With Nationals one week away, Emma decided it was time to begin work on The Shocker. The kids had already had several weeks to focus on The Rocker and, from what she understood things were not going smoothly with The Show Stopper, but she was sure they'd get it together in time. She saw Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry in the hall together just before Will came up with his plan to win Nationals. She watched him genuinely smile down at the girl, as she spoke a mile a minute and gestured wildly with her hands, about something that he probably had no interest in but listened intently to anyway. He then gently pushed a strand of hair behind her ear just before Lauren Zizes came up behind him, put him in a headlock, and pulled him away mid noogie. She then found herself wondering when Noah Puckerman, juvenile delinquent with a hard as nails demeanor, started showing his emotions in a way that didn't involve violence or arson. A moment like that can't be faked and would certainly come through in their performance.

She stood in the hallway outside of the choir room with Will. He didn't know why he had to leave the room for her portion of the coaching, "I'm asking you to trust me Will."

"I do trust you Emma. I just don't get why I can't be there to observe their progress."

"Because, it's better if you're not involved." He narrowed his eyes, unsure of what that meant. Was there going to be rule breaking involved? Her eyes took on a look of pleading and he knew she won. First he was giving in to Rachel over The Show Stopper, now he was giving in to Emma over The Shocker. He was starting to question his effectiveness as the coach of this club. She smiled at him once she knew she had gotten her way, "It will be great. I promise." He nodded and left reluctantly as Emma turned and walked back into the choir room, "Ok, everyone. Today we begin work on The Shocker." Once again, most of the room laughed but, this time, Rachel wasn't the only one who didn't get it, "Now, I've recruited a little help. I hope you don't mind." She walked back to the doorway and called down the hall, "Gentlemen."

As she re-entered the room, she was followed shortly by Kurt, then Blaine, then one prep school boy after another.

"The Warblers?" Rachel asked, not sure where this was going.

"Yes. The jazz band will not be involved in The Shocker. It's going to be true a capella and The Warblers are here to help you perfect that."

"I don't get it. What's so shocking about singing something without a band?" Finn asked.

"We'll get to that later. But, for now, boys." She gestured to the group behind her.

Blaine stepped forward, "Tenors go with Chad, bass with Tyler, altos with Marcus, and sopranos with Steven. Now, I'm going to need someone who can beat box for percussion…" Mike stepped forward, "Perfect, go with Justin. Kurt and I will walk around and check everyone's progress, then we'll come together and see what we've got."

"What about choreography?" Mike asked.

"Won't be necessary." Emma answered.

"But, Ms. Pillsbury, without choreography-"

Mercedes didn't get to finish her statement before Emma raised her hand to cut her off, "You'll be just fine without it."

The club looked around at each other, unsure of what was going on, then gave in just as quickly as Will had to the woman. She may be tiny and OCD'd out but that was what made her scary. The song she had them practicing was Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire". It was difficult but most of them were doing well with their assignment and Finn was relieved there was no dancing involved. Puck seemed to be having trouble concentrating as he watched Rachel with her group. He had to fight the urge to fly across the room and snatch her away from Jack…Spencer…Waldo…whatever the hell the guy's name was, when she laughed at something the douche bag said then slid her hand down his arm. Damn it if she didn't look adorable when she laughed like that. Eyes lit up, mouth open, shoulders shaking up and down. It was a laugh that affected the whole room and he knew that because, everyone around her started laughing too. By everyone, he meant the other preppy boy banders that surrounded her. Assholes.

By the end of practice, Emma had finally explained the plan to them and asked if they were alright with the potential moral implications. As a Guidance Counselor, she wasn't sure if she should be suggesting this idea but, winning meant a lot to Will and she realized, after sabotaging her own marriage, she'd do anything for him. Rachel was surprised when everyone in the room turned to her for direction and found herself wondering when she became the one they looked to for answers. The girl knew her choice but she also knew the choice everyone else wanted her to go with. Deciding to side with them, she answered, "I think any cheating we might be doing will be balanced out by the fact that there's a tremendous risk involved, especially considering it has a slim chance at actually working." She glanced around the room at the faces who still didn't know what she was saying, "I say we go for it." They all tipped their heads up and made a noise that signified they finally understood her and smiled.

"You can't tell Mr. Schuester. I don't want him to have any knowledge of the plan for deniability purposes. The Warblers will continue to work with you this week and I believe Blaine and Kurt have volunteered to accompany you to New York as consultants." The room erupted in excitement, everyone glad Kurt would be rejoining them, even if it was in an unofficial capacity.

"Whatever, I'm just trying to get to New York. If it's on the back of New Directions then, so be it." Kurt tried to play it cool but was inwardly doing back flips at the thought of taking this trip with his friends.

A short while later, Rachel was standing in the hallway with Blaine and Kurt talking animatedly about wardrobe options when they were disrupted from their brainstorming.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Queen Homo himself. Or, should I say herself?" David Karofsky stepped toward them menacingly.

"Why don't you go drag your knuckles somewhere else?" Blaine countered, sticking up for his boyfriend.

"Who's this? Your knight in shining Lacroix?"

Rachel stepped in front of her friends and into Karofsky's face, "Your blatant homophobia isn't fooling anyone. You think making fun of Kurt and Blaine makes you look tougher when, in reality, all it does is confirm the fact that you're confused about your own sexuality and that you even know the name Christian Lacroix and said it correctly solidifies my argument."

Karofsky took an angry step toward Rachel and that was as far as the situation was permitted to go before a fist flew forward and slammed into his face, causing him to drop to the ground. Rachel looked up to see Puck standing over him with his fist still balled up, "Touch her again and see what happens." Even Kurt and Blaine were surprised by his actions. She stared at Puck, his jaw clenched and body rigid, both of them breathing heavily for different reasons. Now, Rachel Berry was not one to condone violence but she had to admit, just to herself and no one else…ever, that was the hottest thing she had seen in her life and it was doing things to her body that she was embarrassed to be feeling.

"What's going on here?" Principal Figgins disrupted the scene as Karofsky stood up, holding his nose while blood dripped from it.

"Puckerman punched me."

Figgins looked at the boy for confirmation. When Puck didn't deny it, he continued, "My office." Puck looked back at his friends and went to follow the principal until he felt those soft fingers around his wrist again, holding him back. The next thing he knew, Rachel Berry was standing protectively in front of him and he couldn't help but take the time to appreciate the smell of her hair. He wasn't sure what the scent was but damn if he didn't love it…like it…aw, screw it…he was beyond denying he was in love with everything about this chick.

She knew that, with his record, he'd be kicked out of school for this and did the only thing she could think to do, "Puck didn't hit him." Still with the Puck? What's a guy got to do to get back to being called Noah? "I did." Say what?

"Shut it Berry. It's not worth you getting into trouble." Puck said to her over her shoulder.

She glanced back at him and spoke so only he could hear her, "No. He's not worth you getting kicked out of school over." She returned her attention to Principal Figgins, "It was me."

"No, it was Puck." Karofsky didn't know what was going on but he also knew this move would get his teammate kicked out of school and that's what he was aiming for.

Rachel nudged Kurt with her elbow, looking for him to back her up, "She's lying." He said, head held high.

Rachel's eyes grew wide in betrayal, "Kurt!" She turned back to Figgins, "He's trying to protect me."

"No I'm not…" He looked down at Rachel then back up, "She's trying to protect me. I hit him." Kurt glared at Karofsky in defiance.

"No he didn't. I hit him." Blaine stepped forward and Kurt looked at him with the same awestruck expression that was on his face the day they met.

"You're all straight trippin'. I did it and I'd hit that punk again." Mercedes stepped out of the choir room, arms crossed, hip jutted out.

"I find that hard to believe Ms. Jones, since you just arrived on the scene."

"Yeah, well…that's how bad of a bitch she is." Santana joined the party and rested her arm on Mercedes' shoulder, "But she only did it because I told her to. That's how bad of a bitch I am." They both snapped their fingers and snaked their necks at the same time. The two girls smirked at one another.

Finn and Quinn stepped out of the room to see what was going on and Figgins noticed their presence, "I suppose you managed to hit Mr. Karofsky as well."

"No." Finn looked around with confused eyes and asked with hesitation, "Did you want me to?"

Principal Figgins weighed his options then decided, "Well, without knowing the true culprit, I don't think there's anything I can do in this situation." He may be a disciplinarian but, if David Karofsky was attacked, he probably deserved it. The Glee Club sighed in relief, "If it happens again, however, you'll all be suspended and that means no trip to New York for any of you." Their relief was replaced with worry as the principal turned and walked back to his office.

The group stood in front of Karofsky, waiting for him to make a move. Well, most of the teens waited defensively, Finn continued to look confused. There was a brief moment where Karofsky looked like he was going to say or do something but it faded quickly and he simply walked away, making sure to spit the word "Freaks" at them as he passed. Rachel continued to stand in front of Puck, in an effort to keep him from going after the bully. Once the threat was no longer present, he placed his hand on her hip and forehead against the back of her head, inhaling deeply, unsure of when he'd get the chance to have her this close again.

"Puckerman!" His head shot up as Lauren came out of the room, startling everyone in the hallway, "You ready to go or what?"

He cleared his throat, "Yeah." His insides danced at the fact that, just before he removed his hand from her hip, Rachel briefly let her fingers wrap around his hand and squeeze quickly, without looking back at him. He was definitely breaking up with Lauren...soon. She let go and walked away with Blaine and Kurt, who were still buzzing from the excitement of what had just happened. She didn't mean to do it but she found herself unable to control the urge to touch him.

A few days later found him in the auditorium and still dating Lauren. He was going to break up with her the night before. The words were on the tip of his tongue, he even had a confidence booster earlier in the day when a group of Freshmen jumped out of his way when he walked toward them in the cafeteria. They threw their lunch money at him and one went so far as to jump into the trash compactor to avoid him. He was simply going to tell one of kids that he dropped a notebook but he was twelve dollars richer and had a renewed sense of badassness. He was Noah Puckerman, the biggest BAMF (literally) McKinley High had ever and will ever have walk the halls. And here he was afraid to break up with some chick and go after the one he really wanted. That's right. Go after her, get her, do dirty things to her with a disregard for where they were or who was watching, then maybe cuddle a little after.

He suddenly felt ashamed of himself for his cowardice until Lauren started going on about how she had an 'Oh Shit' moment a few hours prior when she might have killed her wrestling partner in practice. It would seem she squeezed a little too hard and he just stopped moving…seriously, he stopped breathing and everything. He was this close to being pronounced dead when, Coach Sylvester, who just happened to be passing through the gym took in the scene, said, "No one asked permission to die today", placed her hand on his chest then, suddenly, he opened his eyes and gasped for breath. No shit…well, maybe it was just a rumor but no one was coming forward with evidence to the contrary. Puck wanted to be relieved that Lauren hadn't killed someone but a small part of him knew her going to jail was the only break up strategy with non-violent repercussions for him.

And here he was, watching Rachel on stage with Mike and Brittany, practicing their song. Brittany doing the thing he'd been dying to do for weeks, OK, it was one of the very few PG things he'd been wanting to do for weeks. He tended to keep the thoughts of other things limited to his bedroom, at night, once his mother and sister had gone to bed. She wrapped her arms around Rachel and sang in her ear, Rachel giggling every time, "You're starting to make me feel like you're not attracted to me." Brittany stated, looking hurt and insecure.

Rachel wiped the grin from her face, "I'm sorry. You're very desirable Brittany."

"Damn right she is." Santana called from her seat in the audience.

She tried to ease the girl's feelings, "You know what I think my problem is? I'm too attracted to you and Santana is watching. It's making this very difficult for me." She heard Santana fight a laugh and Puck chuckled despite still being upset about her avoiding him. Just after the Bachelor Auction, when Puck and Rachel grew closer, Santana and Brittany managed to get their act together. It took Artie seeing how attached at the hip the girls were and Sam dropping numerous hints about lesbianism and how, "Attached at the hip" they were but he finally got it and set the former cheerleader free. The next day, she stepped through the halls on Santana's arm, both smiling widely. Not surprisingly, Santana had become a kinder, gentler Latina as a result.

"Well," Puck stepped forward and Rachel shot her nervous eyes up to meet his, "Since we're both here, and your obviously not busy changing adult diapers at the retirement home, maybe we can get an actual practice in." He dropped his back pack and kept his gaze steady on her.

Rachel panicked, "Um…" She looked around to the people she thought of as friends (whether they felt the same or not), hoping one of them would save her. Mike had no idea what was going on, Brittany was staring at the ceiling, swaying to music that wasn't even playing, and Santana was watching with interest that was normally reserved for All My Children and, damn them for cancelling that shit. She had no choice, "Alright. That's a good idea."

Brittany jumped off the stage and took a seat next to Santana, "It's a good thing he showed up when he did, she was totally two minutes away from ripping my clothes off."

"We all are Britt." Santana replied, Brittany resting her head on the other girl's shoulder.

Rachel made every effort to not put forth any effort in her performance. She half assed the movements, barely sang her part, and leaned away from Puck any time they were close. She kept reminding herself that they were only three days from performing at Nationals, then this whole thing will be over, with Lauren and Puck's relationship still intact because, if Rachel Berry could steal Finn Hudson away from Quinn Fabray, her man stealing powers were limitless and in desperate need of harnessing.

After they'd run through the number twice, Rachel pulled away, "Great practice. I say we're good where we are. We don't need to do it again until Saturday."

"But Rach-"

"I have to go. See you later." She grabbed her bag and practically sprinted for the exit.

"Damn." Santana declared from her seat, "She's got it bad."

"Got what bad?" Puck asked, hopeful that someone saw something in her behavior that proved she felt the same way for him as he did for her.

"She's totally in love with me." Brittany clarified, grabbing Santana's hand and pulling her out of the auditorium talking about how she had to put a nanny cam in her room because she knows her cat sings when she's not in there then totally stops when she walks in.