A Very Puckleberry Redo

by gilesc3

Ever wonder what would have happened if Rachel hadn't rejoined Glee in "The Rhodes Not Taken"? Well, this is a look at how that decision would have changed the lives of not only Rachel, but the entire Glee club. Will be AU, but not completely. ON HIATUS

9. Chapter 9

AN: OMG! I AM SOOOOOO SORRY! Wow, I cannot believe how long this has taken. I must apologize, I haven't had access to a computer for weeks. I'm so sorry about the delay! So the last chapter didn't seem to go over very well, so I hope you guys like this one better. Please review and let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, obviously! And any familiar script come from the show!

Chapter 9: Picture Week

(Tuesday of "Mattress" Week)

Puck groaned as he tried to make himself comfortable in the tiny ass death trap Berry liked to call a car. He could not believe that his mom had seriously taken his truck to the garage this morning! How was he supposed to keep his badass rep up if he arrived in a fucking pink car? And he worked at a freaking garage! That woman is seriously deranged!

"Good morning Noah! I'm so excited that I actually get to drive you to school! Isn't it a wonderful reversal of roles? Although, I guess it makes more sense to always use your truck as you do look uncomfortable; the seat does slide back you know.

"Can you believe its picture week already? I'm so excited! I've always treated yearbook photos as a chance to prepare myself for the paparazzi, so I've tried to be in as many organizations as possible. Well, except this year because I wanted to dedicate the time I am not in vocal, dance or acting lessons to focus on Glee, so I didn't rejoin any of the organizations I was a part of last year. Which it turns out was a very good idea since now I also have to concentrate on the Cheerios.

"I'm so glad Coach has eased up on me! I don't mean to complain, but after I rejoined Glee, I swear she had it out for me. But, overall, it was a good lesson in that it taught me that not everyone is always going to like my behavior and will attempt to sabotage my career, so I'll just have to rise above such incidents.

"But I'm really excited for the cheerleading photos! Even if I end of quitting or being kicked off, at least I'll have these pictures to show my children that I was actually accepted into such an elite group for at least a little while! And I can't wait for the Glee photo! To show the school that we're not afraid of their ridicule and that we're professionals who can look past the…" Rachel trailed off when she looked over and Puck just was staring at her, obviously lost in the one-sided conversation.

Puck always tried to pay attention to whatever the fuck Rachel was talking about, as it most often led to making out if she found he was actually paying attention. But fuck, she had been rambling during the entire drive to the school, and Puck had absolutely no fucking clue what she was on about. Between her rapid speech and the thought about exiting a fucking pink car, and Puck was lost.

"I apologize for ranting Noah, I'm just excited for the yearbook photos. How was your Monday?" Rachel asked as she turned into the (thank the freaking lord) mostlyempty parking lot. It really did pay off sometimes to get up and out of the house before 7:30.

"Uh…it was fine. Just babysit the brat and…finished my homework." The last part came out a mumble, as Puck was still having a hard time with the fact that he was actually doing school work. But when he had received his latest English essay with a large B- on it, Puck would be lying if he said it hadn't pleased him. Because, come to find out, actually passing your classes is more badass than failing them on purpose.

Rachel beamed her megawatt smile at him, delighted that she didn't even have to probe him anymore to do his work. She didn't want to be the only reason he was actually accomplishing his assignments, because she didn't want to force him to change and him end up resenting her. Noah Puckerman was going to have to grow up and mature on his own, and Rachel took the fact that he was willing to do the work himself as a great sign of personal growth.

"That's great Noah, although I dislike when you call Eli names. She is a darling; I just think you like to pick on her."

"Course I pick on her, she's a little punk. You only see the deceptively sweet side of her because she worships you." Puck rolled his eyes at her before he opened the door and started trying to untangle himself from the vehicle.

"I know no such think Noah Puckerman. Your sister is a little sweetheart and you can't stand it that she likes me better than you." Rachel couldn't stop herself from sticking her tongue out at him before bursting into giggles. Puck bit back a smile at her craziness as he (finally) pulled himself from the seat.

"Whatever you say Berry. That girl's going to burn the house down one day, and when I need a place to crash, I'm coming to your place." The only response he got was another round of giggles, so after grabbing both their bags from the back seat, Puck marched over to the driver's side and yanked Rachel out of the car. She was still laughing as he pulled the keys from the ignition and locked the doors before he literally threw her over his shoulder.

"N…Noah! What on earth are you doing?" Rachel asked as the giggle fit finally ceased. His only reply was to sneak his hand up her Cheerio skirt and under her spankys. Puck marched them into the school, glad the place was almost deserted, making his trek to the supply closet that much easier.

"This is entirely inappropriate Noah! I am capable of walking! Put me down!" Rachel almost shrieked as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. All her effort accomplished was to tighten his grip and his hand to slide under her underwear and over her ass cheek.

When he did finally lower her back down to the floor, she didn't even have enough time to start glaring before they were plunged into darkness and his lips were on hers. Rachel thought about fighting him, but his lips were soft and warm and she couldn't find the willpower to pull away from her (sexy as hell – Noah's words) boyfriend.

Puck grinned against her mouth when he felt her relax and give into the kiss. His girl literally could not resist his awesome kissing skills! He dropped their bags down to the floor so that he could wrap his hands around his waist, lifting her up until she wrapped those fucking amazing legs around his hips, bringing their bodies flush as he deepened the kiss. I fucking love supply closets!

/*/

Rachel had just exited her second period class before lunch when was told about Principal Figgins's decision to ban Glee from the Thunderclap. Those that had been near the petite brunette swore their eardrums had burst with the god-awful shriek she let loose at Jacob, the bearer of bad news. She looked like she was literally about to start hitting the dweeb, but luckily for the gross gossiper, Puck had shown up and drug the fuming girl down the hall towards the auditorium.

Brittany, Kurt and Quinn watched Puck drag Rachel away, as they had all shared Chemistry with her and had heard the (good) news. Quickly sending out a mass text for the rest of the Gleeks (except Rachel and Puck obviously), the three made their way to the choir room. Kurt made a quick detour to the library before meeting up with the rest of the clubbers.

It was quickly agreed upon that they would not, under any circumstance, fight the ban. They were confident that Mr. Schuester would not be able to convince the principal and they would not have to endure the torture of their photo being defaced. Everyone sighed with relief, forgetting for the moment that their main star, one Rachel Barbra Berry, and their delusional director would not rest until they had a Glee photo.

/*/

"I cannot believe this! We have every right to have a page in the Thunderclap! We are a school club and as such, we should be entitled to at least one page! I know this was Coach's doing! You would think with four of her Cheerios being in the club she would want to be supportive! But no! It's always about besting Mr. Schue! Arg!"

Puck cringed as Rachel let out another shriek, passing up and down the stage as she ranted. He was just glad he had gotten her somewhere private before she lost control of herself and her mouth. Puck had to hide a laugh when Rachel kicked the piano leg, the short girl looking like a little kid having a tantrum. Do not fucking laugh Puckerman! She will turn that bat-shit craziness at you if you dare!

"And after not giving us money for Artie's transportation! This is completely outrageous! The nerve of that man! I should really get dad to sue the pants off him and this school! They don't do anything about the blatant bullying that occurs on a daily basis in the hallways, nor do they support any organization except the Cheerios! I realize that Coach's wins have brought in most of the money on their own; but Principal Figgins still gives the team more money than any other in this school! It's completely unacceptable!"

Puck gave a sigh before he stood from the piano bench and approached her, grabbing Rachel's shoulders to stop her mid stride. Rachel's face was flushed in anger and her eyes, which met his dead on, had a very dangerous glint to them that Puck found hot as fuck.

Rachel tried to keep her glare in place, but when Puck lowered his head to lightly nip at her lips, she found herself unable to do anything but sigh into his mouth before pushing her body against his. She flicked her tongue out against his lips, delighted when he let out a small groan before slanting his mouth over hers, not able to resist kissing her. When he finally pulled away, Rachel was surprised at how much calmer she actually was.

"Babe, who are you?" Rachel gave him a very confused look, not understanding his question at all.

"What?"

"Who are you? What's your name?" Puck asked again, cupping her face in his palms. Rachel's brow furrowed, still utterly confused.

"I'm Ra..Rachel Berry." Rachel murmured, not knowing where he was going with this (pointless) round of questioning. They both obviously knew her name, so she didn't understand why he was wasting her time with this.

"That's right. You're Rachel fucking Berry! And what does Rachel Berry do when something doesn't go her way?"

"I make it change." Rachel said, starting to get where he was going. She felt her heart flutter at the belief he seemed to have in her.

"You demand that everyone change their minds so that you can get your way Berry. You don't allow anyone to tell you no. When Schue wouldn't give you that solo, you said 'fuck you' and walked out. When that dude tossed you in the dumpster, you kneed him in the nads. You don't take anyone's shit babe! I've been mean to you since eighth grade, and you never let it get to you. So what are you going to do about this?" Puck demanded.

Rachel felt her face flush again, but this time from arousal as the conviction in Puck's voice was obvious. The fact that he thought so highly of a characteristic that most thought was annoying was extremely sexy.

"I'm…I'm going to demand Figgins let us have a page in the Thunderclap." Rachel said firmly, the determination surging through her. She couldn't believe she had actually needed help to remember just who she was, but at the same time, Rachel couldn't help but be pleased that Puck seemed to like every aspect of her personality.

"Damn straight you are, you're Rachel Berry and you don't take no for an answer." Puck said with a smirk, giving her ass a slap. Rachel jumped a little at the contact, but threw her arms around his shoulders to give him a deep kiss before she drug him towards the principal's office.

But when she barged in, demanding he change him mind unless he wanted her dad to contact the ACLU, Mr. Schuester had apparently already taken care of it. She beamed at the two men, who just gave her exacerbated looks before she flounced out, a giant smile on her face.

Puck raised a brow at her but she just grabbed his hand and almost literally skipped to the choir room, where Mr. Schuester said there was going to be a meeting before lunch ended. Even if she didn't actually get to do the convincing, she loved it when she got her way.

/*/

"Hey guys, I've got some good news and some bad news." William Schuester announced as he came into the room a few minutes after leaving the front office. He didn't look at Rachel, who was almost literally bouncing in her seat at the piano.

He knew that his news would not be exactly what she was expecting, and he didn't want to have to be the one to deal with her diva fit that was sure to follow. The others, who had been crowded around the drums, where Matt, Puck, Finn, and Artie were having a jam session, looked up at him with mild curiosity.

"The good news is that I was able to get us space in the yearbook!" Will said excitedly, expecting everyone to be thrilled; instead, they gave him horrified, anxious looks, obviously hoping his bad news would somehow save them from public humiliation.

Puck glanced over at Rachel, who's bright smile had started to dim, also curious about the "bad news", except for completely different reasons. She just had to be in the Glee picture, and if Mr. Schuester said otherwise, he would have one extremely pissed off midget on his hands.

"The bad news is that I had to compromise; we only get ¼ of a page, so that means there's only room for two pictures. So I figured, while the opportunity presented itself, we would go ahead and vote two captains for the club. This way, they can represent us in the yearbook, and we finally have captains that can begin to take charge of the group. So, at today's practice, we'll put it to a vote!" Mr. Schuester said excitedly before rushing to his office, not waiting for anyone's responses. He hadn't expected their negativity towards the entire idea, so he didn't want to give them time to argue with him.

Rachel turned to her fellow Glee clubbers, lightly biting her lower lip as she tried to come up with a way to convince them to vote for her. It really was the logical choice, as she was the best singer, and loved Glee the most.

So yes, she had quit before, but that didn't mean she loved it any less. And besides, she was the future Broadway star, and being the captain of her school's Glee club would look excellent on her transcripts.

But before she could begin to speak, the first bell rang, signaling lunch was officially over. She rolled her eyes (something she definitely picked up from Puck) at the bell before she grabbed her stuff, knowing she would just have to convince them before the vote took place.

"Don't worry baby, I'm sure they'll vote for you. They're actually your friends now, remember?" Puck said quietly as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving it a squeeze as they started towards Rachel's English III class.

"I hope so Noah, I really want this! Prospective colleges would think a lot higher of my application if I was actually the co-captain of the Glee club, as it would show my leadership abilities and also my dedication to the club. The only thing that could be better is if I'm captain when we win Nationals!" Rachel said, her eyes widening in excitement as she thought about the possible future. Puck just grinned down at her cuteness (shut up, she was still fucking smoking) and gave her a light kiss when they reached her classroom.

"I'm sure you'll get the votes. You know you have mine, as well as the girls' (meaning San and Britt), so I'm sure everything will be fine." Puck couldn't actually believe that he was so pussy whipped that he was actually trying to calm his crazy girl down.

"Thank you Noah, that means a lot to me. I'll see you in Biology." Rachel said with a smile, leaning up to press another light kiss to his lips before slipping in to her class. Puck watched her sit down at a table with Tina, Artie and Mike, before she looked up and gave a shy wave. He smirked at her before nodding and heading towards 'shop.

He couldn't decide if he liked or hated the little ways he was changing the longer he was with Rachel. His rep had certainly suffered a blow, especially when he had chosen Glee over football, even when his girl wasn't even in the damn club.

But he found that more and more people seemed to be looking at him with respect, as if being with the bat-shit crazy diva showed that he really didn't give a flying fuck about what people thought of him. Sure, his teammates on the football team still gave him some shit, but they had even started to respect the short girl a little after her attack on the hockey player.

And the dweebs of the school didn't exactly tremble in fear anymore, but they still avoided him as much as possible, especially after he had strung Jacob Ben-Israel up on the flagpole for getting in Rachel's personal space. He might not be that big of a bully anymore, but he damn sure was still a badass and made sure everyone remembered it.

/*/

"Chica you need to chillax; everyone is going to vote for you." Santana said as she, Rachel and Puck exited the Biology lab. The short girl was almost humming with nerves and it was starting to piss San off. It's not like anyone else actually wanted to be in the damn picture, so Berry really should just calm the fuck down.

"How do you know that San? We're supposed to be voting for two team captains and what if everyone decides to go with the "Golden Couple"?" Rachel asked, her voice getting a little harsh at the end. San and Puck both arched eyebrows at her, causing Rach to blush before looking back down at the papers she had prepared the night before, trusting the two would lead her to the choir room without incident.

"Trust me babe, Fuinn is not going to be the co-captains." Santana said with authority, which didn't seem to really do anything for the anxious diva. Santana almost felt bad (almost) for having an attitude towards Q, as she was her homegirl, but she had been a super bitch to Brittany, and that shit just didn't fly.

And Coach had made the Latina the head cheerleader when she found out about the almost-baby, and Santana was not willing to let the reins of power slip from her fingers so soon after having just grasped them.

"Rach, just calm down, even if that does happen, you still have four definite votes for you. And I don't think someone else is going to beat you out with five, so you got this shit in the bag."

Santana looked over at the mohawked teen as if she had never seen a stranger sight, which just caused him to sneer at her before flipping her the bird. Which the Latina just returned with a smirk before she wrapped her arm around Rachel's waist, bringing her closer to herself rather than Puck.

"I hope you guys are right. Thank you both for your support; I know being in Glee really doesn't matter that much to either of you, but it's so important to me. Just think, if you had never joined, we never would have become friends! Glee has changed my life to such a degree that I feel like it's my duty to return my gratitude by displaying my pride of being part of such a diverse collection of individuals."

Rachel gave them both a beaming smile and kissed both their cheeks before she rushed into the room, wanting to get her notes in order before everyone else got there. The two 'badasses' shared a look of shame at remembering how they had treated the spitfire, before they too entered and took seats next to her, wanting her to know they were there for her. They might not be able to make up for their past actions, but they were determined to make Rachel realize she was no longer alone.

When the others finally arrived, Rachel was almost bouncing in her seat in nervousness. She turned to Puck when she felt his arm slid across her shoulders, her eyes getting momentarily distracted with the bulging muscles on display by his gray McKinley sleeveless shirt. Puck smirked at her when she just kept staring at the tan skin, making him tense his muscles just to watch as her eyes jumped from one muscle to the other.

When she was finally able to tear her eyes away from the arms of her boyfriend, she found him smirking down at her, causing her to blush before rolling her eyes at him. Puck just chuckled and leaned down, capturing her lips in his, relishing in the sound that was definitely a moan vibrate against his lips.

"Hey McLovin, keep your paws off my girl. It's bad enough she has to kiss you when we're not around, we don't need to see it. Besides, you need to learn to share." Santana said snidely, pulling on Rachel's shoulder until the girl was forced to break the kiss.

Rachel shot an irritated look her way, which just caused the other Cheerio to smirk as she shoved Puck's arm off the back of Rachel's chair to place her own around the confused girl.

Puck rolled his eyes at Santana, knowing she was definitely barking up the wrong tree; Rachel was 100% straight and he didn't think she would be ready to experiment for many, many years to come. But, having been involved with Santana for a couple of years, he knew she was just trying to get a rise out of him, so he ignored her and took Rachel's hand in his, which she gripped tightly and smiled shyly at him. Take that crazy bitch! Rach is only hot and bothered for the Puckasurus.

"Ooo, are we having a Puckleberry sandwich?" Brittany asked excitedly as she leaned over Santana to look at Rachel, whose face instantly began to turn a deep crimson. Puck actually let out a chuckle before shaking his head at the ditzy blonde.

"No Britt-Britt, B isn't ready to go there…yet." Santana said, smirking when Rachel gave a horrified gasp of embarrassment.

"Oh…okay. But Rach, you have to let me know when you want that sandwich!" Brittany pouted for a minute before she turned to Mike, whose eyes were large at the clear reference to a foursome his girlfriend had just made.

It had been obvious that there was something between the two Cheerios, but having clear evidence was kinda disorientating. He couldn't decide if he was turned on by the image of Santana and Brittany getting it on, or miffed he hadn't been in on the secret.

Any further humiliation (for Rachel) was cut short as Mr. Schuester breezed into the room, clearly excited about the vote. He really hoped they voted Finn in, as the curly haired teacher thought the tall quarterback was like a younger William Schuester. It always made him feel accomplished when he was able to get Finn to succeed at something.

"Alright guys, we've got a full practice today. Not only are we going to vote in our captains, but I've decided we're going to do a new number for Sectionals. I know that pop songs have sorta been our signature piece, but I did a little research on past winners, and turns out, judges like songs that are more accessible; stuff they know. Uh…standards, Broadway." Mr. Schue said as he handed out the sheet music.

"Defying Gravity? I have an iPod shuffle dedicated exclusively to selections from Wicked. This is amazing!" Kurt said, his eyes wide with excitement. Mr. Schue gave him a nod before turning to Rachel.

"After your stellar performance of the song, I thought you would be able to handle it. How bout it?" He asked, completely missing the devastated look that slipped onto the boy's face. Rachel nodded, staring down at the sheet music, also not noticing the male diva's response.

"Why do we have to go all vanilla on this song? Rachel's already sung it and we need my chocolate thunder." Mercedes said, sharing a grin with the others. Rachel glanced up and shared a smile with her.

"Okay, we don't have time to rearrange the song for you Mercedes. Don't worry, I'll find something that you can…dip in chocolate." Everyone chuckled at his words, except Kurt, who still looked miserable. Rachel finally noticed, leaning over Puck to see her friend clearer.

"Are you alright Kurt? What's wrong?" Rachel asked, ignoring the fact that she was practically on top of Puck as she tried to get closer to her sad teammate. Puck couldn't resist lightly grazing his hand down her back to lightly cup her ass, which earned him an elbow to the gut and a glare, both of which didn't deter (seriously, deter?) him from rubbing said awesome ass.

"Yeah, it's fine Rachel. I just…I would have liked an opportunity to at least try out of the solo." Kurt said quietly, not wanting to draw anyone's attention, which was a little pointless as Puck was between the two divas so he certainly heard the conversation. Rachel frowned at Kurt, not liking that he was upset, even though she really really didn't want to give up her solo.

She pulled back to sit in her own seat, biting her lip, not knowing what to do. She hated that he was hurting by Mr. Schuester's quick dismissal, but the song was sung by a woman, and the audience would clearly relate better to a female soloist.

But when Puck caught her eye and raised a brow, she gave a small pout at his clear questioning if she was really going to keep Kurt from auditioning. Wasn't she the girl who didn't take no for an answer? Having friends certainly was a lot harder than Rachel had ever imagined, as it apparently came with actually having to give things up, like solos.

Before she could open her mouth, Mr. Schuester started talking about the vote as he passed Puck a stack of torn paper. Rachel glanced down at the folder that had made its way to the floor, not really sure if she should give her speech anymore. If she hesitated on giving up a solo, than was she really captain material?

Leaders are supposed to make everyone feel important and included, even when they are clearly the better candidate. They make difficult decisions, and a true captain would not hesitate to make sure Kurt had the same opportunity as everyone else. Besides, he is a male soprano, which is extremely rare, and his talent should be highlighted. But are you really willing to give up the spotlight?

Rachel was torn out of her thoughts when Mercedes said she nominated her, which was quickly followed by a second from Kurt, who couldn't bring himself to look at her. Rachel bit her lip again, not sure what to do.

"Alright, let's vote up in this piece. I got to go hit the gym and load up the guns Puckerone for the football picture." Puck said, flexing said guns before handing out the paper. He grinned down at her, missing the inner war that was taking place inside her head.

Alright Rachel, think clearly and calmly. Do you want to be the leader of Glee? Yes. Okay, are you willing to be a true leader and stick up for all your teammates, even if they threaten any future solos?...Yes, I think so. Not getting the lead in every role isn't going to distract from my talent, and I've just recently acquired friends, so I should be an actual friend and support Kurt.

He deserves a chance, even though I'm afraid he's going to sing it better than me. But…I can still demand the lead in the group number, so I'll still have my time under the spotlight. Having friends really stinks sometimes! But I'm not willing to jeopardize our friendship just for a solo at Sectionals. Regionals and Nationals? Totally worth putting Kurt in his place, but not Sectionals.

Okay, so we still want to be one of the captains. Good, and if you get elected, you can make sure everyone starts getting their chance to shine. I'm Rachel Barbra Berry and I won't allow anything to get in my way of reaching Broadway, even when that means actually being a team player. Besides, showing your willingness to step down from a solo is going to earn you points with the college officials, as it shows true dedication to the art of performing.

Rachel gave a small nod to herself before scrawling her name across the paper, pulling out the sheet of gold stars from her bag so she could place one after her name. Puck nudged her and gave a chuckle at her actions, which only resulted in her sticking a sticker on his forehead, causing her to start giggling.

"Looks like B has clearly marked her property." Santana said as she smirked at the couple, handing her folded paper to Mr. Schue. Puck rolled his eyes at her and Rachel, who was still giggling, covering her mouth to try and muffle the sound. Everyone else in the room shared bemused looks at the two before handing over their votes, ready to get on with practice so it would end already.

Puck pulled the sticker from his skin and placed it on his bag, which earned him an amused look from the Latina and a thrilled one from his girl. Rachel couldn't believe he actually put that sticker on his book bag!

Sure, it was a really small gold star that would probably fall off in a few hours, but the fact that he didn't toss it away meant a lot to her. It represented the fact that Puck definitely wanted to be with her, Rachel diva Berry, and he didn't care who knew.

"Looks like everyone voted for Rachel, including Rachel. But we need two captains guys." Mr. Schue said in frustration. Rachel's eyes widened in disbelief, not believing that everyone had voted for her. But she began to grin, delighted that they seemed to have such faith in her.

"Why two? We're fine with having Rachel represent us in the Thunderclap by herself." Quinn said quickly.

"We'd actually prefer it." Kurt said. Rachel beamed at Puck, thrilled that every single one of them had voted for her. Clearly they see that you are the best possible person to lead this group to victory.

Mr. Schue gave a sigh, shaking his head at his student's attitudes. Glee was supposed to be a place where anyone could come and be themselves without having to fear being ridiculed.

And sure, in the past the club had not really been providing that, but since Rachel rejoined, everyone had seemed to be getting along. William just couldn't understand how they could still be ashamed of being in the club. But he knew that he wasn't going to get anywhere today.

"Fine, let's run through the number Rachel." Rachel quickly stood, glancing over at Kurt before she spun to face the class. Mr. Schue gave her a quizzical look.

"Well, since the vote was unanimous, it has given me the green light to push through my many proposals to better the club. To begin, I think that Kurt should be given the opportunity to audition for the Defying Gravity solo."

Her words were met with complete and utter silence. No one had ever expected Rachel to say such a thing…to actually willingly give up a solo! Kurt's eyes were the size of saucers, not believing Rachel Berry, diva extraordinaire, was actually willing to let him try out.

"Rachel, while I think it's admirable, we really don't have the time-" Mr. Schue was cut off when Rachel sent a glare at him. He was so confused. Rachel was always demanding all the solos, so he didn't understand why she was so willing to give one away.

"While I realize that most of you are shocked at my behavior, I have come to understand that getting all the solos isn't what's best for the club. A true leader knows that there is no "I" in "team" and that everyone should be given an equal opportunity to shine."

"I'm not saying Kurt should automatically get the solo, as that would not be fair to either of us. No one is just going to hand you a part in Broadway, and we won't do that here; we will have a fair competition and the better singer will get the part. Kurt is male soprano, which such a rarity, that I would be ashamed of myself if I let my…selfishness get in the way of possible phenomenal performance. And because he is a soprano, we won't actually have to rearrange the song as its keyed properly already."

"And this group is supposed to be about everyone being treated as equals, no matter what our social status is outside of the room. Not giving Kurt the chance to prove he can nail this song is not treating him fairly."

Kurt literally swooped down on her, clinging to the small girl, not even caring that his outfit was getting wrinkled. No one besides his dad had ever done anything so nice for him before, and the fact that it was done by his diva rival wasn't lost on him.

Rachel giggled against his shoulder, hugging him hard, amazed that she actually wasn't that upset about possibly giving a solo away. Friendship definitely trumped solo.

"Thanks Rach, this means a lot to me." Kurt murmured, giving her another squeeze before pulling away. Rachel just gave a megawatt smile.

"Of course Kurt, you deserve a chance. But I don't think it would be fair to you to make you do it today, as you've had not time to prepare. So I think we should wrap the practice early today Mr. Schue and Kurt and I will have our…diva off tomorrow." Rachel said, raising her voice so that the director could hear her. Mr. Schue thought about arguing, as he was the teacher, but just shrugged. He needed to figure out a way to get a co-captain anyways.

Everyone quickly dispersed, as they had a good forty-five minutes before most had to go to football/cheerleading practice. Mercedes and Kurt quickly exited with Tina and Artie, excitedly exclaiming about his audition.

They were quickly followed by everyone but Puck, who just stayed seated. Rachel turned from the door, beaming that bright ass smile his way and Puck was a totally pussy because he actually felt the damn organ that apparently was his heart clench. Damn emotions.

"Oh Noah I'm so excited! Everyone voted for me! They must have realized that I'm the best candidate for a captain, although I do kinda wish they had picked a co-captain. But, I'm used to doing things on my own, so I don't see why this should be any different." Puck just gave her a small smile, actually enjoying the way she seemed to be overwhelmed with excitement.

"You're definitely the best for the job Berry. I don't know anyone else who actually spends as much time thinking about Glee than you." Rachel pranced over to him, letting him pull her into his lap, despite the fact that Mr. Schue hadn't left yet.

The man in question just rolled his eyes at his students before heading towards Emma's office, needing help to find a way to convince the others there needed to be two captains.

"I greatly appreciate your vote of confidence Noah. Although I do wish everyone would put more of an effort into the club, as we would be a lot better than we already are if they would simply put in the time. Oh that reminds me, Matt and Mike have finally agreed to let me help them with their singing! Isn't that great?

"You're singing has already improved drastically Noah! I'm so proud of you! And you got the High B a lot quicker than Finn. So we've agreed to meet at my house on Sunday's while you're working, so that you come hang out later if you want. I'm really hopeful that the two will be able to tap into their potential, as I'm sure they have a lot more to offer than just dance moves.

"I mean, you don't have to come over after work on Sundays if you don't want to. I know you're tired after work, but you're always welcome, as you know. Dad and daddy have been asking when you're going to come over for dinner again, which is a little ridiculous considering we just had Thanksgiving at your house. But they wanted to make sure that I passed on the open invitation. I-"

Rachel was abruptly cut off from her rambling when Puck pulled her face down to his, silencing her with his mouth. The girl could seriously talk to a wall for hours without ever getting bored and Puck really didn't want to waste the time they had free on meaningless ramblings.

Rachel sighed contently into his mouth, letting his tongue slip into hers. She loved kissing Puck more than almost anything else, maybe even more than singing (crazy right?!) But he was just so…awesome at kissing that she swore she could feel it throughout her entire body. It was like his lips sent electric shocks through her, almost electrocuting her while their mouths were connected.

Puck groaned when Rachel lightly but down on his bottom lip before sucking it into her mouth, knowing he found the act totally hot. She had to hide her smugness when he groaned again when she repeated it, but included running her hands through his strip of hair before lightly tugging on the small hairs. He pulled her hips down firmly against his, smirking against her mouth when she moaned as he rubbed against her.

"Jeez really?! Can't you two stop sucking face before I vomit?" Santana's voice cut through the haze, causing Rachel to slowly pull away from him, her pout very noticeable. Puck was about to tell Santana to fuck off when the Latina literally yanked the unfortunately smaller girl off his lap.

"What the fuck Lopez?!" Puck surged off the chair, grabbing Rachel's wrist to try and keep the Satan incarnate from being able to whisk her away. Rachel leveled the taller girl with a glare, not appreciating being manhandled or interrupted.

"Get over it Puck. Coach's demanded that since we're not in Glee we better be in the gym in five or else we'll "rue the day your unfortunate breeders ever gave birth to your repulsive, stomach churning selves."" Rachel's eyes widened at her friend before she gave a slight nod, signaling she was coming.

Puck tried not to show his disappointment, because badasses just did not fucking pout like pussies. Rachel leaned up and gave him a last kiss before hurrying from the room, missing the smug look that crossed Santana's face.

"Why are you cockblocking me Lopez?"

"Rach is my girl now. I gots to make sure you're goin' to treat her right." Santana shrugged before flouncing out of the room. Puck gave a resigned sigh before he picked up his things and headed towards the locker room. If he couldn't mack with his girl before practice, he should at least get in a quick workout.

He still couldn't believe that Santana Lopez had seriously cockblocked him. That shit was not kosher, no matter what her reasoning was. And Rachel knew he cared for her, so he really didn't give a shit what Lopez thought. There was no way he would be with Rachel after a month if he didn't actually have feelings for her. No tail was worth waiting that long for if it didn't actual mean something. Fuck, he really was turning into a girl.

/*/

"Wait up, I need to talk to you two." Puck said, signaling to Mike and Matt to stay put as the now clean footballers began to exit the locker room. The two gave each other confused looks before shrugging, knowing Puck wouldn't have held them back unless he actually needed to talk.

"We'll catch up with you later dude. Be at my house by six." Puck said to Finn, bumping the larger guy's fist as the quarterback nodded before leaving, not even bothering to look back.

Finn was just starting to get used to the fact that Rachel was obviously happy with Puck, even though Finn highly doubted their relationship would last very long. But, Puck was his best friend, so he was supposed to support him, or at least that's what his mom said. He still hadn't really decided how he felt about it.

"So what's up man?" Matt asked from his place on one of the wooden benches.

"Berry told me about your Sunday plans." Puck's sentence was extremely short, but both guys sat up straighter, knowing that Puck was quick to turn violent when he heard something he didn't like.

"Uh…yeah it's the only day we all have any free time." Mike said, not wanting to provoke the buffer dude. The meeting was completely harmless, but Mike wouldn't put it past Puck to start giving out punches.

"Plus Rachel said it was a perfect plan cuz you would come over after your shift and we could watch the games at her place. Did you know her dads have like a seriously huge flat screen?" Matt put in.

"Just know that if you try anything with my girl and we're going to have a problem."

"Dude, Rach is like my little sis. Plus, you're our dog, we're not going to do anything with your girl." Matt said, his face showing how offended he was by the mere suggestion. Puck shrugged as he grabbed his bag.

"Just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page." Mike and Matt both rolled their eyes at their friend before clapping him on the back and the three made their way outside.

"Trust, you have nothing to worry bout. So we're meeting at your place at six?" Mike asked, getting a nod from Puck as they arrived at the parking lot. When he saw the girls gathered around Rachel's car, Puck almost let out a groan when he remembered he had to ride in that abomination.

"Yeah, and bring some beer, I've run out of my stash." Mike nodded, showing he had heard him. Rachel gave the boys a smile before Puck wrapped her up in his arms.

"We're going to stay here till everyone else leaves babe." Puck whispered into her ear, making her shiver before she frowned up at him.

"Why?"

"Cuz I cannot be seen in this pink car." Puck gave a shudder, which resulted in an eye roll.

"You are being ridiculous Noah. But I will not be the cause of you loosing anymore "cool" points." Puck pressed her tighter to him, knowing she couldn't stay irritated at him long.

"So what are you girls doing tonight?" Matt asked, his arm slung over Santana's shoulders.

"It's waxing night, duh." Brittany said, as if the answer should have been obvious. The boys all gave an involuntary wince before they remembered that meant three naked girls, which quickly caused them to get stupid, faraway looks on their faces.

"You guys are crazy." Santana said before waving at Rachel and pulling Matt off towards his car, wanting to get her sexing on before heading over to Britt's. Brittany smiled before she pressed a kiss to Rachel's cheek before she grabbed Mike's hand and skipped away. Mike gave a wave over his shoulder, bemused at his girlfriend's cheerful personality.

"Alone at last." That was all the warning Rachel got before she was pushed against the car door and her mouth was devoured. Not that she was upset, as she had already noted how much she loved kissing Noah Puckerman.

/*/

That night's gathering at Brittany's was a little awkward at first, because Quinn had been invited back. Rachel still felt bad about what had happened, especially the fact that she was keeping such a secret from Finn, but she was still uncertain about the blonde.

Quinn may have been through an extraordinary sad event, but that didn't mean she had gotten a personality transplant. So Rachel kept her guard up, especially when Quinn couldn't seem to stop herself from making snide and painful comments. But Santana and Brittany were her friends, so she was determined to overlook the engrained behavior in the other cheerleader.

For her part, Quinn couldn't seem to stop herself from tossing out the odd insult or jab. She had been a queen bitch all of her high school life, so she couldn't seem to stop herself. And she still found the short brunette extremely annoying, especially when she pulled out a camera, so the nasty words were easily accessible. But Santana and Brittany were her friends, so she was forced to put up with the diva if she wanted to keep the few friends she had left.

/*/

(Wednesday of "Mattress" week)

"You wanted to see me Mr. Schuester?" Rachel asked as she entered the choir room before lunch, confused as to why he had summoned her. She hadn't even been the captain a day and he was already finding something wrong with her reign? Typical.

"Oh yeah Rach, sit down." Will motioned for her to sit at the piano bench. Rachel's face showed her confusion, but she did as he ordered and sat down silently, waiting for him to get to whatever reason he wanted to talk to her.

"So, how's the captaincy going?" Rachel's brow rose in surprise, not expecting him to actually question how it was going. She had just thought he was going to start complaining about it, even though she hadn't had the time to do anything.

"I-I think that my unanimous selection gave me a very strong mandate to shake things up."

"Great. Well, I have a job for you, Captain." Rachel gave him a cute little salute, and Will plowed ahead, not wanting to give her time to really think about his request.

"We need a co-captain. (Rachel's smile fell) You have so many great ideas, no reason you shouldn't have help pushing them through." Will rushed through his explanation, really not wanting her to throw one of her diva fits. That was really the last thing he needed. Rachel seemed to contemplate his words before giving a slight nod.

"I could use a trusted lieutenant, as I do have over sixty-five proposals."

"So, can I count on you?"

"No problem, I'm on it!" Rachel shook Will's hand before rushing out of the room. Will gave a relieved sigh, both because he didn't have to force her and now he didn't have to try and convince someone to do the job. He was sure that if anyone could coerce another student into doing the picture, it would be Rachel Berry.

/*/

Rachel almost growled when she saw she only had five minutes left of lunch. She had asked just about everyone in Glee, and no one had been willing to be the co-captain. She tried not to let it hurt her feelings, as these were supposed to be her friends, but each rejection felt like a jab to the heart. Even San and Britt, her best friends, refused to be associated with Glee in the Thunderclap.

And she hadn't been able to work up the nerve to ask her boyfriend. Sure, one would think that supporting her would be part of the job description, but Rachel didn't think she could bare it when he also refused. So she didn't even bring it up when she passed him in the cafeteria on her way to cornering Tina.

Just when she was going to give up hope, Finn Hudson came into her peripheral vision, heading towards his next class. Please, please let Finn be the one that says yes! I don't want to fail in my first assignment as captain. Rachel took a deep breath before hurrying towards the tall boy, steeling herself for the fight ahead.

/*/

Rachel hummed to herself as she made her way into the empty choir room, having just finished taking her class picture, meaning Noah, San, and Britt were still stuck in line in the auditorium, where the class pictures were being taken.

She felt a little bad for not waiting around for her friends, but Rachel rationalized that she needed to warm her voice up properly before the diva off. She didn't want to give Kurt any extra advantage for the contest; since Rachel knew (even though she hated to admit it) that Kurt really was her competition. Who ever won should do so because they were better, not because one of them wasn't properly warmed up!

Seeing that Brad was not there yet, Rachel sat herself down at the piano and began her exercises. Not only was she going to rock this diva off, but she had convinced Finn to do the picture with her tomorrow! She was no longer the lone Glee representative. She just hoped that Finn kept his word and showed up.

Rachel was pulled out of her vocal exercises when the door opened and the other original gleeks came in, including Kurt. She took a deep breath, knowing that she needed to keep her competitiveness in check until the actual duel.

"Kurt, would you like to do some warm ups?" Rachel's voice carried over to the small group, causing Kurt to raise an eyebrow in surprise. He didn't know if she was up to something, but shrugged and sauntered over to the piano. Rachel let out a sigh of relief, hoping that Kurt was still going to be her friend, even if (when) she beat him.

The rest of the members soon began to trickle in, and Rachel found herself pulled off the bench. She gave a small shriek in surprise, which just caused a deep chuckle to vibrate against her ear and Puck pulled her over to a chair and sat her on top of his lap. Rachel sighed and leaned back against him, relishing the feel of his large arms wrapped around her.

He didn't want to alert her to the fact that she had actually hurt his feelings, because he was a badass and did not do feelings, when she didn't ask him to be in that fucking picture. It's not like he actually wanted to do it, but she didn't even ask him; instead she got Finnessa to do it, which really pissed him off. But he refused to even acknowledge the fucked up thoughts, so he did what he did best, and distracted himself with the silky skin of Rachel's neck.

"Ok, alright Puck, Rachel. Two seats please!" Puck rolled his eyes at Mr. Schuester, but Rachel blushed and scooted over to her own chair, trying not to snicker at the scowl on his face. Will rolled his eyes at the two; seriously, they were like this all the time. Didn't they know what appropriate behavior consisted of? Well…Puck didn't obviously, but Rachel should know better.

"I would like to welcome you all to the first annual Diva Off, where Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel will face off over the Broadway hit, Defying Gravity. The winner of this challenge will be allowed to sing this song at Sectionals if this song is chosen for the set list. Now, who wants to go first?" Kurt and Rachel looked at each other, both a little nervous.

"Um…I'll go." Rachel said as she stood, flattening her skirt. Puck grabbed her hand, causing her to look down at him, and Puck pulled her forward until she had to brace her hand against his shoulder to keep from falling into him.

"Good luck." Puck whispered before he lightly kissed her. Rachel sighed against his lips, making him smirk, before she pulled away and headed towards the front of the room. You can do this Rachel. You're a star, and stars rise to every challenge thrown their way. And if you don't win, Kurt will still do a great job. Just…do your best. Taking another deep breath (she sure seems to be doing that a lot lately), Rachel glanced over at Puck before nodding to Brad, who started playing.

/*/

The glee club members just stared at the two divas, not really knowing who had done better. They had both been phenomenal, and trying to pick a winner was proving to be a challenge. Especially since many of them were actually friends with Rachel now, so Kurt didn't have the popularity vote.

Kurt and Rachel were both standing at the front of the room, watching as their fellow glee members conversed. Rachel reached out and took Kurt's smooth hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Whoever wins, I think you did amazing Kurt. I could really feel the emotions, which as you know, is the point of a ballad." Rachel whispered, earning herself a small smile from the fashionista.

"You were good too Rach. You hit that High F spectacularly." Rachel beamed at him, which made his own smile widen. If anyone had told him two months ago that he would actually be friends with Rachel Berry, he would have accused them of being deranged.

But he was finding that once she calmed down a little on her craziness, that she was actually pretty cool to be around. It was just all that crazy that kept getting in the way, but Kurt thought she was getting better at pulling back when it was getting out of hand.

Rachel was beginning to get annoyed with how long it was taking everyone to decide. I mean, really, how hard was it to pick one or the other? But it seemed like they just kept arguing, which didn't make any sense to her. Shouldn't they simply write down their vote and then the votes be counted?

"Okay guys, this is getting out of hand. Just write down your vote and we'll count them." Rachel's voice carried over to the group, making them go silent. They gave each other sheepish looks before quickly writing out their person and giving the scraps of paper to Mr. Schuester, who gave Rachel a grateful look.

"Okay, we have: Rachel, Rachel, Kurt, Rachel, Kurt, Kurt, Rachel, Rachel, Kurt and…Rachel. Looks like Rachel won." Rachel smiled in victory, but it quickly diminished at the sad look on Kurt's face. Don't Rachel Barbara Berry! You won this far and square! You're the best! Don't give this up just because he's sad! What happened to taking no prisoners? Don't do it Berry!

"Actually Mr. Schuester, if it's alright with you, I would like to give up the solo to Kurt. I…I think he did a fantastic job and…I think he would do a great at Sectionals." I cannot believe you just did that! Kurt better appreciate what you just did!

Rachel really couldn't believe it as the words tumbled out of her mouth, and from the shocked looks on everyone else's faces, it was apparent that they hadn't seen that coming either. It really sucked when you were trying to actually be a good friend! This is why young ingénues didn't have friends!

"Are you sure Rachel?" William couldn't believe the changes that Rachel was going through. A month ago, she would have flaunted her victory in Kurt's face; but now, she was actually willing to give it up to make Kurt happy. By the pained look she gave him, he knew how much it was actually hurting her to do so, but she nodded and patted Kurt's shoulder (who was still in a state of shock) before she went and sat back down.

"You are awesome babe." Puck said before pulling her towards him, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. Rachel gave a weak smile before she buried her face in his chest, trying to fight back the tears. Sure, she wanted Kurt to be happy, but at what price? Was she always going to have to give away solos just to keep her friends? There was no way she was giving up a solo for Regionals, Kurt be damned.

"Alright then, Kurt congratulations. Now, let's run through Don't Stop Believing again."

/*/

Rachel was curled up on her bed with her back to the door, just wanting to be left alone to wallow in self-pity. Her dads had kept asking her what was wrong, but she hadn't really felt like talking about it. Sure, so she usually talked to them about everything, but Rachel just didn't feel like sharing. She didn't know if this was what it was like to be a 'normal' teenager, but she just couldn't seem to will herself to confide in her parents.

When her door opened silently, Rachel rolled her eyes. Couldn't she have one pity party in peace? It's not like she wasn't always having to pick herself back up, so why couldn't her dads just let her wallow for a few hours?

"I told you I don't want to talk about it." Rachel said, keeping her back to the door, hoping which ever dad it was they would leave her alone. When the door shut quietly, she sighed in relief, but then nearly jumped out of her skin when her bed sunk down and Puck's arms came around her.

"Noah! What are you doing here?" Rachel asked as she tried to turn to look at him. But Puck kept his arms tight around her and just pulled her against his chest as he settled against her pillows, running his large hands up and down her arms.

"C'mon babe, give me a little more credit. I could see how upset you were after Glee. But I'm very proud of you, you know that?" Rachel shook her head, her hair tickling his chin with the movement.

"I-I know it was the right thing to do. But-"

"But it sucks havin' to give up a solo, 'specially when you won." Puck finished for her. Rachel gave a little nod before turning, burring her head against his chest. Puck pulled her even tighter against him, stroking her hair to try and sooth her. He would deny ever doing any such action, as it wasn't exactly badass, but it seemed to calm her down a little.

"I feel like I'm being selfish, wanting to do the solo. But, Noah…am I going to have to give up solos in the future just to keep my 'friends' happy?" Rachel peered up at him, her large doe eyes glistening with tears.

"Nah babe, if they want you to do that, then they're not your friends. So fuck 'em." Rachel didn't even comment on his language; she just laid her head back down on his broad chest and let her tears fall. At least she had one person who wasn't judging her for her 'selfish' personality traits.

The two of them stayed like that until Hiram came up to tell them it was time for Puck to go home. Rachel was so thankful to have someone who actually seemed to understand her and like her, no matter her faults. She felt better after his visit, as if she didn't have to be ashamed for feeling upset over giving up the solo. Noah Puckerman was definitely the best boyfriend she could ever ask for.

/*/

(Thursday of "Mattress" week)

Rachel stared at herself in the mirror, trying not to cry at the fact that Finn had stood her up. He had promised to take the photo with her, but he was nowhere to be found. So much for being a leader; he's just like the rest of them, so concerned with their reputations.

C'mon, you can get through this. It's lonely up at the top. If they don't want to be in the picture, then it's their loss. Do not cry! Don't let them win.

"Are we going to do this? I'm sorta on a time crunch." Rachel looked over at the photographer and gave a curt nod. She was Rachel Berry, and she was not going to let anyone or anything get in her way of her dreams. So she let Kurt have the solo, so what. If he, or anyone else, didn't want to show her the same kindness, then so be it.

"Wait-am I-too late?" Rachel turned at the question, shock filtering over her face at the sight of Noah Puckerman, resident badass, bent over inside the door, trying to catch his breath. She rushed over to him, not exactly sure what he was doing here, especially since he was still in his football attire, including shoulder pads, from the football photo shoot.

"Noah, what-"

"Am I too late of the photo?" Puck asked, finally getting his breath back. He might be a stud, but it was a long ass run from the football field to the unused classroom. Why they didn't take the picture in the auditorium like the others, he didn't know, but the run left him breathless with a stich in his side.

"You-you want to take the picture with me?" Rachel asked, completely shocked and bewildered. Never in a thousand years would she have thought Noah Puckerman was actually willing to take the Glee photo.

"Well…I couldn't leave my girl hanging, could I? I saw Finn wasn't headed here, so figured he'd chickened out, the little shithead."

"I…I didn't think you'd ever want to do this, even if I'm your girlfriend."

"You didn't even ask me Rach, which gotta say, stings a little."

"I thought you didn't want to associate yourself with Glee in the yearbook, because it'll get defaced. I thought it would be bad for your reputation." Rachel murmured, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at the wide receiver.

"I'm not here for Glee babe; I'm here for you. And if that means posing for some stupid pic, then that's what I'll do. I'm a stud, a pic isn't going to damage my rep. 'Sides, if anyone has anythin' to say 'bout it, they'll get a talkin' to to my fists." Puck shrugged, clearly not bothered in the least. Rachel beamed at him, throwing her arms around him and attaching her mouth to his, absolutely delighted with him.

"I hate to break up this…touching moment, but can we please get this going?" The two teens pulled apart at the photographer's snide words, giving him very similar glares before Rachel led him over to the stools. Puck was about to sit down when he remembered he still had his pads on, so he whipped his jersey off and removed the plastic before pulling the jersey back on. He smirked at Rachel, who had gotten a distracted look on her face when she saw him in the tank top he had on underneath. He was such a stud!

"Okay, on three. One. Two. Three." Rachel beamed at the camera, completely forgetting about her 'professional' poses, as she could only focus on the fact that her boyfriend was there with her. By the second click, Puck had drug her stool closer to his so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders, making it clear that he wasn't bothered about being in a Glee picture.

Before he knew it, however, Rachel was in tears, and Puck was completely confused about what had happened. Sure, he hadn't really been paying attention to what the guy was saying, but apparently he had upset his girl. That shit was not kosher. But before he could say anything, Rachel was delicately wiping at her eyes and talking a mile a minute about some acting shit or something. All he got out of it was a 'crazy Rachel' smile before he was pulled out of the room.

"What was that about?" Puck asked, feeling a little bad for having not been paying attention.

"That's not important right now Noah. We have forty-five minutes before Glee, and I want to…show my gratitude for you stepping up and being willing to take that picture with me. Meet me in the handicap bathroom down the hall from the choir room in ten minutes. Ten minutes Noah, don't be late." Rachel said before she hurried down the hall, leaving a confused boy behind her.

Rachel quickly made her way to her locker, her heart pounding in excitement. Not only had she just single handedly secured the Glee club's first big break, but she was also going to act on one of her fantasies, and in the middle of the school day! Noah was definitely a bad influence on her, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to care.

Throwing the locker door open, Rachel grabbed the 'out of order' sign, which she used to use for when she needed to get cleaned up from slushie attacks, and made her way to the designated bathroom. Once she was sure no one was in the restroom, she slapped the sign on the door and locked it.

Turning to the sink, Rachel quickly started removing her uniform, not wanting to let it get wrinkled before she made sure she looked as sexy as possible in her cotton underwear. It wasn't the best choice, but she hadn't thought this particular fantasy was going to be played out that day, so she had to make do with what she had.

Rachel had to clamp down on her sudden nerves when there was a knock on the door and Puck's voice sounded from behind the wood. Steeling herself, Rachel moved behind the door and flipped the lock, pulling hit slightly open before grabbing his jacket and pulling him into the bathroom, quickly relocking the door.

Puck was not sure why he was in a bathroom of all places, because there were perfectly good supply closets if she wanted to make out. But, he wasn't going to turn down a make out session, no matter where the location. Turning to see the small brunette, Puck's eyes about popped out of his head when he saw she was standing there in her underwear and sneakers.

"Wha-"

"Go stand over there Noah." Rachel said, pointing to the blank wall next to the sink. He just stared at her, but when Rachel raised an eyebrow at his lack of movement, Puck quickly moved over to the wall. He didn't know what was going on, but he sure as hell liked where it was headed.

Rachel slowly made her way over to him, biting her lower lip as her stomach churned with nerves. She really couldn't believe she was about to do this. Just get started Berry, then things will get less…nervy. He's willing to let his picture get defiled just to be there for you, so you need to say thank you. Besides, this is your fantasy Berry.

Puck watched her closely as she approached him, looking sexy as hell. He didn't give a rat's ass about what type of bras and panties she wore, because he thought she looked hot in anything…or nothing. And with her hair still pulled back in a ponytail, there was nothing to get in the way of his gaze taking in her lush, golden skin.

"I want to thank you Noah, for what you did. You could have let me take that picture by myself; to feel humiliated for putting my faith in someone who obviously cares more about his reputation than me or Glee club." Rachel's voice was soft, seeming to float over his skin, making the hairs on his arms stand up. She gently grabbed his jersey and pulled it over his head, smiling softly at him before she sat the shirt aside.

"I've had this fantasy for…well since last year actually. Every time I would use this bathroom to get cleaned up after one of your 'attacks', I would get this picture in my head of you being at my mercy." As she spoke, Rachel lifted his tank top up and set that aside as well, lightly running her hands down his arms until she got to his hands.

"I love your arms Noah. They're so strong and they make me feel safe." Rachel murmured, running her hands back up said appendages before following with her mouth, giving each arm a trail of light kisses. Puck's body was quickly coming to life, as her lips were teasing him just enough to get a response.

"Grasp the pipe Noah. And you can't let go." Rachel said, pushing his arms up until his hands grazed the metal pipe above his head. He gave her a surprised look, but his fingers curled around the cold metal anyways.

"Hmm…see this is how my fantasy always started. You'd be stuck here, not able to move, while I could do anything I pleased with you." Rachel skimmed her fingertips down his chest, giving each nipple a light tweak before lowering to brush against his abs.

"And I love your chest too, Noah. I always thought you had an amazing body. Did you know, that after that night a summer camp, I couldn't get you out of my head? Even when you started being mean, I couldn't stop thinking about you. And when you'd play basketball at the JCC during the summer, you'd always end up without a shirt on. I couldn't help but stare, even when I was supposed to be doing something. You just…always seemed to be around to distract me."

Puck held in a groan as Rachel talked, her hands running a torturous patterned up and down his chest. She even stepped in the space between him and the wall, giving his back the same treatment as his front. And when she leaned in and started placing hot, open mouth kisses to his flesh, Puck swore she was trying to kill him.

"Babe-"

"Shh Noah, no talking. And don't move your hands." Rachel whispered into his ear, flicking her tongue out to lightly lick the shell. She felt him shudder, making her grin before she moved back around to face him.

"Sometimes, in my fantasies, I would throw a slushie at you. But then I'd lick it off every inch of you." Rachel's voice had gone husky, something he hadn't actually heard that much of, which was super sexy. He could tell that she was just as turned on as he was, especially when she started to lick down his chest, as if following the trail of the would-be slushie.

"Mmm, and you always taste good Noah. I wasn't sure about that, for my fantasies, since there wasn't a whole lot of foreplay before. But you do, taste good. It's like a mix of cinnamon and something I can only guess is Noah." Rachel trailed her mouth back up to his neck, letting her tongue flick out against the sensitive skin. She then moved up to his chin before pulling his head down for a deep, toe curling kiss.

Pulling away, Rachel took a step back to look at the picture he made. Puck's powerful arms were bulging above his head, the muscles flexed from the grip he had on the pipes, which she guess was a tight one to keep him from touching her. His broad chest was on display, seeming to demand to be worshiped, which Rachel found herself all too willing to do. But, they didn't have the time for her to keep teasing him.

Stepping back up to him, Rachel lightly bit his bottom lip, which she knew drove him crazy, as she unbuckled his belt and slowly unzipped his jeans. Keeping his gaze, Rachel slowly lowered his jeans and boxers, her body lowering with them, until she had them down around his ankles. With her eyes still locked with his, she ran her hands up his thighs, causing the muscles to clench under her touch.

"Even your legs are amazing Noah. They're so strong and muscular." Puck thought he was seriously going to have a Cinco de Mayo moment if she kept this up. Rachel either didn't get the hint, or she really just liked to torture him, because her lips were soon following her hands, trailing softly up the tight muscles, but never going to where he wanted her most.

Rachel had to bit her lip to keep from laughing at the pained look on his face as she kept move away from his pulsing erection. She knew she was being a little mean, but she wasn't sure when the next time she was going to be able to do this. And it was her fantasy damn it! Running her hands around, she lightly skimmed down the small of his back down to his ass, giving each cheek a light squeeze while trying not to giggle.

"You also have an amazing buttocks Noah. When you wear jeans that actually fit, I can't stop looking at it. I just want to…nibble on it." Rachel's voice had gone husky again, staring up at him as she gave one cheek a light pinch, making him jump. Puck gave a groan and his head fell backwards, not knowing if he would actually survive this.

Her teasing had literally every fiber of his being on edge, and he wasn't sure how long he could hold out, which made him feel like a pussy. But fuck, she just kept teasing him and his skin was a lot more sensitive than he thought apparently. Rachel knew it was time to get to the main even, as she could tell that he was beginning to get frustrated with her. And she'd had her fun, so she should get to the 'thank you' part.

"And you have a beautiful cock Noah." Rachel whispered, her breath hot against the sensitive flesh. Puck's eyes shot back down to her, seeing her so close to him that he just wished she'd put him out of his misery. He also wanted to say his cock was awesome, not beautiful, but feared she'd stop if he broke the no talking rule. However, there was no stopping the exclaimed curse that was torn from his throat when he was finally encased in the hot warmth of her mouth.

Rachel slurped on the head, bathing it in her saliva before she moved down to lick at the shaft. Once she was satisfied with the amount of moisture, she wrapped one small hand around him and began to pump, while she focused her mouth on the head. She knew he liked when she took him completely in, but she wanted to save that until the very end.

Puck wasn't really sure what was different about this blow job and the one on his mom's couch, but he felt like it was ten times better. It was probably because all her teasing had left him so sensitive, but he really didn't care why. Every time her tongue would swirl around his head, he thought the head on his shoulders was going to pop off. And when she would give a twist as she pumped, stars burst before his eyes.

"Thank you Noah, for being such a wonderful boyfriend. I know I'm not always the easiest person to be around, and I am so thankful that you don't seem to mind. I hope this shows how much I appreciate you." Rachel pulled away just long enough to say that, her eyes meeting his, before she slowly lowered her mouth back on him.

But this time she continued to lower her mouth, her eyes never leaving his, until her throat closed around him. Puck wasn't sure what sound came out of his mouth, but Rachel's stretched lips seemed to smile around him before she pulled back and then lowered again. Now that her mouth was taking all of him, Rachel used one hand to massage his sack, and the other one ran up and down the inside of his thigh, which proved to be just as sensitive as the rest of him.

When Rachel started humming with his dick down her throat, Puck couldn't hold on anymore and he climaxed. It was so strong that he thought he had blacked out for a moment, thankful that he was almost hanging on to the pipe, as he didn't think his legs could support him.

Rachel grinned as she swallowed, making sure to get everything before pulling back. She gave his head a light kiss before standing, pulling his pants back up with her. She felt accomplished, as the glazed look in Puck's eyes told her just how much he liked her impromptu actions. Quickly pulling the chair that was always in the bathroom over to him, Rachel lightly pulled him down into the seat, bemused when he just sat there, not really seeming to be there.

"You should get redressed soon Noah, it's almost time for Glee." Rachel said, fighting back another giggle when he gave her a befuddled look before glancing down at his unzipped jeans. Rachel turned away from him, grabbing the small bag out of her book bag before setting it on the sink. Puck watched in a daze as she pulled out her travel toothbrush and paste before brushing her teeth. Seriously, that girl thinks of everything.

Rachel tried not to get flustered as Puck watched her get put together. Her body was still humming, desperately wanting release of its own, but there wasn't time and that wasn't why she brought him in here. Pushing her needs to the side, Rachel quickly brushed her hair into a neat tail before reapplying her light makeup. She turned to grab her uniform, which had been lain across the top of the stall's wall, and saw that Puck still hadn't moved.

Rolling her eyes, Rachel quickly donned her uniform before putting everything back away and approached Puck. She grabbed his shirts from the floor and sat down on his knee. Puck's hands shot out to hold on to her, his hands almost burning against her thighs.

"Babe, that was…" Puck was actually at a loss of words. That was the absolute fucking best blow job of his life! No lie! He still couldn't feel his legs! Rachel smiled at him before leaning in to kiss him. She gave a moan when his tongue surged into her mouth, battling with hers until she had to pull away, aware of just little time they had.

"Come one Noah, we have to go." Rachel said before she stood, pulling him up with her. She felt immensely proud of herself when he seemed to stumble and actually had to sit back down because his legs were shaking too bad to support him. She had to bit her lip to keep from whooping (as that is very unladylike) and she quickly helped him into his shirts and did up his zipper and belt. Puck couldn't even attempt to look put out, as a blissful smirk wouldn't leave his face.

"Alright, come on Noah." Rachel said after grabbing her bag. She pulled him once more from the chair, but this time she wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to help support his weight as they wobbled to the door. Grabbing the sign she quickly stuffed it into his jacket pocket before once more attempting to help him down the hallway.

"Yo B, what's wrong with Puckerman?" Santana asked as sauntered over to them, having been headed to the choir room with Britt, Matt, and Mike.

"Um…he just can't…feel his legs right now." Rachel said, her face going bright red when Puck gave her a smirk. Santana arched a brow, not buying that that was the entire story. When the petite girl stumbled under her boyfriend's weight, the other boys rushed forward to take over.

"Oh thank you Michael, Mathew. It is very kind of you to assist us." Rachel said with a smile, her hand rubbing her shoulder where the muscles were tight. Brittany looped her arm through Rachel's and the six started down the hall again.

"So what happened bro?" Matt asked as him and Mike tried to maneuver the larger boy around the students cluttering the hallway. Puck got a shit-eating smirk on his face, making it clear that whatever had happened had definitely been worth the loss of the use of his legs.

"My girl just thanked me for coming to the rescue and taking that damn picture." Puck said, not even realizing that he was being loud. His blood was still buzzing, so he really couldn't be held responsible, right? Right. Matt and Mike shared a look, not really believing it.

"What? I didn't think Rachel did that type of thing, especially not at school." Mike said, earning a loud chuckle from Puck. The girls looked back, and when Santana saw the look on his face, she quickly pulled them to a stop, making the boys also have to stop their progression.

"Why does Puck have the 'I just got some' look?" Santana demanded, her voice carrying down the hall, causing several people to look over in curiosity. Rachel's face became even redder.

"Santana!" The Latina rolled her eyes at Rachel before turning to Puck, her brow once more arched.

"Uh…" Puck wasn't sure if he should actually say anything, as his girl's face looked like a tomato. But he wanted to share her fucking awesome talents with them, so they knew just how kick ass she was. Although, maybe he wouldn't tell the boys. He didn't want them thinking about those talents! At all!

"C'mon B, you have to tell us now. We all know you did something, so just spill." Santana said, crossing her arms over her chest. It was clear that she wasn't going to let this go and Rachel gave a tired sigh.

"I simply showed my appreciation for the fact that Noah was willing to do the Glee photo with me, something none of you were willing to do." She tried to get them to feel guilty, but by the looks on their faces, they were more interested in how exactly she 'showed her appreciation.'

"So what, you blew him?" If that was the case, Santana couldn't figure what the big deal was. She had done that to Puck plenty of times, and he'd never needed help walking afterward.

"Oh god, you have no idea!" Puck said, his eyes glazing over again at the memory.

"NOAH!" Puck just shrugged, not even being able to care about her getting mad at him anymore.

"Ph-lease! I've never seen a bj do that to a guy." Santana said, pointing to Puck, who just smirked at her.

"I cannot believe we are talking about this! I am going to Glee!" Rachel stormed away, not even looking behind her. Puck gazed after her for a moment, but by the intense glare he was getting from the Latina, he knew he wasn't getting out of telling.

When the five finally made it into the choir room, the other four had astonished looks on their faces. Rachel glanced over at them and blushed when she saw the looks they were giving her. She could not believe Noah had actually told them! He was so not getting a repeat in the near future!

"Goddamn Berry, you just continue to surprise me! And I feel like I should be offended that Puck said you blow better than me, I just can't seem to. Fucking hot." Santana said, giving her an appreciative once-over. The other gleeks looked on with wide eyes as Rachel blushed more, Santana seemed to leer, Brittany was Brittany, and Matt and Mike had to help Puck into a chair.

"I still can't believe you can't feel your legs." Matt whispered, although he mine as well have been yelling, as everyone's attention was on them. Puck smirked again and shared a look with Rachel, which caused her heart to start pounding. It was as if he wanted nothing more than to bend her over the piano, and Rachel couldn't say if she would stop him. Okay, so maybe she would be able to move past her embarrassment a lot sooner than she thought.

"Okay, let's get this meeting started. I don't think Mr. Schuester's going to be in today, so let's begin." Rachel said, trying to bring the conversation back to order. Her friends just watched her bemused as she fidgeted before moving to the door, attempting to close it when Finn appeared.

"Oh hello Finn, so nice of you to join us." Rachel said sarcastically, moving away from the tall boy. Finn looked ashamed and mumbled something about Hitler mustaches before moving to sit next to Quinn. Rachel rolled her eyes before addressing the room, telling them all of not only Puck's actions (which earned smirks from the other five), but also about the big break she had landed them.

/*/

The mattress commercial had gone off without a hitch, especially after Rachel had made it absolutely clear to the store owner that they could not be paid in any form for their work. They were simply 'volunteering' their time and talent, as it would be against Show Choir rules to accept any type of payment.

When Monday came and Sue tried to get them bared from competition, it became apparent that she had underestimated the brain capacity for the members, especially one Rachel Berry. Mr. Schuester, who apparently had been sleeping in his office since Thursday night, was shocked at their commercial, but applauded their initiative.

When Quinn announced that Sue had 'agreed' to give the Glee club one of her pages free of charge, everyone was excited. This, of course, made Rachel mad because no one besides her and Noah had been willing to take the picture before, but now everyone was down with it? To make sure everyone remembered their shameful behavior, Rachel demanded the Glee club still get the other ¼ page, as Mr. Schuester had already paid for it.

So, once May comes, everyone would see the smiling faces of the Glee club its director, and also a picture of its two co-captains, Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry. Their picture was one taken without notice, as the two were beaming at each other instead of the camera and Puck's arm was around her shoulders, their bodies almost pressed against one another. It was a picture that Rachel would cherish forever.

AN: I know the ending was a little short, but it's 2 am and I really want to go to bed. Please REVIEW! Thanks!