Chapter 3

The next couple weeks of Rachel's life flew past furiously. She was immensely enjoying the programmes that the NYADA and Julliard tutors were running. They had worked on dance routines with choreographers that had worked on Broadway shows and music videos. Rachel had been delighted when she had the chance to learn some of the West side story routines, and had dragged James with her.

She had expected to enjoy the programme and the workshops but one of the more surprising developments was that Rachel had made friends with a number of the kids who were from other Glee clubs around the country. Before, she would have been nervous of interacting with these members of other show choirs but not this new Rachel.

Taking on board what James had said to her about how the people in other groups were friendly if you opened up and talked them. She'd formed a friendship group with James and his friends, the boys and girls Vocal Adrenaline along with some from New York and California.

The second week of the programme saw the kids who were from Show Choirs separated from the applicants who weren't; split into two as they worked on a group performance. The thirty or so of them had spent the week dancing and performing a variety of songs showcasing a large array of talent. For the end of the week, they had each been tasked with singing a solo in front of the group on the Friday of the week.

Rachel was looking forward to hearing James sing. Even though she'd heard the Portland Scale Blazers perform at nationals, her memories were cloudy, and during the group performances she couldn't make out the individual voices. James' fellow Scale Blazers Matt and Lucy were dating and so had agreed to perform a duet that showcased both of their voices. Rachel and Kurt had come to the agreement they were as strong, if not stronger than those of most of the other kids from New Directions. There were a number of male lead voices from other glee clubs that were astonishing; but if those had impressed her, James' voice had blown her away.

He had sung a powerful rendition of "Save Me" by Queen. His vocal range was incredible, easily matching anything that she had heard from Jesse . He also had incredible control of his voice, never seeming to struggle with a note as what would happen with the other male leads. In his voice, James could sing strongly but still with a tenderness and calmness that was remarkably similar to his own personality.

Rachel worked hard to ensure when she sung strongly she kept a gentleness to it, but it seemed to come naturally for James. Her performance would need to rival his and she had chosen to sing "Walk Away" from Christina Aguilera. As she sung, Rachel was pleased to see James was looking at her with a smile on his as he took her in. She wanted to impress him, and was glad that if his face was anything to go by and the way he was looking at her with adoration then she'd blown his socks off.

Their final group assignment had been the most fun as she danced and sung with James. She could still feel the electricity days after from their dancing and combined voices.

The three kids from Portland had become friends with her and Kurt quickly, sharing stories of their sectional and regional performances from the last couple of years. Matt and Lucy had been the two who were joining James at the summer camp, both having been put with Kurt's group for the first week and a half.

…

"So, Rachel…" James said smiling, "These are my friends from Portland; Matt and Lucy"

"Nice to meet you two" Rachel said smiling, as she shook their hands

"Nice to meet this Rachel that has stolen our James away from us" Matt said playfully, earning him a roll of the eyes from James

"You all have amazing voices" Kurt had said

"Us? You should have heard yourselves" Lucy replied

"Totally, James was captivated when you sung earlier Rachel." Matt said seriously

"You were incredible" James said, a blush coming to his cheeks. Rachel smiled back at him, looking into his eyes and seeing that same truthfulness she saw whenever he complimented her. Her heart beat just that bit faster as she stared in his beautiful brown eyes.

…

Kurt had squealed and talked in excitement about how James had fallen in love with her later that night as they saw in her bed in the hotel room. Rachel had dismissed it, calling him silly and clarifying that her and James were just friends; but she couldn't help that lurch in her stomach or the beat of her heart as she thought of him. Rachel didn't know if she was ready for anything serious with him or even to admit it, but she knew that she had feelings for him.

In the weeks they'd been in New York; Rachel herself had spending a large amount of time with James, much to Kurt's continued joy about how he thought they seemed to be perfect for one another and often teasing that her and James were in a bubble whenever they were together.

As the second and third weeks progressed, the time they spent together increased considerably outside of the summer camp schedule

Rachel shared a lot of her past with him, including Shelby and her relationships with Finn, Puck and Jesse. She was curious at first how he would react to the boyfriends she'd had; since she knew he quickly developed a soft spot for her. There was something in how kind he was, and the gentle tone he used when talking with her. The complete attention he gave her when she spoke and the way that he gazed at her with adoration as she spoke told her that he genuinely cared for her. Rachel herself wasn't certain of the strength of her own feelings for him, but valued having someone like him to talk to; someone who would simply be a person who cared what she had to say. She was glad, and her heart warmed, when he embraced her tightly and warmly as she cried about how Finn had broken her heart; feeling her heart lift at his touch. There was just that something about him that made her feel better.

….

"And I told Finn that we couldn't get back together" Rachel said with a soft voice, a tear leaking down her cheek. James was holding her hand softly.

"Why? I thought you said were in love with him?" James asked, his face full of concern for her.

"I am…was…its hard to be sure" Rachel said sniffing, before looking at him "I just know that if we are together, he'll just hurt me again. He hurt me so badly when he chose her over me, and I was too hurt and in love to see it, but Finn and I are no good for each other"

James looked at her with a sad expression, rubbing her hand still, and Rachel couldn't help but break down into tears. She didn't see it, but his face creased as he tried to hold his own tears in before he shifted closer to her and pulled her into his arms; wrapping her in his embrace. She shifted and placed her head in the crook of his neck and felt comforted by his tender hold on her. she felt his breath on her neck as he whispered softly into her ear.

"I'm here for you. I won't let anything hurt you"

…

In turn, James had shared details of his past with her. The difficulty of his relationship with his dad, and how they barely spoke as father and son had brought a tear to her eye. As she saw him trying to control his own, she had grasped his hand tightly and rubbed circles on the back of his hand with his thumbs as he continued the story. She was happy to hear that in recent years his dad had tried to make the effort to spend more time with him, but she felt sorry for him that James felt it was too little too late and he didn't think he'd ever have a real relationship with his dad. James told her of happier times with his mom and sister, Charlotte; a 22 year old who was studying to become a lawyer at Harvard. She couldn't help but smile as he spoke with pride of his sister, and Rachel could tell that he shared a close relationship with Charlie, as he called her affectionately.

He'd only ever had one real relationship with a girl in his life. It had ended around Christmas time, and they both had laughed at the coincidence of both their relationships ending at similar times. Her name had been Ana and he been with her since the previous valentines day. He told her how she'd been the first person outside of his family he told he loved, and he had been for a while before they started dating. Ever since their junior year had started though, they had drifted away. He was under pressure as the lead of the Scale Blazers and she had stared to get feelings for a friend of hers. In the end the breakup had been much more amicable than hers and Finn's. Both he and Ana were still friends to this day, but he admitted that perhaps he would also care for her; just as she would for Finn. You always have feelings for your first love they had agreed.

….

Much to Rachel's joy, James was as in love with the fantasy of New York as she was. It turned out that James' dad had brought him to New York every year for the last few years for a couple of months a year; something James said was to try and make up for the large absence that was his father when he was a young boy.

Rachel had introduced her dads to James during the second week of the five they would be in New York, as they had waited in a coffee shop to pick her up when the programme had finished.

A Couple of Weeks earlier….

"Dads…this is James. James Agrisino" Rachel had said nervously, as the young guy had shook each of her dads hands. He smiled nervously, and her dads were eyeing him curiously; she knew because they had found him laughing in a hotel room with their daughter a few days earlier.

"Nice to meet you, sirs"

"Yes, nice to meet you son." LeRoy had announced and directed him to a seat in the coffee shop they were meeting in.

"Rachel has told us a lot about you" Hiram had said, and Rachel had blushed. She'd gushed about what an amazing performer he was and how great his voice was. She'd also used a few embarrassing terms to describe how he looked that she wouldn't like repeated. James glanced at her and smirked as he turned back to her dads.

"I've heard about you two, sirs" he said confidently and Rachel was happy to see how well he handled her dads "It's a pleasure"

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my boy" Hiram replied smiling "Tell us about yourself"

"Yeah sure" James said, taking a sip of his drink "Well, I'm half Italian. My mom's side of the family to be specific. She owns her own vegan restaurant back home in Oregon My father is a member of the board of a Finance company that works around the country"

"What are you ambitions?" LeRoy inquired,

"I'm applying to Julliard for their drama programme. I've always wanted to be an actor, ever since I can remember. Their programme is the best of its kind for theatre, films. Everything really" James replied, and Rachel couldn't help but be proud of how well he was able to express himself in front of her admittedly rather scary parents. Finn had always had trouble dealing with them; neither of her dads had been fond of Finn and he seem to know that they didn't like him very much. Rachel had always wondered how her dads would be around a boy that they actually liked. Wait, why was she comparing James to Finn?

"That's impressive" Hiram replied "Are you in a glee club, James?"

"Yes Daddy he is" Rachel said "He's the male lead in the national champions"

"You are?" LeRoy asked, and Rachel smiled proudly at James; to which he winked at her. "Hopefully we will hear you sing then before this summer ends"

"I'd be honoured to sing for Rachel's fathers" James said smiling "She tells me you're a fan of broadway"

The two of her dads had then spent the next hour getting to know James and talking about Broadway and musicals in general. As they arrived back at their hotel room later that night, her dads couldn't stop gushing about the young man

"He is a wonderful young man, sweetie" Hiram had announced "You'd do well to tie him down before someone else steals him"

"Dad!" Rachel had gasped "Me and James are just friends

"What your dad is trying to say is that we think he is a perfect gentlemen who is what you deserve" Leroy said, touching her shoulder softly.

...

James had met her parents a few times more over the next couple of weeks, in their hotel for dinner and one the occasion his mum had flown out the previous week, to spend the last two weeks of the summer programme with her son, and taken them to a restaurant owned by a friend of hers. Rachel liked James' mom, she was like him in many regards in that she was very patient, and spoke softly. Rachel had a hard time imagining this women to get angry. James' mom loved Rachel as well, as he informed her the day after, and Andrea had sent her a number of new vegan-friendly recipes that she had implemented in her restaurant in Oregon.

One day he offered to show her around some of the city, something that Rachel in her love of everything New York was more than happy to accept. He showed her places that she'd never heard of before, as well as the more famous attractions the city had to offer. There was an awkward moment between them when an older couple had said the two of them looked very much in love as they sat huddled together on a bench in central park drinking coffee. They had finished having coffee and lunch at a small diner near Broadway called the Starlight Diner, a place heavily inspired by Broadway where the employees would break out in song and dance spontaneously throughout the day.

Their time walking back to her hotel were amongst her favourite. The small talk and chatter just so flowing so easily it made her heart beat.

"Thank you for today…it was amazing" Rachel said happily as they walked down the street towards the entrance to her hotel. Next to her James was wearing a happy smile.

"No problem, the pleasure was all mine" James replied, and she nudged him softly with her shoulder. He was always charming to her, his eyes twinkling as they walked close to one another. "I'm just glad you had fun"

"I always have fun with you" Rachel had said, blushing as the words left her mouth. Smirking he let the comment pass, something Rachel was grateful for as she didn't know why she'd said it.

"Are you going to the party on Wednesday night?" James asked, as they paused outside the doors. The final week of the camp was approaching and the programme administrators had organised a party in one of the NYADA student bars called Callbacks. There would some non-alcoholic cocktails on sale as well as karaoke and dancing with a live band.

"I think so" Rachel replied, biting her lip before continuing "I've heard a lot about Callbacks. Are you?"

"Of course" James said, still smiling "I was wondering…"

"What?" Rachel asked, gulping. James seemed to be nervous, as he paused, taking a deep breath.

"If you wanted to go with me" James replied, smiling again "You know, as friends….not like a date or anything"

"Oh" Rachel asked, her voice betraying the disappointment that she was feeling. She had come to really like James, and the bonding they had shared over their past had caused her feelings to grow. She knew that she cared about him.

"I mean…not that I wouldn't like to take you as my date, but I understand if you don't want to…we can…you know….if you want to" James added quickly, gazing into her eyes. "Be my ..."

"Yeah" Rachel added as his voice trailed off, before giggling softly as he laughed.

"Yeah?" James said, and he took a step towards her.

Rachel bit her lip nodding as she too took a step forward. She gazed up at him, noting that he seemed to be the perfect height for her. He was taller, but not by as much as Finn had been. Her forehead was just about level with his chin, and as he tilted his head to gaze into her eyes; there was an uncertainty in them but also an excitement. He smiled before he spoke again;

"I'd love to take you as my date" His words were soft and meaningful so that she was sure she would always remember them. Rachel's eyes darted to his lips and her heart beat quicker as she saw him start to move closer to her. He paused halfway towards her "I'm going to kiss you now...if thats okay"

She could feel his breath on her as she nodded. They were inches apart. She closed her eyes as their lips met, and when they did her heart screamed out in happiness. It was soft, tender and Rachel felt him smile against her lips as he kissed her again. One of his hands had made its way to her cheek and his thumb rubbed shapes on her cheek, as the other rested on her waist gently pulling her into him. Her hands rested on his arms holding him tightly as they kissed. They shared a few more chaste, loving kisses before he pulled back; resting his forehead against hers, biting his lip as he smiled widely. Rachel found herself grinning back at him and took a deep breath.

They remained that way for a few minutes, simply gazing into each other's eyes as his thumb caressed her cheek tenderly, before he kissed her forehead and stepped back a couple of steps.

"I'll see you tomorrow" James said, staring at her before adding in such a tender voice that her bottom lip quivered.

"Bye James" Rachel said smiling widely as he did the same at her. She watched him turn and walk away down the street. Letting out a deep breath, Rachel jumped on the spot squealing slightly before turning around and saw Kurt stood on the inside of the hotel grinning at her like a Cheshire cat.

….

"Are we serious not going to discuss this?" Kurt asked, as Rachel opened the door to their hotel room. Rachel had been keen not to talk about what had happened between her and James. She didn't want to get too excited about this yet, she wanted to take it slow and see where it went. Kurt on the other hand had been badgering her with questions the whole lift ride up.

"What? He asked me if I was going to the party tomorrow night. I said yes and then he left" Rachel replied, trying to silence him as she sat on the bed.

Kurts eyes widened and he laughed loudly. "Oh no you don't missy! I saw the entire thing. He kissed you!"

"Okay…" Rachel said sighing before grinning widely. "Oh Kurt, he's so amazing. He asked me if I wanted to go with him, as friends as first"

Kurt smiled back at her as she told the story, eager to get all the gossip

"Then I said "Oh" and he could tell I was disappointed and then he was so cute and said that if I wanted to be his date that would be great. I cut him off just saying "Yeah" and then he had the biggest, cutest grin on his face I've ever seen" Rachel said, and then Kurt squealed and hugged her.

"Oh Rachel, I'm so happy for you" Kurt said and then his voice went soft but serious. "Does this mean you're over what happened between you and Finn?"

"I think so" Rachel replied, her smile fading. She hadn't thought of Finn in the two weeks since she had told James about him. "Funny enough, I think telling James was what helped me to realise I don't need to worry about him anymore. I'm not sure what's going to happen from this point…I've never really had anyone treat me like James does…I just know that I like him"

"Well, anyone with eyes can see that he cares about you" Kurt said solidly, "Just ask Matt, his own best friend was telling me James thinks you're special"

Rachel grinned back at him, feeling butterflies in his stomach. Something then occurred to her and her smile dropped.

"What is it?" Kurt asked concerned.

"I just realised in a week we're never going to see each other again" Rachel said, and took a deep breath to control herself. She'd been so happy spending time with James the last week that it hadn't crossed her mind as she was getting closer to him, they would be going their separate ways. He'd be going back to Oregon and her to Ohio. She'd just end up with her heart broken if anything further did happen.

"Oh…" Kurt said softly, and Rachel knew it had just occurred to him as well.

"I'm so stupid…I can't let myself get attached to him. Its only going to end badly" Rachel said putting her head into her pillow.

"Hey…you don't know that" Kurt said and placed a hand softly on her back.

"I do…and so do you" Rachel said sitting back up on the edge of the bed

"Look, Rachel. He likes you, and judging by what I saw before; you like him" Kurt said softly, and Rachel nodded, a smile growing on her lips as she thought back to their kiss. "Just enjoy the time you have left together. Who knows what will happen. There's no reason you two can't keep in contact"

"A long distance relationship…" Rachel said thoughtfully.

"But don't worry about that now…what you should be worrying about is telling me how good of a kisser he is!" Kurt said and tickled her causing Rachel to squeal and laugh.

"Oh Kurt…he's amazing…the way he kissed me…it was so tender and affectionate." Rachel said, blushing and biting her lip "It felt…right"

Kurt giggled and smiled at her "I assume by that you're planning on kissing him again?"

Rachel was about to reply when the door opened to the room her dads shared.

"Kissing who?" Hiram asked with a raised eyebrow. LeRoy had a smile on his face as they walked in and stood in front of the bed Kurt and Rachel were sat on

"Hi Dad…Daddy" Rachel said embarrassed.

"James" Kurt said, and her dads turned to look at each other and then looked back at her smiling.

"James, that was the charming young man you introduced us to the other week?" Hiram asked as they sat on either side of Kurt and Rachel.

"Yes…" Rachel said, eyeing her dads carefully. She found them to be acting suspicious since they had come back from dinner and found her, James and Kurt watching a video of this years National's championships in their room. James and her had been sat close next to each other and as Kurt had informed her, looked very much like a couple as he teased her about that kiss with Finn. She'd looked at him in horror first, before she realized that she Finn was far from her thoughts and instead just laughed along with him. Her talk with James had cleared the air of whatever feelings she still had Finn.

"So you've finally accepted that you two would be perfect for each other?" Hiram said teasingly, with a smirk on his face

"Dad…" Rachel sighed exasperated, "All we did is agree to go to the party tomorrow night with one another"

"And you kissed him" Kurt coughed into his hand, causing her dads to laugh and jump up off the bed

"Well, we better get on the phone to Barbara and see if she is able to sing at your wedding" Hiram said cheerfully as he walked into their room

"Are you happy now?" Rachel said frowning at Kurt, who laughed back at her. Rachel let a smile cross her lips at the thought of her dads approving of James. She didn't know what was going to happen, whether they would even be an actual thing; after all they were saying goodbye in a little over a week. But Rachel knew she was excited at the prospect.

….

A/N :

So Rachel and James have feelings for one another. Whats going to happen between them?

The next chapter is the party I mentioned. We're going to meet Matt properly (A different Matt to glee s1 matt I want to point out!) and Rachel and James are going to sing together for the first time.

…