Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.

A/N: Thank you so much to my beta, Heather! (Bookgurrrl)

A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

A/N3: Keep in mind, within this AU... There is no Puck/Quinn, no Finn/Rachel, Quinn is NOT pregnant at all, Puck's dad never left when he was a kid and Puck will be OOC so yes, totally AU, though you'll see similarities to the episodes.

...

As their plane leveled out and Noah glanced at his girlfriend, "so what did you talk to your dads about last night?" He asked.

She bit her lip and glanced at him, giving him the quick summary of their discussion about her possibly trying to graduate a year earlier.

"So you want to graduate a year early?" He asked, making sure he understood what she was telling him.

"Yes," she nodded, "if I can, I don't see a reason for me to take two required classes my Senior year and a bunch of ones I don't need, just to be there all day."

He thought for a moment and took her hand, "it's a good idea, I mean, if it's what you want to do. You're right; kind of pointless to take two real classes and a bunch of random ones just to make a full day, but I think your dads might be a little shocked, given that we're dating now and it could be seen as you doing it for us."

"I didn't know of the program before, but I always wished there was a way I could graduate early, so this is an option. I want to try it; I'm pretty sure I'll get in and it would benefit our relationship because I'd be moving to New York at the same time you would be going back," she explained.

He nodded, "yes, but babe, I just want to make sure you're not doing it just for us, because we could make it work for a year, but if it's what you want to do," he squeezed her hand, "I won't try to talk you in or out of it, I'll support whatever decision you make," he promised kissing the top of her hand as they settled into their seats.

Rachel smiled and leaned over pressing a kiss to his lips, "thank you, Noah."

"You're welcome," he replied.

Sitting next to his son, there was no way Ethan could not hear their conversation, but he kept quiet; that was something the young couple needed to discuss, and as a father, Ethan understood David and Alan's concerns for her trying to finish school early, but it wasn't his place to jump in, so he pulled out his iPhone and started listening to it, giving them a little privacy.

Noah looked to see his dad listening to music, so he turned back to his girlfriend. Shifting in his seat, they chatted for the first leg of their flight; a little over an hour after takeoff, they landed in Chicago to refuel and once they were back in the air, the couple, along with his dad, settled into their personal music for a nap on the way to Los Angeles.

...

About an hour before landing, Rachel woke up from her nap and looked out the window, seeing the sun shining and blue clear skies. Noah and Ethan were asleep, but she wanted to be closer to her boyfriend, so she shifted in her seat and leaned her head on his shoulder, hoping she didn't wake him up.

Feeling someone touching him, Noah stirred and opened his eyes, looking to his right to see his girlfriend leaning against him. "Hey, have a good nap? He asked pulling his ear buds from his ears and slipping them and his phone into the pocket on his hoodie.

"Yes," she nodded lifting her head, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," she replied, "I just wanted to..." she blushed.

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, "it's okay. I don't mind," he assured her, shifting his arm so he could take her hand in his as he pulled his phone back out to look at the time.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"About five-thirty at home. About two-thirty LA time," he answered, "we should be landing in an hour, you might wanna get your camera out," he admitted.

Rachel reached for her bag and dug through it, "I can't believe we're going to be in Los Angeles soon," she commented, "I have never been to the west coast before."

A grin tugged at his lips, "even though we are only going to be there for less than forty-eight hours, I hope I can give you a memorable time; in a good way," he replied slipping his arm around her shoulders.

"It already is; just going to the premiere is going to be memorable, in a good way; going anywhere else will just be an added bonus," she explained.

...

As Los Angeles got closer, Rachel was glued to the window, trying to take a few pictures of the city, with a pretty clear view of the metropolis and ocean, since the sun hadn't set yet.

"Rachel," Ethan leaned around his son to look at her, "when we get off the plane stay with Noah. I'm sure you will, but just don't stray. The guards are meeting us at baggage claim, so we still have to get through to there."

Rachel nodded, "okay, I can do that," she told him.

Landing with ease the plane reached it's gate and soon they were filing off with the first-class passengers. Noah pulled his hood back up a little and slipped his arm around Rachel to keep her close as they walked, "welcome to Los Angeles," he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

She smiled, "thanks," she grinned and settled against him, used to walking with his arm around her and she didn't mind at all.

It wasn't super busy and thankfully no one was really 'expecting' Puck that night, so they made it to the baggage claim without any issues. The three moved right over to their claim area as luggage began to spit out.

"Where are your guards?" Rachel asked softly.

"Over there," he nodded towards two guys standing near the exits, "the two guys in jeans and t-shirts. The taller one is Tim, who is a former Marine and Alex is a former cop," he explained, noticing his bag so he reached for it, his eyes catching a glimpse of a few guys with large cameras down at the next carousel, so he tugged his hood up further and kept his head down while his dad and Rachel grabbed their bags. "Dad, next carousel," he muttered.

"Just head to the exit, Tim and Alex will follow," he replied calmly.

Noah nodded and glanced at Rachel, taking her hand in his and as Ethan suggested, they headed for the exit, with Ethan right behind them.

"I don't get it," Rachel whispered keeping close to Noah.

"There's some paparazzi down the way and if they catch on I'm hiding from them, they'll rush over," he replied softly.

The two bodyguards noticed the paparazzi, too, and just before Noah and Rachel reached the exit, Alex headed out the doors and the young couple followed him, walking towards a waiting SUV. Alex held the door open, so Noah nodded at him. "Hey, we'll get your suitcases," he said nodding at them.

Rachel and Noah let go of their luggage and Noah slid in first to get out of sight and Rachel followed him into the SUV. Alex closed the door behind her and picked up their suitcases and he, Tim and Ethan met in the back and set the suitcases in the back end, just as two camera guys came out of the exit doors, snapping pictures.

Noah avoided glancing out the back of the SUV and kept his hook up over his head, which caused Rachel's stomach to flip-flop with nerves. "Welcome to LA," he murmured, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her lips.

Rachel blushed, "I see what you mean, but how did they know?" She asked softly.

"Usually there are some paparazzi here; just waiting for a shot of a famous person arriving in LA, but they wouldn't expect someone to be coming in from Ohio, but I'm sure they saw me with my hood up and then saw the guys, so they figured one of us was someone worth trying to get a picture of," he explained.

The side door opened and Ethan slid into the backseat next to Noah and Tim and Alex climbed into the front seats. Tim started the engine and pulled away from the sidewalk.

Once on their way, Alex turned around and smiled at them, "welcome to LA. Have a good flight?" He asked.

"Yeah, quiet," Noah responded, "long time no see, guys."

"Well, you know, you taking a sabbatical can do that," Tim laughed from the driver's seat.

"My wife kind of likes that I'm actually home more, now," Alex smirked, and then turned a little more to see Rachel, who was sitting behind his seat, "and you must be Rachel," he smiled at her.

She nodded, "yes, it's a pleasure to meet both of you," she replied with a nod to both of them.

Alex nodded in response, but Tim spoke up, "we've heard a lot about you, nice to finally meet you," Tim commented glancing back at her for a second.

"Oh yeah," Alex grabbed something, "we got you checked in before we came to pick you guys up," he handed Ethan three key cards.

"Thanks guys," Ethan took them and handed one to Rachel and Noah.

Noah slid his into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out, "you guys up for sushi tonight?" Noah asked.

Tim laughed, "isn't that like the only place you eat while here?"

"What? It's the best sushi I've found so far, so why not?" Noah laughed flipping through his contacts. "We're meeting some friends for dinner. Oh and can you possibly take the long way to the hotel so we can pass by the Hollywood sign?" Noah requested.

"Sure," Tim shrugged, "what time are we meeting them?"

"That's what I'm about to find out," he admitted hitting the send button and put the phone to his ear, hoping his friend would answer.

After three rings, he did, "hello?"

"Hey man, we just got to LA," Noah said.

"Great! Welcome back to the left coast," he responded with a laugh.

Noah laughed, "thanks. We still on for six at Tengu?" Noah asked.

"Yep; you bringing your guards?"

"Yeah, the five of us will be there," Noah replied.

"Okay, cool. Mine will be there too. So does your girl know who I am yet?"

"Nope and I figure I'll let her freak out when we get to the restaurant," Noah grinned, glancing at Rachel.

The teen chuckled, "you're in the car with her, aren't you?"

"Yep; taking a mini-trip around the city so Rachel can see the Hollywood sign before we head to the hotel."

His friend laughed again, "dude, I'll see you in a few hours. Have fun!"

Noah hung up his phone, "six at Tengu," he said slipping his phone back into his pocket, then turned to his dad, "did you call mom yet?"

"No, I'm going to call her when we get to the hotel," he replied, "but I did text her to tell her we got to LAX," he admitted.

Tim, who was from LA, but now lived in New York, drove in the direction that Noah asked him to, all the while, everyone pointing things out to Rachel. While on their drive, Rachel took pictures of shops and street signs of places she recognized from TV shows or movies she'd watched with them in and as they neared the corner that was one of the better views of the Hollywood sign, without getting right near it, Rachel was just amazed at what she was seeing; it was nothing like New York and with the window open to take pictures she smelled a totally different air than she was used to in Lima, or even what she'd been around in NYC.

Just a little under an hour after their plane landed in LA, Tim was parking the SUV in the parking garage of the hotel. The five climbed out and went to the back, grabbing their bags. Making their way to the lobby entrance, they went inside, and over to the elevators, "got about an hour," Alex commented, "it's about ten minutes to the restaurant from here, right?"

Ethan nodded, "yeah it is."

Tim nodded, "we'll leave about five-thirty or so, it'll give us time to find parking," he admitted.

Noah slung his arm around Rachel's shoulders and guided them on the elevator when the doors opened, the three adult men getting on the elevator last, out of habit, so they could be the first ones off, "I don't know how long we're going to be there, I haven't seen T-, my friend since this summer," he admitted, almost slipping out his name.

Rachel turned to him, "I wish you would just tell me so I'm not finding out when we get there and take a chance on me embarrassing myself in public."

He glanced at the guys and smirked, "babe, you won't and I promise you it'll be worth the wait," he told her as the elevator stopped on their floor.

Giving in to knowing he wasn't going to budge on that, she let him guide her down the hallway and Ethan unlocked the room and they all moved inside.

"Rachel, you can have the master room with the bathroom, Noah and I will share the other room," Ethan told her.

Rachel's eyes widened, "really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "it'll give you a little more privacy and it has one bed, the other room has two and I don't know how well your dads would feel if you and Noah shared a room," he commented seriously.

"Oh, um, yes there is that," she blushed and nodded.

Having stayed in the hotel before, Noah was familiar with the layout, so he left his bags setting by the couch in the sitting area and guided Rachel into the master bedroom. The room was not huge, but was much larger than a typical hotel room; a king size bed sat in the middle of the room and off to one side was a small open closet and a door into the bathroom. "All yours, babe," he said pressing a kiss to her lips.

Rachel looked around, her eyes landing on the bed, "this is amazing, but I... I don't need this big of a bed."

He laughed, "no one does, but it's the hotel and welcome to the big leagues, babe," he motioned around the room and then to himself, "pop stars get treated very well," he added.

She bit her lip and slipped her arms around him, "I have a hard time seeing you as one, Noah," she murmured.

He hugged her tightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead, "and that makes me like you even more, Rach," he whispered holding her close.

Relaxing in his arms, she smiled, and leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips, "I like you, too, Noah," she replied.

He brushed a hand through her hair and kissed her again, deepening it as they held onto each other, and as their lips parted, he rested his forehead against hers, not wanting to let go, but he knew they wouldn't be alone for long. "I should probably go change out of this hoodie," he whispered.

She blinked her eyes and nodded, "I suppose I should change into something for warmer weather," she laughed a little, "it's still pretty warm here," she admitted.

"Yeah," he kissed her again, "you look great, you don't have to change if you don't want to, but it's up to you," he added.

"Thanks, Noah," she leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek before she stepped away, "but I am only going to change shirts," she admitted, "my skirt goes with anything," she admitted, motioning down to the black skirt she wore.

With a nod, he pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking out of the room, closing her door and moving into the rest of the suite. Grabbing his bags and slipping into the other room, he dropped his bags on the empty bed and opened up his suitcase. Pulling out a gray v-neck t-shirt, he tugged of his hoodie and put the t-shirt on, and after adjusting what he had in his pockets, he moved back into the suite and found his dad and the guys talking, "hey."

"Mom and Arin say 'hi'," Ethan nodded at him.

"Cool," Noah replied, taking a seat next to his dad, "what are they up to?"

"Having dinner with Alan and David. They all are waiting for the picture of Rachel meeting your friend," Ethan grinned.

Noah smirked, "I'm sure they are," he laughed. "Did mom tell them who it is?"

"Yeah and they think she'll be pleasantly surprised," Ethan commented looking up to see Rachel walking in.

Noah glanced over and saw her now in a white top with a light pink sweater over it (think Mash-up, when Noah picked Glee). "Hey babe," he smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling you guys were just talking about me?" She asked curiously.

"Because we were. Mom, Arin and your dads are waiting for your reaction to meeting my friend," he responded.

She blushed, "why can't you just tell me now?"

"Because you already know, you just haven't put it together yet," Noah said patting the couch next to him.

Rachel took a seat and crossed her arms over her chest, but the look on her face told him she was thinking, "you mean I already know him?"

"Not personally, but you know of him," Noah said.

"You know," Ethan commented, "it might be better if you did tell her now, it'll give her a chance to calm down from the shock before she meets him."

Noah sighed, "fine," he pulled out his phone and opened up his pictures and flipped through to one of him, Finn and the 'friend', "yes, that's Finn," he added turning it on the side so it made the picture larger and he passed her his phone.

Rachel took it in her hands and she first saw Noah with the mohawk, in between two guys, Finn was on one side and the guy on his other side had spiky black hair with an olive complexion, she stared at him for a long time and then she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, "are you serious?" She exclaimed looking at him with wide eyes.

"As a heart attack," he replied, a grin on his face.

"Taylor Lautner? As in Jacob Black in 'Twilight' and 'New Moon', Taylor Lautner? You're friends with him?"

"Yes, yes and yes," Noah laughed and took his phone back, flipping to another picture that was just him and Taylor, "we've been friends for like four years or so. He got popular in acting about the same time I started performing my first single at award shows; we met at the Kid's Choice Awards," he explained.

"Oh wow, I..." She just stared at the picture, but then started giggling, "I knew it! I had a feeling, but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want you to think I'd been looking for who it was. For some reason, I had a feeling," she grinned brightly handing him his phone back, "I have been known to be a little psychic," she replied.

Noah raised a curious eyebrow, "oh yeah, what am I thinking right now?" He asked.

Rachel responded by leaning towards him and kissing him on the lips.

He smirked into the kiss, resting his hand against her cheek, and then brushed it through her hair as they pulled away, "either you're good or I'm that readable," he grinned.

Tim and Alex exchanged glances, but Ethan smirked, "you're that readable, no offense, Rachel," he added.

"None taken, I was going to say the same thing," Rachel responded flashing a grin to her boyfriend.

Noah blushed lightly.

"Wow, this is going take some getting used to," Tim admitted.

Alex nodded in agreement, "yeah. Not used to girls being around."

At his comment, Rachel gasped, "didn't you say that your friend's girlfriend would be there? Noah! Isn't Taylor Lautner dating Taylor Swift?"

"Yes, they are dating," Noah nodded. "They've only been dating since October and Taylor Swift and I have met at a few music award shows, but we've never really talked much, but she knows Lautner and I are friends," he replied.

"I'm gonna meet Taylor Swift!" She exclaimed, her voice reaching a slightly higher octave than it had been before, and she noticed, her hands flying to her mouth.

Noah jumped at her voice; he was sitting right next to her, "babe," he rubbed his ear a little, "you sound more excited to meet Swift, than you are to meet Lautner," he laughed.

"I'm sorry," she blushed, "but in a way I am. Sure Taylor Lautner is a wonderful actor and he is very handsome, but I'm dating you, so I'm not looking at other guys like that anymore. I am very excited to meet both of them, but Taylor Swift is a singer; she has a great voice and I like a lot of her songs. It's a music thing," she explained calming down.

He nodded, "I know," he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, "you're drawn to musicians; I mean you're dating me after all," he grinned kissing her again and pulling her close for a hug.

"Yep, definitely some getting used to," Alex commented.

"That's good to hear though," Rachel admitted looking at the two security guards.

"What is?" Noah asked.

"That this is something they're going to have to get used to because they're not used to you having girls around," she said softly.

Noah eyed her, "what? You didn't believe me?" He asked curiously.

"I'll admit when we first got together I was skeptical, but as I got to know you, I believed you; this only confirms what I already knew," she said, looking at him, and then her eyes widened and she looked at Alex and Tim, unsure if they knew or not.

"They know," Noah said noticing her reaction. As she relaxed, he hugged her, "you had every right to be skeptical of a guy you just met," he told her, "but I'm glad you eventually believed me," he smiled.

Rachel relaxed even more when he told her that, and she nodded, hugging him again.

...

The five left the hotel about thirty minutes before needing to be a the restaurant. The short drive, took about fifteen minutes with some traffic, so they pulled into the parking lot and found a spot to park in. Noah and Rachel slid out of the SUV on her side and he closed the door while Alex, Tim and his dad got out. Noah noticed her looking around for something, "what are you looking for?" He asked curiously, taking her hand in his.

Rachel blushed, "um, I was just looking to see if there was any paparazzi around."

He smirked and turned to face her, his free hand going to brush against her cheek, "does it matter?" He asked leaning in to press a kiss against her lips, holding it for a moment before pulling away, "because it doesn't to me," he said truthfully.

Her eyes drifted open and she smiled, "alright, I won't worry about them," she whispered.

"Good," he smiled at her, pushing some hair behind her ear before turning back to walk with her; their hands still joined together, while Ethan, Tim and Alex walked a few feet behind them, giving them some space, but close enough if they needed it.

"He said it doesn't matter?" Alex rolled his eyes, "sometimes I wanna snap those little paparazzi asses in half," he muttered.

"Me too," Tim agreed.

Reaching the doors, Noah pulled one open and let Rachel step inside first and then he followed in, holding the door open for the guys behind him. Once in, he noticed there were a few people seated, waiting for a table, but the woman at the table smiled at him. "Konnichiwa, Puck-san," she bowed to him. (Hello, Mr. Puck)

He bowed in return, "konnichiwa," he greeted, "Is Taylor here, yet?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "you can go back," she motioned towards the back of the restaurant.

"Arigato gozaimasu," he bowed to her again and headed in that direction. (Thank you - politely)

"Did you just speak Japanese?" Rachel asked in shock as she looked at him.

He smirked, "yep. I know a few words. We went there about a year and a half ago and I loved it. Beautiful places to visit, lots to see. I'm kind of into it now, so I started learning anything I can about the culture," he responded, "and I picked up a few words here and there." Stepping around a private area, he noticed five people seated on one side of the table, "hey all," he smiled.

"Dude! About time you got here!" Taylor Lautner exclaimed hopping up from his seat.

Noah let go of Rachel's hand and shook Taylor's hand and they did the 'man hug' patting each other's back, "hey man," Noah responded.

Taylor smirked, pulling away from his friend, to look at him, "hum, I think this is the first time I've seen you, in person, without the mohawk," he admitted.

"Get used to it; I don't think the hawk is coming back," Noah replied with a laugh, his hand running through his short hair and then turned a little to Rachel, "I told her who you guys were just before we came over. Taylor, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Rachel. Rachel, this is Taylor Lautner," he introduced them.

Rachel blushed, "hello, Taylor, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, calmly holding out her hand to him.

Taylor smirked, taking her hand in his, "it's nice to meet you, too, Rachel," he agreed, "I've only seen a few pictures that he's sent me and heard about you, so it's great to finally meet," he told her, but then he saw his friend's eyes darting around the room and slipping away from Rachel, "oh, was I not supposed to say that?" Taylor laughed.

Rachel's eyes widened in shock as she stared at her boyfriend, "Noah, what did you send him?" She gasped.

Ethan eyed Noah curiously, "yes, just what did you send him?"

"Pictures of us, get your heads out of the gutter people," he rolled his eyes and moved over to the only other girl in the room, standing by the table, "hey Swift," he smiled at her.

"Hey Puck, it's good to see you, again," the other Taylor in the room replied, giving him a hug.

"You, too," he agreed returning her hug before turning to his girlfriend who was still standing near Lautner. "Taylor, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Rachel, Rachel, this is Taylor Swift."

Rachel moved across towards them, "it's an honor to meet you, Taylor," Rachel admitted, then glanced at the other Taylor, "both of you. I had a feeling I knew it was you guys, but wasn't for sure until Noah told me."

"You, too, Rachel. I hear you're into singing," the blond singer said to Rachel as they shook hands.

The adults in the room had already taken seats at the long table and while the girls took their seats at the end of the table, the boys sat between their dads and girlfriends so they were across from each other, "Noah, huh?" Taylor L. commented with a grin, "I thought only your parents and sister called you that."

"Everyone at home does," he shrugged, "it's my name," Noah added.

Taylor nodded and the girls were deep into a conversation about music styles and vocals, so the boys continued, "so I ordered our usual because I figured you wouldn't want Rachel tryin' the raw stuff and we don't usually eat it anyway," he admitted.

Noah nodded, "works for me. As long as it's food, I'm good," he unconsciously slipped his arm around Rachel's back and rested it between her shoulder blades.

Taylor noticed him, "dude, this is a new side of you," he admitted.

"So I've heard," he laughed, "what's wrong with it? I like my girl, and?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, I'm just not used to it-"

"No way! Seriously, this one?" Taylor S. giggled, pointing to Noah.

"Seriously," Rachel nodded with a smile, "he's the male lead of our Glee Club."

"What's a Glee Club?" The other Taylor asked, looking across at his friend.

"It's a show choir," Rachel replied, "oh, you didn't tell him?" She grinned, giving him a 'payback is a bitch' look. "Show choir is a group of people who not only sing, but also perform choreography along with the song, sometimes to a theme or try and tell a story and usually the members are dressed in costumes," she explained simply.

Taylor Lautner busted out laughing, holding his stomach as he laughed hard, at the same time he watched his friend turn beet red. "You're in the..." He laughed again, "you joined the," he chuckled, trying to calm down, "you, singing and dancing... I'm sorry, but I just can't see you doing that."

Noah took a deep breath, "well I am," he was still red, but was trying not to snap, "you can stop laughing any time," Noah added seriously.

Taylor bit his lip, a grin on his face as he nodded, "dude!"

"Saved by food," Noah thought seeing a few servers walk in with larger platters of sushi that they sat between everyone on the table.

Rachel eyed the platters curiously, seeing the rolls of rice on the outside with stuff inside, "what is all this?" She asked.

"We like sushi, but not a huge fan of the raw stuff, so we stick to eating what is known as the 'Western-style sushi'," Noah took the package of chopsticks from the table and broke them apart and pointed to the varieties on the platters, "there's the California roll that has avocado, crab and cucumber in it which we eat the most of," he leaned over to see the other ones, "a vegetable role which just as cucumber, carrots and avocado and then there's a cream cheese roll with that and cucumber and avocado in it," he said, "dude, how many kinds did you get?" Noah laughed, seeing a fourth one, "and this looks like smoked salmon, avocado and cucumber."

"It's their Seattle roll," Taylor L. commented, "figured we could try something different and you know, Seattle is in Washington, so it's in the same state as Forks," he shrugged.

Noah smirked and sat back, looking at his girlfriend, "you look confused."

"Not confused," she admitted, "I just thought that all sushi was raw fish."

"There are a lot of varieties of sushi and most of them do have raw fish in them, but like I said, we go for the Western-style because most of it is cooked. There is also sashimi which is all raw fish, but we don't go there. I tried it in Japan and that was enough for me. Nothing is raw up here, unless you count the vegetables," he added.

"And the green stuff it's wrapped in is seaweed, right?" She looked at him.

"Dried seaweed, it's called nori," he added. "I promise you'll like it," he picked up one of the vegetable rolls from the platter and set it on her plate with his chopsticks and then added one to his plate, "itadakimasu!" (Common to say before eating, literally means 'I humbly receive', but can be seen as 'let's eat!')

"Itada-what?" Rachel eyed him and then looked at the package of chopsticks, "and do I have to use those?"

"It's commonly said before eating and you can use a fork," he shrugged, motioning to them, "I'm surprised with all the take-out you and your dads eat you've not mastered the chopsticks," he smirked.

"I've tried them, but I could never hold them right," she admitted.

Noah looked across the table to see Taylor showing Taylor how to hold them and he picked up Rachel's and took her hand, laying them in her hand and picked up his and showed her the best way to hold them comfortably, then picked up the piece of sushi he had on his place and popped it into his mouth with ease.

Watching him and then attempting it herself, she managed to pick up the piece on her plate and pop it into her mouth without it falling and chewed the new food to her and actually found she liked the flavors; she tasted the rice and the vegetables and could faintly tell the flavor of the dried seaweed, but it didn't over power the other flavors, "not bad," she admitted.

Noah smiled, "glad to hear it," he replied

Rachel enjoyed the sushi and she and Taylor Swift seemed to continue on their conversation and the rest of the guys kept up with some small talk until Lautner asked how school was going.

Noah shrugged, "fine, nothing major. Football season just finished a little over a week ago and all is good in class. Rachel and I have math and science together, so it's a great way to end the day," he added.

"Really? You haven't had like any crazy fan issues yet? I mean we can hardly walk down the street without girls screaming your name or sometimes mine," he commented in shock.

Noah laughed, "the first week or so it was like that. Finn, Matt and Mike kept close to me and helped out if necessary. With Rachel and I getting together that brought paparazzi around, but it we managed. It's slowly died down and I'm just starting to be able to go out in town again," he explained, "mom and I went grocery shopping here about a week ago and it was nice, I didn't hear one scream and no one asked for my autograph. I don't mind singing things, but the townspeople are pretty respectful; I mean I am a hometown boy, so they treat me like just another teen, which is nice."

"I'm glad," Taylor L. nodded, "I hoped this would work out for you; you know, going home and being with your friends and family. I was worried it wouldn't, but I didn't want to say anything."

"It's working out great," Noah smiled, glancing at Rachel, "really great."

Rachel smiled back at him, nervously pushing her hair behind her ears.

"Girl, we're going to have to talk when they're not around," Taylor S. commented with a giggle.

"We will," Rachel agreed with a nod, the smile still on her face, but she turned to look at the two boys, "so how did you two meet exactly?" She asked, "you are not in the same profession, so it's kind of confusing," she admitted.

"March two-thousand-six. I was performing my first single at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards and Taylor was in 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2' and 'The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl' so he was there," Noah started.

"I was sitting a row behind him and his manager introduced us. We talked during commercial breaks and we found we grew up close by; him in Ohio and me in Michigan. By the time we met I was living in LA, but we got talking about sports and found we liked football and I said my dad and I were fans of the University of Michigan's Wolverines and you know he and Ethan are Buckeye fans," Taylor explained, motioning towards Noah and Ethan.

"His mom was with him and when he introduced us to her, he said her name was Deborah, same spelling as my mom and we both have little sisters so we had a lot in common. We exchanged numbers after the show and kept in touch. We were both getting popular at the same time so it was nice to have someone close to the same age that was dealing with the same thing, even if he was an actor and I was a singer," Noah added.

"So then how did you not know about Twilight?" Rachel asked her boyfriend.

He smirked, "I knew of it from what he told me about his new acting job, but I'd never heard of the book series before that, and when he took the part he said it was a low budget movie, so neither of us thought much about it until it came out and it was major. When it hit theaters in November of last year, I was just going back into the studio from spending a few months at McKinley, so I didn't go to the premiere, but dad and I managed to go see it in New York and then I saw what all the hype was about. That's when I got all the books to read," he told her.

"Okay, that does make sense," Rachel admitted.

"So aside from the premiere are you guys doing anything while you're here?" Taylor S. asked Rachel.

Rachel blushed a little, "Noah's taking me to the beach. I've never been there before," she replied.

"Really? Never?"

"Never," she replied, "my family and I always went to New York and saw Broadway musicals or did educational tours at museums or historical places; the beach never seemed to be on the list of things to do," she admitted, "and up until Noah asked me to come to LA with him, I hadn't really thought much of it."

The girls moved onto another topic as dinner ended and Noah was keeping an eye on his girlfriend. It was just after eight at night in California, which meant it was eleven at night back home in Lima, so he expected her to start getting tired soon, since most of her family travels had been within the Eastern time zone; her body would still be on Ohio time; a three hour difference than in Los Angeles.

"Are you guys coming to the after party?" Lautner asked.

"Uh," Noah glanced at his dad, "do we have time to?"

"Well our flight leaves at nine-thirty Tuesday morning, so we'll have to be at the airport by seven-thirty. We can go for a while, but we it's going to be an early morning, so I don't know how long you'll want to stay," he admitted.

Noah turned back to his friend, "so probably not," he replied.

Taylor nodded, "I didn't think you would be going," he commented, "I figured you were leaving, but now I'm sure," he turned to Rachel, "I'll make sure you're able to meet the cast before you guys leave," he smiled.

Rachel's eyes widened, "you don't have to do that, Taylor."

"I know, but I want to," he replied, "you gotta take home something to brag about, right?" he winked at her.

"Speaking of that," Noah looked at his girlfriend, "where's your camera?"

"In my bag, why?" She asked.

"Get it out and I'll take a picture of you. I'm not sure who they're going to scream more over; Swift or Lautner, but I wanna see it," he laughed.

Rachel shifted and opened her bag, taking her camera out and handed it to him. He motioned for her to move around the table and the four stood up. Rachel stood between the Taylors and he got a nice shot of them together and then he took one of just Rachel and Taylor S. and then one with her and Taylor L. and then Ethan stood up, "get over there, Noah," he said taking the camera.

Noah moved around to them, "Rachel, you better get the pictures you want now, because I don't know how much time we'll have tomorrow night to do this," he told her.

Rachel nodded and the girls stood in the middle and their boyfriends next to them and Ethan took the picture. He then took one of each of the couples separately before Rachel slipped from them and Noah stood on Taylor Swift's other side and Ethan took one of the Taylors and Noah together before he handed back the camera to Rachel. "Hold on, I want a picture of the boys together," she said and Noah and Taylor stood next to each other, and Rachel took the last shot of the night, just as a yawn hit her. "I'm sorry," she shook her head a little, "I shouldn't be tired; it's only eight-thirty," she commented as they all retook their seats.

"Yeah, but it's eleven-thirty back home, babe," Noah replied leaning over to look at the pictures she had taken, since she was looking at them.

"Rachel, you've gotta send me copies of those," Taylor S. commented.

"I can do that," Rachel nodded, "would you like me to email them to you when we get home?"

Taylor pulled out a pen and a tablet from her bag, "yeah, that will be great and I'll give you my cell phone number so we can talk without the boys around," she grinned writing down her information and then handed her the paper.

Rachel took the note and read over it, making sure she could read it before folding it and slipping it into her bag along with her camera, "I can give you my information, too," Rachel replied, and Taylor handed her the tablet and pen. Writing her email address and phone number down, she handed it back to her.

With information exchanged, Ethan paid the bill this time, since Daniel Lautner, Taylor's dad, had paid last time they'd eaten there and once it was covered, everyone got up and made their way out of the private area, gasps of shock waving over the room from the patrons who had no clue they were there. Noah kept one arm around Rachel's shoulders while he waved at them with his other hand and both Taylors were waving at them as they filed outside. Finding out they were in the same parking lot, the group headed across the street and once there it was quieter, so they were able to say their goodbyes.

"It was so great meeting you, Rachel," Taylor Swift commented giving her a hug, "we're gonna have to keep in touch," she added.

Rachel smiled, "yes, I'd love that," she agreed returning the girl's hug.

"I, unfortunately, won't be at the premiere; I have some things to take care of in Nashville," she admitted, "so I'm leaving in the morning," she added sadly.

Noah wrapped his arms around her, "cheer up, Taylor, you should still be on the high from winning 'Entertainer of the Year' at the Country Music Association awards last week, congratulations, by the way," he said with a grin.

As the two pulled from their hug, Taylor had a blush on her cheeks, "thanks Puck," she smiled, "it was great to see you again. The four of us should do this another time."

"If you're ever in the Ohio area, feel free to stop in," he said, "we're around."

"We might just take you up on that offer," Taylor L. commented hugging Rachel, "see you tomorrow night, Rachel," he told her.

"You will," she agreed, returning his hug before stepping away from them.

Not wanting to gather an audience of fans or paparazzi, the group said their final goodbyes and headed for their respective SUVs. The Sunday evening traffic was not as busy as expected, so their drive back to the hotel only took about ten minutes, so it was just getting to nine when they returned to the parking garage.

With his arm slung around Rachel's shoulders, Noah guided her towards the elevators and once they were on, they headed up to their floor and down to their room.

"What time do you guys want to go in the morning?" Alex asked.

Noah shrugged, "how about ten? Gives us a chance to sleep in and we'll still have plenty of time to spend there before we need to get ready for the premiere," he suggested.

Ethan and Tim nodded in agreement, "that works, night guys," Tim said waving at them.

Alex followed and the two bodyguards walked down the hallway to their room while Ethan opened up the door to their suite and the three stepped inside.

Rachel had been fighting to stay awake since they'd gotten in the car, so while Ethan went to his and Noah's room, Noah guided his girlfriend into her room, "bedtime for you, babe," he said softly.

"I shouldn't be this tired; it's only three hours," she murmured wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smirked, "babe, it's midnight at home. By this time you're usually asleep. Even back there you're usually nodding off at ten or eleven. Maybe if you didn't wake up at five or six every morning you wouldn't be this tired," he explained pressing a kiss to her lips.

"But I like getting up then so I have time to workout before school," she whispered, pulling away from him to sit on the edge of the bed.

He brushed her hair from her eyes, "I know," he kissed her forehead. "You think you're good or you want me to get you anything?" He asked softly.

Taking a deep breath she stood up and shook her head, "no, I'm alright, thank you for offering though," she wrapped her arms around him. "Tonight was -"

He pressed his lips against hers, "sleep, we can talk about it in the morning," he promised giving her tight hug.

She nodded against his chest and relaxed for a moment, "okay, good night, Noah."

"Good night, Rachel," he kissed her again before they let go of each other, "if you do need anything, text me. I'll be up for a while."

She nodded, "what are you going to do?"

"Probably crack my Spanish book open," he admitted.

"Okay," she nodded again and watched him walk out of her room, closing the door lightly behind him. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Rachel sighed and dug out a pair of pajamas and changed into them before setting an alarm on her phone for eight-am and setting it by the bedside table, "I really don't need this big of a bed," she muttered, crawling up onto one side of the bed and settling against the pillows, closing her eyes and hoping to get to sleep soon.

...

Noah walked out of Rachel's room into his and his dad's room, seeing his dad crawling into bed, "bed already?" Noah asked.

Ethan laughed, "I think we're all used to sleeping at home by this time. You and I can deal with the time change better than Rachel, but for the last three months we've both been home and got back to a normal sleep schedule, so yeah," he nodded.

"Good point," Noah replied changing into a McKinley t-shirt and a pair of red football sweatpants before grabbing his Spanish book from his carry-on and getting into bed. "Hey dad?"

"Yeah?" Ethan looked up from his iPhone.

"I was thinking about doing a concert at school just before Winter Break," he told him.

"What?"

"Well, why not? I mean Sectionals is like a week before school is out, so like the last day of school would be a great time to do it. Kind of a thank you for the support," he explained.

"You'll have to talk to Principal Figgins and Elliott, but, if you want to, I don't see why you couldn't," he admitted.

"I kind of already talked to Principal Figgins and he said he'd be fine with it as long as the school doesn't have to pay for anything and he suggested we do like a 'Puck' afternoon, where all the classes would be shortened so they all end before lunch and after lunch do a concert and kind of an autograph signing slash meet-and-greet for a few hours before the days out, so it'd only be available for the students and staff," he said.

Ethan smirked, "sounds like you've got this pretty thought out. I'll call Elliott tomorrow and see what he says; I'm sure he'll love it," he agreed, "I like the idea, myself. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean things have finally calmed down and the girls aren't freaking out like they were when you first started; it could start that back up again."

"I'm sure, and I figured they'll have two weeks of Winter Break to get over it before we go back to school," he replied.

Ethan nodded, "alright; as long as you're up for it and Figgins is cool with it, I'll get Elliott on board and we'll do it," he said shifting in bed and laying back.

"Night dad," Noah said seeing his dad settling in to sleep; he knew his dad.

"Night son," he replied, setting his phone aside and turning on his side.

Noah opened his Spanish book and set his phone next to him, reading over the new chapter Will told him to look at and focused on the vocabulary. He realized his dad was already asleep and as he flipped to the next page in his book he was startled by his phone beeping. Looking at the screen he saw a new text message from Rachel and opened it to read, "I can't sleep."

Closing his book softly, Noah stood up and slipped his phone into his pocket and headed for Rachel's room, knocking lightly before pushing open the door and stepping into her room, purposely leaving it open, "hey, you okay?" He asked, surprised that she wasn't asleep.

Rachel sat up and shrugged, "I can't sleep. I've tried, but it's not working. I don't know if it's just nerves of being in a new place or something else," she sighed.

Noah nodded, "yeah, being in a strange place can make a person nervous; it took me a long time to be comfortable staying in a new hotel almost every night. Every noise you hear, you wonder what it is, it sucks," he told her sitting on the bed next to her, "do you want me to stay until you fall asleep?" He asked softly.

"Would you?" She asked nervously.

"Of course," he smiled, pressing a kiss to her lips, "I promised I'd protect you and even if you don't think it, I'm sure you're a little scared about all this. I'd be happy to stay and make sure you get to sleep," he replied taking one of her hands in his.

She bit her lip and looked at him, "do you think... Do you think it'd be okay if you stayed all night?" She whispered.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, "because I will."

"Yes, I would feel more comfortable if you did," she agreed.

"Okay, then, scoot over," he murmured standing up and letting go of her hand. She slid back into the bed a little more, giving him room. He took his phone out of his pocket and set it next to hers on the night stand, "are you okay with me getting in with you? If not I can crash on top of the covers; it's up to you," he commented, needing to make sure she was comfortable.

She reached out and took his hand, "I trust you, Noah, and I wouldn't have asked you to stay if I didn't mean sharing the bed," she admitted.

Tugging back the blankets, he crawled up in bed and settled on his side, facing her. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her lips, "this is a new step; I'm okay with it, I just want to make sure you are; I don't want you to freak out."

"I know. Thank you for being concerned, but I feel more relaxed now that you're here," she whispered.

"You're welcome and I'm glad I could help you relax," he replied gently, reaching over her to get one of the unused pillows and put it behind his head, propping himself up so he could lay on his back and once he was settled, Rachel curled against him, her head resting against his chest and her arm draped over his waist. He slipped his arm under her, his hand resting against her back as his other arm reached over and turned off the light on the nightstand. He pulled the blankets up over them, "get some sleep, babe. I'll be here when you wake up," he assured her.

Nodding her head, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips, "good night, Noah, thank you."

"Night, beautiful," he whispered against her lips before kissing her again, his free hand gently pushing her hair from her face.

When they pulled away from their kiss, she settled back against his chest and he sunk into the soft pillows feeling more relaxed than he had ever felt. He gently rubbed her back and slowly felt her drifting off. When her breathing evened out, he knew she'd fallen asleep, and a smile tugged at his lips as he looked at her. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled and closed his eyes, letting the content feelings draw him into a peaceful sleep.

...

A/N4: Thanks to 'My Japanese Coach' I have on my Nintendo DS Lite and 'Learn Japanese' podcast by for the help with the Japanese. Yes, I'm teaching myself Japanese. The sushi stuff I learned about at work; the deli/bakery I work in also has a sushi counter and the woman there is pretty cool, so I've had a chance to talk to her, so thanks Mi Cha!

A/N5: *Hides* don't kill me for bringing up Taylor Lautner. In looking him up, I realized he and Noah have a lot in common; little sisters, moms named Deborah, both are into football, teen celebs, know musical teens, and close to the same age, so they would be perfect celebuddies. ;)

A/N6: Happy 28th Birthday, Cory Monteith! Today, May 11th, is his birthday.

A/N7: What a whirlwind few weeks! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update this! After I updated the previous chapter, I focused myself on my Support Stacie Author Auction fic, 'Became the Summer', and I'm really proud of what I came out with. If you haven't read it, please do and tell me what you think!

A/N8: On Saturday, May 1st, I was lucky enough to be able to go to the Deadliest Catch Convention 'CatchCon' in Seattle and I had a blast! Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet everyone I wanted to, but I was able to meet all the captains and a few deckhands and catch up with some fellow DC fan friends that I've met in the past few years. That's the most major excitement in my life, right now, lol. Thank you all for sticking with me and again, I'm so sorry it too so long for me to get this updated.

A/N9: The Glee awards is still open for nominations until the 15th of May, so if you like any of my fic (Out of the Blue, Starlight, Became the Summer, Gotta Start Somewhere), head on over to ( community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ ) and find out how you can nominate them.

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