Title: Making It Complete

Rating: T

Summary: It takes quite a lot to make prom night complete, but Jesse seems to be doing just that. And slowly, the light is returning to Rachel's eyes. This night, will forever be remembered with happiness, no matter what. He'll make sure of it.

Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, Jesse would have been back a LONG time ago and Finchel would be but a distant, unpleasant memory. Trust me, I've thought it through.

xxx

Finn Hudson's gaze is murderous and a weaker man would have trembled at the knees. But Jesse, finally able to confront his first and most forth most rival, looks right back, his expression almost smug. Quinn turns and sees him too and her mouth falls open an 'o' of shock. She's wearing a powder blue dress and Jesse can't help but notice that Finn's matching bow tie is crooked. He grins a little and turns towards Rachel as the couple are forced forwards towards the photographer, Finn still glowering. She is looking away, fiddling with the petals of the flowers on her corsage and he takes her hand gently.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly.

She nods hesitantly, looking up to meet his eyes. "Nervous," she confesses.

"Don't be," he replies, pulling her closer. "You haven't done anything wrong."

She only shrugs, watching as the glowering jock and cheerleader move away from the photographer. Finn is striding and Quinn is forced to hurry to catch up, glancing up at people as she goes by, greeting them. Finn is close now and Rachel can hear him muttering angrily. Together she and Jesse get up slowly, Jesse's arm around her protective now and she is glad for it, leaning on him heavily.

"What the hell is going on here?" Finn demands and Quinn grabs his arm, stopping him from launching himself on Jesse. "Get your hands off her!"

Rachel pulls Jesse closer to her, silently beseeching him to not leave her here alone.

He keeps his grip on her, stroking his hand down her arm tenderly. Finn spots this and his glower deepens as Jesse says. "Hello Hudson, Quinn."

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asks, calmer than Finn.

"He's my date." Rachel says, pulling him even closer.

"You're dating this jerk!" Finn snaps, furiously.

"It's platonic." Rachel replies crossly.

Finn seems a little confused for a second and Jesse rolls his eyes, saying. "We're just friends."

"How are we supposed to believe that?" Quinn scowls at him. "You traitor, just because you have Man Hands wrapped around your little finger doesn't mean that we all have the same..." her voice becomes hard and sarcastic and Jesse frowns a little at the sudden show of aggression. "Pleasure."

Jesse raises one eyebrow, but it's Rachel who answers, her voice suddenly hardening. "You don't have to accept it Quinn, I've forgiven Jesse for what he did and he is my prom date, so just back off!" Her voice has risen now and he glances down at her, almost confused.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Rachel sighs under her breath and turns to confront Puck, who is dressed in a white tux, with a large girl in a midnight blue dress standing at his side, her arms crossed menacingly.

"Hello Noah," She replies, fixing a smile on as she turns to talk to Puck.

"Puckerman," Jesse greets, nodding in his direction.

"St James," Puck returns, curtly. "You're Berry's prom date?"

Jesse nods, a quizzical expression crossing his face as he looks at the younger boy.

Puckerman looks at them for a long moment and then finally sighs something that sounds suspiciously like, "Well, it was bound to happen."

"What?" Rachel's mouth has dropped open.

"But know this St James," Puck takes a threatening step towards him and Jesse has to fight not to flinch away. "You pull any kind of bullshit and it won't just be your tires that get slashed."

Jesse feels a shiver run through him. He has no doubt that Puckerman is quite happy to fulfil that promise. Nodding he replies, smoothly. "No bullshit, got it."

"You're happy with this?" Finn demands, turning on Puck.

"Well yeah, I mean, look at them, they were bound to get back together in the end."

Finn can only splutter and Puck's eyes narrow dangerously.

"Seriously Finn, you don't want to be with her, but you pull this pretentious crap whenever she tries to make some kind of decision, like you have some kind of moronic claim over her! She can date whoever the hell she wants, she have no say in that!" Puck snaps at him and Jesse resists the urge to applaud him.

"And what about all the stuff he pulled last year?" Finn's teeth grind together and Jesse feels a surge of pride when he realises how much of an affect he obviously had on the boy before him.

"If Berry forgives him so should we." Puck replies and goes to take the final two empty chairs, pulling one out for Lauren to slump into and perching on the other one himself.

Jesse follows his lead, pulling Rachel around so that their backs were turned to the pair behind them, effectively dismissing them.

Rachel's squeezing his hand even tighter underneath the table and he rubs soothing circles onto it, smiling reassuringly at her across the table.

"So, Jesse," Blaine says, breaking the muffled tension in the air. "Where do you go to college?"

"UCLA," He replies, catching on to his reasoning.

"Oh cool, and what are you studying?"

"Musical theatre mainly," Jesse answers, smiling and Kurt rolls his eyes.

"Why am I not surprised?" His tone is almost teasing.

Jesse shrugs, smirking at him. "It's my calling."

"You'll find that Jesse isn't like most other guys," Mercedes whispers loudly towards Sam, who nods, a puzzled frown on his face.

"Of course I'm not." Jesse chuckled and Rachel giggled with him, her hand still holding his under the table.

"One of a kind." Rachel adds, smiling at him and before he can get too lost in her eyes, Puck says, rather loudly.

"So, has your taste in football improved at all since you've been away St James?"

"Slightly," Jesse grins. "I watch the college football team play sometimes and a few of my guys friends tend to like to watch it."

"Really?" The larger girl, who came in with Puck, leans forward. "What about wrestling?"

"Oh," Rachel steps in quickly. "Jesse, this is Lauren Zizes, a new member of the club."

"Nice to meet you," Jesse replies, trying not to be intimidated by the girl's menacing size. "Uh, yeah I think there's probably some wrestling teams around, but I couldn't say for sure. Sorry,"

"It's okay," The girl sighs heavily.

"So," Jesse glances around, "what's been going on whilst I've been away?"

Mercedes opens her mouth to answer, but a shrill voice from behind them cuts in.

"St Jerk?"

The whole table turn to see Santana, her eyes wide and looking sleek and thin in a deep red dress. On her arm the Neanderthal jock who Jesse remembers trying to attack Rachel with a frozen beverage once.

"What are you doing here?" Santana snaps, her eyes drifting to Rachel. "Seriously dwarf, I knew you were moronic, but bringing St Jerk here? What are you trying to do, completely ruin our chances at Nationals?"

aJesse glances at Rachel, waiting for her to respond snarkily and is surprised when she inclines her head slightly, not looking Santana in the eyes as she replies, her voice a little softer than normal.

"Jesse is my date."

"Seriously?" Santana laughs loudly, but the sound isn't pleasant. "I didn't know you had to sink so low hobbit!"

He watches, aghast, as Rachel flushes and anger starts to cloud his vision as he watches her say.

"It isn't sinking… we're friends."

"Friends?" Santana replies, with outright irritation and disbelief. "You're friends? Why would he want to be friends with you?"

Jesse's precious patience snaps. Standing so quickly that his chair almost topples over, he turns on the girl before him.

"If you have a problem with me Santana, you take it up with me, not with her. Now, Rachel has forgiven me for last year and I am taking her to prom, because I am her friend and I want to. Now unless you have anything else you want to say, I suggest you go and join your friends." He nods swiftly towards Quinn and Finn, who are deep in hushes conversation, Finn still casting glowers his way.

"You need a hand Santana?" The Neanderthal steps forward and Jesse bristles furiously. The Neanderthal takes a menacing step forwards, his hands clenched into fists and Jesse suddenly remembers his name is Karaofsky. "Shall we take this outside pretty boy?"

"Why?" Jesse steps forward too. "Afraid of me kicking your ass in front of everyone?"

"Jesse, no." He can feel Rachel's slim hands on his arms, pulling him back, away from Karaofsky and when he turns to see the boy again, he and his girlfriend are heading in the direction of Quinn and Finn.

Turning he sits heavily in his seat and snaps. "I should kick his ass… and hers."

She tosses a disapproving glance, but beneath the table her hand catches his again and squeezes it and when he looks into her eyes again he can see a grateful smile touching her lips as she mouths 'thank you'.

"Well I'd be happy to help you." Puck mutters and Jesse throws a quizzical glance his way. "Kick their asses." He confirms.

"Oh," Jesse nods and then Sam perks up a little.

"I'd be happy to help with Karaofsky… though I'm not so sure about Santana, did you hear that rumour going around the locker room? Apparently she has razor blades in her hair."

Puck scoffs at this and Rachel glares at them all.

"Violence isn't the way to solve anything, you know that!"

"Do I?" Puck asks, sceptically and a ripple of laughter spreads out over the table.

Slowly they begin their own conversations, Jesse turning to Rachel, intertwining their fingers.

"I'm sorry?"

"What for?" Rachel asks, frowning.

"Trying to beat up Karaofsky… and then Santana."

"You're sorry for that?"

He thinks it over for a moment, before correcting himself.

"I'm not sorry for wanting to do it, but I'm sorry that me wanting to do it upset you… I just," He sighed and tried to calm down, focusing on the feel of her hand in his. "I just couldn't stand the way she was talking to you."

He is surprised when tears suddenly glaze her eyes and cups her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his as he asks, his voice tender.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I can't believe that you wanted to defend me like that, it's so chivalrous."

"Of course I would defend you, you're my date. Surely Finn defended you while you too were dating?"

"No," Her voice has dropped low and Jesse frowns, saying, just as softly.

"Well, for what it's worth, Finn is a douche bag."

A small smile breaks out across her face and they look up in time to see Tina, Mike, Brittany and Artie making their way towards them.

Rachel smiles and greets them as they get nearer.

"Hey guys."

"Rachel," Artie shoots a look at Jesse. "What is he doing here?"

"Well he's her prom date," Brittany replies, smiling a little and looks towards Rachel and Jesse when no one answers her. "Right? I'm glad you're back Jesse, Mr Schue must be glad. Oh look, there's Santana…"

Turning, she drifts off, her green dress sashaying around her knees to sit beside Santana.

"Hi Jesse," Tina smiles a small smile at him.

"Hey Tina," He responds, grinning friendlily.

"Are you okay with this?" Mike asks Puck across the table and Puck shrugs.

"It's Berry's decision right? I think that if she's gonna put up with him, we should too."

Jesse smiles wryly at him. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"Guess it's cool to see you again then Jesse," Mike nods towards him, grinning.

"You too Mike."

Together, the three of them follow Brittany and Jesse slumps down in his chair, the tension in his shoulders falling away. "Thank God that's over."

"Nervous?" Rachel giggles.

"I can't remember the last time I was nervous, remember?" I small smirk pulls at the corners of his mouth as he lolls his head back, his eyes falling shut.

She giggles again and dips her fingers in her water glass, flicking it at him. His eyes fly open and fix on her.

"Right…"

Pulling her up with him he spins them away from the table a little and begins tickling her, making her dissolve into laughter, squealing with joy. "Jesse, stop it!"

The two tables around them are watching but they don't care as Rachel finally escapes his grip and escapes around to the other side of the table, able to catch her breath for a moment before he catches up with her again.

Pulling her into an embrace, she giggles weakly again and he turns to the dance floor, where couples are swaying to the music. He holds his hand out, smiling.

"Dance with me?"

She blushes beautifully and accepts his hand, letting him spin her into the dance floor and then pull her closer to him, his arms wrapping around her waist. Automatically, her hands go up to circle his neck and she smiles a little at him, content to just stand and sway with him, feeling the heat of his body easily through the thin material of her dress. Slowly, as he spins them easily through the other couples, she lays her head against his chest, listening to his heart beating for a moment before looking up at him again.

He meets her gaze and says, softly.

"It broke whilst we were apart."

Her smile becomes a little watery.

"I think it's starting to heal though." He leans closer, so that his breath, smelling sweetly of spearmint, rushes past her cheeks, causing her eyes to roll back in her head for a moment as she tries to stay in the moment and not be overcome by his intoxicating scent. "That's you, you know. Without you…" She feels his shoulders shrug beneath her hands. "I don't think it would ever heal."

"Really?" She breathes.

"Really really." He winks and she smiles back, pulling him into a closer embrace and sighing with contentment.

"Some people wait a life time…" He sings softly in her ear as the music continues somewhere behind them and she feels a shiver run down her spine as his voice, deep and strong and beautiful, sparks feelings in her that she'd forgotten existed.

But slowly, the song comes to an end and a heavier, beefier, top 40 comes on and suddenly all around them the Glee club are dancing, laughing and they slowly, reluctantly, pull apart. They don't really dance after that, around them Mike, Tina, Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine jump up and down, singing along merrily and they are happy to join the group are they create the mass of writhing bodies that the gym has now become and dance together until they are breathless with exertion.

Jesse sees Rachel start to pry herself from the crowd a few songs later and he's beginning to wonder where she's going, when he feels a hand grab his and pull him with her.

When the finally get away from the worst of the noise Puck and Lauren have disappeared somewhere and Sam is the only one left on their table, talking to some guy, who has taken Mercedes seat for a moment. Rachel leans on the table, drinking from her glass for a moment, before glancing at him and smiling.

"I'm going to go freshen up." She gestures to the bathrooms and he nods.

"I'll be waiting." He replies and her smile widens, her arm brushing his and her hand lingering for a second too long as she walks past. Turning, he watched her go unabashedly and she turns for a moment, blushing when he catches her looking. Once she's out of sight, he sits down, taking his phone out for the first time all day. Two missed calls from his mother, not that he particularly wants to talk to her and a missed call from Johnny, and a text.

Opening it he reads quickly:

Dude, how's operation Getting Back Berry going? Good I hope, because you are missing a fucking awesome party down here! Give me details please.

Rolling his eyes, he slips the device back in his pocket and looks up when he hears a loud throat clearing above him. Looking up he sees Puck stood above him and tries not to seem intimidated.

"Hey Puck."

"St James." Puck takes a sat next to him, swinging the chair around so that his legs are either side of the back. "I want to make sure you aren't screwing with Berry." He states bluntly and Jesse cocks an eyebrow.

"I'm not." He replies, confidently.

"And how am I supposed to trust you?"

Jesse shrugs. "I don't know how I can make you see that I love her Puck, I mean, I'm trying not to scare her away… I cant make you trust me Puckerman, but just watch me around her and you'll see that I love her- what, why are you looking at me like that?"

"You love her?" Puck asks, his eyes wide.

"Well… yes." Jesse's brows furrow.

"Like proper heart and fireworks and that romantic shit? Like that kind of love?"

"Yes, why is this-"

Puck cuts him off. "Like, settle down and get married?"

"Well, that's not for a few years yet, but yes, I hope so."

"Fuck…" Puck sits back, amazed.

Jesse's smiles, trying not to laugh. "It's real Puck, seriously it is."

"How…" Puck glances around and lowers his voice. "And if you tell anyone I asked you this I'll kill you, but how do you like, you know, know?"

Jesse's looks at him, confused. "Well, I don't know. I guess it's that, when I'm not with her, she's all I think about. And when I am with her, I always know where she is, what she's doing, how she's feeling." He shrugs. "I just know."

"Know what?" Turning he sees her stood behind him, her lip gloss obviously reapplied because her lips are now plump and juicy and kissable.

"Nothing," He answers smoothly and Rachel cocks a quizzical eyebrow, but doesn't press it.

"Does he pass your test?" She turns to Puckerman.

"Yeah." Puck still seems a little dazed and he stumbles a little as he gets up.

"What did you say to him?" Rachel's eyes are filled with concern and amusement as she watches Puck walk away.

"Something he didn't expect to hear." Jesse replies, pulling her close again.

"Guys!" Kurt cuts off Rachel's response as he appears behind them, his cheeks flushed in excitement. "Blaine's about to perform, come on!" Taking their hands, he drags them onto the dance floor and towards the Glee kids, some of whom smile and greet them.

Turning, they wave to Brittany, Tina and Blaine, who are setting up on stage.

Rachel moves in front of Jesse as the Glee kids gather in a raggedy kind of line at the front of the dance floor to watch Kurt perform. He wraps his hands around her waist, worried that he might be over stepping his boundaries. But she takes his hands and pulls them tighter, her back flush with his chest and looks up at him, smiling.

Turning to glance down the line, Rachel stiffens as she sees Finn and Quinn glaring down at them. Jesse frowns, feeling her sudden tension and follows her gaze. Seeing the pair, he pulls her closer and whispers in her ear.

"Mediocrity."

She giggles.

"He's starting!" Mercedes says from beside them and Rachel and Jesse smile back at her as she grins at them.

Well, they certainly had her blessing at least.

"One!" They hear from the stage and look up as the lights dim and the crowd behind them cheer as Brittany and Tina continue the count down.

Rachel smiles up at Jesse, laughter and excitement in her eyes and he squeezes her tighter, overwhelmed with happiness at being able to share this moment with her.

"You are the girl, that I've been dreaming of, ever since I was a little girl."

They laugh and begin to dance, swinging in time to the music, surrounded by a cloud of laughter and colours as people around them began dancing too.

"One, I'm biting my tongue
Two!
He's kissing on you
Three!
Oh, why can't you see?
One! Two! Three! Four!"

They chant the count down with him and Rachel feels herself laugh aloud as Jesse spins her out, before bringing her back into his chest and cradling her to him.

"Word's on the streets and it's on the news:
I'm not gonna teach him how to dance with you
He's got two left feet and he bites my moves
I'm not gonna teach him how to dance, dance, dance, dance!"

She laughs even louder and he picks her up, spinning her around as they dance together, soon joined by a singing Kurt and Mercedes, who are both laughing too.

As the song reaches its climax Jesse begins to spin her around, making her laughs even more and beam as the light headed feeling runs through her as he finally lets her go and she stumbles into his chest, still laughing as they all sing the last word with Blaine.

Cheers burst through the room as Blaine, Brittany and Tina bow and make their way off the stage, Kurt falling into Blaine's embrace as Mike hugs Tina tightly, kissing her softly on the lips, and Jesse feels his stomach clench in longing as he looks down at the lips of the girl beside him.

Slowly, the crowd filters away and Jesse and Rachel join them, walking back towards their table. Rachel stops them suddenly, pulling him out of the rush and taking him to one side.

She fingers the necklace in her hand, smiling up at him a little nervously.

"Thank you," She says finally, smiling at him and looking up from under impossibly long lashes. "It's beautiful, and this…" She runs a hand over the corsage and then pulls him into a close embrace, which he returns happily.

"You've made tonight magical." She says, "And, I think… you're forgiven."

He laughs aloud and brings her up in his arms, lifting her from the ground and spinning them around joyfully. He says, his voice breaking with happiness. "Thank you Rache, so much."

"Your welcome," She giggles and, reaching up on her tip toes, presses a soft and quick kiss to his lips.

It last only moments and yet they are both completely overwhelmed by the feelings that slip through them, their hearts beating even faster than usual. Their lips seem to mould together, as if no time has passed and he is desperate to lean in for another kiss, but, just as his lips rise into a smile, they are interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hey!" Turning, they are alarmed to see Finn Hudson suddenly burst from the crowd and stride towards them, his brows creased angrily. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get off her!"

"Finn!" Quinn is following from behind, glancing around anxiously.

Finn is suddenly next to Jesse, who stands his ground, pulling Rachel closer to him and glaring at Hudson.

"What do you want?"

"Get away from her!" He cries and lunges for Jesse, who pushes Rachel away just in time for her to avoid being hurt. Finn shoves him back into a wall roughly and he hears Rachel cry out. He pushes Finn away from him and circles around him to Rachel again, making sure she isn't hurt.

"Are you okay?"

She nods and Jesse turns to Finn, scowling. "Watch yourself Hudson."

"Get out of here St James!" Finn shouts and people are starting to stop, glancing at them.

"Why should I?" Jesse snaps back, his temper flaring.

"Because you're a traitor!"

"Oh get over yourself!" Jesse scoffs, "You hadn't even chosen a song when I left, you hadn't practiced anything!"

"Don't go near here!" Finn shouts.

"Why do you think you even have a say in that? She's not your girlfriend!" Jesse shouts. "And she wants to be here with me, I don't know where you think you got this moronic claim from!"

"And the egging?"

"I have forgiven him Finn," Rachel puts in, holding Jesse's arm tightly.

"Of course you would." Finn scoffs and Jesse sees red, launching himself forwards, Rachel's hand on his arm the only thing keeping him in place.

"How dare you!" He snarls, glaring at the quarterback.

Finn growls and lunges for him again, pushing him to the ground.

"Finn!" He hears Quinn cry and tries to back away from the boy on top of him, who is hitting and kicking every body part he can reach.

He tries to push Finn off, scrambling with him and sighs in relief as he feels the boy's weight lifted from him. He briefly catches sight of an angry Quinn and a streak of red tracksuit, which he thinks is Coach Sylvester, before Rachel is in front of him, cradling his head in her lap and murmuring soothing words.

"Show's over folks- go back to your ridiculous and petty celebrations!" He can hear Coach Sylvester shouting and the crowd dispersing around them.

"Rachel!" Turning Rachel spots Mr Schue running towards her, stopping short when he catches sight of Jesse.

"What's going on?" He kneels beside her and she turns to back to Jesse, helping him sit up slowly, cringing every time he cringes.

"Finn attacked Jesse." She cries, and runs a gentle hand over Jesse's forehead, "I need to get him out of here."

"I'll help you," Mr Schue assists her, falling easily into his teacher role, despite his shock.

Slowly, they manage to help Jesse out of the gym and into a small, empty classroom, settling him down in a chair. Moving quickly, Rachel goes to the sink in the corner of the room and dampens a piece of cloth, using it to wipe away the few splatters of blood on his face, cringing when he winces.

"Sorry," She murmurs and he smiles.

"It's okay, I quite like you taking care of me." Jesse replies, running a gentle hand down her arm.

"And I like you defending me," She admits softly, "but not when you get hurt."

She sighs a little and sits back, looking him over. "I think you're done, are you okay, does it hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine," He smiles and pulls her into a soft embrace, spying Mr Schue over her shoulder for the first time.

"Hey Mr Schue," He greets.

"Hey Jesse," He replies, his brows narrowing. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"

"He's my prom date," Rachel answers, pulling Jesse from the room and calling over her shoulder. "We'd better go Mr Schue, we'll miss the crowning."

Pushing through the crowds, Rachel spots Puck and Sam and leads Jesse towards them, stopping just inside the cluster of Glee kids, all of whom look up as they arrive.

"Jesse!" Kurt cries. "Are you okay? We saw the fight!"

"I'm fine," Jesse answers and Rachel hugs him closely, ignoring the looks she gets. "Thanks."

"Seriously, he had it coming." Puck mutters and Jesse casts a surprised smile his way.

The sound of someone clearing their throat cuts off all other comments and Rachel looks up to see their spineless principle stood on the stage, looking awkward in a dark brown, slightly stained tux.

"Children, I would like to announce to you the prom King and Queen…"

A hushed tension falls on the crowd.

"The votes have been counted and our prom King is… David Karaofsky."

There is a small silence as everyone tries to digest this and then cheers fill the room. Looking over Rachel notes Quinn's hands, which are curled into fists.

"Coach Sylvester kicked Finn out." Tina whispers to them, across Mike, as everyone cheers.

Rachel raises her eyebrows, exchanging a knowing glance with Jesse. Now they know what Quinn is so angry about.

"And the Prom Queen… Kurt Hummel!"

There is another moment of shocked silence and then all hell breaks loose. Around them, people are crying, cheering and Rachel manages to squeeze Kurt for a second, crying a breathy congratulations, before he is swept up in Blaine's arms, who kisses him firmly, before propelling him towards the stage.

He climbs up slowly, looking slightly scared, but as Principle Figgins places the crown on his head everyone erupts again and joyful cries are exchanged.

"Congratulations," Principle Figgins cries. "Our King and Queen shall have their first dances."

There is an awkward pause, and then Kurt descends the stairs and takes Blaine out onto the dance floor and Karaofsky pulls Santana out with him.

Soon the rest of the school population joins in, but Rachel excuses herself from the celebrations, motioning to her make up which is now smeared and says.

"I'm gonna go and fix my make up."

Jesse nods, whispering in her ear. "Don't be too long, I'll miss you." And reluctantly lets her hand go.

She smiles at him, squeezing his hand and then letting go, slipping through the crowds towards the exit and into the bathroom. It seems empty, except for one stall and she starts to sort her make up out when a creak alerts her to the fact that the door has opened.

Turning, she takes in how ruffled Quinn Fabray seems, her make up smudged, her hair unravelling from its pin.

"Hey Quinn." She greets, smiling a little and turning back to the mirror as she says. "Sorry about the Prom Queen thing, I know you really wanted it."

"I did," Her voice is low, dangerous, but Rachel cant properly register it.

"Oh well," She smiles a little, trying to be comforting. "It'll be okay."

"It's your fault."

"What?"

She is shocked to see Quinn advance on her, her voice enraged and her expression furious. "This is all your fault!"

It's the sharp pain on her cheek that alerts her to the fact that Quinn has slapped her, and the sensation of her head being snapped to one side. Her mouth open with shock, she cups her throbbing cheek and turns to stare, outraged, at Quinn.

"Your fault!" The ex-cheerleader repeats and storms away, the door slamming shut behind her.

Rachel can only stand and hold her cheek for a few moments, before forcing herself to move, stiffly from the room. Jesse is there almost immediately, pulling her into a close hug and then towards the Glee club. "Are you okay Rache?" He asks, looking down at her when they are a metre or so away from the club. She can only gape at him and slowly shake her head.

She moves her hand form her cheek and he winces at the sight, running a hand over the soreness. "Oh baby," He murmurs, "That looks so sore…" She can only nod and a tear trickles down her cheek. He wipes it away, anguish turning to anger. "Who was it… it was Quinn wasn't it? I saw her storming away!"

Rachel nods, but when he tries to move away through the crowd, she grabs his jacket , pulling him close and whispering in his ear.

"Please, don't go. I just want tonight to be perfect."

He tightens his hold on her and sighs, anguished. "It will be baby, I'll make sure of it."

Xxx

When they arrive home Rachel is still flushed with pleasure, the soreness in her cheek almost completely gone and Jesse doesn't have the heart to tell her that it will probably bruise.

On her doorstep she stops, turning towards him and leaning up on her toes for the second time that night, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"I'm so weak willed," She giggles as she pulls away.

"I love it." He murmurs.

"When will I see you again?" She asks softly, still wrapped in his embrace.

"Soon," He promises, kissing her nose gently.

"Really soon?"

"Really soon," He repeats. "I promise. Just try and keep me away from you Miss Berry."

"I wouldn't want to." She smiles and kisses him again, harder this time leaving them both breathless as she turns on her heel, winking at him and pushing the door shut.

He's frozen on the doorstep for a second and then turns, running a hand over his lips and smiling.

Perfect ending to a perfect night.

Xxx

Argh, thank you all so much for your reviews and alerts and favourites and stuff, I was absolutely overwhelmed with the response so I rushed to write this!

Sorry if this is rushed but I needed to get it out of my system before tonight's episode. Oh my God, who is excited? I am, I'm on the verge of hyperventilating! But I'm going to have to avoid all my normal websites like the plague until tomorrow night, because I wont be able to watch it till then :'(

If I were writing the prom episode, this would all happen. Exactly as planned. Mawhaha… wow evil laugh there, sorry.

So! Please review!

Thank you so much!

Love

Ray

xxx