A/N: This short song-fic came to me in the car one evening and I had to get it out. This song is a personal favorite of mine, and I encourage all of you to go look for it and take a listen. It's soooo good. The song is "Girl Next Door" by Saving Jane.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee or Saving Jane. I just love both.
She liked Puck, she really did. Sometimes Lauren wondered if she possibly could love the mohawked teen, but then reality would set in and all of her self-doubts would take over, effectively ending any hopes she may have had that maybe the boy loved her in return. She knew he could never love her; she was too fat, too ugly and too loud. Puckerman really wanted a girl like Quinn Fabray, the size two blonde teenage model.
Lauren had recruited the help of her best friend, Kassie, and the obnoxious Rachel Berry to back her up for a song she wanted to sing in Glee club. She would end things with Puckerman the only way she knew how; she would sing for him.
The trio of girls stood before the rest of the Glee club, Lauren slightly ahead of her back-up. Looking right at her boyfriend, she breathed deeply as the song began.
"Small town homecoming queen, she's a star in this scene
There's no way to deny she's lovely
Perfect skin perfect hair, perfumed hearts everywhere
Tell myself that inside she's ugly
Maybe I'm just jealous, I can't help but hate her
Secretly I wonder if my boyfriend wants to date her"
She looked over at Quinn and made note of the frown on the blondes' face. Good. She knew the song was about her. Kassie and Rachel broke in behind her, their voices soaring over the chorus.
"She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band
She is a cheerleader, I'm sitting in the stands
She gets the top bunk and I'm sleeping on the floor
She's mss America
And I'm just the girl next store"
Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes, making herself look over at the mohawked boy. He looked so lost, but she knew he would get it eventually. She sang on, unable to keep the frustration and hurt from filling her voice.
"Senior class president, she must be heaven sent
She was never the last one standing
A backseat debutante, everything that you want
Never too harsh or too demanding
Maybe I'll admit it, I'm a little bitter
Everybody loves her but I just wanna hit her"
Sometimes she did want to hit the pretty little blonde. The way Quinn would look over at her man made her wish she could push the bitch to the cold tiled floor.
"She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band
She is a cheerleader, I'm sitting in the stands
She gets the top bunk and I'm sleeping on the floor
She's mss America
And I'm just the girl next store
Oh I'm just the girl next store
I don't know why I'm feeling sorry for myself
I spend all my time wishing that I was someone else"
How many nights had she cried herself to sleep as of late, wishing Puckerman would look at her the way he looked at Quinn?
"She is the prom queen, I'm in the marching band
She is a cheerleader, I'm sitting in the stands
I get a little bit, she gets a little more
She's Miss America, yeah, she's Miss America
And I'm just the girl next store
I'm just the girl, I'm just the girl next store
I'm just the girl next store
I'm just the girl next store
She is the prom queen and I'm just the girl next store"
Before the music could even finish, Lauren was heading for the door, unsure of how much longer she could hold the tears back. She ran down the hall coming to a stop in the girl's locker room, letting her body fall to the floor. Her head resting on her knees as sobbed, Lauren didn't hear the locker room door open, and she didn't pay any attention to the footsteps heading her way.
"Lauren, hey…" Puck slid down beside the girl, and Lauren did her best to try and make herself smaller, scooting away from the boy.
"Go away, Puckerman." She turned her head to look at the boy, and if it were possible, her heart would have broken even more. His eyes were wide, full of concern and confusion.
"I'm not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what the hell that song was about," he took her hand in his and squeezed.
Pulling away, Lauren turned to face the boy head on. "Look, Puckerman. We had a great run, but we both knew this wasn't going to last long. You're too hot to be with a girl like me. You should be with someone like Quinn; someone pretty who has more than I could ever give you. She's beautiful, head cheerleader, popular. I'm a no-body." She stood, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now leave, before I make you."
The boy stood as well, crossing the space between them in two short strides until he was flush against the girl. "I'm not going anywhere. Don't you get it? I don't want Quinn or anyone else. I'm all about the Zizes. Got it?" With that, he pulled Lauren to him, and the girl couldn't help but smile to herself as she was pulled into a searing kiss. He loved her, not that skinny blonde girl. Her. And for the first time ever, Lauren thought that maybe, just maybe, being the girl next door wasn't such a bad thing.