Disclaimer: No ownership claimed or implied to either the songs or Glee.
A/N: Life comes full circle.
Puck trudged, head down, through the halls of McKinley. He didn't look left or right, he just headed towards the locker room. He could hear whispers, could feel the weight of the glances of some students as they landed on him. As he neared the auditorium, he heard the faint sound of singing. His footsteps faltered just a touch then slowed to a stop. That voice, that beautiful voice, he remembered it well.
"I have this fantasy
That you come back and you forgive me
Oh, I'm so sorry now
I hear this melody, our tryst in rhapsody
And I am listening
I never thought I'd see the day
When you and me, we'd be so far apart
And I miss you so much now
But I know there's no way back to yesterday
I will be with you
You're here in my heart
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
I miss you so much
Wherever you are
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
Here in my deepest dream
Running through another scene
I win your love again
And no, it doesn't bother me
The time I spend in imagery
Well, it's how I live
You see, I don't believe that we tried
Everything before our love died
And I just can't forget
Oh, is the one chance all we get
I will be with you
You're here in my heart
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
I miss you so much
Wherever you are
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
Now I have such memories
But I don't like to resurrect them
Oh, you know they hurt me so much now
And I know there's no way you'll be coming home
I will be with you
You're here in my heart
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
I miss you so much
Wherever you are
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
I will be with you
You're here in my heart
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart
I miss you so much
Wherever you are
But if you never come back again
We'll never be far apart"
As the music died the blond on stage looked up sharply at the lone, slow clapping. "Pretty good Q," Puck called. "Good to see you haven't lost it," he added, walking closer to the front of the stage.
Quinn gulped. This was a shock, she'd never expected to see his face again, not inside the walls of McKinley at any rate. "What-what are you doing here?" she stammered.
"Covering for Coach Beiste," Puck replied, hefting his sports bag further onto his shoulder. "I'm a supply teacher now," he revealed, looking just a touch embarrassed. "You?" he asked, though he knew full well, everyone kept him informed, from his mother to Mr Schuester, all of them.
Quinn sat at the piano near the front edge of the stage, looking down at Puck's face, her gaze roaming every inch of it. "I'm covering Glee for Mr Schue for a couple of months," Quinn admitted. "I'm teaching English too," she added with a little snort of laughter. "Who'd have thought it?" she asked. "Both of us back here, teaching the things we loved," she added with a shrug.
"Was that a song for Glee?" Puck asked with a nod towards the piano, even though it was silent now.
"No," Quinn replied, shaking her head slightly, "that was for me, it's one of my favourites," she said then stopped abruptly, realising she might reveal too much. "We'd love to see you in Glee if you find the time to stop by," she offered breathlessly.
"Thanks," Puck nodded and gave Quinn his half smile. He heard Quinn suck in a little breath. "It still does it for her," he thought to himself. "I've got to get going, gym class to teach," he explained, hitching a shoulder towards the auditorium door. Puck didn't actually leave, he couldn't make his feet move, his eyes were still locked with Quinn's. "Will I see you later? In the teachers lounge?" he asked hopefully. Quinn nodded. "Later," Puck said softly as he turned and made his way to the locker room.
Puck stood at the side of the field, dressed in shorts and a McKinley Titans shirt, watching and assessing the quality of the players on the football team, making notes on his clipboard. He spaced out, seeing another team of players. "All the single ladies, all the single ladies," he heard, somewhere deep in his brain.
"Mr Puckerman?" a young girl's voice brought Puck out of his day dream.
"Sorry," Puck mumbled. "Did you say something?" he asked, looking at the young Cheerio in front of him at the edge of the field.
"Yes, I asked if it was true that you used to be a student here," she asked, looking intently at Puck, waiting for an answer.
"Yes I did," Puck replied with a smile, remembering his own high school experience and how much life had changed since then.
"And that Mrs Puckerman is your ex-wife?" she asked with the persistence of a gnat.
"Yes," Puck answered, his smile becoming less welcoming, a little more tense.
"Is it true that you left her after the car accident that left Mrs Puckerman in a wheelchair?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.
"What is it to you?" Puck growled, wondering who the hell this kid was.
"I'm Robyn Sylvester," the girl answered. "Do you know what a life without love does to a person?" she asked. Puck shook his head. "There, look at that," she pointed to a pathetic figure in the shade of the bleachers. "That's my mother," Robyn told Puck. "Don't turn Mrs Puckerman into that," she begged. "She still loves you, you know," Robyn informed Puck then spun on her heel and left him gaping after her.
"Hey," Puck said softly as he walked into the choir room, dressed now in jeans and a checked shirt, left open over another McKinley Titans t-shirt. He glanced around, remembering a million songs, arguments, fights, break ups and make ups that had all happened in this room. "We had some good times in here," he said, walking over to Quinn, "didn't we?" he asked.
"We did," Quinn replied, nudging Puck's shoulder with her own as he sat next to her on the piano stool, his back to the keyboard. "You look like a student," she said with a smile. He laughed softly.
"How are you doing?" Puck asked belatedly, wanting to know, wanting an honest answer.
"I'm fine," Quinn shrugged, not sure exactly what he wanted her to say. "You?" she asked politely.
"I'm good," Puck nodded. "I miss you," he admitted with a sigh, his arm wrapping across Quinn's chest, pulling her to his shoulder, hugging her close. "Can we…" Puck stopped abruptly as the choir room filled with students.
"Ok, class," Quinn said brightly, hiding the emotion she felt at that second. "This is the new football coach," she indicated with a slender hand, turning to smile at Puck, "Mr Puckerman," she continued with a smile and lifted an eyebrow at him. "You may recognise the name," she added with the hint of a grin. "He was one of the original New Directions," she told the class. "If we ask him nicely, maybe he'll sing something for us. What do you say?" she asked Puck softly.
Puck gave Quinn a long stare, his eyes never leaving hers. "Ok," he whispered. "Anything?" he asked, an idea forming in his head. He saw Quinn nod. Puck stood and walked over to the band, mumbling something, discussing with them. He returned to stand in front of the piano then glanced at the students waiting patiently in their seats.
"This song is one of my best friend's favourites," Puck said to the class, then looked at Quinn. "I know you still love her stuff," he murmured with a wink.
"You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh
That's right
I took your words
And I believed
In everything
You said to me
Yeah huh
That's right
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong
I know better
Cause you said forever
And ever
Who knew
Remember when we were such fools
And so convinced and just too cool
Oh no
No no
I wish I could touch you again
I wish I could still call you friend
I'd give anything
When someone said count your blessings now
For they're long gone
I guess I just didn't know how
I was all wrong
They knew better
Still you said forever
And ever
Who knew
Yeah yeah
I'll keep you locked in my head
Until we meet again
Until we
Until we meet again
And I won't forget you my friend
What happened
If someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them out
Cause they're all wrong and
That last kiss
I'll cherish
Until we meet again
And time makes
It harder
I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
Who knew
My darling
My darling
Who knew
My darling
I miss you
My darling
Who knew
Who knew"
Puck looked over to Quinn's stunned face, then at the class. "I guess you all realise that we used to be married, the name's a bit of a give away," he said, then laughed a little self consciously. "Some of you might think we split because of the accident," he said, looking at Robyn Sylvester in the second row. "That wasn't it," he informed the group. "She divorced me because she thought I deserved the chance to be a father and the accident took that chance away from us," he explained. Puck turned to look at Quinn in her wheelchair, he crouched at her side. "But we'd already had that chance, Quinn, we gave that chance up and even if we never have that chance again, I would rather spend a year with you than the rest of my life without you," he told her his voice both soft and at the same time, urgent, intense. "I still love you, Q," he whispered.
"Who knew?" Quinn managed to say as a sob burst from her. Puck's arms shot round her as she leaned forwards, to hug him. "I still love you too," she whispered into his chest. They broke apart when they became aware of the cheers from the students in the room.
"Finally," Mr Schue and Coach Beiste called from the open doorway. "You've no idea the planning that went into arranging this," Mr Schue added. "Thank God I'm the Principal and can hire whoever I want."
