Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This chapter title comes from the song "To Wish Impossible Things" by The Cure.
"No. I don't care if it's for charity, I'm not doing it."
Rachel couldn't stop herself from laughing at the look on Puck's face. "Come on, you have to! All of the money is going towards the library, so it's for an amazing cause. And who knows, you might get an actual date out of this!"
It was the annual Boy Toy Auction that the football team did. The players would get auctioned off and they would get to go out until midnight. It was always a fun event that the team loved to participate in. Even Finn said that it was a pretty good time, because the boys got to perform a talent of some sort.
Puck just scowled and crossed his arms. He was still very put out over the whole Quinn incident, so being auctioned off to a crowd of screaming teenage girls didn't exactly bode well with him. The only thing that put him in a remotely good mood was the fact that he was steadily getting his range of motion back in his shoulder. Soon enough, he'd be able to play football once again.
"Seriously, Noah," Rachel implored.
"Seriously, Rachel," Puck parroted back at her. "I'm not doing it."
"And why not?" When Puck didn't say anything, Rachel decided that she wasn't going to play nice anymore. "You know, it would do you good to go out on a date with someone." Puck opened his mouth to protest, and Rachel held up her hand. "I'm not saying that you have to marry the girl, Noah! I'm simply saying that you should get out there and have a good time."
Puck still looked a little uneasy about the whole thing. He didn't mind being the center of attention—on the football field, that is. Being auctioned off was a whole other story. Rachel, however, had a sudden idea. She could get Puck to participate, and she would be able to set it up so Finn wouldn't be bid on by some whore.
"Do you want me to bid on you?" Rachel asked. She had already discussed it with Finn, and he had been very supportive of the idea. Finn understood that Rachel wanted to spend time with her best friend and didn't mind that she wouldn't be bidding on him. Rachel was grateful for that, and she considered it progress with the two half-brothers.
Puck's head jutted back. "What? Why? I thought you were going to bid on Finn."
"I have a plan for that," Rachel said without elaborating. "But I figured this would give us a chance to spend some time together. We haven't really had the chance. Especially since the Classic."
It was true. The Lima High School Titan cheerleaders had won the Classic. Santana had even won the award for best choreographer, which put her in a good mood that had lasted for weeks. They swept the awards for the first time in five years, so it was considered a big accomplishment. There had been one somewhat strange development since then: Santana had been constantly badgering Rachel to join the squad. Rachel had been thinking about it off and on ever since the Classic, but she hadn't come up with a definitive answer yet.
"Golf course?" Puck asked as a way to confirm Rachel's plan.
She grinned. "Of course! It's the only sport I can beat you at!"
Puck snorted. "Mini-golf isn't a sport, Berry." He looked up and saw Finn approaching their table in the library. Rachel and Puck had a free period together, and then Finn would stop by after his class and they would all go to lunch. This had been the arrangement since the Classic, and it was actually working out pretty well. Finn and Puck were almost always civil with each other, and Rachel would beam every time they spent the entire half hour of lunch together without making any snide comments.
"Right, Hudson?" Puck asked once Finn reached the table. "Mini-golf is not a sport."
Finn chuckled as he bent to kiss Rachel's cheek. "I have to agree with Puck on this one, Rach," he said. "Mini-golf is definitely not a sport."
Instead of giving them a detailed explanation on why mini-golf was a sport, Rachel just smiled brightly. "You agree on something," she said.
Finn and Puck looked at each other. They really had agreed on something—for once. Instead of acknowledging it, Puck gave Finn a way out by rolling his eyes at Rachel's behavior. Catching on, Finn laughed and nodded his head.
But Rachel didn't care. She was glad to see that the two estranged brothers were actually getting along. It had been happening more and more of the past couple of weeks. Despite popular opinion, Rachel had a feeling Finn and Puck could eventually work their way to being friends.
That was probably a long way off from happening. But Rachel had hope.
Together, the unlikely trio began to make their way towards the courtyard. Santana and Quinn no longer sat with them for lunch, given that they were both trying to avoid Puck as much as they possibly could. But every now and then, some of the other players on the football team would join them. Rachel was even trying to get some of her friends from the theater department to sit with them, as well.
"So is there any way I can find out what you have planned for tonight?" Finn asked. He looped an arm around Rachel's shoulders and pulled her into his side. He gave her his signature half smile, hoping that it would soften her up. He knew what an affect that particular smile had on her, and he wasn't afraid to use it to his advantage.
This time, however, Rachel knew what he was trying to do. She patted his chest and looked away from that adorable grin. Honestly, it was so unfair when he did that. "Don't worry about it," Rachel said evasively. "I have it all planned out." The look in her eyes made both Finn and Puck a little uneasy, because they knew how Rachel got when she had a plan.
Finn kissed Rachel's cheek again. He wasn't above using kisses to persuade her; in fact, that was how she had encouraged him to go along with her plan in the first place. "Please, Rach?"
"Nope," Rachel said. She popped the 'p' with her lips and grinned at him. "You'll just have to wait until tonight to see."
Finn sighed heavily as Puck sniggered. He knew that Rachel had a good plan in place, but going into the Boy Toy Auction blind was a little bit terrifying. He supposed that he would just have to wait and see what would happen.
Rachel made a face as she observed the behavior of her fellow female peers. To say that they were all being ridiculous would be a bit of an understatement. They were practically downright rabid as they waited for the boys to start coming on stage.
"Ugh, these horny bitches."
Rachel jumped and turned to see Santana standing next to her. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a wad of cash clenched in her fingers. She glared at the surrounding sea of students and then pushed at a girl that had bumped into her.
"This is so ridiculous. None of these hoes better get in my way. I'm bidding on someone and I plan on getting laid tonight. I need it."
"Oh. Um..." Rachel trailed off. The Boy Toy Auction generally wasn't a date sort of thing. In fact, parents would often show up to bid on the players so that they could do yard work or babysit or something of that nature. The auction was more of a bidding to work sort of thing.
Then again, Rachel didn't doubt that most of those football players would jump at the chance to sleep with Santana.
Santana shrugged her shoulders. She had no bones about admitting what she wanted. She scowled at another nearby student before she asked Rachel, "So I'm assuming that you're going to be bidding on the Jolly Green Giant tonight?"
Finn generally disliked the names that Santana bestowed upon him. Still, she couldn't help but laugh at this newest one. "I'm actually bidding on Noah tonight," she revealed.
"Oh." Santana's expression slipped for just a moment before she covered it up. "Then who's bidding on Hudson? Because I hate to break it to you, Tutor Berry: even though everyone knows that the two of you are dating, most of these bitches would jump at the chance to bid on your boyfriend."
Now it was Rachel's turn to scowl. "I know," she said darkly. Then a mischievous grin formed on her face. "But I have a plan, and it's completely fool-proof. Not a single one of these other girls will be bidding on Finn tonight."
Santana laughed and nudged Rachel with her shoulder. "That's what I like to hear, Tutor Berry. Don't take crap from anyone."
It was then that the MC (who was Coach Bieste) got on stage and began to announce the boys up for auction. Santana achieved her desire of finding someone for the night; she immediately bid one hundred dollars on a senior football player and won. His talent had been doing some sort of cheesy dance. Santana had simply shrugged her shoulders and said that beggars couldn't be choosers.
Half an hour later, they were winding down to the end of the auction. Bieste shuffled through the papers in front of her and then leaned over towards the mike. "Now, our last two football players will be doing their talent together. Please welcome to the stage Noah Puckerman and Finn Hudson!"
The crowd tittered with curiosity. Since when did Noah Puckerman and Finn Hudson get along enough to preform something on stage? The whole audience—including Rachel—waited with baited breath for Finn and Puck to appear.
When they finally did, there was a smattering of polite, confused applause. Everyone was too eager to see what would happen to really clap. Finn took a seat at the drum set on stage and Puck had a guitar in his hands.
Rachel's brow furrowed in complete confusion. She knew that Puck was musically gifted. Growing up, she would force him to accompany her with the guitar when she wanted to practice. She even used to make him sing with her. The older they got, the less he did it.
And she had absolutely no idea that Finn could play drums. Sure, she had seen the drum set in his room, but she had assumed that he had once had a passing fascination with it and had never really learned. Even when Rachel had been tutoring Finn in music, he had never really mentioned knowing how to play an instrument.
There was no type of introduction. Instead, they just started to play. It only took a few notes for Rachel to realize that they were playing Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days."
And then they started to sing.
Rachel's mouth dropped open, and she stared at her boyfriend with wide eyes. Finn's voice was unlike anything she had ever heard before. Sure, he wasn't trained like she was, but his voice was still amazing.
When the crowd caught up with the same realization, they all started dancing. Finn and Puck finally relaxed and really got into the song. They had the whole place moving and clapping along with them.
Finn and Puck finished their performance to thunderous applause. They bowed and even fist-bumped each other as Bieste approached the microphone to start the bidding.
Rachel had come prepared to the auction, so she was able to bid on Puck without any problems. Telling Finn good luck, Puck jumped off the stage and joined Rachel.
"Seriously, Berry," Puck said. "I hope you have a good plan, because your boy might be in some danger."
He was right. The rest of the girls in the crowd who had yet to make a successful bid were shoving their way forward, trying their best to get to the front. Rachel wrinkled her nose but didn't comment on their behavior.
Instead, she simply said, "I'm not worried."
Puck looked skeptical. "Okay..." Then, turning to his other side, he absently greeted, "Hi, Mom." Rachel and Anne tried their best to hide their laughter, but they couldn't when Puck finally realized this his mother was standing next to him. Doing a double take, Puck asked, "Mom? What are you doing here?"
Anne tilted her head towards her son's best friend. "I'm helping Rachel out," she revealed.
"What?" Puck repeated. He looked between Rachel and his mother, and then up on the stage. Realization suddenly dawned, and his jaw actually dropped open. Rachel dissolved into laughter and wiped at the tears coming from her eyes, she was laughing so hard.
"Mom, you're buying Finn Hudson?" Puck demanded incredulously.
Anne shrugged her shoulders. "I figured he could help out at the café tonight. Since you and Rachel are going to be hanging out, I'm going to need the extra hands anyway." With that said, Anne began her bidding. Of course, it went back and forth for a while, but Anne won out in the end.
Surprised, Finn jumped off the stage and made his way over to the group. "Mrs. Puckerman?" he asked, completely confused. He automatically wrapped his arm around Rachel and pulled her into his side, pressing a kiss to her temple. Rachel snuggled into Finn's side and rested her hand against his chest. She was smirking widely the entire time. Everything had gone according to plan.
"Yeah, I don't really get it either," Puck grumbled. He and Finn were kind of getting along now, but this whole thing was just kind of weird.
Anne laughed and shook her head. These kids were all something else, that was for sure. "I'm helping Rachel out," she repeated.
"Ah." Finn chuckled and gave his girlfriend an amused look. "So this was your plan all along, then?"
Rachel nodded her head. "And it worked perfectly!" she stated proudly. Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss to Finn's lips. "I'm going to head out with Noah, now."
Finn kissed Rachel again before he let her slip away from his side. "I'll call you later?"
Rachel beamed at Finn and nodded her head once again before she skipped off with Puck. Anne laughed again when she saw her son shuffling along beside his excited best friend. Turning, she saw Finn watching Rachel leave—and more importantly, she saw the look on the young man's face.
"The two of you are cute," Anne observed.
Finn shrugged his shoulders sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He knew that it was obvious just how much he liked Rachel, but he hadn't realized that it was that obvious. He didn't really mind it, though. Rachel helped him to be a better person and made him happy. He kind of wanted everyone to know that.
"Really cute," Anne amended with a smile. "Now come on. We have a lot of work to do at the café!"
Rachel practically pushed Puck up the stairs to the rooftop of Anne's Café. He batted at her hands and Rachel made a face at him before she reached over and flipped a light switch next to the door. The rooftop was immediately bathed in strings of rainbow and white lights, and both Rachel and Puck smiled.
"God, I feel like it's been forever since we've been up here," Puck muttered. He reached for his putter—his was brown, and Rachel's was pink—and then handed Rachel's to her. She squealed with excitement and ran over to the first hole.
Burt had helped them build the mini-golf course when they were in middle school. It was an escape for them; whenever things got really crappy at school or at home, Puck and Rachel would head up to the roof and do a few rounds of mini-golf. Burt and Anne and some of their other friends from the River Park would often hang out with them on the rooftop, as well.
As they had predicted, Rachel and Puck had a blast playing their game. So much had changed in just a few short months, so it was nice to just let everything go and have fun for a while. For once, there was nothing about football or people cheating in relationships or angry estranged half-brothers.
Rachel, of course, was winning. Mini-golf truly was the only sport she excelled at (and she would call it a sport no matter what Puck and her boyfriend said). They were at the last hole and Puck had absolutely no chance of winning. Even so, he was doing everything he could to distract Rachel.
Rachel glared at Puck and bent over to readjust her pink golf ball. The back of her shirt rode up, and Puck made a face and was about to tell her to cover herself up when he caught sight of a mark on the small of her back.
Reaching out, Puck yanked Rachel's shirt up so he could see it better. "What the fuck is that?" he demanded harshly.
On the small of Rachel's back, just above the waistband of her jeans, as a small red and white number. It was the number five, and that happened to be Finn Hudson's jersey number.
Rachel froze and closed her eyes. After a moment, she stood up straight and turned around, yanking her shirt back down. It had been a long time since she had seen Puck this angry, and she wasn't looking forward to the conversation they were about to have.
Squaring her shoulders, Rachel said, "It's a tattoo."
"I can see that." Puck's rage was practically rolling off of him in waves. He had abandoned his putter and his fists clenched at his side. "But why the fuck do you have Hudson's jersey number tattooed on your ass?"
"You really shouldn't use such vulgar language," Rachel said mildly. "And the tattoo isn't on my ass. It's above my ass."
Rachel normally wasn't one to curse, but she was trying to make a point. It was her body and if she wanted to get a tattoo, she shouldn't have to listen to anyone (let alone her best friend) judge her. So she prepared herself for the argument that was most definitely going to happen. Honestly, Puck looked like he wanted to go downstairs and kick Finn's ass right there and then.
"Calm down," Rachel told Puck.
"Calm down?" Puck repeated. Not only was Rachel one of his best friends, she was practically his little sister. What older brother wanted to see a tattoo like that on her ass? "Calm down? I will not calm down! Do you understand how fucking ridiculous this is?"
"I understand that you've used that particular profanity too many times in the last few minutes."
Puck ignored that statement and began to pace back and forth on the roof. "I can't believe it. I actually thought that after all this time, Hudson was going to be better. But he made you get his jersey number branded on your ass—"
"It's not on my ass!" Rachel exclaimed once again. Her voice shot up an octave and she was nearly yelling herself. She forced herself to stop and take a deep, calming breath. Nothing good would come of this if she completely lost her composure. She needed to get a hold of herself.
Puck grunted. "I don't care. He still had you branded."
"He doesn't know."
That made Puck stop. A beat of silence passed and Puck whipped around to face Rachel with wide, disbelieving eyes. "What do you mean, he doesn't know?"
"He doesn't know," Rachel repeated. "Finn has no idea that I got this tattoo."
At that, Puck sucked in a deep breath as well. Running his hands over his Mohawk, he asked, "When did you get it done?"
"About two weeks ago."
"Rachel… why? You do know that tattoos are permanent, right? And that's Hudson's jersey number. You can't take that back."
Rachel wasn't annoyed at all by what Puck was pointing out to her. She had been very aware of all those things when she had decided to get the tattoo. Even so, she had gone through with it anyway. It was something that had felt so right to her. More than that, she didn't regret it at all.
Rachel smiled. "I think I might be in love with Finn."
Puck's mouth opened and closed several times. "…What?"
Rachel's cheeks flushed and her smile widened. Talking about Finn and thinking about how he made her feel made warmth spread from Rachel's heart all throughout the rest of her body. "I can't explain how I feel with Finn. I just know that I want to remember how I feel for the rest of my life, and this tattoo is a way for me to do that."
"But Rachel… what if…"
Rachel shook her head and held her hand up. "I don't want to think about what ifs, Noah."
Puck shook his head slowly. "This isn't like you, Berry. You're always thinking ahead."
"I know. I guess that's what happens when you're in love."
Puck made a gagging noise. "Really, Rachel? "
"Shut up." Rachel shoved at Puck's shoulder and then scooped up his putter and handed it back to him. "Now can we finish with this last hole? I need to cement my win in this game."
Puck rolled his eyes but he took his turn at the hole and then let Rachel gloat over winning for a few minutes. He poked her repeatedly with the putter until she went back to the first hole so they could have a rematch. Before they started, however, Puck retrieved a green putter.
"Why don't you go downstairs and see if my mom will release Finn from servitude?" Puck suggested.
Rachel gaped at him for several long moments. When Puck just nodded his head, Rachel let out a happy little squeal and ran down the stairs. It was a few long minutes where Puck seriously questioned his sanity before Rachel returned with Finn in tow. He looked pretty confused and even a little apprehensive, as well.
Puck and Finn might have been getting along on a relatively civil level, but that didn't mean they would go out of their way to hang out.
Even so, it occurred to Puck that Finn was doing this because he cared about Rachel. It was obvious to everyone just how much Finn liked Rachel (even though he tried not to think about that). So Puck was willing to extend an olive branch if Finn was.
"How was it downstairs?" Puck asked. Finn didn't look any worse for wear, so he figured that it wasn't crazy busy in the café.
Rachel giggled and Finn nudged her before he kissed her cheek. "Let's just say that I'm not really waiter material."
"He dropped a whole tray of plates!" Rachel revealed. She pressed a hand to her mouth in an effort to stifle her giggles again, but she didn't really succeed. Finn's hand flew to Rachel's sides and he tickled her until she shrieked and tried to push his hands away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was kidding!"
"I washed dishes in the back after that," Finn said once Rachel had relented. Rachel stretched up onto her tip toes, but even then she wasn't tall enough to kiss him. Smirking at her, Finn bent down to press a kiss to Rachel's lips.
"You guys make me want to throw up," Puck declared. But he didn't say it with any anger or malice, and it was something that both Finn and Rachel picked up on. It had been an adjustment; Finn and Puck had to learn how to be teammates, and then they had to figure in Finn's new relationship with Rachel.
Taking Finn's hand, Rachel tugged him towards the first hole of the mini-golf course and began to explain the whole story behind the place to him. Finn listened to Rachel and nodded his head, and how much he cared for her was evident on his face.
Still, Puck watched Finn carefully to make sure that he really didn't know anything about Rachel's tattoo. When Puck determined that Finn didn't have a clue, he decided that he wouldn't have to kick his ass… yet, anyway.
To say that Puck was surprised that Santana Lopez was standing on his front porch was an understatement.
It had been almost three days since the Boy Toy Auction. Puck was still trying to shake the feeling that everything he had ever known was turned upside down, and having Santana standing in front of him definitely wasn't helping.
"Puckerman," Santana said by way of greeting. Without waiting for an invitation, Santana pushed her way past Puck and into the house. It didn't take very long for Puck to realize that Santana wasn't her normal, confident self. She was actually quite pale and she was even shaking.
"Santana?" Puck said slowly. "Are you okay?"
Santana shook her head slowly. "I… I, uh…"
Now Puck was even more concerned, because it wasn't like Santana Lopez to be this unsure. He took a step closer to hear, reaching out a hand in order to comfort her. At the last second, he seemed to think better of it and let his hand fall back to his side. Santana took a deep breath and lifted her head, looking Puck directly in the eye.
"I think I might be pregnant."
Not for the first time that week, Puck felt like everything he knew had suddenly become ass-backwards. "I'm sorry, what was that? I don't think I heard you right just then. I could have sworn you said that you might be pregnant."
"I did say that," Santana retorted. "I think I might be."
"Well…" Scrambling for every piece of information Puck had ever learned in health class, he finally asked, "Have you taken a test? Have you gone to the doctor?"
Santana reached into her purse and pulled out a little plastic bag. "I took a pregnancy test. It was positive. You can look at it if you don't believe me."
Puck cast a look of disgust at the used pregnancy test. He believed Santana and he didn't necessarily need to see the test she had peed on. Although, he wasn't surprised that Santana had brought it. That was more like her, for sure.
"No thanks. I believe you," Puck told her. He could kind of hear the blood rushing in his ears, because it was suddenly hitting him: he was seventeen years old and his ex-girlfriend could be pregnant. "But you should go to the doctor just to be sure."
"I have an appointment scheduled for tomorrow." Santana shifted her weight back and forth and inspected her nails. Without looking Puck in the eye, she said, "You can come if you want."
Puck was taken aback by that offer. But he didn't have to really think about it to know that he should be there. More than anything, all he could think about was his mom and how she didn't have his biological father there to support her. He was on the very edge of having a rather large freak out, but he had to get a grip on himself.
"Okay," Puck said quietly. "I'll go."
Santana looked just as surprised as Puck. A beat passed where they just stared at one another, and the tension in the air was practically palpable. Then Santana slowly nodded her head and left with a wave of her fingers.
Anne came back from a grocery store trip just as Santana was leaving. The young woman paused long enough to say hello before she left the Puckerman property completely. Anne stared between Santana and her son, who had just appeared to help her carry the bags in.
"Puck?" Anne asked carefully. "Is everything alright?"
Instead of answering, Puck just headed to Anne's car and carried the rest of the grocery bags in. Anne followed, her concern for her son mounting further. When he tried to leave the kitchen, Anne blocked his escape easily.
"Noah Puckerman," Anne said firmly. "Tell me what's wrong right this instant."
To her surprise, Puck looked up with eyes that were glassy with tears. He sucked in a deep, shuddering breath and raised a shaky hand to his face. He rubbed his fingers over his eyes, and Anne reached up to grasp her son's shoulders. Puck very rarely ever let himself get this emotional.
"Mom… Santana thinks she might be pregnant." And then Puck started to cry, ducking down to rest his head on his mother's shoulder.
Anne stood frozen for several long moments. She slowly raised her arms to wrap them around Puck, but her face remained completely blank. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she closed her eyes.
All she could think was that she hadn't wanted this for her son.
Ever since Chris had moved out, the mood in the Hudson house had become a million times lighter. There was warmth and laughter, and that was only with Carole and Finn in the house. Rachel enjoyed spending time there now. Plus, her fathers were glad that Finn wasn't constantly sneaking in her bedroom window anymore.
"Finn. Finn!" Rachel poked Finn in the side before he could get completely comfortable on the sofa. They were currently curled together in the living room, getting ready to watch a movie. But Rachel knew that within twenty minutes of the film starting, Finn would decide that he wanted a snack and would get up.
"Alright, alright. Come on." Finn climbed off the couch and then held his hands out to help Rachel. She slid her hands over his large palms and curled her fingers around his. She jumped up to press a kiss to Finn's cheek, and he grinned at her.
Together, they made their way into the kitchen. Finn got some pretzels and popcorn out, and Rachel began to search the cabinets for some bowls. When she opened one cabinet and saw that the bowls were on the very top shelf, she scowled and turned to face Finn.
He leaned against the counter and smirked at her, and Rachel pouted. When he continued to stand there, Rachel let out a huff and spun back around to figure out how to get the bowls down. Finn thought it was hilarious that he was so much taller than her. So when she had to try and reach things on high shelves, he let her struggle for a few moments.
Besides, Rachel knew that he was definitely checking her out. So she didn't have too much to complain about.
Stretching up onto her tiptoes, Rachel raised her arms above her head and attempted to retrieve the bowl that way. Needless to say, that strategy failed to work. Short of climbing up onto the counter, Rachel knew there was no way she was going to get that bowl.
"Finn?" Rachel called. "Can you grab the bowl please?"
When she didn't immediately feel Finn come up behind her, Rachel looked over her shoulder to see what was keeping him. But then she found that his eyes were firmly glued to the back side of her body… and not because he was staring at her ass.
"Rach…" Finn choked out. "What… what is that?"
Rachel pressed her hand to the small of her back, where she knew the tattoo was. Then she turned around and tugged her shirt down for good measure. Leaning against the counter opposite Finn, Rachel said, "Nothing. It's nothing."
Finn stared at her with wide eyes. "That definitely doesn't look like nothing."
"You have a tattoo!" It was a weak argument, Rachel knew, but she would do anything to distract him. She hadn't meant to tell Finn about the tattoo just yet.
"It's not about the fact that you have a tattoo, Rach. It's about what it is."
"I just… I…" For once, Rachel was at a complete loss for words. "I wanted to get it, Finn."
Finn's voice was quiet. He wasn't angry or nervous, as Rachel feared he might have been. But she couldn't read the expression on his face either. "Why?" he asked softly.
"Because I always want to remember this," Rachel said honestly. She couldn't believe that they were having this conversation in the middle of Finn's kitchen. Then again, things hadn't really been turning out the way Rachel expected them too lately. "I want to remember the way I feel right now. I want to remember the way you make me feel."
Finn stared at her for a long moment. Then, to Rachel's surprise, he held out his hand. "Can I see it?" he asked.
Rachel hesitated for the briefest of seconds before she laid her hand in Finn's. He gently tugged her towards him before he turned her around. Slowly, he lifted her shirt up just enough to reveal the small tattoo on Rachel's back. Several beats passed where Finn didn't say anything, and Rachel almost couldn't bear the silence. Then Finn pressed his fingers to Rachel's back, where the tattoo was.
"I love you."
He said it so softly that Rachel almost missed it. She whipped around in Finn's arms, and her shirt fell back into place. She stared up at Finn with wide eyes and opened her mouth, but it was as if she had lost the ability to speak.
And then Finn smiled. He brought a hand up to cup Rachel's cheek, sliding his fingers into her hair. "I love you," he repeated.
"Oh Finn." Rachel's heart soared and she felt a tingling warmth spread throughout her body, all the way to the tips of her fingers and toes. "I love you, too."
Finn grinned at her—the truly happy smile of someone who had found everything they didn't know they were looking for. He wrapped his arms around Rachel's waist and hauled her against him, hoisting her up so that he could press his lips to hers.
Rachel smiled against his lips and allowed Finn to carry her back into the living room. Even though they were headed towards the couch, Rachel had a feeling that they weren't going to spend very much time watching the movie.
Puck felt like he was doing everything in a trance. He couldn't stop thinking about Santana and how she might very well be pregnant. They had gone to the doctor's together the day before, but Puck had remained in the waiting room while Santana had gone with the doctor.
And through all of this, Puck had barely talked to his mother. She was struggling, Puck knew that much. So he was going to do his best and pretend like nothing had changed.
Apparently, his best wasn't good enough. He caught Quinn's eye as he made his way across the courtyard. She held his gaze, her eyes wide with worry. Puck wondered if Quinn knew anything about what was going on. He kind of doubted it, since Santana had made it very clear that she no longer had time for Quinn in her life.
Puck might have been in love with Quinn, but he hated that he destroyed a friendship that lasted for years and years. Santana and Quinn had been best friends and he had a huge hand in tearing the two girls apart. Now more than ever, Puck knew that he shouldn't have stayed involved with Santana while he was in love with Quinn. Because of his foolishness, Puck very well might have been dragging another innocent life into this.
"Noah! I've called your name multiple times in the last minute. Are you alright?"
Puck wasn't that surprised that he hadn't heard Rachel approach, let alone her calling his name. Rachel was holding a tray laden down with dishes, and Puck moved quickly to take them from her. She watched him with concerned eyes, and Puck tried to disappear into the back with the dirty dishes. He knew that look, but he wasn't in the mood for Rachel's twenty questions.
Of course, Rachel headed him off. She darted back behind the counter and cut Puck's path off towards the back. "Noah, what's going on?" Rachel asked in a gentle voice. "You know you can talk to me, right?"
Puck had decided that he didn't want to share with Rachel what was going on between him and Santana. Rachel was busy with Finn and her schoolwork and her tutoring, and Puck was ashamed that he had ended up in this situation in the first place. He didn't want to burden Rachel with his dramatic problems—not after she had put up with him seeing two girls at once.
Somehow, as it always did, the truth slipped out. "Santana thinks she might be pregnant."
Rachel's mouth formed an 'o' shape, and Puck was glad that he was holding the tray of dirty dishes because Rachel definitely would have dropped them. "What?"
Puck set the tray on the counter behind him and scrubbed his hands over his face. "Santana might be pregnant," he repeated. "I don't know. We went to the doctor's yesterday and we should find out for sure over the next couple of days, but…" Puck looked to the other side of the café, where Anne was taking a patron's order. "I haven't even really talked to my mom."
"She knows?" Rachel asked. If there was one thing that Anne had drilled into their brains, it was that they had to be careful with unprotected sex. As she had been a teen parent, she knew exactly what she was talking about. Anne had made it work and was a wonderful parent, but she wanted her son to have so much more than she had. Rachel knew that this had to be killing Anne.
Puck nodded his head. "She knows. We haven't talked about it."
Rachel threw her arms around Puck and hugged him tightly. Their lives may have been completely insane at the moment, but one thing would never change: Puck and Rachel would always be best friends, and they would always support each other. Puck was thankful for that.
The bell above the door to the café chimed, and Santana came in. Her eyes were surprisingly puffy, but she didn't have the same air of tension surrounding her that had been there for the past couple of days. Puck held his breath as Santana approached the counter.
"Tutor Berry," Santana greeted quietly. She sent a small smile Rachel's way, and Rachel returned it. For some reason, the Latina cheerleader liked her and had extended an offer of friendship towards her. Rachel certainly wasn't going to question it.
Turning towards Puck, Santana asked, "Do you think we could go somewhere and talk?"
Rachel picked up a small notebook and pencil, ready to head out onto the floor and take orders from the other customers in the café. She nodded at Puck to let him know she would cover his side. As she passed Santana, Rachel put a hand on her arm. "If you need anything, please let me know."
Santana gave Rachel an appreciative smile and then followed Puck into the back of the café. She wrung her hands and looked down at the floor, which was very unlike her. Puck wanted to be patient and wait until she was ready to talk, but he just couldn't do it.
"So?" he asked after several moments of silence passed and Santana didn't say anything. "Did you get a call from the doctor?"
"I did," Santana said. "I did, and… I'm not pregnant."
Relief immediately flooded Puck. His head dropped forward, and he exhaled a long, slow breath. When he finally looked back up at Santana, he saw that she was shockingly close to crying. "You know," Puck began. He stopped, thought long and hard about what he wanted to say, and then continued. "I would have been there for you. If you had been pregnant."
The last thing Puck wanted to do was be like Chris Hudson. If Santana had been pregnant, Puck would have done everything he could to make sure he was there for her. It would have been hard, but Puck refused to be an absentee parent.
Two tears slipped down Santana's cheek, and she nodded her head. "You hurt me, you know," she whispered.
The words cut at Puck. "I never meant to hurt you," he said in a voice that was just as quiet.
They stared at each other for a long moment before Santana spun on her heel and left.
Finn spun the football in his hands before he pulled his arm back and launched it towards Puck, who was standing at a fair distance down the field. They were currently at the River Park, and Finn had taken it upon himself to help Puck get back into the swing of practicing once again.
Puck's shoulder had healed enough for him to no longer wear a sling, but that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to play football; more importantly, he wanted to play in the football team. He had been pushing through the pain in order to train, and he had finally caved and asked Finn to help him.
Finn had been surprisingly helpful and had given Puck plenty of great tips. Puck wasn't playing like he had been before, but he was learning to work around that. What was even more interesting was now that Puck and Finn were actually working together in practices, they were playing better than ever as a team.
(When Rachel found out about that little fact, she walked around with a very smug look on her face for days. She took credit for Finn and Puck's civil, friendship-type thing. And Beiste let her take credit for it, which didn't help to deflate Rachel's ego at all.)
"You might want to be careful with that shoulder. It would be a shame if you got injured again."
Both Puck and Finn froze. Turning, they saw Chris approaching them from the parking lot next to the River Park. Finn rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, taking up a defensive stance.
He was happy. Actually, completely and utterly happy. He refused to let Chris ruin any of that. Finn felt that he was finally at a good place in his life, and Chris had no business meddling. Finn knew that he wasn't going to let Chris do that to Puck, either. He was done letting Chris manipulate their lives.
It seemed that Puck had the same mindset. "Thanks, but no one asked for your opinion."
"Speaking of things that haven't been asked for, have you talked to your mother lately?"
Puck's eyes narrowed. He never wanted to hear Chris talking about his mother. The man wasn't good enough to be around her, let alone speak her name.
"Dad," Finn said evenly. Chris was simply here to start something, because that's the kind of person he was. He was trying to create a problem and Finn was going to do his best to make sure that didn't happen.
Chris ignored Finn. "Your birthday is coming up, right? That means this is around the time of year I asked your mom for joint custody almost eighteen years ago."
The football slipped from Puck's hands. Chris, feeling as if his plan had been successful, smirked and left the River Park.
Silence stretched between the two brothers for several long moments. Finn decided that it was best to stay at a safe distance from Puck, just in case anger got the best of him. Finn didn't know what Chris was playing at, but Finn was very aware that he was the son Chris had chosen. Regardless in what had happened in the years since, that's how it played out.
"Are you going to…?" Finn began to ask, but Puck cut him off.
"No," Puck said harshly. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "No. I know the kind of person Chris is. My mom was right when she wouldn't let him have custody. I don't want that kind of guy in my life."
Puck stooped down and picked up the football. He spun it in his hands and then approached Finn across the expanse of field. He offered him the football.
"I'm sorry you had to grow up with someone like that," Puck told him.
Finn took the football and considered it a peace offering from Puck. "Yeah. Me too."
Rachel didn't think she would ever get over just how odd her life had become. She had a weird, quasi-friendship with Santana Lopez. She actually hung out on a semi-regular basis with head cheerleader Quinn Fabray. And to top it all off, Rachel was in love with Finn Hudson, the quarterback—and he loved her in return. Through it all, Rachel had kept her friendship with Puck and he was even friends with Finn now.
Life couldn't get any weirder than this.
And that was what Rachel was thinking about as she made her way over to the library table Quinn was sitting at. Rachel tapped her fingers on the tabletop to get Quinn's attention. The blonde looked up, startled at the interruption. She pulled her headphones out of her ears but nonetheless gave Rachel a welcoming smile and gestured for her to sit down.
Rachel didn't even bother to say hello, because she was on a mission and she had one goal in mind. "You like music, right?"
Quinn blinked in surprise. "Um... what?"
Rachel pointed an accusing finger in Quinn's face. "Don't try and lie to me. I've seen that record collection you have."
It was true. Rachel was completely thrown to find that Quinn had quite the impressive vinyl record collection. Rachel certainly hadn't expected the head cheerleader at Lima High School to have such a classic collection, but Quinn was very proud of it. Music was one of the things that had helped to facilitate their friendship.
"I guess you could say that I like good music," Quinn conceded. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I need your help." Rachel pulled a flyer from one of her color-coded folders and slid it across the table. Quinn picked it up and studied it, finding that it was an advertisement for a live music night at Anne's Cafe. "Anne wants to have it because she thinks it's a good way for us to bring money in. And we need some semi-decent acts to make sure we have a good group."
Quinn's eyebrow arched. "And you think I can help with that?"
"That's why I'm asking," Rachel said brightly. She gave Quinn an expectant look, and the blonde cheerleader laughed.
"Well, since I'm helping, can I make a suggestion?" Quinn held up the flyer that had nothing on it but the name, time, and place of the event. "You definitely need some better flyers."
Rachel made a face. "I'm not great really that great at drawing, and this was so last minute that we don't have time to design something on the computer."
Pushing back from the table, Quinn gathered all of her things. "Come with me," she said. "I have an idea."
They walked to the other side of the library. When Rachel saw Santana browsing through a rack of magazines, she raised her hand to wave as she assumed that she and Quinn were just going to keep walking. But then Quinn headed right towards Santana, Rachel gaped at her.
"Are you insane?" Rachel demanded. "Santana almost killed you in the courtyard and now you want to go talk to her?"
Quinn shrugged her shoulders and tried to look unaffected, but there was an uneasiness in her eyes. "It's been a few weeks since then." Her voice was sad and heavy; not talking to her best friend for such a long period of time was taking a toll on her.
"Quinn..." Rachel wasn't very sure about this. She didn't really want to referee another throw down between Santana and Quinn.
Quinn sighed heavily. "Look, Rachel. Santana is really good at drawing, and I think she'll be able to make some great flyers for Anne. If nothing else, she'd be willing to help you."
Without giving Rachel a chance to try and discourage her once again, Quinn marched right up to Santana and tapped her on the shoulder. Santana, who had pretty much been ignoring them since she noticed Quinn was around, glared darkly.
"What the hell do you want?" Santana demanded without any preamble.
Quinn held the flyer out towards her. "We need your help. Well, more specifically, Rachel and Anne need your help. These flyers need to be redesigned."
Santana looked at Quinn, then the flyer, and then at Rachel. Rachel nodded her head in encouragement. Santana's face relaxed a little bit, but she was still scowling when she took the flyer from Quinn. Santana scanned it and then pointed at Rachel.
"Did you make this?"
"Yes," Rachel admitted sheepishly. "But I'm not good at drawing!"
Santana actually smiled and shook her head. "Tutor Berry, this flyer is super shitty. I expected more."
"I just said that I couldn't draw!" Rachel defended.
"Whatever." Santana waved her hand. "Sure, I'll help out I'll have the flyers done by tonight and I'll bring them to the cafe."
Rachel let out a sigh of relief. Now she was going to have some kick-ass music and some great flyers, and Anne wasn't going to fire her for organizing a lame event (not that Anne would ever fire her, anyway). "Thank you, Santana," Rachel said.
"No problem, Tutor Berry," Santana responded. "Just remember this the next time I need help with my math homework."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'm not letting you cheat off of me, Santana. That completely defeats the purpose of being a tutor." She laughed when Santana stuck her tongue out at her. Despite Quinn's presence, Santana actually seemed as if she was in a good mood.
Until Quinn spoke directly to Santana, that is.
"Thank you," Quinn said softly. She didn't know why she said anything at all. It was probably because she missed talking to Santana so much that she had to say something—anything—just to get some kind of response.
The smile immediately dropped from Santana's face and the scowl was back... but it wasn't dark as before. "Whatever," Santana said before she spun on her heel and stalked out of the library.
Rachel shook her head. Puck, Quinn, and Santana were bound to give her a complex one day. She didn't know how long the rest of them could go with watching those three dance around one another. When Rachel saw that Quinn was grinning, however, she shook her head in disbelief.
"Why are you smiling?" Rachel asked incredulously. "Santana definitely just blew you off."
"This has to be the first time in two weeks that she hasn't called me a slut!" Quinn exclaimed gleefully.
Rachel shook her head again. Honestly, this couldn't get any weirder.
When Santana headed into Anne's Cafe later that night to drop off the flyers, she discovered that Quinn was already there and was looking over the set list with Rachel. Santana debated just leaving the flyers on the counter and walking away, but she knew she couldn't actually do that.
On the plus side, she was probably interrupting whatever it was that Quinn was saying. So Santana squared her shoulders and walked confidently over to the counter. She slapped the flyers down on top of the marbled counter top and then gave Quinn and Rachel an expectant look.
Rachel turned the sheets of paper towards her and gasped when she saw the artwork on the front. They were all hand-drawn and beautifully colored with bright designs that were very eye-catching. The placement of the Anne's Cafe logo was prominent but still fit in with the rest of the ad. Rachel had no idea that Santana was this talented.
"Santana, these are amazing!" Rachel exclaimed. She flipped through the pile to get a look at the rest and then pushed them towards Quinn so she could see them. "Seriously, I don't know how to thank you for this. You totally saved my butt."
Santana smiled genuinely. She loved drawing, and she was glad that she had been able to help out. Despite the fact that she was no longer dating Puck, Santana still looked up to Anne and wanted to assist in whatever way she could. And there was also the fact that Anne probably wasn't too fond of Santana because she almost made her son into a teenage father. Even so, Santana hoped that Anne wouldn't be angry with her for too long.
Santana's parents weren't around that much. More often than not, they were out on some business trip and left an au pair to take care of Santana. Now that she was seventeen, Santana could at least be on her own for most of the time. But she was used to not having too much parental supervision, let alone guidance. In the time that Puck had been in the hospital, Santana had got to know Anne and really felt as though the older woman wanted to look out for her.
Pushing those melancholy thoughts away, Santana said, "You can just give me a free dinner or something."
Rachel picked up the pile of flyers and moved them so that they were behind the counter and out of the way. She picked up a dishrag and flung it over her shoulder. Smiling at her two friends, she said, "Well, it looks like I have to get back to work." Looking meaningfully between the two former best friends, Rachel added, "You two should talk."
Quinn held her breath and waited to see what Santana would say. The Latina cheerleader stared after Rachel with a look of complete and utter disbelief on her face before her shoulders slumped and she jutted her thumb towards the door.
"Want to go for a walk?" Santana asked.
Quinn nodded her head. She couldn't believe that she was actually going to get to talk to Santana, let alone that she hadn't started yelling at her yet. The pair left the cafe with obvious tension hanging between them.
Suddenly, Santana blurted, "I thought I was pregnant."
Quinn drew up short and gaped at her friend. "What?" she sputtered. "Pregnant?"
"I'm not," Santana was quick to say. "But there was about a week or so when I thought that... I mean, I could have been." Unapologetic, she bluntly stated, "It would have been Puck's. If I had been."
Quinn's heart dropped and her throat tightened. She spent so much of her time trying not to think about Puck and how much she missed him and how much she wanted to be with him. She just couldn't do it—not if she was going to lose her best friend over it.
"He freaked the hell out," Santana continued. "But I expected that. He actually even said that he would help me take care of the baby and all, but... it's a non-issue now."
"Are you… are you okay?" Quinn asked. She didn't think she had ever seen Santana so subdued before. Whatever happened between Santana and Puck had really shaken her up, and Quinn hated to see her best friend like that.
Santana shrugged her shoulders. "I would have been better if my best friend had been there with me."
"Santana…"
Santana held her hand up. "Going through all of that made me realize that doing it without you sucked. We let a boy get between us and that was wrong. We should have known better than that."
"You're right." Quinn nodded her head and decided that it was safe to move closer to Santana. "Of course your right. It's always been us against the world and we let things get too messed up for too long. Do you… do you think that we could be friends again?"
"I doubt that we could go back to the way things were," Santana said honestly. "But… we could try being friends again."
Quinn relaxed and smiled. Her heart might still have been broken because of Noah Puckerman, but things didn't seem quite as bad now that she had her best friend back. And she had some new friends too, thanks to Rachel.
Santana held her arm out and Quinn linked arms with her. "Come on," Santana said. "Let's head back before Tutor Berry comes looking for us because she's worried that we killed each other."
Quinn laughed, and together they walked back to the café. There was nothing like having some really good friends that were there for you.
Finn slid his arms around Rachel's waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She smiled and sank back against him. So far, the open mic night at the café was a great success. It seemed as if most of Lima was there, and they were all enjoying themselves.
"Think you could escape for a few minutes?" Finn murmured in her ear.
Rachel turned to look at her boyfriend over her shoulder. His amber eyes were twinkling, but he didn't elaborate on what his plans were. So Rachel nodded her head and took the hand that Finn offered. He led her out of the café and into the cool night air. Even though it was late fall, it was still warm enough out.
Rachel immediately took note of the cloudy skies. "Finn, I think it's going to rain," she told him.
Finn grinned at her and pulled her close, pressing his lips to hers just as the skies opened up overhead. Rachel giggled and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, pressing herself as close to him as she could get.
When Finn pulled away, he pressed his forehead to hers. "I could love you forever, you know," he told her over the sound of the rain.
Rachel grinned and gripped Finn's wet shirt tighter in her small hands. She didn't think it was possible to be this supremely happy. "I love you too, Finn."
"I mean it, Rach," Finn said. "I know that we're young, but… you just know what something like this happens."
Rachel's stomach swooped at the implication of Finn's words. "Finn… Oh my God." Her head was spinning, and what made her even more surprised was the fact that she was actually considering what Finn was saying.
Finn's hands tightened on her waist. He kissed her again, and there was something different about this one. It was so full of love and tenderness, and it really was like he was giving her the promise of forever.
When Finn pulled back, he gave Rachel that half smile that she loved so much. "So why can't forever start today?"
For once, things had been relatively lacking in drama in Lima. Despite the fact that they had all been in once place at the café during the open mic night, things had gone smoothly. Puck, Santana, and Quinn had remained civil and said hello to one another.
Puck did smile when he remembered how Quinn and Santana were laughing together during one of the sets. Even though things had been painful, it was good to see that they were friends once again. Some good had come from all of this.
Puck had spent the rest of that night hanging out with Finn and Rachel after they had come in from the rain. Puck didn't ask what they had been doing outside, and frankly, he didn't want to know. Thinking about his best friend and his brother being in a relationship kind of weirded him out a little bit.
That was something else. Puck couldn't believe that he was actually thinking of Finn as his brother now. But it was actually happening. And it may have weirded him out, but Puck also knew that Rachel was in good hands with Finn. Puck actually trusted Finn with Rachel. Things were so much more different now than there were at the beginning of the year.
That statement was further proven when Puck found himself at the front door of the guest house on the Hudson's property. The divorce between Carole and Chris was going to go through today, so Rachel had called Puck and told him that they were going to try and distract Finn.
Puck knocked on the door, and it was a few moments before Finn answered it. He pulled it open as he was trying to put a shirt on at the same time, and Puck shook his head.
"Dude, please don't tell me that I interrupted something," Puck said. "I don't need to think about you doing that with my best friend."
Before Finn could say anything, Puck caught sight of Rachel walking through the living room of the guest house wrapped in nothing but a bed sheet. She found a hoodie of Finn's hanging on a hook and disappeared back into the bedroom.
Finn stepped aside and allowed Puck to come into the guest house. He rubbed the back of his neck and made sure that he wasn't anywhere near hitting distance. Thankfully, it didn't take Rachel very long to come out of the bedroom, now clad in Finn's sweater.
"Hi, Noah!" Rachel said brightly. She tucked herself into Finn's side and wrapped her arms around him. Despite Finn's nervousness at what Puck was going to say, he relaxed completely with Rachel and smiled down at her.
"Rachel, what the hell is this?" Puck asked. He knew exactly what had happened between Finn and Rachel. He might have trusted Finn with Rachel, but this was a big step to take in a relationship. Rachel had certain beliefs and he had a hard time believing that they would be compromised that easily.
That serene, utterly happy smile still hadn't left Rachel's face. "Finn and I have something to tell you, Noah," Rachel began. Finn wrapped his arms around her shoulders and grinned, no longer worried about what Puck would think. Having Rachel by his side was all that mattered.
Puck looked between his brother and his best friend, unsure of what was about to happen. "What's going on?"
Rachel held up her left hand, revealing a sparkling diamond ring around her third finger. "We got married!"
Yes, I went there. The fact that Nathan and Haley got married in high school and made their relationship work was one of my favorite parts of the show. I knew from the planning stages of this story that I was going to go in this direction. And now we're officially finished with season one!
Also, it's my birthday tomorrow (this is me, totally disbelieving that I'm turning 21). I'm just saying. :)