He finds her in the auditorium, swinging her legs back and forth from her spot on the stage. She is staring absently into space, not doing anything, almost as if she was waiting on him. As if she knew he'd come.
Crazy midget probably did.
He takes a seat beside her and they sit in silence for several minutes before he speaks.
"Guess you and Finn didn't work things out then," he says casually, not looking at her.
"No. We didn't."
He nods once. "Sorry."
He hears her take a deep breath and looks at her from the corner of his eye. "I'm not," she says finally. "Not really."
He looks at her fully then, raising an eyebrow.
She sighs again before meeting his eyes. "I've just come to realize that Finn…has not been the best boyfriend during our time together."
He snorts. "No shit."
She looks at him, mouth agape.
"Well, it's true," he insists. "Not like it was some big secret. Everyone saw it."
She looks like she wants to argue but nods instead. "As much as I'd like to deny it, it's true. He was constantly putting other people before me. And every time people said horrible things to me, he just let them. But the second I say something about Quinn choosing the Cheerios over glee, which I fully stand by, because that's exactly what she did, he jumped to her defense."
"No offense, but, like I said, it's not exactly news," he told her. "Finn's a good guy but he's never really treated girls that good, other than Quinn." Rachel didn't say anything so he continued. "Ok, look, he treats you like crap. Drops you whenever something better comes along and then chases you around when he gets bored. He treated Santana bad too. I mean, yeah, she's a bitch and all, but I'm pretty sure she, like, actually liked him or whatever. And he used her. Which is fine if they both knew what that was, but I don't think she did."
"You know how this sounds, coming from you?" she asked lightly.
He scowled at her. "Look, yeah, Satan and I fucked like rabbits, have for years, but we knew what that was. I never pretended to want more and neither did she. I didn't screw with her like Finn did."
"I never really thought about it that way," Rachel admitted. After a beat she added, "I still hate her."
Puck laughed. "Cause she's still a bitch."
Rachel smiled and shook her head.
"I have to say, I thought you'd be more torn up about this, Rach," he said, studying her intently.
She smiled sadly. "Am I sad to lose what I thought was going a wonderful relationship? Yes. But it wasn't really what I had hoped it would be. And to be honest? I don't know, I just…" She trailed off, shaking her head.
He stared at her because, in the entire time he'd known her, she'd never not known. "What?"
She shrugged helplessly. "I just wasn't myself with him, Noah. I was always chasing him and wanting him and I think I lost myself along the way. I never really stopped and thought about what I'd do if I had him. And I was always trying to change myself for him, trying to be the girl he wanted me to be. I'm not Quinn, Noah, and I'm starting to think she's the one he's wanted all along."
"Quinn's a bitch too, so you should be happy you're not her," Puck told her bluntly.
"Noah!"
He shrugged. "No, look, it's true. She cheated on him, with me. She's cheating on Sam, with him. If she were really as changed a person as she wants everyone to think, she wouldn't be doing this again."
"Maybe she just really loves him," Rachel said softly.
Puck ran a hand over the lone strip of hair on his head. "Look, I can say this, because Quinn and I are alike, in more ways than one, which is why we would never work. We want something and we go after it, screw everyone else. She wanted me when she was with Finn so she slept with me. She tried to play it off like she was drunk and insecure and whatever, if she needs to think that, fine. But then she's with Sam and she wanted Finn so she went after him. We do what we want, when we want, fuck whoever else's involved."
"You're not like that, Noah," Rachel said softly. "Not anymore."
He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Don't think I haven't noticed that for as much as Finn doesn't stand up for me, you do," she said firmly. "You've defended me more than once and you weren't even my boyfriend."
"I'm a dick."
She shook her head emphatically. "You're not. You've really changed, really grown up. Lauren is a very lucky girl."
"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna work out either."
"Why? You seemed very enamored when you sang to her."
Puck didn't know if she meant to sound as jealous as she did. "She's cool, don't get me wrong," he said. "She's the only girl I've ever met as badass as me. She could probably kick my ass if she wanted, but I'll deny I ever said that," he grinned when Rachel laughed. "It was about the chase, I think. She was immune to the charm. But she's cool, we're cool, just not like dating or whatever. She's kinda crazy." He eyed her cautiously as she nodded. "Besides, I like my crazy with a side of diva anyway."
She ducked her head, not saying anything.
"The only question," he continued, "is where can a guy like me find a girl like that? What kind of crazy diva wants someone like me?"
She was quiet for a moment before she turned to him, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Oh, I don't know, Noah. Every girl wants a bad boy."
He was kissing her before she had even finished her sentence.
