Two Months Later
Quinn's POV
I pushed my thick, nerdy glasses up my sweaty nose and put my hands between my knees. I was aware that I was shaking. I only shake if I'm terrified. And right now, in this sweaty gym that smelled like used gym shorts and fear, I felt more vulnerable than I usually am. I was not liking this. Not at all. This was the only subject that I fail to excel in. I would rather fancy lunch if it was a subject but then everyone would pass. P.E was like survival of the fittest which it is. It was a form of abuse. But now I was more terrified than usual because they were playing dodgeball. Dodgeball was number one on my "most hated sports". It is physically and emotionally draining. Coach picked out the best athletes (and the popular kids) for the other team and the nerds and outcasts on the other. It was a form of torture. By now, Coach had already assigned the team captains for each team and as usual, I was picked last. I might be as well not be picked than face the usual humiliation of being picked last. But when I'm being called, they never use my real name. I'm not even sure if they know my name. "Blondie Foureyes McMuffin." I heard someone say.
I looked up from my sneakers and saw that the one calling me was Santana Lopez, Finn Hudson's vixen Latina girlfriend. She was pretty, I have to admit but she was also the biggest bitch in McKinley. Coach Penn, the sweaty new coach who "supervised" (fell asleep during games) gestured me to come over to the death row. "Come on Fabray, we don't have all day." I sighed in annoyance and reluctantly walked to our side of the court. There were only two popular kids on our team, Santana and Brittany (those two are always on the same team).The other team was composed on who was left of the popular guys.
Rachel bounded over to me and said, "What's our game plan?" Even though we both know we sucked at any kind of sport, Rachel's competitive spirit took over her. "Play dead." I was still quivering.
"Don't be such a coward Quinn." Rachel said and before we knew it, everyone was throwing balls at each other.
The nerds were trying their best to "throw" the balls at their competitors but as usual, they were all failing miserably. Of course, Brittany and Santana were like fierce animals, Santana especially. I admired their athleticism. Rachel saw a ball roll past her and ran to get it.
I, on the other hand was cowering in fear as balls whizzed past me. I squeezed my eyes shut until tears of fear came out from the corners. I was praying to God that I wouldn't get hit. I wished I could curl up in a ball but that would make me more of a coward than I already then all the ball-whizzing stopped. I slowly opened my eyes. All I saw was a bright red blur coming at my face and the next I was on the floor, staring at bright white lights. I felt dizzy but I didn't feel pain. Everything sounded muted. I didn't hear my skull and my body thud against the hardwood floor and I sure didn't hear anyone call my name. I could hear the laughter echoing in my brain. My skin felt hot and my insides felt cold.
I could hear Rachel, calling someone named Winn. "Winn! Winn" She kept calling.
My head and my face felt numb. My nose hurt and I could feel the front of my shirt get sticky.
"Get this girl to the nurse!" I could hear Coach Penn shouting.
Someone picked me up and carried me out of the gym. I went limp. I didn't feel like I was swept off my feet, it felt more like someone carrying a sack of potatoes and that sack was me. My head buried against that person's chest and I could hear his grunt of pleasure at the back of his throat.
Something about this guy was familiar in a good way.
"Come on, this way." I heard Rachel's voice from behind, although I didn't see her. She sounded nervous and tired."God, she's bleeding so much."
From the way that my nose was throbbing numbly, I was gushing blood. No wonder my shirt felt sticky. I couldn't say anything because my mouth suddenly failed to cooperate. Instead I just kept my eyes shut for the rest of the way to the nurse's office. The guy who was carrying me pushed past the door to the nurse's office. An irritated voice said, "What now?" Then a few silent seconds. "Why is she bleeding so much?"
"Dodgeball hit her in the face." I heard a familiar voice coming from the one who was carrying me. Then the guy put me down and again, I was facing another pair of bright lights. I wanted to shield them away but then I couldn't really get my arms to cooperate either. "No, sit her up. We don't want that blood going into her brain do we?" Nurse McKinney said.
I felt a pair of hands sit me up. "Now honey, what I want you to do is duck you head down." The nurse said.
I let my head go limp. "Now don't move."
"Aren't you supposed to put something in her nose to soak up all that blood?" Rachel asked.
"We ran out of cotton balls." Nurse McKinney said. "But I do have some tampons." No. She wouldn't. She wouldn't. I heard someone snigger.
"Anything's better than nothing." Rachel said. Nothing's better than tampons. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes. We have to stop the bleeding." Nurse McKinney said. Then something was stuck in my nose. Two tampons each. A warm hand pressed against my forehead. It was too big to be Rachel's and it was rougher to be Nurse MicKinney's. "She's burning up."
"Stick this in her armpit." Then someone raised my right arm and stuck a cold metal rod inside my armhole and put down my arm so the metal rod was stuck in my armpit. I'm pretty sure what they stick under there was a thermometer. There was a few tense moments and then someone raised my arm again and got the thermometer out.
"38. She's pretty hot."
"She certainly is. Can anyone take her home?" Nurse McKinney asked.
"I'll take her." Rachel said and then in a blur, I was in her Rachel's car, a Barbra Streisand song playing. My forehead was against the window and my bag was magically on my lap. An ice pack was on my head, sweating their way on my hair. The front of my shirt was soaked with dried blood and was now crusty like paint peeling away. I slowly took away the ice pack and put it on the dashboard. "Hey, you're awake."
My vision cleared and was feeling much better than before. I rubbed my temples. "My head." I groaned.
"Does it hurt?" Rachel asked, her eyes still on the road.
"No but I get the feeling that at any second now nausea's going to hit me." Rachel just nodded.
"Did you really make me put tampons in my nose?" I asked.
"What was I supposed to do?" Rachel protested. "Have you drown in your blood? You know better than that."
"You're so dramatic." I complained. "What happened?"
"Azimio hit you in the face with a dodgeball." Rachel said. "There was blood everywhere. You should've seen it."
"Yeah, I'd like to see the blood on my shirt and make a pool on the gym floor for the germs to swim in." I said, trying to clear my head. "It feels so weird." My eyesight was blurry and I guess my glasses broke.
"You're just in shock." Rachel assured me. "Though your glasses did break in half but I'm glad that they're gone. They looked absolutely horrible on you."
"I know, you've told me a hundred times." Quinn said. "I'll buy new ones. And they'll look the same."
"Quinn, could you be a little more fashionable? I mean, it's senior year, it's time to get out of that shell you've been hiding in." Rachel was pretty right but I what could I show these guys? They'll only hit me with another dodgeball to prove their point. It's amazing how fast our conversation could go from one topic to the other in a second. Besides, I was more comfortable hiding in a rock than actually going out to see the sun.
"Okay Rachel, if you want another dodgeball thrown at my face again." Rachel just smirked. "Not like that Q. I meant, you need some serious male attention."
"Haven't we been through this already?"
"Yes but let's review." She said. "Haven't you been tutoring Puck?"
"Yeah."
"And were you aware that he's been throwing you these looks?"
"What looks?"
"So you've been completely oblivious to the only guy who ever looks at you?"
"Maybe that's because someone threw this hard, plastic dodgeball at my face causing my nose to gush out blood like that fountain at the mall." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Right. Trust me on this Quinn, go for it! I know you like him just as much as he likes you!"
"You don't even know if that's true."
"Honey, I don't need to know if it's true because it is. He likes you! He really does!"
"Oh God Rachel, please stop. It's making me nauseous. I don't like him that way but I consider him my friend. He's like a big doofus you can punch around." Well, doofus was sort of fitting for him. Rachel laughed.
"Oh please Quinn. You know, deep down inside…just admit it. Please, this conversation won't rest until you tell me." I sighed and looked at her. I could tell she cared but I know deep down she just wanted me to have somebody to love as she would delicately put it.
"I don't know." I sighed, rubbing my knees together. "I don't have a thing for doofuses."
"If you're going to be so cavalier about this, why do I try?"
"That's what I try to ask myself Rachel." I said, sticking my tongue out rebelliously at her. "We're not seven years old Quinn." Rachel said, annoyed. "Seriously, Quinn, you might be smarter than the rest of us but you still sort of act like this 5th grade kid. I'm not telling you that you should grow up, I'm telling you to be smart enough to see that this guy actually likes you. And he's seeing past all of this," Rachel looked at my skinny, geeky frame. "And maybe seeing this gorgeous girl underneath."
"That's an overstatement." I said. "Look Rachel, I may not be the most confident girl in school but I've got common sense and it's telling me that he's not interested."
"But are you?" But then she pulled up to my driveway. "Think about it." She called after me.
I rolled my eyes again and immediately went inside the living room and set up. I changed into a clean shirt and went right back to studying. Tomorrow, I would be the one laughed at.
"Hey." Puck said, standing in he doorway. He was still in his gym clothes. Plain grey shirt, red shorts and sneakers.
"Hi." Then I noticed the bloodstain on his shirt.
"What happened? Did someone shoot you?"
He just smirked. "You don't remember or did that dodgeball hit your head too hard?"
I just stayed where I was and kept my mouth shut. "I was the one who carried you to the nurse."
I just sat there, blinking oddly at him. "You were the one who carried me?"
"Pretty much." He said.
"So how's the head?"
"It's fine now."
"Tampons?" He said, his smirk growing bigger.
"Shut up."
He chuckled lightly. "You didn't even bother to change." I said, crossing my arms. "It's disgusting to look at you."
He just kept on smiling like it was the most amusing thing in the world. "Tell that to the dude who just carried your ass to the nurse's office. If it hadn't been for me, you'd be drowning in your own blood."
"So they say." I said. "Can we not mention the whole situation please? I'm already much more of a loser than I already am."
His smile melted a bit and a brief rush of triumph overcame me. He knelt beside me. Over the past two months, we both grew closer. He was actually a nice person. But I couldn't shake the feeling of the butterflies of my stomach under the fast beating of my heart. No matter how much I tried to push it away, it kept coming back like a boomerang. It was weird that I looked forward to spending the next two hours tutoring him. As a joke, he called me his "Jedi Master" and he was the "Padawan learner". It pleasantly surprised me how much he knew about Star Wars. He studied my face carefully and said, "Your nose is still red. But it's a good thing the bleeding's stopped."
"I don't know if that was a compliment or some form of insult."
"Neither." Cue moments of silence. "Can I say something?"
"If it's something totally obnoxious then you can just can it and we can just start on the pile of homework."
"You look really pretty without the nerd glasses." He said sincerely. I knew I blushed, hard. My stomach's butterflies were doing karate now. He was smiling at me like I was special which I was the total opposite of. He was making moves or so I wanted to believe. I wanted to say something nice and totally flirty but then the defensive/guarded side of me kicked in instead. "That was very obnoxious." I saw roll his eyes and sigh. A part of me wanted to say sorry and say he was sweet and I appreciated it but then the other part of me decided against it. Whatever they chose, they could never make up their minds.
Puck's POV
Have you ever liked someone you thought you could never like in a million years? It's pretty overwhelming. You know she's there but you've never gave her a second look. Like Darth Vader. Hard, frigid and totally protected on the outside but get to know him (Anakin Skywalker to be more exact) and he's pretty much the coolest dude ever. But then there's that whole thing that we can't be together and shit because we're so different. It totally feels even more exciting. You know what Anakin and Romeo have in common? They liked girls that they weren't supposed to like. Anakin was a Jedi and according to the Jedi Order, they weren't supposed to fall for a girl but then he fell for the Queen of Naboo (Queen Amidala, Padme etc.) and Romeo fell for Juliet when the Montagues and the Capulets weren't supposed to get along. The truth is, I liked Quinn. I liked Quinn a lot. And I know it was sort of against it but that's what made it like it. I liked the chase, the rush, the adrenaline. I know it was wrong but it felt so right. When I get on a girl, I'm like a freaking predator.
I freaked out when Quinn's nose bleed. It was like something triggered inside me. Her glasses broke and I rushed her to the Nurse's I got to Quinn's house, I decided to try something that I never tried before. To tell a girl that she looked pretty. But that didn't turn out good cause she said it sounded obnoxious. The next day, I walked up to Azimio while he was talking up so ghetto girl near his locker. The girl took one look at me and scampered away. Without a thought, I shoved Azimio against the lockers. Hard.
"What the hell!" He demanded.
"You think it's funny huh?"
"What the hell you talking 'bout man?"
"You think that it's funny hitting girls with a dodgeball in face!"
"You got some serious nerve coming up to me like that Puckerman!"
"And you got some serious nerve hitting a girl like that Azimio!"
"It's called dodgeball for a reason. Dodge the ball or be hit!"
"Didn't you see her nose bleed?"
"She's a nerd Puckerman! Who the hell cares!" He roared but before I could say anything he continued, "Don't tell me that you care for a four eyed blondie freak?" He laughed and shoved me and moved on, leaving me by the lockers. "Punk ass!" He called after me. I didn't know why it got to me but it did. At football practice, the football guys were looking at me funny like I just did something wrong.
I really didn't like the way they were staring at me, like I was a freak or I had a freaking horn attached to my head. All through practice, they didn't pass me the ball or let me say anything. I was totally alienated. I asked Finn what the hell was going on. "They think you're in love with that Quinn girl."
"But I'm not."
"Says Azimio. They say it's a rumor but all the football guys seem to think it's true."
"Do you think it's true?" Finn just shrugged and jogged to assist Coach with the subs. I walked over to the bench and sat my ass down. I placed my helmet between my knees and looked at the ground. The sun was weaker, probably cause October was almost arriving. The leaves were starting to turn and the weather was colder than usual. I looked up and saw Quinn, her camera around her neck. She looked happy and confused at the same time, sitting there and talking with Rachel. I knew Rachel because my mom and her dads used to be classmates in the community college. She smiled and laughed some joke that Rachel made and it made me smile. She saw me smile at her and we smiled at each other for no reason. But for a million reasons, it felt right. This warm feeling bubbled in my stomach and burned in my chest.
When football practice was over, I showered and drove to Quinn's house. I never got used to it. It was hollow and empty and cold. It wasn't the kind of place I would call home. I walked over to the living room and waited. Quinn wasn't here yet. I glanced over at the piano. It looked like no one in this family knew how to even play but yet they had one. I put my bag down and sat on the piano stool. It was cold like stone like the rest of this house. I entertained myself for a couple of minutes, just jamming on the keys. My mom made me take lessons when I was a kid. I played Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird", which was one of my favorite songs of all time. I know it was cheesy but it was a really beautiful song. I sang, figuring that no one else would hear me but me and God. I sang like I was singing it to someone.
For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
To you I'll give the world
To you I'll never be cold
Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's so right, I know it's right
And the songbirds are singing like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
OhhhAnd
I wish you all the love in the world
But most of all I wish it from myself
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before
Like never before
Like never before
The echo of the song was in the air and rang in my ears. I sat still, kind of thinking of what I just did there. I looked up and saw Quinn standing there in the doorway.
"Puck?"
"I can explain." I started. It suddenly was hotter in here than usual. "No one was here and I was bored and so there was this piano just standing there…" She was just silent. "I know you said something about not touching anything and I'm sorry okay?"
"No. It's okay." She said as she sat next to me. "It was beautiful Puck."
"You really think so? It didn't suck or anything?"
"No. It's not like you were performing at a concert or anything."
"Well, thanks."
"It's like you were singing it to someone. Were you thinking of someone when you sang it?" She asked sincerely. My heart beat faster with her being so close to me. I wanted to hold her hand.
"No. Not anyone." She looked a little disappointed.
"I never thought you were into this kind of music." She pointed out.
"You don't know a lot about me." I said.
She bit her lip and said, "I forgot to thank you."
"For what?"
"For carrying me to the nurse's office. That was really sweet of you."
"You're welcome."
"I wanna show you something." She said and led me through a sliding glass door that I thought was a glass wall. There was a small path leading to a lawn of well manicured hedges and a gazebo right in the middle. There was a tree which was sprouting white flowers. "My dad used to play poker with his friends in that gazebo." Quinn said, admiring it. The gazebo was like the baby grand piano, like every other furniture in Quinn's house. It was forgotten and come out here to rot. What's the use of a big house with a gazebo in the backyard if you don't even use it?
"My mom told him to stop gambling or she'll burn the gazebo down." She continued. I watched her run her hand down on the wood as we walked around the gazebo.
"You don't come here a lot. I can tell."
"I do, occasionally." She faced me and said, "Follow me." She walked over to the end of the lawn. Opposite the gazebo was a cherry blossom tree. It was a delicate shade of pink and it stood out from the rest of the boring green trees. It was easy to spot but I guess I was just too busy staring at Quinn that I didn't notice. She climbed up and instructed me to follow. She sat on a branch and I sat right next to her. In front of me was just a haze of pink, shrouded over by the sky and the green.
"I come here when I just want to think about things. You know, slow down and take a breather."
I nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Life's crazy."
"I should tell you that my mom and dad are planning this church singles mixer where all the teenage guys and girls from our church come and…mix. It's next Friday so I won't be able to tutor you."
"So all you church virgins are going to try and hook up? That's going to be one hell of a party." I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes. I couldn't believe I was starting to get jealous. And Puck Puckerman never gets jealous. Ever.
"Please don't make fun of it." Quinn pleaded.
"It's really important to my mom and dad."
"Is it important to you?"
"No but it is to them. It's usually hosted by some middle class family with a huge lawn and bad clothes but this time the church committee picked them."
"Like the Brady Bunch."
"Exactly. So please, just don't come within twenty feet of this house and mess it up."
"I'll try."
"Look, I'll make it up to you. I'll buy you dinner, on me. How's that sound?
" "Sounds good to me. Just promise me one thing."
"What's that?"
"If you see any hot girls, can you get her number for me?" She swatted my arm. I couldn't help teasing her. But even so, the mixer thing had me worried. I didn't like the idea of her with another guy. This was a different feeling though. I never got this before but I guess it's what they call jealousy. And like I said, I've never been jealous before.
A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews, I really do appreciate them :) I know it took me kinda long to update but I was trying to see if I could try write Puck. I didn't want him to sound OOC and I wanted to do him justice. I won't promise any quick updates but I promise the next chapter will contain a LOT more Quick. So please review and let me know if I did Puck any justice so I can continue writing in his POV and once again thank you so much for the wonderful reviews :))
