Chapter One
Santana Lopez strode confidently down the crowded school hallway, inwardly rolling her eyes as the hoardes of teenage boys became momentarily dumbstruck as she passed by. With her dark looks and beautiful figure she drew attention wherever she went. Especially if where she went happened to be full of hormone fuelled young men she thought with a smirk.
Ignoring the low whispers and admiring glances, she slowed her pace, focusing instead on the unhelpful campus map she'd just been given and once again tried to locate classroom 2B.
She came to a stop by a row of lockers checking her watch and frowning slightly at the time. She was running late. Her car wouldnt start this morning, until Mr Ortega from next door had pointed out her dead battery, even replacing it whilst she watched but leaving her embarrassed and a little flustered as she arrived at William McKinley High School on her first day at a new job.
And then when she finally arrived, there had been no one waiting to show her around, just a put upon receptionist who had hastily printed out a school map, thrust it into her hands and told her to go and see Principal Figgins if she needed anything else. Letting out a small sigh she looked around her, trying to work out which poorly drawn block on her map represented this part of the school.
"Excuse me, ma'am?"
She turned, coming face to face with a grinning teenage boy who stood casually in front of his open locker. He was about about two inches taller than her with olive skin, impressively muscled arms and attractive brown eyes that looked her over appreciatively. He wore a check shirt, sleeves rolled up, unbuttoned at the top and his hair, in what she took as an expression of youthful defiance, was styled into a short Mohawk. Judging by his easy manner and obvious good looks she assumed he was one of the popular kids, probably on the football team, probably with a pretty, cheerleader girlfriend. Exactly the type of boy she had gone out with in her high school days she thought with a hint of nostalgia.
Not that she missed it, not really. Boring nights with an endless parade of jocks, clumsy hands pawing at her at the movies, at a party, under the bleachers after a school dance. Every date ending with a well practised excuse as to why she had to go home early after what had seemed like hours of dull, almost ritualistic making out in the back of some guy's car. Overall, Santana had loved High School. She had been a big deal from the moment she stepped through the doors of Franklin High, to the day she was crowned homecoming queen and captain of the cheerleading team in her senior year. But forcing herself to fake interest in the constant stream of immature, lust filled boys eager to have a chance with her, that had been the hard part. She had had a reputation to live up to, not only as the bitchiest girl in the whole school, but also as the hottest. And with that came a challenge to keep herself at the top, to hold on to the façade of a normal, popular teenage girl enjoying the attention of every boy in school. Which is how she found herself every weekend, agreeing to yet another meal out at Breadstix with the captain of the football team, the promise of at least over the shirt groping to keep him happy and the safety of pretend heterosexuality for her.
A sharp bang brought her back to the hallway as the boy shut his locker and stepped towards her, hoisting his bag over one shoulder.
"You look kinda lost" he said, nodding at the slightly crumpled paper she held in her hands "You need any help?"
Santana smiled, before handing the map over "Thank you..I think I'm looking for the humanities department"
He tilted his head, running his eyes over the complicated 2 dimensional drawing of William McKinley high school she had given him before shaking his head in confusion.
"It might be easier if you just tell me the classroom" He said giving it back "I'm a senior, so I know my way around"
As she opened her mouth to answer him her phone began to buzz insistently in her pocket. Remembering she had already ignored it twice this morning as she drove to work, she smiled apologetically and reached into her jacket.
"Sorry, let me just uh get th-" she started before seeing the caller ID and frowning. "Jesus Christ, not again" she murmured, sighing slightly and pressing down firmly on the ignore button. She put the phone back in her pocket and made a mental note to deal with it in her break.
"So..yeah sorry, it's classroom 2B" she said looking back up at the boy who was staring at her with a puzzled look, clearly curious about the phone call. She raised her eyebrows, surely he didn't expect an explanation?
She asked again, firmly this time "Classroom 2B?"
The boy registered her tone and nodded quickly "Oh, yeah of course sorry" He briefly glanced at the watch on his wrist and then looked back up at her "I could show you if you like. It's on the way to my first class anyway"
Although she was reluctant to continue what was quickly becoming an awkward conversation, she was anxious to check out her new classroom before her first class arrived and she doubted her own navigation skills could locate it without help. And seeing as this boy had been the only helpful person she had met this morning she smiled gratefully and stuffed the useless map into her bag.
"Yes, that would be great, thanks"
They set off down the hallway, Santana walking a step behind the boy and casting an appraising eye around her new workplace. It was a nice school, fairly modern and big, with decor of mainly red and white, McKinley's school colours. The boy led her through groups of students walking slowly to class, laughter and raised voices echoing through the wide hallway. They passed a teacher's lounge and Santana was thankful to see a decent coffee maker through the plate glass windows. A few teachers stood idly around, chatting animatidly and enjoying the last few moments before class began. They looked happy enough, Santana noted, surprised at how cheerful everybody seemed for a monday morning.
"So you're a new teacher then?" the boy asked politely, twisting his neck to look back at her.
She nodded, picking up her pace slightly to keep up with him "Yes, I'm the new Government teacher. I'll be replacing Mrs Jackson whilst she goes on maternity leave"
He seemed disappointed "Oh, I don't take Government"
She wasn't surprised, he struck her as the type of boy more interested in girls and football than studying but she gave him a sympathetic look anyway. "Well, there's always next semester"
Continuing through the school she tried to memorise the way to her classroom but when hallways lined with endless lockers gave way to yet more hallways lined with endless lockers she quickly gave up. As they went past a set of double doors leading outside, Santana peered out at the huge football field and noticed a group of teenagers, all wearing identical uniforms, practising somersaults in tight formation whilst a tall woman with a megaphone yelled instructions from the sideline.
Pausing at the window she saw a pretty blonde girl falter slightly with her landing and immediately look up anxiously as her coach roared into the megaphone.
"YOU THINK THIS IS HARD? TRY AVOIDING WILL SCHUESTER IN THE STAFF ROOM EVERY DAY FOR 5 YEARS SO YOU DONT PASS OUT FROM THE FUMES OF ALL THE HAIR SPRAY HE USES...THAT'S HARD"
Santana watched as the girl steeled herself and tried again, landing the front tuck perfectly, much to her visible relief. The coach gave a barely noticable nod and barked "Adequate Fabray" before directing her attention to another cheerleader who had just arrived, obviously late, sprinting onto the pitch with a look of terror on her face.
"State champs five years running"
Santana looked up at the boy who had come to stand next to her at the doors and looked at him questioningly,
"Sorry?"
He pointed at the group of cheerleaders who were looking on uncomfortably as their coach screamed at the cowering late girl,
"The Cheerios...best high school cheerleaders in Ohio. They've made William McKinley famous." They watched together as the cheerleader began to cry. Even from this distance Santana couldnt help but notice how pretty the girl was, despite the tears that coursed down her face.
"They win every cheerleading competition they enter in." He paused "Well since Coach Sue came along anyway"
He started to walk again, Santana following with a quick backwards glance at the girl, now trying to execute a round off after hurriedly drying her eyes on the sleeve of her cheerleading uniform.
"The coach...she seems very..." she tailed off, realising how inappropriate it would be to share her thoughts on a fellow member of staff with a student. But the boy turned, laughing and gave her a knowing look, running his hand lightly over his Mohawk.
"Yeah, she's crazy" he shrugged "But they win every year".
...
As they reached her classroom the boy spread his arms and gestured to the door,
"2B..as promised"
She gave a grateful smile as she stepped forward and turned the handle
"Thank you, I appreciate it." As an afterthought she added,
"You aren't going to be late for your lesson are you?...I could write you a note"
The boy shook his head and went to leave "No it's fine Miss, I'm failing anyway" he said smiling.
As he reached the end of the corridor he looked back and just before she disappeared into the room he shouted,
"Hey miss..what's your name?"
Santana laughed softly and turned around, putting her foot against the door and leaning into the hallway,
"Ms. Lopez, what's yours?"
"I'm Puck" he answered with an inappropriate wink
"Hey Puck?"
"Yeah?"
"Go to class"
He laughed "Catch you later Ms. Lopez"
...
I apologise in advance for any mistakes about the American school system, I'm british so I don't really know it too well, also I spell blonde / practice / realise differently but hopefully we can all move past that. Thank you for reading, I genuinely really appreciate it.
This is my first fic so I'd be really grateful for any feedback :)