CHAPTER TWO: BROKEN LITTLE THINGS
Puck and Rachel spent more time together then they did with anyone else in the world. It was absolutely NOT on purpose. They were tormented by each other Monday through Friday at school, forced together Tuesday and Thursday nights for Hebrew school and youth bonding and then had to see each other on Saturday mornings when they went to Temple. A dinner together with their parents was nothing they couldn't handle. They had this unspoken agreement. At school he was the badass and she was the diva. At all Jewish events, they were civil and silent. It was simple and had been working for many years. When Deborah told Puck that they were going to the Berry's for dinner, he put on his nicest shirt and a clean pair of jeans and headed over without question. When Hiram told Rachel that they were having the Puckerman's over for dinner, she changed into a nice summer dress and started a batch of Challah. They both braced themselves with their best game faces and pretended that it wasn't going to be a forced, awkward way to spend their last Saturday night before school. By the time the clock chimed 6, Rachel had managed a full spread for six and Puck had managed to get his sister presentable and on their doorstep.
'Welcome, Noah and Sarah.' Rachel greeted when they arrived.
'Hello, Rachel.' Puck replied curtly.
'Hi, Rachel!' Sarah added happily, oblivious to the tension between the teens.
'Please, come in. Your mother is with my fathers on the back porch.' Rachel held her hand towards the back door and followed the two Puckerman's toward their parents. She noticed as they walked out that there was far more tension than usual. She hoped that they wouldn't discuss school but she knew they planned on discussing something. 'Can I get anyone anything? We have wine, beer, organic apple juice, and water.'
'Can I have an apple juice?' Sarah asked, more towards her mother than to her host. Deborah nodded.
'Anyone else?'
'Why don't you bring a beer for Noah, your father, and I.' Hiram directed. Both teens looked at him in shock. 'You may have a glass of wine as well, if you'd like.'
'Th-thanks.' Puck stuttered, surprised their parents were letting them drink alcohol. His mom knew he drank regularly but she'd always give him the same disappointed look she used to give his father. Rachel was allowed one glass of wine for very special occassions only. She was starting to fear what kind of occassion this would be. Puck calculated how many drinks she was responsible for bringing and followed behind her to help. 'This is fucking weird.' He whispered, surprising her and causing her to almost spill the apple juice she'd just lifted. She nodded.
'They sent me home after Temple saying they were going for coffee and have been gone all day. They only pulled up about 10 minutes before you and Sarah.' Rachel elaborated as she poured the drinks. Puck looked over at the large spread waiting for them and realized that meant she had made it all by herself.
'They left you to cook all this shit?'
'Yes, my dads don't know how to cook.' She replied sadly.
'Well, uhm... thanks.' This was the longest conversation they'd had since they were little kids and it was starting to make Puck uncomfortable. She seemed to feel the same and only nodded before handing him three of the beers so that she could carry the juice and her wine.
Their parents thanked them for their drinks and then sat around chit-chatting until Sarah complained that she was hungry. They moved into the dining room, said their usual prayers and then dug in. The tension had simmered substantially and the teens soon dismissed their earlier reservations. Unfortunately, as dessert was being served, the air became thick and quiet and they knew that something was going to happen.
'Noah, Rachel... we actually have something we want to discuss with you.' Leroy started as they picked at the Black Forest cake Rachel had made.
'What is it, dad?' Rachel asked with her best show-smile, the one Puck recognized from her post-slushie storm offs.
'We've been talking about the future of both of you.' Hiram picked up. 'We are concerned about the two of you.'
'Wait, before we get any further... Sarah, honey, go outside and play.' Deborah cut in. Puck's nerves picked up. She always yelled at him in front of his sister. If she didn't want her to hear what she had to say, it was not going to be good. His sister jumped up happily and ran out to play in the giant back yard.
'As I was saying, we're very concerned about the two of you and where your futures seem to be headed.' Hiram continued. Puck was kind of shocked that Rachel was being included. He thought Rachel had her shit together. 'It is clear to us that we have failed you both in many ways.'
'We were too busy working to give you the attention you needed.' Deborah chimed in sadly.
'You did fine, Ma.' Puck countered.
'No honey, I didn't... and neither did Hiram or Leroy. We let you two down...'
'We see it very clearly now. You're both lonely and hurt...whether you see it or not.' Leroy continued. 'You both have created these self destructive versions of who you think you should be to hide that little piece of you that can still be broken.'
'Noah, you know that you haven't been Noah since your father left. You drink, you sleep around, you fight, you bully poor Rachel... but none of us blame you. We blame ourselves.'
'Rachel, you haven't been yourself since Santana and Quinn started picking on you in the 2nd grade. You hide behind this character that you conjured up that doesn't need friends and is happy to be home alone every night. That's our fault.' Hiram added, trying desperately not to cry. Rachel was completely blind sided. She was sure no one had noticed her. 'Unfortunately, you are no longer our babies. You are on your way to being adults. This means that our options for changing the course of your lives have narrowed.'
'We don't want you both to fail at life because of our short comings.' Leroy continued. 'We need to do what we know is right for you both to succeed.'
'We have discussed this at length and its the only option we really see working for both of you...'
'What, Ma?' Puck whispered, afraid to find out the answer. Rachel had never seen or heard him sound so vulnerable and it scared her.
'We have arranged a marriage for the two of you.' Hiram answered, seeing that Deborah was having difficulty.
'What?!' Rachel yelled, shocked that her parents even considered such an archaic thing.
'Absolutely not.' Puck growled. He couldn't believe what they were saying.
'You do not have much of a choice, my Noah.' Deborah replied. 'If the two of you break the contract that we have signed, I will be forced to send you to a correctional facility.' This time, tears began pouring from her eyes. She could see the pain in her words.
'So you can't handle me and decided that you'd wipe your hands and let Rachel do it for you?' He spat.
'W-what could possibly make you think this is okay?' Rachel asked her fathers in disbelief.
'Rachel, we have been watching you push people away for 10 years. You don't let anyone close enough to know you. We don't want you to be alone forever.' Leroy replied, trying to reason with her.
'H-how dare you? You think that no one can love me so you pawn me off on Noah?'
'No, honey, thats not what we're doing... we're trying to set you up for the happiest life we can.'
'Do you hear that, Noah? Apparently we're both such losers... that we could never find happiness on our own.' She spat. 'They're tired of raising their precious, broken little things and decided to throw them together and hope they'll figure it out on their own.'
'Rachel Berry, you get yourself together right now.' Hiram ordered, sternly. 'If you break the contract, you will be asked to move out and cut off from funds.' He didn't take getting yelled at very well. Rachel was speechless. She couldn't be there anymore, she was far too angry and hurt to even look at them. She jumped up and ran out the front door, the air notifying her of the tears pouring down her face. She hated to cry, crying was weak. She didn't cry when she got slusheed. She didn't cry when she was attacked in the bathroom by other girls. She didn't cry when she sat by herself every day at lunch. She hated them for making her cry now.
'Come on, Berry.' Puck's gruff voice caught her off guard. He didn't even look at her but she followed him to his truck anyway. She wanted to get as far away from that house as possible. He pulled away from the curb with a screech of his tires, fighting to keep his anger contained. On instict, he drove to the old quarry outside of town. It was where he went every time he needed to think or calm down and it didn't even phase him that he was taking Rachel with him. Once parked, he reached past her and pulled out his pipe and lighter from the glove compartment. He expected her to go on a speech about self medicating with marijuana but she stayed silent until he finished his hit.
'May I have some?' She asked, her voice quiet and void of emotion.
'Have you smoked before?' He asked, not really wanting to deal with her first stoned experience.
'Yes, when I used to write I would buy weed from the skanks.' She answered. He was shocked but didn't question her about it, just handed her the pipe and let her have her turn. They passed it back and forth until it was cashed and then put it up; neither wanting to get too stoned.
'Those mother fuckers!' Rachel yelled a little while later and punched the dashboard. It startled Puck but he understood completely. He was just shocked to hear it come from Rachel. 'I can't believe they'd pull this bull shit!'
'I know... they don't give a fuck about us, they just don't want to deal with us anymore.' He replied. 'Fuck... and I know my Ma, there's no fucking way out of this for me.'
'Me either.' Rachel sighed. 'When my dads decide on something, thats it; no room for negotiation. Plus, they kept saying they signed a contract. What the fuck kind of contract? What does it say?'
'Should we go back and find out?'
'I don't want to even look at them but I guess we really should. We need to know the extent of their fuckery.' She sighed. Puck couldn't but chuckle. He'd known Rachel since they were in diapers and never, would he have guessed she'd be the type to use the word fuckery. Not to mention the fact that they'd just smoked out together. It was weird.
'Yeah, let's go see what else they've stolen from us.'
The ride back was as quiet as the ride to the quarry. Neither wanted to face their parents. Only they knew the extent that Hiram, Leroy, and Deborah would go to when they wanted something. It left them both defeated. Even though they didn't mention it, they both knew that there was no way around it, they were going to have to marry each other.
'Seriously, Rachel? I thought your pot smoking phase was over.' Hiram scolded when the two walked back into the house. She didn't even bother with a reply. 'I'm disappointed in both of you.'
'Well, you should be used to it... obviously Noah and I are disappointments; otherwise you wouldn't have schemed up this ridiculous plan.' She snapped.
'How many beers have you guys had since we left?' Puck countered angrily. 'I see at least 2 each. Don't go preaching to us about our sobriety.'
'We're adults and alcohol is legal.' Deborah tried to rationalize.
'Yeah, well marriage isn't legal for 15 year olds so you don't really have much leg to stand on.' Puck smirked, plopping down on the couch and putting his feet up on the coffee table. He was in no mood for manners. 'So, whats this contract about? What else do we need to know?'
'The contract is between the three of us.' Leroy answered.
'Right, because what do Noah and I need one for? We're just pawns in your game.'
'You are not pawns but I'm through with your immaturity. Here is what is going to happen; you will move in with Deborah and Noah. They have a guest bedroom you can use. You and Noah will be engaged until this school year ends. We are planning the wedding for the beginning of June.' Hiram explained.
'Oh, so you're kicking me out?' Rachel asked, her anger flaring right back up.
'No, you are moving in with your fiance. We discussed this and we thought it would be best if you have a maternal figure around during this time.'
'So she can teach me how to me a perfect little wifey?' Rachel sneered. 'Teach me how to cook, clean, and take care of my husband?'
'No, of course not. We know you, Rachel... that's not the life we want for you. However, you do need a woman in your life you can turn to and your dad and I do not feel that we're in a position to help you with the questions you may have.'
'When do I move?' She asked coldly.
'Well, we want you settled by Monday because of school...'
'Fine.' She shot out of her seat and ran upstairs.
'Seriously? You all are so fucked up.' Puck added and followed her. They still didn't bother talking to one another, not that they'd even know what to say. Instead, Puck just sat and watched as she shoved some clothes and her electronics into her duffle bag. He wanted to offer help but he didn't even know where to start. Instead, he just waited until she had everything she needed and then carried it downstairs and straight to his truck. Rachel planned on just following him straight out without saying goodbye to her fathers but they stopped her on the porch.
'Here's a credit card for you. It doesn't have a limit so use it for whatever you need.' Leroy said, handing it to her. He placed a kiss on her forehead but she pulled away without response. She knew she'd forgive them later on but right now she was far too hurt to say anything. 'We love you, Rachel.'
She fought off tears as she climbed into Puck's running truck. She wanted more than anything to run back to them and beg them to take her back... to forgive her... to convince them that she'd change; but she knew she couldn't. Her words wouldn't matter. They had officially given up on her. When they got to the Puckerman home, Puck carried all of her stuff inside and up to the spare room. It was actually bigger then the one she had just moved out of. The walls were white, there were hardware floors, and she had big giant windows. It was almost an upgrade... except the part where this one came with a husband that made her life at school a living hell.
'You have your own bathroom through that door and my room is across the hall. Just uhm... let me know if you need anything.' He said and then left her alone to her thoughts. He was being as nice about this whole situation as was possible and Rachel was actually grateful. He could have said some awful things but throughout their arguments with their parents, he seemed to team up with her instead of against her. He must have realized that they both put themselves in this mess.
There wasn't much to unpack so she changed into her old gymnastic shorts and a tank top, replaced her contacts with her black square glasses, let her hair down, and curled up in a ball on top of her new bed. She wanted to just go to sleep and never wake up but that was impossible. She tossed and turned for hours. Long after she heard Deborah and Sarah return, she was still wide awake and fighting with her thoughts. At around 3 AM, she heard a soft knock on the door.
'You awake?' Puck whispered.
'Yeah...' She replied, surprised by his arrival. She could make out his figure as he carefully shut the door and walked over to the bed. She felt the bed sink in a bit when he sat down.
'I uhm... I'm still freaking the fuck out and I just thought that you, ya know, might be too... cause this shit has to be way worse for you then it is for me.'
'I am.' She sighed.
'I'm sorry...'
'It's not your fault.'
'Yeah, I blame our parents.' He joked causing her to chuckle. 'Buuuut, I am sorry that you're stuck with me of all people. We've had this really fucked up relationship for a long time and I treated you like shit. I just... I dunno... I can't imagine what you're feeling... finding out you're contractually obligated to marry the biggest asshole in Lima and then having to leave your house and move in with strangers...'
'It fucking sucks.' She countered, this time making him chuckle. 'Yesterday I was studying my schedule, trying to plot the best route to take in between classes to avoid a slushie... today I'm engaged to the guy I was hiding from.'
'Fuck...' He groaned in frustration. 'I still don't get this shit. How is getting married as fucking kids going to help our future?'
'They say we're lonely but they don't realize what this means for us socially... if it gets out that you're marrying the biggest loser in school, you'll be ridiculed. If it gets out that it's an arranged marriage... I will officially be the most pathetic person to ever walk the halls of McKinley... especially if they found out my parents arranged my marriage because they thought I would never find someone on my own.'
'Jesus...'
'What are we going to do?' She cried, unable to hold back her tears anymore. She felt his hand grab hers and almost recoiled. Noah Puckerman was comforting her while she was crying... this had to be a dream/nightmare.
'I'm not ashamed to be with you...' He replied quietly. 'I uhm... I just... fuck... you're hot, okay? Like, super hot. The only reason I slushied you the first time was because you were wearing a white shirt and I wanted to see your boobs.' He ran his hand through his hair, nervously. 'I'll do whatever you want to do. If you want us to like keep it a secret, I can... if you want to tell everyone, I'm game. You just lead the way because I'm fucking lost.'
'I'm lost too. I guess for now we just act like everything is normal... and then we go from there.'
'What do you mean by normal?' He asked. 'Because I normally have a Big Gulp handed to me first period that literally has your name written on it.'
'Then slushie me... I'll be ready for it.'
'Are you sure? I don't kno...'
'Yes, I'm sure.' She cut him off. 'I think its best if at school we don't shake it up. We stick to what everyone knows... at least for now.'
'Okay, I guess... if that's what you want.'
'It is what I want... but let's not think about school anymore, it's making me too anxious. Tell me about what it's like in the Puckerman household.' She requested.
'Not much to it, I guess... Ma works nights. She's home Tuesdays and Saturdays. The rest of the week I take care of Sarah. We have family dinner on Tuesdays and we usually go to Temple together on Saturdays. I think that's about it.' He shrugged.
'Do you cook?'
'Yeah, every night.' He answered.
'Good, I'm hungry.' She joked.
'Dude, I got the munchies so bad but I didn't want to say anything.' He laughed and she joined him. 'Let's go find food.' They got out of bed and quietly made their way downstairs to the kitchen. 'Is there anything you don't eat?' He asked as he looked through the fridge.
'I'm vegan... well, I was vegan... I guess it's part of my imaginary character.' She huffed. 'But really I'm just worried about eating Kosher. It's usually just easier to say I'm vegan because people know what it means.' She shrugged and hopped up on the counter. Puck took a second to look at her. In her pajamas and glasses she actually looked like really hot. She didn't look stuck up or slightly crazed like she normally did. She looked laid back and pretty.
'Yeah, people don't know shit about Kosher eating.' He countered before he got caught staring. 'I still have to explain to Finn why I can't eat bacon every time we go to get food.'
'Tina got offended with me when I turned down her parents shrimp fried rice.'
'Which one is Tina?' He asked, holding up a container of leftover noodles to see if she wanted them. She grabbed them happily and held her hand out for a fork.
'Tina is the gothic girl with a stutter.'
'She didn't used to stutter.' Puck said as he handed one to her and grabbed his own for his leftover rice.
'What do you mean?'
'I mean, I remember her from when we were little. She used to go to that day camp thing at the JCC. Her last name is Cohen-Chang isn't it?' He answered like it was obvious. It was obvious, Rachel just hadn't put it together before.
'Oh my God, you're right!'
'I think I have a picture with her in it from that field trip we took to the Holocaust museum.' He motioned for Rachel to follow him. She hopped off the counter and followed him into the living room. She was shocked to see pictures everywhere. Some were of just Noah and Sarah but there were also a lot from when they were kids at various JCC events/functions. He walked up to one and took out his phone so they could put some light on it. 'That's her in the pigtails, isn't it?'
'Yes! She would die if she knew this picture existed!' Rachel laughed. 'She's so girly!'
'She used to try and kiss all the boys.' Puck added. 'She'd chase me and Ben Israel around all fucking day.'
'That's hilarious.'
'No it wasn't! She was my first kiss because of that.' He laughed again. 'Fucking stole that shit.'
The teens ended up staying awake well into the morning. They didn't let themselves think about the engagement, the marriage, or even the fact that they were enjoying each other's company. Instead, they just let the conversation and laughter flow until Rachel fell asleep on the couch and Puck fell asleep on the floor with his back against it. Deborah woke up much later than normal after being continually woken up by laughter in the wee hours of the morning; but she wouldn't complain. It was nice to hear them happy, even if she knew that they both hated her right now. Sarah on the other hand, was up bright and early. She proved to be the wake up clock when she got tired of hearing her brother snoring over her cartoons. It was the wake up that proved it wasn't all a dream and that their lives were now completely different.
