Author's note: No excuses for my lack of quick update. Just the following chapter. Follows parallel to the "Comeback" episode. With the obvious (aka better) differences, lol.

Music suggestions: 'All the same' by Sick Puppies, 'Somebody to love' by Glee Cast, 'Believe' by Safetysuit.

Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.

The Truth Behind Comebacks

Puck's head cocked to one side in utter bafflement as he turned the corner and stared at the opposite end of the short hallway. The oddest thing just happened. His girlfriend just handed Brittany a small fortune in greenbacks and started gesticulating wildly to various parts of her body, multiple undoubtedly usual dictionary-sized words translated into toddler sized words and expressions passing her lips as Brittany looked on with her usual clueless and blank expression.

About twenty seconds later, Brittany nodded and escaped as quickly as she possibly could.

"Rachel...baby...what are you doing exactly?" Puck asked, walking up to her when she and Brittany parted.

"It's all part of a bigger plan." Rachel replied definitively, her chin high. She then glided past him in the direction he just came from. "Perhaps I'll tell you about it someday."

His head dropped back and a huge sigh passed his lips before turning on his heel and dramatically dragging his feet before chasing her down.

His Caroline was nothing but driven, but sometimes, she had some really terrible ideas. He had a strong feeling this was one of them.

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The feeling only got worse as the week went on. Coach Sylvester was sitting in for the week in glee. As if that ever ended well.

He'd had to drag Rachel away from Brittany three times. Two of those times literally. And she still wouldn't let him in on what the hell was going on.

"But she isn't getting it right!" Rachel exclaimed in a huff, charging off when he dropped her back on her own two feet after Brittany had gotten a decent head start.

He went kind of loco when he noticed how Rachel was looking at Evans during his Bieber performance of "Baby" and jumped on the Bieber express with Mike and Artie later that day. Matt, lucky jackass, wasn't having any problems with keeping Santana's attention. He'd caught the duo more times than he cared to count in dark corners in various stages of dress.

He and Rachel hadn't been in too many dark McKinley corners lately, what with their down-low relationship status. Their nights, though, were pretty steamy. School days were killer.

By Wednesday, she was in some humongous showdown with Mercedes, due to diva it out Thursday morning. He hung back in the shadows as Rachel hounded after Mercedes throughout the day Wednesday to convince the girl that they just had to choose a song from the Broadway catalog. He did not want to get in the middle of that kind of crazy.

Perhaps the most bizarre thing of all didn't even involve his Caroline. Lauren Zizes asked him for singing advice. Talk about out there. He didn't even know she could sing.

Something really strange was going on at McKinley.

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"So," Santana crooned Thursday morning, sashaying up to Matt. Twirling around and fingering the hem of her plaid skirt, she glanced up at Matt coquettishly. "What do you think?"

"Honestly?" Matt asked in a pragmatic tone.

Santana's eyes narrowed suspiciously and she dropped the flirtatious attitude. Santana nodded affirmatively.

"You look like Rachel. It's kind of creepy." Matt said, a disquieted expression on his face as he looked down at her.

"Brittany's setting a new fashion statement. It's her I'm modeling my outfit after. Where did you get that I'm dressing like Rachel? So totally not." Santana replied in an affronted tone, taking a step back.

"Well then I'm pretty sure Brittany got that look from Rachel." Matt supplied argumentatively, refusing to back down.

"It's totally different! What would you know?" Santana exclaimed heatedly, turning on her heel and stomping off.

"It looks hotter on Rachel, in a weird sort of way, anyway." Matt muttered under his breath as he trudged along after her.

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"Dude, why are all the girls dressing like Rachel?" Matt asked Puck in a sotto voce tone before practice Thursday afternoon.

Mike dropped down into a seat opposite Puck, meeting Puck's eyes for a moment before rotating his spooked gaze back to his girlfriend. "Yeah, man. It's seriously freaking me out."

"Me, too." Sam added out of the corner of his mouth in passing, taking the seat next to Quinn at the end of the first row.

It was then that the wheels began to turn in Puck's brain as he glanced quickly from one girl to the next. Sure enough, every girl in glee, as well as the few that passed the door out in the hallway, were dressed exactly like Rachel. He really needed to start learning some mental exercises to speed up his common sense. If he didn't watch out, he'd be even more clueless than Finn.

"I have no idea." Puck replied in a bored tone, slouching back in his chair. "Maybe it's something in the water. That affects only chicks." Puck amended at their desperate, disbelieving looks.

"Santana's been ignoring me since I asked her about it this morning. She told me it was Brittany's idea." Matt commented morosely, frowning as he stared intensely at the back of Santana's head from where she sat in the first row.

"Yeah, I got a similar talkdown with Tina on the way to lunch. Took me that long to work up the courage to ask." Mike added, his gaze still apprehensive as he turned back to face them. "Only showing her my abs calmed her down. She punched me in the arm, dude, just for asking why she was dressed so bizarrely! And considering what she usually wears, that's saying something. She hasn't done anything like this since that deal with Brittany...Oh God, you don't think she thinks I've got something going on with Rachel, does she?"

"Calm down, man." Puck cautioned, rolling his eyes. "If that were the case, every girl in school thinks their man's got something on the side with Rachel."

"Yeah." Matt agreed, glancing away from Santana back to the boys. "Rachel may have some weird kind of pheromone pull on guys, but it's not that powerful."

Mike and Puck both sent him studious expressions, Puck with an eyebrow raised.

"What? I had Biology before coming here." Matt supplied defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Besides," Puck said, going back to their previous discussion. "You both said that they got their new look from Brittany. So apparently, Brittany is the one who stole Rachel's psychotic fashion sense."

"Why would Brittany do that?" Mike questioned with a furrowed brow, all of their gazes alighting on the ditzy former cheerleader in question.

"Maybe Rachel paid her to." Puck commented in a half-joking tone, nudging Mike with his elbow as Rachel entered the room right behind a harried looking Mr. Schuester and glammed up Lauren Zizes.

"Very funny, dude." Matt laughed out, nudging Puck back as he and Mike exploded in boisterous laughter. Puck smiled and chuckled half-heartedly in response. The sad part...he was 100 percent sure that was exactly what had gone down.

They all quieted down as Mr. Schuester called the glee rehearsal to order.

At least Zizes wasn't dressing like Rachel.

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Thursday night found Puck sprawled across Rachel's bed, watching her brush her hair at her vanity.

"Tell me what's going on with Brittany." Puck demanded gently, meeting her gaze in the mirror. "You paid her to dress like you, didn't you?"

Rachel finished the stroke of her brush through her hair and placed the brush on the vanity before turning to meet his gaze. Her eyes had a glossy sheen to them. "I thought that she could help me become popular. Everyone looks at her and thinks she so pretty and popular. I thought that if she wore a few of my signature pieces, it would catch on and become a trend." As she spoke, her gaze fell to her hands clasped in her lap. "I didn't know it would backfire. But apparently, when people look at me, they don't see a trendsetter, they see a cat yowling as its having its temperature taken." Rachel finished glumly, her breath hitching.

Puck tensed up in anger for his distressed, not to mention undeservedly, insulted girl. Standing, he crossed the room and crouched down in front of Rachel and clasped his hands around her smaller ones.

"Forget Brittany. You know she isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box." Puck said consolingly, his thumbs rubbing soothingly back and forth across the inside of her wrists. Rachel continued to stare at her hands, unconvinced and failing to stifle a sniffle. "Hey. Listen, Caroline." Reaching out with one hand, he tweaked her chin up to meet her eyes. "What the hell do any of them know about fashion? Three of them used to wear the same outfit everyday. Every. Day. The last one dresses regularly like some kind of emo-vampire goth. None of them have any real fashion sense. They have to latch onto someone with a real good eye. They don't even consciously realize it's you. They refuse to accept that you're the one that inspired Brittany. Just wait, babe. One of these days your name's gonna be up in lights and your face'll be plastered on billboards all around the world. They'll regret being such bitches to you."

"You really think so?" Rachel questioned hesitantly, a couple tears leaking from her eyes.

"You know deep down it's true, babe." Puck affirmed, smiling at her charmingly. "And you know what? All the guys knew it was you anyway, not Brittany. You're hot, babe. Don't forget that. It's not just me that thinks so, either."

"Now you're just trying to make me blush." Rachel commented around a laugh, her dour mood lifting.

"Doesn't change the fact that it's the truth." Puck stated, rising up to his full height and pulling her up along with him. "Now, c'mon. We've got a few minutes to make out before my curfew."

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"Didn't that performance with Coach Sylvester rock?" Puck commented, his eyes fixated on Rachel's butt as she walked a few paces ahead of him towards his truck. Still wearing their flannel and jeans make-ups, he had to admit that Rachel's butt looked amazing in those jeans and platform boots. "Didn't know the old bird had it in her to be a My Chemical Romance fan."

"Noah, quit staring at my posterior." Rachel commented dryly instead, glancing at him over her shoulder with an amused expression.

His eyes snapped up to hers. "How did you even know?"

"Simple. You were walking behind me." Rachel returned quickly, leaning back against his truck as he caught up to her and unlocked the door.

Stepping in close, Puck rested one hand on the side of the truck, the other at the door edge just over Rachel's head. "It's a very nice ass, you know." Puck commented in a low husky timbre.

"I do, actually. I work very hard to keep it that way." Rachel quipped conversationally, gazing up into his eyes. "And you know what I think you should do?" Rachel asked in a sultry suggestive tone.

"What?" Puck asked, leaning in.

"Open the truck door for me. You know it sticks every time I try." Rachel said, ducking under his arm and pivoting around. Crossing her arms over her chest, she speared him with an impatient, impish look.

"You're gonna pay for that later, Caroline." Puck stated with a shake of his head, complying with her request.

"It's going to have to wait until after dinner with my dads." Rachel returned with a wry smile as she hoisted herself into the passenger seat and snatched the door from his grasp to slam it shut. Rachel waited patiently as Puck rounded the front of the vehicle and climbed in the driver's side before commenting on his original statement. "And as to your earlier sentiment about Coach Sylvester, I agree. It was a phenomenal choice anthem and we performed it spectacularly. However, I have my doubts about taking it to Regionals."

"Only you, Rach." Puck commented affectionately as he started the truck and put it into gear.

"Seriously, Noah." Rachel said in an impassioned tone. "I'm bringing it up to Mr. Schuester and the club as soon as possible."

"You know it won't win you any popularity points." Puck remarked matter-of-factly as he pulled out of the parking lot and eased into traffic.

"This isn't about popularity. It's about winning." Rachel stated, as she reached for his free hand and squeezed. "Say you're with me on this, Noah. I really need your support."

"Of course, babe. You know I've got your back." Puck affirmed without hesitation. He mumbled his last comment. "Much good it'll be."

oooxoooooo*oonooooooo*ooouooooooo

Well, there you go, everybody! Another chapter. Everybody is where they should be, for the most part. Puck and Rachel. Sam and Quinn. Artie and Brittany. Matt and Santana. Mike and Tina. And so forth. Hope you liked.