She was going to be okay.
She didn't know the exact moment she decided it. It could've been when she realized that Finn probably wasn't going to come back to her anytime soon. After all, he and Quinn had officially become a couple a few weeks ago. She saw them strolling hand-in-hand down the hallway as the crowd parted like the Red Sea. Or it could've been when she realized she had two amazing friends in Kurt and Noah. Yes, Noah. He had found her crying in the parking lot one day and just handed her a pack of Kleenex and sat with her for what seemed like an hour, but was actually just 10 minutes.
She would never truly give up on them, but she realized that maybe she shouldn't stop making the rest of her life wait.
He was kind of miserable without her. He always saw her out of the corner of his eye, often staring in his direction, and he wishes he could stare back. He knew, though, that he couldn't because then he'd start feeling things again.
He dated Quinn after she and Sam broke up. He figured that it was the best thing to do for his reputation. After all, when he dated her, everything was right in his world. He was high-fived by everyone down the hallway. He was invited to the best parties. He got to do fun things that egg people. Except, now he knows that one of those people was Rachel. And that she was a vegan.
Quinn was really pretty, and hot, but she always kept to herself. It wasn't unusual to him, because he remembered that's what she was like the first time around. He told himself that he just had to get used to it again, then he'd appreciate it like he used to. Quinn was a great girlfriend, minus the whole babygate thing, of course. She never made them watch long musicals as a learning experience. She didn't pay attention to his grades. She didn't plan out dates two months in advanced. She left him alone for the most part, and he thought personal space was great.
Well, except it left him to think about Rachel most of the time.
"Berry!" A voice called from behind her as she walked out to the parking lot after Glee practice. Rachel turned around to see Puck jogging to her, his backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Yes, Noah?" she asked, waiting for him to catch up. She at least knew he wasn't going to steal something from her. After countless interactions between the two, she had developed a basic sense of trust.
"Can you give me a ride? I have work in like, 10 minutes and my ass is going to be toast if I'm late," Noah asked, grinning.
Rachel looked at the time, and figured she didn't really have anything to do for the next 2 hours anyway. Her dance lessons were moved up to eight o'clock everyday, so she knew she had time. "Sure, as long as it doesn't hurt your pride to ride in my car."
Puck remembered how Rachel drove around a pink Volkswagen Beetle, but he just shrugged. "Enough pride to last me a lifetime, Berry."
She giggled, and gestured him to follow her out to her car. He got in the cramped space, slightly uncomfortable with the lack of leg room. The air freshener was a vanilla scent, and Puck could feel himself getting nauseous, so he rolled down the window to let some fresh air in. "Are you alright?" Rachel asked, as she started up the car. Puck merely nodded. "So, whose houses are you pool cleaning today?"
Puck raised his eyebrow at her question. "Berry, for a smart person, you can be pretty dumb sometimes." There was a long pause and Puck realized she still didn't get it. "It's freezing outside, do you really think I'd be pool cleaning in the winter?"
Rachel mentally slapped herself for the dumb moment. "Sorry, I didn't know you took on a second occupation in the winter. Where am I taking you, then?"
Puck grinned at Rachel's apology. "S'cool. Go on Main Street, and I'll tell you when to stop," Puck said, as Rachel navigated her way through the streets of Lima. She reached the downtown area of Lima, with business lined up one after another. Rachel figured she was taking Puck to some sort of restaurant or body shop or something. Boy, was she wrong. "Pull up at that white building with the pink windows."
"Are you being serious here, Noah?" Rachel asked incredulously. "You work at Estelle's?" The building was one of the larger windows on Main Street, but was divided into two sections. On the right hand side was the floral part of the store, with several bouquets behind the window. The other side was a bridal shop, with mannequins dressed in elegant wedding dresses displayed.
"Don't judge," Puck said nonchalantly, as Rachel parked the car in front of the store. "Come inside and meet my boss, I have a feeling she'll like you."
Rachel took the key out of the ignition and stepped out of the car, brushed her red sweater dress flat and followed Noah into the floral entrance.
"Noah! Glad you could make it in time," a dark-haired middle-aged woman said at the counter. "Go change in the back room. We have about 3 deliveries for 7 o'clock." She noticed Rachel behind Puck, and greeted her with a warm smile! "Hi! You're Rachel Berry, aren't you?"
Rachel nodded, smiling back. "Yes ma'am. You must be Estelle. You have a gorgeous store. I didn't know Noah worked here."
"Yes, he's my delivery boy in the winter. I'm good friends with his mother, and I thought it would be good for him to get a job here to stay out of trouble," she explained. "I see you at the temple sometimes. I went to high school with your dads, actually."
Puck emerged out of the back room wearing a hot pink polo with "Estelle's Floral & Bridal" embroidered on the left side of his chest. "Yep, Berry, I know this is a shock. Just take a moment to soak it in."
"He doesn't get the whole concept of love and dating and marriage or anything, but I guess he's better than the delivery boy I used to have who was allergic to almost everything in here," Estelle commented jokingly. "Noah, a new shipment just came in, and I'm going to need help putting the arrangements together. I have diagrams so you won't mess them up too much this time." She pulled out a packet of papers from under the counter and handed them to Noah.
"Berry can help me," Puck suggested, and Rachel blushed.
Estelle nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. She can pick up your slack."
"Follow me, Berry," he said, and he led her into a large, cold room in the back. The center table was filled with different types of flowers, and there were empty vases on a side table. "Estelle likes making her own arrangements. Except sometimes she's busy with bridal appointments so she has me make them sometimes. I kind of suck at it, though."
Rachel laughed heartily. "I'll help you out then."
Before they knew it, they were snipping away on the flowers, laughing with each other and throwing the discarded petals at each other. An hour had gone by, and Estelle walked back in and smiled at the cooperation of the two. "How's everything going here?" Rachel blushed brightly and froze in place. They had finished a good 15 arrangements, 10 more than what was on the list.
"I, uh, I actually made some of my own out of what was left," Rachel stammered. "Noah said it would be fine, I figured they would've been thrown out anyway."
Estelle looked through the arrangements that Rachel had put together. "These are very impressive, Rachel. Great cuts, neat, good color coordination. Do you mind if we put these up for sale?" she asked the beet red Rachel.
"R-really? That would be absolutely amazing!" Rachel gushed, and Puck let out a chuckle. He knew Rachel and Estelle would get along extremely well.
"Tell you what, Rachel, how would you like a job here?" Estelle asked casually. Rachel's jaw dropped, and there was a long pause. "I won't need you everyday, but you can help me arrange every time a new shipment comes in. Plus, you can make sure that Noah shows up here on time."
Rachel jumped out of her chair in happiness, and hugged the short woman. "Thank you, so much!" She went on to hug Puck in excitement, and he laughed.
"Easy there, Berry. First job?" he asked, hugging her back. She blushed again, but nodded rapidly. She never felt the need to get a job before, but she liked the idea of having something in her life that wasn't related to her future career, or something mandatory like having to face the torment of high school.
This was a fresh start for Rachel.