iii.
There's a box in my hand as I go
wrapped up in scarlet and gold for you...
Finn winces again as he looks at the purple-blue-ish area near Puck's eyes, across his temple.
"Will you stop that, Hudson! Jesus, even a girl knows how to shut up when she needs to." Puck grumbles after hitting Finn on his stomach - which probably don't work as effective with the layer of clothes the freak is wearing - and just try to work on pressing his annoyance away.
"Are you sure it's okay," Finn looks down, now all sad and dramatic. Puck rolls his eyes a little bit. "Mom says parents aren't supposed to hit their kids."
"It was an accident!" Puck hisses at him, snapping. "Dad didn't mean to hit me!"
Finn looks even more depressed, seemingly to blend in with their surroundings. "Yeah, well. I just think - you know - moms and dads aren't supposed to come close for hitting children, so really, it shouldn't be an accident in the first place."
"Dad was just mad. He's always are these days." Puck bites his inner cheek, trying his best not to rub the bruise away.
"You said it's because he found out you were learning to play the guitar with someone else."
Puck's eyes seem a distant away. "Yeah."
Finn just stares ahead.
Puck feels something aching in his stomach and he blurts out, "I should have said no to Berry's pleading. I should have said no, and maybe Dad won't get mad. I just, I didn't know he wanted to teach me - and, and, he didn't come home on time like he said he would after Christmas and - I just didn't expect that."
Finn stays silent, then drops his skinny shoulders. His long horse hair sags on his shoulders. "How about your mom?"
Puck shrugs his shoulder, "I don't think it's healthy - for the baby and everything. Sometimes," Puck turns red, now brushing on his curly hair. "Sometimes I don't understand how she keeps up with Dad."
It sounds like poison, Puck thinks, that confession coming out from him. He loves Dad - perhaps more than anything! But Dad's just... vicious and scary and sometimes, Puck does think life would be better without him. Man, now he feels all horrible and Puck wants to vomit really, really badly.
Then, out of nowhere, a familiar shriek bursts the air and Puck and Finn finds themselves caught off guard.
Not far away from where they are, Puck could gather Berry with all her face scrunches up in fright as two fat boys kick dirts and throws punches at the new kid, Matt, who's now lying on the ground and just shields his face from everything. Puck sprints quickly, Finn follows behind.
"HEY!" Finn screams first, and one of the snotty boys look up.
Puck knows these idiots. It's Freddie Wilson and his stupid side-kick, David Karofsky. Freddie now stands smugly, his garbage face leers into a smile. "Well, well, if it isn't Puckerman and his little puppy."
"My little puppy has more brains than you and Karofsky combined, you trash." Puck spits while Finn staggers, not really knowing whether to straight up go to Matt and forces himself to be beaten up by Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-idiot, or stand and wait for Puck to give his signal. "Now let the new kid go!"
Wilson barks out a laughter, his eyes glinting with madness. Puck spits on his shoe. "Why? If he wants me to stop, he should have said it with his mouth."
"Come on Wilson. He's too terrified of the size of your brain, which is just as big as your little toe, to understand a word he says."
"Why you !"
Puck immediately grasps on Wilson's body and pushes him hard against the wall. Besides him, Berry shrieks some more. Of course, Puck couldn't help to think, it's Berry who has to be friend with the newest freakshow in town. David comes to him, but Puck immediately dodges him and watches as he stumbles and fall on Wilson.
Finn already is seizing the new kid.
Wilson grunts from underneath fat Karofsky, "Get. Off. Of. Me."
"Oh man, I'm sorry," Dumb Karofsky replies, gingerly leaping onto his feet. Puck rolls his eyes and takes a stand. Man, Ma's gonna send him to do a thousand chores if she notices any new bruises. As soon as Wilson has his feet stable on the ground, he charges over to Puck and they find themselves tackling one another.
Berry shrieks for the whole world to hear and then she keeps hitting Wilson, who has his back towards her, with her shoes and her energy and Puck doesn't know what's more pathetic. Karofsky marches up to Berry but before he could get his dirty fingers around her, the new kid, although beaten up and looks worn-out more than anything, tackles him to the ground. Finn fits in somewhere and help.
Puck finally muster the energy and kicks Wilson off of him. "You little shit!"
"You little shit!" Dad's hand raised up high in the air and somewhere, Ma gasped and her hands reached out to stop Dad but he's too big, too strong and too -
Wilson smirks now, looking at a suddenly-trembling Puck and takes the opportunity to tackle his body back to the ground. He has his fingers in his palms and in a fist and Puck just knows to close his eyes and how - how suddenly he becomes a coward? He should fight back! Wilson should be crumbling down to his feet!
"FREDDIE WILSON!"
Mrs Shapiro, their grade teacher, looks sharply at him, hands on her waist, a few other kids standing behind her. Wilson scrambles off of Puck and to his feet, his face pale and eyes shatter. Puck rolls over, and feels his body drain out of energy from him.
He shuts his eyes and lets the sound, now just mixes up together in a weird way to his ears, envelops his being.
He feels a hand on his shoulder and flutters his eyelids open to find Finn's looking down at him, all worrisome and whatnot. "Are you okay?"
Puck doesn't want to answer, really. "Yes."
"C'mon. Mrs Shapiro wants us in the Principal's office."
"Great." Puck groans very, very loudly. "Is Berry and the new kid okay?"
Finn looks confused for a second, then, "Yeah. The girl and the boy's fine."
"Okay," Puck slowly gets on his feet, brushing off any dirt from his body. "Ma's gonna kill me."
.
"I'm very sorry," Berry says when they're at JCC, a little two days too late.
Puck kinda sneers down her way because he really does not want to re-live the situation back again. The horror of waiting for their parents to pick them up outside the Principal's Office. But it's also because of Berry that the four of them - four of them being Puck, Finn, Berry and Matt - gets away with just a warning. Apparently, based on Berry's explanation, the Stupids (Wilson and Karofsky) decides to pick on Berry and Matt defends her and they got mad and the rest is just a very boring history.
Puck honestly doesn't know why he pulls himself to get involved in such a lame situation.
Fighting losers for much, much bigger losers. Huh!
"You should be," Puck spits back at her. They're sitting at the swings again while their parents - Berry Parents and Ma - indulge themselves in a conversation with other members about stuff Puck doesn't really care about.
"Thank you. For both Finn Hudson and you." Berry looks a little red now, playing with her dress like she always does when she's nervous. "I really do appreciate that you would help both Matthew and I."
"What's with the new kid, anyway." Puck decides to ask. "He never talks."
Which is the opposite of Berry and now Puck guesses why those two goons fit together so perfectly.
"He doesn't like to talk, no." Berry looks sad, frowning up and swinging a bit. She has her hair all down today - so it kinda flows in an manner that follows Berry every time she wings to the front, and back. Puck pretends he isn't staring. "His mother is, uh, mute. So he doesn't talk much. He finds no reason to, he tells me."
Oh. "That's boring. How does he communicate then?"
"He does talk, you know!" Berry looks mad, frowning really badly up at Puck.
"I mean, to his mom. How does he talk to his mom?"
"Sign language of course!" Berry tells like the whole freakin' world should know. He just shrugs. And then, because she's Berry, she explains, "It's quite fascinating to see I must admit. I mean, I guess I shouldn't be as surprised because he's practically been doing it since he's an infant, but my gosh, you should see it one day, Noah!"
Puck's not really listening, to be honest. " M'sure."
Berry just smiles some more. "He thank you too. And to Finn Hudson as well. He really does appreciate your efforts."
Puck just grunts as a respond.
Berry swings again, "Finn Hudson talks to me yesterday. He says he's glad I'm okay."
"Maybe he likes you," Puck mutters dryly.
"Nonsense, Noah!" Berry's more red than her pink dress. He kinda smirks.
"I don't care, you know, if you guys like each other. I won't judge." He tells instead, swinging himself a little bit.
But instead of denying everything, Berry just ducks her head lower that Puck now can see her face whole near him. He wants to snarl, but Berry beats him by saying, "Is something bothering you, Noah? You look utterly... depressed."
Puck tries not to think about Dad or his barking voice or his alcoholic breaths. " M'fine."
"You don't look so."
"Shut up, Berry." Puck snaps, without really meaning to.
"I'm sorry," Berry looks taken aback, and frowns.
Puck sighs and doesn't waste a second when Ma calls after him. He doesn't apologise and lets the guilt eats him through the night.
.
Berry transfers into a new boarding school that wears fancy uniforms and offers vocal classes mid-way through the year and Matt ends up hanging a lot with them. Puck still thinks he's sorta a weirdo but he's been kind to Berry and God knows the girl is desperate for a friend and he's actually kinda cool despite everything. Finn really seems to like Matt. He should work on talking more, though.
They're at Puck's to pick some things up for a project to build fireworks at Finn's. Puck silently goes to the kitchen instead of grabbing the stuff he needs to get and have a cookie for himself. He can hear Finn and Matt's footsteps echoes against the dull house.
When he walks out of the kitchen, he finds the two tip-toeing around the crib of his new baby sister that was born two weeks early. Puck staggers in, slightly annoyed that he find these sore losers are so easily distracted, when Finn glances up at him and hushes in a whisper, "She kinda looks like you."
Well, Puck is offended. He does not look like a living new-born who sleeps and poops every three hour.
"What's her name again?" Finn asks, whispering still.
"Bekkah. Bekkah Elsie Puckerman." Puck grumbles her baby sister's name up, and joins in to stare at her as well. She's bald mostly, only a few strands of dark hair can be seen on the top of her head. And she has a slightly longer nose. She looks nothing like him!
Matt smiles where his eyes appears more squinted than ever, "Bekkah," he repeats, testing it against his tongue.
"She's very small," Finn whispers again, the line of his lips turning into a soft smile.
Puck spats his head, "Why are you whispering! You can talk normally - just don't scream or start a freakin' party. Bekkah sleeps like the dead," with that, Puck pokes his sister's cheek. She doesn't even stir.
"Oh." Finn mutters dumbly, Matt gingerly chuckles.
"Does your Dad named her?"
Puck shakes his head, "No. Ma does. Dad doesn't really care - he just calls her 'Baby'." He pokes his sister's cheek again. "Now, come on. The firework isn't going to build itself up, you know!"
Matt goes out first, Finn following behind. Puck looks back at the sleeping infant, "Bye Beks. And don't tell Ma I took the last cookie."
His little sister stirs, but doesn't wake up. Puck takes that as a 'yes'.
Author's Note: Yay! I've added two more characters from Glee. Matt Rutherford (from Season 1) and David Karofsky (I'm sure you know him!) and I think more characters are going to come up next. And I'm also thinking of extending this to five chapters (I think, but we'll see). Remember, this is a friendship fic, not a romance one. So don't get your hopes high on any couples - I mean, I could give hints, but not real evidence.
In any other case, I thank you for your support and alerts and reviews for this work of mine. I know it's nothing of a masterpiece, but it's something. Mainly, it's a dedication for Cory and his character, Finn Hudson. Thank you, and I hope you'll be around to see the next update.