A reminder that this is an AU fic (but if you don't know that I'm a mostly AU writer, I don't know what to tell you).
Enjoy part 2 of New Girl!
New Girl
Rachel quickly found that being in a new school during her senior year wasn't as bad as she first thought it was going to be. She was lucky to have met some friends on her first day who had introduced her to an extra-curricular activity that she actually sort of loved despite not being able to sing.
It had been a whole month since she'd met Jesse, which meant she'd been at McKinley for just over a week, and her and Jesse had been subtly flirting with each other since they met; 'accidental' touching, eye contact when Jesse was singing (especially when it was a romantic song), Jesse subtly picking on her and teasing (which Rachel found immature and stupid but he was still a boy after all) and laughing (maybe a bit too hard on some occasions) at each other's jokes.
Rachel's friends had also noticed that flirting that was going on and one night, when Rachel and Quinn were hanging out at the local diner, Quinn questioned her about it.
"So…." Quinn began in a teasing, sing song way. "You and Jesse aren't hanging around, are ya."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked, feigning innocence.
"Come on, Rachel. It is so obvious that you two are into each other."
Rachel waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "It's nothing. I mean, yeah, he's cute and everything but I've only just started at McKinley. I'm not rushing into anything. Especially not a relationship." She said.
"But you'd make such a great couple." Quinn gushed.
Rachel giggled at her friend's excitement. "It's fun to just flirt. I don't need any kind of commitment or anything. It's my senior year, I wanna just have fun before I move onto college next year and I have to work about a million times harder." Rachel told Quinn.
Quinn nodded in understanding. "Yea, I get where you're coming from. I was into this guy named Sam in my sophomore year. He'd just started at the school and there was instant chemistry between the two of us."
"What happened to him?" Rachel asked. "I haven't heard you talk about him before."
"He left in the middle of junior year. They moved here to begin with because his dad relocated here for his job but then he got a promotion and another opportunity to move back to their hometown, so they all decided that they'd rather go back." She said sadly. "I don't blame them. Sam and his siblings were all born there, and Sam's mom grew up there, so it makes sense. The rest of their extended family where still there too so I completely get it."
"So, you two had instant chemistry but nothing happened?" Rachel asked.
"It's a good thing in hindsight. I mean, he is gone now."
"I'm sorry Quinn." Rachel said tenderly.
"It's not a big deal. He's not the only guy I'm ever going to have chemistry with, right."
"No, of course not." Rachel promised.
"Just don't rule out a possible relationship with Jesse. You can still have fun in a relationship, and it doesn't have to be a serious relationship either." Quinn said, a wicked glint in her eye.
A couple of days after the conversation she'd had with Quinn, Rachel was getting together her things at the end of another Glee session. Brittney was right when she said that she wouldn't have to sing that much and when it came to group songs, she stood in the background, and because there were other, much more powerful, singers, it was almost impossible to hear her contributions.
"Hey, Rachel, can we have a chat before you leave?" Mr Shuester asked.
"Um…sure." Rachel said nervously, as her Glee teacher sat down next to her.
"How are you enjoying the club?" He began.
"It's great. I'm really glad Quinn and those guys introduced me to the club and I'm really grateful you allowed me to join." Rachel said.
"That's great, Rachel, really good." He said.
"I'm guessing that isn't all you wanted to say to me." Rachel said.
"Afraid not." The teacher said. "I've arranged for you to get some singing lessons if you want them. I think it'll benefit not only you but the rest of the group too. If we manage to get to competitions this year, I want you to be able to make a real contribution to it since it's your final year."
"It's my only year." Rachel pointed out.
"Right, I'm aware of that. Would you like me to give you the name of the person who will be giving you the lessons or not? It is completely your choice." He told Rachel.
Rachel thought about what the teacher had said. She was never interested in learning how to sing before she joined Glee club and it was only because of the friends she'd made and the enthusiasm they had for the club that she was even considering it now.
"Sure, why not." She answered finally. "I've always liked a challenge. Who have you picked to be my singing teacher?" she asked.
"You know I'd help you out if I could Rachel but, since I can't, I've decided to get Jesse to help you. I've noticed that you seem to have a natural chemistry with each other and he's on track to be going to a performing arts college when you all graduate, so it was an easy choice really. I'll let him know what you decide and tell him to come to you to arrange your first lesson."
Rachel nodded to show that she'd understood. "Thanks Mr Shue. I'll wait to hear from him."
As she left the classroom she couldn't help but wonder if her teacher had been given meddling tips from Quinn.
She didn't have to wait long. The next day, a Saturday, she received a text from Jesse.
"When are you free for your singing lesson?" the text read.
"How did you even get my number?" she thought, before texting him back the same thing.
"I didn't want to wait until Monday, so I asked Quinn." He said back. Before she could think of what to reply to that, she received another text from him. "How about this weekend? Have you got any free time?"
"I've got some time." She text to him. "When are you thinking?
"Today? You can come to mine."
"Sure."
Jesse and Rachel arranged a time and later that afternoon, Rachel made her way to Jesse's house using the address he had given her.
It didn't take long before Rachel got bored and wanted a break.
"Come on, Rach. We've not been at it for very long, you can't seriously want to give up already?" he asked.
Rachel gave a big sigh. "I'm not used to this. I have to build up to it." Rachel said.
"Fine. Do you want a drink or anything?" Jesse asked.
"I'd love a water, thanks." She told him.
When he came back with their drinks, Rachel had changed the music to something else and was on her phone.
He sat down next to her and handed her the water.
"How am I doing then?" Rachel asked.
"Not bad." Jesse answered. "You seem to have a natural talent to it so teaching you to get better shouldn't be too hard."
Rachel nodded. "That's good to know. Interesting too."
"So, you've never sang before?" he asked her.
Rachel shook her head. "I mean, I sing along to music but that's like in my car or in the shower. I don't sing to let others hear me." She explained.
"Well, you should. You have a great voice."
Rachel sniggered. "After half a session? I don't think so. I think someone is just trying to get on my good side." She teased.
Jesse laughed. "Ok, maybe your voice still needs a little bit of work but as it said earlier, it's not bad and we've definitely had a goo start." Then he grew serious. "And as for wanting to get on your good side, well, I think you already know the answer to that."
Rachel felt her cheeks go warm and to hide her embarrassment, she stood up, almost spilling the water she was holding, over herself. "Let's get back to practising." Rachel said, feeling a little flustered.
Jesse laughed again. "Sure thing." He said.
When Rachel got home later that evening, she had a call from Quinn.
"So…." Quinn sing songed.
"Yes, Quinn?" Rachel asked.
"How did it go with Jesse?" she asked, teasingly.
"You really do like to meddle, don't you?" Rachel teased back.
"It's my role as your friend." Quinn said simply. "What happened?" she asked again
"What are you expecting?" Rachel wondered.
"Some flirts, mostly." Quinn answered.
Rachel laughed. "Well, I suppose you're in luck then. There was some flirting. Some comments that might have made me blush." Just talking about it was making her blush again. It really had been a long time since she'd felt an attraction to someone.
Quinn squealed, which Rachel wasn't expecting, and made her move the phone away from her ear. "Am I a matchmaker, or what?"
Rachel laughed again. "Can I just point out that nothing has actually happened yet?"
Quinn sighed heavily. "Small details." She insisted. "It's going to happen, and I want you both to acknowledge that it was because of me." Rachel decided to agree with her friend. Something told her that it would make her laugh a little bit easier.
Rachel and Jesse started off with meeting once a week for their singing lessons. A month later, they started meeting twice a week and then a month after that, it moved up to three times a week and they spent more time talking than singing. Despite singing not being a huge part of Rachel's life, they discovered that they still had a lot in common.
Apart from one small flirt they had during their first singing lesson, nothing like that had happened again but, despite this, Rachel came to enjoy the alone time she spent with Jesse and she knew that he felt the same, and all the alone time she spent with him was causing her crush to increase every time she saw him. But she was still worried about ruining the friendship they had. They'd gotten so close in the months they'd been spending together that they found that they were starting to talk about things that they felt they couldn't tell anyone else and it didn't need to be said that what was discussed between them was never to be discussed with anyone else. Along with that came the 'important' topics too, including past relationships they'd had, their home life, what they planned to do after graduation, and Rachel told Jesse about what her school was like before she moved to Lima.
One day, during one of their lessons, Jesse seemed to have more on his mind than usual, and Rachel couldn't help herself and had to ask him.
"Ok, what is going on?" she asked, during the middle of the lesson. "You are so distracted."
Jesse sighed and sat down, gesturing for Rachel to sit down next to him.
"We're friends, right?" he asked.
Rachel swallowed the golf ball sized lump she had in her throat before answering that they were, in fact, friends.
"Do you remember me telling me telling you about the girl I was dating before you came to McKinley?" he asked. Rachel knew right away what he was going to say next so, not trusting her voice, she just nodded her reply. "We've been in contact lately and I think I'm falling for her again. I've been so distracted because I'm trying to figure out a way to let her know that I'm serious about this. That I want her back."
"Wow." Was all that Rachel could say. She knew that her voice lacked the enthusiasm that he'd want to hear but she couldn't find it in herself to perk herself up.
"I'm going to go and grab a drink, quickly. I'm sorry for being so distracted. I'll do better when I come back." He said before rushing out of the room.
When he came back, two drinks in his hand, Rachel lied and said that she was needed back home and left Jesse's before he had a chance to question it.
"You know if you don't do something about the monster sized crush you have on him soon, you're going to end up in the friend's zone forever." Quinn advised Rachel when Rachel was discussing it with her friend's one lunchtime and couple of months into their singing lessons.
Rachel looked over to where Jesse was sitting. He was sitting with some other members of Glee club including Artie, Mike, Kurt, and Blaine.
"No, I can't. He doesn't feel the same way for me and I'm not making a fool of myself. Not even for him." Rachel said with finality.
Quinn sighed heavily, as did Santana and Brittney. "Not telling him is worse than telling him." Quinn told her.
Rachel didn't think so.
As the weeks passed, Jesse and Rachel continued with their singing lessons. She didn't know what had happened with Jesse and his ex because she hadn't asked, and Jesse hadn't disclosed any information about it either. That was fine by Rachel.
It was Glee for them that day after school and, as usual, when Rachel got there she sat next to Quinn and, as usual, when Mr Shue came in, he asked Jesse how Rachel's progress was coming along.
"To be honest, I don't think she needs much more coaching from me. I think I, as a student myself, have taught her all that I can."
Mr Shue looked very happy about the news. "Well, Rachel, why don't you come up here and show us your new skills?" he asked, putting her on the spot.
"Before she does, can I sing something first?" Jesse asked from his spot, still in the middle of the floor.
"Of course." Mr Shue said. He then came to sit at the side of the room, getting ready to watch his male star pupil.
Rachel was anticipating a song for his new girlfriend; that wasn't there but that was neither here nor there.
Just before Jesse started to sing, he stared at her for a millisecond longer than Rachel thought he would.
"This is a song dedicated to the girl in the room who doesn't realise how wonderful she is. This song is by Brett Young and it's called In Case You Didn't Know." He then launched into the song.
I can't count the times
I almost said what's on my mind
But I didn't
Just the other day
I wrote down all the things I'd say
But I couldn't
I just couldn't
Baby I know that you've been wondering
Mmm, so here goes nothing
In case you didn't know
Baby I'm crazy 'bout you
And I would be lying if I said
That I could live this life without you
Even though I don't tell you all the time
You had my heart a long, long time ago
In case you didn't know
"It's about you!" Quinn squealed from next to Rachel. Rachel ignored her, not being able to take her eyes from Jesse.
The way you look tonight
That second glass of wine
That did it, mmm
There was something 'bout that kiss
Girl it did me in
Got me thinking
I'm thinking
One of the things that I've been feeling
Mmm it's time you here 'em
In case you didn't know
Baby I'm crazy 'bout you
And I would be lying if I said
That I could live this life without you
Even though I don't tell you all the time
You had my heart a long, long time ago
In case you didn't know
You've got all of me
I belong to you
Yeah, you're my everything
In case you didn't know
I'm crazy 'bout you
I would be lying if I said
That I could live this life without you
Even though I don't tell you all the time
You had my heart a long, long time ago
Yeah you had my heart a long, long time ago
Mmm, in case you didn't know
No, no in case you didn't know
The classroom was silent when Jesse had finished, everyone looking between Jesse and Rachel to see what would happen next.
It was Jesse who moved first. He walked towards Rachel and held out a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up.
"In case you didn't know, that was for you." He began. "I like you Rachel Berry and I have for quite a long time. Getting to know you over the last couple of months has been amazing and I would very much like the opportunity to take you on a date."
Quinn squealed again.
Rachel blushed but smiled. "But what about your girlfriend?" she asked.
Jesse shrugged. "Never happened. I realised that there was someone I wanted more than my ex." He said, smirking.
Rachel blushed an even deeper red. "I would love to go a date with you."
Hope you enjoyed the 2nd and last part of my two parter. When I say that the last part of this took me hours, I am not kidding. I just couldn't seem to get it right. Sorry if it seems a bit rushed at the end, it is. But I hope you like it anyway.