Disclaimer: I do not own 'Kansas City Choir Boy'
Author's note: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews and awesome feedback. You have no idea how much I appreciate being appreciated, haha.
I'd just like to mention that this chapter centres around some good, old-fashioned teenage sexual tension. So, be forewarned that certain "feelings" and language may arise. Nothing insanely offensive. Just certain things that I think are relatable.
If you haven't watched Jonathan Groff's performance with Betty Gilpin of a song from 'Kansas City Choir Boy' at Joe's Pub... you should. You won't regret it.
Also, see if you guys can spot the Gossip Girl reference ;)
Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!
It had been a day or two since the 'Dakota Stanley fiasco' and Rachel was still brimming with pride and confidence over how she and the rest of the glee club stood up for their respective selves to the evil oompa-loompa.
Perhaps that was the delusion and overall high of that fact was why she found herself in the wrong part of town.
Okay, that was an exaggeration. She was really at a not-so-nearby pub that was hosting an open showcase for the local plays. Sort of like preview night for community theatre.
She was there alone, harnessing her recently amplified boldness to good use.
And... she didn't want anyone to know that she craved to catch another glimpse of Jesse St. James (whom had posted the aforementioned event on his Facebook profile) in person again.
Rachel didn't feel like she was betraying the glee club, not at all. Was it so wrong that she found Jesse's immaculate talent so wonderful it could (almost) rival hers? Was it so wrong that she simply wanted to observe him? It wasn't like she would leak their set lists out at the snap of his fingers. Hell, they didn't even know each other to begin with! What could possibly be the harm?
"What'll it be, kid?" a hoarse voice interrupted her train of thought.
"Um... could I have some bottled water, please?" she spoke a little louder to overcome the noise of the bar. Seated demurely by the counter, Rachel couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she looked around to the pulsating life around her. Theatre people (Community Theatre... but, still).
"Bottled water's on me," came a voice from behind the young brunette.
Rachel turned to see a blonde girl with curls sit beside her. Before she could react, the girl prattled on. "It's always great to see a new face come around to support the local talent. Hi, I'm Peyton," she explained with a cool smile, offering her hand to shake.
"Rachel Berry. It's nice to meet you," came her answer as she grinned brightly to the new acquaintance, pleased that she now had someone to talk to. Shaking her hand firmly, Rachel continued, "So this is a regular thing?" she gestured to the atmosphere around her.
"Once a month or so, yeah. Here... this is for you," Peyton reached into her sling bag, retrieving a colourful brochure. Taking it with an uttered "Thank you", Rachel looked it over. At that point, the bartender had come back with her bottled water.
"I'm sorry to say I've never attended one of these before. I should put this up on the bulletin board back in my school," she looked up to the blonde girl earnestly.
"That'd be great! We get a lot of college-goers around here. A whole new crowd would be fantastic to add to the mix. Though, one of the showcases tonight is featuring a regular of ours..." Peyton leaned forward and tapped a manicured finger on the image of a face in the brochure. "... Jesse. He's still in high school himself. A senior," she continued, nodding.
And once again, Rachel found herself unable to carry out basic respiratory action.
"Jesse St. James," the impressionable, young girl breathed as she eyed his picture. It was of his face, smiling at something in the distance. There was a short summary of the showcase he was in and she made out that it was entitled 'Kansas City Choir Boy'.
"You know him?" Peyton arched an eyebrow as she took a sip of her beer.
Rachel hesitated. "Only by reputation," she chose her words carefully, satisfied with how they came out. She missed the amused smile that began to form on the blonde's lips. "And which reputation is that exactly?"
Rachel looked up from the brochure, furrowing her brow a little in question. "What do you mean?"
Out of nowhere, the bartender from awhile ago appeared once more. Apparently, he had been listening in on their conversation. "Let's just say Jesse once went to the Virgin Islands. They are now called the Islands," he smirked, wiping a mug with a dishcloth.
Rachel's eyebrows shot up as Peyton laughed loudly at his two cents. "Put a lid on it, Tom. Jesse's not like some creepy de-virgin-izer from a random CW show or anything. He's just a straightforward guy," Peyton offered, shaking her hand dismissively to 'Tom' the bartender as she turned to Rachel.
The brunette was about to open her mouth to laugh nervously at how random people were painting the guy she'd been googling (in a relatively non-sexual way) for the past few days in such a light.
Tom quickly interjected. "Yeah, straightforward. He doesn't even use pick-up lines. He just says 'Now'." At that, Peyton rolled her eyes with a groan.
"Somehow, I think you're in the wrong line of work, Tom. You should have your very own sitcom or maybe even a spot on 'Last Comic Standing'," came the brunette's reply as she gave a light laugh. Rachel shrugged off his raucous comments about Jesse, thinking he was only exaggerating.
He HAD to be, right?
"Who says I'm joking?" he winked to her with a little smirk before heading to the other side of the bar to get another round of orders. The words hung in the air before Peyton quickly broke the silence.
"Pay no attention to Tom. If you hadn't met me yet, he'd tell you that I'm the HBIC around here," she took another sip of her beer.
"HBIC?" Rachel arched an eyebrow.
"Head Bitch In Charge," the blonde answered, obviously regarding herself as anything but that of a female dog.
Well, Rachel at least agreed with her.
As the music grew softer to an end, Peyton somehow took that as her cue to leave, considering she had tons of other acts to facilitate. She got up from her seat. "Tom was only talking half-truths about Jesse back there..."
Rachel caught on to the 'half' part in that sentence.
"... One rumour that's for sure is, y'know... Jesse does have a huge..." the blonde's voice trailed off as she watched the high schooler's eyes widen slightly, betraying a shred of subconscious innocence.
"... talent," Peyton smiled knowingly for Rachel's benefit before letting out a short chuckle as the lights dimmed. "Enjoy the show!" she continued, nodding to the stage before disappearing into the crowd.
Rachel frowned. "How could something as obvious as Jesse's talent be deemed a rumour? His enormous talent was practically shoved down everyone's throats whenever he performed..." she thought to herself, her naiveté getting the best of her. Oh, Rachel... if she only knew how unwittingly X-rated she could really be.
As she contemplated her thoughts, she almost missed the introduction of the two actors from 'Kansas City Choir Boy' on stage. She turned in her seat, getting a perfect view of the said stage.
The lights came on and she immediately recognized him even with his back turned to the audience. Faint music began to play in the background as he turned to his side to face the girl who was sitting on a chair.
"I've decided," he began, his voice as smooth as melted butter. Pausing, he stared down to the seated girl who tentatively returned his gaze.
"Finally," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper and yet, still managing to pull in the audience seductively with that dangerous voice of his.
"Finally," he repeated, this time with a tad more intensity, causing the girl onstage to squirm in her seat as she watched him.
Silence.
Then...
"To get a tattoo," he ended, the music picking up once again as the crowd somehow took that as a humorous line, laughing a little.
"A tattoo?" the girl arched an eyebrow, smirking in amusement.
"Yeah," came his short answer, his face still serious even as a dark smile began to tug on one corner of his lips.
"What will it be?" she asked gingerly, casting her eyes downwards with a shrug before letting out an innocent, little giggle.
He licked his lips. "It's gonna be..." trailing off, he never once broke eye contact with the girl.
"A bruise," he answered, earning another round of light laughter from the crowd. With that he moved a chair out of the way, taking a few steps to her sitting form.
Kneeling down, he placed a hand between her thighs. "Right here," he breathed.
At that point, Rachel had absent-mindedly spilled her drink onto her blouse, never taking her eyes off of them.
Back on stage, the girl jumped a little at the contact as they stared at each other.
"Black and blue..." they sang together into their respective microphones before trailing off once more. They simply stared at each other. The heat of Jesse's gaze was so intense, even the young ingénue in the slightly wet blouse by the bar could feel it. The girl on stage seemed to breathe a little heavily before casting her eyes downwards shyly.
He smirked, rising slowly to his feet. "A bruise... in the shape of your mouth," his smoky voice complemented his smouldering gaze as he smiled lightly down to the girl who looked up to him with wide, lust-filled eyes.
Moving behind her, his hand trailed her shoulder before coming to kneel on her other side. He steadied her nerves, placing a hand on her shoulder to do so.
"And here..." they sang together, holding each other's gaze as Jesse ran a hand along her stomach.
"And here..." he ran his hand up her calf to her knee.
"And here..." his hand continued their journey to her inner thigh as a smile formed on the young rogue's face.
Rachel watched the scene unfold, lips slightly parted as she blatantly ignored everything else but the sound of his voice and his beautifully dangerous... attraction. But, nothing prepared her for what she was about to witness next.
He licked his lips as he placed a hand on one side of the girl's neck. He then leaned in and placed his lips over hers slowly as the music rose to the percussionist's solo.
It accompanied Rachel's rapid heartbeat as she let out a shaky breath, watching him run his tongue over the girl's own. His hand went to the back of the girl's neck, deepening the kiss as they further engaged themselves in a somewhat 'slow motion' lip-lock. The slow, sensual pace of the kiss only gave the audience better view of their battling tongues as they kissed each other senseless.
"I'm pretty sure that's illegal in several states," Tom appeared beside Rachel as he too seemed consumed with the performance.
Rachel ignored him, feeling a little light-headed. She blinked slowly to get rid of the glazed-over look in her eyes as she steadied her breathing. This was not good for her. She knew she wouldn't be able to stop thinking about his lips, his tongue, his sex appeal... she wouldn't be able to stop after tonight.
What began as just fascination over his leadership and talent had now escalated into something... something that gave her a warm, funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something dangerous and risky and... bad. Wasn't she supposed to be in hot pursuit of someone else? Ooh... she was in trouble.
"Baby... Make me your ... constellation..." the two had broken apart with her smiling giddily and him returning it with a cool stare as their voices meshed together, ending the song.
The lights then shut off as the crowd applauded enthusiastically. It took a while for Rachel to gather her bearings and remember to clap as well. She was feeling flustered and thought that it'd be best to head to the bathroom and wash her prickling face.
What was her deal?
That thought kept running through her mind as she shook her head and got up from her seat. Perhaps this dazed state of hers contributed to the furtherance of her bad luck as she turned only to meet with a pitcher of beer that spilled completely onto her front.
She squeaked, her jaw dropping as she caught a glimpse of the 'just-as-shocked' waitress who froze as the brunette too froze. The sound of the said waitress' profuse apologies were heard as a faint buzzing as Rachel attempted to smile with dignity, shaking her head as if it were alright and that all she needed to do was find a bathroom.
A busy, full-housed pub and the want of a bathroom? Think again.
The line was too long and Rachel couldn't help but feel like throwing a diva fit and crying at the same time. But, she wouldn't. Her 'What Would Barbara Do?' mentality kept her grounded as she rationally decided to wait for the crowd to thin out a little. So, she went to sit at a relatively empty couch nearby the bathroom. Resting her chin on her propped up hand, she kept throwing the crowd by the bathroom a few wary looks. Maybe she should just go home...
It was at that moment she felt the couch cushion shift a little. Not thinking much about it, Rachel looked over to see who it was. Her heart leapt at her throat.
Jesse St. James leaned into his seat, eyes closed as he breathed calmly.
And it was at that moment Rachel Berry, in her soaked lacy white blouse and navy blue nautical skirt, realized...
She suddenly felt very, very naked.