A.N. Yea Glee—kicking butt with all the Golden Globe nominations! I'm posting this chapter early to celebrate, and I hope I didn't leave many mistakes. Reviewers inspired references to Quinn's point of view and Finn's point of view (with a glimpse into what he did over the summer, but if you blink you'll miss it—sorry I couldn't manage more). I refer to a Nine Inch Nails song called "The Perfect Drug". If you skip to the end of the song, you'll hear the melody Puck plays on the piano. Worth hearing if you've never heard it, but certainly not essential. (I don't think that the Rock Band game version has the piano part, but I don't have that game). If you find the song with the original music video, be warned that it's creepy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, Veronica Mars, songs mentioned, or anything else in the story.

December, Junior Year

Kurt was in full investigation mode. He was well prepared. Veronica Mars marathon, check. Spy pen with mini camera inspired by said marathon, check. Fabulous fedora hat and trench coat to put him in the detective mood, check and check. Kurt was already known for daring fashion choices, and it was winter, so his attire didn't raise many eyebrows. Step 1 on Kurt's list was to talk to Rachel directly. It was the easiest place to start. She might actually tell him something since they were pretty good friends. And if she was evasive, he'd pick up on that too. No matter what happened, he'd gain information.

It was strange, Kurt only just realized that Rachel hadn't been as clingy as he thought she would be after show choir camp. They had been practically connected at the hip over the summer. But no one else from McKinley had been there. Kurt had other friends at school, but he knew Rachel didn't have many (any). He wondered why he didn't notice before that she seemed to have a completely full schedule and never even tried to invite herself to hang out with him and the gang. Kurt felt a little guilty for not noticing and not inviting her. He figured that it was so similar to her behavior at school last year that he had overlooked it. But one thing he had noticed that was different from last year was that Rachel didn't seem to hang all over Finn anymore. A realization dawned on Kurt. Kurt had been slowly moving on from his crush on Finn so that now he mostly felt a sense of friendship. He wanted to focus on an attainable goal (Alex from show choir camp). Perhaps that's exactly what is going on with Rachel! So Kurt decided that after he completed Step 1, Step 2 would be to investigate whether Noah Puckerman was an "attainable goal" for Rachel Berry.

Kurt cornered her after glee rehearsal, after everyone was exhausted from Mr. Schue drilling the Lindy Hop into their repertoire for their swing dance number.

"Hey, Miss Berry, before you rush off, may I have a word?"

"Oh! Sure, Kurt. What can I do for you?" Rachel was surprised, but she was anxious to get home so she could have a quick shower before Noah came over. She was really sweaty from dance rehearsal, and she didn't think it was the sexy kind of sweaty. Last year she wouldn't have thought there could even be such a thing as sexy sweaty, but this year she knew better. She pushed an image of a certain sweaty football player to the back of her mind.

"Do you wanna hang out, go to the mall, have a gossip session?"

"I'm sorry, Kurt, do you mean now? Because I really have to get home." Rachel started tapping her foot anxiously. She had a football player to see.

"Oh, what are your plans? Can I join you?" Kurt could tell Rachel was anxious, and he kind of enjoyed her squirming.

"No. I mean, I'm sorry, but no." What was going on with Kurt? He'd been mostly ignoring her all semester, and he picks now to try to bond?

"Why, Miss Berry, do you have a date?! Are you seeing someone? Do tell!" There! The big question Kurt wanted Rachel to answer. He waited to see if she would confide in him.

"No! No, I don't have a date. No, I'm not seeing anyone. I just need to get home and shower because I have dinner plans with my dads." Rachel was embarrassed and nervous, but she thought her excuse sounded plausible. It was partly true anyway.

"Oh, ok. Sorry to delay you," Kurt sounded disinterested. "We'll talk later, k?"

"Yes. I'll see you later, Kurt!" Rachel scurried off.

Kurt pulled out his notebook and pen. He wrote next to Step 1: "Rachel flustered when questioned, but had credible excuse. Will commence Step 1 part A: surveillance". Kurt headed to his car. He followed Rachel as subtly as he could, considering he was driving a pimped out Navigator. He stopped several houses away from the Berry house, and he watched Rachel race into the house without throwing a glance his way. He pulled out his notebook. "Rachel's destination was her home. Waiting to determine if she leaves soon with her dads or alone."

After an hour, Kurt was just about to give up on his stakeout. It was too dark to do homework in the car without turning on the light and giving away his position, he'd played enough games on his cell to be bored to tears, and he was starving for dinner. As he turned on the engine, he saw it. Puck's truck pulling into Rachel's driveway. Jackpot! He turned off his car and the headlights. Hopefully that didn't draw Puck's attention.

It didn't.

Kurt watched with eager anticipation as Puck walked up Rachel's driveway and knocked on the door. Kurt almost pulled out the spy pen but he realized that dinky little camera wouldn't have a good range, especially in the dark. He watched as Rachel answered the door. Would they kiss? They were such a peculiar pair. Sure, Kurt knew that they had dated for a nanosecond last year, which was mind-blowing in itself. But everyone also knew that Rachel had spilled the news to Finn about Puck being the real baby daddy when she had to have known the consequences it would have caused for Puck (and everyone else).

Damn. Rachel opened the door and Puck walked in, no kiss to be seen. Still, this was an interesting development, and Kurt was practically shaking with excitement. It was hard enough to believe that Rachel and Puck hooked up last year. But it was nearly impossible to believe that they could even be friends this year after what Rachel did. Wasn't Puck still brooding over Quinn? What could he possibly be doing with Rachel? It was one thing to think that Rachel had a crush on Puck. She was kind of fickle and that boy looked like sex on a stick (Kurt had to admit). But to see Puck arrive at Rachel's house?! That could mean that Rachel might have good reason to think that Puck was an attainable goal. He really wanted to call Mercedes with this piece of news, but he knew that girl couldn't keep a secret, like at all. Kurt wanted to proceed with Step 2 before consulting with Mercedes or Tina about whether or not he should tell Finn what he'd learned.

Puck had arrived at Rachel's for their scheduled dinner "date" while her dads were at a coffee house listening to lame poetry or something. Puck couldn't remember, but it was a regular thing, and he was happy for their absence. Tonight though, he could tell that Rachel had something on her mind. She must want something from him because she had dressed especially hot.

"Out with it, Berry. I can tell you're dying to say something."

He knew her too well. Rachel took a deep breath. "You know the Winter Dance is coming up…" Of course he did, she cursed herself, it happened every year. "I was thinking maybe we should go together as friends." She paused. Noah looked shocked. Was it really that surprising that she'd want to go to the dance with him?

"Uh, I wasn't really planning on going." It was true. He wasn't.

Rachel wasn't deterred yet. "I think it could ease everyone into the idea of the two of us as friends. It would show group unity."

"I really think that would be a bad idea." Puck was worried about the consequences of outing their relationship in such a public way. It was one thing to stop insulting her in glee club, which he had done. It was another step to start acting friendly toward her in glee club, which he hadn't really done except when they were singing. It was like skipping ten steps to go to a dance together! Surely she knew that!

"You're right," Rachel said sadly. "You're right," she said with more conviction.

"Yeah, I am. We don't have to go to a stupid dance. Maybe we should go out somewhere that night instead, since all of McKinley will be at the dance." That sounded way better to Puck than getting dressed in suit and dancing around. He did enough dancing in glee. Although…

"Although the idea of you getting all dressed up is really hot…" He thought it was best to express that thought out loud.

He was right. Rachel promptly launched herself on top of him, proving just how hot she was even without a fancy dress.

Logically, Rachel knew that Noah was right. It would be too large a leap to go to the dance together, even as friends. Although she was sure she could have come up with a way to spin it and make it seem believable and innocent that they would go together. Emotionally, Rachel was disappointed that her advance had been so quickly rejected. So disappointed that when Finn asked her to the dance, she accepted before realizing that it would mean canceling the pseudo-date that Noah had mentioned in place of the dance. She felt bad about that. Sort of. She sent Noah a text, even though it deserved a phone call at least. Her feelings had been hurt, and though it pained her to admit it to herself, she was hoping that she'd make him jealous by going to the dance with Finn. She knew she was a terrible person, but Noah made her crazier than usual sometimes.

When Puck got Rachel's text, he was pissed. So pissed that he knew just what to do to get back at Rachel. He didn't really think about how it made him a bad person to be jealous and to want to make Rachel jealous (and keep an eye on her and Finn at the dance). All he thought about was what he needed to do next.

Puck whirled around when he felt someone tapping at his shoulder. "What?!" he said sharply, almost shouting.

"Whoa, cool your jets, Puck!" said Kurt. "Where are you stalking off to with such purpose?"

"Mind your own business." Puck had no time for this.

"On your way to ask Miss Berry to the dance?" There, Kurt had posed a question for Step 2. He needed to detect if Puck could possibly have romantic feelings for Rachel.

"Hell no. In fact, I'm on my way to ask Quinn." Puck rushed off, leaving Kurt gaping after him. How could Kurt have been so wrong? Puck just seemed furious at the idea that he would ask Rachel out—which is actually what Kurt would have expected had he not seen Puck at Rachel's house last night. That was the only piece of the puzzle that didn't fit. Kurt reviewed his observations mentally. Rachel and Puck had major vibes during their duets lately. Rachel seemed inordinately happy to see Puck at her glee party and overly determined to kick Kurt and Finn out of her house. Finn! These all support the theory that Rachel may like Puck instead of Finn. But Puck's behavior just now did not support the theory that he liked Rachel in return.

Kurt decided to tell Finn that he had nothing to worry about. If Puck didn't have a thing for Rachel, then it didn't matter. Finn wouldn't have a competitor (because it was still Rachel Berry he's talking about here). So Finn could try to woo her to his heart's content, and he'd probably be victorious once Rachel came to her senses. Kurt was pleased with himself for his deductive skills.

Puck caught up with Quinn in the hall. "Hey, I heard Finn asked Berry to the dance." No need to beat around the bush.

"Oh, where'd you hear that?" Quinn tried to sound nonchalant .

"You know, around." No need to tell her he'd heard it directly from Rachel. "Whatever, you can wait to confirm it. Then let me know if you wanna go with me."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Ever the romantic, Puck," she said sarcastically. Then her eyes clouded sadly and she spoke sincerely. "But I believe you. Yes, I would like to go to the dance with you."

"Great. We'll work out the details later." And with that, Puck turned abruptly and headed to class.

Quinn stared after him for a few moments. The mood swings on this boy gave her whiplash! He had been so sweet less than a week ago, and now he was gruffly asking her to the dance and running off like he was mad at her for accepting the invitation. While sitting in her nap-inspiring history class, Quinn thought about last week's visit with their daughter. She could tell that Puck had been maturing. They had both had to mature a lot. Quinn was still skeptical that this idea to visit their daughter was his alone, but he was so into it and happy that she could almost believe it was his idea. At first he had seemed so nervous around Dizzy, but as the visit progressed, he had loosened up and started playing with her with such joy in his eyes. Quinn could tell that he would make a loving, doting father. One day. Even though her heartstrings had felt a tug of sadness when Puck had dropped her off at her parents' house after the visit, she knew she wasn't swooning in love with Puck. She certainly felt something for Puck, probably even a form of love. But she knew deep down that he wasn't the right guy for her. Today just reinforced that. Puck was too unpredictable. She needed the security she'd felt with Finn.

Puck didn't go to Rachel's house that night as scheduled. That's how they both knew that they were definitely in a fight. Rachel was upset with Noah, but she had hoped he would come over so they could talk about it. Puck had almost gone to Rachel's house so he could yell at her, but he decided that would be a bad idea, since when he was this mad, it was hard to control. It hadn't been that long since he had really yelled at her like an ass when she had done something that required her to apologize. He decided that he should wait for her to come to him, which he hoped would happen soon, but after he had calmed down from her brush off of their date to go out with Finn.

In place of their scheduled time together they both sat in their rooms listening to depressing songs, although their songs of choice were vastly different. Rachel had gone through a selection of Broadway standards, followed by pop, when a song that she had taken from her dads' collection caught her eye. "How to Fight Loneliness" by Wilco seemed like it might be helpful. It was a depressing song, but it gave her some specific things to do like "laugh at every joke" and "just smile all the time". While she knew it wouldn't make her feel that much better, she planned to smile a lot in glee the next day. She realized that Noah was mad at her for going to the dance with Finn, and that was good in a way, since it showed he cared, right? She had hated when he had yelled at her when she'd upset him over making presumptions about Thanksgiving break—it was a terrible feeling. So she made up her mind to give Noah some time to calm down before she tried to explain her perspective to him, and yes, apologize. But she was still going to that dance, and feeling bad about Noah Puckerman was not going to stop her!

Puck listened to songs that he was sure Rachel would find "distasteful" or some shit. He headed downstairs and was about to go to 7-11 to buy some dip. Yeah, he'd quit smoking and chewing tobacco almost a year ago because of the baby (and because Quinn wouldn't stop bugging him about how gross it was). But now he felt like he really needed something to take the edge off of his nerves. The last notes of one of the songs he'd listened to were stuck in his head. Their old piano was calling to him, and before he knew what he was doing, he took a seat and plunked out the melody instead of leaving for his tobacco run. Though at age 13 he had announced that he was a man and no longer had to be shackled by his mom's wishes for him to take piano lessons, he still occasionally played a few notes to help him compose songs, so he knew what he was doing.

Mrs. Puckerman entered the house and heard the haunting melody. Was that coming from her son? Then she heard him singing softly, and the sound broke her heart.

Without you, without you everything falls apart
Without you, it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces

"Honey, that was beautiful. It sounds so sad. Did you write that?"

"No, mom. It's Nine Inch Nails."

Mrs. Puckerman correctly assumed that was the name of an artist. "You're not usually home now, what changed?"

"Oh, I usually have a study group, but it got canceled," he lied. She seemed to buy it.

She did. But that didn't explain why her son was playing such a sorrowful tune on the piano he barely glanced at normally. "Noah, do you want to talk about something, about why you're playing such a sad song?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just something I was thinking about introducing for glee club," he lied again. "But you're right; it's too sad and lame." Puck got up from the piano to head to his room, but he turned to his mom.

"You're not working this weekend, right?" His mother nodded. "Good," he continued. "I'm taking Quinn to the Winter Dance, so I wanted to make sure you won't need me to babysit that night."

Mrs. Puckerman couldn't conceal her surprise. "Are you and Quinn together again, Noah?"

"No. " When his mom appeared skeptical, he added, "we're going as friends because Quinn likes Finn, but he asked someone else."

That seemed like a true teenager situation to Mrs. Puckerman, so she left it at that.

Puck was pulling himself out of his funk. He didn't need to listen to depressing crap. He knew that Rachel would take one look at him at the dance and forget that Finn Hudson even exists. And then she'd apologize, and they'd be back to making out in no time.

At the next glee rehearsal, Mr. Schue was calling out the proper swing steps "Rock step right!" and Kurt was dancing with Rachel—trying to dance around the subject of Rachel's feelings towards Puck and Finn. Luckily, this was a dance only rehearsal while they were learning the finer techniques of the steps, holds, turns, and lifts; leaving Kurt free to whisper questions to Rachel. Rachel would occasionally choose to answer his questions through gritted teeth and her fake smile.

Her answers mostly consisted of denials. She threw in a laugh every now and then that made no sense to Kurt. But Kurt was ever vigilant, and through the spins he noticed both Puck and Finn glimpsing at his exchanges with Rachel. Interesting, but ultimately inconclusive. Kurt switched tactics. He made plans to meet Rachel before the Winter Dance so they could get ready together—after he swore that he wouldn't give her a makeover. He'd try to interrogate her more then. Not really for Finn anymore, just to satisfy his own curiosity.

Finn was so glad that he would be going to the dance with Rachel, even if she kept saying they were just friends. She always made him feel appreciated, like he was the best thing since sliced bread. Quinn had made him feel that way for awhile, but she had gotten bossy and mean, which had been 1,000 times worse when she had gotten pregnant and had started insulting him about his intelligence and lack of ability to provide for their daughter. Their daughter. What a joke! Except it wasn't funny. At all.

The thing is, he still seemed to have a soft spot in his heart for the baby, even though she wasn't his. How many hours had he wasted, singing to that damn sonogram even after he knew? He almost deleted the email he had gotten from Quinn, but the subject line said "Pics of Dizzy, don't delete". Finn was curious. The timing was pretty weird, since Quinn emailed him like same day he had asked Rachel to the Winter Dance. There were several pictures of Dizzy playing and one picture of Dizzy with Quinn. His eyes started to water at the sight. It was cool that Quinn called her Dizzy since it was so close to the perfect baby name, Drizzle. He couldn't help but think that there should have been a baby that looked like Quinn and Finn, not Quinn and Puck. Not true, he cursed himself, he would have needed to have sex for that. But Finn knew he wasn't ready to be a dad anyway. The idea of a little girl that was actually his growing up without him was terrifying, so he was lucky that it wasn't real for him. He felt a little sorry for Quinn (and Puck). A little. Finn checked the file dates and saw that the pictures were taken on the day after Thanksgiving. That's where Quinn was when she left Rachel's early. Probably with Puck too, he thought darkly. Finn almost deleted the picture of Quinn and Dizzy, but he just…couldn't.

Winter Dance (Part 1), Junior Year

Sure, it wasn't the perfect situation, but here she was, a hot mama (!) with a hot guy on her arm. In Quinn's ideal world, this would have been Homecoming, she'd be with Finn, and they'd be crowned King and Queen—or at least a prince and princess so they'd get to be King and Queen as seniors. She had cheered at the Homecoming game back in October, but she'd skipped the dance. It was too much to bear too soon.

Quinn was partial to white, but she feared that she'd get virginity jokes (no one would dare in person, but there'd be comments on the blog Jacob was sure to post), so she went for a gold metallic dress. It was festive, and it would show everyone that she wasn't afraid to stand out. Plus it complemented her coloring perfectly. So many girls were wearing black, red, or green dresses. A few were in white or silver. Quinn was the only one wearing gold as far as she could tell.

Then in walked Rachel Berry, wearing a metallic dress too, but hers was more of a copper color. Still, it was weird that they had made similar choices. Kind of matches their choices of men, Quinn smirked to herself, seeing Rachel with Finn.

Quinn felt jealous of Rachel, but she figured that Rachel has probably felt this way about her too. Quinn could see Puck turn and stare at Rachel as she entered the dance, but she didn't elbow him like she usually would. She was staring at Finn anyway. Let him look. She wasn't sure if Puck was just being a pig, or if maybe there was something going on that she didn't understand between Puck and Rachel—because she noticed the way Rachel searched the room and locked eyes with Puck.

Kurt and Mercedes walked into the dance arm in arm, followed closely by Tina and Artie. Even though he'd rather have come with Alex for romantic purposes, Kurt was a little nervous about such a big move in Lima. Maybe for Prom… But Mercedes was his girl for gossip, and Kurt couldn't keep from spilling everything about his investigations of Puck and Rachel, beginning with the day after Thanksgiving and finishing with his evening getting ready for the dance at Rachel's. It seemed fair to talk about it now since he'd already given Finn his assessment. He'd promised Finn would be the first to know, not the only to know. And now there might be more to assess at the dance, so the gleeks could entertain themselves while making speculations, assumptions, and bets on the truth of the situation.

"Who's in for it's one-sided from Rachel and Puck's not interested?"

"Who's in for two-sided? And let's raise the stakes—who thinks they're having sex?!"

Rachel was getting her groove on but it looked innocent enough—probably because Finn was trying hard to keep up and not be the clumsy oaf that he was. They didn't look like a lot of the other couples grinding on each other, and Puck was grateful for that. Still, he wasn't sure he could take another hiphop song. As he watched Rachel do as the rapper commanded, "raise your hands in the air", and her dress inched dangerously high up her toned thighs, Puck clenched his fists. Quinn couldn't help but notice.

"Do you think you can help me with something, Puck?" Puck was startled from his glaring and turned his eyes to Quinn. He appreciated the view he got down her dress. She had nice boobs, but he stopped himself from commenting out loud.

"I'd like to see where I stand with Finn. Do you think you could distract Rachel for me? You seem like the right man for the job."

"Uh, what's this about?" Puck was a little uncomfortable that Quinn realized he would be happy to distract Rachel.

"I know it seems like we're both the villains and they are the innocent victims. But that doesn't mean we have to end up together and they have to end up together." Originally Quinn had thought of that speech to refer to herself and Finn, but she was getting the impression that the words meant something to Puck too. "It's like they're our other halves—they could balance us out the way we can't do for each other, you know?"

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about." Puck didn't know where Quinn was coming up with this stuff. How could she possibly know anything about him and Rachel?

"Ok, fine. I was talking about me and Finn, no one else." It didn't matter to Quinn if he admitted to having feelings for Rachel or not. It only mattered that he followed along with her plan. "I'm going to request that the dj play some slow songs. We're going to go over to Rachel and Finn and ask if they care to dance. I need to try to make amends with Finn, and he'll barely talk to me. If Berry agrees to dance with you, he'll be stuck with me. And from there I hope to help him remember the good things about the two of us when we were together. All you have to do is dance with Rachel for a few songs. I'm certain you can handle that part of the plan."

Before Puck could realize what he was saying, the words left his mouth. "You sound a lot like Rachel."

Quinn looked at him quizzically. "Like Rachel, how?"

Puck did his impression of comic book Rachel, the giant girl holding her golden awards statue as she stomped across New York.

Quinn's mouth dropped open. She quickly closed it so she wouldn't look unladylike. "What's with the Godzilla impersonation?"

Puck saw her expression and lowered his arm slowly. That joke only works in his head. "You know, she'll do anything to get what she wants, like a Tony award or whatever. You'll do what it takes to get what you want: Finn." He explained sheepishly. It was Quinn's fault for talking about villains and then spilling her master plan. It got Puck thinking about comics and Rachel as a super-villain.

"Ok… um…I'll be right back. Try not to look too ridiculous in the meantime." That boy could be the biggest badass in school, but sometimes he's the biggest goofball! And yeah, she was so right that he had feelings for Rachel! Somehow she felt a twinge of smug satisfaction for being right, while at the same time she felt a twinge of jealousy to know that he wasn't pining over her. But, no, she wasn't pining over him either, so it was much better this way.

Quinn put on the sweet smile she always used to get what she wants as she approached the dj table. "I'm here to request that you play two slow songs in a row. And one of them has to be this one. You can play whatever you want for the second, as long as you can slow dance to it."

The dj nodded as he appraised Quinn. "You know I'm just doing this 'cuz you're hot, right?"

"I get that a lot." Quinn let a little of her Ice Queen personality seep out towards the pervy dj (he was like, old), before she worked up the courage to approach Finn. She felt nervous and vulnerable, but she knew that this was her best chance to start making things right with Finn. Puck approached her, offered her his arm, and they smiled at each other as they walked up to Finn and Rachel on the dance floor. They made a good team.

Rachel noticed them first and stopped dancing. She and Finn stared at Puck and Quinn blankly. Puck could almost laugh at the bizarre similarities and differences between the two. He would have laughed at the dumb looks on their faces, if he hadn't been so nervous. Quinn elbowed Puck.

"Hey, guys. Care to switch up the scenery?" Puck asked as casually as he could manage.

Quinn followed up. "We thought it would be fun to change partners for a song or two." Just as Quinn hoped, Rachel agreed right away.

"Sure, we're all friends here," beamed Rachel.

Finn looked on as Rachel moved toward Puck. "Don't worry, dude, I'll bring her back in the same condition I found her in." Puck couldn't resist the remark as he placed a hand on the small of Rachel's back to guide her. Rachel huffed and swatted at Puck, but she didn't refuse as he led her away. Finn watched helplessly as they moved farther onto the crowded dance floor. Suddenly, Finn was overtaken by a golden vision of Quinn as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him with shining eyes.

Crap, why did she have to be so beautiful?

A.N. There was so much I wanted to put into the Dance that it had to be divided. But hopefully you'll enjoy what's coming. Next chapter continues the Winter Dance: where Rachel and Puck have a confrontation; Quinn tries to rekindle the flames with Finn; and the sparks between Rachel and Puck are revealed to a wider circle, including Finn (cue dramatic cliffhanger music here). Thanks to all of you readers and reviewers! I have the song that Quinn requested all ready for Chapter 10, but if anyone wants to suggest a second slow song, feel free!