Saved By The Music
A Glee AU Fan Fiction
Chapter 3: Breaking Out

A/N: Just on a side note-while writing this, I burst into hysterics multiple times because I kept spelling perform wrong and it reminded me of a joke my own Glee Club Director said once. She also teaches chorus at school and was telling us about how the middle schoolers had to write an essay about their performance at their winter concert when they had a substitute and she was grading the papers and absolutely appalled at their spelling. And her biggest complaint was that they speller perform incorrectly. She wrote it on the board how they spelled it and everybody burst out laughing (well, all the guys) and she's like "We do not PRE-form! At least, not in my room." And it was a funny concept because of what she said and because when we sang Bohemian Rhapsody for high school chorus, the tenors sang "I just killed a man." and she was like "Um, I hope not." "Put a gun against his head." "Not in here." "Pulled the trigger and he's dead." "No, you really, didn't." So it's just a joke that whenever something inappropriate happens in the choir room, she replied as if to say she doesn't care if it happens outside of her room, but it better not be mentioned in her room. I love our chorus teacher-she's our very own Mr. Shue and we lovingly tell her that all of the time.
A/N2: This chapter took so long to write because my friends are all back from their vacations and we can actually hang out again since I'm done with my vacations as well. We've been trying to spend as much time as possible together before school starts. Last night was pretty much our big get together though so I'll have more time. We played Just Dance and my best guy friend, the one who acts like how Puck acts towards Rachel in the Puckleberry Fan Fictions (minus the romantic feelings) towards me, who my friends all nicknamed Rachel Berry, said he couldn't play Just Dance with us because he'd break my nose like Finn did and I told him to go ahead because I want a Barbra-Vention and a gay best friend who he'd need to find in order to properly throw one for me. That got a laugh out of my only two friends who actually watch Glee that were there, besides my best-guy friend. Anyways, there's that story that I wanted to share with people who wouldn't judge me for being so Glee-obsessed.

Noah Puckerman could feel his fists clenching together as he watched Mike lead Rachel towards a table in Breadstix, hand resting on the small of her back. He couldn't help but clench his jaw just a little bit tighter when Mike Chang pulled out her chair for her and then pushed a now seated girl back into the table. And he knew that there was probably an angry look to his eyes as he watched the pair laugh together and converse easily across the table.

He was well aware that Santana Lopez, his current girlfriend, was sitting on the other side of the table from him, arms crossed tightly across her chest that was covered by the thick red and white fabric that made up her Cheerio's uniform-this one was the tank-top dress with the pleated bottom that teased every male in the school as it swayed, tempting a look at her ass while while just revealing yet another layer of fabric, a pair of red spandex shorts that stretched themselves out across the ass of every Cheerio in the school. He could feel her own glare staring right into his as her usually pretty face formed a rather unattractive scowl.

Before Rachel and Mike had walked in, they had had their own conversation going, even if it was about something stupid where Santana was going on and on about the latest gossip while he pretended to listen, but he had cut her off as soon as he'd spotted the newcomers and that had started the bitter silence between the two.

That alone should have been enough to warn him that nothing good was going to come from the Latina's reaction to what was happening, especially as her eyes trailed to follow what he was so intent at glaring at.

And that was what brought them to their current argument.

"Rachel Berry? Are you seriously staring at Rachel Berry right now as if she were the hottest piece of meat on campus? And are you seriously glaring at Mike Chang because he's the one sitting with her right now? Because I can see that you're doing it, but I don't want to admit that my boyfriend is staring at Rapaul!" Santana snarled, whirling her head around to face him again, palms slamming down against the table in anger-she was a very jealous and possessive girlfriend.

Puck clenched his fist even tighter, tearing his gaze from the beautiful brunette and onto the seductive raven-haired girl sitting near him, anger flooding his expression even more than before as he stared at her.

"Don't call her that," he growled, his voice a low sound coming from the back of his throat. "Stop making fun of her all the time-what's she ever done to you to deserve that?" He asked, his voice hollow-sounding as he forced himself to ease his grip and try to relax his body, calming his tensed-up muscles in an effort to rid himself of some anger.

"Well, for starters, there's the fact that my boyfriend happens to be staring at said girl while he is on a date with me." Santana rolled her eyes. "But, of course, that's a horrible reason for me to dislike her, isn't it?" She asked sarcastically.

"I just don't get what the hell it is about him-I mean..."He paused at the change of posture Santana took on, raising an eyebrow in the air as she sat up higher in her chair, taking on a tone of interested. He cleared his throat before starting once again. "I meant-I just don't see what Mike sees in her that he's always with her," He muttered.

"Yeah, sure, that's the problem," She rolled her eyes.

She returned to her meal, looking down at the salad she had just had delivered as her appetizer. She shook her head, gaze off of her date and muttered something in Spanish that he couldn't understand under her breath.

He sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his mohawk.

Santana knew that something was up with him and Rachel, at least, that he wanted there to be something there. She was smart when it came to things like that and she knew that he had feelings for Rachel. And now that she knew that, things were going to get a whole lot worse for the Queen of the Gleeks.

"She's pretty, I guess, in a plain sort of way...and I guess, if you're into the whole 'to-catch-a-predator' type of appearance, she's kind of hot, in a way," Santana replied softly, looking up at him from below her eyelashes.

He paused, staring up from the Doctor Pepper he had in front of him in confusion.

There was no way that Santana Lopez was acting as though she understood what was going on right now with his head. She wasn't an understanding person and she wouldn't get that he would rather be with Rachel than her-after all, even Puck wasn't sure that he understood it himself.

"I'm not being sarcastic or petty, Puckerman," She responded, as if reading his thoughts-he really hated it when she did that. "It's true, even if I hate to admit it. And I guess the fact that both of you are Jewish could spark a bit of curiosity in you, especially with how into your religion you are and everything-and with that totally rude comment your mother made about you the other night, when she said you were no better than-"

"Alright, I get it. So? You're understanding and crap. So what?" He asked her, cutting her off. He didn't want to remember that particular memory at the moment.

He knew telling Santana had been stupid, especially since she had taken what he had thought his mother had said and had twisted into something evil and vile, forcing him to believe that his mother had actually insulted him in such a cruel and hurtful way, in comparison to her usual insults that had a bit of a playful edge to them, as if she were teasing him.

"So, as good as you are for a hook-up, it's not worth it if you want to be with Rachel so badly. And it's not going to help your case with her. So, we're done and that's whatever. We can say whatever we want happened-nobody's going to believe whatever story we make up anyways so we might as well just let the rumors run their course. Just, do me a favor, alright?" She said, getting her things together as she rose to her feet. "Try not to mess this one up? I've never seen you like this with a girl before, and I prefer this side of you to the one you were with me. And Brittany. And every other sexual encounter you've ever had," She winked playfully, turning on her heel and making her way from the restaurant, reminding him once again of why he considered her to be his best friend.

"Santana Lopez broke up with Noah Puckerman!"

"What? Where'd you hear that from? Everybody knows he broke up with her."

"They weren't really dating-they were just using one another for sex."

"Everybody knows she would never let him really dump her."

"He wouldn't let her go-he likes the booty calls too much."

"She got up and left in the middle of their date last night."

"I heard it was for another girl-not that it's a surprise."

"He cheated on her-with one of his clients. He's into cougars."

"They'll be back together in no time."

"Who was your source? I heard she cheated on him with a college guy."

"They're still sleeping together-they sleep with everybody."

"Their entire relationship was based off being fuck buddies."

"It's seriously over, though."

The rumors had been filling the hallways of McKinley all day and Rachel Berry had honestly had enough of them. After all, who cared if Puck and Santana had broken up? Did anybody like them, whether they were apart or not? And who's business was it how they had broken up or for what reason, other than their own?

It was pointless to waste time conversing about their relationships and the inner workings of it, when nobody would ever know the truth but themselves-especially when everybody knew that the real source of all the rumors was Jacob Ben Israel, the biggest gossip in the entire school and one of the few other Jewish teenagers in Lima.

He had a blog devoted to spreading around untrue tidbits about the students at McKinley-with it's own section devoted to Rachel and his hopeless crush on her that Rachel might feel bad about ignoring if he wasn't always so creepy about her and the things that she did. Mike was pretty sure that the red-haired boy had bugged her bedroom with cameras and microphones to watch her every move and was constantly checking her room to ensure that she was safe of being spied on by the freak.

She slammed her locker shit with a sigh, turning around and leaning against the lockers as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch. She had her arms crossed over her chest, hugging her books to it tightly with her oversized tote-bag hanging from the crook of her shoulder, acting as her purse/book bag for the school day.

"You don't look happy. You didn't get slushied all day and no one has said anything negative to you all day. Don't tell me you're missing the attention and the drama," Mike teased her, appearing by her side and leaning against the locker besides her.

"No, it's a pleasant change. I'm just tired of hearing everybody go on and on talking about what's happening in other people's lives as if it's so interesting that Noah and Santana broke up," Rachel replied with an eye roll, pushing from her locker and walking towards the cafeteria.

"They need something to talk about. Their lives are boring, unlike yours. And you're going the wrong way," He told her, swinging an arm over her shoulder and forcing her to start in the opposite direction, towards the exit to the school. "I'm taking you out to lunch. You deserve a break," he smiled down at her.

"Michael, if we aren't back in time, my flawless permanent record with it's perfect attendance is going to be ruined. I've been working on that for eleven years now and I won't have it ruined just so-"

"Just so you can eat something vegan that tastes good, rather than the crap the school serves because I know you forgot to pack lunch?" He cut her off, raising an eyebrow as he forced her gently out of the school.

"I hate it that you know me so well," She muttered under her breath, but there was a smile on her face.

"You love it that I know you so well, because it means you get everything you ever wanted without seeming like a spoiled brat who asks for the world," He rolled his eyes, giving her a knowing look as she glared at him, hating that he was, once again, correct about her.

Of course, he would have known without the look. He knew her well enough to know everything about her by that point in their lives, and he wasn't planning on that changing anytime soon. He wasn't planning on that ever changing, actually. But, sometimes it was easier to act as if her looks were enough to silence him and stop him from bragging about being right. That way, he didn't have to argue with her and risk her getting mad and resorting to the cold shoulder. That girl could hold a grudge surprisingly long for somebody without any other friends.

Rachel sat in the choir room during her free period, seated at the piano bench as she mindlessly played a few notes, trying to figure out a song to get rid of her emotions. The best way that she had found to understand her emotions, was to sing about them in an effort to get them out into the open.

As she played, a new Demi Lovato song popped in her head after playing the same chords a few times. She started to play the introduction, and before long her voice was singing over the instrumental coming from the piano.

"There's a boy, lost his way/Looking for someone to play/There's a girl in the window/Tears rolling down her face/We're only lost children, trying to find a friend/Trying to find a way back home/We don't know where to go/So I'll just get lost with you/We'll never fall apart, 'cause we fit together right, we'll fit together right/These dark clouds over me, rain down and roll away/We'll never fall apart 'cause we fit together like/Two pieces of a broken heart," She sang out.

She had been feeling conflicted about her feelings towards the Puck-tana split since she'd first heard the rumors. At first, she had felt excited and ecstatic, believing when she had heard that she had been dumped for another girl, she might be the one in question. But then she had heard the other theories and she had realized that, no matter what, she wasn't Puck's type and he belonged with a girl more like Santana.

Puck just wanted a girl who he could fool around with and use for a good time. Rachel couldn't handle that and if she was expected to allow her boyfriend a 'hall-pass' whenever he was tempted to try something new, she would be left with tears streaming down her face.

She and Puck may have a lot in common, but they were too different from one another in the ways that mattered to ever find a middle ground for them to compromise. She couldn't allow herself to get lose in his hazel eyes or to fall apart at the sight of him. His heart would never be her home and he wasn't the friend she needed to look for when she was upset. He was immature and while they might still be considered children to some people, they were too mature to play games like the games he liked.

"I know where we could go/And never feel let down again/e could build sand castles, I'l be the queen; you'll be my king/We're only lost children, trying to find a friend-"

"Well, they were right about you," A voice cut into her solo and she stopped playing, fingers hovering above the keys she'd been about to play. "You might make me want to light myself on fire every now and then, but man, you sure can sing," Noah Puckerman said, giving her a whistle of approval as he slid onto the piano bench besides her.

"What are you doing in here? I thought the football team had to use their free periods to work out?" She questioned.

"They're supposed to," He shrugged. "And if anybody asks, I was there-with these guns, the coach will believe anything," Puck grinned at her, flexing as if to show her the size of his muscles and prove a point.

"Well, yes, I do suppose that your arms are quite lovely. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing here," She told him, not losing her usual composure for a second.

He had to give her credit for that. Most girls would have already been falling apart at his presence so close to her. Once he'd flexed within that close proximity, he wouldn't have had to worry about making small talk with them or any other form of communication. They would be too breathless to speak and he'd be making his way around the bases.

He probably should have expected that he wouldn't be able to frazzle Rachel that way. She wouldn't be struck speechless by his presence and flashing his muscles and giving her a free ticket to the gun show? That wasn't going to do anything to distract her. She was much too smart for his tricks and she was different from every other girl he'd ever tried to win over. That was what he liked her about her-she was hard to get and it wasn't because she was trying to be.

She just had to be romanced and woo-ed. It would take a lot for a guy to win her heart, and Puck wanted to be the one to date her, no matter what it took. Whether it was because his feelings for her were real and went deeper than he wanted to admit, or if it was because his feelings were based on the knowledge that whoever got Berry was going to be a legend, he wasn't sure.

"I never go work out with the team, and since Satan and I are over and done with, I needed someplace new to hang out," He responded easily, unsure of why the answer he was giving her was true.

And then he saw her turn to him with a smile and he realized that the honesty was worth it, as long as he got to see that smile on her face, because her smile made her look even better than she normally looked. And that was saying a lot about the power of her smile, as she already was the best looking girl at school, at least, if anybody asked him about it.

"Well, I suppose we could work on some things for Glee together, now that there's another mind to pick in the room with me," She said slowly, as if waiting for him to get up and walk out on her for even suggesting something related to the club.

And, if it had been anybody else, he would have left.

"We need to recruit some more members, right?" He asked, unsure of why he was volunteering to the conversation at all-and then her smile widened. He figured that was a good enough excuse for everything he did in life. "What if we performed at the assembly this Friday?" He wondered.

"I was expecting you to ask if you could use your strength to intimidate people to join," She replied with a slight giggle.

"Having one bad ass and an einstein football player in the club ain't gonna cut it, my hot little Jewish-American princess. If we had a Cheerio or two...that might be able to help our case-especially with you in one of those little skirts? Guys would be lining up at the door," He winked at her as his teasing nature was restored to him.

"I think that performing at the assembly would be a wise decision." Rachel replied, ignoring his crude remark. "But what song and who would be the lead?" She asked.

"Didn't you just hear me? If people heard you sing, they'd forget about how annoying you are most of the time and just want to hear you sing more so they aren't urged to punch you in the face. If you sing something at the assembly, we're golden-especially if you wear a skirt just a little shorter than usual and maybe add a tight top with a low-cut to it..."He trailed off, a dreamy look on his face.

"You have a one track mind and I find it highly inappropriate for a male who has just broken up with his girlfriend," Rachel replied.

"It was a mutual thing-we weren't into one another, anyways," he shrugged, looking down at the piano and placing his hands on the keys. "She's already trying to worm her way into Matt-you know, that Rutherford kid that's always with Mike?" He asked, turning his face towards her a little bit, starting to play a few notes on the piano.

"I know who Matthew is-he and Mike are wonderful friends, you know," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, I know. Anyways, she's already trying to get with him. Whatever-we were never really anything serious anyways. And, besides, I'm into somebody else, always have been, in a way," he shrugged again, still playing some melody that was strangely familiar to Rachel, but something she just couldn't place-because she knew that Noah Puckerman wouldn't be playing a song like that. He probably didn't even know that it existed.

"Oh," She whispered, looking down at the piano. "What song are you playing?" She asked.

"You're easily distracted. It's Christina Aguilera. My sister's obsessed with it. Guess it just got stuck in my head," He shrugged.

"Sarah's still listening to it?" Rachel asked with a smile.

"Don't tell me you're the one that got it in her head to sing it at the JCC summer talent show this year," Puck groaned. "She hasn't stopped singing it in forever," He complained.

"I was baby sitting a few weeks ago, right before school started, and she said she would like to win this year. I merely showed her the song and said that I thought it would fit her vocal range quite nicely. And you should encourage your sister more. She's quite talented, you know. Almost as talented as you are," She was moving from the piano bench now.

"Where are you going?"

"I would hate for anybody to get the wrong idea about us. Even if it would be unbelievable, you know how rumors fly. If you're into somebody else, I wouldn't want them to question those feelings," She shrugged.

"You're a smart girl, aren't you?" He was asking the question seriously, which confused her.

"Yes?"

"Then don't be so stupid all of the time," He rolled his eyes. "That girl I'm into? It's not one of the Cheerios. She's not anybody who isn't in this room right now. I'm into you, alright? And Santana and I broke up because she realized that as soon as you walked into Breadstix with Mike last night." He shook his head, rising to his feet and making his way from the room. "But, whatever, don't worry about it," He called over his shoulder, exiting the room.

Rachel was strangely quiet and Mike wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about that. She was rarely ever quiet, but ever since he'd met up with her after their free period, she hadn't said a word. And that sort of scared him, just a little bit.

"What's up with you?" He asked.

"Noah met me in the choir room today during my free period. Apparently he always skips out on going to work out with the team, but that's irrelevant, I suppose. Anyways, he was talking to me about his break-up with Santana and he told me he was fine with the entire ordeal, because she was already moving on to Matt, meaning she didn't care and he was already into somebody else-they were never in a serious relationship, I guess. But, then, as he was leaving, he told me that the girl he was interested was...well, apparently Noah has feelings towards me," Rachel said it all in a rush, showing she'd been dying to get that out.

"Oh..um, how'd that make you feel? I mean, it got you thinking, didn't it? Those are the only times you don't talk, when you're thinking. So, uh, what are you gonna do about his...uh, crush," Mike asked, reaching back and awkwardly scratching at the back of his neck, looking down at her as they walked towards the choir room.

"I don't know. It's a bit too cliche for my liking, and honestly, he's been so horrid to me that I couldn't see myself being serious with him. He'd have to prove that he's changed from the neanderthal that used to toss slushies into my face each morning. Besides, as much as I like him, I know your feelings when it comes to him and nothing is more important to me than our friendship, you know?" Rachel shrugged as they entered the choir room.

"I want you to be happy, okay, Rachel? If you want to be with him and if he proves that he's worth your time, go ahead. Don't worry about how I'm going to feel because I'd rather have your happiness with a guy that might prove to be somebody better than I thought he was than have you be miserable without a guy that might really be willing to change for you. Maybe, just maybe, you'll be the one who can change him into a better person," Mike sighed, swinging his arm around her as they made their way towards their usual seats in the center of the front row, side by side, away from the other four members of the club who were already present.

"Are you sure you mean that, Michael?" She frowned, leaning against him slightly.

"Rachel, you are my best friend and all I've done since we've determined that was try to prove to you that you deserve to be happy. So, can you just forget about my feelings and accept that the only way for me to be happy is for you to be happy first?" He asked her, looking down with a serious expression sketched across his face.

"Alright," She nodded. "But, regardless of your feelings on the topic-nothing will be happening between the two of us if he cannot prove to me that he's changed from the bully that he was before. I'm not interested in that boy. I'm interested in the one that I see at Temple or with his little sister when I have to go babysit her. The one who he is in those rare moments when he stops acting like his ridiculous alter ego which is named after a fairy from a play written by Shakespeare in an effort to make him appear tough and realizes that the real boy that he is is actually Noah," Rachel crossed her arms.

"Alright, that's fine. Just know that, no matter what you decide, I want you to be happy and that's all I want." He nodded, secretly grateful that she wouldn't be throwing herself at him immediately after he had declared his feelings.

Still, as much as he thought he liked Rachel, he could see that her heart wanted to be with Puck. And if Mike was honestly going to do whatever it took for her to be happy, he was going to have to bite the bullet and turn Puck into a better person-the type of person that he needed to be for Rachel to be with him and the type of guy that Mike wanted Rachel to be with. And that was going to take an awful lot of time, energy, and guts on Mike's part.

Puck groaned as Mike approached him after Glee rehearsal and before football practice.

"Dude, people are going to think we're gay. Especially since we're both in Glee together," Puck muttered as Mike approached the changing male, his shirt off as well.

"Oh, shut up with your stupid and ridiculous humor that you only use when you're trying to lighten the mood and make things seem humorous when you know there's an obvious tension in the air," Mike snapped. "Nobody's even in the room because they all went to practice early because they didn't have anything to in between." Mike reminded him.

"Whatever. What's this about?"

"Rachel?"

"Are you mad that I told her I liked her? Because she didn't exactly have an ideal reaction to that," Puck rolled his eyes.

"I'm not mad. And she likes you too, alright?"

"She does?" His face lit up into a smile.

"She doesn't want to be with you. Not unless you can prove that you've changed from the jack ass that bullied her and gave her a countless number of slushy facials," Mike said, his face lacking emotion.

"What the fuck does that mean? I'm in the god damn Glee club and I broke up with my sexy as shit girlfriend for her. I spent my fucking free period in the choir room with her playing some girly ass love ballad on the piano and poured my god damn heart out to her. What more could she possibly want to prove that I've changed?"

"Oh, I don't know," Mike said sarcastically. "Maybe some sort of moment that proves that you aren't ashamed of her or your feelings, where you do something crazy like fucking apologize to her? Or, better yet, make it look like you actually like her in public rather than hiding your feelings and telling her in an empty choir room. Show her that you're willing to be Noah, at least while you're with-"

Mike didn't get to finish, because as soon as the word Noah left his lips, Puck had lunged across the room and slammed him into the nearest flat surface, pinning him there with a harsh, angry scowl on his face.

"She gets to call me that. Nobody else even gets to say that name, got it? Because she's the only one that gets to know that guy," Puck growled in his face, releasing him and walking back to his locker.

"Yeah? Well, why don't you let her know how much she means to you the same way you just let me know that? Make sure everybody knows that you're a different person as long as you have her," Mike muttered.