Author's Note: A friend of mine got a summer job as a lifeguard and was hoping it might spur her muse, and instead the whole idea ended up turning mine into a wild animal. This is the first of my planned TWO lifeguard stories, this one being the tamer, cuter one. It is completely AU in that Rachel is new to Lima and some facts from Glee have been shifted to meet my needs (e.g. Kurt is already Finn's stepbrother here), but everything that needs to be explained is within the text. The only thing that isn't is how you guys will receive it, so let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or The Drifters' song in which the title is inspired (something about the cutesy lifeguard theme made me constantly think about that scene in The Sandlot when Squints tricks Wendy Peffercorn at the pool, and "This Magic Moment" is the song that plays during that scene). Don't sue.

Puck walked into the Jewish Community Center with his hands gripping the ends of a large beach towel that hung around his neck, a pair of boardshorts hanging low, and flip flops that he hated but had for just this occasion. It was August in Ohio and apparently the hottest summer the state had seen in decades. Summer was actually the one season when their small town wasn't completely terrible, but it had been unbearable the past month because of the heat; normally they were good in Lima at figuring out ways to waste time inside since they were practically imprisoned indoors from October to March, but the extreme temperature had completely caught everyone off guard. And, because of that, they'd resorted to desperate measures - like swimming at the dinky community pool exclusive to those of the Jewish faith.

"Whoa. That chick is hot."

Those of the Jewish faith and their idiot friends.

"Doubtful," Puck snorted, trying to find Finn's line of vision so he could mock him properly about whoever was far enough away not to look completely disgusting. Because, after living in Lima his whole life and going to the same temple for nearly the same amount of time, he knew there was no one at the pool today who would be considered hot. Some barely passed as chicks.

"Screw you. She's hot."

They'd walked through the lobby doors and over to the far end of the pool, picking two plastic patio loungers that weren't completely gross. Puck already claimed the lesser of the two evils with his towel and was in the process of kicking off his fake shoes before he looked back up at his friend. The ogre was dressed similar as he'd been, with the addition of a plain white T-shirt that Puck really hoped he'd take off because he didn't want to be associated with the loser who swam with his shirt on. Unlike Puck, though, he'd remained completely as they'd arrived, his eyes trained on the girl that was allegedly worth baring the heat for.

"The weather is hot. The chick is …"

His words stuck in his throat the second he saw her. And he knew it had to be Finn's her because … well, basically because everything he'd been trying to convince Finn of for the past 10 minutes and because of everything Finn had been defending for the other half of that time. She was hot. Sitting atop the less-than-sturdy lifeguard chair cemented at the pool's side, exactly where the shallow end started to slope into the deep end, was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. And, legit, Puck had seen a lot of beautiful women in his life; he was only 15, but he was popular and attractive and charming and had been using all of his advantages for the past three years - he'd coasted the first two years of middle school before his tastes got a little more refined. This girl, though, was light years ahead of all the game he'd played so far.

"Told ya," Finn gloated, finally removing his towel and flip flops and jumping wildly into the deep end of the pool (with his shirt firmly in tact on his torso).

Puck honestly wanted to kill him - for being an idiot, mostly - but the commotion caused the hot girl to look their way and any ill feelings went away with her stare. There was a good 100 feet between them, but he saw the concern flash in her huge, doe-like eyes when she first jerked her head, then saw it wash away to amusement when Finn had surfaced and baited him to one-up his entrance. He watched her gaze move to him, and he couldn't help the sly smirk that emerged when he saw her eyes flutter and then shift away quickly.

The water was ice cold and felt kind of grimy, but they were definitely coming back.

He waited all of three days before going to the JCC again, blowing off an epic video game marathon at Mike's (air conditioned) place to instead bake in the sun. He'd jumped in the pool a few times, even tried a backflip off the diving board to get her attention, but she apparently took her work very seriously. In his experience, most lifeguards were just looking for an easy job during the summers; they read from a book or fiddled on their phones until the next rotation came, only looking up if there was a scream or a large splash. This girl, though … she was dedicated. She scoured the pool every other second, looking as if she were playing the lead role on some Baywatch: Lima edition. She even wore a tight, red one-piece like they had on that show, which wasn't exactly a look that worked for teenagers in this century. Just hot actresses and supermodels.

And her.

"Hey," Puck greeted easily, resting his arm against the bar where her feet were perched as his neck craned back to look at her face. "M'Puck."

"Excuse me."

He cleared his throat, speaking up. "My name's Puck."

"No," she lowered her gaze for a moment, shifting a little in her seat. "I mean, excuse me." She paused, then sighed heavily. "You're blocking my complete view of the water."

He stepped out of her way, then just continued walking when he couldn't fathom what he should say after that. In fact, hours later he still wasn't sure. The only thing he knew was he did have to try again, if only to hear her voice more.

He showed up just two days later, intent on getting the hot chick to talk to him - and ideally more than just talk. But, as luck would have it, she wasn't sitting in the lifeguard chair when he arrived and she didn't show up for the two hours he waited around afterward. He packed up his stuff in a fury, pissed that he was wasting his time with a chick who'd basically rejected him once when he could literally have any other girl he wanted. And it had taken him just the walk from the pool to the lobby to decide to forget the broad when he saw her picture on a bulletin board with a sign-up sheet for swim lessons underneath it.

And, even quicker than he'd given up on her, he'd devised the perfect plan to earn her attention.

"Noah, I already know how to swim," Sarah whined, trying to pull her hand out of his firm grip.

"Shut up, twerp, or no ice cream after this," he threatened, yanking her into the community center and toward the front desk. He hadn't told his little sister the full extent of his plan until they'd neared the building, and now he wondered if she was going to blow his cover. "Hi. We have a 10 a.m. with the swim instructor?"

"She's already out there. You'll pay when you leave."

Puck nodded, though inwardly he realized this may have been the lowest he'd sunk to talk to a girl. In eighth grade he'd paid for a limo to some lame dance because his date had promised him a blow job, but this wasn't the same. There was no guarantee on this. It was just an opening. A chance.

"Just like we talked about, kid. Pretend you can't swim or I end you," he warned seconds before plastering on his best smile and approaching the hot lifeguard. Her hand immediately extended out to shake his professionally, and he seized the opportunity to touch her eagerly.

"This is my brother, Noah," Sarah introduced after a few too many seconds spent in silence, just him pumping her hand up and down like an idiot. "I'm Sarah. I need help swimming."

"That's great you can admit that, Sarah." The hot girl turned her attention back to him, her hands resting on Sarah's shoulders now that she'd finally broken free from his stunted grip. "You can stay and watch, or come back in an hour. I promise she'll be safe with me."

He nodded mutely, still trying to figure out how his wires had gotten so crossed before. What was with this chick that turned him into such a retard? He was acting worse than Finn did when he first started pursuing Quinn, which was stupid because the blonde had been pushing Finn to ask her out months beforehand. Puck had actually used that against both of them to seduce Quinn into his bed before those two started dating, which was still sort of a sore spot between all of them but was important to recall here because he was the man. What the hell was his problem?

"You're really good with kids," he opened with after the swim lesson was over and Sarah had run off to change into dry clothes. "Thanks for helping my sister."

"She's adorable." She blushed a little, her eyes cast downward as she all but mumbled, "And I'm sure boys don't like to hear such, but you are, too - adorable, I mean - for caring about her so much."

Puck's chest puffed out a little, feeling his confidence soar at the compliment. The big-brother routine always worked, but this felt like a bigger win than usual (maybe just because of how much he'd felt like he was losing beforehand). "We're goin' out for some ice cream. Wanna join?"

She blinked at him in question, then finally said, "My lifeguard shift starts in a few minutes." She looked away shyly, a blush on her cheeks when she turned back toward him. "But, thank you, for the invitation."

"Any time," he practically growled, hoping she understood that he was serious. All she had to do was say the word. Instead, she just stood there, staring confusingly at him. "I, uh, guess we'll see you next week." Her face knitted even further, so he elaborated, "Sarah's got two more lessons."

"Oh, well. Great. See you next week!"

It wasn't exactly how he planned the day going, but considering the 1,000-watt smile she gave him before walking away, he still counted it as a W.

Two-a-days for football started and basically ruined his life. He had to wake up early and go work out, then barely had enough time to run somewhere to eat lunch before he was due back on the field. He knew practice and stuff was going to get harder after the team had done pretty well last year and people started actually caring. But, legit, even if he had time to go to the pool to stalk the hot girl, he'd be too tired to do anything but collapse into the water or fall asleep on one of foldout chairs. The former might not be a bad idea, though he was way too badass to resort to fake drowning just to get the chick's attention. Not that he needed to, anyway. He had his opening with the swim lessons and he was finally going to close the deal.

Or that had been the plan, at least. Mother nature and her stupid thunderstorm had another idea in mind.

"Noah, can you cool it for just one afternoon, please! I'm trying to sleep!"

He set his guitar down after his mother's voice shook the entire house, looking around for something to busy himself with quietly. Unfortunately, any time it was quiet all he thought about was her. And because of some stupid rain, he couldn't get her.

Puck swung his legs over his bed and onto the floor, pocketing his cell phone and all but sprinting down the steps and outside without so much as a word to where he was going or when he'd be back; his mother wouldn't care as long as he was back in time to watch Sarah before she left for her shift at the hospital. Grabbing his bike and pedalling to Finn's faster than he ever had, Puck entered the house without much more than a grunt and asked where Kurt was.

"Why?" Finn asked, his hair sticking up everywhere and his eyes wide - if the dude wasn't eating, he was sleeping. "You didn't ride over here just to be a dick to him, did you?"

He scoffed at the insinuation, mostly because it was completely stupid. Kurt had been Finn's stepbrother for almost a year now, and he hadn't touched the loser since. And despite the fact that Puck was at Finn's almost as much as his own place, he barely ever talked to Kurt. He'd like to keep it that way, too, but Puck needed information and Kurt was the best option; Quinn and Santana wouldn't be back from their fancy European family vacations for a couple of weeks, and he'd set himself on fire before asking Jacob Ben Israel for help. That left Kurt and his douchey, gossiping motormouth.

"I need to ask him something, shitface," Puck muttered, punching Finn in the shoulder before heading to the basement the boys shared as their bedroom. Kurt was sitting at a small table that was behind the couch in front of the television, his eyes trained on an issue of Vogue or something equally gay. Puck almost considered going right back up and leaving, but then he remembered just how hot the lifeguard was and sighed heavily. "Hey."

"H-hi." Kurt used his hand to hold his place in the magazine, though it closed when he pulled it close to his chest - almost like armor. "Finn's upstairs."

"I know. I, uh, needed you." Puck cleared his throat, looking up the stairs to ensure Finn hadn't followed before moving closer to Kurt. "There's this new girl in town … or, at least, I think she's new. She works at the JCC and, well, you always seem to have your ear to the ground or whatever."

Kurt's smile spread slowly, but wide nonetheless. "Girl troubles for the great Puckerone?"

"Just tell me if you know anything, dickhead."

"Perhaps," he drew out, undeterred by the harsh tone of Puck's voice, but compliant nonetheless, "you could tell me a little more about this elusive she."

Puck groaned, not sure what else to say. That was kind of the point; if he knew more, he wouldn't need Kurt's help. "I dunno. She's hot." He plowed on despite Kurt rolling his eyes. "She's kinda tiny. And has long-ish brown hair that looks super shiny and soft. And huge eyes, like Bambi or some shit. And a great smile. And her voice is …" He trailed off because he wasn't sure how to describe it, but stayed silent when he saw the look of awe on Kurt's face. "What?"

"Nothing," he rushed out, a smile still playing on his lips before he grew more serious. "Well, I'm not sure how hot she is, but I ran into a new girl at the music store who meets your … descriptions." He finally took his hand out of the magazine and set it back on the table, his full attention now on Puck and his voice that high, giddy way it gets when he's super excited. "Her name is Rachel Berry. She lives on Hillcrest, in the gated area, with her two gay dads - no siblings."

Puck wanted to kick himself in the balls. Another chick who lived in a gated community? After Quinn, he swore he would stick with chicks more his level (at her urging and his, too, considering his relationship with Santana, both times, crashed and burned in tremendous fashion), but that just went right out the door. Maybe he did have a type, after all.

"They just moved here, but she's obviously more of a joiner than I thought if she managed to get a summer job less than a month before school starts." He fiddled with his hair then, something Puck noticed he did when he was about to be a bitch. "She said she's going to McKinley and plans to start a show choir after I told her we didn't have one. Social. Suicide."

Puck mumbled his thanks, biting his tongue as he left to keep from saying anything about Kurt's fashion choices and how if anyone was setting themselves up for disaster it was him. Instead, he left the Hudson-Hummel house in a hurry, happy to see the rain had slowed down to a calm drizzle. After all, the music store was even farther away from his house than Finn's was, and he only had two hours left before he'd have to get back home.

She - Rachel Berry; how hot was that? - wasn't at the music store that day, but the rain stayed in the forecast for two more days before Puck decided a change of scenery was necessary. Now, instead of stalking the JCC like a loser, he was sacrificing his lunch break during football to hang out at the music store. It wasn't too terrible since he knew the guy who worked most days and was allowed to just piss around on one of the guitars or whatever, but he was getting pretty impatient. Not to mention the fact that his friends were starting to question his whereabouts and he was running out of excuses - because he certainly wasn't going to explain that he was desperately trying to just see this girl again. And it wasn't even because it made him sound like a dork more than it was the fact that he knew they'd only have more questions and he seriously didn't have any answers. He wasn't sure why he was so fixated on this girl, but he was.

And, finally, his wait was over.

"Hey," he started casually, knowing she'd have no idea he'd been in here every day for the past week but also knowing he definitely didn't want her finding out. "Puck."

"I remember."

Her voice was soft and sweet and he totally felt all the tension in his body melt away between it and the shy smile she sported after putting back the record that had been in her hand. Classic rock. So hot.

"How are you?"

"M'good."

"I imagine you've enjoyed the turn in the weather; I can't imagine playing football in the kind of heat we were having earlier in the month."

He snorted out a laugh, agreeing but thinking it was funny she was talking to him like they knew anything about each other. Then again, he was wearing his practice jersey and he'd certainly taken inventory of her attire - short skirt paired with knee socks. So, so hot. "You're new here, yeah?" She nodded, but stayed quiet. "Ya come here a lot?"

"A few times a week, maybe." She motioned toward the sheet music that was to their side. "I always have my eye on any new material that might be available, but today I was just browsing." Her hand trailed over the tops of the records, and he held back a moan - what he wouldn't give to feel her slide those hands across him? "You?"

"Sometimes," he bit out, shooting a glance toward the employee after he'd chuckled into whatever stupid book he was pretending to read while obviously eavesdropping. "S'place is too expensive."

She nodded solemnly, though he swore he saw guilt flash through her eyes. "Back in Cleveland - that's where I moved from - they have so many record stores, because of the Hall of Fame and just the whole music scene, and it keeps the prices pretty competitive." She sighed, shrugging one shoulder emptily while avoiding any eye contact with the guy behind the counter. "I try to support small businesses, especially those dedicated to the arts, but …"

He pretended to have heard everything she'd said, nodding when she trailed off because she seemed at a loss for how to continue, but he'd mostly just been watching her mouth move the whole time. She had some kind of pink gloss on her lips and they were already so plump and delicious-looking that he could literally feel his mouth watering. Legit, what if she tasted like berries?

"So ya like music." He summarized stupidly.

"I'm going to be a star." She scowled when he let a small chuckle out. "I'm extremely talented and have been working on my career since I was four years old. Now that we've moved here, I'm going to have to work on my craft that much harder, so torn from the connections and atmosphere that was previously so readily available to me in the Cleveland area." She breathed out heavily. "I've already sent my resume to the Lima Civic Center, and I teach dance lessons at the Lima Arts and Dance Center where I also take a few classes, too. That paired with my plans to organize and develop a competitive show choir at the high school should be more than enough to earn me a spot at any college of my choosing in New York before finally making it onto Broadway."

"Aren't you a sophomore?" He asked, even though he knew the answer. Kurt had told him she was in their grade, but he'd actually caught most of that last … monologue … and he thought maybe Kurt had been wrong. Because even though he knew he was a little more breezy in the future department than most of his other friends, this chick seemed to have her whole life mapped out. And, well, he wasn't sure what he was going to have for dinner.

"If you're insinuating that I'm too young to …"

"I ain't," he interrupted, because it was true. Yet, it still seemed like his opening. "But, ya know, why don't you prove it or whatever."

She actually rolled her eyes, which shouldn't be as hot as it was but he couldn't help it if she looked incredible all pissed off. "I'm not going to waste my time or my talent singing along to some pop song on the radio."

"Well, I play guitar." He smirked widely, seeing something close to interest cross her features. "Why don't we go back to my place. You can show me there."

She rolled her eyes again, but this time it wasn't hot at all. It was more like strike 2.

"Can you really play, or do you just know a few chords for your lame attempts to impress women?"

His eyes narrowed before he moved past her toward the front of the store. He climbed up the elevated floor and sat at the display piano, testing a few of the keys before turning his attention back to her. The fire in her eyes no doubt matched his own expression. "Does this meet your standards, Princess?"

Clearly they were both susceptible to accepting challenges, because before Puck really knew what was happening, he was reading sheet music of some stupid Disney song that she was belting out. He knew how to play piano and read music, but he was pretty good at just playing from memory as long as he'd heard the song before; and, thanks to his stupid little sister, he'd heard this song about 1,000 times before. Yet, with Rachel singing it - performing it, with the way she was walking around the music store and acting out the scene he sort of remembered seeing on the animated movie one time - it was completely new to him. She'd turned a crappy song circa 1992 into the best thing he'd ever heard, and she did it all without one ounce of shame or doubt.

So freaking hot.

"Wow," he said after he'd stopped playing, mostly because it had turned weirdly quiet outside of just her breathing and she was staring at him expectantly - a mix of the residual righteous indignation swimming in her eyes along with what he knew was arousal. For him.

"Yes, well," she looked down, up at him, then down again. "I must be going now."

"Hey, wait …"

"Bye, Noah."

He watched her through the store's window, wondering 1) how someone so small could move so quickly, and 2) how he supposed to wait a full day before seeing her again.

Puck strolled into the lobby of the JCC with newfound swagger, not even wearing his swimming gear or giving any other indication that his presence wasn't based solely on visiting Rachel. He spotted her on the lifeguard chair right away, her hair piled high into a ponytail and showing off an insanely hot expanse of skin that was one of his personal favorites. There was something graceful about a woman's neck, but vulnerable, too. He loved delving his tongue into chicks' pulse points and knowing he was the one making their hearts race.

"Hey," he said lazily, grinning up at her even though she made no attempt to move her gaze down. She was so dedicated to being the person who might need to save a life it was hilarious. "When ya get off?" He chuckled at how quickly her eyes snapped to his. "I mean, here. Work. When ya done?"

She blushed, but covered up her embarrassment by again looking away. "Not for awhile."

"I was thinkin' we could hang out. Like, not by accident."

"I don't think so."

His smile faded, his voice lowering after he'd looked around to ensure no one was listening. "Not tonight or …"

It took her awhile, but she eventually looked away from the precious swimmers long enough to look him in the eye. And even though he didn't know her well (and vice versa), he'd seen her enough to know the look she was giving him wasn't typical. It was sad, so unlike the bright, shiny expression that he was used to that he started backing away to leave before she even uttered a single word.

It had been a full week since Puck went to the JCC or the music store, and it had nothing to do with the weather. He tried to pretend like it didn't bother him that some new girl had rejected him, but it did. And it wasn't because he was Puck and no one rejected him. It wasn't even because he'd had some kind of otherworldly connection with her, though he would admit there was something about her that had kept him wanting more. Truly, the reason he was so pissed was because he had no idea why she wasn't interested. She'd definitely been more than intrigued at the music store, and even before then he'd caught her checking him out a few times.

"Noah! Hurry up. We're going to be late!"

He was happy for the distraction, but still wasn't in the mood. "Get outta here, squirt."

"The swim lesson starts at 10. I can't walk as fast as you can. Get up!"

"You already know how to swim, idiot."

"Mom!"

Puck groaned at his sister's shrill voice, peeling himself out of bed and toward his mother's bellowing call - not before pushing Sarah onto his mattress a little more roughly than he should have. She deserved it, though, because his mother completely gave him the third degree about being a better brother and how he'd miss these opportunities in a few years when he was older and away for college. He wouldn't, but he nodded anyway and told Sarah to suit up.

It was probably for the best, anyway. The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to think she had the power to change his behavior simply by rejecting him; she was probably a lesbian anyway, so whatever. He walked right into the JCC with his head held high and directed Sarah toward the pool. Rachel had tried to smile at him, but he just walked right by, taking a seat at one of the patio chairs in the corner and spending the next hour dicking around on his phone. He could still hear them, listened to some of the instructions and swore it was because he was impressed his sister could play dumb so well by pretending not to know how to float and not because he was pretty sure Rachel could read the phonebook (did those still exist?) to him and he'd listen.

"Um, Noah?"

He looked up from his phone and saw Rachel standing in front of him, Sarah running off toward the building with her bag practically blowing in the wind behind her. "Move your ass, Sarah!"

"Wait." Rachel stopped him from walking away, her hand on his forearm seemingly the equivalent to acid considering how quickly he'd pulled away from it. "Do you have a moment?"

"Seems like it," he grunted, his eyes glued to the door past Rachel just waiting for his sister to be done so they could leave.

She took a deep breath, her hands wringing in front of her before she set her gaze fully on him. "I just, wanted to apologize. For my behavior earlier this week, and for how abruptly I'd left the day at the music store."

He shrugged dismissively. "Whatever. S'cool."

"No, it was rude and completely uncalled for." She looked down at her feet then, her voice barely above a whisper when she continued. "I, um, didn't have many friends back home. I was bullied, actually, so your attention caught me a little by surprise and I might have panicked a little. Paranoia, I suppose." Then she looked up at him, that same sadness from a week ago back in her eyes. "And I may have heard some things pertaining to you since acclimating myself more in the community that possibly clouded my judgement."

Puck crossed his arms over his chest, flexing them in frustration as the anger started to build. Yes, he'd done some stupid stuff when he was younger. And, sure, sometimes he acted like a typical jock by throwing losers in the trash cans and stuff. But, legit, he was sick of people talking about him behind his back. He'd never done anything to honestly hurt anyone, and he was getting pretty tired of everyone just assuming he'd amount to a loser because he was from Lima and that's what his father had done.

"I'm most sorry for that because I know what it is like for people to dismiss you based on hearsay instead of getting to know the real person, and I've always promised myself never to let someone else make up my mind for me - about anything or anyone."

He wished he could keep giving her the cold shoulder, but already the chip he'd placed there last week was whittled to basically nothing. This girl was bat-shit crazy, but in a way that he sort of envied. She didn't seem to care what people thought about her, and all the adversity she'd encountered thus far only seemed to make her stronger instead of breaking her. In fact, if she wasn't so resilient, he might be more inclined to let the feeling of rage he'd felt when she mentioned being bullied swell up so much inside him that he'd have to punch something. Instead, he finally uncrossed his arms and waited for her to conclude whatever it was she was actually trying to tell him.

"So, again, I apologize for my earlier behavior, and I hope you'll give me another chance." She lifted one hand and placed it on his chest, smiling softly at him. "Because I've decided to follow my instincts on this and … I like you."

Puck wasn't sure what startled him more, her words or the feeling coursing through him the second she'd touched him. There was no doubt that he thought she was hot and he definitely was in favor of having any part of her body pressed against his, but there was something about her confession that seemed to reach further, deeper. He liked that she was brave enough to say all of that to basically a stranger, and even though she obviously dealt with people who gave her crap for it, he liked that she was ambitious about something other than winning prom queen. He liked that she seemed to have her own opinions and didn't care if they made her popular or were even right. He liked her.

As casually as he could, he pressed his hand against the one she'd rested on his chest, eventually flipping it over and holding it loosely between them. Her eyes were all shiny and wild and it kind of made him breathless. "Me, too."

An incredulous giggle bubbled out of her, the blush on her cheeks hidden only because of her head's slight shaking from side to side. "Really?"

He nodded in affirmation before making eyes at Sarah, who was yelling at him from the door to hurry up. He obviously couldn't abandon his sister, so he thought on his feet quickly and laid on as much charm as he could before drawling, "Wanna go make out?"