What I Meant To Say, a glee fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of either the characters, Glee, Daughtry or their song What I Meant To Say

A/N: AU look at what could have happened when Puck returned from Juvie in Season 2.

"How?" Puck asked Finn, Mike and Artie. "She won't even look at me, forget freakin' talking to me. How am I supposed to get her to listen?"

Puck stomped around the choir room, his frustration at Quinn's indifference to him radiating from every pore.

"What do you want to say to her?" Artie asked. "I mean, do you want to tell her something? Ask her something? What?"

"I don't know," Puck admitted. "Urgh," he growled and sat heavily on a chair, bent over his head in his hands. "She's not the only one who went through it, you know, I did too. And living with her wasn't all fun and fu.."

Finn coughed cutting Puck off. "Yeah, I'm sure it wasn't," he said, a strained smile on his face. "But can we get back to what it is you actually want to say to her?" he asked. "And if I were you I'd make it special, 'cos Sam is making the moves on her every day."

"What?" Puck looked up, shocked. "Mr Blond-Lady-Lips-I'm-Pretending-I'm-Not-Gay Evans?"

"The very same," Artie confirmed with a nod. "See, while you were…away, shall we say, life moved on for a lot of people. Quinn included," he shrugged. "Sorry dude, but that's life."

"So what do you actually want to say?" Finn asked again. "I mean, an apology might be a good place to start. It always works with Rachel," he finished on a murmur.

"Yeah, right," scoffed Puck. "So I just walk up to her and say 'sorry for knocking you up'?" he glanced over at Finn again. "That'd go down real well. Not. And anyway, I'm not sorry about that. I'm sorry that she didn't believe me that I love her. I'm sorry that she didn't think we could be a family and I'm sorry I was an asshole but I'll never be sorry that we brought Beth into the world."

"So you're not sorry?" Quinn's crystal clear voice made them all turn to the doorway.

Puck looked up in surprise, seeing Quinn and her entourage at the door. "No, I'm not," he replied. "I'm sorry for a lot of stuff, but not that. Never that."

Sam put his hand on Quinn's shoulder as he heard her sharp indrawn breath. He looked at Puck warily. "I'm not sure it's productive to keep going back over old ground," he said quietly. "You've both moved on," he saw Puck scoff at those words.

"Some more than others, right Q?" Puck asked. "I mean, why wouldn't you want the perfect world of Ken and Barbie, right? Fits right in with what your mother wants, doesn't it?"

"I don't know what you mean," Quinn's prim and proper denial was swift. And a lie.

"Yes you do," Puck argued. "Your mother is controlling your life again, got you back where she wants you, reading the bible and praying fifty times a day. Bet she doesn't know what else you do when you're on your knees," he said nastily as he stalked past and out of the room.

The mood in the choir room remained uncomfortable after Puck's parting shot. They all knew what he meant. Quinn didn't even grace it with a denial. Sam looked angry. Quinn wasn't sure if it was because Puck had been rude to her or his inference that they had been intimate more than just the one time that everyone knew about and she refused to do anything more than share kisses with Sam. Quinn had never actually said that her and Puck had only done it the once and she'd never said that they hadn't done anything else either. Everyone just assumed. Santana looked at Quinn with one eyebrow raised. Quinn could see in her face that she believed 100% that Puck hadn't made that up.

"Hey guys," Mr Schue said as he breezed in the door. "Can we all go to the auditorium, please? We have someone waiting to perform for us," he smiled as he looked round. He hoped to God Puck knew what he was doing.

New Directions trooped into the auditorium to find Puck on stage with his guitar and the band behind him. He waited till they were sat before he spoke.

"I know you all know that we're not really talking right now," he began, looking at Quinn. "But I really want to say this to you, and you need to listen."

Quinn drew in a deep breath and gave Puck a stare that would have cut another man in two. He stared back as the band started to play.

"I woke up today sinkin' like the stones that you have thrown
Wounded by the same old shots you take
It's easier to kick me when I'm low

And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say

I'm strong enough to say that I don't wanna take the high road now
This is so typical of you to walk away
When your perfect little world is burning down

And I just thought that you should know
That I've been holding on while you've been letting go
Can I be so bold? 'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say

What I really meant to say with every little breath I take
I'm not the only one who makes mistakes
Just think of all the ones you've made

Can I be so bold? 'Cause all this sucking up to you is just getting old
Well, it's not too late to say it right this time
'Cause I know I said I'm sorry but that's not what I meant to say"

Puck stood on stage and waited for her reaction. Quinn quietly seethed. How dare he? How could he even stand there and say that he he hadn't meant to say sorry? The silence in the auditorium grew very heavy. No one dared to even breathe.

"You know what Puckerman?" Quinn asked as she stood. "You're right, this is getting old. And there's only so many times I can forgive you for being an asshole."

"You mean you forgive me now?" he asked, not sure if he dare hope.

"One last chance," Quinn agreed. "That's it. Think you can deal with my mother?" she asked, her eyebrow up.

Puck grinned, feeling his heart soar. "Piece of cake," he smirked. He jumped off the stage and stalked towards Quinn, his guitar slung over his shoulder. "You know she loves me."

Quinn didn't reply, she didn't need to, her look said it all. Puck knew he'd have a lot of work to do to convince Judy Fabray that his intentions towards her daughter were honourable. Well, almost.