Since Glee was just on TV, right after watching "Bad Reputation" I felt like I had to finish this and post it. Yes, I'm sad to announce this, but this is indeed the last chapter. Enjoy!

The audience applauded as Jesse took Quinn's hand and led her to the rest of the group, were they started to perform a mash up of "Any Way You Want It" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'". The moves were fairly simple, New Directions were better when they were loose. Their mash up positively screamed GLEE as the crowd started to get up and dance along with the choir, clapping their hands and obviously enjoying it. And New Directions were enjoying it as well.

Cause he's lovin', touchin', squeezin' another!

These words really hit home for Rachel, especially when Quinn was singing them. She kept watching with envy from the behind of the auditorium. She was envious not because they were so good but that she could see that each and every one of them was having the time of their lives. They were jumping up and down and around the stage, clapping their hands and dancing however they wanted during dance breaks. That was what show choir was truly about, having fun and expressing yourself, doing what you love and being oblivious to all the negative stuff around you, and New Directions was showing that to everyone in the audience and it seemed they were embracing it.

Then the music stopped as they all turned their backs against the roaring audience. On by one they turned around as they started to sing "Don't Stop Believing" and Jesse took the solo, breaking away from the pack.

Just a small town girl living in a lonely world

She took the midnight train going anywhere

Then Quinn came up next to Jesse and sang.

Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

They both went back into the group as Puck and Santana came out for their solos.

A singer in a smoky room
The smell of wine and cheap perfume
For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on and on and on.

The crowd was completely moved by this song, they were loving every minute of this, rarely do you see such an inspiring performance.

Strangers waiting
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlight people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'
Streetlight people!

Yet again New Directions was jumping around on stage, getting the audience pumped up, singing their hearts out. Mercedes was belting out over the rest and everything sounded amazing, if they voices could literally raise things, the roof would have already been gone.

When New Directions were done and were enjoying their applause, Rachel ran out of the auditorium, fighting back tears. Why the hell was this so hard? She was Rachel freaking Berry, star of Vocal Adrenaline. But in fact, the real Rachel Berry was just a regular teenage girl, who wanted to be in love with a boy and longed for her mother's approval, it was as simple as that. Being the star of Vocal Adrenaline didn't make her invincible, as much as everyone else in the team thought it did.

"Excuse me, but is everything alright?" she heard a voice coming from her left and turned to see an unfamiliar face but it looked sincere and caring.

Rachel looked back at the floor and shook her head, desperately trying to keep it together.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong?" Emma asked, now truly worrying about this mysterious and obviously lost young girl. She had come out of the auditorium to pick up a phone call and saw someone who looked in need of some comfort.

"It's just… my heart and my mind are at war and I'm in the middle of it and it's completely excruciating."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I have to decide between what I want and what my mother thinks is best for me. But it's so hard to please everyone else. Is love always so painful?" Rachel opened up to this stranger. Sometimes opening up to a complete stranger is much easier than opening up to someone who's close to you.

"Well, I know nothing about this situation, but I'm sure your mother only has your best interests in mind. However, if it's making you so miserable I'd say do as your heart tells you. It's your life and you should be in control of it. And love does do strange things to people but if you ask me, it's the greatest thing in the world." Emma smiled, as the put her hand gently on Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel smiled, but suddenly being interrupted by Giselle, who was yelling from the hallway.

"Hey, Rachel, come on, we're up!"

"I'm sorry but I have to go. Thank you." She said before running off backstage.

"Rachel? As in Rachel Berry?" Emma thought to herself. Of course, she should have put the pieces together earlier. She suddenly realized what was happening - Rachel was in love with Jesse but her mother was forbidding her to be with him, it all made perfect sense now. "Well that certainly was a major development…" If only she could get a hold of Jesse.

Jesse was busy high-fiving his teammates as they were running back to their dressing room, all on cloud nine and feeling good about their chances of winning.

"Jesse!" Emma called just as they were passing her.

"Yeah?" He stopped and looked at her.

"I don't mean to burst your bubble but I just had an interesting conversation with Rachel Berry."

"You what?" Jesse asked in shock, his smile fading from his face. "How? You don't even know her."

"Exactly, which is why she opened up to me about how her mother is the one keeping you two apart. She loves you, Jesse; she just doesn't have the guts to stand up to her mother."

Jesse was speechless. Why was this happening right now, right when he had just accepted the fact that she didn't love him and had had one of the best performances ever? Because she was Rachel Berry, that's why, drama always had a way of finding her, whether she liked it or not.

"Oh… well. I don't know what to say. Thank you for telling me this, Emma." Jesse said, as he quickly headed back to the auditorium to watch Vocal Adrenaline's performance.

Vocal Adrenaline took their places on the stage as the piano music started as Paul and Rachel took the lead vocals.

(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round
(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears
(Turn around) every now and then I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes

(Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around, bright eyes) Every now and then I fall apart

Vocal Adrenaline started singing background vocals, as they all were dancing, resembling more ballet dancing than regular show choir dancing. Everyone was surprised about their song choice but they also all agreed that it was much better when a female sang it, and Rachel was incredible, it was as if this song was meant for her. Little did they know how true that actually was. Vocal Adrenaline had chosen this song a couple of months ago, and then it really didn't mean anything more to Rachel than just being a fantastic song to sing at Regionals. Shelby liked impressing people by taking old, forgotten songs that have a bad reputation and showing everyone that they could revive it and make it great again, thus also showing how amazing Vocal Adrenaline was by pulling such a thing off. But now, after everything that had happened, Rachel felt a much bigger connection with this song than she ever thought she would.

And I need you now tonight and I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right 'cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time)

Just as Paul was lifting Rachel up and spinning her around, she caught a glimpse of familiar bright eyes in the back of the auditorium. She wished she hadn't seen them, but some things you can't un-see. She had been doing a fantastic job of pulling herself together for the performance and thought she might make it through. But the words of the redhead she met a few minutes before kept echoing in her head "However, if it's making you so miserable I'd say do as your heart tells you. It's your life and you should be in control of it."

I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight, forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight

Paul put her back on the ground, where she danced alone around the stage, glancing back at Jesse as much as she could. She had a pathological fear that he would turn around and leave and she would never see him again. She couldn't live like that, she just realized. "Love does do strange things to people but it's the greatest thing in the world." She stopped and looked at Jesse as she sang.

Once upon a time I was falling in love, but now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do... a total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life, but now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say... a total eclipse of the heart

(Turn around) bright eyes, Every now and then I fall apart
(Turn around) bright eyes, Every now and then I fall apart

Then she went back to dancing with her group, as most of the girls were flying through the air and the guys were throwing and catching them.

As Jesse was watching their performance, he was feeling so many feelings it was almost impossible to name them all. But during this song he had concluded that Rachel had made her choice, she even looked at him as she sang "There's nothing I can do, total eclipse of the heart" – she maybe still loved him but it seemed she loved winning just a little more. As a fellow star in the making he should understand that but as the boy who's heart she broke he just couldn't see past this. Rachel would win Vocal Adrenaline another championship and go on to be a huge star, and probably forget all about Jesse once she's a Broadway star. He should let her live her life and fulfill her dreams, make her mother proud – she truly is one of the most talented people he had ever met.

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart

As they finished the crowd stood up and applauded, that certainly was a whole new level of show choir performances, it was near perfect. Rachel didn't notice the standing ovation; she had her teary eyes fixed on Jesse, who also looked like he was about to burst into tears and leave. As the applauding died out a little, Jesse gave Rachel a final look and turned around and headed for the door, which was only a few feet away. He was walking out of Rachel's life forever and she felt a panic attack coming on as the phrase "Do what your heart tells you!" was practically audibly screaming in her head. Vocal Adrenaline took their positions for the next song but Rachel was still standing there, center stage, facing Jesse, who was almost at the door. She had to do something, and quick. Then it came to her – the perfect plan, which suited them honestly couldn't take another second of this heartbreak, so she just let go and followed her heart. As the audience went silence and she could hear angry whispers of demand from her teammates, she started singing, sounding completely terrified, because she really wasn't sure what would happen next but she was willing to take that risk.

Never knew I could feel like this

It's like I've never seen the sky before

Want to vanish inside your kiss

Every day I'm lovin' you more and more.

Jesse stopped and turned around once he realized that wasn't what Vocal Adrenaline's next song was. He had seen that Rachel had chosen Vocal Adrenaline over him and he couldn't take it anymore and chose to leave. But when Rachel started singing he looked back at her in confusion. Suddenly the memory of their first date came back at the sound of that song.

The band was completely confused by what was going on but Shelby was quietly ordering them to go with the flow, she was in complete shock but didn't know what else to do, she couldn't just march up there and drag Rachel off the stage. So the band tried to improvise and play along with Rachel, so that it didn't seem that she just simply singing a capella. Rachel continued singing with a pleading look on her face.

Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?

Come back to me and forgi-i-ive everything.

Seasons may change – winter to spring.

But I love you. Till the end…of…time.

Once Jesse heard Rachel sing that, his heart just melted. She was choosing him and most importantly, she loved him. He couldn't believe what Rachel was doing - she was actually ruining her Regionals performance just to tell him she loved him. She was jeopardizing everything she had worked so hard for, and her mother would be furious. In a flash he had forgotten about all the hurt Rachel had caused him – the slushy in his face, the deceit… All that mattered at this moment was that she was finally doing what they both had felt in their hearts was true and right.

There was dead silence in the auditorium and the audience was starting to get confused as to what in the hell was going on. Jesse knew he had to save the situation, and he knew exactly how the story was supposed to geo, so he started belting out from the back of the auditorium, making his way up to the stage.

Come what may…

Everyone turned around to see look at Jesse but he didn't even flinch, he kept staring at Rachel and walking toward her.

Come what may…

Rachel sighed and smiled in relief as she joined him in song and the band became louder as they got the feel of things.

Come what may!

I will love you until my dying day!

Jesse hopped on stage next to Rachel and took her in his arms as they continued singing. The members of Vocal Adrenaline where absolutely stunned, they really had no idea what to do, so they just stood there like idiots.

Come what may!

Come what may!

I will love you…until my dying day!

Suddenly, the curtain closed. Shelby had finally made the decision to stop this madness, but before she could run over to Rachel and Jesse, she felt someone pulling her back.

"Shelby, wait!" Will Schuester said.

"What?"

"Please, I'm begging you, don't."

"Excuse me? That's my daughter an-"

"And she's old enough make her own decisions! I know it's none of my business, but if she wants to be with Jesse, I think you should let her."

"It's not that I'm worried about anymore, she's obviously made her choice but she didn't have to do it by ruining our number!"

"Shelby… She ruined YOUR number. I think her number turned out to be great," Will said softly, "look at how happy she is…" He continued, looking over at Jesse and Rachel, who were completely oblivious to everyone around them.

Shelby sighed.

"When has she ever looked that happy performing? Isn't that what's most important?"

"I just… I just wanted what's best for her."

"So does every parent, believe me, but you can't control every aspect of her life. Give her a chance to be happy and in love."

Shelby didn't reply, instead she looked at Rachel and it seemed she was trying to accept the situation.

"I thought you wouldn't be capable of such a daring act…guess I was wrong." Jesse smiled as he held Rachel in his arms, Vocal Adrenaline scattering off the stage, mumbling something to themselves.

"Jesse, I'm so, so sorry for what I put you through, it was never my intention." Rachel pleaded.

"Don't worry about it. All that matters is that we're together now, let's leave the past in the past and just start over."

"Well then…We have a lot of catching up to do." Rachel smiled and kissed Jesse.

"I love you, Jesse St. James."

"Really? I didn't quite get that when you interrupted your performance to say that." Jesse laughed and could see Rachel blushing.

"But that's why I love you." He continued before kissing her again.

In the end both Jesse and Rachel had won. No, not Regionals, both their teams got disqualified because of the obvious – a member of the opposing team is not permitted to perform with the competing team – thus handing the win over to Aural Intensity. But Rachel and Jesse didn't care, no award could ever replace the part of their hearts that belonged to each other; and they were about to spend the best summer of their lives. Together.

If you've read my other fic (it's deleted now, to make space for this fic, I really have no idea how this site works, lol.) then you know that I'm such a sucker for cheesy, happy endings! So sorry if you're not ;D Ah, and you guys have no idea how hard this was! I kept changing the whole thing like every other day, but I had decided to do the Moulin Rouge ending when I was writing their first date, so I just stuck with it. Jesse and Rachel both are so larger than life that a feature film ending fits them like a glove + Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies and I just couldn't resist temptation, hah. So please don't slam me for being unoriginal, I honestly had like 3 different endings planned out :D

I'm super busy for the time being but I've had so much fun writing this that I might write a sequel later, because there's so much that could happen + I love writing AU New Directions, so let me know if you would enjoy something like that. A big thank you to everyone who read, favorite, alerted and reviewed! :) It makes me so happy! And I'm glad I could make you happy like St. Berry makes me happy. Though I'm sure no one can make anyone as happy as St. Berry can.