It's finally May now, the turning point where he finally has to say goodbye to this dorm. He hates it, knows that Carole does too. This was the last place Finn ever lived, the last place where he laid his head and the last place that he called home. Puck stares at the coffee cup still waiting on the window sill and shakes his head. It still feels like it's too soon.
The others are all back in town already, wanting to be there for the McKinley graduation since they were lucky enough to get out of school the week before Puck. Rachel had wanted to have a sleepover on Puck's last night in the dorm but he had politely declined. It only felt right to say this goodbye in private.
Classic rock is playing softly on his laptop, his stereo already back in his old bedroom at his Ma's. All that is left of his stuff are the requisite clothes, his bed stuff, the TV and the X Box. He hasn't even started packing any of Finn's things yet. That probably says more than it's supposed to.
He'd used his fake to get a six pack from the convenience store a few blocks away from campus, making sure to grab the bag of Funyuns on his way out. The welcome screen of Call of Duty was playing on the screen. Puck has been holding the controller for the last fifteen minutes but he hasn't made a move to actually start playing the game. He has just been staring at that stupid cup instead. Finally, he reaches over, cracks open a beer and pours the frothy contents into it.
"I feel, uh, like I should toast you or something, dude," he says to thin air, to Finn, to his best friend. "But words have never been my thing, you know? Berry would know what to say, Q and Kurt too. Maybe I should have let them cover over. They were your people too. But this place, it was just ours, wasn't it? They were never here when you were. That was something that you shared only with me."
Puck puts the cup to his lips and took a long sip. It's bitter as it slides down his throat. He had pretty much quit off drinking after Finn's death, too afraid of ending up like his old man. He stares at the screen for a few minutes before realizing that this is stupid. Finn wouldn't want him to be alone. Puck knows he wouldn't want Finn to be alone if he were the one still here. Tossing the controller on the bed, he picks up the phone to call Kurt. He trusts Hummel to put the Lima phone tree to good use. It only takes ten minutes for the person to show up.
"Hey, dude, I brought pizza," Mike announces as he comes into the room. He is holding three boxes in his left arm and a sleeping back in his right hand. "I was just about to head over to Artie's when Tina called him. We thought that this might be a better use."
"Where is Wheels?"
"Tina and Mercedes are gonna swing by to pick him up on their way to Rachel's," he replies as he sits down. "Q was having San and Britt over for a Cheerio reunion so they'll be by soon too. Kurt and Sam are going to go pick up Blaine. Everyone should be here within the half hour."
It takes more like forty-five minutes, but they're all scattered throughout the dorm room by the time Kurt is pressing play on some Matt Damon movie an hour later. He slides back into his sleeping bag between Blaine and Mercedes. Britt is in the middle of some really messed-up sandwich with Sam and Santana at the foot of Puck's bed. Mike and Tina are on either side of Artie, the three of them talking quietly about Chicago. Quinn is sitting in the spare desk chair, Finn's desk chair, and Puck is a little surprised he doesn't feel like yelling at her for it. Rachel is sitting in front of her while Quinn patiently pulls her hair back in a French braid. No one asks to sleep in Finn's bed.
They devour the pizza and watch another movie before it starts to get too late. Puck makes sure that everyone is situated before he kills the overhead light. He gives Quinn and Rachel his bed, opting to take a small patch of floor near the door. He grabbed Finn's comforter to cover them up without even thinking about it, and the little smile on Quinn's face lets him know that she knows exactly what he did. He just shrugs at her before tossing his own blanket on the floor and punching his pillow in a vain attempt to get comfortable.
He's not sure who starts it exactly, but it's Sam's voice that he notices first.
"Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world," he sings softly. "She took the midnight train goin' anywhere."
"Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit," Quinn adds from the bed. "He took the midnight train, goin' anywhere."
He hears Blaine sit up in the dark. "A singer in a smoky room, smell of wine and cheap perfume."
"For a smile, they can share the night," Tina continues. "It goes on and on and on and on."
"Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night," Artie sang. "Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night."
Kurt giggles a little before he opens his mouth. "Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill. Payin' anything to roll the dice, just one more time."
"Some will win, some will lose," Mike chimes in. "Some were born to sing the blues."
"Oh, the movie never ends," Brittany follows up. "It goes on and on and on and on."
"Strangers waiting up and down the boulevard. Their shadows searching in the night," Santana takes the chorus. "Streetlights, people, living just to find emotion. Hiding, somewhere in the night."
"Don't stop believin'," Rachel harmonizes as she reaches for Quinn's hand. The blonde reaches over and takes Santana's hand. The Latina finds Brittany's hand in the dark, causing the other blonde to reach out for Sam. "Hold on to the feelin'. Streetlights, peopleā¦"
Sam grasps his best friend's hand tightly, causing Blaine to seek out Kurt. Kurt grabs for Mercedes in the dark as Puck starts to sing. "Don't stop believin'," he wails, his eyes wet with tears. "Hold on to the feelin'. Streetlights, people."
Mercedes manages to grab onto Tina, who connects with Artie. The bespectacled boy manages to link his hand loosely with Mike's. It's the Asian whose hand finally finds Puck's to link them all together.
"Don't stop believin'," they sing in unison. "Hold on to the feelin.' Streetlights, people."
There is a beat of silence after they end the song.
"Man, I never get tired of that song," Artie says into the darkness.
"Yeah, everyone loves it," Mercedes agreed.
"But not like us," Puck answers back.
He hears Rachel take a shuddering breath. "Noah is right. That song is definitely very special to all of us."
