AN: Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than normal. This story is slowly winding down...*sniff* As much as I hate that, I'm very much against drawing out a story just for the sake of drawing it out. Plus, I have so many more ideas coming down the pipe that I want to get into other stories for you guys! Please R&R! :o)

Chapter 25: More Than One Can Imagine

Two weeks later and one week before Regionals, the members of New Directions were working hard on their songs when Santana and Brittany came in with matching scowls.

"Is something wrong, Santana?" Rachel asked carefully. While the Latina had mellowed a little over the last months, Rachel was still wary of getting on her bad side.

"Coach Sylvester got Principal Figgins to change the date of prom to the same day as Regionals!" Santana griped.

"What?!"
"She can't do that!"
"Why would she do that?"
"Figgins is so lame!"
"I can't believe Sylvester would stoop this low!"

The responses rang out in unison.

"She said that if Glee is so important to us that we'd miss out on our 'high school rite of passage,'" Santana said with air quotes, "then we deserve to be losers."

"Well, that's a lame excuse," Puck said.

"I know it is, Puck," Santana snapped. "But still! It's prom!"

"Every girl grows up dreaming about what they're going to wear to prom or who they're going with!" Brittany cried.

Puck rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, "Prom isn't that important, guys. It's just a stupid dance."

"I believe it's the fact of the matter, Noah. We all have to choose between things that are important to us," Rachel tried to explain. "This really is discriminatory against the Glee club members."

"Yeah but it's just prom," Puck groaned.

It was then that Rachel remembered that he had yet to ask her to prom, and she did her best to push her hurt aside. If they weren't going to be able to have a prom, it didn't really matter if he asked her now or not.

"Whatever, Puck, you just don't understand," Santana sniped. "I already bought a dress." she whined.

"So did I," Quinn added, smiling at Finn who placed his arm gently around her waist.

Even as the others shared smiles and silent awwws that the couple had finally found their way back to each other, they were still clearly upset over the fact that Glee club was always being discriminated against and bullied.

"Guys, I'm so sorry that Sue is still scheming after all this," Mr. Schuester tried to placate the disappointed teens.

"B-but I am supposed to take Kurt! H-he and I were gonna be fabulous together," Brittany said with a quiver in her voice.

"Oh, honey," Kurt crossed to the blonde who looked close to tears, "we are fabulous. We don't need a silly dance tell us that." Brittany sniffed but seemed uplifted by Kurt's statement.

"Perhaps we can convince Figgins to let us have our own small dance after Regionals?" Artie suggested.

"Yeah, he could leave up the decorations, and we could just order pizza or something," Tina added.

"Great idea, you two," Mr. Schue said. "I'll talk to him tomorrow."

Artie and Tina shared a smile, and once again the rest of the girls and Kurt sighed over another couple getting back to their old selves.

"Good going, Abrams," Puck said as he half-heartedly punched Artie in the arm. "If that works, I'll actually have to go now," he chuckled unknowingly.

"You didn't want to take me to prom?" Rachel cut in innocently.

Puck's eyes widened as he realized what he said and what Rachel was probably thinking. The look in her eyes told him that she was extremely hurt. She probably thought he didn't want to go with her. But that wasn't the case at all. School dances just weren't his thing. Puck mentally kicked himself; he felt like such an idiot. The dance had simply slipped his mind with all the baby drama.

Extremely ashamed, he stammered out an apology. "I am so sorry, baby. I know what you're thinking, but I swear it's not that at all," he pleaded with her to understand. He didn't want to lose her over something so silly, even though in the back he knew he was being paranoid; if Rachel had stayed with him through his personal hell, he knew she wouldn't leave him over this. But still. "I just don't like dances. You know me, Rach. Wouldn't you rather just watch a movie and order out Chinese food?" he asked hopefully.

Rachel knew when she saw his eyes widen that he hadn't intentionally ignored the prom issue; he really wasn't a wear-a-monkey-suit-and-dance-around-in-a-room-with-silly-streamers-type. But she really wanted to go to the prom if they were going to have it. She was relieved, however, that Noah realized why she was upset and tried to fix it in the best way he knew how. Her hurt over not being asked at first lasted a split second. Still, she felt she could tease him a little over it, so she pouted her lips, put on her best puppy dog eyes, and fluttered her eyelashes. "But I was really hoping we could go."

One look at that face, and he knew what he had to do. Geez, he was so whipped. "Oh all right, fine. If we figure out how to have a prom, then we will go," he sighed.

"You're just going to assume I'd go with you without you asking?" she said with an eyebrow quirked.

"You want me to ask you?" Puck clarified. "Seriously?"

"It'd be the proper thing to do, Noah," she said, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, but Puck saw the sparkle in her eyes.

He held back a smirk, took her hand, and with a loud, melodramatic voice proclaimed, "Rachel Berry, would you do the honor of accompanying me to this year's prom or whatever it will be since we might not get to go to the real one?"

"I would be delighted, Noah Puckerman," she giggled. "I thought you'd never ask," she swooned playfully, looping her arms around his neck and smashing her lips to his.

The group chuckled at their antics. It was nice to see the happiness and carefree attitudes that all the couples seemed to have once more.

"All right, gang," Mr. Schue chuckled. "Now that that's all settled, let take it from the top."

The group cheered and got into their places for "Unwritten."

By the weekend, Rachel was so ready for some relaxation. It had been a long week. Mr. Schuester had been able to get Principal Figgins to allow them to have a dance in the school gym on Sunday, but it was not without a fight from Coach Sylvester. It seemed like that woman was always on a mission to make the Glee club kids' lives miserable. Rachel didn't understand how someone could stoop so low as to try to take away prom for certain individuals. She scoffed to herself; if worse had come to worse, she would've just gotten her Daddy to represent them all in a discrimination case against Sue Sylvester and Principal Figgins. He knew plenty of people at the ACLU, and Rachel was not above using that fact as a scare tactic. However, Figgins effectively shut Coach Sylvester up by making Mr. Schue promise that the gym would be spotless when they left on Sunday. So, they had their prom, but they had to bring dingy clothes with them to clean up the facility afterward. Rachel sighed. Well, at least they were getting a prom.

Then, if that hullabaloo wasn't enough, Jacob Ben-Israel had run a stupid story on his blog about the Glee club being some sort of secret orgy cult because the majority of the members were couples. Everyone was disgusted at his audacity; Brittany even cried though they weren't sure if she even knew what a cult was. Needless to say, after the guys found out, Jacob was out of school for three days. And when he dared to show his face on Friday, he was sporting a reverse Mohawk down the center of his Jewfro, and his two black eyes were barely visible past his glasses that had been snapped in two pieces and taped back together with hot pink duct tape. When the girls mentioned it, Mike just smirked and said, "Let's just say Jacob will think twice about messing with this secret orgy cult again!"

Rachel sighed remembering the week's events as she pulled into the parking space in front of Nail Love. She was cashing in on her manicure and pedicure from Santana, Brittany, and Quinn. Then, she and the girls were going to meet Tina, Mercedes, and Kurt at the mall for lunch and dress shopping. Even though it was going to be just them at their "prom," the girls (and Kurt) insisted on still wearing dressy clothes and forcing the boys to look at least presentable. Rachel was very excited for her girls' day, although she was kind of sad over not seeing Puck. She knew it was stupid and girly, but it was the first weekend in a long time they hadn't spent any time together. She promised her dads they could go together and look for some flowers for the house, so she wouldn't get to see him tomorrow either. She pouted, but she was glad that Puck was going to be spending the weekend at Finn's. A few weeks ago was the first time Puck had been over to Finn's since everything had gone down. He told Rachel it was pretty awkward at first, but soon enough they were shooting up zombies and street fighting and whatever else guys do on video games just like old times. The boys had been hanging out a little more at school too. In fact, Finn and Quinn were riding in Rachel's car with her and Puck to the mini-prom they were going to be allowed to have the Sunday after Regionals. Rachel knew Puck was glad to have his friend back even if he didn't make a big deal about it. It meant more to him than he let on.

"Rachel! Hi!" Brittany exclaimed when the brunette walked up to meet the girls in front of the nail salon.

"Hello everyone," Rachel said politely. She liked the Cheerios much more now, but she had never hung out with them by herself before. She was more than a little nervous.

"Hey girl," Santana said, surprisingly cheerful, "you ready to be pampered?"

"Yes, quite ready," Rachel sighed. "This week was so long. I cannot believe Regionals are next week either. I know we're ready, but Vocal Adrenaline is superior in every aspect of performing," she went on. Then, as if she just realized everything on their plates, she rushed on, becoming more panicked as she spoke, "I am just so worried that our choreography won't be intricate enough. I know our vocals will be fine, but what if something similar to the Sectionals debacle happens? I don't know if–"

"Whoa, slow down, Rachel," Quinn calmed her. "You need to chill out."

"Yeah, Rach, this day's about relaxing," Brittany added. "No worrying today, okay?"

"They're right, Rachel," Santana patted her on the shoulder. "We're going to kick major tail at Regionals, but today? Today is about us. We're going to go in there, pretty our tootsies and fingers up, and then we're going to the mall."

"Yeah!" Brittany squealed. "We're going to eat a calorie-filled lunch, but after you all try on dresses so you won't feel all bloaty and junk." Her thousand-watt smile made Rachel giggle.

"You girls are absolutely right," Rachel conceded. "No Glee talk today. Just fun."

"Yay!" Brittany clapped and jumped up and down in place before looping her arm through Rachel's and led her through the door.

The girls were fortunate enough to come to the salon at a slow time so they were all able to sit together in the spa chairs next to one another. Rachel was in between Brittany and Quinn, with Santana on the end beside Brittany. The nail technicians looked a little worried when the Cheerios came in; apparently the girls used to be snobby and rude to the workers, and this was the first time they'd come in since their attitude adjustments. The girls were like new people the technicians didn't even recognize.

The conversation was easy. They spoke of boys, school, and their plans for summer vacation. Quinn was still staying with Brittany for the time being, but she was considering moving into the spare room in Miss Pillsbury's house. She didn't feel right going back to Finn's after everything, and she couldn't entertain the thought of going back to her hypocritical parents' home, even though they offered. Brittany's family was nice, but Quinn didn't want to impose on them anymore. The Glee club planned on moving Quinn's stuff the weekend after Regionals.

"What are you doing for summer, Santana?" Rachel asked the Latina.

"My parents are taking me and my brother to Santa Ana for a few weeks. We have relatives there," she replied. "That's where I was born; it's how I got my name actually."

"Oh, Santa Ana…Santana," Quinn said slowly. "How interesting! I never knew that, San."

The cheerleader smiled and shrugged. They moved into comfortable silence as they decided what colors to get on their toes. Rachel noticed Brittany looking intently at the water swirling around her feet.

"Did you know? Dolphins are really just gay sharks," Brittany said sagely.

Quinn, Rachel, and Santana swung their heads toward the blonde. The technicians painting Brittany's toes knitted her eyebrows in deep thought before trying to stifle a snicker.

Santana leaned over to Brittany, and laid a hand on Brittany's arm. "Usually I regret asking this," she said, winking to the other girls, "but what exactly brought that up?"

"I don't know," Brittany shrugged. "I was just looking at the water and thinking," she deadpanned.

Quinn bit her lip in attempts not to laugh; Santana just rolled her eyes. It was Rachel who burst out in laughter. The other three looked at her in surprise. They had never seen Rachel so carefree than at that moment. It was enough to send Quinn and Santana into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Brittany was confused as to why everyone laughing, but that didn't stop her from joining in the merriment. Those who were painting the girls' nails just smiled and shook their heads in confusion.

"What are the girls doing today?" Finn asked around a slice of pizza.

"Rachel said she was going with Quinn, Santana, and Brittany to some nail place, then they were going dress shopping," Puck replied after taking a swig of soda.

Finn nodded thoughtfully. They had been playing some old-school Mortal Kombat all day before they decided to order pizza and invite the rest of the guys over. The conversation had been minimal, but it was comfortable.

"So, it's cool that we're hanging out again," Finn said suddenly.

Puck wasn't sure if it was a statement or a question, but he decided to respond anyway. "Yeah. Yeah, it is," he smirked.

Finn grinned at Puck and then tossed the game controller to him as he heard the other guys' cars pull up.

"Okay ladies, it is time to scour the stores for fantastic sales and undeniable fashion," Kurt announced to the girls who met just inside the mall.

"Department stores first," Santana instructed. "Britt and I found ours there, and some were really cheap."

They headed toward JC Penney, chattering idly as they walked in and immediately ravaged the dress racks. Kurt started shoving dresses into each girl's arms and directed them to the dressing rooms. Santana, Brittany, and Quinn had already bought their dresses, but they were more than happy to help zip dresses and give helpful critiques. The rest of the afternoon was filled with giggles and dress-switching.

Three hours, seven pretzels, and numerous dresses later, Rachel was sipping her lemonade and watching Tina and Mercedes twirl around in the dresses they were trying on when she got a text message from Puck. Smiling, she flipped open her phone.

Noah: [I know you're busy with the girls, but I just wanted to tell you this:]

Rachel was confused for just a second, but the second text came in.

Noah: [You're beautiful.]

Rachel held back a sigh when a third text came in.

Noah: [It's true. See you Monday. ;)]

The others had heard Rachel sigh and peeked around the corner to find Rachel with a silly smile on her face.

"Puck," Kurt said knowingly. "Only he could put a look like that on her face."

The rest of the group just sighed and giggled. When Rachel heard them, her head shot up, and she flushed and ducked her head. The other girls fluttered their fingers in a wave to her as she sunk farther in her chair. Rachel knew she still had a cheesy grin on her face. She was just having so much fun. She truly never thought she would ever have such an amazing boyfriend or such great friends. It was more than she could ever imagine or hope for.

AN2: I have done my best to try to tie up any loose ends, but if you guys think anything that I haven't taken care of or that you would like to see, please let me know and I will see about fitting them in!

AN3: Also, I was wondering something: Do you like 'Long Time Coming" enough to nominate them for a Glee Fanfic award? If you do, head on over to this site: ( http :// community . livejournal . com/ gleeawards/ ) and find out how you can nominate it. You have until May 15th to submit your nominations. I would be so honored! :o)

AN4: Please don't forget to vote on my poll if you haven't yet! :o)

So, I just wanted to take a few seconds of your time to thank you SO much for the support you guys have given me! LTC may be coming to a close, but you guys have stuck with it and I truly appreciate you loyal readers! I read every single review, and they really make my day. Please, if you don't mind, take a few seconds and leave me a note about how you've liked or disliked this chapter or any part of this story! R&R = Love! :o)