Fic: Starlight, Chapter 30 by Sapphire (PG-13)

[sapphireej]

Title: Starlight, Chapter 30
Author: Sapphire (sapphiresfic)
Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Rachel, Puck, Rachel/Puck, the Glee clubbers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 6,051
Spoilers: Up to 1x22 ~ Journey; just to be safe
Series: 'Starlight' (List of all the parts on my LJ)
Summary1: He's the star who just wants to be a high school student; she's the loser, who dreams of her name in lights on Broadway... When they meet at WMHS on the first day of a new school year; how will they take each other? ~ AU from the eps.
Summary2: Everyone returns to Lima to get back to their normal lives, but Crystal has other plans.
Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: I edited this chapter, so all mistakes are mine.
A/N2: Feedback keeps me writing, so please comment or review. :D

~*~

A/N3: Keep in mind, within this AU... There is no Puck/Quinn, no Finn/Rachel, Quinn is NOT pregnant at all, Puck's dad never left when he was a kid and Puck will be OOC so yes, totally AU, though you'll see similarities to the episodes.

~*~

As the celebration ended after midnight on the first day of the new year, the Puckerman's guests began to leave, until it was just those staying at there, but no one got to sleep until after three because they were helping pick up the condo.

At his phone howling just after eleven in the morning, Noah's hand reached out and grabbed it off of his nightstand and answered it, "hey Taylor."

"Hey man, rough night?" He laughed lightly.

"Just didn't get to sleep until after three," he murmured.

"Wow, we left at one and thought you guys were going to bed just after that," Taylor commented.

"Well, we were, but then we helped clean up more so we had less to do today and the next thing we knew it's after three," Noah admitted, "are you guys at the airport?"

Taylor sighed, "yeah, we are. This sucks. I don't wanna go back to Cali yet."

"I know how you feel," he agreed, "back to the grind for me soon, too."

"Why can't we vacation longer?"

Noah laughed, "the longer we're gone, the harder it is to get back to real life."

"True," Taylor agreed, "we're boarding our plane soon, so I wanted to call and say 'bye'. I mean, I know I'll see you soon, but you know what I mean," he explained with a laugh.

"Yeah man, I get ya. Have a safe flight and talk to you soon. I'll pass the message on to everyone," Noah replied.

"Alright, thanks, Noah. Take it easy. I'll call you later," Taylor replied.

"Will do, later Taylor," Noah said hanging up the phone and settled back under the covers, with his arms around his girlfriend.

"Taylor leaving?" Rachel asked softly.

"Yeah, they're at the airport getting ready to leave," he said, "he says, 'bye'," he added.

"Okay," she replied, "it was nice that he came for New Year's Eve. It's no fun that he has to leave so soon, though."

"I know and Demi, Joe and Nick were leaving around this time too," he glanced back at his phone and saw 'goodbye' text messages from them, so he sat his phone back on the nightstand, "and they did also," he added.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Almost eleven-thirty," he told her pulling the blankets up over them some more.

"I didn't think we'd sleep this late," she admitted.

"Late?" He laughed, "I was thinking about going back to sleep for a while," he murmured.

"Oh alright, well, I guess we could, but we have a lot to do..."

"It'll get done," Noah promised, "just an hour or two more," he told her.

She giggled, but kissed his cheek and settled against him, "okay, just a little longer."

Noah smiled and tugged her close and kissed her forehead, "thank you."

~*~

No one in the condo really got out of bed until after noon and the day was spent packing and helping pick up the place, so when they returned next, no one sure when that would be, the place would be clean.

Noah and Rachel, when they finally got up, finished the last little bit of homework and worked on packing up their belongings, on top of spending their last bit of time with their friends and family before they returned to their lives back in Lima.

Having dinner out that night with Burt, Kurt and Ryan, they enjoyed the night and Ethan had managed to switch Burt, Kurt and Ryan's flight from a later Saturday one, to the same one everyone else was going back on and also got them first-class seats; it helped being the 'manager' of 'Puck' when scheduling things like that.

~*~

Saturday, the second of January, just after nine in the morning, the limo pulled out of the parking garage, of the Puckerman's condo and Rachel was sad to leave, but was also ready to get back home, to their routine. She and Noah knew it would be extremely difficult to be apart at night, but the sooner they were back, the sooner they could get used to the fact that they were teens, living with their parents and sleeping together was a treat, not something they could do every night, so the past few weeks spent together were extremely special to them.

Driving a short distance, they pulled up in front of the hotel that Burt, Kurt and Ryan were staying at and Ethan went into the lobby to meet them and after loading their bags into the trunk, the four men slid into the back, found seats and soon they were off to the airport.

In the traffic, it took a while to get there, but as they finally arrived just after ten-am, everyone savored their final moments in New York as they gathered up their luggage and moved to check-in and though their airline's desk wasn't busy, once everyone got their tickets and moved to the security lines, they found where it was busy and they were all glad they had plenty of time before their flight.

~*~

Leaving New York at noon, their flight landed at the Columbus airport just after two in the afternoon and it was almost three by the time the large group had their bags and were on their way to their cars. Burt, Kurt and Ryan said 'bye' to them in the parking garage, since they were parked on a different level and so did Carole, Quinn and Finn, leaving the Puckermans and Berrys to continue onto their cars, that were parked next to each other. Once they arrived and got them loaded, they were finally ready to return to Lima.

"I guess I'll head back with my family," Noah commented softly, "that way you guys don't have to make a special trip out to our place to drop me off," he explained sadly.

Rachel nodded and slipped her arms around him, "I suppose that's the best; we don't mind, but I understand," she admitted.

Noah hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead, and when she pulled back slightly, they shared a long kiss, "I love you," he whispered.

She smiled at him, "I love you, too, Noah," she replied, "miss you."

"I'll miss you more," he murmured, kissing her again and reluctantly letting her go, knowing their families were waiting for them.

~*~

Returning to Lima after dark, the families called to check in with their friends who had come back to Ohio with them and slowly they all began to unpack and get back to their lives.

The first night back was not easy for Rachel and Noah. They were so used to the second person in their bed that they spent a lot of time tossing and turning during the night, looking for the extra warmth, but they could never find it, making them realize they were home and that was a luxury they would have to do without for a while.

Waking up Sunday, Noah called Rachel when he got up, knowing she'd already be up and they talked for a while as both began to unpack their luggage, but reluctantly hung up with each other after a while to finish, do their last bit of homework and prepare for school the next day.

As Monday arrived, Noah drove over to his girlfriends house like usual for a Glee day and as he parked in front of her house, she and her dads were just walking out, so he got out of his SUV and walked around it, waved at her dads and wrapped his arms around her, "good morning, babe," he smiled, kissing her.

Rachel tightened her arms around him for a brief moment and smiled, "good morning, Noah. I really missed you."

"I missed you, too. We're gonna have to revamp our plans or something, because this whole sleeping arrangement is not gonna work," he smirked, pulling open the passenger door for her.

"I agree," she admitted, climbing up into the passenger seat.

Once she was in her seat, he closed the door and moved back around to his side and slid in, leaning over to kiss her, "we could have sleepovers a few nights a week," he smirked. "Like Sunday and Wednesday at least," he commented seriously.

Rachel looked at him, "why those days specifically?"

"We have Glee Mondays and Thursdays and I always pick you up those days, so if I stay the night at your place the night before, we could go to school together the next morning," he explained, starting the engine and pulling away from the curb.

She smiled, "I'd like that. Maybe we should speak to our parents," she commented, relaxing back into the seat as he drove to school.

"Awesome," he smiled, "we will, soon," he agreed.

~*~

Getting back to the grind of school, no one, students or staff, wanted to be there, but as the end of the day finally rolled around and Glee started, the teens spent some time talking about their break and everyone was shocked to find out about Rachel being in Noah's video. Their friends began asking questions and Noah and Rachel happily answered as many as they could and while they were talking, Ethan held up a blank DVD case, "now that you've heard about it, you guys want to watch it?"

"When did you get that?" Noah asked shocked.

"Elliott gave it to me on Thursday, but we were all focused on packing that I forgot about it until last night and figured you'd want to show it to your friends," he explained.

Noah nodded, "yeah, I do!" He replied, hopping up to get the disc and moved over to the TV to turn it on and put the video in the DVD player. Hitting play, he moved back to his spot next to Rachel and took her hand in his.

As the ocean appeared on the screen and the music started, the video began just as it had been said, Noah surprising Rachel and the rest of the video was of them together, just has it had been recorded and at the end, when their friends clapped and celebrated the wonderful video, Noah and Rachel hugged tightly, "that was amazing," Rachel told him with a bright grin, tears falling from her eyes.

"Yeah it was," he agreed, wiping her eyes as he smiled at her, "and it's only gonna get better from here. I love you, baby."

"I love you, too," she replied, hugging him tightly.

~*~

Tuesday passed uneventful, but Wednesday, Noah got confused; all throughout the day people would pass him and say 'good luck tonight' or 'I hope you win', so he just said 'thanks', but didn't have a clue why they were saying that and finally, as their last class ended and their teacher wished him luck, Noah thanked him, walked out of the room and looked at his girlfriend, "did I miss something?" He asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Rachel looked at him as they reached her locker.

"Would someone explain to me why everyone keeps wishing me luck?"

"You don't know?" Rachel giggled and looked at Kurt and Mercedes, "do you guys know why? I do," she replied.

Mercedes nodded and so did Kurt, "yes, we know," Kurt replied.

"Anyone care to share that with me?" Noah requested, getting frustrated.

"Tonight is the People's Choice Awards," she commented, "and you're nominated for 'Favorite Male Artist'," she explained.

"That's tonight?" Noah asked shocked, "I knew it was coming up, but I didn't realize it was tonight," he blushed.

"Obviously," Kurt laughed as he closed his locker.

"What's obvious?" Finn asked as he and Quinn joined them.

"Noah didn't know that tonight was the People's Choice Awards where he's nominated for an award," Rachel explained, slipping her arm around her boyfriend's waist once she closed her locker.

"Oh, really? I thought you did because you were thanking everyone," Finn replied.

"No, I was just being polite. I didn't have a clue. I mean I knew the awards were this month, but I didn't know they were tonight," he admitted.

"They are, and I hope you win," Rachel grinned, "you deserve it."

Noah blushed, "thanks babe. I'm not expecting to win; I'm up against Tim McGraw, Eminem and Jason Mraz; all good artists," he explained.

"You've beaten Eminem and Jason Mraz before," Tina commented.

"I know, but Tim McGraw? I've never been up against him before," he replied.

"Tim McGraw has won tons of awards; you deserve it. Besides, it's people's choice," Finn said, "you have a hell of a lot more fans than he does."

"Yeah, maybe," Noah admitted with a nod, "I guess we'll see tonight."

~*~

Noah and Rachel had both driven to school, so he followed her back to her place and parked behind her on the street. Grabbing his backpack and duffel bag from the backseat, he climbed out and met her on the sidewalk, "I'm so glad you didn't invite anyone over," he murmured, pulling her into a hug and kiss.

"Why?" She asked once they pulled from their kiss, "wouldn't you want to be around our friends?"

"Yeah, I would, but we already did that with an awards show. This time, I'd really like to enjoy it with you, your dads, and my parents and sister if they want to come over," he replied softly.

Rachel relaxed when he said that, "good, because they're already coming over," she said, "your parents and sister, I mean. I messaged them this afternoon and asked," she added.

"That's cool. Thanks," he smiled, following her into the house once she unlocked the door. "I'm gonna go drop my things off in your room."

"Okay. We should probably do our homework, so you can leave your backpack down here," she replied, moving into the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am," he winked at her, dropping his backpack off at the bottom of the stairs, before jogging up them and going into her room. Setting his bag on her bed, he laid his jacket next to it and headed back downstairs and grabbing his bag on the way, headed into the kitchen to find her already digging through the refrigerator for things for dinner. With her occupied, he laid his backpack down by her bag and sat down at the island, "you know, we don't have that much homework," he commented.

"I know," Rachel replied, moving from the fridge to set a bottle of water down for each of them and then began collecting vegetables for a salad, "but the sooner we have it done the better. I can't believe our parents are okay with you staying here a few nights a week and I don't want to give them any reason to not let us continue," she explained.

"We're not bad students, Rachel. I get what you're saying, but I think they know we're not going to slack off on our work," he told her.

She nodded, "I just want to make sure," she replied.

~*~

Rachel started dinner for them and between processes, she and Noah worked on and finished their homework. David arrived home around five and said his parents and sister would be over in an hour. Alan got there about five-thirty and after the two dads had changed, they helped set the table and as planned, Deborah, Ethan and Arin arrived just before six.

Having dinner together, Deborah was amazed and proud of Rachel for making everything by herself, and Rachel happily accepted the compliments. She wasn't used to them from others, aside from her dads, and it was also nice to have the stamp of approval from a mom; something she had never had before.

As eight-pm rolled around, everyone was seated in the living room with the TV set to the channel broadcasting the '36th People's Choice Awards' hosted by Queen Latifah.

The first award winner that Noah really paid attention to was when Miley won for 'Favorite Breakout Movie Actress'. He was also happy to find out that 'Favorite Movie' went to Twilight and Kristen, Robert and Taylor won for 'Favorite On-Screen Team'. There was a large break in between the next batch of awards he was focused on, glad that Taylor Swift beat Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Carrie Underwood for 'Favorite Female Artist'.

As more and more awards were given out, finally they were nearing the end of the show and when two actors came out on stage, they said they were presenting the award for 'Favorite Breakout Movie Actor', and clips were shown of each of nominee as their name was read by the announcer and when the presenters appeared on the screen again, they wasted no time in moving to the next step, "...and the winner for 'Favorite Breakout Movie Actor' is...(2)" The male presenter opened up the envelope and before he could say the name, the female presenter began jumping up and down in excitement and exclaimed, "Taylor Lautner! (2)"

Everyone in the room and in the audience cheered for him as he was shown, stunned in his seat for a moment before slowly standing up and walking towards the stage. As he made his way up there, they panned over the audience, showing Taylor Swift and her mom standing up clapping for Taylor. (2)

"She's so not over him," Rachel grinned.

"He's not over her, either," Noah agreed, pulling out his phone.

On screen, Taylor took the award and shook hands with the presenters before moving to the microphone, the fans in the audience, still screaming, echoing all over the place. "Wow," he started, blushing lightly, "thank you... Thank you so much... Oh, there's a lot of you out there... Um..." He paused again to let the screaming fans settle down a little, "this, uh, this really means a lot to me. This is, this is my first People's Choice, um... And it wouldn't have happened without you guys, the people, so thank you so much. You've done so much for me and, uh... I just can't thank you enough. Um, thank you to the cast as well, the crew, and uh, Summit Entertainment, but most of all, you guys. Thank you. (2)"

The show went to a commercial after Taylor's acceptance speech, so it gave Noah a chance to send him a message congratulating him, not expecting a reply, and after the awards returned to the TV, he put his phone away and relaxed, knowing his award should be coming up and sure enough, Queen Latifah introduced two more presenters, an actor and an actress and as they reached the microphone, she started first, "the men that you nominated for your 'Favorite Male Artist' tonight, represent the full spectrum of popular music (3)."

"Just when you thought Eminem and [Tim McGraw] had nothing in common (3)," the male presenter added with a laugh.

"Your nominees for 'Favorite Male Artist are: (3)" the female presenter concluded.

As a clip was showed of each Tim McGraw, Eminem, 'Puck', and Jason Mraz, their name was said and fans in the audience screamed for their favorite and Noah seemed to have the loudest fans, which caused him to blush.

Rachel took his hand and smiled, "good luck," she whispered.

He smiled at her, "thanks."

The cameras went back to the two presenters on stage, now holding the award itself, and the man started this time, "and the winner is..." He paused to open the envelope and as the female looked inside she got excited, much like Taylor's female presenter had and they both said the winner out loud, "Puck!"

Noah jumped up and grinned, "yes!"

"Puck was unable to attend tonight's ceremony, but accepting on his behalf is his friend, Taylor Lautner," the announcer said as the cameras panned to Taylor in the audience.

Rachel stood up and wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed him, "congratulations," she murmured.

"Thanks," he smiled happily, hugging her tight as he watched Taylor walk towards the microphone.

"Thank you," Taylor smiled, "I know without a doubt he'd like to thank all of you who voted for him, his family, friends, girlfriend, his management and record companies and everyone who has helped make Puck a success, especially you, the fans," he motioned out towards them and got cheers in response, "you're the reason why he's getting this award. Thank you!" He called out, nodding at the cameras before turning and walking off stage.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Noah admitted, accepting hugs from his sister, his parents and her dads as they congratulated him, "thanks everyone," he grinned brightly; his smile unbreakable, "this is amazing. I love my fans! I love you guys," he told them all, pulling Rachel back into his arms and kissing her, "I love you, so much," he murmured against her lips and then kissed her again.

Rachel tightened her arms around him and smiled, "I love you, too. I'm so happy for you."

~*~

When Noah and Rachel arrived at school the next morning, Thursday, even though Noah was still not a morning person, his smile never faded as they walked through the school halls, getting congratulations from classmates and friends as they passed.

"Congratulations, Noah!" Carly, a curly red head, said from her locker across the hall, right next to Crystal's.

Noah and Rachel had paused at his locker and he turned around, "thanks Carly," he smiled at her, and nodded at Crystal.

"I'm really glad you won. I voted for you. I'm sure most of the school did, too," Crystal said calmly, trying not to glare at Rachel.

"I appreciate that," Noah said, nodding at some of the guys nearby who congratulated him. "It's Crystal, right?" He asked, vaguely remembering her from the autograph signing after his concert at school.

Crystal nodded, "yeah it is," she smiled.

"Cool," he finished switching his books out and closed his locker.

Carly moved across the hall to stand next to them and got a glimpse of Rachel's ruby and diamond Star of David necklace Noah had gotten her for Hanukkah, "Rachel, that's a pretty necklace you have," Carly commented, motioning towards it, "are those rubies?"

"Yes they are," Rachel nodded, reaching her hand up to brush against the charm, "thank you. Noah gave it to me for Hanukkah. They're my birthstone," she explained.

"I thought I recognized them. My birthstone is the ruby, too," Carly explained as Crystal joined them, "Crystal, look at that necklace. It's pretty."

"Yeah it is," Crystal politely agreed with a quickly glance at it, fighting the urge to reach up and rip the necklace from her neck. "Spoiled little brat," she thought, "I bet you told Puck to get that for you. You're just using him for his money."

Noah closed his locker and threw his bag over his shoulder, "well, I hate to leave, ladies, but we have to get to her locker and meet up with some friends. Would you like to join us?" He asked.

"No, we have to go the opposite direction," Crystal admitted, "but thanks for the offer."

"Alright, well, I'll see you in English, Carly. See you later Crystal," Noah said with a nod to them.

"It was nice talking with you girls," Rachel said, waving at them as the two took off in the opposite direction they were headed and then Rachel slipped her arm around her boyfriend's back and the two walked towards her locker to continue on with their day.

~*~

With Glee practice after school, the club really got down to business on the dances for their numbers for Regionals. They were familiar songs to them, so they didn't need to work as much on the vocals, but the choreography was what worried some, but everyone was trying to keep positive; they did have a month and a half until competition.

The last school day of the week arrived with Friday, their routines were back to normal. Rachel and Noah both drove to school and met at her locker and the day continued uneventfully. The couple spent the weekend together and Noah stayed at her place Sunday night so they could go to school on Monday together for Glee. During Glee, they continued to focus more on the dances and as choreography was agreed on and most were picking up the steps quickly.

Tuesday, January 12th, school was back to the normal grind. After classes were out for the day, Rachel went over to Noah's house, and while they were watching TV and doing their homework, a breaking news story interrupted their show to talk about the devastating earthquake that just happened before five-pm their time in Haiti. (4)

~*~

After an uneventful Wednesday at school, while Rachel stood with Noah as he dropped off some books and picked up others, she saw Carly and Crystal across the hall at their lockers, "hey girls," she waved at them.

"Oh hey, Rachel! How are you?" Carly asked, closing her locker.

"I'm alright. How about yourself?" Rachel replied.

"I could use a nap," Carly laughed, walking towards her, "so much homework and studying all of a sudden."

Rachel nodded, "yes, I have noticed that. The semester is over at the end of the month, so I'm not surprised, but it does make time to spend with friends and family limited," she added.

"Yeah it does," Carly agreed, noticing Crystal walking down the hall, "oh I better go catch up with her, talk to you two later!" She waved at them and dashed off to catch up with her friend, "Crystal, wait up!" Carly called out.

Crystal kept walking until she was out the doors of the school and then turned around, "sorry, you were busy talking, so I figured I'd just head out to the cars," she said.

"You could have stayed," Carly commented as they continued to walk towards the parking lot, "you usually do."

"I don't like Rachel, so why would I hang around her when I don't have to?"

Carly looked at her confused, "why don't you like her? She seems nice. Noah loves her."

Crystal rolled her eyes, "he thinks he loves her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carly asked, tugging her keys from her pocket.

"I don't trust her. Doesn't it seem a little funny that the first day of school, his first day back here, she and him get together and the next day they're an item? She probably saw him, offered him something he wanted and now she's playing the sweet, loving girlfriend, using him for his money, while he's so blinded by the puppy love," Crystal told her.

Carly's mouth fell open in shock at what Crystal said, "that's absolutely crazy. You don't even know her and you're making a lot of assumptions and accusations with nothing to back them up," she unlocked her car doors and opened the back long enough to throw her bag onto the seat and then closed it. "What the hell is your problem? Can't you just be happy for Noah?"

Crystal shook her head, "I don't have a problem. How can I be happy for him? He's going to get hurt and I don't want that to happen. He's blinded by this infatuation he has with her, but one day he'll wake up and realize she's just using him and he deserves better."

"She's not using him!" Carly hissed, "you have no proof!"

"Am I bursting your bubble about your new best friend?" Crystal asked curiously, "you don't have proof that she isn't using him, so why don't you go run along and believe what you want and I'll do the same. One day you'll see I was right," Crystal replied as she walked over to her black car.

"You're absolutely crazy!" Carly called out towards her, "you're wrong, by the way!" She finished.

"Whether I'm wrong or right, doesn't matter. Rachel will be out of the picture soon enough and then no one will have worry about her. Then I can have Noah all to myself," she thought, smiling evilly as she slid into her car.

~*~

After Glee practice on Thursday, Rachel and Noah returned to her house in his SUV and after doing homework and having dinner with her dads, Noah decided to go home to spend some time with his family before they went to bed. Saying 'goodnight' to her dads, Rachel walked Noah to the front door and they both went outside and walked to his SUV, where he tossed his bags into it and closed the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, baby," he said wrapping his arms around her.

"You will," she agreed, snuggling against him, "say 'hi' to your family for us," she replied.

"I can do that," he nodded, kissing her lovingly, "meet you are your locker tomorrow. I'm sure you'll beat me to school," he admitted.

She giggled lightly and nodded, "maybe, but yes, we'll meet at my locker. The club seems to meet there daily."

"Okay," he kissed her once more and held her tight, "I love you, Rach," he murmured to her, not wanting to let her go.

"I love you, too, Noah," she replied, tightening her arms around him briefly before reluctantly letting him go. "Good night," she added.

Kissing her once more, he smiled, "night, babe."

Rachel nodded and walked towards the porch as he got into his SUV and started it and she turned around just as he pulled away from the curb, so they shared a wave and once he was down the street, she went inside with a smile on her face, "if only we were older and could live together; then we wouldn't have to sleep apart. I miss him," she thought, a blush growing on her cheeks.

~*~

To: Rachel
From: (restricted)
Message: Hey babe! Wanna meet for a quick bite before school at the café on W. Elm Street on the outskirts of town at 7? - NP
Sent: Friday, January 15, 2010 6:03am

Rachel read the message from the blocked number and when she saw it was signed similar to her boyfriend, she figured he just forgot to put in his middle initial 'A'; he usually signed his text messages with 'NAP', "sounds good to me," she said out loud, and finished getting dressed in jeans, an red argyle print sweater and her favorite tennis shoes and headed downstairs to tell her dads she was meeting Noah for breakfast. After saying 'bye' to them, she headed out to her car and got in, going in the direction of the café the message was talking about; it was on the outskirts of town, but was quiet, so she expected he suggested that place because they had good food and it was more private than some of the busier places closer to school.
...
Crystal had been waiting in the shadows of the building for twenty minutes for Rachel to arrive. It was still dark out, so she was dressed in black, had a black ski mask pulled down over her face, gloves covering her hands and a single syringe with a sedative she planned to use on Rachel; she only hoped it worked as fast as her dad once said. Being the kid of pharmacists and visiting her parents at work, she has access to everything she needed to make sure Rachel wouldn't put up a fight, and thanks to some well formed questions regarding homework, she was able to get the name of the sedative hospitals used most often and the dosage and was now waiting for her to show up.

Ten to seven, she saw Rachel's car pull into the parking lot and once it stopped, she waited until Rachel was sliding out of her car before heading towards her, stealthily taking soft quick steps and while Rachel was digging around in her purse for something, she made her move, stepping up to her, throwing her left arm around her upper arms, causing Rachel to drop her bag as she screamed loudly, "I see you got my message, Rachel," she hissed, stabbing the needle into Rachel's neck as she tried to struggle free, but Crystal's strength overpowered her and as the needle's contents emptied into Rachel, Rachel continued to scream, "no one can hear you. It's too early for anyone to be around. Thanks for parking next to my car. It makes this so much easier," Crystal laughed as Rachel continued to struggle.

Rachel was in severe panic mode, absolutely terrified; she knew she'd been given something because she felt the pin-prick in the side of her neck and the sting as the needle was pulled from her skin, "what did you do to me? What do you want? Who are you?" Rachel heard the plastic of the needle falling to the cement and a second arm went around her, "let go of me!" She tried to push the arms away, vaguely recognizing the voice, but she started to lose focus on her surroundings and her body started feeling tied and weak.

"I'm doing what every Puck fan has wanted to do since you got with him; get you away from him," she grinned, as Rachel's struggles got less and less as the sedative kicked in.

"What?" Rachel exclaimed, but it came out more like a gasping whisper as her arms and legs lost their fight and her body fell into a deep sleep.

Crystal smiled as Rachel's body went limp in her arms, "perfect," she thought, pulling out her own car keys and pressing the trunk button until the door popped open. She drug Rachel's lifeless body towards her black car, laying her body into the empty trunk. Once she was all the way in, she grabbed a single length of rope and wrapped it around her wrists, binding her hands behind her, just in case the drug wore off sooner than expected and then closed the trunk, successfully trapping her.

An alarm on her watch beeped, "shit!" She hissed and dashed for the driver's door, started her car and pulled out of the parking lot quickly, leaving Rachel's car in the empty lot, the door still open, her purse, keys, cell phone and the syringe laying where they dropped on the cement.

Speeding away, she continued out of town and with some turns here and there off the main road, she came to an old abandoned building surrounded by some trees, so it wasn't too out in the open. Pulling around the back where the only door was, she parked as close to it as possible. The door had a knob, but a hinged flap with a padlock was what kept it locked, and Crystal slipped her key into the lock and opened up the door, then went to get Rachel. Opening her trunk, she found her still completely out of it, so she pulled her out and managed to carry her lifeless body into the building and over to a divided off area from the door. Laying her down on a blanket, she untied her hands, but quickly picked up a set of cuffs that were welded together so it forced the wearer's wrists together and padlocked them on her, binding her hands in front of her this time and double checked the lock, making sure it was secure in holding the cuffs on the heavy metal chain bolted to the wall and then pocketed the keys.

She had been planning this for some time and once she found the building, she stashed some dry food and water there, so she grabbed a bottle of water and some crackers and left them near Rachel, so she could eat when she woke up; she wanted Rachel out of the way; but she wasn't inhumane. "When Puck and I are together and he's fallen in love with me, I may release you, but until then, consider this your new home," she said out loud, even though she knew Rachel couldn't hear her.

Checking her out to make sure she didn't have anything stashed in her pockets, she smiled, "sorry to tie you up and run, Rachel, but I have to get to school," she laughed, standing up and headed for the door, locking up and heading off to school like nothing happened.

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(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/36th_People%27s_Choice_Awards
(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_R_Y7E8SlE
(3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbEvwtX23CY
(4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake

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A/N4: This is the drama that I've been hinting at. I've been planning this for a while and I've wanted to get writing it for some time. I know this is a cliffhanger and I'm sorry for that, but I'm working on the next chapter and I'm trying not to leave you guys hanging for too long. Review and let me know what you think!
A/N5: For those of you who don't remember Carly, she was introduced in chapter 23 during Noah and Taylor's autograph signing at McKinley. Noah knew Carly from his English class and is best friends with Crystal.
A/N6: There are a few things that were mentioned in this chapter that you may wonder why I brought up, but I did because they go along with things that will be happening later on, so I'm hinting at them now.
A/N7: I've been off the past week and a half with a sprained ankle and I've been trying to write as much as I can, which is why I'm posting an update to all my WIPs today. I go back to work in a few days and want to give you guys something before I do.
A/N8: Though in my previous postings, I didn't mention this, but I'll mention it now. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

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