AN: I will make this as short as possible. It might not be short, though x)
First off… OMFG, I LOVE YOU GUYS! I… 58 reviews? I'm dying. I'm DYING. YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME. I don't deserve this. Really, I don't. I'm sorry this took so long, I've been ridonculously busy lately, this is the first free moment I've had in a while. I literally JUST watched Born This Way. And the prom promo… AHHHHHHH, JESSE!
In response to some constructive criticism (that honestly, sounded more like a flame. I can take criticism well when it's put nicely, I have before. I always thank them and listen. But this was a flame. 'incredibly immature' is not constructive): I don't hate Sunshine. She's like a second Rachel, and I adore Rachel. Her comment about being better than everyone had me cracking up. I'm just trying to make it realistic; I feel like Sunshine, as she's perky and nice, wouldn't fit in with VA. And honestly, if I were her, I'd hate Rachel. I hadn't seen NON yet, so I had no clue she'd be civil. I am not bashing Sunshine, I love that chick. Kthanxbai.
Enough of that noise, you guys wanted this chapter, and your wish is my command!
Jesse stood up and looked Sunshine dead in the eye. "Listen, Sunshine, I know what this is about. Don't worry, we don't plan on replacing you with Rachel. She's not joining, and even if she was, you'd still be lead. We're cruel, but you've earned that with your hard work." Rachel knew Jesse was lying, but Sunshine looked appeased, which was really all that mattered, in the end. "I'm not going to choose between the two of you, because you're my female lead, and she's Rachel. It's as simple as that."
Sunshine frowned. "Jesse, I'm serious—"
"No, you're not. You're bluffing and you hope I buy it. Honestly, though, you ought to have known better. I'm not stupid. Though you were very convincing. Have you ever thought of acting?" He then smiled charmingly. "Don't worry, Rachel isn't trying out. Besides, Sunshine. You're irreplaceable."
That seemed to do the job. She smiled brightly. "Thanks, Jesse. I guess I was being ridiculous."
Rachel was shocked. She knew Sunshine had a crush on Jesse, but honestly… He was being downright manipulative. It was a sad reminder of just how… Jesse he could be. For the last few hours he had been the sweet, kind, gentle Jesse she had always seen when they were alone. But now she was reminded of the boy who broke her heart. It was almost scary. And it was entirely too much.
Rachel picked her bag off the ground, flung it over her shoulder, and walked as fast as she could on her injured ankle out of the cafeteria. There was about two minutes till class and she would take this time to find her class, as she didn't want Jesse as her personal tour guide at the moment. As she hobbled painfully down the hall, she regretted the decision to leave her crutches at home.
Rachel glanced down at her schedule and bit her lip. English, room D205. Well, as she was right next to D103, it couldn't be far. But she did have to take the stairs. Fantastic. She started to her classroom, reaching the door just as the bell rang.
"Hello, I'm Rachel, Rachel Berry," she said happily, sticking her hand out to shake the teacher's. The woman smiled and offered her hand, her bangles clanging down her wrist as she gave Rachel's a firm squeeze. The teacher, although dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt (teachers dressed surprisingly casual at Carmel) had a very hippie-dippie vibe about her, as did the entire classroom. The desks were arranged in a small circle, and outside, lined against the wall, were squashy old couches and brightly-colored bean bag chairs. The teacher's desk was cluttered and Rachel felt a strong urge to organize it. This class was definitely going to be interesting.
"I'm Ms. Sterling," the woman replied kindly. "Please, take a seat anywhere." Rachel took a desk as far back as possible, hoping to stay out of the spotlight, just for now. She wanted to have a little time to think.
The class slowly started filing in. They all sat in random seats next to their friends, chatting happily as they waited for the final bell to ring. A boy with curly black hair took a seat next to Rachel and offered a friendly smile.
"I like your cast. The gold stars are a nice touch," he complimented. Rachel beamed and extended her arm, showing off the cast proudly.
"Thank you! Nobody really appreciates my gold star metaphor nowadays," she mused, watching the stickers reflect in the light.
"Well, I think metaphors are very important," the boy informed her. "I'm Blaine Anderson."
"Rachel Berry, it's nice to meet you," she smiled. Finally, someone else who understood the importance of metaphors. She thought that Jesse understood, too, but pushed him in the back of her mind. She couldn't stop the frown that crossed her face, though, and unfortunately, Blaine noticed.
"Doesn't seem too nice," he joked.
"Hmm? Oh, no, it's not you, don't worry!" she assured. "I was just… thinking."
"What's wrong?" he asked. Rachel smiled in appreciation. He seemed genuinely concerned, he wasn't just asking because he felt morally obligated.
"It's just boy troubles, it's not important," she said, not wanting to dump all her troubles on some boy she had just met.
"It is important. You came to the right guy, too. I'm gay, I completely understand guy troubles," he informed her with a wry smile. Rachel made a note to introduce him to Kurt.
"There's a guy. We used to date, and it ended very badly. He essentially broke my heart. It was a trauma that I'll carry with me the rest of my life," she started, deciding that having someone to vent to would be healthy for her. "And—"
Suddenly, someone was sitting at the table beside her. Rachel turned, and was surprised to see Sunshine.
"Don't look so shocked, it was the only table open," she said wearily. "What was with the storm-out?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Rachel said quietly, biting her lip to keep from saying especially not with you.
"Come on!" Sunshine whined, and Rachel was reminded shockingly of herself, but the shorter girl was a bit too petulant. "You and Jesse have been hiding things all day. Don't I get to know?"
"It's very personal, and you won't like seeing Jesse cast in that light," Rachel admitted. "Jesse is a great guy, don't get me wrong, and I don't think he would do anything like it again— he's changed, and he regrets his actions."
"Jesse St. James is that guy?" Blaine whistled lowly. "Lucky girl."
Rachel laughed lightly. She was lucky, to have such a great guy in her life. Even if he was manipulative. Her laughter faded. "Yeah, I am. I think I am. I'm not sure."
"What makes you unsure?" Sunshine asked. "I'd kill to have Jesse act to me like he does to you. You're very lucky."
Rachel sighed and twisted her fingers on the desk, which was awkward due to her cast. "Now it seems I am. And I was before. But for a long time I wasn't." She sighed again.
"Will you stop being so cryptic?" Sunshine begged. "I'm in suspense, here!"
It was a hard decision— Sunshine was being so civil, and Blaine was obviously there to listen, so why shouldn't she tell them? Not even her dads knew, they just knew her breakup with Jesse had been harsh. If it hadn't been for Noah finding her in the parking lot, nobody in New Directions would have found out. It was hard to talk about.
"It was last year," she began. "I was just getting out of a bad relationship— with Finn, he's the tall goofy kid?" Sunshine nodded. "And I was very upset. The next day, I met Jesse…. Or was it the same day? It was over a year ago. Dates are fuzzy, but I can remember meeting him very well. It was in the music shop. The one on the corner of Mast and Bonita?" Both Blaine and Sunshine nodded this time. "I was looking for a song for my glee assignment. I was looking through a Lionel Richie book, and I had just found the perfect song—"
"Hello?" Sunshine asked in shock. When Rachel nodded, she added, "That explains so much! I tried to sing it for a solo, and Jesse flipped. He marched onstage and demanded I stop immediately."
"It's kind of our song," Rachel admitted, "it was the first time we'd ever sang together. It's hard for me to listen to it, sometimes. I can understand why it would be hard for him. Anyway, we sang, and it was magical. We agreed to meet again. I was so excited, I was finally moving on from Finn. God, I can't stand Finn." She shook her head angrily. "He dumped me so he could go on a date with a couple of slutty cheerleaders. ((AN: I hate that guy, too. UGH.)) Jesse was so much better. But when Finn found out, he told the glee club and they threatened to kick me out. Jesse kept our relationship secret for a while. The star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, without the tragic ending!" She scoffed. "Well, that's what I thought. Jesse eventually left Vocal Adrenaline; he said it was to be with me. And we had an amazing time. I made a small mistake, though. I made a scandalous music video to 'Run, Joey, Run'—"
"That's why he hates that song!" Sunshine burst in. "Goodness, did you leave him with any music?"
"Yes," Rachel replied dryly, "I left him with Queen. That's how he broke up with me, you know. To this day, I can't stand to listen to 'Another One Bites the Dust'. Anyway, I triple-casted him as Joey along with two of my ex-boyfriends. He didn't like that."
"I can see why," Blaine said reasonably, though his voice held no judgement.
"The assignment was 'bad reputation'. I thought that was bad enough," Rachel pouted. "And it's not like I don't regret it. Anyway, he left for a while. When he came back, though, everything was perfect…." Rachel paused, remembering her promise to Shelby to keep things quiet. "And then out of nowhere, he was in our auditorium with the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. He had transferred back, and he was dumping me. His team performed to freak us out, and tee-peed our choir room. He had been using me. I was an acting exercise for him. It infuriated me for the longest time. I was pretty bent out of shape about it. I wanted him to get eaten by a lion."
"I would, too," Sunshine said, her brow furrowed. "But that sounds nothing like Jesse."
"If you think that sounds nothing like Jesse, just wait until you hear the next part. He… He called me, and," she swallowed, "he told me to meet him in the parking lot. And I did. And he looked so happy to see me, I just ran toward him… But the rest of Vocal Adrenaline came out of hiding. And they all threw eggs at me." She closed her eyes tight as both Blaine and Sunshine let out soft gasps of shock. "Jesse had told them I was vegan, so it was so much more cruel. I hadn't talked to him since. At least not until I came here." Rachel exhaled slowly. "And now we've come full circle."
Sunshine looked sympathetic. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe he would do that to you."
"Honestly, what is there to think about?" Blaine asked. "He sounds like a class-A jerk."
"But he's more than that," Rachel sighed. "I know Jesse. I could see past his showface, I always suspected something was up…. But I know deep down, he's great. He's sensitive, and kind, and he went to a Wiggles concert with me. A Wiggles concert! And he loved it! He even wanted the Care Bear I gave him. And he's the only boy I've ever met that really understands. It's not his fault he has… manipulative tendencies. His parents are awful, they're never there, he's always had to fend for himself."
"Well, I can see where you would be confused," Blaine said slowly. Sunshine nodded slowly, looking just as troubled as Rachel felt. She had some serious thinking to do.
Okay, couple more things.
ONE SUPER IMPORTANT THING: WILL SOMEONE HELP ME CO-WRITE THE SONGS? I can't do it on my own. I need help.
Second thing, yeah, I brought in Blaine. I thought it'd be nice to have him prominent in the story, as I love Darren Criss. Supermegafoxyawesomehot.
Ten reviews, people!
Cheers!
Harlot
