One regular 7 hours plane, a drive in a location car, a small walk later and here they were, drinking on the beach. It was one of those privatized parcels of sand, giving them the opportunity to enjoy the sea, feet on the sand, head behind a sunshade and butt on one of those sun loungers. Yup, South California had its privileges, Logan couldn’t deny it, and was actually enjoying it, especially since this fresh beer that the waiter gave him. “Speak your mind Jube.” He finally said, checking his glasses, with no need to look at her to know that she probably had questions about all this improvised trip.
Dacian made his rounds, a huge grin spreading across his face and a can of beer in his hand. He had his alpha phi alpha cap on backwards and his curly mop of hair stuck out from beneath it. He was proud to be in this frat; he had brothers and partied nonstop. What more could a twenty-two year old want? Oh; warm bodies to share his bed on different nights. Of course, that was definitely a check. Dacian was a good-looking guy. He could fuck with boys or girls. Whoever he wanted. And he knew it, too. That night, the brothers were evaluating fresh meat: aka, the new pledges. He smirked before raising the can up to his lips, taking a swig before going back to his 'evaluating'. Most of the new boys looked nervous; or they were taking full advantage of free booze. A few boys stood close together, beer in their hands and tense expressions on their faces. They seemed like they'd rather go unnoticed for the night, remain low key. Well, Dacian definitely needed to fuck that up. Flaunting over, he grinned wolfishly as he broke up their group, flinging his arm around one of the boys and taking another sip. "Hello, ladies," he greeted, looking down on the other boys in a way he knew was slightly intimidating. As an older brother, it was his job to make sure only the best stuck around. Most of the time, the best didn't cower away. They were the ones that were fearless and knew how to have a good time. They'd go through the hazing and stick around without snitching. They were worthy. Sizing the boys here up, he wasn't sure if he saw anyone worth his time. That was, until his eyes landed on a smaller boy with piercing blue eyes. He bit his lip, looking the boy up and down, lip tugging upward in a smirk as he held eye contact with the freshman.
Chandra ran her hands through her long, tangled hair, yawning as she blinked the sleep from out of her eyes before rubbing at them. She left her eyes shut for a few moments, enjoying the sun’s warmth on her skin before she forced herself into a semi-upwards position, eyes blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light. Looking over, her eyes landed on her best friend and a smile tugged her lips upwards. She and Sylvia had been practically inseparable their whole lives. Most of Chandra’s fondest memories involved the other girl and she liked to think Sylvia had quite a few of her as well. Even now with both being in their late teens, not much had changed since they had been little. They still enjoyed sleepovers in the same bed and did practically everything together. And Chandra wouldn’t mind this never stopping. Of course, she wasn’t daft; she knew that someday it wouldn’t be like this. They’d find their soulmates and that would be that. For now, she’d have to suppress her feelings and enjoy their friendship.
Chandra took a few moments to admire Sylvia as she slept before gently trying to wake her up. “Hey, Sylv” she tried in a soft voice. “Wake up. It’s almost eleven o’clock.” The darker girl was itching to get up. She’d never been one to enjoy staying inside in bed all day. She preferred her lazy days being in the garden. Otherwise, she just wanted to be doing something. Right now, her tummy was prompting thoughts of brunch, something she’d enjoy much more with her best friend.
Maddox sighed kicking at the gravel in front of him. He felt extremely agitated; the fact that he was being forced to attend church of all places had him feeling nauseated. He had never been one for religion and it was utter bullshit that his family had deemed it necessary for him to ‘straighten’ his life out; he still wasn’t sure if that included his sexuality or just the partying. Either way, bullshit. He was fine. Sure, he’d more recently gotten into harder drugs and had started bringing home quite a lot of guys (who he’d then proceed to fuck loudly), but he was fine. He was happy or whatever. His parents just didn’t get it.
And clearly they were fucking bonkers if they thought attending this shit hole of a church. The pastor had Maddox gagging half way through. He had spent most of the time staring at his nails (painted black) and trying to breathe in the stupid blouse his mother had insisted he wear. Luckily, he was now free. Free included a few buttons undone (thank god) and his pack of menthol fags making an appearance. He didn’t bother to leave the church’s premises, lighting up towards the side of the building, eyes closing as he sucked in.
NOTES: Jesse bumps into Quinn and finds out a secret she has been carrying around for a few months. The two end up talking and start to form a friendship with each other. (TW: Depression)
Jesse pushed his hands in his pockets as he walked off down the street, taking the long walk home from the studio he was working on his new show in. He wasn't in any hurry or anything, so he could just enjoy the walk to clear his mind. Not paying attention to anything but what was immediately ahead and his own thoughts, he was caught off guard when a woman walked right into him. "Woah, are you okay?" he asked, nearly falling over.
Quinn had been off having a therapy session. She had been feeling down for months; something inside her head wasn't right and she knew that. She thought that is she got help in private no one would know. Something like this couldn't get out, not today, not ever. When her session was over she headed out of the building trying not to get seen by anyone. It wasn't until she walked into someone that she lost balance. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she said straightening out her dress before looking up to see who it was. "Jesse?" she said raising an eyebrow.
Jesse took a moment to actually look at the blonde before him when he realized he had run into Quinn Fabray. "Oh, hey Quinn," he said as he ran his hand through his hair. "Funny running into you... literally," he chuckled. "How's everything?"
Quinn "Hi," she said getting a little nervous about seeing someone she knew. "Everything is...okay," she said giving him a small smile before chuckling. "Yeah, sorry about that. I wasn't really paying attention," she said raising her eyebrows at him. "What are you up to?" she asked wanting to take the attention away from herself.
Jesse raised his brow at her response. "You sure everything's alright?" he asked, pushing his hands back in his pockets. "I wasn't paying much attention either," he said as he looked up at the building she had just left. Looked like so many others, so he couldn't really tell what she had been up to. "Just got out of a writing session. What about you?"
Quinn let out a sigh when Jesse asked what she was doing and shook her head. "If I tell you, can you promise not to tell anyone?" she asked biting her lip a little. "I've been feeling really down lately and the last time I felt like this I tried to frame Shelby for being a horrible mother and get Beth taken away from her.." she said shaking her head. "I've been going to therapy. Trying to get help because it's getting worse and I didn't know what else to do."
Jesse really had a feeling that something was up. As an actor, he was great at detecting body language and hers was making him curious. He nodded at her question. "Of course," he said as he walked with her over to a bench so they could sit down. "Oh... how's therapy been going? Has it helped at all?"
Quinn shrugged when he asked her a question. "I don't know. Sometimes I think it does and other times I just don't think it's helping at all," she said with a shrug as she sat does next to him. "It's like I don't even know who I am sometimes."
Jesse nodded, giving her an open ear so she could vent if she had to. "I guess maybe you just have to stick with it," he shrugged, feeling bad that he couldn't help. "Have you spoken to your husband about this?"
Quinn nodded as she glanced at him. "I know I do. Having a kid at 16 really messes someone up," she said chuckling a little. When Jesse brought up Finn her face fell. "I haven't talked to him about it. I haven't even told anyone that I've been coming to this. It's just easier to keep it to myself, I guess," she said biting her cheek. "It's hard, you know?"
Jesse knew it had to be hard. There was no way he could every fully understand it because he hadn't been in her shoes and experienced what she had. "I guess you've taken the right first step, though. They say showing up at therapy is half the battle, so you're getting there," he said in encouragement. "It must really be hard... but it's your husband's job to be there for you through everything."
Quinn sighed feeling a knot in her throat. "Our family has been through so much that I don't need him worrying about something else. He's barely hanging on as it is. The kids are...all over the place. I just, I don't know what to do Jesse, I don't," she said looking over at him.
Jesse knew they'd been through a lot. He and his family had been, too. "I guess I'd try and keep it from Rachel if it was me. But I know that if she was going through something, I'd want to know more than anything because I love her and want to be there for her." He nodded, reaching out to put his hand on her arm. "My kids are all over the place, too. I feel you," he muttered. "It's just a lot. You're going through a lot."
Quinn smiled a little at Jesse and nodded. "Tell me about it. I don't even know what happened, it's like all of a sudden a switch went off and God was like, "Nope...sorry, your life can't be perfect." I just wish everything was back to when the kids were younger and weren't getting into trouble or having their own issues," she said leaning against him a little. "Why are you even listening to me whine?" she asked with a laugh. "I'm probably boring you."
Jesse frowned, hating that she had been going through so much. "It would be so much easier if life was back to when kids were small and liked us and their biggest problem was falling in the playground." At her next question, he smiled. "Because I've always respected you," he shrugged. "I'm not bored. I genuinely care."
Quinn laughed at what he said. "You're telling me. No talking back, no leaving the house at all hours of the night, not being little brats," she laughed before taking a breath. Being in Jesse's company was actually kind of nice. It was different and he wasn't the ass that he used to be. "You have? I always thought you hated all the New Directions. Don't you dare mention my husband," she said already knowing how he felt about Finn. "You care? Wow, aging changed you," she laughed as she nudged him.
Jesse laughed with her as he thought back to the simple days when his kids were younger. "No going about doing whatever you want just because you have your own fans," he grumbled. Jesse shrugged at her next comment. "I hated how much they hated me," he explained. "But you were always talented and while you had your thing with Rachel that I didn't like, I always thought you were pretty cool," he explained. "Stop acting like I was heartless," he said, nudging her back.
Quinn "Which one of your kids is doing that?" she asked making a face at him. She smiled at him when he spoke about high school. "I didn't like Rachel because she kept going after Finn and she talked a lot," Quinn said shaking her head. "I liked you when you weren't an ass," she said rolling her eyes, "I knew you weren't heartless. You were just the male version of Rachel and it was a little intimidating," she laughed.
Jesse rolled his eyes. "Julia," he muttered. "Last night, instead of coming home. She texts me and Rachel saying that she is breaking curfew and will be back home the next day. Doesn't ask permission. Doesn't say where she'll be or why. Just says it like she's our roommate," he explained. "It was infuriating." He nodded, fully remembering her chasing Finn. "That's why me and her didn't work out the first time. I mean, yeah, there was the eggs, but that's where it kind of started." Nodding some more, he smiled. "That was high school."
Quinn shook her head when he mentioned Julia. "If I were you I would threaten to have her pay rent if she's going to act like that," she said with a shrug. "If she thinks she can go and come whenever she pleases then she needs to pay rent," Quinn said with a shrug. "Do you know how many guys wanted to gang up on you after that?" she said with a smirk. "It was high school. You're not that bad now. You're pretty cool now."
Jesse snorted. "She'd just run off. She doesn't care one bit if she isn't getting her way," he sighed. "But enough about my family. We are talking about you," he went back. "Yeah, I know. Now we're all grown up and matured and there's no silly high school drama. There's real, horrible, crippling, grown up drama."
Quinn "I get it, trust me," Quinn said shaking her head. "Do we have to talk about my depressing life?" she laughed as she listened to him. "Yeah, now it's all real things, not just dumb high school problems. I would honestly take that drama right now," she said glancing at her bag. "Life is really hard.."
Jesse shook his head. "We don't have to. But I am here to listen, regardless," he told her. "Life is really hard," he sighed. "Does it ever get better?"
Quinn "Thanks, Jesse. I appreciate it. Honestly," she smiled at him. "I think it just gets harder. Maybe when we're grandparents it'll get easier," she chuckled as she nudged his arm.
Jesse didn't want to think about what it would be like when he was a grandfather. "Don't even... I haven't accepted the whole aging thing yet. Luckily, I still look good," he said, running his hand through his hair again. "What if we hung you more?" he asked. "Like, grabbed lunch now and then when we could fit it in so we could just talk and always have someone who will listen?"
Quinn "So I shouldn't tell you that Belle is almost 11 right?" she laughed as she sat back in the chair. "You do look good. I think we all aged pretty well," she flipping her hair over her shoulder. When Jesse mentioned doing this more she nodded. "I would like that. We could be our own therapy," she chuckled as she smiled at him. "I mean our spouses do share a kid after all. I'm surprised this didn't happen when we watched them try to parent Chris."
Jesse shook his head, not wanting to accept it. "No, she's not growing up. She's staying that little,"he insisted, still smiling as he thought of his little girl. "We did age well. I guess that's one thing we have going for ourselves," he said. "We all kind of parented Chris in a way," he said, wishing things hadn't been so complicated. "But I think it would be good if we hung out. Got to have someone neutral to talk to."
Quinn laughed when he said Belle would stay little forever. "I hope she doesn't change. She's too much like Rachel anyway," she laughed before nodding. "We did parent him. I think it would be good if we hung out too. Someone to vent to," she smiled as she looked at him. "We should probably get out of here before paparazzi has us on a cover of some magazine saying we're having an affair," she laughed before rolling her eyes.
Jesse smiled and sighed again. "She still likes to hug her parents and spend time with them," he explained. As she explained the paparazzi, he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of course they'd pop up soon enough," he muttered, now feeling like he could be watched. "I guess we should get out of here."
Quinn "I'm sure that won't change any time soon," she said with a shrug. "She's too cute to go to the dark side of being broody," she laughed as she stood up. "Well me about it. I'm ready to punch someone if they annoy my family again. Yeah, let's get out of here. I'll buy you a coffee."
Jesse agreed that his daughter could never go to the dark side. "Not with that smile and level of pep, she can't," he said in amusement. Pulling himself up, he walked with her down the street, liking that they could hide in plain sight a lot of the time because people were always too busy in their own minds to pay attention to who they were around. "Coffee would be good. I think we might need it."
Quinn "Because she is the product of you two. It's scary," she laughed as she started to walk down the street. She liked when no one stopped her on the road for an autograph, it was like she was invisible which she came to love. "I think we do need it."
Jesse was proud of how much Belle turned out like he and Rachel. "Coffee it is," he said as they walked up to a small coffee shop that didn't seem anything like the chains that were always so crowded. "You get the coffee and I'll get us some desserts," he said. "Deal?"
Quinn walked up to the small coffee shop and looked around loving the quietness of the whole place. "Deal," she said as she walked up to the counter. "What do you like?" she asked Jesse before ordering.
Jesse walked up to the counter with her. "Coffee with half & half. No sugar," he stated before looking over at the pastries. "Any of these look good to you?" he asked, figuring he'd go with a slice of pie.
Quinn "Got it," she said as she ordered the coffee for the two of them. "The brownie looks amazing," she said loving that she could finally eat things now. "God, Sue would have murdered me if I ever got something like that in high school." Quinn thanked the woman for the coffee's and joined Jesse handing him his coffee.
Jesse ordered the pie and brownie after she had ordered the coffee. "I pretty much just lived off Red Bull in high school because Vocal Adrenaline had strict diets. Now I still work out hard, but I let myself indulge," he explained, even if he probably should have been watching his greasy and sodium filled food intake. Taking his coffee and the tray of desserts, they walked over to a table in the back corner where they could talk in private. "So, is there anything good going on to reflect on?" he asked, figuring maybe it might help her see a bright side.
Quinn "I've heard horror stories about Vocal Adrenaline. I thought the Cheerios were bad," Quinn said as she walked over to a table and sat down. She was actually enjoying spending time with Jesse that it was crazy to think he was an enemy in high school. "Well I'm going to the Oscars," she smirked wanting to see his reaction.
Jesse crinkled his nose and nodded. "I guess we both had kind of a nightmare when it came to our teams," he said as he leaned on his hand and stirred his coffee a little bit with the wooden stirrer they had provided. Hearing that she was going to the Oscars, he tilted his head and smiled. "Wow. I'm impressed. Do you already know what you're wearing?"
Quinn "We did. There was a time when Sue wouldn't let us eat at all and we had to drink this disgusting concoction of stuff," Quinn said making a face as she sipped her latte. Quinn smiled when he seemed impressed. "I don't. I'm having some dresses delivered to the house to try on soon. I'm just presenting anyway so I definitely want it to be comfortable."
Jesse cringed at the memories of not being allowed certain foods, so he definitely sympathized. "That sounds disgusting," he muttered, raising his coffee to his lips. "It's nice that you get to go, though. And let's be real, the best part is that you get to go home with one of those swag bags with all the new shit that hasn't come out yet like the next iPhone and stuff."
Quinn "The swag bags are the best," she said with a nod. "I can't wait to see what's in them this year. The last time I went I think I got an IPad," she said with a shrug as she drank. "What about you? What's going on in your life that's exciting?"
Jesse agreed about the swag bags completely. "We have some at the Tony's, though they're probably not nearly as good," he explained. At her question, he thought for a moment. "Well, me and my friend Sebastian are working on a new musical, trying to write it from the ground up and it's fun and challenging. Other than that, I've been trying to take time off to spend more time at home and help Rachel out. She just takes on too much with the kids on top of her career. I wish I could do more," he explained.
Quinn listened to him talk and raised her eyebrows at him. "Really? That's impressive," she said with a smile. "Hey, if you need anyone for any parts, I'm free. I think my kids would kill me if I did something in LA again. I'm sure you're doing the best you can, Jesse. Rachel seems to be handling everything," she shrugged.
Jesse really appreciated her offer. "I may actually take you up on that. I asked Rachel to potentially sing some songs for a showcase, but I kind of felt bad. She's been stretching herself so thin with work and the kids and they're not helping at all," he explained. "She's handling too much. I don't know how she does it. I'm worried she's gonna break soon."
Quinn shook her head when Jesse started to explain everything. "You know Rachel. She'll work herself till she can't anymore," she said sipping her coffee. "You should watch her and hope she doesn't overdue it."
Jesse knew her very well. "I know. But I wish she'd let me shoulder some of it from time to time. A person can only take so much stress. Now I'm just really regretting not putting my foot down about Julia going into entertainment so young. It's destroying everything. It's destroying her... she's getting thinner by the day. And Rachel is going crazy trying to fix it." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "We're supposed to be partners. Dealing things together. I know she is how she is and she'll always want to be superwoman, but I wish she'd just let me help."
Quinn sighed as she looked at him. "You really need to talk to her, Jesse," she said shaking her head a little. "I'm sure she would love to give you some of the stress she's holding."
Jesse nodded, knowing she was right. "I'm gonna have to get her alone for some time and talk about it. We've always been good at communication. I don't see why it has to change."
Quinn "Because we all have teenage kids who makes us crazy and we forget to talk about stuff," she laughed as she finished off her drink. "I don't think it has anything to do with you Jesse."
Jesse figured she had a point there. "I hope it doesn't. I just want our marriage to stay strong. Like we originally planned it to be. And... we're going all on about me... I'm sorry," he said when he realized the shift.
Quinn "Jesse, it's fine, really. You can vent. I'm not the only one that's crazy," she laughed as she got up and threw away her cup. "I should really get home. Finn and the kids will get suspicious that I'm not back yet," she smiled at Jesse getting her jacket on.
Jesse smiled, feeling so glad that they decided to talk about life because it felt nice to get it out. "I guess I should get back, too. Have to make sure Belle does her homework and all that jazz," he said as he stood up.
Quinn "I'm going to steal that little girl one day," Quinn laughed before said she was kidding. "I'll see you. Call me if you need anything," she said as she hugged him quickly and headed for the door. "Bye, Jesse," she said before leaving and heading to find her car.
Jesse shook his head, knowing he'd never let go. "Yeah, go ahead and try. She's a daddy's girl," he said as he walked towards the door. When she pulled him into a hug, he smiled and tightly returned the embrace. "Call me if you ever need to talk. We'll make this happen again," he assured her, waving goodbye and turning back down the street towards his place.
After he closed down his laptop he quickly went to his iPhone which was on the kitchen counter and texted his baby sitter, Jessica. He was fortunate to have a young woman that was always willing to come up and watch his daughter for how ever long he was away. It was helpful if he had to make a emergency run to the office for an appointment. She was such a great young woman, very nice and willing to play with his two year old. Unlike the babysitter he had before her. Jessica lived 5 floors down and she was available as usual. She arrived with her book bag after a few minutes and Blaine let her know that the daughter was snoozing currently but should be awake soon.
After he quickly got dressed yo a sweater and blue jeans, brushing his teeth he went right across the hall to Rachel’s place. He knocked three times and came in. “Rachel? It’s Blaine!” He said closing the door to her apartment and walking into the kitchen area.
It was second week of the bands first world tour and they were already at their fifth stop, Paris. During their down time, Mason was glad he brought Georgine along with him. Although he had his band with him having a female along brought a different type of companionship. The boy was slightly weary of taking her out often knowing that rumors would swirl and it would rile the fandom up even more than they already had been, but at this point it was apparent that he had brought her along and she’d seemed to be handling it all pretty well. The girl was the perfect fit because she understood his life and the relationship, or lack of, that had to be kept. The boy just didn’t have time for anything serious and he didn’t particularly want it either.
Mason finally made his way out of bed throwing on a pair of jeans and a flannel, combing through his messy hair laced up his shoes and grabbed his phone. “breakfast?” he texted the girl who had apparently made her way back to her own hotel room in the middle of the night. Sliding his phone into his back pocket he made his way down to the hotel lobby to wait on her.
TAGGING: Ryder Lynn & Quinn Fabray
LOCATION: Lynn’s estate
TIMEFRAME: July 28, Evening.
NOTES: Ryder got sick and Quinn nicely offered her help.
Ryder spent last few days not moving much from the bed, mostly rewatching his favorite film collection; being sick sucked and the fact it happened in the summer made everything even worse. Quinn’s attention helped a little - little messages they were exchanging recently and her phone calls made him smile but also a little nervous. There was something special about this blonde girl - the way she was so hot and cold at the same time, how she managed to be so bossy and so soft, managing to be so deep not talking much. Not even mentioning the fact she was extremely beautiful; the further they went - the more Ryder realised he has a crush on her and she occupied all his thoughts, becoming the main source of his inspiration recently.
It’s been a while since last time they saw each other and if back then it was just a meeting of two friends who enjoyed good movies and each other’s company, this time Ryder hoped on something more. His illness got in the way of a perfect day Ryder was planning while Quinn was on Caimans, with flowers, Quinn’s favorite chocolate and other little surprises, but he wasn’t ready to give up just yet. Thanking that his favorite food store has a delivery, Ryder ordered a jar of peanut butter, strawberry jelly and ice-cream, knowing that sandwiches would be a top of his cooking abilities. He also took a shower and put on fresh shorts and tight white T-shirt, wanting to look better for her.
Bell rang just in time - delivery guy already left and Ryder even had time to take his medicine and make sort of cleaning, putting pillows on its place on the sofa. “So glad to see you”, Ryder blurted as soon as he saw her, placing a kiss on her cheek and putting arms around her. Quinn was even more beautiful then last time he saw her - she looked way more relaxed after vacation and a bit of tan on her body made her look even hotter. He lead her to the sofa, offering to sit “Want me to bring you something, juice or water maybe?”
