Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I do own Mouse, Candy, and Sarah though.
Read on, oh faithful ones.
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Chapter Twenty Seven
...
"You're very lucky to be offered this, Noah," Phil said as a way of farewelling him. "It's a great opportunity for you, and trust me when I say that I don't offer this sort of thing to simply anyone."
"Yes, Mr. Mores... I mean, Phil," Puck amended with a quick grin. "I'll definitely be in touch with you about this. It is a great opportunity. Thank you," he replied, keeping his grin firmly in place as he shook Phil's hand once more and left to his car.
Puck didn't dare stay in his car to think about everything Phil had discussed with him, knowing that if he did, he probably wouldn't leave the parking lot until the next morning.
Driving out of the parking lot, he headed down into town to the bowling alley where Mouse was waiting for their date.
...
"You do realise that I'm kicking your ass at bowling?" Mouse asked, sitting beside Puck when he didn't get up for his turn.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah," he said distractedly, seeing his score of eighty to hers of a hundred.
"You're usually ahead of me by now, what's wrong?" she asked with a frown.
"Thinking," he replied, shrugging briefly.
"About the meeting with Phil?" Mouse asked, getting a nod in return. "Want to talk about it?"
"What about bowling?" Puck asked, looking to where Mouse's bowling ball had just returned on the machine.
"What about it?" she asked, grinning at him. "This is important, bowling isn't... Even if I am winning," Mouse said with a laugh.
Moving to the computer, she reset the game, and they put their normal shoes on quietly, Puck thinking of Phil's offer once more. Returning the shoes, Mouse took Puck's hand, leading him outside to the car so they could have some privacy and not have to try and talk over the crashing of bowling pins.
"All right, talk," Jane said, smiling him.
With a nod, Noah began talking, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"Phil's offered me an apprenticeship to work for him. He's offered full-time work, and the pay is definitely better than anything I'd get flipping burgers," Noah said, laughing hollowly. "It's just that it's a two year apprenticeship, which means I'd be stuck in Lima, and as it's full-time, I wouldn't be able to go to college. Not that I'm even sure I'd get into college; hell, I don't even know what I'd study if I did get in. I'm only good at one thing apart from singing and football, and there isn't a degree for sex," he said with a brief grin, then shook his head, sighed and continued, "I suck at studying, and all Phil could say was how great an opportunity this would be for me. I'm grateful for it, but I don't know if I want to resign myself to it. I mean, you don't want to stay in Lima any longer than you have to, and I don't want to make you choose."
Surprised that he'd considered her in all of this, Jane sat up a little straighter. She didn't interrupt though, and let him continue to talk everything out.
"I'm worried that if I say no to this offer, and I don't get accepted into any college, I'll just be stuck in Lima. I don't want to be a Lima loser... If I do accept the offer, then I might have a chance at making something of myself, even if I'm still in Lima," he said. Hesitating for a moment, he continued, "I don't want to lose you over this," Noah admitted, looking to Jane, his hands still tight around the steering wheel.
"It is a really good opportunity. I promise that you're not going to lose me over this, Noah," Jane added, taking one of his hands in her own. "I have no idea what will happen after we finish high school, or where I will go. I do know that no matter what happens, I will be coming back as often as possible. I can't leave Candy here alone with Sarah," she said, her free hand clutching into a fist at the thought. "I don't want to lose you either," Jane admitted quietly.
They were both silent for a moment, still holding hands loosely.
"You'll definitely be coming back? You're not going to go across the country, forget about Lima, and never come back here?" Noah asked hesitantly.
"I can't forget about Lima if you and Candy are here," Jane promised. "You're not going to forget about me if I leave and some pretty young girl looks your way?"
"Why would I want a girl when I have you? You're so much more than anyone I've ever known before," Noah said, squeezing her hand gently. "You're not going to chase some library guy around, are you?"
Jane snorted, shaking her head as she laughed. "Of course not. I'm a one-man woman, and you're definitely more than enough man for me," she said, bringing their hands up to press a kiss to the back of his palm.
"Never doubted it," he said with a wink, leaning across the seat to kiss her lips.
"So... You're going to take the job offer?" Jane asked when they'd pulled apart.
"Yeah, I think so," Noah said, nodding.
"I'm really happy for you," she said, kissing him and smiling.
"Thanks. I'm happy too," he replied, surprised at his own admission.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both thinking of the future, and hoping that the other would be in it the way they hoped.
Neither felt like going back into the bowling alley, so Puck drove Mouse back to her house. Stopping the car, they both sat there for a moment, until he leaned across to kiss her again.
"Love you," he whispered.
"Love you," she replied quietly, smiling. "Go home and let your mother know what happened; I'm sure she's been waiting for news all night," Mouse said with a grin.
"Yeah right. See you tomorrow," Puck said.
"See you then," she replied, getting out of the car and heading up to the house.
Waving to Puck when she had the door open, she waited until she couldn't see his tail lights before going inside. Frowning when she realised that she couldn't hear the TV on like she thought it would be, Mouse looked in the lounge room to see what Candy and Sarah were doing. Sarah was no where in sight, but Candy was sitting on his beanbag, Terrence sitting beside him, reading a picture book in soothing tones. They were surrounded by pieces of paper, and a mess of textas, pencils, and crayons.
"Mousie, look! Mummy called Terry for a play date with sweet and he came!" Candy said, waving up at her enthusiastically.
Terrence stood up off the floor, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Mouse. Your mother called me around eight, saying that she was going out, and asked me to look after him. I didn't know what else to do."
"No, don't be sorry, Terrence. Thank you for coming over. You've been a good boy for Terrence, haven't you, sweetie?"
Candy nodded solemnly. "Sweet got paper and colouring things from Mousie's room. Quickly though!"
"That's good, sweetie. Do you want to go to bed now, so Terrence can go home and sleep too?"
Looking up at Terrence, Candy's bottom lip trembled and he hugged him tightly. "Finish reading to sweet first?"
"Uh, yeah. I can do that, Candy kid," Terrence agreed, carefully untangling Candy from his body and guiding him back to the beanbag.
"I'll be right back," Mouse said, both boys nodding to her.
Hurrying upstairs, she changed into her pyjamas quickly, throwing her bathrobe on top before going back downstairs in record time.
Candy was following the words in the picture book slowly, tapping the word when he didn't understand a word. In deep and soft tones, Terrence explained the word's meaning the best he could before continuing to read. Mouse sat behind them on the lounge, her legs tucked up under her body, and she closed her eyes as she listened to Terrence reading, intending to rest for a few minutes.
Feeling herself being shaken, Mouse struggled to open her eyes. She blinked for a moment, but then her eyes closed once more, and she was too exhausted to do more than mumble something about being left to sleep.
"Terry has to carry Mousie upstairs," Candy whispered, tugging on Terrence's shirt. "Mummy says the couch isn't for sleeping on," he added.
Frowning down at Candy, Terrence looked to Mouse. She was curled up tightly and he wasn't sure if he could carry her like that. Puck was going to kill him if he even so much as touched her inappropriately, even if it was accidental.
"Please, Terry. Mummy will yell at Mousie if she sleeps there," Candy said, his eyes wide.
"All right, Candy kid. Just give me a minute. I don't want to wake Mouse up. Can you hand me that blanket there?" Terrence asked, nodding to the blanket hanging off the end of the couch.
Feeling important and helpful, Candy passed the blanket to Terrence seriously, watching to see what he would do next.
Putting the blanket over Mouse, Terrence lifted her up carefully, her entire body wrapped up and covered. He nodded at Candy so he'd move out of the way, and carried Mouse upstairs to her room. Terrence didn't dare rush and drop her; if Puck would have killed him for touching her, Terrence knew that he'd do so much worse if he actually dropped her.
"Candy, move the blanket back," Terrence whispered.
From the doorway, Candy hurried into the room and pulled Mouse's blanket back. Terrence placed Mouse on the mattress, and helped Candy put the blanket over her. With that done, Candy pressed a kiss to her cheek, whispering that he loved her very much.
"Okay, come on, Candy kid. You'd better get to bed too. You don't want to be tired for school in the morning, do you?"
Thinking about it very seriously, Candy finally shook his head. Taking Terrence's hand, they left Mouse to sleep.
...
"I'm so proud of you, Noah," his mother said, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek firmly. "That is wonderful news."
"You're not upset that I might not go to college?" Puck asked incredulously.
She waved a hand at him, shaking her head. "Of course not; I didn't go to college, so why would I pressure you to do something I never did? You just make sure you marry a smart girl, and she'll keep you in line."
"Yeah, planning on it, Mum," Puck replied with a grin.
She raised her eyebrows at him, somewhat surprised that he wasn't running for the hills (or hiding away in his bedroom) at the mere mention of marriage.
"You'd better tell me before you set anything in stone, understood?" she said, levelling him with the most unforgiving version of The Look.
"Yes, Mum," he replied quickly, seeing her expression and knowing that it meant endless bouts of pain and nagging if he didn't comply. "Going to bed now. I'll see you in the morning."
She nodded, hugging and kissing him once more before shooing him upstairs to go to sleep.
Up in his room, Puck pulled his shirt off and flopped onto his bed, tired from the physical and emotional day. Despite it all, he was happy and felt light, as if a huge weight had lifted from his shoulders. Thinking of the conversation he'd had with Jane earlier, Noah smiled broadly and rolled over to fall asleep in seconds.
...
"Puck, you have to stop distracting me. I need to study," Mouse muttered, trying to read her textbook over his shoulder.
Puck, who was kissing her neck and had his hand under her shirt, just grinned and continued to press hot kisses against her skin.
"Come on, move already. Your test results haven't come back yet, and you're not an animal in heat. Stop distracting me," Mouse said, shoving at his shoulder so she could stand and move away from his distracting advances.
Grinning again, Puck followed her. She stopped and gave him her most unimpressed look, her books clutched to her chest. He circled around her, a song flowing from his lips and teasing both of them.
"If you could only see the beast you've made of me,
I held it in but now it seems you've set it running free.
Screaming in the dark, I howl when we're apart,
Drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart.
"My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in,
You are the moon that makes the night for which I have to howl.
My fingers claw your skin, try to tempt my way in,
You are the moon that breaks the night for which I have to..."
Moving closer to Mouse, taking in her heavy breathing and glazed eyes in a glance, Puck grinned and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Howl."
"Damn it, Puck. If you don't stop distracting me, I'm going to fail my exams, and I'll never get the scholarship," Mouse said. "Please, just... not today, okay?"
Puck nodded reluctantly. He was finding it increasingly hard to keep away from Mouse; he just wanted to touch and kiss her, he wanted to see the look on her face as he did those things and more... Sighing to himself, Puck knew that she was right. Mouse needed to get a scholarship, and he knew that he'd never forgive himself if she failed her exams because he'd distracted her like he wanted to.
Keeping his hands by his side, Puck stole one more kiss before stepping back from her. Mouse looked at him, wary of this sudden change.
"Come on, let's get that beautiful brain of yours to work," Puck said, grinning.
"Really?" she asked, still cautious.
"Really," he replied with a nod. "You don't want to fail, and I don't want you to either."
Surprised but grateful, Mouse smiled brightly and kissed him quickly. "Thank you, Puck. Come on, I'll help you with English, and you can help me with Spanish."
"Si, señorita," Puck said, following her to the desk.
She didn't even tell him off when he started playing footsies later.
...
The footballers were nervous as hell; Lee was pacing the change room, Terrence was trying to control his breathing, Finn had his eyes shut tightly and was seemingly praying, Mike and Matt were shaking out their hands, trying to get rid of their nerves, while Puck's foot just couldn't seem to stop tapping incessantly. The Horrible Highland Hornets had arrived, along with enough fans to fill a little more than half of the stands.
"Look at the size of them! We're going to be slaughtered," one of the jocks groaned when he saw them out of the doorway.
"Can we get them tested for steroids or something?" Lee asked, whimpering at the sight of the towering opposing team.
Lee was smaller than most of the other footballers, but he was fast, which is why Beiste had put him as a running back. If one of those Highland Hornets connected with him while he was running, Lee was sure that he'd snap in half.
"All right, boys, get a grip on yourselves. They might be huge, but you're faster than them. We've been training for this," Beiste said, looking at each of them in turn. "You're fast, and you know the gameplays. You'll get this done, and you will be fine," Beiste said, but there was a tremor in her voice that betrayed her confidence. "See you on the field in five," she added, leaving quickly.
A few moments later, there was a timid knock at the door, and Candy poked his head in to look at them. "Can sweet come in?" he asked hesitantly, seeing the sombre looks on their faces.
"Sure, Candy. We're just a bit worried about playing the other team at the moment," Terrence said, explaining the moody atmosphere.
"You'll play good though?" Candy asked, too worried to even notice that their lei were hanging on their lockers, as promised.
"We'll try," Terrence said hesitantly.
"Do or do not, there is no try," Candy said firmly.
Puck laughed, even as his foot continued to tap. Candy nodded his head along to the tapping sound, grinning when he saw that Mike and Matt were shaking their hands in time to Puck's tapping foot, and even Finn's words seemed to take on a faster pace. Candy started to tap along with Puck, and Terrence looked at him with a frown, wondering if foot tapping was contagious.
"Don't - don't - don't - don't stop the beat,
I can't - can't - can't - can't control my feet!
P-p-p-people in the street,
C'mon everybody and move your feet!"
The footballers were all watching him, but they seemed to understand what Candy was doing, and Puck sang along with the chorus.
"Don't stop (don't stop) don't stop the beat,
Can't stop (can't stop) can't stop the beat,
Won't stop (won't stop) won't stop the beat, go!"
Mike and Matt were now slapping their hands against the lockers in time with the fast-paced song, and sang together,
"Everybody, a-move your feet and feel united,
Oh-oh-oh!
Everybody, a-move your feet and feel united,
Oh-oh-oh!"
Finn grinned, singing, "Yeah,
We're going downtown, oh yeah!"
"Sing - sing - sing - sing - sing my song,
And you - you - you - you - you sing along!
Just put - put - put - put my record on,
And all of your troubles are dead and gone!" Candy sang loudly, over the roar of the Hornets' fans.
The last one to join in, Terrence added his voice to the song, and for a moment their song could be heard even out in the stands.
"Don't stop (don't stop) don't stop the beat,
Can't stop (can't stop) can't stop the beat,
Won't stop (won't stop) won't stop the beat, go!"
Making their way out of the room with Candy leading them, the footballers all sang their way onto the field, their feet moving as fast as they'd practiced before. In the stands, the band had picked up the song, and New Directions were singing loudly. Kurt, who had invited Blaine and the rest of the Warblers, was singing loudly as well. Despite their fans' smaller numbers, they were singing louder than the Hornets' cheering.
"Don't stop (don't stop) don't stop the beat,
Can't stop (can't stop) can't stop the beat,
Won't stop (won't stop) won't stop the beat, go!
"Everybody, a-move your feet and feel united,
Oh oh oh!
Everybody, a-move your feet and feel united,
Oh oh oh!"
Cheering and applause ended the song, and the footballers were still on such an adrenaline high that they didn't even notice the looks they were getting from the Hornets. After hugging Puck, and handing Terrence's lei to him, Candy headed to the bench with Coach Beiste.
"All right, guys. Let's get this done," Terrence said, grinning as he pulled on his helmet.
During the scrimmage, one of the Hornets taunted Terrence about the lei. Within a matter of seconds of the whistle being blown, that same player had found himself flat his back by the offensive liner. Another Hornet player attempted to tease the footballers about their song onto the field and was soon tackled by Finn; in the second quarter's scrimmage, one of the Hornets mentioned the boy who had led the song onto the field and was subsequently tackled by Matt and Mike, despite both being wide receivers. The Hornets soon learned that taunting the opposing team about the lei, singing or the boy who had led them was a very bad idea.
Throughout all of their plays, each player could hear the song playing in their head, and their feet kept up the fast pace. When half-time came around with the Hornets leading by a single touchdown, no one was more surprised than the McKinley High football team.
The Cheerios made their way onto the field for the half-time show, Brittany and Santana waving to Matt and Mike, and hurrying past before Sylvester could yell at them through her megaphone.
"Excellent game so far, boys. Your little mascot has a few words to say," Beiste said with a grin, indicating for Candy to come forward.
"Sweet's not little!"
"Right. Sorry, Candy," Beiste apologised quickly.
He nodded, then smiled brightly at the team. "Sweet was told to tell you to do plays 32, 55, and 87."
"We can't do that, Coach! I've already got three players on me, and I can barely make a pass!" Finn said, turning to her.
"You can do it, and you will do it. You're one touchdown behind. If you can't win, you can draw. No one has been this close to beating the Hornets for years!" Beiste said.
A loud coughing sounded behind them, and they turned to see Candy standing there, looking very stern.
"Sweet isn't done!" he said, looking at each of them in turn until they stopped arguing and gave him their attention. "Sweet and Mousie brought oranges," Candy said proudly, waving his sister over from the stands.
No one had the heart to tell Candy that the tradition of oranges as a half-time snack had been replaced with energy and sport drinks, and they took a few slices of oranges each meekly under their mascot's watchful gaze.
"Don't say a thing about me serving oranges, or I'll kick you," Mouse muttered when Puck grinned up at her holding the tray of orange slices.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, taking a few slices and stealing a kiss.
When they were all seated and eating their orange slices, Candy took one for himself, putting it in his mouth and smiling at Terrence and Puck brightly. Puck burst out laughing at the sight of the orange-smile, and Terrence grinned his own orange-smile back at Candy. The rest of the team did the same, grinning broadly at each other. Before they could protest, Mouse gathered them all together to take a photo of the team with Candy, their mouths full of orange slices.
"Oh, I'm going to deliver that photo to the yearbook committee personally," she said, laughing.
"Did sweet blink?" Candy asked, frowning as he looked at his picture.
"No, you smiled perfectly, sweetie," Mouse reassured him.
The footballers talked with Beiste a bit calmer after the oranges and water, working through the plays they could use in the game.
The whistle blew to signify the start of the last half, and Candy waved to them as Mouse led him to the stands.
Tina and Mercedes were sitting with Blaine and Kurt, the four of them arguing over the validity of silk scarves, and the McKinley football team's colours versus the Hornets. Carole and Burt were sitting beside them, the former looking amused and the latter keeping a careful eye on his son's boyfriend's hands.
When the whistle blew once more for the game to start, their conversation died down, and the attention was turned to the football game. Blaine took Kurt's hand in his own, squeezing and calling out in excitement when McKinley made a yard. Burt seemed both impressed and appeased at Blaine's excitement for the football game, Carole holding back a laugh before turning her attention to her son on the field once more.
The game continued, the natural sugar from the oranges flowing through their bodies, and they fought for every touch, tackling the Hornets harder, and throwing the ball further. During half-time the Hornets had been reprimanded and yelled at by their coach and were now working hard to keep their reputation in tact. For every touch, tackle, and throw, they retorted with their own, desperate to be number one, and not be beaten by a team who were so low on the ladder they hadn't even seen the rungs.
The third quarter was over in what felt like seconds with the Hornets leading by three points. From the stands, the McKinley fans were cheering loudly, and the footballers finally felt as though they might actually win against the Hornets.
The whistle blew for the final quarter to begin, and they all lined up for their scrimmage. Their riskiest play was about to put into motion, one they'd barely finished learning the week before under Coach Beiste's tutelage. Breathing out to try and release his nerves and tension, Terrence glared at the man opposing him.
"We've got this," he murmured, too low to be heard by anyone else.
The whistle blew and Terrence ran forward to connect solidly with his opposing player. The football was swiped up by Finn, and after the three players on him were taken down, the ball was thrown as far and hard as possible down the field. Lee, who had started running the moment the whistle blew, chased after the bouncing ball quickly. Catching it, he tucked it under his arm and ran even faster, very aware of the Hornets' that were gaining on him.
"Oh, god. I can't watch," Kurt said, covering his eyes.
Beside him, Blaine was yelling for Lee to run faster, along with most of the people in the stand. Candy was standing at the front rail, cheering loudly with Mouse.
"Come on, Lee! Faster!" Coach Beiste was yelling from the sidelines, just as excited as the rest of the team.
Lee was running out of steam. He could hear the Hornets right behind him, and was positive that he could see their shadows gaining on him. His fear gave way to a new bout of adrenaline and he ran a bit faster still, his chest tightening. Lee looked ahead, glad that the goal post seemed that much closer. He grinned beneath his helmet, held the ball a bit tighter and ran for his life.
The whistle blew loudly, signifying that he'd scored a touchdown, and Lee finally came to a stop, his legs aching. The Hornets had only been a few metres behind him, but it seemed that Beiste was right: they were big, but they weren't fast.
Making his way back to the rest of his team, Lee couldn't stop grinning. He was too happy to even make a barb at the other team, whose coach was already yelling at them from the sidelines.
The minutes turned into seconds, and eventually, the game was over. The McKinley team hadn't won, but they hadn't lost either. For the first time in years, someone had actually drawn even with the Hornets. The cheers from the stands made the footballers feel as though they'd won and they couldn't stop smiling.
Candy ran to the bench, waiting impatiently to congratulate his team once they came off the field. Coach wouldn't let him on the field again, and Mouse explained that his team could be in big trouble if he ran on the field without permission. The moment Terrence was close enough, Candy launched himself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Pulling his helmet off, Puck kissed Mouse eagerly, who went red when their friends all wolf-whistled from the stands.
"All right, back away from the players. They've got to go shower and cool off, then they can celebrate, all right?" Beiste asked.
"Right, we'll wait over there. Come on, Candy, we've still got some orange slices left," Mouse said, grinning at him.
Nodding, Candy let go of Terrence and followed his sister to the tray of oranges and their bags.
"Hey, kids. We'll meet you at BreadstiX, okay?" Burt called over the rail, Blaine and Kurt laughing together beside him.
"Okay, drive safe!" Finn called, ducking his head to enter the locker room.
"Bye!" Candy called, waving up at them.
They waved back to him, and Candy hummed happily as he ate the remaining few orange slices, waiting for the footballers to finish cooling off.
When the footballers came out, both Candy and Mouse were surprised at their attire. They were all wearing their normal clothes, but around each of their necks, they were wearing the lei that Candy had made for them.
"It was Finn's idea to wear them if we won," Terrence explained.
"Figured that drawing against the Hornets was close enough to a win for us," Puck added, grinning broadly.
Mouse kissed him, her arms around his neck, but careful of the flowery lei. "Thank you, Noah," she murmured against his lips.
"You're welcome. Come on, I'll drive you and Candy to BreadstiX to celebrate," he said, kissing her once more before pulling away.
"Coming, Coach?" Lee asked, grinning at Beiste.
Beiste seemed surprised at the invitation, looking at the used towels in her hands for a moment. She always cleaned up after the games; there was hardly ever a win to celebrate, and the team went home after she reminded them to be up for their training session the next day.
"All right, I'll come," she said, smiling back at her team. "But we've still got training tomorrow morning," Beiste added sternly.
"Yes, Coach," they chorused.
Before she could gauge their sincerity, Beiste felt something tug at her shirt, and she turned to see Candy standing behind her.
"Can sweet come too?"
She considered it for a moment, looking over his head to Mouse who gave a brief nod, and then looked to Candy once more. Her face went serious and she knelt to be eye-to-eye with him.
"You'll have to be up early tomorrow morning, are you okay with that?"
Candy nodded enthusiastically.
"And you'll have a very important job of carrying the red cones onto the field for me, do you think you can handle that?"
Again, he nodded, barely able to contain his glee.
"Can you carry my clipboard and help me by telling the boys the game play?" Beiste asked, her voice so serious that Candy actually hesitated for a split second, and everyone stopped talking to watch.
"Sweet can do that," he replied, nodding for the final time.
"Then welcome to the McKinley High Football Club, Candon Franklin," Beiste said, smiling.
Terrence took his lei off and put it over Candy's head solemnly. Candy burst into tears, hugging Beiste around the neck tightly.
"No need for tears, Candy. We're going out to celebrate, remember?" she asked, patting him on the back and looking frantically for his sister.
"Yeah, we're going out now, and if you're extra good, I'll buy you a chocolate spider shake," Mouse said, tapping his shoulder briefly.
Candy stopped crying, loud hiccups of noise following in their wake. He rubbed at his eyes and looked up at his sister. "With extra chocolate?"
"With extra chocolate," Mouse agreed with a grin. "Want to ride in the back or front of Puck's car?" she asked, taking him by the hand and leading him to the parking lot.
Puck and the others followed them, talking amongst themselves and congratulating each other and their Coach for a game well done.
...
End of the twenty-seventh chapter.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.