Disclaimer: I own them. Yeah. I'm having a garage sale. Puck is already taken (here by my side). But everyone else is open – who wants who?
A.N.: This chapter takes exactly where the last one left off – so it's still the same day. Oh, and did everyone catch the little PUCKLEBERRY in this week's episode? One word: FREAKING AWESOME!
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"There's no way I'll sing that"
"But you said you knew this song!"
"Yeah, it's one of my mom's favorites. She makes me play it for her on her birthday"
"See? You can do it!" she smiled.
He looked at her pointedly and said slowly "Rachel" she loved it when he said her name – it just felt right coming out of his mouth "This song is gay"
"I beg to differ!" she said, offended "Please, Noah?"
When had she started begging? This was Noah, she forced herself to remember, it wasn't like he was her friend or anything like that. Not even in front of her friends would she do such a thing as begging. The very thought made her cringe.
As she opened her mouth to revert the situation, he said "Alright, Berry. Anything to get you off my back, damn it" And before she could say a word, he sang.
I go out walking
After midnight
Out in the moonlight
Just like we used to do
I'm always walking' after midnight
Searching for you
"That's it, I'm not doing it"
"But, Noah…"
"You know what?" he snapped "I can totally put up with your weirdness and your being annoying while we're doing this thing, so you're not gonna drive me crazy, Berry" He still had two weeks to go with her and if he wasn't going to get into her bed, she wasn't going to get into his head. "Next one" he said, reaching his hand out to her, so she could hand him another music sheet. "Come on, Berry" he said impatiently, when she refused to look at him "I'm outta here" he sighed and got up.
"Wait, Noah!"
"I mean it, Berry. I'm not letting you get on my nerves" he said, but he sat down again, and she wordlessly gave him another song "We're doing this assignment, performing it, and then it's over. Let's just keep it simple, so no one ends up in the nuthouse"
He didn't know if he was saying it to convince her or himself. Because, truth was, he knew he wasn't going to have sex with her (something told him that it would never be just sex for Rachel Berry – she was one of those girls who always wanted more). And the realization of it made the fact that he was forced to work with her much, much more unbearable.
And that's how they went from co-existing nicely not even ten minutes ago, to not standing the sight of each other now.
Come stop your crying
It'll be alright
Just take my hand
Hold it tight
I will protect you
From all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry
She still refused to look at him, so she kept her head down. She almost made the decision right then of choosing that song, just because it felt completely wrong for someone as insensitive as Puck (she thought maybe she was done with Noah) to be singing something like this.
For one so small
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here don't you cry
He didn't look at her either, and she couldn't help but think it was the first time that day he wasn't connecting to what he was singing.
Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart
Always
And then she shut him out. She could see him, she could see his lips moving and his fingers playing, but she couldn't hear him. Because, for the first time since he amazed her with Sweet Caroline, she did not want to hear him.
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Quinn rested her head on the back of the couch and sighed tiredly as she rubbed her growing belly. Matt hadn't stopped talking since they arrived at his house nearly half an hour ago. The boy was sweet (and he had became very protective towards her since the whole baby daddy drama – which was saying much, considering they had never really been friends before), but right now, nothing she did could make her listen to what he was saying. She had only a clue as to what was bothering her.
"And they had, like, these crazy giant cups, and Puck dared Finn to drink one full of grape slushie, and you know Finn hates it because it's too cold, but he wasn't gonna back down, because then Puck would be, like, all smug and stuff…"
And then something clicked inside of her, and she knew.
"Matt, what you're saying is really interesting, trust me, but I need you to do something for me"
"Okay" he said slowly
She lifted her head up to look at him.
"Take me to drink slushies"
"What?"
"I have a craving!"
He blinked and said, confused "Aren't chicks supposed to get those in the middle of the night so their husbands or boyfriends have to go out to buy weird food?"
"Most of the times, yes, but I don't have a husband, and the boyfriend is at Tina's now, so you'll have to do it for me. Please, Matt?" She pleaded.
He thought about it for a minute and figured it was no big deal. He didn't want to practice, anyway.
But as they walked out of his house, Quinn could swear she heard Matt muttering under his breath something that sounded like "But slushies are not weird food!"
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"So that's it?" she asked
"I'm not singing a ballad!" he said
"And why the hell not?"
"Come on, Mercedes!"
They had been arguing for half an hour over the love song they had to choose. Every suggestion Mercedes made was quickly discarded by Mike, who had yet to suggest anything.
"Alright, alright! Not a ballad, I got it. What, then?" she asked, and he stayed silent. Some partner he was.
She turned on her iPod and put it on shuffle. The first song was Mariah Carey, and the second, Jennifer Hudson. She laughed tiredly; this was no good. But the third song…
"Yo, Mike!"
"Yeah?"
"Check this out" she showed him the iPod.
"Cool" he said excitedly "We can do this one!"
"Finally" Mercedes said, relieved.
"I don't know the lyrics" he said quietly after a while. She rolled her eyes
"Mike, I'd like to introduce you to the Guy with the Answers" she joked, and turned her computer on, accessing Google. In a few minutes, she printed the lyrics and they sat on the floor to read them.
"I think we should take off this part" she said, crossing a few verses with a red pen "This line definitely has to go"
"Yeah, and maybe I could slow down this part a bit" he added
"That's good. And I think it would be nice if while I'm singing this line, you start singing this one in the background and then…"
And for the next hour, they planned their performance.
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"Ok…"
"It's a good one, right?"
"Sure"
"Alright"
"I'm gonna print it so we can start…"
"Cool"
He sat nervously in the chair while she printed the lyrics to their love song.
"I'm glad we found something" she said as she handed him a paper.
"Right! And it's only the first day! I think we are ahead of the other like, by miles"
She laughed "Yeah"
They stared at the floor for a while. It was still weird doing this together.
"I think we should start" Tina said quietly
"Totally" Finn answered
They weren't absolutely sure about the song; it wasn't something they would normally choose. But they liked the lyrics, and compared to the other songs they had found… It wasn't the best they could sing, but it was the best they could come up with.
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"Brittany, dear?" Kurt called her attention
"Yeah?"
"The song?"
"What song?"
He sighed. "Your favorite song. You said you're going to show me" he said, pointing to the speakers she had connected to her pink iPod.
"Oh" Brittany said, snapping out of her daze "Right" and pressed play.
Kurt recognized the song immediately. He thought that his incessant plea to God ("Please, not Britney. Please, not Britney") had worked. Thankfully.
"I never would have taken you for the cheesy romantic type" he smiled
"This is my favorite movie of all times" she answered.
"Yeah, it's a good movie"
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She could barely contain her relief when he got up to leave. He had thought she would try to stop him, saying they still had time to go over the entire Broadway fucking songbook. But she didn't, and he was confused. When he announced he was going home, she said goodbye and that they would schedule their next practice while at school the next morning. He said ok and wondered if she was going to see him out the door. When she didn't move from her spot on the floor, he turned his back on her and left. She only moved when she heard his car driving off.
Suddenly, she smiled. Her smiled turned into a laugh. And only when she was on the verge of turning hysterical did she realize why she was laughing. It was because it didn't matter – he didn't matter. She didn't need him, she didn't want him, she wasn't in love with him. If he wanted to hate her, fine (although she hoped it didn't mean any more slushie facials – she had finally stopped taking extra clothes to school). They would work together, but they wouldn't be friends. And she loved knowing that Noah (or Puck, or whatever it was that she was calling him now) couldn't affect her, couldn't upset her anymore. She was her own woman. She had always been, and that was not gonna change now.
Knowing that her fathers would be home soon, she went downstairs to get dinner started. As she moved around the kitchen, she sang the first thing that cam to mind.
He is a good time cowboy Casanova
Leaning up against the record machine
He looks like a cool drink of water
But he's candy-coated misery
He is the devil in disguise
A snake with blue eyes
And he only comes out at night
Gives you feelings that you don't wanna fight
You better run for your life.
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A.N.: Sorry it took me so long to update this story. And once again, thank you to everyone who reviewed and subscribed. I would like a few more reviews for this chapter, to help the next one come around a bit faster, maybe? Song suggestions, you already know, are more than welcome. The songs used here are: Walking After Midnight (Patsy Cline), You'll Be in My Heart (Phil Collins), and Cowboy Casanova (Carrie Underwood).