"Jesse?" She's genuinely shocked (but not surprised) to see him, even if it is in her bedroom. On a Tuesday.

"Who else?" He's cocky and she doesn't like it.

"I'm surprised you even recognise me, you know, minus the egg."

"Rachel-"

"Get out." She's soft and sharp and it pulls at him. "Please." Her dads would want her to be polite. So would her mum, she's discovered.

"No." Now he's sharp, and stern with it. She sighs and turns her back on him. He might not leave but that doesn't mean she has to listen.

"Finn will be over in a minute." It's a cheap dig and a low shot, and they both know it.

"Him? Your little plaything to stop the hurt?" He's mocking her and this is why they can never work. Finn's not a lot of things, but he's genuine and that's what she needs right now. "Rachel, you and I both know that is never going to work."

She brushes a tear away – Why am I crying? – and turns back to face him. "It's working fine, thank you."

He knows her smile is as fake as his nonchalance, because at the end of they day they're one and the same, actors through and through. He manhandles a photograph of her and Finn, carelessly tossing it aside. And that's why she knows Jesse St James, the only man she can't seem to understand, will only ever break her heart. He'll toss it aside just as carelessly and she can't survive that again. No-one could.

"No congratulations?" He's smug but only because he's hurt. He needs her affirmation because without it, the win seems kind of pointless. But he won't ever tell her that.

"No apology?" She counters quickly.

"What, for loving you?" She's heard that word too many times to even know it's meaning now. And that's the problem with these teenage boys; they scatter words across their lips ignorant of the meanings. And Rachel Berry strives off meanings. She takes them and turns them and sings them back to you in a harmony fit for angels. So when the boy in front of her uses that word again, it barely touches her surface.

She tries (and fails) to think of an answer so sarcastic even Kurt would be proud, but she can't muster anything up and he of course takes her silence to mean her defeat. But it's a shallow victory.

"What do you want, Jesse?"

"From you?" He takes a step towards her and she catches herself on the edge of the bed. She sits, barely making a dent. "Answers."

"Rich, coming from you." He knows he deserves that one. And probably plenty more.

"What are you doing with that idiot?" His eyes flutter shut in contempt.

"Finn's not an idiot," She's quick to defend him because she feels she should do. Finn told her he loved her yet it's Jesse who stands in her bedroom.

"How did you know I was talking about Finn?" The way he stares is almost sub-human. The need in his eyes worries her, just slightly, and her fingers curl under, grasping the duvet gently. He takes a seat next to her and places a hand atop hers - he always was possessive. He knows he should be enough – more than enough – for her. So that's why he takes his other hand to the side of her face, but she flinches and scoots backwards.

"Why do you think I'm going to hurt you?" He seems to be genuinely concerned. Doesn't she realise he'll never hurt her?

"Why do you think you won't?" Doesn't he realise he already has?

"Because-" he doesn't finish the sentence – mainly because he can't – so resolves to place his lips on hers and claim her as his. Everything is wrong as their lips merge and her stomach jerks in a way that it never has before. And the worst thing is, Finn really could be coming over but in an effort to forget him, her hand instinctively finds the nape of his neck.

He groans, then sighs.

She moans and cries. (Well, five tears escape but he's still quick enough to notice.)

"W-wait, why are you crying?" This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Don't you know?"

He knows wholeheartedly and brings her lips to his in a clash of tension and colour and music. And it makes the sweetest sound that sends ethereal tingles all around his body. She's breathy and blushing as he pulls away and stands up beside her.

"I'm sorry," he stutters suddenly and makes his dramatic exit, leaving her sat on her bed, more hurt than ever.