A Threat to Rachel Berry
Chapter 5

Rachel sat in the passenger seat of Finn's car, having just read the text from Jesse she was nervous and at the same time, excited. Finn glanced at her as she faced away from him, staring out the window. He cleared his throat loudly trying to get her attention. This accomplished nothing. He sighed this time. "I won't tell Mr. Schue about Jesse."

This managed to make her face him. It kind of ticked him off that mentioning that guy's name was the way to get her attention. She stared at him with her large brown eyes. "Really? Oh, thank you, Finn, so much! I—"

"But…!" Finn cut her off. He stopped at a red light and looked her straight in the eye. "I hope you realize that you're betraying us by staying with him."

That caused Rachel to shudder at the coldness in his tone. She flinched when he reached out to her with his hand. It hadn't hurt her in any way; instead it caressed her cheek in a comforting gesture. "Just… promise me that you'll be careful," he told her with a sad look in his eye. It broke her heart to see him look at her in that way. He turned back and the light turned green and he pushed the gas pedal.

She clutched her phone as she exited the car once she had arrived at her home. She opened the door and dashed past her fathers even as they tried to ask what was going on at school. She opened the door to her room, closed and locked it then fell to her bed, not bothering to change her clothes. She laid there with her phone by her head and she drifted off into slumber.

She woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and went about her routine. She brushed her teeth, combed her hair, went on the elliptical for 20 minutes, then got dressed. She looked at her clothing and realized just how different her wardrobe was compared to Quinn's and Mercedes'. It dawned on her that she usually heard their criticism of her clothes whenever she walked around at school. Her promised date with Jesse was today and for once, she was actually worried about what she would wear on a date. She got dressed for school, having one idea in mind. She had to consult the expert to help her.

She waited until he was alone and everyone else left when she approached him. He was at his locker and looking in a mirror. She bit her lip and called his name, "Kurt?"

He sighed, annoyed by her presence, but put a smile on anyway. "Yes, Rachel?" He tried to say as pleasantly as he could to the girl who held the affections of Finn, the boy he pursued.

"I… wanted to ask a favor," Rachel said, trying to look him straight in the eye. Her previous encounters with Kurt never ended well, since they always caused him to despise her even further than he had previously. He didn't say anything, so Rachel continued, "I… was hoping… that… perhaps, if you had the time today, you could help me shop for a fabulous outfit for an outing I'm having tonight?"

He raised an eyebrow at this.

"Not with Finn! With someone else…"

"Who?"

"Who?" She repeated. She paused, trying to think, "Uh… a blind date," she finished. It would have to do, and she prayed that he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Oh, yeah? Do you know his type?" he asked, looking rather amused at her frantic behavior.

His type? How was she supposed to know what kind of girls that Jesse liked? She barely knew if he actually liked her or not. "I, uhh… I would think that…" she bit her lip in trying to think, then sighed, "I honestly don't know," she paused and sighed again. "But I don't think that my apparel is appropriate to go out with him. Please, Kurt. I really don't want to screw this up," she pleaded with him.

He pursed his lips. "All right. But, next solo, I want you to voluntarily ask Mr. Shuester to give it to me. And make sure he does."

"What?! That's ridiculous--!"

"Oh, but I thought you cared about this. Was I wrong?"

Rachel clenched her teeth. It's for Jesse to like you. It's for Jesse to like you. She said through clenched teeth. "All right, I will."

"Swear."

"I swear," Rachel promised.

"Good. I'll see you after school then," Kurt smiled, then shut his locker. Oh, this was too easy. She'd be out of his way when it came to Finn, and maybe this guy she's going out with might actually like her and Rachel would completely reject Finn, and then I'd be right there to help him through it. He smirked. I better make sure she looks fabulous. My love life depends on it. He looked at Finn who was at his locker then proceeded to class, thinking of different styles to try with Rachel.

Rachel licked her lips and together, she went back home with Kurt. It was serious Déjà vu from the last time he had come here to help her with impressing Finn. "All right, considering that you don't have very much money, I might as well search through what you have and see if any of it could be of use."

Rachel sat on the bed as he through all her clothes into one pile. "Wow. Simply amazing. You don't have anything that would be worn in this century."

"What? But, what about this…"

"Really, Rachel? You think this would be suitable for a date?" He held up the half-polka-dotted-half-striped shirt she was referring to. "No." He threw it to the side. He sighed. "All right, we're going to the mall, stat."

He lead her out of the room, outside. "Okay, do you know anything about this guy?"

"Well, he's good at... performing arts…"

"All right, what else?"

"Uh…" It was then that she realized that she really knew nothing about things that Jesse liked. "I honestly don't know. It's a blind date… you know?"

He looked at her, then sighed. "Fine. I'll have to make it work, somehow." He pulled up at the mall and walked with her to the entrance. "When is this date of yours anyway?"

"6:30… is that too early? I can reschedule…"

"No, don't bother. 2 and half hours is plenty of time for me," he dragged her off to the many clothing stores, stuffing her in one of the changing rooms for a designer store. "Stay there and put on whatever I throw in here."

She nodded and was shoved inside. Before she knew it, a whole outfit was thrown over the door and she hastily pulled it on, then walked out. He was there, standing outside the door, looking her up and down. He paced around her and stopped in front. He reached behind her neck and put her hair into an up-do. "No. Take it off."

She moved back inside the changing room and another outfit was tossed over the door before she knew it. She smoothed the shiny shirt over and slipped into the black skirt. She pulled the jacket over her shoulders and stepped out. Her hair was still up and she walked out slowly.

Kurt tilted his head to the side and slid to her a box of shoes. "Put those on." They were beautiful gold heels and she slipped them on her small feet. "Ugh, no. You look like a hooker. Go back inside," he waved her away.

She deflated. Honestly, she thought she looked pretty nice. A dress was placed over the door carefully and she was surprised. She shrugged and put it on. She stepped outside, expecting Kurt's critical expression. He was actually walking back to her with a different outfit. He glared at her. "I told you to only put on what I toss at you."

Rachel looked confused. "But, I did. This dress was tossed at me while I was inside."

"Hm… Well, whoever did it, clearly had wonderful sense in style." He circled around her. "It fits you like a glove." Indeed it did, with the off-white main color with black trimming and a red flower to accent it. It was truly a beautiful dress and it fit Rachel perfectly. She searched around her for the price tag, and fainted. Kurt moved to steady her. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

"S-s-six…"

"Six?" Kurt repeated, with a confused expression etched on his face. He looked at the tag she was holding in her hands. "Hm, pretty cheap."

That brought her back. "How can 600 dollars be cheap!?"

Now, he was grinning down at her. "Please, those other outfits I was throwing at you were about 1200 dollars."

Rachel felt light-headed, and Kurt had to steady her again. He rolled his eyes. "Calm down, I'll pay for it."

"What?" She asked, incredulous. "Why would you… and this dress… for me… huh!?"

"I had planned to do so from the beginning," he flipped hair out of his eyes. "Please, it's a small price to pay for what I'm going to receive from you. Having the spotlight shine on me, is priceless."

He took her to the register, and simply had her sit on the counter when they scanned the price tag. "Okay, your total will be 660 dollars," the register lady said pleasantly. Kurt steadied Rachel by holding onto her as he passed the woman his credit card that gleamed in the light. "Thank you for your patronage, and have a nice day," she bowed to them as they left.

He led her to a shoe store, and once again, they were not picked out by Kurt, but were approved. The shoes were actually flung at her feet and she asked if they would be acceptable. He simply nodded and pulled out his shiny and beautiful credit card. He had stuffed all of her old clothing into a bag and they passed an accessory store. He pulled her inside before she could wander away and he picked out earrings and went to look for more make-up when a headband was shot at the back of her head. She winced in pain, and then turned around to find it at her feet. She picked it up and showed Kurt, and he again said that his wonderful fashion sense must have been rubbing off on her. She nodded in response, "Yeah, it just… hit me."

At 5:30, they were finished with their shopping spree and Kurt had began styling her hair and putting her makeup on. "God, you should really just have me dress you every day." He twirled her around to show her what she had become in the mirror. She stood up, gazing at her reflection. The dress had always fit her perfectly, but the use of jewelry and accessories and the perfect shoes and headband had come together as if it were a barbershop quartet in which the different aspects were the different parts. She threaded her fingers through her hair and he slapped her hand away. "Ow, what?"

"You're going to get it oily," he told her. She bit her lip and he hit her again. "Don't bite your lip either, you'll ruin the lipstick." She frowned then moved her fingers to rub her eyes. "Are you trying to ruin your makeup?"

"But—"

"Don't… touch yourself. My god, you're a failure as a woman."

Her mouth dropped open in incredulity, and she tried to say something, then stopped. She sighed. "Thank you, Kurt. For this."

He rolled his eyes, "Please, if it weren't for the solo I was going to receive, I would never do this for you."

"But you did, and I thank you. Enjoy the spotlight," she told him as she opened the door, offering to walk him outside. He put a hand behind him before she tried to follow and he let himself out and into his car. He smirked to himself. If she doesn't knock him dead with that, he has to be gay.

Rachel sat there in her room, staring at the clock. She kept her phone in her hand, staring at the screen for the exact time. It was 6:15 and Kurt said that boys are supposed to come at least 15 minutes early. She looked outside her window, and not a single car drove past. She sighed. Jesse wasn't like other guys. Maybe he was stuck in traffic. It was a long drive. 6:20. She looked outside again and found nothing. She lay down. Maybe he isn't coming. She felt her heart wrench, and an image of Kurt came to mind. If you so much as cry and smudge your mascara, I'll hunt you down.

6:25… Where was he!? At 6:26, she heard the doorbell. She jumped out of bed and raced to the stairs, taking them two at a time. She dashed past her father before he could make it to the door. She stopped at the mirror, and made sure she was presentable. She opened the door and tried to put on an indifferent expression. "Jesse."

"Uh… no." It was instead a red-clad Noah Puckerman at her door. Her eyes widened into the size of saucers. He was carrying a red box that said, "caution: hot." He had a cap on as well which clearly read the company logo of Pizza Hut. "You ordered pizza?" He removed two boxes from the bag and passed them to her.

"I'll take that," her father said as he took them out of her hands. He passed Puck a 20 dollar bill, and then disappeared into the kitchen. Puck stuffed the 20 into his pocket and stared at her.

"So. Who's Jesse?"

"Jesse is… a friend of mine. A girl!" She added in quickly. And Puck simply raised an eyebrow. "What's that look for, Noah?" she asked with an innocent smile etched on her face. It was silent for a while and her eyes flitted side to side. Please don't come right now, Jesse!

"You got dressed up, to go out with some girl named Jesse?" he still had his eyebrow raised and he gave her a once-over, his eyes lingering on her chest.

She noticed this and crossed her arms, which did nothing. "What about you? Why are you delivering pizzas?"

"I gotta make money somehow for my baby."

Silence ensued. "Well, then, if that's all—" she tried to close the door.

He caught it quickly. "I don't believe anything you're saying."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jesse isn't a female. You wouldn't look this hot for some chick. You're going on a date."

"So what if I am?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest again, trying to challenge his piercing stare.

"Now, if I recall, you told the whole Glee Club, that you broke up with the lead of Vocal Adrenaline, and what was his name again?" he pretended to ponder over the subject, then snapped his fingers. Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "Jesse St. James. Could you be going out with that person?" She looked away from his eyes. "Oh, wait. That can't be possible, considering you swore that you broke up with him."

"Noah, stop."

"And, even if you hadn't, you wouldn't do so, considering that it would jeopardize our club's chances at Regionals."

"I'm serious."

"No, you wouldn't betray us like that, now would you?"

"Stop it!" She pressed her hands to her ears, trying to drown out Noah's words which were all piercingly true.

"Honestly, Berry. I really don't like you, and I don't really like Glee Club either, but if you're really doing what I think you're doing, which judging by your reactions, I think you are, I suggest… that you put an end to it. Because not only will you be resented by the student body excluding Glee Club, you'll be despised by them too. Now, you wouldn't want to have to face the whole of McKinley, now would you? And you thought slushies were bad," he turned around and looked behind his shoulder. He looked a little sympathetic at her expression, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "End it, Berry. Seriously."

As soon as he disappeared, driving off in the company car, she dropped to her knees and had her hands steadying her from falling on her face. She wouldn't allow the tears to fall. No. She was above that.

Yay, new episode tonight! Gotta watch the Laker game first though haha. (Please no hating on me for liking the Lakers. I'm not a bandwagoner like a lot of fans.)