She didn't see him in class; which in itself wasn't really a surprise as he skipped class often, but when she didn't see him in lunch either; she began to worry. Rachel Barry slipped out of the cafeteria, thinking no one was watching, and began looking for him. She heard the faint strumming of a guitar coming from the auditorium and quietly made her way inside.

"Noah?" she called softly, worry clear in her voice.

Hearing her voice, Noah Puckerman stopped playing and looked up to see her walking down the aisle.

"Hey Rach," he said in a monotone.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, climbing onto the stage.

Puck just started playing again. Rachel's worry shifted into high gear. Puck only played his guitar when he was trying to charm the ladies or when he was really upset about something.

"Noah?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He stopped playing again, "I messed up Rach. Big."

"Is this about Quinn?"

Puck stared up at her, "How did you—?"

"I heard Quinn telling Santana that she was pregnant in the locker room, but she didn't say it was Finn's. I took a guess. You've been a lot more hostile to her lately."

"Have you said anything to anyone?" Puck asked after a moment of silence.

Rachel shook her head, "It's not my place to say anything. Besides, I love Finn; I don't want to see him get hurt like this."

"It was a mistake Rach," Puck told her with a shake of his head; "We got drunk and had sex. It was a stupid mistake. I—I don't know what to do."

Rachel sighed and walked behind Puck, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder as she hugged him.

"Noah, we've been friends since we were in diapers. We were each other's first kiss for crying out loud. Granted, things changed once we hit puberty, but you've got to know that I'm always here if you need to talk to someone. You're never alone Noah, I promise."

"I don't know what to tell Finn," he whispered, "He's my best friend and I betrayed him. I don't know what I'm going to do if he ends up hating me because of this."

"It's going to be alright Noah," Rachel whispered, hugging him tightly.

Neither one of them saw Finn standing in the balcony. Neither knew that he'd been there the whole time and had heard every word they said.