CHAPTER THREE
"We Don't Talk Anymore"
McKinley High School: Tuesday, June 27
"We don't talk anymore. We don't talk anymore. We don't talk anymore like we used to do."
Finn Hudson tapped his size 12 black Converse high top sneaker in time to the guitar being played. He was in his usual spot, the very same chair he'd occupied back when he was a New Directions member, a clipboard balanced on his lap. Mason McCarthy was perched on a stool at the front of the choir room with his legs crossed. He and his twin sister, Madison, were both wearing their Cheerios uniforms which Finn found odd considering that the Cheerios had been disbanded the previous year. As he strummed his guitar, he made sure to make eye contact with Finn and the other New Directions members.
"I just heard you found the one you've been looking; you've been looking for. I wish I would have known that wasn't me," he sang in his melodic tenor. Occasionally, he would lift his hand to push back the curls hanging over his forehead. As he neared the song's pre-chorus, the two remaining male members of the glee club – Spencer and Alistair – got up from their seats and joined Mason at the front. They each stood on either side of Mason and use their baritone voices to harmonize with him.
"Don't wanna know what kinda dress you're wearin' tonight. If he's holdin' onto you so tight. The way I did before," the three of them sang in unison. "I overdosed – should've known your love was a game. Now I can't get you outta my brain. Oh, it's such a shame."
Spencer and Alistair stood opposite each other; their gazes locked as they launched into the song's chorus. Two weeks earlier, after nearly eight months of dating, the two had decided to call it quits on their relationship. The news of their breakup couldn't have come at a worst time, especially coming on the heels of Roderick graduating and Myron transferring to another school. However, whatever concerns he had about the two of them being able to remain in glee club was immediately squashed the moment he saw them together. Apparently, it was possible to be friends with your ex.
"We don't talk anymore," Mason sang while the two of them danced around him. "We don't talk anymore. We don't talk anymore like we used to do."
Finn jotted down a few notes about the performance and made a mental note to reach out to Brittany and Mike to see if either of them was available to run a booty camp for his five New Directions members. With Dalton Academy back in commission and Vocal Adrenaline being run by Sue Sylvester, they would have their work cut out for them once the new school year started. Hence all of the summer practices.
He looked up just in time to see Jane Hayward get up from her seat and make her way to the front of the room. She was dressed in a turquoise tank top and a yellow skirt that complimented her dark brown skin and natural dark brown hair which was swept back in a ponytail. She hopped onto the stool next to Mason and shot him an adoring look.
"I hope you're lyin' next to somebody, who knows how to love you like me. There must be a good reason that you're gone," she sang to her boyfriend. "Every now and then I think you might want me to come show up at your door. But I'm just too afraid that I'll be wrong."
The final New Directions member got up from her seat and went to stand next to Jane. The two of them launched into singing the second chorus. Their voices meshed well together; Madison was very Broadway while Jane was more soulful. Finn liked to think of the two of them as Rachel and Mercedes 2.0.
Seeing all five of them perform together reminded him of the first time he, Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, and Tina performed together at their very first school assembly. After all the setbacks and the countless attempts by Sue Sylvester to destroy them, New Directions persevered, and eight years was stronger than ever.
When the song was over, Finn sat his clipboard down on the chair next to him and got to his feet. He applauded their hard work and went to join them at the front of the choir room. The five of them looked at him with nervous looks on their faces, waiting for him to give them feedback on their performance. He gestured for them to take a seat on the front row as he claimed one of the vacated stools as his own.
"Awesome job, you guys," he spoke wearing his trademark goofy grin. "You all sounded amazing."
"But -," Madison asked through clenched teeth.
"There isn't a but."
"Well, that's a relief," Mason said.
"I do have one suggestion," Finn said. "The key to besting The Warblers and Vocal Adrenaline is thinking outside the box."
"What could be more outside the box than Charlie Puth?" Jane asked.
"Don't get me wrong – I like Charlie Puth. I dig his music. It's just that I think having Mason and Jane take the lead is sort of … expected."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, there's only five of us," Spencer said. "Not exactly a whole lot of options."
"Don't sell yourself short," Finn said. "I'm thinking that we can swap out Mason for Alistair on the first verse and chorus and you, Spencer, can take over for Jane on the second verse and chorus."
"Really?" Spencer asked, arms folded over his muscular chest. "You think that would work?"
Finn gave a slight shrug and said, "Sure."
"Finn's right," Madison said jumping to her feet. "As much as I love my brother and Jane singing together, the two of you would be way more outside the box."
"Is everyone okay with that?" Finn asked, a tinge of nervousness in his voice.
"Sure," Jane said. "I'm cool with that."
"Me, too," Mason said. "I think we should all get a chance to shine."
Finn's eyes widened and he whispered, "Wow."
"What?" Alistair, his brow furrowed in confusion.
Finn blinked a couple of times and shook his head. "Um, it's – it's just that I'm not used to someone being okay with not having the lead."
Jane exchanged a confused look with Mason. She then looked at Finn and asked, "Why wouldn't we be okay with that?"
"Yeah – aren't you always telling us that no one person is the star?" Mason asked.
"You're absolutely right," Finn said nodding his head emphatically. "Each one of you has an amazing voice and deserve to have your voice showcased. Back when I was in New Directions, there was always the same people who got to sing lead and it usually led to drama."
"You mean you and Rachel," Madison spoke matter-of-factly. "Yeah, Mercedes told us all about how you guys totally slept on her vocal talents."
"What about Tina?" Alistair spoke up. "Wasn't she like one of the founding members of New Directions and they hardly ever let her sing lead."
"We've heard all of the stories," Jane said. "Which is why we're all on the same page as far as letting everyone sing equally. With there being so few of us, we really can't afford to let egos get involved."
"Amen to that," Spencer said giving a high-five to Jane.
Finn was absolutely floored. He'd always heard grumblings from some of the other glee club members but whenever he would bring them up to Rachel, she would always assure him that they were just being jealous. It wasn't until after graduation that Kurt had opened up to him about how things really were. Mr. Schuester's blatant favoritism of he, Rachel, and Blaine did a lot more harm than good. Now that Finn was in charge of New Directions, the last thing he wanted was for any of them to feel like their talent wasn't valued.
Finn cleared his throat and said, "Well, I will admit that things used to be that way back in the old New Directions, but this is New Direction 2.0. Each of you has something special that you bring to this dynamic. The one thing the five of you have in common with those of us who founded New Directions is that we were all sort of lost. We were looking for validation. For our place in the world. And we found it … with each other. It didn't matter that some of us were jocks or cheerleaders or the only openly gay kid in school. What mattered is that we all liked to sing and performing is what brought us together."
The alarm on his Apple watch started to chime. Finn looked down at his wrist and saw that it was noon. Their time together was over and some of them had summer jobs to report to.
"Well, that's all the time we have for today," he said. He walked over to the whiteboard behind him and added "We Don't Talk Anymore" to their ever-growing list of song options for Sectionals in the fall. He sat the dry erase marker down on the tray and turned around to face the five of them. "Do not forget that next week is a holiday so we will not be meeting. If any of you come up with any ideas for songs we can perform, send them to the group text."
"Any big plans for Fourth of July weekend, Finn?" Jane asked as she stuffed her notebook inside her oversized bag.
"Well, me and some old friends of mine are getting together at this really nice lake house in New York."
"Wow," Madison said. "That sounds … heavenly."
"Sure beats chasing after golf balls all day," Mason muttered. "At least they're letting us get off early to see the big fireworks display."
"Enjoy your weekend, Finn," Spencer said slapping him on the back. "Try to stay out of trouble."
"Speak for yourself." Alistair appeared at Spencer's side and threw his arm over his shoulder. As the two of them walked towards the door, he looked over his shoulder and said, "See you later, Finn."
Finn waved goodbye to all of them and when the last person exited the room, he collapsed into the nearest chair and let out the huge sigh he'd been holding in for the last two and a half hours. Between the weekly practices with the glee club and working mostly full-time at Burt's garage, he was exhausted. When Sebastian suggested spending the Fourth of July weekend at his family's cabin on Lake Chautauqua, Finn figured that it would do him some good to get away from Lima for a couple of days and get a change of scenery.
He closed his eyes and thought about everything he needed to get done before he left town. He still needed to pack and get an oil change. Sebastian was driving out tomorrow morning to get the place ready. Dave was back in Lima according to the text he'd received a few days ago and he and Santana were planning on leaving out Friday morning. Finn was due to meet up with Kurt and his boyfriend in NYC so that the three of them could carpool to the lake house.
Finn was looking forward to reconnecting with the gang. It had been three years since they'd all been together. Even though he kept in touch with them all via text message and social media, it wasn't the same. Truth was, he missed them all. A part of him hoped that they would be able to recreate some of the magic from the summer following their senior year. And maybe, just maybe, Dave and his stepbrother would finally come to their senses and realize that they belonged together.
"You do realize school's out for the summer, right?"
Finn opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the voice. When his gaze settled on the figure standing in the doorway, his mouth dropped open. He blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn't seeing a ghost. When he confirmed that everything he was seeing in front of him was legit, he leapt from his seat and bolted across the choir room towards the door.
Before Noah Puckerman had a chance to register what was happening, he felt a pair of arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a bone crushing embrace. Suddenly he felt himself being lifted off the ground and spun around a few times.
"Whoa there, big fella," he said patting Finn on the back. "It's good to see you, too."
Finn sat him down and let go of Puck. He took a few steps back so he could take in the man in front of him. How long had it been? Christmas? No – Puck didn't come home for Christmas. Thanksgiving? No. Labor Day? Yes, they'd spent all of Labor Day weekend camped out in the Hudson-Hummels' basement, playing Call of Duty, and eating their weight in Finnwiches. Wow – it had almost been a year since he'd laid eyes on his best friend.
It was just a few years ago that Puck shocked everyone by enlisting in the Air Force. At first Finn had been highly skeptical of his friend's decision – Noah Puckerman wasn't exactly the type to get in line with authority – but shortly after completing basic training, he could see a major change in Puck. A positive change.
The man before him was still the Puck he knew but all of those rough edges that had earned him his bad boy status back in high school had been sanded down. Noah Puckerman had traded in the mohawk, the piercings, the muscle shirts and his devil may care attitude for a full head of wavy, dark hair, parted on the side, and his navy-blue Air Force uniform. The one thing that hadn't changed about his best friend were those bedroom eyes and that cat got the canary smirk that could charm the panties off any Cheerio.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm on leave for the next two weeks so I thought I'd spend them in Lima." Puck licked his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. "I stopped by Burt's garage hoping to run into you, but he told me that you were here. Dude, why didn't you tell me that you'd taken over the glee club."
Finn lifted his arm to scratch the back of his neck. "I guess it slipped my mind." He peered over his shoulder at the row of seats set up at the back of the room and then looked back at Puck. "Wanna sit down?"
Puck gave him an affirmative nod and they headed up to the top row and sat down in two of the chairs next to each other towards the middle. Finn looked down and noticed their knees touching. He immediately looked away in the opposite direction, praying that his face wasn't as red as it felt.
"So, how long have you had this gig?"
Finn dared to lift his head and look at his best friend. Puck had his arm draped over the back of Finn's chair. There was a slight smile on his lips.
"Um, not too long. I'm just sort of filling in for Mr. Schue while he's out on sabotage."
Puck stared at Finn for a few moments and then burst out laughing. Finn shot him a confused look which only made him laugh harder.
"What's so funny?"
Puck shook his head and when he finally managed to contain himself, he said, "I believe you meant sabbatical."
"Oh," Finn said. His face and the tips of his ears had turned a fierce shade of red. "Yeah – that word."
Puck leaned over and placed his hand on Finn's bicep. "Some things never change – and for that I'm very grateful." He looked him from head to toe and smirked. "By the way, I have to say- you're looking good, Hudson."
"Thanks. So do you … Puckerman."
"I hope you don't mind me crashing at your place while I'm in town. My place is a bit crowded now that my nana's moved in. Plus, my mom turned my room into a sewing room."
"That sucks," Finn said quietly.
"Yeah, well – that's life. It's probably for the best that I limit my time over there anyway. Not too keen on this latest guy my mom's been seeing. He gives me Sandy Ryerson vibes."
"Ugh, that guy," Finn groaned. "So glad we ended up with Mr. Schue instead of him. He used to stare at me every time I walked down the hall."
"Did I ever tell you about the time he walked in on me showering after football practice?" Finn shook his head. "Yeah, there I was butt ass nekkid in the shower room and I just so happen to look up and see him standing there, watching me. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was checking for mold and told me that I should wear shower shoes because I could get athlete's foot."
"What a creep!"
Puck grinned and said, "Well, looks like we were both perved on by creepy adults."
Finn scoffed and said, "What Mr. Schue did was completely different, and you know it. He was just trying to get me to join the glee club."
"Still doesn't make it any less creepy."
Finn bit down on his lower lip. He hated when Puck had a point. Finn liked Mr. Schue. The man had been like a second dad to him over the last few years. But yeah, the whole spying on him while he was showering and planting drugs on him had never really sat right with Finn.
"Anyway, it is okay for me to stay with you while I'm in town, right?"
"You know you're welcome at my house anytime," Finn said. "My mom already considers you her third son. She's probably at the grocery store right now picking out all your favorite foods."
Puck smiled. "I appreciate that, man." He rubbed his hands together and looked down at his feet. "Y'know, a part of me was nervous about coming back here."
Finn frowned and asked, "Why's that?"
Puck slowly lifted his head and met Finn's gaze. "I dunno, man. I've just been away for so long. I appreciate you keeping the emails going but it's not the same as … this. I'm just happy that we can hang out for the next few weeks. Maybe we could pick a day and head to Cedar Point. Haven't been there in … forever."
"That sounds awesome," Finn said. "But there's something I have to tell you."
"What's that?"
"I sort of have plans for this weekend."
Puck's eyes widened. "Seriously?" Finn nodded his head slowly. "Oh, cool – where at?"
"Sebastian invited me, Kurt, Dave, and Santana up to his parent's cabin at Lake Chautauqua."
"Lake Chautauqua? Where the hell is that?"
"New York. Sort of close by to that camp we worked at three years ago."
"Camp Black Bear?" Finn nodded his head again. "So, the four of you are spending the weekend at Sebastian's family's cabin? I didn't realize you and him were that close."
"We hang out from time to time," Finn admitted. "He goes to Stanford so the only time we get to hang out is when he's home for the holidays."
"Don't take this the wrong way but I still don't get what you see in him," Puck said. "I mean this is the same guy who actively tried to sabotage us during Regionals."
"And if memory serves, he apologized for that," Finn pointed out.
Puck gave a slight shrug and said, "I guess. I still don't like the guy."
"He's changed a lot. He still can be kind of an asshole at times but for the most part he's a really nice guy. Even Kurt likes him."
"Hummel likes Rodent-Face?"
"Hmm, maybe like is too strong of a word. Let's just say that when they're in the same room, they no longer want to claw each other's eyes out. Hence why he agreed to invite Kurt."
"Well, sounds like you have a fun weekend ahead of you," Puck said hanging his head. "I guess I'll just hang out around here until you guys get back. Sarah's been begging me to take her to the zoo so I guess we could do that. When are you guys planning on coming back?"
"Next Wednesday." Then a light bulb went off in Finn's head. "Hey, you should come with us."
"I should come with you?" Puck asked. "To Sebastian's family's cabin?"
"Well, yeah. The place is huge. There's like six bedrooms. Sebastian's also volunteered to provide all the food and drinks. The only thing you'd have to bring is yourself."
Puck rubbed his chin and shot Finn a skeptical look. "And he'd be okay with me coming?"
"Kurt's bringing his boyfriend so I don't see why you being my plus one would be a problem."
Puck's face dropped. "Wait – Hummel has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, I can't remember his name, but they've been dating for a while now."
"What about Karofsky? Is he seeing anyone?"
"Not that I know of," Finn said. "Then again, we really don't talk as often these days. That's part of the reason why I wanted to get everyone together. It feels like everyone is off doing their thing and the more time we spend apart, the easier it gets not to keep in touch with each other."
"You're right," Puck said. "Aside from you and … wow, you're pretty much the only person I keep in touch with."
"You don't hear from Sam or Artie?"
Puck shook his head and said, "I did get an email from Mike Chang last year, but I never got around to responding to it. I dunno – sometimes it feels like we're meant to drift apart."
Finn shot a worried look in his direction. "You really think that?"
"Don't you ever think that maybe the reason we were all so close back in high school is because we were all each other had? I mean even with us being on the football team, we were still outcasts because we were in the glee club."
Finn swallowed and looked at his feet. What Puck was saying was something he'd never really considered before. He'd always assumed that their mutual love for performing and being on stage was the thing that had bonded all the New Directions members together but maybe it was sheer desperation that drove them towards each other.
"No," Finn said shaking his head. "I don't believe that. Well, maybe some of what you said is true but what about us? We've been best friends since we were little kids, since before glee club was even a thing. In fact, you would have never even joined in the first place if it weren't for me. Puck, the reason I try so hard to stay in touch with you is because I honestly can't imagine you not being in my life."
Puck smirked and said, "Now don't go getting all mushy on me, Finnessa."
"Well, I mean it," Finn pouted. "You're my best friend. We've been through some real shit together."
"I know that Finn." Puck placed his hand on his friend's shoulder and started to massage the muscle there. "I think I was just being contrary when I said that earlier. The truth of the matter is, as much as I love the path I've taken in my life, at times it can feel very isolating. There are moments when I think about you and my mom and Carole and Burt … and my sister and I wonder if you all are thinking about me, too."
"Of course, we're thinking about you. I think about you constantly."
"Well, that's nice to know. I miss you guys like crazy."
"We miss you, too. And I understand you're exactly where you need to be right now and I'm so proud of you, Puck. You got out of Lima which is what we always wanted."
"But the deal was that we were supposed to go together," Puck said. "I guess I reneged on my part of the deal."
"Nah," Finn said waving the sentiment away. "I'm exactly where I need to be at this point in my life. Maybe one day I'll leave but for now, those kids need me. Burt needs me. My mom needs me. And someone's gotta keep the light on just in case you decide to drop into town."
Puck smiled. "I appreciate that man."
"So, are you coming?"
"That's what she said," Puck said with a smirk.
Finn balled up his fist and punched him in the arm. "Be serious, dude. Are you coming with us to the lake house or not?"
"I think if I say 'no' you're gonna start crying. And I'd really hate to see you cry so … sure. I'll come along. Just double-check with Sebastian to make sure it's okay."
"Will do," Finn said, a huge grin plastered to his face. "Oh my god – this is awesome. You're coming. I'm so happy you're coming!"
"That's what she said."