Author's Note: This chapter took way longer than I thought, and I'm not entirely satisfied with it. But I didn't want to spend any more time obsessing over it. It was bound to be a hard one to write anyways. The rest will be much better.
Also: this story has 50 Story Alerts, for only 2 chapters. You like me! You really really like me! :) :) :)
More to say at the end, but for now, just enjoy Chapter Three!
Chapter Three
Since she was a little girl, Rachel has always known that Broadway was her destiny. But being a star in Lima, Ohio is nothing compared to trying to stand out in the competitive world of New York theater. There were girls just as talented as she was, some even more so, who'd all grown up with the same mindset, and now they were all fighting for the same few parts.
College was easy. Rachel loved her four years at NYU. It was refreshing to be around people like her – people who didn't think she was crazy for getting up at six in the morning to practice scales and who could keep up with her in discussions about the best musicals. She'll always love New Directions fiercely, but none of them are as passionate as she is about music. And that's okay – but it was nice how she fit in at NYU. For once, she wasn't Rachel Berry, the girl crazily obsessed with fame and singing – she was just Rachel Berry, fellow star in the making.
After college was when things got a little… harder. When other classmates were trying out for bit parts on Broadway, Rachel was taking vocal clinics and nailing solos in showcases. Her dads had always warned her about not letting Broadway interfere with college, so Rachel decided the easiest way to not let that happen was to simply wait until graduation. Besides, as someone once told her, her being on Broadway is an inevitability. Scoring a scholarship to NYU was lucky for a girl from Ohio.
What Rachel hadn't counted on was the harshness of the real world outside the bubble of school. Nonexistent Broadway roles don't pay the bills, so she'd been forced to do some waitressing to pay for rent and food. Auditions were many, but callbacks were far and few between, and never for a lead role.
She'd never had any delusions that it would be easy, but, well, she didn't think it would be this hard.
As luck would have it, she has another audition today. This one is for a show unlike anything ever performed on Broadway before. She's heard plenty about it on the audition circuit – the script originally started as a pilot for a TV series, in the vein of High School Musical, but then the writer turned it into a play. Miraculously – considering the music is all cover songs, nothing original – somehow it attracted enough attention to make its way onto Broadway. It would be a huge deal for the actors that get the leads – they'd be originating a role, in the most talked about new play of the decade.
The audition process is the same as always – a lot of waiting, and then nervousness when they call your name. Say your piece, sing your song, give your monologue, then leave. She's been to so many of these lately that they all start to blur together after a while.
Later, as she's walking home (no money for a taxi) from Josie's Café, the restaurant where she works, after a three-hour afternoon shift, her cell phone rings. The number is unfamiliar.
"Ms. Rachel Berry?"
"Yes?" she says hopefully.
"My name is Rebecca Martin, I'm one of the casting agents for Hello, I Love You. I'm sorry this is such short notice, but we'd like you to come back for a second audition today. Can you be here in an hour?"
Her heart leaps. "Of course. I'll be there right away."
"Thank you."
Money be damned, Rachel hails a cab. I finally got a callback oh my God this so exciting I'm going to be on Broadway oh my God oh my God oh my God!
"Thank you for coming, Ms. Berry," says a blond woman in a pale blue button down shirt and black pencil skirt. Rachel assumes this is Rebecca Martin, the casting agent who called her. "Again, I'm very sorry for the short notice, but our male lead just flew back into town, which means he's available for the second audition, and we really just need to get this part cast already so we can start rehearsals. Also I had a good feeling about you from your first audition. If you two mesh together, and my superiors like you… well, I'm not one for counting chickens before they hatch, but expect good things."
Rachel smiles. "That's great. So who is this male lead? Anyone I would know from the audition circuit? Or maybe a Broadway veteran?"
"Oh no, this is his first show. He's made quite a name for himself on the West Coast in show business, though. In fact, the person who wrote the script, back when it was a television show pilot, practically insisted he play the lead. He's very talented, actually, which made it easy to cast him. But finding a girl to play against him?" Rebecca makes a face. "Nightmare. He's a very talented performer, but it's like he overshadows all the other girls we've auditioned for the part. You, though, didn't seem like you could be overshadowed by anybody. Which is why I have a very good feeling about you. Anyway, you'll see all of this for yourself in a minute."
Rachel takes it as a good sign that Rebecca is telling her all of this – it bodes well for her chances of getting the part. She wonders just who this elusive male lead is.
(A tiny voice in the back of her mind says that all the pieces fit too perfectly to be coincidence. She tells it to shut up and go to hell.)
In the short waiting period, Rachel mentally prepares for the upcoming audition – she's never gotten so far as to actually audition against another member of the cast. The script Rebecca had handed her held lines for one scene – an argument between two people named Chloe and Brandon, obviously the male and female leads. She finds herself liking the character of Chloe; she could very easily imagine herself playing this part.
"Rachel? We're ready for you."
The stage seems so much bigger this time around – the lights are brighter, the rows of seats stretch on for longer. A tall figure in all black – the elusive male lead, most likely – stands on the right of the stage, waiting for her. Rachel squints, the bright stage lights nearly blinding her. She can't see his face.
"Rachel, is it? It's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand to shake, stepping forward slightly, and his head blocks out the light. Suddenly, she can see again.
Icy blue eyes meet chocolate brown, and Rachel feels faint.
You have got to be kidding me.
"J-Jesse?"
"Rachel?" To his credit, he looks almost as surprised to see her again as she does to see him.
"I'm sorry, do you two know each other?" Rebecca says, and Rachel remembers where they are.
"No," she says, just as Jesse says "Yes."
Rebecca looks bemused. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Are you ready?"
"Yes," she says quickly, trying not to look him in the eye. She scans the script again, thankful the audition piece is an argument and not a love scene. Having to kiss him again right now would probably have disastrous results.
"Whenever you want to start. Rachel, you have the first line."
"Don't be nervous, Rach," Jesse says, quietly enough that only she can hear. All traces of his earlier surprise are gone, replaced by his usual cocky arrogance. "It's just me, after all."
"Don't call me that," she hisses under her breath, just loud enough that he can hear. She wants to slap him, but it would be terribly unprofessional in front of Rebecca. Instead, she channels her anger into the scene. At least one good thing will come out of this – she's sure to nail the audition. Playing an extremely pissed off character is no stretch for Rachel right now.
She's so into the character, she even manages to forget that it's Jesse St. James across the stage from her, if just for a short while. Finally, though, the scene is over, and she no longer has the luxury of hiding behind a character. After delivering Chloe's last line with as much emotion as she can muster, she turns on her heel and stomps off to the side of the stage, as the scene calls for, glad for any excuse to put distance between them.
The sound of clapping breaks her from her thoughts. "Wow," Rebecca says, her eyes wide and her jaw dropped. "That was… intense. The amount of chemistry you two have together is startling. Are you sure you've never met before?"
"Yes," Rachel says quickly. At the same time, Jesse adds, "No."
Rebecca frowns, but doesn't say anything. "Okay, I need to hear you sing together. Jeremy, give Rachel the sheet music for Hello." She motions to a guy dressed in black sitting by a piano on the side of the stage, who gets up and hands Rachel a piece of music.
Oh God, no. Please, no. No, no, no, no, no.
"What's wrong, Rachel? I thought this was our song?" She hates how he can stand there, so composed – smirking at her, even – while she falls to pieces inside. A part of her considers just leaving now; if she can barely get through this one audition with him, how on Earth is she supposed to get through a year-long run of the play? (Because if they sing, especially this song, there is no way she won't get the part.)
But then she remembers that this is the only audition she's had in forever where she stood a chance of getting the part, and that this role would be a major breakthrough for her career. She doesn't have to like her male lead to play against him; it's called acting. So she stands a little straighter and forces herself not to look at him, as the opening notes of the piano take her back in time to sophomore year of high school, and a chance encounter in a music store that changed her life forever.
Though it's been years since they last saw each other, and longer since they've sung together, their voices pick right back up where they left off. There's no awkward confusion as they try to get used to each other's voices; it's as seamless as it was the first time, his voice filling in the spaces that hers leaves behind and vice versa. Like magic.
"'Cause I wonder where you are, and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere, feeling lonely, or is someone loving you? Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue. But let me start by saying… I love you."
The song ends, and the spell breaks. Rachel remembers where she is and who she's with, and immediately flushes bright red and backs up several feet from the piano (much to Jesse's amusement, she notes). For a moment, it was as if she was that naïve sixteen-year-old girl who first sang that song in a music store in Lima, Ohio again, who fell in love (and fell hard) with a boy would only break her heart.
But she's not sixteen anymore, and she knows better than to trust him with her heart again.
"Whoa." Rebecca is speechless. Only then does Rachel remember that she's still there. "I had no idea… just wow. That was incredible. However much chemistry you two have acting, you have triple that amount singing. If you guys could pull that off for eight shows a week…"
Rachel avoids meeting Jesse's eyes – every time she does, it chips away a little bit more of her defenses, because there's still a tiny part of her that's never gotten over him and probably never will – as she straightens herself out. "When can I expect to hear about the part?" she asks, trying to sound professional.
"Very soon," Rebecca says. "The fact that I can't just give it to you now is just a formality."
"Really?" Rachel is flattered, even though she really shouldn't be (because Rebecca's made it very clear that it's mostly because of her intense chemistry with Jesse, which is not a good thing).
"Really. Have a nice day; I'm sure I'll be seeing you again very soon."
Rachel leaves the theater, much less excited than she should be. She's practically just been offered the lead role in a brand new play that's the talk of town. She should be jumping with joy, squealing and calling everybody on her contacts list to tell them the great news.
But she's not, and she knows exactly the reason why.
I just saw Rachel Berry.
I just auditioned with Rachel Berry.
Rachel Berry is going to play my love interest.
"Jesse! Snap out of it!" Rebecca Martin snaps her fingers in front of his face, and Jesse blinks, shaking his head a couple times. His thoughts are a mess right now, and predictably, they all have to do with her.
"Sorry, Becca," he says, his mind still on Rachel.
"So what's the story with you and that Rachel girl? Do you know each other or not?"
He sighs. "We used to go out, back in high school, but our breakup was kind of… messy, to say the least." He winces at the memory of raw egg yolk dripping down Rachel's face.
"Must've been, if she's pretending not to know you." Rebecca sighs and runs her hands through her shoulder-length blond hair. "Look, Jesse. The two of you up on that stage… it was like magic. But I can't have discord in this theater. The show needs to go off without a hitch. Take her out for coffee after rehearsals or something, and talk to her. Apologize for whatever happened, even if it wasn't your fault. Buy her a present, maybe; I don't know. Just get her to stop hating you."
"That… might be easier said than done."
"Well, do it!" Rebecca snaps. "I'm counting on you to make things right, Jesse. The whole dynamic of the show will be off if our female lead hates her male lead."
"Why don't you just cast someone else as Chloe, then?" Jesse suggests, even though his heart hurts at the idea of letting Rachel get away again.
"Because Rachel's the only girl we've auditioned so far that you didn't drastically overpower – both in singing and acting. Plus, your chemistry is off the charts, and you sound fantastic together. No, Rachel is our Chloe, if there ever was one. So suck it up and go apologize to her, St. James." Rebecca picks up her bag. "Rehearsals will start next week. I'd suggest having some kind of a game plan for when you see her again. Because even if you don't fall in love again, you still have to do love scenes eight times a week, and I can imagine that won't be fun if she hates you."
Jesse only hears about half of Rebecca's little speech; he's thinking about Rachel, doing love scenes with Rachel, kissing Rachel – how good she tastes, how soft her skin is, the way her hair always smells like apples…
"Are you even listening to me?" Rebecca rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you on Monday. Don't blow things with Rachel."
He wants to say that he's pretty sure he blew them a long time ago, but refrains; the only thing that'll do is get Rebecca even more mad at him.
Instead, he gets his stuff and leaves the theater, still thinking about her. The more he runs Rebecca's words over in his head, the more he realizes that she's right.
Fate has given him another chance with Rachel Berry.
He won't be stupid enough to waste it again.
Author's Note: So? Thoughts?
Yes, the explanation for my title choice is finally here. I know that the probability of there actually being a play like this on Broadway ever is like slim to nonexistent, but I couldn't help myself. (I don't know enough about any established musicals to do them justice, and this way I can pick all the songs - including having them sing "Hello" again, which is so their song.)
Next chapter: more deets about their play, meeting the costars (OC's), Jesse tries to talk to Rachel again, and someone from New Directions will make a cameo. Thoughts on who? (Also, we will find out the current status of Rachel and Finn - any guesses on what it is?)
I'm going on vacation in a week - but I am bringing my computer - so don't expect an update super-quick. Of course, some reviews would certainly motivate me to push this to the top of my "Must Work On" list.
Later!
- Authoress