A Threat to Rachel Berry
Chapter 2

Rachel was beyond giddy. At this point, she felt like skipping down the halls and singing about how happy she was. She didn't care that people were staring at her as if she were on drugs or the usual whispers that were exchanged as she walked along to her locker. No, this time she was far too happy to let those kinds of things get to her. She twisted the lock on her locker and gazed at the picture of Jesse that she had secretly taken. She put her hand over her mouth as she giggled with overexcitement.

She closed it and was greeted by her ex-boyfriend, Finn Hudson. All that happiness had washed away and was replaced with the melancholy feeling she felt now whenever he was around. He smiled at her as if there was nothing wrong. "Hey," he said casually.

Rachel had turned red from ear to ear. She made a very Tina-like response, "W-what is it, F-Finn?" She opened her locker again in hopes of avoiding eye contact. She took out books that she had just replaced into it before he appeared. She glanced at him and saw that he was smiling with amusement now. She slammed the locker closed and looked him square in the eye. Her voice regained its confidence and her eyes shined in that "I'm-the-best-and-there's-nothing-you-can-do-to-change-that" way. "What is it, Finn? I already broke it off with Jesse." She lied and her eyes shifted just slightly.

He laughed. "I know, and I'm happy to hear that," he cleared his throat, "About what I said earlier…"

What you said earlier? You mean how you broke my heart, or that you didn't want to be my boyfriend?

"I meant that," he said with assurance. He noticed her teeth clench. "Uh, n-not about the b-break-up! I-I mean about—yesterday—and that I don't—augh!" He turned around and sighed as if trying to get his words together. "Look, I meant what I said when I said I wouldn't give up on you. I won't look at anyone else… just… give me another chance?" He asked with those eyes that she had difficulty saying "no," to. Not that she ever did before.

She gulped a lump down. "Y—No! No!" She quickly backed away from him before she drowned in his eyes. She had nearly said, "Yes." That was not good. Rachel was never a dishonest person, and she certainly wasn't going to be dishonest with Jesse. "I'm sorry, Finn. I've moved on," she lied to him, again. She scurried away, her books being held against her chest. She glanced behind her and saw that his determined expression hadn't faltered in the least.

How Finn could still affect her that way, she would never know. Really, was she such a queen bee that she moved from one pretty flower to the next? She hurried to the glee club room and closed the door, meeting the others in the room who were all chatting freely. She silently and tentatively moved across the room toward the chairs. As she passed each of the "cliques" in the club, they stopped chatting and stared at her as if she weren't welcome. She had expected this. They think that she is endangering their chances at Regionals.

She bit her lip and sat in the middle, nowhere near any of the others who were sitting in their separate corners. She wished that Jesse was here. He was always kind to her and listened to her antics. At that exact moment, her phone vibrated. She flipped it open and saw that the one she was thinking about had sent her a text message.

I'll pick you up after school. I'll see you at the front gate.

She smiled happily as she removed her lip from between her teeth. Her feelings made a quick 180 degree turn. From lonely, to excited for another's company. Mr. Schuester walked into the room, holding a bag that he usually carried around for costumes that he had picked out. He passed them out to each of the club-members. "Put those on, and let's head to the auditorium. We're going to run through 'Hello, Goodbye.'"

They all left to the separate changing rooms, slipping into their costumes. Rachel searched through her book bag for the sheet music for "Hello, Goodbye." She looked through the music that she had already memorized. The leads were the usuals: Rachel and Finn. She wished that it was Jesse that would be singing by her side, but there was no helping hit. Although they were dating secretly, he was the competition, and that time in the music store was most likely her only chance to sing with him like that.

"Rachel? Are you finished?" Mr. Schuester's voice called from behind the door.

"Y-yeah, I'm ready," she answered as she put the sheet music back into her bag and went out the door on stage. She normally felt much better on the stage, in the spotlight. She usually felt like she was the only important person in the world, and that there was a crowd of people watching her, loving her. Her performance wasn't nearly as good as it normally was and Mr. Schuester had tried to tell her to loosen up as they danced.

She nodded, but her moves hadn't gotten any better than they were. She knew this wasn't like her. She should be smiling and performing. But, singing back to Finn didn't feel like it did before. She used to feel so happy, being by his side. Yet, seeing him only brought her pain, reminding her that things could never be the same between them. She moved to her ending position and she still wasn't smiling. She looked back at Finn, who was staring back at her worriedly. She couldn't stand seeing him staring at her with that kind of expression. She ran out of the auditorium with her bag in hand, stuffing her street clothes into it. She rushed out the school's gate, still in costume.

She saw Jesse there, waiting for her. He grinned at her as she rushed over to him. He was leaning against his motorcycle, but he frowned when he noticed that she had an expression full of distress. He stopped leaning and stood up and she flung herself at him. He was surprised at first, but he rested his hand on her head in a comforting gesture. She was clinging onto his shirt tightly. "Hey, I didn't know you missed me this much." He joked around, fully knowing there was something else wrong. He gave up on trying to change the atmosphere. He stroked her head and rubbed circles into her back with his thumb. "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

She mumbled something into his shirt which he had somehow managed to hear clearly. He acted as though he didn't hear anyway, "What?"

"Finn," she said firmly as she moved her face away from his chest. "I can't practice with him anymore… Not when he's—" She buried her face back into his shirt and squeezed him tighter.

It occurred to him that it always seemed to be Finn Hudson's fault that she was ever in pain. He consoled her and tried to stop her silent sobbing. "C'mon, Rachel, you can't hide from him forever…"

"Can't I hide behind you?" She asked, her eyes threatening to spill tears. Jesse tensed up. Sometimes, he hated dramatic girls. She saw that look of fear in his expression. It was the same one that Finn always showed whenever he was with her. "I can't, can I."

It was more of a statement than a question. "You know that we have to keep it a secret in order to protect your club—"

"I can't protect my club if I don't practice though!" She sniffled. An idea hit her. "Would you take me somewhere?"

The fearful expression that he and Finn had shared softened. He hugged her tightly, no longer wanting to see her looking at him with that pained expression. He stroked her hair and then pulled her away from him, tucking some loose strands back behind her ear. "Anywhere," he told her as he placed a helmet on her head. He buckled it under her chin, then put his own helmet on. She sniffled as he wiped away a tear that had escaped from her left eye. He smiled at her, trying to give her some assurance. He placed a hand on the top of her helmet, brought her head closer and kissed her on her forehead. It was so hard to deceive her when she acted like this. She was too… cute.

He mounted his bike and put his own helmet on as he gestured for her to hop on. She did, and held onto him tightly, molding her body against his. He grinned as he pulled the cover down on his helmet. He started the engine. Then, to both of their surprise, they heard a yell.

"RACHEL!" Finn Hudson had rushed out the gate with all of his basketball gear and backpack. He yelled after her again, "Rachel, wait!"

Jesse glanced behind to look at Rachel and judging by her expression, he didn't need anything else. The warmth her eyes held had melted away and they held fear of getting caught. The engine roared to life as he slowly released the clutch of his bike. Finn continued to shout Rachel's name. Rachel closed her eyes, "Go, Jesse!"

He needn't hear anything else as he drove off away from the gate, headed toward the street.

Finn ran after them, but there was no way that he could keep up with a motorcycle going over 60 miles per hour. He yelled out in anger and threw his bag onto the ground in rage. He kicked the wall nearby and punched the air. He stopped his raging. "Wait… did she just say, 'Jesse'?"

I guess this means I'm continuing this, haha. The chapter's kind of short, but I hope it isn't too bad.