They managed to keep it a secret for a long while. It was a new concept to the two of them as a whole, and they weren't looking forward to the reactions they'd get from everybody else in the school. They basically steered clear of flaunting what they had together to the world and they kept it that way for what seemed like a very, very long time. Neither one of them complained, though, because that was what they wanted.
After three months of sneaking around and having no one suspect a thing, they decided they had to get over their fears and start telling people. If they didn't, somebody was bound to find out on their own and spread it around before they got the chance to.
So one day, Puck picked Sam up from his place with his truck to drive him to school. Upon arriving, Puck slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked around to the passenger side of his truck just as Sam was stepping out. He tugged both straps of his bag on as he grinned at Puck. The other boy simply reached over and grabbed the blond's hand wordlessly. He twisted their hands so that their palms were touching and intertwined their fingers. Puck started toward the front doors of the school, ignoring the way Sam had to take a few long strides to keep up as he stared imploringly down at their hands. Puck noticed that several people seemed to take interest in the sudden gesture. A couple of guys on the football team shoved each other as their shoulders shook with laughter at the unexpected couple. A few girls a year younger than them pointed and giggled. A ton of other people just stared in surprise. Puck ignored them and kept his gaze straight ahead as he walked, pulling his confused suddenly-proclaimed boyfriend with him.
The two walked to Sam's locker, receiving stares from several people along the way. Sam looked questioningly at Puck once they stopped walking. Puck simply shrugged. He slipped his hand out of Sam's and patted the blond boy's bicep once, giving him a smirk as he murmured, "See you in class." He gripped the strap of his bag as he headed toward his own locker.
It went like that for another stretch of time. The two of them went to school together every day and walked into the building hand-in-hand. Puck walked Sam to his locker and then went to his own. Neither of them understood why people always just stared at them. What did staring do? They could make fun of the two behind their backs, but it really never fazed them.
Puck started getting really overprotective of Sam as time went on. Once, when Puck was walking to his next class, an underclassman and his friend cut off their obnoxious laughing as soon as they saw Puck. They both stared at him and glanced at each other. Puck ignored them until the kid called from behind him, "How's screwing a dude? Bet virgin Sammy was a good lay."
Puck stopped walking and spun on his heel to face the kid. He was walking backward, wriggling his eyebrows conceitedly as his friend chuckled off to the side. It took Puck less than two seconds to charge at the kid and grab him by the forearms, swinging him and slamming him against the row of lockers as hard as he could. As people in the hall stopped dead and looked to see what was going on, Puck shot the underclassman a glare that assured he wouldn't be blamed for that dislocated shoulder.
There was another time at the park where a man eyed Sam up and down and licked his lips, ending up with Puck's fist against his eye, but they didn't like to think about that one.
Aside from those times, all in all, Sam and Puck were doing pretty well with dealing with everybody's reactions to their relationship. The glee club sure didn't mind it because they were still the same people to them; it didn't matter that they were dating. Finn didn't even care that much. He even hung out and played video games with them still, as long as they promised there'd be no PDA or anything while he was there. They sometimes pretended to forget he was there and they would start making out in front of him as a joke, and while Sam pulled away with a laugh when Finn got up to leave every time, Puck always sort of wished they could really forget that Finn was there so he'd get the hell out.
Two more months of indirect bullying went by. Puck and Sam were by the blond's locker, and Puck made a corny joke that wasn't particularly funny at all. But Sam still laughed at it. Puck sure as hell didn't miss the way his blue eyes crinkled slightly when he laughed with his huge mouth wide open like that. When Sam caught his breath, Puck seized the opportunity and leaned in to kiss him right then and there in the middle of McKinley High's corridor. Sam was taken by surprise, but he didn't pull away, and passersby started whispering things that Puck didn't care about. When he finally did pull back, he smirked and Sam looked downright enchanted. He told the blond he'd see him later and swaggered down the hall, his half-smile never faltering.
That is, until Karofsky and Azimio strode by. "Faggot," Karofsky muttered as the two pushed past the shorter boy, laughing slightly as they did so.
That broke him.
Puck stopped in his tracks, not realizing that he was still in the same hallway and thus, if he raised his voice, Sam would eventually see what was going on. But Puck didn't realize that because he'd never in his life been called such a name. He might have used it in his head as Kurt passed by him once or twice in the past year, but never straight to his face. He stormed forward and grabbed Karofsky by the shoulder, yanking it so that the other turned to face him. Karofsky looked amused, and Azimio stood back, shaking his head at Puck.
"Wanna say that to my face?" Puck challenged.
Karofsky folded his arms across his chest and arched an eyebrow. He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice to merely a whisper. "You're a fag."
Puck lurched forward at once, reaching for Karofsky's throat. It suddenly seemed like the entire student body was crowding around them. There was nonsense of all kinds being yelled from every direction as Puck straddled Karofsky and tried wringing his neck, Karofsky gripping his wrists with bruising force and squirming beneath him.
"I will fucking kill you!" Puck growled, and he scarcely noticed that Azimio was trying to pry him off of the other. He refused to loosen his grip. "Leave me the fuck alone! You don't know a goddamn thing about me!"
Puck faintly heard his name being called by a voice he knew well, and suddenly a pair of pale arms were around him from behind, trying to pull him off just as Azimio had.
"Come on, Puck. Get off him, man." It suddenly seemed that Sam's calm voice in his ear was the only one in the entire hallway. "You gotta calm down. C'mon."
Puck finally released Karofsky, letting Sam literally hoist him to his feet. Puck glared down at Karofsky as the other boy scrambled to his feet with the help of Azimio, his hands on his throat. Puck fought the urge to lunge at him again. Sam hauled him away from the crowd and around the corner, into a now-empty corridor.
"What the hell happened?" Sam asked quietly.
Puck sighed heavily, running a hand through his Mohawk. "He called me a faggot," he muttered bitterly. "I'm not used to that. It's not cool."
Sam's face fell. Puck knew that look. Sam was trying to be empathetic, to act how he'd want Puck to act if the roles were reversed. That usually took concentration on the blond's part, though. Puck really learned to have patience being with him.
"Oh," Sam finally said. "I-I…I don't know what to—"
"You don't have to say anything, dude. We knew we'd start getting all this shit when we went public," Puck reminded him. He shrugged. "It just ticked me off. I was never gay, you know. I still don't even think I'm gay. I was never attracted to any other guy in my life." He glanced downward, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Then you came along and I just…wanted you. It was weird."
Sam smirked. "I always have that effect on you," he chuckled.
Puck looked up at him. He grinned, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, you do."
The two started down the hallway. They stayed in silence as they walked, Puck staring straight ahead as Sam kept his gaze on the floor beneath his feet. The blond's hand absentmindedly made its way down to grab Puck's. The shorter boy turned his head slightly, smirking to himself.
"Come over later. I'm up for Harry Potter marathons and cuddling," Sam stated simply. "You down?"
"You're such a freaking nerd, Evans." Puck sighed. "I am so there."