Chapter 3. Midsummer Nights' Dreams
A.N. This chapter again has an accompanying "photo log" with Rachel's notes (new photos): /watch?v=7ZJ7vM7iF9o There is also a new playlist: /view_play_list?p=A88AC66175126EAA
Add the links to the end of the address for youtube or see full links in my author profile page.
I tried desperately to upload vids with the songs by dog's eye view called The Prince's Favorite Son and Would You Be Willing (from Junior Year), but they were blocked every time. You can listen to full versions of those songs with a free last fm account, or you can listen to previews on that site without an account, and I own the songs... Those were the songs I chose and didn't have time to figure out new ones after all the time I wasted trying to make the vids and my busier-than-usual weekend.
Disclaimer. I do not own Glee, any songs mentioned, or anything familiar.
…
When he and Rachel were alone in the hotel room at night, Puck felt like everything was awesome. Better than ever. But it had been two full days of Rachel and Josh singing all those duets, and then they (meaning Rachel and Josh) got asked by that Professor Schmuck to do some special show, Puck felt left out and a little unsure if he really liked New York. Rachel was in her element, and it was obvious. Puck might have been a little depressed about how the trip was going if it hadn't been for the great sex he got to have every night. And the good shows for the NYC audience were pretty cool. And just being on their own together was awesome. But mostly, it was the sex that kept him feeling great every night and every morning. It was only as the days wore on that seeing Josh and Rachel all smile-y and sing-y got under his skin.
Their third morning together, Puck opened his eyes and stretched out his arms to realize that Rachel wasn't in bed next to him. He was starting to get used to sleeping with her every night—just the act of wrapping his arm around her every night as they fell asleep was…comforting (?). Whatever it was, he knew he was going to miss it. But he smiled when he heard her singing in the shower. He decided to sneak in and surprise her. He was already naked from last night, so all he had to do was quietly walk across the room and open the bathroom door. Then he had a moment of panic at the thought that she'd slip and fall if he really did surprise her, so he knocked on the door to announce his entrance.
"Hey, Rach. Mind if I join you?" he asked in his sexiest voice.
She turned off the water and emerged from the shower already wrapped in towel.
Damn.
"I just finished. But I could return to bed now that you're awake and I have your attention," she smiled playfully, looking him up and down.
"Hell yeah!" he exclaimed as he pulled at her towel.
She fought to keep the towel around her—but only until she reached the bed. She giggled as she slipped under the sheets, leaving him grasping the wet towel. He promptly tossed it on the floor and joined her in bed.
…
An hour later they were both ready to head down to the subway to meet the guys in Brooklyn Heights. They had to finish working out the details of their show for Rachel's acting professor and figure out the rest of their show schedule for the week. Rachel thought that they should just skip the daytime show they had planned to do at Liv's café Daze so they didn't strain their voices for the show she cared about the most.
This idea was not well-received.
"Dude!" cried Trey. "If me and Eddie—and Puck—have to play lame backup music to you and Josh singing your duets and shit, we should at least be able to do a show with the rockin' set list we had planned for Daze!"
Eddie nodded and crossed his arms. So did Puck, who stepped toward the other two guys in a show of solidarity.
It was then Rachel learned that there was a completely new set list planned for that show—one in which she was only featured in one song. She was on the verge of a protest when Josh played peacemaker.
"Look, I'll just ask Liv if we can play at Daze after the show for Frankie V. I'm sure it'll be no big deal."
It wasn't.
"That's not a problem," Liv said. "Thanks, guys, for talking to me about the scheduling issues. I told my sister she should check out your show, so now I won't send her to Daze at the wrong time."
"No, thank you, Liv," Rachel said. "We really appreciate your flexibility and your contributions to the band's success."
Trey nudged Eddie and rolled his eyes behind Rachel's back. But Puck and Josh both recognized that Rachel's skills could be useful—kind of as manager and promoter for their band. And there was the fact that her connection to the acting professor had already scored them a gig that wasn't achieved by nepotism. Oh, and she could sing better than almost anyone. Anyone.
They all thanked Liv and headed to "their room" in the Jordan basement to practice. Trey and Eddie said they needed to rock out for awhile on the set later that night, and Puck decided he needed to stop feeling pissed as Josh and Rachel bent over the sheet music together to figure out what they would ask the house band to play. And the best way for Puck to stop feeling pissed was to join Trey and Eddie playing some rock music instead of those ballad duet things.
So Rachel and Josh moved to the study where they could continue their discussions while the 'boys' played the songs for the second show.
As they headed up the stairs, Josh asked, "So, have you talked to Quinn lately?" He glanced down at her as he opened the door to the study to let her enter.
"Oh!" she gasped. "You just reminded me! She called the first day Noah arrived, but he's the one who answered the phone! I never called her back!" Rachel settled down at the large desk which apparently Jake and Liv shared, considering the presence of two chairs. Josh pulled up the other chair. Rachel continued, slightly calmer. "I recall that Noah told her to call you, so I assume you've talked to her. How did that go? You said earlier that you two were friends now… I can't believe I didn't think to ask about it sooner!"
"Um, no problem. We've been preoccupied with the shows. But yeah, it was fine." Josh shifted his eyes uncomfortably. Then he smacked his forehead.
"What's wrong?" Rachel exclaimed, completely at a loss to explain his behavior.
"It's nothing… it's just you reminded me of what was going on when Quinn called you..." Even though Josh had been half-joking with Quinn about picturing Puck and Rachel doing the deed, it was actually happening to him now. Maybe if he'd never seen most of Rachel's boobs in that shirt the other day, the images probably wouldn't have come so easily to his mind. He'd already caught them in the act back in December in Puck's truck. So he had plenty of ammo for mental images.
Rachel was blushing because she assumed Quinn told him what she'd interrupted. She composed herself before saying, "Well, we should try not to let that be a distraction..."
He shrugged with a smirk. "Easier said than done. Believe me, I'm trying. I do not want to think about what I'm thinking about. At all. I mean, maybe I didn't mind catching you in the parking lot that night," he grinned at her as she crossed her arms and huffed indignantly. "But I do mind now that I have to actually work with you guys."
"This is very unproductive and unquestionably inappropriate. Please cease ruminating on…natural activities of two people in love…and please return to thinking about whatever you normally think about when you see us so we can focus on the task at hand."
"Sorry." He gave her a sideways glance and Rachel was pretty sure that he looked her up and down before scooting his chair farther away from hers.
"Why are males so sexual all the time? And childish! Stop thinking about it this instant!" she commanded. "Here, back to work," she reached across him to pull the music sheets toward him, to get him to focus. Unfortunately, in the process her breast grazed his arm.
He pulled back like he'd been burned.
So did she.
"That didn't help," he said after an awkward pause.
Rachel just gaped at him as she hugged her arms to her chest, feeling mortified.
Then Josh started laughing. The moment was so uncomfortable for no real reason, and he realized how funny it all was. The images disappeared from his mind. "Actually, that did help," he told her. "Problem solved. Tension's gone, right?"
Rachel's face softened, and she finally laughed too. "Good. I'm glad we've gotten past that ridiculously juvenile behavior so that we can complete these arrangements and practice our set!"
"Alright, alright," Josh said as he moved his chair closer to Rachel's. "I'm ready to get this done."
They finished the musical arrangements and still heard the guys playing. So Rachel suggested that they work on a little choreography for their songs since Professor V asked them to "put on a little show" instead of hiding behind musical instruments. They were singing softly and doing some steps around each other when Puck cleared his throat and walked into the study.
"Hey, you two ready to come back downstairs? Seriously, dude, are you done spending quality time with my girlfriend yet, or what?"
Josh raised his eyebrow and put up his hands in surrender.
Rachel walked toward her boyfriend. "While I'm ironically turned on by your macho possessiveness, it's unnecessary, and in this case it's counterproductive."
"Huh?"
"There's no reason to be jealous when to Josh these words are about Quinn, which you already know since you called them his whiny break up songs about Quinn," she eyed Puck as Josh looked at them both.
"Hey, wait a minute," Josh protested.
Puck rolled his eyes and Rachel just looked at Josh with a sympathetic smile, so Josh gave up and decided to let those two work it out.
Rachel continued, "We're acting. I did just finish up my acting camp, you know. You're just causing us to practice this more with your interruptions. Wouldn't you rather we just perfect the songs, perform them, and be done with it?"
"No," Puck said sullenly. "I'd rather you not do it at all."
"Are you serious?"
"No. Do your stupid duets," he sulked.
"Thank you, we will," Rachel said primly. Then she turned to Josh with mock seriousness. "Just don't fall in love with me, ok?"
He smirked. "I think I can handle that."
"See, Noah? No problems. Since you boys are done, we'll join you downstairs. That way Josh and I can sing with your musical accompaniment."
Rachel led the way, and they headed down to the basement floor of the brownstone. As she took her place, she turned and said, "Josh, I think we practiced Static Waves enough, do you agree?" He nodded. "Let's continue by starting with In My Veins, shall we?"
Puck strummed his guitar, hard. "Ready."
…
They had to dress up for this 'fancy dinner show' but they didn't have to bring their instruments because Professor V. assured them they could use the house instruments rather than lugging their own equipment. The guys suited up and Rachel wore the deep blue satin dress she had brought from home based on the suggested packing list for Broadway camp. But she reasoned that as long as she steamed the dress after the performance tonight, she'd easily be able to wear it for Broadway camp.
"Is this ok? My hair is a little flat today, but I know we have to get going…"
"You're beautiful, Rach," Puck said seriously. He totally meant it, but he was also hoping he could use a heartfelt compliment to get away with not apologizing directly… Because he was sorry for upsetting her but he wasn't exactly sorry for not wanting to watch Josh and Rachel make google-y eyes at each other.
"Thank you, Noah," Rachel said quietly, casting her eyes down to the floor. He sounded so sincere that she thought she should believe his words.
Puck was a little worried by the way she wasn't looking at him, but then she looked up she had a small smile on her face, and she reached up on her toes to kiss him.
Deep down, a tiny part of her was pleased that Noah was jealous (even if it was absolutely uncalled for), and she didn't need an apology since she could tell how he felt. And a big part of her was pleased that he called her beautiful—even if she thought he was exaggerating.
"Yeah, Rachel, you look great," Eddie added. Trey gave her two thumbs up. "Ditto," Josh said simply.
"Thanks, guys," Rachel said politely. "I'm glad you're willing to do this even though Professor V asked for mellow songs and duets that aren't entirely…to your liking."
Josh waved his hand. "It's cool, don't worry. You're giving us more connections and exposure beyond Liv's places, so it's win-win." He looked back at the other guys to make sure they were agreeing with him.
They were.
…
Across town, Frank met them and ushered them to the stage, announcing them as "Rachel Berry, Josh Jordan, and The Relentless Three," which was the first thing that got Puck feeling a little annoyed.
But when Josh got to the stage, he made a slight correction by saying, "Thank you. We're The Relentless. That's Puck, Trey, and Eddie," he gestured to each one. "And we're joined by our special guest, Rachel Berry."
So things were going ok with their set until they got to a few lines in the song Static Waves that just had to come with ready-made choreography.
Josh sang, "You swayed your hips and stole the breath that I was taking,"and hell if Rachel didn't do a little hip shake and Josh didn't put his hand on her hip. They really did that shit! Somehow he heard taunting in his head oh no he did-n't.
Then there was a part where Josh held Rachel's hands and they looked into each other's eyes all sappy, and Puck had to fight the urge to hurl all over the fancy-ass stage.
By the end of the show, Josh and Rachel thought everything went wonderfully as usual. Puck, Trey, and Eddie were mildly peeved at the whole thing which seemed like a waste of time because this wasn't their music or the style they wanted to continue doing. And Puck was just a bit pissed on top of that because he had to suffer through the worst episode of The Rachel and Josh show so far. Hopefully it wouldn't get any worse. It couldn't, right?
…
It wasn't until they finished the show that they realized Liv and Jake had been in the audience. Puck didn't have a chance to confront Josh about putting his hands all over Rachel since he didn't want to look like too much of an ass in front of everybody. Liv and Jake were flagging them over to their table.
"Now I know who was taking the pictures," Josh said, shaking his head.
"Yes, it was me," Liv nodded sheepishly.
"Oh, I assumed it was something the venue did for their historical archives!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Yeah, 'cause we're so important," Trey joked.
Rachel pouted a little before she realized she was doing it. She tucked her lip back in promptly. "You're right. How silly of me," she said.
"Not so silly," Frank said, approaching the group. "We actually did take a few photos for our records," he told them.
Rachel beamed and fought the immature urge to stick her tongue out at Trey in triumph. Puck grinned because he could practically read her thoughts. He was just putting his arm around his girl when Professor Shriveled Balls grabbed her elbow.
"Can I get a picture with the two of you?" he asked her, and everyone knew he meant Rachel and Josh.
"Certainly!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Of course," Josh answered.
They posed for Frank's photographer, and Liv snapped a picture too, promising a copy to Rachel.
"Why don't you stay and have dinner during the second show?" Frank offered.
"Thank you, Professor—I mean, Frank," Rachel said. "But I think we have to be going to another show," she looked questioningly at the guys, and then at Liv, since she owned the venue they were supposed to play at next.
"Oh, the schedule at Daze isn't really much of a schedule," Liv said. "We're free-spirits. You can just play tomorrow. It's just a café after all; we're not expected to have live music every day. You deserve a nice meal after your excellent performance. Besides, I was expecting Viv…" she looked around the restaurant.
"Viv?" asked Trey. He elbowed Eddie at the thought of a hot chick joining them. Eddie nodded and grinned at Trey's enthusiasm.
"Yes, my sister," Liv explained.
"Well, let's get you seated with room for one more," Frank suggested.
After they ordered their drinks, a tall slender blond with blue-green eyes rushed toward them. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Olivia."
Liv stood up and kissed her sister on the cheek. "No worries. Everyone, this is my sister Vivian. Viv, you remember Jake's brother, Josh, from our wedding, right?"
Vivian smiled as she shook Josh's hand. "Yes, I remember, Best Man. It's been a few years."
"Two years, Maid of Honor," Josh replied with a half-smile. "Let me introduce the guys… and Rachel."
Introductions were made all around, and everyone seemed entranced by the lovely Vivian and her story of why she was late—even Rachel couldn't really take her eyes off of her. She was like a cross between the girl-next-door and an angel.
As she finished describing "the shenanigans Bobby and Trevor pulled at The Perch" involving a whipped cream fight, she proceeded to apologize again for her lateness. "I'm terribly sorry that I missed your performance. Olivia promised that it would be worth it. But I couldn't leave until things were under control. And I couldn't show up covered in whipped cream."
The males at the table raised their eyebrows, thinking versions of the same thing. Two of those males received swift kicks to their shins under the table by the females sitting next to them.
Jake and Puck both suppressed their grunts of pain as best they could.
"Well, you look lovely, sweetie," Liv told her sister. Everyone nodded in agreement as they appreciated the black dress she wore.
"Wait, why couldn't you call the owner or something?" Trey asked Vivian. "Then you could've seen us in action and leave him to clean up the mess." He grinned at his cleverness.
"Actually, I am the owner," Vivian told him, with a hint of exasperation in her voice.
"But you're like, our age!" Trey protested. This did not compute.
"Aw, thanks for flattering me," she smiled. "I'm actually 25. So I've finished college, and I have my MBA," she said proudly. "But you're right, I probably wouldn't own my own place if it weren't for the untimely death of our father," she finished solemnly.
"Sorry," Trey said simply but sincerely.
"Thank you." Vivian looked around the table as she tried to break out of the somber mood. "But that just means I'll have to catch you for your next show, right?"
"That'd be great. We're planning to play at Liv's place tomorrow, if that's ok…" Josh looked questioningly at Liv.
"It's completely ok," she assured them. "Just hit up Daze tomorrow, early evening. We don't have anyone else booked this week until our Independence Weekend shows for the 4th of July."
They finished a great meal with entertaining conversation. Rachel made a mental note of the way Vivian had seemed to smile a lot at Josh and laugh at even his most inane comments throughout dinner. Josh seemed to ignore Vivian for the most part, which Rachel found quite unusual, but figured it had to do with his lingering feelings for Quinn. Still, Vivian was getting plenty of attention—Trey made up for Josh's lack. After dinner, Rachel stopped the Jordans and Vivian outside the restaurant to capture a picture of the moment. She noticed that Vivian stood close to Olivia, forcing Josh to squeeze tightly in between the two women.
Matchmaker Rachel was about to strike again. Sure, Rachel had originally set up Josh with Quinn, but that had been with the goal of getting Finn Hudson to realize he still liked Quinn. Or to at least help Quinn get over Finn if Finn really was over her. Yes, Rachel Berry liked to have multi-faceted goals so that she could almost always achieve her objectives. Now that Quinn and Finn were happily dating back in Lima, as far as Rachel could tell, she reasoned that Josh should open his heart to someone. Maybe then he'd stop singing all of these sad break up songs too!
She couldn't wait to share her intuition about Vivian with Noah, but they all headed back to Jake and Liv's place together so the band could regroup before their next show. Vivian stayed for a nightcap with her sister before taking her leave, saying that she had an early morning. "But I'm looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow," she said pleasantly.
It was very innocent, but Rachel thought she spotted Vivian's glance lingering on Josh more than on anyone else during the goodbyes.
She smiled at her observation. "Boys, I'll join you in a few moments, if you don't mind. I recall that your next set doesn't really include me much anyway, correct?" With the sheepish nods she got in return, she continued, "I'm going to have some girl talk with Liv while you practice."
Liv was taken aback, but she recovered quickly and smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. Should I make us some tea or some coffee?"
The girls headed to the kitchen, while the guys looked on at them, puzzled. "I'm gonna see if baseball's still on," Jake announced. "You guys have free reign of the basement until 11pm—I don't want any noise complaints from the neighbors."
Puck saw his opportunity to confront Josh without Rachel around. As they headed downstairs, he got right to the point, "I know you hate to have the spotlight taken away from you, Josh, but I should get to sing with my own girlfriend on stage while we're in New York. So Rach and I are gonna sing together at the next show." He stated it—this was not a question.
Josh shrugged as they reached the basement. "Whatever. Fine. What song?"
Puck was surprised he didn't have to push harder. He wasn't exactly prepared. "I was thinking it should be something different from what the two of you have been singing together."
Josh stopped being so easy-going. "What the fuck? You want us to learn a new song for tomorrow? No way in hell, Puckerman."
But Puck wasn't going to drop this so easily. "Well, you said we could sing tomorrow, so what are we supposed to sing?"
Josh rolled his eyes because the answer was obvious to him. "You can take one of the songs I usually lead with her. Take In My Veins. That one's less break up and more romantic and shit. Here." Josh shoved the lyrics and music at him.
Puck took a look. They'd been playing it, but he hadn't exactly paid close attention to all of the shit Josh sang. Some of the lyrics were pretty good he supposed, like: you're in my veins and I can't get you out. And some made him a little upset at the idea of Josh singing them at all, like: you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth. Damn. Guess he should've paid more attention and demanded to do this one sooner. "Yeah, ok. We'll do that one."
"You're welcome," Josh said.
"Yeah," Puck scoffed dismissively. But he couldn't wait to tell Rachel about the change up. He just couldn't stand watching her sing like that with Josh any longer without seeing how she'd look at him, her actual boyfriend, when they sang. It felt like it had been forever since they'd sang together really.
Shit, was he missing fucking glee club?
Trey hit his snare and broke Puck from his thoughts. "Dudes, are we playing or what?"
Puck and Josh nodded and grabbed their guitars, and Josh led them through most of their set for their next show. The guys really wailed to make up for the mellow shit they'd had to do earlier that day for the dinner crowd at Frankie V's.
When they'd gone through their set, Rachel still hadn't returned from her 'coffee talk' with Liv. Puck was about to go get her so that he could practice In My Veins with her now that he had the lead.
"Hold up, man," Josh stopped him. "I'm gonna help you out because I realize it'd be pretty bad for me...I mean it would have been...if I had to watch you and Quinn singing," he said with a sympathetic pat to Puck's shoulder. Then he grimaced and removed his hand. "Actually, it would have been worse."
Puck snorted a laugh, "Yeah, Quinn can't sing as well as Rachel."
Josh furrowed his brows. "That's not at all what I meant. I meant...never mind."
Realization flashed over Puck's face, "Oh, because me and Q used to do it! Yeah, that would make it bad for you…if you guys were still dating or whatever…" Puck stopped awkwardly.
"Yeah. Like I said, worse," Josh said flatly. Now he was picturing those images and it was making him sick.
"I mean, we're both hot pieces of ass, me and Quinn, so I don't blame you at all for picturing us doing the deed. You guys either." Puck nodded to Eddie and Trey, who saluted back.
Puck steered the conversation away from the porn visuals portion of the evening, "So you said you'd help me? What's that supposed to mean?"
Josh was glad to get the conversation back to that topic too. "That means I get what you're saying, even though there is no reason to be worried, like I said. But still, instead of being background all the time, you can sing a couple songs on lead for your girl since we're on this special New York trip or whatever. And you can have that duet for the rest of the shows while we're here instead of just once for next time. Just don't expect this special treatment when we're back in Lima."
"Yeah, yeah. But, thanks, I appreciate it, man. I just haven't been able to get over the sinking feeling, you know?"
The guys shook their heads 'no'—they didn't have any idea what he meant.
"Anyway, this should help. We should probably practice In My Veins…" Puck was still anxious to tell Rachel the news and actually see her singing and smiling at him instead of Josh for the first time in forever.
"You're lucky I'm giving you that one. It's the one where Rachel's more of a backup singer than a duet partner. I could have given you Relator, but she'd just sing all over you."
"The hell she would," Puck said defensively.
"Hey, easy, she sings over me too, man. She's the star of that song—like I'm her backup singer."
"Yeah, you're right. And she definitely sings the pants off me."
"Dude, why'd you go there?" Josh groaned.
"What? …Oh, yeah," Puck smirked. "But she doesn't have to sing for my pants to drop, that's for damn sure too."
"I do not want to think about that."
"Good, then don't." Puck shrugged.
"It's even more difficult now that your girl is around, singing like that, wearing clothes like that," Josh confessed.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm just saying if I didn't get it before, I definitely get it now. That shirt the other day...holy hell, dude. Who knew the girl in the pleated skirts and funky sweaters could pull off that kind of appeal?"
"True dat!" chimed in Trey. "Word," nodded Eddie.
"I knew," Puck said. Then his tone sounded threatening. "And don't think about her! At all!" Even as he said it, he realized this was pretty much impossible, so he made a concession. "Or if you do, think about her in one of her sweaters. Forget that shirt! Fuck, I shouldn't have told her to buy it. What the hell was I thinking?"
"That it would look hot," Eddie offered.
"And it did," Trey said.
"But helluva distraction," admitted Josh. "Sorry."
"Yeah, I get it, guys. Good thing she's got other stuff to wear," Puck said. Then he punched Josh in the tricep. "Stop picturing my girl in that shirt."
Josh smirked.
Puck punched him again. He realized they'd returned to the porn visuals portion of the evening. "Ok, seriously, don't ever, ever picture me and Rachel doing it, got it? Don't even think about her like that. She's gonna come back down here to practice, and you can't be all horny over how hot we both are."
The guys rolled their eyes at first, but after Puck shot them a death-glare, they all nodded vigorously. They noticed Puck's change of heart for picturing him doing the deed with Quinn because they were hot p.o.a's versus his protectiveness over them thinking about Rachel. They figured it might be understandable.
"Nothing to worry about," Josh said. He decided not to bring up the fact that he'd actually seen Puck and Rachel doing it before. Everyone in the room already knew that was true. And he decided not to mention the fact that the forbidden images had already entered his brain earlier that day—despite his best efforts to prevent them. He didn't intend to ever visualize such things again, so Josh figured he'd leave it at that.
...
Moments later, Rachel was completely ecstatic to hear that she was going to get to sing with Noah. She almost completely forgot her talk with Liv about Josh and Vivian—a very subtle inquiry of course. Yes, Rachel could be subtle—well, she'd been learning more about subtlety in her acting workshops the previous weeks. Rachel also decided that she'd share her discoveries with her boyfriend later. She was too thrilled to divide her attention and she assumed (correctly) that he wouldn't be as excited about Josh and Vivian's potential as she was.
Puck knew she'd be as happy as he was about the duet, but he wasn't expecting the extent of Rachel's reaction. Like she was so excited and happy, she actually started crying right in front of Puck while they were singing. He was a little disconcerted at first, but then he realized that was like the most over-the-top reaction he'd ever seen from her. It was so Rachel Berry, and it showed that she was so into him—way more than she had ever been with anyone else—so it was kinda perfect.
Everyone was feeling pretty good about their new plan to feature Puck and Rachel a little bit more, as Trey and Eddie had no problem with their roles as drummer and bassist, respectively, as long as they got to play some kick-ass songs.
The couple left the guys to take the subway back to Rachel's hotel in the city. Josh settled in for his now regular correspondence with Quinn Fabray. He had gone from dating her, to her hating him (with good reason), and now they were kinda like friends who kept in touch a lot. It was mostly chill stuff like Quinn asking how shows went and Josh describing their set list and anything out of the ordinary. He'd ask her how cheerleading camp was going. They talked about lots of little things, but they never talked about one big, hulking thing.
Finn Hudson.
Josh knew they were still dating. He didn't know if Finn knew that he and Quinn were talking. But he didn't really care. It didn't really matter as far as he was concerned. If Quinn told Finn, that was between them. And if she didn't…well, maybe that meant something about Quinn's intentions.
He still couldn't bring himself to ask her. At least not yet.
…
Puck and Rachel couldn't wait to get back to the hotel after their duet practice.
Sex that night—was hella hot.
There was more crying from Rachel, but mostly because he really got in there and gave it to her good.
He was the man.
'Nuf said.
...
The next morning Puck woke up feeling beyond awesome—no nagging feeling of anger over The Rachel and Josh show at all. Today…today was going to be The Rachel and Puck show. With The Josh Show relegated to their opening act. It was gonna be awesome.
Ok, so that's not exactly how things would go, but Puck was still pumped that he would sing with Rachel. Josh was still gonna sing a couple songs with her at the rest of their shows too, but still. It was progress. He felt miles better than he had only 24 hours earlier. He jumped in the shower and maybe, just maybe, he sang a little while he was in there.
...
Hearing the sounds of Noah singing in the shower, Rachel opened her eyes with a smile. She'd been doing that everyday—waking up with a smile and going to sleep with a smile. Being able to fall asleep in Noah's arms every night was something she was going to miss when he left New York—and when she got back to Lima. It's not like he'd be able to sneak over every night just to snuggle.
But now was not the time to dwell on such things. Rachel resolved to focus on the positive. She had postponed telling Noah about her thoughts regarding Josh and Vivian because she could imagine his side of the conversation anyway—full of feigned interest. They were both more interested in their duets now, which was more than fine by her. So Rachel decided to call the other person who would be interested in her conversation—Josh.
From the raspy mumble "Hello?" Rachel could tell Josh had been asleep.
"It's Rachel," she told him, just to be certain he didn't mistake her for someone else. "Shouldn't you be waking up soon? We'll be on our way over shortly."
"It takes me 2 minutes," he grumbled. "See you then."
"Wait!" she shouted into the phone.
"What?"
"I need to talk to you about Vivian."
"What about her?" he asked drowsily.
"After I talked to Liv about her and her potential interest in you…"
"You did what?" That woke him up.
Rachel smiled at her mini-victory. "Don't worry, I was very subtle."
"I haven't known you that long, Rachel, but I know that subtlety is not one of your strong suits."
"I'm offended that you have so little confidence in my abilities. While I may not be a subtle person in general, I am an excellent actress. And last night, I played the role of subtle Rachel Berry to perfection."
Josh didn't suppress his eye roll—she couldn't see him to yell at him anyway. "Assuming for the sake of argument that I believe that you were actually subtle, why should I care?"
"Are you saying you're not interested in her at all? Because Liv told a different story…" Rachel heard Josh sigh deeply.
"Yeah, she probably told you what she knew from her wedding. That's when I met Vivian, and yeah, I kinda flirted with her or whatever."
"That's approximately what I heard," Rachel said, deciding not to mention the description of Josh following Vivian around like a puppy while persistently suggesting that the maid of honor and best man had a duty to hook up.
"Anyway, I was only 19 and she was 23 and she didn't give me the time of day. Besides, she told me she had a boyfriend who wasn't there at the wedding because he was touring in some band. I even gave her my number in case she was lying and told her that if she called me, I'd find a way to visit New York more often to see her…and yeah, I haven't heard from her and haven't been back to New York until now. So I'm pretty sure your little convo with Liv about me and Vivian was pointless."
"Not pointless at all," Rachel told him in a conspiratorial voice. "Vivian was subtly flirting with you last night. Not enough to be noticeable if you weren't interested—because boys are obviously clueless in general, but at a level that should have been enough to catch your attention if you were interested."
"And you know this, how?"
"Well, while I haven't had much experience, I have watched more romantic movies and Broadway shows than anyone I know—besides my fathers."
"I guess I'll take your word for it. Doesn't really change things for me. I haven't thought about Vivian for a while, and just because you think she was flirting with me doesn't mean she doesn't still have a boyfriend."
"But she doesn't! Liv told me!"
"Rachel," he sighed. "I appreciate your help," he lied, "but she's still in New York and I live in Ohio—and that's where I'll be in like, four days."
"I know, but New York is where you'll be after you finish your senior year of college, right? That's still your plan?"
"Yes…"
"And Quinn is my friend of course, one I keep neglecting to call, but we're still basically friends. And I did set you two up in the first place, but that doesn't mean I think you should keep pining over her."
"I'm not pining."
"You're pining," Rachel declared. "And that's natural. But I think it's time you try to open yourself up to new experiences. And while Quinn and I have always had our rivalries, I know her reasonably well. I would not be at all surprised if she only feels comfortable where she can be a big fish in a small pond. That means she'll probably follow Finn to Ohio State, which is a large school of course, but Quinn will still be among the most beautiful people. If she moves to New York filled with models and actresses, she'll still be beautiful, but she'll feel differently about it, trust me."
Rachel decided to cut her lecture short because she heard the water stop running in the shower—so Noah would be ready to leave any minute and she still had to get ready. "Just think about what I said. I'll talk to you later, and see you soon, Josh."
Puck heard Rachel ending the call with Josh, but didn't think too much of the fact that she called to let him know they'd be on their way soon.
After Rachel got ready and they headed to the subway, she told him in excruciating detail everything he could have ever wanted to know about Josh, Vivian, and Rachel's crazy ideas.
"You realize you're crazy, right?" is all he said.
She gave him a light slap on the arm and just scooted closer to him on the train. "Don't call me crazy. Everyone deserves to have what we have, Noah. Maybe Finn and Quinn will get it for themselves, and maybe Josh will find it with Vivian. Wouldn't that be romantic?"
"Yeah, totally," he agreed flatly. He didn't really give a rat's ass about anyone else. He was just glad he and Rachel were all good.
Rachel ignored his intonation—her indication that he wasn't really interested in what she was saying. If it had been something very important that affected the two of them, she might have been angry. But since it wasn't—it was just something interesting to her—she allowed herself to enjoy cuddling on the subway with her boyfriend in New York on the way to Brooklyn.
…
It was a lovely summer evening, and Daze had a patio stage all ready for their show that day. Rachel was very pleased to see Vivian take a seat at a table far from the stage, but still in view. She was ecstatic—but did not shed any tears—when she sang In My Veins with Noah. That was her only song in this set list because the guys had wanted a break from some of the mellow tunes. She was not pleased when she heard the songs the band started playing after she finished her duet with Noah. Well, Hey Jealousy was fine with her, since it reminded her both of Josh's feelings surrounding Quinn and Finn and a bit of what was going on with Noah lately. The crowd seemed to like it, as did Vivian. They played a second song by The Gin Blossoms, Found Out About You, and that struck a chord with Rachel because a lot of it seemed geared to Josh's situation when he found out that Quinn, Rachel, and Noah had lied about their ages. First the lyrics "I was yours and you were mine, forget it all. Is there a line that I could write, sad enough to make you cry? 'Cause all the lines you wrote to me were lies," made Rachel feel a little sorry for Josh. A little. "Rumors follow everywhere you go" and the lines associated with that made Rachel feel sorrier for Quinn. But that song was well-received by the crowd too, and didn't upset Rachel much.
No, it was the song they had decided to end on that really upset Rachel. She had seen it on their set list, but hadn't heard them play it before now. Yeah Whatever started out nice enough, but the lyrics were terrible! Especially with Rachel's knowledge that Josh had picked them with Quinn in mind. "We don't have to stay friends, let's pretend to be enemies. Yeah, whatever makes you happy," was fitting enough, but it was the meaner lyrics about fleas and flies and gross stuff that turned Rachel's stomach. And there was cursing! The f-word! To make matters worse, Rachel could see from her spot that Vivian looked incredibly uncomfortable. That's when it dawned on Rachel that Vivian has a café too. She probably wanted to check out the band to see if they'd be appropriate for her place! Vivian must be a woman after her own heart. She had multi-faceted goals—checking out Josh, obviously, but also a band for her café. Rachel had to fix this.
As the band came off stage, she rushed to make a plea. "Noah, you absolutely cannot end with that song. It leaves a terrible impression. You need a good note, not a sour one to end with."
Puck shrugged. "That was the encore. We're done."
"I know for a fact there's a song you can play even without the accompaniment of the band. And you haven't played it since the first time I heard it."
Puck knew what song she meant—the song he sang for her when she snuck into the bar and saw him playing with the band for the first time after they had their big fight last winter. "I wasn't sure if that would bring up bad memories for you…"
"Oh no, I love it! I associated it with the best memories! Go, play it now!"
"I don't think it really meshes with what we just played, Rach."
"You're right. Play something else as a lead in—go now!" She shoved him toward the stage with surprising force. Puck was caught off guard and stumbled onto the stage.
"Hey, everyone, I'm gonna play two more songs for you—to end on a good note…"
The guys in the band looked confused, then Josh zeroed in on Rachel. "What's this about?"
"I'll explain later. I have good reasons, I promise. Get up there and join him!"
They all looked at her dubiously, but obeyed her command.
Puck took the lead on the dog's eye view song The Prince's Favorite Son, which Rachel had never heard him play. But when she heard the lyrics "and a picture of his father whose memory was a whisper that sang to him daily…as he ran away" she wondered if he played that song alone often when thinking of his father. Then she worried that they didn't talk about his family enough. Then she worried that he might be thinking of himself as a father and baby Dizzy growing up not knowing him. In true Rachel fashion, her thoughts started spiraling out of control. Fortunately, the song itself was rather upbeat and Noah seemed to be enjoying himself very much. His smile is what brought Rachel out of her worries. She'd have time for worries later. Now she was ready to enjoy Noah performing lead on this song, followed by his song for her, Would You Be Willing.
With Josh joining in on guitar and backing vocals, Rachel noticed that Vivian sat back down instead of leaving. She thought that was probably a good sign that Vivian was back on their side and would still offer to let them play at The Perch.
She was right.
After the show, Vivian approached the band. "Nice job. I have to say, I was a little put off by the tone of some of your songs—especially the one with the multiple f-bombs."
Josh was about to get defensive and correct her (there were only two f-words—hardly multiple) when Rachel put her hand on his arm, silently telling him to let Vivian finish.
"But if you guys can tone it down for an all-ages show—more along the lines of the duet and the stripped down acoustic style songs—I'd love to invite you play at my café. It's called Park Perch Café. We have an opening tomorrow afternoon if you're free..."
Rachel released Josh's arm with a reassuring pat, allowing him to respond. Josh suppressed the glare he was about to give her for mothering him. On one hand he found it irritating, but on the other hand, it was kind of nice to have the friendly concern and guidance at a level he definitely didn't have with his guy friends.
"Thanks, Vivian," Josh said with a smile. "I know we all appreciate the exposure to new audiences."
"Totally!" said Trey, stepping closer to Vivian in an obviously ill-fated attempt to flirt.
"Definitely!" agreed Eddie, elbowing Trey.
Rachel pushed her way between Josh and Noah to face Vivian. Josh's answer was perfectly polite—exactly what she would want him to say, but she had a bit more work to do in her self-appointed role as matchmaker. "Thank you so much, Vivian. Perhaps you and Josh would like to discuss the song selection you would prefer for your venue while the boys and I finish loading up the equipment?"
Vivian smiled, "Thank you. That sounds great." She turned to face Josh. "You look thirsty, how about we get in line for some water while you tell me some of the other songs you guys play." Vivian took Josh's arm and guided him away.
He looked back at Rachel over his shoulder with raised eyebrows and a question in his eyes.
She beamed and waved him on. He shook his head with a smirk and turned back to Vivian. Rachel was so proud of herself for practically landing them a new gig—by keenly observing Vivian and deducing the reasons for her presence, and then making sure they played some better songs to end the show! (Who plays a song like that to end a show? Honestly.) And she was proud of herself for getting Josh and Vivian together, at least taking a first baby step. There was only one flaw in her plan.
Now she had to really help load the instruments in the van when she usually just held doors open while the guys did all the work.
…
They all headed back to their home-base at the Jordan compound to prepare for their show at The Perch.
Josh informed them that Vivian's place had a real piano, and both Puck and Rachel perked up to hear that. "Oh, Trey!" Rachel exclaimed. "Can you imagine how great Percussion Gun will sound on a piano?"
"Dude! You'll totally rock that shit!" Trey replied with equal enthusiasm.
But Puck was thinking about another purpose for the piano. The idea wasn't quite formed in his mind when Josh came over to talk to him while Rachel was playing Percussion Gun with Trey. "So, I'm thinking you can take the opportunity to serenade your girl on the piano since you're multi-talented and all," Josh told him. "The Perch seems like the right venue for it since Viv asked for laid-back acoustic stuff. Plus, we saw how Rachel reacted to you on lead today, so consider it a favor to you both," he finished with a smirk.
"Yeah, thanks, man. I'll just have to figure out a way to practice a song without Rachel hearing it—so I can surprise her."
"Whatever. Surprise or no surprise, it doesn't matter to me. Let's just figure out what we're doing."
They decided that since Puck might be a little rusty on the song he'd play for Rachel on the piano, he'd just play it while they set up and did sound check. That way, he'd both surprise Rachel and he wouldn't get too much shit from the crowd if he sucked a little. (He knew he wouldn't totally suck, but he might screw up a few notes or something. No big.)
On their return trip to the hotel, Puck and Rachel were both riding high on their successes by the end of evening. Puck was feeling good about his duet with Rachel and his lead efforts. Rachel was feeling good about those performances too, as well as her excellent work on the Josh and Vivian front.
Puck was slightly nervous about his piano solo tomorrow, but he turned that nervous energy into hot, hot lovin' for his girl.
He totally exhausted her, and she fell asleep right away without her usual after-sex conversation. She turned away from him in her sleep, and he admired the curves of her body before nestling his head at her neck and wrapping his arm around her. He felt a rush of warmth—but not the rush of blood to make him 'strong like bull'—more like a rush that filled his heart with…something. Love probably.
He was gonna kill it tomorrow, he now knew for sure.
He was right.
…
Once they got to The Perch, Rachel walked straight to the piano and played a few notes to make sure it was in tune. "I think this should be sufficient," she announced.
"Oh yeah? Let me have a try," Puck said with a grin. He slid onto the piano bench next to her. "How about I play you a song?" he asked casually. When he started playing the opening notes to Just the Way You Are, he knew this was gonna go so well. Rachel opened her mouth in happy amazement, and then slid off of the bench to grab her purse. Of course she thought it was a memory moment.
She snapped several pictures of him, a smile on her lips and tears in her eyes the whole time. "When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change. Because you're amazing, just the way you are. When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while. 'Cause, girl, you're amazing, just the way you are."
This memory of his voice singing those words—and his eyes when he sang them—was essential to capture for all eternity.
…
A.N. Thanks for general music recommendations (not for the story specifically) to cassdsassyangel for recommending Gavin Mikhail (who did the cover of Bruno Mars' Just the Way You Are) and overdue thanks to whoever is RPing Noah_Puckerman for recommending Andrew Bell (Static Waves and In My Veins)! Sorry for the delay in this update, but I hope you like the chapter! We have a little more of the gang in New York before Puck goes back to Ohio to hang out with the gleeks while Rachel stays for Broadway camp. Puck will be with familiar faces like Finn and Quinn, while Rachel will run into one too…so stay tuned for the appearance of Jesse St. James. I welcome suggestions in your reviews!