"Ok, fine. Bet you've never seen a wedding like theirs. We were …"
"Wait, you're not going to tell me about the proposal?" Natalie interrupted.
"Well, you said the romantic stuff alone wasn't enough to convince you. Besides, I wasn't actually there for that one, so even though I've heard the story a million times," Puck rolled his eyes, "it's not my story to tell." Natalie nodded and waited for him to continue his wedding story.
"Are you sure you got all the buttons Noah?"
Puck rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air. "For the 5,000th time Berry," Rachel giggled and Puck saw Brittany open her mouth to ask why that was funny, but Puck shot her a look even the dizzy blonde knew meant 'don't ask.' The last time Tina asked that question, Rachel explained that in a few hours she wouldn't be 'Berry' anymore and had babbled on for what felt like an hour. "Yes, I got every. Single. Button. Why did I have to do this anyway? Any one of them would have been better at it, and you wouldn't have second-guessed them a thousand times." Puck gestured toward Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany.
"Maybe," Rachel conceded, turning to face her friend and straightening his tie. "But you are my mai-" Puck shot her a warning glare, "man of honor."
"Yeah, what's up with that anyway? Why couldn't I just be best man like any other normal guy?"
"Kurt's best man, he's Finn's brother. And besides, you're my best friend," she gave him her best Bambi impression. "It just wouldn't have been the same with anyone else. No offense ladies!" She turned quickly to her girl friends.
"It's cool," Mercedes waved her hand flippantly and the other two nodded in agreement. It really was cool. All the glee kids had remained friends since high school, but everyone knew that the three musketeers, or the three stooges, as was often more appropriate, had something different from all the rest of them. They were all just happy to have not lost touch altogether. Puck shot her a look that said 'thanks a lot' and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"The one upside to this gig," Puck paused when Rachel sent an angry look his way, "other than getting to stand up next to my GORGEOUS best friend of course," Puck kissed the cheek that Rachel pushed his way, "was the thought that I would get to see something in this changing room. So far the only one I've gotten to see even partly naked is you, and that just doesn't count." Puck shuddered.
"Well thank you so much for such a glowing compliment on my big day," Rachel punched him as hard as she could on the shoulder, which wasn't very hard. He grabbed his arm and stumbled backward a few steps anyway. Their former classmates couldn't help but giggle at their friends' cheeseball behavior.
"Puckerman! Emergency! I need you now!" Kurt burst into the room, dramatic as always. Puck grew serious and stepped to wrap an arm protectively around Rachel's shoulders as her eyes grew large. Tina and Mercedes looked at each other soberly. Brittany, on the other hand, jumped up and waved giddily at Kurt, obviously not getting the gravity of the situation. Ignoring Brittany, Kurt continued speaking to Puck. "He's freaking out! Finn kicked us all out of the room and won't listen to us. He keeps going on about all the people and how he's going to mess something up and Rachel won't want him anymore. We can't get through to him, you have to come help." The girls all took a step away from Rachel, expecting a complete meltdown, but she only let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes while Puck laughed and dropped his arm from her shoulders.
Rachel noticed the others looking at her with an expression that could only be described as terror and laughed. "Oh guys, calm down," Rachel waved her hand in the air casually. "We've been through this a hundred times. Both of us. In fact, I've had the last three freak-outs, so he was kind of due."
"You freaked out?" Tina asked, incredulous.
"Oh yeah," Rachel affirmed, smiling. Puck nodded in agreement. "It happens. Marriage is a big thing. And even though I want to marry Finn more than anything in the world, even more than I want Broadway," her face glowed slightly as her friends' jaws dropped at the admission, "it's scary. And I know that he feels exactly the same way, on both counts. I actually expect him to be nervous."
"Yeah yeah Rachel, that's sweet and all, but I'm pretty sure he's not scared about the marriage. Just before his freak-out he kept going on and on about how happy you made him and he couldn't wait to spend his life with you, and you were perfect, and gag me." Kurt rolled his eyes dramatically. "No, I think he's scared of the actual wedding; the guests and the vows and being the center of attention is what's freaking him out."
"Oh," Rachel paused for a minute, appearing to be deep in thought then clapped her hands together excitedly. "Ok then, this is easy! Kurt, you said he kicked everyone out?"
"Yeah, me, Sam, Mike, Artie, and Santana," Kurt rattled off the names of the glee members who had been in the groom's dressing room. Somehow noticing the look on Rachel's face when Kurt mentioned Santana, not jealousy, just confusion, Brittany chimed in.
"She said she might throw up if she had to be a part of this sappy girl fest, so she stole a bottle of Jack Daniels from my parents' liquor cabinet and went to the boys' room." Everyone except Kurt, even Rachel, laughed. It was actually kind of comforting to know that Santana was still the same girl they knew in high school.
"Ok, Kurt you need to go find them, we have to have all our glee club. Help him Brittany?" Brittany nodded at the bride. "Mercedes, I need you and Tina to find the Hummels and Mr. Schue and Ms. Pils-Schuester. Wow, that's hard to get used to."
"How do you think we feel?" Mercedes asked. "No more Rachel Berry, it's hard to wrap your mind around."
"Yeah," Tina agreed. "We all actually kinda thought you'd keep your name. Don't most people in show business do that?"
Rachel noticed that all eyes were on her, everyone must have been thinking the same thing as Tina. She shrugged, "Yeah, well, I'm not famous yet, so it's not like it will be confusing. And besides," she smiled sheepishly and lowered her eyes, "I really like the idea of being 'Rachel Hudson.'" Her friends smiled at her. Rachel really was a very sweet person when she wanted to be. "Ok, anyway, Mercedes and Tina, can you just make sure you also round up any glee clubbers that Kurt and Brittany might miss. Bring everyone back here." The girls nodded.
"Oh," Mercedes turned to her, "what about Mark and Marie and Kelly?" Mercedes inquired about the three members the club had added during Rachel's senior year.
"No," she shook her head. "I mean, I like them and all, but I just want the original New Directions. But Sam and Lauren are good!" Mercedes nodded and the four friends Rachel had been giving instructions to looked at each other, all hoping someone else would be the one to ask the next question. Finally, Kurt nudged Brittany. They had gotten their orders first and had already started out, so they were closest to the door in case Rachel really flipped out.
"Um, what about Quinn?" Brittany asked. Quinn had been invited to the wedding, and had shown up. But instead of coming into one of the dressing rooms with the other former glee club members, she had stayed out in the sanctuary with the rest of the guests. It wasn't that she had a problem with the wedding or even with Rachel, in fact she had stayed away out of respect for Rachel. The girls had gotten along much better their senior year of high school than they had up to that point, and they had even formed a tentative friendship. But Quinn still didn't know how Rachel would feel about her being in her dressing room with her on the day she was about to be married to Finn. Quinn knew she had caused both of them a lot of pain, and while she was happy to get to share in their joy, she didn't want to impose.
"What did I say?" Rachel snapped. "All. Original. New Directions. Members." It was her first bridezilla moment of the whole wedding planning process so they let it go. In fact, they were actually pretty impressed that Rachel Berry, diva extraordinaire, hadn't completely lost it and started treating them all like her lowly slaves. And Brittany, who was on the receiving end of the outburst, didn't even seem to realize that she was being snapped at. She grabbed Kurt's arm and pulled him toward the sanctuary as Mercedes and Tina followed them.
"So what do I do?" Puck asked once he and Rachel were alone.
"You go talk to our boy. I'm going to go find my dads." Puck nodded and headed for the room where Finn and the other guys had been getting ready. He had no idea what Rachel was thinking, but he didn't need to for his job. Talking Finn down would be the easy part, he knew how much his friend wanted to marry Rachel, and he knew just how to talk to him.
After trying, unsuccessfully, for 10 minutes to calm Finn down even a little bit, Puck heard a knock at the door. "Hey. How are my boys doing in there?"
"Rachel!" Puck rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air as Finn freaked out even more, if that was even possible. "You can't be here! It's bad luck." Puck heard Rachel giggle.
"Nah. It's only bad luck if you see me, and you're not going to. I just want to talk to you a little bit. Kurt tells me you've got a case of the jitters."
"Rach, babe, it's got nothing to do with you. I swear, I want to marry you more than anything. You gotta believe me." Finn was pacing a rut into the carpet and Puck was staring at him from across the room.
"I know sweetie. It's fine. It's perfectly understandable to be nervous. Just come sit and talk to me for a while." Finn and Puck heard a rustle of satin and crinoline and the distinct sound of pearl buttons sliding down the other side of the wooden door.
"Did you just sit on the floor in that dress?" Puck yelled through the door. "I swear Berry, if you mess up ONE of those buttons …"
"Oh calm down Noah, the buttons are fine. Besides, isn't the bride supposed to be the one flipping out over the dress?"
"Well, as man of honor, looking out for that stupid dress is part of my job. You give me a job and I'm gonna make damn sure to do it right!" Puck flung himself onto the couch along the wall of the dressing room and took a swig from the bottle Santana had provided.
"Language Noah! We're in a church!" Rachel heard Finn's back hit the door and listened as he also slid to the floor. Her voice softened noticeably, "Hey baby. You doing okay in there?" She heard his head hit the door.
"Rachel, I love you so much. And I really, really want to marry you. More than anything. But I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda terrified of going out there and doing this in front of all those people. I mean, I'm gonna be up there, and they're all gonna be looking at me. Well, they'll mainly be looking at you, but I'll be right next to you, so they're gonna be looking at me too. And then there's the vows, and what if I mess something up? And this is your wedding day, and it's sposed to be perfect, and so what if I mess it up so bad you don't want to marry me anymore?"
"Oh sweetie," Rachel laughed softly, "there is nothing you could do …"
Puck jumped up and cut her off. "Oh for Christ's sake Finn. You've performed in front of tons more people than that before, people you didn't even know, in competitions, no less. And it's not like you have to dance down the aisle!" Puck laughed at his own joke and took another sip of the whiskey, dropping back onto the couch. "How can you be scared of this?"
"It's not the same," Finn mumbled so lowly that Puck could barely hear him.
"It's not the same Noah," Rachel said, much more loudly, at the same time. "This isn't competing up on some stage with New Directions." Her voice softened again, "But Finn, darling, Noah does have a point. With New Directions, you performed in front of hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, and many of them were rooting against us. And I was right there next to you the whole time, just like I am today and I will be when we get married, whenever you're ready." Puck watched Finn nod, even though Rachel couldn't see him through the door, and couldn't help but laugh at his stressed-out friend. "But sweetie, you know what is different now from back then?"
"That was on a stage, in an auditorium?" Finn guessed, not sure where Rachel was heading. Puck shook his head at the couple and wondered where Rachel was going with this.
"Right. That was on a stage. In an auditorium," she stressed the words. "And," she continued, "the people watching had a real respect for what we were doing. Even if they were there to see our opponents, they really got what we were doing up there and it was important to them. See what I'm saying?" Puck watched in confusion as Finn's eyes grew and he started nodding his head enthusiastically. When he jumped up, Puck jumped too, sitting up straighter on the couch. Somehow, it was as if Rachel could see Finn agreeing with her. "Ok, but Noah has to ride with me, alright? He is my maid …" Puck grunted loudly, "excuse me, man of honor. I'll send Kurt back and you guys leave in five minutes, to make sure I've gotten enough of a head start. Sound good."
"Sounds awesome babe. I love you, you know that right?"
"I know sweetie. Love you back. Noah, let's get moving!" Puck was busy pouring Santana's whisky into the personalized flask Rachel had given him as a bridal party gift. He wanted to ask Finn what was going on, but his friend was already occupied adjusting his tie and jacket in the mirror, and he knew if he didn't get out to Rachel soon she would lose it on him. "Ok, we're going to ride with Mercedes, because I'm sure you've already dipped into that liquor Santana brought," Rachel was talking as soon as Puck shut the door behind him, "and besides, her SUV will be easier for me to get in and out of in this dress."
"Berry, I gotta be honest here, I have no idea what's going on." Puck admitted to his best friend as she dragged him down the hall toward the exit of the church.
"Seriously Noah? How is it not perfectly obvious? Finn understood my meaning just fine."
"Yeah, well, you guys have like, your own language or something."
"Just hurry up," Rachel yelled over her shoulder, "there's Mercedes." Puck almost tripped down the stairs as Rachel pulled him to the car and opened the back door for him. She was already climbing in the front seat before he could even get his hand on the door. "Everybody on their way?" Rachel asked Mercedes breathlessly. "Our parents?" She looked around the parking lot for the Berrys or the Hummels.
"Yeah, Mrs. Hummel grabbed some of the flowers decorating the sanctuary and the altar for Kurt's dad to take over in his truck, and your dads went to get your veil and all your old, new, borrowed and blue stuff. They're already on their way," Tina informed Rachel.
"What about the guests? I hated dumping that on you, but did you guys get it straightened out? I mean, was everyone ok?" Mercedes shot Tina a look in the rearview mirror.
"Well, about that …" Tina started, and Rachel looked at her anxiously. "Quinn volunteered to tell everyone, and we all thought it was a great idea, because who's gonna get mad at the pretty, soft-spoken blonde girl?"
"Yeah," Mercedes intervened, "so she gets up there and says something like, 'Rachel and Finn really appreciate all of you coming out to share in their special day and you all mean a lot to them, but unfortunately, I must regrettably inform you that there will not be a wedding here today'." Rachel nodded at her with big eyes, until Tina started talking again and Rachel turned her attention back to the backseat.
"But they all just sat there, staring at her until some people started asking her all these questions, and they weren't all nice about it," Rachel groaned and dropped her head back against the headrest. Puck wanted to ask just what the Hell was going on, but he was afraid to interrupt in a car full of women.
"So then Santana gets up there," Mercedes began, and Rachel shot up in her seat as if she had been slapped and Mercedes giggled. "And she says …"
"Wait wait wait! I'll show her the video on my camera!" Tina yelled.
"You recorded it?" Rachel asked, a bit afraid of what might come next.
"Well yeah, Santana was speaking in the front of a church, I wanted to capture it in case she like, burst into flames or something." Tina giggled and Puck laughed loudly. "Here," she held the camera up and Rachel leaned between the front seats while Puck craned his neck around her to see the small screen. Rachel held her breath as she watched Santana take her place at the altar.
"Ok folks, here's the deal," Santana's voice filled the car and Mercedes sucked in a giggle at the memory, "basically Finny boy is nervous as fuck." Rachel gasped and covered her mouth. "And his future wife actually wants him to be comfortable, and you know, HAPPY, on his wedding day. So, we're making this a private party. Now you guys can all just go ahead and move it on over to the reception hall and get the party started, and if the happy couple feels like it afterward, they'll join you and you can all congratulate them and pretend to be happy for them there. Oh don't look at me like I just kicked your puppies, it's open bar. Now I've gotta go, I've got a wedding to get to. Padres, you're with me." The video stopped with Santana grabbing the reverend and the rabbi and pulling them toward the back of the church.
"She called my rabbi 'padre'!" Rachel wailed.
Puck stopped laughing long enough to wipe his eyes and say, "Really Berry, that's the part of this whole thing you're focusing on?"
"But Noah," she whined, "she called our rabbi 'padre,' doesn't that bother you even a little bit?" Puck just shrugged. "I mean, he's not a priest or a pastor or a reverend or anyone else you call 'father.' He's called 'rabbi!'"
"Yeah yeah, I get it. But apparently San got the job done," Rachel looked at Tina and Mercedes, who nodded in affirmation. "Now, would someone please tell me what in the world is …" Puck's voice trailed off and a look of recognition crossed his face as they turned toward the high school. He dropped his head back against the seat and scolded himself for not figuring it out sooner. After all, this was Finn and Rachel they were dealing with. "Berry, are you sure you want to get married in a high school auditorium?"
"It's perfect, don't you think? I mean, we wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for glee club and that auditorium. Finn is nervous because he's not comfortable being in that church with a bunch of people we really aren't even close to. I mean, yeah, they're our friends and family and stuff, but it's not like all you guys. But in that room, on that stage, with only people we really love, what is there for either of us to be nervous about?" Puck nodded and put a hand over the one that Rachel had on the back of the seat holding herself toward the back of the car. She was right; it made complete sense.
When the car stopped in the school parking lot, Puck and the girls rushed Rachel to the green room to make sure her dress and hair and make-up were good and get all her little mementos from her dads while they waited for Kurt and Finn to arrive. The rest of the guests were waiting in the padded seats of the auditorium, but Rachel's dads and Quinn were in the green room.
"Hey pumpkin. Everything good?"
"Yeah daddy, it's great. I told Kurt and Finn to leave five minutes after us to make sure there was no way we would run into each other. Finn was so adorably superstitious about seeing me before the wedding. As long as the wedding guests don't turn into a lynch mob on my groom, we're good to go."
"Ok sweetie. Well, we'll go wait at the entrance for them. The Hummels and Mrs. Schuester got everything ready to go, and Mr. Schuester even pulled the piano onstage, so as soon as the boys get here one of us will come get you and we can start." Rachel nodded and kissed her father on the cheek.
"Umm, Rachel," Quinn laid her hand on Rachel's arm once her fathers had left and the others pretended to be occupied with something interesting in the back corner of the room. "I know I need to go sit with the other guests, but I just wanted to apologize." Rachel tilted her head and looked at her kind-of-friend quizzically. She wasn't sure what Quinn had to apologize for. "I mean, I tried back at the church, I felt like I should do something for you guys since all the others had been back there helping you get ready, but I just didn't quite get it right. And then Santana got up there," Quinn rolled her eyes. "If I had done better, she wouldn't have had to scar your rabbi for life." Quinn looked at Rachel hopefully. She really didn't want any more tension between them.
"You have nothing to apologize for," Rachel placed her hand on top of Quinn's. "I know you tried, and I really appreciate it. We're just really glad you could make it, actually. And Santana's … well, she's just Santana." Both girls laughed as Quinn squeezed Rachel's arm gently then pulled her hand away.
"Congratulations Rachel. I am truly happy for both of you," Quinn left the room to go sit with her former classmates and Mercedes and Tina followed her out, giving Rachel a quick hug on the way.
"You ready for this, little girl?" Puck threw an arm around Rachel's shoulder and pulled her close to him.
"More than anything in the world," she looked deep into Puck's eyes and he knew it was true.
"Well, that's good, because it's time to go," Rachel and Puck both jumped at her father's deep voice. They turned to see the large African-American man standing in the doorway with just a hint of tears in his eyes. "I can't believe my little star is getting married. I love you little girl." Mr. Berry pulled his daughter close and kissed the top of her head.
"I love you too," Rachel whispered into his chest.
"We ready to go give our girl away, Puckerman?" Mr. Berry looked at Puck.
"I guess if we have to," Puck smiled at his friend and her father. They started to make their way out of the room when Puck noticed Rachel's lace and pearl veil sitting on the vanity. "Oh, you forgot this. See what a good man of honor I am?" Puck was proud of himself for doing his duties well.
"I'm not going to wear it, but thank you Noah."
"You sure sweetie? You love that thing," her father stopped moving to look at Rachel.
"I don't have anything to hide from anyone in that room. Everyone in there sees me just as I am, and I love them for it. I want to be completely open." Her father and Puck both nodded in understanding and led Rachel the long way around to the back of the auditorium avoiding the stage, where Kurt and Finn were waiting.
Mr. Schuester played Canon in D on the school's piano as Puck walked into the auditorium and down one of the side aisles. Refusing to do any of that girly bridesmaid crap while he walked down the aisle, Puck instead took the opportunity to flex his muscles and show off his guns a few times, drawing a laugh from everyone except the groom. Finn still looked mildly nervous and couldn't tear his eyes from the door he knew Rachel was waiting behind. As the tune changed to the traditional wedding march, the twelve guests and the six men on the stage, including the two religious leaders, all turned and watched expectantly for Rachel and her fathers to emerge. All except Puck, who was watching Finn.
When the doors opened and Rachel stepped into the soft light flanked by her fathers, everyone smiled and a few gasped, taken aback a little by how incredible she looked. Puck saw that every ounce of tension seemed to leave Finn's body when he saw Rachel walking toward him. His body relaxed and his face showed nothing but pure joy. Satisfied with the reaction, Puck turned to Rachel. Even though he had just seen her moments before, the sight took his breath away. His best friend was more beautiful than he had ever seen her and knew it was all because of the man standing beside him.
Rachel had been a little worried that mixing the two religions might cause the ceremony to get a little confusing, but everything went perfectly. The bride and groom held one another's hands tightly the entire time and never broke eye contact, even when Brittany stood up to announce that even though she had no problem with Finn and Rachel getting married, she really wanted peace too and Santana clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her back down to her seat. When the couple was pronounced husband and wife and Finn had successfully kissed his bride, dipping her almost to the floor in the process, Rachel told the officials that they could go back to the reception and inform any guests who had actually stuck around that the couple would be arriving shortly. Finn beamed at her and it was apparent that all of his nerves were gone.
"Hey Rach, you think we can do one more thing before we go back to all the others?"
"Whatever you want, husband," she giggled and rested her chin on his chest to look up at him, her arms wrapped lazily around his waist. He smiled broadly and kissed her on her nose.
"Think maybe we could have our first dance here before we go back to the reception? I mean, I know we're gonna dance more once we get there, and I will have to dance in front of them eventually, but I'd really like our first one to be here with just them." He looked at her pleadingly.
"I think that sounds like an amazing idea," Rachel stood on her tiptoes to kiss him sweetly on the lips before going to talk to Mr. Schuester. As she walked away, Puck went to stand next to Finn.
"Congrats man," he nudged Finn with this elbow. "You guys are gonna be awesome. Really."
"I know," Finn replied seriously. "But thanks for saying it anyway." Both men laughed.
"Mr. Schue went to get the music for us," Rachel sidled up between her two favorite guys and slid an arm around each of their waists.
"Ok everyone," Mr. Schuester announced, returning to the stage with a microphone after putting the cd in the sound system. "The newlyweds have one more request before we all move to the reception. They love you all so much that they want to share their first dance with only you." The guests clapped and a few whistled. The familiar tune began and Puck and Kurt made their way off the stage, leaving only Rachel and Finn in the spotlight.
"Highway run, into the midnight sun," Finn sang quietly into his new wife's ear as they danced in the spotlight, surrounded by their favorite people in the world.
"One more time?" Rachel looked hopefully into Finn's eyes as the song drew to a close.
He laughed at her excitement. "Whatever you want, Mrs. Hudson," he breathed the last two words into her ear. She squealed at the name and jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You are so getting lucky as soon as we leave that reception," she whispered as he lifted her off her feet in a tight hug. When he returned her to the ground she looked at Mr. Schuester and motioned for him to replay the song. "Come join us!" she shouted to their guests.
On the stage, the couple's friends and family paired off to share a dance with the newlyweds. Rachel's fathers danced near Burt and Carol, trading comments on how happy they were for their children. Will danced Emma elaborately all around the stage, while Brittany and Santana swayed with one arm each looped around the other's shoulders and pinkies hooked together on the other hand. Lauren Zizes pulled Artie onto the stage and pushed his wheelchair around in circles, the closest she ever came to dancing. Mike and Tina clung to one another as if their lives depended on it; most of the current wedding guests were taking bets on when their wedding would happen. Deciding it was too awkward to choose between his two ex-girlfriends, Sam danced with Quinn on one arm and Mercedes on the other. There was an odd number of guests anyway, so it worked out. Puck was even a surprisingly good sport and fulfilled another of his duties as the attendant of the bride; he danced with the best man. Finn and Rachel looked around the stage at the people they loved more than anyone in the world and realized that they couldn't possibly have asked for a wedding more perfect than this one.
"So," Puck smirked at Natalie. She had tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes, and Puck knew he totally won that argument.
"Ok. Well, I'm still not going to say they're meant to be together, because I don't really believe in that whole 'one person for everyone' thing, but they do seem like a pretty great couple. I mean, from the way you've described this Rachel chick, the fact that she would give up her dream wedding and the chance to be in the spotlight with everyone pretty much obligated to tell her how beautiful she looks is pretty awesome." Natalie rolled her eyes when Puck crossed his arms across his chest in satisfaction. "And while I still don't quite understand a 21-year-old guy's obsession with a 40-year-old band, Finn seems like a pretty good guy and an amazing boyfriend-slash-husband. But there is one thing I still don't quite get. If these two are so perfect together, and yeah, it seems like they are, why do you feel so compelled to go help them get it together? I mean, won't they just work it out together on their own time?"
"That would be ideal, yes, but they are both stubborn and hard-headed and too insecure about not being good enough for the other to admit that there is a real problem. By the time they actually straighten it out on their own, it might be too late." Puck realized that he had talked through the entire flight and they were about to touch down at JFK. More determined than ever after explaining Finn and Rachel's history to Natalie, he started feeling around in his pockets to make sure he had his keys and his cell phone and iPod, the only things he had brought into the cabin with him. As soon as the flight attendants announced that they could leave the plane, he jumped up. "Look Natalie, it was great to meet you, but I gotta go. I've got something really important waiting on me out there." Thanking God for his long legs, he stepped over her easily and made his way into the aisle.
"Umm, don't you need to get your carry-on?" Natalie asked, hoping for another minute or two to try to ignite that spark she had failed to light earlier. Surely a guy who was that invested in his friends' relationship would have to know how to treat a girl, even if it was just a fling. She hoped to be able to coax him into giving her his number, or at least taking hers.
"Didn't bring one. Nice to meet you." Puck was off the plane before she could retrieve her purse from beneath her seat.