From my spot, tucked underneath Puckermans arm, my eyes fix on hers. Noise and smoke and people surround us, but these insignificant details appear to seep into the background, never coming in between my eyes and her baby blues.
Her expression goes instantly from uncomfortable and on edge to easy and soft as she notices my lingering gaze and hooks her line of sight up with mine. A little smile plays its way across her lips and my eyes flitter down momentarily to watch the sides of her mouth tug up in the most adorable manner.
Puck`s arm feels heavy around my shoulder, the dark thick hairs that sprout from his muddy skin, harbouring all sorts of dank smells and dead cells of skin. As I stare at her, I can see these hairs out of the corner of my eye. They seem wrong there. Misplaced.
His overpowering scent creeps its way into my nostrils, assaulting my senses as it washes over me. The waft of too much after-shave, piled upon a thick layer of deodorant, placed there to disguise a clear lack of showering makes my stomach knot and my body twitch. The harsh stubble of his chin scratches against the top of my head as he lets out a bellowing laugh, catching the slither of exposed skin where my hair parts.
My eyes twitch shut and my nose scrunches in momentary pain, but as my eyes seek out Brittany's again, I am surprised to find her eyes darting up to fix angrily on Puckerman, now openly making jokes about the plenty of girls he has slept with. The mixture of him hurting me and now openly disrespecting me in front of our entire class makes Brittany tense visibly.
One of her palms lays flat; pressed into her bare thigh, and her other hand has balled into a tight fist. Panic flits through me as I imagine what she might do; the last thing I need is for her to make a scene. Everyone is already pretty suspicious of us. Even Puck brought it up once, stating that he was down with whatever, as long as he was allowed to watch. Of course I had shot him down immediately, insisting that Britts and my relationship was purely platonic, when really my insides recoiled with rage at the thought of letting anyone watch and leer at what Brittany and I had.
If Britt went at Puck now, it would just be another thing for the girls in the locker room to whisper about. My eyes silently beg for her to look back at me, desperate for her gaze to return to mine so that I could plead with her not to do anything stupid.
Pucks hand suddenly shoots from my lower back to my ass, earning wolf whistles and applause from the small group of boys surrounding us. My gut jumps into my throat as I swallow back the bile that threatens to spew from my mouth .The skin he touched prickles uncomfortably under my Cheerio`s skirt, feeling like there is a creature under a few layers of my flesh, burrowing to get itself out.
A muscle in Brittany`s jaw jumps with white hot jealousy. Pain, rage and disgust are etched into every groove of her face as she silently boils as the sight of Puckerman touching me in a place I am too shy to let her touch me in public.
I swallow thickly and look up at him, his eyebrows waggling suggestively. I can feel Brittany`s glare burning into the side of me, knowing full well that she is waiting, breathe held to see how I handle this.
"Come one babe" he drawls, lazily. "We can give them a show"
Beer and burps and boy comes flying out of his mouth and I grimace at the pieces of old food stuck between his teeth. Those same teeth then fall down onto my ear, biting harshly at my lobe. My eyes fly shut again and the whooping grows louder as these meat heads assume that my clenched muscles and clamped down eyes are all through arousal at Puckermans wet tongue that is now making its way roughly to my neck.
I feel his mouth open and clamp back down again, beginning to leave what promises to be the mother of all hickeys.
But that's when I feel it.
A gentle hand comes down on my shoulder with a feather light touch. My muscles relax instantly and the creases around my eyes fall away. My heart stops clattering in my chest and my breathing evens. Fingers caress my shoulder and I feel Pucks lips break free from my neck.
"You wanna join in too, blondie?" Sniggers echo around the room.
Brittany ignores him.
"San, I don't feel well, I think I`m gonna go home. I know you were going to stay over but if you want to stay here for a while, that's cool. I don't mind you going home. My mum will give your bacon to Lord Tubbington in the morning…" Her words trail off and her eyes bore into mine purposefully, trying to convey a message that I wasn't getting.
"Alright, Britt, if you don't want me to stay that coo-"
"Well, do you have a key to your house?" She hinted further, cutting me off.
I caught on.
"Oh, right. God, yeah, I don't. Oh, well, if you're not feeling well, Britts, I guess I will… Um… have to come now"
A noise escapes Puck.
"But, babe, we were gonna-"
"Sorry, Puckerman. Next time" I chime, delighted to be getting away from him.
Through pity I place a peck on his lips but I can tell that doesn't satisfy him. Beginning to care less and less, I take Britt`s pinky in mine and tug her into the hallway, all eyes following us in shock at the state I have left Noah Puckerman, captain of the football team, in.
As I close the door behind us and turn to face the cool night air, Brittany's pinky shifts and I open my hand up, allowing her to lace her fingers with mine. I look up at her and smile my thanks, not needing words.
Me and Brittany never need words. We have a silent language that coveys our feelings, thoughts and emotions, nearly flawlessly. A gentle tuck of hair behind an ear, a sloppy kiss to the forehead, a nip at the jaw or and smother of a moan with a kiss are all ways that Britt and I have come accustomed to communicating.
And now, as we walk away from a nameless football player's party, hand in hand, and I press my lips ever so carefully against hers, we both know that means just one thing.
I love you too.