Rachel had expected to achieve great things once she got out of Lima. Even though she hadn't been voted "Most Likely To Succeed" at her High School, in her mind she was. After her great grades and two consecutive National Glee Club Championships, it wasn't hard to get into Julliard, one of her top five schools.

But it didn't take long for her to realize she was really a small fish in a big pond, especially compared to how she was treated in Lima. Yet through her four years of college, she never gave up her dreams of making it on Broadway. She would star in a Broadway show and win at least two TONYS (like her hero Patti LuPone) and maybe even an Oscar (like her other hero Barbara Streisand)

She'd been going to auditions whenever she heard about them but had very little luck so far. Most of the casting directors said she wasn't pretty enough or just "didn't fit the part." But she didn't let it deter her at all. She had more ambition than was healthy and wasn't about to give up any time soon.

"Maybe you should think about getting a nose job." Gilda (Actually named Ashley but had changed it to stand out more) suggested.

"No way." Rachel said with conviction as she flopped down on her bed. Their New York apartment was small, hardly big enough for two people. Gilda didn't come from a wealthy family so she worked at Starbucks to help pay the rent. Rachel got money from her fathers but didn't like depending on them so much. She wanted to be more independent now that she was out of college. Although, until she found a job, she was glad for the money.

"Barbara Streisand never got a nose job." She reminded her roommate. "When Fred Astaire tried to get into show business, they said he couldn't sing or act and was balding but could dance a little. And look where he ended up!"

"Rachel, both of your examples became famous a long time ago. Times have changed. As a society, we are much more shallow. That and, you can't dance like Fred Astaire." Gilda reasoned as she got dressed for work.

"It's all a matter of finding the right part." Rachel said rolling over onto her back. She stared up at the gold stars she had taped to the ceiling above her bed. "It's all about the stars aligning."

"That's very poetic." Gilda said with a roll of her eyes. "Maybe the stars will align for me so I can stop making Mochas and lattes."

"Maybe." Rachel replied wistfully, keeping her eye on the star.

XXX

A few months later, Rachel had finished the workshop for a show she had landed a part in. It was a musical version of Bringing Up Baby, the old movie staring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. She had gotten the role of the stuffy fiancé and even though she was really only in two scenes, it was better than nothing.

The show was scheduled to start in three weeks off-Broadway. Hopefully after a few months they would move to Broadway. At least that's what she was praying for.

She practically skipped home, she was so elated. After so long, she had finally gotten her foot in the door. When she had first come to New York, she figured she would be discovered and the offers would come pouring in. She never thought it would take so long to get noticed.

She was turning onto her street when her phone rang. It was somewhat surprising. The only people that ever called her were Gilda and her fathers. Very few people had her number and she liked to keep it that way. She had too busy of a schedule to worry about relationships. Honestly, if she didn't live with Gilda, the two would probably rarely talk.

In a way, she felt bad for not keeping in touch with anyone from High School. New Directions had been a close-knit group of friends by the time they all graduated. But when Rachel left Lima for the big city, she left almost all of that life behind.

She dug through her purse attempting to locate her phone. Barbara was belting out 'People', her ringtone, as she struggled to find it among the chaos of her purse. She didn't like to leave the apartment unprepared so she kept most of her stage make-up and other things she would need right there with her.

"Hello?" she answered slightly out of breath from the anxiety of searching.

"Is this Rachel Berry?" a voice she didn't recognize asked.

"Yes…" she said with uncertainty.

"This is Michael Lyndon, I have your head-shot here and I think you'd be great for this part."

"Look pal," Rachel said sternly. "I have no interest in doing pornography."

The man on the phone burst out laughing uncontrollably. This only infuriated Rachel more. Who was this man and why had he called her out of the blue? It took the man a moment to calm down before speaking again.

"I'm not in the Porn Industry. I'm a casting director and I'm currently working on a revival of Oklahoma. Someone sent me your head-shot."

"Did you say Oklahoma?" she asked, ducking into a little candle store so she could hear better. The fumes were so strong it was giving her a headache.

"That's right." Michael answered.

"Where is it?" she asked excitedly.

"The Shubert Theater."

"What time do you want me there?"

"Is noon tomorrow good for you?" he asked.

"Noon's perfect." She said with a giant grin on her face.

XXX

Rachel walked onto the stage and felt her heart begin to race. It was a strange feeling, like this was her home. It was where she belonged. Oh, how she wished someone would turn the spotlight on and point it towards her. But since it was the middle of the day, there wasn't a need for a spotlight.

She took a deep breath and tried the concentrate on the lyrics to the audition song she had picked out. She had what she considered the perfect audition piece, If I Loved You from Carousel. It wasn't that Rogers and Hammerstein were particularly hard to sing, but she had to show she could pull of Laurey's range. And what better to sing when auditioning for a Rogers and Hammerstein musical than another song they'd written?

She flicked her hair off her shoulders and waited for the man named Michael to tell her what to do. There was a man sitting at the piano and Michael was sitting in the third row of the audience. She had no idea what they were waiting for but each passing moment was making her more and more impatient.

"Are we ready to get started?" a strangely familiar voice asked from off-stage. Rachel's breath caught as Jesse St. James strutted onto the stage. He stood near enough that Rachel could smell the mix of cologne and hair products but not too close.

"I believe we are." Michael called from the audience.

Jesse gave Rachel a quick glance before leaping off the stage with a grace she didn't think was possible. He went and sat down next to Michael and they both watched her expectantly. With this new arrival, Rachel felt her stomach start doing flips.

She hadn't seen Jesse since Regionals almost six years earlier. The years had been kind to him. His boyish locks were still in place and he seemed a bit more muscular than she remembered. But it was his face and his greenish-gray eyes that made the memories come flooding back. And just like that she felt as though an egg were running down her face.

"Whenever you're ready." Michael said encouragingly.

"What'll you be singing?" Jesse asked leaning forward in his chair, keenly interested.

"If I loved You from Carousel." Rachel responded, attempting the keep her voice level.

"Excellent." Jesse said leaning back with ease.

Rachel nodded at the pianist and waited while he played the intro. She opened her mouth to sing and willed her voice to be perfect. She had to be perfect if just this one time. Not just because HE was watching, but because this was the chance of a lifetime.

"If I loved you, Time and again I would try to say All I'd want you to know." After she'd sung the first few lines, she got into her element and relaxed. The words came easily, she'd sung this song a million times before, and it started to come naturally.

She did her best to look anywhere but at Jesse but eventually she couldn't help herself. Watching him watch her gave her the strength to put more emotion into the song. She couldn't remember the last time she'd sang like that. By the time she finished the last note, she felt like she had sung her heart out.

"Great job." Michael said giving her a small round of applause. Rachel smiled and gave a small curtsy in response. "Now Jesse, why don't you jump up there with her."

"Sure thing." He said getting out of his seat.

"What?" Rachel asked confused.

"We're going to have you two do a scene together." Michael explained.

"Oh." She was unsure how to respond. As Jesse walked up the stage steps towards her, she felt her fingers curl into a fist to the point where her nails were digging into her hand.

"Why don't we do the proposal scene?" Michael suggested. "The scripts are right there on the stage."

Jesse bent down and picked them up. He slowly handed one to Rachel and their fingers touched as she grabbed it out of his hands. Her actions made him smile and she hated him for it.

"Start on page 143, 'I want to See Curly'." Michael directed them.

They both flipped through until they found the right page. Rachel read the stage direction and Laurey was supposed to be crying in the scene. It was lucky she could turn on tears without any trouble.

"I want to see Curly awful bad, I gotta see him." She said, the tears rolling effortlessly down her cheeks.

"Why don't you turn around and look you crazy woman." Jesse said reading his lines.

"Oh Curly." She said dramatically. The stage direction called for them to hug, but she was not about to let that happen. She kept reading down and was mortified to find they were meant to kiss a few moments later in the scene. Well if she wasn't going to hug him, she sure as hell wasn't about to let him kiss her.

"What on earth is ailing the belle of Claremore? Well, by gum, if you ain't cryin'." He read. Rachel had to admit, his acting was impressive. He almost seemed concerned for her.

They continued on with the scene and Rachel got more and more concerned with what to do when they happened upon the kissing scene. Before she had time to figure out a plan, they were there.

"Well, here. I'll show ya." He said, holding out his hand to her. That was it, the moment she'd been dreading. She knew when she took his hand, he would pull her into a kiss. But if she didn't do it, would she sacrifice getting the job? She looked out at the audience and Michael was watching them, waiting for the kiss to happen.

"Just take it." Jesse whispered. Rachel did as he said and laced her fingers through his. He pulled her to him and stopped when their faces were almost touching. His eyes bore into hers until she couldn't take it anymore. She closed her eyes and waited for it to happen.

When his lips met hers, she felt a tingle go through her whole body. Kissing him had never been like this. She tried to convince herself that it was just the thrill of being at the Shubert Theater, auditioning for one of her dream roles. It had nothing to do with HIM.

He pulled away and Rachel forgot they were supposed to be doing a scene. She searched desperately for her place but her eyes were blurry from the tears and from having them closed for the kiss.

"I think we're good." Michael said interrupting her frantic search. "We'll be in touch."

"Thank you." Rachel said smiling at him and giving him a small nod. She turned her attention to Jesse. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when Rachel tossed her script back to where it had been. Without a word to him, she turned on her heel and left.