Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
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A/N: I've been bitten by the Glee bug after that lovely Season Six premier. Not to mention the original gleeks preforming A-ha's "Take on Me" to add fuel to the fire.
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A/N #2: This takes place sometime between S03xE09—"Extraordinary Merry Christmas" and S03xE10—"Yes/No".
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We Can Fall Hard (Just like That)
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PART I
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Rachel has always tried to tell anyone who'd listen that she's just a bit psychic—like knowing it was her Bubbe who was calling without looking at Caller ID, or sensing the someone would be knocking on the door minutes before they did—but most of the public scoffed or scored her. She even had a feeling her daddies were just humoring her, rather than truly believing.
Yet for the past week Rachel's psychic sensors had been tingling; nothing concrete, but humming in the background in Glee Club. First she'd thought it had to do something with the club, almost leading to an enormous panic attack—it was senior year, last one to get to and win Nationals for her. But luckily it had nothing to do with the group as a whole, and unluckily everything to do with Noah "Puck" Puckerman as a whole. That faint humming became almost loud buzzing when around the resident badass.
It had gotten to the point that she couldn't help but be weary in his presence.
Now though? It'd just reached a new level of weird, and that was saying something when the thought belonged to Rachel Berry. The digital clock still confirmed the date to be January 17, 2012 at 3:46AM; looking in the mirror at her vanity was the same face she saw every day, eighteen-year-old Rachel; the 'Finn' necklace sat innocently on the jewelry box.
Even with all evidence that the world hadn't spun off axis, something deep within Rachel felt…changed. Nor had the breathless feeling that'd been with her since the dream worn off.
Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the finer details of the strange dream world.
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She was in the choir room at McKinley, though it was quite different, it wasn't hard to figure out her surroundings. It was different things on the shelves, and lack of Mr. Schue's writing on the board; still the walls, chairs, and piano were the same as ever.
What surprised her most was the doppelganger who walked in from the hall—the Not-Rachel was older, shorter layered hair, and lacking a certain pep to her strut. Not-Rachel blew out a heavy breath that made her bangs flutter, while looking glumly around the room, before using her arms to lean against the piano. Quickly she spun about to thumb through the sheet music on the piano.
Footsteps sounding from the door drew Rachel's attention from her disturbing elder doppelganger; but that sight was only mildly more disturbing. Entering the choir room was Noah Puckerman, who was dressed in uniform and without his iconic Mohawk. Clearly he had to be the Not-Noah, who more than her odd look-a-like proved this to be a bizarro world.
"Berry," his husky voice echoed loudly in the quiet room. "You're going to kick ass at this, you know?"
Not-Rachel turned to look up at him, lips quirked into a tiny smile. "Is that so?"
"Who are you?" Not-Noah asked with the perfect Puck smirk.
"Rachel Berry," she answered him, voice hushed and holding the same confusion as her face.
"That's right!" he said with a smug leer, "when has Rachel Berry ever legit not given everything she has? Even when it passes badass into crazy."
"No-ah!" Not-Rachel admonished him. Though her biting back a smile, and looking up at him through lashes gave her away.
Her double kept talking, but Rachel paid their conversation no attention—she was more interested tableau they made. How Not-Noah stood relaxed his arms crossed at his chest, face open and soft, hazel eyes focused on Not-Rachel, looking at her with…love. Not-Rachel looked up at him with a shyness that Rachel couldn't ever really remember giving Noah, a different type of fondness filtered through Not-Rachel's brown eyes too.
A dramatic gasp escaped her lips when the scene finally made sense to her; these two, Not-Rachel and Not-Noah, had romantic feelings towards one another.
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And just as Rachel was going to focus on what the two of them were saying, the focus had gone out, leaving confusing blurs of images that left as quickly as they'd come.
Like her standing on a stage preforming with New Directions; cuddled with Kurt on a sofa in an unknown place; walking down a New York street; standing on Bow Bridge looking sadly at her phone; performing a duet with Finn in a pink dress; dancing in the halls of McKinley in neon colors with Mercedes, Sam and Noah; and so many more that Rachel couldn't even hope to remember what it had been, other than a dash of color and hint of someone's face.
Clearly unable to come up with any reasonable answers, Rachel turned away from the mirror and got back into bed. And if only to keep herself from obsessing over this, she'd decide that her psychic tendencies were so amazing they'd picked up a Rachel and Noah of another universe—it fed into her diva and explained the lack of Finn.
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After waking at her usual time, Rachel continued her morning routine, calmed residual nerves by singing. However, the morning text from Finn, helped ease Rachel better than anything else could have.
FINN: Morning Rach! See u at school. Love you!
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Finn was waiting for her outside the doors to the school where she usually parked her car. He was casually leaning against the brick wall, long legs extended and crossed at the knees, and a slushee in his hand. When he noticed her walking towards him, his face lit up and a goofy smile transformed his mouth.
"Hey Rach," he murmured against her hair as he pulled her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
Rachel couldn't help the big smile as she took in his scent. "Good morning, Finn," she returned, talking against his chest. "I hope you slept well."
His laugh was soft but vibrated his chest, "Yeah, I had a good sleep." Finn stepped back to look down at her with a cheerful smile, brown eyes glinting with laughter.
Not wanting to wait any longer, he bent his knees and covered Rachel's mouth with his own in a kiss that was so wonderful that Rachel had no sense of time, not even thinking about oxygen. Just happy to be with her leading man, the love of her life.
"I love you," Rachel told him, voice breathy from the kiss. Time spent with this young man, making details of the dream become elusive.
"I love you, too," he said with that handsome crooked grin.
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[TBC]