Fireworks

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

Summary: Spoilers for 2x12: Silly Love Songs. Rachel visits Finn in the nurse's office, hoping to find the closure she needs to move on with her life. As she does, she forms a close and supportive friendship with Noah Puckerman. Sometimes, the best love is the one that was always there. Eventual Puckleberry.

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews! I am grateful for such amazing readers. I apologize that these chapters are not being updated more quickly, but I am getting to them whenever I have free time.


Chapter 7: Complications

The next few weeks flew by for Rachel. She was blissfully and genuinely happy and it was all because of one Noah Puckerman. Since their "date", they had been spending quite a lot of time together. The Monday after their "date", Rachel had been pleasantly surprised to find Puck waiting at her locker with a grape slushie. Soon, everything became routine. They talked until the bell rang and Puck would walk her to her first class before going to his. They ate lunch together. They sat next to each during Glee club. After school, Puck would drive her home and sometimes, they would hang out and watch movies or do homework together (at Rachel's insistence). Her fathers had been adamant in having Puck stay for dinner one night and it ended up being a weekly ritual. Puck's mother returned the favor and had Rachel over for dinner just as frequently. Puck would ask Rachel to go see a movie with him. Rachel would ask Puck to see some show or play with her. They exchanged phone calls and text messages every day. Although Rachel was more a Myspace user, she found herself in a long message thread on Facebook with Puck, as well as an endless poke war.

At first, the kids at McKinley had been extremely shocked to see Puck and Rachel hanging out. They knew the two were Glee teammates, but aside from their shared interest in music, no one really knew that Puck and Rachel had anything in common. Discovering that the football player and the Glee co-captain were actually friends had been a topic of gossip for a couple of days before word got out that one of the football players got caught with a married woman. No one in Glee club was particularly surprised that Puck and Rachel had struck up an earnest friendship. Finn had seemed both guilty and irritated whenever he saw Puck and Rachel, but he hadn't voiced any opinions against them, which both Puck and Rachel were grateful for.

Even though Rachel was glad and happier than she had been in months because of her close friendship with Puck, she felt conflicted. She knew her feelings towards Puck were not purely platonic. Sometimes when they were hanging out and Puck called her "babe" or wrapped his arm around her casually, she would visualize them together, dating and eventually getting married and settling down. She knew that it was a fantasy of course, as Puck was not someone who wanted to settle down anytime in the near future. She pushed down her feelings, as she didn't want to ruin her newfound and wonderful friendship with Puck. Besides, from what Rachel could tell, Puck was still interested in Lauren. When Puck wasn't with her, he was chasing after Lauren, who was still proving to be a big challenge for him. Rachel was trying to be supportive of Puck's interest in Lauren, but there were times she wanted to shake him hard.

Nonetheless, she didn't want to be that person again. She had fallen in love with Finn, even though he had a girlfriend and she had naively believed that he could love her, and it had practically ruined her, stripping her of everything she was. She didn't want to fall in love with Puck when he was not interested and wooing another girl. She didn't forget her promise to focus on her interests and goals. Plus, she liked being Puck's friend; she deemed their friendship more important than whatever feelings she had for Puck, which she couldn't even explain anyways.

It was a cold, rainy Thursday morning when Rachel's feelings surfaced again. She had barely ducked into the building, clutching her backpack and umbrella, shaking off the beads of rain from her coat when she saw Puck waiting at her locker. Rachel quickly made her way over to him, flashing him a brilliant smile.

"Hi Noah," she said, opening her locker. Puck held her umbrella for her as she unloaded several books from her backpack.

"Rachel, can I talk to you about something important?" Noah's voice was serious. Rachel stared; he rarely ever was solemn and it unnerved her a bit.

"Of course, Noah. Is everything alright?" She was nervous; her insides churned like an angry sea. She had a very bad feeling he was not going to ask her to go to the latest production of Wicked that was playing at the local theater this upcoming weekend.

"Well," Puck ran his hand through his mohawk tentatively, "I was sort of hoping to get some advice from you about the whole Lauren thing."

Rachel's heart fell. Of course. Lauren. She should have known.

Forcing a smile on her face, she quickly grabbed her history textbook and shoved it into her backpack before closing her locker. "Sure, Noah. What kind of advice do you need?"

Puck was silent for a few minutes. Patiently, Rachel waited, knowing that he was taking his time to form his thoughts. Rachel had learned to be extremely patient when it came to talking to Puck about profound feelings. After all, he wasn't exactly a big fan of expressing his innermost thoughts and "being a hypersensitive wuss", as he liked to put it.

"I was just wondering if you think the whole Lauren thing will go anywhere," he scratched his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe I stop chasing after her. She doesn't even seem interested in me. I could be wasting my time when I could be going after other chicks."

Once again, Rachel was at a crossroads. What could she say to Puck – leave Lauren and go after her? It sounded ridiculous, even in her head. She took a deep breath, remembering that a) she and Puck were simply friends, b) he never told her he had feelings for her, so she had no idea if he did, and c) she was trying to suppress whatever feelings she did have for him out of respect for their friendship and for his relationship with Lauren. Okay, Rachel, you can do this. Just be the good friend Noah knows you are and give him the advice he needs.

"Noah, if you really like Lauren, then you should keep trying. I know things don't look like they're going anywhere right now, but I think it's only because she wants to be sure you're serious about her and whatever relationship you two may embark upon. She's just not the average Cheerio here; she's not looking for something casual, so she's taking her time." Rachel was actually very surprised Lauren hadn't broken down and acquiesced to dating Puck earlier; the girl was clearly stronger and more confident than Rachel pegged her for.

Puck sighed, "Yeah, you're right. I knew it too, but I just wanted to get a second opinion. She's really different from any girl I've ever met."

Rachel nodded, wondering where the bell was to signal them off to their classes. Puck led her to her history class, chattering on about something that Rachel couldn't hear. Her mind was on Puck and Lauren and the inevitable date that would come. She wished she hadn't told Puck that it was a good idea to continue to pursue Lauren, but she knew it was the right thing to do as his friend.

"I'll see you at lunch!" Puck shouted as he rang towards his class. Rachel sighed heavily, walking into her class with a heavy heart.


By the time Glee rehearsal rolled around, Rachel's stomach was twisting. She hadn't been able to concentrate on any of her classes all day. The singular thought on her mind was Puck and Lauren. She knew the sensible part of her would kick herself for falling again for yet another unavailable McKinley football player. She seriously wondered whether she had some sort of undiagnosed brain tumor that resulted in her unrequited crushes on football players who were also her teammates in Glee club. Who was next – Mike, Sam, Artie?

As she walked into the choir room, she saw Puck and Lauren sitting together. Her stomach churned again. Other members of New Directions began filing in and Rachel stood by the piano, unable to move or process anything. She couldn't tear her eyes away from Puck and Lauren, the latter was smiling at something Puck was saying. Finally, Mr. Schuester walked in, holding sheet music, and Rachel forced herself to sit down, in the only available seat next to Puck.

"Hey Rachel," Puck smiled as she took her seat. Rachel nodded in acknowledgement, hoping Mr. Schuester would begin before Puck went on.

"Okay, everyone, I'm going to put your names in this hat," he pulled out a fedora and began placing strips of paper inside, "And you will choose your next duet partner! For your assignment, you will choose an R&B duet song to sing together for the class," Excitement rang out, as everyone began to whisper noisily, "Alright, Finn, come on down."

Finn walked to the piano, pulling out a strip of paper from the hat. "Quinn."

Of course, Rachel thought, as she watched Quinn exchange a warm smile with Finn, as he took his place next to her. Quinn smoothed his hair, still smiling broadly, as Finn took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. Rachel couldn't help but smile as she watched the exchange. Although both Finn and Quinn had caused her much grief in the past, she couldn't deny that the pair had chemistry and they looked happy with each other. Rachel could feel herself recovering from her disastrous relationship with Finn. Maybe in time, she and Finn could even be friends.

Mercedes picked Artie. Tina picked Mike. Brittany picked Santana. Puck picked Lauren, to Rachel's disappointment. That left her with Sam.

"Get together with your duet partners and figure out what you want to sing!" Mr. Schuester directed, as everyone began to shuffle around.

Rachel looked at Sam, who gave her a reserved smile. She gulped nervously as Sam stood up and walked over towards her. She and Sam had spoken about ten words total to each other since he joined Glee club; they barely knew each other and Rachel wondered if they had anything in common other than music. She had a feeling this was going to be very awkward.

"Hey," Sam said, as he took the seat next to Rachel.

"Hi," Rachel replied, already sensing the uneasiness between them.

"So," Sam cleared his throat, looking around the room, "What do you want to sing?"

Rachel bit her lip, thinking hard. She had plenty of duets in her mind, but she wanted to think of something that Sam would like too. She decided to scratch out all the Broadway musical duets from her mind, knowing he wouldn't enjoy any of those.

"What kind of music do you like?" She asked, hoping that he could give her some insight.

Sam shrugged, "All kinds, really. Pop, R&B, metal, hip-hop, punk."

Rachel nodded, "Well, there are plenty of R&B duets we could perform," she sat back, reflecting. As she did, Sam glanced over the choir room once more, his eyes sweeping towards Quinn. His eyes flickered, which did not go unnoticed by Rachel.

"Do you miss her?" She asked, startling Sam.

"Wha –? Oh," Sam took another look at Quinn, who was smiling and holding Finn's hand, "Sometimes," he admitted quietly. "But mostly I'm just upset about how it went down."

Rachel nodded, "I understand. Sometimes, I miss Finn so much it hurts," she sighed heavily, "I thought he loved me. But in the end, it was Quinn. It's always Quinn," she said softly.

Sam looked at her, his features softening. He had forgotten in all the drama that Rachel was a victim of everything that happened as well. It was so easy to overlook it when she was… Rachel, but talking to her now, Sam knew she was in the same boat as he was.

"I'm sorry about you and Finn." Sam said.

Rachel looked at him, surprised. "Thank you, Sam. But it's alright. I'm getting over him. I've realized that he and I clearly don't have any possible future together. He's not the person I thought he was; I think I made him up in my mind, all perfect and wholesome, but really, he's just an ass."

Sam's eyebrows shot up. He had never heard Rachel curse before, he felt like he was in the twilight zone. To be honest, he had never seen thisside of Rachel before; she was perceptive and mature and talking to her was actually making him feel a lot better than he had in weeks.

Rachel continued, "I don't know a lot about you, Sam, but from what I could tell, you were a wonderful and devoted boyfriend to Quinn. It's so rare to see that and I don't think you deserve what happened to you. I'm sorry about you and Quinn." she flashed him a gentle smile.

Sam returned the smile, feeling lighter. "Thanks, Rachel. It's nice to talk to someone who understands what I'm going through."

Rachel smiled, "If you need to talk about it anytime, I'll be here to listen," she straightened up, "But right now, we should figure out a song to sing. It's almost time to go and we haven't gotten anywhere." Sam bit back a smile as he realized Rachel had returned to full Glee mode.

"Uh, what about Hate That I Love You, that song by Rihanna and Ne-Yo?" Sam offered. He had been listening to that song a few days ago and thought it fit his situation with Quinn quite well. Now, thinking about it, it seemed the song fit Rachel's state of affairs too.

Rachel thought about it for a minute before breaking into a smile. "Great choice. When do you want to practice?"

Sam exchanged phone numbers with the petite brunette, promising to text her his times of availability that night. Having secured their song, he and Rachel continued to chat. They continued talking about Finn and Quinn and how they'd both been blind to what was going on, as well as how they both suppressed their true sides in order to live up to their exes' standards and be the "perfect" boyfriend/girlfriend. Then, they started talking about music and movies. Sam was pleasantly surprised that Rachel was a big fan of Star Wars and began impersonating James Earl Jones, to which she started laughing.

As they talked, Sam's gaze wandered towards Quinn. She was deep in conversation with Finn and didn't seem to be focused on anyone else. Finn's eyes were firmly locked with hers, a playful smile graced his lips. Tearing his gaze away from the golden couple, Sam looked around the room at the others. Santana and Brittany were giggling, their pinkies linked tightly. Tina and Mike were privately making out, unaware of their surroundings. Mercedes and Artie were talking, occasionally a loud laugh would slip from Mercedes. Finally, Sam's eyes settled on Puck and Lauren. To his amazement, he found Puck glaring at him, his hands gripping the edge of his seat and ignoring whatever rant Lauren was going on about. Sam was taken aback; he and Puck, although not at all close friends, had always been civil towards each other. He wondered briefly if he had done something to piss Puck off, but he couldn't think of anything.

"Are you okay, Sam?" Rachel's voice broke into his train of thought. He turned to the concerned Glee star and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he nodded, "Sorry, I'm kind of tired."

Before Rachel could say anything, Mr. Schuester announced that they could leave. The other members began packing up, departing from the choir room. Sam swung his backpack over his shoulder and turned to Rachel.

"I guess I'll talk to you later," he said.

Rachel nodded, "Okay. Bye, Sam." Sam gave her a small wave before he left the choir room.

Packing up her belongings, Rachel took a sweeping look around the room before her eyes landed on Puck, who was sitting in silence.

Curious, Rachel made her way over her friend and sat down beside him. "Noah? Are you okay? You look like you're ill."

Puck merely shrugged, "I'm alright, Rachel."

Not entirely convinced, Rachel decided not to push her luck. Instead, she changed the topic. "Do you and Lauren have something in mind to sing?"

Again, Puck's answer was a simple shrug. "Yeah, we have some ideas. Nothing set in stone though. What about you?"

"Sam and I have chosen a song. He's supposed to text me his times of availability so we can arrange a time to practice." Rachel replied.

"Cool," Puck said. Clearing his throat, he stood up. "We better get going. Come on, Rachel," he took her hand in his and led them out of the school and into the parking lot. Steering her towards his truck, Puck unlocked the vehicle and opened the passenger door for Rachel, who thanked him and slipped inside.

The usual drive home was fairly quiet, but as Puck parked in the driveway of the Berry household, she turned to her friend and asked her typical question, "Do you want to come inside?"

Puck immediately said, "Yes", before shutting off the engine and walking with her to the door. Rachel opened it up and let them both inside.

"Dad? Daddy? I'm home!" Rachel called out. Usually, her dads would both be at work until late, but every once in awhile, she would find one or both at home when she came home from school. Today was one of those days, as Hiram Berry stepped into the foyer upon hearing the front door open and close.

"Hello pumpkin," Hiram pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead. Upon seeing Puck, Hiram stuck his hand out, smiling. "Hello, Noah, it's nice to see you."

"Hi, Mr. Berry," Puck smiled in return, shaking Hiram's hand. "How are you?"

"Doing well, son," Hiram replied. "How was your day, sweetheart?" Hiram asked Rachel, who was hanging her jacket up in the closet.

"It was good, Daddy. Noah and I are going to do some work upstairs," she said.

"Okay, let me know if you need anything. Noah, would you like to stay for dinner?" Hiram asked, as Puck began his ascent with Rachel to her bedroom.

"Um –" Puck hesitated, looking at Rachel. "Sure, if it's not too much a bother."

"Of course not," Hiram replied, waving off Puck's concern. "I can call your mom and tell her you're over here, if you like."

Puck shook his head, "Nah, it's cool, Mr. Berry. I can call her myself. Besides, she's got the late shift tonight and Hannah's over at a friend's house."

Hiram nodded, "Okay. Well, I'll call you kids down when it's time for dinner."

"Thanks, Daddy," Rachel blew him a kiss before leading Puck up the stairs and into her bedroom. Per custom, Puck dropped his backpack beside Rachel's bed and hopped on it, his head hitting her pillow with a soft thud.

Rachel rolled her eyes, placing her backpack down beside her desk. As she took out her books, Puck's phone began to ring.

"Yo, go for Puckerman," Puck answered. Rachel suppressed a giggle.

Rachel continued to unpack her belongings, but kept a curious and attentive ear out, wondering who was on the other line.

"Sure, I'm free tomorrow," Puck said. Rachel's face fell. Probably a date with some Cheerio, she thought miserably. "Yeah, I'll see you then." With that, he closed his phone.

"Date tomorrow?" Rachel asked, hoping she sounded nonchalant.

Puck shook his head, "Nah, that was Lauren," Rachel's heart thumped. "She wants to meet up and pick out a song to sing for Glee. I'm meeting her at her house tomorrow after school."

Rachel nodded. The thought of Puck hanging out at Lauren's house, even if it wasn't a real date, seemed far worse than the thought of Puck going on a date with someone else.

"Oh shit, I forgot though," Puck frowned, "I drive you home after school on Fridays."

Rachel bit her lip. She had forgotten too; Puck drove her practically every day. He's not even dating Lauren yet, and already I'm getting thrown out of the picture, she thought sadly.

Before she could respond, her phone began to ring. Rachel grabbed it, looking at the caller ID. It was Sam.

"Hi," she said, glad he hadn't forgotten to call her about finding time to practice.

"Hey Rachel," Sam replied, "Just calling to see what times are good for you."

"Anything really," Rachel said, looking at her calendar on the wall. "Except Saturday mornings. I have dance practice then."

"Okay, how about tomorrow after school then?" Sam suggested.

"Sure, that sounds good," Rachel looked at Puck and remembered that she was ride-less. "Would you mind driving me? We can practice at my house, if you like."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll meet you at your locker after school." Sam said.

"Great! See you tomorrow, Sam." Rachel chirped before she closed her phone.

Turning around, Rachel saw a peeved Puck glaring at her. She frowned, wondering why Puck was acting so strange.

"What's wrong, Noah?" She sat down on the bed hesitantly.

Puck scowled, "Why did you ask him to drive you?"

Stunned, Rachel replied, "You just said you couldn't. You have practice tomorrow with Lauren. Sam and I are practicing tomorrow after school too, so I just thought to ask him if I could get a ride. Otherwise, I'd have to ask one of my dads and they're both working."

Puck huffed, "I was going to drive you! I had it all planned out. I'd drive you back home and then head over to Lauren's. It wouldn't take too long and I'd still be able to practice with her."

Rachel thought it was very strange that Puck was making such a big show out of not being able to drive her after school, especially when he had been the one who had forgotten in the first place and made plans with Lauren.

Frowning, Rachel rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Noah, I appreciate that you would go through all that trouble for me, but really, it's not a big deal. I'll just get a ride from Sam tomorrow; it makes sense too since we're practicing together. Besides, I-I don't want to disturb your practice with Lauren." she finished lamely.

Puck stared at her for a couple of seconds, a muddle of emotions flooding his face. Finally, he gave her a tight-lipped smile. "It's alright, Rach. I mean, I did forget to mention I usually drive you," he sighed, running a hand down his mohawk, "I just… I hope Sam's a good driver."

Again, Rachel found it bizarre that Puck would wonder such a thing. "I'm sure he's a perfectly adequate driver, Noah," she said, raising a brow curiously.

Puck didn't say anything. He fiddled with his thumbs, looking at Rachel's carpet. Recognizing the awkwardness between the two, Rachel stood up, moving towards her desk with gusto. She picked up her chemistry textbook and her notebook, moving back to sit next to Puck.

"Come on, let's get this chemistry homework done," she said softly, urging Puck to take out his notebook and text too.

Puck nodded wordlessly and moved to unzip his backpack. As he flipped to the page Rachel indicated in the book, he pushed back his disorganized thoughts and tried to focus on the stoichiometry problems in front of him.


As the clock ticked 2:55 the following afternoon, for the first time in his life, Puck was seriously wishing that school would not come to a close. He knew that in five minutes, Sam would be at Rachel's locker, sweeping her away into his car and away from him.

Not that Rachel was his to begin with, but still.

Puck had really been enjoying all the times he and Rachel hung out over the last couple of weeks. He'd thought that he would despise all the shows and plays she dragged him to, but surprisingly, they weren't that bad at all. She had been a good sport and gone with him to all the action-packed, thriller, and horror movies he suggested and hadn't complained once. Honestly, Rachel was a really fun person to be around; not to mention, she actually listened to him when he talked to her, offered words of encouragement and advice, and didn't insult him every five seconds like Lauren.

Lauren. Puck sighed, knowing that in less than five minutes, he would have to drive over to Lauren's for their practice session. He had a feeling the practice would involve a lot of Lauren being crabby and attacking him with verbal assault (and maybe even a good physical punch here and there); he wondered if they would even settle on a song together.

Another good thing about Rachel was that, although she was very dedicated and opinionated about Glee club and music, she was open to other people's ideas when it came to duets and performances. When Rachel had approached him with a desire to sing a duet to "make Finn jealous", he had suggested several ideas that Rachel thought were all great choices. That had surprised him, as he thought Rachel would be adamant in a song choice she already had in mind.

But unfortunately, his partner was Lauren, not Rachel, so as the bell signaled the end of the school day, Puck hesitantly packed up his belongings and strolled down the hall to his locker. As he shoved his math book into his backpack, he instinctively glanced over to Rachel's locker and saw Rachel and Sam talking animatedly. Gripping the edge of his locker, Puck watched as Rachel laughed at something Sam said before shutting her locker. Puck followed the pair as they walked down the hall towards the side doors to the parking lot. Just as Sam was opening the door for Rachel, Lauren suddenly jumped into his line of sight.

"Yo, Puckerman, come on, let's go." Lauren demanded, seizing Puck by his forearm and dragging him away.

"Wa—" Puck held tightly to his backpack as Lauren pushed open the side doors. She stopped briefly, looking at him.

"Which one's yours?" She motioned to the sea of cars.

Puck stared at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lauren rolled her eyes distastefully, "Which one of these cars is yours? Let's hurry it up; I've got a twinkie at home with my name on it."

"Don't you have a car?" He asked, confused. He had been under the impression that he would be driving to her house by himself.

"Dad had to borrow it," Lauren explained. "Which one is yours?" She repeated.

Puck motioned to his truck. Lauren took off immediately, with Puck in tow. She tapped her foot impatiently as Puck sauntered over to the vehicle, unlocking it.

As he started up the engine, Puck saw Sam's car drive by in front of him. He instantly saw Rachel in the passenger seat, smiling and talking enthusiastically. A weight tugged at his heart as he watched the pair drive off. He looked to his partner in the passenger seat, who was glaring at him and urging him to hurry up. Sighing inwardly, Puck started the long drive to Lauren's.


"Come in," Rachel said, opening the door to her bedroom and walking in. Sam followed hesitantly, waiting by the door as Rachel dropped her backpack on her chair and began to unpack a few books.

"You can come in," Rachel repeated, gesturing for Sam to sit down on the bench perpendicular to her bed. He walked in slowly, carefully setting his backpack down and taking a seat. Rachel stifled a laugh; she was so used to Puck barging in and plopping on her bed unceremoniously that it was rare to find another boy in her room who was quite the opposite.

"Nice room," Sam said, looking at the Rock of Ages and Wicked playbills that hung above her dresser. Rachel smiled.

"Thank you, Sam," she said, pulling out sheet music and handing a copy to him. "I printed out the sheet music for our duet. I've already given Brad and the band their parts as well."

"Cool," Sam scanned over the music briefly. He already knew the lyrics by heart. "Do you want to start practicing?"

"Sure," Rachel smiled, moving to her laptop to play the instrumental version of the song. As the guitar began to strum, Sam stood up so that he was facing Rachel with his sheet music in front of him. Rachel offered a small smile as she signaled him to sing.

Yeah …

Hey…

That's how I much I love you

That's how I much I need you

And I can't stand ya

Must everything you do make me wanna smile

Can I not like it for awhile?

No, but you won't let me

You upset me girl, and then you kiss my lips

All of a sudden, I forget that I was upset

Can't remember what you did?

But I hate it

You know exactly what to do

So that I can't stay mad at you

For too long, that's wrong

But I hate it

You know exactly how to touch

So that I don't wanna fuss and fight no more

Said, I despise that I adore you

They practiced a few more times until Rachel was fully satisfied with their performance. Sam found that he had an amazingly good time singing with Rachel; she wasn't so much of a diva when not in the presence of the other members of New Directions.

By the time they had finished practicing, it was already six o'clock. Rachel was just about to ask Sam if he thought choreography might be a good idea when Hiram knocked on her open door. Sam looked to see one of Rachel's fathers smiling at his beloved daughter, who instantaneously hugged him and exchanged a few "How was your day?" and "It was good" greetings before Rachel turned to Sam.

"Daddy, this is Sam Evans. He's a member of the glee club. We're practicing for our duet." Rachel explained, as Hiram took a step forward and extended his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sam," Hiram smiled graciously.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Berry," Sam replied.

"Would you like to join us for dinner, Sam?" Hiram asked, noting the time.

Sam's eyes widened. He had not been expecting a dinner invite and didn't really know what to say. Of course, his mom was working a late shift tonight, and he had been expecting leftovers or something microwavable from the freezer to be his dinner, but he had never had dinner with a girl's parents before. When he was dating Quinn, he had met his mother a few times, but he hadn't received a dinner invite from either. He thought it was ironic that the first time he had been invited for dinner with a girl, it would be with a girl he wasn't even dating.

"Sure, Mr. Berry, that would be really nice." Sam replied after a few minutes of hesitation. Rachel beamed at his response.

"Great, I'll call you both when dinner's on the table." Hiram said, ambling out of the room.

"You don't have if you don't want to," Rachel said softly as her father disappeared, "I know we aren't very close and it's perfectly acceptable if you want to decline. I'm sure if word got out at McKinley that you had dinner with Rachel Berry, people would just –"

Sam interrupted her, knowing where she was going. "I don't care what people think. I actually had a really great time rehearsing with you and having talked to you since we've been assigned duet partners, I didn't realize how fun you are," Rachel blushed, "It sucks that it had to take a piece of paper with my name on it and an assignment to make us friends."

Rachel stared, speechless. Sam was one of the popular kids at McKinley; he had a pretty good reputation from being on the football team and dating Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez. Of course, he was also in Glee club, which somewhat hampered that reputation, but still, he was way more popular than Rachel could ever hope to be. To have this popular, attractive boy stand in her room and tell her that he wanted to be her friend and that it was okay if everyone at school found out about it, touched Rachel. She could count the number of friends she had with one hand and it always affected her deeply when someone was willing to add to that number.

"So you'll be staying for dinner?" Rachel asked.

Sam grinned, "I'm not going anywhere."


Three hours later, Sam walked out of Rachel's house, waving goodbye to Rachel's dads and thanking them for dinner. Rachel walked behind him, crossing her arms against her chest to protect herself from the draft of wind.

Sam turned around as he approached his car, smiling at Rachel. "Thanks for having me for dinner. It was really fun, Rachel."

"No problem," Rachel replied, "And thanks for helping with the dishes and everything."

"Yeah, of course," Sam said. "I was wondering," he shuffled his feet, "Do you want to hang out some other time? Maybe we can catch a movie or go bowling or whatever. I just thought that today was really fun and it'd be nice to do it again, as friends," he flashed a timid smile.

Rachel beamed, "I'd like that. Thank you, Sam."

Sam grinned, unlocking his car. "Cool, I'll text you. See you on Monday, Rachel!" Ducking his head into his car, Sam started the engine. Rachel waved as he reversed out of her driveway and drove off. She stood in the driveway quietly for a few minutes, smiling as her recollection of the night replayed in her mind. Turning around, Rachel approached her house, arms still crossed and a smile evident on her face, failing to notice the mohawk, hazel-eyed boy standing on the corner of her street, his hands in his pockets. And she certainly failed to hear the tightening of his chest as he watched his best friend moving further away from him.


Notes: Do you guys like Rachel and Sam? I personally ship Rachel/everyone except Finn. I'm not sure if Rachel and Sam will get together romantically, but I like developing their friendship and having someone to compete with Puck for Rachel's affections. Of course, I just made it all more complicated, since Sam decided to pop into the picture! We'll see where they all go from here.

Next chapter: Rachel and Sam's friendship continues to grow, Puck is determined to woo Lauren once and for all, and Finn confronts Puck.