Still don't own anything, but mistakes are mine. Thanks to all of you for still reading this though. Hope you like the chapter.
It's mid-summer now, late June to be specific, and Santana is glad for the most part. Puck has been doing all the press and premieres for his movie while Rachel has been touring around the country with American Idol for their big top twelve concert. Her and Brittany have been practicing and training, trying to get used to being back on the field before tryouts in a few weeks. Mike has been busy, back at his studio now that they've been getting even more students, all thanks to him being on Dancing with the Stars. Finn and Sarah have been busy with their own work, the latter working even more with Connor's homecoming quickly arriving. They were all completely busy.
But now they're all back in LA for Rachel's final concert, with the exception of Connor, and then they're having a big dinner afterwards. Santana knows that her best friend will be filming a music video soon and that's how she ends up here, in front of Finn's apartment, unlocking the front door then storming into his office.
"Hey babe," Finn says as he turns in his chair, only to be met with the fiery Latina with her hands on her hips.
"We need to talk," she says sternly.
His eyes instantly widen. "Um.."
"I'm not breaking up with you," Santana rolls her eyes and sighs. "Look, Rachel is somehow convinced that she's over Puck and we all know that is a straight up lie. They can act as friendly as they want, but I can feel the sexual tension radiating in the room. You're her agent. I know that she has a music video coming up in a few weeks and that they're looking for a male lead." Finn averts his eyes, becoming suddenly interested in his mouse pad. The Latina snaps her fingers until he's looking back at her. "I told you that if they didn't get back together on their own, that you were going to help me. Now this is what you're gonna do. You're going to convince Puck to do it, not knowing that it's Rachel's video. Got it?"
He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. "Alright."
"Glad we're on the same page, Baby."
Finn laughs and rolls his eyes before turning in his chair to type up an email to the director saying that he has someone in mind for the part and to hold it for him. Puck's never done a music video so this could actually benefit him. Not that he'll tell Santana that because the last time he did, his ass got handed to him and he's still paying for it.
Rachel moves down the hall until she's standing in front of Puck's door. She fidgets and stares at it until she slowly brings her hand up, knocking a few times before stepping back. In her heart, she knows that it's smart to talk about everything that they've been avoiding so it's not awkward when they're around everyone, but now, hearing the heavy footsteps coming towards the door really just makes her want to run back to the elevator to escape it all. This was a bad idea.
The door opens and her eyes meet the familiar hazel ones that she's been missing for months.
"Rach?" Puck stares at her before moving aside, motioning for her to come in.
"Hello, Noah. I thought it'd be best if I came over so we can talk." Rachel sits on the couch, as far away from him as she possibly can, before setting her purse on the table.
"Why are you talking so fucking proper?" He feels slightly offended that she's acting like this is a business meeting instead of two 'friends' just hanging out.
"I'm sorry," she fidgets and bites her lower lip. "I guess I'm just nervous."
"Just blurt out whatever's on your mind and we'll move on from there." Puck stands up and moves towards the kitchen, grabbing two beers in hopes that it'll calm both of their nerves.
"Is Sarah here?" Rachel blushes as their fingers touch for a second before quickly taking a sip.
"Work," he says gruffly before turning his body towards hers.
"Why?" she asks quietly.
Puck closes his eyes and takes a swig from his beer. He hesitates before swallowing thickly. "Be more specific, Rach, so I can give you the answers that you want."
"How was it so easy for you to pick work over me?" Her eyes meet his again.
His eyes fall as his finger nail scrapes at the label and he tries to pick his words carefully. Any explanation he gives will either make or break them. "Up until we started to date, all I had to do was think about work and myself. There wasn't a need for me to factor in anyone else's feelings when it came to something I was told to do. So when the director and Holly suggested it, I just reverted back to old habits." Puck quickly looks up and meets her eyes, tilting his head so she won't start ranting at him. "And yeah, that sounds super shitty. But fuck, that's what I was used to. So when I went to tell you and I saw that look on your face…" he trails off and closes his eyes. "Back when that happened," he pauses so that it can fully sink in, "I didn't realize that I was making a huge fucking mistake Rach."
"But we were together for five months, Noah. I factored in our relationship when I was going to leave for the show. Why was it so easy for you to just forget me when it came to your job?" Rachel is trying to keep her tears away, but she can feel them threatening to fall out of the corner of her eyes. "If you felt like you made a big mistake, then why didn't you say anything?"
"How could I?" he stares at her incredulously. "Your fucking phone was off. No one heard from you, even when San was in the hospital that night. Then finding out that Holly was behind it all and everything else got so screwed up."
"That doesn't answer my question!" She says a little more forcefully, interrupting him before he could move on. "Why was it so easy? And don't blame going back to old habits."
"The decision wasn't exactly set in stone when I came to talk to you. But none of that went the way I fucking wanted it to. And yeah, I made some really dumb decisions when I said the things that I said to you. I've had months to think about how bad I messed up Rachel and I know now, for the future too, that I don't need to do shit like that anymore."
"It really didn't go how you planned," Rachel laughs dryly and looks up at him.
"I know what I wanted then and I still want it now. You, Ray. I fucking love you and it killed me every single day you were gone. It was like everyone else was as miserable as I felt because I was such a fucking downer around here."
She honestly doesn't know what to say to his confession, that he's been so hurt after Valentine's day. That he's been in so much pain while she's been gone. But all of it is hard to believe, because he is such a good actor.
" I've apologized Rachel and I know that I fucked up. But I don't know if I'll be able to keep apologizing and keep trying to make it up to you, going in circles, if you're just not going to believe anything I say about it."
"I just want the truth," she meets his eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek.
"And I've told you the truth!" Puck stands up and starts to pace, much like the first night they saw each other after the competition. "That picture didn't mean anything. And I've regretted everything I've done to hurt you."
Rachel nods and wipes her cheek. "I just need time, I guess, to sort everything. And now that we're both back, I just wanted to clear the air so nothing will be awkward."
"Fine," he downs the rest of his beer and slides it onto the table. "I get it, you can't trust me right now."
"I never said that, Noah."
"I've gotten pretty good at reading you Rach, you've got trust issues and that's fine." Puck glances at her, ending the conversation as he turns on the TV.
"Okay," she says quietly and stands up, pulling the strap of her purse up onto her shoulder. Rachel moves past him and opens the door before she hears his voice.
"What I said, the night you came back, I meant it. If being friends is what it takes to get us back together then I'll do it. But I'm not going to kill myself in the process. If or when you decide that you don't think we should be together, I'll deal with it. Just let me know first."
She sighs and runs her hand through her hair. "We'll talk soon Noah." Rachel smiles tightly and moves out the door, closing it quietly.
Puck is going insane while walking onto the set of this music video that Finn got him, but the giant he calls his best friend, is currently glancing at him and every now and then. It's not unusual for Finn to accompany him to these kinds of things, being his agent and all, but these weird looks are going to make him punch the next person he sees.
"Why do you keep looking at me?" Puck finally snaps and stops in between the makeup area and where everyone else is waiting for him, staring at Finn.
"Nothing!" Finn shakes his head and looks forward. "Just trying to see if you're nervous or whatever."
"And would you please give me a reason why the fuck I would be nervous? It's my job to act. Plus it's a music video so it's not like I have any lines to remember." Maybe he's slightly nervous. They wouldn't even let him read the lyrics and that just doesn't seem fair for whatever reason.
"I know, but, when I told you how they wanted to do the video and all…"
"So I have to pretend that I'm really into this chick for it? Who cares? A few kisses or whatever isn't a big fucking deal, Hudson."
"You say that now…" Finn mumbles to himself.
They move into the area where everyone is standing for one of the bigger scenes they're doing inside of a studio. There's a large group of people along with a ton of other people who work on the lighting then the director himself behind the camera.
"Alright guys! Everyone gather around so I can go over what we generally want for this group shot now that Mr. Puckerman is here." The director hops off his chair and moves in the space between a row of cars and a bunch of walls to make it look like the parking lot of a warehouse or something. Puck's not exactly understanding the whole theme of this, but he stands by some people and smirks when a girl giggles next to him. "First of all, welcome to the first day of shooting for Teenage Dream!" Oh, so that's the theme. Makes a little bit more sense now. "Mostly, I want all the background actors to just be dancing and looking like you're at a huge outdoor party. We were all teenagers once, just think back to when you were younger." The man laughs and grins at everyone.
The group laughs along and he chuckles a little bit with them. He's mostly looking around to look for the woman that he has to pretend he's in love with. But he doesn't recognize anyone so he leans back against the makeshift wall and listens as the director emphasizes on the theme a little bit more.
"Rachel, dear?" Puck looks up towards the director and sees his ex girlfriend standing there in short as hell shorts, looking really sexy with her hair in curls and a vest on. "Lots of dancing, like you would in a club. Then we'll move on to the bed scene with you and Puck, before we come back to work on this group shot again. Tomorrow we'll head up to Santa Barbara in the afternoon to finish up the beach and road scenes then wrap with the pool. How does that sound to everyone?"
His heart stops as he looks at the woman in front of him while everyone is cheering around them and getting ready to start shooting. How is he going to be able to control himself while actually being in love with her and have to dance with her like he's in a club? He remembers their trip to a club in Vegas very vividly. Then a bed scene? How is he going to pretend to have sex with her for this video when he really wants to touch her like that in either his or her bed. Puck swallows and moves over towards the center of the floor. He's fucked.
She looks up at him nervously, biting her lip as he makes his way over to her. They've dressed him how he normally would on any given day. Jeans, boots, a plaid shirt, and the only thing that seems out of place is the jean jacket they have on his broad shoulders. When he's standing in front of her, both of their eyes move over to Finn's. The taller man's eyes widen before he turns around and moves towards all the snacks that are on tables for everyone.
"Hello, Noah."
"Hey," Puck says indifferently, trying to hide how really fucking nervous he is now. "Did you know that I was cast for the part?"
Rachel shrugs, "I didn't know anything." She hates that her shoulders feel really tense right now, just standing here and talking to him.
Ever since she found out that her first single wouldn't be a song that she's written, the petite brunette hasn't exactly been looking forward to doing this music video. It's an upbeat song that's perfect for the summer and the lyrics are actually quite sweet when she read through it, but now that Puck is standing in front of her as the man in the video, well, she isn't exactly thrilled. But just knowing the lyrics, especially since it's called Teenage Dream, this music video is basically showing how she felt the entire time when she was dating Puck. It's like the world is trying to tell her something. Maybe even her friends, since Finn's reaction was very odd when they looked over to him.
Now Rachel is really glad that she went to his apartment yesterday to try and clear the air. It looks like they needed it in order to get through this.
"Good thing we're professionals." Rachel tucks a strand of hair behind her hair before looking up to meet his hazel eyes.
He smirks and crosses his arms over his chest. "We're a couple of hot Jews, we won't even have to act. I already know how to get you all worked up. You'll have to control yourself in front of all the cameras though. I can't actually fuck you on that bed."
Her jaw drops. "You are so disgusting! I'll prove you wrong though." Rachel lifts her chin defiantly and mirrors his smirk.
Puck moves closer to her, dropping down so that his lips are next to her ear. "And how much do you want to bet that you'll be wet by the end of this shoot?"
Rachel pushes him away and rolls her eyes. "Just do what you're being paid to do." She laughs and steps away before turning around, laying a hand on his arm.
"You okay?" He looks down at her, furrowing his eyebrows. It wasn't his mission to make her feel awkward, but he thought joking around would help her look and feel less tense.
"I am glad that it's you here. The thought of having to do all of that with a complete stranger was a little…unnerving." She smiles and moves to drink some water while the director makes a few final comments.
After the bedroom scene, Puck's pants are extremely tight, and he's having to take deep breaths, releasing them slowly out of his nose so he doesn't absolutely lose it. Unbuttoning the tight jeans that they had her change into, then kissing her in just a bra nearly killed him. But now, she's grinding against his crotch and it's driving him insane. At this point, he's ready to just take her up against a wall because he's missed her body just as much, if not a little more, than just being around Rachel as her boyfriend. And she's gained a hell of a lot more confidence as the day has gone on. It seemed perfect during their other scene when she was acting all nervous and shy like an actual teenage girl would in a hotel room alone with her boyfriend, but now… his brain can't even focus on one single thing. His hands are all over her hips and he can hear her quietly singing the lyrics while the music plays in the background.
And fuck, he wants to be her teenage dream tonight.
The director finally wraps for the night, and she's relieved. Rachel a little nervous and feels like everyone can feel the sexual tension on the set right now. But mostly she's glad that Finn had to leave in the middle of the bedroom shoot. Who knows what he'll even say to Santana, Mike or Brittany about what he's seen between the two of them right now. It certainly wasn't hard to act like they were in love, because all the little touches made her remember all the time they spent together. Having to dance up against Puck and kiss his lips again drove her crazy. She wasn't being realistic with herself when she told Brittany and Santana that she was over him during their multiple phone calls while she was away. But the second they had to kiss for the music video, Rachel knew she was a goner.
The way that he was moving his hands all over her body and the feel of his body up against hers again, that's how she ended up following his car coming back to his apartment.
Puck presses Rachel against the wall in the elevator going up to his floor. She wraps her legs around his hips, causing her jean shorts, that she's still wearing from the shoot, to ride up even more. They barely hear the 'ding' that lets them know they're at his floor. The woman against his chest tries to move to get down but he holds her tighter and walks towards his apartment. Her back is now against the front door as he fishes for his keys to open it. A small whimper escapes her lips as he attaches his own against her neck. Finally he gets it open and fumbles around with the lock then moves towards the kitchen. Puck drops her onto the counter and starts to remove her shorts while she takes off her grey and white striped tank top along with the vest and her bra, then moves on to ripping off his shirt. Now that they're naked, he pulls her to him again and attacks her mouth feverishly. His hands run up the smooth skin of her legs until they hook under her ass and lifts her up. The counter is a bit too high for him so he's definitely not going to fuck her there.
She wraps her legs around his hips, again, until Puck knows she's safely entangled in him. He pushes her up against the refrigerator, the cool metal making her gasp. Both of her hands automatically reach up until she's holding on to the edge of the top. Her eyes are closed, but she knows he's staring at her. Rachel arches her body towards his and grinds a bit, hoping he'll get the hint that she needs him to do something. Puck enters her quickly but doesn't move at all. His thumb brushes against her clit and it feels so, so good. She whines and breathes out his name quietly.
He knows that she wants more. Puck knows every inch of her perfect body, but he keeps swiping slowly at her clit. As desperately as he wants to move, he hasn't been inside of her since January. Puck feels like he's at home, as un-badass as that sounds. His lips reattach to her neck, as he keeps moving his thumb ever so slowly. She's tightening around him and moaning quietly. By the end of the night, he'll have her screaming his name.
"Noah," Rachel moans out. Her head drops down so she's looking into his eyes, biting her lip gently before she tightens her thighs and lets go.
In the few seconds that she starts to recover, he begins to pound mercilessly into her, causing Rachel to moan loudly. He hears her mutter out a 'yes' then a loud gasp right after. "That's right, baby, tell me what you want."
A choked out sob comes out as she moves one hand down to the back of his neck. Her grip on the top of the fridge is causing her knuckles to turn white while trying to thrust back. All of her effort isn't working but Rachel knows that he can tell, because he starts to thrust even harder. "Fuck, harder, Baby," she manages to get out while arching into Puck even more.
A grunt comes out as he gives her what she wants. He's so turned on by Rachel wanting it harder. His hands move from under her ass to her hips, using the fridge as leverage, then gives it to her even more. She's surely going to have bruises but he can't help but hold on tightly. Puck just doesn't want to lose her again, in any way. And even if she is bruised, he's going to be sore as hell because he definitely hasn't worked out any of these muscles while she's been gone for her show. If anything, his right arm is stronger now. Her walls are tightening around him, causing him to drop his head against her chest as he feels his release coming.
Rachel uses the hand that's on his neck to move down to his bicep where his tattoo is, digging her nails into the flesh there as her body suddenly tenses and she's coming around his cock. "Noah!" she pants out while she feels him releasing inside her. She bites her bottom lip and falls forward onto his body, her head resting against his shoulder. Pressing a light kiss there, she feels like falling asleep. Her body isn't used to this type of 'exercise' anymore.
"Bedroom?" Puck asks then pulls away to look into her eyes. "My sister is staying at the condo tonight for whatever reason."
Rachel nods and leans forward to kiss him again. As they move away from the fridge, she can feel the cool air on her now sweaty back. He stops and locks the door before moving towards his room, placing her lightly onto the mattress. Puck climbs over her, his knees moving between her legs while his right index finger moves up her stomach.
"I missed you," she admits quietly before arching up when his finger is right underneath her breasts.
"I missed you, too." Puck leans forward and kisses her slowly. "Let me show you how much."
She whimpers as he starts to move slowly over her, an immense change from the sex they just had minutes before. It's slow and almost, loving, in the way he's touching her. Puck is dragging his lips across her collar bone before moving up and kissing her again. It's quiet except for her small whimpers and Puck whispering things into her ear.
The next morning, Rachel tiptoes to the living room to put on her clothes before leaving. They're finishing up the rest of the video today and a few scenes with just the two of them together. But she cannot, or more like refuses, to go to set in the same things she was wearing when she left yesterday.
When she's waiting in her hair and makeup chair, a blonde appears out of the corner of her eye. "Quinn," Rachel says shortly before looking over to make sure that Puck is actually filming his scene so he won't have to see them talk.
"Rachel," the blonde drawls out before running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you, before I left."
"Going somewhere?" she replies curtly before setting her magazine aside and facing her body towards Quinn.
"Actually, yes," she smiles. "I got a role on a TV show in New York. I'm leaving right after I talk to you. A change would be really nice right now, but I know I need to set things right with you before I go. It's the least I could do since I ruined your relationship and I've already talked with everyone else."
"I see…" Rachel drawls out and raises an eyebrow at the woman across from her, waiting for the explanation.
"I know I messed up really bad, Rachel, and I feel awful. I thought Holly had good intentions. I mean, she was my best friend and Holly was happiest when she was with Puck. I just wanted her to be happy again." She looks down at her hands which are nervously picking at an invisible thread. "But the more it went on, I started to feel weird about it. Puck was barely sleeping and he looked upset all the time. He was really good at acting like he wanted to be near me in public but when we weren't, he just wanted to be alone. He suffered for what he," she pauses and then corrects herself, "we, did to you. Trust me, he loves you, so much. And after Valentine's Day, he got even more upset. I'm sure it had something with us going out to lunch that day. Actually I know it did, I saw the pictures and I feel terrible. I really just wanted Brittany to see that I could be a good person."
"Please continue," Rachel remembers the photo that the blonde is talking about and how it caused her so much hurt and confusion over her and Puck. But still she smiles a little bit knowing that it was all just a misunderstanding.
"When he watched you perform on stage, he was happy again. Please give him another chance," she pleads. "Puck has never been this way with a woman for as long as I've known him. He's actually grown up a lot since he met you," both women laugh because despite his age, he was a little juvenile and silly, "but he'll be good to you. Now Puck knows how much you mean to him and he doesn't want to let you go." They both look over where the man in question is filming a scene where he's hitting a punching bag. Puck's sweating and gritting his teeth, looking like he's actually taking his frustrations out on the bag, probably caused by the leggy brunette leaving early this morning. "I caused a lot of problems with my drama with Finn and then everything with Holly. I just owed you an explanation and an apology. I'm really sorry about everything, Rachel, and I hope you'll give him another chance."
Quinn gets up and gives the brunette a small hug. "Thank you, Quinn. It means a lot that you wanted to say all of that."
"Like I said, I had to explain it all to you." She moves to leave, looking over at Puck before looking back over her shoulder at Rachel, smiling. "By the way, congratulations on second place. That's really amazing for how many people you had get past. I voted for you."
She laughs and smiles at woman in front of her. "Thank you, again."
As soon as the blonde disappears, moving past Puck in the process, he takes his place in the chair next to Rachel and wipes some sweat off his brow. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," she smiles, staring ever so slightly at his sweaty chest and reaches over to squeeze his hand. "Would you like to get dinner with me after we wrap tonight?"
His eyebrows shoot up as he searches her eyes, wondering if this is a trick. "Yeah, sure."
So, the music video: Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. I can honestly just see Rachel and Puck in it, plus it basically works out perfectly, right? All credit to Katy Perry on that one.
Almost to 300 reviews. You guys are seriously awesome! I know I owe people little one shot/drabbles, I swear I'll get to them. I gotta go back and take note of what all I gotta do haha.