A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, and gave me their tumblr URL's. I've followed all of you (I'm shards-of-glass). MomoTheStrange, moirethe, EmmKaylikesMusic, ToLoveAgain, HannahRose00, Elbelleee23 and MiniDiannax all won prizes. Send me your questions or prompts and I'll start working on them as soon as possible.
Yeah, this is a quick update. I took a night of from studying for exams and wrote this chapter and the last one so that you guys would have something to read over the weekend and for most of next week, as I don't think I'll have time to post. Sorry!
As soon as the kiss starts, it's over. She wipes at her lips, trying to get rid of the taste of him as she shrugs off his jacket, ignoring the stunned look on his face.
"Thank you for saying all of those nice things and thank you for finding me and lending me your jacket", she rambles as she places the jacket on his lap. "I'm just going to go back to the house because I believed Brittany mentioned something about games tonight and I wouldn't want to miss that"
"Rachel..."
"If we hurry, we can make it back in time for the first game. I'm sure Brittany has put a lot of thought into this evening's activities and I wouldn't want to spoil her plans"
"Rach, are we going to talk about what just happened?" Puck asks gently, his hand closing around her wrist as he plasters a gentle smile on his face.
"Nothing just happened. You merely said some nice things and we kissed in a chaste manner that will never be repeated because we can't go there", she says frantically before beginning to walk in the general direction of the house. "Are you coming with me?"
"Course. It's not like I'm gonna leave you to get lost... again", he retorts, sticking his tongue out childishly, all while ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest.
They walk back in silence, metres of space between them, and no matter how many times Puck takes a step closer, she'll always take a step further away in response.
"Rachie, you're home!" Brittany squeals as soon as she walks in the door. "I was so worried!" the blonde exclaims as she throws her arms around Rachel. "And Santana was too, and Quinn said that she didn't mean to push, not that she'll say it to your face", Brittany rambled, "but at least your back in time for games"
"Where is everyone Britt?" she asks softly, ignoring the look Puck sends her as he walks further into the house.
"They're sitting in the living room so that we can play truth or truth", Brittany explains. "It's just like truth or dare, but we can't play with dares anymore, because one of us always ends up in the emergency ward".
Smiling a little at the blonde's antics, she follows her into the living room, sighing when she sees that the only spots left are next to Puck or Quinn. Deciding that Quinn is the lesser of two evils, she sits next to the blonde, her eyes twinkling as she sees Brittany sit down next to Santana, thrilled that the two of them have already made up.
"Who wants to go first?" Santana asks, her eyes lit up with excitement as she winds her pinky finger around her best friend. "How about you Quinn? Truth or truth?" she asks evilly, smirking at the way Quinn pales at the mention of her name. "What's one thing you've never told anyone in the world?"
Quinn's face flames bright red and her eyes drop to the floor but no one says anything. They all know better than to mess with Santana when she's on a mission, and right now, she seems intent on destroying Quinn.
"Pass?"
"There are no passes in this game Quinn... sorry", Mike says softly from his spot on the other side of Brittany.
The room is silent for a moment and she's almost ready to defend Quinn herself when the blonde opens her mouth. "I thought about getting an abortion so that no one would ever know that I cheated", she whispers, her eyes filled with tears.
Without realizing, she squeezes Quinn's knee reassuringly, but quickly takes it away when she sees Puck's glare from across the circle.
"You were going to what?" he says quietly, his voice dangerously cold.
"When I found out I was pregnant, I thought about getting an abortion so that you never knew I cheated on you and we could continue being that perfect couple everyone thought we were", she explains, her eyes darting around the room taking in everyone's reactions except Puck's.
"This game is over", he yells, his eyes staring daggers at everyone who dares to look at him.
"Sit down Puck", Brittany orders. "You know the rules. Once we've started, we can't finish until everyone's had a go"
"Screw the rules Brittany!"
"You better not be speaking to Brittany with that tone" Santana hisses, her eyes narrowing as she stares at Puck. "She told you to sit your ass down and follow the freaking rules, so you're going to sit your ass down and follow the freaking rules. It's Quinn's turn to ask a question", she adds when she sees Puck sit back down.
"Matt... What's your biggest regret?" Quinn asks, and by the look on her face, it's obvious she already knows the answer but she's just trying to cause trouble.
"Quinn, don't do this", he pleads. "Ask some other question"
"I can't", she says sweetly. "You know the rules. Under no circumstances can a question be changed, and remember, you must answer truthfully"
"Last year, Santana and I had this massive fight and we didn't speak for a week. I thought we were going to break up, and one night, I went out and got drunk and stumbled home with some woman I met in the bar..."
Quinn's smile makes it obvious that she knew what was coming, and Puck, Mike and Brittany's faces make it clear that they already knew about Matt's affair and were hoping Santana never found out. Santana obviously comes to the same conclusion as she looks around the room and the look of betrayal that flashes across her face when she looks at Brittany is heartbreaking.
"You knew too, Britt?"
"San... Mike made me promise not to tell you. Matt was really, really sorry and he didn't want you two to break up and Matt's so good for you, and I thought I was doing what was best for you", Brittany explains, her voice breaking as she tries to share her story.
"But what about your outburst yesterday? Best friends don't keep secrets, remember?" she whispers, her eyes filling with tears. "You were the one person I thought would never hurt me"
Brittany doesn't get a chance to reply as Matt stands up, his face livid. "You just found out I cheated on you and the only thing that's upset you is that Brittany didn't tell you? Can't you see what's wrong with this situation Santana?" he yells, his face contorted with anger.
"I always knew you'd hurt me Rutherford. Everyone always does. Brittany is the only person in the entire world that has never, ever hurt me. You think I don't know that Quinn called me a slut behind my back at every opportunity? You think I don't know that Puck agreed with her to keep her happy? You think I don't know that Mike tried to convince Britt to end our friendship because I was a bad influence? I knew you would eventually be just like the rest... I just thought Brittany would be the one person who never did something to hurt me", she screams, her hands balled into fists.
"For god's sake Santana, I'm your boyfriend. Brittany is just a friend. You have to make a choice between us. You can't be madly in love with both of us at the same time", he fumes. "It's not fair on either of us Santana"
"Well, you just made the choice a hell of a lot easier", she replies, her voice void of all emotion.
"You cannot be serious?" he questions, his voice incredulous.
"She's my best friend Matt. She's the only person I've ever been myself around. For god's sake, I take her to the zoo every year for her birthday. I fight with her boyfriend over who gets to sit next to her at the table. I hold her hand when she's excited and wipe her tears when she's crying and bring her chicken soup when she's sick. I'm her girlfriend without any of the perks", she exclaims. "You cheated on me Matt, and didn't tell me even though I value honesty more than anything else. You made my best friend keep a secret from me for years. You forced me to make a choice and I chose her. We're finished"
"Remember, no leaving until everyone has heard a turn", Quinn says from her spot on the floor, and before she has a chance to wipe the smirk off her face, Santana is launching herself across the room and scratching at her.
Brittany comes flying across the room after her, pulling Santana back by her waist and whispering soothing words in her ear. "You seem to forget that you aren't welcome here Fabray", Santana hisses, "You didn't just leave Puck in the dirt when you fled the city. You left all of us, without as much as a goodbye. You were supposed to be part of the family and you just left us without looking back. You didn't call or e-mail or text or come and visit, and now it's too late for you to become part of us again"
The room is silent as Santana's words sink in, and Quinn averts her eyes. Matt breaks the silence, turning to Mike with an apologetic look on his face. "When you first met Santana, Brittany and Quinn, what were your initial impressions?"
"I thought Santana was a bitch", he says quietly, ignoring the growl he received in return. "I thought she was heartless and manipulative and insecure. I thought Quinn was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen and that she had the laugh that could make angels worship her. I thought Brittany was stupid", he finishes, his voice trailing off into silence as he awaits the reactions.
No one says anything, and Mike sighs with relief, turning to Brittany to ask her his question. "Why did you ask me out on that first date?" he asks, trying to ignore the tears that are pooling in her eyes and the glare Santana is sending in his direction.
"I was lonely. San was always off with Puck and I thought you were really nice... Santana told me that you had always had a crush on me and I thought you were a good dancer... and it just seemed like hanging around you a little more would be nice", she said sweetly. "I never thought anything mean about you. You were always just Mike to me... the guy with the killer dance moves and the smile that made my heart beat faster... just like Santana's does"
Ignoring Mike's protests and declarations of love, she turned to Santana. "When you were younger, who did you think you would end up with?" she asks quietly, her eyes glittering with tears.
"You", Santana replies simply, a soft smile on her face. Brittany's tears stop pooling and she smiles back weakly as Santana squeezes her hand and turns to Puck. "Puckerman, what's the most memorable thing you've done in the last month?"
"I kissed Rachel", he replies. "I think that's as memorable as it comes"
"Game over", she hisses as she stands up and stalks out of the room. "Puck, we need to talk", she calls over her shoulder.
"What's so important that we need to talk right now Rach? You didn't get your chance at truth or truth", he teases her.
"What the hell is your problem? I told you that kiss didn't happen. I want to pretend that we never kissed but how am I supposed to do that when you bring it up in front of everyone?"
"Rachel, it's a game of honesty. I can't lie"
"It's a freaking game, Puck. What is everyone's fascination with continuing to play even after Matt and Santana broke up? Why is everyone so intent on airing each other's deepest, darkest secrets? Do you guys have some sick, twisted need to humiliate everyone?" she screams, not even caring that the group in the other room can hear her.
"We're a family Rachel. We spend a lot of time together, but there are a lot of things that don't get said. Santana and Brittany know everything about everyone of us, and it really annoyed all of us. We started getting into mammoth fights because they used to make it their mission to fix everything, even though sometimes things couldn't be fixed. When Mike told Brittany how upset it was making everyone, she forced us to play truth or dare once a month; with no one able to leave the game until everyone had had at least one turn. She saw it as a way for us to bond and share things so that we wouldn't all explode at each other"
"How the hell has that turned into truth or truth, the game that continues until everyone is in tears?" she asks, the anger draining from her voice as she listens to his story.
"We ended up in the emergency room a few times, and that made Brittany scared, so we had to change to truth or truth. And Santana insisted on the rule of not leaving until everyone had had a go because we had complained about the way things were before and so she was determined to make sure we got exactly what we wanted. It's stupid and hurtful sometimes, but in the long run, we all become closer"
"That doesn't explain why you felt the need to boast about our kiss to everyone in that room", she reminds him, her mouth falling into a pout.
"Because if Santana finds out you're lying, there's hell to pay, so I had to tell the truth. They asked me the most memorable thing about the last month and that was definitely kissing you. You're strong, and independent, and fiery, and beautiful, and all I can think about is kissing you again"
"Just don't Puck. We've been over this. The kiss didn't happen, okay? And if I have anything to do with it, it won't be happening again", she growls, her anger flaring at his insistence of rehashing the kiss.
"I'll wear you down eventually Rach; you can bet on it"
"Please... please don't"
He opens his mouth to reply but a loud screech from the other room sends them flying back into the living room and straight into the path of an ongoing battle.
Brittany – kind, gentle, loving Brittany – is screaming at Mike, her face red with anger and her outstretched finger is constantly jabbing him in the chest.
Quinn and Santana are having an all-out, no holds barred, fight, with Quinn tugging at Santana's hair and Santana manoeuvring her body so that Quinn is in a headlock while Matt struggles to get between the two of them and break up the fight.
"What the hell is going on here?" Puck yells, and the room falls silent. Brittany's finger drops away from Mike's chest, Quinn's hands fall out of Santana's hair as Santana releases her from the headlock and Matt takes a couple of steps back, panting heavily.
The room quickly breaks into pandemonium again as everyone starts to yell their problems.
"Enough!" he shouts, and once again, the room falls silent. "Brittany, Mike didn't know you back then. He judged the book by its cover, not bothering to open it up and see how amazing the content was. Quinn, Santana... stop fighting. Just admit that the two of you missed each other and get over it. The only reason Santana's being so bitchy is because you left without saying goodbye and she spent most of those years worrying about you Quinn. And Santana, the only reason Quinn is putting up a fight is because she wants you to welcome her back. She missed you, and that scares her because she likes to pretend that she doesn't need anyone. Matt, you can't blame Brittany for your break-up with Santana. You two work better as friends. If you truly loved San, you wouldn't have kept your one-night stand a secret. You would have told her so that the two of you could work it out. Santana, Brittany... the two of you need to have a long talk about what the hell's going on between the two of you because it's confusing the fuck out of the rest of us", he growls. "Now apologise to each other"
They hesitate for a moment before falling into a group hug and whispering apologies to each other.
"Wow... you're a miracle worker", she teases from her spot next to Puck, her heart melting as she looks at her friends hugging it out.
"Yeah, they've got a long way to go still but what can I say? I'm amazing", he brags. "So how about you put on your fanciest dress and we'll go out for a nice dinner?"
Her smile fades away as she glares at Puck. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that the kiss never happened and I will never go out with you? I'm not interested in a relationship"
"You will be Rach... you will be", he promises as she walks away from him.
A/N: The guessing game this chapter is as follows: Puck's about to step up his game to get Rachel to go on a date with him. He'll be making three major plays for her next chapter. Guess one of them and you win a one-shot.