MAN TO MAN

[MISSING SCENE, 1x15 POWER OF MADONNA – Jesse St James has just transferred to McKinley to steal his dream girl and ruin his life, apparently. He promised Rachel he'd play nice and he meant it; he just needed to mark his territory a little too.]

Like a Prayer might not have been his first choice of Madonna song (and honestly, it wasn't, but Mercedes was pretty persuasive and offered to bring her church choir in to help them out. He thought about how awesome Rachel would sound with a choir, so... how could he say no?). And in the end it all sounded INCREDIBLE as Rachel made the angels jealous again (as usual) with that awesome choir lifting up her heavenly voice.

He thought his little 'peace offering' with his competition went pretty smoothly. He wasn't usually one to take the high road that often – especially not when directly challenged on his own turf (it's the quarterback in him that wants to WIN all the time, he guesses)... but he'd put himself in some perilous territory with Rachel lately due to his own total douchery over the past couple months and needed to learn from those lessons. He needed to be patient now.

He knew his best shot at this point was to just hang back and be chill. Be a friend. Rebuild her trust. And he'd been cultivating that kinship with her again for a little while now, he just... he had to remind himself that Rachel was stubborn and he needed to give her time.

Rachel was unlike any other girl he'd ever met – the largest part of her appeal, in his opinion – and she was worth the effort and worth the wait.

Whatever the hell denial she was in, or punishment she was inflicting, or temporary fixation she had on this Carmel Clown, he knew it couldn't last. They were fated. Bound by some deeper ties, some kind of crazy chemistry that had been there, percolating and bubbling under the surface since that first day in the auditorium when she groped the entire chorus line of their four other Glee-mates and pierced his armor, telling him in no uncertain terms HE was the one that she wanted... It just took a minute for the shell-shock to wear off for him to realize that he felt the same way.

Getting used to Rachel from the start was kinda like getting new glasses. Finn usually wears contacts, so most people don't know, but he has glasses too. And each time he's had to get a stronger prescription, they feel WEIRD at first. His vision even gets a little blurry and he sometimes gets headaches until his eyes have time to adjust to the stronger prescription. But once that initial period of adjustment is over, he sees everything sharper and more crystal clear than ever before. New glasses bring everything into focus after a while and then he can't ever go back to his old ones.

That's EXACTLY how it was for him about girls and in particular, falling for Rachel Berry.

So it's late afternoon and he's still lingering around the auditorium gathering up the sheet music the band left behind and he's feeling pretty proud of himself. He's laying the groundwork for new inroads to Rachel's heart and once the construction was complete, he knew her detour to St Jackassville would be a long forgotten afterthought.

He turns to leave the space in the school where he now feels the most at home, the space wherein he figured out that Rachel Berry was his destiny, when a voice in the darkness from the seats catches him off guard.

"Nice arrangement today, Hudson. I'm kind of impressed. Not quite up to Vocal Adrenaline standards, but not a bad effort at all. It'll get there."

Great. The absolute last guy he wants to see... then again, maybe this is an opportunity. The Art of War: know your enemy.

"Thanks Jesse. You sounded good for your first time performing with New Directions."

"Of course I did. I'm a professional, after all. It doesn't take much for me to adjust to a new... environment."

There's that St Jackass confidence and cockiness Finn already knows and hates. "Right. So uh, how come you're not with Rachel right now?"

"Oh, she had an appointment with her therapist, so her father picked her up. Plus I wanted to hang back and have a little chat with you. You know, mano a mano."

Seeing the crease in the taller boy's forehead, Jesse clarified "Man to man. Funny, I thought you were in Schuester's Spanish class?"

"Yeah, I am, but to be honest he's not the best Spanish teacher. Crap. Please don't tell him I said that. Uh, anyway... you wanna talk, with me, really? Why?"

"Well, you are the male lead and co-captain for the club, and as someone who's extremely familiar with the role, I just thought I'd offer my services. You know, maybe give you a few pointers from my many years of experience. We're on the same team now, after all. I know your club is new to the competition circuit and the underdogs, so to speak, but you could be a dark horse. We could surprise them all, together."

"Together, huh? So uh, not still carry a flag for your old team? You can just jump ship, change allegiances so easily?"

"This is my school now, Finn. As I've already established, I'm a professional... Besides, I like winning far more than clinging to old allegiances, and Vocal Adrenaline is in my past. So as a member of this Glee club, anything I can do to give McKinley a leg up, it's in my own best interest."

Finn nods his head, skeptical of the boy in front of him, but trying to remain neutral just the same. "Cool, thanks man."

"Also... I thought we should have a little chat about Rachel."

Finn might be aiming for upbeat and neutral but that doesn't stop his right hand from balling into a fist from inside his front pocket just hearing the shorter boy even mention her name. "What about Rach?"

Jesse felt himself tense a little at the taller boy's use of the nickname. It was too familiar, intimate almost, and something in his tone just put him off. "Look, Finn, I'm not going to beat around the bush. I know the history between the two of you. I know she cared deeply for you, and I know you broke her heart."

Finn frowned but didn't break eye contact. He couldn't let this dude have any more advantage than he already had, what with stealing Rachel out from underneath him and all. Part of the Art of War was mental though: let'em think they have the upper hand. Then strike when they least expect it.

"Oh. So she told you about us, huh?" Which means Rachel was thinking about him if she was talking about him. Was she maybe trying to make this dude jealous? Or was she somehow warning Captain Snotty Pants not to get too comfy? Finn decided he liked the second option best.

"She certainly has. In fact, when I'm unable to keep her focused on more interesting, culturally relevant conversation, you're virtually all she talks about. Sounds like you did quite a number on her... but man to man, I feel confident in sharing with you that I also know I'm just the rebound guy."

Finn's posture straightened at the words. Yeah, definitely the second option, he thinks as he tries to hide his smirk. Rebound guy, huh? Why hadn't he considered that fact?

"Listen Jesse, Rachel's not like most chicks. I know I screwed up with her. I regret letting her go, and I gotta live with my mistakes now. But y'know, she's different. She doesn't do anything halfway either. She loves big and falls hard and she's really fragile. It took me learning this stuff the hard way. So just, whatever it is between you two, don't hurt her. You might be the rebound guy or you might be the next big epic love of her life. Either way, if you hurt her, know there's gonna be consequences."

"Consequences?"

"Yeah. Consequences. I may have messed up, but I was trying to fix those mistakes before you showed up. I may not be the smartest guy on earth, but I know trouble when I see it. I said I'd keep the peace and be a team player with you – and I will. But I'm not Rachel, so you should know that I don't particularly trust you."

"I wouldn't expect you to. But I can assure you my motives are pure."

"Motives? You mean with Rachel or with our Glee club?"

Jesse smirked smugly. "Both, of course."

Finn pushed his chin out, almost a challenge. "Yeah. You'll forgive me if I'm having a hard time believing that – on either count. But I guess time will tell."

"Yes, I guess it will. . . . Forgive me for asking, but why did you break her heart? I mean, clearly you're invested now – I could see that from a mile away the moment I met you. In fact I knew it already from Rachel's rather detailed soliloquies."

Glossing over the fact he doesn't know what a soliloquy is (he assumed the dude meant Rachel's tendency toward chattering) he didn't shrink from answering the question posed. "Not that it's any of your business, but uh... I went through some stuff. Some really shitty, life-wrecking kinda stuff. And we got pretty close when Rach helped me get past it, well mostly. It's just... I guess there were some aftershocks."

"Ah yes, you must mean Quinn Fabray and the whole... incident with Noah Puckerman."

Finn's eyes popped a little in surprise. "So she told you about that too, huh?"

Jesse nodded. "She told me enough. That was a raw deal, by the way– no guy should ever have to face something so underhanded. I can see that sort of thing rattling a guy to his core."

"Yeah. It did, for a while. But so we're clear, I'm not rattled anymore. And I'm not done with Rachel either."

"You're not?"

"No, I'm not. I'm pretty sure she's not done with me either. She's just... stubborn."

"Yes, she certainly is."

"Glad we agree. In the meantime, I'm... I'm just tending my garden. Biding my time."

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yes. Good to know I have a little healthy competition." That smug smirk of his appeared again and Finn thought for just a split second how wonderful it'd feel to slap it right around to the backside of his skull. "I like a challenge. It keeps me sharp. And anyway... I don't think Rachel's done with you either. But she's with me now, and rebound or not, I'm with her."

"I'm aware. But that's just for today. You never know what tomorrow brings 'til it gets here."

"How very philosophical of you. I can sort of see it now, you know?"

"See what?"

"The appeal. Whatever it is Rachel sees in you... she's right. You're more than what most people see at a casual glance."

"Am I? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Jesse checked his manicure and replied without looking up. "Jury's still out, I guess we'll soon see. After all, spring is coming, right Mr Gardener?"

A crooked smile pulled up on Finn's face. "Right."

"Until then, I appreciate you knowing your boundaries. I'm really not sure the two of you can maintain a platonic friendship, so I'd appreciate it if you left me a wide berth, allow her the space she needs to make her own decisions."

Finn nodded once. "I can do that. Question is, can Rachel?"

"Well, I suppose we'll both be finding out, won't we?"

"Yeah I suppose so."

"Offer still stands on help with the choir. Anytime, just let me know."

"Cool."

"Good talk, Hudson."

"Yeah, you too St James. Just uh, remember what I said."

"About...? Oh, right – consequences."

"Yep. 'Cause I'm not going anywhere."

"I wouldn't want it any other way... surely one of us is going to come out smelling like a rose, and I have my suspicions as to which of us it'll be."

"Me too."

Jesse flashed an award winning grin. "Okay then, seems we understand each other. See you at rehearsal tomorrow?"

"Yep. Lookin' forward."

As Finn walked out of the auditorium with his earbuds plugged in, the opening chords of Don't Stop Believing' filled his ears. He sang along on his way to the parking lot "...hold onto that feeling..."

Yeah, it wouldn't be long now...he just felt it in his bones.

. . . . .

~F❤️R~

song credits:

Madonna - Like A Prayer
Journey - Don't Stop Believin'