The locker down slammed shut with a force that reverberated loudly in her ears, and Lauren Zizes looked up in surprise to see one Noah Puckerman glaring daggers at her from his vantage point of half a foot above her.
"Whattup Puckeroni? You -"
"Cut the crap, Zizes." For the first time in their entire friendship, Puck dared to interrupt Zizes. "You spilled the beans on Quinn."
"You mean 'Lucy'?"
She had said precisely the wrong thing; it was obvious now why people scattered when Puck strode down the hall. His fists clenched and his jaw tightened, and his mouth pressed into a thin, angry line.
"You lied to me."
"Oh, c'mon." Lauren attempted to give a patronizing pat to Puck's cheek, but he irritably turned his head, leaving Lauren hanging. Unperturbed, Lauren continued. "You knew I wanted to win, and you still let me near her file. Don't you think you're playing a little too dumb, even for you?"
Puck hesitated, but he didn't look any less angry. "I thought you might go snooping." He acknowledged finally, dropping his voice as a couple of girls passed by. "But I thought you'd be dragging up shit from last year. This was way worse, you totally fucked her over. You fucked me over. You hurt her, Zizes."
Lauren shrugged, pulling the strap on her book bag up higher. "I already said I was sorry, and conceded to her for prom queen. What more do you want?"
Puck closed the distance between them and lowered his head so they were looking eye to eye. "No one," He said, enunciating every word, "Hurts. My. Girl."
And he walked away, leaving Lauren with a very bitter taste in her mouth.