two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, chapter 1
Glee. 971 words. Multi-chapter Puck/Rachel, post-Mash Up. Title (in subject line) from Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," and chapter title from Spoon. My brain has been completely consumed by these two, you guys. I'm seriously considering seeking professional help. Oh! And chapter titles = soundtrack, so LISTEN. To the street beat. (Get the reference, win a cookie.)
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1. my mathematical mind
-spoon
There were twenty minutes left in eighth period Study Hall as he stared at Rachel’s notes in his math textbook; some bullshit about sine and cosine. She had insisted on helping him with his trig in exchange for his time on the guitar last week, but he couldn’t remember anything she taught him, just what she said to him on the bleachers last time they talked.
She was right, he had no plans of breaking up with her any time soon. Sure, he thought she was batshit crazy, but her body was killer and they had some pretty memorable make-out sessions in her Candy Land bedroom. Well, that, and he kinda liked how her voice got all soft and girly when it was just them; the way it sounded when she called him Noah. Though Puck would never admit it out loud, under all that scary Glee intensity, Rachel wasn’t as weird as he thought she was. As long as you steered clear of Broadway and brought a dictionary with you, she could actually be pretty chill.
In fact, she was so different than what he expected that combined with her tight bod and Jewishness, their little tryst totally took his mind off his baby daddy drama with Quinn, which was definitely more than he could have ever asked for.
Come to think of it, Rachel was right about that, too: that he was still very much in love with Quinn. Guys like Puck didn’t use pansy words like “love,” but the constant urge he had to shove the nearest freshmen into a locker whenever he thought of her not letting him be “a fuckin’ badass dad” to her unborn child didn’t come from guilt or obligation or even jealousy towards Finn. It came from the way his chest tightened up - no matter how hard he fought it - whenever he thought of his one and only night with her.
Yeah, Rachel had been a pretty pleasant surprise after all, but getting dumped yet again for the likes of Finn? Bros before hoes, but come on. There’s only so much a sixteen year-old male ego can take.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be Rachel’s friend, it just wasn’t worth it. Yeah, he thought she was pretty decent, but let’s get things straight: 1) Noah Puckerman is never “just friends” with anyone of the female variety, especially when they wear skirts as short as hers, and 2) getting doused with Slushee sucked. He was willing to take one for the team (the team, of course, being him and his little bro down below) to get in Rachel’s pants, but taking that bullshit to just be friends? That’s something Finn would do, not him. Despite the fact that Puck (astonishingly) enjoyed being on Glee, he sure as hell wasn’t gonna unnecessarily face more shit from dumbass hockey players about it than he had to. His popularity was already on its last breath of life, and openly being friends with Rachel Berry would just put it out of its misery.
Sighing, Puck slammed his textbook shut and leaned his head back, letting his eyes roll into the back of his head. This is why he never came to fucking study halls; the quiet made it impossible to not get lost in your own head. But he had no choice, the big game was Friday, and if he had any hope of playing, he couldn’t piss any of his teachers off.
Slouching in his chair and spreading his legs out in front of him, he tried to clear his mind and catch a quick nap, but all he could think about was Quinn sneaking glances at him yesterday from across the room as Finn and Rachel were belting it out to each other (God, those lovestruck puppy duets made him want to puke) and how, for a brief second, he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes, but it kept vanishing before he could place it, instead replaced with scowls.
His eyes shot open and he sat up, shaking himself awake. He hated being such a fucking cliché. In love with your best friend’s girl…Was it possible to be any more pathetic? No wait, it was: in love with your best friend’s girl, who will never ever think you’re good enough for her. Yeah, that might actually be a record-setting pathetic.
Staring at his textbook, he contemplated the pros and cons in his head before he reached for the phone from his backpack and flipped it open. He scrolled down to the B’s and hit ‘Berry’.
2:42:04 PM: yo rach where u at?
A couple minutes later, the phone vibrated in his hand.
Berry 2:44:32 PM: Do my eyes deceive me or did Mr. Badassness himself have a change of heart and want to extend an olive branch? Just got out of dance, heading home soon. What’s up?
He stared at the phone and thought for a second. It usually took people a good ten minutes to clear out after last period, which would give him a good ten minutes to talk to her before practice without anyone seeing them.
2:45:09 PM: meet me at ur locker @ 315
He didn’t know what he was fucking thinking, actually wanting to be this chick’s friend, but at this point, he didn’t really care. She was the only person who’d listen to his PMS-ing and though the thought of seeing her relieved after hearing that Finn wasn’t actually the father of Quinn’s baby would probably be enough to drive him over the edge, a part of him knew she was the only person he could trust. Plus, there had to be some sort of Bro Code for Jews, right?
TBC
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disclaimer: These characters are not mine, the show’s not mine, and I took the title from a Pink Floyd song. PLEASE DON’T SUE ME, I’M JUST AN INSIGNIFCANT, UNEMPLOYED GRAD STUDENT WITH AN OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION.
author’s note: So, I decided to write this after watching Puck’s version of “Sweet Caroline” about 89 times and staying up way past my bedtime many nights in a row, losing myself in a number of fantastic stories which included, but were not limited to: Lonely Hearts Club by WildIrishRose29 (the title for this story was inspired by Puck singing Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” in this one, so thanks for the lovely image!), Conversations Between Two McKinley High Students by Glow, and A Complete History of Noah Puckerman, Abridged by them0rgue.
Oh and just as a little advance warning, don’t be fooled by the other ships you see sailing through this chapter! I’m all about Rachel and Puck, but I’m having a seriously hard time convincing myself that their relationship could ever move forward in a realistic way without resolving the issue of them both being clearly in love with other people. But have no fear, if you’re like me and easily bored by purely platonic friendship fic that only gives you what you want at the very end, THIS IS TOTALLY NOT THAT. Just FYI.
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1. my mathematical mind
-spoon
There were twenty minutes left in eighth period Study Hall as he stared at Rachel’s notes in his math textbook; some bullshit about sine and cosine. She had insisted on helping him with his trig in exchange for his time on the guitar last week, but he couldn’t remember anything she taught him, just what she said to him on the bleachers last time they talked.
She was right, he had no plans of breaking up with her any time soon. Sure, he thought she was batshit crazy, but her body was killer and they had some pretty memorable make-out sessions in her Candy Land bedroom. Well, that, and he kinda liked how her voice got all soft and girly when it was just them; the way it sounded when she called him Noah. Though Puck would never admit it out loud, under all that scary Glee intensity, Rachel wasn’t as weird as he thought she was. As long as you steered clear of Broadway and brought a dictionary with you, she could actually be pretty chill.
In fact, she was so different than what he expected that combined with her tight bod and Jewishness, their little tryst totally took his mind off his baby daddy drama with Quinn, which was definitely more than he could have ever asked for.
Come to think of it, Rachel was right about that, too: that he was still very much in love with Quinn. Guys like Puck didn’t use pansy words like “love,” but the constant urge he had to shove the nearest freshmen into a locker whenever he thought of her not letting him be “a fuckin’ badass dad” to her unborn child didn’t come from guilt or obligation or even jealousy towards Finn. It came from the way his chest tightened up - no matter how hard he fought it - whenever he thought of his one and only night with her.
Yeah, Rachel had been a pretty pleasant surprise after all, but getting dumped yet again for the likes of Finn? Bros before hoes, but come on. There’s only so much a sixteen year-old male ego can take.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be Rachel’s friend, it just wasn’t worth it. Yeah, he thought she was pretty decent, but let’s get things straight: 1) Noah Puckerman is never “just friends” with anyone of the female variety, especially when they wear skirts as short as hers, and 2) getting doused with Slushee sucked. He was willing to take one for the team (the team, of course, being him and his little bro down below) to get in Rachel’s pants, but taking that bullshit to just be friends? That’s something Finn would do, not him. Despite the fact that Puck (astonishingly) enjoyed being on Glee, he sure as hell wasn’t gonna unnecessarily face more shit from dumbass hockey players about it than he had to. His popularity was already on its last breath of life, and openly being friends with Rachel Berry would just put it out of its misery.
Sighing, Puck slammed his textbook shut and leaned his head back, letting his eyes roll into the back of his head. This is why he never came to fucking study halls; the quiet made it impossible to not get lost in your own head. But he had no choice, the big game was Friday, and if he had any hope of playing, he couldn’t piss any of his teachers off.
Slouching in his chair and spreading his legs out in front of him, he tried to clear his mind and catch a quick nap, but all he could think about was Quinn sneaking glances at him yesterday from across the room as Finn and Rachel were belting it out to each other (God, those lovestruck puppy duets made him want to puke) and how, for a brief second, he could have sworn he saw something in her eyes, but it kept vanishing before he could place it, instead replaced with scowls.
His eyes shot open and he sat up, shaking himself awake. He hated being such a fucking cliché. In love with your best friend’s girl…Was it possible to be any more pathetic? No wait, it was: in love with your best friend’s girl, who will never ever think you’re good enough for her. Yeah, that might actually be a record-setting pathetic.
Staring at his textbook, he contemplated the pros and cons in his head before he reached for the phone from his backpack and flipped it open. He scrolled down to the B’s and hit ‘Berry’.
2:42:04 PM: yo rach where u at?
A couple minutes later, the phone vibrated in his hand.
Berry 2:44:32 PM: Do my eyes deceive me or did Mr. Badassness himself have a change of heart and want to extend an olive branch? Just got out of dance, heading home soon. What’s up?
He stared at the phone and thought for a second. It usually took people a good ten minutes to clear out after last period, which would give him a good ten minutes to talk to her before practice without anyone seeing them.
2:45:09 PM: meet me at ur locker @ 315
He didn’t know what he was fucking thinking, actually wanting to be this chick’s friend, but at this point, he didn’t really care. She was the only person who’d listen to his PMS-ing and though the thought of seeing her relieved after hearing that Finn wasn’t actually the father of Quinn’s baby would probably be enough to drive him over the edge, a part of him knew she was the only person he could trust. Plus, there had to be some sort of Bro Code for Jews, right?
TBC
---
disclaimer: These characters are not mine, the show’s not mine, and I took the title from a Pink Floyd song. PLEASE DON’T SUE ME, I’M JUST AN INSIGNIFCANT, UNEMPLOYED GRAD STUDENT WITH AN OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION.
author’s note: So, I decided to write this after watching Puck’s version of “Sweet Caroline” about 89 times and staying up way past my bedtime many nights in a row, losing myself in a number of fantastic stories which included, but were not limited to: Lonely Hearts Club by WildIrishRose29 (the title for this story was inspired by Puck singing Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” in this one, so thanks for the lovely image!), Conversations Between Two McKinley High Students by Glow, and A Complete History of Noah Puckerman, Abridged by them0rgue.
Oh and just as a little advance warning, don’t be fooled by the other ships you see sailing through this chapter! I’m all about Rachel and Puck, but I’m having a seriously hard time convincing myself that their relationship could ever move forward in a realistic way without resolving the issue of them both being clearly in love with other people. But have no fear, if you’re like me and easily bored by purely platonic friendship fic that only gives you what you want at the very end, THIS IS TOTALLY NOT THAT. Just FYI.