Chapter 1 Comfort

She could still recall the exact night that Noah Puckerman came taping on her window for the first time during a cold October night.

She was sitting on her bed going through her song sheets trying to find the right song for the weeks assignment. Though she was positive that there wasn't an actually lesson to be learned when it came to any song revolving around Ace of Base she was going to comply regardless so there she was going through all the music she had by the band thinking she could mix it up enough to have more of a Broadway feel.

A knock on her window then made her jump and she grabbed the taser her dads had bought her in case of an intruder and her pillow and got up to open the curtain finding Noah on the other side freezing. "Berry, let me in." He said and she quickly nodded before opening the window and stepping aside and letting him in.

"Were you going to challenge me to a pillow fight or something? You really need to learn some defensive skills, Rachel." He said with a smirk as he sat on her bed.

Rachel showed him what was in her hand making him jump up and back away from her.

"Fuck never mind, just don't use that thing on me." He mumbled and she nodded curious as to why he was in her room so late at night and why he didn't just use the door.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked put her weapon back in her beside drawer and then grabbed a throw to wrap over her friend's shoulders. "You're freezing, noah."

She had known Noah since they were little kids and their parents introduced them wanting them both to have Jewish friends. Since then they went from being really close friends growing up to him being her number one tormentor and then somehow became friends again sophomore year when he joined glee club. After all that time she had only saw him so distraught once and that was the night when his dad left.

Rachel knew there was something going on when Noah and Sarah Puckerman were dropped off at her house for the night. They had never stayed before. Noah had been dropped off to play and she baby sat the toddler occasionally at temple or with her fathers. Still the nine year old knew that something was wrong by how Noah didn't bound into her room raving about some sports game she didn't care about. Instead he just sat on her bed kicking his feet against the side.

"He left." He said softly. "I heard them fighting and then he was gone. Didn't even say goodbye." Rachel grasped softly and places her hand on his shoulder only to have him shrug it off.

"We didn't need him anyways."

Eight years later she found herself in the same scene, her hand on his shoulder and him knocking it off as he got lost in thought and she just let him. He had came to her and she knew he'd talk when he was ready, he always did.

"Do you think I'm meant to be someone or am I stuck being a Lima loser?" He asked fifteen minutes later. Rachel had moved to the top of her bed with her sheet music to give him his space and looked up when he began to talk.

"What?" She asked softly as she put her things away and crawled down to him and at by him, gently taking his hand.

"That's a nonsense question Noah, of course you are meant to be someone. You have some of the greatest potential of anyone that I know." She assured him softly. Of course he had made some mistakes and his recent stent in juvenile correction reflected around that but it still didn't change how she felt about him. "What's going on? What happened to make you think this."

He shrugged almost laughing at her. What did she think caused his mood? His entire existence led him to the moment they were in. Normally he would just get drunk and ignore it until it went away but tonight he just wanted company and not of the sexual kind. He wanted his childhood friend.

"Mind if I stay? Don't really want to go home and you're bed has always been comfortable. I won't even try to touch your boobs I promise." He asked feeling like a pussy but he knew she wouldn't judge him like someone else would.

After a moment she nodded though many things were going through her mind, the number one thing being Finn but Noah was more important right now.

"I'll go get another blanket just in case, go ahead and get comfortable." She said with a small smile before going out into the hallway and grabbing a blanket and coming back to find him in just his boxers as she climbed into her bed making her blush.

"You said comfortable and I'm sure as hell not sleeping in jeans." He mumbled as he laid down and she just nodded and placed the blanket on the end of the bed and turned off the lights before taking her place beside of him.

They both laid on their backs just staring at the ceiling, both lost in thought with one full of questions and the other searching for answers. There was an odd comfort in the room though, something that neither of them expected.

"Ma and twerp are still pissed at me for what I did." He said suddenly as Rachel was started to fall asleep. She turned her head to him, arching her eyebrow wondering exactly what he was referring to.

"I wanted to help, I needed to help. Sarah needs braces and we don't have the money or insurance for that. I'm tired of Ma working all the time and my pool business can only go so far in the winter. So I stole that atm and maybe it was stupid but I was doing it for them. I'm the man of the house and I've already failed."

Rachel's heart broke for him and she turned to her side and slide closer to him as she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and laid her head on his shoulder.

"That's not true, Noah. They both love you so much. Maybe what you did wasn't the best of decisions but your intentions were good and you know that they know that. You are Sarah's hero and your mom loves you so much." Noah had always taken care of his family and she knew that, it was one of the things that only she knew and not many other people. He had a side that got into trouble but that was only when he needed to let off the steam he couldn't when he was making his sister dinner when his mom was working nights or taking her to school in the morning.

"Hey, listen to me. They aren't mad or disappointed in you. Don't think like that, you are going to do good things in your life. If you want, I could help you. Just say the word." She promised him and he just nodded and closed his eyes.

Rachel stated away watching him for a while as he fell asleep, she was worried about him. He had always carried weight on him that no one knew about, even she was in the dark about most of it she was sure. He had devoted his life to taking care of his mom and sister that day his dad left and he had never failed on his word. One bad day wasn't going to change how anyone felt about him for it.

She eventually fell asleep with Noah's arm draped around her waist and a soft smile on her face that he had came to her and that if felt good to lay in bed with him. Not even Finn laid with her innocently. It was special and it was something that she knew would only feel this way with Noah and she didn't know exactly why that was.

The next morning she woke up and he was gone, only the remainder of a quickly scribbled Thanks left on her pillow telling her that it hadn't been a dream.