A/N : James Point of View! Starts from the beginning of the Monday mentioned at the end of the last chapter.

Chapter 50

An alarm sounded and James groaned as he rolls over and saw his phone vibrating on the cabinet next to his bed. Reaching over, he tapped the screen to stop it and fell backwards onto his bed staring up at the ceiling. Next to him, he felt Rachel shift in her sleep; a smile coming to his face as he led there watching her, a peaceful look on her face as she cuddled close to his body. Waking up next to her was the most amazing thing in the world, to see the girl he loved so comfortable and relaxed as she rested her head against his chest.

Sometimes he really hated having to get up to go for his morning run, and more times than he'd like he had skipped it entirely since moving to Ohio; just to spend a little longer in bed with her, feeling special when she curled up next to him wrapping her arms around his body. He had been having second thoughts about transferring schools recently, but seeing her like this; being able to experience such moments with her made it all worthwhile.

He couldn't help it when his hand acted instinctively as she snorted a little in her sleep, without a doubt the cutest noise he had ever heard, moving to her cheek and gently, he started running his fingers across the skin careful not to disturb her. James must have led there for another ten minutes before he finally moved, making sure that he didn't wake her, as he climbed out of his bed and stretched his arms above his head; letting out a low groan as his muscles woke themselves up. Heading towards his wardrobe, he lifted his sleeping shirt over his head and threw it on his desk chair as he opened the doors to find his running gear.

Waking up at Six thirty in the morning wasn't really something he enjoyed doing, but he'd always been proud and careful about maintaining his body; something his mom had always drilled into him, but mainly because he knew how it would one day pay off, and how it had already paid off with his dancing ability.

"James?" He heard a low murmur from his bed, turning as he finished pulling a hoodie over his head, a smile crossing his face, as he saw Rachel had turned to look towards him; her eyes barely open as she shifted looking for his warmth. Walking over he climbed on his bed and leant over, placing a tender kiss against her lips as his hand stroked her cheek.

"Go back to sleep angel" He said softly, kissing her again as he felt her nod before he pulled away; his smile widening as he saw her cuddling Fluffy close to her chest. The soft toy he had given her was a constant presence with her, even when she stayed with him, and he couldn't help but love the fact she slept with it; a warmth filling him that something that was his providing her comfort.

Taking a last lingering look at his girlfriend, James turned and collected his sneakers from the foot of his bed and walked to leave his room; carefully closing the door behind him so he didn't wake Rachel up. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he started walking down the hallway, smiling as he passed his sisters room remembering that it was her birthday today.

Charlie was probably the person, aside from Rachel, that he was closest too. When they were younger, he loved how his big sister would always make time to spend time with him and even when she was seventeen or eighteen, she would always find the time for him regardless of how uncool it might have been for someone her age to hang out with their thirteen year old brother. She always knew how to make him feel better, and every Saturday the two of them would go for breakfast at the mall before she took him shopping. He rarely saw her since she had been at college, aside from birthdays and special occasions, but he was so incredibly proud of her; His sister the Harvard student.

He couldn't help but be excited that she was visiting for a few more days, they were taking her for dinner later that evening because it was her birthday and he was smiling as he knew what Hugh had planned for his sister. His sisters boyfriend was a nice guy, he really cared for Charlie and treated her incredibly well; not to mention the fact that he himself got on really well with Hugh, the two of them had gone to baseball and football games in the time he had been dating James' sister.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he turned and walked towards the kitchen intending to have a drink and fill a bottle of water for his run. As he walked through the archway, he saw his mom sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of green tea, as she did every morning.

"Morning sweetheart" She said with a smile when she saw him. Walking over, he leant down and pressed a kiss against her cheek.

"Morning mom" He replied, dropping his shoes on the table before realising she would chastise him for it; picking them up just as he saw her about to open her mouth. "You okay? You never get up this early"

"I'm fine sweetie" She said with a smile "I'm just happy to have both my children around"

"I missed her too" He said nodding his head, pouring a drink of water.

"You're going for a run?" His mom asked and he nodded as he took a sip. "Are you still going to make Charlotte breakfast? I know you like to but I could do it if you want"

"You do enough" He said, shaking his head. Really, while he did enjoy cooking for his family, and Rachel, he offered to do it a lot of the time because he felt guilty about making his mom cook. She already cooked at the restaurant in Akron, and she'd been cooking for him for years; part of him wanted to make things easier on his mom especially when she'd been so amazing about letting him transfer. "Besides, it's a tradition; I like to cook for her on her birthday"

"I know darling" Andrea said with a warm smile "It makes me so happy to see the young man you're turning into; whenever I see you doting on Rachel, I just feel so proud"

"I dote on Rachel because I love her and she has me wrapped around her little finger" James replied with a laugh. His mom laughed as well, smiling at him as she put her coffee mug down.

"Are you okay about your father not being here?" She asked with caring eyes.

Looking down for a moment, he sighed. He was disappointed that work prevented his Dad from spending the week with them, but he wasn't going to let it get him down; he really felt a lot closer to his Dad recently and at the end of the day, his father had visited Charlie so it wasn't like he had ignored hi sisters birthday.

"Yeah, you know I'd to see him but I understand" James replied, shrugging his shoulders as he screwed the lid on his water bottle. His mom looked like she wanted to say something, but instead smiled and nodded her head as he walked towards her and kissed her on the cheek again. "I won't be long, just a quick one this morning"

"Alright sweetheart" Andrea said, stroking his arm before he moved away.

Running around Lima was a different experience than when he would go for one back home in Oregon. He preferred he woody landscape that surrounded his home town more than this more built up place but it was still interesting whenever he was about in the early morning as people left their homes to go to work. Forty minutes minutes later and he was knocking on the front door of his house, breathing heavily as he ran his fingers through his hair; he really needed to get it cut before it became too long. After a few seconds, the door opened and he saw Hugh regarding him with a smile as he stepped to the side and let him in.

"Alright buddy" His sisters boyfriend said as he patted him on the back "Good run?"

"Yeah" He replied, wiping his mouth. "Is Charlie up?"

"She's sitting with your mom in the kitchen" Hugh said, an amused look growing on his face "Apparently she's waiting for her little brother to make her breakfast"

"I bet she is" James said with a laugh "I'm just going to take a shower"

Hugh winked at him as James climbed up the stairs, slowly opening his bedroom door as he walked inside knowing that Rachel most likely wasn't going to be up for a further half hour. A smile crossed his face as he walked past her, seeing her still wrapped up in his bed covers, as he entered his bathroom to shower and get ready.

After doing so he got dressed James left a warm towel on the side for his girlfriend, knowing that Rachel would appreciate it when she woke up, before heading downstairs with their birthday present and card for Charlie in his hand.

Skipping down the last few steps, James turned the corner and walked into the kitchen, smiling as he saw his mom and sister sat with Hugh at the table. Walking up behind his sister, he put a hand over her eyes and put the present down in front of her.

"Happy Birthday Sis" He said in her ear, kissing her cheek as he removed his hand. Charlie turned to look at him, a beaming smile on her face.

"Thank you sweetie" She replied, an arm reaching up to pull him into a hug. Grinning, James hugged her tightly, breathing in her familiar scent before pulling away after a few seconds as she kissed his forehead. "How was your run?"

"Good, I'm feeling really confident with my time and pace" He replied, as he slid into the chair next to her; watching as she opened the card, a smile on her face as she read his message.

"Thank you monkey" She murmured, laughing as she handed it to Hugh, who read it and smirked. "You didn't have to get me a present"

"I know but I love you Charls" He replied, shrugging his shoulders "Besides, it's from me and Rachel; we put our money together for it"

"Really?" Charlie asked surprised, smiling when he nodded "That's really sweet, where is she?"

"She likes to sleep in on a Monday, ready for school and everything" He supplied, watching as his sisters hands carefully undid the wrapping paper, and then she glanced at him with a curios expression as she lifted the lid on the thin box to reveal the gold bracelet.

"James its beautiful" She said, lifting it out of the box "Thank you so much"

He leant over and hugged her, murming an I love you in her ear.

"Love you too monkey" She replied, turning to Hugh as he put it on her wrist. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I've sort of been looking forward to my birthday breakfast all year"

James laughed with her as she held onto his hand. Nodding at her, he kissed her cheek before standing up; "Eggs Benedict it is"

The four of them sat in the kitchen for a further twenty minutes, James sitting smugly as he watched Charlie eat her breakfast; complimenting him several times while he talked to his mom and Hugh. Her boyfriend had bought Charlie a beautiful dress that she was going to wear for their Christmas formal dinner as well as treating her to a spa day. Their mom and Dad had gifted her a large amount of money to be put down towards their apartment when they graduated as well as a few beauty products from their mom.

They were joined by Sam a half hour later, as he wished Charlie a happy birthday before pouring himself a bowl of cereal. Even though they'd only known each other a little under two weeks, James already had a healthy respect for the blonde haired boy. Sam seemed like a really nice guy who had his family and friends as his most important people that he cared and looked out for; He was quite sure that he would end up considering Sam as one of his best friends.

His eyes instantly flew to Rachel when he heard her footsteps on the laminate flooring in the kitchen, a smile growing on his face as he took in her appearance. She wasn't wearing much makeup, and she really never needed to, but she looked absolutely stunning; so beautiful and just so refreshed that he couldn't help that his eyes lingered on her as she made her way over to wish his sister a happy birthday. After a few seconds of Charlie showing her the bracelet, Rachel turned to him and bite her lip in the mischievous way.

"I hope you made her breakfast, baby"

It was crazy how just the sound of her voice affected him, but hearing the soft tone of it was soothing to his ears and he felt his whole body brighten.

"Oh I make sure he makes me breakfast every time we're in the same house" Charlie replied, all of them laughing as her teasing eyes watched him. "I hope he does the same for you Rachel"

If only she knew James thought to himself, an amused smile on his face. He was definitely in the category of doting boyfriend; mostly because he loved treating Rachel like a princess, because she looked at him like he was the most amazing thing in the world when he did.

"Most of the time" She giggled in response, the sound of him making his smile widen, before wiggling her eyebrows at him as she teased; "You'll have to teach me some more nicknames, to get him to do it the rest of the time! Jam sandwich effectiveness seems to be running low"

"There's plenty more embarrassing things I need to tell you about my little brother" Charlie replied as he smirked, shaking his head at Rachel.

Turning to his sister he gave her an exasperated look; "I'll say it again, remember who your brother is"

The rest of breakfast was filled with more laughter at his behalf as his girlfriend and sister ganged up on him to tease him while he made Rachel breakfast before they settled down talking before they had to go to school.

He drives them to school, sure it's not quite the alone time that it was a few weeks ago with Sam being there as well, but he enjoys the opportunity to spend some almost alone time with her before their classes start. After getting there, they head to his locker and he pulls her close as they s hare a few kisses in the quiet part of school; a warmth spreading through his body as he gets to kiss those addictive lips of hers. She tells him that he's an amazing kisser, but honestly she is beyond description; the sweetness of her lips and the way she uses her tongue drive him crazy and he's had more than a few cold showers after making out with her. He knows that she's not ready to go all the way with him yet, but he wasn't lying to her when he said he would wait; knowing that he gets to kiss her like this easing the ache.

After a few minutes of kissing, a proud smirk on his face as he watches her reapply her lip gloss, he gives her one last kiss before they walk hand in hand towards their first class of the day. He really looks forward to these few that they share, but as they walk in he can tell that Kurt is nervous just by the way their friend is sat. Making their way over, James squeezes his shoulder trying to reassure him before Rachel gives him a big hug and pulls him into conversation to distract him.

He's glad that the two of them have gotten over their feud from a few weeks ago, Rachel was miserable without her best friend and he hated seeing her like that. Not to mention the fact that it makes it easier to talk to Kurt, they might not be best friends or anything like that but James like him and Blaine; it's good for them all.

James has this chivalrous side that means he insists on walking her to her next class after they share one together or after lunch. He really loves that feeling of being able to walk down the corridors with her hand in his, showing off to the school that Rachel is the girl he loves as he kisses her softly outside her next class, something they both get a little too interested in before Kurt pulls her away rolling his eyes with a smirk. Waving at her, he turns and walks quickly to his next class, fully aware that his teacher will give him a hard time.

Settling in his seat fist bumping Drew, one of the guys outside of Glee that he's really gotten to know and who got him a tryout on the basketball team, James waits for the announcement of the result of the senior class president election. His smile grows as he hears the fact that it's close, crossing his fingers that quickly turns into a fist clench when Principal Figgins announces that Kurt won; the biggest grin on his face as he quietly celebrates, knowing that his friend is going to be over the moon

When he sees them celebrating at lunch, James can't help but grin as he makes his way over and hugs Kurt tightly, murming his congratulations in his friends ear. He's never seen Kurt this happy and it's just an amazing sight. Glancing at his girlfriend, his grin only widens when he sees her beaming from ear to ear and when she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a deep kiss; to say he feels like a million bucks is doing severe undervaluing to just how amazing she is.

She clings onto him for the rest of their lunch break, taking frequent opportunity to remind him just how wonderful she thinks he is for not giving up on Kurt and for stopping her cheating. Rachel starts kissing just under his ear, and he can't help the smile on his face; he might not be comfortable trusting Finn near his girl but without a doubt he knows that Rachel is in love with him and he is never letting her go.

…

Later that afternoon, after their classes have finished, they are all stood around in the choir room waiting for Mr Schuster to start rehearsal. James is still feeling incredibly frustrated with it all; they still aren't 100% ready for sectionals and worse still they haven't even got 12 members without getting some of the band to perform alongside them.

Today, he's trying to ignore all that as he dances with Rachel, swaying her from side to side as he alternates between kissing her neck and singing The Way you Make Me Feel into her ear as she giggles. He's so in love with her, and he feels so lucky that he has this chance to be with her; making her feel like the special girl that she is to him.

"James" He pulls away from kissing Rachel's neck at the sound of Mr Schuster's voice, smiling slightly as he begins to apologize for the PDA, but stops when he sees their teachers worried expression.

Is everything okay?

Need you to come with me

"What?" He heard next to him, turning to look at Rachel who is looking shocked and worried. "What do you mean he can't perform"

"Can you just come with me? We need to go speak to Principal Figgins" Mr Schuster's eyes are begging him just to come, and James nods, turning to Rachel and kissing her forehead as she looks at him with wide eyes.

"I won't be long alright" He murmurs against her skin and feels her nod as he pulls away and gives her a wink. Rachel gives him a sad smile as he squeezes her arm before following Mr Schuster out of the door as he leads him towards the principal office.

"Did I do something wrong" He asks, glancing at the teacher who meets his gaze before sighing.

"No, you didn't do anything; well apart from compete with your old team" Mr Schuster replied and James instantly frowned confused.

"How does that prevent me from competing at sectionals?"

"The showchoir competiton board sent a letter to the school saying that they had received a complaint about us allowing you to perform when you had already performed at a sectionals this year. Apparently you can only compete at one stage of the competition per year"

The meeting with Principal Figgins had been unfortunately unsuccessful, much to his own frustration. The competition board was adamant that James could not perform at sectionals and the rule had been in place since the early 90's. James could only sit there with his eyes closed, covering his face with his hand as Mr Schuster tried to get the principal to do something but apparently his hands were tied and the New Directions would be disqualified if they allowed him to perform. Mr Schuster was desperate, pleading that they would need two more people if James was banned but the only solace they could gather was that if New Directions made it to regionals then he would be free to take his place.

"This is crap" Noah announced angrily as Mr Schuster told the rest of the group about their predicament. James sat next to Rachel, wrapping her up in his arms as she looked close to tears; he knew she'd been looking forward to them performing together for the first time. "You have to fucking do something!"

"Puck, language!" Mr Schuster replied, as Noah sat heavily back down, wiping his face before he spoke again "Look, this situation is really bad but we can't let it stop us; We need to concentrate on our sectionals performance and making sure that we cover James' absence"

"He's our best god damn male singer and one of our best dancers how do we cover that" Mike asked, shaking his head frustratedly.

"First of all, we can layer his lines into the group verses" Mr Schuster said, pulling a chair into the middle of the room and sitting on it "Finn will have to dance with Rachel in The way you make me feel"

He felt his jaw clench instinctively at that; you had got to be kidding him, not only was he banned from performing, banned from dancing with Rachel but Finn was going to be taking his spot. He knew Rachel had sensed his anger, because she squeezes his hand as it sat in her lap linked with hers and she leant up to kiss his cheek softly.

Glancing at her, he forced himself to smile as she looked at with affection, her eyes silently apologizing, before he leant down and kissed her on the lips in reassurance. He was angry, but the last thing he wanted was to upset her.

…..

"Are you okay baby" He looked up at the sound of Rachel's soft voice, smiling as he saw her concerned face. They'd been at his house for around twenty minutes, and after speaking to his sister and been told about their dinner plans, he'd led her to his room so they could do their homework together.

"Yeah angel, I am" He said giving her a warm look. Biting her lip she made her way over to him as he sat on his bed, sitting down on his lap and wrapping an around his shoulders.

Glee club had been horrible after Mr Schuster had talked to the group, as he was forced to sit off to the side as they practised their songs; watching Rachel and Finn dance together, all the while knowing that it should have been him there with her.

"You don't look okay" She replied, stroking his neck with her hand as he did the same at the top of her thigh. He glanced at her and smiled sadly, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the side of her head. "Is it about me and Finn dancing together"

"Partly" He murmured "Mostly because I really wanted to perform with you and I've been robbed of that opportunity"

"Do you think Finn made the complaint?"

"No" He said shaking his head slightly. Maybe at first he'd thought that, but Finn definitely wasn't that vindictive to have put New Directions chances of winning at risk just to get to dance with Rachel. "It was probably one of the other groups"

"I don't think it was Finn either….it's not like him" Rachel said softly "Maybe Santana or Mercedes…but even then I don't think they would do it; they're our friends"

"Yeah" He replied, letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry babe"

"What for? It's not your fault" She asked, frowning.

"If I'd have realised I loved you earlier then I could have transferred to be here before I competed with the Scale Blazers"

"That's silly" She said, smiling. "You gave up your friends and everything you knew to come to Ohio and be with me; I could never be upset with you for not doing it earlier or anything like that. I love you James and to me you're the most amazing guy in the entire world, because you chose me"

"I love you too" He replied, smiling as he leaned forward and kissed her; loving the way she groaned into his mouth and her arms tightened around him. She opened her mouth instantly for him as he touched her teeth with his tongue, shifting closer to him on his lap, as she wrapped hers around it and pulled it deeper into her mouth. Kissing Rachel left in such an amazing state, wanting more but also feeling completely satisfied as their lips moved against each other.

They continued kissing for a few more minutes before he felt her small hands pushing him backwards onto his bed, something he gladly let her do, as she moved straddling him, cupping his cheek as she ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth sending his hips grinding into hers and causing her to gasp against him. Smiling against her lips, he kissed her tenderly and sweetly, slowly moving his hands down her back until they rested just above her bum. He was always careful with how he approached going further than making out with Rachel; well aware of the fact she was a virgin and not ready to go all the way with him, he wanted her to feel in control of whatever they did so she could stop him at any time if she felt uncomfortable.

Pausing his movement for a moment, he kissed her deeply before pulling back to rest his forehead against hers and whispered, asking for permission; "Is this okay?"

She nodded against him, her body shifting as she leaned into him and he knew he had her permission; closing the difference between them, he joined their lips again and moved his hands the short distance until they were cupping her bottom. He squeezed her and she moaned into his mouth, feeling her grip his shirt firmer in her hands as she shifted even closer to him so their arousals were pressed together.

"Take your shirt off" He almost laughed when he heard the demanding tone of her voice a few minutes later. Without a word, placing a delicate kiss against her lips before pulling back, he moved his hands from her bum to his chest and begun to unbutton his shirt, smiling when her hands came up to guide his. When he undid the last one, her hands moved his away to the side before she slowly pushed his shirt away and exposed his chest to her.

He watched her as she ran her eyes over his torso, her hands delicately tracing the lines in his pecks and abs. He couldn't help the smirk that was on his face as he watched actions; well aware of how hot she thought he was and proud that he could get this reaction out of her.

"You're so beautiful" She murmured, leaning down to press a kiss against his chest over his heart. James closed his eyes instinctively at the brush of her lips against his skin, moving a hand to brush her hair behind her ear and cup her cheek; causing her eyes to flicker up and meet him.

"Come here" He said softly, gently motioning with his hand for her to kiss him again as she moved forward and pressed herself against him, their lips resuming the tender exchange from a few minutes ago.

They spent a good part of the next half hour making out on his bed, in which time his shirt had been completely removed and he had managed to get her blouse and bra off as he had flipped them over a good ten minutes ago and was paying careful attention to her neck, nibbling and kissing the sensitive skin there as she moaned beneath him while he appreciatively cupped massaged her breasts, her nails digging into his back softly.

"I love you" She cooed in his ear, making him smirk against her skin as he pulled away and kissing her chastely. He knew that it was time for them to stop, while he definitely wouldn't be opposed to going further; he was well aware that Rachel wasn't ready for that and judging by what he could feel from her body that it was time to cool off.

"Love you too" He murmured, pressing his lips against hers softly again. Rachel pulled back and rested her fore head against his, he looked up at saw her eyes dark with desire as he gently rubbed her bum with his hands.

"You make me feel so incredible" She said in a quiet voice, nuzzling his cheek with her nose affectionately.

He grinned at that, pulling her into his body and cuddling her tightly; surrounding and wrapping her up in his love as she sighed and rested her cheek against his chest after pressing a kiss against his skin. It was times like these that he felt like the luckiest guy in the world, just being able to lie and hold her in his arms.

…

A/N :

There we go! James point of view on the events. It was fun to write a different perspective on things and I'll maybe do it once or twice more in this story but for now back to Rachel! 3

Sectionals chapter is next, who can they get to replace James?