Disclaimer: Only in my wildest dreams do I own Glee.
A Welcome Change
Chapter 2
Puck sauntered into the library right on time, taking in his surroundings as if he were in a hospital rather than the town's humble little library. He shifted uncomfortably looking around for Tina. This obviously wasn't his choice of hangout on the weekends. Truth be told, he actually enjoyed reading, just not when anyone forced him to, but he definitely didn't want to advertise it.
He spotted Tina walking around a table of four children, about the age of twelve, occasionally bending down next to one to assist them. Instead of approaching her immediately, he observed her mannerisms for a moment. Each time she helped one of the confused looking children, she would get down to their level and smile, looking them straight in the eyes, while tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He could tell that when one of the students were getting frustrated, Tina remained calm and didn't seem to mind at all re-explaining things a few times until they understood entirely. Puck couldn't help but smile at the fact he had never seen Tina so happy and in her element except for when she was singing in glee.
She stood from helping a young girl with her math, a genuine smile on her face as she praised her for her work, and spotted Puck. His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Tina looking directly at him, a look of amusement on her face as she realized he had been watching her for the past few minutes, and walked toward her looking a little less confident in this unusual setting.
Tina said goodbye to each of her students, still smiling, and each of them seemed to really take to her, one little girl even hugging her, reminding Noah of how his sister had embraced him when he had agreed to take her and her friends to Haunted Trails.
"How much do you get paid for this gig?"
"Nothing. I volunteer at the library, and they have me tutor. I'd much rather be doing this than shelving books."
"Ah. Cool. So…"
Tina giggled to herself at the fact that Puck looked so unnaturally unconfident in a place as unintimidating as the library.
"Well, I'm here to help, right? Have a seat. Algebra 2 really is a piece of cake after you understand all of the basic properties."
Noah seemed quite unsure of himself throughout the entire tutoring session, which Tina found quite entertaining since she had only seen the tough side of Puck, but he had to admit that Tina really was a good teacher. She never reprimanded him when he couldn't understand something right away, and when he finally accomplished something he was struggling with, Tina would always outwardly recognize his accomplishment, beaming as if it were her own.
No one had ever treated Noah this way, or given him much credit academically. Normally, whenever he did something well in class, the teacher would simply tell him that he should work that hard all the time, a stern look distinct on his or her face. Noah felt like a misbehaving puppy whose only need all along was positive attention.
He liked the way Tina had treated him. He was so used to being yelled at and insulted by girls. Quinn, Santana, Mercedes, and Rachel were always telling him what he was doing wrong, but never hinting at how he should fix it. A small thought then crossed his mind. He had dated every girl in glee at one point or another, why had he never considered Tina a viable target for his affections, considering she was the nicest and least demanding girl in the club. Then he remembered that she was in a committed relationship with Artie. Not that that had ever stopped him before, but they just seemed so happy together and he knew Tina was entirely loyal and content with Artie. He also did not want on that dude's bad side by flirting with Tina, especially since the only result would be being smacked across the face and losing his math tutor.
Tina found their first tutoring session extremely productive and very educational for both Puck and her. She found that he was rather charming when he wasn't trying to impress anyone particularly, which would have been quite difficult in itself as Puck's math skills were much less than impressive. He surprisingly listened and followed direction well and though she had to explain a few topics multiple times, he eventually grasped every point she was trying to get across.
She would sometimes catch herself treating him like one of the twelve year olds she tutored instead of the teenage boy with an infamous reputation, but he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. There was no tension between them and for moments when they would briefly stop working when a word problem reminded them of something from their lives and talk for a minute, it almost seemed as if they were good friends.
Puck was Tina's first student who wasn't in middle school, and she found herself subconsciously trying to impress him with her ability to do mathematical operations in her head, but would then realize how stupid it was of her to think that something like that would ever impress Noah Puckerman. Though she had never bothered to speak to him before, Puck had power and she wanted him to think highly of her, though she never particularly thought highly of him.
From the way he would give his little smirk to every living thing with a skirt, she had never doubted any of the stories she had heard about him until now. At the moment he seemed so innocent and it was obvious to her that he had potential academically if he would just attend a class once in a while. Tina was gradually finding herself becoming moderately attracted to Noah. He was super delicious physically after all, no one could deny that, but his seemingly repulsive personality had caused her to never think twice about him.
She shrugged this brief thought off after realizing that one tutoring session where Puck seemed human meant little to nothing as tomorrow at school, he'd be back to his walking sex shark of an individual.
After their tutoring session had ended, they stood and Noah awkwardly thanked Tina for her help, not quite knowing how to say goodbye after laughing, talking, and learning more than he had in the past two months in the last hour with a girl he had never really had a conversation with before.
"No problem. Would you like to come again on Thursday, or do you think you've got everything down pretty well?" Tina said slightly blushing recognizing the cause for Noah's awkwardness and feeling the same way.
"Well a little extra help never hurt anyone. So, Thursday? But I'll see you in glee tomorrow." Puck said before smiling and exiting the library.
Tina watched Noah retreat and couldn't help but wonder if that genuine smile splayed across Puck's face meant slightly more than a "thanks for helping me graph parabolas."
A/N: Okay, well I hope that wasn't too horrible or too much of a disappointment. I know it was kinda slow, but hopefully more will occur in the next chapter. I want to start moving things along soon, but I'm not entirely sure what direction I want to go. Suggestions are greatly welcomed! If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading and of course reviews are always appreciated.