She stood at her locker, listening intently to the conversation that was taking place behind her. Quinn and Finn were having a heated discussion about his role in glee, how close he seemed to be getting to some specific members. Rachel watched as Finn walked away at the end of the conversation, throwing her a small smile as he passed, her heart fluttered and she begun to sink into a re-occurring daydream in which her and Finn could be together. She was quickly broken out of the strange fantasy when the former head cheerio plastered on a stony look and slammed her locker closed, missing Rachel's fingers by merely a few centimetres.
"Time for some girl talk man hands" Quinn said, obviously irritated with the way the conversation had gone with Finn
"You may sing and dance with him, but he will never be yours. Lay off before you get yourself in some trouble"
"I understand you have some issues with you relationship at the moment, but I wouldn't blame him if I happen to be the girl he comes crying to" With that Rachel pushed past Quinn and strode down the hall with her head held high.
Quinn let out a frustrated shriek and stormed off to her first class.
Glee that afternoon was about as awkward as it had been all year, even after the cheerios and football players had joined and been forced to interact with the original gleeks. Finn sat next to Rachel, and they shared a conversation on their current duet, meanwhile it didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the club that Quinn was attempting to burn a whole in the back of Rachel's head with her famous ice-queen glare.
What did go unnoticed however, was the way Puck was watching with confusion and concern as the event unfolded before him. He didn't want to be with Quinn, but that baby was all he could think about since he found out about it weeks ago. Quinn was refusing to let him take responsibility and he was ready to do just about anything to get her to trust him.
The tension did not settle once glee started. Quinn was forced to sit through and hour and a half of Finn and Rachel making 'goo-goo eyes' at each other as they sang their sickly sweet love songs. It was all she could do, not to stand up with a loud scream, walk over and punch Rachel square in the nose before grabbing Finn by the hand and walking him out of the school. If you asked her, glee didn't end soon enough.
When Mr. Shue let them go, Rachel and Finn stayed behind a little longer to discuss some changes, and rehearse a little more. Quinn stood up and left as soon as possible, and Puck charged out after her, racing to catch up to the surprisingly fast pregnant girl.
"Quinn, hold up a second" He yelled down the hall
Quinn came to a holt but took her time turning to face him
"What is it, Puck?" She asked, voice full of irritation and anxiety
"I just… you know… are you… okay?" He sputtered, attempting to sound casual
Quinn couldn't hold it any more and everything that was bubbling around in her head came flowing out as she slowly reclined and slid down the lockers, to come to a sitting position on the ground.
"No! Okay, no, I'm not okay. I'm going to lose Finn to that singing, boyfriend stealing floosy and there's nothing I can do about it!"
"Who? Rachel?"
"Yes, Rachel, who else have you seen Finn falling for?" Quinn was become more animated; with large hand gestures while tears began to well up in her eyes.
"I just don't know who to do, Puck. He's suppose to be the father of a child and he can't even keep his eyes off another girl" Pucks fist clenched at the mention of Finn being the father, this didn't go unnoticed by Quinn
"You know… if you wanted to have more to do with the baby…" she paused and glanced out of the corner of her eye up at Puck. She knew how much he wanted to take responsibility, and even though it was quite nasty, she was willing to do whatever it took to get Finn back.
"What is it? I'll do anything, please Quinn. I don't beg for anything, but you know I will for this!"
"I need you to get Rachel to forget about Finn. Take her out, charm her, I don't care, just do it. And then I'll think about letting you have a part in this babies life"
Puck looked at her cautiously, and then thought about the proposition. He stood from the spot next to Quinn and nodded his head. I do not like the sound of this… but hey, what could happen? Rachel gets over a taken man, Quinn gets Finn back, Finn stops acting like a douche and I get to be my baby's daddy. Everybody wins.
Just like that, a plan was set in place and Puck was about to attempt to be Rachel's next big love interest.
Rachel walked into school early Monday morning, as to avoid any slushy facials. She opened her locker and small piece of lined paper floated to the ground, the words 'Read me, Rachel' were scribbled on the front.
Rachel picked up the paper and placed her books in her locker before reading it. She turned to look both ways down the hallway in case this happened to be another nasty prank. Whoever it was had to be at the school, because it wasn't in her locker Friday afternoon when she left school late and no one could have been at the school over the weekend, nor would they have even if it were possible.
The note read:
R,
I've noticed you making goo-goo eyes at a taken man. Let me help you forget.
P.
She stared at the note for a few more moments, re-reading what was scribbled down on the paper with confusion. She looked around the hallway again and then slid the note back into her locker to ponder later.
P… P? Who could that be? Peter Randle, Paul Cooper… Luke Patternson. She shivered at the next thought Noah Puckerman… Ahh it couldn't be, none of them have shown any interest in me at all. This has to be a joke.
Her inner thoughts were interrupted by the bell ringing, how long have I been thinking, she raced to her homeroom, only to be met with an ice cold slushy just steps away from the room. She was about to voice her outrage at her abuser when she looked up to see a large Mohawked boy pushing the Nick Farmen into the lockers.
Rachel's eyes widened at she slowly moved to the closest bathroom, conspicuously listening in to the conversation taking place between Puck and her abuser, Nick.
"Oi, Farmen, Berry is off limits" Puck sneered whilst pushing the slightly taller, but not nearly as well built boy into the lockers firmly.
"What the hell, Puckerman, if anyone can be named her biggest tormentor it's you, you can't just stake claim on the freak" Nick replied
"She's not a freak, and she is off limits. Case closed" He roughly let go of the boy and tossed him to the side, letting him stumble and catch his feet before walking briskly down the hall, sneaking glances back in Puck's direction.
Puck looked around for Rachel, he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye as she entered the bathroom, and out of view. He sighed and walked off to his first class.
Rachel ran into the bathroom and pulled out her phone.
Rach: 911, need clothes. Second floor bathroom. Locker combo 22, 13, 4
Kurt: Gimme 5
Rachel sighed and looked at herself in the mirror, that entire event was the strangest thing she had ever seen, and she had no idea what was going on Puck's head. She sure as hell wasn't going to risk trying to find out.
It was only after a long and tiring conversation with Kurt about the strange things that had happened that morning, up to the point of them in the bathroom, that she put two and two together. The note and Puck's behaviour.
"Oh em gee, Puck has a thing for my Diva!" Kurt exclaimed while helping Rachel get rid of the unfortunate amount of blue syrup in her hair.
"You're extremely mistaken, Kurt. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Have you even met Noah Puckerman?"
Kurt watched as Rachel's lips tugged at the corners to form a smile while they discussed further the strange actions of Noah Puckerman.
Noah was stalking through the halls, pushing kids into lockers and throwing seductive smirks at cheerleaders in an attempt to save any of his badass reputation that he lost while standing up for Rachel Berry. However he couldn't stop himself from hoping she appreciated his help. He swerved around his Math room and made his way, not to the nurses office, but rather the library to start on a full plan for seducing Rachel Berry.
He was yet to find out the effects his note had on her, and whether she had figured out that it was from him. He decided to leave another note, one a day until he would 'swoop in for the kill' as he so eloquently put it on his 'Seducing Berry Plan page' in his Maths book.
Throughout the week Rachel had collected 4 more notes from Puck.
The second (after the very first one) on Tuesday after Lunch;
You're legs are looking fine today, wrap them around me sometime
N
She blushed the darkest shade of red Kurt had ever seen, and it took nearly the rest of the day for the colour to fade.
The third she received after her second period on Wednesday
My favourite skirt, how did you know?
NP
The fourth was received after glee rehearsal on Thursday afternoon, where she spent the entire class rehearsing her duet with Finn, while a jealous Quinn glared from the back row.
That duet's pretty good, but we should probably start working on your forgetting about Finn. Come find me when you're ready for a real guy.
Puck
Rachel glared at the note, and growled in frustration as she scrunched it up and threw it to the back of her locker. To anyone watching she would have looked frustrated and angry, but inside she was intrigued and curious. What is his angle? Why me, what does he need?
The final letter came Friday before lunch
Berry,
My Place. Tonight. 6pm. You'll enjoy yourself, I promise. We'll get you to loosen up.
Puckerman
Rachel stared intently at the note, curious as to whether or not she should take him up on the offer. Should she be at his house and what would happen if she didn't go. In fact, what would happen if she did? And what did he mean by 'loosen up'.
She began to stress and needed to find Kurt as soon as possible.
It was 6:04pm, and Puck was certain Rachel wasn't going to show, she wasn't late for anything. Ever. It's not like he had a huge night planned, an empty house, a few wine coolers, pizza and some scary movies. He was bound to get to at least 2nd base, and was pretty sure she'd fall for him in no time. But none of this would work if Berry decided NOT TO SHOW UP.
Meanwhile, Rachel was sitting in her room with Kurt stressing over the decision to be made.
"I can't go over, I bet it's some big ploy to embarrass me in front of the entire football team" Rachel cried
She had been sitting in front of her vanity, with Kurt curling her hair, and picking out an outfit at the same time.
"Honey, he's a changing man. And I don't think Puck has the motivation to pull such an elaborate prank, at his own house none the less. You're safe. And if not, myself and the others will attack him for you on Monday. First thing".
Rachel met Kurt's eyes in the mirror as he sent her a genuine reassuring smile. Rachel sigh contently and allowed Kurt to finish up his final touches before getting changed and hoping into her car.
It was 6:30, and Puck had undressed himself from, and was now just wearing a pair of sweats, sitting in front of his television strumming mindlessly at his guitar while watching one of the scary movies he had rented, when the door rang.
Confused, Puck stood and grabbed some cash imaging the pizza was early. He opened the door and stood stunned at the girl, no! woman… standing before him. Rachel was wearing the shortest shorts he had ever seen, with a red singlet, her hair was in curls flowing over her shoulders and she was staring back up at him, with a slight blush.
It was only when he noticed the blush did Puck realise she was trying her hardest not to stare at his chest, he smirked and welcomed her to his house.
"Wasn't sure you'd show, Berry. I already ordered pizza and put a movie in"
He closed the door behind her and let Rachel to the lounge room. "umm, yea sorry about that. Kurt and I were having a bit of a girls bonding session. We didn't realise how late it was".
"Cool." With that he sat back in his place and waited for Rachel to take a seat. She looked around and noticed the only place left to sit was on the couch, where Puck had already fanned himself out, taking up the entire length. As she went to sit on the floor, Puck cleared his throat.
"Room up here, Berry"
She shuffled over to the other side of the coach and sat comfortably, as he placed his legs back on top of her, and spread out further.
"What are we watching"? she asked after a minute of silence
"Dawn of the dead" Puck replied without taking his eyes of the screen
"Oh great, I love this movie". Rachel sat, cross legged, and leant her head in her hands, leaning forward, caught up in the zombie action on the screen.
Puck was caught off guard, expecting her to be so freaked out that she'd be sitting on his lap by now. He peeled his eyes from the screen to watch her watch the movie. He had never met a girl who could watch a zombie movie without flinching.
Half way through the movie, the doorbell rang. Puck paused the TV, and went to grab the pizza. "I got supreme, hope that's okay"
He walked back in with a large pizza and picked up the wine coolers on the way from the door. He threw the pizza in Rachel's lap, and opened a wine cooler as he pressed play again. He could see Rachel eyeing the drink in his hand and smirked.
"A problem with the drink, Berry"
He looked over to see her demolishing a huge piece of pizza, delicately wipe her mouth clean and reply, "If I wasn't driving, I could really go for one of them right now".
"You what…" He was staring at what was turning out to be the sexiest girl he had ever met. The movie, the pizza and the wine coolers? How could this get any better? Hey cool it Puckerman, make her blush, that'll shut her up…
"You could always stay the night and drive back tomorrow morning" he suggested with a small smirk tugging at his lips.
"Oh, could I? Dad and Daddy are away, so it's just me at home anyway. It would be really great. Thank you Noah" She smiled, grabbing another piece of pizza and a wine cooler before going back to the movie.
Puck was stunned. Coolest. Girl. Ever.
How was he going to get Berry to fall for him before he could fall for her?
It was 2am when Puck and Rachel had decided to go to sleep, they had watched 3 horror movies, demolished the pizza and had a pretty good buzz going by the end of the night, and then Puck found himself in a very interesting conversation about sports with Rachel. Who happened to be the only girl he knew that could tell him who had won the superbowl every year for 10 years.
Puck took the couch and Rachel made her way up to Pucks room, rummaging around for a shirt to wear to bed. She came down for a glass of water wearing Puck's football jersey, which hung at mid-thigh. Puck watched her skipped down the stairs and once again that night, stared in shock. This was by far the hottest thing he had ever seen.
He followed her into the Kitchen, and pinned her again the counter as she was pouring a glass of water.
"Berry. That is the hottest thing I have ever seen"
Rachel looked around and then stared into his eyes "What are you talking about, Noah"
"You, in my Jersey. You need to do that more often"
"Well, I couldn't find anything that fit nicely, and didn't smell like you" Rachel had secretly fallen in love with his smell within minutes of standing in his room, and she chose the jersey because it smelt the most like him, but was clean. As far as she could tell.
Puck gave a small smirk, and if you asked him later why he did it, he would blame the wine coolers and Quinn's plan, but he leant down and brushed his lips across Rachel's before turning and walking back into the lounge room to fall asleep.
A few seconds after he had fallen on the couch and gotten comfortable, he felt a heavy pressure on his hips. He looked up to see Rachel straddling him with the most sensual smirk she could muster. And it did wonders to him.
Puck grabbed her by the back of the head, and entwined his fingers through her hair, pulling her down to him, into a deep passionate kiss.
Rachel woke up the next morning with heavy arms encircling her waste on a coach in a strange room. Her heart skipped a beat, and she jumped off the coach, only to find Puck looking at her strangely.
"Sorry, I just… forgot where I was"
Puck smiled, genuinely smiled at her and sat up, grabbing her hand in his.
"My mum and sister won't be back until tonight, want to do something today?"
Rachel studied his face for a while, before nodding her head and allowing a smile to grace her lips.
They spent the day watching more movies, cuddled up on the coach, playing xbox, Puck found out Rachel was pretty good at COD as well, and then practicing a few duets, by suggestion of Rachel.
At the end of the day, only a few moments before Puck's family got home, Puck walked Rachel to her car. He had never had so much fun with a girl before, without doing… you know, anything, and couldn't help but wonder if maybe Rachel and him could be more than whatever the hell they are at the moment, regardless of some stupid plan.
He placed his fingers with hers and pulled her back to him, she hit his chest with a thud, and blushed. He laughed a little at her and then lowered his lips into a kiss.
She got in her car and drove off. Puck was at a loss of what to do. None of this was in his plan.
Rachel couldn't stop thinking about him the entire drive home. Sure the drive was only 10 minutes, but the thought of Noah and herself together, lasted in her mind the entire night. She could not get the smile off her face and Monday could not get here soon enough.
Puck went to a party at Santana's that night, and blew off every advance a cheerleader put forward. He didn't want to get with anyone, and he didn't care what everyone thought.
"You okay man, you seem a little off tonight" Mike asked
"Yea dude, just tired. Long day", but in his mind Puck was really thinking Nah man, I'm fucked. I'm in love with Rachel, whose in love with Finn, whose the stand-in father for my child being carried by his girl friend… how the fuck do you think I feel?
Woah woah woah… I did not just say I love Rachel Berry. Fuck me... I do. This cannot turn out well for me.
Monday came around finally, and Puck had made his decision, he was a stud and studs are not scared of asking a girl out, even though they don't do girlfriends. That one night with Rachel had changed his mind completely, he had to have her.
Puck strolled up with a well-placed smirk on his face and leant against the locker next to Rachel's as she rummaged around looking for her books. She closed the locker and jumped when she noticed him standing there staring at her.
"Ahh… Hi Noah" she said with an unmistakable hint of uncertainty.
"Look Berry, I don't do this… ever. But Friday night was, you know. Kind of cool" His smirk turned into a slightly embarrassed, but very genuine smile when he continued "wanna do it again sometime?"
He stared at her intently and watched as the look of shock wore off her face and turned into the sweetest smile he had ever seen. "Noah, that sounds like a great idea".
He smiled and turned to walk away, he quickly spun back and caught her by the elbow before she could turn away completely and make her way to her first class "To be clear, by agreeing to go on a date to me, you are agreeing to being my girlfriend… no funny business, no Finn shit, no one lays a hand on you. You get slushied you let me know". His face was serious, and she stared into his hazel gaze.
The truth is, Rachel had long forgotten about Finn over the weekend, all those thoughts had been replaced by the image of a tall, well-built, tanned badass with one strange haircut. Rachel smiled one more time, got up on her toes, leant a hand on his chest to balance herself and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Puck smirked, brushed a hair off her face and kissed her again, before they parted ways and went to their first class. Yes, Puck actually went to class.
The day went fast, but that didn't stop William McKinley's great gossipers from spreading the rumour that badass Puck was dating Berry the freak. Puck had punched half a dozen guys in the face throughout the day for saying anything along the lines of 'Berry the freak', backed up by the other glee guys, Matt, Mike and Finn, and few toes being run over by Artie.
The week went on easily, people began to back off with fears of being pulverised by Puck, Rachel's goo-goo eyes towards Finn and halted completely as of Puck and Rachel's first date that Friday night, and Quinn had begun to relax after noticing Rachel's infatuation with her new boyfriend.
It was a Tuesday when Puck's nightmares reared their heads. Quinn caught up with him in the hallway between classes to thank him for distracting Rachel for a while, and that he could come to her ultrasound that afternoon to find out the sex of their baby. Puck had felt extremely guilty the entire time he was with Rachel about lying to her. Mostly about the baby but also about the fact that their relationship had begun on false intentions. He liked her, really liked her and he couldn't hurt her.
"Puck, hold up." Quinn yelled, attempting to carry her 6 months pregnant body to catch up to him.
"What is it, Q?" He said, in a slightly irritated voice
"I just… thanks for this whole Rachel thing. She seems really taken with you, it's a huge weight off my shoulders"
"Yea well, it's not really that big an issue, she's cool"
Quinn looked at him strangely, sure she wanted him to distract her from Finn, but she didn't want her baby daddy to fall for her, she couldn't have Rachel-the-glee-freak in her babies life, if she kept it that was.
"You don't like her… do you?"
Puck stopped walking and turned to face her, he glared at her and after a few seconds of silence he answered honestly
"I really do Quinn, so don't mess with her and I would appreciate if you didn't tell her about our initial plan"
Puck stormed off and Quinn stood there watching after him, fuming at the outcome of her 'genius idea'.
Little did the pair know, that the two largest glee gossips could hear the entire conversation with shock.
"We have to tell Rach, she can't go on with a guy whose lying to her" Kurt exclaimed
"I know, but you heard the man. He likes her, maybe he'll fix this" Mercedes replied
"What about Finn, he doesn't know the baby isn't his"
"This is a hot damn mess, we have to tell the others" Kurt nodded and they both pulled out their phones to text Artie and Tina.
Glee that afternoon was awkward, and Rachel, Mike, Matt, Santana and Brittney were the only ones who didn't notice. Puck was being given death stares from Quinn, Finn was staring intently at Quinn, wondering why she was 'hating on' Puck as Mercedes so nicely put it. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie were sharing confused, sympathetic and irritated looks at Rachel, Quinn, Puck and Finn. And the others sat in oblivion listening to Mr. Shuester.
It wasn't until half way through the class that Mercedes couldn't stand it and pulled Rachel aside.
"Diva, you have to listen to me, this is some of the most important news of your young life" She started
Rachel watched her intently then answered "Are you ok Mercedes, you know I'm here if you need me"
Merecedes sighed and within a few short minutes had explained the plan between Quinn and Puck to get Rachel over Finn, and the paternity of Quinn's baby. Rachel's eyes began to swell up with tears, and Mercedes had to catch her when her knees buckled and she fell. Puck ran over to check on her. Apparently Rachel's fire was back and she stood up, slapped him and stormed out of the room yelling "Quinn, you should tell Finn the truth, you don't deserve his kindness".
Pucks face paled and he turned to Quinn, who was staring attentively at the ground.
Finn stared at her in confusion then voiced his only question.
"Quinn, what is she talking about. What's happened"?
Quinn's eyes began to water and she looked up at Finn with a look of pure guilt and pain plastered across her face.
"It's Pucks", she mumbled. Finn fixed his gaze on Quinn's stomach and then asked, "Excuse me…" Quinn turned from him and stared at the piano before taking a deep breath and saying clearly and loudly "the baby is Puck's. I'm so sorry, please, please forgive me, can we go talk, I need to explain" but it was too late, Finn had stood up and calmly walked out of the room with a blank expression on his face, seconds later he came running back in and tackled Puck to the floor where he landed 5 good punches to the face before getting up again and making his way back to the door.
"You're not a girlfriend, you lying, cheating, bitch. And you" and he said turning back to Puck "You are no friend, and I think it's safe to say you and Rachel, definitely over as well". Finn turned back and made his way out the door and towards the auditorium where he knew Rachel would be.
Puck felt his heart clench Rachel, shit I forgot. Damn it Quinn, Damn Finn and stupid babies and… shit. I need to find her.
Puck headed for the door when Tina reached out a grabbed his arm. "There is no way she will want to see you right now"
"What do you mean, I didn't want to lie to her but I have to explain. We weren't together or anything" Puck had a look of confusion, hurt and anger on his face and all he wanted to do was find Rachel and pull her into his arms for a hug.
Tina looked at him then back to Kurt Mercedes and Artie with a pleading face.
"She knows dude" Artie was the first one to say anything
"Knows what?" Knowing full well what Artie was about to say.
"She knows about yours and Quinn's plan to distract her from her feelings for Finn… Not cool"
Puck paled further and felt as if he was going to be sick. A week and a half, that's all they had. That's all it took, a week and a half and he loved Rachel Berry. Shit he hadn't even told her yet, and now she was gone.
He let out a loud, angry grunt before punching the wall and leaving the room.
Mr Shue let the others go home, and told them that they should all take the next few lessons off to let the atmosphere in the club cool down a bit.
It had been 3 days since the news broke and Rachel hadn't seen or spoken to Puck since. He had called her and texted her close to a hundred times, shown up at her house 3 times, only to be turned away by her fathers, at Rachel's request and he left her more notes in her locker, which she tore up and placed back in his before reading any of them.
Quinn and Finn had yet to talk as well, leaving Quinn and Puck guilty and heart broken, while Finn and Rachel were left alone and hurting.
It was that night, when Rachel got a call from Finn.
"Hey Rach, are you busy tonight"
"No, not at all, why's that" She replied, a small smile on her face.
"I just need some company, I'm having a really hard time being happy at the moment, you know"
"Yea, I really do know. Come over in about 10?"
"Sure" with that the two hung up and prepared for a night of what they both expected would be full of sadness and bitching.
Finn turned up 15 minutes later to an empty house, bar Rachel. Her dads had gone away again, which wasn't unusual.
Rachel let him in with a small smile; that Finn had noticed didn't reach her eyes. Finn cast a similar smile back and they sat down in silence in her living room for a few minutes.
Nothing was said, but Finn had stood up and moved over to the couch Rachel was curled up on, he pulled her towards him, cupped her face in his hands and began kissing her slowly.
Rachel didn't know how to react. This was her boyfriend's… ex-boyfriend's… who ever he was, best friend and as far as she knew he hadn't broken up with his lying bitch of a girl friend yet. But here he was kissing her.
It was only moments before she returned the kiss with one of her own, deepening it. Finn leant forward and laid Rachel on her back, without breaking the kiss.
The two made out for a while before Finn broke the kiss off, and stood from the couch. Rachel straightened herself up and then looked him in the eye. His smile filled his eyes this time, and leant down to peck her once on the cheek.
"I should go…" he started "but, umm, Hey Rach… could I pick you up on Monday for school"? He gave her his goofiest smile and she smiled in return nodding her head.
"I'll text you when I'm on my way then" Rachel stood to lead him to the door and they shared a final kiss before Finn was on his way home.
For Rachel, the weekend was filled with more texts and calls from Puck that, again, she refused to answer.
Monday morning, Rachel jumped out of bed 5 minutes before her alarm went off, her excitement couldn't be hidden, she used her extra adrenaline on her morning work out, grabbed a calming shower and got changed in time to hear Finn honk his horn in the drive way outside. Rachel ran down the stairs missing every second one in an attempt to make it to her front door, and outside faster than possible. Finn was waiting to open the passenger side door.
Neither of them spoke on the ride to school. Rachel was bursting to ask what was going on between the four of them, but she was far to angry at Puck and knew Finn was still hurting over Quinn to bring it up, so instead the ride continued in silence.
Finn and Rachel walked into school together, not holding hands, but rather close. Close enough for the rest of the student body to suspect something, for Quinn to run for the closest bathroom before she burst into tears in the middle of the hallway, and for Puck to punch a locker as they strode past. Not spearing either Quinn or Puck and glance.
The day was slow, and Rachel was tearing herself apart inside, on the outside she looked peaceful and calm with the development of babygate (aptly named so by Kurt). On the inside Rachel knew that she was over Finn, she harboured no further romantic feelings for him, but rather for the boy who had in one week both stolen her heart and then broken it. If she could use Puck to get over Finn then surely she could use Finn to get over Puck.
It was during her inner thought process, between 3rd and 4th period that Rachel bumped into the blonde who had seemingly made her life so, so much harder than it was a few weeks ago. And Rachel wasn't even pregnant!
"Oh Quinn, I'm so sorry" Rachel managed to squeeze out before attempting to steady herself and run off before she was stopped
"He really likes you, you know" Quinn said, without as much of a tremble in her voice, she was sincere and caring.
Rachel stared at her for a second, knowing full well she was talking about Puck.
"He hurt me, you both hurt me. Your plan, his confidence, both of your secrets… I can't just forgive and forget Quinn"
Rachel tried to side step the pregnant girl, but failed when Quinn grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her into and empty classroom before locking the door behind her.
"Quinn, What…" Rachel was cut off
"I know what I did was stupid, I was so angry about you and Finn, I just wanted my boyfriend back. I wanted the baby to be Finn's, not Puck's. I can't change what I've done, I used Puck, and his loyalty to our child to get him to do things, I know I shouldn't. But he really likes you, and if I dare say it, loves you. You can't just turn your back on him, you have to talk"
Quinn's eyes were pleading, her guilt for both what she did to Finn, and how she used Puck to get to Rachel were evident in her face. So much stress could not be good for the baby thought Rachel.
"Quinn, I… I don't know what to say. I never thought about stealing Finn from you, yes I liked him but… I really did… do like Noah. But he hurt me…"
"He wants to fix it"
Rachel stared, ad could feel herself giving in, all she wanted all weekend was to run into Noah's arms and tell him she's sorry for leaving without and explanation
"You know, Quinn… Finn misses you too. He won't say it, but I can tell. He's lonely"
Quinn let out a sad laugh, and walked towards Rachel, pulling her up from the desk she was leaning on and into a friendly, comforting hug. The two girls parted after a few moments, both with tears of both joy and sadness in their eyes. They linked arms, and left the classroom, only to find they had missed their next class and were on their way to lunch.
They were receiving looks from everyone they passed and the people in the cafeteria, the most obvious, and prevalent was a small smile from Puck, as he witnessed his baby mama and (hopefully still) girlfriend become friends, as well as the disapproving glares from Finn. Rachel couldn't help but think she had betrayed Finn, but on the other hand thought this would be the first step towards forgiveness and fixing the issue at hand.
She was wrong.
Glee was horrific. Finn and Puck spent the first 5 minutes yelling at each other about stolen girlfriends, the baby in Quinn's belly, and the selfishness of both men. The next 5 was spent with Mike and Matt attempting to pull Puck and Finn from each other while Rachel and Quinn squeezed each others hand yelling at the boys to break it up.
"STOP IT FINN!" Rachel yelled, tears building in her eyes
"PUCK, LET HIM GO" Quinn continued, the two girls now with tears rolling down their faces.
During a small moment, when the two boys had lost contact with each other, the girls jumped in to break up the fight and console a man. The fact that Rachel jumped to Finn and Quinn to Puck just fired the boys up more and they pounced back towards each other.
A loud whistle broke up the fight and the everyone looked over at Tina, who, after being usually quiet, had been louder than the screams, pointed to Quinn, who no one but Rachel and Tina had witnessed fall to the ground in pain. Everyone halted, and Mr Shue, who had walked in, not moments before Quinn collapsed, had called and ambulance.
Puck, Finn and Rachel paced the waiting room, while Mr. Shue had gone back with Quinn when she had been brought in. The other members of glee had made their way to Kurt's house to wait for any news.
Puck and Finn shared a glance, and Puck let out a sigh. He was about to walk up and strike up a conversation with Finn in hopes to maybe talk over what's going on, yes he was going to indulge in some feelings, so what?
That was when Finn walked over, pulled Rachel towards him and kissed her, firm on the lips. Rachel didn't respond she just stiffened in Finn's arms, confused and shocked. After a moment, she realised what had happened, and pulled away, much harsher than expected, out of Finns arms. Her hand rushed to her mouth, and covered it while she gave Finn and shocked look through her eyes. Puck was fuming, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to calm down, but very ready to strike at any moment.
Rachel noticed, and stood between the two, she raised both of her hands towards the chests of the boys and very firmly, and in a raised voice said "All right, stop this now!"
Both boys, relaxed a little, and stared slightly confused at the short girl standing in front of them.
"I've had enough! Finn, you are so obviously still in love with Quinn, and I understand that everything happening at the moment is extremely nasty, but if you didn't still have feelings for her, if you didn't care, you wouldn't be pacing this room right now waiting for any news. So stop pretending there is something between us to get back at Puck". Puck smirked at his (what he had hoped sill was) girlfriend, and then back at Finn who was gaping at Rachel.
Rachel turned to her smirking (what she hoped was still her) boyfriend "And Puck, what you have done to both Finn who was suppose to be your best friend, and myself, whom you are dating is atrocious and I do not in any way condone this behaviour, we both deserve and apology, and you can stop being a jealous child because I still love you"
All three of the teenagers stood silently, as Puck looked Rachel in the eyes, for the second time in less than a few minutes Rachel smacked her hand over her mouth, as if trying to stop anything more from coming out. She turned to Puck, attempting to explain, "What I meant to say, umm… I mean… what's going on between us, or you know… one day… maybe"
Puck smiled at her, and snaked his arm around her waste, pulling her towards him, he brushed a hair away from her face and leant down closer to whisper, "I know it hasn't been very long, but I love you too, Rach"
Rachel beamed up at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to kiss him, hard on the lips. Finn stood by awkwardly watching the two make up. A pang of jealousy hit him and he inside he wished that Quinn and him were able to fix what had been broken.
At that moment Mr Shue walked back out with a mall relieved face and nodded to the three. Rachel let out a high-pitched happy squeal, ran up and jumped into a hug with the teacher, the other two boys shared nods, though tense, both pleased.
"She asked for you Finn" Mr Shue said once he found his way out of the tight embrace Rachel had him in. Puck and Rachel shared a look, and then Puck asked Finn to tell her he said 'get well', and Rachel asked him to tell her she would visit her later. They walked out of the hospital and made their way to Kurt's to share the happy news.
Finn slowly walked to the room Quinn was in, pausing just out of Quinn's site in the corridor, trying to build up the courage, still trying to figure out whether he wanted this fixed or wanted to end it.
He took a deep breath and walked into the room, where Quinn was lying the bed facing the window on the other side. When she heard him sit down in the seat next to him she turned and gave him a small smile.
After 5 minutes of tense, awkward silence Finn spoke up, "So, Puck said get well… and Rachel said she'd visit you soon"
"That's nice" she replied
The silence began to settle in again, this time broken by Quinn, "I still love you"
The words were quiet and, if he weren't listening intently, waiting for her to say something, he probably wouldn't have heard her at all.
"I know" Finn was staring at the ground; he had no idea what he wanted to do.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, you have to know that. I really wish this baby was yours"
Finn contemplated for a while, this could be his chance to break up with her, he looked up, into her eyes. They were pleading with him silently; he took a very deep breath, and grabbed her hand.
"Quinn… if you let me, I still want it to be mine. You know, sort of. Not like, take away Puck's right as a father and all, but you know… I suppose the baby's mums boyfriend should probably get to know the baby somehow, right?"
He gave her a small smile, which was returned by Quinn jumping out of bed and onto his lap, to give him a large hug.
2 days later, Rachel, Puck and Finn were all in Quinn's room, waiting for her to feel ready to get up and go.
"So, where are you going to stay now? I mean… you could keep staying at my house but I don't think my mums very happy about the whole lying thing" Finn asked.
"Well actually, Finn, I've kind of got a place to stay" She smiled at the thought, and Rachel finished off her sentence.
"Seeing as I'm the only one who isn't directly affected by this child by being the father or fake father, I thought it would be better for her to stay at my house. A more stress-free environment for her and the baby" She flashed a large smile, and Puck chuckled, while Finn and Quinn smiled brightly.
Puck and Finn may not have fixed everything in such a short period of time, but seeing as their respective girlfriends had decided to become best friends in no time at all, and then room mates, it was inevitable that eventually the boys would be back on good terms, and the baby would be surrounded by 4 loving, caring parental figures.