wmhs100/originally posted under the user name 15northThose that are connected are not noted as being together, but they will be under the same challenge and should be pretty easy to figure out.
Challenge One: Spring Break
Title: Solo of Spring
Characters: Rachel Berry
For Rachel Berry, spring break is a time to hone her skills.
Between dance classes and vocal lessons, and piano and yoga, she’s as busy as a bee.
While some of her peers travel to other parts of the country to boil in the sun and come close to drowning in the ocean, she takes the time to be busier than usual and continue preparing for stardom.
Only when night falls following those warm days, and she can see actual stars, does she realize that although it’s a long way to the very top, she’s nearing that star alone.
Title: Solo of Spring II
Characters: Noah Puckerman, Rachel Berry
Puck is a lone wolf. Even when Finn was still his best friend, he preferred to roll alone.
But when he’s not told about any spring break road trips, he realizes that it kind of blows to be all alone.
Of course, the day he allows himself to realize something deep or whatever, he runs into Rachel Berry.
Somehow she talks him into coming over to her house. (He knew his answer the moment she started talking.) She has a pool, and she‘s not so bad if there‘s a musical on her huge ass tv.
Wolves roam in packs, too.
Title: Duet of Spring
Characters: Noah Puckerman, Rachel Berry
Their friendship doesn’t translate well into school, but when spring transforms into another lonely summer, he shows up on his own.
They fall into the patterns they created three months before and it’s the best summer Rachel ever had.
--
He’d never say that Rachel is the best summer friend ever, because there’s just no way, but it’s not the worst summer he ever had.
--
Eventually school starts, but this time they keep up some semblance of their arrangement in the halls of WMHS.
--
When spring break rolls around, the second time is much better than the first.
Title: Easter Mourning
Characters: Kurt, Mercedes
His mother’s birthday falls on Easter Sunday this year.
While other teenagers are dressed colorfully and hunting for Easter eggs with their siblings, he is dressed in black and waiting for the day to be over.
Mercedes shows up in the afternoon dressed in purple, but she offers to change when she sees what he’s wearing. The only color is his red-rimmed eyes.
Instead he tells her that he’ll give her a makeover for spring, and they spend the rest of the day looking at his new collection of fashion magazines for the season.
She stays until it’s officially Monday.
Title: Keep Holding On
Characters: Quinn/Finn
Mrs. Hudson decides that Quinn will stay until they have a break in school.
It’s nearing spring break when she realizes that she’s yet to look.
It takes weeks of swallowing her pride to ask Brittany if her house has a little extra room. She won’t be there long, but she’s not sure if her parents will take her back.
When her things are moved in and they’re on Brittany‘s porch, Finn hesitates to leave.
“I’m sorry.”
He leans down and kisses her once.
In that moment, Quinn thinks maybe she’ll have a place to go back to after all.
Challenge Two: Missing Scene
Title:Meeting Mrs. Puckerman
Characters: Puck, Rachel
Set around the end of 1x08 ("Mash-Up")
"You’re meeting my mother Friday," Puck states as he walks past her locker. "I’ll pick you up at 6."
Before she can respond he‘s turned the corner. He avoids her for the rest of the week.
---
"Ma, this is Rachel."
"Oh, you’re Noah’s girlfriend!"
"I am most certainly n-"
"Rachel’s not supposed to date until she’s eighteen." He slings an arm around her shoulders and looks at her pointedly. "Right, baby?"
She glares before turning back to his mother. "My fathers are very protective."
"I won’t tell a soul," Mrs. Puckerman laughs. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Challenge Three: Text
Title:We'll find a way of forgiving
Characters: Rachel, Puck
Title from "Somewhere" from West Side Story.
The first time Puck sees Rachel Berry in years is on a book in a store window.
OK, he's seen her tons of times since she left (pictures, internet), but it's the first time she’s felt there in so long.
He goes in to her book signing with plans to watch from afar.
Turns out there aren't many Broadway fans in town, so she has hours when no one even comes near her.
When she looks up at him with that rehearsed smile (he knows them), she sputters for a second before breathing his name and finally smiling for real.
Title:The world is full of light
Characters: Rachel
Title from "Tonight" from West Side Story
Rachel's memoir is released when she's twenty-nine, and she’s done most of the things in her plans (Julliard, Broadway - Maria - albums, a Tony, Grammy nomination).
She tones it down in the book, but there's one goal that she’s never been able to fully achieve: friendship.
It's more depressing as her age increases. It’s no longer easy to look into the mirror and sing herself to acceptance.
Lima is still there, so she gathers half of glee for dinner during a trip back.
With them, she realizes, between smiling and laughing genuinely, that home happens when you let it.
Challenge Four: Fair
Title:Second best is never enough
Characters: Rachel, Quinn
Title taken from "Express Yourself."
Rachel is ten years old when she meets Quinn Fabray on their shared majorettes team; Quinn has been there for a month when Rachel joins.
She’s in the back during their routines while Quinn is in the first row.
It’s the first of many things that Quinn will get: a spot on the Cheerios, Finn Hudson, Noah Puckerman, friends.
Rachel admittedly receives a majority of the solos in glee, but she‘s waiting for Mr. Shue to decide that Quinn should take over.
It’s only a matter of time, she thinks, before he sees that Quinn is always the first choice.
Challenge Six: Fear
Title:Never let another girl like you drag you under
Characters: Rachel
Title from "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder (original lyric is Never let another girl like you drag me under).
Out of all the potential failures in her world, the one Rachel is most afraid of is letting her mother down. She doesn’t know her, but there’s something about the idea of her not being proud that threatens to break her stride.
It could be years from now, maybe on Broadway. It could be now.
So she pushes everyone to rehearse overtime for Regionals, because she’s smart and knows that she’ll be there.
If they can get first place instead of Vocal Adrenaline, Rachel knows that her mother has to be at least a little impressed despite her own failure.
Challenge Seven: Late
Title:I'm late for a very important date
Characters: Puck/Rachel
Title taken from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Rachel Berry is always punctual; her planner has every moment of her life carefully prearranged.
Until Noah Puckerman single-handedly schedules himself in.
First, it's the slushies, which cause her to be late for class numerous times.
Then, the stolen kisses in empty classrooms, the choir room, his truck.
It's hard even for her to schedule these moments, the good and the bad ones.
The most important is the moment that isn’t syncing up with her planner, fifteen days late exactly.
All of this tardiness is his fault, but this time, just like most of the others, it's all worth it.
Challenge Eleven: Break
Title:Where It Began
Characters: Puck, Rachel. Mentions of Finn/Rachel and Finn/Quinn
Title from "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond.
Finn and Rachel break up three weeks before junior prom.
A week later Puck walks in on Finn and Quinn making out in his favorite janitor’s closet. It’s supposed to be "just a little break," but Puck’s not so sure.
He and Rachel are friends now, so he’s honest (and tired of all her whining about missing Finn) and tells her. Instead of snapping out of it, she continues crying on his shoulder for another hour before he realizes how to help and get her to stop blubbering.
And that’s how Noah Puckerman ends up taking Rachel Berry to prom.
Title:Green Eyes
Characters: Puck/Rachel, Finn. Mentions of others.
Puck isn’t scared of anything. But Rachel’s relationship - friendship - with Finn? That shit makes him fucking nervous.
It’s not that he thinks anything‘s going to happen, but they have "history." He doesn’t expect Rachel to walk out of a room that only has him and Quinn in it… Or Santana. Or any Cheerio.
When he asks her to calm down with her little "friend dates" with Finn, words he never thought Rachel would utter come out.
"If you’re that threatened by our friend, perhaps you need time to think."
"What’s that mean?"
"Maybe we should take a break."
Challenge Fifteen: Open
Title: Holding Back
Characters: Puck/Rachel, mentions of Finn, Quinn, Jesse and Santana
Notes: Originally written for 'fear.'
Puck has girls at his feet all the damn time, but the ones he wants are the ones who walk away without another glance.
He wanted Santana, but she dumped him over his credit score at sixteen. Then walked away.
He wanted Quinn, until he realized that the girl just didn't like him. Then she ran off to Finn.
Berry was a tough one, because he didn't even realize that he wanted her. So he walked away.
Does he have a fear of rejection? Fuck no.
Whatever it is just stops him from going after Rachel when St. Douche joins.
Title: Grape Lip Smacker
Characters: Puck/Rachel, mentions of Finn and Quinn
Originally written for 'fair,' but the theme is barely noticeable.
When they're nine Finn decides it's time to kiss and asks Puck who'll be his first.
According to his mom, he should like Jewish girls, so he asks Rachel.
Her lip balm is on his lips for a few minutes after and he kind of likes it, so he asks her at lunch if she wants to do it again. Asking her to be his girlfriend is the next step.
Years later she'll wrongly assume that Quinn was his first girlfriend, so he reminds her of her grape Lip Smacker.
No matter what, Rachel was always first, and hopefully last.