AN: Hey there readers! Sorry I've been quiet for so long, I've had no inspiration and suddenly this hit me thanks to a suggestion by my dear friend ScytheMeisterMaka who I thank for giving me spoilers Glee Wikia can't provide me, listening to my craziness and generally being an awesome friend. She's playing the lead in her school play which opens in a couple of weeks so to that I say good luck! This is dedicated to you hon :)

I would also like to dedicate this fic to someone else who will remain nameless but should they ever read this they will know this is for them. Thank you for taking my weirdness, craziness and everything else I've thrown at you in your stride; you've given me a little more hope that the human race isn't as bad as I thought :)

BTW, for this to work Puck never went to McKinley. Set post S3. I'm sorry Puck's OOC and the time jumping's a bit crazy, I wrote this at 3AM!

As always, credit for the idea of this series goes to my dear friend SpecialBookworm-394 whose own fics I recommend you take a look at :) I hope you enjoy and on with the story!

DISCLAIMER: The music and Glee is not mine. They belong to Taylor Swift and Ryan Murphy & co. and Fox respectively.

You were in college working part time waitin' tables,
Left a small town, never looked back,
I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin',
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts?

We met on an internet dating website. I'd been whining to Santana that I was tired of being single and why couldn't I just find a nice guy for once that accepts me for who I am so she told me to try this site her cousin had used and had found her boyfriend who she'd been dating for a year. So I thought why not? At worst there would be some fruitless conversations from it.

Sure, I was scared of getting into a relationship too deep; I loved Finn so much and he hurt me when he chose Rachel over me and with the break-up of my parents' marriage when they had once been so strong and in love… I was a bit skeptical to say the least.

I must have been on the site for a week when Noah sent me a message. He wasn't my usual type- in fact he was quite the opposite- but he was good looking and he had clearly taken the time to read my profile and comment on everything I had said, even mentioning he played guitar. I couldn't not reply to that message; it would be rude considering the time and effort he had put in, right?

I say 'Can you believe it?',
As we're lying on the couch,
The moment I can see it,
Yes, yes, I can see it now,

Six months later and we were doing pretty well. We'd been dating for four months and we saw each other when we could- he was at Southern Connecticut majoring in Creative Writing as well as on the school football team and working in a café near his apartment as much as he could so he could get by. Our time together tended to be at his place curled up on the couch eating whatever took our fancy and either playing video games or watching TV or a movie- he loved that I played video games and was beginning to see me as a worthy opponent on Call of Duty 3 and I always beat him on Mario Kart.

Sometimes it was tough when I knew I wasn't going to see him for a while because of conflicting schedules but the memory of our first date helped a lot.

Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water?
You put your arm around me for the first time,
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,
You are the best thing that's ever been mine,

We met for the first time in East Rock Park, at the East Rock because it was the easiest landmark to find in the place. I remember seeing him and a huge grin taking over my face. He was wearing a black leather jacket, a white V-neck t-shirt, dark jeans and sneakers and I wore a white tank top, pale blue cardigan, jeans and light grey ballet pumps. We hugged before setting off, walking around the park aimlessly and talking, getting to know each other face-to-face rather than on the phone or over text message.

I remember I wanted him to hold my hand so I used the age-old excuse that my hands were cold. He didn't pick up on it, offering to hold some of the items in my jeans pockets so I could put my hands in them. I declined and we carried on walking, continuing to talk about anything that came to mind.

After a while we ended up by the river which was fenced off a little to stop people from jumping in. I moved to sit on the fence and that's when he first put his arm around me. I can't remember how it happened but I moved to stand in front of him, his back to the fence and we were stood so close… I looked down then he kissed my forehead and nose before our lips met softly and tentatively, the baby steps into the relationship we have now…

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together,
And there's a drawer of my things at your place,
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded,
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes,

But we got bills to pay,
We got nothing figured out,
When it was hard to take,
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about,

I moved into his place in my second year of college, more for the cheaper rent than the signs of commitment. That didn't mean to say we didn't want to move in together; we both wanted it. So I got my own side to the bed, own side to the wardrobe, drawers for my clothes, the space was split and we started our domestic bliss.

Obviously with us living together it meant we spent more time together which meant he saw more sides to me than he had seen before. Piece by piece he put together why I was how I was, why I would get insecure and ask if he still had feelings for me even though nothing had happened for it to change, why I found it hard to believe him when he called me beautiful. He promised me we wouldn't end up like my parents. I cried when he said that.

That year was when things got tougher. We were surviving off what money we got from our parents and Noah's job but we were living from one month to the next. We had nothing planned further than the next paycheque but memories of how we had been when we started out helped me stay positive. They helped me believe we could get through the tough times; we were strong enough.

Do you remember, we were sitting there, by the water?
You put your arm around me for the first time,
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,
You are the best thing that's ever been mine,

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
You saw me start to believe for the first time,
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,
You are the best thing that's ever been mine,

Oh, oh, oh,

For our one year anniversary we skipped our classes and went to the beach for the day. The weather wasn't the greatest but we walked through the sand barefoot and ate at a quiet café we found. We returned to the beach when the sun had set, Noah gave me his jacket when it got colder and we ended up sat on the sand watching the lights from the buildings behind us reflect on to the ocean. It was there he told me he loved me for the first time. It took a moment to sink in, to see this wasn't some cruel joke deep down I know he'd never play, then I said it back.

And I remember that fight,
Two-thirty AM,
As everything was slipping right out of our hands,
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street,
Braced myself for the 'Goodbye',
'Coz that's all I've ever known,
Then you took me by surprise,
You said, 'I'll never leave you alone',

You said, 'I remember how we felt sitting by the water,
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time,
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter,
She is the best thing that's ever been mine,'

It was a few weeks before our finals that we had our first huge argument. Neither of us remember what it was about specifically- just that it was about money- then next thing we knew we were screaming and I threw my iPod at him at one point before I stormed out of the apartment so he wouldn't see how upset I was. I remember being stood on the street with my hand covering my mouth as I choked back the sobs, thinking how it had to be the end; arguments like the one we'd just had were why my parents had divorced so of course we would follow the same fate, just without the stupid amounts of paperwork and money and custody of kids.

Before I could get myself any more worked up I felt two hands fall on my shoulders, two strong, familiar hands I knew as if they were my own. Hands that had held mine countless times, hands that had pulled me into embraces then trailed patterns over my back and arms, hands that had made me feel so safe and loved. I looked up and saw his gaze set of me, determination sparking in his hazel eyes. He said he knew what I was thinking and it wasn't going to happen; we were going to go inside and talk about things calmly and sort things out because he wasn't going to let me disappear from his life over something so freaking stupid. He said he couldn't lose the girl who he had walked for hours around a dumb park with but still had the best time he had had since he'd arrived in this dumb city. He couldn't lose the girl who made his heart go freaking crazy every time he looked at her. He wasn't going to lose the girl he was in love with.

Hold on, make it last,
Hold on, never turn back,

Needless to say we made up and were stronger than ever. We put it down to stress from college and life in general and agreed we would handle it better the next time it happened and even though we don't remember what we argues about I know we've stuck to whatever we agreed on because we haven't argued that bad since.

And now as I stand in front of our friends and family looking up at Noah as his eyes remain trained on me I can't help but smile a little wider as I remember everything we have been through. And judging by the feeling I always get when Santana looks at me, her eyes are trained to the back of my veiled head with the smuggest 'I told you so' look I have ever seen her wear.

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter,
You are the best thing that's ever been mine,
(Hold on) Do you believe it?
(Hold on) Gonna make it now,
(Hold on) I can see it,
(Yes, yes) I can see it now.

As Noah smashed the glass and we all cry "Mazel tov!" I grin as I know what's coming next. He turns to me and pulls me close, my arms instinctively slipping around his neck as our lips meet in a loving kiss. When we pull away and our eyes meet again, sparkling from unshed happy tears and overall joy I find myself saying just loud enough that only he can hear:

"You are the best thing that's ever been mine."

AN: Sooooo what d'ya think? Yes it's complete cheese, it's my speciality but I really hope you like it! If you have the time I would REALLY appreciate a review- they are love!

No favouriting without a review.