The Transfer: A Glee Fanfiction

Chapter 8

“Good morning, Mr. St James,” he said. “Rachel, this is Jesse St James, a senior and the male lead of Vocal Adrenaline. He will be your guide around campus for the next few weeks.”

“We’ve met,” Jesse said. Rachel finally turned around to look at him, her face as pale as paper. He was looking down at her, his green eyes gleaming and his mouth curved up to one side in a grin. Rachel felt a thousand emotions flowing through her: anger, sadness, panic, heartbreak, and, even though she wasn’t happy to admit it, she felt a twinge of excitement. Jesse had been her first real(ish) boyfriend and her first (very) real heartbreak. It took more than the few months since she’d last seen him to get over feelings like that.

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Principal Howard exclaimed. “It will be much easier for you to adjust already knowing someone here.”

It took Rachel a second to regain her composure. She had come too far, disappointed too many people on her road to freedom to let someone like Jesse ruin it. She forced the smile back onto her face and nodded, afraid that if she tried to respond verbally her voice would give away the screaming in her head.

“Well, there’s still twenty minutes before first period,” Jesse said, his smooth voice like nails on a chalkboard in Rachel’s ears. “Why don’t I show Rachel around a bit?”

The last thing Rachel wanted to do was walk around campus with her ex-boyfriend and act like everything was fine, but staying in Principal Howard’s office waiting for the ticking time bomb that was the tension between her and Jesse to explode was a close second.

“That’s a great idea!” she said, her voice an octave higher than usual. She sprung up from the plush chair and stuck out her hand to Principal Howard. “Thank you for you help, Mr. Howard.”

“Of course,” he said, shaking her hand. His palm was rough and it matched his voice. “Come see me if you have any questions.”

Rachel barely waited long enough to nod in his direction before rushing out of the office and making her way to the parking lot. She didn’t bother to look behind her to see if Jesse was following her; she knew that he would be.

Striding back into the early January air sent a shiver down Rachel’s spine. She took a few steps before turning, and sure enough, Jesse was right behind her.

“What the hell?” she said. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the University of Los Angeles?”

“I flunked every class in the first semester,” he said, taking a step forward. Rachel immediately took a step back, almost stumbling over herself. “I didn’t learn anything in high school. I never went to any of my classes; the only thing I did was show choir. I came back to actually get an education.”

Rachel didn’t know what to say. She had been so ready to throw accusations and angry insults at him, but the look of shame on his face kept the words in her mouth. Rachel wasn’t a mean person; she didn’t care what he did to her, she wasn’t about to add insult to his injury. There was a long pause before a small smile began to form on Jesse’s lips.

“It’s good to see you again, Rachel,” he said. “I’ve really missed you.”

“Don’t,” she said, her heart twisting painfully in her chest. “You’re not allowed to miss me. Not after what you did.”

His smirk fell, and his playful expression turned into one of deep regret and pain. “Rachel, I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to you, and I don’t expect you to, either,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of awful things in my life, but what I did in that parking lot was by far the worst. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret crushing that egg on your forehead. If it takes the rest of my life, I will make it up to you.”