My Guardian Angel
A Glee Fan Fiction
Chapter 5

Rachel Berry had the absolute worst night's sleep the night her fathers found out about her engagement. The night that her engagement had been released to pretty much anybody that mattered in her life. The night of her first fight with Finn, as an almost-married couple. The night that she and Puck got into their first actual fight in...well, their first fight ever. The sleep that she was having this night was filled with tossing and turning, and the nightmares she was having were even worse than the ones that Vocal Adrenaline had given her after the egging incident.

Rachel was wearing a long, strapless white gown with a slender, heart-shaped neckline. The bodice was tight, hugging her into it in a tight, form sitting corset type style in a lacy, white material, before starting to poof at her waist into a long, netted hoop of material. It was a simple, ordinary, princess-styled wedding dress. Her hair was in an elegant french twist while her heels were similar to medieval torture chamber devices, sky high and full of straps and buckles. She was standing at the end of an aisle, by an alter. She looked beautiful, and she knew that she should be happy, but she couldn't help but feel as if something was missing.

Behind her stood Quinn Fabray in a long, pencil straight, one strap, hot pink dress with a long, slender slit up one side of it. She wore it with silver, strappy heels and her hair was done in the same fashion as Rachel's. Mercedes Jones, Tina Cohen-Chang, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce were lined up besides Quinn, each in matching dresses with their hair down the exact same way. Kurt Hummel was at the end of the line in a hot pink suit with silver accents to it, his hair carefully styled. Standing on the other side of the alter, in a line, wearing grey suits, were Sam Evans, Mike Chang, Artie Abrams and Blainde Anderson.

The only two people who didn't happen to be there, were Noah Puckerman and Finn Hudson. And Rachel was sure that whoever appeared at the alter was going to be the thing that determined whether this dream was happy or a dark, terrible nightmare. And, the sad part was, she couldn't honestly say that she wanted Finn to be the one to appear there. She couldn't say that he was the one she wanted, without a single doubt in her mind, because that would be lying. In all honesty, she just wasn't sure if she wanted Finn or if she wanted Puck.

She shook her head as a tall boy in a black suit appeared in the doorway to the church-she was confident that she was in a church, even though she couldn't see anything defining it as a church. The height didn't really matter, though, because most boys were tall in Rachel's eyes. Most girls were considered tall compared to Rachel. She sighed as she forced herself to stare at his face. Because looking at a muscled torso or broad shoulders wouldn't be as definite as if she stared at the face-at the hair-of the boy that was on his way down towards her.

She gulped as she took in the deep, hazel eyes that were so very deep as the boy walked closer to her. The deeply chiseled facial features that made so many girls swoon over him were there as well. The deep, dark, rich brown hair was wavy in just the right way. But the hair was too long. It wasn't shaved on two sides with a single strip down the center. And the dopey smile that was in place on the boy's face, the one that showed he was oblivious to everything around him, just gave her further proof that Noah Puckerman was not making his way towards her.

Rachel woke up screaming, shooting forward in her bed with her hair matted to her face from the sweat as her face shone brightly with the cold liquid running down her face. Her sheets were tangled up around her legs and she was breathing deeply, her eyes opened wide as she reached for her nightstand, fumbling around in the dark until she found her cell phone, dialing in the number of the only person she trusted enough to help her. The only person who could really give her an answer that would help her figure anything out in her life. THe only person she knew who had once been in this situation and had made the right choice.

"Rachel? What do you want? What's the matter? You do realize that it's one in the morning, right? I hope you know that it's the middle of the night and you woke me up out of a sound sleep when you barely ever-Rachel? What's going on? I've been scolding you for a good minute and you haven't cut in or interrupted me. That's not the-oh my, god! Are you crying? Rachel? Come on, what's the matter? I'm not really mad, you know that. What's the matter?" Tina Cohen-Chang went from sounding tired and annoyed to being teasing, before becoming fully alert and worried.

"Noah told my dads about the engagement before Finn and I could, and he was still here when we got back home and they got into this huge fight-Finn and Noah-that is-but I broke it up, and Finn left all annoyed, telling me I needed to decide who I wanted and Noah was just so sweet and nice about the whole thing, and the thing is...I didn't even know I had a choice to make until tonight! I thought I just wanted Finn, but Noah had some really good points, and I'm not so sure I want to be with Finn anymore. Please, tell me you can help me?" Rachel asked, a slight edge of panic to her voice.

"Wait...Rachel, hold up. I'm a little confused here. Are we talking about Noah Puckerman? Because I don't think anybody-even Quinn-would describe him as sweet. But, besides that, there's a difference between Puck having good points against you and Finn getting married so young, and you having feelings in turn for Puck. You need to figure out which one of those two it is. And, also, besides that, why are you asking me for help?" Tina asked. She wasn't angry. She wasn't asking to be bitter or cruel or mean. She was asking because she was genuinely curious.

"Because you loved Artie. You were so positive that you loved him and wanted to be with him, and then something just...clicked, between you and Mike, and you had to make up your mind, because you didn't want to hurt Artie, but you didn't want to be unhappy yourself. But, at first, you must have been confused, right? You weren't sure which guy you were supposed to be with and that scared you, right? You didn't know what to do?" Rachel wondered, hoping she was right in calling Tina. Nobody had been sure how the girl had dealt with the Artie-Mike situation, but Rachel had assumed.

"Yeah...I did need to do some thinking about it, actually," Tina said, nodding. "I mean, Artie's a sweetheart, and I'll always love him. He was my first love, and you don't forget that," Tina shrugged. "But, I had to push aside my feelings when it came to my decision. I had to think about which guy made me happy and which guy I actually had fun with. Artie and I had fun, but things always felt forced and more friendly with us. With Mike? Everything just clicked. It was natural and I couldn't help but be happy, even when we weren't doing anything, you know?" Tina wondered.

"Yeah...I know what you mean." Rachel nodded. "I'm sorry to have woken you up, I was just freaking out about this whole thing. Thanks for helping me, though. You're a great friend, Tina, and I wish we'd gotten closer throughout the years. But, just promise me that we'll make these last few months together count?" Rachel asked. Tina agreed and the two said their goodbyes before hanging up, leaving Rachel to try and fall back asleep while she listened to her Wicked play list, willing herself to dream about the musical, rather than the two boys she had to pick from.

"Rachel? This song probably isn't going with the assignment Mr. Shue gave us in the traditional sense, but after the conversation we had last night, I really think it's fitting for it. Because, in all honesty, it's going to help answer those questions you asked me last night." Tina explained as she stood in the front of the room, her hands clasped behind her back as she smiled at Rachel, who was sitting between Kurt and Mercedes. Mike Chang, Tina's ever-supportive boyfriend, flashed her a wide, encouraging smile and a large thumbs up as the music began and the girl started to sing.

"What if I told you it was all meant to be/Would you believe me, would you agree/It's almost that feeling that we've met before/So tell me that you don't think I'm crazy/When I tell you love has come and now/A moment like this/Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this/Some people search a life time for that one special kiss/Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me/SOme people wait a lifetime for a moment like this," Tina sang out the American Idol, Kelly Clarkson hit song as Rachel sat there, her hands folded in her lap as she stared down at them, taking each word as seriously as possible.

A conversation between Puck and Rachel from freshman year, their final year at the over pass before they could drive, was recalled by the short girl as Tina sang that first verse and went through the chorus for the first time.

"What if everything happens for a reason?" Puck blurted out, sitting on his bike as he squinted out towards the setting sun. "What if we don't have any control over anything, and it just all happens because it's meant to me?" He wondered, turning to face the girl sitting there besides him.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"I mean...what if our whole lives are already planned out, by something bigger than the both of us? I don't know...it's stupid, I guess," He shrugged, shaking his head.

"It's not stupid, Noah," Rachel sighed. "I think...I get what you mean, and I guess I kind of believe, but I don't want to. It's too sad, thinking that we don't really get any say in our own lives? I don't think I could allow myself to feel that way. Maybe...do you ever get the feeling that you and I have met before, though? Like...not just before today, but like...do you believe in reincarnation?" Rachel asked softly.

"I think you're crazy, Berry, but that's okay, because I think I'm crazy too sometimes," He told her, ignoring her question, because it scared him too much to admit that he actually agreed with her.

"Do you believe in love?" She whispered.

He didn't answer her. Instead, he stood up and walked towards her, kissing her-giving her her vert first kiss, right there on the overpass as the sun set over the town they both hated. And it was the best kiss that she could ever imagine having. It had a movie worthy scene and she just thought that that was what miracles were made out of.

She smiled, marveling in that perfect moment and wishing she could pause time forever and live in it forever, as he shrugged and went back to his bike, straddling it before announcing that he'd race her back to her house and taking off. She followed after him, trying to simply match his pace, as she wondered how on earth something as magical as this was happening to a girl as simple and ordinary as herself. It didn't line up.

"Everything changes but beauty remains/Something so tender I can't explain/Well I maybe dreaming, but till I awake/Can we make this dream last forever/And I'll cherish all the love we share/For a moment like this-some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this/ Some people search forever for that one special kiss/Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me/Some people wait a lifetime, for a moment like this," She went on with the song, singing happily as she stood there, moving only her upper body with her performance, allowing the beat and the words to speak for themselves.

Rachel frowned down at her folded hands, glancing over at Puck from the corner of her eyes as another long forgotten and very secretive conversation from the over pass was remembered.

"Everything's going to be different now, isn't it?" She asked.

Everybody in school knew that Puck was the father of Quinn's baby. Everybody knew that Rachel had been the one to tell Finn. Everybody knew that Puck and Finn had had an actual fist fight. Everybody knew that Finn and Quinn were no longer a couple, that Finn and Puck were no longer friends, and that Puck and Quinn were dating, solely out of Puck feeling responsible for the baby, without having any actual feelings towards Quinn.

"Everything's always changing. Wasn't that the reason we started coming out here? Because things always get different, but the beauty of this place never changes?" He asked her.

He always managed to surprise her, when they were up at the over pass. He was no longer the residential bad ass. He was a sweet, caring guy who could be slightly poetic, when he really decided to set his heart to it. And it amazed Rachel every time she heard one of his strangely beautiful statements. The over pass was the one place where he truly shed his Puck exterior and allowed himself to be Noah for longer than a few rare moments.

"You have soft hands..."Puck said, taking her tiny, small hands in his own. "You've got really cute hands, you know that?" He asked her with a teasing smile on his face.

Sometimes, because of the unexplainable change in Puck's personality at the over pass, Rachel thought that she was simply dreaming and that it was all just a mere illusion. But, she decided that, until she was sure she was dreaming, she would make the dream as sweet as possible and try to make it last forever.

"You're with Quinn now," She rolled her eyes, taking her hand from his roughly.

"Do you really think that she could step in and change what we have? Come on, that's something people search forever to find, and most people don't end up finding it. We've had it forever. I know you don't get what I mean yet, but you will, one day. And I'll be here when you figure it out," He promised her, their eyes locked.

"Could this be the greatest love of all/I wanna know that you will catch me when I fall/So let me tell you this/Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this/Some people wait a life time for a moment like this/SOme people search forever for that one special kiss/ Oh, I can't believe it's happening to me/Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this/Oh, like this, oh/I can't believe it's happening to me/Some people wait a lifetime/For a moment like this/Oh, like this," Tina concluded the song, smiling up at Rachel who met her grin with one of her own.

And the final over pass memory came back to Rachel at that moment, making her realize exactly what she needed to do.

"I don't love him," Rachel blurted out. It was cold, and she'd foolishly ridden her bike up to their meeting place in just one of her tiny skirts and a sweater. She'd come directly from school, leaving her jacket at home. "There's no way that this great love I thought I had with him could be real if it's just going to end so terribly and rotten. No, I don't love him. It's not possible that whatever we had could be love if it ended that way," She declared, her arms wrapped around her chest.

She hadn't expected Puck to follow her, but he had, riding in his truck, going as slowly as he possibly could in order to keep up with her slow-paced bicycle pedaling speed, spending the entire time trying to convince her to get into the truck and just talk to him. To allow him to bring her home, and then he'd leave and not bother her. But, she hadn't listened, and now she was here, cold, but not alone. She would never be alone as long as he was breathing.

"That's alright, not to love him. Not to be sure. You're young, and love is confusing. But, I want you to know something. I promise you that whenever you fall, I'll be there to catch you, alright?" He promised her, walking towards her slowly as he shrugged out of his warm, fur-lined leather jacket.

The jacket was special to him, because it was the first thing he'd bought for himself-with the exception of his truck-with his pool cleaning money. It was the only thing-besides the truck-that he'd bought with that money. He was doing his best to save that money so he could get out of Lima.

He sighed as he wrapped it around Rachel's shoulders, smiling a bit as she wrapped it closer to her, smiling up at him in gratitude. That had been the last time he'd ever seen that jacket.

"I almost think I've figured out what you meant last year, about that bond you and I have? But, I'm not sure yet," She told him, as she finally gave in and followed him back to his truck.

"I meant what I said. Let me know when you've figured it out, and I'll be here, waiting," He told her.

And it was clear to both of them that he still meant that promise and always had-and always would.