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sapphireejAuthor: Sapphire (
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
sapphiresfic)Fandom: Glee
Pairing/Characters: Rachel, Puck, Rachel/Puck, the Glee clubbers
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 10,001
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 finds out what happened to Rachel and Crystal is stubborn.
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.
~*~
Noah headed into school just before seven-thirty Friday morning with his backpack over his shoulder and a coffee in his hand. Switching his books out at his locker, he headed towards his girlfriend's locker where the club usually met, since that's where he said he'd meet her and when he turned the corner and saw some of their friends and club members, he was surprised to see Rachel was not there, "hey guys," he said walking up to them.
"Hey Noah," Quinn waved, "where's Rachel?" She asked.
"I don't know. I was about to ask the same thing," he admitted, "when I left her place last night, she said she'd meet me here."
"She's not here," Kurt replied, "I haven't seen her all morning. Was she feeling okay? Rachel never misses school."
Noah pulled his phone from his pocket to see no missed calls or text messages from her, "she was fine," he assured them, "I'm going to go call her house. Maybe she's gonna be late," he replied, moving outside into a quieter area than the busy halls and called the Berry's.
"Hello?" Alan answered the phone, not looking at the caller ID.
"Hey Alan, it's Noah. Is Rachel around?" He asked.
"No, isn't she with you? She left about six-thirty to go meet you for breakfast," he replied.
"Six-thirty? I didn't get out of bed until seven, so I don't know how that would have worked," Noah said, "I haven't talked to her since last night."
Alan was silent for a moment, "well, she came downstairs, said she got a text message from you to meet for breakfast before school at seven. She said 'bye' and left," he glanced at the clock, "that was a little over an hour ago."
Noah took a deep breath, biting his lip, "I never sent her a text message. I got out of bed at seven; you can ask my dad that," he admitted.
"I believe you, Noah, it's just odd that she'd leave and lie about where she was going. Have you tried calling her?" He asked.
He shook his head, "no, I called the house because I figured she was at home. Do you want me to try calling her?"
"No, I'll call her. You worry about school. If I find out anything I'll let you know, okay?" Alan said calmly.
Noah sighed, but gave in, knowing school would start soon and Alan wouldn't let him skip school, "alright. Thanks. I hope she's okay," he admitted, a knot of worry growing in his stomach.
"Me too," Alan agreed, "you'll hear from me or your dad, soon," he promised.
"Okay," Noah said softly, unable to hide the worry.
Hanging up his phone, Noah took a deep breath before moving back to his friends, just telling them that Rachel had an appointment she forgot about; he didn't want to worry them if there was no need to.
~*~
Alan hung up the phone before he dropped it, worry building, "where are you Rachel? Where did you go?" He asked out loud, trying to calm down, but without the fear and worry disappearing, he picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone number, hoping to hear her answer, but on the third ring, it was answered by a strange man's voice. "Who is this and why do you have my daughter's phone?" He asked quickly.
"I'm Lieutenant Mike Adams with the Lima Police Department," he replied, "could you please tell me your name and your relation to the person you're calling?"
"Alan Berry and I'm calling my daughter Rachel Marie," Alan tried to say calmly, but he was fighting back tears.
"Sir, something has happened; we're not quite sure what's going on, but is there anyway you could come to the café on the outskirts of Lima, the one on W Elm Street?" He requested.
"Yes, I'm on my way," Alan replied, hanging up the phone quickly and grabbing his cell phone, pulling up Ethan's number and calling him and when he answered he took a deep breath, "Ethan, do you know someone by the name of Lieutenant Mike Adams with the Lima Police Department?"
"Yes, I know him well; he's one of my best friends, why?" Ethan asked completely confused.
"Something happened to Rachel and he has her phone," he told him where he wanted him to meet him, and sighed, "I don't know what to do."
"I just dropped Arin off at school. Do you want me to come get you and we'll go over there together?" He asked, "I know where that is," he explained.
"Would you?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, I will," Ethan said, "I'm not far away. I'll be there in like five minutes."
"Thank you," Alan sighed in relief, thankful that he didn't have to drive there on his own.
The two men hung up the phones and Ethan double timed it over to the Berry's house, not too far away from where he was and as he pulled up in front of the house, Alan walked out and jogged towards his SUV, pulled the door open and slid in, "thanks Ethan," Alan said hooking his seatbelt.
"No problem, I'm glad to help; what did you bring?" He asked, motioning to a folder.
"A couple pictures of Rachel, David and I that I know she has in her wallet, so if they try to say I'm not her dad, I've at least got those," he explained.
Ethan nodded, "good idea, but I don't think that will happen," he said, "what's going on, anyway?"
Alan spent the drive telling Ethan about Rachel going out to meet Noah. Ethan told him that was impossible because Noah didn't get up until seven, then Alan told him that Noah called from school wanting to know where Rachel was, which is when Alan realized something was going on. He called Rachel's number and that's when he talked to Mike. "Oh God," Alan groaned, seeing the parking lot of the café filled with police cars, surrounding Rachel's car.
Seeing the same thing Alan did, Ethan felt sick to his stomach as he pulled into the parking lot and parked near where Mike was standing and as the two men slid out of the SUV, Ethan pulled his badge from pocket and clipped it onto his belt, "Mike! What the hell is going on?" Ethan asked.
"Ethan? What are you doing here?" Mike asked in surprise.
"That's my son's girlfriend's car and I just picked up her dad," he motioned to Alan, "so I came to find out what's going on."
Mike looked at Alan, "Mr. Berry? I'm so sorry you had to find out the way you did," Mike stepped forward, "we got a call about five minutes to seven this morning by the manager of the café. She showed up and found your daughter's car here, the driver's door was open; her bag, wallet, keys and cell phone were on the ground by the door and this," he walked over to an SUV and picked up a syringe, "does your daughter take any medications that would require injections?"
"No," Alan shook his head, staring at the car, "what... where is she?"
"We don't know," Mike said sadly, "that's why I wanted you to come down here... What do you know?"
Alan told him the same thing he'd told Ethan and both men promised Mike that Rachel was a good student, a smart girl and never did drugs, so that syringe wasn't hers, "no one saw anything, and her wallet and money is still here, so it wasn't a robbery. You said that she got a message from who she thought was Noah?" Mike asked.
"Yes, that's what she told us."
Mike picked up a zip lock bag that had been sealed with her cell phone in it for evidence and through the plastic he pulled up the menu and found her messages and went to the most recent one and read it, "must have been this one. It's from a blocked number, but we might be able to find out where it was sent from," Mike said showing Ethan and Alan the message.
"Where's my daughter?" Alan flat out asked them, "who did this? Why her?"
"We don't know, but we will find her," Mike assured him.
Alan nodded, "What happened?"
"I could give you what I'm guessing happened, but we don't know for sure," Mike told him.
"What do you think happened?" Ethan asked.
"I think someone has been planning this for a while, sent Rachel that message to make her think it was Noah, so she'd come here. The café doesn't open until eight; that's why the manager didn't show up until seven. I think the person who sent the message probably knew that and was waiting for her and when your daughter got out of her car and was digging in her bag for something before she closed the door, the person came up behind her, grabbed her and stabbed her with the syringe, which, I'm guessing had some sort of sedative in it and then took her somewhere in another vehicle," he explained, "and as for who... Noah is pretty popular. Maybe they know she's dating him."
Alan put his head in his hands and tried to stay calm, but all he wanted to do was to wake up from the bad dream, "someone kidnapped my baby girl?"
"Alan, we don't know that for sure," Ethan said softly, "but it is possible."
"We will do everything we can and we will find your daughter," Mike assured Alan.
"Thank you," he nodded, "do you... is it really necessary to keep her car and her things or can I take them home?"
Mike shook his head sadly, "right now, I can't let you take them. Everything is evidence, and something may be able to lead to who took your daughter. I promise you, we will be very careful and once we've had an opportunity to look for evidence, you will be able to take them home."
Alan gave Mike a description of Rachel and what she was last wearing when she left home and he also supplied Mike with a picture. After a little more discussion, Alan and Ethan agreed they should tell David and Deborah, so once they were done at the café, Ethan drove them to the hospital where they worked. As Ethan parked in the visitor parking lot, he looked at Alan, who had been silent the whole way, "Alan, would you like to talk?"
"I know the police will do everything they can, but what if they can't find her? Someone took her from us... What if... What if they..."
"Alan, she's going to be fine. We'll get her back soon. Don't think the worst."
Alan sighed and nodded, "I know, I'm sorry, but I can't help thinking that she's out there... she could be hurt... or worse..."
"But you gotta have faith she's going to be alright," Ethan told him, "let's go tell David and Deb."
"Yeah. How are we going to tell Noah?" He asked softly. "You don't think someone is after Noah and they're starting with Rachel first, do you?" He asked quickly, realizing Noah could be in danger.
Ethan swallowed nervously, "I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it," he admitted softly, "I don't know," he said honestly, "let's... As soon as we tell Deb and David, some of us will have to go to the school to tell him," he said.
The two men got out and headed into the main entrance of the hospital and headed for the elevators, going up to the floor that Deborah and David worked on and once they arrived, they went to the nurses station and saw Deborah talking on the phone, so they waited for her and she waved at them, letting them know she saw them. When she hung up the phone she smiled at them, "hey, what are you guys doing here?" She asked curiously, surprised to see Alan and Ethan there together at that time of the morning.
"Hey babe, we need to talk to you and David. Is there someplace we can talk in private?" Ethan asked.
Seeing Alan not looking good, she realized something was up, so she nodded, "yeah, his office," she admitted motioning down the hallway, "I'll go get him and meet you in there," she said.
"Thank you," Alan said.
Deborah nodded and Ethan and Alan moved into David's office and once inside, Alan picked up a picture David had on his desk of them with Rachel, and wiped his eyes, "I hope whoever did this rots in hell," he muttered.
"They will," Ethan assured him.
"Alan, Hey Ethan, what's going on?" David asked curiously as he and Deborah walked into the office and she closed the door behind them.
"Some... Rachel... Noah didn't get up until seven this morning," Alan started, "he never invited her to breakfast... Someone... Where she went... Someone took her."
David's eyes widened as he tried to understand what Alan was saying, "slow down a second, sweetheart," he rested his hands on his husband's shoulders, "what are you talking about? Someone took our Rachel?"
Alan nodded, then grabbed a tissue and motioned to Ethan, "can you?"
Ethan took Deborah's hand, seeing she was tearing up, "apparently this morning, Rachel got a message from a blocked number inviting her to breakfast at a café on the outskirts of town. Rachel went out there thinking she was meeting Noah, but Noah got up at seven this morning and when he got to school and found out Rachel wasn't there yet, he called the house and talked to Alan. Alan called Rachel's phone and Mike Adams, my former partner, answered it and asked Alan to come to the parking lot. Rachel's purse, cell phone and keys were on the ground by the open driver's door and there was an empty medical syringe sitting there, too."
"Someone... someone planned to take our daughter? Why?" David asked, wiping his eyes as he hugged Alan.
"There are a few ideas and none of them are going to make one teenage popstar very happy," Ethan said softly, "Noah's going to blame himself for this happening to her."
"How did you two meet up?" David asked, slightly confused.
"I called Ethan once I hung up from calling Rachel's cell and asked him if he knew who Mike Adams was and then I told Ethan and he came over," Alan explained.
The four in the room were quiet for a moment and Deborah sighed, hating to ask, but she wanted to know they were all on the same page, "you don't blame Noah, do you?"
"No, of course not," David said honestly.
"Noah didn't touch her. He did nothing to hurt her. He didn't buy those bracelets if he didn't love her," Alan told them.
Deborah nodded in relief, "sorry, but I just... I wanted to make sure you guys didn't, because I know Noah will feel like this is his entire fault," Deborah's eyes then widened, "oh no! What if this is a way of getting to Noah, too?" She gasped.
Ethan rubbed her back and hugged her gently, "as soon as we leave here, I'm going to McKinley to tell him and he doesn't leave my sight until Tim and Alex get here," Ethan explained calmly. "I'm so worried about Rachel, and until we know more about why she was taken, I hate to sound like Noah is more important, because I do care about Rachel, too, but Noah has to be protected."
"We know you do," Alan told him, "we don't doubt you care for her. You have to protect your son. He could be the real target. I hope it's not, but you're right, until we know anything, he needs to be protected."
The four fell silent again and Ethan glanced at the time, "I need to get up to McKinley," he murmured.
~*~
Alan agreed to go to McKinley with Ethan, so Deborah and David finished up their work at the hospital and took the rest of the day off and put in for a few emergency family days and agreed to meet regroup at the Puckermans in a few hours.
On the way to the school, Ethan called Tim and Alex at the same time so they could hear the same thing and both men agreed to be on the next flight to Columbus. Ethan parked his SUV in the lot at school, then he and Alan got out and moved into the school's office, wanting to speak with Principal Figgins first.
The principal was beside himself and agreed to help them out anyway they could and had the secretary call the classrooms of Noah and Finn and send them down to the office, so Ethan and Alan could talk to Noah and Finn at the same time, in the privacy of the principal's office instead of the middle of the hallway.
It was just after lunch and Noah and Finn happened to be in the same class, Spanish with Will, so when Will told them Figgins wanted to see them, the whole class teased them for being in trouble and the two boys, though confused, went down to the office. When Noah saw his dad and Alan there, he got sick to his stomach.
"What's wrong, man?" Finn asked seeing Noah looking a little green.
"Remember when I told you Rachel had an appointment she forgot about today?" He asked.
"Yeah," Finn nodded and then realized why he was saying that, "she didn't, did she?"
Noah shook his head, "I didn't want everyone else to freak out, so I just told you guys she had an appointment she forgot about," he bit his lip, "she wasn't home. Alan said she went to meet me in the morning, but I never asked her to." Noah motioned into the office, "this doesn't look good," he said softly.
Finn took a deep breath and sighed, going into the office with Noah and as Ethan saw them, he stood up, facing Noah.
"What happened to Rachel?" He asked calmly, preparing for the worst news.
"We don't know," Ethan admitted.
"What do you mean you 'don't know'? Where's my girlfriend?" Noah gasped, looking between Ethan and Alan.
"Rachel's been..." Alan paused, "she's been abducted," he said softly.
"What?" Noah and Finn exclaimed at the same time.
"Why don't you two sit down and we'll tell you what we know," Ethan said softly, resting his hand on his son's shoulder and squeezed it gently.
Noah and Finn reluctantly sat down and let the guys explain what had happened that morning and as Ethan finished explaining that Tim and Alex were on their way, Noah dropped his head into his hand, "this can't be happening," he groaned. "So all you guys know is that she was taken and someone got her there by pretending to be me?" He asked and at their nods, he bit his lip, "she doesn't deserve this. It's all my fault. This should have never happened! I should have been there to protect her," he exclaimed, jumping up and began pacing and a million thoughts raced through his mind.
Ethan got up and stepped in front of Noah to stop his pacing, "Noah," he wrapped his arms around his son, "this is not your fault," he said, "you had no idea this was happening, so there was no way you could have protected her."
Noah bit his lip, "but I feel like it's my fault! I've promised her I'll never let anything happen to her and yet this happens and I couldn't do anything. What if they're doing it to get back at me?" He asked, fear building in him, "what if..."
"Don't do that," Ethan told him, "she will be found. Don't beat yourself up about this. I know you're scared and worried; we all are, but this is not your fault and no one blames you for this."
Noah's shoulders sunk and he looked towards Alan, "really?"
"Really, Noah," he assured him, "it's not your fault."
~*~
Rachel groaned as her body finally came out of the cloud the sedative put over her and as she began to get feeling back in her arms and legs, she let her eyes drift open, taking in her surroundings. Trying to shift, she went to move her arm and realized she couldn't, hearing the loud clank and whimpered when she saw the heavy metal chain and cuffs around her wrists, forcing her to remember everything that happened that morning, "no... No... please," she begged, tugging at the cuffs, trying to find a loose spot, but when they wouldn't budge she followed the length of chain to the wall, "help me!" She screamed, fumbling with her bound hands to stand up, "is anyone out there!" She yelled again, walking as far as she could with the chain holding her back and when she couldn't get more than a few feet, she choked back a sob and moved back to where she'd been laying, "help me!" She tried again, but with no kind of response, she sunk back down on the blanket, "this can't be happening," she thought as the tears fell, "who could be doing this? What do they want?" She sniffled.
Her foot shifted slightly and she felt something and looked to see the bottle of water and package of crackers, which is when her stomach growled, "I haven't eaten since last night," she remembered, reaching for the crackers and water. Inspecting the package, she found the seal hadn't been broken, so she felt safe eating them so she pried it open with her bound hands and pulled a cracker out, taking a bite and then did the same with the water bottle, making sure it was still sealed; for all she knew whoever took her put more drugs into the food and water to make sure she was knocked out when they came back, "if they came back," she thought, slowly eating and drinking, unsure when she'd get the opportunity next.
As she drank down the last of the water, she pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them as her arms draped around them, trying to calm her raging emotions, hoping to figure out where she recognized the person's voice from and where she was. She couldn't see outside, but she knew it was still daytime from the light shining through the window in another room, but without any traffic sounds, she figured she was in the country, "how long was I out?" She wondered, wishing she wore a watch. "Where do I know her voice from? I know it's a girl. I've heard her voice before, but where? I know it's not anyone from the club, but whoever it is, they do go to McKinley." She began thinking through her classes, trying to compare voices of classmates to that voice, but she was drawing a blank as she heard the hum of an engine, "is anybody out there?" She yelled, standing up quickly, "help! Can anyone here me?" She called out, walking as far as she could with the chain holding her back and hearing locks clicking, and a creaking noise, she realized the door opened, "help! Is anyone there? Please!"
Crystal heard Rachel's screams for help as soon as she opened her car door and laughed lightly as she grabbed her school bag and some other things and headed for the door. Going inside, she ignored her as she dropped her things and then grabbed a chair and headed towards the room Rachel was in, "hey Rachel!"
"Crystal?" Rachel gasped, tugging at the cuffs, "you've got to get me out of here! Someone kidnapped me!"
"Oh really?" Crystal set the chair by the door and sat down in it, "you don't say?" She smirked.
"Come on, Crystal, help me!" Rachel begged and in an instant, Rachel realized why Crystal wasn't helping her as the sound of her voice caused neon lights to flash in her mind, "it was you!" She exclaimed stepping back, away from her.
"It was me," Crystal replied calmly, crossing her arms over her chest, "and not a moment too soon. You've got Puck so wrapped around your finger I bet if you dropped out of school you'd somehow figure out how he could take your classes, too," she commented, "and now you're brainwashing my friends."
"What?" Rachel snapped, "I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh yes you do," she snapped, "Carly. You know, my height, red curly hair? She seems to think you're some innocent girl, but I know you're nothing but a spoiled brat, used to getting what they want. So what did you give Puck to date you, huh? Did you sleep with him? Are you a slut for him? What's sex like with him?"
Rachel's mouth fell open in shock, "you're crazy! I've never slept with him! I'm no slut!"
"Bullshit you're not. Puck's a smart guy; he wouldn't let some short slut into his life without a reason. How much is he paying you to sleep with him?" Crystal got up and moved closer to her, "come on Rachel, I need to know."
"I assure you I have never slept with him, nor would I ever sleep with anyone for money!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to keep her distance from her, "Noah and I love each other; something you obviously don't know anything about," she hissed.
"Watch your tongue! I wouldn't want to be pissing off the only one who knows where you are," Crystal taunted her, moving closer to her.
Rachel said nothing, just turned her head away from her.
Crystal stepped closer and reached out and before Rachel could register what she was doing, Crystal grabbed hold of the ruby and diamond Star of David pendant and pulled it from her neck, "thanks," she smiled, looking at the pendant now in her hand.
"Give that back, please!" Rachel begged in shock, stepping forward, trying to grab it from her, but Crystal stepped back too fast for her to reach it.
"So what did you give Puck to get this, huh? Dudes don't buy personalize jewelry for their girlfriends that they've only been dating a few months," she laughed, pocketing the necklace, "but it doesn't matter now. It's mine."
"Please!" Rachel sobbed, "I didn't ask for it. He gave it to me as a gift."
"Yeah, a gift that you probably told him to get," she shook her head and retook her seat by the doorway, "you better relax, Rachel. It'll be a while before you see him again," she laughed, "be good and I just might release you in time for our wedding."
"What?" She gasped, "Noah would never date you!" She exclaimed.
"You want to bet? Seriously, Rachel... I know exactly how I will, too. I'm gonna be his shoulder to cry on now that his loving girlfriend has been kidnapped and the police have no leads. With no chance to find her, so slowly he'll begin to think she'll never be found and I'll slowly work my way closer to him until we have sex and I get pregnant. Then a few months later when I tell him I'm pregnant, he'll beg to marry me and hopefully he'll be eighteen by then so we can get married. I can't wait," she rubbed her stomach, "to have Puck all to myself, carrying his child and then one day just after we're married I'll come back here, where you've been trapped and I'll let you go, but by then, it'll be too late. He'll have moved on and you won't have a chance," she smiled.
Taking a deep breath at the psychotic story Crystal told her, Rachel shook her head, "you are one sick and twisted person. I can't believe you haven't been committed to the psychiatric ward," she said looking at her, trying to keep her emotions to herself.
Crystal got up and slapped her hard across the face, "I'm not sick, I'm not twisted," she hissed, pushing Rachel against the wall. Their heights were the same, but Crystal had the upper body strength that Rachel didn't, so has Crystal held her hands against Rachel's shoulders, keeping her in place, even if she was struggling, Crystal grabbed her grin with one hand, forcing her to look at her, "what did I tell you about your mouth?"
Shuddering in fear at Crystal, Rachel bit her lip, "watch my mouth," she choked out.
"Apologize," she hissed.
"Sorry," Rachel murmured, turning to look away from her.
"Apology accepted," Crystal smiled and pulled a set of keys from her pocket and Rachel thought she was going to unbind her hands, "do you really think I'd let your hands go free?" She laughed and removed the padlock holding the chain to the cuffs and with a firm grip on the cuffs, Crystal guided her out into the main room of the building and and moved her to an open door.
Realizing that she was stuck, because Crystal was a lot stronger than her, Rachel let the girl guide her as they walked through the room and Rachel realized it was once a mobile home, but it had been gutted, with a few bits of furniture left here and there. "Where are we?" Rachel asked softly.
"In your new home," Crystal said.
"Are we still in Ohio?" She asked, pushing back the nausea she felt at how Crystal was talking to her.
"Yes we are. I still have to go to school," she winked, guiding her into the bathroom, with no door, and motioned to the toilet, "go on."
"You can't be serious!" Rachel gasped in shock.
"Fine! Hold it for all I care; I figured you'd want to go, but if you want to piss your pants, go for it," she laughed.
Rachel bit her lip and could tell the place was semi clean, "alright," she murmured.
"Good girl," Crystal patted her head and pushed her further into the room and leaned against the door frame, "go on," she said again.
"Could you..."
"Oh come on, you're an actress and you can't piss by being watched? Well, get used to it," she said crossing her arms over her chest and waited.
With no option, but the need to, Rachel pushed her pride aside and took care of what she needed to and washed her hands, "you happy?"
"Yes," Crystal put her hands on Rachel's shoulders from behind and guided her over to a chair by a table and made her sit down, "hungry?"
"No," Rachel replied, not giving her the satisfaction of knowing.
"Alright, I'll eat alone then," Crystal laughed and grabbed a chain and attached it to her cuffs, "you really think I'd let you just sit here with only your hands bound? Yeah right," she said opening up one of the pizza boxes and taking out a slice. "Sure you don't want anything?"
When Rachel said 'no' a second time, Crystal shrugged and grabbed her backpack and while eating, she worked on her homework. Every slice Rachel saw her eat caused her own stomach to growl just a little louder until after the fourth slice, Crystal heard it, "eat," Crystal snapped.
Rachel eyed her, but reached out and took a single slice, relieved to see it only had vegetables on it and slowly ate it, not wanting to eat too much in case she got sick.
Silence filled the room, except for Crystal's casual handwriting on homework and Rachel started looking around for a clock when she noticed it was getting dark out, but couldn't find one, "what time is it?" She asked softly.
"Just after five," Crystal replied, glancing at her watch.
"Oh, okay," Rachel nodded and finished her slice of pizza. "You don't make any sense. Why are you doing this?" She asked, holding up her hands.
"Why? Because I want Puck and you're standing in the way of that," she said calmly, closing her book and sliding it into her bag.
"His name isn't Puck and he'll never be with you," she told her.
Crystal laughed, "you don't know a thing about him. He will. I'll say all the right things, be there all the right times, trust me, he'll fall in love with me," she promised, standing up and unhooking the chain, then guided Rachel back to where she had been and hooked the chain back to her cuffs.
"You think you're so smart, but you're the one who doesn't know a thing about him!" Rachel snapped, struggling with the cuffs. "Let me go!" Rachel called out as Crystal left the room. "You can't keep me here forever! One day someone is going to realize you keep disappearing and they'll follow you!"
Returning to the main area, Crystal rolled her eyes and packed up her things, collecting the pizza and some more water and dropped it off with Rachel, "not really. Who would follow me? My parents? Yeah right. They work twelve hour days every day of the week at Lima Memorial Hospital, and when they come home, they're too tired to do anything, so they won't know and I'm so new here I don't have a lot of friends yet," she explained, "but that will all change when I am with Puck. All his friends will become my friends," she smiled.
Rachel teared up; she'd been fighting the whole time, but hearing her talk like everyone is just going to forget about her, she choked back a sob, "stop! Just let me go, please," she begged.
"Oh, did a strike a nerve?" She laughed and patted her cheek, causing Rachel to flinch, "cry all you want. It's not going to do anything. Well, except make you more tired, but that's fine too," she laughed and left the room again and returned with a few blankets, "it's supposed to get down below freezing tonight. Keep warm," she winked at her.
"So this is just what you're going to do? Leave me here, come every day and gloat about what you're doing to ruin my life and then just leave? Pretend like you're a human being by giving me blankets and food, but yet you won't let me go."
"I just want you away from Puck. You don't have to be dead for that," she shrugged, "and I want to know what you're missing," she added, turning to leave again. "Bye Rachel!"
Rachel sunk down and looked at what she'd been left with: a box and a half of pizza, a few bottles of water and the blankets, and couldn't help the sobs that shook her body, listening to heavy chains locking the door and the engine pulling away, leaving her in the darkening night, somewhere in Ohio, in an abandoned building and already felt the night cooling off quickly, so she pulled one of the blankets over her and tried to curl up and stay warm while her mind began to fear that Crystal would succeed in keeping her locked away, but she knew her boyfriend; she knew Crystal wouldn't stand a chance at dating him, but what she feared the most is if Noah rejected Crystal, just what would Crystal do to her because she was mad.
~*~
Noah felt numb after he found out about Rachel and vaguely remembered leaving the office with Finn, Alan and his dad. Finn was just as shocked, but was able to deal with it and stayed at school while Ethan and Alan helped Noah collect all his books and school things, in case he didn't come back for a while and left the school. Alan drove Ethan's SUV back to the Puckerman's while Ethan drove Noah's SUV, not wanting his son to drive at the moment and when they got back home, Noah locked himself in his room, refusing to talk to anyone.
Deborah felt horrible and tried to talk to him, but David told her to let him have some time to himself to get over the shock; he'd talk when he was ready. Reluctantly she gave in and the four adults sat downstairs and tried to figure out what to do.
Mike called Alan and told him that they had issued an Amber Alert, even though they didn't have a lot of information about who took her, but they were for sure that she had been abducted and since she was sixteen, she fell into the criteria for the alert. They passed the alert around to their county, along with neighboring counties, in hopes that someone had seen something.
After school had gotten out, Finn showed up with his mom and Quinn and Finn immediately went into Noah's room, not caring that everyone else had told him Noah wasn't up for it. When he walked in, Noah was laying on his bed, back to the door and was asleep, holding a picture of him and Rachel from New York, taken just a few weeks prior, "Noah?"
Noah heard his name and rolled over, opening his eyes to see his friend standing over him, "what?"
"Get up," Finn said calmly.
"I'm not in the mood," Noah murmured, rolling over again and closing his eyes.
Finn walked around his bed and knelt down, "I don't fucking care if you're in the mood or not! You're not the only one feeling like shit about this! Her dads, your parents, Quinn and my mom are all downstairs and we're all just as worried about Rachel as you are! Do you know how hard it was to stay at school and try to explain why you and I were called down to the principal's office, or why you were not at school anymore? I told the club what we found out and everyone is just as upset," he explained, plopping down in Noah's desk chair, hoping his friend would snap out of his daze and realize he wasn't the only one upset.
Noah watched Finn for a moment and let what he said sink in, slowly realizing that he was right, "you're right," he said softly, pushing himself up and hanging his feet over the bed as he rubbed his face, "I just feel like this is my fault."
"It's not. No one knows the reasons, but even if it was just a crazy fan or something, it's still not your fault. You can't change who you are. And I know Rachel doesn't blame you for this, either," he said softly.
Biting his lip, Noah nodded and stood up, walking towards Finn who also stood up and he held out his hand, "thanks, bro."
Finn smiled and pulled the shorter teen into a hug, "you're welcome and she's going to be alright. They'll find her."
"I hope you're right," Noah murmured, returning the hug, "she's my everything. No one will ever compare. I don't know what I'd do without her."
"You won't have to find out. She'll be home soon," Finn assured him.
"Yeah, I hope you're right," Noah sighed.
"I may be a dork and tease you a lot, but I know Rachel's going to be okay," he told him with a smile.
Noah laughed lightly and nodded, "thanks man."
"You're welcome and I also took the liberty of letting Taylor know," he added, "because I figured you wouldn't be in the mood to be letting everyone know, so he's going to let your celebrity friends know."
"Really?" Noah asked as they started to leave his room and at Finn's nod, Noah smiled, "thanks. I don't think I could go through that more than once without getting upset," he admitted.
~*~
Ethan contacted Elliott to let him know what was going on, and with the Amber Alert that had been issued with Rachel's name and a picture, anyone who was a 'Puck' fan immediately recognized her and his fan MySpace, Facebook and Twitter accounts were all blowing up with messages from worried fans.
News traveled fast, so Noah reluctantly typed up a message and posted it on all his accounts that said he didn't know anything more than she was missing, so he left it with a thank you for their concerns and as new information came up, he'd pass it on when he could.
Taylor called and talked to Noah for a bit, but the friends hung up when Mike Adams, came over; Noah had known Mike since he was a kid and he trusted that he was doing anything he could to find her.
Noah tried to get some sleep, but his mind was too active to relax, and he remembered something David said before he and Alan went home; though he couldn't do anything now, he should focus on how he's going to help her recover after she's rescued and he knew Rachel would relate the most to music, which gave him and idea, so he got up and went downstairs into the studio where the piano was set to work with just a few words in his mind and began writing her a song.
~*~
Crystal came back several times Saturday and Sunday and did the same thing she had done the first day. Brought food to her, stayed for a while, but never released her hands from their cuffs, but did bring her back into the main room, continuing to act as if it was nothing unusual to have a teenage girl bound to chains in an abandoned building. Rachel tried to keep calm and not beg to be released as much, but she was scared and wanted to go home, but every time she's suggest it, Crystal would laugh at her and tell her 'no'.
As Sunday night came to an end and Crystal was getting ready to leave, Rachel looked at her, "how long are you going to keep this up? Are you just going to keep me here?"
"Yes I am," she replied, "and you'll stay here as long as it takes."
"Noah is not going to fall for you. He's probably not even going to be at school this week. Please, just let me go," Rachel begged.
Crystal rolled her eyes and nudged Rachel, so she leaned against the wall, "I'm not letting you go, so stop asking," she told her, "and tomorrow he'll be there. I can't wait to wrap my arms around him and kiss and hug him. He's going to want me soon," she promised, gathering her things and leaving without another word.
Rachel sunk back down on the floor and cried herself to sleep, "please, Noah, please don't fall for her," she prayed. Crystal had been telling her that so much that she was afraid she may have to start believing it.
~*~
"Are you sure this is necessary?" Noah muttered as he parked in the McKinley parking lot.
"We're not letting you out of our sight," Tim commented.
"We don't even know if this has anything to do with me!" Noah sighed.
"Until we do or don't, we're here, so get used to us," Alex laughed, getting out.
Over the weekend, Noah decided the best thing to do was continue going to school, even if he'd have shadows named Tim and Alex. He knew Rachel wouldn't want him to miss a lot of school and being around his friends was the best medicine for the moment, so he gave in and returned to McKinley Monday morning, even if Tim and Alex were there to protect him.
"Noah!" Carly exclaimed moving across the hall when she saw him, "are you okay? Have you heard anything? Do you need anything?"
"No, I haven't heard anything," Noah admitted, looking at her, "I feel like shit. I miss her," he muttered.
"Of course you feel bad. I'm worried about her, too," she motioned to Tim and Alex standing right next to him, "who are they?" She asked.
"They're my bodyguards," Noah replied, "Tim and Alex. Guys, this is Carly. She's in my English class," he explained.
"Nice to meet you," Tim and Alex nodded at her politely.
Carly smiled at them, "you guys, too. Is there a reason why you're here? Is it because of what happened to Rachel?"
"Yes, it is. We don't know why Rachel was taken, so until we do, they're here," Noah sighed, "in case this is about me."
"I hope it isn't, but I do see the concern," Carly replied, "why are you even here? I would think you'd want some time off."
Noah shrugged, "yeah, well, I know Rachel would want me to go to school and I'd rather go now, so when she does get home, I can take some time off then to spend with her, because I'm sure she'll be out of school for a while," he explained.
"Oh, that's a great idea," Carly smiled, "I didn't even think of that."
"Thanks," Noah nodded, "so where's your buddy?" He asked, realizing the other girl wasn't with her friend like normal.
"I don't know and I don't really care. We had an argument on Thursday and she hasn't talked to me since," she admitted.
"Oh, sorry to hear that. What was it about?" He asked curiously.
Carly bit her lip, "she just doesn't like a new friend of mine," she rolled her eyes and sighed, "but whatever. It's her problem, not mine. I like my new friend," she admitted.
Noah finished dropping off his books and closed his locker, "you're free to have friends that don't like your other friends. I have tons of friends, but some don't get along with others. It happens," he told her.
She nodded, "well, I should get going. I'll see you in English," she waved at him and headed down the hallway.
When she was gone, Noah went in to the opposite direction and pushed aside the sick feeling in his stomach as he joined their friends, missing Rachel and tried to get on with his day.
~*~
Noah made it through the first day back at school without Rachel, but it wasn't easy. The hardest part was accepting condolences from everyone in school and trying to stay positive, while his whole insides were falling apart. She was the only girl he loved and would ever love, so it hurt to know she could be gone for good, but he was continuing through school for her and after school, during Glee they talked about the 'what ifs' of Rachel not returning before Regionals, if they were even going to go and what they were going to do since she was singing on two of their three songs.
They decided to hold off on making any changes, all hopeful that Rachel would be found soon, so they took the day off and when Noah got back home, he did his homework and went right back into the studio to continue working on the song he was writing.
Hearing a knock on the studio door, Noah stopped playing on the piano, "come in!" He called out, expecting his parents, but as the door open and he turned to the door, his eyes widened, "Taylor? What are you doing here?" He gasped.
Taylor looked at him, "you serious? I came as soon as I could," he replied.
Noah smiled, "you didn't have to come out here," he admitted, hugging him, "but thanks."
"You're welcome," he returned his hug, "what are you working on?" He asked, motioning to the piano.
"Something for Rachel," he said, sitting back down on the piano bench, "nothing really put together yet, but it's getting there."
"Nice. She'll love it," Taylor told him, "so... No word? Anything?"
"Nothing," Noah sighed.
"Well, she'll be found," Taylor said confidently.
~*~
Noah decided to not go to school on Tuesday because Taylor was there and he just wasn't in the mood, so he and Taylor spent the day playing XBox and hanging out.
When Crystal saw that Noah wasn't in school that day, she was upset, but she knew he was still in a process of 'mourning' so she expected he'd need some time and as the day came to an end and she saw Carly digging in her locker, she walked up to her own and got her things from it and turned to Carly, "can I talk to you?"
Carly closed her locker and looked at her, "depends. What do you want to talk about?"
Crystal sighed, "I'm sorry okay? I shouldn't have snapped at you," she admitted. "You were my first true friend when I moved here last year and I shouldn't have gotten jealous about your relationship with Noah or Rachel."
"What relationship?" Carly looked at her, "I just met them! It's not like they're my best friends. I talk to them once or twice a day at school and have a class with him! That's it!" Carly shook her head.
"I know and I shouldn't have gotten jealous, but I just didn't want to lose my best friend, okay? I'm sorry," Crystal admitted.
Carly nodded, "okay, you're sorry, I get it, but what you said about her really pissed me off. It's not true and now she's missing," she commented.
"I know she is. I heard the news, but are you sure she didn't just, like, take off and make it look like she was kidnapped," she smirked.
Carly shook her head, "you know what? I think it's better that we're not friends. I can't be friends someone who is going to make rude and cruel accusations about Rachel like that. She's missing and could be dead and you're making a joke out of it. Goodbye, Crystal," Carly hissed, turning on her heel and storming off in the other direction, glad that the hallway was empty.
"Shit!" Crystal thought, "I should have kept my mouth shut. Fuck!" She sighed and headed out to her car.
She stopped at Domino's and got more pizza and headed out to Rachel. Getting there, she went in and released Rachel and didn't even speak to her just guided her over to the bathroom and ignored her questions. Crystal was pissed at Carly and wasn't in the mood to deal with Rachel's mouth, so when she locked her cuff to the chain at the table, she nudged the pizza box to her, "eat and shut the fuck up."
Rachel's eyes widened, surprised that she was acting colder than usual, "did Noah turn down your advances?" She smirked.
Crystal moved back to Rachel and slapped her across the face again, "fuck you, you little slut!"
"What in the world!?" Rachel gasped, rubbing her cheek, "what is wrong with you?"
"Not only have you stolen my boyfriend, but now you've taken my best friend, so don't give me any more reason to hurt you," she commented, dragging her back to her 'room' and forcibly attached the chain to her cuffs once more and nudged her back onto the floor, "I'm one step from hiring Jacob Ben Israel to rape you," she hissed.
"No! Please don't!" Rachel begged, pulling away in fear, "please don't!"
"Then shut the fuck up!" She snapped and stormed out of the room, ignoring the sobs from Rachel as she ate her pizza and did her homework.
She let a few hours pass and once she'd cooled off a little, she grabbed one of the pizzas and took it and some water and gave them to Rachel and saw she was asleep covered up with a blanket, so she left her, leaving the building, hoping that school the next day would be better.
~*~
Noah returned to school on Wednesday, and while he was getting his books for his first class, he noticed Carly across the hall, not speaking to her friend and as Crystal stormed away, Noah walked across and leaned against the lockers, looking at her, "what is going on between you two?" He asked curiously.
Carly sighed, "I told Crystal I don't want to be friends anymore."
"Really?" He looked at her strangely.
"If I tell you what happened, do you promise not to say anything to her?" She asked hopeful.
He thought for a moment, then nodded, "I promise."
At his agreement, Carly began, "Crystal was new here last school year. She and I became friends and now I'm her best friend. She got jealous because I was talking to you and Rachel, so she thought I was trying to replace her, which is not true. I can be friends with more than one person, you know?"
"Yeah, I know," Noah nodded, "go on," he added, knowing she had more to say.
"Well, last week, she told me she didn't like Rachel and doesn't trust her, because she thinks Rachel is just using you for your money, while playing the loving girlfriend, giving you what you want and you're blinded by 'puppy love'. Her words, not mine. I think you two make a great couple and as a fan and friend, I'm happy that you're happy. Crystal is so stubborn that she thinks she is right and won't let anyone tell her differently, so that was what caused us to stop talking last week; I stood up to her, told her she was crazy and she didn't agree."
"Yeah she is," he replied, saving his comments until she was done.
"Then, yesterday after school she came up to me and tried to apologize for acting jealous, thinking she was losing me as a friend and I was replacing her with Rachel or something like that. I was almost willing to accept her apology, until I told her what she said about Rachel really pissed me off and now she was missing. She accused Rachel of planning it all and just making it look like she was kidnapped. I told her I couldn't be friends with someone who made comments like that, because I know Rachel didn't plan any of this and Crystal was just making a joke out of a serious situation, so I told we weren't friends anymore," Carly explained with a sigh. "I'm so sorry Noah."
"Why are you apologizing? You stood up to her. You were being a friend. Thank you," Noah smiled at her, "and Rachel is not using me and I'm not blinded by 'puppy love'."
"I know that, and so does everyone else, but somehow she got it in her head that she was and once her mind is made up you can't change it," she replied sadly, resting her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry to tell you this. I didn't want to, but you did deserve an explanation instead of me passing if off every time you ask," she added.
He nodded, "it's okay, and thanks for telling me."
Carly teared up, "I just feel so bad that Rachel is missing and there's nothing to do and she's acting all happy that Rachel is gone. It's not right!"
"I know," Noah nodded, "and she can say she hates my girlfriend all she wants, but it doesn't matter to me. I know the truth and I love Rachel. That's not going to change," he shrugged, "she is just gonna have to get over it, because Rachel will be Rachel Puckerman in a few years, even if my fans don't like it," he smirked, standing firm on that.
She nodded, "that's awesome, Noah. I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks, and to comment on your other statement. Yes, she is gone and I'm worried sick about her, but I know she'll be found and when she is, she's going to need the support of her friends to recover, so even though it's tough, we'll all get through this once she's home safe and sound," he added. "I'm sorry you and Crystal are not speaking, but if she's that kind of person, then she wasn't a friend," he told her, "okay?"
Carly nodded, "thanks Noah. With everything going on with you, you didn't have to listen to my problems."
"You're welcome, and I know I didn't, but I wanted to, and I'm glad I did. Made me see you are a real friend," he replied, listening to the bell ring over their heads.
"Guess we should get to class. Thanks again, Noah, and you're right. Rachel will be found, I hope soon," she said.
"Me too, Carly, me too," he agreed, pushing off the lockers and nodding at her before walking down the hallway to his class.
~*~
Crystal's Wednesday was worse than the day before, because she watched Carly sit with 'Puck' and his friends from the Glee club, "you bitch! You just don't want to be friends with me because you want to move in on him, too!" She thought, glad she didn't have any classes with her.
Leaving McKinley, Crystal was pissed again. The person she thought was a friend turned out to be doing the same thing Rachel was, using 'Puck', and to make things worse, after she left the pizza place, a white and blue cop car was right behind her, "oh shit!" She thought, making sure she was going the speed limit and doing everything correctly, "the last thing you need to do is draw attention to yourself," she thought, carefully driving out of town, "I gotta do something with her so I don't have to keep coming out here," she kept glancing in the rear view mirror and sighed in relief as the car turned off, "oh thank God!" She murmured.
The drive out made her more nervous and knew there probably would be more cops out soon, so as she pulled up and parked, she went inside and before greeting Rachel, she began pacing in the main room, "what am I going to do?" She wondered, looking around for ideas and then grabbed the map she found the place with and started looking at it. As her finger found where they currently were and saw the area nearby, she grinned as an idea came to her, "tonight."
Rachel groaned when Crystal finally came in and removed her cuffs from the chain, "I have to go to the bathroom so bad," she murmured.
Crystal smirked and guided her into the bathroom, "yeah I know," she replied, "but it won't matter soon," she thought.
Once Rachel was taken care of, they went to the table and after the chain was attached to her cuffs, they ate in silence. Rachel had decided to the best thing to do was to just keep her mouth shut and hoped Crystal would do the same. She could beg all she wanted, but Crystal didn't seem to have any compassion and Rachel knew she needed to save her strength, even if she was getting two semi-decent meals a day; she couldn't let Crystal see her breaking, even if she was terrified of her and where they were; the noises at night really scared her.
Crystal did her homework like she usually did and just after six, she packed up her bag and got ready to leave, locking Rachel back up in the other room and giving her some pizza and water. "See ya later," she said.
Rachel laid down and pulled the two blankets over her, finding she needed both of them to keep warm while she curled in a ball on the softer blanket she first had down; it got really cold at night because there was no heat.
Hearing Crystal lock the door, Rachel broke down and began sobbing like she had done many times, each day her hope of being found getting less and less as Crystal still continued to remind her that this was her new 'home'. "Please Noah, find me," she begged, "please," she choked out and tried to hold on to their memories, but they were beginning to fade, with her hope, scared that she would never see him or anyone she once knew again.
~*~
A/N4: I hope it wasn't too long of a wait between updates. I know I left the last chapter (and this chapter) in a kind of 'cliffhanger', but I promise next chapter we'll see some resolution. Please review and let me know what you think. Love you all!
A/N5: Happy 1/11/11!!!
~*~
