Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night
Tonight's the night, let's live it up.
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did Puck and Rachel wouldn't have broken up ;). I make no money off my writing.
The main ship in this fic is Puckleberry, but there will also be Wemma, Fuinn + Tartie
Consider it canon until ep. 8 – Mash-up (at least until the bedroom scene), some things from later episodes possibly will be in as well, just not always the exact same or in the 'right' places. Please read + review! The more reviews I get the more motivated I will be, which means chapters get put up much faster ;).
Chapter 1 – Where it Began
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"My ears are starting to hurt. Can we take a break?" Puck shifted the guitar to his side as he made his request to Rachel.
She turned from her mirror above her dresser and the brush she had being using as her improvised microphone was forgotten as she looked down at him sitting on her bed. "Ok."
With a quick look up and down the brunette's body he finally was able to ask what he'd been hoping for all evening, "Wanna make out?"
"Sure..." She answered, although she seemed uneasy at the decision.
Her uncertainly was quickly forgotten as they fell back intertwined on her fluffy pink duvet with Puck taking charge on top of her. His hands quickly found themselves wound through her thick brown mane of hair as she rolled him over, relishing in her newfound control. She opened her eyes to gaze down on him and hesitated as she saw Finn, not Puck below her.
"You ok Baby?" he asked as she sat up suddenly.
She slipped off of him, moving to the left hand side of the bed as she shook her head. "I can't do this."
Confused, Puck sat up. "Why?" His eyes took in her petite but attractive frame. "We're a couple of good lookin' Jews. It's natural" He leaned forward and captured her lips again, and against her better judgement she allowed him.
A sudden sharp rapping on her door sent the pair scrambling to opposite sides of the room. The door opened a crack and Allan Berry stuck his head in the room.
"How's the rehearsing going Hun?" He asked his daughter, eyes lingering for a second longer than necessary on Puck, who was fiddling with the alarm clock on Rachel's nightstand.
"It's going great Daddy, thanks for asking." She quickly made an attempt to flatten her unkempt hair. "Puck is really doing me a huge favour by being here."
Allan nodded. "Another 20 minutes and then your friend has to be on his way." He shut the door and they listened for his footsteps down the hall and finally down the stairs, back to his movie in the family room.
Rachel giggled as Puck narrowed the distance between them, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. "That was a close one!"
She ran her hands along his sides as he once again backed her up, until she felt the bed behind her legs. She let herself sink down and relished the feeling of his weight above her.
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Shifting through her locker the next day after school gave Puck the perfect opportunity to plant a surprise kiss on the back on her neck. She spun to face him and wrapped her arms loosely around her neck as he planted a proper kiss on her deliciously plump lips. She took a second to savour him, and then looked around nervously.
"Relax babe, everyone's gone for the day and the nerds are all in the choir room" He reassured her, pushing a strand of rogue hair from her face.
"Then that's where we should be. They'll come looking for us in a second." She put her hands on his broad chest, letting them rest there briefly before gently pushing him back. He groaned and hung his head, but allowed himself to be moved by the tiny diva. She planted a chaste kiss on his cheek before turning on her heel and flouncing off to Glee.
Puck was the last student to enter the classroom and took a minute to pick up his pride and joy, his acoustic guitar from where he had set it up beside the piano earlier. He glanced over at Rachel who had taken a seat front row center. Go figure. He thought to himself with a chuckle.
Mr. Shue entered the room and with a clap of his hands got their attention, "So, any ideas for the mash up?" He gazed around the room, facing 11 students who were avoiding eye contact with him at any cost. "Anybody?" He looked toward Finn, who quickly dropped his gaze to the floor. "Oh come on guys. It's like you're daring me to start dancing!"
That certainly got a reaction from the group. "Noooooo!" they all called out with a laugh.
Puck turned from the piano and raised his hand. "I've been working on something."
The group went silent and Mr. Shue raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
"It's my personal tribute to a musical Jewish Icon." That certainly caught Rachel's attention, and he used it to his advantage, taking a moment to gather his courage by gazing into her perfect chocolate eyes.
"Ah, fantastic." Mr. Shue nodded and raised his arm to signal that Puck had the floor. "Let's hear it." He moved to the open seat in the farthest row back, curious to see what had been prepared.
From the very first chord that Puck strummed, Rachel knew what he was about to sing, and she leaned forward, body seeming to become electrified from her anticipation.
Where it began, I can't begin to know when
But then I know it's growing strong
wasn't the spring,
and spring became the summer
who'd of believed you'd come along
He took steps to bridge the gap between himself and Rachel, who was leaning forward as much as she could as she swayed in her seat to the music. Puck was so enthralled by watching her that he didn't notice the realization dawning on Finn's face behind her.
Hands, touching hands, reaching out
Touching me, touching you
Finn wasn't the only one quickly catching on; Santana was looking between the pair who were oblivious to all else, a growing look of disgust on her face.
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
I've been inclined to believe it never would
His grinned broadened as he watched her duck her head, colour filling her cheeks.
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
I've been inclined to believe it never would oooh oh no no.
He was greeted with clapping and cheers from the other Glee members as he finished, but he and Rachel had become so lost in each other's eyes that neither one seemed to notice. Her nod of approval was all he needed.
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Keys in hand, Rachel exited the school and headed towards the student parking lot. She was humming Sweet Caroline quietly to herself, lost in thought, trying to decide what would be the perfect song to sing to Puck. She sighed and wished he was there to take her to her car, but he had promised Finn he would play Xbox with him after practice, much to his new girlfriend's disappointment. As she approached her little yellow Volkswagen Beetle her eyes widened as she saw two of her fellow Glee members resting against it.
Seeing her finally coming, Kurt elbowed Mercedes and nodded in Rachel's direction. They stood tall and Mercedes raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, an obvious question on her mind. "Girl, what's the deal with you and White Boy?"
Holding the books that didn't fit into her overfilled backpack close to her chest, she held her chin high. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
Kurt took his place beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Oh Hunny, that boy has it bad for you. Is the feeling mutual?"
She felt colour rising to her cheeks and turned her head from the inquisitive pair. She and Puck had resolved to keep it from the other Glee members for as long as possible, but alone without him she felt that determination crumbling away.
"Oh, I knew it!" Mercedes shouted triumphantly, raising a hand to the sky. "But let's get real for a sec." She looked the Glee club's outcast Diva up and down. "Puck? Seriously? Do all you white girls dig the 'hawk or something?"
Rachel looked between the two, her eyes pleading. "Please, please don't let this spread around. We agreed to keep it quiet from everyone for a little bit."
Kurt and Mercedes eyed each other from either side of Rachel for a moment, making the brunette a little nervous. Finally, after what seemed to her like an eternity Kurt nodded at her.
"Fine, but we want all the details."
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There was an awkward silence in the truck as Puck drove himself and Finn over to Finn's house. He could hear his friend's mouth opening and closing, and he knew that Finn was building up the courage to ask him something. He chose to ignore it and wait until he was asked something, pretty certain he knew where Finn was going to be heading once the words were out.
Finn finally turned and looked directly at his mohawked friend. "So, uh..... What's going on with you and Rachel?"
Puck took his eyes off the road for a second to meet his best friend's gaze. "What do you mean?"
Finn shook his head, he had known going into this that his friend would be reluctant to give out any details. "Dude, you sang her a song. There's got to be something going on there."
"It's nothing." He took his right hand from the wheel to crank up the volume on the radio.
His eyes narrowed when, a split second later, Finn's hand turned the music completely off. "Look, we've been friends for how long now? I can tell when something's up with you. Are you like... in love with her or something?"
Puck sighed, and glanced quickly at his friend out of the corner of his eye. Finn's jaw was set in a steely determination Puck had seen only a handful of times before. He knew ignoring him would be a lost cause, choosing to only give him a partial story in the hope that his friend would be satisfied.
"Freaky chicks make good kissers, man. Like, almost better than Cougars." He pulled the half ton truck into his friend's driveway and threw it into park. Finn's eyes narrowed.
"Look, she's a nice girl Puck. I just don't want to see you hurting her." It was at the moment he knew that he would have to give his oldest friend more of the story. He obviously cared for her still, and knew Puck's less than stellar track record with young, vulnerable hearts.
"She's my girlfriend." He confessed with a sigh, face set straight ahead to the closed garage door. "We made it official yesterday." Turning his head, he met his friend's gaze. "We're not ready to go public yet, so if you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone..."
Finn shook his head, a smile creeping up on his lips. "I've got your back bro."
The friends exited the truck and followed the cement path to the front door. Finn was reaching for the handle as the door flew open, nearly catching him in the chest.
"Quinn, what th-" He managed to get out, before tiny blond slammed an open envelope into his chest. She stepped forward, so they were only inches apart.
"It's a past due notice Finn! If we don't start paying this, it will be sent to collections and my parents will find out!" Finn backed up, but found the path blocked by a very confused Puck. "A real man would leave his pregnant girlfriend to come up with a solution. A real man would be out there finding any job he could!"
Puck started to open his mouth to excuse himself from the cheerleader's wrath, but was cut off before he could start. "And you!" She spat, fixing her gaze on him. "You stay right there, I need a witness." Again her anger was directed back to her boyfriend. "Find a way to pay this or you cut off, understand?" She waited for him to acknowledge her with a brisk, nervous nod and then stormed past them, ponytail bouncing as if to accentuate each angry step. Turning, her gaze flickered between both. "Which one of you is driving me home?" Each word dripped with venom.
Puck took advantage of Finn's hesitation and patted him on the back. "Don't worry bro, I can do it." Quinn rolled her eyes, but allowed the boy to escort her to his truck.
He personally was grateful for the chance to speak to her. Hell, he had dealt with Cougars, how much trouble could one hormonally imbalanced teenager be?
He figured the was no time like the present to say what had been on his mind ever since hearing Finn stressing over medical bills. "You know if you need money you can come to me, right? I'm no deadbeat, I take care of my own."
She shook her head. "You just don't get it, do you? This baby is yours by DNA only. Finn is the father, that's what he thinks and he won't find out the truth from me or anyone else." She fixed a pointed start in his direction.
"Quinn, I'm offering you cash. I don't want to play Dad or get with you."
"Just take me home Puck. I don't want or need anything from you." She turned away from him and rested her head on the window, watching the curb speed by. When he pulled up outside her home she leapt from the car as fast as her feet could carry her, hoping he had not seen the tears streaming down her cheeks.