Dinner With The Fabrays
Spoilers: AU, but with spoilers for seasons 1 to 3.
Disclaimer: All characters that sound familiar belong to Glee and its owners, I'm borrowing them for fun. Please don't sue.
A/N: AU, set circa season 3. It's just that one can only read that Rachel dating Jesse was entirely narcissistic before one's brain goes to weird places.
This is not strictly St. Fabray, so I'm warning you about that right now.
Read. Enjoy. Review.
He is not the star quarterback. Neither is he the captain of the basketball team, nor of the hockey team.
Actually, he doesn't really play sports.
His grades aren't spectacular, and he doesn't really care for what happens at William McKinley High School.
But he's not the idiot Finn Hudson, nor is he the juvenile delinquent Noah Puckerman. He's smarter and far more cunning than Sam Evans. He's age-appropriate, and far easier to look at than Teen Jesus/Joe Hart, whom she'd brought home just to mess with her parents' insistence for her to find a nice Christian boy.
The truth was, outside of his lack of interest in sports, he's actually kind of perfect. He's tall, with a fit and agile body, and was remarkably good-looking. He's vain and more than a little narcissistic, but he's also charming, and smart and clever, and he's good with words. He's an actor, so he can force a smile and nobody would know any better.
If she wasn't already, she could totally fall in love with someone like Jesse St. James.
Jesse St. James, who was pulling her chair out like a perfect gentleman and seating her before taking a seat of his own.
He's well-mannered, like Sam, but he doesn't fumble and allow his shyness overrule his confidence.
His family is actually richer and more well-known than her own, so her father's practically in love with him now.
He's sweet and attentive throughout dinner, and he teases her several times by pretending he's zeroing in for a kiss, not caring if Quinn's parents are across the table.
They eat it up.
When Jesse excuses himself to make a call, saying he was just going to inform the friends he was supposed to meet after dinner that he'll be delayed, Quinn's parents give her approving looks.
"He's a remarkable boy." Russell Fabray noted. "Full scholarship to UCLA, that's impressive."
Somehow Jesse has been able to avoid mentioning that he's on a show choir scholarship.
"He's right, you know, you shouldn't follow him to UCLA when you got into Yale," Mr. Fabray continued. "Just because it's right for him doesn't mean you should turn your back on an Ivy League education."
Jesse could tell him Quinn should go to any school she wants and study whatever she wants and Russell would believe him, because the St. James family can easily support Quinn even if she studies something as artistic as Art History.
"It's too early for that kind of discussion, I think," Quinn offered as a token of protest, but her parents just laughed her off.
"Well, of course, but you finally found a boy that's actually going somewhere," Russell pointed out.
"You should have told us he was from the St. James family, Quinnie," Judy Fabray interrupted, lightly scolding her daughter. "We could have gone out, instead of this home-cooked meal."
"I told you," Quinn assured her, "he always has to eat take-out when he's in school. He likes having a home-cooked meal."
"It's nice to see a young man so invested in your future," Mr. Fabray cut in. "And at least he can carry a conversation."
Quinn smiled.
Jesse could talk from sunrise to sunset if you let him, provided you allowed him to talk about his favorite topics. Or, even better, you let him talk about himself.
"He mentioned you met through that Berry girl?" Mrs. Fabray suddenly asked.
Quinn hesitated. "Um, yes. His school's show choir took an interest in her, and we met when he briefly attended McKinley."
"Quinnie, did you steal that nice boy from your teammate?" Mrs. Fabray asked, but her tone of voice was more teasing than scolding.
"Not technically," Quinn said defensively. "They're not even dating anymore."
"Well, someone as talented and ambitious as that young man should be with someone like you, Quinn," Mr. Fabray declared. "Certainly not a girl from that kind of family; not that kind of girl."
"It's the middle of the school term, isn't it?" Mrs. Fabray suddenly asked. "What is he doing in Ohio?"
"He worked around his schedule, he wanted to come and help Glee Club with preparations for Nationals," Quinn answered.
"Not that you need it," Jesse interjected smoothly, as he returned to his seat. He smiled at Quinn. "You have the perfect talent to win Show Choir Nationals this year."
"Such a charmer," Mrs. Fabray giggled.
"What do you know about glee club, Jesse?" Mr. Fabray asked.
Jesse turned to him. "I used to be the competition. It was the easiest way to get into college, being the lead of a nationally-awarded show choir. It serves its purpose, even if you don't consider it for a long-term career."
He is masterful with his command of language. Even Quinn, who was a fan of literature and wordplay, couldn't help but admire his fluency with words.
Jesse oozed confidence, almost arrogant in the way he continued throughout dinner, but Quinn wasn't really surprised that neither of her parents found him grating. He constantly referred to Quinn, and how she would benefit from a little more independence and freedom to explore who she is. He made it a point to emphasize how wonderful she is.
Quinn thought he had been laying it a little thick, but her parents had eaten it up, and Jesse was all charming smile and smooth confidence, and she'd had to remind herself that this was why he was here, even though having dinner with her parents wasn't her idea in the first place. She usually tried to avoid having dinner with parents as much as possible, and dragging an outside party into the mix was just out of the question. But her parents had been nagging her about bringing home a boy, and although she resisted, she'd had to concede defeat.
Although apparently not, because for the first time in a very long time, she wasn't leaden or heavy with tension throughout the meal. Jesse carried them through dinner, and Quinn realizes just how wonderful he really is.
Her parents were smitten. Quinn didn't argue.
They don't even bat an eyelash when Quinn told them she was spending the night at a friend's, though - to her horror - her mother made it a point to slip some condoms into Quinn's overnight bag.
It was too late to lecture Quinn about premarital sex, but at least she could be safe about it now. And unlike Noah Puckerman, her parents wouldn't mind having a son-in-law like Jesse St. James.
Rachel is not at all supportive.
Quinn frowned at the smaller girl who was practically hanging off Jesse in her laughter, because for some reason Jesse and Rachel found Jesse's dinner with the Fabrays hilarious.
They would never know, and Rachel wasn't yet in college, but Quinn's parents had just had dinner with Quinn's girlfriend.
After all, Rachel didn't play sports. Her grades were above average, and she had already been accepted to several top performing arts conservatories for college. She was smarter than any of Quinn's ex-boyfriends, more clever, and cunning. She was charming, and slightly narcissistic, and her self-confidence bordered on arrogance. She liked talking about herself. She did not lack in love and belief and confidence in Quinn.
Jesse was just a more acceptable physical representation.
He was, truly, a male version of Rachel Berry, and the only flaw Rachel found was that Jesse had only faltered in his acting exercise when he'd made fun of Quinn's exes, because while Rachel did not doubt that she was superior to all of them, she would never have mocked them so openly in front of her girlfriend's parents.
Jesse argued that when he had to mention Finn Hudson, mockery was a given.
Point Jesse.
They owe him, and they all knew it, but for now he was willing to leave it alone.
Favors could be collected later.