A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with this story! I love every single review, favorite and alert that I get! They always make me happy! I know that the Nationals episode was...what it was, but I made my Nationals a little different so I hope you still like it:) Read and Review pretty please with cherries on top! Also, thanks to everyone who didn't mind Puck threats the last chapter lol.

And I own nothing of Glee.

Chapter 10

Puck woke up to feeling of emptiness. Rachel was gone and judging by how cold the sheet was, she'd been gone for a while. He decided that grumpy would be his attitude for the day since his only ray of sunshine was currently missing. He looked at the time and saw that it was only seven o'clock. He'd never been up this early, even during the school year. Pulling the covers back, he started to head for the shower. After waking up Rachel-less and cold, the hot water made him feel less deserted. He didn't know why she had left and maybe he didn't want to. He just hoped she wasn't feeling guilty about last night; he knew she still had feelings for Finn. Finn! He groaned. Puck had forgotten about the promise he made to Finn right before the championship game. But it looked like Finn had moved on with Quinn, so that made it okay…right?

XOXOXOXOXO

Rachel had woken up at six to work out since that's what her body was used to. She desperately needed to clear her head and exercise was the best way for her to do that. She hadn't had a chance to be by herself and so much had happened over the course of two days that her head felt like it was going to burst.

Not taking the time to change, she took her room key from Noah's jeans before kissing him on the cheek and made her way down to her former room. It had already been cleaned, but some of Rachel's clothes had been put back into drawers. Standing in the middle of the room, Rachel's mind began to put together pieces that didn't seem to fit. "How did they do it?" she muttered to herself. She remembered that the only thing that seemed to be missing was her and Kurt's book bags, which confused her the most since she only carried her notes from Glee and some random thoughts in it. Rachel kept thinking about things that seemed random, but somehow were connected. It was maddening to try and make the pieces fit. It almost seemed like two different people broke in with different intentions- one taking the book bags, the other messing up the room. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head as she was grabbing random scraps clothes that were intact.

Racing down the stairs, Rachel couldn't believe that she didn't see it before. Stopping in front of Kurt's room, she hesitated momentarily before knocking.

"Rachel!" he said in complete shock.

"I'm sorry if I woke you" Rachel said quietly.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm an early riser. What's going on?"

"Do you remember what was taken from our room?"

Kurt thought for a moment before answering. "Our book bags and your key. Why?"

"I had a moment of clarity when I was standing in our room. Don't you find it odd that out of everything valuable we left out in the open, the only that was taken was our book bag?"

"And your key." Kurt added.

"Yeah, about that- I didn't lose my key" Rachel admitted. Kurt stared at her as though the light bulb hadn't quite gone off, but was warming up. "I left it in Jesse's room." Rachel saw the light go off in Kurt's head, followed by a loud gasp.

"You don't think..?" Kurt asked quietly. Rachel was nodding before he even finished the question. "You think he messed up the room too?"

Rachel was stumped on that one. "I don't know" she said uneasily. She saw Kurt's disbelief etched across his face. "Let's ask him." She turned on her heel and stormed down the hallway.

"Rachel!" Kurt called as he followed her. "Rachel, you can't go ask Jesse dressed like that." He took in Rachel's t-shirt and noticed that it was more like a boy's shirt than something Rachel would own. "Speaking of" he said, grabbing the material. "Whose shirt is this?"

Rachel swatted his hand away and continued down her path with Kurt walking briskly beside her. "It's Noah's. He let me borrow it since I didn't have any."

"How convenient" Kurt teased, earning an annoyed expression from Rachel. "Wait, where you going?" he asked when Rachel bypassed the elevator.

She stopped at the doorway and sighed. "Jesse's room."

"Yes, but why aren't you taking the elevator? It's quicker."

"Not always" she retorted. "It's a long story Kurt and I promise to tell you later but right now, I'm in a hurry." She raced up the stairs with Kurt in tow. "I can't believe I couldn't see it before! I had a feeling about it, but it didn't click until now." She stopped abruptly at Jesse's door and banged on it as loudly as she could.

"Rachel" Jesse said in utter shock. "Uh, Hi. Is everything ok?"

"Where's my keycard?" Rachel demanded. Even though Jesse looked surprised, Rachel knew from personal experience that he could be quite the actor when he needed to be. "Jesse, I know you have it because you used it to break into my room."

"W-What?" Jesse stammered. "What are you talking about? I didn't break into anything."

Kurt scoffed loudly, "Fine. You used it to enter our room."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rachel stormed into the room and looked around so quickly that she almost didn't notice Kurt's and her book bag in the corner. She gave Jesse a glare and snatched it from its resting place, along with her keycard that resting on the dresser. "I can't believe it. Strike that- after what happened last year and then last night in the elevator, the only thing I can't believe was how stupid I was to believe that you had feelings for me." She turned on her heel but barely made it to the door before Jesse grabbed her arm.

"What are you talking about Rachel?"

"Quinn, Noah and I got stuck in the elevator with Shelby last night. Quinn told me she overheard you and my mother talking about how you were going to close to me so I could meet her."

"And you believed her? Rachel, of course she's going to say that. You hate each other."

"Is it true?" Jesse stood there, swallowing his answer. Rachel shook her head but refused to cry. "Is. It. True?" she demanded.

Jesse sighed heavily. "Yes. It's true. But that doesn't mean I didn't have real feelings for you."

"How do I know that? I'll never be able to trust you again and if you don't have trust, you can't have a relationship." Rachel shook her head slowly, trying to shake the memories away. She glanced up to see Kurt looking how she felt and she realized that her relationship with Jesse didn't just hurt her, it hurt her friends. Steeling herself, she turned to look the bushy haired boy in the eye. "Goodbye, Jesse."

XOXOXOXO

"Rachel?" Kurt asked calmly as they walked slowly down the hallway.

"Yes?"

"What happened with the elevator?" Rachel gave a slight chuckle and filled him in on what happened. "Oh my God!" Kurt gasped. He had sat open mouthed from beginning to end. "Rachel Berry said a curse word!" Rachel laughed loudly at his expression. "You think he's telling the truth about the room?" he asked without warning.

Rachel just shrugged lightly. "Maybe. I mean, he isn't exactly the Hulk and you saw the bathroom- it was like someone took a sledgehammer to the place."

"True. So any ideas who it was?"

"None. You?" Kurt shook his head no and Rachel blew her hair from her face out of frustration. "Wait, shouldn't security know? I'm sure they have cameras."

"If they saw anything strange, wouldn't they have told us by now?" Kurt observed.

"I would think so." Rachel was tired of thinking of the room situation. Besides, the only reason she was actually upset was because ninety eight percent of her wardrobe had to be thrown away. She needed to change the subject because she was starting to get frustrated again. "Noah ripped my underwear." She blurted out. She saw Kurt's eyes widen and then brighten with amusement. "Before you get the wrong idea, we didn't have sex."

"Then why did he rip your underwear?"

Rachel stifled a laugh at the memory of Noah holding up two pieces of cloth. "He got impatient when we were…making out." Kurt's eyebrow popped up, letting her know he didn't believe her. "Ok, fine! He-" Rachel didn't know how to finish the sentence without sounding vulgar.

"Ate you out?" Kurt suggested. Rachel squealed and brought her hand to her face to cover her eyes. Kurt laughed loudly as they entered the stairwell. "Rachel, are you embarrassed?"

"Yes and no." she huffed. "I am because I can't believe it happened and I'm not because it was incredible- except for one part." She saw her male counterpart's face encouraging her to continue. "I couldn't let go."

"Why?"

"I think I was scared." Rachel said more to herself, than Kurt.

Kurt gave her a curious look. "Scared of what? Puck?"

"I think it's what I become when he's around. You know what I mean?"

"Um, no."

"Oh come on. Surely, you must feel something whenever Blaine is around."

Kurt considered her suggestion for a moment. "I feel happy. Like everything's going to be okay. Is that how you feel with Puck?"

Rachel bobbed her head left to right, trying to decide if that was it or not. "Well yes and no. He does make me happy when he's not infuriating me but there's something else, something that makes me feel uninhibited and out of control. I can't decide if I like it or not." She opened the door to the first floor, letting Kurt in so they could part ways.

"Well if you want my opinion, which I know you do," he offered as he grabbed the bag that Rachel held out, "I think you should stay with him. Not only is he gorgeous, but he's a good guy underneath all that alpha maleness he has. He seems to really care about you and I think that given the chance, he could really be good for you. After all, everyone needs a little risk in their life, otherwise there's no point in living." He gave the tiny brunette a quick hug. "I gotta get back before Artie wakes up. He's an early riser too and I don't want him to worry." The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Rachel to wander up the stairs.

XOXOXOXOXO

Puck walked out of the bathroom and yelped when he saw Rachel sitting on his bed, as though she had never been gone. "Sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Rachel chuckled softly and took in the view of Noah in a short towel. After a quick fantasy about him ripping it off and doing dirty things to her, she looked to see a worried expression on Puck's face.

"You okay? I woke up and you weren't here."

"Yeah. I was just picturing you na-" Rachel tucked her lip into her mouth and tried to hide her horror stricken face. She saw Noah grinning from ear to ear in an obnoxious manner and it made her blush even harder. "I-I meant to say that I went to get some clothes and then talked with Kurt. I thought I'd be back before you got up. Sorry if I worried you."

Puck waved his hand in a careless manner. "It's okay." He made his way closer to the spot where she was sitting, still in his shirt. "So you're thinking about me naked" Puck chuckled. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one having that picture right now." He kissed her lips softly and was momentarily stunned when Rachel pulled him into a tight hug. And not one of those 'I want to be romanced first before you ravage me' hugs; it was an 'I need to be held' hug. Rachel brought him in closer and he nearly stumbled onto the bed from the force of her embrace. "Whoa Berry. You trying to choke me?" When she didn't respond, he caressed her arms gently. "What's wrong?" he picked her up from the bed and wrapped his arms around her back. They stood there for a few moments as he rubbed circles on her back.

Rachel felt the hurt from having Jesse confirm that he had been lying during their entire relationship come back with a vengeance when Puck kissed her. Before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around his neck, clinging with all her might. She felt safe whenever he was near and right now, she really just wanted to be comforted. "Nothing, I just want to be held for a little bit." She hated that she sounded so needy, especially after what happened with Finn, but dammit she didn't care.

"Well let me get some shorts on ok?" Rachel shook her head no, making him laugh. He carefully led her arms back to her body. "Get comfortable. I'll be out in a second."

Rachel loathed the loss of contact when he unwrapped her arms, but instead of pouting, she climbed back into bed. She knew when Noah was back from the bathroom from the force of the mattress being pushed down. She could smell his scent and it reminded her of those romance novels she read where the man always smelled of man and spice and musk. She never understood what that meant until now and to her surprise, she found it rather intoxicating. "Noah?"

"Yeah babe?" he whispered into her neck.

"Don't tell anyone but I'm kinda nervous about tonight."

"Why? You always rock the house. I'm the one that should be nervous."

"It's my first time singing without Finn, and even though I know you and I sound much better together, it's like a partnership that I've had with Finn for two years is gone now." she half turned her face to where his jaw rested on her cheek. "Why are you nervous?"

"I've never sang by myself at competition. Its nerve wracking; I don't know how you do it." Puck was surprised that he wasn't annoyed about her Finn comment. Perhaps it was because she was referring to him as a singing partner and not a lover. Besides, he couldn't stop her from wanting to be friends with Finn; they were in Glee club so they were always going to see each other.

"There's nothing to be nervous about Noah. This solo is long overdue for you." She could feel his lips turn into a smile and it put her at ease. " By the way, why were you up so early?"

"I got cold from being Berry-less" he teased. "And I couldn't go back to sleep so I took a shower" he explained. "How long have you been back?"

"Not that long. But I feel bad that I worried you. I should've let a note or something but I never thought you'd be up by now."

"Rach, its okay. I promise. You're obviously upset so just relax and go back to sleep." He could feel her breathing start to even out before he finished his sentence. He breathed in her French Vanilla scent and closed his eyes, falling back to sleep. This time, he tightened his hold around her to make sure she stayed put.

XOXOXOXOXO

"Noah, wake up." Rachel's gentle voice woke Puck from light sleeping.

"What's wrong? Is it time to go?" he asked. He stretched as much as he could, watching as Rachel swept her eyes over his body. "Or did you wake me up for another reason?" he smiled.

Rachel smirked at his suggestion and turned her body to face him. "I have something to tell you and I don't want you to get mad." Puck's face fell into exhaustion. Apparently he'd had enough of the drama also. But after finding out that Jesse had lied to her during their entire relationship, she decided she was always going to be honest. "I went to see Jesse" she could see his eyebrows begin to rise. "Before you get upset, it's not what you think; I had an epiphany so Kurt and I went to see if my assumption was correct."

"Two questions: What's an epiphany? And what was your assumption?"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel continued. "An epiphany is like when the light bulb goes off in your head and my assumption was that Jesse broke into our room." She was carefully observing for any sign of anger but only saw curiosity in his hazel eyes. "It turns out that he used my key that I left, to get into the room and steal our book bags."

"Why would he want your book bag?"

Rachel pursed her lips and knit her eyebrows together. "I don't know. I forgot to ask that."

"So is that why you were upset when you came back?" Rachel nodded slowly. "What'd else did he say?"

"That Shelby told him to get close to me."

"But, you already knew that."

"Yeah I know, but it was different when he told me, you know?" Rachel pulled her knees into her chest as she sat up. "As long as he denied it, so could I. But I guess he got tired of being a liar and I got tired of being lied to." She crawled over to where Puck was leaning against the headboard and rested her head on his shoulder. "I keep thinking about the guys I've known and so far, the only one I can think of that's never lied to me is you." She looked up into his intense stare and suddenly, she couldn't remember what she saw in Finn or Jesse that made them special.

Puck was surprised that not only was he listening to Rachel; he actually cared about what she had to say. Usually the only conversation he cared to have was when a girl was telling him what to do in the sack. But something about Rachel touched him where he rarely let anyone in- his heart. Maybe it was because deep down, he knew Rachel was the only person who had ever believed that he could be something other than a Lima Loser. He captured her lips with his and with a sweep of tongue along her bottom lip, she granted him access. He deepened the kiss as much as he possibly could and let his hands roam over her body.

Rachel didn't mind when Puck wanted to deepen the kiss; it was exactly what she needed. Within a matter of seconds, she had forgotten about the alarm clock until it rang out with a shrill. She was reluctant to break the kiss, but apparently Puck (for all his reputation) couldn't hold his breath nearly as long as Rachel could. "Thank you" she whispered.

"You're thanking me for kissing you? That's new." Puck rested his forehead on hers and tried not to get too excited.

"That too" she chuckled. She pulled her head back so she could see him better. "But I meant for everything, especially for being my friend. I know I can be difficult, but you have no idea what it means to me."

"Rachel," Puck cleared his throat. "You know I hate that lovey dovey shit so believe me when I tell you that I will always be there for you, no matter what." He put her face between his hands so he could look her in the eye. "I know that I can be difficult too because I fuck up a lot but I respect you. You take the brunt of everyone's insults and I can't imagine how hard that must be and I promise that I will never stand by and let them talk to you like that again. I give you my word." He wiped a tear that was falling from her eyelash with his thumb. Just as he went to kiss her, his phone buzzed with an incoming text. He reached over and quickly scanned the words. "You hungry?"

That was random. Rachel blinked rapidly, "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Kurt wants to eat but no one will go with him" he climbed over Rachel (which earned him a glare when he "accidently" groped her breasts) and started to get dressed. He looked over and found Rachel still in bed. "Berry, come on. I'm fucking starving."

"I have a problem."

"What?"

"I have no clothes. I've been wearing your shirt all morning."

Puck stared at her with amusement. " 'All morning?' Jesus, Berry how long have you been up?"

"Since six." She flipped the covers off and headed toward the bathroom.

"What the fuck for?" Puck couldn't remember the last he was up that early. Well that one time at Santana's party, but that was like, two years ago.

"It's part of my routine" Rachel defended. She was in the process of brushing her teeth with the toothbrush the hotel provided when she saw Puck's boxers clearly for the first time. "Really Noah? Sponge Bob?"

"Hey, he's a sponge that can talk. Besides, I've seen some of your underwear and you got some Powerpuff Girls shit going on."

"There's no need to curse Noah. And how on earth do you know what a Powerpuff Girl is?"

"I do have a younger sister remember?"

"That doesn't answer my question." She narrowed her eyes at him in jest and saw him hang his head.

"My mom makes me do laundry ok?" Puck blushed slightly after his admittance. It wasn't badass to do something as girly as laundry. Rachel laughed and it reminded Puck of when she got drunk. That laugh was his favorite; it meant that she was feeling carefree. He made a mental note to get her into a club before this trip was over. But knowing Rachel, it was going to have to wait until Nationals was over.

"That's adorable" she noted. She saw his face fall into a scowl and it made her laugh harder. "Don't worry, it's our little secret. Just like my one Powerpuff Girl pair of panties." Puck's smile made Rachel's heart skip a beat. She bounced her way to the bed and watched as he finished getting dressed; hating every second of him covering up his hard earned body.

Puck stared at Rachel, thinking of what clothes she could wear. It was true that the only clothes she had left were the ones that were stained with sweat and she couldn't wear his because they would fall off her. "Why don't you ask San or Brittany for clothes? They should be close to your size."

Rachel wrinkled her nose in uncertainty. "I don't want to look cheap."

"You won't look cheap" Puck chuckled.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Have you seen what Santana wears? Actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know."

"Well it's not like you have a lot of choices here Rach. You need clothes, unless you want to walk around New York City in nothing but a shirt." Rachel seemed to be mulling over his words as she sighed heavily.

"Fine. But if I come out wearing something that comes from the red light district, you can't say anything" Rachel warned.

Hm. Puck thought. Didn't think of that. "You know what? I'll come with you." He grabbed his wallet and jacket and headed toward Satan's room.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

"No fucking way!" Santana said sharply. "I don't want to catch some hobbit disease!"

"Santana please?" Rachel pleaded. She wasn't surprised to hear the Latina revert back to her old ways, as though their talk on the bench never existed. After all, Santana did warn her not to get used to it. "I promise it's only for the day." Santana glanced back at Brittany before deciding. She jerked the door so that Rachel could enter but stopped Puck at the entrance.

"What the hell San?"

"Give me a minute with Stubbles." She let the door close in his face before walking to Rachel. "Ok, Rachel. Here's the deal: I lend you some clothes and you take me shopping with you to pick out new ones."

Rachel's face contorted in an expression of pure confusion. "What? Why would you do that?"

Santana gave a non committal shrug before handing her a dress. "I owe you one" Rachel's face was still showing confusion. "Just trust me ok? I'll explain everything later. Now, try this on." She handed the petite brunette her tight, red dress that emphasized her curves and a pair of black flats. "If it doesn't fit, we'll try something else. Go!" A few minutes later, Rachel emerged from the bathroom. The dress wasn't quite as tight or short since Rachel was tinier both in size and shape but it still made her look good. "Damn Berry. You sure you don't want to switch sides?"

Rachel blushed deeply. She hadn't expected her to look good in the dress, especially after seeing how much Santana filled it out but she was pleasantly surprised that it fit really well. "Thanks for the offer but I'm good with the side I'm on."

"Now that's a shame." Brittany quipped.

Rachel was smoothing the dress out the entire she'd been out of the bathroom. "Don't be so nervous. He'll love it. In fact, I bet you won't even make it through the day without him fucking you."

"God, you and Noah are so vulgar!" Rachel reprimanded. "And no thanks. I'm not quite ready for that; although I do need to thank you for something later." She smiled at the tall Latina as she headed for the door. "Thanks for the dress and shoes." She left the room before Santana could ask anymore questions.

"Fuck Berry!" Puck breathed. He hadn't been expecting her to come out looking like that. "What are you trying to do? Give me a boner?"

"That wasn't my intent, and despite the vulgarity of the words, I'll still take the compliment" she beamed. "Now, are we going to eat or not? We only have a couple of hours before we perform and we need to practice at least a little."

Puck continued to gape at her as he led her lead down the hallway and stairs. "Don't worry babe, I'll get you back in time."

Kurt was waiting in the lobby and squealed when he saw Rachel. "Why are you dressed like a vixen at eight o'clock in the morning?"

"Do you like it? It's Santana's."

"Ah, that explains the vixen part" he observed. "And yes, I love it. Red is your color." He gave her a hug, noting that Puck hadn't taken his eyes off Rachel's ass the entire time. "Puck?" he snapped his fingers to wake him up.

"Oh, uh- hi Hummel."

"Well hello to you too. Shall we dine? Because I'm famished."

"Where we going?"

"I saw this little bistro down the street that's open. They have organic food as well as other stuff so I thought maybe we could go there?"

"Sounds good to me. What about you Noah?"

Puck heard his name and dragged his eyes from Rachel's body. "Uh. Yeah sounds great."

XOXOXOXO

An hour later, they arrived back at the hotel to find the Glee club lounging around in the foyer waiting for Mr. Schuester to talk.

"Ok guys," Will called out. "I know we don't have to perform until tonight but I thought we could go see the competition."

Rachel jumped up and down eagerly. "Vocal Adrenaline's performing in a few minutes so I say we go now."

"Do we have to?" Tina whined. "It's nine o'clock and they said that we didn't have to come to all the performances."

"And she wonders why she never gets any solos." Rachel whispered to Puck.

"Ok guys, let's go." The students filed out slowly to the street and began hailing cabs.

Rachel felt Kurt pull her into a cab. "I know what Jesse took from my bag."

"What was it?"

"The sheet music for tonight." Rachel couldn't believe it. No way could this happen to them twice. It wasn't possible.

"If he did, we're so screwed." There was nothing else for them to say. They just crossed their fingers and hoped to God that Jesse didn't do what they think he did.

XOXOXOXO

Rachel and Kurt arrived last and slowly made their way down the aisle to where Puck had saved them seats. "Bout time" he murmured.

"What'd we miss?" Kurt asked. The auditorium was filled with people chattering and mingling during the intermission so he didn't feel guilty if he was a little loud.

"Nothing much; just a group of girls singing some rap song." Puck hadn't been interested in anything but scanning the entryways for signs of Rachel. He noticed how agitated both singers seemed to be the moment they walked in. "What's the matter with you two?"

"Nothing." They answered together. Puck pursed his lips together, obviously not convinced at their attempt to lie.

"Kurt," Rachel whispered. "We have to tell them. If Vocal Adrenaline is doing our set list, it's going to be worse if it's a surprise."

"And what if they aren't? You're going to get yelled at for leaving your key in Jesse's room and I'm going to get yelled at for not paying attention to where my bag was." Kurt reasoned. "I say we wait to see." The moment he finished his sentence, the lights went down and the announcer introduced Vocal Adrenaline. "Here we go." He muttered.

Rachel wasn't tense until she heard the opening chords to As Long As You're Mine. She and Kurt looked to each other at the same time. She was so angry, that her nails were digging into her armrest.

"What the fuck?" Puck's brain registered the music a second later than Rachel. "They've got our set list!" When he saw Rachel's eyes bearing down at someone across the walkway, he followed their path. "That fucking asshole." He ground out. Jesse was staring back at Rachel with an arrogant smirk. It was all Puck could do not to walk over to where he was and punch the shit out of the kid. He saw Jesse's smirk turn into a lustful one and that pissed him off. Only he could look at her like that. He grabbed Rachel's hand and squeezed to keep himself seated.

"We need to go, like now." Kurt whispered urgently. He and Rachel pushed Puck out of his seat. Kurt looked behind him to see the rest of New Directions storming out after them.

They got out into the foyer and didn't have to wait too long to see the doors fly open for the rest of the Glee club. Rachel and Kurt were standing off to the side as chaos broke out among their friends. Puck was standing in front of Rachel in case Santana decided to try something.

"What hell Rachel?" Finn yelled. "How did they get our set list?"

"Finn, I had the set list, not Rachel." Kurt defended. "Someone stole it from our room."

"Who?" Mr. Schuester demanded.

"Jesse" Kurt answered.

"Would you care to explain how our rival team just happened to have the sheet music?" Will tried to act calm but wasn't succeeding. Kurt couldn't blame him.

"He had my key." Rachel interjected before Kurt could explain. Rachel looked up and saw nothing but glares from everyone except Kurt and Puck. "After I got dressed, I went to talk to him and I accidently left it on his dresser before I came down yesterday."

"Well that's just great! Thanks to Rachel's obsession with Jesse, we're done!" Quinn huffed.

"We're not done" Rachel said in a determined voice.

"Vocal Adrenaline is singing our songs! And it's all because you left your key in Jesse's room! Do you not realize how royally screwed we are? All of our hard work is down the drain because of you."

Puck stepped in front of Quinn and glared. "You know something Fabray? Maybe you gave it to him." Everyone stared at him like he was crazy. He turned to Rachel, "He didn't confess did he?" Rachel shook her head.

"Rachel and I went to his room this morning to confront him and guess what?" Kurt stepped forward next to Puck. "He had no idea what we talking about. He looked as though we were telling him that Les Miserables had never existed."

"And you believe that jerk?" Finn asked.

"Jesse may be a great actor, but he's not a good liar." Rachel observed. "I don't know why he had Kurt's bag, but I know he didn't take the music." She lowered her eyes to stare at Quinn. "That means someone else did." She and Quinn glared at each other even when Mr. Schue started talking.

"We can't focus on that. What we need is a new set list and we need it now."

"I have a back up one." Rachel offered.

"What is it?" Kurt asked before Will could. Everyone was holding their breath, hoping that it wasn't all Phantom of the Opera.

"The duet and solo is from Moulin Rouge due to the theme we choose and I wrote a song on the way here."

"Who cares? Let's get started." Santana suggested. She saw everyone staring at her. "What? I wanna win this thing!"

"Ok, Puck and Rachel get started on the duet and Rachel- please tell me you still have that song somewhere."

"It's back at the hotel."

"We have a couple of hours before we have to perform but we gotta get that music to the orchestra. You think you can arrange it?"

"It already is."

"Wow" Will admired. Thank God. "Well, we have a lot of work to do so let's get going." The group ran out and fortunately, traffic was light.

Rachel jumped out of the cab before it even stopped rolling and ran as fast as she could to Noah's room. She flew down that stairs after making sure she still had her song intact in the notebook and handed it to Mr. Schuester. "I wrote a couple of copies just in case I lost it."

"Great, Rachel. Ok, Brittany, Mike? You think you can think of a routine?"

Brittany and Mike gave each other a worried glance but nodded anyway. "We'll try our best." Mike offered.

"It's going to have to be better than that." He handed everyone a copy and told them to at least memorize the words. "Puck, Rachel. Get started on that duet."

"Yes, Mr. Schue." Rachel grabbed Puck's hand and ran back up the stairs. She rushed into the room and put her Moulin Rouge cd inside the DVD player attached to the tv. "Ok, just listen to it first and get the words down. Then we'll work on the rest."

Puck listened Come What May for what seemed like the millionth time before he shut off the tv. "Let's try it acapella." Now he was even more nervous than before. At least with the other song, Rachel led in, but now it was him that had to get everything perfect.

The first couple of run throughs were rough because Puck couldn't get the timing down, but Rachel tried to help by showing him how to count it out. She knew that it was just his nerves that were getting to him and she couldn't blame him; he hadn't sung in a while and he had never led into a duet, much less in a competition. After several more attempts, Puck seemed to ease into the lead and got the timing just right so Rachel tried to fix the choreography. It wasn't her coming out first anymore, but him since he opened.

Puck was getting frustrated at the choreography. He was supposed to stand here, then move there and then stop and then move again. "This is ridiculous. I'm gonna fuck up I just know it." He groaned, moving to sit on the bed.

Rachel sat next to him and gently laid her hand on his. "Noah, contrary to what you think, you're not a screw up. You're a wonderful performer and I'm extremely proud to be singing this song with you."

Puck smiled when she repeated what she had said so long ago after he had performed his first solo. Her confidence in him boosted his self esteem and suddenly, he was ready to take on the world. "Ok. Let's do this." He pulled her up and started from the top.

XOXOXOXO

It had been a chaotic few hours as New Directions practiced and changed routines. Mike and Brittany did a great job of coming up with a simple routine for the group but something more complex for the pair of them and Rachel and Noah were set with their number.

The girls grabbed their outfits from Carol's room as the guys gathered theirs from Will and the headed back to the theatre.

Puck had gotten dressed relatively fast and was soon growing bored with the conversation in the men's dressing room. He made his way down to the no admittance part under the stage (and being the badass he was, he admitted himself anyway). As he explored under the stage, he peeked out and saw someone familiar. He scanned his brain for a name to identify the face. He knew that it was a famous person, because he'd seen her face on a picture in Rachel's room. He was trying to recall all the people Rachel was pointing in the pictures when her name popped up suddenly. He quickly made his way to the women's dressing room and knocked. He opened the door to see everyone dressed but Santana.

"Puckerman! Get out!" Santana hissed.

"Relax, Satan. It's nothing I haven't seen been before." He turned his attention to Mercedes, "Where's Berry?"

"I'm right here." She had been leaning against the far wall behind everyone.

"Come on. I wanna show you something." Puck grabbed her hand and let her out of the chatty room. He brought her down some stairs, a dark hallway, and around a few corners before stopping at his previous position. He carefully moved the curtain a little so Rachel could peek out.

Rachel wasn't sure what she was supposed to look for. "What am I supposed to be seeing here?"

"Look in the last seat on the right of the fifth row."

Rachel scanned the row until she found what he pointed out. "Oh my God." She breathed. "Patti LuPone." Puck smiled at her glowing face. "How did you know who she was?"

Puck shrugged carelessly. "You've got her face spread all across your bedroom, Rachel. Did you think I didn't pay attention?"

Rachel threw herself at him and gave him a hard kiss. "I've got to tell Kurt!" She grabbed his hand and started to run. "Um Noah? Where are we?"

"Just follow me." He led the way back to the guy's dressing room and Rachel burst through the door, scaring half the guys.

"Kurt! You're never going to believe who I just saw!" She didn't give him a chance to breathe before continuing. "Patti LuPone!" She jumped up and down with Kurt as he squealed out of delight.

"Where was she? Did you talk to her?"

"I saw her when Noah brought me under the stage. She was right there!"

"Oh boy." Kurt clapped. "Now I'm nervous." He chuckled.

"Don't be. We're gonna kill it." Puck assured him.

Mr. Schuester knocked on the door and announced it was time for places. Rachel gave Kurt one more hug and encouraged him, then took Noah's hand as they walked toward their place at the back. "Hey, Kurt" Finn called. "What's going on with Puck and Rachel?"

"If you can't see it, maybe you shouldn't ask." Kurt suggested. He watched as the couple walked down, holding hands and couldn't help but smile at them.

XOXOXOXO

"Just take a deep breath" Rachel gently said as she fixed Puck's tie. "Just watch me and don't pay attention to the other people." He blew out a breath and she could feel how fast his heart was beating. "Noah, you have to relax. You're going to hyperventilate if you don't take a moment to breathe."

Puck sucked in the air around him. She was completely off base as to why he was nervous; it wasn't the song- it was her. Singing the song with her and letting the words take over, he felt as though he were going to burst if he didn't say something. He looked down and saw her fixing his tie again. She looked so beautiful that he couldn't hold it in any longer. "I love you Rachel."

Rachel stopped messing with his tie and blinked at him. Last time a guy said that in this situation, it didn't turn out so good. Of course, she cheated on him with the guy who was currently telling her that he loves her. She inhaled deeply when she saw that he was completely serious and there wasn't a hint of anything less than love in his eyes.

Moments- both good and bad- were flashing in her mind and she realized that Kurt was right; Puck was full of risk and she shouldn't have ever fallen for him, but she did. They were all kinds of wrong for each other and being in a relationship wouldn't make sense, but maybe that's why it worked. And for the first time in her life, she knew the risk of being with him would be worth it. "I love you too."

Puck's cheeks were burning from smiling so wide, but he didn't care. Rachel had just told him that she loved him. He brought her in for one of those breath taking kisses just before the music started.

As Puck made his way down the aisle, Rachel quickly made her way back to her spot. She listened to him sing and it made her heart stop. She came out on cue and saw there was no one else around but Noah. They walked to each other and grabbed the other's waist, spinning them around so they landed on the opposite side of where they started out.

They sang to each other with everything they had until the music stopped. They were only a few inches away from each other, but the applause broke the spell. The rest of New Directions made their way on stage and the second song started.

After they finished the second song, the music for Rachel's solo started and New Directions stood in the wings.

Rachel made her way to the microphone that was placed in the middle of the stage and began.

I follow the night
Can't stand the light
When will I begin to live again

She looked over to the wings and let her eyes wander to Finn and Quinn before turning back to the spotlight.

One day I'll fly away
Leave all this to yesterday
What more could your love do for me
When will love be through with me
Why live life from dream to dream
And dread the day when dreaming ends

She grabbed the microphone from the stand and slowly walked toward the audience, but didn't see them. Finn, Glee, McKinley, Lima, her past, future, Noah, Broadway; they were what she was really looking at.

One day I'll fly away
Leave all this to yesterday
Why live life from dream to dream
And dread the day when dreaming ends

One day I'll fly away
Fly, fly away