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A Rachel/Puck fic.
Chapter Two.
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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1. Also, I don't own "I Knew I Loved You", by Savage Garden.
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A/N: Thanks for the great feedback on the last chapter, guys! You rock!
Don't worry, this chapter will be much longer.
Rachel contemplates telling the baby's daddy ... hehe. Can't wait to write that scene.
Alrighty-roo, let's get on with it!
Hope you guys like it, I know that I'll absolutely LOVE writing it!
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
Rachel couldn't focus on anything at school the next day other than the life growing within her belly. Any time she sensed any movement at all, she was convinced that she could feel the baby developing. She knew that wasn't realistic, as she was only three weeks pregnant. Well, three weeks, four days and fifteen hours. Give or take.
Several people bumped into her in the hall, as she wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and every time they did she shied away, clutching her belly protectively. Many of her glee friends noticed this and cornered her after school, before rehearsal.
"What's your deal?" Mercedes asked her, watching her slowly set down her bags by a seat at back of the room.
Rachel brushed them off. "Nothing."
Santana stood next to Britney with her hands crossed over her chest. "Come on, super-star, spill? What's the what?"
Rachel saw the football players enter, and her entire face went pale. She dropped herself onto her chair, pulling her music notes in front of her and hiding her face.
The others stared at her in confusion, and Finn turned to Puck as he walked by. "What's up with Rachel?"
Puck shrugged. "How should I know?"
Finn shrugged back, glancing at Rachel over his shoulder. Her hands seemed to be twitching around the papers she had clenched in her hand, and what he could see of her skin was noticeably whiter. Weird.
The class settled down as Mr Shuester walked in, holding his bag over his shoulder.
"Alright, today we're going to rehearse Somebody to Love. I'd like to head over to the auditorium straight away, so grab your gear and let's head over," he announced, leading the way out of the classroom.
Rachel sighed, sliding her papers back into her bag and standing from her chair. She stood on her ankle wrong, and nearly pitched forward, but Kurt got in her way just in time, saving her from falling.
"Whoa, there," he eased, helping her right herself. "You okay?"
Rachel nodded silently, feeling her face flush.
"Are you sure? You look like you might have a fever or something," he commented.
Rachel shook her head. "I'm fine, really. Thank you, Kurt." She moved past him, making her way to the auditorium and trying to find a reason to sing with the passion she was accustomed to.
Rachel was - if nothing else - a perfectionist. She sang every note perfectly, not missing a beat. But everyone around her, anyone who had ever watched her sing, could tell that she didn't have her heart in it, that her mind was elsewhere. She sang the words, but she wasn't feeling the song.
Usually Mr Shuester would let rehearsal go over 20 or 30 minutes, but today he called an end to the class a few minutes early, telling them they'd get a fresh start the next day.
He pulled Rachel aside, waiting for the other kids to leave before he started talking to her. "Is everything okay with you?"
She nodded silently, trying to put on a brave face.
He wasn't convinced. "Rachel ... I know I'm not Miss Pilsburry, but you know you can tell me anything, right?"
Rachel bit her bottom lip, telling herself that she wouldn't cry in front of him, but hardly a second later she broke that promise, dropping her head to try and hide her outburst. She felt his hand on her shoulder, and she stepped into him, wrapping her arms around him and letting the tears fall freely.
"Hey, it's okay," he told her, rubbing her back.
She shook her head against him. "No, it's not."
Mr Shuester asked, "What's going on? Rachel, talk to me."
She hid her face, choking out between her sobs, "I'm pregnant."
Mr Shuester had turned out to be not only a good shoulder to cry on, but also a friendly ear. He'd asked her who the father was, but she hadn't told him ... she wasn't even sure the father wanted anything to do with her, let alone her baby. He urged her to talk to Miss Pilsburry, and to definitely tell her fathers, but also assured her that he would be there for her if she needed anything.
Rachel had thanked him before calming herself down enough to drive herself home.
She put off telling her dads about the baby. She wasn't really afraid of their reactions; she knew they would always support her, no matter what she did or decided to do ... but she had some things to figure out before she decided to shatter their perfect image of her.
Like how she was going to tell the father of her child ... or even if she was going to tell him. She wouldn't have an abortion ... she despised the idea. She had a responsibility to the life growing inside of her, she would carry the baby to term. So obviously the father would eventually find out ... but she really didn't want to tell him.
They had agreed to pretend the whole night had never happened.
She closed herself in her room, set up the tri-pod like usual, cueing up her music and singing from her heart:
"Maybe it's intuition.
But some things you just don't question.
Like in your eyes,
I see my future in an instant.
And there it goes,
I think I've found my best friend.
I know that it might sound,
More than a little crazy,
But I believe:
I knew I loved you before I met you," she sang, unconsciously placing a hand on her belly.
"I think I dreamed you into life.
I knew I loved you before I met you.
I have been waiting all my life."
She took a breath, looking away from the camera. Her sadness was nearly overwhelming, but she let herself get caught up in the song. She knew that it wasn't a song about pregnancy ... it was about love. But parts of it fit, before she even realized that they did.
"There's just no rhyme or reason," she continued.
"Only this sense of completion.
Like in your eyes,
I see the missing pieces.
Searching for,
I think I've found my way home.
I know that it might sound,
More than a little crazy,
But I believe:
I knew I loved you before I met you.
I think I dreamed you into life.
I knew I loved you before I met you,
I have been waiting all my life.
I knew I loved you ..." She trailed off, unable to finish.
It was ridiculous. It had only been a day since she'd found out she was pregnant ... it was stupid to get attached to the child. She erased the video, leaving the camera on her dresser before dragging her feet to her bed and sliding under the covers.
How did everything get so screwed up? she asked herself.
3 1/2 weeks ago ...
Rachel wasn't sure what she was even doing at the party in the first place. Finn had invited her, and she had decided to try to make more of an effort to be social. While she couldn't care less about the majority of the students at McKinley High, she could see the logic behind spending time with her fellow glee members outside of glee.
They were having an after-party of sorts, celebrating McKinley high winning another football game. All the "responsible adults" had left the school grounds, and someone on the football team had come up with the genius idea of holding their party on the school grounds ... the football field itself.
Rachel had somewhat appreciated the cleverness of it. Especially since the party had been planned before McKinley had even won the game ... any excuse for teenagers to party, and they jumped at the idea.
Someone had handed her a drink, and before she could talk herself out of it, she'd downed the contents. It was rum and coke, and it gave her that unsettling feeling in her stomach, so she stopped there. She'd never really drank before, so it had given her a fairly decent buzz. Enough to make the people around her seem much more appealing.
She saw Puck making his way towards her, and it didn't occur to her to be surprised by that. Their brief dating period had been a sham at best, but it had succeeded in helping Rachel get over Finn. She couldn't even remember what she'd seen in him ... sure, he could sing, but he was almost as clueless as Britney. Well, maybe more so, seeing as he willingly cheated off of her math homework.
Anyway, back to Puck ... by the time she'd shaken the thoughts of Finn and Britney and rainbows out of her head, he was standing less than a foot away from her.
Puck threw his head back, finishing the rest of the liquid in his cup before looking her up and down.
"Berry," he greeted.
She nodded back, wondering if he'd always had this effect on her.
"Come to cheer me on?" he wondered with a deep voice. She dared to think ... sultry.
She shrugged, not trusting herself to speak. What the hell was wrong with her? Since when did Puck turn her into a speechless mess?
He moved even closer to her, causing her to stumble a bit. He, of course, caught her before she fell, taking the opportunity to pull her against him. "Rachel Berry ... silent? Now that's something I could get used to."
And then he kissed her. And what was more surprising to her - she kissed him back. A lot. So much that he'd led her around to the closest entrance to the school, found a window that was easy enough to open, and brought her into the gymnasium, pulling one of the gymnastics mats out for them to lay on.
It wasn't the most romantic scenario, but Rachel knew that tonight wasn't about romance. They both wanted something, and their alcohol-clouded minds made it easier for them to admit it.
They'd snuck back out of the school a couple hours later, Rachel sober but satisfied, with Puck practically floating along in front of her. The party had died down somewhat, but there were still a large number of people goofing around on the field.
Rachel had no idea what tomorrow would bring, and figured she should be more concerned that she'd just lost her virginity in her high school's gymnasium, but she pushed it all aside, kissing Puck goodbye before she left to find her car. It was already one o'clock in the morning, her dads thought she was staying the night with Mercedes, but she was confident that she could sneak into her room and get a good night's sleep before school the next day. Everything would work itself out tomorrow, she was sure.
But the following day, Puck had completely ignored her, barely registering her presence in glee. She had tried not to take it offensively, tried not to call herself a one-night-stand, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't exactly say he'd used her, because they'd both been "under the influence".
Now, as she lay in her bed with her knees tucked up to her chest, gripping her pink blanket ... she felt cheap. She felt like a cliché, and she hated clichés.
She turned and pulled her cell phone off of her bedside table, flipping it open and scrolling down her contacts list. She'd added everyone in glee in case there was ever an emergency. She finally reached his name, and her finger hesitated over the number.
She really didn't want to make that phone call.
End of chapter two.
Hope you guys liked it, and I hope it explained things a little better.
I'll try to update soon ... I may have full use of my old computer once more, but I'm afraid to turn it off now ... last time I did, it took me three tries to get it to turn on, and then I had a virus. Not fun. But, it seems to be working now, so fingers crossed!
Reviews are appreciated, positive or negative.
Until next time ...!