Becky walked into the choir room and up to Mr Schue and handed him a note. It read Madonna is mine! Will looked around confused, wondering how Sue had found out so quickly. He wouldn't put it past her to have a nanny-cam somewhere in the room. He rolled his eyes.
"Thank you Becky." He nodded to her and she walked out. Before the door closed a hand caught it.
Jesse St. James walked into the choir room and Rachel wondered if she had actually gone mad. She blinked, but no he was actually there, looking very hot, in Rachel's opinion. He had caught a tan from his time in California and his hair was slightly shorter and coiffed in what looked like a very professional way. She was also sure that he was more muscular than he had been when he had left in August.
Mr Schue looked at him confused. "Jesse, what are you doing here?"
"I've transferred back and was wondering if I could join the glee club." He glanced at Rachel briefly who still hadn't wiped the shocked look off of her face. She wasn't the only one. The whole of New Directions were looking at him like he had grown two heads. It wasn't that he had come back it was more to do with him joining glee club.
Puck glared at Jesse coldly, which was understandable with the way that Quinn was looking at her ex-boyfriend. Jesse could tell that everyone in the room thought that he had joined because he had heard that Quinn had. He decided to leave them thinking that so it could be an even bigger shock when they found out that it was Rachel he was joining for. What could he say? He loved the dramatics of it.
"Can you sing?" Puck asked aggressively and Rachel remembered when she had posed a similar question and she knew that Jesse would spare nothing in this performance.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at Puck. "Of course I can." He spoke arrogantly and a few of them bristled.
"Prove it." Finn demanded.
"Guys, come on." Mr Schue spoke. "He doesn't need to do that."
"No, it's fair." Jesse said and Rachel knew he was dying to show them that he was far superior to all of them. Well except her, obviously.
"Okay." Mr Schue shrugged and Jesse nodded to the band and started singing Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now'.
Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!
I'm floating around in ecstasy
So don't stop me now don't stop me
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time
Rachel wasn't at all surprised at his choice of song and when Jesse started singing Rachel looked around to see everyone's reactions. The majority of them would probably need a forklift to pry their chins from the ground. Jesse was rocking it in a way that would make Freddie proud.
I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you
Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all
Mr Schue could hide neither his surprise nor his relief. He believed in Finn but the way that Jesse was moving and singing and owning the performance was something that would win them regionals. He was an incredible performer and Will couldn't believe that nobody had known this. He was more than good. He was mind blowing.
I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode
As the shock wore off everyone started to get more into the song and most were singing back up for him. Jesse revelled in it and played up to the crowd showing that he was absolutely born to perform. He was enigmatic and charming and that came through even more prominently when he sang.
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you
Don't stop me don't stop me don't stop me
Hey hey hey!
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)
Don't stop me have a good time good time
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh Alright
I'm burning through the skies Yeah!
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you
Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time
Just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm having a good time)
I don't wanna stop at all
Jesse finished and the room broke into applause. Santana was looking at him like he was something she wanted to eat, Kurt seemed like he couldn't breathe and was staring at Jesse like he used to stare at Finn. Quinn was leaning forward in her seat smiling at him. Puck just looked annoyed but Mike and Matt were genuinely happy to see their friend. Everyone else in the room looked appropriately impressed.
As Jesse tried to catch his breath from his energetic performance Mr Schue patted him on the back. "Welcome to New Directions." He said and they shook hands. Just then the bell rang and they had to go to lunch. Everyone filed out but Rachel didn't move from her seat and once everyone had left Jesse walked over and sat next to her.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey? That's all you have to say?"
"I missed you." He tried smiling widely at her.
She rolled her eyes. "You could have called."
"I thought you understood." He argued starting to get annoyed. This wasn't the reunion he had envisioned.
"You gave me no choice in the matter and what about when you knew you were coming back?"
"It was kind of last minute and I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well you certainly did surprise me." She conceded giving him the first smile. "And it was a very impressive performance."
"And what about you? Anything you want to tell me about the time I was away?" He asked her. She looked at him confused. "Finn?"
"Have you been stalking me?" She asked in outrage.
"Why would I need to when Jacob Ben Israel is here to do it for me?"
"You read his blog?" Jesse nodded. "Jesse! That just encourages him." She groaned.
"I needed to know what was going on." He defended. "So are you going to tell me why you spent the whole of last semester chasing after that jock?"
"I don't see how it's any of your business. You can't just come back and demand to know everything that happened while you were gone and expect me to fall straight into your arms. I have more self-respect than that."
"What, so you don't want me anymore?" He asked sceptically.
"I want you to prove to me that you want me. I want you to prove that you're not just going to leave again or push me away when things get hard."
"How did I-"
"You just walked away last time. You didn't even give us a chance to see if we could work long distance or anything. How am I supposed to know you won't do that again if we hit another road block?" She asked standing up and walking towards the door.
"Rachel." He called out and she looked back at him. "I'm not going anywhere. I will prove it to you."
She nodded and walked out of the choir room. Jesse sighed he had not been expecting that. He had thought that she would fall straight into his arms and they could pick up from where they left off but he could see why his actions over the summer would make her doubtful. He also knew, however, that she wouldn't be too difficult to win over. She had left it up to him and he never failed. He looked up at the board and saw that their assignment was Madonna and started brainstorming. The best way to win over Rachel Berry was with a song.
"So I didn't know you could sing like that."
Jesse looked up and saw Quinn standing in the doorway. "Quinn." He acknowledged but got back to his brainstorm.
"It's good to see you again." She said but he didn't reply. "You didn't say goodbye before you left."
"Why would I?" He finally gave up ignoring her. "You broke up with me for Finn Hudson."
"Why would you join glee if you're still mad at me? I thought you…"
"You thought I wanted you back?" He raised his eyebrows and scoffed.
"There's no need to be such an ass about it." She muttered.
"You dumped me for possibly the shallowest reason in history and you expect me to still want you? I joined glee because this is actually something that I like doing and just so you know, I got over you a long time ago. I've moved on." He told her vehemently.
"I don't believe you."
"Believe what you want." He grabbed his things and walked out of the room. She took arrogant to a whole new level and that was coming from Jesse St. James.
Rachel sat with Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie at lunch but couldn't concentrate on anything but Jesse. Really, she just wanted to jump into his arms but she did mean what she said. As soon as he walked through the door she couldn't help all the doubts and fears that crept into her mind. She didn't know if it would be different now that they were in school and she didn't know if he would just ditch her again, just like Finn did, when he figured out she would drag down his rep. She hadn't really cared about Finn but she cared about Jesse.
It also didn't help that she could see Santana all over him where he was sitting with Mike and Matt catching up but at least she could see him pushing her away.
"Rachel. Rachel." Kurt spoke. "Are you even listening to us?"
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." She said focussing her attention on them.
"We were just talking about Jesse." Mercedes informed her. "Who knew he could sing like that?"
They all agreed with her statement but Kurt saw that Rachel wasn't. "Did you know?" He asked.
She sighed and decided to tell them. Jesse was in glee now. It wasn't like it was a huge secret. "We ended up doing a community production of Grease together over the summer before he moved away."
"Well, I think he may be gay." Kurt told the group and Rachel started to choke on the grape she had just put in her mouth. They looked at her suspiciously. "Do you want to refute that?" Kurt said.
"He isn't gay." She spoke definitely.
"Were you guys..?" Artie asked.
She didn't answer, instead she just looked down at her food and the others looked at each other knowingly. Realising that she couldn't deny it she begged them not to tell anyone.
"Just, don't tell anyone, not yet."
"Okay." They all agreed.
The next day in Glee the girls took them all to the auditorium and performed 'Express Yourself'. Jesse smirked, the message was clear and he knew that Rachel was singing to him. Partly because it suited their situation and partly because she didn't break eye contact with him the entire time. When the girls finished it was only him, Kurt and Mr Schue who were clapping and Jesse rolled his eyes. The other guys were being ridiculous but he would just have to show them how it's done.
They headed back to the choir room and all sat down. Rachel was sitting at the end of the front row and Jesse was grateful, she was in the perfect position.
"Girls, that was amazing." Mr Schue praised them. "Do any of the guys have anything to show us?" He tried looking around the room. They stayed silent and most of them looked away avoiding his gaze.
Jesse stood up. "I do."
"I told you he was gay." Everyone heard Puck mutter. Jesse rolled his eyes. He was secure in his sexuality and wasn't bothered if people thought he was gay.
"Okay, take it away." Mr Schue cleared the floor.
"I just thought I'd say that I got the message loud and clear and this song expresses exactly what I'm feeling." He said. He didn't look at Rachel but it would soon become clear that he was talking to her. The band started to play 'Burning Up' and Jesse stood in the middle of the room tapping his foot to the beat.
Don't put me off 'cause I'm on fire
And I can't quench my desire
Don't you know that I'm burning up for your love
You're not convinced that that is enough
I put myself in this position
And I deserve the imposition
But you don't even know I'm alive
And this pounding in my heart just won't die
I'm burning up
Rachel listened to the lyrics and smirked slightly before straightening out her expression but Jesse saw it.
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
For your love
Rachel couldn't help the attraction she felt when she listened to him sing and watching him was making her blush.
You're always closing your door
Well that only makes me want you more
And day and night I cry for your love
You're not convinced that that is enough
To justify my wanting you
Now tell me what you want me to do
I'm not blind and I know
That you want to want me but you can't let go
Come on, let go
Jesse headed to the opposite side to Rachel and walked around the group while he sang.
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
For your love
By the end of the chorus he was on the side where Rachel was sitting and he gracefully swung around down the step and onto his knees in front of her.
Do you wanna see me down on my knees?
He placed his hands on her lap as and leant back as he sang the next line.
Or bending over backwards now would you be pleased?
He nodded his head in the direction of the other guys and Rachel smiled at him.
Unlike the others I'd do anything
I'm not the same, I have no shame
He knelt up straighter and looked right into her eyes.
I'm on fire!
Ooooohhhh
He jumped in a way that even impressed Mike and went on to sing the closing chorus passionately. He took a quick look at everyone, particularly Finn and he knew that he had surprised them once again. He stayed singing to Rachel, looking her deep in the eyes as he did.
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
For your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
I'm burning up, burning up for your love
You know you got me burning up, baby
You know you got me burning up, baby
Burning up for your love
Burning up for your love
The group clapped and Jesse turned to Rachel for her response.
"It was good, you went slightly sharp on some of the higher notes." Jesse rolled his eyes and raised his eyebrows at her to continue with what he really wanted to here. "You expressed yourself very well but it's going to take more than that." She told him, enjoying the upper hand. He laughed and winked at her.
"I guess I'll just have to try again." He spoke good naturedly before taking his seat.
They were dismissed and he went to his locker. Puck came over to join him.
"So you're not gay?" Puck asked and Jesse shook his head. "And you want Berry?" He checked.
"More than you wouldn't believe."
"Okay good. It's good to have you back man."
"What, only now you know that I don't want Quinn back?" Jesse joked.
"Exactly." Puck nodded seriously and Jesse laughed at him.
"While we're on that topic… you and Rachel?"
"It was just making out." Puck assured him. "I thought she was into Finn." Jesse clenched his jaw. "But it must have been you because she never looked at Finn the way she was looking at you today and that was while she was supposedly playing hard to get."
Jesse nodded in thanks and they headed towards their history class.
A/N: I can picture perfectly the scene where Jesse is singing Burning Up but I don't know if I got it across that well but I tried =]. Expect a load more serenading and possibly some duets. Are you looking forward to seeing Jesse trying to win Rachel over?