I know, sorry this took me so long you guys. And i'm sorry that this is so short, but the real first chapter should be up soon, I promise.

Rachel was a hermit by nature.

Being alone came easily to her. She actually needed a quiet moment everyday so she could regroup her thoughts and became crabby whenever she didn't get it.

In NY it was fairly easy to obtain that, since she lived alone. She had so many quiet moments it actually got boring sometimes.

She probably wouldn't be having many quiet moments this summer though, because this summer she was going home to Lima, Ohio. And she was pretty sure that, between her fathers and the former glee club members (most of them, she knew, would also be back home), she wouldn't have much quietness.

She sighed.

She almost considered staying in NY. She had no accomplishments to brag about, at least for the moment. And she didn't feel like going back to Lima empty handed.

She'd always prided herself on her artistic skills, secretly feeling superior to those who tried to bring her down. Whenever someone threw a slushie at her, or said something mean, she would go to the auditorium and practice till her throat was sore.

It was her way of coping. And she felt, unlikely as it might sound, that they knew about her feelings of superiority and would hold her to it. She would have to, sooner or later, demonstrate the skills she was so proud of.

But for now, she could not. Therefore, the uneasiness in her grew fast as the time of her flight quickly approached, but her fathers insisted she came home and she could never say no to them anyway.

There was one thing though that made her dread even more (and also want) that trip that had nothing to do with her colleagues.

Well, not with all of them at least. Just one.

Noah.

Weird as it may sound, he was a somewhat relieving factor for her on that goddamn trip. Not that Noah should ever be a solution for anything or anyone, but her knowing he would be there made all the difference. How much she wanted to be near him was what made her nervous.

Ever since he left NY, two months ago, they had talked pretty much every day. E-mails, Skype, she'd even sent a couple of videos of her singing so he could catch up to her progress. Hell, she'd posted photos of herself (all dressed up and sexy) on Facebook hoping he would see it.

It's not like that though. She didn't just dress up and did make up to show off on Facebook. It had been Jesse's birthday, which they celebrated (among his Broadway friends, bless him) on some trendy bar. She just decided to take pictures of that special moment for her friend, and she just happened to look amazing on the pics.

And she just happened to post them on Facebook on a moment she saw he was online.

He, on turn, had sent her a bad footage of his latest concerts. It sounded so bad, and it was so obvious they had made plenty of mistakes (drunk much?) that it turned out to be hilarious to watch them. She'd told him so boldly.

The internet had a funny (and dangerous) way to make you feel a false sense of security. And that made you say things you normally wouldn't. Secrets you wouldn't reveal otherwise. Honesty came much easier when you didn't have to face the person at the other end.

So every night online she realized she shared more and more of herself with him, and he appeared to be doing the same. They know shared a mutual knowledge and intimacy level they'd never experienced face to face. And it scared her and felt weird at the same time.

She didn't know how it would be when they met again. For the first time he had let it show how much growing up without a father had shaken him. She, in turn, told him about how she missed having a mother.

They sought each other out constantly, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed and saddened when he wasn't online, and feel happy whenever she found him. It was almost as though they were dating.

Except, you know, there wasn't any kissing, or making out, or…you know, the good part. ..at least not outside her head.

Every night she caught herself thinking about him kissing her neck, just, you know, kissing her neck. She didn't dare say she longed for it.

It was rather confusing since he had already kissed her neck. She knew what it felt like. And they had made out, when they dated. But the weird part was that she didn't feel like he was the same person she had kissed. It was like he had suddenly developed a new quality that made him a lot more exciting and made her a lot more eager to be around him.

Except, you know, she suspected that it had been just him all along. Or that maybe she was just using the distance to create a knight in shining armor in her head, under the excuse that know she knew him as he truly was.

Whichever may be, she felt like a teenage girl, anxious (and eager) for a ball dance, choosing her clothes a month before, wondering every night whether the guy she fancied would notice her and ask her to dance the slow dance.

And you know what, it felt kind of good to be so silly again.

She closed her bag, throwing in the last of the stuff she would need for summer and walked away from it. A few minutes later, she turned around, smiled to herself, and changed her mind, throwing in another bikini, this one considerably more revealing than the ones she'd packed.

She decided that she would let herself enjoy the anticipation, and be happy over something for a change. That is, until she met Noah Puckerman face to face. Then she would see what she would do about him.