Disclaimer: No rights to glee, the works of these artists. All I have is the words I write, this computer and a love for glee and good musicals.

Jesse was elated. He had won regionals last week, though he felt bad for Rachel, he had no choice. He had always planned to return to Vocal Adrenline, before the whole mess began. He pushed the feelings he was surprised he felt way down and marched towards the advisors office. He was leaving after this summer, he was bound for UCLA and thrilled to be going.

He rapped on the stained wooden door, paint chipping on the sides. After only a 3 minute wait, the door opened to him and his Academic Advisor ushered him in with a smile. He reflected her smile and then taking a seat, became serious.

"Jesse, pleasure. What is this about?" she asked gently.

"Just wondering if you have my welcome package from UCLA. I haven't recieved it yet and I'm starting to get really excited. I'm getting there in August first, and then-" she cut him off with a sympathetic word, too sympathetic.

"Jesse" she pasused.

"What?" he asked.

"I know going to UCLA is your dream..." she began gently and he felt his muscles clench.

"Which is coming true" he answered matter of factly and she shook her head lightly, looking away from him and to her desk. She pulled out a piece of paper and pushed it over to him.

"UCLA has withdrawn their acceptance for this year. I'm so sorry"

"You cannot be serious" he responded without looking at the paper. She looked up to meet his gaze and struggled. She sighed, gave him a condescendingly sympathetic smile and began speaking.

"You failed math. For the year. The only way you could still go to UCLA next year is summer classes. However, our math teacher has already left for his summer holidays, his exams were the earliest and he's already gone. Not to mention summer classes registration has already closed. UCLA unfortunately has a rule that you cannot apply until after this year. You need to make up a whole year of math, not just the second term-"

She was still talking but Jesse wasn't listening. He was spinning out of control. His throat was swelling up, he felt like screaming, or crying, or killing himself. He felt like he couldn't breath. This had to be a joke, a sick twisted joke. To congratulate him on his win, it had to be. The walls were closing in on him, he was losing all sense of himself, all sense of anything.

"NO!" he shouted, standing up suddenly. "You have got to be lying to me" he accused and his counselor merely pushed the paper forward and smiled sadly. Jesse sat back down slowly, seriously.

"Please tell me you're joking" he directed and she shook her head.

"Jesse, I'm so sorry. We have to look at the bright side-"

"What bright side! I just got my dream ripped away from me for no reason at all" He didn't remember failing Math. But his mind was fuzzy, he had only been thinking about regionals, nationals and trying not to think of Rachel. Maybe somewhere in there, had he made a mistake? N, he was sure he hadn't, there was no way he would have let this happen.

"See you next year" the counseler added sadly. "Have a good summer" she offered, pushing a kleenex box forward to him.

"I need to be alone" he forced the words out, stil spinning in a world of uncertainty. He got up, feeling dizzy, losing all sense of direction and stumbled out of the office. He looked like he had just lost a family member to death, pale, depressed and shocked.

Over the next month and a half he tried everything, tutors, sending numerous emails to the university, to his professor. But he recieved his final exam back and a giant F stared back at him. He accepted all loss. He wrapped himself in darkness, hate and music. He became the turtored artist.

When Semptember started again, he walked around the halls like a zombie. He never went out, he stayed locked up in auditoriums, dance practices, piano lessons. He would get to UCLA, even if he had to suffer through this year. Maybe it was making him stronger, maybe he was going to be better. Still, a little part of him had died, lost hope. A new girl came to the glee club, but he hardly cared about even glee club anymore. He sang his songs at 50%, if that and sat at the back, the tortured soul. His usual friends tried to cheer him up, but his old self was rarely seen.

Sunshine, the new girl, was completely smitten with him instantly. When she heard him sing, and it was really sing. She had walked into the auditorium to find sheet music in the prop room and on stage was the most amazing rendition of "All I have to do is dream" she had ever heard. Jesse St James could sing and he had gotten her attention.

"Dreaming my life away" he finished the dark lyric and she rushed out of the theatre before he spotted her, wondering what could be weighing him down.

They were paired together time after time, but she never really heard him sing that way again, something was holding his emotion back.

He was crossing the park in December, not even the carolers and snow in the backgroud cheering him up. He was heading to his piano lesson when he spotted Shelby near the florescently colorful playground. He greeted her and came up with a forced smile.

"Jesse!" she beamed, it had been months since they'd seen each other face to face. He hugged her tightly, having missed last year, the hope it held and missed her more than anything.

"Hey, hey what's up" she asked. "Glad to be home?" she asked and he looked at her as if she was joking.

"What do you mean, I haven't been away" he responded and she looked at him.

"Very funny Jesse. How is UCLA anyway. I don't think I've heard from you since Regionals"

"I'm not at UCLA" he responded somberly. They sat down at the bench and he explained his situation, his voice monotone. Shelby had never seen him like this.

"All because I failed math" he was saying.

"What!"

"Ya, I guess I-"

"You did not fail anything Jesse" Shelby pressured "As your coach, I saw your final grades. I mean you had a C+ in math. Which is bad, especially for you, but there is no way that you failed anything"

"I saw the exam, I did." he assured, having already given up. He had tried everything and anything in the summer, he had even gone to the campus in August to reason with them, but it had been no use.

"Look you're talented, maybe they wanted to keep that talent at home" Shelby responded. "It wouldn't be the first time" she added and he nodded slowly, a little bit of hope surging through him.

It was the last day of school and he stepped into his math teacher's room.

"Jesse, how are you. Excited for the break?" he asked.

"Did I fail last year or not?" Jesse asked sternly.

"It's so long ago, I can't be sure, I'm in a rush..."

"Where are you off to this holiday season?" Jesse asked, trying to sound nice.

"No where special" the math teacher answered with a lie. Jesse nodded slowly.

"Why are you in a rush then?" he asked.

"Well I live all the way across town and have to get home to pack" he asnwered a moment caught off guard.

"All the way across town, new house? Pack for what?" he repeated and the math teacher felt cornered.

"Won one of those contests to get a trip. Wife and I are going on a cruise near Greece"

"I hope it was worth crushing my dreams" Jesse responded with a dark tone and slammed the door shut behind him, headed in one direction.

His heart was pounding in his ears as he walked a route he knew too well. A route that used to give him joy, he was now hating every step. For sure that he would find the maker of his unhappiness behind the door that used to greet him with kindness and the best coach he had ever known. Behind it he was sure he would find his enemy.

"You bribed him" He burst into the vocal adrenline coach's office. Sunshine and the coach were discussing songs, but immediately she rose out of the chair, flashed a sad smile to Jesse and headed outside, closing the door gently behind her. He kept his gaze fixed on the coach and didn't watch her exit.

"What are you talking about?" the coach asked, still calm.

"You bribed him to fail me so you could keep me on for the year" Jesse accused again.

"A bit selfish isn't it, to think that way Jesse, even for you"

"That was my dream." Jesse snapped back.

"Well, make nationals your new dream" the coach responded.

"I'm destined for something, unlike everyone in this dead beat down. You can't just sacrifice my chance at stardom for nationals"

"The sooner you realize that you are not actually going to succeed in the big wide world of stardom, the sooner you can focus on nationals and starting putting 110% percent in again"

"Oh, don't worry, I will" Jesse snapped back and slammed another door that day.

Two days later he sat in the classroom. He had even smiled to the coach. Given effort that day during glee club. Anticipating the winter season, enjoying the thrill of what he was about to do. The drama he was going to create.

"Well, this is our last glee club before the break. But no slacking off! I expect everyone to be here every two days for rehearsal!"

"I have an announcement" Jesse pipped up, holding up his hand.

"Certainly Jesse" the coach nodded and Jesse came to the front of the room. The coach foolishly thought they were fine.

"I think we should go carolling, also I'm leaving Vocal Adrenaline" he added the second idea so swiftly it caught everyone off guard.

"What?" the coach snapped after a moment's pause.

"Oh of course, but don't worry, I'll still win nationals. Without you"

"What are you going to do, join that all guy school?" a voice asked and he shook his head.

"Nope, I need a challenge. That Macinkley High school. The underdogs"

"All this for a personal vendetta?" the coach asked with a laugh.

"You made a big mistake when you sacrificed UCLA for glee club.I don't really blame you, with your god awful direction, I could have still gotten us a win. Good luck without me"

"You'll come back"

"When I've got that nationals trophy in my hands. Also it won't even be a challenge. You're nothing compared to Miss Corchrin. See you all in New York" he announced. " Oh and before I go, I'd like to give you all a good bye song to remember me by"

He astounded them with emotion for the first time in months. He was fantastic, beyond exceptional. He was far from souless automatron. The song was painful, emotional and the new members feared everything. He was showing how brilliant he could be, how brilliant he would have been in UCLA, just before leaving them. They should not have wronged him. After finishing One Way or Another, he bowed and stormed out of the classroom.

"We're screwed" a voice called from the back.

If you enjoyed this, please check out my other glee story:

.net/s/6316242/1/Regions_of_My_Heart

Thanks for reading.