A/N: I'm back! And let me tell you it was difficult to try to get me to actually sit down and type something up, work is being bitch and my inspiration is dwindling once again. I'm trying! Anyways, please tell me what you think!

Not beta'ed, any mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, not mine.

Chapter 11: Loneliness- The Perfect Companion...

Santana sipped her drink and refilled the glass a few more times before deciding that calling Rachel again was a good idea.

She stood up and stumbled around her penthouse looking for her purse; wobbling towards the kitchen, she threw her shoes not caring where they landed and looked under the dining table. She grunted when she couldn't find it and walked back to her living room, and squealed when her pinky toe made contact with the foot of the coffee table; she rubbed her toe and sat on the floor.

She started rubbing her temples when she happened to look under her coffee table and saw her purse; she grabbed it and unceremoniously dumped the contents out on the table; she cursed when it wasn't there and kicked her bag into the corner (momentarily forgetting that it was a 5,000 dollar purse) and scrounged around the floor for it.

She was kicking things left and right when she suddenly slipped on a scrap of paper, landing on her face on the smooth tile floor; she let out a groan and knew that tomorrow she would have a bruise on her forehead.

She sucked in her breath and grumbled a bit before pushing herself up and sitting on her bottom; she had tears in her eyes, not from the slip but because she had noticed that, the scrap of paper was actually a letter Rachel had written to her not too long ago.

Dear Santana,

While it may seem silly that I am penning this letter whilst you are in the next room, I have a few things that I would like to make clear to you. One, you are no fool. Two, you love with your heart and soul. Three, I am here for you, through anything and everything.

I am so sorry that your grandmother has still not changed her opinion about you, but she is the one missing out, not having you in her life. I don't understand her reasoning towards you, why would she not want a spectacular granddaughter like yourself? You are a successful person, in the professional world as well as the personal. You manage a very lucrative charity and you are one of the youngest business consultants in your firm.

Honestly, the woman is being ridiculous (slashed through) unreasonable. I see no reason for her to reject you, being one of the most honest, caring individuals I have ever known. You are not that girl you were in high school, you are a woman now but most importantly, you are my friend.

San, I love you so much, and I know that we will get through this. No matter the outcome, things will get better.

With all my love,

Rachel

Santana finished reading the letter and let out a scream.

"FUCK!"

She kicked her things harder and curled into a ball, crying.

She was drunk and bawling, screaming how much of an idiot she was when Kurt walked in.

"Oh honey, you're worse than I had expected." He stated.

Kurt had received a frantic drunk call from Santana in the middle of the night and from what he could gather- which was very little; Santana was having some kind of nervous breakdown.

He was fast asleep when she called- it being 2 in the morning, but he rushed over and made it to Santana's penthouse less then 20 minutes later.

He heard commotion coming from her living room and walked in to Santana curled up in the middle of her kitchen.

Her things strewn everywhere and seeing her living room in disarray made him worried. He thought that maybe someone had hurt her, and felt panic course through him. He looked around but couldn't hear anything, so he felt around for his phone and was relieved to find it in his back pocket; he crouched down and placed his hands under Santana's armpits.

Santana uncurled and hugged Kurt, pulling him down with her. She was muttering incoherently and suddenly she started giggling.

"So stupid, s-s-so stupid. Why? Why? Rach hates me!" She started wailing. "Kurt, she hates me!"

Kurt cringed at Santana's breath; it reeked of alcohol, but sat down with her practically wrapped around him.

"I know. Rachel called me too. I would've gone but I was already here. She's upset with you-"

"She fuckin" hates me!" Santana croaked out.

Kurt shook his head. "I don't think so. She's upset with you and I am too. Santana, why? Shelby? You knew she was a sore spot for her. Santana, honestly!"

He had stopped talking because Santana had started snoring.

He sighed, Rachel had called him when he was in the elevator; she was crying but when he told her that he was going to see Santana she became angry. She told him everything, he couldn't believe it; he explained that he was too far from her and that he would see her first thing in the morning.

Rachel begrudgingly agreed and hung up.

Now, he was sitting in the dark with a passed out Santana, could things get any worse?

oo

(A Month Later)

Rachel sighed, the numbers on the paper were starting to blur together and her mind was becoming mush; she rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. She ran her hand behind her neck and tried to massage the kink out.

It had been a long month for Rachel; point blank, it sucked.

Not having the one constant in her life was difficult. Coming home and not being able to call Santana after having a stressful day was starting to dwindle her patience; she wanted to just break down and forgive.

She would hold her phone in her hand and scroll down to Santana's name; one push and- no, no, this was serious; she had done something so shady and pretty much been a traitor that just talking about it was unwelcome.

Kurt had been coming around, hinting that Santana was remorseful and was desperately seeking her forgiveness. Rachel had to bite her tongue; Santana had been a traitor, sneaking behind her back, lying. Everything was starting to fall apart.

Rachel finally got around to telling Kurt about Puck; at first, he was skeptical and concerned that Puck was up to no good. It was hard for him to understand considering that; he hadn't known that they had been in a relationship to begin with.

Rachel tried convincing him that she had been looking for the opportunity to tell him but had never found the right one; that revelation hurt Kurt immensely but he decided to forgive her for that, after all, there was now a wedding to plan and he was going to do all the preparations.

Rachel was apprehensive about letting him plan the wedding since there was no wedding in the first place; she convinced him that Puck's mom was already done with the preparations and was hell bent of being in charge. Kurt didn't like it but he went along with it anyway, no point in fighting someone who could easily kick his ass.

But today, all that would be on the back burner, because today was her first official date with Puck; he had insisted on one and wasn't taking no for an answer.

He had insisted on dinner, and then they could do something after; she was flustered; it had been a long time since she had been on date. Normally she would call Santana and they would take a spa day, go shopping, then go home and get ready.

She was leaving her apartment and was about to dial Santana's number when she remembered; she shook Santana from her mind and made an appointment anyway.

She called Kurt to tell him that she'd be off for the day, when he pressed her for information; she simply explained that she needed a mental health day.

She left for the spa and was back a while later, she had gone dress shopping and opted for a light blue sheath dress that hung slightly above her knees, short but not obscenely short.

She got home and quickly showered; Puck had told her that he would pick her up no later than 7 o'clock and emphasized that he always came on time. (Making her blush with his double entendre.)

She was putting the final touches to her make-up when her doorbell rang, she smoothed her dress once more and took a deep breath; ready or not, this is happening.

She gave a quick glance in the mirror and walked to her living room, she let out another breath and flexed her fingers nervously; she took a hesitant step and turned the knob.

Puck stood to one side of the doorframe, his elbow and forearm leaning on it; he had a smirk on his face and his eyes gave her a once over.

"Hot," He murmured.

She blushed and felt her blood boil with lust. Damn these hormones, she thought.

She wet her lips.

"Hello Noah."

He tipped his head in response. "Berry."

She opened the door wider and let him in; she closed the door and walked slowly behind him. They made it to the living room and he sat down.

"Would you like anythi-?"

"Take the dress off." He interrupted.

Her mouth flew open. "W-w-what?"

He chuckled.

"Take. Off. The. Dress." He said very slowly, enunciating each word.

She stood motionless, perplexed but horrified. Was he serious?

Puck saw the emotion across her face and laughed.

"Berry, not like that. That's something we'll do another time. We aren't going to go eat at some fancy restaurant. Go change."

Rachel scoffed. He laughed again when she stomped her foot.

"Noah, you could have said something! I went to all this trouble-"

"Just change. I hate those stuck up asses' restaurants. We're gonna do something else. 'Sides, that dress would look better on my floor. Dontcha think?"

He said the last part while wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Rachel felt pure unadulterated lust course through her veins; her face became warmer.

"You're incorrigible Noah," She looked over herself and sighed. "I specifically bought this for our date; pray tell, what am I supposed to do with it?"

"Return it, duh." Puck smiled then smirked. "Put some jeans on. That's all I'm tellin' you."

Rachel rolled her eyes, turned around, and walked to her room. She slammed the door shut and grumbled under breath while looking for a pair of jeans.

She slammed her drawers closed and went back to the living room when she was done.

Puck sat at her bar, flipping through something and hadn't noticed that she walked back into the living room; she inched closer and saw that he was looking at a yearbook.

She noticed him tense when he looked at a picture of her and Finn, strange.

She tapped him on his shoulder; he quickly closed the book, and turned around.

"You ready?"

Rachel nodded. "Are you o.k.?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, um, but- never mind let's go."

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows, "Very well. Let me grab my things and we can leave."

He stood up and went to the door; they both walked out and down the 3 flights of stairs; Rachel took cautious steps behind him.

Puck pushed open the front door and stopped on the steps.

"We're walkin'."

She rolled her eyes. "How chivalrous, could you at least tell me where-"

"Nope," He gripped her hand. "I got everything under control.

He grabbed her hand tighter, she didn't pull away, and they walked a bit while chattering about nothing; it felt right and natural.

He talked about his day, he was trying not to kill the new artist he was managing (the little shit was only 16 and acting like a big shot) and she told him about the horrible day she had had while at work; a mother had made her day hell because her daughter hadn't gotten the lead in a dance show they were starting rehearsals for; she demanded to speak to her and it just went downhill.

Ultimately, she pulled out her daughter and Rachel felt awful for the little girl, she was only 10 and her mother was a monster; nothing was good enough when the little girl was a decent dancer.

She sighed. "She reminds me of my dad's, I was never going to be good enough even if I had made it on in Broadway," She shrugged. "I guess they were right, I'm still not anyone special; I barely qualify as a dance teacher."

He stopped walking and faced her.

"Fuck 'em. You're a damn good dancer and a better than any of those fuckers. You fuckin' made it in New York without them and you're going strong. Rach, you're someone that did it and seriously, just fuck 'em."

She smiled, "Thank you Noah, even with that profanity laced speech, and I know you're right. They steered me the way they wanted me to go and I wasn't happy; but I realized that maybe trying to become famous wasn't going to happen to me. I just guess that they forgot about me, I haven't talked to them in a very long time; I don't know how they're doing."

Puck sighed. "I'll talk to Ma, she would know. Crazy bat would go to the ends of the earth- you know what, scratch that, if she found out…"

He shuddered. "I'll see what I can do."

Rachel's eyes glittered with unshed tears, she sniffed. "You would do that? I have never asked anyone and no one has ever offered. Thank you Noah."

He swiped her cheek when a lone tear made its way down. "S'no problem."

Her smile was so bright that his heart clenched, he was so desperate to kiss her; she bit her lip, feeling shy all of a sudden.

He gently pulled her closer, she could see his eyes turning a darker green; the gold flecks becoming brighter, hypnotizing her; she inhaled and closed her eyes. Puck took that opening and brought her closer; kissing her lightly on her lips.

She willingly responded, and sighed in his mouth, he took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth; she seemed surprised but continued.

He pulled her hips closer to his and nibbled on her bottom lip, eliciting a small moan from her; he growled into her mouth and pulled her even closer. He liked the feel of her soft body against his, he wrapped both arms around her tiny waist and she placed both of her hands on his chest.

She ran her hands over his chest then onto his arms, she really liked his arms; something about them being wrapped around her made her feel safe and protected. She then ran them over his arms then his broad shoulders and back down to his chest, she stopped when she felt his heart, it was beating fast, she could feel the thumping against his chest.

He wanted to open his eyes but they felt so heavy, he was slowly losing himself in the little noises she was making; the mewls, moans and throaty sounds that sent all the blood straight to his dick.

Meanwhile his hands had traveled down south when she suddenly squealed and regrettably pulled herself away from him; he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and watched Rachel blot her fingers over her lips.

She was flushed and breathing hard, he was too but she was becoming embarrassed and self-conscious on the fact that she had participated in PDA in the middle of the street, with people watching!

She pressed the back of her hand to her reddened cheek and took a shaky breath; Puck ran a hand through his hair and smirked.

"S'okay, the Puckerone is resisted by no one."

Rachel snorted. "The Puckerone? I shouldn't have kissed you-"

"Why not?" he said, with the hurt evident in his voice. "You aren't a prude… Are you?"

Rachel became angry, "I resent that! In no shape or form, am I a prude!" She spat out the last part and huffed. "This was not a good idea. We aren't really together in the first place, I shouldn't have-"

"You backin' out? He stepped closer and stuck out his finger. "You can't, we have a deal. I gave you the money; now you owe me."

Her eyes narrowed "What are you insinuating?"

Puck started to get angry. "Nothin', but you know what you owe me."

She let out a crude noise. "Sex? That's it isn't it?" Her voice had been a whisper but was gradually getting louder. "You gave me money so then I would have sex with you. That was our deal. Fine."

She stepped back and took off her jacket. "If that was our deal, then let's get this over with." She threw her jacket on the floor and unbuckled her belt; she unzipped her boots and kicked them to the side.

Puck immediately grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?" He hissed.

She pulled herself free. "You want us to have sex! In front of all these people. That was I won't owe you anything anymore and we can be done with this! Isn't that what you want?"

Before he could answer, she tried to continue undressing herself but he grabbed her things and pulled her into her building.

She fought with him, trying to pull her arm from his grasp; she tried to let herself fall but he gripped her harder. He snatched her keys and opened the door.

He was able to hold the door open with his foot and pulled her in.

Meanwhile she kept trying to pull herself away.

"Let me go, I'm not going anywhere with you! Let me go! I'm not going back in there!"

She dragged her foot and attempted to kick him but he managed to grab her waist and hoist her over his shoulder. "NOAH! PUT ME DOWN!"

"No, you aren't gonna- Come back here! Dammit Berry, I won't – stop trying to bite me!" He ran after her when she somehow managed to squirm herself off him.

She weaved around him and ran up her stairs; she was on the second step as he bounded behind her.

So? Please tell me what you think, I'm not gonna lie, next chapter will probably be up in a few weeks; having to really sit down and try to type this out is kicking my ass but I'll try!