Picture To Burn (Rachel Berry/Jesse St James)
Rachel watched with dead eyes as the egg yolk dripped down her face to hit the sidewalk as she walked home. Her dad had driven her to school that morning and she had originally planned to ride the bus, but she couldn’t.
Not after what Vocal Adrenaline, what Jesse St. James, had done to her.
The mere mention of his name brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away quickly. She had already shed enough tears over him since his defection back to their competition had come to light.
Part of her believed he had used her to spy on New Directions but after how things went with her mother, she knew better. Shelby had implanted him in her life to bring her to her.
She just hadn’t planned on her falling in love with him.
Morosely, she walked up the front steps of her house and went directly to the shower, spending about an hour trying to get rid of the yolk in her hair. She just tossed her clothing in the trash, not wanting it to be a reminder of the afternoon, even if it could be saved.
Walking into her room, she sat on her bed, staring at a spot on the wall and contemplating the past few months from her breakup with Finn, the music store, her almost first time, Jesse’s transfer, her bad reputation video, her meeting with Shelby, Jesse’s leaving, and finally the egging.
He had seemed so genuine, so nice. He was the male version of her and their chemistry was so perfect that she had almost thought that she had found the one boy who was going to treat her right, the one Mr. Schue had talked to her about.
Now, there entire relationship was in ashes. Her sight locked onto the pictures of the two of them she had on her memory board, feeling rage and grief rise in her.
She stalked over, ripping them one by one off the wall before taking them downstairs. The lighter they used for the multitude of candles that were hidden around the house was in a drawer in the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, all the pictures, except one, were aflame, in the outdoor fire pit. A smile curved her lips for the first time since she watched her enemy perform ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ in her auditorium as she watched each picture turn to ash.
The one picture she saved was taken at the assembly where Mercedes sang ‘Beautiful’. They were sitting on the gym floor, her in front of him with his arms draped around her while they both smiled. For some reason, she couldn’t burn that one.
As the flames went out, she took the one photo and the lighter and went inside, mentally reminding herself to thank Finn and Noah for destroying the tires on Jesse’s Range Rover. She had hated the thing, mainly because he refused to let her drive it.
It had deserved the destruction the boys had caused, and she hated the way they had been punished. In her book, they should have gotten a medal.
She paused at the door before smiling as her new mission filled her.
One day, whether it be at Regionals or another competition, New Directions was going to beat Vocal Adrenaline.
She was sure of it.