Part I:

Don't ask her how she had ended up in this position cause she didn't remember herself. But here she was, her back to the front door, her hands on his broad chest, both panting, his alcoholic breath on her face and his arms on either side of her body caging her in.

"I said lemme pass Rae," he slurred at her trying to make eyes contact with her but failing due to his strong intoxication.

"Absolutely not Noah! Not in that state," she answered adding pressure to his chest with her hands in order to make him back away from the door.

"Come on Rae," he insisted.

"Why do you care anyway," he muttered then frowned trying to find a way to make her move.

The door was unlocked, they'd already gone through the process of her locking it and him unlocking it seconds later. She was using her small body to apply pressure to the door, keeping him from opening it.

He kept grabbing the handle and pulling on it, while she kept pushing the door closed with her back. She could only imagine how their current position could be interpreted by their friends, how it could seem really compromising, with their movement back and forth. It seemed like they'd stay doing that all night, well what was left of it anyway.

She wanted to have a little party to distract herself, mostly from her recent break-up with Finn who'd probably be, as he so wanted to, with Quinn as we speak. So Sam being a good friend invited her best friend Santana and two of his friends Puck and Matt over. They had a few drinks at home before heading to a bar to play some pool and have some beers, Puck and Matt getting drunker by the hour. Having a few herself and not in the mood anymore, Sam, San and Rachel decided to head back home before things got out of hand with Puck and Matt. They managed to drag them home without too much trouble even if they almost got into a fight in front of Sam's building. Once they were all inside the drunken duo were already talking about going out again to hit the nearest club. The thought of them wandering in the streets in their current state horrified Rachel and she made it her mission to block their exit...

"Puck man move her, she's not that heavy. Damn it I want to hit some club and get laid," Matt said from behind Puck.

"I know okay," Puck spoke up "but her stubbornness makes her pretty much unmovable," he muttered.

"Noah please don't," she pleaded with him.

"What is it to you anyway?" he finally asked, this situation was slowly killing his buzz and his mood in the process.

When Rachel looked past Noah, she saw that San was back on the couch more than happy to let her deal with the situation by herself. Matt went for a refill and Sam was telling her with his eyes that he didn't get her point either.

To avoid his eyes, she kept hers on Noah's chest mumbling,

"It just that I don't want anything to happen to you, I know it's what you do every week-end but I'm not here to see it like I am now. I won't be able to let you go and just go to sleep while you'll be out there, if you even make it to the main street..."

Noah sighed and put his forehead on her shoulder, his hands pausing on her hips momentarily. She started to get lost in the warmth of his touch, when Matt grabbed him by the shoulder in an attempt to make them clear away from the door, but Noah dodged him, his body covering hers. She squealed, her hands going to his biceps to avoid being crushed by him. But no, their bodies were aligned perfectly, chest to chest, hips to hips... Noah did managed to divert the focus of Matt's outburst,

"That's enough, move already." Matt had yelled getting right up in her face.

"Back away from her now." Noah growled through gritted teeth.

Rachel looked up at him, surprised that he was standing up for her, something he'd never done before.

Suddenly she felt cold, realizing quickly that his hard and well built body had left hers. Without breaking contact with her, he said,

"We've had our fun for the night, so let's just hit the hay," and with that he was out of her personal space. She stood there totally stunned, trying to process what would happen now that the spell was broken.

By the time she'd come to her senses, her sleeping options were narrow. Matt and Sam shared the bed on the mezzanine whereas Noah and San were on the convertible, each on the very edge of it. She considered her choice for a while before lying down next to Santana, facing her back.

Just as Rachel was drifting to sleep, a big hand grabbed her from behind, but before she had a chance to scream, she found herself being pulled against a wall of heat, the same as earlier. She sighed but soon froze when Noah squeezed her hip gently and kissed the back of her bare shoulder. Thinking it was a drunken move she pulled away, only for him to murmur in her ear "stay". She could have cried at the softness of his voice.

After a few minutes, certain that she won't move again, Noah released his hold on her hip, placing his hand on her stomach. She felt herself relax then matched his breathing as they both fell asleep.

About halfway through the night Noah was woken up by her movements, Rachel was struggling slightly, mumbling softly while grabbing at his shirt from time to time. They had moved during the night and were now facing each other. In spite of this, his hand still maintained contact with her body, resting gently on her hip, proof of his need to keep her close to him. She must have needed that contact too what with her hand on his chest. He couldn't really see her face in the dark but she was beautiful. He couldn't make out the sounds she was making either but it must be quite a dream. His eyes widened when he started hearing his name, it sounded desperate. "No Noah, no," she kept mumbling while gripping his shirt.

[Enrique]

Maybe it's the way you move,
You got me dreaming like a fool.
That I could steal your heart away,
I could steal your heart away.

Puck caressed her back gently, soothing her. Looking up at her their eyes met. Despite the dark, he saw that they were clouded by questions, shock and confusion. She frowned, taking in their position and released his shirt, slowly backing away. He shook his head, took her hand, kissed it, then placed it back on his chest. She gasped, feeling as his heartbeat increased under her palm.

Rachel still couldn't understand his sudden behavior. It wasn't like him to be sweet toward people, he always kept his walls up even with her. She tried often to show him that she didn't mean any harm but he stayed cold, barely talking to her. So why now did he lay so close to her? Maybe it was his way to say things, after all he had never been a man of big words, maybe he was the kind that prefered to show and act on how he felt, rather than talk.

She wasn't sure how to react so she just observed him, because even if she found his actions odd, she couldn't deny that she liked being close to him once more.

He relaxed under her touch but frowned seeing her frozen, waiting for him to make the next move. Was she scared? She must know he wouldn't hurt her right? Then again as he was always cold towards people, Rachel included in spite of her kindness, he couldn't fault her doubt.

"Hey," he finally said, still frowning as she looked around noticing that San was gone.

"Hi," she replied blushing, still uncertain about their position.

"You had a nightmare, that's why I-yeah," he mumbled looking down at her hand on him.

"Oh I'm sorry if I woke you up," she said, mortified,

"Ya got a good grip on my shirt but's ok I don't mind!" he chuckled softly, listening in case they made too much noise. Before he could stop himself he added,

"Best night I ever had anyway." She knew him and his reputation with girls. She had to keep her mind clear, not get distracted by their shared moment, but she also knew that right now he wasn't acting, or faking things.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I like you, I mean I like you being here with me."

He resisted the urge to touch her cheek by caressing the exposed flesh of her hip. He felt goose bumps under his thumbs as his hand moved on her back, her skin so soft under his touch.

"Noah," she whimpered, "what are you doing?" She looked up at him from under her lashes, they were close enough for his head to be just above hers, their height difference still there even with them laying down.

"I dunno but tell me when you want me to stop because I sure can't," he mumbled, pulling her even closer to him, his face now in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent, she smelt like peach, so sweet that he groaned.

[Nicole]
No matter what it is you think
I'm not the kind of girl to blink,
And give my heart away
Stop trying to steal my heart away

She was sure that her brain was gone, with his hands on her she couldn't think straight. So she acted on instinct, grabbing his head not wanting it to leave her neck. He put his hands under her shirt caressing her back, the feeling of skin to skin was amazing but not enough. So she took his over his head and pressed her exposed upper body to his, moaning softly at the contact. He groaned in her ear,

"Rae," he panted. "What are you doing to me?" They could feel even more clearly their heartbeat increasing, running through them. It was like they were in their own bubble, their own world. Feeling more and more at ease with him she started trailing kisses along his neck, his broad chest, paying extra attention to the place of his heart. She was frantic as she did so, she knew it wouldn't last, she might be floating but she was not a fool. Either he would come to his senses or the others would wake up and it'd end before it ever truly had started. That's why she couldn't engage her heart in this moment, even if deep down she knew she wanted to.

He felt her desperation in her kisses, the need to get what she could of him, as if he would change his mind and hurt her by stopping at any moment. She didn't seem to get that the way she acted had him insane, he couldn't get enough of her and didn't want to. He wanted more, always more. He squeezed her to him halting her movements.

"Baby slow down, I ain't going anywhere I promise," he told her against her hair. Her whole body froze and tensed at his words. First she was embarrassed that he understood why she was acting so quickly, then her fear made her back away. She'd been hurt in the past by believing in the promises of people who either didn't mean them or try to keep them. She knew she couldn't handle anymore heartache, especially caused by yet another broken promise.

He took her chin in his hand and saw the fear in her beautiful brown eyes. He frowned,

"Baby what is it?" Noah searched her eyes for what was causing this sudden sadness. "You know you can trust-" he stopped himself when he felt her stiffing even more. He moved her closer so she was lying half way on top of him and rubbed her arms softly. "Hey look at me, I'm here okay, I want to be here but I need you to listen to me when I say that I want to be here tomorrow and the days after too. You can tru-," he grumbled, "you can be sure of that, you know I don't say anything just for the sake of hearing my own voice."

Sensing her hesitation, he locked eyes with her and attempted to show her that he really meant it, that he felt for her was strong, real, even if the intensity of it scared him too, he was willing to make it work.

She smiled slowly, his hazel eyes had her totally compelled, she wanted to believe him, his words showed her that he got where she was coming from. She was about to tell him that she wanted to give him a chance when she heard their friends starting to move above them. Quickly Puck put his shirt back on, watching as Rachel bolted out of the room toward the bathroom. He rubbed his hand over his tired face trying to figure out what really happened and what she was about to say before they got interrupted.

[Enrique]
I can feel your heartbeat (he said to me)
I can feel your heartbeat (he said to me)
I can feel your heartbeat (running through me)
Your heartbeat
Feel your heartbeat
(She said)

[Nicole]
I can feel your heartbeat (she said to me)
I can feel your heartbeat (she said to me)
I can feel your heartbeat (running through me)
(Feel your heartbeat)

I wanna thank my awesome beta Carrie for always working her magic and Mel for her support! Let me know what you guys think!