Chapter 11

The further down the school hallway Puck walked the clearer it became that everyone was looking at him. Sure he was used to people turning in his direction whenever he walked into a room, but mostly that was because they were waiting for him to do something wrong. The looks he was getting now where different, they were looks of judgment instead of fear. He arrived at his locker just as the bell rang to find Mercedes leaning against it. She was giving him a look too, but her look was more of a look of disgust than of fear.

"I want to know what sick joke you think you're playing." Before he could even blink Puck felt himself being pushed against his locker and Kurt's best friend holding him by the throat.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Man she was strong. "You better back off."

"So this is your plan is it?" Puck was confused and it wasn't just because his air supply was being limited. "You think you can just play around with my boy Kurt's feelings and I won't do anything about it, boy you're more stupid than I gave you credit for."

"Look I don't know..." Puck winced as Mercedes slammed his head against the locker. "Fuck, what the hells your problem?"

"You are," Mercedes snapped. You think it's funny to get your friends to dumpster dive Kurt while you pretend to be all nice and sweet to him. He's starting to care about you..."

"I seriously don't know what the hell you're talking about." Puck pulled Mercedes hand from his throat. "I've not told anyone to do anything."

"Well explain to my why I had to fish the father of your baby out of a dumpster this morning because your football apes decided to throw him in there."

Puck's stomach sank as he listened to Mercedes screech at him. He could feel his fists clenching shut as he forced down the curse words that were threatening to spill out of his mouth. "Where's Kurt?"

"Oh no you don't." Mercedes grabbed Puck again but he pulled away from her fast. "Look why can't you just leave him alone."

"I didn't tell anyone to do anything to him...I wouldn't do that." Puck admitted honestly.

"It's exactly what you would do. You're Puck, the school bully, but you've picked the wrong boy this time..."

"Look I wouldn't hurt Kurt." Puck wanted to scream. He wanted to grab Mercedes by the jacket and force her to tell him where Kurt was now. "I love him..." It fell out of his mouth before he could even think about it, and by the look he was now getting from Mercedes she was as shocked as he was. "Just tell me where he is." He couldn't act any more, he just didn't have the strength to be the bad boy of McKinley High any more.

"The nurse was checking him over." Puck turned and walked away from Mercedes before she even finished talking. Puck didn't have time to stand and wait around for her to finish yelling at him. He needed to make sure Kurt was okay, and then he needed to make the rounds to every dumpster dive member of the football club and let them know as violently as he could that Kurt Hummel was off limits from now on. He didn't want them even looking at him any more, and if they had a problem with it they could deal with his fists. He was practicing his speech when two members of the hockey team came around the corner and smacked right into him.

"Watch it," Puck stumbled back as the giggling hockey players muttered an apology before passing him. God he hoped he wasn't that stupid looking when he was surrounded by his jock friends. Puck froze as he turned the corner to find Kurt standing at the end of it covered in bright red liquid. "What the fuck..." he trailed off as he ran towards Kurt.

"It's strawberry flavored this time," Kurt tried to joke as he wiped the cold slushie from his eyes.

"I'm going to fucking kill them," Puck snapped. "All of them, from the football team to the chess club, I'm going around them all and kicking every one of their asses." Puck stood panting heavily while Kurt stood smiling up at him. "And why are you smiling, you should be pissed like I am."

"I'm just happy I wore this outfit today."Puck looked down to find Kurt in a pair of red jeans and big baggy knitted jumper. "My grandma bought me this last Christmas, and I've been praying that it would get slushied.

"You're so weird," Puck said laughing as took Kurt by the hand. "Let's go clean you up."

"What about kicking the chess clubs asses?" Kurt asked jokingly.

"They'll wait."

#

Puck gently ran his hand through the young sopranos hair as he tried his best to ignore his heart doing that little leapy thing again, seriously he would need to see a doctor about that because it just wasn't normal. He stood over Kurt as he washed his hair wondering if a sixteen-year-old could have heart attack when Kurt let out a high pitched scream. "What the hell?" Puck jumped back from the sink and away from the younger boy.

"Oh my god," Kurt screeched again as he turned to look at Kurt.

"What?"

"Oh..."

Puck stood back watching as Kurt reached up to cover his mouth with his hand. "Is it the baby?" Puck asked in a panic. "Are you having the baby?" Kurt shook his head no before launching himself into one of the cubicles. Puck then stood back with a look of horror on his face as he watched the father of his baby bend over a toilet to empty his stomach. Puck would have given anything to race over to him and rub his back while giving him words of comfort, but Puck knew that's not how it would go. Puck knew the minute he entered the cubicle he would be forced to push Kurt out of the way and be sick himself. Vomit just wasn't his thing. He stood with his back pressed against the wall long after Kurt stopped heaving and walk back out of the cubicle. "Are you okay?"

Kurt was already searching through his bag pulling out a small tooth brush and some toothpaste. "I take it you don't do sick?" Kurt's voice was light and he was smiling so Puck felt it was okay to remove himself from the wall.

"Does that happen a lot?" Puck was concerned even if a little part of him just wanted to know so he didn't have to be around when it happened.

"Morning, noon, and night," Kurt said shrugging, "no biggie."

Puck pulled the small towel from Kurt's bag as he began drying the back of his head. He watched Kurt's reflexion in the bathroom mirror as Kurt began brushing his teeth. "I don't think I could be as brave as you," Puck admitted looking right into Kurt's eyes. "You walk around the school not caring what others think. I love that about you." Puck watched closely as he said the word love. He wanted to test it out without having to actually say it for real. "You're real no matter what happens to you."

"Can't actually hide who I am," Kurt mumbled around the toothbrush.

"But you know, so you're so clued in to what's going on around you. You know for a fact that you're going to get out of this school, and that the rest of us will be left behind like the Lima losers we are."

Kurt took the toothbrush from his mouth to turn around and look up at Puck. "You're not a Lima loser."

"Oh I am." Puck had to look away, he couldn't look Kurt in the eye. That would only lead to grabbing him and kissing him, and that would only lead to being slapped by a five-foot-four pregnant man.

"Well my baby isn't going to have a loser for a father so you better change that." Kurt took a step closer to Puck making him look back down at him. "Two months ago I would have been the first to describe you as a Lima loser, but something has changed. Now I don't know if that's got something to do with having your spawn inside me, but I kind of like you..." Kind of like you sounded petty perfect to Puck's ears and the big wide smile on his face was proof of that. "Don't get cocky about it," Kurt warned as he poked his finger into Puck's chest.

"Thanks," Puck whispered and instantly wanted to bitch slap himself for it.

"I kind of like you a lot..." Kurt whispered as he took another step towards puck. They were almost touching and Puck's heart was doing that damn leaping thing again.

"Thanks," Puck whispered again causing Kurt to laugh.

"You're welcome," Kurt stood on his tip toes. "I think...oh god." And Kurt was back in the cubicle hunched over the toilet.

Puck stood at the sink having a silent argument with himself. Part of him wanted to say screw you to the fear of vomit and go and comfort the father of his baby, and another part of him wanted to run. Run as far away as he could get until he had escaped the smell of sick. Luckily the smarter side of his brain won and he found himself kneeling at the cubicle door gently rubbing small circles into Kurt's back while whispering words of comfort in his ear.