The Transfer: A Glee Fanfiction

Chapter 13

When Rachel woke up the next morning, she didn't have any motivation to put an effort into her looks. She put on a fresh uniform, and brushed her hair, leaving it down. She didn't bother to put on any makeup, so the bruises stood out against her olive skin. Rachel couldn't bring herself to care about them or about what people would think when they saw them. She couldn't bring herself to care about anything.

She grabbed her bag and her keys before going downstairs. Her fathers had left earlier this morning for the airport. Their 20th anniversary is this Saturday, and Rachel insisted they take a vacation. They're going to New York City for five days, and they won't be back until Monday night. Most parents wouldn't leave their teenager home alone for five days, fearing their house would be destroyed by parties and under-aged drinking. Rachel wanted to believe that it was her fathers' immense trust in her that made them comfortable enough to go, but she knew it was because she didn't have any friends to party with anyway.

She skipped breakfast and went straight to her car. When she arrived at school, there was still almost an hour before her first class started. Rachel pulled out a book and tried to read it, but she couldn't focus on any of the words long enough to absorb them. She got out of her car and walked up to the front doors. To her surprise, they opened easily under her hands. A blast of heat hit Rachel as soon as she stepped inside, washing away the chill from outside. She roamed the empty halls until she found her locker and deposited her bag and jacket.

Rachel heard a faint humming sound from somewhere down the hall, and figuring that there wasn't anything else she could do to kill time, she followed it. The noise grew louder and louder as she walked to the end of the hall, and the closer she got the more obvious it was as to what was making it. The humming turned into a mumbled melody, and then into a quiet song. When Rachel opened the auditorium doors, she recognized the song immediately: "Smooth" by Santana. One of her favorite non-Broadway hits. Jesse's unmistakable voice was belting out the chorus as Rachel walked in.

“And its just like the ocean under the moon,

Well that's the same as the emotion that I get from you.

You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah.

Give me your heart, make it real,

Or else forget about it.”

Rachel peeked her head around the corner to see the stage. The bright lights were on, and underneath them was the one and only Vocal Adrenaline. Jesse was, as always, singing lead while the rest of the group sang back-up. The guys were all dressed in tight, black T-shirts and blindingly white skinny jeans. The girls had the feminine version: tight black tank tops with snowy white, frilly mini skirts and heels that hurt Rachel's feet just to look at.

Rachel watched the legendary group perform in front of her. She didn't pay much attention to the lyrics, though. She was watching their movements and expressions as they went through the song. Rachel would have liked to say she payed each member fair and equal attention, but the truth was she had focused on Jesse for most of it. The way he lost himself in the music, completely surrendering himself to the performance, always amazed Rachel. Jesse was the only person she knew that was as passionate about performing as she was. That was why she was so drawn to him in the first place: not his looks, or his charm, or even his talent. It was his passion.

And then he broke her heart. What a waste of time that boy was, she thought to herself.

Rachel shook her head to clear her mind and refocused on the stage. It was all perfect: the song, the choreography, the look, everything. Textbook perfection. But as she watched the song come to a close, Rachel felt like something was off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew it was there.