As soon as he saw who had been cast as Fanny he knew he was going, there was no doubt in his mind, she had only been in New York for a few months and already she had been cast in a Broadway production, and of course it was Funny Girl. He knew she was going to kill it and he was going to be there to witness it when she did, he made sure to book a ticket in the front row for that night, letting his understudy for that night know that he would be getting his own shot at fame for 15 minutes.
Jesse took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror once more, he felt like a teenage girl getting ready to see her crush at the prom...But it was much bigger than that, Jesse was about to see the love of his life for the first time in close to a year. He smoothed down the blue jacket of his suit and nodded, he looked great. He was going to be fine. Jesse St James was going to be fine and he was going to ignore these nerves because a St James should not get nervous
He locked his apartment and left the building, hopping into the car the show had procured for him, he wasn't going to lie he loved getting drove around everywhere, it was one of the perks about being on Broadway
"Thanks Artie" Jesse smiled as he got out, glancing up at the theatre and smirking as he saw her name in bright lights.
"Told you it was inevitable" He murmured softly, walking inside and handing the usher his ticket before being directed to the first row, middle seat. He had the best view, he just hoped he didn't distract her too much whenever she noticed his appearance. His heart hammered inside his chest as the house lights went down and the curtain rose, his eyes widening slightly as he saw the chopped brown locks cut into a bob, he really hoped she didn't get her haircut, she definitely suited her hair far more longer.
—
The curtain dropped to signal the end of the first act and Jesse stayed in his seat, too mesmerized to even move. He always knew that she was going to be great, and Broadway was definitely her calling, but he never anticipated just how great she was going to be. He had been totally engrossed in her performance from start until now, he even chucked a guys cell phone on the floor for distracting him and almost distracting her. He saw the way her reaction changed when she saw two ignorant people leave.
"Is that?"
"I think so?"
Jesse frowned as he heard two eerily familiar voices behind him, he took a chance and glanced behind him to see none other than Mercedes Jones and Quinn Fabray sitting behind him. Their eyes widened from being caught before glazing over, Good show faces he thought, but not as good as mine.
"Mercedes. Quinn" He greeted
"St. James" Mercedes pursed her lips
"And what has you at our girls opening night? Do you not think she's nervous enough?"
"I promised her back in high school that I would be there at her opening night, I'm keeping my promise" Jesse smiled slightly
"Yeah well if she see's you then you better hope she doesn't go back to the way she was this morning. It was hard enough trying to convince her that all those negative reviews didn't mean a thing, but if she see's you well...that might be a catastrophe"
Jesse frowned, "What happened this morning"
Quinn glanced at Mercedes before nodding, looking back at him and sighing, "Rachel went a little tech crazy last night and this morning. She thought it would be a good idea to read all the reviews and comment sections online, of course a lot of them were negative reviews about why is Funny Girl even being revived and then they moved on to how Rachel looks..."
"Rachel's stunningly beautiful" He stated, ignoring the smirks on the girls faces
"But they don't think so. One person even said she has no talent and should go crawl into the hole that she came from and never return" Mercedes frowned
Jesse's nostrils flared in anger, "And she actually believed that crap?"
Quinn nodded, "It's Rachel. What do you expect, you know how she thrives on how people see her" she winced slightly, remembering the whole Run Joey Run incident, and that was because of her own stupid mistake
Jesse nodded curtly, "I do indeed. But anyway, please tell me you's stopped her"
"We did. Well Kurt did" Mercedes sighed, "But then during the night Rachel got a hold of every magazine and newspaper, along with the online blogs and comments. And read them all. Kurt found her in tears, she refused to go on tonight. And that's when we all came in" Jesse nodded, glancing at the stage and feeling his heart sink for the girl he loved. Being on Broadway meant there was a lot of fame to be had, but with that fame came with negative reviews and people who would end up not liking you for stupid reason, all because they can't move past their favourite performance of the last version of the show.
"Tina wasn't very helpful and I had to drag her out of the loft. In the end it was actually Santana who got her out and ready for tonight"
Jesse raised his eyebrows, "Santana? As in Santana Lopez. Was she not the slutty cheerleader who terrorised Rachel in High school"
Quinn shot Jesse a glare, "Santana was not a slut...she just...liked sex" She frowned, listening to her own words which didn't make any difference and judging by Jesse's smirk he knew that. "Anyway! Santana and Rachel grew close, they became friends of sort so all she done was read out the negative reviews Barbra got before her first performance and wham! That got Rachel out of her funk" She smiled
"Well I'm glad, because it's been amazing so far, I really underestimated Rachel's talent back then, but she's really transformed" He smiled, running a hand through his shorter curly hair.
"Your nervous" Quinn smiled, "Why?"
Jesse raised his eyebrows, "How did you know I was nervous?"
"Rachel told us about the Danny Zuko thing" Mercedes laughed
Jesse rolled his eyes but nodded, "You're both right, I am nervous...The second half is when the actress or actor leaves a lasting impression, and I know the guy from New York Times is here writing the review and I have no doubt in my mind that Rachel is going to ace the second half just like the first but I'm worried about her performance of 'Who Are You Now'" Jesse bit his lip, something he never done
Quinn raised an eyebrow, "Not even about the performance, you want to know who she's singing it about?" Jesse nodded
"Well, between the two people she's loved in her life it's about either you or Finn"
"Ahh Finn" Jesse sighed, not bitterly but morosely, he didn't miss Finn but he obviously knew how much Rachel cared and loved the guy, she must have went through a hard time.
"Holding grudges lover boy?"
"What?"
"Look, it's obvious, both myself and Quinn can see that your still head over heels in love with Rachel, and...as much as we didn't like you before. Talking to you know you seem more...mature" Mercedes smiled, a little bit reluctant
"Probably because we're all not in show choirs anymore" He chuckled
"True" She nodded, "But anyway, we're willing to help you out. We may not have been supportive then, but obviously Rachel just wants to be happy, and before the whole egg-gate fiasco, you did make her happy. Plus you both balanced each other out, you both wanted Broadway and I think Rachel needs someone who has the same dream as her"
Jesse smiled, never would he have thought that two of the people who hated him most, would actually be willing to help him out. "Thank you, I really appreciate it and I do still love her you know, I wish I could take that egging incident back, she's forgave me before but of course she doesn't trust me so I'm going to make her by doing whatever I can to earn it back"
"Wow St James you have changed" Quinn laughed
"Maybe I have Fabray" He challenged with a grin
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you could please take your seats, the second half will be starting in 5 minutes. Thank you"
"Don't worry St James, we have a plan"
"Please...Call me Jesse" He grinned
—
Rachel took a deep breath in the mirror, "You can do this. Barbra would be proud" She smiled, and left her dressing room, going to the stage and taking place, she glanced to the wings and saw the director and producer giving her a big thumbs up. She still couldn't believe she was on Broadway, her opening night! This was everything she ever wanted .
The curtains rose again and she looked out into the crowd, feeling the familiar sensation of the hairs on her neck standing up, butterflies in her stomach, it was the feeling she got whenever he was around, she knew he was here, as soon as the first act begun she got that feeling, she just hasn't been able to spot him yet. But as she glanced down quickly at the front row, her brown eyes met his blue ones, he was grinning at her proudly. A hint of satisfaction on his face as he watched her on stage. It's inevitable. And he was right, here she was beginning her dream career.
"Who are you now,
Now that you're mine?
Are you something more
Than you were before?
Are you warmer in the rain,
Are you stronger for my touch,
Am I giving too little
By my lovin' you too much?"
She raised her eyes from the front row and looked into the crowd, letting the emotion fill her like she hadn't before. Jesse watched on in awe as she sung, her other performances throughout the show had been great, but this one was just mind blowing, she had been holding back whenever she was in New Directions. Part of him wondered if it was to make the others feel better about themselves or was it because she was saving her talent for Broadway? He felt his eyes begin to water just as her's were too.
Rachel let her eyes close as she continued singing, images flashing through her mind some of Finn, of course, but majority of them of the blue eyed boy who had captured her heart back in high school and was now sitting front row and centre for her opening performance. The tears fell as she cast one glance down at the front row, seeing him with no show face on but rather a sad smile on his face and tears falling. That was a first.
"How is the view,
Sunny and green?
How do you compare it to
The views
(You've seen?)
I know I am
(Better, braver and surer too)
But you—are you now—
Who are you now?
Are you someone better for my love?"
Rachel took a breath as the song ended, the last few notes playing out into the silent crowd before the applause took over, Rachel grinned and wiped the tears away. Jesse was the first one to stand, his eyes trained on her as he applauded as hard as he could. She didn't know it but she had made him extremely proud.
After the final bow, the curtains closed and the cast had a group hug, taking a few photos quickly before dispersing to get changed. Rachel entered her dressing room and got changed into a tank top and some leggings before putting her dressing gown on, falling onto the couch for a moment to breath it all in. Her opening night on Broadway had been a success! Screw all the haters and the negative reviews, she knew she blew everyone away.
Once she calmed down from the success, she pulled the wig off putting it on the head before allowing her long locks to fall free again, she moaned in happiness as the tension was released.
"Wow, that happy huh?" Mercedes chuckled as she, Quinn, Kurt, Tina and Santana all bombarded into her dressing room, everyone telling her congratulations and that she done great.
"How do you feel?" Tina smiled
"Amazing, I can't believe it! I just performed on Broadway" She squealed happily
"It's incredible Rachel, you've finally gotten your dream!" Quinn smiled and hugged her friend tightly, "You were the first one of us all to achieve it, and I can only speak for myself when I say that I am truly sorry for what I put you through in high school and for ever doubting that you wouldn't make it. You're making Lima proud"
Rachel's eyes welled with tears again and she hugged Quinn tightly, "That means a lot Quinn, thank you" She smiled. "It's strange thinking back to high school, it all seems so far now doesn't it?"
Mercedes nodded, "It does. I can't believe we're all where we want to be. And people had the audacity to try tell us we would never get here. We just proved everyone wrong"
"Agreed" Tina smiled
"Well..." Rachel smirked, "I think it's time for a little celebration, don't you?" She grabbed one of many bottles of champagne sitting on her make up table and began opening it up before Quinn and Mercedes stopped her.
"Wait Rach, there's one more person here to see you" Quinn smiled at Rachel's confused look.
Mercedes opened the door again and revealed a proud looking Jesse St James, Rachel was so shocked she almost dropped the bottle from her hand, but thankfully Quinn grabbed it just in time. "I think we need to go find some glasses, shall we?" She glanced at the Mercedes and Tina.
"But...But this is their reunion? I want to see St Berry 2.0" Tina whined as Quinn and Mercedes pulled her from the room before closing the door shut
"Jesse" Rachel whispered, she still couldn't believe he was here. "What are you doing here?"
Jesse chuckled, "I made a promise to you Rach, I promised you that when you made your debut on Broadway I was going to be there, front row on your opening night. Here I am" He smiled
"I can't believe you remembered" She smiled, her heart hammering away in her chest, she thought it was going to burst out at any moment.
"I always keep my promises...Especially to you" He gently took her hand in his and sighed happily at the sudden warmth that spread through his body. "You were incredible Rachel, even more than you usually are. You make the perfect Fanny"
Rachel blushed, "I wouldn't say perfect. I mean this is Barbra's role. She's the perfect Fanny"
Jesse rolled his eyes but smiled, "The same old dismissive Berry. You took what was Barbra's role and made it your own, you made some bold choices she never would have and for that you are the perfect Fanny. And I know the review from the New York Times is going to state so too" He grinned
"Thank you for believing in me Jesse" Rachel squeezed his hand and smiled, "If it wasn't for you I would have lost all my hope in getting here. You gave me the strength and courage to go and live my dream. And for that I can never repay you"
"Well..." Jesse smirked, "There is one thing"
Rachel raised her eyebrow, "And what is that?"
"You could join me to your after party as my date" He grinned
Rachel felt her face flush again, "Are you asking me out St James?"
Jesse nodded, "I am Ms Berry, would you do the honour of being my date to your party?" she giggled as he got down on one knee and held his hand out to her
"I would love to Mr St James" She gladly accepted his hand and smiled. Hoping that this was now the start of something wonderful, something deep within her told her that this was it. She had found the one who would make her the happiest girl alive.