Ugh, I just realized that I'm not happy with that last chapter...but there's no taking it back now. I think this chapter's a bit better. Plus, it's a closer look at Puck, which a reviewer request awhile ago. Please review and let me know what you think! :-D

Parking

First dates had never been Puck's thing so when his father had given him his pick up truck, right before high tailing it out of town with that fake blonde waitress, Puck had chosen to skip over first dates and head straight to parking, where looking at the scenery wasn't exactly what he planned to with whatever girl he had invited along. That being the case, getting ready for a night of parking had never made him in the least bit nervous. Usually, he simply made sure the shirt he put on was mostly clean, then headed out in his truck to the lucky girl's home. Yet that night, for some reason, he felt sick. Tugging of the fifth shirt, he headed toward his closet, briefly wondering what Tina's favorite color was. Angry at himself for caring, he grabbed the closest shirt to him, a light blue one, and put it on.

Just when he had decided to change, because he thought he may have something better, Finn came in, flopping down on Puck's unmade bed.

"Hey man, want to go see a movie or something?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, Puck said, "No, I got plans."

Propping himself up on his elbows, Finn surveyed the tossed aside shirts that were draped over the sparse furniture in the room. "Ah, going parking. Who's the lucky girl?" Kicking at a red and black striped polo that was hanging by a sleeve on the end of the bed, Finn commented, "She must be lucky since you're going through your whole wardrobe to impress her."

"I'm not trying to impress her," growled Puck, glancing at himself in the small mirror that hung beside his closet and smoothing his hair. "All those shirts are dirty."

Knowing Puck was lying, but not willing to call him on it, Finn said, "Oookay. So, who's the girl?"

The strange feeling he had been having since Tina said yes came over him but Puck managed to control himself enough to answer, "No one you know. She's too cool to be part of your circle."

Again, Puck was being dishonest, but Finn couldn't figure out why. Usually his best friend liked to brag about his "conquests." Shrugging, Finn stood from the bed. "Whatever. Maybe Rachel's free tonight."

"Rachel?" Puck snorted. "That girl's a complete freak." That he had called the girl he would be parking with that night the same thing didn't bother him. Well, maybe it bothered him a bit. "Why do you like her so much?"

"I…" Finn tried to tackle the question but emotions weren't football. "I don't know. She's pretty, smart, a really good singer. Sometimes, when I look into her eyes, I feel that she knows everything about me and she accepts everything about me. That's a nice feeling, you know?"

Scrunching up one side of his face, Puck regarded Finn in disdain. "Are you done reciting poetry now?"

Holding in his anger, Finn responded, "Hey, you asked."

"Didn't expect you to get all flowery on me."

Grinding his teeth, Finn headed out. "Have fun parking," he called over his shoulder.

"I will," retorted Puck, before spinning to his closet and selecting a different shirt, this one yellow. It would be his final choice.

- - - - - -

Fifteen minutes later, Tina bounded out of her house to Puck's waiting truck. Getting in, she managed a small smile, simultaneously reminding herself that she was doing this for the team and noting that he looked particularly attractive in his red and black striped shirt. Without even a word in greeting, he took off, the engine rumbling. Glancing out the window, Tina saw her mother and father, huddled together on the porch, watching as she drove off in "some boy's" truck. Neither one had wanted her to go out with "some boy" but, in the end, Tina had convinced them by bursting into tears. Since Tina rarely cried, her parents had reluctantly given it, though they hadn't been able to turn off their concern. Twisting back to face the front, her eyes skimming over Puck as she did so, she wasn't so sure she didn't share their concern.

"I'm h-hungry," she told him, clenching her hands in her lap.

"Hungry?" he echoed, his tone filled with anger. "This isn't a date. I asked you to go parking with me, remember?"

"I re-remember," she replied, resentfully. "B-but I can't help th-that I'm h-h-hungry!"

"You should've eaten already," he spat back, turning his wheel and taking them left.

Believing she had lost the argument, and not caring to argue anymore, Tina slumped in her seat, dreading the parking that would come too soon. How could she possibly resist his advances without arousing his suspicions? Feeling sick, she looked out the window and was shocked to see they were entering the drive thru of the town's Taco Bell.

"What do you want?" he asked her, voice dripping with venom.

Confused as to why he would take her to eat when he had seemed so set against it, she stammered out an order. When he didn't even ask her to pay, she was more surprised.

When they reached the scenic overlook, the two quietly devoured their own food, though Tina took considerably longer than Puck to do so. Not wanting to lose the opportunity to investigate, she asked, in an attempt at what she hoped sounded like polite conversation, "Wh-why did you j-join Glee?"

As he gripped the steering wheel, she could almost feel the anger radiating off of him. Why was he such an angry young man? "Why shouldn't I? I can sing and stuff. You needed people. It was mutually beneficial, or whatever. What, you don't like that I joined or something?"

Bristling at the accusation, Tina almost asked him straight up if he and Quinn meant to break the club in some way. "N-no. I was j-just t-t-talking." Swallowing her last bit of food, and noting the predatory look that entered his eye, she quickly asked another question. "Do y-you t-take all your g-girls here?"

Already scooted half way across the bench seat, he paused, then looked out across the valley. For a minute, the anger evaporated and all Tina saw was a vulnerable sixteen year old boy. "No," he said softly. "I used to come here with my dad…" Stopping himself, he turned towards her. "But I didn't come here to talk."

Widening her eyes, she backed herself up against the truck's door, placing her hands in front of her as a guard. "I-I-I…" she sputtered, her stutter becoming almost too much for her in that instant.

Seeing the fear in her eyes, Puck stopped coming towards her. "You knew what I asked you here to do."

"Y-yes," she said, the anxiety inside of her easing. "B-but I ch-changed my mind."

Grunting, Puck didn't reply. Instead, he moved back to his side of the cab, started the truck, then put it in reverse. Not long after, he was dropping her off at her house where, Tina was grateful to see, her parent's weren't still standing on the porch. "I'm s-sorry," she said, hesitating before closing the door. "I j-just don't f-feel com-comfortable p-p-parking. Maybe s-sometime we c-can go on a r-real date." Perplexed at the words she had uttered, and not sure why she had said them, she smiled, then closed the door, but not too soon to hear him mutter "Maybe."

Once on her porch, she whipped her cell phone out, pressing Artie's speed dial. He was on after one ring, asking her how everything had gone on the parking excursion. She related the entire tale then waited to hear his conclusion.

"Do you like him Tina?"

Parking with Puck had revealed a side to him that she had never before seen but, instead of voicing that, she said, "I'll admit him I-I like him if you admit th-that you like Qu-Quinn."

Pausing, Artie cleared his throat. "Fine. Be that way."

Hating to be so closed with her best friend, Tina sighed. Though she would love to honest with Artie, she knew she didn't know how she could be truly honest with him, since she didn't understand how she felt herself.