A/N: First of all, I am so sorry for not updating this sooner. I had a very stressful last few weeks of college and I've been attempting to recover while also trying to get my muse to give me something to work with. I don't know how successful it was, but hopefully you enjoy it anyway.
Those of you who have read A New Beginning will recognize a familiar character and storyline, but as I said before, I hope you enjoy it anyway (and please review)
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
When she walked into the auditorium to prepare for the last rehearsal of the week, Rachel was surprised to find that someone had gotten there before her. Recognizing the older girl who had been talking to Dominic the night of the Vocal Adrenaline party, she made her way over to her and opened her mouth to happily greet her when she saw the tears flowing down the other girl's face.
"Leslie?" Rachel asked softly, sliding into the seat next to her as she spoke. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I bombed by French test," Leslie said quietly. "I didn't fail it, thanks to Holly, but I'm afraid it's too late for this semester. There's no way I can get my grade up by December."
"Are you sure? You said you did better thanks to Holly…"
"That's true, but our schedules only coordinate once a week and I need more help than that."
"I have an idea," Rachel told her. "Let's go talk to my Mom."
"Shelby's the reason I even got any help in the first place, I don't know what else she can do," Leslie said with a shrug.
"Just trust me."
Wiping her eyes, Leslie sighed as she stood and followed the younger girl towards Shelby's office. She figured she might as well see if there was anything Rachel could convince her mother to do. She liked being on the team and she knew bringing home a bad grade without any kind of solution wasn't going to get her anywhere.
After Rachel had explained the situation to her mother, Leslie anxiously awaited her coach's response.
"You know the rule about grades and remaining on the team," Shelby began. "However, I have seen for myself how hard you have been studying and how difficult this has been for you. That being said, I wanted to have a back-up plan in place in the event that the test did not go well. Holly also told me that she regretted not being able to work out any more time with you, but that you were improving and she believes that you could get your grade up if you had more help."
"What's the back-up plan?" Rachel inquired.
"I called Holly's father. Since he's the one who taught her when she was younger, I don't think continuing your tutoring with him will cause much of an issue."
"Won't that interfere with rehearsal?"
"That's where you come in," Shelby told her daughter. "I'm willing to excuse Leslie from rehearsals a few times a week so that she can work on her French with Nick. Holly will still meet with her once a week to help maintain what she's learned, but I need you to make sure she keeps up with the competition numbers. I will let the two of you figure out the specific times, but I'm confident we can all make this work."
"You're not kicking me off the team?" Leslie asked.
"No. I'm making an exception because you came to me ahead of time."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Shelby replied with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go meet with Principal Hawthorne before rehearsal."
"Is everything okay?" Rachel wondered.
"I'm sure everything will be fine."
Rachel nodded, knowing her mother wouldn't reveal anything else until later. Looping her arm through Leslie's as they left the room, she quickly changed the subject.
"So, what can you tell me about Dominic?"
Leslie laughed as she walked alongside the younger girl.
"Lots of things," she replied. "What do you want to know?"
"Well, let's start with how he met my cousin…."
Walking into Principal Hawthorne's office, it was Shelby's turn to be surprised. Although unlike her daughter, she wasn't quite sure how to react to this one.
"Jack," she said coolly.
"Shelby," he returned.
"Why are you here?"
"I was offered the position of Vocal Adrenaline's assistant coach."
"That's impossible, since the head coach, which would be me, has to approve of the person before they are offered the job."
"The principal also has the option of over-ruling you, and since she knew you wouldn't approve of offering the job to me, it appears to be what she did."
"I don't even understand why you're here."
"Akron is home," Jack replied with a shrug.
"You lived here for a year before you left for New York," Shelby reminded him. "How can this possibly be home?"
"I always liked Akron best. The fact that you're here is an added benefit."
"If you think you can just waltz back into my life like nothing happened, you're wrong."
Before Jack could say anything in response, they both turned at the sound of the door opening again.
"Good, you're both here," Piper said with a smile as she approached. "Thank you for meeting me on such short notice."
"Piper, I don't understand," Shelby admitted. "What makes you think I need an assistant coach?"
"You have a large team and you've mentioned in the past that you wish you could give them each more individual attention. Now you can. They'll now have two people to go to. All of our other teams have two coaches."
"The team is no larger than it has been in the past. I don't need an assistant coach. Vocal Adrenaline became champions again because of the changes that I implemented, and I did it all on my own. I see no problem continuing that in the future."
"I understand that," Piper assured her, "and I don't regret giving you the authority to make those changes, but I feel that having someone there to help you will benefit the team in the long run."
"She's about as stubborn as you, Shel," Jack commented with a laugh, quickly earning him a glare from Shelby.
"Don't call me that," she told him icily.
"You used to like it."
"Yes, and I also used to think you actually cared about me. I've since learned the error of my ways."
"You two know each other?" Piper asked, feigning innocence. She knew all about the history between Jack and Shelby, although neither one knew that.
"Unfortunately," Shelby replied.
"We went to high school together for a short while," Jack added.
"I see. Well, I hope you two will be able to get over whatever happened in your past because I think you'll make a great team."
"I already have a great team," Shelby said as she stood. "Speaking of which, I need to get to rehearsal before I'm late."
"Am I supposed to follow her?" Jack asked Piper.
"Not today," she answered. "I'll give her the weekend to get used to the idea. You start on Monday."
"I have a feeling it's going to take longer than few days for her to…get used to the idea…but I'll take your word for it."
"Where's Shelby?" Jesse wondered as he joined Rachel and Leslie in the auditorium.
"She had to go meet with Principal Hawthorne about something," Rachel answered.
"She didn't sound too thrilled about it, either," Leslie added.
"She looked pissed," Holly corrected as she and Dominic joined the group.
"I heard a rumor that Principal Hawthorne was considering an assistant coach, but I didn't think she'd actually go through with it. She usually leaves everything Vocal Adrenaline-related up to Shelby," Jesse revealed.
"I can understand being frustrated about it, but why would she be so bad? Did Principal Hawthorne choose someone unqualified?"
"I don't think it's that," Rachel answered. "She's usually very good at hiding her emotions. If she looked pissed, whatever happened must have gotten under her skin, which is difficult to do."
"True."
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Leslie decided. "Shelby will be here any minute and she'll just get even madder if we're not ready for rehearsal."
Later that night, just as she was about to turn the light off and go to bed, Shelby heard a knock at her door. Opening the door, she wasn't entirely surprised to see Hiram standing there, looking both curious and sympathetic.
"You talked to Rachel, didn't you?" she guessed as she let her friend into her room.
"Yes," Hiram answered. "She was very concerned, Shelby. She thinks something is wrong and she isn't sure how to help you."
"Jack is Vocal Adrenaline's new assistant coach," Shelby revealed with a sigh as she took a seat on her bed.
"Jack? As in Jack Canton? Your ex-boyfriend and love of your life?"
"You know, I tried to forget that last part, but yes, that's the one."
"Wow."
"Is that all you have to say?"
"I'm surprised, that's all," Hiram told her as he took a seat next to her. "I didn't think he'd ever come back here."
"I didn't either."
"Aren't you supposed to get a say in who becomes your assistant coach?"
"You'd think. Apparently Piper didn't think it was necessary, or she decided to over-rule me, which she has every right to do. I just don't understand why this decision was different than any other one regarding the team."
"What are you going to do?"
"What choice do I have? I'm going to work with him like a professional. I have to set an example for our daughter and the other kids on the team."
"I think you should tell Rachel who Jack is, what he meant to you, what happened between the two of you."
"I was already planning on it," Shelby revealed. "We're having a mother-daughter day tomorrow so I was planning on telling her then. I don't want her to make the same mistakes that I did."
"I'm sure she'll appreciate your honesty as well. I think it may also help her with the feelings she has for a certain other member of the team."
"She and Jesse connected the moment they sang together. I wouldn't be surprised if they are already in love with each other."
"Really," Hiram commented, "and you didn't think to reveal this to either Leroy or me?"
Shelby smiled a little at Hiram's mock-angry tone before she spoke again.
"It's not like you two didn't see it for yourselves the night you met him."
"That's true. I'm still interested in the story of their first duet from your point of view."
"I'll tell you about it some other time. It's been a long day and I'd like to get some sleep."
"I understand. If you need anything, you know where to find me. The same goes for Leroy."
"Thank you," Shelby said, leaning over to hug her friend before they stood and walked to the door.
"Goodnight, Shelby."
"Goodnight, Hiram."
After spending the day with her mother, aunt, and cousin, Rachel returned home to find that Jesse was there waiting for her.
"Your dads let me in," he told her as he stood.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Everything is fine. I just wanted to see you, and I was hoping to convince you to sing a duet with me."
"You know as well as I do that I'll never pass up the chance to sing with you," Rachel replied, taking Jesse's hand and leading him down the hall to the music room.
"For someone who hasn't lived here long, you seem awfully comfortable," Jesse remarked as he followed his girlfriend.
"This house just felt like home the moment I stepped in, just like I knew Carmel was the school for me the moment I stepped through the front doors. My dads said I've always been very perceptive and they would immediately know whether or not I was comfortable somewhere."
"So how do you explain your experience at McKinley then?"
"I hid it well," Rachel replied with a shrug. "It's something else I quickly became skilled at. You don't show emotions at McKinley unless they have to do with supporting the cheerleaders and football players. The only football player I support is Noah."
"Doesn't it ever strike you as odd that you two remained friends?"
"No. Why would it?"
"Your personalities are kind of polar opposites: he's laid back, you're very driven. He's a jock, you're in show choir. At McKinley you were at opposite ends of the popularity chain."
"Noah and I have known each other since we were kids. He's like a brother to me. It's just always been that way. I guess we balance each other out. He does like to say that I need someone around to calm my crazy. I like to be in the limelight and he's happy to let me."
"But you two kept your friendship under wraps at McKinley."
"We discovered shortly after we started school that it was best for the both of us if we kept it to ourselves. People assumed we knew each other because we're both Jewish and we never corrected them. There was only one synagogue in Lima, so no one ever thought anything of it. I actually have Noah to thank for many a diverted slushie attack. He would convince the assigned jock that either the principal was going to suspect something because they'd slushied me too many days in a row or that someone else was a better target."
"Wow."
"Are we finished talking about McKinley now?"
"Yeah, sorry," Jesse apologized. "I was just curious."
"I understand," Rachel assured him. "I just try not to think about it. It's a chapter of my life that's finished and I'd rather not re-visit."
"You could have just said that and I would have changed the subject."
"I know, but I want to be honest with you, and I know you'd never use the information against me."
"Of course not. I'd never dream of it."
"I didn't think so."
"How about I make it up to you by letting you pick a duet for us to sing?" Jesse suggested as he sat down at the piano.
"Deal," Rachel replied with a smile, setting the song book she'd been holding on the stand and opening it to the desired page.
My love
There's only you in my life
The only thing that's right
Oh yeah
My first love (yeah)
You're every breath that I take
You're every step I make
And I
(And I)
I want to share
All my love with you, hey yeah
After they finished their duet, Rachel not only felt better, but also remembered what she had wanted to tell Jesse since she got home.
"I found out why my Mom was so upset yesterday," she revealed.
"Besides having a decision made for her?" Jesse asked.
"Yes. Besides that."
"Okay, what is it?"
"The guy is her ex-boyfriend. My aunt said it was the first and only time my Mom has been in love."
"That explains the strong reaction."
"Exactly. Anyway, so apparently they dated in high school, when they were our ages respectively, and then they broke up shortly after he went off to college in New York."
"Shelby went to college in New York…"
"There's more," Rachel told him. "She did go to college in New York, and she had managed to locate him, but when she went to find him, she found out he'd moved on."
"So? They were broken up…"
"He had apparently made a promise that he'd wait for her, that he wanted to focus on his schoolwork and a role he had auditioned for in some off-Broadway production that he was positive he was going to get. He told her he loved her and he wanted them to be together, but the long-distance thing was too much for both of them and he'd wait until she joined him in New York so they could give their relationship a fair shot…or something to that effect."
"He probably didn't remember making the promise."
"Now you sound like Noah."
"I don't mean he forgot because he's a guy. I mean he probably forgot because, like you said, he was busy with other things. I assume he and Shelby lost touch somewhere along the line?"
"Yes. By the end her senior year, she barely spoke to him. According to my Mom, he knew she was going to be moving to New York."
"Did she ever approach him?"
"No. She turned around and left. She put everything she had into school and auditioning for shows. However, by the time she graduated, she found that she no longer felt like New York was the place for her, so she moved back to Akron. My aunt and uncle had just gotten engaged, so my Mom stuck around to help with the wedding and then the job at Carmel became available. She said she knew the moment she walked back into the school that she was meant to be there, that this job was meant for her. She also said that she enjoys seeing everyone grow and find their own way, and doing her part to help them on that path, more than she ever enjoyed pursuing a Broadway career."
"Maybe this guy came to same realization."
"His name is Jack. Jack Canton."
When Rachel said the name, Jesse was momentarily struck speechless.
"No way," he said once he'd found his voice again.
"What do you mean 'no way'?" Rachel wondered.
"I know him. At least I know of him."
"What? How?"
"He's the godfather of my sister's fiancé, and I'm pretty sure the girl that Shelby saw Jack with is Joel's mother."
"Talk about a small world," Rachel muttered.
"Tell me about it," Jesse replied.
"Should we tell my Mom?"
"I don't know. Probably. I just don't know how."
Song: Endless Love by Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey
