#qf.

Quinn Fabray

Quinn hadn’t seen Jesse in a while. Not since she made him a nice dinner to congratulate him on getting the part of Tony. But this was going to be a busy time for him and she was pretty busy herself. Between school assignments and other obligations she had with clubs. So she was happy when they made plans to hang out. Especially since things felt a bit off. Their conversations were shorter and it felt like Jesse had been avoiding her. She made sure Santana was out of their apartment. She wanted all the alone time with Jesse she could get. She didn’t feel like cooking so she ordered Italian take out and made plates for them.

She made final touches at the dinner table. And quickly changed into a casual dress. Despite it being a casual thing she still wanted to look her best. Hearing a knock on the door, a smile came onto her face. She walked over and opened it excited to see Jesse. “Hey, you.”

Jesse St. James

Jesse felt terrible. He'd barely slept in the last few days, so confused about what to do, every option ahead of him one that would cause pain and problems for everyone involved. He knew this revelation wouldn't just impact him and Rachel and their partners, but all of their friends, splitting the group down the middle and testing otherwise strong friendships. But Jesse had to do it. Quinn wasn't his soulmate. Rachel could deny it, could commit to Blaine, to lying to him and keeping him from the truth -- but Jesse couldn't do that. He loved Quinn. And he hoped that he loved her enough to let her go.

After a cowardly few days avoiding her, Jesse finally found the courage to face her. He'd been over what he wanted to say in his head endlessly, but he knew that no scenario he could imagine would ever accurately predict how much this was going to hurt. He dragged his feet a little as he approached Quinn's door, finally knocking slowly. Each knock felt like a chime of doom. Could he really do what he was about to do?

There was a light in Quinn's eyes when she saw him, and guilt pooled in Jesse's stomach immediately. "Hey," he greeted, forcing a tired smile and leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek. "How are you?"

Quinn Fabray

Quinn was slightly disappointed when Jesse only kissed her on the cheek. She accepted it though. “I’m doing fine. Just been super busy lately.” She stepped aside to let him inside so he could see the set up she made for them. “How are you? How have rehearsals been?”

Quinn felt a pang in her stomach. Something wasn’t right. But she knew how to fix it. She always knew how to fix these things. She went into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of wine sitting out as well as two glasses. Pouring them both a glass quickly, she handed one to Jesse. “I can’t wait for opening night. I know it’s a bit away but I know you all are going to be amazing in it.” Just keep talking. That’s all she had to do was keep talking and keep the conversation positive then the good feelings would return.

Jesse St. James

The guilt Jesse was feeling only worsened when he saw what Quinn had prepared for him. She wasn't his soulmate, but did that really mean he could just end a two year relationship? The pull he felt to Rachel... if he had a choice, he'd sever it. He'd choose Quinn, stick with what they'd built together. But the universe had other plans for all of them, and as much as Jesse wanted to make Quinn happy, he knew he had to be honest. He had to let Quinn find her soulmate, too.

Accepting the glass of wine, Jesse nodded as Quinn spoke about opening night. He doubted Quinn would have as much enthusiasm for the musical after tonight. He let her speak, taking a long drink from his glass, a little Dutch courage. Quinn was trying to talk her way out of whatever was happening, filibustering their problem until they forgot what it was. He knew he well enough to know exactly what she was doing. But it couldn't work.

"Thanks. I think the show will be solid. The cast are strong." Jesse licked his lips, taking a moment to think. "Quinn, there's something we need to talk about."

Quinn Fabray

Quinn’s plan wasn’t working. He still had that tone in his voice. She took a sip from her wine glass and scanned the room. But she knew better. She knew Jesse and that he would jump quick to the point. Were they breaking up? Quinn thought about all the reasons why he might break up with her. Did he find out what she talked to Finn about at the party? She could talk her way out of that. Maybe he felt they didn’t have enough time for each other. Even if they were breaking up they did this. They broke up for whatever reason and then a week or so later they’d find their way back to each other. So Quinn calmed down, knowing whatever he had to say wouldn’t be that bad.

“Okay, this sounds serious. But I’m listening. What’s going on?”

Jesse St. James

Jesse paused for a moment, thinking about how to approach this. There was no way to really explain that he'd kissed his soulmate without telling her that it was Rachel. He wasn't keen to make himself look like a cheater when he wasn't, so he had to be upfront. Had to tell her the whole truth from the beginning. If he could have shielded Rachel's identity, even for a bit, he would have.

"Before I tell you, I just... I want you to know that I love you. I really do. You know I love you, you know I've always hoped that you were my soulmate..." There was no going back now. From the beginning. "As you know, we've been rehearsing the musical over the last week. And the director asked Rachel and I to rehearse Tonight, and the scene where Tony and Maria kiss for the first time."

Swallowing hard, Jesse met Quinn's eyes, shrugging a little helplessly. "Rachel is my soulmate. As soon as we kissed, I knew it, and now a musical note has appeared next to our souldate. I don't know what it means exactly yet but I think that must be our Bond. I'm really sorry, Quinn, you know I didn't want this. You know I love you. But I can't... I can't pretend like I don't know what I know."

Quinn Fabray

Quinn nodded at Jesse’s words. She knew he loved her. They were soulmates. Of course he loved her and she loved him. She had a whole Pinterest board dedicated to their future wedding. She had all these wonderful future plans for them. She listened as he spoke about the play. What did this have to do with anything? Quinn was confused. Of course, the director wanted Jesse and Rachel to practice that scene. It was a very vital scene for the play and Quinn knew they had to kiss. It was just a stage kiss after all.

Then he said it. Rachel is my soulmate. Quinn couldn’t help but laugh at his words. There was no way. “This is a joke, right?” She set her glass down and walked up to him, grabbing his wrist and seeing the musical note he just described. Something that wasn’t there before. She dropped his hand and it felt like her body went numb. Like everything inside of her shut off. This....this wasn’t happening. Rachel? Her best friend? Was Jesse’s soulmate?

Quinn took a step back from Jesse. She needed a minute to clear her head. This was impossible. They were soulmates. “Does Blaine know?”

Jesse St. James

Jesse wished he could tell her it was a joke, wished he could laugh and sit down and share another dinner with her. He let her look at his wrist, watching the expression on her face as the truth dawned on her. That mark hadn't been there before, and Quinn knew it. It was confirmation, hard evidence that his kiss with Rachel had sparked something. But they didn't need to be soulmates for Jesse to know exactly how Quinn was feeling, a crushing pain in his own chest as he watched the pain and disbelief bloom across her face.

"No. Rachel... she doesn't want to end things with Blaine." Jesse swallowed hard, voice a little dull as he admitted it. If it was painful to break up with Quinn, it was even more painful to talk about that -- to accept that his soulmate didn't want him. They were supposed to be together, fated by the universe, but he wasn't enough. She wouldn't choose him. "That's for her and Blaine to work out, but I can't lie to you. And now we know that your actual soulmate is out there, waiting for you... I can't keep you from that."

Jesse had to do the right thing for her, as selfishly as he wanted to keep her. "I'm sorry. You know I wanted this. You know I wanted us."

Quinn Fabray

Quinn placed her hands on the kitchen counter trying to regain her composure. Trying her hardest not to cry. Everything was already planned. She already had a plan. Her parents adored him. His parents liked her. They knew each other so well it didn’t make any sense. And yet here they were. The proof was sitting there screaming in her face. So who was the lesser of two evils? Jesse for probably doing the right thing and letting Quinn know? Or Rachel for wanting to try and make it work with Blaine? Either way- Quinn knew soulmates ended up together in the end, or did they? Quinn’s parents weren’t soulmates and neither were Jesse’s. No. No. Quinn wasn’t letting him get away this easily.

Quinn stood up straight and grabbed her wine glass. An award winning smiled was soon presented onto her face. “No. We’re not breaking up. I have this lovely dinner for us. We’re going to sit and eat and talk about anything but the play. No offense. But we will talk and we will get past this.” Just keep talking. That’s all she had to do.

Jesse St. James

Jesse watched the sudden straightening of Quinn's posture, knowing exactly what would come next. Denial. Quinn had been raised to smile through the pain, told that things would work out if she was just slightly more perfect, smiled slightly more widely. It pained him that this was her response to him. He wasn't someone she needed to lie to. He'd always seen her for her, always loved her for her. He didn't want them to play pretend like her parents had.

"Quinn..." he murmured, setting his glass down and closing the gap between them. Jesse reached for her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Whether Rachel wanted him or not, he couldn't stay with Quinn. He'd rather be alone than be selfish towards the woman he loved. "That isn't the life that you deserve. You should be with the person you're destined to be with. We're not going to argue with the universe." He paused for a moment, licking his lips. "We're going to let this happen. And it's going to hurt. A lot. But one day, you'll agree with me that it was the right thing."

Quinn Fabray

Quinn’s smile soon faded. It wasn’t going to work this time. No matter how big she smiled or how hard she denied it. It wasn’t going to go away. Quinn gently moved her hand away from Jesse. Something inside her was growing. Her stomach was churning, she felt her whole body getting hot, she ran her fingers through her hair and slammed her hands down on the kitchen counter.

“Fine. You want to end this? Everything we’ve worked so hard for, for what? Rachel Berry? The most annoying person in the whole friend group. Fine. Fine. I get it. She’s your soulmate now.” The word soulmate spewing out of her mouth like it was a poison. “Be soulmates with her. She’s probably better suited for you anyway with your shared love of musicals and crap!”

Quinn was losing it and she didn’t even realize how bad it was. “But come on Jesse. Don’t be rude! Don’t just sit there and break my heart but not eat any of the food I have sitting here. Granted, I didn’t cook tonight but I did order from our favorite Italian spot. Or will this become yours and Rachel’s new spot? They do have vegetarian or vegan or whatever stupid bullshit diet she’s on. They have options for her, too.” Quinn pushed past Jesse and went to the table and picked up what would’ve been his plate. “You’re telling me this meal doesn’t look appetizing to you right now?” And before Quinn knew it she threw the plate, nearly missing Jesse’s head and hitting the wall. It scared her how close she got and part of her felt bad but part of her felt relieved.

“Be with her. Or don’t because it seems like she’d rather stay with Blaine. So be alone. Whatever. I guess I should thank you for telling me. Thank you for letting me go and being alone myself. Because that’s all I’ve ever dreamed about was being alone.” Quinn was breaking more and more as she spoke. She grabbed her plate and tossed it at the wall, not necessarily aiming for Jesse this time but she wouldn’t have been mad if it went his way. “Thank your for waking me up and showing me how ridiculous this whole soulmates crap is!”

Quinn filled the room with laughter but soon her laughter was replaced with tears. This was happening. She had lost Jesse. To Rachel. She no longer had a soulmate and probably would never have one. She tried not to look him in the face but she knew she had to. “Get out of my home. Get out, get out, get out!” Her voice growing louder each time she spoke. Before he could leave she spoke up again, “This isn’t over Jesse. Not even close.”

Jesse St. James

Beneath Quinn's pristine exterior, beneath the desperation to be loved and to be enough, Jesse had always known there was something broken. He'd felt something broken in him, too, and didn't two shattered halves make a whole? He was waiting for the penny to drop, waiting for the shock to resonate through the layers and hit the core of anger and distress that sat deep within Quinn. And then it got there -- and it was so much worse than he could ever have imagined.

He'd dealt with Quinn's rages before, but nothing like this. He knew not to say anything -- knew to let her scream and shout and stomp her foot. His heart hurt, wishing he could help her, wishing that he could reassure her that everything would be okay. But anything he said would fall on deaf ears. Anything he said would make her even angrier. So Jesse stood and took it, letting her words pierce him, knowing that they'd echo through him for a long time to come. This was his fault. This was what he'd done to her.

He saw the plate coming from the moment she picked it up, ducking out of the way as it flew behind him and shattered against the wall. He didn't try to stop her -- didn't try to put himself anymore in the firing line than he already was. Jesse had experience of situations like this, and he knew to let her burn herself out. Once the anger subsided, there'd be calm.

"I'm sorry, Quinn," he murmured softly, chewing his lip as the anger and the echoing laughter gave way to tears. All of this was only an expression of hurt -- the hurt he'd caused. Jesse's instinct was to go to her, to wrap her up in his arms and hold her until the tears went away. He'd done that on a few occasions already, hurt washed away with gentle words and soft kisses. It was hard to watch her hurt and know that not only was he unable to help, but was actually the cause of her anguish. But he'd already broken things between them. She'd never accept his comfort again.