All during Glee Club practice that same day, Rachel kept looking at Puck from the corner of her eye and each time he managed to notice, he'd shoot her one of his little smirks. 'A coy close-mouthed grin that showed only at the corners of his upturned mouth'. Rachel read in a Cosmopolitan magazine that guys that smirked like that were trying to hint that they were interested in you, but that they were too shy or insecure to put it all out there for show. Wait, what was she even thinking? Like he'd ever be interested in her. And Puck along with shy and insecure did not go in the same sentence together. Rolling her eyes at the thought, she turned to look at Finn sitting beside Quinn. His smile was earnest and aloof. He obviously wasn't paying attention to Mr. Schuester do a run through of the choreography for their new number because otherwise, she would be able to see the creases in his forehead when he'd have that look of confusion on his face. She wondered what he could possibly be thinking about. Could he be thinking about her? The last kiss they had at the bowling alley?
Finn could only think about baby names. Drizzle was shot down and Quinn insisted on giving the baby up for adoption. That didn't mean he wouldn't have children in the future that he'd have the opportunity to take care of. Flurry would be a cool name for a boy, he liked snow flurries…
Puck sat on the other end of the row, slumped back against the chair that he was sitting in. His glance would shift between Finn and Rachel. Finn wasn't thinking about his last kiss with Rachel, but that moment was definitely going through Puck's mind. How did he never notice that there was something going on there? Well, Rachel's attraction to Finn was plenty obvious, but Rachel was never one to be subtle. But Finn? Really? Especially when he was dating Quinn! Okay, so Puck may have taken his chance with Quinn when Finn wasn't paying attention to her, but look how that turned out. She ended up knocked up and Finn was stupid and naïve enough to believe her half-assed hot tub story. That pissed him off royally. It was his kid. He didn't even get a say. What if he didn't want to give the baby up? What if he wanted to take part in her life? Thinking about all of this made his blood boil.
Finn stayed beside Quinn in true Prince Charming fashion, but Puck saw past that. In his eyes, Finn was deceiving everyone. Puck was there that night when Finn took Rachel to the bowling alley. His mother was part of a female Jewish bowling league and he promised to pick her up. His mother tended to knock a few back when she'd bowl. Apparently, it helped her game. Not that he didn't care about his mother, because he truly did, but he was forced to be her designated driver on bowling night. How did she manage to make him agree? Can you say, 'Got Guilt'? That would be the best slogan for her. A Jewish mother's guilt was her most powerful weapon.
Regardless, Puck didn't count on seeing Finn there, much less accompanied by Rachel Berry. Sitting at the bar, he observed them from a safe distance to go unnoticed. All of a sudden, Rachel pretty much mauled Finn and he didn't seem to mind all that much. So much for being the devoted boyfriend that Quinn thought he was. Oh, man. This was a ticking time bomb and he couldn't wait to see the fall out. But how could Finn do that to her? For all Finn knew, she was carrying his child and he was out bowling with Berry and getting a little something extra on the side? That didn't sit well with Puck. His baby didn't deserve to be forgotten about that way.
When Puck got home that night, the wheels started turning in his head. He wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but when he applied himself, he was almost Machiavellian. Finn had what Puck wanted and Finn was taking it for granted. How would Finn feel if the roles were reversed? That's when his plan came into fruition. He could take Rachel. Rachel was no Quinn Fabray, but she wasn't terrible looking. If she could stop talking long enough, she might even pass for normal. Now how could he achieve such a task? Asking her out up front would garner him a big, fat no. Seducing her would prove to be a little too suspicious and although he knew he was a stud, Rachel still had eyes for Finn. Maybe a random act of kindness would lure her in and that could be the basis for his whole plan. Something very subtle, almost insignificant, but important enough to reel her in. Something that was very uncharacteristic of him. Hmm… he hadn't thrown a slushie in her face since he joined Glee. That was nice enough, but he needed more. Wait, what if he got someone else to throw it?
Everything was mapped out to the T. Puck threatened fellow teammate Alex Buchanan to toss the weapon of choice in Rachel's unsuspecting face before the fourth period bell rang. That would give him enough time to come to her aid without worrying about other people watching. On Puck's cue, Alex came around the corner and attacked Rachel when she approached the part of the hallway where Puck's locker resided. The t-shirt? A freshly laundered shirt that he grabbed from the dryer that morning. He figured if he would've given her a towel, it would've been too obvious. Planted there, waiting for him to jump at the chance to help. He gently helped wipe her face clean of the slushie with his spring meadow scented shirt and from the look on her face, his act of kindness blindsided her; just what he was going for.
"Alright guys, let's take the moves from the top," Mr. Schuester announced, the members of the club hustling to get to their feet and get in formation. Puck planted himself beside Rachel when Mr. Schuester pointed for him to stand there.
"You have to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath, crossing her arms to her chest. Rachel had a spare change of clothes in her locker that she kept as a backup. Once she realized she was late for English, she rushed to change after Puck left. Puck would've normally said something snide, but Operation Take Finn Down was a go and he had to go against everything that came naturally to him.
Now that Finn was watching, Puck extended a hand out to Rachel for her to take. She just looked at it incredulously. Rolling his eyes, he jutted his hand further out toward her. "I washed my hands after gym today, you can take it. I won't yank your arm off or whatever."
Rachel hesitated, but accepted his hand eventually. What startled her most was when he gave her a twirl. Her feet weren't prepared, so she stumbled a bit, but Puck's free hand caught her lower back and pulled her in closer.
"Keep up, Berry. You don't want to get out danced by me, do you?"
"Excuse me?" Rachel couldn't help but scoff in response. "I'll have you know that I was the best dancer in the Little Miss Lima pageant when I was four years old that it was stated that I even gave the girls in the eight year old division a run for their money. Not to mention I could probably dance circles around you until you're too dizzy to stand."
With that, Puck let out a chuckle. Could she really be this full of herself? It was amusing though. "Feisty, calm down. Are you afraid of a challenge?"
"I perform best under pressure, but I would hardly call you a challenge."
Puck feigned a hurt expression on his face. "Ouch, Berry. I hope we're still talking about dancing." The look his eyes gave her and the wiggle of his eyebrows followed after the double meaning of his words.
Did that slight tint of red on her cheeks signify she was blushing? Finn coughed from behind them and let go of his partner for the day, Brittany, after watching the exchange between Puck and Rachel. "How about we get down to these steps guys?"
After an eventful hour, Puck lingered behind after they filed out of the choir room one by one. "Ber—Rachel," he caught himself, feeling a little more comfortable and confident in calling her by her first name, he made his way over to the piano and leaned against its side. He observed Rachel as she arranged the sheet music together.
"Yes, Puck?" Even though she did take into account that he used her first name, she on the other hand, did not feel friendly enough toward him to return the gesture. She kept her eyes focused on the sheet music.
"You were right."
Her head snapped up at those three little words. This day was just getting weirder and weirder by the moment. "I was right about what?" She asked carefully, eyeing him like he had grown a third eye on his forehead in the last thirty seconds.
"You could definitely dance circles around me. I was wondering if you could help me with this new routine after school. I talked my mom into attending our next performance and I really… well, I really want to impress her. She's not too fond of contact sports, but Glee might be something she could be proud of." Not all of that was a lie. Yes, Rachel could out dance him and out sing him any day. His mother didn't care too much for football, but she wasn't unsupportive though she did tend to prefer the arts and anything that wasn't as barbaric as football.
Rachel blinked for a moment, making sure she wasn't hallucinating like she thought she did earlier that afternoon. His words seemed genuine. Wanting to better his performance for his mother? That was… touching. "Uh…" she was apprehensive and still had her reservations, but she couldn't be one to deny someone of improving their talents. Particularly because it benefitted Glee and if they were all on the same page, they'd definitely kill at Nationals. "I accept. I will help you master your footwork and I'll throw in vocal training free of charge. No need to thank me!" Grabbing her things, she was getting ready to head out.
Puck scratched his head. Was it really that easy? He slung his backpack over his shoulder and trailed behind until he caught up to her. "Wait, vocal training? I think I sound great enough, thank you very much."
"Oh, Puck, you have so much to learn in so little time. Meet me in the auditorium after school tomorrow. If you're late, we can call this whole thing off. Have I made myself clear?"
He gave her a military salute as he walked beside her. "Sir, yes, sir!"
She shot him a look from the corner of her eye and hugged the folder that held her music to her chest. "Oh, I suppose you want your shirt back as well."
"Nah," he quickly dismissed the thought, turning and walking backwards toward the exit. "Keep it. Kind of like a souvenir. Later, Rachel."
She stopped dead in her tracks as she watched him leave, playing the day over in her head. He was gone, but his presence still lingered. The ruined shirt was wrapped up in a bag in her rollaway case, yet the memory of how clean that shirt smelled remained with her. Even when they danced, he smelled like rain during a humid, spring afternoon in Lima. It perturbed Rachel how comforting that actually was.
A/N: Wow, I'm just in love with tonight's episode of Glee so far. I started writing this before it came on, but still. Puck and Rachel? I'm dying. And I noticed there's so many typos in the last chapter, but I'll fix that later. This one was a little longer because I thought the last one was lacking. Hope you liked it! Feedback is always welcome.