.-.
The next morning, Puck watched on in amusement as Rachel devoured her muffin. Will also looked on with a wide smile while Emma laughed from the kitchen.
"You know, Rachel, I think you're turning into quite the berry lover."
She looked up at him, surprised. "What do you mean?" she asked confused.
"Well, yesterday it was strawberry pancakes, a blueberry danish, and raspberry jam. Today it's a blackberry muffin. I think the common denominators are the berries," he teased.
Rachel smiled sheepishly, her face glowing brightly. "I just can't help it. They taste so good."
Puck, Will and Emma all laughed as Rachel continued to enjoy her pancakes.
Puck touched Rachel's hand, warning her through his touch, and immediately her skin returned to normal. He turned to Will, racking his brain for an excuse or explanation, but surprisingly, his expression hadn't changed; it remained completely neutral as he slowly glanced away. Puck briefly wondered if he'd noticed anything, but decided that since he hadn't jumped back in shock or fear, they were probably safe.
"Thanks again for putting us up last night," he said gratefully, bobbing his head.
"Nonsense," Will shrugged off his gratitude. "We were happy to do it, and I've been thinking, we have a friend still in New York. She comes to visit us once a month, and she's due for a visit next week. Instead of waiting for the bus to arrive, you could just drive our car and drop it off at Shannon's. That way she won't have to take the bus when she comes to visit."
Emma grinned and nodded eagerly in agreement. "Will, I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Shannon would love that!"
Puck opened his mouth, ready to protest, but Will cut him off.
"Really, I insist."
"No, we couldn't possibly…" Rachel pressed on. "We've already been such a burden."
"Like Will said, that's nonsense." Emma waved away Rachel's objections. "We were glad to have the company. Besides, it gave me a perfect opportunity to work on my hosting skills. I really love it, but I'm afraid the only visitors we ever get other than Shannon are my parents, and well..." Will and Emma shared a look before she continued. "They're a rather difficult pair to get along with."
"Regardless," Rachel chirped in happily, and smiled. "We really appreciate it. All of it."
Before he knew it, Puck was sitting behind the wheel of the Schuester's small beat up car as he pulled out of its parking spot. Rachel's head hung out of the window as she grasped Emma's hand tightly while waving a teary goodbye. He, too, offered a wave as he slowly drove away from the small welcoming town.
Resol might be a forgettable dot on a map, but he felt a genuine sadness for leaving it behind.
.-.
Quinn growled in frustration, kicking the fat bus driver in the stomach and sending him flying down the length of the bus.
They'd hit another dead end.
Yesterday, they had terrorized every bus driver en route to New York. All but one had arrived by the scheduled time, and Quinn had been convinced that the star would be on that bus once it had arrived. They had waited in the darkened underground bus station for hours, leaned up against a hard stone pillar and tried to be patient.
They had ambushed the driver as soon as he'd arrived, only to learn that he'd been rerouted through Cleveland, and all his passengers had gotten off at that stop. The star wasn't in the city.
Looking at the former bus driver's sprawled form gave Quinn very little pleasure, but it was enough to form the faintest of smirks on Santana's lips.
"You're gonna be in trouble," the Latina sing-songed, an evil glint in her eyes.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Quinn yelled, her eyes flashing red, almost matching the red of her Cheerios mini-skirt. "Can't you just shut up for once in your long and miserable life!"
"Well…" Santana opened her mouth to fight back. She had never been one to take abuse from Quinn.
But Brittany interrupted her softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly. "Santana…"
Santana rolled her eyes. "Ugh, those eyes aren't gonna work forever, Britt." She said, but her lips held the faintest of smiles; not a smirk, but a genuine smile.
"What should be do, Quinn?" Brittany asked their de facto leader.
Quinn sighed, rubbing her forehead. Her mind was running in circles, trying to decide the best course of action, but she kept coming back to the same conclusion. It was their only option; an option she really didn't want to take.
"Quinn?" Brittany asked again as Quinn remained silent, her brow creased with worry.
Santana laughed mirthlessly and Brittany shot her another warning glance, causing the Latina to roll her eyes again.
"We don't have a choice, Britt." Quinn sighed deeply, really dreading what was about to come. "We have to tell her."
Suddenly, Santana's arrogant smirk disappeared, while Brittany's frown deepened. Brittany and Santana both nodded their agreement solemnly. They needed help, and there was only one person with the ability to help them.
Reluctantly, the three girls touched the golden bands engulfing their wrists and closed their eyes. Instantly, the glowering form of their Queen appeared before them.
"What is taking so long?" The Queen yelled impatiently. "You should have been back now!"
They each bowed their head submissively, but as before, Quinn was the one to speak for them.
"Our apologies, my Queen."
"I don't want your apologies!" The Queen continued ranting. "I want my star! Now! Where is she?"
"We-we don't know." Quinn flinched as she heard her Queen scream in frustration, knocking over a large shelf in the castle and transmitting a deafening crash to them. "We went to Lima," Quinn quickly explained, trying to placate the Queen's unyielding wrath. "But she was already gone. She's on the move, my Queen, and we thought we tracked her down to New York City, but when we got here, we..."
"Enough!" The Queen yelled. "I don't want to hear any more of your excuses. Brittany!" The blonde looked up to face the frightening image of her queen. "Slap Quinn with this chicken breast."
Magically, the piece of chicken appeared in her hand. She walked over timidly to Quinn, and lifted her hand, slapping Quinn's face half-heartedly.
The Queen didn't even crack a smile before she turned abruptly. She looked over her wall of caged animals. Leaning down, she pulled out a squealing piglet by the tail as it tried to escape.
"Quiet," she demanded, and instantly the piglet fell quiet. She walked back over to her apothecary table and lifted the shiny crooked dagger, thrusting it downwards, this time slicing open the contents of its stomach. She hummed as she studied the poor animal's entrails, her angry frown turning into a wide smile.
"Not to worry, my pets." She turned back to face the image of Quinn, Santana and Brittany. "Stay where you are. My star will be coming to you." With that, the Queen cackled gleefully, excitedly giving the trio their new instructions. "She'll be there very soon, and then..." the Queen smiled an evil toothless grin. "... she'll be mine!"
.-.
Rachel gazed out the car window in wonder as they drove, her head darting everywhere as she tried to take in everything at once. They were so close to the New York state border, and she just couldn't contain her excitement. There was so much to see, and she didn't want to miss a thing.
She, Rachel Barbra, was fast approaching New York City to fulfill her dream of performing on Broadway.
She swiveled around in her seat again, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of the city skyline. She cursed the infernal seat belt Puck had insisted she had to wear. She tried to explain to him that she was a star. She didn't need a seatbelt to contain her, but Noah would have none of it.
"Look Rachel," he'd said with a stern glare. "This isn't my car, and I've got, er, a couple of past violations, so I don't want no cop pulling us over and finding out this car doesn't belong to me, okay? With my luck, they'd book me for stealing." Then he rushed out, a little less harshly, that he didn't want to see her get hurt. "It's just safer."
She let it drop after that. She wondered if he would always make her heart race this way, like it wanted to jump out of her chest and sing. Even right now, hours since they'd left Resol, she could feel the fast thud in her chest, threatening to burst. She wanted to say it was only because they were so close to New York, but deep down, she knew it wasn't entirely true; the young man sitting next to her had something to do with it. Maybe a lot to do with it.
"Rachel," Noah said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You should close your eyes."
"What?" she looked at him in surprise. It seemed like a very strange request.
Noah chuckled, chancing a brief glance in her direction before returning his gaze to the road. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
Rachel gave him another strange look. "I hardly see how that's relevant, but yes, of course, I do. I wouldn't be here with you right now if I didn't."
Noah smiled, another one of those rare genuine smiles. "Then close your eyes. Would I steer you wrong?"
"No, no, I guess not." She replied, still unsure what was going on.
"Okay then?" he said expectantly.
"Okay." Rachel closed her eyes and covered them with her hands, squeezing them together tightly when Puck told her to. "But I'll have you know, Noah, that this is highly suspicious behavior and doesn't exactly bode well for your character."
She didn't know how long she'd sat there like that, but Noah refused to let her sneak a peek, threatening to pull the car over if she didn't listen to him. The longer he made her sit there, the more anxious she became, squirming in her seat, and pouting openly with her displeasure.
Noah laughed after a while and finally said, "Okay, now you can open them."
She removed her hands, squinting as her eyes once again adjusted to the light. As her eyes came into focus, Rachel couldn't stop the excited squeal from escaping her mouth. "Oh my god!"
She smiled brightly, her eyes transfixed. Right there, she could see New York City, and it was beautiful. Who knew the world could look so different when you were actually a part of it?
She could hear Noah chuckling as she gaped at the sight before her, but she didn't care. It just added to the memory. She would forever remember her first glimpse of the greatest city on earth, set to the soundtrack of Noah's deep, resonant laugh.
.-.
"This should be the place," Noah said, squinting at the map in his lap.
Rachel glanced out the window, looking upwards. They were parked outside an old apartment building, its bricks a dull grey from years of withstanding New York weather and spots of bird poo lining the pavement.
It wasn't exactly what she had always pictured when she imagined living in the big city. Other than the occasional car, the area was almost completely deserted. She felt an uneasy tingle creep up her spine, a sense of dread washing over her.
"Okay…" She said slowly, slightly scared when she noticed a gang of men rounding a corner at the end of the street. She felt uncomfortable, like someone was watching her. She almost jumped in fright when Noah placed a hand on forearm.
"Don't worry," he said, soothingly. "We'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." She turned her head and met his gaze. She felt her heart skip a beat. "Still trust me?" he asked with a cheeky smirk.
She smiled and nodded, letting her body relax. Noah was right. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. And besides, what could possibly happen? This was the greatest city in the universe, and all they were doing was simply returning a car one of the Schuester's friends. She couldn't believe that Will and Emma would have told them to come here if it wasn't safe.
Taking a deep breath, she exited the car, clasping her hand around Noah's elbow when he came to meet her. It was becoming second nature, and she kind of liked it.
"Well just drop off the keys, and then we'll have to see if we can find a place to stay." He said with a smile.
Rachel was glad that Noah seemed to have a plan.
Other than "Get to New York" and "Become a Broadway Star", Rachel didn't really have anything else planned. Now that she thought about it, she had been foolish to believe that she could do this on her own; possibly even foolish to come here in the first place, but she couldn't look back now. She had Noah, and she truly believed that that was all she needed.
They climbed the steps and up the small stoop. Noah examined the doorbell before pressing "Apartment Nine".
"Yeah?" A gruff voice sounded from the speaker, and Rachel was a little taken aback. When Will had mentioned his friend, Shannon Beiste, she was expecting a woman, but the deep husky voice on the other end of that speaker sounded misleading.
"Hey," Puck replied casually. "We're here to drop off the car. Will sent us."
The door buzzed as Shannon answered abruptly. "Come on up."
Slowly, they climbed the stairs up to apartment nine on the third floor. If Rachel was hoping that the interior of the building would assuage her fears, she was sorely disappointed. She took in the cracked plaster and peeling wallpaper, the hallway light fixture blinking dully as it hung from a single wire. When they knocked on the door, once again they heard the same deep voice shout out, "It's open."
As much as she hated to admit it, even if this was Will's friend, something didn't feel quite right. Her hand clung tighter around Noah's arm, and he placed his free hand over hers, wordlessly trying to calm her fears. They shared a brief apprehensive glance before he reached for the doorknob and opened the door.
They stared inside; the apartment completely pitch black.
"Noah…" she began, her voice filled with dread, when suddenly, a loud blast shot them backwards, slamming them both into the opposite wall. Then, inexplicably, Rachel was flying forward through the air, her grip slipping from around Noah's arm as a piercing scream wrought the air. It took her a few moments of panic before she realized the hysterical screaming was coming from her.
She tried to turn her head as she levitated towards the center of the dark room, barely able to catch a glimpse of Noah's limp form, slumped against the wall. At that moment, she dropped abruptly, her feet hitting the floor with a loud thud. Rachel spun around towards the door, attempting to make a mad dash for Noah when she found her path blocked by an invisible shield. Streaks of electricity shot outwards from Rachel's palms and spread towards both the ceiling and floor like the bars of a jail cell. Rachel tried again, pounding on the wall, sparks appearing against the barrier, dispersing out from the points of impact and quickly dissipating.
"Noah!" she shouted frantically, her body shivering with fear and tears stinging her eyes. She didn't understand what was happening. She continually called Noah's name as she pounded her fist furiously, desperate to reach his unconscious form.
"It's no use," sounded the deep voice from earlier, its owner hidden in the shadows. "You can't get out."
Rachel spun around towards the disembodied voice. "What-what do you want? What are we doing here? Let us go!"
"It's not about what I want," the voice said, its calm unyielding timbre striking fear into Rachel's heart. She heard a noise behind her. Turning her head towards the sound, she watched with wide eyes as Noah's body rose on its own accord, levitating similarly to herself, slowly moving into the room and landing on a chair in the corner. Rachel watched in helpless horror as a rope began winding itself around his form, securing him to the chair.
"Please…" she sobbed, unable to contain her tears any longer. "Please…"
"It's about what I need," the voice spoke again, and Rachel squinted towards the darkness, desperate to see the face of her captor. "And what I need…." Rachel let out another loud sob as the voice continued, "is you."
The ominous words were made even more terrifying by the deafening sound of the front door slamming shut.
.-.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review! I hope you're enjoying it so far! :)