Treading Water Chapter 7, a glee fanfic

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. I also don't own Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, or the song that appears later on.
A/N: I would like to thank all of my readers and reviewers once again! This story is at over 11,000 hits; I just can't believe it. This chapter is a bit different from the past ones. There's less dialogue and more action; so I hope it's okay. Please read and review. Thanks!

Rachel was excited. Her life was looking really good right now. She had a BFF (Brittany), two awesome male friends (Mike and Matt), two kind of new, kind of old friends (Tina and Artie), and whatever Noah was (crush? friend? potential boyfriend?). She'd never been able to count so many people as truly wanting to be in her life. Brittany and the guys made her laugh and Tina and Artie were really nice. They were also really sweet together; she was so glad they'd worked out their issues and paired off.

She rolled onto her back and looked up at the glow-in-the-dark stars she had stuck to her ceiling when she was ten (her alarm would go off in five minutes and then she'd have to get up and start her day). She was really looking forward to today. She may not have liked Matt as anything more than a friend, but she was excited to spend some more time with him. She couldn't believe it had been just Tuesday that she started speaking with Brittany and the guys. Now it was Friday and she and her friends had made so much progress. Brittany had stood up to Quinn and Santana for her (don't think she didn't appreciate how huge that was), Mike had invited her to his house for a 'Rachel-Berry-is-hot' cookout (though that theme was Britt's idea of course) and taught her how to play football without getting angry when she wasn't exactly good at it, Matt was taking her out as part of a make-Puck-jealous plan that he had instigated, and she had nearly kissed Puck twice (and he had kissed her once, even if it was on the forehead).

Still, she felt kind of bad for Matt. She had finally figured out last night that he had a little bit of a crush on her, something that she had never noticed before. She'd been too wrapped up in Puck to notice Matt's feelings. Yet, he was planning to prod Puck into finally claiming her (as he'd put it the night before when he'd confronted Puck; she definitely didn't approve of the idea of men claiming women) on her behalf. Just so that she and Puck could get what they wanted and be together. He was such a genuinely nice guy, something that was very rare, especially in teenagers. Part of her really wished she returned his feelings; it would be so much easier than this weird dance she and Noah were doing. The largest part of her just wanted to find some way to pay back Matt for everything he was doing for her despite the cost to himself.

When her alarm went off, she got up and climbed onto her elliptical. Normally exercise cleared her thoughts, but that didn't work today. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was using Matt, even if it was with his permission. She was sure if she thought hard enough, she could come up with something she could do for him in exchange. She figured this wasn't a case where her 'I'm sorry' cookies would work, not even if modified to 'Thank you' cookies. Of course, it wouldn't be an issue if there was someone else he liked more than her. Why did she feel like there was something she'd overlooked?

She was still trying to put her finger on whatever she was missing as she showered and got dressed in a pair of new shorts (a red rose on the back pocket this time) and one of her new spaghetti strap tank tops (brown with gold trim). It was right there on the tip of her tongue, so to speak. It was going to drive her nuts if she didn't figure it out.

She had just picked out a strawberry cereal bar for breakfast when her phone rang. The caller ID showed that it was Brittany. Rachel had expected that; she was sure she was about to get the third degree on why she was going out with Matt when she clearly liked Puck.

"Hi Brittany," she answered the phone.

"What do you think you're doing?" the other girl demanded.

Wow, she had skipped her customary greeting so this must be serious.

"What do you mean Brittany?" she asked, although she knew full well what the girl was asking about.

"You are ruining everything!" Brittany yelled over the phone in distress. "You like Puck, so why are you going out with Matt? He likes you, you know. I don't want you to hurt him."

"Brittany, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt him," Rachel soothed.

"But he likes you. Likes you likes you, as in as more than a friend," the blonde stressed.

Rachel sighed. "I know. I discovered that last night when he asked me out." Brittany made a noise on the other end of the line, so Rachel cut her off before she could start in on her. "Matt knows I like Puck and he knows that Puck likes me. He figured it out before he asked me out."

There was silence as Brittany took in those words. Finally she asked, "Then why did he ask you out?"

So, Rachel explained about the scene in the kitchen between Matt and Puck that she had witnessed the previous night. She also told her about Matt's wink when he asked her out and their hug (and what he'd said) before she left. When she finished her story, Brittany was once again quiet.

"So, Matt is helping you make Puck jealous in the hope that he'll finally make a move on you?" she summarized.

"Exactly," Rachel confirmed, relieved that Brittany understood. "We're really only going out today as friends, but Puck definitely doesn't need to know that. It would defeat the point of our ploy. So, please don't tell him."

A tapping sounded over the phone as if Brittany was drumming her nails on a hard surface. "I can do better than that. I think I'll give Puck a call; after all, I should be really excited about the fact that two of my best friends are going on a date. And who better to share that excitement with than another one of my best friends?"

"Brittany, I don't think..." Rachel started.

"And when he hears about the wonderful chemistry the two of you have, it'll drive him mad. He won't have a choice but to do something about it if he doesn't want to lose his chance with you," she continued speaking as if Rachel hadn't said anything.

"Really, Britt, I don't think this is such..." Rachel pleaded.

"Yep. That's what I'm gonna do," the blonde continued to ignore Rachel. "Have fun with Matt, Rach. I have a phone call to make!"

The line went dead in Rachel's ear before she could get a word in edgewise. She tried calling Brittany back several times, but the sneaky blonde clearly didn't want to hear her protests because she didn't answer her phone once, nor did she return Rachel's calls. At five 'til ten, Rachel knew she wasn't going to get a hold of Brittany, so she slipped on her sandals and sat down on the couch to await Matt's arrival. She really hoped Brittany's actions didn't blow up in her face (and by this she meant her own; she just knew she'd suffer the aftereffects of whatever Brittany did).

ooooo

When Matt picked her up, he told her he was taking her to the mini-golf course. She had only been to the course once in the past-with her fathers for her eighth birthday. She had been horrible at it; the obstacles utterly defeated her. She had really enjoyed it though, even if she was frustrated. Dad and Daddy had taken her mind off the fact that she wasn't very good. She was kind of excited to try it again, with a friend this time.

Despite her protests, Matt paid her fee for their round on the course. He picked out a neon green golf ball and one of the taller clubs. Rachel chose a neon pink (all the colors were a form of neon) ball and Matt helped her choose a club of the appropriate height (considerably shorter than his club). Once they had all the necessary equipment, they headed to the first hole.

Turns out? Hanging out with Matt is almost as fun as hanging out with Brittany. He didn't seem to care that she was still just as bad at this as she had been when she was eight. He had a really good sense of humor. Even though she quickly got frustrated with her bad playing (she was a natural winner after all), his calm manner and relaxed jokes kept that frustration from becoming anger. Matt was really good, much better than her at least, so he tried to give her some pointers. Their progress was slow because of the number of strokes it took her to sink each ball into the hole, so several times they had to step aside and let other people, mostly other teens, pass them by. Eventually they made it to the eighteenth hole. Matt's score was 28 and two holes in one; Rachel's score stood at 56 and, unsurprisingly, no holes in one.

"Hey, anyone who gets a hole in one on this hole gets a free game," Rachel read off the sign next to the start of the green, before saying decisively, "I want that."

"Then let's see what we can do to get it for you," he stated.

He went first. It took him two strokes, bringing his final score to 30, which he said was fairly respectable (Rachel just had to trust him on that). Then it was Rachel's turn. She set her ball on one of the starting indentations of the green. As she placed the club behind her pink ball, she looked over at the hole to get a gauge on where she needed to aim. Matt moved over to her and physically corrected her stance to give her the best chance of getting a hole in one. Once he moved back, she swung like he'd instructed her to. She watched as the ball rolled up the incline and, much to her surprise, fell into the hole where it would travel back to the shack where they paid for their game.

"I got a hole in one!" she yelled excitedly.

Jumping up and down, she flung her arms around his waist and kissed him on the cheek. When she realized what she had done, she stepped away from him. She really hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. She'd merely been celebrating her first ever hole in one. She met his eyes and saw the slight sadness in them; she knew he hadn't misread her actions. She still felt awful that she had so carelessly caused that expression; she never wanted to hurt him. They turned in their clubs and she got her voucher for her free game as he made forced smalltalk in an attempt to keep the mood light. As they climbed into his SUV, that feeling that she'd forgotten something hit her full force again.

They were quiet as he drove to the little diner on the square for lunch. She was terrified that she had just ruined a perfectly fun day out by kissing him on the cheek. She hoped it hadn't really affected him, but she kept thinking about how Puck had kissed her on the forehead and she'd felt it for ages. If only she could figure out what was bothering her; it seemed like it was really important to their current situation.

When they'd taken a seat at one of the tables, the waitress handed them menus. As she perused the choices, Rachel decided to break the silence that had settled between them because of her stupid, impulsive action. She placed her menu on the table, crossed her arms over the top of it, and leaned across the table toward Matt.

"I think we need to talk about this," she said.

Matt shook his head. "I'm good."

"Look, it's clear that you have some feelings for me, not to sound conceited or anything, but I don't want to hurt you and I don't want to ruin our friendship. So, we need to clear the air so we can continue to spend time without it going all awkward like it did at the golf course," Rachel explained.

Matt sighed, obviously accepting that she wasn't just going to let this go. "Okay, Rach. I'd just like to go on record as saying that talking about my feelings is not a manly thing to do. Yes, I have feelings for you. They just kind of popped up; they weren't there before Tuesday. Before, I'd barely even noticed you as anything but a loud, pushy, annoying girl with a good voice. But, you were just so relaxed at the mall, and so much fun. Also, you're pretty."

Rachel blushed. She wasn't expecting Matt to be so blunt about everything, but she had pushed him (he was right-she was pushy).

He persisted, "Despite the attraction, I don't know that I even really like you as more than a friend. I might have just overreacted to seeing a side of you I never expected. Plus, you're best friends with Brittany who's dating my best friend. You and I together just makes sense. One pair of best friends dating another pair of best friends; it'd be easy." He fell silent.

Rachel considered his words. His thoughts weren't actually so far off from her own, minus the attraction. Hadn't she been thinking just that morning how much easier it would be if she felt for Matt what she felt for Puck instead? Still...

"What's easiest, isn't always what's right," she pointed out softly. "Things would be so much easier if I had fallen for you instead of Noah, but that's not how it happened. You're such a nice guy and he's such a...such a..." she struggled for the right word.

"Giant douche?" Matt finished for her with a laugh.

She snickered, "Yeah, that's a good description. But, there's also this really sweet side to him. I know he rarely shows it, but I've seen it a few times. And sometimes when he's acting like a...jerk," she didn't want to say the word he'd used, "it's just a show because he doesn't want to appear vulnerable."

"I know. I've been friends with the guy since junior high. I remember how he was before his dad took off," Matt told her.

The waitress came back to their table with their drinks and to take their orders. Matt picked a cheeseburger and fries. Having not looked at the menu, except for her very brief scan when they first sat down, she ordered the same. After a few minutes of silence, Matt met her eyes.

"You're too good for him you know," he claimed seriously.

Rachel blushed again. He was really embarrassing her, saying things like that so earnestly.

"You're also just what he needs," he continued. "The only time I've ever seen him act like he does with you was around Quinn when she was pregnant, but I'm pretty sure that was just because of the baby. Otherwise, they would have lasted longer after the adoption. It's good that he has someone to actually care about again."

They were quiet as the waitress delivered their food and they started to eat.

"He'd kick my ass if he knew I'd said any of this, you know that right?" Matt asked as he polished off half of his burger.

"Yeah, his anger and impulse control isn't the best," Rachel agreed. "I mean, honestly, wanting to beat up Kurt for what he said."

"That really pissed him off. It took both Mike and I showing up at his house that night to stop him from going after Kurt. He's still pissed at us for it."

Rachel just rolled her eyes. "Really! I hope he paid attention when I told him that I don't approve of violence last night."

Matt shrugged as he swallowed a fry. "If anyone could stop him, it's you." He shook his head. "I can't believe it took me so long to catch onto him. He's not exactly been subtle about it."

Rachel had to laugh at that. "You sound just like Brittany! She told me he was obvious about it while we were shopping for our swimsuits at the mall on Tuesday, before we even ran into you guys. I didn't believe her at the time, but I caught on when he crashed our trip to the movies. I think I was in denial about it until I saw you two in the kitchen last night though. It was kind of hard to ignore after he basically told you to back off."

"Yeah, that was what clued me in," Matt agreed, "although I think Mike already knew. Anyway, I've had about all I can take of this feelings crap. What did you think of Robot Chicken? You hadn't seen it before last night, right?"

They passed most of the rest of the meal discussing the myriad of shows on [adult swim]. Matt was hilarious as he recreated some of his favorite moments. He had Rachel laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. It was in the middle of his description of an Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, while they finished the ice cream they'd ordered for dessert, that the thing that had been niggling at her all day finally hit her with the force of a freight train.

"Did you ever talk to that girl you liked?" she blurted out.

Matt dropped his arms from a spirited demonstration of the scene he was describing. "What?"

"At the mall on Tuesday, you guys were there because you had a thing for the piercer at one of the jewelry stores, right? Did you ever talk to her?" Rachel clarified.

"No, I got distracted," he answered, casting her a significant glance.

"Oh," Rachel blushed. "Why hadn't you ever talked to her?"

It was Matt's turn to blush. "She's hot; we're talking model hot here. Plus she's a year older than me; she graduated this year; and she doesn't know who I am. I'd seen her around school and then I spotted her working one day when I was looking for a birthday present for my little sister. I've just never had a reason to talk to her."

"It sounds to me like you do have a reason to talk to her; you clearly like her. You're a wonderful guy. I'm sure she'd love the chance to get to know you. And, believe me, girls like a guy who's bold enough to make the first move. It avoids situations like what I've got with Noah. Just don't mention that you've been dropping by the mall to watch her unless she asks why she's seen you around so much. And even then, you might want to make up a different excuse before you talk to her in case she does ask, because stalking? Not a turn-on. Hey, do you know her name?"

Matt appeared dazed by her long speech. That's right, he's never been on the receiving end of one aimed specifically at him before, she realized.

"Yeah, according to the yearbook, her name is Daniella Levy."

"That name sounds really familiar. What does she look like?" Rachel frowned as she tried to figure out why she thought she knew this girl.

Matt got a far-off expression on his face and smiled, "She's got long red hair, green eyes, and a beautiful smile."

Red hair? Green eyes? Rachel knew she knew that name!

"I go to temple with her! I actually kind of know her; I mean, not really well or anything, but well enough that I could probably introduce the two of you sometime. If you'd like, of course." Rachel was excited. If she could get Matt together with Daniella, she wouldn't have to feel bad about not being interested in him herself (besides, with the look on his face right now, he clearly preferred Daniella over her). And, best yet, Daniella was a really nice person. She'd probably truly appreciate Matt's sweet personality.

"That'd be good." Matt frowned. "I wonder why Puck never mentioned she went to his temple."

"Because Noah never comes to temple; only his mom and sister do," Rachel stated, waving her hand through the air in annoyance at the absent boy.

They made plans to go to the mall directly after lunch so Rachel could introduce Matt to Daniella if she was working.

"I have the whole first season of Robot Chicken on DVD if you want to go back to my house after the mall," Matt offered as they climbed into his SUV.

"I'd like that." Rachel smiled at him. She had a feeling their friendship would be okay.

ooooo

The visit to the mall went really well. Daniella had been at work, and when Rachel had entered the store with Matt, the red head had recognized her from temple. She had immediately pulled Rachel aside because turns out? Daniella had liked Matt for quite a while; she was just intimidated by him because he was on the football team. She grilled Rachel on whether she was dating Matt and when she found out that he and Rachel were just friends, Daniella had demanded an introduction. Rachel had been only too happy to comply (that was why they were there after all). After she had introduced them, causing both to blush (it was so cute!), she had wandered the empty store to give them time to talk. She tried to subtly watch them as she pretended to look at the different necklaces. They were clearly nervous around each other, but eventually they both relaxed. Ten minutes later, Daniella needed to help a customer, but not before Matt asked her out. She told him she got off at seven if he wanted to meet her back at the store. He agreed, and Rachel let out a loud cheer (Brittany must be rubbing off on her) that had them both looking at her as she took her turn to blush. All in all, it was a great success that had landed Matt a date with his dream girl.

When Rachel and Matt had gone to Matt's house to watch Robot Chicken together, Matt was the happiest she'd ever seen him which made Rachel ecstatic. The sketches on the show were funnier just because Matt was so thrilled with how his introduction to Daniella had gone. Shortly after three, he pulled up to the curb across the street from Rachel's house.

"Oh, no," Rachel muttered, the color draining from her face as she spotted the red truck sitting directly in front of her house.

Matt turned to see what had caused that kind of reaction in her. When he saw the truck, he let out a laugh. "Looks like Puck's been waiting on you."

Rachel buried her face in her hands and explained. "Brittany told me she was going to call him this morning to tell him about how good you and I are together and how we have such obvious chemistry." She looked up at Matt. "I just knew it was going to backfire on me, but she wouldn't listen to a word I said."

Matt unbuckled his seat belt, leaned over, and pulled her into a tight hug. "You need to go face him. Maybe he's angry enough that he'll finally man up."

Rachel returned his hug and dropped a kiss on his cheek (without worrying that he'd take it the wrong way-thank God for Daniella).

"Hopefully you're right." She unbuckled her own seat belt and pushed the door open. "Thank you for the golf and lunch. Oh, and of course for your help today. Good luck tonight with Daniella," she added in a teasing tone.

He blushed slightly again. "Yeah. Thanks for introducing us."

She grinned. "I was happy to."

After she had crossed the street she turned around to watch him drive off. When he waved, she waved back. She was really happy with where their friendship stood right now. Turning around, she spotted Puck scowling at her from her front porch. Wow, he looks furious. Sighing deeply, she moved forward to meet her doom (she was going to kill Brittany for this).

Noah crossed his arms over his chest as she climbed the stairs. "Did you fuck him?"

Rachel paused on the top step. "I'm sorry?" she asked incredulously, climbing onto the porch.

"Did you fuck him?" he repeated. "Because there's no other reason you could've been out with him for five hours."

She couldn't believe this. He was acting like such a...such a...such an ass! Normally she didn't curse, but that was the only word strong enough to describe his current behavior. She mimicked his stance and crossed her arms over her own chest.

"Of course I had sex with him," she stated sarcastically. "I have sex with every guy who shows interest in me."

She stepped forward so she was right in front of him and poked him in the chest above his arms.

"Just because you can't spend more than a couple of hours at a time with a girl with your clothes on doesn't mean other guys have the same problem. Some guys, like Matt, have depth to them. Some guys, like Matt, can be interested in spending time with a girl without wanting sex."

She poked him with the end of each sentence. She was just so angry at him; how could she possibly want to be with him? What was she thinking?

He uncrossed his arms and caught her wrist so she couldn't continue to prod him.

"Believe me Berry, a guy doesn't spend time with someone as hot as you without thinking about sex. You have the kind of legs that are made to wrap around a guy's waist," he said in a low voice, drawing her closer with the wrist he had captured. "Matt wants you for more than just a friend," he lowered his head to speak in her ear. "and I'll be damned if I stand by and let him use you."

Oh, my, God. Realization nearly blinded her as he let go and stepped back. He was irate because he thought Matt was using her? And he wanted to protect her? She didn't even think; she just acted. Moving forward, she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled his lips down to meet hers.

She had clearly stunned him with her move because he held himself still for several moments. And then he gave into the heat between them. She had thought she'd been kissed before (and by him at that), but oh, had she been wrong. His lips were so soft yet firm. And the way they moved against hers set her blood on fire. When his tongue swiped against her lips demanding entrance, she opened them on a gasp. He took advantage and slid his silky tongue into her mouth against hers. He slid his hands down her back to her rear and lifted her; she wrapped her legs around his waist automatically and fisted one hand in his mohawk while the other curled over his shoulder.

He tastes so good, she thought as her eyes drifted shut. He tasted like a combination of cinnamon and mint. She thought the taste might surpass strawberry as her very favorite. She was so lost in his taste that she didn't realize he had backed up to the porch swing until he moved her legs and dropped to sit in it. She adjusted so that she was straddling him without breaking their kiss. Taking advantage of the new position, he buried a hand in her hair and slanted his lips to have better access to her mouth. His other hand, resting on her hip, was rubbing a line along her bare skin just above her shorts. Every movement of his thumb caused heat to pool between her legs. Unconsciously, she whimpered and ground herself against the hardness that had sprung up below her.

He tore his mouth away from hers with a groan at the friction. While she caught her breath from the intensity between them, he dotted kisses down her neck to one of her bare shoulders.

"Do you know how fucking bad I wanted to do this last night?" he asked in a husky voice between kisses to her shoulder. He moved to the other one. "These shirts should be fuckin' illegal," he added as he rained kisses on that shoulder.

"You are so stupid," she panted out, "to think I'd want this with anyone else. I've been waiting on you to make a move practically all week," she moaned as he nibbled lightly on her collarbone. "Matt was just helping me push you into doing something about it."

"Rachel?" he raised his head. When she met his eyes (oh, those intense hazel eyes were so green right now), he added, "Shut the fuck up" before crashing his lips to hers again.

And that is how Rachel spent an hour making out with Noah (finally!) on her front porch.

ooooo

An hour later, she was in her bedroom. She'd been amazed at her appearance when she'd come inside after sending Noah off to pick his sister up from her friend's house. Her lips were all red and swollen, her hair looked like she'd just gotten out of bed, and her clothes were slightly wrinkled (she'd let him touch her breasts this time, over the shirt of course). The biggest change, however, was in her eyes. She normally considered her eyes a very average, kind of bland brown. She felt they were one of her less impressive features. But, looking at them in the mirror after Noah had left, she had thought they were actually kind of beautiful. They sparkled brightly and just looked really happy. All in all, it was amazing the effect an hour of making out with Noah had on her. She even felt more confident and relaxed (though she expected she would panic later about what this meant for their new friendship).

She used this surplus of confidence to make a slightly riskier choice for the day's MySpace video. She hadn't recorded one earlier-she'd been too busy trying to get a hold of Brittany before she did something stupid (she'd have to thank her later, she noted)-so she decided to post one this afternoon while she had some free time before her swim lesson (her lips tingled just thinking about it). She looked through her music for the ideal choice to express how she was feeling (how Puck made her feel), which was thoroughly turned on. She grinned when she came across the right song-it was a little older, released in 2001-but it was perfect.

Oh, I, I, I
I wanna be bad with you baby
I, I, I, I
I wanna be bad with you baby

Do you, understand what I need, need (from you)
Just let me be the girl to show you (you)
Everything that she can be is everything that I can be
I wanna be
My turn
Let me let you know that I can (I can)
Promise that I won't do that
So boy, say the time and place cuz you make me wanna misbehave

I wanna be bad
You make bad look so good
I got things on my mind
I never thought I would
I, I wanna be bad (bad)
You make bad feel so good
I'm losing all my cool
I'm about to break the rules
I, I wanna be bad

I wanna be bad with you baby
I, I, I, I, I wanna be bad with you baby

What's up?
Tell me what to do, how to be, teach me
All you your rules from A to Z,
But I, I don't wantcha other girls to see
That you're messin' round with me

Should I boy
Tell me what I got is what ya want
Tell Tell me do I, I turn you on
I don't want no one judging me

She had pulled out her sexiest moves for this video, and she ended the song by winking at the camera. It may not have been her typical MySpace video, but if Puck saw this, he'd know it was inspired by him. After uploading the video, she sat down at her vanity to braid her hair for her swim lesson. Once she was done, she refreshed her MySpace page and saw that she'd already gotten a couple of comments. There was an insult from Santana (what did she do? stalk Rachel's MySpace just to insult her?), the normal filth from Jacob Ben-Israel (she knew he stalked her MySpace), and a compliment from Tina ('Awesome, just awesome'). There at the bottom of the page, though, was what she was looking for. BAMFPlaya69 had left a comment-'Your lessons start tonight.' It was simple and surprisingly not lewd, but it sent (very good) chills down her spine all the same.

When the doorbell rang, she was pulled from her increasingly impure thoughts. She smiled. Maybe Puck hadn't been able to wait until tonight and had come back by. Running down the stairs, she flung open the door with a bright smile.

"I just knew you couldn't resist...Finn?"

A/N 2: The song used was 'I Wanna Be Bad' by Willa Ford. Sorry for anyone who doesn't like to read song lyrics, but I just had to include them because the song is entirely too perfect to describe the feelings Puck inspires in Rachel.