Puck thumped a fist on top of the piano, sick and tired of waiting for his duet partner to join him in the choir room. Maybe Jones had better things to do. Maybe she wasn't coming at all. It would be just his luck for one of the guys to be looking for him and find him waiting not-so patiently for Mercedes Jones. It would suck even harder if it got around that he had been stood up by Mercedes Jones even if it was just for some stupid duet rehearsal.
He heard her voice before he saw her round the corner into the open choir room, cellphone held to her ear and squawking about sobbing in some science class. Puck gave her a what-the-hell look which she barely glanced at, then planted his hands on his hips in frustration.
Mercedes turned her body to face him but her attention remained on the call. "No, no, I think that's a great idea!"
He leaned toward her. "We're supposed to be rehearsing."
She held up a hand, not even bothering to raise her eyes to his face. "I'm talking to Tina." There was a pause as the girl finally registered how annoyed he was. "I'll hit you back," she said into the phone, simultaneously ending the call and putting it back in her jeans' pocket.
Puck watched her roll her eyes and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you're annoyed? I've been here waiting for you!"
"This is bad, dude." He frowned for a moment before he realized she was referring to whatever she and Tina had been moaning about. "All our ballads are terrible because we're all so distracted. We're all worried about Finn and Quinn and BabyGate...we can't even sing about our emotions because we're so worried about theirs."
Great. It wasn't enough that he had to watch Finn and Quinn all day, now he had to hear about it. Puck groaned. "Who cares?"
His question took Mercedes by surprise; confused, she looked from side to side. "Um, we all do. So we decided we're all gonna sing them a ballad to show them we've got their backs."
"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm singing to them." Mercedes simply looked back at him. Puck let out a louder groan and turned away. "It's not fair! Finn gets everything! He gets the sympathy; he gets the girl!"
Mercedes eyed the ranting man-child in front of her in mild disgust. "Look, what is your problem?"
"Finn's not the father!" Puck glanced down at the choir room floor, let his breathing slow, and then raised his gaze to Mercedes' face. "I am."
Another pause. For someone packed with so much opinion, he was almost surprised that her face was so blank. Finally, Mercedes narrowed her eyes. "What?"
Puck lowered his gaze again, not answering and not wanting to see what he knew was the expression coming on her face. It was probably the same expression Quinn had on her face when she realized who the father was. He could deal with the shock and anger. They were sophomores in high school. They were supposed to be worried about football games and cheerleading, not babies. It was the disappointment he couldn't deal with. Disappointment that it was him. Disappointment that the father of her babies was a Lima loser like him.
Mercedes took another few moments to think and then stepped toward him. He could see the resolve strengthening in her eyes even as she walked. "Alright look. You need to get something through your mohawk real quick. You're the baby's daddy. It takes a hell of a lot more to be a father and that role's already been cast because Quinn chose Finn. You need to accept that and move on. 'Cause you have no business messing up that girl's life any more than you already have. You need to back off. You owe her at least that much."
He watched her turn and begin to walk out of the choir room before calling out, "You think you've got me all figured out, don't you, Jones?"
Mercedes stopped mid-step, glancing over her shoulder. Her lips pursed in some sort of smirk. "Oh honey, there's not that much to figure out."
Jones Residence
"You can stop laughing now. Seriously. Stop. Cut it out. Damn girl, take a breath!" Santana grabbed hold of Quinn's arm, still cackling hysterically. Mercedes continued glowering at her. "You're being ridiculous."
Quinn rolled her eyes, carefully setting down her cup of herbal tea on the coffee table in front of the Jones' sofa so Santana wouldn't make her spill it everywhere. "All this time we've been telling you how desirable you are, 'Cedes. This is your second love triangle and you're still wondering about motives."
Mercedes shifted her glare to the blonde. "Because it's Puck!"
Her laughter finally quieting, Santana took a deep breath. "I just think it's hilarious that he broke your window. You should've let Papa Jones beat his ass."
"I really should have." She groaned. "But since I didn't, I have to think of a way to tell Sam that Puck kissed me without him committing murder."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Santana leaned forward so she could clearly see Mercedes where she sat on the other side of Quinn. "Why the hell would you tell Trouty?"
"Because…it's honest?"
Santana wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"Bad idea?"
"Worst idea."
Chang Residence
"What's the worst that could happen if they move in together?" Mike glanced over at Sam when there was only silence coming from the other side of the couch. "Oh seriously? You're honest-to-God worried about Puck?"
Sam sighed. "Wouldn't you be worried if you found out that Artie was going to follow Tina wherever she's planning on going to school?"
"Artie would never…"
"I thought Puck would never do this. But I saw the way he looked at her, I mean, finally saw it. They only dated for like a week sophomore year but there's love there. Besides, he told her that he wanted her back."
Mike frowned. "I thought you said he denied it."
Sam nodded. "He said it was all platonic. We know Puck. There's not a platonic bone in his body."
"I still say there's nothing to worry about." Mike reached to his side to grab the remote and once again turn up the volume on the football game they had been watching. "And if you ask me, Puck's been pretty platonic with all of the girls these past couple years. He didn't even try anything with 'Cedes after you left for Kentucky. Believe me, Tina and I were over at her house all the time trying to cheer her up. Puck showed up a couple times but it was usually only for Mama Jones' cooking. Have you had that woman's gumbo?"
"Yeah, it's really good."
"It's the best-tasting dish in Lima. Even better than my mom's chow mein."
The two boys fell silent for a long moment. Sam finally spoke, his voice a quiet whisper. "Do you think there's a chance that Puck would want Mercedes back just so he could have a lifetime supply of Mama Jones' gumbo?"
Mike blinked at the television screen and slowly turned his face to stare at his best friend. "No, Sam. I don't think there's a chance of that at all."
Jones Residence
Quinn stretched out her legs and smoothed out her skirt. "Santana, Mercedes is not you. She has a moral compass. Of course she wants to tell Sam that Puck came over here and kissed her."
Santana smirked. "And you think that's what she should do."
"I don't think lying is ever the best course of action."
"Since when?" When Quinn opened her mouth to reply, Santana held up a hand. "Exactly. This is the girl who told Finn that he got her pregnant via hot tub. You're the worst liar in Lima. Take all the seats."
Quinn slumped back on the sofa; Mercedes sighed. "I don't know you two got it together long enough to vote Rachel Berry prom queen."
Santana rolled her eyes. "I blame the alcohol Britt and I drank before prom."
Quinn simply nodded. "And I just blame her."
"Whatever. Mercedes, did you tell that grown man you dated that you and Sam kissed during Michael week?"
Mercedes groaned. "For the last time, 'Tana, his name is Shane and he's our age."
"The creepy-ass moustache says otherwise but that's not the point. Did you tell him about the kiss?"
"No!" Mercedes wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged. "It…The kiss wasn't planned. It was…innocent. It was all very innocent."
"So Trouty yelling that he was gonna get you back in the middle of the hallway was innocent? You think he changed the sign in the auditorium and bribed band kids to play for you two because he just wanted to hug after you sang?" Santana chuckled. "Do you still have that So You're A Two-Timin' Ho brochure that Pillsbury gave you?"
Mercedes reached over and slapped her arm. "That's not funny."
Chang Residence
Mike glanced around to make sure his mother wasn't around and lifted his legs to prop his feet up on the glass coffee table in front of the couch. "You know, you could always just ask Puck again. Without Mercedes being right there and without punching him in the face, that is."
Sam scoffed, slumping back in the chair. "Pretty sure I'd be more likely to punch him in the face if Mercedes wasn't there. Cocky little son of a…"
"Hey! He's still your friend, remember?"
"Yeah, I'm still trying to get over the fact that my friend asked my girlfriend to go out with him again."
"But Mercedes isn't interested."
"No, she isn't interested." Sam's head tilted to the side. "At least, she doesn't seem interested. There's history there, Mike. She didn't break up with Puck because there wasn't any chemistry. She broke up with him because he used to be a complete dick. Now that Puck's not as big of a dick…meh, there's hope for him."
Mike began to argue and then paused. Puck-before-dating-Mercedes-Jones was undeniably a bigger douche than Puck-after-dating-Mercedes-Jones. She had clearly had an impact on him. Not only that, she was one of the few people everyone knew Puck would talk to if he was having a problem.
Sam watched Mike stare into space deep in thought and groaned. "Great. Now I've convinced you that he has a chance with her. That's just…peachy."
"I was just thinking that Puck respects Mercedes. He listens to Mercedes." Mike folded his arms across his chest. "You know he'll respect her final decision. Until she makes that final decision…yeah, man, you might have a fight on your hands."
The corner of Sam's mouth tilted upward in a wry grin. "Seems like fighting for Mercedes is all I do nowadays. But hey, if it's a fight Noah Puckerman wants, it's a fight Noah Puckerman will get."
Jones Residence
"I just don't want another fight over me. They're friends and I don't want this to ruin everything between them." All three girls' phones chirped with a tweet alert. Mercedes made no move to reach for her phone; Santana and Quinn dove for theirs. She glanced over at them after a tense silence fell over the group. "What? Did Brittany tweet another provocative Lord Tubbington video?"
The other two girls simply exchanged a look before Quinn held out her phone for Mercedes to see. "Sam just tweeted."
She took the phone from her with a dismissive shrug. "He's always tweeting. I had to tell him, 'Sam, not everyone cares that you ate a roast beef sandwich for…'" Her voice trailed off as she focused on the phone's screen.
Sam Evans SamEvansQB
Bring it.
Santana tightened her ponytail and nudged Quinn in the side. "Dios mio, girls. This summer is going to be entertaining after all."
