This story holds dark themes so you've been warned.

Disclaimer: yep, still don't own Glee. Evidence? Note the lack of Puckleberry smut on my TV screen.

"Hey, Puckerman, coming to my party tonight?" Puck looked up from his duffel bag, raising an eyebrow at Azimio. Normally, the boy wouldn't even look at him without saying some smartass comment about Glee club or Puck's relationship with Lauren. Then Puck would get into his face and say something equally badass and scary and Azimio would back off, grumbling about how Puck's all bark and no bite.

Right. That's why Puck was two minutes away from bashing the asshole's head in with his guitar.

Puck stood up straight, throwing the strap of the bag onto his broad shoulder. "There gonna be beer? I need some alcohol," Puck replied, shutting his gym locker and grinning at the dark-skinned boy. Azimio nodded wordlessly and shut his own locker, pulling on his bag then started towards the locker room door, opening it.

"Yeah, see ya there." Puck nodded and walked out after him, advancing in the opposite direction. Suddenly, Sam had caught up with him, his own bag in his hands. The usually talkative blond just nodded at Puck and continued to walk beside him, singing a rap song under his breath.

"What are you singing, Evans?" Sam looked up in surprise then grinned, evidently glad that Puck had asked.

"No Hands by W-" The tall, lean boy was suddenly cut off by a heart-breaking scream. Both looked at each other, confused when yet another screamed echoed through the empty halls. Puck's chest clenched because suddenly, he knew the only person who hit a high note like that. Panic filled his lungs and he couldn't breathe. Sam looked towards him, shock covering his usually bright sky-colored eyes."Dude, what the hell was that?"

Puck started to run towards where he heard the scream, shaking his head and dropping his duffel bag on the cool tile floors. "That's just it. Not what, who, Evans," He stated, clenching his jaw. Sam quickly matched his pace, dropping his bag as well. Another scream pierced the air. All that was going through Puck's head was what could happen if he didn't get to her in time. He turned a corner and a sob almost crawled out of his throat at the sight before him.

Three unidentifiable boys were crowding a form on the floor, making Puck clench his fists. One was getting up off the floor, zipping up his jeans. Another was kicking the bloody body on the floor and the last was looking around suspiciously. The third caught sight of Puck and Sam and signaled to the other two that they had company. The first one smirked and grabbed his two friends by their sleeves sprinting down another hallway. Sam took off down the hallway and down the other, chasing the three boys who were loudly cackling throughout the empty building.

Puck, however, lingered behind, walking slowly to the body. With all his air, he murmured the prayer they used in Temple under his breath, praying that she was alive, that she wasn't just raped. He knew the latter was in vain because he could see her skirt lying behind her, completely soaked in her blood. He held his breath until he was inches away from the sobbing girl who had already sat up and had her face in her hands. "R... R-Rachel?" The sobbing had slowly faded and she looked up, her beautiful chocolate brown eyes filled with fear and it broke him. It made him wish he had gotten here sooner, that he had actually saved her.

"No, no, no! Get away, get away from me!" She shrieked and swatted at him briefly before scooting away, sobbing uncontrollably, hands covering her head. "Don't.. please, I'm-I'm begging you," She pleaded, tears dropping onto the bloody tiles around her.

"Rachel, please. It-It's me, Noah," He desperately murmured, dropping to his knees. His hand tentatively touched her bare shoulder where they had ripped at her shirt and she didn't shrink away. A sigh of relief came from him and he felt like maybe everything was going to be okay as her heartbeat and breathing had steadied. His heart then broke when her body visibly flinched as a result to his hand moving to her arm to see the scratches inflicted. They had done it. They had done what Quinn and himself and Finn and Santana and Jesse had failed to do.

They had broken her. They had broken Rachel Berry, the star. They had taken her innocence, left her with an experience she'd never forget or possibly move on from. She would never get that romantic first time she had always desired and she would most likely never fully trust another human being again.

"N-N-Noah?" He broke away from his thoughts and looked at the petite girl sitting in front of him. "Noah?" He touched her in response and although she whimpered and shrugged it off, he was relieved to know that she at least somewhat trusted him. "I.. I wanna go home. I wanna go to bed." Her voice was soft and cracking and she sniffled at the end, hands moving from her head to wipe away tears.

"You can't, Rachel. You need to go to the hospital. I-I think Mr. Schuester is still here. Wait here, okay? Just stay right here." He went to stand up and she started to sob and shaking her head, grabbing his hand.

She sniffled loudly, tears running down her red cheeks. "Don't! Noah, please don't leave me. What if they-they come back for more?" Sighing, he realized she was right. If they did come back, she could be even more damaged than before. He nodded at her then picked her up bridal style, trying desperately to ignore the way she squeezed her eyes shut or avoided any unnecessary contact.

He started to walk away, towards the Spanish classroom which he knew was down the right hallway. She squirmed in his arms, obviously uncomfortable since her blouse and skirt was torn to shreds by those bastards. When he got to the room, he kicked open the door, successfully getting his Spanish teacher's attention.

"Puck? Why did you just-" He stopped getting up when he saw Rachel with her hair matted with blood and her clothes barely there. "What happened?" He got up, walking over to Rachel. Puck was sure she was going to freak out but from the journey over here, she had managed to fall unconscious. Thankfully.

"I.. Me and Sam, we were walking down the halls from football practice and we heard her screaming and she was down the left wing hallway, three boys beating her and Sam ran after them and I stayed back to help her and please, Mr. S, please help me." His voice broke with desperation as he finished his long sentence. His teacher rubbed his face, tears building up. Nodding, he grabbed his keys and walked out with Puck, glancing at the deep scratches on the poor girl's arms with shock.

Sam suddenly rushed up to them as soon as they were out in the hallway, panting and a bruise forming on his cheek. "They ran away, sorry, Puck." His normally bright blue eyes had darkened and they lowered to the tiny, broken girl in his arms. His face turned serious and he looked up at the two other males in the area. "You guys do know that her life will never be the same?"

Mr. Schuester nodded and lowered his head to look at his shoes. "Boys, this is deadly serious. I think you should come with her to the hospital, to describe the situation to the police." Puck couldn't even imagine why his teacher would think he would do anything else. Sam just nodded. Then they all walked out the school, save Rachel, deadly serious expressions on. When they got to the beat-up car of their choir director, Sam opened the backseat door for Puck to put the unconscious girl in and he obeyed the silent demand, making sure she didn't bump into anything because he wasn't sure how serious her injuries are. But then again, from this angle, it looked as though her ankle was twisted. Shaking that from his mind, he clambered in after, letting Sam shut the door. The blond boy then sat in the passenger seat, beside their Glee Club coach. With a turn of his keys, they were peeling out of the parking lot and driving fast towards the hospital.

All Puck could think was that he was going to make sure with all his might that she was alright.