"I don't know, Kurt. He said I was selfish, and then said he was done and walked out," Rachel sobbed into the phone, curled in her bed.
Kurt had spent the past hour playing counselor to Rachel, listening to every detail of her and Puck's fight.
"Well, what you did was kind of selfish," Kurt admitted.
"Whose side are you on?" Rachel cried, wiping her eyes. "He just started yelling and didn't let me even explain!"
Kurt sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Rachel. I'm not trying to say what he did was right. Just…why did you agree to do this without asking him first?"
"Because it's not his decision. It's mine. It's my life and I made the decision that's best for me. I mean, this will get my name out there."
"And that right there is why you're selfish. You never even thought about what Puck would think about you working with Jesse, the ex-boyfriend who cracked an egg on your head in the parking lot. All you cared about was you."
Rachel hiccupped, staying quiet. Was Kurt right? Was she selfish? "Oh god, did I just fuck up everything?" she asked quietly.
"I think so," Kurt murmured, lying back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "You should have just told him instead of letting him find out the way he did."
"I was going to tell him," she moaned. "I just didn't know when. I was waiting for the right time."
"So you were going to go to LA, work on the script, then come back and tell Puck you were doing this movie with your ex-boyfriend playing the male lead in a romance movie. I'm sure that would have gone over even better when he found out you lied about it for months,: Kurt said sarcastically.
"Okay, so I didn't have a plan about telling him." Rachel let out a sigh. "Tell me, Kurt. How long is he going to be mad at me?"
"Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know how Puck handles stuff like this. Everyone needs different amounts of time to get over a lie. Just give him space. Go to LA, have some fun, then come back and apologize to him. It'll all be okay, Rachel. I promise," Kurt said, attempting to comfort her.
"You're right, Kurt."
"Can you say that again?" he teased. "I can't to get a recording of Rachel Berry saying I'm right. I'll totally set it as my ringtone."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Kurt," she laughed before hanging up the phone.
xxxxx
"Wait, so tell me again what she did?" Sam asked, lounging on his bed while Puck laid on the floor of his room.
"Jesse, her ex, called her last night. He's some big movie star or something now. So he calls her, tells her he's doing a movie about the crash and wants her to help him with the script and star in it as herself. Then she doesn't even tell me and I find out on some trashy TV program!" Puck threw a pillow at the wall in frustration.
"Okay, let's get anything breakable away from you," Sam joked, earning a death glare from Puck. "Sorry sorry, I was just kidding," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I mean, what she did was pretty shitty, but you can't hate her for forever. She fucked up, but you still care about her."
"Who said I still care about her? I don't even want to see her face again. She's a lying, selfish bitch."
Sam let out a sigh. "That's the anger talking."
"Sam, just shut up and let me vent. If I wanted your advice, I'd ask for it!" Puck snapped. Sam fell quiet after that, letting Puck call Rachel names without a word.
"It's just…I get why she's doing this. Why did she have to lie? Why didn't she feel like she could tell me?"
"Because you would have flipped out the same way," Sam muttered, staring at his ceiling. Puck looked over at him. "I mean, she's going to LA to work with her ex-boyfriend, who has personally offered to make her dreams come true."
"No, I would have been okay with it if she had just told me instead of lying."
"Wow, you are a terrible liar," Sam scoffed. "You can tell yourself until you are blue in the face that you would let her do it, but we both know you would have reacted this way if she had told you this last night."
"You're an asshole, I hope you know that. You're terrible at making me feel better."
Sam let out an exasperated sigh. "Just go back and apologize and tell her how much you adore her and make out until you have no saliva left in your mouth."
Puck gave him a look. "I told you, I don't want to see her now. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow but I doubt it. She screwed up so bad, I don't know if I can ever trust her again."
"You can trust her. She made a mistake—a big mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. Just avoid her for a week and see how you feel after that. If you're still pissed, well I guess you two can stay mad at each other and broken up or whatever. But if you still care about her, then you can go over there and make up and make out," Sam laughed, tossing a pillow at him.
"We're never making up," Puck said with determination. "I'm never going to forgive her for this. When we were on that island, we told each other everything since there was no one else around. We talked for hours about stuff I never talked with anyone else about. And now…it's like she's changed completely. I don't even know if I want her anymore."
Sam let out a sigh. "Just think it over. She does love you, even if you think she doesn't. I can tell by the way she looks at you. She thinks you're the most amazing person in the world, and one offer from an ex-boyfriend isn't going to change that. But that's just my opinion," he muttered. "I guess you have to do what you think is best. Just make me a promise."
"What?"
"Don't hook up with anyone for at least a week. Think this over, and if you still feel this way, then you can move on. But wait that week. I don't want you to screw up the first real relationship you've ever had because you were pissed off."
"Alright, I promise," Puck murmured.
xxxxx
Rachel returned to school the next Wednesday. After a long discussion with Ms. Pillsbury, they agreed she could be put back in regular classes with homeschooling once a week to help her catch up with what she missed and private tutoring once she went to LA.
Rachel hadn't heard from Noah since their fight, and she wasn't sure what that meant for them. All she knew was that Noah had said 'I'm done' before walking out of her house. Did that mean they were over?
It didn't surprise her if they were. She just figured they were never meant to last off the island. Why would the stereotypical bad boy want to be with Queen of the Geeks?
Rachel walked down the halls of McKinley High, ignoring all the stares and whispers she was getting. She stopped in front of her old locker, taking a deep breath before spinning the dial and opening it.
Her stuff from last year was still in there. The pictures of her with Finn, her mirror, a photo of her with her dads, along with multiple pictures of her with everyone in New Directions. She smiled, running her fingers over the picture of her, Kurt, Sam, and Puck. Her fingers stopped on Puck's face before she brought her finger to her eyes, wiping a tear away. She shut the locker hastily, refusing to even look at his face. She just hoped she didn't have many classes with him. She didn't know how she'd survive them.
"Oh Miss Berry!" came a loud voice from down the hall. Rachel looked up, seeing Kurt and Blaine walking arm in arm towards her. She smiled, leaning against her locker before the enveloped her in a hug.
"It's good to have you back, Rachel," Blaine said.
"Yeah," Kurt added. "Glee hasn't been the same without your amazing voice. It's a good thing you're back or we would have gotten creamed at Sectionals like we were at Nationals."
"You guys lost?" she asked, starting to walk with them towards English.
Blaine let out a groan. "It was painful. Without you there, no one had the range to hit those notes in the songs you were supposed to sing. We didn't even make the top ten."
Rachel winced, though was secretly happy. It was nice knowing they actually needed her to succeed.
"Have you spoken to Puck?" Kurt asked. Blaine looked at her, having already been filled in by his boyfriend about the going ons of Rachel Berry's love life.
Rachel let out a groan. "You told Blaine? You promised not to tell anyone!"
"Hey, to be fair, Tina mentioned it before Kurt did," Blaine said, defending his boyfriend.
Rachel frowned. "How did Tina know?"
"Puck must have told everyone about your fight. That or whoever he did tell spread it around. Everyone in school probably knows by now," Kurt admitted.
Rachel sighed. "Great, now people have something else to talk about besides my amazing survival of a deadly plane crash. But to answer your question, no, I haven't. I haven't even seen him since he left. And I don't want to see him until he wants to see me," she said stubbornly.
"Rachel…"
"No, Kurt. You weren't there. He was so mad, I thought he was going to trash my house. Until he's calmed down, I don't want to see Noah Puckerman," she murmured, opening the door to the English room and walked in with Kurt and Blaine following her.
"…I don't want to see Noah Puckerman." Puck froze in the hallway as Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine passed. That was the only part of the conversation he caught, but it was enough to cause him to freeze in his tracks. He was supposed to be in science with Sam, but he couldn't even more. Rachel didn't want him anymore.
It didn't make sense. She was the one who lied, he should hate her. But he didn't. The days they'd spent apart made him want her more. He loved her, he wanted to make up and spend all night cuddling in her bed. But after hearing her talk to Kurt and Blaine…well, that was hopeless.
He shouldn't have yelled. That had to be why she didn't want to see him again, because he'd yelled in her face and pushed her to the ground. He had a bad temper, but that didn't mean he should have taken out his anger on Rachel directly. He should have just left instead of causing Rachel to hate him.
Puck let out a sigh, running his hand over his Mohawk. Fuck, he was an idiot. Well, if she didn't want him, he wouldn't bother her. After all, Rachel's happiness mattered more than his own.
Later that day, everyone was seated in the choir room as Mr. Schuester welcomed Rachel and Puck back. Rachel was seated on one side of the room next to Tina while Puck was sitting next to Sam as far away from her.
"Mr. Schue?" Puck asked, interrupting his teacher.
"Yes, Puck?"
"Would it be alright if I sang something? It's been so long since I had a chance to sing in front of people."
Mr. Schuester smiled. "Of course, Puck. Go right ahead." He took a seat in the front row next to Artie while Puck walked up to the front, taking a seat on a stool and picked up the guitar.
"I'd like to thank Sam for the sing choice," he said, shooting him a thumbs up. Sam grinned back as Puck started strumming the guitar and sang Tuesday's Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd. (If you've never heard this song, I suggest you youtube it because it is amazing!)
Puck placed the guitar down as he finished the song, looking over at Rachel. She was in tears, her head on Kurt's shoulder. Fuck, he didn't mean to make her cry.
Without even a word, she stood up and walked out of the room, everyone looking after her curiously.
xxxxx
Saturday afternoon, Puck was lying outside in his backyard, staring into the sky and feeling very sorry for himself. He missed Rachel. There, he admitted it. Noah Puckerman missed Rachel Berry.
All he could think about was her shining hair, her pouty lips, her voice. All he wanted was to see her again, but she didn't want to see him. He was doing his best to do what she wanted, but it was becoming extremely difficult.
"Well, aren't you a sad excuse for a human being?"
Puck sat up, seeing Kurt walk into his backyard with a smirk on his face. Puck groaned, lying back down. "What do you want, Humml? I thought you'd hate me like she does."
Kurt took a seat on a chair in the yard, not willing to sit on the grass with the pants he was wearing. He wasn't going to risk ruining them with grass stains.
"Why would I hate you?"
"Because Rachel hates me. And you're like her, gay best friend or whatever, I figured you'd take her side."
"There's no sides. Besides, who said Rachel hated you?"
"She did!" Puck laughed humorlessly, throwing his hands over his face. "In the hall on Wednesday. She was talking to you and said she never wanted to see me again."
Kurt let out a sigh. "You need to open your ears. She said she was so upset and heartbroken that she didn't want to see you until you wanted to make up because it was too hard. Have you been torturing yourself since then because you thought she hated you?" Kurt asked, amused.
Puck made a face at him before sitting up. "Wait, she doesn't hate me? She loves me still?"
Kurt laughed. "That's what I just said, Romeo. She's probably in her room crying about how you still haven't forgiven her. So, I have one question for you. If you still love her, what you are doing here with me?"
Puck nodded his head, jumping to his feet. "Yeah, thanks Kurt!" he called over his shoulder as he ran out of the yard, Kurt smiling after him.
Puck didn't bother catching a ride to the Berry's house. He ran the whole way, panting as he reached their front porch. He knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. Still nothing.
"Rachel!" he shouted, pounding on the door. "Rachel, I'm sorry! Please, open the door!" he yelled, but the house stayed silent.
Puck felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around, an elderly lady standing beside him. "Can I help you, dear?" she asked.
"You—do you know the Berrys?" he asked, wiping sweat off his forehead.
"Of course. I've lived next to them for as long as I can remember."
"Do you know where they are? I have to talk to Rachel. It's important."
The lady frowned. "Well sure. The Berry's left last night. They moved to Los Angeles."
Puck felt his heart drop into his stomach. He pulled his phone out, punching in Rachel's number and hit send, putting the phone to his ear.
There was a dial tone before an automated voice came on: We're sorry, the number you dialed is no longer in service.
Puck slowly sat down on the porch, his face buried in his hands. He'd blown it. He'd finally realized he couldn't live without Rachel, and now it was too late. She was gone.