Puck was tired and cranky. It had been almost eleven by the time he got home last night, and even though he was exhausted, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes the events of the day played over and over in his mind like a bad movie.

He hadn't wanted to come to school today, but they had a game tonight, and Coach wouldn't let him play if he missed class. On the way to the gas station for his morning slushie, he noticed that he could still smell Rachel in his truck. He wondered briefly what kind of perfume she wore, he'd never smelled anything like it before.

He thought about calling her this morning, but he was afraid to turn his phone back on. He'd finally shut it off last night, after ignoring numerous texts and calls from both Finn and Quinn. Of course, even if he could turn his phone on, he didn't have her phone number... it's not like they were friends. He wasn't even sure what he'd say to her if he could call her, "Sorry about last night"? Sorry for what exactly? The whole charade had been her idea. Sorry he was mean to her? The chick wasn't exactly sweetness and light herself. Sorry they didn't actually hook up? Grinning to himself, now that one might actually be true. She might be crazy and annoying, but he had a feeling she really would be a wildcat in bed, he'd just have to find a way to keep her mouth occupied so she wouldn't yap the whole time.

The car behind him honked their horn and Puck realized he had a green light. Shaking his head, he put his foot on the gas, and wondered what the hell had gotten into him. He had a phone full of hot cougars that would jump at the chance to get a piece of him and he was thinking about Rachel Berry? With a little more than a pang of guilt he also remembered that he had Quinn and their unborn child to think about. Rachel was off limits and that's all there was to it.

Puck pulled into the school parking lot, and climbed out of his truck. He spotted Finn making a beeline towards him. Glancing around the open parking lot, Puck realized there was no way to avoid talking to him. Leaning back, he waited for Finn to reach him.

He had expected Finn to be pissed. He had even been prepared to have Finn yell at him. He had not been ready for Finn to grab him by his shirt and slam him up against his truck.

"What is going on between you and her?" Finn demanded.

Puck's mind was reeling. Was he talking about Quinn or Rachel? Puck decided to take the safe route and be nonspecific. "Dude, nothing..." Puck said quickly,"now let me down." People in the parking lot were starting to stare.

Finn looked at Puck doubtfully, and kept a firm hold on his shirt. "Man, I saw you two together, you left with her last night and she called you Noah!" Finn voice was rising with each accusation.

"Let me down, and I'll explain it all..." Puck replied, trying not to sound like he was begging.

Finn reluctantly let go of his shirt, and Puck slid down the side of the truck, his feet landing solidly on the ground. "She called you Noah!" Finn repeated accusingly.

"Dude, that is my name you know..."

"Yeah, but the only person who calls you Noah is your mom. Why in the hell would Rachel, who you hate, call you..."

"Yeah man, I get the point... Who knows why that chick does anything?

She's kinda weird you know."

"She's not weird," Finn said through gritted teeth, "she's different, she's spec..."

"I get it, I get it..." Puck interrupted, "you think she's special."

"And obviously, you don't... so what the hell were you doing with her last night?"

Puck actually looked thoughtful for a brief moment, "I'm not really sure..." he muttered, more to himself than to Finn.

Finn stepped forward, as though he might grab Puck's shirt again.

"Look man, I don't really know what happened yesterday, but it's not what you think..."

"Then what was it?"

"She was helping me..."

"Helping you? Really?" Finn spat back sarcastically, "Helping you with what?"

"With... with my music..." Damn, he should have just gone with the wildcat thing, that would've been easier to explain to Finn than this was going to "She heard me playing guitar and we ended up talking. She's, you know, gifted and shit at that music stuff. I just thought maybe she could help me a little."

"Since when do you care about your music?"

"Since always..." Puck replied defensively. "You aren't the only guy in this town who's got something going on other that football, you know."

Finn scoffed and Puck's face turned red with fury. "You have Quinn. Why do you care about Berry? You can't have them both damn it."

"I know that, but Rachel deserves..."

"Deserves what? Something better? Someone better? Go on... that's what you were going to say, right?"

Finn's held his head down, refusing to meet Puck's gaze.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Great, even my best friend thinks I'm loser." Puck was enraged now. "I didn't touch her. I don't want her. But if I did, man, I'd make her happier and take better care of her than you ever could." Even Puck himself wasn't quite sure if that last line was about Quinn or Rachel. Pushing past Finn, he stormed off towards the school.

Students scattered in every direction in his wake, rushing off to tell their friends that Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman had just been fighting over Rachel Berry.

Puck was so lost in his own thoughts that he walked straight into Rachel, sending his books flying through the air. He bent over to pick to them up, as Rachel started yapping about the conversation he'd just had with Finn. He glanced up at her, and although he knew she was talking, he couldn't hear a word she was saying. He couldn't have even told you what color shirt she was wearing. All he could see were long tan legs, leading up to a tiny scrap of material that he was surprised qualified as a skirt. Damn it, didn't the chick own any jeans?

Standing up quickly, he looked down at down at her, "Seriously, is there a nationwide shortage of fabric I don't know about? I'm not exactly complaining, but..."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel demanded.

Puck tried to shake the image of those legs from his mind, and when he actually looked at her face he realized she was pissed. No, not just pissed, but Pissed with a capital P. "Huh? What? Nevermind... What did you say again?" he stammered.

"I asked you what just happened in the parking lot," she demanded, her hands on hips, "I've just been informed that you and Finn were fighting over me." She tried to keep the mad face on, but Puck could see the self satisfied smile she was holding back.

He'd just made a fool of himself and found out that even best friend thought he was a "Lima Loser", and she was happy? It took everything he had not to throw his slushie on her right then and there. "Go away Berry," he snarled at her.

"No," she said, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and crossing her arms across her chest. "Not until you tell me word for word what was said."

Puck raised an eyebrow at her. The last thing he wanted to do was rehash his conversation with Finn. "Really?" he asked stepping toward her, "because that part was pretty boring."

"Excuse me?" she demanded, holding her ground as he moved closer to her, "Well then what was the interesting part?"

"The interesting part," he purred, stepping even closer, "is what I thinking."

He was only inches away from her now, staring down at her with a smile that had melted the hearts of a thousand cougars. Still she stood firm, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. "Is that so? Why, by all means, please enlighten me as to what you were thinking," she cooed insincerely.

He reached his hand up and placed it on the wall behind her head and leaned closer, forcing her to take a small step back. "I was thinking that Saint Finn probably wouldn't know what to do with you if he ever caught you."

She was breathing hard now, but she tried to play it cool. "Oh," she said in a casual voice, "and I suppose you would?"

His grin nearly made her knees buckle, "Oh I would Berry, trust me." Pushing away from the wall, he bent his mouth to her ear and spoke in a low tone, "You wouldn't know what hit you, but you'd love every minute of it."

When Rachel opened her eyes, he was gone, walking down the hallway with his trademark "I'm the man" swagger. Tearing her eyes from him, she turned and ran smack into Finn's chest.

"Seriously Rachel, what the hell is going on with you two?"