AN: GYAH, I need sleeeeeepppp…. Too much time spent doing other things, gosh dangit. I have pictures to finish, homework to do, and basketball tryouts. (See the order it's in? It's slightly indicative of my feeling towards them.)

So apparently no one saw any references in the last chapter, so I'll just go ahead and list them all.

Pentacle patterns—Bartimaeus Trilogy

Neon Green Stars—Curious George (The movie)

Guy in Superman suit—Superman, DUH.

Puck teaching Sabrina to dance—Random SG fanfictions…. (Hehe, Curlscat)

Harlequin—Bartimaeus Trilogy again (book 2)

Shorty with a Death Glare—Fullmetal Alchemist (Love you, Ed!)

Girl with Sledgehammer—Powerpuff Girls Z

Guy dressed as a Greek God -Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Miss those books)

Girl dressed as Cleopatra—Kane Chronicles

"The growth is too thick, I'll have to fly" – Maximum Ride Quote

That's about all of them, really. I wanted to put in some Harry Potter stuff too, but I just couldn't find an opening.

Back to the story!

Sabrina felt the anger rising in her chest. The hurt was pushing through her throat and dissipating in the cold air as she shouted. "You lied to me! About everything!"

Puck winced. "I can explain," He started, but Sabrina cut in.

"Yeah, haven't heard THAT one before! I can't believe that you're still trying to cover up." Her breath was coming hard now, floating in the air in little frosty puffs.

"Sabrina, I was-,"

She wouldn't let him talk. "I thought what you said was real! I fell for it, every little thing, and you—and you…" She stopped, staring straight at him, trying hard to keep the tears from flowing. She couldn't think about what had happened, not now. She didn't want to be reminded of how wonderful it had felt-

Something snapped, and the tears came, leaving hot tracks down her cheeks.

"I believed you," she repeated. Her fists clenched, and she looked at the ground, holding back all the fury and disappointment that was wound up inside of her. "I believed you, and for what? It was all a lie."

"It's not like that." Puck's voice was calm, and Sabrina felt the anger rise again. How could he be so calm, so utterly composed? It was infuriating.

"Then what is it like?" she shot.

Puck's face was impassive, but his fists were clenched by his side. "You don't get it. Every time they looked at you, I could hear what they said, what they wanted… And I wanted to kill them. I tried beating a few of them up, but they just kept coming."

Sabrina stayed silent, her breath coming in visible puffs.

He continued. "And then they offered me the bet, a way to get them away forever. And I took it. Do you think I was stupid for doing it?"

No. This was too confusing. She didn't know who to trust, what to believe. So many people telling her what was really happening, what was the truth?

Puck stood there, gazing at her with those green eyes, and the pain inside knotted. "I'm going home. Tell the others I left."

She turned and ran off, leaving Puck far behind her, stopping only when she reached the edge of the school's parking lot. I must have run in a circle without realizing it, she thought to herself. Oh well. I'll just rest here a bit before running home. No one will see me out here.

Sabrina sat on the curb, resting her head on her forearms. She was only there for a few minutes before the crunch of pebbles on concrete warned her of someone approaching. She looked up.

Sabrina was surprised to see Louise sit down next to her. "Louise? What are you doing out here?" Had Puck told them she had left already?

The redhead looked at her. "Well," she said, "They were playing a song that wasn't up to my standards, so I left."

"Not up to your standards?"

"It was vulgar and distracting. I want to focus on reason, that little voice in the back of my mind that tells me right from wrong. When something like that song plays, I can't hear it. I'd be lost without that little voice." Louise looked at her hands calmly. "That song wanted to take away one of the most valuable things I have; my judgment. So I left."

Sabrina looked at the pavement, thinking. Maybe she should try that. What was clouding up her judgment, and how could she get away from it?

"Louise, I need advice." The words slipped out. Oh well, might as well go along with it.

The girl looked at her blankly. "About what?"

"I found that a friend of mine has been, well, not lying exactly, but they haven't been telling me the truth lately. And someone else I know told me about it, and I asked my friend about it, and I was so mad, and it's too late to take way the things I said. I don't know what to do about this."

"Well, who do you know better?"

"What?"

"Who do you trust more?" Louise asked. "Your friend or the acquaintance?"

Sabrina hesitated. "My friend, I guess."

"Then wouldn't it make more sense to trust the person you know better?"

She nodded.

Louise rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, it's still your choice here. You could believe the acquaintance, but you would be losing a friend in the process."

"So I should go back?"

"Yep."

O0o0o0O

Puck clenched his fist again, slamming it into the tree in front of him, leaving an imprint of his knuckles in the bark.

How did she find out? He had a suspicion, and a gut feeling that he was right. Only a few people would benefit from her knowing, and that was the twits who gave him the bet in the first place. And the only one in that group with any brains would be Evan, the sandy haired creep who'd wanted to ask Sabrina out in the first place.

His knuckles throbbed, but Puck ignored the pain, punching the tree again. A branch above him snapped and fell, hitting him on the head. He grumbled, rubbing his injury, but he stopped beating the tree.

He sat with his back to it, thinking. I should have just told her from the beginning, he thought. I could have avoided this crap.

Who am I kidding? Puck groaned. This was so stupid. There was no way he could have avoided this, it was out of his hands. If that twit hadn't told her, she'd have found out about it anyway. Anyone could have told her eventually. And if she had found out after the bet was over, she would have been furious then, too.

Why did he take the bet in the first place? A voice answered, and this time he listened. After all, what it was saying wasn't new; he'd known it for days now.

Simple, it said. You love her.

Then why was it so hard? Why did it take so much effort to convince her, and so little to take it all away? After all that had happened, she didn't believe him?

Puck closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. He had no idea what it would take to prove to her that he wasn't lying.

"Puck?" His head shot up. Sabrina was right across from him.

He stayed silent, not wanting to say anything stupid. She was really back?

"I think I understand now," she started. "I thought it over and, well, I trust you more than anyone else. I'm sorry for all the things I said. It just…. It hurt so much, the thought that you were lying to me."

"I'm sorry." That was all he could say? He was such a moron! He wanted to tell her everything, about every time he wished he could say it outright, every time he wished he could tell her the truth. "Protecting you was the most important to me, and it stopped me from seeing that I should have just left you to make your own decision."

Sabrina looked at the ground. "What were the conditions?"

"What?"

"The conditions to the bet. What were they?"

He blushed slightly. "To get you to kiss me in public before midnight on Halloween." Why did she want to know?

Sabrina shook her head. "And you didn't tell me because?"

Puck could feel the heat covering his face. "I thought you'd be angry at me or…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it.

"Too embarrassed?" She supplied, not blushing at all. In fact, she didn't look embarrassed, just annoyed.

Puck nodded, mute.

"All right. I've had enough of this stupid bet. You're coming with me, right now."