I do not own Glee.

Chapter 10: Fourteen

"Hey, Quinn."

"Hi."

"Would you wanna...go out sometime?"

She stared at him with a blank expression, "Really?"

"Yea. It's been a while since we've hung out. And...I really like you."

"S-sure! Of course," she smiled.

"Great! Uhh, I'll text you," he smiled as he started walking backwards down the hall, "Bye!"

"Bye, Finn!"

xoPQox

Now a freshman in high school, Quinn hadn't spoken to Puck since the incident with Santana. She would've stopped talking to Santana as well, but she was on the Cheerios with her. So, she was unavoidable. Even in a sea of freshmen at McKinley High School, Quinn felt completely alone. She roamed the halls, a trail of Cheerios behind her, shooting spiteful glares towards anyone who dared to look her in the eye. She was the queen bee. Nobody messed with her. She was on the honor roll, she was cheerleading captain, her boyfriend was quarterback, she had loyal followers...she had power. She had everything a typical high school girl could ever dream of.

So why did she feel like she had nothing?

xoPQox

The news about Quinn and Finn had spread like wildfire around the school. He understood why Quinn hadn't told him. She hadn't spoken to him in months. But Finn? Finn was his boy. They told each other everything. As girly as that sounds. And now, apparently a week after they made it official, he was finding out about it.

"Dude," he approached Finn at his locker, "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry," Finn didn't make eye contact, "I know how you feel about her, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I do not have feelings for Quinn."

They'd been best friends for their entire lives. Finn could see right through him. And Puck knew it.

"Look, I just wanted to know why you kept it from me. You can do what you want. But we're bro's. I figured you would've told me."

"I know. I'm sorry, I just-"

"Hi, Finn," Quinn stalked up to them. Her high pony tail swaying from side to side. Puck glanced down the hall away from them, clearly annoyed.

"H-hey," he smiled.

"We still on for the movies tonight?"

"Yea, uhh, you bet!"

"Great," she leaned in to kiss him, glaring at Puck out the corner of her eye; Pleased with his perturbed look.

xoPQox

He's losing it. His grades are slipping, he's acting out. His mom wants to send him to therapy, but he only rudely brings up the fact that they're broke. He doesn't want to talk to a shrink anyways. He knows what his problem is. He misses Quinn. And she doesn't want anything to do with him. He's miserable. He can't talk to his mom. Sara wouldn't understand, since she was only eight and still believed in the tooth fairy. Forget about talking to Finn; he was part of the problem. And any of the other guys on the team would call him a pussy and make his life hell.

Like father, like son, Puck starts breaking into his mom's liquor cabinet to drink away his sorrows. He knows it's illegal. But he doesn't know any other way to make the pain stop. The burning sensation as the booze goes down, and the way it makes his brain feel fuzzy takes his mind off his problems. But drunk or not, he can't seem to get his mind off Quinn. If anything it just makes him think about her more.

He invites Santana over on a night he has the house to himself. Deborah is at work, and Sara is at a sleepover. As expected, Santana brings Brittany along. The three teenagers do shots and play drinking games. The more intoxicated Puck became, the more he started to think, "The way to get over one girl, is to get between two."

And that he did.

xoPQox

After his night with Santana and Brittany, Puck became the bad-ass of the school. People feared him. He became a bully, tossing nerds into dumpsters, giving swirlies, and his favorite: slushie facials. With Santana on his arm, that only boosted his rep. They became second most popular couple in the school, right behind the prom queen and her king. Puck liked being with Santana. She satisfied his sexual needs, she helped him torment the dweebs, and lets face it, she brought him closer to Quinn. Santana wasn't an easy girlfriend, though. She constantly insulted his financial situation, bringing up the fact that his credit score was terrible. What the fuck was a credit score anyways?

So he got a job. He dropped the lawn mowing and dog walking back in middle school. That shit was for the little kids. Finding a job was difficult. His mohawk and unprofessional attire constantly got him laughed out of interviews. Somehow, he decided to start cleaning pools. His best customers were often the rich old cougars who's husbands were always away at work. They all seemed to hang around when he would be mixing the chemicals and clearing out leaves, just staring at him. At first he thought it was kind of creepy, but soon, he learned that it was pretty hot. These ladies had no problem with his financial instability, and they were extremely needy and generous at the same time. And they all seemed to have a thing for his nipples. So he got one pierced to draw attention to them. Puck knew what he was doing was wrong. Not only was he cheating on Santana, but this was extremely illegal. But he was a bad ass. And bad asses did illegal things. And pretty soon, he was too wrapped up in the the Star Wars sheets of these women's sons to care.

xoPQox

Quinn had just gotten home from a long day of school and cheering. All she wanted to do was nap, eat, and finish her homework. Eating came first though. She was starving. She pulled out a slice of pie that her mother had bought the night before, peeling off the seran wrap, looking at it like she could devour it in five seconds.

"Careful, Quinnie! Don't eat too much. Your uniform is looking a little too tight as it is," Judy popped in with a cheery tone of voice.

Quinn's face dropped and she ran her hands over her hips. Her uniform was a little tight. But she was starving. With a sigh, she threw the pie in the trash, grabbing some baby carrots instead.

She plopped down face first on her bed once she was upstairs, ready to sleep at any minute. Her eyes slipped closed as she settled into the warmth of her comforter.

*Ring riiiing*

*Ring riiiing*

"Ughhhh," she groaned and answered without looking at the caller Id, "Hello?"

"Hi, Quinn. This is Mrs. Puckerman. This is kind of last minute, but I was wondering of you could watch Sara for the night. I know it's a lot to ask, since you live across town, and you and Noah haven't hung out lately..."

"Umm..." Quinn shut her eyes tightly, trying to comprehend, "Sure. I can do it." Puck had football practice tonight anyways. It's not like he would be there. Plus, despite how she felt about him, she did miss Sara a lot.

"Great! Thank you so much, sweetie. I'll pay you $10 an hour. I leave for work around 5:30, so if you could be here by then."

"No problem, see you then."

xoPQox

"And she goes to bed at nine. No sweets after eight," Deborah led her around the house, "I won't be home to pay you, so just ask Noah when he gets home, and he'll pay you what you earned."

Quinn's stomach tightened at the thought of having to talk to Puck. She hadn't done that in what seemed like forever, but the feeling of Sara nearly tugging her arm out of it's socket broke her from her thoughts.

"Sounds good," she forced a smile, "I'll take good care of her. Drive safe!"

"Thanks again, sweetie!" Deborah called as she went through the front door.

"Come on, Quinn! Let's go play Barbies in my room!"

Throughout the night, Quinn and Sara played Barbies, hide and seek, and pretty pretty princess. She made them both dinner, and they watched Cinderella while they ate.

Once she got Sara to bed, Quinn sat in silence while she did her homework, cherishing the noise-less environment while it lasted. All night, she dealt with Sara's questions.

"Why don't you come over anymore?"

"Do you and Noah hang out at school?"

"What's it like to be a cheerleader?"

"Do you like Noah?"

"Did you know I sometimes hear Noah saying your name at night? He must be dreaming about you."

The grandfather clock against the living room wall struck eleven. She sighed, wondering where Puck was.

As if on cue, he came through the front door, looking like he'd seen a ghost when he saw her sitting on his sofa.

"You look surprised to see me."

"My mom told me to pay the babysitter. I didn't know it was you."

"Whatever," she broke their eye contact, "Where the hell were you? It's eleven o'clock."

"Not that I have to explain myself to you, but we all went to Waffle House after practice."

"Can I just have my money please, so I can leave?" she held out a hand.

"Well, I thought I could pay the babysitter some other way, so I kinda spent the money already..."

Quinn scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You're disgusting. I'll accept the money anytime before next Friday."

He gave her an arrogant smirk and a cocked eyebrow, "Unless, you want me to-"

"Bye, Puck."

xoPQox