Hello my lovely readers. I honestly don't know what to say other than I'm a horrible human being who is two weeks away from graduating and has been addicted to RPing. I finally sat myself down and wrote this for you all because I owe you that much. I plan on getting back into the swing of things this summer, especially when I go away to Europe and my friends told me no Tumblr haha. If you are reading Dress and Tie, I apologize. I have kind of lost inspiration for that and just need to get it back, so don't expect an update on that anytime soon. Again, I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter!

Despite Puck's clear objection, Rachel had ignored the fact that the two teens had kissed in the bed of his truck. When she had pulled away, she had silently gone about bandaging his wounds and constantly brushed away his hands when he tried to place them on her body. He was growing frustrated with her actions, but knew that if he had pushed it, she would have shut it down. Although she had continued staying civil with him (kind of impossible to ignore him when he walks with her between almost every class), he knew there was a whirlwind of thought circling that mind of hers. It didn't really help that more guys had propositioned her and Rachel had been forced to bandage him up another couple times after he'd gotten into some more fights with some of these guys. He didn't mention the kiss or how she was feeling about how people had been treating her, nor did he try to force her to talk about it, especially since it was Friday, their date night.

After school on Friday, Rachel was at her locker, Sam and Quinn keeping her company until Puck showed up. When he did, he poked her side and smiled down at her.

"Ready for tonight?" he asked, taking her books from her.

"What's tonight?" she questioned, taking his books back and putting some in her locker and some in her bag.

Puck's eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her. "Um, our date," he replied. When she started sighing, he shook his head and turned her to face him. "No way, Berry. You promised me one date. I've been planning this shit all week. You can't bail like this."

"Noah, please just-"

"Just nothing, Rach. You promised me one date. Come on," he practically begged, looking completely devastated at the thought of her cancelling their date.

As Rachel bit her lip nervously, refusing to look at him, Quinn and Sam were whispering to each other. The cheerleader called over Santana, explaining the situation to her.

"Oh hell no," she groaned, walking over to Rachel and Puck. Puck looked up at her confusedly while Rachel looked absolutely horrified. "You're not fucking bailing on my man, Berry. You and I are going shopping right now and then you are going out with him. I will watch Caleb, you two will have fun, and that's it." With that, she grabbed Rachel's bag and shoved it in Puck's chest. "If you need someone to watch Caleb while you get ready, I'm sure Trouty wouldn't mind." She grabbed Rachel's arm and then turned to look at Quinn. "You coming, Q?" Giggling, Quinn nodded, kissed Sam's cheek, and grabbed Rachel's other arm before the three girls left the school.

Puck looked at Sam, a mixture of fear and amusement on his face. "Your best friend is insane," Sam told him, shaking his head. "Come on," he offered, shutting Rachel's locker and leading a still speechless Puck to the parking lot.

"Santana, I refuse to try on anymore of these inappropriate outfits you keep on insisting I should wear tonight. I don't even want to go, for goodness sake," Rachel complained, coming out of the dressing room with a plethora of outfits in her hands.

"Oh suck it up Berry," the Latina rolled her eyes. "Do you or do you not want to make this night special?"

"I do not."

"Bullshit."

Rachel and Santana looked over at Quinn with shocked expressions. They'd never heard the blonde swear so bluntly before. "Excuse me?" Rachel asked rather squeakily.

"You heard me, Rachel. That is absolute bullshit." Quinn's expression softened and she walked over to take the clothes out of her friend's hands before she held them in hers. "I know you're scared of what might happen with Puck, but he's not going to hurt you. After everything that happened between you two, I know you care about him. He's Caleb's father, but he's more than that. I know this is scary, having to think about putting your heart on the line again, but you can't just shut down the second you get feelings for someone. Puck loves you. You and Caleb mean everything to him. I've never seen him act the way he does with you towards anyone else. He practically beams when he's just around you. You can't shut down, because if you don't give him a chance, he won't recover. He's been rejected and abandoned by too many people. If you do it, it'll be the last straw for him."

Rachel looked down, as tears welled in her eyes. She knew Quinn was right. Not just about what she was doing, but about how Puck would react and what would happen for the both of them if she didn't at least try. But there was still that inherent fear gnawing at her core.

"I-I just can't get hurt again," she replied softly. She looked up at Quinn and Santana, smiling sadly at their sympathetic looks. "I mean, what if it doesn't work? My heart will be broken and Caleb could lose his dad. I can risk my happiness, but not his."

Santana walked closer and threw her arm over Rachel's shoulder, squeezing her. "Puck would never abandon you and Caleb, even if you two didn't work. You can't know until you try." She smiled softly at Rachel, rubbing her arm.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nodded and looked up at her friends, smiling softly. "Thank you," she whispered then pulled her friends in for a hug. "Now, can you help me find something appropriate and breath-taking for tonight?" Quinn and Santana squealed in excitement, causing Rachel to giggle, and set off to find the perfect outfit.

About an hour later, the three girls were walking through the food court to get a drink when Rachel bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so so- Nick? Jeff? What are you guys doing here?"

"We came to get some walkie-talkies for a prank we have planned for this weekend," Jeff replied excitedly, eliciting giggles from the girls. "What about you?"

"Getting a hot outfit for Rach," Santana replied, bumping Rachel's hip with her own. "She has a date tonight."

"A date?" Nick asked, causing Rachel to duck her head embarrassedly. "With who?"

"Um, Noah," she stated quietly, stirring confusion in her friends. She looked up to see a rather hurt Nick looking at her. The boy nodded, then shook his head and started walking away. "Nick, wait," she called, rushing after him and leaving their three confused friends behind. She grabbed his arm, but he yanked it out of her grip. "Please, just let me explain."

"What is there to explain, Rachel?" he asked, looking at her with an expression of pure hurt on his face. "You haven't talked to me since our date and then I find out you're going out with Puck?"

"I-I know, I meant to call you, but a lot of stuff has happened. Caleb was sick, the school found out about him, and then things with Noah-"

"You could have still talked to me, Rachel!" he insisted. "I would have understood, and I could have been there for you. I could be good for you, but you didn't even give me that chance."

"I didn't know how to tell you that I couldn't," she muttered, looking down. "I'm sorry Nick, but I-I didn't feel that spark I know I should have. I-I'm sorry I wasted your time."

Nick shook his head then looked down as well. "I didn't feel it either," he admitted. Rachel's head shot up to look at him. "I really wanted to. I wanted to be good for you because I think you're an amazing girl and that you deserve to be treated right and loved. But I don't think I could be that guy."

Rachel smiled softly and then pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you for trying," she said to him, giving him a small squeeze.

"I would love to still be friends with you," Nick stated, looking down at her.

"That sounds wonderful," Rachel replied, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Nick smiled and they returned to their friends before heading off in their own directions.

Thoughts? Making a little contest for you all to keep you involved. What should Puck do for their date? The person with the best idea will get it placed into the story (with my adaptation of course haha) and be credited as well as receive a short one-shot of their choosing. So review! Thanks for reading! I love you all :)