Author's note: I really didn't want to start another multi-chapter fic, since I already am behind on my other one, but I just felt inspired to write this.

I do not own Glee. Bummer.


It was a beautiful summer day in Lima, Ohio, and Quinn was sitting on her bed, checking Facebook. Puck had recently changed his relationship status to "Single". Maybe he just should have put "I dumped Quinn because she's a prude and I'm a sex shark", that would have fit the situation much better. Though that was only half true. Since they had both graduated, they figured their romance would come to an end sooner or later, with the distance between them. Puck was staying in Lima for the time being and Quinn was going off to Yale - her dream. Granted, she's a legacy, since her parents also went there, but she still couldn't believe she got accepted. She jerked up as she heard a knock on her bedroom door and saw Jesse come in.

"You know the point of knocking is usually to receive a response like "yes, I'm decent, come on in!" and then actually come in?" Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, I know you missed my bold entrances," he teased as he plopped himself next to her on her bed, "So, whatcha doing?"

"Nothing," she quickly closed her laptop, "What do you want?"

"Easy there, can't I just come in and have a conversation with my little sister I haven't seen in a year?"

"You can when you're not so unsubtle about it. What's up?

"I ran into Rachel Berry at the music store today," Jesse announced as he looked around Quinn's room.

"What? Rachel? She's back in town?" Quinn gasped in shock.

"See, as you two were so close when you were little, it astonishes me you don't even keep in touch anymore. What happened?"

"Nothing, we just...grew apart. She moved to New York and that was that," Quinn defended herself. Jesse raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What? It's not like we had Skype in the 90ies! Things like that happen!" Quinn was getting irritated.

"Whatever. Anyway, I saw her at the music store. She's all grown up and apparently moved back in with her dads. Leroy has cancer," Jesse said sadly.

"Oh my gosh, he does? Is it fatal?"

"No, it's just hard for them, so Rachel moved back to help and stuff."

"Thank God. I can't imagine how tough that must be!"

"Right? So since she doesn't have that many friends here anymore, I invited her over tomorrow night," Jesse stated.

"You what?"

"You have a problem with that?" Jesse was confused. He thought Quinn would be thrilled to catch up with her long lost friend, especially since there was apparently no beef between them.

"No, it's just...a little sudden, and...awkward," she replied as she jumped up from the bed and stood up.

"Awkward?"

"My 23 year old brother inviting my childhood friend, who, by the way, is a little younger than me, over? I'd call that awkward!"

"Geez, Quinny, calm down, I was just trying to be nice, I'm so sorry for showing a little compassion to the girl who has a sick father. I'll call her and say she can't come because my sister's a bitch!" He got up and headed towards the door.

"Wait!" Quinn cried. Jesse stopped and looked at her, a look of disappointment and judgment on his face. Quinn sighed, "Fine, she can come."

"Fantastic!" Jesse exclaimed and opened the door.

"Oh, and by the way," Quinn called out, as Jesse turned his head to her once again, "I'm not a bitch."

"Of course you aren't," Jesse teased and was out the door. As he walked through the hallway of their home, he smiled at the memory of him singing "Hello" with Rachel Berry but a few hours ago in the music store. That girl had the most amazing voice and she had him completely mesmerized, and he couldn't wait to see her again. He wasn't interested in her like that, of course not. She was his little sister's friend; it would be creepy for him to be interested in her. Jesse and Quinn had once reached a conclusion that she would never consider dating anyone older than Jesse, and he would never look at anyone younger than his sister - that was their age limit. So this all was purely platonic with Rachel. Really.


As Quinn was doing her hair she couldn't keep her thoughts from straying over to the issue of Jesse and Rachel. When Quinn and Rachel were little, she always knew Rachel had a crush on Jesse, but then again, most of her friends did. When he was 16 and Rachel was 11, she would cling onto him like a monkey - she was a very outgoing, quirky kid, so then Quinn didn't think much of it. But now that they're older she couldn't help but think if she still had that crush on Jesse. He had grown up to be a "total stud" (not that Quinn would ever think that - he was her brother after all), that many a girl lusted after. But he hadn't had a real girlfriend since high school, he wasn't that type of guy. He treated girls with respect and if he knew it wouldn't work out, he wouldn't take the time to toy with their emotions and just rejected them right in the beginning. Jesse St. James was an incredibly honorable guy. Therefore, he couldn't be interested in someone as young as Rachel Berry. Yes, he was just being nice to an old family friend. Quinn sighed in relief as she thought this through. There was nothing to worry about - she would just have to take the lead tonight and catch up with an old friend.

Jesse also was doing his hair in his bathroom, thinking about what Rachel might look like tonight. She had grown up to be much more attractive than he had expected when he was younger. And why did she have this strange effect on him? Jesse St. James rarely swooned over a girl. Not that he was swooning over Rachel, but she made him feel something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He wasn't exactly immune to female seduction, but he usually thought very little of it. He wanted to fall madly in love with someone, and if he didn't feel the spark right away, he dismissed the thought of further romantic contact. Which is why Rachel's charm caught him completely off guard. He shook the thought off after he realized what he was doing - Rachel was just a kid, the quirky little kid who used to have a gap in her teeth and play in the mud. Thankfully, the doorbell rang and distracted him from his thoughts.

"Jesse, doorbell! I'll be down in 5 minutes!" he heard Quinn yell from the other room.

"I got it!" Jesse yelled back and paced down the stairs. He stood in front of the door for a moment, fixed his black T-shirt, sighed deeply, put on a huge smile and opened the door, "Rachel, hello, you made it!"

He quickly skimmed what she was wearing - a pair of jeans and a loose, blue silk blouse. So simply yet so hot, Jesse thought, I mean...chic, he quickly corrected himself.

"Hi. Yeah I did. I haven't been here in so long it feels bit strange. And nostalgic," Rachel smiled and gave him a quick hug.

"You look very," hot, "nice. Come on in!" Jesse invited her in.

"Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself," she teased. Or flirted, whichever one seemed more appropriate. So teased.

"I know," Jesse smirked as he shut the door behind them, "So, Quinn will be down in a few minutes, she's getting her hair done. You know how our family is with hair."

"Oh yeah, I remember. I've only seen pictures of Quinn on Facebook - she's very beautiful."

"Then I guess all that work pays off," Jesse laughed, "Do you want anything to drink? Our parents aren't home, so I think I might even be able to give you some wine."

"Ooh, that sounds so dangerous, I'd love to," Rachel giggled.

Jesse smiled and nodded, "I'll be right back, make yourself at home."

Rachel walked around the room, looking at the family pictures, realizing how long she hadn't seen all of them - 7 years had gone by in a flash. Rachel had moved to New York with her mother, because, let's face it - it was New York and Rachel Berry was destined to be a star. Though as she looked at Quinn's graduation picture, she realized just how much she had missed her. They used to be so close and then just one day it all ended. When she came to visit her dads she had bumped into her a few times over the years, but that was all it was - bumping into each other. Pre-teen girls usually don't make that much of an effort, whether because they were just shy or Rachel thought Quinn was mad at her for moving away. In any case, the friendship just faded out. Rachel was honestly nervous to see Quinn again, and was very surprised she was actually gussying up to see her.

"I cracked open the Rose, I hope that's fine with you," Jesse said as he entered the room once again.

"Of course," Rachel replied as she turned to face him and took the glass from his hands, their fingers touching for a split second.

"Checking out the family shrine, huh?" Rachel chuckled,

"I wouldn't call it that, but yes. I see Quinn followed in your footsteps and was in glee club, too?"

"Yeah. That's kind of a long and convoluted story, maybe she'll tell it sometime," Jesse said as he took a sip of his beer. He wasn't much of a wine lover.

"Oh," Rachel exclaimed.

"See this guy," he pointed at Puck in the glee club photo, "That's Noah Puckerman."

Rachel's eyed widened as she took a second look at the boy, "What? It is?"

"Yup, that's Puck. Grew up to be a total douche. He and Quinn dated, apparently she says there's this whole other, softer side of him, but I don't buy it. He just recently broke up with her, so you might not want to mention that," Jesse cautioned.

"Mention what?" Quinn said as she entered the room.

"That you look absolutely fabulous," Rachel covered as she put her glass down and walked over to Quinn, "Hi!" She cried enthusiastically and hugged her.

"Hey, it's so good to see you!" Quinn replied and squeezed her tight.

Jesse watched it and thought that might be the most awkward thing he had ever seen. It seemed there was no truth to it at all.

"You too! How have you been?" Rachel said as she pulled away.

"You know, same old, same old," Quinn shrugged.

"Oh, that's not true. She's just being modest - she got into Yale," Jesse interrupted, trying to make the conversation less tense.

"You did? Oh my gosh, that's amazing! You've always wanted to go to Yale, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but it definitely wasn't a cake walk," Quinn revealed.

"Well, I think this calls for a toast!" Rachel announced and raised her glass.

"Uhm, I don't drink," Quinn stated.

"Oh, uhh, I didn't...I didn't mean t-"

Jesse hesitated for a second and trying to salvage the situation called out, "Well then, let Rachel and I salute you!" And he rose his beer and they did so.

"Thanks," Quinn faked a smile, "Jesse, could you help me in the kitchen for a minute?"

"Uhh, sure. We'll just be a second," Jesse told Rachel and followed Quinn into the kitchen.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Quinn hissed, trying not to yell and let Rachel hear.

"What? I'm just doing damage control. And since when don't you drink? I remember Santana's birthday party last year, even if you don't," Jesse said in his defense.

"About that - first you invite my old friend over, which is creepy enough, and now you try to get her drunk? What is this some kind of date rape scheme?"

"Oh my God, Quinn, what is wrong with you? Like I would ever do such a thing! I'm not getting her drunk, it's half a glass of wine to ease the obvious tension! Gosh, stop being so fucking uptight all the time!"

"What did you just say? I can't even talk to you right now! I'm going upstairs in hope you won't molest the teenager in our home!" Quinn stomped off.

"Oh, come on! I'm offended you would even think that!" Jesse yelled, hot caring if Rachel heard or not, just hoping Quinn did. He left the room and went back into the living room.

"What was that about?" Rachel asked as soon as Jesse came back.

"Who knows, Quinn's been acting really bitchy lately. She had something urgent to attend to, so she apologizes that she had to leave," Jesse lied.

"Oh..." Rachel said, not believing it, but who was she to intervene, "I hope I didn't do something to offend her."

"No, not at all. I think she's just PMSing or something," he said.

Rachel wasn't sure what you should reply in that case so she just nodded.

"So, tell me how you've been doing? How's New York? I hear you're somewhat of a star."

"I wouldn't necessarily say "star", but... I have been doing Broadway shows since I was 12," Rachel admitted.

"Yeah, I'm actually very surprised we've never crossed paths in New York."

"Well, I have to admit, I saw you in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Hair."

"What? You did?" Jesse suddenly was sporting a huge grin on his face.

"Absolutely. And it was great, by the way."

"Thanks, but why didn't you come over to say hi afterward? I would have loved to see you!"

"I don't know, I was with friends and it just didn't seem proper," Rachel fiddled with the glass in her hands.

"Alright, I'll forgive you...this time," he teased.

Jesse and Rachel continued talking and after what seemed only a few minutes, Rachel checked the clock and it had been more than an hour and a half. "Oh, gosh, we've been sitting here for almost 2 hours!"

"Really?" Jesse asked, checking the clock, "Huh, would you look at that."

"I should go talk to Quinn, shouldn't I," Rachel offered.

"Probably," he shrugged.

Rachel smiled and made her way upstairs. She knew this house like the her five fingers, even though it'd been a couple of years since she'd been here. She knocked on Quinn's door and peeped inside to see her sitting on her bed, "Hey, can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," a distracted Quinn replied and closed her laptop, which would have revealed urgent messages sent to Puck.

"Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or anything before," Rachel apologized and took a seat on the queen-sized bed.

"No, I should apologize for leaving you like that. I've just been on edge this week."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Does Puck have anything to do with it?" Rachel asked, not sure if she should go there.

Quinn jerked her head up at her and looked surprised, "What? How do you know about that?" she said, confused, "I mean, no, it's just, uhh, a few weeks before I'm moving to Yale and, um, the pressure is really getting to me," Quinn played it off.

What pressure, you've already been accepted, "Ah, well I wouldn't worry, you'll do fine," Rachel smiled.

"Thanks."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, making them both feel extremely uncomfortable. Because, really, what do you say to someone you haven't seen for so long? They both guessed the other had completely changed and they would no longer have anything in common.

Finally, Rachel broke the silence. "So...I should probably get going, it's getting a little late, and my dads are expecting me home for dinner," Rachel said as she got up from the bed.

"Oh, of course, yeah," Quinn also got up and walked her to the door.

"But it was very nice seeing you, we should really get together some other time and catch up," Rachel said as they walked down the hall.

"Definitely," Quinn replied, "By the way, I heard about your dad - I'm really sorry."

"Thanks, but I'm hoping it will all be alright."

"I'll be praying for him," Quinn stated.

Rachel smiled as they had gotten to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, you're leaving?" Jesse said as he came closer to the door.

"Yeah, I have to go. But thank you so much for your hospitality!"

"Anytime," Jesse smiled.

"Yeah, and if you and your family ever need anything, just call," Quinn added.

"Thank you, that really means a lot," Rachel said and gave them both a quick hug goodbye and was on her way.

Once Jesse shut the door he immediately turned around to Quinn, ready to defend himself, "Listen, it's not what you thi-"

"I know, I'm sorry, you were just being nice to her. I overreacted, I know you look at her like a little sister, so I'm fine with it," Quinn explained.

If only that were true... Jesse thought.


Author's note: I hate that it ended where it did but I didn't want to make it too long! Hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think, since I'm not that sure myself! And a big thanks to everyone who helped me think this idea through :)

A little something about what's to come: A Quinn and Puck confrontation, a real Quinn and Rachel conversation, Jesse and Rachel's inside battle about their feelings, Rachel's side of the story and her dealing with her father. There will be tears, there will be twists, there will be reconciliations and massive arguments.