AN: I've had nearly 2000 hits on this story so thank you so much for reading! I'd really appreciate it if you leave a review too because that always helps me to get in the mood to continue writing. Without further ado, here's the next chapter.
Chapter 6
"Clee, you're fucking killing me here." Puck groaned when he felt the dog's weight settle atop his chest. Cleo completely ignored his annoyance and continued her ministrations on his cheek.
"Fucking puppy." Puck muttered.
Cleo stopped licking his face and stared at him with her best begging face. For as long as he could manage, he held out his stony face and she held her begging face and they just stared at one another.
Finally, the corner of Puck's mouth turned up in a smile. At least Cleo was stubbornly badass enough to push him until she got her way. As if she knew what he was thinking, she sat back and began panting, cocking her head to one side.
"You realize that, once again, it is too damn early Cleo. When are you going to learn that the Puckster requires his sleep?" Puck reprimanded the puppy although he was smiling.
Cleo merely jumped off his bed and stared up at him from the floor. Puck slid out of bed and stretched.
He was well aware that he could have locked the door so that Cleo couldn't come in and disturb him. But the one and only time he had done that back when they first got Cleo, she had staked a place outside his door and remained there whining all night long. When he'd opened the door in the morning, Cleo had looked up at him with pitiful eyes and he was a goner.
"You're a one hell of a stubborn animal Clee." Puck released a smile along with the insult.
He quickly pulled on a sweatshirt, a random pair of shorts and his running shoes. Cleo, seeing as he was already fully dressed, barked once before speeding out the door of his bedroom. Puck just rolled his eyes but made his way down the stairs to the front door.
After grabbing his keys, finagling Cleo into her leash (he still didn't understand why Cleo hated the fucking thing) and locking up behind him, they set off down the sidewalk in the general direction of the park.
He didn't really mind all too much about waking up early in the morning every so often to walk Cleo (especially since it had been a couple of days since she had woken him up this early – the day that he'd run into her).
Shaking his head to clear thoughts of those vibrant brown eyes and that warm, petite body against his, he strode down the street behind Cleo. He turned his thoughts, by sheer force of will, to the past few days with Alexa.
It had been like they had never been separated at all for the past ten years. They still knew everything about each other inside and out (although he had yet to go into detail about the whole Quinn-Finn-Rachel thing). And they still did mostly the same things – hanging around each other's houses, going to the arcade and to the movies, eating dinner with each other's families, walking Cleo, playing catch and just talking.
Ever since Alexa had first left town with her parents, he had never been able to find a suitable replacement for his best friend and he didn't want to. So they had kept in touch through snail mail and the phone and occasional visits and then email. It was strange that he, of all people, could have such a solid friendship that was long-distance and with a girl. But he didn't let it faze him because she didn't let it faze her and he was just glad to have her.
Although they had generally just caught up on each other's lives, there had been one major point of contention between them – tomorrow's gathering in the park.
Puck couldn't understand why Alexa couldn't seem to stop talking about and bugging him about inviting everyone, especially his glee club friends. Just to get her off his back, he had called Kurt in front of her and told him to invite all the glee clubbers. She had relented a little at first but then launched into a whole excited organizing tornado, worrying about the food and the drinks and the entertainment and… holy fuck, she was acting a lot like Berry.
Thoughts of the petite, crazy brunette suddenly resurfaced in a wave in his head – her smile, her occasionally crazy eyes, her musical laugh, her amazing voice, her kindness and even some of her annoying ways. He tried hard to stop thinking about Rachel Berry but found it kind of hard to stop thinking about that tight little body he'd seen only a few days ago.
What the fuck Puckerman? Berry, seriously? Get a fucking grip.
"Po-po-po-poker face, po-po-poker face…" Rachel sang softly to herself as she did her warm-up stretches.
Although many of the other glee clubbers seemed to think that she was all about power ballads and Broadway show tunes, Rachel was, in fact, a connoisseur of all different types of music – including Lady Gaga, the current pop phenomenon.
Humming the catchy tune, she hurried down the stairs and out the door before she could change her mind about deviating, once again, from her daily routine. She stood poised on the edge of her front porch for a moment, hesitating.
This is silly. Just turn around and go back into the house and up to your elliptical machine. You know perfectly well he may not even be there…
Rachel stopped short when she realized just what she was thinking – she couldn't be lingering on thoughts of Puck again, could she? Prior to their chance meeting in the park the other morning, she'd been consumed with thoughts of Finn. But now, a certain muscular de-mohawked boy was always in her thoughts…
Relax Rachel, you're just outside because you thought it would be a nice alternative to stationary exercise, just like before.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped off the porch and walked to the sidewalk, turning right as she began to jog in time to the Timbaland song on her iPod. She was well aware where she was headed but she refused to acknowledge that it had anything at all to do with – him.
Fuck (pardon the language). What the hell am I doing? I should be at home right now. But it's a beautiful day out. And you could use the fresh air. And you couldn't resist seeing if you were going to bump into him again… But you shouldn't give a crap.
The argument in her head continued as she made her way, semi-consciously, to the park, harboring the slight hope that he would be there too.
He sat on the edge of the fountain, holding the bunch of twigs in his hands. Cleo looked back and forth between him and the twigs wonderingly. Puck stifled a laugh at her expression.
"Now Clee, I know we haven't exactly taught you any tricks yet apart from sit and stay. But maybe you already know how to fetch…" Puck trailed off, selecting a small twig from the bunch.
Cleo barked, rising to place her paws on his knees. Puck scratched her head absently with his free hand. He threw the stick a short distance away, long enough for Cleo to chase after but not long enough for her to be hindered by the leash (which he couldn't remove since Cleo was, obviously, in the habit of running off). Cleo looked up at him curiously.
"Fetch."
The puppy just stood there staring at him dumbly.
"Go get it." Puck nudged encouragingly.
Cleo tentatively got up and walked in the general direction of the stick. Puck watched as she sniffed around before she picked up the stick with her teeth and looked at him. He nodded encouragingly, a smile breaking over his face. Cleo raced back towards him, putting her paws on his knees again and dropping the stick onto his lap.
"Good girl, good girl." Puck praised Cleo, surprised at her quick ability to pick up on what he wanted her to do.
"Think you can do it again?" He selected another stick from the bunch in his hand.
Cleo looked at the stick and barked eagerly.
Puck grinned and tossed the stick again. Cleo took off like a shot even before he could tell her to go fetch. His grin spread wider as he realized that his dog was smart as all hell.
Cleo bounded towards him and dropped the stick at his feet. He picked her up and set her on his lap, scratching under her chin.
"You're such a good girl, so smart." He cooed to the dog, extremely happy to discover Cleo had brains.
Cleo settled into his lap after she licked his face once. Puck absently stroked her back, staring off into the distance. I've definitely got myself one of the smartest dogs in the world – and that's badass.
He suddenly felt a tingle run along the back of his neck, as if he could feel someone's eyes on him. Running his hand over his head, he snuck a peek to the left and inhaled sharply. He'd know that ponytail and those jogging pants and that gold star shirt any day, even from a distance – it was Rachel Berry. His heart suddenly began to beat a thousand times faster, even as he fought for a sense of control.
Rachel knew that Puck was sitting at the fountain long before she made it there. She couldn't tell how she knew but it might have had something to do with the sudden tingle that appeared in her hands as she neared it. Sure enough, as she cleared the rise near the fountain, she spotted his familiar profile in the distance.
Seeing his familiar muscular form was enough to make her sigh. She tried to avoid staring at him overly long but she couldn't seem to help herself – especially when she realized that he was wearing his gray McKinley high sweatshirt (the extra one being in her possession). He was also sitting with the dog in his lap, stroking it gently on the back, something she had never imagined she would have seen coming from Puck.
She suddenly saw him run his hand over his head and ducked her head quickly, knowing instinctively that he was going to look her way. She could feel his steady gaze burning into her, even as she tried to pretend that she was just on her normal route and completing her exercise requirement for the day.
"Berry."
She slowed as she came nearer the fountain, taking a split second to realize that he had just called her name. She halted abruptly and her head shot up, rearranging her features automatically into a surprised look. She shook her earphones off before she spoke.
"Noah!"
He hesitated for a moment, surprised that he reacted so intensely to hearing his given name coming from her mouth.
Rachel's smile faltered slightly when he didn't say anything further. She waved before she began to put her earphones on again.
"Wait, Berry…"
Rachel paused from putting her other ear bud into her ear, surprised he had even continued the conversation. That was not, of course, to say, that she wasn't pleased and entirely delighted. But she schooled those emotions into a blank face.
"Yes, Noah?"
"Um-" Puck hesitated for a bit before he continued, "wanna sit?"
Rachel just gaped at him for a moment, wondering if he really meant it.
"Are you just going to stare at me all day Berry?" Puck asked, an amused grin briefly flitting over his face before he returned his attention to stroking Cleo's back.
"What-I, uh, no." Rachel said awkwardly, twisting the cords of her earphones (which she had pulled from her ears) in her hands.
"Then sit." Puck said, semi-grudgingly, not looking directly at her.
Rachel walked forward and sat next to him, just close enough so that they were next to each other but not close enough for any part of their body to be touching.
They just sat there in a weird silence for a few minutes, Puck absently stroking Cleo's back, while Rachel played with her earphones.
Puck was surprised to find that he was so physically aware of the tiny brunette sitting next to him. Even without looking at her (although he snuck his eyes in her direction every few seconds), he sensed the warmth of her body. In his mind, he could see the way the clothes clung to her body and the way her hair was pulled away from her face and those soft, pink lips…
Rachel was busying herself wrapping the cord of earphones around and around her fingers, while trying to push thoughts of Puck out of her head. He had invited her to sit next to him but that couldn't possibly mean anything at all. And yes, she was well aware of his solid, warm form next to her, well aware of his 'guns' as he called them, of that crooked smile on his face and those lips…
Cleo interrupted the weird silence between them when she looked over at Rachel and finally seemed to register that they had met before. She tentatively got up off of Puck's lap and faced Rachel, sniffing slightly. Rachel smiled and held out her hand in greeting. Cleo sniffed it before licking her palm.
Surprising Puck and Rachel, Cleo got up from her position on Puck's lap to transfer onto Rachel's.
"Cleo, that's not polite. Come back-"
"No Noah, it's okay." Rachel broke in, smiling hesitantly at him.
She began to pet Cleo gently, running her hand along the dog's back. It was a soothing alternative to understanding just how aware she was of Puck's presence at her side. She could feel his eyes on her, regarding her and the dog almost curiously.
"So you take Cleo here everyday?" She asked before she could stop herself. Unsure that he would even deign to answer or continue this conversation, she kept calming petting Cleo, who had settled onto her lap and was panting lightly.
"Well, not everyday." Noah shrugged, "Just when she feels like waking me up too damn early in the morning."
Rachel nodded, keeping her eyes focused on the spot just between Cleo's ears.
Puck glanced at Rachel out of the corner of his eye. This situation was decidedly awkward; but it felt surprisingly natural that they had found each other here (again) and to be sitting next to each other and actually having a sort of conversation. What was even more surprising was that he didn't want to stop talking to her.
"What about you? Guess you're getting some exercise in."
Rachel was surprised that he had even made an attempt to continue their sort of conversation. She let her eyes meet his for a moment. His green eyes held no hostility or annoyance; they looked mildly amused with a hint of confusion.
Unnerved, she began to babble. "Well yes, I do believe, in my quest for a place on Broadway, that exercise is an essential in my daily routines. It will allow me to build up my strength and my endurance for those grueling rehearsal schedules and allow me to maintain my outwardly pleasing appearance, which will further my attractiveness to my future audiences, who will hopefully be more mature than…"
Puck didn't glance over her until he heard that bit of her explanation. His eyes flicked over on their own accord and he gave her a once over. He blurted out his next words before he could stop himself.
"You're looking pretty good Berry."
Rachel was stunned into silence by the unexpected remark. Puck had been uncomfortable for a moment but allowed himself a trademark smirk at her speechlessness.
"I-I-Thank you Noah. That's very kind of you." She finally said when she had managed to regroup, although she still avoided looking at him.
Puck's trademark smirk stayed on his face, although he kept his eyes on her.
Although she told herself that it would be a mistake, she let her eyes latch onto his. When they were dating, she had become incredibly aware of how beautiful (there was no other, less cheesy word to describe them) Puck's eyes were – a glassy sort of green that would turn to gray in certain instances. And whenever she looked straight into them, she sort of felt like she was falling. This was, of course, an impulse that she kept under control and to herself. She blinked a couple of times, shaking her head suddenly and turning away.
Puck felt oddly upset when she turned away from him, breaking the intense staring match they'd been having. It reminded him a bit of the time she cornered him and got him to come over to her house to discuss her plans for their bad reputation project for Glee, which was also a time they had nearly kissed twice. Her brown eyes, crazy sometimes with her ambition and her bossiness, looked softer today, a little more relaxed than usual. On the whole, they were a whole lot nicer to look at…
Rachel fidgeted uncomfortably, knowing she was still under his scrutiny. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down. Within ten seconds, she knew that it wasn't working. He was too near, too real, too warm…
She had to get away from him before she lost it. This thought propelled her to gently place Cleo on the fountain between them and stand up.
Puck was incredibly annoyed to find that he cared that she was leaving. He allowed the annoyance to remain up top because he didn't want to have to think that there were any other actual feelings beneath it.
"I- I should-" Rachel tried to come up with an excuse for her behavior but was saved from doing so when he interrupted.
"Are you coming tomorrow?"
Rachel pulled up her mental calendar, eventually realizing that he was talking about the casual gathering in the park that Kurt had mentioned to her earlier. She didn't know what to think of his interest in her actual presence at tomorrow's gathering but decided, for now, to ignore it.
"I guess so. Kurt and Mercedes will keep reminding me that I'm a diva if I don't go. Plus, it couldn't hurt to spend more time with more people my age."
Puck rolled his eyes but smiled at her statement. She was going to be there tomorrow and he would see her again. He smiled to himself, well aware that he was acting out over Rachel fucking Berry but not really caring at the moment.
Rachel waited for another moment before she spoke, "Well, I guess I'll be going then. I have to get home in time to get my stuff for ballet club."
She turned away and took a few steps forward, unwinding her earphones.
"See you there Berry." She froze in midstep, surprised he had even said anything at all to her.
"Um-bye Noah." She glanced over her shoulder, waved tentatively before she walked away, slipping her earphones on.
Even as she jogged away from him, she could feel his burning gaze on her back. He actually wants to see me tomorrow. Noah Puckerman, wants to see me, Rachel Berry, at the gathering tomorrow in the park.
Her incredulous thoughts were noisily interrupted by the sinking realization that Puck could have just been being polite to her, as he generally tried to be with all the Glee club members these days. Brushing off her rush of elation, she tried to focus again on her running.
It only last a few seconds before she was back to thinking about him again. He was awfully kind to me today. And I think that he thinks I'm attractive – I mean, there is no other way to interpret his comment, is there? And with that thought, she was back to being happy again and she picked up her jogging with renewed vigor.
