I don't react to celebrity deaths usually, almost never, but that's different today. So very different. Basketball became my favorite sport after watching the Lakers versus Celtics in '08. I watched Kobe make impossible shots and carry his team as far as he could. Then in 2010, I watched him do the same thing and will his team to victory. I legit cannot fathom the weirdness around this day. It's a lot. But, still... RIP to the greatest and his daughter.

Live your lives, man. Live them. Don't take none of it for granted. Get fresh air. Get sunshine. Do it all. This world is not promised forever.

Much love to you guys,

TM

Rachel and Puck stopped off at his house before they went back to Sue and Emma's. There was this weird gray area when it came to where Rachel and her family was living, even though most of the time they were sleeping on the floor or on the couch. Either way, it was odd, but what Rachel was purposely keeping from people, mostly Santana and Quinn, was that she'd been staying with Puck now and then. Rachel was madly in love with her girls, but Puck was there first, and no matter their relationship, she would be there for him the best she could. Even if it meant sleeping with him at night to keep the nightmares at bay.

Emma knew, as she always did, and she warned Rachel that it would come out eventually. Rachel knew that too, but she would rather wait until she had no choice than initiate the conversation.

"You trying to grab some clothes or what?" Puck asked. He kept his hand on her back as he escorted her to his room, and she let it slide knowing what he was protecting her from. Rachel kept her eyes on Puck, but she felt the eyes of his stepfather following them as they moved through the house. Rachel would never show up to Puck's house alone, which was the agreement, but damn were things awkward when she was there.

"Yeah, just some pants and a couple of shirts," she said.

Puck gave a short nod and pushed her inside of his room, closing the door behind him quickly. He locked it, and they both waited. Sure enough, they heard footsteps, and the door handle rattled just enough that Puck reached for the bat near his dresser. Rachel sat on Puck's bed and held her head in her hands for a moment, but the footsteps walked away and they both relaxed.

"You've got to get out of here, Puck," Rachel whispered. "You can't keep living like this."

"What about my Mom and my sister? He has them wrapped around his finger," Puck hissed.

"What good are you going to be to them if you're dead or in the hospital?" Rachel hissed back.

Puck stomped to his closet and pulled out her trunk of clothes. He grabbed a duffel bag off the top and threw it on the bed. "Let me handle this, Rae," he said.

"I'm trying but you and I both know it's getting worse. You can't keep hiding this from the others," she pleaded.

Rachel got off the bed and started going through her trunk. She pulled out a dress, some heels, and other things. She threw them on the bed, Puck started folding them, and he sighed.

"They got their own shit to worry about. I'm not trying to add on to that."

"That's bullshit and you know it," she snapped. "You and I have been through too much shit for you to try and pull that over me. We're pretty much a family at this point and you're smack dab in the middle of it just as I am. Don't think I don't watch the way you light up when Emma kisses your forehead and makes you dinner. Don't think I don't notice how Sue lets you help her with stuff around the house and how you two sneak off and smoke cigars in the shed. And don't think I don't know about you sleeping with Quinn when she and Santana were going through that police thing. I know you, Noah. I always have!"

"Then why can't you leave this alone!"

"Because you're my BROTHER! You're my BEST FRIEND! You had me when no one else did! You've been there for me for so long that it seems like forever! I love you and I am tired of watching you put your life on the line for this family when they won't do the same for you!"

Puck stepped to Rachel and towered over her, but she didn't back down. His eyes were red, tears streamed down his cheeks, and Rachel was no better. They stood there for a tense second before Puck broke.

"I can't leave them behind," he cried.

"You're not leaving them behind if they don't want to come with you," Rachel whispered, cupping his cheek. "Noah, this isn't healthy for you. You're having night terrors. You're drinking again. You're doing drugs again. You're slipping, and I can't watch you do this a second time. I won't."

Puck cried into her shoulder and the height difference was awkward for them both, so Rachel sat them both on the bed. She held on to him and sighed. Her eyes drifted to the door and she saw a silhouette beneath the frame. It was small, too small to be his stepfather, but it wasn't his mother as she was at work. Rachel knew it was his sister, but she didn't have the energy or patience to think about why she cared about him all of a sudden to eavesdrop on his conversation.

All she knew was that she was going to have to call in help to get him out of the house.

LJ walked down the street and counted the number of times Tori would start and stop a conversation. He reached ten before he stopped and grabbed Tori by the elbow.

"Speak before you work yourself into a panic attack," he said.

"I like Puck," she blurted.

"Okay."

Tori blinked. "Okay? That's it?"

"What do you want me to say? You can't like him? You can do better? I mean, I could say that, but we both already know you can't do better."

"Rude," she mumbled.

"I'm kidding," he said. "I don't know what to say. I know nothing about him, but he has the same demons floating around his eyes like you do, so I guess there could be something there. I'm rooting for your happiness always."

"Demons? What demons?"

"He has demons."

"No, I meant about me. I don't have any demons."

"Tori-

"No, LJ. I don't," she scoffed. "I'm as I've always been."

LJ frowned. "No, you aren't," he said softly. "You aren't as you've always been. You've changed."

Tori rolled her eyes and tried to walk away, but he didn't let her. He pulled her back and she moved out of his grip.

"Come on, LJ. You're being ridiculous," she said.

"Am I?"

"Yes! You are!"

"You're still running from it."

"Shut up."

"I'm tired of shutting up. You know it's going to catch up with you eventually so why do you keep-

"Because I don't want it too!" she exclaimed. "I want to bury it with everything else!"

"That's not how life works."

"Fuck life!"

"Now that's just dramatic."

Tori huffed and rubbed at her face. "Do you know, that when I pulled out my box, they were thinking it was going to have torture equipment? Did no one think that I would have medical equipment in there? To keep him alive and in the least amount of pain? Did no one think that I was there as the soft one, not the hard, sadistic monster they've painted me to be? Like everyone paints me to be?"

LJ snapped. "You gave them the damn brush, Tori!" he shouted. She froze with wide eyes, but he kept going. "You gave them the tools for that picture. You allowed them to add whatever horns and red eyes they pleased. You, not them, YOU!"

Tori's face shifted. "Drop it," she said, her voice cracking.

"I can't! I can't! I don't know if it's this town or if it's because Dad's marriage fell apart but I'm so tired of playing this game! Come on, Tor! You can't tell me you don't feel it, like you don't feel things are changing. For me, it's like I'm re-discovering who I am just by being here, but I kept forcing myself to play this role with you and I can't anymore. I want my sister back. The real Tori, the one that used to pick me up and drop me into the pool when she felt like I was reading too much. The one who used to buy me different liquids and make me create a new element so we could be rich. The one who would keep me awake at night so I could study and be at my very best because she didn't want no stuck-up rich kid taking my place. That Tori."

"SHE'S GONE, LJ! SHE HAS BEEN FOR A VERY LONG TIME!" Tori exploded. "SO. FUCK. OFF!"

LJ put his finger in Tori's face and nearly spit out his words, "No, she isn't, and you fucking know it. You know she's still there. The one who's a damn good swimmer, a talented artist, an intelligent thinker, and a beautiful soul who got fucked over by someone she loved. And, yeah, I know, what happened between you and Garrett wasn't fair, but it happened. It happened and it fucked up everything, I get it. Trust me, I get it. But for months, I watched my sister turn into this cold-hearted bitch when she is something so far opposite that it's scary. I love you, Tori, so much, but I'm sick of playing up your game of being insane. You're not insane. You're something special and I want you to start acting like it. Okay? Just please, come back to me. I can't do this anymore and I- I want my big sis back so bad. Please."

Tori looked away and folded her arms against her chest.

"Tori, look at me," he pleaded.

She didn't.

"Tori, please."

Still nothing.

"Goddamnit, Victoria, look at me!"

When she finally turned her head, LJ's heart fell into his stomach. She looked exactly like she did the night she found out about Garrett. So, LJ did the only thing he could: he held her. He held her longer and harder than he ever did. His sister wasn't that much taller than Rachel, so she fit in his arms easily. He kissed the top of her head and her sobs were so loud against his chest.

"God, I'm sorry, Tor. I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Tori kept crying. And he kept holding on.

Santana scrolled through her phone while Quinn and Emma made some kind of pasta. It was weird how much pasta the two of them ate, but then again, Emma was pregnant. She didn't know Quinn's reason, though. The door opened and she looked up briefly but did a double take when she saw who it was.

"Whoa, what happened to you two?" she asked.

Tori put her hands in her hoodie pocket and cleared her throat. "Is Puck back yet?" she asked softly.

Santana blinked and it was pure instinct that kept her from saying something smart. "No, he and Rachel are still out on their run," she said.

"Really?" LJ asked. "They've been gone for nearly two hours."

Santana frowned. Had it really been two hours?

"Huh. Maybe we should call?" Emma asked slowly.

"Rachel left her phone here," Quinn said. "It's on the charger."

"So just call Puck," LJ said.

Santana pulled up Puck's name and clicked on his number. It went straight to voicemail.

"It went to voicemail," Santana said.

"We're not going to freak out, right?" Quinn asked. "Like they're just out for a run."

"For two hours?" LJ asked. "No, they definitely stopped somewhere."

"We should just wait before we start overthinking this," Emma said. "We don't need the stress. This is Rachel and Puck. He knows how to get in touch with us if something were to happen and Rachel can take care of herself. They both can."

LJ and Tori, as well as Santana and Quinn, said nothing for Emma's sake, but they were already overthinking the situation.

Rachel walked elbow in elbow with Puck down the street. When they reached the front door, they saw Santana, Quinn, and Tori outside. Tori spotted them first and nudged Santana, who got Quinn's attention. Rachel and Puck looked at one another before they turned back.

"Why do I get the feeling we're in trouble?" she whispered.

"Because we most definitely are."