Hello everyone! Enjoy!
Chapter 10
The next day, Puck met up with Will at a nearby coffee shop. When he got there, he took a deep breath before going in and walking over to his manager.
"Hey thanks for meeting me," he said, sitting across from Will.
"No problem. What's going on? Finn and Santana told me you and Rachel are having relationship issues?"
"Yeah, she kind of caught me…kissing Kitty."
"What? Come on Puck, really?"
"I know. I'm an idiot and I'm paying the price for it. She doesn't want to be in the group anymore so I need to know what I have to do now that she's out."
Will sighed. "Unfortunately, she's not out."
"What do you mean?" Puck asked, confused.
"You two signed a contract and I'm assuming you didn't read over a certain part it. You two are obligated to deliver a full album and the EP doesn't exactly count."
"So what does that mean?" he frowned.
"You and Rachel will either have to deliver the album or buy yourselves out of the contract. How much that would be depends on how much the label has invested in you guys and what they thought they could've made from selling your album."
"Well do you know how much that is?"
"Let me check," he said before taking out a copy of the contract. Once he got it, he looked through it before pulling out a calculator and doing the calculations before sighing and showing it to Puck.
"Holy shit," he gulped. "That's a lot."
Will sighed. "Honestly, I don't even recommend trying to buy yourself out of the contract. You guys are just getting started and while some people are starting to notice you, you two aren't famous enough for the label to take a chance on signing individually."
"So we can't break up," Puck exhaled, sitting back in the chair.
"Personally you can. But as far as your duo goes, you two are better off staying together for a little longer."
"I don't know how I'm supposed to explain this to Rachel."
Will shrugged. "Tell her this was what she wanted. What you both wanted."
Puck groaned and nodded realizing he was right. If he wanted to hold on to his career he had to convince Rachel to keep working with him. Something he knew wasn't going to go over well with her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Rachel sighed as she sat in Quinn's living room, writing song lyrics. She couldn't get Puck out of her head and she hated it. The only thing she could do was write songs about her pain but the more she wrote, the sadder she felt.
The doorbell rang, interrupting her thoughts. When she got up and opened it, Rachel jumped up in excitement. "Oh my God, you're here!"
"Of course we are," Kurt smiled as she hugged him and Blaine. "You needed us."
"I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," she said, letting them in.
"Well we know you're going through a rough time right now so we figured coming a day earlier wouldn't be a bad idea," Blaine explained. "We have to find you a new place so you don't have to depend on anyone."
"Where's your friend?" Kurt asked.
"At the studio today. She's been really great about all this but I would just feel better having my own space again."
"Understandable. But what are you going to do about your career?"
"I don't know," she shook her head. "I mean we're supposed to be a duo but if we're not together I don't know what that means."
Before anyone could respond, the doorbell rang again. Confused, Rachel got up and opened it but frowned when she saw who it was.
"I know you don't want to see me," Puck said. "But I really need to talk to you."
"Go talk to Kitty. She'll be more than happy to listen I'm sure."
"Rachel please. This is important." She sighed before letting him in. When he saw Kurt and Blaine, he froze. "Oh I wasn't expecting you two to be here yet."
"Rachel needed us after what you did," Kurt replied, not hiding his disgust. "So we can't say we're happy to see you."
"Kurt calm down," Blaine told him. "Clearly they need to talk so maybe we should give them some privacy."
"No stay," Rachel told them. "After all, you two were here first and I'm hoping whatever he has to say doesn't take long."
Puck sighed. "Look I know you hate me right now but you're going to have to find a way to get used to seeing me."
"What are you talking about?"
"I just met with Will about the new…development in our partnership and he said it's not a good idea for us to break up and go solo. We don't have enough buzz for the label to sign us individually and we're still in our contract which says we have to deliver a full album. The EP doesn't count."
"Can't you guys buy yourselves out of the contract?" Blaine asked.
Puck shook his head. "No it's too much."
"How much is it?" Rachel asked. He pulled out his phone and showed her the picture he took of the calculation. "Oh crap."
"We have to see this thing through. You may hate me and I deserve it but this is our shot. We've been working for this our whole lives, we can't let our relationship get in the way."
"As much as I hate to admit this, Puck's right," Kurt followed. "Once you two get bigger, you'll be able to go solo and do everything you've ever wanted. But to get there, you have to deal with him for the time being as unfortunate as that may be."
"Thanks Kurt," Puck replied sarcastically.
Rachel groaned. "Fine I guess this what we're doing then. But let me make one thing clear: you and I are over. We may have to sing a love songs together but there's nothing between us anymore. You made sure of that."
Puck felt his heart break a little but he didn't want to let it show. Instead, he smirked. "Fine you're right. I messed things up but let me make one thing clear: I love you, Rachel. That hasn't changed and it's not going to. I'm never going to give up on us. We'll come back to each other. Maybe not now but someday we will. We've tried walking away before and it didn't work because our love is too strong. Just remember that."
Without another word, he walked out leaving Rachel standing there speechless. Unsure of what to do, Blaine hesitantly spoke. "Rachel? Are you okay?"
Snapping out of it, she nodded. "I'm fine. Let's go look at places."
The three of them left and looked around for places for Rachel to move into. While they were out, Rachel couldn't get Puck's words out of her head. He seemed like he was determined to get her back but she wasn't sure if that was something she wanted. Puck broke her heart and it wasn't something that could be repaired by words. Still, she couldn't deny that it felt nice to know he still loved her.
While they were out, Will texted her and told her to come to meet him at the label. She looked at Kurt and Blaine.
"Hey Will needs to see me. You think you guys can entertain yourselves while I go talk to him?"
"Sure go ahead," Kurt nodded. "We'll go get some lunch, just let us know when you're done."
She nodded before leaving and going to the label. When she got there, she found Will sitting in a room with Brody and his manager.
Will smiled. "Hey sorry to text on short notice but I thought you'd want to know about this as soon as possible."
"What's going on?" she asked, confused.
"Brody would like a duet with you to be featured on his next album," Brody's manager explained. "We know there's been some talk in the media about it but we wanted to make it official."
"I have a song prepared," Brody told her. "It just needs the perfect female vocals and I thought there would be no better person to do this than you. Especially since you do duets all the time."
Rachel thought about it. Before the only thing holding her back from doing a duet with him was her relationship with Puck but since there's no relationship anymore, there's no reason to say no. She nodded. "Sure I'd love to."
Brody smiled. "Great. Meet me at the studio tomorrow morning and we'll get to work."
As he got up and left with his manager, Will looked at Rachel. "You sure you want to do this? I know how against it you were before-"
"Before Noah cheated on me? Yeah well I have no reason to be against it now."
He sighed. "Rachel I know this situation sucks and believe me I wish you didn't have to go through it. But do you really think doing this out of spite is going to make it better?"
"Who said anything about spite? Look you said we're stuck together until we make an album and can prove to the label we can be successful individually. Doing a duet with Brody shows I'm versatile and can be paired with anyone if needed. I think that shows I'll be individually successful."
Not being able to argue, Will nodded in understanding. He could tell this wasn't going to be easy for Puck and Rachel but he hoped they could at least get to a place where they could be okay working together.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
When Rachel walked into the studio the next day, she wasn't sure what to expect. The only person she had been singing with until now has been Puck. Now she would be singing with someone completely different.
"This is so cool," Kurt smiled looking around the studio. "We're actually in a real recording studio."
Blaine looked at Rachel. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little nervous."
"Don't be," Brody said, walking in. "You'll be great."
"Brody hi," she smiled. "These are my friends from back home. This is Kurt and Blaine."
"Nice to meet you," he smiled at the two before looking back at Rachel. "Brought support huh?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah they're just visiting and they've been wanting to see what it's like to record."
"Well let's get to it then," he said, walking into the booth. "You got a chance to listen to the demo last night, right?"
"Yes and I love it. There's a lot I can do with it."
"Great just do your thing."
She nodded as they put the headphones on. Santana walked in and sat down before speaking to them. "Okay are you guys ready?"
"Yeah," they replied.
The music started and Rachel glanced at Kurt and Blaine who gave her a thumbs up before starting to sing.
Rachel Brody Both
The day I first met you
You told me you'd never fall in love
But now that I get you
I know fear is what it really was
Now here we are, so close
Yet so far, how didn't I passed the test?
When will you realize
That baby, I'm not like the rest?
Don't wanna break your heart
Wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared, it's wrong
Like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live
And there's no time to wait
To waste
So let me give your heart a break
Give your heart a break
Let me give your heart a break
Your heart a break
Oh yeah, yeah
Rachel took a breath as Brody sang his verse. It felt strange not singing with Puck and she couldn't deny that part of her wondered what it would've been like singing this song with him.
On Sunday, you went home alone
There were tears in your eyes
I called your cell phone, my love
But you did not reply
The world is ours if we want it
We can take it
If you just take my hand
There's no turning back now (There's no turning back)
Baby, try to understand
Don't wanna break your heart
Wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared, it's wrong
Like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live
And there's no time to wait
To waste
So let me give your heart a break
Give your heart a break
Let me give your heart a break
Your heart a break
There's just so much you can take
Give your heart a break
Let me give your heart a break
Your heart a break
Oh yeah, yeah
Puck walked into the studio and froze when he saw Rachel and Brody singing together. He couldn't believe that she was already singing with him and felt the urge to go into the booth and punch Brody in the face. Kurt, Blaine and Santana gave each other worried looks seeing Puck's expression as he watched Brody and Rachel sing to each other.
When your lips are on my lips
And our hearts beat as one
But you slip out of my finger tips
Everytime you run
Don't wanna break your heart
Wanna give your heart a break
I know you're scared, it's wrong
Like you might make a mistake
There's just one life to live
And there's no time to wait
To waste
So let me give your heart a break
'Cause you've been hurt before (Give your heart a break)
I can see it in your eyes (Give your heart a break)
You try to smile it away (Give your heart a break)
Some things you can't disguise
Don't wanna break your heart
Maybe I can ease the ache! the ache!
So let me give your heart a break
Give your heart a break
Your heart a break
Your heart a break
There's just so much you can take,
Give your heart a break
Let me give your heart a break
Your heart a break
Oh yeah, yeah
"Uh that was great you guys," Santana told them hesitantly.
When they finally turned to look at her, Rachel froze when she saw Puck standing there. She took off her headphones and walked out of the booth.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.
"Finn texted and said that he had some ideas for a song we can put on the album. I was going to call you and let you know but then I heard you guys in here. What the hell Rachel? We've only been broken up for a few days and you're already doing songs with him?"
"Wait you two are broken up?" Brody asked, surprised.
Ignoring him, Rachel glared at Puck. "Look I'm stuck working with you because that's what we signed up for. But I'm allowed to do songs with other people to build myself up to go solo someday. Hopefully someday soon so I won't have to keep working with a cheater."
"Okay that's enough," Santana cut in. "You two aren't going to get anywhere if you don't stop with the petty bullshit and actually work together. Puck I'm sorry but Rachel has a point. If you two hope to go solo someday you have to be able to show the label you can do it. And Rachel while it's understandable why you don't want to work with Puck you can't do shit like this to spite him. Do that and you're sure to get dropped from the label. Now everyone go take a breather while I get Finn in here so we can start listening to songs for this album."
Puck and Rachel nodded before walking out of the room as Santana sighed and shook her head. It looked like there was a lot of work to be done when it came to having these two work together. Clearly they had their work cut out for them.
Let me know your thoughts! Bye for now :)ite him. Do that to go solo someday you have to be able to show the label you'o i adphones and walked