"At the end of the day faith is a funny thing. It turns up when you don't really expect it. It's like one day you realize that the fairy tale may be slightly different than you dreamed. The castle, well, it may not be a castle. And it's not so important happy ever after, just that it's happy right now. See once in a while, once in a blue moon, people will surprise you, and once in a while people may even take your breath away." – Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

He's at the grocery store when everything starts. He's picking up some stuff for his mom, 'cause he's a good son like that, when someone calls his name. Lima's a small town, so running into people you know around town is very common, but the voice called him Noah, not Puck, which exponentially decreases the number of people it could be. He turns toward the voice and sees one of Rachel's dads waving at him. He starts walking towards him 'cause he knows the Berry's from Temple so his ma will literally flay him alive if she finds out he ignored them, plus the Daddies Berry are pretty cool.

"Hey, Mr. Berry," he says once he reaches him.

Mr. Berry shakes his head and says, "Noah, how many times do I have to tell you it's Hiram." Noah shrugs and Mr. Berry laughs. "So what are you doing these days?"

"School stuff, y'know. Glee. College," he says with another shrug. Trying to avoid the happily engaged couple, he adds in his head.

Mr. Berry nods. "Apply anywhere good?" he asks.

"Just a couple of local state schools," he says. And NYU, plus one or two others in New York, but no one knows that besides him, and he's not about to tell Rachel's dad of all people, especially since his daughter is the only reason he did it, not that she knows that.

"Rachel's still waiting to hear from NYADA," Mr. Berry tells him, bringing up the one subject he's been trying to ignore.

"Oh, so she's still planning on New York?" he asks. Mr. Berry looks confused, so he adds, "What with the engagement and all," and can't completely keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Mr. Berry smiles slightly at this. "Ah, yes, the engagement," he repeats, and he doesn't sound like the completely supportive, doting father Rachel has been telling everyone he is.

"I thought you were happy about it?" he asks.

"Noah, I'm a father," Mr. Berry answers. "And a father is never going to be happy about his seventeen year old daughter's engagement."

He laughs a little at that. "So why don't you do something?"

"Believe me, Noah, I've tried. But Rachel doesn't want to hear it. She won't listen to anyone," he pauses for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face. "Actually… Have you tried talking to her?" he asks.

"She doesn't want to hear anything from me," he says, and he knows he sounds sad, but he can't help it.

"There used to a time when you were the only person she would listen to," Mr. Berry points out.

"If you're talking about that time when we were eight and she decided she was going to run away from home to New York and I was the one who convinced her to stay, no offense Mr. B, but a hell of a lot has changed since then."

"If you look closely, Noah, I think you'll find that even when it seems like everything around you has changed, the most important things stay the same," he says, but then catches sight of the other Mr. Berry, and starts to move away. "See you later, Noah. Think about what I said," and then he's gone, leaving him confused and alone, with his mother's ice cream melting in his hand.

He spends the next few weeks trying to ignore what Mr. Berry told him, but it's a lot harder than he expected, considering that all anyone is talking about is the upcoming Finchel nuptials. He's getting sick of it, but it isn't until three weeks after he ran into Mr. Berry at the grocery store that he knows if he hears one more word about wedding plans, he's literally going to punch something – more than likely Finn's face.

It's with that thought that he finds himself outside of Rachel's house one night, sitting in his truck, debating whether or not he should actually go inside. After he has spent an hour there, Mr. Berry comes outside and knocks on his window, scaring the crap out of him.

"Hey, Mr. Berry," he says, rolling down his window.

Mr. Berry doesn't bother to correct him this time, and says, "Are you going to sit out here all night, Noah? Because you know you're always welcome here; you don't have to sit out in the cold."

He laughs and realizes it's now or never, so he opens the truck's door and follows Mr. Berry up the path towards the front door.

"It'll be okay, Noah," Mr. Berry says, putting a hand on his shoulder before he pushes him slightly inside. "Leroy, Noah's here," he says once they're inside.

"Noah?" the other Mr. Berry repeats, coming out from the kitchen. "Oh, good," he says when he catches sight of them. "Hello, Noah."

"Mr. B," he says, nodding towards him.

"Rachel's upstairs," Leroy says. Noah nods and starts towards the stairs, but pauses at the bottom.

"Go on up, Noah," the other Mr. Berry (Hiram) says. "Just make you sure you leave the door open," he adds with a wink. Noah, already halfway up the stairs, turns around in shock, but Mr. Berry just laughs and waves him up the stairs. He's not entirely sure what to make of the Mr. Berry's, but they're pretty cool, and they're not on board with the Finchel engagement, so he decides he likes them.

He reaches the top of the stairs and turns towards Rachel's bedroom, but pauses outside the door. After a moment he sighs, and raps his knuckles on the door. The door swings open to reveal Rachel, in a pair of purple and blue flannel pajama pants and a pale blue t-shirt, with her hair in a messy bun at the base of her neck. "Noah?" she says, and he can hear the surprise in her voice.

Now that he's here, standing in front of her, he doesn't know what to say, so he stands there in silence with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. She's staring at him with a questioning look in her brown eyes, and he knows he should say something, explain why he's here, but he can't seem to find the words.

"Noah?" she says again. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you, too, Berry," he says, finally finding his voice. He starts moving forward, so she moves to the side so he can enter her bedroom. She starts to close the door behind him, but he reaches out and tugs it open. She shoots him a questioning look, so he shrugs and says, "Your dad asked me to leave it open." She looks even more confused at that, but he ignores her and moves further into the room.

"So are you ever going to tell me why you're here?" she finally asks, coming to stand in front of him.

"I needed to talk to you," he says after a moment, running a hand through his mohawk.

"About what?" she asks.

"You're making a mistake, Berry. A big mistake," he says suddenly, and her eyes widen in surprise.

"Excuse me?" she says, and he knows that he's upset her, but he continues.

"You can't marry Finn."

"I love Finn," she says, and he wants to grab her by the shoulders to shake some sense into her.

"Maybe you think you do," he starts, but she interrupts.

"Don't patronize me, Noah Puckerman," she snaps, her ire clearly rising. Her hands are resting on her hips and her face is starting to turn red, but he's not giving up on this.

"If you marry Finn, you'll be making the biggest mistake of your life, Berry. This isn't you, and this isn't what your life was supposed to be like," he says, the volume of his voice rising.

"Really, Noah? What is my life supposed to be like?" she asks sarcastically, almost yelling as well.

"You're supposed to leave this lame ass town and go to New York. Maybe to NYADA, or maybe to somewhere else, but always New York. And once you're there you're supposed to start auditioning. You won't get cast after your first one, you'll have to suffer a little bit first, not a lot, but just enough to remind you of where you started. And then one day you'll get cast in your first Broadway show. Maybe it'll be Maria in West Side Story, or Elphaba in Wicked, or maybe you'll get cast in a new role, one that you can make your own. But you will make it. No matter what. And after a few more shows, you'll win your first Tony, and probably a few more after that. And somewhere along the way you'll meet a guy. A guy who will stand by you through everything. A guy who always be there, but who would never hold you back. A guy who will love you for you, not for who he wants you to be," he says, much more loudly than probably appropriate.

"And why can't any of that happen?" she says loudly, her face turning even redder.

"Because you're engaged to Hudson!" he shouts.

"So what?" she yells back at him.

"So maybe right now he says he'll follow you to New York. But then you'll get married, and in a few weeks or a few months he'll convince you that New York can wait, at least for a little while. And he'll be so convincing you'll agree. Just until the two of you can get on your feet. But then he'll start working at Burt's garage, and a little while will turn into a year. And a year will turn into a couple. A couple will turn into more. And the longer you stay, the harder it will be to leave. Then you'll talk about starting a family, and he'll convince you that you can't raise kids in the city. So you'll stay. And one morning you'll wake up and realize that your life passed you by and you never went after your dreams. And I won't let that happen to you. I can't let that happen to you." He starts out yelling, but by the time he's reached the end, his voice is so soft she can barely hear him.

"That's not going to happen, Noah," she says, and he scoffs.

"I know Hudson, Berry," he says sharply. "And I know that he's never going to leave this godforsaken town. He's not big city like you. He likes Lima, because it's safe and familiar, and he doesn't need to go out and see the world and take New York City and Broadway by storm." He's yelling again.

"Finn is my Prince Charming, Noah!" she says, as if that explains everything.

"Bullshit, Berry!" he says harshly, his hands clenching into fists. "Fairy tales aren't real, and you're deluding yourself into thinking that they are!"

"So, what, Noah? I'm just supposed to give up? Give up on fairy tales, give up on love?"

"Fairy tales and love are not the same thing!"

"Really?" she asks sarcastically.

"Really," he snaps back. "Look, I'm not your Prince Charming, or your knight in shining armor, but I am yours. For as long as you want me, I'm yours. But I'm not going to ride in on a white horse, or rescue you when you're a damsel in distress, because you don't need me to rescue you! And I can't promise you a castle, or a royal carriage, or any of that bullshit. But I can promise that I'll be there. I'll be there to kill spiders for you, or to reach the things in the cabinets that are up too high for you. I'll hold you when you come home crying because a casting director said you were too short or too loud or your nose was too big or you weren't good enough. I'll be there in the front row when you finally get cast in your first Broadway show, and I'll always be your biggest fan. And maybe I can't promise you a happily ever after, because who knows what will happen, but I can promise you a happy right now. 'Cause that's what's important. I can make you happy right now, and I'll keep on trying to make you happy for the rest of my life. So don't feed me that Prince Charming, fairy tale bullshit and tell me that's love. Because it's not. If you and Finn were a fairy tale, then me and you are a fucking epic, badass romance, and that's love. What I feel for you, that's love. Not some pansy ass, Prince Charming crap. Ok?"

"Noah?" she says softly. "Did you say love?" she asks, confused at the turn their fight had just taken. His anger completely dissipates at this, and his stomach drops as he realizes what he just said.

"Shit," he says, running a hand through his mohawk. "That came out wrong."

"Wrong?" she repeats. "So you didn't mean everything you just said?"

"Of course I meant it, Berry!" he says sharply. "I just… Damn it, I wasn't supposed to tell you like this."

"Tell me what, Noah?" she whispers softly.

"That I'm in love with you!" he snaps, and then groans, running a hand across his face.

Rachel stares at him, her brown eyes widened in surprise, trying to comprehend what he just told her. "How long?" she finally manages to ask.

"Does it really matter?" he asks, his eyes coming up to meet hers. She looks confused, so he continues. "Finn's your Prince Charming, right?" he adds bitterly. "You guys will have your fairy tale, so what does it matter how long the Lima Loser's been in love with you?"

"Noah Puckerman!" Rachel shouts. "You are not a Lima Loser, so don't you dare call yourself that!" she says, stomping her foot on the ground. "Besides, didn't you just scream at me that fairy tales weren't real?"

"Whatever, Berry," he says, and starts towards the door.

"No! You don't get to tell me that you're in love with me and then walk away, Puckerman!" she shouts at his back. He turns around so quickly she barely sees it, and then he's walking towards her until he has her trapped between his body and the wall. Her eyes widen, but she doesn't say anything.

"What do you want, Rachel? 'Cause I can't be your Prince Charming," he snaps angrily, his hands coming up to rest on the wall on either side of her head, caging her in with his arms.

Her breath catches in her throat. She can practically feel the anger rolling off him in waves, but she doesn't know what to say. She stays frozen, and when she doesn't say anything to him, he knows that he has his answer.

"That's what I thought," he snaps, pushing himself away from her and starting towards the door. "Have a nice life being Mrs. Finn Hudson," he adds before he leaves, slamming the door behind him. He runs down the stairs and towards the front door, ignoring both Mr. Berry's when they call his name. He slams the front door behind him, too, and bolts out to his truck before he peals away.

It's a week later and he's successfully avoided Berry the entire time. He skipped all the classes they have together, feigning a headache and napping in the nurse's office, and hasn't attended any of the glee practices they had scheduled. He gets to school as late as he possibly can and runs out at the first available moment. He knows he's being a coward, but he can't bring himself to give a shit, so he keeps doing it.

He's home alone, lounging on his bed in ratty sweats and a t-shirt when the doorbell rings. He ignores it, hoping who ever it is will go away, but after it rings six more times in less than two minutes, he knows he's not going to be that lucky. He stomps downstairs, fully prepared to snarl at who ever is disturbing him, but freezes completely when the door swings open to reveal Rachel, in jeans and an oversized sweatshirt, with tears in her eyes.

She holds up her left hand and he's shocked to see that her ring finger is empty. Apparently he missed a lot more than Regional's rehearsal this week.

"I broke up with Finn," she says. He nods dumbly and moves to the side so she can come in, closing the door behind her.

"What happened?" he asks, because he doesn't know what else to say.

"I asked him about New York… He said he didn't know if was ever going to be ready to move there, and I told him that was the only thing I was going to do. We got into a huge fight, and, well, the only thing that really matters is that I gave him back his ring," she says all of this very fast, and all he can do is nod.

"Oh," he says finally. She nods, and he realizes how awkward this is, with them standing in his living room staring at each other, neither one of them saying anything.

"Do you remember when we were eight, and you decided to run away from home?" he asks suddenly, trying anything to fill the awkward silence that has settled over them.

She smiles slightly at this. "Of course. I decided that New York couldn't wait, so I packed my bags and was all set to catch the next bus out of Lima." She pauses for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face, and then adds, "You were the one who stopped me."

He nods. "Do you remember how I got you to stay?" he asks.

"Yeah," she says with a smile. "You told me New York was a big city for a girl like me, and I would need someone to come with me, to protect me… So I told you that you were a good protector, and asked you to come along, too. And you said that you would go to New York with me and take care of me, but you weren't quite ready to leave Lima yet. But you pinkie promised that one day you'd be ready and then we'd go together and take the Big Apple by storm. So I decided that if it meant you'd be coming with me, New York could wait a while…" she trails off. "I forgot about that," she finally whispers with a smile on her face.

He nods, and then reaches over to the coffee table and picks up a large rectangular envelope that arrived a few days ago, containing his acceptance letter to NYU. He pulls out the letter from inside and hands it wordlessly to Rachel. She takes it, confused, and starts to read. He sees her eyes light up in recognition when she sees the purple font in the corner, and after she reads what he guesses are the first few lines, she looks up at him in surprise.

"Noah?" she questions. "Does this mean what I think it means?" she asks, and he can hear the hopefulness in her voice.

He shrugs. "What can I say, Berry…" he says with a smirk. "I take my pinkie promises very seriously."