It took exactly one day before the entire school knew how her relationship with Finn had gone up in flames and two days for Rachel to start to pull back from the kids she had come to call her friends over the past two years. She had pretty much disappeared altogether after that first week. It just became easier after the dirty looks she started getting, ones that didn't quite make sense to her considering she had done the logical thing by negating Finn's proposal. WIthout the shield of her quarterback boyfriend, Rachel was right back to feeding on the bottom of the food chain.

Not everyone was like that, of course. It actually kind of surprised her who stuck by her once the breakup became public. Kurt, of course, did his very best to remain mutual. Rachel almost felt guilty when she confided in him about it at all. Whether it was by blood or by marriage, Kurt had really come to think of Finn as his brother, and best friend or not, Rachel couldn't compete with family. It's what kept her from calling that first night and stopped her from crying on his shoulder too much in the days after.

A little more surprising was Quinn. Rachel had secretly thought that there would be a chance for the former McKinley golden couple to reunite for one last shot, or at least a few weeks in the run up to prom. Instead, the pretty blonde had smiled knowingly at Rachel a couple days after the gossip mill started churning and they were both touching up their makeup in the same bathroom between classes.

"I know what it's like," Quinn had murmured as she patted Rachel's shoulder on her way out of the bathroom door. "Call me if you need to talk."

Rachel, of course, had never called. While she and Quinn might be in a better place now than they were two years ago, Rachel still didn't quite trust the former head cheerleader. There was just enough of that familiar glint still in her green eyes to leave the brunette feeling a little weary. Maybe if she got desperate enough she would lean on the blonde, but or now, she still had a couple other people to lean on.

Brittany wasn't the first one to notice how Finn was acting and Rachel was reacting right after the breakup. The first time he made a snide comment during glee practice, Rachel seemed to shrug it off easily enough and just agreed to whatever changes the tall boy had proposed. However, when he snapped at her for gently correcting his choreography when he kept stepping on her feet during dance rehearsal, Rachel finally found the courage to at least loudly whisper and ask what the hell his problem was. When he just rolled his eyes and stomped off backstage, it was the bubbly cheerleader who slung her arm around Rachel's shoulder and told her silly riddles to distract her until she was smiling again.

However, her first and favorite distraction was Noah. Puck had shown up with her favorite strawberry vanilla soy frozen yogurt within fifteen minutes of her tearful phone call when she had said she needed his help. He hadn't really asked too many questions, just retrieved two spoons and sat next to her on her bedroom floor, their backs pressed against the bed, until her fathers came into kick him out. He had wordlessly shown up the next day to drive her to school and had come two days later after her ballet class to do his geography homework with her at the kitchen table. They never really talked about what he was doing when he showed up. He just figured he'd keep doing it until she told him to stop.

That had always been the thing with them. It had always kind of been on her terms. She was the one to decide that they should start talking or making out or being friends. She was also the one who (usually) decided that they should stop. They were sort of friends but mostly, they were just allies against the perennial winners like Finn and Quinn. They understood each other in a way that only people like them could. Besides, Puck really hated to see her sad.

"Hey, Noah?" she asked softly one day just before they went to glee. She was wearing this dark green skirt with a trio of black buttons on her right hip, and Puck wondered briefly if they were functional (hot) or just for decoration (pointless). "My daddy sent a note to my last class telling me that he was going to be caught up in court this afternoon. I have ballet after glee and my car is at Burt's for repairs. Could you possibly give me a ride to my regularly scheduled class? I know that it is out of your way and will cause a minor delay to your afternoon proceedings, but if you could spare the time, I would truly appreciate it."

He grinned at her as he rubbed at the back of his next. "You realize you could have asked me that in like five words, right? Can I have a ride?" he asked her rhetorically. "That's all it would take.

"Noah!" she whined, slapping him playfully on the bicep. He flexed the muscle automatically, knowing how she'd always been drawn to one of his best physical features. He also smiled at her, knowing that his hazel eyes were likely sparkling, showing off her other favorite trait of his. "Can I have a ride please?"

"You got it, babe," he replied before wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture. She beamed up at him as they walked down the hall toward the choir room. He wasn't surprised when Finn glared in his general direction as Rachel escaped from beneath his loose grasp and slid into the empty seat beside Blaine. Puck shot her a look before dropping into the free chair between Finn and Tina. "What's up, Hudson?"

Finn had his arms crossed over his chest defiantly, reminding Puck of a legit child throwing a fit. "Dude, you remember that promise you made last year, right?"

Puck laughed humorlessly, choosing not to respond and instead actually pay to Schue for once as he delved into some stupid lesson that would inevitably require Puck to sing some song he hated, Whatever, it was better than listening to Finn whine at him like a bitch. Seriously, what was the guy's problem? It was like he forgot that he was the one to end things with Berry. Puck was so over the dramatics, and if it wasn't for the kicked-puppy look Rachel got every time Finn (or pretty much everyone else) threw her direction when she came into a room, Puck would have probably ignored the whole situation. He was just trying to be a good Jew and Rachel could really use that on her side.

"Finn, Rachel, why don't the two of you run through that duet we talked about?" Mr. Schue proposed as he looked over a pile of sheet music with Brad behind the piano. Puck looked over at the brunette as she reluctantly started toward the front of the room. "Come on, Finn, I want to get through it a few times before we start working on the group piece."

"I am not singing with her."

"Come on, man," Puck exhaled. "Just get up there. You know you're going to do it eventually, so save us all the hysterics."

"Shut up, Puck," Finn barked. "I am not going to stand up there and sing that song, pretending that Rachel and me are still in love. There are six other girls in this room who can sing with me. It doesn't have to be with her."

"There are also five other guys who can sing with Rachel," Artie pointed out hopefully. He had always liked the rock song that Mr. Schue had found for the latest Finchel duet. "If he doesn't want to sing with her, I'll do it."

"I am singing the damn song!" Finn snapped. "She's not."

"That's not up to you to decide, Finn."

He whirled around and started at Rachel. Puck kept waiting for their teacher to interfere, but he was watching with wide eyes like the rest of the people in the room. Puck moved to the edge of his seat, ready to strike if things escalated too quickly. "Of course you would say that. Nothing is for me to decide, is it, Rach?" he laughed humorlessly. He sounded so cruel, so unlike himself. "Well, you didn't want to marry me, couldn't stand the thought of being my partner in life or whatever. If you can't do that, then you don't get to be my singing partner either."

"Finn, it's not about us."

"You're right, Rachel," he snarled. "It's about you. It's always about you."

"No, you douche," Puck said, finally stepping in now that he could see Rachel falling apart right in front of him. "It's about all of us. This is our last year to do something really great, and you are supposed to be our leader. So put your damn ego aside and just fuckin' do it."

"Who the hell are you to..."

"Are you seriously not going to say anything?" Puck asked Mr. Schue, interrupting the latest round of Finn's little tirade against Rachel. When the teacher took a deep breath and visibly rolled his eyes, Puck let out this loud bark of a laugh. "Dude, that's it, I'm out of here. I have watched you let him get away with pretty much everything for three years, but this is where I draw the line. I get that he's your golden boy and you're living vicariously through him or whatever, but at some point, you have to realize that there are like thirteen other kids in here. How he's acting, what he's doing to her, that shit's not kosher. I can't be part of this."

"It isn't anything you haven't done before," Finn pointed out hotly.

Puck wanted to defend himself but knew he couldn't. While it might have been awhile ago, he had treated Rachel pretty terribly over the years. That's why he's a little surprised when the aforementioned songstress finally snapped and stepped up until she was inches away from Finn. "Noah apologized for that three years ago, and he hasn't done a single bad thing to me since, Finn Hudson. Just because you are jealous of my renewed and blossoming friendship with Noah does not give you the right to attack him for it. He has been wonderful."

"You don't have to defend me, Rach," he replied as she came over to stand next to her. "It's not worth it. He's not worth it."

"Maybe not," she shrugged, "but you are."

"Well, it's that just the sweetest," Santana announced sarcastically.

Puck was surprised for the second time that day when Brittany replied, "Shut up, San."

"Britt..."

"You know what Thumper said," Brittany reminded her girlfriend. "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."

Puck looked at the two cheerleaders in confusion and then over at Rachel. "Whatever, dude, I'm not hanging around for any more of this shit. Rach, you coming?"

"Rachel, you really do need to rehearse with Finn," Mr. Schue said tiredly.

"Seriously?" she looked at the teacher, and Puck thought in that moment that he was such a moron that he made Britt and Sam seem like the brightest bulbs on the planet. "I do not think it would be conducive to my mental state to take part in practice this afternoon. I shall return tomorrow in hopes that you will have seen the error of your ways and corrected the inappropriate behavior that was displayed by your male lead today."

"What she means," Puck translated as he grabbed Rachel's hand to pull her toward the door, "is that we're out. See you suckers later!"

Rachel's giggles could be heard down the hallway and in the warm afternoon air as the two of them spilled out of the high school and into the parking lot. "I can't believe that you just took part in a patented Rachel Berry storm out," she laughed as the two of them walked toward where his truck was parked in the back row. "I never thought I'd see the day where you indulged one of my fits."

"It was hardly a fit, babe," he assured her as he lifted her pink bag and threw it into the bed of his truck. He followed her to the passenger side to help boost her into the seat and then jogged around to jump in behind the wheel. He didn't start the truck, just wrapped his long fingers around the worn leather of the steering wheel. "They deserved it, both of them. Doesn't mean I am going to let you get away with that shit again, but it was warranted back there."

"It's just so hard."

"I know it is, Berry," he murmured. "That's why I am going to help you."

"You're going to help me?" she asked skeptically, shaking her head slightly when he waggled his eyebrows and smirked suggestively. "Why do I not like the sound of that?"

"Come on, give me a break, have I tried anything yet?" he asked. He had tried his hardest to be on his best behavior. He didn't want to make things harder on Rachel. "I am just going to give you my mad Jedi skills and help you give over Hudson. The Puckerone has a multi-step process to getting over heartbreak."

"I am not hooking up with random people, Noah."

"Give me a little credit, Rach, I think I know you better than that," he reminded her softly. "I just want to see you happy again. I had to get over someone a time or two, and even if you don't know it, I've got a heart. I promise it'll work."

Rachel thought for a moment before finally agreeing with a little nod. "Okay, we'll try it your way for awhile," she replied. Puck pumped his fist a little before hold it out for Rachel to bump. She giggled girlishly as she did and then buckled her seatbelt so Puck could drive her to ballet. They were quiet on the way over, but right as he handed over her bag, she smiled up at him shyly and leaned in so only that he could hear. "I know you've got a heart, Noah. You've gotten really bad at hiding it, at least from me."