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A Rachel/Puck story.
Chapter Three.
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Disclaimer: See Ch. 1
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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! It's so great to wake up and get to read everyone's feedback on my stories!
Well, my computer *seems* to be working fine, but I did have to reboot it twice this morning. Hopefully it'll be good for another few days now.
Alright, here's chapter three. I'm going to try to work in some of Puck's thoughts and memories in this one, 'cause I don't want him coming off as a total a-hole. Not that a little a-hole-ness from him isn't sexy as hell.
Anywhoo ... let's get on with it, shall we?
As always, please read and review, I live for feedback!
Puck was pumping iron in his bedroom when his cell phone rang. He rounded off the number, setting the weights down and trotting to his desk to glance at the number. Rachel Berry.
He sighed, not wanting to answer it. He'd been working very hard to ignore all of her looks and questioning glances.
His mind flashed back to that night a few weeks ago when they'd had the after-party on the football field. He'd been chugging his third beer when Jacob Israel had sauntered up to him with his own drink of liquid courage.
Puck asked him who the hell had invited him, to which the smaller boy had simply replied that it had been one of his many sources.
Before Puck could throw him out of the party, he'd motioned across the field to a girl swigging back her own drink.
~ "Damn, that Rachel Berry is hot, huh?" Israel commented.
Puck grunted noncommittally.
They watched as she suffered the kickback from her drink, and Puck could see the other boy sneering out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah ... this'll be my chance with her. Now that she's all liquored up ... perfect timing. I bet she's an animal in the sack."
Puck shoved the smaller boy away from him with more force than he'd meant to, drawing the stares of several people around them.
Puck stole a drink from someone's hands beside him before throwing a dirty look at Israel and stalking across the field. His only coherent though was getting Berry away from the cyber-blog-freak. ~
He didn't remember what they'd talked about exactly, but then he'd kissed her ... or maybe she'd kissed him ... and then he remembered breaking into the school and heading to one of the more comfortable places he could think of.
Puck glanced down at the phone that was still ringing in his hands, debating whether or not he should answer it. Every day since that party, he'd forced himself to stay away from her. Not only did he want to dissuade her from fawning all over him like she had once done with Finn ... he was no good for her. He was a train-wreck waiting to happen. She had already broken up with him once ... maybe it was time to return the favor.
He flipped open his cell phone, planning on telling her that there was nothing between them, and she should just forget about him.
"Berry," he greeted.
He thought he heard her sniffle, and he really hoped that she wasn't going to start crying. He didn't do well with crying girls.
"Noah, I ..." she paused, trying to find the right words.
He hated when she called him Noah. Hated it. It made him want to do certain things to her that would not be in accordance with his "forget about me" plan.
He was about to tell her everything he'd planned to say in this situation when she said two words that he'll never forget.
"I'm pregnant."
The phone nearly slipped from his grip, and he actually found himself praying that she was just ... that she was simply screwing with him as payback for ignoring her. But then he heard her small whimpers, and thought back to her behavior in school that day.
Oh, god ... what did I do?
"Noah?" she asked him, and he figured he must have been silent for quite some time.
"Can you meet me?" he found himself asking her.
After a few seconds she asked, "Where?"
He wracked his brain for secluded places where they could talk. "Waverly Park?" he offered, knowing that it would be empty at this time of night.
"Okay," she replied, trying to get her breathing under control. "When?"
"Ten minutes?"
She agreed, and he hung up the phone. He paced around his bedroom for a minute or so before grabbing his keys off of his dresser and thumping down the stairs, telling his mom that he was heading to meet a friend, and that he would be back in a while.
It only took him a couple minutes to drive to the park - though he may have been speeding slightly - and so he spent the next few minutes in his truck, waiting for Rachel to arrive.
Some classic rock song was playing on his radio, and he dropped his head onto his hands that were holding onto the steering wheel, wondering how he could be so stupid.
Of course she was pregnant ... they hadn't even used a condom, and he hadn't thought to ask her if she was on the pill .
He had no idea how he was going to tell his mom about it ... sure, she wanted him to find a nice Jewish girl, but not knock her up.
Finally he saw heard another car pull up, and turned his head to see Rachel's pink punch-buggy parked next to his.
She seemed to be working up the nerve to get out of the car, so he turned off the ignition and stepped out of his truck, walking into the path of her headlights.
Seconds that felt like hours passed, and then she followed suit, but kept her car on, meeting him in the nearly blinding light a few feet away from her car.
They looked at each other for a few moments, and Puck could see the toll that her carrying his baby had already put on her. Her eyes were puffy and red, she was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, and her face was ashen.
"Are you okay?" he heard himself ask.
She nodded, but he didn't believe her for a second.
"How long have you ..."
Rachel answered, "I found out last night."
He nodded, feeling lousy. "I'm sorry."
She felt herself starting to tear up again, and he figured he must have said the wrong thing.
"Don't cry, Berry."
She covered her eyes with her hand, trying to stifle her sobs. She hated crying in front of people ... Mr Shuester was one thing, but Puck? The father of her child? One hundred times worse.
He surprised her by pulling her towards him, encasing her body with his arms. She allowed herself to be pressed against him, but with her hands between them as a sort of barrier. One hand still covered her face, while the other gripped his shirt, holding onto it as hard as he was holding onto her.
Puck had no idea what to say. He knew that she had big plans for her future, and those didn't include getting pregnant in high school. He didn't want her to abort the baby, but figured he wasn't really in a position to make demands.
"I don't know what to do," she confessed against his chest.
Well, I don't know either, he thought, but instead said, "We'll figure it out."
Puck didn't want to tell his mom, and Rachel didn't want to tell her dads, but she knew they'd be more upset if they found out a few months down the road, and realized that she'd been lying to them.
She and Puck had agreed that he should not be there when she told them. They would be disappointed in her, for sure, but more than likely mad at Puck for impregnating their daughter, and while she was unsure of her feelings for him, she didn't wanted him murdered by her fathers.
She sat them down at the kitchen table and told them everything that had happened - well, not everything, just the important bits - and while they were understandably surprised and thought that they'd raised her better than that, they both told her how much they loved her, and would be there to support her throughout the pregnancy, and informed her that if she decided to keep the baby, they would help her with anything she needed.
They wanted to meet the "father" of their grandchild, but Rachel was unsure about that. She was still concerned for Puck's safety, after all. She tentatively agreed to a meeting, but asked them to wait until the "father" told his mother. They found this to be reasonable, but weren't happy about it.
They helped her set up her first doctor's appointment and told her to go easy on her elliptical machine until they found out from the doctor how much exercise was okay for the baby.
As Rachel lay in her bed that night she thought about the events of the day. Suffering through the agonizingly long school day, worrying about what would happen to her, how she could tell Puck, how he would take the news. Telling Puck, and being pleasantly surprised that he hadn't freaked out on her. Worrying about telling her dads, and then actually telling them. She definitely felt as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.
She placed a hand on her belly, thinking about the boy or girl growing inside of her.
"We just might be okay," she whispered.
Across town, Puck continued to pace back and forth in his bedroom. Rachel was pregnant. He had slept with Rachel Berry, and gotten her pregnant.
He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to be a father.
He'd have to get a job ... that much he knew. He wouldn't go back to cleaning pools ... as much fun as it was sleeping with the moms of the kids that he went to school with and played football against, he needed to get serious - and fast. He wasn't like his father ... he wouldn't abandon his kid. Or Rachel. He had no idea how he was going to maintain any kind of relationship with her.
He didn't suddenly believe that he was good enough for her. Rachel was going places, he knew that. He doubted that a baby would stop that.
He promised himself that he would be there for his kid whenever he/she needed him, but he wouldn't drag Rachel down with him.
End of chapter three.
Hope you guys liked it!
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Until next time ...!