Rachel took a deep breath as she walked down the steps outside the venue, looking for Carmen Tibideux she had never felt more nervous for a performance before, this was their big chance and she was certainly not going to let Finn ruin it again with his idiotic move like last time. This was New York, her NYADA acceptance was riding on this and she had to impress.

"Looking for what's left of your dignity?"

Rachel froze in mid step, her hairs on the back of her neck standing as she heard that voice, the one that plagued her mind and entered her dreams, even after the funk move she could never truly forget him. She rolled her eyes slightly and turned to see none other than Jesse St James walking towards her, she sighed and smiled at him.

"Nice to see you too Jesse"

"If I were you I'd be spending more time focusing on how you're going to wrap up fourth place than looking for her" Jesse straightened up slightly, looking into the deep brown eyes he could never forget, as much as he didn't want to he had to be truthful to her. "There's no way in hell Carmen Tibideux is coming here"

Rachel raised an eyebrow and glanced around, "Wait. How do you know about Carmen?"

Jesse crossed his arms over his chest, putting his best show face on, "It's my business to know everything about my competition. I'm always looking for that extra edge" He said matter-of-factly, Rachel nodded and glanced away from him, ignoring the warm feeling coursing through her system

"I'd hate to see you pull the same choke job up there today" He taunted, half teasing and half being serious, the Rachel he knew had long disappeared, and replaced with a shell of a girl, the girl that choked her big audition. And he knew most of it had to do with that tall oaf Hudson. If being mean to her pushed her to be her best today, then that's what needed to do.

Rachel just laughed and shook her head, "Okay, I know exactly what you're doing right now. We didn't date for that long and I don't even know how much of it was actually real but when you get nervous you get mean and you get really pale and you start putting your hands through your hair like Danny Zuko" Rachel smirked as Jesse paused with his hand in his hair, he raised an eyebrow. She still knew him well.

He took a deep breath and put a hand on her shoulder, gently guiding her as they began walking again. "Look, you have no idea the kind of pressure I'm under. Last year Vocal Adrenaline lost for the first time in 8 years" Rachel nodded, chewing the inside of her lip slightly. "If they lose again this year then that's it. The dynasty is over" Rachel looked straight ahead as they stopped, not knowing how much more of this she could take before her feelings exploded for everyone to see, but as Jesse began to speak again his soft voice made her look towards him again.

"The mystique and aura we use to intimidate our opponents will vanish. I promised them I would reboot the program. I'll be humiliated"

Rachel looked down and smiled, "You did help the program what you did with Unique was amazing"

Jesse took a deep breath, that touched a sore spot and it was something he still needed to talk to Wade about himself but he smiled anyway, taking credit for the idea. "It was a pretty inspiring idea of mine" Rachel smirked, knowing his play already

"It was actually Kurt and Mercedes' idea"

"But I implemented it" He grinned

"Sure"

"I don't know but I just think that these new rules are messing with my head. 33% of the numbers have to be vintage, what does that even mean?"

Rachel frowned, staring at the once confident man, instead of him all she saw was an extremely nervous one who was on the verge of a major freak out. "The only vintage thing about me is my Tyrone powers haircut and pager"

"Are you forgetting who you are Jesse?" Rachel smiled, placing a comforting hand on his arm, "You're Bohemian Rhapsody was like the bench mark performance of every show choir performance in the past 10 years"

"Most people don't realize that I lost 10 pounds during that performance"

"So you guys are going to do great today" Rachel moved her hand from his arm and onto his shoulder, she gave him a genuine smile before realizing what was happening, she glanced at her hand and then to his lips before going to his eyes again.

"Even though we're definitely going to beat you" She smirked

"Oh" Jesse smirked, "Cocky all of a sudden. I like it" He grinned, the two falling into a comfortable silence, Jesse couldn't ignore the familiar feelings that were bubbling inside of him, what he would give just to pull her into his arms and kiss her like there was no tomorrow before grovelling once again for his past mistakes. Maybe he could after Nationals. They all didn't leave until tomorrow so they had most of the evening to spend to themselves, but just as he reopened his mouth to speak, none other than Finn Hudson appeared.

"Hey, everything okay?" Finn smiled at Rachel, standing at her side before glaring at Jesse. Rachel sighed and rolled her eyes before nodding

"Yeah everything's good" She smiled at Jesse, giving him a secret look that she hoped he understood. "I'm going to go get ready. It was really nice seeing you again Jesse" Rachel grinned, and surprised them both by giving him a tight hug before leaving.

Jesse chuckled, ignoring the warm flush in his cheeks before plastering his show face on and looking at Finn, "I heard you tried to propose to Rachel"

"I did, yeah" Finn glowered at him

"Good for you" Jesse smirked, "Too bad it backfired in your face"

"Rachel's just confused, she'll change her mind" He shrugged

"Just you believe that Finn, if she didn't say yes once, she'll not say it a second time. She's moved on, it's time that you did too" Jesse grinned before sticking his hand out, "Good luck today"

"You too" Finn grabbed his hand, wincing at the tight squeeze Jesse gave him before pulling away and leaving.

Jesse smirked, knowing that Finn had no more pull on Rachel made him extremely happy, he didn't really care now if Vocal Adrenaline won or lost, it just meant he was one step closer to winning her back, and that's all mattered.

—

The curtain was down with New Directions behind them, getting ready for their performance, Rachel paced up and down trying to focus herself after her run in with Jesse, she turned round and bumped into a hard chest. She looked up and frowned as she saw Finn, "You're going to do great Rach" He smiled

"Thanks Finn, but what if she doesn't come"

"Listen to me, you're amazing, and screw NYADA, if Carmen Tibideux doesn't come they've lost out on a great student" He grinned, opening his arms for hug

"Thanks Finn" Rachel smiled and turned away from him, using his friendly reassurance to calm herself down. Finn frowned and shook his head, walking to the other wings

"Please welcome our first contestants from William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. It's the New Directions!"

The crowd applauded as the curtain rose, revealing Rachel standing center stage with the spotlight on her, something she knew would always be in her future. Jesse grinned as he quickly sat down beside Will and Emma, ignoring their strange looks

"What are you doing Jesse? Aren't you supposed to be backstage?"

"VA don't need me, they've performed, plus I couldn't stay away"

"From the competition or her" Will raised an eyebrow and smiled, ignoring Jesse's shake of the head before looking back at the stage as the piano started. Taking a deep breath as he realized the song she was going to be singing, the voice in the back of his mind hoped and prayed that it was him he she was going to sing to and not Frankenteen.

It wasn't hard but Rachel automatically found Jesse's eyes in the crowd, she smiled momentarily before her cue came

"There were nights when the wind was so cold
That my body froze in bed
If I just listened to it
Right outside the window
There were days when the sun was so cruel
That all the tears turned to dust
And I just knew my eyes were
Drying up forever

I finished crying in the instant that you left
And I can't remember where or when or how
And I banished every memory you and I had ever made"

Jesse's heart swelled as he realized she was singing to him, he wasn't going to lie and say he didn't feel any remorse and guilt because he did, what he done to Rachel was inexcusable and there wasn't a day that went by he still didn't regret, even though she forgave him (and quite quickly to which surprised him) he was still going to spend the rest of his life making it up to her, because at the end of the day both of them being on Broadway wasn't a dream...it was inevitable.

As the chorus began to come up Rachel saw a figure walking through the crowd, her eyes left Jesse's for a moment to see the figure of none other than Carmen Tibideux herself taking her seat. Rachel grinned slightly and looked back at Jesse, who looked as awestruck as her, time to show her what NYADA was going to miss if they didn't accept her.

"But when you touch me like this
And you hold me like that
I just have to admit
That it's all coming back to me
When I touch you like this
And you hold me like that
It's so hard to believe but
It's all coming back to me"

Carmen Tibideux watched on in awe as the young girl on stage performed, she wouldn't be one to admit this but the Rachel Berry that was on stage now, was not the Rachel Berry she saw at her audition, this one was confident in her ability and portrayed the exact amount of confidence and talent that was to be expected NYADA and on Broadway. She pursed her lips in thought, giving second chances wasn't her thing but maybe she could make an exception to this exceptionally gifted young girl.

As the song came to a close Rachel grinned, taking a deep breath and reveling in the crowd's applause, she glanced back to where Jesse was sitting and tried not to frown as she didn't see him there, but her eyes scanned to Mr Schue and Miss Pillsbury who were both wiping tears from their eyes. That's how she knew she done a good job, she smiled once more at the crowd before walking off stage, feeling confident and extremely happy that Carmen Tibideux had actually came.

—

Carmen fanned herself as she left the auditorium, they definitely needed to invest in air conditioning, especially in this heat, hearing footsteps behind her she didn't turn, she was most definitely not in the mood to sign autographs or listen to another person rave about how much they hope to attend her school.

Jesse gulped as he approached Carmen Tibideux from behind, he still had no idea what he was going to say but he just knew he had to plead Rachel's case to her, Rachel needed to leave Lima (more importantly Finn) behind and achieve her dreams, and NYADA would help her do that.

"Excuse me Miss Tibideux" Jesse coughed slightly, causing her to turn around, she glanced at him up and down until she recognized him as none other than Jesse St James.

"I'm Jesse St James, the coach of Vocal Adrenaline" he started, she nodded slightly, pursing her lips slightly letting him continue.

"I auditioned for you two years ago, you said I showed promise"

"And you probably did" She sighed, "I see hundreds of people everyday. Good day to you"

"No, I'm not here for me" Jesse moved on front of her, startling her, she raised her eyebrow in question.

"I heard you came here today to see Rachel Berry, and there's something you need to know about her" He took a deep breath, ignoring the puzzled look on her face before continuing. "Rachel's the most talented person I've ever met. Bar none. If anyone is going to be a star someday, it's her. She'd make an excellent contribution to NYADA. You won't regret it. I promise" Jesse nodded, letting a silence fall between them before he shrugged, not knowing whether or not he got anywhere with her or if his words made any different, but he just hoped they did.

"Anyway, thanks for your time" He went to turn to leave when she spoke again, this time surprising him.

"Giants in the sky" Carmen narrowed her eyes for a moment, glancing at his retreating back until he turned around again to face her. "You did Giants in the Sky from Into The Woods. You ran into obstacles with your breath work and your diction wasn't crisp enough" Jesse raised his eyebrows, he was definitely not expecting to hear any criticism back from her, but he took it in his stride, she was giving him notes so he could work on them, something told him she believed in him, no matter what her actual words were.

"It wasn't crisp enough to handle what is arguably Sondheim's most challenging work. But your passion and your vocal range were admirable" Jesse glanced up at her in surprise, a small smile on his face.

"Good luck to you" She nodded once more before leaving, Jesse grinned feeling more confident today than he ever had, he turned around to leave again only to bump into a smaller figure, his eyes widened as he saw Rachel standing on front him, a smile on her face.

"R-Rachel...I didn't see you there" Jesse ran a hand through his hand nervously, thinking back to earlier before quickly stopping

"You really think I'm the most talented person you've met?" she murmured softly, Jesse blushed, he was hoping she didn't hear him plead her case for her

"Of course, Rachel" Jesse sighed, finally meeting her doe like eyes, "Like I said before NYADA would be idiots if they didn't accept you. Carmen Tibideux would definitely regret it...Especially when she sees you on Broadway performing Funny Girl on front of a sold out crowd" He smiled, it was her turn to blush this time.

"Why did you do that Jesse?"

"Why do you think Rachel?"

Rachel nodded, butterflies creeping up in her stomach as she understood his words, "Oh" she whispered, looking down at the ground finding her feet very interesting all of a sudden, Jesse just chuckled, her nervousness around him made her absolutely adorable, more so than she already was. He took a step forward to her, tilting her head back up with his finger, so she would look him in the eyes again.

"I know you've already forgave me, but I swear to you I am going to make it up to for as long as I live. I still love you Rachel, I always have and always will. And I don't know if you want to hear it or not, but Finn does not deserve you, he's trying to pull you away from your dream, something you've been working towards for 4 years. Do you really want to throw that away for him? Because he's not worth it"

Rachel giggled softly, it wasn't that Jesse's insecurities amused her, it was just funny that he still thought she was pining after Finn. "Jesse, me and Finn are done...for good. I realized that I sacrificed too much for him when he didn't sacrifice anything at all for me. And like you said he was trying to pull me away from my dream, he wanted me to go to LA with him and Puck so they could screen write" She laughed bitterly for a moment

"Are you saying what I think you're saying Miss Berry?" Jesse raised an eyebrow, his heart soaring at the thought that she was finally free from Finnderella's grasp.

"I am" She giggled, "He doesn't hold me down anymore Jesse, and now that I'm graduating High school in a few days, and then moving to New York, I have no doubt in my mind that you are going to follow suit" Rachel smiled, placing a soft hand on his cheek and caressing it softly. "I still love you too Jesse, always have and always will. And I want us to work this time, no schemes, no spying and no mother's involved" she laughed as he winced. "Just us, the real us"

Jesse nodded and pulled away from her, leaving her slightly confused as he stuck his hand out towards her. "Hi, I'm Jesse." He grinned

Rachel frowned for a moment, "I know who you a—-" Then it dawned on her what he was trying to do, she grinned and placed her hand in his. "Hi, I'm Rachel"

"Nice to meet you Rachel, I was wondering...When we get back to Ohio would you like to accompany me on a date? I know this great little vegan restaurant just outside of town and I think you'd really like it" Jesse grinned, moving to stand beside her and tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow as they began walking out of the venue

"Why I think that sounds lovely Jesse, I'd love that" Rachel grinned, finally happy that they were getting their second chance.