you belong with me

chapter 9

Rachel sat down in her seat in the classroom after lunch. She and Puck had just parted ways in the hallway, and she still wasn't sure about the whole situation. She loved Puck, in the way you love a friend, she had never thought of him as anything more than that. That was partly because she was always too busy imagining what a relationship with Finn might have been like.

Rachel had a hard time believing Puck had a bit of a crush on her while they were growing up. Everyone, even their parents, always thought it was Finn and Rachel against the world. No one would have ever guessed Puckerman was hoping for the exact opposite.

Rachel always figured it would be Puck that would take the wrong path. He always seemed like he would be the bad one. Not that he wasn't tough himself at the moment, but he still had his same big heart. Rachel was still waiting for Finn to send her the slightest bit of friendship, and she had no idea when that milestone would finally be coming.

Rachel let out a sigh and sat back in her chair. Regardless of what she thought he would turn out to be, Puck was a nice guy, and she knew he would never hurt her. He actually liked her, and she knew they would have a fun time together. They had known each other forever, and what did she have to lose?

Kurt suddenly walked into the room and took his seat next to Rachel. "Hello, Rachel," he said happily. "How are you this afternoon?"

Rachel attempted a smile towards him, "I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm good," Kurt replied. He looked at Rachel again, "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah…" Rachel said, her voice trailing off. "Noah Puckerman just asked me to homecoming."

"Noah Puckerman asked you to homecoming?" Kurt asked, not believing what he was hearing. "Like as a friend, or what?"

Rachel shook her head, "No, like as a date. He said that he's had a thing for me, and he figured now would be the best time to act on it. You know, now that I'm back and it's like we have a fresh start and everything."

"Really?" Kurt asked, still shocked. "What did you say? Are you going with him?"

Rachel nodded her head, "I said yes. I mean, I have such a good time with him and I've known him forever. What do I have to lose?"

Kurt nodded his head, "Yeah, that makes sense. The two of you do seem to get along very well." Kurt shifted in his seat before he asked his next question. "What about Finn? Does he know?"

Rachel looked Kurt in the eye, "Honestly, Finn lost the right to have any kind of opinion on my decisions. Finn had his chance, and he blew it. He's made it perfectly clear that he's very happy with Quinn, and I am choosing not to sit around and wait for him to make a decision."

"But you don't know that for sure. What if he's just nervous? Or maybe he's being the typical Finn and being an idiot. He has problems with figuring out what he wants to do, and he usually makes the wrong choice until someone knocks some sense into him," Kurt replied. "According to what you said, it sounds like you two really had something special going on. Are those feelings gone?"

"Kurt," Rachel said sternly, "I don't want to talk about it. Finn said he wanted to be with me and that we would be together when found each other again. Well I'm back, and I don't even see the slightest sign of friendship from him, okay?"

Kurt scooted further away from Rachel in his seat, "Okay, I'm sorry I asked."

Rachel let out a breath, "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just want to get over Finn, and this homecoming dance might be the best opportunity to do so. Besides, maybe this thing with Puckerman will actually become something real. You never know."

Kurt nodded and sat back in his seat. He didn't really know why, but he had a really bad feeling about this whole plan.

As Rachel stood at her locker at the end of the school day, she was attacked by Santana. Santana ran up to Rachel's locker, an excited expression plastered across her face.

Rachel smiled at her friend, "I'm guessing you've spoken to Puckerman?"

Santana's smile widened even further, "He asked you! He finally asked you! I didn't think he would, but he did!" Santana clapped her hands in excitement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Rachel said, trying to calm Santana. "What do you mean you didn't think he would? Did you know about this or something?"

"Rachel, I've known about his feelings for you since we were 12 years old," Santana replied. "That boy was so hung up on you, but he never did anything because everyone knew you and Finn had your own thing going on. When you left for California he was crushed, and it took him forever to even want to look at another girl. Once you came back, I kept telling him to make his move, but he kept refusing! I just figured that he had officially gotten over you, but I guess not!"

Rachel let all of Santana's information sink in. "Are you the only one who knew about it?"

Santana nodded her head, "As far as I know, I'm the only one he ever told. Like I said, he knew that you and Finn had something going on, and he respected that, so he always kept his distance." Santana leaned in again, "So are you excited that he asked you?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't surprised when he asked me. I honestly didn't see it coming at all," Rachel said. "But Puck and I have always had such a good time together, and we've known each other forever. I'm excited to see what comes of this."

Santana's smile returned, "I'm so excited about this! The two of you are going to have such a good time!"

Sorry that this chapter was a little short but I will be posting again later today