I don't own Glee.
A/N: Some of you know cx7171 is putting together a set of stories for a friend of hers, Ames, who is also a member of fanfiction. If you've read cx7171's tumblr then you probably know what's going on. This is dedicated to Ames and hopefully she'll be better soon!
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Rachel paced nervously in her room, sparing glances towards her friends that cluttered her bed every now and then as they digested the story she had just told them. It wasn't her fault that she had finally caved after seven months of hiding her relationship with Noah and told her three closest friends.
Her friends were eerily quiet and it was making her nervous. She and Noah had decided they weren't going to tell their friends of their hush-hush dating status until the summer before they left for New York so you might be asking yourself why she just told them and it's only the day before graduation. That question can be answered in one word: College
You see, Rachel, obviously, was accepted to Julliard with a full scholarship but Puck hadn't been so lucky. He had barely been accepted into NYU and didn't get much in grants or scholarships. He had turned down a full-ride to Ohio State and she couldn't help but feel this was her fault. She felt as though he was giving up everything just to move to New York to be with her.
Fortunately, Kurt was the first one to come to his senses. "You're joking right?" He asked Rachel.
She shook her head fiercely, still walking around the room that seemed to get smaller with each lap she made. "No." Her reply was quick and sharp. "We've been together for seven months."
"And you're just telling us now?" Mercedes seemed a little upset.
"We both wanted to keep it a secret. We needed to win at Nationals this year and to do that everyone needed to be focused. We couldn't let ourselves get wrapped up in the drama that surrounds the dating status of our fellow gleeks." She groaned in frustration. "But now he's turning down perfectly good colleges that are offering him full-rides. He wants to go to New York with me. He hasn't even told me he loves me yet. I mean, what if he realizes he doesn't want to be with me. What if he resents me for this?"
"I told you this would happen, Mercedes." Kurt turned to Tina. "Didn't I tell her this would happen?" He shook his head and raised his eyebrows, letting out a dramatic sigh.
"You did say it would happen." Tina nodded. "But to tell you the truth, Mercedes wasn't the only one who thought you were crazy. I thought you were just making things up when you told us about the 'signs'." She even used finger quotations.
"Signs?" Rachel stopped walking and turned to her friends that were behind her. "What signs? What are you talking about?"
"The signs." Tina replied like it was obvious and sat up. "Kurt came up to Mercedes and me a few months ago and told us about them."
"I thought he was just going on one of his crazy rants but now it all makes sense." Mercedes sighed. "And it's about damn time too. If I had to listen to my boy, Kurt, drone on about how adorable Puckleberry is one more time…" She trailed off and Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Kurt, what signs?" Rachel all but shouted.
"Cool it, Barbra." Kurt sat up as well and began to calmly explain to Rachel everything he had told Mercedes and Tina months ago. "Tina, Mercedes, and I were talking about some of TV's greatest couples and I brought up Dawson's Creek."
"Good show." Mercedes interjected and Tina nodded in agreement.
"Anyways, I mentioned that Joey and Pacey were similar to you and Puck." Kurt shrugged innocently. "Then we got in a heated argument as to whether Puckleberry would be endgame."
"Endgame?" Rachel looked at him skeptically.
"Yea, like Kurt and Blaine and Tina and Mike. Endgame. Meant to be. Stuff like that." Mercedes replied. "Keep up, Diva."
Rachel frowned slightly but then Kurt started talking again. "Tina and Mercedes thought I was talking crazy when I told them that you and Puck would end up together."
"I guess it wasn't that crazy." Tina sighed.
"Hold on." Rachel put her hand up. "I've watched Dawson's Creek before and how are Pacey and Joey anything like Noah and I?"
"Sweetie?" Kurt shook his head. "You really are oblivious, aren't you?"
"It's like this…" Mercedes smiled, leaning forward slightly. "Pacey and Joey are meant for each other. They've had there ups and downs and, sure, they kind of hate each other but they are made for one another."
"When Dawson's Creek first started everyone – even Joey – thought she would end up with Dawson." Tina told Rachel. "In this situation you're Joey, Puck's Pacey, and Dawson's—"
"Finn." Rachel interrupted, catching on quickly. "Dawson is Finn."
Tina nodded and then Kurt took over. "Dawson and Joey were a great couple but they lacked one majorly important thing: Chemistry. If there's no spark then there's no point in being together. I know you may have loved Finn just like Joey loved Dawson but you and Finn are stale." Kurt frowned sadly.
"Joey and Pacey were epic." Mercedes said. "Just like Puckleberry."
"Joey realized that while she did love Dawson, she was in love with Pacey." Tina summed it all up. "Just like you're in love with Puck."
"What?" Rachel scrunched up her brow. "No, I'm not."
"Then would you care to explain why every time you're around Puck you turn to goo?" Kurt smirked.
"He's… very attractive and quite skilled with his hands…" Rachel blushed. "It's impossible not to turn to goo when he looks at you. I asked you guys over for some guidance and so far all you've done is confused me even more." She huffed.
/
Puck was just getting home from fight club when he saw he had a message on his phone. When he saw that he was from Rachel he couldn't keep the grin off of his face. He flopped back on his back and opened the message.
Can I come over?
He checked the clock to see that it was nearly ten o'clock at night but decided to text her back anyway.
Sure, babe
He waited impatiently for her to reply and when she did a few minutes later, he chuckled.
Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina are helping me sneak out. Be there in ten minutes. Leave your window open.
Puck shook his head, tossing his phone onto his bed before opening his bedroom window. He quickly slipped down the hall to take a shower before Rachel got here.
When he was in his room again, clad only in a towel, he debated whether to change into some clothes or stay naked. It was Rachel after all – her virginity was still intact – so he slipped on a pair of sweatpants and left it at that.
He was flipping through a comic book that Sam had convinced him to read when he heard something hit his floor. He looked up from the comic book to see a small ballet flat lying in the middle of his room. He grunted when a matching shoe flew through his window and hit him square in his chest.
He moved to poke his head out of his window and watched as Rachel tried to climb up the side of his house. Surprisingly, she was doing pretty well. "Rachel? You could have just used the back door, you know." He told her, grabbing her arms and helping her through the window so she was planted firmly on his floor.
"You were wrong." She giggled. "I can to climb up the side of your house barefoot." He chuckled as well and when he realized he still had a hold of her wrist, he pulled her towards him. "Besides, climbing through the window is so much more badass than using the door." She told him.
"So uh… not that I'm not totally turned on that you're sneaking into my room this late, but what are you doing here?" He asked, looking down at her.
"I talked to Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina today. I told them about us." She said, pulling out of his grasp and moved around his room, collecting her shoes and placing them neatly by his door.
"I thought we were going to wait until right before we left for our epic road trip." He frowned slightly.
"They said we're endgame or something." She shook her head and turned to face him, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed.
"They did?" He asked.
"Mm-hmm." She nodded, slowly moving towards him. "Kurt actually said that we're like Joey and Pacey from Dawson's Creek. It's a great comparison but honestly…" She stopped in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders, his hands instinctively moving to her hips. "I like to think we're a little more like Veronica and Logan." She smiled. "You know, from Veronica Mars."
"Totally." He smirked.
She was tempted to ask him if he even knew what Veronica Mars was but she continued on with her speech. "They really are a lot like us. They kind of have this love/hate relationship and it works for them. Logan, he's kind of the resident bad boy and school bully." She smiled. "A lot like you. And Veronica, well, I know I don't moonlight as a private investigator but we do have lots of similarities." He pulled her closer so that she was standing between his legs. "I know when the second season started they had apparently broken up because she was back with Duncan, but it was still a great season. It was filled with sexual innuendos and longing glances."
"That does sound like us." He smirked when she leaned down to kiss him.
"Veronica and Logan, like most TV couples, are at their best when their love is unrequited. Somehow, it just makes it even more romantic." She shrugged when he pushed himself back on the bed and she followed suit, straddling him and he continued to kiss her neck. "And I know most fans thought the series finale left much to be desired for the couple, but I think it suited them very well. One last look to let everyone know there would definitely be another romance between Veronica and Logan. It was so sweet and so amazing." She told him. "Noah?"
"Yea, Rach?" He stopped kissing her and she pulled away from him, sitting on her knees beside him.
"I want you to know I won't be mad if you decide to stay in Ohio and play football and bang chicks or whatever you want to do on your weekends."
"Rachel." He grinned, his thumb tracing circles on the back of her hand.
"I mean, I'd love for you to come to New York with me and go to NYU but… I don't want you look back on that as regret. We've only been dating for seven months and you haven't even said those three words – and no, I'm not asking you to say them – but I think we should talk about this, Noah, before you decide on New York. I mean, New York is my dream but is it yours?"
"Rachel." He sat up and his lips slid across her cheek before nipping at her bottom lip.
"I don't want to lose you from my life." She whispered and ducked her head. "But I don't want to feel like you're sacrificing anything to be with me."
"I've been saving up money." He told her. "For college, I've been working my ass off to pay for tuition and everything. My ma can't help out a lot but my Nana, she actually gave me some money from her Canasta winnings. You won't believe how much she makes just by playing some cards, shits insane." He chuckled and then forced Rachel to meet his gaze. "I don't want to lose you from my life, either, Rachel. Which is why I'm doing this. With Finn, you always felt like you have to choose between your dreams and him. I don't want you to feel like that because with me… you don't have to choose. I won't make you choose between something like that. And the reason I haven't said 'I love you' is because I don't want you thinking I'm just saying it to say it. When I say something like that, I mean it. I do care about you and when the time is right, I will say it because honestly, I think I'm falling in love with you, Rachel. And that shit's insane, too, because I never thought it would be you and me in the end. I never thought I'd be this lucky to have you as my girl."
"I'm not yours, Noah Puckerman." She grinned. "You don't own me."
"You are my girl." He smiled genuinely. "We're going to fuck New York up when we get there, Rach."
"Blaine and Kurt are coming, too." She added the last part.
"I guess." He nodded and kissed her soundly. "So, now will you stop worrying about all this college shit?" She nodded and kissed him back. He pulled back from her with a smirk. "I thought our story was epic, you know, you and me." Rachel giggled and no, Puck didn't question his masculinity in the least when he basically admitted he watched Veronica Mars because Veronica and Logan? Badass, just like Noah and Rachel.