The New York streets were alive and full of noise: drivers were honking at each other to move, tourists were standing chatting and laughing as they took selfies and pictures of New York's grand monuments, even the hot dog vendors and newspaper stands were shouting at people to come and buy something. It was a lot noisier than Rachel had anticipated, after coming from a quiet town like Lima she had gotten used to it being quieter, it was more peaceful. But now here she was ready to begin her destiny in New York and ready to begin it on her own.
Finn and she had broken up a few weeks before graduation and it had been the best decision she has made. Rachel hadn't realised just how much she had sacrificed and changed for Finn, and in return Finn had done nothing in return for her. She knew deep down that she would always be that moon eyed girl who freaked him out in his first Glee rehearsal to him and she wasn't willing to sacrifice her dreams just to make him happy. Finn did not understand at all, he didn't understand why she had to get out of Lima and why she had to go straight away; he had tried to persuade her to defer her NYADA admission to the following year so she could help him find his purpose but Rachel had finally had enough. Her patience was growing thin and it all accumulated in an ugly break up, quite a public one too.
But she was moving on from that now, she had bigger things to attend to now. And now here she was in the city she's always dreamed of living in and getting ready to start her dream. She turned her head to the side and smiled at Kurt's reaction, he was staring at New York with a look of awe and wonder on his face. Even though he didn't get into NYADA this year Rachel had managed to persuade him to come with her, he wasn't sure what he was going to do just yet but Rachel would try her best to help him find something.
"You ready Kurt?"
Kurt turned to face his best friend, a grin spread across his face. "Ready as I'll ever be Miss Berry. Do you have that address we're going to for the apartment?"
"Of course I do" Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone to quickly type in the address onto her maps.
"It's not too far from here. Let's go"
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Safe to say that as soon as Kurt and Rachel saw the apartment in Bushwick they wanted it immediately, sure they knew it was in a not-so-nice neighbourhood and they had to get a long train to get to where they wanted to go but it was full of potential. Potential to make it their own, Kurt was already scrap-booking ideas on what their living room was going to look like. And the potential to make so many new and incredible memories. Rachel was just grateful that she didn't have to spend her first year in the dorm rooms at NYADA; she had heard some horror stories about what goes on there.
Their first few weeks in New York had flew in, with the help of their friends and family they now had acceptable furniture in their apartment, minus doors for their bedrooms which meant that there were now two sheets hanging to give them privacy. With everything now sorted and feeling more at home Rachel and Kurt were able to enjoy being in New York a bit more.
"Are you ready for NYADA next week? That's going to be exciting" Kurt sipped on his drink as they took a seat in a quiet café that was near NYADA, Rachel had ultimately decided to spend the day locating various cafés, book stores and vegan stores near the school so she didn't have to panic on her first day. Kurt was more than willing and had even managed to drag Rachel to do some shopping; he was adamant that he was going to give her a New York makeover. Now they were spending some time in a boutique café that Rachel had managed to find when looking at recommendations.
"I am" Rachel smiled in reply, "I'm just excited to finally get a new start out here. This is my dream you know? So it feels a bit surreal that we're finally here but I couldn't imagine being here with anyone else than my best friend"
Kurt smirked and waved his hand playfully, "I'm glad to be here. And I'm glad you managed to talk me into coming. I don't know what I would have done if I was stuck in Lima for another year"
"I can be very persuasive when I want to be" Rachel smirked, stirring her own drink with a wooden stick while waiting for it to cool down.
As the two fell into a comfortable silence and while Rachel checked her phone, Kurt decided to people watch for a bit, it was one of his favourite hobbies back in Lima but it got tedious after a while because every person looked the same. But here in New York you never knew what you were going to see, just on the train ride here he had saw someone dressed as the statue of Liberty. Kurt soon found his eyes drawn to a familiar looking head of curly brown hair; he pursed his lips as he tried to think of where he knew that head from. It didn't take long for his question to be answered as the guy with the hair laughed and the spoke.
"You've got to be kidding me. You cannot compare Grease and The Phantom of the Opera in the same sentence. They are two completely different musicals and both in different leagues of their own"
Kurt knew that voice; it was one you couldn't forget. It was Jesse St James and as the head turned slightly his side profile confirmed that it was. His eyes flickered to Rachel who was completely oblivious as to what was going on. Kurt was torn between two places, should he tell Rachel or should he not tell her? He was all in for a St Berry reunion but if he told her now she would more than likely flip but if they just so happened to bump into one another then maybe there would be a chance of something happening?
"I'll be back in a minute Rach, I forgot some sugar" Kurt smiled sweetly before dashing from the table, he made sure to pick up some sugar so Rachel would buy his excuse but on his way back he noticed that Jesse was now standing up and getting ready to leave. With a plan in motion he made his way towards Jesse. Now it was time for his acting skills to come into play. Kurt pulled his phone out of his pocket and started typing a fake text to Blaine ensuring that he ended up bumping into Jesse.
"Ouch! Watch were you're going....Kurt?"
Kurt glanced up to see the surprised look on Jesse's face and boy was it worth it. He was looking like he just seen a ghost, and then he saw his eyes drift over Kurt's shoulders. Kurt knew he was looking for Rachel and he couldn't help but smirk. "Sorry about that St James. I was just texting Blaine and wasn't watching where I was going"
Jesse nodded and shrugged, "Its okay. Sorry for being blunt. So Kurt, how are you?" He smiled at him
"I'm good thanks. Just glad that myself and Rachel have finally gotten to New York. We thought we weren't going to make it out of Lima alive"
"Rachel's here?" Jesse perked up slightly, resting the urge to look around for the small brunette girl who he still loved dearly.
"She is" Kurt nodded, trying his best not to smirk. "She got into NYADA"
"So I heard" Jesse smiled, his heart swelling with pride at the good news. But then a sinking feeling hit his chest like a ton of bricks, if Rachel was here then that surely meant the beanstalk wouldn't be far behind him. A frown immediately replaced the look of glee on his face. He put on a show face just as quickly and smiled at Kurt. "Sorry Kurt but I've got to get going. I have a vocal lesson starting shortly"
Kurt nodded in understanding, "That's okay. Do you mind if I take your number? I can keep you updated on all things Rachel Berry related until you finally man up to speak to her"
Jesse quirked an eyebrow, "And why do you think I'll be speaking to Rachel? I haven't seen her since that fiasco at Nationals"
"Because it's you two. No matter what you always find a way to reconnect and believe me with the both of you in New York it's only a matter of time before you end up finding your way back into each other's arms" Kurt grinned as he handed his phone to Jesse so he could input his number. "Thank you"
"No problem and one more question"
"Ask away"
"Why are you being so nice to me? Last I knew, you hated my guts"
Kurt pursed his lips, "True but I think I was just jealous of what you and Rachel had. I was single and lonely at that time and I truly did not like seeing you two constantly loved up. Other than that I had no problem with you" He answered truthfully. "And truth be told, I'm rooting for you two to get back together. Everyone needs a bit of St Berry in there life"
"St Berry?" Jesse chuckled
"Your ship name" Kurt pointed out. "You know Berry and St James combined. I made names for all the couples in Glee club at one point or another. So hurry up and get St Berry 3.0 going"
Jesse couldn't help but laugh, if he kept in contact with Kurt they could easily have a nice friendship and he just knew that Kurt would certainly keep to his word and update him on Rachel's life events, even though Puckerman was already doing that but he didn't want to admit that bit of information just yet.
"Thanks Kurt, I appreciate it" Jesse smiled. "But I really have to get going so I'll see you later?"
"You definitely will" Kurt grinned and shook Jesse's hand in a mutual understanding and let the older boy go. He smirked as his plan finally got put in action, he quickly walked back to the table where Rachel was patiently waiting.
"So what did I miss?"