Love Makes You Do the Wacky

(RATED M; Q/P/R/F, P/R)

CHAPTER I- Duets

Do you hear me,
I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

The acoustic bass plucked in a deep rhythm, sending shivers up Rachel's spine like it always did. The boy in front of her began to sing in a weak, shallow voice, not the deep, masculine voice she was used to.

Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

Rachel began to sing directly after his line, her big voice jolting everyone awake. She used to think that her voice combined with Finn's sounded nice and sweet, now it just felt like she was over powering him, and even to a diva like Rachel who always loved the limelight, she knew that one singer overpowering another never sounded good.

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,
Ooh ooh ooh ooh

When they got to the chorus, Rachel saw Finn get into it… like really into it… as into as she gets. He must feel some sort of energy between them, but honestly, she didn't. She felt nothing. The only energy she felt was between her and the boy across the room with square shoulders and a chiseled jaw.

She spared a glance over toward Puck, he had his large, fantastically lovely arms crossed over his wide chest, and his jaw was ticking to the gentle thump of the bass. She hated seeing him so distressed. When she and Finn were about to start the next verse and Finn started to come toward her to spin them both around, she pushed off.

"Mr. Schuester!" Rachel sounded. "I can't work with this."

The club groaned, including Finn and Mr. Schue. Except for Puck, he just seemed really smug. They all knew that now Rachel was probably going to go into one of her long speeches and keep everyone here a half an hour longer than necessary. "What is it, Rachel?" Mr. Schuester asked. He found it best to just go along with Rachel and let her say what was on her mind.

"Mr. Schue, I just can't sing with Finn."

Silence. "Rachel…," Mr. Schuester clears his throat, "Finn is our leading male."

"He's just not as strong a singer as I am, though."

"And is there someone else you have in mind?"

"Yes," Rachel said definitively. "Noah."

"Mr. Schue, all Rachel wants to do is spend more time with her boyfriend."

Rachel turns to Finn and puts on a professional countenance, "Yes, Finn, he is my boyfriend, but that is not the issue." She turned back to Schuester, "The issue is that my voice overpowers Finn's. And you as a choral director should know that that never sounds good, and I, for one—"

"Okay, Rachel!" Mr. Schuester put up his hands and stood up. "Rachel, just take a breath." Rachel doesn't. "Rachel…."

"Aren't you always telling me that we need more diversity in who gets the leads?" I've got you beat now, Schuester.

"Yes, but, Rachel—"

"Well, this is a perfect opportunity."

"Rachel…." Great, now she starts listening to me.

"If you don't give Noah the solo then I'll give up mine."

Everyone was dumbstruck. Did Rachel Berry – Rachel freaking Berry – just offer to give up a solo! The world is going to end as we know it.

"Give Puck the solo, Mr. S." Mr. Schue looked behind him at Mercedes. "Rachel's right."

Finn looked very hurt. Has everyone gone and fallen in love with Puck? Thought Finn, I think I even saw Kurt give him a look. Jesus Christ! What the hell is going on!

"I'm sorry, Finn, but Puck does have a stronger voice than you."

"And we can't afford to lose Rachel," Kurt added.

Suck it, Hudson! Puck thought.

"Alright!" Mr. Schue gave in, throwing his hands in the air in an exasperated fashion. "Puck, you can have the solo! Rachel, I want the new arrangement by tomorrow. You better work on it all night. I mean it!"

"Yes, sir!" Rachel saluted Mr. Schuester and the rest of the group laughed.

"Glee is dismissed early," Mr. Schue said. He gathered his papers and rushed out of the room.

The kids began to say adieu to each other and filled out of the room. Puck rushed up to Mike before he left.

"Hey, Chang! Wait up!"

Mike turned around with his trademark goofy smile on his face. "Hey, man, congrats on your solo."

"Hey, thanks. Listen, dude, can you tell Coach that I couldn't come to practice 'cause I got a, uh… a Glee thing to deal with." Puck glanced over at Rachel. She was stuffing her books into her backpack with a joyous smile plastered onto her face.

Mike looked over to where Puck was looking and got the message. 'Glee thing' was Puck's way of saying 'Makin' out with my girl tonight'. "Yeah, sure, have fun with your Glee thing." Mike laughed and walked out of the room.

Puck smirked and came up behind Rachel. She squealed when he snaked his arms around her waist. He put his chin on her shoulder and whispered into her ear, "How come you still scream when I do that?"

"First of all," Rachel began turning in his arms, "I didn't scream. I squeaked. Secondly, because you still surprise me after two months of dealing with your smug ass."

"Ooh, I love it when you talk dirty." He leaned in and kissed her chastely on her lips. She began melting into the kiss but then pulled away.

"Why aren't you going to practice?"

"I'm gonna skip it. I'd much rather be helping you with arranging our song."

Rachel's eyes narrowed, "You mean you just wanna make out."

"Oh, you know me so well."

"Noah, you shouldn't skip practice just so you and I can have a rendezvous at my house."

"Yeah, but I drove you to school this morning anyway and it's like eighteen degrees outside and I don't want you to freeze your ass off walking home or waiting for me on the field."

"Aw… you're so sweet." She kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." He picked her black, multicolored star backpack up off the chair and swung it over his shoulder. He got it for her for Christmas because eff his life if he was gonna look like a total fag trying to be nice for his girlfriend by rolling around her stupid pink roller backpack. "C'mon, babe, let's go." He helped her shrug into her coat and gather the rest of her sheet music before escorting her to his truck and helping her into the cab and driving her home.