Ahh I can't believe it's chapter eight! Hope you guys like it, and sadly no Finn is not in it :( ENJOY GUYS!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter Eight:
Rumor Has It
Rachel walked slowly along the sidewalk of 5th Avenue, her arms wrapping around herself in an attempt to keep warm from the cold, fall weather. The aftermath of the fight in Finn's apartment level's hallway that occurred a couple hours ago was repeatedly playing in her mind, haunting her of the hurt and anguish it caused.
She clutched her chest tightly, trying to stop the frantic beating of her heart, pounding painfully on the insides of her chest. She still couldn't wrap her head around the unexpected turn that her and Finn's friendship has taken. For two years, they've been nothing but happy together, telling each other about their day, frequently dragging each other to the karaoke bar near Times Square. She's even taken him to his first Broadway show, and the whole time they were there, he was fondling with a strand of her hair, occasionally making jokes about the characters on stage, but it just felt so peaceful.
It was what they did, back when everything was normal. And now? Now everything is just so screwed up, and confusing and she can't even think about him without the need to cry with loneliness. She gets it though, he has a girlfriend now, and Santana is everything to him that she couldn't be.
Santana could kiss him anytime she wants; make him laugh harder than Rachel can because he's in love with her. Rachel could never compete with that, no matter how strong they're friendship is, she would never be able to match up to true love.
The one thing that Rachel didn't understand though, was the way her heart split in two when she saw Santana descend from his bedroom, dressed in nothing but appealing lingerie. If their friendship was the same as it was two years ago, she would have shook Santana's hand happily, joking with Finn that he finally got a girl in bed. She would have told him he'd better be decent the next time she saw him, and to call her later, because they had a lot to talk about. But instead, a glitch of pain pierced her heart when Santana seductively weaved her arm around Finn's, pulling his body closer to hers.
Rachel shook her head from the overwhelming thoughts, continuing her stride towards the coffee shop in front of her. She extended her hands, reaching out for the handle of the door. Rachel whipped it open weakly, the air and smell of coffee beans filling her senses. She fluttered her eyes closed as she walked through, enjoying the fresh scent that the warm shop carried.
And then hot water splashed on her chest.
Rachel screamed in shock, snapping her eyes open to find a puddle of chocolate burning into the material of her shirt, burning her exposed skin. She cried out in pain as her flesh began to bubble, blisters forming at the valley between her breasts. Rachel looked up to find a sheepish boy staring at her disbelief, his empty mug evidence that he spilled it on her.
"Jesus Christ, I am so sorry," he mumbled quickly, catching the eyes of surrounding customers. She swallowed the insults that threatened to break from her mouth, nodding her head firmly. "It's fine," she seethed. "Just a cherry on top to a perfect day."
The boy smiled apologetically. He grabbed a couple of napkins from the sidebar beside the front entrance, waving his hands to a small booth beside them in the shop. "Here, sit down, let me clean it," he directed her.
Rachel fumed in annoyance, grabbing the end of the chair and pulling it out, its legs screeching against the tiles of the floor. She plopped down on it, staring at curly haired boy in front of her. He knelt down in front of her, holding up the scrunched up napkin in his hand. "May I?"
She stared down at where her shirt was stained, the coffee dripping down the skin of her upper chest. Normally she wouldn't let strangers randomly touch her but fuck it; her life already sucks. "Sure," she murmured, shrugging her slumped shoulders.
The boy nodded once, his hand pressing repeatedly against her skin, trying to clean the coffee that spilt there. "So," he whispered as his eyes staid lock on his work, "what's your name?"
She stared at him in disbelief. "You just spilled coffee on me, and you're asking me for my name?" she questioned, "that's highly unlikely."
The boy smiled, chancing a glance at her annoyed face. "It's not every day I embarrass myself in front of a hot girl, my name's Jessie. Jessie St. James," he said proudly, throwing away the dark, brown napkin.
Rachel bulked, her eyes widening in shock. "Y-you mean Jessie St. James? The Tony of West Side Story?"
Jesse wiggled his eyebrows. "The one and only," he confirmed. Rachel beamed at him, watching as he grabbed another napkin from the stands, peppering it on her coffee stained chest. "I've seen your show about seven times," Rachel looked disappointed, her face falling, "I can't believe I didn't recognize you."
Jesse shrugged, frowning as he wiped the remains from her chest. "You seemed like you were having a bad day, sometimes when I'm pissed, I barely recognize myself, its okay to cry every once in a while, I know I do," he told her. Rachel smiled sweetly at him, appreciating the warm gesture.
"Thanks for that, I needed it," she whispered, staring at him with content eyes. Jesse chuckled, smiling widely with his show teeth. "You needed someone to spill coffee on you?" he wondered, arching his eyebrows at her. Rachel giggled, grinning sheepishly like a teenage girl at the cute boy in front of her. "No, for telling me that I'm not the only one who needs to cry once in a while," she murmured, her voice low with sultry.
Jesse nodded in thanks, bracing his hands on both of her knees. He shifted on his feet as he stood up, pushing upwards with her legs. "Tell you what – "
"Rachel," she finished, extending her hand towards him. "Rachel Berry." He shook her hand warmly, pressing his lips to the back of her palm. She blushed in the needed affection.
"Alright so tell you what Rachel, I have a show in two days for West Side Story, and I could maybe get you tickets, you know, if you even wanted to see it for an eighth time, and maybe we could like, hang out later?" he wondered shyly, clasping his hands together in anticipation of her answer. Rachel flew her hand to her chest, gaping her mouth at him.
"Is Jesse St. James, the main character of a Broadway sensation, asking me out on a date?" she gasped, smiling widely. Jesse pursed his lips together, waiting for her answer. She nodded towards him, giggling lightly. "I would be honored to go, Jesse, thank you for inviting me," she said. Rachel stood up from the cushioned chair, standing exactly in front of him. "And I could never get enough of that play; especially now that I personally know the man in it."
Jesse gripped her hand tightly, kissing it softly. "So meet me at front entrance then? After the show, we could figure out something to do," he smiled. Rachel nodded, giggling lightly as he pointed his thumb to the back of the shop. "I should go, got rehearsal in an hour and . . . sorry about your shirt."
Rachel looked down at her chest, sighing at the stain that wouldn't wash from her shirt. "It's fine, it's fine, go ahead, I don't want to be the reason you're late," she told him, cocking her head towards the door. He nodded, giving one final kiss to the back of her hand before feeding the coffee shop, running out the exit doors.
Rachel sighed happily as she watched Jesse jump into his car, turning slightly towards her to wave goodbye. She giggled, blushing incredibly as she saw him drive off into the afternoon sun, swerving through passing cars that came his way.
"What happened man hands? Miss your beak?"
Rachel felt her heart stop at the sudden insult, the familiar and sultry voice echoing through her mind as a certain memory flashed before her eyes. She froze as she remembered the silky tone, turning around slowly to meet the eyes of the girl who she tried to avoid thinking about.
Santana smirked, propping her hands on her hips as she stared at Rachel, tilting her head in the process. "Nice shirt hobbit," she seethed, her eyes analyzing her stained chest. Rachel was taken aback by her choice of words; she didn't act like this when Finn was there.
"E-excuse me?" Rachel stuttered, arching her eyebrows at her in confusion. Santana rolled her eyes at her stately. "I'm sorry, are you going to run and tell Finn that I hurt your feelings darling?" she mocked, putting her hand to her chest in fake sympathy.
Rachel gritted her teeth at her. "What the hell are you talking about?" she hissed. Santana smiled sweetly at her, taking one step closer towards her in the small, empty coffee shop. "I had to get away from that giant cabbage patch kid, ever since you came over, he wouldn't even look at me while we were fucking."
Pain stung at the back of Rachel's head, tears burning to fall miserably down her cheeks. "There's a whole lot more to him than that Santana, and you better treat him right." She looked at her sadly, desperately trying to hold back the threatening tears. "I need to go, take care of him for me."
Rachel whipped away from her, forgetting the need for coffee as she pushed herself through the exit doors of the shop, entering the fresh air of the empty, small parking lot. She allowed the tears to freely fall when she noticed that she was alone, her low sobs escaping her lips endingly.
"I wasn't done talking to you RuPaul," Santana screeched, her voice sounding off the empty space between them. Rachel snapped towards her, noticing her close distance as she strode towards her. "Don't talk to me like that," she growled, pointing her finger at her strictly.
Santana laughed freely, shaking her head in disbelief. "So the man's got some fire in her? Come on Rachel, what else you got for me?" she slithered, stepping towards her, "did I forget to mention me and Finn fucked as soon as you left?"
She wiped the tears quickly from her cheeks, trying to hide the evidence that her words hurt. "What do you want Santana? Why are you talking to me?" Rachel asked, her voice thick with hurt, as the need to run and cry grew deeper and deeper within her. Santana patted her shoulder lightly, which Rachel shrugged off immediately. "I'm here to give you some guidelines of how this relationship is going to work."
Rachel looked up at her, her eyelashes wet from the fresh tears. "Guidelines? What the hell are you trying to say? That there are boundaries between me and Finn's friendship?" she asked in disbelief. Her heart clenched as Santana smiled at her, already giving her the answer she didn't want to hear.
"Listen yentel, it's my high time to ride the frankenteen alright? You've had your choice, and you fucked up, so. Back. Off." Rachel stared at her in confusion, each word clicking slowly into her as the meaning finally hit her. "Had my chance? Santana, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh please, I'm not as dumb as Finn, I know how girls function, and by the way you walked out this morning, it seemed pretty obvious you were jealous. Finn's too stupid to see it but – "
"Don't talk about Finn like that. He's not stupid, he's way more than that," Rachel interrupted her, defending Finn in anger at her accusations. Santana smirked, crossing her arms tightly over her pumped chest. "Really? Because the past month that I've known him, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed."
Rachel fumed at her, feeling hatred towards her as Santana tried to get under her skin. "You know what Santana, I know what you're trying to do okay? You're trying to get me to leave you alone so you can be with him intimately. Well fine, go ahead, for all I care, sleep with him and do whatever the fuck you want with him, but I don't care. Because it'll only be a matter of time before he realizes what a bitch you are, and I won't even need to help him realize it."
Santana giggled slightly, tilting her head in mockery. "I'm sorry . . . are you threatening me?" she joked, not taking her seriously. Rachel's jaw set as she stared angrily at Latina in front of her.
"Last time I checked, I was winning," Santana told her, smiling widely like it was some special accomplishment. Rachel looked at her in disbelief; her mouth gaped in confusion. "Finn isn't some prize to be won, but if he were, I really wouldn't care if you took him," she lied.
Santana could easily see through her. "Can you say that again? Cause I didn't quite buy it, did you?"
She grabbed Rachel's wrist tightly, ignoring her struggles as she tried to break free from her strong grip. "Look, Berry, this can be easily solved. Just stay away from us, and let me do the comforting when he finds out his best friend doesn't want him anymore. You don't stay away?" Her hold on Rachel's wrist tightened, and she writhed in pain, trying to rip her off. "Well let's just say it'll be as ugly as your Jewish nostrils."
Santana released her nails from Rachel's skin, smiling sweetly before she retreated back to the coffee shop, her hips swaying as she went. Rachel stared at her in disbelief, her heart hammering in quick beats against the inside of her chest.
She looked up at the darkening clouds above the city's buildings, their puffiness growing black with thunder. Slowly, rain began to pour lightly from the clouds, landing harshly on Rachel's already shaking frame.
She stood silently as her hair and clothes grew wet from the crying clouds, her emotions reflecting the weather.
If only her own sun shine could follow the aftermath of her personal storm.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
^^ for those who don't get the last line, I'm trying to say that she wants a happy ending, just like the weather does when the sun comes out after a storm. So yeah that is, wow, chapter eight! I've been doing guidelines and this novel should have seventeen or eighteen chapters, so you guys are in for a ride! Also, how much of a bitch is Santana? And do you like Jesse in this fanfic? Here are some spoilers for next chapter –
- It will be Jesse and Rachel's date!
- Finn is baaaaaaaack people! Again :)
- Jesse will show a major flaw that will put a strain on his and Rachel's relationship. Any guesses? It's pretty insulting to someone she knows.
Well that's it for spoilers! Hope you guys liked this chapter, and just to let you know, this novel will be having more drama than humor now, so just warning yeah! Love ya and review, xoxo.
PS: GLEE TOMORROW YAAAAAAAYYY!