Thanks for all your reviews. I apologize for vanishing for while. I was busy with life and family issues. I have returned and will try to update as much as I can. My other two stories are on a hiatus at the moment because I'm trying to decide what to do next for right now. But hopefully in a few weeks each should have another chapter. I had chapters mostly written but my computer crashed and I lost everything, so sad times.
Also, to answer a question, yes Finn will continue as a character.
The party didn't officially start until around nine that night. After the game, Puck and Finn along with the rest of the team had a mandatory post-game chat with the coach which took up another hour of their time. Then they needed to shower and get things ready before they could have half the school over to celebrate the win.
Puck was positive he wouldn't have gotten anything done if it hadn't been for Rachel and his sister. Quinn, having a key to his apartment in case an emergency arose where she needed to get in and he wasn't there, had let her and Rachel along with their giant group of friends, into his and Finn's place.
Instead of starting the party on their own like they could have, the two girls with the help of their gay friends, virgin friends, and older friends, helped set the entire apartment up. Cooper and Will even ran out to the liquor store for them, supplying the apartment with more alcohol to meet the needs of the many people who were bound to show up.
Rachel, ever the party planner, had even crafted some football-themed decorations with the help of Kurt while Cooper gave them pointers so they actually were football decorations and not baseball or hockey ones.
Puck walked into his apartment, expecting to have to set up everything on his own with minimal help from his best friend, but instead found Rachel standing on his kitchen table, directing everyone. The place looked great and Rachel had already started some music playing. Granted, it was shitty pop music that made Puck want to slice his ears off, but it was music nonetheless.
"Baby!" Rachel laughed as she turned around and saw Puck standing in the doorway with Finn right behind him. "There's my champion boyfriend. You played great! At least I think you did. Cooper said you did, and he seems more knowledgeable about the game than me." Rachel hopped down from the table, taking a few large steps in his direction until she was standing right in front of him, her face looking up at his.
"What is all this?" he asked, looking around the place. He knew everyone would start arriving soon, having all gotten cleaned up from the football game by now. He'd been expecting to run around and set everything up yet here it was, all done for him.
It was official. He had the best girlfriend on the face of the planet. He was never letting her go.
"Your party, dummy. Your sister and I were thinking that there was no way you were going to have a chance to make sure there was food and booze for everyone in addition to showering so you didn't smell like a foot, so we used her key and cleaned the place up for you. Doesn't it look great? Kurt and I made the decorations under Cooper's guidance to make sure we didn't fuck anything up."
Puck smiled, putting an arm around Rachel's shoulder and placing a kiss on her forehead. "They look great."
Rachel scrunched up her face, pushing him away slightly. "You know I like you, but you reek. Shower. Now," she ordered, laughing as she pushed him towards his room, following behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
Once the door had closed and all that could be heard was the muffled sounds of Rachel's laugh, Quinn turned to Kurt, pouring a bag of chips into an empty bowl. "I give it another month max before she finally gives in and does the nasty with my brother."
"What are you, five?" Kurt teased before shaking his head. "No way. She's waiting at least until next semester until she decides to sleep with him. Rachel's not one to hold onto her most precious gift for so long and just give it up to the first boy she dates in college after a few weeks."
"Good point. Plus, if she didn't give it up to that tool after five months, she's not sleeping with my brother until she's positive he's not an ass."
"What are you talking about? What tool?" Kurt asked.
Quinn mentally cursed. She'd promised Rachel she wouldn't say anything about the ass in high school to Kurt. Thank god she hadn't used his name or Kurt would be flipping a shit right now. "Nothing. Wrong Rachel. I was thinking about my friend from home," she lied smoothly. "But you're right. Rachel doesn't seem like the type to just bang the first guy who shows an interest in her."
"Well, he's not the first one to show interest in her, but he's the first one she took seriously. Like there was this senior when we were sophomores who was always hanging around her. Kind of creeped me out to be honest. I mean, she was sixteen and he was almost in college. Anyways, she finally broke down and decided to go to the movies with him, though the jerk was a little too pushy with her and she swore she'd never see him again. I mean, what kind of ass tries to get into a girl's pants ten minutes into their first date?"
"What was his name. The ass, I mean?" Quinn asked.
"Jesse St. James. He went to a different school as us. They were our rivals, which is why I was so stunned Rachel even went to the movies with him in the first place."
"Were you mad she went with him?" Quinn asked curious, wondering what Kurt's impression of the only other guy Rachel had dated was.
"No. I mean, I wanted her to have a real date, not the stupid ass ones I took her on when I was trying to pretend I wanted her pussy, you know? I mean, I always thought Jesse was a douche, but it's not like I was going to tell her the first guy who asked her out was a complete and total jerk. I was right in the end, but it doesn't matter. It was one date and she's with your brother now, so it all worked out in the end."
"I guess so," Quinn said, turning her back to Kurt as she straightened a row of cups. She hadn't known Kurt and Rachel for long, but she could tell that if Kurt ever did find out the truth about Rachel and Jesse, Rachel would be lucky if he ever spoke to her again. He seemed so willing to believe what Rachel had told him, not even doubting it once. If he ever discovered she lied to him, well Quinn didn't want to be there for that fight.
Finn had gone to take a shower as well in the apartment's second bathroom while Puck and Rachel were still in his room. A few people had already come in, all of them football players. Brody, the one who had been after Rachel to go out with him shortly following her falling-out with Puck, was the first one there. Quinn supposed he didn't want to miss a minute around Rachel.
"Look, your biffle's stalker is here," Quinn muttered to Kurt as Brody started looking around the room, loudly complaining about the music playing. Rachel and Quinn had created a top 40 channel on Pandora and a Rihanna song that Quinn personally liked was playing, so she took further offense to Brody's presence besides the fact that he was underhandedly trying to break up her roommate and her brother.
Behind him were a few more football players, each of them with a girl on their arm. Brody seemed to be the only one who came alone, apparently hoping Rachel would be more receptive to his advances at a party thrown by her quarterback boyfriend. Quinn was considering telling him how much of a dumbass he was.
Instead, she was distracted by Joe who came over to her, a football decoration taped to his forehead. "What do you think?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"I think you look like a dork," she teased, standing on her toes and giving him a quick kiss. She had no idea where they stood or what they were, but she truly did enjoy being with him, even if her heart was also pulling her in the direction of Finn.
The two boys were both so different, but they'd both managed to capture her heart. Finn was everything she had ever wanted for her whole life, and Joe was perfection wrapped up in a very pretty package. She could imagine a life with Joe, but the same could be said for Finn. She didn't know what to do, who to choose. She wanted to follow her heat like Rachel suggested, but that was impossible to do when two faces were tattooed on her heart.
She doubted if her bff up in the sky was going to help her out on this one. No, Quinn was going to have to figure this out all on her own.
Rachel and Puck emerged shortly after, Rachel having changed from the simple shirt she'd been wearing earlier to one of Puck's old jerseys. If there was ever a prime example of proving ownership, this was it. Puck was proclaiming to every guy who showed up tonight that Rachel was his and if they got close to her, he'd cut their balls off.
Rachel didn't seem to mind, either. Her hand was tightly clasped in Puck's as she walked out of his room, her hips already swaying to the music. More and more people had arrived by now, the small apartment packed with bodies. Most were drinking and dancing, Rachel among the dancing crowd. She's pulled Puck to the dance floor, her ass pressed against the front of his jeans.
Quinn covered her mouth to suppress a laugh as she caught sight of her brother's face.
He seemed to not be able to decide what to do. On one hand he wanted to pull Rachel closer to him but on the other he seemed to be worrying that if he did that, she'd push him away. That left Puck standing in the awkward position where he attempted to sway to the music while making as little contact with Rachel as possible.
Eventually, Rachel seemed to get fed up with him, Reaching behind her, she put his hands on her waist, looking up at him as she gave him a nod. Puck leaned down closer to her, his face pressed against her neck as his body moved along with hers to the music. Some upbeat David Guetta song was playing and Puck had no idea to the words, but it didn't seem to matter. What mattered was that Rachel was right there, pressed against him as the two of them danced to the music.
Brody was lurking by the table with all the alcohol, pouring himself another drink as he unhappily watched Puck and Rachel dancing. Quinn, a cup of vodka in her hand, walked up to him, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Okay, you're creeping me out. Either stop staring at my roommate and brother or get out."
"Beat it, baby Puckerman. I don't have the patience to deal with your shit right now."
"I'm serious. It's fucked up the way you're always staring at her. She said no the ten times you asked her out while she and my brother were on the outs. What makes you think she's all of a sudden going to change her mind and dump my brother for you? You're an ass, Weston. I've heard the stories about you, both from my brother and your former playthings that are littered throughout the school. You have some nerve calling my brother a slut."
"Unless you're offering yourself as my new plaything, leave me alone in my misery and run off to play hopscotch with the surfer or whatever it is you virgins do with guys you're not fucking."
"You're a rude ass, I hope you know," Quinn huffed. "I swear I will tell my brother you're being a dick and just propositioned me if you're not gone in ten minutes. You're being a douche and a bore. Just leave," she huffed before turning and walking away from him, heading over to Joe who was organizing a game of beer pong.
"Queen bee!" he laughed as he saw Quinn. He pulled her close, planting a kiss on the top of her head. "Come be my partner. Cooper and Will are claiming they could beat me with one hand tied behind their backs. I need a real woman to put these boys in their places." Quinn laughed, putting an arm around his waist and nodded her head, allowing herself to be drawn into the game, forgetting all about Rachel and her brother.
Rachel had turned towards Puck, continuing to dance close to him. The two of them really hadn't kissed much. A few kisses here and there, but certainly no making out. Rachel hadn't had anything to drink at all, having been with Puck the entire time. She glanced up to see him smiling and waving to someone. Curious, Rachel turned her head towards the door. To her horror, she watched Jesse walk in and wave to her boyfriend like they were old friends.
She stopped her movements, staring up at Puck with anger on her face. "What the hell is he doing here? And what are you doing waving to him like you played fucking little league together?"
"It's cool. He came up to me the other night at O'Hara's and cleared the air. He's a cool dude when you get a chance to know him. I invited him here. I thought it'd be a great way for us all to start over. You know, a clean slate or whatever."
"You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about!" Rachel practically shouted. "You have no idea what that jerk did to me, how screwed up he made me. I can't believe you did this to me, Noah. This is even worse than that night with Marley!" She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, turning away from him in an attempt to go find Kurt.
Puck grabbed her arm, wanting to talk everything over. Rachel meant everything to him. He wasn't about to let it all crash and burn over something as stupid as this. "Rachel, just listen-"
"No!" she shouted, pulling her arm away from him. Everyone had stopped talking, looking at the two of them. Somehow, Rachel's yells were even louder than the music that was blaring from the speakers. "Just leave me alone, Noah. I need to think this over. I thought I could trust you, and you yet again proved your sister right." She searched, finding Kurt in the crowd. She headed over to him, taking his arm. "Is it just me or does this party suck all of a sudden?" she asked, pulling him away from Blaine.
Kurt glanced back, giving Blaine a shrug as he allowed Rachel to lead him to the door. "You and the boyfriend fighting?" he asked. "What happened?"
"Not important. What is important is getting the hell out of here. I'm too mad to drive right now-can you drive me back to the dorm? You can come back if you want to. I just need to get out of here."
Of course, nothing Rachel wanted seemed to be happening that night. Jesse always seemed to find Rachel at the worst moments. He stopped in front of her, blocking her path to the door.
"Leaving so soon, Berry?" he asked, a smirk planted firmly on his face. Watching Rachel's life fall apart had always been a favorite form of entertainment for him.
"Beat it, Jesse. I don't have time to deal with your shit right now."
Kurt looked stunned to see Jesse standing right there. "Rach? What's he doing here? I thought he was in New York."
"Ah, plans change," Jesse said, addressing Kurt. "California is the place to be, and tonight this party is the place to be. Do you have a problem with that, lady?"
"Hey, don't talk to Kurt like that," Rachel snapped. "Just because you're older than us doesn't mean you can bully him around and call him names."
Jesse rolled his eyes at her. "Right, I forgot. Defending the queer is something you always do. You never let me call him one name our five months together."
The reaction was instantaneous. Rachel's hand reached up and connected with Jesse's face, leaving a red mark behind. Kurt pulled his arm away from Rachel, looking stunned. Their eyes connected for a moment before he shook his head, walking out of the apartment without a word.
"What have you done?" Rachel cried, pushing past Jesse, running out of the apartment. "Kurt, wait!" she shouted before the door closed behind them.
Everyone was staring, the room having fallen silent with the exception of the music. "Alright people, quit your gawking," Joe said, breaking the silence. "There's beer pong to be played. Who's ready to see me and my lady kick these two rock star's asses?" That seemed to catch everyone's attention and they all returned to what they were doing before. Well, all except Blaine and Puck who were staring at the door, trying to decide if they should go after the two freshmen who were apparently having the biggest fight of their lives.
Rachel ran to catch up with Kurt, finally grabbing his arm as they were outside the apartment building. "Kurt, wait!" she yelled, getting him to stop where he was. He looked furious. He seemed to be livid and hurt at the same time, and Rachel knew exactly why he looked that way. It was because of her. "Please, Just listen to me. I'm sorry!"
"When?" he demanded. "When were you planning to tell me about you and St. James?"
"I don't know!" she shouted, tears starting to fall down her face. "I didn't know how to tell you! You're my best friend, but I knew you'd never understand if I told you now since I hid it from you when we were sophomores."
"Wait, so you lied to me when you told me he tried to feel you up on your first date?"
"That wasn't exactly what happened," Rachel admitted. "I knew you wouldn't approve, so I didn't tell you. I was scared of losing you as my best friend, Kurt!"
"So instead, you lied to me all these years. Tell me this: if Jesse hadn't spilled your secret tonight, would you ever have told me about the two of you?" Rachel stayed silent, not knowing what to say. "That's a no to me," he said. "How can I ever trust you again? If you lied about this, what else have you lied to me about?"
"Nothing! I swear I never lied about anything else!" Rachel promised.
"See, I don't know if I can believe you. I always thought I could tell when you were lying, but I apparently can't since you were able to lie about this since we were sixteen. I never thought you'd do something like this to me, Rachel. This is the ultimate betrayal. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for this." He let out a sigh, wiping his left eye with his hand. "You're right, this party does suck. I want to go home."
"Here, I'll give you a ride," she said softly.
"No. I don't want to see you. I don't want to speak to you. Right now, I don't want to have anything to do with you, Rachel. I'll get Blaine to give me a ride home. Just...leave me the hell alone. You've done enough as it is." Rachel sat on the front steps of Puck's apartment building while she watched Kurt text Blaine. It took a few minutes, but the bartender walked out and found the two of them there. Rachel was sobbing quietly while Kurt looked like he wanted to hurt someone.
"Is everything okay?" Blaine asked, looking between the two of them.
"Peachy. Can you give me a ride back? I'm over this lame ass party." Blaine nodded and the two of them walked to his car, Kurt not even giving Rachel a glance back. Rachel watched the two of them climb into Blaine's car and drive away, burying her face in her hands.
She heard the door open behind her and footsteps approach her. Someone sat down beside her and put their arm around her shoulders. She leaned in, knowing exactly who it was. "You okay?"
Rachel shook her head, starting to cry harder.
"Want me to get Puck?" Sam asked, rubbing Rachel's back soothingly. "He was looking worried about you up there when you can out. He's kind of sitting in the corner alone not knowing what to do. Quinn's worried too, but Joe won't let her leave their game. I think he's trying to distract her."
Rachel kept her head on Sam's shoulder as she cried. "This is all my fault. If I had just told him the truth back then, this wouldn't be happening now. I was scared to tell him. I knew this would happen, and I was naive enough to think I could keep this hidden forever."
Sam gave her a weak smile though she didn't see it. "Hey, he'll get over it. It might take him a little, but this will all blow over. You two are best friends. He'll realize you're the most important person and you two will make up. Just give it time."
Rachel shook her head, getting a few streaks of mascara on Sam's shirt. "You didn't hear him. He never wants to see me again. He made it very clear that what I did was unforgivable. I don't know what I'm going to do. Kurt's the most important person in my life. I don't know if I can get by without him by my side, supporting everything I do."
"Everything is going to be okay, Rachel. You just have to keep that in the back of your mind. Even if he ignores you when you pass by him in the hall, just remember that deep down, he loves you. We're roommates. When we're not talking about guy stuff, we're talking about you. He's never said a truly bad thing about you. Sure he complains about some things you do, but I can tell by the way he talks about you that you're the love of his life. Not like a romantic love. You're his family. You mean the world to him. He's not going to throw years of friendship away over a silly fight. I'll do my best to make him see reason, but don't get discouraged. It'll take time." He kissed her forehead. "And when you need to talk, I'll be there waiting. I promise. I may be his roommate, but I'm also your friend. I'm not taking sides in this. I'm still your friend, no matter what." He looked back before nodding. "Puck's here. Why don't you let him drive you home. I'll keep Quinn company." He got up, giving Rachel one last hug before heading inside.
"Look, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now," Puck started as he sat down beside Rachel. She didn't let him finish, instead pressing her lips against his, pulling him close to her. She was crying as she kissed him, but he was what she needed right now.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm sorry for everything. I'm a horrible person. I don't know what you're doing here with me. You deserve so much better."
Puck sighed, embracing her tightly. "Listen to me, pretty lady. You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I don't care what Kurt said out here. I don't care what you did. All I care about is you, silly girl. Let's go back to your dorm. I'll get you into bed. You need to sleep."
Rachel didn't bother protesting. Instead, she allowed Puck to pull her to her feet and lead her to her car. Rachel handed him her keys and sat in the front seat. He told her he just needed to run upstairs quickly and that he'd be right back. He headed over to Finn, whispering something in his ear before giving him a wave and heading back to Rachel's car.
The two drove to her dorm in silence, not saying a word. The only sound in the car was Rachel sniffling as she attempted to stop her tears. Puck helped her out of the car and headed inside her building. He waved to the security guard who knew him. the guard gave him a nod, noticing Rachel's appearance. he didn't bothering checking her ID or making Puck sign in.
Puck led Rachel to her room, helping her onto her bed. "Do you want me to get your pajamas? Or I can leave if you want me to," he said, glancing over at the door.
"No," Rachel said softly. "Tonight, I just want you to stay here with me. I don't want to be alone right now. I'm not promising sex right now, but I just want you to be here with me, Noah," she said, pulling the blankets on her bed down. Puck smiled, slipping his shoes off before flicking the light switch off.
"As you wish," he said, sliding into bed beside her.