A/N: It appears I have a bad habit of writing stories and then forgetting about them. I wrote this before the last two parts of the Choke series, but delayed posting it because, well, I forgot about it until I had a chance to go through the documents on my computer. As I said in the A/N of my other in-progress story, life has been kind of hectic lately, so I haven't had much time for writing...but I will do my best to keep both stories updated regularly since I know there are a bunch of you who loyally read and review either this story or A New Beginning, or both.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story and decide to review as well :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Everything I do (I do it for you) :(

After dismissing his team for the night and finding himself unable to concentrate, Jesse decided to make use of the empty auditorium. At least he thought it was empty. He was yet unaware of a petite brunette who was hiding up in the balcony, watching him from a distance. Making his way to the stage, he took a seat at the piano that was currently sitting in the middle of it. He suddenly remembered a song he'd memorized just so he could play it for Rachel, nearly two years ago now. He'd heard about what had happened in his absence, and he'd intended to show Hudson the real way to serenade a girl. He never got that chance. Shelby had become impatient, and Rachel had clearly not yet let go of her, in his opinion, silly crush on a certain football player. Hoping that by finally playing the song, regardless of the fact that the girl he wanted to hear it wasn't present, at least to his knowledge, he would be able to let it go, he decided to go ahead and play it.

Look into my eyes - you will see
What you mean to me
Search your heart, search your soul
And when you find me there you'll search no more

Up in the balcony, Rachel felt her heart lurch as she listened to Jesse sing. It had been far too long since she'd heard his voice and it still affected her the same way it had the first time she'd heard it. He had an amazing voice, which he was well aware of, and he'd shown her long ago that he wasn't the soulless automaton that most people thought he was. She'd gotten a glimpse of the real Jesse St. James and she'd tossed it away on a silly schoolgirl crush.

Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

Even though he didn't think he had an audience, Jesse still felt the need to pour everything he had into the song, still silently wishing he had been able to sing it to Rachel. To show her that he was serious about her. To prove that he was sincere when he told her that he loved her. He'd wanted so badly to tell her the truth-that his declaration of love wasn't meant to be in the past tense, but the present instead, but he'd been unable to stand up to Shelby or his team…and unable to compete with the lure of popularity.

Look into your heart - you will find
There's nothin' there to hide
Take me as I am, take my life
I would give it all, I would sacrifice

As Rachel listened to the next lyrics of the song, she smiled to herself. Jesse rarely picked a song to sing, let alone put so much emotion into, that didn't have lyrics that meant something to him, and this song was no exception. Taking a deep breath, she moved as silently as possible towards the door that opened to a set of stairs that would lead her to the lower half of the auditorium without having to actually exit the room.

Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for
I can't help it, there's nothin' I want more
You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

Jesse hadn't planned on falling in love. At least not while he was still in Ohio. A few years down the road, after he'd taken Broadway by storm, sure, but not his senior year of high school. Not when there was so much of his supposed future on the line. He silently cursed himself for making his attraction to Rachel so obvious to Shelby. He'd been sitting right next to her at the Sectionals competition where he'd first laid eyes on the petite brunette with a voice that almost seemed too big for such a small body. He'd known they would sound good together when he invited her to duet with him, but he hadn't known how perfect they would end up sounding. How right sitting at the piano, with her by his side, singing along with him, would feel. He'd been the one to bring up the transfer and he was still sort of kicking himself for it. Yes, it allowed him to be closer to Rachel, and for them to officially be together, but even that day, he'd felt something was off. He took a gamble and showed her his true self, but that gamble had cost him his heart.

There's no love like your love
And no other could give more love
There's nowhere unless you're there
All the time, all the way, yeah

As she stood in the shadows of the dimly lit auditorium, Rachel felt tears forming in her eyes. She'd been looking for Jesse for what seemed like forever. She'd tried dating Finn for a few months in the summer, but she'd broken it off shortly after school started. She hadn't lied when she'd told Finn that her heart wasn't in it. There was no way it could have been, since her heart belonged to the boy currently singing along to the song he played on the piano. She'd asked everyone she could think of if they knew anything about where Jesse might be. She hadn't even thought of checking to see who Vocal Adrenaline's new coach was, since she'd assumed Jesse had stayed in New York after the fiasco that was Nationals. When Shelby had turned up at McKinley, Rachel had hoped she would finally be able to find the answer to her question. That hope had been dashed when she'd found out that Jesse had cut off all communication with her after Nationals his senior year. Shelby had given her a rather cryptic clue though-telling her that Jesse was closer than she thought he was. She hadn't understood what the older woman had meant until recently. When she'd finally found Jesse again.

Look into your heart, baby...

Jesse failed to understand what was so difficult about something as simple as the sung request. He'd known that his relationship with Rachel would always involve some kind of drama, but he'd never thought that drama would be in the form of a clueless quarterback. He'd been the leader of Vocal Adrenaline, one of the most popular people at school; he'd never had to truly compete for something before. He didn't think it was fair that the one thing he'd have to fight for with everything he had would be the heart of his soul mate.

Your can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for
I can't help it there's nothin' I want more
Yeah, I would fight for you, I'd lie for you
Walk the wire for you, yeah, I'd die for you

Wiping away the tears and trying to keep her sobs silent, Rachel did everything she could to focus on the rest of Jesse's performance. She wanted to talk to him, to apologize, to beg for forgiveness if that's what it took to get him back, but she didn't want to interrupt his performance, either. He also appeared to be deep in thought as he sung, the lyrics almost an unconscious afterthought. One of the many things she loved about him was the way he was always able to embody the emotion of the song as if it were the simplest thing in the world to do. He didn't emote by simply closing his eyes; he put his entire body into the emotion of the song-whether it was anger, sadness, or any emotion in between. It was part of what made him such an excellent performer, part of what made him a star.

You know it's true
Everything I do - I do it for you

As he finished the song, Jesse suddenly became aware of another presence in the room. Before he could find out for himself who was there, the presence in question made herself known.

"That was beautiful, Jesse," she said softly, stepping into the light.

"Rachel?" Jesse asked, not sure he should believe his eyes.

"I was hiding up in the balcony, please don't be mad," Rachel explained as she moved closer to the stage.

"What are you doing here?" he wondered as he stood and began to walk towards her.

"I've been trying to find you for months. You're a very difficult person to track down, you know."

Jesse wasn't quite sure what emotion he was feeling at the moment, somewhere between wanting to laugh and cry, so he opted to simply shrug his shoulders and stick his hands into his pockets. As he watched Rachel close the distance between them, he had to check the urge to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He couldn't do that until he got some answers.

"Shelby gave me a cryptic clue that Blaine was actually the one to solve," Rachel continued.

"Shelby's the queen of cryptic, what did she say?" Jesse wondered.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Shelby was hired by the father of a girl who decided to form her own Glee club since she hadn't been able to get into New Directions, so she was at McKinley for a while. On top of asking her to write me letters of recommendation to NYADA, Tisch, and Julliard, I asked her if she knew where you were. She told me that you cut off all communication with her after your senior year, but that you were closer than I thought you were."

"Why did you want to know?"

Rachel sighed. "Why do you think, Jesse? I just told you I've been looking for you for months."

"I'm well aware of that, but you didn't tell me why you had been looking for me."

"Because I realized that I've been stupid, to put it lightly. I know that I hurt you last year, and there's no excuse for that, but I hope you can forgive me one day. I was insecure, I'd had my self-confidence whittled away bit by bit, and I was unsure about your intentions."

"Was I not clear when I told you that you are more important to me than fame? Or when I kissed you?"

"I wanted to believe you, I really did, I just…" Rachel started, unsure what word she was looking for.

"You just what, Rachel?" Jesse demanded.

"I was just scared, okay? I gave you my heart once and you shattered it when you left! What was I supposed to think?"

"You're not the only one who got their heart broken."

"Not just broken, Jesse, shattered. Mr. Schue once told me that, someday, I'd find a boy who would love everything about me, even the parts of me that I hate the most. I thought I'd finally found that with you. Then you walked away, like I meant nothing. Like what we had meant nothing. Finn was there to pick up the pieces, and I let him. Then he dropped them. I didn't think he would ever hurt me, but he did. He hurt me, he hurt Sam, and he hurt Quinn. He also hurt you, which I've come to realize was his intention all along. He liked it when I was insecure and unsure of myself, when I trailed after him like a lost puppy."

"I could have told you that a long time ago."

Rachel shook her head as she felt tears forming again. "I knew this was a bad idea. I'm just going to go, forget I was here," she said, turning to leave.

Jesse sighed as he reached out to grab Rachel's hand. "Rachel, wait," he said softly.

Tears flowing down her face, Rachel turned to him. "Why, Jesse? I just want to know why. Why does this have to be so difficult? I know that I'm dramatic and high maintenance, but why couldn't love just be simple for me? I don't get it."

"I can't answer that, Rach, but I wish I could. I told you last year and I'll tell you again now-I'm sorry for the way things ended the first time around. If I could change them, I would, but the fact of the matter is, I can't."

"I can't change what I did either!" Rachel nearly yelled.

"I understand that, really I do. I was just trying to protect myself," Jesse explained, still holding her hand but not yet sure he should try his luck and pull her towards him.

"Protect yourself from what?"

"You."

"Me? What could I possibly do to you now?"

"Break my heart again. Tell me that you only came to find me to say goodbye one last time before you started your new life with someone else."

"Is that what you think I went through all this trouble for?" Rachel asked softly, moving closer to Jesse.

"You never answered my question, so I still don't know," Jesse reminded her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Encouraged by the almost-smile, Rachel grabbed Jesse's other hand, lacing the fingers of both her hands with his. "I looked for you because I wanted to apologize…to try to explain myself, I guess. To beg for your forgiveness if that's what it took. I want to be with you, Jess, only you. I needed to find you this time."

Jesse released Rachel's hands so he could slide his arms around her waist and pull her close. "Now that you've found me, what are you going to do?" he whispered close to her ear.

In answer, Rachel slid one of her arms around his neck while the hand of the other slid into his hair before she rose on her tiptoes to press her lips to his.

"They do say that the third time is the charm," Jesse said once they ended the kiss.

"You forgive me, then?" Rachel wondered, pulling back to look into his eyes.

"Yes. So long as you agree to spend forever with me."

Rachel grinned up at Jesse. "Forever sounds perfect."

"Good, because now that I have you back, I'm never letting you go," he responded, pulling her close once more.

"I'm not letting you go either."

"Even better," Jesse said before he leaned down to capture Rachel's lips with his.

As she kissed him back, Rachel knew, without a doubt, there was no place she'd rather be right now than in Jesse's embrace. They were soul mates and there would never be anyone else more suited to them than each other. They both complemented and completed each other. Their life would most likely be full of dramatic moments and perfectly executed storm-outs, but she had no desire to lead a boring, uneventful life, so that was perfectly fine with her.