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.
...
Breaking from his thoughts, he took his turn and the three played through the frames, finishing up a second game in less than a half an hour. Looking at his watch he saw it was almost 3:30, so they gave up on another game and chose to go to an early dinner.
After changing their shoes, Rachel took them back to the counter, with Arin, who returned her ball, while Puck put away the bowling balls and met them.
"See ya later, man," Puck said shaking Mike's hand from over the counter.
"You too, see ya later, Rachel, Arin," he said waving at them.
Rachel waved back at him before the three started to walk out, "see you at school, Mike," she called.
Getting back into Puck's jeep, he drove them to the popular pizza place, Jack's Pizza, and when he parked in lot in front, they got out and headed inside.
Looking for an empty table, Puck guided them to a booth by the windows and slipped in, Arin on one side, Puck and Rachel on the other.
"Hey! Welcome to Jack's Pi-Puck, Rachel, hi!" Brittany exclaimed seeing them sitting there.
"Hello, Brittany," Rachel smiled up at her, "I didn't know you worked here."
"Hey Brit," Puck nodded at her.
"Yeah, just on the weekends; helps pay for the cell phone bill," she laughed, seeing the third person at the table.
"Brit, this is my sister Arin," he said motioning to her, "Arin, this is Brittany from school."
"Hi," Arin said shyly.
"Hey," she nodded at Arin, "do you guys know what you'd like or need a bit?" She asked.
Rachel glanced at Puck, "I'm up for anything," she admitted.
"Large sausage and pepperoni and waters," he told her.
"Great, I'll go put the order in," she smiled, disappearing.
"Weird," Rachel commented.
"What is?" Puck asked.
"First Mike at the bowling alley and now Brittany at Jack's," she said, "I never knew they had jobs," she said.
Puck shrugged, "I guess I'm not the only one who has another side."
Brittany returned with three waters and straws, "so I heard the good news," she commented setting the glasses down on the table.
"So did we," Rachel smiled, "Mike told us when we were at the bowling alley."
"You saw Mike, too?" She laughed, "cool. I'm hanging out with him after I get off," she said.
"So, if the guys are back on the team, does that mean that Finn is coming back, or do we still need to find another person?" She asked.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders and looked at Puck, "I'm not sure."
Puck glanced at them, "don't know. I'm sure he'll come back, though."
Brittany nodded, "well, hope so. I really want us to go to sectionals. I gotta get back to work, but I'll bring over your pizza when it's ready," she said with a smile, heading off to another table.
Rachel sighed and looked at Puck, "I hadn't even thought of that," she said.
"I know," he shrugged, "we can talk about it later," he pressed a kiss to her lips.
She smiled into the kiss before pulling away and nodding, taking a sip of her water.
While they waited, they talked about bowling and a little bit about football, even over their pizza as they ate.
"When is the next home game?" Rachel asked.
Puck thought for a moment, "I think Friday," he said, "why?"
"Well, I'd like to go. Arin, you want to go with me?" She asked.
Arin's eyes widened as she nodded, "yes!"
Puck realized that in all the years he'd played football, his mom or sister hardly ever got to see him play; and he knew for sure that they hadn't seen a game in the last two years.
Only getting through half the pizza, they got a box for it and Puck took the bill and folded up the money plus an extra large tip in it and as Rachel and Arin headed for the door, he went right over to Brittany and gave it to her, making sure she got it.
Going out to the jeep, they got in and Puck asked the question he didn't want to, "ready to go home?"
"Ready? No," she shook her head, throwing his jacket over her arms, "I've had a great time."
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips, "there's plenty of time to have other great days," he whispered.
"Ewe," Arin exclaimed from the back seat, "can you guys not do that?" She groaned.
Puck sighed and sat back in his seat, starting the jeep and pulling out of the lot. Rachel reached over and took his right hand in hers as he drove through the streets of Lima.
They were back at Rachel's house too soon for his liking, but he reluctantly parked in front and looked at her. "I'll walk you up. Arin stay here," he said turning the car off and taking the keys from the ignition.
Rachel smiled as he got out and went around to her door to help her out before walking her up the path to the front door. "Today was fun," he smiled, "even if my sister was there and kept interrupting us."
Rachel blushed, "yeah, she did do that, but I understand," she slipped her arms around his waist and looked up at him, "thank you for today, Noah," she added.
He brushed a stray wisp of hair from her eyes and pushed it behind her ears, "you're welcome," he replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "do we have an audience yet?" he asked.
She pulled her head back, "what?"
He smirked and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. He let his lips linger briefly before feeling her responding; both feeling the feeling the fireworks. He brushed his tongue gently against her lower lip before pulling away.
Rachel gasped as he pulled away, sinking against his chest to steady herself, "Noah," she whispered tightening her arms around him.
Puck held her for a moment, "yeah?" he asked.
"I wish you could stay."
His heart ached to stay with her, but he knew he couldn't, "I wish I could," he replied, "soon," he added.
With a reluctant sigh, she pulled away, brushing a hand along his cheek, "I'll see you on Monday," she told him.
"You will," he agreed, stealing one last kiss before letting her open the door.
She walked inside and shut the door slowly, leaning against it momentarily to steady herself; a sigh of happiness escaping her lips. Her ears faintly heard the sound of his jeep start up again and fade away, but her head was still trying to wrap around their kiss that literally made her weak at the knees.
Puck was silent on the drive home, putting all his focus on driving; the last thing he needed was to get in an accident while he was thinking of Rachel. Pulling up in front of their house, he was surprised to see his mom's car there.
"Mom's home," Arin said hopping out of the jeep just as he turned off the engine.
She was already inside by the time he had gotten out and moved around to the other side to get the pizza box with the leftovers and locked the doors before making the trek up to the house. The front door was open, and as he stepped inside he heard his mom ask Arin if she had fun and he smirked at Arin's response, "oh yeah! Noah beat us bowling, but Rachel had never played and I beat her! And Rachel ask me if I wanted to go to Noah's football game on Friday with her! Can I?"
Puck walked into the kitchen as his sister ran out, heading up to her room. He set the pizza box on the counter, "hey mom."
"Hey," she smiled, "you could have told me you were going out today. I would have stayed home with Arin."
He shrugged, "I didn't think you'd be home this early and I wanted to go out with Rachel. Since they seem to get along, I took Arin. I can't ask you to take a day off just to watch her so I can go out on a date, but it would be nice once and a while," he admitted, leaning against the counter for a moment before crossing the kitchen and kissing his mom's forehead. He left the kitchen, needing to be alone for a while.
Laying on his bed, he kept replaying the days events in his head until he focused on their kiss on her front porch. He hadn't expected himself to be so forward, but when he pulled away first, he surprised himself. He was changing his ways and to him, it felt right. The fireworks going off as they kissed was a big sign, but he knew Rachel would be different and thought he probably knew it, he finally figured it out. She is who he needs in his life.
Puck and Rachel's normal routines continued on Sunday, but they did find time to chat online. Puck realized his phone had been turned off all Saturday, so when he did finally turn it on he had over a dozen new text messages and three voice mails; one from his mom, one from Matt and one from Finn. Finn's message was simple, "hi Puck. I just wanted to tell you that coach canceled Thursday's practices from now on so you and the guys are back on the team."
He told Rachel of his message, which prompted her to remind him to 'thank Finn' and though Puck didn't want to keep bringing up Finn, he'd have to deal.
Arriving at school on Monday, he was surprised that Mike, Matt and Brittany were not by his locker, but shrugged it off. He switched out books and headed to find Rachel, finding those he was just thinking about standing by her and her locker, with Kurt.
"Hey Puck," Matt said with a smirk.
"Hey guys, what's up?" He asked sliding into the group to join Rachel. "Morning," he smiled at her kissing her lips briefly.
Rachel smiled, "morning," a slight blush spreading over her cheeks.
"How's your foot?" Brittany asked with a bright grin.
Rachel leaned against Puck, trying to hide the embarrassed look on her face. He smirked as he hugged her.
"My what?" He narrowed his eyes in thought.
"We hear you had a fight with a bowling ball," Kurt laughed.
Puck's eyes landed on Mike and glared at him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to, it just kind of came out," Mike's cheeks were tinted red, but he was saved by the bell ringing above their heads.
The group broke apart, heading in various directions, ready to start a new week.
Monday started out easy, no slushy attacks, no major news, but that only lasted until lunch, when Quinn walked up to the Glee table, dressed in regular clothes; not her uniform. The table was stunned to silence as she joined them; Santana and Brittany knew why, but Quinn had sworn them to secrecy until she had a chance to tell everyone.
"Quinn, where's your uniform?" Kurt asked.
"I can't wear it any more. Ms. Sylvester kicked me off the team," she said, letting her shoulders fall.
"She did what?" Mercedes exclaimed.
"She doesn't want a pregnant girl on the squad; captain or not, she kicked me off," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.
Everyone was shocked at the news; no one knowing just what to say. Quinn made it easy for them; she got up and stormed off, even ignoring Finn's attempts to get her attention from across the lunchroom.
"She had it coming," Puck commented, "she should have known it would only be a matter of time."
Rachel nudged him in the stomach with her elbow, "be nice."
"Why should I? She's a bitch to me."
"Because she's still part of our club and we can't give up on her like Ms. Sylvester did. If I remember correctly we are all outcasts and Quinn is part of that. If we push her away, we'll be no better than Ms. Sylvester," Rachel glared at him as she spoke.
Puck closed his eyes and shook his head, knowing she was right, but hated being called out in front of everyone, "fine," he hissed, "but I'm not going to be her best friend."
"No one ever asked you to, but be nice," Rachel replied as the bell ending lunch rang.
Standing up, Puck took her hand and walked her to class, realizing that his next one was with Finn and Quinn. Quinn was already there when he arrived and after taking his seat two down from her he glanced at her, "sorry you got kicked off the team."
She glared at him, "I don't need your sympathy, *Puck*," she hissed, stressing his name.
Puck rolled his eyes and turned his attention away from her; she obviously was going to continue her bitterness, but he knew she'd have to crack at some point.
When Finn arrived in class he took his seat between Puck and Quinn, feeling the tension between them and when he tried to ask Quinn what was up, she snapped at him just as she did to Puck.
Puck laughed inwardly as he heard Quinn snapping at Finn; at least she was being a bitch to someone else, so it wasn't just him at the time.
At the end of the day, Puck met Rachel at her locker and walked with her to Glee practice. "I tried talking to Quinn, but she told me she didn't want my sympathy," he told her.
Rachel looked at him, "what did you say?"
"Why do you automatically assume it was something I said? All I said was I sorry she got kicked off the team," he retorted, looking at her as they walked.
"Oh," Rachel sighed, "she's tough, but there's got to be a way to get through to her."
"Why do you care so much?" He asked.
Rachel took his hand and tugged him into an empty classroom, "you should be the one concerned about it. She is carrying your child after all."
"Oh so now this about the kid?" He jumped in.
Rachel sighed, "Noah, don't you see? You're doing exactly what she is. If you expect to keep the baby when she is born, don't you think you should try and get on Quinn's good side? The baby is a bargaining chip right now; if you piss her off, she could put her up for adoption and be gone before you even know it. Not only that, now that she's off the Cheerios it's only a matter of time before her parents find out why she got kicked off."
Puck's bag fell to the floor at her words, staring at her. He knew this was serious, but for her to suggest that Quinn could put her up for adoption before he even knew her was heartbreaking. He leaned against the closest table, "shit," he hissed.
Rachel moved towards him, "I'm sorry, Noah, for being blunt, but this is not just a game, this is the real deal, and I'm willing to stand beside you, but you've got to do some work, too."
Puck's mind was on overdrive, "what happens if her parents find out she's pregnant?"
"I don't know, but if what I know is true about the her parents, being kicked off the Cheerios will be the least of her worries," Rachel admitted.
Hearing footsteps outside the door, the two stopped their conversation and saw Brittany and Mike walk by. Once they were past, Puck looked at Rachel, "alright, I'll try and be nice, but I don't know what else I can do," he shook his head.
Rachel took his hand, "we'll come up with something," she replied.
Puck smiled and grabbed his bag from the floor before allowing her to guide him out of the classroom and down the hall to the choir room. Her words, 'we'll come up with something,' was echoing in his head. He didn't know exactly what she meant, but hopefully she would have an idea because he was at a loss for what to do.
Walking into the choir room, must of the club was there. Finn wasn't, but no one was really sure if he was coming back. Mr. Schuester came in and looked around, "huh, no Finn?" he asked.
"I saw him leave in his car just after school," Matt said.
They all looked upset at hearing that, but footsteps outside the door perked them up, looking to see Finn come in, a tray of slushy cups in his hands. "Um, they're not Rachel's 'I'm Sorry' cookies, but I thought they'd work, if you guys will let me come back," he said nervously as he stepped further into the class.
Everyone got up and took a straw and cup from him, laughing at the irony of it.
"So, what do you think about my welcome back gift to the club, huh, guys?"
"Thanks for the slushies Finn, they're delicious," Rachel responded with a smile, glancing over at Puck.
"I'd like to propose a toast to Mr. Schue, you were right about Glee club and football being a killer combination."
"Hell yeah it is!" Someone exclaimed.
Rachel and Puck exchanged smiles, as everyone got into their slushies, but their attention turned to Artie as he spoke, "Mr. Schue, I am sorry to report that we've all been remiss about completing our assignment this week," he explained.
"Yeah, none of us could find a good groove for 'Bust A Move'," Mercedes chimed in.
"And I personally feel like a failure," Artie added, ducking his head in defeat.
"Well, that's okay guys, because I feel like the lesson landed and that's whats important," he paused and turned to Finn, "and we're glad to have you back, Finn," he added. Seeing Quinn sitting on a stool by the piano, "you okay, Quinn?" Mr. Schue asked.
She looked up at him, "do I look okay? I'm devastated. Now that I'm off the Cheerios, I'll start every day with a slushy facial," she responded her eyes now staring down at her cup.
"That's okay if that happens, Quinn, because there are 11 of your friends right here who are gonna be more than willing to help clean you off," Mr. Schue replied motioning to the group around him.
"We got your back!" Matt called out and Puck laughed a little at that; just a few days ago Matt and Mike were using Puck as their bodyguard.
"Oh! Brain freeze," Mr. Schue commented, rubbing his forehead with his hand, "I can't imagine getting hit in the kisser with one of these," he commented stepping away from the group to stand closer to the piano.
Everyone exchanged curious looks as Artie looked at him, "you've never been hit by a slushy before, Mr. Schue?"
It only took him a split second to realize where this was going, but gave in, "um, alright guys, we're a team. Bring it on. Give me your best shot," he held out his arms; ready for the attack.
The bright grins on everyone's faces was enough to light the room. They removed their straws and Rachel counted off 'one, two,' and on 'three' they all leaned forward and tossed their slushy at him, the purple ice landing all over, his face and upper body all covered.
He used his free hand to wipe his eyes and groaned, but held up his own slushy and grinned, "alright. From the top," he said casually, taking a swig form his slushy.
While the girls fussed over Mr. Schuester and the mess the slushies caused, the guys hung back. It was easy to see the division; the five guys who choose Glee, versus Finn. Sure, Finn was back and now they had enough people to perform, but that didn't mean everyone wasn't still a little upset with Finn for choosing football.
Finn was aware of the division, but he knew exactly who to go to that would fix things. Stepping up to Puck, who was sitting by Mike, he looked at him, "I'm sorry," he said simply.
Puck looked up at him and then stood when he saw the determined look on his face. "For exactly what are you sorry for?" Puck asked standing almost chest-to-chest with him.
Seeing the two react to each other, everyone in the room froze. Matt and Mike got ready to pull them of the other if things went south, but everyone kept their distance to see just what would happen.
"I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusions about you and Rachel and for picking football over Glee," he said holding out his hand in a manner of truce.
Puck looked down at his hand and studied him a moment, "apology accepted," he responded, shaking Finn's hand.
The entire room erupted into cheering as the best friends finally reached a truce. Finn smiled and nodded silently, relief evident as he let go of Puck's hand.
Though everyone was happy, Puck plastered on a fake smile, hoping to hide behind it, but his eyes landed on Rachel; who saw right through it. She was the only one who wasn't smiling. Puck and Finn's friendship may have lasted through some petty high school drama from the previous week, but the couple knew it was only a matter of time before Finn would find out the true paternity of Quinn's child and a handshake would not be able to fix that.
...
A/N4: Well, after staying up until after 3:30am last night to finish this, I still hadn't. LOL Around midnight I got a sidetracked looking through pictures and videos of the Borders singing and the Alexa Chung MTV show (11/3/09) with the Gleeks and all the Mark/Lea yumminess. Not only that, found out from an article on that Mark likes the 'dynamic' of the Puck/Rachel pairing, so SQUEE! (if you want the link let me know) Anyway, sorry it took so long. I had hoped to post this last night, and then this afternoon before work, but I still hadn't finished tweaking it, so here it is; day and a half late, but hopefully not short of anything. :D