Promises, Promises

Rachel Berry was a planner. She had a plan for everything. She had a plan for when her plan didn't go exactly to plan. She had a plan for high school; she had a plan for collage; she had a plan for after collage. She had a plan for how to get a foot-hold in Broadway; she had a plan for how to live in New York before making it big on a vegan lifestyle. Rachel Berry had a plan for everything. But, Rachel Berry never made promises. They were flimsy and could be withdrawn at the drop of hat. However, when Rachel Berry was 12 years-old, Rachel Berry made a promise to herself that no one knew about.

"Did you hear what Puck did?"

"You mean throw a slushie in that weird chick's face? Puh-leeeaze! I was there! I was standing right next to him when he tossed it right at her."

Rachel swallowed as she heard the whispers coming from the other side of the stall. She pulled her feet off the ground and held them against her sticky chest as she dabbed the ball of blue-stained toilet paper at her face. They were talking about her. She's the "weird chick" they're talking about.

"Really? Some people said that she started crying!"
Rachel heard a giggle. "Like a baby! She had tears streaming down her face, like, come on, take a joke!"

"But... why would Puck do something like that? Isn't he usually such a nice guy?"

Rachel wanted to scream out that "Yes! He was! She doesn't understand why he would do this to her!"

"He was dared."

Rachel's head shot up. "No!" The girl seemed to have taken the word straight from her mouth. "By who?"

"A couple of ninth graders. It's no secret that Rachel Whatsherface has had a huge crush on Noah Puckerman since the third grade. Can you say 'out of her league'?"
"Out of her league!"

Rachel heard the first girl sigh and Rachel had to restrain herself from doing the same at the girls stupidity, even if it was at her expense. "It was a figure of speech, Brittany!" The first girl began to snap, "Get. With. The program!"

"Sorry, Santana."

"Whatever. But, Noah Puckerman, has gotten another thing coming to him."

"What you mean"

Rachel could practically hear the sly grin on Santana's face. "I'm totally gonna tap that!"

Brittany snorted in laughter. "You mean...?"

"Oh, yeah!"

The girls began giggling as the walked out of the bathroom.

That was the moment that Rachel started hating Santana Lopez. She tried to hate Noah... or Puck as he like to be called nowadays, but she couldn't. She eventually got over him, or at least moved on to Finn Hudson, but the attraction she felt for him was still there. Rachel was in love with Noah Puckerman ever since he stopped Dave Karofsky from throwing spitballs at her in the third grade.

After the over-heard conversation in the bathroom on Rachel's first day as an eighth grader, Rachel decided that if all it took was for Noah Puckerman to throw a BerryBlue slushie at Rachel's face for Santana Lopez to spread her legs then Rachel was going to keep her virginity until the very right moment. Rachel Berry promised that she would never give it up until she was 25, had at least two Tonys and was in a stable, loving relationship.

(2 WEEKS BEFORE RACHEL BERRY'S 26TH BIRTHDAY)

"How could he do this to me!" Rachel screamed as she chucked a plastic plate at the wall. Puck had directed her to the cheap, unbreakable ones when she came, pounding on his door at ten o'clock at night, ranting about her fiance, or ex, as it seemed and how she had caught him cheating in their bed. I mean, Jesus! What a douche-nosel.

The plates bounced off of the floor, one nearly catching Puck over the eye before he ducked out of its way. "In our bed? In our bed! Jesus fucking Christ!" You could always tell that Rachel was pissed when she started dropping the F-bomb. "Fucking- God Damn- Mother Fucking- Fucking Fuck McFucker!" You could tell that Rachel was really pissed when she started to try and make sentences out of nothing but the F-word. "Ahhhhhhh!" Rachel picked up another plate and threw it so hard against the wall that it shattered into big chunks of colored plastic.

As she grabbed another one Puck caught her arm. "Woah! Okay, I think you've had enough of that." He slid the plastic disk from her hand and dropped it back onto the table. "Now why don't we try some verbal therapy. Tell me what happened." She opened her mouth to begin but he quickly silenced her with his fingers, "With out yelling, please. Its late and I don't want the neighbors complaining."

Out of all the people Rachel had met in show business, she never though Noah Puckerman would be the one through it all. She met him again when she and the cast of Spring Awakening were meeting with a recording studio in order to record their soundtrack. Puck was working for the studio as one of the best session guitarists in New York. They rekindled their friendship and since has been through thick and thin. Award shows, recordings, auditions, and break-ups were now being added to the list.

Eli Brewer was Rachel's manager and the two had been dating after Rachel won her first (of three for the entire show) Tonys as Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Wendla in Spring Awakening and popped the question not two months later.. Rachel thought it was a bit rushed, but she thought she really loved him. At least she was right about one of those. She caught the bastard in bed with her understudy. Her understudy! The woman that, when she first met, insisted that they become like sisters and share absolutely everything!

"Wow. She really meant everything, didn't she?" Puck joked, getting a slap in the arm for his troubles.

"It's not funny, Noah! She lied to me! He lied to me! Can you believe it?" Rachel looked down and crossed her legs underneath her, as they had moved to sit on the floor.

"Will I get slapped again if I say uh... yeah!"

Rachel looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Rach, come on..." Puck took her hand from spinning a piece of broken plastic. "The guy started dating you right after you made it big, and then he asks you to marry him two months later? Please, it had skeeze written all over it!"

A look of frustration crossed Rachel's face as she brought her hand down to smack him hard on the arm three more times, punctuating each word, "Why. Didn't. You tell me!"

Puck puts his arms up to try and block the attack and move away, "Hey, hey, hey! I did! Or at least tried! You just didn't want to listen."

Rachel's face dawns with recollection. "Oh," is all she says before breaking down, crying.

"Shit," puck mumbles out before gathering Rachel into a tight hug and squeezing her. "Rach, I'm sorry that the guy is a douche-nosel. Do you want me to beat him up?"
He was hoping to get at least a smile, but Rachel only wipes away a tear and sits up straight again. "No. I just can't believe I was about to give myself to him!"

Puck lets out a snort of a laugh, "Rach... the wedding wasn't for another six months. Plus, you aren't in the 1800s. You don't become his property when you marry him."

Rachel looks at anything but him. "Thats not what I mean."

Puck looked at her for a few moments before realization dawn on him. "Oh. Oh! Oh my God!"

Rachel just put her head in her hands, groaning.

"Holy shit! Rachel? You're a virgin!" Puck began laughing big, belly laughs. He was laughing so hard that he had to put his hands behind him to brace him self, in order to keep him from falling back.

Rachel's head shot up, anger evident on every crease on her face. "Shut up! Just because I have a standard does not give you a right to make fun of my virginity. I'm sorry I don't have sex with anything that moves!" Rachel's hand shot to her mouth, hoping to push the words that had just fallen out back in.

Puck stopped laughing and only sat there with his jaw clenching. "Rachel..."

"Oh, God." Rachel reached her hands to his. She half expected him to pull away, but he didn't, so she took them in her smaller ones while speaking, "Noah... I'm so sorry. I din't mean- I wasn't-" Rachel tried to form a full sentence, but guilt made it hard to say anything, as she didn't want to screw it up more. "I know that you aren't like that anymore, I was just angry. I'm sorry." Rachel pulled her hands, and his, coincidentally, to her chest, directly between her breasts.

Puck's face got hot, so he pulled his hands away from her. "You know, since Hanna left me... I haven't..." He trailed off. He used to be a woman-every-night kinda guy, and then he met Hanna in collage and he became a one-woman kinda guy. But then she left him and he just never got back to his old ways.

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" When she tried to reach for his hands again but he pulled them back she clamped her mouth shut. "I'm sorry."

Puck looked at her and smiled. "Its okay."

Rachel squealed and jumped on him, "Oh, thank you, Noah! I'm glad you aren't mad at me!" She kissed his cheek.

Puck pushed her off of him after that. They sat up straight and he looked her right in her eyes, "Why didn't you have sex before? I think I'm entitled to an explanation. After all, you did just hurt my feelings." Puck stuck out his bottom lip and clutched his hands to his chest.

Rachel rolled her eyes but relented, "I made a promise to myself when I was 12 years-old that I wouldn't have sex until I was 25 years-old, had at least 2 Tonys, and was in a stable, loving relationship."

"Mmm-hmm." Puck rested his chin on his hand, propped up by his elbow on his knee. "And what prompted this plan?"

"It wasn't a plan, it was a promise. It was the only promise that I've ever made."

"Then, what prompted this promise?"

Rachel looked down at the ground, "You did."

Puck straightened, "Say what?"

"You. After I heard Santana in the bathroom in 8th grade saying she wanted to proposition you for sex."

"Oh. But what does that have to do with me?"

"It was right after you slushied me for the first time. I didn't want to be one of those girls who opened their legs for boys for the silliest reasons."

"And so the promise was made." A thought crossed Puck's mind just then. "Damn," was all he said.

"What?"

"Well, if it wasn't for your stupid promise, I would have had a perfect score!"

"I resent that!" Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, "My promise was not stupid, and I-" She stopped herself and took a deep breath. "What do you mean, perfect score?

"If I was able to have gotten into your pants, I would have banged every girl in school."

"That's disgusting!" Rachel playfully swatted at Puck's arm.

"It's true. I was going for collage too, but halfway through I met Hanna."

Rachel nodded and pursed her lips, "I just hope that she got fat and pregnant."

Puck snickered, "Just as long as it isn't mine." There was a pause, "It can't be, right?"

Rachel giggled, "No, Noah, you broke up a year ago."

"Right, physically impossible, and all that." There was another pause, "Jesus! I haven't had sex in a year!"

Rachel laughed now, "Noah, why don't you just... do it, then?"

"Nah, I'm over using girls for sex."

Rachel smiled at his maturity when an idea came to her. "How about using one more girl?"

Puck looked at her with a 'What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?' kinda look. "Rachel...?"

"Noah, you're the longest relationship I've ever had."

"Rach, we aren't in a relationship."

Rachel smiled and moved next to him, "No, not the traditional, romantic kind, but we have a stable, loving friendship! Its completely platonic, but we can still hug and kiss, and be complete friends." Rachel puts her hand on his knee, "Please, Noah? You want sex..." She moves her hand down his thigh, "I want sex."

Just as her hand is about to grasp the bulge in his jeans, Puck catches her hand. "Rach, you really don't want to touch there."

Rachel's brow creases, "Why? Because you don't want me to know that you have an erection? Noah, I've known since I jumped on you." Rachel reaches up to whisper in his ear, "Don't think I don't know how attracted you are to me. I see the way you stare at me. Noah, please?" Rachel's hand slips out of his grasp and begins to massage the bulge in his pants. "All you have to do is say 'yes', Noah."

Puck looked up from where he was staring at her hand working his bulge and stared into her eyes before growling, "Yes!"