A/N: Howdy!

Well, first of all, I just want to let everyone know that I've finally got everything else that happens in this story figured out in my head! It's taken me long enough haha! So I thought I'd celebrate with a super long chapter update! (Well, longer than the rest lol)

Songs used so far:

Hanson-Georgia (Prologue)

Natasha Beddingfield- Unwritten (Chapter 3)

Vanessa Carlton- 1000 Miles (Chapter 9)

Edwin McCain- I'll be (Chapter 10)

Sara Bareilles- Fairytale (Chapter 16-This chapter)

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Glee, but I don't so blehhhh

If anyone has any song suggestions or anything, I'm more than open to them because a lot of the songs I had chosen have already been used! I planned to have Nikki sing Jason Mraz's 'I won't give up' to Puck, then I realised they did it on the graduation album, and I was going to have Nikki sing 'Hit me with your best shot' (I've forgotten who its by) as part of a storyline coming up pretty soonand then I remembered that they already did that during the dodgeball scene so...yeah, I'm a little stumped right now haha.

I'm already planning a second Glee story, though this one isn't about Nikki and Puck; it's going to be very Sam-centric. BUT! If anyone's got any ideas for a sequel to this story, let me know!

OH! Before I forget, I want to give Nikki and Puck a couples name! Like Finchel or Samcedes or whatever! I already have one suggestion 'Nick' but I would love some other suggestions too. I might have a little competition or something for the best one (Though I have no idea what to have as a prize :s)

Ok, I'm going to shut up now :D R+R! You know you want to hehe ;D

lots of love and virtual cookies,

xoloveJBox

Puck arrived at school feeling sluggish and fog-brained. He dragged his feet as he made his way towards the building, and the clouds in his head meant that it took him a second to recognise that someone was calling his name.

"Puck! Puck, wait up."

Puck turned to see Mr Shuester jogging towards him, so he stopped to let the teacher catch up.

"What's up Mr Shue?" Puck mumbled, trying, and failing, to seem more up-beat and energetic that he actually felt.

"I've been thinking" Will started "We both know that Nikki has a lot of talent, but I don't think that Nikki knows that, and because of that; neither does the rest of the glee club. They're taking advantage of the fact that she's there, staying in the background and helping the others look good. I think it's time to shake it up a bit." Will concluded, looking proud of the idea.

"What do you mean?" Puck asked, furrowing his brow slightly in curious confusion.

"We need to bring Nikki out of her comfort zone. She doesn't like to perform in front of people, so that's what we need to deal with first. And if I heard Kurt correctly, you know her better than anyone else, so how do you think we should do this?"

Puck thought carefully before the idea came popping into his head, obvious now that it was there.

"Surprise her."He answered simply "Don't give her a chance to think about it, because that's when she gets nervous."

"Great," Will replied "I plan to do it this afternoon, because otherwise, I'm not sure she'll be ready for competition."

"Cool," Puck said, rubbing his face again, hoping the action would wake him up more if he did it enough times.

"Are you alright buddy?" Will asked, his face tinged with concern "You seem kind of out of it."

"I'm fine," Puck shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "I'm just tired that's all."

"Just take it easy, ok. I'll see you at glee club."

The day passed painfully slowly, and by the time Puck arrived at the choir room in the afternoon, he could barely keep his eyes open. He arrived a little early for glee club, and he was vaguely aware of people following him in and taking seats around him, but it wasn't until Nikki walked in that he felt awake for the first time all day.

Her hair was in a long braid, lying on her shoulder with her thick fringe dancing over her eyes. She was clad in a dark red chequered shirt with a wide leather belt tied around the middle, and light blue skinny jeans that hugged her legs comfortably. Nikki's feet were heavy with the old, battered hiking boots she seemed to love so much, and her bag was slung casually over her shoulder as she sauntered in with a beaming smile on her face.

And Puck couldn't imagine her looking any more perfect.

The contrast between what she was wearing today and what she had worn the day before was striking, but Puck couldn't think of a time she had ever looked less than perfect in his eyes. She smiled and greeted everyone in the room, but when her eyes landed on him, there was a certain twinkling there that no one else could induce, and he was the only one who saw it.

"Hey handsome," She murmured when she sat next to him, turning away momentarily to put her bag on the ground at her feet.

Puck's mind went blank. He couldn't think of anything to say to her. Not even 'Hello' popped into his mind at that moment, but Nikki didn't seem to notice. The group had gone a little quiet, and she took the opportunity to bring up a conversation she had meant to have a while ago.

"I meant to ask," she started, a little loudly to get everyone's attention. "What is there to do around here that's fun?"

"Not a lot," Quinn answered good-heartedly "Why?"
"Because it's my birthday next week, and my parents have asked me if there's anything I wanted to do." Nikki explained, leaving Puck feeling even more dumb-founded than he already was. Great, he thought, now I have to think of something to get her for her birthday too.

"Well, I hope we're invited." Kurt continued.

"No, Kurt, I was going to ask you guys what you think is fun to do and then do it on my own." Nikki answered sarcastically with a raised eyebrow and a smile at her friend. The room suddenly erupted with suggestions, and Nikki had trouble keeping up with them all. She joined in happily with snippets of conversations that were thrust at her with enthusiasm, with Rachel and Mercedes dragging her across the room to sit with them, and most of the girls making plans around her. In the chaos of excitement, no one really noticed when Finn placed himself in Nikki's seat next to Puck and leaned a little closer for as close to a private conversation as they were going to get.

"Have you told her yet?" Finn murmured, trying to look covert and casual about it.

"Dude, I don't know how." Puck replied in a low tone, almost desperately "I've been up since one this morning trying to figure out how to tell her, but nothing sounds right."

"Well, you're going to have to do it soon man," Finn told him "We don't know how long it's going to be until one of the others realises she doesn't know, and then you're screwed."

Puck knew that Finn was right, but it didn't make the daunting task any easier. However, he was saved from having to answer by Mr Shuester entering and starting the rehearsal, and everyone returned to their original seats.

"Ok guys," he called above the noise to quieten everyone down "I want to try something different today."

Ears perked and eyes darted to the front with the smell of a challenge in the air, because whenever Mr Shue tried 'something different' it usually meant another mash-off. However, they were all surprised when that wasn't what he had in mind.

"I think that we're focusing too much on finding some incredible songs to perform for competition that we're forgetting to appreciate the songs we listen to everyday." They all watched curiously as Mr Shue looked around, pretending that he was choosing randomly. "Nikki, what was the last thing you listened to on your iPod?"

Nikki was caught slightly by surprise by being called upon, and she had to take a second to think.

"Sara Bareilles." She finally answered "'Fairytale'."

"Great. Come on." Will told her, indicating for her to come to the front of the group. "Let's see it."

"W-what?" Nikki stammered, realising what the curly-haired teacher was suggesting. "I can't."

"Sure you can." Puck told her softly "You sing to me all the time."
"You're a little different to a whole room full of people." She hissed, aware now of everyone's expectant eyes on her. Puck could see the animalistic terror in her eyes, and he almost felt bad for being the one to suggest a sneak attack. But he knew she had to do it. At sectionals, at least, there would me so many more people there than there was in the choir room, and they all knew she had to get used to it. She looked at him with pleading eyes, and it made him glad then that Kurt must have been in on the plan, because he rolled his eyes dramatically, got up from his seat, and physically dragged Nikki from hers. He forced her to stand in front of everyone, cupped her face in his hand supportively for a short second, and returned to his seat.

Nikki was about to protest, but the music started behind her, the reliable pianist already playing the opening notes of the song.

"I hope you're ready Nikki, because you're not allowed to start again." Will told her as her sat down with the group. Nikki realised that she was trapped. There was nothing she could do as seventeen pairs of eyes settled on her. As the right moment quickly arrived, Nikki did the only thing she could think of to protect herself from the humiliation she was sure was going to come. She clamped her eyes tightly shut and began to sing.

"Cinderella's on her bedroom floor, she's got a crush on the guy at the liquor store..."

Nikki was quiet at first, barely audible to those at the back, but nobody said anything about it, seeing how terribly uncomfortable she seemed. It didn't take much for the group to work out what was going on in front of them, so they all stayed silent.

Rachel listened carefully to the younger girl's voice. She hadn't imagined that Nikki was so good. They hadn't heard her sing on her own since her initial audition, and Rachel had thought that it wasn't talent that had made Nikki so determined to sound good then, it had been the challenge. No one had thought that she would have the guts to perform for them, so Nikki went ahead and proved them wrong. Usually, Rachel would have admired that, but she was painfully aware of the fact that if she could remove the shaky nervousness from Nikki's voice, the girl would be good. Very good. And Rachel hadn't counted on such a high level of competition.

Even as the cogs whirred and ticked in Rachel's mind, seeing Nikki with her eyes clamped shut and pulling at her clothes anxiously, she could hear her growing slightly louder with increasing comfort as she got into the chorus of the song.

"'Cause I don't care, for your fairytales. You're so worried 'bout the maiden, though you know she's only waiting on the next best thing."

No one's booing, Nikki thought suddenly. She had expected them to. She knew she wasn't as good as a lot of the others in the room. In a flash of unexpected bravery, Nikki slowly peeled open her eyes, with earned a cheer from her friends. Nikki gave a small smile when she noticed that Noah's voice was louder than the rest in encouraging her. When she realised that the world wasn't going to stop spinning because she was singing with people looking at her, Nikki actually found that she was beginning to enjoy the song, and as she moved onto the last real verse, and she even found herself drawing from a seemingly endless pool of fortitude when she belted out the last line.

When the song was finished, Nikki took a long, deep breath to calm herself as the room erupted with applause. She felt her face flush, and her hands were trembling slightly, but she felt almost like she was flying. She knew she was grinning stupidly, but she didn't care, and she when she returned to her seat, she felt Noah wrap a strong, warm, comforting arm around her and press a light kiss to her cheek.

"That was incredible," he told her softly "I'm proud of you babe."

Rachel clapped along with the others, genuinely happy that Nikki seemed to be finding her feet in the group, and just as impressed as everyone else was; but she made a mental note to keep a careful eye on the other girl.