Rachel padded her way into the kitchen, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She walked over to the coffee maker on the corner of the counter and poured a glass into the mug specified with her name. She stiffled a yawn, taking a large whiff of the strong aroma and hoped that it would wake her.
"Good morning to you too," Jesse spoke from his seat on the end island stool. He watched her with an amused glance. "No cream and sugar this morning?"
Rachel just shook her head and took another sip from her steaming mug.
"Do I have to ask eighteen more of these to get an answer that makes sense?"
"Sorry," Rachel finally spoke. "I'm so tired, and I have no idea why."
"Me neither," Jesse frowned. "It's half past noon." He stood, and Rachel took note that he was already fully dressed and that he had been eating lunch, not breakfast.
"Twelve-thirty!" Rachel exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I went into your room earlier to see if you were already up and just down at the gym, but you were still in bed. You looked so tired and adorable. I figured you could sleep in just this once." Jesse explained.
"Aw," Rachel cooed. "That's actually kind of sweet."
"Plus you were snoring and talking in your sleep, so I didn't want to miss out on that."
The hand that Rachel had been using to rub his arm stopped and smacked the side of his head instead. "Way to ruin the moment."
"I guess it's just a habit of mine," Jesse shrugged. "And, for the record, I'm loving the bunny slippers. I thought those only existed in high school clichés and college sorority movies. Leave it to you to constantly be proving me wrong."
"I guess it's just a habit of mine," Rachel said innocently.
They had slowly moved closer to one another, almost subconsciously. So when Jesse whispered a "touche" it was almost automatic that their lips would meet.
Jesse backed Rachel against the counter, continuing their session while simultaneously removing the coffee mug from her hand and setting it on the counter.
Rachel was the one to finally pull away.
"As much as I would love to continue this, but you really should have checked my schedule before you decided not to wake me up this morning."
"You mean that enormous calendar that's made its home on our refrigerator actually has useful information written on it?" Jesse leaned in to lay another kiss on her cheek.
"Yes," Rachel laughed, pushing him away so she could walk over to the calendar in question. "See? If you had looked at it today, you would know that I have a lunch with the cast at one-thirty."
Jesse, too, took a glance at the calendar. "We're having dinner with Puck tonight?"
"You're the one who set it up, remember?"
"Not at all."
"I'm going to take this and use it as an example in the future when you say something to the affect that you are superior to the use of calendars."
"I have never said that I am superior to the use of calendars. I have, however, proved today that I am superior to the use of coffee. You seem pretty awake after our mid-day rendezvous."
"You make everything sound so dirty." She began walking out of the kitched.
Jesse just smirked. "Speaking of dirty, you should probably go take a shower. I think you left behind a funk."
"Bite me!" Rachel called as she walked towards the stairs.
"You don't have to tell me twice!"
"Hello?"
"Hey, man!"
"Jesse? What are you doing calling so early?"
"Early? Puck, it's one-thirty."
"Exactly. I'm a rock star."
"Is that a question?"
"No, it's a universal sign that says I don't do anything until after four. Especially the day after a show."
"But you'd be willing to make an exception for me, right?"
"Define the circumstances."
"Rachel's out eating lunch with her cast, and she wouldn't let me go," Jesse admitted.
Puck didn't respond.
"You know I could always call someone else –"
"No!" Puck exclaimed. Then, clearing his throat, he added, "I mean – No, it's cool. I guess I can risk some sleep time for a bro in need."
"I'm honored," Jesse said sarcastically.
"Your place or mine?"
"Ms. Berry, your table and party are right this way," the hostess posed by her podium greeted as if she had been placed there for exactly that purpose. (Which she probably had.)
"Thank you." Rachel smiled politely.
Rachel followed the girl, allowing her to lead her to a secluded room in the back of the restaurant where a single table sat, full except for one seat.
"Sorry!" Rachel greeted sheepishly. "I really, really tried to be here on time!"
"Sure you did," Harry Blake, the show's director, said sarcastically. He flashed her a fond smile to relax her. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to sit down?"
"I was definitely thinking of remaining standing."
"But, then I'll get lonely," Sam frowned.
"Sam-I-Am!" Rachel exclaimed. Against her earlier proclamation, she hurried over to the empty seat next to Sam and took a seat.
"Berry! Where have you been? You're like five whole minutes late."
"It wasn't my fault!" Rachel defended. Then, softer, she added. "I might have accidentally slept in until twelve-thirty."
"What? Did your boyfriend not wake you up or something?" Sam asked.
"Jesse didn't know I had to be here, so he didn't see any hurt in letting me sleep in."
"But I thought you two told each other everything," Sam responded with false care.
"What is it that makes you so anti-Jesse?"
"I'm not –"
"Okay, before they start bringing food in, let's start talking about why we're here," Harry said, addressing the entire table.
"I have been wondering that," Sam commented.
"Why do I hire kids with such low levels of respect?" Harry questioned, turning to the show's producer, Brett James.
"Beats me," Brett shrugged.
"Oh, I have the upmost respect for you and your untouchable talents in the acts that come with the challenging job of a hit TV show director, Mr. Blake," Rachel said, eyebrows furrowed.
"I remember now," Harry nodded. "It's creepy. Call me 'Mr. Blake' one more time, and I'm replacing you."
"So, why are we here?" Sam asked again.
"Writers," Harry nodded to the three men at the end of the table, "I think you can take it from here."
Miles Lefter, the show's head writer, reached under the table and pulled out seven six paper-bound scripts.
"I present to you," Miles said with excitement, "the first official season two script for Making It."
He passed the scripts around the table to each cast member while they all, especially Rachel, squealed with anticipation.
Rachel, with eager hands, grasped the one before her, opening it to the first page where the familiar list of cast and characters stared her back. She traced down the list with her finger, realizing just how much she had been missing her job while they were on hiatus. Her finger stopped, though, towards the bottom of the listed names where an unfamiliar alias was written.
Joseph "Joey" Burbank …. Unknown
"Who's Joey Burbank?" Sam asked before Rachel could.
"He's who we're here to talk about," Miles answered. "Well, one of the things we're here to talk about. Bottom line, he's a new character for this season – maybe more, depending on the response – and we want some feed back and suggestions on who you would like to play the role."
"Who is he, though?" Rachel asked. She could feel herself becoming a little worried about another person making their way into what she already considered a tightly woven family. "What's the character like?"
"He's going to be Rick's competition. There's too much smooth sailing between the two of you. We've got to rock the waters a little, and who better to rock the waters than a celebrity bad boy with his eyes set on somebody else's girl."
And Rachel could find it in her to argue.
Chapter Two!
Let's answer some questions!
1. Sam will be playing a decent sized role in this story! Oh, the things I have planned.
2. Jesse will eventually be showing off his singing talents to the rest of the world as well as possibly explaining why he hasn't done so before hand.
3. I'm not promising an entirely smooth road for Rachel and Jesse 'cause that would be super boring.
4. If Finn does make an appearance, which is pretty unlikely, it won't be game changing or important. It will probably just be in passing and unavoidable.
5. Oh, yes. Kurt and Quinn are going to be heading to L.A. for some fun eventually!
Next chapter will pick up with some Jesse/Puck bonding followed by the St. Berry/Puck dinner.
Thoughts?