Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters. I only own Mouse, Candy and Sarah.
Summary: After being used or ignored 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 for reading and reviewing!
Read on, oh faithful ones!)
...
Chapter Four
...
After her mum had returned home at 2 in the afternoon - without lunch, at that - Mouse had taken cold and flu tablets and gone straight to bed, her bones weary and her head still aching. She refused to think about Puck or his behaviour from earlier that day, and slept for the next sixteen hours straight.
She woke up with a clear head, nose and throat, and thanked her immune system, whatever gods existed for this small miracle, as well as the drug manufacturers for effective tablets and medicines. Then, on seeing that it was past 6 am, Mouse hurried to get ready for school. Glee practice was on at 7 this morning.
She arrived at the auditorium at 7 on the dot to find Puck, Finn, Quinn, Kurt and Rachel already inside. They said their greetings, were all pleased that she was feeling better, and said how they'd missed her voice the day before.
Mouse didn't know if they were lying or not, so she just accepted their words with a shy nod. Puck, she noticed, didn't say anything other than 'hello', but his brown eyes darkened as he watched her. Finding it unnerving, she looked away from his intense gaze, and saw the sheet music sitting on the stage.
"What's that?" Mouse asked.
"Yesterday's song, Put on your Sunday clothes. It's from ... " Rachel began to say, her voice authoritative.
"Hello, Dolly, I know," Mouse said, smiling at Rachel to appease her put-out look. "Way out there, beyond this hick town Barnaby, there's a slick town, Barnaby," she sang, grinning.
"Hey, I know that. It's from Wall-E," Finn said, then realised he'd admitted to watching a kids' movie, and coughed slightly, looking embarrassed.
"So that's where you got the cough from, Mouse," Puck said, smirking as he whacked his friend on the back. Hard.
"Ow, no need to hit so hard, Puck," Finn muttered, trying to rub his sore back unsuccessfully.
"Really, Finn, stop embarrassing yourself," Quinn muttered.
"That's not how we're supposed to dance, is it? Because if it is, I'm leaving," Kurt said as he came into the auditorium with Mercedes and Brittany.
Tina arrived soon with Artie, Santana, Matt and Mike. Mr. Schuester wasn't even a minute after them.
"Okay, good to see we're all here. I just made copies of today's song. We're doing one more mash-up, just to see what the new kid's got," he said, grinning at Mouse broadly. "Everyone grab a copy," he added.
They all did so and looked at their assigned lines.
"That's what I'm talkin' bout!" Mercedes said, wiggling her fingers with Kurt's, grinning.
"The church definitely wouldn't approve of this song," Mouse said with a grin of her own.
"Well, we just won't tell them about it. Puck, you're up with Mouse. I want to see some moves, people!"
Puck grinned, and looked to Mike and Matt.
"Ready?" Will asked, pointing to the band.
The band started up, and Matt popped his body as Artie began on his guitar.
"See here's the thing," Puck started, a smug grin on his face.
"This beat is automatic, supersonic, hypnotic, funky fresh," Mouse followed, trying to keep her eyes on the page as well as Puck.
"We have to take our clothes off,
We have to party all night,
And we have to take our clothes off,
To have a good time.
Oh no!" everyone joined in.
Matt popped his body along to the music; he fell to the floor, his knees bent and he pushed himself back up to stand in one smooth movement.
As they sung the first part of the song, Mouse continued with her own lines, raising her voice higher at Will's instructions.
"Work my body, so melodic this beat flows right through my chest.
Everybody, ma and papi came to party, grab somebody,
Work your body, work your body, let me see you 1, 2 step."
"Rock it, don't stop it,
Everybody get on the floor.
Crank the party up,
We about to get it on!" the others sang, Puck continuing to sing his own lines.
He headed over to Mouse, a grin on his face as he danced next to her, moving his body closer and closer to hers.
"Excuse me miss,
I couldn't help but to notice how alone you are.
I dig the attitude and how you're acting like you own the bar,
Got me flashing keys and I don't even own a car.
Like you ain't feeling my charm, because I know you are.
I'm trying to see how your lips feel,
Oh I'm sorry, my name is Travie and I'm pretty much a big deal.
Oh, you've never heard of me?
That sounds absurd to me,
The way you stole my attention was flat out burglary!"
"Let me see ya, 1, 2 step.
I love it when ya, 1, 2 step.
Everybody, 1, 2 step.
We about to get it on," Mouse sang back, moving to match his moves.
Mercedes moved to the front as Mouse and Puck moved to the back of the singers, a bright grin on her face.
"I shake it like jello, make the boys say hello,
'Cause they know I'm rockin' the beat.
I know you heard about a lot of great MC's,
But they ain't got nothing on me.
"Because I'm 5 foot 2, I wanna dance with you,
And I'm sophisticated fun.
I eat fillet mignon and I'm nice and young,
Best believe I'm number one!"
"All right, keep going, and bring in the steps!" Will called out, moving to the very front to demonstrate.
Mike moved next to Mercedes, doing the movements easily. Artie rolled to the middle, popping his hands off his chest as he sang.
"Mouse, Puck, where are you?" Will called. "You're up!"
Everyone else moved to the back, still dancing as Mouse and Puck came to the front.
"It don't matter to me, we can dance slow," Mouse sang, a grin on her face as she danced.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Puck said, nodding his head in time with his words.
"Which ever way the beat drop, our bodies will go."
"I like this," he said, grinning as he looked at her body.
"So swing it over here, Mr. DJ," Mouse sang, refraining from rolling her eyes at him.
"Hey, hey."
"And we will, we will rock you."
"Oh yeah!"
As one group, they all sang the final part, lifting their arms in time with Will's choreography.
"We have to take our clothes off!
We have to party all night!
We have to take our clothes off,
To have a good time!
"Oh yeah!"
Will clapped loudly as the band finished, grinning broadly. "That was awesome, guys! Mouse, where'd you learn to move like that?" Will asked, high-fiving her.
"I didn't learn, I just did it," she replied with a confused shrug.
"Well, keep doing it," he said, still grinning broadly. "Puck, you did awesome. Thought you didn't bust a move?" Will asked, laughing.
"I don't bust my moves to Run DMC, Schue. There's a difference," Puck replied, smirking.
...
Emma walked into the library, her hands held up in front of her, with her plastic gloves on. She wiped a chair down, making sure to use the small disinfectant towel to pull the chair out first. Taking an ear bud and small bottle of disinfectant out of her pocket, she began to clean the computer keyboard one key at a time.
Mouse watched Miss Pillsbury curiously. She could understand Emma's mysophobia, especially after working in the library for these past few years. People were disgusting creatures, especially more so with things they didn't own.
Grabbing a small packet of computer wipes, Mouse headed over to Emma, whose head was bent over the keyboard, cleaning it with a fierce determination.
"Miss Pillsbury?"
Emma's head snapped up and she looked at Mouse with a quick smile. "I'm not in your way, am I?"
"No, not at all. I just these might be quicker at cleaning the keyboard," Mouse offered, smiling back at her as she held out the wipes.
"Oh, that's very sweet of you. Thank you," Emma replied, pulling the small wipe from the packet.
"You're welcome. Would you like me to find something for you?" Mouse offered as Emma went back to cleaning diligently.
Emma looked at the worn keyboard, then at the grubby computer mouse, and finally looked at the dusty monitor warily.
"Yes, please," she murmured, following Mouse to the loans desk. "I'm looking for something for Will... Mr. Schuester. A pregnancy book," Emma said.
"There don't tend to be a lot of those here, actually. The induction of the celibacy club stripped every book relating to sex and pregnancy from the library. We were lucky to keep the dictionaries," Mouse replied, searching the computer database anyway. "There are two books available for staff. The most recent one is dated from the 1960's," she murmured. "Which means it may prescribe medicinal marijuana as a pain relief drug," Mouse said, grinning.
"Oh. That's disappointing," Emma murmured, giving Mouse a quick smile. "You look a little young to be working in here," she said, frowning slightly.
"I go to school here. I volunteer in the library so Ms. Lemay can have her lunch without students hassling her for a stapler," Mouse replied. "I can get you The Mother of All Pregnancy Books by Ann Douglas. Published in 2002."
"That would be perfect! But didn't you just say that we don't have any books on pregnancy?" Emma asked, frowning again.
"Yes, I said that. We still don't have them, but I can get it from another library for you. It's called Inter-Library Loan; it's great, and how I read most of my books since we don't get that many new ones anymore," Mouse said, a bit sourly.
"Oh, okay," Emma said politely, not really understanding all of what Mouse had said, but happy that she was getting what she wanted anyway.
"It should be here by next week, I'll let you know when it's in. Would you like anything else?"
"Are there any books on ... um ..." Emma looked around quickly, making sure no one could hear.
"Marriage?" Mouse guessed.
Emma's eyes widened and she nodded briefly.
"Plenty of those, from the church coincidentally. I'll get the good ones for you," Mouse said, hurrying down the aisles. She returned in a few minutes with four or five books.
"Oh, I don't think I could carry so many books," Emma said nervously.
"We have eco-friendly bags that you can take home for free, and no one can see what you've borrowed," Mouse replied absent-mindedly. "Library card?" she said, smiling at her.
Emma wasn't sure she liked how this school-girl seemed to know the answers to everything she wasn't saying... Handing over the small plastic card, she looked at the books she was about to borrow and felt a bit sick.
"You have these books until the end of the year, Miss Pillsbury. So you'll have plenty of time to get used to the fact that you've borrowed them, and a bit longer to actually read them."
"T-thank you," Emma said, watching as the five books were put into a bright green bag.
"You're welcome. Oh, one word of advice, Miss Pillsbury? Wash your hands before and after using them. People are disgusting creatures," Mouse muttered, looking at her dusty hands and wrinkling her nose.
Emma smiled and nodded. She left the library with a small smile, deciding that she liked the young girl at the library after all.
...
"Hey, Mouse! What you doing tonight?" Puck called as he saw her at her locker.
Mouse closed her locker with a bang, her bag over her arm. "Avoiding you, probably," she said sarcastically, smiling brightly to contrast her tone.
"That's harsh. What if I was going to ask you out?"
"You would have done it already, and I would have already rejected you," Mouse replied, turning and heading to the school's exit.
"How about I come over and help you practice for Sectionals?" Puck suggested, following her.
"Well, since you haven't actually asked, I can't say yes or no. And I'm not going to make out with you just because your ears hurt."
Puck didn't know what to say to that. What the hell did Rachel talk about when she thought no one was listening?! She'd just ruined his afternoon, damn it.
"We can play Halo 3 though," Mouse said, grinning at him over her shoulder.
"You mean, I can kick your arse at Halo 3, don't you?" Puck replied, smirking.
"You wish, Puckerman!"
He stayed a few steps behind her, watching her arse as she walked out of the building.
"Would you hurry up? Candy's tutor doesn't like being kept late," Mouse called, her own pace speeding up.
Puck cursed under his breath, and lost his fantastic view as his strides hurried to match hers.
"So what sort of things does this tutor do?" he asked as they walked along the streets.
"Teach stuff," Mouse said, rolling her eyes. She sighed, shook her head and answered him properly, "She helps Candy to read, write, and talk properly, then tests him at the end of every week to see how he's progressing. He can almost write his full name," Mouse said, pride in her voice.
"That's really good," Puck said, sounding genuinely pleased.
In his mind, he was wondering how it must be to be thirteen years old and not be able to write your own name. It would probably be worse than a slushie facial every day!
"There you are, Jane! I was wondering how long it would take you. Sarah left about ten minutes ago, and gave me this note for you, as if I'm her personal assistant!" Ann, the tutor, said pompously the moment Mouse walked through the door.
"Thank you for passing the note on, Ann. I'll remind Mother to leave notes on the bench for me. How did Candy go today?"
"Candon," Ann replied, emphasising his name, and refusing to use his nickname, "is progressing as well as can be hoped for at this stage. I'll be back tomorrow at the same time. Please tell Sarah that her bill's overdue for this month," she said, leaving the house with her nose in the air.
"Mousie!" Candy yelled the moment the door was closed.
"Indoor voice, Candon," Mouse said, imitating Ann.
Candy laughed, putting a finger to his lips to be quieter. "Hello Mousie!" he said, his finger still on his lips.
"Silly Candy-kid," Mouse said fondly, hugging him.
Puck felt a bit uncomfortable. He hadn't hugged his sister, Katie, in almost four months. And even then it was only because it had been her birthday.
"Pucky!" Candy said happily, stroking Puck's mohawk.
"He knows my name?" he asked, too surprised at that to bother about him touching his hair.
"Yeah, he's good with names and faces. And songs," Mouse said, grinning.
"Don't tell the Schuester that, he'll try to get Candy into Glee," Puck muttered.
"I wouldn't let that happen. Want something to eat?" she asked, looking at both of them.
"Yes! Please," Candy added as an afterthought.
"Good manners," Mouse said, happily. "Puck?"
"Sure... Thanks," he added at Mouse's stern look.
"PBJ, PBJ, PBJ!" Candy chanted.
"Oh, I don't know if Mum bought any jam, Candy," Mouse murmured, looking upset.
She hurried into the kitchen to search. Puck followed her in, and remembered how her bathrobe had slid up just the other day. His throat went dry.
"Can I have something to drink? Please," he added before she could glare at him.
"Glasses are in the cupboard there. Tap's over there. Don't have any cordial or soft drinks, sorry. They're bad for Candy," Mouse explained, still looking for the jam. "Ha! There's one right at the back! Please don't be past the used-by date, please, please, please," she begged, pulling the jar out. Using the hem of her shirt to wipe the dust off, Mouse frowned slightly. "What's the date?"
"Third," Puck replied, gulping down his water.
"Due on the fourth. Excellent!"
"Mousie happy!" Candy said. "Excellent is happy!" he said, obviously quoting Ann's words.
"Better put a movie on for you, Candy-kid. Remember what you did to the kitchen last time?" Mouse said, putting the jar on the counter as she led him out to the lounge room.
Puck finished the last of his water, still trying to clear his mind of images of Mouse in a short and flimsy robe...
"Lion King!"
"Again? How about ... Toy Story?"
There was a moment of silence.
"Lion King!"
"First, second or third?"
Another moment of silence.
"Eeny, meeny, miney, tiny mousie! Two," Candy said happily.
Bored now, Puck started to make three peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He was finished by the time Mouse came back into the kitchen.
"Thanks Puck," Mouse said, feeling guilty that he'd done them up.
He grinned and raised his sandwich in salute, biting into it.
She quickly cut the crust off one of the two remaining sandwiches, and then cut it into four smaller squares. Putting the other sandwich in her mouth, Mouse carried the PBJ squares to her brother on a napkin. He took them happily and with thanks, not looking away from the TV screen.
Biting into the bread, Mouse swallowed the piece, before pausing the movie and waiting for Candy to look at her.
"Puck and I are going upstairs to sing, okay? Call me if something goes wrong. You know what that is, don't you, Candy?"
"Wrong. Bad. Pain. Angry. Mad. Not right. Left," he said, smiling up at her.
"Good! Love you, Candy. Enjoy the Lion King," Mouse murmured, kissing the top of his head.
Candy scrunched his nose, wiping at the top of his head quickly. Poking his tongue out at Mouse, he took another bite of his PBJ square, then looked back to the TV. Pressing the play button, Mouse made sure that Candy would be comfortable before going upstairs with Puck.
"So what song do you want to practice?" Mouse asked, dropping her bag next to her door to keep it open. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the odd look on Puck's face.
"You really do love him, don't you?" he asked.
"Of course. He's my brother," Mouse said, confused.
"I have a sister, and I don't love her the way you love Candy. You actually love him like a sister should. I can barely tolerate my sister," he muttered, shaking his head.
"How old is she?" Mouse asked, sitting on her desk chair.
"Twelve."
"Well, that's not surprising then. You'll both grow out of it," she said, grinning at him.
Puck just shook his head at her, wondering what she meant by that. He sat on her bed - the only other seat available - and took his guitar from its case.
"How about this one?" he offered, grinning as he passed the lyrics to her.
"Smooth by Santana and Rob Thomas? You think you're that good on your guitar?" Mouse asked, grinning.
"I can get by," Puck replied, shrugging. "So, that one then?"
Mouse nodded, still grinning.
Puck started the song on the guitar, looking at Mouse as he began to sing.
"Man, it's a hot one,
Like seven inches from the midday sun.
Well, I hear you whispering in the words, to melt everyone,
But you stay so cool.
My muñequita, my Spanish Harlem, Mona Lisa,
You're my reason for reason,
The step in my groove," he sang, grinning at Mouse.
Together, they both sang the next part.
"And if you said this life ain't good enough,
I would give my world to lift you up.
I could change my life to better suit your mood,
'Cause you're so smooth."
Mouse sang the chorus, moving her hips in time with Puck's guitar.
"And it's just like the ocean under the moon,
Oh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from you.
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah,
Give me your heart, make it real,
Or else forget about it."
Puck licked his lips, continuing the song.
"But I'll tell you one thing,
If you would leave it would be a crying shame.
In every breath and every word,
I hear your name calling me out.
Out from the barrio,
You hear my rhythm on your radio
You feel the turning of the world, so soft and slow,
Turning you round... and round."
He almost stopped singing as she continued to dance, turning round at his words.
They both sang again, Puck staring at Mouse as she sang into her deodorant bottle. How come Rachel had never looked that hot?
"And if you said this life ain't good enough,
I would give my world to lift you up.
I could change my life to better suit your mood,
'Cause you're so smooth.
"And it's just like the ocean under the moon,
Oh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from you.
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah,
Give me your heart, make it real,
Or else forget about it."
Puck stopped playing his guitar, and Mouse stopped singing to look at him curiously.
"Why'd you stop playing?"
"I can't do that next solo guitar part. I haven't played for that long," Puck said, shrugging.
"And you're definitely no Santana," Mouse added with a smirk.
"Thanks," Puck muttered sarcastically.
"You're welcome!" she said cheerfully. "Want something to drink?"
"Sure, thanks," he said. "I'll set up Halo 3," he added as she left the room.
"Okay, don't break anything!" Mouse called, going down to the kitchen to get some drinks.
Puck set it up in a couple of minutes, and was bored within twenty seconds of waiting for Mouse to get back. He wanted to rest his hands from playing the guitar, so didn't start the game. Puck was going to kick her arse, and he wanted to be prepared for it.
Going to one of Mouse's bookcases, he saw a whole lot of picture books in piles on the bottom shelf. His eyebrow raised in curiosity, he sat on the ground and pulled one out.
What on earth was a senior in high school still doing with picture books? he wondered, flipping through the pages of the book. There were fairies on the pages, something his sister would have enjoyed.
Hearing Mouse coming up the stairs, Puck put the book back on the shelf and went over to the Xbox 360. He couldn't be seen reading a fairy picture book.
"Got anything stronger than water?" he asked as she handed him the drink.
"No," Mouse replied abruptly, sitting on the bed and grabbing a controller.
Puck frowned and sat down next to her. "What's wrong? I was just joking."
Mouse took a deep breath and smiled. "I know... Ready to get your arse kicked?"
"Yeah, right," Puck said, swiping the second controller.
Hand grenade explosions and machine gun sounds filled the air for the next twenty minutes, and it took a while for Mouse to realise that Candy was screaming her name.
"Oh, shit," she swore, throwing the wireless controller on the bed and running downstairs.
"MOUSIE!" Candy was yelling at the top of his lungs.
"I'm here, Candy. It's okay, calm down." Mouse murmured, stroking his head and hugging him. "I'm here. I'm here," she soothed.
"Took you long enough," a voice slurred behind them.
Mouse turned to see her mother sitting on the lounge, a bottle wrapped in brown paper resting loosely from her hand.
"He's been screaming for ... forever," she slurred, the remaining drink sloshing in the bottle as she waved her arms around. "What were you doing?"
"Mouse, what's wrong? Is Candy okay?" Puck asked as he came into the lounge room.
Sarah laughed, hiccuping slightly. "Maybe I should ask who you were doing. You fucking slut. You tell me off for screwing around, and then you're off with the town man-whore!"
Keeping Candy to her chest so he couldn't see Sarah like this, Mouse covered his ears too. She closed her eyes for a moment, and wished that Puck wasn't here to witness this.
"All right, Mum. I'm going to take Candy upstairs, and then I'll get you some water."
"I don't want water! Stupid fucking water, it's all we ever have in this damned house!" Sarah yelled.
"Well, that's not my fault," Mouse said with a glare.
"No, it's not... It's his," Sarah said, pointing at Candy with a look of disgust on her face. "Stupid little dumb retard," she leered.
"That's enough! Sit down! NOW!" Mouse yelled.
Sarah fell onto the couch in shock, and even Puck took a step back.
"Like I said, I'm going to take Candy upstairs, and then I will deal with you. Stay there," she hissed at Sarah, guiding Candy out of the room gently.
Puck didn't know whether to stay downstairs or follow Mouse back upstairs. Sarah started snoring, and shaking his head in disgust, Puck went up to Candy's room. He was met with an onslaught of Disney. Cars bedspread, Lion King posters and pictures, The Incredibles lampshade, Toy Story Woody and Buzz dolls, and even a Peter Pan hat.
"You're such a good boy, Candy. Sleep now, sleep now," Mouse was murmuring to Candy, stroking his hair.
Candy fell asleep within minutes, and Mouse looked over to Puck. He could see her face clearly, and was surprised to see that she wasn't crying. Most girls would have burst into tears over that, but Mouse had a cold hard look in her eyes that almost scared him.
"You 'kay?" he asked.
"Fine. Sorry you had to see that. I think it might be best if you leave," Mouse said softly, not wanting to wake Candy.
"I can help you deal with her," Puck said, flexing his arms.
Mouse closed the door to Candy's room, and laughed shortly. "I've dealt with her since I was ten, Puckerman. I don't need you to step in now." Seeing that she'd insulted his masculinity, she sighed and continued with, "Thanks anyway."
"You were ten years old? Really?" Puck asked as he followed her back downstairs.
"Candy was six years old, had just been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and his dad ran off later that week when he realised it was too much for him to handle. Mum started drinking that weekend. She binge drinks, so this doesn't happen constantly," Mouse added, not looking at Puck.
"I'm surprised you haven't burst into tears yet," Puck muttered as he watched her take the bottle from Sarah and tip the contents down the kitchen sink.
"I don't cry easily," she replied stiffly, watching the liquid swirl around and slide down the drain. It probably did the same in Sarah's mouth, going into the same sewer where the mutant crocodiles live.
"Don't wanna get up," Sarah moaned as Mouse shook her awake.
"I know, Mum. Drink this," Mouse said, putting the orange juice in her hand.
Sarah drank the juice obediently, her eyes shut tightly. When she'd finished and had gone back to sleep, Mouse took the glass back to the kitchen.
"You should go back home, Puck. They'll both sleep until tomorrow now, and I'll be fine. We can finish our game later," Mouse said, looking out the kitchen window as she cleaned the glass mechanically.
"Fuck the game, Mouse. What if she decides to get up in the middle of the night and yell at Candy again?"
"Then I'll deal with her the same way I always have. The juice will help settle the alcohol in her stomach. She'll have to sleep off the rest of it," Mouse said, shrugging. "You can go."
Puck refused to go, and shook his head. "Not happening... What did you say he was diagnosed with?" he asked.
"Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. It means that Sarah drank alcohol while she was pregnant with Candy. Because of that, it reduced the size of his brain, put some holes in his brain as well, and he is now mentally retarded," Mouse said. "I hate that word, and I really hate what it's become," she snarled.
"Retarded?"
"Yes. It's such a stupid word, and the people that use it as an insult have absolutely no idea what it really means! It's the same as someone saying that another person is gay. The word gay used to mean that someone was happy, but now it means that they love someone of the same sex, and then that meaning is supposed to be insulting! At least they love someone, unlike the dick-heads that insult them," Mouse said.
She realised that she was ranting, but couldn't seem to stop. It looked like Puck was listening at least...
"Sarah knows I hate that word, and she uses it on Candy whenever she's drunk, just to piss me off... I wish he didn't have to go through that. He doesn't know what it means, but he can tell from the look on her face that it's not good. Sometimes, Candy asks if Sarah hates him, and I always have to defend her, and tell him that his own mother really does love him."
Puck was silent for a moment, just watching as she trailed off, gripping the glass tightly in her hand. He took the glass from her, filled it with water and offered it to her.
"You shouldn't have to go through this."
"I don't care about me, I don't care if I have to go through it ten times a week... I'm just worried about Candy getting through it without me if I go to college," Mouse murmured, drinking the water gratefully. She sighed heavily, looking at the glass. Setting it down in the sink, she turned to Puck and smiled briefly. "Sorry for ranting about this to you. I know we're not friends, and you don't care about my problems. But thanks for listening... I'll go get your guitar."
Puck was shocked by her words, and didn't even think of protesting until his bag and guitar were in his hands, but by then he was already outside her house, and she was in the doorway, blocking any attempt he had to get back inside without looking desperate to the busy-body neighbours.
"I'll see you tomorrow at school. Oh, and Noah? Could you not tell anyone about this? Please?" Mouse pleaded.
Puck nodded, then finally found his voice. "Sure you don't want me to stay?" he offered.
"I'm sure. Thanks," Mouse said and closed the door.
With a slight frown, Puck headed home, worried thoughts filling his mind the entire way. He wasn't used to thinking so much, or feeling worry for someone other than himself. He wasn't sure he liked that either were happening.
...
End of the fourth chapter!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.
...