Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did Mark Salling wouldn't even know what a shirt was. Haha.
A/N: I have no idea how I made this chapter. I'm not sure it's going to work. Reviews are love.
(Rachel)
I knocked nervously on the yellow door of Claudia's home. There were no cars in the drive-way, but she had invited me. I looked at my fathers in the car and raised my hands in a confused gesture.
"No one's answering." I said, even though it was impossible for them to hear me. I reached down to grab my overnight bag as I heard heard the doorknob move. After a few unsuccessful attempts the door finally opened to reveal a shirtless Noah.
I stared, shocked, at his nakedness. "What are you doing here, Berry?"
"I-I-I was invited?" I looked at my fathers waiting in the car.
Noah peeked his head around the door frame and nodded his head at my fathers in recognition. "Fine. Come in." He grumbled before walking from the door to let me through.
Waving my fathers good-bye, I clutched my overnight bag and entered Claudia's home. I stood in the door way for a moment before Noah startled me from where he sat on the couch.
"Where you born in a barn or something, Berry? Close the door." He snapped.
"I'm sorry, " I said, shutting the door, "I didn't mean to be rude. Where's Claudia?"
"She's at work." He said, not looking at me.
"I'm going to place my things in Claudia's room." I said. Noah simply raised his eyebrows. I stopped dead in my tracks on my out of Claudia's room. When did I stop referring to Noah as Puck? It couldn't possibly be because Claudia would constantly correct me when I did, and it wasn't because I forced myself to call him Noah. I simply did. Puck was no longer Puck, but Noah.
"Berry? Are you okay?" Noah was waving his hands in front of my face.
"What?" I slapped his hand down. "I'm fine, why do you ask?"
"Well," He huffed, "I've been trying to talk to you for the last ten minutes. Claud is going to be late. They're making her work an extra shift and she still has to go to the store for dinner. She said you can go home if you want."
"Why wouldn't simply contact me?" I asked.
He raised his eyebrows. "She did. I heard your phone go off, like, a dozen times."
I reached around into my pocket to t retrieve my phone. There were, in fact, 7 text messages all from Claudia.
*Hey. I will be late getting home. I still have to go to the store. You should probably show up closer to 6.*
*I have to work the next shift. I won't even be home until 9. Is that okay?*
*It would probably be better to hangout tomorrow night or something. You can just stay home if you want.*
*Rachel? Are you getting my texts?*
I skipped over the rest, assuming they were similar to the last one. I sighed heavily and leaned against the wall. "I suppose it would be best for me to go home." I said to no one in particular.
"That's a long way for your dads to come back to pick you up." Noah said and made me jump.
"I would rather not bother you with my presence, Noah. I'll call them." I said opening my phone back up.
Noah grabbed my phone from my hand and I began to protest. "Don't worry about it, Berry."
"Really, Noah, I don't want to be a disturbance—" I began.
"Chill, Rachel. We'll just wait for Madonna to get home to give you a ride home." He said and handed me my phone back.
I stared at my phone resting in my hand. Noah turned and walked across the kitchen in to the living room and flopped onto the couch, grabbing the remote. Rachel.
(Noah)
I turned the channel to Top Gear. I waited for Rachel to complain, but instead she pulled her knees to her chest and smiled happily. I raised an eyebrow expectantly at her. When she noticed she smiled wider.
"Daddy is huge car aficionado. We watch this program regularly." she said.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the TV where Richard, James, and Jeremy where driving a convertible van through an automatic car wash.
I hated that I didn't hate Rachel. It was easier that way. I wouldn't have cared that Rachel was in Riverton, if it wasn't for that fact that she was becoming friends with Claud. Because now I had to see her as another person and when I went back to Lima and went back to being Puck (because I would, I knew it, even if I didn't want to be Puck anymore.) it would be harder than ever. It was already getting really fucking hard to do. Every summer I would walk onto that plane and I couldn't forget what it was like, being loved by someone like Claudia, loving Claudia.
I stood away from my family as they introduced themselves to each other. It was totally lame. Josh was totally making a mistake getting tied down like this. He only laughed at me and said I might understand someday and that he was just like me once.
"Noah," My mother pulled me forward, "This is Claudia. She's your age."
"What's up?" She lifted her chin at me. I looked at the girl in front of me. Her long black hair was pulled into a side ponytail, and her blues looked smugly into mine.
Great, a butch chick. I thought as I put my hand out. "Puck." I said.
She raised her eyebrows and shook my hand. "Claudia." She adjusted the flannel shirt she wore over a tank top. I took a moment to appreciate her form in her tight dark jeans. Lesbian, cousin or not, she was hot.
A wicked grin rose on her face, "Puck, like the fairy?" she asked.
"Excuse me?" I sneered. Did she just call me gay?
She had this knowing look in her eyes as she looked me up and down. "Are you a fan of William Shakespeare, Puck?" She asked.
"What are you saying?" I asked.
"Oh good. You're not gay. I would be jealous of all of those lucky men if you were gay." She was laughing. She wasn't even trying to stop herself.
"You think I'm gay." I said.
She raised her eyebrows devilishly and nodded. "I'm not going to call you Puck."
"You're not going to call me Noah." I threatened.
"I'm hungry mommy!" Dani cried tugging on Mom's pant leg.
"Of course. Madonna, we're all starving. It's been a long plane ride."
Madonna was already picking Dani up and placing her on her hip. "Well, we can't have that, can we, Dani?" Dani shook her head furiously. "Let's go."
Claudia watched as our mothers and younger siblings left thought automatic doors and then turned to me. "I guess since I can't call you Noah, I'll just call you Homo." She smiled. I clenched my fists in anger. I had never wanted to hit a girl so much in my life. "Nice haircut, by the way." she added sarcastically and follows our families.
"My hawk is badass." I manage before finally following her.
I pouted as I remembered the first time I met Claud. She wasn't as impressed with my facade as everyone else was. Cole had been doubly impressed with it, and Claud was having a hard time pushing him past it. I had apologised to her, more than once, for that. But she would just pat my cheek and tell me that it wasn't all my fault. Cole was only a little lost, and he needed someone as strong as me to look to. When I moved on, so would he.
"Homo." She said.
"Don't call me that. My name is Puck." I glared at her.
A smile graced her lips. "Come on. I'm going to a party and you have to come. Eli said so."
"I'll go if you stop calling me Homo." I replied. I was sitting son the couch in their living room. The second summer the Puckerman's had spent in Wyoming. The first one had been for the wedding, but this one had been a fluke. I told Mom that I would rather die than come back to Wyoming and deal with Claudia. Mom had scoffed at my declaration and told me to pack for two weeks, I had packed for three days.
I guess I had to like her, because she was actually really funny and she had awesome taste in music and she liked random explosions in movies. But she still called me Homo.
"I'm not going to call you Puck." She said leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Fine, you can call me Noah."
She grinned and clapped her hands in a little happy dance. "Awesome. You know, I didn't really think it would work. I thought I was going to call you Homo forever. I was actually looking forward to it."
"When's this stupid birthday party?" I asked ignoring her comment.
Confusion wrinkled Claudia's face, "there's no birthday party."
"Then what the hell were you just talking about?" I asked.
"Language, Noah." My mother chastised as she passed through the room into the kitchen.
"Oops, I guess I lied." She said, guilt not even registering.
I jumped up from my place on the couch. "I'm going to kill you!" I shouted before running for her.
She jumped from the doorway and shot out the front door into the yard. I tackled her at the bottom of the step and we landed in the grass with a soft 'oomph.' She was laughing as she punched me in the ribs. I couldn't hit her outright, so I slammed the inside of my elbow into her side. She huffed as her breath pushed from her lungs at the strength of my blow.
I stood. She popped up from the ground, taking a boxer stance. "Come on Noah. Be a real man, hit me." She smiled.
I raised my own hands and swung slowly in a wide right hook. She ducked and quickly jabbed her left fist into my ribs. I growled and she laughed. I jabbed quickly with my left and she didn't swerve fast enough and I got one good hit to her shoulder. She stepped back from the force, but recovered quickly. She bounced from foot to foot excitedly. I faked a right and hooked with my left. She attempted to duck but I hit her square in the stomach.
She fell to then ground. I was quickly by her side apologising. IKnew I shouldn't have hit a girl. Her hands were covering her face and she was shaking. "Shit. Don't cry."
She punched me hard in the stomach and I collapsed in the grass next to her. "the party is in half an hour." she said, laughter bubbling from her mouth.
I was snapped from my thoughts as Claud burst through the door.
"Noah you would not believe the day I've had." She said, throwing reusable grocery bags on the kitchen counter.
"Hello, Claudia." Rachel said from where she sat on the couch. "I thought you weren't going to arrive home for quite awhile."
Claud shook her head in shock when she noticed Rache—Berry. Berry siting on the couch. "I thought so too, but the girl who I was covering finally showed up. What are you doing here?"
"She was waiting for Madonna to get back. Her fathers were already gone by the time she got your texts." I supplied. They gave me a strange look, but I ignored it and stared at the TV screen. "What's for dinner?" I asked, trying to ease the sudden tension in the room.
PS. If you don't watch Top Gear, you need to. I don't know anything about cars, and honestly I could care less, but I love that show. Seriously, watch it.
Handshakes, High-Fives, and Happy Dances.
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