Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I only own Mouse, Candy and Sarah.
Thank you to everyone for reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
...
Chapter Sixteen
...
"What are you doing?" Quinn hissed at Puck.
They were tied to two chairs, while three loud and noisy kids ran around them in circles, pretending to be Indians.
"Texting," Puck replied briefly, trying to glare back at her.
"Well, could you put the phone down already? We've got to try and get out of this," Quinn muttered, struggling against the ropes.
Puck ignored her, looking down at the small screen. The message was for Santana. He hadn't sexted her in what felt like years. Guilt tugged at him for a moment, then the image of Mouse and Kent kissing went through his mind. Pushing away the guilt, he sent the text.
"All right, let's get out of this thing," Puck muttered, slipping his phone in his pocket.
...
"So he thinks that you actually kissed Kent?" Santana asked Mouse, a disgusted look on her face.
"Apparently," Mouse replied, sighing.
"Well, Puck can be an idiot sometimes. Just give him some time, he'll get over it," Santana said.
She looked around the room with a frown, realising she'd left her bag downstairs.
"Dammit, I brought something for you. It's downstairs, I'll be right back," Santana said, leaving the room quickly.
Mouse went across the hall to check that Candy was okay. He was sleeping soundly, so she left him to go back to her room. She jumped slightly when a phone began ringing, music filtering from the small speaker louder than she thought would have been possible.
"Santana, your phone," she called, trying to get her attention and not wake Candy at the same time.
Santana didn't hear her, and Mouse quickly pressed a button on the phone to stop the music. The screen flashed brightly before returning to its' sleep mode, the music gone.
1 MSG FROM PUCK.
"Here you go. It's a present from the store. A thank you for getting me a job," Santana said, grinning as she passed her the folded material. "What's wrong?"
"Your phone went off. I got it so Candy wouldn't wake up. It's a message from Puck," Mouse said, handing her the phone. "Thank you for the present," she said, grinning as she held up the bright blue calico bag. It had the word 'Hummel' written on the side, with Le Parfum written underneath.
"It's not much, but it's amazing how fast we go through those bags with Kurt's sales," Santana said, looking at her phone.
The screen was still locked and the message unread, so she didn't worry about what Mouse might have seen, but when she read the text, Santana got angry. Swearing, she went to turn her phone off.
"What is it?" Mouse asked, frowning slightly. "Does... Does he want to get back together with you?" she asked, hating how her voice sounded so weak.
"No, and I wouldn't even if he did. I'm quite happy with Mike. His credit rating is better than anything Puck could offer."
"Then what's wrong?"
Santana looked at Mouse for a moment, wondering if she should tell her or not. Sighing heavily, she opened the message. "He sent me a sext. It's the first time in months, I swear," she added, handing her the phone.
Mouse read the message, her frown disappearing as her cheeks went red. "Oh..."
She felt her chest tighten, it got harder to breathe, and her eyes started to sting as unshed tears gathered. No, she told herself, she would not cry over this. She wouldn't. Taking a deep breath, she ignored her aching chest - no matter how much it hurt - Mouse straightened herself slightly and looked at the text again.
"Are you all right? He's not thinking straight; he's just being a desperate bastard," Santana said, though she had no idea why she was defending Puck.
"That's not physically possible," Mouse said, her head cocked to the side.
Whatever response Santana had expected, that was not it. "Umm, what?"
"It's not physically possible. If he was like that, and she was in that position... Well, I'd be calling the ambulance," Mouse said, handing the phone to her with a grin.
Grinning back briefly, Santana took the phone and read the message properly. A small laugh escaped her. She wrote a reply, one that was far too ridiculous for it to be anything serious, and handed the phone back to Mouse.
"Really? That doesn't sound sexy at all; it sounds painful," she said, laughing as she went to give the phone back.
Santana shook her head. "You decide whether to send it or not," she said.
Mouse read the text, laughing again. She pressed the 'send' button, wondering if Puck would realise that it was only a joke.
Less than five minutes later, both Santana and Mouse were surprised to hear Santana's message alert. Santana put her phone on vibrate and checked the message, muttering under her breath when she read it properly.
"Stupid frigging idiot. He's out with Quinn and he's sexting me, what a little bast..."
"Santana," Mouse said warningly.
"Well, he still is one," she muttered.
"What's this one say?" Mouse asked, wishing that her chest would stop hurting so much.
Santana didn't look happy at the question, but she still passed the phone to her.
"I think he needs to do biology again," Mouse said, her eyebrow raised in confusion at what she was reading.
A grin tugged at Santana's lips. "He's not the sharpest tool in the shed. But he's still a tool," she added, smirking.
Mouse rolled her eyes and wrote a response, as ridiculous as the last, sending it after looking to Santana. They were using her phone credit, after all.
It continued for half an hour, until Santana turned her phone off and refused to send any more.
...
On Monday morning, Santana confronted Quinn about Puck and told her what he'd been doing while she'd been babysitting. Quinn didn't believe her at first, but soon she found herself at Puck's locker. Seeing his phone on the shelf, she grabbed it and looked at the messages, ignoring his protests. Glaring at Puck, she threw the phone at him and stalked off. She thought he'd changed, damn him!
Mouse avoided Quinn and Puck, keeping her head down during class and not talking unless it was necessary.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, Mouse went to the library rather than the football field like usual. Ignoring Ms. Lemay, she went to the back of the library to the most unused section and sat on the floor. She put her headphones on and turned the music up so she wouldn't have to think.
...
"Hey, you seen Mouse? Candy's worried sick about her," Terrence asked Puck, frowning.
"She's probably off with Kent," Puck muttered.
"Kent? What the fuck are you on about, man?" Terrence asked, his frown deepening.
"They were kissing each other on Friday and I didn't see either of them after lunch, did you?" Puck asked sarcastically.
"Yeah, actually, I did. Coach Tanaka had to take Kent to the hospital," Terrence said, as if the news was known to the entire school. "Testicle retrieval operation, it was all over the 'net Saturday. You really didn't hear about it?" he asked, surprised.
Puck was silent.
"Well, when you see Mouse, get her to come meet us at the football field. Candy doesn't want to play ball without her there," Terrence said, clapping Puck's shoulder as he left.
The image of Kent and Mouse kissing went through his head again - as it had done all weekend - and Puck realised that what he'd assumed was completely wrong. Fuck.
Slamming his locker shut, Puck ran to the cafeteria quickly. He didn't see Mouse anywhere, but he saw the others from Glee and went over quickly. Santana and Quinn were sitting as far away from each other as possible.
"Where's Mouse? Have you seen her?" Puck asked, looking at them.
Kurt crossed his arms over his chest and turned away. Quinn looked down at her lunch and refused to answer. Only Santana met his gaze, and she looked angry.
"We haven't seen her, and even if we had, we wouldn't tell you," Santana said, glaring at him. "What the fuck were you thinking, accusing Mouse of kissing Kent?"
He was surprised at the hostility from Santana - she'd sent him all of those sexts on Friday. He said as much, ignoring Mike's look.
"As if I'd ever get back with you," Santana said, her hand in Mike's. "It was Mouse who sent all of those texts, not me. I was with her, you dumbass."
Puck glared at her for a moment, then looked around the cafeteria once more before leaving.
Mercedes sighed heavily and left after him. Kurt was surprised, but followed her in a second. The rest of the Glee club followed.
...
"Where is she?" Puck asked, but it was more of a rhetorical question than anything.
He'd searched the auditorium, all of the school grounds, the nurse's office, everywhere he could think of. Candy was still with the footballers, the large jocks trying to keep his mind off his sister.
"Have you looked in the library yet?" Tina asked, frowning.
"What?" Puck said, rounding on her.
"T-the l-library," Tina repeated, stumbling on her words.
"You really think she'd go in there after what Ms. Lemay did?" he asked sarcastically.
"Can you think of anywhere else?" Artie retorted, glaring. He took Tina's hand, making her blush.
"Fine," Puck muttered a moment later, heading to the library.
...
Mouse tried to concentrate on the maths problem in front of her. A frown was on her face, the pencil in her hand tapping on the paper in time with the music she was listening to. Writing the solution, she skipped to the next song with her free hand.
Hearing footsteps, she frowned again and looked at her music player. The song was heavy rock, no footsteps should be in it. Pausing the song, she pulled her headphones off to listen more carefully.
"... he's worried about her," Mercedes muttered to Kurt.
"Why do you sound so surprised?" he asked, shaking his head.
"I've never seen Puckerman get worried about anyone other than himself. It's weird," she replied, shrugging.
"I just wish her phone was on so we could call her and get this over with. The jocks are all out there getting sweaty and I'm not there to watch," Kurt said with a grin and dramatic sigh.
"But Finn's in here, isn't he?" Mercedes teased, grinning back at him.
"That's not the point."
At the mention of the footballers, Mouse hurried to pack her things. In her determination to avoid Puck and Quinn, she'd completely forgotten that Candy was outside playing football. She moved through the stacks quietly, not drawing the attention of Mercedes or Kurt as she hurried to leave the library. The rest of the Glee club were spread out through the library looking for her and not one saw her leave.
...
"Mousie!"
Terrence looked up at Candy's joyful shout, grabbing the football off the ground as he headed over to the siblings.
"Did Puck find you then?" Terrence asked as Candy hugged Mouse tightly.
"No, and I'd prefer to keep it that way," she replied, her tone softening as she looked at her brother. "Sorry for being late, sweetie. Have you been having fun?" Mouse asked, smiling.
"Yeah, we've been teaching him how to throw the ball," one of the jocks replied, grinning as he ruffled Candy's hair.
Candy grinned and took the ball from Terrence, running across the grass with a laugh.
"Heard what Kent did to you; are you okay?" Terrence asked as he sat next to Mouse.
"I've been better," she replied, shrugging briefly.
"I thought you were avoiding us because of what he did," he said a moment later.
"You weren't the ones who did it," Mouse replied, shaking her head.
They sat in silence for a while, watching as Candy threw the ball to his friends, laughing when one grabbed him and picked him up. Mouse tensed when that happened, thinking he'd be hurt.
"They won't hurt him," Terrence said, putting a hand on her shoulder briefly.
Mouse stilled and nodded. She moved away slightly, remembering Kent's hands on her shoulders.
"Sorry," he said quickly, sliding down the bench to give her some space.
It took Mouse a few minutes to recollect herself. When she did, she turned to Terrence and smiled briefly. "I'm sorry for putting your wide receiver in hospital. Will the team be all right without him?" she asked.
"Probably not. Don't worry about it though, it's not like he did much to start off with," Terrence said with a laugh.
"Terrie, play with sweet," Candy called, laughing as he ran to them. The football was clenched in his hands tightly.
"Coming, Candy," he replied, smiling.
A footballer ran towards them, Candy squealed in delight and ran off quickly. Terrence stood to leave.
"Terrence?" Mouse asked quietly, stopping him. "Thank you."
"What for?" he asked in confusion.
"For asking me if I'm okay. It's the first time anyone's asked that in a long time."
With a kind smile, Terrence nodded and went back onto the field.
Mouse sighed and lay flat on her back on the bench, slipping her headphones on once more.
...
"There's a football game on tonight. Are you going?" Sarah asked as Mouse and Candy came in the house.
"Yes!" Candy called loudly, pulling his bag off and running into the lounge room.
"Indoor voice, Candon," Sarah prompted, then looked to Mouse. "Well, are you coming out?"
Mouse glowered at her mother - Sarah knew that she'd put Kent in the hospital, and by making her go tonight, the entire town would have someone to blame for the team's usual defeat. By asking when Candy when around meant that she would have no choice but to accept. If Sarah went there to scope out her man of the hour, as was often the case, Candy would have no way of getting home. On the other hand, going to the game meant seeing Puck, who she'd been trying to avoid all day. Damn her mother for doing this.
"Fine, I'll come."
"Excellent. Why don't you help your brother with your homework while I go get ready?" Sarah purred, leaving the room without another word.
...
Mouse sat on the bench, hating that they were sitting at the front. They'd arrived early because both Sarah and Candy wanted to, yet for entirely different reasons; one to see the available men, and the other to see his friends. Arriving as early as they had, they got seats right at the front.
Candy called out to the footballers, waving. Taking out a book, Mouse tried to hide in her jacket to read. It was in vain, as in moments, the band started to practice in the section next to them. The footballers waved back to Candy, ignoring their coach as they made their way over to the bleachers. Puck lingered at the back, looking at Mouse.
"Hey, Candy! This is your first game, isn't it?" one of them called, grinning broadly.
"Yes. Sweet mascot," he said proudly, a grin just as big on his face.
"Hello boys," Sarah said, looking over the rail at them. "Aren't you all divine in your uniforms? How about drinks at my place afterwards?" she asked, eyeing their tight pants.
"We're all underage, Mrs. Franklin. But we appreciate your offer," Terrence replied diplomatically.
"Of course you do," she muttered sourly, leaving the bench to go find someone willing.
"Hey, Mouse. How are you?" Terrence asked, smiling at her.
Her eyes flicked to Puck's for a moment and she went red when she saw that he was looking at her. She looked to Terrence and forced herself to smile back. "Fine, thank you. You'd better get back," she added when Tanaka yelled at them again. "Good luck."
Candy called goodbye to his friends and sat next to Mouse on the bench again. He hummed along with the band, his head bopping.
"You excited, Candy?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Yes!" he replied happily, still grinning.
More and more people started to fill the stands, and Mouse looked around for her mother. Not seeing Sarah anywhere, she didn't know whether to worry about the fact that she'd disappeared, or that she'd left them alone.
"I heard through the grapevine that you were here," Kurt said, grinning as he made his way down with his father.
"Hi Mr. Hummel," she said, getting a nod in return. "Which grapevine was that, Kurt?" Mouse asked with a frown.
"The one that had your mother wrapped around some guy from the other team's side of town," he said, his eyebrows raised.
Mouse buried her face in her hands.
"Miraculously, the afternoon phone calls have stopped. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you, Jane?" Bert asked while Kurt was preoccupied with Candy.
She looked at him but didn't answer.
"Not going to admit it then? All right... I just wanted to say thank you. You and Candy are welcome any time, day or night," he added, giving her a quick smile.
"Kurt rang to say you were here. You got great seats!" Mercedes said as she came over with Tina.
Strategically nudging people out of their way, Mercedes and Tina managed to sit behind them. Kurt and his dad found seats in the same manner, about two seats away.
"Is Artie here?" Mouse asked when Rachel came over with her fathers.
"He's i-in the band," Tina said, looking over to him with a grin.
"I didn't see him earlier," Mouse said, waving to him.
"He gets in later when most people are already sitting down," she replied.
Quinn arrived with Josh. Her cheeks reddened when she saw Mouse there, but she attempted to smile.
"Sit next to us," Mouse called, waving her over.
It wasn't Quinn's fault that she had been scared and wanted someone familiar. She hadn't wanted Puck, really.
Looking surprised, Quinn nodded and made her way over with Josh.
"Move out of the way for the pregnant lady, would you?" Josh asked one of the men.
Quinn went bright red as the man looked at her stomach. He moved, muttering something about her eating a heavy lunch.
"Smooth, Josh. Really," she muttered sarcastically.
"I got a seat for you," he replied with a grin, ignoring her sarcasm.
Quinn stifled a laugh, failing to be annoyed at him for long.
Behind them, Mouse heard Mercedes sigh heavily.
The whistle blew loudly, the game beginning with a roar from the crowd.
Candy stood, yelling loudly as he watched the game. It was obvious he didn't know much about the game, but his enthusiasm was catching. Within minutes, even Mouse was standing and yelling for the school's team.
By the time the third quarter was finished, Candy had all but yelled himself hoarse, and their team was in the lead by one point. On the sidelines, Tanaka was yelling at the team to run a different play, one that would set their defensive back.
"Come on, guys. We've got to win this," Terrence said in the huddle. "Can't let our mascot down," he said with a grin.
They all agreed loudly and with a clap and grunt, they went for their next play. Ignoring Tanaka, they set up a different play; one that they'd been practicing with Candy during their lunch break.
"What the hell are you doing?" Tanaka yelled, his face red.
They ignored him easily.
Puck looked over to Mouse, his heart constricting. He was such an idiot.
"Hey, that your girl in the stands, Puckerman?" one of the opposing team members asked, seeing who he was looking at. Number 24.
"Which one?" his mate asked, grinning. Number 3.
"You mean, which one isn't?" 24 sneered. "She's cute, isn't she Puckerman? She like you, or she go with the whole team?" he jeered.
"Oh, a bookworm... It's the quiet ones you gotta look out for, you know," 3 added when he saw Mouse reading.
"Fuck off, you asshole," Puck said.
His toes dug into the ground, waiting impatiently for the whistle. He couldn't wait to plant his fist straight in this wanker's stomach.
"Oh, looks like she gets around," 24 said, laughing.
Puck looked over to see Mouse put her arm around Candy's shoulders.
"That's her brother, you idiot," Terrence said, a warning in his voice.
"So she likes incest then," 3 said with a cruel laugh.
What the fuck was taking so long with the fucking whistle? Blow it already! Puck yelled silently, his fist clenched.
"So you go for the quiet sluts who do their brothers..." 24 began to say.
A fist landed in the guy's stomach and a second later, he was on the ground. Surprisingly, it wasn't Puck or even Terrence who'd done it, despite the fact that they were both standing and ready to punch him.
"Shut the fuck up," Finn said, glaring down at him.
That moment was all he had before a full on fight broke out. The other team's surprise hadn't lasted long, and they all launched themselves at them.
His feet dug into the grass further and Puck let loose, punching at whichever idiot chose to get close to him. Terrence barrelled into three of the opposition, knocking them flat on their backs.
In the stands, fights were beginning to start as well.
Puck took a second to look over to where Mouse and Candy were. Candy was crouched on the floor, back against the railing as he cried loudly. But Mouse... Mouse was standing in front of her brother, punching and kicking whoever came near.
She could fight? he thought in surprise. A fist connected with his shoulder and with a growl, Puck turned back to his own fight.
It took almost ten minutes for the fights to die down and the crowd to get back to their seats. The footballers that were able to went back on the field, covered in bruises and most bleeding. Finn was sitting on the sidelines, a very pissed off Tanaka beside him. Within minutes, Rachel was next to Finn.
The referee was busy trying to find the football while the two teams went into their separate huddles. Seconds later, a scream rang out. Not thinking of anyone but Mouse, Puck ran over to her.
...
Unaware of what was being said about her on the field, Mouse tried to read her book. Candy was at the rails, waiting for the game to start again.
"Hey, down in front! Bloody imbecile, you're not the only one watching the game!" a voice snarled behind them.
Candy didn't know what was said, but he could tell that it was about him, and the hostility in the stranger's voice had tears in his eyes.
Mouse turned to glare at the guy, but Mercedes and Tina had already beaten her to it, and the unsuspecting person was being yelled at by them.
"Oh, it's all right, sweetie. Don't cry," she said, putting her arm around Candy's shoulder comfortingly. "That mean man has had a silly drink."
"Like Mummy?" Candy asked with a sob.
"Yes, like mummy. He's just a mean man," she murmured, consoling him by stroking his hair gently.
"More like a fuc..." Josh began to say.
Quinn nudged him before he could finish. "Candy copies words," she hissed quietly.
He gave Mouse a guilty grin. "Sorry. Won't happen again."
"Oh! That must have hurt," Kurt said with a wince.
Looking out to the field, Mouse saw Finn standing over one of the opposing players.
"Uh oh," Tina said, looking across to the other side of the field.
Fights were breaking out, screams echoing. Mouse quickly got Candy to sit on the floor and hold the railing. It wouldn't take long for the fights to break out on this side too.
"Stay there and don't move, okay, sweetie?" Mouse said, scanning the crowd quickly. "Everything will be fine," she added, smiling at him.
There was a high pitched scream and Mouse turned to see Kurt standing there, his clothes covered in nachos.
"Oh, that person is so dead," Mercedes said. She'd helped choose the outfit and it was a damn good one! Now it was ruined.
Someone stumbled down the benches, heading straight for Mouse and Candy. She pushed them back, not knowing how inebriated they were. The person fell with a thud, drunk. Another one came towards them, this one caught up in the frenzied atmosphere. He didn't care that he was about to punch a girl, or that she went for his team.
Mouse kicked the guy in the stomach, punching him in the face. Blood spurted from his nose, and he dropped with a cry. His friends came to his defence, not knowing that she'd defended herself from him in the first place.
Her years of doing self defence when she was younger - not all of her mother's boyfriends were kind - meant that she had a mean right hook.
The fights died down quickly when people realised that the game still hadn't finished.
Turning to get Candy, Mouse let out a scream when she saw he wasn't there.
Puck was there in moments, ripping his helmet off as he arrived at the bleachers.
"Candy?" she called loudly, ignoring the people around her. "Candy?" she screamed, looking for him in the sea of faces.
"Shit... Terrence! Where's Candy?" Puck called to the centre of the field.
Not even twenty seconds later, the entire team had arrived and were looking for Candy, calling out his name. Mouse jumped over the railing to land on the grass lightly, joining the search. Puck was impressed, and immediately berated himself. Candy was missing and he was lusting after Mouse because she could clear a rail. He had to get his head checked out.
The crowd was murmuring their confusion, not knowing what was happening or why.
"Got him!" Terrence yelled, carrying Candy out from under the bleachers in his arms. "He's fine. Just a little shook up," he added as he set Candy on his feet carefully.
Mouse ran over. "Candy," she breathed, hugging him. "Are you okay?" she asked, moving to check him quickly.
"It's not his," Terrence said when she saw the blood on Candy's shirt.
"Thank you. Thank you all," she added, looking at all of them in turn.
Candy was shaking like a leaf, but he did seem fine otherwise. He was clutching the football in his arms.
"What is going on here? If you don't get off my field in ten seconds, I'm disqualifying the team!" the referee yelled, fed up with everything that had happened.
"Sweet got the ball," Candy said, trembling.
"Hey, back off. He's just a kid," Terrence said, moving in front of Candy quickly.
"He found the football for us," Puck added, taking it from his grip gently. "Thank you, Candy kid," he said with a smile, ruffling his hair.
Candy smiled back, but still didn't look well.
"Come on, sweetie. Let's go home and get you to bed," Mouse murmured, her arm around his shoulders.
"No! Sweet is mascot! Sweet has to stay!" he said, pulling away.
"Oh," Mouse said, surprised. "All right then. Let's go to our seats."
Candy didn't look like he believed her, and Mouse tried not to feel hurt at his expression.
"I promise. If we don't get off the field, they can't finish the game. You want them to win, don't you?" she cajoled.
Terrence nodded when Candy looked to him, giving him an encouraging smile.
"Sweet will watch the game from the seats," he said, taking Mouse's hand. "Be good!" he called to the footballers over his shoulder.
"Come on, Puckerman. We've got a game to win," Terrence said with a grin, forming a huddle on the field.
Puck watched as Mouse left with Candy and with a sigh, put his helmet back on and followed his teammates.
Twelve minutes later, the McKinley High School football team won their second game of the year. In the stands, Candy yelled and clapped for them the loudest.
...
"Thank you again, Mr. Hummel. Sorry to inconvenience you," Mouse said, Candy leaning against her tiredly.
They hadn't been able to find their mother at the end of the game, and her car had gone as well. Mouse just hoped that Sarah hadn't gone to their house with whichever man she'd decided to sleep with tonight.
Bert just nodded and continued to drive. Kurt was in the front seat, still attempting to pick melted cheese and corn chips from his jacket. He gave up a few minutes later; it was completely ruined.
"See you tomorrow, Mouse. Bye Candy," Kurt called, waving as his father backed out of the driveway.
Mouse turned to the dark house, glad that Sarah wasn't inside. "Come on, Candy kid. Let's get you to bed," she murmured, guiding him up to the front door.
Ten minutes later, Candy was in bed snoring gently, hugging the game football in his arms.
...
End of the sixteenth chapter.
...