AN: Sorry for the long delay in between chapters everyone! I got really busy with that silly thing called life for a while but I'm back now, I promise. Expect regular updates once again on this story as well as my other stories!

Rachel could honestly say she was glad to have Puck show up at the end of rehearsal to walk her back to her dorm, even if it meant that she was going to get glares from every female (and some of the males) who were in the musical.

Jesse had made rehearsal absolutely dreadful. He criticized everything she did (and not in a constructive manner), at one point causing Rachel to break down into tears. He always knew the things to say that would make her cry.

In the end, Rachel was a sweating, sobbing mess—not the way she wanted to greet her brand-new boyfriend on their first full day of being together.

Rachel didn't know what time Puck walked into rehearsal, but when Jesse finally dismissed them, he was right by her side. Before Rachel could manage to verbalize a greeting, his lips were on hers, his hands on either side of her face. Rachel could feel the heat rising in her face but she didn't bother to pull away. It was kind of nice, after all.

Puck went over to grab her things while Rachel chatted with Mercedes who was teasing her about Puck's sudden public display of affection. "You know, I've never seen him greet a girl like that. Granted, I don't spend a lot of time in his company, but every time I have seen him in public with a girl, he's much more forward than a simple kiss on the lips. Homeboy has it bad," she laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, feeling a bit confused by what Mercedes was saying.

"Don't worry, you'll understand in time," she laughed. "So what are you and your quarterback boyfriend doing tonight?" she asked.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Mercy," Rachel laughed, giving the senior a quick shove. "I'm an eighteen-year-old college freshman with zero carnal knowledge. I'm not about to give it up the first full day of dating. We're going to O'Hara's with my roommate, her boy-whatever, my bff, and his big-mouthed roommate to see a band playing."

"Ooh, sounds fun. Is the band any good?"

"I should think so. It's the band I performed with not that long ago. Well, sort of. It's two of the guys from there with a new singer since April still has her leg in a cast and Bryan doesn't want to do it without her or whatever. I promised Will and Coop I'd come see them perform for moral support or whatever."

"You know, that would be a ton of fun. You should tell everyone to come. I'm sure the extra people would be great for the band plus it would give everyone here a chance to spend time with each other outside of rehearsal."

"Oh, I doubt they'd all come. Most everyone here seems to hate me since I stole the quarterback off the market," she said, glancing over at Puck. He'd grabbed her bag and was attempting to make his way back to Rachel but had found himself swarmed by most of the other girls in the musical, most of whom were ignoring his excuses of needing to get home.

"Hey, listen up!" Mercedes shouted, ignoring everything Rachel had just said. "We're all going to O'Hara's tonight to see a new band there. I better see all your asses there or you're not invited to my kick-ass opening night party that I've had every year. And let Puck get back to his girlfriend—he's not going to fuck any of you so you might as well stop looking like such desperate sluts."

The group of giggling girls surrounding Puck blushed a deep shade of red before backing away from him, shooting daggers at both Mercedes and Rachel.

"Right, like I was saying. O'Hara's tonight at nine. It's cast-bonding or whatever, so everyone better show up—that means you too, Emma," Mercedes added, looking over at Professor Sylvester's TA who had been supervising all the rehearsals so far.

"Oh, I don't know," Emma said softly. "I'm not part of the cast and you're all so much younger than me."

"So? We want you there. You seem like so much more fun than Sue has ever been. Come. I'll even buy you a drink," Mercedes said with a laugh, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She gave a wave to Rachel before taking Shane's arm and walking out of the auditorium, shouting a reminder to everyone that they had better show up tonight or incur her wrath tomorrow.

"So, does that mean I'm invited too?" Jesse asked, coming up behind Rachel. The small freshman jumped a little, not having seen him approach her. "Someone seems nervous," he teased, moving to the left so he was standing beside her, his eyes on the approaching Puck.

"Go away Jesse. I'm trying to spend as little time as possible with you, and since I'm not obligated to hang around you right now, I'd really love for you to fuck off and leave me in peace."

"Wow, I don't remember you talking to me like that when we dated."

"That was because you'd fooled me into thinking I was in love with you. Now that I know what kind of person you really are underneath that charming exterior you use to fool girls like me, I have no qualms about telling you exactly how I feel about you," she snapped.

"Ouch, right to the heart. You know that hurts, Rach," he joked, making a scene of placing his right hand over his chest where his heart was. "Come on, you can't tell me you still don't care a little bit about me?"

"Not one ounce," she said, not bothering to look over at him. Of course, that was a lie—Jesse was her first love. That didn't go away just because he'd raked her across the coals and broken her heart into a million pieces. Somewhere, a small part of her still did care for him. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

"Liar. Your right eyebrow always twitches when you tell a lie. Admit it, Berry. You still have the hots for me. Not that I blame you. I am quite the catch if I do say so myself."

"Get lost. I'm not talking about this now or ever, especially not when Noah is walking up to us."

"Oh, so you haven't told the new boyfriend about this part of your past then?"

"Not. Your. Business," she said, emphasizing each word. Rachel put on a smile as Puck walked up to them, her bag slung over his shoulder. "Shall we go then?" he asked, looking from Rachel to Jesse and back to Rachel with a confused expression.

"I thought you'd never ask," Rachel said, reaching out to take his hand. She didn't bother to glance back at Jesse, even when he called that he'd see her later after her.

Once they were outside of the auditorium, Puck pulled Rachel close, his arm wrapped around her shoulder. Of course, they got some looks from people passing by them—he was a big deal on campus, after all.

"So who was that guy?" Puck finally asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. "I don't remember him from yesterday."

"That's because he wasn't at rehearsals yesterday. He's helping out with the dancing for the show and I'm lucky enough to get lessons from him," she said sarcastically.

"You don't seem two happy about that," Puck commented.

"He's an asshole. Of course I'm not happy about it."

"You just met the guy and already think he's an asshole? What'd he do to piss you off?" Puck asked with a laugh.

Rachel let out a sigh, leaning a little closer to him as they approached her dorm building. "This really isn't the best place to talk about it. I'm covered in sweat and I still smell like chocolate from the milkshake last night. How about you let me shower and then I promise to tell you all about how Jesse St. James is the world's biggest asshole Deal?"

Puck let out a laughed, leaning his head down to give Rachel one quick kiss. "Deal," he promised, following behind her as she swiped the two of them into her building. They took the elevator up to her floor and headed down the hall towards her room. Puck watched as she unlocked the door, smiling at him as she opened it and let the two of them inside.

Quinn was in the room, blow-drying her hair in front of the one mirror in the room while Joe sat patiently on her bed, laughing about something. They both looked up as the door opened and Rachel walked in with Puck trailing behind her. "Hey doll, how was rehearsal?" Quinn asked, shutting off her hair dryer and setting it on top of her desk, running a comb through her hair as she asked.

"Torture, but what else is new?" she said with a sarcastic laugh.

"Aw, is Belle not having fun singing?" Joe teased, leaning back against Quinn's pillows, his arms behind his head.

"Nice to see you too, Joseph," Rachel said, rolling her eyes at him. She took her bag from Puck, placing it on her bed. "I thought you'd already be at O'Hara's by now," Rachel commented, slipping her shoes off as she headed into her closet, retrieving her bathrobe and a pair of old flip flops. "I thought Kurt said he wanted to get there early to see if he could catch Blaine before he got slammed with work."

"He did. He and Sam left ten minutes ago. He took your car, by the way," Quinn laughed.

Rachel shook her head. "I always knew it was a mistake giving him his own set of keys," she said as she yanked the hair tie out of her hair, letting the dark waves fall down her back. Rachel ran a hand through her hair, attempting to untangle it somewhat. "What about you two?"

"We're leaving as soon as the queen bee is satisfied with her hair, though who knows how long that could take."

"Excuse you, I'm practically ready. I just need to put a little hairspray in and then we can leave. Apparently, California boy posers are the most impatient people on this earth," Quinn said, giving Rachel a grin.

"Are you ever going to let that go?"

"No, because you claimed I wasn't a true California girl since I'd never been surfing yet you're not even from the state yourself." Quinn slipped a pair of black boots on over her jeans, ruffling her blonde hair once. "Alright, I'm ready." She held a hand out to him, pulling him to his feet. "We'll see you two there. Make good choices, diva!" Quinn laughed as she and Joe left the room, shutting the door behind them.

Puck walked over, taking a seat on Rachel's bed. "I still don't like that guy."

"I doubt you'd like anyone who shows any kind of interest in your sister. Or me," she teased, placing a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to go shower. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be fast, I promise."

Puck watched as Rachel walked out of the room, lying down on her bed, He kicked his shoes off, leaving them on the floor of her room as he stared up at the ceiling. It was a weird feeling, being Rachel's boyfriend. Puck didn't have a lot of experience being someone's boyfriend. He had lots of experience being in a girl's bed, but not much being the guy who fell for a girl and worked so hard to impress her. It was a bit humbling and he wasn't sure if he really liked this feeling. He supposed he was just as inexperienced as Rachel in the dating department. He was as much a virgin as her when it came to that stuff.

Puck rolled over on her bed, his face resting in her pillow. He wasn't sure if it was her conditioner, her perfume, or just her natural scent, but whatever it was, it made her pillow smell amazing. It was the same thing he smelled whenever Rachel was walking close to him, her side pressed against his.

"Creep. Did you just smell my pillow?"

Puck looked up, seeing Rachel standing in the doorway, her pink bathrobe wrapped around her body, her towel wrapped around her head, and her dirty clothes clutched in her arms. She shut the door behind her, dropping her clothing in the hamper on her side of the room.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. You'll never prove it either way," he teased, sitting up as Rachel took a seat on the edge of her bed beside him. He moved closer to her, his arm around her waist as he nuzzled his face against her neck. "Though you can't blame me if I did. Your pillow smells just as good as you do," he said, causing Rachel to laugh. "What?" he asked, pulling back slightly.

"It tickles when you talk with your mouth resting against my neck like that," she teased, tapping his nose lightly. "Okay, turn away. I need to get changed and I'm not as content with you staring at my naked ass as I am with Kurt doing the same."

"Hey, no fair. Why does Kurt get to stare at you naked but I can't?" he joked, pretending to pout slightly. Rachel rolled her eyes at him and Puck laughed, lying down face first on her bed, being sure not to look at her. Of course, he did happen to turn his head to the side once when she was putting her bra on. He only got a look at her bare back, but it was still enough to cause some blood to flow south, causing Puck to shift uncomfortably on her bed. He shielded his eyes once more, keeping them hidden until Rachel gave him the okay to look around again.

Her hair was still wet and she hadn't put any makeup on yet, but she still looked flawless in Puck's opinion. She was in a red lacy top with skinny jeans. She'd paired it with a nude cuff on her wrist, gold earrings, and a ring with an off-white stone in it. He saw a pair of nude peep-toe pumps and a tan clutch she'd pulled out of her closet and placed by the door.

Rachel walked over to Puck, sitting on the edge of the bed as he sat up, placing his arm behind her as he leaned close. She smiled up at him, placing her hand on his knee.

"I promised you earlier I'd tell you who Jesse is and why I think he's such an asshole, and I feel as though I should tell you now before we leave or I'll never end up telling you, and you deserve to know."

"Rach, you're scaring me. Who is this guy?"

"He's my ex."

"I thought Kurt was your ex."

"He is," Rachel said, her eyes staring down at her lap. She didn't want to see what Puck's face looked like right now. "But so is Jesse. I—I haven't told many people about this. Kurt doesn't even know. I'm trying to find the right time to tell him the truth, but I keep chickening out." She looked up as she felt Puck take her hand in his, seeing him give her a reassuring smile.

It felt like the store went on forever. Rachel just kept talking and talking and talking until she told Puck everything. How she met Jesse, their sneaking around, his habit of tearing her down and making her doubt herself, and the messy end to their relationship.

"So that's why you freaked that night in the bar," he said after she'd finished talking.

Rachel nodded her head. "Yes. It just reminded me so much of what I went through with Jesse. I let you in that day, thought you were different despite my better judgment, so it hurt to see you prove to me that you were like every other guy out there."

"But I'm not," Puck said quietly, squeezing Rachel's hand. "I'm not like every other guy out there."

Rachel smiled at him. "I know you're not. You're so much better than all those silly boys I've known all my life. You're smart, and kind, and sweet, and you have the most wonderful heart of anybody I've ever met before." She leaned her head up, kissing him lightly on the lips. "I know you can't be happy about me being a virgin and giving you blue balls every time we're around each other, but it means a lot to me. I know you respect me and would never do anything to prove otherwise, even if you do happen to peak while I'm changing," she teased.

"I—how did you—?"

Rachel let out a laugh, hugging Puck tightly around the middle. "You weren't exactly subtle about it," she said, her fingers running over the back of his neck. "And strangely, I don't care. If it keeps you from pressuring me into bed with you, then peak away," she teased, laughing as she was pulled onto Puck's lap.

He held her close, glancing at the clock. He knew they needed to be at O'Hara's ten minutes ago, but this was one of the only times he'd been alone with Rachel since he'd asked her out last night. They could afford to be a little late if it meant he got to hold her in his arms for just a minute.