"Move in with you? Are you serious?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Jesse nodded with much more certainty backing his words. "Think about it. You need a place, I've got the space!"
"Really? You're going to go with that line?"
"The line is not the point. The point is that this makes perfect sense. Think about it. You stay here whenever you come to L.A. Anyways, you're comfortable here, it's in a safe neighborhood, you wouldn't have to feel lonely all the time, and we obviously get along really well. Why shouldn't you move in with me?"
"Jesse, I highly doubt my dads would approve of me moving in with a boy a year my senior," Rachel rebutted.
"Rachel, your dads love me, and they're letting you stay here now. If that's you're only objection, I'm sure I can talk them into it." Jesse waited for Rachel to say something back, but she remained silent. "Okay, so what's your real objection to living here?"
"Jesse, I don't have an objection –"
"Come on, just tell me! Do I smell bad? Is it the way I sometimes turn my stereo up really loud 'cause I could stop. Heck, we can soundproof your room if you want. You can even redo your room or move into any of the other open ones."
"It's not the room, and you smell fine," Rachel laughed a little at his questioning.
"Then, tell me. Come on, I won't be mad. I promise."
"I just don't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you," Rachel shrugged self-consciously and spoke in a tone much softer than what Jesse usually heard from her.
"Now that really is ridiculous. Rachel, I meant what I said before. I'd do anything for you. And, besides, it's not taking advantage of me if I'm offering. Plus, if you really wanted to be an inconvenience to me you wouldn't move in with me because then I would constantly be checking in on you. My phone bill would rise, I would have to be constantly logged onto my email, I might have to register for an AIM account, and I would constantly tag you in Tweets and wait for you to respond."
"I don't have a Twitter," Rachel laughed.
"See? I'd have to make you a Twitter, too. Now, you tell me, which sounds more like an inconvenience to you?"
Rachel just smiled at him. "You tell me, roomie."
The next morning, after Rachel had headed to the in-house gym to run her usual miles, Jesse dialed Puck's number and waited for a response.
"Hey, man," Puck answered.
"I think I possibly just made a major movement in getting Rachel to fall in love with me."
"Without my help?" Puck responded, sounding slightly hurt. "Well, let's hear it."
"She's moving in with me."
"Moving in with you?" Puck exclaimed. "Dude! Dude, that's –"
"Awesome? I know."
"No, no it's definitely not awesome. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Wait, how is it not awesome? She needs a place to live when she moves out here for her show next month. How is Rachel living with me a bad thing? I thought we decided that to make her mine I needed to spend the majority of my time trying to make that happen. Now she's going to be around all the time. What could be bad about that?"
"Think about it, bro. You just said it yourself. She's going to be around all the time. You're going to spend more than the majority of your time together now."
"If you're insinuating that I'll get tired of her, I really don't think that's going to happen."
"No, I'm not insinuating that you'll grow tired of her – mostly because I'm not sure what insinuating means. What I'm trying to say is that she'll probably get tired of you."
"Tired of me? Puck, come on. I'm Jesse St. James."
"Yeah, you're Jesse St. James. The guy who walks around in his underwear on his day off."
"Only because it's comfortable, and it's not underwear – it's boxers. And, I can easily stop doing that."
"You order take out from that Chinese place nearly every night, and Berry's a vegan."
"I'm willing to expand my horizons. I can hire a chef, like I did last night."
"You're constantly watching old James Bond films."
"Hey! Those are good movies, I learn a lot from them. Plus, I'm sure Rachel could learn to love those. I mean don't girls like the whole secret agent with an accent thing?"
"Man, I was hoping I wouldn't have to pull out this one, but what are you going to do about the way you sing during everything you do."
"I won't have to do anything because I do not sing during everything I do."
"Last weekend. Right before Muse's party when we were in the limo."
"Okay, fine, but that's only one time. And, in my defense, it was only because you got that Aerosmith song stuck in my head."
"How about two months ago when I had to crash at your place because I got totally smashed at that premiere after-party only to wake up the next morning while you were singing 'Ain't No Sunshine' and attempting to make a hangover remedy out of scrambled eggs and jalapeños."
"First of all, I wasn't trying to make a hangover remedy, I was succeeding. And a lot of people sing when they're cooking breakfast!"
"I have it on good authority from past and present maids that you sing Queen songs in the shower. Everyday."
"Okay, you have to give me that one. Everybody sings in the shower. It's a thing."
"The point is that beyond any shadow of a doubt, Rachel is going to find all of this stuff out eventually. And next thing you know, you've shattered the glass. You won't be perfect anymore. She'll find out that Jesse St. James is a closet singer running around in his boxers. And she's not going to find that attractive."
"You're wrong." Jesse realized. "I work the whole running around in my boxers thing. I'm like Tom Cruise in Risky Business. And as far as the whole singing thing goes, I think you might have just given me exactly what I needed to make Rachel fall in love with me once and for all."
Meanwhile, Rachel had just finished her two miles and stepped off the treadmill breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth in an attempt to even out her breath.
Once she was somewhat back to normal, she reached into the bag she had brought with her and pulled out her phone. She scrolled between two contact names, and finally settled on the one with the lower alphabetical placement. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the call button and hoped that her call wouldn't be ignored.
"You're lucky I'm in lunch right now, Berry, or this call could have gotten me in a lot of trouble."
"Sorry," Rachel sighed. "I keep forgetting that everyone else is in school and that there's such a big time difference."
"Apologies do nothing but waste my time. What exactly are you calling me about?"
"I just wanted to thank you for the makeover. I really think he likes it."
"You think he likes it? You're kidding right? Rachel, I didn't give you a makeover so you could keep on being all insecure and annoying. The point of the makeover was to up your personality. If you think he only likes it than you're going to have to make him love it. But, I'm sure he already does. I did do an amazing job."
"Right," Rachel nodded. "Um, and I also have some news to share. You'll be the first to hear it – besides my dads, of course, and I guess Jesse –"
"Get to the point," Quinn interrupted. "I've only got a few more minutes before I have to get back to class."
"I got the part. I'll be moving out here next month."
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Rachel was just about sure Quinn had hung up on her when she suddenly spoke.
"Oh. My. God. Are you serious? You have got to be kidding me."
"No," Rachel frowned. "I got the part. Is it really that hard to believe?"
"That's insane." Quinn continued as if she hadn't heard Rachel at all. "Mr. Shue's going to be so confused. Finn is probably going to hate you."
"Yeah, well, right now I can honestly say that Finn can shove it. For once, I'm doing something for me, and not for the 'good of the team!' I deserve this. I worked for this."
"Wow," Quinn commented with a somewhat proud smile she only allowed on her face because she knew Rachel couldn't see it. "I think you might have just impressed me, manhands. Maybe there's more to you than I thought."
"Thank you," Rachel replied.
"You're welcome," Quinn paused. "I didn't know you had that much self confidence in you. Maybe we could be friends after-all."
Chapter Seventeeeeeeeen.
Okay, so I know it's short, but I figure I owe you guys for making you wait so long for Ch. 16 and then leaving you with a cliff-hanger.
The following could be considered a comment of the spoilerish nature. Read at your own risk.
I promise – nay, I swear, that St. Berry is in the very very very very very near future. So near, in fact, that I guarantee that it will happen either the next chapter... or the one after that.
I swear. If I don't follow through on that then I'll... Well, I'm not sure what I'll do... Anyways. There's my promise! Just stick with me. St. Berry, coming soon to a chapter near you.