Hello Everyone! I'm back and worked through some major writers block the past couple of days. But chapter ten is here! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to one of my fellow gleek friends, Maiqu! She's awesome :)
Review Replies:
Chelle2911: Thank you! Hope you enjoy it :)
Mrs. Lovett1: Don't worry, Quinn will be in it, promise :) I'm glad you are enjoying it otherwise so far. :D
Ravenwolf2089: Thank you so much :D
Maiqu: Thanks, Hope you enjoy this one :)
kkaty: Thank you for the review. I would hate to make you sad but I make no promises either way.
stardust923: Yes, I feel sorry for the boys too. They have no clue what to do with themselves about her but it will all be figured out, eventually. I like the name Cherryford too it made me happy lol. I guess I'm easily amused ;)
MegKate: Thank you! Glad you like it!
Judite: They will all be in it soon, Don't worry, I haven't forgotten them.
allielovesyou: I can't tell you that yet. You'll find out later though who she ends up with. I feel bad for Britney too but Rach is going to SYTYCD it's going to be her time to get to know Matt and Mike outside of the group. Thank you for the review :)
Firehottie: Thanks! Hope you enjoy :)
Now on to the chapter :D
The next morning, Rachel woke at 7 to her alarm. She went through her normal morning routine on her elliptical and then took a shower and dressed for the day. Walking downstairs she fully expected to be the first one up and responsible for breakfast again but when she got to the bottom of the stairs she could already smell the coffee.
Curious she walked into the kitchen to see who would be up so early on a Sunday. When she got in she saw Mike moving around her kitchen, making what looked like french toast and eggs. "MM that smells good" She said out loud, walking to the coffee maker to pour herself a cup.
"Good morning, Rach. Sleep well?" Mike asked, as he got over his surprise of being snuck up on.
"Mmhmm, very well thank you. You?" She asked, sitting down and taking a sip of her coffee.
Mike shrugged as an answer before making two plates up of the now finished food and setting one of them in front of her."Thank you, Mike. You didn't have to make breakfast though. I would have"
"No worries. You made it for all of us yesterday, I figured you deserved a break" He replied, grinning at her. She smiled in return before digging in.
"This is really good" She said a few minutes later, sounding surprised.
"Hey! Don't sound so surprised" He faked hurt as she rolled her eyes at his antics but laughed as well, he went on to say, "Mom used to work a lot so my aunt would come watch us. She taught me to cook and bake so if you're real nice I might make you some of my famous double chocolate chip brownies or my super amazingly awesome snicker doodles.
"Dude, don't joke about those unless your really making them" Matt stated, walking in on the last part of the conversation.
"Who's joking? We're getting kicked out today so I have nothing else to do but bake" Mike shrugged.
"I'm coming over" Matt immediately replied grinning.
Rachel was frowning though, "I'm not kicking anyone out. I didn't mean for it to sound like I was. You all are more than welcome to come back tomorrow it's just…"
Mike shook his head, interrupting her, "Rach, it was a joke. I was planning on going home today for a bit anyway. Besides, you'll never be able to miss me if I'm never gone right?" He asked with a wink.
That made Rachel giggle and Matt raise an eyebrow. Was Mike flirting? Matt quickly shook that thought away as ridiculous. He was just being Mike.
He made himself a plate then went and sat on Rachel's other side saying, "But seriously dude, are you making those brownies or what?"
Mike nodded his head, "Sure but they're for Rach so you'll have to ask her if she'll share"
Rachel cocked her head to the side, seeming to be considering it before saying, "Nope, sorry if they're as good as they sound then I don't think I'm going to be able to share" She was grinning as she said it.
"Except with me right?" Mike asked, pouting.
"Hmm..I guess since you're making them you can have one" Rachel agreed, grudgingly.
Matt was full on pouting beside her, "You're just kidding right?" He asked, knowing he sounding silly pouting over some brownies, but they were amazing and Mike hadn't made them since they all joined glee, claiming he had no time to bake or whatever.
Rachel patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, Matt. I'll consider giving you one as well."
Matt grinned at her, "What do I have to do to get two?"
Mike rolled his eyes at him but didn't get to say anything because Santana walked in, "Two of what?"
"Don't" Mike started but Matt had already said, "Chang's double chocolate chip brownies"
Santana's eyes snapped to Mike immediately, "You're making the brownies today? Brit and I were going to go get mani/pedi's but I think that just changed."
"Why is everyone making such a big deal about these brownies?" Rachel asked, confused.
"You'll find out tomorrow," Matt said.
"If we leave you any" Santana added, with a shook her head, as she saw Mike glare at Santana, but went back to her breakfast.
Soon after, everyone but Noah had made their way into the room."Does he always sleep this late?" Kurt asked.
Rachel nodded, "It's not unusual for him to sleep until noon or one if I don't wake him up."
They all shook their head at that, even though in reality, Mike and Matt usually slept that late too, they just weren't that comfortable at Rachel's yet. The rest of breakfast was full of playful banter and gossip. Eventually though, everyone was done and the dishes were all in the dish washer. The kitchen was cleaned and there was nothing left for the group to do but go on with the rest of their day.
Kurt left first. He gave Rachel a hug and promised to text her and Mike left next, Matt hugging her this time, before leaving out the door. Mike hugged her too, whispering, "Don't worry about the brownies. I'm making you your own batch" he then winked at her before following Matt out.
Santana cleared her throat, saying "Well, we better leave too before the beast wakes up and goes mental that we're still here."
Rachel giggled at that but nodded, "Go get your brownies, San. I'll see you at try outs tomorrow morning."
She gave both Santana and Britney hugs and then they left as well and for the first time all week she was actually alone.
She sat on the couch and turned tv on, ready to catch up on some of her shows on the dvr that she'd not been able to get to the past few weeks.
She turned on the Vampire Diaries finale, her guilty pleasure show, and curled up on the couch to watch. Her phone beeped, saying she had a text. She rolled her eyes, figuring it was one of her friends, who had just left but grabbed for it anyway.
She was surprised to see Quinn's name on the screen. She hadn't talked to her or even seen her since sectionals.
Quinn: I heard about the party and Finn, and saw the blog. Just wanted to say I was sorry and let you know I didn't know anything about it.
Quinn: Also, I know I've been awful to you but I was kind of hoping we could hang out sometime and maybe become friends. Up to you.
Rachel was, needless to say, confused. First off, she had no idea what blog Quinn was referring to, second she was curious as to how she had heard about the party and third she was confused on her sudden want for friendship.
Despite her confusion, she texted back.
Rachel: I'm busy today but perhaps we can meet sometime later this week and see what happens.
There, she thought, that seemed polite and reasonable and also gave her a way to question Quinn more about what she was talking about later this week.
She returned to watching Vampire Diaries, putting the questions out of her mind for the moment. Once she finished the finale, she looked at the time and realized it was already 11. She decided it was time to wake Noah up.
Upstairs, she knocked on Noah's door and as she expected, got no answer. She pushed the door open and walked in, seeing him sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep still. He looked so peaceful and innocent, much different then when he was awake. She almost didn't want to wake him up but she walked up to the bed.
"Noah," She said, shaking him a little.
"Hmm" He muttered, half asleep.
"Noah, time to get up" She said, shaking him a little harder.
He blinked his eyes open looking up at her, sleepily, "Too early" He replied before turning over to go back asleep.
"It's 11 and I need to ask you something so wake up!" She ordered.
He was mumbling under his breath, cursing no doubt, but he slowly sat up, glaring at her. "What sane person willing wakes up before noon on Sunday?" He growled at her.
She just looked at him, expectantly.
"Well?" He said, "I'm up what do you need to ask that's so important it couldn't wait an hour?"
She glared at him, "If that's how you're planning on acting today then I'm going to just head over to Mike's where everyone else is and not wait until tomorrow to get a brownie" She snapped, turning to walk out.
"Mike's baking his brownies today?" Noah asked, instantly sounding happier.
She twirled around and glared at him.
He threw his hands up in surrender, "I'm sorry alright. You know I'm not my best when I get woken up."
She still glared, saying nothing.
He pouted at her, "Come on, Rach, I said I was sorry. I didn't meant to snap at you. Forgive me? Please!" He whined.
She sighed, "Fine, and yes, Mike's making brownies. He said since I kicked him out, he had nothing better to do then bake. Then everyone heard about it and they all, except maybe Kurt, headed to his house and he promised to bring me some tomorrow."
His eyes lit up, "We get brownies tomorrow?" He asked, excited now.
"I get brownies tomorrow and what is so special about these brownies that has even you and Santana drooling over them? They can't be that amazing"
Noah swung out of his bed and walked over to her, throwing an arm around her shoulder and shaking his head in an all knowing way, "You'll see tomorrow and take that back. I promise. Now what did you need to ask?"
They walked out of his room and she turned to him, "I got a text from Quinn"
His face instantly turned hard, "What did she do now?" He asked, voice low and full of anger.
Rachel shook her head, "No, she wasn't mean"
Now confused, he waved her on to continue.
"She just said she heard about the party and Finn and wanted me to know she had nothing to do with it and wanted to know if we could hang out sometime and maybe become friends."
Now his eyes were widened in shock. "You're sure this was Quinn Fabray? Maybe someone stole her phone or something"
"No, I'm pretty sure it was Quinn" Rachel replied, trying not to laugh at his shock.
"Well, that's weird and all but I haven't heard a question yet" Noah replied, shaking his head at the thought of Quinn 'head bitch cheerio' Fabray trying to be friends with Rachel 'glee queen' Berry.
"How did she hear about the party and also she said she saw 'the blog' and was sorry but I don't know what blog she was talking about. Did Jacob post something that I didn't know about?"
Noah cursed under his breath, "damn it, Fabray" before looking up at Rachel, "Um, for the record I was going to tell you today"
She instantly narrowed her eyes, "What did you do?"
"Let's go sit down before I start this" he said, before walking down the stairs away from her angry stare. He wasn't going to bring this up until much later today. He had wanted to have some time with his best friend, without that hanging over them but leave it to Q to screw that up. Sure it sounded like she had good intentions but it still messed with his plans.
When they were both seated on one of the couches downstairs, Noah turned to her and said, "Before I start, promise you won't say anything until I finish."Rachel cocked an eyebrow at him but finally nodded and waved him to continue.
He told her everything that had happened this weekend, from the time Mercedes sent Kurt the text to them showing up at her house for movie night. He saw her face go from shocked to anger to something he couldn't read to tears all in the span of him telling the story.
"Rach?" He asked, after the silence between them had stretched for about five minutes.
She looked at him, but didn't say anything.
"Come on, say something."
"I don't know what to say, Noah." She finally replied.
"Are you mad at me? At us?"
She frowned at that question, "I'm not sure how I feel. You all were running around doing this damage control or whatever yesterday, for something I wasn't even aware of, even though it was very much about me. You and Matt resorted to violence, which you both know I abhor. You all, except Britney, lied to me about what was going on and even though all of that happened and I should be furious, I can't help wanting to cry because you guys went though all of that trouble for me. It's completely ridiculous but I don't think I'm mad at you, as much as disappointed that you didn't tell me about it sooner and I had to learn about it from Quinn of all people."
"Like I said, I was going to tell you today. We didn't want to tell you yesterday because we wanted to give you a day off since the party had just happened the day before and you were upset about what Finn had done. I wanted you to have some fun with you friends, we all did. I told them I'd tell you today."
She nodded, "I guess I can understand your reasoning, but don't ever keep something like that from me again. I don't care that you think your protecting me, I'm not going to be so forgiving next time"
He grinned at the word forgiving, knowing he was in the clear, and opened his arms "Yes, Ma'am now come here"
She laughed and went into his arms, hugging him. They stayed like that for a few minutes, quiet, both lost in their own thoughts.
Rachel was thinking about how, despite the fun she had been having this past week with her new friends, she was really happy to get some alone time with her best friend.
Noah was thinking about how it was great to have her in his arms again and about how much he had missed her this past week. Also, about how lucky he was that it wasn't one of her drama queen days otherwise he would have been in for a serious lecture about all that went on the day before and would not be sitting here like this now.
Sighing, Rachel pushed herself away from him a few minutes later causing him to look over at her, cocking an eyebrow in question.
"What were you wanting to talk to me about Friday? Before the party?" She asked, looking at him now.
Noah sighed, "You know when I said I wanted us to hang out again, talk and whatever, I didn't mean for all of the talking to happen right after I woke up or all at the same time, you know"
Rachel shrugged and gave him a small smile, "Might as well get it all out of the way so we can spend the rest of the day doing other fun stuff"
"Other fun stuff? Such as?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.
Her only answer was to slap him on the arm and say, "Start talking"
He laughed at the slap, "Alright, alright, you win but I'm expecting fun stuff after, remember that."
She rolled her eyes and waved him to continue.
"Um, Friday, honestly I was just upset about the same stuff as I said yesterday. You know, how we hadn't had any time together at all this week. I'm used to having you to myself, Berry, I don't like sharing" He joked.
"That was all? Really? You seemed pretty upset."
She didn't look like she believed him…at all and he wasn't about to tell her the other thing that was bugging him was the fact that she was really cozy with Matt that day because that made it sound like he was jealous and Puck? He doesn't get jealous.
'but maybe Noah does' a little voice in his mind said but he quickly cut it off and shrugged, "That was all that really mattered"
She frowned at that but nodded, "If you say so, anything else you need to tell me?"
"Nope, I think you never hanging out with me is about it" He replied, smirking.
"I do to hang out with you!" She exclaimed, "I've seen you almost everyday this week."
"It's not the same and you know it" he replied, but smirked so she knew he wasn't actually upset
She knew he was halfway teasing her but she still frowned, thinking about it. He had just opened his mouth to say he was teasing when she said, "How about we make Sunday our day? That way one day a week it can be like before. We can catch up and watch the latest movies and everything like before and no one else will come over that day"
He raised an eyebrow, not expecting that. "I don't know, Berry. If you give me my own day they might all want one" He joked but couldn't keep the grin off his face.
She noticed the grin and gave him one of her own before replying, "Nope, you're the only one with their own day." She seemed to think about that for a second, "Well maybe if the brownies are as good as everyone keeps saying and Mike brings me some every time he might be able to get a day"
Noah laughed before saying, "And what do I have to bring to keep my Sundays?"
She thought about that before answering, "You have to feed me to keep your Sundays because right now, I'm starving"
Still laughing, he nodded agreeing, "Where do you want to go?"
"Breadstix?" She asked.
"This early?"
"Noah, it's noon. Meaning lunch time"
"If that's what you want, sure let's go" he shrugged, jumping up and holding a hand to help her up, which she accepted.
They both got their shoes on and headed out to his truck, Rachel skipping down the drive. Noah helped her into his truck and got in, starting the truck before saying, "You seem awfully happy for all that's been brought up this morning. Something I should know about?" He was half joking/half serious, unsure how she could have been so moody twenty minutes ago and now grinning like a Cheshire cat.
She looked over at him, still grinning, "Nope, just we got all the serious stuff out of the way and now I'm just looking forward to today. It's feels like I'm going to be able to relax for the first time all week."
"So you're just using me as an excuse to get your rest, I get it" He joked.
She rolled her eyes but didn't reply, just looked out the window, smiling.
He pulled into the Breadstix parking lot and helped her out. They walked in, ordered and despite her saying she could pay for her own, Noah paid for hers and his, "You told me I had to feed you to keep my Sundays, remember?" He joked as he carried their food to their table.
She didn't argue anymore, just slid into the booth and grabbed her food from the tray."So, what'd you tell Q when she texted you?"
"Oh, I told her I was busy today but that we could meet up sometime later this week."
"Oh" was all he said, before going back to his food.
"What?"
"Nothing, it'll be good if you two can be friends"
"Yes, it would be nice, but what are you actually thinking?"
He looked away from her, shrugging.
"Noah?" She pushed.
"I don't know, I guess if you two are friends, I was thinking, you'd be able to tell me more about the baby" He shrugged as if it didn't matter to him either way.
She knew better, "Noah, have you tried talking to Quinn lately? At school, whenever I do see her, she's alone mostly. Maybe you should try again"
"I have tried!" He snapped, "Every time I try and talk to her, she cuts me off and tells me to leave her alone."
"I know you've tried. What I meant was that she may feel differently now. It's worth trying again, don't you think?" She asked, gently, not wanting to upset him more than he was already.
"You really think she might have changed her mind?" He asked, sounding a little hopeful but not like he really believed it.
"Noah, she text me asking me to be friends. Me, Rachel Berry, the girl she's tried to make miserable for the past two years. I think a lot of things have changed for her."
He seemed to think about that before nodding slowly, "You might have a point."
She grinned at him, "So you'll talk to her?"
He nodded, "After you hang out with her, so you can figure out if she really might want me too"
"Deal" She nodded, realizing he was right and it might be smart to find out if Quinn would be receptive before sending her best friend into that."I have cheerios try outs tomorrow and if I get in, which San seems to think is a give in, I'll have practice tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday after school and there's Glee on Thursday so I guess I'll see if she wants to go somewhere after school Tuesday." She got her phone out and text Quinn.
Rachel: [Quinn] Do you want to go get a shake or something after school on Tuesday?
The response was almost instant, as if she had been waiting by her phone.
Quinn: That sounds great. See you then.
Rachel looked up at Noah, "There. I'm going out with her on Tuesday and we'll see what happens from there."
He smiled at her, the real smile that he seemed to have only for her, "Thanks Rach."
She reached over and grabbed his hand, "You know I'd do anything for you, Noah but this is truly no problem."
He squeezed her hand, "Same goes for me, you know"
"You'd do anything for you? Yeah I know" She joked, as she pulled her hand back.
He rolled his eyes, "For you, crazy. Anything for you."
He gave her another quick smile, before standing up picking up the tray, now full of trash, "Ready to go?"
She nodded, getting up and following him to the door. He got rid of the tray and they left. Once back in the truck, she turned to him, "Now where too?"
"Back to your house? We could watch movies and whatever."
She nodded, "Sounds good." She agreed and away they went.
At home, they both walked up to her room, he jumped onto her bed, "Your pick first, then Fight Club" He said, laying back, hands behind his head as she rolled her eyes.
She grabbed Rent, figuring if he was making her watch Fight Club, he could sit through a musical first.
Something caught her eye as she grabbed Fight Club, "Oh, I almost forgot" She exclaimed, grabbing a bag off the floor.
She handed him the bag, grinning."What's this?" He asked, confused.
"Open it! It's your present from yesterday"
He opened the bag and inside were a couple of things.
One was a keychain with a picture of the two of them in it. They had taken it at a fair that had come through here a couple weeks ago and they were both laughing, arms linked. It was a great picture of the two of them, she had had a keychain made for herself as well.
He pulled it out looking at it, a little smile playing on his face even as she said, "You don't have to use it if you don't want, I know it's more of a girly thing but I couldn't resist and we had a lot of time yesterday while you guys were off doing damage control so I had one made for each of us…"
"Berry, chill" He said, interrupting her, "It's awesome. Thanks" He grinned at her then, pulling his keys out of his pocket and hooking the keychain on in front of her.
She smiled back at him, "You're welcome now open the rest of it"
He saluted her, reaching back in the bag and finding a Fight Club t shirt and a special edition version of the movie with cut scenes and all of the extras.
"Have I told you that you're the coolest chick I know?" He asked, seriously.
She grinned at him, "I know I am, now, Rent time!" She exclaimed, clapping before putting in the musical.
Noah groaned, "I might have to take that comment back"
She mock glared at him, "I might have to return that dvd" She shot back as she climbed into the bed beside him.
He moved his presents out of the way and pulled her in for a hug before they both moved so they could comfortably watch the movie.
"Just kidding, Berry. You know you're awesome. You don't need me inflating your ego."
She snorted, "I think you have us confused. You're the one with the huge ego, Puckerman"
He laughed with her then they both turned to watch the movie, things just like before.
'well almost like before' she thought to herself
Fifteen minutes into the movie, Noah turned to her, "So Berry, wanna make out?"
'There it is, now it's just like before,' Rachel thought, laughing to herself even as she shook her head, "Watch the movie, Puckerman"
Alright, sorry it's been a week but I'm back and here is a Puckelberry Chapter, as promised. Next chapter will have some more about their day as well as Cheerio Try outs. Quinn has made an appearance and for those of you who have been asking about her, yes she will play a pretty big role in the story, now. Tina will be back soon as well as the other glee kids. A lot will be going on in the next couple of chapters, this was just a time for Rachel to relax before jumping back into the drama that is her life. I hope everyone enjoyed it! Next chapter will be up soon hopefully! Have a great weekend!