A/N: Here's part 3 (which I swear I selected the first time I uploaded this, but apparently not) :) A few other characters decided to make appearances, which if you've read my other stories, will be familiar to you. Hope you all enjoy and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee


A couple of weeks after she had started at Carmel and in Vocal Adrenaline, Rachel felt like she belonged somewhere. Since she had proven to Jesse that she could keep up with him vocally, she'd been his chosen duet partner, much to the chagrin of a certain other member of the team. When Jesse had asked to meet her in the auditorium before rehearsal the Friday before the Invitational, she hadn't thought anything of it. Shelby had assigned them a duet, which they had been rehearsing every day both before and during rehearsal.

Walking into the auditorium, she was surprised to find that Jesse apparently wasn't there yet. Someone must have been, as the room wasn't completely dark. Maybe her mother had been here and then left for something. With a shrug, she clutched her bag tighter and made her way onto the stage.

"Jesse?" she called as she walked towards the center of the stage. When she received no answer, but witnessed a spotlight being turned on, she spoke again. "Who's there? I carry a rape whistle!"

"It's just me," Jesse answered with a laugh as he joined her on stage and turned off the spotlight.

"What did you do that for?" Rachel demanded, though she had to admit he looked awfully cute when he thought he was being funny.

"I was just playing around. Did I scare you?"

"A little."

"Liar."

"You shouldn't do that to someone!" Rachel told him. "You could really freak them out!"

"I was just trying to have some fun," Jesse reminded her. "I'm sorry, Rach."

Seeing that the boy in front of her looked genuinely contrite, she sighed before letting him off the hook.

"I know. I forgive you. Just don't do it again."

"I promise not to purposely scare you again."

"Why did you want to meet me here so early?" Rachel wondered.

"You said you had something you wanted to ask me, I figured now was as good a time as we were going to find before the Invitational next week," Jesse answered.

After letting out another sigh, Rachel nodded and then began asking what she wanted to know.

"You wouldn't play me, would you?"

"Play you how?"

"Pretend to be interested in me if you weren't."

"No. I wouldn't do that. Why do you ask?"

"I've just heard rumors, that's all…"

"What rumors?"

"That you play with girls' feelings, and that you pretend to be interested in them to get them to sleep with you."

"Let me guess…Giselle?"

"I overheard her talking to some of the other girls. Andrea insisted that it wasn't true, but I need to hear it from you."

"I've never pretended to be interested in someone just to get them to sleep with me. Giselle and I slept together once and ever since, she's been acting like I took advantage of her. I didn't do that, Rachel, I swear."

Studying the boy in front of her, Rachel decided that she believed him. From what Puck had said about Andrea, and from what she'd learned herself over the last few weeks, the girl wouldn't have been so angry at her friend if the other girl had been lying.

"Do you like her?"

"As a friend. As a teammate. Nothing more. I'm not going to get involved with anyone here. I'm getting out of Ohio."

"Oh. I see."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Rachel insisted as she turned towards the steps leading from the stage. "I forgot something in my locker. I'm going to go get it. I'll be back."

Before he could say anything else, Jesse saw her practically run out the doors. Running his hand through his hair, he tried to figure out what would have caused the conversation to end like it did. When he heard the door open again a few minutes later, he expected to see Rachel, but saw Chris instead.

"Where's your partner in crime? Isn't she usually here by now?" he asked as he joined his friend on the stage.

"She was here…and then she left," Jesse answered.

"You seem confused."

"I am."

"I'm sure it's nothing. She's a girl. They're weird."

Not wanting to think about it anymore, Jesse nodded and then quickly changed the subject.


"Rachel? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Andrea asked as she saw her friend burst into the still mostly empty girls' locker room.

"I'm just stupid, that's all," she answered as she took a seat on a nearby bench.

Taking a seat on the same bench, Andrea gave the younger girl her full attention as she waited for the answer to her next question.

"What happened?"

"I asked Jesse about those things Giselle was saying about him. I asked him if he would ever play me. You know, pretend to be interested in me when he really wasn't. He said he would never do that, and I believe him, it's just that he then told me he wasn't going to get involved with anyone here."

"He keeps saying that, but I don't think he really believes it. I think he'd change his mind if he met the right person. It's just that he's a boy and it takes them longer to realize things. Am I right to assume that you have feelings for Jesse?"

"I feel something for him, I just don't know what it is," Rachel answered, angrily brushing at the tears that had begun to fall. "He's the first boy that I really felt a connection with. He just gets me. I didn't think I'd ever find that. I didn't think I'd ever get out of McKinley, to be honest. I was just trying to get through the next few years, until I could leave and go to college in New York. I don't want to jeopardize the opportunity I've been given, either."

"I'll be honest-I had a feeling about you and Jesse from the start. When I saw you two sing…no…perform…together, I knew I was right. I'm confident that you'll work it out. He'll wake up and realize what's right in front of him, realize that you're perfect for him. Just continue to show him what a great person you are. You'll make a great co-captain, too."

"I haven't gotten chosen for that yet."

"You will. I have no doubt. Shelby is just waiting to see how the crowd reacts to the two of you before she makes the final decision."

"Won't people think I got it because she's my mom?"

"Probably, but they'll be wrong. You've shown nothing but absolute commitment to the team over the last few weeks, plus you and Jesse have undeniable chemistry. The crowd will love it."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"You'll get there. It helps that I was never in the hate-filled environment that is McKinley High school, though."

"Will you help me convince Noah to go to the Invitational? I'd feel better if I knew he was in the audience, too. My dads are coming, so he can sit with them."

"I can definitely do that. We'll corner him after practice. He's giving you a ride home, right?"

"Yeah. My car is still in the shop. They're waiting for a part or something."

"Mine hates me, too," Andrea sympathized. "Are you ready to go back?"

"Yeah. I do need to actually stop at my locker, though," Rachel answered.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"You don't have to. I'll be fine. I'll be there shortly."

Andrea nodded, bidding a temporary farewell to her newest friend before heading to the auditorium.


"What happened to our newest star? Did she decide she couldn't hack it after all?" Giselle asked snidely as she joined her teammates in the auditorium.

"You know, I'd watch what you say about her," Dominic responded. "A. She's Shelby's Daughter, and B. I'm pretty sure she could kick your ass any day. Vocally or physically."

"What do you know?"

"I know how to give someone a chance, which you haven't done. I also know we could vote right now to kick you out, and I don't think the odds are very good that you'd end up being able to stay."

"What is your problem with her anyway?" Jesse asked as he and Chris walked over to the arguing teammates. "The fact that she's Shelby's daughter, the fact that she's more talented than you, or the fact that she's supposedly been taking my attention away from you?"

"She walked in here like she owned the place! She's taken over everything! She hasn't earned it!" Giselle replied angrily.

"She didn't and hasn't done any of those things, just like I haven't taken advantage of anyone's feelings for me just to get them to sleep with me."

"That little tattle-tale!"

"You know how Shelby feels about spreading lies and rumors. I won't tell her about this one, but if I get word of another one, I will tell her everything. As for Rachel, she has been taking dance and vocal lessons since she was young. If you paid any bit of attention to her audition, you'd have seen she was incredibly nervous. She's gained a lot of self-confidence over the last few weeks, but you forget that she had her self-confidence torn away bit by bit for the last however many years. Go spend a day at McKinley and then tell me how cruel Rachel is."

Knowing that arguing with Jesse would get her nowhere fast, Giselle took a seat and simply crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive.


"Hey, are you okay? Are we okay?"

Looking up from the bag she'd been digging through, Rachel saw the concern on Jesse's face. Throughout rehearsal, she'd been trying to do what Andrea told her, and she really didn't want to lose Jesse as a friend, either.

"I'm fine, we're good," she replied with a smile. "I'm just still trying to adjust, you know?"

"I understand. I can't really relate, but I think I understand. At least I try to."

"I know, and I appreciate that. You've been a big help."

"Can I ask how you found out Shelby was your mom? She never mentioned a daughter until a couple of years ago…"

"I was helping my daddy spring clean his study and I found the papers that outlined their agreement with Shelby. I didn't understand most of it, but there was a part about her not being able to contact me until I was eighteen, but I could initiate contact before that if I chose to. I asked my dads about her and they told me what they knew. When I found out that she was a show choir coach and used to teach vocal lessons, I figured we had to have a lot in common. I asked to meet her and the rest is history. We do have a lot in common, and both she and my dads have let me decide the pace at which I want to get to know her. We're living with her now, at least temporarily, but it seems to be working."

"You have two dads?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Just making sure I heard you correctly," Jesse replied, holding his hands up as if he was going to surrender.

"Sorry," Rachel apologized with a small shrug. "Sometimes I get defensive because, well, not everyone approves."

"As long as they're good parents, then I don't see anything wrong with it."

"They're the best parents anyone could ask for."

"Lucky."

"I take it your parents aren't so great?"

"They're pretty much non-existent in my life. My grandma moved back to Ohio a few years ago to, as she says, keep me out of trouble."

"Ah, so someone else sees through your innocent façade," Rachel said with a laugh as she and Jesse began to walk out of the auditorium.

"I really don't try to cause trouble," Jesse retorted with a laugh of his own. "I just happen to be very opinionated and not everyone likes those opinions."

"What does your grandma say about them?"

"Most of the time she actually agrees with me, but sometimes we'll argue about it or she'll tell me I'm wrong."

"You? Wrong?"

Jesse laughed again as he opened the door, letting Rachel through before he followed.

"Shocking, I know."

"Is your grandma going to be at the Invitational?"

"Yeah. My sister said she's going to try and be there, too."

"Well, I look forward to meeting them both. I need to go find Noah. He's my ride home and I plan on convincing him to attend the Invitational, too."

"Do you want me to walk with you?" Jesse found himself asking, not yet ready to relinquish Rachel's company.

"I'd like that," Rachel replied with a smile.


Watching the two teens walk down the hall together, Shelby couldn't help but smile. As she'd expected, they had bonded almost immediately and now they acted like the best of friends. Neither seemed aware that they were also simultaneously flirting with each other, but she had a feeling that would change sooner rather than later.

"It's nice to see your smile again, Shelby."

Turning to look at the owner of the voice, Shelby's smile fell as recognition hit.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I came to apply for the assistant coach position, and then I found out you were the coach, so I thought I would stop by."

"You couldn't have stopped by, oh, I don't know, twenty or so years ago?"

"I thought you would have moved on, that you wouldn't have wanted to see me."

"I didn't. I still don't."

"They remind you of us, don't they?"

"They're nothing like us. You don't know what you're talking about," Shelby replied before promptly turning on her heel and walking away, leaving the other person alone in the hallway, not hearing him sigh before beginning to walk in a different direction.


"So what's going on with you and that St. James guy?" Puck asked as he and Rachel settled in his car.

"Nothing. We're just friends," Rachel answered.

"Seems like more than that to me."

"He's not interested in getting involved with anyone here in Ohio."

"Sounds like an excuse to me."

"I get where he's coming from. He wants to get out of Ohio, just like I do. What if we started dating and then I never made it out?"

"I thought you decided that you were going to move to New York after graduation, regardless of whether or not you got into a college?"

"Well, yeah, I say that now, but who knows what will happen in two years?"

"You'll get into one of those fancy performing schools and move to New York, just like you planned. If anyone can make it happen, it's you, Rach."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Noah."

"I'll always have your back. You know that."

Rachel smiled and nodded. She did know that, and she was grateful to have someone like that in her life.

"So does that mean you'll come to the Invitational?" she asked hopefully.

"Are you singing a solo?"

"No. I have a duet with Jesse, though."

"Get me a seat by your dads and you've got a deal."


The night of the Invitational, Rachel was standing backstage trying to shake off her nerves when she heard someone come up beside her.

"Rachel, breathe," he told her.

Doing as her friend instructed, Rachel closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times before opening them and smiling at him.

"Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome. I didn't think you'd get nervous, though."

"I normally don't, but this is the first time performing in front of people with Vocal Adrenaline. This performance could make or break me getting the female lead position. If I don't get the female lead now, then I may never get it. I'll be less likely to be noticed and less likely to get into a college in New York."

"Okay, drama queen, you need to calm down."

"I have to get to New York, Jesse," Rachel insisted. "You of all people should understand that."

"I do understand," Jesse replied. "However, you still need to calm down. You need to save your energy for the performance."

Rachel nodded, closing her eyes and breathing deeply a few more times, only opening her eyes when she felt Jesse take her hand.

"Come on, Shelby is waiting for us. You know how she gets when people are late," he told her as he began to lead her back to the choir room.

Nodding again, Rachel tightened her grip on his hand and began to follow him.


After performing a group number and reprising their Broadway Baby duet, Rachel and Jesse joined their teammates at Shelby's for a small party.

"Rachel," Shelby said as she walked into the room. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Um, okay," Rachel replied, reluctantly giving up her seat on the couch next to Jesse to follow her mother. "Who am I meeting?"

"You said you wanted to meet more of my family, more of your family, right?"

"Yes…"

Before she could say anything else, she saw a girl who appeared to be about her age talking with her dads.

"Holly," Rachel heard Shelby say, causing the girl to turn around and walk over towards them.

"Hi," the girl said with a smile.

"Hi," Rachel returned, unsure what else to say.

"Rachel, this is your cousin, Holly. She's a junior at Lincoln High School," Shelby informed her.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Holly added. "I hope you don't mind me crashing your party."

"I don't mind. I've wanted to meet you for a while now, but it never seemed to work out."

"Same here. Your dads seem pretty cool, by the way."

"They are," Rachel told her with a smile. "I think I'll keep them."

Holly laughed, looping her arm through the younger girl's before beginning to walk with her, talking to her like they were the best of friends and had known each other forever.


"Where's your other half?" Andrea asked as she took Rachel's now vacant spot on the couch next to Jesse.

"Rachel and I aren't together, so she's technically not my other half," Jesse corrected before answering the question. "Shelby took her to meet someone."

"Who?"

"No idea. I thought I heard Shelby say something about Rachel wanting to meet more of her family, but I'm not sure."

"I thought I saw Holly lurking around here somewhere."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Jesse agreed.

"I don't know why she doesn't just transfer back already. She's miserable at Lincoln."

"I'm sure Shelby has a plan."

"You think?"

"I'd put money on it. There's a reason Shelby keeps inviting her to these things. Well, probably multiple reasons, but still. She was part of the team freshman year and then she transferred to Lincoln sophomore year because it was closer to where she lives. Only she's not happy there and Shelby knows it. She's been trying to convince her sister of it since last year. Holly and Rachel will bond quickly, and Shelby will convince her sister that it's in the best interest of both girls to be closer to each other."

"You know, it's really scary how accurate that probably is," Andrea said with a laugh before slightly changing the subject. "So, I heard you introduced Rachel to your grandma and sister."

Jesse rolled his eyes, though he'd been prepared for Andrea's inquisition.

"So what?" he asked.

"That's a big deal for you."

"It is not."

"It is, too. Don't lie to me, Jesse, I can see right through it. Admit it, you like her."

"We're just friends."

"You could be more."

"I'm not getting involved with anyone this year, remember?"

"You know, you keep saying that, but I still don't believe you. There's always that one person that you'll make an exception for. She wants out of Ohio, too. It's not like she's going to hold you back and make you re-consider your dreams just to make her happy."

"I know," Jesse admitted softly. "I found that out tonight."

"You didn't know? With as ambitious as she is?"

Jesse shrugged in response to his friend's question before he answered.

"I had a feeling, but I wasn't sure."

"Look, I get that you don't want to risk not being able to leave, but I've seen the way you two are together. You're obnoxiously cute."

"Obnoxiously cute?" Jesse repeated, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Yeah. You're always smiling and laughing with each other, talking together with your heads close together."

"She's easy to talk to."

"I'm telling you, you're making a mistake by not asking her out."

"Why are you pushing this?"

"Because Shelby is always saying how she doesn't want us to make the same mistakes she did. She said her biggest regret is not going after the guy she later realized was likely her soul mate. What if Rachel is your soul mate?"

"Andi, I'm eighteen. She's not even sixteen yet. Aren't we a little young to be thinking about soul mates?"
"No. You're never too young to meet your soul mate. My parents have been inseparable since they were toddlers. My grandmas always say how they just knew they would end up together. You're always saying you wish you had what my parents have. What if Rachel is the one who can be that for you? You know she'll support you, she won't hold you back."

"I'm not talking about this anymore," Jesse snapped before he stood and walked out onto the patio.


While she and Rachel were talking, Holly noticed the other girl's attention drift towards the patio doors.

"If you want to go after him, I'll understand," she said. "There's someone else here I need to talk to anyway."

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"Positive," Holly assured her with a smile. "I'm crashing here tonight, so we'll have plenty of time to chat later."

Rachel nodded, hugging her cousin before quickly making her way out onto the patio.


"Why are you sitting out here alone?" she asked as she took a seat next to Jesse on the steps.

"I needed some space to think," he answered softly.

"I see. Well, if you decide you want to talk, you know where to find me."

As she stood to head back inside, Rachel felt Jesse take her hand.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

Rachel nodded, returning to her previous spot beside him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I meant what I said about not getting involved anyone here," he began, rushing to explain when he saw her wince. "However, I met someone who has made me re-evaluate that decision."

"She must be very special."

"She is. I haven't known her very long, but I felt comfortable with her from the moment we met. She's my new favorite duet partner and I feel something for her that I haven't felt for anyone else before. I don't know what it is yet, but I just know it's different."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you're her," Jesse admitted. "I don't know what exactly I feel for you yet, Rach, but I want to give us a chance, and when I do figure it out, you'll be the first to know."

"I'm not that special," Rachel insisted. "I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"Who says I'm going to regret it?"
"Jesse…"

"You don't share my feelings, do you?"

"I do share them. I just don't want you to feel like you're obligated to give me a chance because of it."

"I don't feel obligated," Jesse replied as he leaned closer. "So, what do you say, Miss Berry? Will you give me a chance?"

"I suppose I could be convinced."

In response to Rachel's teasing remark, Jesse closed the distance between them, brushing his lips with hers before he spoke again.

"Are you convinced now?" he asked softly.

"I think I need more convincing," Rachel replied.

"No more kisses until you give me an answer."

"Of course my answer is yes. I thought you knew that already?"

"Just making sure," Jesse responded before leaning over to kiss her again.


So...part 4, anyone? Any guesses about who Shelby was talking to or who Holly went to find?