She had hoped to run into Noah before going back to school on Monday, where… she had no idea but she had still hoped. The closer she got to going back the more unsure of herself she felt. They hadn't been friends before, friendly yes but no they hadn't been friends. How much of that was their own doing and how much of that was done on behalf of Finn's insecurities is unknown. Ever since dinner at Shelby's she had felt as though they were friends now. The question remained however, whether they were friends in the privacy of her mother home, or if they friends out in the open as well. When Finn had asked her about her visit with Shelby she had left Noah out of it, for now that would have to be her answer.
He isn't avoiding her per say, no he was more or less just staying out of her way. If Noah knew Rachel at all, he knows she had probably spent a fair bit of her weekend trying to place him in a neat little box. A box for their new relationship, with a label and rules and boundaries with a neat little ribbon on top. He might even be okay with that, with being her friend but Finn wouldn't be. So really there was no point in the conversation that she would undoubtedly want to have. Rachel liked structure, another reason why being friends probably not such a good idea. He was more of a one day at a time type of person while she needs to plan and label everything. So yeah, he's not avoiding her; so much as he's just staying out of her way.
It wasn't spying. Shelby wasn't going out of her way to keep tabs on them, she just paid more attention in the hallways then she usually did. Rachel seemed to be searching for someone, though doing her best to devote her full attention to Finn. She hadn't noticed so much before but Finn wasn't just everywhere Rachel was, he was practically her elbow, at her side at all times possible. She guesses that works for some people, Shelby however would have felt claustrophobic to the point of blinding rage. Something tells her Noah is the same way. She watches as he rolls his eyes at the couple while at the same time seeming like he didn't even know they were there. It continues that way for the rest of the day and while she walks to her office she wishes Will the best of luck.
She had to love Artie, every time she seems to find Noah, Finn seems to find reason for them to leave. She only narrowly escapes when Artie conveniently brought up a vintage car that had just shown up in Hummle garage. The look in his eye makes it clear that she owes him for this and she tilts her head briefly, guitar strings would be on her for the next little while. She excuses herself, somewhat uselessly and makes her way towards him as he lounges in the back row of the choir room. Given all the thought she had put in to this it does a little more than irritate her that she can't find the words to say. She shuffles her feet, passing weight from the left to the right while nervously tucking the stray hairs behind her ear. She can't remember the last time her heart had ever been so erratic. Then like at her mother's house, her world is completely changed by the simple image of him.
He knows she spent her weekend thinking because so had he. After she had gone home, he'd put Sophia to bed and then left as well. Lying in his bed unable to fall asleep he'd thought back to their playful banter and the way they had fallen so easily into place. He had thought about her in a way that hadn't happened in so long that he was frozen by it. Unable, unwilling to continue thinking about it any longer, he'd rolled over and forced himself to sleep. The next morning he'd woken up feeling like shit, and it got worse as the morning progressed. A tightening around his stomach as though someone was using it as a stress ball and a drying of his throat as if he'd been denied water for years. He'd shrugged it off as a cold and gone about his life. Until he'd walked through the doors of this prison and had seen her. Rachel Berry, in all her glory; short skirt and her knee highs and a cute little shear top that was a long way from the animal sweaters that used to be her stable. When he'd seen her, ignore the cliché of it all, he felt better. Now with her standing before him, having clearly distracted her boyfriend to be here, he felt good. So he smiled.
Smiled, when was the last time she had seen Noah smile, at her? It wasn't a grin, or a smirk or any one of his numerous come hither looks. No it was a genuine smile of pleasure that made its journey all the way into his eyes, and it was directed towards her. She almost feels unworthy because god is he a beautiful man when he smiles. It calms her to her core, in a way that she had only experienced on stage and as much as that should scare her, she isn't even really surprised. She takes the seat next to him, with a coyness that she isn't sure she possessed before. "Rachel, Berry. Would you like to be my friend?" she puts her hand forward and for a second there's a hesitation that makes her feel as though she may have overestimated the situation.
"Puck, friends eh, I don't have many female friends" she's got this look in her eye. It's something he doesn't see much anymore, it's the same look she gets when she's scheming expect lighter. She looks… she looks sexy, fun, mischievous. She looks just his type. He shakes her hand a little harder than necessary but he needs to shake his head straight. Which her laughter is making pretty impossible. He wasn't lying; he had very few female friends. Santana, she was one of his boys. Britney well she was everyone's friend and he'd tapped that too. Quinn, she was lost, really really lost but he still counter her as one of his allies. Mercedes, well she was his friend when the mood struck her and Kurt flies both ways so that's what… two and a sixth, maybe.
Rachel isn't so sure what amuses her more, their wit or their chemistry. It surprises her how intune they are capable of being. She feels the flow of conversation seep through her, she's barely committing herself to this interaction and yet it's progressing. It takes a lot more effort ignoring the implications of the amount of effort she has to put forth to keep a conversation with Finn alive. The magnitude of her laughter catches her off guard, catches everyone off guard apparently. The entire room seems to be aware of the fact that they are talking, that they have been talking for a while and it more than civil.
Finn can't take his eyes off of her. Who is this girl? He feels as if he's never see her before. Yet, she looks a lot like his girlfriend. But Rachel doesn't laugh with her whole body, she doesn't look up at you through her lashes and she definitely doesn't twirl her hair absentmindedly as she returns sassy quip after witty remark. This girl, the one that look like, dresses like, seems like his girlfriend is nothing like the girl he loves. He wants his Rachel back, but as he sits and looks at her, he has no idea how to find her. He looks at Kurt whose looking at this stranger and expects support. But no, it seems the entire world has shifted and left him behind in the dirt. For some reason his brother is looking at this doppelganger as if she hung the moon. "Hmm, there is just something about that girl." He says it in the dreamy voices he gets sometimes and Finn repeats it in his head with an anger that seems more appropriate.
Noah doesn't like the feeling of being watched, never has. So he makes a crack about her needing to argue with Schuester about the group number and nudges her shoulder to get her off the chair. He watches as she lets her hair fall to one side, he watches when she looks at Finn and he sees the change. She deflates somehow. She still looks like her, there's still a smile and still something about her. But she looked like less, like she was holding back some of herself. Now she seemed like any other girl. He doesn't focus on the fact that Finn does that to her because they were just starting to get back to being boys and the last thing he wants to do is get in his face about his girl.
She looks at him one last time because she has too, because for some reason she thinks it that last look that will keep her going. Rachel takes her place between Finn and Kurt, back where she belongs she supposed. She pretends not to notice the new strength behind Finn's embrace. She finds herself thinking about all the things she pretends to ignore. She pretends to ignore the fact that Finn can't seem to leave her alone for more than a few moments before he's back at her side. And not because he missed her, he returns anxiously as though he was worried about what would happen if he stayed away too long. She pretends to not notice the way Tina tenses whenever he returns, like she's fighting to comment about it. She ignores the way Mike always, always shakes his head as if to remind her why they haven't said anything yet, why they never would. She ignores the way that Finn is extra attentive whenever Noah is in the room, even if he's on the opposite side of it. She pretends not to notice the way that he averts his eyes whenever Blaine and Kurt embrace, the same way he averts his eyes whenever her fathers join hands. She knows he isn't homophobic, but he isn't quite comfortable either. Now though, the thing she realizes she pretends not to notice the most, is how little she had to pretend when she was with Noah.
Will Schuester pretends to be a lot more oblivious then he actually is, and while he isn't one to shy away from helping his kids out he doesn't like to get involved too soon. He looks out at the glee club in front of him, with their tangled webs and missing members and he hold out hope that they will be able to get their act together on their own. So he starts off as he always does; with a speech, the theme of the rehearsal and the lesson he hopes they learn by the end of the week. Everyone goes straight to work and it was business as usual. Yet still he focuses on the barely there cracks. The melodies that could use Mercedes' soul, or the harmony that could use Santana's attitude or the steps that could use Britney's help. He thinks he feels new tension amongst his students but can't quite put a name to it. Before he can, their time is up and the kids filed out.
Shelby was waiting just inside the doorway and she smiles at each of the students as they file out. She notices how uncomfortable Finn looks, and is a little taken back by the realization that she can't seem to recall a time he looked any different. Quinn kisses her ass some more and she enjoys it a little too much. She feels for the girl because she was once that girl. But she left; she ran toward her dreams and left Rachel in damn good hands. Quinn started to do the same, gave her daughter to someone capable and left with every intention of making something of her life. But now she was back to being every bit the over privileged, manipulative hell bitch from her past that Shelby had been warned about. She pities Quinn, and hopes quite sincerely that she finds a way to get her shit together. For now though, Shelby plans to sit and stew in her unwavering humanity, protecting her daughter and enjoying been sucked up to.
Noah was putting his guitar away when he hears two laughs that might as well have been one. He tries really hard not to stare but if Shelby was Rachel in twenty years, boy did he want to be there. He had made up his mind to avoid her, Rachel, not Shelby. It would be easier that way. Things were already pretty complicated in his head and he would try and stop things from getting just as complicated outside of it. When Shelby starts to talk her into babysitting with him again tomorrow night he tries, not so covertly, to tell her to quit it. Finn turns to Rachel and almost gives himself whiplash before the questions start flying and accusations are hurled. He moves as quickly as he can, moves Shelby out of the line of fire and gets in between Hudson and Rachel. This was about him, it was annoying but given his past it was fair. He lets Finn have it out for longer than he probably should have and then he tells him to cool it. Tells him Rachel probably forgot to tell Hudson that he had been there last week because they had barely said two words to each other. He tells Finn exactly what he needs to hear to lay off of the girl who has undeserved tears in her eyes. And when he's done doing that he lays into the guy about being less of an asshole to his midget sized other half. He tells Shelby he needs to talk to her about Soph's last check up and guides her out of the room as though they had never been in it. He wants to look back at Rachel, wants to make sure she's okay but the only way to do that is to put as much distance between them as possible.
She didn't do anything wrong. That's what Blaine repeats over and over in her ear and it's the only thing that keeps the tears at bay. Maybe she should have told Finn that Noah had been there when she had gone to see her mom but she hadn't. She hadn't told him because she knew that he would get like this, and she just couldn't handle him like this. For some reason the mere mention of his name from her lips turns her otherwise sweet kind boyfriend into a raging jealous hurtful child. When she calms down enough to look up she's surprised to no longer see Finn. At his stature of 5'7" Noah was more than tall enough to block her eye sight, and standing in front of her the way he was she couldn't see anything but the back of his shirt. She grips on to it like a life line and she doesn't know why but when he takes a slight step back, acknowledging her touch and lending her strength she feels like she can breathe again. Kurt pulls her hands away just in time as Noah turns to leave not seconds afterward. She would hate to have seen Finn's reaction to their contact. It's for that reason and that reason alone that she doesn't turn and watch him leave.
Kurt bit his tongue; he bit his tongue more often than anyone would think. And he looked out for Rachel, weaving his fingers through hers and extracting her hand from the ironclad grip of Puck's tee. He synchronized their breathing because he knew it would calm her down… for a while, it would calm her down just long enough to get her home. and then he would be there when she finally broke down. He looked at Blaine, sweet caring Blaine. Exactly the boyfriend Finn was supposed to be, exactly the boyfriend people thought he was but Kurt knew he wasn't. Kurt loved Finn, he really did but sometimes it was really hard to hold back from saying everything he had to say. Kurt was going to New York, Blaine was going to New York, and Rachel was going to New York. Finn was not. Finn wasn't going to New York and that was fine, because let's be honest, Finn wasn't New York material. But Rachel was, Rachel so was and Rachel Berry deserved better than what Finn and Lima had to offer. She was less herself with him, less bright, less loud, less diva, less New York and he hated that. There were times he felt as though Finn were punishing her, because he knew that she would leave and he'd be stuck in this nothing town. Finn would be stuck in this nothing town and Rachel would leave those were just the facts of life. He didn't say anything, and not because it wasn't his place but because the situation was temporary, Finn was temporary. In the mean time he let Rachel slum it, but he kept a watchful eye, made sure she didn't lose herself in the void of less that came in the vessel of Mckinley's jolly green giant.