Author's Note: I have had insomnia all week…. Last night was no exception. I've been up for hours. So this is a "teaser" chapter because it's kinda short without any P/R action. I'm leaving to go out of town in a few hours but I'll be back this evening. I will HOPEFULLY have the next chapter written tonight but I can't promise anything. Lack of sleep is finally getting to me. And I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to solve this whole mess that my Puck has created.


Puck unlocked the door to his house and slipped inside, trying to be quiet because he knew that Leah was asleep. The house was dark except for one light softly glowing in the living room. He headed toward that light, knowing that's where he would find his mom.

Dinah looked up when she entered the room. "Honey, you're home early. How'd it go?"

Puck laughed out loud and flopped down on the couch next to his mother. Propping his feet up on the coffee table, he closed his eyes. "I think the word "fiasco" doesn't even begin to describe it but it's as close as I can get."

Dinah smiled. Perfect. "So…what happened?"

"Where do I begin? Oh yeah….so I started the night with a hot girlfriend and ended it without one."

Dinah did a mental back flip. She was glad that trollop was gone.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry."

Puck looked at her. "I'm not. It's for the best. I….I…. It's just better this way."

He rolled his head back away from his mom and closed his eyes again.

"Noah, what is it?"

Looking away from her, he said, "Ma….do you think it's possible to, like, be friends with someone and then realize you loved them but maybe you actually loved them all along and didn't know it?"

Rachel. So we're finally back to her, thought Dinah.

"Well, sweetie, I think it's very possible. If a person is your friend and you care about her, you may mistake your feelings of love for friendship. It can happen."

"So…what do I do about it now?"

Dinah was silent for a moment, hoping her son would provide her with a little more detail about the situation. In typical male fashion, he didn't say another word.

She poked him in the side and he jumped.

"What?"

"Are you going to tell me how you left on a date with Stacey and came home in love with Rachel? I'd really like to know!"

Puck grinned at her sheepishly. "I don't know, Ma. We were out and Rachel went to the bathroom and when she came back, like a half-hour later it seemed, she had been crying. And she wouldn't look at me. I couldn't get her to look at me. And it just drove me insane and that's when it hit me: I love that girl."

"Why wouldn't she look at you?"

"I still don't know. And then we all went to the putt-putt golf thing and she still ignored me. So I got pissed and kissed her."

Dinah's hand flew to her face, covering her mouth and trying to stifle a laugh. Oh, the messes he gets himself into.

"And how did that go over with Adam?"

"Oh, that dork was over talking on his phone. I didn't kiss her in front of Stacey and Adam, Ma. I'm not stupid. But now I don't know what to do. She has a boyfriend…" Realizing that he was only in this mess due to his mother, he turned and glared at her. "She has a boyfriend THANKS TO YOU!"

Dinah put her hand on his arm. "Baby, you had a girlfriend….Rachel needs to be happy, too. And how'd you end up breaking up with Stacey?"

"She tried to sleep with me."

Staring dumbfounded at her son, Dinah could only gape. "Honey…don't take this the wrong way but isn't that what you want? I know you aren't an innocent little angel. Um…you do have a baby on the way."

Puck glared at his mother. "I realize that I've been….free with…. Well….. Dammit, I'm hot! But tonight, I just couldn't do it. How could I sleep with her, even though she was offering, when I had just kissed Rachel? It was just too much. So Stacey got mad, called me all kinds of names, and I left. She's….she's kind of a bitch."

"Don't I know it," Dinah muttered under her breath.

Puck was silent for a moment.

"So what do I do now, Ma? I want Rachel. Rachel's taken."

Dinah had been waiting for this conversation. "Well, sweetie, I think you need to prove yourself to her. You did kind of shove her aside for that tramp, remember?"

Her words cut right to his heart. But she was right.

"I know. And she seems happy enough with the guy, even if he is a douchebag. But that kiss, Ma….that kiss was….."

"Fireworks?" Dinah offered.

"Yeah."

"Sweetie, I think you're just going to have to prove to Rachel that you want to be her friend again, as well as much more. I THINK you'll find she's open to it."

Dinah wanted to just look her son square in the eye and tell him that Rachel was in love with him. But he needed to figure this out for himself. He had created this mess by not seeing what was right in front of him. He had to get himself out of it.

Dinah stood, kissing him on the top of his head. "I'm going to bed, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning."

Puck squeezed her hand. She shut off the light and walked out of the room, leaving Puck staring into the darkness. He remained that way for a while until he eventually fell asleep.


"So, then, he just, like, presses you up against a shed and kisses you?" Kurt is standing over Rachel's bed, looking down at a still-under-the-covers Rachel. She had sent him a text message before bed last night that said:

Major developments. You must visit in morning.

Kurt, always a fan of gossip, decided to show up bright and early. So early, in fact, that Rachel was still asleep when he got there. He poked her awake and made her start spilling the beans.

Rachel pushed herself up from beneath her blankets. "Yes, Kurt…it was so…surreal."

"God, that's hot," Kurt said wistfully. Then he looked down at Rachel. "And….?" he prodded.

Rachel sighed dreamily. "And amazing."

Kurt jumped on the bed. "This is fabulous!"

Rachel grabbed a pillow and shoved it over her face. "No, this is horrible! I have a boyfriend. He has a girlfriend."

"Minor inconveniences now, sweetheart."

Rachel laughed. "You've seen Stacey, right? That girl is evil."

Kurt watched Rachel's face change. "What's wrong?"

Sighing, Rachel began to recount the experience with Stacey in the bathroom and her plans to have sex with Puck that night.

"Do you think he did it?" Rachel looked at Kurt with pain in her eyes.

Kurt scooted directly next to her, patting her hand. "My gut says no. He is a lot of things but a total ass isn't one of them. Well, he is actually a total ass, but not to you. I don't think he would kiss you and then sleep with her."

Rachel leaned her head against Kurt's shoulder. "Thanks, Kurty."

"Of course, dear. So now, we have to figure out how to most easily dump Adam."

"Who says I want dump Adam?"

Kurt pushed himself off the bed. "Rachel, darling, I have listened to you whine and cry and complain and sing over that Muscle-bound Beefcake for months now. Do you honestly think that, now that you might have a chance with him, you're going to let it slip by?"

Rachel flopped back on the bed. "I don't know what to do! I agreed to go to the dance with Adam on Saturday and I can't very well cancel on him, can I?" Rachel stopped speaking but started before Kurt could offer his opinion. "Wait, don't answer that…. No, I can't! I'm too nice to do that to him."

"What matters more? Being nice or finding yourself in the freakishly muscular arms of Puck?"

Rachel bit her lip. "That's actually not a very hard question to answer, Kurt. But as long as Noah has Stacey, none of this really matters, does it?"


Monday morning at school, Rachel was prepping herself for another mentally-confusing. She opened her locker and began pulling books out, preparing to head to first period. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an unfamiliar object taped to her locker door. It was a note, written on orange paper:

R-

Stacey's history. Sent her packing Saturday night. Thought you should know.

-N

Rachel couldn't help the huge grin that appeared on her face. Her heart pounded at the thought that hey kissed her and then broke up with Stacey? Oh no….things just got decidedly more complicated. Adam. Adam. Adam is your boyfriend.

Just then, like something right out of one of those awful teenage romance movies, Stacey came sidling up to Rachel's locker. Standing on the other side of the door, she couldn't see the note hanging inside.

"Hey, friend," sneered Stacey.

"Hello, Stacey," Rachel said sweetly.

"I promised you the details so here they are: it was amazing. It was fabulous. He spent the night Saturday and we did it most of the day Sunday too. It HURTS to walk because of how good he gave it to me."

Stacey watched and as she spoke, Rachel's smile only grew larger.

What? This isn't working.

Rachel looked Stacey in the eye.

"Are you finished?"

"I suppose. Why?"

"C'mere…." Rachel crooked her finger at Stacey, motioning for her to step around the locker door. Once she was in position, Rachel pointed at the note. "Here. You can read, right?"

Stacey's eyes grazed over the note and then she turned to Rachel and growled. Slamming the locker door, she screamed, "I HATE NOAH PUCKERMAN!" and then stormed down the hall.

Rachel called, "Bye, Stacey! Take care!" behind her and watched her disappear into the crowd, giggling quietly the entire time.

I hope that's the last of her!


Kurt was walking down the hall, heading to first period when he felt a hand on his arm. Pulled into a darkened classroom, he looked indignant as he met Puck's eyes.

"Um…Puck…. Is this real or is this one of my fantasies?"

"Shut up, Kurt," Puck said, punching him in the arm.

"Yep, it's real. So what do I owe this honor?"

Puck sat down on the top of the desk.

"I need your help," he said simply.

"With?"

"Rachel."

Kurt smiled. This poor boy obviously had brains everywhere but in his head.

"What about Rachel?"

"I need….I need to win her over. I kinda screwed things up but I want to fix it. I want to get her back."

"Get her back? You never had her."

"No….yes…" Puck sighed. "Just listen, okay?"

Kurt nodded.

"We were friends, right? Well, I screwed that up royally when I picked Stacey over her all those times. But I want to be her friend again. And actually, I'd like to be her boyfriend. Do you think that's insane?" Puck looked almost sad, which Kurt found to be both adorable and incredibly sexy. Why are the beautiful ones always straight?

Playing cool, even though Kurt wanted to squeal like a girl and go find Rachel, he said, "No, Puck, I don't think that's insane at all."

"So can you help me?" Puck's eyes were hopeful.

"I'm sure I can offer my services."

Puck smiled and seemed to relax a little bit.

"Puck…do you mind if I get my crew involved with this? I'll have to tell them the entire sordid tale, of course, but I think that if there are more than just us working on it, it will be more effective."

"Umm…I mean, I guess that's okay."

"Wonderful. That will help. Now, the first thing you need to know is that Rachel is going to a dance at Adam's school on Saturday night."

"The fuck she is…." He responded.

"Crude," Kurt commented back, staring at his nails.

Puck and Kurt discussed plans until the bell rang. As they headed out into the halls, Puck said, "Hey Kurt…I…I kind of kissed Rachel on Saturday night."

Kurt smiled, feigning complete surprise. "Oh really? Do tell……."

As they walked away, all Kurt could think was that things were about to get really, really fun.