After a very tense dinner with his mother, during which he had been subjected to dozens of questions about Rachel, Puck had locked himself in his room. Picking up his guitar, he started to pick out notes, trying to recreate the song he'd been playing the day she had walked into the music room crying. Had that really only been Wednesday? So much had changed… It seemed like forever ago.

The music came back to him slowly, and he thought of the staff paper Rachel had given him. Most of the time, he played songs by ear, although he did know how to read guitar tabs. During his brief time in Glee, he'd learned a little about standard notation, but not enough to be able to translate the notes he played into sheet music. He never really cared about that before, but suddenly he was irritated that he didn't know how. Maybe he'd ask wheelchair kid for help, the dude was pretty fucking brilliant when it came to the guitar.

Puck had just finished reworking the chorus when he heard the doorbell ring. Fuck, who the hell was it now? It was already past ten, and his mom was going to have a fucking aneurysm if it was one of his friends. She was in the living room, watching TV, so there was no way he could beat her to the door. He had just stepped into the hallway when he heard her voice.

"Matthew Rutheford, do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Sorry Mrs. P, I know it's late… I just really need to talk to Puck. It's kind of an emergency."

"An emergency? Is everything okay? It's not Finn, is it?"

"No, no… nothing like that ma'am, I guess it's not really an emergency, but it is really important."

Shit, it had to be Rachel.

"Noah is grounded at the moment, so I'm sorry, but it'll have to wait until Monday."

Damn it, no way was he waiting until Monday. He walked down the hallway, into the living room. "Dude, is it about Rachel? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it's Rach-"

"Noah…"

"Mom, please? I just need to know if she's okay." If Matt ever told anyone he'd said that, Puck would kill him.

She raised an eyebrow. After a long moment, she sighed. "5 minutes. That's it."

"Thanks Mrs. P."

She looked from Matt to Puck and then shook her head and retreated to the kitchen.

"This had better be good dude. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"What'd you do to get grounded?"

Puck narrowed his eyes, "None of your business, what's wrong with Rach?"

Matt quickly gave him the condensed version of the story.

"So anyway, if you don't show up, it's going to look like you stood her up, and then Britt's going to kill me."

Puck ran his hand back and forth along his mohawk. "Fuck, there's no way my mom's going to let me out of the house."

Matt sighed. "Then I guess we're screwed. I feel bad though. Rachel's actually pretty cool."

"Yeah, she actually is."

Matt pulled out his phone, probably to call Britt and tell her the bad news.

"Wait a minute," Puck said. "Wait outside. I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Huh?"

" Dude, don't worry about it, I got this. Meet you in ten." Puck actually had no idea if he 'had' this or not but he didn't want there to be any witnesses to what he was about to do. Not that anyone would believe it anyway, hell, he wasn't sure he believed it. All he knew was, if this worked, Rachel had damn well better forgive him. Sucking in a lungful of air, he let it out slowly and walked into the kitchen.

"Mom-"

"Forget it Noah, you're grounded."

"Mom, please, just hear me out?" The look on her face told him this might be harder than he thought. When she didn't say anything Puck continued. "Look, you wanted to know about Rachel, right?"

"What about her?"

Fuck, this was going to suck. It took a minute, but once he started talking, the words tumbled out of his mouth. "Rachel is… well, truthfully, she's loud, and annoying. She talks way too much and she always tries to tell everyone what to do. Everyone in school makes fun of her, and she gets doused with slushies weekly." He was so not owning up to the fact that it was usually him who doused her, he had his limits.

His mother arched her brow, clearly not enjoying the way he was describing her.

"The thing is…" He hesitated. Shit, this was hard. "The thing is, underneath all the crazy, she's a pretty cool chi-, I mean, girl. She's an amazing singer, and she has like, goals and dreams and sh…. stuff. She's funny and sweet, and she's classy. You always say I should look for a classy girl, right?"

His mother nodded her head slightly.

"Rachel acts all tough, you know? Like nothing ever gets to her. She's practically a midget, but she just sticks her chin up and refuses to back down." The thought of that made him smile. "But Finn was right, she's not as tough as she acts. Stuff bugs her way more than she lets on."

He could see that her face was softening now, he was totally getting to her. Time to go for the kill.

" I know I messed up, and I totally deserve to be grounded," Not really, but whatever, "but right now, Rachel's out with a group of people who are expecting me to show up, and when I don't, they're going to think I stood her up."

"Matt can explain that you're grounded."

"Yeah, maybe. If it were any other girl, that might work. But Rach is… different. People aren't going to let her live this down." Puck slumped into the chair, and toyed with the edges of the placemat. Staring at the yellow fringe, he continued, his voice growing softer until it was barely above a whisper, "I just don't want her to get hurt because I was dumb enough to get in trouble." Looking up he met her gaze. Shit, why wasn't she saying anything? She was just sitting there, staring at him with a funny look on her face. He wasn't sure if she was going to yell at him or burst into tears. Please God, not tears, he couldn't handle another crying woman today.

Finally she broke the tense silence. "Fine. You have one hour… but you're cleaning the gutters tomorrow, in addition to the raking you should have done today."

Leaping out of the chair, he wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks mom."

"I mean it Noah Elijah Puckerman, one hour, not one minute longer. If you're late, so help me God, you will never see the light of day again. Understood?"

Noah gulped hard, "Understood."

He started to walk out of the room but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Noah?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm proud of you, Honey Bear." She pulled him down, and planted a kiss on his forehead. He could feel the blood rush to his cheeks.

He nodded. "I love you, mom."

"Love you too."

As he walked out of the kitchen he heard her calling after him. "Tuesday night, Noah. I really want to meet this girl."

He paused, squeezing his eye shut. This had better work, damn it. If being Rachel's knight in shining armor didn't work, he didn't have any idea what would. Grabbing his jacket, he walked outside.

"Come on, I only have an hour. Let's get this over with."

Matt's eyes practically popped out of his head. "What the fuck, man? How the hell did you pull that off?"

Puck knew his mother had a reputation for being hella strict. "Dude, are you questioning my badassness?"

Matt looked impressed. "Not anymore."

It took them fifteen minutes to get to the miniature golf course, and during the ride Matt told him all about Britt and Rachel's unexpected friendship.

"It's crazy, Britt spent like, six hours with Rachel and all the sudden she's all bossy and shit. She actually tried to blackmail me into not calling you."

Puck laughed. "Yeah, Rach has a weird effect on people."

"She's cool though, I thought I was going to have to beat someone up to keep dudes away from her, but she totally handled it."

"Handled it?"

"Yeah, I mean, she blew this one guy off like it was nothing. You should have seen it."

Puck's heart was racing now. "She... uh, she did?"

Matt laughed. "Chill, dude, the chick is fucking nuts about you."

Puck tried to act cool, it's not like he cared what she thought or anything. Rachel Berry was just another chick in a long line, right? Except she wasn't, and he knew Matt knew it too. "Look, dude…"

"No worries man. I get it."

See? This was the difference between chicks and dudes. He was pretty sure that if it had been Rachel and Britt having this discussion, it would have taken like, two hours and a pint of ice cream. Women were nuts.

When they finally arrived, Puck practically jumped out of the car.

"Dude… play it cool."

What the fuck, Matt was telling him, super stud Noah "Puck" Puckerman, to play it cool? What was the world coming to? Bizarro fucking universe was right.

"Yeah, man, I got it."

They walked toward the entrance, and spotted the group easily. The fact that Finn was freakishly tall came in handy sometimes. Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and tried not to freak out when he realized Rachel wasn't there.

"Sup dude," he said, nodding towards Finn. He didn't even bother asking where Quinn was, he was just grateful she wasn't there.

"Nothing much."

Everyone was watching them, waiting to see how this was going to play out. Matt cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence. "Uh hey, anyone know where Britt is?"

Mike, the one person who didn't seem to be paying any attention to the unfolding drama, spoke up. "Naw dude, she and Rachel left the same time we did, but they haven't shown up yet." Man, that kid was fucking dense.

Puck turned toward Matt, about to tell him to call Brittany, when her red Eclipse came screeching into the parking lot. The two boys strode towards the car, just as Britt was getting out. Puck looked through the windshield, but the passenger seat was empty.

"Where's Rachel?"

Britt's lip curled up in a sneer. "At home, poor bay wasn't feeling well."

Her menacing tone made Puck stiffen. He lowered his voice, hoping the others couldn't hear him. "What'd you do to her Britt?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. Though apparently, I'm not good enough to be friends with Little Miss Goody Two Shoes."

"Huh?" What the hell had happened? Rachel was a lot of things, but he couldn't picture her being such a snob towards Brittany. He was about to demand the full story, when Finn came strolling up.

"Where's Rachel?"

Brittany threw her hands up in the air. "Why is everything about Rachel Berry now? What the hell is so great about her? You," she said whirling on Puck, "have been giving her weekly slushie baths for the past year and a half, and now you're what, in love with her? Yeah, right. Good luck with that."

Finn laughed. Big mistake, because Brittany turned on him next. "…and you, Mr. Frankenteen, everyone in school knows you've been following her around like some lovesick puppy dog, and yet you still haven't bothered to break up with Quinn. Speaking of which, where is your pregnant girlfriend?"

Both Puck and Finn were frozen, staring at her with their mouths open.

"You're pathetic, both of you." She shook her head and looked at Matt. "I am so over this. Let's go."

"Britt-"

"Now."

Matt looked at Puck. "Dude, sorry…"

Puck waved his hand. "I get it man, go." Looking at his watch he saw he had exactly 39 minutes until he had to be home. He was so fucked. Matt climbed into the tiny car, and the tires squealed as Brittany peeled out of the crowded parking lot. He and Finn stood there awkwardly, neither one of them knowing what to say.

"So…" Puck started. Before he could get out anything else, Eric came sauntering towards them.

"Wow," he said, "Never thought I'd see both Finn Hudson and Noah Puckerman get stood up by a fucking Glee freak. Whattsa matter guys? The little midget too much for you?"

Puck's vision turned hazy and red, and he clenched his fists reflexively.

"I mean, the bitch is hot and all, but she's annoying as fuck. Might not be so bad if you could keep her mouth occupied, but other than that? Fucking worthless."

Puck lunged forward, but he was too late, Finn had already tackled the douche bag to the ground. Puck tried to pull him off, not to stop the fight, but because he wanted a piece of the asshole's face. Finn took a wild swing when he felt the hand on his arm, and his fist connected with Puck's jaw. Eric took the opportunity to roll out from under his attacker and he scrambled back towards the group. Without even thinking, Puck punched Finn back, and before he knew it they were wrestling on the ground.

No one made any attempt to stop the fight, and they grappled for several minutes, until they were both panting for air. Finally, Puck sat back, and tried to assess his injuries. His jaw was throbbing, his knuckles were scraped and bloody, and he was pretty sure Finn had cracked one or more of his ribs. Glancing over, he saw that Finn looked about the same. They stared silently at other for at least a minute, before Puck glanced down at his watch again. Only 24 minutes left, and it was at least a fifteen minute drive. Not that he had a ride or anything. No way he had time to go see Rachel. He didn't dare risk being late, his Mom was already going to kill him for fighting.

Slowly, he pushed himself into an upright position and grudgingly offered his hand to Finn. His best friend hesitated and then grabbed it, pulling himself up. They said nothing, but Puck saw the small nod of Finn's head.

"Gotta go, man… My mom'll murder me if I'm late."

"You need a ride?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, that'd be cool."

They walked towards Finn's boat of a car, leaving the murmuring crowd behind them. Once inside, Puck leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes, praying Finn would take the hint. Amazingly, he did, saying nothing until he pulled in front of Puck's house.

"So… uh… are we…" Finn hesitated, "Are we cool and all?"

"Yeah man, it's all good." Except the both knew it wasn't.

"And Rachel?"

"Is mine… if she still wants me," Puck said firmly.

Finn stared at the steering wheel, running his hands up and down the sides. Without looking up, he nodded slowly. Puck knew he should say something, anything, but he couldn't find the words. It was one of those really awkward moments where they both realized that no matter what happened, nothing was ever going to be the way it was before.

"Thanks for the lift, dude. See you Monday."

"Yeah," Finn said, his voice cracking, "Monday."