A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really do appreciate all of them.
Rachel scowled at the dresses strewn all over her bedroom floor. "None of these are appropriate for the Tonys. They are in two weeks, and I must find a dress by this weekend, or I won't have time to have it properly altered."
Jesse stood leaning against the doorframe, slightly amused by his best friend's frantic behavior. He watched as she dug through various piles of dresses that had been haphazardly thrown on the floor. Her hair was wild, and Jesse was certain that it was sticking up in every possible direction that it could.
When he agreed to help Rachel go through the dresses her stylist brought over, he hadn't expected it to be an all day affair. He knew Rachel was never picky about what she wore to these events, so he couldn't help but wonder why she was getting so worked up this time.
"Just pick one. You've tried on at least a dozen dresses and I find it hard to believe that you don't like any of them. I think you're just being difficult," he said with an exasperated sigh.
"I am not being difficult, maybe if you would actually be helpful and have an opinion, instead of mumbling the same response every single time I tried one on, this would all go a little faster."
Stepping into the room, Jesse picked up the dress closest to him, and held it out to Rachel. "Here, I like this one. There, an opinion, are you happy?"
Rachel snatched the dress out of his hand. "No, I'd be happy if you would actually tell me which one you liked best, instead of simply reaching for the closest one. I can't wear this anyway, it has feathers on it."
"So? What's wrong with feathers? You've worn them before."
Jesse frowned a little as Rachel tossed the dress across the room, causing several feathers to fall off of it and flutter to the ground. He was still not able to understand why Rachel was making such a big deal about which dress to wear.
"Beth informed me that feathers make me look like a peacock."
"Oh, so you are taking fashion advice from a nine year old now?" he asked, laughing a little.
"I just know she is going to be to watching, and I want her to like my dress."
Jesse frowned when he realized the reason behind Rachel's frantic behavior. "Oh, I get it now."
Rachel's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you get?"
"Why you are acting crazier than usual about all of this. You know Quinn will be watching, and like you said, you want her to like your dress," he said, his voice full of concern. He knew that by going after Quinn again, Rachel was only setting herself up to be heartbroken.
Rachel sighed, she hated it when he was right. "When I said that, I was referring to Beth. As a future star, she looks up to me. I want to be a good influence on her, and wearing one of these revealing dresses would influence her in a negative way."
Jesse didn't respond, while there may have been some truth in what Rachel had just said, he knew all of this was for Quinn.
"My stylist is trying to ruin my career, I just know it. Why else would he send me all of these horrid dresses? Maybe I should-"
"All of these dresses are made by high end designers," Jesse said, interrupting Rachel in the middle of her rant.
"Of course they are, what is your point?"
"Wearing unknown designers is totally in right now."
Rachel pursed her lips together, as she debated whether or not she should call her stylist and have him bring over more dresses by less known designers. But then, her eyes widened when she realized she didn't need her stylist. She knew of the perfect up and coming designer to use for her dress.
"You are a genius," she said as she pushed past him and scurried into the living room.
"Rachel, what are you doing?" Jesse asked, as he followed her.
"I have to text everyone at the show to let them know that I will not be at tonight or tomorrow's performances. I also need to text Frank to let him know that I will be needing a ride to airport as soon as possible."
"What? Why are you going to the airport? Are you wanting to get your dress from a designer in LA?"
"Not LA, Lima."
Jesse took a deep breath. "I don't think that is a good idea.
Rachel rolled her eyes at his obvious disapproval. "Why not? I'm sure you recall how well dressed Kurt was, and judging from what he wore to the show and to lunch, his fashion sense is still just as good."
"I'm not an idiot, Rachel. If I thought that was the real reason you wanted to get your dress from him, I wouldn't have a problem. But I know you are only wanting to go there because of Quinn and Beth."
"That is not true, I simply-"
"Stop lying to me Rachel," Jesse said, interrupting her.
Rachel sighed in defeat as she sat down on her bed. "Well, you're right. I can't sit here and pretend as if I don't have ulterior motives. But why is it so wrong to miss them and to want to see them again? Isn't that the whole point of reconnecting?"
"I'm only concerned because I know you aren't over her, and no matter how hard you try to hide it, I know you are hoping to get her back." Jesse held his hand up when he saw Rachel's mouth open in protest. "What are you going to do if you actually do manage to get her back? She obviously cannot handle our lifestyle. I don't want you to throw away everything you've worked so hard for, for a person who couldn't be bothered to understand the pressures your career brings."
"It doesn't matter, Jesse. Quinn is engaged to someone else. I know we won't be together again."
"I just don't want her to hurt you again."
"Quinn never hurt me," Rachel mumbled.
"Oh right. She never hurt you, she just completely blindsided you and shattered your heart on the day you were supposed to celebrate the holidays together."
Rachel narrowed her eyes and remained silent for a few moments. Was Jesse right? Was she not the only one to blame for her and Quinn's relationship falling apart? She shook her head as she thought of all the lies she told and all the mistakes she had made. How could Quinn be blamed for all of that? In Rachel's mind Jesse was wrong, she was in fact the one to blame, not Quinn.
"I deserved it Jesse, you know that. I told you about all of the horrible things I did and all the lies I told."
"That's the thing, Rachel, I don't think you deserved it. I do think what you did was wrong, and she had every right to be hurt, but she should have understood your reasoning, I know I would have. This is why you need to date someone in the business."
Rachel sighed in annoyance. "While I appreciate you taking my side in a matter that happened well before we resumed contact, I disagree with your thinking. It is irrelevant anyway; Quinn is getting married to someone else. I am simply going to Lima for a dress and hopefully a lunch with Quinn and Beth."
Jesse knew he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of this. "Well, I guess we should get going then."
"We?" Rachel asked, relieved that he wasn't going to fight her on this any longer, but confused as to why he would want to join her.
"Yes, we. Someone's got to keep an eye on you and make sure a certain blonde doesn't stomp all over your heart again."
Rachel laughed a little. "You are so dramatic, and coming from me, that says a lot. No one is going to get their heart stomped on."
Jesse felt helpless as he watched Rachel frantically throw a bag together, knowing nothing good was going to come out of this trip to Lima. He was just glad he was able to go with her, and hopefully keep her self destructive choices to a minimum. He could only hope that Quinn and Beth would be far too busy to spend a lot of time with Rachel.
"Are you ready?" Rachel asked, pulling Jesse out of his thoughts. "Frank is waiting for us downstairs."
Jesse just nodded as he grabbed both of their bags, before following Rachel out of the apartment and into the elevator. Staring at his best friend, Jesse felt torn. While he knew this trip was a terrible idea, Jesse couldn't deny that he hadn't seen Rachel look so excited and determined since high school. He knew Quinn was the reason behind all of it and he was extremely concerned that she was going to break Rachel's heart, again.
Rachel snapped her fingers in front of Jesse's face. "What is wrong with you? You keep zoning out today."
"Sorry," he mumbled as they exited the building and got into the waiting car.
"I don't mean to be rude, but I do have to make a few calls on our way to the airport," Rachel said as she pulled her phone out.
"Oh. Are you calling your fathers?"
"No, I've already e-mailed them our itinerary for the weekend. I'm calling Quinn. I promised Beth I would let her know when I was going to be in Lima."
"Hey!" Rachel shouted when Jesse snatched her phone out of her hands. "What are you doing?"
"Are you positive you want to see her again?" he asked, as he held her phone out of her reach.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be calling her now would I?"
"Fine, fine," he said as he reluctantly gave the phone back to her. "But you know, you can forget the Tonys all together. You can come to the tour rehearsals with me, and be my other opening act."
"Rachel Berry does not open for anyone," Rachel said scoffing. "Now, whether you like it or not, I'm calling Quinn. Can you please just sit there and be quiet for five minutes?"
"Fine," Jesse said as he turned to look out the window, finally realizing he wasn't going to win this battle.
Rachel's heart pounded and she smiled nervously as she scrolled through her contacts list. Her finger hovered over Quinn's name for a few seconds before she finally found the courage she needed to actually make the call.