A.N. I've been in fanfiction seclusion so I could finish this story. It went long, so it's broken into two parts. Find more thank-you's in final Author's Note. Final playlist and song thank-you's here for parts 1 and 2: (all links are to youtube except for Yardley, as noted)
Prom: Partial lyrics from "Glitter in the Air" by Pink, courtesy of Karma22 /watch?v=jY7luanS150 ;Paramore's "The Only Exception" thanks to ncar08 /watch?v=-J7J_IWUhls ; lyrics from Taio Cruz's "Break Your Heart" from chrpangel /watch?v=y_SI2EDM6Lo.
Rachel's video: "Betting High" by Yardley—which is a rare find—if you can search with Yahoo music, you can listen free new . music . yahoo . com/yardley/tracks/. Then Miley Cyrus "7 Things" (don't listen if you hate, but the link is a Puckleberry video made by user missmonteith set to the song) /watch?v=uKyoveikMI8
Band: sgarakaki for Tal Bachman's "(You Love) Like Nobody Loves Me" /watch?v=LGrOQgCw7Hs , along with my other band picks "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits /watch?v=IClBpch9vmM and "Shattered" by OAR /watch?v=d_NfBqD_2iI
Last glee rehearsal/graduation: "I'm Yours/Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cover medley by Straight No Chaser /watch?v=pYdZvQBl6sk&feature=fvw Fun fact: SNC started at the same university attended by Ryan Murphy and me! While I didn't overlap in college with RM, I did with SNC!
Conclusion: Lyrics from "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat /watch?v=acvIVA9-FMQ
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any songs mentioned, or anything familiar. I make no profit from this use of my brain, unfortunately.
…
April, Junior Year
Puck knew something was up when he got home from practicing with the band Thursday night and his mom was awake, cleaning the living room. At 11 o'clock at night. Normally if she was home instead of at work, she'd be in bed, exhausted.
"What are you doing up?" he asked when he walked in the door.
"Noah, nice to see you too," she replied, setting down her dusting cloth. Puck rolled his eyes. His mother continued. "I was waiting for you to get home so I could ask you something. Would you invite Rachel and her family to join us for Pesach?"
"You're out your mind," he said automatically. Because, really, he already knew his mom was crazy, but having the Berry's over for the Passover Seder—no good could come of it. And that's what he told her. "Seriously, Ma, her dads can barely tolerate me. And the dinner Rachel and I had with them was a disaster. Besides, we're not really known for our Jewish family traditions," he reminded her.
Mrs. Puckerman sighed. "True, but I believe I've been told that Rachel's family isn't the most traditional either. It's about two weeks away, Noah. Please just ask her and let her fathers decide. I haven't had any opportunities for us all to come together and get to know one another."
He had a hard time saying 'no' to his mom when she looked at him all pleading like that. "Well…how about we invite them over for dinner, but not for Passover. Only one of her dads is Jewish anyway. And then we don't have to worry about offending them by doing it wrong. Ok?"
"That sounds like a good compromise," his mom answered happily. "You know, maybe her fathers would see you in a new light after you show them what a good Jewish boy you are!" She was grinning at her own brilliant plan.
Puck rolled his eyes again, but couldn't help flashing a grin back at his mother. "I'll keep that in mind. So, which day are we planning to impress the Berry's?"
"The Friday before…so the 11th! That's next Friday! But we'll be ready!" Puck chuckled at his mom's enthusiasm. "I'll ask Rachel at school tomorrow. Goodnight, Mom. Get some rest!"
"Thanks, honey! You too! Love you, Noah-bean!"
Puck was half-way up the stairs before he turned around in horror. "No. I changed my mind. This could be the most embarrassing dinner of my life." And if his mom knew what had happened at his last dinner with the Berry's, she would know just how bad that was. (She didn't know.)
His mother looked up at him solemnly. "I promise I will not use any cute nicknames or embarrass you in any way."
"On purpose," he said pointedly.
This time his mother looked hurt, and after more guilt-tripping on her part, Puck conceded to his initial agreement to invite the Berry's to spend next Friday's dinner at the Puckerman house.
…
Rachel was excited to hear about the invitation for the upcoming dinner. "Noah! Don't you realize the great potential here!?" she told him on the way to school. "That's right before Prom! If things go well at dinner, my dads might actually agree to let us spend Prom night together!"
"Fuck, you're a genius, Berry!" he exclaimed, reaching over to squeeze her bare leg. April meant skirts were back in rotation with knee socks instead of wool tights. (And on really warm days, no knee socks, just lots of leg!) Sitting there with her in his truck, appreciating how the skirt rode high on her thighs, he loved the spring weather. But fuck if he didn't hate the way other guys appreciated Rachel's skirts too. Damn horny bastards.
Rachel grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers in his. "I know," she beamed. "Well, genius might be too strong, but I do put my above average intelligence to good use."
Puck had to smirk; she was too adorable, "Totally."
…
At school, the kids enjoyed their period for glee as a nice break from the stress of school. Now that Nationals were over, all they had scheduled was the performance for the graduating seniors' commencement. Principal Figgins requested Somewhere Over the Rainbow, so Mr. Schue was excited to bring in his ukulele and accompany them in the version by IZ. No choreography was needed for this performance, so they were still expected to do vocal exercises and think about raising money for next year, but overall, it was pretty calm. The drama started after glee ended and Mr. Schue left the room.
Most of the girls were talking about dress shopping for Prom. Kurt and Alex were finishing up their discussion regarding complementary but not matching Prom attire, and were moving on to debate the merits of pocket squares, when Santana had a realization.
"Wait a minute. Kurt, you're going to Prom without your beard, Mercedes?" she sneered.
"Excuse me?" Kurt asked. Alex looked at Santana at first with confusion, and then with contempt. Mercedes had been almost out the door when she turned around to face Santana. "Girl, you better watch what you're sayin'!"
"No offense, Mercedes," Santana said calmly. Then she turned back to Kurt and Alex. "I'm not about to let you two be the first out couple in school and get all the attention when Britt and I have been together way longer."
"Petty much?" Kurt asked.
"Bitch, please," scoffed Santana.
Kurt and Alex looked at her expectantly, waiting for the follow-up. But nothing came. Santana wasn't sure why she had lost her skills with the sarcastic comments and clever comebacks, but maybe it had to do with the idea that someone would steal the attention that she'd been happy to take over after Queen Quinn fell from grace. She had to fix this immediately.
So she asked Brit to Prom on their way to Cheerios practice.
"Britt, we should go to Prom together. You know, as a couple." Santana told her lovely (if dumb) blond girlfriend.
"I'm already going with Mike," Brittany said simply.
"So? Tell him you're going with me instead," said Santana, hands on her hips. She knew that Britt knew that meant business.
Brittany tried to process the situation. "But before you said we're not a couple. You said sex isn't dating."
"I know. But we could be dating," Santana smiled sweetly. "Don't you like what we do together?"
Brittany nodded slowly. "Um…I'll ask Mike about it."
…
That weekend was the unofficial Prom shopping weekend for most of the girls in glee. Santana fawned over Brittany and gave her extra attention as they looked for dresses together. Rachel had gone shopping with Tina and Mercedes, but when they ran into Quinn, Santana, and Brittany; Rachel was pleasantly surprised to find that they continued to troll the stores together instead of going their separate ways. Mercedes mumbled something like, "Bitch better watch what she says," but other than that, there didn't really seem to be tension in the group. Santana even said something to Mercedes about her dress choice that made Mercedes smile. And she complimented Rachel on finding a dress that worked so well with her skin tone. Rachel wondered if Santana would have acted differently if they had run into non-glee Cheerios while they were all mingling together. But she felt relatively sure (maybe 70%) that Quinn and Brittany would not have had a problem being seen with her. That seemed like a bit of progress to Rachel. She wondered what senior year would bring.
…
Prom was of course the topic of discussion after glee the next week. A few minutes into it, Rachel and Puck shook their heads and left; happy to be outside of the drama.
"Look, Santana," Mike said. "I already asked Brittany, and Matt already asked you. But I get that you and Brittany are…kind of a couple too. I'm not letting you take Brittany away from me, but my suggestion is that we all go together." He grabbed Brittany's hand and clapped Matt on the back. Then he felt the need to clarify, "Not together, together."
"As if! I'm just not that into you," Santana said snidely.
"Hey, I'm giving you an olive branch and you're spitting in my face!" Mike protested.
"Oh, is that your face?" mocked Santana.
"Oh, is that your come-back?" Mike snarked back.
Santana flushed. She didn't know what was wrong with her lately. She was out of her groove or something. "Whatever. Fine, I guess we can all go together, but I have to make an entrance with Brittany as part of the deal."
Mike wasn't sure why that mattered. He just shrugged. "Fine. Deal. I can't wait to escort you ladies to the Prom," he said with a hint of sarcasm. Then he felt he needed to clarify again, "Sorry, Matt, I didn't mean I'm escorting you. You weren't included as a lady. And I don't mean we should have a foursome or something. Not that you're not a great guy, but I'm not into dudes."
"Me neither!" Matt said quickly. Then he nodded, "It's cool. I get you, man. We're both into our girls and we're not interested in other guys being into them too. So no threesomes either." Matt also knew that sometimes there could be too much cock in the room. He didn't know how Puck had convinced him to join him in the locker room with April Rhodes last year. But uh, part of the time he had been a bit…uncomfortable. He wasn't looking to have a repeat experience.
Santana rolled her eyes at the boys and ushered Brittany along with her to Cheerios practice.
…
The week flew by and the Puckermans had been busy cleaning the house and preparing for the highly anticipated Berry-Puckerman dinner. That was his mom's name for it, and don't think he didn't realize she was implying something about the future. But he wasn't too bothered by it, surprisingly. He was worried that she'd be overbearing about it though. And he was worried that Sarah would act completely inappropriately. He had warned her that Rachel had two dads. One is Jewish and one is black, he'd said. Sarah had said something like "blackberry, jewberry" under her breath and then kept having giggle outbursts over the next 40 minutes. So Puck had to threaten to destroy her Jonas Brothers cd if she didn't pull it together. He really hoped that she'd gotten over it by now.
Puck had to rush home after the baseball game to shower and change in time for the event. Rachel had watched him at the game, but they drove separately so she could leave right away to get ready for the dinner and arrive with her dads. Puck said a little prayer that things would go better than last time he had dinner with Rachel and her dads.
And maybe prayer worked.
It was all polite small talk when the Berry's arrived, which was fine, even if it was a little uncomfortable. When Rachel introduced her black dad as Marshall and her Jewish dad as Aaron, Puck gave Sarah a warning look to be sure she wouldn't recite her names for them. For her part, Sarah didn't even crack a smile; she just shook their hands with a serious expression on her eleven-year-old face. They sat at the dining table—which rarely happened normally. His mom had the seating arrangements selected (with place cards!), and she sat at one head of the table, and sat Rachel across from Puck and Sarah.
Deb Puckerman made a kosher meal (no sweet and sour pork tonight), and Aaron Berry complimented her on it; so she was feeling great about the night so far. "And Noah knows how to cook some good kosher meals, too, don't you, Noah?" she prodded.
Puck stopped himself from rolling his eyes at her. She was trying to help him, after all. "Thanks, Mom. I try to help out and feed the kid over here every now and then," he tousled Sarah's hair. She actually grinned at him instead of sticking out her tongue.
"Yeah, he can be a good big brother," Sarah said, looking from Noah to Rachel's dads.
Puck cocked an eyebrow at her, and she just gave him an innocent look. He wondered if his mom had bribed her with something.
She had.
And his mother's plans were working. Puck's interactions with his little sister and his mom were doing a great job of softening Rachel's dads' hearts. But the conversations they had about Rachel were what really helped Puck get in good with the Berry's.
Deb Puckeman continued acting as the ringmaster. "Noah told me that Rachel is going to two performing arts camps this summer in New York. You must be so proud of her."
Rachel beamed as her fathers expressed their pride in her accomplishments. "I'm really looking forward to it, Mrs. Puckerman, thank you. The only aspect I'm not looking forward to is being away for a month."
"It's funny you should say that, Rachel," Deb replied. "You probably know that Noah is so happy for you too. Oh, if you could have seen how he was glowing with pride when he told me about your acceptance." Puck felt himself blushing. Damn it. He knew this dinner would be a train wreck of humiliation. His mom continued, "But he was also moping around the house for days shortly afterwards, singing some song. What was that song, dear?"
Puck almost choked on his brisket. But Rachel's dads were looking at him curiously, so he mumbled, "Calling You."
Rachel clapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Oh, it was the sweetest thing! Noah performed that song for me before glee one day. He even asked Finn to perform it with him! You're really a wonderful performer, Noah, and it was so heartfelt! I wish you all could have seen it!" Rachel looked around the table.
"I'm not familiar with that song," said Marshall Berry. He almost looked as though he were challenging Puck to sing it.
Well, Puck wasn't about to do any of that shit. So he said, "It was just a song to show Rachel that I'd be calling her over the summer while she's gone because I'll miss her."
He got a series of looks from everyone at the table that basically said "Awww." Even from her dads! Puck added, "But of course I'm really happy for Rachel to have the…um…opportunity. Everyone knows she's gonna make it out of Lima and be a huge success. She's the most talented and most driven person I've ever met."
"Is Rachel going to be like Hannah Montana?" Sarah asked, getting laughs all around.
"Better," Puck assured her. "Way better."
Sarah pondered that, since it didn't seem possible, while Puck and Rachel beamed at each other from across the table. The parents beamed at the young couple too.
…
Friday night for Quinn was a bit different than the domestic adventures of Puck and Rachel. She and Finn went to Brittany's after the baseball game for the traditional spring sports party. A part of Quinn felt completely in her element. She was the cheerleader (not head cheerleader any more, but still a Cheerio) on the arm of the star athlete and all-around nicest (popular) guy in school. She was surrounded by her friends (mostly), and she enjoyed chatting with Britt while Finn went to grab them something to drink. But another part of Quinn felt like everything around her was so fake. These people who acted like her friends now weren't her friends when Finn had broken up with her and she and Puck had tried to work together to raise their baby. All they cared about was being popular. She used to be that way too. And so did Finn. Quinn wasn't sure, but she thought that Finn still wanted to do everything possible to stay popular. And a part of her did too, honestly. But in some ways she felt maybe with Josh she could get over all of the high school popularity contests and just be herself.
Then Finn came back towards her, holding out a plastic cup for her to take, and soon she was back to thinking about how dreamy Finn was and how they were a perfect fit. And when Finn actually brought up how excited he was for Prom, and started asking her about plans for dinner, what flowers to get, and all the little details she thought she'd have to force him into talking about; Quinn almost squealed for joy.
…
When Quinn got home that night, she had a message from Josh asking about plans for the weekend. So she called him. And she explained her plans for the weekend were already pretty full. "Sorry I missed your call. I just got back from the baseball game party. I have a study group tomorrow, and on Sunday I need to go shopping to by a present for Diana Isabel's first birthday, after church, of course. The trials and tribulations of a teen mom who adopted out her baby, you know?" she scoffed at herself.
"So, you don't feel like going out on Saturday night after your study group, I take it?" Josh asked.
"Well, I can't stay out late on Saturday because I have the early church service, but I think I need to take some time for myself this weekend…"
"Uh, ok. That's cool. We could just talk or whatever…if you want."
Quinn smiled to herself. Josh usually seemed so confident in person, but talking on the phone he seemed nervous…it was kinda cute. She wasn't planning on staying up late talking on the phone with him, but that's what she ended up doing. When Josh mentioned that he was going to New York over the summer, Quinn said she was happy for him.
"It's really great that you're going over the summer since it didn't work out over Spring Break. I am sorry that I won't be able to go with you. I've always wanted to visit New York," Quinn said wistfully.
"Yeah, I think I might move there after graduation next year. I think I can get a job with my brother working nights at his bar while I try to get my MBA, and of course, try to keep things going with the band."
"So all the guys want to move to New York after next year?" Quinn asked slowly.
"Yep, I think even Puckerman will too since it seems like Rachel is bound for Broadway," Josh chuckled.
"That sounds about right," Quinn agreed.
"Have you thought about where you want to go to college, Quinn? Any schools in New York on the list?" Josh asked.
"Why? Should I be considering a future in New York?" she asked carefully.
"Definitely. You should definitely consider it." Josh declared.
…
Quinn should have been happy, and her first reaction was resembled elation; but after a few moments of thinking about it, the conversation with Josh left her uneasy, scared. She had said goodbye soon after the conversation turned to her future. With their future implied. Planning a future together meant commitment. And that meant that she would have to get serious about making this decision between the two guys she so enjoyed spending time with.
She never thought she'd have two guys who seemed interested in commitment and that she would be the one freaking out and shying away. What was she protecting herself from? Quinn thought that she always seemed to close her heart a little: she closed her heart to baby Dizzy, to Puck, to Finn, and to Josh. If she couldn't open her heart fully even to her own daughter, how could she ever open her heart to Josh or Finn? That night Quinn cried bitterly until she had no more tears. How did she get so damaged?
…
Quinn pulled herself together over the weekend and asked Puck to go shopping with her on Sunday to buy Dizzy a present for her first birthday, which was fast approaching.
Inside Macy's looking at dresses, Puck noticed Quinn getting a little teary-eyed. "Hard to believe everything that's happened over the last year, huh? But we have a beautiful little girl out of it, and I'm sure she's doing great, Quinn," he said, putting his arm around her.
Quinn nodded and wiped at her eyes, smiling up at him sheepishly. "I know; you're right. She's better off with the Harris family. I don't think I could have loved her the way I'm supposed to anyway because I'd always feel a little guilty about how she came into the world….Because of what I did to Finn…" she looked away from Puck, unsure why she had said that out loud.
"Yeah, we fucked up, but maybe we just needed to be together that way that night." He shrugged. No point in beating themselves up over it any more.
"But we hurt Finn. We had sex out of spite. A terrible way to have a child." Quinn was mostly reciting what her mother had told her.
"In a way," Puck nodded. "But in a way, it was also kind of about love. I'm not gay or whatever, but we both loved Finn, you know? So much that he hurt us by ignoring us, so we wanted to hurt him too. It was just an immature way to love. We're kids after all." Puck looked at his shoes like they were fascinating. "We thought we could maybe feel some love with each other for a night," he mumbled. "I think we need to stop feeling guilty about it." He shrugged. When Puck looked up, Quinn was looking at him like he was Obi-Wan Kenobi or some shit.
"When'd you get so smart, Puck?"
"Probably when I started dating Rachel Berry," he said automatically.
"I don't think you give yourself enough credit," Quinn said seriously.
"Rachel says that too," Puck replied, shrugging off her compliment.
"Well, smarty, you seem to be on a roll with saying profound things. Maybe you can help me with this one. I feel really torn about Finn and Josh. I don't know what to do, but I think I probably have to do something. I guess I feel a little guilty for dating them both, but I don't want to hurt either of them."
"Maybe you should just pick one."
"I know I should pick one. But I don't want to hurt either of them," she repeated.
"Someone always gets hurt, Quinn. You just have to figure out how to make it hurt the least possible amount. Especially for you. Make sure that you hurt the least."
Quinn pondered the advice. "It sounds selfish, but I think you're actually on to something."
Puck brushed his hands. "Ok, that's it. I'm out. No more chick chat for the rest of the day, got it?"
"Fine." Quinn shoved him playfully. "But I do appreciate the words of wisdom. It's good talking to you like this, Puck."
Puck felt a sense of pride at the idea that he'd given Quinn good advice and she'd take it. Who'd have thought? "Whatever. Don't get used to it," he said sourly, fighting his grin.
But Quinn could tell he was putting on a show, so she didn't call him on it. She just started pulling out dresses for Dizzy and holding them up, trying to get Puck to say things like "cute" and "Aww". It worked too. He was a sucker for his little girl.
…
And that evening after he and Quinn had exhausted Lima's supply of dresses for one-year-olds before finding the perfect two dresses; Puck got great news from Rachel.
"Would you be interested in spending the night with me on Prom night?" Rachel asked him on the phone.
"Uh, hell yeah, but am I sneaking in the window? Or are you actually going to convince your dads that it's cool for me to come over after Prom?"
"I don't have to convince them! You already did!" Rachel squealed.
"I did what?"
Rachel explained. "My dads talked to each other, and then talked to me. After dinner with your mom and sister, they said they could see your distress about me leaving, but also that you were genuinely happy and proud of me. They said they can tell that you really care about me, and not just about our sexual relationship. So…" Rachel paused for dramatic effect, "they are going to have that vacation they were supposed to take for Valentine's Day, and they're giving us permission to spend Prom night together!"
"Hallelujah. Prayer works!"
"You prayed for this?"
"Every damn day," said Puck.
…
While practically everyone in school was thinking about Prom, Puck had a few other things on his mind. First, it sucked that he couldn't see his daughter turn one because the Harris' were taking her to Florida to visit their retired parents. But they had only agreed to get to see her for one holiday a year, and he supposed he couldn't blame the Harris' for wanting their parents to meet their adopted granddaughter. Second, Puck had been thinking about what he overheard during Nationals about that Jesse dude being a spy and getting in Rachel's pants. He needed to do something about it, but he he wasn't sure what. He didn't even know the fucker's last name. Third, he had been thinking about stuff for the band—especially now that all of the guys were excited to go to New York for a while in the summer. They were practicing like crazy.
So the day before the Prom, while Rachel got a manicure or some girly shit like that, Puck headed to Josh's house for a practice. He wanted get the guys to agree to another song that he wanted to dedicate to Rachel during their last show at The Tavern before they left for New York. Of course, that show was still several weeks away.
"So it's kind of an old song, but it's in the range for our usual crowd demo, you know?" Puck told the guys. "It's just…not a real popular one…"
"Of course," said Josh, rolling his eyes.
Puck continued, "But the lyrics are perfect, and Rachel's really into lyrics. Anyway, here it is. Tal Bachman Like Nobody Loves Me."
Josh looked it over. "That name sounds familiar." When he looked up the artist on his laptop, he turned back to Puck. "Alright, maybe we'll do a little Bachman assortment since that guy had a hit earlier, you know She's So High (Above Me)?" Josh clicked on the link to play the song for the guys.
"Yeah, I remember it. So are you doing that one for Quinn?" Puck grinned.
"Hah," Josh let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, that is kinda fitting isn't it?"
"Dude, you've really got it bad for her," Eddie piped up. Puck shook his head mockingly at Josh.
"I like her. I don't need your pity!" Josh said, half-joking because of the looks he was getting from the guys.
"She hasn't been around much lately," Trey observed. He didn't have much of a social filter.
"She's probably been busy getting ready for Prom," Puck explained. "That's all the girls have been talking about for weeks."
"Ok, maybe I do need your pity," Josh sighed.
…
Prom, Junior Year
Puck didn't want to be part of the limo with the weirdness going on between Matt, Santana, Brittany, and Mike. Hanging out with Finn and Quinn had enough potential for awkwardness without throwing Santana into the mix. So the limo was out, but he didn't want to fuck around with his piece-of-shit truck. Ok, he loved his truck, but he couldn't really picture Rachel emerging from that rust bucket in her fancy dress smiling and happy about it. When he expressed this to Rachel, her eyes got all wide and even a little watery. The next day, Rachel announced that her dads were letting him borrow the Lexus. Puck almost shit his pants. He of course thanked the Berry's profusely when he heard the news, and again when he picked Rachel up for Prom and they handed him the keys. Her dads weren't about to miss seeing Rachel head off to her first Prom, so they delayed departing for their weekend trip until after the couple left for dinner. They took pictures and gushed. Standard fanfare. And they headed to their hybrid while Puck and Rachel made their way to her dads' Lexus. So he and Rachel had their own (sweet) transportation to Prom, and they were free to leave when they pleased to spend the rest of the night in private.
Finn thought that was a good idea, although he wasn't sure how Quinn would feel about a hotel room. He pulled an Eric Foreman and rented a room anyway without telling her since he had just turned eighteen. (His pre-school teacher thought it would be better for him to stay an extra year and be an older kid in his class rather than a younger kid in his class. Something about how boys are slow to develop; he didn't really remember the reason.) But as for the hotel room, Finn was absolutely not going to pressure Quinn. But it would be nice to spend the night together after the dance.
So this foursome decided to meet up to have dinner at Mario's before the Prom, and Puck and Finn would each drive their dates separately from the others. Sure, they were overdressed for their restaurant of choice, but there really wasn't anywhere in Lima you could go in a Prom dress and look like you were dressed appropriately. The four of them had a great time at dinner, which kind of surprised Puck. But not Rachel. She knew they'd have a lovely evening together.
…
The night of Quinn's dance, Josh just kept thinking about how she had tried to ask him to show up. Like she wanted him to rescue her from her date with that giant drumming tool, Finn. He kept messing around with his guitar, pacing back and forth, before he finally decided to just do it. Most of the schools in the area held their Prom at the Civic Center, so Josh knew that's where Quinn would be that night. (And if she wasn't there, he'd drive on to McKinley High and see if the poor bastards had their Prom in their gym like he had at the Christian Academy a few years ago.)
It wasn't uncommon for it to be rainy in April, and what started as a light drizzle was starting to get heavier. Drizzle. Josh shook his head, recalling the nickname Finn had given Quinn's baby—the one Finn had thought was his instead of Puck's. Yeah, Josh thought Quinn needed a new man in her life instead of one she had such a tangled past with. That is, until he pulled up to the parking lot and spotted her with him.
Josh saw her running in the rain, holding her dress so she could avoid puddles. She was smiling, laughing. Beautiful. She looked so young and carefree. Not like the sexy teen mom she acted like around him. Finn picked her up in his arms to carry her through the rest of the parking lot. Josh saw Puckerman shrug and pick up Rachel effortlessly, following the laughing pair ahead of them.
Josh had a complete change of heart. What the fuck was he doing there? Why the hell did he dress up in a suit and think he could crash a high school prom? Seriously, what was wrong with him? She would be perfectly happy without him. Happier probably. It certainly made more sense. It was then that Josh decided to let Quinn go. He drove away. He had to stop himself from turning back around.
…
Finn was laughing as he gently set Quinn down in the covered entryway so they could walk into the ballroom together. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Quinn reached up to kiss him. "Thank you for carrying me through the rain, Finn," she giggled.
Puck and Rachel joined them in the entry. "Thanks for the ride, Noah!" Rachel laughed as she kissed him before he had a chance to set her down. She was wearing a short dress, so she didn't have the same problem Quinn had with puddles, but it was still a sweet gesture—and it was fun.
"Anytime, baby," he smiled.
The boys opened the double doors for the girls to walk through, and they all felt strangely at ease with each other in that moment. Like everything that had happened in the past was forgiven. None of them said the words out loud, but the looks they exchanged conveyed their mutual feelings.
…
They entered the ballroom and Rachel inhaled sharply. "It's like a dream," she breathed. The others looked at her with amusement, but they had to admit that from the outside the Civic Center did not reveal how wonderfully the ballroom would be decorated.
"May I have this dance, Rachel Berry?" Puck asked with a bow.
"I'd be honored, Noah Puckerman," smiled Rachel, placing her tiny hand in his. They walked onto the dance floor just as the song "Glitter in the Air" by Pink was ending.
Have you ever wished for an endless night?
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight
Have you ever held your breathe and asked yourself will it ever get better than tonight?
Tonight
"Glitter in the Air just ended—and I'm still bedazzled by the rain. How fitting! There are little drops of glitter on me, see?!" Rachel exclaimed to an amused Puck. Then Rachel gave a little pout, "But it would have been more perfect if we hadn't missed the whole song. I want to have our first slow dance."
"Well, you're in luck," Puck said, as they both heard another slow song starting. They began dancing to Paramore's The Only Exception.
"Perfect," Rachel replied.
Finn reached for Quinn rather sheepishly, and she settled comfortably into his arms for the first slow dance.
When I was younger
I saw my daddy cry
And cursed at the wind
He broke his own heart
And I watched
As he tried to reassemble it
And my momma swore that
She would never let herself forget
And that was the day I promised
I'd never sing of love
If it does not exist
But darlin,
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
Quinn thought maybe, just maybe Finn might be the only exception.
Rachel looked into Noah's eyes and knew that he was the one.
Maybe I know, somewhere
Deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways
To make it alone
Or keep a straight face
And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content
With loneliness
Because none of it was ever worth the risk, but
Rachel sang the chorus into his ear, and to her surprise, Noah joined in.
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
I've got a tight grip on reality
But I can't
Let go of what's in front of me here
I know your leaving
In the morning, when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream
Oh---
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
You, are, the only exception
And I'm on my way to believin'.
Oh, and I'm on my way to believin'.
Puck reveled in the feeling of holding Rachel close as he ran his hands along her back. If it weren't for the fact that they had an empty house waiting for them when they decided they had enough of Prom, Puck would have been happy to spend the whole night at the dance. Well, maybe not the whole night.
…
Meanwhile, Mercedes arrived with Eric, who was grinning widely, braces and all. Kurt and Alex entered the ballroom together, arm-in-arm. This prompted Santana to grab Brittany for a dance, maneuvering her to where she spotted Jacob Ben-Israel with his notebook and camera. "Israel, get a picture of us, will you?"
…
As a series of hip hop songs started, the gleeks found themselves gravitating towards each other to enjoy some fun group dancing. As the rap by Ludacris kicked off the song Break Your Heart by Taio Cruz, Santana announced that Puck's anthem was starting.
Now listen to me baby
Before I love and leave you
They call me heart breaker
I don't wanna deceive you
Puck raised his eyebrow at her and responded, "No way, it's more like Quinn with the two guys she's juggling."
If you fall for me
I'm not easy to please
I might tear you apart
Told you from the start, baby from the start.
I'm only gonna break break ya break break ya heart.
The elbow in the gut from Rachel and the hurt, shocked looks from Finn and Quinn all told Puck that his first impulse to speak had been the wrong one to follow. "Uh, sorry," Puck grunted to the offended parties. Santana raised her eyebrow in return and seemed to enjoy the awkward silence.
Thankfully, the silence was broken by Mr. Schuester making his way towards them—dancing. He did a spin, removed his jacket, and handed it to Mike. "Dance off?" he challenged.
"Oh, yeah, sweet!" Mike replied, handing off Mr. Schue's jacket to Brittany. The two of them busting a move eased the tension among the others as they cheered them on.
Brittany handed Santana the jacket while she watched Mike dance.
"I don't want this," Santana huffed.
"I'm just passing it like they did," Brittany explained. Santana shoved the jacket toward Matt.
"No way, I'm getting in on the dance off," Matt said, leaving Santana gaping. Then she watched Matt appreciatively as he kicked Mr. Schue's skinny white ass with his sizzling dancing skills that didn't come from the eighties.
Puck couldn't help but notice the way Miss Pillsbury was lusting after Mr. Schue. "Check it," Puck said to Rachel, motioning for her to look. "I think Miss P just creamed her panties."
"Eww. You're disgusting," said Rachel. But she was pretty sure he was right.
Quinn overheard Puck and wrinkled her nose. Finn looked at Miss Pillsbury with wide eyes and then back to Puck. "Dude, can you really tell that from here?"
…
After the impromptu dance off ended, with no winner officially decided (though everyone had declared their own winner mentally), Puck and Rachel decided it was a good time to leave the dance and head back to Rachel's empty house. The rest of the gleeks stayed to enjoy more of the Prom.
"You know, Tina," started Artie. "It is your Prom, and even though I'm your date, I won't be offended if you wanna dance with some of the other guys."
Tina looked him in the eyes, "Thanks, Artie, I appreciate that."
Artie shrugged and replied in his sexiest voice. "You're all dolled up in a fancy dress, lookin' all fine. You deserve to get your dance on, girl."
"How about you take me for another spin around the dance floor and then I'll think about it?" Tina grinned as she slid into Artie's lap.
"I'll take this opportunity to remind you that my penis is fully functional," Artie deadpanned, then waggled his eyebrows to show he was joking.
Tina giggled. She was glad she couldn't feel the evidence yet because that might be a little awkward at this moment. "Good to know. Check back in with me next year and we'll talk about making me a prom night cliché at our Senior Prom."
"Fair enough," Artie nodded calmly. Inside, he somehow reverted to Austin Powers, Yeah, baby.
…
Once they had exited the ballroom, Rachel commented, "Oh Noah, I'm impressed at how you deflected Santana's remark about being a heartbreaker, but I feel bad for how it turned on Quinn and Finn. Do you think we should go back and talk to them about it instead of sneaking away?"
"Nah, they're fine. We can talk to them on Monday. We've got a house all to ourselves and that takes precedence."
"Precedence? Nice usage!" Rachel giggled. "But of course the context would be sexual in nature."
"You know you love me," Puck grinned.
"Yes, you know I do," she smiled back, reaching out to place her left hand on his thigh.
Puck glanced down. "You have really cute hands."
"Aww," Rachel fawned. "Thanks, sweetie!"
Sweetie? Puck thought that was a new one. He wasn't so sure about it. As long as she didn't use it in front of anyone else, he'd probably be fine. He did just tell her she had cute hands, so he didn't really have room to object. But he had just noticed how tiny and perfect they were with her nails all painted when she had rested on his leg. Puck pressed harder on the gas pedal before remembering that he was driving the Lexus, and he continued to drive just under the speed limit.
He couldn't wait to get her home. Rachel felt the same way.
… Mature Scene …
In Rachel's room, they didn't even bother with music. They didn't have to conceal their activities and the only thing they needed to get in the mood was each other. As soon as they reached her bedroom, Rachel pushed him against her door and kissed him passionately. She was becoming increasingly confident with her sexuality.
And Puck thought confidence was sexy as hell.
"You're so hot. So beautiful," he told her. And he meant it. More than anything.
"Mmm," she moaned into his lips, arousing him more. His erection pitched quite a tent in his tuxedo pants, and Rachel pressed herself against him deliciously. The light pressure of her breasts on his chest highlighted the fact that they needed to get out of their clothes. So he began unzipping Rachel's dress.
She let him.
He took off his jacket and tie while she worked on the buttons of his shirt. He quickly rid himself of his pants and underwear, and his erection emerged at attention like the loyal member it was.
Puck grinned as he watched Rachel appreciate his length. He took in the sight of her in her lingerie and high heels. He kneeled in front of her as she stood, and he unclasped her bra, enjoying the sight of her boobs as he freed them. He hadn't even touched her before she arched toward him, clearly directing him. Oh yeah, that was fine by him. He was happy to attend to her needs.
Rachel shivered and sighed as he kissed her breasts, then he focused his mouth on one while he fondled the other. She pulsed with desire for him, and as if he knew, his hands slid down her sides and made their way down her body as he removed her last article of clothing.
Puck loved the sound of her gasp as he gripped her hips and attended to another important body part. She worked her hands over his shoulders, and when she began shuddering, she tried to pull him to his feet.
"Please, Noah."
"But I'm not done here," he said playfully.
"I need you…inside me. Please."
"Well, since you asked so nicely," he teased, as he scooped her up and laid her gently on her bed.
…
She let out another sexy gasp when he slipped inside her.
And as she clenched around him, Puck felt a tightening in his chest, and he thought that love was pretty fucking amazing.
… End Mature Scene …
After recovering from an awesome weekend with Rachel after Prom, Puck headed out to Josh's for band practice. The girls both said they would do better to study for finals in a quiet environment. And that was fine with Puck. It gave him time to practice his song for Rachel without her hearing. Apparently Puck was overly excited about the prospect, because he arrived almost an hour early, so it was just him and Josh. He figured they'd be practicing their two Tal Bachman songs (his for Rachel and Josh's for Quinn), so he was surprised when Josh wanted to talk to Puck about Prom (?!).
"Well, since we've got some time before the other guys get here, how was Prom?" Josh asked nonchalantly.
"Are you serious?" Puck asked.
"Uh, well, I just wondered if it was fun or lame, whatever. Did you see Quinn?" Josh asked. Then he mumbled, "She seemed really happy."
Puck smirked. "Oh, now I get it. Yeah, I saw Quinn. Rachel and I hung out with Quinn and Finn most the night."
"And?"
"And what? It was a lame dance but it was alright. Rachel and I left early, so I don't know how long Quinn and Finn stuck around." Puck decided not to tell Josh that Finn had rented a hotel room. He didn't even know if they used it, and there was no reason to fuck with Josh's head. Ok, when Puck first met Josh, he would have jumped at the chance to fuck with his head. But something about the way Josh asked about Quinn…well, Puck wasn't going to screw with him about that. Even he had limits.
"That's cool. So she hasn't said anything to you since then? And she hasn't mentioned me at all, right?"
"Dude, I haven't talked to her since the Prom, and we didn't exactly talk about you since she was there with Finn." Puck raised his eyebrow at Josh, because seriously, what was up?
"Right. Well, anyway, I was thinking about a new song," Josh handed some music to Puck.
Puck looked it over and nodded. "Well, my part doesn't look too hard, so I'm down."
"It would really work best if we could add keyboards. I just don't know who to ask to play," said Josh.
"Well, I can play," shrugged Puck.
"Of course you do. I forgot that you're an emo songwriter in disguise. But I'll need you on guitar. So anyone else you know play?"
"Yeah. I can ask Rachel. She can play piano."
"Would she do it? Do you think your girl will flip out over the lyrics?"
"Nah, I'll just tell her it's your song, not mine. I'll tell her it's your breakup song with Lima. It kinda sounds like that, you know? Like a break up song."
Josh choked a little. "Break up song, with Lima…yeah, good one."
Puck eyed Josh. He was getting a strange vibe. Maybe Rachel's sixth sense was rubbing off on him. "Sure we can't just do it without the keyboard? Do you feel weird about Rachel joining the band for the show before New York or something?"
"No, man, it'd be great if you'll ask her. This song would really sound best with the keyboard part. I say, go big or go home."
"Ok, but I don't want Rachel to do keyboards for Like Nobody Loves Me. I still want that to be a surprise."
"No problem. I just want the last song we do to be perfect. The keyboard part will help. The final performance of the final performance, you know?"
"Dude, we're just going to New York for like, a week in the summer. Then we'll be back playing at The Tavern again like usual." Puck thought Josh was being overly dramatic about the whole thing.
Josh didn't answer. He didn't have to, as Trey and Eddie had arrived.
When Trey found out that Josh had made a late addition to their song list, he made his own request. "Dude! You know I've wanted to do Percussion Gun!"
Once Trey started playing the opening drum line, Josh reminded him that the song really needs two drummers—hence why they've never played it before. Puck started to say something, and Josh knew what it was going to be, so he cut him off, "No, I don't want our last show to include that Finn dude who substituted for Trey and subs in for me at school with Quinn." Josh thought that just because he was going to encourage Quinn to break up with him with the performance; there was no reason he had to watch Finn be there to pick up the pieces. The movies in his head were enough.
"Whoa, dude, chill," said Puck. "I was actually gonna say that's a cool song, and I think I could learn it in time for the show. I haven't played in a long time, but we could try it since I'd have the easy part and Trey would do the fancy shit." (In elementary school, Puck thought that if two-left-feet-Finn could play drums, then surely he was coordinated enough to play. So he didn't have his own kit, but he had picked up the basics playing on Finn's, and then just playing on anything at all at home over the years.)
All the guys looked at Puck with wide eyes. "You're telling me that you play guitar, piano, and drums? You're a rare find, Puckerman," said Josh, with a hint of appreciation showing in his voice.
"Yeah, not much use for a one-man-band in a live show," he joked. "I guess I can do a lot of things half-assed. I'm not really good at anything in particular though."
"Well, that's pretty unusual. Who do you know that is?" asked Josh casually.
"Who's not already famous," Eddie added quickly.
"Rachel," said Puck.
"Yeah, ok, I'll give you that one. But she's a special case. Exception to the rule," said Josh.
"Yeah, she's the exception," Puck said with a small smile.
Trey hit the snare. "I'm psyched to play dueling drums with you, man! I'll loan you a floor tom. But you better get your own sticks."
Josh was pleased too because he was recalling the lyrics to Percussion Gun, and they were really perfect for his plan. But there was one last problem. "Trey, about your Percussion song—it's intended to have a piano player. Is it a problem that we don't have a real piano? Since this is your song request we're talking about here, I just want to be sure we get it sounding the way you want."
"The keyboard would cut it," Trey said. He really wanted to do the song and he was pleased that Josh was being so accommodating.
"But we don't have someone to play it," Eddie reminded Trey. He had missed Puck's conversation with Josh.
"I could ask Rachel to do it, if I'm already asking her to do Shattered," Puck offered. "Or we could do the songs without the keyboards, just sub in guitars."
"It would be really cool to do Percussion Gun and Shattered with keyboards…" Trey said. "Think she would mind helping us with them?"
"Are you kidding? Rachel loves performing. She'll be thrilled."
She was.
But Puck made sure that when they practiced, Rachel never heard the song he was planning to dedicate to her so it would be a surprise.
…
The next evening after school, Puck had a baseball game, but he came up with an idea for how Rachel could show she appreciated him in a way that didn't involve myspace videos or "sexual favors that made her uncomfortable". Rachel had watched the game from the stands and on the ride home, Puck made his suggestion. "So, I'm pretty sore from the game. And you know how you were looking for a way to show me you care? How about a massage? Like for sore muscles, not a sexual massage." He wanted to be clear.
Rachel looked at him a bit hesitantly, "I don't know if I'm good at massage therapy, but if that is your preference, I will do it. I just need time to research some techniques and practice."
Puck smirked and shook his head. "Completely unnecessary. I'm sore now. I've been practicing my drumming skills, which I haven't done in a long time, plus guitar, plus baseball tonight…"
"You know, I'm really proud of you, Noah. It's quite amazing that you're such an accomplished musician."
Puck smiled genuinely, "Thanks, Rach." Then he smirked, "Are you trying to distract me?"
"Who me?" she batted her eyelashes at him innocently. "I just wish I could look over some information on the subject first," Rachel admitted.
"Just learn by doing. A massage isn't that big of a deal and not that different from what you're used to doing when…" he stopped himself because he didn't want to bring up that she's really handsy, so she just needed to transfer those skills. He would've said it if Rachel didn't seem to be shying away from sexual favors. This was all probably thanks to that family therapist she'd been seeing with her dads. That schmuck. "Uh, anyway, it's not really something you can mess up."
Rachel seemed to pick up on his meaning because she blushed. Surprisingly though, she said, "Ok, if you think I can do it without making your muscles feel worse, then that's what I'll do."
"Cool, thanks," said Puck casually. He was looking forward to this. He could really use a relaxing massage. And if the non-sexual massage turned sexy, he wouldn't complain.
It did turn sexual. And he didn't complain.
…
A.N. Part 2 posted immediately. Mature scene directly picking up from this point.