Wordcount: 2,702 Characters: Jesse, Rachel, Santana Rating: T :) Author: Britt
Credits: go to the glee writers .
Authors Notes: This is right after nationals, where santana is still extremely upset with rachel. So keep that in mind when you read! Also if you like, please favorite and review! It helps with ideas and stylistic changes!
The last thing that Rachel had wanted to do was stay at home, but the only other option open to her was to go to the party in Carmel which was way out of her way. It was open for all seventeen year olds, which meant that all students were allowed in, to mingle with the adults and college kids that found the party scene on the weekends. Rachel was excited when the blonde had told her about it—and decided at once that she would go. Although when the glee club had offered to go together, Rachel politely declined, knowing that if she sat in that car with Santana for long enough she would start something, and the pretty Caucasian didn't need that kind of drama.
Her fathers were too excited to see their baby going out and having fun that they had given her their keys to the Volkswagen. Calling out to her fathers as she left, her hand waved at them as they leaned against each other waving back. Rachel smiled, and turned on the car, letting the low sound of show tunes washed over her body. It was clear where she got her love of Broadway, from them. Eyes softened at the gentle vibrato of the soprano, before she backed up and left.
It didn't take too long for her to get to the club, but in turn was harder for her to find a safe place to park the car. The last thing that she needed was a keyed or stolen car to explain to her dads. Driving up and down the same street for nearly ten minutes, Rachel groaned – "In the name of Barbra! I guess I'm going to have to park further away." To which she preceded to do, locking the doors twice before she left the side of the black sleek convertible.
The man was scary – no more than scary—as he guarded the door, he was twice as tall as she was and weighed at least three times as much as the brunette. Asking for her license, Rachel fumbled with her clutch before retrieving her id and quickly showing it to the man. Nodding he put a giant X, in an invisible pen, across the tops of her hands before he let her in.
As soon as the threshold had been crossed, it was like making your way into a whole new world. Strobes flashed bright light to and fro, while bounding music along with fog matched the hundreds of dancing bodies thrown against each other in a wild attempt to look as if they had been dancing. Though there was a want to be as confident as she proved to normally be, she crouched only slightly as she walked over to the bartender smiling, "One virgin margarita." The brunette looked at her – nearly astounded that she had asked for something virgin, and handed her the drink, a small wink in her eye. "thanks."
Turning, Rachel took a sip of the drink, nearly gaging at the taste—the woman had put alcohol in it! With the shock, Rachel spit the liquid into a fine vapor that went all over the person in front of her. Covering her mouth as she tried to control herself. "Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry-" She looked up to meet the eyes of the person who had just got a margarita bath, and her heart sank to the floor. "Santana."
"Oh – Santana. I-I really didn't mean to do that. You see, the bartender just gave me a margarita, even though I asked for a virgin one and it surprised me and I didn't mean to spit it and I really didn't mean to do It to you." The more she talked the faster the words came out and the more she needed to explain herself. Santana had been dancing with a numerous amount of guys and she could almost feel the rage coming off of her.
"I really like your top – it's very…Santana."
Seconds seemed like hours as Santana kept eye contact with Rachel before she lunged at her, the normal anger and resentment that was attached to her cold eyes was multiplied by ten as the girls face twisted into a rage that was almost let out as a snarl. "Santana!" Rachel shrieked before the Latina was already on top of her, sending one of her almighty fists right into the side of her face—or more precisely, her eye. The sharp sting was preceded by a stumble back as Rachel covered her face in terror as her back slammed against the brick bar, sending another tremor of pain through her system.
The screams of Spanish could be heard over the music and people began to circle around them, as the crowd became thicker around the girls, "Santana! Please! Please! I d-d-didn't mean to do anything!" She tried to take a peek through her fingers before Santana's nearly serrated fingernails dug into the back of Rachel's hands and pulled them off her face. Gasping, she started to feel the throb in her back and the sting in her hands. "I-" Santana caught Rachel's face and shoulders as she tried to move her head from getting in the way, sending read streaks across her lightly tanned skin. Fear coated every muscle in the Jewish girls body as in an attempt to get away, she threw out her foot, really wishing that she had chosen heels, making contact with Santana's leg.
Growling, Santana's grip loosened and Rachel ran. Turning her back on her back on the latina, Rachel could feel the tears start to fill her eyes as she screamed "S-stop!" but like a cat, Santana had already started tugging back, making her stop in her tracks. "I-I" she was tossed to the ground, face first, her forehead hitting before he chin. Rachel screamed out in agony as the quick pain of a head ache stung her frontal lobe and she felt the girl pull back her hair, scream at her in Spanish and slam her face into the ground. The first time she barely had time to react. She was looking at the wall, then so close to the floor that he hands wouldn't even fit, but the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth, she had covered her face, feeling the knuckles of her hands drag across the hard floor, her skin scraping and tearing against the rough of the concrete. Not to mention kicking and screaming didn't help, the ex-cheerio had strength.
Rachel was shaking from the pain, the horror, the shock. She could feel the blood over her face, her hair, dripping down her throat, and soaking her shirt. The gut wrenching feeling of hair being pulled up again mad Rachel come back, and she waited for the smash to the floor again. Like a miracle from god, she could feel the weight being pulled off of her, and he face fell into her hands again, this time, softer but she waited for the hard smash of the floor, instead she was met with the feeling of arms sliding under her body. The strong arms of someone caught her head and instead of her body touching the cold floor, she could feel the warmth of a body under her.
Hands grabbed her shoulders, and she heard a familiar voice – saying something… something about calling. The voice was riddled with anger and annoyance but there was a fear that lingered so deeply, that Rachel could only let her eyes flick up slightly—feeling the blood run down her face, her shirt, clumping her hair and rolling down her throat—catching the light blue eyes of Jesse St. James.
There wasn't much for Jesse St. James to do, Carmel wasn't anywhere near an Los Angeles, but there was something that was calling for him, in a homey way. In the long run, he wasn't going to plant himself here, that wasn't his plan, but pulling Rachel in was. Back when he went to Carmel, he went to this place a lot, gLo. After a great victory, sometimes even skipping school, he would go to gLo to celebrate. Most of the Vocal Adrenaline kids did. He wondered vaguely if they would be surprised at his prescence, seeing as he was supposed to be in California, at UCLA. Did any of them know that he came back? Did they know that he worked with New Directions now? But this was an insignificant detail, having nothing to do with his purpose there that evening.
The bouncer still recognized him, at least. Apparently, though, he knew Jesse well enough to know that he was still underage. Damn, he thought, tracing the drawn X's on his hands with his eyes. He would most likely still be able to get away with drinking, he knew. The lady behind the bar always had that sense of mischief.
Once in, Jesse winked at the bartender for a shot of whatever was good, ironically seating himself at the opposite end of the bar from Rachel. She slid him an expertly crafted cocktail, and he thanked her politely, taking a sip and letting his lips twist up into a haughty grin. All he could think was damn, that thing was strong.
Standing, the boy walked around the floor, watching slowly to find the girl he had come here for. It wasn't an accident that Brittany had found out about the party. He had specifically spoken to her because he knew she would be the only one that left out the fact that he was the one that had invited them. Having Rachel completely clueless would help him. Of course he had been stalking the Finnchel relationship, or more, lack of relationship after a breakup that rocked them. Fox-like tendencies of the boy lead him around the room as people were starting to envelop the corner of the floor, and then his heart sank as he heard her voice, screaming in a high pitched agony as his hand lost grasp of his glass and it fell to the floor.
Jesse pushed his way through the still dancing couples and tried to find a way through the circle that had now formed. "Get out of my way!" He growled, trying to push his way into the center of the circle, only to fall into step as the giant bouncer tore the circle apart to find the two girls interlocked as the Latina girl straddled the girls back, pulling the dark brown locks up as if she was about to slam her face back to the ground. Jesse lurched forward, only be beaten to Santana by the burly man who picked her up, legs kicking in a wild fashion as he fell to his knees, sliding his arms under her body, flipping it over to see her blood stained face while the scarlet trickled down her shirt and stained the pure white red.
"Rachel! Rachel… Someone call an ambulance!" He looked up to the crowd who stared down at the two of them, Jesse cast his eyes back at the girl as she shook in his arms, small tremors that twisted pain in her pretty eyes and made the seemingly shattered bones in the soft of her palms. "Rachel….Baby."
His heart instantly broke as the girl looked up to him. The sound of her choked breathing, choked speaking was horrifying to say the least. Her words weren't words but mere gasps for breath and gargling as her terror filled eyes searched for his. Her mouth moved, but only echoes of words actually fell from the lips of the fallen angel, followed by blood that was not only starting to pool from the laceration that Santana's nail had dug into above her brow, but also her nose, and her cheek. The pretty body I once saw twirling, and dancing now shook in my grasp, her hand reaching up, but quickly falling back on her chest.
Rachel's eyes closed, her mouth trying to mouth something. Jesse stroked her cheek, his mind lost in a conglomerate of furry and trepidation. Why wasn't the ambulance here already…? Why had no one stopped this awful deed?
"m…..my." Her voice was coated in pain and suffering, but determination willed her through as she continued to try and speak, but the small whimpers that fell from her bloodied lips, stopped as Rachel stopped talking.
"Rachel! Wake up! Don't you dare close your eyes! Your what…? What Rachel..?" Jesse ran his hand through her hair, feeling the warm crimson liquid on his hands as he tilted her up only slightly, "Rach…."
Once more, her brown eyes fluttered to life, but the look of groggy pain lingered as she coughed, a fine vapor of blood twinkling on jesse's forearm as she tried to curl herself for the pain. Mouthing the sounds that she was making, Jesse hoped that he would get the word out from her. Anything that kept her thinking would keep her awake. But it was near silent, a murmur as she let her eyes graze his. "m-my. Voice."
Voice, her voice…? Out of all the things that she could worry about she is scared that she will lose her voice from this..? Jesse's face softened and he stroked her cheek, smearing the blood lightly as he tried to comfort her. "Don't worry doll, everything will be just fine.. You'll be fine and singing in no time." There was a twinge of sadness in his voice, but he kept the lie carefully hidden from her.
Jesse watched as she blinked once, twice, her eyes rolled back into her head and her body fell limp back in his arms, Rachel's body shook violently. Her brain, damaged from the smashing against the floor was misfiring, sending her limbs into a irreversible movement that didn't stop. His heart stopped, he grabbed the girl, trying to hold her as tightly as possible, but then everything was silent. Her movements had stopped, "Rachel…?" her breathing had ceased, "Rachel…?" her eyes were closed and blood was still trickling from her mouth, "Rachel! Answer me!" His tone was desperate as he screamed at her, "Don't you dare fucking do this Rachel!" there was a short pause, "Where are the paramedics?"
But as soon as the words came from his lips they had parted their own way through the sea, and had pulled the girl from his grasp. Never in his life had he ever felt so defenseless, so lost, so completely scared for something other than theatre. Rachel was a center point of his life, she had been since the first day that they had met, and now here he was, running his fingers through his hair, her blood staining his ghost white face as they tried cpr, they tried to shock her back to life. Once, Twice, thirty minutes went by, as they continued to work on her.
And then they stopped.
The man who's hand was lightly placed on her chest, sat back and covered his face, nodding once. "What! What? You can't stop! You can't let her die!" He hissed at the men in the floor, "are you complete morons? Save her…!"
Looking up to him, the mans face was solemn, "Son, did all that we could—but, she didn't make it."
Words. Sentences. Paragraphs. Whatever those men told him after that were lost as he looked down at the girl, the one he had dated, the one that he helped, the pretty girl with the perfect voice and the amazing vibrato; Rachel Barbra Berry, was dead. And he had made the worst decision of his life, not telling her that he loved her. All the boy could do was close his eyes and murmur, no, as they covered her body in a white veil.