A/N: Thank you for reading my story and the response!
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and its characters.
Preparing for SAT, looking for a supervisor for the audition, working out ideas for the fund raising event, the glee club, Jason and… Finn. Twenty-four hours a day was not enough for her.
Rachel and Kurt had to hammer out ideas of attractions for the fund raising event (other than Woody Four and Warblers live performances). After thinking this and that, they reached a simple decision that fund raisers would play Bingo and get giveaways.
Kurt had asked his father to offer three free tickets for car repair or maintenance as a bingo game gift. Lima Bean had given five free tickets for drinks and Breadstix had provided a pair of tickets for dinner. Those were their deliverables so far. But not enough.
So they had turned asking shop after shop in the mall to support the event. Unfortunately they had no such luck.
"Alright. I'm going to ask Warblers. Most of their families have got gobs of money. Maybe some of them can provide something." Kurt took his mongo smoothie from a Lima Bean staff.
Rachel walked towards a table at the corner, her tea in hand as she spoke. "But they are supposed to be a fund raiser. Isn't it a bit peculiar that we ask them to do that?" Rachel sat on an armchair across Kurt.
"There'll be other fund raiser to come. Besides, is there another way out?" Kurt pointed out.
Rachel sighed loudly. She prostrated her head on the table, banging lightly a few times. "I don't think so. My brain is drying up."
Kurt stroked her head as he spoke. "Putting that aside, how do we find a supervisor? Shelby's moved to NY, right?"
Rachel lifted her head up and stared at him. "I'm going to ask Coach Beiste or Ms. Pillsbury tomorrow. Mr. Schue once said that Coach Beiste had been in 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' in college. And as you remember, Ms. Pillsbury helped Mr. Schue out with 'Rocky Horror' last year, so…"
Kurt nodded before asking casually. "How're things going with Jason, by the way?" He deliberately wiped off waterdrops from the table with a paper napkin.
Rachel had avoided having a talk about Jason (and Finn) with Kurt. He wasn't only a stepbrother/friend of Finn but also a friend of Jason. He didn't need to be torn between her complicated relationships.
"He's coming to Lima on next Saturday. I wanted to meet up with him in Cincinnati or somewhere middle like Dayton." Rachel fiddled with a rim of her paper cup. "How's Blaine? Is he auditioning for your musical?" She changed the subject.
Kurt lightened up, clapping his hands. "Oh, yes. Of course. I'm Mr. Lovett. Which means he's going to be Shirley Todd!"
Rachel arched her eyebrow. "Audition for a leading role with a fixed game?"
"It's a part of show business, Rachel, show business." Kurt said matter-of-factly.
Jason was driving through familiar scenery to Lima. His mother and he (occasionally his dad) used to drive to Lima and spend time with his sister on weekends in Lima. The last time he visited here was when his sister graduated her high school.
His smile hardened when he drove closer to her house. He could tell. He was nervous. He grasped the steering wheel tightly with his sweaty hands. It had been more than a month since he last saw her. He wanted to impress her, but he didn't want to scare her off at the same time.
He parked his car at her driveway. He took a deep breath before he got off his car and walked over towards her front door.
When she opened the door, Jason widened his eyes. His nervousness immediately disappeared and transformed into a concern.
"Whoa, Rachel. You look… you've lost your weight. A lot." Jason held out his hand to caress her arm. "I know you've been busy, but…" He stared at her for a while, being at a loss for words.
Rachel wore a multi colored striped dress (one of her favorites) and a salmon pink cardigan which she secretly admitted got to be oversized recently. Nevertheless, she dismissed him off with a wave of her hand.
"I've not lost my weight that much."
But the fact was that Jason was the fifth person to say that (first and second her parents, third Kurt, fourth Noah).
She gestured him to come in and led him to the living room. She pointed to the sofa as she spoke. "Make yourself at home while I'm packing our lunch." She walked over to the kitchen.
"How's going with Kurt and your project?" Jason called out from the living room. "You know, I can help if you want. I have some relatives and old acquaintances in Lima."
"You do?" Rachel snapped up and stopped herself from packing their lunch into the basket.
Jason stood up and strode towards the kitchen. "Yeah. My sister moved to Lima when I was six since mom's relatives live here." He leaned forward on the kitchen counter.
"Oh." Rachel didn't know what to say. His parents divorced? He didn't mention that.
"You can ask anything you want." Jason chuckled. "Suzy and my dad were on bad terms and she chose to live with our aunt. It's a long story." He deposited himself on one of the booth at the counter. "I would've told you more about my family. I didn't mean to hide it from you, but…"
"It's not a topic through texts or phones. I understand." Rachel finished his sentence. "Okay, I finished packing. Where are we going?"
"Indian Lake State Park. Where my mom used to take my sis and me." Jason answered as he peered inside of the basket.
"Don't worry, I've packed non vegan food for you." Rachel giggled. "Shall we?"
Jason nodded, offering his arm in order for her to wrap. "Yeah, let's go."
While picnicking, boating, walking around the lake, Rachel and Jason caught up on each other. He talked about more specific of his family.
Now they were sitting by the lake, admiring the glow of the red sky.
"When I first got to know where you came from, I was kinda perplexed. I don't know exactly why I didn't tell you I used to visit Lima." Jason gazed into the sunset. Rachel turned her head towards Jason and stared at his eye which was changing colors by the reflection of the sun light.
"Maybe because I didn't know how to start to tell my sister's complicated situation." Jason continued. "Or because I have some friend who I hope to see again but not to see again at the same time."
Rachel wondered if he meant his ex-girlfriend or not.
Jason lay down his back on the ground, his hands behind of his head. He looked up at Rachel who still sat with her knee up. "You thought 'some friend' means my ex?"
Rachel put her hands on her forehead and her cheek, feeling her face go pink. She glanced down at him, but not saying anything.
"Yes, your face tells." Jason chuckled, earning a playful slap from Rachel. "No. He's my sister's ex."
Rachel nodded biting her cheeks before she lay down on the ground too. She closed her eyes, listening to him. Warm breeze enveloped her body. His soft voice was like singing. When was the last time she was really relaxed?
"He taught me to play piano. He was like..." Jason was about to continue his story as he noticed Rachel drifted off.
He sifted his body lying on his side resting his head in his hand, staring at her. She looked so beautiful and so peaceful. She must've been working hard without rest. He decided to leave her falling asleep for a while.
Any thoughts?