"Okay, so remind me who everyone is again?" Rachel asked, turning down the volume on the radio in Puck's car. Saturday's rehearsal had gotten out ten minutes ago, and Puck was at the door to the theater, waiting for her. She had expected that after Brody had showed up and forced her to speak with him. She'd also expected it since they were heading to his house for the night to explain to Puck's mom and stepdad about the loss of scholarship. Rachel hadn't met Puck's family yet and she doubted they were going to like her much when they found out she was the whole reason their son didn't have a scholarship to college anymore.
Puck still had no idea what he was going to say to them. He'd called his mom earlier that morning to let her know he was coming home for the night and he'd be bringing Rachel with him. He'd mentioned her to his mother once or twice and he was sure Quinn talked about her every day so by now his mom had to be curious about the girl who had both her children so enamored.
"There's only three people, love," Puck laughed, reaching over to take Rachel's hand as they drove. Rachel had offered to drive them there. After all, her car was bigger and got better mileage, but Puck knew his mom would automatically take a small dislike to Rachel when he saw she drove a Lexus her dads had bough for her. Even so, Rachel insisted on paying for the gas.
"Well, you still need to remind me," she pouted, her feet resting on the dashboard as Puck drove his car into Santa Monica, slowing down as he finished up the last part of the trip. Distance-wise, Santa Monica wasn't too far from Los Angeles. However, they'd hit a bunch of traffic, so the twenty minute trip had taken almost an hour. Puck was not happy.
"Well, there's Sarah who's my mom. Though don't call her Sarah unless she says to. Just stick with Mrs. Fabray. I've never really brought home a girl to meet her, so I'm not sure how she's going to act when you meet her. Just be your normal charming self and she'll fall in love with you like Quinn and I both did." Puck pulled her hand up to his mouth, placing a kiss on the back of it. "Then there's Russel, my step dad. He's real nice. You shouldn't have any issues with him. Just don't say anything bad about the Lakers and you're gold." Rachel giggled a little. "Abigail's my other half-sister, but she goes by Abby. She'll be fourteen in June and she's a little brat. She might like you, she might not. Don't be insulted if she doesn't. She didn't warm up to Finn until she was almost seven."
Rachel smiled though felt a little jealousy in the pit of her stomach as Puck described his family. Here he was with two sisters while she'd grown up an only child. Sure, she had Kurt, but that was different than having someone who was your own flesh and blood. Now she had siblings courtesy of Shelby, but it was different growing up your whole life with them and finding out you have two little brothers when you're eighteen.
"Carole's at our house a lot too. That's Finn's mom. Finn's dad died when he was real young and his mom never bothered to remarry. She's had boyfriends, but Finn always comes first. No guy could ever compete with that. She doesn't seem to mind, though she does seem a little lonely at times."
"Sounds like Kurt's dad. Kurt's mom died when he was five. Killed herself by jumping out her bedroom window. She had cancer and was dying. I think she wanted to go out on her own terms. That was before Kurt and I were friends, though. When I met him, it was just him and Burt, his dad. Burt's dated a few women here and there, but none of them last very long. He came close to marrying this one woman, but Kurt and I heard her calling Kurt a fag on the phone to her friend when we snuck downstairs to get ice cream, so that was the end of that. He doesn't care, though. The five of us are one big family. Every Thanksgiving we have dinner at our house then go bowling Friday morning before shopping for some good deals."
"Sounds like an original type of family," Puck commented.
"It is. I wouldn't change it for the world," Rachel said with a smile. "Especially because Burt fixes my car whenever I need it. Like that time I hit a stop sign and he made it look like new without telling my dads."
"Only you would manage to hit a stop sign," he teased, leaning over to kiss her cheek as he turned left onto his street. Rachel looked at all the houses they drove past, feeling very out of place. Puck didn't come from much. She knew that since he never made it a secret that he went to UCLA on a football scholarship. She just didn't realize how far below her family his was. The houses on his street looked to be about the size of her basement. There was no way Puck's mom was going to like her. She should have thought to wear something a little more low key, but she was bad about planning ahead for that kind of stuff.
Instead of going with something simple like jeans and a tee shirt, Rachel had a printed bustier, skinny jeans, a white blazer, and pink pumps. She'd finished the look with a butterfly ring her fathers had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday, a watch, and her white Michael Kors bag. If Kurt saw how she looked she was sure he'd compliment her for putting together something so nice on her own. However, she was sure Puck's mom would see rich white girl and automatically decide she was no good for her son.
Puck pulled his car into the driveway of a small but pleasant two-story house, putting the car in park before shutting off the ignition. He looked at the house with a smile on his face and Rachel knew this was where he'd grown up.
"So, this is the famous Puckerman-Fabray household?" she teased, placing her hand over his as they continued to sit in the front of his car, neither of them making a move to get out and head into the house yet.
"Yep, this is it," he said, grasping her hand and giving it a small squeeze. "Thanks for coming. I don't think I could do this without you." He leaned his face down and pressed his lips against Rachel's. She smiled against his lips and felt herself melting against his body like she seemed to do every time he kissed her. More than two months and she still wasn't immune to that. She hoped she never was.
"Noah, is that you?" a voice asked, forcing Rachel to pull away from her boyfriend's lips quickly. She looked up and saw three people walking out of the house and gazing into the front of the car. The one in front Rachel guessed was Puck's sister, Abby. She was a skinny thing who seemed to be growing faster than she could put on weight. She looked to be about Rachel's height with short brown hair. She had on a air of black jeans with a black tee shirt which read 'I am not a morning person' She had a dark grey knit cap on her head and her nails were painted a dark color.
Right behind her were Puck's mom and step dad. His mother was gorgeous. She had to be one of the most gorgeous women Rachel had ever seen. She was of average height with light blonde hair and a gentle face. Her figure was slim and she'd dressed for the day in a pair of roll up jeans, a white tee shirt, and flip flops. She was what Rachel imagined Quinn looking like in twenty years. Her husband was taller and more built with a scruffy beard on his chin.
Puck stepped out of the car and Rachel followed suit, walking around so she was standing next to him instead of awkwardly hovering on the other side of the car. Puck's mother, Sarah, smiled wide when she saw her son and walked over, pulling him into a big hug. Puck started laughing, throwing his arms around his mother as well. "Yeah yeah, it's good to see you too, Ma. You act like you haven't seen me in years," he joked, kissing his mother on the cheek as she released him, looking him over.
"You seem thin. Have you been eating enough?"
Puck rolled his eyes before grabbing Rachel's bag from the car. "Every chance I get, honest. I'm not too thin, Ma. You just worry too much," he teased as his mother's glance switched to the girl standing beside her son. "Oh yeah, this is Rachel. I'm sure you know everything there is to know about her courtesy of Quinn," he laughed.
"Oh Rachel, so lovely to meet you," Sarah said enthusiastically. "I've heard so much about you from my daughter and virtually nothing from my son. Come in and I'll fix you something to eat. You must be starving!"
Rachel stared at the screen of her phone again, debating on who to call. She needed to talk to someone, the question was who that person happened to be. Quinn, no matter how much Rachel loved her, was probably the worst person to call right now. She doubted Sam would have any advice for her and Kurt would just casually mock her. However, he was her best friend and probably the best choice at the moment.
Rachel picked up her phone and dialed his number, pressing her phone against her ear as she listened to the ringing sound, waiting for Kurt to pick up.
"Okay, what's wrong?" Kurt asked instantly.
"Why would you think something's wrong? Aren't I allowed to call my best friend just because I want to?"
"You're at your boyfriend's parents house tonight. You should not be calling me for any reason which means things are going bad or his mom hates you. So which is it?"
"Neither? I don't know. I spent two seconds at the house before Noah asked me to leave so I'm sitting at Coldstone eating ice cream while his sister Abby sits at another table with her friends and pretends I'm not here. I haven't heard from Noah since I left the house an hour ago which makes me think things aren't going well with his folks. I don't know what to do. What if his parents get super mad and then he has to drop out of school and we never see each other again?"
Rachel heard Kurt sigh on the other end. "Okay, first up stop being such a drama queen. Your life is not falling apart as much as you think it is. Nothing has even happened so take a Xanax and relax," Kurt chided. Rachel could see him rolling his eyes at her on the other end.
"That's easy for you to say, you're not risking the love of your life leaving you forever!"
"If you think Puck's going to leave you forever because he has to drop out of school, then you really haven't been watching and listening to him for the past few months. Even if he has to leave school, he's still going to show up at every show of yours and spend every night with you. Nothing's going to change in that respect," Kurt reassured her.
"But what if he goes to a school on the other side of the country and we become one of those long distance couples who breaks up after the guy falls in love with the cute, innocent co-ed who lives down the hall from him at his new school?" she sighed, watching Abby to make sure she wasn't about to get them thrown out of the ice cream shop.
"I'm never letting you watch the CW again," Kurt vowed as he let out a laugh. "That's not what happens in real life and you know it. Besides, I don't know why you're panicking about this. There's a very easy solution to your problems that I'm shocked you haven't thought of yet."
"There is?" Rachel asked, using her spoon to push around the remnants of her melting ice cream. "What solution would that be?"
"You have two dads with more money than they know how to spend. I'm sure they'd be more than glad to help their future son-in-law stay in school so he'll be able to provide for their precious flower down the line," Kurt teased with a laugh.
"Right, and I'm positive Puck would tell me to put out while refusing my dad's offer to help him stay in school. Any other brilliant ideas?"
"What about your mother? Doesn't her husband have a shit ton of money? What if they gave Puck some kind of scholarship so he could stay in school for another year and a half? It's worth asking her, isn't it?"
Rachel glanced over at Abby again who was laughing at something with a few of her friends. "Right, like he's going to accept that any more than he is my dads giving him money."
"Well then have Shelby and her husband do it anonymously so he doesn't know. Look, I'm just trying to help you with your problem, and I'm sure Shelby's husband would be more than willing to help out since his son is part of the reason your boyfriend doesn't have a scholarship for school anymore."
Rachel sighed, drumming her fingers on the table. "Alright alright, I'll think about asking them. I'll see you tomorrow when I get back, okay? Bye." Rachel hung up her phone and turned it over a few times in her hand, thinking about what to do. She really doubted whether Shelby really would help Puck, but it was worth a try.
Deciding to take the chance, Rachel dialed Shelby's number and pressed her phone against her ear, listening to the dial tone a few times before there was a click as someone picked up on the other line. "Corcoran residence, Shelby speaking."
"Um, hi Shelby. It's Rachel. Rachel Berry," she prefaced in case Shelby and her family didn't have caller ID (though she was positive they did).
"You don't need to say your full name every time, Rachel," Shelby said, a slight hint of amusement in her voice. "I know who you are."
"I know you do, but you never know how many Rachels someone knows," she pointed out. "You could know six people named Rachel. How would you know which one it was?"
"Well, you're the only Rachel I know with an Ohio area code," Shelby laughed. "What can I do for you this Saturday evening?"
"I have a favor."
"Naturally. I assumed this wasn't a social call. Speak your demands and I'll see what I can do."
"It's Noah. He lost his scholarship since he lost his place on the football team. His parents really don't have a lot of money and he's worried he won't be able to afford school next semester or next year and he'll have to drop out. I would ask my dads to fun the rest of his education but I know he'd reject that as soon as I offer it. But I was hoping maybe you and your husband could figure out a way to get him some kind of scholarship or something?"
Shelby stayed quiet for a few minutes and Rachel was convinced she'd already managed to offend her mother. She hadn't, luckily.
"Walter knows a few people through business who give scholarships to a few kids each year. I'll talk to him and we'll see what we can do. I can't promise anything, but I'm hopeful. After all, it's partially our fault he doesn't have that scholarship in the first place," she said with a small laugh.
Rachel and Shelby chatted for a few minutes before hanging up. Rachel finally collected Abby and the two of them headed back to the Puckerman house. By then it was getting late and Rachel was ready for bed, needing to get up early the next day to get back to school for rehearsals. With less than a week until opening night, she needed every moment of time to dedicate to the show.
She barely saw Puck when she got back to his house and she figured the talk didn't go well. His parents didn't look happy, anyways. Still, it didn't stop his mother from inviting Rachel over again soon, insisting Quinn be invited next time.
Rachel headed up to Quinn's room and changed into a tank top and pajama pants, flipping off the light as she climbed into bed. It had been a long day of singing, dancing, and figuring out how to keep her boyfriend in school with her. It was enough to tire anyone out.
Of course, her boyfriend had no intention of letting her go to sleep that easy. She heard the door creak open and shut as a pair of large feet padded across the carpeted floor of Quinn's room. The solid body of Noah Puckerman slipped into bed beside Rachel, his arms wrapped around her.
"Noah," she murmured sleepily, wanting to just fall asleep and be done with it. She was exhausted, something he never seemed to be. "Baby I'm tired," she protested as he started kissing the side of her face. "Plus this is your sister's room. Keep your hands to yourself in here, mister."
Puck groaned before smacking a kiss to her forehead. "Spoil sport," he teased, brushing a few locks of hair out of her face. "You never let me have any fun."
"I let you have plenty of fun last night you liar," she whispered, closing her eyes. "How'd things go with your folks?"
Puck sighed and she pictured him staring at the ceiling of his sister's room. "Bad. They were pissed. Mom said I have to find a way to pay for school because they can't help. If I don't get enough money, I'm screwed. What's going to happen if I have to drop out of college?"
Rachel snuggled closer to her boyfriend, placing a kiss on his arm. "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. I promise." She prayed Shelby pulled through and she wasn't proven wrong. "No matter what, we'll get through this."
That she knew wasn't a lie. They would get through this, no matter what happened.
