So this chapter we deal with a glimpse of Nationals, performances, drama, and of course, Santana. Anyone want to guess if there are any cliffs in New York?

Enjoy!

CHAPTER X

Puck tried to put in his best efforts through the run through of the whole show. He was suppose to be jumping around and smiling but even the excitement of New York and the infectious energy of everyone around him wasn't enough to cheer him up. Everybody was careful around him, afraid that one wrong slip would trigger Puck to slam someone against the wall. Nobody really knew that Puck was tired. He was mentally exhausted from not sleeping in the past couple of days that all he wanted to do was rest and that was impossible to get.

Even when all the guys slept like babies with the unusually soft blankets that felt like clouds and a bed fit for kings, Puck remained awake because all the luxury he was surrounded by reminded him of Sophie. Their whole reason why they were at Nationals was because Sophie. It was those kinds of things that kept him up all night. After their last rehearsal, they all quickly left for their Hotel to get a good nights rest so they would be energized for the long day ahead of them. Puck sat at the foot of his bed watching his friends joke around the lavish room. He was deep in thought when he felt a pillow hit his head. It was one of those stupid decorative pillows that his mother bought and he found pointless.

He looked up to find the boys frozen in place, watching in horror to see how Puck would react. The room became deathly quiet when Puckerman rose to his feet, eyeing each one down until he reached Mike who side glanced at his friends, desperately hoping they would help out. Puck bit on his lip and rubbed his hands together.

"Mike can I have a word with you, alone?" Puck asked.

"Hey, man. I'm sorry. It was me. Artie has a bad aim and instead of catching it, I batted it towards you," Finn explained. He then went on an unnecessary play by play of the pillow incident, complete with sound effects and imitations of the other members.

"Out." Puck motioned, "Please this has nothing to do with anything of what your thinking. I just want to have a word. In private."

Mike nodded and asked everyone to leave as well. Once the large room was emptied out. Mike and Puck avoided staring at each other until it became past the silent moment to an awkward moment. Mike toyed with the pillow he was using to smack the boys around as Puck sat at the foot of Arties bed.

"Is she really… an orphan?" Puck quickly cringed, "I meant-"

"Yeah," Mike cleared his throat, "The summer before her junior year."

"How did it happen?" Puck asked.

Mike shoved his hands in his pajama pockets, "Yacht accident. They used to take their boat out for a run every spring break at their summerhouse in Florida. They had just brought a brand new one with a complete computerize navigational system and weather forecaster. Her parents decided to give it a go the minute they got there but Sophie stayed behind to unpack. While they were sailing something in the computer system went wrong. The boat led into a storm and the boat got hit by lightening frying the computer. They found the wreckage in a near by island. The bodies washed up a couple miles away. Apart from losing her parents, Sophie had to testify during the company's lawsuit for the navigation system. Apparently that company had also manufactured several faulty boats and a completely bogus navigational system for jets. Her settlement is way more than you can imagine. I'm sure it's safe to say that she rather have her parents around that have that extra money laying around."

Puck closed his eyes, finally coming to terms of the gravity of her situation and how screwed up their situation had become. There was something very complicated about having a kid and throwing recent deaths into a budding relationship. Perhaps their argument was much more than just the events that had happened in the past. It was about insecurities.

It was the fear about being looked down upon from having skeletons in the closet and they express that insecurity in the form of deflecting the blame off themselves. Sure, Puck was certain there was nothing to be blamed about losing parents but there wasn't anything to be ashamed about for having a kid or being privileged.

Puck hung his head and sighed, "Do you think she can forgive me?"

"Forgive?" Mike asked, "It's Sophie. She's just hurt but I'm sure you're forgiven even before you make mistakes."

"Huh?"

"You don't have to worry." Mike smiled, "Just apologize for being a douche when she needed you the most."

Puck sat straight up, "What do you mean? If she was going through anything, she had you."

Mike rolled his eyes, "I suppose. I just know her. She wanted you around for support. I guess it confused her when the person she thought was her friend was the first to stop talking to her when the school realized who she really was."

Puck frowned, "If I apologize and ask her to be my prom date do you think she'd say yes? I just want to make it up to her."

Mike suddenly looked away and cleared his throat. He walked to the window of the hotel suite and parted the curtain open to reveal a magnificent view of New York City. Puck stood up and crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.

"Well," Mike started, "I hope she doesn't say yes."

Puck glared, "Fuck off. I'm being serious Mike."

Mike turned to steal a glance at Puck, "I'm serious too."

"Listen, I know she's like your best friend and you want to protect her. That's fine." Puck insisted, "But tell me the truth. If I asked her, would she go with me?"

Mike shrugged, "Hard to tell now. She already has a date."

"Obviously. You think I haven't heard half the guys scheming a way to ask her to the prom?" Puck scoffed, "As if they had a chance, unless Sophie agreed out of pity."

Mike twisted his face in pain. He sighed.

"She wouldn't do that." Mike groaned, "Besides, I didn't have to ask her. She asked."

"What?"

Mike turned around; "If I lose her as my date to prom over you don't think I'm not going down without a fight."

"Dude just admit it. You have a thing for her." Puck said, annoyed with the fact that he had to face another person who thinks he could stand a chance compared to him. Unfortunately, this time it was his friend and he wasn't as willing to be brutal as he usually was when it came to fighting over a girl.

Mike pivoted on his heel to face him, narrowing his eyes at Puck in the process.

"Listen, I just hope you can respect that we are going together. We're going to as friends." Mike nodded, "And if you want an honest answer, I do think she would go to prom with you even if she already has me."

Puck felt himself smile. Mike sighed and reached out to pat Puck's shoulders, "But she's still my date and I can only promise one song with her. Okay? One dance, Puck. You got to make the most out of it."

"What if she's still mad at me?" Puck asked.

"Kiss her." Mike grinned, "She won't expect it."

Puck felt the blood rush up to his head. He felt dizzy as he slowly shook his head, "Do you think she would mind?"

Mike yawned, "Nah, she's crazy about you. I thought you knew that already."

"Ah," Puck chuckled, "No, I didn't. Are you sure?"

Mike turned around, crossing the large room to open the door. He let the other boys in, who all looked anxious and nervous as if they were just caught eavesdropping. Finn cleared his throat and pointed, "Ah, I'm just gonna get a pillow. We're gonna sleep on the roof tonight if you guys want to join us. Look at the stars…"

"Stars?" Mike raised an eyebrow, "You know you're in New York, right?"

Finn shrugged, "Yeah?"

"Good luck finding one star." Puck scoffed.

The boys awkwardly maneuvered around the room picking up items at random. They exited quickly acting as normal as they could. Puck and Mike exchanged looks as the door closed and shared a laugh

"Trust me." Mike winked and shucked a pillow towards Puck who caught it above his head.

"But what can I do?" Puck asked, "I've tried all my moves on her. She doesn't take the bait."

Mike snorted, "Listen, I can't help you out there but you already have her attention, there isn't much more you have to do."

"Like what?" Puck persisted.

"I already said it." Mike yawned.

Puck felt himself smile and he desperately tried to hide it and play it off like it wasn't such a big deal. He failed. He fumbled around with his things and tripped over his own feet as he climbed into his own bed. Sam and Artie walked in and angrily slammed their pillows down in their beds muttering about the lack of stars in the sky that night. Once the room had settled down and the lights were off.

"Know now?" Mike asked out loud.

Puck grinned in the dark, "I think so."

And the four boys quickly fell asleep.

oOoOo

"One last chance guys." Rachel said, trying to shout over the cheers of the crowd. They were in the finals and the pressure of the competition was growing by the second. "We've worked hard to get back here one more time from last year and it's here. This is our shot to take it all. It's time to show our school what we're capable of and even when we're gone, future Gleeks can look back to this class and say it was because of us that made it possible to have them pursue an interest without having to eat slushies' for breakfast."

"Here here for the slushies!" Arties cheered.

They all laughed but quickly focused back to the matter at hand.

"Let's bring home that trophy!" Finn yelled.

They were pumped and ready to attack as the club stood behind the curtain, taking their positions. Rachel and Puck met up at center stage and looked at each other. Puck high fived her as he threw on his guitar, Rachel looked down frowning.

"Puck. I want to apologize to Sophie through you." She fiddled with her hands, "It's probably not a big deal but Santana and I wrote some nasty things on the girls bathroom stalls… well it was mostly me but… just tell her I'm sorry."

Puck grinned, "That's the first thing I want to do when we get back to Lima. Mark my words."

"I don't' want to be critical right now but you know you haven't been performing as well as you have before…"

Puck shrugged, "I got this babe. I won't let you down."

Rachel smiled and scanned the stage to see if everyone was ready and in the zone. She nodded to herself and took a deep breath. Puck began to strum away, the audience, which was still out of view because of the curtain, began to quiet down as Rachel began to sing.

"Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart..."

The curtain split open and Puck and Rachel walked up the stage towards the audience. The rest of the glee club stood frozen in the back. Rachel continued to sing and captivate the audience as she had done with the preliminary performances.

"…Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard…"

Puck grinned at Rachel who was still unsure of Puck and sang.

"…Oh, take me back to the start."

Immediately Rachel's expression changed and she genuinely finished off her song. The song pace changed as Puck walked backwards to join the guys as the girls strutted towards Rachel and stood in line next to her. Mercedes quickly took over as the song merged into another song.

"Oh, baby, what you've done to me
You make me feel so good inside
And I just want to be close to you
You make me fell so alive
Cause you make me feel, you make me feel,
you make me feel like a natural woman"

The crowd cheered as Mercedes belted out a note that rung in peoples ears. Puck quickly took off his guitar and handed it to a backstage member and rushed to the front to grab his partner Britney to began a dance number as Quinn, Tina, and Santana began a trio of harmonies that carried on an up-beat dance song that was a New Direction Original. The crowd cheered as the last note was sung. The Glee club stood on stage, catching their breath.

Britney stretched out her arm into the air gracefully and held it out to Puck just as Quinn and Sam began a duet.

Take my hand, take a breath
Pull me close and take one step
Keep your eyes locked on mine,
And let the music be your guide.

Britney grinned at Puck as she lip synced to Sam and Quinn's voices to Puck. She twirled in and out as the spotlight hit them spinning around the stage as the waltzed while the rest was bathed in a blue. Puck couldn't help but to enjoy the moment. The other members had a much simpler step to follow.

It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you
It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do
And with every step together, we just keep on getting better
So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)
Can I have this dance?

Britney spun in, right into Puck's arms and she linked her arms around his neck as they swayed the rest of the song off. The crowd applauded appreciatively. The stage blacked out and there was shuffling. Everybody raced offstage as a piano was rolled onto center stage. Puck quickly took his place at the piano and quickly began the last song. Artie began to rap.

Me not working hard?
Yea right picture that with a kodak
Or better yet, go to Times Square
Take a picture of me with a kodak
Took my life from negative to a positive
I just want y'all know that
And tonight, let's enjoy life
New Directions, leggo
That's right

Blaine and Finn jumped out in leather jackets and proceeded to sing.

Tonight I want all of you tonight
Give me everything tonight
For all we know we might not get tomorrow
Let's win this tonight

The girls came out in a wardrobe change cause the audience to cheer louder.

Don't care what they say
All the games they play
Nothing is enough
Till they handle us (Lets do it tonight)
I want you tonight, I want you to sing
I want you tonight

Grab somebody sexy tell 'em hey …

The rest of the number was a jam pack hype number that was too infectious to resist. Puck was certain that the judges had a big smile on their faces as the song continued and could have sworn even the members of Vocal Adrenaline, as hard as they tried to hide it, were bobbing their heads to the beat.

…Excuse me
I might drink a little bit more than I should tonight
And I might take you home with me if I could tonight
And baby Ima make you feel so good tonight
Cause we might not get tomorrow!

Puck tried to end the song on a good note but the cheers were so loud they nearly drowned their performance out. The stage blacked out once more and every rushed offstage, already celebrating the great achievement of being able to perform the best they had done in the past week. Puck wasn't sure who he was hugging tightly or who was under his arm as they made their way into the light and out to the corridor where people were idly buy souvenirs. Puck was high fiving Finn when he glanced down at who was at his side.

Santana was cheering as she had an arm around Puck's waist. Immediately, Puck nudged her off trying to create space between them. Santana glared up at him.

"What is your problem?" She snapped.

"Nothing," Puck responded, "I'm gonna go grab a t-shirt."

"Bullshit." Santana crossed her arms.

Puck cocked his head, "I'm sorry is there something wrong?"

Santana narrowed her eyes, "Why are you mad Puckerman? Cause I ruined your chance with Sophie?"

Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and chuckled, "You didn't ruin anything."

A smile spread over Santana's face, "Right… you're right. I didn't ruin anything. It was all your fault."

Santana tried to walk away but Puck quickly reach for her elbow, spinning her around to face him.

"Cut the crap Santana," Puck warned, "She's going to forgive me."

Santana raise an eyebrow," Oh is that right? Puck let me drop some facts on you. The only reason you get away with the atrocities you commit as a man is because the girls you charm are dumb as hell. The only thing working against you is that Sophie, bless her heart, is a fucking genius. I'm sure she has all your moves charted out in that pretty little head of hers, only to calculate how to let you down the easiest. So don't count on it. I doubt you can actually get away with it this time."

Puck frowned, "The only thing more pathetic than you sabotaging my chances with Sophie is the fact that the only reason you're doing it is because you hate her more than you like me. You can't stand the thought of someone actually being right for me other than you, even if you know the two of us are terrible together."

"Terrible?" Santana scoffed, "When I think of us it's never terrible. I think we both know that we have a pretty good time…"

Puck sighed, "Subtract the sex and there wasn't much left over. Admit it and quit being protective over someone who has no interest in you."

Before Puck could comprehend the fire in Santana's eyes, there was a sting on his cheek that throbbed where Santana's hand collided with his skin. Puck's mouth was agape as he touched his cheek tenderly. He took a step back, still in shock and walked away. He was trying to avoid the looks his friends were giving him.

"You obviously don't know how much time I had invested in us!" Santana shouted cause him to stop in his tracks, "We were great together! Why would to want to throw it all away?"

There was something in Santana's voice that hinted she was crumbling down. Puck looked over his shoulder and finally witnessed Santana with a broken face. Her face was twisting, trying to prevent herself from crying in front of everybody. She gulped and looked down. Puck inwardly groaned and approached her. They both immediately embraced the moment they were within arms length of each other. Puck rested his chin on atop of Santana's head. It wasn't audible, but the way Santana's body tensed up, shook, and relaxed indicated she was bawling. She squeezed Puck as tightly as she could, balling up a fistful of his shirt in her hand trying to hold on to something that had slipped so long ago.

"Remember our freshman year?" She choked out, "How you sat next to me in Algebra? I suppose you have a knack of having girls fall for you when you sit next to them. I spent half the time desperately hoping it would be the other way around that year."

Puck remained silent.

"And then we were kinda together… granted we never made it official but for a while in our sophomore year we were together." Santana sniffed.

Puck rolled his eyes, "Then you dumped me for having a bad credit score… I suppose you're making all this up after you found how ridiculously loaded I am."

Santana slowly peeled herself from Puck, "How could you say that?"

"Well you're past is playing against you, don't you think?"

Santana took a step back and wiped her cheeks, "I'm not trying to get back with you. I think I know my last attempt was a failure and there was nothing but harm I caused."

"I don't get why you're so civil now." Puck crossed his arms.

"Can I finish?" Santana groaned, "I was on a roll there."

"Fine."

"Hug me again."

Puck closed his eyes and sighed as Santana wrapped her arms around.

"I really don't remember half of sophomore year." Puck admitted.

"We were up and down. Together. Not together…" Santana softly said, "Then you and Quinn…"

Puck bit his lip trying to block out that entire situation. It was perhaps the first time he ever regretted sleeping with Quinn.

"… and don't think I never saw how you looked at her." Santana sighed, "Anybody who had eyes could tell you loved her for carrying your child and once again, I had to fight for your attention because it was hard to be the other women when you two had something budding. Something I couldn't control or stop…"

"It wasn't your fault," Puck sighed, "If there's anyone to blame it was me for the mistake of… being a horny teenager."

Santana gripped on to him again, "And after she gave Beth up it seemed you two were definitely over and I made sure that you were mine and it seemed like it… until three months ago. Do you know the feeling knowing you can't compete? No matter how hard I tried she just destroyed anything I did to catch your attention. She caught your eye. For once, the right girl chose the right seat next to you and now there's no one else you care for other than her. I just thought that after all the work I put into us, you would somehow always come back to me no matter how many other girls you've slept with."

Puck sighed, "I'm sorry Santana I guess I lead you on long enough… I did care about you at one point but things change and there are too many things I've done that can't be forgivable. I admire you for coming back over and over again but don't you think you deserve someone that's better than me?"

Santana furrowed her brows, "You think I deserve better?"

"I haven't been the greatest boyfriend all these years have I?" Puck shrugged.

Santana's chin quivered as she tried to smile, "Thanks for the validation."

"Hey guys!" Kurt ran over to them. His eyes wide and full of excitement, "C'mon they posted up the final line-up!"

There's your cliff...ish hanger.

The songs that were featured were:

Coldplay- The Scientist
Aretha Franklin- Natural Women
High School Musical 3- Can I Have This Dance?
Ne-Yo- Give Me Everything

Tell me what you think! I only have TWO chapters left planned out before it's over!