CHAPTER ONE: The Tale is Set

As a girl grows up, she is surrounded constantly by images of princesses, princes and happily ever afters. Rachel truly blames Disney for this outright subliminal messaging and for the fact that she's constantly misconstrues fantasy for reality. Was it really wrong for her to want her Prince Charming to here? Now? Was it really wrong for her to have hoped that Finn Hudson to be that very Prince? He was perfect in her eyes. He was the Leading male in the Glee club - though that little fact had been altered now since Sam finally joined the club and was taking most of Finn's solos - and even though he wasn't the school Quarterback anymore, he was still the Quarterback to her. But most importantly, he was a nice guy. He had been nice to her. When he smiled at her, he made her feel special. And Rachel Berry was the kind of person who had to feel special. She thought things had been going well, they had been dating for months what else was she going to think? But obviously, Finn hadn't felt the same when he was walking down the halls of McKinley high along side Quinn, their hands intertwined.

All he had to say to her was, "It's just not working anymore, Rachel. We want different things".

They wanted different things? Rachel had questioned over and over in her head, rather a rather bitter fashion. She knew it was because along with their time spent practicing for Glee, she had brought College applications. The discussion of their future must have gotten to the tall young man. Honestly, she wanted him to consider his potential. That he wasn't a Lima Loser like the rest of his friends. That he had the means to do anything he wanted. But she was putting too much 'pressure' on him and that she was 'expecting' too much.

Her brown eyes watched as the newly rekindled Golden couple turned down the next hallway, her gazing moving away from the spot where they had disappeared from to see the familiar Mohawk among the crowd of students. The frown that was already present on her delicate features deepened when she saw the rather pissed off look darken on Noah's face. Only then she remembered she wasn't alone in the broken heart boat. It was obvious that Quinn had been skirting around the possibility of dating Noah Puckerman for awhile now. It was also obvious that Quinn enjoyed teasing the boy and giving him soft hope. But it was evident that instead of giving in to what Noah wanted, the Cheerio Captain went back to old habits and an old boyfriend.

Rachel turned and carefully closed her locker and placed her bag on her shoulder. She made her way down the hall, dodging other students who didn't take the same care for her. "Noah?" She questioned as soon as she finally reached him.

He ignored her, of course, and kept walking but this time towards the exit.

"Noah!" She sighed rather loudly as she quickened her pace, the soles of her black leather flats clicking softly against the hard tile of the school's floors. She took a hold of his arm only to have him shrug her off. "Where are you going?"

Her question went unanswered as he made his way closer to the door. "You can't leave school; we have two more periods and Glee practice!" Rachel frowned as she positioned herself in front of him to block his way.

"I don't give a flippin' fuck," He finally growled down at her and tried to move around her but she only just side stepped back in front of him.

"We're in the same situation, Noah," She added. The feeling of defeat was growing more heavy on her shoulders, "I know we're not friends, you made that perfectly clear, but it doesn't mean we cant help each-" She started to explain before a round fro of curly red hair appeared in her vision, she groaned.

"So Rachel, can you give a statement on being new single, on Finn and Quinn's reconciliation?" Jacob Ben Israel declared as he shoved a microphone in her face.

Her lower lip quivered in slightly shock as she looked to Jacob and to the camera that was glaring in her face. For the first time in her life, she wanted to hide away from the wretched machine or make it stop recording her discomfort and embarrassment. But before she could respond, or even think of a response, she watched as Ben's mic was jerked out of his hand and slammed into the wall, it breaking into pieces, "There's your statement." Puck snapped as he took a hold of her arm and started to lead her towards the door.

"Puck, where are you… We can't leave" Rachel said in surprise.

"Berry, you want to help?" Puck looked back at her, making his way through the Parking Lot. "Shut up for once and get in."

Rachel stared at the open door of his truck, slightly irritated that he had told her to be quiet in a rather rude way, but after a little while of thinking of how she didn't want to see either Finn or Quinn in Glee Practice, she lifted herself up and got into the passenger seat. She smooth out her pleated skirt as Puck started up the vehicle and she felt knots form in her stomach. She had never skipped school before, so she had no idea what to expect. Didn't they call home to report a student having an unexcused absence? Her fathers were home… they would be so upset if they received a call of that nature.

"This wasn't a good idea, take me back." She blurted out as they rolled down the main street of Lima.

"Chill" Puck replied. "If anything happens you can say I kidnapped you. They'd believe that."

She turned to look at him, "You don't honestly believe that…"

"So? Everyone else does."

"I don't believe that. Everyone can change the perception of themselves."

"Have you?"

The question came at her unexpectedly and her mouth fell open as she struggled to find the appropriate answer.

"Exactly."

She glared, "I've never wanted to change people's perception of me. I am who I am. People just have to deal with it. I've never wanted to change."

"So why do I have too?"

"Well, I didn't mean you had to change yourself," She sighed. "Just how they view you. You're not all bad."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've watched you. Talked to you. Listened to you. I know you're more than the bad boy image you portray." She explained.

Puck seemed to have been silence by what she had said which led to them sitting in a quiet atmosphere, which was good for Rachel. It helped her think about what was happening. This morning she would have never guessed that she would be riding in Noah's truck and almost willingly. In her fairy tale, most days Puck was the villain. The Dark Knight who slung his mighty slushie that collided against her like a sword against stone. But she had to give him a small amount of credit, the slushie target practice on her had stopped on his part when he joined the Glee club. Though, he hadn't stopped his goonish jock friends from slushing her either. Her brown eyes glanced back at him while he sat beside her. He had this cool disposition, a total screw the world sort of attitude, and yet she knew there was so much more to him than that.

The truck came to a stop, a mile or two outside of town, at the outskirts lake. Rachel watched, confused, as Puck got out of the truck and slammed the door, leaving her behind. Through the windshield, Rachel eyed him as he made his way across the bit of grass only to plop down on a swing attached to the parks play set. Her brow furrowed for a moment before she pushed open her door and jumped out of the truck.

Puck glanced at her as she sat down on the swing beside his own and raised a brow as she started to sway back and forth, her legs kicking back and forth. "Why did you bring me here, Noah?" She finally asked.

"Was going to come here anyway," Puck grumbled. "You just need to get out of there, same as me."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine, why did you come here?"

He shrugged.

"That's not an answer."

"Fuck, Berry," He snapped. "I don't know. I just came here for the peace and quiet, but guess that's not going to happen."

Rachel flushed softly and looked away, slightly hurt by his words. And she was only trying to help. Everyone seemed to get mad at her whenever she tried to do that. She was pushy, yes, but she had her reasons. Everyone needs to be pushed at some point in their lives. She did it to get them motivated to push themselves. Especially Finn. She gave a soft huff and stood up. She stormed towards the lake's edge. "Awe, shit, Berry. Don't get pissy at me." She heard Puck called. She turned to glare at him before looking back at the water. "Come on, I wasn't… talking about you."

"Yes you were."

"You do talk a lot."

"Yes, I realize that I do," Rachel said as she turned to see him standing behind her. "But I was just asking a question."

Puck tucked his hands into his jeans' front pockets and sighed, "Look I'm mad at Quinn and Finn, not you. Just feel like some used rag that no one wants anymore."

"No, that's me," Rachel said bitterly. "You can have any girl… pretty sure you have been with every girl on some level. Whereas, I am at the bottom of the social ladder, whose only possibilities of guys are those in my same social standing. And even those guys don't want me. Finn… yes, he loved me, but that faded…"

"Finn's an idiot."

She frowned and looked away, "He has the girlfriend he wants now."

"Yeah," Puck shook his head. "Think we need to stop fooling ourselves. We're just bumps in the road to their perfect little lives."


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Glee - wish I did - just love the show and the storylines. This is just for my entertainment, and the entertainment of whoever reads this. I'm a puckleberry fan and have been wanting to write a fic for awhile. Feedback is always welcomed.

A/N: I like to say, that I'm basing this probably a week before regional's. I started writing this after the Season 2 premiere, Auditions. And anything that the show has in the season won't be applied to this world - or I will add it in later chapters.