Hey everybody! It's Kay here, just checking in. This is one of my earlier pieces of writing… I like to think that I've progressed a lot since this, but reviews are always welcome! Just for reference, I don't own anything, though it would be amazing if I did. The song is "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy, if you want to listen.

Chapter 1: Almost Lover

Life almost went back to normal after Sectionals. Kurt and Mercedes were still the Fashionable Duo with Santana an honorary member, and Brittany and Santana were still Cheerios, but they accepted and talked to everyone more. Tina and Artie were still together, unsurprisingly, also. But one thing definitely had changed. Glee had two new power couples and one definite friendship. Rachel and Finn had finally gotten back together and, to everyone's surprise, so had Puck and Quinn. The two couples had formed a tentative truce following Sectionals, all because of Puck and Rachel's friendship.

No one saw that one coming; they were completely blindsided. But as they though it over more, it made complete sense. In the immediate fallout after Babygate burst, Rachel had helped Puck after he was punched by Finn and hadn't gone straight to check on her now-boyfriend. And when the rest of the club ostracized her for spilling the beans, Puck never blamed her or pushed her away. Even after the "Run, Joey, Run" debacle, Puck took it in good stride and even joked about it afterward while the other two boys flew off the handle.

But one often wondered if there wasn't something more there. Well, at least Tina wondered. The rest just accepted it and didn't allow it a second thought, but that's not the way Tina operates. She often wondered, after the fated week of Puckleberry, if there were any true feelings buried beneath the surface. So, Tina began to observe.

Rachel and Finn were the first couple she observed. Tina could definitely see the attraction and love from Finn, but Rachel was harder to decipher. Some days, she was so full of love for Finn that it was awkward to watch. But other days, she seemed to simply like him and tolerate his attention. It was those days that convinced Tina that Rachel wasn't in it 100%. Not that she'd ever tell anyone that, of course.

Next, Tina watched Puck and Quinn. Tina could easily see Quinn's attraction to Puck growing every day, even when Puck seemed to try her patience. Puck on the other hand, doted on Quinn like the princess she believed herself to be. But Tina knew from experience, that wasn't love.

Finally, Tina observed Puck and Rachel and she could only think of one word to describe them together: genuine. There was no scandal, no intrigue, in their friendship. They were simply Noah and Rachel. They showed each other the sides of themselves that no one has ever seen before. Puck became Noah around Rachel, his softer, less aggressive and less horny side, and Rachel* became simply Rachel, a girl with so much talent and as many insecurities to match. They toned each other down and brought out the best in each other. And that, Tina knew, was love, even if they hadn't figured it out yet.

One day during her free period, Tina was walking past the auditorium when she heard the soft plink of piano keys as they formed a tentative and sad melody. Tina froze for a moment, listening to the hauntingly beautiful melody when a voice mixed in.

"Your fingertips across my skin,

The palm trees swaying in the wind,

Images…"

the voice sang, and Tina felt like she was intruding on a private moment, but she couldn't bear to stop listening. She slipped into the auditorium and sat in the shadows to not interrupt the lasting atmosphere.

"You sang me Spanish lullabies,

The sweetest sadness in your eyes,

Clever trick…"

the voice continued and Tina looked up in shock and realization as she figured out that Rachel Berry was the vocalist.

"Well, I never want to see you unhappy.

I thought you'd want the same for me…"

Rachel's voice paused for a split second, as if composing herself, before she continued,

"Goodbye my almost lover;

Goodbye my hopeless dream.

I'm trying not to think about you…

Can't you just let me be?

So long my luckless romance,

My back is turned on you.

I should've known that you'd bring me heartache,

Almost lovers always do…"

Tina wondered briefly if this was one of the songs Rachel had written following her messy break-up with Jesse St. James, star of Vocal Adrenaline, but her musings were put to rest as soon as she heard the next lines.

"We walked along a crowded street,

You took my hand and danced with me.

Images…"

Tina remembered that incident quite clearly, and Mr. St. James was not even a blip on the radar at that moment in time. She remembered how she was walking down the halls of William McKinley High School with Artie one day when she saw Puck and Rachel walking together down the same hallway in the opposite direction during what is now known as the Puckleberry interlude. Suddenly, Puck pulled Rachel in to a sloppy ballroom hold and proceeded to dance with her in the middle of the hallway where everyone could see. And Tina couldn't remember a time when Rachel's laugh was less forced and her smile shone quite as brightly.

"And when you left you kissed my lips,

And told me that you'd never ever forget these images.

No…"

Once again, Rachel voice paused, Tina thought that it was to compose herself again, and then her voice restarted just the same as it was before.

"Well, I never want to see you unhappy.

I thought you'd want the same for me…

Goodbye my almost lover;

Goodbye my hopeless dream.

I'm trying not to think about you.

Can't you just let me be?"

Rachel's voice was begging now, emotion overflowing from every note.

"So long my luckless romance.

My back is turned on you.

I should've known that you'd bring me heartache.

Almost lovers always do…"

Tina felt tears spring to her own eyes as she listened to the sadness and pain that colored every lyric that passed Rachel's lips.

"I cannot go to the ocean,

I cannot drive the streets at night,

I cannot wake up in the morning without you on my mind.

So now you're gone and I'm haunted,

And I bet you are just fine…

Did I make it that easy to walk right in and out of my life?"

Tina stifled a sob as Rachel continued more softly, trying to rein in her emotions.

"Goodbye my almost lover…

Goodbye my hopeless dream…

I'm trying not to think about you."

Rachel seemed to give up on trying to stifle her emotions and pushed them into her words full force.

"Can't you just let me be?

So long my luckless romance;

My back is turned on you.

I should've known that you'd bring me heartache.

Almost lovers always do…"

Tina wept silently as Rachel finally released her emotions, sobbing into her arms. Tina quickly slipped out of the auditorium making her way to the girls' bathroom. She stared into the mirror and wiped the sticky tear marks from her cheeks before a steely determination entered her eyes. She knew now how Rachel felt about Puck and if Puck happened to feel the same way? Tina was hell-bent on getting them together, one way or another.