A/N: Again, I don't own anything Glee. Thanks for the comments I've been getting on "The Dare." Let me know what you think. I'd love to hear what you want me to incorporate, so when I do my next FF, I will know;D
"Okay guys, we have a new member. I'm sure most of you know who he is anyway. This is Puck." When Mr. Schuster said that name, every mouth in the room dropped, except of course, Rachel's.
"Did Dijon or one of the other guy's dare you to join?" asked Finn. He knew Puck better than this.
"Why does everyone think that?"
"Because I know you too well, something's up here," said Finn.
"Can't everyone just be happy that you have another teammate?" They made him feel guilty. So he took a dare, it's not like he committed a federal crime. Maybe it wasn't everybody else that was making him feel this way, maybe it was his own conscious.
"Mhm," they all said skeptically.
"Well I for one am ecstatic to have you join Glee. Welcome aboard Noah," Rachel said, defending him.
Was she trying to embarrass him? He didn't want anyone to know that they were sort of becoming friends. He just nodded his head and walked to the chair furthest away from Rachel.
"Today we're gonna do something different," spoke Mr. Schu," instead of working in our normal duets, we'll be switching it up a bit. Sectionals is about diversifying yourselves, so here's what we're going to do. When I call your name, you will come up here and pick a number from the bowl. Girls pick from the pink bowl and boys pick from the blue. Once you get your number, stand in the corner until a person from the opposite sex picks the same number. That person will be your partner." Mr. Schuster noticed that Brittany had her hand raised. "And no, you cannot exchange partners, Brittany." She put her hand down.
"Alright, Quinn, come and pick a number." She walked over to the pink bowl and fished around in it. She pulled out a folded piece of white paper. She opened it to reveal the number 1. She stood in the corner and waited until someone else pulled the same number.
Next up was Tina, followed by Mercedes, Brittany, Rachel, and last, Santana.
Then it was the boys' turn. This process went on until every number was pulled. Once all the numbers were pulled the pairs were as followed: Tina & Matt, Santana & Artie, Brittany & Finn, Mike & Mercedes, Quinn & Kurt, and Rachel & Puck.
How is it possible that out of every single person in this class that I had to pull the number 6? The exact same number as Rachel. Somebody's trying to test my patience, thought puck.
"I have a few rules on these papers here. It tells you where you will be practicing with your respective partners, what I want from each of your groups, and a few fun activities that I want you guys to try to get to know your partner. This should be a really interesting project since every single one of your pairs aren't who you normally hang out with. Okay, come and get your papers. Oh, and the project will be due in 2 weeks. Work hard guys," said Mr. Schu handing out the papers with all the guidelines.
"I'm very excited to get the opportunity to work with you Noah. See you in the choir room at 4:00? Come prepared with some song selections," said Rachel on her way out the door.
Before he even had a chance to say anything, she was gone. I can't believe I not only have to get tutored by her, but I have to spend more time with her on this stupid project. Puck groaned as he made his way to his locker. Santana walked up to him and before he could even figure out what was going on, she slapped him. It wasn't a soft slap either; it was the kind of slap that left a mark.
"We're over," she said before stalking away.
"Wait, what the hell was that for?" Puck asked confused.
"Like you don't know," she stopped walking to look at him, "you cheated on me."
"With who?"
"Don't be stupid Puck! I bet you thought that I'm just this easy girl you could toy with. Well guess what? I have feelings too y'know." Santana stood in the middle of the crowded hallway with her arms folded across her chest.
"Who are you talking about san?" Puck grabbed her arm, but not before she pulled away.
"Don't call me that! Stop acting like you're so confused by what I'm talking about. I know you had sex with April Rhodes when she was here. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the one that got Quinn pregnant either." She mumbled the last sentence under her breath, but Puck still heard.
"Who told you that?" Puck said defensively.
"Obviously, not you!" And with a flick of her hair, Santana was gone.
He actually meant about Quinn being pregnant.
At 3:35, Puck decided to go to the choir room. He figured he could use some time to himself before Rachel showed up. Unfortunately for him, when he got there, Rachel was already sitting at the piano, playing with the keys.
"Ah Noah, you're early! To what do I owe this occasion," said Rachel, standing up from where she was sitting at the piano.
"I didn't expect you to be here," he said crossly.
"Well, you know my motto: Always be early. I thought you would have been late, but you pleasantly surprised me," she said trying to be friendly.
"Yeah, well I thought I'd have a better partner, one that wasn't as annoying as you, but I guess I didn't have a choice in that."
Rachel had some tears fogging up her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Puck noticed and he actually felt a twinge of guilt.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just… I've got a lot on my mind right now and I'm not really in the mood to practice," he said sliding down against the wall.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Rachel walking over to join him on the cold tile floor.
"Not really," he said coldly.
"I've been told that I'm a very good listener. If you're worried about me judging you, you don't have to worry about that. I'll just listen," said Rachel affectionately.
How could anyone say no to her? She made him feel sort of comfortable, not that he'd ever admit that to her.
"I just have a lot going on, you wouldn't understand."
"Try me," she said sweetly.
"It's just life. It sucks," he said honestly.
"Don't I know it, hey, at least you don't have to start everyday with a slushie facial." She tried to crack a joke.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
"It's okay," she said.
After a minute of hesitation, she spoke again.
"So, do you want to get out of here?"
"Sure."
