Ch. 1. Physical Education

A.N. This story starts where Special Education left off for Puck and Rachel and fast-forwards ahead. Characters and couples are on a winding road that will take them through high school, into college, and maybe beyond. Multiple character perspectives will be featured, along with occasional suggested listening on my youtube channel. The universe is not related to my other stories, but the characterizations will probably be familiar. The idea is actually loosely based on a prompt given to me by chrpangel last year to build a story around the song Two Out of Three Ain't Bad (by Meat Loaf) for Puck and Rachel (and Quinn), though the story I've come up with has taken on a life of its own, in part to reflect Season 2's events before the hiatus.

T for now (language and innuendo) but will probably become M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or anything familiar.

…

Damn this whole having a conscience thing, Puck groaned to himself as he left the Berry house. It was probably a losing battle, but he still thought there was a chance he could win Finn's friendship back. De-virginizing another girlfriend of Finn's would not be the way to do that. He'd been friends with Finn longer than he and Rachel had…whatever it was they had. Besides, Finn was so wrapped up in Rachel, he didn't seem to even mind that the new Sam kid was all over Quinn. Sam was a floppy-haired limp-dick, so Puck figured he had a pretty good shot at getting Quinn back. Puck thought that if he stayed away from Rachel, he'd have a chance at restoring his friendship with Finn AND actually snagging Quinn. But with Rachel in the picture, he was sure neither of those things would happen. So leaving was the right thing to do, for sure.

Still, as he closed the front door behind him, the look of disappointment in Rachel's eyes when he said he couldn't do this was seared into his brain. At first, he'd wanted to explain that he just meant he couldn't keep making out, leading to taking her virginity while she was still with Finn. The key being that she was still with Finn, not the virginity part. Not to mention that he was sorta with Santana again and she'd have his balls in a jar if he cheated on her with Rachel. But when she quickly agreed that he was right and she was wrong for going so far with him to make Finn jealous again, Puck had a realization.

Rachel freakin' Berry had been using him.

And not in a good way.

He didn't like it at all. Being used—over and over—by girls who were just mad at Finn and trying to make him jealous—not cool. Well, the whole make-out session stuff was hot and all, but a part of him—one he'd never admit to having—had thought every time, every fucking time, that Rachel was actually into him—that they might actually be something together.

Not that Puck needed or wanted to be like, attached to anyone.

Fuck no.

Casual sex was better, he assured himself. No strings.

And if he should be attached to anyone, it should be his baby mama, Quinn, he reasoned.

So that day Puck turned his back on whatever feelings he had for Rachel Berry. He left her house in the rearview mirror and didn't look back.

Meanwhile, Rachel pushed down whatever feelings she had for Noah Puckerman to focus on her boyfriend, her dream man, Finn Hudson. She didn't understand the gravitational pull that drew her to Noah, but she decided that she had a completely different pull to Finn. She was drawn to him for his good qualities and she understood his bad qualities the way she had thought he understood hers by now. (Of course, at the time she didn't realize that she was drawn to Puck for similar reasons—she chalked most of it up to his irresistible sex appeal.)

Finn was the right choice for her. He was her boyfriend; this was just a fight and a little set-back. But the Finchel would rise again, she vowed to comfort herself.

And rise it did, though it took a bumpy course.

… 8 Months Later …

Rachel and Finn eventually started dating again after their indiscretions with others came to light. They just had some additional rules for each other: Finn had to stay away from Santana and Quinn; and Rachel had to stay away from her ex-boyfriends too (Puck and Jesse). Staying away from Jesse was easy, considering he had gone off to college and had no real ties to McKinley anymore. Staying away from Puck was a little more difficult. Glee interactions were acceptable under her agreement with Finn. What she didn't tell Finn was how she often saw the Puckermans at Temple, and it seemed like Noah had been attending more of the Jewish Community events. And yes, Rachel knew that lying or withholding the truth was what got them into trouble in the first place, but she reasoned that as long as she didn't backslide into an unintended kissing session, she'd be fine. It was the start of their senior year and Rachel and Finn were pretty much on top of the world—as much as glee club losers could be. They were in competition with Sam and Quinn for most adorable power couple, and they all had these intense needs to be popular.

Maybe they cracked under the pressure.

But Rachel knew she wasn't seeing things when she noticed the looks Finn exchanged with Santana. Flirty looks. Sexy looks. Secretive looks.

Rachel couldn't stand it. Not any longer. She didn't have any proof that Finn was cheating on her with Santana, but her suspicions were overwhelming. And there was the other matter to consider—she was still a virgin and Finn had stopped pressuring her so often for sex. For a brief time, Rachel had been relieved to have such an understanding boyfriend, which she told him.

"Thank you, Finn, for understanding that I'm not ready to take this big step with you until I know I can trust you and I know that you won't leave me."

"Uh, yeah, you're welcome, Rach," Finn shrugged sheepishly and graced her with his cute half-smile.

Rachel melted. She indulged in some of the physical activities she was comfortable with—without actually having sex. She thought that was satisfying enough for them both.

But later, the paranoia crept up into her thoughts. Why didn't Finn bring up the fact that he still had trust issues with her too for her cheating on him? He always used to throw that back in her face. Why did he gradually stop asking (constantly) when she'd be ready? Could he be 'getting some on the side'—from Santana?

There was one person she knew she had to ask.

…

Puck was pretty surprised to see Rachel striding toward him through the crowded hallway. He looked around to see if anyone else around could be her target. Nope, she stopped directly in front of him.

"Sup?" he grinned as he closed his locker and leaned against it casually. "Have to say, considering your little pact with Finn, I didn't expect to see you talking to me in public outside of the JCC," he looked down at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, well, I think our pact is dissolved," Rachel said in a low voice, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear. Why did Noah Puckerman always have to look so…tempting? She bit her lip to keep herself in check. She was on a quest for answers—for justification in her doubts about Finn.

"What happened?" he asked. Damn, he sounded too concerned. He tried to fix it. "What's this have to do with me?" he said in a rough voice.

Rachel was undeterred by his rude demeanor. She knew better than to take that very seriously. "I have a question for you. I need your expert opinion about…Santana and Finn," she looked sideways and lowered her voice further to a whisper. Puck had to lean into her to even hear what she was saying. Her hair smelled really good. Puck wanted to move but he couldn't back away and still hear her. He tried not to breathe in the scent of her shampoo.

Rachel continued haltingly, "Do you think it's likely or unlikely that Finn would go to Santana for illicit sex…since he and I…don't...because I haven't…given it up?"

Now Puck let out a breath and took a step away from her. He tried to force himself to think before speaking, but instead right away he said, "Yeah, I'd say it's fuckin' likely."

Shit. He figured he'd said the wrong thing when Rachel's eyes started watering up.

She took a moment and composed herself, looking up at him with steely resolve. "I should probably have more evidence than just my suspicions and yours before I…do something rash. Have you been…dating Santana again? It's hard for me to keep track, you know, especially since you and I are not supposed to have any interactions. And since Santana and I are practically sworn enemies, I obviously can't ask her who her latest…boyfriend is. What I'm asking is: do you see her with enough frequency to have an idea if she could also be…seeing Finn? Or is your assessment without basis?"

Rachel realized she was rambling and speaking quickly, but she had to get to her next class and accomplish her intelligence-gathering mission now since she didn't know if she'd have another opportunity to talk to Noah when Finn wasn't around.

Puck smirked. "Yeah, I've been dating Santana, if that's what you want to call it. And yeah, she'd have time to see other people. We're not exclusive. She usually says she's seeing Brittany when she's not with me, which is totally cool with me. But now that you mention it, lately when I've asked to get in on that action, she'll say no. And Santana didn't used to say no, if you get my drift." He leered down at Rachel, enjoying the shocked look on her face. He loved getting reactions out of her like that. She was so hysterical.

"You're disgusting!" she managed to exclaim in an offended tone while maintaining a low volume.

The combination of shouting in a whisper was something Puck found unusual coming from Rachel Berry, infamous loudmouth. He laughed.

At that, Rachel turned on her heel and did her best speed-walking to get to her class. She was more worked up than ever.

Puck watched her go before sauntering across the hall to Spanish. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but at least it was entertaining.

…

By the time glee club started, Rachel had a plan to interrogate a few members. She grabbed the elbow of her first victim and headed for the front of the room, in sight but out of earshot of the other students.

"Brittany, I have a serious question for you. Do you ever…see Santana and Puck at the same time?"

"Sure," Brittany shrugged. "All the time. I see them both right now." Brittany waved at Santana, and then at Puck, who gave her a cocky nod.

Rachel sighed and leaned closer to whisper her explanation. "I mean, lately, have the three of you ever…had…make-out sessions?…All together at the same time," she stressed.

Brittany frowned. "I don't think so…I know you mean threesomes. We totally used to do that," she assured Rachel, who frowned back. "But we haven't done that for a long time."

"Thanks, Brittany, that's all I wanted to know," Rachel said as she headed back to the chairs.

"You know I dated Artie, right?" Brittany asked randomly.

Rachel nodded. "Yes, you were a cute couple."

Brittany nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know."

Finn walked into the room and Rachel swore she saw a look, a little puckering of his lips, directed to Santana—who was definitely not on the same side of the room as his girlfriend. Rachel was slowly boiling over internally, and suffering through glee next to him as they listened to Sam and Quinn singing another sub-par duet was nearly impossible. Rachel's bad mood exaggerated Quinn's breathy voice and occasional sharps and accentuated the twang in Sam's enunciation and tone. She only realized she was clenching her fists when Finn reached over and patted her hand, gently working her fingers into a relaxed position.

For a split-second, Rachel let herself smile as she gazed into his kind eyes. Then she thought of how duplicitous those eyes were.

Not that she could say too much about that, given that it was true that she had cheated on him (even if it was only kissing) whereas he had only lied to her about his previous experience (even though that experience was way worse than kissing, in her mind). But Rachel was convinced that now Finn was cheating on her with Santana, and not just as a one-time make-out session kind of thing like what she did with Puck. So she pulled herself together and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "We need to talk."

Her tone must have been harsh because Finn looked at her in surprise then nodded and dropped her hand. He gave her one last hurt-puppy-dog-look before turning his attention to Mr. Schue and his ridiculous lesson on teamwork that was somehow supposed to be related to the 5-part harmony they were about to attempt.

Incorporating complicated harmonies came from Kurt's experience at Dalton; and since Karofsky graduated and the Hudson-Hummel family wasn't rich, Kurt transferred back and had rejoined glee. Everyone was glad to have Kurt back, even Rachel—maybe especially Rachel. Of course, she appreciated the talent he brought back to New Directions, but also they had developed a tenuous friendship, and Rachel saw a lot more of Kurt over the summer while visiting the Hudson-Hummels and waiting for Finn to finish summer football practices.

As Mr. Schue wrapped up his lesson of the day and got into assigning the parts, Rachel decided that the idea of 5-part harmonies seemed like a worthy one, as long as she still got a solo. But she hated the way Mr. Schue kept singling her out as a bad team-mate—well, at least he seemed to be doing that with his eyes during his teamwork speech. It's not that Rachel didn't recognize the talent of the others in the group—she did. But her talent was all she had; it was her identity—especially now that she was about to lose Finn.

Rachel didn't get a solo. She let her mind wander, working through past events and what she was going to do next.

When glee was finally over, Rachel worked up her courage and protected her heart to hear the confession she was certain was coming.

"Finn, I need you to be honest with me," she said as she faced him in their chairs.

"Ok. What's this about?"

Everyone was straggling out of the music room, taking longer than humanly possible in Rachel's opinion, but she wanted to wait until the room was clear. Finally she said, "It's about us. And about you and Santana."

Finn looked like a deer caught in headlights of an oncoming car. Then he looked like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His expressions alone confirmed Rachel's fears. She felt a tightness constricting her chest. She thought she might pass out. But she had to hear him say it. She tried to calm her breathing. Her fantasy of her perfect life with Finn and their happily ever after was crumbling in front of her.

"Are you having sex with her?" she asked directly. "Please, just be honest."

"Ok…" he winced before confirming. "Yes."

"Yes?" she squeaked, even though it was the answer she was expecting. Rachel's mind went blank as everything she'd been planning to say escaped her.

Finn looked at her with sorrow as he nodded. "I'm really sorry, Rach. It's like part of me knew it was wrong but another part thought what she said made sense."

"Santana? What did she say?" Rachel managed to ask. She needed to know what Santana said to persuade Finn that this affair was a good idea—not that she thought Finn needed much convincing. She braced herself for his response.

"I dunno, I guess Santana screwed with my head, but she said stuff that made sense. About not hurting you but still getting what I need…you know, physically."

"But why keep dating me if you were with her? Don't you think this means we should break up?" Rachel asked.

"No, don't you see?" he asked with an odd gleam of excitement lighting his eyes. "I thought we had a good solution. Like Santana said, you're not ready for sex, but I am and she is. And you and I have this like awesome power couple status thing going on, you know? You've become more popular, even outside glee club. But also, it's like if we break up again, the club will suffer without our…united leadership. You know what I mean?"

"How selfless of you to think of the glee club," she said with sarcasm Finn apparently couldn't detect.

"Yeah, I was trying to be thoughtful—finding the best compromise," Finn nodded.

"And I suppose everyone knows about this arrangement except for me? Again?"

Finn scratched his head. "Don't think so. I didn't tell anyone, and I don't think she did this time. She just really likes having sex without the dating issues, and I think she realized that we wouldn't be able to keep it going if anyone knew, so she didn't blurt it out this time like she did that day in glee last year. So nobody else knows. Just you. And us."

The fact that Finn and Santana were an 'us' in his mind was a painful blow. In the moment, Rachel had a flash of insight about someone other than herself—which was unusual for her. Typically she had to make a concerted effort to see things from someone else's perspective. The other strange thing was that she wasn't putting herself in Finn's place, but instead she found herself thinking about Santana.

"Do you think Santana just acts that way about sex and dating because she's expected to due to her past decisions? Do you think she's lonely? Do you think she actually has feelings for you?"

Finn waved that concern away. "I don't think so. She and I don't have what you and I have. You know, with the talking and stuff. It's just sex."

Rachel flinched.

"But the good news is that Santana says I'm getting better at doing it," he flashed a brief smile and looked at her hopefully. "So by the time you're ready, I'll do a good job for you," he said sincerely, taking her hand. "We're gonna be ok, right?" he implored.

Rachel almost thought there was something sweet about that statement, but the disgust and disappointment was too strong to dismiss. She pulled her hand free of his grasp. "Is that really why you're doing this with her? To get better at doing it for me?" she asked skeptically.

"Well, yeah, I mean not at first; but when Santana explained all the reasons, that one really made a lot of sense. I don't want to hurt you Rachel, you know, when it's your first time."

"Too late!" she exclaimed. "I'm already hurt! And I already decided that my first time won't be with you!" she surprised herself by shouting.

Finn was surprised too. And hurt. He stood dumbstruck for a while as he watched Rachel stomp away. It took him a few seconds before he called out, "Rachel, wait! No! Let's talk about this! I'm sorry!"

But it was all in vain. Rachel had already started building the wall around her heart against Finn.

And she knew what would make her feel better. But she wasn't quite ready to go there. As she burst out of the school and into the parking lot, the bright sunlight and singing birds contrasted sharply with her emotional state. She didn't want to feel better quite yet. She needed to wallow in her sadness, anger, disappointment, and shame. Yes, shame. She was ashamed of herself for several reasons, not the least of which was her inability to maintain a stable relationship with Finn Hudson. She was a failure. She lost. Santana won. Rachel drove home, fighting back tears.

She let them flow once she was safe in her room.

She wished the weather would cooperate and rain. She needed clouds to bring their gray haze and stormy tears to commiserate with her. She didn't really have anyone else.

…

It didn't end completely without Finn trying to call her at home, to talk to her at school, to ask her to forgive him and start over. He even said he'd stop seeing Santana. But when Rachel didn't give in, Finn gave up.

Not long after that, Finn and Santana became an official couple.

At least one brunette and two blonds at McKinley were affected by this new pair more than each girl thought she should be.

After walking around in a melodramatic fog for too long, Rachel finally made up her mind that she was going to try to move on…to do something to make herself feel better.

…

Puck was surprised again to see Rachel approach him at his locker.

"This gonna be a regular thing, Berry?" he asked nonchalantly. "You, popping up randomly to question me before Spanish class?"

"Probably," she nodded. "It depends on your response to my proposal."

Puck raised an eyebrow. Rachel started talking again.

He must have looked shocked at first when she explained her proposition. But the shock was quickly replaced with an irrepressible grin.

"Damn, B, that sounds like the best deal ever."

"Yes, I agree; it should be very satisfying," she said matter-of-factly.

"So to be clear, I'm totally on board with this. But don't you think it says something that you've been holding out on Finn for like a year, but suddenly you're ready to drop your panties for me? Just sayin'."

"So you don't want to do it?" she asked slowly, eyes wide and vulnerable.

"Fuck no, I wanna fucking do it. I'm down," he said quickly. "Didn't you listen when I said I'm on board? I just want to make sure it's what you really want. This isn't something you can take back. And I don't just mean your unpopped cherry." He looked at her skeptically; sure she was going to take back her offer. Part of him wanted her to take back the offer.

"That's very mature of you Noah, to be concerned."

"Yeah, uh, thanks. I'm trying. Whatever." Now he really wanted her to take back the offer.

"No need to be embarrassed that I noticed your maturity. I find it very attractive." She looked up at him and he swore she said it in that sexy voice on purpose. He felt a little movement in his junk over the way she was looking at him all sexified. Ok, he was glad she hadn't taken the offer off the table. This was just about sex, and that was his specialty.

"Oh, Berry, it is so on. This will be the best sex of your life," he boasted.

"Again, I agree. But it will be the first sex of my life, so it won't be hard to qualify as the best," she said with a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Oh shit, right. I'll be de-virginizing you to get back at Finn. That's one hell of an ending," Puck's mind was racing, and what he said he surprised him. "If we go through with this, you can never go back—you and Finn will probably never get back together. That ship has fucking sailed between me and Finn—we'll never get our friendship back the way it was because of how I fucked up and how he's a stubborn douche sometimes. So I'm up for getting down with you, B. But if you ever want to have a chance of getting back together with him, we should end this conversation right now," he warned.

"This isn't about Finn really," she protested. "It's about me."

"Ri-ight," he dismissed her response. "Whatever you say. But I'll do you up right, if that's what you really want." He felt a flash of conscience or some shit for what he was about to agree to do, but he pushed that pussy conscience thing back down. "And after your first time, we'll just have to do it again a few more times so I can prove to you that I'm the best." He flashed his sex shark grin and gave her a charming wink. That ought to seal the deal.

Rachel looked startled—not quite what he was going for.

She felt flushed and spoke slowly. "You're right. If I do this, it will be over for me and Finn."

"Yeah, revenge sex tends to do that," he shrugged. "A little delayed response there, Berry. I already said that, repeatedly."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I suppose the weight of the situation is finally hitting me," she said with a theatrical stumble backward.

Puck sighed, shaking his head at her drama-queen performance and at the way this was all going downhill. Of course this wasn't really going to happen. Of course Rachel Berry wasn't really going to give up any chance of getting back with golden boy Finn just to have a sex romp with him. He should have known. Not that he was looking forward to it more than he should. Hell no, Berry was just another hot Jew virgin he was gonna enjoy de-flowering. He was still all about getting Quinn back.

"So, you in or not?" he said finally. "I got places to be. Text me, B, when you decide." He wasn't going to force her; she was the one who asked him in the first place. And he found that being detached worked wonders with making the ladies beg to be with him. Besides, he was still trying to prove himself to Quinn. So if he could get a little from Berry on the side, that would be awesome, but he wasn't gonna make any big effort for it.

"The end of Finchel," Rachel said to herself.

Puck couldn't help but turn back toward her. "Finchel? Did you fucking give yourself a couple nickname, Berry? That's crazy." Not that he didn't already know the girl was as crazy as they come.

"Maybe I did," she crossed her arms. "After we were called Puckleberry by the school, I thought Finn and I needed a portmanteau." Puck ignored the word he didn't know and rolled his eyes as Rachel continued her pointless rambling. "Hudberry was silly, so I went with our first names. Anyway, I've decided; I came to you for a reason, even if I haven't let all of the repercussions sink in."

Puck wasn't really listening since he figured she was still talking about her method of choosing the name Finchel.

"It's senior year. I'm going to New York after I graduate to pursue my destiny on Broadway. Finn will be here in Ohio at OSU. Maybe we just weren't meant to be. And if I keep wanting revenge on him so badly, I suppose I didn't love him as much as I thought I did..."

Puck had tuned into what she was saying by now, though he wished he hadn't. "Berry, you can keep some shit to yourself. I don't need to know the details. I just need to know if you want your taste of the Puckerone," he smirked at her. This time she rolled her eyes, but her lips curved into a smile. He knew things were getting back on the right track. But Puck thought of one more thing. "Oh, and if we do this, I have two conditions. First, you have to know that we're not gonna be dating. We'll be fucking."

Rachel stopped smiling and crossed her arms more tightly. She wasn't so sure this was a good idea, but she should have realized he'd say something like this.

Puck wasn't sure if he'd just blown it.

"And second?" she asked, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Right," he nodded, surprised she hadn't run off by now. "Second, we keep it on the DL. I don't know if that screws up your little plan though."

"Well, if we have a secret affair, it won't really be public revenge on Finn, just my own little comfort…But it never bothered you before to be seen with me, when we were dating. Why do you want to keep this a secret now? Would it be that embarrassing?" her voice quivered a bit and her lip trembled.

Oh shit, not the waterworks. He couldn't stop himself from pulling her into a one-armed hug. "Hell no, it's not that at all. We'd be a couple of good looking Jews strutting down these halls," he told her with a smile. "Remember?"

She sniffled a little and nodded, so he dropped his arm from her shoulders. "It's because I'm still trying to win over Quinn, who I think still sorta hates you, so..."

"Oh, I'm sorry for propositioning you, in that case," Rachel said, with surprise evident in her voice and wide eyes. Then she raised an eyebrow at him. "But do you really think you should be accepting propositions if you're trying to be with Quinn?" she asked in a voice that was simultaneously sweet, sexy, and scolding.

"Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black?" he smirked down at her, leaning closer.

"No, our situations are not the same," she declared. She didn't seem flustered at all to Puck (who expected her to at least blush). If anything, she seemed to grow bolder. "And my question to you still stands," she said. "I'll let you think about it, and you text me back with your answer."

Rachel flounced away, and Puck watched the skirt swishing at her thighs. Shit, she totally turned it around him, didn't she? Whatever, he didn't need to think about this. He was totally going for it. But maybe he'd wait until after football practice to text her. Then it would seem like he actually did think about it. And she'd probably be creaming her panties while she waited, thinking about him.

Oh hell yeah, he was so in.

...

A.N. Next time you'll see more of the motivations behind actions in this chapter and of course what happens next. I was planning to take a longer writing break so I could read others' works, but I realized the story idea I've had floating around for months might become irrelevant depending on what happens this season on Glee, and I prefer to get it out there before it gets too far away from the Special Education episode.

I hope you do review and send me messages with suggestions for what you'd like to see happen! Thanks!