Author's note: There is so much music I want to use for the actual prom chapter, some of it spilled over into this first half. I honestly don't know how I'm gonna be able to fit in everything I want to do in the next chapter.
Music suggestions: 'Holding on to heaven' by Nickelback, 'Friday' by Glee Cast, 'Fly again' by Nikki Williams, 'Lucky' by Glee Cast.
Disclaimer: Don't own Glee.
Prom Queen, Part One
"Because I'm not going to prom."
Those six words from Mercedes, as well as the hopeless tone they'd been spoken in, kept repeating themselves in Rachel's head. The cogs were turning in Rachel's mind. This wasn't a decision to make lightly.
She really wasn't sure how to share the plan she'd hatched a few weeks back, around the time she'd learned about Lauren Zizes' nefarious plans for her boyfriend. But Mercedes was her friend, another kindred spirit, and she couldn't leave her in the lurch. Besides, bringing Mercedes in just might give her that competitive edge to win Sam over.
Furthermore, it would make things considerably less awkward and a lot more fun.
The decision to approach Mercedes after glee rehearsal set in her mind, Rachel settled in more comfortably in her seat next to the girl in question and focused on another issue that had presented itself: her sulking boyfriend.
As Mr. Schuester's voice provided the appropriate white noise to help her think, she recollected on Noah's attitude that day.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Rachel spied on her recalcitrant boyfriend slouched in his seat on the opposite side of the room from her in the front row, next to Lauren. Appearing every inch disinterested in the conversation about prom, Noah's posture screamed pent up aggression and frustration. The fact that he'd distanced himself from her since lunch, in just about every sense, Rachel inferred that he didn't want to accidentally take any of that anger out on her and afforded him his space.
Thinking about their heated make out session right after lunch did make her reconsider just how long he'd been in such a mood. He'd been uncharacteristically quiet and had practically dragged her to his favorite dark, private make out spot, unusual in that it was located on the opposite side of the school and they had at least two designated places that were closer. His usual slow and tender method to kissing had been harried and almost rough, his hands reaching for her and pulling her close, a desperation in his touch that, in the moment, had made her body flush with pleasure in record time.
As she thought back, though, the desperation she'd originally interpreted as a need for her now felt like it could have been something else. Almost as if he were trying to prove something. The question was, what?
Rachel was yanked from her musings when Mercedes suddenly stood up and excused herself from the rehearsal early.
As Rachel tuned thoughts of Noah out and reviewed what Mr. Schuester might have said to upset Mercedes, Rachel came across Mr. Schu's last words and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't really his fault, but had he not been listening at all to the pre-rehearsal conversation between the girls?
It appeared as though her plans were going to be put into action a tad bit ahead of schedule. When Kurt made to go after Mercedes to console her, Rachel volunteered to go instead.
She'd have to figure out what was wrong with Noah later.
oooooocooooo*ooouoooooo*
After school had let out the Monday before prom, Puck tumbled onto Rachel's bed and breathed out a deep, gusty sigh and glowered at the canopy above her bed.
Having followed at a more sedate pace after notifying her dad of their arrival home, Rachel tilted her head sympathetically and crossed the room to her bed. Hair falling down around her head in a halo, Rachel lined up her face over Noah's and looked down.
"Rough day?" Rachel asked in a commiserative tone, smoothing her fingertips across the frown that marred his forehead. "I heard that Jacob was hounding you today for an interview."
Rolling partially onto his side, Puck reached out and gently tugged on Rachel's skirt, urging her to sit down. Following his gesturing, Rachel folded her left leg underneath her and sat on the edge of her bed, her right leg left dangling off the edge. Puck laid back down, one hand curled partially underneath her bent leg and his head in her lap.
I've completely lost my badassness." Puck mumbled quietly, his thumb stroking idly against her thigh. "The interview was going along quick and easy, just how I like it, and he springs this question on me about where Lauren's keeping my balls. As if she's the one with the pants in this campaign. Which is totally true, but that's not the point. The point is that when I threatened him, he countered that he's been hit by a girl before. He was implying that I've been neutered by Zizes and that I'm a girl. And I know you don't like it when I curse babe, but that shit's not kosher. At all."
"Noah, darling, I know you're used to being the one that's feared by your peers and it really infuriates me how demeaning and tabloid reportorial Jacob's interviews always are. However, despite how much I know it hurt you and cut you down, you should know that there is only one opinion that really matters concerning any of your body parts, and it's mine. And to borrow your off-color phrasing, I am perfectly aware of where your balls are, and they aren't in anyone else's possession or anyone else's business except yours and mine. Jacob Ben-Israel can take his question and shove it where the sun doesn't shine." Rachel concluded her reassuring speech with an assertive nod, her fingers running through his mohawk soothingly as she talked. "And I would like to add that I was one of those girls that punched Jacob, so don't feel too slighted, Noah."
"You're one badass chica, you know that?" Puck imparted with a partial smile, rotating his head enough to meet Rachel's eyes. "Right up there with Santana, but a lot more subtle about the fact. Makes you that much more lethal."
"Thank you, Noah. I think." Rachel returned graciously, her forehead scrunching up slightly in thought at being compared to Santana in any respect.
"You know, this would be one of those prime opportunities to offer up your body to me as a way for me to prove just how manly I am." Puck suggested, his thumb grazing higher up on her thigh as he smiled up at her devilishly.
Only, Rachel could glimpse just how deeply Jacob Ben-Israel's cutting provocations had wounded her Noah's pride as he gazed into her eyes, buried beneath all the layers of his protective shell.
Snatching a quick cursory glance at the partially closed door, Rachel took a deep breath and prayed that this wouldn't be one of those occasions where Noah had her crying out his name in ecstasy and begging for release, because she wasn't really capable of muffling any kind of sound she produced.
"Just what would you want to do with me?" Rachel returned in the same suggestive tone, one corner of her mouth quirking up as her threaded fingers tugged at his hair.
In response, Puck nudged her bent leg open and draped it loosely over his torso, lifted the front of her skirt up, and bent forward.
She really hoped that her dad was in the den and had the TV turned up high.
oooozooooo*ooowooooo*ooouooooooo
His idea was legit genius. All he needed was an accomplice. And who better than Artie? He'd get sympathy alone for being in a wheelchair.
Under no circumstances could Rachel find out what he had in mind.
His street cred was in the gutter. And while he did appreciate what Rachel had said, and let him do afterward, he simply could not let things carry on as they had been. Balance had to be restored. And it all started with spiking the punch and winning anti-king. It ended with cutting ties with Lauren after their disaster of a campaign came to an end. She was straight-up legit for a girl, but she smothered guys like him with loveable but dangerous reps to protect.
As he laid down the plan the next day, he could tell Artie wasn't down with it. He was still too hung up over his breakup with Brittany.
His suspicions were confirmed a few seconds later.
"...There's gotta be a surefire way for Brittany to both forgive me and accept my prom proposal. There's just gotta be." Artie muttered stubbornly as he rolled past Puck.
And that's when it occurred to him. If there was one thing all the girls in glee had in common, they all loved their wayward significant other begging for forgiveness and publicly humiliating themselves through a song.
"Hey, Artie. Wait!" Puck shouted after Artie's retreating form. He jogged the remaining steps between them when Artie acknowledged his shout and stopped to wait for him. "I have an idea."
ooooaooooo*ooosooovoooo*
"You have got to be kidding me." Puck grumbled incredulously, slamming the door of his truck closed without getting inside. Puck swiveled around to face Rachel. "You invited that jerkwad to our prom? He's a grade-A d..." Puck continued furiously until Rachel interrupted him.
"Noah, don't you dare take that tone with me or even think of calling Jesse that. I know exactly what he is capable of, so I think I would know which names are appropriate." Rachel retaliated, crossing her arms over her chest.
"But, Rachel baby, this whole prom thing is already seriously jacked up. He's only gonna make things worse. He still wants you. Finn's also still hung up on you. And the worst part, I'm not even gonna be there with you to run interference because I have to square off this stupid final part of my debt to Zizes. I trust Sam. I trust you. I don't trust anyone else." Puck stated in a fierce tone, his frustration flaring up and boiling over. As if he didn't have enough to worry about.
Rachel's gaze softened minutely and she took a step forward to reach out to him. "I'll be fine, Noah. This will be a chance to break ties with Jesse once and for all. Unlike the last encounter I had with him." At this, Rachel paused to glower at some random speck on the pavement between them, as if she could still see the egg remains splattered in front of her. "And most importantly, I won't be alone. I trust both Sam and Mercedes to be there for me should anything happen while you're not around. I understand that you have it hard enough as it is, and this only compounds matters exponentially. But this is something I need to see though to the end. Just like you have to do with Lauren. Hopefully, after this weekend, we'll all be able to breathe a little easier."
Puck glowered darkly at the school over her shoulder, his jaw clenched so tightly Rachel was surprised she couldn't hear his teeth cracking from the strain. She loosened her grip around his forearm and let go. A couple of seconds later, he nodded his head in acceptance, turned around and got into his truck.
Rachel bowed her head and made her way around to the passenger side of the truck.
Once they made it through this week, everything would be better.
And maybe her and Noah could spend a weekend alone, without any crushing obligations or infuriating ex-boyfriends.
ooowooooo*oooooorooooo*ooooxooooo*
Spotting Rachel in the front row between Mercedes and Quinn at the glee club's extra practice Wednesday morning, Puck sucked up his pride from the doorway and walked across the room to stand in front of her. Silently asking for the other two girls to leave with an abashed smile and a tic of his head, Mercedes and Quinn each gave Rachel a supportive squeeze to Rachel's hands and stepped out of earshot.
Rachel glanced up at him balefully and raised an eyebrow in askance.
"I acted like an ass last night, and I'm sorry." Puck stated right off the bat. "I mean, your news sucked and all, but I could have taken it better. It's not your fault that all of this stuff is going down at the same time. To make up for it, I was thinking that maybe we could sing a song together at prom, spend some time together on stage, serenading the masses with our kickass harmonies." Puck finished, presenting his brilliant idea with a charming smile.
"I accept your apology, Noah. It was very nice. For you." Rachel accepted, feeling the need to tack on the last part for clarification. "But I'm not sure I can sing a song with you at prom. My music card is already bursting at the seams with requests."
"Wait, seriously?" Puck asked, dumbfounded at such a lackluster response to his proposal. He really was losing his touch. He continued on at her reproachful glare. "I'm not implying that your singing isn't awesome and that people shouldn't be lining up at the chance to sing with you, but it's only been like, a day and a half since Schuester sprang this on us."
"It's closer to three days. I've already been approached by Blaine, Tina and Brittany, and Finn. Since we're only allowed to sing a maximum of four songs, I automatically turned Finn down. Seeing as I've already decided on singing two by myself...I would have to turn someone down. And I really like their song selections." Rachel explained in an unapologetic tone, shrugging her shoulders.
"C'mon, babe. Please sing a song with me. I'm begging you." Puck pleaded, going down on one knee and staring up at her imploringly. "Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now" needs a reprisal at McKinley's 2011 junior prom."
Rachel pretended to consider the request carefully for a few seconds before giving in with a smile. "Alright. I'll let Tina and Brittany know I won't be able to sing with them."
"What's the song?" Puck asked curiously, rising up off the floor.
" "Womanizer" by Britney Spears." Rachel replied matter-of-factly. "I'm going to recommend they ask Santana instead. We have similar vocal ranges."
"That's a pairing that might hypnotize every man in the room. Like some kind of siren call or something like that." Puck stated in a teasing tone, climbing up to the second row to take the seat directly behind Rachel.
"I'll let them know you said that." Rachel said in return over her shoulder, turning in her seat so he could see the glint in her eyes.
oooocooooo*ooorooooo*ooouooooooo
"Did you hear what your boyfriends did today?" Mercedes asked in a dishing tone, leaning in close to Rachel and Quinn.
Rachel and Quinn glanced at each other and silently agreed negatively. They both turned to Mercedes and spoke at the same time. "No."
"All the boys sprung an impromptu jam session on Miss Hagberg's cooking class." Tina supplied from Mercedes' other side, leaning forward to meet Quinn and Rachel's inquisitive stares.
Mercedes turned sharply to glare menacingly at Tina, who shrugged and leaned back in her chair. Mercedes turned back to face her other two friends.
"Shut the front door!" Rachel exclaimed, glancing back at Quinn for a second before turning back to Mercedes. "He better have had a hall pass. What were they doing there?"
"It was a prom proposal. Incredibly romantic." Kurt supplied exuberantly from the back row.
"Oh my God, people! Let a girl tell a story, would you?" Mercedes snapped from her seat, swiveling around to glare just as mutinously at Kurt. Once again, she turned back around to face Quinn and Rachel, cheerful. "They were backing up Artie in a reprisal of "Isn't she lovely" for Brittany in an attempt to win her back. It was adorable. Even Miss Hagberg cracked a smile."
"Isn't that a song about a baby?" Quinn queried in a confused tone.
Rachel glanced quickly at Quinn before returning to Mercedes, also curious.
"That's what I said!" Mercedes agreed emphatically, throwing her arms open wide as well. "But anyway. They did a real good job, and when they finished, Artie asked Brittany again if she'd go to prom with him. She said no, and then they left. The end."
"Huh." Rachel uttered, still processing what Mercedes had just told them.
"I agree." Quinn seconded, thinking as well.
At that moment, Puck, Mike, Matt, and Sam all entered the room, laughing boisterously at something one of them had said before entering the room. Laughter tapering off, the group broke apart and they all headed towards a seat. Sam and Puck each took their respective seats in the front row, directly in front of their girlfriends.
"What's up, my hot little Jewish-American princess?" Puck asked, tilting his chair back to snatch a kiss from his girlfriend.
"Aww...that's so sweet." Mercedes commented, earning a mock-smack from Rachel. Laughing, Mercedes turned to talk to Tina.
"Seriously, is something wrong? You usually start in on me about something I did inappropriately before my butt's even in the chair." Puck clarified, a wary expression entering his eyes as he looked up at her.
Rachel shook her head. "I was just thinking about what Mercedes just told us." Rachel replied, waving a hand between her and Quinn.
At this, Sam also glanced up at Rachel curiously.
"Is there anything you would like to share with us?" Quinn asked regally, raising an eyebrow in question.
Puck and Sam shared a glance before turning their attention back to their respective other halves. "We have no idea what you're talking about." Puck stated for both of them.
"Miss Hagberg could have easily reported you for interrupting her class today. You're both very lucky she didn't. Especially you, Noah." Rachel said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"We're not saying that what you did wasn't incredibly romantic and noble, helping Artie and all..." Quinn started in a pacifying tone, looking to Rachel to finish.
"...But next time, try to consider what you're doing could possibly go onto your permanent record. Remember that what you do reflects back on us. And right now, neither of us can afford any negative marks." Rachel concluded in an autocratic tone, glancing back and forth between the two boys to make sure her point got across.
"Yeah." Sam supplied in a quiet tone.
"Sure, babe. We get it." Puck added in an equally quiet tone, sighing loudly at being punished but unable to do anything about it.
"Good." Rachel accepted with a curt nod. She then turned to another topic, her tone infused with brightness. "I was thinking that maybe you could come over tonight after practice so we could work on our song again before prom. To make sure our harmonies still match perfectly."
"Tonight's your dads' date night." Puck stated neutrally, looking up at her innocently.
Rachel's return smile was anything but. "Yes, it is, as a matter of fact."
Catching the poignant glance Mercedes sent his way, he was incredibly grateful that the gossip queen hadn't shared all that she'd seen and overheard in Miss Hagberg's class that day. Especially if she'd overheard his parting convo with Artie accepting the prom punch spiking plan.
"It's a date." Puck accepted with a smirk.
oooooosoooooo*oroooooocoooo*
I positively love this episode! I have so many ideas, I can't get them written down fast enough. I love when a chapter is like that. As for the last scene, I watched Dude, where's my car recently, and Wanda and Wilma's back and forth inspired Quinn and Rachel's repartee.