AN : I do not own Glee or any of the characters represented in this story. If I did it would be all Puckleberry all the time and Mark Salling would be most likely shirtless for the majority of the programme. Just saying.
Rachel had been looking forward to the weekend since her fathers had told her they would be going out of town from Friday evening. With the stresses of regionals and the Finn drama and all her extra curricular activities she hadn't had much time to herself lately. As she left McKinley that Friday afternoon she already had her night planned. She would get home, have a quick work out session, make her dinner and then pop in a DVD that would inevitably make her cry. While many thought that was a boring Friday night, Rachel was perfectly content to live in her bubble for a night with no interruptions. She was going to finally relax and have some me time. It didn't happen very often and so she was going to make the most of it.
As she drove to the grocery store she couldn't be happier. She had turned the radio up and was dancing along to a song she couldn't name but had a catchy rhythm. She didn't care what the other drivers thought, they had all danced along as they drove at one point in their lives and so had no grounds to judge her current buzz. She finally made her way to the store, found an available parking space and skipped to the doors. Picking up a basket she decided that tonight deserved the proper treatment, rather than make one of her normal healthy meals she would throw caution in to the wind and get a vegan pizza, ice cream and perhaps even a few various candy items. Why not go all out. It was only one night after all. She could make up for it on Saturday. As she rounded the corner of the candy aisle she saw Noah Puckerman, he was facing the opposite direction and so she had the opportunity to admire him. While she had been completely in love with Finn, she couldn't help but notice how attractive Noah was. His strong build was very tempting and he did have very lovely arms. Before she had time to realise he had turned around and was staring right at her.
"You know Berry, a picture would last longer. Although I'm not sure the kind of picture you're after could be taken in a public place." His trademark smirk was etched on to his face. She had been caught staring at him, a blush crept on to her skin.
"Noah, don't be so crude. I would not like any kind of picture of you, let alone the type you are insinuating" she whispered, although as they were the only two on the aisle it was unlikely anyone else would have heard. Noah just chuckled to himself. He could be so infuriating sometimes.
"Whatever you say Berry. Although the drool on your chin might suggest otherwise..." Rachel frantically wiped at her face which made him full out laugh. She tensed her body, balled her fists and turned to storm away. He had recognised the signs of a Rachel Berry storm out however and grabbed hold on her arm. "Rach, jeez, calm down. I'm just joking. I didn't think you'd get pissed. You really need to learn to laugh at yourself."
"I do not!" She shouted, forgetting about their current location. A few people turned their heads, making the original blush deepen to a dark red.
"Ok, ok. You don't." He held his hands up in surrender, surveying the contents of her basket as he did so. "What's with all the junk food anyway? I thought you were like a total health freak or whatever."
Rachel rolled her eyes, "While I do generally eat food that won't damage my body I thought I would treat myself tonight to a little junk food as you called it, my Dads are out of town and so I figured I'd have a little Rachel time." Noah had raised his eyebrows, she didn't understand the reaction.
"You're alone in your house? You're alone in your house and you're having Rachel time? Most people would have a total bender if their folks went away but you are having Rachel time?" She could tell he was about to laugh again. She had been held up long enough already and so grabbed some different bags of sweets and replied "Yes Noah, not that it is any of your concern but I happen to enjoy my Rachel time. Now I best go. Goodbye." And with that she turned on her heel and headed towards the checkout section leaving a confused Noah Puckerman behind her.
After she'd arrived home she had prepped her bedroom for her night in. She did her workout, showered, painted her nails and then put her dinner in the oven. While she was waiting for it to cook she went about setting up her bed for her DVD session, putting the various sweets in to bowls for easy access and replacing her work out clothes with her pyjamas. When her pizza had cooked she took it upstairs, along with her ice cream and was ready for a good cry. Tissues were at the ready and everything was good. However, 30 minutes into the movie her house was plunged in to darkness. She quickly jumped out of bed and looked across the street. All of their lights had gone out as well. "Must be a power outage" she said to herself. She slowly made her way around the room placing candles for some light. Just because she couldn't watch her movie didn't mean that the Rachel time had to end. She put her earphones in and let the slow beat of a song envelop her. She led back on her pillows and thought about everything that had happened to her recently. While she wasn't one to normally dwell on the bad, she couldn't help but keep thinking about Finn and what went wrong. She felt the tears start to spring to her eyes, and she did say that she needed a good cry so why not. As they fell down her cheeks she made a decision, tonight would be the last time she cried over Finn Hudson. When the lights came back on she would be back to her old self. She would no longer put her Broadway dreams aside. She would open up to life and love and friends. She would be over Finn Hudson. Her tears began to slow down and her brain went in a different direction. For some reason she began to think about Noah. Noah who had slushied her for the most part, but then began to stand up for her and become a friend. Someone she could talk to. Noah who had apologised to her and chosen her over football. Noah who had sung a duet with her to get back at Finn. She had been thinking about him a lot lately, and how he had changed from the boy who tormented her to a man who was willing to put aside his reputation to help and comfort her. But why had she started thinking about him in this new way? Surely she couldn't have feelings for him, right? Right?
But Rachel didn't have time to dwell on this question as the brief pause in her music alerted her to a noise coming from downstairs. Oh god. A noise! She was being burgled. Someone was in her house coming to kill her! They knew she was alone. She was going to end up another statistic. Her dreams nothing but bittersweet memories for those who knew her. Well Rachel Berry doesn't give up Broadway without a fight. She crept from her bed, tip towing to her fathers bedroom. She knew they kept an old baseball bat in there for emergencies, it would have to do the trick. And she did have the element of surprise on her side. As she picked up the bat she heard the door open and close. They had gotten in to her house. It was now or never. She manouvered herself slowly down the hall and towards the stairs. Hopefully the intruder had headed in to the living room and so she could sneak up on them from behind. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she slowly walked towards the shadow but they must have heard her. As the figure of what she assumed was a man turned around to face her, she closed her eyes and swung the bat hitting the person with force.
There was a low grunt and a few short breathes before she opened her eyes. But nothing prepared her for what she saw. Noah Puckerman was leaning against her couch clutching at his stomach, "Jesus Christ Rachel! You just hit me with a frigging baseball bat! What the hell?" She could tell he was struggling to breathe and speak to her at the same time, the hit must have winded him. She was broken from her trance as he said her name again.
"Oh god Noah. I'm so sorry! I thought it was someone coming to kill me. Quickly, come and sit down on the couch. I am so very sorry. If I'd have known it was you I would have never struck you like that."
He tried to laugh at her ramblings but let out a pained groan instead. "It's ok, you were just trying to defend yourself. I guess I should be pleased that you know how to look after yourself. But I never would have thought that so much force could come from such a tiny person." She guided him to a sitting position and then plopped down next to him with a sigh. A not uncomfortable silence fell between them after that. Rachel was never very good at being quiet. She started to fidget with her pyjama shorts, realising it was a lot warmer in her house now that the air conditioning had stopped working. She started to think of topics of conversation, what would interest Noah? Football? She didn't really know anything about football. What was that video game he was obsessed with? It had a little plumber in it. She was however drawn out of her musings when Noah spoke up.
"Why is it so dark in here anyway Berry? Didn't you think to like light some candles or some shit?" Noah asked, trying not to wince as he shifted on the couch. The girl could really swing.
"Well I had them lit in my room. I didn't think that it would probably be safer to move downstairs, what with the power outage the alarm wouldn't be working. I just didn't think Noah. I was so content in my little bubble that I completely forgot about who could have been stalking around. I could have been killed!" The last word coming out as a squeak, Rachel quickly got up and locked the front door. How could she have been so stupid? Of course the alarm wouldn't be working, and it's not like the lock on the door was hard to pick. Noah had proven that already. She had been so silly to just sit upstairs with her music on, completely unaware of what was going on around her. She rushed over to the mantle and lit the candles there. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing.
"Chillax B, nothing happened. You're fine. I'm not sure I can say the same for me but at least you're ok, that's what I came to check on after all." He smiled at her from his seat and she couldn't help but notice the way the candle light was reflected in his eyes. Eyes that burned into her, causing her breath to hitch and goosebumps to rise on her arms. Seconds passed and Rachel soon realised she was staring at Noah intently, much to his confusion. She quickly ducked her head and ran to the kitchen shouting after her "I'll get us some drinks while everything is still cold!" In reality she felt like sitting in the fridge for a while, her temperature had risen to an unnatural high and it wasn't because the air conditioning unit has also stopped working. It was too much for her to take. First her musings on Noah earlier and now he was sat here in her house after being mercilessly clubbed by a baseball bat. What was she going to do? Why did he have this effect on her? She was sure she wasn't over Finn but lately she had been thinking about him less and less and Noah more and more. What did it all mean?
"Hey slugger, you got those drinks or did you find someone else to attack?" He shouted from the living room. Rachel ran her hands under the tap and shouted "Coming" while patting her face. It really was hot in here and she couldn't seem to cool off. She edged towards the sofa and placed the glasses on the coffee table. "How are you feeling now? Do you want a pain killer or something?" She really hadn't meant to hit him so forcefully. But his chuckle let her know he didn't hold it against her. "Nah, I've had worse in Fight Club Berry. I'll survive." He winked at her and then leant forward to pick up his drink.
"Fight club. Right. I guess that causes some damage." She sat back down next to him and returned to fidgeting in her seat. Noah's hand on her knee alerted her to it's rather frantic shaking.
"Are you ok Rachel? You seem kind of...weird. Like weirder than normal." His concerned look was the last straw, she had an epiphany. She had feelings for Noah. She couldn't deny it anymore. And while part of her thought it was too soon to be over Finn another part suggested that she had always had these feelings for Noah. She had just been so focused on being Finn's girlfriend that she didn't realise they were there. She turned and looked him in the eyes, something flashed through them she couldn't recognise. Before she could stop herself she was leaning towards him. "I just want to try something..." She put her hand on his cheek, feeling his stubble under her palm. She slowly leant in and brushed her lips against his. As she went to break away he used his hand on her knee to pull her back towards him, crushing his mouth against her own. Deepening the kiss Rachel felt something she hadn't felt with Finn, a spark. She hadn't even realised it was missing from her relationship but now she had felt it there was no denying it, there was a spark between her and Noah that she didn't feel with Finn. "Oh" was all she could manage when he finally moved away from her. Staring deeply in to Noah's eyes, she saw that he had felt it too. They both stayed there for what felt like years, not saying anything but watching each other for any kind of reaction.
The tension was broken however when the room was filled with light. They both turned away to look at the now lit house, clearly the power cut had been sorted. Rachel turned back to look at Noah and found him watching her. She cleared her throat which seemed to suddenly lose all moisture making it dry and hoarse. "I...erm...I suppose you should be going? I mean now the lights are back on, and you know I'm ok there isn't much reason for you stay?" She didn't want him to leave, she didn't know why these words were coming out of her mouth. But part of her wanted him to want to stay, to tell her he wanted to stay. He continued to watch her. "Not really. I told Ma I would be gone for a while." She ducked her head, letting the hair fall between her face and his. What she didn't expect was for him to reach out and tuck a few strands behind her ear. Her face again felt hot, she must have a serious problem. Maybe she was coming down with something? The goosebumps had come also, maybe a cold was on its way. She tilted her head towards him and finally got up the nerve to just ask. "Well if you're free then maybe you'd like to stay and watch a movie with me? I was going to watch some sad romance but I'd be happy to watch something you'd like if..."
"What about your Rachel time?" He interrupted. He was looking at her like she'd grown another head. Was she getting the wrong end of the stick? He had kissed her back hadn't he?
"I've got all weekend for Rachel time. Right now I'd really like to do something with you..." Her breath caught in her throat, and where had this husky voice come from? Noah leant forward and she could feel his breath on her face. It was warm but not uncomfortable like the fire under her cheeks.
"So would this be classed as Puckleberry time?" He asked as a grin appeared on his face. Rachel couldn't help but smile back. She bit her lip slightly and she saw his eyes drift towards her mouth. She would remember that for future reference. "I think I could be on board for some Puckleberry time." His eyes shot up to meet hers as a smile crossed both of their faces. Rachel had said after all when the lights came back on she would be over Finn Hudson and she had a sneaky suspicion she was right.