This story was inspired by the song "Man to Man" by Gary Allan, and it's really important to read the lyrics below to get a good idea of what the background story, so to say, of this story is.
I would like to thank my wonderful beta, marxistqueens. Without her, this story would not have been half as good. :D
Much to my chagrin, I do not own Glee.
A/N: Sorry to all of you who got this story and were unable to locate it. The site had some issues and loaded it incorrectly. Everything is fixed now, but sorry for the inconvenience.
"You're throwin around a lot of serious accusations
Ain't too hard to tell what your insinuatin'
You think I'm the one who stole her away
And if not for me she'd still be yours today
We're both men here so why play games
Why don't we call a spade a spade?
Man to man
Tell me the truth, tell me
Were you ever there when she needed you
Man to man
Look me in the eye, tell me
If you really loved her
Why'd you make her cry
Man to man
Who cheated who
You're the one to blame
Tell me it ain't true
Man to man."
"Man to Man" by Gary Allan
Noah's cell phone rang, the only sound in his room beside the quiet strumming of his guitar. He set the guitar to the side and managed to reach his phone just in time before it stopped ringing. "'Ello?"
"Hi Noah, it's Rachel."
He smiled, surprisingly happy to hear from her. Rachel and he had developed a close friendship after Beth was born, because she was there for him in ways that no one else had been. A week or so after Beth had been adopted by Shelby (which, if Noah thought about it, was really weird, because his baby girl was going to be raised by Rachel's mom), he had been assaulted by horrible guilt over the fact that he had essentially given his daughter away. Rachel had approached him the last day of school, and calmly told him that Beth would love Shelby, even though she wasn't her biological mother; after all, she had said, she loved her fathers more than anything, and only one of them was her parent biologically. And when the time came that Beth learned that she was adopted – if ever – Shelby would tell her why Noah and Quinn had given her up, and she would understand their sacrifice, and love them for it.
"But what about you?" He had asked her. "You don't love Shelby."
"I did. When I first found out about her, I did. I loved her so much because she was my mother, even if she had given me away. But it's different with you. You will always want and love your daughter. She didn't."
After that conversation, they had many more interactions that had led to them developing a weird friendship. He wouldn't say that they were as close as Finn and he, but at this point, he would consider her one of his better friends (another very weird thing, when he thought about it, because he used to throw slushies at her, and hated everything about her; now, he was happy to hear her voice).
"Noah, are you there?" Rachel's voice shook him out of his reverie.
"Yep, I'm here. What's up, Berry?"
"Well, it's the middle of a beautiful summer day, and I have nothing to do because Finn is…well, I'm not exactly sure where he is. But I'm mainly calling because I'm bored and I figured that you could maybe think of something to do."
He laughed. "That's a very long winded way to simply ask if I wanted to hang out. But yeah, I'm up for it." He paused, and then rewound the conversation in his mind. "What do you mean you don't know where Finn is? I thought, you know, him being your boyfriend and all, that you would know where he was all hours of the day."
He had meant it jokingly (ignoring the squeeze in his chest when he had mentioned that Finn was her boyfriend), and she teased him back. "Yeah, you know me. I inserted a tracker under his skin in the middle of the night. But it seems to be malfunctioning, and right now, I can't track him. So what do you want to do?"
Noah laughed again. "I'll be over in about ten minutes, alright?"
They had spent the entire day watching action movies that Noah would have never thought Rachel would enjoy, and now were preparing to watch his favourite movie ever – Fight Club. Noah was in the kitchen making popcorn when he heard Rachel's cell phone ring. He listened as she excitedly talked to her fathers – who were in Columbus at a conference – and smiled lightly to himself. He wasn't sure what had changed, but for some reason, hanging out with Rachel Berry all day had been more fun and relaxed for him than anything else he could have done. Even her crazy attitude didn't bother him anymore; he had come to realize that it was just simply her.
"No, Noah's here with me," Rachel said into the phone as she walked into the room. "Yes, I know. No, we've just been watching movies, and that's what we're planning to do. Yes, I'm sure I'll be fine here by myself tonight." She paused, and Noah watched her as she rolled her eyes and made a talking motion with her hand. "Alright, Daddy. Be safe and I love you too. Bye." As she hung up the phone she looked at the boy standing in the room with her. "They said hello and that they were glad you were here with me today."
He chuckled and shrugged like it was no big deal. "I'm happy to be of service."
Rachel just rolled her eyes again, and started to say something when her phone rang again. She checked the caller id and then wandered to the far corner of the room. "Hello Finn." Noah tried hard not to eavesdrop but couldn't help himself. "I've been trying to reach you all day. No, I just wanted to speak to you – last time I checked I was allowed to call you because you're my boyfriend." He snorted; Rachel was super sarcastic when she wanted to be, and acted very differently when she was in the comfort of her own home, and not in school. "So what were you doing that took you away from your phone all afternoon?" Noah watched as she nodded, a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Right. You were hanging out with the guys. And didn't hear your phone." The look of annoyance deepened as she listened. "Well, I won't keep you then. If you feel so inclined, call me tomorrow morning. Yes, go ahead and tell Mike, Matt, and Noah hello for me. Bye." She snapped the phone shut angrily.
Noah looked at Rachel, confusion written all over his face. "I'm confused. Why are you having Finn tell me hello when I'm standing right here?"
"Because apparently Finn has spent all day with Mike, Matt, and you. You were apparently playing a video game, and he simply couldn't here his phone." She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "In short, he lied to me."
He wasn't entirely sure what to say. On the one hand, he was surprised that Finn would something to jeopardize his relationship with Rachel because all he had been able to do was talk about how much he loved her. But on the other hand, Finn was an idiot. He really didn't think about what repercussions his actions would have. He ignored the sudden feeling of hope that exploded inside of him at the prospect that Finn and Rachel might break up. "Do you…uh, do you want to talk about it?"
She shrugged her shoulders, but didn't really answer his question. A moment later, he spoke up. "I just don't understand it. I thought things were going pretty well – he told me he loved me, at Regionals. When school got out, everything seemed fine. And the first few weeks of summer were great also, but all of a sudden, it's just…" She sighed again, and remained silent.
"It's just what?"
Her reply was quiet. "I think he's cheating on me. He keeps getting all these phone calls that he won't answer when he's with me, doing things – like today – that he won't tell me about and lies about his activities. It's the only logical explanation I can think of."
Noah walked forward and hugged Rachel, honestly just trying to comfort her with no ulterior motives. "If that's true, Berry, then I can assure you of two things: one, I'm really sorry, and two, I'm going to kick his ass."
She laughed quietly, and pulled away from his hug. "Thanks, but I'd rather you didn't – he might ruin that gorgeous face of yours."
The next time Rachel called, Noah was still asleep. He rolled over, grabbed his phone, checked the caller id, and then settled back into his pillows. "Hey, Berry. What's up?"
"I have a name, you know," was her response, but he could tell that she was joking by the tone in her voice. "It wouldn't hurt you to use it once in the while."
"Fine. What's up, Rachel?" He teased back, stressing her name.
"Well, Finn apparently has to help his mother all day and therefore cannot take me on our date."
He paused before answering, unsure if what he said was going to anger her. "You haven't talked to him yet, have you? About the whole cheating thing?"
"I don't have any proof, Noah. If I accuse him and he really is just helping his mother today, then I ruin a perfectly good and mostly stable relationship. I'm sure that it's all my overactive imagination, and that besides that one time, Finn isn't lying to me about his whereabouts." There was silence over the phone as Noah thought of a response. Rachel beat him to it. "But anyway, as I was saying, I've, in the vernacular, been ditched. We had planned to go bowling, but I didn't want to go by myself, so…"
"So you thought you'd drag me along, make me slave to you all afternoon?" He joked lightly, trying to steer the subject away from her cheating boyfriend.
"That was my plan exactly. So are you up to it?"
He laughed. "You bet."
That afternoon was the second in two weeks that Noah had spend all day with Rachel, and the second most fun day of his life. He didn't quite know what was going on, but for some reason, hanging out with Rachel Berry was starting to be the most enjoyable thing for him to do. Rachel was terrible at bowling ("I've only gone a few times in my life" she explained to him after he questioned why exactly she sucked so much), but she tried so hard that Noah could only tease her a little for it. They had originally planned to only play one game, but had ended up staying all day. After finishing their last game, Rachel had persuaded Noah to go to dinner at her favourite restaurant.
"This better not be some crappy health food place, Berry." He said as she gave him directions.
"It's not I promise. Now, make a right on the next street. It will be on the corner."
He looked at her, mouth wipe open. "Your favourite restaurant is Joe's?"
"Noah, look where you're driving. And yes, it is. They have the best burgers in Lima."
Keeping his eyes on the road, he just shook his head in disbelief. "Berry, you are just full of surprises. You like Fight Club, and you like the best sports grill in town. I swear, if Finn didn't date you, I would." He looked at her briefly, just in time to see a blush spreading across her cheeks, but refrained from further comment.
The next few moments were silent as Noah pulled into a parking space and they walked into the restaurant. As they were seated, Rachel's phone rang, barely able to be heard over the din of the bar. "Hello? Oh, hi Finn. Sorry it's so loud, but I'm at dinner." Noah pretended to be reading his menu, but in reality was listening closely to her conversation. After learning that Finn had been lying to Rachel about what he was doing, Noah had done his best to stay out of it – Finn may have been his best friend, but Rachel was a really good friend too (and frankly, really hot; he would do her if he thought there was a way they could do it and still stay friends). The farther he stayed away from it, the less trouble he would be in.
Rachel had been silent for a few moments, and when she did speak her voice was tight. "I see." She shook her head, and after realizing that Finn couldn't see it, spoke again. "No, frankly, I don't understand. Honestly, I thought it was something that we would have discussed seeing as we are a couple. And the fact that you have repeatedly lied to me about your whereabouts doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in you." He watched as her face hardened. "I didn't say that, but I we need to have a conversation about this and what it means for our future." Noah couldn't make out the words Finn was saying, but they sounded urgent. "No, I don't want to discuss it right now. I'm going to try to enjoy the rest of my night and I'll talk to you…sometime. Bye." She shut the phone gently, and set it on the table. She didn't say anything, and Noah wasn't sure whether he should or not, and so he sat there fiddling with his menu. After a few moments, Rachel's body started shaking with sobs.
Noah panicked – although used to dealing with his younger sister crying he didn't exactly know what to do with a weeping, semi-hysterical teenage girl. He scooted over in the booth until he was sitting next to her, and did what he normally did with his sister: he wrapped his arms around her. "Shhh, it's okay. Just calm down, please. I'm not very good at this."
She laughed a little bit before wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. You're doing fine, really."
He squeezed her tightly, before speaking. "I seem to be saying this a lot lately, but do you want to talk about it?"
She closed her eyes and spoke quietly. "He said that he felt so guilty for lying that he thought he should call me and tell me the truth. Apparently, he and Quinn," her voice broke here, "have started spending time together again. He swears that nothing is going on and that he still loves me, but that Quinn reached out to him and he just couldn't say no. Apparently, she and he have been spending a lot of time together. As I stated, he says that it is strictly platonic, but I don't believe it. He would have said something if it truly wasn't a big deal. He also wanted to know if we were breaking up and…" She trailed off, and shook her head as if trying to dispel the bad thoughts plaguing her. "I'm so sorry Noah. I'm ruing our dinner together with my antics. And I'm sorry about Quinn."
He looked at her, confusion written all over his face. "What about Quinn?"
She looked up at him, still resting against him and his arms around her. "I know how you feel about her." He still looked at her, still not understanding what she was insinuating. "I overheard Quinn tell Santana – after Beth was born – that you told her that you loved her. I can only assume that this is as difficult for you as it is for me."
He couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I'm not in love with Quinn, Berry. I love her because she gave birth to my daughter and that shit is scary. I will probably always love her because we have that connection. But I'm not in love with her. I mean I wouldn't ever want to date her. She's crazy like you, but not in a good way. Your brand of crazy I can deal with."
"Oh. So really, this situation only has negative effects on my life."
He hugged her again. "Are you going to break up with him?" Then he smirked, and said, "'Cause if you do, I'm always good for revenge sex."
She ignored him, and answered his question. "I don't know. He says nothing has happened, but if he is already lying to me about spending time with her, what else is he going to lie to me about?"
Noah's phone rang in the middle of the afternoon the next day, and he didn't even bother to check who it was before answering. There was really only one person who called him these days; Mike and Matt weren't really ones to chat on the phone, and even when things were perfect with Finn, they never talked on the phone. "Hey Rachel," he said, surprising himself by using her first name.
He heard a sniffle on the other line. "He just told me that he's not going to stop spending time with her."
Noah sat up straighter on the couch, listening intently. "What?"
"He just came over to talk, because I thought we should discuss this as a couple, and I asked him to not see her, but that if he was going to, I wanted him to tell me first. And then he argued, saying that I had no right to tell him whom he couldn't see because he was letting me see you –"
"That dickhead," Noah interrupted. "He is never going to let me forget that."
Rachel just continued, in a wavering voice, as if she didn't even hear him. " – and that if he wanted to see Quinn that he could. And then he just stormed out. I just don't understand. You and I may have dated once, but it was only for a week and it wasn't anything very serious. Quinn and he were together for over a year, and he was in love with her; I simply cannot comprehend why he doesn't care about my feelings in this matter when I am his girlfriend. It feels as though I'm always going to be coming in second to her."
"Hey, don't think that. Finn is an idiot, plain and simple. I mean, if you were my girlfriend, I wouldn't be hanging out with Quinn at all. You're much hotter, babe."
Rachel laughed quietly. "You are very obnoxious sometimes, Noah, but thank you." He heard her blow her nose. "I never thought having a boyfriend would be such an emotional rollercoaster. When I was with you, although it was a more physical relationship, I never felt so…sad."
"I really am sorry, Rachel. Honestly, I love Finn like a brother but I don't really understand him. Do you want me to beat him up?"
"You know I abhor violence, Noah." She sniffed, and he could imagine her wiping away whatever tears had been leaking from her eyes because of Finn. "I appreciate the thought, though. You seem to think about me more than my own boyfriend does."
After Rachel hung up, Noah sat and thought for a few minutes. He felt drawn to Rachel and felt things for her that he hadn't felt before. When he thought about Finn and Rachel together, he felt jealousy, another emotion that he wasn't used to. Maybe it's because I'm getting to know Rachel better, he mused. Maybe I'm just starting to see all the things in her that Finn always did. His thoughts soured, though, when his thoughts turned to his friend. He's an idiot if he throws away what he has with Rachel for Quinn, and it totally sucks for Rachel, he thought and then a new idea crept into his head: Maybe if they break up, I'll have a chance with her again.
It was late, on a very stormy summer night that Rachel called again. "Yo, Berry."
"Noah," Rachel's voice was soft and shaky as she spoke, "do you think you could come and pick me up?"
He set his guitar down, instantly worried. "What's wrong?"
"My fathers were in a c-car accident and I don't feel steady enough to drive myself to the hospital. I called Finn, but he is with Quinn and didn't feel inclined to come and pick me up. I'm sorry to bother you, but you are my friend and I thought you might be able to t-take me."
"Shit, Berry, you didn't even have to ask anyone else, and don't feel sorry. I'll be there in ten minutes."
He jumped in his car and drove as quickly as humanly possible to Rachel's house, and ended up being there in half the normal time. He didn't even have to knock on the door when Rachel opened it and flung herself into his arms. He hugged her fiercely, whispering calming words into her ear.
"T-thank you s-so much for the ride."
"You really think I would let you drive yourself in the state you're in? And I promise, they will be okay." They walked to his truck in silence, and Noah helped her into the cab. "Do you know what condition they are in?"
Rachel shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "I just got a call from the nurse telling me that they had been in a crash. She didn't say anything other than they were both in surgery." Her voice cracked on the last word, and so Noah reached over and grabbed her hand. "I thought Finn would take me," she added quietly. "I thought that I could count on him, but he chose Quinn over me. Again." Noah was itching to ask if she was going to end things with Finn, but didn't know if it was the right time to bring up the subject. But Rachel continued quietly and answered his query. "I'm going to end it with him, Noah. I know I'm not the most spectacular girlfriend ever, but even I deserve more than this. I'm not sorry either, that it's ending. I don't love him, not really. I've never been able to trust him because he kissed me when he was with Quinn, and part of me has always wondered what he would do when I wasn't with him. I'm not comfortable with him, I don't have that much fun with him, and I can't trust him – not like I can trust you." The last part was added quietly, so softly that Noah almost missed it. He heard them, though, and those six words sent his heart soaring in a way that he had never experienced before.
He didn't want to ruin the moment (A total shit moment, he thought, considering her fathers could be dying right now) and settled for just squeezing her hand tightly, and saying quietly, "I'll support you no matter what. In case you didn't notice, I kinda like you, Berry."
The rest of the trip to the hospital passed in silence, and they reached it just a few minutes later. Rachel opened the door quickly and scrambled down from the cab. Noah exited just as quickly, and walked swiftly to catch up with Rachel, who had ran into the front of the hospital. He reached her just as she was asking about her fathers.
"From what I know, your fathers' car slid off the road due to the rain, and into a tree. One of your fathers," the nurse consulted her computer, "is currently in surgery due to internal bleeding from a punctured lung that was caused by broken ribs."
"Which one of my fathers is this?" Rachel asked, and even though her voice was calm, Noah could hear the fear in her voice.
The nurse looked briefly down at the file on the computer. "Mr. Samuel Berry. He should be out of surgery within the hour. After that he will go to the recovery room, and then be moved into a regular room where you will be able to see him."
"And what about my other father? His name is Nathan Berry."
The nurse closed a window on her computer and typed something into a new window that popped up. "Mr. Nathan Berry received a concussion from the crash, and broke his collar bone. He's currently in room 3204, and can receive visitors at this time."
Rachel nodded quickly, and slipped her hand into his. "Is it okay if my friend comes with me?"
The nurse nodded sympathetically. "Of course. He may not be awake yet, but you are welcome to sit in the room and wait."
Rachel thanked the woman, and Noah followed her to the elevators. When they reached the correct room, she took a deep breath before pushing open the door. Rachel's father lay on the bed, eyes closed and breathing regularly and softly. The various monitors in the room were on and running silently, indicating that all was well. There was an oxygen tube running in his nose, scratches on his face, and a large bruise that had blossomed on his upper neck. Noah stayed by the door as Rachel rushed to her father's side. "Oh, Daddy!" She sat down by his side, and to give Rachel a few minutes alone, Noah stepped outside to call his mother and let her know where he was. After promising to keep her updated on not only the Berrys' condition (Rachel included) but also how long he was going to be at the hospital, Noah entered the room again.
Rachel was still holding her father's hand, although the man was still asleep. Not looking up, Rachel spoke quietly. "Will you stay with me, Noah? I don't want to be here by myself."
"Sure." Walking over, he sat on the bench by the window that could serve as a bed also. "I'm here as long as you need me." After a while, Rachel got up from her father's side and approached where Noah sat. She crawled beside him, curling herself into a tiny ball with her head in Noah's lap. He ran his hand through her hair absentmindedly, and wiped her tears away. "They are going to be okay, Rachel. I promise."
She nodded. "I know, it's just…It's absolutely terrifying because they are all I have. Shelby wouldn't let me live with her if something happened to them, and I don't have any other close family. Logically, I know that they are both going to be fine, but emotionally, I'm afraid."
Noah surprised himself by leaning down and kissing her forehead. "You're not alone, Rach. I'm here for you."
A small smile graced her face, and his heart warmed. "Will you talk to me about something else? Just to remove myself from this situation?"
He nodded, and through the night, Noah found himself telling Rachel things that he hadn't ever told anybody else. Details about his family, his father, his life, his dreams; things that up until that moment, nobody else knew but Finn. He wasn't sure why, but it was so easy to talk to her. The more that he got to know her, the more time he wanted to spend with her, the more he wanted to talk with her, the more he wanted to share with himself, and the more he really wanted to date her (not just get in her pants, surprisingly but he actually wanted to be with her in the long term; if he didn't know any better, he would have thought that his balls had fallen off). By the time that her father awoke several hours later and her other father was wheeled in after his surgery, Noah was pretty sure that he was falling for her. These feelings were certainly never what Noah thought he would feel for anyone, let alone Rachel Berry, but that's what he found happening.
It was a little past three in the morning when Rachel's father – the conscious one – finally convinced Rachel to go home and get some sleep, after making Noah promise that he would stay with her. For some reason, her fathers trusted him and he wasn't going to complain. Noah reached Rachel's house quickly, and they both fell asleep on her bed, with his arms around her.
When he woke up, he was alone in Rachel's bed. None of the normal feelings he would have usually felt at this moment – horror at staying the night with a girl, satiated from a long night of sex, disgust at himself for staying and, probably, cuddling – washed over him as he woke up. Instead, he just felt happy at being able to help Rachel through this entire ordeal.
As he rolled over to remove himself from the comfort of the bed and go find Rachel, he shook his head. "Your balls are going to fall off, Puck, if you don't pull yourself together and stop being such a girl." But even his little pep talk didn't stop him from perking up as Rachel walked in the room.
"I just talked to my daddy. He said that they are going to release him this afternoon, and so I'm going to go and get him. He wanted to know if you would stay again tonight, just to make sure that if we encounter a problem tonight I would have some help. In the mean time though, I think it would be acceptable for you to return home, pack an overnight bag, shower, and do whatever else you need to."
He smiled – as her calm returned, Rachel's penchant for ridiculously proper speech returned. On an impulse, he reached out and grabbed her hand, running his thumb lightly over her skin. "Okay. I'll be back in about an hour or so, okay?"
"I'll await your return."
Rachel's next call was almost exactly an hour after Noah had left her house earlier that same day. "You know, Berry, I need some time away from you if I'm going to be able to miss you," he joked.
"Very funny. I did it."
Immediately, his mind went to a very dirty place and he shifted in his seat in his truck. "Did what exactly?"
"I broke up with Finn."
He took a deep breath. "Seriously?"
"Yes. I called him, asking if he would be able to come over, and he said no because he was helping Quinn paint her room at Mercedes house. According to my ex-boyfriend, Quinn hasn't moved back in with her mother yet and the Jones family is letting her stay for however long she wants. And so because he – once again – chose Quinn over me, I ended it with him. He didn't sound very heartbroken."
"And are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Heartbroken?"
"No, I most certainly am not."
Almost five weeks later, Noah's phone rang Rachel's specific ringtone while he was driving to Mike's house for an all day Call Of Duty marathon. Not taking his eyes off the road, he removed one hand from the steering wheel and flipped open his phone with his free hand. "Hey, Babe." A small smile appeared on his face after he uttered the word, still thrilled to be able to call Rachel that. It only took a few days after Rachel had broken up with Finn for Noah to ask her out. There was just something between them, something that he couldn't deny, something that made him willing to essentially lose his balls and beg her to go out with him. It was something that his mother had warned him about, and though he still wasn't sure how long the relationship he had with Rachel would last, he was in it for as long as she was willing. He still had the momentary panic sometimes, when he realized that he was in a relationship, but for the most part, he was just happy. Happier than he ever thought he would be.
"Hello Noah. What are you doing today?"
"Just haning' with Mike. How are your dads doing?" It had been long enough for both of her fathers to recover, but he knew that sometimes they both still had issues.
"They doing well today, thank you for asking. I'll tell them that you inquired after their health."
He laughed. "Yeah, tell them that I say hi too." That was another surprising thing – he actually liked her dads. Even felt comfortable around them, which was a huge deal for him. Dads weren't something that he usually excellent at dealing with. "Whatcha doing today?"
"Sometimes, Noah, your grammar astounds me. I love you, but really it's atrocious." There was a moment of silence over both lines as each realized what Rachel had said. After a few moments, Rachel started scrambling for words. "What I meant is…Well, I mean…well, you see…I just…"
He couldn't help but laugh again, and when he spoke there was still a chuckle in his voice. "Chill, babe. I love you too."
Noah's phone rang as he was walking, the cold New York City air swirling around him. He looked around as he pressed answer on his Blackberry, noticing that there were a few snowflakes dropping from the sky. He couldn't help but smiling ruefully – it seemed that they never got a break from the snow these days. The last storm had left them with almost two feet in the city, with even more outside. "Hey babe."
"Hi Noah. Where are you?"
"Well, I'm currently walking through Times Square. My meeting with the producer isn't for another half an hour – my class ended a little early – so I decided to walk." Both Rachel and he were in their last years at NYU (miraculously, Noah actually pulled up his grades enough to get accepted to the school; Rachel always joked that Hell must have frozen over when that happened), and recently Noah had been contacted by a music producer who was looking for a guitarist for some of his songs. Rachel had been doing off-Broadway shows for the past two years, and had recently been cast in a minor part in A Little Night Music. It wasn't as big of break as she had been hoping for but it was something, and Noah couldn't have been prouder.
"Alright. Call me when you are on your way home," she said, referring the apartment that they shared together. "And I love you."
"Love you too." As he disconnected the call, he received a shock when he looked up: standing before him on the sidewalk was none other than Finn Hudson. Things had been inordinately awkward between Finn, Rachel and himself the last few years of high school. Even though Finn and Rachel had broken up, he had seemed to have it in his mind that Rachel couldn't date anyone else – especially Noah. In fact, after Rachel and he had gotten together that summer, Finn stopped talking to Noah completely and blamed Noah for his breakup with Rachel. And even though Quinn and he had dated off and on throughout the rest of high school, the bitterness that Finn seemed to feel towards the couple never went away. Noah and Finn's relationship was further damaged because they never talked about it, and eventually the friendship crumbled.
Despite Finn's actions in the past, Noah couldn't resist but going over to say hi. "Finn!" The taller man turned around, and his expression darkened a little.
"Hey Puck."
Noah shoved his hands deep in the pockets of his wool coat. "Hey Finn. What are you doing in town?"
"I'm visiting my friend Sean – he and his mom moved here a while ago, and I promised I would visit. What are you doing here?"
Noah was silent, not really wanting to bring up Rachel but knowing that if there was ever a time to discuss what happened, this would be it. "I, uh, go to school here. Do you have time to grab a coffee or something?"
Finn shrugged his shoulders noncommittally, and then answered. "Whatever. I've got a few minutes."
"Good." Noah led him to the nearest Starbucks, paid for two coffees, and sat down at a table with Finn. "So yeah, I got to school at NYU. Rachel and I actually share an apartment."
Finn frowned and clenched his jaw. "So you're still together with Rachel." It wasn't a question, but rather a very terse, angry statement.
"Yep. It will be six years this summer." This was definitely not my best idea, he thought to himself. It was obvious that Finn still hadn't gotten over it.
Both men were silent for a minute or so, until Finn suddenly burst into speech. "Why couldn't you ever just leave my girls alone? You slept with one and then stole the other!"
Noah narrowed his eyes at his one-time friend. "Bull shit. I admit that I screwed up with Quinn," he said, quietly but fiercely. "And I apologized for that. But I have nothing to apologize for when it comes to Rachel. You ruined that relationship because you cared more about Quinn than Rachel, and you made Rachel cry over and over again. I wasn't the one that caused the break up and I didn't steal Rachel away from you. You need to get over yourself and grow up. Maybe if you hadn't been such a dick to her then you would have held on to her. But frankly, I'm happy you were such a douche because I've got her now and unlike you, I won't be letting her go." Noah was pissed – pissed at the things that Finn accused him of, pissed at what Finn did to Rachel, and pissed at how Finn acted in the past and how he was acting now. "I'm going to be late for my meeting, so if you don't have anything else to bitch about, I'm going to go." Finn just stared at him, with a look on his face that plainly showed his anger. "That's what I thought. See ya around, Finn." Without another word, Noah stood up, coffee in hand, and walked out of the Starbucks without looking back.
Noah dialed Rachel's phone number, walking quickly to make up for lost time as he listened to it ring. She didn't pick up, so he left a message. "Hey babe. Love you."
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Charlotte