Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! :) I will be continuing this, as a matter of fact I pretty much have chapter 3 done, it was just tough to write it and after you read this chapter you'll understand why. Reviews and suggestions are lovely! :)
Disclaimer: Don't own Glee
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Chapter 2: Cheers, Fears, and Tears
"I don't understand!" Sam groaned out as he laid on the ground still from being tackled. "You're so tiny but you hit so hard!"
"Up Sam! Let's go again!" Rachel grinned as she got off of him. Puck laughed as he grabbed Sam by his football pads and pulled him to stand up.
"Alrighty Hot Jew, hit me instead. I think Sam needs a break and besides I'm a little harder to knock down, babe." Puck pulled on his helmet as he smirked. Rachel put her mouthguard back into her mouth as she placed her hand in the dirt and positioned herself in stance.
"Three...two..." Rachel's train of focus quickly was let loose off of it's tracks as she spotted a blonde walking towards her. She barely heard the "Go!" from Sam before she was tackled backwards onto the ground. Groaning, Puck quickly rolled off of her and took off her helmet to let her breathe better.
"Shit, sorry babe are you alright? You weren't coming at me so I thought you wanted me to run at you."
"Puck what the hell is your problem!" Quinn harshly spat out as she quickly ran to Rachel's side. "Rach? Rach, can you breathe? Are you okay? What do you need?"
"Too many questions," Rachel groaned out as she slowly sat up. "Yeah I'm fine. Definitely going to feel that tomorrow though, but I guess thats the point of these drills right? To know what I'm getting into," Rachel let out another groan as she accepted the hand Puck held out and stood.
"No! No you've had enough! Puck stay the hell away from her or so help me-" Rachel caught Quinn into a hug to keep her from killing him.
"Quinn I'm fine, see? I'm up and everything. There's no need to injure Noah," the brunette felt Quinn relax a bit in her arms before tensing up again and pulling away.
"No Rachel it's not fine! You're going to get hurt," Quinn whispered the last part out as she watched the diva stretch her arms a bit. Rachel then turned around and offered Quinn a soft smile.
"Quinn I'm okay. The minute I get hurt I'll let you say I told you so. Deal?" Quinn smiled back before shaking her head.
"I won't tell you I told you so. But I do get to be the one who puts the hydrogen peroxide on your cuts." Smirking Quinn walked over to the bench and sat down, pulling out her phone to read a text from Santana.
From Santana: Where are you?
From Quinn: At the park with Berry, watching them play football
From Santana: Could you be even more of a creep?
From Quinn: Berry invited me
"Dude I may have dated her, but she still scares me," Sam patted Rachel on her shoulder pads and laughed a bit. "Have fun with that one!" He then trotted over to where Quinn was and pulled off his gear.
"Where are you going?" Rachel yelled out as she watched Sam pull out his phone from the pile of their things that sat by Quinn.
"Gotta meet up with Mercedes! Are we still on for COD at Puck's tonight?"
"Hell yes bro! Mom's taking my sister to my aunt's house a few hours away from here so we have the house to ourselves." Puck grinned as Rachel gave him a light shove.
"I suggest you both prepare yourself. I'm on my third prestige and you guys don't stand a chance!"
"Careful Rach, that sounds like a challenge!" Sam called out before heading to his car. Rachel looked over to Quinn but saw her staring at her phone. Frowning a bit because she missed her hazel gaze, Rachel pulled her helmet back on and turned to Puck.
While waiting for a reply, Quinn watched Rachel interact with Puck. The two seemed to be in a serious conversation from the way Rachel's brows were furrowed. There was something there for the diva. She knew this since she saw Finn kiss Rachel on stage at Nationals. That kiss hurt a lot more than it should.
From Santana: So did you get your mack on with the midget yet?
From Quinn: Contrary to belief, not all of us are gay.
From Santana: Could have fooled me
From Quinn: Even if I did I'd have no shot with her.
From Quinn: I mean not that I'm thinking about it much or anything.
From Santana: Relax, your secret obession with the hobbit is safe with me.
Sighing, Quinn didn't reply as she looked back to observe the little diva. A smile instantly formed on her face as she saw Rachel turn to her and give a small wave.
"When are you going to tell her?" Puck whispered out.
"There's nothing to tell," Rachel quickly dismissed Puck as she went to her starting position.
"Don't give me that bull Rachel. Grow a pair and go talk to her!"
"Unless you've forgotten, I can't exactly grow a pair. Noah let's just forget about it and get back to practicing," Shrugging Puck let out a smirk.
"Alright then I'll go see if she'll go on a date with me tomorrow night."
"Noah!"
"See! You totally thought about killing me for a second right?"
"Why are you so intent on setting me up to fail?" Rachel sighed as she watched Puck take off his helmet and start walking towards the bench that had their stuff as well as Quinn. "What are you doing?"
"Going home to nap!" Puck picked up his stuff, muttering a "see you Quinn" before heading to his truck.
"Noah! You drove me here! You can't just ditch- NOAH!" Rachel yelled out louder but Puck laughed as he ran to his truck and drove off. "Ugh! Just wait Noah!" Quinn couldn't help but laugh as she watched Rachel stomp towards her before taking off her gear and sitting next to her.
"I'll give you a ride home, even though you do smell like a boy." Quinn grinned at her.
"Quinn Fabray! I'll have you know that sweat is sweat no matter the gender and that...why are you laughing at me? This is not funny!"
"I'm sorry Rach, you're just so adorable," as soon as the words left her mouth Quinn's eyes widened before looking down to the phone in her hands. Chancing a glance at Rachel, she smiled as she saw the diva sporting a pout.
"It's just because I'm tiny and being intimidating is nearly impossible for me. Although with Noah and Sam's help, I'm could get there."
"Not to mention you don't talk in paragraphs anymore. Not that I'm complaining, but what happened there?" Rachel just shrugged as she stood, collecting her small gym bag.
"After hanging out with Noah and Sam it just stopped I guess. I don't feel like it's just me against the world anymore. I have people on my side for once Quinn," Rachel smiled as she watched Quinn's smile morph into a slight frown. "I actually get to have fun outside of singing and vocal lessons."
"Ah so what you mean is you're just not so up tight anymore?" Quinn joked, trying to break the tension. Rachel just smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Something like that I suppose. I'm sorry you didn't really get to watch us practice and I know with the last drill I didn't exactly prove to you that I could do this. But we can go if you like." Feeling a warm hand on her arm tugging her down, knitting her eyebrows in confusion Rachel went ahead and sat back down a bit closer to Quinn. She felt tingles run up and down her arm as Quinn continued to hold a loose grip on her.
"Look Rachel, I'm sorry about-"
"Don't say it Quinn, I've already forgiven you for the past."
"No I have to make it up to you, Rachel. You don't deserve to not have an apology especially with how horrible I was to you and-"
"Quinn stop, just be mine and we'll call it even," Rachel smirked as she felt Quinn tense up again. "Friend. Be my friend Quinn, geez what were you thinking?" This got Quinn to relax a bit.
"I see Berry has jokes. Let's just see if I let your boy-smelling-self into my car." Faking a gasp, Rachel pretended to be hurt as she looked at her phone.
"I guess I'll just have to walk home then," Rachel shrugged as she stood and began walking in the direction of her house. It took a minute for Quinn to register that Rachel was actually leaving before she shot up and ran over to her.
"Rachel it was a joke! You know as in ha-ha? Would you stop walking!" Finally reaching out and grabbing her hand to pull Rachel towards herself, that's when she saw Rachel's contagious smile and had to crack one herself. "So not cool Rach."
"I hope we've learned a very valuable lesson Miss Fabray."
"That Miss Berry is a very promising actress?"
"No! That's common knowledge," Rachel smirked.
"Oh god, the boys are just inflating your ego even more."
"Come to Noah's tonight," Rachel softely spoke out. Quinn seemed to think it over before looking at her incoming text from Santana.
From Santana: Grow a pair.
Of course Santana had amazing timing.
"What time?" Rachel blinked, not quite believe Quinn was agreeing. This was two days in a row. "What? I can't exactly leave you alone with Puck and Sam now can I?"
"Ew Quinn, they're like my brothers now. And around sevenish? Speaking of which, I should really get home. I still need to shower and eat before I go and we have about four hours until then." It was then that Quinn noticed she was still holding Rachel's hand. Giving it a light squeeze, Quinn then let go, instantly missing it as well as the tug in her heart that came with the sensation of holding her hand.
Rachel bit her lip lightly as she watched Quinn's hazel gaze drift from their hands to her eyes. 'Was she already this close to me?' Rachel wondered as she suddenly felt Quinn lean even closer. As her breathing hitched, Rachel could practically feel her heart preparing itself to implode. The blonde's smooth voice soon broke her out of her trance as her lips were right next to her ear.
"Okay Rach, you've got me. I'm yours." Quinn smirked as she pulled back a bit and saw the current unmoving and seemingly unbreathing state she left the little diva. "Friend. I'm your friend." Turning back around, Quinn started walking to her car.
"You're going to kill me Quinn Fabray," Rachel muttered to herself as she had finally figured out how to move her legs to follow Quinn.
"She said that? Damn it! No freaking way he shot me from all the way over there!" Puck shouted as he continued to stare into the tv.
"Nope you just got owned by a rank three no prestige," Sam smirked.
"Maybe I'm just getting mixed messages? I mean there's no way she would actually even consider me, right? Noah on your left on the second floor!"
"Oh shit! Yesss! That's where the sniper was hiding. And nope, Baby Mama has a thing for you. Santana even said so."
"Santana? When did you talk to her?" Just then the doorbell rang, causing Rachel to sigh. Her head felt so clouded. Walking over to the door and opening it, Rachel couldn't help but smile as the blonde was caught texting. "Are you going to stand there all night or actually come inside the house?"
"No one likes a smartass, Berry." Quinn put her phone away as she smirked and walked into Puck's house. Quinn looked Rachel up and down approvingly. Blue converse shoes, light colored jeans, and a black top. "Cute clothes. No more owl sweaters?" Closing the door, Rachel rolled her eyes before lightly bumping into Quinn.
"Careful Quinn, if I didn't know any better I'd think you would want me to wear them again." Rachel walked into the living room where Puck and Sam were before comfortably crashing down on the couch.
"Do it and I'll rip them off of you," Quinn threatened. Puck and Sam suddenly started laughing as they kept their eyes on the game. "Oh shut up! I didn't mean it like that."
"Sure you didn't," Puck smirked. Rachel laughed as she threw a pillow at Puck's head.
"Puck do you have anything to drink other than beer?" Quinn asked as she leaned against the wall. Puck just gave a shrug.
"Let's go in the kitchen Quinn, I'm sure we can find something." Passing by Puck, Rachel heard him mutter a "I'm sure you will" which resulted in her pushing his head, causing him to not look at the screen and get his player killed.
"Damn it Rachel!"
"Oops," Rachel smirked as she walked over to the kitchen with Quinn right behind her. "Is water alright?" Sharply turning around to see Quinn, Rachel didn't expect her to be so close. Apparently neither did Quinn by the judge of her wide but very dark hazel eyes. "Q-Quinn?" Rachel suddenly felt like she could pass out. The tension was killing her and once again she felt as if her heart was really going to implode this time. 'Maybe she's just surprised at how close we are. Or maybe-' but all thought left Rachel as she felt very soft lips cover her own. Fireworks on the beach is what she saw as Rachel's heart imploded within her chest. Quinn's eyes were closed and that was the last thing Rachel saw before her own eyes fluttered shut as she responded to the perfect kiss. There was a mixture of want and need as Rachel felt Quinn's tongue swipe her bottom lip. Rachel eagerly granted her access before letting out a small moan at the feel. The kiss didn't last long before Quinn pulled back and placed a hand over her own lips.
"Shit. Rachel I didn't mean to, I mean I did mean to just...ugh!" Quinn growled as she ran out of the house and to her car as fast as she could. Rachel just stood there in shock from it all. Finally coming down from her high of kissing Quinn, tears began to fill Rachel's eyes.
From Rachel: Quinn please come back.
From Quinn: Berry don't talk to me.
Forcing herself to walk back to the living room, Rachel slowly sat on the couch. Quinn was terrified from the beginning and couldn't leave fast enough. Now she wasn't even going to talk to her! But that kiss, just thinking about it made Rachel's tears grow. It was so perfect.
"Did you guys find something?" After not hearing an answer, Puck turned to find a very sad Rachel Berry in the beginning stages of crying. "Shit, Sam turn it off," Puck rushed out as he got up and sat next to Rachel.
"What happened Rach?" Sam asked as he sat on the floor to stare up at Rachel.
"I kissed her, or well she kissed me and it was absolutely perfect...but she ran off. I tried to text her to come back and she said not to talk to her! Noah she couldn't get away from me fast enough!" Rachel sobbed as Puck wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in to hold her.
"Sam go get her water," nodding, Sam quickly got up and sprinted to the kitchen. "If she kissed you then the feelings are there, Rach. Not to mention you're one hot jew. Quinn would be stupid to just let you pass by. She'll come around, babe," but Rachel continued to cry into his chest.
"Is it possible to have such strong feelings for someone after one kiss?" Rachel managed out as Sam returned and handed her a glass of water.
"If the feelings were there before, then of course. You and Quinn always did dangle on the fine line between hating each other or giving each other eye sex," Sam half smiled once he saw Rachel break a sob with a small laugh. "You're a person who gives it all or nothing, it's not an exception when it comes to this stuff, Rach." Rachel then let go of Puck to hug Sam tightly.
"You're amazing Sam Evans," this earned her a smile from Sam.
"You're also insanely strong, both physically or mentally. Hell Sam can vouch for that too," Puck smirked as Rachel shook her head lightly, allowing her smile to grow a bit. Her crying was calming down. "Rachel you're a strong person, you're just a little broken hearted at the moment."
"Yeah, maybe some COD will cheer you up? Or Mario Kart?" Sam gave his goofy grin as he offered her the controller.
"I don't really feel up to playing, Sam."
"Oh no! Puck we have to fix her!" Sam faked a gasp before going back to his grin.
"Oh we will, no worries there. Not up for a little COD action is very unhealthy, and as your Jew-bro I am here to fix that." Rachel couldn't help but smile even more before giving a sad sigh.
"Fix me?"
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A/N 2: Hmm, it looks like Rachel's about to go to badass school with Puck and Sam as her teachers :) Oh and more Brittana next chapter.
