new directions | glee

10. COME SAIL AWAY ☑️

CHAPTER TEN |
come sail away

***

WHEN KAYLA PULLS into the parking lot on Monday morning right next to a license plate that reads VCLAD, she knows she's in for the day of her life. She knew that license plate belonged to the one and only Jesse St. James. It hadn't changed since he first got his license, which meant that Jesse was here. Kayla knew it was about to be a bloodbath where Rachel's future was concerned. She just hoped Jesse hadn't gotten to her first.

She's speed-walking down the hallway, squeezing between students as her eyes dart around trying to see that familiar face. And then she sees him, standing right outside of the choir room. Jesse is watching Rachel teach through the window and he has a solemn look on his face.

"Jess," Kayla says and he turns around, his face breaking into a smile when he sees her.

"Hi, Kay." He grins, wrapping his arms around her. She melts into his warmth for the moment and basks in the scent of his cologne. It's so familiar that it could bring her to tears if she thought about it too much.

When he lets her go, he looks back at the door again and says, "She doesn't belong here."

She looks where he's staring and she can't help the smile that comes up on her face as she watches Rachel talk animatedly, her hands flinging here and there as she's instructing the club. Kayla thinks she's a great teacher now that she's started to get to know the kids, but she knows Rachel deserves more than this. She's just about to say that Rachel belongs in New York, but Jesse speaks first.

"She belongs with you." he looks at her pointedly.

Her breath hitches and she looks away from his eyes because they're saying too much. The silence is deafening, but Jesse isn't finished.

"I came here hoping that maybe I might have a chance with her again, but her desk has a picture of you on it and I see the way you look at her. You might not be together, but you've never been apart as long as I've known you. You belong together. What exactly are you waiting for?"

Kayla sighs, hands perched on her hips and staring at the floor. "We've tried this before. About three times at this point. Don't you think if we were actually meant to be that one of those attempts should have stuck by now?"

Jesse puts his hand on her shoulder. "Have you ever heard of right person, wrong time? That's what you two are. This time, the timing is right."

"You can't promise that. It's never been right before. First it was you, then it was Finn. Now it's her dreams. I can't get in the way of that." Kayla frowns.

"Don't you get it? You are her dream. Yes, Broadway calls her. She's meant to be a performer, but you're the only person who's ever challenged her. You believed in her when no one else did. That TV show was a mistake, but you stayed by her side and you've taken care of her during this comeback of hers. I've seen how happy she is on stage, but none of that compares to how happy she is with you."

Kayla takes a deep breath, trying to subside the tears she knows are coming. She stays silent and simply falls into Jesse's arms. Ever since she met that stupid diva, her life hasn't been the same. She's been in love with that girl for the better part of a decade and she knows that people say first loves are just supposed to say that, but she can't shake the feeling that they're supposed to love each other for the rest of their lives.

They've been through every up and down. She survived when Rachel was deep in the closet and jumped at the chance of being with Jesse so she didn't have to deal with her newfound feelings. She survived when Rachel pulled at her heartstrings and went right back to Finn. She survived when their lives were just going in different directions and they had to break up. She survived constantly feeling like second best to Finn, even when he passed. She survived her grief when he did, and never once did she ever feel like she could stop loving Rachel. Even when she was happy with Ollie, Rachel was always right there. Even when she loved Sam, it was never quite as real as how it always felt with Rachel.