A/N: So first off, let me preface by saying that if you all want to murder me for not updating in three months, I completely understand. School just got to be ridiculously hectic, I went through a miserable breakup, and I had to spend most of my time doing schoolwork. So, now that that's done (at least for a while) I decided I definitely owed it to you guys to get a few new chapters up over the next week or so. I am SO sorry that it took so long, but I hope that you can respect it and that these chapters live up to your expectations! When we last left Jesse, he'd just been cast as the lead in the Broadway production of "Newsies." Will he let fame get to his already inflated ego, or will it just boost him up the ranks and make it all that much easier to catch up with Rachel? Let's find out. As always, reviews are like fuel to my muse's fire, and I wanted to thank all of my loyal readers once more. Okay, here we go!
The rumors began flying about Jesse St. James the moment people began to hear about his casting. The kids from NYU boasted about being friends with him first, and Molly excitedly promoted her short film by adding "Star of Newsies" to his credit. The internet lit up with rumors that he had, "Stolen the part from right under Zac Efron's nose," and Jesse had yet to hear if there was any validity to this rumor.
The congratulations began pouring in after Jason and Jesse were confirmed to the cast. Jesse's mother was unbelievably proud of him, although his father still thought he was throwing his life away. Regardless, Jesse was thrilled, and knew he had one person that he truly had to thank, aside from the one person he couldn't—at least not yet.
"Hello?"
"Shelby Corcoran, I think I love you."
"Jesse, what the hell? Are you drunk?"
"Drunk with excitement, maybe! Ahhh Shelby you're never going to believe it…" Jesse went on to recount the story of his audition and his casting, and by the end of it, Shelby was speechless—a trait she very seldom carried.
"You…you're in a Broadway show," she said finally, and Jesse laughed.
"I'm the lead in a Broadway show, Shelby, and it's all because of you!"
"This is insane…" she said. In all her years of teaching, she'd never had a student actually achieve success, despite how hard she tried to beat talent into them.
"This is fantastic," Jesse replied. "I promise, Shell, I'll mail you tickets and you can come up and see it and it'll be fantastic."
"How did you kids get so talented?" she asked, and then Jesse heard her gasp. "Shit," she mumbled, and Jesse laughed.
"Don't worry, Shelby, I already know. She's all over the papers up here. Had her own interview in Backstage Magazine." Shelby let out a relieved breath, and Jesse continued. "I'm gonna win her back, you know."
"You mean you haven't moved on?" Shelby sounded shocked, and Jesse rolled his eyes.
"Look, Shelby. I know it's hard to believe because well…I was kind of a dick in high school, but your daughter changed me—"
"Oh god, Jesse, I don't need to hear all this—"
"Seriously, Shelby. It's going to happen. We're going to get back together."
"Jesse," Shelby said warningly, but the young man ignored the foresight in her voice and continued on.
"I've been invited to the premiere and everything. My buddy Jason and I are going. Jason's the one I live with who just also happens to be my costar," Jesse explained. Shelby let out a groan.
"Jesse, listen. Don't you think it's possible that maybe she doesn't want to see you?" Shelby questioned tentatively. "I mean if she wanted to talk to you she would have come to you by now…"
"That's a lie. She's just confused, she's just scared and lost and she doesn't know that I still love her—"
"Jesse, she left, and now she's happier than she's ever been before. Don't you think that stands for something?"
"You don't know what you're talking about, okay?" Jesse's defenses were starting to build up; he was closing himself off again—something he hadn't done in months. "Look Shelby, I appreciate your concern, and I get it. She's your daughter, and she's living your dream and you want to live vicariously through her and you don't want anything to get in the way of that—"
"Jesse," Shelby growled warningly.
"No, look. I get it, okay? But I love her. I love her, Shelby, and I need to get her back."
"I just don't want to see either of you getting hurt."
"I've already been hurt, Shelby. I honestly doubt that I could feel any worse than I do when I wake up every morning and she's not here."
"And I can't feel any worse than I do when I wake up and realize that this is all my fault. I never should have let you guys go away. She was a child for god's sake, and I just let her run away. Because you're right, I had some strange hope that maybe she would be successful, that I could live vicariously through her," Shelby's voice sounded milky, and Jesse could only assume that she had started crying. "I blame myself, Jesse. I'm so proud of her, but to think what could have happened to her because I was so careless…" Shelby trailed off. "Listen, Jesse. I just really don't think it's a good idea for you to continue to pursue her," Shelby warned, but Jesse let out a growl.
"No. Shelby, you're wrong. She needs me," he insisted.
"You're an idiot," Shelby quipped, and Jesse grimaced, his knuckles white. "Do you really think she's going to want to come back to the man who held her back?"
"Held her back?" Jesse nearly shouted, astounded. "I held her back? I brought her to this city! I gave her every opportunity she could ask for! You want to talk about holding her back, let's talk about Hudson. But don't you dare accuse me of not giving her everything I could, Shelby," his heart was thundering. "You know what, this is your fault. If you hadn't used me as your goddamn gopher and introduced me to her in the first place, we never would have had this situation," Jesse furiously slammed his phone shut and ran a hand through his hair. Never in his life had he yelled at Shelby like that, but who did she think she was, telling him how to live his life?
It was bizarre, being the star of a show as opposed to swaying uncomfortably in the background. He was respected, he was catered to, and people knew his name; people knew who he was. When he Googled himself, the results didn't just turn up his Facebook and some Show Choir websites, it turned up pages and pages of Broadway websites and blogs, many of which had teenage girls simply fawning over him.
Jesse was standing in line at Starbucks, waiting for his skinny white chocolate mocha with extra espresso and soy, when a girl who couldn't have been much younger than him approached with a wide grin.
"Are you Jesse St. James?" she asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He laughed and nodded, and she let out a tiny little squeal. "Oh my god I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. I'm a huge fan of yours; I think you're absolutely perfect for the role. I can't wait for the Original Recording to be available, I already have it pre-ordered, not to mention I have all your music…" Jesse blinked a few times as she rambled, and then furrowed his brows.
"Wait, my music?" The girl laughed and nodded.
"Well yeah, from your Vocal Adrenaline days, obviously! They're all online!" she explained, reddening a little. "I really love your version of 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' there's even a video recording of that. You're a great dancer, although I'm not entirely sure that pink is your color…"
Jesse's mind was spinning. He hadn't even performed in front of the public—how could he possibly have a fanbase? The barista handed him his coffee with a smirk, and the girl bounced again.
"Oh would there be any way I could get a picture with you? My friends will never believe that I actually met you!" The girl grinned wildly as he nodded, and Jesse slid an arm around her as she asked a middle-aged man in a business suit to take their photo. "Oh thank you so much," the girl beamed, and then with one more hopeful look, asked him for an autograph.
"Wh…well yeah, sure," Jesse answered, taken aback. "I…I don't have paper or a pen or anything," he admitted, and the barista handed him a sharpie and a clean cardboard sleeve, biting back another laugh. Jesse gave her a grin and turned back to the young girl.
"So who can I make this out to?" he asked, the feeling of celebrity finally kicking in. The girl squealed again and clasped her hands.
"Rae. R-A-E." Jesse, who had been perfecting his signature for as long as he could remember, scribbled a quick message on the cardboard: To Rae, one of my first big fans—JSJ
"Rae, that's pretty," he commented, and the girl beamed proudly, glancing at her shoes.
"Thank you! It's short for Rachel."
The name was like knives in Jesse's heart. Even with every intention to pursue her, the sound of Rachel's name made his heart ache, especially after his confrontation with Shelby. He's spent countless nights awake, pondering what Shelby had told him—maybe Rachel did want to be left alone, so was it the best idea to pursue her in such a public fashion? He realized he was staring blankly at the autograph and smiling, handed it to the fan.
"You're amazing, Jesse!" she laughed. "I swear, I'm coming to see the show opening weekend, I promise!" she turned on her heel and glanced over her shoulder once more as she ran out of the coffee shop.
"Wait, you forgot your drink…" he called after her, but it was too late—she was already out the door and skipping down the sidewalk.
"First time?" the barista asked, and Jesse chuckled.
"How could you tell?" he asked playfully. The woman rolled her eyes, grinning, and set a green tea frappe on the counter.
"It gets easier," she assured him. "You'll get used to it—took poor Aspen months though," she commented before turning back to her work, and Jesse sighed, taking a sip of his latte.
"Well look at you, Mr. Bigshot Celebrity," a voice called fro behind him. Spinning, Jesse broke into a wide grin.
"Marishka!" he cried, opening his arms for a hug. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, then looked up to him cheerfully.
"So how the hell are you?" she asked, leaning against the bar; smirk on her face. Jesse grinned and shrugged casually.
"Oh you know, just being famous," he waved his hand flippantly, and Marishka rolled her eyes.
"You're such a dick," she giggled, and Jesse shrugged.
"So how about you? How is life?" Marishka shrugged herself, and drummed her fingers on the bar.
"Can't complain. Got a stable little gig in a dance studio; nothing huge, but it pays my rent, so…" she shrugged her right shoulder again. "But you, look at you! Everyone's so damn proud of you," she shook his arm.
"Yeah. You're going to come see it, right?"
"That depends. How many comp tickets do you get?" she teased. Jesse opened his mouth, puzzled, and Marishka laughed. "I'm only kidding!" she continued to giggle. "Of course I'll be there! I'll bring Tony…I mean…I'll bring most of the 'Chess' dancers," she added sheepishly, and it was at that moment Jesse noticed the rock on her perfectly manicured ring finger.
"Marishka!" Jesse shrieked, grabbing the hand, "What? Who?" Marishka blushed and tried to hide her hand, laughing all the while.
"Uh…Tony."
"You're marrying Tony?" Jesse nearly yelled, causing a few people in the Starbucks to glance at them uncomfortably. "Holy shit, wow!" he enveloped her into a tight hug. "When?"
"We haven't set a date," she explained, "But we started seeing each other after the show closed, and he proposed on Valentine's Day," she giggled.
"Holy crap," Jesse stood, his body overwhelmed with shock. These were the first of his friends to become engaged, to love each other so much they wanted to make such a major commitment. "That's so awesome, Marishka," he sipped his coffee and she chewed on her lip.
"What…what about you?" she asked tentatively. Jesse shifted uncomfortably and shrugged.
"Well, I mean…I know where she is, but…that is to say…I mean, I'll be going to see her in West Side Story…"
"Wait, what?" Marishka stared at him.
"She's starring in the West Side Story reboot," Jesse explained, and Marishka's jaw dropped.
"Hold up, that's your Rachel?" she questioned, shocked.
"Um, yes, why?" Jesse replied, furrowing his brow.
"Because, she's amazing!" Marishka gushed. "She spoke at a seminar I was at, I guess I just never put the names together. She's crazy talented, you guys must be unstoppable together!" Marishka stopped suddenly, acknowledging her mistake, but Jesse simply nodded wistfully.
"Yeah. We are," he smiled sadly.
"Well look, I'm sure everything is going to work out swimmingly. You're both stars now, it's only a matter of time before you run into each other," she pointed out, and Jesse nodded.
"Fingers crossed, right?" he smirked.
"Well hey, expect a call from me eventually so that I can get your address for a wedding invite, okay?" Marishka asked, and Jesse grinned.
"Of course. And here," he grabbed the sharpie that was still on the counter and two cardboard holders, "For you and Tony," he explained, scrawling his signature and handing them off to Marishka.
"Well thanks," she said with a giggle. "It was great to see you Jesse," she added earnestly.
"You too," he smiled, "And congratulations again." As he watched her go, a smile formed on his face, growing wider as he contemplated her words.
Marishka was right. He was a celebrity now, and it was only a matter of time.
A/N: Stay tuned for Jesse's first red carpet appearance, and more importantly-Rachel's Broadway Debut!
