Chapter two: The Truth

Word Count: 3, 239

Puck refused to admit defeat. On Saturday morning, he stood outside of the Chang-household waiting for Mike to get his lazy ass down the stairs. He had told Mrs. Chang that it was about an assignment for school and hoped that Mike wouldn't as much as breath in a way that could reveal his lie for what it was. The plan was to find out why Rachel had quit Glee before the week was over. But that had proven to be a bigger challenge than Puck had first anticipated. The brunette must have been the fucking master at hide and seek when she was a kid.

Puck swore on his unthreatened title as the most badass person ever to have lived that he knew the school like the back of his hand. And somehow Rachel Berry managed to sneak away from him. That was the reason Puck decided to unannounced drop by the Chang-household.

It was a bold move that he could admit. Especially since Mrs. Chang wasn't happy about a certain grade Mike had just been given and felt that he needed to spend all the time he could studying but there was no way in hell the Puckerone was going to find the answer to end all mysterious by himself. He needed his bro with him. One of them anyway since the other fucker decided to move to another state. Puck cursed under his breath. Someone – his mother maybe – had once told him that there was a rational side of him that he needed to listen to more often. Puck decided not to and demonstrated by putting all his energy into sometimes illogical things. Like finding out why Rachel Berry chose to quit Glee.

He had said that he was going to find out why by the end of the week and technically it was the end of the week. Mike – unlike Puck – looked as if he had been up for hours. And thought his mother had told him Puck were waiting outside that didn't stop Mike from looking confused.

"What are you doing here man?"

Puck put his sunglasses on. "Get in loser, we're visiting Berry."

"Berry? As in Rachel Berry?" Mike grabbed a pair of shoes but didn't put them on.

"Yeah Chang. Do you know any other berries around here?"

"Fuck you man." Mike thought about telling Puck that he knew about the blueberry and the raspberry but decided based on the expression on Puck's face that it was no time to joke. Besides, it was a fucking horrible joke. Mike took one step into the house and looked towards the direction of the kitchen. "I'm going to Puck's place, mom. We need to finish this project. I'll be back tonight. You can call me on my cell phone if you need me."

"Tonight?" Puck asked as the door closed behind Mike.

"Dude, this is Rachel Berry." He said as he got into the car. "Do you know anyone as stubborn as she is? If you think she's just going to tell us without resistance, then you're dumber than I thought."

"Fuck, you're right."

"I know I am." Mike scoffed and changed the music on the radio. He ignored the glares from Puck when he chose just the kind of music he knew Puck couldn't stand. "Do we know if she's even home? The girl has more hobbies than… someone who had a lot of hobbies."

"You're really good with words Chang, I'm shocked you don't have a girlfriend."

"You don't have a girlfriend either."

"Yeah but that's different." Puck said scoffing. "I don't want a girlfriend."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Mike rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the smile that appeared on his face. "So, do you know if she's home?"

"No."

"We're going there anywhere?"

"Yes, we are."

GLEE

Rachel Berry loved a lot of things. That would probably come as a surprise to most people but that was the truth. She loved musicals, acting and belting out in powerful storytelling songs but that wasn't all she loved. Rachel also loved photography. In the beginning because she saw the knowledge as useful for the future when she would most likely be the target of many paparazzi photographers. She saw the benefit of knowing how to work a camera just as she saw the benefits of knowing her good angles from her bad. The hobby had grown into something more pretty quickly and soon Rachel realized she was learning things simply because she wanted to. She loved going for walks to take photos and experiment with the different settings on her camera. Sometimes she would use her astonishing ability to convince people to make Quinn go with her so that Rachel take portraits. Quinn was an excellent model.

Since the beginning of the summer she was also getting more interested in dancing. All sorts of dancing. Not just ballet. Rachel often stayed behind after practicing ballet and looked at the people attempting to learn contemporary dance, tango and many other sorts of dancing. She was mesmerized by the way they felt the music and simply let themselves go. Rachel could never do that. But she wanted to and that's why she and Quinn had joined several dance classes at the local studio.

Quinn had stayed over from Saturday to Sunday since Rachel's fathers were out of town and Rachel was just changing her clothes when someone knocked on the door. Quinn was lazily sitting in the living room with a book cradled in her hands waiting for Rachel to get ready so that they could leave for their dance class.

"Quinn, can you get the door?" Rachel called as she put on a grey hoodie and some black tights.

"Sure." The blonde replied and let out a sigh as she put the book on the couch next to her. That chapter had been intense.

"Quinn."

Her eyes widened. "Puck… Mike. What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here?" Puck repeated her question with an emphasis on you.

"I'm hanging out with Rachel." Quinn replied sounding as if she was talking about the weather. Puck and Mike had seen the two girls spending time in school but that didn't mean they were completely used to the friendship two seemed to have all of the sudden. "But more importantly what are you doing here? You can't be here!"

"I told you in school, Fabray. We deserve to know why the fuck Berry is leaving Glee-club." Puck said with a growl, sounding about as brutal as he could possibly get considering the company. And that wasn't very brutal at all. But who was Mike to burst the man's bubble. "Now get me the midget!"

The three teens became quiet when they heard someone humming a familiar song combine with the sound of someone walking down the stairs. Quinn glanced between the hallway where Rachel would show up and then back at Puck and Mike. Mike looked towards the hallway while Puck faced her ice-cold glare just looking a tiny bit bothered by it.

"Quinn who was that at the door?" Rachel stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Mike and Noah standing by her door. For a moment or two it almost appeared as if she had seen a ghost and then she forced her face into a smile. "Hello Michael, Noah! What can I assist you with today?"

Mike leaned over to Puck. "I could totally understand her."

"Yeah, it's very fucking scary." Puck mumbled back ignoring the way Quinn rolled her eyes. "Midget, we're here because we need to know why you left Glee-club. And don't give me all that crap Quinn has been feeding us all fucking week. Because I don't give a fuck if the reason doesn't matter because we deserve to know anyway."

"Okay then Noah, Mike." Rachel took a hesitant step forward. She glanced at her cell phone which she was holding in her hand. "Since we are almost late for dance class I am going to tell you that I quit Glee because I came to the realization that my vocal capabilities were much better needed elsewhere. I met with the coach from another Glee-club and they told me that it was acceptable for me to go to our school while practicing and competing with them."

Puck looked at Quinn. There were no emotions on her face. Rachel had a stiff smile on her face. Rachel was lying to them.

"Which Glee-club?"

"Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel answered without missing a beat. "Now, if you excuse us we should really get going. That dance teacher of ours doesn't approve of her pupils being late."

Rachel took another step towards them and let out a sigh of relief when Puck moved to the side and gently forced Mike to do the same.

"Thank you." Rachel motioned for Quinn to follow her. "Have a great day."

"You too Berry." Puck replied as she locked the door, gave him a smile and then walked over to where her car was parked. Quinn eyed Puck suspiciously and made the sign meaning that she was watching him before hurrying after Rachel to her car.

For a few minutes, until the car had left the driveway, the two boys stood still outside the door.

"Where are, we going now?" Mike asked eventually.

Puck chuckled and glanced at his friend. "Dance-practice."

GLEE

"Well that didn't work as we hoped." Quinn said while they were warming up in the studio. Rachel glanced over at her from her position next to the wall where she was stretching her legs. "Puck didn't buy it. It was so obvious by the way he looked when we left. And he wished you a good day, how obvious can the man be?"

"So, you're saying that because he was being polite to me, he was lying?"

Quinn frowned. "No, Rachel. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that I know Puck and he's not polite to anyone. He's not wired that way. He doesn't too polite to anyone."

"He's polite to you."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "He's polite to me sometimes. And I'm the mother of his child. See? You have to have a human child with that man for him to treat you like a decent human being." She sighed deeply. "Puck is a great guy but he's a teenager with some serious issues. You can't expect too much."

"Maybe you should?" Rachel asked finishing up her stretches.

"Should what?"

"Maybe you should expect more from him?" Rachel held up her hand for Quinn to stay quiet. "Listen to me. All his life people have never expected him to do well. People have expected him to fail in school, to not be a good enough football player, to become a teen dad and late they'll assume that he's going to end up staying in Lima for the rest of his life. So far, he's ticked off quite a few of those boxes. Maybe what he needs in order not to tick of the last one is for someone to not expect him to?"

"That's pretty smart, Rachel." Quinn admitted.

"Oh, you know me." She tapped the side of her head. "I can be intelligent when I want to."

GLEE

The dance studio was an old gymnastics hall that had been changed into a dance studio. It really was too big to be a dance studio and that was the reason that the bleachers had remained. It was a memory from the time when the gym had been used for completely other things than dancing.

"So, Chang… what are we watching?" Puck leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Dancing." Mike answered which earned him a scoff.

Mike leaned forward and looked down on the dancing girls. Rachel and Quinn were in the middle of the group. They were both doing good and moved with ease without struggling with going from one move into another. Mike knew he wasn't supposed to be surprised but he was. He knew they were decent dancers but this was proof saying they were much more than just decent. Rachel was in constant control of her body and occasionally would glance over at Quinn who in a way seemed even more at ease than her brunette friend. It was all in the details. The way Quinn moved her body in a way that put her in control while still being comfortable while Rachel were simply in control and perfected each move.

"I know that idiot." Puck hit the back of his head. "Which one of our girls is better?"

Mike raised an eyebrow at the term our girls but didn't say anything about it. "Technically Rachel. But Quinn is more comfortable."

"How can you tell?"

Mike shrugged. "Why do you want to know?"

The roles were now reversed and Puck was the one shrugging. Mike leaned back and tore his eyes away from the dancing. That was harder said that done. For as long as Mike could remember he had always been fascinated by dancing. He loved watching people dancing but not as much as he loved dancing himself of course.

"If you think we're going to get some answers out of Rachel today then you're probably going to be disappointed."

"Why is that?"

"Because neither will be telling us the truth." Mike said and looked over at Puck. "Think about it man. We are not friends with Rachel Berry. And if you're even thinking about telling me that I'm wrong then you're a fucking liar because you know that I'm right. That's the reason she's not going to tell us. We're not her friends."

"So, you're telling me that we need to be her friends before she tells us the truth?" Puck smirked.

Mike sighed. "That's not what I'm saying but if that's the only thing you heard then fine by me."

He crossed his arms over his chest and glanced down at the girls again. Quinn were now in the front of the class with a guy's arms around her. She easily followed his steps and every movement she made was a part of the last. It was like watching the ocean. Though it appeared as if the movements were working against each other they were somehow connected in perfect synchronization. Rachel had a frown on her face as she tilted her head to the side while watching.

"But man, if we're going to do this then you need to tell me why you want to know so bad why Rachel quit. And I don't want to hear that bullshit lie you keep telling everyone."

Puck's eyes followed Quinn's every movement and fiddled with his hands while he thought. "I don't know." He eventually replied. "I have no fucking clue why I want to know. I think it's because of Beth. If she found something she loved more than anything and all of the sudden chose to quit that, then I would want someone to care enough for her to find out why even if she didn't want to tell people."

"Okay." Mike nodded. "That's a good reason." He added and they fell into a comfortable silence.

GLEE

Rachel watched from the back when Quinn were being led around the room in a dance by their male teacher. The lessons sometimes focused on the girls only doing their steps and advancing those steps and sometimes they would dance with the guys to learn how to move together. Quinn was amazing when it came to both. She somehow trusted her body and trusted someone else with her body in a way that Rachel could never do. She was captured by it and curious but as soon as Rachel felt a hand slip too far down for her liking she would just stop moving.

"Have you heard about the competition?" Rachel jumped at the sound of their female teacher Mrs. Bell. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Mrs. Joanna Bell was in her mid-thirties. She married very young and after having danced professionally with her husband Mr. Christian Bell the two had decided to settle down in the city where Joanna grew up and started working as dance teachers. Rachel had been present when it had been announced that they were going to start working there and she could tell already then that they were going to be a great asset to the studio. Rachel took lessons that they taught separately but she preferred when they worked together. Thought she loved dancing Rachel sometimes enjoyed watching the couple dance more.

"That's okay." Rachel said with a smile. "I've heard about it but I won't be participating."

"And why is that?"

"Because I don't have a partner." Rachel lied through her teeth. Though it wasn't the first time she told a lie she had to admit that it didn't feel good. Most of the time Rachel could justify her lying but this time she believed that her so called reason wasn't good enough.

"What if I could find you one?" Mrs. Bell asked.

Rachel shook her head. "No, Mrs. Bell that's okay but thank you very much. I don't feel as if I've improved enough to compete. But you should ask Quinn if she wants to join." Rachel glanced over at the blonde who had stopped dancing with Christian.

Quinn laughed loudly at something he was saying and dried the sweat out of her forehead with the back of her hand. Rachel could never understand how she did it. One moment she would be following him around as if he was the sun and she was merely one of the planets that circulated around him. She would let him touch her and still look as if she was in complete control. Then in the next moment they would be laughing and acting as if none of it happened. As if they hadn't been dancing one of the most sensual dances you could ever attempt to learn. They had merely run into each other grocery shopping or at the gym.

"I already have." Joanna answered and smiled. "She's dancing with Sam."

Sam Evans the only guy in the class to dance about as sensual as Christian did. Even though you weren't allowed to have favorite partners and all teachers preached being able to dance with anyone that didn't stop the girls from desperately wanting to be paired up with him.

"They dance well together." Rachel said with a smile. "I'm very excited for their performance."

"Are you really?"

"Of course, I am." Rachel said and nodded. "Quinn's my friend. I want her to do well."

Quinn walked over and joined them. "What are we talking about?"

"We are talking about you and Sam and how I'm really excited to see you guys perform at the big competition." Rachel said and offered her a big smile.

"I was also trying to convince Rachel to join." Joanna added and ignored the tired expression on Rachel's face.

Quinn clapped her hands. "That sounds like a great idea. Come on, Rachel. It'll be fun."

"I don't have anyone to dance with." Rachel said looking between Joanna and Quinn.

"You can dance with Chang." All three females looked towards the bleachers where they saw two young men. One that they all had seen before and one which only Quinn and Rachel had seen.

Puck had a huge smile on his face and looked as if he had just won the jackpot. Mike on the other hand looked shocked with his eyes wide-open and his mouth shaped as a circle. Rachel almost wanted to tell him to close it so that the flies wouldn't get in but didn't have the time since Puck punched his shoulder and made him close it.

"Yeah, you can dance with me." He said with something that was supposed to be enthusiasm. "Come on Berry, it'll be fun."

Rachel was going to say no. Or no thank you. But she sure as hell wasn't going to say…

"Yes." Quinn said before Rachel had the chance to answer. She looked directly at Puck with her most calculating expression. "She'll do it. Why don't you meet us outside in an hour and we'll tell you more about the competition? We need to shower and stuff."

"See you outside." Puck said and they walked out of the studio.

Once the door closed behind them Rachel turned to Quinn. "What was that? I have no desire to be in this competition and I especially do not feel inclined to dance with Michael Chang."

"I know you don't Rachel. But these guys are up to something and we are going to find out what. The best way of finding out what is to get closer to them."

"Why can't you just get closer to Noah?"

Quinn sighed. "I can't do that. He knows me too well. It has to be you and Mike. He'll never expect it. Please Rachel?"

"Fine, but I do not like this plan." Rachel snapped. Both girls were momentarily reminded by the presence of their dance teacher when Joanna coughed.

"I'm not going to ask what that was about." Joanna said with a smile. "I just want to know if this means that you'll participate in the competition?"

Rachel sighed and nodded. "Yes, yes, it does."