Thanks to anyone still hanging on with this - apologies for the delay but this was almost as painful to write as the last glee episode was to watch
Cassie was surprised her brother turned up at the airport to meet her and even more surprised to find he'd taken time off work for the duration of her visit. She joined him in his spacious kitchen for a quiet coffee and the last few moments of peace before her nephews barrelled into the house and insisted on showing her their home their rooms, their toys, their garden - at this point Paul stepped in before the neighbourhood tour kicked off. Her nephews excitement at her being there made her feel a little guilty about never finding the time to visit before. Marie, Paul's wife, greeted her politely if somewhat coolly. Perhaps Cassie's bridge building and fence mending would need to start here. Her offers to help with dinner were wisely rejected and her nephews dragged her enthusiastically to play computer games. She had to laugh when the youngest rescued Just Dance from a disorderly pile and insisted she take them on.
"You think taking on your Aunt, a famous if not indeed infamous, dance teacher, would be a good idea?" she asked with a grin.
"I'm the best at this, even Dad says so. You're going down," insisted the older lad.
"You do know great self belief and immense self confidence aren't particularly attractive traits," she replied as her head begged to differ with sudden memories of Rachel singing 'being good isn't good enough'. Okay then, not particularly attractive traits on many people she amended.
He did beat her to begin with but once she sacrificed form for making sure the controller was in the ideal place she quickly began to trounce him. It turned into her teaching him and his brother a few dance moves that were not required by the cartoonish characters on screen. Paul joined them and the grand finale was for the four of them to try and emulate the One Direction routine being danced with such ease on screen. Cassie was unsure whether the fact that Marie's laughter, while sat on the sofa watching, was a good sign.
"Definitely the boys have inherited my dancing abilities," Marie managed to say before another wave of laughter overcame her.
Cassie pulled the group in for a pow-wow,"with regular practice I think we can prove your mom wrong. Who's in?"
The boys were immediately and enthusiastic 'in' whereas Paul acted reticent in order for the boys to try their skills of persuasion. As Marie headed off back to the kitchen and the boys were scrambling to be the first to be sat, hands washed, at the dining table Paul suggested that maybe teaching hadn't been such a bad choice given how she'd instructed and motivated the boys. Cassie laughed
"This was hardly representative of my usual job, bigger classes, bigger egos and far less unconditional love," she quipped
"Oh and there was me thinking you'd left your biggest fan behind in New York," Paul replied watching Cassie's expression change into wistfulness.
"My biggest fan has moved on and is busy discovering the greener pastures of someone her own age," muttered Cassie.
"So you're here to lick your wounds?" Paul asked gently.
"Oh no, I've moved on too. I'm here to sort out my life," Cassie responded before adding with a grin, "Will a week be long enough?"
Paul grinned back," I think trying to sort you out might be a lifelong project."
Cassie managed to fit thumping him before the boys could see them.
Cassie had risen early next morning for a lengthy run round the neighbourhood and, as the rest of the house was still slumbering, she decided to check out just what beefcake had managed to film. She tried to ignore her nervousness, uncertain quite what she was afraid of beyond her own disappointment. She'd been doing beefcake a disservice as he'd managed to video at least from the start of the lesson. She resisted the urge to fast forward to her dance with Rachel and instead carefully studied the dances of her students. Using her staff e-mail account she sent the dance routines to the students concerned as well as a few pointers on the main areas for improvement. She kept her comments snark-free as she was feeling a delicious sense of anticipation knowing her routine with Rachel was captured on film. As signs and sounds of life filled the house around her, she finally reached the dance she wanted to see. Heart racing in her chest, she pressed the play button and watched with bated breath the intense performance on her screen. Their eyes were locked on each other and her hold had Rachel pressed up against her. Rachel was exuding a sultry and sexy vibe that Cassie was matching as the tension ratcheted up. Well, they'd certainly managed to put the seduction into the routine she told herself as her temperature rose and the dance headed towards the Cassie bending Rachel back climax. She was startled from her reverie by her brother's voice cutting across her Rachel fixated thoughts.
"Wow, you look as if you're about to kiss," Paul said softly, " That's Rachel I presume?"
Cassie tried to close the lid on her laptop but he put his hand in the way and the video continued to play as an embarrassed Cassie glowered at him and decided to bluff it out.
"Yes that 's Rachel but it's just a dance," she protested rather lamely.
"Indeed," replied Paul his tone suggesting he didn't believe her, "looks a little more than that to me."
"That's because we're both very good performers," she grumped as he raised a skeptical eyebrow in her direction,"the Tango is meant to be seductive."
Paul's completely unbelievable,"Of course," along with his knowing grin finally got to her.
"Okay, maybe I haven't moved on," she reluctantly conceded," but Rachel's.."
"Either a phenomenally talented actor or just as smitten as you," interrupted Paul indicating that she should look at the screen.
Cassie turned to see that the unattended video camera had managed to capture Rachel's closed eye contented smile as she'd briefly hugged Cassie after the end of the lesson. Cassie finally closed the screen now that all the damage was done.
"She has a incredibly beautiful, highly intelligent, same aged girlfriend at Yale," stated Cassie, "that hug was gratitude and nothing more."
As Paul made to speak Cassie held her hand up to stop him," Once I've told you everything that's happened you'll view that video clip and me in a different light. Rachel does nothing by halves. That is her performing, nothing more."
"I'm not sure 'thank-you Cassie that was amazing,'" Paul chose a lispy, high pitched breathy voice that sounded nothing like Rachel for his impersonation,"can be seen in anything other than one light really."
Cassie slapped him, hard.
"She doesn't sound like that, she isn't some bimbo airhead," she scolded him. He moved out of range just as the boys barrelled into the room to greet her.
"Is the amazing 'Cassie',"Paul chose to use his Rachel impersonation just on Cassie's name," ready to join us for breakfast?"
"Only if the irratatingly juvenile Paul is ready to grow up," she replied as she followed them into the kitchen. Her brother was as annoying as he was loveable. She now felt reassured that he was the right person to talk to even if she was about to paint the most unflattering picture of herself.
They were wrapped up warmly against the biting cold as Paul took Cassie for a long meandering walk around the local park. He had allowed her to control the conversation and didn't push her for information. His consideration both touched and irritated her but eventually she could contain herself no longer and then as they paced around the footpaths she finally gave him a detailed uninterrupted account of her interactions with Rachel from that initial first lesson run in to the final last lesson hug that he'd witnessed for himself on her laptop earlier. She laughed at herself about not understanding her reaction to Rachel's 'Oops I did it again' performance and told him about the post Winter showcase encounter where she so nearly gave into her baser desires. Cassie couldn't hold back her tears as she related in excruciatingly painful detail that conversation where she'd been so cruel and Rachel's polite response to all her venom despite being visibly upset. The rest was easy to tell, from her goading Rachel in class just to get a reaction, the stalkerish outing to Callbacks and the discovery of Rachel's incredibly beautiful 'awesome at everything' girlfriend, through her need to punish Rachel leading to a class complaint and onto the meeting with Carmen. Another onslaught of tears as she recounted Rachel's revelation of being a longtime victim of persistent bullying (and just how much that had made her hate herself) before she finally relived the conversation with Rachel in the hallway that had made her take the dance class as requested. She didn't need to say too much about that as he'd seen the outcome but she explained her irrational inability to let anyone else lay hands on Rachel and hence here she was, emotionally battered and professionally finished. Whatever the future held, teaching at NYADA was no longer a viable option. Not when just being around Rachel had her behaving so irrationally.
Paul made no judgments as she spoke, only offering tissues and putting a reassuring arm round her shoulders when she was at her most distressed. He directed her to a nearby café and their arrival coincided with her reaching the end of her sorry tale. She found seats as her brother fetched coffee and cake. Finally after the relentless stirring of her coffee she dragged her eyes away from her cup to look at him.
"So?" she prompted.
"Well, I'm not going to pass judgment on your treatment of Rachel because you know you're out of order and already beating yourself up about it," Paul said quietly. Quite why NYADA and Cassie weren't on the receiving end of a rather expensive lawsuit he really couldn't fathom. He couldn't imagine the kind of inner steel it must have taken for Rachel to return to Cassie's classroom to face her after her character demolition.
Cassie's gaze dropped to her hands. Out of order was a generous understatement. Would it have helped ease her conscience if he'd taken her to task? She dared a glance at him and watched his stony features morph into an expression of resignation.
"It's been how you've operated for years now, hurting others before they have a chance of hurting you. The difference now is that you're allowing yourself to think about your actions. That you regret them." Paul continued, wondering whether Rachel would ever be able to forgive Cassie regardless of what the future held.
Paul reached out to place a comforting hand on Cassie's.
"I think it's too late to change anything, I can't undo what I've done. I ..just..I just need to get away," stuttered Cassie feeling a wave of hopelessness.
"Get away?" queried Paul.
"From NYADA," she said emphatically,"Rachel," she added softly before a slightly firmer "me mostly". Trying to run away from herself wasn't the most intelligent idea she'd ever had. Mind you, it wasn't her worst either. She'd spent how long running away from herself with the aid of alcohol?
"So you're not planning to try and work things out with Rachel?" asked Paul,"She at least deserves that."
"She's my student," she stated emphatically, surely no more explanation was needed?
"And besides she should hate me or at least be indifferent," Cassie couldn't help herself from adding.
"Maybe," Paul acknowledged Cassie's scowl," but she obviously sees something in you that she thinks is worth protecting. Standing up for you to Carmen - that was the ideal opportunity to get you back but she not only didn't take it, she actively prevented you from sabotaging your own career. That's neither hate nor indifference. And as for that last dance.." Paul tailed off. How to explain to Cassie what was right in front of her that she refused to see? Or maybe Rachel was just a Teflon coated highly talented dancer oblivious to the effect she had on sister?
"She deserves so much better," Cassie stated somewhat pathetically before firming her voice,"She has better, a beautiful intelligent girlfriend her own age." It was hard to keep the jealousy out of her voice so she headed for safer territory,"Besides in case you missed it earlier, she's my student."
"The student-teacher thing is easily solvable," Paul sighed, "Cassie, only you know how strongly you feel and whether you'd be prepared to leave NYADA just for the chance of something that might never happen...". He scrutinised her expression. The leaving NYADA suggestion didn't even raise a ripple of concern.
"And the small problem of her girlfriend?" prompted Cassie
"Is irrelevant in the grand scale of things. It could just be a one-night-stand, a casual fling, a friends-with-benefits arrnagement," Paul curtailed his list abruptly as he realised Cassie was becominging increasingly irritated with what she perceived as him besmirching Rachel's reputation. At least 'fuck buddies' hadn't slipped out. A change of tack was needed.
"You know there's something there between the pair of you otherwise you wouldn't be in this state," Paul's sweeping hand took in her dishevelled hair, make-up free features and baggy old clothes, "You haven't been like this about anyone before, ever. You can just let the opportunity pass you by in cowardly fashion making all kinds of excuses or you can screw up your courage and tell her how you feel and put the ball firmly in her court. At least you'll know where you stand and don't need to torture yourself in the future with ifs and maybes"
Cassie laughed bitterly, "look Paul, you' re my brother and it's great you believe in me but Rachel hardly needs some cynical Broadway failure, over ten years her senior, confessing to inappropriate feelings for her, it's just.." She couldn't bring herself to say seedy but it was the only word that seemed to fit.
"It's just what you need to do if you're going to successfully move on. Yes leave NYADA before hand, so the teacher-student element is removed," he sighed."you can't change your age that's true. But also irrelevant. You're a highly successful dance teacher; one bad Broadway experience doesn't need to define you - although you've let it. Maybe she has a girlfriend already, maybe not, but you're not advocating having an affair, you're just making Rachel aware of other options available."
"I'm not sure I could respect someone actually stupid enough to choose me," Cassie whined.
"Cassie you need to stop putting yourself down. Forgive yourself for what has happened and start believing you deserve good things. You need to respect her enough to allow her to make her own choices,"
Cassie snorted rather inelegantly.
"You'll be suggesting I need therapy next," She said, her tone indicating just what she really thought of the idea of paying someone to listen to her moan about her life. Paul threw his hands up in mock surrender.
"Been there, done that and learnt the error of my ways," He replied.
Cassie crowed triumphantly," So you finally agree that therapy is a self-indulgent colossal waste of money then."
"No," Paul grinned mischieviously at her," I agree that you think it's a self-indulgent colossal waste of money." They exchanged a quick laugh.
"Look Cass, you owe it to yourself and to Rachel to at least give her a chance to make a choice for herself. She's a rather big variable in all this, you just need to be ready for all eventualities,"He said calmly.
Cassie drained the dregs of her coffee.
"First things first, let me think about the idea of even hinting about how I feel to Rachel," Cassie stated, wondering how on earth she'd even begin such a conversation if she ever found the courage to do so.
"Well hopefully you'll try something less subtle than you've done already," replied Paul smugly," although I gather 'that was amazing'."
Cassie rolled her eyes at him. She'd need to watch the video when they returned to the house to check just how inaccurate his impersonation was.
Rachel sipped on her fruit smoothie and allowed the conversation to ebb and flow around her. They were fresh from the least taxing dance class ever, probably in the entire history of NYADA. Linda, or was it Lydia?, Fairweather had sidled into the classroom almost unnoticed, apologised awkwardly for her presence and then sat herself firmly and somewhat permanently in a chair and made suggestions about what the class should or might like to do. Disorganised chaos would be an understatement of what had followed, punctuated only by Ms. Fairweather's enthusiastic and rather effusive praise. No one was spared from hearing how exquisitely, wonderfully amazing their performances were. In fact Rachel had almost expected the superlative laden commentary on her stretching technique when she'd idly reached for a bottle of water. She couldn't quite decide whether Carmen was having an almighty joke at their expense by choosing the exact polar opposite of Cassie to replace her so that they'd appreciate what they were missing. Rachel was already there thank-you very much although her remarkably energetic considering they'd just finished a dance class friends were not. At the moment the conversation seemed to be about re-living Ms. Fairweather's hyperbole as if in some way her inanities were actual worth anything. Still, it at least meant the focus had shifted from a forensic examination of every little detail of her and Cassie's tango together. That had been yesterday's and the day before's source of amusement and alleged humour.
Theories had abounded. Carmen was making Cassie video the lesson as a last ditched attempt to rein Cassie's meglomania in. One word out of place towards Rachel and Cassie would be instantly fired, as there was an ancient rarely invoked rule about the Winter Showcase winner being untouchable. Carmen had insisted Cassie dance with Rachel as a gesture of reconciliation - cue rather lewd jokes about who wanted to be 'reconciled' with who if that tango was what reconciliation was about. Lame jokes had followed about Cassie taking 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' literally. Questions about whether Rachel could feel the freezing air emanating from Cassie's heart of ice or was it solid stone? Rachel didn't feel it necessary to point out that in fact Cassie's hands had burned and by the end of the dance she'd been close to combusting under the heated grazes and touches. The close hold was because Cassie was trying to suffocate her like a boa constrictor - Rachel didn't think it was that bad a way to go. Julian suggested Cassie had planned her rauchiest dance to embarrass and humiliate Rachel but...
"Fortunately our Rach," he leaned in conspiratorially to the gathered group as Rachel resisted the urge to explain yet again how much she disliked the shortening of her name, it sounded like a cross between rash and ache neither of which could be considered endearing. Julian's tone became reverential, " matched her raunch for raunch."
The irritating use of her shortened name was instantly forgotten as her cheeks had flamed a brilliant red.
"It was just a dance," Rachel managed to splutter to the jeers of her peers. She didn't even believe it herself.
"And Barbra's just a singer," Julian fired back to be welcomed with a wave of laughter.
"And Romeo and Juliet were just some kids who knew each other," added Luciano prompting the conversation to be momentarily side tracked into 'NYADA's just a dance school' 'Obama's just a politician' through various icons of star and stage and finally back round to "Ms July's just a bitch."
Rachel had learnt to just let the conversation wash over her and tune out the straight boys innuendo about Cassie taking wanting 'a piece of her ass' at face value and the gay boys off the scale bitchiness as they called out Cassie on her alleged bitchiness. She'd catch the occassional sidelong look from Lydia and resisted the almost overwhelming urge to defend Cassie. Still, on balance being disliked vilified and bitched about must be better than the sycophantic superlative-laden gushing about Lydia Fairweather. Well, at least Ms. Fairweather had taught them something even it was just over-the-top vomit-inducing insincerity.
Rachel listened in again as Cassie's name resurfaced in the conversation beyond being compared unfavourably to the 'amazingly wonderful and simply divine' Ms. fairweather. Pushing aside the thought that maybe a life of stardom wasn't for her if she couldn't stomach all this faux excessively saccharine sweetness, she honed in on the girls further down the table grouped to watch a video on a phone.
"Well not only was I surprised she was actually sober enough to edit and send it to me," gushed Nadia,"but she also managed to keep the e-mail sarcasm free with a polite suggestion on how to improve the performance. Mainly actions for Jonathan of course.."
"Of course," chorused the girls around her, irony and sincerity melding seamlessly.
"Ms. July e-mailed me too with my dance and some pointers," added Tamara waving her phone around,"I mean I rarely check my student account but.." She giggled irritatingly.
Rachel tried to mask her eagerness as she fought the urge to snatch her phone from the table. Her fingers were unsteady as she tapped in her password so it took a few goes to actually get it right. The racing heart and ragged breathing were for naught. Her student inbox sat determinedly devoid of e-mail. She told herself she didn't mind and it didn't matter even as another part of her brain searched for the significance of Cassie sending individual video dances to all participants except her. Julian's suggestion that the rating of the video of the 'JulyBerry' tango probably meant it couldn't be sent without breaching the college's e-mail code caused amusement to all bar her. She feigned nonchalance and forced herself to put her phone away rather than checking it obsessively every few minutes like she really wanted to do. She didn't need a video clip to help her remember that dance; memories of it were seared into her brain. Rachel caught Lydia watching her again as she reached for her phone
"Better text Quinn and make sure she's ready for me," she said conversationally to Lydia impressed with her own ability to resist the lure of checking her student e-mail account. She hastily typed out a completely unnecessary text to Quinn reconfirming her arrival time. Her finger itched to check her e-mail or at least set it up so that her phone would notify her of a new message in that account but Lydia's beady eye was on her. She slipped the phone into her pocket; if Cassie hadn't already e-mailed the clip then she wasn't suddenly going to do it now she told herself sternly. Maybe she should join in the conversation 'you know you're never going to make it when' that was rapidly heading downhill about advertisments never to be seen in - she sneaked in 'incontinence pads' causing much hilarity. Rachel paused for a moment, if only her high school peers could see her now surrounded by friends who appreciated her for herself. How far she had come in such a short time. Sometimes she just never wanted to go back to Lima ever.
Cassie finally had the house to herself and was almost unnerved by the quiet, such a turn around in such a short space of time. She turned her music up loud and danced her way through the spacious hallway just relieved to be unconstrained any more. Just Dance rehearsals with the boys just weren't giving her the workout she needed and the runs around the neighbourhood were hardly taxing. Finally after an energetic session to Lady Gaga she headed to the kitchen for a drink and a snack before setting up her laptop in the dining room. She started surfing news sites, side-tracked into youtube videos of songs she associated with Rachel (a rather short lived activity as the videos disappointingly didn't match up to the Rachel versions in her head or on her phone) and then with minimal amounts of persuasion convinced herself that rewatching the video of her and Rachel dancing wasn't a creepy thing to do. Maybe the argument wasn't so convincing on the third repeat through. She let the video run this time. She wasn't sure what to make of Rachel's unnecessary return to the classroom to thank her but she was finding it hard to continue to convince herself that Rachel disliked her. It didn't mean that Rachel actually liked her particularly not like that but it was a better starting point than she deserved to be at. Cassie sighed. Even if she confessed her feelings to Rachel and even if (and it was a massive if) Rachel decided to give her a chance then the odds were still stacked against them. Rachel's parents would hardly see her as the partner they'd imagined for their daughter, her gay flatmate, Camp Kid, would be equal parts scandalised and terrified, Rachel's friends would be appalled or titterlated (bitchy queens and judgmental but lacking the morals to match dancers being nothing if not predictable), her own NYADA colleagues would be horrified and her few friends would at best think she was going through some kind of age crisis or something far worse (especially if Rachel decided on the virginal schoolgirl look when she met them). It was a good job Rachel thrived on adversity because that would be a sorely needed trait if she and her were to even attempt to get together. Just as her resolve about doing something wavered Cassie replayed the dance video. She sighed again as she brought her emotions under control - surely there was a hint of something there that needed exploring despite all the hundreds if not thousands of reasons why it was an extremely bad idea?
Cassie was about to put her laptop away when it occurred to her she hadn't sent Rachel the video along with her suggestions for improvement. Even though she'd sent the rest of her students e-mails doing precisely the same thing it somehow felt borderline unprofessional behaviour and caused her heart to race just a little. Her actions themselves were fine it was just her motivation that was different, she knew she wanted to make Rachel think about her even if only for the duration of watching the video. Her fingers were poised for a long time over the keyboard as she ran through various possible combinations of comments.
'Well done for putting the seduction into the tango' didn't last long on screen as she cringed at her clumsy phrasing. She needed subtlety.
'It was a pleasure dancing with you' - too well, too not right she told herself as she erased it. She needed something less formal.
Cassie finally, after far too much consideration, settled on
Rachel,
My only criticism - although it is a rather major one - is that the dance wasn't long enough.
Cassie
The sounds of a car pulling up in the driveway was enough for her to instinctively close the lid on her laptop without realising she hadn't sent her much agonised over masterpiece. It was only later in the evening - when she'd optimistically decided to check her e-mail in the faint hope that Rachel had replied in some way- that she realised her error. Cassie didn't give herself time to second-guess herself and this time pressed send and then checked her sent folder. She really shouldn't feel so ridiculously pleased with herself.
It had taken a while for it to dawn on Quinn that something was just slightly off about Rachel. She was her usual exuberant self...almost. She smiled widely and enthusiastically on greeting Quinn, enveloping her in a tight hug but as the weekend progressed Quinn just knew the dazzlingly smile wasn't quite hitting the dazzle quota Rachel usually managed to fit into it. Rather than her usual chatting filling every moment there were, what for Rachel passed as long, stretches of quiet. It was if she was distracted and then would suddenly switch on the Rachel Quinn was expecting. It hadn't escaped Quinn's notice that Rachel almost obsessively checked her phone but when she'd hinted jokingly about Rachel expecting a text or message from a love interest Rachel had straightened up and pulled possibly the most serious expression Quinn had ever seen her do.
"I can assure you catagorically Quinn that what I am expecting is feedback on a piece of work for college," Rachel solemnly intoned with full unflinching eye contact, almost daring Quinn to disbelieve her.
Quinn knew she was being told the truth but it was just, well like everything else, off. She could tell Rachel was making an effort not to check her phone so frequently after that but that only made Quinn feel clumsy for mentioning it. They had an enjoyable meal at the vegetarian restaurant Quinn had had recommended to her that was in walking distance of her room and it was only later that Quinn realised Rachel had been deflecting any questions about her away with amusing tales of things that had happened to her or around her. They'd walked back to the dorms with her holding on to Rachel's arm as if she couldn't quite believe that Rachel had finally made it to New Haven. They sat chatting late into the night as Rachel insisted Quinn told her everything about Yale and it was Rachel's eager enthusiasm to hear about Quinn's college adventures that had side tracked her from noticing Rachel's slight hint of distraction. Her hyper vigilant skills had been on a steady decline since her HBIC days otherwise she might just have noticed something about Rachel earlier.
They were up late the next morning in time to fit in a leisurely brunch as they perused the papers. Rachel kept her phone in her pocket to dissuade herself from looking at it and she and Quinn both pretended they hadn't noticed the other noticing. They swapped interesting items from what they'd read with Rachel reading primarily from the entertainment and review sections as Quinn focused more on the political pages. Finally, when even Rachel was unable to face another cup of coffee, they headed for the Yale Center for British Art. They chatted their way round the exhibits – the 'biggest British Art display outside Britain' as Quinn never missed the opportunity to mention – before, in honour of their current location, retiring for 'afternoon tea'.
By now Quinn's suspicion has solidified that something was bothering Rachel but her subtle and then not-so-subtle attempts to find out just what it was were effortlessly side stepped by Rachel. 'Everything was fine', 'all her lessons were going well' and 'no, her dance teacher wasn't picking on her' were directed Quinn's way in response to her queries with only the slightest eye-flicker on the final statement. Quinn debated pushing Rachel on the dance teacher topic but quickly concluded that pushing her to talk about something she didn't want to would potentially spoil the weekend. Besides she had a group of friends eager to hear Rachel sing at the hastily arranged get together that had been organized solely for that purpose. Rachel's response to the opportunity to sing would be a far better guage to whether whatever was wrong was something to worry about.
Rachel had almost stopped checking her phone – well, she was down to quarter of an hour intervals – when the icon to indicate a new email showed on her screen. She tried to damp down her excitement even as she opened up her inboxes to find a new message in her student account. Dry mouthed, she took a moment to look around her. Quinn was across the room fetching non-alcoholic drinks as her Yale friends were holding heated discussions on how to set up the karaoke machine – typical academics, discussing the theory rather than going for a practical approach. Her excitement now safely under control she tapped the inbox and just the sight of Cassie's name as sender had her heart racing. She quickly headed for the bathroom and once safely locked in re-read the message. She played a snippet of the attached video wishing the screen of the phone was larger so she could see more detail. Rachel paused the clip and returned to the message. It was hardly a criticism. She gathered her courage together and pressed the reply button
Cassie
You let me know when and we can dance for as long as you like.
Rachel
She read it through once and then with a deep breath pressed the send button. Flushed but excited she bounded down the stairs to rejoin Quinn. The Karaoke was now set up and Rachel didn't need asking twice as she accepted the challenge to show what NYADA undergraduates could do. Did they want to laugh, cry or both? Rachel had the crowd in the palm of her hand from her first words and as soon as she sang her first note Quinn realized that she'd been concerned unduly. There was no way Rachel could fake that sparkly-eyed delight and sheer joie de vivre she exuded as she performed. As Quinn felt herself moved by the emotion in Rachel's voice she realized everything was in fact fine. Rachel's incandescent smile suddenly landed on her and almost impossibly brightened. Rachel was almost floating on a cloud of happiness. She'd finally managed a dance performance that even Cassie couldn't pick fault with and, even better had even suggested she'd actually enjoyed dancing with Rachel. Okay that was a bit of a stretch but if you squinted and held the email at arm's length that was really the hidden message. Rachel beamed brighter at her impromptu audience – her excited anticipation for Cassie's return to NYADA almost matched her current performance high.
How lucky she was to be her.