Quinn. Quinn Fabray. The cheerleader. His baby mama. But she was more then that. She deserved more than that. Besides, it was his fault. His fault that he got her preggers. But it wasn't just simply sex. There was a reason it was called making love. That was it, they loved each other. They did but Quinn only broke it off because it had hurt her reputation. Last year, after regionals, they still went to Glee Club but acted like nothing happened between them, like they didn't have a child together, like they haven't been through enough. Then, out of nowhere Quinn got Finn again. But Puck, wanting to forget everything, the hurt, the pain went to Lauren. He wasn't in love with her but it was a desperate attempt to make Quinn jealous. But he and Lauren had bonded. He loved her badassness. They were friends and he simply didn't want to hurt her.
Nationals. That was when he realized that he wanted her more than ever. All through the performance he was watching Quinn. She was absolutely beautiful. She had gotten a new haircut, that was something to get used to but still, she was beautiful. Puck needed to break up with Lauren to get back with Quinn. She was all he ever wanted. Finn and Rachel's moment onstage was something you'd only see in movies. Puck secretly wanted to think it was him and Quinn, a spark or a small moment and just like that they'd get back together. Puck decided to make his move and get it done with.
After Santana stopped yelling at Rachel Puck got Lauren outside. New York, the city that never sleeps.
"Lauren, I need to talk to you about something." He said sincerely.
"You don't need to tell me twice Puckerman. Let's go get some fake IDs." She said all too excitedly.
"No." He wanted to get this over with but he didn't want to seem heartless to her. "Look, for these past few months have been really…" Puck was searching for the right words.
"You're breaking up with me. Right Puckerman?" She didn't seemed pissed or hurt at all.
"Well…" She was good at sniffing out lies as she was good at sniffing out Cadbury Eggs. "Yeah. I am."
He was waiting for her response, if she would wrestle him to the ground or something.
"Ah, Puckerman. I knew it. It's okay. You were getting kind of boring anyway." She said. There was nothing in her voice, no bitterness, no regret or remorse. She turned and walked away back into the hotel. Puck was all alone. He hopped back inside. He was heading to Quinn's hotel room then when he was about to knock on the door in flung open. Quinn's perfume filled his nostrils. She bumped into him. "Oh." They both said. She quickly closed the door behind her. "Hey. I was about to knock."
"What do you want?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. And after that I was going to eat or drink downstairs. Where are you heading off to? Without Santana and Brittany."
"Downstairs. I just needed to refresh my mind."
"Oh. Since we're going down the same way, why don't we go together?" He suggested sheepishly.
She nodded. They went together downstairs. They got a private booth in a corner. Puck spotted Tina and Mike and he also spotted Mercedes and Sam together. Once they got seated, things got quiet. He stared at her for a long time. She looked preoccupied, she was always staring at her feet. She finally looked up. "What?"
"You got a new haircut."
"Oh, it's nothing. It was on impulse."
"No, it looks good on you." She actually blushed. He hadn't seen that in a long time.
A waiter sidled up to them and set a menu in front of them. Quinn took a tomato and Puck ordered steak. The waiter took their orders and walked off.
"What happened to us?" Puck blurted.
"What?" As if she hadn't heard.
"What happened to us?" Puck repeated.
She looked embarrassed. "I don'y know what you're talking about."
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." She fell silent for a moment. "After regionals, you felt so distant. It's like we never had anything. It's like nothing ever happened between us. Like we never had Beth."
"Things change Puck. It was a new year and I needed to be popular after that. With what happened."
"Okay, I get that but you never even answered my question."
Puck could sense Quinn knew what he asked. "C'mon Lucy, it's almost been a year and you surely got an answer."
She looked at Puck, trying to find any sign of if he still just wanted to do the nasty but no. It was raw and sincere. "I…I don't know. I mean, you've got Lauren."
"Not anymore."
Quinn felt herself falling over the edge. It wasn't like her. "What do you mean not anymore?"
"I broke things off with her. I needed time on my own. Mostly with you." God it sounded cheesy.
"Puck you know this can't happen again."
"What? Are you saying you don't want to be with me?"
"No. I do but…" Her voice trailed off.
'What?"
"My reputation. I can't let it happen again. I happened once and that's it. It's more than I can handle."
"I've got my reputation too. I dated Lauren. I know she's on the wrestling team but that didn't stop me."
"That's different."
"What's so different?"
"It's just that I'm not ready. I just got out of a relationship and I can't go back there again. I need time for myself."
Puck then realized the timing was wrong. Right place, wrong time.
"Okay. Fine. I get it. " Puck looked down, feeling like an idiot.
"Look, I'm sorry if I haven't been talking to you this year but I was just caught up in glee club and Rachel and Finn. And being popular."
Puck still felt like an idiot. "No, I'm sorry Lucy. I shouldn't have asked. I just blurted it out. I'm sorry."
They fell in companionable silence then another presence shook the both of them. Rachel and Finn came in, holding hands and looking for an empty table. Quinn looked expressionless. Puck seemed to sense it and said, "We can go if you want to."
"No. I'm fine." The waiter served them their food. Puck felt his confidence rise a little. The steak in his stomach felt warm, almost hot. Mercedes and Sam stopped by. "Hey guys!" Mercedes faced Quinn and Puck with an ecstatic look. Sam smiled in the background. Puck wasn't sure if he was smiling at Mercedes or Quinn. "Hey Quinn." Sam said quietly. Quinn waved at both of them. "You look fancy Mercedes. What's the occasion?" Mercedes was blushing under her skin. "Oh nothing. Just felt hungry. I didn't want to be alone so I brought Sam along." Mercedes added innocently enough.
"Dude did you just eat a whole platter with your mouth?" Puck asked Sam with manly confidence. "Yeah, I guess I did." Sam said, clearly looking at Mercedes now. Mercedes turned to Quinn and said, "Hey, when we get back to Lima, we should definitely hang out for milkshakes. Summer's coming and it's going to be hot, hot, hot." Mercedes suggested. Puck stole a glance at Quinn who smiled with so much enthusiasm. But he knew, under that overly-enthusiastic smile she was crying. "We'll see." Quinn managed.
Mercedes said, "Take care you two." She walked out with Sam. Quinn instantly dropped her smile. "You still like him don't you?" Puck guessed. "As a friend." She said curtly. "I know you still do." Puck insisted carefully.
"I don't know. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't." Quinn ate a bit more aggressively. "You're nervous or scared." Puck said.
"Of what?"
"I know you like me Lucy. I know you do." Puck said softly. Quinn hesitated for a while, either from Puck calling her Lucy or from what he said.
"I can't." She finally said.
"What do you mean you can't? You can't like someone?"
"What I mean is, I can't like you. I want to but I can't." Quinn felt guilty. She wanted to be with Puck. That was all she ever wanted, to be loved. But yet while wanted to be with him she was also unsure. This year she was given another chance to be the golden girl and now she needed to maintain it even when she lost Finn and Sam. Finn wasn't the sharpest tool in the drawer but he was tall, popular and cute. Wasn't that good enough for her? Sam was way too perfect. Perfect was what she was looking for but yet their relationship fell apart so did that make him 'not' perfect for her? And then there was Puck. Puck had a reputation for being a womanizer and had this stereotypical bad boy image and yet that didn't stop him from being with Lauren. He was the guy who told her he loved her. She didn't have feelings for Finn after all. She only wanted to believe it was love but in her heart she knew he was always falling back to Rachel no matter how hard she tried to keep them apart.
Puck stayed quiet. There was no point in reasoning with her tonight. In his mind, he thought it would go smoothly. Once he got Quinn hooked to him again she'd never want to be with anyone else again like the way he felt about her. When the first time they kissed under the bleachers, the time they sort of made out in the dark of the janitor's closet and when they were together after midnight in his car wasn't simply because Quinn Fabray was the cheerleader, hot and popular but because she was Lucy Fabray, she was herself and that was what hooked him to her. It wasn't lust at all (even though he doesn't know what it means) it was purely love. He knew Quinn liked him, more than Finn and Sam put together. It was real and they both knew it.
"I just don't want to get hurt again." She said softly, her eyes watering slowly. "Hey, listen to me, I'm not asking you out. I was just curious at what you had to say." They fell to silence again and Puck asked the waiter for the check. When the waiter whisked away with his tip Quinn slowly stood up and Puck stood up and quickly held out his hand. She took it and stood up. Once she was on her feet she shook her hand out of Puck's grip even though she didn't want to let go. "I want to show you something. If it's okay with you."
"Puck, I don't think we should leave the hotel."
"Please." He simply pleaded. Quinn felt her heart pound. It was the please that did it for her. It made his request sound simple and she felt it would be crazy to say no to him. "Okay. Fine." Puck led her to the elevator which confused her a little. She originally thought they were going outside to the streets of New York, eating churos in Time Square, looking at all the sights and wonders of a city so far away from Lima, Ohio. "Close your eyes." He whispered softly in her ear. The hairs at the back of her neck stood up but all the while she obeyed. Puck held her hand which was really warm. At the top floor Puck dragged her outside and opened the door to the stairs. "Where are we going?" Quinn asked. "It's a surprise." Puck said.
Puck pushed open the door that led up to the roof and whispered in Quinn's ear, "Open." To Quinn's surprise she saw New York. The skyline, the Hudson River and the city lights. She felt as if the whole city was hugging her. She smiled, amazed at what she saw. "This is amazing!" She said running around and feeling the breeze around her. She never felt so free. Puck stood there, watching in amazement. He never saw her smile this much before. Back at school she was always frowning and showing the whole school who was top dog but now, she looked like a child, who has seen her first green flash in a sunset. "Yeah! I thought that you wanted to see this so figured, what the hell? Who doesn't want to see New York?" Quinn panted slightly and stopped running. Puck approached her and steadied her. A few moments ago she felt the cold breath of New York running around and making her shiver but now, her body inches away from Puck she felt warm, somehow like a Pop-tart after being popped out of the microwave. She looked up and saw Puck, smiling at her. "You know, New York is the city of love." He said confidently.
"No, that's Paris. Nice try though." She said, amused. Puck always liked trying to catch her off guard using incorrect facts. "I know but with you it feels like Paris." He said. She looked down, feeling guilty again. She looked back at Puck. "Puck you this can't happen between us."
"I know but I just can't find the words to say it. So I'll just sing about it." He took a step back and imagined a melodious piano intro then a cool beat. He opened his mouth and sang soulfully.
I never felt nothing in the world like this before
Now I'm missing you and I'm wishing you would come back through my door, oooh
Why did you have to go?
You could've let me know
So now I'm all alone
Girl you could've stayed but you wouldn't give me a chance
With you not around it's a little bit more than I can stand, ooh
And all my tears they, keep running down my face
Why did you turn away?
So why does your pride, make you run and hide?
Are you that afraid of me?
But I know it's a lie, what you keep inside
This is not how you want it to be
So baby I will wait for you
'Cause I don't what else I can do
Don't tell I ran out of time, if it takes the rest of my life
Baby I will wait for you, if you think I'm fine it just ain't true
I really need you in my life
No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you
Been a long time since you called me (how could you forget about me)
You gotta be feeling crazy, oohh
How can you walk away?
Everything stays the same
I just can't do it baby
What will it take to make you come back?
Girl I told you what it is and it just ain't like that, no
Why can't you look at me?
You're still in love with me
Don't leave me crying
Baby why can't we just, just start over again
Get it back to the way it was
If you give me a chance, I can love you right
But your telling me it won't be enough
So baby I will wait for you
'Cause I don't what else I can do
Don't tell I ran out of time, if it takes the rest of my life
Baby I will wait for you, if you think I'm fine it just ain't true
I really need you in my life
No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you
So why does your pride, make you run and hide?
Are you that afraid of me?
But I know it's a lie, what you're keeping inside
That is not how you want it to be
Baby I will wait for you, ooh
Baby I will wait for you
If it's the last thing I do
Baby I will wait for you, if you think I'm fine it just ain't true
I really need you in my life
No matter what I have to do I'll wait for you
I'll be waiting
Quinn was speechless. She was frozen on the spot even thought her blood was running hot through her veins. Her heart was pound loudly she was sure Puck could hear it. "Puck." She whispered. Puck closed the space between them. She looked even more beautiful in the New York city lights, in her new 'do. He didn't care if she was wearing clown make-up on, she would still be beautiful. He didn't care if her name was Lucy, or Doris or Morris or Honda or Nissan, he didn't care if she used to be teased at her old school because this was the real Quinn Fabray. The most beautiful person he could ever think of. He didn't care about Lucy Caboosey because inside she was just as beautiful as she was now.
Without hesitation their lips came together softly. Quinn felt the ground beneath her fall. Her heart feeling like it would burst out of her chest. Puck's hands slid to her waist and her hands came around his neck. Her mind was racing. His lips were amazing and it felt great as they grazed her jaw. It made her think of that night, the night that gotten her pregnant. Her mind reeled back to where she and her baby bump passed through the halls of McKinley, pushing people away to make sure Beth was not to be touched. The feeling was familiar and it snapped her back to reality. She pushed Puck gently away and said in a sad voice, "I'm so sorry." She ran, she ran down the stairs and back to her room. She was afraid of looking at Puck, the painful expression on his face when she bailed on him on the rooftop. Puck was alone, staring after, not sure what happened but he knew this, he let her slip through his fingers.
He was so close to being Puck and Quinn again. The couple that everyone thought that wouldn't stay alive. But summer was close, and summer was the best time to ask her so she would finally answer his questions that were reeling inside his head. And that was what Puck would do. Summer.