A/N: This story is titled for the song Never Again by Nickelback. Please leave honest reviews!

Title: Never Again
Genre: Angst/Romance/Drama
Ship: Santana/Puck; Santana/Finn
Rating: M
Word Count: 3,424
Summary: Everyone thought he was stupid and dopey but Finn Hudson was observant.

Chapter 1

It was a Monday the first time he noticed something wasn't right. Everyone thought he was stupid and dopey but Finn Hudson was observant. Usually when Santana Lopez walked into the choir room her head was held high and she carried herself with confidence. But today was different. Her shoulders were slumped forward and her ever-present smirk had been replaced with a frown. Instead of sitting in her usual seat next to Brittany, she took a seat away from the rest of the group. Everyone else dismissed it thinking she was just being bitchy, but Finn knew better. She barely spoke up during rehearsal even when Rachel began demanding a solo for their next assembly. He caught up with her afterwards, telling Rachel he left a book in his locker. He reached out and gently grabbed her arm to slow her down.

"Santana?"

She jumped and twirled around, pulling her arm from his grip. She must have sensed that he was trying to read the look on her face because her expression suddenly hardened.

"Can I help you with something, Finnocence?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," he said, ignoring the ridiculous nickname. "You didn't seem like yourself today at rehearsal."

For a moment, the Latina let her guard down. She was obviously surprised someone cared about her feelings. Finn could also see something else there: pain. Before he could process it, her walls were back up.

"I'm fine, just tired. Being head Cheerio is hard work," she slapped on her signature smirk. "Besides, if I spoke up your little girlfriend probably would have started crying."
"Oh," Finn smiled politely, knowing she was right about Rachel. "Well, if you ever want to talk, you know my number."

Before either of them could say anything more, Puck rounded the corner. The two football players still weren't talking to one another since 'Babygate.' In fact, their friendship had grown more distant. Finn muttered a goodbye before turning on his heels and making his way to the parking lot, immediately apologizing to Rachel for taking too long.

"What did Hudson want?"

Santana turned around and found herself face to face with her boyfriend. She shrugged.

"He had a question about the Spanish homework," she kissed him softly. "Why'd you miss rehearsal?"
"Beiste made me come run laps because I pushed Azimio into the lockers," he rolled his eyes. "That fucker keeps trying me."
"Just ignore him. He's not worth it if he keeps getting you in trouble."

Puck simply shrugged and grabbed her hand, leading her out to the parking lot. She spotted Finn and Rachel getting into Finn's car. She smiled at him. Puck's grip tightened on her hand and she knew he'd seen.

"I don't want you to talk to him. He's probably trying to find a way to get to you so he can get back at me for sleeping with Quinn."
"I highly doubt that. He's over her; he's with the hobbit now."
"What did I tell you about calling her that?"

Santana muttered an apology as they climbed into his truck. It bothered her how protective he was of Rachel. As far as she was concerned, that little brat kept messing with her life. The ride to her house was fairly silent, only the soft sound of the radio coursed through the car. They pulled into her empty driveway. Her house was constantly empty lately. Her dad was working long hours at the hospital and her mother – well, she didn't know what she was doing.

Before she was even out of the car, Puck used his spare key to let himself into her house. She hated the fact that her parents liked him enough to trust him with a spare key so he could watch their house when they went on vacation. They had known Puck his whole life and refused to believe anything bad about him. As a result, he was able to come and go as he pleased. Sometimes Santana just wanted her privacy.

"Are you going to stay for dinner?"

They were up in her room. She dropped her books on her desk and turned to face him. He was standing inches from her with a smirk on his face. He shook his head.

"I've got to babysit Sarah. But you know what I want, Lopez."

Puck grabbed her hips and pulled her close, kissing her hard. She wrapped her arms around his neck. When his hands travelled up her sides, she sucked in her breath and winced. He pulled back and took off her Cheerio top. There was a large bruise on her side. He gently touched it, watching her stomach clench as she tried to fight the pain.

"My bad," he muttered and led her to the bed.

He was gone almost as soon as it was over with a warning that he may or may not be back that night. She knew he was probably going to some girl's house, not home to babysit his sister. Once he was gone, she took a shower and stood in front of her full-length mirror. She teared up as her fingers brushed over the purple bruise. Coach Sylvester had bought her "massive cramps" excuse and allowed her to sit out practice that morning, but it came with a lecture. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.

She got dressed and went into the kitchen, grabbing a yogurt. This had been her dinner all week. She finished her homework quickly and decided to call it an early night. Just as she closed her eyes her phone buzzed. She grabbed it, surprised to see Finn's name on the screen.

Hey San, it's Finn. I just wanted to make sure you had my number in case you needed it!

Santana smiled a little as she hit reply. Maybe she wouldn't have to pretend much longer.

Thanks :)

It had been a week since Finn talked to Santana after glee rehearsal and she still hadn't talked to him. But now he needed to talk to her. He caught up with her at her locker between classes. He stared at her until she noticed him.

"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer," she said without looking at him. She sighed and shut her locker, turning to him. "What do you want, Frankenteen?"
"You quit the Cheerios?"

Santana groaned and started walking down the hallway, hugging her books to her chest. Finn followed closely behind.

"Things spread fast around here."
"So it's true?" She nodded. "Why? You were finally head cheerleader."
"I just don't have the time for all of Sue's ridiculous practices."
"Yeah, right," he scoffed. "What, did Puckerman knock you up or something?"

Finn's eyes grew wide as her hand collided with his cheek. People at their lockers immediately turned their attention to the pair in the hallway.

"I am not Quinn," she hissed. "So much for being there for me to talk to."

She turned on her heels and walked quickly down the hallway. Finn stared after her, confused, for a few seconds before running after her.

"Santana," he gently grabbed her arm. "I was just kidding. Jeez, what's going on?"
"Nothing," she pulled her arm from his grip. "I've got to get to class."

Finn didn't stop her as she walked away. He was used to being confused but this just didn't make sense. All Santana cared about was being head cheerleader and ruling the school. Now she was just giving it up? He was going to find out what was going on with her. He tried to make sense of the situation throughout his next few classes but it didn't help. He skipped his last class and made his way to the locker room, but he stopped when he heard voices.

"What's this I hear about you quitting the Cheerios?"
"I tried calling you last night, Puck. It's not my fault you were too busy sleeping with some skank to listen to your girlfriend's problems." There was venom in Santana's words.
"You know, I liked you better when you were just a piece of ass, Lopez. As soon as you wanted to make this official, you started talking about your feelings. I'm not into that shit."

Finn took this as his cue to step in. He made a show of bumping into one of the benches so they would notice him. Puck turned around, fists clenched ready to attack. Finn held up his hands.

"Whoa, dude. It's just me." He tried not to notice Santana wiping at her eyes as she hurried out of the locker room. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just didn't feel like going to geography."

Puck grumbled something and stormed out of the locker room, probably to find Santana. Finn shook his head. He had no clue what was going on with Puck. Sure, they hadn't talked in months but he was a completely different person than the one Finn grew up with. He couldn't believe he had spoken to Santana that way. Now he was even more determined to find out what was happening.

Santana made sure there was no one in the hallway before she allowed herself to start crying. This wasn't the first time Puck had talked to her like that but it was the first time someone had heard him. Finn was probably going to tell Rachel what he heard and she would tell the rest of the glee club. They'll all say that she deserved it. They would be right. This was her payback for being such a bitch to all of them. She could hear Puck calling after her. She walked outside just as he caught up with her.

"Where the hell are you going?"
"Home," she said simply.
"No, you have to talk to Sue about getting back on the Cheerios."

She spun around to face him.

"First of all, Sue isn't going to let me back on the Cheerios. Once someone quits, they're off for life. Second, I don't want to be a Cheerio anymore. I just – I can't."
"Why?"
"You know why."

She promptly turned around and started walking.

"Oh come on, Lopez. Your car isn't here. How are you going to get home?"
"Have you ever heard of walking?"
"What about your books?"
"Puckerman, shut up!" She twirled around. "Just leave me alone, okay? I just want to go home."

Puck stared at her. He clenched his teeth.

"I'll see you tonight."

He grabbed her face and kissed her hard before walking away. Santana rolled her eyes. She didn't really think about walking until he mentioned her car wasn't in the parking lot. It was about a forty-five minute walk from the school to her house. She dug her iPod out of her purse and shoved the buds into her ears. Turning up the music as high as she could without hurting her ears, she got lost in her thoughts.

(Flashback)

They had only been officially dating for two weeks so far. It was weird for both of them. Santana never thought Puck would be relationship material, Puck thought the same of her. But here they were, walking hand-in-hand down the halls of McKinley. Girls at their lockers were staring enviously at Santana and she was loving every minute of it. The smirk displayed on her face was proof that she was finally where she wanted to be: head cheerleader and the girlfriend of a hot football player. High school was finally back to going how she wanted it to.

When they got to class he started texting someone. Every time she leaned over to see who he was talking to, he would tilt the phone away from her. Frustrated, she waited until Mr. Schuester had his back to them before she grabbed the phone away from him. Her eyebrows rose the second she saw the name on the screen.

"Emily? Really?"

He tried to grab the phone from her but she held it away. She read through the texts – well, sexts – and shook her head.

"Are you serious?" Her hushed tone didn't hide her anger. "You're sexting that bottom of the pyramid slut?"
"Mind your business, Lopez," he whispered as he pried the phone from her hands. "I can sext whoever I want."
"Not while you're with me, Puckerman."

He scoffed and pushed his phone into his pocket, obviously not taking her seriously. I'll show him, she thought. They went their separate ways for the last class of the day. After it was over, she sought out one of the guys on the football team. Shawn, Shane, something like that. She leaned against his locker and turned on the charm, flipping her hair and making sex jokes. Puck rounded the corner at exactly the right moment. She pulled the football player down and let her lips brush over his ear, whispering something about hooking up with him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body against his. Puck grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the guy, turning around to push him roughly into the lockers. He dragged her out of the school trying to ignore all the looks they were getting.

"Puck, let go of me."

He ignored her attempts to pull her arm from his grip and pushed her into his truck. She folded her arms over her chest. If he wasn't going to talk to her, she wasn't going to talk to him. She could be just as stubborn as him. She stared out the window and shook her head. So he could sext some other girl but she couldn't flirt with another guy? She was so sick of guys and their double standards. He pulled up in front of her house and got out, slamming his door. She let herself out of the truck. They went inside and she followed him up to her room.

"Are you going to stop pouting and tell me what your problem is?"
"What the hell was that?"

She was glad her parents weren't home because when Puck yelled, it was loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she turned around and took her hair out of its' ponytail.
"Bullshit, Lopez. You were flirting with Shane in the middle of the hallway for everyone to see!"
"Oh, please. I was just talking to him. Besides, you were sexting Emily all day!"
"You know what? I'm so sick of everyone trying to make a fool out of me."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. He was being so dramatic about this whole situation. She was about to open her mouth to say so when he grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back toward him to stand in front of her.

"Don't fucking ignore me!"
"Ow!" She pushed at his chest. "Puck, let go of me."
"You think you're hot shit? You're not." He pulled at her hair.
"Fuck you, I am hot shit. Let go of my hair, Noah."

He pushed her hard, sending her flying back into her dresser. She fell to the floor and stared up at him. Sure, she had seen him angry before, but never like this. His hands were clenched into fists and he was speaking through clenched teeth.

"You're not going to pull that shit again, got it?"

She was tempted to say some smartass remark about how she would do whatever she wanted. But there was something in the tone of his voice and the look in his eye that made her think twice. She nodded.

"Fine."
"That's what I thought," he yanked her up on her feet and kissed her forehead, ignoring the way she flinched. "I'll pick you up for school tomorrow morning."

Without saying anything else, Puck walked downstairs. She didn't move until she heard his car pulling out of the driveway. She bent down to pick up her makeup and perfume that fell when she collided with the dresser. A sharp pain coursed through the right side of her body. She walked over to the mirror and lifted her shirt immediately seeing the bright red mark spreading from right under her arm to her hip. It would surely turn into a bruise by morning.

(End Flashback)

It had been four months since that day and things had just gotten worse. Santana wiped her eyes when she realized she was crying. She never thought she would be in this type of relationship but she just couldn't bring herself to break up with him. He was the only guy who actually wanted her. Every other guy in school didn't believe she was girlfriend material. Even if they did, they wouldn't want to date the school slut. Besides, Puck wasn't always in a bad mood. He had his moments when he would take her to the movies or out on a date to Breadstix, but then she would say something to piss him off and he would change. She reached her house and went inside.

"Mom? Dad?"

She tossed her purse on the kitchen counter. No response. There was a piece of paper on the fridge. She took it off, reading the note her mother left her about going to a business dinner with her father. Shocker. She threw the paper away and went upstairs. She was about to get in the shower when her phone went off. She picked it up without looking at it.

"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Finn."
"Oh," she sat at her desk. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I, um, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I heard what Puck said to you in the locker room. It was pretty messed up."
"I'm fine, Finn. He was just pissed off about something. He didn't mean it."
"Mhmm," he muttered.
"Is that it?"
"No. I-I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow after school."
"What about Rachel?"
"She's got some thing with her dads. I don't know."
"Sure, why not," she looked up to see Puck walking through her door. "I've got to go. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

She hung up without waiting for him to say anything. Puck had his arms crossed over his chest.

"What-"
"Who was that?"
"It was Finn."
"What did he want?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Something about the Spanish homework."
"He's been needing a lot of help with Spanish."
"Have you met Finn?" She laughed lightly. "He needs a lot of help with life."

She kicked her sneakers off and started to strip down. He grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

"I don't want you to talk to him."
"That's kind of hard to do, Puck. We're in like, four of the same classes and glee club."
"Well find a way."
"Oh come on, he's not my type," she pulled away from him.
"Guy is your type."

Santana took her shirt off and looked in the mirror. She shook her head. Just under her breasts was a large bruise. She could see him standing behind her, staring at the reflection of the mark. It was almost as if he was admiring it. He stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're going to stop talking to him, right?"
"Puck, just calm down. I don't want him."

Instead of answering her, he tightened his arms around her. His hands pressed into the bruise. She gasped as the pain seared through her. Her knees buckled and she almost fell to the floor. She bit her lip, trying to ignore it. She wasn't going to give in this time. It wasn't that she wanted to hang out with Finn, she just wanted the right to want to hang out with him. But Puck wasn't giving up. His grip got tighter. She was biting down on her lip so hard she could taste blood. The tears rushed to her eyes.

"Fine! Fine," she sighed. He released her and she held onto the chair next to her to keep from falling.
"See, was that so hard?" She didn't say anything. "I've got to go."

He walked around and kissed her softly. Instead of taking a shower like she planned, she crawled into bed. She pulled the covers over her head trying to block out everything. Her phone started going off. She started crying and grabbed her phone, throwing it at the wall. She didn't even care that it shattered. For what seemed like the hundredth night in a row, she cried herself to sleep wishing it would just end.