"Do you remember when we sang 'Sing' when Coach Sylvester was moonlighting with the club?" Puck asked her rhetorically. Of course she did, they all did. It was one of their most powerful songs as a group and had unified them at a time when they had really needed it. The intensity of that performance at the auditorium had been one they had wanted to take to competition until she had taken it away from them with one of her senseless lies. "Do you remember how it made us feel when we were pumping our fists and jumping around on stage? We were loud and strong and full of so much heart. That's step one. You have to find an anthem."

Rachel looked at him confusedly. She remembered telling everyone it wasn't good enough for Regionals. She had loved the song but thought that something original would be more powerful. The song she wrote in the aftermath of her breakup with Finn had given them that added edge. It had been her anthem then but it had been too adolescent, to innocent to suffice now.

"Think about it, Berry, all those divas that you and Chocolate Thunder are always talking about have them," he pointed out. "Cher did that electronic song in the late 90s about life after love. Whitney Houston has like ten songs about surviving heartbreak, and I think Kurt or Blaine have covered every single one of them. So that's your homework for tonight. I want you to report back with a strong and powerful song that you're going to use as your own personal anthem."

"What was yours? You know, to get over Quinn?" she asked. He didn't have to tell her for her to know that was where this whole plan originated in the first place.

"Back in Black, AC/DC," he told her before throwing a casual wave over his shoulder and running toward his truck. He fired up the engine and twenty seconds later, he was gone.

Rachel must have spent two hours poring over her entire iTunes library searching for the perfect song. She had all these ballads that talked about lost love and regret, but they lacked the power she was looking for. And of course, there were all the standard clichés that she could rely on, but it wouldn't be Rachel Berry. The only song that even started to rank was the All-American Rejects song she had done sophomore year. That was until she came across a Pink song that could have written the modern girl's guide on surviving heartbreak.

"Never Again," she told Puck the first thing next morning. "It's a little crude for my typical taste but strong and in your face nonetheless. Kelly Clarkson is a consummate artist like myself. I think it's perfectly fitting."

Surprised by the pop rock that she settled on rather than her usual ballad, he couldn't help but squeeze her to his side affectionately. "There's the fire I was looking for. That brings us to the second part. You're singing that song in Glee."

There was a flash of fear in her eyes. "What? Why?"

"He needs to know you're serious about this, Rach, they all do. Everyone thinks that you're going to go crawling back to him eventually, even Finn," he told her honestly. "If you pull this off, if you belt it out like I know you can and really mean it, they'll know that you're strong enough to lead us to Nationals without Hudson getting in your pretty little head."

She was quiet for a moment while she mulled this over. It wasn't that she was bothered about having to sing the song. It was what girls like her did, sing out her emotions. She had done it in the choir room a million times these past few years and probably would many more times before graduation. She didn't even really mind that it might hurt Finn's feelings. The thing that bothered her most was that part of her thought Puck still didn't quite believe her yet.

"Do you…do you think I'm going to go back to him?"

Puck looked down at her and then at his clasped hands. He wanted to believe that she wouldn't go back to Finn, but history had always dictated otherwise. "I hope so, but honestly, Rach, I don't know. You and Finn have always been this big thing and no matter what you guys both say, you love each other. If you go back, what business is that of mine? I just don't want to see my Little Jewish American Princess upset."

"Noah, I'm not going to go back to Finn," she told him quietly. He looked at her like he didn't buy it at all. "I'm not. I promise, that part is over."

"You don't have to make promises to me, Berry," he replied. "We all have people we don't get over."

"And you think mine's Finn?" she questioned rhetorically, earning a confident nod from him. "And who's yours? Quinn?"

Puck pulled away as the bell rang and started to walk backward down the hallway. He looked her dead in the eye, as serious as she had ever seen him. "For me, it's you."

Rachel spent the rest of the day unsure of what to do with that. It was a huge confession, one with the weight to change everything about her world. She wasn't ready to deal with what it could mean. Her and Noah had only been a fleeting thing a few years ago, but she'd be remiss if she didn't admit that there had always been something there. A certain kind of chemistry, if you will, had always brought them back together when they were lonely and needed safety.

She was no closer to having figured it out when she came into the choir room for Glee practice that afternoon. Rather than occupying her now usual seat next to Puck, Rachel slid into the end seat by Brittany. The blonde sensed that something was off about the resident songstress and immediately wrapped her up into an intricate story that involved her cat overdosing. Just as Rachel was helping Brittany translate the 12 Step program to feline terms, Mr. Schue came into the room and asked who wanted to start things off.

"Mr. Schue, if you don't mind, I have something I would like to sing," Rachel announced. The choir teacher shrugged and waved her toward the front of the room, used to starting a lot of practices with a signature Berry solo. "I will be performing my own arrangement. Artie, can you back me up on guitar?" The bespectacled boy wheeled to the front of the room next to her and picked up his black and white electric guitar from the stand. "One, two, three, four…"

Rachel had taken all of her third hour off to practice the arrangement. Artie started strumming the beat on his unplugged guitar to give the usually energetic song a stripped down feeling. Starting with the chorus and omitting the first verse altogether, Rachel took a seat on the edge of the stool next to Artie and focused her attention to a tall brunette who had once had her entire heart and the petite blonde who had always had the biggest part of his.

"You knew exactly what you would do, don't say you simply lost your way. She may believe you, but I never will. Never again," Rachel sang softly, slowly, staring right into Finn's eyes. She then turned her gaze on a stoic Quinn. "If she really knows the truth, she deserves you. A tophy wife, oh how cute, ignorance is bliss."

Artie slipped the chord to the amp in at that point and Rachel leapt of the stool to stand in front. "But when your day comes and he's though with you, and he'll be through with you, you'll die together but alone," Rachel belted out, her eyes never leaving Quinn. The blonde wilted visibly under the harsh directive. Seemingly satisfied, Rachel moved her stare back to Finn. "You wrote me in a letter, you couldn't say it right to my face. Well, give me that Sunday school answer, repent yourself away."

Rachel started jumping up and down then as the beat picked up even more, fist pumping in the air proudly over her head. Brittany soon joined her, the two girls dancing and smiling in unison. "Does it hurt to know I'll never be there? Bet it sucks to see my fave everywhere. It was you who chose to end it like you did. I was the last to know."

She started to work through the crowd, running her hand across Sam's shoulders and over Mike's chest. "You knew exactly what you would do," she sang sultrily as Artie once again slowed the rhythm. And don't say you simply lost your way. They may believe you but I never will. Never again."

Taking the steps all the way to the top of the riser, Rachel stopped and perched herself on Puck's knee before looking down at Finn. "Never again will I hear you. Never again will I miss you. Never again will I fall to you, never!" she sang confidently as Puck's hand found purchase on her right hip. She turned her gaze and shook her head a little before smiling mischievously. "Never again will I kiss you, never again will I want to. Never again will I love you, never!"

Rachel finally made her way back to the stool and smiled over at Artie. "They may believe you, but I never will," she harmonized before letting her eyes finally rest on Finn again. "I never will, no, I never will. Never again."

She didn't even hear the applause as she returned to her seat. In fact, she didn't comprehend much through the rest of practice. Finn was the first one to storm out once Mr. Schuester had dismissed them, Quinn not too far behind him. Rachel took her time packing up her pink trolley bag until it was only her and Puck left in the room. He took the handle from her as she started toward the hallway.

"So never again?"

"For some things," Rachel smiled, allowing just the slightest hint of flirtation to creep into her tone. "Never Finn again, Noah, I meant it. I deserve someone who understands that my dreams aren't limited to just love or career."

"Damn right you do, Berry," he chuckled before stopping beside her little hybrid in the parking lot. "I think you have successfully gotten yourself to step three."

"And step three is…?"

"What is the one thing you always wanted to do when you were with Finn but wouldn't let yourself?"

There had been very few things Rachel hadn't felt like she couldn't share with Finn, he was just that kind of guy. However, there were some parts of her old self that she missed. "Wear my animal sweaters," she admitted. They had kind of gone away over the past year. There were still some elements of classic Berry there, but she had a whole closet filled with pleated skirts and bright jumpers that she still loved. "I know they're juvenile but I like them. They have meaning. They were part of me when I wasn't pretending to be someone else just to fit in what I thought I should be. I was just me."

Puck elbowed her suggestively. "I do miss those knee socks."

"Noah!" she blushed as he lifted her bag into her back seat. Rachel slipped behind the steering wheel so that he could shut the door after her. He leaned down and grinned at her through the windows. "Do you have any requests?"

All of the indecent thoughts that have had a prominent place in his mental spank bank came rushing back at once. However, it came back to one, tiny little black skirt. "The black one, you know, from the day when I got slushied," he answered. "Yeah, that one definitely, you should totally wear that one."

There was a spark in Noah's eyes that Rachel both recognized and loved. She didn't say anything, just fluttered her fingers at him before leaving him alone to readjust his jeans in the parking lot. She wasn't surprised when his truck came roaring into her driveway five minutes before she typically left and that he was leaning against the cab when she came out in the black skirt as requested. It was paired with a dark sweater with a pink dinosaur (a reference to Puckasaurus possibly?) and pink and black striped knee socks. He didn't even pretend not to sneak a peek when he helped her into the passenger side and she didn't even pretend to care.

Rachel actually had the best day she'd had in quite some time. She ignored Santana's barbs and Quinn's glares. She ignored Jacob Ben Israel's inappropriate comments and Coach Sylvester's usual putdowns. She ignored the pointed looks from Kurt and the style tips from Mercedes and the questioning eyes that came from both Mike and Tina. Instead, she accepted Brittany's compliment on her dinosaur jumper and laughed when Artie raised his eyebrows at her jokingly on their way to Spanish and held onto Puck's arm when he insisted on escorting to Glee. And she forgot all about Finn altogether, totally swept the boy from her mind.

After they were all out for the evening, Rachel told Puck to drive out to the lake because she wasn't ready to go home yet. The feeling was too good to let go, and she just wanted to chase this light. He let down the tailgate once they were parked and spread out an old blanket he kept stashed under the seat. Sitting side by side, looking up at the winter sky and shivering in his letter jacket, Rachel felt like maybe this really was possible.

"What's step four, Noah?"

"Well, you've got the words, the attitude and the look. Now it's time to test yourself."

"Test myself?"

"You need to talk to him, Rach. You're strong enough to do it now. You need to make peace."

That one wasn't quite as easy, but she didn't want to wait for it. Instead, she pulled her cell phone from her purse inside his truck and nodded toward a bench just a few feet from the water's edge. "I'm going to take a walk," she said softly. "I'll be right back, okay?"

He watched her helplessly as she trekked down the hill in the dark. He could just make out her shadow from the moon's reflection on the lake. Once she was settled on the seat, he could see the glow of her phone as she dialed his number. He took a deep breath and sent a prayer up to God that he didn't lose her because of this stupid plan. He always had to have a damn plan.

"Finn, do you have a moment?"

He sounded surprised to hear her voice when he answered. "Uh, yeah, sure, give me a minute," he asked her. She heard him tell his parents that he'd be back and to the pause the movie. She could picture him walking down the hallway and into his bedroom, sitting on the edge of his twin bed with the cowboy sheets. "Sorry about that. What's up, Rach?"

"I know that things between us aren't great right now. It's been strange not talking to you," she confessed. "And maybe it seems like I'm doing all these things to get back at you, but I'm not trying to hurt you, Finn. You have to know I wouldn't want to do that for anything in the world. After everything, I hope that you still know."

There was a small sigh over the line and she could almost hear him nodding his head. "I know, Rachel," he assured her. "I didn't want to hurt you either. It just got so messed up. It really, really hurt. And I was so embarrassed. I put everything out there for you and it still wasn't enough. I guess I finally get what it was like for you."

"Oh, Finn," she murmured. "We're so much more than those moments. I miss a lot of things about us, but the thing I miss the most is just talking to you. You were more than just the boy I loved; you truly were my best friend. I don't want to lose the parts of each other we love the most. I know it'll take some time but I hope that you can forgive me."

"I'm working on it." He waited a beat and then went on. "I miss that part too, just hanging out. But Rachel, you have to know that I am going to move on. I am moving on."

"With Quinn, I know," she smiled in the dark. She had known, she had always known. "You know that Quinn told me once, last year before we got back together, that she knew how the story ended. You'd choose her, settle down in Lima. She'd be a real estate agent, you'd take over Burt's shop and you'd have a family together. I think that's what you want, Finn, and you deserve to have all of that and more. If it's Quinn that is going to make you happy, then I want you to have her."

Finn laughed a little. "You sound like you actually mean that."

"You're the kind of guy that girls look for," she replied. "She's lucky to be loved by you. I know I was."

"I still love you, Rach, you know? I kinda think I always will."

"Me too, Finn," she admitted. "Hey, I should let you get back to your movie. We'll talk again soon, okay? We have to rehearse if we're going to kill it at Nationals."

"I'll talk to you later, Rachel," he said before hanging up, and for the the first time, Rachel didn't want to cry or yell when she ended the call. She only smiled again into the darkness and felt something shift inside of her.

"I think I'm ready for step five," Rachel announced as she came back up the hill and stopped to stand between Noah's legs. His arms slid around her waist and pulled her against the tailgate. He looked down into her eyes in that way he always did right before something happened. She still wasn't sure what that was or even if she wanted it to happen. "What's step five, Noah?"

"Step five," he whispered as he leaned in, "is moving on."

Just as his lips were about to meet hers, Rachel put her hands and gently pressed him back. "We can't do this, Noah, not yet," she said before turning away. She heard him moan in exasperation before taking a few deep breaths. "It's not that I don't want to. Trust me, I want to…God, do I want to." She glanced at his cocky grin then and had to smile a little. "But if we do this now, Noah, I'm just not ready. I need more time. I need to know that this is only about us and not any of that other stuff. You've been so amazing, absolutely wonderful, I don't want to ruin it by going too fast."

"Rachel, I would never push you…"

"I know, Noah."

He took her home that night and didn't say much as she jumped out of the truck, his coat still on and her little skirt flapping in the wind. He waited until he saw her light turn on upstairs and then backed out of the driveway. He must have driven around for two hours after that, tearing up every gravel road on the outskirts of town, trying to figure everything out. When he still didn't have an answer at midnight, he drove home and hoped the answer would come in his dreams while he slept.

Rachel went through her nighttime routine and tried not to dwell on everything. That was what girls like Rachel did usually. Instead, she flipped on some Carly Simon and took down the last few photos of Finn in her room to store in the box now tucked away beneath her bed. She grabbed Noah's coat just before she slipped beneath the covers and pressed her face to the collar to see if there was any trace of him left or if it had been replaced by only her. What she found, what she knew was starting to form in her heart, was a mix of both of them. Rachel knew for certain that Noah was where she was headed; now, she only needed time.

Author's Note: Lyrics are copyright of Kelly Clarkson's "Never Again."