Chapter 12
A/N: Here's another chapter! Please keep feeding my muse with reviews.
A/N 2: This chapter has got Puckleberry! *Sigh* I miss the hotness that is Puck and Rachel on my screen. Side note: How freaking hot was Mark Salling singing last night!
A/N 3: Thank you to those who have put me on your alerts. Please review too.
Rachel stood in front of Jacob, flushed with anger. Her right hand was stinging from the slap she had just given him but she wanted nothing more than to hit him again.
"You are a despicable, perverted, repulsive cretin!" Rachel screeched at him, caring less that everyone in the hallway was looking at her.
Jacob stood frozen in front of her, rubbing the cheek she had slapped. "You know slapping and insulting me only makes me want you more. In fact, if you think I've been a bad boy you can spank me."
"Ugh!" Rachel exclaimed as Jacob turned around and stuck his butt out. "Turn back around!" She waited until Jacob turned back to face her before lowering her voice. "You've been spreading rumors about me and Noah, haven't you?"
"They're not exactly rumors are they? I mean I overheard you talking to Kurt and the scary black chick before first period." Jacob replied, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"If you overheard me talking to them then surely you heard me tell them that nothing happened Friday night." Rachel said exasperatedly.
Jacob snorted. "Please Rachel. Everyone knows that Puck just has to look at a girl and her panties drop. You really expect me to believe that he didn't pity fuck you when you guys got into that hotel room?"
Rachel was deciding whether to slap him again or scream at him when Puck and Mike walked up behind her.
"Hey Rach," Puck said, putting his hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Is this pubic head bothering you?"
Jacob turned back to his locker and pulled out his camcorder quickly. He turned it on and focused it on a scowling Puck.
"Puck, inquiring minds want to know…who was tighter, Quinn or Rachel?" Jacob shot Puck a disgustingly hopeful look and added, "Please say it was Rachel."
"What the fuck!" Puck exclaimed, reaching out to grab Jacob. He wasn't fast enough though.
Rachel, standing directly in front of Jacob, let out an infuriated scream and kneed his crotch.
"Ah!" Jacob cried out, grabbing his crotch and falling to the ground. His camcorder slipped from his grip and hit the floor, skidding slightly before finally stopping in front of Mike's shoes.
The entire hallway fell silent, everyone turning to see a visibly shaken Rachel, her face burning red. The silence was broken when Mike turned to Puck and said in an awed hush, "Dude, Rachel just shoved Jewfro's balls up his throat."
Normally Mike's comment would have made Puck laugh, but he was solely concentrated on Rachel, who had become eerily quiet. He reached out to hold her hand and said softly, "Rachel, babe, are you okay?"
Rachel turned her head slowly to face him, her face flushed with embarrassment. Her eyes shone brightly with unshed tears and she looked around the hallway, noticing her fellow classmates laughing and pointing at a withering Jacob on the ground. She took one last look at Puck before running past him, bumping into the other students.
Puck watched her retreating back until she got lost in the crowd. He turned back to Jacob, who was still rolling on the ground, grabbing his nuts.
"What the fuck just happened?" He turned to face Mike, who was taking pictures of Jacob with his iPhone. "Chang, will you forget about the dick on the ground! Why the fuck did Rachel just spaz out like that?"
"She upset because you two had sex," a voice said behind them. Puck and Mike turned to see Brittany standing there. "Is he dead?" she asked pointing at Jacob who was now lying perfectly still.
Puck gave Mike his best what the fuck face before kneeling on the ground. He bunched the front of Jacob's shirt in his left fist and pulled him up into a sitting position. "Talk!"
Jacob opened his mouth to answer but no sound came out. Puck rolled his eyes and let go of his shirt, ignoring the thump Jacob made when he fell back to the ground.
"I need to find Rachel," Puck said, heading in the direction Rachel had gone.
"Wait!" Mike called out. "What should I do with him?" he asked, pointing at Jacob.
"Throw him in the dumpster," Puck replied quickly. "No wait. There's a laundry cart full of the wrestling teams dirty jock straps in the guys locker room." Puck smirked at Jacob. "Throw him in there."
Rachel sat on the closed toilet lid, wiping her tears with the school's cheap toilet paper. She was completely furious…furious at Jacob for spreading his lies, furious at her fellow classmates for mocking her all the time, and furious with herself for letting her emotions get the best of her. For the majority of her life she had been dealing with some form of humiliation; the pornographic drawings of her, her make-up being thrown into the toilets, the insults…she was used to it. Usually she was able to ignore the taunts but something in her snapped today.
She let out a worn out sigh as she heard the girl's bathroom door open.
"Rachel," a gentle voice called out…Puck's voice.
Rachel frowned and stood up, opening the door to the stall slightly. She saw Puck standing by the sink, looking concerned.
"Noah, this is the girl's bathroom," Rachel said in a scandalized whisper.
Puck grinned at her and took a step closer. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug, his heart beating faster when she clutched the front of his shirt in her hands.
"This isn't the first time I've been in here," he murmured, kissing the top of her head softly. "Can you tell me why you decided to play hacky sack with Israel's nuts? And why does Brittany think we had sex?"
Rachel took a deep breath before pulling away slightly. She looked up into Puck's face and felt the tears begin to pool in her eyes again.
"Brittany thinks we had sex for the same reason I kneed Jacob. He overheard me talking to Kurt and Mercedes this morning about this weekend and…well Friday night. He started a rumor that you and I had sex after Finn dumped me at the dance."
Puck frowned at her. "So you're upset because people think you had sex with me?" He asked her, his voiced laced with confusion and hurt.
Rachel's eyes widened when she saw the flash of hurt in his eyes. "No! Noah, I'm upset because they think you had sex with me out of…pity." She rested her head against his chest, ignoring the few tears that ran down her cheeks.
Puck ran his hands up and down her back, feeling her body relax against his. "Rachel," he said softly, "you should ignore those assholes."
Rachel lifted her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Ignore them?" she repeated angrily. "Noah, those people have been making my life a living nightmare since the first day of freshman year! I have tried to ignore them but do you have any idea how difficult is to pretend not to hear the insults, or pretend you aren't upset because someone just ruined your new shirt by throwing a slushie at you! Do you have any idea how many pornographic drawings of me there are in this school?"
"36," Noah repeated automatically, wincing when he saw Rachel's face crumple. "Shit… I'm sorry Rachel."
Rachel backed away from him and turned the water on in the sink, slowly washing her hands. "I was happy this morning," she caught his reflection in the mirror and gave him a sad smile. "I was happy because…well because of you Noah. But I should have known better. The people in this school will never see me as anything but a joke. I don't know why you would want to be with me."
Puck reached out and spun her around. She gasped when he pressed her body close to him, his eyes burning with desire.
"I want to be with you because you do crazy and impulsive things…things that make me want to strangle and kiss you at the same time," Puck said, his voice low and husky. "I want to be with you because you say things that make me laugh and smile. I want to be with you because you see something in me other people don't." He took a deep breath and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I want to be with you because you make me want to be a better person."
Rachel inhaled sharply. Her eyes blazed up at him, her knees buckling slightly when she the intensity in his face. "Oh, Noah," she said softly.
"I want you to ignore those douche bags out there Rachel…ignore anything they say or do because they're just jealous. Everyone at this school knows that you're going places and the best they can hope for is a promotion at Sheets N' Things. Don't let anyone make you think that you are anything less than amazing."
Rachel beamed at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rose on her tip-toes and kissed him gently. "You are a very charming man Noah Puckerman," she whispered against his lips.
Puck grinned at her. "I have my moments. Now come on…I'm starving."
He took her right hand and laced his fingers with hers. Giving her a reassuring smile, he opened the bathroom door with his other hand. Rachel took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and nodded her head at him.
They walked through the door before Puck stopped them.
"Rachel I got to tell you something before I forget," Puck began to say seriously. Rachel smiled at him curiously, watching his face break into his trademark smirk. "Kneeing Jewfro in the balls was fucking epic!"