Puck could feel Lauren tense before she pulled away. He looked at her, and she half-smiled at him. He smiled back, but his eyes were full of confusion. "What's wrong?"

Lauren sighed in that certain way that Puck knew he wasn't going to like hearing what she was going to say. "I don't think this is working out anymore."

Okay, he wasn't expecting that.

"What? Why not?" Puck's confusion rose as he leaned back against her headboard. He wasn't used to rejection, at least not from girls.

"Don't get your feelings bruised, Puckerman. I'm just saying that I don't feel that spark anymore." She shrugged, straightening her shirt. "Don't sit over there and pretend like you don't know what I mean."

Puck sat there, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to hurt Lauren's feelings, but he definitely knew what she meant. His eyes narrowed to the gray carpeting of her room as he thought about it. Lauren, patient as ever, just watched him.

Finally, he broke the silence that seemed to be only unbearable to him. "I'm not going to lie to you. Never have, never will. Yeah, in the past couple of weeks things have felt.. different. But I still really like you."

"I know," Lauren smiled. "But things are different. I think the idea of dating you as worn off, and well, to be honest I think we rock as friends. But in a relationship it just doesn't feel right. I don't know how else to explain it."

"I think you're right. I really like you though. I always have. And not just because I'm attracted to you. I can't do some of the things we do with anyone else, not even Finn." Puck sighed heavily at the thought of his friendship with Finn. Not being able to hang out together like they used was just the tip of their issues.

"Hey, I didn't say we couldn't keep doing that stuff and hanging out. I mean, obviously we'll still be friends. Just not together."

"You sure?"

"Of course."

Puck stared at her. She never failed to amaze him. "This feels really weird."

Lauren patted his shoulder. "It'll pass."

"Normally when I break up with girls they freak out on me or I find some way to really hurt them. You're so calm."

"Well, I'm not like most girls you've dated. And let's not forget that I broke up with you."

Puck laughed. At least them always trying to top one another wouldn't stop. He bent down and started pulling his shoes back on. It was going to be a weird summer being single for once, since he had no plans pursuing anyone else. At least not for a while, in respect of Lauren.

"Will I still see you on Saturday?" he asked her, tying the shoelaces on his second shoe.

"Definitely. I wouldn't pass up wings and monster trucks for anything."

He stood, smoothing out the front of his shirt. He leaned over and kissed Lauren on her cheek. "I guess I'll see you then instead."

Lauren nodded, watching him walk towards her bedroom door. "Oh hey, Puckerman."

He turned, one hand already on the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"I think you should use this summer to really go after someone you've wanted."

Puck frowned, once again confusion settling in. He really was starting to hate that. "Zizes, I don't have a damn clue what you're talking about. Now, if this is about the girl I was checking last week when we were at Hooters that's not fair because I totally pointed her out to you, and you said she-"

Lauren held up her hand and Puck stopped mid-sentence. "I'm not. I'm talking about Rachel."

Now she really floored him. "Rachel? As in Rachel Berry Rachel?" He shut her bedroom door and returned to his seat on the bed. "I don't have feelings for Rachel."

Lauren laughed, and that pissed him off a little. "Oh please! You can lie to Finn and the rest of the Glee club but you can't lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

"Just because you refuse to see it doesn't mean it's not there. I've seen the way you look at her. Hell, it's really hard for anyone not to look at her, the stupid, pretty little midget, but you just look at her so... longingly."

Puck swallowed, shaking his head. "No. No, hell no, I don't!"

"Just stop, will ya? And listen to someone for once! God, you can be such a baby sometimes."

They both sat in silence for the next few minutes. Puck was trying to talk his way out of this insanity and Lauren was waiting for him to so that she could tell him he was wrong.

"I can't like Rachel. I promised myself a while ago that I would never go after her again."

"Why? Because of Finn?"

"Well, yeah. Partly because of you, too. I wasn't lying when I said I really liked you."

Lauren couldn't help but smile. She was tough and a total badass of course, but she was a still a girl. "I really liked you, too, and I still do. I care a lot about you. Enough to tell you what a jackass you're being by not going after Rachel."

"I can't," Puck shook his head again. "I can't do that to Finn. We're barely friends again, and not that they've gotten back together since Nationals I would be kissing that friendship goodbye."

"You can't honestly believe Finn is better for Rachel than you are. I mean, look at how he's treated her this past year. And Quinn, for that matter! It's like he's flipping a damn coin."

It wasn't like she was exactly best friends with the girls but they were on their way to having a real friendship since Lauren joined Glee. Rachel tried by having regular discussions about Twilight, and even though Quinn hadn't fully forgiven Lauren about the whole prom poster she had gone shopping with Lauren a few times. Both girls were obviously hung up on Finn.

"You and Rachel just seem to gravitate towards each other. It makes sense."

"But she's with Finn. For like, the millionth time, but she's with him."

"I think she likes the idea of Finn more than anything. It's the classic romance story. I think she's watched A Walk To Remember too many times."

Puck smiled. That did sound like Rachel, but he still wasn't convinced. He had spent a lot of time and energy pushing any feelings he had for Rachel down into a very tightly sealed box, and Lauren seemed to be doing all she could to break it back open. He stood up again. His head ached from thinking too much.

"I gotta run. I'll call you later."

This time he didn't linger, even when she called out to him to "think about it" as he went down the hallway. It wasn't until he was out in his car that Puck felt like he could breathe again.

"Damn it," he muttered as he turned the car again and threw into reverse. He backed out of Lauren's driveway, his head reeling from the conversation they just had. Was she being serious? Did she really just tell him to go after Rachel?

He put the car back into drive and headed towards his house, just a few blocks away. By the time he actually got there he no more figured out anything other than dating girls was dangerous business for a badass.

He parked his car behind his mom's in the driveway, and stepped out into the fading light of sunset. Just two weeks into it, and already his street looked like summer. He spotted his little sister running around with a couple of the other neighbor kids, and his mom talking on the phone through the kitchen window. He walked to the front door but didn't go inside, opting to sit on the front steps instead. His phone beeped as he did, and he pulled it out of his back pocket to see what the text message said.

Noah, we're going to meet up tomorrow night for pizza at Finn and Kurt's house. Want to come?

Well, that's fucking ironic, he thought as he hit the reply button.

Yeah, sure. What time?

Puck closed his eyes as he rubbed his hand over his face. Now he couldn't stop feeling weird, and worried that he was going to act weird in front of everyone, especially Rachel.

Fuck, he thought as he looked up at the setting sun. If he didn't figure this out soon it was going to be a long summer.