Disclaimer: I do not own 'Proud Mary', 'Don't Stop Believing', 'Don't Rain On My Parade'... and Nick's awesome M&Ms.

Author's Note: I'm going to get straight to it, guys (because you and I both know that we just want to get to the story already!)...

This chapter is centered around 'Sectionals', as I mentioned in the previous chapter.

It features both Rachel and Jesse's perspectives. Oh, I love putting their thoughts in the same chapter. It just solidifies how perfect they are for each other.

You will get a taste of Strict!Jesse or Masterful!Jesse (as I like to put it) because he totally shows you why he's the leader of Vocal Adrenaline. Be forewarned that you may want to maul him and ask him to spank you after reading this. *winkwink*

You will see just a little bit of Conflicted!Jesse in the beginning, which leads to the awesome Shelby Corcoran stepping in. Yes, she is in this chapter. And yes... she is 'the bomb-diggity' and I wish she was my 'mother/authority figure thingy' because she's totally bad ass.

You will see the return of Nick Mitchell (remember him? He's Jesse's BFF, to put it in girly terms) and this time: he's bringing along a bag of candy and that 'Captain Obvious' side to him we love so dearly.

There really isn't anything left for you to do but READ, ENJOY, and LEAVE A REVIEW.

Have fun and stay loose, guys!

Jesse looked around, taking in his surroundings as he sat comfortably in the plush, velvet seat. Crossing his arms across his solid chest, he could see the hall fill up with more and more people as they filed in endlessly. It was mere minutes to showtime (he knew because he kept checking his watch every five seconds, considerably bored).

"Tell me why we're here again?" he didn't bother turning to look at his teacher as she took a seat beside him.

Shelby Corcoran heaved an irritated sigh. As if she hadn't already explained their presence at this particular district's 'Sectionals' about a million times to the team.

"To scope out the competition," she answered shortly, focusing her attention on the stage manager as he flitted about on stage, ensuring that everything was ready.

Jesse let out a genuine chuckle. "Competition? Seriously?" he asked incredulously as he lifted an eyebrow.

"Cut the arrogance, Jesse," Shelby sent him a look of stern exasperation. She wasn't in the mood to deal with one of her captain's miva outbursts. He was, after all, rather gifted in stunning the opposition to silence whenever he felt the need to be heard.

"No offense, but I haven't exactly known the meaning of the word 'competition' since way back when, Miss Corcoran," He ignored the 'arrogance' remark and continued on, a smirk plastered on his handsome face as he turned to look upon the empty stage.

"Didn't I tell you to cut the arrogance?" her voice lowered warningly. She was the team's director for a reason. One did not test her patience and leave unscathed. Even if Jesse was one of her favourite student, she was still the authority figure who demanded respect where it was due.

"Forgive me for stating the obvious," he challenged, keeping his eyes onstage and his smirk intact.

"You're doing an hour of calisthenics when we get back," Shelby declared crisply.

She would not tolerate Jesse's obvious bad mood today.

"Make it two and you've got a deal," the male lead turned to face his superior, the smirk replaced with a sarcastic smile.

Shelby narrowed her eyes. "You need to cool off, mister. Whatever that's going on at home, keep it there. Until you want to talk about it, I will not accept this kind of behaviour from a student of mine," she pointed to him firmly before letting the words hang in the air for him to absorb.

Jesse set his jaw and turned away to face the stage again.

Shelby was the closest thing he had to a proper adult authority figure in his life and she was usually spot on whenever she guessed what was wrong with him.

This time was no different.

It was official.

Rachel Berry was freaking out.

Sitting nervously in the crowd, shrouded in darkness, she could barely hear a word the host had to say about the sponsors.

Wrestling with her crazy nerves, the brunette kept standing up to smoothen her dress down before sitting again. After the fifth time she did it, Puck had growled for her to "keep her panties on and chill".

Once the speech ended, Rachel gave a whimper as she pressed her cold palms to her hot cheeks.

"I'm either going to hurl or spontaneously combust. I just know it," she lamented dramatically, shaking her head.

"And I thought I was the pregnant one," Quinn's wry, amused voice suddenly came from beside Rachel.

The host onstage mentioned something about 'getting the show on the road' or something equally as cliché, the brunette didn't really focus. All she made out was the fact that he introduced the 'Jane Addams Reform School' as the first competitor.

Clapping her hands together a little too vigorously, she (along with the rest of the audience) waited in anticipation for the students to file onto the stage.

That was before Rachel felt her heart sink and drop to the pit of her stomach.

The girls rolled onstage with wheelchairs.

Wasn't that supposed to be their act?

Kill. Me. Now.

"Basic Hairography. Very weak," Shelby commented in a monotone as they watched the 'Jane Addams' girls roll about singing 'Proud Mary'.

Jesse stared at the performance, his face unreadable.

"Not to mention 'weird'. What's with the wheelchairs?" he mumbled quietly, rubbing his chin in puzzlement while inclining his head towards his coach.

Shelby shrugged, glad that Jesse wasn't being a whiny bitch to her anymore. "I'm assuming they've taken the term 'rolling' in the literal sense."

Jesse heaved an exasperated as he leaned back in his seat, his long legs straightened out before him. "I fail to recognize the relevance or the creative appeal behind this," he shook his head, crossing his arms again in defiance.

Shelby kept her eyes on the girls. "That's good."

There was a silence between them.

"This is such a waste of time," he muttered after a few moments, unable to endure any more.

The team director rolled her eyes and looked over to the potential superstar. "You didn't honestly expect to come here and be genuinely entertained, did you? This is business, Jesse," she responded firmly as a teacher to a lesser protégé would.

He furrowed his brow. "Yeah... but, they could at least give a semi-decent show. One of them just got up to shake her 'booty'," he pointed the girl out casually as his tone remained accusatory.

Shelby wanted to laugh at the fact that Jesse had just said the word 'booty' with such ease. Almost like he said it on a daily basis as a catch phrase.

"Perhaps your standards are too high," she uttered with a sigh as her eyes now focused back onto the performance.

He made a little mumble of agreement.

"Which explains why I'm here and not up there," he looked to his teammates as they were seated on his other side before glancing to Shelby and back onstage.

"Good. Don't ever forget that," she smiled, nodding in approval as she began to clap her hands once the performance ended.

Faint. Dizzy. Nauseous.

Rachel could almost feel the darkness begin to cloud her vision.

The stage director had just informed them that they would be the next to enter the green room to prepare for their performance which was set to go after 'Haverbrook School for the Deaf'.

Nodding silently, the brunette was thinking to herself that it was just one performance ripped off from them. It wasn't going to be a big deal. She could think up of one song to replace 'Proud Mary' in the nick of time and save the day.

She is Rachel Berry, by thunder. And she could do anything.

That thought kind of dissipated once the next competitors began to sing 'Don't Stop Believing'.

The rest of the glee club had their jaws on the floor.

Rachel, however, jumped from her seat whilst swallowing back a sob.

She wouldn't tolerate this. At. All.

She ordered the rest to follow her to the green room at that red hot second.

Time for a group meeting.

Jesse waved off the bag of 'M&M's Nick offered from beside him. Shrugging, his best friend continued to toss one after the other into his mouth.

To be honest, Jesse was slowly losing his appetite at hearing his teammates' comments of the current school onstage. He didn't know how much more of it he could take.

"Oh for goodness' sakes."

"They're kidding, right? They have to be."

"Is Ashton here? Is he going to like come out and punk us or something?"

"Are you sure this is a singing competition and not the sympathy soiree?"

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure I just found blood in my ears."

"Since when did they open the competition up for freaks?"

"Yeah, freaks who are medically diagnosed as tone deaf."

The group erupted into raucous laughter at the so-called hilarious wit of the resident asshole of Vocal Adrenaline, Tristan Caine.

Nick smirked as he turned to look at Jesse. He knew his homeboy was about to put those jokers in their place.

"Guys," came Jesse's deep voice from the end of their row.

The laughter died down as they turned to look at their captain's unfathomable expression.

"Be cool," was all he said as his gaze swept the entire team calmly.

Tristan scoffed rudely as he alone spoke up once more. "Cool? What? Are you suddenly from the 60s? What kind of a word is 'cool' anymore?" the dirty-blond fellow senior sneered.

Jesus, this guy's been wishing he was me since he was a foetus.

Jesse remained unfazed as his eyes landed on his classmate. "Why? Too many syllables for you?" he responded, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lips.

Quiet snickers went around the team as Tristan gave his captain a menacing glare. But, he said nothing more.

"The boy's got a point, T-man. M&M?" Nick chuckled quietly, offering Tristan the yellow bag of candy only to be given the finger by said "T-man".

"Jesse, come on. You and the rest of us know for a fact that this..." Giselle gestured to the students onstage, "... is pathetic," she gave him an obvious look, raising her perfectly-groomed eyebrows.

"Last time I checked, making fun of handicaps is pretty much thought of as classless. Are you classless?" Jesse shot back, his tone carrying a dangerous edge to it as he narrowed his eyes.

To the outsider, it may have seemed like Jesse was giving a smouldering look. And that would've probably been the cue for said outsider to swoon and throw her (or his) underwear to him.

But, that was actually the very moment Vocal Adrenaline metaphorically pissed their pants.

Giselle's face changed, her expression softening. She shook her head 'no'.

"I didn't think so. Now everyone keep your mouths shut and get it together. We're Vocal Adrenaline, for fuck's sake. I'd like to keep at least some shred of dignity in sitting here," Jesse's tone was even as he addressed the entire team, his expression hard and pretty much 'not-to-be-messed-with-damn'.

They stayed silent throughout the rest of the performance.

He glanced fleetingly to Shelby who was in the midst of smiling in approval. Not that she'd ever voice it out loud. Her male lead's head was big enough as it is. She didn't need to further inflate his ego with songs of praise (though he earned them time after time).

Jesse joined in with the applause as 'Haverbrook' finished their song.

It was going to take a miracle for the performances to get any better.

Rachel stood alone behind the curtain.

Her heart was pounding in her ears and it felt like her throat was closing up.

Oh, shit...

She shut her eyes tightly and steadied her breathing. She could go through with this. She knew she could.

Rachel Berry was slushied daily.

Rachel Berry received mean comments on her MySpace videos all the time.

Rachel Berry occasionally had her heart broken and shattered to pieces by numerous guys.

And that hasn't brought her down. It never would. She knew that in her heart of hearts because her dreams were bigger than all the crap she had to go through. After all, it would only make for a much more interesting autobiography in the future, right?

Hell, she was about to step out there and show the world she was Rachel Barbra freakin' Berry.

And she was here to stay.

The starlet yanked open the curtains with sudden flourish.

"Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter
Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter"

Jesse turned around his seat along with the rest of the audience as a voice floated back in the center aisle. The angelic voice caught him by surprise, considering he was already mentally prepared for the butchering of a Barbra classic.

"Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade"

His mouth went slightly agape as she dragged out that last note almost perfectly. He almost shoved Nick out of the way while trying to catch a glimpse of her face.

"Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to
If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you"

Jesse finally managed to make out her figure as she marched further down the aisle, pointing in the direction of the audience, coincidentally where he was seated. Not that anyone would notice that, of course.

"Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade
I'll march my band out, I'll beat my drum"

Her voice was sending shivers up and down his spine. Jesse actually found himself leaning forward to see more of her as she skipped into another aisle playfully. That never happened before. Not with anyone within his age group, at least.

"And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir
At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir
I guess I didn't make it,"

Jesse smiled a little to himself as her voice grew gentler, more flirtatious as she teased a member of the audience.

Why did her voice sound so goddamned familiar all of the sudden?

"But whether I'm the rose of sheer perfection
A freckle on the nose of life's complexion
The Cinderella or the shine apple of its eye,"

Nick exchanged glances with Jesse, who returned the glance with a considerably more excited one. "Am I going to have to point it out?" his friend raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile on his face. Jesse frowned. "Point what out?"

"I gotta fly once, I gotta try once,
Only can die once, right, sir?
Ooh, life is juicy, juicy and you see,
I gotta have my bite, sir."

"That she's your soul mate," Nick chortled, shaking his head incredulously to the fellow senior. Jesse didn't exactly get what prompted the guy to suddenly make such a random comment. The VA lead just gave him a weird look before looking to the girl as she was now onstage.

"Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer"
I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer
Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade,"

Jesse's jaw dropped as her face became clearer in the spotlight. He froze and his eyes widened. Nick's guffaws of laughter didn't even register in his brain. "Ring a bell now?" obviously his friend had recognized the brunette from the dance class before he did because he was a clueless idiot, apparently (self-proclaimed... which took a lot for him to admit even to himself).

"I'm gonna live and live NOW!
Get what I want, I know how!
One roll for the whole shebang!
One throw that bell will go clang,
Eye on the target and wham,
One shot, one gun shot and bam!"

Jesse was pretty sure he was hard. That last 'bam' of hers definitely confirmed that he was currently giving her a standing ovation while seated. Yeah, you know what he means.

"Hey, Mr. Arnstein, here I am ..."

Jesse shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He immediately began thinking of drowning kittens.

This girl was really something else. How he hadn't approached her before was beyond him.

Her voice... he suddenly felt an itch to rush onstage and perform a duet with her.

Okay, that thought didn't exactly help him in dealing with his situation.

"I'll march my band out, I will beat my drum,
And if I'm fanned out, your turn at bat, sir,
At least I didn't fake it, hat, sir,
I guess I didn't make it,"

Having everything 'under control', Jesse didn't even bother to turn his attention to the rest of her team as they filed out.

He knew.

He just knew that they couldn't possibly be better than her. He continued to watch her with a half-smile on his face, mesmerized.

"Get ready for me love, 'cause I'm a "comer"
I simply gotta march, my heart's a drummer
Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my..."

Jesse stood up slowly. He saw her hitting that last note perfectly before it even happened.

"...parade!"

And Jesse was always right.

As she held that last note, he applauded along with the rest of the audience who too stood up in awe. Shaking his head lightly, Jesse had to chuckle at the fact that this was how they met again. He stared on, never stopping his applause even when the song ended.

He watched her grin breathlessly at the response from the crowd before introducing her team.

A miracle did happen, after all.

Rachel shrieked along with the rest of 'New Directions' as the host announced them as the winners for the 'Sectionals' round.

"We won? We won!" she kept yelling at the top of her voice as she leapt into each and everyone's arms, embracing them tightly (even to the point of zero-blood circulation).

After everything they went through, they actually had a shot at 'Regionals' now.

Some of them screamed, some laughed, others cried. Rachel did all of the above.

Everything from that point onwards was a blur as they got their humongous trophy and pictures taken from every angle. Time whizzed right by and before any of them knew it, it was time to descend the stage.

Rachel loved the attention, but she couldn't wait to celebrate and tell Mr. Schue. She was giddy and high with absolute joy as everyone stayed huddled, jumping together and just plain going crazy at the fact that they owned those cheats before them.

The brunette laughed and didn't think the day could get any better.

Then she saw him.

Time stopped. It literally stopped as she found him standing a few feet away from her and her teammates. His hazel eyes were on her alone.

She didn't know how much time had passed as their gazes met and both remained unmoving.

Then he began to take a step towards her.

And another.

And another.

Rachel froze. Things moved in slow-motion as she heard nothing but the pounding of her heart and her intakes of breath.

A smile slowly began to form on his perfect face as he strode towards her with ease.

Subconsciously, she began turning her body towards him.

He came close enough for his voice to be heard before stopping in front of her.

His eyes ran over her features, studying her as he maintained the easy smile that played on his lips. Lips she almost kissed just the other day. She suddenly wondered whether he remembered her from that night.

Rachel said nothing as she stared at Jesse, a soft smile gracing her own delicate features.

He broke the silence.

"Good job up there, Barbra."

The brunette blinked. The first thought that sprang to mind was whether he was referring to the Barbra Streisand song she had just performed or the name, Barbra Chenoweth (wince) she had spewed out to the guard during that embarrassing night with him.

The knowing glint in his eye answered her question.

Before she could respond, he gave her a wink and backed away before striding off towards the exit.

Rachel felt her legs again.

Touching her face, she knew she looked flushed as her cheeks heated up more so than they did before.

Something told her it wouldn't be the last she saw of Jesse St. James.

Author's Note: Well, guys. We're nearing the end.

Come on, you saw this coming before it happened because like Jesse, you're kind of psychic and usually right.

There is one more chapter to go. You all know what it is.

It's time to go to the music store, ladies and gentlemen!

But, I will be writing it out a little differently, of course. A lot of you may know by now that I have a thing for writing out songs in a way that it could even be featured on the show. Well, I'll be incorporating that as I'll be using the *entire* Lionel Richie song performed by Lea and Jon.

So, there you go. One more chapter to go.

And then some.

(Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise *wink*)

Leave a review on what you think!

Until next time, lovelies!