Hi! This was a new idea that came to me after the finale (which by the way was increeedible!) and has a whole host of different couples in it in different way, some Finchel, some Puckleberry, some Quinn/Puck and Will/Shelby stuff - but as to who ends p with who, I guess you'll just have to read and find out! I know vaguely where this story is going but it may change, and I hope to update relativly often because exam season's drawing to a close, thank the lord! :P I hope you enjoy chapter one, and a review letting me know what you thought would absolutely make my day :)

Donna xxx

Chapter One - The Error of Her Ways

Their lips broke apart for the first time in what must have been at least twenty minutes, both panting heavily as he admitted, his voice harsh and his breathing ragged:

"I didn't expect you to come over this time."

"Neither did I." She replied, feverishly continuing to kiss him during the gaps in their conversation.

"So..." Another kiss, "Why did you?"

"I don't know," She paused for what have been at least five seconds, her mind struggling to connect words as he continued to explore her mouth with his tongue, "I don't want to talk."

She felt him smile against her lips, "Wow, you not having eighty different things to say... Has to be a first."

"Shut up." She slapped his arm gently, peppering him with more kisses in between her words, "It kills the... Logical portion of my brain... Which is admittedly quite sizeable... To say this, but I don't think... There has to be... A reason for what we're doing." He nodded, and she continued her disjointed speech, "It's almost as if... A way of releasing stress... Like we're both just ven-"

"Berry?"

"Yes, Noah?"

"Shut up."


Rachel left Puck's house that night feeling deflated and, though she hadn't even thought it possible, even more depressed than when she'd gone over. She sighed, asking herself yet again why she was doing this. Sure, she felt satisfied physically - that boy sure knew how to kiss, and his arms, it had to be said, were just out of this world - but in ever other way possible she felt drained, disgusted with herself for behaving in a way she found so cheap... And emotionally, she was just aching for it to be a different guy who held her in his arms of an evening.

Since splitting up with Jesse almost three weeks previously, after he'd come clean to her and told her he'd only been with her to help her discover the identity of her mother, things had started to slip uncontrollably back into their old ways. Rachel felt alone, although admittedly a little relieved at the demise of the not-quite-relationship that had been she and Jesse St. James. Somewhere deep down, she had always known he was a phony, but a phony who had been the easy option after all the confusion with Finn, and she had so wanted it to be perfect.

But Rachel was beginning to see the error of her ways now - the fact was, if she wasn't with Finn, things could never be perfect.

One of the positive aspects of breaking up with Jesse, she had assumed, would be the immediate rekindling of her and Finn's romance - but that wasn't the way it had happened. Sure, the fleeting, longing glances between them had returned, along with the banter between them in the hallways; the frequent requests to rehearse their duets in glee club. But as for any actual romantic developments, there had been nothing.

To Rachel, it was the most frustrating thing in the world, and the sole reason she'd been driven once again into Puck's arms tonight. She had told herself it wouldn't happen again, that she'd stop degrading herself with their destructive little makeout sessions, but when things weren't going well for either of them, they turned to each other for a way to vent.

After Glee had ended that afternoon, Rachel had hoped that Finn would stick around, that maybe they'd finally get somewhere, or in the very least that she'd get one of their long, comforting goodbye hugs from him... No such luck. By the time she'd collected all of her sheet music and put it neatly back into her binder, she had looked up to see that Finn had gone. On the way out, trying to mask her disappointment with a somewhat cheery face and fooling no-one, she'd passed Quinn and Puck, the former of whom was shrieking something about responsibility and commitment at him.

That had been a sure-fire indication that she'd be receiving a text from Noah later that evening, shortly and bluntly asking her over. And as much as she hated herself for it, Rachel had known she'd do it, hoping that maybe, for the first time, it would make her feel even the tiniest bit better.

It hadn't.


Puck grinned as he watched Rachel leave walk down the street away from his house that evening; he couldn't help it. Something about being with her just made him feel better for reasons he wasn't quite sure of, gave him a kind of satisfaction he'd never had with another girl. He assumed it was just physical - come on, it had to be said the girl was smokin' hot and her hair smelled amazing. But there was something else, something Puck just couldn't put his finger on, something about her that made things seem temporarily okay, even when Quinn was being at her bitchiest.

Quinn freakin' Fabray. Both the centre, and the bane, of his life. Hell, he had thought all girls were hard to read, but compared to her they all seemed like a walk in the park. And yeah, he knew her complete bipolarness (If that was a word?) was down to the baby he had so unwittingly stranded her with, currently residing in her stomach and making her queen of the mood swings.

Seriously, she ought to have a crown. Some days Quinn would hold his hand, stroke his face, rest her head on his shoulder, compliment him and thank him for being so amazing to her. On these days, Puck was over the moon, positive that he was in love with her, content and with the attitude that everything would turn out absolutely fine. But then, within a day, hell, sometimes within ten seconds, something would snap inside her and she'd be going all chick batty on him, crying, calling him every name under the sun, shrieking about how he was such a worthless piece of crap who had knocked her up with this god damn curse.

Hey, he knew it was the baby, and that all he could do was hope and pray that after she was born, after she'd been given to someone who deserved her and would take care of her, things would change between he and Quinn. Because he was sure he loved her. He must do, he'd never invested this much in a chick before.

But still, it was on the days when Quinn was down that he felt like he agreed with her, that she was right. He really was worthless, really didn't deserve her... And needless to say, it was on those days that Puck would text Rachel Berry, spending an evening in frantic, passionate bliss without worries or responsibilities.

He always knew that he shouldn't, but he always did nonetheless. Because Puck knew that every time, no matter how badly things were going with Quinn, Rachel would make him feel a thousand times better.


After checking his phone for what must have been the sixtieth time that night to make sure Rachel hadn't contacted him in the last fifteen seconds, Finn flopped backwards onto his bed with a dejected sigh. This was hopeless, he didn't think he'd ever been so obsessed with a girl - sometimes, he started to scare himself. When he was talking to her, he could never hide the huge grin on his face, keep himself from noting her beautiful hair, the kooky way she dressed, the passionate expressions and the meaning she put into her words.

When she'd been with Jesse, he'd told himself he'd get over her, but needless to say that hadn't happened. And yes, he had been glad that St. James had come clean about being a total fake, but his foremost thought had been making sure Rachel was okay. He had known she must be hurting, and he wasn't going to jump straight in there, assume she'd fall for him again. He'd screwed things up just one time too many with Rachel, and this time, Finn wanted to make sure he did it right.

And that meant not making a move too soon. Making sure she was happy and that things wouldn't get all screwy with them again... And it had been a good move, at the time, not being hasty. But now, they'd both been single for three weeks, and it just seemed like nothing was progressing in the slightest. He'd see her for a few minutes a day, grasp a short conversation out of her in the hall which they'd both spend gazing at each other, and then that would be it. They'd both go to class, and he would be miserable again.

In Glee today, they'd rehearsed Total Eclipse of the Heart, with Finn singing all the lines that Jesse had used to, and he'd let himself hope that they would catch each other after class; that something, anything would happen between them. But as soon as Mr. Schue has dismissed them, Mike had asked him over to his house for an X-Box session with he and Matt.

Finn had glanced behind him to see Rachel still filing her sheet music away, and realised he had no legitimate excuse for turning them down. So, with a big, fake smile plastered on his face, he had agreed, and spent the afternoon blasting various imaginary villains to pieces with not half his usual conviction.

This was bad, he thought now, glaring at his ceiling, really bad. He wanted her, so much that sometimes it hurt; he was just crazy about her... But he really didn't want to seem too forward after her breakup. Because Rachel Berry meant too much to him to rush things between them. This time, it had to be just right.