Quinn woke up that morning to find herself wrapped in soft, pale blue blankets. Warm and safe, she didn't want to move one muscle. That was until her phone rang. It sounded like it was far away, which was weird because she knew she put it on the nightstand. Sitting up, she looked around trying to follow the sound of a monophonic version of "The Hustle". Her eyes traveled to the end of the bed, where she saw Puck holding her phone.
"What are you doing?" She asked, pulling up the covers over herself.
"Jeff Milton called you." By the way Quinn's face faltered, Puck knew who that was.
"Puck, you can't just go through my phone." Quinn tried to deflect. Puck threw the phone next to her and stood with his hands on his hips, gracefully naked.
"You said you'd break it off with him!"
"Did I?" Quinn honestly didn't remember.
"Yes! The last night we spent together, you said you would!" Puck claimed. Quinn went back into the recesses of her memory to search for the moment when that could've happened. Her eyebrows perked up, then she narrowed her hazel eyes back at Puck.
"You can't ask me things like that pre-cum." Quinn scolded, using her lawyer techniques to find a way around this. "That's cheating."
"A promise is a promise, Quinn." Quinn left his sad eyes and gripped the sheets, feeling guilty and imagining herself in the jail cell of Puck's heart. Suddenly, Puck jogged out of the room and before Quinn could forget that Sam might be home and follow him, he paced back in with his acoustic guitar.
"If being in Glee club taught me anything," Puck started, "it's that I'm better at singing what I feel than talking and shit."
He sat Indian-Style at the end of the bed and plucked a few chords, seemingly unaware that Quinn was removing the covers from her body. Quinn carefully crawled from the top of the bed to get closer to him. He was always so gentle with his guitar, as if it was his newborn child. With the unconditional love that music often showed him, he only thought it fair to do the same and treat the instrument with tender loving care. Watching him play for Quinn was to watch him at his most vulnerable and intimate a side he rarely would allow to surface.
[Puck]
I was made to believe I'd never love somebody else
I made a plan, stay the man who can only love himself
lonely was the song I sang, 'til the day you came
Showing me another way and all that my love can bring
A sweet smile tugged the side of Quinn's lips.
[Puck]
Oh half of my heart's got a grip on the situation
half of my heart takes time
half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you
that I can't keep loving you
Oh, with half of my heart
with half of my heart
Quinn sat the calves of her legs and the palms of her hands, gazing at Puck. He refused to look at her. He was afraid he'd abandon this borrowed love song and kiss her all over again, changing absolutely nothing.
[Puck]
Your faith is strong
but I can only fall short for so long
Down the road, later on
you will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart
but I can't stop loving you
[Quinn]
I can't stop loving you
[Puck]
I can't stop loving you
[Quinn]
I can't stop loving you
[Puck]
I can't stop loving you with half of my...
[Quinn and Puck]
Half of my heart
Oh, half of my heart
Before he could make the last strum, Quinn pulled his face in for a kiss. Her tongue swept the inside of his mouth feverishly, letting him know what she wanted and it was what he wanted too. In agony, Puck tore himself away.
"Quinn, for a really long time I thought I was just the kind of dude that was meant to be alone. I've had some relationships, a lot of relations and sometimes it felt good. I have never felt better than when I'm able to make you laugh or rock you to sleep. Since high school, I've come to grips with the fact that I'd probably never be with you again, cause I fucked it up but now…I think this is a sign."
Puck held her hands.
"This is good. This is right." Quinn's eyes started to gloss with tears that shined in the sunlight.
Puck was not a good boyfriend to her. While she was pregnant with their child, if he wasn't trying to get into her pants he'd get into someone else's. Even after Beth was born, Puck basically abandoned her that summer. She was able to forgive his infidelity and immature ways but she couldn't just forget all that as much as she wanted too.
"But…it's too late for us." Quinn's voiced cracked. "Too much has happened—"
"That was almost ten years ago, Quinn. We can make some new memories. A new history, if you wanted."
Puck kissed the backs of her hands and then her wet cheeks. Quinn pressed her forehead against his. The natural city light fought through the middle of their profiles.
"But, you have to leave him." Puck said to her eyes. "Give us a fair chance."
Quinn nodded and blinked a tear down her face. Later on the subway back to Queens, she listened to her playlist and watched the lights come off and on in the last train car. Instead of the lawyer in her weighing the pros and cons of the situation, she took cue from Puck and chose music to be her guide. When she climbed the stairs to the sidewalk, she shut her eyes and started to sing out hoping it would give her an answer.
[Quinn]
Once my lover now my friend
What a cruel thing to pretend
What a cunning way to condescend
Once my lover and now my friend
Some passersby looked at her questionably and internally wondered if she had just escaped from the loony bin. Some fell in love with her because of beauty and the haunting passion with which she sung. Quinn held her jacket a little tighter and sang from her throat.
[Quinn]
Oh, you creep up like the clouds
And you set my soul at ease
Then you let your love abound
And you bring me to my knees
Oh, it's evil, babe
The way you let your grace enrapture me
When will you know I'd be insane
To ever let that dirty game recapture me
People made a path for her, willingly getting out of her way to stare astonished. She tossed a coin to a man without shoes sitting on the corner and let her cheeks rise in a keen smile.
[Quinn]
You made me a shadowboxer, baby
I wanna be ready for what you do
I've been swinging all around me
'Cause I don't know when you're gonna make your move
Puck's face came to her mind and she pretended that she was singing to him.
[Quinn]
Oh, your gaze is dangerous
And you fill your space so sweet
If I let you get too close
You'll set your spell on me
So darlin' I just wanna say
Just in case I don't come through
I was on to every play
I just wanted you
Counting all of the kinds of eyes she got from strangers in her head, Quinn finally entered her apartment building. She entered the elevator and looked at her reflection.
[Quinn]
But, oh, it's so evil
My love
The way you've no reverence to my concern
So I'll be sure to stay wary of you, love
To save the pain of once my flame and twice my burn
The elevator doors opened and she strode down the hallway. Her gloved hands tightly held the handle of her bag. She found that she was silently crying again. She was just realizing how much the song reflecting her feelings. Puck was asking for all of her and she couldn't resist or release him. Still, although Puck made it as if he was the only one who was hurting in all of this, Quinn was warring with the fact that she didn't want to be scarred by him again.
[Quinn]
Yeah, you made me a shadowboxer, baby
I wanna be ready for what you do
I've been swinging all around me
'Cause I don't know when you're gonna
Make your move…
Quinn was too damn busy singing to notice the sounds coming from her apartment. But truthfully, even if she had noticed them, she just would've thought it was her neighbors from across the hall but 10 times louder. She didn't see them at first because her eyes were down and they didn't see her because they were sucking at each other's faces, whispering dirty things.
As a part of fate, Quinn finally looked up in complete horror.
"Oh, oh my God! OH MY GOD!" She dropped her bag and shielded her vision from her naked friends. Mercedes made an unpleasant scream while attempting to cover themselves with the blanket on the couch.
"Quinn, I thought you had class!"
"It was canceled, I'm sorry!" She spoke with her hand still in front of her face. "Hey, Sam."
"Hey, Quinn."
"Mercedes remind me never to set one ass-cheek on that couch again-"
"Quinn!"
"All right, all right, I'm leaving! Carry on!" Quinn gave them a thumbs up with her head turned before shutting the door. Before Sam and Mercedes could take in the embarrassment, the door re-opened.
"Just getting my bag! Don't have sex yet!" Quinn swiped her tote and closed the door. Quinn covered her own face in embarrassment and excitement for Mercedes and Sam. She was so happy for them both. Quinn went back down the hall off to Puck's to tell him the good news. Well, that and the other good news.
A/N: Hello. Thank you for reading this chapter. I have not really decided what I wanted to do with the next one yet, but it's going to be a Spuck chapter (Sam/Puck). Don't worry. They're not having sex (honestly, I'm not sure how many of you view that as a bad thing). It's going to be a bro-ish chapter and I might have the girls' parallel to that. I dunno. Stay tuned to find out! Reviews are wonderful. Thanks.
Songs Used:
"Half of my Heart" by John Mayer ft. Taylor Swift
"Shadowboxer" by Fiona Apple