I Put A Spell On You - Oneshot
Title: I Put A Spell On You
Pairing: Noah/Rachel
Summary: Halloween for Puck and Rachel is more than ask for candies.
Word Count: 5,000+
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas.
AN: So I know I haven't updated "Strangers Undercover" but I hope I can be forgiven while you read this. Posted because
crazyjansurfer asked for it. Here it is! Hope you like it.
Maybe later he will regret but now it seems like a good idea. Puck is glad Rachel taught him how to sew (even if he has never been too good at it and the needles always prick his fingers) but now he has the biggest pillow case ever for this Halloween. And what if he gets in trouble because he stole his mom's favorite ones? As long as he has his candy he's a happy kid. Plus, she won't know until much later because he's staying at the Berry's since his mom has a shift.
"Noah, please-" Hiram calls as Puck bounces excitedly on the couch. A dejected sigh passes through his lips and the older man shakes his head, snorting a laugh. "Favorite holiday, huh?"
"It's candy, Mr. B-One! I have a plan to get tons and tons of candy with Rach and Mike and Tina!" Puck says as he grabs his Power Rangers helmet to finish his whole costume as the White Ranger. "It's perfect with Rachel's cuteness and my…" he knows he can't cuss in front of Hiram, "my…"
"Spunk?" Hiram offered with a small smile.
"Yeah, well, we'll get a lot of candy but- Rach!" The eight year-old boy shouts so loudly that Hiram cringes. "C'mon! We need to go out early so we can get the best candy and I can steal-" His eyes widen when Hiram shoots him an scolding look. Puck chuckles nervously. "Um… I-"
"Don't, Noah."
"Sorry," he mumbles sheepishly.
Feet being dragged over the wooden floor are heard and Puck's gaze falls on the girl pouting at him, sending a glare in his direction even when Puck is smiling and his eyes shine in awe.
Needless to say, Rachel Berry's dream costume doesn't include the Power Ranger outfit she's currently wearing but certain someone convinced her that it was a good idea so they could be part of the group. At least she's the pink one and she has to admit that, even if she doesn't like it all that much, she looks awfully cute in it.
"Pumpkin, you look very sweet," Hiram coos while Leroy chuckles from behind their daughter. Those small white boots are adorable.
"I've told her the same but she's not happy." Leroy moves around the room, holding the camera he has ready to take a bunch of pictures like every year.
"I don't wanna wear this," Rachel mumbles angrily.
"But you promised!" Puck jumps off the couch (literally) which causes that Hiram and Leroy flinch and get mentally ready for some sort of accident that, luckily for them, never happens, since the boy lands swiftly on his feet. "We're partners!"
"Why couldn't we be Jasmine and Aladdin like I wanted?" Rachel asks while he approaches her and stares at her, dying to touch her hair because it's always so ridiculously soft and smells so good. That's the only reason why he keeps pulling her pigtails and ponytails when she wears them. He likes her hair loose.
"I won't be caught dead in that costume, Rach."
"But-I wanted to be a princess!" She stomps her foot.
Noah just glares at her because if there's someone in the world that doesn't give in to her wishes so easily, that's him. He doesn't like bratty girls. 'Sides, the year before he had to be the Beast and she was Belle. It was a badass costume but that's as far as he'll go.
Hiram and Leroy just look at them from afar. They are like a tiny old married couple. Rachel and Noah are always bickering but, when the times need it, Noah is hugging her or Rachel is soothing him. They just fit together and live in a world of their own.
"You are a princess!" Puck shouts. "Every day of the year! Can you just be a little less of a princess for one night?"
Rachel blushes but smile softly at him. "Noah," she whispers softly.
Shoot! He just basically called her a princess and that's… that's lame! He's a badass, he doesn't go around calling girls nice things. He pushes them and throws food at them; he bugs his mom most of the time. Yet, he must admit he loves when his mom or Rachel play with his hair and giggle because they like his curly hair, and he loves when Beks pulls his nose and laughs in her baby laughter.
Maybe he's not so badass but he likes to pretend.
But then he goes and ruins the moment by grabbing Rachel's helmet and putting over her head forcefully. "Shut up," he mumbles and hears her huffing inside her helmet.
Chuckling, Hiram and Leroy tell them to get their things ready since they are going to drop them at Tina's house so the children can go all together trick-or-treating under Tina's sister watch.
Rachel's not naïve, much less when her best friend is Noah Puckerman, so she's not fazed in the slightest when Tina's sister meets her boyfriend and starts making out heavily against the trunk of a tree after telling them to just beat it and come back in two hours.
Mike, on the other hand, is looking at Danny Huan with his tongue down Sandra's throat with his mouth agape as Tina shrieks because her sister is so disgusting.
Ignoring the teens' PDA, Puck leads his friends down the street, telling them the rules for the night. No one eats the candy until the end of the night because they will share it out so everyone gets the same amount of candy, except Rachel because she loves Mrs. Chang's healthy threats so Puck exchanges the raisins for chocolates with her.
"Do you think it's… nice?" Rachel murmurs to Tina, in her Yellow Ranger costume, and the Asian girl looks at her curiously.
"What?"
"What Sandra was doing with Danny," Rachel hisses, "she looked like she liked it but… it looks so gross."
Tina shrugs one shoulder as they see how Mike and Puck are shoving each other and playing, pretending that they are Power Rangers. "She always talks to her friends and says that Danny's hot, so I guess she likes it."
Pondering on the idea of kissing boys being pleasant, Rachel nods slowly. The farthest she has gone is when she kisses Noah on the cheek and he flushes in that shade of crimson red that makes his mom laugh. He always says is yucky but when she bakes cookies for him, he kisses her cheek, too. Perhaps it's not that gross.
They arrive to the first door and have to put their best innocent faces on, which is a hard task for Noah because he's known as the troublemaker in the neighborhood. That's why Rachel has told him to wear his helmet most of the time so they don't get scolded and leave without candy.
That's the moment the night begins.
Puck's pretty happy so far. He has a huge pillow case half-full with candy because every time Rachel gets a piece extra for her cute doe eyes, Tina for her smile or Mike for the awkward way he moves, he pours them in the pillow case and they hide it before knocking on the next door so people think they don't have much.
Actually, they all are happy.
Next house in the path is the Hummel's. Puck knows Mr. Hummel because his mom is still paying for the last time she got her old car fixed and Mr. Hummel is nice enough to tell her not to worry. His mom always struggles with the money so… well, he really hates that.
Mike rings the doorbell and Puck pushes Rachel in front of him because her blinding smile melts hearts.
Mr. Hummel smiles sadly at them and compliments them for the costumes, also saying that Puck's sword is pretty cool (hell yeah, it is!). He gives them candy but they can tell he's not okay. He hasn't been in a while, since his wife passed away months ago, last winter. Still, Puck thinks he's a good dad because he hasn't left Kurt.
And talking about that kid, Rachel sees him poking his head from behind his dad.
"Hello, Kurt!" She calls merrily. "Can we see your costume? I don't like mine very much but Noah picked them this year and we always wear matching costumes so I couldn't say no because I picked them last year so it was his turn and- hmm-" She frowns when she sees Puck's hand covering her mouth.
"She talks aaall the freakin' time," Puck draws out exaggeratedly, drawing a laugh out of Mr. Hummel.
"Noah!" Rachel scolds him.
Kurt snickers. "At least you're the pink one." The boy steps around his father and they finally see his pirate outfit, everything perfect to the last details. "I wanted to be Peter Pan but my dad forgot to pick it up and I'm stuck as Jack Sparrow," he pouts showing them the costume.
"Jack Sparrow is cool," Mike says and Puck nods at his side.
"But I wanted to be Peter Pan," Kurt huffs and glares at his dad.
Rachel sees the boy and smiles sympathetically at him. "So… maybe if you want you can go with us to ask for candy. I'm sure no one will mind. Right, guys?" She turns around looking at her other partners in crime and they shrug or nod in answer. "I mean, if it's okay with you, Mr. Hummel."
Mr. Hummel looks at the four kids and smiles at them. He knows them, of course. Noah Puckerman is a trouble maker, and Rachel Berry is the girl that always invites Kurt to her tea parties but, sadly, Kurt never goes to. Mike Chang is the boy that once climbed the tree outside his house and didn't want to get back down, and Tina is the quiet girl that dresses in black.
"I don't know. Who's keeping an eye on you because-"
"Tina's sister!" The kids shout at the same time because they know the moment they rat out Sandra, they won't be able to keep trick-or-treating.
"Okay and-"
"We'll be back in an hour or so. Don't worry." Rachel grins widely, just like the three other kids, even if it looks a little creepy.
Mr. Hummel chuckles. "Okay, I guess it's fine if Kurt wants to-"
"Bye, Dad."
Burt doesn't even have time to say goodbye before the five children skip across his front yard and laugh loudly as they walk towards the next house, not even caring about him.
Puck is really annoyed by this Hummel kid. He basically stole Rachel from his side and now he's gushing about the Wizard of Oz with Rachel and Tina while Mike keeps asking if his suit itches as much as his does.
"Yeah," Puck mutters. "But badasses don't complain about anything so shut up," he replies while his gaze falls on a laughing Rachel.
Maybe he is jealous as his mom tells him. He always keeps her to himself and doesn't let her make any new friends, mainly because he's afraid she'll like someone else better than him and she'll forget him. He can't imagine his life without her.
They are peacefully walking down the street when they hear people giggling, like silly, girly giggles and Puck looks in front of them to see a group of three girls whispering between them and looking behind him. Looking at Rachel.
Everyone knows who those three girls are and Rachel seems so scared that his chest hurts. He knows about how they treat her.
"Hi, Puck," Brittany grins at him. "Mike." She waves a hand at his friend and Puck just nods.
This is bad because Puck knows, he just knows, Rachel will hate him. Brittany is dressed in a pink dress with a little crown on her head, like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, a movie Rachel made him watch a few times already. Quinn, at Britt's side, glaring at Rachel as if she's the devil on Earth, she's dressed in a light blue dressed with her hair in a bun; like the perfect Cinderella she thinks she is. The problem is Santana, she's dressed as Jasmine and, well, Rachel wanted to be Jasmine but he said no.
Now he knows he's screwed. Rachel pouts a little and he grabs her hand to pull her close to him.
"Your costume is ugly, Rachel," Santana sneers, flipping her long braid. "We're princesses and you're what? Like a ninja or something?"
Puck frowns. "Shut up. She's a Power Ranger, Rachel kicks ass and princesses are lame anyway."
"Noah," Rachel whispers and shakes her head. "Let's go."
"And look!" Quinn says with her hands on her hips. "They are alone 'cause no one wants to look out for losers."
Clenching his jaw, Puck wants to punch them but he doesn't hit girls so there isn't much he can do. But then Kurt speaks up.
"Disney Princesses are nice, you should be witches 'cause they are mean like you." He adds a little huff in the end and walks past the gaping girls. "C'mon, we still have more houses to visit!"
Puck smirks. He could really like this kid, if he doesn't steal Rachel from him, because he takes care of her so that's cool, she always needs help with bullies 'cause she's tiny and so sweet. Maybe Kurt's a good friend.
They also laugh when Tina shoulders Quinn out of the way and into Santana's arms while sticking her tongue out because this night has to be perfect so three annoying little girls aren't going to ruin their fun.
"You're lame!" Santana shouts. "And we have more candy than you do!"
"Yeah but not 'cause people like you. Your parents have to buy it so you can have candies!" Rachel yells and Puck's grin blossom in an instant. He loves when she fights back (and also because the three witches seem to finally give up… at least for the night).
Puck doesn't think twice before grabbing Rachel's hands and pulling her in a mad race down the street. It makes her giggle so he keeps running and soon their friends are running too. Somehow facing their fears makes them feel free and, right now, he's happy Rachel did that. She's seriously kicking ass tonight.
"Noah!" She laughs and he finally stops, pulling her to him and pecking her cheek. "What-what was that for?" She mumbles sheepishly as her cheeks color in a pretty shade of pink.
Mike, Tina and Kurt are still far from them because they dropped a few lollipops during the race.
He shrugs one shoulder. "'Cause you're cool and awesome."
She beams at him. "You're pretty cool, too."
Nodding, he says, "Next year, we will be Jasmine and Aladdin, 'kay? And-and I'll convince Mike to be the genie and Tina to be the tiger or something, so we'll be really awesome and Santana will look really lame."
"Noah," she murmurs and blushes again. "I kinda promised Kurt that we'd be Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle next year."
"What?" He spits with anger and let goes of the hand he was holding. "But we always pick our costumes together!"
"But you don't like it…" Rachel whispers as their friends catch up with them. "You always complain about my choices and-"
"Lie! I always like it. I like to hang out with you and now you're leaving me alone 'cause of some other kid you like better than me! I hate you!" He bellows and Rachel purses her lips while her eyes well with tears.
It's right them when Noah Puckerman decides to run away from her, leaving his pillow case full of candy behind and his best friend, too. It just hurt too much to be replaced so easily.
Tina has to convince Rachel to stop crying by shoving a grape lollipop in her mouth and telling her that they'll find Puck soon, that they'll look for him everywhere if they have to but it's not easy because she keeps sobbing as they walk down the street screaming for Puck to come back to them.
"He's never going to let us find him," Rachel mumbles as Mike hugs her sideways. She's hugging Puck's candy to her chest and looking miserable because her best friend is gone. She shouldn't have told him anything about the costumes yet. He's sensitive about their friendship and people not wanting to be with him thanks to all what happen with his dad. It's just he doesn't understand how much he means to her, how much she wants him to be happy.
"C'mon," Mike says as he walks towards the next house but his friends freeze on the spot and shake their heads. "What? Maybe Puck is still trick-or-treating and they could've seen him here. We could ask."
"It's Ms. Sylvester's house," Tina hisses. "She's evil!"
"Puck wouldn't be scared," Mike shrugs and looks at Rachel. "Right? He'd never turn down candy."
Rachel bites her lip and nods. "But… it's scary."
"I'll go," Kurt takes a deep breath and stalks his way to the door with all the courage he can muster. His little hand knocks firmly on the wooden door and soon a woman with a warm smile greets them. She's not Sue.
"Oh, a pirate!" She grins. Rachel giggles because the woman is dressed up as Glinda and she looks really nice as she pours tons of candy in their bags, including Noah's because she doesn't know if he's still trick-or-treating. "No many kids have come tonight," the woman says. "I don't know why. It's my favorite holiday."
"Ma'am?" Rachel murmurs. "Has-has a boy in a white suit come here?"
"Um… No," the woman shakes her head, eliciting a sigh from Rachel.
Where's Noah?
"Jean? Jeanie?" A voice calls from inside the house and when a tall woman pokes her head out of the door, the kids' backs stiffen. Ms. Sylvester. "Who are you?" She sneers with a glare in the children direction and it's even scarier since she's dressed as Elpheba… a lot scarier.
"They are asking for candy!" Glinda says with a big smile.
"I-I-" Mike stutters and soon grabs Tina's hand, who at the same time grabs Rachel's, and she takes Kurt's hand to run from there screaming as if they would've seen a ghost.
"What was that?" Jean asks to Sue.
"I don't know," Sue shrugs, with an innocent expression on her face and a small smile. "Would you like to watch The Wizard of Oz?"
"I want Noah!" Rachel shouts and stomps her foot on the ground. "He's nicer to me and-and his bag is heavy!"
"That's 'cause he luvs ya," Tina mocks her, snickering.
Rachel just blushes. "No, he-he hates me."
"He doesn't-" Mike trails off as his eyes fall on a kid running in circles outside a house, screaming while shaking a plunger around. "What's that?" He points a finger towards the boy still yelling.
"I don't know?" Tina mumbles. "He looks like a giant salt shaker."
"Hey! Hey!" Kurt shouts and the boy stops screaming Exterminate! for a second.
"Yeah?" He walks with difficulty towards the group of kids and blinks at them.
"What are you?" Mike asks. "Are you like a giant salt shaker with… a whisk and a plunger?"
The blonde boy frowns. "I'm a Dalek."
"A what?" Tina knits her eyebrows together.
"A Dalek, from Dr. Who? It's my granddad's favorite show and-" He trails off when the four children in front of him keep staring as if he talked in Russian. "Never mind."
"I think you're a cute pepper shaker." Rachel grins at him.
"I'm not-" Sam sighs. "Thanks." It's not like anyone in this town appreciates an awesome costume anyway so that's the best compliment he's gotten all night.
"We were wondering, have you seen a boy dressed as the White Power Ranger?" Rachel asks as politely as she can.
"One with a bad attitude," Kurt adds.
"And looking mean and scary," Mike offers while Rachel scowls.
Noah is a good kid but they don't know him like she does.
The blonde kid pouts behind his really heavy costume. "Yeah, he pushed me on my back as he ran and I couldn't stand up until my mom found me screaming. He's not very nice and my outfit is not… practical."
The rest of the children giggle. That sounds like Puck.
"Did you see where he went?" Tina questions.
"Yeah, he went to that house at the end of the block, where the music comes from," the boy points out to a place a few houses away where they can tell there's a party going on.
"Thanks!" Rachel shouts and Kurt has to stop her from running there alone. "What?"
"We know where he is, we should ask for more candy while we go there."
"No!"
"C'mon," Tina, Mike and Kurt whine.
"Can I go with you? I'm Sam," the blond boy says and Mike nods.
"Sure, if you want."
"But-" Rachel mumbles but before she can protest, her friends are pulling her to the next house.
She glances longingly at the house where Noah's supposed to be and sighs.
They are still walking down the street, while Rachel is dragged door to door by Mike and Kurt, when they arrived to the Hudson's house. Rachel knows they are having a party because Finn's mom still thinks her son is too little to go trick-or-treating like everyone else does, and also that Puck turned down his invitation to go with her.
She really misses Noah.
They knock on the door and a small girl opens the door.
"'Cedes?" Tina frowns at the girl. "What are you wearing?" She notices that the girl looks like a ball and there aren't many details on her costume so it's not like she can identify what their classmate is.
"I'm a tater tot!" Mercedes grins and then shouts, calling Mrs. Hudson. "I'm yummy."
The children just open and close their mouths but say nothing. They know better than to make Mercedes angry. Besides, they just want candy.
Soon Mrs. Hudson shows up with a bowl of candy and Finn clung to her leg. He's dressed as a T-Rex but because of his size he looks more like an iguana, which makes Mike chuckle.
"Hi," Mrs. Hudson says, trying not to look as crazy as she feels with Finn's friends running inside her house. "You look really cute-Artie!" She shouts when Iron Man jumps down the stairs behind her and makes a noise that tries to resemble jets.
"I'm flying!" Artie shouts. "Beware, Tater Tot!" Mercedes shrieks and starts running while Sam and Kurt look at each other thinking that those kids are way too immature.
"No, I'm flying!" Another boy, holding a broom, yells and Tina laughs.
"Look, that's-"
"Blaine, please!" Mrs. Hudson pleads and hands the bowl of candy to Rachel that just pours it inside Puck's pillow case. She'll make sure her best friend has tons of candy for him.
"He's Harry Potter!" Tina finishes and Kurt squeals.
"That's really cute," Jack Sparrow gushes.
Rachel sighs dejectedly and leaves the bowl on the floor. "Can we go and find Noah, now? Please?" She slams the door shut, seeing Mrs. Hudson running behind Blaine and Artie.
Five children look at the house full of people in awe. It's a party but people are laughing and Mike's pretty sure that the Little Red Riding Hood never used a skirt that short.
"What's this?" Rachel murmurs to Kurt and he shrugs.
Sam just gapes at the couple making out outside the house and the boys, that laugh out of nowhere, drinking from plastics cups.
"We need to find Noah," Rachel says, trying to look tough but she doesn't know if that's enough to go inside this house.
They stomp their way through the open door and when Mike's hand dives in a bowl where he thinks the candy is, he just pulls out car keys. "What-Where's the candy?"
"Mike!" Rachel shouts and pulls him with her through the crowd. "You need to keep an eye on Sam 'cause-" she looks at the blonde boy stuck under a table. "'Cause he can't move and we don't have much time."
"'Kay."
Puck is sat outside, over the keg while he looks at this guy with awful hair that keeps drinking beer while his friends shout, "Schue! Schue!" And a blonde woman giggles as if she were stupid. He has been there for the last half an hour and most of the people just drink and laugh.
He really misses Rachel but she'd never come here because she's a good girl. She's his best friend and now he's scared because he left her alone when he promised he'd take care of her always. What if she's lost? What if something bad happened to her? Mike's not the smartest kid out in the streets and Tina is badass but too sweet; he just doesn't trust Hummel. He wants a hug from Rachel before his eyes start prickling but instead some putz drops his beer on top of his head and Puck's bottom lip quiver.
"Hey, sorry, little dude," the guy slurs but instead Puck starts crying with all his might because he can't take it anymore.
"Go away!" Puck shouts. "And-and no one will touch the beer!"
That's the exact moment all the people in the party whip their heads around and stare at him in utter silence.
"I want my Rachel!" Puck shouts and people laugh. "I'm a Power Ranger and I won't let you get near the keg if I don't have my Rachel." A stupid guy tries to approach him and he pokes him with his sword. "Told ya!"
Then the Schue guy tries to convince him to let go of the keg but, seriously, he has like the worst costume ever with just a patch on his eye and a pirate hat.
"Hey, kid, I'm Schue." He outstretches his hand but Puck just glares at him.
"Puck."
"Look, Puck, I planned this party a while ago and I'm in college so-"
"I. Want. My. Rachel." Puck huffs. "No Rachel, no beer."
"Okay, okay," Schue sighs. "So who's this Rachel?"
"She's a Pink Power Ranger, tiny, dark hair, my best friend and-and I need her," Puck mutters hitting another guy in the head when he tries to get close to the keg.
"C'mon, Will, just-just take the kid and get him away from the keg," the blonde woman with Schue hisses.
"Terri, he's just freaking out," Schue replies but then they hear a loud scream.
"Noah!"
Puck grins immediately and jumps off the keg, running to the small Pink Ranger who's dragging a pillow case full of candy. He's never been so happy to find her before (well, lie, he's always happy to find her).
He winds his arms around her and pulls her tight to his chest while she giggles and the people around them coo or… jump on top of the keg.
"Ew, Noah, you stink." Rachel smiles at him and he can't help it. Noah kisses her briefly on the lips while her eyes widen and her cheeks turn red.
"I wanna go home," Noah mumbles and buries his face in her hair as if nothing had just happened. "Let's go and find Sandra, please."
"Noah-"
"I'm sorry, Rach. You're my best friend and I love you, 'kay?" Noah murmurs and grabs his pillow case from the floor and Rachel with his other hand, his sword forgotten next to the keg. The tiny brunette holds Noah's hand with both of hers and pecks his cheek.
Tina and Kurt giggle. "He does love her!" Jack Sparrow squeals.
"And she loves him, too." The Yellow Ranger grins.
Sandra Cohen-Chang is going nuts by the time she sees six kids walking out of the college party she wanted to get invited to but couldn't because she was too young. So she went from scared to angry in a matter of seconds when she sees them laughing and holding big bags of candy as if they hadn't been missing for the last couple of hours.
"What the hell?" She shouts and the children blink at her. "Why-Why do you smell like beer?"
Puck raises his hand. "That's me and Rach."
"You-you had beer?" Sandra's eyes widen while the kids nod. She's so dead, so, so dead now. She should've known better than to leave them alone, especially knowing Puck and Rachel. "Oh, God. I-I have to get you home but-"
"I have to get home first!" Sam shouts.
"And then me!" Kurt chips in with Sandra wondering where these kids came from.
"Fine, fine. First we drop off the salt shaker, then Johnny Depp, and later I'll take the devil and the diva home before the samurai. And you're grounded Tina."
"Hey!" Tina frowns. "Not fair. You left us alone."
"Whatever, you totally screwed it up." Sandra grabs Tina's hand and she starts walking down the street with the bunch of kids following her and eating their candy. But whatever, that's not her problem. The kids are little piggies and parents know how things are after Halloween.
The only thing that spooks her is how Puck and Rachel hold hands better than she does with Danny… but okay, maybe that's just sweet like the grape lollipop she stole from Tina's bag.