To say that Jesse was having a bad day would be putting it mildly. He awoke an hour late after a particularly late night Skype chat with Rachel, and on top of missing his morning work out, his coffee machine broke and he was forced to drink the school's extremely low quality grounds for his jolt of the day.

His third period students were due to appear within five minutes, and Jesse had no interest in teaching that afternoon. To be perfectly honest, the only thing he really wanted was to go home, crawl into his bed, and sleep the rest of the day away. His girlfriend was currently rehearsing for the multiple talk shows she was set to attend, and while he was thrilled that her opening was less than a week away, he was also admittedly jealous. Rachel's life was moving at a pace faster than the speed of light, and Jesse's had dramatically come to a standstill. He hadn't seen her in weeks, and although he knew she was busy, Rachel had made no attempt at finding a time to visit him in Ohio.

"Can I come in?" Jesse knew that Melissa would come looking for him eventually. They had developed a positive and refreshing friendship over the last couple of weeks, but he hadn't found the time to call her this morning when he'd missed their normal meeting time in the gym. He knew he should have made an attempt to contact her, but showering seemed more important at the time. In addition, he was hoping to curb his foul mood before he had to see anyone he cared about.

"I suppose. I'm sorry I missed the gym this morning," he replied, turning away and walking towards the marker board.

"Yeah, you know they have these things called cell phones now… you can use them to inform people when you're not going to show up for something," Melissa responded, somewhat annoyed at his obvious disregard for their regimen.

"I said I'm sorry. I don't believe I owe any further explanation."

Melissa scrunched her eyebrows. After her apology at the start of the quarter, their friendship had grown into a relationship that she truly and deeply cared for. She couldn't understand why Jesse was putting up walls again, but she had already worked so hard to previously get over them. "What crawled up your ass?"

"My future," Jesse responded. "And it doesn't seem to be going anywhere for a while, so if you'll excuse me, my students are set to be here within a couple of minutes and I have some work to do," and he nodded to the door to indicate her dismissal. Had he looked up from the board, he would have noticed the hurt in her eyes and felt guilty. Considering the fact that Jesse was having a bad enough day as it was, he kept his eyes focused on the words he was currently writing in black marker. He would apologize tomorrow and make it up to her. For now, he was going to continue wallowing in his self pity until whatever was bothering him went away.


"Oh for the love of McQueen, I refuse to allow you to wear that for your Today Show appearance!" Kurt and Rachel were currently rummaging through Rachel's makeshift closet in an attempt to find suitable ensembles for the cast appearances that were coming up. The revival of the award winning play was making a powerful reappearance on its own, and with Dr. Navad Baharr having just successfully combated the ongoing process of the HIV virus, the storyline from the musical was bound to push the success of the revival even further.

"What's wrong with it?" Rachel asked, truly exhausted. They had been going over outfits for two hours, and Kurt hadn't agreed upon a single article of clothing that she had chosen for her first interview.

"It's mustard, for starters. Considering the fact that it's no longer 2009, I see no reason in even having this dress in your collection."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she heard Kurt's exasperated sigh. "You of all people know I've been on a budget for the last five years. Pardon me if I buy off the rack!"

"Well if you had told me earlier I could have made you something spectacular! Now you'll be forced to wear this pathetic excuse for a black cocktail dress with God knows what color of pumps," he yelled as he swung a new dress off of its hanger.

"I was going to wear my nude ones."

Kurt's jaw dropped as he took in his friend's suggestion. She truly was clueless sometimes, and it broke his heart (not to mention his eyesight) when he realized how hopeless she was. "Wear your red ones and pair them with a red belt. It isn't stunning, but it will do until I have some time to work on some fall outfits for you," and with that, he threw the cocktail dress onto Rachel's mattress and made his way into their kitchen.

Rachel smiled as she placed the shoes next to her dress on the bedspread. It was days like today, when she and Kurt were ready to claw each other's eyes out before curling up and watching a movie on the sofa, that she was going to painfully miss after they left. Kurt and Blaine had sat her down a week ago to discuss their future options, but Rachel would be lying if she denied having considered it before.

They would be married in a few months, and she knew that it was time for all of them to grow up and leave one another, even if it pained them all to realize this. What she hadn't counted on, however, was their decision to move to the opposite side of the country. She had stomped her feet at the news, Kurt had cried hysterically, and Blaine had sat cool and collected as he tried to calm all of them down with the prospects of their futures. In the end, it had been a perfectly typical event for the three of them, and that's what hurt them the most. They had become a family, and without realizing it was happening, they had learned to rely solely on one another for love and support.

"Do you want some damn berry sangria or not?" she heard Kurt say from the kitchen, and it was just what Rachel needed to snap her back into reality.

"I can make it myself, thank you very much," she responded, as she smiled and wiped a single tear from her cheek.

"Like I'd be able to make it good enough for the princess anyway," and Rachel turned to make her way to the kitchen as Kurt grabbed their Yentl DVD and a blanket before heading to the couch. It was going to be a perfect New York afternoon.


Jesse was fuming as he locked the door to his classroom and made his way down the hall. After what felt like a hundred hours of excruciating teaching, he was finally able to end this day and head home.

This particular afternoon had not helped his mood improve one bit. His students were reaching their familiar one-month slump, and even he had to admit he had grown bored with The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway had never been a favorite of his, but he wished the students would at least feign a bit more interest in the subject matter. After twenty minutes of trying unsuccessfully to get them engaged, he decided to throw a pop essay quiz at them instead. He appreciated the silence of the quarter, but now his agitation grew as he realized he'd be grading mediocre writings all evening.

Just as he shut the heavy doors to the historic school building, he heard his cell phone buzz from his pocket. Multiple buzzes mean a phone call, but one buzz means only a text, and considering the time, he knew exactly who it was from. For a brief moment, he considered ignoring it. The last thing he wanted to do was start an inept argument with his girlfriend, and if the track record from today was any indication, that's exactly where any response would lead. However, after idly running his fingertips over the cool plastic for a split second, he extracted the phone to read her message.

Watching Yentl with Kurt. I can never watch Barbra without thinking of you and that first night in your hotel room. Xoxo.

Jesse contemplated his response before typing out the words and hitting "send." It had been a hell of a day, but his girlfriend always knew how to put a smile on his face.

I want to hear you sing Evergreen tonight. Call when you're free. Xxxx.

One love that is shared by two, I have found with you. I'll call you tonight!

A few hours later, Kurt was helping overweight middle-aged tourists squeeze into Armani gowns while Jesse was grading his seventh essay over a glass of red wine. As he tried unsuccessfully to rub the exhaustion from his eyes, a familiar ringtone came from his cell phone.

"Hello, Gorgeous," he said as he answered the call.

"Love soft as an evening chair
Love fresh as the morning air
One love that is shared by two
I have found with you."

Jesse smiled as he leaned back into the sofa and propped his feet on the glass dining room table. Ever since that first night he and Rachel shared in his living room, he hadn't been able to look at the piece of furniture in the same way. "Has anyone ever told you that your voice matches only that of the talent of Ms. Judy Garland."

"Never," Rachel responded with a laugh. "I thought of making a career out of it once, but my dads always said I should stick with dancing. Guess I'll always wonder what could have been…" she jokingly said, letting the sentence drift off with her thoughts.

"It's good to hear your voice. It's been a hell of a day." He swished his wine around in his glass while Rachel tried to reorganize her clothes from the events earlier in the afternoon. She was happy to have the evening off from the theatre, even if her body did physically ache with the absence. Now more than ever, she knew she was meant to spend her life on the stage.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, throwing the pile from her arms onto to the bed in order to give Jesse her full attention. She assumed something was up when he hadn't called during his lunch break, but she hadn't been too concerned since Mondays were typically his busiest days.

Jesse sighed as he wiggled his toes to crack his knuckles. He knew that his reasons for stress were petty, and talking about them would probably only further his aggravation. Instead, he opted to forget the entire ordeal and listen to Rachel instead. "Nah, it's nothing really. What did you get into today?"

"Nothing spectacular. Kurt and I argued over what to wear to the Today Show appearance, and then we watched movies all afternoon until he went to work. I swear, that boy is relentless when it comes to clothing!"

Jesse laughed into the receiver. "Yeah, Blaine mentioned that he's switched their tuxes a total of eleven times when he called yesterday. Apparently this last time is officially the last time, though."

"Have I mentioned how much I love that you and Blaine formed this friendship?"

"He's a good man. I never got to meet them while they were still in high school, but I'm glad they've overcome everything they have in their relationship. I honestly can't imagine a more perfect match for Kurt."

Rachel sighed as she lay on her mattress and stared at the gold stars that were placed on the ceiling above her bed. Every single thing in her life was perfect. After so many years of struggling and praying for an audition, of countless phone calls to her fathers crying over another unpaid bill, of saving for days to buy a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter, her life had finally turned around. In the end, she knew that the thing she had been missing the most, the only thing that had ever really mattered, was Jesse.

"Mmm. So what are you doing?" she asked, trying to get back into the conversation after her slight mental detour.

"Grading horrendous essays on an equally horrendous author's work."

"Hemingway?"

Jesse chuckled as he slightly turned his head in the privacy of his living room. "How'd you know?"

"You've never been a fan of his work. I remember you complaining about For Whom the Bell Tolls back in 10th grade literature."

"Don't even get me started. I still don't understand how that man won the Pulitzer for literature."

"Hey, Jesse? I know we haven't really talked about it lately, but I was wondering what your plans were for next week. Do you know if you'll be able to come? And what day?"

Jesse chewed the bottom half of his lip for a moment before continuing. It had been the question on his brain for days, but it was also one he had no desire to broach. "I don't know, Rache. The quarter only just started, and I used the majority of my annual leave when I visited the first time in May. I can maybe swing flying up for the evening, but I don't see the possibility of staying any longer."

She felt her heart break slightly as she took in the expected words. Every time she had brought it up before, her question was met with awkward dismissals or poor attempts at a subject change. She knew that the night of her opening would be the busiest of her life. The day would be spent with interviews and last minute rehearsals, while the evening would be full of after parties and cast discussions. She would barely get to see Jesse, and to know he would only fly up for the evening seemed like a waste. "Hey, you know," she said softly, "don't even worry about it, okay? I know you're busy, and opening night is going to be insane. Save the money and fly up another day – maybe on a weekend when we'll have some more time together."

"Rache, I'm going to be busy until the end of the quarter. I can't just fly up for a weekend. I thought you were going to come to me this time?" Jesse was hurt, but the annoyance he felt had started to grow beyond the pain of not seeing Rachel on her opening night.

"The show is opening in five days, Jesse. I can't let my understudy take over within the first month of production. If you come to me this time, I'll come to you for Christmas. I promise."

"The wedding is the end of December. You'll be in Lima for Christmas."

"Then I'll come to you for Thanksgiving, as long as you promise to fix tofurkey."

"Look, let's just see what happens and we'll make it to each other when we make it to each other. I don't want to argue about this, but I think you're being selfish."

"I'm being selfish?" Now it was Rachel's turn to fume. Of all people, Jesse had to realize how important it was for him to witness her opening night and the start of her Broadway career. A great deal of very important people would more than likely catch the musical within it's first month back to the theatre, and she didn't want to risk being seen by another director or producer just to fly to Ohio for a few days. She'd promised herself when she left that she was never going back. "Jesse, you know this was always our dream. I'm not going to give up on it just because you're feeling left out."

"Excuse me?" Jesse scrunched his eyebrows as he leaned forward from the couch. Where the hell did that come from?

"Let's just address the elephant in the room. Jesse, I love you, but you not coming is out of jealousy and nothing more, and that's not fair. It's not fair to me and it's not fair to our relationship."

"Who the hell said anything about jealousy?" Jesse tried his hardest to keep his volume level. He promised himself after their last fight that he would never raise his voice to Rachel, but after the day he'd already had, the last thing he wanted was a pile of bullshit for the icing on the cake. "I've been nothing but supportive of you since day one. Day one, Rache. How dare you call me jealous. I have a life of my own, you know. Columbus may not be as glamorous as the city, but people dream of living here too, you know. It's not as horrible as you make it out to be."

"I'm not trying to make it out to be horrible, but you can't sit there and tell me you're happy where you are. You were meant for the stage just as strongly as I was. That passion was what always drew us together."

"So what – I give up the stage and suddenly we're no longer compatible? The love we share is reduced to pointless conversations and mindless fucks?"

"I never said that, Jesse! You're putting words in my mouth!" Rachel was on the verge of tears. It was a conversation they had been avoiding since they'd rekindled months ago, and both of them knew it was one they should have in person. "Look, I take everything back, okay? Forget I said anything. I'll come to you. You tell me what weekend you have free and I'll come to you."

"You know, I don't really feel like a visit right now, Rachel."

"Jesse, don't be upset. I shouldn't have said what I said, and I know that. I'm sorry. Can we just forget this?" She was sobbing now, but she successfully held it back over the phone. Maybe it's better this isn't in person, she thought to herself.

"I'm gonna go. I need to finish grading before tomorrow."

"Please just talk to me. Please. I need this to be okay before you hang up," but by the time Rachel finished her sentence, the line had already gone dead.