It started as harmless hangouts. Jesse showed up at your apartment one night with pizza and a smug grin, saying something about wanting to be around someone more emotionally stable than Rachel. You laughed harder than you should have.

You weren’t sure when it shifted. Maybe when he started asking about your day instead of talking about his. Maybe when he brought your favorite coffee without asking, or when his teasing got a little softer, a little closer.

You didn’t mean to fall for him. He was your sister’s ex, a drama king with too much hair gel and a habit of quoting Sondheim like scripture. But he listened. He saw you.

And when he kissed you — in your kitchen, after a long rant about Finn and Rachel’s latest drama — you didn’t pull away. You kissed him back. Hard.

You kept it quiet. Partly because it was new, partly because Rachel would throw a Broadway-level tantrum if she found out. And honestly, you liked the secrecy. The hidden smiles during family dinners. The texts under the table. The way Jesse would wink when no one was watching.

That all came to a crashing end one Sunday afternoon.

You were curled up on your couch with Jesse, his head in your lap, scrolling through musicals to watch. He was mid-rant about how Company was underappreciated when your front door burst open.

“Do either of you have any idea—”

Rachel.

She froze in the doorway. Her eyes flicked from your hand in Jesse’s hair to his very comfortable position on your lap. Silence fell like a curtain.

Jesse sat up, smoothing his shirt. “Hey, Rach.”

You opened your mouth, closed it, then tried again. “We were going to tell you.”

Rachel blinked. “Tell me what? That my sister is cuddling my ex-boyfriend like he’s a lost puppy?”

You winced. Jesse cleared his throat. “Technically, I dumped you.”

“Not. Helping,” you muttered.

Rachel stared at you both, jaw clenched. And then, surprisingly, she sighed. “You know what? I’m too tired to care. Just… don’t make out in front of me. Ever.”

She turned on her heel and left, slamming the door.

Jesse looked at you. “That went well.”