AN: I do not own any part of Glee or its profits. All I own is my brain and any plotline or original character concoted in it. And, if I owned Glee, there would be many, many, many more scenes featuring a shirtless Mark Salling.
Puck shoved the small box at Rachel, his jaw set stubbornly. "Here, I'm your secret Santa."
Rachel's brown eyes lit up in surprise. "You?" she questioned incredulously. "Since when do you partake in Christian ceremony, much less a ceremony that is an academic requirement? I would have thought you would take pleasure in ignoring both this non-Jewish holiday and a school activity."
Puck just looked at her, nonplussed. "Seriously, Berry? You can't just take the damn present and say thank you?" He pushed the festively wrapped box further into Rachel's grip before he turned on his heel, sitting as far across the choir room as possible.
Rachel shrugged to herself as she watched him almost run away from her, but she excitedly tore into the gold paper, smiling at the anticipation of opening her first gift of the season. When she reached the plain white box, she paused then gently, almost reverently, pried open the lid. She gasped at the beautiful gold charm and bracelet, her face breaking into an ecstatic grin as she gently lifted it from the box. She clasped the bracelet around her wrist, enchanted with the way it sparkled against her olive skin.
Purposefully looking across the room at Puck, she smiled brightly at him, her deep brown eyes sparkling happily. Thank you, she mouthed across the crowded room, and blushed as he winked at her, smirking before he turned away.
As she gave Brittany her own gift, Rachel couldn't stop smiling and glancing at the simple charm on her wrist, so much so that even the simple Cheerio could understand the diva's mood. "Who gave you the pretty star, Rachel?" asked the blonde sweetly.
Rachel just blushed and changed the subject, unobservant of the fact that Puck was watching her out of the corner of his eyes as he joked around with Mike and Matt and was smiling almost wider than she was.
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"How did you know to get me a gold star?"
Puck paused, startled at the petite brunette's voice. Slamming his locker closed, he threw a towel over his damp Mohawk as he turned towards her. "You do realize this is the boy's locker room, right Berry?"
Ignoring his sexy smirk and the way his eyes lingered on her body, Rachel huffed softly. "Of course I realize that, Noah. I can read exceptionally well in English, French, and Spanish, and I read the sign. You didn't answer my question."
He sighed, rubbing the towel over his head and face to give him a moment before answering. "Everyone in the fucking world knows that gold stars are 'your thing,'" he grumbled, using air quotes. "Don't make a big thing of it. I just saw it and got it to get done with the damn gift thing. Get over it."
Even though his voice was gruff, Rachel wasn't put off. "I still appreciate it, Noah. I was very touched that you got me such a nice gift."
Puck rolled his eyes to show the girl exactly how unaffected he was by her words, but a grin was threatening to break out on his lips at the same time. "Whatever, Berry. Now get out of here before a teacher sees you and you ruin that perfect attendance record by getting suspended."
Rachel gave him a strange look before she smiled and turned slowly towards the door. As she opened the door, she looked back once more. "I didn't know you noticed that I had perfect attendance, Noah," she murmured softly before letting the door bang shut behind her.
Puck stared blankly at the door. "Shit!" A resounding bang echoed through the locker room when he slammed his fist into a locker.
When Rachel finally collapsed onto her bed that night, she was thoroughly exhausted from going to school, training on her elliptical, practicing both her vocals and a new dance routine, and completing her homework, but before falling asleep, she grabbed her pink cell off her bedside table and flipped it open. Not giving herself a chance to change her mind, she quickly tapped in a text and sent it. Rolling back onto her side, she was asleep in seconds, her small hand wrapped around her new gold star.
Good night, Noah. Sleep well. The text kept Puck awake much longer than he would ever admit, but when he fell asleep, his dreams were filled with an olive-skinned brunette with chocolate-colored eyes and a gold charm on her wrist.
AN: Ok guys, this is my first Glee fanfic as well as my first multi-chapter fic. I would really appreciate any reviews or constructive comments or criticism. Right now, the story might seem a little fluffy, but I'm trying to set up the rest of the storyline, so please bear with me. Thanks so much! 3 - Morgan