My Guardian Angel
A Glee Fan Fiction
Chapter 9
That weekend, Rachel spent her days dodging phone calls from a very angry Finn Hudson who wanted to know what her choice was right then and there. He refused to wait until Glee rehearsal on Monday, like the rest of the club was patiently doing, to find out if Rachel Berry had decided to remain with the star quarterback and marry Finn Hudson, fresh out of high school, or if the school's good girl had decided to dump her all-star boyfriend and fiance for the residential bad-ass who had bullied her for years, tormenting each and every one of her friends through their early high school years and actually proceed to date Noah Puckerman. Rachel knew she wouldn't be able to lie, because that just wasn't her. So, instead, she hit IGNORE every time Finn dialed her phone number. Every time she received a text message from him, she'd erase it without opening it and she hid from the internet, not wanting to see whatever he'd been flooding her Facebook account, email address, and instant messenger with. Of course, it would come as no surprise to anybody that Rachel hadn't been logged on all weekend, since she was rarely on to begin with, except for the exception of the occasional video of herself singing being posted or a brief status with news about the Glee club attached to it, tagging each member to spam her notifications with cruel, hurtful comments and very few likes.
The only member of the New Directions that Rachel spoke to during her weekend, was Noah Puckerman, who had arrived at her house early on Saturday morning with a bouquet of brightly colored gladiolus. He'd been dressed simply, in jeans with a solid tee shirt, but that had been nicer than her oversized T-shirt-an old one of Finn's that he'd left at her house ages ago-with a pair of tiny little shorts.
Surprisingly, Puck didn't seem upset to spot Rachel wearing her ex-fiance's shirt. He'd just given her that crooked little half grin that had first won her over, and handed her the flowers before ducking inside and closing the door behind him, giving her a soft and gentle kiss on the lips when he was sure they were safely alone and out of the view of anybody who would stick their noses into their private lives and spread the word around before they had a chance to tell people themselves. Puck didn't even mention the shirt until Rachel had set the flowers on a table in the hallway and wound her arms around his neck, smiling up at him, with his arms locked around her waist, hands firmly cupping her hips.
"You're looking mighty sexy in that tee shirt," He drawled. "You wanna do something for me?" He asked.
"Take it off?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him coyly, giving him the most seductive, sexy look she could muster while being completely weak in the knees and falling apart just due to the gaze of his hazel eyes on hers.
"No, keep it on," He shook his head, reaching for her hands which had already grabbed the hem of her shirt and begun to tug it upwards. He took her hands in his own and held onto them tightly, smiling down at her with that suggestive smile that could get her to do almost anything in the entire world. "Actually, you know what, I do want you to take it off. And I want you to put mine on," He told her, removing his tee shirt and handing it to her as he stood there, bare chested, enjoying her eyes widen at the sight of him. "And then," He said as she removed Finn's old white tee shirt. "I want you to sing for me," He grinned happily, handing her his shirt and broadening his smile as she easily slipped it on over her bare torso. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at his words and frowned slightly.
"You're sexy when you're performing, and I want my own little show, just for me," He said, pulling her close to him again, giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her nose. "So, let's go," he said, unhooking one arm from around her and guiding her up the stairs and to her bedroom where he settled onto her bed in the same fashion he had when they'd first hooked-up as she stood in front of him, shaking her head in amusement.
"Any requests?" She giggled.
Only Noah Puckerman could make Rachel Berry, the future star of Lima, Ohio, nervous about performing. It didn't make sense, because he was always proud of her, no matter how she performed, but she was only nervous when it was due to him.
"Just sing to me-no Broadway and no Katy Perry though," He bargained with her with a wink as she rolled her eyes and turned around, flipping through a CD case. She sighed as she selected on and slipped it into her CD player, giving him a wink of her own as the music started to play, and, before long, allowing her voice to join in.
"The real me is a Southern girl with her Levis on and an open heart/Wish I could save the world, like I was super girl/The real me used to laugh all night, lying in the grass just talking about love/But lately I've been jaded; life got so complicated/I start thinking about it/I almost forgot what it was like/To know what it feels like/'Cause with-I can let my hair down," At this she loosened the messy bun she'd twisted her hair into the night before, allowing it to become a long, high ponytail. "I can say anything crazy/I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground/With nothing but a tee shirt on/I've never felt so beautiful/Baby as I do now/Now that I'm with you/With you-with you-with you/Now that I'm with you," She belted out the words to an old Jessica Simpson, her facial expressions telling the story as she went on.
"You speak and it's like a song/And just like that all my walls come down/It's like it's a private joke just meant for us to know/I relate to you naturally/Every body else just fades away/Sometimes it's heard to breath/Just knowing you found me/I start thinking about it/I almost forgot what it was like/To know what love feels right/'Cause with you/I can let my hair down/I can say anything crazy," She let her hair from the ponytail and ran her hands through it slightly. "I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground/With nothing but a T-shirt on/I've never felt so beautiful/Baby as I do now/Now that I'm with you/With you," She sang, lowering her voice slightly and plopping onto her bed on her hands and knees.
"Come and take me/LOve you save me/Like nobody else/Now I can be myself/With you/With you/I can let my hair down," She shook her hair out before rolling over onto her back. "I can say anything crazy/I know you'll catch me right before I hit the ground/With nothing but a T-shirt on/I've never felt so beautiful/Baby as I do now/Now that I'm with you," She finished the song as Puck wrapped her arms around him, pulling her close to him.
"I want to sing a solo to break it to Finn. I'll let him know myself, alright? I mean, at first. He doesn't need to know we slept together, actually, so I can just tell him that I've picked you," Rachel said softly.
"Are you ashamed of having sex with me?" Puck frowned.
"God, no," Rachel shook her head quickly. "It's just...I know how you are with him. He's your best friend and you don't want to hurt him, so, because you slept with me while Finn and I were still together, just as you did with Quinn, you'll let him kick your ass without even attempting to fight back, because you feel guilty-and don't say he couldn't hurt you or you don't feel guilty, because I know you. You'll lie there with him throwing punches until your entire face is bloody, bruised, and swollen, because you don't want to hurt or lose your best friend," Rachel said softly.
"If he were to beat me up-despite the fact he doesn't know what happened between you and I last night-would you nurse be back to health?" He asked slyly, glancing down at her with a wicked grin.
"Of course," She said quickly.
"Okay, so if I asked Santana if you could borrow her little nurse's outfit..."
"You're a perv," She rolled her eyes, pushing him aside playfully.
"No, I'm a toad," He informed her, rolling over so he was on top of her. "A horny toad," He said, kissing her on the lips.
Sunday, Rachel and Puck snuggled close together on the couch, remembering their old memories.
"Do you remember Night of Neglect?" Rachel asked softly.
"When you wouldn't let me inside the school until I got those stupid puppies?"
"Well, you did promise."
"You practically forced me into it!"
"Actually, I was just very convincing when trying to get you to agree."
"You're a tease."
"You're a man whore."
"And you're a slut."
"You are a walking STD."
"And you're going to catch it now."
"Whatever-so, you remember that night?"
"Of course I do."
"Puckerman!" Rachel beamed, approaching the broad shouldered, tall bad-ass who was flirting with five of the sophomore Cheerios. He forced a grimace on, muttering an insincere apology to the younger girls before turning towards Rachel as the girls scurried away, giving Rachel an annoyed glance. Honestly, Puck was just happy to be free of them and alone in a hallway-despite how crowded the hallway was-with Rachel Berry, without Finn Hudson around to cause any trouble between the two. Puck didn't need any more friction between him and Rachel anyways, not with all the chaos that had been created by their most recent make-out session.
"Yes, my hot little Jewish American-"
"If you finish that sentence, I'm going to murder you. I thought I've told you before that that name is incredibly sexist and rude and totally offensive. I am not a princess and I do not like being referred to as little. My height happens to be very average for my age and gender, whereas you are above averagely tall, but I don't refer to you as big," She stopped there, her face flushing bright red.
"Can I call you my hot Jewish American girl then? I'm not calling you short or a princess in that case," He said happily, choosing to ignore her comment and the ways it could bet taken, other than her real meanings for the statement.
"Shut up, Puckerman. I didn't put myself in a conversation with you to be mocked relentlessly and insulted and made fun of. I could have simply walked past Karofsky and Azimio if I wanted that, after all. I came over here because I needed your help with something, alright? A favor, of sorts, I guess one might say. So, if you wouldn't mind shutting that large whole in your face that allowed you to breath and speak, as well as eat, I would like to get on with my point. Is that alright with you?" She asked sarcastically.
"You're a snarky little girl today, aren't you? I'm slightly turned on by it though. Although, one could argue that I'm always turned on by you," He told her with a careless grin and a playful little smirk.
"PUCKERMAN!" She snapped, actually going as far as to stomp her foot.
"Alright, okay, I get it. No jokes, no humor. Let's be serious today! I didn't realize that we weren't allowed to have any fun with one another anymore," He rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms and looked down at her. "I'll play by the rules, okay? Now, what do you want me to do, and what will I be getting in return for this favor?" He asked.
"Mercedes is refusing to preform without pomeranian puppies for some stupid, silly reason that your idiotic girlfriend has put into her head. I honestly do not know the details nor do I care, so, if you would simple go out and find a couple of soft, fluffly puppies for her for whatever her purposes for them are, that would be quite helpful, alright? And I'm sure your girlfriend would give you whatever you'd like in return for doing this for us, alright? Okay, that's it...thanks," She said, ending her statement awkwardly as she turned on her heel and started to walk away. She was stopped by a hand reaching out and taking her wrist, a soft voice whispering for her to stop.
"Berry, I don't want Lauren to give me my payment for doing this for you. I mean, I'm giving up my bad-ass reputation here, looking for fluffy puppies, especially those stupid pomeranians she wants so badly. I think I should at least get something more than what I'm already getting," He said, a sly smile on his face as she turned around to face him. "Besides, why do you even need to make Mercedes happy? Does she really need to perform? Isn't she just taking your spot in the show?" He wondered.
"Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the team, Noah," She sighed, shaking her head. "Giving up my solo in this performance might just ensure the fact that Mercedes will sing whatever spot Mr. Shue assigns her when we go to our next competition," She said, and that was when Puck realized just how tired she looked. He'd never seen her look so old before.
"I don't understand..."Puck sighed.
"Well, I honestly wouldn't expect you to be able to grasp the concept, with your emotional depth of a teaspoon, and what not," She rolled her eyes, repeating a line she'd remembered from those books he'd liked so much when he was younger.
"You remember our Harry Potter marathons?" He asked brightly, his eyes lightening up a little bit. "That's not important," He quickly shook his head as he sighed again. "Anyways, I was going to ask you to make-out with me, because you're surprisingly incredible at that one, but I've changed my mind. Mostly because I'm not so sure I want to make-out with you when you feel compelled to do so. There's a Harry Potter weekend this weekend, on ABC Family. Will you come over and watch it with me?" He asked.
"You want me to come over and watch movies with you all weekend? Noah, you do recall that when we used to have our Harry Potter marathons, I'd sleep over at your house so we wouldn't miss a single second, even if we watched the same movie over and over again, correct? I'm not so sure your girlfriend would appreciate you having another female sleeping over at your house to watch movies with you all weekend long," She sighed.
"Lauren and I aren't exclusive. And besides that, she's sort a bitch to me. We're not really dating, anyways. It's more of a game of cat and mouse for us. It's too hard to explain. Listen, if you want the puppies for the show, you're going to have to come over and watch Harry Potter with me all weekend long, and you're going to sleep over, like you used to, and we'll camp out in the living room, like always. We're going to eat the same snacks and have the same spots that we'd always had. It's going to be just like old times," He informed her before starting to walk away. "Oh, but, of course, if you feel like making out at any point during the night, that's perfectly acceptable," He called over his shoulder.
"That was some weekend..."
"I didn't even kiss you!"
"Yeah, but you always get scared during those movies."
"They're scary!"
"I'm not complaining! I liked you being that close to me."
"I can't believe you made me come over when you didn't even get the puppies."
"A deal's a deal."
"But you didn't-"
"You called me and said never mind, remember?"
"Whatever."
"You hate being wrong."
"I'm never wrong, Noah."
"No, but you make mistakes."
"What's that mean?"
"Finn Hudson."
"Shut up!"
