, and a job, it was time she tackled driving. Hang on, what if she actually could drive? She must have learnt at some point, and it was probably like riding a bike! She was sure that once she got in the car it would come to her in a flash.
But noon was an hour and a half away. Time to watch the DVD, then, she supposed.
She picked up the DVD case that was sitting next to the –huge- TV, and glanced at the title. "Any Way the Wind Blows: A Musical by Jesse St. James." (A/n: Woo for you, GleeFreak-VampireChik!) Switching on the TV, she sat back on the couch and pressed play.
The stage was bathed in a red light, and Rachel stood alone on it, a single spotlight over her. She lifted her head and started singing.
'Everybody's counting calories,
Shedding those extra pounds;
They're exercising, compromising,
Making the rounds;
There's a super hit sensation
That will keep your tummy flat;
If there's one thing I know for sure,
Love doesn't make you fat.'
Rachel felt a blush come over her as she watched another actor in the show walk up to her and start kissing her rapturously, singing between kisses. This musical was certainly... different. Maybe all musicals were like this now? What happened to the days of Spring Awakening and Legally Blonde? However she couldn't tear her eyes from the screen, and ended up watching herself sing and makeout with every other character she could get her hands on, it seemed. It wasn't really the kind of musical she was used to. But as it finished, and she watched the curtain fall on her and Santana making out on the floor of the stage, the audience seemed to be lapping it up, screaming and giving her a standing ovation as she came back out for her curtain call.
It was 1pm before she got up again, and as she glanced at the clock, she realised her car must be here! She snatched up her phone, kind of excited, and headed for the front door, where a letter and some keys had been pushed halfway through the letterbox.
Mrs. Berry
Your car is in the ground floor car park, license plate 5318008
Enjoy
Privilege Car Sales
Heart racing like a kid on Christmas, she took the elevator down to the ground floor, to the nearly deserted car park; empty save for one guy just coming through the gates.
Upon spotting the car that matched her license number, she felt like jumping around. She had always wanted a BMW! And since she had convinced herself she could drive now...
She climbed in, grinning, and sat in the drivers' seat. As she pushed the keys into the ignition and the engine started with a satisfying roar, she tried to remember what she had seen of people driving in the past, sure that after the first step, it would all come automatically to her. She pulled the gearshift, with some difficulty, into reverse, and pulled out of the parking space. This was easy enough...
Okay, what next? Turning? She cautiously pulled the steering wheel to the right, glancing to the side as she did so. The car turned. This was easy enough, and she had the whole empty car park to get used to it. She decided to drive to the other end of the car park.
The car was a smooth drive, so she felt comfortable edging up the speed a little. As the wall at the other side of the car park came closer, she tried to go slower, but couldn't remember which pedal it was that did that... This one? Shit, that just made it go faster. Um... Oh God, the wall was getting closer, how the Hell did she stop it? As a last resort, she pulled the steering wheel to the side again, turning harshly to the side, jerking her body to the left as she did so. Her shoulder bumped painfully against the inside of the car, and she let out a scream as the car started turning in circles.
'Oh my God...' She forced herself to keep her eyes open as she tried to stop the car. She started the radio, started the windshield wipers and somehow put the air con on, but the car didn't slow down. After turning the windshield wipers off by some divine miracle, she saw a guy standing close to the car, seemingly shouting at her. She strained her ears to hear.
'What?'
'The fucking handbrake!' He yelled, backing away as the car spiralled dangerously close to him. 'Pull the handbrake!'
Rachel looked down and saw what she assumed was the handbrake. Gritting her teeth as she pulled on it, she shut her eyes as the car came to a very sudden and ungraceful stop. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see the guy opening the car door for her.
'What the Hell?' he asked, pulling her out of the car. 'Do you even know how to drive?'
'I thought I could...' The hysterics were setting in. 'I don't know what happened...'
'You nearly killed yourself, again,' he said angrily.
'Again?' Rachel glanced up at him. 'Do I know you?'
The guy looked down. 'You used to.'
'I'm sorry; I'm really bad at this, y'know, amnesia. What's your name?'
'Noah.' He grunted. Rachel glanced him up and down, her nerves finally calming down. She knew this wasn't what she should be thinking about but, this guy was hot. He had smouldering dark eyes, was dressed finely in just jeans and a white t-shirt, and the way he towered over her a little made her feel both intimidated and safe.
'Noah... Are you one of Jesse's friends?'
'Kind of.'
'You're not being very specific.'
'Well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you who I was.'
'Try me.'
'No.' He nudged her arm, moving her out of the way. 'Let me park this before you try and erase another fucking five years of your memory.'
'Excuse me?'
But he had already closed the door and had started driving smoothly back towards the parking spot where Rachel had found it. She hurried after him, standing next to the car as he got out.
'Were we friends?' She chanced.
'You could say that.'
'What, did we have a fight?'
'No.'
'Then what happened?'
'We... Jesse, just... Fuck it. I can't tell you, not yet. I only came here to see if what everyone was talking about was right. I have no other reason to be here.' He turned and started walking off, leaving Rachel standing wide-eyed and confused.
That evening
Rachel couldn't stop thinking about this Noah all evening, even as Jesse started telling her about the ins and outs of their jobs.
'Jesse,' she cut him off midsentence. 'Who's Noah?'
'Noah? Why, do you remember him?' He looked slightly hopeful.
'No. I bumped into him today. I asked him how I knew him but he was very vague.'
'He's like that. He plays drums onstage for your show, and every so often he does these charity concerts with me. You two became quite close; actually, I wasn't expecting it.'
'Oh.'
'Oh, I forgot, honey, they want you back at the theatre tomorrow, did you see the DVD?'
'Yes. I have to say, I found it all very... inventive.'
'Thanks.' Jesse looked smug. 'It's a totally new genre of musical theatre, I developed it myself. Well, with Andrew Lloyd Weber but that man is all cats, Jesus and facial deformities, honestly.'
'Wow.'
'So, as you'll have seen in the marriage manual, you're expected there at 1:45pm, can you do that?'
'Yeah. Wait, I'm not expected to go on, am I?'
'Angel, you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with! Your understudy, Brittany, has been going on for you this past week but believe me, she is nothing on you!'
'Oh, okay. Good.' Rachel bit her lip. 'Actually, speaking of the marriage manual, there was something I wanted to ask you about.'
'What is it?'
'Well...' Rachel felt uncomfortable mentioning it, but had to say it. 'Those four pages you wrote on our sexual activities... Um, is it always like that?'
'More often than not. Why?'
'Oh, it was just... routine, that was all.'
'Well, we spent months honing our activities to the most efficient time and length for both of us, and we've always found it good.'
'Okay...' When Rachel had lost her virginity, it had been to Finn in the back of his car. And every other hook up after that, well most of them had been as awkward as her first time, but different nonetheless. What happened to variety? Spontaneity? This marriage thing was getting less exciting, it seemed, the more she found out about it.
'Why do you ask, do you feel like you want to...?'
'Oh! Um,' Rachel panicked inside. She didn't want to have sex with this total stranger! As attractive as he was... 'Not tonight. I've had a kind of busy day. I think I'll probably go to bed now. Alone.' She added hastily. 'Night.'
'Goodnight.' Jesse kissed her head as she got up and started to leave. 'I love you.'
She could only smile as she left.
I know it wasn't much of the Puckarone, but it was some, and I probably made it quite obvious what his kind of role in the story is (more obvious to those who have read the novel, of course).
Reviews are the Zefron poster to my Dumbledore! (Mad props if you get this reference!)
JTPH
Xxx
P.S: Okay, do you want one long action packed chapter next time, or should I split it into two easily digestible chunks?
