"So, I tell Spielberg, 'Steve, what if we –"
Jesse was thankful for the beep that came from his pocket, but at his rate he would have been thankful for an earthquake – anything, really, that would serve as an excuse to escape from what had to be the most excruciatingly boring "business brunch" he was currently roped into attending.
"If you'll excuse me for a moment," Jesse said politely as he stood from his seat. He ignored the disproving look his manager was directing at him and buttoned his suit jacket.
When he had reached the lobby of the restaurant where their dining was taking place, he clicked open the photo he had received from Rachel, not sure what to expect.
Lima's Rising Star
Jesse squinted his eyes at the headline and zoomed in to read the rest of the article.
For any enthusiasts of the Glee Club circuit of Ohio, this news might not be too surprising.
The indisputable leader of McKinely High's award-winning show choir, New Directions, will soon be breaking away from what will later be referred to as her first run in the spotlight.
Seventeen – soon to be eighteen – Rachel Berry, has accepted the offer to play the leading lady in what is anticipated to be one of TV's hottest shows of next year's prime time line up.
The currently unnamed series will reportedly focus on the dreams of a girl trying to make it as a Broadway starlet in New York City. The show will deal with the drama, hardships, and victorious rises that come with the ride to fame.
Ms. Berry will be moving to LA within the next month or so to begin her new life of scene shooting, premiere partying, and paparazzi dodging. Not to mention elbow-rubbing with all of your favorite stars. One of which will be other Ohio native, Jesse St. James with whom Rachel attended the Tony awards.
On behalf of the Lima Gazette family, we all wish Ms. Berry the best of luck wherever this new adventure takes her. Here's to her future success.
After he's finished reading, he instantly types out his own reply.
So proud of you. Trust me when I say this is only the first of many articles that will sing your praises. How's your day been?
Rachel smiled as she read Jesse's reply. She could picture the proud smile on his face.
Different... People who've never taken the time to say a word to me before are now continuously trying to have a conversation with me...
Jesse read her response and nodded his head knowingly, understanding her situation completely.
Don't let anyone take advantage of you. You're so much better than that. P.S. Milk it for what it's worth:)
Rachel smiled brightly at that message. Only Jesse would be able to tell her how much she was worth while simultaneously telling her to take advantage of other people.
Oh, I will:) I've got glee club now. Wish me luck?
His reply took only seconds.
Always. Call me when you get home.
Usually, Rachel arrived to glee at least five minutes before the rest of the team, but today Rachel found the entire glee club to have beaten her there. Worst of all, non of the other members were looking particularly happy with her with only the small exception of Quinn and Kurt – both of which looked somewhat exasperated.
Rachel wasn't sure where she should sit, considering her usual seat next to Finn was currently occupied by Santana. She briefly pondered the idea of taking the seat in the back corner of her room, but – to her luck – she was saved from having to make the choice for herself.
"Rachel," Quinn called, and Kurt gestured to the empty seat between himself and the Cheerio.
Rachel offered the two of them a small smile and took the seat they had specified.
"Where's Mr. Shuester?" Rachel asked, looking for anything to break the silence.
"Ms. Pillsbury can't get her car to start," Mike answered. "She's got Shue totally whipped, so he's helping her in the parking lot."
Rachel's remaining hope sank, without their constantly mediating teacher she knew there was little to no chance of buffering the oncoming accusations.
"We could all sit here and make small talk, or we could actually get to the point of this meeting," Santana spoke. "Can we just skip ahead to the part where we all yell at Berry about how pissed we are that she's totally screwing us over to join the cast of TVs lamest new show?"
"Why would you want to live in the box in my living room?" Brittany asked.
Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but she was cutoff by Kurt.
"Is it really any of your business whether or not Rachel is moving to L.A.?"
"Kurt, give it a rest already," Mercedes interjected. "This isn't just a decision Rachel can make on her own. It affects all of us."
"I don't understand. Mercedes, you told me the glee club would be fine without me."
All eyes shifted to Mercedes.
"That was when I didn't think you were going to get the part," Mercedes shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I belt it like nobody's business, but that doesn't mean –"
"Would all of you just shut up?" Quinn snapped. "This is Rachel's choice."
"Easy for you to say," Tina broke in. "If glee gets cut, you still have the Cheerios. We've gone over this before. The second this club is over, us losers are going straight back to where we started – the bottom."
"Who says the club is going to get cut?"
"Please, we all know that without Rachel we don't stand a chance," Artie frowned.
"Why would you do this to us?" Finn finally asked.
Rachel replayed this question in her head and something inside of her snapped.
"Do this to you?" she asked, incredulously. She stood from her seat. "All I ever hear from any of you is how annoying I am. You've all told me more than one time that I'm replaceable. Excuse me for giving you a chance to prove yourselves right. I've carried this team on my back for three years, so forgive me if I'm exhausted. You ask me how I could do this to you. It's no worse than the emotional turmoil has been putting me through since the day I started. None of you ever hesitate to tell me exactly what I'm doing wrong, but you never offer any gratitude for the things I do right. I'm sick of it, and I deserve better." Rachel took a pause to survey her audience. "I'm going to California whether you try to guilt me out of it or not."
Rachel looked around for any sign of remorse from the others but found none. With a confident air in her strut, Rachel walked out of the choir room with her head held high.
"Dramatic," Jesse said when Rachel had finished relaying the story to him.
"Thank you," Rachel replied as she pulled her hair from the clips that had contained it during her classes. "It might have been a bit more diva-esque if my car wouldn't have had trouble starting once I got to the parking lot. I had to wait for one of my dads to come pick me up."
"You've been having car troubles?" Jesse asked, concerned. "Have you gotten it looked at?"
"Numerous times," Rachel replied. "Kurt's dad is the local mechanic. It works for a few months after he fixes it, and then the process starts again."
"Sketchy."
"Tell me about it. Anyways, I love talking about myself, but in the spirit of being a good girlfriend I should probably ask how your day has been."
"Exponentially better after hearing you call yourself my girlfriend," Jesse grinned.
Rachel smiled, "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, what could have been so bad to make that the highlight of your day?"
"You'll always make my day," Jesse said. "But, I have spent the majority of my day kissing the asses of directors with projects that I may not even want to be a part of. Right now, we're just working on getting scripts. It's only noon here, though. So, things should be looking up at some point."
"Positive attitude."
"I've learned from the best. So, what are you going to do about New Directions?"
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked innocently.
"Please, I know you better than anyone. And, if there's one thing I'm picking up on in your voice it's the smallest bit of guilt. What's eating at you, and what are you going to do about it?"
"I – It's just, I know exactly how Tina and Mercedes are feeling. I've always done what I thought was right by the glee club, and maybe they're right. Maybe I am just being really selfish."
"Selfish? You? Look, I know that they're all acting like you leaving them to lose is the end of the word, but aren't they all seniors?"
"The majority are, yes."
"Then they'll be graduating in like four months. It's not like they're still going to be stuck there for four years."
"Four months of social pariah at McKinely is about equal to four months anywhere else. I just don't want the guilt of daily slushie facials to be on my conscience."
"Understandable, but I thought the glee club was semi-cool now. Maybe it won't be as bad as they're making it out to be."
"Maybe not," Rachel ceded. "But the kids at McKinely are like a heightened version of every high school cliché there is. And then, of course, there's Mr. Shuester."
"The jocks slushie a teacher? That's gotta be grounds for suspension."
"They don't slushie Mr. Shue. He's just worked so hard to get us to where we are. He's endured countless hours of teenage drama and fought tooth and nail to keep this club going. He would be devastated to find it was all for nothing. He would feel awful. And, to make matters worse, he needs this job. I'm not quite sure he'd keep his sanity without it. Plus, the extra paycheck does some good."
"Your school is really fucked up."
"I know. I just wish there was someway that everybody could win."
"In my years of film-making, I've found that there usually is. You've just got to search for it."
"Yeah, well this is real life."
When Rachel was called to the "emergency" New Directions meeting before school the next morning, she was almost positive that she was about to be the target of another smack down. However, when she walked into the room, nobody threw any disparaging look her way. Even Mr. Shuester seemed to be trying to suppress a smile from his face.
"Alright, guys, now that we're all here, I guess we can get this started."
"Mr. Shuester, what is this all about?" Santana asked.
A murmur of agreement went through the group.
"He's already said that he has good news for us, so maybe if you all stopped talking we'd get to hear it." Kurt said.
"Thank you, Kurt." Mr. Shuester said, regaining the attention of the team. "Now, I know we've all been a little down in the dumps since Rachel announced that she'll be leaving us at the end of the month." Will sent a fond smile to Rachel to let her know that he was okay with her decision. "But, there is no need to be worried."
"Um, maybe you've forgotten, Mr. She, but if we don't win Regionals, Principal Figgins is taking away our budget."
"I am aware of that, but thank you, Mercedes. What I'm trying to tell you all is that as of last night, we won't be needing our school-funded budget."
He let the chorus of whys and questioning outburst die out before he continued.
"New Directions has received an extremely generous, anonymous donation that contains enough money to keep this club going for years."
And just like that, everybody was out of their seats hugging the first available person. During the commotion, Rachel snuck into the corner of the room and pulled her phone out.
She sent a quick text.
I love you.
And there is Chapter 20!
I must admit that when I started this story, I didn't think it would be this long! But, thanks to my lovely, loyal reviewers, I've got lots of motivation! :)
This, however, is probably the second to last chapter for this story!
Have no fear though! I will be starting a sequel after this is finished that will pick up with Rachel and Jesse living together in L.A. and the pressures their relationship will be facing during Rachel's stardom!
Anyways... Thoughts?