Let Me Be Your Star
A Glee Fan Fiction
Chapter 14

"Broadway is the air that I breath," Rachel whispered softly to herself as she entered the large theater where her audition would be taking place. She was still in her sweats, and was breezing in late-which would not look good, since she was technically a nobody. She took a deep breath as she tried to remember that this moment alone would stand out among all the other 525,600 minutes that measured the rest of the year.

"Are you here to audition for Mimi?" A tall, thin director with thick, salt and peppered color hair asked. His eyes were a dazzling blue and his features resembled a model. He lowered his square framed glasses and studied her.

"Yes," Rachel said boldly, raising her chin in the air as she approached, dropping her bag down on a chair in the first role as she stepped onto the stage. Really, it was no different from the one she and Kurt had broken into singing For Good on a year ago. It was smaller, though, and that should make it all easier and better.

"Name? Age? Song?" The director called, not even bothering to give her his name or any information about him.

"Rachel Berry," She said confidently. She would not allow herself to choke this time. This audition meant too much for her. "I'm 18 years old and I'll be singing Without You," She said boldly, especially since she'd just switched the song she would be singing at that exact moment in time. Before right now, she'd been planning on singing Out Tonight. She understood that confidence was the key to most auditions and snagging the part about fifty percent of the time when it came to auditioning for something that was totally out of your league. Nobody would expect an eighteen year old girl who had barely gotten into NYADA to snag a part for such an important, challenging vocalist in an off-Broadway performance.

Yet, that was exactly what happened to Rachel Berry as she thanks the director-who's name, she later learned was Rob-and hurried backstage to meet the rest of the cast.

A blur of faces went by her, each resembling the character they were playing in some way. She didn't really remember anybody specifically until she reached the boy who would be playing opposite her, as Roger-the failed guitar play/song writer/singer who had HIV and fell for Mimi after the suicide of his ex-girlfriend April.

"Meet Jesse -our Roger," Rob told Rachel, as her world slowly crashed down around her, burning down deeply to the ground.

"Hello there, Rachel," Jesse smiled at her. Rachel could actually see the resemblances to a vampire that Puck often joked about when taking to her about the jerk. He had that sly, evil grin and that way of studying you as if he just wanted to take a bit and suck the life from you. He was pale and his features were dark. Yes, it wasn't hard for her to see where Puck saw the connection to this talent leech and a thirty blood sucker.

"Jesse," Rachel said, plastering on a fake smile. "So great to see you again," She said with forced cheerfulness that she was sure Jesse could see right though.

"You two have met before?" Rob asked.

"We dated," Rachel said bluntly, her eyes never leaving Jesse's solid and steady, dark eyed gaze. She just wanted to turn around and leave, going to find Puck and finish their previous conversation. But that was pretty much impossible now, with the awkward situation she had been put in.

"Lovely! Now, don't forget that we have auditions for Angel on Monday and we'll start rehershals on Tuesday," Rob said, clapping once for everybody's attention. "Although, there might not be a show at all if I can't find a male with a vocal range high enough to get some of those high notes Angel has..."He said to himself as he shook his head, turning to walk away. That caught Rachel's attention, despite everybody else gathering their things to leave.

"I have a friend who can get the high note in Defying Gravity," She blurted out. "He's an excellent singer and an even better dancer and actor," She went on as Rob turned to face her.

"Bring him in on Monday." He nodded once, a small glint of hope in his eyes.

Rachel smiled to herself as she pulled her bag higher onto her shoulder and took out her cell phone, excitedly dialing Kurt's number as she excited the theater. She couldn't wait to tell him the good news. Their first show in New York City, and it would be together, just as their dreams had always been. He would be the Will to her Grace. He was her gay best friend, and nothing could interfere with their life together.

"Rach? What's up? Did you talk to Puck?" Kurt asked, his voice cheerful and full of strain. Rachel sighed. He was probably giving himself another facial, working hard on not creating any cracks in the mask.

"I went to the audition," She blurted out at him. "Puck told me to, when I went to see him," She explained. "And I got the part, but they're having auditions on Monday for Angel-I understand how you feel about drag and all that, but I got you an audition! It's not on Broadway, but it's a start, you know? Please say you'll do it?" She begged.

"You expect me to dress up in drag for a part in a musical-despite it being one of my top ten favorite musicals of all time?" Kurt asked softly. "You want me to put on a dress and a wig, as well as crazy high heels and parade around as if I were a girl for the majority of a show in order to get me start in show business, throwing my morales away?" He asked her. "Rachel Berry, you are one hundred percent crazy if you thought for even one second that," He went on and Rachel winced. "I would turn that offer down!" He laughed.

"You'll do it?" She grinned, her spirits rising.

"On one condition," He said. She sighed. She could have figured that one out for herself. "Get to the hospital and talk to Puck about your feelings for one another, before I have a nervous break down that even my avocado face mask can't help," He teased.

She giggled as she hung up and returned her phone to her purse. She wasn't paying attention, which was probably why she walked straight into a paused Jesse who turned around and gave her that fake, Chesire-Cat like grin that had once made her fallen so in love with him.

"What happened to the fiance?" Jesse wondered, a teasing glint to his voice with a mocking smile to match the entire scene.

"He's joining the army," Rachel said boldly. She was not afraid of Jesse anymore. She harbored no more feelings for him. He did not have any power over her and she refused to let him walk all over her ever again. She was too good for that.

"No wedding?" He faked a pout, pretending to be upset. He was mocking her-playing with her emotions as he always did. But she was onto him this time. She'd spent enough time crying with Puck and ranting to Kurt about Jesse and her feelings towards him. And they'd each told her enough about nots like him that she'd realized that Jesse was not what she wanted, nor what she needed. He was just a scared little kid who wasn't good enough to make it in the big, bad world.

"No," She answered. "Now, if you don't mind, I have somewhere to be that's much more important than anywhere near you," She told him, looking straight into his eyes, so he knew that she was not to be messed with anymore. "I'll see you on Monday-from now on, our relationship is nothing but professional." She informed him as she went to walk away.

"Rachel," He grabbed her arm and she stopped, yanking it from him. She kept walking, but she could still hear his words. "No matter who enters your life-no matter what you choose to believe-no matter what you tell yourself...you will always be mind. It doesn't matter what you delude yourself into thinking or believing, because the facts are the facts. We had something special, and you haven't had any other relationship with the chemistry like ours did. In fact, your only other relationship was with that sad little excuse for a dancer. What was his name? Gil?" Jesse continued to mock her. He was matching each of her steps now.

"You're wrong," She muttered under her breath as they crossed the street. "I've had a relationship that could challenge and successfully beat whatever we once had. And I still happen to have it," She told him as she hurried off, getting lost in the crowd in order to get away from him.