Need You Now

Laughing Rachel leaned into her friend as everyone applauded for them the last notes of Puck's guitar fading away. Puck let his guitar slide around to his back as he hugged Rachel to his side tightly; even some of the footballers applauding the couple after their amazing duet "you were amazing" Rachel told him excitedly hugging him properly

"No WE were Babe, we were amazing, we owned that shit" Puck assured her as they pulled apart Rachel being pulled over to Mike and Tina her two closest friends in glee other than him.

"Wow you didn't tell us that you two had put together a song" Mike said in awe, standing with his hands stuffed in his letter jacket uncomfortably, all the glee boys other than Artie having taken to wearing their jackets all the time since the trouble had started.

"Oh it just..."

"PUCK!" Mr Schuester's scream interrupted her, all of them turning to see Puck going for the scared looking Azimo with his guitar, everyone diving to break the two of them apart, Puck dropping his guitar and starting to use his fists.

"Noah!" Rachel cried jumping into the fray before Mike could stop her, Sam and Finn already involved as Puck laid into Azimo, diving and dodging Rachel finally got to Puck's side and in between them before he could throw enough punch. "Noah stop!" she begged, tears already running down her face in fear and worry at his angry and livid expression, grabbing onto one of her arms she tugged on it as she made him look her in the face "please stop".

Swallowing as much of his anger as he could at her fear Puck let his angry stance crumble as he wrapped his arms around Rachel and hauled her closer to him, her hot tears shaming him as they soaked through his grey t-shirt, her hands clinging to him to make sure he wouldn't move away. Looking over at Azimo, and the rest of the people in the room who had stopped what they were doing in shock at Rachel calming down the volatile Puck so quickly.

His eyes flashing in anger as he caught Azimo's eye he glared at him "you ever say that again and I won't let even Rachel stop me from killing you" he growled holding Rachel tighter as he felt her move to ask what he said.

"Puck you are on probation remember?" Quinn suddenly squealed making everyone's heads turn to look at her.

"I don't think anyone is going to report what made me go for him" Puck growled looking around at the other footballers, none of them meeting his eye even Karofsky ashamed at what his sidekick had said.

"I think we can forget about it" Coach Beiste reiterated her own eyes grim as they looked at her team in shame "laps" she continued grimly "maybe then you will be too tired to throw slushies, blowing hr whistle she had them march out leaving the glee club behind.

"You ok?" Puck murmured against the head still buried in his chest, no longer feeling the hot tears soaking his shirt, feeling her nod he pressed his lips quickly to her head and let her pull back wiping at her eyes as she did.

"I'm going to talk to Principal Figgins" Mr Schuester finally said into the breach as everyone stared at each other, Puck not letting Rachel go as she calmed down, one thing he had learned from their growing friendship was exactly how emotional she was. She felt everything so quickly and so deeply that calming down was extremely difficult to her, one of the reasons her father's started giving her a glass of water whenever she was upset because by making her drink it made her control her breathing. She had taught herself very good self control but she had lost it when she had watched him fighting, he knew this because she never would have let the others see her cry if she hadn't.

"I'm ok now" Rachel finally muttered stepping back from him and letting his arms fall from their perch around her body.

"Good" Puck said with a tight grin

"What did he...?"

"Doesn't matter" Puck snapped not wanting to repeat the disgusting claim Azimo had made to Rachel if she had been lucky enough not to hear it.

"Ok" Rachel agreed, not hurt by his snapping at her, knowing it was more about what Azimo had said then her asking "we should wash your hands" she motioned to his bruised and bloody knuckles, taking hold of his wrist before he could protest she towed him from the room and the quiet glee club.

"Wow when did that happen?" Quinn blurted out again looking around the room to Tina and Mike who had been closer to Rachel and Puck then the rest of them.

"They are close" Mike agreed, not feeling any inclination to explain the friendship between Puck and Rachel because he wasn't sure himself it wasn't more, watching Finn closely he waited for the inevitable blow up he was sure would happen after the performance they had all just watched.

It had been there, the chemistry that existed between the two Jewish club members had been palpable almost touchable as they had sung the song, other than that one small sentence to Finn Rachel's attention had been almost solely on Puck, only remembering to look at the crowd when she caught someone's eye. Puck's attention hadn't wavered at all, he had been watching her from the second he had started strumming his guitar, his eyebrow arching in the way that Mike knew he only did when he was attracted to someone it was the dogged watching of her for the entire song that showed how Rachel was different to him.

Standing around talking as they all had a free period they all forgot that the angry Finn was still in the room until Rachel and Puck returned Rachel falling through door laughing as Puck followed her with his patented smirk on his face, a sort of wry amusement.

"Didn't take you long" Finn suddenly snapped drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Excuse me?" Rachel said in surprise, this being the first time her ex had talked to her in over a month.

"How long did it take you to become Puck's new whore, huh?"

Rachel felt the blood drain from her face as everyone gasped in shock, Puck almost going for his ex best friend only stopping as Rachel put out her arm and he met it.

"Noah and myself are only friends, however in the instance that we were anything more it wouldn't have anything to do with you. Puck please go stand with Mike" she added over her shoulder waiting until he walked away to look back at Finn who took this as proof of their romantic relationship. "You broke up with me Finn, not only that it was over a month ago that out romantic relationship ended and you cannot claim to have any hold of me and what I do anymore. And do not call me a whore"

"You are hanging out with the person who broke us up, that is kinda whorish"

"If that is your opinion I don't care for it" Rachel snapped back "you have no right to judge me especially as I have already informed you that we are only friends"

"No way" he scoffed "the way you were singing to each other, you kept looking at each other and stuff"

"Oh you mean the way we used to look at each other when you were still in a relationship with Quinn?" Rachel asked scathingly "but I'm not in a relationship and I can look at whoever I want however I please. Except for the last time me and Noah are simply friends!"

"Oh yeah then what was that with Azimo making a comment about you and him defending you and him stopping him?"

"Its friendship Finn, maybe someone like you who cares so much about their reputation that they would never stand up for their friends find it impossible to understand, but that's what being friends means. Being there for your friends not matter what, and in the case of Noah defending"

"Only cos you two are screwing"

Almost screaming in frustration Rachel threw her hands up in the air and didn't see Puck walk up to stand by her side.

"You are pushing it Hudson" he growled "we aren't 'screwing' as you put it, Rachel's a lady and would never do that and the fact that you don't know that shows how little you actually know her. You treated her like shit and if I ever get another chance I know that I am going to treat her so much better than you ever did"

"If you get another chance?" Finn asked dumbly, Rachel gazing up at Puck in shock as he stared down Finn.

"Yeah I want another chance, but I got this thing called compassion and common sense and I would rather be her friend until she is ready rather than rush her into another relationship because you two only broke up a little while ago. So yeah Finn one day you will hopefully be right but until then back off, cos you don't get to have a say in anything Rachel does"

Dismissing Finn with a look he grabbed the stunned Rachel's hand and towed her out of the room, away from the now gossiping club, kicking himself that he had let all of that out in front of them and Rachel.

"Don't freak" he said as they stopped in the hallway, holding his hands up in front of her "I know that I sort of dumped something on you just then but I don't want to freak you out about it"

"I'm not" Rachel smiled with a gentle smile at him, his hands rubbing over his Mohawk as his nervous tick "you called me a lady"

"Huh?" he asked surprised at where her head was going "uh yeah"

"Thank you" she said breathily going up on her tiptoes to press a kiss against his lips quickly "I fancy a slushie" she said as she pulled back and fell back on to her feet "take me for one?"

"Sure" he nodded shrugging off his confusion and taking Rachel's hand to led her to the nearest 7/11 wondering how long it would take for them to build up to making out.