Hello everyone! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Are you sure your mom doesn't mind taking care of my sister?" Puck asked as he and Finn walked around the school a few days later. "I mean I doubt she'd tell me herself but you can tell me."

Finn laughed. "Puck seriously relax. My mom loves watching kids, especially girls. Gives her a sense of what it's like having a daughter or something like that. Trust me, your sister is in good hands."

Realizing he was right, Puck let out a breath and nodded. "Okay I'll relax. Sorry, I'm just so used to having to worry about where she is."

"Why is that? I mean, shouldn't finding childcare and all that be your mom's job?"

"Yeah you'd think but that's not how things are in our house," he frowned.

Seeing he was approaching a sensitive subject, Finn nodded. "I get it. If you ever need to talk I'm here."

"Thanks."

Hiram walked by and looked at them. "Hey just the people I was looking for. Finn, as you know it's time for the annual employee appreciation dinner."

"That's right, I almost forgot about it." When he saw Puck's confused expression, he explained further. "Every year Mr. Berry has an appreciation dinner for everyone who works here. The teachers, janitors, cafeteria workers, everyone."

"It's my way of showing everyone that I'm not just here to boss you guys around," Hiram added. "I do appreciate the work everyone puts in to make this school so prestigious. I usually host it at my house but per my husband's request, we're holding it at a hall this year."

"I guess Mr. Berry doesn't want to have to deal with the mess when everything is over," Finn smirked.

Hiram laughed. "You're definitely right about that. Anyway, it's this Friday night so I'll be seeing both of you there?"

Puck hesitated. "I think so. I'll just have to make sure to have a sitter for my sister that night."

"We'll be there," Finn nodded.

"Great," Hiram smiled before walking away.

Finn looked at Puck. "I told you, don't worry about my mom. She'll definitely watch your sister."

"I just hate having to rely on someone who barely knows me and doesn't have an obligation to take care of her."

"Puck I'm serious. It's okay, you don't need to worry about anything. My mom is always willing to help where she's needed especially since she doesn't have any more kids."

Puck nodded, trying not to think about it anymore as they got to work. He hated that he had to constantly be worried about who was taking care of Sara when he wasn't around. Maria still believed that she should be able to stay by herself but Puck knew that it was not only a bad idea but a sure way to get a visit from child services. Finn's mom was the best option for everyone.

Meanwhile, Rachel sat at the piano in the music room practicing her piece that she was going to play at the appreciation dinner. As she played, her mind drifted back to her dads. Things have been tense since their fight a few days ago but she was hoping that having the dinner someplace else would help them get back on track.

The bell rang, interrupting her thoughts. While she gathered her books to go to her next class, Rachel found herself rushing to leave to see if she would run into Puck in the hallway. As she walked, she noticed him standing by the door and hesitated before finally walking over to him.

"Hey," she smiled. "How are you?"

"Pretty good I guess. Was that you playing?"

"Yeah you heard me?" she asked, feeling her face redden.

"Yeah you're really talented. I mean you were good in that showcase but you play differently when it's just you."

"Well that's because I'm playing what I actually want to play. Not the classical stuff my dad makes me do."

Puck frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? He has control over what you guys play?"

"Well not everyone else, just me. I have to be at a level above everyone else and I don't mind because I strive for it but I just want to get there playing what I want to play."

"So why not do it?"

"Because my dad will kill me," she replied like it was an obvious answer.

He shrugged. "Hey this if this is what you want to do why not take the risk?"

"Well I am supposed to be playing a piece at the dinner. Are you coming?"

"As long as Finn's mom can take care of my sister for the night I guess so."

"It's really sweet that you make sure your sister is taken care of. I'm sure she appreciates having you to look out for her."

"Yeah I guess you could say that," he nodded. "But I look forward to hearing what you're playing."

Another bell rang and Rachel looked at him. "Guess I'd better get to class. See you later Puck."

He nodded as she walked away. When she was out of sight, Puck let out a breath. He had to admit, Rachel seemed great but he knew he couldn't go there with her. Not if he wanted to keep his job and support his family. It sucked that he couldn't afford to be the reckless teenager he was supposed to be being.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As he got ready for the appreciation dinner that Friday, Puck felt the nerves set in. He wasn't used to being around these kinds of people and he just wanted to make it through the night without saying something stupid.

As he tied his tie, Sara walked in. "Wow you have to dress up for this thing?"

"I don't know but I want to be safe. Worst case scenario, I'll just take the tie off and actually be comfortable," he smirked. "You have your stuff ready to go?"

"Yeah. Why can't I ever come to this stuff with you?"

"Trust me kid, I wish you could come. We Puckermans know how to liven up a party don't we?"

"Right," she laughed as they heard Maria stumble into the front door.

Puck frowned. "Stay here."

He walked out and went downstairs to find Maria drunkenly laughing. "Hey sweetheart. What's up? You look nice."

"Once again you're drunk. Do you realize what'll happen if someone finds out about all of this?"

"You need to relax. Maybe you're the one in need of a drink," she said, laying across the couch.

Puck groaned before going back upstairs where Sara was waiting. "She's drunk isn't she?"

"Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go."

She grabbed her bag and followed Puck out the door. As he drove to Finn's mom's house, she looked at him. "Why does Mom always drink?"

Puck hesitated before answering. "I wish I knew Sara. I think she's just unhappy."

"Is she unhappy with us?"

"No not at all. She loves us but…she's just unhappy with herself and her life."

"There's no way we can make her happy is there?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. She has to want to be happy for herself before we can help her."

When he got to the house, Carol opened the door, smiling. "Hey guys."

"Hi Mrs. Hudson," Sara smiled back.

"I have some cookies that have your name on it."

"Awesome," the little girl said excitedly before giving Puck a quick hug. "Bye Puck."

"I'll be back to get you later," he told her but she ran into the house so quickly she probably didn't hear him. He laughed and looked at Carol. "I have to say I'm happy to see that she's actually happy about being here. You have no idea how terrible our neighbors are."

She nodded. "I can imagine. Don't worry I have everything under control. Just try to enjoy yourself at this dinner. The Berry men always make sure to have excellent food."

"Yeah I'll try. Thanks again."

"No problem," she told him before closing the door as he went to his car.

When he got to the hall, Puck took a deep breath before walking in. As he walked through, everyone was talking and having drinks. It seemed more relaxing than what he had anticipated. But he did see men wearing ties so he let out a breath of relief at his choice.

When he found Finn, he went over to him.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey you made it just in time. Rachel's about to perform."

Before he could respond, Hiram tapped a glass to get everyone's attention.

"Hello everyone. I just wanted to say it's an honor to have you all here as we show our appreciation for the staff. You know we wouldn't be able to have such an amazing school without all of your hard work and dedication." Everyone clapped in response before he continued. "My lovely daughter has decided to grace us with a performance so I'm going to stop talking and turn it over to her."

Rachel smiled as everyone clapped for her. She scanned the audience until she found Finn and Puck and once she did, she felt the butterflies in her stomach knowing that Puck was about to watch her take a risk with what she was playing. As she prepared her backing track, Rachel took a deep breath before beginning to play.

I could write a song with my new piano
I could sing about how love is a losing battle
Not hard, (it's not hard),
It's not hard, (it's not hard),
It's not hard, (it's not hard),
It's not hard, (It's not hard),

And I could sing about cupid and his shooting arrow
In the end, you'll find out that my heart was battered
Real hard (Real hard)
It's so hard (So hard)
Real hard (Real hard)
It's that hard (It's that hard)

But I'd rather make a song they can play on the radio
That makes you wanna dance
Don't it make you wanna dance
But I'd rather make a song they can play on the radio
That makes you wanna grab your lover's hand

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

As everyone clapped along, Puck smiled at the performance. Rachel was clearly enjoying what she was playing and he loved that she was having fun with it.

I could write a song by my new piano
I could sing about how love is a losing battle
Not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)

And I could sing about cupid and his shooting arrow
In the end, you'll find out that my heart was battered
Real hard (It's not hard)
So hard (So hard)
Real hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)

But I'd rather make a song they can play on the radio
That makes you wanna dance
Don't it make you wanna dance
But I'd rather make a song they can play on the radio
That makes you wanna grab your lover's hand

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

I'd rather tell you about how I'm feeling boy
And how I'm doing things my way
If I got my piano, then I know I'd be okay, baby

Rachel caught a glimpse of Hiram standing with his arms folded, clearly unhappy with the performance but she didn't care. At that moment, all she cared about was proving to Puck that she can play what she wanted to play and it looked like he was impressed.

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

So hold up and
Take it through the night
And you should follow through
To make it alright
Now grab each others' hands, get 'em up
I wanna see you rock to the piano, the piano

I could write a song by my new piano
I could sing about how love is a losing battle
It's not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard (It's not hard)
It's not hard

As everyone cheered, Rachel stood proudly and smiled. Once everyone went back to what they were doing, she walked over to Finn and Puck.

"So what'd you think?" she asked them.

"That was great Rach," Finn smiled before smirking at Puck, noticing the connection between them. "What do you think Puck?"

"I think that's the happiest I've ever seen you when you perform which made it that much better," he told her.

Rachel smiled and blushed before feeling Hiram put a hand on her shoulder. "Can I borrow you for a moment?"

Knowing what it was about, she reluctantly walked away with him even though all she wanted was to hear more of Puck's thoughts about her performance.

When they were in a spot where no one would hear them, Hiram frowned at her. "What was that? That's not what you were practicing."

"I know, I changed it. It was boring, Dad. What's wrong with livening things up?"

"Rachel how do you expect to make it at NYADA if you're always changing up what you're doing to suit your wants and not the instructors? Do you think they'll want to hear what you just played?"

"Maybe," she replied, frustrated. She felt great about that performance and now her dad was ruining it. "Everyone loved it and that's all that matters to me."

"You need to start thinking like a professional. Professionals wouldn't do what you just did."

Realizing there was no point in going back and forth with her dad, Rachel shook her head. "Better get back before everyone realizes we're not as perfect as you claim us to be."

Before Hiram could say anything else, she walked away, trying to hide the tears that were threatening to come out. She hated that they had to constantly put on an act like they were a perfect family when it looked like her parents' marriage was failing and Hiram acted more like an instructor than a parent. The only thing that was going to make any of this better was talking to Puck and that was exactly what she planned to do.

Song is Piano by Ariana Grande. Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)