"Oh. I'm happy for you, dude. You and her. I always thought it'd be me, but secretly I hoped it'd be you."
To anyone else, that must have sounded like a veiled insult, but Puck had meant every word. Rather, Noah meant every word, because when he was with her he wasn't Puck, some badass player. No, he was Noah, a good Jew, a family man. The fact was, Noah had never wanted to sleep with Rachel. Not that he hadn't wanted other things… He had wanted to hold her hand as they walked down the hallway. He had wanted to watch her laugh every single minute of the day. He had wanted to stay up all night with her, just talking. He had wanted to go down on one knee to her. He had even wanted a family with her, just a big happy Puckerman-Berry clan. But he had never wanted to steal her innocence. He had never wanted to be the one to take away one of her dreams. He had never wanted her to have to feel like she was obliged to be with him, just because she had given him her virginity. And yes, he had hoped that if she had to give it up to anyone it would be Finn, not because he thought they were meant to be, not even because he particularly liked Finn, but because he knew she would find some solace in the fact that she had always believed they were meant to be.
Still, Finn didn't deserve her. Finn didn't deserve that smile, those adorable outfits or her future. But Finn could go places. Finn was the quarterback. Finn was the star of the Glee club. Finn was, Noah admitted, a born leader. Finn could make it in New York, and that was what Rachel needed. Not a dead-end little pool cleaning business. Not some rebel who was flunking every class but lunch. Not someone who was destined to be trapped in the small town lifestyle forever. So Noah did what he could for her. He opened doors, he pulled out chairs and he even stood up for her when Finn was too concerned for his reputation to do anything. And most importantly, he stood back. He didn't roll his eyes when Rachel followed Finn like a puppy dog. He didn't slam Finn against a locker when he blew Rachel off for some party that she wasn't invited to. He was her only friend, her best friend, because that was what she needed. He was who she called when she had nothing else to do, and he took what he could. In the end, he had always known it would end this way; That was the price he paid. No one had ever chosen him over Finn, and no one ever would. After all, there was no reason to. Noah didn't have anything going for him but an inflated ego and a cheeky grin, and that could only get you so far.
He was just a Lima loser, and she was going to be a star.
So, what did you think? FF stuffed up the original a little bit, but I'm glad because I learned how to edit on-site! Please review, if you feel like it!