[AN: First of all, I'm so sorry for the delay in uploading this chapter. I've just recently had a change of location - from the Philippines to New Jersey - and I'm still adjusting to everything. Plus, the writer's block bug decided to kick me in the behind. If you have any ideas for the story, feel free to let me know. Hope you like the chapter! I thought it was a bit choppy at first but then I feel like it got better. And please keep reviewing and recommending this story to your friends.]

Chapter 7

Puck paused for a moment at the park entrance on the pretense of taking a breath from all the heavy stuff he was currently carrying, as per Alexa's instructions. Really, however, he was stealing a moment to ready himself for the afternoon ahead. Although he kept up his usual badass act, he knew deep down, that the strings tying him to both glee club and the football/basketball team were tense at best.

"Puck, what the hell are you doing?" Alexa's demanding voice cut into his thoughts.

He glanced to his side to find that she had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Taking a breather. You are aware that I'm carrying a fucking truckload of shit right now."

"PUCK. Two words: stop swearing."

He grinned, still amused by the fact that he could always manage to rile her up, especially when he tossed in a bunch of curse words into his sentences.

"Where did you tell everyone to meet up?"

"By the fountain." Puck shrugged, shifting the weight of the things in his arms.

"Why the he—ck did you bring all this shi—stuff anyway?" Puck censored the curse words in his latest sentence every time Alexa glared at him.

"Because Puck, we can't have a get together without refreshments, or sounds, or a place to sit or even a couple of games."

"Then why aren't you carrying any of it?"

"Because I'm carrying the picnic basket. And holding Cleo's leash. And because I'm a woman."

"A girl after my own heart." Kurt's emphatic voice suddenly piped up from behind them.

Alexa and Puck turned around to find Kurt standing with Mercedes and Quinn, a trademark Kurt smirk plastered onto his face.

"Hi Puck." Mercedes and Quinn chimed in unison, smiling at him.

"Puckerman." Kurt nodded his head at Puck, before turning with a flourish to the other girls.

"Girls, I don't believe you've had the pleasure of meeting Alexa, Puck's… friend." Kurt chose to emphasize the word friend, making Alexa and Quinn both roll their eyes and Puck scowl.

"Hi, I'm Alexa. I'm starting as a sophomore this coming school year at McKinley High." Alexa smiled first at Mercedes, then a little more shyly at Quinn.

"Hey girl. I'm Mercedes." Mercedes grinned back instantly.

"Hi, I'm Quinn." Quinn said a little more softly, her smile engaging.

"It's great to meet you both. I believe Puck told me you guys are with him in Glee?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." Mercedes agreed.

"I was thinking of auditioning for Glee club, if you guys are going to be holding any auditions. I love to sing."

Puck was starting to lose interest in the direction that the conversation was heading when he suddenly realized that Berry wasn't with her usual trio. He almost asked Kurt where she was but managed to stop himself before doing so. What the hell Puckerman, don't go all sissy now.

He tried to turn his attention back to the full on conversation that the foursome were now having about shoes, a conversation that was especially animated between Kurt and Alexa. But it was hard for him to focus as he was wondering if Berry wasn't planning on showing up after all. He tried not to pretend that he didn't care overly much if she was there but he suddenly found himself losing all enthusiasm for the afternoon's gathering at the thought that she wouldn't be there.

"… Rachel." Quinn finished enthusiastically, gesturing with her hands.

He snapped to attention when he heard her name, earning a strange look from Quinn. He was secretly glad that she had mentioned Rachel in their conversation, even if he had no idea what they were talking about. It gave him the perfect opening to ask…

"Where's Berry anyway? Is she coming today or is she going to diva out again?"

He thought he had injected enough malice and casualness into his tone but he earned a sidelong, curious glance from Alexa and a suspicious face from Kurt. Ignoring the two, he focused on Quinn and Mercedes to get the answer he wanted.

"She'll be here in a few minutes. She just had to park her car up the street." Quinn replied, suddenly very suspicious of Puck's interest in Rachel.

He turned away, feigning disinterest, although he was really glad to hear that she hadn't bailed.

"If you ladies can stop discussing the merits of shoes or music or whatever it is you girls talk about, maybe we can move over there and set up this picnic." He finally said after a few more minutes of their discussion of the latest music hits.

Kurt was about to remark but got interrupted by Alexa – "That sounds like a good idea Puck."

Puck just laughed and walked into the park, heading towards the small knot of people he saw standing near the fountain.

"Puckerman!" Mike called out jovially, raising a hand in greeting.

Puck smiled back, jogging over to where Mike, Matt and Brittany were and immediately dumping all the stuff he was carrying onto the ground.

"NOAH PUCKERMAN!"

Puck stopped mid-step and almost cringed but he caught himself in time. He turned to find Alexa staring at him, annoyance etched all over her features. He raised an eyebrow at her and crossed his arms over his chest. She stomped up to him; considering how little she was, she could be very intimidating when her face held that particular expression.

"You could have set them down a little more gently." She scolded, shoving Cleo's leash into his hand before she knelt down to gather up some of the items that had scattered.

Puck sighed and rolled his eyes, although he got down on his own knees to help her. It surprised him when Mike joined in, gathering the last cans of soda on the ground and placing them back into the cooler.

"Thank you Puck. And thank you –" Alexa trailed off as she glanced at the Asian boy, clueless as to who he was.

"I'm Mike. And you're welcome –"

"Her name is Alexa. Alexa, meet Matt and Brittany, two Glee club members that I haven't introduced you to yet."

"Oh, hi! It's a pleasure." Alexa smiled winningly, letting her gaze linger on Mike, who returned the smile eagerly.

"So, shall we get this fete started or what?" Kurt cut in.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll get your sounds." Mercedes said eagerly, swiping the speakers from the pile after she pulled her iPod out of her pocket.

"And we'll take care of the food." Matt piped up, Mike standing right next to him and nodding.

"Sounds good. I'll set up the blankets and stuff." Alexa said, reaching for the stack of blankets she'd brought.

"Let me help you with that." Quinn offered, smiling prettily at the younger Asian girl. Alexa acknowledged her with a grin.

Puck realized that everything was pretty much taken care of when it came to setting up for the picnic, with Kurt joining Mercedes at the speakers. He had almost let himself relax when he felt Alexa turn to stare at him intently.

"Puck, can you –"

"Sorry Lexi, Cleo is getting frisky so we're gonna walk." Puck quickly mumbled, half-dragging Cleo away from the little group as if to indicate that what he was saying was true. Alexa sighed theatrically and rolled her eyes. She finally giggled before starting a conversation with Quinn.

Puck relaxed when he was farther away, letting his thoughts wander as Cleo sniffed everything around her. It was a beautiful summer day, definitely a great day for a picnic and he smiled as he realized that Alexa couldn't have wished for better weather (and would probably have freaked out if it had started to show any sign of rain).

He was glad that most of the Glee people had seemed totally into getting together today. He had worried that they might not come or think the idea was totally lame; but then he had doled out the invitations anyway (through a text message) because even though he was a badass, he also had a soft spot for his best friend. It was just cool how everyone was really looking forward to today.

Cleo barked loudly before straining against the leash and bringing Puck back into his current reality. Shaking his head for a moment, he stared into the distance, wondering what Cleo was barking at. He could see nothing particular new or interesting on the path ahead of them. Without realizing it, Puck and Cleo had been walking towards the fountain at the other end of the park. They were now standing on the little uphill slope that would take them there.

"You want to go to the –"

His breath suddenly caught in his throat as she appeared on top of the rise, a few yards away from him. She was digging furiously through her pale pink messenger bag, her hair falling out of her casual ponytail and into her face although she kept brushing the stray strands back absently. The sunlight hit her hair just right, highlighting the golden hues woven in with the dark brown strands. He was mesmerized by the way her face was perfectly lit up, how her cheek looked so smooth and those lips looked so perfectly pink and pouty and utterly kissable.

He snapped out of his thoughts at the last word – kissable? Since when had he though that Berry was kissable? He certainly didn't mind kissing her, as he'd realized during their brief fling. In fact, it was kind of hot really.

Cleo barked furiously and she looked up in surprise, catching him in the act of staring at her.

Puck tried to regain his cool with an easy, "What's up Berry?"

"Oh Noah! I didn't see you there." Rachel put a hand over her heart, well aware that it was now thumping dramatically fast.

"Heading towards the picnic?" Puck asked nonchalantly, loosely tugging on Cleo's leash to pull her back from Rachel.

"Oh yes, I was just headed over there. I've just been preoccupied searching for my sunglasses in here –" Rachel trailed off, resuming her search through her admittedly large bag.

Puck shifted absently from one foot to the other, trying not to stare at her too much. He tried to sneak peeks out of the corner of his gaze. She hadn't dressed in her usual Berry outfits (come to think of it, it had been a while since he'd actually seen her in one of them) – she was wearing dark denim shorts, a pretty pink and white blouse and white sandals on her feet.

"I give up. I must have left them in my room. Let's just go –"

Rachel suddenly shrieked before she pitched forward. Cleo had managed to tangle her leash around Rachel's feet while Rachel had been searching in her bag, both people oblivious to what she had been up to. Cleo yelped madly, being dragged along by Rachel's weight.

Without thinking twice, Puck found himself catching Rachel. She slammed against his chest (which was still as firmly built as ever), inhaling sharply at the pleasantness of this intimate contact with Noah for the second time in less than two weeks.

For a moment, they just stood there, Puck with his arms around Rachel and her head tucked under his chin, pressed closely against his chest.

"You okay?" Puck asked gruffly, finally letting go of Rachel and stepping away after a beat too long.

"Um, yeah." Rachel managed, still feeling the warmth of Noah's arms holding her against him.

"Good. Yeah, um, let's go back to where the others are. I'm sure that they're set up with all that shi-stuff already."

Puck carefully wound the leash around until he had untangled Cleo and Rachel from each other. Without waiting for a reply, he began walking back the way he and Cleo had come. Cleo barked indignantly at him, still sitting next to where Rachel stood.

"Oh, um, you coming Berry?"

"Oh, um, of course Noah." Rachel swallowed hard and began to walk towards him.

Cleo followed obediently next to her, earning a smile out of Puck.

"I think Cleo likes you." He said simply, when Rachel reached his side and Cleo had walked a little bit ahead of the pair.

"Well, I like her too. Except when she's trying to trip me." Rachel teased him.

Puck rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Oh, it's not a big deal Noah. I know how frisky puppies can get. Cleo seems pretty tame actually. I could tell you much more horrible tales about the German shepherd puppy that my cousin owned. I stayed with them for a whole summer and the dog managed to ruin all of my perfectly nice shoes." Rachel quipped, letting her incessant need to babble take over.

Puck relaxed and laughed. "Sounds like the dog was just giving his opinion of your sense of style Berry."

Rachel rolled her eyes behind her shades and playfully swatted him on the arm.

"For your information Noah, I have a perfectly educated sense of style. Kurt has been helping me expand my knowledge, to be truthful, but I think that I myself have quite good taste."

Puck snorted inelegantly and she swatted him again, mock offended.

"You look good today Rachel."

The words left his lips before he could rein them back in and he turned his face away, a slight blush creeping over his cheeks.

Rachel turned to look at him, wondering if he really meant it. She saw the faint blush on his cheeks and smiled – Noah Puckerman embarrassed? She thought it was rather sweet. And she couldn't help feeling extremely flattered by his compliment. She had, after all, sort of dressed for him although she'd never tell anyone that.

"Noah." She placed a hand on his arm and forced him to stop. "Thank you. I really appreciate that."

"Just sayin'." Puck shrugged, although he smiled in that crooked, charming way that she had always found adorable.

"Thanks anyway." She said again, staring into his hazel eyes and marveling at the green flecks that she had never noticed in them before.

He stared back, fascinated by the intensity in her golden brown eyes. His gaze dropped to her lips and he immediately wanted to see if they still tasted like the grape-flavored lipgloss she loved so much.

Taking two steps, he stood right in front of her, wondering if she would protest. She merely blinked and stared at him, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

Encouraged, he reached up his free hand and tentatively brushed a finger against her cheek. She closed her eyes and let out a soft, soft sigh. With his fingers, he brushed back a stray strand of brown hair that had fallen into her face during their walk. She shivered, a small shiver but one he detected nonetheless.

With a flirtatious grin, he cupped her cheek, feeling the smoothness against his hand. She smiled up at him beguilingly and he leaned closer until their lips were bare centimeters apart.

"Are you going to kiss me?" Rachel could have kicked herself the instant the words slipped out of her mouth. Puck look startled for a moment, the surprise apparent in his eyes, but then he smiled.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" He asked, his voice low and rough.

"I wouldn't say no." Rachel admitted in a whisper, staring into the eyes that had been holding her captive for the past few minutes.

Noah shot her his famous mischievous grin again, the lights dancing behind his hazel eyes. He closed the last few centimeters between them to brush his lips against hers, the barest of touches as if to ask her if they should keep on doing this –

"PUCKERMAN. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

The two of them instantly sprang apart at the sound of Mercedes' loud bellow. Puck glanced over at Rachel, whose cheeks were flushed and her breathing slightly hitched. She looked back at him, a question in her eyes.

"PUCK, YOU BETTER GET THE FUDGE BACK OVER HERE."

Puck winced at Alexa's matching loud yell for him.

"Fudge?" Rachel asked, trying to resume all semblance of normalcy despite the quick beating of her heart. Noah had just kissed her. He had kissed her. He had kissed her.

"Yeah, um, Lexi doesn't like to swear much. Unless she's really pis-angry." Puck said, rubbing a hand over his head again.

"We should get back over there then." Rachel shrugged, turning towards the direction of the path again.

"Ber-Rachel."

She felt his hand on her arm, how it felt like it was burning into her with the intensity of his grip and the warmth of his body heat.

"We're going to have to continue this later."

Rachel shivered slightly but she nodded, her cheeks flooded with color again. Satisfied with her response, Puck released her, moving to stand beside her as they resumed walking back towards the rest of the group for the picnic.