Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.
I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.
I do own this plot line.
So for now, the block has lifted.
Thanks for bearing with me.
Feedback is much appreciated, and loved.
Rachel didn't fully understand what was happening. Puck was being nice to her, and she thought that it was great. But it can't last forever. She thought bitterly. It wasn't possible for him to like her in any way, but she couldn't help but hope that he did. After the incident with Finn, Puck had given her rides occasionally, though it had only been two weeks.
Puck had said that he wanted to be friends with her, but so far they had barely spoken at all. He would say hi to her in the hallway and make small talk in his truck, but it never went any further than that. She knew that it was too much to ask from him, he was the badass, and he was significantly higher on the social food chain.
She had made up her mind, no effort would be extended on her part. She wasn't going to try to be his friend. If he truly wanted that, he was fully capable of making the first effort in the friendship process.
Puck thought she was one of the most confusing girls he had ever talked to. Her moods would swing between happiness to sad so fast that he swore it made his head spin. He had told her that he wanted to be friends, but so far all his efforts turned to shit. He tried to make conversation with her, but honestly, what does a jock have in common with a girl like Rachel? She was all rainbows and musicals, and he was dirt and physical aggression on the field.
He truly wanted to be her friend. His problem was that she didn't act like she wanted to make an effort.
She probably didn't.
"Hey Berry." Puck said with a smile as he walked into Glee rehearsal. Behind him came Finn, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Matt and Mike. All of the original glee members stood in complete shock.
"Guys, meet your fellow glee members."
"This has got to be a joke Mr. Schue." Rachel stated, a glare possessed her features as she looked over everyone in the group.
"No, no joke Rachel. All of them have chosen to join Glee. They are quite good actually. If you have any doubts I'm sure they wouldn't mind showing you their talents."
"Rachel, don't be rude." Kurt said as he eyed Finn. "We are glad to have you all."
Rachel rolled her eyes.
"Thrilled." Rachel heard Artie mutter under his breath.
"Look kids, we need twelve people to be able to compete. This is the best thing for all of us."
"Well, fine then. We need to find a way to get along." Tina said quietly. Mr. Schue stood quietly in the middle of the room for a long time. His eyes were closed, indicating that he was thinking. Finally he opened his eyes.
"Alright everyone. I have the perfect idea. We are going to partner up for duets. Finn and Tina, Mercedes and Matt, Santana and Kurt, Quinn and Artie, Mike and Brittany, and finally Puck and Rachel."
"Mr. Schue, I don't think our creative outlooks match," Santana spoke defiantly. "Kurt is... Kurt. You can't honestly expect me to sing a duet with him. Puck and I really click musically, can't I just trade with Rachel?" She smiled and winked at Puck. Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina shared a look of disgust and went through the motions of gagging themselves.
"I'm sorry Santana, no one is changing partners. My decision is final." He smiled at the rest of the group. "We'll cut this short so you can get started on your songs. I want you to have them ready by next week." Mr. Schue said before walking out of the room to visit Miss Pillsbury.
Rachel was once again standing near the track. This time she was waiting for Puck to finish up his practice so they could start with theirs. She wasn't happy with the stunt Mr. Schue had pulled with the club.
It isn't fair to us. Rachel screamed in her head. Her mind fumed over the current situation. Why is he taking so long to finish?" Rachel growled slightly in annoyance.
"Jeez Berry, you don't have to growl at me." Puck said playfully as he walked up to her.
"You took your time didn't you?"
"Did you want me to sit near you smelling like I had almost killed myself with running?" Rachel scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Yeah, didn't think so."
"Well, okay then. Have you thought about what song we are going to sing?"
"No. I figured that you would discard my idea and go with yours anyway so I didn't bother." Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled out her iPhone. She began to search the web for a suitable duet.
Everything was quiet as she searched. Neither of them wanted to talk, they both knew that if they did they would have to talk about the whole friends thing. Rachel wasn't ready to tell him that it would never work. Puck didn't want to tell her that he knew that he wanted to be her friend but didn't know how to start a friendship.
"What about 'Need You Now'?" He raised his eyebrow at her.
"Just the title makes me want to say no."
"It's a wonderful song." She handed him her phone. "These are the lyrics." His eyes ran over the words, slowly comprehending that Rachel hadn't been joking.
"You want us to sing about being alone and needing someone desperately?"
"It's a beautiful song Noah." He cringed. "Sorry, I meant Puck. It's a beautiful song Puck." He looked over at her and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say Rachel." She looked up at him and smiled. "When do you want to start?"
"Whenever you can. I've got a great place to practice." He smirked and raised his eyebrow. She looked confused for a second. "Oh, ew Puck. Not that." She shook her head.
"Lighten up." He said with a laugh. "We can start today." He grabbed her bag from the ground and motioned to his truck. "We have to walk to get to the car Rachel." He said slowly, figuring that she just had her head in the clouds.
And boy did she. She had been surprised that Puck would even think about something sexual with her around, or something sexual about them. Together. At the same time.
"Uh, yeah. I know." She trailed behind him, noticing that he walked with such confidence. It was no wonder the girls loved him. He was toned. Everywhere.
Rachel wasn't aware that Puck had stopped walking until she ran into his back.
"Berry, watch it would you?" Puck warned.
"I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"Obviously." Puck muttered as he opened the passenger door to his truck so Rachel could get in. "Where is this place you want to practice?" Rachel climbed into the truck and let Puck shut the door when she was seated.
"My garage. It's sort of like a studio. My dads built it shortly after I told them I wanted to be on Broadway."
"So when you could talk?" Puck said with a smile.
"Yes." Rachel laughed. "No. Actually, I think I was ten."
"Wow. Decided your future kind of young didn't you?" Puck inquired.
"Yeah, but now I think I will do something other than singing. I think that if I were to get onto Broadway, I would only think of Daddy."
"He wouldn't want you to give up everything you've ever wanted just because he isn't around anymore." Rachel began to worry her bottom lip.
"I don't think I could do it anymore. Daddy was the only one that liked musicals. It was our thing."
"Don't you want something positive to remember about him?"
"Yes." Rachel went quiet for a moment. "Well, you are rather insightful for someone that doesn't care." Rachel didn't mean for her comment to sound like a dig, but by the look on Puck's face, he certainly took it that way.
"That was before. We are talking now, and we are sort of friends, right?" He paused and looked at Rachel for her answer. She nodded her head after a few moments. "Well I care about my friends. If you don't stop telling yourself that everything that happened is your fault, and you convince yourself that you can't do what you've always dreamed of, you aren't going to get anywhere. You can't just give up." Puck paused after he realized that his tone had turned angry. "Don't be a coward Rachel. Be what we both know you are."
"And what exactly is that Noah Puckerman?" Puck smiled.
"A talented singer." Rachel smiled in return.
It was only when the conversation had finished and their eyes connected that Rachel realized that they were parked in front of her house.
"Um, so let's head out back to the garage."
I'm changing up the way I respond to my reviews. I might message, or something else, but I promise that I'm going to respond to EVERY review.
