Forever Has to Start Somewhere
Chapter 16: Special Education I
Jesse sat at his uncle's dining room table with his laptop in front of him. His legs were crossed under him. On either side of his face, he'd pinned his hair back with barrettes to keep it out of his face.
"Whatcha working on kiddo?"
He glanced up to see his Uncle strolling into the room.
"I thought you left for work," Jesse said.
"I took the day off. Wanted to spend some time with you."
"You didn't have to do that."
"I didn't have to," he agreed. "But I wanted to. You are the closest thing I have to a son, Jesse, and I want to spend time with you before you jet back to New York."
Fondness filled Jesse's chest. He'd always been closer to his uncle then his parents, but to have it laid out in such plain terms was something that didn't happen often. "Uncle Josh..."
His uncle shook his head, "Don't get all sentimental on me, kid. It's not your style."
"I've been doing a lot of things that are out of my style lately," Jesse answered.
"I've noticed." Josh took a sip of the water bottle in his hand. There was a small smile on his face when he lowered the bottle. "Rachel's been good for you, Jess. Really good."
"She has." Even though he knew the most likely answer to his question, Jesse said, "You like her, right?"
"Adore her," Josh confirmed. "She's kind and she cares for others a lot. At the same time, though, you have to watch out for her. You push that girl too far and she'll come at you like hells fury unleashed." He inclined his head towards Jesse, "That's part of why she's so good for you. She'll help you when you need it, but she won't let you charm her or push her around."
Jesse let out a small snort. "Rachel doesn't let me push her into anything. She'll ask me for advice, but she only takes it after hours of debate."
"Keeps you on your toes."
They were quiet for a few moments.
Then Josh said, "So, are you busy with your homework or do you have time to beat me in a few rounds of Rock Band?"
"Yeah," Jesse answered without hesitation. He'd finished the work he was missing in class this week before Thanksgiving break. He'd been working on beginning his review for his exams. He stood up, grinning. "Prepare to have your ass kicked, old man."
"Oh really?" Santana questioned, leaning down to speak near Finn's ear. "Because that's not what you said in that motel room last year."
There was a beat of silence before Rachel looked down at Finn. Fury was etched into every line of her face as she hissed out, "You slept with Santana?"
"Enough already!" Mr. Schue shouted from the piano.
His mouth was already open to continue when Rachel spun on him. She raised a finger at him, "You don't get to talk now, Mr. Schue."
"Excuse me? Rachel, I am your teacher and-"
"In this room you are a coach!" Rachel interrupted. "And you are a horrible one at that! You do not hand off duets for a real competition based on a silly club activity! Much less one that rigged! Finn voted for Quinn and Sam to keep Sam in the club, not because they were the best! Quite frankly, that title went to Tina and Mike!"
Mike's eyes widened. He let out a soft, "Really?"
Rachel glanced back at him and gave a nod, "Really. Your dance moves are spectacular and they would blow the judges away at sectionals if we had the vocals to back them."
"Rachel," Mr. Schue interrupted, his voice low with his own simmering anger, "I am not going to give you and Finn the duet just because-"
"Then don't give Finn and I the duet!" Rachel screeched, rounding back on him. "Give it to Kurt and I as we are absolutely your best performers! Give it to Noah and I if you want a more traditional male voice! Give it to Kurt and Mercedes or Tina since they are honestly the second best female voices in this club. Give it to Mercedes and I because we could blow the house down with the force of our voices." She took a step towards him, not stopping her tangent, "I am the most talented member of this club and that is not up for dispute! However, I have never said the other members of this club weren't talented as well! I demand to be showcased because it's what is best for this team, but I have never told you to shove the others into a box! You do that all by yourself. You are the one who forces the girls in this club to fight for the leads while giving Finn the lead in every number requiring a male. Despite the fact that Noah and Kurt have far better voices then he does!"
She spun now, turning her fury back onto Finn, "And you! I can't even stand to look at you right now."
"Why do you even care that I slept with Santana?" Finn questioned. There was a flicker of anger beginning to mix with his shock at Rachel's outburst. "You told me just a few weeks ago that nothing we had mattered to you."
"A few weeks ago you called me a slut in front of everyone in this room!" Rachel screamed. "I danced with Matthew in a way that was way more innocent then what we did for Push It last year or Toxic this year and you implied my boyfriend had turned me into a slut because of it! At least I lost my virginity to someone I'm in a committed relationship with – not someone who's slept with every guy on the football team!"
She set her jaw in place as she turned back to Mr. Schue, "I am leaving this room now. I expect that when I come back tomorrow you will have a more suitable set list than whatever you are planning with Sam and Quinn! And get rid of whatever eighties hit you had on that list as well because I can almost guarantee the Warblers will be singing Top 40 Hits given how Kurt complains about Blaine's Ipod selection. We are not fighting pop music with nostalgia."
Without another word, she spun on her foot and left a room full of gaping teenagers in her wake.
By the time Rachel reached Jesse's home, her anger had receded.
Left in it's wake was a deep sense of sadness.
She couldn't understand why Mr. Schue thought she was such a horrible person. Yes, she was driven and goal oriented and had a tendency to take things much to seriously, but she had been devoted to Glee Club since day one.
She couldn't understand why he was content to listen to Quinn tell her she had an urge to punch Rachel every time she opened her mouth, but shut Rachel down the second she got up to retaliate to Santana's attempts to goad her.
She climbed out of her car, making her way up the stairs of Jesse's home.
Rachel rung the doorbell and then rocked back on her heels, alone in her thoughts.
She never complained when they were doing their weekly assignments. In fact, she had complimented her teammates on their assignments multiple times and let them know how much she enjoyed their performances. She didn't understand why her having confidence in her abilities negated those things.
"Ye- Rachel? I thought you weren't gonna be here until five?" At the words, Rachel ripped herself from her thoughts. She looked up to find Jesse's uncle holding the door open, a concerned look on his face. "Sweetheart, are you crying?"
She reached up at his question. Her fingers came away from her cheeks wet.
"Oh," she murmured. Her voice shook even though it was only a small syllable. "I hadn't realized."
Before she could really process it, Josh St. James reached for her. He pulled her into him and hugged her tightly.
The second she wrapped in his arms, surrounded by someone who she knew would keep her safe and wouldn't begrudge her dramatics because he was used to them, she felt herself break down. Her tears fell freely down her face and her sobs shook her body.
"Shhh," he murmured into her hair. "Calm down, Rachel. Calm down."
"Who is it, Uncle Josh..." Jesse's voice fell off. His next word was heavy with concern, "Rachel?"
"It's alright, Jesse," Josh calmed. His grip on Rachel shifted. She thought he was looking over his shoulder at his nephew. "We've got her. It'll be okay."
"It won't," Jesse argued. She heard his footsteps as he crossed the foyer to them. She turned her head when she felt him near her, pressing her cheek against Josh's chest. She watched his heart shattered in his eyes at the sight of her tears and her chest heaving with the force it took to gain breath between sobs. Something dark, pure rage, assembled itself in it's wake. He demanded, "Rachel, what happened?"
Rachel hesitated. She knew Jesse would understand what had upset her, but she wasn't sure his Uncle would understand why the events of the day had rocked her so hard.
Even her fathers struggled to understand these things about her, they'd admitted to her before that they sometimes found her overly emotional and over dramatic, so why would Josh not think the same?
She didn't think she could handle being accused of being selfish in her state.
"Rachel, tell us what happened," Josh insisted. His hand rubbed a comforting circle along her back. "I promise I won't think any less of you. Nothing that upsets you this much is acceptable, no matter how ridiculous you may think it is."
She swallowed around the lump in her throat.
And then, feeling for the first time as though someone would truly listen to her about her situation at school, she told them everything.
E/n: So quick things to address:
1) I honest to god believe Will Schuester is an idiot. His behavior towards Rachel has always been unacceptable and given that I am a huge Rachel fan I absolutely will not let that shit fly in my fic. Maybe I over did it a bit in this chapter, but his treatment of Rachel in Special Education is honestly horrendous. He takes the chance to perform away from a girl who desperately loves and cares for her glee club and gives it to two of her biggest tormentors! And as mentioned int his chapter, he completely shuts Rachel down from arguing with Santana after she reveals that she slept with Finn even though Quinn had threatened her moments before.
2) Rachel's attitude in this chapter. I think some people might find her rant at a teacher out of character. I'd like to point out that Finn's relationship is known to bring down Rachel's confidence. With Jesse, she has someone who keeps her from being torn down by Santana or Quinn because he constantly builds her up. He reaffirms her talent with as much ferocity as Santana tries to tear it down and as a result I think Rachel would become even more firm in herself.
3) I am absolutely going to make Jesse and Rachel their own little family in this fic. Right now this includes Kurt, Adam, Brody, and Jesse's Uncle. I have one more addition planned which should come in the next chapter or two? I think two. I'm not sure yet. I'm pretty certain you guys are going to be surprised by it :^)
AND 4) Kurt! Not actually important to this chapter, but someone mentioned it in a review so i thought I'd clear something up. Kurt isn't transferring to Dalton, because the events that led to him transferring to Dalton never happened. He walked away from a confrontation with Karofsky and therefore never finds out his secret so the bullying doesn't escalate to the genuine terror.
okay! I might have had more to say, but this end note is getting entirely too long!
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