The calm before the storm

It was a quiet evening. Very quiet. But that wasn't at all surprising, was it? The only thing they'd talked about these last few days was the one thing they both didn't want to talk about anymore. And they'd probably said everything that was to say about it anyway. And beyond that, they didn't really have anything to say to each other. Of course, they could've talked about glee or anything in that direction, but Will found that talking to Puck didn't come as easy to him as it did with Finn. He tried anyway, but no matter what subject he brought up, Puck didn't seem interested in any conversation, and after Puck's answers had gone from being short sentences over 'yes' and 'no' to no answer at all, Will gave up. He tried to convince himself that, given the situation, it was understandable that Puck wasn't very talkative, but, deep down, he knew, that it wouldn't have been any different, if Danny hadn't been in the picture - but in that case, Will wouldn't have to try, because… well, Puck wouldn't be at his apartment right now.

It wasn't just that evening, though. The whole weekend, Will had asked himself, if he'd made the right decision, if it had been the right decision to take Puck in… and he'd felt guilty all the same, for even thinking something like that, because, after all, there wasn't an alternative right now, and just because they didn't have that connection, didn't mean that this was the wrong place for Puck to be. After all, it was save.

Puck had barely said a word ever since they'd met up in the school parking lot, and Will hadn't pushed him, and they ate their dinner in silence. They'd ordered Chinese food, or rather Will had ordered it, and somehow the food seemed to make everything even worse. The teacher didn't ask why Puck wouldn't touch his foor, tried to tell himself, that Puck just wasn't hungry, but the way the teenager stared down at his food, how his eyes wandered over to the living room again and again… it was almost, as if it reminded him of something, something he didn't want to remember, and Will just couldn't figure out why something as simple as food could do that to him.

To say that Will was glad when Finn showed up around eight, would be an understatement. But it didn't really change anything... on the contrary. For a moment, it even seemed as if Finn was surprised that Will opened the door. The teenager was a little bit out of breath, as if he'd been running for quite a while… or at least up the stairs. But Will didn't even have time to ask him about that, or even to utter a word as to why Finn was showing up at his apartment at this time.

"Is he here?", Finn asked quickly without any further explanation.

"In the living room…", Will answered and, a second later, wondered about the scared look that suddenly appeared on Finn's face.

"You let him in?" Finn's voice sounded shocked, and before Will could stop him, he'd rushed past him into the apartment while the teacher still tried to figure out what this was all about. Finn's words definitely weren't of help with brushing away his confusion.

"Who are you talking about?", he asked, utterly bewildered, while Finn crossed the room and hurried to the living room, where he stopped in the door. He stared at Puck sitting on the couch and obviously not in the least disturbed by their voices.

"Finn… what is this all about?", Will asked as soon as he'd caught up with him. But Finn didn't answer. At least, not right away. He seemed to be struggling to understand the situation, though he probably knew a lot more about it than Will, who just came up blank trying to piece it all together.

"Danny…" It was just a word, but somehow, that name seemed to have more impact than it should. One single word wasn't supposed to cause for your hear to skip a few beats, wasn't supposed to freeze the blood in your veins, wasn't supposed to put that worried and scared look on your face. But it did. That name had somehow grown into a bad omen, into something that seemed to be connected with everything bad and evil.

However, it made Will none the wiser, but before he could ask for further explanation, Finn had turned back around. "He showed up again… at our house. And after what happened this morning… I couldn't reach Puck on his cell, so… I had to make sure you're both ok."

"Of course we are…", Will said discomposedly, the situation making even less sense than it had moments before. "Why wouldn't we be? Wait- What did you mean with 'this morning'? What happened?" He looked from Finn to Puck, who was still amazingly unaware of their conversation.

"Didn't he tell you?", Finn asked, a startled expression on his face.

"Tell me what?" The teacher seemed almost helpless trying to get his mind to keep up with the information. "Puck… what didn't you tell me?"

But Puck still wasn't listening, didn't even look up. In fact, it seemed as if he was somewhere else entirely.

Will took a few determined steps towards the couch until he was blocking Puck's view on whatever he was staring at. But it still took a while for Puck to realize, that Will was talking to him.

"What happened this morning?", the teacher asked again.

"Danny showed up at school…", Finn answered before Puck even had the chance to open his mouth.

Puck turned around in his seat, obviously surprised to see Finn standing there. "When did you get here?"

Neither Finn nor Will answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The teacher's voice sounded strange, almost disappointed.

"I didn't think it was that important…", Puck tried to shrug it off, but the look on his face told a whole different story.

"Of course it's important. Everything that has to do with that man is important. This is far from being over, and he knows that as well as we do!", Will blurted out, not able to hold back his frustration. "What did he want?"

"He wanted to convince me to change my story… but I ain't doing that, so, no problem there…" Puck was still trying to play down the situation, even though the mere thought of that morning, of that scary expression on Danny's face, made his insides squirm as if someone had just dropped a bunch of snakes in his stomach. He got off the couch in an attempt to get rid of them, but if anything, it made it even worse, and he started to feel rather sick.

"We got there just in time… I don't know what that guy would've done if we hadn't been there." Finn almost stumbled over his tongue trying to get the words over his lips as quickly as possible, as if underlining the seriousness in Danny showing up at school.

"Oh, yeah… Finn the hero. Like I needed rescuing…" Puck didn't seem ready to acknowledge their worry, or to even make an attempt of understanding it.

"You did!", Finn said forcefully.

"If you say so…" There was a hint of amusement in his voice, or maybe it was sarcasm, Finn couldn't tell. He just knew that he didn't like Puck's answer… not at all.

"What the hell is wrong with you?", he asked with a frown.

"Nothing… absolutely nothing."

"Don't say it's nothing, because no one's believing that shit anymore…"

"What… so I'm a bit on edge… I think I'm allowed to be right now… don't you?"

"There's something else…" Finn tried again.

"You're sure about that?"

"Yeah, actually, I am. I mean, I might not have been there before, but I am now!"

"Wow, thank you…"

The sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. Not even to Finn.

"What is your problem?"

"You are… both of you." Puck didn't care that he was almost yelling, didn't care that Finn took a step back, surprised and shocked by Puck's sudden outburst, his lips forming a silent 'what', while Mr. Schue just stood on the same spot next to the couch, obviously rendered speechless by the sudden turn in this conversation.

"I thought I'd be okay with it, but you're all acting like I'm a little kid who can't do anything… as if I'm gonna get killed as soon as I step out the door."

Finn hadn't expected that answer. In fact, it was the last thing he'd expected. That same morning, Puck had seemed to be okay with Finn and Kurt knowing about it, and now it almost sounded as if he was having second thoughts about that.

"I mean, my mere presence used to scare people, or at least the kids at school, and the way both of you looked at me this morning… especially Kurt… it's like I've become some helpless puppy or something, and that's just not right…" Puck had an almost pained expression on his face. "Sooner or later, they'll all gonna find out… and… I just don't know if I can deal with that."

"What do you think is gonna happen? What're you so scared of?"

"Nothing… I just don't want people to look at me like that…"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Why is it so hard for you that there are people who're worried about you?" Finn's voice sounded somewhat confused, mirroring the expression on his face.

"Because I don't want them to!", Puck stated rather desperately. "I don't want people to be worried, I don't want anyone to change the way they look at me, I don't want them to think twice about what they're gonna say to me because they're afraid I might get some kind of flashback or something… I don't want to become that kid that's too weak to defend himself." Puck almost stumbled over his own words. "The school is the only place where I still am someone… and I don't want to loose that… I can't loose that!"

"Why are you so sure you will?"

Puck just shook his head in disbelief. "You think any of those dweebs is even gonna acknowledge my existence after this gets out? And guys like Azimio and Karofsky… you think they're just gonna let me forget about it? No… they're the kind of guys that don't stop kicking after you hit the ground…"

A sudden silence followed those words leaving Puck's words hanging in the air, giving them more impact than they ought to have.

Puck shook his head absently, his voice sounding rather desperate when he broke the silence again. "I just wish I'd taken that stupid bus…"

"Then why didn't you?"

Puck stared at Finn for a second, startled, not entirely sure how to take that question. Finn's voice almost sounded angry, as if there was something else implied into that question that Finn somehow didn't want to put into words. But only a moment later, Finn seemed to have found the courage to say it...

"I mean, did you ever intend to tell anyone? Like, say goodbye or something?" Finn's voice was getting louder as the frustration over this whole situation took over. All the pain and anger of being left behind by his best friend, all the emotion that had built up over the weekend suddenly burst out of him, and Finn had no way of controlling it any longer.

"It's like that night we found you was the last time I saw you, and that's just not right… you're my best friend and you were just gonna leave as if none of us mean anything to you…"

"That's not true!"

"Sure it is… I mean, there's a bunch of people willing to help you, and you decide to skip town-"

"But I didn't!", Puck cut him off.

"Yeah… so what changed your mind? I mean, Mr. Schue didn't, and none of your friends seem to be important enough to be a reason for you to stay… so… what changed your mind?"

"I don't know… I guess I just… I was done running." Puck didn't like the way Finn was talking to him, didn't like being pushed into another corner, didn't want to have to explain himself…

"Then what is your problem? Why are you still getting so pissed at anyone who wants to help you?" Finn's voice was finally calming down… at least a little bit.

"Nothing… everything… I don't know." Puck stared down at his feet, trying to avoid Finn's eyes. "It's like there's this thing hanging over me and you're all scared of it… you don't even know what to say to me anymore, as if everything just changed over night…"

"But everything has changed. You think it's easy for us? It's like you're this whole different person…"

"Right… like you'd handle it any better…" Puck snapped back. "Oh, wait… you haven't actually been in such a fucked up situation before…", he went on. "You should really try it sometime… it's freakin' awesome!"

"Puck, enough with the sarcasm… I think he got your point." Will had finally found his voice again.

"Sure he did…", Puck snorted, but neither of them was keen on starting this argument all over again, so they let his comment slide.

There was a knock at the door, but nobody heard it. Not at first anyway. It was just a faint noise that had nothing to do with them or this conversation.

"What did Danny want at your house, anyway?", Will asked in an attempt to get this whole situation back to a point that didn't involve yelling or hurt feelings.

"To know where Puck is… tried to convince me that he was sorry and stuff. He was almost pleading with me, which was kinda creepy if you ask me… but when Burt showed up, he changed his act and started to play the concerned parent or whatever. But he didn't get very far with that, either."

"So… they know, too?" Puck didn't have to clarify who 'they' were, it was obvious that he was talking about Burt and Carole.

Finn didn't answer, though. He just stared down at his feet, as if he was secretly hoping that he wouldn't have to answer that question. But Finn didn't really have to confirm it… his behavior was saying enough.

Puck swallowed hard. "Great… just what I need…"

Knocking. Again. Louder this time, more present, more urgent. It seemed to disrupt the little world they'd built up around themselves, to intrude into that small room that was constantly filling with more and more people as Puck's secret slowly found it's way through the thick walls of lies and out into the world.

It took Will a few moments to register the noise as what it was, and another one for him to actually go and answer the door. He walked out of the living room, so lost in thought, his mind still on the conversation that was continuing in his absence, that he didn't even care to ask who it was. He just opened the door… and regretted that decision only seconds later.