Puck's initial reaction to Jared barging in and kissing Rachel was to go and beat the guy up; he deserved it! But before he did that, he re-thought that plan…granted, it would make Puck feel better, but Rachel probably wouldn't like that, and there was absolutely no way Puck was going to do anything to give the other guy an advantage, which is what would happen if he punched him.

See, Puck had learned a lot during his months with Rachel; he'd learned a lot about life, a lot about himself, and of course, he'd learned a lot about Rachel. He saw that she didn't really value violence, even if it meant he got to show off his strength. Unless there was a really good reason behind it, she really didn't condone beating anyone up, and since he didn't think that this scenario would fall under the category of "violence is okay in situations when you are defending someone's honor or someone else is being threatened," or whenever else violence was permissible, Puck recognized that beating Jared up would not be the effective way to get Rachel back…even though he really wanted to, and he felt that his relationship with Rachel was being threatened. That last part was really important to him and was pretty much the reason why his fists were clenching and unclenching.

He just wanted everything to go back to the way they used to be!! Was that so much to ask?! It was good then…Rachel was happy, he was happy, everyone was happy; why did Quinn have to mess everything up?! Ok, that wasn't so fair; after all, he had wanted her to come clean, but he had expected more of a warning, time when he could prepare himself, spend some time with Rachel before everything would be blown up. If he had known what Quinn was going to do, he'd have stayed with her just a little longer the night before; he'd have kissed her longer and more passionately. He'd have held her in his arms longer. Anything he could have done to try to convey his feelings to her, he would've done. But no, Quinn didn't give warn him before, so he lost everything within a matter of seconds, with no chance of trying to hold onto it, appreciating the last moments. It's like that age old question: would you rather have someone be sick and know they're dying, but get to say good bye to them…or would you rather not have to deal with the worry and have the person pass away quietly and suddenly in their sleep?

Whoa, he was getting really depressing now. Meanwhile, stupid Jared was still kissing Rachel, Puck's Rachel, and Puck had yet to do anything about it.

"Hey, Jared," Puck said, stepping out from the closet.

Jared pulled away from Rachel, looking very obviously thrown. "Uh, hey, Puck," he said, looking back and forth between Rachel and Noah. "What're you doing here this late?"

"That's funny," Puck said with a smirk, "I was just going to ask you the same question." Rachel looked at Puck, obviously trying to read him. He could tell that she was pleasantly surprised that he hadn't punched Jared; good, maybe it'd help remind her that he wasn't a terrible person.

"I, uh, was just coming to make sure Rachel was okay…I know she seemed kind of stressed at the end of the day, so…"Jared trailed off. "Anyway, why is it that you said you were here?"

"Rachel and I go way back. I know her better than anyone and I, too, noticed that she seemed rather tense at the end of the day, so I came to visit her and help her relax," Puck responded with a smirk, intentionally making Jared think something was going on between him and Rachel; after all, they had kissed before Jared had shown up. Plus, with any luck, soon there would be something going on with Puck and Rachel…that is, if Puck had anything to say about it.

"Jared," Rachel spoke up for the first time since Puck had stepped out from his hiding spot. "Why don't you go home? I need to talk to Puck some more tonight, but I'll speak to you tomorrow morning, k?"

Jared nodded hesitantly. "We're meeting before school to practice our duet for Glee, right?" When Rachel nodded, Jared continued, "Alright; call me if you need anything, k?" Jared leaned down and kissed Rachel firmly before heading back out of her window.

"I coulda done without seeing that last display of affection," Puck said, wryly.

"That's not really up to you, is it, Puck?"

"Rachel…" Puck said softly. "Please…"

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Rachel exclaimed, exasperated.

"I want you to say that you'll give me another chance! I want you to say that you'll give us another chance! I want you to start calling me Noah again all the time! I want you to kiss me again! I-" Puck paused for a second, "I just want to be with you again, Rach! Please…" he ended, pleadingly.

"Oh, Noah…" Rachel sighed. Shoot, she was back to sighing again; Puck was pretty sure that that wasn't a good sign, even though she had called him Noah. "You make it seem so easy, Noah, and it's, well, it's not."

"Yes! Yes, it is! There are so many complicated things in the world, Rach, this is not one of them! I know how I feel about you, I LOVE you! Now, just say it back to me, or say that you still have really deep feelings for me and that you're willing to forgive me and get back together with me! If you say that, everything will be alright, I know it will!" Puck waited impatiently for Rachel's response. He had just put it all out on the line and now it was her call. He just prayed that she felt the same way that he did and that she was willing to give them another chance.