Using You Like You're Using Me
After spending almost a full school year at the bottom of the social ladder and then having to give up the baby girl she had started to grow attached to, there was nothing Quinn wanted more but to run away and leave Lima behind.
Feeling frustrated, Quinn found herself heading to the one place where she thought she might find some solace. Shelby's.
To her surprise, she wasn't the only one using Beth that night as a means of distraction. Quinn found her baby girl in the arms of New Directions first and only ex-member.
"Jesse," the simple statement rolling off her lips before she could stop herself.
And that's where everything began.
He was mourning the loss of Rachel in his life. Without her probing too deeply, Jesse told Quinn about his assignment into McKinley High and how he had fallen head over heels for Shelby's biological daughter.
He hadn't wanted to hurt Rachel, Jesse had insisted. But his teammates in Vocal Adrenalin were distrustful of him and needed to believe that it had all really just been a job to him.
Jesse talked and Quinn listened. She couldn't help but compare him to Rachel all over again. He was such a drama queen.
He had never gotten the opportunity to get all of that off his chest before and in appreciation, Jesse had offered Quinn a ride home when it got quite late.
In the car, they were both quiet, the only sounds coming from the radio. Jesse snuck a glance at her and saw that she looked deep in thought. Cute.
The ride was short and before they knew it, they were parked in front of Quinn's driveway.
"Thank you for the ride," she said softly.
"Thank you for tonight," he responded equally soft.
Quinn leaned forward and kissed him softly on the cheek. Before she could lean back, Jesse grabbed her arm and kissed her back, this time on the lips.
It had been a five minute drive to Quinn's house, but it was another thirty minutes before Jesse left her driveway.
Quinn wasn't sure if she'd ever hear from Jesse again until she received a text message from him sometime after dinner the day after.
I've got a craving for some yogurt, would you do me to honor of joining me?
She confirmed his invitation and only waited fifteen minutes before he arrived and picked her up at her house.
Jesse was already polishing off his yogurt as Quinn took a seat beside him on the grassy hill overlooking the town lake.
She ate her yogurt while he talked again. That night he talked about his four years with Carmel High and Vocal Adrenalin.
This time, it was Quinn who initiated their make out session under the stars that evening.
The following day, Jesse didn't even wait until evening. At 8 o'clock in the morning, Quinn awoke to another text message from Jesse.
If I give you my word to be quiet today, will you join me for a morning stroll in the park?
Give me thirty minutes, she responded.
Jesse was outside her house in twenty minutes but waited until the full thirty minutes to promptly ring the door bell. Quinn smiled.
Jesse shoved his hands into his jean pockets looking a little frustrated and Quinn had to keep from smiling.
Quinn was keeping Jesse to his word about keeping quiet and while he had been for the most part of their stroll, there were several times where he thought of something to say. He would open his mouth and turn to her only to be quelled by her 'look' and his mouth would quickly close.
Feeling aggravated and needing an outlet, Jesse grabbed Quinn's hand and roughly pulled her close to him where he stood with his back up against a tree. She looked up at him in surprise but not in anger which prompted him to continue.
He bent down and their lips met. It was a tentative kiss at first, and then longer. Quinn wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
It became their thing. Jesse liked to talk, and because Quinn often didn't want him to, they did his next favorite thing on his list of oral fixations – kissing.
They met frequently until it became an almost daily bad habit. Eventually, they ran out places to hang out at where they wouldn't run into people they knew who would ask too many questions. Instead, they would meet in his house or hers, depending on whose parents weren't around that day - his more often than hers.
They never went further than second base and Jesse was fine with that. He knew if he wanted to go further and if Quinn refused, he could always go back to his old girl friends from Carmel. But he wasn't looking for that right now. He just needed a frequent and easy escape, no questions asked.
Quinn knew his kisses were meaningless. He didn't care for her and she was almost sure that he was imaging that she was Rachel every time he closed his eyes. And that didn't bother her at all.
One Thursday morning, Quinn was asked by her mother to accompany her to a high tea function. She texted Jesse to cancel that day.
He responded with a simple, Okay.
In retrospect, that should have told Quinn that something was wrong. Jesse always typed long messages because he knew she didn't like it when they talked a lot.
When he arrived early the next morning after her mother had left, Jesse all but jumped Quinn the moment he stepped inside.
He kissed her hard and she responded by shoving him down the couch and straddling him. The intensity between them crackled and together they were a combination of sloppy kisses and tangled limbs.
They kissed until the lack of oxygen became too much for them and they had to come up for air.
"Please don't ask me to go a full day without this again," Jesse said, panting softly as he slowly recovered from their passionate make out session.
Quinn responded with a small smirk and began to leave a trail of kisses on his neck, causing Jesse to groan with pleasure.
She didn't. Although it had been a quiet summer, with both being left to their own devices, there were the occasional friends and family get-togethers they were unfortunately required to attend.
They would meet up before or after the event, wherever possible. When Jesse had to attend a whole day event at his parent's country club, he snuck Quinn in the club and when possible, would go over to her for a quick lip lock.
Quinn could feel the anxiety radiating off Jesse whenever something came up which conflicted with what had become 'their time.' She could also feel his determination when he would sort out their schedule to find time and make it 'their time.'
Quinn was sitting on Jesse's lap, enjoying herself as Jesse teased her neck. He was leaving soft kisses, licking the sensitive spots and sucking. She moaned and grabbed onto Jesse's hair for balance. Quinn cried out in a mix of pleasure and pain as Jesse nibbled on a particularly sensitive spot.
"Are you trying to give me a hickey?"
"Umm, perhaps?"
Quinn stood up, looking alarmed. "I'm going out after this, that's why we agreed to meet early today at your place."
Jesse was silent for some time, as if deciding on the right thing to say while he eyed the spot on Quinn's neck he had just been sucking on. "I am aware of that."
Quinn hadn't mentioned where she was going that afternoon, only that she had an event to attend, but Jesse had put two and two together when he saw the Facebook Event that Rachel had put up on her page.
They weren't Facebook Friends anymore, but Rachel didn't think it was necessary to lock her Profile from public viewing and Jesse stalked her page daily to see what was new in her life.
Quinn got up and made her way to the mirror, studying her neck for any visible marks. She sighed with relief when she saw only the beginnings of a pink bruise, nothing that wouldn't go away after an hour. She turned back to Jesse who tried his best not to look disappointed.
The following week was Rachel's actual birthday. It was no surprise to Quinn that Jesse read Rachel's Facebook update that her dads were taking her and Finn to NYC for the week to visit the city and catch several Broadway shows in celebration.
When Jesse came over that day, he was as morose as he had been that evening Quinn had encountered him with Beth at Shelby's. After a steamy make out session on her couch, Quinn could still feel Jesse's preoccupation.
That day, Quinn let Jesse reach third base.
Later that afternoon, Jesse and Quinn lay limply beside each other on her bed.
"Thank you," Jesse said out of the blue.
Quinn wriggled her nose. "Why are you thanking me?" She felt it was weird that he was thanking her for allowing him to do intimate things with her that she previously denied him from. She knew that he had experience, so this should have been nothing new for him.
She felt Jesse shrug beside her. "I just felt like it. You keep me from going crazy, thinking about…" he drifted off, unable to mention Rachel's name.
This time it was Quinn's turn to shrug. "It keeps me from going crazy too."
They fell into silence, staring up at the ceiling of Quinn's room.
"School will be starting soon."
Quinn murmured her agreement.
"I fly out to Los Angeles in two weeks."
"Are you ready?"
Jesse sighed. "I don't believe so. My luggage is all set and I have everything I need to bring with me to UCLA. Mentally though, I'm all over the place. I can't begin school like this, I'm not prepared and I can't focus if we haven't had our daily hook up."
Quinn was silent and Jesse tensed, wondering if she thought he was talking too much again. Instead, she let out a low chuckle. "It's too bad you can't just bring me along to LA."
Jesse didn't say anything else after that, but he didn't stop thinking about it.
The topic finally came up again a week later when they were hanging out in his almost empty room. Quinn's head was on top of Jesse's chest, as he stroked her hair absentmindedly.
"What do you think about joining me in LA?"
Quinn laughed. "Right, your luggage is huge, Jesse, but I don't think I'll fit in it."
"No, seriously, what do you think about it?" Jesse asked again, this time massaging Quinn's scalp. She moaned in approval.
"I think… that it's quite impossible. I'm in the middle of high school, Jesse. I don't have a high school degree like you do, or money for a plane ticket like you do. What would I do there other than be at your beck and call?"
Jesse paused momentarily in his massage. "Sounds like a plan."
Quinn swatted him in the arm.
Today was the day. Today was Jesse's last day in Ohio and his first in LA. They had agreed on a quick goodbye before he left for the airport. Quinn was already waiting for him by the door when he pulled up his car on her driveway.
"I'll miss you, St. James," Quinn said softly, opening her arms to give him a farewell hug.
After returning the hug, Jesse smiled at her, brushing back a loose strand of hair. "What will you do without me?"
She knew he was probably expecting some wisecrack remark, but instead she responded truthfully, "Probably go mad. This small town will never be the same."
He drew her close to him and leaned his forehead against hers. "Come with me."
Quinn pushed Jesse back and turned away. "Jesse, we've talked about this. It's just not logical."
He pulled out his some folded up paper from his back pocket. "I've an airline ticket here with your name on it, literally. I have enough money, my parents have left me with plenty, I promise to support you."
Quinn hesitated.
"I'll never survive without you, Quinn. And this town, you don't need this town, not like I need you. You and your mother barely speak to each other. This can be the fresh start you want."
Jesse could see the wheels turning in Quinn's head as she pondered his proposal. He took her hands in his. "I can give you everything, Quinn. But what I can't give you is time to decide. The plane leaves in three hours, and I have to leave for it soon if I don't want to miss it. Please say you'll come with me."
Just when Jesse thought Quinn was going to say yes, she responded with five devastating words, "But you don't love me."
"Who says I don't?" Jesse asked, going still.
Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Please, Jesse. You still haven't gotten over Rachel. I'm not stupid, don't think I notice how you close your eyes when we kiss or how you clamp your mouth shut when you're about to climax, in order to prevent saying her name. I agreed to this when this thing started, but I'm not going to uproot myself and follow you and continue to live like that."
Jesse dropped his hands in frustration, trying to come up with a suitable response. "You're right. I was using you to help me forget about Rachel. But you did help me forget about her, by preventing me from talking about her, I slowly stopped thinking about her."
Quinn had her arms crossed in front of her chest and had her gaze trained to the distant right of Jesse. He cupped her chin in his hand and made her meet his eyes. "I want to tell you I'm in love with you now, but how different will that make me from Puck, I'd just be another guy saying something to get you where I want you. I barely know you, since we talk so little though kiss so much.
"But Quinn, I am falling for you. And I want to see where this will go, where we can go. I don't think a long distance relationship will work, not right now. I've bought you a flexible round trip ticket, so you can come back here any time you realize you don't want to be in LA and/or with me. But please, give us this chance."
Jesse waited for Quinn to respond, his palms starting to get sweaty. Finally, "Okay. But I'm only doing this, using you and using this chance to get away from Lima. Just like you used me to get over Rachel," she said with a coy smile, knowing that it wasn't the real reason she was agreeing to his proposition.
He let out a relieved laugh, took her in his arms and twirled her around before he kissed her. It was the most tender kiss they had shared since everything between them began.
Soon, Quinn broke away to head on upstairs, telling him that she would quickly pack a bag and leave her mother a note.
Quinn entered her room and picked up her already packed bag and took out her prepared note to her mother. Despite all of her protests, Quinn had waited for this moment to happen, and almost planned it. She wanted Jesse to feel he had come up with the idea all on his own, she knew they had a better chance together if he didn't realize she was pulling all the strings.
She took a quick detour into her father's office. It was dusty, as her mother never came in anymore and her father was banned from the house ever since he had been caught cheating.
Quinn headed straight to the portrait above his desk and took it down, revealing the safe behind it. She quickly turned the combination, a number she had memorized since childhood where her father used to take her there. Her mother didn't know about the safe nor the combination, but Quinn's father had told her about it to ensure her safety at all times. He had also told her that he counted the money often, so he would know if she was taking any from him if it wasn't an emergency.
The safe popped open and Quinn breathed a sigh of relief that there was still some emergency money – her father hadn't removed it before he left. She took the thousands of dollars and stuffed it into her bags. They would give her a new life that would possibly include Jesse.
She closed the safe and replaced the portrait. The moment, she began to bring her bags down the stairs, Jesse rushed up to assist her. Together, they carried her bags to his car, which was ready to go.
She used him to get away from Lima. He used her to get over Rachel. But somehow, along the way, they found each other. Quinn thought she was extremely lucky as she took his hand into hers as they boarded the plane.
END
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this story - I really tried to make Quinn evil and use Jesse for her evil plan (just like I tried to make Jesse evil in my last story) but I guess I just can't, these characters seem to have minds of their own. I've got another two fics in progress, one is a multi-chapter fic which I will try to get out as soon as possible, and another is a stand alone. Glee really needs to bring back Jesse onto the show in order to make the fics move faster!