Title: Being Bold
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Dom/Rachel, Puck/Rachel
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,863
Summary: When Rachel goes in search of Noah, she finds that he has made some new friends.

Notes:

Rachel wondered what happened to Noah when he left Ohio for Los Angeles. She didn't even know if he was still there. He promised her he'd keep in touch with her, and for a while, he did. Then suddenly, there were no phone calls, no emails, nothing.

When Finn and her imploded for like the hundredth time, she decided enough was enough. Finn and she obviously weren't meant to be, and he couldn't seem to make up his mind between her and Quinn. It was exhausting.

And the person she kept thinking about was Noah. He had always been there for her. He had made her smile when she felt like crying. He believed in her when she didn't even believe in herself, and he made her feel like anything was possible if she wanted it badly enough. He was also the one—well, him and Kurt—that got through to her when she wanted to change her nose. She saw how truly disappointed he was in her for daring to do something so superficial, and she never wanted his disappointment aimed at her.

He was also the first guy to ever make her feel sexy. And if she was being completely honest with herself, no guy, Finn or Jesse, had made her feel as sexy as Noah did. It was just the way he looked at her with such intensity. It was like she was the only girl he saw.

Noah never saw his own worth, and considering his childhood, Rachel understood why. She made matters worse when she always used him to get Finn jealous, and yet, he never held her insensitivity against her.

She wondered what might have happened if she tried dating Noah for real. At McKinley, she had been so scared that he'd get bored with her because of her inexperience that she hadn't even wanted to try. And now, when she was more confident in herself, she couldn't find Noah to even ask him if there was any chance.

She went to Los Angeles on a whim, but it was a big city. Somehow, one night, she wandered into what she knew was an illegal street race. She looked at all of the women who were dressed in the skimpiest articles of clothing. Rachel had never seen anything like it.

There was no way Noah would ever spend his time here, but then why was she staring at a back of a Mohawk head? He was talking to a girl with long hair, and her heart clenched as she walked towards them. Was Rachel too late?

"Noah?" she yelled over the loud music.

The man quickly turned around and sure enough, it was Noah Puckerman. "Rachel? What are you doing here?!" he demanded.

It wasn't the reaction she hoped to get from him. She blinked back the tears. "I was looking for you. I'm sorry that I disturbed you!" she yelled and quickly turned around, doing her best to run away, but the crowds severely hampered her progress.

"Rachel!" he yelled, and she knew if she didn't hurry somehow, he'd easily catch her.

She rudely pushed two people apart so she could go through, but that wasn't enough because Noah's hand was encircling her arm. "Let me go!" she yelled.

"Rachel, I didn't mean it the way it sounded; I was just surprised."

She faced him again, but she wrenched her arm out of his grasp and stared at him angrily. "I wanted to see you. Is it so shocking that I might miss you? Especially when you didn't keep your promise and stopped keeping in touch with me?"

Guilt flashed on his face. He grabbed her hand, but it was a loose enough hold that she could pull away if she wanted to. He led them to an alleyway and when they walked farther into it, the noise wasn't as bad. "Rachel, I didn't think about how you'd feel if I suddenly stopped talking to you. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Why did you then? Did I do something wrong?" she fearfully asked. It was what she was most scared of. That she had finally driven away the one boy—besides Kurt and Blaine—that had always been on her side.

"No, of course not. It's just that..."

"Yes?" Rachel prodded.

"Well, Finn said the two of you were getting married, and it would be better if I stopped talking to you so much. He said it was straining your relationship, and the last thing I wanted was to make trouble for you."

Red hot fury washed over Rachel. "Really? Finn and I are getting married? It's the first time I've heard about it!"

"Huh?" he ineloquently asked.

"I broke up with him when he cheated on me with Quinn nearly eight months ago, and I haven't looked at or talked to him since. When did Finn tell you this story?"

He thought about it and eventually replied, "About four months ago."

Rachel shook her head. "That was when I was talking about coming to see you. I'm not sure how he heard about my plan. Maybe Kurt. I guess he didn't expect me to actually make the trip here if you weren't taking my calls. He actually thought I'd give up if I didn't hear from you? He doesn't know me at all."

"So you and Finn aren't—"

"I'm done with Finn," she promised resolutely.

He nodded. "So, what's been up with you?"

"I'm more interested in you and what you're doing at an illegal street race," she returned with an arched eyebrow.

Noah opened his mouth but before he could answer, there was an eruption of applause. "Come on. I want to see who won." He grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her back to where the crowd was clapping and dancing. With Rachel at his side, he pushed his way to the front, and arrived in time to see two men—one muscular and one a blond surfer-type—get out of their respective cars.

He turned to a guy next to them. "Roman, was it Brian or Dom?"

The guy smirked. "Dom, but Brian was close."

Noah chuckled.

Rachel frowned. So Noah was friends with some of the racers? Did he race? She hoped not. It was far too dangerous. Her eyes widened when the muscular guy kissed the blond surfer-type right on the lips.

"Well, Brian doesn't seem to be too heartbroken over his loss," Noah mused.

Roman smirked. "I'm sure the adrenaline is going to give them a wild time in bed tonight."

Noah faced her again. "Want to meet some of my friends?"

Rachel bit her bottom lip. "Um, Noah..." She trailed off, hesitating when it to saying something that might put Noah on the defensive.

"Stop worrying your pretty little head. I don't race. I work on the cars a bit in the garage, but I leave the racing to the others."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

He pulled her, following the guy he had been talking to. A group was already there, talking to the two guys that had kissed, including the girl with long hair that Noah had been talking to when she arrived. Once again, she wondered if there was something between Noah and the girl. She sincerely hoped not.

"Hey, everyone, this is Rachel. Rach, this is Dom, Brian, Roman Tej, Letty, and Mia." He point to everyone that he introduced.

Rachel felt a bit shy when she waved. "Hi."

Mia smiled, a friendly twinkle in her eyes. "So, you're Rachel. I've heard a lot about you."

"I hope mostly good," Rachel answered. Despite herself and her concerns about Mia's connection to Noah, she found herself immediately liking the girl.

Mia nodded. "Mostly. In fact, I've never seen a guy sing a girl's praises so much when he's not even dating the girl."

Rachel looked up at Noah's face and was surprised to see the normally bold man embarrassed. "Well, Noah is pretty special too," she finally said.

Noah looked at her hard, and she hoped he read what was in her heart. It would make things so much easier.

Rachel turned back to everyone else. She decided to ask something and hoped it sounded casual. "So, what's everyone's relationship? I mean, Brian and Dom's relationship is obvious."

Brian smiled. "Believe it or not, there was a time that Dom hated me, but I'm glad that's in the past," he said, squeezing Dom's forearm affectionately.

Dom smirked. "Even when I hated you, I wanted to bend you over the nearest car hood and fuck you."

Rachel blushed at the language. "So, how about everyone else?"

Roman spoke. "Well, Letty used to date Dom and Mia is not only Dom's little sister, but she also used to date Brian, until the men discovered who they really wanted. Thankfully, the girls were pretty cool about losing their boyfriends. Brian and I grew up together, and I hated him for a time as well."

Mia looked at her knowingly. "And Noah isn't connected to anyone here, unless you're including the binds of friendship."

Rachel searched Mia's eyes and realized the girl knew exactly why she had been asking. She nodded, silently thanking Mia.

Noah's arm wrapped around her waist. "Well, I think I'm going to head out. Rachel surprised me by her visit, and think she deserves my undivided attention."

"So, you won't be at the party tonight?" Dom asked.

Noah shook his head. "Not this time."

When they were walking away, Rachel felt a thrill that he chose her over a good time with his friends, but she wanted to make sure he was okay with it. "Are you sure you're okay with missing the party? It's not like I told you I was coming. If you want to—"

"Rach," Noah interrupted, "There's a party after every race. Missing one will not kill me."

She nodded and they made their way to his apartment. When they were situated on the couch, she wanted to press her whole body against him but stopped herself. "So, how did you become friends with them anyways? I mean, you've never showed any interest in street racing or even working on cars."

He shrugged. "I got into some trouble and Dom and Brian bailed me out."

"Trouble?" she gasped, her eyes wide at what he might have not said to spare her the heart attack.

He cupped her cheek. "Nothing that serious so stop worrying," he gently admonished her.

She closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. "Noah," she whispered.

"Yeah, Rach?"

She decided to just be bold and go after what she wanted. She opened her eyes, and she knew her desire for him had to be shining through. "Will you please kiss me?"

"Is it just one kiss? Is it just for the night? Or is it for keeps?" he asked, obviously deciding to be bold as well.

"For keeps," she breathed.

"Good answer," he replied, leaning forward and pressing his lips to hers. The kiss was as if they were drowning, and they finally got their air in each other.

And it was magic.