A/N: Little one shot I thought up based (VERY loosely) on the RP I'm involved in, kind of a "What if...?" type of thing. Dedicated to Shannon, the Puck to my Rachel on the RP. And to Kai, who will hate me for posting this without reading it to her first. Kixa, I'll sing you the lyrics tonight, I promise. Love both of you girls! Please don't hate me for the angst!

Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman.

Maybe he won't find out what I know.

You were the last good thing about this part of town.

Rachel knocked on the half open door softly, peeking her head around it. The mechanic's garage smelled like gasoline and sweat, and she wrinkled her nose. Her eyes flicked around the large space before seeing what she was looking for: a pair of legs sticking out from underneath a raised pickup truck. She knocked again, louder this time, and the legs jolted. She heard a muffled metallic thump and a loud swear, and she smiled softly. The man wheeled himself out from the car, sitting up and holding his head. He looked over at her, his expression dark. Then his eyes met hers and his jaw dropped a tiny bit.

"Rach?" He asked softly, and she stepped inside slowly.

"Hi Noah." She said, brushing her palms on her jeans lightly.

He stood up quickly, staring at her like she was something from a dream. "Why are you...?"

"Back in town?" She asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Jesse's uncle's in surgery. He came back two days ago. I wasn't able to get away until now."

Noah nodded. "I heard he was back in town. I didn't know you were coming though." He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck before remembering it was covered in grease. He swore and grabbed a rag, wiping furiously at it.

Rachel giggled and walked over to him, the heels on her boots clacking loudly. She took the rag and pulled a chair over and sat him down in it, then proceeded to wipe the grease off.

"H...how are you, Noah?" She asked softly, barely pausing in her efforts.

He exhaled softly, unsure of how to answer her question. What was he supposed to say? That he had been stuck working in Burt's mechanic shop to put himself through community college while the rest of his friends went off to universities, and he was still working there now, even after graduating? That he missed her more than he could bear sometimes? That his mom had gotten sick recently and he was praying every week at temple that she didn't have something life threatening?

"Surviving." Was all he said.

She hummed sympathetically and he bit his lip. "What about you, Rach?"

She paused, twisting the rag unconsciously, unsure of how to answer his question. What was she supposed to say? That she was working horrifically long hours on a play and that she didn't get back to her apartment until 2 am sometimes? That she was working so hard in her classes and during rehearsals that she only had time for 3 hours of sleep a night if she was lucky? That she missed him more than she would tell anyone? That as much as she loved New York, she actually missed Lima?

"The same." Was her answer.

There was an awkward pause, then Noah asked, "How's St. James?"

Jesse and Rachel had started dating again her freshman year at Julliard when they ended up in the same ballet class again. He had transferred from UCLA, and Rachel was pissed. She demanded a transfer, but the classes were booked and she couldn't afford to drop one with her scholarship. She eventually ended up forgiving him for the egging by the end of term, and when they auditioned for and won the leads of their drama program's rendition of West Side Story, they started dating again. Rachel was a senior at Julliard now, and Jesse was acting Off-Broadway. He was slated to make his debut on Broadway in two months, as the most recent Fiyero in Wicked. He and Rachel were living together now.

"He's great!" She said, smiling at the mention of her boyfriend. Her extensive acting training served her well, as Noah had no idea it was fake.

Rachel pretended to be happy. She had it all. A budding career, about to graduate from one of the finest schools in the country, and a boyfriend who loved her. That was the image she sent out, the character she played as easily as the ones she portrayed onstage. But she was anything but happy in her relationship. She and Jesse never had any time for each other anymore, and she hated not being able to see him. They were both stressed out constantly and fighting when they did interact. One memorable night, Jesse accused her of cheating on him with her dance partner. She had come home from a long exhausting rehearsal at almost 4 am, hoping to get at least an hour of sleep before getting up and getting ready for class. She wasn't cheating, of course, but they yelled at each other for the hour Rachel had hoped to sleep. She stayed at a friend's apartment for the rest of the week, until Jesse showed up at her rehearsals one night with a bouquet of flowers and a Care Bear. She had smiled tiredly at him and inwardly wondered why he thought gifts would be better than a sincere apology.

Both of them had always had a flair for the dramatic, and the fights they had reflected that. He knew how to rile her up like no other. She was too exhausted to argue with him much anymore, though, and lately had been avoiding him at night and only seeing him during the day. She told herself constantly that he was just stressed and tired, and so was she, and she was just as guilty as he was. It didn't alleviate the pain.

When they were good, they were great, but when they were bad, it was awful. But she couldn't tell Noah that, she couldn't deal with his sympathetic looks, his bear hugs, or the protective way he would yell at Jesse. It was just simpler to lie. She hated herself for that. Noah was always the one person she could be honest with. Just...not this time. And not when it had mattered the most.

"How...how's your family, Noah?" Rachel asked softly, her voice filled with longing. "I haven't seen them in a while."

Noah blinked a couple times rapidly, pushing back tears. "My sister's fine. She's graduating high school this spring. But my mom...she's sick."

Rachel blinked in shock, then dropped the rag in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, leaning against his back and hugging him tightly. "Noah I'm so sorry. I...I had no idea."

Noah wrapped his arms around hers, bowing his head a little. "There's no way you could have known, Rach."

After a long moment, he let go and she took that as her cue to pull back. She pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, their knees almost touching, but not quite.

"Why...why didn't you call me, Noah?" She asked. "I could have taken time off and come down to see you guys, to help."

Noah sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his head, briefly missing his mohawk, before looking at her and staring straight into her eyes. He was suddenly struck by how old she looked. Rachel was barely 21, but she looked at five years older than that. She had grown out the bangs she had in high school, and her hair had gotten longer. It was pin straight and looked almost black, making her skin seem much paler. She was wearing all black and in looking at her, he could see she had lost a lot of weight, giving her an appearance this side of unhealthy. But above all, she looked tired.

"And say what, Rach?" He asked, not breaking eye contact. "How was I supposed to tell you when I didn't even know if you cared anymore?"

She blinked in surprise, then bit her lip. She should have expected that. "Your mom was always the closest thing I had to a mother of my own, Noah." She finally whispered. "I would have wanted to know. Is she up to having visitors?"

Noah sighed again, looking away. Rachel watched him, thinking suddenly that he looked so much older than 21. There were bags under his eyes, and frown lines etched into his forehead. He was just as muscled as he had always been, but his mohawk was gone, and his head was shaved the way it had been during sophomore year of high school. His nails were broken, and it looked like he had taken up biting them again, a habit Rachel knew he only had when he was stressed beyond belief.

"If you want to see her I won't stop you." He finally said. "She misses you."

Rachel's face softened and she looked down at the floor sadly. "I miss her too. I'll make sure I visit her before I leave."

"How long are you in Lima for?" He asked softly.

"Until Sunday night. My flight leaves at 10."

He inhaled a little too sharply. So soon...he hadn't seen her for so long, and now she'd just turn around and leave again. The thought made him irrationally upset for a moment, but he pushed the emotion away angrily. He knew she belonged in New York. And he belonged here. He had always belonged in Lima, while she never had. Her talent was too big for small town in Ohio. That's why he had let her go, all those years ago. Finn had been right when he had told Rachel she didn't need a guy to anchor her to Lima. She was a real star, and he was so proud of her for succeeding, even if that meant he didn't have her anymore.

Suddenly, her phone rang. The shrill tone cut through the silence and made Rachel jump slightly and flinch. She glanced at the number and Puck watched her face fall for a moment before she schooled her features into a poker face. She looked back up at him sadly.

"I have to take this, I'm sorry, Noah." She stood up and answered her phone, walking a few steps away from him before speaking. "Jesse? Hi, hey, how's your uncle?"

He could still hear every word, and he noticed the change in her tone. It was softer, sadder, and apologetic. It bothered him and he couldn't figure out why, so he simply watched and listened. Rachel nodded her head, making sounds of agreement into the phone and scuffing her boots a little along the concrete floor. He saw her back go rigid and noticed the way her shoulders slumped a little as she listened.

"I'm visiting a friend, Jesse." She said softly, and Puck arched an eyebrow at her tone. She sounded defensive. "I'm here to help you with your uncle, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to be glued to you all weekend." She paused, and Puck blinked as her voice suddenly became biting and deadly quiet. He had to strain to hear her when she said: "Why does everything have to be about the damn dancer? I'm not cheating on you, Jesse, I never have and I never will, get that through your thick skull. Just because I came to see Noah today does not mean I'm going to fuckhim, as you so crudely stated."

Puck raised his eyebrows, having never heard Rachel speak that way. He got almost irrationally angry as he heard her suddenly close in on herself, apologizing to her boyfriend for getting upset with him and telling him she'd leave the garage soon and meet him at the hospital. Puck clenched his fist as she protested Jesse coming to pick her up, then sighed, her voice defeated, and told him she'd see him in 10 minutes.

She hung up and walked back to Puck, her eyes downcast, and he stared at her sadly, hating seeing her look that small and sad. He got up quickly and hugged her, and was more than a little surprised when she hugged him back tightly. He wanted to kiss the top of her head and tell her how much better than Jesse she was. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her. He wanted to tell her he was still in love with her.

He didn't say anything. Neither did she.

Rachel pulled away from him after a few minutes had passed. She was sure that if she didn't, she would have told him everything, including the fact that she had lied to him when she told him she didn't love him the night after they graduated. Instead, she pulled back and nodded at him, keeping her tears back effortlessly, thanking her acting training in her head.

They talked about their former classmates for the last five minutes they had together. Mercedes was married and living in Denver with her husband. They had a baby on the way. Kurt was in California, Finn was in Michigan, and Artie was in England, of all places. Santana and Brittany were in L.A., and Tina and Mike were in Columbus, with Sam and Quinn. Puck saw Mike and Sam often, but his friendship with Quinn was strained to say the least. Rachel's eyes grew sad when he told him that Tina had had a miscarriage a few months before, and she smiled when he told her Quinn and Sam had a 9 month old son. It was clear Rachel hadn't heard from any of her old classmates in a while, and it bothered her. She thanked him for the information and asked for Mike and Tina's phone number, along with Sam and Quinn's. He was writing them down for her when Jesse came to get her.

Jesse St. James stood inside the doorway, a scowl on his face, and he barked Rachel's name. She winced a little and Puck immediately went on the defensive. She took the numbers and thanked him, telling him softly that she'd visit his mother before she left, and that she had to go. He nodded, thanking her for stopping by, and hugged her again. She let go too quickly, heading back to her boyfriend, and Puck watched her walk out of his life again. She stopped at the door, looking back at him for a moment, her hand curling around the door frame.

"I miss it here." She finally said, watching him with a vulnerable expression.

Puck ran a hand over his head, unsure of how to react to that. Finally he looked up at her.

"Lima's not the same without you, Rachel. You were the last good thing about this town."

Her lips parted, and she looked like she was going to say something to him. Then Jesse said her name again and she left, not looking back once. Puck watched her leave, knowing it was better this way. Even if St. James was a jackass who didn't deserve her, he understood her in a way Puck never would. He could give her more. Puck couldn't even get out of Lima. It was safer to love her from a distance. It was better for her.

Rachel, for her part, was fighting tears as she left. She had left her heart here in Lima years ago with Puck, and seeing him had only opened the wounds. But it was better this way. She couldn't let him know she was still in love with him. She'd only drag him down, and with her career in New York...she couldn't put him through the stress she was going through now. It wasn't fair to him. It was better for him if she lied.

Please R/R, I can't get better if I don't know your opinions! Thank you for reading :)

xoxo,

Meyx