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I love to hear if people want more. 10 reviews for the next chapter. If you haven't already, check out the first chapter again. I've made some edits to it.

At six AM sharp, Rachel's music clicked on and her eyes popped open, a smile lighting her face as Matthew Wilder's "Break My Stride" filled her room. Maybe it was silly to always wake up to the same song, but something about this one spoke to her. She definitely identified with the determination and it was very important that she not let anybody "break her stride." Really, it was the perfect motivation song.

Folding her sheets back neatly and sliding out of bed, she pulled on her sweatpants, swept her hair into a ponytail and stepped onto her elliptical for her daily morning workout. Her smile widened as she got into the heart of her workout. She loved pushing herself farther and faster every morning. It was like a metaphor for the rest of her life, pushing on despite resistance and, though she wasn't literally moving forward on her machine, making progress toward her goal of becoming a star.

As she ran, Rachel thought again about her interaction with Puck while she stared at the "Sectionals" goal taped to the support beam directly in front of her elliptical. A spark went off in her brain, an idea of how to help him and still keep moving toward her goals. She could coach him, help him improve his performance, thereby increasing their chances of winning at sectionals and having time to demonstrate that he wasn't as cut off as he thought he was. Yes, it was a perfect idea. Now all she had to do was convince him that it was a good idea. Of course, surviving the first few encounters was high on her list as well.

She had no illusions that it was going to be easy to crack that shell, but, she thought as she set her jaw in determination, she was never one to back away from a challenge. Unless it was singing back-up. That was her exception.

When she couldn't take the burning in her legs anymore, she slowed and set her machine for a five minute cool down. She was just finishing when her dad knocked on the door.

"Rachel? Breakfast is ready. You have to eat soon or you're going to be late," he called through the door.

"What?" she said and looked at the clock, nearly falling off the elliptical in a panic. She only had twenty minutes to get to school and she still had to get ready. "Can you just pack me some toast and a smoothie? I have to get ready!"

She heard his chuckle through the door. "Working out too long again? All right, but you have to promise to sit down with us tomorrow morning."

"Of course, Daddy. Thank you!" she called and darted into her bathroom, shedding clothes as she went. The spray of hot water felt heavenly, but she scrubbed down in record time and was out of the shower and drying her hair within ten minutes. She threw on the clothes she had set out the night before (Thank God for small miracles) and dashed downstairs with her bag thumping on each step.

Her dads stood together next to the door, each with something for her in his hands.

"Thank you, Daddy," she said and gave him a quick peck on the cheek as one handed her breakfast. She took her lunch from her other dad, sure to give him a kiss, too, as she ran outside. Digging her keys from her pocket, Rachel threw herself into her car and started it up. Sighing, she backed out of the driveway carefully, waving to her dads as she pulled away from the house. Once she turned the corner, she slammed on the gas. What her dads didn't know couldn't hurt them.

She pulled into the parking lot with five minutes to spare and screeched into a parking spot. Whew, some of those turns had been harrowing. Good thing she lived so close to school. She got out of her car, dragging her bag with her, and set off for class. She waved to Kurt and Mercedes as they walked arm in arm to their lockers and smiled hesitantly at Santana and Brittany as they strutted by. They ignored her.

"Rachel!"

Rachel paused, glancing over her shoulder at Finn who was jogging toward her with a goofy smile on his face. Automatically, she felt her own face split into a wide grin and she waited for him to catch up. "Good morning, Finn. How are you?"

"Um, good. So, we sounded good yesterday, huh?" he said, his smile fading to the sweet half-smile that twisted up one side of his mouth.

"We could work on the mechanics of it a little and you were a little flat on the end of it," she started, but seeing a slight cloudiness seeping into his eyes, she continued, "but, yes, we sounded good." Her heart fluttered at his proximity and she was smiling a little too wide. He was so easy to like and he made her feel safe with his large body and careful way he touched her.

The cloudiness cleared and his eyes lit up again. "Cool. I-oh, there's Quinn. I'll see you later, Rach." He bounded away calling her name.

Rachel took a deep breath and pressed two fingers to her temple. She really had to stop that. But it was so easy to get caught up in his sweetness and his cute idiocy and his adorableness and…she snapped her shoulders back. It was all pointless because he had a pregnant girlfriend that he was obviously all about, especially now with the baby. It would be a cute baby, too.

She paused at her locker, giving the wonder couple a brief smile as she shoved the extra books inside. Quinn wasn't really so bad, now that they had something in common. Rachel wished it had been because she herself had risen on the social scale rather than Quinn moving down, but she'd take what she could get. Baby steps. That's all it took, determination and baby steps.

She shut her locker and glanced up the hall, her body tensing as she saw Puck heading toward her with a 7-Eleven cup in his hand and his football buddies at his side. Steeling herself, Rachel started walking toward them (her class was in that direction) and hoped that he wouldn't douse her in berry-flavored shaved ice.

She managed mostly to keep her gaze away from him as they approached each other but she couldn't resist looking at him when he was only a few feet away. Anxiety built up as she saw the lid missing from his cup and she drew in a deep breath.

Her sense of pride wouldn't allow her to back down, so she looked him straight in the eyes and dared him to do it. His eyes widened as she caught his gaze and for a brief second he seemed conflicted. His mouth wasn't twisted in its usual cruel smirk. Instead, his eyes were wide and staring directly into her face. A small spark of hope lit in her chest.

She should have known better, she thought as the cold wet slush hit her face.

She stood there for a split second, feeling the sugared water slide down her face, and all of a sudden, a hot, bright rage galvanized her into action. She furiously wiped most of the mess from her face, dropped her bag and spun around. Thoughts of being nice and helping him out fell by the wayside as she stalked back toward the group laughing near a water fountain and snapped, "Hey!" When Puck turned with an arrogant and unsuspecting smile on his face, she curled her hand into a fist and punched him right in the face.

Whether he fell back from the force of the punch, the surprise or both, she didn't know, but she did know that it had felt really good and really bad at the same time. Her hand hurt! She raised her chin, set her jaw and stomped back to pick up her bag, determinedly ignoring the incredulous stares of what felt like the entire student body as she headed to her first class.

Puck staggered back with a look of absolute shock on his face. What the hell had just happened? He remembered throwing his drink in Rachel's face and ignoring the twinge of guilt as she sputtered. He remembered laughing with the guys by a drinking fountain and ignoring the growing feeling of guilt. He remembered hearing her distinctive shrill voice behind him and turning around-and he didn't remember what happened next. At least he hoped he didn't, because that would mean that a girl who couldn't weigh more than ninety pounds and was nearly a foot shorter than him had punched him in the face and actually made quite a big impact on his soft tissue.

He shook off the supporting hands and touched the spot just below his left eye that smarted. Scowling at the tenderness he felt, he knew he'd have a shiner tomorrow. She'd hit him in just the right place.

"Jesus, was that Rachel Berry?" one of the guys said.

Puck grabbed him by the edge of the shirt and jerked him forward to get in his face. "Shut the fuck up," he snarled. He wanted to chase after her, to make her regret her actions, but a small part of him couldn't help but be impressed. Guys much larger than she were wary of starting something with him, so her courage (or foolishness, he wasn't sure which) earned her his grudging respect. He let the guy go and straightened his own clothes.

He stalked into class in a foul mood and sat in the back with his arms crossed and a murderous look on his face until the bell rang.

He was just heading into the bathroom to see if his face was bruising yet when Finn caught up to him.

"Hey, Puck," his friend said. "Did Rachel really slug you?"

Puck's mood darkened further. The amusement and admiration in Finn's tone irritated him more than the actual punch had. He only grunted and pushed into the bathroom.

Finn followed him. "Aw, come on. It's not like you didn't deserve it. You treat her like shit and you've definitely cost her a fortune in dry cleaning bills." He clapped a hand on Puck's shoulder. "Are you going to bruise?"

Puck shouldered Finn away from him. "Leave me alone. What are you? Her white knight? Get off it, bro. You've got Quinn plus one. Quit wasting your time with that freak. She'd only end up cutting off your dick or something because you didn't call her when you said you would or something crazy like that. The girl is fucking nuts." Even as the words came out he could see the fire that had burned in her eyes right before her fist connected and, God help him, it turned him on.

Finn glared at him in disgust. "Why do you have to say shit like that? Sure, she's a little intense, but she's nice and talented and going somewhere." Finn shook his head. "Just give her a chance and stop being such an asshole. There's more to her than you think." With a huff, he left Puck alone.

Puck leaned over the sink, gripping the porcelain tightly, and glared at his reflection. Yeah, he was going to have a nice mark tomorrow.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of mocking comments and more than a few threatening snarls. Football practice was eventful and he almost got tossed out for his attitude and overly aggressive behavior, which he thought was ironic because Coach positively encouraged it during games. And all of it was compounded by the fact that Mr. Schue had called a late Glee practice so the football players could attend. Puck was in no mood to sing and dance, but it wouldn't do to have Berry think that her little outburst had affected him at all.

Nonetheless, he stayed extra long in the shower and took his time dressing so that by the time he was done, there was no one else in the locker room. He grabbed his bag and pushed through the door to find her leaning against the opposite wall. Her hair was pulled into a soft side ponytail and she was wearing a different shirt. She looked like she was going to puke.

"Hi," she said softly, softer than he had ever heard her speak, except maybe when she was talking to Finn.

"What?" he snapped.

She swallowed convulsively, then squared her shoulders and straightened away from the wall. "I wanted to apologise. I lost my temper and it was completely unacceptable behavior on my part to strike you. I've always prided myself on my ability to keep my impulses under control and I am thoroughly upset that I lost it today. But -"

"Whatever," he interrupted and started away from her.

The shock of her hand on his arm made him pause.

"Please don't leave Glee," she said.

He spun around to face her, insults ready, but the look on her face stopped his voice. She was closer to him than she had ever been and the proximity made his head swim. Her dark brown eyes looked up at him pleadingly and he considered how easy it would be to lose himself in the depths. He couldn't contain the thought that her skin looked really soft.

She backed up almost immediately and he almost missed the warmth of her hand on his arm. "Sorry," she muttered. "But, please don't leave."

His eyes narrowed. "What do you care? Don't you hate my guts? Because I sure hate yours." The quick flicker of hurt in her dark eyes pricked his conscience. This sure was a day for regrets. That little flash of hope this morning right before he threw his drink on her had eaten at him all day, but there was no trace of it in her gaze now. She was very good at hiding the pain.

Rachel bit her lip and squeezed her hands into fists. "No, I don't." He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're certainly not one of my top ten favorite people, but Finn obviously sees something good in you. Also, you are a valuable asset to Glee. And Glee is about accepting people for who they are. While I definitely don't like your malicious actions, I can respect your talent and respect you and hope that by showing you that I-we will take you however you are, with some concessions on both parts because I think Kurt would appreciate an end to the visits to the dumpster and you would prefer that he keep the costumes simpler, that you will see that we're just regular people, too."

He stared at her, marveling at how she had managed to say all that without taking a breath. "What?"

She scowled. "You are talented and I think you're nice very deep on the inside and, if you can't bring yourself to be yourself, then you can at least be civil on the outside."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times. He felt like a fish, but he had no idea what to say to that. He knew he was giving her an opening, a huge opportunity to believe that she was right about him. He couldn't help it.

He watched in both horror and anticipation as she leaned forward and reached up, brushing her fingers across the top of his cheekbone where she had struck him. Her facial expression shifted from one of determination laced with fear to one of remorseful compassion. "I didn't think it would bruise like that," she murmured.

Everything in his body clenched at the soft touch of her fingers and he found himself shaken to the core. He could probably count on one hand the people who had touched him with such tenderness in their hands and their faces. The gentle look in her eyes made his chest hurt with longing and anger at the same time. Why did she have to be the one to touch him like that? His expression must have changed because she jerked her hand away.

Her face was flushed and she twisted her fingers together behind her back. "Um, sorry," she whispered and took off down the hall. For the third time in two days, he was left staring after her as she ran away.