Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot and ideas.

A/N1: This is my fic for my winning bidder, (miladybronwyn), at the April 2010 Support Stacie Author Auction... I hope you like, girl!

A/N2: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N3: Fic title came from the lyrics of 'Sweet Caroline' originally done by Neil Diamond, but also sung by the amazing Mark Salling. :D

A/N4: This is a different format then I've ever done; it's split into 'History' and 'Present Day' of our two favorite characters. I hope you all like it! It's kind of inspired by the set-up of 'Down To You', a movie from 2000 with Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Julia Stiles. It's great; I recommend it (it's on YouTube).

A/N5: I started this on April 19th and finished it April 27th; it's complete with 4 parts.

A/N6: Don't freak out... trust me; I won't let you down!

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History (noun): "...2 a: a chronological record of significant events ... often including an explanation of their causes...4 a: events that form the subject matter of a history b: events of the past..." ( http : // www . merriam - webster . com/dictionary/history )

...

~Present Day: Noah~

Late-May 2019

Noah Puckerman had grown up a lot in the past years. The mohawk he wore in high school had been gone for a while, now his hair covered his entire head and he kept it short, just a few inches long. His grubby, distressed jeans, band t-shirts and Letterman's jacket had been replaced by clean, loose fitting jeans that still looked professional or slacks, polo shirts and sometimes a dress shirt and tie, with sweaters or sweatshirt jackets that didn't name his high school football team; well not all the time; his fashion sense had gone more professional, but on his downtime, he seemed to easily slip into his old ways.

He looked like a typical 20-something guy as he drove around on the streets of Lima, Ohio, but this time, it felt better than it had when he was a teen. He hadn't lived in Lima for a while, but the familiar shops and streets made him feel at home, unlike where he'd been living.

His travels drove him past Temple Beth Israel - Shaare Zedek and he smiled, "thank you," he said out loud to the empty car as he continued on his way, his mind drifting back to how he'd gotten where he was.

...

~History~

Ten year old Noah Puckerman along with his mom and six year old sister drove from Lima, Ohio to Haverford, Pennsylvania where they would spend seven weeks of the summer at a Jewish Summer Camp. His temple back home in Lima asked the adults if any of them would be interested in being a counselor and his mom had volunteered.

The nine hour drive brought them to Haverford College campus where the Julian Krinsky Yesh Shabbat summer camp was held every year, and while his sister was too young to attend the camp programs, his mom was not the only parent there, so there was a 'baby sitting' program for them, giving the younger children a chance to experience a lot of the same things the older kids did.

As his mom got into her duties as a counselor, he settled into his dorm and as the week first week ended, the other boys in his group slowly showed up when camp officially started, he quickly fell into friendships with other boys and girls in the 'middle school' group he was in; kids ten to thirteen.

The middle school sessions were only two weeks long, but within those weeks, he had plenty of time to hang out with his new friends. Just like with any summer camp, it was a chance for the kids to not only meet new friends, but also time to learn something new, or explore they were interested in, all the while being around others who shared their religion and for Noah, that was a big deal because there were not a lot of kids in Lima, Ohio who were Jewish; for once, he didn't feel weird to have a different religion than most kids he knew, and the camp added in prayer time throughout the day, giving them all a chance to share in their faith.

Noah spent a lot of time playing basketball, but also took the guitar class; he knew how to play, but it was fun to work with others who were in varying states of learning, and he also tried his hand at cooking, which he found he enjoyed, even if he probably would never admit it to his buddies back home.

He met a lot of kids that summer; he was there for three different two week sessions, met a lot of kids and none of them were from Ohio, but most of them were returning the next year, so when he and his family returned to Lima, he looked forward to going back next summer.

...

~History~

A year passed, and just after his 11th birthday in May, Noah's mom, Deborah, got the confirmation that he and his family would be returning to camp. He and his sister both had birthdays in mid-May, so when he finished fourth grade, they packed up and went back to Pennsylvania.

Settling into the same routine the year before, Noah looked forward to catching up with some of the guys he'd met the last summer, but on the first day of the new session, during breakfast, he sat next to a new girl. She was dressed in a skirt and a t-shirt, with her brown hair pulled back in a pony tail and he had a feeling he should talk to her, "hi, I'm Noah," he said glancing at her.

She turned to look at him, "hello, I'm Rachel," she replied holding out her hand to him.

He shook her hand, "nice to meet you. Is this your first year here?"

"Yes, it is. I just turned ten," she explained.

"Oh, that's cool. It's my second year here; I just turned eleven," he told her. "So where are you from?"

"Cleveland, Ohio, you?"

As she said that, he almost choked on his orange juice, "no way! I'm from Lima, Ohio. You're the first person I've met here that is from Ohio."

"Really? I've never heard of Lima before," she admitted.

"It's like three hours from there and it's a pretty small town," he commented.

"Oh, I see. So what do you do in Lima?" She asked.

He shrugged, "not much. I play football and basketball with friends. I also play the guitar," he added.

"Guitar? Really?" She smiled, a light twinkle in her eye, "you should play for me! I love music. I want to be a Broadway star someday and sing and dance," she explained.

"What's Broadway?" He asked curiously.

Her eyes widened, "you don't know? You've never heard of Broadway?" While he was shaking his head, she started to explain excitedly, "it's a very well known street in New York City where a lot of theaters are that have famous musicals play at them."

"So like movies with music?"

"No," she shook her head, "musicals. Dramatic plays with music in them. Where actors and actresses are on stage and sing and dance," she smiled. "I take a lot of dance classes at home."

Finishing off his breakfast, he glanced at her, "so you're probably taking that drama class and the dance class, here, huh?" He asked.

"Yes, both, and I'm also taking cooking at ten-thirty," she said.

"Really? Me too," he smiled. "I'm also taking guitar in the morning, then I haven't picked what I'm doing this afternoon," he admitted.

She eyed him for a moment, "I need a boy partner for ballroom dancing," she said.

He laughed, "I don't dance."

"How do you know? Have you ever tried? It could be fun. This week it's ballroom dancing, next week it's hip-hop dancing, then after that I don't know."

"I thought the middle school program is only two weeks," he said.

"It is, but I'm staying for the whole six weeks," she smiled, "I wanted to come, so my daddies let me."

"Daddies?"

"Yes, I have two dads."

"Two more than I have," he admitted.

"You must have a father," she said.

"He left my mom when my sister was born," he motioned across the room to where his mom and sister were sitting.

"Deborah is your mom?" She asked.

"Yep. I'm here all summer too," he added.

"I look forward to getting to know you, then. You never answered, either."

"Oh, um," he eyed her for a moment, "well, it wouldn't hurt... she is from Ohio," he thought, "fine, but if I don't like it, I'm quitting."

Rachel grinned, "great! I'll see you in cooking class, then," she stood up.

"yeah, later," he waved at her as she walked off with two other girls.

Noah found he liked the dancing classes with Rachel and he seemed to do pretty well at it. As two weeks turned into four, and four into six, they got to be good friends and learned a lot about each other and at the end of camp, they exchanged addresses, promising to write a few times over the year and agreed they'd see each other the next summer.

History comes from someplace and that summer, Noah and Rachel started their history.

...

~Present Day: Rachel~

Late-May 2019

Graduating in 2012, Rachel changed her mind during the last few years of high school and chose to go to Ohio State University in Columbus, instead of New York, like she had planned. Being an Ohio resident, she found that out-of-state tuition was a lot more than her dads could afford, even if they had been saving up, and she was offered a full ride to OSU so she took it, figuring after she graduated, she could go off to NYC and continue her plan for stardom.

Just after turning 23, in June 2016, Rachel graduated from OSU with double majors in music education and music performance in voice and she already had a part lined up in New York; after graduation, she had two weeks to move to the Big Apple and get settled before rehearsals began.

It's now three years later, late-May 2019; and seven years after she graduated high school and she's packing up her apartment in New York City and moving again; this time for a completely different reason.

...

~History~

Eleven-year-old Noah and ten-year-old Rachel exchanged a few letters in the year they were apart and when they returned to camp the next summer, Noah now twelve and Rachel eleven, they picked up where they left off the previous summer.

Their friendship easily grew; they continued taking the dance classes together and while Noah focused on guitar and she on drama, they still also shared cooking together and they enjoyed the whole summer there.

Deborah, Noah's mom, was noticing her son spending a lot of time with Rachel, which she did not mind at all. He was himself for six to seven weeks over the summer and she would take all she could get; worried for what would come as he hit middle school.

The summer ended, and Noah and Rachel parted, again promising to write, but this time, they exchanged email addresses; easier to deal with and it had instant delivery.

As Noah started sixth grade at Lima Middle School, he got his friends to start calling him Puck, and he and his best friend Finn joined the junior varsity football team, and then they began playing basketball after football season was over.

Over the year, Noah sprouted, as most boys do; his voice began to deepen, he started growing muscles and by the time he hit thirteen, he was well on his way to physically growing up, but his attitude needed some work.

He never ignored Rachel's emails, to Noah, they were a break from his life. His sister annoyed him, his mom 'bitched' at him 'all the time' and his friends never seemed to understand him, but because of his growing strength, most of the kids at school 'feared' him, so it was nice to be Noah with Rachel; even if she didn't know who Puck was yet. At the beginning one or two emails a week slowly turned into three or four, and by the time they returned to camp just after he turned thirteen and she was twelve, it was as if they never parted and they fell back to their same routines, and to Deborah's relief, Noah came back; even if it was only for the short time they were at camp over the summer.

"This sucks," thirteen-year-old Noah muttered as he and Rachel sat on a bench the day before she was leaving to go back home to Cleveland.

"Noah, we part every summer, but we'll be back next year," she reminded him, "and we do email quite frequently."

"I know, but next year I'll be in the high school program and you'll still be in the middle school one," he replied looking at her.

"Oh, yes, there is that," she looked out over the pond they were near, "well, your mom will still be my counselor next year, so I'm sure we'll still be able to see each other; maybe not as often as we did before, but during meals and breaks."

He glanced at her, "I know this is going to sound maybe a little weird, but you're one of my best friends and it's going to suck. I've had fun the last few summers."

Twelve year old Rachel's eyes widened as she took in what he told her, "you have... you've become one of my best friends, too, Noah, and it will only be for one summer; then we can go back to how it was the summer after next," she replied, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it.

"That's two years away," he muttered, but continued to hold her hand.

"We can make it. We still have our emails," she smiled.

...

~History~

The day they got home from camp, Noah went back to being Puck and with the help of Finn, they shaved his head, leaving a single strip down the middle, giving him a mohawk, that all the guys on the football team thought was badass, but his mom hated it, to which he told her "it's my head."

Noah and Finn made it onto the varsity football team, and then the varsity basketball team, so they were both working out a lot, which helped him bulk up and soon everyone at school was 'fearing' badass Puck.

He talked to Rachel about music and dancing, summer camp, Judaism, school, friends, what they had been doing... He complained about his mom always on his case to do chores and how his sister was annoying him because she was excited that she was officially starting at camp the following summer. Rachel admitted she was giving up some of her lessons; staying with voice, but giving up piano and all but one of her dance classes because school was getting tougher and she was afraid her grades would start to go down of she didn't take more time to study. He'd grown used to her major concern for her educations, and while he knew that he wanted to graduate from high school, he could care less about his grades, as long as they stayed good enough for him to be able to play sports.

...

~Present Day: Noah~

Late-May 2019

Pulling into the parking lot of his former high school, Noah parked his car and looked around, "hasn't changed a bit," he thought as he grabbed his portfolio from the passenger's seat and double checked that he had what he needed before sliding out of the car shutting the door and locking it. Adjusting his tie he wore, he took a deep breath and moved towards the front of the school. "Never thought I'd see the day I'd be coming back here, especially dressed like this," but he knew it was necessary to dress professionally for a job interview.

Yes, Noah Puckerman, formally Puck, the 'badass' of William McKinley High School, after being away for eight years, was now returning to try and get a job as a... teacher.

Stepping into the familiar doors, he took the direction he knew well, and pulled open the office door and went inside, catching the attention of the secretary there. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes, I have an interview with the principal at noon," he said.

"Okay, name?"

"Noah Puckerman," he replied.

"Take a seat and I'll go tell him you're here," she said standing up and disappearing.

"I wonder if Figgins will remember me. I hope he doesn't; that might screw up the interview royally if he does. Well, at least for the first few years I was a jerk; got better, though," he thought, and for the second time that day his thoughts brought him back summer camp.

...

~History~

Having finished seventh grade, Noah had just turned fourteen and was back at camp in Pennsylvania. His sister was starting in the middle school group, and he was moving on to the high school group. He'd let his hair grow out a little, so he went and got his hair cut, removing the evidence of a mohawk, so at least he didn't stand out too much at camp, which is mom was thankful for.

He, his sister and mom had been there for two days already and he had settled into his dorm room easily, but was dying to see Rachel. He knew when she'd be arriving, so he headed down to the drop-off area and saw her bus pulling up when he got there. Watching several kids pile off, their hands full of luggage of all shapes, sizes and colors, he saw her step off, dressed like she always did, a plaid skirt, blouse and her hair pulled up in a pony tail, with a pair of sun glasses over her eyes.

"Rachel!" He called out jogging towards her.

Her eyes widened, "Noah!" She smiled as she saw him, barely recognizing him with shorter hair than she remembered and had grown taller and more muscular since she'd seen him last.

As he reached her he wrapped her up in a big hug and swung her around, "how was your flight?" He asked.

"It was alright, thank you for asking. How was the drive?" She replied, handing over one of her bags when he reached for it.

He rolled his eyes, "nine hours cooped up in a car with my mom and my sister," he muttered, "I tried to sleep, but my sister kept asking us questions about camp and you."

"Me?"

"Because she looks up to you already and you'll be in the same group," he added with a laugh, "so have fun with that."

"Noah, you're sister is a great girl. She is quite talented. Even if she wasn't in the camp officially last year, she sure knows how to play the piano," she said looking at him.

"I know," he shrugged, "mom got my grandma's piano when she died and even if it's old, it still works. She loves the piano, while I'd much rather play the guitar, but I do know how to play; or at least the basics," he explained.

The two walked towards the check-in area and Rachel got her room assignment so they made their way in the direction of the dorms, "so, taking the same classes this year?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. I don't have a dance partner for ballroom dancing, so probably not," she admitted. "And camp is about exploring things we might not have always been interested in. I was thinking about trying tennis," she explained.

"Tennis?" He looked at her, "yeah I could see it," he smirked.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" She asked pausing to stare at him.

He laughed, "haven't you ever watched the tennis matches on TV? They're always in skirts like that and polo shirts," he motioned to what she was wearing, "which is almost exactly what you're wearing now."

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing now?" She took a deep breath and stormed off as if she was pissed.

Noah stared at her for a moment before he chased after her, "Rachel! What's wrong? What did I say?" He rested a hand on her shoulder and she finally stopped. "Rach, what's up?"

She sighed, "the kids back home at school tease me about my clothing choices," she muttered, "so talking about my clothing is a touchy subject with me."

"Tease you? Who? Do I need to come up there and kick some ass?" He asked seriously, slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"You don't need to use that language, Noah," she muttered, "and no, you don't need to come up and cause harm to anyone, I try to ignore it. I'm used to it there, not here, so when you said that..."

"Yeah, but still, no one needs to be doing that to you, no one teases My Rach, except me," he said looking down at her, "I'm sorry. I didn't know or I wouldn't have said anything if I had," he told her, "and you sounded like my mom just a moment ago about my cussing," he added.

"Well you shouldn't need to use profanities to express anger," she told him.

"Yep, it's summer alright. A girl a year younger than me is talking to me with big words," he smirked.

Rachel nudged him away with a laugh, "Noah, there is nothing wrong with having a large vocabulary."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he laughed, and quickly they were right back to where they had been a year earlier.

...

~History~

Time dragged on for Noah and Rachel because they hardly saw each other. Most of the time it was during daily prayers or meal times they'd see each other; she'd be sitting with her friends, he with his, but they made it a point to go over to the other and say hi.

About a week into being there, Noah walked over to the table with all the girls sitting at it and stole the seat next to Rachel, "hey Rach," he smiled at her.

"Hello, Noah. Not sitting with your friends today?" She asked curiously.

"You're not my friend?" He replied back with a grin, "cause if I'm not I guess I could go over and sit with them."

She giggled, "no, that's not what I mean and you know it. Stay, we've hardly seen each other all week," she replied.

"I know," he commented. "Is it next summer yet?"

"I'm afraid not," she said.

...

~History~

Noah and Rachel said goodbye again at the end of the summer, but both promised emails and they kept their word.

The mohawk returned before he started eight grade and while he kept up Puck's 'image', inside, Noah was thinking of Rachel and making mental notes of all the things he wanted to talk to her about in their emails.

Some of his buddies, Finn included, got girlfriends that year and he just rolled his eyes at that. He dealt with his sister and mom enough, he didn't need another female to deal with.

Sometime just before Spring Break, one of the guys he'd known since sixth grade found out he was Jewish and made a very mean comment to him and Puck responded by punching the guy in the face, giving him a black eye and split lip. The kid fought back and repaid him with his own black eye and split lip and soon both were in the office waiting for their parents to arrive.

"What in the world possessed you to punch someone?" Deborah exclaimed to her son, who was now sitting in the office with the other boy and his mom.

Noah removed the ice pack from his eye and glared at Dave Karofsky, "he told me, and I quote, 'Hitler didn't do a good enough job if there were still Jews around,' " he responded.

Deborah's eyes widened and she glared at them, "how dare you say something like that!"

"Mr. Karofsky, comments like that are unacceptable. Why would you say such a thing?" The principal snapped.

Dave Karofsky shrugged his shoulders, "it sounded good at the time."

Deborah was fuming and glaring at the kid, and the principal noticed this, "um, Mrs. Puckerman, could you please explain," the principal requested.

"We're Jewish," she retorted.

Since Karofsky didn't deny saying that, even if he said he was 'just joking around', and everyone in the room, including his mom agreed that it was not something to joke about, the principal understood Noah's need to stand up for his faith, but still, violence of any kind was not tolerated at school, so both boys were suspended for three days.

"How did it feel?" Deborah asked once they were home.

"It hurt," he admitted, curious about what she was getting at.

"Of course it would to punch someone; how did it feel to stand up for your faith?" She looked at him.

His mouth fell open in shock, "damn good," he replied.

"Good," she smiled, but then her smile turned to something else, "I do not like violence, but I understand why you hit him in the first place. I don't like the idea of you missing school for three days because you stood up for your faith, but I agree some sort of punishment was necessary for fighting at school."

He stared at her, "what? I'm not grounded?"

"No," she shook her head, "but where's My Noah?" She asked softly stepping towards him, "you've turned into a kid I hardly know. You never used to be violent. This haircut is atrocious, you're cussing all the time now, you're constantly fighting with your sister. What happened? What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong," Noah sighed, "Mom, I just... I need to be myself. I like the mohawk and Arin and I fight all the time because we're siblings and we're going to. I love her, but she drives he crazy."

"This isn't you, Noah, and you know it. This is the guy that everyone at school sees. Just because you grew up and have muscles and are strong, doesn't mean you can go around scaring kids. You don't do that at camp over the summer when you're around Rachel; you're civil to your sister and me..."

"Because there I can be myself; there I don't have to hide my religion or that I like playing the guitar and cooking. Rachel and I are friends because we share interests and religion, but If the guys at school knew that, they'd beat the shit out of me," he responded. "I'm going to my room," he added, leaving the subject alone and disappearing upstairs without letting her respond.

"Oh I get it now," Deborah thought. "It's Rachel, even if he doesn't see it yet."

...

~Present Day: Rachel~

Late-May 2019

For having a three bedroom apartment in Manhattan, Rachel didn't expect to have as much stuff packed away, but considering that the entire third bedroom was piled with seven years of belongings; stuff from Ohio, stuff from the last three years of living in New York, along with it being cramped because of furniture and clothes and the important things, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

The move was not completely planned, but needed. It was time to get out of New York City. The apartment's lease was not up until October, so there was plenty of time to move; which worked out because she was taking from late-June to early-August off and spending it in Pennsylvania.

Her first musical role brought her three months of rehearsals and then nine months of shows, giving her a whole year of experience, which got her a shot at a true Broadway production. She'd been seen by a casting agent, who thought she was the perfect look for 'Sandy' in 'Grease', and auditioned along with three other actresses for the part, and she beat all of them out, and after four years of going through OSU and another year working in an off-Broadway production, she finally got her big break on Broadway and spent the last two years playing the lead in 'Grease'.

She ended up winning a Tony for her portrayal of 'Sandy' and stuck with it for a little bit longer, but even though the production would be around for a while, she knew, after two full years of working on it, it was time to move on with her life.

Looking for a few boxes specifically, she opened up one and was greeted by a white t-shirt with the logo of the summer camp on it that she had attended many years ago, "oh wow," she muttered, picking up the shirt and looking over the signatures that covered it. Reading names of camp friends she hadn't seen in many years; most since she was last at camp, she set the shirt aside, peaking into the box to find a photo frame with a picture of a lot younger Rachel Berry standing with a muscular boy, a head taller than her, next to a tree on the Haverford College campus. Smiling at the photo, she brushed her finger along the boy's face and sighed, "I miss you, Noah," she murmured before carefully laying the picture frame back in there carefully and put the shirt back inside and closed the box, getting back to what she had been doing.

...

~History~

At fifteen, Puck would never admit he was excited about anything, but Noah would; he was excited. He was back at camp, the mohawk was gone and he was waiting for Rachel again. He knew this summer would be better than the last because they'd be in the same group again and could take classes together.

Seeing her get off the bus, he didn't even call out her name, he just jogged over to her and wrapped her up in a tight hug, "hey Rach," he smiled as the pulled away.

She blushed, "hello Noah. It's so good to see you again," she admitted as she reached down and picked up one of her bags while he got her other one.

"You too, Rach, flight okay?"

"Yes, it was. Was your drive better than last year?" She asked.

"Actually, yes. After I..." he glanced around and once they were further away from the rest of the group he continued, "after I got in trouble at school I've been a little nicer with her and my sister, so it wasn't as bad."

"That's good," she smiled, "and I still don't understand why you have your friends at school call you Puck and not Noah. Puck is not your name."

"It's short for Puckerman," he stressed, "we've been through this before, Rachel. Noah is a Jewish name and not many know I am. Look what happened to the guy who found out; look at what he said? You think I want that to happen again? Hopefully next time I'll have a little more self control, but if anyone says something like that---"

Rachel rested a hand on his forearm, "calm down, Noah," she said softly.

He exhaled and nodded, "I'm sorry, but hearing him say that sucked."

She let her hand slip down his arm and took his hand, "well, we have six weeks to not worry about someone judging us for our religion," she said.

Noah looked down at their joined hands, "yeah, you're right. Six weeks to be ourselves," he murmured.

...

~History~

The teen friends were almost inseparable the entire six weeks they were there; the guys at camp assumed that Rachel and Noah were together and the girls all told Rachel she was lucky to be with him because he was 'hot'. Rachel thanked them, never correcting them on her and Noah's relationship status.

Over the summer Rachel began to have feelings for him; they'd been friends for years and though had gotten close, she didn't expect him to see her as anything more than a friend, so she pushed aside her feelings, and cherished the time they had together, because she knew that even if they did live in Ohio, they were three hours apart, so a long distance relationship would be very difficult.

The night before she was to leave from camp, she met him by the lake, a tradition they had had since her first summer there and was was sitting on the bench, "hey," he smiled, standing up to hug her.

She returned his hug, "hello, Noah," she replied taking a seat on the bench.

"Are you packed yet?" He asked retaking his seat and looking at her.

She nodded, "yes, I finished before I came to meet you."

"Cool," he replied, "so, um... School's gonna be weird this year," he told her.

"Why is that?" She asked curiously.

"I'll be a Freshman; the youngest at school. I've been used to being the oldest and the biggest, now I'll be the low man on the totem pole," he whispered.

"Look at all the boys in our group this summer, Noah. You're taller than most of them and bigger, and not in a bad way, you're very toned," she explained.

He smirked, glancing towards her, "now you say something."

"I always did notice; I didn't think you needed me to tell you how handsome you are," she replied, mentally wishing they could change the subject. "Are you nervous?" She asked softly.

"Yes," he nodded looking at her, "just don't tell anyone. I have a rep to protect."

"Noah, I would not tell anyone anything, but don't use the excuse that you have a reputation to protect. You hide behind this other name just so you don't have to show anyone your feelings; do not do that to me. I am not some school friend," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and staring out to the lake. "Be honest with me," she added.

He took a deep breath, "you want honesty?"

"Yes, Noah, I want you to be honest with me," she said again.

"I want to kiss you," he told her simply.

She coughed, "excuse me?"

"I want to kiss you," he repeated looking at her, "I've never kissed a girl before and I don't think you've kissed a guy before, so why not?"

"Why not? You don't just kiss your best friend, Noah," she said softly, "it could make things awkward and I don't want to loose your friendship."

"You wouldn't, Rachel," he took her hand and squeezed it, "if we are best friends, then we should be able to kiss and share something special, and be able to go on just as we did before, right?"

She looked at their hands and then out to the lake, contemplating his logic. "If we're friends, then yes, we should be able to," she agreed turning to look at him, "but you have to promise me we won't be awkward," she murmured.

He reached around and rested his other hand on her cheek, "we won't be, Rachel, I promise," he replied.

"I would like my first kiss to be with someone who is important to me, and you are," she agreed.

He studied her for a moment before guiding her towards him with his hand against her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, his eyes falling closed as their lips touched.

Rachel felt something stir inside of her that she'd never felt before and it was gone as soon as their lips broke apart, her eyes opening to look at him, never wanting to forget that moment.

...

~Present Day: Noah~

Late-May 2019

"I can't believe I started going here twelve years ago and it was just after I kissed Rachel at camp; has it really been that long ago?" Noah thought staring out at the now busy halls. The principal's office was in a different location; closer to the front of the school, but he still had a good view out to the hall.

"Mr. Puckerman? The principal is ready to see you now," the secretary said.

He shook from his thoughts and stood up, "thank you," he replied.

She guided him back to his office and motioned to the open door; stepping inside without even looking at the name plaque on the door, he froze mid step when he saw his former Spanish teacher standing behind the large wooden desk, "Mr. Schue?" He gasped in shock.

He held out his hand to his former student, "it's good to see you again, uh, is it Noah now or still Puck?"

Noah stepped forward and shook his hand, looking around confused, "it's Noah now. I'm just... you're principal? When did that happen?" He asked.

"Your mom never told you?"

"Uh, no. How did you... I mean... I thought you had to have like a masters to be a principal," he said.

"Have a seat, Noah," Will motioned to the empty chairs in front of his desk and once they both had sat down, he continued, "after I'd gotten divorced and you'd graduated, I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I went back to school at the Lima OSU campus and got my masters in education," he replied motioning towards several certificates displayed on the wall.

"Wow," he muttered, "I never expected this."

...

~History~

The mohawk had returned the first day back from summer camp and Finn, Puck and their two buddies, Matt Rutherford and Mike Chang from Lima Middle, all joined the football team at William McKinley and ended up being on the junior varsity team, but they didn't care; being on the football team was an accomplishment, so when they started their first day in high school, they were already well on their way to making it to the top of the very specific food chain; the jocks being on top.

Noah's popularity had grown quickly and he started getting the attention of a lot of the girls in school; Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors and he liked it. His friends were jealous of how quickly he got their attention and at the first party of the school year he went to, in mid-October, he bumped into a black haired Latina girl, dressed in their school's cheerleader uniform and recognized her as someone in his Spanish class; Santana Lopez.

The two started dating and it took a month for Santana to talk him into taking her virginity. He was shocked, thinking it was a bad idea because they were young, but he still bought a box of condoms and both of them lost their big-V and less than a week later, she broke up with him because she 'found someone else'. Her 'someone else' was a Junior and Noah realized she used him, so he chalked it up as a major mistake and moved on.

Noah and Rachel's emails continued and she'd known he had dated a girl, but it took him a long time to tell her that he'd slept with Santana. He hated telling her through an email, and while she was upset he kept it from her, she was glad he was at least honest with her.

He got his driving permit, so once basketball season had ended, his mom began to teach him to drive because he'd be turning sixteen in May and his goal was to get his license before her went to camp, which he ended up getting in early June just before school got out.

He went to an end-of-the-year party with his friends and hooked up with a Junior girl; glad that he'd brought protection, because he knew there was no way he'd have unprotected sex. She was the first to leave, thanking him for the fun and told him she'd see him next year. The entire time during and then after, as he stared at himself in the mirror of the foreign bathroom, all he could think about was Rachel and what she'd think of him.

Noah was able to keep his mom from finding out and just before they left for camp, she gave him a cell phone. She figured since he was now driving, he should have one and also knew that ninety-percent of the students at school had cell phones, so it was time for him to have one also and promised that when they got back from summer camp they'd try and figure out how they could get him a car of some sort.

The drive to camp was a lot more fun this time, because he was able to drive for a while; since he'd only had his license for a short time she didn't let him drive far, but it was good experience because it was mostly highway driving.

Arriving at camp, he felt like he belonged there, no matter what happened in school and after checking in and finding out what dorm he was in, he settled in and waited for the day Rachel would arrive.

Leaning against the building where the bus always dropped off the campers, he watched them step off, heading towards the check in area. He saw her get off, one of the last ones, dressed like always, but she had grown, she was still short, but was taller that before, her hair was longer, even if it was pulled back and she was looking around. Her eyes landed on him and he pushed himself off the wall as she walked towards him, "hello Noah, are you alright?" She asked curiously, surprised he hadn't met her like he had the last few years.

"Hey Rach," he responded, rubbing his neck nervously, "um, are we cool?" He blurted out.

She set her bags on the cement next to her, "of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" She questioned, resting her hands on her hips.

"Because of what I did during school," he muttered, unable to make eye contact with her.

She took in his tense shoulders and narrowed her eyes in confusion, "Noah, I thought we went through this already. I don't like your choices in that matter, but I'm not going to stop being your friend because of it," she replied trying to catch his eyes.

His shoulders slumped and he wrapped his arms around her, "thank you," he murmured, "but I have to tell you something," he whispered.

She pulled away to look at him, "you did it again, didn't you?"

He nodded, "yeah, on the last day of school; it was a party and some Junior girl," he replied softly. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know why you're apologizing to me," she replied. "We've never been more than friends and you're confusing me," she admitted.

"Because I don't want you to think any less of me for it. You're my best friend and your opinion of me really matters," he replied.

She took a deep breath, her arms still around his waist, "Noah, we've been friends for a long time. As a personal choice I don't like the idea of sex with someone, without some sort of commitment, but I'm not going to think any less of you because you chose not to wait; you're still my Noah," she explained, "so stop beating yourself up about this and don't bring down our summer together because of this," she said, while inside her heart was aching; she was upset that he had sex before, but they had never made any steps to be more than friends, so she knew she had no right to hate him for his choices, while on the other hand, she was happy to hear that her opinion of him mattered.

"Alright," he smiled, "I won't bring down our summer."

"Good," she hugged him again before pulling away and picking up one of her bags.

Noah grabbed her other bag and quickly fell into step with her and it didn't take long for them to get back to the way they always were over the summer.

...

~History~

"So I realized something yesterday," Noah said as he and Rachel sat on the bench the night before she went home to Cleveland.

"What is that?"

"Next summer will be my last summer here," he replied. "I'll turn seventeen in May and that's the oldest you can be to come here," he whispered.

She gasped a little, that reality not something she'd thought of, "I didn't even think of that," she admitted.

"I didn't either until some of the guys that I got to be friends with told me goodbye for good. I mean sure I'll probably keep in touch with a few of them, but they're already seventeen so they won't be back and it kind of hit me that next summer will be it," he said wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

She leaned her head against him, "what are we going to do? I don't know if I'll want to come back if you're not here," she replied.

"We'll figure something out," he replied, "maybe I can go with you to New York and be your assistant or something," he laughed.

"Noah, you need to get an education after high school," she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, well, where's the money going to magically appear from?" He asked, "mom doesn't have it."

"Then you can get scholarships and grants. There are ways. I'll help you figure it out, Noah. You need to get an education," she was begging for him to agree with her.

Seeing how concerned she was, he nodded, "alright, but I'm not making any promises. We'll see what happens, okay?" He told her.

"That's better than saying 'no' so I'll take it," she smiled.

...

~Present Day: Noah~

Late-May 2019

His interview turned into a catch-up session with his former teacher, and now boss, and as he left the office, he wanted to make a stop, so he headed towards the nurses office and knocked. Hearing a woman say 'come in' he pushed the door open, "hey mom."

"Noah! What are you doing here?" She gasped, getting up from her desk and hugging him.

He smiled, "I just had an interview with the principal," he commented, "why didn't you tell me Will became principal?"

"I guess it never crossed my mind," she admitted, "so you're really moving back home? For sure?" She asked.

He nodded, "yes. What? Did you think I was just staying at home and telling you that I was getting a house to make you happy?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't want to get my hopes up," she replied, having missed her son terribly since he'd been gone.

"I'm back, for good and I'll start teaching gym next year and coaching football and basketball, so you're stuck with me around," he replied.

"Welcome home, baby," she said hugging him again.

...

~Present Day: Rachel~

Early-June 2019

Since the lease on the apartment wasn't up until October, she didn't have to rush too much to move. Coming up towards the end of the month she would be driving to Pennsylvania and staying for seven to eight weeks; working at the camp she'd attended when she was younger. She'd had some contact with the director of the camp and in talking, he told her they'd lost their dance instructor for their classes, and she quickly offered to help out; within a few weeks, she was signed up as the dance instructor and a camp counselor.

"Okay Rachel, you've done all the packing you can do to move, so now you need to pack what you need to take to summer camp," she said out loud to the empty bedroom. "Summer camp?" She laughed, "but at least this time I'm going to be a counselor. It's going to be so fun! I can't wait," she moved around the room collecting clothes and necessities to pack as she stuffed her things into her duffel bags.

Camp held a lot of memories for her; a time she would never forget in her life and she wondered just what it would be like to be back there again, "well, I guess I'll find out when I get there."

...

Real places:

Temple Beth Israel - Shaare Zedek in Lima, Ohio

(http :// templebethisraelshaarezedek . org/)

Julian Krinsky Summer Camp, at Haverford College, Pennsylvania

( http :// jkjewishsummercamps . com/ )

...

A/N7: Part 1 complete... Love it? Hate it? Want more? Please let me know! Your comments and reviews are what keep me writing. I promise more soon. With the author auction, I needed to have the first part complete by the deadline, which I did, but since I'm so into writing this and want to finish it soon, I will and post it all in the next few weeks.

A/N8: In the next parts, I won't be focusing on every other Glee member, but you'll see the similarities to the first 8 episodes of Glee, but there won't be a Rachel/Finn flirtation; but, well, you'll see.

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