Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Thanks everyone for reading! Comments and feedback is my drive to keep writing, so please feed the hungry writer :D
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Puck couldn't sleep; he'd been tossing and turning all night and nothing he tried seemed to help. He felt like there was two of him; the person he wanted to be and the person everyone saw. He wasn't stupid, but he did have a reputation to keep at WMHS and in less than a week, every defensive wall he'd built lay as rubble at his feet, invisible to anyone but himself.
His mom now knew he got Quinn pregnant and was glad she was okay with it, but that scared him just as much, shedding light on a reality he had tried to hide from everyone. Then along came Rachel. At some point over the weekend, Puck wondered if telling Rachel was the right thing to do, but after the night before when everything came crashing down, he knew he'd been right.
On Tuesday, the slushy war continued. This time, not only did Finn get it, but Quinn did, too. Puck was thankful he hadn't been around because he was sure he would have been on the receiving end of a few himself.
With the team on the prowl for unsuspecting targets, Puck found himself meeting Rachel at her locker between classes and walking her to her next one, hoping to let everyone know that she was off limits.
During lunch, he started eating with Rachel and the other Glee kids, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie. He was surprised to find Brittany, Matt and Mike join them, but he was also glad. The more football players sticking up for Glee, the better chance they had of a cease fire with the slushies.
As Wednesday arrived, he couldn't help laugh at the Glee kids. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie and Rachel had taken to wearing rain coats or ponchos all day, even during lunch. Matt and Mike wore their Letterman's jacket, while Brittany wore her usual Cheerios uniform and Puck didn't care.
The day that Puck had been dreading since Saturday had finally arrived. He woke up Thursday morning, an hour early and after leaving a note for his mom, he headed out of the house with his backpack and football gear, dressed in his workout clothes; planning a long run on the track before facing the day.
The parking lot of William McKinley High School was almost empty except for a handful of cars, most likely belonging to staff or very early students.
He headed for the gym locker room and after stuffing his gear in his locker, he headed right for the track. The morning was cool, but he didn't care. He'd be hot and sweaty soon enough and he wouldn't even notice. He started out with a few slower laps to warm up, but soon he was running at full speed, the faster he went; the clearer his mind got.
He was so into the running, the number of laps he'd gone had been forgotten. He almost didn't hear the alarm going off on his watch. He'd set it for 7am, giving him time to shower before school.
Finishing his last lap, he headed back into the locker room and after grabbing a towel, he went to shower. Though his run had helped clear his head, as soon as the hot water hit him, everything came flooding back. Not being able to relax, he quickly finished. The only thing he knew was that things needed to get back to normal soon or he was going to be on overload.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, he headed back to the locker room, finding two freshmen sitting on the bench in front of his locker. "Get the fuck out of my way," he hissed.
The two boys exchanged glances and dashed off to the other side of the locker room, seeing he was not someone to mess with.
Puck dressed quickly, putting on a white t-shirt and a plaid collared over shirt and jeans; his usual dress, and threw his backpack over his shoulder. Pushing his football gear into his locker, he slammed it shut and sneered at the two boys as he walked past them, both jumping back; getting far away from him; afraid of what he could do.
The gym wasn't right by the main hallway, so he had a little walk before he reached the locker-lined halls. He walked past some of the guys from the team and he nodded at them as he usually did, reaching his locker to find Mike, Matt and Brittany. He was starting to wonder what was up with the three of them; well more like Mike and Brittany. He knew that Matt and Mike were friends and saw that Brittany and Mike had been spending a lot of time together.
"Hey Puck!" Mike said.
"Hey," Puck nodded at him and opened up his own locker, stuffing his backpack inside. He tugged out the books he needed for first period before shutting it and turning to look at the three. Mike had his arm around Brittany's shoulders and her arm was around his waist, "so are you two a couple?" He asked with a smirk.
Mike and Brittany exchanged glances, "yeah, we have been for a while," Mike admitted.
"Nice," was all he could get out before he caught a glimpse of a pink and white polka-dotted rain coat. He smirked and silently slipped away from them, moving to catch up with her, "nice jacket, Rachel," he said slipping his arm around her shoulders.
Rachel tensed up at the words, but quickly glanced up to see him. She smiled, "oh, hello, Noah. I didn't expect you to be here this early."
He shrugged, "couldn't sleep so I got up early and went jogging for an hour before school," he told her, faintly noticing the looks he was getting.
"Couldn't sleep? Why not?" She asked as they reached her locker.
He looked at her with a 'you should know,' look.
"Oh, yes, the decision," she blushed as she unlocked her locker and opened it.
He leaned against the lockers near hers and watched her organize her books inside. "Did you have a good run?" She asked. Casual conversation with Noah Puckerman was not something Rachel was used to, but she was starting to get the hang of it.
"Yeah, I guess. Worked for the time being, but as soon as I took a shower, everything came back," he admitted with a shrug.
"Well, well, good morning you two," Kurt commented, stepping up to Rachel's other side where his locker was.
Puck glared at Kurt, but Rachel greeted him, "good morning Kurt," she replied.
"I have to say, this is still quite new to see, but at least we know the truth," Kurt admitted motioning to the two of them. "Have you made a decision yet?" Kurt asked.
Puck was partially ignoring Kurt, but he realized Kurt's question had been directed at him, "huh? What?"
Kurt rolled his eyes, "have you made your decision about Glee and football," he shook his head, muttering something about football players being oblivious.
"No," was Puck's answer, simple enough.
"Well, I hope you make the right one," Kurt commented turning and walking away quickly.
"God, what's with him? One minute he's nice and the next he's being a drama queen," Puck commented with a groan.
Rachel laughed, "well, Kurt has had to put up with you throwing him in dumpsters. You haven't done that since you joined Glee, right?" She asked quickly.
"No, but at the moment it's looking like it's a good idea," he admitted, earning an elbow in his stomach from his girlfriend, a stern glare on her face. "Fine," he held up his hands in defeat, "no I won't, but it still isn't a bad idea," he admitted a wicked grin appearing on his face.
Rachel huffed, shutting her locker, realizing that breaking his bad habits might be harder than she thought.
"Hey Puck," Artie said as he, Tina and Mercedes came up to them.
"Hey Artie," Puck replied. He wouldn't say they were friends, but had an understanding, knowing the other has a love for guitars.
The three others were dressed in varying colored rain coats; well, Artie wore a blue rain coat, while Tina's was green. Mercedes on the other hand had on a poncho on in at least four colors.
"Do you guys seriously think you need those?" He asked looking between them and Rachel.
"You should be one to talk," Mercedes commented.
"Hey! I didn't have anything to do with the Finn and Quinn ones!"
"I think she is talking about all those time that you used to throw slushies in my face," Rachel admitted, looking at him.
He rolled his eyes. "I don't do that anymore," he told them.
"Well, then you should be worried about getting hit, too," Artie added.
"Yeah right, no one will hit me," he laughed.
"I sure hope you're right, or you just jinxed yourself," Mercedes replied.
The school bell rang and everyone parted. Puck walked Rachel to class and once she was inside, he headed off to his own, hoping Mercedes was wrong; but karma is said to be a bitch.
As lunch ended, Rachel and Puck linked arms together and walked to the stairs that would lead down to their lockers. She had been discussing something at lunch, but he had only heard half of it. "-making Tommy Tune the first to win Tony Gold in four categories."
Rolling his eyes, he glanced away, "totally interesting," he paused and realized something, "you know, you never told me what you thought about my mash-up solo," he admitted as they got down the stairs.
Rachel jumped in quickly with, "you're still missing the elusive high-B; that's a brass ring for a bari-tenor. I had to work on it for weeks with Finn before he got it," as she finished, she saw the annoyed look on his face and realized bringing up Finn wasn't the best idea, so she stopped walking in the middle of the hallway to look at him, "you're a great performer, Noah, I just want to say how proud I am to have you on my arm in front of the whole high school."
They started walking arm-in-arm again and that's when it happened. One second they were talking, the next Puck felt the stinging pain of tiny ice cubes hitting his face; the grape slushy running down and dripping onto his shirt. He stood frozen, in shock as the reality of what just happened in the middle of the hallway.
Rachel gasped as it happened, her hand going to her mouth in shock. She dropped his arm and stood watching him for a moment as the bell rang, but he wasn't moving.
They were only a few feet from her locker, so she tugged him toward it, going into operation slushy clean up mode, pulling out the extra towels she kept in there for this reason and then headed of to the closest boys bathroom, thankful that it was empty. She took off her jacket and laid it over one of the sinks, while she pulled up a chair to the other one. "Take your shirt off," she murmured laying one of the towels on the edge of the sink.
He hadn't said anything since he got hit, but at her request, he snapped out of it, "huh?"
She turned to him, "take your shirt off before it starts to dry," she told him, moving towards him; her hands heading for the buttons.
Puck looked down at her hands and smirked, "didn't think this would be happening this soon," he admitted.
"Noah!" She shook her head and unbuttoned the few lower ones and worked her way up to the top one, "get your head out of the gutter!"
With a heavy sigh, he tugged off his shirt, once the buttons were undone, and threw it over the other sink with her jacket. "Now what?"
"Sit down and lean back," she told him.
"What are you doing to do?" He asked.
"Lean back," she told him again.
Puck gave in, leaning his head back on the edge of the sink, feeling the towel hit his neck.
Turning the water on, she picked up the small cup from the sink and waited until the water warmed up before scooping the water over his head, rinsing the ice crystals and corn syrup away.
He closed his eyes as she worked, feeling a pang of guilt hit him. "You're pretty good at this," he murmured.
Continuing her work, she smiled, "I've had a lot of practice. You're actually a lot luckier than me and Quinn. Your head is shaved," she replied, moving to pick up another towel to dry her hands on.
"I'm really sorry I ever did this to you," he commented feeling her sit on his lap.
"It's okay," she responds softly.
Pulling his head up, he looked at her, "no it isn't. No one deserves this feeling," he told her, taking the towel in his hand and resting his other hand on her hip, "you know what the worst part is? It's not the burning in your eyes or the way the slushy drips all the way into your underpants. It's the humiliation. I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment. Rachel, I'm sorry, but today when the clock chimes 3:30-"
"You're choosing football over Glee, which means we probably can't be together anymore," she admitted, hating what she just said.
"Yes. Damn I feel like such a bad Jew."
She rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before standing up, collecting her jacket and leaving the bathroom without a glance back at him.
Puck had his navy blue Kippah in his hand, and opened it with a sigh and sat it on his head; he was needing a lot more guidance than he was getting at school. (Note: Kippah- the cap Jewish men wear during worship or during times of prayer. (I had to Wikipedia it.))
Rachel went right to her locker when she left the bathroom and opened it. She kept trying to tell herself that what she said was the truth, but she didn't want to break-up with him. She didn't see how they could stay together if he chose football. She reached up to something dangling from one of the hooks inside and brushed her fingers across the small Star of David pendant. Though the light was dim in the hallway, the pendant glimmered a moment, almost as if someone had shone a light into her locker. She looked in the direction of where the light might have come from and saw him walking down the hall with his slushy covered shirt over his shoulder. Nothing seemed out of place until she looked up and saw the Kippah on his head. She closed her eyes and smiled, "maybe there's hope after all," she whispered to herself before collecting her books for her next class.
The bell rang ending the class she missed and it only took seconds for Kurt to find her. "Okay, Rachel, please explain to me where you were, so I know why I covered for you with Mr. Anderson," Kurt asked quickly as he met up with her at her locker.
Rachel sighed, looking at Kurt, "Noah got hit with a slushy and I was helping him clean off and then he told me he's probably going to choose football," she said softly.
Kurt's eyes closed and he sighed heavily before responding, "great! What do you mean probably going to?" He added as an afterthought.
"He said, 'Rachel, I'm sorry, but today when the clock chimes 3:30' and I finished his sentence with, 'you're choosing football over Glee,' and he didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either," she told him.
Kurt collected his books for his next class, one they also shared and sighed, "well, lets just hope he makes up his mind," he said throwing an arm over her shoulders as the two walked to their next class.
After school, Rachel, Tina, Brittany, Kurt, Santana, Artie, Mercedes and Quinn held a silent vigil, watching the minutes tick by on the clock in the choir room. Mr. Schuester arrived and looked up at the clock, "hey guys," he said.
Just as the clock's large hand landed on the '6,' making it 3:30, everyone turned and looked out the door, hoping to see all four guys walk in.
All of them were silent, but were exchanging worried glances. Mr. Schuester finally spoke up, "I guess they're not coming," he said sadly. "I'm really sorry, guys."
"I can't believe this, I thought they were our friends," Mercedes sighed, turning to look at everyone. "How can they just abandon us?"
As Mercedes' question lingered on everyone's minds, they all continued to look out the door, hoping that someone would show up. A few moments passed again and finally, everyone gasped and smiled, relief for a moment as Mike and Matt appeared in the doorway.
Santana and Brittany sighed in relief and went right to them, welcoming them with big hugs. Brittany said, "I'm glad you guys came," while Santana whispered an 'I love you,' to Matt.
"You scared me," Santana added as Matt kept his arm around her shoulders, the two walking back to the others.
Mike and Brittany joined them, the guys being greeted with smiles from everyone else and they all waited; hoping to see two more walk through the door.
Rachel stood in front of everyone, hands clasp in front of her, nervous. She stared out the door, and blinked as Puck appeared in the doorway. At first she thought she was imagining him, but the gasps of shock from around her told her that he really was there, walking in with his head slightly down, his hands tucked into his pockets.
Rachel smiled brightly and walked forward, meeting him in the middle of the room, "are you sure about this, Noah? Choosing us over the team means you might get a slushy in your face everyday."
Puck eyed her for a moment and then looked up to the group before turning back to her with a grin on his face, "bring it."
Her smile brightened as she moved forward, wrapping her arms around his chest. He slipped his arms around her small frame and held her close, knowing he chose right.
"Where's Finn?" He heard Artie ask and both looked up to see everyone looking out the door.
The silence in the room, though happy that three guys picked Glee, was tense. Finn was no where in sight and all their hopes fell.
Mr. Schuester told everyone they didn't have to stay and they all left silently. Puck and Rachel hung back a little, walking slowly to his locker. "You picked Glee," she said softly.
He smirked, "actually I picked us; Glee comes second to that; but yeah," he shrugged a little.
"I, um," she bit her lip as she waited for him to get his things.
"Don't worry about it," he shook his head, knowing what she was stumbling over. "You were right. If I had chosen football, we couldn't have stayed together. But I didn't. I did something for myself for once," he admitted, throwing his backpack over his shoulder.
Rachel let the whole speech she had prepared disappear in her mind as he took her hand and walked her out to her car. Once there, she put her bag in the backseat and hugged him tightly, "thank you," she whispered.
He smiled, "anytime, Rach," he replied, pressing his lips to hers.
She returned his kiss, but pulled away slowly, "I, um, got to get home today," she said motioning to her car, "I promised I'd make dinner."
Puck nodded, "it's alright. Arin should be home anytime," he added glancing at his watch.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.
"You will," he replied, pressing another kiss to her lips before reaching for her door handle and opening it for her.
She smiled at him and slid into her car. He shut the door and adjusted his backpack over his shoulder as she pulled out of her spot. She waved at him and headed out of the parking lot.
It was only after she was out of sight, that Puck started the trek to his jeep. He would never admit that he was halfway to the locker room when he made his decision, but the smile he got from her and gasps when he appeared in the choir room was enough to tell him he made the right decision.
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A/N3: Wow! I wrote a lot more than I planned so I split things up again. Look for part 5 later on today or tomorrow. :D