On his way in to NYADA Puck had passed countless students eating on the steps, he seriously considered if any of them had known the wonders of a bacon cheeseburger - not that he did when his mother asked - still he hadn't even paused in his stride knowing Rachel wouldn't be one of them. While she'd always seen the importance of having lunch, he knew she'd never give up the time to hone her skills. He let a smirk grace his face as he felt the appreciative eyes of the students and instructors of NYADA. Since New York City was a lot bigger than Lima he blended in a lot more, but there were still days where - just like L.A - he was appreciated as much as he was in Lima. Though he had a feeling today's extended stares were probably thanks to the jeans and long sleeved polo Kurt had stuffed him into before kicking him out of his office after he had pushed the sleeves up to his elbows for the umpteenth time.
Puck whistled in appreciation as he watched his girlfriend stretch in dance studio. His eyes travelled across her body as he recalled the conversation they'd had the previous night chuckling once again at her comment that with how long Finn had lasted he'd had a better chance of conceiving Drizzle in that hot tub. A very selfish part of him nearly cheered in thanks at the fact that she kept Finn at second base after that disappointing attempt at her first time.
As his eyes raked down her body he was once again filled with relief that she hadn't run back to Finn after the play. If he had to guess he'd say it was probably the lack of sex rather than the four months of radio silence that led to their breakup on both their parts. Not that he'd ever tell Rachel that but then again she was the girl who'd told the whole celibacy club that girls wanted sex as much as guys did. So why wouldn't the lack of sex affect Rachel to the point of initiating a break up.
Rachel glanced over at Noah, shaking her head as she envisioned Kurt and Isabelle using Puck as a life sized Ken doll, he was certainly looking extra good today. Pulling out of her stretch, she tried to collect her thoughts as her hair formed a curtain around her. Her lips tugged into a smile as she felt Puck place his hands on her hips before spinning her to face him.
Brushing her hair back, Puck let his hand rest on her cheek, feeling the heat of her skin as her cheeks turned pink. Tilting her chin up he smiled lazily down at her, tracing her lips with his fingers.
"Hi." Her voice was soft as she pressed a kiss to his lips, her hand raking across his scalp as she tried to pull him closer, still not entirely convinced that this was some elaborate dream and when she awoke she'd still be in Lima. Tossing her thoughts aside she decided to focus on what she thought was real even if she was indulging in this possible fantasy. Rachel sighed into the kiss, leaving her hands on his chest as she pulled away from him. "What are you doing here?"
Shrugging his shoulders Puck looked around the studio with curiosity, easily picturing Rachel completely owning the other students and looking incredibly hot while doing it. He remembered Kurt and occasionally Rachel telling him about her struggles in this particular class and he knew it was up to him to pull her out of her funk. He'd always wished they'd done more to get back at Vocal Adrenaline and he wasn't about to have a repeat of that. It was time to dig Rachel out of this funk even if it killed him.
Seeing her arched eyebrow he realised he still had to answer her question, sure he could make up some sappy story about how he missed her and was thinking about her the whole day - which while true he was not going to say. Or he could answer her actual question which was why he wasn't with Kurt anymore.
His lips tugged somewhere between a smirk and a smile, his amusement outshining his own amazement the feat he'd managed to pull off. "Turns out it is possible to piss Hummel off to the point that he kicks you out of a building without your own clothes." Looking back at Rachel as she let out an uninhibited laugh he couldn't help but get caught up in her beauty. Her eyes were closed in joy, her hair cascading down her shoulders as if begging to be touched.
Moving back from his embrace, Rachel lifted her leg up onto the bar and resumed her stretches knowing she needed to stay focused or she'd end up in a very precarious situation. Ignoring his heated look, she closed her eyes remembering the relief she'd seen in his eyes when Finn had put her on the train to New York and the way her heart ached as she realised she'd said a proper goodbye to everyone but Noah. At the time it took everything in her not to turn around but now she figured it was probably because they were never meant to say goodbye. That whatever it was that had started when he'd first sung for her was not meant to be stopped.
Smirking as he walked over to her and started stretching himself, knowing it was only a matter of time before she cracked. He knew exactly why she was avoiding him and he was not going to let her get away with it, just because she couldn't control herself didn't mean he was incapable of it - well he'd try really hard to control himself anyway. He understood that her image at NYADA was much more important to her than it ever was at McKinley so his promise to himself was to keep it somewhat professional and as such Puck was determined to at least help her practice.
Taking her hand in his, he ignored her shocked look as he threw her over his shoulder and moved away from the bar, placing her down and lining them up at one side of the room. Resting his hand on the small of her back as he rearranged their joined hands, he couldn't help but mirror her as he watched a smile blossom on her face as she found the perfect song.
Closing his eyes in memory as she began humming the opening strands to Sweet Caroline, he let the nervousness and confidence he'd found in that week with her to wash over him again. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of dance usually went to this style of music but he didn't care and knew the outcome was likely to be fun, spontaneous probably completely ridiculous - something he knew Rachel was definitely lacking at the moment. Catching her eye, he nodded before singing softly as they began moving. Sure enough between the flips and dips, swings and the tiny bit of the Macarena that was unexplainably thrown in, it was the most messed up dance either of them had ever done and Rachel's eyes had sparkled with joy the whole time.
Rachel burst out laughing as Noah's singing came to a close and as she smiled up at him she finally felt completely prepared to deal with whatever Cassandra threw at her today. It had taken Noah to remind her that she'd dealt with Santana, Quinn and the majority of the football team physically harassing her not to mention the rest of the school causing her mental abuse. Cassandra July had nothing on that, all she had to realise was that the real world was still a lot like high school and she was making a place for herself at the bottom of the totem pole but she knew with Noah having her back she could climb her way right to the top.
Looking at Noah she felt the absolute faith she had in him and was determined to see her decision through. Straightening her back slowly she stretched her neck, wiggling her toes in anticipation as she quickly stated her question. "Noah can you do one thing for me?" She looked up at him through her eyelashes, taking a few steps back to get in preparation.
His hazel eyes immediately sought her's out, taking note of the mischievous glint and the way she was slightly worrying her lip. He knew something was up but knew it was better just to go with it than allow himself time to worry. "What's that B?" In all honesty he was still kind of running on the high of just being in her presence and was willing to do whatever she said as long as he got to remain in it, it was rejuvenating.
"Catch me." Within seconds Rachel was running full speed at him, bending her knees before launching into the air. Momentarily grateful that he'd dated a lot of Cheerios in high school, Puck's hands gripped onto her waist just as he remembered, his heart racing as he held her straight in the air, still slightly amazed by just how little she weighed as she beamed down at him. Releasing his grip slightly, he moaned as she shimmied down his front every inch of her soft body pressed against his, her hands coming to rest on either side of his hawk as she pulled him in for a kiss.
Rachel sighed in absolute bliss, the high she had from finally being able to do the lift she had cut from her Britney number - she hadn't trusted Brody enough to do it - was running rampant through her body and it was all she could do not to let him do whatever he wanted to her right then and there, screw what everyone else thought or saw.
Watching as her eyes fluttered open, her long lashes casting a slight shadow on her cheeks as she gazed up at him, Puck couldn't help but remember the smile on her face as she woke up this morning, as if she was lying next to her Tony award. He listened to her chuckle again as he felt her finger wipe under his eye, her brow crumpled in concentration. Thoroughly confused he frowned when she pulled away so her body no longer lining up with his. However within seconds he was laughing right alongside her as he saw the line of black eyeliner she now had smudged on her finger.
"Tell Kurt and Isabelle, they can dress you up as much as they want but no more makeup… unless it's for an actual shoot." Puck nodded dutifully before pressing his lips to hers once more, he wasn't too sure how he ended up with makeup on but he hadn't exactly been paying much attention too busy trying to convince himself that this was real. While he was sure Rachel's words were completely serious, her tone was so full of life that he wondered if it was really possible that he had caused that. He knew when she was around it felt like he could do anything and it felt nice to at least suspect he was able to make her take a break and smell the roses every once in a while.
"I think they were just depressed since I told them I'm booked to be in the studio every day for the next two weeks and the nights I plan on spending with you. Apparently they had a whole thing planned that extended beyond just my first day as a New Yorker." Seeing Rachel smile in response to his self-proclaimed title Puck knew she definitely liked having him here.
Puck couldn't believe how much had happened since they stepped off the plane, apparently Rachel was not exaggerating when she said New York was the city that never sleeps. Of course prior to the actual plane ride Rachel had insisted that she say hi to Abby and his mother both of whom were over the moon and already up to date on the newest status of Puckleberry - he'd have to remember to thank Kurt for that one - and he wasn't sure they were ever actually going to make it to the city but one cosy plane ride later, he found himself dozing in bed with Rachel tucked into his side a big ass smile on her face as she slept.
He'd been too distracted by her to actually sleep and had just decided to have a nap when he was cornered and forced into the scary dress up show with Kurt and his boss. Puck knew that the recording contract was a big deal but he couldn't help but feel like the best part of the whole thing was being with Rachel again, so with that thought, he wrapped his arms around her waist again and pulled her close to him again.
Rachel couldn't help but marvel in the fact that Noah did romantic things like this. He could have easily pulled her into a kiss that would have her ready to do whatever he wanted but instead he just held her in his arms like he was the luckiest guy in the world. Resting her palm on his cheek she sighed as he turned his head and pressed a kiss into it, his eyes never leaving her own.
A throat cleared behind them and Puck peered over Rachel's shoulder to see a guy leaning against the doorway. While he looked significantly less douchey then Jessie and a lot more manlier than Finn he knew this guy had nothing on him. He may be able to sing, dance and look good, but Rach and he had history together and a connection that refused to be broken, hell Finn had forbidden him from even interacting with the girl yet here they were. Leaving his arm around Rachel's waist, he turned her slightly, incredibly happy when her hand rested and curled slightly around his bicep, before looking up completely unbothered by the guy before them.
"Brody, what are you doing here? Don't you usually have this hour off?" Her voice was calm and purely inquisitive as she looked over at the boy who'd had the potential to break her heart had it not belonged to someone else. Rachel felt Noah seize up beside her as she inadvertently confirmed his suspicions of the guy's identity. Turning back to him she looked Noah in the eyes needing her point to come across. She sighed in relief when he relaxed slightly in response, she was absolutely serious about Noah not going to jail and there was no way she was willing to break that promise over Brody, for she was sure abusing a student would lead to at least a night in jail.
Brody shuffled uneasily against the doorframe. He'd found Cassie on his phone as he was exiting the bathroom last night, one look at his call history later and he knew what she had done. He was expecting Rachel to be upset or mad or jealous not trying to make him jealous. However as he recalled watching her perfectly execute her jump and then calm the guy down with a single look he knew this was way more than making him jealous. That whatever it was, it ran deeper than that and because of one night with Cassie he may have ruined the best relationship he'd had in the last few years. He hadn't been threatened by Finn one bit, certain that his lying and consequent shattering of his high school façade was going to end to their relationship so quickly that Brody wouldn't have to worry about his promise of keeping his hands to himself.
Yet as he looked at the guy who had made Rachel laugh in a way he had yet to hear and had her dancing around the room having fun and making fun of herself in a way he could never get her to do, Brody knew he was completely wrong about this being in any way about him. Rachel looked free. As he'd watched Rachel light up the way he always figured she was capable of, his newfound discovery had not only been reinforced but had drug up a memory he'd previously forgotten. The closest he'd seen her come to the Rachel he was seeing now was when she was singing in the round room and once again in her Britney numbers. During both performances he couldn't help but feel that she was singing to someone only she could see and if he had to guess he'd say it was the guy she was currently wrapped around.
Remembering her question, Brody put his best smile on as he answered. "I'm Cassie's new TA." Though he was stupid to, Brody had still expected a bit of pain or jealousy to cross her features and couldn't help but seethe when she did nothing other than shrug her shoulders and turn back to the guy beside her. It was then that he knew for sure any chance he'd had with Rachel was over and it wasn't even his fault. It wouldn't have mattered if he slept with Cassie or not, the Rachel before him now only had eyes for one man and it wasn't him.
Rachel's eyes fluttered closed as she felt Noah's breath against her ear. She waited for him to say something, arching against him unconsciously as she tried to feel more of his body against hers. When he still hadn't said anything she couldn't help but giggle as she finally realised what his goal was. Glancing once at the reflection of the doorway in the mirror, she saw Brody's confused expression morph into one of discomfort as he watched the staged intimate scene unfold.
Puck made to move back but couldn't help himself as placed a soft kiss just under her ear, loving the way she used him to steady himself as her legs turned to jelly. Moving back to his original position he saw Rachel was still slightly dazed and his familiar smirk broke free. He hadn't used that trick since Sophomore year and was glad to know it still had the same affect.
"Noah, this is my friend Brody." Rachel watched as Brody sighed slightly at the introduction apparently not glad to be confined to the 'friend zone' yet she thought that his sigh had an undertone of acceptation as opposed to the frustrated disappointment she'd come to expect before looking at Noah with interest. "Brody, this is my Noah."
Brody watched as Rachel smiled softly at 'Noah' completely at ease with calling him hers. As his eyes shifted to the guy himself he noticed him smirking smugly at her as he ran his knuckle along her collarbone, causing Rachel to once again grab him for balance. The fact that Rachel had been away for the weekend and thus unable to teach this guy any of the things she liked once again unnerved him as it meant this couldn't have been a random hookup - Rachel wasn't that type of girl anyway. Whatever history it was that these too shared it was obviously a lot more intimate than Rachel had ever had with Finn, still he never recalled her or Kurt mentioning Noah ever.
"Call me Puck." Puck stuck his hand out not moving from Rachel's side as he waited for Brody to move in. Inwardly smiling when the idiot did just that, thereby reinforcing who was the alpha male in this relationship. He learnt a lot from the nature channel, it was interesting, always comparable to high school and the cute animals always got the more determined girls to loosen up.
The name sparked a memory inside him and Brody remembered walking in on Kurt and Rachel talking in the stairwell, Kurt mentioning a puck and Rachel looking sad, he remembers wondering when Rachel had become so interested in Hockey that the outcome of a game affected her mood. Neither one of them had struck him as fans of- well any sport, so he had to say the conversation made a lot more sense now.
Rachel smirked as Brody shook Noah's hand. She could almost hear him narrating the nature channel in her mind, she was well aware of his analogy as she was one of the girls the animals had gotten to loosen up. Especially since he'd said that he respected her choice to be a vegan. Even when she knew he trying to get into her pants and was only going out with her as a substitute for Quinn she'd been certain he was being serious about his respect. Still most times she can't believe she let him touch her boobs because of it.
Hearing the bell ring Rachel groaned as she knew that Noah would leave now. He never went to class in high school preferring to sleep in the nurse's office or practice his guitar in the glee room, so she couldn't expect him to start attending them now, especially since he didn't even go here.
Puck was surprised to feel slightly upset at the fact that he was leaving, it wasn't that he wanted to stay but the only 'class' he'd ever put any effort to was when he and Rachel had study hall together in both junior and senior year. She had somehow convinced Mr Shue that their time would be better served in the glee room where she could tutor him without disruption. What ended up happening was he would play his guitar and she would do her homework, occasionally explaining the problem out loud in what he figured were her hopes that he'd at least remember some of it. Over the course of those two years, Noah had taken to picking out a new song each week, practicing it at home, performing it in front of her and then joining her to actually study. The only one they didn't study was geography because she didn't take it and look how that turned out but just as he was ready to call it quits she'd come through for him, giving him one of her speeches that used to make him want to set himself on fire but now just lit a fire within him, forcing him to focus.
Feeling him tugging her back to him, Rachel wished he didn't have to leave. She jumped slightly as she felt his hands running down to her back, resting comfortably on her butt as he kissed her. For a while it was as if they were back on the bleachers and the world just faded away. Feeling slightly dizzy Rachel pulled away as she greedily sought air, scowling as he smirked down at her before turning to the door. As he turned away she regained some of her wits - while trying exceptionally hard to not stare at his butt and drool - and she realised why it was probably best that he left, it definitely wasn't the first time he'd made her forget where they were. Still there was one thing bugging her.
"Noah! Kurt kicked you out of his office, you aren't in the studio until tomorrow and the tv's not working yet at home. What are you going to do?" Puck smiled softly at Rachel's concern, winking at her once to let her know things were under control. However seeing the vein on her forehead twitch, he laughed at the fact that he knew it wasn't going to be as simple as that and wondering why he had still given it a try.
"Relax while you dance and Hummel does whatever Hummel does. I'll do what I do second best and find the best place in the city for takeout, pretend I made it and have dinner ready for you when you get home." He watched as some of the other girls who were walking into the room swooned slightly at his words and had to suppress his smile. Focusing back on Rachel he watched as the words had their intended affect and she stopped looking like she was about to have an aneurism and instead just began pulling her hair into a bun.
Half distracted Rachel let her confused eyes meet his not entirely aware of what she was saying. "What do you do best?" Rachel's question was out before she could help it, showing there was still a bit of the naive girl he'd initially fallen in love with in there. As he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively she blushed before trying to push him out the door, hoping her cheeks would quit flaming before he turned around again. "Never mind."
Brody growled under his breath as he noticed the girls and some of the guys looking at Puck as if he was the most delicious thing on the planet. His lips pulled into a tight line as he recalled being on the receiving end of those looks last week. Glancing into the hallway hoping he could distract himself until the class started he noticed Cassie was subconsciously fanning herself as she too devoured Puck with her eyes, her lips turning into a scowl as she noticed the little brunette pushing him through the door.
Unable to let the opportunity pass Puck clasped Brody on the shoulder tightly, reveling in the other man's wince. "See ya, Brods." Feeling Rachel's pushes get harder, he held his place laughing as she refused to give up. His laugh cut off as he felt her hands slide further down his body and rest on his butt and squeezing once. Shocked into submission he continued through the doorframe before turning and pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead, kindly ignoring her blush. "Later, babe."
Moving past the glaring blonde woman, who seemed to stop glaring momentarily and check him out again - yes he was well aware of her earlier staring - he couldn't help but let out a laugh as he recalled how she'd acted in that disastrous video and wondered if he could convince Santana to reenact the whole thing and post it on youtube as a joke.
Seeing Rachel glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes, Puck stopped laughing and continued walking even though he could see her mouth twitching as she fought the urge to laugh alongside him. Just before he was completely out of sight. He opened his mouth and in perfect pitch sung out, smiling as his voice echoed down the corridor. "Sweet Caroline…" He heard whispers erupt throughout the dance studio and knew he'd definitely made one hell of an impression today.
Just as anticipated he heard Rachel's loud "bum, bum, bum…" echo back down the hall to him, her image at NYADA be damned. He knew despite everything life threw their way they'd make it through. They always had and they always would. Walking out into the bustling Manhattan streets he laughed with complete joy gathering a few looks as he set about finding dinner and fixing the tv- because finding dinner could only distract him from his thoughts of Rachel for so long. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he opened a message from Brittany to find a picture of Jake and Marley sitting very much like he and Rachel had just before they had gotten together in Sophomore year and underneath the picture Brittany had typed 'PUCKLEBERRY 2.0'.
Shaking his head in amusement, he wondered how long his little bro would keep lying to himself and Marley for. Without giving it a second thought Puck texted Brittany back knowing it was only right that he was involved in this one. 'Put me down for Wednesday. I'll give you the money next time.' With a smile he tucked his phone back into his pocket imagining what others would think if they knew of the insanity that happened inside glee club. For he, like all the previous Gleeks, knew a relationship was only as much as it's betting pool.
A/N I had a bit of trouble getting this chapter out. Sorry if they seemed OC it was designed to show that within twenty four hours they were already having an impact on one another like Kurt mentioned last chapter. So that's it (*tear*) let me know what you thought :)
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