Broken Chapter 9: VIII Take a Chance and Be Strong, a glee fanfic

Broken

Chapter 8- Take a Chance and Be Strong

A/N: Again thank you to all the anonymous reviews!
A shout out to Dreamer1483, she is an amazing person and is always filling my head with ideas. And some of this chapter, she really helped out on. I don't know what I would do without her sometimes!
I still own nothing...

Finn held the plastic DVD case tightly, making his way back towards his sister's room. When he bought the DVD for her, he really didn't take into account that she might not even want anything to do with it. "Rachel?" He knocked softly on her door. "Are you up yet?"

Rachel opened the door, "Yes, why?" She glanced down to see the DVD in her brothers hands.

"Want to watch it with me?" Finn held up the case, showing her it was The West Side Story. Rachel nodded, a small smile played on her lips.

"You remembered it was my favorite?" She asked as Finn put the movie in.

"How could I forget it? Dad and Daddy took us to see it years ago on Broadway. You never shut up about it, you came out of the theater saying how one day that would be you up there..." Finn trails off, thinking maybe his walk down memory lane went too far.

Rachel nods, "Yeah, I remember. I guess dreams chan..."

"No. They don't have too. You can still be that Broadway star." He looked over and saw the tears building in her eyes. "How many times did you beg dad that trip to go see it again?"

She looked up at her brother. "Hundreds." She let out a little laugh, a small smile coming across her face.

"Then you wanted a themed birthday party that year." Finn shook his head, smiling. "You even performed on the small stage Daddy built for you. Then we had karaoke competition, and when we tried to vote, you said you atomically took first, just because you were the birthday girl." Finn hesitated to push the play button, waiting for his sister to answer to the memory.

"Was that year you threw cake in my face? And smeared it all over my pretty pink dress? I was so mad at you." Rachel shook her head, she never really forgave Finn for that stunt.

Finn laughed, "Yeah, it was. But you got me back when you threw that strawberry sundae on me, when I was wearing my favorite white polo." The two laughed, sharing memories that they remembered from their childhood. "Ready to start the movie?"

Rachel shook her head, "No." Finn raised his eyebrows in question. "I don't have my usual popcorn with extra butter and salt and Coke."

"I think I can get that for you." Finn stood and went to the kitchen to whip up what his sister asked for. A few minutes later, he walked back with a large bowl of popcorn and two cans of Coke. "Ready now?"

Rachel nodded. "Yes I am." Both Finn and Rachel quieted as the opening scene began.

As Rachel watched the movie, she remembered how much she wanted to be on Broadway. How much she wanted to be in the spotlight. How much she wanted to be singing. How much she wanted to be Maria. As Rachel watched and remembered, she became sad. Sad because she remembered how much she wanted to be on Broadway. Sad because she remembered how much she wanted the spotlight, the singing, the starring role. As Rachel became sad, she let a tear slip down her cheek.

Finn looked over at Rachel and saw the tear fall from her eye. He frowned a little and pulled her into his side gently. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back while she cried. He felt bad for making his little sister cry. All he wanted to do was make her smile again.

"I...it's over Finn. I can't be a star anymore." Rachel wailed into her brother's chest. He just held her tighter and rocked her like a little kid.

"Sure you can Rach. You can do anything you want. You're amazing."

She shook her head. "No, I can't. I can't be around all those strange people I don't know. I'd be too scared."

Finn decided to leave the issue where it was. Pushing her would only make it worse, and she would lock herself in her room again. As they were watching the movie more, Finn saw Rachel get sadder. He didn't know what to do to stop her from crying more. He sighed and quietly spoke. "Ya know Rach, it might just be my opinion but Puck would make a good Tony. Don't you think so?"

Rachel looked at the screen and studied the character. "Yeah, he really would." Rachel smiled a little bit to herself and her eyes grew lighter again at the thought of Puck.

Finn watched the way his little sister's demeanor changed once he mentioned his best friend. "So, speaking of Puck," he paused for a moment to gauge her reaction, "Why have you been ignoring him lately?"

Rachel tensed at the thought of the conversation she heard between Finn and Puck. "No reason," she mumbled. "It's not important." With that, she pulled away from Finn, putting her concentration back to the movie.

Finn sighed, he was hoping to get somewhere with Rachel. He knew Puck had been in a horrible mood since that fateful night. "Come on Rach. There has to be something bothering you."

Rachel shook her head, afraid that if she opened her mouth she would begin to cry. She sat tensed waiting for the movie to end, and as soon as it did, she bolted from the room.

…***...***

Puck stood in the kitchen waiting for the oven to go off, his cupcakes were almost done. He was hoping maybe the smell of them would bring Rachel out, instead Pixie trotted in, sitting by his feet. "We fly high, no lie, you know this. Ballin'." Pixie cocked her head to the side at the sound of Puck's singing. Puck danced to the song playing in his head; Pixie growled lowly watching him.

At the sound of Pixie's growl, Puck stopped and turned to the small dog. "Don't growl, I'm awesome. You know it, don't lie." Puck moved around the kitchen, pulling ingredients out for the icing. Pixie just sat by his feet, watching him, whining or growling at him.

Finn walked into the apartment a little earlier than normal. He could smell something sweet baking, thinking maybe Rachel was in the kitchen, he walked over to the door and instead was greeted with Puck singing. "I make them good girls go bad. I know your type, your daddies little girl. Just take a bite, let me shake up your world. 'Cause just one night couldn't be so wrong I'm gonna make you lose control. She was so shy, till I drove her wild..."

Both Finn and Pixie just stared at Puck, "No, just no. Stop. This is just embarrassing. Please, I need to burn these images from my head." Finn shook his head, showing it was too much to handle.

"What? I can't dance? Last I checked it was a free country." Puck said, "Besides, I'm a badass, I can do this shit."

Finn turned on his heel and walked out. Mumbling, "He makes my sister go bad, I'll kill him..." Puck smirked and continued to work on his icing.

An hour later, the cupcakes were finished and dishes washed. Puck sat on the couch ready to watch a little ESPN, when Pixie waltzed in, jumping up on Puck's lap, changing the channel to MTV's Jersey Shore. "Oh hell no," Pixie whined, looking up at Puck who changed it back to ESPN. Pixie continued to look at Puck, whining, when he didn't pay her the attention she was looking for, she stepped off his lap, laying on the remote, and changing the channel. "Are you kidding me, stop!" Pixie growled as she plopped back down on the opposite end of the couch. "Fucking grr to you too!" He sighed, throwing his head back.

Rachel walked into the living room, seeing that Puck was watching Jersey Shore. "You watch this?" She said, picking up the small dog, heading back towards her room.

"What? No! Pixie changed the channel!" Puck yelled as he watched Rachel walk away.

"Sure she did." Puck heard the door click close, groaning, he changed the channel back to ESPN.

…***...***

Finn was sitting on the couch, sipping his coffee, watching old Saturday morning cartoons. He laughed the show Cat Dog; he usually never watched these anymore, but he couldn't resist. He was the only one up. Finn jumped at the sound of a knock on the door, glancing at the clock he saw it was only eight in the morning. He shook his head and stood to answer it.

When he saw who was on the other side, he thought he was seeing things. Pulling it open, he tried to speak as quietly as he could. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dave shifted nervously on his feet, "I'm sorry, I know you said never to come around again, but I can't get your sister off my conscience. I need to apologize."

Finn saw the worn, tired look on Dave's face and knew he was being serious. He sighed, moving to let him in. "She's going to hate me..." Finn mumbled.

"I know, but I need her to know I'm sorry." Dave sat down on the couch; his elbows placed on his knees, head in his hands.

"Oh, I understand, it's Puck you have to worry about." Finn shook his head, he knew this was going to be one rough morning. "Wanna cup of coffee?" Dave nodded his head and followed Finn into the kitchen.

Pixie whined at the door, scratching it lightly; Rachel stood from the bed, moving to the door. Once Pixie was out, Rachel followed her. She knew she heard two guys talking, she assumed Puck was up. When she saw who was standing in the kitchen, she turned on a dime and tried to run back to her room but slammed into something hard. She felt an arm come around her waist, keeping her from falling. Rachel took a deep breath before looking up at Puck.

He smiled slightly, "Jeez, where are you going?" Puck really looked at her, seeing the fear etched into her face. "What's wrong? What's going on?" Puck held her a little closer.

Rachel swallowed, trying to compose herself. "D-d-dave..." Puck felt his anger grow, dropping his hold on Rachel, stepping around her, planning to go see why Dave was even here. Just as Puck was stepping away, he felt a small hand grasp his wrist. "P-please stay." When he looked down at her she had unshed tears brimming her wide brown eyes. He looked between the living room and Rachel a few times before sliding his hand into hers and following her into the bedroom.

Once she shut her door, he dropped her hand and watched her head to the bed, sitting down. Puck began to pace in front of the door, he was upset and confused. Why was Dave here? I told him to stay away. Finn told him to stay away. Why did I agree to come in here with her again? Right, she was about to cry, how can I say no to that? But she has been ignoring me for a while now... Puck snapped out of his musings and stopped his pacing. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

Rachel's eyes grew, "Uh, I-I-I don't..."

"Rachel doesn't lie to me. Just tell me." Puck walked over to her, standing a little closer.

Rachel avoided eye contact. "It's stupid..." She whispered.

"Nothing can be stupid, just tell me! I want to fix this...I want to be able to help you." He knelled down in front of her.

"It's just, last month when you were arguing with Finn..." Rachel took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, she thought. "He said you were falling for me, and you said that you weren't..." Rachel was cut off by a loud knock to the door.

"Fuck," Puck muttered under his breath. "Yeah?" Puck couldn't break the eye contact he had with Rachel, but the door opened.

Finn looked between the two of them, "Uh, Rachel, someone's here to see you."

Puck looked over his shoulder at Finn, "Who?"

"Dave..."

"Fuck no, are you being serious? After what happened last month?" Puck stood from his spot in front of Rachel and moved towards Finn.

Dave appeared behind Finn, "Please Puck, give me a chance. Hear me out."

Puck clenched his fist that sat at his side. "I guess, but make one wrong move, I swear..."

"I get it Puck." Dave looked over Finn and Puck, to Rachel. "Look I'm sorry Rachel. For everything. I assumed before I asked. I'm usually not like that, but my high school attitude came out, and I'm sorry. I should have walked away, I should have properly introduced myself, I shouldn't have called you any names and if I could turn back the clock and re-do that day, I would take it all back. Please, accept my apology so we can start over." Dave watched as Rachel thought over what he said. Puck still stood protectively in front of her.

Rachel could see the sincerity in Dave's eyes. She could hear the truth in his words, she may not be able to fully trust Dave yet, but if he could start over maybe he could earn it, then Rachel wouldn't have to feel so guilty about Puck and Finn losing a friend. Rachel stood and slowly walked over to Dave, she watched Puck grow tense but allowed her to walk in front of him. "Hi Dave, I'm Rachel, Finn's sister." Rachel held out her hand.

Dave let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, feeling the weight of the world come off his shoulders. Realizing this was Rachel's way of saying she accepted the apology, he took her hand, feeling her tense up. "Hi, Rachel, great to meet you."

Puck watched as Rachel took Dave's hand. He felt his stomach twist in an unknown emotion. He wanted so badly to be happy for Rachel but he really couldn't. He still didn't know exactly why she was ignoring him. He stepped around the others and walked back into his room. He thought back to the argument he and Finn had and realization hit him. He had said that it wasn't about love and she took it the wrong way. She thought that he would never love her, but he had meant she needed to get better before they could move onto anything like that. She was still broken, and he still knew very little details about her past. Sighing, Puck sat down in his desk chair, pulling out his guitar. He started strumming a song that just popped into his head.

When Puck left, Dave noticed the look in his eyes. Slipping out of Rachel's room, he walked over to Pucks room and knocked on the door. "Dude, you okay?" Dave asked nervously.

Puck looked up and glared at him. "Yeah, dude, fucking great." Puck rolled his eyes at Dave. "How do you think I'm doing?"

Dave walked in the room hesitantly. "Look, I'm really sorry about what happened before with Rachel. Really." He sighed and looked down at the floor, a little uncomfortable with all the apologizing he was doing.

"Don't worry. That's not what this is about." Puck said, not meeting Dave's eyes and still strumming on the guitar.

"Then what is the problem?" Dave was truly confused with why Puck was acting like this.

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Look, no matter what you are one of my friends. You always will be. I've known you as long as I've known Finn. Tell me what's wrong." Dave was befuddled with why Puck was acting like a jealous teenage girl...Wait a minute... "Puck, I'm not going to take her from you if that's what you're worried about."

Puck looked up and stopped strumming, just staring at Dave with his mouth open. He couldn't wrap his mind around how he figured it out. "What are you talking about?" Puck tried to play it off as Dave was wrong.

"I saw the look in your eyes when she shook my hand. I know I can be an asshole, but it's obvious to everyone how much she means to you. Besides, she's more like a little sister." Dave shrugged. "I'll talk to you later man," Dave stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets, walking out of Puck's room.

"See ya man." Puck shook his head, but he still had a lot on his mind. As he thought about what happened over the last month, he picked back up on strumming his guitar. Pixie came running in, stopping at Puck's feet, listening to him play.

Rachel said bye to Dave in the living room before heading back to her room. She heard Puck strumming on the guitar, she stopped outside of his room, making sure he couldn't see her. Just as she was about to leave, he started singing.

Little change of the heart
Little light in the dark
Little hope that you just might find
Your way up out of here
'Cause you've been hiding for days
Wasted and wasting away
But I got a little hope today
You'll face your fears

Rachel couldn't stop herself from moving in her spot to his doorway. She watched as Puck lost himself in the music, she also noticed Pixie at his feet.

Yeah, I know it's not easy
I know that it's hard
Follow the lights to the city

Get up and go
Take a chance and be strong
Or you could spend your whole life holding on
Don't look back; just go
Take a breath, move on
Or you could spend your whole life holding on
You could spend your whole life holding on

Puck saw Rachel out the corner of his eye, he didn't even realize the meaning behind the song he was playing until he started to strum and the words flew.

Believe the tunnel can end
Believe your body can mend
Yeah, I know you can make it through
'Cause I believe in you
So let's go put up a fight
Let's go make everything all right
Go on take a shot
Go give it all you got

Oh, yeah, I know it's not easy
I know that it's hard
No, it's not always pretty

Rachel moved from the door way to inside Puck's room, taking a seat on his bed. She was becoming lost in the emotion that was in Puck's voice. Not only the strength he gave off, but protectiveness.

Don't wanna wake up to the telephone ring
Are you sitting down?
I need to tell you something
Enough is enough
You can stop waiting to breathe
And don't wait up for me

Puck watched Rachel as she sat on the bed, watching him play. He watched the different emotions play out on her face, a single tear running down her cheek. The sudden urge for him to take her in his arms took him by surprise.

Get up and go
Take a chance and be strong
Or you could spend your whole life holding on
Don't look back; just go
Take a breath, move on
Or you could spend your whole life holding on

Puck slowly brought the song to an end, watching Rachel carefully. When she stood and started to move towards him, Puck put his guitar back on its stand; waiting to see what Rachel's move was. "I'm sorry." She whispered, stopping only three feet away from him.

"For what?" Puck looked up at Rachel.

Rachel moved a little closer, "I should have never pulled away from you. Can I tell you something about me?" Rachel asked, feeling herself start to tear up. She knew that after this, he could decide that she was too messed up, not worth anything to anyone. "After this, I would understand if you didn't want to be friends or whatever..." Rachel avoided eye contact.

Puck stood, closing the gap between them, Rachel's arms atomically coming around him in a tight hug. "You can tell me anything you need to. And I'll always understand, and I'll always be a friend or whatever..." Puck brought his arms around her shoulders, holding her impossibly close. "Wanna sit down?" Rachel nodded and let Puck move them to the edge of the bed.

"Did anyone tell you anything about my past? About what happened?" Rachel asked quietly, avoiding all eye contact.

Puck nodded, "Finn did, but there were no details just that you were attacked..."

Rachel looked up at Puck, taking a deep breath, "What Dave said to me in the hallway, it brought back painful memories of that night. Right before... Right before I passed out, he called me that. He-he-he told me nobody would want me...then-then..."

Puck gathered a sobbing Rachel into his arms. "Shh, take a deep breath. Shh, you are not that." He rubbed her back slowly, "There are plenty of people who want you in their lives." Me. He thought to himself. He knew Rachel was only trying to explain herself, but she really didn't need to. "Rach, shhh, everything's okay."

Rachel sniffled, looking up at Puck. "Promise?"

Puck knew making a promise would mean a lot more to her than him, but if she needed a promise made, then he could make a promise for her. "Promise," Puck held her a little closer, still rubbing her back.

…***...***

Finn heard Rachel finally talking to Puck again, with a sigh of relief he walked to the living room, picking up the apartment phone. Dialing the familiar number, and waiting for someone to pick it up.

"Hello?" The man answered, sounding out of breath.

"Dad? Hey, everything okay?" Finn took a seat on the couch.

"Oh, hello Finn, everything's wonderful. Your father and I were raking the leaves and closing up the pool. I didn't take the phone out with us. Is everything okay there? How's Rachel?" Finn could hear his dad banging around in the kitchen.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Rachel is doing okay."

"Is she...you know any better than she was here?"

"Yeah, she um, she let Puck in. She lets him hold her, and she'll willing talk to him. I think maybe he'll help her move on. And she made a new friend."

"Oh, Puck? Really? Interesting, but I'm happy to hear that, if he can help her, then I can't wait to come visit and see some of my old Rachel back, hopefully. Who's her new friend?"

Finn, sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "She actually made a friend with a guy. His name is Dave. They got off on the wrong foot, but everything is okay now, and she's comfortable with him being in the same room."

It was quiet for a few moments before he finally spoke. "I can't believe it. I'm so happy right now. She's doing so much better there. Just don't tell her what's going on back here. She doesn't need to know right now."

"I know dad, I don't plan on telling her anytime soon. Only Quinn knows." Finn could feel the tension resting in his shoulders.

"And Puck shouldn't know either. He shouldn't have to keep secrets from her."

"Dad, I know. I should go, tell daddy I said hi, and I love you both, talk soon?"

"Of course, give Rachel our love." They said their good bye's before hanging up. Finn dropped the phone to his lap and with a sigh, he dropped his head into his hands.

A/N: Thoughts? Questions?

Did anyone realize Finn's a Berry and he calls one of his father's daddy? I don't know, just seems odd.

Again a huge thank you to Dreamer1483. I'm telling you, if it wasn't for this girl, these chapters wouldn't get finished. Or when I have an idea at two in the morning, she tells me if its good or not! Haha!

I have a chance to adopt two stories from another author. But how do you guys feel about another Puckleberry story, with a side of abusive Finn? It would be waaay different from this one, so let me know.