A (late) Christmas present to Kyra5972, but it's only late because she's slowww.

As always, reviews are love. Even if it's something short.

Disclaimer: Glee doesn't belong to me.

Take Me With You
One-shot

So many memories.

Skinning her knee when she was seven and learning to ride a bike without her training wheels.

When she was ten and broke her wrist because she wanted to try and roller skate down the front stairs like the cool kids in the movies.

All the nights she would climb out her window and sit on the roof just so she could stare at the stars.

Her chest tightened when she remembered the night she got kicked out and she shook her head, determined to not let herself fall into those memories again. She could never erase what had happened, but she'd spent her senior year finally trying to recover, to face everything that had happened and move on. She still missed Beth and she probably always would, but she had made her bed when she signed those papers and, now, she had to lie in it. There was no going back in time.

She sighed and straightened her shirt. Tightened her ponytail and realized this was the last time she'd see this house or any part of Ohio until she came back for Thanksgiving. Soon, she would be on the road to Connecticut and settling into the apartment her mother had found her.

"This is it," she whispered to herself.

Her mother and her had already said goodbye the night before. They hugged, but there weren't any tears. This time, when she left, it was of her own choosing. As it was, she and her mother had never fully regained the relationship they'd once had.

Her apartment was already waiting for her in New Haven, completely furnished and less than a mile from the Yale campus.

"You ready to go or are you going to stand there all day?"

She spun on her heel, eyes widening for a fraction of a second when she saw Puck with a duffle bag over his shoulder and a suitcase by his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Figured I'd come with," he said with a shrug as he nodded towards the car. "Any room left for my shit?"

"You want to come with me," she said slowly and shook her head when he shoved the suitcase into her already cramped backseat. "You want to come with me to Yale?"

"Hell no."

"Then what-"

"I'm just comin' with you to Connecticut. You can have your ivy league all to yourself." He smirked at her and eyed her legs. "Nice shorts, by the way."

Her face went pink and she tugged at the shorter-than-normal cutoffs. "I packed everything else," she defended softly. "You can't come with me."

"Why not?"

"Because… Because…"

"Because…?" Puck prompted with a raised eyebrow. "Lima's shit. Pony's taking over my pool cleaning business and I'm not doing college. What's holding me here?"

"Nothing, I guess, but-" She shook her head. "Where are you supposed to live?"

"Need a roommate?"

"It's a one-bedroom apartment."

"Fine by me." He winked at her and her face flushed again. "Q, I can sleep on the couch for all I care. I'm not picky."

"You really want to come with me?" she asked, biting her lip as he dropped his duffle beside the car and walked up to her.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked in reply, one hand resting gently on her hip as she stared up at him.

He'd been there for her this last year, helping her get her head back on straight and helping her stand on her own two feet. Out of everyone, he'd been her best friend this year. A best friend that, she had to admit, she wanted to kiss in this very moment, like she had for the last few months.

He smiled down at her, eyes twinkling in a way she would never tell him, because he would insist that nothing about him twinkles.

"Okay."

The word left her mouth before she really thought about it, but once it did, she didn't want to take it back. Not with the way his smile widened. Not when she admitted silently to herself that while she might be ready to leave Lima behind, she wasn't ready to do the same with him.

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay," she said, laughing when he pumped a fist in the air. "But we're listening to my iPod while we drive. None of your Mario Brothers playlist."

He pouted, half-joking, half-genuine as he nodded and followed her to the car. "Fine," he said when she turned the car on and started skimming through her playlists. "But no Broadway."

"I'm not Rachel."

He laughed with her as she pulled out of the driveway and the music began playing.

Well, life's like a road that you travel on

There's one day here and the next day gone

Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

"Oh, God. You have a road trip playlist."

"Yes, I do. Now, hush or you're riding on the roof."

The End