Title: Slushied
Chapter: 1 (The Beginning)
Genre: Friendship/ Hurt/ Comfort & slight Romance
Pairings: Slight Puckleberry, Mentions of Sam/Quinn, Brittana & Finn/Puck friendship, Rachel/Sam/Puck friendship
Word Count: 5,036 words
Summary: As much as they hated it, slushies were a significant part of their lives in Mckinley High. AU
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, as much as I wish I was clever enough to come up with this piece of genius. I am just a girl who fell in love with the characters and wants to write a story of her own. Please review and tell me what you think! :)
She really hated getting slushied.
The ice cold syrup seeps through her sweater and Rachel could not help but want to whimper at the contact it made with her skin. She resisted the urge to shiver, knowing that that would only serve to amuse her aggravators more. Instead, she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, glared at the hockey player who had thrown the slushy and stomped off into the nearest girl's bathroom.
She hated that after all this time, slushies were still getting to her. Yes, she could handle the insults people hurled at her everyday and she was so immune to the fact that people did not like her that it was not funny at all. But slushies were a different matter. She could block out the insults and taunts and pretend that all the scornful looks were not for her. What she could not handle, however, was not being able to block the slushy attacks out. How could she when they were always so unexpected, yet completely inevitable?
Tears stung her eyes as she pulled out her cell phone and texted Kurt, asking him to bring her an extra pair of clothes as she made her way into the girls' bathroom. After making sure that she was completely alone, Rachel Berry turned on the tap and let her tears flow, trying so hard to minimize the volume of her cries.
When she had finally gotten rid of the ice cold syrup from her hair, she sat against the bathroom wall, waiting for Kurt to come and find her.
"Damn, the least Puckerman could have done was to chose any flavour but the red one," a kind, familiar voice said and Rachel looked up, her eyes widening as she took in Sam's appearance. Sam, who had just moved to Lima a few weeks ago, who had been nothing but nice to her and who had defended her from Puckerman on the first day they had met. Sam, who she had expected to have abandoned her the moment Coach Beiste had accepted into the football team but had never left her side. He sighed, settling down beside her and put his arm around her, not caring that his shirt was getting stained. "I'm going to kill him."
"Violence is not the answer, Samuel," Rachel said tiredly and leaned her head against his shoulder, already feeling better. A few weeks ago, she would have been waiting for Kurt to come and get her alone. No one would have threatened to beat Puckerman up for slushying her.
"Fine," Sam grumbled. "But at least let me accidentally trip him or something during practice."
Rachel chuckled and she gave him that smile that had annoyed him at first but now brightened his day. "I guess he does deserve a few bruises."
xxx Glee xxx
"Puckerman!"
Puck rolled his eyes as he continued packing his bags. He did not need shit from Sam Evans today. After muttering to Finn that he was heading home, Puck walked out of the locker room, ignoring the enraged calls from Evans. Well, fuck Evans. He had 'accidentally' tripped him four times. Puck had the cuts on his knees and the bruise on his forehead to prove it. He kept silent though, because it was no doubt revenge for what he did to Rachel earlier that day.
He walked towards his truck, not battling an eyelash as a freshman was tossed into the dumpster. On a normal day, he would have joined in. But this was no normal day and Puck did not feel like being any more of an ass.
He was about to get into his truck when a large arm grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and slammed him against his truck. His shoulder screamed at the pain coursing through his arm and he glared at the teammate in front of him.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stay the fuck away from Rachel?" Evans hissed and Puck pushed him away, spitting on his shoes as he squared his shoulders.
"It's an everyday routine, Evans. You know what they say about how difficult it is to break old habits," Puck sneered and Sam narrowed his eyes at him, his own fists curling at his sides.
"Listen, you bas –"
"Samuel Evans!" a shrill voice interrupted Sam and Puck smirked when a small and petite girl stood in between them, her arms outstretched as though she had an ounce of a chance of stopping them if things got ugly. "We agreed about this. Do not stoop to his barbaric level."
Sam cast her an annoyed look, one Puck could identify with if he was to be honest. Berry had always been a pain in the ass.
"I completely resent that, Puckerman," Berry hissed, her hands on her hips as she whipped around and glared at him.
Oh, he must have said it aloud. He ignored the petite brunette and addressed the blonde male instead.
"Listen, Lady Lips," he started and felt a sense of satisfaction when Evans growled. "Try to fight your own battles next time you confront me. Using a small ass midget is seriously low. Even for you."
Sam moved forward to lunge at him but Man Hands stopped him, never taking her eyes of him as she did so.
"C'mon, Sammy," she said softly and Puck curled his fists at the softness of her tone. "He's not worth it."
As they walked away, Rachel talking to Sam as though nothing had happened and the tension in Sam's shoulders easing, Puck couldn't help but agree with Berry on one thing. He was not worth it. Heck, he was not worth anything.
xxx Glee xxx
"You lazy ass bitch!"
"Get away from her!" Puck screamed as he launched himself at the man hurting his mother. The man pushed him away, his eyes filled with such menace and hatred and Puck gulped. He chanced a glance at his mother, silently telling her to go upstairs with his sister and was relieved when she actually heeded his words for once.
In front of him, the man smirked at Puck, the lips and eyes so identical to Puck's own ones. The only difference was that Puck would never be able to sustain such sinister qualities in him, no matter how much of a jackass people thought he was.
David Puckerman smirked at his son, "Think you're a big fuck now, do you, son?"
"I'm not your son," Puck growled as they circled each other. "What are you doing here?"
"Just got out two weeks ago," his old man grunted. "Thought your Ma would be waiting for me. Imagine my surprise when there was no one."
"What a shocker," Puck sarcastically rolled his eyes and David glared at his son. "Get out."
"What did you say to me, boy?" David stepped closer to him, alcohol tingeing his breath but Puck held his ground.
"You're not hurting this family again," Puck's hands shook with anger as he regarded the older Puckerman. "Now get out before I call the cops."
Pain throbbed through his jaw after his comment and Puck could taste the blood in his mouth. From his position on the floor, his eyes widened as his father grabbed him by his hair.
"Don't you dare threaten me, you fucktard," David's punches got harder as he articulated each word. Puck's stomach ached from the constant hits but he kept himself from whimpering, knowing not to show his sad excuse of a father weakness.
xxx Glee xxx
She walked into the school the next day, anticipating her usual morning facial of ice cold syrup. Her hands were tight around her the handbag that contained her second batch of clothes for the day. Rachel held her breath as she walked as quickly as she could to her locker, letting out a relieved sigh when she reached it, unharmed and dry. Guess Puckerman was running late.
Rachel jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder and sighed in relief once again when she realized that it was just Sam.
"You okay, Rach?" he asked as he leaned against her locker, crossing his arms on his chest and glaring at any of his teammates with the slushy drinks in their hands, silently daring them to throw the vile drink at his friend while he was talking to her. Luckily for them, they were not stupid when it came to matters regarding Sam Evans and Rachel Berry.
Rachel just smiled at him weakly and nodded.
"C'mon. I'll walk you to class," he offered and Rachel flashed him a smile as she took his arm, ignorant of the glares Quinn Fabray was sending her way.
xxx Glee xxx
Rachel was seriously confused. For the first time since her education life had started, she had gone three full days without getting slushied. Sam had sworn that he had not done anything to Puckerman and Rachel knew that without Puckerman, none of his football lackeys were very useful.
He'd been in school, of course. Every time Rachel saw him, she would turn around and walk the other way. What surprised her was that Puckerman never bothered to follow her. It was as though he had lost interest in making her high school life a major hell. She was so desperate to find out his plans (because she had no doubts that he was waiting for her to not be on defence so that he could strike her when she was most vulnerable) that she even 'accidentally' bumped into Puckerman a few times that day.
Puckerman had just grunted, grumbled that it was okay when she apologized and then resumed to ignoring her for the rest of the day. It was driving her crazy.
And in turn, it was driving Sam crazy.
"You're his teammate. Aren't you supposed to know?"
"Yeah, because Puckerman and I are BFFs and we braid each others' hair," Sam sarcastically mumbled and yelped when Rachel pinched him, annoyed that he was snapping at her. Sam sighed, knowing that she was paranoid and he was not helping her at all. "Look, Rach, just try not to think too much about it alright? For all we know, Puckerman probably got tired of you or something."
If that was supposed to make her feel better, it certainly did not.
xxx Glee xxx
Puck winced at the bruise on his back, dreading the thought of going home. His mother had dropped his sister off at his grandmother's place, having left the day before. Despite his mother's pleas for him to follow them, Puck had refused and remained in Lima. Him and Rebecca in Minnesota meant David only having one punching bag in the house. And Puck would be damned if he let his mother get hurt. So no, Puck stayed in Lima because it meant keeping his two girls safe.
A sharp gasp pierced through the silent room and Puck whirled around, his eyes widening as Rachel Berry stood in the doorway of the boys' locker room. He hastily pulled down his shirt even though it was already useless and could only remain frozen on the spot when Berry walked closer to him. Puck growled and let a scowl mask the fear he was feeling.
"What are you doing here, Berry?" he hissed and Rachel jumped back at the venom in his voice.
"I was looking for Sam," she lied and Puck narrowed his eyes at her. "Guess I found something else. Who did that to you?"
"Football practices can be tough, Ber –"
"There was a handprint on your back, Puckerman," Berry snapped and she walked towards him. In a bold attempt, she lifted his shirt to get a better look at the bruise but Puck jumped away from her.
"Look, you cannot tell anyone," he said quietly.
"Let me help you," Berry's words were the last thing he thought he would hear her say. Heck, even she seemed surprised that she had uttered those words. "Please."
xxx Glee xxx
If someone had told him that he would be shirtless in Rachel Berry's room, out of all the places to be in, a few hours ago, Puck would have slushied them before throwing them into the dumpster. But Rachel had been so different from the noisy midget she usually was in school. In school, she was loud and self-centred despite the crap people gave her for it.
When she was attending to his bruises, she was gentle and caring. She treated each blue-black spot with such ease that Puck had wanted nothing more than to take her hands, bring her closer to him and kiss her to let her know how thankful he was of her. What? He was a hormonal seventeen-year-old.
"You can stay in the guest room tonight," Rachel told him as he handed him a fresh pair of clothes. "Those are my Dad's. Sam is coming by later with a fresh set of clothes for you to wear tomorrow. You're about the same size, so I gue –"
"Evans knows?" Puck hissed and Berry rolled her twinkling eyes.
"Of course not. But unlike you, he trusts me enough," she said pointedly, in a tone that made Puck feel like trash for questioning her. "Besides, I am not letting you go back to that Neanderthal you call your father. I'm sorry, Noah, but I never really liked him. He was always too loud and crude and I've always thought that your mother deserved someone so much better than him."
"Did you just call me Noah?"
"That is your name, correct?"
"People call me Puck, Berry."
"Well, I refuse to succumb to that terrible name when you have such a beautiful one," Rachel said matter-of-factly and Puck knew he had lost that battle.
Xxx Glee xxx
Sam's face when he saw Puck in Rachel's room was priceless. He had frozen at first, before demanding to know if Puck had poisoned Rachel's slushy. He then pushed past the Mohawk teenager to find his best friend doing her homework in her room.
"What?" Rachel asked innocently, amused at Sam's reaction. Sam's face quickly morphed into an annoyed and angry one and Rachel knew she would have to explain everything to him for Puck to live. "Noah needs help, Sam."
"Noah? Puckerman's Noah now?"
"Her argument is that I've been named it since I was born and that I should be proud of it," Puck snorted and Sam glared at him.
"What the fuck is going on?"
"I understand your need to use those atrocious profanities given your state of shock, Samuel," Rachel gave him a small, reassuring smile. "But please try to tone it down a notch. And I am afraid that it is Noah's place to tell you, not mine."
"If one of you does not say anything within the five seconds, I am walking out of here," Sam threatened, his eyes never leaving Rachel's face.
Rachel turned to Noah, her eyes pleading for him to understand and Puck swallowed the bile of guilt in his throat. For years, he had been the cause of Rachel Berry's alienation from the high school student body. Was he really that heartless to be the cause that she loses her one true friend?
Sighing, Puck turned to Sam and lifted his shirt.
"Berry's helping me."
xxx Glee xxx
"What about Hudson?" Sam asked. "Isn't he your best bud or something?"
"He is," Puck said defensively. "But he has that gay kid as his step-brother. It's kinda weird."
Rachel stuck out her chin, her jaw tightening at his comment, "There is nothing wrong with living in a house with someone of a different sexual orientation than yours, Noah."
Sam was shaking his head at him disapprovingly and the blonde football player pointed to a picture on Rachel's desk. Puck's eyes widened at the sight of two men on both of Rachel's sides and suddenly remembered that Rachel Berry had two fathers. That was one of the reasons that Quinn Fabray had made her life a living hell.
"I didn't mean it like that, Berry," Puck tried reassuring her and Rachel raised her eyebrows, doubtful. "I meant that I think that Kurt guy checks me out. I'm just not comfortable with that."
Rachel nodded understandingly. "I guess Kurt can be a little... intense."
"Pot and kettle," Sam snorted and yelped when the small singer hit him on his head. "Look, Puckerman cannot hide here forever. If his fath – "
"I'm not hiding," Puck said and frowned when Sam waved him off.
"Sure you aren't," the blonde said and Puck and Rachel glared at him. "You can't hide him forever, Rachel."
"Maybe not," Rachel shrugged and the two boys turned to her. "But you can put him away for the next ten years."
"I am not sending my father to jail again, Berry."
"It's Rachel, Noah," she admonished.
Sam sighed and turned to face his teammate. "Look, Rachel's right. Think about it this way, Puckerman. The earlier you put that bastard away, the earlier you get your life back and start being the jerk you are again."
Puck rolled his eyes as he made himself comfortable on his temporary bed. He closed his eyes and sighed, bowing his head as he tried collecting his thoughts. A part of him knew that what Rachel and Sam said was making sense. But the other part of him, the part of him that had lost his father when he was eight, was confusing him.
"Noah, I know it's not an easy thing to do. But sometimes you just have to do the most difficult thing now so that things will be easier for you later," Rachel sat beside him and Sam did the same, albeit reluctantly, on the other side.
"Listen, Puck, Rachel's right," Sam nodded. "Look dude, I hate you. Don't get me wrong." Both Puck and Rachel rolled their eyes at Sam's words. "But if the reason you're not giving your father up is because of your twisted sense of loyalty towards him then maybe it is time to – "
"I was five the first time my father hit me," Puck said and Sam closed his mouth. Rachel took the mohawked teenager's hand. "It took my mother three years to report him to the police, and that was only because Finn's mother had attended to her bruises. You have no idea how much of hell she went through because of him, okay? She cried herself to sleep each night since he was gone for the next few months. I never understood her need to cry for that bastard until I realised that she wasn't crying for him. She was crying for us, and how she had failed to protect us from him."
Unwanted tears clouded his eyes and he turned away from his school mates. "She thought reporting him had worked but he's back now, isn't he? And he's still fucking up our lives. The only difference now is that I'm old enough. I'm old enough to stand up to him, to protect my girls from him every single night."
"And what happens when you can't?" Sam asked, his voice strained. "What happens when he hurts you so badly that you can't move?"
"That hasn't happened yet."
"But it will sooner or later, judging by the bruises on you, Puckerman," Sam stated and he stood in front of Puck. "You need to put him away. For good this time. And I'm sorry, but if you won't, then I will."
"This has nothing to do with you!"
"Unfortunately, it does," Sam shrugged. "My sister and Becca are good friends. Sooner or later, Debby would be at your place. And I don't need my sister around that bastard."
"Becca would never let Debby around our house," Puck shook his head. "She's afraid of him."
"Then, like I said earlier," Sam said smugly and Rachel quietly snorted at the glare Noah was sending his way. "It's time to put that asshole away for good. First thing we have to do is file a report. And then, after they have arrested him, we'll need a good lawyer."
"In case all that hair dye is sipping into your brain, Trouty Mouth," Puck gritted his teeth, deeply annoyed that neither Sam nor Rachel were letting him leave without the compromise of his father being arrested. "My mom and I have no money for a lawyer."
A tiny hand slipped into his and for the first time in a while, Puck felt a warmness in his heart at Rachel's kind eyes. She smiled at him softly.
"Then I guess it's a good thing that my Daddy would gladly do it for free, huh?"
xxx Glee xxx
He watched as the two police officers took the man he loathed to call his father away, his arms wrapped tightly around his hysterical mother. His heart raced as his father screamed and struggled against the tight hold the cops had him in, swearing that he would be back. He gulped at the menace and madness in David Puckerman's eyes, silently praying that such hatred and evil would never engulf him the way they had with his father.
Beside him, Rachel gave his hand a gentle squeeze and he gave her a small, grateful smile. Evans stood on his other side, his expression grim as Rachel's father put a hand on his shoulder.
"Noah," Rachel's dad held out his hand and Puck shook it. "If you ever need legal help, or any help at all for that matter, please do not hesitate to call us. You, your mother and your sister are family."
It was amazing, really, that Leroy Berry could call him his family when he knew that Puck had been making his daughter's life a personal hell in high school. Nevertheless, Puck would forever be indebted to the this man and his daughter and so he nodded. Leroy and Sam walked to the two policemen to talk to them, Sam giving Rachel a pointed look as he left them to be alone.
"Your mom's about to break down soon and I don't think she'd appreciate any of us but you being here to witness that," Rachel said and she turned to look at him, tears in her big brown eyes. His heart raced at the sight of her, cursing himself for never realising how beautiful this amazing girl was. He hugged her closer when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "If you ever need help, Noah, you know where to find me."
She let go, kissed his cheek and walked towards her father's car where both Leroy and Sam were already seated. At the back seat, Sam put his arm around her and Rachel leaned her head against his shoulder. Puck wished the shoulder was his and he startled when he realised what he had been thinking.
As the police and Leroy's cars drove off, his mother shook as she fell to the ground, openly sobbing her heart out. He glanced around, not at all surprised when none of his watching neighbours bothered to help him.
"C'mon, Ma," he whispered softly. "Let's go inside."
"He's right, Mrs Puckerman," a familiar voice said and Puck felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. He looked up to face his best friend and smiled weakly at Finn. On his mother's other side, Carole Hudson-Hummel helped her up. He watched helplessly as Carole muttered comforting words into his mother's ears as they walked back into his house quietly.
"You okay?"
Puck nodded. "Yeah, just worried about her."
"She'll be fine, dude," Finn said confidently. "Your mother's a strong woman. I have to apologise to you, though."
Puck raised his eyebrows at his best friend. "What?"
"I should have figured it out earlier," Finn gulped. "I was so caught up with my own family matters that I failed to notice what you were going through."
"Stop being a pussy, Hudson," Puck smirked and punched him on the arm. "How could you have known? When I want something to be hidden, I hide it well."
"And yet, Rachel and Evans," Finn spat out Sam's name, "found out about all this before I did. I guess that does say something."
"That you're not very smart? I thought we established that a long time ago?" Puck smirked, even if he did feel like throwing a fit. Finn raised his eyebrows at Puck, too used to how much of an emotional retard he was. Puck sighed, guilt already consuming him for being a bitch to his best friend, the person he knew deserved his jerkish behaviour least. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't go to you, alright? But the truth is, if Rachel hadn't walked in on me in the locker room, nobody would have known."
"But she did," Finn nodded. "And you do know that we'll owe both her and Evans a lot, right?"
"Yeah," Puck sighed an ignored the way his heart race at the mention of Rachel's name. "We do."
xxx Glee xxx
Rachel closed her eyes as she waited for the ice cold syrup to sting her face. Maybe she'd get a cold and then she'd be able to stay home and not be in this hell-hole like Sam. Then again, that would mean a missed glee club practice and Rachel knew she'd rather lose her Spring Awakening tickets her father had got her. Oh, curse Sam for falling sick and leaving her all alone.
And no Sam meant that there was no one to protect her from the group of hockey jocks that had pinned her against the wall, their team captain toying with her as he faked throwing the slushy at her for the third time.
"Just promise us that you'd get your nose fixed and we'd let you go, Man Hands," Mendez, the captain smirked and Rachel opened her eyes to glare at him. She didn't bother telling him that she was proud of the way she looked. When he hadn't listened the first time, there was no way he was going to listen to her for the third.
"I actually like the way her nose looks, Mendez," a familiar voice growled and Rachel turned to face Noah, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the hockey jocks. Behind him, Finn gave Rachel a reassuring smile before going into the same stance as Puck.
Rachel grinned slightly when the two hockey jocks gulped and Mendez grimaced.
"What's it to you, Puckerman?"
"See, Berry's actually a good friend of mine now," Noah stepped closer to Mendez and Rachel felt her heart swoon at the way he was defending her. The two hockey jocks had put her down by then and she smoothed her skirt out. When she walked away from them, Puck protectively stood in front of her, his hostile gaze still never leaving Mendez. "Fuck with her and you fuck with me. And you know you don't wanna fuck with me."
"What Puck is trying to say," Finn grinned as he cracked his knuckles. "Is that Rachel is one of us now. And for that record, so is Sam Evans. So, if you mess with her, you mess with all three of us. And messing with us means messing with the cheerleaders. And you don't want Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez after all your asses, now don't you?"
"What does Quinn have to do with this?" Mendez gulped and Rachel remembered the rumour she heard in fourth period about how Mendez had set his sights on Quinn. Guess that particular rumour was true.
"Where have you been these past few weeks, Mendez?" Puck smirked. "You may have the hots for Fabray but she goes wet for Evans. And we all know you don't fuck with either of them so I know you've gotten our message."
Mendez and his jocks nodded at each other and as his teammates walked away, he glared at Puck, Finn and Rachel.
"This isn't over."
When the jerks were finally out of sight, Rachel turned to smile at both her rescuers.
"Thanks," she smiled shyly and Puck rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Finn shrugged.
"We owe you big time, Rach."
As Puck took her bag and books out of her hands, the three of them walked out of McKinley together, forming a strong front to whoever that looked their way with Puck glaring or cursing at anyone who dared to make a snarky remark and Finn chatting with Rachel about her glee club, Puck listening in to get to know her better . And that was the day Rachel Berry became untouchable in McKinley High.
xxx Glee xxx
"Wait, so he saved you?" Sam's sneeze at the other end of the line made her giggle and Rachel nodded even though she knew he could not see her. "And Quinn Fabray likes me?"
"Oh, honestly Sam, was that the only part you got?" Rachel chided, though she was too happy to care. Sam had been her first true friend but the way Puck and Finn had stuck by her that day had made her so elated. And she would never forget the way Puck had introduced Santana and Brittany to her during lunch, with him protectively wrapping his arms around her small shoulders and warning Santana that she was not to be bullied upon anymore.
"Of course not, Rach, but c'mon, it's Quinn Fabray!" Sam protested and Rachel rolled her eyes. "Anyway, looks like you don't need me anymore then."
"What?"
"Your victimized days are over, Rach. Puckerman made that pretty clear, didn't he?"
"Samuel Evans! You are my first friend and my best friend. Nobody can replace you!" Rachel protested and she heard Sam chuckle nervously at the other end of the line.
"That's good to hear, Rach," he said and Rachel felt herself relax. "Tell me about Quinn again!"
Rachel laughed as she recounted her story to her best friend, her smile brightening when she received a Facebook message from Puck, a notification alerting her that Finn had posted on her wall and friend requests from Santana and Brittany.
Yeah, today was the best day ever.
A/N: So, this is the prequel to my Puckleberry story, You're Not Him. I don't know if I should continue and make this a multi-chapter so please help me decide by leaving it in your reviews and let me know what you think! Criticisms appreciated! :)