Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Thank you all for the lovely reviews, and for those of you who have favorited this story already. I really appreciate it. I apologize for not being able to reply to all you reviews, I got side tracked, but I'll get to it.
Side Note: This story picks up right after season one. It's basically the same backstory as it is between our characters on the show unless I reveal anything myself in later chapters. And if I do decide to change anything, I'll be sure to let you know. Also, I'd like to take this time to apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors you may come across as you're reading. It's quite difficult to edit your own work.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the characters, but I will take credit for the story line :)
Read, and please please please review! I said please, and it's also three times which makes it genuine.
Once inside the Berry residence, Puck takes a minute to take in his surroundings before following Rachel further inside the house. Not to say that he hasn't been here before, he's had his fair share of visits, but whenever he came by, he was usually ushered straight to Rachel's room, therefore never getting the chance to tour the house. So, by his logic, since his day was already pre-ruined, he decided that snooping around was a lovely way to carry on with his day even if it meant being berated by the tiny girl in front of him. Just as his eyes start scanning the pictures aligning the wall, he hears Rachel sigh, "Stay here, okay? I'm just going to get the first aid kit." She tells him, turning around, and taking the stars two at a time.
"Sure." He mutters, not bothering to look away from the picture he was admiring. He couldn't help but gawk at the picture in front of him. It was a picture of Rachel; she looked exactly the same, so he assumed it was taken recently. She was wearing a pair of dark denim shorts, and a red –what he assumed was an OSU football jersey. He couldn't be sure, because a pair of hands were wrapped around her waist, scrunching up the fabric, her hands covering the ones on her, while her feet were flying in the air as the owner of the hands lifted and hugged her to his chest. She was laughing, her head bowed down as the guy's face nuzzled into her neck.
To say that he was jealous would be a lie. To be honest, he never felt any sort of romantic emotion towards the girl in question. Lust, yes, after all he is a teenage boy, but never has he ever considered her as a potential love interest. If anything, he was at awe; he'd never seen Rachel like this. He had seen her in her element, burning with passion and raw talent. He'd witnessed most if not all her fits of rage and storm outs. He'd seen her cry, laugh, and heartbroken. But this Rachel, she was none of those things. She looked like a kid, happy and carefree. It was surreal and refreshing at the same time. Lost in the pictures, he doesn't notice someone coming down the stairs.
Clearing his throat to capture his attention, Hiram Berry appears with a first aid kit in one hand and a smile above his chin, "Good morning, Noah." He says, startling Puck, and causing him to jump half a foot in the air.
"Jesus!" He sighs, "Geez, Mr. Berry, tone down the creepy, man." He chuckles, offering his hand to shake.
"I see you still maintain that charm of yours." He smiles back, shaking his hand "Good to see you here, son."
"Uh- yeah, Rachel-" He stutters, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.
"She told me." He says, waving the first aid kit at him, "School starts in an hour, I don't want her to be late. And as much as I trust in her skills, I think my being a doctor would be more beneficial to your well being if I took care of that bloody wreck."
He didn't really need medical help. After all this was just an excuse to be around Rachel in an attempt to distract him from his mind. So when he sees Hiram Berry, he's more than slightly bummed. He can't really blame Rachel for agreeing to this, because, let's face it, he's an ass to her. It was a way out of having to confront him, and he was disappointed in the fact that he understood why she would want that.
"Beats having a lecture about how violence is vile thing and all that while she's trying to fix me up, so thanks." He jokes, following Hiram into the kitchen.
"What makes you think I won't?" He calls back, "I mean she is my daughter after all. She got that trait from someone." He says with a smile, causing Puck to laugh.
"True," Puck says, "But it's really nothing, Mr. Berry, just a few scratches. I just didn't want to go back home and have my mom see it and worry. I'll just wash it off."
"Nonsense, boy!" Hiram says dramatically, "I'm here, aren't I?" He says, grabbing his hand and inspecting it. "Dear lord, what did you do? Punch a wall?"
"A sidewalk actually." He shrugs, raising his eyebrows at the look of disbelief on Hiram's face.
"What on earth possessed you to do such a thing?" He asks, grabbing a towel and running it under water as he brings it to Puck's knuckles.
"I dunno." He says softly.
"Well, I'll have to wrap it up. It might get infected if it's exposed, the cuts are pretty big." He says, applying an alcohol swab over his cuts.
He hisses as it makes contact with his skin, "That's cool."
"So, how's your mother?" Hiram asks conversationally, looking up at him from the corner of his eye as he wraps up his hand.
"She's all right." He answers awkwardly.
As he finishes wrapping up his knuckles, Hiram looks up at Puck, contemplating something in his head "Noah, I've known your mother for a long time, and of course you as well by association, and I don't mean to offend you in any way or make you feel uncomfortable, but I know what this day means for the both of you. Your mother is one of my closest and oldest friends, and I want you to know that- for what it's worth, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
Puck didn't know what the proper reaction for a situation like this was, so not wanting to sound rude, he nods his head and offers him a small smile, "Um- uh, well, thanks?"
"Oh dear, I've turned this into an awkward conversation, haven't I?" Hiram says, worrying his features.
"Pretty much." He chuckles, as he takes his hand back, and inspects it.
"Rachel always warns me about this, how can I salvage it?" He mutters, his hand rubbing his chin.
"I think you already have." Puck says, "But all badass images aside, thanks for the support, Mr. Berry."
"Yes, well, that's splendid. Anytime, son." He says, patting his shoulder, "Now, pancakes or waffles?"
"That's all right, sir. I should probably get going." Puck says, making a move to stand up.
"Codswallop, I rarely have a chance to cook a hearty breakfast." Hiram tells him, motioning for Puck to sit down, as he cleans up the counter, "My dear daughter, bless her, doesn't let me perform any of my parental duties. You know, I never had a chance to fix her up the famous Berry breakfast because she's either allergic or against eating everything in the recipe? So god help me, you're staying." He says, pushing him back on the chair.
"I guess I have no choice." He laughs as he sees Hiram fluttering across the kitchen, and piling ingredients in his hands, singing, "I'm making waffles" under his breath excitedly.
Puck pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to his mother, he wasn't the kind of guy who updated his mother about his whereabouts, but he was pretty sure she would be worried, especially today. As he hits the send button, he hears Rachel's voice yelling in the distance, "Daddy!" She sounded irritated, and he couldn't help but laugh.
"In the kitchen, sweetheart!" He yells back, as a dash of flour splashes his face.
She still hasn't entered the kitchen, but he can still perfectly hear her ramble on from wherever she was. "I can't find my Pointe shoes, have you seen them? I need those shoes. Daddy!"
He lifts his head just in time to see her enter the kitchen, wearing a very thin floral robe, reaching just above her knees, her hair wet and cascading down her shoulder. The robe was loosely knotted around her waist, granting him a lovely view of her upper chest; her very wet chest.
"I don't have time to break in the new ones in- oh Noah, what are you doing here?" She tilts her head, as if this was news to her.
"You let me in, remember?" He says, shaking whatever look was dominating his features at the sight of a wet Rachel and a robe, and replacing it with a smirk.
"Oh, right. I apologize. I'm just distracted as you can probably see." She gestures to herself, "Anyway, daddy, have you seen them?"
"Seen what?" He says, eyeing an egg suspiciously.
"My Pointe shoes, daddy. Focus." She whines, taking a seat next to Puck, and running a hand through her hair.
As soon as she sits down, Puck finds himself leaning in, trying to get more of that delicious smell that permeated the air as she walked in. "How's your hand?" She asks him, after letting out a long sigh.
"It's good." He says, lifting his hand to show her.
"Well, that's wonderful." She smiles, "Daddy, please answer my question."
"Oh, I'm sorry darling. Why don't you just use your new ones?" He says distractedly.
"I don't have time to break those in, I have that recital tonight, remember?" She says, "Where did I put them?" She mutters to herself, as her head looks frantically around her.
"Did you check in the basement? You were dancing all night, maybe you left them there?" He says, putting down the egg and grabbing another one from the fridge.
"But I brought them up with me when I finished. I know they're not there." She groans.
"Maybe you sleep-danced and you weren't aware that you left them there." He offers jokingly, clearly proud of himself.
"I don't sleep dance. That's absurd, daddy." She says, standing up and heading to the basement.
"Mark my words. They're down there." Hiram tells Puck pointedly, "I found her collapsed on the floor last night at around twelve am- or should I say today." He says drifting off as he cracks the eggs and proceeds to mix them in the bowl.
Happy to have a conversation to participate in rather than lose himself again, he cracks a smile, "What's got her practicing so hard?"
"She's got the lead in Swan Lake." He grins proudly, "Her and her partner, Theo, bless him, were rehearsing non-stop all week."
Just as Hiram finishes his sentence, Rachel comes back from the basement, and whizzes past them with a pair of shoes in his hand, muttering a "Don't say it. I know, I'm irresponsible and all that jazz. Blah blah, I get it."
Both Puck and Hiram burst into laughter, and after they've calmed down, they fall back into casual conversation. They discuss school, football, and glee. Twenty minutes later, Rachel walks back down into the kitchen, wearing dark stockings and a sleeveless blue dress, covered in stars.
"Berry, you're gonna freeze." Puck says, eyeing her appreciatively, "You look hot, but you're totally gonna turn blue by second period."
Hearing his daughter, Hiram turns around, and stifles a gasp, "Honey, put on a sweater or something, you don't want to catch pneumonia on your big day."
"Relax, the both of you." She rolls her eyes, "I have a high threshold for cold weather. It doesn't bother me at all. I'm actually hot right now."
"Mhhhmm." Puck agrees, "Damn straight you are." He smirks, saying it low so her father doesn't hear.
"That's highly inappropriate, Noah, but thank you." She smiles politely.
"Sweetie, you're not going out without a sweater. Go back upstairs and cloth yourself. I want you around for a few more decades, so go get a sweater." Hiram orders, as he pours the mix into the waffle iron.
"Fine." She sighs, "But if I get heat exhaustion and die, you'll be sorry. I'm going to haunt you." She crosses her arms.
"That's all right, dear. It means I get to see you even after your stupidity has taken you away from me, so I win both ways. Now go." He says, closing the waffle iron with a huge grin on his face.
"Coffee or juice, son?" Hiram asks Puck as Rachel huffs and leaves the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron, "Or do you prefer tea?"
Overwhelmed by the kindness and acceptance he was receiving from the man in front of him, he couldn't help but crack a smile at the warm feeling he was feeling in the pit of his stomach. He also couldn't help but wonder if this is what it felt to have a father, which immediately caused the smile on his face to falter just a little. "How about all three?" He jokes, attempting a laugh.
"Way to break the indecision, my boy! I'll have that as well." He chuckles happily.
As soon as the waffles are ready to be served, and the coffee is poured, and the tea is off the stove, Hiram hands Puck a plate, and gets one for himself after placing the four mugs and two cups on the table. Rachel comes down shortly after, wearing a light beige cardigan, lined with red stripes at the hem. "Happy?" She asks the occupants of the kitchen, twirling, before crossing her arms, and eyeing them questioningly.
"Ecstatic!" Her father smiles, lifting his cup of juice as if to make a toast, "To a long life free from pneumonia and paranormal activity!"
Laughing, Puck clinks his glass with Hiram, both taking huge gulps. Rachel rolls her eyes, and heads over to the fridge. "Come and eat, sweetie. This is delicious, if I do say so myself, isn't it, Noah?"
"Damn right." He answers, muffled as his mouth is stuffed with waffles.
"Daddy, you're well aware of the restrictions of my diet." She says, grabbing a bottle of water, and an apple as she sits down across her father and Puck.
"Yes, but I was hoping that you got over that phase." Hiram says, taking a sip of coffee.
"It's not a phase, it's a lifestyle." She says, taking a bite of her apple.
"A lousy lifestyle." Puck mutters, "Live a little, Berry."
"Yes, darling, live a little." Hiram nods his agreement; "You have wisdom beyond your years, Noah. A toast to you!" He raises his mug this time.
Rachel scoffs, "I'm going to leave now." She says, grabbing her school bag and throwing it over one shoulder while reaching for her out and slinging it over her other shoulder, "I'm going straight to ballet after school, so I won't come back home. I'll see you at the recital, okay?" She says, leaning to place a kiss on her daddy's cheek.
"All righty, sunshine." He says, "Don't overwork yourself, you'll do great." Hiram says, patting her head, "Noah, is your car here or would you like Rachel to drop you off?"
"No, that's fine-"
"Noah, I doubt you have any books at home and it's a Friday, there's no football practice today. Carpooling is good for the environment, just come on." She sighs, "Daddy won't take no for an answer. Notice how he's glaring at me and motioning to you."
Puck looks back and sure enough, Hiram was motioning to Puck with his head but as soon as Hiram sees him turn, he tries to cover it up by pretending to stretch his neck. "Sure, Berry. I know how hot you are for me, no need to blame your dad." He smirks.
"Your charm is undeniable, Noah." She says, rolling her eyes as she strains herself with the bags in her hand.
"Here, let me help." Puck offers, taking both bags of her shoulder with ease.
She looks at him, wide eyed, and surprise coloring her features, "Um- well, that's very kind of you, Noah. I appreciate-"
"Just says thanks, Berry." He laughs, opening the front door for her, gesturing for to go first.
"Wow- uh- I mean, thanks." She blushes, laughing softly, "Bye, daddy!" She calls out.
"Have fun, darling. Learn things! You too, Noah." He yells from the kitchen.
They make their way down the path to the driveway; Rachel stops as she notices that Puck is no longer walking by her side and instead five steps behind her, staring at the driveway, "That's your car?" He asks disbelievingly, still eyeing the white Mercedes G50 before him.
"Yes, my father's just bought it for me this past summer." She answers joyfully, "What's wrong with your face?"
"I don't know, it just doesn't seem like your type of car." He says, shaking his head, "And for one, it's huge and you're tiny."
"I'm well with in range of the average height for a girl my age." She says, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice.
"A twelve year old?" He chuckles, opening the passenger door.
"Hush, or you're walking to school." She says, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Your dad would kick your ass. I think he loves me." He grins, "And plus, I'm injured." He pouts sadly. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"
"Whatever." She sighs, as she pulls out of the driveway, "Speaking of, what were you doing here this morning?" She asks curiously.
"Taking a walk." He answers calmly, toying with the radio.
"What happened to your hand?" She asks, looking at him from the corner of her eye.
"I punched a sidewalk." He answers, playing the album in her CD player.
"Why?" She asks, not happy with his vague answers.
"What's with the twenty questions? Just drop it." He tells her, "I know this song." He adds as he recognizes the opening guitar melody. She makes a move to speak, but he lifts a hand, motioning for her to be quiet. He starts beating his hands to the beat, "This is Green Day! Nice, Berry. Didn't know you liked this kind of music."
"Noah-" But just as she tries to speak again, the first verse is sung, and Puck has the most confused look on his face.
"Wait- this doesn't sound like Billie Joe Armstrong?" Puck cuts her off, glaring at her speakers. "What is this?"
"It's the original Broadway cast recording of American Idiot, it's a musical. It's really good, I think you'd like it." She answers, "It's all rock music and no- how would you put this- gay stuff."
"You're telling me Green Day has a thing in Broadway?" He asks, flabbergasted.
"The correct phrase would be a show on Broadway, but yes, they do. It's basically a musical adaptation of their album." She explains, coming to halt at the stoplight. "It's really quite amazing."
"I guess there's hope for you yet, Berry." He chuckles, seeing a smile tug at her lips.
Just then Rachel's phone rings, and she looks away from the road, as the stoplight turns green, "Noah, would you mind handing me my phone? It's in my bag."
"You're driving, I can't do that." He smirks as he sees her face scrunch up in frustration.
She sighs, "You're right, but can you just answer and hold it in my ear. You'll secure our safety that way, and I get to answer my phone."
"Sounds like a plan." He says, shoving his hand in her bag, and grabbing her phone, "Theo?"
"Answer it." She urges, "before he hangs up."
"Is he your boooooyfriend?" He mocks.
"No, you know that I'm dating Finn. Now, please, hand me the phone." She pleads.
"Oh my gosh! Are you cheating on your Finn?" He gasps dramatically.
"Noah- oh good, he hung up." She sighs, "What's wrong with you? Would it have killed you to help me out?"
"Probably. So who's the dude?" He asks, waving the phone at her.
"He's my dance partner in ballet." She says, smiling as she sees an open parking space close to the door.
"Dance partner? He's a ballerina?" He scoffs, trying to stifle his laughter.
"Yes, and he's a very beautiful dancer, so save whatever clever insults that pea brain of yours is conjuring up for someone who cares." She says, grabbing her bag, and unbuckling her seatbelt.
"Ouch, that hurt, Rach." He smacks his chest playfully. "So, is he gay?"
"Just because he's a dancer you immediately assume he's gay?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah!" He says obviously.
"You wouldn't say that if you saw the things he gets to do to me." She smirks smugly.
He opened his mouth to say something, but ends up closing. Finding himself speechless, he smirks at her, "Touche, Berry."
"Thank you, and now, if you'll excuse me." She says, getting out of the car.
"Wait up!" He calls after her.
"What?" She asks, turning around.
"Let me walk you to class." He says, stopping right in front of her, almost colliding with her tiny body.
"I'm going to go warm up first. Class doesn't start till about half an hour." She says as patiently as she can.
"That's okay, I know just how I can warm you up, babe." He says, wrapping an arm around her waist, and pulling her towards him.
"Noah, don't." She says, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him away.
"Don't what?" He asks, confused.
"I'm your best friend's girlfriend, don't you think this is inappropriate?" she gestures to the small space between their bodies.
Puck totally forgot about Finn. Spending a morning like this one would probably mess with his rational thinking, so he pulls his hands away from her waist, and shoves them in his pockets, but determined to have Rachel around him at all times, he sighs "Fine, I'll just watch." He says, but seeing the look of uncertainty on his face, he decides to play it safe, "Come on, I'm bored. There's no one here."
"Okay, I guess." She sighs, "Let's go inside."
Author's Note #2: That's it for Chapter two! I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please review :)