Just an fyi:

Jesse is a roughly 2.5 years older than Rachel. Rachel is 15 until just after Sectionals while Jesse will turn 19 around the time of regionals. This may not be accurate but I wanted Jesse to be a teenager when they met to work better with the story.

The time line for the school year runs something like this School begins the last week of August/first week of September. Sectionals is in early November, Regionals is in mid March and Nationals are the week before the end of school in which is around the first week of June.

I didn't go into much detail here about sectionals and after this chapter some things from the show will be tweaked. Events will follow the basic premiss of the show but Rachel and Jesse knowing eachother before makes it necessary for things to happen a bit differently.

Thanks to those who have read, reviewed or followed, I hope you're enjoying this story and I love getting feed back.

Disclamier: I do not own anything affiliated with the show Glee or any songs from the show or mentioned in these chapters.

Rachel entered the halls of Mckinley High watching those around her. She had become accustomed to keeping an eye out for those who were higher on the 'high school food chain'. She hoped to make it through the day slushie free, she had enough on her mind that worrying about changing clothes in the middle of her day was not something she wanted on her to do list.

This year had been crazy already; she had done everything she could to ensure Ryerson was gone and the glee club had finally reached a point where they could truly compete. She had hoped with a larger interest in glee her social status would rise but that was not the case, and honestly she knew the others in glee were not truly accepting of her. They did not hide their jealousy of her superior talent well, even though they tried to cover this by insisting their refusal to accept her as the obvious leader of the group was simply because they were equally if not more talented. Her feelings for Finn were making her crazy but that could not be helped, she simply knew they would be good together. She thought he would come to see this as well but he was so conflicted about Quinn and the baby. Still, she did consider them friends and regardless of the issues they may have she knew that leading a previously unknown glee club to a national title would help her get noticed, and being noticed mattered when you were on your way to being a Broadway star.

These were the reasons she truly did feel guilty for the trouble she had caused with 'babygate' as the other glee members had begun to call the blow up that had happened earlier in the week. Now she may have not only lost her chance with Finn, since he was completely messed up over Quinn and Puck's deception but they may have also lost their chance to win sectionals. They had recruited Jacob Ben Isreal for goodness sake. Thankfully they didn't really need him to sing, he was only there to give them the numbers required to compete. Knowing they could still compete was one thing but losing their male lead was not something that could be easily overcome.

Why could the others not be professional about this and set their issues aside? They had a show to do regardless of what else was going on. Apparently she was the only one in glee who understood the meaning of the phrase "the show must go on." Even though Finn was the only one who had quit the rest of the club was so engrossed in the situation they had completely lost focus. Rachel sighed 'Why is it that no one understands what it takes to be a star? Even around people who claim to love performing they still do not understand me.' Since she was little no one had truly understood her drive or ambition. There had only ever been one person who honestly related to her.

She did not allow herself to think of him often but Jesse St. James was the only other person whom she had ever met that thought the same way as her. However that was the past. She had not heard from him in over three years. Oh she was aware of him and what he had been doing. Knowing all possible competition was vital and there was no bigger competition than Vocal Adrenaline. She had seen some of their performances on youtube but had not studied them the way she should have. Seeing Jesse on stage with those soulless automatons was hard. He was like a completely different person, still amazingly talented but nothing like the boy she knew.

It had taken a long time to give up the hope that Jesse would contact her but eventually the acceptance came. She was sure he had to have had a reason for cutting her out but it was a reason she would likely never know. The thought had crossed her mind that she may get to see or speak to him again due to show choir competitions but then realized he probably did not even remember her. No, all Jesse St. James was to her now was a block in the road to a national title and she would not allow her memory of a friendship built mostly over phone and internet communication keep her from her goals.

Rachel finally made it to her first class thankfully in her original clothes. As she listened to the teacher drone on about the some historical event she could not help but roll her eyes. She hated the stupid rule that any member of an extracurricular group had to attend all classes the day of the event or would not be allow to compete. This did not count for her last class of the day as the entire club was excused because they would need that time to travel to the competition venue. Rachel valued her education but knew all classes today would be wasted on her. There was nothing she could focus on besides their set list and dance routines.

Finally after seemingly running through songs and dance steps a million times in her mind it was time to board the bus that would take them to their first major competition. Everyone in glee was well aware of the other clubs who would be taking the stage against them. Honestly the entirety of glee felt they could win even with the absence of Finn. Rachel's main concern at the moment was a very green looking Jacob Ben Isreal. She hoped that he could pull himself together long enough to not vomit on stage.

The confidence New Directions carried into the auditorium quickly diminished. The other schools obviously knew their setlist. The girls from Jane Addams had even come out in wheelchairs for Proud Mary. This was not good, "Everyone to the green room now!" Rachel ordered. It was a testament to how dumbstruck the others were when they quickly stood and headed out of the auditorium with no arguments.

As Rachel walked into the green room she could see that everyone was falling apart. It was obvious their setlist had been leaked so there was no need to state this even though there were some who felt it needed to be said. There was also anger, disbelief, and defeat expressed. Rachel was also upset but again 'The show must go on' and again it seemed as if she was the only who grasped this mentality.

She did her best to gain control of the room and once there was a semblance of order they began to discuss how to handle the situation. Everyone agreed they would need to come up with something new. They had done enough of Mr. Schue's assignments that they would be able to pull something together, once they got past ideas like Arties "Perhaps I could improvise some of my Def Poetry Jams."

They had decided to reprise their performance of Somebody to love and Finn had surprisingly showed up, much to the relief of Jacob Ben Isreal. He had a song that would work well for their second selection although it would require a lot of improv. Rachel thought it was only fair for Mercedes to choose another ballad because she was the one chosen to be the soloist. But Mercedes disagreed. "Look Rachel, the truth is; you're the best singer we've got.

"As much that it hurts me to admit it, and it does... shes right. Rachel is our star. If anyone is gonna belt it on the fly, it should be her." She was surprised when Kurt agreed. Maybe they did appreciate her talent after all.

"Well, I do have something that I've been working on since I was four." I know I can pull this off. I'm not some little ten year old girl anymore.

Jesse St. James slumped in his seat rubbing his temples and wondering when the torture would end. This was absolutely ridiculous, Vocal Adrenaline is the best show choir in the state. There was no real need to 'scope out the competition'. He glanced to his right to see his coach rubbing the back of her neck and wondered if these performances were causing her as much pain as they did him. Next to Shelby was Andrea Cohen, being the dance captain of VA meant she was drug along for this little trip as well. He did not know why Shelby insisted Andrea tag along. She sat there filing her nails with her ear buds in like she did not have a care in the world. Then again it is not like there had been much in the way of dance performance to notice anyway.

Did Shelby honestly think that the mediocre schools could possibly propose a threat to VA? His team had been unstoppable for three years and that was not about to change with him holding the lead. In all his time at Carmel, all of the performances he had done, he had never found anyone that could match his talent. He wanted to ask Shelby if they could leave. Their time here was clearly being wasted, but he knew Shelby would not be willing to leave. Shelby did not believe in simply winning, she wanted to crush all competition and leave no doubt what team was the best. From the moment he was enrolled in Carmel and introduced to Shelby Corcoran he knew exactly why his father liked her.

Halfway through the current choir's set he vaguely noticed a girl stand and order her team backstage. From the look on her face and the expressions of the others he could tell something was clearly wrong. Ah drama, how much fun. Jesse chuckled but otherwise ignored the goings on with the team that was still waiting to perform.

Finally the deaf kids ended their set, leaving Jesse to wonder how they even ended up in a singing competition to begin with. Sure they were heartwarming but this was a competition not a telethon. He thought that is was truly a sad state of affairs when it looked as if the delinquents from that girl's school would win these sectionals, unless the next choir had someone with a least an average amount of talent.

The music began for the final group and Jesse bit back a groan. As if this day had not been grueling enough he now had to listen to someone butcher Barbara. He felt a small twitch of his lips as a memory came to him from what felt like a life time ago, a little powerhouse who he believed one day would rival Barbara. Maybe if he closed his eyes he could hear her instead of whoever thought they could pull off this song.

It was that memory that kept him from reacting at first but by the second line he had whipped his head around so fast he was sure he had pulled a muscle. He knew that voice. It was stronger and more mature and the girl belting out the lyrics was most certainly not the little ten year old he remembered but there was no mistaking one Miss Rachel Barbara Berry. For the first time all evening he sat straight in his seat not wanting to miss a single moment of this performance. He was so focused on her that he did not notice the expression on his coach's face

Watching Rachel up on stage, in the spotlight, he felt his stomach give a lurch. She was beautiful up there. Anyone watching could see the passion she held for performing. It was the same passion they shared and allowed them to build a friendship. The smile that had formed on his face slipped, he had let go of their friendship, had pushed anyone who knew that side of him away, and replaced that passion with nothing more than a drive to win. He was different now, the connection they had would never be the same.

As the New Directions finished their set he shook off his thoughts of the past and fixed his expression with the showface he had perfected over the years. Before the applause had stopped Shelby was standing obviously ready to leave.

"Well, no reason to stick around it's obvious who the winners are. You two can stay if you like but I have things to take care of." She stepped around Jesse and exited the auditorium quickly not even giving her students a chance to respond.

Andrea made her way over to him a hopeful look on her face. "I'm leaving too. I have some steps I want to work on before rehearsal tomorrow. Unless you want to get a coffee or something? I mean Shelby's right no reason to stick around and it will give us a chance to spend some time together."

Jesse sighed. Andrea had been trying to gain his interest since sophomore year. They had a brief relationship, if you could call it that. Jesse did not really do relationships. His time was too limited, between VA, academics, and is personal training. Over the years his relationships had come to consist of hook ups, occasionally he would find time to make something last for a few weeks. The only reason Andrea and his tryst had lasted as long as it did (3 weeks) was because they had spent so much time together with VA. The reality of it was that he did not have the time or inclination to focus on personal relationship they drew his focus away from winning and winning is what he had to do.

"Sorry Andrea, I'm calling it a night, I have a full day tomorrow." He watched as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yes the great Jesse St. James cannot possibly deviate from his routine. What is it now, workout, acting class, dance class, vocal coaching all before noon right? Honestly Jesse everyone knows you don't need that much practice."

Jesse shrugged and threw a smirk over his shoulder as they made their way to the doors. "I know I'm the best, thanks for the validation. But I want to stay the best."

Andrea tried to hide it but the rejection hurt. Over the years she reminded herself that Jesse never got truly close to anyone. She knew her time with him was longer than most of his romantic entanglements. One would think that his arrogance would be a turn off but he was one of the few who could back up that arrogance with real talent and that made it all the more appealing.

Once he saw Andrea to her car Jesse began to make his way to his Jeep. He loved his car; some of the other senior members of VA had the idea of buying matching Range Rovers. They thought it looked intimidating to show off their wealth and status, but Jesse had chosen this Jeep when he was sixteen and had no desire to give it up. It was one of the few things he had gotten without too much of a fight from his father.

Before he had made it across the parking lot he stopped. Leaving right now did not feel right. He knew that Rachel most likely hated him for cutting off contact the way he did. He knew she probably wanted nothing to do with him. There was a good chance she did not even remember him. Knowing these things he still could not make himself leave, he had to see her.

Rachel stood alone in the green room. She had told the others to head to the bus and she would join them in a moment. They had won; she had gotten a standing ovation. Despite throwing together a setlist at the last moment New Directions would be moving on to regionals.

"Rachel Barbara Berry, you surprise me." Rachel spun around at the sound of the cocky yet amused masculine voice. "I didn't think you'd use that song in another competition, but I must say I'm impressed. Your performance is still lacking Barbara's emotional depth but… you did well up there.

Her mouth had dropped open in surprise. Standing in front of her with a smirk on his face and eyes sparkling in amusement was the last person she had expected to see. Sure earlier in the day she had a vague thought that they would see each other again but only as competition. "Jesse?" his name left her lips in a surprised whisper. She quickly composed herself, not allowing her emotions to take over. He had left her, disappeared without a word and now he shows up here and feels like he can offer up opinions of her performance like it is a common occurrence?

"What are you doing here?" she asked as neutrally as possible.

Jesse stepped into the room forcing himself to remain composed. He had seen the look on her face when she turned around and he had see how quickly she shut down fixing on a showface that rivaled his own. He would admit, if only to himself, that hurt.

"You really were great up there Rachel. It's good to see you again." He answered ignoring her question.

Rachel huffed. "I know I was wonderful and the rest of the group did great as well. I don't need you to tell me that! Why are you here Jesse?"

He shrugged and leaned back against the wall crossing his arms. It seemed his thoughts were right; she wanted nothing to do with him. "First of all, you never minded me giving my opinion. And secondly your glee club did well but they were far from great. As to why I'm here; we were doing what any good show choir should do, checking out our potential competition. I'm Vocal Adrenaline lead. From what I saw we really have nothing to worry about, even with you singing lead New Directions isn't a threat to us."

"I know you're the lead of Vocal Adrenaline I don't need you to tell me that." He did not know why this surprised him, Rachel was as driven as he and she would have found out all she could about other show choirs in the state. He realized that it was not surprise he was feeling but hurt. She had known where he was but never tried to contact him. Why would she? You're the one who ignored and avoided her. He had made his way fully into the room now and was standing next to the desk where here things were laid out.

Rachel continued as Jesse turned his back to her and began fiddling with her things on the desk. "New Directions may not be the soulless automaton machine that Vocal Adrenaline is but that gives us an edge. I remember someone once saying that the only competition there is, is yourself and competing against others is how you learn to be better. Well I already know how we're better. We have heart."

Jesse closed his eyes in pain when she practically quoted his mother. He bit back his sharp retort and allowed her to continue. He had obviously hurt her and Rachel was a dramatic person. "You used to have heart Jesse. I've seen clips of your performances and that isn't there anymore. As for your opinion well, that is something I simply no longer desire."

When it was clear she had finished he turned to her. "Your right, things change and people change. I probably shouldn't have come here but I just didn't feel right not saying hello."

He began to make his way to the door but she could not stop from making one last comment. "But not saying goodbye is something completely different."

He only paused for a moment his shoulders rise and fall as if preparing to say something back. No reply came, he simply continued walking away. Rachel took a deep breath after he was gone. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and she fought them back.

"Rachel we're ready to go are you all set?" Kurt had come to find her but had paused when he heard her speaking to someone. He did not know who the guy was and had only caught the tail end of their conversation but he knew that the encounter had shaken Rachel even if she tried not to show it.

"Yeah Kurt. Just let me grab my things." As she went to pick up her cell she noticed a piece of the sheet music Finn had brought with him. On the top was a phone number and a simple message of 'Call me, I miss you'. She rolled her eyes before hastily picking up the papers and shoving them in her bag. "Alright let's go. Did the others decide where we're going to celebrate?"

"Yeah Breadsticks." Kurt chuckled, "Like there is anywhere else to go in Lima. Hey Rachel who was that guy I saw leave here earlier he looked familiar?"

"Oh no one really. Just someone I knew a long time ago." She answered quickly hoping to brush it off as no big deal. Really it was a big deal. She had known Jesse was different. She could see the changes in his performances. This little meeting had only served to prove that to her but she had thought she'd seen a glimpse of the old Jesse as well. Just before he left, when he apologized for even coming there was something in his eyes that made her wonder if her friend was still there behind that emotionless mask.