At 2am on a Saturday night, Puck was woken out of a deep slumber by the ring of his cell phone. Puck looked at it and saw it was Rachel…then he noticed the time.
"Rachel! Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I'm fine! I'm out with Tina and Mercedes and we went out to sing karaoke at this place and people just started buying us these fruity drinks because we're the best singers here and they are delicious and it's so much fun here!"
"Okay, wait, so you're not hurt or anything."
"Nope, we're all in superb health."
"Then why are you calling me?"
"I missed you."
Puck heard a chorus of "aw" in the background.
"Alright, Berry, where are you? I'm coming to get you."
"There is no need for that, Puck. We're going to take a cab back to Tina's house."
"Berry, it's late, you're all drunk. Just tell me where you are."
Suddenly, Puck heard Mercedes' voice on the phone.
"We're at this place on the corner of 5th and Jefferson. They're having karaoke night…you'll probably be able to hear it from outside."
"Alright, I'll be there in twenty. And, um, try to keep Berry out of trouble. I'm sure she's critiquing everyone's singing and drunk people singing karaoke tend to not like that."
"Sure thing, lover boy."
"Shut it, Jones. I know where you live."
Puck grabbed his jacket and left his house quietly so as to not wake his mother. A blast of cold air hit him as soon as he stepped outside. Shit, I'm freezing…Berry is damn lucky that I like her so much. Puck opted to not linger too long on that thought because he knew if he did that he'd end up on a path that wasn't easily retreated.
About 15 minutes later, Puck found himself across town in a not-so-nice part of town. The first thing he heard when he walked in the building was a god-awful version of "Pour Some Sugar on Me". However, the first thing he saw was Rachel, Tina, and Mercedes dancing the hell out of the song next to the karaoke singer. All three girls looked amazing tonight, but Puck couldn't drag his eyes away from Rachel. She was wearing skinny jeans, black boots, and a black sleeveless top that showed off her boobs. Puck felt himself getting hard just looking at her. All of a sudden, Rachel caught sight of Puck and ran away leaving Tina and Mercedes dancing. She flung her body at him into a hug and luckily did not seem to notice the presence of 'little Puck'.
"Noah! I'm so glad you came! Do you want to hear us perform? We're quite impressive."
Rachel was even drunker than Puck had anticipated. He grabbed her hands to stop her from bouncing around
"I think it's best if we get you home, Berry."
They retrieved the other two girls and then they waited by the front entrance of the bar, while Puck brought his truck around. When he arrived back, he noticed a skeezy-looking guy totally hitting on Rachel. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to realize the way he was looking at her…like he was a wolf staring at his prey. He was staring at her boobs, and while Puck couldn't blame the guy for that…she had nice boobs…he could just tell that this guy was only after a quick lay.
Puck sauntered over and put his arm around Rachel, pulling her into his side.
"Sup, friend?", the slimeball asked.
"Nothing, friend. I hope you're not hitting on my girl here."
"Your girl? She's dressed like she's ready to get it on with a stranger tonight."
Puck pulled Rachel to stand behind him and curled his fists tight and puffed out his chest.
"If you like your face the way it is, you better just walk away. My girl always looks hot…for my eyes only."
The other guy gave a smirk and just walked away.
Puck grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her towards the truck, as Tina and Mercedes followed quickly behind.
"What was that, Puck?"
"Just get in the truck, Berry."
When she didn't move fast enough for his liking, he threw open the passenger door and hoisted her into the truck. Mercedes and Tina jumped into the backseat as the truck roared to life.
Neither Mercedes nor Tina dared to speak, so silence reigned in the truck for five minutes until Rachel's quiet voice spoke.
"Are you angry with me, Noah?"
"Yea, Berry, I'm pissed at you. You seriously need to be more careful. Do you realize what that asshole wanted from you, huh? "
"I'm sorry. I just didn't realize…", Rachel trailed off as tears began to stream down her face.
Puck pulled the truck over. He took a deep sigh, turned towards Rachel, and lifted her chin with his finger.
"I'm sorry, Rachel. I shouldn't have yelled. It's just that the idea of you getting hurt was upsetting to me."
Rachel smiled at him and softly said, "Thank you for caring about me, Noah."
Puck grunted and responded, "Whatever, Berry."
But then Rachel placed her small hand on top of his and he smiled quietly to himself. He began to put the truck into drive when she quietly addressed him again.
"Do you think I'm dressed like I'm ready to get it on with a stranger tonight?"
"Berry, you look hot. Any guy who has eyes would want to get it on with you tonight. But that doesn't mean you're a slut."
Puck put the car back in drive and ignored the fact that he had turned his hand so that his fingers intertwined with Rachel's. Suddenly, he remembered that there had been an audience for their little conversation when he caught sight of Mercedes and Tina in the rearview mirror. Mercedes was staring wide-eyed at the front seat, while Tina had her hand over her heart with a dreamy look at her face.
"What are you two looking at?"
And Tina, who had never spoken to Puck in her life before and was under the influence of a little liquid courage, just exclaimed, "That was the most adorable thing I've ever witnessed!"
Puck's eyes became dark….he was a stud and studs don't do adorable.
Mercedes slapped her hand over Tina's mouth. "Um, she meant adorable in the most badass way possible."
Puck just shook his head….drunk girls.
"Where the hell am I driving, anyway?"
Mercedes gave him directions to Tina's house. Puck looked to his right and saw that Rachel had fallen fast asleep. And as the truck sailed along under the starry sky, Puck found himself gazing to the side more often than someone driving should be. Her hair shone in the moonlight and her fingers remained intertwined with his. As she let out a small sigh, he realized that somewhere along the way, things had changed.