A/N: I'd like to thank oxymoron8 for constantly giving good feedback consistently. THANKS
When the plane touched down, the sun had already set. The airport was bustling with thousands of people who were trying to catch their flights. Rachel and Kurt were in awe of the number of people. There wasn't even a fraction of this many people at the Lima airport. After getting over the initial shock, they made their way over to baggage claim where Rachel picked up her bright pink and star covered luggage set, which caused Kurt and the rest of the airport to heavily judge her. Kurt's heaved his designer black travel bag over his shoulder and followed Rachel out to the airport entrance.
"Maybe they'll be a person waiting for us holding a sign with your name on it, like on TV." said Kurt.
"JUST LIKE THAT!" Rachel squealed with delight as she spotted out a limo driver holding a sign that said, 'Rachel Berry'.
The trip to the hotel from the airport felt like a scene out of a cheesy teen movie. All they needed was a song to be playing in the background as they pointed at the sights that they had only seen in pictures and movies. They spotted a few clubs that Kurt had spoken about before. This made Rachel a little nervous, and Kurt more excited. He was talking about their night club plans straight up until the limo pulled up to the hotel entrance. Thankfully, the glamorous hotel caused Kurt to lose his train of thought in sheer awe.
They ran up to the front desk, where they were greeted and shown up to their suite. They each had a room with their own king sized beds and Rachel's room was complete with a balcony. The radio station and Big Machine Records seemed to have pulled out all of the stops with her luxurious prize. Rachel ran into her room to jump on her bed, but stopped when she saw all of the merchandise on her bed. There were autographed lithograph pictures, Taylor Swift dolls, a vinyl version of Speak Now, a Speak Now throw blanket, Speak Now tour shirts, Covergirl Natureluxe makeup, and a Sony panoramic camera that Taylor endorsed. Rachel was testing out her Natureluxe lip gloss when Kurt ran into her room.
"OH MY GOD YOU HAVE THEM TOO!" he shouted, at the sight of her prizes covering her bed.
They danced around her room for the next twenty minutes as Speak Now played on Kurt's laptop. They felt as though they were on top of the world. After their dance party, Kurt rummaged through Rachel's luggage to find an outfit for the club that night.
"Kurt, I don't know if I'm ready." she said tentatively.
"Nonsense. You need to rip the Finn band aid off and get out there. Here, this dress will work tonight. Now remember, it's a masquerade theme, so you'll wear it with this." he said, handing her a black and red sequined mask that just covered her eyes. It had small feathers on the sides for full affect. Rachel smiled because she thought it was gorgeous.
"You win." she said, taking her sparkly red one shoulder dress from his hands. She dressed in the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror. She exhaled a deep breath, trying to rid her mind of the pain Finn caused her. Tonight, she will.
Jesse sat on the stage of his school's theatre, tuning out as his show's director gave the cast a pep talk. They had just finished their last dress rehearsal and were all ready to bring the house down the day after tomorrow. He was confident, perhaps too confident, that he would make the audience swoon with his performances. He was glad that rehearsals were finally over, because he really needed to get out and get a serious drink. Being under age never stopped Jesse before, and it won't stop him tonight.
"Ok guys, you know the rules. No partying tonight or tomorrow night. No drinking. It damages the voice." the director said.
Jesse rolled his eyes. He had gotten away with it before, and he will again. His cousin Victoria owned a club in the area that was hosting a masquerade themed party that night. He promised her that he wouldn't miss it, and he needed to get away from his naive co-stars anyway. They didn't have a real clue about what was in store for them when they got out into the real world of acting. Neither of them were driven enough to get there either. In his life, he had only met one other person who had the drive that he did… He shook his head, hoping that the thoughts of her would just fly out of his mind, but the effort was useless. He kept hearing Shelby telling him to move on in his head.
Tonight, he will.
He dressed himself in a black button shirt, and a red vest. Looking at his reflection, he felt as though he were about to perform for Vocal Adrenaline again. It was something Shelby would have definitely picked out for the guys. To break the VA vibe that he had going on, he put his black mask on. He thought of going with a white and black color scheme, but it was too Phantom of the Opera. That and he just looked really good in red and black. There was no doubt in his mind that he would turn heads. He felt as though the old Jesse St. James was surfacing as he planned out his night. The wild, pompous side of him he tried to leave behind after his last Vocal Adrenaline win was shining through. He said goodbye to this side of him after it cost him the most precious thing he had ever had. But what did it matter now, she was gone.
He drove over to the club and jumped to the front of the line. The bouncer recognized him and let him in without a single word. The dance floor was filled with people ranging from 17-21, who were all hidden behind their masks. Jesse smiled. Tonight he could be anyone he wanted, and it wouldn't matter tomorrow. He walked over to the bar and the bartender gave him alcohol without a problem. This was because the bartender was his cousin Victoria. Three shots in, and he was starting to feel good enough to scope out the territory.
Territory? This was definitely the old Jesse taking over. He didn't know how he felt about that, but the alcohol was taking over and he didn't care. He had another shot for good measure, and started dancing with the first girl he saw. She was a terrible dancer, so he looked around to see who else he could dance with. Off in the distance he spotted a petite girl with flowing brown hair dancing with a guy.
There was something about her that made his body tingle. Her face was covered with her red and black sequined mask, but he was enamored by the rest of her. She wore a sparkly red and black dress that fell above her knees. She was short, but her legs were long and perfectly shaped. She moved with such grace, leading him to believe that she must have taken years of dance lessons. She almost reminded him of…. no, he was here to forget about her. Rachel was in Ohio, probably rehearsing for another competition. But this girl, she had something to her that just screamed Rachel Berry.
He was about to go over and cut in, when his cousin tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jesse, sorry to get in the way of your dancing, but can you start the karaoke? Get some people into it, you know, get them to have fun." asked Victoria.
Jesse looked around to see where the girl was, and saw her sitting at the bar with the same guy she was dancing with. Were they together? He had to have one dance with her. He watched her tense up before drinking something. She couldn't have been a day older than eighteen, if that much. The drinking limit was really not being enforced tonight, but he was benefitting from it so he didn't care.
"Uhh, Jesse?" Victoria said, waving her hands in front of his face.
He blinked a few times before snapping back to reality.
"Yeah, of course." he said with a smile.
He walked up to the mini stage, where the DJ stood at his post. He glanced through the music selection and found something he liked. This Taylor Swift show he was working on was really getting to him, because the song he chose was featured on her latest album. He turned to the mic, and looked out at the crowd. He saw her there, on the side of the crowd, looking up at him. Their eyes connected magnetically, as if they were made to look into each other.
Jesse cleared his throat.
"Everyone having a good time tonight?" he said loudly.
The masked crowd cheered enthusiastically.
He smiled, which caused a number of girls in the crowd to swoon. Even with half of his face covered, he still had the power. The old Jesse enjoyed this.
"So tonight, we're starting up our new karaoke system and we need some people to help get it started. Any brave souls in the audience tonight care to volunteer?" he said.
The crowd was tentative.
Jesse looked over to his mystery girl and was pleased to see that the guy she came with was pressuring her into singing. She looked nervous. He knew just what to do.
"Come on, I'll make this easy. Whoever volunteers gets to sing a duet with me."
At that, girls started to push their way to the front for the chance. Jesse picked up another microphone and jumped off the stage, scanning the crowd.
"I'll pick my partner."
He walked over in the direction of the girl in the red and black sparkly dress and stopped right in front of her. The dim lights in the club made it difficult to really make out her facial features that weren't covered by her mask. He could see that her lips were perfectly covered in bright red lipstick. Her hair was curled, with a side part swept over part of her face. She was intoxicating.
"How about….you?" he asked her, praying she wouldn't say no.
She looked up at the karaoke screen and smiled when she saw the title of the karaoke track that was waiting to be played. She took the microphone from his hands and said, "Try to keep up!" as she walked ahead of him and onto the stage.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at her, impressed with her confidence. He jumped on the stage as the music started up. She danced center stage, as if tempting him to steal her spotlight.
"Challenge accepted", he thought.
A/N: Jesse is italics, she is bold. Both are bold italics.
The way you move is like a full-on rainstorm
And I'm a house of cards
You're the kind of reckless that should
Send me running but
I kinda know that I won't get far
And you stood there in front of me
Just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
She danced around him before taking center stage. She seemed to glow in the spotlight.
My mind forgets to remind me
You're a bad idea
She danced over to him and he twirled her. Electricity flowed between them as they touched.
You touch me once and it's really something
You find I'm even better than
You imagined I would be
I'm on my guard for the rest of the world, but with you
I know it's no good
And I could wait patiently
But I really wish you would
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
She danced around him with her arms in the air, her hips swaying in time with the music.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
He offered out his hand and they danced together across the small stage. He didn't know her, but it felt so right. He felt as though he had known her for a long time. Their bodies fit together perfectly as they danced. They had such obvious chemistry that the crowd was cheering and clapping for them.
She jumped into his arms and he lifted her in the air. She ran her hands through his hair as the lights started to flash in time with the beat.
I'll run my fingers through your hair
And watch the lights go wild
Just keep on keeping your eyes on me
It's just wrong enough to make it feel right
And lead me up the staircase
Won't you whisper soft and slow
I'm captivated by you baby like a fireworks show
She peeled herself off him and stepped back slowly, tempting him to follow.
Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
He gave into the temptation and followed over to dance with her as they finished the song.
Get me with those green eyes baby
As the lights go down
Give me something that'll haunt me when you're not around
Cause I see sparks fly
Whenever you smile
Sparks fly,
oh baby smile
And the sparks fly.
The crowd went insane over them, cheering for an encore. Jesse looked over at the girl and saw that she was basking in the applause as much as he was. He wanted to talk to her so bad. The encore would have to wait.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" he shouted over the crowd's cheers.
The cheering died down as more dance music started up again.
She smiled slyly and said, "Isn't the purpose masquerade night to hide your identity?"
Jesse crossed his arms with a smile.
"Sometimes you have to make an exception, don't you think?" he asked.
She looked away at the guy she was dancing with in the crowd.
"Are you with him?" he asked, praying she wasn't.
She whipped her head back quickly and laughed.
"No, definitely not."
He felt like dancing. What was this? Old Jesse would definitely not approve of this.
"Let me buy you a drink?" he asked with his signature smile. It worked on everyone.
Her smile faded. She looked as though she were fighting something internally. She took a step closer to him to take a closer look, but stepped back nervously.
"I have to go." she said quickly.
Those words made him start to internally panic. He couldn't let her go. He had to see her face fully, he had to know her name. He reached over and grabbed her hands. They were so soft, and so familiar.
"You obviously really like Taylor Swift. You knew all the words like you had sung this song in front of a mirror a thousand times."
She looked down, blushing with embarrassment.
"I know you have to go, but I have a show that I'm in that is full of her songs. I'm playing the male lead. Its over at UCLA, and opening night is the night after tomorrow at 8PM. If you want to see me again, then show up."
She looked uneasy.
"Listen, there will be two tickets available for you in the box office. Just give me your name."
She bit her lip.
"Abigail…. Yeah, Abigail….Jones." she said quickly.
Jesse folded his arms again, suspiciously. But he'll play her game.
"Alright, Abigail Jones, there will be a seat for you and your friend waiting at the box office. I hope you'll show up." he said with a knowing smile, before kissing her hand.
That seemed to be too much for her and she ran off the stage and grabbed her friend before running out of the club. He stood there in the middle of the stage, feeling totally and absolutely wonderstruck.
