Puck was impressed. Rachel was smiling and appeared relaxed. She wasn't putting off the creepy intense diva vibe that most people were used to, and he thought to himself that they just might pull this off. Matt's intervention had been a lifesaver and Puck made a mental note to cover his share the next time they all put for beer money.
They'd started talking about football, and he knew Rachel had missed Matt's subtle head nod, guy sign language for "Nice going, she's hot". As long as she didn't do anything crazy, she might fool everyone into thinking she was normal. If that were the case, not only would they survive the night, Puck would be a legend.
She'd be the classic teen movie "pony tail and glasses" girl and he'd be the stud who discovered her. He tried not to think about the fact that if this were an actual movie, Finn would probably be the good guy who noticed her first, and he'd be the asshole best friend. In the movies, the chick always ends up with the good guy.
Puck noticed Santana staring at Rachel with a mixture of envy and rage and he made it a point to tickle Rachel's arm slightly so that she smiled up at him. He looked back at Santana with a smirk on his face. She spun on her heel in fury and stomped off towards the kitchen.
He was halfway through his excruciatingly detailed account of his touchdown catch, when Rachel poked him hard in the side. Irritated by the interruption, he looked down at her. Immediately, the look on her face turned his irritation into concern. Puck could tell she been upset by something. Had she seen what he'd done to Santana? Rachel gestured towards the living room and he spotted the source of her panic. Finn was walking towards them, alone and with a murderous look on his face.
Slowly people stopped talking, and a hush fell over the party. Damned rubberneckers, he thought. People just loved to watch a good fight. He dropped his arm to Rachel's waist and hauled her against him. The message the move sent was crystal clear, "She's mine, stay away."
He could feel the muscles in his jaw twitch as Finn drew closer, and his free hand clenched into a fist. He angled his body so that he was firmly in between Rachel and Finn. Puck looked back at Matt, and glanced towards the door. Matt inclined his head slightly, assuring him that she'd be taken care of if things got ugly.
Puck, yet again, admired Rachel's courage. She was still standing tall, as tall as a munchkin could anyway, next to but sightly behind him. If she was worried now, her face didn't show it. He smiled inwardly. She was on his side, and he wanted to keep her there.
"Sup dude." he said nonchalantly as Finn closed in on him. He felt dozens of pairs on him, waiting for the dam to burst.
Finn stopped less than two feet from them and said nothing. He just stared at Puck coldly.
"Where's Quinn?" Puck asked, as if this were a casual conversation between buds.
No answer, just an ice cold glare. He could see Finn's fists were reflexively clenching and unclenching, and he pulled Rachel further behind him, anticipating a fight. She reached up and grasped his arm, and out of the corner of his eye he could see the look of horror on her face.
"Noah please..." she whispered, "don't."
Finn's eyes darted from Puck's face to Rachel's and back. He hadn't been close enough to hear what she said, but Puck knew he understood what she was asking. They stared at each other for a long, tense minute, and the Finn's anger seemed deflate. He pushed past them, and exited the house without saying a word.
Staring at his best friend's back, Puck pulled Rachel back to his side. He looked down at her, expecting to see relief in her face. Instead, she gave him an apologetic look, and looked to the door. Puck knew what was coming and he stiffened in anger. He felt her pulling away from his grasp as she stepped towards the door. She gave him one last look of regret, and bolted after Finn.
Puck was frozen in stunned disbelief. She'd left him alone, standing there, staring after her like an idiot. Saint Finn wins again, he thought with a bitter laugh.