Warning: This contains some mild swearing/cussing and vague talk of sex. This is rated T just to be safe.
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Disclaimer: Again, the story is all mine but the characters belong to their creators.
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~oOo~
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Quinn was talking to Finn about some girly stuff I don't want a part of so I stayed quiet and tuned her out. Gotta hand it to my best friend. I normally couldn't tolerate anything remotely girly and would rather drink vinegar than listen to her talk about clothes and hair products.
We headed to the cafeteria for our lunch break. Morning classes weren't really a pain since school year's just starting. I didn't even need my naps yet. But I'm pretty sure I'll be taking them as the days of school progress. No need to bother the school nurse this early in the ball game.
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I've been searching for my favorite, guilty pleasure all day but I haven't seen her yet or that guy she's always with. I knew for a fact that he was not her boyfriend. They seemed to be close but not in the physical sense. I mean I don't see them do PDA and shit. In this day and age teens do that kind of stuff in almost every corner of the school. It would seem weird if they were together but not kiss or pet it each other in public. Not that I was hoping to glimpse them in the act. I'm not that fucked up or masochistic. It only cemented my theory that they were not a couple but just friends.
OK, that was a bunch of crap. So I asked around (discreetly, of course). Big fucking deal! Plus there was the obvious fact that the dude was not into her, not into girls actually. I'm talking about the elephant in the room people. Duh, gay-dar at work here folks. I did not just say that. What's wrong with me? Seriously though, the glitzy shirts and jacket, not to mention the drama queen attitude, are a dead giveaway.
I could tell she's different. For one thing she hangs out with a gay dude instead of girls her age. Don't really have anything against him, I'm just saying. She only wears these ridiculously short skirts and tailored tops. Haven't seen her in jeans but who am I to complain. I can tell she works out. She's got nice, toned legs and arms, now that I think about it, nice everything. So I checked her out (more than necessary), not a big deal. I'm a guy. Guys do stuff like this all the time. Was ogling a crime now?
This weird fascination started right about the middle of the school year. I started training for football with my best friend Finn in junior high. He had this brilliant idea that if we try our luck in football and actually make it to the team chicks will automatically hound us. True enough when he was chosen to be a quarterback freshman year (big accomplishment for them actually) he started dating Quinn, the then Cheerio newbie. Talk about cliché.
I got my fair share of the spotlight. At first it was fun dating different girls almost everyday. Hey, I was a horny teenager, no scratch that, still am but I soon got tired of it, the drama that comes along with it, everything. Plus I was trying to keep the pool cleaning business going for my college fund so I didn't really have much time for anything else. I got picky with my 'associates'. I started to stir clear away from the clingy, highly emotional girls and stuck with fubu. No strings attached, I do my magic to them and they do anything to get me off. End of story. I never claimed to be a saint.
Mrs. Crowell was one of my frequent costumers in the business. She was a widow and was a very lonely woman. I was just a regular, hormonal adolescent. We had our fling. She didn't demand anything from me and I didn't really expect more from her. We both understood what we were getting into and never really discussed anything. Somehow word got out about our little escapades. I was branded the cougar-chaser. I never denied anything but then again I didn't openly acknowledge it either. I don't fuck and tell. Let them think what they want to, I'm Puck. I'm a stud. I got a new kickass nickname so I didn't really see any problem with that.
She was the one who ended things. Said she's got too much on her plate. One week later I heard she got married to some rich dude and moved to another state.
I was a bit putout and was sporting a somewhat broken heart (*cough shattered ego cough*) when I noticed her. She was average- looking. I've seen prettier girls with bigger boobs. I didn't really know what initially attracted me to her. Sure she wore those short skirts and form-fitting tops but the Cheerios wore less amount of clothing so that couldn't be it. Although I have to say that it was becoming a distraction.
There was just something about her that piqued my attention but I couldn't name it. My curiosity got the best of me and soon enough I found myself observing (not stalking) her whenever I have time. Lunch time was the best time. She and her friend always sat on the table near the door. They're predictable like that. When they talked it's as if they have their own little world. She got herself so into their discussions that she didn't pay much attention to anything around her. That's possibly one reason why I got fascinated by her. She seemed so unaffected by everything. It's as if she's just observing us mere mortals. Not that she acted all high and mighty. She was more on the low down and preferred to stay in the background, an observer (at least that's what I think).
She didn't really try to mingle with others but she's not unfriendly either. Finn had classes with her and said she was pretty cool once you get to chill with her. Quinn didn't know much about her. She gave me this weird look when I asked. But yeah, she did tell me her name was Rachel. Rachel Berry. I acted like it wasn't really important one way or another but inside I was like, 'Yeah, progress'.
I've been meaning to get to know her since last year but my timing always sucked. I never found her alone which was ironic because she didn't have many friends. It also bothered me that I couldn't seem to make a move. I was being a pussy and it pissed me off because I didn't know why I was hesitating. It was so not me. At one point I asked myself if I was finally losing my mojo. I mentally slapped myself for that thought and decided to man up.
So this school year I promised myself that at the very least I should get a ten-second conversation. I know. I move real slow. I may be unstoppable in the field but when it comes to her I have no idea how to approach. I figured she was not like the other girls I've dated and that the usual approach wasn't gonna cut it.
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We sat with Quinn's friends. They immediately went girl-mode and talked about stuff I'd rather not know. Finn suddenly stood and walked towards the door. I thought he forgot something on his locker but he sat down on the chair near the door. That's when I saw her.
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~oOo~
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A/N: Ha! Now we are getting somewhere... I would love to hear/read your opinions on this fic. How was it? Good? Not so good? Errors? Please let me know so I can improve. Plus it gives me morality boost to read replies from you guys. I love my awesome reviewers and readers.