Heyyyy Guys! Wow, I can't believe that this is the tenth chapter of Save money Live Better! I remember sitting in my room; contemplating on whether this story was even going to be good and here I am! Thank you guys so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Enjoy!
~Vikki3775
"So the point of this bogus assignment is to "find one idea that the store can use in order to gain back customers." Santana read off the computer in front of her. She turned around and faced Brittany. "I honestly don't know what crawled of Mr. Schue's ass, but he need's to get it out. This is a terrible idea."
"Not really Santana." Brittany sat in the seat next to her. "Don't you remember what you asked me before I decided to work at Walmart with you?"
"Ummm..no?"
Frowning, the blonde girl said, "I really don't remember either. But what I do know is that I joined because I wanted to be closer to you." She grabbed the latina's hands and smiled at her. "Think about it. Not only will we get a raise for our idea, but we'll be famous! Once people start liking our idea, they'll be asking, "who created this idea, I want to know them!" Then, I won't have to deal with Lord tubbington going on my back about which plate goes to which customer at the diner! It'll be a win, win situation!
Santana looked unsure. "I don't know about this Britt."
"Well, we already have some fabulous ideas written down." She gestured towards the piece of paper in her best friend's hands. "All we have to do is figure out ways that we can complete our ideas, and how we can convince the others to go along with it. Come on Santana, please?!"
For a moment, the brunette looked at her warily, but then smiled. "How did you become so smart?" Brittany jumped up from her seat and hugged Santana.
"Yes!"
"Knock, knock."
"Oh. Hey Rachel."
"Hey? That's all you have to say? I've been calling you for the past few days and you haven't called me back or text me!" The petite diva said exasperatedly as she made her way into her best friend's apartment. He turned towards her.
"Well, I'm sort of busy with the project, you know, the one that you're partners with Puckon." He emphasised the name. Recognizing this, she turned around and cringed.
"Oh, you heard about that?" She took a seat on his couch and looked up at him.
"Of course I did, but what i'm not happy with is that I had to find out from the two biggest gossips in Walmart, not you."
She frowned and tilted her head slightly to the side. "Santana and Brittany?" He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand.
"No, Kurt and Mercedes, but that's not the point."
"Well what is the point?" She looked more alarmed by his tone of voice. "I have to report to you when something happens all of the time? We're just partners Finn, if that's what you're wondering."
"I-I know that." he groaned. "It's just.." He sat down next to her and looked at her. "..Puck's got this rep, you know? Of hurting people; using them." he grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly. "I just don't want that to happen to you."
She smiled. It warmed her heart how much he cared for her. "I get that you want to protect me Finn, but Puck is a good guy." He scoffed. "No he is! You should know yourself, since he's your best friend."
"No, you are." He corrects.
She shakes her head and then smirks knowingly. Finn gives her a confused look. "What?"
"I know what this is about." she says. "You're jealous."
He gasped; his mouth gaped open. "What?!" He started laughing. "Rachel, what makes you think that i'm jealous of you and Puck? You're just partners."
She nodded. "Yeah, but even when you found out you got mad for no reason." He sighed and smiled.
"Rachel, I was upset with you, because you didn't tell me." Still smirking, she nodded.
"Okay, suure." She stood up from the couch and faced him. "Well, I was going to come here so we can hang out but…" She sighed dramatically. "...since you aren't jealous of me and Puck, i'll just be on my way to meet with him." Standing up, Finn strided fast to where she was standing.
"No! Wait, Rachel we can hang, I mean it's-"
"No, I actually promised to meet Puck at five, so I might as well make it early."
"But it's twelve o'clock." he said sadly.
"So?" she said curtly as she ended the conversation with a close of the door. Leaning against it, she sighed. If that's how he wants to play it, then fine. She loves games.
"Alright, alright! I'm coming, damnit!" Puck yelled as he marched over to the door that was banging as he spoke.
"What!" he greeted harshly as he swung open the door. Looking down, he watched as Rachel's eyes widened in surprise and in slight fear.
"U-Um." She stammered. "I-I was just wondering if you…" She gulped as she stared at his bare chest, a nipple piercing showing it's great prominence. She stared back up at him "...wanted to start working on our project. You know, for work."
"Oh Puck!" A sickenly sweet female voice cooed suddenly. "Are you coming back to bed?"
Slightly cringing at the pointed look that he received from the brunette across from him, he gave a small sheepish smile and said, "One sec, Princess."
Closing the door, Puck rushed into his bedroom to find one of his many customers seated on his bed, stark naked, with an expectant, seductive look on her face. He sighed and ran a hand through his mohawk.
"Yeah, Jessica?"
"It's Maddie." she corrected.
He nodded. "Right. Well, MaddieI sort of need you to leave, like, right now." Her smile faltered.
"Wait, why? Was I not good enough?" Puck groaned in the inside at the rhetorical question.
"Yes you were, but you need to leave. Here i'll help you with your stuff." He reached down and picked up her slightly ripped clothes from his carpet and handed it to her. As she put her clothes on, he walked out of the room and picked up her stiletto heels, before walking back into the room and shoving it into her hands. Grabbing her arm quickly, he gently pulled her towards the front door, and opened it, mindful of Rachel watching from across the hall.
"Okay, well I hope you enjoyed the little sneak peak of the "Puckzilla express", the elevator is to your right and I hope you travel home safely. Bye Maddie."
"Wait, I need my pur-" Not letting her finish, Puck slammed the door in her face before walking over to his couch, picking up his red shirt and sniffing it quickly before putting it on. By the time he opened the door again, Rachel stood before him with arms crossed, pursed lips and a defiant look in her eye.
"Noah." He sighed.
"It's Puck, sweetheart. Come in." He gestured towards the inside of his dingy apartment complex. Sighing, she stomped past him into the room, unaware of the mohawked boy staring at her ass. She turned around.
"Puck, what the hell was that about? I thought you wanted Quinn?"
"I do Rachel, it's just.. the Puckerone has needs that need to be met." He started moving his hips in a seductive way. "I'm like a sex shark. If I don't move, I die."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Noah, but you don't get it. What makes you think that Quinn's gonna want to be with you after she finds out how you treat woman?" He scoffed.
"News flash Rach. She already knows!"
She stared at him exasperatedly. "Exactly! Don't you want to change the way that she thinks of you? Don't you want to change your reputation?"
"Rachel, no one in their right mind would want to change their reputation. Including you." She shook her head.
"That's not true. If something, or a someone, was worth it enough, a person would work to change their reputation. You've just gotta want that person enough." Frowning, Puck stared into space, thinking about what she said.
Sighing, Rachel picked up her purse that was seated on his kitchen table. "You know what?" She asked quietly. "Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe we should just do our own projects." She started to turn around.
"Wait!" He gently grabbed her shoulder and made her face him again. She rose her eyebrows in expectancy.
He sighed. "Alright, i'll do it. I promise not to have anymore random hook-ups. I want Quinn to give me a chance, a real chance."
Smiling triumphantly, Rachel touched Puck's arm. "That's great Noah! As soon as you know it, you two will be engaged to be married!"
"Woah, woah, woah." He shook his head. "You're going a little too fast there, Princess." She nodded slightly.
Grinning, he ruffled her hair.
"Hey!" She protested.
"You're not that bad my 'Jewish American Princess'. We might actually get along." She beamed back at him.
"Now, i'll be on my couch with my beer if you need me." he said as he took a seat on the slightly stained furniture. She gasped.
"Get over here now Puckerman!" He laughed as he stood back up.
"-So that's the idea we're going with." Finn said happily. "Uh.. Quinn?"
"Huh?" The blonde said dreamily as she stared into the people greeter's confused eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She cleared her throat, straightened up in her seat and twirled a piece of hair around her finger for the tenth time. She smiled wide at him. "You know, I think this project will be the best out of all. Don't you think, Finny?"
He cringed. Only his mom and Rachel call him by that name. When they say it, it's nice; almost like coming home. But when she says it, he really just prays to god that she doesn't do it again.
"Uh..yeah." He stood up from the couch. "I'm gonna go get something to drink, do you want anything?"
"Yes, can you get me some bubbly water?" He stared blankly at her.
"Uh..I-I only have tap water." He rubbed the back of his neck. Quinn smiled.
"Oh it's okay. Don't worry about it." Nodding slowly, Finn turned around and walked towards the kitchen, mouthing to himself, "bubbly water?" before opening the fridge.
Looking at the contents in his fridge, Finn spotted one drink that he forget he had.
Virgin Cosmos.
"Hey Quinn, I've got some Virgin Cosmos, you want that?" It was quiet for a few moments as Finn waited for a response. Finally, he got, "Um..yeah, sure."
Frowning slightly, Finn fetched himself a beer and grabbed the bottled pink drink before walking back towards the couch.
Hearing, the people greeter's footsteps get louder, Quinn pressed send on his phone and quickly put it down back where it was, just before Finn appeared back in the living room.
Frowning, Finn noticed her jittery movement, before shrugging and giving her the drink.
"Thanks." She eyed the bottle strangely. "Um...why is the drink pink?"
Finn laughed. "I knew I recognized this drink somewhere!" She stared at him blankly. He stopped laughing and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Usually when Rachel comes over here to hang out, she brings these, because she say my fridge is filled of only, and I quote, "Budweiser, orange juice and spoiled pasteurized milk." He imitated her voice as the blonde sipped the drink. But once she heard the brunette's name, she spit the drink out and it sprayed...all over Finn's shirt.
"Eww! Hobbit drinks this drink?!" She shook her head in disgust. " No wonder it tastes bad." It was then that she looked up and saw Finn; his white shirt covered in the pink liquid. She gasped rather dramatically.
"Oh, Finny I'm so sorry." She apologized. He grimaced at the name. She stood up. "I'll go get a towel-"
"No!" He said rather quickly and loud. "I'll- I'll go change my shirt." Turning around and walking down the hallway to his room, Quinn watched his retreating figure for a moment before returning to his phone and picking it up; smirking at the response she got.
"This is going easier than I thought." She muttered happily.
"See ya at the finish line T.C-squared!"
"Hey n-no f-fair! I can't a-accelerate on this thing!" Tina laughed as she tried her best to make the handicapped scooter go faster.
By the time she caught up to the four eyed boy, he was right in front of the magazine section, flipping through the pages of a "People" magazine.
"Hey, did you know that Prince Harry and Princess Kate named their newborn daughter Charlotte?" He asked casually, a cocky smirk on his face.
"How d-did you... w-wheel so f-fast?" She panted; staring at him in awe.
He laughed and pulled his sleeves back. "You see these guns?" He asked as he flexed his "biceps" in front of her face. She laughed.
"S-Shut up."
After a moment of laughing ended, Artie said, "We really should be working on our project right now."
She nodded. "Yep."
"But, we already know what we're gonna do. I'm gonna give free software and technology "how to" sessions while-"
"I-I'm giving free f-flu shots." She finished. He smiled.
"Plus, we both know we're gonna win, I mean with you being a Pharmacist and all, and-"
"-You being the best technical specialist ever, they won't stand a c-chance." She finished again; smiling at him as he blushed, looked down at his lap bashfully as he pushed up his glasses.
He looked up at her softly. "Hey Tina?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever notice that when you're excited or passionate about something, you stutter less?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly as she turned pale. "Really? I-I didn't k-know that." He nodded.
Suddenly, he rolled even closer to her so that they were face to face. He smiled at her as he turned red. "S-So Tina, I-I was wondering if you w-would-"
"J-Jeez, Artie you're sounding like me now." She joked, earning a nervous chuckle from him. She smiled at him encouragingly.
"W-What I was trying to say was...would you like to go on a date with me?" He said quickly, closing his eyes tight in fear of the answer. After a moment of not receiving one, he opened them, seeing his best friend smile wide.
"I thought you'd never ask."
"Hey Finn."
"Sup Matt. How's that arm doing?" Finn asked as he patted the usually silent guy on the shoulder. He shrugged one of his shoulders.
"It's hanging in there." He joked as he swung his arm slightly back and forth in his sling.
Finn laughed as he patted him on the back, before making his way towards the staff room.
"What the fuck?!" Noah yelled as he read the text message.
"Language Noah!" Rachel chided sternly. He rolled his eyes.
"Why the hell would he text you this? I thought you guys were cool."
She sighed and said, "That's what I thought too, until I got this message Saturday afternoon." She pointed at the screen.
"I mean, what did I do wrong?" She asked quietly, her voice cracking. Puck pulled her into a hug and sighed.
"Nothing Princess. Nothing at all." He said as he looked over his shoulder at a certain someone who was glaring daggers right back.
Finn didn't know what happened. One minute, he's greeting Mr. Shue as his boss heads in his office to make a phone call and the next, he's watching Puck of all people, hugging Rachel, his best friend. Glaring at his ex best friend, he decided at approach the lovely "duo".
"Hey guys." Finn said tensely as he approached them. Pulling apart, Puck turned around and glared at him, Rachel looking down at her lap. Noticing the tear tracks on her face, he became extremely concerned.
"Rach? What happened? Are you ok?"
Without responding to him, she looked up at Puck and smiled weakly. "I'm gonna go do inventory with Santana and Quinn. See you later, Noah." She sniffled.
"See you short stack." He leaned down and gave her another hug, kissing her forehead in which very much caught the people greeter's attention.
Puck shot him another glare before standing up also and walking past him. Confused, Finn caught up before he left the room.
"Puck." He turned around and frowned.
"What?" He snapped.
"What the hell was that about? What happened to Rachel?" He scoffed.
"Don't give me that bullshit Hudson. You're not thatdumb. Oh wait, maybe you are? I mean, that's how you skim through women, right?" Finn narrowed his eyes.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He hissed, fists clenching at his sides.
"It means-" Puck pushed him back sharply. "- that you're so dumb you don't even know which direction is right or left." He pushed him again. Finn's nose flared.
"Oh really? Says the guy who had a two point one as a high school G.P.A!" Finn shoved him backwards. "I mean really dude? You're the one to talk! You couldn't sit in class for two minutes without farting your answers." He shoved him again.
"Oh god." Kurt said, his mouth wide open.
"T-This isn't good." Tina shook her head quickly.
"Never in my life have I seen both Puck and Finn fight before." His eyes widened as he watched Puck push Finn again. "Is it bad that I don't want it to stop?"
"Not at all, honey." Mercedes piped in, grinning and fanning her face dramatically.
"Now, will you just tell me what's wrong with Rachel?!" Finn hissed as he pushed him again.
The mohawked boy shook his head, smirking. "You know what? No. I'm gonna let you figure it out. Just like you "figured out" your issues with your famill-" Before Puck could even finish, Finn's fist connected with his jaw in a quick motion, landing him on the floor.
"Woah, woah, woah! Stop it! Guys, cut it out!" Sam finally cut in as he pushed them apart. That was when Rachel, Quinn and Santana decided to walk in.
"Oh my god!" Rachel gasped hands over her mouth. "What happened?"
"Can't you see that they had a fight, treasure trail?" She sneered as she looked at the scene, a mischievous smirk on her face .
"You guys are lucky Mr. Schue wasn't here to see this. You'd be suspended for sure." Sam said, frowning.
Rachel rushed over and Finn stood a little straighter, expecting her to examine his damaged hand. But, she didn't. She went to Puckinstead.
"Jeez Noah, I leave you for fifteen minutes and this is what happens?" She asks sternly, slight humor in her voice. She softly touched his now bruised cheek.
He shrugged. "Yep." She shook her head, grinning before she says softly "Let's get you you some ice." She flickered her eyes slightly at Finn, before grabbing Puck's hand and leading him out of the staff room.
Things were silent and tense as Brittany stepped into the room suddenly.
She smiled, oblivious at everyone's mixed facial expressions.
"So?...What did I miss?"
There you go guys! Wow! So much drama!
Don't forget to give me your reviews and go ahead and share with your family and friends..I mean, what the hay?
I'll see you guys later, bye!
~Vikki3775