Scotty Doesn't Know
A Puckleberry One-Shot
Based Off Of The Song
"Scotty Doesn't Know" by Lustra
"So, I was thinking we could get together and do something on Saturday, you know?" Sam Evans asked Rachel Berry as he walked right into her apartment, the way he usually did when he had something 'important' to tell either herself or her roommate, Santana Lopez.
After Sam had graduated, he and Noah Puckerman had taken a cross-country road trip around various states in a rented RV, before they each got a phone call from their parents, informing the two boys-one a freshly graduated male and the other a boy who had graduated the previous year, opting to take a year off from schooling-that they had each been accepted to NYU, Sam on football scholarship (he'd managed to get his place back on the team for his final year of schooling) and Puck for his music.
Blaine, having graduated from the same class as Sam and getting accepted into NYADA, along with Kurt and Rachel who were already students there, moved out there as well, planning to live with the three Lima implants that had already moved out to New York and were working to make their future something a little more solid.
But, the large loft apartment was slowly getting over crowded, and with Santana attending school at the Joffrey Academy of Dance, and Rachel's Broadway career, it made more sense for the two of them to go and get an apartment where they wouldn't be so far away from where they'd be spending most of their time.
Besides, they had both gotten jobs at the same restaurant, and it just made sense to be within walking distance of where they worked.
Kurt and Blaine-with Kurt's internship and Blaine trying to find a job-also needed a new location to reside in, settling for an apartment right next door to Kurt and Blaine.
Puck and Sam moving in across the hall from there hadn't been planned, but it had happened, a sign of fate.
As they all lived close to one another, and Santana and Rachel had developed a close friendship, which forced Puck to get closer to his fellow Jew, Sam spent a lot of time with the entire group of Lima implants. Things got even closer when he and Santana started dating, if only to find some kind of comfort from somebody who might understand their pain, when news came that Brittany and Mike had met up while working at a dance camp for teenagers and gotten back together.
That had happened the July after Puck and Sam had moved to New York and it was now August of the following year.
Things had been fine for two years-Santana and Sam having broken up about two months prior to Sam's entrance to the girls' apartment because Santana just couldn't be in a relationship with a male.
After the break-up, which had gone surprisingly well, Sam had taken to asking out Rachel whenever he caught her alone. Which really made her hate Santana for giving him a key to the apartment back when they were dating. That meant he would barge in whenever he knew that Santana was working and Rachel had the day off.
"I can't. You know that I go to Synagogue every Saturday, Sam," Rachel replied with her automatic answer to the question he asked every Friday morning.
"Yeah, right, I know. I was just hoping you might consider skipping one week," He shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked down at the floor sheepishly.
"Sam, you're my best friend and I hate constantly canceling on you, but Saturdays just aren't very good days for me," Rachel sighed, reaching up and running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"I know...some other time?" He asked, perking up a little.
"Alright," She relented.
What Sam didn't know was that Rachel wasn't going to Temple. She never went when she said she was going. It was just a well-planned excuse for her to get out of going out with him and instead meeting up with another male whom she did want to spend some quality time with.
Every Saturday, she and Noah Puckerman got together and did it in his truck.
"You told him the Temple story again?" Puck smirked down at her. She didn't respond and he knew that was her way of replying that she had, because she was always quiet when she knew she was wrong. "You need to come up with some better excuses," he shook his head.
She didn't answer him, but he didn't mind. He actually preferred her to be silent, because sometimes she'd just start to ramble on about the dumbest things, and while he found her ramblings to be adorable, he was sure that, with this topic of discussion, she would start on about how she felt guilty for lying to their friends.
But, what were they going to tell Santana, Sam, Kurt and Blaine? That they got together and hooked up all the time? They weren't dating and there wasn't a label for what they were doing. Hell, they couldn't even call themselves friends with benefits, because when they aren't having sex, they weren't talking to one another-she thought it was merely to keep the secret, but it was honestly because he just didn't want to listen to her rant and rave about whatever topic she was on about that day.
And with the way all of their friends had reacted to Sam and Santana dating one another-Kurt freaking out that it would ruin the entire dynamic of their friendship if things ended roughly, while Blaine constantly made the most innocent remarks sexual-and how Santana and Sam acted whenever Rachel or himself went on a date-Sam getting all sad-eyed and Santana threatening any girl who was going out with Puck-it was easy on everybody to just keep their sex lives private. Because Kurt and Blaine would have a field day with what to say about this arrangement and Santana would kill Rachel in her sleep. Sam would probably never speak again.
"But, I mean, you're still on your knees..."Puck grinned down at her.
And with that, she moved away from where she was giving him a blow job and stood up, hands placed directly on her hips.
"Are you done yet? This is ridiculous and I won't stand for it any longer. Noah, if we're going to keep doing this, I need to know that it's going to go somewhere, alright?"
"Rachel, don't start, alright? Can't we just have some fun?" He asked, reaching up and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling a naked Rachel Berry onto his lap with a sigh.
"Noah, this isn't fun for me! I'm lying to my friends and it's stressing me out whenever Santana comments on my sex life. I have to break Sam's heart every time he asks me out because I don't know if I'm supposed to see other people or if we're exclusive. And Kurt tries to set me up on blind dates and I have to make excuses about how I'm more focused on my career and then Blaine makes some comment about you and I and I just know that I'm blushing and that I'll give our secret away and-"
"Go on a date with Sam. Date whoever the hell Kurt fixes you up with. I don't care," He said roughly, gently shoving her from his lap and reaching for his clothes.
"Are you angry with me?"
"It's whatever, Rachel-do what you want, okay? Call me next time you're back to being fun instead of so...serious," He rolled his eyes as he tugged his shirt back on.
"So, I was thinking we could get together and do something on Saturday, you know?" Sam Evans asked Rachel Berry as he made his way into her apartment.
He entered the kitchen, heading straight towards the refrigerator. It was just a routine now. He knew that the girl who was sitting on the couch was going to give him the same answer she always did. The tiny brunette, curled up in a blanket while she read a book, always gave him the same answer and there wasn't a chance that things would be different that particular Friday.
"Sure," She said, snapping her book shut and tossing it aside, raising her hands above her head as she stretched out her muscles.
"Yes?" He asked, turning away from the refrigerator, can of soda in hand. "Did you just say yes?" His eyes grew wide.
"I can skip going to Temple every once in a while. Besides, I haven't been on a date since that horrific affair with Brody my freshman year of college. I'm going to be a senior soon," the twenty-one year old girl said with a shrug.
"Seriously?" He asked, walking towards her slowly, as if afraid he might startle her into realizing what she had just agreed to and causing her to change her mind about their plans. "You're sure about this? You always seem so dead-set on going every single week," He frowned, pushing his eyebrows together in confusion as he slid down onto the couch besides her.
"Are you trying to convince me to cancel?" She giggled.
"Hell no-I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven, 'kay?" he said, leaning in and giving her a peck on the cheek before getting up and walking away, unopened can of soda still clutched in his hand as he left her apartment for his own.
"What the hell?" Puck came storming into Rachel and Santana's apartment, a look of pure fury on his face. "You're going on a date with Sam?" He asked her, slamming the door shut behind him.
"You told me it was alright. Your exact words were that you didn't care, remember?" She asked him innocently from where she was making herself a salad for lunch.
"What was I supposed to say? Make up some shit about what the hell there is between us? God damn it, Berry, you can't just go out with another guy like that. Not when you're my-"He cut himself off, eyes growing wide at shock as to what he was about to say.
"Now when I'm your what exactly? I would like to know what I'm supposed to be to you, Noah. Maybe that could help me understand the rules," She rolled her eyes, slamming down the knife she had been chopping lettuce with.
"Nothing. We're nothing-we just get together for a good time. But you've got Sam for that now," He replied bitterly, turning on his heel to make his way from the apartment.
"So that's it then? We're over? Whatever it was that we were?" She asked, her voice low and lacking emotion.
"You're going out with Sam," He said, not turning around to face her.
"On a date. It's not a marriage proposal." Rachel replied softly.
"So...you still want to? Hook-up and all?" Puck asked, peeking over his shoulder with the smallest smile on his face.
"Do you?" She bit her bottom lip.
"Hell yeah," he shot her a wink before walking out of her apartment, much happier than he had entered.
It was a few weeks later Rachel and Puck were in his room-Sam was working and wasn't going to be home until later-enjoying themselves just a bit too much.
It wasn't as though Rachel and Sam were dating, but they had gone out on a fair amount of dates. He hadn't asked her to make it anything serious, and that was what she kept telling herself every time a part of her said she was wrong for going out with Sam while hooking up with Puck.
But, she wanted to be able to go on dates and Puck wouldn't take her. And he was too good to pass up, anyways.
Her phone beeped from the nightstand and she groaned as she reached for it.
"Who is it?" Puck whined, upset that they had to stop their heated make-out with their heavy petting session.
"Sam," She replied, enjoying the look of annoyance that flashed across his face at that.
SAM: What are you doing later? Wanna go grab dinner?
"You're not going anywhere with him. It's my time," Puck growled, reading the text over her shoulder.
RACHEL: Sorry, I can't. I'm out shopping for school stuff.
Puck grinned to himself, proud of having won that argument with her-not that it was much of a disagreement. Besides, he knew he was always going to beat Sam when it came to Rachel, and it didn't just take Rachel being underneath him at the moment, begging him not to stop-not that he was planning on it anytime soon.
She might go out to dinner with Sam every now and then. Maybe they went and saw movies together. And yeah, the blonde got to kiss her a lot out in public, but he didn't get to have her in bed with him. He didn't get to kiss her the way Puck did. He didn't feel her underneath him-or, even better, on top of him-without the slightest bit of material between them.
Sam got to take her out where people could see them together, but he didn't get to fuck Rachel.
Nobody got to fuck her, except for him. And he was going to do whatever it took to make sure it stayed that way.
"We need to tell Sam," Puck said softly, entering Rachel's bedroom, his voice a muttering whisper so that Santana wouldn't be able to hear them from the other side of the wall.
Of course, he realized as he shut the door behind him, Santana wouldn't be able to hear him anyways because she had some 90's music full of girl-power ballads blaring from her bedroom, something she did whenever she was studying for a big test. It was the only way she could concentrate, and she needed to be able to jump up and dance when she needed a break or she'd never sit down and actually study for longer than a minute or two.
"Are you crazy?" Rachel asked, glancing up at him from her spot on her bed.
She was lying on her stomach wearing one of his old football jerseys from back when they had been best friends and inseparable. A pair of stretchy short shorts were peaking out of the bottom of the shirt and her hair was in a sloppy bun, falling from its hold and into her face. Sometimes, without even trying, she looked sexier than when she was really trying. Especially when she had a book in front of and her tongue peaking out between slightly parted lips.
"Sam doesn't know. Don't tell Sam, because he doesn't know. So don't tell him!" Rachel insisted, rolling over onto her back and then twisting onto her side, legs dangling off of the edge of the bed as she faced him.
"Does he mean something special to you all of a sudden? Are you guys serious now? Because if that's what's going on, you don't need me anymore, do you?" He asked, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"You're being-wait a second...are you jealous?" She asked.
"Are you sleeping with him?"
"No."
"Then I have nothing to be jealous of."
"If you were jealous, I'd end things with him," Rachel said softly.
"You would?"
"If it were bothering you, I would end things right away. If that meant you and I would be something more than...whatever we are. If we became something outside of the bedroom or the truck or wherever we can sneak off for a quick-ie. I'm not breaking his heard to keep sneaking around with you," She said.
"You know how I feel about that."
"Then why tell Sam?" Rachel challenged.
"Fine, whatever-you win. As always," He rolled his eyes, turning around and storming from the bedroom.
"Lover's quarrel?" A newer voice asked as he started to make his way out.
He paused, turning to look at the kitchen where a tall, leggy Latino was standing, leaning against the counter, an open can of beer in her hand, eyebrows raised. Santana Lopez had her hair in her old style from high school-a perfectly structured, sky-high ponytail that tugged at her roots and probably was causing her a major headache. She wore an old Cheerio's tank top and he knew that on the back it read iFly, and she had it on with a pair of guys' basketball shorts, rolled at the waist.
Between the tight fitting top that revealed her stomach and her bellybutton ring paired with the boxy fitting shorts that sat low on her hips, she was a definite turn on for any straight male-but Puck wasn't interested in her.
He preferred girls with slightly lighter hair, eyes that held a bit more of a sparkle, a short frame and an innocent demeanor. All in all, he would rather have Rachel Berry than Santana Lopez any day.
"What are you talking about? She's Sam's girl," Puck muttered.
"Well, that might be true, but it brings a few interesting questions into play. For example. If she's Sam's girl-who happens to be your best friend and roommate-what were you doing in her bedroom with the door shut? And, why is it that whenever she returns from your apartment, her hair is a mess and her cheeks are flushed, when I know that Sam wasn't over there at the moment? And why does she start to blush like a school girl whenever your name is brought up? And, for that matter, why would she-"Santana began asking questions-questions that Puck didn't have any answers to, and it was enough to drive him insane.
"Alright-I get it. You know what's going on. Whatever," Puck crossed his arms as he glared at her.
"You better tell Sam. That boy doesn't deserve to get his heart broken. Better get it out in the open before he really starts to fall for her. And before he starts to think of their relationship as serious," Santana warned.
"Rachel won't let that happen."
"Is she going to string him along? Go out with him once or twice a week and then sneak around behind his back to fool around with you? And even if things never get serious between the two of them-he's still going to fall for her, eventually. He has a right to know, Puckerman," Santana glared right back at him.
"She doesn't want to tell him. I'm respecting her wishes," Puck said.
"This is going to end badly." Santana warned him.
"Sam doesn't know. Sam can't know. So don't tell Sam," Puck said slowly, trying to get it across to her.
"Are those Rachel's wishes, or your own?" Santana asked.
"Just don't tell him, okay?"
"Whatever. But don't come crying to me when this blows up in both of your faces," Santana rolled her eyes, turning on her heel and making her way back towards her room, leaving Puck there to feel even worse about himself.
He'd just had a conversation with Santana Lopez about morals, and she was the one telling him what was right. That was just messed up and it didn't seem right. That proved how messed up everything that was going on was.
It was hard, when the entire group was out together.
They always sat at a booth meant for six, Santana, Sam and Rachel squeezed in one side together and Kurt, Blaine and Puck on the other.
As weird as it seemed, Sam always sat in the middle on the side with the girls, because Rachel and Santana would fight about everything if put besides one another and they would constantly be elbowing one another or poking one another or trying to stab the other with a fork. Besides, back when they'd been dating, it made since for Sam and Santana to sit together.
Now that Rachel and Sam seemed to be the newest couple, his arm was always wrapped around her shoulders, even as he ate, causing him to awkwardly eat with his left hand when he was right handed.
Puck always sat across from Rachel, because it meant he had an excuse to stare at her.
Kurt and Blaine would be cuddle up together on the inside of the booth, sharing whatever they had ordered with one another like the disgustingly in love couple that they were. The entire thing sickened Puck to no end.
While Puck and Rachel sat there, with Sam holding her in his arms, the two Jewish members of the group would be engrossed in a secret game of footsie, working hard not to give it away.
They had to put on a show, after all, because nobody could know-even if Santana already did.
Sam didn't know and that meant Blaine definitely couldn't know, because he wouldn't be as understanding as Santana was. He would tell his best friend as soon as he found out what was going on, because he was just that good of a friend.
Surprisingly, Rachel and Santana had become the best of friends after high school, even with their constant bickering. It turned out that they were more alike than they'd ever cared to admit-even more alike than Kurt and Rachel were, actually. It was kind of hot, seeing how close the two girls had become.
Sam and Blaine, ever since high school, had become the best of friends and they did everything together.
And that left Kurt and Puck to befriend one another. And somehow, their friendship was the best one out of the group, even if nobody could explain it. Puck would tease Kurt relentlessly-in a loving matter-about his sexuality and Kurt would insult Puck for his neanderthal ways. But, whenever Puck needed girl advice, Kurt was the first one to come to his aid. And whenever Kurt needed somebody to protect him because they didn't like who he was, Puck was there to knock some sense into the moron.
But, it didn't matter-nobody could know because while Kurt and Puck were best friends, Blaine was the love of Kurt's life and that meant that he would tell him everything and anything, even if his best friend pleaded with him not to tell.
It was lucky that Santana's only loyalty-besides the one to herself-was to Rachel.
"I'll be right back-I have to go to...the bathroom," Rachel blurted out, jumping to her feet and running off, shooting Puck a secretive look that was missed by everybody except for Santana.
"Shit, they probably mixed up her order and gave her real meat. I better go hold her hair," Puck said, moving to slide out of the booth.
"I'll do it-I'm her boyfriend," Sam said, shooting Puck a confused look.
At the word boyfriend, he scowled, Rachel hadn't told him about that particular turn of events yet, but it seemed like something that he should have known before anybody else.
"Oh, no-she won't even let me see her that way and I'm her best friend. She calls Puck over whenever she gets disturbed by meat. She doesn't seem to care what he thinks of her," Santana said quickly, grabbing Sam's arm to keep him there. "One time, Finn forgot she was a vegan and fed her actual meat balls. Puck was at her house for hours holding her hair. She fled Finn's house faster than I've ever seen anybody move before," She explained.
"Yeah-she's real picky about who sees her like that. She'd probably even be pissed that we told her boy-that we told you about it," Puck replied, standing up. The word boyfriend was too hard for him to say. He couldn't get it out.
"Oh, alright, if you're sure that-"Sam was saying, but Puck wasn't listening. He was speeding off towards the parking lot as fast as he could, praying Santana would be able to distract the group before they realized that Rachel hadn't had a slice of anything that could have contained meat yet for her pizza.
He exited their favorite pizza place and walked towards his truck where a tiny little brunette was leaning against the large vehicle, her black pleated mini skirt flapping in the breeze with a floral crop top that zipped up the front-easy access-revealed a sliver of her flat stomach. She was wearing a pair of high heels to give her a bit more height and her legs looked incredible.
"The parking lot?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Why not?" She giggled.
"It's cool when you're on top," Was all he told her as he unlocked the door, lifted her into the truck and crawled inside himself.
Once they were in the safety of his truck, she was seated on his lap, arms around his neck as she kissed him, tongue dancing right along with his own as he reached back, searching for the lever to lower his seat so that they could lay down.
Once they were horizontal, he was removing her underwear-they were working on a quicky and he wasn't wasting any of his time getting her clothes off completely, as she started to pull off his pants.
"You're dating him?" He asked her, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her before they could actually get started.
"He likes labels," She shrugged.
"He called himself your boyfriend." He growled.
"So? He'll just wear the label that you're too ashamed to wear," She rolled her eyes, and then she was kissing him and his anger was forgotten as his hands slipped down to her hips, tugging on them roughly so that he was inside of her and they could do what their relationship was supposed to consist of-sex, and nothing but that.
It had started out as something innocent, back when Santana and Sam had first gotten together.
Santana was out on a date with Sam while Kurt and Blaine were out do something adorable together as a couple.
Rachel was sitting on the couch in her and Santana's apartment, alone, watching musicals that she'd seen a thousand times. Puck had opened the door-Rachel hardly locked it-and walked inside, picking her legs up and sitting down at the other end of the couch, her feet in his lap. He'd just walked in and sat down as if it were normal for them to do.
"Why is it that all of your friends are dating-one another, no less-yet I can't seem to find a guy who's interested in me, despite having been here for years?" Rachel wondered.
"I've been here for who the hell knows how long. Not a single girl has wanted to have sex with me. I haven't been on a date in forever," He complained, tilting his head back and releasing a groan.
"Am I so unattractive that the opposite sex finds me that unappealing?" She frowned, biting her bottom lip.
"Don't be stupid. You're hot, Berry, and any guy who doesn't see that is an idiot. Besides, I thought you swore off guys after..you know," Puck rolled his eyes, not wanting to get into the personal conversation that would come up if they got onto the heart wrenching topic of FInn Hudson, his best friend who had died about six months after his high school graduation in a car accident.
"That wasn't for good. I was eighteen when that happened. Whatever, it's stupid," She rolled her eyes.
And then, without saying anything, he was leaning across the couch, lying on top of her as he pressed his lips to her own. It was supposed to be a friendly kiss, but it had escalated quickly into one of their typical, heated make-out sessions. Before they'd known what was really happening, they had had sex right there on her couch in her living room, some Barbra Streisand movie-musical playing in the background.
And then, whenever one of them was feeling low after that, they would meet up and hook up. Before long, it become a routine kind of thing. Every Saturday was a definite. At least two other times a week they'd meet up in some other place to enjoy a heated make-out session, and, if they were lucky, sex.
"Are you sure you're feeling okay Rachel?" Sam was asking as the group made their way from the parking lot and towards their apartment building.
"I'm fine-oh, shoot, Noah, I left my purse in your truck. Do you think you could walk me back to get it?" She wondered, looking up at him with those big, doe-like eyes that he couldn't say no to, not when he was looking right into them.
"I can do it," Sam spoke up, taking a step forward and even holding out his hand, as if waiting expectantly for Puck to drop his keys into his palm-yeah, like that was going to happen.
"It's Noah's truck, Sam. It would be very rude to just go barge into it. I'll see you guys inside, alright?" Rachel smiled, standing up on tiptoes to give a sweet kiss on the cheek to Sam, who grinned down at her and followed the rest of the group inside.
Puck felt his fists clenching at the sight of how 'adorable' they were together. And it made him feel like an idiot, because he would never want anything that sweet in his life. Yet, he hated that Rachel had it with somebody else.
"You didn't-"
"Yes, Noah, I know full well that I didn't bring a purse out tonight. Hopefully Kurt and Blaine won't realize this and blurt it out stupidly. We are making some rather fatal errors tonight, but I honestly can't care. I just needed to kiss you one more time before the night was over," She said, moving towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing their lips together.
It wasn't just a kiss. It was a make-out, but it wasn't anywhere near as needy and desperate as their usual ones were. This one was more like what they might have if they were actually dating.
But, Puck was more impressed that Rachel was kissing him like that on their front lawn, where anybody who lived in the building could see them and then be overheard talking about it by Sam. They were kissing on Sam's very own front lawn, where he could exit the building, wondering what was taking them so long, and catch them.
It was kind of bad ass of her, and it was a real turn on.
"I thought you left your purse?" Sam asked as they entered the girs' apartment.
"I looked all through the truck...I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. I didn't even bring one tonight." Rachel said innocently.
"Are you sure you're alright-it seems like that meat-mix-up really got to you," Sam frowned.
Puck hated how concerned the blonde was acting.
He was acting like a...like a boyfriend!
And he didn't like the idea of anybody dating Rachel.
It just seemed wrong, as far as he was concerned.
"I think I just need to go and lie down," Rachel said, putting a hand to her head.
"Do you want me to come do the thing?" Puck asked.
"The thing?" Sam asked.
"Whenever I accidently consume meat or see something disturbing regarding the substance," Rachel said slowly.
Puck couldn't blame her for stalling. He'd just made that lie up on the spot.
"She has me come and sing to her. It relaxes her," Puck spoke up.
"And, she normally gets a horrible headache when it happens," Kurt spoke up from where he was cuddled with Blaine. "Do you want us to leave, sweety? We can go hang out in our apartment," He looked at his fellow diva in concern.
"I think that's a great idea," Santana said, fake smile already plastered into her face as she jumped to her feet. "Puck, just head on over when the diva's asleep," She said, shooting Puck an angry, warning glare.
When their friends were gone, the pair looked at one another and burst out laughing. And they weren't just laughing at the fact that Sam had no idea what was going on.
They were laughing, because, without even knowing what he was doing, Kurt had helped them out and given them some time alone to enjoy a second hook-up for the night.
"This is wrong," Rachel said, the laughter stopping as suddenly as it had begun, a frown taking over her face as she bit down on her bottom lip. "This is wrong," She whispered.
"Rachel, it's not wrong. We belong together. We're a couple of hot Jews, and it's only natural, alright? We've gone over this a million times before, remember?" He asked her with a sigh.
"If we belong together, why aren't we together? Why am I going on dates with Sam and allowing him to call himself my boyfriend if you and I are meant to be together?" Rachel snapped.
"Because, we just can't...I don't want to-Rachel, god damn it, you're the one that didn't want to tell him!" Puck told her, hating that she was ruining their moment, once again.
"We can't do this, Noah. We just can't do this anymore. It's wrong and it's not fair to Sam. It's just...it's cruel and heartless. If you don't want to be with me, than you can't be with me at all," Rachel determined.
"Is that how you want it? That's seriously what you want to happen? Alright, fine, whatever. I'm gone. Forget about it. Forget about us. Whatever," He rolled his eyes and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
A few months later, almost a full year since Puck and Rachel had argued about their status. It was the following May and it was Sam's birthday. Rachel and Sam were officially a couple, and she hadn't hooked up with Puck since that fateful night of their fight. Santana seemed relieved to no longer have to keep the secret and things were actually better between the group than they had been in a long time.
That is, until Sam passed out drunk on the couch, grateful to finally have turned twenty one so he could legally drink, the same as all of his peers.
A drunken Kurt and Blaine had long ago retired back to their own apartment to do god know's what, while Santana had passed out in Puck's bed hours ago, deciding she would leave Sam's bed available for the couple if they were aroused to get 'wanky'. Of course, it was probably also to ensure that Puck and Rachel didn't get any ideas of their own about spending the night together.
That left Rachel and Puck, who looked at each other awkwardly, Puck completely wasted and Rachel just a little bit buzzed from the few drinks she had had that night.
"Noah," She whispered, chocolate eyes meeting hazel.
"Berry," He muttered.
"Why does it have to be like this? Why are we like-"She never finished. He had cut her off.
"Want to give it one more go? For old time's sake?" He asked her.
"You're drunk."
"So it won't mean anything."
"I don't know..."
"He's so drunk he won't even know what's going on."
"Fine-but only this one last time, alright?"
Puck did his best friend's girlfriend on Sam Evan's birthday, in the blonde's bed.
Puck woke up the next morning still wasted, Rachel wrapped in his arms. He was wearing his boxers and she was cuddled up in his tee shirt from the night before, her underwear back on but without a bra.
That settled it.
Sam hadn't known about the two of them when they'd first started and it had resulted in Sam getting Rachel as his girlfriend.
Sam had to know. Sam had to know now, because had to go. And Puck was going to tell him himself.
"Sam, buddy, 'ol pal!" Puck said, his words slurring as he entered the living room where a hung-over Sam was sitting, sipping on black coffee and making a face after each tiny gulp. "We need to talk," He decided, plopping down besides him.
"Can it wait? My head is pounding," Sam groaned.
"It's waited long enough, man! You need to know now. Because I can't deal with what's going on anymore, you know? I mean, she's just so hot, and I can't stand you being all over and touching her. You get what I'm saying?" Puck asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sam muttered.
"I'm talking about Rachel, dude! I mean, I know you're into her and all, but you can't have her. I'm gonna have her, 'kay?" Puck slurred, leaning back against the couch for support.
"I don't think it's up to you," Sam rolled his eyes, an amused smile on his face. Puck was drunk-he wasn't going to take any of what was said to heart, because it was just some stupid drunken comment. Besides, Sam's head hurt too much to put too much thought into what was going on at the moment.
"No, man, it ain't, but I kept thinking it was, you get me? She kept wanting to tell people and I said-i was all like, nah, nobody needs to know, because it's about us, you get me? Anyways, I just kept telling her what we had was special, something real but without any labels-'cause, you see, dude, I was 'fraid. I didn't wanna fall too hard, you know? And she's the girl you fall too hard for," Puck went on, rambling without reaching much of a point.
But, it was starting to seem a little too real for Sam's taste.
"So, in a way, I pushed her into your arms-but that's not gonna work. I don't wanna lose her, and so you can't have her. I'm gonna take her back, now okay? She won't mind-we've been hooking up, anyways. Last night? Yeah, man...we had a good time then. But, hey-don't take it personally, okay? Because it ain't you-it was never you. It's all me," Puck said, rambling on without making sense.
"You slept with my girlfriend?" Sam glared at him. "You slept with my god damn girlfriend on my god damn birthday and you've been sleeping with her? What the fuck is wrong with you?" If there was ever a cure for a hang-over, it was most definitely rage, because Sam was more aware than he'd ever been before.
"Dude, don't get so worked up. It's not anything you did. We started long before you, but I didn't wanna be serious-I wasn't 'specting to fall for her, ya know? But I did, and I just couldn't get up. She's something special, ya know? I dunno what it is, but, she is. At first, I didn't wanna tell you, and then she called things off and said ya didn't need-ta know, 'cause it was over an' all, but then last night hap'ned and, well...you can't have her anymore," He shook his head.
"You and Puck?" Kurt screeched, storming into Rachel's apartment later that day.
"What?" Rachel asked, whirling around form where she was making a snack. "What are you talking about?"
"You and Puck have been hooking up behind all of our backs, Rachel! How could you not tell me that?" Kurt glared at her, arms crossed over his chest as he stood at the entrance to the kitchen.
"It wasn't that well kept of a secret," Santana responded from the couch where she was lying on her back, legs tossed over the arm opposite her head, flipping through the channels. "I knew about it," She called out.
"Santana knew? You told Santana Lopez but god forbid you even considered telling me? What-did you think I'd tell Sam or something?" Kurt asked, turning towards Santana in disbelief when he was through with Rachel. "And you! How could you not tell me something like that? I thought we were friends!" He hissed.
"Yeah, we are-but Puckerman's pretty much family by now and Rachel's my girl. Therefore, they and their priorities come before you, alright? And, nobody thought you'd tell Sam, but we all knew you'd tell Blaine. And he would feel compelled to tell Sam for a few reasons we won't get into just now," Santana muttered.
"How the hell did you find out?" Rachel asked Santana, turning towards her with confusion sketched across her face. "We were always so careful about everything. We never even did anything when you were home, at least, not in the apartment. How did you find out?" She repeated her question, concern on her face.
Of course, she wasn't concerned that Santana had figured it out-Santana was smart and Rachel knew that if anybody would have figured out what was happening, it would have been her. No, Rachel was concerned about the fact that her acting abilities had been compromised and she might not be as amazingly talented as she had thought she was.
"Oh, don't worry. You didn't give it away. I heard you and Puckerman fighting about telling people one and about your relationship with Sam. When I asked him about it, he told me I couldn't tell because you didn't want people to know or whatever. So, I kept quiet," Santana said with a shrug, turning back to the TV.
"How did you find out, then-because there's no way you could have overheard our arguments about it and Santana didn't tell anybody. So when, where, and how did you hear and who told you?" Rachel asked Kurt in concern.
"Blaine told me," Kurt shrugged, still not very happy with either of his female companions for keeping such a big secret from him. "He heard it from Sam, who heard it from Puck," Kurt replied.
"Sam knows?" Rachel groaned.
"Alright, that's enough," Santana snapped.
They heard the TV click off and a squeak from the couch and before they knew it, the angry Latino was storming towards them, stopping in between them and crossing her arms over her chest, taking on a role she hadn't had since high school-head bitch in control.
"Kurt, you can't blame Rachel for your own stupidity, because it was pretty obvious something was going on between them. If I hadn't heard them I would have figured it out anyways. And Rachel, you can't be upset that Sam knows or that Puck told him. First of all, the moron's drunk out of his mind, and second of all-he's fucking in love with you, even if he won't admit it. Now, you need to figure out if he's just a good fuck-which he is-or if you want something more from him, because you can't have everything you want!" Santana said, her voice demanding and full of venom, the same bitchy tone she had always had in high school.
"Noah loves me?" Rachel whispered.
"Oh, god-I didn't even know you two were sleeping together and I was able to figure out that the guy was in love with you!" Kurt blurted out.
"Nobody's mad at you for sleeping with Puck and not telling us-"
"I'm mad I was kept out of the loop!"
"Nobody," Santana hissed, glaring at Kurt to make him keep silence. "Is angry that you didn't tell us about sleeping with Puck. We're angry that you led Sam on, because he doesn't deserve to have that done to him. But you have to figure out what's going on and set things right, or, as right as you can make them," Santana replied.
"Just tell me one thing," Sam sighed as Rachel entered the apartment he shared with Puck.
He was sitting on the couch, still in his clothes from the night before, drinking a beer. Rachel wasn't sure if the empty bottles and cans around him were from the previous night or just this morning. But, he didn't appear to be that drunk at the moment, so it was a good sign. Maybe they could talk things out and clear the air now.
"How long?"
"When you and Santana started dating...we hooked up for the first time right around then. After that, it was just whenever I blew an audition or he had a rough day at school or at work. And then it became kind of like a routine...it died down after I said yes to the first date with you, and it started to fizzle out. By the time you and I were truly dating, it was over. Last night was the first time in a while," She whispered, looking down at her hands, staying close to the door in case she needed to make a speedy exit.
"Does he make you happy?"
"Yes."
That answer had been simple. It was the truth-as long as she had Noah, she was going to be happy. He was a friendly face from back home-one she had always had, even when he wasn't truly there for her to an outsider's eye. He was a comfort to go to whenever she was upset. And he was one of the few ties she still had to Finn, her first love.
Noah was special to her, and, in a way, it had always been him. She'd always known she would end up with him, if she didn't wind up with Finn at the end by some twist of fate.
But, even with Finn in the mix, she'd always expected the final outcome to be Noah, and that was exactly what seemed to be playing out.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes," She answered, choosing not to comment that he was asking her to tell him much more than one thing, as his original intention had been. She didn't want to fight with him and he was being surprisingly civil at the moment.
"Did you ever love me?"
"No."
She hated saying the word, but it was the truth.
"Alright. Just...be happy, and don't let him hurt you. But, don't hurt him either. You two deserve one another, I guess, and I'm not saying it because of what happened-I guess, in a way, I always figured there was something between you guys. I never expected you to go out with me in the first place, because I always thought you were waiting on him. And I think this doesn't bother me as much as it should, because...well, I knew you were going to pick him eventually. It hurts-I feel betrayed, but he's my best friend and you're one of my closest friends. We're all a family out here, as incest-like as that sounds. I can't be mad at people I love being happy, no matter how hard I try," He sighed, running a hand through his blonde locks.
"Noah," Rachel sighed as he entered her bedroom.
She was sitting on her bed, going through a book full of sheet music as she tried to figure out what she would want to perform for her next audition-for a lead role in Chorus Line, preferably as Val but she would settle for playing Cassie as well. She was trying to convince Santana to come audition as well, believing it would be a wonderful show for her to begin her career in, but the Latino wasn't budging.
It was about two weeks after Sam's birthday, and none of the group had seen Puck.
After he had told Sam, he had stormed out of the apartment after the blow out they had had, as Sam was initially angry and hurt at the lies, betrayal and everything else that had happened, telling Puck he didn't want to see him ever again. Once Sam got over the initial pain, he had called Puck repeatedly, begging him to return, but he wouldn't answer the phone.
This was the first any of them had either heard from or seen Noah Puckerman in weeks, and while Santana would probably start yelling at him in spanish about his disappearance while Kurt hit him repeatedly for causing him so much worrying, assuming the blows would hurt, and Blaine and Sam would each get a well-deserved punch in his face as payback for turning them into such pussies, Rachel was just happy that he was back and that he was okay.
"I missed you," He said, walking towards her and pulling the book from her grasp, tossing it aside.
"Noah, my audition is in three days and I've yet to decide on an indefinite song. I need that book," She complained as he grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet, placing a kiss to her pouty lips.
It was the same type of kiss he had given her for their first kiss sophomore year. It was the same kiss he'd given her junior year and the same kiss he'd given her for every one of their hook-ups since coming to New York. It was needy and desperate, a plead for her to kiss him back and go just a little bit further, which would turn into him asking for a little bit more, and eventually they would go back to how they had been when they'd first hooked up.
"No," Rachel pushed him off of her, hands firmly locked on his shoulders to keep him away. "No, Noah, we're not doing this again. I can't do this again, alright? I cannot allow myself to be in an agreement where you want me for sex and that is all, while forbidding me to go on dates with others without even offering to take me on a date yourself. That's too much of you to ask for and I am not going to take the place of all the other girls you are used to having. I don't want to do this anymore if it's not going anywhere," Rachel told him, trying her best to appear strong so he wouldn't try and fight it.
"I told you, Rachel. We can't have a relationship. I don't do relationships. The first one I had was with Satan and the bitch dumped me for my credit score, when I didn't even have a god damn credit score. Then there was you and you fucking left me to be with him," He snapped at her, at least taking the courtesy to not say the name of her first love, knowing it would hurt her too much. "And then there was Quinn and she tried to lie about the baby and then only went to be because she needed somebody to support her, before she dumped me on my ass when she didn't need me anymore. And don't even get me started on those stupid relationships I had with Mercedes and Lauren who were always trying to change me. I can't be in a relationship because they always blow up in my face!" He was yelling and he never yelled at her.
He was hoping it would show how hurt he was, how much this meant to him.
"Than we can't be anything, Noah!"
"Rachel...I love you," He whispered.
"If you loved me, you'd trust me to not break your heart and be willing to try a relationship with me! If you loved me you would do anything for a shot. You aren't in love with me, Noah, you're just full of lust for me and they aren't the same thing." Rachel stomped her foot, something she did when she didn't know what else to say for her argument.
The thing was, this time, she was right about what she was saying and what was going on. She was right and he was wrong, but she didn't want to argue with him.
Still, he wasn't going to cave.
He had meant what was said about relationships and that was how he felt. He wasn't wrong for having an opinion and she couldn't make him change her mind. So, he merely turned around and stormed out of the room, slamming her bedroom door behind her, tripping over something in front of her door.
He glared down at a sheepish looking Santana Lopez who had been on her knees besides the door, a glass in hand, pressed between her ear and the door with a frazzled expression on her face, glossy locks falling loose around her face as she wore a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, falling off of one shoulder to reveal the strap of her sports bra.
Puck wasn't even impressed by the sight and not just because he was angry. Santana had nothing on Rachel and he wasn't going to pretend otherwise.
Also on his knees, besides Santana, was an embarrassed Kurt Hummel who was also holding a glass, while Blaine Anderson stood leaning against the couch, trying to look innocent while Sam Evans was sitting against him, struggling to try and appear as if he hadn't been spying on the couple in Rachel's room as well.
"You are a fucking dick," Santana said, climbing to her feet and tossing the glass aside, wincing at the sound of it shattering against the hard-wood floor. She cursed under her breath at the mess she'd need to clean and the lecture she'd get from Rachel about breaking it. "The girl loves you and you just want her for sex. And then you have the nerve to say you love her back," She rolled her eyes.
"She can't just be used like that. She needs romance, Puck. That's something Rachel's always needed," Kurt whispered.
"Sex isn't enough for a girl as complex as her, and you should know that by now. You had to serenade her just to make out with her! You picked the glee club over football to be with her. You always walked down the hall with her on your arm. You beat up countless guys for treating her wrong," Santana insisted.
"Your relationship with her didn't end because of Finn," Kurt whispered, breaking their unspoken rule about saying Finn's name aloud. "It ended because she didn't want you to end up hating her because you gave up football. Finn was a convenient excuse, especially since she saw how you looked at Quinn, and she had no way of knowing it was only because of that baby. She thought you were interested in Quinn," Kurt said softly.
"What am I supposed to do? After that scene? You think she's gonna take me back or something? She probably hates me. She should hate me and if she were smart, she'd hate me," Puck muttered.
"She can never hate you, Puck. We were all pissed when you disappeared. She was just concerned and sad and miserable," Sam muttered. "Now go and fucking woo the girl you had to have so badly before I fucking find her some guy who will want a relationship with her!" he ordered, his voice rising.
"Santana doesn't know," Puck sighed.
It was only a few minutes after he'd left her room, but he was back now. She'd heard a commotion outside with the sound of glass being broken, which gave her the impression Santana had gone into her crazy Latino mode.
Or perhaps Kurt had decided to try his hand at match-maker, something he hadn't done since they were all in high school. Blaine might have tried to beat some since in Puck-she knew that it was always a possibility. Or maybe Sam was actually mad at Puck, choosing to take all the anger out on the person he could hit, and had decided to fight him on it.
She also knew that a strong possibility was that Santana had started yelling about being from Lima Heights and gone into the crazy, she-devil persona that she took on whenever she wanted revenge or to put somebody in their place, blending it with the cruel, sinister version of Kurt that very rarely came out and was usually only directed at Rachel, but had been directed towards Finn and Karofsky before. She was sure if they were tag teaming him, Sam and Blaine were as well.
"Santana doesn't know what exactly?" Rachel asked, not looking up from the song book she had retrieved from her desk before sitting back down on her bed, pulling her knees close to her and using it as a surface to lean the book against as she read.
"Santana doesn't know that even though I want you, I know that you can do better and that you deserve better. She doesn't know that I want you to get everything out of life that you're supposed to get, because I don't want you to look back on anything with regret, especially if it involves me, because I couldn't live with myself if you ever came to hate me," He whispered, standing by the door without making any motion to move any closer to her.
She was quiet, merely turning the page of her book thoughtfully.
"Kurt doesn't know either. He doesn't know that I love you, but I'm afraid you don't love me back, so I won't give you the chance to turn me down. It's easier on me if I know we aren't anything serious because I keep turning it down," He added on.
She still didn't say anything. She didn't even bother to look at him.
"Blaine doesn't know that it as never just about the sex. He doesn't know about the times I used to sing to you when we'd be lying there together afterwards and he doesn't know about the times I'd sit with you while you cried beforehand. He doesn't know about high school where I worked so hard to defend you, even after all that I did to hurt you myself," He shrugged.
"None of them know about that, Noah," She pointed out. "Santana doesn't know that the first slushy attack was by accident, and only believable because I had turned you down at a party she wasn't at before high school began. Kurt doesn't know that every person you tossed into a dumpster had made me go to you in tears after school before. Blaine doesn't know that whenever Finn forgot I was a vegan, you held back my hair while I puked and then sang to me until I fell asleep. Santana doesn't know that you only went after her and Quinn for my sake-to get her to stop bullying and to break Quinn and Finn up because you knew how I felt about him. Kurt doesn't know that you gave me a ride home from the tree lot after he left me there without any way home. And Blaine doesn't know that you brought me to and from school each day and anywhere else I needed to go. And Sam? Well, Sam doesn't know anything about us," She ranted, still not bothering to look at him which hurt more than it should.
"I'm willing to give it a chance," He sighed, pulling out the big guns.
"Give what a chance?"
"Us."
"I'm not understanding the question."
"Rachel," He sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his mohawk. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
"I thought you didn't do relationships."
"I'm going to have to go all Casablanca or some shit, aren't I?" He sighed.
"You got it," She looked up at him with a smirk.
The group was at Callbacks, their favorite karaoke bar, the following night, when Puck made his way to the karaoke stage.
"What is he doing?" Kurt groaned.
"He's wasted!" Blaine laughed.
"Somebody's gonna make a fool of himself," Santana rolled her eyes.
"Somebody's gonna get laid tonight," Sam winked at Rachel.
"Oh, shut up all of you! There is absolutely no proof that what Noah is about to do has anything to do with me and for you to merely assume that-"
"Scotty doesn't know that Fiona and me do it in my van every Sunday-"
"Oh, shut up!" Rachel hissed, face turning beat red.