Thank you for all the reviews, it's nice to know that this story has got your attention.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own glee

To say Dave was surprised when he saw the Berry house would be an understatement. It was the same size as the Fabray manor!

The house was a pale blue, the lawn neatly trimmed, surrounded by a white picket fence and the mailbox perfectly placed in the front left corner. A path to the house was placed directly in the centre of the green. It was the embodiment of the American Dream. Then there was a spacious looking garage attached to the side of the house.

There were window boxes stacked with various flowers placed in front of each downstairs window and hanging baskets by the front door that were a vibrant shade of green.

This was his new home.

As Rachel swung open the gate to her home and walked up, she asked him if he was allergic to dogs.

"Um, no. Why?" He asked as she got the step to the door of the house and dug her hand into her skirt pocket, searching for her keys.

"I forgot to tell you that I have two." Dave felt a bubble of excitement. He loved animals but his father had forbid him ever having any for himself.

"What are they? What are they called?" He blurted the questions out, unable to contain himself as he rocked onto the balls of his feet.

"Fletcher is a German Shepard and Tobias is a Rottweiler."

This day was full of surprises. How could one tiny girl control two massive dogs like that? Especially ones known for being aggressive.

"Why those names?" He questioned, his curiosity piqued. Rachel didn't seem like someone to toss a name around and he had been expecting something from Broadway.

"I enjoy the Skulduggery Pleasant series of novels, hence Fletcher after Fletcher Renn the teleporter and Tobias was from one of my first loves... the Animorph series that used to run on Nick." Rachel turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, waiting until Dave was inside to shut it behind him.

Dave frowned," I thought you said you were gay?" He turned to watch her as she tossed her bag in a room to the right.

"I am, I meant the show. I love sci-fi, and Tobias embodied what I wanted to do, he transformed into an eagle. He was able to just fly away from his troubles." Rachel replied, shrugging slightly, it wasn't something she was used to talking about.

"Anyway," She clapped her hands. "Let's give you a tour shall we?" Dave followed behind her willingly.

There were four rooms downstairs. In the bottom right corner there was the den, the bottom left was an extensive library, the top left was the kitchen with doors opening to the back garden (that had a patio if you chose to eat outside), and the top right was the kitchen.

Then there was the basement. Half was a games room with a kickass sound system, with a PS3 and x-box 360 - wifi enabled. Apparently she participated on online matches at the weekends when she had time.

The other half of the room was a gym with weight equipment, a cycling machine, a treadmill and a pull up bar. Apparently, Rachel took her fitness very seriously.

Upstairs there were four separate bedrooms, each with their own en suite. Dave was shocked by the amount of space he'd have compared to the little box room his parents had given him. He even had a study desk!

The first room on the right was Rachel's marked by a gold star, the second was a spare, the first on the left was now his and the last was her parents.

Finally, you had the attic. It was Rachel's music room. She sound proofed it to let her get her music done in peace and the acoustics where just right.
The other half was more for practicing her dancing or fighting with mirrors stretching the length of the wall.

Dave was yet again taken off guard by the revelation that Rachel indulged in martial arts but was accepting of her reasoning. If she was going to be a single successful woman in New York she'd need to take care of herself. Rachel also mentioned that he should enrol with her. It would give them another commonality and also give him a way to positively vent any aggression.

Dave took the advice to heart and was seriously considering. He knew keeping his feelings bottled up is what lead him to terrorising Kurt and now that he was experiencing such prejudice himself he never wished to do anything similar again.

-/-

Dave had been hesitant to meet the dogs merely due to their reputation but he needn't have worried as when Rachel had let them in from the back yard, they padded dopily over to him, gave him a sniff then a lick then threw themselves against his legs for a cuddle.

Dave dropped to his knees and was rather content to spend the rest of the night stroking them. Fletcher was a beautiful dog with unusual eyes. One was blue and one was brown. He tended to prefer scratches behind his ears.
Then there was Tobias with the stereotypical black and tan colours but he had a gorgeous sheen to his coat. Astoundingly, he came up to just over Rachel's waist height. He seemed to sense this however and was ever so gentle when he was around her.

"I got them from an animal shelter. Fletcher had been the runt and used to bait other dogs to fight and Toby was neglected, covered in mange and greatly underweight."

Dave could clearly see how much it upset her, but he was also highly respectful of her. It must have taken vast amounts of dedication and care to nurse the poor animals back to health.

"They are amazing. You are amazing. I - I really cannot thank you enough Rachel. It truly means a lot for you to put me up like this." The footballer replied, honestly.

"Like I said David. We are in this together."

-/-

The pair had just been settling to eat some Chinese takeout (Dave's Choice) when the doorbell rang.

Dave set down the chopsticks, "Are you expecting anyone?"

Rachel shook her head, slid her seat out from the table and went to see who was calling. It was seven o'clock.

Dave followed slightly behind. If this was a prank he wouldn't let the little singer get hurt...

Rachel opened the door and was surprised to see a sheepish Noah. The resident badass was standing there shoulders slumped and swinging his foot back and forth, watching as it scuffed the ground.

"What can I do for you Noah? Is Sarah and Hannah okay?"

The boy jumped as he was jolted from his thoughts. He quickly flicked his gaze between Dave and Rachel.

"They're fine. I just wanted to check on you, I saw you leave with Karofsky earlier."

"Well as you can see I'm in rude health, however, would you like to come in? We were just about to have dinner. It's Chinese."

"Uh... Yeah okay. I think we need to talk anyway." He threw a meaningful glance at Dave who squirmed awkwardly.

Rachel frowned, she gave him a warning before letting the other boy in. "Noah, Dave is my new housemate. I won't have you making him uncomfortable in his own home. Is that understood?"

The boy nodded, sufficiently chastised, whilst Dave felt himself overcome with affection for the tiny girl who had fully embraced his presence. He could definitely see this becoming his home.

-/-

"So... How did this happen?" Puck jabbed his chopsticks between the pair, before scooping out another pile of noodles; stuffing them haphazardly into his mouth.

Dave felt a wave of panic hit him. He didn't want anyone to know what he had almost done. It was shameful to think that he had come so close to doing... It seemed like a world away rather than just this morning. How had everything changed so quickly?

Thankfully, his problem was solved by the brunette sitting beside him, who appeared utterly horrified at the appalling table manners of the badass sitting across from them.

"I noticed that David, much like myself, was being unfairly persecuted by the idiotic masses of school and felt that we could help each other through it."

"But Rach... I can be here for you. I know I said we weren't friends before but... Remember us in middle school? I want what we had back."

"Noah there are just some things you can't understand. You need to retain your badass status in order maintain respect from your fellow teammates to get a scholarship. I won't have you jeopardise your future for my sake. Us Jews look out for each other's best interests."

"How is me letting people walk over you looking out for your best interests, huh? And what can't I understand? Is it because your gay 'cos you know I have no problem with that stuff." Rachel really wished she hadn't let him find that out, he wouldn't tell anyone but still... It was more the way he found out. Moaning the name of the girl - who he thought he was in love with- whilst making out with him wasn't ideal.

"Think of it as character building for Broadway, it will harden me to the harsh criticism I'm likely to receive when I inevitably achieve unparalleled levels of success in the field of musical theatre -aside from Babs of course. Everyone knows High Schoolers are better critiques than those washed up nobodies that mock everyone's work.
And it's not about me being gay, you've been wonderful about that. Although, I still feel taking me to a strip club was a tad excessive and traumatising.
It's more the fact that you can't relate to the feeling of being tormented because of who you are. I concede that you can understand my feelings of abandonment better than most... However, this is simply one area that you have any real experience of; and I never wish you to either."

Dave was not too shocked by the length of Rachel's speech. But he was impressed by her passionate and sincere delivery. He could clearly tell that these to people had shared things no others had and he was honoured to be able to witness their interactions.
Dave was very surprised by how relaxed Puck was around Rachel, he couldn't recall a time when the badass seemed so at peace with himself. He could tell they had history but now wasn't not the time to inquire about it.
Besides he was a little intimidated by the mohawked teen's presence. Rachel may have stuck up for him earlier but the little brunette would probably pick her old friend over him if the boy was so inclined as to persuade Rachel he was not worthy of living here since he was a main tormentor of hers.

Dave gulped when Puck turned to him, please be cool...

"So Karofsky... Are you and Rach going to be friends in school or what?"

Dave's brow furrowed," Why wouldn't we be? I mean if that's okay with you Rachel."

Rachel smiled brightly at him. Not that creepy show smile, but a soft smile, that had her eyes twinkling," I would love that David."

Dave broke eye contact to return his eyes to Puck. The boy was nodding slowly at him, before abruptly standing, causing him to flinch instinctively, expecting a punch any second.
He did not expect for Puck to extend his hand across the table. Hesitantly, Dave took his hand and shook it.

"Welcome to the brohood then Dave."

Rachel smiled proudly at the pair.

Noah may not be able to support Rachel visibly in school but Dave could. Rachel needed that.

Noah was not stupid, far from it, he knew the singer struggled sometimes but he never knew how to approach emotion things... He absolutely sucked at it.

He knew Dave well enough from his time on the squad that the boy was protective and loyal; something that Rachel was in dire need of. He knew what Karofsky had done to Lady Hummel but that was in a misguided attempt to protect himself and deal with terrifying feelings.

He could relate to that. He tried to lose himself in meaningless hook ups and alcohol because of his dad, until Rachel age him a kick up the ass and got him to sort himself out.

(Although he buggered everything up by picking his rep over his jewbro, he was just glad that Rachel seemed to be giving him another shot.)

He would give Karofsky a chance. After-all, everyone deserves a shot. He would know, Rachel's given him far more than he, himself, deserved...

Soo… Not Quinn or Santana then…

Lemme know what you think of it so far!