Los Angeles, California

"I really don't understand the need for all this," Rachel sighed as her hair was shampooed, cut, and dried. "My hair is fine."

Jesse rolled his eyes at her, leaning against the wall as he watched the hairdresser attend to her. "Have you even showered these past few months? You practically look homeless," he teased.

Rachel made a face at him. "I take back what I said about forgiving you," she muttered, though she was smiling. "I don't get why you want to help Noah and I get back together. I didn't think you liked him."

"I don't," he admitted. "Well, I guess I don't care for him one way or another. But I care about you, Rachel. He makes you happy, I can tell. I just want you to be happy again."

"I am happy," she protested, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No you're not. You want to be, but you haven't been really happy. Not since you arrived here, at least. You miss him," he said.

Rachel bit her lip as she felt a comb running through her hair. "Okay okay, I miss him," she admitted. "I still don't see why you're helping me."

"It's all part of my Hanukah gift slash apology to you. You're going to show up in Lima and give Noah the biggest apology he's ever received. He'll beg you to take him back after, I guarantee."

"And the new hair cut is supposed to help with this?" she asked, sounding confused.

"No, but I made a promise I would make you look beautiful before my backup arrived to take you shopping."

"Backup? What backup?"

"This backup," a familiar voice called. Rachel turned her head towards the door, her eyes widening.

"K—Kurt?" she stuttered.

"Hello, doll," he laughed. "Miss me?"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, doing her best to contain her excitement.

"Well, I'm here to make you beautiful for your return to Lima. Jesse wasn't kidding—you do need a lot of work," he teased.

Rachel looked from Jesse to Kurt, putting the pieces together. "You two have been planning this," she accused. "For how long?"

"Ever since you left," Kurt said, not bothering to deny it. "It wasn't easy, trust me. I had to convince Figgins that we needed a winter formal and get New Directions to perform. It's taken me a month to convince Puck to even come to the damn dance—"

"Wait," she interrupted. "What are you talking about? What winter formal?" she asked.

A grin spread across Kurt's face. "I convinced Principal Figgins to have a winter formal this Friday. Everyone's super excited about it. And you're coming," he said.

Rachel's eyes opened wide and she started shaking her head. "No, I am not crashing some dance at McKinley to get him back. I'm not doing it," she said stubbornly.

"I told you she'd say this," Jesse sighed, looking at Kurt and gave him a wink. "I mean, she's in California now. Do you think she'd fly back just for a silly dance?"

"You're right," Kurt said, playing along. "I guess I'll have to get someone else to sing lead for the girls. I just thought it would be great to get the star of New Directions back…"

"Star?" Rachel asked quietly.

"Well, yeah," Kurt said. "Everyone knows you're the star. Think about what it would be like to have you come back to sing for everyone. And to personally sing an apology to Puck. It's be impossible for him not to forgive you," he grinned.

Rachel seemed to think it over. She missed Lima, she missed Noah, and she wanted him back more than anything else in the world. "…but I don't have anything to wear," she murmured.

"Why do you think I skipped school and flew out here for a few days? I'm taking you shopping for the most jaw-dropping dress we can find. You are going to blow everyone away," he said, taking her hand and pulled her out of the chair. "Your hair looks great," he added.

"I still don't see why I needed a haircut," she muttered.

"Because your split ends were horrendous. It took all my self-control not to tell you that when I skyped with you last week. I had to call Jesse right after and demand he take you for a proper trim."

Rachel shook her head. "You are way too concerned about my appearance, Mr. Hummel," she teased, linking arms with him. "So do I get any say in what dress I'm wearing to this dance or am I supposed to just blindly trust you?"

"Blindly trusting me sounds about right," he laughed, leading her into a small boutique next door. Lucky for you, I was already in here and picked out a few dresses. Go try them on," he ordered, pushing her towards a changing room while he and Jesse waited outside for her to model for them.

Rachel emerged in the first dress, a long, one-shouldered, silky green gown. It clung in all the right places and showed off her thin figure nicely.

"You look beautiful," Jesse commented, smiling at her. "Though that seems more fit for a prom than a winter formal. Then again, what do I know," he said with a shrug.

Kurt looked her up and down. "No, Jesse's right. It's more appropriate for prom. Change," he ordered.

Rachel disappeared back into the dressing room, stripping off the gown and pulled the next dress on, emerging from the room after a moment. "What about this one?" she asked. The dress was bright punk with a very full skirt, and it didn't fir Rachel properly.

"No, go change," Kurt said instantly, dismissing her with a wave of the hand. Rachel made a face, though did as she was told, changing into another dress. This one was knee length and white, the straps beaded with sparkling crystals. There was a black ribbon wrapped around the middle.

"Perfect," was the only word Kurt had for Rachel. Jesse nodded his head in agreement, not speaking. "Rachel, you look gorgeous. That's what you're wearing," he decided. "And Jesse's buying it for you, so don't even try to pay for it yourself," he added. "Now go change. We have to get back to your apartment and pack for your return home," he said, ushering her back into the dressing room.

Rachel changed back into the sweats she had been wearing before, stepping out of the dressing room and handed Kurt the dress.

"No. Just…no. I cannot let out walk out of here wearing that. Stay right there." He walked away, looking around the store before coming back with a simple sundress and a pair of sandals, handing them to her. "Put these on." He yanked the tags off them. "I'll pay while you change out of those clothes. I'm burning them as soon as we get back to your apartment. You should never wear those ever again," Kurt informed her, sounding slightly outraged.

Once Rachel was dressed, she walked out of the dressing room, finding Jesse and Kurt already waiting for her.

"Come on, we're on a very tight schedule," Kurt said impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground. Jesse nodded, taking her arm gently and led her out of the store while Kurt carried the bag containing her dress for the dance.

As soon as they walked outside, they were bombarded with photographers—like usual. Rachel was beginning to get used to the invasion of privacy. Spending every day with Jesse meant her picture was always being taken. She didn't like it, but she didn't hate it anymore. It was just a minor annoyance now.

Kurt, however, seemed to be loving the attention they were getting. "I think this is where I'm meant to be," he commented, looking over at Jesse.

Jesse let out a laugh. "Well, once you're done with school, give me a call. I'll see what I can do to get you a job out here. LA does seem to be a good fit for you," he laughed.

The three of them climbed into Jesse's car and he drove them back to Rachel's apartment where they were hounded by more photographers. "This I will not miss about the city," Rachel grumbled, making her way past them and into the building.

Rachel pulled out her keys, opening the door to the apartment and let Kurt and Jesse in with her.

"I'm going to pack your suitcase for your triumphant return home. You two stay out here," he ordered, making his way into Rachel's room and shut the door behind him.

Rachel's dads seemed to be out, probably eating lunch somewhere. Rachel took a seat on the couch, looking over as Jesse joined her.

"I have a question for you," she asked quietly after a few moments of awkward silence.

"I'm listening," he said, slightly curious about what she had to say.

"This whole movie and bringing me out to Los Angeles…was it to try and get me back?" she murmured quietly, wondering what his answer would be.

Jesse seemed to think the question over, running his hand through his hair. "Yes," he admitted.

Rachel bit her lip, not sure how to respond to his answer.

"Well, at first it was," he continued, watching her face carefully. "Ever since you turned me down last year, I couldn't get you out of my mind. But then I saw the pictures of you and Puck together, the way he looked at you and the way you were with him. You were never like that with me, not once. What you two have…that's real love. It's not just some silly high school crush. It's the kind of love that you feel for someone you want to grow old with. And as much as I love you, I want you to be happy. You'd never truly be happy with me, so I decided instead to help you get him back. Besides, you've been miserable here without him," he teased.

Rachel smiled a little, tucking a wisp of hair behind her ear. "You're right, I have been miserable. We ended on such a bad note, I've been in a funk since our massive fight. I'm just hoping this works," she muttered.

Jesse scoffed. "Darling, you have a movie star and your gay best friend helping you. Of course it's going to work," he laughed.

xxxxx

Friday morning, Rachel was practically pushed out of bed by Kurt, who was already dressed and looking like a million bucks. "Come on, come on," he insisted. "We have to leave soon for the airport. The dance is tonight, and I'm going to need all the time from the moment we land until we get to the dance to make you beautiful."

Rachel yawned as she rolled her eyes at him, pulling on the dress Kurt had laid out for her. She quickly ran a comb through her hair, not even bothering with makeup. She kissed her dads goodbye before grabbing her suitcase and headed out the door with Kurt.

Jesse was waiting in the front for them, having offered to drive them to the airport and see them off. "No," Kurt said once they were in the car. "This is not acceptable." He pulled out Rachel's makeup bag and started applying makeup to her tired face.

"Kurt, we're just going on a plane. I don't see why I need a full face of makeup," she sighed.

"Because you're in the public eye now. You can't go anywhere without looking less than fabulous. I can't believe Jesse let you go around town in those horrid sweats." Kurt shivered dramatically.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "We were inside most of the time. I made sure she changed and showered before we went out," he laughed. "I wasn't going to let her go to clubs looking like a bum. They would have never let her in, anyways," he teased as Kurt applied blush to Rachel's pale cheeks.

"It makes no sense. You've been in California for three months, yet your as pale as you were when you left Ohio!" Kurt exclaimed. "If you come back, I'm making it a requirement that you spend one day a week at the beach and get a tan."

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, but didn't say anything for fear of getting yelled at by Kurt for ruining his concentration while doing her makeup.

Jesse made excellent time getting to the airport, which was a miracle considering Los Angeles traffic. He pulled up in front of the area for their airline, helping get their suitcases out of the car. He gave Kurt a friendly handshake before turning to Rachel, a sad smile on his face.

Rachel smiled, giving him a big hug. "Don't look so sad. I'll be back, I promise." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for everything, Jesse. You're a wonderful friend. I'll see you soon." She gave him one more hug before picking up her suitcase and linked arms with Kurt as they two of them walked inside. She turned back once, giving Jesse a wave goodbye before she and Kurt disappeared inside the airport.

Okay short chapter, but the next one is going to be realllllly good I promise :D