A Threat to Rachel Berry
Chapter 8

Jesse leaned against the school gate, awaiting the arrival of his Juliet Capulet, Rachel Berry. He sighed as he tried to remain patient. He scratched the back of his neck as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder. He wondered if Rachel's punctuality was always this bad. It was already 7:45 and the late bell would ring at 8:00. Wasn't it normal for a girl to come to school early so that she could meet with her boyfriend, even if they were on a trial separation? He looked at his watch before folding his arms over his chest.

At last, he caught sight of Rachel exiting the car of her father. He smirked when he saw her step out. She clearly hadn't noticed him and she took her time getting out of the car, gathering her bag and other textbooks. She struggled with a heavy load and he chuckled softly as she cumbersomely tried to steady herself with her book bag, textbooks, and her folder of sheet music. He pushed his weight off of the gate and started to approach her to lighten the load when something rushed past him.

He was startled to say the least when he saw that Finn Hudson had hurried over to Rachel, taking some of the textbooks from her arms. She smiled happily at this and tried to modestly tell him that he didn't have to do this. He only smiled back, taking the books and walking side-by-side. Jesse saw Rachel's expression change when she finally noticed his presence. She looked away before walking past him into the gates.

Jesse watched them as Finn's hand brushed against hers. Her eyes flicked to them and she looked away quickly before Finn noticed where she was looking. He smirked and took her hand, walking proudly through the halls of William McKinley High school. Jesse's fist clenched at the sight. He walked into the gates as well and followed them for a few steps before turning down a different hall toward his own class.

Rachel and Finn were getting close to Rachel's locker, with Finn still holding her hand. She eased her hand out and began taking the books from Finn, placing them in their rightful place. She stopped and saw the picture of Jesse in her locker. She still hadn't taken it down. She stared wistfully at the picture before Finn had snapped her out of her daze. "Are you all right, Rachel?" he was waving a hand in front of her eyes, and he genuinely looked concerned.

She smiled weakly and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I… just thought I might have had something on my face…" she gestured to her the mirror that was below the picture of Jesse.

Finn nodded in understanding and offered his hand again to her. She stared at the outstretched gesture before walking past Finn toward her class. Finn rushed to keep up with her. "Whoa, is there a fire?" he joked.

Rachel passed by the seniors classroom section and walked faster through it. Finn tried to get her attention again, "Rachel, what's the matter?"

She finally answered him with a lie, "I have a perfect attendance record. I don't want to be tardy…" she answered hastily.

"Rachel, we just passed your classroom," Finn told her, turning her around. She avoided his stare and tried to focus on something else. "Seriously, Rachel, what's eating you?"

The star of New Directions trembled in her partner's grasp. Finn sighed when she didn't answer. "Why did I even bother asking? It's that Jesse guy isn't it?" her silence spoke for her and he continued. He hugged her. "When will you get it through your head that he just doesn't care about you like I do?"

She stepped away from him. "Finn… why are you like this all of a sudden?" she asked, looking into his eyes meaningfully.

Finn looked away from her scrutiny. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

Rachel sighed before she started walking back toward her classroom that she had unknowingly passed. She stopped at the door and watched the clock. 7:55. She wasn't kidding about wanting to keep her perfect attendance. "I mean," she adjusted the way she held all of her belongings in a more comfortable position, "you… never helped me out with my books before when we were dating. And you've never really come out to meet me and walk me to class before either. I always had to find you. What I mean is… why are you doing all these things now that we've broken up?"

Finn took a deep breath through his nose before finally turning his attention back to her. He sighed, "I… read that kid's blog."

Rachel looked confused and she waited for him to continue.

"That kid who stalks you… he keeps a blog about you separate from the McKinley one… he updates it pretty frequently. He actually keeps pictures and stuff of you…" he trailed off as a smile plastered to his face. She cleared her throat and he snapped out of his daze. "Anyway, yesterday, I read one of the posts and the title of it was, 'Jesse St. James vs. Finn Hudson for Rachel Berry.'"

Rachel's eyes widened to the size of saucers at these words. "Wh-what?"

"He recorded your conversation with Jesse and I heard that you didn't want him to interrupt matters between us for three days. I… wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to fix things between us." Finn said. He cleared his throat and continued, "Can we fix things? I miss you, Rachel. I swear that I'll do anything."

The two-minute warning bell rang and Rachel looked between her classroom and Finn. "I… have to go," she tried to escape, but failed since he grabbed her wrist quickly.

"We still have two minutes."

Rachel snapped her wrist out of his grasp and she hurriedly went to the door. "I-I don't know!" she exclaimed before disappearing behind the door, leaving a dumbfounded Finn Hudson. She took her seat in the front of the classroom which was inconvenient since she just wanted to sit with her thoughts. What's wrong with me? Isn't this what I wanted? Even when I was with Jesse, I couldn't forget Finn… but now that Finn really wants to be with me, and Jesse has agreed not to intervene… why don't I want to return to Finn's side? She buried her face in her hands, trying to clear her mind before looking up determinedly. Rachel Berry, the road to being a star is full of decisions. You just have to be smart enough to make the right one!

She was satisfied with that thought as she opened up her agenda, filling out her homework assignments for Chemistry. She pretended to stay focused on the teacher, but her thoughts were still fixated on the dilemma she was currently facing with Finn and Jesse. A note flew onto her desk during class and she opened it and instantly recognized the cursive handwriting to be Kurt's. She opened it up and read it quickly underneath her desk.

Mr. Schuester is announcing solos today for "Can't Help Falling in Love." I trust that you remember our promise.

-Kurt

Rachel bit her lip and quickly scribbled her response and passed the note back inconspicuously.

I know. Which part do you want? Soprano or Tenor?

The response was quick and Rachel read it in her mind.

Of course, Soprano. If Mr. Schuester objects to two males, then I want you to make sure that he agrees anyway.

Rachel sighed and passed the note back again.

Naturally. I can do that easily.

Rachel began counting the seconds before the bell would ring. She watched the clock as she tapped her pencil to the exact timing of the second hand. She glanced around the classroom, still tapping in rhythm. The end of class was ticking ever so slowly as she glanced at Kurt who sat behind the seat to her right. He too was watching the clock, wondering when the bell would ring to bring them to their second period, bringing them closer to the end of their day, bringing them to Glee.

The bell rang and the two darted out the door, in a beeline to their next class, hoping to make the day tick away faster. It was the same routine. Rachel would zone out, staring at the clock before the bell would ring, and before she knew it, she was already at her fifth period, returning from her lunch period, alone. That was a little depressing, if she had to be honest. Instead of zoning out at the clock, she stared out the window.

Yes, she was hoping to avoid both Jesse and Finn, so as not to draw any unnecessary drama in the glee club, but did she have to be isolated from everyone? She had never felt so lonely before. At least before, Finn would sometimes sit with her if the "popular table" was full before he had gotten his lunch. After all, he was trying to get on her good side so that he could woo her. But even when he didn't sit with her, she had a different distraction from the solitude.

She had Jesse to think about. The anticipation of seeing him after school took her mind away from the thoughts of loneliness. She looked forward to seeing him as much as possible, finally finding someone to confide in.

She had tried to find that person in others, like Finn and Puck. But let's face it. Both of them were never going to get over Quinn Fabray. Finn can try and deny it all he wants. He can cover it up as much as he wanted. But, there was no hiding the wistful gazes that were casted in the blonde's direction.

Yes, Jesse had returned. She was very aware of that, but could she really just welcome him into her arms so easily? As much as her heart tells her to just let him back in, her logical mind tells her that he's up to something, that he shouldn't be trusted. As much as she hated to admit it, the suspicion was always there, ever since he announced his name, but she refused to face it.

She glanced up at the teacher about the literature they will be reading. "Now, as sophomores, I find it simply appalling that only 3 of you have had exposure to Shakespeare's wonderful prose," she walked up and down the rows, placing a book on each desk, "which is why we are going to study one of his most famous works, Romeo and Juliet."

Rachel was brought back to thinking of Jesse as soon as the name Romeo was spoken. Her heartbeat quickened and she stared at the cover of the book, envisioning Romeo as Jesse. Their curly hair had been matched along with their small smirks. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't morph the face of Juliet into her own even as a clear image of Jesse was standing there.

"Starting next week, we will begin reading in class, but before we do, I want you all to read the introduction to understand the language and structure of Shakespeare. I'll also give out roles to each of you, depending on volunteers," the teacher finished passing out books, then returned to the front board, "now this is an advanced class. If there are no volunteers, I will decide on victims. Is that understood?"

A few groans were heard from the students before the books were placed into their book bags. Rachel followed suit and returned to staring out the window. She really did try to focus. Yet, no matter what, her thoughts wandered elsewhere. Did stardom have to be so lonely that she had no friends? She looked about the room, and took notice that she sat in the front corner right by the window. The seats that were adjacent to her were empty, and all the other students had been assigned seats. Yet, why was she still somewhere off in a secluded area? Did fate deem her unworthy of others' company?

She swallowed before beginning to fiddle with her pencil, pretending to take notes on the structure of an Elizabethan sonnet. The door swinging open hadn't even startled her in the least. However the voice did. "Hello, Mrs. Pendergast. I'm Jesse St. James."

Mrs. Pendergast stopped her lecture and turned to the door. "Yes?" Before she could ask what he was doing in her classroom, a piece of paper was held in front of her.

"If I may, I would like to request to be your student aide. I promise to work hard," he smiled his smile that easily dazzled any woman.

The helpless Mrs. Pendergast didn't stand a chance, and quickly retrieved a pen from a student's desk, signing her name on the confirmation line, "Yes, a student aide would prove to be most useful for my class…" she handed the paper back to him. "Be sure to return that to the office after this period…"

Jesse smiled again and every girl in the class swooned, even Rachel tilted her head to the side a little, her neck suddenly feeling too weak to support her head. Boys only rolled their eyes at this. One yelled out, "Get a room!"

To which Mrs. Pendergast responded (after composing herself) with, "Detention, Mr. Karofsky! You will hold your tongue in my classroom!" She surprisingly filled out the detention slip rather quickly, then slammed it onto his desk, with force.

How people as dumb as Karofsky got into an advanced English class, Rachel couldn't fathom. The guy could barely distinguish the subject and a predicate, let alone a participle and a gerund. She would deliberate further on the subject, were it not for Jesse St. James standing before her English teacher, where she was (up until before he came) the only Glee kid in that class. Now that Mrs. Pendergast was finished with her episode with the hockey jock, she returned to the front, "Now, where should you sit… Ah."

She pointed in Rachel's vicinity and Rachel felt like jumping from her seat and out the window just to escape from Jesse turning to look at her. It was impossible for him not to have noticed her by now, but there was always hope, right? Mrs. Pendergast finished off her sentence, "You can sit in one of those desks over by Rachel; Rachel, raise your hand," she commanded.

She bit her lip. Shake, doggie. She thought to herself sarcastically. She raised her hand in the air, and Jesse remained indifferent as he took the seat to her left. Mrs. Pendergast walked to her desk and shuffled through some papers before placing them on Jesse's desk, "Grade these. They're from period 3. And," she pulled out another paper, "this is the key." Jesse nodded and began looking over the first test.

Rachel looked away from him, trying to remain indifferent to the tension surrounding them. The first one to talk to the other is considered inferior in talent. That's the rule of stardom. I won't acknowledge him unless he acknowledges me first. Rachel thought to herself as she rested her chin on her hand, tapping her fingers against her desk. The inner diva in her was really demonstrating itself now, but she could only hold out for about 3 minutes before she whispered urgently, "What are you doing here?"

Jesse feigned astonishment before looking around himself as if wondering if Rachel was indeed speaking to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you speaking to me? Oh, Rachel! I didn't know you were in this class. What a coincidence!" he said, his smirk plastered firmly on his face.

His superb acting skills ticked Rachel off greatly, but she wasn't going to buy it. "Jesse, why did you become the teacher aide for my class?"

Jesse shrugged, "I can always add more to my application. Maybe I can go to an even more prestigious school than UCLA," he stated with indifference as he returned his attention back to the ungraded test papers.

"Hey, hey! Don't just turn away from me! I'm talking to you!" Rachel whispered angrily, her diva-ness really coming out.

"I'm sorry. I knew we were speaking whenever it was convenient for you; I didn't realize it also included when it was inconvenient for me. Oh, wait, but if it was like that, then you would have looked for me this morning instead of trying to bring back an old spark with your ex-boyfriend," Jesse whispered to her.

"Jesse, I told you that I'd make sure that you weren't conducting suspicious behavior, not that I'd haunt you like a ghost," Rachel whispered back and she quickly registered the rest of his sentence, "And how come you didn't just look for me? Oh, wait, you did, but you didn't do anything! You let Finn take me away!"

"That's what you wanted!" Jesse whispered back, raising his upper lip in a snarl. "You, oh so lucidly, told me that you don't want me to interfere in your and his affairs!"

"But I don't want you completely out of my life either!" she whispered back emotionally. If she weren't in a classroom, tears would be pouring from her eyes like water in a reservoir bursting past a dam. "I do want to pick things back up from before we fought… but before that, can't you at least… act like my friend?"

Jesse clenched his teeth and his hand was gripping the pencil he was holding. He seemed to have whispered something that was inaudible for Rachel, but it seemed to have helped him decide. "Okay then. So, tell me, Rachel, how would a friend act then?"

Wow, what a late update. Sorry about that... D:

(And it's not even that good! -sniff-)