Pairings: Puck/OC, Brittany/Santana, Artie/Tina, Rachel/Finn, Kurt/Karofsky and Sam/Mercedes
Rating: M
Warnings: Some vulgar language and physical violence later on, some sexual content
Summary: A familiar face moves back to Lima. What will Puck do now that the love of his life has returned? Can he repair the damage he's done?
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters you recognize, Ryan Murphy does. Anyone else is purely the figment of my imagination. I also do not own any of the songs mentioned and used in this story.
Spoilers: Season 1, some of Season 2
Authors Note: This is slightly AU and OOC for some people. The Karofsky and Kurt kiss never happened and so Kurt never transferred to Dalton. I'm not sure what else is different but if anything needs to be cleared up I shall do so when need be, or asked.

Despite the crisp cool air outside signifying winter approaching, Puck walked into McKinley High with his trademark swagger, which is equal parts badass and equal parts stud; he is the King of the school and no one can bring him down. That is until he sees her, standing there in all her glory, fidgeting with her locker combination. He could never forget her wavy chestnut brown hair, the way it stops and curls around her ears or her hazel eyes that were more green than brown and framed by a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses. Puck had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating; nope she's definitely real he says to himself. He hasn't seen the object of his affection since she moved away 3 years ago, what is she doing back in Lima?

Puck saunters up to her, puts on his sexiest smirk and speaks while trying to keep the hurt tone from his voice. "Hey baby, I didn't know you were back in town." Her body stiffens slightly and she snorts back "maybe that's because you stopped returning my phone calls and emails nearly 2 years ago Noah" voice filled with venom and hatred, not even glancing his way. Ouch! But I guess he deserved that.

"Oh c'mon Ashley you know it's not like that, I just got busy with school and sports and you with your new life up in Torano." Ashley simply gives him a look and says, "Toronto", then closes her locker and starts to walk away.

Puck is floored; no one just dismisses the Puckersaurus like that. He runs to catch up with her and steps in front of her, blocking her path. "What is your problem? I thought we were friends?" "Oh is that what we are is it? So friends can just ignore you for 2 years and leave you stranded and alone when you needed them most? Is that what friendship is to you Noah? Because if it is, I hate to see what you do to your other so called 'friends.'" Now Puck feels like a jackass, he didn't mean to upset her, he just wanted to get back into their old routine.

"I'm sorry Ash; I know I haven't been a good friend lately, but..." Puck looks around the hallway, people are starting to stare, "...can we maybe go somewhere and talk?" "Humph, it's a little too late for that, Puckerman" using Noah's last name because she knows how much he hates it when she does.

Damn, she never uses my last name unless she's really pissed Puck thought, already missing how Noah sounds coming from her adorable pouty lips. Fuck, listen to me I'm such a pansy...and a complete and total sucker for her. He came up with the nickname 'Puck' at age 11 and since then only Ashley has ever been allowed to call him Noah, besides his mom, sister and savta (grandmother) of course.

Ashley could see a flash of hurt cross Noah's face when she called him by his last name, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Good, she thought, give him a taste of his own medicine; who is she kidding, Noah always has been and always will be her weakness, one look into those golden brown eyes and she found she could never stay mad at him for long. Gosh, why do I have to be such a sucker when it comes to him? No, I will stand my ground; I will not give into him.

"Ash I..." "No! You do not get to act like the victim Noah. I will not stand here and listen to your half-assed apologies. You've had 2 YEARS to apologize. I needed you Noah, more than I needed anyone else..." she swipes her bangs from her face in exasperation and that's when Puck sees them.

"What the hell are those?" Puck's voice harsh, his anger quickly rising within him. Ashley quickly moves her bangs back over her forehead and gives him a stern look, "they're nothing." "Like hell they're nothing! Let me see them. Who did this to you?" Puck not caring anymore of the stares they were getting from passer-bys. "Like you care," she said quietly.

"As a matter of fact I do care!" Puck nearly screaming and Ashley looking at him with wide vulnerable eyes. Puck saw the pain and hurt in them and lowered his voice to barely a whisper, "I will always care about you." Ashley didn't know what to say or do, she could feel the tears coming and she was not going to cry in front of Noah, so she did the only thing she could think of; she ran.

She ran around the corner and knocked into something big and hard almost knocking her over, until a pair of large hands caught her by the arms. Ashley did not want to cry on her first day back in Lima so she furiously wiped her eyes and looked up into the ogre of a man that she carelessly ran into, only to be welcomed by a familiar face. "Finn?"

Finn looks down at the shorter girl who ran into him and can't believe what he's seeing. "Ashley? Is that you?" The two teens look at each other and simultaneously crack a smile and wrap their arms around each other in a hug.

"What are you doing here? I didn't know your family was back in Lima," Finn asked. Ashley averted her gaze from his and answered hesitantly, "Yeah my mom, brother and I decided to move back." Finn nodded his head in understanding realizing that she never mentioned her dad moving back as well. Finn may be a bit dumb sometimes but he knew, even back as a kid, that Ashley's parents didn't have the most stable of relationships. He remembered them fighting and yelling all the time whenever he and Puck were over at her house, sometimes they could even be heard next door at Puck's house.

"Well welcome to McKinley High Ashley, I'm Kurt, Finn's new step-brother" he extends his arm and shakes Ashley's hand.

Finn forgot Kurt was there and mentally slapped himself for not introducing the pair sooner. "Oh yeah sorry, uh Kurt this is Ashley, we grew up together. She lived next door to Puck so the three of us were always together. Then before high school started Ashley's dad got transferred for his job and they moved to Toronto" he leans towards Kurt and adds, "That's in Canada you know."

Ashley tries to hide a snicker and Kurt gives Finn his best 'I know that you dumb ox' face as he rolls his eyes at him. Sometimes he wonders about him, Kurt thought to himself.

Kurt then turns to Ashley with a wide grin and says, "Well it is very nice to meet you, any friend of Finn's is a friend of mine. Well except Puck, we just tolerate each other because of Glee and well, now that Finn and I are step-brothers." Something flashed in Ashley's eyes when he mentioned Puck, to Kurt it looked like a mixture of anguish and rage. Whatever it was Finn never seemed to notice but that's nothing new, Finn isn't always the most perceptive of people.

"So does Puck know your back?" Finn asked. There's that look again on Ashley's face. Seriously, Finn can be so dense sometimes, Kurt will just have to have a talk with the oaf later about watching what he says.

"Um, uh, yeah, I uh, saw Noah just before I ran into you." Noah huh? Kurt thought. No one gets to call Puck by his first name, he's not even sure his own mother calls him Noah. But Kurt doesn't dwell on that thought for long because you can tell that Ashley doesn't really want to talk about Puck and is a bit uncomfortable; however Finn just doesn't know when to let up. "Oh yeah? I bet he's happy to see you. I know how much he's missed you since you left."

Well then why didn't he tell me that? Ashley asked herself but pasted her best fake smile on and just nodded. Finn didn't seem to notice anything amiss with her, but that's just Finn Ashley thought, he's always been that goofy kind of guy who has good intentions but isn't really the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"Well it was great seeing you again Finn and meeting you Kurt. We should get together soon and catch up." Finn nodded enthusiastically. "Well I should get going; I don't want to be late to class on my first day here."

"What's your first class?" Kurt asked. Ashley grabs her schedule and says "Um, Spanish, with Mr. Schuester." "Oh great, I have that class too! And so does Puck. It will be just like old times," Finn says with that infamous dorky grin on his face. "Just my luck" Ashley mutters under her breath. Finn seems to be oblivious to Ashley's offhand comment but Kurt sure heard her. He's curious as to what Ashley has against Puck. It seems to Kurt that they used to be the best of friends; I wonder what happened to them.

"C'mon I'll show you to class." Ashley says her goodbyes to Kurt, agreeing to meet up with him and the rest of the Glee kids for lunch and strolls along side Finn as they walk to first period together.

They get to class just as the bell rings and Finn introduces Ashley to Mr. Schuester, or Mr. Schue as he said most students call him. It doesn't matter she's not really paying attention to what Finn and Mr. Schue are talking about, all she can concentrate on is Noah.

She noticed him as soon as she walked in; I mean it's hard to miss him with that mohawk of his. He definitely didn't have that when she used to know him, but she does find it incredibly hot on him. What? No, Ashley, you're not supposed to think he's hot, you're supposed to hate him. He left you remember? Right, now if only she could remember that then she'd be set; too bad things aren't that easy.

Class isn't any better, she can barely concentrate on what Mr. Schue is saying, all that seems to be on her mind is Noah, and it doesn't help that she can feel him staring at her from the back of the class. She doesn't even remember the girl's name beside her, Finn introduced her to her, said she was Kurt's best friend. Her name is something car related, Porsche maybe, or BMW? No those don't sound right, hmm, what is her name?... Oh right! Mercedes! That was it.

The bell rings signalling the end of class and Ashley could not be happier. Finally, she'll be able to get away from Noah and his incessant staring; this is going to be a very long year.

Kurt meets with up with Mercedes after third period so they could walk to the cafeteria together for lunch and catch up on the events of their day. The conversation quickly turns into them talking about Ashley; apparently Mercedes also noticed that something is up with Ashley and Puck too. She said whenever she would turn around to talk with Tina she would catch him staring at her. She also mentioned that when she tried to talk with Ashley it's as if the girl was off in her own little world, and it did not seem happy. Ashley also noticeably flinched when Puck brushed past them after class.

"We have to talk to her 'Cedes. She may be moving back to Lima, but high school a totally different world here and we need to take the girl under our wing. What do you say?" "I'm down white boy. She seems like she needs a friend right now and maybe we can even help her with whatever's going on between her and Puck." "I could not agree with you more," Kurt replied.

They started to walk toward the cafeteria when Kurt voiced a concern he's been having ever since he met Ashley, "Did you happen to notice something on Ashley's forehead while in class? It looked like she was trying to cover something up when I met her earlier, she kept fixing her bangs and I thought I saw some scars." "So I'm not the only one? I thought I was crazy, 'cause one minute I saw something and the next I looked over and nothing was there." "Hmm, we'll definitely have to have a talk with her." Mercedes nodded her agreement and they entered the doors leading to the caf, all discussion of Ashley halted for now.

They two friends got their lunch, tots and a sandwich for Mercedes and a salad for Kurt, then headed toward their regular table where the rest of the Glee club were already eating and chatting about some juicy new gossip probably. The pair sat down and Kurt noticed Ashley wasn't with Finn so he glanced around the caf hoping to spot her.

Ashley had to stay behind to talk with some of her teachers about catching up on her schoolwork then went in search for the cafeteria. She got her lunch and stood at the doors looking for a familiar face when she caught Kurt's gaze and he waved her over. She didn't realize there would be so many people at the table and it was a bit intimidating for her, there also didn't seem to be any more room for her at the table. She was just about to tell Kurt and Finn that she could find somewhere else to sit when a blonde girl got up and sat in the lap of a Hispanic looking girl. Kurt patted the spot next to him and the two girls, who were now making out, so she took the seat offered and smiled at the rest of the group.

Finn didn't seem to notice Ashley there until Kurt starting making introductions. She found out the two girls next to here were Brittany and Santana, then next to them were Quinn, Artie and Tina, Finn she knew and Rachel sat next to him, then there was Mike, Sam, and Lauren, and of course Mercedes, Kurt and herself.

Ashley couldn't help but wonder where Noah was; as if she was reading her thoughts, Santana perked up and asked if anyone had seen Puck. Everyone looked around, shook their heads and went back to their earlier conversations.

Although Noah wasn't Ashley's favourite person right now, she did miss his presence. In Spanish she found Noah's attention to be irritating at best but by halfway through her next lesson she couldn't help but feel a sense of loss and loneliness sweep over her. She initially chalked it up to being in a new school and not really knowing anyone here and missing her friends from Toronto. After a while she couldn't fool herself anymore and realized she felt lost and lonely because Noah wasn't around. She remembered feeling this way when she first moved away. Before she left she never went a single day without seeing Noah at least once, then she had to get used to seeing him only through a computer screen, then not at all.

She forgot all those warm fuzzy feelings she would get every time she was around him, it wasn't until she saw him again that all those memories came flooding back. Now she doesn't want to be without that sense of belonging and the warmth that radiates within her just at the sight of him, but he left her and the pain is still raw, even after all this time. She has a love/hate relationship with Noah right now, she thought she was over him but she was only fooling herself. She hates him for leaving her but loves him with every fibre of her being; all the repressed feelings that have surfaced are just proving to confuse her fragile heart even more.

Ashley looked around at all the happy smiling faces of her peers and made a point not to dwell on Noah anymore, its only making her more upset. She should really try talking with the rest of the people at her table and add something to the conversation around her. She turns to Kurt and asks if his shirt is from the new McQueen line. Kurt seems to beam at this and they quickly start having a conversation of fashion and designers.

Kurt couldn't believe that Ashley knew his shirt was a McQueen. Perfect, another fashionable and fabulous person like himself he thinks. Just as he and Ashley were getting into a heated discussion of which designer they liked best Karofsky and to step in and ruin it.

"Well if isn't the members of Homo Explosion" Karofsky snickered and high fived another jock. Seriously, can he not think of something more original? His scathing insults are becoming so predictable Kurt thought as he rolled his eyes at the bully's antics. Just as Finn was about to stand up and say something back to the pea-brained Neanderthal Ashley stood up and said, "What did you just say?"

All eyes at the table were on Ashley, except Kurt's, his stayed on Karofsky, and if he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, he would not have believed it; Karofsky looked taken aback, scared even. Sam stood up and turned to Ashley, "It's not worth it Ashley, just forget about it."

Ashley looks over at Sam and says, "No I will not forget about it," she then turns back to Karofsky and her eyes are filled with so much rage. "You can't just go around shooting insults at people David." Whoa, David? Kurt says to himself, and he looks around sees he's not the only one stunned by Ashley using the Glee clubs number one bully's first name, First Noah and now David?...Wait, how does she even know Karofsky? Surely a nice girl like her would not be friends with someone as appalling as David Karofsky.

"Ashley? Wha, what are you d-doing here?" David stutters out. "I'm back in Lima now, what do you think YOU are doing? How dare you say such things to these people, they've done absolutely nothing to deserve such disrespect from you." What's happened to him, Ashley thought, David used to be such a nice young man, where did he go.

Oh shit! Ashley's back? What? When did this happen? Karofsky couldn't get his mind around the fact that his former friend was back here, in Lima, at McKinley no less. She was the only one who knew about his secret, the only one he ever told. When she left, he thought his secret left with her but now she's back. What am I gonna do? What if she rats me out to the whole school, makes me a laughing stock? No, she wouldn't do that, not the Ashley I knew. But just in case I need to talk to her, to make sure she'll keep my secret safe."Ash, can we go somewhere and uh talk...privately" he looked over to his best friend Azimio who nodded and walked away with the other football jocks.

Ashley didn't really want to talk to someone who could be so blatantly ignorant to people, but she needed to get to the bottom of what happened to David to turn him into something he's not, a bully. "Fine" she replied, her voice laced with indifference. The two former friends walked out of the caf and left a confused bunch of people in their wake.

"Well that was, weird" Artie said.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever heard anyone call Karofsky Dave, not even Azimio," Tina replied.

"I just hope she knows what she's doing. I'd hate for her to get slushied or hurt," Rachel spoke up.

Finn interrupted the group and told everyone that Karofsky wouldn't hurt Ashley; they were good friends before she left. Finn even suspected that they might have even been a couple. At his admission, everyone looked at Finn with their jaws almost hitting the floor, all clearly shocked to hear of a potential relationship between the two polar-opposites.

No one seemed to notice Puck nearby and the anger that flashed in his eyes when he heard his best friend say Ashley and Karofsky may have dated. Puck was furious and he stormed out of the caf in search of his two former friends and possible ex-lovers. He shudders at the thought, there's no way Ashley would fall for someone like Karofsky, no way in hell.

Ashley and David were oblivious to Noah's building rage as they sat on the bleachers outside by the football field.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" but before David could answer Ashley went on, "The hypocrisy of calling Glee club 'homo explosion', when you yourself are gay Dave." She gave him a pointed look that meant she would not accept any nonsense excuses from him. Time to be honest and man up Dave, "Uh yeah, no one else knows that but you." He had been avoiding eye contact with her but looked at her now; he was afraid what he'd see when he looked in her eyes. But they weren't hard and cold like they were in the cafeteria, they were softer and understanding.

"Dave, listen to me," she grabbed both of his hands in hers and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm not upset that you haven't come out to your parents or anyone else for that matter. Believe me when I say I know how hard it can be being gay in a small town, hell even in cities like New York it would be hard. Some people just are not accepting of others who are different from them. But I do not want you to think for one minute that you aren't normal or to be ashamed or embarrassed by who you are. You are, well were," she gave him another pointed look, "a great guy who deserves to be happy. You still deserve to be happy but you need to clean your act up and stop picking on others because of your own insecurities."

Dave smiled at that, leave it to Ashley to lay everything out in front you and to call you on all your shit. This is why they got along so well, with Ash there was no skirting around an issue, she was blunt, she was honest, and he liked that about her, respected that about her.

"You always had a way with words Ash." She laughed, "Yeah well I have to be if I'm ever going to get things through your thick-skull." Dave laughed as well.

"Oh god, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Dave. I assume the reason you stopped talking with me is because you were afraid to tell me the truth that you didn't actually come out like you said you did." "Ha, yeah, sorry for lying to you, I just...didn't want to disappoint you. You were so happy that I was going to tell me parents I was gay and when I chickened out at the last minute I didn't want to seem like a coward."

"Dave, if you weren't ready I wouldn't have forced you to come out. Admitting to yourself that you may be gay is hard enough, let alone admitting it to other people," she smiled at him. "I hope this means that now that I'm back you will start to smarten up and get your act together. No more insults, no more bullying. It stops here Dave."

"Yeah, I know. I only did those things, cause, well, you know. I just wanted to fit in, be a part of a team. I was stupid." "Well its one thing to admit your faults and wrong-doings, but now you have to actually do something about it. Make up for the fact that you were probably a complete douche to people." They both laughed.

"You're too smart for your own good sometimes."

"Yeah, I get that all the time."

They shared another laugh and then both reached out for the other, grabbing onto each other in a tight hold. Dave held on trying to help convey all the things he just couldn't say. They're not sure how long they just sat there hugging, oblivious to everything around, everyone around them.

No, this can't be happening. Please tell me this isn't happening.

Feedback: Please feel free to review; I would love to read readers opinions and comments.

Much love!
-PF