Summary: The gleeks are all too aware that Finn, Rachel and Puck are stuck in a love triangle gone wrong. And Santana is determined to help her girl break the cycle. But are they the only trio that needs to get a clue? Blaine seems to think so.
Pairings: Finnchel, Puckleberry, Samecedes, Samtana, Klaine, Chang-squared. Pezberry, Plaine, Puttany (Puck/Britt), mentioned Faberrittana friendships.
Warnings: No real spoilers involved in this. I haven't really been watching Season 3. But from what I've seen, I can guarantee that this story is not likely to spoil the show. I do warn you that there are a lot of references to Dawson's Creek, Vampire Diaries, Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Disclaimer: I don't own this show or anything related to this show or any of the shows mentioned. If I did there would be many more songs featuring Santana, Puck and Artie. There would also be a lot more Mike and his wondrous abs. There would also be a lot less Finn and Kurt. Clearly I don't own the show. So my vision will just have to live on through my stories. *sniff*
Author's Note: I'm honestly not sure where the hell this one came from. It's one of the millions of ideas floating around my head at the moment and it was the most persistent. This is one huge ode to pop culture and all the shows that have inspired my love for this one. So I hope that someone out there enjoys. I tried my best for no ghosts (at the moment at least), very little angst (look for a new A Tale of Two Brothers soon, lol) and more fluff than should be allowed. I hope I've succeeded. On with the show!
Triangles
"Not that I'm complaining, because I'm so not. But exactly how is watching Vampire Diaries helping you two with your homework?" Kurt asked the two other people occupying the living room of the Hudson-Hummel household. Blaine and Santana ignored him, however, in favor of actually taking down notes. If it wasn't so damn adorable, Kurt might have been annoyed. Instead he cleared his throat pointedly causing Blaine's head to shoot up.
"What?" Blaine asked, confused. He thought for a moment before nodding. "Oh, right. Well, the purpose of the assignment is to examine popular themes used in television, literature and movies and find real life examples that match the chosen theme. We can actually pick any medium we want. Santana just wanted VD because it's got hotties in it."
Santana stopped the episode and pointed at the screen. "Actually, I think you'll find that the show has shirtless hotties," she corrected with a smirk. After taking a moment to collectively thank and praise the awesome costume department that decided less was better, Santana pressed play and let the episode continue.
"So what theme did you two decide on?"
"Still undecided," Blaine admitted. "What about you, San?"
"There are so many," she moaned, dropping her notebook to the side. "I mean there's the classic struggle between brothers, the bromance, the Romeo and Juliet theme and of course all the elements of the supernatural. There's just so many and yet none of them seem right."
"I know what you mean," Blaine sighed.
Kurt was about to comment when he heard the doorbell ring. A few seconds later, his father was opening the door and directing the newcomer to the living room. He glanced up in time to see Quinn walking into the room. She frowned as she looked at the television.
"You guys are jerks! You started without me," she pouted, and sat down opposite Santana.
"My grade depends on this, Barbie. We didn't have time to wait for you to go through your oh so complex getting dressed routine," Santana retorted with no real heat behind the comment. Quinn nudged her in the stomach with her toe prompting both girls to laugh. Kurt observed the interaction with a smile. Though they lost at Nationals, Kurt liked to think that it brought about a positive change for the gleeks. They saw what working together could do. They stopped actively trying to tear one another down. They didn't just say they were a family. They were a family in every sense of the word.
"At least you started without Rachel too," Quinn shrugged. "Where is Rachel anyway?"
"Not coming," Blaine answered.
"No way, isn't she in this class too?"
"Yeah, but Puck called, panicking. Apparently Sarah locked herself in the bathroom while in the midst of some epic teen girl meltdown. She won't let anything with a penis within ten feet of her. And just to make it even more awkward, she's supposed to be babysitting Sam's brother and sister today."
"Wait, where's Sam?"
"Where else," Kurt rolled his eyes. "With Mercedes."
"Oh," Santana commented, dryly. "They're still together?"
"It's Sunday, San" Kurt smirked. "We ate lunch with them Friday. You know they're still together."
"A lot could change in 48 hours," Santana replied, keeping her eyes on the screen. Kurt barely suppressed the urge to laugh. Santana really was transparent. But he was willing to let it slide. If she didn't want to admit to her undying love for Sam, Kurt wasn't going to push her…. for now. But seriously someone needed to buy her a clue.
"Weren't Rachel and Finn supposed to be going out after you guys finished drooling, I mean your homework?" Quinn asked, earning a pillow to the face. She grinned. "How did he take Rachel rushing off to Puck's rescue again?"
Kurt motioned around the room that was empty save for them. "He's upstairs in his room having a hissy fit despite the fact that Rachel promised to make it over for their date after she finished calming Sarah down. So basically we're waiting to see just how far he can put his foot in his mouth today."
"I don't get what Finn's problem is anyway," Blaine huffed. "I mean Rachel is obviously with Finn. She pretty much screams that at any one that'll stay still long enough to hear her. So why does he completely regress to Neanderthal days when Puck asks Rachel for a favor."
"Have you ever seen Puck and Rachel together?" Quinn asked, patiently. "She could be asking him the time and they're pretty much eye-sexing their way through the entire conversation. They have more chemistry together than any couple in New Directions."
Kurt wanted to protest but it was so true. Of all the hookups in the going on three year history of New Directions, Puckleberry was by far one of the most memorable as well as the one with the most potential for success. Of course they were followed very closely by Klaine.
"Oh my god," Santana gasped. "That's it!"
"What's it?"
"Love triangles!" Santana beamed. "It's classic. Every story has some sort of love triangle at some point. And definitely every modern form of popular media. Rachel, Finn and Puck are stuck in a love triangle and a really bad one at that."
"Why is it bad?" Quinn wrinkled her nose.
Santana rolled her eyes. "Because it's beyond obvious which one she should pick." She smirked in satisfaction. "I just got the topic of my presentation."
Blaine glared at her petulantly. "I still don't."
Kurt tapped his boyfriend's pouting lower lip and smiled. "Anyone ever tell you that you're totally adorable when you do that?"
Blaine leaned forward to peck Kurt on the lips. "Not recently."
"Ugh, I'm going to be sick," Quinn gagged.
"Oh, good I didn't miss anything fun," a new voice added.
Kurt glanced up in time to see Sam enter the room and flop down on the sofa beside Santana. She gave no visible response to his presence other than to scoot over and allow him more space. She then swung her legs onto his lap, still taking notes in her notebook. Sam didn't seem confused or surprised at the jean clad legs now resting on his lap. He tapped his fingers along the sides of her legs absently. Kurt raised an eyebrow. Now that was interesting.
"Where's Mercy?" Quinn asked, also eyeing the unconscious interactions between her current best friend and ex-boyfriend.
Sam rolled his eyes. "She got pissed with me because I didn't want to go to some fashion thing with her. All I did was ask her why she didn't ask Kurt or Tina to go and she has this epic meltdown and dumped me at the mall," Sam huffed. "I didn't freak out on her when she blew me off for the Sci-fi convention last week in Columbus. But because I don't want to look at fashion, it's World War 3? I don't get her!"
"I don't get it either. The convention wasn't all that bad," Santana murmured, still not looking up. "To say that there were nothing but geeks there, it was actually kind of fun." She paused and glanced up at Blaine. "I saw Ian Somerhalder."
"And you didn't kidnap him so we could keep him in our metaphorical basement?" Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm starting to wonder what I keep you around for."
"Because I'm awesome," Santana retorted, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Besides, he wasn't close enough. There were a bunch of other crazy girls surrounding him and some large mouth whiner wanted to geek out at the Avatar table."
Sam scoffed. "I just didn't see the big deal with him. He's not that hot."
"Have you seen his body?" Santana countered.
"Have you seen mine?"
"Yes, Sam, we all have. But this conversation is about Ian and his hotness. Not you and your constant need for approval." Kurt watched as Sam pouted. Santana looked away though Kurt swore he saw a smile curving her lips. Finally, the Latina looked back and shook head fondly. "You missed when we established that Blaine looks cute like that. Find something new, Trouty Mouth."
"You're evil, Satan."
"Tell me something I don't know," Santana retorted, sticking her tongue out. "I'm bad to the bone." Sam arched an eyebrow which was enough to send Santana into giggling hysterics. Kurt found himself laughing as well. He liked this side of Santana. She rarely let her goofy side out but he noticed that he saw it a lot more when Sam was around. Very interesting.
He turned to see if anyone else was seeing what he saw when he noticed that Blaine was now scribbling furiously in his notebook. He glanced over to see what his boyfriend was writing and smiled broadly. It seemed that Santana was not the only gleek that could be inspired by the complicated love connections in New Directions. This was going to be one hell of a class. This was definitely going to be worth ditching French for.
"Ok, thank you, Ms. Hart, for that wonderful presentation. We have time for two more, so Ms. Lopez, you're next and then after her, Mr. Anderson. Is that fair?"
Blaine nodded as Santana rose from her seat and walked to the front of the classroom. From his seat between Sam and Finn, Kurt took in the smug, Cheshire like smirk on the girl's face and couldn't help smiling as well. She ran through her presentation with him earlier in the morning. And if this wasn't the much needed clue by four to break through Rachel's denial than Kurt really had no idea what it was going to take.
"I picked love triangles for my topic," Santana started, her eyes connecting with each student in the classroom, though she pointedly met Rachel's gaze for several long moments. "Love triangles are an essential part of romantic story lines in any television show, novel or movie we've ever come across. For my focus, I chose the Bad Boy theme in a love triangle. Every girl loves a bad boy. It's why on shows like Vampire Diaries, Damon is one of the most popular characters. Or why Logan Echolls was just so damn hot on Veronica Mars. And why you just couldn't help but love Spike from Buffy. We like our guys with edge. But if that's the case, it begs the question of why the lead chick almost always picks the safe guy.
"I'd like to tell you a story. Please note that the names have been changed to protect the oblivious, the innocent, the dumb and most importantly, me. This is the story of Lea. Lea has known Mark pretty much since the womb. They've been best friends, enemies and best friends again. But your classic situational circumstances have conspired to make Mark kind of a jerk. Well, on the surface, anyway. On closer look, you'll see that he's actually a total sweetheart. Kind of like smores. Crunchy and hard on the outside but gooey, sweet and awesome on the inside."
Kurt wondered how Puck would feel being compared to smores. Kurt also really wanted smores right now. Although he now associated Puck with smores. That was problematic.
"Anyway, it's like beyond obvious to anyone with eyes that Mark and Lea are like soul mates or something. But Lea insists on chasing after Corey. Corey is your average, All American boy next door. For those keeping track here, he's like the Stefan/Dawson/Duncan/Riley character in this tale. He's the good guy on paper but in reality he's a boring, flavorless douche in all senses of the word. But Lea, like Joey, like Buffy, like Caroline, like Elena, like all of these seemingly intelligent heroines, got sucked into the earnest, honest bull that this archetype spews every five minutes. All the while ignoring the 'bad boy' who is actually there for them every step of the way.
"So to sum this up, the bad boy is a character who despite having genuine circumstances which led to his albeit never terrible behaviors, will forever live in the shadow of the so-called 'good guy' who is actually way worse than the bad boy. He's also doomed to watch the girl chase after the good guy like a love-sick puppy for seasons at a time. If the story of Mark, Lea and Corey were an actual television show, I'm sure it would show a drastic decline in viewer ship by second season to compensate for the low level of quality. Thank you."
There was a brief round of applause with none cheering louder than the few other gleeks in the class that were more than familiar with the sad, sad and only too true tale of Mark, Lea and Corey. Santana took a mock bow and pointedly ignored the questioning glare coming from Rachel.
"That was interesting, Ms. Lopez but every entertaining and informative. Excellent job. Mr. Anderson, it's your turn." If Santana thought her presentation was making waves, wait until she got a load of Blaine's. It was moments like this that made Kurt so happy he listened to Puck' stupid suggestion to spy on the Warblers.
"Uh, ok," Blaine said, smiling shakily. It never ceased to amuse any of the glee club members that while Blaine was completely confident while singing, he was always petrified when it came to talking in front of a crowd. He wiped his hands on his pants nervously before holding up his paper. "My presentation is about the 'good bad girl'. Unlike the bad boy trope, people don't usually judge this character as well. We, as a society, expect women to be a certain way. Soft, nurturing, and non-threatening. The bad girl lives to be threatening. You can see examples of this in Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And even Blair from Gossip Girl."
Kurt saw Santana shift out the corner of his eye. Excellent…
"What most people don't get is that the bad girl may be edgy. She may be a total witch but it's because she's been hurt. People sympathize with the bad boy because of the circumstances that conspire to make him seem like a jerk but they ignore the similar set of circumstances which have forced the bad girl into the same situation. They're ignored, isolated and treated like crap because people don't understand them.
"I don't have a clever story like Santana's but I can tell you about a girl I know. She's supposedly badass and unapproachable. But when a bunch of the hockey jerks were messing with me on my first day here, she verbally ripped them a new one and I've been bully free since then. She's one of the best friends I've got and I wish that people could see how awesome she really is. I wish that the guy she loves would see that he's just dating a watered down, safer version of her because he's too scared to try to break down her walls. When really he's just too stupid to realize that he already has. Thank you."
There was a polite smattering of applause before two things happened in rapid succession. Santana ran out of the room with a clearly still pissed but concerned Rachel hard on her heels. Kurt didn't even see the back of Rachel's ridiculously fuzzy sweater before the bell rang signaling the end of the period. Out the corner of his eye, Kurt saw Sam was turning a steady shade of red. Kurt sent a quick text to Puck. This was about to get ugly and he definitely lacked sufficient upper body strength to hold back the full force of Hurricane Sammy.
"Santana?"
"Go away, midget."
Rachel paused trying to determine where the voice was coming from. She followed Santana as quickly out of the room as possible but the girl's longer legs and sheer determined attitude clearly came in handy in helping her escape. But if there was one thing Rachel was confident about, it was that she knew Santana Lopez. Well, now at any rate. She walked to the last stall and pushed the not locked door open. She found Santana huddled on the floor, tears welling in her eyes. It was enough for her to push aside some of her totally justified anger towards her friend.
"San? What happened?"
"Why did he say that?"
"Why did you say what you said?" Rachel countered, taking a seat on the toilet. "Your little story was entertaining but obvious."
"It was also true."
"Well, Blaine was telling the truth as well. You love Sam."
"You love Puck!"
Rachel repressed the urge to scoff. "No, I love Finn."
"Oh, come on, Rach. You said it yourself. My story was transparent. You know full damn well that Mark is Puck, and that I'm right. Puck is your Pacey, your Spike, your Tyler and your Damon. He's proven himself over and over again. Stop falling for the safe guy and take a chance with the right guy!"
"Who says Finn isn't the right guy?"
"Who was your favorite? Dawson or Pacey?"
"I don't see what this has to do with any….."
"Answer the question, Rachel. Dawson or Pacey?"
"Pacey."
"Spike or Angel."
Rachel closed her eyes. "Spike."
"Stefan or Damon?"
"…. Damon."
"You like the rough around the edges guys. Hell, Berry, it's why we click so well. We're both damaged. But when we're together, we're like not as completely fucked up," Santana shook her head ruefully. "It's the same for Puck. He's broken. But you… you see past that. When he's around you, he's lighter… more complete."
Rachel blinked. Santana was right. She was right from the beginning and she was right now. But there was only one problem with this scenario. And it was that she wasn't the only one in that stall in that was in total denial.
"Then you need to take a chance too," Rachel whispered. Santana lifted her head to meet Rachel's steady gaze. "You've been in love with Sam since you two dated last year. But you blew it. You two have done this whole friends thing and it's very adorable but it's also not real. You love him."
"Lebanese, remember? Last time I checked, Sam is very much not a girl."
Rachel smiled, shaking her head. "San, you're talking to the daughter of two gay men. They've taught me that love doesn't know gender. You don't fall in love with someone's sexual organs. You fall in love with who they are. So you like women and Sam. Doesn't change anything. You love Sam but you're still attracted to women. Ok."
Santana gave her a look. "Even if I was aspiring to be the only lesbian with a boyfriend, it doesn't matter. He's totally with Mercedes."
"Mercedes, who is pretty much just the safe version of you," Rachel replied, stealing a line from Blaine. "He's with her because he's scared to try again with you. Which is stupid because you two are totally perfect for each other. You should tell him."
Santana chewed on her lip. "What happens when he shoots me down and stays with her?"
"Then you told him and it's his loss," Rachel shrugged. She reached down, wiping away a few stray tears. She gently held Santana's face in her hands and smiled. "But he would be a complete asshat if he did anything other than drop everything for you."
Santana laughed softly. "You're a little biased, you know?"
"You're damn right I'm biased," Rachel admitted without a hint of shame or remorse. "We're totally besties."
"Oh, god where did you hear that?"
"Brittany, where else," Rachel grinned. "She's concluded that you and I along with her and Quinn are besties for life. I've found that my day goes smoother if I just go with whatever she's saying."
"I think that's pretty much standard operating mode for dealing with Britt," Santana snorted. She sighed and eased herself up from the bathroom floor. "You really think I should take a chance?"
"Yes, I do. You took a chance on being friends with me. That didn't end too badly, did it?"
"I wonder sometimes," Santana shot back, playfully. "Especially when I see that giant tool you insist on keeping around."
There was a knock on the door that had both girls arching an eyebrow. "Uh, Rachel?"
"Oh, speaking of the giant," Santana muttered, walking to the mirror to check on her makeup. Rachel nudged her friend on the shoulder before opening the bathroom door. She glanced up into Finn's face. He was staring at her quizzically.
"Yes, Finn?"
"You ok? Uh, Santana too?"
Rachel smiled softly. It was moments like this that reminded her why she loved him. It was because he obviously cared. She wondered why Santana was oblivious to these moments. "Yes, Finn. We're both alright. We just needed a little girl talk."
"See, I told Puck you were fine."
"Noah?" Rachel asked, confused. Why would Puck be involved in this? Unless….
"Puck told you to check on us?" Santana asked, seemingly picking up on Rachel's train of thought.
"Yeah," Finn replied, not picking up on the fact that he probably shouldn't have admitted that. "He told me I should go check on you because you both looked upset. He probably would've gone but he couldn't because Kurt text him saying that Sam was probably going to kill Blaine. I wonder why."
Rachel gasped and exchanged wide eyed glances with Santana. "Oh, no, we should probably…."
"Yeah, we should go," Santana finished, pulling Rachel out the room with her. She was vaguely aware of Finn following them, clearly confused and puzzled over their actions.
Pure chaos. That was what was unfolding at the moment. Pure unbridled chaos. And for once, Santana wasn't the actual cause of it. Rachel was actually slightly impressed. Although it was becoming very clear that she was at the center of it. Rachel stopped short to take in the almost comical scene in front of her. Brittany and Kurt were standing protectively in front of a terrified Blaine while Puck struggled to keep a hold on Sam. Quinn and Tina were standing on the sidelines, clearly called in the room at some point and a little confused as to which side they should be on. Rachel didn't blame them. She was at a loss herself.
"Come on, Sam! I already said I was sorry!" Blaine squeaked, poking his head around Brittany's shoulder. "I didn't think she'd react like that."
"You made her cry!" Sam seethed, still fighting to get out of Puck's arms. "Why the hell would you do that?"
"Dude, you know me! I never meant for that to happen! Besides I didn't think she'd cry! It's Santana! She told me she didn't have working tear ducts anymore. I was only trying to tell the truth."
"Oh, and what truth is that?"
"That you're totally in love with her but you're dating Mercedes because you're too freaking scared to tell her!"
Beside her, Rachel heard Santana stop breathing for a second. She felt her best friend tense and slipped her hand over Santana's tightly clenched fist.
Sam paused in his efforts to escape but didn't stop glaring at Blaine. "So what if I am? She doesn't love me back."
Rachel grinned smugly. "I totally told you so."
"Oh, shut up, midget," Santana grumbled. Sam's eyes widened as he finally realized the two girls and Finn were hovering in the doorway. All the fight drained out of him and soon it was only Puck that was keeping him from hitting the floor.
"Oh, shit," he muttered. He buried his flushed face against Puck's shoulder. "Dude, tell me that Santana is not right there."
Puck's eyes flickered to the door. The corners of his mouth lifted as he looked at the two girls. He nodded his head briefly in their direction before turning his attention to the blonde lump on his shoulder. "I'd love to, bro, but she is right there. And before you ask, I'm pretty sure that she heard everything."
"What do I do?"
"Saying hi seems like a good place to start."
Sam took a deep breath and whirled around to face Santana and Rachel, who were still lingering in the doorway. "Hi."
Santana smiled softly. "Hi." She tucked her hair behind her ear before seemingly coming to a conclusion. "So you love me, huh?"
Sam chewed on his lip hesitantly. A tentative smile spread across his face after a few tense moments. "Yeah, I do, San. I love you."
"Good, because I'm taking a chance, and I'm telling you that I love you too."
The smile widened and Rachel had to admit that Sam's face was definitely made for smiling. She watched as he held a hand out to Santana, using it to pull her into a tight embrace. Rachel was happy for them. True there was the whole he was still kind of with Mercedes thing but she was confident that would be resolved soon enough. She glanced at Kurt who was typing away on his phone. It would most likely be resolved sooner than later.
She wanted to feel bad for Mercedes, because really she was her friend too, but strangely Rachel didn't feel bad at all. It was obvious to everyone in the glee club that Mercedes and Sam just didn't click as a couple. Sam was attracted to Mercedes for the similar personality quirks she shared with Santana. They were both over the top, confident and fierce, but that's where the similarities stopped. Mercedes grew up in a stable, loving home where she was accepted for who she was. Santana did not. She was a broken, hot mess of hang up and insecurities. Rachel was only in the best friend position a week before she realized that one. Santana deserved a guy like Sam that was sweet enough to nurture those insecurities and strong enough to tell her no when she was going too overboard. Mercedes would be hurt by this, but she would be fine.
"Is it safe now?" Blaine asked, from where he was still hiding behind Brittany. Puck smirked over his shoulder.
"Yeah, dude. I think you're safe."
"Oh, thank god," Blaine sighed, loudly and dramatically. Sam pulled away from Santana briefly to shoot him an apologetic look. "It's cool. Just know that if you hurt her, you're a dead man, Evans."
"So says the guy that's still hiding behind Britt."
Blaine smirked. "That's because I'm fighting for me. I'm willing to throw down for San. Besides Puck's been teaching me some moves."
Sam's smiling features melted into a worried frown even as his eyes darted between the twin smirks of Puck and Blaine. "You're not on my side?"
Puck shrugged. "Don't hurt her, and you'll never have to find out."
Rachel laughed at the ease between the friends. Santana looked happier with Sam's arm still around her shoulder. She looked… less broken. Maybe there was something to her speech after all. She turned away from her best friend as she felt more than saw Finn move to stand beside her. "I don't get it."
"What do you mean?"
"Santana and Sam? That doesn't make sense."
Rachel's brow furrowed as she looked from her best friend to her boyfriend. "Finn, did you ever watch Dawson's Creek?"
"Uh, yeah. It was Quinn's favorite show."
"Right, well who would you say you were from the show?"
"Definitely Dawson."
Rachel felt her heart clench. Unconsciously, she felt her eyes drift towards Puck. He was sitting on one of the desks talking with Brittany on the opposite side of the room. Whatever she was saying had him smiling. Puck rarely smiled. When they were kids, Noah smiled all the time. But gradually Noah faded away, leaving behind the bitter, hard exterior of Puck. Puck protected Noah who was hurt one too many times. Rachel knew this but she still fell for it. Somehow she was able to look past Santana's walls and see the girl underneath it all but she failed when it came to Puck. And she knew him. She knew him better than she knew herself.
Then again that wasn't saying much at the moment because she wasn't sure how well she knew herself anymore. Santana's presentation was bringing up a lot of thoughts that she would've preferred stay buried. There was a kernel of doubt she bore for the past five months that just wouldn't be ignored anymore.
"Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"In New York… how did you get the idea for our date?"
Finn's brow furrowed as he appeared deep in thought. "Puck actually helped me out. He told me to take you on one of those dates you see in the movies. Then he got the guys to serenade us on the corner. He said it would be the thing that got you back. And he was right."
Rachel forced a smile on her face and nodded. Puck. It always came back to Puck. No matter what she did in her life, everything came back to Puck. He was always there, either on the sidelines or standing by her side. When she truly sat back and thought about her life, she knew there was no future for her and Finn. He was happy in Lima. He belonged in Lima. But Puck? Puck had been trying to get out of that town before he could even walk. When she thought about who would be there when she won her first Tony, she knew before Santana's presentation that it wouldn't be Finn. Now, she was struggling to see anyone other than Puck.
"Rach, you ok?"
She blinked, surprised that during her internal musing Puck moved away from the desks and was now standing in front of her. Hazel eyes watched her with concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Noah."
"Right," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's why you're totally chewing up your lip. You only do that when you're upset, so spill."
She gave him a genuine smile. "It's nothing, Noah. Just thinking about these presentations."
He nodded thoughtfully, glancing at the quietly talking Santana and Sam. Though they were no longer holding one another, she noticed that Sam had yet to relinquish Santana's hand. The former Cheerio didn't look like she was in a rush for him to let go either.
"Britt told me about Blaine's presentation," Puck finally said, looking back to Rachel. "Sounded good. I get why she got upset but I think it's safe to say she's over it now."
"Yeah."
"So what was Santana's presentation about?"
Rachel's eyes flickered between Puck and Finn, who was still standing beside her, clearly only interested in the conversation because Puck was talking to her. "Santana's presentation was pretty similar to Blaine's," she settled for half of the truth. He was still looking at her like he didn't believe her. And he was right to not believe her. But damn, did he have to be so perceptive. "Noah, I'm fine."
He gave her one last scrutinizing look and sighed. "If you say so, Berry. Me and Blaine are hitting up 7-11 before glee. You want something?"
"There is nothing remotely healthy or worthwhile in 7-11, Noah," she chided, halfheartedly. His eyes sparkled as he laughed at her oft-repeated warnings about his health. "But since you insist on clogging your system with sugar junk, hurry up. All of this has taken a lot more time than expected and we're supposed to start planning for Sectionals."
Puck rolled his eyes. "Berry, it's barely October. I'm pretty sure we have some time to plan for Sectionals. Damn anal retentive midgets." He walked away before the blow she aimed at his shoulder could land but she could still hear him loudly muttering about her to a very amused Blaine.
She watched him go with a soft smile on her face. She knew that when he got back, he would have something for her. The 7-11 was the midway point between an organic restaurant and the school. She knew he would likely stop there and bring her back one of the smoothies she loved. He'd done it before and she had no doubt he would do it again. Just like he always knew she would "accidentally" pack too many cookies when she and her fathers baked just so she could share them with him. She knew him. He knew her. She glanced over at Santana.
Santana was still standing beside Sam but her full attention was on Rachel. She smiled once she found that she had Rachel's full attention. "Take a chance," she mouthed, though she heard the words echoed in her head. Swallowing, Rachel looked up at Finn. He really was a sweet guy. But sweet just wasn't enough anymore. She was done playing it safe. She wasn't going to wait until it was too late. And then she got an idea.
Puck was worried. He had a weird feeling all day that was only confirmed when he received a 911 text from Kurt saying that Sam was about two minutes away from obliterating Blaine. The fact that the normally sweet, goofy Sam was pushed to physical violence, much less again equally sweet and goofy Blaine, was reason enough to confirm Puck's odd feelings. But the fact that moments after he arrived on the scene to restrain the irate Sam, Santana arrived and started exchanging undying love proclamations with Sam, was enough to tell him that the world as he knew it was changing.
Then there was Rachel. Though she was convincing as always, there was something in her eyes that told him differently. She was worried about something. Something changed during their class presentations but Puck was at a complete loss as to what and how. But he knew where to start.
"Blaine?" he started, as they made their way to the choir room. They were both sipping cherry slurpees. In his other hand, Puck was carrying a strawberry-banana smoothie. He wasn't sure how they made it without real milk and he was pretty sure he was better off not knowing really. "Do you love me?" Blaine snorted, pausing as the Slurpee he was currently sipping almost went through his nose. Puck couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight. Blaine glared. "Sorry."
"No problem," Blaine muttered, wiping at his clean nose absently. "So what were you asking me again?"
"You love me, right? We're bros?"
"Yes and no."
"Wait, how can it be both?"
"Easy. You know that I care about you. You know that you're one of my best friends here. But I also know that you only need me to point out how we're best friends when you want something. So what do you want?"
Puck gasped in mock surprise. "You wound me, Blaine Anderson. Can't a guy just want to hear his very male friend express his undying love?"
Blaine snorted again. "I'm going to wound you for real if you don't cut to the chase."
"Sheesh, first Sammy, now you. I thought I had the market on being the violent, unstable one in New Directions."
"You still do," Blaine laughed. He stopped in the hallway to give his taller friend a moment. "Seriously, Puck. What's up?"
Puck sighed. "These presentations that you guys did. I get that yours was about bad girls or whatever and that pushed Sam and Santana into being Samtana. But what was San's about? Rachel keeps looking at me in a really weird way."
"Oh," Blaine murmured. "San's presentation was about love triangles. She talked about popular television characters that fall in love with the safe guy in a love triangle while ignoring the so called 'bad boy'."
Puck felt his breath catch. "Oh."
"Yeah," Blaine smiled, sympathetically.
"But," he fumbled. "That doesn't explain why she's acting this way. I mean, it's not like we're in a love triangle or anything. She loves Hudson. She's with Hudson. So yeah…."
"Really?" Blaine asked, amused. "Dude, when was the last time you saw Finn bringing Rachel anything just because he saw it?"
"Uh, never?"
"Right. And when was the last time you bought Rachel something just because?" his eyes flickered pointedly to the cup in Puck's left hand. "Let's also address the fact that you're applying to schools in New York. Don't think I haven't seen the applications. I'm not blind. So look me in the eye and tell me that you're not in love with Rachel Berry."
Puck turned his gaze upward as if the ceiling would provide him with answers that just couldn't be found in his messed up head. He knew that he felt something for Rachel but he just never could put a name on it. If he was honest with himself, he didn't want to put a name on it. Because naming it made it real and he just couldn't… not when she was with Finn. But maybe he was more obvious than he thought.
"What am I supposed to do?" he asked, quietly. Blaine nudged him with his elbow gently. "She's with Finn."
"So?"
"So? I'm not doing that to him again. I did it once before and I'm so over stealing Finn's girlfriends."
"Technically, you didn't steal Finn's girlfriend. You just knocked her up. It's not like she had any real feelings for you."
"Thanks, Blaine. It's not like I still hurt about that."
"You're welcome," Blaine grinned. "Look, don't stress this. If you're so worried about poaching another of Finn's girlfriends, even though really, she was your girlfriend first, let Rachel make the first move."
"What move? Why are we assuming that Rachel will be making moves? She's with Finn," he repeated, stressing the name. "Finn was all she could dream about since sophomore year. She's got him now. Why would she want me over him?"
Blaine gave him a critical look. "You're not serious, are you? You're really asking me if there is a choice between you and Finn Hudson."
"Uh, yeah?" Puck was confused. Was it that hard to believe that he really wanted to know if he even stood a chance? Maybe it was….
"You're an idiot," Blaine muttered. "Allow me to recap for those of us that have clearly not been paying attention for the last three seasons. Aside from a rocky period where you seem to think that slushies were for throwing, you have been there for Rachel for pretty much every difficult time she's had in this school. Mind you, I'm getting my information second hand, but it's not that hard to believe. When she got egged, who was leading the charge against Jesse?"
"Me."
"Right. And before she and San discovered their awesome platonic love for one another, who actually outright admitted he liked her when Santana declared that no one liked her at Sectionals last year?"
Puck cleared his throat. "Me."
"Right again. And who broke into the girls' bathroom just to tell her that she shouldn't have a nose job?"
"Me."
"And who has gone to a vegan restaurant every day since the beginning of the school year just to get her a smoothie because he knows how much she loves them?"
"What's your point, Blaine? It's me. Ok?"
"That's my point! You're seriously asking me why she would want you over Finn. I think I, like almost everyone else in New Directions, am confused as to why she wants Finn over you." Puck frowned. "Oh my god, you're seriously confused about this. Wow, I don't know… Puck, you know you're awesome, right?"
Puck flushed. He wanted to make some crude joke but he found that the words were stuck in his throat. Blaine was just being a good friend. There was no reason to be an asshole. Not that it ever stopped him before but he was trying to be a better person. He purposely decided to ignore that his pursuit at being a better person started around the time he had a certain Rachel sitting on his lap cleaning slushies out of his hair.
"We gotta work on your self esteem, bro," Blaine said, shaking his head. He walked away leaving Puck to his thoughts. It took a few moments but he shook off his shock and followed after Blaine.
"You really think I'm better than Finn?"
"Let's put it this way, if both you and Finn were gay, and I wasn't totally with Kurt, I'd go for you."
Puck smirked. "I totally knew you loved me."
"Never said I didn't," Blaine pointed out. He paused outside the doors to the choir room and smirked. "But you know, dude, no homo."
Puck's eyes widened as he tried, and failed, to repress the laughter that seemed determined to burst out of him. Blaine shook his head in amusement and pushed the still laughing Puck into the choir room. Once in the room, he felt all eyes on them. His laughs slowly died as he straightened up, clearing his throat.
"What's so funny?" Quinn asked, eyeing them both with a smile.
"Blaine loves me," Puck shrugged.
Kurt rolled his eyes though his lips were curved into a smile. "And this is news, how?"
Puck shrugged again. He wordlessly handed Rachel her drink and then took a seat in the very back of the room. He knew the move was suspicious as he started sitting more up front in glee lately. But today he needed to be alone. He needed time to think this through. So of course that meant that he was joined quickly by Brittany.
"You're grumpy," she announced, flopping down on the seat beside him. Her arm naturally interlocking with his. He didn't know when Brittany decided that he was her personal teddy bear but he really didn't mind as much as he claimed. "What's wrong?"
"Just thinking," he admitted. He offered her the rest of his Slurpee. She took the drink with a grateful smile. "Britt, do you think I'm in love with Rachel?"
"No," she shook her head. He was about to comment when she grinned with cherry stained teeth. "I know you're in love with her."
"Damn it," he muttered. That apparently meant three of the five people who knew him best in this world believed that he was in love with Rachel Berry. He knew Brittany, Santana and Blaine wouldn't lie to him. They really believed he was in love with Rachel. So maybe he was. He looked in her direction to find her in her usual place next to Finn. And this is why he never wanted to acknowledge those feelings. Because that really, really hurt.
"Puck? It's going to be ok," Brittany said, quietly. She hugged his arm tighter, resting her head on his shoulder.
"How do you know?"
"Because you and Rachel are too awesome together."
Puck closed his eyes and nodded. Finally, he opened his eyes and glanced around the room. Sam, Santana and Mercedes were missing. He frowned, worrying about how Mercedes was reacting to the whole dramatic reunion between Sam and Santana. He was about to ask Brittany if she knew where they were when the trio entered the choir room together. Sam and Santana were still holding hands. But in a surprising move, Santana was laughing. With Mercedes. Mercedes who was not trying to kill her for stealing her boyfriend.
"What the hell?"
"Mercedes isn't blind," Brittany said, picking up on his confusion. "She knew that it wasn't working out with her and Sam. Besides I think she's got a crush on that new Titan, Shane." Puck pursed his lips. Yeah, he could see that.
Any further thoughts he had on the matter were put on hold as Will finally joined his students. "Alright, guys, good afternoon."
"Hey, Mr. Schue," they all greeted.
"So I was thinking that we could get started on thinking about Sectionals. I know it's early but this is the last year for a few of you and I figured we'd want to make it really special. But before we begin, does anyone have anything they want to share?"
"I do," Rachel said, her voice unusually hesitant. She stood up and walked to the front of the room. He noticed that she purposely avoided looking at Finn. So he did. His former best friend's shoulders were slumped somewhat. He wondered what that was about.
"You have a song, Rachel?"
"Yes," she replied. "It's, um, a message. I'm sure by now mostly everyone in this room is aware of the presentations that occurred this afternoon. And obviously some good changes have come out of them. I'm hoping that another good change will happen for me too. Because I'm taking a chance. I'm not playing it safe anymore. He's my Pacey. He's my Damon. And I don't want to settle for a life of ordinary. I need more than that."
Puck watched as her eyes finally met his. He swallowed at the sheer emotion he saw there. Emotions that she felt for him. She smiled.
"So keeping in line with Santana's Dawson's Creek theme, I would like to perform I Don't Wanna Wait by Ms. Paula Cole. And understand that this performance was thrown together rather hastily but hopefully what it lacks in polish and refinement, it makes up for with emotions."
Puck shook his head. Damn, that girl was nuts. Brittany detached herself from him and joined the rest of the girls and Kurt at the front of the room where they were backing Rachel. He moved forward to sit in the first row. Even if it was thrown together, Puck couldn't help but think she sounded amazing. Even while she was singing that damned annoying song from that stupid show she used to sucker him into watching when they were growing up. Because she was singing that stupid song to him. About him. She didn't want to wait for their lives to be over. She was taking a chance on him. As the last notes of the song played out, she looked at him expectantly. He smiled. He was definitely not screwing it up this time around.
He rose from his seat and approached her. "Hi."
She looked up at him nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "Hello. So, anything to say?"
He nodded, brushing a hand against her cheek. "I don't want to wait either. It's definitely yes." She threw her arms around him and he held her tight. As his lips finally met hers, and the room broke into annoyingly endearing catcalls, he realized that he never stood a chance at denial. He was totally in love with Rachel Berry. And she totally loved him back.
"Damn it," Finn muttered, watching his former best friend and, as of one period ago, former girlfriend making out. "I picked the wrong answer."
"No," Brittany patted him on the shoulder. "You were just the wrong guy."
"Does anyone else really want smores right now?"
The End
*I hope you enjoyed. Like I said, I don't even know where this came from. This fic was totally a fluff piece and nothing more. Also it was the result of pop culture overload. So huge thanks to the CW (WB/UPN) for this one. As always, hope you enjoyed and I sincerely apologize for getting the song stuck in your heads. At least I hope I did anyway. I don't want to be the only one with it stuck in my head!
** For those that might not be familiar with the song here is the really important part (well for this story anyway):
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be
Sorry