Run

New Beginnings

The bell finally rung and signalled the end of class, Rachel had been grateful for two reasons; the first being that she no longer had to listen to the worst original songs that had ever been written, and that was saying something. The second being that she no longer had to feel the feeling of Jesse's gaze on her the whole way through the class. She gathered her belongings as quick as she could before an unknown hand stopped her from lifting her song book into her bag. Rachel sighed and glanced up, but was pleasantly surprised to see it was not who she was thinking. Instead it was Brody, who was smiling charmingly at her and she couldn't help but smile back. 

"Do you need something Brody?"

Brody chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Actually yeah. This might be quite brazen of me to ask but...I was just wondering if you wanted to have a cup of coffee with me? If you're not too busy"

Rachel was beyond shocked, the guy barely knew her and was already asking her on a date, granted it might not be a date, it could be that he was trying to be friendly and know more people in his class but there was something in the way that he looked at her that made her feel like it was more of a date. Once again she felt that gaze on her back, he couldn't stop staring at her for five minutes! Even without looking at him Rachel knew that he was annoyed, maybe even angry, but he had no right to be jealous of who she spoke to after what he did. And he didn't even have the decency to come after her when she left, that really showed his true colours. 

Without missing a beat, Rachel smiled and fluttered her eyelashes at Brody, "Of course Brody, I'd like that" 

"Great!" Brody grinned as he handed Rachel her last book, they both lifted their bags and left the classroom together, neither acknowledging the steely glare of Jesse St James as they left. 

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The coffee shop was busy as usual at this time of the day, it was mostly filled with NYADA students who were just finished a class or passing the time before their next. Rachel drummed her fingers lightly on the table as she gazed out the window, waiting for Brody to return with their drinks. Part of her felt some guilt for completely ignoring Jesse during the class, but then the reasonable side of her kicked in and she knew she had every right to ignore him. He hurt her. Again. She didn't know how many times she could keep going through the same thing with him, she wasn't willing to put herself through even more hurt. 

Rachel turned her attention away from the window and tried to get Jesse out of her mind, and the perfect distraction just happened to appear as Brody sat back down with their drinks. Brody smiled sweetly at her as he pushed her cup towards her.

"Thank you Brody" Rachel smiled, taking a small sip of the warm and frothy coffee. 

"My pleasure" Brody grinned, taking a sip of his own drink before staring at Rachel with a small smile. 

"What? Have I got something on my face?" Rachel's eyes widened, her hand immediately covering her mouth in case it was covered in foam.

Brody just laughed and shook his head, "No, don't worry. If there was I would have politely told you" 

Rachel felt her cheeks flush, the temptation was to look away from Brody and to try find the nearest exit; she always had hated embarrassing herself. "Then why were you staring?"

"I like watching people" Brody shrugged. "I like to try and figure out their story without them having to tell me in so many words" 

Rachel raised an eyebrow, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms across her chest. "Okay then" She smiled, a challenging look in her eyes. "And what did you figure out about me?"

Brody leaned forward and studied her for another moment or two; taking in her body language, her facial expressions and the way she spoke to him. Once he thought he had an accurate he leaned back in his own seat, ready to answer her open challenge. "Well, firstly, I noticed in class that you have some amount of guts on you for performing your own original song and with so much feeling in it. That takes a lot of courage, and I can tell you have lots of it"

Rachel nodded absentmindedly, feeling even more intrigued with what Brody had to say now, she remained silent and let him continue on. 

"I can tell that you have been through a hell of a lot" Brody studied the way her face changed ever so slightly, different emotions fleeting across her features before it rested into a poker face, and a rather good one at that."I don't know what's happened to you in the past, and we don't have to speak about it if you don't want to. I'm not going to intrude" Brody smiled sympathetically, knowing himself how hard it was to trust a person with such personal feelings and thoughts. 

"But it seems that you can turn anything negative that happens into you, into art through your songs and your performance. It's quite mesmerising to watch actually. I've never met anyone that has had that amount of passion or courage before. It's something I'd like to learn" He admitted 

Rachel was speechless as she stared at Brody, in a matter of minutes he had managed to begin unravelling the never ending enigma that was Rachel Berry. "I'm impressed" She admitted a few minutes too long. "Usually people don't pay that amount of attention on me, they just overlook me and think that I'm just the annoying show choir girl who never shuts up about Broadway and her future. I'm glad that someone has managed to look beneath my flaws and appreciate the work that I do" 

Brody nodded in understanding, "Artists should always appreciate artists. I don't get people who  like to tear down their peers. But with that being said some of the hardest positions we've been in, usually help us become stronger and more resilient. And I can see that in you Rachel, don't let  anyone try to take that away from you" 

Rachel couldn't help but smile at his words, her mind no longer thinking of the curly haired man she had walked away from, but instead she was now focusing on the man on front of her, someone who after only a few minutes could understand her thoughts and feelings. Well, at least she hoped so, it had only been an hour or so. But she found that she didn't mind getting to know Brody at all, in fact she would be more than happy to spend some more time with him. 

Authors Note: Sorry for not updating in so long! This is just a filler chapter, I've been struggling with some writers block but I will update again soon!