Author's Note: So I'm not sure if this turned out exactly like I wanted it to, but I'm suffering from a crazy case of writer's block that seriously won't go away. So this is the best it's gonna get. Jann, perhaps after the cloud breaks and I finish the other prompts I have to do I shall attempt a better prompt fic for you; you're better at coming up with them than you think. ;)

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, and thank you in advance to those who manage to find something nice to say about this chapter. (And, please, I encourage reviews from those who might not have nice things to say, too). Enjoy!

Puck barely suppressed his amusement as the faint buzzing from above started again. The teacher absolutely lost his shit this time, demanding the entire class to raise their hands in the air so he could be sure no one had a phone in their hands. Mr. Peters walked up and down each aisle, perking his ears up when each new vibration echoed in the room. Just when Puck thought the teacher had figured it out, the buzzing would stop and Mr. Peters would start to give a lecture about the electronic ban during classes and whatever other bullshit about respect and such. He was halfway through this time when the bell rang and excused the class.

Once safe in the hallway, Puck cracked his stoic expression. The phones in the ceiling panel prank hadn't been all Puck, but it was still a good one. Him and Finn had snuck into the school late last night, wearing dark clothing and leftover eye black from football like it was fuckin' Mission Impossible. They even drove a car that was being worked on at Burt's shop just in case someone was watching them. While Puck was booby trapping the grounds as needed, the tall teen had hid five prepaid phones above the removable ceiling panels in some of the senior classes. Puck gave four other prepaid phones to some of the guys in glee and kept one for himself, and then randomly throughout the day they were supposed to call the numbers of the phones in the ceiling. They were all set on vibrate so it was tough to hear to begin with, and watching the teachers try to pinpoint where the noise was coming from was hilarious.

His grin grew even wider as he passed more and more classmates whose hands were stained red. It wasn't quite lunch, but clearly enough people had used the bathroom given they'd washed their hands with the soap Puck had added food coloring to. It was an awesome prank, honestly, because people still used the soap even if they knew it had been tampered with; if they didn't then people were grossed out by the fact that they hadn't washed their hands after going to the bathroom. Principal Figgins had finally borrowed some anti-bacterial soap from the school nurse after running to the bathroom so much to drop a deuce.

Let's just say the milk in his morning coffee was less from a cow and more from the makers of an extra-strength laxative.

Legit, if he wasn't busy shitting so much, Figgins would probably be dragging Puck into his office by his ear or some shit. After all, he had already threatened to ruin the lives of all the seniors once this year – and that was just for Senior Skip Day. Something told Puck that Figgins wouldn't be too pleased to find out a senior prank was the reason he had to park at the bank down the street. Who knew a little bit of blue paint and a stencil of the handicap symbol courtesy of Tina could be so convincing?

"Move!"

Puck sidestepped Coach Bieste, nearly hit with the mop in her hand that she held up and out like a weapon as she ran down the hall. He couldn't hold in his laughter at that one, the burly woman terrifying freshmen and shaking lockers as she moved. Clearly someone had started a load of dirty towels in the locker room; Puck had put enough bubble bath in the washer for the suds to reach all the way into her office. He'd put dish soap in the toilets upstairs, too, but he hadn't been up there yet to assess the damage. He figured he'd check it out with Finn during lunch when they were going to the top of both stairwells to dump the four boxes of bouncy balls they had bought. Puck's wrist was still sore from turning all those stupid knobs on the old gumball-style machines at the grocery stores in town, but it would be worth it if they ended up hitting one of the teachers in the eye or something.

"Noah Puckerman."

He turned at the sound of her voice, surprised by it. He hadn't talked to her yesterday, and hadn't even seen her today other than once when she was going up the stairs on one end of the hallway while he was going down the stairs at the other side. They didn't normally see each other until lunch anyway, so he knew she wasn't avoiding him, but it wouldn't have surprised him if she did. Then again, it doesn't surprise him that she didn't either.

"How's my hot, Jewish-American princess this morning?" Puck waited until she was close enough that he could drop his voice a little. "Ready to admit defeat?"

"Defeat?"

Puck lifted both his hands in presentation, pausing so they could both hear the chatter in the hallways about all the pranks. People were talking about buzzing from the ceiling, the dyed hands, as well as the free period for all the people in a computer science class. Allegedly the computers were all infected with a virus, which was funny only because of how wrong Mr. Thornston was. Puck and Finn had placed small pieces of Post-It notes under all the computer lab mice, rendering the useless. He figured it would take the older teacher at least another class period to figure it out.

"Hear that, Berry? They're all talking about my pranks. Ain't no one sayin' shit about whatever girly thing you came up with."

"Just you wait." She sounded so sure, but he still managed to roll his eyes. "And perhaps you should get your hearing checked, Noah, because no one is talking about you."

"S'cuse me?"

"Yes, the pranks have been mildly humorous – though some of them were downright destructive – but the whole point of all of them has been for you to keep your anonymity." His mouth opened to refute her, but she forged on - as per usual. "Furthermore, none of these little stunts have given any indication they are even senior pranks and not just random acts of mischief."

He stared at her blankly. "Everyone knows it's me."

"Maybe, but what would you do if Principal Figgins asked you?"

"Guy ain't ever gettin' off the John, so it don't matter." She rolled her eyes and began moving toward her class, which was on the other side of where he needed to be but he followed anyway. "And the pranks ain't worth it if you get caught. Half the awesomeness comes from pulling them off while everyone is none the wiser."

"Precisely." Rachel turned suddenly, her hair flying up and brushing close enough to his face that he got a whiff of her shampoo. "That's why my prank is better. No one will suspect me, and 2012 will still go down in infamy." She gave him one final look. "Your pranks will be cleaned up this evening and forgotten by the weekend."

She literally dodged his reach, sliding into the classroom just before the bell rang. Puck cursed and double-timed back to the other side of the school and into his own class. The teacher glared at him as he took his spot next to Finn, but Puck wasn't sure if it was because he was tardy or because the teacher's hands were a bright shade of red. He assumed both, but mumbled an apology for being late before digging his book out of his bag. He let the hardbound textbook fall heavily onto the desk, cracking it to a random page near the back before pulling out his cell phone.

U no what B did for her prank?

Puck moved his eyes to the front of the class, but watched Finn in his periphery. The tall teen had the subtlety of a cross-dressing moose, but managed to retrieve his phone without the teacher noticing. Instead of answering, he simply shook his head and Puck sighed. There was no way Rachel Berry had a better prank than him, but not knowing was driving Puck crazy. Like, bat-shit level. Shit must be contagious. He probably caught it when her tongue was down his throat.

Whathca gonna ask for if you win?

He looked down at the text from Finn, hiding his smirk when he considered all the many things he wanted in return for his victory. But, even though Finn seemed to have departed the Finchel train, Puck was pretty sure he shouldn't go into the details. He wasn't that crazy. Plus even if alliances were drawn or whatever, shit just wasn't kosher.

If?

Finn snorted out a laugh before sending another quick text, this time changing the subject to their next plan of action. Lunch started after class and Puck and Finn still hadn't decided if they were going to go to the cafeteria and get some food before running up the stairs to release the bouncy balls as everyone was leaving or if they would release the balls first. Finn was leaning toward the former, mostly because the walking garbage disposal hadn't eaten since last period and couldn't fathom postponing lunch. Puck thought it would be better if they did it first, though, because that's when there was the most movement in the hallway.

"Mr. Puckerman!" The teacher repeated, her voice taking a much harsher tone the second time. "I said the principal would like to see you."

Thanks to years of practiced ambivalence, Puck's facial expression didn't change at all. He didn't even fake being surprised, as that was a rookie mistake. Plus, he was Puck and it wasn't really ever a surprise that Figgins wanted to see him. Unfortunately he'd paired himself up with the All-American boy, who legit looked like he was going to shit himself. Puck managed to sock him in the shoulder before slinging his bookbag over his arm and walking out of the classroom. He shot Finn a quick text to let the tall teen know he'd text Finn's prepaid phone to let him know if they were still going to be able to do the bouncy ball prank before lunch or if they'd have to wait until after.

"Mr. Puckerman," Principal Figgins announced with a forced smile, extending his hand out flat to indicate Puck should take a seat. "It appears you have been busy this morning."

Puck shrugged, continuing to appear apathetic. "Sorta."

"What is this about?" Mr. Schuester came in then, his own standard expression of concerned exasperation placed firmly on his face.

"Good, William. I wanted you here when I informed Mr. Puckerman that he would be suspended for the remainder of the week, which means no glee club or baseball."

"The fuck?"

"Puck, calm down." Mr. Schue placed his hand on Puck's shoulder, looking at Figgins with knitted eyebrows. "What is he being suspended for?"

Principal Figgins simply stared at Mr. Schuester like he had three heads, slowly bringing his hands up from below the desk to reveal his bright red stained palms. Puck had to hold in his laughter, mostly because he knew that alone would be grounds for at least detention. Shit was hard to keep together, though, especially when he noticed Mr. Schue's hand on his shoulder was also red. Epic.

"Don't be so naïve, William. This type of behavior is right in line with Mr. Puckerman."

"That might be true," Mr. Schuester started tightly, "but that is not enough to suspend him. Do you actually have proof Puck did these things?"

Figgins scowled. "I don't need proof!"

"Look, why would I pull any dumb pranks? I'm still on probation from last year. I'd probably get charged as an adult for this stupid bullshit."

"So you didn't paint over my parking space to make it appear as if it were a handicap spot?" Puck shook his head. "And you didn't lace my morning java with Ex-Lax and you didn't put red dye in the soap dispensers and you …"

"Mr. Schue …" Puck looked up at his teacher, trying to reason with the guy he knew was on his side. "I'll admit the pranks are funny, but they're also stupid. I mean, the whole point of a senior prank is for the seniors to be remembered." Puck grinned; thank you very much, Rachel Berry. "Everything that's happened today is just end-of-the-year fun."

"Fun? FUN?" Principal Figgins voice rose, his eyes incredulous. "You think damaging thirty brand new computers and two perfectly good washing machines is fun?"

"No, Sir," Puck added for emphasis. "But they probably ain't senior pranks either."

Principal Figgins scoffed, shaking his head. "So you are telling me some random classmate planted over a hundred scarlet carnations in the shape of the number 2012?"

"Say what?"

"Don't play dumb with me!"

"I …" Puck managed to bring his wide eyes back to normal, his throat dry. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I am talking about the vandalism of the property directly adjacent to the football field." Figgins scowled deeper. "As if we weren't short staffed enough, now my one janitor has to find time not just to clean up the mess in the bathrooms and locker rooms, but I will need to convince him to add gardening to their short resumes!"

Puck stared blankly. "Legit, you lost me."

"I think that's precisely what someone who was responsible for all this tomfoolery would say."

"Principal Figgins, Puck seems genuinely surprised by your accusations. And considering you have no proof …"

"Fine!" The principal roared, jutting his finger out toward Puck. "But do not think that I won't be watching you, young man!"

Mr. Schuester grabbed Puck by the arm of his T-shirt, pulling him out of the principal's office and into the hallway. With a stern look, he asked, "Is it you, Puck?"

Typically Puck didn't lie. Well, he did, but he'd learned not to in the past couple of years. It was part of that whole Rachel made him better thing mixed with learning from his own mistakes. Plus, telling the truth was working out for him so far this week, given that Finn hadn't thrown a giant temper tantrum and declared World War whatever number they were on by now. However, Puck also knew the benefits of telling the truth but not necessarily the whole truth.

"Legit, Mr. Schue. I don't know anything about this 2012 thing."

Puck sensed a follow-up question from the glee director, but the bell rang and saved him. Mr. Schuester settled for a stern warning to stay out of trouble, heading not back to the choir room but toward Ms. Pillsbury's office. They were allegedly taking things slow and not labeling themselves as together or not together, but everyone knew better. Ever since the end of last year, Will and Emma had been basically inseparable; kinda like Puck and Rachel.

"Dude!" Finn wrestled through the crowd of students trying to get to the lunch room. "What happened? What did he want? Are you in trouble? Did you tell him I …"

"Breathe, Finnessa." Puck rolled his eyes. "Everything's cool."

"So it wasn't about the pranks?"

Puck's gaze landed on Rachel's small form as she moved along with the rest of the herd heading inside for lunch. Her standard wide smile was present despite the crowded halls, her tiny frame squeezed between Mercedes and John, who had moved to Lima at the beginning of the year and started dating Mercedes almost immediately. She looked so fragile and so innocent, he couldn't even imagine her being able to pull off any prank, let alone one that Figgins had described as being so big. But, then again, who else could have done it?

"Nah," he finally answered once Rachel was out of sight. "Not ours anyway."

Puck couldn't help but laugh when Finn's expression changed to the constipated look her got when he was confused. Instead of explaining, though, Puck simply walked past his friend and into the now full cafeteria. He neared the table where all the glee clubbers sat, everyone's bags dropped on the seats while they waited in line for food. Rachel, however, always packed her lunch and was sitting primly at the front of the table. She was peeling a banana when he approached, and her resulting smile when they locked eyes told him she had no idea what she was doing to him and knew exactly what she was doing.

"Hello, Noah."

"Sup, Rosebud?" He turned the crappy plastic chair backward, placing his crossed arms onto the high back as he sat and then leaned into her personal space. "Had a nice chat with Figgins about your prank."

Her eyes widened not in fear but more like fascination. "Principal Figgins suspects me?"

"Of course not." Puck rolled his eyes. "He 'bout suspended me just 'cause but then I told him I wouldn'ta done any shitty prank with some dinky flowers."

"Because bubble bath is incredibly masculine." She finished her banana and tossed the empty peel back into her bag. "Did you even see my masterpiece or are you merely bad-mouthing it blindly?"

When Puck didn't answer, Rachel huffed and stood. She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the chair and toward the side exit. She was actually really strong for her size, but he could have resisted if he wanted to. That was the main problem, though. He didn't want to. No matter if he was trying to appear tough or unaffected or whatever, Rachel always made him go against the grain. She didn't want him to try to be anything. She just expected him to be Noah, which he was going to admit was pretty hard sometimes.

"I had a dream about this once." He winked when she managed to look suspiciously at him over her shoulder. "But you were pullin' me away somewhere secret at school to do the nasty."

"That's a terrible euphemism for such an intimate moment." She let go of his hand once they hit the football field only to grab his arm with both hands, continuing to walk toward the area she had planted the flowers. "And we are outside in the middle of the day where everyone can see us. This is hardly secluded."

"My truck is just on the other side of the bleachers." He waggled his eyebrows. "We could finish what you started Saturday."

"Is that what you want?" Puck blinked absently, hearing sirens in his head. "If we're maintaining the allusion that you will win this bet of ours."

He breathed heavily, still not used to the fact that he could be completely honest with her. He'd spent so long being extra careful so as to not ruin their perfect balance of friendship, both with him and her and the one between them and Finn. Now he could finally tell her everything he'd been holding back. He could grab her by her tiny shoulders and kiss her if he wanted to. But he didn't know how.

"We never talked 'bout what ya'd get if you won." He tilted his head a little so he could look down at her. "Ya know, on the off chance."

"Sometimes your confidence is a bit irritating, Noah."

"Back atcha, babe."

Rachel rolled her eyes, stopping in front of her prank. Puck turned away from her and evaluated her work. Just as Figgins had described, the newly planted flowers in the shape of 2012 sat by the large field, perfectly manicured. What he failed to explain was just how big the design was. It wasn't just hundreds of scarlet carnations, but closer to a thousand. Each number was close six feet wide, far too big for Rachel to have done this by herself.

"Who helped ya?"

"What makes you assume I was unable to do this myself?" She narrowed her gaze on him. "I know you like to tease me about my pampered upbringing, but I am capable of working hard for something without the assistance of others." She sighed when he continued to just look at her, knowing the truth would come eventually. "Father bought the flowers and I used daddy's truck to transport them here very early this morning."

Puck shook his head. "Only you would get help from your parents for a senior prank." She beamed at him as if that were a compliment. "And only you would consider planting flowers a prank."

"They aren't just flowers, Noah." She spoke to him like a child. "They are scarlet carnations. And they're in the shape of our graduation year; that's why it is a senior prank."

"Yea, I get it," Puck muttered. "And it'sa real nice try for a virgin."

"Noah!"

"I meant a prank war virgin," he clarified with a deep smirk, earning him a soft punch in the arm. He rubbed the area as if she'd actually hurt him. "But ya gotta be shittin' me if ya think you won with this."

"What makes your pranks better?" She asked the question, but wasn't interested in his answer. "As I've mentioned before, your pranks were comical but not memorable."

"Yea, but yours is neither." He pointed to the flowers in disgust. "Figgins is pissed about this. He's having them dug up tonight."

"No he isn't."

She was so sure of herself that it bugged him. "Yeah. He. Is. He told me when I was in his office."

"He may have told you that, but it will not happen."

"Why not?" Puck looked back at the flowers, wondering if there was maybe an invisible fence hidden under the soil. Maybe landmines. That would be sweet. "Didja booby trap it?"

"I did no such thing." Rachel placed her hands on her hips, looking smug. "I have the law on my side."

"Ya gonna have daddies Berry sue if Figgins tears down their baby girl's prank? Really?"

She rolled her eyes. "Absolutely not, Noah. Although, they did help with the judicial intricacies of the setup."

"English, Berry."

"The flowers I planted aren't just any regular flower, but scarlet carnations." She groaned at his fake snoring. "Scarlet carnations are the state flower."

"Legit, B. Finn and I have another prank in a few minutes." He managed to fire a fast text to Finn while mocking her, letting the tall teen know they'd setup the bouncy ball prank as soon as he got back into the building. They'd both confiscated some unused lockers at the top floor to hold their boxes of bouncy balls, but the prank wasn't worth it if only one side was done. He had to get back in there to help out. "So, ya know, if ya got a point couldja get to it now?"

Rachel scowled deeper. "I chose this area specifically because you can see it from many locations both in and outside the school, but more because it is on state property."

"Ya think Figgins won't bust you 'cause it ain't on school property?"

"It doesn't matter either way." Her confidence had returned, oozing off her as she watched him. "In Ohio and many other states, it is illegal to dig up the state flower."

Puck stared at the 2012 flowers in awe, the magnitude of the prank soaking in quickly. The red food coloring from the soap dispensers would fade after enough washes. The washer in the locker room would be fixed eventually. But Rachel's prank … it would last forever. Every spring their graduation year would sprout up again and remind all of McKinley of their class. And she hadn't broken anything, hadn't hurt anyone, and could totally take credit for it.

Fuck, she won.

"Your silence is speaking volumes, Noah." She beamed up at him. "But I want to hear you say the words."

"I always knew you'd be into dirty talk." Her smile quirked to the side, her eyes lifting up in exasperation. "What do ya want?"

"So you admit I won?"

He grinned; she wasn't going to let him ever live this down. "Depends on what ya want for winning."

Her smile changed again, this time growing more catlike as her eyes sparkled at his words. "Same thing you do."

"I seriously doubt that," he breathed, affected more than he wanted to admit by her sudden proximity. When had she stepped so close?

"Noah, give me some credit." Rachel rolled her eyes, her arms moving from her hips to grab at his loose T-shirt. His abs clenched in response to their proximity, echoing the clenching of his stomach at her words. "I don't just go around kissing people on a whim."

He blinked slowly. "So … why didja?"

"Because it had become clear you never were going to." She dipped her head down, talking more to her feet than to him. "And while I find your faithfulness to your friendship with Finn admirable, I … I can't help how I feel about you."

"How's that?"

Her eyes lifted quickly to his, searching with a watery expression for the cause of the humorous lilt in his voice. To ease her mind a little (or maybe because he couldn't stand not touching her anymore), he placed each of his hands on her hips. He pulled her a little closer, enough that her loose grip on his shirt moved so her hands moved up to lay flat against his chest. He absently wondered if she could feel his heart pounding beneath his skin, but figured she was more focused on her own nervous energy.

"I feel …" She trailed off, looking down at her feet again and he held his breath the whole time. "Like myself."

He blew out the breath, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. He hadn't quite expected that answer. He wasn't even sure if that was an answer. At least it wasn't the one he wanted. That was the first sentence in the line of explanation where the chick said she valued their friendship and bullshit like that. Or, you know, that's what he'd seen in movies.

"But more like a better version of myself." She looked back at him, an emotion in her eyes that he had never noticed before but wondered if had existed the whole time staring back at him. "I don't feel embarrassed about acting crazy about certain things near you, nor do I shy away from the innuendos or affection that seems to come so naturally when I'm in your presence."

Puck lifted one of his hands from her hip, using his fingers to brush some of her fallen hair back behind her ear. "Are you tryin' to tell me I'm your Ryan Anderson?"

Rachel giggled in response. "No, but that is because Sarah said they kissed and he was terrible." She bit her lip, blushing even as she said, "You're a wonderful kisser, Noah."

His fingers were ghosting over her skin, moving from her neck to her shoulder and then back again. "Damn straight." Her eyes fluttered closed but he was busy watching her tongue swipe over her lips. "I'm pretty awesome at other stuff, too, if you're interested."

"Are you interested?" She questioned in the same low voice he had used. "In more than just a meaningless relationship?"

There it was. The question he had been avoiding all year even if in the back of his mind he knew the answer. He'd used Finn as an excuse and even him and Rachel's friendship, but now she was offering no resistance. She'd bridged the distance that had once seemed too big and all but served herself up on a platter. He could no longer doubt her intentions – this wasn't about making Finn jealous or feeling alone – but instead had to make a move. Do or die.

"More than you know," he answered huskily, licking his own lips in anticipation. His fingers curled around her slender neck, his thumb holding her chin up. "I've been dyin' to call you my girl all year."

Rachel beamed at his admission, adding softly, "Me too."

She lifted to her tiptoes and closed the minimal space between them, her lips warm against his. He didn't hesitate in responding to the embrace this time, though, ignoring everything else just to savor the moment. He didn't even care that lunch was about to be over and he needed to run inside if him and Finn were going to pull off the other prank. He already lost the bet anyway. Or, considering the way his and Rachel's tongues were sliding together, maybe he won.

"OMG! Puckerman, is this one of your pranks?" Santana asked excitedly as she passed the kissing pair with an armful of pom poms; the Latina was the classic cheerleader with an eating disorder, but she covered it up by helping Coach Sylvester during lunch. "For reals. That's epic."

Puck smiled against Rachel's lips – his girlfriend's lips. His girlfriend's soft, pouty, perfect lips that had just told him she wanted him and had for as long as he had wanted her.

Legit, it was pretty epic.