"Noah?" I ask, my voice wavering slightly.
He doesn't respond. Just grips the bottle tighter, knuckles turning white.
"Noah, we're all worried about you."
He speaks and it startles me.
"Who is this 'we'?"
"The whole glee club," I lie.
Not the whole glee club.
Or anyone besides myself, really, but I don't disclose that fact.
"Why do they care? I quit. They should hate me. You of all people should hate me," he mumbles before taking a swig of vodka.
"I don't hate you, Puck," I say, sitting next to him. "I just want to save you while there's still something left to save."
"I love you, Rachel, but I'm not the answer for the questions you have," he tells me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, crossing my legs.
"You're questioning the world. Why life is here. Why you were born in your body, to your parents, in this city. Death does that to people."
"You loved her, didn't you?"
"Of course I did. I'm just not sure if it was genuine."
"What do you mean?" I ask once more.
"She was carrying my child. Maybe I just loved her because of that."
"Is that the real reason you're upset? Because you'll never get to meet your daughter?"
"Stop acting like a fucking psychiatrist," he growls, putting down the bottle.
Out of the pocket of his jacket, he produces a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
After he struggles to light a cancer stick, I pull my own lighter out of my pocket.
He looks at me incredulously.
"We all have our vices."
He shrugs and takes it from me.
Finally, the end of the Marlboro is lit.
"I'd really like it if you came back to glee," I say quietly.
"Why?"
"Because I miss you. It's not the same without you."
"It'll never be the same," he says, taking a long drag.
"Do you think Quinn would want you to mope around and become an alcoholic at the age of 17? I'm pretty sure she wouldn't."
"I think she would. Just to punish me for ruining her life."
I take his face in my hands and look him straight in the eye.
"Noah Puckerman, you are better than this."
A/N: Just a quick one-shot, inspired by the song "Savior" by Rise Against.
I don't own the song "Savior" by Rise Against or Glee.