Rachel's mouth went dry as she watched Puck push his way through the crowded hallway.
"Noah," she whimpered, telling herself she'd have to do better than that. She had to stop him before he told anyone. If he hadn't already.
"NOAH!" she cried, as fifteen or so pairs of eyes landed on her. She didn't care. She ran down the hallway after him, angry and frustrated and terrified, unsure what method she would use to convince him to keep her secret or what she would do if he refused. "Noah, stop!" She grabbed his arm and he finally turned around.
"What?"
"What do you mean, what? Have you told anyone?"
"I guess you're just going to have to wait and find out," he responded with a smirk, yanking his arm out of Rachel's grasp.
"Please, please tell me you haven't told anyone," she cried desperately, still aware that people were watching.
He ignored her and kept walking.
"Okay, fine, keep walking, but I know you can still hear me, so listen. Think about what the consequences will be if this gets out," she began, her voice becoming more like a whisper. "He would get fired. Maybe worse. You would be ruining his life. Do you really want that on your conscience?" She was becoming more and more frantic as he still refused to face her. He couldn't be this heartless, he just couldn't. "Noah, after everything he's done for you, for us."
"Whatever, I'm gonna be late for class," he said.
"You are always late for class," she said sadly as he turned into the next classroom on the left. She leaned against the nearest set of lockers to catch her breath and clutched her stomach, which felt like it was doing back flips. This was the first time in three years Rachel would be late, but she didn't care.
She walked slowly to first period, freezing in the doorway when she saw that class had already begun. "Sorry I'm late Ms. Montgomery," she mumbled.
"Take a seat, Ms. Berry." She heard a few people whispering, and someone at the front threw a paper ball at her head, but didn't care to see who it was; her eyes were firmly planted on Finn. He smiled to her as she made her way to the empty desk 2 rows behind him, but his polite 'hey' was met by a quick slap across the face.
"Ow! What the hell!" he cried, rubbing the slap-mark on his cheek. The class was dead silent only momentarily, until the girls began to whisper to each other what they considered likely reasons for her outburst.
Ms. Montgomery placed her chalk down and loudly dusted the chalk off her hands to regain the class's attention. "Rachel, what has come over you? Being late for class and now physical violence? Do you two have something you need to sort out?"
"No, Ms. Montgomery, I have nothing to say to him."
"Yes you do!" Finn argued.
"You know what you did."
"I will not have you two wasting any more class time. Either leave now, or finish this later."
"I agree completely," Rachel said as she took her seat. "We're finished."
"No, we're not!" Finn stood up, angry now. "You can't just like...slap someone and not tell them why!"
"Honestly, Finn! You're not that stupid!" Rachel yelled, jumping out of her chair and accidentally knocking it over behind her.
"What does that even mean?"
The teacher intervened with a sudden, "Stop yelling this instant! Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson, principal's office. NOW."
Rachel could feel tears stinging at her eyes as she left the classroom a few steps ahead of Finn. She never got in trouble. Ever. This was turning into the worst day of her life. She turned around to face Finn, (not planning to slap him again but wishing she could), when she realized Ms. Montgomery was following them.
"Keep walking, Rachel," she ordered.
"May I use the restroom quickly?" she asked, holding back her tears.
"I suppose," her teacher responded reluctantly. Once inside, Rachel pulled her phone out of her back pocket, praying Will would, by some miracle, answer it during class. She dialed his number and waited. One ring. Two. Three. Voicemail. She settled for a text message: Get to Figgins' office ASAP.
When they arrived at his office, Ms. Montgomery knocked on his door, told him she had two students who were "disrupting the class and need to work things out," and disappeared before Figgins could get a word in. He merely stared at the two students in his office for minutes, and as Rachel guessed, was wishing Ms. Montgomery had delivered them to Ms. Pillsbury instead.
"So...what is the problem here?" he asked as they sat facing him. Rachel crossed her arms stubbornly as Finn unsuccessfully looked to her for some guidance. "Are you two having...romantic problems?"
"No, sir," Finn answered. "We aren't dating." Rachel rolled her eyes at the two awkward men in the room with her, one a pathetic excuse for a friend, and the other a pathetic excuse for a principal.
"Principal Figgins," she began, "Please understand that while we have the highest respect for you, our problem is extremely personal and not something we wish to discuss...with you." Their principal nodded his head to signify that he understood, but remained silent as he didn't know what to do next.
"Maybe, if we could have some privacy...?" Rachel suggested, before Finn could spill his mouth to someone else.
"Of course, I was just about to run some errands," he said on his way out.
"Rach, why-"
"Shh," she hissed, holding her finger to his lips. "Don't say anything you wouldn't say in front of him. You never know who's listening."
"Okay...?"
"How could you? You promised you wouldn't tell anyone."
"Wait...How did you find out I told?" He asked confusedly.
"Puck made it very obvious he knew this morning."
"Puck? I didn't tell Puck, I swear."
Just then, the door to Figgins' office swung open, revealing a worried Will. His eyes met Rachel's and silently asked what was going on.
"Puck knows," she said.
Will looked around, annoyed by the fact that so many rooms in the school had glass walls. "Let's move this to my office."
xxx
"What do you think people would say if they knew about us?"
Rachel's eyes shifted from the clouds above her backyard to the godly man lying next to her as she contemplated his question. "People like who?" she asked. She still blushed when he used words like 'love' or even 'us'. It was so surreal.
"Anyone. Everyone."
"Well no matter who it is, they'd be surprised. I still am," she confessed. She cuddled up to him, her fingers still intertwined with his as he kissed them. "I know Finn would keep any secret I could possibly tell him. Hmm...Kurt?"
"He'd probably just try to suppress the mental image," he chuckled.
"Right after he runs off and tells Mercedes. Who would tell Quinn. Who would tell -"
"Okay!" he interrupted with a nervous laugh. "Let's make sure no one associated with either of them ever finds out! What about the other two cheerios?"
"Santana and Brittany would probably tell everyone they knew. Same with Noah," she said with certainty.
"I don't know, Rach, he's really matured since Beth was born. Don't be too quick to judge him."
"I guess we won't know until it happens," she said mischievously, leaning in for a passionate kiss. He wasn't sure whether poking fun at something so serious was good or bad, but the thought left his mind as quickly as it had entered, as he smoothly undid Rachel's bra.
xxx
"Okay, what do you mean Puck knows?" Will sat on the edge of his desk and Finn joined him, but Rachel was anxiously pacing the room.
"Finn told him," Rachel replied.
"No, I didn't! God, what is it with you two and messing up my face? Same cheek too!"
"You are the only one who knows, Finn!"
"Well it wasn't me. And you never told me how you even found out Puck knows."
She told them what she could, trying to remember what he'd said word for word. "What are we going to do?"
"Rachel." Will stood up and grabbed her hand to stop her from panicking. His heart was racing and she definitely wasn't helping, but he knew that if he showed weakness, Rachel would break down completely. She reflexively snapped her hand away from his, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him as she struggled to get away. "Shh," he whispered, caressing her hair, and she let herself go limp in his arms. "Let me take care of this," he pleaded. "You can do whatever makes you feel comfortable. Go home, go back to class, stay here. I'll deal with Puck."
"Just...give me a minute," she said as she snuggled into his warm chest. "Your heart is beating really fast."
"Well no duh," Finn said, reminding them both that he was still there.
"Thank you, Finn. You can go back to class now."
"Kay, good, it was getting kind of awkward in here."
"Are you scared?" Rachel asked the second Finn was gone.
"No," he lied. "Everything will be okay. I have faith in Puck."
"That almost makes me feel better." He kissed her forehead quickly before leaving her.
xxx
Rachel awoke abruptly to the sound of knocking. Her heart rate increased the second she realized she was in Will's office, and again when she remembered why. She looked at the clock. 11:06. She ran to the door, smoothing her hair and checking her reflection on the way.
"Noah."
"Is Mr. Schue here?"
"No, he went looking for you," she said awkwardly.
"Okay, well…will you tell him that I decided to, you know, keep it to myself?"
"Oh my gosh!" she screamed, practically tackling him as she threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"I'm not doing it for you," he said, pushing her away. "Mr. Schue's cool, and I don't want to fuck up his life. God, I feel like such a failure bad-ass."
"I won't tell anyone. I knew you had a heart," she said with an enormous grin.
"Shut up before I change my mind. I don't know how he puts up with you," he said, unable to keep himself from smiling this time. "I honestly didn't think you had it in you, Rach. I mean, a teacher? That's hardcore."
"You must be rubbing off on me." Rachel knew she was still smiling like a goof, but she couldn't help herself. A huge weight had just been lifted off her shoulders. She was surprised to find that what she felt at that moment almost topped how she felt after a flawless performance.
"You realize I'm never gonna let this go?"
"I figured as much. Oh well, I think it's a fair compromise for your silence." She was honestly surprised that he hadn't made any dirty jokes or asked any inappropriate questions yet.
Mr. Schuester walked into the office then, saying "Rach, honey, I can't find-" and pausing the second he saw Puck. He flashed Rachel a cautious glance but could see that she wasn't crying which he took as a good sign. He then drew his attention to Puck, who was grinning like a moron.
"Way to go, Mr. Schue," he smirked, raising one eyebrow on his way out of the room.
"Noah, wait!" Rachel called after him. "How did you know?"
"Well I was pretty fucking-"
"Language," Will warned, while Rachel and Puck rolled their eyes.
"Sorry, I was pretty freaking curious after I heard you and Finn talking during class. I didn't really know what I was gonna do about it, but I saw you drive by me on your way home so I followed you. I'm sure you can fill in the rest."
"You're such a creep!"
"Hey, if you didn't want me to know you never should have brought it up. It's your own damn fault."
"I blame Finn," she half-joked.
Rachel closed the door behind Puck as he left and wrapped her arms around Will's waist. "I am so, so glad that's over. Will you write me a note so I don't get in trouble for missing…" she glanced at the clock, "three classes?"
"Of course," he promised, kissing her softly on the lips.
"You were right to have faith in him. He's really just a big softie."
"Bigger than Finn?"
"Oh my gosh! Finn! I have to apologize for slapping him!" Will chuckled as he remembered the hand print on Finn's cheek earlier. "And for doubting him," she continued. "I've been such a terrible friend to him, when he is the only one in this whole school who has truly accepted me!" Rachel's mind went back to her conversation with Finn earlier, pinpointing exact moments that called for an apology. Slapping him. Embarrassing him in front of the class (which was almost certainly the precursor of numerous rumors she'd have to deal with later). Calling him stupid. But most importantly, assuming it was his fault.
xxx
"You know what you did…
"Honestly, Finn. You're not that stupid…
"How could you? You promised you wouldn't tell anyone."
xxx
Rachel nodded her head in shame.
xxx
"Wait...How did you find out I told?" He asked confusedly.
"Puck made it very obvious he knew this morning."
"Puck? I didn't tell Puck, I swear."
xxx
"Wait a minute," she said to herself.
"What?" Will asked.
"How did you find out I told?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked again, deeply confused by this point.
"That's what Finn said to me earlier, before he realized I was talking about Puck. 'How did you find out I told?'"
"Wait, does that mean..."
"Finn told someone."
xxx
Don't hate me!
1. I'm sorry this took forever!
2. I'm sorry I ended it this way. It wasn't my intention, but the story is called "One by One" after all. And secrets always get out :3
3. I'm sorry I suck.
Otherwise I hope you guys are still enjoying the story, thank you SO MUCH for all your nice reviews, and to everyone who subscribed to my story. I jump for joy inside every single time I get an email from FF. Please keep reviewing! :)