I love the scene with Coach Beiste. Lovelovelove it. However, I have issues with how they got there; why was it that none of Puck's friends were there for the showdown with Rick? I know that, at my school, if ~20 people knew about a fight, it would take less than an hour for the whole school to find out about it, yet not a single person turned up to be in Puck's corner. For someone who seemed to have solidified some strong friendships in the previous few episodes, he was very alone when push came to shove. I like how they did the scene with Coach Beiste, but Puck's friends should have been there to help him first, so I've shaken things up a bit.

Hurting from someone else's failures

Blaine lay on his bed; guitar sprawled across his lap as he strummed lightly. As much as he loved hanging out with Puck and Santana and everyone else that had emerged from the woodwork after his break-up with Kurt, they were very time consuming people, and Blaine found himself alone with his guitar less and less. The funny thing was, though, somehow playing guitar had lost its appeal, without Santana singing along, or Mike dancing away, or Puck accompanying on whatever instrument he'd found that week.

Blaine played for a moment longer, mind unfocussed, until his phone started buzzing across the room, and he placed is guitar aside, crossing the room and checking the screen. He didn't recognise the number, and frowned. Blaine answered the call, echoing out his usual greeting with a hint of uncertainty. "Hey Blaine." The voice that answered back was undoubtedly Finn's, and Blaine remained confused. "How are you?"

"I'm okay…" Blaine trailed off. He didn't even know Finn had his number, and their contact post-Kurt had been minimal at best. "Finn, why are you ringing me?"

Finn sighed. "I got your number from Mike. I didn't want to call, but I didn't know what else to do. We finished football training an hour ago, but Puck's been running laps ever since, I can't get him to come inside…" Finn paused, and Blaine frowned at the phone. Puck was fit, sure, but he liked slacking, and would never voluntarily do something as repetitive as running laps. "Before training, man, he went crazy. Pulled a knife on one of the puck-heads. It was only a rubber prop, but if one of the teachers had seen… Mike, Sam and I managed to drag him off before things got really bad, but he's still really, really messed up. You two are, like, inseparable now, could you come down to McKinley and see if you can't talk some sense into him? It's getting dark."

Blaine gaped at the phone for another moment, before getting his wits about him and answering Finn. "Yeah, of course, I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm at home; it will take me a while to get there… Can you keep an eye on him? Text me if anything changes." Blaine hung up after Finn affirmed, and was on the highway before he even had time to think. He took a deep breath, taking his foot off the accelerator slightly – he'd be no use to anyone if he crashed.

Blaine had heard about Puck's moods – they were legend at McKinley, mainly due to the massive increase in Slushies and Dumpster dips whenever he was in one. However, Blaine had yet to witness one first hand, and if Puck had pulled a knife on someone, even a rubber one, it had to be bad. He tapped a beat onto the steering wheel, willing time to pass as he headed for McKinley. As he neared Lima, he noticed it was raining, and turned on his wipers, rolling his eyes as he realised that Puck was probably soaking wet.

Blaine parked up, throwing his hood up as he jogged to where Finn stood, waiting. Finn was drenched, and looked completely miserable. "Thanks for coming, man."

"No problem." Blaine replied, craning his head to try and catch a glimpse of Puck. He finally spotted him through the rain, almost at the other side of the large McKinley track. "So he's been out here running for two hours?"

"Can't doubt the man's endurance." Finn tried to joke, his laugh coming out as more of a choked cough. The pair of them stood in the rain, watching Puck circle round. "Could you go and talk to him?"

"I can try." Blaine shrugged, already moving towards the field. He started jogging towards his boyfriend, falling into pace beside him. They ran a lap together in silence, the air punctuated with Puck's heavy breathing. "So, any particular reason you're running loops like a hamster?" Puck didn't even glimpse at Blaine, didn't make a move to show he'd heard, just kept running. "Finn says you've been out here for a while, why don't you come to my car and warm up?"

"Go 'way."

"Not until you tell me what you're doing out here."

"I'm running laps, dumbass." Puck bit back, speeding up as Blaine dropped off the pace, slowing to a walk. He watched Puck sprint around the bend with a sigh, body sagging under the weight of his confusion. Blaine walked back to Finn, scruffing his hair nervously.

"Well, that didn't work." Blaine told Finn honestly. He took off his bowtie and overcoat, throwing them into the backseat of his car.

"At least he spoke to you. More than he's done for me in the last few hours." Finn shrugged, the slightest tinge of jealousy shading his voice. "What are you gonna do?" Finn asked, frowning as he watched Blaine remove his watch and belt.

"I'm going to do something stupid." Blaine muttered to himself, before turning to answer Finn's question. "I'm going to tackle him."

"Dude, Puck's like twice your weight." Finn blinked, frowning. "If he gets pissed off…"

"Here's hoping he doesn't get pissed off, then." Blaine stated, handing his jacket to Finn. "If I nod, you can leave, okay?"

"Dude…" Finn trailed off, looking at Blaine sceptically. "Okay, you know best. Be careful. Ring me if anything happens." Blaine would have laughed had the situation not been so serious, because Good Lord this was surreal. He watched Puck swerve around the bend, and began his run, knowing he'd have to time it perfectly to catch Puck.

Blaine may have been lighter than Puck, but he had momentum and the element of surprise on his side, and he barrelled into Puck with enough force to pull them both over, both of them landing on the soft grass beside the track. Blaine reacted quickly, rolling so that he was straddling Puck.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Puck yelled, pushing against Blaine. His voice was angry, but he barely put any force behind the push, so Blaine nodded at Finn, watching the boy walk away apprehensively, eyes pinned to the pair on the pitch. Puck pushed against Blaine again, slightly harder this time, but Blaine held strong, waiting until Puck's muscles fully relaxed to roll beside Puck. Finn was long gone, but Blaine ran his fingers along the phone in his pocket, just in case. The pair lay side by side on their backs for a good few minutes, the heavy rain ensuring not an inch of skin remained dry.

Puck was so good at comforting, being the strong man, and now that the tables had turned, Blaine had no idea what to do. He'd comforted Kurt before, sure, but this was a completely different ballgame, so they just lay there in silence. Blaine laced his fingers through Puck's, hoping to give him some strength, and waited for Puck to say something.

"I failed." It took a few minutes, but Puck broke the silence, leaving the words hanging heavy in the air. "The resit. I failed." Blaine rolled over, trying as best he could to wrap Puck into a hug. Puck sighed, burying his face in Blaine's hair. Blaine tried to be the pillar of strength Puck needed, anchoring onto his sopping vest and pulling Puck even closer. "I don't want to be my Dad."

"You won't be." Blaine whispered, which was apparently the wrong answer, as Puck was pushing him away with force, rolling aside and climbing to a stand. The downpour became heavier, Blaine sitting up and squinting into the heavy rain as he strained to see Puck, who was tugging at his Mohawk angrily.

"You don't get it. You won't ever get it, because you're talented, and smart, and good at shit. You know you'll get out of this town, because you've got something to give the world." Puck yelled down at Blaine. He scrubbed at his face before continuing. "I'm nothing! I'm a Lima. Loser. What have I got to give, Blaine? The only thing I'm good at is sex, and what's that good for? Prostitution? I can't even pass a fucking geography test. My Mom, she's never seen me play football or sing, and my Dad…No one gives a shit about me, and why should they? I'm a failure, Blaine!" Puck's voice broke on the final syllable, and he turned away. Blaine climbed to a stand, reaching for his boyfriend. "I'm sorry, I'm…" Puck muttered, folding into Blaine's arms. He tucked his head into Blaine's neck, lashes tickling Blaine as he squeezed his eyes shut and rested his weight upon Blaine's upper body for a moment.

"I care." Blaine finally coughed out, voice heavy with tears. "I care so much, Noh…" He leant back, cupping Puck's face with his hands, and kissed him lightly, gently. "And, you know who's at every football game and glee concert? I am, and I know the second one's not all that impressive since I'm in Glee, but you're most definitely who I watch the football for." Blaine smiled, stroking Puck's cheekbones with his thumbs. "You amaze me. You're so special and you can't even see it." Puck reached up, gripping Blaine's forearms tightly, thumbs almost bruising, but Blaine didn't flicker, just lent forward and let Puck rest his forehead on Blaine's. Puck's eyes were squeezed shut, brow knotted. "Let's get you home."

Puck flexed his shoulders, rolling them back and straightening out, loosening his grip on Blaine's arms. Blaine frowned, watching Puck pick himself up and put himself back together, hands still firmly rested on Puck's face as the worry lines smoothed out and the lips released their tension. "Mom's home." It went without saying that Blaine's home was a no-go, his parents were in. "Can we get something to eat? I'm fucking starving."

"Funny that." Blaine smiled lightly, letting his hands fall from Puck's face to his own pockets. His jeans were sodden and damp, heavy from the thick rain that continued to pelt them. He looked at Puck, whose clothes were in a similar state, and smiled once more. "I don't think either of us are in any shape to go to a nice restaurant. Takeout from Breadstix? We can eat in the car…"

"I'd like that." The pair trudged towards Blaine's car in silence, until a heavy, muscled arm came to rest across Blaine's shoulders. Blaine looked up, unsurprised to see Puck staring down at him. The older boy was smiling, and even if it was a little forced, it lifted Blaine slightly. "You know, there is one positive in all of this."

Blaine raised an eyebrow, threading his own arm around Puck's waist and pausing for a moment. "And what would that be, Puck?"

"Since I still want to graduate, I'll be putting the LA plans on hold." Puck stated as they reached the car. They let go of one another, Puck jogging round to the passenger side. He lent on the roof, smiling at Blaine. "Think you can deal with another year of me, Blaine?"

The awful, cruel, heartless nerve at the back of Blaine's brain twitched with delight at the idea of more time with Puck, and he found himself fighting off a smile. "How will I manage?" He replied teasingly, sliding into the car with a little more spring to his step.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, you all really have warmed the cockles of my heart! I'm afraid I'm off on holiday until Monday now, so no updates til then. Also, it's my birthday next week, so I'm totally going to be blackmailing you guys for birthday reviews. Mmmmkay?