A/N – Just a little one shot based off of Katy Perry's The one that got away. Hope you enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor have I ever, owned GLEE.
Rachel took a deep breath before she started this last song she was doing. It brought about crazy emotions in her. The only reason she wrote this song was because she couldn't move past her past; the only reason it's out is because Quinn had found it and had shown it to her manager, who loved it, and her manager had shown it to everyone else. So, now she was expected to sing it on her tour.
Summer after high school,
when we first met,
we'd make out in your mustang,
to Radiohead,
No they hadn't first met after high school, but it was the first time they'd met since they graduated.
"Hey, Berry," Rachel stopped and turned to wait for the boy who had called her.
"Yes, Noah," she had questioned when he had gotten close enough.
"The fuck you still doin' in Lima," she recalls him asking as they both start moving at a slow pace around the park again.
"I'm not leaving for a few more months," he had accepted this answer and they strolled through the park, not really talking.
After that she doesn't remember how but she ended up in the backseat of his new Mustang making out with him, just like they did in high school.
She tried to keep the flashbacks at bay while she sang, but this song made it way too hard.
And on my 18th birthday,
We got matching tattoos.
How she did it she doesn't know, but she has the largest smile on her face as they walk out of the tattoo parlor. Rachel Barry had somehow convinced Noah Puckerman to get matching tattoos with her. She had gotten a lock and he had gotten a key. It was an even bigger wonder how she had gotten him to get it on his hip, but she had done just that.
"Berry," he started, "if anyone calls me gay for this, I expect you to go 'Crazy Midget Ninja Jew' on their asses," she had laughed, told him she was not a midget, and then promised she would do just that.
She knew now that she wouldn't be able to keep these images away, so she just let them flow. Before she was able to start the next part of the song, she noticed the person the song was about, standing about three rows back. She had to really focus now, act like it didn't matter. She can do this.
Use to steal your parents liquor,
And climb to the roof,
Talk about our future,
Like we had a clue.
They had been spending all their time together since that first day, and even more, if possible, since they'd gotten their tattoos. She doesn't remember how he got her to climb onto a roof with a bottle of liquor the first time, she just remembers all the times they did it after that.
"I'm gonna do everything I can to get to New York with you, baby," is what he told her every time they were up there.
"You're going to be there with me, Noah. Don't doubt it," is what she had always said back.
That's not all they would talk about though. They talked about everything. From what they wanted to do with their lives to how many kids they wanted to have.
Never planned that one day,
I'd be losing you.
This one hits her a little harder than the other two did. She remembers those talks, and how it was all she wanted for them. He did come to New York, he's just not there with her...
In another life,
I would be your girl.
We'd keep all our promises,
Be us against the world.
She remembers how they used to promise everything to one another. He'd promise her that he would never leave her; she'd promise him the same. They promised each other the world, and neither really ended up with it.
In another life,
I would make you stay,
So I don't have to say,
She locks eyes with him here.
You were,
The one that got away.
The one that got away.
She hopes she's telling him with her eyes that this is all true; but before she can read his expression he's breaking their eye contact, and moving through the crowd. Rachel feels her eyes begin to sting, but she knows she has to finish this last song. Maybe then she'll have a little closure.
I was June and you were my Johnny Cash,
Never one without the other,
We made a pact.
That was true too. They had said they would never be apart, and for that whole summer, they really weren't.
Sometimes when I miss you,
I put those records on.
And I miss him everyday, Rachel thinks sadly, as she continues her song.
Someone said you had your,
Tattoo removed.
She frowns as she feels a tear slip down her cheek. She still has hers.
Saw you downtown,
singin' the blues.
It's time to face the music,
I'm not longer your muse.
She's trying as hard as she can not to let her voice shake as she gets further into the song, further into her flashbacks, deeper into her heart.
But in another life,
I would be your girl,
We'd keep all our promises,
Be us against the world.
In another life,
I would make you stay,
So I don't have to say,
You're the one that got away.
The one that got away.
She can't help the feelings this songs makes her feel. She hasn't missed a note, hasn't let her voice shake, but that doesn't mean she's okay. She's not. At all.
The o-o-o-one,
The o-o-o-one,
The o-o-o-one,
The one that got away.
Rachel is letting her tears fall freely now, seeing him made this much harder.
All this money can't buy me a time machine,
Noo,
Can't replace you with a million rings,
Noo,
I shoulda told you what you meant to me,
Woahh.
That's her biggest regret. That she didn't let him know how much he actually meant to her. She loved him more than anything, and he let her go so she could chase her dreams. She should have told him she didn't want to do it without him, she should have made him stay.
She watches as Puck makes his way back to his seat with another drink, and she's infinitely glad that he didn't leave. She needs him to know this.
Cause now I pay the price...
And she definitely does. She still wants him, she still needs him.
In another life,
I would be your girl,
We'd keep all our promises,
Be us against the world.
In another life,
I would make you stay,
So I don't have to say,
You're the one that got away.
The one that got away.
He would always be her one that got away, all because her dreams were so important to her, and they still are, but she didn't think she could do it with him. Which is exactly why she let him leave her.
The o-o-o-one,
The o-o-o-one,
The o-o-o-one.
In another life,
I would be your girl,
We'd keep all our promises,
Be us against the world.
In another life,
I would make you stay,
So I don't have to say,
You're the one that got away.
The one that got away.
As she ended the song and everyone cheered, she once again, didn't see him standing there. This time knowing he'd left for good she closed her eyes, plastered on a fake smile, and let her tears fall.
She'd been in her dressing room for about a half hour, just staring at her tattoo, when she heard a knock on the door. Rachel sighed and stood, but kept her head down as her eyes were all puffy and red, and made her way to the door. She definitely hadn't expected to see the other half of her tattoo staring back at her. Slowly look up to the face of a grinning Noah Puckerman, she couldn't helo but smile back slightly.
"So," he started, "I'm the one that got away, huh? Not Finn," he questioned. All she could do was nod. She also wasn't expecting him to push her back into her dressing room follow her in and shut the door behind him, but that happened, too. "Baby, who told you I got this removed," he asked gesturing to his tattoo.
"Um, I don't remember her name," he nodded.
"Her, huh? I don't know either. I haven't been with many 'hers' since you," he said, and she searched his eyes and found him to be telling the truth.
"Was I your 'one that got away' too," she asked. He shook his head, making her frown.
"You obviously didn't get away; you're right here," he said as he pulled her toward him. "I told you I'd be in New York with you, right? Here I am, and I'm not going anywhere," she nodded against his chest, breathing in the scent of him that she'd missed so much.
"Pinky promise," she asked as she reached her little pinky out and he laughed as he wrapped his larger one around hers.
"Pinky promise," he whispered into her hair.
End.
A/N – Thanks for reading. Please review. As for my other stories, 'Break Even' and 'This Mess We've Created,' I'm working on the chapters for both of them, and they should be up later this week.
Love,
Katie.