Forever Has to Start Somewhere
Chapter 17: Special Education II
Jesse sat on the edge of his bed watching Rachel as she slept.
The sun was still out, streaming in through the silver curtains over the windows, but Rachel had been so exhausted after getting everything out that she'd asked if it was alright for her to take a nap.
Wanting nothing more than to wipe the broken look from Rachel's eyes, Jesse had happily offered his bed.
She was currently sprawled stomach down in pair of his shorts and one of his tee-shirts. She'd put up a half-hearted fight about the clothing – claiming she didn't need pajamas for a nap – but had given up that argument rather quickly.
A sharp knock resounded through the room.
Jesse looked away from her to find his uncle peeking in through a crack in the door. "Is Rachel asleep?"
"Yeah," Jesse answered with a small nod. Rachel had fallen asleep with their hands clasped. Her grip had loosened once she fell asleep, but his stayed tight. He rubbed his thumb along the edge of hers. "She was gone as soon as she hit the pillow."
"That's good. She had a rough day." They were quiet for a minute before Josh asked, "Is it really that bad for her all the time?"
"Yes," Jesse said without any hesitation. "It was worst last year. She has a few friends now whereas before she didn't have anyone."
Josh watched the two of them for a moment. Then he said, "Jesse, the two of you are serious right?"
"Yes." Jesse glanced back down at Rachel. When he looked back up, his face was calm and serious. "Rachel and I are an inevitability. I don't ever want to let her go but I know that if something happens and I have to, we'll drift back to each other. Someday, years from now because we're still young, I'm going to marry her."
There was another beat before Josh nodded. "Alright then."
"You aren't going to tell me I'm being ridiculous?"
"Nope." He gave a shrug. "Despite what people may tell you Jesse, being young doesn't invalidate your feelings. What you're telling me is really how you feel. As long as you work for that future, as long as you don't assume inevitability means your relationship will be easy or without work, I have very bit of faith that you'll get there."
"Thank you," Jesse murmured. "It's nice to knows there's someone in our corner."
"I am always gonna be, kiddo." His eyes flitted over to Rachel before he said, "Knowing you want to marry her is certainly making my decision easier."
"Decision?"
"We can't let her live like this," Josh said. "After hearing everything, I came up with a plan that could make things better for her. You're both going to have choose between the lesser of what you may consider two evils, but with the St. James name and a small chunk of money we can make it work."
"I'll get her to agree." Jesse saw his uncle's eyebrows raise, as though he were surprised Jesse was agreeing to his plan before he had even heard it. "You wouldn't suggest anything that would really hurt us and I can't go back to New York knowing that club is killing her. I can swallow my pride as long as things will get better for Rachel."
When Will Schuester was called into the principles office, he knew immediately that it was about Rachel Berry. He figured the girl had complained to her fathers and they had brought the issue to Sue. The new principle was sure to use the situation to her own advantage.
So, when he walked in he was a little surprised at the sight before him.
Rachel was sitting on the couch in the room. She wore a pair of black leggings with a black skirt, Will thought it might have been the one she was wearing the day before, and an oversized red hoodie that advertised a community production of Into the Woods. When she saw Will walk in, she straightened her back, folded her legs at the knee, and settled her hands in her knees.
A man with curly brown hair and green eyes stood at the edge of the couch nearest Sue's desk. He was wearing a closely tailored charcoal suit with a deep green tie tucked into it.
Will had met both Berry men and the man in front of him was neither.
"What's going on?" Will questioned as he made his way to the free seat in front of Sue's desk.
"Curly-Q's uncle," Sue said, waving a hand towards the other man in the room, "has come to me with concerns about the way your handling glee club."
"I figured," Will answered with a sigh. He turned to the man, "Look, Mr-"
"St. James," he interrupted. "Joshua St. James."
Will's eyes widened. "Jesse's uncle?"
Sue gave a roll of her eyes, "Who else would I call Curly-Q? I don't reuse my nicknames, double chin."
Will scowled at Sue before focusing back on Joshua, "Mr. St James, I won't give Rachel a solo just because you came in. She is not the only talented member of my glee club and-"
"I made it clear yesterday that I don't expect you to give me every solo, Mr. Schue," Rachel cut in. "I only expect to be featured in our performances because I am the best performer in the club. I simply expect that the solos in the club be given to be given to the most talented members of the club, not the meanest."
"Besides that," Joshua continued before Will could answer, "this meeting isn't about the set-list. It's about the way Rachel was treated in your club yesterday. When Rachel opposed the fact that you had given less talented members of your club the leads in a number for a competition, a classmate threatened her with bodily harm. You didn't say anything to that girl. Then when Rachel went to respond to what was clearly an attempt at shattering Rachel's psyche, you silenced her but didn't reprimand the girl who had made the original comment."
"What am I supposed to do?" Will questioned. "Tell Santana she can't discuss her own sex life?"
"Yes actually. Glee might be an after school activity, but I think we can all agree that the sex lives of the school's teenage students isn't a topic we should encourage."
"I reviewed the tapes from last nights glee rehearsal," Sue said. "I've decided that your behavior was unacceptable. My cheerio's may be mean girls, but I have always put a stop to their actions when they involved physical violence."
"Quinn didn't actually hit her!"
"But she's thought about it," Rachel murmured. "So who's to say she won't someday?"
"Now, I was in favor of firing you from your position as glee club director and suspending you from teaching, but a different plan was purposed by Rachel and Mr. St James is willing to funnel the money into the arts program to support it," Sue said. A wicked smile curled her lips, "And it's gonna hurt you a lot more then anything I could do to you. Especially being as it came around because you can't be trusted to keep your kids safe from each other."
"What is going on," Will mumbled, half to himself. All he'd done was take Emma's advice on letting all the talent in his club be displayed, and yet here he was being accused of encouraging bullying in his club and not making glee club a safe place for Rachel.
"You're getting a co-director," Sue said. "Mr. St James has agreed to pay for her salary."
"A co-director? Who?"
It was Rachel who answered, "Shelby Corcoran. She'll be starting next week, assuming we make it past sectionals in spite of your sub par set-list."
"How bad was it?" Jesse murmured as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Rachel was straddling him and his other arm was looped around her waist.
"Not fantastic," Rachel admitted. He rested his palm against her cheek and she leaned into the touch. "Some less then kind remarks were made by all members of the club when Mr. Schue told them."
"And did he say anything to them?" She gave a small shake of her head. He tapped his fingers against the spot under her ear. "That right there is why this had to be done. This came around because of his incompetence, not because of you."
She made a small sound. "It wasn't all bad, though. This morning Noah asked me if I meant what I said about him deserving solos and he seemed happy when I told him I did. I wish I could have spoken to him this afternoon before Glee...Shelby coming to teach us was a huge shock for him."
"Because of Beth?"
She gave a nod. "Noah never wanted to give her up."
"I know."
"Kurt was predictably wonderful," Rachel continued. "He told me he was excited to see what Shelby would bring to the club. He's hoping having her around will decrease some of the girl jokes from Noah and the others.
Jesse pursed his lips, wondering for a moment if now was a good time to bring it up. Deciding he would rather do it now then ruin a good mood later, he asked, "How are you feeling? I know you agreed to all of this last night but..."
"I'm fine," Rachel assured. "This isn't going to be like the last time Shelby and I interacted. We didn't reach out to her as my mother, we reached out to her as a coach and a teacher. As someone with the potential to improve a situation."
He hesitated again before saying, "She quit Carmel so that she could raise Beth. Do you really think her agreeing to our proposal so easily has nothing to do with you being her daughter?"
"I'm sure it does." She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "But that doesn't change anything from my perspective. She doesn't get to come back into my life now that she has her perfect golden child."
"You are perfect," Jesse asserted. He pressed his palm against her back so she scooted closer to him. "And I am so sorry she couldn't see that, baby."
"Not your fault," Rachel said. She pressed their lips together, leading him in a slow kiss.
When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together.
"Are you staying again tonight?" Jesse questioned.
"I don't think so. My dads aren't happy that I didn't go back to the house for clothes this morning. They wanted to talk to me about everything in person."
A small smile graced his lips as he remembered what Rachel had worn to school. He'd offered to take her back to her house before dropping her off, but she hadn't been ready to face her fathers and had chosen to rewear her skirt and throw on an old sweatshirt of his.
"We've got a few hours though?" he murmured. She gave a small nod. "Good. I've got plans for you."
E/n: So this was supposed to be the end of Special Education, but I've decided we're gonna do one more chapter before moving on.
Hopefully everyone is excited to see where things with Shelby will go!
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