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: Those who have given me feedback! Thank you so much! It means the world to me that you are enjoying this!

A/N3: Had to break this up because it was too long for livejournal.

...

The tension in the hallways of WMHS was heavy as Puck walked in on Friday morning. Matt and Mike met him at the front doors, walking on either side of him. He glanced at the two and for a second he thought their reasons for being there was for support, but Puck was quickly aware they were looking for protection.

Everyone watched as they walked down the halls, the sea of students parting to let them pass. Reaching their lockers, Santana and Brittany were waiting for them. Some of the football players were standing around and it was easy to hear the words 'traitor' and 'backstabber' come up in their hushed conversations, but nothing was said to their faces; yet.

Puck busied himself in his locker, stuffing books in his bag. His mind was in several places, but the last thing he wanted was to deal with one person specifically; Finn Hudson. Puck had had an epiphany the night before and hoped he could get out of seeing Finn, but luck was not on his side. Finn's voice could be heard down the hall, and Matt nudged him in the shoulder. Puck closed his locker and shouldered his bag, turning just in time to see Finn walk towards him, stopping in his tracks to stare at his "best friend."

Puck just shook his head and turned around, looking at Matt and Mike, "not worth it," he commented passing through them and heading for Rachel's locker.

Half way to Rachel's, he stopped. He wanted to see her, but there were things on his mind that he'd rather not have to explain at the moment, so he detoured and headed to his class.

Rachel hadn't seen Puck all morning, and as she sat with some of the Glee kids at their usual table in lunch, she saw him along with Matt and Mike heading for them. She let out a sigh of relief, happy to see his was still in one piece.

The entire lunch room stared at the three boys as they walked through it, heading for the Glee table, and Rachel was the first to greet them, hugging Puck.

Puck smiled at the greeting and returned her hug, silently taking his usual spot next to the wall. Matt and Mike also took their seats and everyone looked up to see Quinn and Santana join them at the table; all ignoring the looks from Finn from across the lunch room.

Rachel noticed Puck being quiet, but things must have been alright with them because he kept his hand laced with hers as they all sat together. The emotions at the table were varied, so she chose to talk to him later about it what was wrong with him. Towards the end of lunch, Mercedes, Kurt and Rachel started talking about a replacement for Finn.

"Well that's easy," Mercedes, "Puck," she said.

Hearing his name, he looked up, "huh?"

"You should replace Finn and then we can find some Freshman or Sophomore to fill in the extra spot," Kurt said.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, saving him from responding to Kurt's comment. He got up and waited for Rachel to gather her things before taking her hand and walking her to class. Stopping outside her class room, he pressed a kiss on her forehead, "see you later," he murmured, turning and walking away, leaving a stunned Rachel in his wake.

At the end of the day, while Rachel was talking to Kurt at his locker, her eyes widened to see Finn walking down the hallway with a slushy in his hand. Watching the exchange between Kurt and Finn, Mercedes defended Kurt, "you are not gonna slushy on my man, Kurt."

Rachel couldn't help her response, "why wouldn't he? He's made his choice. He doesn't care about us losers anymore." She wished Puck had been there to fend off Finn, but it was too late. By the time she had that wish, Kurt was throwing the slushy in his own face. She gasped and jumped back as Finn stumbled away stunned.

"Someone get me to a day spa STAT!" Kurt exclaimed.

Rachel moved forward and she and Mercedes guided him to the door held open by Tina across the hall; the girls bathroom. The three girls worked to help rinse the syrup and ice out of Kurt's hair, but Rachel kept thinking about Puck. Seeing that Tina and Mercedes had everything under control she left the bathroom, put her jacket in her locker and went to find Puck, having an idea of where to find him.

Climbing the metal stairs of the bleachers, she saw him sitting in the first row, leaning back on the second, his eyes studying the football players on the field. Her steps made an echo, but he didn't move, so she stepped closer, "you miss it?" She asked.

"Hell no," he responded.

She chose to sit down a step behind him, "yes you do."

He shrugged, "I made a choice and now I have to stick with it."

"You've been quiet all day, Noah, I hope you're not mad at me for picking Glee," she said.

"I'm not," he shook his head.

"Then what is wrong?"

"Nothing," he shook his head again, unable to look at her.

"Okay, fine," she huffed a moment, "if you're not going to tell me what's wrong, then I'll tell you what just happened," she paused, "Finn just came up to Kurt with a slushy, but so Finn didn't have to do it, Kurt did it himself."

"Finn, always Finn," he said flatly and leaned forward.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Be honest, you're disappointed that Finn didn't pick Glee," he told her.

"Of course I am, without him we don't have enough people to perform at Sectionals."

"Is that the only reason?" He asked; his eyes focusing on the 50-yard line on the field. "Look, I'm not blind. I know you had a crush, thing, whatever, with Finn before you had any feelings for me. I hope you're over him, but I can't help wonder, especially after what you just said."

Rachel took a deep breath and stood up; if he wasn't going to look at her, then she'd make him. Moving to stand in front of his view of the field, she crossed her arms over her chest, "Noah Puckerman, you are a jerk! How can you even think that I would have feelings for someone else? You know what I was thinking the whole time I watched Kurt and Finn?" She asked and at his final glance at her, she continued, "I wished you had been there to stand up to Finn."

He was silent, but studied her face. He could tell she was mad; the same mad she gets every time she storms out of practice, "do you really mean that or are you trying to assure yourself?" He asked glancing away from her eyes.

"Argh!" She exclaimed, this time stomping her foot, "of course I really mean it! I'm over Finn!" She saw he wasn't moving, but if this kept up, she knew he'd storm away, so she took a chance and slid onto his knee, "Noah, where did all this come from?" She begged, pushing aside the hurt she felt.

He finally looked at her, "I haven't talked to Finn since Monday, and you didn't see the look he gave us when I was singing 'Sweet Caroline.' He was jealous. It didn't really hit me until last night when I replayed what happened right before I got hit with the slushy. You told me that I was missing a note that you had helped him with for weeks to get right. It's obvious he has feelings for you," he paused, "I need to make sure that you didn't still have feelings for him," he explained, his tone flat, trying to push aside the thoughts he had with her sitting on his lap.

She took his hand in hers and squeezed it, "Noah, this is why you've been quiet all day? You thought I had feelings for Finn?" She asked, almost disbelieving that he was jealous.

He blinked a few times and then nodded, "fine, yes I was," he sighed, "I'm not used to this whole talking about my feelings crap," he admitted.

Rachel nodded and laced her fingers with this, "that's obvious, but I wish you would have asked me sooner. I would have told you the same thing I am now, but it would have saved me a lot of worry today. I didn't know what was wrong," she admitted.

"You were worried about me?" he asked a grin finally working it's way to his face.

"Of course! I didn't see you until lunch. I had no clue where you were; for all I knew you'd been beaten to a pulp by the football team for choosing Glee," she told him, her shoulders slumping.

Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned his head to see Finn jumping up and down waving his arms. He squinted at him and then saw Finn point towards the bleachers. Coach Tanaka was heading right for them, "uh, I think we should go talk somewhere else," he said quickly, "I really don't wanna deal with him right now."

Rachel turned to see the coach heading for them, so she jumped up and took his hand, the two quickly making an escape down the stairs to the path back to school. "So are you okay now?" She asked squeezing his hand as they returned to the front of the building.

He smirked, "yeah," he nodded, glancing at her, "are you?" He asked curiously, opening the door for her.

"Yes, I am," she agreed, a smile on her face as they walked through the halls on the way to their lockers. "But, Noah?"

"Yeah?" He asked stopping at his locker to get his things.

"Next time you have doubts; please ask me," she requested.

He nodded, stuffing a few books in his bag for the weekend, "yeah, I'll do that," he told her. "And, uh, remind me to thank Finn on Monday," he added, rubbing his neck nervously.

She thought for a moment and didn't understand, "for what?"

He laughed, shaking his head, "ironically he's the one who got my attention out there," he admitted, motioning towards the direction of the field.

"Oh," she paused, remembering their conversation only a short time ago and debated on continuing further, but chose not to. "I'll help you remember," she replied as he shouldered his bag.

Shutting his locker, Puck slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her down the hall to her own, "any plans this weekend?"

She looked up at him as her hand turned the knob of the combination and opened her locker, "nothing except homework and vocal practice," she admitted. Her weekends usually were quiet.

He watched her shuffle through her locker, digging out what she needed for the weekend. His own backpack was heavier than usual; actually bringing homework home, but he watched her put every book she had in her bag, "okay seriously, do you really have that much homework?" He asked studying her bag.

Rachel paused in filling her bag, looking at the books and then up at him, "of course I do. I have to read the new history chapter and make notes; and science and math, too," she told him.

"Did your teachers assign you that?" he asked, knowing full well they wouldn't.

"Well, no, but I have to keep up and make sure I don't miss anything."

"That's it," he shook his head, "take home only what you actually have due on Monday," he told her. "We're going out this weekend. You're not going to be stuck inside reading two chapters ahead on everything."

Her eyes turned cold for a moment, "Noah, I have to -"

"No, you don't. If you're breaking me down then I'm going to break you down," he commented, not being snippy with her, but trying to be honest. "You don't have to be that prepared. You've got to let yourself have some fun, too."

"I do have fun. My videos -"

"Are pointless. I'm talking about real fun; laughing, joking around, fun."

Rachel sighed, listening to him. Her life had been pretty straight forward until now; study hard to keep her grades up, post regular Myspace videos no matter how mean the comments were, keep up with Broadway's new plays and musicals, sing and dance, but now she realized that things were changing. Thinking on what he said about breaking him down, she thought about what he meant; the realization clicking moments later. She slid her extra books back into her locker. "I guess one weekend of slacking off wouldn't hurt," she smiled sweetly.

"It's not slacking off if you don't have to do the work in the first place," he commented with a laugh.

She removed her jacket from it's hook inside her locker and then shut it, draping her jacket over her arm. Puck took her hand and the two walked back to the main entrance, this time heading towards the parking lot, "so what are we going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know yet. Whatever we do, we'll have to take Arin with," he told her with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't mind. She seems fun," Rachel admitted, glancing at him.

His groan was obvious when he looked at her, "the last thing I need is my sister turning into your best friend," he commented as they finally reached her car.

"Noah, be nice," she laughed, playfully slapping him against his chest. "I've never had a sibling, so it will be a nice change."

"Fine," he sighed wrapping his arms around her, "I guess it's what I have to do if I want to see you on the weekends," he told her, resting his forehead against hers.

Rachel smiled and stood up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips before pulling away, "I don't mind at all."

"I'll call you tonight or tomorrow and we can talk," he told her truly unsure of what they would end up doing.

"Okay," she nodded and pressed another kiss to his lips. "I should probably go," she whispered.

He nodded and after a tight hug and another kiss, he opened her car door for her and waited for her to pull out of her spot and leave the lot before he made the trek over to his jeep. He knew of a few places to take her, but he'd have to make sure his sister wanted to go and knew she'd whine if she didn't get what she wanted. With a sigh, he drove home, pulling up in front and going inside, his sister getting home just minutes after he did.

When he asked Arin if she wanted to go do something the next day, she was overly excited. She suggested bowling when he asked if she had any ideas and though it wasn't the coolest thing in the world, he thought it might be fun to get out, so he called Rachel and asked her. She was excited to go and then let it slip that the first and last time she'd ever been bowling was with Finn. Puck was pissed at first, but knew that their past couldn't keep controlling their lives, so he passed it off, hoping to make new memories with her.

Arriving at her house at one the following afternoon, Arin didn't want to sit in the car when he went up to the door, so she followed him. Ringing the doorbell, he waited in silence until he heard footsteps and the door opened with David on the other side, "hello, Noah," he smiled.

"Hey Mr. Berry," Puck responded.

"Come on in. Rachel will be down in just a moment," he said stepping aside to let him come inside. "And it's David. You don't have to be that formal," he laughed a little.

As he stepped inside; with Arin right on his heels, he turned a little, "this is my sister Arin," he told him, "Arin, this is Rachel's dad David."

"Um, hi," Arin was usually shy around people she didn't know so she hung next to Puck.

"Hello, Arin. Rachel told us about you, it's nice to finally meet you," he said with a smile, looking up to see Rachel coming down the stairs.

Puck hadn't seen Rachel dressed in anything other than skirts and sweaters; seeing her come down the stairs in a pair of skinny leg jeans and a light lavender blouse with a camisole under it shocked him. "Wow, Rach, you look," he paused, searching for the right word, "stunning."

She blushed, "thank you, Noah," she told him, moving to kiss her dad on the cheek, "see you later dad," she smiled going to the closet and pulling out Puck's Letterman's jacket.

"When will you be back?" David asked looking at Rachel and then turning to Puck.

"I'm not sure. We'll probably have dinner out and then I'll bring her back," he said honestly; he actually hadn't thought past bowling.

"Alright, take care of her," he said extending his hand to him.

Puck took the hint and shook her dad's hand, "I will. I won't let anything happen to her," he promised.

"I'll hold you to that," he replied watching Rachel and Arin walk out of the house first, with Puck right behind them, shutting the door as he did.

He was only a few steps back, but sped up so he could get around them to open the passenger door. Arin climbed in the back and just as Rachel stepped towards the door, he took her hand and pulled her close to him, kissing her on the lips, "you look hot," he whispered.

She grinned, "thanks," she replied, pressing another quick kiss on his lips, before sliding into his jeep.

Closing the door, he groaned as he walked around to his side. There were things he wanted to do that couldn't be done in public or with his sister around, so he knew that this day would be a test to see just how much will power he had.

"Rachel, have you ever gone bowling before?" Arin asked from the backseat.

"Um, yes once, but I still don't have any idea what I'm doing," she admitted with a laugh.

"Good, then we can have the bumpers up," she looked at her brother, "see!"

"I'm not bowling with those stupid bumpers up," he groaned.

"Come on Noah, if they help me learn, I don't see the problem," Rachel commented reaching over to take his hand in hers.

He glanced at their hands for a moment and then glanced back at his sister, "fine."

"Yeah!"

It wasn't too far from Rachel's house to the bowling alley, but as he pulled into the lot he recognized another car there belonging to Mike Chang. He glanced back at his sister and then at Rachel. He wanted to be there, but he was nervous. It was the first time he'd been out in public with Rachel and his sister. He usually avoided outings with his family unless he knew that he wouldn't see anyone he knew from school, but now he was mixing up everything.

"I can do this," he thought before pushing aside his worries and getting out at the same time as Rachel did with Arin following her. He shut the door and met them at the front of his jeep.

He slung his arm around Rachel's shoulders, but some how Arin had managed to squeeze between them, her arms wrapping around their waists, "this is going to be so much fun! Me and Noah haven't gone anywhere in a long time," Arin said looking up at Rachel.

Rachel smiled at her and then looked up at Puck, "really?" She asked as they reached the entrance.

Puck rolled his eyes, opening the door for them. "Yeah," he nodded glancing around to see just who was there.

There were a couple of leagues playing so it was pretty busy, but after he paid and got their shoes, they headed for their lane in the less crowded side of the alley. Arin had gone ahead and already had her shoes changed before Puck and Rachel walked up. "Okay, so now what?" Rachel asked looking around.

"What do you mean?" He laughed and kicked off his skate shoes, "change your shoes and go pick a ball," he motioned towards the shelves that were lined with brightly colored balls.

"I know that, but how do I pick a ball? Finn did it for me last time."

After tying his second lace, he stood up, "figures," he shook his head. "I'll show you; it's easy," he told her, surprised at how oblivious she was. Guiding her over to the shelf closest to them, he explained, "there are numbers etched in them. It's the weight. I'm assuming you don't lift much, so you probably want something under ten; probably an eight. I usually use twelve or fifteen."

Rachel looked through them and her eyes landed on a pink and white swirled one, in the weight he suggested, "how do I hold it again?" She asked picking the ball up with her two hands.

He picked out a blue and red one and slid his thumb, middle and ring finger into the proper holes, "like this," he replied, lifting up the ball and going back to their lane, setting it in the return.

She mirrored his hold and let her ball join his, glancing up to see Arin coming back with a lime green one.

"Where did you have to go get that, China?" Puck asked seeing she'd been gone a few minutes.

"No," she rolled her eyes, "they keep kids balls at the counter," she motioned behind her to the desk, "and Mike says hi."

Puck looked up where she had pointed and saw Mike standing behind it, wearing a bowling shirt. He nodded casually up at him and then turned back to their lane.

"Mike works here?" Rachel asked.

"Apparently," he muttered fiddling with the computer to get their names in and reluctantly putting up the bumpers with the electronic control. He put Arin first, then Rachel and he took the last spot, before turning to Arin, "you're up, kiddo," he said sitting down in an empty seat.

Rachel took a seat next to him, both watching as Arin picked up her ball and walked up to the dotted line on the floor. She asked what Arin was doing and Puck explained the basics of how to line up the shot. When Rachel got her turn, she picked up her ball like he had showed her, stepped up to the line and then remembered how Finn showed her to hold the ball up. She he bent her elbow and brought the eight-pound ball up to her chest. "Now what?"

His shoulders fell a little and laughed, walking up behind her. His arm slid under hers and rested his hand on the ball, "just walk forward and bring your arm back and then throw it forward," he did the motion with his arm and showed her, before stepping back a little and waiting for her to try.

Taking a deep breath, she took a few steps forward and tried to follow his previous movements, but as she did the ball slipped from her hands, flying behind her.

"Damnit!"

Rachel whipped around to see Arin laughing and Puck standing still, an iced look on his face while the ball had stopped rolling against the ball return. His right foot was lifted up behind him and she realized it must have hit him, "oh my god! Did that hit your foot?" She exclaimed running towards him.

"No, I like standing like this," he hissed, gritting his teeth together.

Rachel quickly moved to pick up her ball, "I can't do this," she shook her head.

He took a few deep breaths as the initial pain subsided to a dull ache before turning to her, "yes you can," he told her before limping over to the table and chairs, sitting down in one, glaring at his sister, "seriously it's not funny," he snapped.

Arin got quiet, but snickered a little, "come on Rachel! You can do this!" She called, ignoring her brother's glares.

Rachel ducked her head and sighed. She took the same position she had moments before and stepped forward, throwing her arm back and bringing it forward, releasing the ball as it past her leg. It landed with a crack on the polished wood floor and it quickly gained momentum, rolling down the middle of the lane until it finally reached the pins, knocking down the front pin, then more fell until all of them were down; a perfect strike, "oh my God!" She turned around, seeing Puck standing right behind her. She jumped at him and kissed him on the lips, "thank you," she exclaimed.

He laughed a little as he hugged her, "you're welcome, but I'm not quite sure what I did."

She shook her head and pressed another kiss to his lips, "for this and I'm sorry about your foot," she added glancing down at his foot.

"I'm fine," he shrugged.

He took his turn, not surprising that he got a strike. As he turned to return to the table, he saw Mike walk up, "hey Puck, Rachel, Arin," he said.

"Hey Mike," Puck shook his hand, "what's up?"

"What do you think about the news?" He asked with a grin.

"What news?" Puck asked.

"You mean you don't know?" At Puck and Rachel's blank faces he took that as a 'no' and continued, "Tanaka is letting us back on the team and no more Thursday practice so we can do both," he said.

Puck jerked his head back in shock, "dude, when did that happen?"

"I think yesterday at practice. Finn called me last night. I would have thought you'd be the first he would call."

"Finn and I haven't spoken since Monday," Puck commented calmly, glad that his sister was bowling at the moment.

"I see, well, I just wanted to mention it. I guess we go back on Tuesday's practice," he said, "I gotta get back to work," he motioned behind him.

Puck nodded, "thanks man, see ya later."

"Bye Mike!" Rachel smiled.

Mike waved at them and returned to his desk.

Rachel stood up and wrapped her arms around him, "this is excellent news. Now you don't have to quit the team."

He silently nodded and slid into a seat, "yeah, I guess that's a good thing," he commented with a shrug. He wasn't quite sure how to feel at that moment. The ache in his foot was still there; an eight-point ball landing on it wasn't a normal occurrence, but the pain wasn't enough to worry about.

As he sat, he watched his sister bowl; she had the form of a real bowler and was pretty surprised. He glanced up at the screen to see her on her second turn, the first getting three pins down, and his eyes watched as the lime green ball rolled right down the middle of the lane to hit the pins, knocking the last seven down to get her a spare. "Right on, Arin!"

"Thanks," she grinned and sat down next to him at the table.

"Where did you learn to play?" He asked.

"School," she said, "one time a month we come here for our gym class instead of doing something at school."

Puck nodded at her, but he was mentally kicking himself. For being a brother, he hardly knew his sister and what he did know was only because it annoyed him at home.

"Noah!" Rachel snapped her fingers in front of his face, "it's your turn," she said.

"Oh, sorry," he shook his head and got up. He picked up his ball and got into place. His arm came back and when he released the ball, it flew down and hit the pins. All of them fell except the two back ones in the corners and he groaned. One shook and he mentally hoped it would fall, but it stood strong. A 7-10 split was not something he'd mastered yet, but when his ball was returned, he focused on the left pin and aimed for it, grinning when it fell down quickly.

With two frames down, the three played through the rest of that game. With the bumpers up, Puck managed to get a little over 200, while Arin and Rachel just barely reached 100.

"Do you want to order an early dinner here and play through a few more games, or do you want to go somewhere else after we play?" Puck asked as he reset the scores.

"Somewhere else," Arin said.

Puck eyed his sister and then glanced at Rachel, "Rach?"

She shrugged, "I guess it doesn't matter," she said, "if Arin wants to go somewhere else, we can do that. Where do you want to go?" Rachel asked.

"Jack's Pizza!" She grinned.

Puck laughed at her, but nodded, "alright, Jack's it is." He slid into the seat next to Rachel and slid his arm around her shoulders, "you're going to spoil her."

"Me?" Rachel laughed, "how is that?"

"You're agreeing with her or letting her make the decisions," he shook his head.

"You're not disagreeing, so you're kind of spoiling her, too," Rachel added.

His mouth fell open at her words, but he quickly thought on what she said, realizing she was right. Closing his mouth he shook his head and kissed her on the forehead before she got up to take her turn. He let his thoughts wonder to his pool business and it clicked that he'd have to change the way he ran it; no more cougars. He knew he'd loose a lot of 'clients,' but he didn't care; he wouldn't cheat on Rachel.