A Threat to Rachel Berry
Chapter 7
The next day, Vocal Adrenaline practice was a disaster. He couldn't focus on the number at all or on the fast-paced choreography that he had helped to put together. Shelby had actually stopped the number altogether. "Oh, my god! You guys are terrible!" The other members were used to this lecture. "I mean, I've already known about your mediocrity, but this is just ridiculous!" The bell rang to signal their dismissal. She waved them off. "Get out of my sight."
Some members rolled their eyes before they stalked off the stage, toward the dressing room. Shelby cleared her throat to get Jesse's attention. "Jesse!" she called. He sighed. So much for escape. She gestured him to follow her with her finger, and he did, like a puppy follows its master.
"So, what's the latest update on our little Rachel?" Shelby asked as Jesse stepped into her office. She had called him over after Vocal Adrenaline practice as usual and was expecting some kind of new information on a way to bring down Will—iam McKinley's Glee club.
Jesse walked in and sat in the chair apathetically, as if his very soul were sucked out of his body. Shelby raised an eyebrow at this behavior. "What's the matter, Superstar? You don't look so good, even during practice too," she paused, waiting for him to answer. He didn't. "What? Did you get dumped?"
This brought him out of his apathy as he turned his glare toward her, as if trying to pierce a hole through her skull. This time, a smirk accompanied the raised eyebrow. "Oh, did I hit a sensitive spot?" She crossed her legs as she folded her hands over her desk and leaned forward. "Well, why don't you go after her if she dumped you?" she tilted her head in a mocking way or maybe it was more persuasive. He couldn't tell.
He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. Inhale. Exhale. Now his eyes opened again and if his adversary wasn't Shelby Corcoran, that glare would probably send shivers through their spine. "I can't go after her. She picked her team over me." He said "team," bitterly. In other words, she chose Finn Hudson over me.
Shelby tossed her head back as she laughed wholeheartedly. Jesse glared at this. She wiped an invisible tear from her eye and then redirected her attention to her favorite student. "Well, if breaking her down from the outside didn't work, then why don't you infiltrate the inside?" she proposed, resting her head on her folded hands.
"What are you talking about?" Jesse asked her incredulously.
"Oh, don't play dumb, Mr. Soon-to-be-Celebrity," she stood up from her seat and his eyes followed her every step as she circled around her desk. "I'm saying," she paused then abruptly pointed her index finger at him, "that you should enter her world."
"Why?"
Shelby was startled by this answer. She had expected him to agree immediately. Yeah, she knew that he didn't enjoy doing this "mission." But, she also noticed his interest in the Rachel Berry. She thought he would be jumping with joy to be able to spend more time with his Juliet. "Why? What do you mean, 'Wh—'"
"Why do I have to go after her? She doesn't want to be with me anymore. She doesn't want anything to do with me! We don't even need to sabotage them. We'll take them down no matter what they throw at us!"
Shelby regained her composure, and closed her eyes. "And that is why we must break them down."
Jesse had a confused look etched on his face.
"You're falling for her," she stated.
"What!? Me!? Falling for that amateur…!?"
"Oh, come off your throne already, Jesse."
Jesse's tongue was tied for the first time. He was speechless. He couldn't even formulate a sentence in his mind.
She sent one of her own bone-chilling glares his way now. "I know you are. Don't even try denying it. I know it. I can tell by your face," she started pacing around the room and had a reminiscent expression, "You feel like you've finally found your match, the one who is worthy of your caliber, someone you could call an equal."
Jesse gulped, and averted his eyes. She wouldn't allow it though. She placed both hands on either side of his face and turned him back to her. He still tried not to meet with her piercing gaze. She still has that reminiscent face, he noted to himself.
"It feels like you've found the one that you'll be with forever and together you'll conquer the world," she said with the same expression. Then it was replaced by an angry look, the kind that people get after having their dreams crushed. "But they're not. For people as talented as you, there isn't an equal. They grow sick of your superior attitude and they leave before you can say anything." She inhaled and exhaled as well. And her angry expression was changed into a dismal one. "Face it. It's lonely when you're the best."
He looked up at his vocal coach and was searching her face for any dishonesty. There wasn't. She was speaking from experience. He closed his eyes and sighed. He opened them again and saw her still staring off. "Fine. I'll do it."
The self-confident gleam in her eyes hadn't returned. She smiled anyway. "Well, as long as you understand." She passed him some forms after shuffling through some papers in her desk. "Fill that out. They're entrance forms for McKinley High," she tossed some keys at him. He caught them in one hand before he took a step outside the door. "I have an apartment near there. Number 303. The big key's for the room and the small one's for mail," she returned to her work at her desk. "I still expect you to report back here, but not too often. Once a week is fine."
Jesse stayed at the door, leaning against the frame. She looked up at him. "Well, what're you waiting for? Go, already."
He remained there still, expectantly.
She waved him off, "I'll inform your parents, all right? Just fill out those forms and I'll take care of the rest," he then started to exit. "Oh, although I don't think I need to tell you, but," she removed the reading glasses she had just put on. "You can't return to practice once you've entered their territory."
He looked back and replied nonchalantly, "Of course not."
"Hmph. Hurry up, Superstar."
Jesse tried not to show his happiness. Yeah, he had seen Rachel three days ago, but to him it felt like he was deprived for three centuries. He hated not being able to see her radiant glow nor hear her fantastic, though flawed, voice. He twirled the keys that were now attached to his key-ring. He tossed them in the air and caught them. He filled out the forms quickly while sitting on his bike. After completion, he placed the papers back into the folder and started the engine of his bike.
Hopefully, Will Schuester was still at school at 5:30.
He arrived at break-neck speed. He took long strides as he approached one of the offices. On the glass, it read in standard writing, "Will Schuester. Spanish and Glee Club." The light was still on inside. He knocked on the door. "Rachel, just come in!" a voice called from inside. Jesse blinked. Did Rachel visit her teacher often? He shrugged. Maybe they're knocks were similar or something?
"It's not Rachel," he said as he entered the room. Will looked up from the papers in front of him.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just—" he stopped his sentence. "Can I help you with anything?" Papers were dropped in front of him. He stared down at them and leafed through the pages. He lingered on one form. A club request form with Glee Club scrawled on the blank.
Jesse smiled. "I hope it would be all right if I requested your signature," he held out his hand to Will. "I'm Jesse St. James. I recently moved near this neighborhood, too far away from Carmell. I hope you wouldn't mind if I joined your club."
The words clicked in Will's head. "You're… the male lead in Vocal Adrenaline," he stated. Jesse nodded with an innocent look plastered on his face. "Our competition in Regionals." He nodded again. "And you want to join us, a competitor against your school?" Will looked just a bit incredulous.
He shrugged, "If you would allow it." Putting up a façade was difficult. He really didn't want to do this. It would bring pain to his Juliet after all. Say, "No," like any other sane person. Then he could just pretend to have infiltrated and live nearby Rachel, secretly watching her from afar. … Not that I'm a stalker. I don't have that kind of hobby.
Will smiled benevolently at Jesse. He stood up from his seat. "Well, if you try out in front of the others, and win over their approval, then it's fine with me," he held out his hand to Jesse. "Welcome to William McKinley, Jesse St. James."
Jesse fake-smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Schuester. I'll see you tomorrow then," he tilted his head to the side as if feigning innocence.
"Just come to the club after school with a number to perform," Will led Jesse to the door and he allowed him to leave. He sighed before sinking into his seat. "I better get these to Figgins…" he said to himself. He ran his fingers through his curly hair. What am I getting us into?
"Mr. Schue, he's a spy. It's so obvious," Santana said when she saw Jesse standing next to Mr. Schuester. Man, that boy is fine.
"Seriously, Mr. Schue, he's clearly here to destroy us." Finn glared, wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulder. God, this guy again?
"Another male? And, he's a star? Mr. Schue, are you trying to keep me from a solo?" Kurt was clearly miffed about Jesse's arrival.
The rest of the room was silent. The glares seemed to do the talking for them. Rachel, however looked traumatized. "What… are you doing here?" she asked.
Santana jumped at the opportunity. "Oh, and he's the virgin-girl's 'boyfriend who she dumped'? The suspicions keep on building."
"Guys," Mr. Schuester was growing fed up with their childish behavior, "All of you made it into Glee Club, by trying out. Anyone who wants to join and tries out can join Glee Club, that's what we decided," he paused and glowered at the room. He sighed when he saw a majority of them roll their eyes. "Well, Jesse, if you would…"
Jesse removed his backpack and tossed it at Mike Chang. Mike looked to his friend Matt as if incredulous that he would actually do that. He smirked and requested the pianist to allow him to play his own song. He rose from the seat and Jesse sat down. He played various chords before he began to sing the first few lines of the song. All the while, his eyes weren't even looking at his fingers. His eyes remained locked on Rachel's direction.
The great music had lit a match of inspiration of each of the members and soon all the members excluding Finn had seemed to forget exactly who was creating the music. They all took up in song and Mike danced along to the tune. They all lost themselves in the song, but Rachel remained fixated in her seat, unable to tear her eyes away from Jesse. Finn was glaring at his rival. The song ended and they all clapped happily.
Will rose Jesse to his feet. "I think it's unanimous. Welcome to Glee Club, Jesse!" he smiled at him, and Jesse tore his eyes away from Rachel to smile back before returning them back there. He gestured for Jesse to take a seat. He took the other seat next to Rachel. He looked past her. "Hello again, Finn Hudson," I'm going to crush you. He said with his eyes.
Finn smiled back. "Yeah, it's nice to have another male to even out the club." Bring it on, pretty boy.
Jesse smiled and held out his hand. Finn took it and they both squeezed as tightly as possible. They both pulled their hands away at the same time, both of them red. Rachel could only glance back and forth between them. The bell rang. Everyone exited the room hurriedly.
He turned to Rachel and sighed. "Rachel."
"I'm leaving," she said quickly pulling her backpack strap over her shoulder.
He grabbed her wrist before she could escape, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! I only said your name! Are you that angry?"
"Wouldn't you be?" she whirled on him now, her wrist still firm in his grip. She wrenched it away from him finally and he stood up to her eye-level. She took a step back. "You hurt me Jesse. I really liked you. But, if the feeling isn't mutual on both ends, then I don't see why we should waste time on the endeavor."
"What? I hurt you?" he asked incredulously, gesturing to himself with his hand then pointing to her.
She glared at him angrily. "Yes, you hurt me! You told me that I didn't matter to you!" her nails were digging into her palms, creating red-crescent shaped imprints.
He matched her stare. "And you ripped my heart out when you picked Fin—them over me!"
Rachel flushed in anger, maybe embarrassment. It was hard to tell. "That's irrelevant! I only deemed you unworthy of my trust! I didn't pick anyone over any—"
"I'm not worthy of your trust? Hah!" he poked his finger into her sternum. "Then, tell me, Rachel, who is worthy of your trust, huh? Is it your precious Glee Club? According to my memory, they used you countless times just for their own benefit!"
"That's…"
"… not true? It isn't? Really? When's the last time they congratulated you a job well done on a number, Rachel?"
Rachel took a sharp intake of breath. Before she could say anything, Jesse continued. "You can't think of a time that quickly, can you? What about Finn Hudson? When have you ever asked him for help and he came running?"
Rachel gulped. "I know!" she shouted. "I know better than you, or anyone else, would! I know that, to them, I'm not their friend. I'm just a tool to advance their fame! I know that! You don't have to spell it out for me!" she shouted at him before storming out of the room, tears pouring from her eyes. The sight of her tears had melted away his previous anger.
He felt his previous rage begin to lose itself in a current of sympathy. He reached out to her. "Rachel."
"Don't touch me!" she screamed before his hand could even reach two inches of her face. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Why did you come here? Why did you appear before me? Why! I wanted… I wanted to forget you!" she shouted at him and latched onto the front of his shirt. She took fistfuls and shook him back and forth. She looked up at him now, "Why can't you let me forget you?"
He couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her as he used to and ran his hand through her hair in a comforting gesture. "Why do you want to forget me?" he squeezed her tighter. "I won't let you!"
Rachel felt herself melting before she quickly wrenched herself out of his hug. She took a step away before she wiped at her face, trying to compose herself. She gulped and tried to get her emotions back under control. She cleared her throat and wiped at the tears that were running earlier. "Like I said," her voice cracked and she tried to clear her throat again, "I can't… trust you… Not the way you are now."
"Test me then. I'm being honest with you, so I'll pass," Jesse told her. Liar.
"Test… you?" Rachel looked confused and a hiccup hit her from the tears she had cried earlier. He nodded. She put her finger to her chin in thought and after deliberating the offer, she decided. "All right. One week. I'll test you for three days."
Three days? Is she serious? Is she underestimating me?
"Beginning tomorrow, I don't want you to act with any suspicious conduct. Don't speak to anyone in Glee Club except me. Follow all instruction given by Mr. Schuester and..." she paused, trying to decide on whether to state the final condition, "... Regarding matters with Finn and I, don't try to intervene until the end of the three days."
His eyes narrowed at the final condition. He closed his eyes and said, "Fine."
She licked her lips before adding in, "After the three days are up, I... wouldn't mind going back to the way things were before."
He smiled now. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind either."
Wheee, mood swings. :D
As you can see, I don't really like songfics, so I didn't really put in a song for Jesse's try-out… Please don't be angry D: