At first I thought I was making things go too fast between Rachel and Jesse but then I realized that things did in fact go really fast with them on the show, so that made me feel better :D Thanks for all the nice reviews and be sure to tell me what you think!

As Jesse was opening the door to his apartment, he braced himself for a scolding. But he didn't care, he had just had the best night and morning of his life. Yes, it had even topped the time Simon Cowell told him he was spectacular and to come back and audition when he was older(Jesse had auditioned for American Idol when he was 14, of course, he blew the judges away but he was too young). He closed the door behind him, entering the front room. Jesse saw his dad sitting on the coach, pretending to read the paper, but obviously sitting and worrying about Jesse.

"Back so soon?" Will said sarcastically, looking over at the clock. It was around noon.

"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't call…or… you know, come home." Jesse said, but failing the puppy look miserably.

"Listen, I know you're 17 and almost grown up but I still was worried sick about you. You can't do that. Where were you?"

"I was on a date," Jesse admitted. "With Rachel Berry." he manned up and said it. He felt that what he had with Rachel was real and his dad was bound to find out eventually.

Will just sighed and shook his head. He was baffled, yet he didn't feel that surprised. The thing that interested him most was how that happened.

"I had a feeling something was up. Son… I can't tell you who and who not to date but do you really think that's a good idea? I mean, she's in Vocal Adrenaline. How did she even agree to go out with you? And why were you out all night?" Mr. Schue always tried to be as considerate as possible. His own father was very hard on him and never listened to his side of the story, which was why Will had vowed to be a friend to his son, as well as a father. Plus, Jesse was a smart kid, he never got into any major trouble and Will couldn't even remember when Jesse had last gone on a date. He trusted Jesse, which was why he didn't see the point in punishing him hard for not calling once.

"Don't worry, we just talked. And sang a little. You don't know anything about her. I know that being on opposing teams would strain our relationship but I'm hoping our deep respect for each other will pull us through. And uhh… I sort of… haven't really told her I'm… in New Directions… yet." Jesse said, staring at the ground, looking guilty of some kind of crime.

"What? Geez, where have you gotten yourself into…" Will knew his son well enough to know that once he'd made up his mind about something, it was more likely Lindsay Lohan would sober up than Jesse St. James change his mind.

"Hey, I just spent the last 17 hours with the most amazing person I've eve…"

As Jesse continued to ramble on about what a great time he had, Will realized that he truly cared for Rachel and this was something he hadn't seen before. No, this wasn't just professional admiration anymore – Jesse had fallen for Rachel Berry. And as much as Will didn't approve, he knew there was little he could do about it. He had already forgotten about the fact that Jesse had been out all night, now there was a bigger problem at hand.

"Ok, ok," Will interrupted. "I get it. You're happy. And I'm happy that you're happy. I just want you to think about this and be careful. Have you thought about what the team will say once they find out? Better yet, what will Vocal Adrenaline do once they find out?"

"Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants." Jesse replied.

Will just looked at his son with a pleading and defeated look. He knew it was hopeless. Deep down he also knew that he needed to give Jesse space to live his life and make his own mistakes, as hard as it was to do that.

"Alright. As long as you keep your personal life and glee separate, I guess there's no real threat."

"Of course. Now excuse me but I really need to take a shower." He had raw egg in his hair that was probably good for it but it was the worst feeling ever.

"Oh, and son…I really am happy for you." Will said sincerely.

"Thanks." Jesse replied, as he headed for his room.

No Monday had ever seemed so excruciatingly long and dull as the Monday after Jesse's first date with Rachel. Who could focus on geometry when you had to plan your next big date? First he had to know the exact date and time she would be available. When they parted ways on Saturday, they didn't quite plan another date, they just agreed that there would be one. Inconspicuously taking his cell phone out of his pocket, he started writing a text under the table.

"Hi. When shall we meet again? Can I pick you up after school?"

It was almost lunchtime for Jesse, and he was hoping it was the same for Rachel (meaning she would reply sooner). Much to his surprise, the reply came almost immediately.

"Can't."

Jesse frowned but understood that she probably is very busy.

"Alright, what about some other day?"

This reply took a little longer.

"Won't you have glee practice or something?"

Crap. The cat's out of the bag. She knew. Rachel Berry had found out that he was in New Directions and her competition. She probably thinks that Jesse was a spy or something.

"Ok, busted. Will you at least let me explain? Please."

Jesse pressed send and let out a huge sigh.

"Jesse, is everything alright with you there in the back?" Mrs. Gillespie interrupted him of his deep thinking. This was one of his favorite teachers, maybe because he had known her since 1st grade, so they had a pretty good relationship.

Snapping out of it and paying attention to his teacher and the rest of the class, who were staring at him he replied "Excellent, thank you. How are you doing up front ma'am?"

Some of the class chuckled, some rolled their eyes and the popular kids were too busy not understanding anything to even notice the subject had changed.

Mrs. Gillespie just shook her head and smiled. Jesse was always so charming.

"I'm good, though I'm feeling a little lonely up here talking to myself. Mind paying some more attention?" She turned around to the board again.

"Certainly." Not. His phone buzzed and he flipped it open before it had even finished buzzing.

"Fine. Pick me up from school at 3:05. And DON'T be late. I can't be seen waiting on someone. Especially not you."

Ouch. Harsh much? But Jesse didn't think he deserved any better, he hadn't been honest with Rachel and that was that. He wasn't sure how he'd get there in time, since his last class ended at 3:00. He would just have to go to the nurse's office and say he felt sick and ask if he could go home. Jesse had never done this before but he heard that the school nurse, Terri, was easily fooled.

Once class was over Jesse rushed out of the classroom to his locker. He didn't acknowledge anything that was going on around him, he was too focused on thinking about what he would say to Rachel. He placed his geometry book in his locker and closed it shut, only to be startled by Quinn Fabray giving him a fierce look in front of him.

"What was that on Saturday? You'd better have a damn good excuse because if you just stood me up I'll castrate you."

Outstanding! Four days ago Jesse had dates with two girls and now both of them were pissed at him. And they had every reason to be. After his date with Rachel Jesse had texted Quinn and cancelled their plans for Saturday night. Yes, he texted her. What? He had unlimited texts, why bother calling when you can send a message for free? Money doesn't grow on trees, you know.

"Listen, I apologize if you were expecting me and I disappointed by being absent. I hadn't intended anything of the sort. I simply had some other important matters to attend to this weekend." Quinn always felt confused when he talked like that but she had grown accustomed to it. She figured he meant he was busy. Honestly, Jesse wasn't sure what to say so he went into a ramble that he wasn't sure made sense at all but the important thing was that it had sounded somewhat eloquent.

"Oh. But last week yo-" Quinn started saying.

"And also," Jesse interrupted "I've kind of been seeing someone." He knew he really shouldn't have told her about Rachel right this instant, but he valued his friendship with Quinn (as well as them being co-captains of New Directions) and he didn't want to ruin it by deceiving her.

"What? Since when? Why'd you even ask me out then?" A completely baffled Quinn said.

"Well, it's not really official yet. But now it's official enough for me to have to decline your offer. You had your chance with me, Quinn. I've been waiting for you all year and now I've finally moved on. I'm sorry."

"Oh…Then I guess I'm, uhh… happy for you. See you later." She said with a forced smile and rushed away without letting Jesse speak another word. What else was she supposed to say? It was obvious she felt humiliated or hurt or something. Whatever she was, it was not happy. Such a short conversation yet so much had been said. Jesse felt a tad bit terrible himself, he totally just blew her off. This was a whole other mess that Jesse couldn't think of right now. Quinn would get over it sooner or later. Now he had to confront Rachel.

By 3:03 Jesse was sitting in his car right in front of Carmel High School. This could very much be his only shot to make things right with Rachel, he couldn't blow it. His relationship with Rachel, though quite recent, had grown on him, he wasn't about to lose it.

He had rolled down the windows of his car and put on the radio pretty loud. Madonna's "Burning up" came on. Before he knew it, he was belting out along Madonna, really feeling and understanding this song for the first time.

And day and night I cry for your love
You're not convinced that that is enough
To justify my wanting you
Now tell me what you want me to do?
I'm not blind and I know
That you want to want me but you can't let go
Come on, let go

I'm burning up, burning up for you lov-

He was interrupted by someone opening the passenger door and getting in. This someone, of course, was Rachel Berry.

"Drive, superstar." She said.

Jesse pulled out of Carmel High and then continued singing along overdramatically.

Do you wanna see me down on my knees?
Or bending over backwards now would you be pleased?
Unlike the others I'd do anything
I'm not the same, I have no shame
I'm on fire!

Rachel couldn't help but let out a laugh. She knew she was supposed to be totally pissed but honestly, who could be mad at someone who's making a complete fool of himself for you?

Fate really couldn't have been on Jesse's side more. This song was perfect for this situation and the timing was spectacular, it couldn't have gone better if he had planned it.

Once Rachel had put herself together she put on her tough face again. Jesse pulled into a nearby park and stopped the car.

"Should we step outside?" Jesse asked.

Rachel nodded and opened the door to get out.

They started walking but neither of them spoke. Alright, if that's the way she wanted, Jesse would just come out and say it.

"So… to address the elephant in the park, you know about me being in New Directions. I won't even ask how you found out, I just wish to say that I'm not involved in espionage and I don't have some secret agenda of seducing and destroying you or anything like that."

"Fascinating, then why did you leave out this minor fact? It's not really the fact itself that angers me. It's more that you deliberately kept it from me!"

"I'm sorry." Wow, he sure was apologizing a lot today. "I just knew that if I introduced myself as Jesse St. James from your rival show choir, that'd shut the door for further communication, and I…well, I simply had to get to know you." This was no time for smartass comments or sarcastic remarks. It was now or never and Jesse just had to come clean about everything.

Rachel understood his previous argument, she probably wouldn't have given him a chance if she knew who he was when they first met.

"How do I know you're not playing me?"

Jesse let out a laugh. "You really think that my team would have a better chance of beating you at Regionals if I'd seduced you? Without you Vocal Adrenaline would win anyway."

"Wow, I hope you're not the one saying the motivational speeches before your performances. Cause you pretty much suck at that."

Jesse stopped and turned to her, taking her hand in his. "I'm in glee because I love performing. Of course I would love to be the best but it really doesn't mean that much to me. I'll conquer that height on my own, after high school. I'm nuts about you, Rachel. I would never hurt you."

Damn that St. James and his charm!

"But I understand if you're not comfortable with this arrangement and would wish to end our affair." Jesse sadly said, letting go of her hand.

Rachel looked at him with a frustrating look that he couldn't quite read. Then she leaned in and hugged him. Jesse let out a huge sigh of relief and smiled as he rested his head on top of hers. She really was a tiny girl but their silhouettes fit together marvelously. It was ridiculous how quickly Jesse had convinced her but Rachel had never felt this way about anyone before. All Rachel ever did was mostly to please her mother and Jesse made her feel so alive, so free to do what she wanted. She felt so safe in his arms, as if nothing else mattered. Other than him being a spy from his team (which she truly believed he wasn't, because, honestly, New Directions were more likely to win the Superbowl than Regionals), she really didn't see any other problem with them seeing each other. Except one – her mother. Then she snapped back in to reality and understood what must be done in order for this to keep on going.

Rachel looked up to him.

"No one can know." She said, in all seriousness.

"I understand." Jesse replied and gave her a peck on the lips.

Truth was Jesse didn't completely understand. He had no idea what would happen if Rachel's Shelby and Vocal Adrenaline found out. They would definitely not be as accepting of this fact as Jesse's dad was (and Jesse knew Mr. Schue would keep this private if he'd ask him to. Neither of them wanted chaos in New Directions because of Jesse's love life). Rachel knew if they found out there would be hell to pay.