Puck's POV

His eyes watched her gaze as it leaked its way to Brittany and he recognized the envy she emanated. It was how he felt every time he watched Finn and Quinn interact – much like the incident in the cafeteria. She wanted to, but could not look away, and he could relate to this feeling. So much so you wish you could just avert your eyes and forget you saw anything – but it's like a tragic car accident: you simply cannot turn your cheek. You want to stare, to gape, to be in awe over something that hurts so badly.

Every waking moment of watching his best friend nurture their unborn child – his unborn child – was just like that.

In the moment, however, where Quinn's attention focused on him and her anger was extinguished, suddenly Puck felt as though he belonged. The moments of envy were forgotten – albeit only temporarily – as his hand fell to her stomach. The cocoon that safeguarded their growing child was thudding with activity as her tiny feet rigorously pumped against the inside of her mother's womb. In the past when Puck would see people touching a woman's pregnant stomach, he had never understood why anyone would bother. Never in his life had he imagined seeing a pregnant woman could make him so… horny. Yet here, with his hand on Quinn's stomach, feeling their daughter's lively actions, he felt happy – he understood what made people long to do this. And somewhere, deep down, he felt his longing for Quinn intensify.

She was beautiful, baby belly included. Though she was disgusted with her growing frame, he found it appealing. Perhaps because it was his child, perhaps because his lustful desires are deranged. It's a coin toss, he supposes, but he finds her so radiant. Even without makeup she glows now, angelically beaming with happiness. Her eyes hold a mixture of emotions yet, at the mention of their child they fluster with pride. He had some ounce of pride knowing he could instill such an aura around Quinn – because, try as he may, his pride will always drive his ambitions.

Hearing Quinn speak of their child, however, was also so invigorating. As she explained her thoughts on the baby's movements, his eyes lifted to meet hers. "You know," he said slowly, "it's pretty awesome to hear you say stuff like that. I know it's not like, the coolest situation in the world, but I think it's rad how you seem so – I don't know – motherly and happy and stuff." Okay, so he isn't exactly Shakespeare, but he tried his best to speak his mind and compliment her. "I guess I just expected you to be bitter and angry, but you almost seem just – I dunno – excited for this whole thing. I mean, I know I wasn't really at first, maybe, but I kinda am now. Well," he added then, remembering he couldn't say he was excited to be a dad; which pained him terribly. "I mean, I am excited for you and Finn, you know."

Heart sank to the ground as he uttered those tragic words, however, and his hand was soon withdrawn from her stomach. Both fists fell with a bang – a bit louder than he had expected – to his desk. His head soon followed. Sighing quietly to himself he closed his eyes for a moment, then lifted his head and straightened himself. He could not break down in front of her; that would do nothing in her cause of claiming he was not suited to be a father. With agitation still surrounding him he opened his notebook and began to attempt to take notes; though his mind focused on Quinn, the baby and his dilemma throughout the lesson.

Once upon a time, she had told him he could be anything he wanted to be; she had demanded that he not let anything stand in his way. He found it ironic, now, looking back on that night. She had inspired him and made him feel as though maybe he wasn't a useless waste, maybe he was worth something to someone. How she had changed, though, since that night; those words were likely forgotten by her – though treasured, valued deeply by him – and in her hypocritical tantrum she had informed him that she would never reveal the truth to the world. She wanted nothing to do with him and wanted him to have nothing to do with their child.

He supposed it had all been a lie – an intoxicated murmur of falsehood. Obviously she, along with the rest of the world, viewed him as a nobody, a deadbeat, worthless.

|F L A S H B A C K|

Being with Quinn had never been so much fun before; perhaps because his moments with Quinn were, in the past, fleeting and casual. She regarded him as the majority did – a disgusting pig – and her self-respect told her to keep her distance. He supposed that it was respectable, because so many girls readily threw themselves into his arms. He had positively no complaint, for his escapades had been abundant and fulfilling – for the moments they existed, anyway. Yet these same girls were so destructive of their self-image; so needy, just wanting someone to tell them they were wonderful. They were weak, and he dominated them, using them for sex. Pleasure, it was all he wanted. But Quinn, she was different. Somehow, he revered her – perhaps because she was so untouchable. But he always did wonder if maybe, if only a little bit, he liked that she was unique.

She took a stand; by being president of the celibacy club she had spoken up against her peers on an issue that controlled most teen conversations. Though her friends were a mockery of being in the club – he had fucked all of them, save for Quinn – it was different with their president and everyone knew it. Finn was disgruntled by his lack of sex yet… it was somehow cool for his girlfriend to be a virgin. She was popular and innocent; an intriguing mix. She set an example; she did not want to ruin her life with, god forbid an STD or even worse… a child from wedlock.

Not that he agreed with celibacy, but Puck admired it all the same. She was passionate about cheerleading, her celibacy club and Finn. Puck was passionate about getting laid, parties and getting laid. He would always be a nobody, a worthless piece of shit. One day, she would stand on top of the world.

When Quinn spoke of Finn's actions hurting her, Puck was baffled. Quinn was so strong and independent; it seemed obscure for her to be so unsettled by a bunch of geeks. "He can't actually enjoy being around them," Puck insisted, "I mean, look at them! Wheelchair kid? The gaybait fashonista? That stuttering Asian chick? And I mean, of all people, BareAss Berry ?" Her latest nickname, poor child; acquired from having her shorts yanked off her body during gym class, only to reveal a lacy thong – which Puck had no idea who would want to touch that but it was besides the point. "Really? He's just, well, Finn. He likes music and thinks he can be popular with everyone; too bad he already is. Those kids worship him, he doesn't need to fake shit with them to make them want to be like him, you know?"

He really didn't know, he didn't understand at all. What the fuck was going on with his brother from another mother? He made a mental note to ask him tomorrow.

Sighing, he shrugged. "Don't let it bother you Quinnie. You're a hundred times better than all of them – combined." He left it at that, glancing away from her. Finn was a moron. Conversation continued and he did not notice her slight arrogance over being considered a Daddy's girl. It was not entirely an insult, because Puck envied her closeness to her parents. If only his parents cared. If they gave a damn, maybe he would be a step above worthless.

Though he doubted it.

Antics carried forth from there. He wasn't thinking clearly as he slipped in the pool after her, and his mind was fading as he carried her from the water. The kiss, though enjoyed, was not entirely planned. He had not attended the party waiting to kiss her but he was not about to reject opportunity either. For far too long he had waited for this moment and she had been planted within his embrace. He could not resist human nature.

What did surprise him, though, was her response. She had been frozen before she finally eased into him, her hands sliding up the bare skin of his chest, exploring the toned muscle structure before entwining themselves at the base of his neck. Puck was suddenly eager to explore further, but he took his chances lightly and had instead backed away from her. She seemed disoriented as she tried to find him once he jumped and for a moment, he was worried. Was she still that drunk? Maybe having her near water was a bad idea. But then she ran, leapt into the pool and he was relieved to see her bob to the surface. She would have needed at least partial sobriety to pull that off without killing herself, he figured. Especially a lightweight like Quinn.

Her challenging words suddenly cause his brows to furrow together. Terrible kisser? Not precisely words he had heard before; though he was inspired. Swimming over to her he moved so that he was facing her, her back to the edge of the pool giving her no escape whatsoever. "Terrible kisser?" he echoed with a quiet laugh. "Torture? My Quinn, from the way you're blushing just thinking about it, I would say the only torture I could give you right now is not kissing you to prove you wrong." He lingered near her, his face ever so close to hers, watching her eyes as he stared into them.

She was blushing; he was not blind. His lips were then almost to hers, barely missing them as he spoke to her. "If I didn't know any better, Quinn, I'd say you want me right now. You have that look in your eyes," he taunted softly against her ear, flicking it gently with his tongue before leaning down to kiss her just below the ear. His teeth grazed the skin before he soothed the irritation with his tongue, moving upward along the delicious curve of her slender neck. For a moment he paused, continuing along her jawline but pausing at her lips, beaming as he pulled away.

Quinn didn't like how he kissed? Fine then; he wouldn't kiss her – on the lips anyway.


Quinn's POV

Once Quinn looked away, her eyes focused on Brittany's Cheerios uniform again. The mix of jealousy, longing and pain quickly returned to her and she felt herself glaring at her the red, black and white uniform that she used to wear practically every day and now haunted her. It wasn't until she heard Puck's voice that she turned her head to glance back into his eyes. His words actually made her smile and for once, she was proud that she was a mother. "Really?" She asked at the mention of her being maternal. "I guess it just comes naturally," she admitted, her hands going back to her stomach to rub where their daughter was.

As he admitted that he wasn't excited at first but was now, Quinn's eyes shot back up to find his. What did he mean he was excited now? He quickly corrected himself and Quinn couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows, not in rage but in sympathy. "Oh, right," she said after a pause and felt disappointed for some reason. "Thanks," she said faking a smile now even though he was no longer looking at her. Maybe she was doing this entire thing the wrong way. Maybe Puck would actually be a good father to their child… maybe she should just tell Finn the truth.

Whoa, what the hell was she thinking? These prenatal vitamins must have been messing with her head. Of course she couldn't have told Finn the truth! If she did, then she knew that they would be over and could she really handle that? No. Definitely not. Plus, Finn was the better father for her daughter… right? I mean, he did have his dumb moments but he was sweet and she knew he was faithful to her… if only she could say the same about herself.

Quinn secretly wondered if she knew for sure that Puck would be faithful to her, would she be with him instead of Finn? Although she had sworn against it, she knew that deep down inside, Puck meant more to her than just a Mohawk.

That was the end of their conversation. Quinn could barely focus on class, and just decided to doodle mindless drawings on her notebook once she realized she had already known what the teacher was talking about. She had more important things on her mind anyway. Maybe she should give Puck just one more chance. She had previously tried before but while they were babysitting together, he had been sending sexts to Santana the entire time. What impressed her though about that night was how well he handled children. Maybe the problem was that they were babysitting. Maybe next time she'd do something with just the two of them. Everyone deserved a second chance, right?

The bell rang then and before Quinn could find herself asking Puck on a date, she found herself walking out the door. She swore she was such a chicken sometimes. With a sigh, she headed off to her next and final class of the day. Her final class was spent just thinking about her possibilities, Finn or Puck? The fact that she was thinking about it made her guiltier than how she already felt to begin with. There shouldn't have even been a competition. Heck, there shouldn't even be a baby. Oh well, too late for that now.

Quinn almost jumped out of her skin when the bell rang. A deep sigh escaped her lips once she realized what it was time for, Glee club. Being around the both of them at the same time was always hard for Quinn. She wasn't surprised to find Finn waiting for her outside of her classroom; he was such a good boyfriend. "How was class?" He asked, taking her hand as they both walked off to the choir room. "Uneventful," she responded with a simple shrug of her shoulders. What a lie that was.

Finally reaching the choir room, the two took their usual seats next to each other and watched as all the others piled in. Quinn purposefully kept her eyes on Finn the entire time so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with Puck. It was just too hard to look at him after all that had happened, especially with the feelings that she had to mask for him.

She finally faced the front of the room once she heard Mr. Schuester's voice. "So, sectionals are coming up and I've really been thinking… the way we interact with our audience plays a big part in our overall performance. In order to better ourselves at it, I was thinking that we all pair off into groups of two and then each of you are going to perform a song of your choice to your partner. The song can be your favorite song, how you're feeling or whichever one you feel best suits your voice. The trick is, the other person must feel what you're feeling as though you're singing directly to them. Make sure you practice with each other and tomorrow you'll perform in front of all of us but remember, your target is your partner."

"Let's be partners," Finn suggested nudging Quinn in the shoulder with a grin on his face. Quinn nodded her head and smiled then looked back over at Mr. Schuester. "And as done before, your fate lies in this hat," he said holding up the all too familiar black hat that had each member of the Glee club's name in it. A collective groan escaped the entire room. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, who's first?" Mr. Schue asked with a laugh looking around the room.

Of course, Rachel Berry hopped out of her seat and up to the front of the room to pick her partner. Quinn rolled her eyes at the over perky brunette, everything Rachel did just annoyed her. Reaching into the hat, she pulled out a name and grinned, "Finn!" She yelped excitedly. Quinn looked over at Finn who had a shocked and disturbed look on his face. Poor Finn. Each of the members went up one by one. Mercedes was with Tina. Artie was with Mike. Kurt was with Brittany. Santana was with Matt. Quinn's heart stopped once she realized who the only other person in the room was. "That leaves Quinn and Puck," Mr. Schuester announced.

Quinn glanced over at Puck quickly, a mix of emotions running through her. She was both happy but nervous about this at the same time. Yet, at least now she could have an excuse to hang out with him. "So split up and start working with your partners. You guys can go wherever you feel most comfortable and start rehearsing, and yes that means you can leave campus if you want just make sure you do the assignment!" Mr. Schuester announced as everyone started frantically running off with their partners. "This blows," Finn said over to Quinn. She nodded her head, "Tell me about it."

As Rachel came up to Finn, Quinn gathered her things and then walked over to Puck. "So, do you wanna stay here or did you wanna go somewhere else to do it?" She asked curiously secretly hoping he'd pick the latter.

|F L A S H B A C K|

As Puck insisted that Finn didn't enjoy being around them, Quinn smiled a bit. She knew that he was just saying that to cheer her up. As he mentioned Rachel's new nickname, she couldn't help but want to laugh just remembering that great moment in gym class. She was the one who had pointed her out to the entire class anyway, jocks and cheerleaders included. If there was one thing that Quinn couldn't stand it was Rachel Berry. Her smile instantly vanished once she realized that Rachel was the one she was most suspicious about when Finn hung around the Glee club. She knew that Rachel had a thing for her boyfriend and Rachel Boyfriendless Berry wasn't one to give up on what she wanted. Not that Quinn was worried about having competition because she knew she could take her, it's just the simple fact that Finn would rather spend time with Rachel than with herself is what hurt the most.

"I guess," she said with a simple shrug. "It's just I get scared sometimes that he… and Rachel… I don't know. It's a stupid thought but I know she likes him and I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to rape him or something. She's just so out there and obviously has no self respect to be putting herself out there like that. Have you seen the stuff she wears? It's pathetic," she said her eyes narrowing just thinking about the one girl who made her skin crawl.

When Puck told her that she was a hundred times better than all of the Glee club members, she couldn't help but smile more to herself than to anyone in particular. Well, at least Puck could see that. Now, if only Finn could realize it then we'd really be getting somewhere.

His kiss had caught her off guard, to say the least. What had caught her even more off guard was the fact that she didn't push her away… she was actually enjoying every second of it. Okay, she knew she had definitely drank too much. I mean, for her to kiss Noah Puckerman and actually like it? Yeah, there was definitely something wrong with her. When he pulled back, she was so angry with herself. She should have took this opportunity while he was in the pool and she was left standing on the diving board to run away.

Instead, she leapt in the pool to join him. What was wrong with her? She wanted to make sense of everything but she just couldn't. She was actually enjoying being around him, even if he had just kissed her. Maybe in some strange place in her mind she knew that she was doing all of this to get back at Finn for choosing Glee over her. Or maybe in some dark corner of her mind she secretly knew that she had finally discovered there was something more to Puck than his Mohawk, and she liked that part of him strangely enough.

As he neared closer to her, she stepped back until she could step back no further. As her back hit the wall, her hands came down to feel the wall behind her. She felt her heart begin to race from him standing so close to her. What was he doing? The more important thing was, why was she enjoying this?

As he repeated her words, she put her hands on her hips and nodded. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Seriously, I don't understand how you can get so many girls. Do you torture them all then bribe them that you'll do it again if they don't sleep with you or something? Because I cannot see how someone can be a willing participant of that. Totally lame," she told him, the smirk still playing on her lips.

Hearing his words, she laughed. "You are so full of yourself. How do you know I'm blushing because I liked the kiss and not blushing because I'm embarrassed that I had to actually suffer through that?" she responded in her sophisticated tone. Of course she was joking. He had hit the nail on the head when he said that she was blushing just thinking about it. However, she wasn't going to admit that. She would never admit she enjoyed that. She would never admit she enjoyed his presence.

When he told her the only torture he could give her is not kissing her, she laughed again. "If that's true then please torture me some more," she teased but secretly knew she wanted him to kiss her again. Once his face came close to hers, her heart stopped and she put her head back a bit to give them more room. Her heart was rapid now. She looked into his eyes as he looked into hers and she tried so desperately to not get weak in the knees. She steadied herself, then against the wall.

Hearing his words, she felt her throat get dry. "Yeah right," she whispered now. His lips on her ear, moving towards her neck and jaw line made her eyes roll to the back of her head. She was barely breathing now. She opened her eyes and his lips were now just about to kiss hers again. This time, she didn't pull her head back and was ready to meet his lips with her own, however, he pulled back. It was then that her knees finally gave in, and she took a little dip, catching herself though so she wouldn't go underwater.

Crap. She had to think of some kind of excuse and quick. He could not know that he got to her. She put her hand on her head then and closed her eyes. "Whoa, my head is spinning," she lied playing the 'too drunk to stand up straight' card. "I should go get some water or something," she said and began to move past him and was planning to get out of the pool then, finally somewhat coming to her senses. Though, a large part of her still wanted to stay.