Author's Note: Santana is definitely one of my favorite characters to write ever since they began giving Naya leads on the songs. When she and Mercedes sang it out over Puck in 'Laryngitis', I was like, 'Go, Santana!' LOL I know, I'm silly, but Mercedes is annoying most of the times.
The next chapter of 'Never Gonna Be Alone' is in the works, and it'll approach what 'Mattress' added to canon (meaning, the leaked set list, since the baby daddy drama is already sorted out there). Next we have 'Sectionals', aaaaaand then, 'Hell-O'! I can't wait to work the back-nine canon into the story, I have the perfect 'back-off' song for Puck to sing picked already!
Disclaimer: Isn't hard to see – Glee doesn't belong to me, the show isn't mine.
Not Yours, But Mine
She watches as Mercedes and Santana, both in their Cheerios outfits, battle through song over their claim on Noah and, while she is definitely surprised by the intensity and the passion they both put into their duel-duet, she has to bite the insides of her cheek to contain the fit of laughter that bubbles into her throat. Because, in reality? Noah doesn't belong to either of them – he's hers.
She clenches her hands into fists, fingers digging into her chair's seat, as her eyes meet his over Quinn's head and he smirks and winks, and she claps her hand over her mouth, a teeny, tiny giggle escaping her lips. Finn looks strangely at her, and she looks pointedly at Santana and Mercedes, who seem about to have a full blown catfight in the middle of the choir room, and Finn smiles and rolls his eyes playfully. "Two drama queens, don't you think?"
Still trying to hold back the laughter – tears are starting to pool into her eyelids and blur her vision because of her struggle – she sees Santana winking at her, and swallows the laughter, smiling in return. Finn, who for the first time is into the joke, smirks slightly at the two girls, and Rachel feels again the urge to either laugh or step into the singing battle as Noah looks over at her and Finn with a smirk of his own.
You see, ever since Jesse broke up with her over the whole 'Run Joey Run' debacle, she and Noah had been secretly dating, and the only ones who know about their reconciliation are Finn and Santana, that are also secretly together as well (Santana wants to make sure the boy is over Quinn before they step out together as a couple, and Finn is willing to do whatever she needs to make her happy). Noah and Rachel themselves, are firmly ensconced into the janitor closet because of her: she doesn't want to rub into Jesse's face that she began dating one of her video's costars immediately after they broke up (really – Noah made sure she knew she was his girl that same evening after she belted out 'Total Eclipse of the Heart').
Knowing how Rachel's mind worked, Finn leans close to her ear and whispers, "Rachel, relax. Remember, Santana is doing this for you – so Mercedes stops thinking Puck is in like with her".
Rachel nods. It had really been Santana's sneaky mind's idea. Puck had serenaded Mercedes as a move to get her to be his flavor of the week, thus getting his mojo back after having to shave his Mohawk off. This made Rachel furious, and privately insecure, since she was privy of Mercedes' tendency of falling for every boy that gave her a bit of attention (her week-long crush on Kurt, who is very firmly on the homosexual side, anyone?).
So, after hearing Rachel sob that Mercedes was going to fall for Puck and give her hell once their liaison came to light, Santana (who had become friends with Rachel after the lead singer stood up in her defense on the sectionals-leaked-set-list drama) came with the plan that was coming to its apex right then. She flirted very lightly with Puck – just the insinuation of flirting, not her full-on sex appeal – in front of Mercedes, every time she could, just to make sure the new Cheerio would remember that Puck isn't the kind of boy who settles down with just one girl (unless you're named Rachel Berry, of course).
Rachel smirks as the two singing girls wrap up the song. Mercedes, she can tell, is almost shivering with anger, while Santana looks cool and collected, the hint of a smirk curving her lips. The Latina turns her back to Mercedes, who grabs her by the shoulder and roughly turns her around as they come face to face. Santana narrows her eyes – Rachel grips Finn's hand anxiously and bites back a chuckle at the proud, awed look on his face – and pushes Mercedes by her shoulder. The two stop singing, and it looks like they're about to begin scratching each other's eyes out (Rachel rolls her eyes as the boys lean in anticipation on their chairs), so Mr. Schuester basically bolts towards them, praising them for their passion and intensity on the song, but warning them to keep the hostility just on music.
Santana's face is blank as she crosses her arms and nods in agreement with their teacher, but her features fill with malice when Mr. Schuester looks away, and she pushes Mercedes strongly off. Mercedes squeaks in anger and is about to retaliate when their leader steps fully between the two of them, eyes stern. Mercedes hurls an insult at Santana, who smirks coolly and says, "Well, enjoy while you can, Wheezy. His hair is already starting to grow back", before she walks away.
After the tense remain of Glee practice, Rachel joins Santana on the parking lot and hands her a piece of paper that says, You were amazing there, San! The cheerio smirks and wraps her arm around Rachel. "I know! Did you see the look on her face? I thought for a minute that she was going to explode!" The two girls giggle unaware of the two boys watching them from the distance.
Finn is the first to break the silence. "So, the thing with Mercedes… It's over, right?"
Puck nods, eyes fixated on his secret girlfriend. "Yeah, my rep is back to where it should never have slipped. And I don't think I can deal with Mercedes and her crazy ego anyway. Rach is a handful enough already, and she has so more than Cheerio diva has". He mumbles, and ignores Finn's surprised face. The taller boy opens his mouth to speak, but the tackler beats him to it. "Fuck off, Hudson, she's my girl and I can speak of her like that. Now c'mon before the Dynamite Duo decides they're hot for each other instead of us".
The next morning, Mercedes and Kurt are discussing her short-lived relationship with Puck while checking out their reflections on the mirror the African-American has hanging on her locker door, when Kurt catches something on the corner of his eyes, and turns around sharply, a soft gasp escaping his thin lips. Mercedes follows the line of his eyes, and the lip balm she's holding falls to the floor with a clang as she narrows her eyes.
Puck has just entered the hall, with an arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulders and whispering something in her ear that had her blushing before swatting at his chest with a giggle. "You're incorrigible!" She mutters fondly, her voice still rough from laryngitis but definitely having improved since the time she imploded Miley's 'The Climb', and the tackler smirks at the smaller brunette before pressing an open-mouthed kiss on her forehead.
The couple walks by them, Puck nodding silently, Rachel waving with a smile, and leaves them behind, Kurt gaping, Mercedes outraged. "Were those…" Kurt manages to squeak out. "Were those Puck and diva, looking all cozy and cuddly and couple-ish?" He asks in astonishment, rubbing his eyes to make sure he's not seeing things.
"I can't believe he's ditched me for that… That… thing!" Mercedes bellows, furious, as she slams her locker door closed. She walks briskly towards the retreating pair, and smirks at Rachel once she falls into step with them, next to Puck. She puts a hand on his arm, rubbing her palm softly against the worn out fabric of his shirt. "Hey, Puck…" She purrs with a flirty smile. "Wanna hang out later?" She scowls at Rachel, who stares back at her calmly.
Puck's eyebrow kinks up and he looks at her hand before stepping out of her grasp, his fingers softly caressing Rachel's shoulder. "Sorry, Jones, no can do. Rach and I are busy later". He looks at Rachel with a shimmer in his eyes that was never there when he looked at her, Mercedes. Rachel smiles back and stands to her tiptoes, pressing a quick, chaste kiss on Puck's lips, and they look so close, so in love, that Mercedes is forced to look away.
When she turns her eyes back, they're already walking away, but Rachel comes back pretty quickly. "Hey, Mercedes? Can I tell you something?" She asks, with a smile that makes Mercedes feel a shiver run down her spine.
"Sure…" The other girl stammers uncertainly.
Rachel smirks – smirks! – and leans against Mercedes, singing-whispering softly, "It's not hard to see, the boy is mine", and Mercedes gapes at her back as she flounces away, Puck's quiet laughter ringing in her ears a few minutes later, as he pins Rachel against the nearest locker and kisses her passionately.