Chapter 3

A/N: I am so thrilled with all the kind reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

A/N 2: Don't own Glee…wish I owned Mark Salling though.

A/N 3: This chapter has a good portion focused on the other members of Glee, namely Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina.

A/N 4: Brownie points to anyone who spots the How I Met Your Mother reference.

Mercedes shook her head in stunned disbelief as she watched Finn and Quinn walk around the ball room hand in hand. She frowned when he bent his head down a whispered something in her ear. "If I wasn't wearing this dress, I'd kick that white boy's ass good," she thought angrily. She let out a frustrated sigh as she scanned the room again, looking for any sign of Rachel. She spotted Artie and Tina in the corner of the room doing the same and Matt, her date, walking to every table to see if she was sitting there. Mercedes turned around in time to spot Kurt power walking over to her, a mad gleam in his eyes.

"You will never believe what I just saw Bootylicious!" He cried out, skidding to a stop in front of her.

"Girl…what happened to you? You look crazier than Lady Gaga," Mercedes replied, talking an involuntary step back.

"I have just witnessed the greatest scandal to rock William McKinley High since…well since babygate," he told her breathlessly.

Mercedes gave him a look of exasperation as she pointed towards Finn and Quinn. "If you're talking about boy wonder over there macking out with his ex, I'd save…"

"Please! That's old news," Kurt interrupted impatiently. He took a deep breath and leaned in conspiratorially. "The diva and the bad ass just took the elevator up to a hotel room."

Mercedes looked at him skeptically. "You telling me that Rachel and Puck got a hotel room…together?" she said slowly.

Kurt nodded his head, an impish smile set upon his face.

"Oh, hell no!" Mercedes exclaimed. She started to walk towards the ballroom doors but stopped abruptly when Kurt grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked as she spun around.

"I'm planning on finding that crazy girl and dragging her skinny ass back down here," she snapped.

"You can't do that," Kurt replied in a scandalized voice.

Mercedes fixed him with a glare. "Has all that product you use on your head finally scrambled your brains?"

Kurt huffed in annoyance as he crossed his arms over his chest. "First of all, I have to use a lot of product on my hair…otherwise it wouldn't look so fabu. Second of all, you going up there and dragging Rachel back down isn't going to help her. If anything it will just humiliate her more"

Before she could respond, Artie and Tina showed up, both wearing matching expressions of concern.

"We've looked everywhere for Rachel and can't find her," Artie said with an apologetic shrug.

"That's because she's up in a hotel room right now with Puck," Mercedes informed them, flashing Kurt a fierce look.

Stunned silence followed this statement as Artie and Tina processed what she had just said.

"Rachel and Puck… are having sex?" Artie finally asked in a horrified whisper.

"Well, I doubt they're playing Pictionary," Kurt answered shortly as he examined his nails with a frown.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Tina said, ignoring Kurt's comment.

"That would be the logical thing to do, except that cupid over here thinks we should leave them alone," Mercedes responded, pointing an accusing finger at Kurt.

Kurt gave a small shake of the head and let out a quiet sigh. "Look, each one of us has felt humiliated at one point in our lives. What Rachel experienced tonight is a million times worst than any slushie thrown in the face. Maybe what she needs is to forget that her heart just got broken…and maybe Puck is just the person who can help her with that. Who knows! They may just end up being the Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay of our generation…you know, before she went crazy and he became an alcoholic."

"Brenda and Dylan?" Artie repeated.

"There was a marathon of the original 90210 on Soap Net last weekend," Kurt answered defensively.

"This is Puck we're talking about. The same guy who knocked up Quinn," Mercedes said simply.

"Yes, and I am sure that incident has taught him to suit up…so to speak," Kurt answered back.

Mercedes was about retort when Artie interjected.

"I agree with Kurt," he said.

"What?" Mercedes exclaimed.

"Puck isn't the same guy who used to throw us into dumpsters Mercedes," he said quietly. "Besides, they did date briefly. Maybe underneath the insults and bossy attitude, they actually have feelings for one another."

Mercedes looked at Tina who simply shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"Hey guys," a voice said hesitantly.

The group turned to see Finn Hudson standing behind Kurt, his hands in his pockets.

"What do you want?" Mercedes asked brusquely.

"Um, have you guys seen Rachel anywhere?"

Kurt turned his head to look at Mercedes pointedly. She let out another frustrated sigh. She could either tell Finn the truth and cause more humiliation for Rachel when he showed up banging on her hotel room door, or…

"Nope," she answered shortly. "Haven't seen her."

Rachel's heart was pounding so rapidly she was surprised Puck couldn't hear it. His hand still held hers as the stopped in front of room 1021, his grip both firm and gentle. He inserted the key card and opened the door.

"After you," he said calmly.

Rachel took a deep breath and crossed over the threshold. "No going back now Rachel," she told herself.

The click of the door closing was deafening. Puck walked around her and took off his jacket, throwing it haphazardly on the bed. He sat down on the bed and toed off his shoes, kicking them into the corner.

Rachel stood frozen. The realization about what she was about to do came crashing down on her. Part of her wanted to run right out the room, crawl into her bed at home, a wish this day away.

The other part of her wanted to know what it would feel like to have Noah inside of her, thrusting into her until she cried out with her release. "Those damn raging hormones," she thought.

"You okay," he asked, breaking her out of her reverie.

"Yes," she squeaked, her skin flushing with embarrassment. She cleared her throat and said, "I know my posture may indicate that I am somewhat nervous about our impending intercourse, but I assure you that I have had plenty of time to mentally prepare for this night…even if this wasn't quite how I pictured it happening. But any famous star who has experienced a forgotten line or missed a scene would tell you that you have to roll with the punches and adapt."

There was a moment of shocked silence.

"Jesus…you babble so much you could make a porn star lose wood," he muttered as he stood up.

"Wh..what?"

Puck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her hips, trying to ignore the sudden whoosh he felt in his stomach.

"You can relax. I'm not going to have sex with you." He said simply.

Rachel expression changed at once from anxiousness to confusion.

"I don't understand. You said downstairs you would have sex with me."

"No," Puck replied slowly, giving her a slight smirk. "I said I would go up to the room with you. I never mentioned sex."

Of the many reactions Puck expected Rachel to have, slapping him across the face had not been one of them.