Disclaimer: I claim no right to the Glee universe. Please Review!

I love to hear if people want more. 10 reviews for the next chapter, as usual.

Rachel hurried down the hall away from him, her cheeks burning and her fingertips tingling. What in the world had possessed her to touch him like that? Or just plain touch him? Pressing a hand to her chest, she darted into an empty classroom and took a deep gasping breath.

She was going to die.

She hadn't been able to control herself when he had looked so unlike the vicious Puck she usually encountered. The expression was endearing on his normally scowling face and she could see the faint bruising already darkening his skin. Without thinking, she had touched him like she would someone about whom she cared. His skin was hot and less rough than she would have thought.

She wished she could have hit him without the bruising as an aftereffect. He was sure to take it as an affront to his masculinity and she knew how protective some men were of their male image. There was no way she could have told him that she didn't doubt his masculinity without him taking it in a sexual and perverted direction.

Immediately his expression had tightened and she grew terrified that she had crossed a line. Some lines were not so bad to jump over, but she knew it wouldn't take much to shatter the tenuous connection that she felt she had made with him. Touching him really didn't seem the way to strengthen that connection judging by the look on his face when she had done so.

She hadn't known what else to do. Running was the only solution of which she could think, so she fled. At least when she had punched him, there were tons of witnesses around, so he couldn't exactly do much, but with the halls completely empty at this time in the evening, she was definitely not safe.

She let out a little shriek of frustration. She tried so hard not to let all of their hateful comments and blouse-ruining actions get to her, but each and every needle they shoved under her skin made its way to her heart. And she held all of them there, locked away until she was too worn down to hold her head up and keep the lock closed. Tears threatened to spill down her face, but she dashed them away with an angry flick of her hand. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

Rachel was the first to admit that she was insanely determined to meet her goal and that she had many personality traits that rubbed people the wrong way, but that didn't mean that she was impervious to their taunts and jeers. She knew who she was. It wasn't her fault that everyone else was too insecure to let her be.

Who was she kidding? She wanted to be accepted just like everyone else. She wanted to see one (okay, preferably more) friendly smile in the hallway, to hold hands with and kiss someone and worry about making it home in time for her curfew. She was sick of worrying about whether she had packed an extra shirt or if her dads would see how deeply the bullying affected her.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, willing herself into a calmer state. She was glad to be herself and she wouldn't want to be anyone else. With the steel will that drove her determination, she pushed all those thoughts out of her mind and schooled her features into what she hoped was a neutral expression.

Glee was waiting.

Rachel smoothed her hands down her front and straightened her back. She was not going to run from this. But she did peek out into the hall to make sure it was empty before stepping out. She kept her hands pressed tightly to her sides to hide the nervous shaking.

Without permission, her mind wandered back to the last glimpse she had of his face and she felt the shiver all over again. His incredible eyes had darkened when she had touched him, but she couldn't quite place her finger on why it had struck her so. She had seen his eyes turn upset a thousand times before, so why was this time different? Maybe it was because she was actually looking at him, noticing him for the first time.

A wayward thought informed her that he would be devastatingly handsome in his seduction attempts if he put more of himself out there, if he was sincere. That was why she had fallen so hard when Finn had turned on the charm.

She hadn't known anything other than sweet sincerity prior to Finn's seduction attempts and before that, she wouldn't have believed him capable of such deception. His smile had melted her instantly and turned her brain to mush. Not so much any more. The way he had tried to use her made her feel sick. She still felt the flutter in her stomach and experienced a slight loss of cognition when he turned that grin on her, but it didn't quite hold the same power. Puck's smile, however, made her curious. She knew he could smile. She'd seen him do it before, but he hadn't ever smiled at her. She would bet that it could be just as thrilling as Finn's, maybe even more so. The man did have experience.

She sighed. She really was going crazy.

The doors swung inward as she strode through and she immediately met the disapproving glance of Mr. Schuester.

"Where have you been? We're almost half an hour in," he said with a long suffering tone.

She smiled apologetically, trying to ignore the heavy gaze of a certain young man. "Sorry, Mr. Schue. I-I had to take care of some personal business," she apologized.

He shook his head, his expression a mixture of surprise an exasperation. "It's fine. Are you warmed up?"

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I am. What are we working on?" She took the sheet music from his hand and scanned it quickly, a smile lighting up her face. This was a good song. Her eyes flickered up to meet Finn's and he smiled, too. The weight on her shoulders grew, but she would not acknowledge it. Instead, she opened her mouth and poured everything she was feeling into the song.

Puck had fixed his gaze on her the second she had walked into the classroom. Her cheeks were still pink and her eyes were bright, but he couldn't tell if it was because of him or if she was just excited about Glee. The club was her reason for living. He did see the light tremble of her hand as she took the music from Mr. Schue, but again, he couldn't tell if it was from him or excitement. She usually had a ton of energy and he hadn't paid all that much attention to her in the past, so it was a toss up either way.

Her lips curved up at the corners as she scanned the music and the smile widened as she glanced up at Finn. Puck crossed his arms in disgust. Finn was a nice guy and all, but there was no good reason for both of these girls to be all over him.

Puck frowned. Who was he kidding? Finn was everything Puck wasn't. He had those big puppy dog eyes that suckered them in and that smile that made them melt. Not that Puck was ugly or anything. In fact, he knew he was quite the male specimen, but it was a different kind of hotness. Finn made girls tingle. Puck made them burn. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face at that thought. But it faded quickly as he admitted that the burn only lasted for so long before it cooled and he was by himself again.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the clear musical notes issuing from Rachel's throat and his bad mood was temporarily suspended. Though she was extraordinarily talkative and bossy, the sounds she could make erased all the rest of her for a short time. It was the only time he could really stand to be in her company, until recently, because somehow she soothed the turmoil inside him. Talk about using music to tame a beast.

His eyes stayed locked on her face as she sang some sappy song about loving someone who couldn't or wouldn't love her back. He saw the way her face changed when Finn's voice joined hers and fought down the jealousy that threatened to choke him. He was not attracted to her.

As he watched her, he marveled that she could be so transparent and closed at the same time. She was terrible at hiding her fascination with Finn or at reining in her self-absorption, but she appeared to be a master at suppressing hurt feelings. He was ashamed to realize that he had never thought about the impact his actions had had on her. He was only concerned with keeping his top spot in the social hierarchy, never mind the cost to those he stepped on to get there.

He crossed his arms tighter over his chest. Well, fuck her. He didn't care what happened to her or if he had hurt her. Really. She was massively annoying and creepy. She was a freak. She was beautiful and she only had eyes for Finn. He wanted to look away as they started improvising the choreography, spinning around each other and then she was placing her hand on Finn's chest, the fingers curled in slightly so that her nails dug into his shirt a little. She pushed away into a twirl, but he caught her hand, pulling her back against his body and sliding his arm around her waist. That sweet smile curled up the corners of her mouth and…Puck couldn't take it anymore. At his limit, he stood quickly, sending the chair in which he had been sitting screeching back, and stalked out of the room.

Puck had almost made it to the parking lot when Finn caught up to him.

"Hey, man," Finn called, grabbing Puck's shoulder and pulling him to a halt. "What's your problem?"

Puck pushed him away. "Nothing. I'm sick of the way that room smells like loser."

Finn pushed him back. "Grow up. You spend more time in there than I do, so that's not what's going on." He took a breath. "I know you like being in Glee and aside from earlier you've been just fine hanging out with all of them. So, what the hell?"

Puck refused to confess why he was really upset, so he threw a bone he knew Finn would take. "My dad's back, okay?"

"Oh. Shit." Finn was at a loss for words. He scratched the back of his head. "You, um, want to stay at my place for a while?" He was familiar with the whole pathetic story of Puck's childhood, so he didn't push when it came to Puck's dad.

Puck shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna leave my mom alone with him. But thanks."

Finn nodded. "Door's open any time."

"Yeah. I'm just gonna-" Puck jerked his head toward his car. Finn squeezed his shoulder and stepped back. "I'll see you tomorrow." He trudged to his car as Finn reentered the school. He patted his pockets for his keys and realized too late that they were in his backpack, which was still in the classroom. He did not want to go back in there.

"You forgot this."

Puck nearly jumped out of his skin when Rachel spoke. She stood several feet away with his backpack hanging from her outstretched hands.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you might need this. I'm certain you have homework to do."

He grunted and snatched the bag from her hands. She flinched, but held her ground.

"You're welcome," she sighed and turned on her heel. And again, he was stuck watching her walk away.

Rachel had been startled by Puck's abrupt departure just like everyone else, but unlike the rest of the Glee club, she felt somewhat responsible. Finn had gone chasing after him right away, leaving her standing there exchanging looks with Artie and Tina. She glanced at his chair and noticed his backpack still underneath.

She warred with herself for a few brief seconds. Should she face him again so soon? Would he react poorly to her bringing him something that he might need very much just because it was her? No, she decided. Whatever the outcome, she was going to take every chance she had to show him that people did care.

"I'll be right back, Mr. Schue," she informed him, grabbing Puck's backpack and exiting the room before she lost her nerve. She neared the end of the breezeway, slowing as she heard the two boys talking.

"My dad's back, okay?" Puck said, his tone warning her that it wasn't exactly a good thing.

"Oh. Shit." She bit her lip as Finn's reaction confirmed it. Feeling bad about listening in, she turned and crept back down the hall slowly. A few seconds later, Finn called her name. "Rachel?"

Stopping, she tried to keep the guilty look off her face as she turned around to face him. "Oh, hey. Is he gone? I-he forgot his backpack and i know he has homework and everything, so I thought I'd..." She trailed off as Finn started laughing.

"Puck? Homework? That's a good one." His laughter trailed off at the disapproving look she gave him. He coughed. "Um, he might still be in the parking lot. Do you want me to-?"

"No," she cut him off. "I can do it." She walked a few steps, then reconsidered. "But could you wait here and maybe check on me if I'm not back in a couple of minutes?"

He grinned. "Sure."

She smiled at him. "Thanks. I'll be back in a second." She darted down the hall and out into the parking lot. She could see him standing out by his car with his hands on his hips and his head down. She stopped a few feet away and said, "You forgot this."

He jumped and spun around, his face drawn down in its usual scowl.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I thought you might need this. I"m certain you have homework to do." She held out his backpack expectantly.

He grunted and grabbed it. The sudden movement caused her to recoil, but she was proud that she stood firm. He dug around in the pocket and pulled out his keys.

"You're welcome," she said and left him. There was no need to push her luck. She had only taken a few steps when...

"Thanks."