"You know, for someone who claims to not give a shit about Berry, you sure are watching her like she is the only chick that matters to you."

Puck does not bother looking to his left. He crosses his arms over his chest and keeps his gaze focused on the petite brunette running around Mike Chang's backyard while being chased by Brittany who is spraying everyone down with a water hose. Which is really hot because now Tina and Rachel's shirts are clinging to their skin and are a little see-through. Not that he is completely paying attention to Tina because one, Mike would kill him (well, he would try, but Puck's badassery is totally unbeatable, even now) and two, Berry has a smokin' hot body. Truthfully, he has always thought so, but New York has truly done her a favor and he is not complaining.

"You gonna join them, San? Haven't seen your hot ass in a while," Puck remarks crudely, finally looking at his Latina friend who keeps swearing he likes Berry (something she has been swearing long before Rachel returned from New York the day before), which could not be more untrue. Yeah, he likes Berry, but not in the way Santana keeps insisting that he does. Even if he did, which he doesn't, but just if... it honestly would not make a difference because she is with Brody who Puck is still convinced is a gigantic asshole and a pathetic excuse for a man.

"I care about Berry, San, that's about as deep as my fucking feelings go. Plus, not even the sex shark can handle that amount of crazy." He cannot believe is talking about this. The Puckerone does not do feelings because feelings are for girls and guys like Kurt. And he is not only thinking about gays because Finn is as straight as a straw (one of the normal straws, not a bendy straw or one of those super girly straws because then Finn would not be straight) and he takes the term "girly man" to a whole new level with his pansy talk.

"Whatever," Santana mutters. "I don't do feelings, either, Puckerone, but even I know when to stop being a stubborn ass and admit defeat. You should try it. Just do it sooner than I did or you might lose her." Santana's tone is soft and her gaze is no longer on Puck; it is on Brittany.

He clears his throat and pats Santana's shoulder awkwardly. He is unsure how to comfort her because she's the "notorious" Santana Lopez and she is not easily comforted like girls such as Berry and Quinn. She is on the same level as Puck when it comes to feelings and shit; they just don't know how to handle their emotions properly or even portray them, hence the reason Santana is continuing to beat herself up for allowing Brittany to get away once again.

Santana shrugs her hand off his shoulder and runs out into the grass, jumping into the line of fire. He smirks. Four wet chicks. He can totally get on board with that.

Still, his gaze is only focused on one.

XXX

She is wearing Noah's over-sized t-shirt and Santana's McKinley cheer leading shorts. She does not know why wearing Noah's t-shirt is bothering her so immensely, but it kind of makes sense that it is bothering her because she is almost positive Brody will not be too pleased to see her in another man's shirt when she returns home.

She is starting to wish that Brittany hadn't decided to chase her with a water hose so that she would not have been soaking wet to the point where her shirt clung to her like glue, which had been bothersome to the point of severe discomfort. That is how she ended up in Noah's t-shirt, a fact that is still driving her utterly insane and it does not help that Noah's gaze seems to be permanently attached to her.

She recognizes the look in his eyes all-too-well and she flashes back to that heated night in her room with a Christina Aguilera song and the question Wanna make out? and his strong arms. She recalls the way he handled her, a mixture of rough and gentle all at once; tongue, teeth, and nails and the feel of rough skin under her fingertips. He is giving her the same look she received that night; one of pure, unadulterated lust and that look that screams that he wants to take her home and do unspeakable things to her. A look he should not be giving her and she should not be physically responding to (which she isn't, but she wants to so badly even though she knows how wrong it is to be thinking of Noah in such a way), but his gaze is making her feel sexy and incredibly naked even though she is aware that she is fully clothed.

"You two should seriously fuck and get it over with." Santana's comment has Rachel staring at her in disbelief and Noah looking at her like he wants to murder her. Mike, Tina, and Brittany are laughing, clearly enjoying the discomfort of herself and Noah. Meanwhile, Santana looks extremely pleased with herself.

"Santana!" Rachel cries indignantly. She would say that she cannot believe Santana has the audacity to say such a thing, but it is Santana and Santana is not known for having a filter. She says what she is thinking. Rachel does the same, but the difference between Rachel and Santana is that Rachel knows when to not say something and Santana knows when, but she just does not care.

Rachel huffs and storms into Mike's house, making a point of slamming the door shut behind her to indicate how not amused she is with her ridiculously, unnecessarily blunt friend.

A moment later, she hears the door open and looks up when she hears it close. Noah is leaning against the inside of the door. His shirt is off and inside, she is fighting to ignore how shirtless Noah affects her because at least outside he was not the only one around and she could focus on anyone but him. Right now, it is just Rachel and Noah. Rachel does not know how Noah feels, but she knows that she cannot handle being alone with him.

She tries telling herself that she is with Brody, but she knows her efforts to not focus on how attractive Noah is are pointless and will simply lead to a major headache.

"Sorry for San. She's a bitch," Noah apologizes, striding over to the couch and seating himself beside her. The distance between them is not a comfortable one; she can feel the heat emanating from his body and it does not help that his arm is brushing against hers, causing goosebumps to break out all over her skin, which is stupid because it is over ninety degrees outside.

Rachel shrugs, pretending that what Santana said outside does not bother her in the least, though that cannot be further from the truth because it is bothering her a lot more than it should be. "Please." Rachel tries to laugh, but it comes out sounding choked, causing Noah to quirk a brow at her. She ignores his expression. "Are you forgetting that I am entirely too used to Santana by now? I love her to pieces and she is a fantastic person underneath that tough exterior of hers that she uses to protect herself, but I have not forgotten how she spent most of our childhood and high school career making my life miserable.

"I know how she is, Noah. I have retrained my mind to not take offense to anything Santana says or does," she finishes. It is true. Sometime after she had joined glee, Rachel had learned to let Santana's comments slide right off her shoulders. The metaphorical blows had hurt a lot less that way.

"Yeah, well, not all of us are that advanced, Berry," Noah remarks teasingly and smiles that smile-not-smile which does not make being here with him any easier on her. "And know that she is so wrong, okay? I like you, Berry, but in like, the way I like dogs." Rachel scoffs, smacking him on the arm. She cannot believe he just compared her to a dog! It is Noah, though, and he has never been good with words. "No, I-what I meant was..." he tries to backtrack, but he sighs, appearing frustrated with himself, and stops talking.

She bursts out laughing, but immediately shuts up when Noah glares at her. "I apologize," she says in between soft chuckles before calming herself down enough to be serious. "There is no need for you to explain. We are friends, Noah. Nothing more and nothing less. I am with Brody," she does not miss the way Noah's jaw twitches at the mention of her boyfriend, "and Santana is deluding herself into thinking she can play matchmaker between two of her friends."

"Right," Noah agrees, but she does not believe he is completely agreeing. She tries not to think too hard on that because she has been thinking too much for one afternoon and it has to stop or she really will be the crazy girl everyone is convinced she is.


"What are you wearing?" She is greeted at the front door of her home by her boyfriend who does not look happy. She should have ordered Brittany to wash her wet clothing, but she likes the way she looks in Noah's shirt and it smells like him...

This is not good, she thinks because it is really not good to be thinking of how Noah's shirt smells like his cologne which she has always loved the smell of and...

She snaps herself out of it. Brody asked her a question. She should probably answer before he grows suspicious and starts asking more questions that she is positive she will not have the answer to because she does not even know how to answer the questions for herself. Not that she has actually done anything, but she counts her thoughts as cheating. Mentally cheating, anyway, which she believes is a real thing because thinking of another man the way that she thinks of her boyfriend (honestly, her thoughts of Noah are stronger and more frequent than thoughts of Brody) is still cheating in her mind.

"Oh this thing," she says dryly as if it is of no importance that she is donning Noah's over-sized tee. "Brittany chased me around Mike's backyard with a water hose and I was soaked from head to toe. I needed a change of clothes, so Santana lent me her cheer leading shorts and Noah was nice enough to loan me one of his t-shirts."

There is a long pause and Rachel is racking her brain for something to say, anything, but she cannot think of anything and she does not know why she feels the need to defend herself when she has not done anything wrong. She knows that is not true though because her thoughts are wrong and the way she feels is wrong. Everything is wrong and nothing feels right anymore and she has not even been in Lima for forty-eight hours and she is already beginning to feel a little like Old Rachel, the confused young girl whose boy problems controlled her throughout high school.

"Brody, you really have no reason to be upset with me, if you are upset that is and if you are not then I apologize for assuming. You know what they say when we humans assume... Of course, I shall not repeat the saying because it is far too crass for me and I do not want to use such foul language in my-"

Brody cuts her off with his lips. She makes a small sound of surprise, but responds instantly to the kiss, standing on her tiptoes to give her a better height advantage. Brody grips her waist and pulls her closer, pressing her against his front. Her hands trail up the back of his shirt and she drags her nails across his skin, causing him to emit a groan and she is thankful that her dad and daddy are not home because they would not be pleased to see what is taking place in their living room.

"Bedroom," she whispers against his lips, her breathing shallow. He lifts her up, their lips still attached and the kiss growing more passionate, and she wraps her legs around his waist as he starts walking backwards, carrying her towards the stairs. They manage to make it up the first step before Rachel hears her front door being slammed shut and she jumps out of Brody's arms as though he has caught on fire, effortlessly landing on her feet.

"Oh my!" she hears the familiar voice of Kurt exclaim. "I am so sorry, Rachel. I could always come back later-"

"No, that is perfectly fine," Rachel interrupts him. She can see Brody out of the corner of her eye and he does not look like he agrees with Kurt staying being perfectly fine, but she gives him an admonishing look and he pouts but fixes his shirt and silent agrees to behave anyway.

"This was not how I was expecting to be greeted when I finally graced you with my presence, but I suppose it will do." Kurt's dramatic tone causes Rachel to giggle as she flings herself at him, giving him one of her infamous bear hugs.

"For the love of Streisand, Rach, you act like you haven't seen me in ages," Kurt remarks comically. Rachel releases her hold on him and takes a few steps back until she is standing beside Brody, who immediately wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her into his side, and for the first time since they made their relationship official, she has the thought that she does not quite fit in this particular spot on his side.

She can ignore a lot of things, but she is unsure how to ignore such an important thought, but she will for as long as she can so as not to ruin summer for anyone, including herself.

"Why, of course, I would act such a way," Rachel starts dramatically. "I see your face every single day. Spending every waking hour with you is routine and you know how I feel about routine. Routine is key."

Kurt makes a face at her. "Cute," he replies flatly. "You've been hanging with Puck, haven't you?"

She feels Brody tense beside her at the mention of Noah. She intertwines their fingers, placing their joint hands over her heart, trying to reassure him that he has nothing to worry about.

"Only slightly, but no matter... what is it that you wanted to ask?" Kurt opens his mouth so as to speak, but she cuts him off. "And do not even say that you are here to ask me nothing because I know you and you would not leave Blaine unless you were in desperate need of something... or rather, want of something."

She hears Brody chuckle and smacks him, quickly shutting him up. "I merely wanted to ask my best friend and her wonderful boyfriend to join myself and my very amazing boyfriend for dinner tonight. There is no need to give me the third degree. Burns do not look good on my skin." Rachel laughs in good humor at her best friend's lame attempt at a joke, though Kurt does not treat his skin as a joke too often. He has a skin regimen, one that she must say does him well because his skin is always baby soft.

"I think I speak for Brody and myself when I say that we would be more than honored to join the two of you for dinner," she tells Kurt, and then she focuses her gaze on Brody. "Am I correct in assuming you will attend? You have met Blaine before briefly. He is not a bad guy, honest." The one time Brody met Blaine was the night Blaine revealed that he had cheated on Kurt, but that is in the past and he and Kurt have been going strong for a few months. They decided to start dating again not long after Rachel agreed to be Brody's girlfriend.

"Sure," Brody says with a shrug. He does not seem to care either way, which is acceptable enough for her and seems to be acceptable enough for Kurt.

"I'll see the two of you around six then," Kurt says before opening the door. He turns to look at them one more time, standing with one foot out the door and the other inside. "You two can get back to whatever it is I interrupted. Try not to have too much fun. No making babies until you are married!"

Rachel tears herself away from Brody and starts heading towards Kurt, but Kurt is out the door before she can reach him. She huffs, but she does not feel like chasing him so she decides to let it go. For now.

Brody grabs her by the hand and yanks her over to him, pressing her body tightly against his own. He wraps his arms securely around her waist and she smiles fondly up at him. "What do you say? Bedroom?" He sounds hopeful, but if Rachel is being completely honest (which she has not been very honest with Brody nor herself in the past twelve hours or longer, not since she ran into Noah at McKinley the previous night), her sex drive is not nearly as strong as it was before Kurt showed up.

Her long pause must have answered Brody's question because he pouts and kisses the top of her head affectionately. "Want to watch Funny Girl?" he suggests and Rachel beams, squeezing him tightly. "I'll take that as a yes," he says with a laugh before she extracts herself from his hold and runs over to the couch, plopping down. Brody joins her a few minutes after putting the movie in and sits down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She leans into him, feeling comfortable, but something is nagging at her brain as the movie begins and she has a hard time focusing.

She has officially decided that because of Noah Puckerman, she is in big trouble. She just is not sure what kind of trouble... yet.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Another chapter in. I am growing more and more inspired for this story. Thank you again for the reviews. Expect more Puckleberry in the chapters to follow. Also expect a time jump a couple of chapters from now. I want to get this story moving along. I know everyone is sick of Brody and Rachel, but I promise Puckleberry will be focused on a lot more very soon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING LOVELIES.