The next few days found Rachel at Puck s side once again. Not letting any chance slip of telling everyone, even to those who didn't want to hear it, that she and Noah were going to Prom together.
Kurt was surprised at first to find them suddenly inseparable since Rachel had seemed just as pissed off at Puck. When he considered Rachel and Puck had been friends for years now and he understood Rachel wanting her best friend back.
Mercedes was a harder nut to crack and shot the Jewish girl deathly glares every chance she got, but Rachel didn't really seem to mind. She was simply too busy preparing herself for the Prom. She even went so far as to go shopping with Puck to buy him, as she called it, the perfect Prom suit. Puck didn't really mind. He put up with his best friend's antics because he felt like he at least owed her that.
He did notice Kurt staring at him sometimes, but pretended he didn't so the boy wouldn't feel embarrassed to get caught in his act. Besides, he liked the attention. It was nice to know that Kurt still liked to look at him, even if he was still mad at him. It must mean something.
Meanwhile, Karofsky was sucking up to Kurt and kissing his ass, and the football and hockey players were starting to ask questions. Even Karofsky's faithful sidekick Azimio was confused about his friend's behavior. He thought it was a prank in the beginning, but since Dave had told him he was going to the Prom with Kurt, he really had no idea what was going on.
When he asked about it, Dave had snapped at him and told him to mind his own business. Azimio was more than a little taken aback, but did as he was told.
The closer the evening of the Prom approached, the more excited the students at McKinley High were getting. When the day finally arrived, Puck went to pick Rachel up with the fairly cheap limousine he rented for the evening. He knew Rachel would have made a scene if he hadn't. Her sparkling eyes and the bright smile on her face when she opened the door for him was worth the trouble. Even going through the embarrassment of the pictures that both Rachel and her two dads insisted should be taken. When Rachel and her dads were satisfied with the amount of pictures, Puck and Rachel were on their way to Prom.
When they arrived they got out and saw Sam, Mercedes, Finn and his date, a girl whose name Puck couldn t remember.
Mercedes glared at the two of them as they joined the foursome, but one look from Sam made her keep her mouth shut. The six of them greeted each other with hugs and fist bumps and went inside the gym to join the rest of the celebrating students.
Once inside, Puck's eyes immediately searched around for one person, but Rachel saw him first and nudged Puck gently.
Puck felt a pang of hurt in his chest when he saw Kurt standing with Karofsky, laughing about something the jock had just whispered in his ear. Puck couldn't help but wish it were him Kurt was laughing with and not Karofsky. But he hoped that would happen soon.
After getting a non-alcoholic drink and talking with some of his friends, Puck made his way over to the table where all the guys and girls who were nominated for Prom King or Queen had to check in. There he was surprised to find a slightly geeky looking kid telling Kurt, I m sorry Mr. Hummel, I m afraid your on the list of the Queens and not the Kings.
"But I'm not a girl," Kurt exclaimed, trying to keep the volume of his voice down. He didn't want to make a scene. "Just scratch me off the girls' list and put me up on the boys."
The geeky boy shook his head, "I'm very sorry, those papers have to stay how they are. Orders from Coach Sylvester."
Puck watched Kurt's face change from angry to crestfallen. He looked so defeated that Puck wanted to stand up for him. He was just about to say something when he felt a hand on his arm and heard the unmistakable voice of Santana right by his ear. "Watch this," she said and then walked up to the table, looking straight at the boy with the papers in his hand. "Is there a problem here, Kevin?"
The boy nodded, "It seems like there has been made a mistake, Miss Lopez."
"A mistake?" Santana replied, taking the papers from Kevin's hands, "There can't be a mistake. I made them myself. Coach Sylvester would have killed me if I made a mistake and she read them through several times. Are you saying that Coach Sylvester made a mistake?"
Knowing Santana could get Coach Sylvester straight to their table on raised voices alone, Kevin swallowed harshly and shook his head. "No, miss Lopez, but...Mr. Hummel here has been added onto the list of the Queens instead of the Kings."
"And?"
Kevin frowned, "And Mr. Hummel is not a girl."
"I'm aware of that," Santana replied, "Yet, someone asked us to put him onto the Queens list. He even offered me money."
That peeked Kurt's interest and he looked up again with a questioning look on his face.
"Who?"
Santana's eyes sparkled mischievously, Puck noticed, before she looked over at Karofsky with a smirk on her face. "He did."
Karofsky's face turned from surprise to panic almost immediately while Kurt snapped his head to the side to look at him.
"I should have known," Kurt spoke heatedly, "You jocks are all out to humiliate me even more than I already humiliate myself. I was a fool to believe that one, much less two of you could be different."
"Kurt, I..."
"No," Kurt held up his hand to stop him, "I don't want to hear it. I don't need your apology, because it doesn't mean anything." Kurt turned around and started walking away when Karofsky gripped his wrist. Irritated, Kurt turned around again and glared at him.
"I didn't mean to hurt you," Karofsky tried to plead for his innocence, "It was just a joke."
"Oh you thought I would laugh at it?" Kurt asked, unable to keep his voice from going higher at the end. "Well, ha-ha. Did you get what you want now?"
"No, Kurt, I..."
"Let me go."
Karofsky hesitated, but when he saw the fury in Kurt's eyes, he loosened his grip and allowed Kurt to pull his arm back. With no one holding him back anymore, Kurt stormed out of the building. Mercedes, who noticed the distress on her best friend's face, followed him out.
As soon as Kurt was gone, Karofsky rounded on Santana, looking absolutely furious. "You bitch!" he exclaimed loudly, "This is all your fault!"
Santana crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him with her bitch-face on.
"You might want to calm down, David."
"I'm not scared of you."
"I'm not asking you to be. But I know you are scared of those people standing behind you."
Karofsky turned around and came face to face with both Coach Sylvester and Coach Beiste. Both looked like they were up for some action with a troublemaker like him.
"What seems to be the problem, Karofsky?" Coach Beiste asked.
"Santana tricked me into something, coach."
"Did she now?" coach Sylvester spoke up, "Well sandbags, you're doing a great job, I can tell."
Santana smirked triumphantly, while Karofsky fumed angrily.
"Is there no one here who would actually listen to me?" Karofsky yelled and both coaches turned to him again, their eyes narrowed.
"Alright, Dave," coach Beiste said, placing her hand on Karofsky's shoulder, "Time to go outside."
"But I didn't do anything wrong!"
Coach Beiste didn't let him finish but started shoving him, gently, towards the door ignoring Karofsky's muttered curses in an effort to put an end to the start of a bad atmosphere.
When Beiste and Karofsky were gone, Coach Sylvester patted Santana briefly on her shoulder before walking away. Puck, who had been rooted on the spot the whole time the whole charade had played out, now blinked and looked at Santana in confusion.
"What the hell was all that about?"
"That was karma, biting Karofsky in the ass." Santana answered, clearly feeling satisfied with herself. "He wanted to humiliate Hummel by putting him up on the Queens' list, then wanted to backtrack out of it after Hummel found out about your bet. He went to Coach Sylvester but I overheard him and convinced her not to change a thing. I don't think she was going to do a thing anyway, but hey, I can take credit for it. And now Kurt knows what a jerk that guy really is and ditched him."
Puck blinked again, taking it all in making sure he understood everything. He wasn't stupid, but that was a lot of information he just got that he really hadn't expected at all.
As it all quickly sunk in only one question remained inside Puck's mind.
"Why are you helping me?"
Sure, Santana was his friend, but she had never helped him before. Not like this.
"Isn't that what friends are for?" Santana quipped, but at Puck's eyebrow raise she rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'm just sick of your sulking and Quinn's bitchiness. Brittany and I want the old Q back and the only way to do that is to put her in her place."
Puck nodded in understanding, "I'm not sure she's going to be here. I was supposed to pick her up."
As if on cue, Quinn came striding into the gym, her eyes searching for that familiar mohawk. When she found him, a predatory smile appeared on her face and she made her way over to him.
"Oh, she's here," Santana replied, looking over Puck's shoulder." In fact she's coming over here right now. Good Luck, Puckerman."
With that said, Santana left him alone and Puck turned around, waiting for Quinn. But it seemed like Quinn wasn't the only girl looking for him, because Rachel was suddenly standing right in front of his face. Damn that girl was good in sneaking up on someone.
"What happened Noah?" Rachel asked, "One minute I was talking to Finn and then suddenly Kurt's racing past us with Mercedes on his heels. I went outside to talk to them but Mercedes doesn't trust me anymore and the only thing Kurt said was something about
'unbelievable jocks' and 'not being able to trust them'." She narrowed her eyes, "You didn't do anything stupid again, did you?"
"No, I didn't. It was Karofsky this time."
Rachel's eyes widened in realization, "So he ditched him?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
Before Rachel could react, she was pushed aside by Quinn, whose scowl turned into a sweet smile as she looked at Puck.
"There you are. I guess you forgot to pick me up, but I forgive you." Taking Puck's arm, she started dragging him towards the dance floor, "Come on, let's dance. Show them all how pretty their Prom King and Queen look together."
Puck stopped abruptly, making Quinn stumble a little and bump into his side. She looked at him and raised her eyebrow.
"I don't want to dance."
"Why not?"
"I'm not in the mood, ok. Besides, I'm here with Rachel, not with you."
Quinn pursed her lips into a thin line, "You brought that freak here instead of me?"
"Rachel is not a freak, Q. She's my best friend. Like you were once to me as well."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Quinn replied, but it was clear to Puck she knew very well what he was talking about.
"You've changed, Q. Ever since that guy from Real World seduced you, you've turned into this bitch we both know you really aren't. Everybody noticed it and got sick of your tantrums over nothing. Even your two best friends. They want to give you another chance. It's up to you if you take it or not."
Looking back over her shoulder, Quinn saw Santana and Brittany standing together just a few feet away from she and Puck. They both looked a little nervous, but Brittany's hopeful smile was what triggered Quinn to make her decision.
"You're right," she said softly, "I have changed. So have you, you know."
Puck nodded and a shy looking smile appeared on his face. "I know"
Without saying another word, Quinn wrapped her arms around Puck and hugged him. After just a second of tensing up, Puck hugged her back just as tight. Their little moment was ruined when Rachel cleared her throat. They both pulled back from each other and gave Rachel an annoyed look.
"I'm sorry to break you guys up," Rachel said, sounding anything but sorry, "But this is your chance to get Kurt back, Noah. Make him see how you really feel about him."
Puck looked over at Quinn, who smiled at him, nodding her head. "Go get your boy. I'm going to try and get my friends back."
She leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss against Puck's cheek before walking away. Puck just stood there, a little helplessly almost, lucky for him; Rachel knew how to take charge at times like these.
"You go and find Finn and Sam, talk to the band and take your place on stage. I'm going get Kurt back inside."
"Maybe he has gone home already."
"I don't think so, but I'll have to do a bit of persuasion to get him back inside. You better get ready for it."
Puck nodded in agreement, then went in search of his two friends while Rachel went outside to find Kurt.
Puck spotted Finn easily enough and lucky for him, Sam was standing close to him as well. He quickly explained to the two boys what was going on and they had to talk to the band to see if they could have the stage so they could sing and play their rehearsed song.
Puck had searched long enough for the perfect song and had come prepared.
When he asked Mr. Schuester for permission to sing at Prom, the teacher told him to just inform the band when they would need the stage and it would be ok. As the band left the stage to them the other curious students watched Puck, Finn and Sam take their places.
Finn sat down behind the drums while Sam and Puck both grabbed a guitar and started tuning it. Meanwhile, Rachel was outside talking to Kurt and Mercedes. It seemed like she wasn't going to get them back inside, until Rachel mentioned that Coach Beiste had thrown Karofsky out.
Kurt wasn't in the mood anymore, not that he really had been in the beginning because he kept on thinking he would rather be here with Puck instead of Dave.
How his mind and heart could betray him. Puck had played him and still he felt like there was more to the boy - some other side to him that Kurt just got a glimpse of. He wanted to see more, but thought that wasn't possible anymore.
Mercedes wanted to stay with Sam though and since she was probably going be his ride home as Dave had driven him to the prom, and he didn't want to ruin his best friends' night too. So he decided to head back inside the gym with the two girls. When they were inside he saw the three boys on stage and immediately turned to Rachel for an explanation.
"What's going on here?"
Rachel smiled, "You'll see." Then she stood on her tiptoes and called out loudly, "Noah!" She waved so he would see her and also see Kurt. Puck spotted them immediately, nodded to Rachel, then to Sam and Finn and walked towards the microphone stand.
He gently tapped it with his finger to see if it was on and then started to speak.
"Hey everyone," he stopped for a few seconds to make sure everyone was paying attention, "I think you all know who I am." A few chuckles were heard, "I'm not that good at giving a speech but I felt like I had to say something before I started singing." A short pause, a deep breath, and he started speaking again, "I'm sure you all heard that I've hurt someone really badly this year and I just want him to know that I never wanted that. I wanted to tell him about that stupid bet in the beginning, but something held me back. It took me a while to figure out what it was, but now I know. It never really was about the bet for me. Sure, it made me make the step to actually get to know him and I surely don't regret that, but...I didn't hang out with you because of that bet, Kurt." He suddenly looked right into Kurt's eyes, speaking straight to him. "I hung out with you because I enjoyed it. I like hanging out with you. I just like you. You made me see who I really am, who I became, and who I want to be again. I've been hiding from myself all those years and I'm sick of it. I hope you can give me another chance."
Complete silence fell over the gym, except for the few people murmuring to each other. But Kurt couldn't hear anything except the rushing of blood through his ears and feel the pain in his hand because Mercedes was squeezing it so hard.
He couldn't have heard that right, could he? Was Puck really saying what Kurt thought he was saying? The sound of music starting up brought him out of his daze and he stared at the trio, but actually only one boy on stage.
Unspoken, in silence
Let's stay here tonight
There's no reason to ask me
Cause you know what's inside
Don't worry now
Seasons will change
Forgive my mouth
For not letting you walk away
Take your love, bring it back
Bring it back
Think before you leave
I forgot what love is
Bring it back
Tell me that you believe
What fate has been telling me.
Kurt knew the song and couldn't stop his lips from curling into a small smile. Puck was singing a Kris Allen song, Bring It Back, and Kurt knew why.
He had sung an Adam Lambert song the first time Puck hurt him sing, so what could be better than to sing back to him with a Kris Allen song? He was surprised though when after the chorus the music suddenly changed and he went into Is It Over, another song from Kris.
Puck was doing a mash-up. And he was doing a pretty damn good job at it too.
This time you say it's for good
You've played kind
For as long as you could
With your head in your hands
And your tears on my chest
I think to myself, I'm not giving up yet
And I say, is it over?
Or can I turn you around
If I crawl on my knees
To rewrite our story tonight
Would you care or are you already gone?
So take your time
As you're headed for the door
Cause I might find
The right words to say
If you give me a second more
I'm no good at goodbyes
And my pride's here to see
That I won't let you go
As you walk out on me
And I say, is it over?
Or can I turn you around
If I crawl on my knees
To rewrite our story tonight
Would you care, or are you already gone?
Take your love, bring it back
Bring it back
Think before you leave
I forgot what love is
Bring it back
Tell me that you believe
What fate has been telling me
Would you care, or are you already gone?
Would you care, or are you already gone?
Once the music died down and Puck stopped singing, everybody stopped dancing or swaying and started clapping and cheering for the boys; especially for Puck.
The two people who weren't clapping or cheering, who weren't doing much of anything except staring, were Kurt and Mercedes.
Kurt was staring at Puck, who was now getting a little anxious and slightly uncomfortable, not really knowing what else to do. Puck was looking back at first but now he was doing his best to look anywhere but at the boy he just poured his heart out to.
It took an elbow from Rachel to his stomach for Kurt to snap back into reality and stare at the two girls who were now looking inquiringly at him.
"Well?" Rachel asked.
"Well what?" Kurt cleared his throat, because his voice sounded a little too hoarse to his liking.
"Well," Mercedes chimed in this time, "Aren't you going to do something? That boy just laid his heart out before you and the rest of the school you know."
"This is hardly the rest of the school..."
"Kurt."
"Ok, I'm sorry!" Kurt said, a little exasperated, "What am I supposed to do now? I just don't know..."
Rachel and Mercedes shared a look with each other before turning to Kurt and exclaiming in unison, "Go to him!"
Swallowing, Kurt looked back at the stage and saw Sam and Finn were walking down the steps, down onto the dance floor. Puck was still fiddling with his guitar, obviously stalling for time.
Another nudge from Rachel made his legs start moving and he found himself walking towards the stage, then up the steps to stop right in front of Puck, who had just put down his guitar. They stared at each other and for a few moments it felt like there was nobody there but them.
"Kris Allen, huh?" Kurt finally spoke up, "Very original."
Puck shrugged, "Hey, if you can do Adam Lambert. I can do Kris Allen."
Kurt chuckled, "You sure can. That mash-up was pretty nice."
Scratching at his mohawk, Puck smiled a little. "Thanks."
They went back to staring at each other and everybody could feel the atmosphere around them change. They were having a moment; a moment that could only evolve into one thing.
"Did you mean what you said?" Kurt asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Puck nodded, "Every word."
Kurt's breath hitched a little when he saw Puck reach out his hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes and tucked it behind his ear. It was such a sweet gesture. Kurt stepped closer so their bodies were almost touching, but still not completely. Then he put his hand on Puck's chest, right over his heart, and Puck placed his big hand over Kurt's smaller one.
Now was the moment that had been building up for so long but never really had a chance to happen. Not before now.
Kurt reached up at the same time as Puck ducked his head and their lips met. It was like they were in their own bubble where there was nothing except them and the feeling of their lips against each other. Kurt s fingers dug into Puck's shirt and chest. Their bubble burst when the catcalls and dog whistles rose up from the crowd of spectators and Puck and Kurt pulled apart, both grinning like fools.
Then Principal Figgins came onto the stage, clapping both boys gently on their shoulder before they walked off the stage, Puck's arm hanging casually over Kurt's shoulder.
It was time to announce the Prom King and Queen, so they had to get back up there almost immediately.
The people who dared to even chuckle when Kurt was called up to stand with the girls got shot down by Puck's death glare. Finn and Santana were crowned King and Queen, but everyone was surprised when Quinn hugged Santana and seemed genuinely happy for her friend.
Finn was a little nervous about having to do the mandatory dance with Santana, but when the Latina said; "Hudson, I popped your cherry. Dancing with me shouldn't be that much of a problem." So Finn, albeit blushing, started to dance with her, and soon Puck and Kurt and everyone else joined in.
Then suddenly the music stopped and Kurt's head snapped back to the stage when he heard Blaine announce the Dalton Warblers and a "special guest". The Warblers had always been Blaine friends and Kurt knew they had agreed to sing with Blaine. But he was curious about who the guest could be. Puck on the other hand was smirking and stood behind Kurt, with his hands on the smaller boys' waist.
"What's going on?" Kurt asked, leaning his head back to let it rest on Puck's shoulder.
Puck just pressed a kiss against his temple, not even surprised at how natural it felt and said softly, "You'll see."
Before Kurt could ask again, or complain that Puck wouldn't tell him, the opening chords of "Teenage Dream" started playing and Blaine started singing. When he finished the first stanza, another voice rose up from the crowd and made his way over to the stage.
Kurt's eyes widened just a little when he saw it was Sebastian walking over to the stage, giving Puck a high five as he passed them by.
Kurt knew Blaine was fond of the guy because he hadn't stopped talking about Sebastian ever since Puck had brought him along to Kurt's house, along with the rest of the basketball team. It now seemed like there was something more growing between the two boys.
Kurt was shocked that Blaine had kept that a secret from him, while Sebastian obviously hadn't kept it a secret from Puck. Oh, Blaine was so going to get it later, Kurt thought to himself, much later. Now all that mattered was how Puck turned him around so they came face to face, his hands still on Kurt's hips, and how he started swaying them to the music.
Kurt laughed as Puck spun him around a few times and he could see all the other students watching them dance, all with different expressions on their faces.
Some like Finn, Rachel, Sam, Mercedes and the unholy trinity Santana, Brittany and Quinn looked happy for them. Others looked surprised but amused by it all, some looked disgusted and then others looked almost jealous. Kurt saw all the girls ogling Puck, and saw they were jealous he was dancing with the object of their lust. Let them ogle him as much as they wanted. Kurt didn t care; he was the one taking the stud home with him at the end of the party.
They might not have won the position of Prom King and "Queen", but they did win each other.
In the end, that's all that matters.
