!
Her two escorts, Rachel found out, were horrible gossips. The second Puck stepped away, they were all over her.
"Well, you two seem awfully cozy," Matt said casually. "Mike, don't you think they seemed awfully cozy?"
"You know, now that you mention it, Matt, I did notice something like that."
Rachel rolled her eyes at them. "Spit it out," she ordered.
"What's up with you and Puck?" Mike asked, a twinkle in his eye.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said stiffly. Really, she didn't know what the big deal was, she could probably tell them about their impending date, but then again, what if Noah didn't want anyone to know? It was unlikely that he wanted to keep it a secret, but it was a possibility.
"You guys have been all touchy feely since you've been back," Matt teased, taking her backpack from her when she had filled it with all her books.
"He kissed you and everything," Mike chimed in as they started walking down the hallway, Rachel sandwiched between the two football players.
"My cheek," Rachel clarified. "Just my cheek."
"I detect an unsaid 'so far' there," Mike teased.
She turned to glare at him. "You two gossip worse than the Cheerios."
The jocks sobered then and slowed their pace. "He missed you," Matt said softly. "Like, really missed you."
"He blamed himself. He kept saying he shouldn't have let you cancel your plans that night, that it was his fault," Mike told her.
"That's ridiculous," she retorted. "I would have done what I wanted anyway, and clearly, hanging out with Tina was much more appealing than staring at a chemistry book all evening." She took a deep breath, looking them each in the eye. "I do what I want to do," she said softly. "I always have. He couldn't have changed that, not that night and not ever."
"He knows that," Matt said. "He was just panicked. I've never seen him freaked out like that before."
"He tried to hide it," Mike said, "but we all saw it. The cops told him the information he had about your last conversation was helpful but he didn't believe them."
"We've discussed this," Rachel admitted. "He knows how stubborn I am and that I do what I want. I've told him that."
"It's probably fear more than anything now," Matt said with a shrug. "Afraid that if he lets you out of his sight, you'll disappear again."
Rachel blushed. "I don't know why you think that."
Mike nudged her gently with his elbow. "Come on, Rach, we're not dumb. There's obviously something between you two, even if you guys haven't admitted it yet."
"What do you mean?"
"He's happier," Mike clarified. "I mean, when he's with you. Even before everything happened. He would blow us off for video games to go study with you and he actually looked happy about it. The old Puck never would have done that."
"And you're happier too," Matt added. "You smile differently with him, like he's all that matters."
Rachel felt her face burning. "Everyone's seen this?"
The boys exchanged a looked and shrugged. "I don't know," Matt said. "Maybe not. We know Puck, is all."
"He's a good guy," Mike said suddenly as they neared her classroom.
She turned to him in surprise. "I know that."
He nodded. "Just saying," he said. The final bell rang and they all looked at each other. "Well," Mike said, breaking the silence, "one of us will be here after class to walk you to your next one."
She smiled genuinely at the two boys. "Thank you. I appreciate it."
They nodded at her and headed back down the hallway, off to their own classes. She took a deep breath before squaring her shoulders and entering her math class.
!
True to his word, Mike was waiting outside her classroom to walk her down the hall to her next one. They chatted pleasantly and she was glad that he seemed to have dropped the subject of Noah completely. He dropped her off at the door and said he'd see her later.
Classes weren't bad, considering she'd missed a week of them. She could feel the weight of the eyes of her fellow classmates but she kept her head down, pretending to be engrossed in her note taking and no one said anything to her. Both of her teachers had addressed her privately before class, welcoming her back and offering any help she needed with her lessons and notes. She was grateful for the small amount of anonymity she was being granted.
Halfway through her history period an aide knocked on the door and handed the teacher a note. They both glanced back at her and her teacher beckoned her forward. She gathered her books and made her way to the front of the room, hearing the whispers start as she passed. The teacher handed her a guidance pass and she silently followed the aide down the hall to the guidance office.
Ms. Pillsbury was waiting for her inside. "Rachel," she greeted her warmly. "Welcome back."
Rachel, though slightly uncomfortable with being pulled from class and made a spectacle of again, smiled back. "Thanks, Ms. Pillsbury."
The redhead gestured to her office. "Have a seat." Ms. Pillsbury followed her into the room and closed the door behind her. She looked at her critically. "How are you doing, Rachel?"
Rachel tried to smile though her heart was racing. "Fine, thank you."
Ms. Pillsbury looked at her kindly. "Are you?"
Rachel nodded firmly. "Yes."
Ms. Pillsbury watched her for a moment and Rachel was afraid she was going to push the issue. Instead, the guidance counselor nodded slightly, rearranging a few objects on her desk. "I'm glad," she said. "We all are. Everyone was very worried."
Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks."
"Listen, I know probably the last thing you want to do is discuss this right now. You're at school and you probably just want to get back into the routine."
Rachel nodded. "Kind of," she admitted.
Ms. Pillsbury nodded. "I won't keep you long, then. I spoke with Tina her first day back also. I just wanted you both to know that if you find the transition difficult or the excess attention you're sure to be getting from your fellow students is overwhelming, you can always come talk to me. About anything," she added.
"Uh, thanks."
"I understand that you just want to move on," the guidance counselor said kindly. "And I won't seek you out again after this. I just wanted you to know I'm here if you need someone to talk to. Or a recommendation," she said somewhat hesitantly.
Rachel blinked. "A recommendation?"
"I'm a professional counselor, I know other professional counselors," Ms. Pillsbury said, rearranging her pencils in her pencil can. "If you decide you'd like to see one at any point, I can give you a recommendation."
Rachel's eyes widened. "I'm not crazy," she snapped.
Ms. Pillsbury stared at her. "I know that," she said. "Rachel, of course you're not. But you and Tina went through something traumatic and that's bound to catch up with you at some point."
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "I told you, I'm fine."
"And I understand that. I'm just saying that if you ever aren't,-"
"I will be." The bell rang, signaling the end of class. "I have to go." She started to stand up but the guidance counselor stopped her.
"Rachel, wait. I heard you guys have to testify in court," she said quietly. "That's going to be very hard, I imagine."
"You imagine? What else have you imagined?" She felt the anger coursing through her veins. How dare she? What right did she have to pull her out of class and start slinging accusations, making assumptions? What gave her the right?
"I guess I can just see where someone might have a hard time with something like this, at some point down the road," the redhead said slowly. The bell rang again, signaling the beginning to the next class.
"I'm late," Rachel said.
Ms. Pillsbury nodded slowly. "I'll write you a pass."
Rachel watched as the guidance counselor took her sweet time writing out her late slip. She glanced at the clock and aw the minutes ticking by. "Ms. Pillsbury, I really need to go."
Ms. Pillsbury nodded and ripped off the pass from her pad. "Ok, Rachel, just remember that I'm here if you need to talk."
Rachel slammed the door on her way out of the office and ran smack into a hard wall. Looking up, she saw it was a hard wall of Noah.
"Where the hell have you been?" he asked harshly.
She blinked at him before turning on her heel and stomping in the other direction, towards the auditorium.
!
He hadn't meant to snap at her, he really hadn't. But the way her eyes got wide and her silence before she stormed off down the hall pretty much told him he hadn't been successful.
He trailed behind her, giving her some space. She clearly needed to cool off about something and he needed to give his pounding heart a chance to slow down.
He had panicked when he'd shown up outside her classroom and she hadn't been there. He'd watched student after student file out, each glancing at him and whispering but she never came out. Finally he'd stuck his head inside the classroom, thinking she was getting her missed assignments. And then her teacher told him she had gone to the guidance office.
His heart, already beating rapidly at the prospect of her being missing again, sped up at the revelation. Was she ok? Had someone said something to her in class, upset her in some way? Fuck, he knew she shouldn't have come back so early.
When she literally ran into him outside the guidance office, he had let the fear take over and had snapped at her. He was sorry almost instantly, but she hadn't stuck around to listen. He watched as she entered the auditorium, about twenty feet ahead of him. He lingered at the door, waiting for music to start, for her to sing something. There was nothing.
He peaked in the door at her. She was sitting on the edge of the stage, swinging her legs absently back and forth. She was upset about something, he could tell, though he didn't know what.
He pushed the door open and it creaked noisily. She didn't look up. He approached the stage and took a seat next to her, careful to leave some distance between them in case she was pissed at him and had the urge to hit him.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hey," she mumbled, not looking his direction.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you," he explained.
"Then why did you?" she asked pointedly.
He swore under his breath. Ok, so she was mad about that. "You freaked me out," he explained. "You weren't in class and I panicked. I'm sorry."
"Ms. Pillsbury asked me to come to her office," she told him dully. She paused and he sensed she had more to say so he kept quiet. "Noah, do you think I'm crazy?" she asked, turning her soulful brown eyes to meet his.
"Absolutely," he said with a straight face.
She glared at him. "Thanks a lot."
He laughed and scooted closer to her on the stage. "Babe, you are five different kinds of crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way." He waited but she didn't laugh or swoon or cry. "What's going on?"
"Ms. Pillsbury told me I was crazy."
He raised his eyebrows. That didn't sound right. "Ms. Pillsbury told you that you were crazy?" he repeated slowly.
She sighed heavily. "Well, not exactly."
He hid a smile. "What exactly did she say?"
He watched as she stubbornly shoved a piece of hair behind her ears. "She said that I can talk to her or she can suggest a professional for me to see." She practically choked on the word 'professional'.
"Babe, that's not Ms. P calling you crazy, that's Ms. P trying to help."
She turned to glare at him. "So you're on her side?"
He smiled softy at her and put his arm gently around her shoulders. She stiffened but didn't shrug him off. "Babe, I'm on your side. Period. Ok?"
"I'm not crazy."
"Not from this," he agreed. She elbowed him in the stomach and he grinned down at her. "Listen, you and Tina went through something bad. No one expects you to be completely ok for a little while. I think that's all she was saying. I'm sure she had the same talk with Tina."
"She did," Rachel admitted.
He tugged playfully on a strand of her hair. "See? She wasn't calling you crazy, babe, she was just trying to offer her help if you need it. That's her job, right?"
Rachel sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Yes. I suppose I overreacted a little."
He pressed a light kiss to the top of her head. "It happens. Now since we're already pretty late to class, what do you say we just hang out in here until lunch?"
He got his answer when she snuggled closer.
!
Matt met them at Rachel's locker before lunch and Rachel could see he looked a little worried.
"What's up, man?" Puck greeted him.
"Your girlfriend wasn't in class," Matt said. "I thought I'd lost her or something."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You guys worry too much." She closed her locker, retrieving her packed lunch before awarding them both with a smile. "But thanks."
She followed Matt into the cafeteria and she could feel conversations stop as she walked into the room. She held her head high and she could feel Noah's hand in the small of her back, guiding her gently to their table.
All the glee kids were already there and she greeted them before taking a seat beside Noah. She ate quietly and tried to avoid the stares and whispers she knew were directed at her. Finally she couldn't stand it anymore and turned to Tina.
"How are you so calm about this?" she asked.
Tina shrugged, looking around and meeting some of the stares. "I don't know. I just ignore it, I guess."
"It's annoying."
"People were worried," Santana said in a flat voice.
Rachel turned to her. "People hate me. Everyone hates me." The guys rushed to assure her that wasn't true but Santana cut them off.
"Yeah, they do." She rolled her eyes when Puck kicked her under the table. "Look, it's true and we all know it. But you're one of us, you know? We all go to the same school and people were freaked that something had happened to someone they knew."
"That's not caring, that's disbelief," Rachel said.
"Yeah but there was a shine," Brittany said.
"Shrine," Santana corrected.
"Shrine," Brittany repeated.
Rachel blinked once. "A shrine?"
"For you and Tina. Had a picture of you guys, some candles, people cried over it, you know, a shrine."
Rachel glanced around the table and noticed all the glee kids staring at the two Cheerios. "How do you know this?" Quinn asked slowly.
"We stayed out of school, like you guys," Santana explained, "but we had to practice because we've got competition coming up. So we had to come after school. There was one in front of each of your lockers."
Tina shook her head. "That's so weird," she said in disbelief.
Santana nodded. "You're not kidding. I'm serious, people were standing around them crying, writing notes for you guys, everything. It was pretty creepy, like they thought you were dead or something."
"But they hate me, both of us," Rachel said softly, glancing around the room at her fellow classmates. Suddenly they didn't seem so scary anymore and their looks didn't feel so hostile.
"You're one of them, babe, one of us," Noah said, nudging her gently.
"What do you think they did with it?" Finn asked. They all turned to him and he shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean, did they just throw it away? What?"
They all turned back to Santana and she shrugged. "It was there on Thursday, gone on Friday once the news spread that you guys were ok. No clue what they did with it."
!
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful for Rachel. She still heard the whispers but, aside from an uncomfortable encounter with a freshman in the girls bathroom, no one had approached her. She suspected it had something to do with Noah's hovering presence.
He was at the door after every class after lunch, taking her bag from her immediately. They would walk to her next class and talk outside until she had to go in. She wondered how he was able to both get out of class early and arrive to his next one late. He had smirked at her and refused to tell her.
They were headed back to her locker after her last class before glee. The hallway was crowded with students anxious to get home and she stuck close to Noah, holding her injured shoulder close to her side. She stopped a few feet in front of her locker.
Noah took a few more steps, turning back when he realized she had stopped. "Rachel?"
She stared at her locker, trying to imagine what Santana and Brittany had described. She just couldn't picture it. "There was really a shrine?" she said doubtfully. "It's just so odd."
He set her bag on the floor in front of her locker. "I guess."
She shook her head, coming forward to turn her combination. "It is. People hate me, I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that they would care that much."
He shrugged. "Who knows? So how did chemistry go?"
She groaned softly. She had chemistry last period and it had seemed to drag forever. The teacher was nice enough, giving her all the assignments she had missed while she was gone, including a quiz the rest of the class had taken. It seemed like the class had covered chapters of material while she'd been gone.
"Don't ask," she said. "I swear, they started so many new things, I'm never going to catch up on it all."
"Aw, come on," he said, opening her bag and pulling out her textbooks. "You have the best tutor in the world, remember?"
"Yes, well, I'm going to need the best tutor just to obtain a passing grade, let alone a grade to keep my grade point average where it should be."
He smiled down at her as she shut her locker. "You're too hard on yourself," he said softly. "We'll figure chem out, it's no big deal. Just take a breath. It's your first day back, this stuff can wait."
She sighed as they headed down the hallway to the choir room. "I know. I just hate chemistry so much."
He grinned and wrapped his arm around her good shoulder. "Hey now, remember when you were so happy and said we had chemistry?"
She rolled her eyes but wrapped an arm around his waist. "Noah, I was on drugs."
He smirked. "Yes, yes you were."
She rolled her eyes again, entering the choir room and taking her customary seat in the front row. She wasn't surprised when Noah sat beside her. "Fancy meeting you here," she quipped.
"Shut it, Berry. Can't a guy sit by his girl without getting crap about it?"
She looked down, hiding a grin. His girl. She decided she liked the way that sounded.
Mr. Schuester walked in a few minutes later and everyone gave him their attention. "Hey, guys, looks like everyone's here. First of all, welcome back Rachel and Tina, glad the whole group is back together and safe and sound." He paused at the smattering of applause. "We've got a lot of work to do in the next few months so let's get started!"