Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, or its characters. I only own Mouse.
Summary: After being ignored or used for her entire life, Jane "Mouse" Franklin joins Glee Club, and is no longer the singer in the back. It's nothing like what you're thinking. Puck/OC
(a/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I will reply soon!
Read on, oh faithful ones!)
...
Chapter Three
...
Puck looked for Mouse the next morning. She hadn't turned up for Glee rehearsal before school started, and after the last bell before class rang, and she still hadn't arrived, Puck felt something akin to worry.
He shouldn't worry about her. He never noticed her before this, and if she hadn't sung, he probably still wouldn't have noticed her.
"Don't forget that we've got football practice this afternoon," one of his team mates called out.
"Yeah, I know," Puck replied.
He was just glad the Slushie war was over, and they'd stopped pissing him off about being in Glee. It'd been hard to choose Glee over football practice, but Puck knew that he was on top of his game while he was still in Glee. Without the music, the rhythm, everything was off. Besides, the singing lessons he got from Glee had increased his pool cleaning business almost double.
Puck looked at the empty homeroom one last time, and left for his first class.
...
Mouse couldn't believe that she was sick. It wasn't even winter, she'd just joined Glee, and she was sick! Stupid immune system wasn't doing what it needed to do, she thought to herself grumpily as she tried to get back to sleep. She was just lucky her immune system did work fast when she was sick. She'd be better by tomorrow morning, thankfully.
Her mum had come home late the night before; apparently the winning team had taken her out for dinner. Which would have been fine if Sarah had rang to tell Mouse that she'd be home late and not to stay up and worry and leave ten messages on her phone, which had apparently gone dead. But she hadn't, so Mouse had done that for a very long time after putting Candy to bed.
Now, she was exhausted, had a runny nose and a cough. And her mind was going over and over Puck, which didn't help the fact that she wanted to sleep.
He said he didn't care that Candy wasn't "all there" - two tiny words that meant he was intellectually challenged and had the brain capacity of a six year old - but she wouldn't be surprised if the entire school knew about Candy by now, and the football team were currently spray painting 'retard' on her locker... Mouse bristled at the thought. She hated that word, and to have it on her locker for the rest of the year would probably send her insane.
"Sweetie? How are you feeling?" Sarah asked, opening the door to check on her daughter.
Mouse pretended that she was asleep, and didn't reply. The only time her mum called her 'sweetie' was when she wanted something. She heard her door close, but still didn't move. Sometimes her mother tricked her by staying in her room to see if Mouse moved after closing the door. When she heard the car start not even five minutes later, Mouse got up and looked out her window to see Sarah pulling out of the driveway in her car.
Pulling her bathrobe around her, Mouse hurried downstairs, coughing miserably at the same time. Wiping her runny nose on her sleeve, she looked around for a note. Seeing it on the kettle, she walked over to it.
Sweetie, I've gone out to buy lunch. I'll be back soon. Watch after Candon until I get back. Mum.
If Mouse had actually been asleep and woken up to find this note, she might have believed it, but since it wasn't even 9.30 in the morning, she had to wonder where the fuck her mum was going to buy lunch!
Mouse went upstairs again to check on Candon. He was sleeping soundly on his bed, his Cars bedspread falling off. Mouse adjusted the quilt so it was on him properly, then went back to her own bed. Leaving her door open so she'd be able to hear Candy, Mouse fell into an exhausted sleep.
...
"MOUSIE!"
Mouse woke up with a start, her head pounding and her stomach rumbling loudly.
"MOUSIE, MOUSIE!" Candy yelled.
"Coming!" she called back, and his screams stopped abruptly.
She grabbed her robe and ran down stairs, pulling the twisted material on at the same time. How long had she slept? What if something had happened to Candy? Where the hell was her mother?!
"Mousie!" Candy said happily, seeing her come into the living room.
The TV was on, and The Lion King was playing. Timon and Puumba were singing Hakuna Matata, Candy's favourite song. He sang along with the two animated creatures, looking back at Mouse so she'd join in.
She smiled at him and sang along softly, her throat still sore. When the song finished, Candy returned his attention to the movie, and Mouse hurried through the house. Candy couldn't have put the movie on himself, and Mouse hadn't heard her mother's car return.
"Mum?" she called, just in case she'd slept through it.
Walking into the kitchen, Mouse stared in surprise at who she found there. "How the hell did you get into my house, Puckerman?"
"Your front door was unlocked," Puck replied, shrugging.
"Nice one, Mum," Mouse muttered, then she saw the state of the kitchen. "What happened in here?"
"I think Candy was trying to make himself breakfast," Puck replied, looking at the remaining spilt cereal and milk that he'd been cleaning. "I put the movie on for him and gave him Cornflakes, hope that's all right."
"It's fine... What's the time?" Mouse asked, looking for a clock. "Shouldn't you be at school?" she added.
"It's 12.30, and it's lunch. I can be wherever I like," Puck said. "Why aren't you at school?"
Mouse answered that by coughing into her sleeve.
"You sound like shit, Mouse," Puck muttered.
"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious," she replied sarcastically, leaving the kitchen to cough some more.
He cleaned up the last bit of mess, and followed her out.
"You didn't have to clean up," Mouse said, wiping her nose with a tissue.
"I clean pools on the weekend, it wasn't that different," Puck said, shrugging.
"Still... Thanks," she said, smiling at him.
"I'll give you the bill tomorrow," he added with a smirk.
Mouse's stomach rumbled loudly, and she went red in embarrassment. "I better get some food myself, and you should get back to school. You won't make it back for your next class if you don't leave now," she said, frowning as she went back into the kitchen.
"It's just Spanish. I told Schue I was coming here," Puck said.
"You came to check up on me?"
"I thought something might have been wrong with Candy," he countered.
Puck went back into the kitchen, to find Mouse bent over a low cupboard. Her bathrobe was riding up, and he noticed that she wasn't wearing any shorts underneath it. She had very nice legs, even with the cellulite. Thoughts of cougars faded to the back of his mind... His mouth was dry, and he licked his equally dry lips. He couldn't look away.
"I know we've got soup here somewhere," Mouse was muttering.
"Wouldn't it be in the pantry?" Puck asked, his mouth still dry.
"It shouldn't be, but I'll check," Mouse said, unaware of how Puck was watching her.
Opening the pantry, she searched the lower shelves, where the soup can should have been shelved.
"Top shelf?" Puck suggested.
So intent on finding her lunch, she didn't realise the rough tone to his voice. Muttering to herself, Sarah would do that, she reached up to the highest shelf and stood on her tiptoes.
"There's a can back there!" she said happily, stretching her arm further to grab the small tin.
Puck fisted his hand and bit his knuckles painfully, trying to redirect his attention from the nice legs and arse Mouse was currently displaying to him. From her current position, he could see that she was wearing a pair of plain blue cotton knickers. Whoever said that lace was sexier than cotton needed to have their head checked, he thought.
Then, he thought of his mother's words only last week - he should settle down with a nice Jewish girl - the only reason he'd gone after Rachel, and asked the important question. "Are you Jewish?"
Can in hand, Mouse stood on her feet properly, the robe falling back into place, and turned at his question, a curious look on her face. "Pardon?"
"Are you Jewish?"
"No... Why do you ask?" Mouse asked, then launched into a coughing fit.
"I'd better get back to school, football practice is tonight. Get some rest, Mouse. Glee's on tomorrow," Puck said, leaving the house and leaving Mouse bewildered and confused.
"MOUSIE!" Candon yelled loudly, redirecting her attention.
Mouse went into the living room to help Candy, and hopefully put Puck and his odd behaviour from her mind.
...
End of the third chapter. I hope you liked it.
Thanks for reading!
...