A/N: Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who reviewed, story alerted, author alerted, favorite story'd or favorite author'd me because it really really (REALLY) means a lot! Oh yeah, and happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it, so go look follow the Easter bunny and devour those chocolate eggs for me!

So I have this personal quota for every chapter I post. Last time? It was five, and I passed that by two... this time? Can I make it to fifteen? Please?! Don't be shy.. I don't bite and I welcome all reviews!

Uh, so this chapter... contains a lot of Spring Awakening, because it's so great and I'm completely in love with the cast.

Enjoy! And I'll... see you at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Or Spring Awakening. It's a crying shame.

Chapter Two - Belly Mamba
The next few days passed Rachel in a rush. And each day, her friendships with the people from glee club strengthened. Turning the crazy down helped her. A lot. Everyone was nicer and actually smiling and looking at her instead of rolling their eyes and glaring. Sometimes her crazy personality would suddenly flare up and she would notice it and apologize profusely for her attitude. Everyone would just smile and laugh and Mercedes would say, "I knew crazy Rachel was still there! Good thing she made an appearance, I kind of missed her."

They were her friends, and soon enough everyone else outside of glee club starting respecting her as well (it blew her mind when kids she saw in the halls didn't leave nasty comments on her Myspace videos and complimented her).

She considered her personal goal accomplished. She and Noah talked. A lot. Not just about Quinn or Glee club, but about music and movies. He'd greet her 'good morning' every time he saw her first thing in the morning and at the end of the school day he'd find her and ask if she and Quinn needed a ride (but she was sure that was because Quinn was pregnant with his child).

But she wouldn't give herself a gold star until she heard him deem their camaraderie a friendship.

Rachel knew that in order to strengthen a friendship, the friends in question should spend time with each other outside of the school environment, right? And a field trip isn't technically considered school…

She approached Mr. Shuester a few minutes before glee practice started.

"Mr. Shue? I was hoping I could speak to you about something…" she started as she helped him sort out the sheet music.

Mr. Shuester looked at her in surprise and anxiety. Oh shit. Is she crushing on me again?

"Uh, sure Rachel. But if this is about an infatuation with me, I thought I already established the fact that I'm –"

"You're nothing more than my teacher, I know. Huh, don't get too full of yourself Mr. Shue," she joked. Mr. Shue let out a sigh of relief and nodded for her to continue.

"As you know, Regionals is a month from now, and the Show Choir Association of Ohio made a new rule that at least one musical theatre song must be incorporated in the set list."

Mr. Shue nodded and Rachel continued, "I've been DYING to see Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening, and just my luck, it's playing at the Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland! So I told daddy, who happens to be the lawyer of one of the advertisers, who knows how talented I am and how much I love Broadway and that I need inspiration and experience to help me reach my full potential-"

"Rachel. Your point, please?" he interrupted her. She immediately started blushing and apologizing profusely.

"Oh my gosh Mr. Shue, I'm sorry. It's like I had a brain fart or something," she rationalized.

Mr. Shuester burst out laughing and dropped the sheet music. She didn't notice the other members of the glee club who had entered laughing as well, including Puck.

Rachel smiled and gathered the fallen papers to put on the piano. She figured she could still talk to him after practice. Everyone was still laughing when she sat in her seat in between Quinn and Puck.

"Oh my Gucci, I never thought I'd see the day when Rachel Berry, QUEEN of SAT vocabulary, uttered the word 'fart'!" Kurt breathed through his fits of laughter.

Everyone took their seats and Mr. Shuester made his way to the front. "Hey guys, Rachel was in the middle of suggesting something to me when you all walked in. Care to continue, Rachel? I'm sure the rest of the club would want to have a say."

Rachel gulped and looked at everyone else in the room. They stared at her with hopeful eyes and smiles formed on their lips. "Uh…okay well. The SCAO has a rule that we need at least one musical theatre song in our set list, and I've really been dying to see Spring Awakening. It's playing at the Playhouse Square Center in Cleveland, and my daddy could easily nab us tickets to go watch. I figured that maybe we could all go, to give us some inspiration but it's alright. I can go with my dads and Quinn if you're unwilling." She was trying her best to consider everyone, seeing as they weren't all theatre-obsessed like she was.

But Kurt and Mercedes' eyes lit up when they heard Spring Awakening. "OMG girl! I heard about that one! It's about those German teenagers getting it on onstage!" Mercedes blurted out excitedly.

Rachel scoffed. Maybe it's that time again for crazy Rachel to make an appearance…

She was about to say something when Kurt beat her to it. "Mercedes, sweetie. You missed the whole point. It's a rock musical about discovering sex and…" Kurt noticed all of the guys' attention suddenly all on him when they heard him mention sex.

"Rachel, I think all of us are WILLING. Especially the men. But don't tell them anything about the hayloft scene," he winked and turned to Mercedes. "Holy shit, I cannot wait to see Kyle Riabko's delicious tush!" he whispered.

"All right then, this is all settled. We all on board for going to Cleveland?" Mr. Shue asked the group of teenagers. Rachel smiled and nodded, expecting to hear the careless grunts or see confused nods. But they all (particularly the guys) whooped excitedly.

"So, daddy checked availability. There are tickets available for this Friday at 6:30 in the evening, and for us they're $20 per ticket! Crazy, I know. But daddy's a REALLY good lawyer. Of course, it's after school. So we'd all need permission and seeing how unreliable school bus drivers could be and such, we'd need to come up with our own means of transportation," Rachel explained, standing up beside Mr. Shuester and addressing her fellow peers.

"But…wait. You said Cleveland? At 6:30? Isn't Cleveland like, three hours away?" Tina asked, sans-stutter. Rachel nodded slowly, knowing a problem was about to arise.

"So we'd need to leave at two or three to make it on time! A show is around two/three hours, so it would end at nine…we'd be home at midnight! Rachel, I'm sorry. I really do want to go but my parents have this…a curfew! And even if they did let me go, they certainly would NOT let me drive around Ohio at midnight," she pleaded. Everyone looked at Rachel hoping to find some answers.

Rachel smiled coyly. She walked back to her seat and reached for her bag. She pulled out her cell phone. "Excuse me one second," she said sitting back down.

"Hi, this is Rachel Berry, daughter of Tom Berry from Berry and Hamilton Law Firm? I'm going to need those seven rooms I called about earlier. We'll pay at the counter. Thanks," she ended the call and looked at the slack-jawed people in the room.

"Daddy took the manager's case. He owed him a favour," she explained.

"Seven rooms?! Rachel, that'll cost you at least a thousand!" Finn exclaimed, and everyone looked guilty. "Look Rach, we appreciate this and all, but you don't have to do all of this just for us to like you. We're your friends, we don't need expensive hotel rooms… we can pay for ourselves," he reasoned.

Rachel smiled and held back the tears. That was not at all what she was thinking – buying their friendship. Them paying for themselves was what she had intended, Crazy Rachel just prepared everything.

"Actually, I'll admit that we didn't get the rooms for free, but it was $20 off per room. So you can find a partner, take a room, they're all the same. Except for Artie's, which would be especially for Artie and his partner because it's wheelchair accessible. Split the cost of the room between the two of you, and at check out just pay for it there," she explained. Everyone seemed thoroughly satisfied with her explanation and happy with the plan.

"Alright!" Mr. Shue clapped his hands together. "It's settled then; Friday to Saturday, we'll be in Cleveland! Seeing as it's this Friday and it's probably too late to make permission slips, I'll notify Figgins and I'll need notes from your parents by Friday. Oh, and bring your money with you!" He reminded.

Rehearsal went smoothly. Rachel was touched by everyone's thanks, even more by Puck's.

"I was beginning to wonder where the crazy went," he laughed. "But I guess it came in handy, all the planning and shit. Besides, I can't wait to see those German teenagers getting it on onstage!" he imitated Mercedes. Rachel couldn't help but laugh.

Thursday night came fast. Tom Berry had booked the tickets the night of announcement and everyone in glee had brought notes of approval from their parents the day after. Mr. Figgins actually approved, and commended Rachel for getting her fellow peers into the musical theatre spirit! (He told her he was a RENT head. And a CATS fan. And Hair fan. And a Jersey Boys fan. But seriously, Hair?)

Rachel and Quinn were packing their bags when Quinn tried to inconspicuously sneak her pickles and Nutella in her bag.

"Quinn, just put it in a lunch bag and take it with you to school! Geez Q, do you really want your clothes to reach of dill pickle brine?" Rachel asked laughing.

Quinn blushed and took her pregnancy food out of the bag. She turned to Rachel and decided to tell her what had happened earlier that day.

"So…I was on my way to the bathroom during biology, and I ran into Finn," she stated. Rachel immediately stopped her packing and looked at Quinn like she think she heard wrong.

"You ran into Finn? Don't tell me he started laying into you about the whole secrecy thing! He may not be very bright but he should know that causing stress for a pregnant woman can put the baby in distress!" Rachel ranted and reached over for her phone.

"Wait, wh-what are you doing?!"

"I'm calling Finn and I will yell at him in my highest octave just so his ears can bleed from the high frequency," Rachel explained and put the phone to her ear.

"No, no Rachel, stop! There's… there's more. He didn't hurt me. If anything he made me happier," Quinn tried to reason.

Rachel was about to hang up, but Finn had already picked up.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hi. Is your refrigerator running?" she joked.

"Uh, not right now… I blew out a fuse and everything in the house shut down..."

Quinn burst out laughing at Finn's answer and Rachel rolled her eyes at her failed attempt at a prank.

"Oh no. 'Kay, bye!" she quickly buried her head in her hands while Quinn continued to giggle.

"Okay, moving on. He made you happier. Care to elaborate?" Rachel asked, sitting cross-legged on her bed and folding a cardigan.

"He said he forgave me! And that he thought about it…and how even though he was hurt, he missed me, and Puck. He forgave Puck too…"

Rachel's jaw dropped and quickly, the shock became joy.

"Are you serious?! That's excellent!" she clapped excitedly.

"I know," Quinn giggled. "And I got my chance to actually apologize, and I worked up my nerve to ask if we could start again, but go slow…"

"And? What did he say?" Rachel asked excitedly.

"HE SAID YES!" Quinn exclaimed. Rachel threw her arms around her pregnant friend and patted her back lightly.

"But seriously, Rachel. I didn't think you'd be so okay with this… I mean not so long ago you would have killed me to have him."

Suddenly it hit Rachel. She no longer had any romantic feelings for Finn. She was in love with the idea of him being her ideal leading man in her life, but in reality, even he couldn't keep up with her crazy.

"Quinn, if anything I love him platonically – like a brother. Oh and if you have anyone to worry about, it's Kurt," she joked. "But…what about Noah?"

Quinn sighed, "We talked about that before. He knows I still love Finn, and…he was okay with it. He cares about Drizzle."

Rachel smiled. THAT was the first time Quinn ever referred to her daughter as Drizzle.

The following afternoon, the members of glee club (plus Mr. Shuester and Emma, who insisted the kids call her by her first name since she didn't work at WMHS anymore) were gathered in the parking lot of the school, checking and rechecking that they had everything.

"Okay, guys. Here's the driving plans since you all wanted a road trip and to drive with your own friends. In Artie's dad's van it's Artie, Tina, Kurt and Mercedes. In Santana's car, it's Santana, Brittany, Matt and Mike. Rachel, Quinn, Puck and Finn will ride in Rachel's Prius, and Emma and I will take my car. Everyone has their walkie-talkies, so whenever anyone has to respond to the call of nature, just say so and we'll stop at a rest stop. Good?" Mr Shue clarified. Everyone grunted and went to their respective vehicles.

Out of Rachel's car buddies, it was only her and Puck who had cars. (Quinn had one, but her parents took it away when they kicked her out of the house. Finn had totalled his the other weekend.) Puck insisted that they use his truck, but Quinn bit his head off and ranted about her fear of giving birth prematurely ("I'd rather have Drizzle on Rachel's leather seats in her Prius then the jacked up seats of yours!") and said that she'd feel safer in Rachel's car.

He looked so defeated and grumbled something about not being able to provide for his kid. So Rachel let him drive.

She took shotgun while Finn and Quinn crawled into the back.

"How much is that doggie in the window?" Kurt's voice travelled out of the walkie-talkie. Rachel burst out laughing as Finn grabbed it and responded with his woof. Other people responded with their own moos or cock-a-doodle-doos or ribbit-ribbits.

"Guys, we haven't even left the parking lot. Could we stop playing with the walkie-talkies?"

*

Soon enough they all left and thirty minutes later they were out of Lima. Puck had his eyes on the road, Rachel had one earphone in her ear listening to the Spring Awakening soundtrack and Finn and Quinn had already fallen asleep.

"Uh, Rach? We're friends right?" Puck broke the silence.

Rachel made a mental note of giving herself a gold star once she back.

"Of course, Noah. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to say thanks, for everything. For caring, for being a friend to me and Quinn. And you're kinda the reason why Quinn's gonna let me be part of Drizzle's life. You've made us all really happy," he told her. Puck took his eyes off the road to smile gratefully at her.

What Puck said almost brought tears to Rachel's eyes. Instead she returned his smile and squeezed his hand that was on the wheel.

They fell into a comfortable silence as Puck kept driving.

"I'm kind of scared that I'll be a bad father," he confessed suddenly. "What if she hates me? And I drop her or some scary shit like that? Rachel, I wouldn't forgive myself if I scarred my own daughter!"

Rachel looked at him in surprise. He turned his head toward her and looked her in the eyes. She could see the worry and the fear at that moment, probably something that not many people got to see.

She patted his face affectionately. "Noah, you'll be a great father. I can see it already. You care so much about Drizzle and about Quinn's well being and you're changing for the better too. You don't throw slushies in my face anymore, and you don't throw Kurt into the dumpster either. You have so much potential, Noah. I want to help you, the whole glee club wants to help you," she assured him sincerely.

Puck nodded and focused his eyes back on the road. No one had ever told him that he had potential except for Rachel.

Then it hit him: Rachel was…his rock.

*

Puck was a bit tired once they got to Cleveland. Since there was little traffic, they actually got there in two and half hours instead of the expected three.

They checked into Embassy Suites, which was actually a five minute walk to the theatre. And Mr. Shuester gave them their rooms.

Rachel was with Quinn.
Tina was with Mercedes.
Santana was with Brittany.
Kurt was with Finn ("Oh. My. Gucci. Mr. Shuester, I love you." "Kurt if you do anything to me while I sleep I will tackle you into the floor… wait nevermind!")
Matt was with Mike.
And Puck and Artie shared the wheelchair accessible suite.

Since they had an hour and a half before the show started, Mr. Shuester had instructed them to get settled and be ready to leave at 6 sharp (Crazy Rachel showed up and told them all to be punctual).

Puck laid in his bed while Artie was using the shower. He thought about the conversation he had with Rachel in the car. He believed that he owed her a thank you, and it was way overdue. Other than Quinn, he talked to Rachel the most.

He considered her one of his close friends – she would openly joke about Drizzle and about him and his "daddy tendencies", they'd share their lunches at lunch and she'd easily burn him whenever he teased her about something.

He liked that she cared so much about his relationship with Quinn and Drizzle (if it were anyone else, he'd tell them to fuck off) and that she was more comfortable with talking and laughing during glee.

The cardigans, skirts and knee-highs were growing on him too. And considering the conversations they had in the car (yes, conversations. And he listened), he wouldn't tune her out if they started dating.

Wait what?!

Back the fuck up, Puckerman!

'Dating Rachel. Really? She cares about you because she cares about Quinn. She feels bad about telling Finn. You used to slushie her and she made you want to light yourself on fire, remember that? God, you're turning into a pussy,' the badass Puck in his brain told him.

'But dude, you just made a list of things you like about her, AND THEN you said you wouldn't mind dating her. You should do it man, and didn't your mom want you to date a Jewish girl?' the Noah in his brain countered.

Puck rolled his eyes at the bickering in his mind. He heard the bathroom door open and Artie roll out in his boxers.

"It's all yours, dude. And I highly recommend using the Jacuzzi. Very relaxing," Artie suggested.

Down the hall, Rachel and Quinn were getting ready.

Rachel thought back to Puck's thank you in the car, and their easy-flowing conversation that followed.

"So, I heard you and Puck talking earlier, Rach," Quinn brought up as she dabbed her lips with pink lip gloss.

"Eavesdropping were we?" Rachel smirked. "Yeah, he wanted to thank me about being there and caring about you and helping you and stuff. He was just being a sweetheart. And then we just talked after."

There was a long pause until Quinn stated, "I think he kind of likes you."

Rachel stopped straightening her hair and looked at Quinn through her reflection in the mirror. "What the hell are you talking about? That's definitely not the vibe that I get!"

Quinn laughed at Rachel's sudden outburst, "Well that's the way I see it. Whenever you leave us in the living room, it's so awkward. But then when you get back, he smiles and relaxes. And as I see it, the conversation flows so easy between you too! Besides, you'd make a cute couple."

Rachel laughed lightly and shook her head. Memories of their little relationship a month ago filled her head. She remembered that he was a really good kisser, but she was so hung up on Finn that she didn't even try to explore their relationship more. Lately she didn't even think about them dating; she didn't even think he'd be interested in her again.

I mean, my only goal was to be his friend…

Almost everyone had gathered in the lobby at 5:55, genuinely excited to see the show. The only four who were missing were Rachel, Quinn, Mr. Shuester and Emma. Everyone had their money in their hands, ready to pay Rachel (whose father paid in advance so they could just pick them up at the box office). Puck looked around. They all got the memo to dress more conservatively, so all the boys went with dress shirts and jeans while the girls picked out their respective mini-but-modest dresses.

Their eyes shifted to the elevator when it 'ding'ed and the four missing glee club members stepped out.

Puck's eyes widened. Not at Quinn (no, because Finn was doing that) but at Rachel! He had expected for her to wear some Spring Awakening themed outfit or her usual dressy shirt and blouse, but there she was.

She looked innocent yet smoking hot with her hair straightened and her makeup done intensely. Her body looked killer in a short, empire waist patterned dress, black stockings and a pair of black patent peep toes (shut up, his mom has a subscription to Vogue!). Maybe dating Berry wasn't such a bad idea…

"Well, well! This is so great, you guys are all here early! I guess we should get going…" she said as she walked over to the group.

They waited until Mr. Shue had returned from the front desk with directions to the Playhouse Square Center and began walking. Rachel walked along side Puck while Finn and Quinn followed behind linking arms.

Oh, right.

He extended his arm for Rachel to take, and she did so with surprise.

"Thank you, Noah!" she smiled.

"No big. You look great tonight, Rachel," he complimented.

Rachel giggled and pecked his cheek. "Thank you. And you look very handsome yourself."

Yeah, dating Rachel Berry seemed very appealing.

*

When they got to the theatre they gave Rachel their money and she picked up the tickets from the box office. When they got in they all found their seats (fourth and fifth rows from the stage) quite easily.

Rachel, who was sitting beside Puck, looked at him concerned. She patted him on the knee, "I really hope you genuinely enjoy it, Puck. It'd be fun to hear what you'll have to say about it!"

The lights dimmed and the girl playing Wendla came out.

Holy shit. She looks like the dream I had of Rachel!Yeah, it was gonna be a long show.

*

First few minutes and he was already slack-jawed at the mom's attitude towards sex. Oh, and the amazing harmonies.

-

He cheered LOUDLY for the guy who was getting himself off during My Junk, and for the piano playing prodigy who had a thing for his teacher.

-

He wanted to vomit when that girl Martha told the girls her dad rapes her.

-

He almost cried when Moritz's dad slapped him for failing his midterms.

-

He watched in amazement and awe as Melchior and Wendla started doing it on stage. He wanted to yell at them in encouragement, but Rachel slapped a hand over his mouth and told him that he'd ruin their moment.

-

He let himself shed a man tear when Moritz shot himself.

-

His favourite song at that moment became Totally Fucked because it was totally true.

-

He cried again when Melchior discovered Wendla and his baby were dead.

And he cheered loudly at the end of Song of Purple Summer.

Rachel was watching Noah's range of emotions throughout the whole thing. It was like a cycle, and she was certain that crying had shown up at least twice.

At the end, they all stood up, gave them a standing ovation and stretched their legs.

"Holy shit. That was pretty amazing, even on a badass level!" Puck commended.

"Told you so," Rachel laughed. "And did I see a glimmer in your eye, Noah? Or are you gonna tell me that it was the light?"

*

Everyone loved it so much, they waited at the stage door to see the cast.

Yeah, groupies are so cool.
Oh yeah, and they harmonized to Belly Mamba on the way back to the hotel.

*

Once they got back to the hotel, Rachel brushed her teeth, washed her face and changed into her comfortable chemise she bought from Victoria's Secret. She was falling asleep when she felt someone jump onto her bed.

"Rachel, are you asleep?"

"No, I just sleep talk, Quinn. What?"

Quinn flipped the lamp on and looked guilty.

"I need ice cream," she admitted sheepishly.

Rachel groaned and looked at Quinn. "What happened to your pickles and nutella? I thought that kept Drizzle satisfied!"

"…Drizzle needs her ice cream!" Quinn demanded.

Rachel sighed and looked at the clock: 9:03 pm.

"Fine, go knock on everyone's door and ask if they want to pick at the dessert menu with us," Rachel suggested. Quinn bounded out the door as Rachel sat up and searched through the room service menu.

Stupid cravings.

Rachel was deciding between a crepe or a white chocolate sundae when she heard Quinn's voice and a knock on her door.

She slipped on her matching slippers and made her way to the door.

When she opened it, her heart beat quickened.

Noah.
At her door.
With nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

And then all of a sudden, Rachel thought maybe us dating would have its perks…

Puck just got out of the bathroom when he saw Finn at the door talking to Quinn.

"We're gonna have an ice cream date! Hurry up!" Quinn said as she dragged Puck by the arm.

"Wait, I need a shirt!" he tried, but Finn had already closed the door and Quinn had thrusted him in front of her room.

"Knock, Rachel's in there!" she exclaimed as Kurt opened his room door.

Puck knocked lightly and heard Rachel shuffle behind the door.

His breath hitched in his throat.

She was a fucking stunner in her short chemise and even without any makeup, she was still beautiful.

So yeah, Puck knew he liked her. And at that moment, he set a goal for himself: to make Rachel Berry HIS girl.

A/N: 'Kay so I have never booked a room before (my parents do that for me) so please excuse me if anything is inaccurate. My favourite thing about writing fanfictions? Finding model dresses, shoes, hotel rooms, etc! It's actually really fun, like that dress Rachel was wearing? Courtesy of Forever 21 (and so are her shoes). I also found out that Cleveland is seriously 3 hours away from Lima and Embassy Suites is a short walk away from the Playhouse Square Center (and no, I'm not from Ohio). Ah yes, and in my fanfiction world, Rachel's daddy is a successful lawyer.

And those Belly Mamba harmonies? Listen: go to youtube, type in Belly Mamba and pick either videos of Totally Trucked. It's actually quite an amazing exercise and me and my friend sing it everyday on the way to bio (btw, did anyone catch that I love Kyle Riabko?! Hence, HIS TUSH!)

Next chapter? Hmm... possibly not the last chapter. I'll introduce someone new, Rachel thinks it's just a crush, and it's not like she'll faint everytime they touch, Finn gets a surprise, Kurt continues his love for Kyle Riabko and Puck... gets a little jealous.


SO PLEASE, REVIEW FOR THE SAKE OF ME! I'll try to post by Wednesday or Thursday. OH AND GLEE CAST ON OPRAH! Wednesday, April 7th. Check your local listings.