Second chapter! Happy reading!
Quinn rolled her eyes when she walked out of her back room to find Jay at the counter. "Oh, it's you," she muttered, keeping her voice carefully irritated, "What do you want now?" It wouldn't do for him to find out that she enjoyed bantering with him. He'd just get an even bigger head and never leave her alone.
"I'm here for something to help me sleep," he announced, grinning, "Quinn." She paused for a split second as she walked around the counter to head towards some shelves near the door. Then she kept moving. He'd given a lot of thought to her since meeting her. He knew, suspicions having been confirmed by Evie who apparently had no idea that he knew her best friend, that Quinn was the daughter of the Queen of Hearts. Everyone knew that the Queen of Hearts had been unhinged before coming to the Isle but at some point since then she'd lost it completely. He wondered how it affected Quinn because he suffered under his father's care and his father was nowhere near as insane as the Queen of Hearts. The red-haired girl shoved a vial of clear liquid into his palm. "What do I owe you?" Evie had explained, he'd asked when they were alone, how Quinn handled her business.
The princess in question turned him around pushed him towards the exit. "Leave me alone." It was dangerous business to go about liking someone. Her mother had long rants at least once a week about how love wasn't real and men were pigs that shouldn't be trusted. It was bad enough that the effort Jay put into his attempts to get to know her was warming her up to him. She did not need to encourage him, whether she did it unconsciously or not.
"You know," Jay stated casually as she shoved him outside, "I don't think I can do that." He leaned against the doorframe, meeting her eyes. "You're interesting," he told her bluntly, "like a puzzle I can't really figure out but won't give up on anyway." Quinn rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut, narrowly missing his fingers. Undeterred, he opened it and went inside again. "No, seriously," he continued as though she hadn't tried to cut off the conversation, "I don't think I can leave you alone until you tell me what I need to know to figure you out."
Quinn had enough. "You know what, fine," she muttered, facing him with a scowl, "My mother has always made it perfectly clear that if I was to go and catch feelings for someone, I'm to be locked into my tower." She crossed her arms, eyes flashing dangerously. "And 'round here we don't have any knights to save us." At some point as she spoke she started pacing but she was far too agitated to stop. Jay watched her with a raised eyebrow. "I have exactly two men I'm allowed to see without repercussions and you're neither of them, so please leave."
"Let me see if I got this straight," Jay interrupted before she could shove him out again, "Your unhinged mom won't let you see any guys except two and you don't actually want me to leave because of me but because of her?" Quinn looked so adorably put out by the simple conclusion to her rant that he had to chuckle. Which was the wrong thing to do, he realized as she gave him an unimpressed look and started to turn away. "She doesn't have to know," he said, making her stop, "because I really don't think I can stay away." He must have let something into his voice that he didn't mean to because she gasped softly and turned back to him with unsure eyes.
Quinn wasn't sure what that soft note in his words had been, but it was enough to make her question the decision to forget about him. For the love of hell, they didn't even know each other. She was being foolish, she should have gone into the back room and stayed there until he left. There was absolutely no reason for her to believe him, no reason for him to mean what he said. But she wanted to. She wanted to believe him and she wanted for him to have meant it. Her mother would have her head if she found out. Maybe it was better to have lived a little for a short time rather than never stepping a toe out of line for a lifetime. "Fine," she relented hesitantly, "Evie knows when I'm here, talk to her." He nodded, a wide a grin on his face. Quinn couldn't stop herself from smiling back. Realizing that they could only spend so much time together before someone spotted them, Jay thanked her for the sleeping potion and left. Her heart was beating faster than normal, but Quinn pointedly ignored it. Nothing would come of the association with Jay. It couldn't, not if she wanted to avoid turning into her mother when he eventually moved on.
Over the next few weeks, Jay went with Evie whenever she visited Quinn's shop, distracting the red-haired princess with conversation and flirty quips while Evie learned to manage the shop. But then they walked in and found that Quinn wasn't alone. Jay froze as he saw Harry Hook walking among the shelves, a crate of vials in his arms. The pirate was placing the little bottles and jars out on display, each one labeled neatly. Looking at Evie, Jay was surprised to see her blushing furiously. She didn't seem to be able to even glance in Harry's direction. Quinn stood behind the counter, sorting through a pile of knick-knacks, though she looked up when the bell above the door chimed. Glancing suspiciously at Harry, Jay made his way over to her while Evie remained rooted at the entrance. "I have some questions" he murmured, jumping up to sit beside the cash-register.
"Harry is one of two guys I'm allowed to see," she stated absently, holding up a leather bracelet for him to inspect, "He helps out here while he pretends that he's babysitting me." She gestured to Evie, who still hadn't moved an inch from the door with one hand, using the other to dump a bunch of tangled necklaces into his lap. "Evie's got a crush on Harry," she continued bluntly, earning a squeak and a deepening blush from the blue-haired girl in question while Harry smirked, "but won't do anything about it because her mother would lose it if she slummed it with a pirate." The alliances between villains were complicated and dictated most villain kids' lives. Evie could associate with Quinn because their mothers were allies but Jay wasn't allowed near Quinn because his father and her mother were rivals, despite Jafar and the Evil Queen being allies. Harry's father and Quinn's mother were allies but even though Evie's mother was allied with Quinn's, Evie wasn't supposed to be seen with Harry. The fact that the four of them were in the same shop at the same time would give their parents heart attacks.
Jay detangled the necklaces for Quinn, telling her which ones could be traded for more valuable things and which ones she might as well throw away, all while Evie slowly made her way to them, blush flaring up whenever Harry walked past. It had become routine for Jay and Quinn to sort through the things she traded. She kept the most valuable things, to trade for other stuff at the marketplace, while he kept the things with lesser value to bring to his father's shop. Throughout the afternoon though, both of them watched as Evie tried to maneuver herself around Harry without blushing. It was amusing to see Harry make an effort to brush against her when he had to move past her to get to a shelf as he deposited vials in their rightful place. Jay was fascinated by the differences between Evie and Quinn. Evie flushed pink just being in the same room as Harry, while Quinn let Jay flirt with her shamelessly without so much as a reaction. It was interesting that Evie, whose mother was downright reasonable compared to Quinn's, had more difficulty defying orders than her best friend, considering that it was likely that the Queen of Hearts punished her daughter more severely than the Evil Queen.
Evie left the shop an hour after their arrival, face so red that Jay worried that she was choking on something. He voiced his concern to Quinn who waved him off, stating that if Evie was choking on something it was the urge to kiss Harry until neither could stand. Harry had rolled his eyes, announcing that he was going to get something to eat from Ursula's Fish & Chips and would be back later, leaving them alone. He'd been gone for ten minutes and Jay was starting to understand Evie. It was difficult to be so close to Quinn and resist the urge to press his lips against hers. When she bit her lower lip while squinting at a glass sphere with a flower inside, he had enough and slid down from the counter. She didn't get a chance to ask what he was doing before he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her to him, his lips meeting hers. She didn't even pause, kissing him back. It was almost anticlimactic the way weeks of flirting led to a kiss before they let go of each other, sharing a smile as they went back to sorting. When Harry came back he just smirked as he told them that he'd been ordered by the Queen of Hearts to bring Quinn back to their castle. Jay had formed an easy companionship with the pirate over the time he'd spent in Quinn's Quid Pro Quo, going so far as pretending they didn't see each other when they met outside the shop rather than launching into a fight. Harry stopped Jay before he left, smirk widening as he told him to wipe away the lipstick stains.
Even if the kiss in the shop was the beginning of some sort of romance between them, Quinn's relationship with Jay didn't really start until she was locked into her room. Being locked into her room usually meant that her bedroom was locked and remained so until her mother decided to let her out again. She had a balcony, but Quinn wasn't reckless enough to try to climb down using the vines growing along the side of the castle. Jay was though, she found out. She'd been brushing through her hair when a knock on her balcony door made her jump. Quinn turned around and her jaw dropped when she saw Jay waving through the glass, the usual smirk on his face. "What," she asked, letting him in, "are you doing here?"
"Harry said your mom was in a bad mood today," he explained simply, looking around the room, "and figured that you wouldn't be able to make it to the shop." He picked up a pair of garish, emerald earrings, raising an eyebrow at her. At her nod, he put them in his pocket. "So I thought I'd come by-" he gestured his hands over himself- "as you can see." Quinn was still looking at him disbelievingly, so he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pushing her down onto the stool by her vanity again. He picked up her brush and continued to run it through her hair, twisting it into a braid when he was done. She smiled at him through their reflection, meeting his eyes.
Quinn's warm gaze turned suspicious when he smirked back at her. When Jay suddenly bent down to press little kisses against the exposed column of her throat, she rolled her eyes. She should have known he'd have an ulterior motive with getting her hair out of the way. Since their kiss in the shop, Jay had been happy to supply more whenever she demanded them. Only if Harry wasn't around though. The pirate was like a brother to her and after he caught them making out in the back room he made it clear that as long as he was around they had to keep their hands off of each other. "Jay…" she started, unsure if she should stop him or let him continue. He hummed against her throat, sending shivers down her spine, and she decided to allow him to keep at it. Jay ran his fingers down her arms, settling them on her elbows as he gently prompted her to stand. Once she was up he turned her around to face him and she couldn't help but smile into his kiss. It was sweet and comfortable, his touch easing the tension in her shoulders. She could have stayed like that forever. But as the thought registered, she felt panic seize her. Quinn froze, making Jay pull away from her. Because love wasn't real. His reputation spoke for itself when it came to his ability to form relationships.
Jay frowned at her, confused by her sudden change of mood. She stepped out of his embrace, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned away from him. "Quinn?" He tried to put his hand on her arm but she shook him off, breath hitching. Jay felt angry and confused. As far as he'd been aware, their… involvement had progressed well. "Come on, what's wrong?"
"Maybe you should leave" she replied weakly, the fight she usually had in her voice lost. It didn't feel right to send him and the selfish part of her wanted nothing more than to feel him against her again. But the fear and the nagging sense of self-preservation was stronger. He murmured her name, attempting to wrap his arms around her. Quinn shrugged him off, tears rising as she listened to him sigh. Each step he took away from her sent a stab through her, but she'd rather he left because she told him to than because he got sick of her. The balcony door squeaked when he opened it and Quinn felt a tear slip down her cheek.