Rachel stood at the entrance to NYADA, just gazing up at the large historic building with mixed emotions flooding her system. She was excited to be here, she was finally on her steps to becoming a Broadway actress but yet she was nervous, it felt like the first day of High School all over again and just the thought of that day made her shiver. She wanted it to be different at NYADA, she actually wanted to make friends on her first day rather than halfway through her school experience. What made it different to McKinley was that Rachel knew that everyone who had been accepted was incredibly talented, and now this was the real test for her to truly stand out and make a name for herself.
She clutched her soy latte in hand and turned to Kurt who had willingly accepted her offer to walk with her to her first day as long as she agreed that he got to pick the first musical for their musical night along with the food they would eat, she had begrudgingly agreed because truthfully she felt far too nervous to go alone. "Thanks for coming with me Kurt"
Kurt smiled, "No problem diva, just remember our deal" He winked and smirked as she rolled her eyes.
"I won't. Just as long as you promise that we don't do a complete rerun of Judy Garland's works. I mean I love her as much as you do but there's only so many times you can watch her complete works in a week"
Kurt pursed his lips, "Fine" He fake pouted. "But I'm still picking and my choice stands, agreed?"
"Agreed" Rachel nodded and pinky promised him.
"Good, now go on before you're late for your first day"
"Okay Dad" Rachel giggled and gave him a quick hug before rushing off to the auditorium for the orientation, she was excited to get her schedule and hopefully meet some new people who were just as passionate about Broadway as she was.
After what seemed like forever, Rachel had finally managed to find the auditorium, it was already packed and there were still minutes to go until it was to begin. She hummed softly as she tried to find a seat, without thinking too much she immediately went to the middle row and the middle seat where she had a perfect view of the stage. As she had been down to retrieve her notepad and pen from her bag she felt movement to her right hand side as someone sat down beside her. She glanced up to find a girl with long blonde hair smiling down at her.
"Oh, hello" Rachel smiled and sat back up in her seat. "I'm Rachel Berry. It's nice to meet you" She stuck out her hand towards the girl who immediately took it and shook it.
"I'm Maddie Brennan. It's nice to finally meet someone, I was so nervous coming alone" Her blue eyes twinkled with happiness
"Me too, my best friend Kurt didn't get in this year so I was nervous wreck at the thought of having to meet new people, it's never been my best trait"
"Let me guess" Diana grinned, "People thought you were too overconfident and cocky because you knew you had talent and they wanted to take you down a peg or two?"
Rachel's mouth fell open in surprise, in all of two minutes the girl had already guess her high school history. "That's exactly right. I take it the same thing happened to you?"
Diana nodded with a sigh, "High School was the worst experience of my life. They said it would be the best 4 years of your life but instead all I got was ridicule and hurtful comments thrown my way all because I knew where I was going and what I wanted to do with my life"
"At least you didn't get slushied" Rachel frowned, the memory of how cold it felt on her skin and how sticky it was when it dried in was etched in her brain for eternity.
"What's that?"
"You know the big cups of frozen ice you get in 7/11?" Rachel asked, Diana nodded in understanding. "Well some Neanderthal jocks and sometimes the cheerios, they were the cheerleaders at McKinley, came up with the not so clever idea of throwing said ice drink all over their unsuspecting target which was often me"
Diana's eyes widened, "That sounds horrific! Did your principal not do anything about them?"
Rachel let out a bitter laugh, "No, our principal was not a supporter of the performing arts, he instead relished the athletes and cheerleaders because he thought they were would be the ones who would bring fame and glory to McKinley high. I come from Lima, Ohio and it is the most sports obsessed town you will ever come across, it's such a backwards town as well"
"That sounds awful" Diana gave her new friend a look of sympathy. "I'm glad I didn't go through anything that bad"
"I wouldn't wish it on anyone" Rachel smiled sadly at her, ready to go onto a new subject when she felt movement to her left, she was eager and ready to introduce herself to possibly her new friend but that feeling all but disappeared when her eyes met the stony blue ones she had been dreaming about for a long time. It felt like time slowed down and her breath got caught in the back of her throat, her stomach feeling like it had just been punched as she struggled to find her breath.
"Jesse" She finally managed to get out
"Rachel" Jesse smiled, not his usual cocky I'm-better-than-you smile, but his 'Jesse' smile the one he had reserved for her.
"W-What are you doing here?"
"At NYADA?" He questioned and she nodded, fearing the answer to his question. "I'm here to study, just as you are I presume"
Rachel felt her stomach churn at the thought, it felt like she was ready to vomit at any moment, why now of all days did she have to pick the middle seat in the middle row with no way of escaping? As she turned away from him, her eyes firmly planted on the empty stage, she could still feel his piercing gaze on her, it was making her hair stand on end and her heart race, she didn't know how to feel about it. With Finn she never had a reaction like this, but with Jesse it had always been so intense and electrifying, she knew that was what you should feel in a relationship and that had scared her.
Now here they were, both starting their freshman year at college and both with new starts ahead of them. Rachel should have known that he would be here in New York, it was an inevitably after all. Out of the corner of her eye she saw his mouth open to speak once more but that was when Dean Tibideaux decided to walk out onto the stage and Rachel had never been more grateful for an interruption.
"Good Morning freshman class. And welcome to your first year at NYADA. I'm here today to give you a brief welcome and introduction to what your life will be like at NYADA" She pointedly glanced out at the crowd, the students as always were hanging on her every word, not daring to breath let alone utter a single word. "It will not be easy. Most of you will go on to continue your studies and complete your 4 year journey to stardom. The rest of you will either flunk out because you will not be meeting the high standards that we expect of you or you will drop out because you cannot take the pressure. And I highly hope that the second scenario will not be an option because if you expect to succeed on Broadway or any other performing arts career and drop out of one of the most prestigious schools in New York then I'm sorry to say you will need to find a new dream"
Rachel's eyes widened, she knew it was going to be tough at NYADA she was with the best of the best after all, but to here the Dean's words made reality sink in for her. This was it. This was her sole chance at getting the fame and recognition she had longed for her and she was not about to mess it up now.
"I am now passing out your class schedules for this semester. You all have to choose a non-compulsory subject to take along with your mandatory subjects. And I urge you to choose wisely, selecting a subject off a whim and then realising it is not for you and wanting to change is not widely accepted here at NYADA. You want to ensure that it is the right one you want even if it is only optional" Carmen watched from the stage as the schedules were handed out, her eyes landing on the familiar face of Rachel Berry who looked as if she was trying to memorise it already, she was definitely going to keep an eye and ear out for her, she expected big things from her.
"Finally, this Friday afternoon you will all prepare a song of your choosing and perform it on front of your classmates and myself" Carmen paused for a moment to let the outbreak of gasps and whispers float around the students before it quickly died down once again. "This performance will determine your fate at NYADA. It will either make you or break you. If you fail, then you will be cut from the program and we will allow you to reapply for the next semester but heed my warning. Failure is not tolerated at NYADA, you are the best of the best and we expect great things. I certainly do not appreciate or condone disappointment. So choose your songs wisely, duets will also be fine if you so choose. Now you are all dismissed, classes will begin next week and along with your schedules there are books that you are required to procure for your non-practical classes so please ensure you pick those up immediately. Good day to you all"
As Carmen Tibideaux left the stage the hall was only silent for a moment before an outbreak of chatter grew as the students began to pack up their things and leave. Rachel however was frozen in her seat, fear in her eyes and a sick feeling in her stomach. Jesse stared at her, worry clearly evident in his eyes. "Rachel?"
She didn't answer. He sighed, he just knew that she was worrying herself too much and if he didn't stop it now then a Rachel Berry drama would ensue. He gently placed a hand on her face and turned her head gently so she was now staring at him. "Rachel Berry, you listen to me. You deserve your place at NYADA, you worked hard to get here, even through your choking incident" Rachel winced at the memory but Jesse knew he was getting through to her. "You are not going to be a failure. You are going to work your ass off like you always do and after Friday you will still be here. Even Carmen Tibideaux knows it so please don't stress yourself out"
Rachel felt her bottom lip quiver as she listened to Jesse's words, even after all the drama they had been through together he knew how to talk her down from stressing out. But she couldn't help but think what if everyone back at Lima was right? What if she was going to be a failure and ended up back at Lima? She couldn't help it as a single tear fell from her eye, Jesse was quick and wiped it away gently with his thumb.
"I'm sorry" Rachel sniffed, "It's only my first day and already I'm crying. I don't even know how I'm going to get through it here"
Jesse chuckled, "Rachel Barbra Berry, are you forgetting that you almost single handedly won Sectional's with your performance of Don't Rain On My Parade? You carried your Glee club the while way through all of your performances. If you can do that, then you can definitely do this. Besides, you have me here to help you along the way" Jesse smiled, hinting at something more between them eventually. "That is, if you let me"
Rachel blinked and stared dazedly at him, was he really offering to help her? After everything that had happened between them he was still offering to be there for her and help her. He was really a Saint if he was willing to do that for her. "You would really do that for me?"
Jesse laughed, "Of course I would Rachel. Now I don't want to bring the mood down but we definitely still need to talk and clear the air. But you know I've always been your number one supporter and I always will be. I want to help you on your way to greatness, if you allow me"
Rachel nodded, not quite sure how to feel but certainly feeling a lot happier than she had been. "Of course Jesse, I would really like that. And I know we still have to talk, there's still a lot of hurt between us but I'm hoping with time that the hurt will heal" She smiled at him and Jesse almost swooned, he had missed the sight of her smiling brightly at him, her brown eyes glistening with happiness and excitement, he had pictured her doing that again for so long that he couldn't believe it was happening now.
"Well then Ms Berry" Jesse grinned and stood up from his seat, offering his arm for her to take. "Why don't we go get some coffee and we can discuss everything? I'm already excited to hear your song options which I already know you've been thinking of since she even mentioned performing"
Rachel laughed, and not a fake laugh but a proper belly laugh, it had been a while since she had been able to laugh like that but Jesse had always brought that out from her. Maybe having him here wouldn't be so bad. "Why of course Mr St James" She grinned and tucked her hand into his arm and followed him out of the building, ready to see where their new friendship would lead them.