Author's Note: I did not proofread this. This is inspired by "Normal Things" so if you guys read the book or watch the show, some things will be familiar.
I. Keep you right here where the line is
At my fingers, on the surface
Crushes were stupid.
Quinn Love didn't know any other way to describe how utterly embarrassing and mortifying crushes were. She thought pathetic was a good adjective as well.
Yet, maybe she was stupid. Stupid for having a crush on her best friend.
What she hated the most was the cliche of it all. It was so comical that the one person she would allow herself to feel something towards was her best friend. It didn't make sense. She hated it. She hated herself for it.
Furthermore, she couldn't trace when she had fallen for Jackson Teller.
She had no reason. She didn't think there was any evidence. It was like he snuck up on her. She couldn't pinpoint the catalyst where her heart didn't want the forbidden.
All she knew was she would keep it inside and locked to herself. She didn't want to lose her best friend to something so silly as hormones. She thought it was just a phase. Maybe her realizing her friend was attractive was just a simple misguidance from her brain.
She just hated that she could barely look him in the eyes now. How her cheeks would turn red when he smiled at her or even offered her a simple compliment. She hated how it felt like she was drooling when he would walk around shirtless.
Quinn thought the worst of it all was the girls. She hated to even admit that there was even a tinge of jealousy on her end.
She knew it wasn't their fault. Sure, some of the girls' personalities were to be desired. Even then, Jax constantly had a girl on his arm. It wasn't like there was even a chance to develop any type of feeling towards them when a new girl would be lounging on the couch of Teller Morrow.
Like now, Miriam was Jax's current girl. She also seemed to be the most steady girl he had in a while. It's been two months and they are still going strong. Strong enough that Jax formally introduced her to his dad and grandfather. She ignored the fact it happened during the one weekly dinner she attended at the Teller household on Wednesdays.
Quinn hated that she tried to find some type of flaw in the girl.
It made her feel childish comparing herself or judging a girl over a boy. A boy she knew she had no chance with and who only saw her as a friend.
Miriam was nice with her platinum blonde hair and pouty lips coated in clear gloss. Miriam never hesitated to initiate conversations. Worse, she even invited her out to do things since Quinn was Jax's friend.
So she couldn't dislike Miriam for any reason. She watched slightly as Jax walked into the office with no greeting to her as he swept Miriam into his grasp.
Quinn's turned pink as she felt like an interloper in what she would deem as a private moment as Jax practically swallowed her tongue. Jax didn't even bother for a departure as he pulled Miriam out the door. The Prospect patch looked like a shiny gloss sticker on his back.
"Sorry, you had to witness that."
Quinn jumped slightly startled at Opie's voice. He was currently cleaning his hands with a greasy rag. Quinn that maybe she should give Opie the honor of being her best friend. After all, she never had to witness him sucking the tongue out of a girl.
"They call it young love."
"I would say disgusting."
Quinn giggled. She couldn't disagree. Opie moved into the office and took a seat on the edge. His brown eyes were serious as he looked at her. "You okay?"
Quinn frowned. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"We both know how he can be when he is wrapped up with some girl."
Quinn shrugged. "Miriam is nice."
Opie gave her a sad smile. He cleared his throat and knocked his knuckles against the desk. "My shifts over you need a ride home?"
Quinn nodded. "Thanks, Opie."
Quinn would say that she preferred the horrible treatment from her peers at school to the ones that she faced at home. At least the people at school were strangers. But her family might have well been strangers to her.
Her mother, Stella, hadn't been a mother to her in years. Quinn had very vague memories of her early childhood. She felt her mother loved her at some point. She remembers the smell of her mother's perfume as she hugged her. The way her mom would read her bedtime stories in funny voices. She remembered some type of affection.
Yet her mom's true love had been drugs. Even if her mom cared to hide the past, Charming wouldn't let her. Hell, when her older brother, Cillian, was in a mood, he had no problem mumbling about their past.
Quinn knew her biological father, Forrest Love, was an abusive junkie. Forrest and Stella were doomed high school sweethearts. Her father regularly cheated and smacked around her mother before she had been able to live.
When she was five there had been the infamous kidnapping incident. Her father had managed to snatch her. She had been gone for a few days when John Teller had been able to track her and Forrest down. John had made the mistake of only letting Forrest off with a warning and a few bruises. It was only a couple of weeks later when Forrest came back and gave her mother a beating.
Cillian had called John in a panic and that was the last time anyone had seen Forrest alive.
It wasn't surprising her mom abused drugs to cope and to support herself and two children and prostitution became a source of income. Yet, one day, John came back into their life as a knight and shining armor. He took her mother away for a couple of months and she came back sober ever since. Somehow, her mother had met Elliot Oswald, and he had no problem helping her get clean, marrying her, and adopting her two children as his own.
Elliot was nice. He was never home as he traveled a lot. But she couldn't begrudge a man that took care of her and her family. And when he was home, he did show interest in her writings and in making sure she had the things she needed to succeed. The man was going to pay for her college. She couldn't despise him too much.
However, the one who made it hell living in the cold halls of Oswalds was her older brother. She never remembered any warmth from Cillian. He had been cold as long as she remembered. It was even worse when he got injured in college and lost his football scholarship. He had come home and has been freeloading ever since. She did everything in her power to avoid him, but sometimes he couldn't be avoided.
As now as she could see his silhouette from the living room and a distinct outline of a bottle. Probably wine, most likely. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if he was drinking wine. Wine made him more sleepy than violent.
Quinn grabbed her things and took a deep breath. She had learned by now how to position her feet to make the least amount of noise. Which steps in her house to afford and how to close the doors without making them squeak.
Cillian only bothered her if he saw her. The grip on her backpack turns white. It seemed he was pacing the house and she knew it didn't matter if she tried the front or back door. Maybe she would have luck climbing the trellis. However, the backdoor was always unlocked and she wouldn't have to risk the jingling of her keys.
Maybe she was lucky that Oswald lived so secluded. It hid the dark side of the family he married into. Her feet take her to the backdoor of the freshly manicured lawn. Various forms of fairy lights illuminate the walkway.
She opened the backdoor very slowly and closed it with gentle pressure. She couldn't hear Cillian or the sloshing of liquid in a bottle. She didn't bother turning the lock as she moved away from the door to reach the stairs.
Her progress was blocked as Cillian stood on the landing. His sweaty grip on the neck of the bottle of wine.
Quinn imagined Cillian took after their father. Her brother was tall with a lean figure from the sports he played. He had piercing brown eyes that she believed the alcohol made turn black like coal. Her brother was handsome. However, his buzzed hair and the constant sweat were slowly tainting his once-movie star looks.
"Where were you?"
"Work."
"This late?"
Quinn made a fist, hard enough for her nails to break the skin. She nodded her head.
He walked lazily over to her. The stench of alcohol seemed embedded in his skin. "Was working all you were doing?"
Quinn licked her lips as she nodded her head.
It took her back when he lashed out, and he gripped her face. His fingers dug into her cheeks. "Enough with the nodding shit. Answer me."
"Yes, I was just working," Quinn bit out between the painful grip.
His black eyes stare into her hazel eyes. "Good girl."
He pushed her out of the way and Quinn caught herself on the railing so she wouldn't fall down the stairs. Cillian walked down the stairs unbothered.
He never looked back.
Quinn didn't think she was exaggerating when she said there wasn't much to do in Charming. There weren't a lot of franchises on the streets. Quinn was sure that someone could be transported from the 1950s and not even know they were in the present day.
However, she knew that there were some positives. It was nice to have such a mom-and-pop business that valued the customer over the profits. She knew practically every store and the owners. There was a close relationship there.
However, she couldn't ignore that the reason for such a small conservative town was due to the influence of the local motorcycle club. The town had a love-and-hate relationship with the club. She understood it as having the devil you know is better than you don't. She knew back then that the unspoken violence surrounding the club was the cause for many town halls that voiced their backlash.
There were shootings at the borders, whispers of gun running, and allegations of the Sheriff being on their payroll to turn the cheek at disappearing bodies. She knew the vitriol towards the club was at its height when Clay Morrow was the club's Vice President. Quinn never asked Jax for the details. She heard rumors of Clay wanting his father dead. Clay didn't like the idea of moving towards more legitimate businesses. There was jealousy that stemmed back regarding Jax's mother, Gemma.
Yet, it came to a head when there was a bombing at the clubhouse and Clay stormed a church with assault weapons. Clay was sentenced to serve a 25-year sentence. He could've gotten out in 12 with good behavior.
Though on a prison transport to a different prison, Clay was let loose and never seen again.
Thinking about Clay never provided any soothing thoughts though. Clay had been gone about 3 years now and it had been 3 years she had watched her friend change into a womanizer and abandoned his love of books and writing to fully immerse himself in the club.
Quinn shook her head. She didn't want to think about Jax when he wasn't thinking about her.
Maybe it was her fault for not confirming with him before he left that he was still up for taking her out to Stockton for a poetry reading she wanted to go to. Every month a small cafe, Fruitlab, would host readings of different writers and even artists for gallery showings.
She had been going to them since she had heard about the place when it opened in her sophomore year of high school. She knew all of the staff members by name. Her collection of books and poetry grew exponentially. Furthermore, Jax had no issues attending the readings with her. He even bought books for his collection. It was the one thing that they had together.
Then things changed. At first, club business was his excuse. She understood. Maybe if she didn't grow up around the club she would have been more upset that the club seemed to come before everything. Yet, for some strange reason, she rationalized it.
However, it went from the club to the girls. At least with the girls it was at first, he would drop her off. He wouldn't go in. She would get a quick hug as he would dash off for his date. She was lucky in the beginning that he would promise to pick her up. But then one day he forgot. She waited an hour and his phone went to voicemail.
Of course, being her, she had thought the worst. He was hurt. Something happened as she would have just saved herself the embarrassment and just called a cab or waited for the bus. Instead, she had called Opie panicking. Opie had been the one to pick her up. She would never forget his expression at realizing Jax had left her stranded.
Of course, she had work the next day, but Opie was sweet enough to cover for her. Since it was summer she was spared of having to see Jax in the hallways. She had promised to get over it by the next day. Yet, she was wounded and called to take off the week.
Jax never noticed and she hated that she wanted him too.
That had been back in the summer before the start of their senior year. She took the bus or sometimes Opie offered her a ride all the while reminding her that she would need her license at some point. Jax had promised to teach her, but he started seeing Miriam.
So she had been surprised when Jax offered her a ride to Fruit Lab. She had been looking at their flyer for the scheduled readings. She had thought maybe things were going to go back to normal, but hope was a fatal thing when it came to Jax.
Now it was raining. Not even raining it was a downpour. With Cillian home, she had told Jax to pick her up at the Charming Gardens. It was only like 20 minutes with traffic from the clubhouse. She had been there for 10 minutes. She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was just late. But 10 quickly turned to 30 then 45 minutes.
It would take her 30 minutes to walk to Jax's house.
Quinn pulled her hood up and looked at the gray skies. She would just call a cab back to her house. She didn't need anyone on the bus to see her soaked to the bone. Maybe she would ask Elliot if she could sign up for driving classes.
Sighing heavily, she was digging through her bag for her phone when a car horn distracted her. For a moment, she thought it was going to be Jax. Instead, she recognized the old Buick truck of Opie. She didn't question it running in and getting into the passenger side.
"What the hell are you doing out in the rain?" Opie asked as she got settled.
"Jax was supposed to take me to Stockton." She didn't elaborate.
"You still need to go?"
"I don't want to keep you from something."
"I don't got shit to do," Opie replied as he pulled away from the curb.
Quinn smiled at Opie. "Thanks. Want to go to the arcade?"
Hanging with Opie is always like a breath of fresh air. A guilty part of her wishes she could have a crush on Opie. He was sweet and kind. Despite being in the club, his personality wasn't changing. Girls weren't hanging off his shoulders. He didn't adopt this devil-may-care attitude. Then maybe she should be so harsh on Jax. They were growing up and sometimes that meant growing apart.
"You thinking about him?"
Quinn's hazel eyes turn towards Opie's soft brown ones.
Opie took a sip of his soda. They were taking a break from playing games. Besides, she was embarrassed with how she utterly sucked in their last game of Aliens Armaggaden. Opie had managed to get a top score due to his shooting skills. She was lucky to even nick a monster's arm.
"I didn't realize you liked him like that," Opie observed.
She felt the heat in her cheeks. Because sure she could admit she had a crush. Yet, she didn't know if she liked Jax.
"I miss him as my friend," she settled on. "But Miriam is nice and if he is happy…"
"Doesn't mean he can neglect you," Opie countered.
"Can you not tell him about this," Quinn pleaded.
"Quinn…"
"Please, I don't want any drama."
Opie sighed but reluctantly agreed. She gave him a small smile and eventually Opie returned it.
Quinn tapped his skin with her foot. "Besides, we can hang out now. How are things with you and Donna?"
Opie's cheeks now turn rosy. Of course, she knew that Opie had his eyes on the new resident in town. Donna was a sweet girl with bright blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. She and Donna science together and Donna always gushed about sweet Opie from her history class.
"We are just friends."
"You should ask her out. Maybe for the winter formal?"
Opie snorted. "Can you see me going to a dance?"
"With Donna, yes."
Opie shook his head. "What about you?"
Now Quinn snorted. "With my two left feet, no thank you. I don't think I am made for things like that."
"Bullshit."
"None of those preppy boys at your school bother you?"
Quinn shrugged her shoulders. The truth of it was that she was a loner in school. She kept her head down and went from class to class. She didn't have any friends at school. It was weird as despite her stepfather practically owning half of the town it didn't mean it bought her friends. Furthermore, she didn't have the shield of being good in sports to have a shield as Cillian did. With a friendship known between her and Jax, people believed they were more than friends.
"I don't have time for boys anyways. I am focusing on school - college. Time for me to get out of this town."
"And how are you going to do that by bus?"
"You going to teach me to drive?"
"Might as well."
Quinn turned hopeful. "Seriously?"
"Yeah, why not?"
Working at Teller-Morrow, or T-M, was an easy job. It kept Quinn busy and allowed her some independence. It kept her out of the house, which she liked since Cillian was back for who knew how long.
However, another perk was John Teller was an easy boss. It wasn't as if she had an official schedule. She worked Tuesday through Saturday. Even then John was lenient on her hours and always encouraged her to have Saturday off as a whole. While she was at school, Chucky, who had wooden hands, manned the front of the shop. Yet, she was known as the boss of the office. She had everything ordered maliciously in the filing cabinets. Over the summer, she had taken the task of updating all the software and digitizing everything as a backup. She even learned how to design a web page for the shop.
Yet, with a town their size, there was only so much she could do to keep busy. Her latest renovation for the office was investing in new furniture and plants. She thought John would shoot her down, but he had given the approval and even reimbursed her for the items she had managed to thrift. So now the office didn't look like a teenage boy's wet dream with the aged magazine photos on the wall. She had invested in nice picture frames that held photos of the crew to show it was a family-owned business.
She invested in a new coffee and tea machine, which the men in the garage loved. She was also able to find a nice small TV to put on the wall with the help of Opie.
Yet, her favorite additions were the pathos plants she had hanging in front of the windows. She even found different variations of snake plants. She knew she was going to have to give Chucky stern instructions on how to care for them. Furthermore, she thought the plants would be a nice reminder of Gemma. Jax had mentioned in the past his mother was a green thumb with the greenhouse his father had built. She thought maybe the plants would be a nice reminder of her.
Quinn rubbed the leaf of the cool green plant and entertained the thought of buying some for her room.
"Trying to be a green thumb?"
Quinn jumped at the sound of Jax's voice. She believed this was the first time they had spoken in two weeks. Sure, they had seen each other and while she was in the office words were exchanged about something regarding the auto shop. But she had been careful in maintaining her distance from Jax since he never showed up to take her to Fruit Lab.
Quinn clutched the green plastic watering can as she looked at her friend. He was looking at her with a bright dazzling smile. His eyes seemed to match the color of the sky. She moved over to her desk to create a barrier between them as she sat the watering can down. She prayed for the phone to ring.
"Never hurts to learn something new I suppose," she replied with a small smile.
He moved away from the doorframe. She noticed his hair was getting longer. His eyes took in the office. "Office looks nice. Looks clean and professional."
"Do you like it?"
Jax took a seat on the edge of the desk. He dug through his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. Quinn couldn't help the scrunch of her nose, which he noticed and laughed. "Miriam hates that I smoke too."
"It is a…nasty habit, Jax," Quinn tried to say diplomatically. Jax threw her an amused look as he placed the cancer stick behind his ear. "So things are going good with Miriam."
Jax shrugged his shoulders. "As good as they can be. She wants to start hanging out with her friends. Wants to go to "couple things". Whatever that means."
Quinn knew Miriam's crowd of friends. The jocks and cheerleaders. She believed even some theater kids were among her friends as well. "Well, she is your girlfriend isn't she?"
"She's a girl and a friend," he answered dismissively. Quinn didn't know how to answer that. She only nodded her head and cursed the phone for being quiet.
"But I came in here because I saw that tomorrow they were having a showing of 10 Things I Hate About You. Considering your Heath Ledger obsession was thinking we could go."
Quinn furrowed her brows. And it almost hurt the smile that he was giving her. And if this was a couple of weeks ago maybe she would have said yes immediately, but she didn't.
"I wish I could, but I…I can't."
Jax's smile dimmed. She could tell that he wasn't that. "You got a hot date or something?"
Quinn shook her head. "No, just Elliot's back home and you know how my mom is sometimes. Raincheck?"
Jax stood stiffly from the desk. "Yeah, raincheck," he repeated. He grabbed his cigarette from behind his ear and marched out of the office.
Quinn suspected Jax was a bit upset about her not agreeing to go to the movies with him. Yet, he wasn't going to bring it up neither was she. A part of her wanted to fix things between them, but this chasm between them wasn't her fault. Either way, he was off with Miriam she supposed.
Quinn was enjoying spending time with Opie. He had been teaching her how to drive for a month now. She was hoping that she would be able to get her license before Christmas break. Usually, conversation flowed between the two of them easily from her plans for life outside of Charming and her pushing Opie to ask out Donna. He was still being too much of a chickenshit to do it.
However, she suspected Opie's hesitance in asking out Donna was due to her planning to leave for college too.
And through all of this, it was nice getting to know Donna better especially since Donna planned on attending the University of California as well. Quinn hoped to maybe have one friend for college.
Quinn wiped her forehead from the sweat that was accumulating on her forehead. She had recently decided to take up running, but she was slowly regretting it. She wasn't one for cardio, but where Elliot's house stood with the acres of land that led into the woods with small hills and mountains, there was a path for walking and running. It was better than being cooped up inside the gym where Cillian could wander in.
Cillian was also quiet though once Elliot was home. Though Elliot's return only made Cillian simmer especially if Elliot expressed the lack of progress in Cillian's life. Unlike Cillian, Quinn did appreciate Elliot's role in their lives. He didn't have to, but he did everything in their power to make sure they were taken care of and would be if god forbid something happened to him. She knew that had caused a major blowout that Elliot put money in a trust for them especially after Cillian had a very pricey trip in Mexico one year.
It was one of the few times she had seen Elliot angry.
She also knew that any mention of her passing her driver's test and potentially getting a new card would have to be something she shared discreetly with Elliot.
She had already scheduled her driver's test and she was taking it in the next couple of weeks. Quinn was beginning to turn a corner when weight wrapped around her stomach. The scream was instant as her feet began to kick.
"Stop! Stop! It's me."
Her fear instantly turned into irritation as she realized she wasn't in danger. Jax dropped her and she quickly put the distance between them. "What is wrong with you!"
Jax put his hands up in surrender. "Bad joke. Sorry."
Quinn took a deep breath and she didn't even want to know how he even got onto this property. "What are you even doing here?"
"Jeez, did I piss you off that much? I can't get a proper greeting?"
"You nearly gave me a heart attack, Jax!" Quinn countered as she began walking down her trail. "What are you even doing out here?"
"Looking for you. You're a hard person to track down these days."
"Well, you've found me."
Jax frowned. "Jeez, what did I do to piss you have? First, I have Opie pissed off at me for gods no reason. Now, you're all snippy at me."
Quinn sighed before taking a sip from her water bottle. She found a large tree trunk to sit on. "If you're looking for me, what's going on."
As expected with Jax he wasn't going to press on her evasiveness. He never did especially if there was something that he deemed as more important.
"Well, we haven't hung out in a while. I only see you at work. Thought we could go to Stockton?"
"Stockton? For what?"
"Well, there is that wonderful ice cream shop there."
Quinn fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she squinted her eyes. "And what else?"
Jax placed a hand on his heart. "The company of my friend isn't enough."
"If you wanted a friend you would've gone to Opie and thought of a better lie."
"I'm not lying," Jax insisted. "I will take you to the ice cream if you want. I just… I pissed off Miriam and need to get her something. I need help."
Quinn's eyebrows shot to her hairline. He must have had some screws loose. She knew nothing to help him buy some sort of apology gift for Miriam.
Then it hit her. "You like her?"
For the first time, Quinn witnessed Jax blush. His cheeks turned rosy. He ducked his head as he tried to hide from her line of sight.
She ignored her heavy heart. This was just a simple crush. A crush just from simple proximity.
Quinn didn't know what to say. "I think it would mean much more to her if you got her something. Not something a friend thinks she would like."
Jax's blue eyes pinned on her. The heat in his cheeks faded slowly. "You think so?"
Quinn nodded. "We're not as complex of creatures as you men make us to be."
Jax rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Quinn," he said in her ear before he rushed out of the woods.
Quinn felt like an unwanted limb.
She didn't know why she agreed to hang out with Jax and Miriam along with Opie. It had been an ambush from Miriam when she was trying to leave work. She didn't even see the blonde hanging around until it was too late when she was unlocking her bike from its chain. The next thing she knew was she was being stuffed in Miriam's passenger seat while Opie and Jax were following behind them.
Somehow they had ended up at The Arcade. It was the town's response to a Chucky Cheese and Dave and Buster's. Miriam had quickly taken Jax over to some games and it left her and Opie to wander on their own.
Besides, it was no fun since Opie would let her win games. Quinn eyed her and Opie's combined bag of winnings. She was sure there were enough tickets for her to claim a glow-in-the-dark slinky.
"So Quinn do you have a boyfriend?"
Quinn's thoughts on how to spend her winnings were interrupted by Miriam's question. Quinn blinked and looked at the glowing blonde. Quinn quickly tuned out the conversation that was happening around her. Miriam was fine in talking for all of them when she and Jax weren't whispering. Opie had been digging in his food. She was sort of regretting letting Miriam be the one to take her here. There was no route to a quick escape.
"Um, no?"
Miriam frowned. "So you and Opie aren't going out?"
Quinn's eyes widened while Opie choked on air. "What?"
Miriam looked at her in disbelief. "I've been seeing you two out like every Saturday together. I told Jax you two would be a cute couple."
Quinn's cheeks were hot. "Opie and I are only friends. He is like a brother to me."
"Quinn and I are not dating," Opie added.
"If you say so," Miriam replied as she settled back into Jax's arms.
Quinn was busy reorganizing the filing cabinet. Despite the advancement in technology, John Teller preferred most things as paper records. Business was slow for the past month and Quinn was thinking of suggesting some type of special to boost services. Heck, she thought John should build a car wash with a detailing business next door.
She was in the middle of organizing the inventory list when she heard shouting coming from the bay. She closed the cabinet drawer and walked to the door that separated the office from the shop.
She watched in confusion as Opie called Jax an asshole before throwing a wrench on the couch and leaving the garage altogether.
"What happened?"
She was taken aback by the venom in Jax's gaze. "Just tell me the truth. Are you and Opie together?"
"Are you serious?" The laugh that escaped her lips immediately died once she saw that Jax was indeed being serious. She didn't even know how to respond to that. Or worse why he would seem to hold some high aversion to any possibility that maybe she and Opie could be something.
"So Miriam is right. You two are hanging out every weekend?"
"I used to hang out with you every weekend, does that mean we were dating too?" Quinn countered.
She watched Jax's shoulders deflate a bit. Maybe he was seeing he was being a total asshole. The anger that was simmering seemed to dim.
Either way, she didn't want to hear any sort of apology or excuse. She didn't need to be on the receiving end of that anyway. "Maybe you should apologize to Opie."
She didn't bother waiting for a response as she walked back into the office and closed the door.
Quinn wanted to ask Opie what started the fight with Jax. Things were still a little chilly between the two of them. Yet, in her presence, it seemed they were trying to be cordial. Although, in the past couple of weeks she decided it was best to deal with them both separately. She assumed Jax dug himself a deeper hole with Opie. Unlike before, she wasn't going to try to mend fences. They were big boys.
Besides, she was two weeks out from her driver's test and she was extremely nervous. Opie had been silent as they drove around on one of Elliot's properties. Opie had been quiet as he let her drive. He gave her a few comments here and there, but he kept quiet as he enjoyed the ride. The stereo softly played Paramore in the background while she drove them back to her house. Cillian and her mom were both gone and she didn't mind for once allowing Opie to breach the walls of her house.
"It must be lonely living in such a big house," Opie commented as they pulled into the driveway.
The Oswald residence was massive. It was also sterile and clean. There was nowhere to escape in the open-concept design. At least it was big enough that she could disappear and escape.
"Sometimes," she replied before turning off the car. "You know that you can invite Donna over. We can have a pool party."
Opie huffed. "Donna has a boyfriend."
"What!"
Opie shrugged. "It's no big deal. Besides, I will be busy with the club soon no point in trying to start something I won't be able to give time to."
Quinn frowned slightly but didn't comment further as she led Opie to the kitchen to get them a drink.
"You know we've been friends for years and I can count on one hand how many times I've been in this house."
"I like yours and Jax's house better." She didn't miss the sour look that came over Opie's face at the mention of Jax. "You want to explain to me what is going on between you two?"
Opie opened his can of pop. "Jax is an asshole and I called him out on his shit."
Quinn believed that, but she knew there was more to the story. "Is that all?"
"Don't get in the middle of it, Quinn. Jax needs to figure his shit out."
"I just hate seeing the two of you fighting."
Opie softened a bit. "We'll be fine."
"You promise?"
"I would never lie to you, Quinn."
"I passed!"
Quinn shouted as she exited the DMV. Opie was leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette when she burst through the door. She didn't think twice as she ran and jumped into his arms. He caught her easily as he swung her around and congratulated her.
Quinn giggled as she hollered. She finally had some piece of independence all thanks to the help of Opie.
"Thank you so much, Opie!"
"You're welcome, Q."
Opie placed her down on the ground and she squealed as looked at her license. Now all she needed was a car.
"Now since you have your license, there is one thing I have to take you to," Opie told her as he took her back to his truck. "And it is a surprise, no questions."
Quinn was quiet as Opie drove her out to the forest. Another one of Oswald's backroads with abandoned sheds and barns sprinkled throughout. She looked at Opie confused as he pulled up to one of the abandoned barns.
He motioned for her to follow him and she watched as he took out a key to unlock it. She watched as he opened the door and revealed what she could make out was a car under a cover.
Opie threw her a smile as he walked over and pulled the cover and revealed a 1967 Camaro that was a banana yellow. Her jaw dropped.
"What…how?"
"Your stepdad is a hard man to get ahold of, but I finally was able to get a meeting with him and told him I've been teaching you how to drive. And this is his gift to you."
Quinn couldn't help the tears that sprang from her eyes. She bombarded him with another hug and placed a kiss on his cheek before she swiped the keys from him.
After promising Opie she would be driving safely, Quinn had just strolled around Charming getting a feel of her car. The smile was stuck on her face as she knew she would have to thank Elliot profusely for such a gift. Despite having access to a lot of wealth, she never liked using it or asking Elliot for things. She had been thinking she was going to have to go used car shopping.
Before heading home, she risked it and drove over to the Teller's residence to see if Jax was home. She beamed as she saw that he was currently cleaning his bike.
She honked her horn startling him slightly. She gave him a wave with a bright smile before she got out of her car.
She wasn't able to get her greeting out of the way before Jax spoke first. "You just come from Opie's?"
Quinn's smile faltered as she was thrown off by the question. "Huh?"
"You coming from Opie's?"
"What? No."
Jax scoffed. "The two of you are both fucking liars."
"Excuse me? Just I have no idea what you are talking about."
"I saw the two of you!" Jax yelled. Quinn couldn't help the flinch at Jax raising his voice. She didn't know what to say in response because she was lost on where the anger was coming from.
"So you're not going to deny that?" He pressed.
"Opie has been teaching me how to drive, you jackass! I came here to share the good news that I passed my test, but you know what forget it. Call me when you're done being an asshole," Quinn finished.
Quinn turned to walk back to her car when she felt Jax grab her. "Wait, Quinn, wait…"
She was going to continue to ignore him, but he was determined and he stopped her. His hands pulled her close to him. Her back was flushed against his chest. His breath fanned across her throat.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Quinn snorted. She couldn't take him seriously after weeks of his weird behavior.
She allowed herself to be turned into his arms. His blue gaze pinned her down. "I'm sorry." He repeated.
"Yeah?" She questioned.
Jax nodded and she felt what happened next was all in slow motion.
His arms moved and his hands trailed up her back rubbing a soothing circle. His blue eyes were intense.
The kiss was soft.
She didn't expect his lips to feel so smooth. He applied the faintest pressure on her lips. Quinn knew she was shaking in his hold.
Quinn stood on her tippy toes and pressed against him more. He hummed deep in his throat. His jeweled-covered hand gripped her jaw.
Quinn had no idea what she was doing, but it felt nice. She could get lost in the invasion of Jax. However, she remembered that they were out in public. Anyone could see her and them. This was Jackson Teller she was kissing. He had a girlfriend. He was her friend. This was just a silly, stupid crush.
Her sense hit her full force and their lips separated with an audible pop.
Her eyes are wide as moves away from him.
"Quinn?"
"I have to go." Quinn's eyes are wide and her fingers ghost over her lips. She didn't look back.