AN: So...I started this specific story so long ago because of a Pezberry genderswap fic request gosh...like 7 years ago. It's remained unfinished thanks to life and it's crazy circumstances but I'm currently tryin' to fix this story up a bit while I'm in the process of rewritin' some of my others before I post any updates to it. I'm doing this because I'm serious when I say I want to finish this story, and I feel like I've grown as a writer enough to spot where my current stories need sprucing up. So that bein' said I hope you enjoy the additions and tweaks to this chapter and the chapters to come. Thank you for still readin'.
Disclaimer: Glee's not mine and nothing related to the creation of Glee is mine.
"Are you sure he's going to be ok today?" I question my dads...Again...For about the tenth time in less than thirty minutes. I glance up to get their answer and see a look of complete annoyance spreading quickly over my Daddy's face.
"Yes, Rayden!" my Daddy Leroy sighs out in exasperation, and at the apologetic and sad look that takes over my own face my dad, Hiram, quickly speaks up.
"Look son. I know that you're worried about leaving him alone for the first time. Trust me, your father and I understand perfectly, but your Daddy knows how to take care of a baby. They'll both be just fine, I promise," he tries to soothe me and I roll my eyes at myself.
"I know, I know. I'm just over-reacting. I'm sorry," I murmur out quietly as I rock the snoozing baby in my arms gently and gaze down at him in pure fascinated adoration.
"There's no need to apologize buddy. Now, go upstairs and get ready for school please, otherwise you're going to be late on your first day," my Dad tells me as he gently takes the baby from my arms and lightly shoves me towards the direction of the stairs.
I slowly trudge up them with a resigned sigh and a grimace once I reach them (Not wanting to go to school in the slightest but knowing I have no choice in this specific matter) and as soon as I'm in my room I head straight into my en-suite to jump in the shower. After showering I quickly look through my closet until I settle on a light green and black striped v-neck, black tight-fitting jeans, my black combat boots, and my black leather jacket. I change out my tongue ring from blue to green and brush my semi-shaggy hair down somewhat before grabbing my bag and heading back downstairs as fast as I can.
"No trouble today please," my Daddy says as soon as I walk back into the kitchen and I see him getting a bottle ready for the baby.
"I make no promises," I tell him honestly with a shrug as I take the infant from my Dad and grab the freshly made bottle from my Daddy before sitting down at the table to feed him, all the while barely sparing either of them a glance. This causes my dads to just share an exasperated look with each other that I see from the corner of my eye but completely ignore as I keep my focus on the adorable baby in my arms. "You're going to be a good boy for Poppy today, right Monks? Daddy's sorry that he has to leave you, but I promise you I'm always going to be back for lunch. Then I can tell you all about how my morning goes," I whisper to my son as I watch him lazily eat, his dark green eyes fluttering open and shut intermittently. I burp him at the appropriate times, and as soon as he's finished I kiss him all over his face before handing him reluctantly back to my Daddy. I tell both of my parents to have a good day before rushing out to my Jeep, and even though I'm running a tad bit late already I take a few moments to mentally prepare myself for the day ahead before finally backing out of my driveway and heading off to school.
"Woooow...I can already tell this day's going to suck," I groan out to myself as I park in the parking lot of McKinley. Everywhere I look out front I see jocks tormenting kids and I mean literally everywhere. I take another few deep breaths to mentally prepare myself some more now before I jump out of my jeep and lock the doors behind me. I look around to make sure that there's not any jocks near me before hesitantly making my way inside of the school, and I put on my most intimidating scowl as I walk towards where I remember my locker to be from registration this summer.
I manage to make it to my locker confrontation free and I'm now currently standing in front of it while I shove in the things from my back pack that I don't need anytime soon into it. I just so happen to glance up for a brief moment when I notice three hot as fuck cheerleaders walking in my direction from down the hall and I have to pop my eyes back into their sockets. There's two blondes, one tall with blue eyes and the other shorter with hazel eyes, and the third cheerleader with them is a beautiful Latina girl who has her pinky linked with the taller blue-eyed blonde's. There's something radiating from the Latina that instantly sucks me in but I can't seem to put my finger on exactly what that is, besides the fact that she's drop-dead gorgeous I mean...I can also immediately tell that her whole persona she's exuding right now is all an act, and I want to be able to break past her barriers that I see she has up and get to know the girl behind them and the act. The Latina and I happen to make eye contact as they walk up and stop at the lockers almost directly across the hall from mine, and the only thing that causes us to break it is the warning bell scaring the every-loving shiz out of me. Thank Moses I kept myself from jumping a mile in the air and looking like an idiot in front of her.
It takes me a few moments to shake myself out of the daze I fell into because of the Latina but when I finally do manage to make it to my first class I happen to notice a familiar face already there and seated, and I can't help the bright grin that takes over my face at the sight of them. I calmly make my way over to take a seat in the back next to him and I wait patiently to see if he'll recognize me. It seems as if he doesn't, which kinda saddens me, but I think nothing of it since it's been years since we've last seen each other. After a moment of me discreetly studying my old friend the bell rings, and before the bell can even finish it's ring the teacher quiets the class and begins to call roll.
"Amelia JoAnne Anderson?.."
"Here."
"Carmello Cantu Andrews?..."
"Here."
"Ronald Joe Benson?..."
"Here."
"Rayden Efran Berry?" The teacher calls out when she finally reaches my name, and as soon as the name leaves her lips I see my old friend straighten in his seat and shocked-disbelief overtake his face.
"No fucking way!" He exclaims with the same disbelief and excitement that's on his face and I grin brightly again before chucking quietly at our teacher's response to his outburst.
"Ahhhh...Mr. Puckerman. I see I have the...pleasure, of having you in my class this year. Goody. Now will you quiet down and let me continue taking roll, or is there something important that you'd like to share with the class?" The teacher dryly asks Noah with a poorly hidden scowl.
"Sorry Ms. Anderson," Noah mumbles out distractedly to the old lady, too busy looking around the room for me to really care about anything more she has to say. I just keep my head down and continue chuckling quietly until the teacher recalls my name.
"I'm here ma'am," I say, finally lifting my head and raising my hand. I see Noah snap his head towards me and stare intently at me from the corner of my eye before he breaks out in a huge grin and silently holds out his fist towards me. I look over towards him with a smirk and finally make eye contact with him as we bump fist.
"Jewbro!" Noah exclaims joyfully once the class is finally over (Which felt like it took eternity if you ask me) while running up and jumping on my back. I grunt under his heavy weight and momentarily lose my balance, but I manage to regain it gracefully with a scowl.
"Get off of me Noah!" I growl out playfully while trying to buck him off but he keeps a tight hold, even managing to wrap his legs around my waist to help give him the upper hand he needs to stay on. After a few more seconds of this struggle he finally gets off, but as soon as he does he pulls me into a headlock and begins to ruffle my hair. "Bro, not cool!" I shout as I try to break out of his hold again, and this time I finally manage to push him away with a laugh.
"Dude, when in the hell did you get back?" Noah asks me as we finally exit the classroom after all of his rough-housing and begin walking to our next class.
"At the very beginning of the summer," I tell him with a grin as I grab the schedule that he's currently studying out of his hand. "I have Spanish with you, but the rest of our other classes are separate," I tell him after a moment of me looking over his schedule intently.
"Why didn't you look me up when you got back bro? We could've had a kickass time over break. And damn. That sucks. You're in all those smart people classes, right?"
"Yes Noah I'm in advanced classes, and as for why I didn't try and find you to chill this summer...it's complicated." I tell him playfully before finishing off hesitantly.
"What's up?" He questions, suddenly completely serious. This is one of the things that I absolutely loved about having him as friend when we were younger; he was always a clown at any given moment until you really needed him there attentive and serious, and he's also always been loyal to a fault. You really can't ask for a better friend than Noah.
"Like I just mentioned it's complicated, and it's way too much to explain in school right now. I'll tell you later I promise," I murmur to him quickly as we reach our Spanish class and walk inside the already crowded room. He just nods his agreement before walking over to the cheerleaders that I saw across from me in the hallway earlier this morning. I trail behind him slowly and my eyes immediately seek out and find the Latina again as I take a seat at the round table beside Noah.
"Jewbro, the Unholy Trinity. Britt, Fabray, Lopez this is Ray," Noah introduces us and I hold my hand out in the center of the table for them to shake. The blonde with the hazel eyes is the first to grab and shake it firmly.
"Quinn Fabray, Head Cheerio," she introduces herself politely.
"Rayden Berry," I say. Then I turn to shake the taller, blue-eyed, blonde's hand next.
"Hi! I'm Brittany S. Pierce," she chirps enthusiastically with a wide smile as she grabs my hand, and her handshake is way less composed than Quinn's was.
"Nice to meet you Brittany," I say back with a wide grin of my own before moving on to the beautiful Latina. She eyes my hand wearily for a moment before reluctantly taking it after being elbowed harshly in the ribs by Brittany.
"Santana Lopez," she tells me uncaringly while lightly taking my hand in hers. As soon as our hands touch my breath catches in my throat and it feels as if an electric current jolts up my arm. I shoot my eyes back to Santana's face and lock our eyes to try and see if she felt it as well, and I can tell by the surprise and curiosity currently swimming in her light brown eyes as she stares at me questioningly that she probably did.
"That's a very beautiful name," I whisper out smoothly as I raise her hand that I still held loosely in my own to kiss the back of it before releasing it. I see Noah roll his eyes and smirk at me from the corner of my eye, but I ignore him in favor of continuing to watch the delicious blush that's steadily rising up Santana's neck and into her cheeks and ears.
"Whatever...Don't ever do that again Berry," she snaps at me after she manages to finally compose herself. I'm thinking of something else smooth to say to her as the others watch our interaction in silent amusement, but before I can get the pleasure the teacher walks in and calls for everyone's attention so he can begin class. I just shoot her a playful wink instead before facing towards the board and trying to pay attention to the class. It's easier said than done though with Santana stealing glances at me over and over throughout the whole period. She barely spares the (kinda horrible) Spanish teacher maybe two or three glances the entire time.
"Can I walk you to your next class?" I ask Santana as soon as the bell releases our class. She looks me up and down for a few moments as she waits on Brittany and Quinn to say goodbye, and if I'm not mistaken she looks to seriously be considering the offer. Then...,
"No," she tells me blankly and then without another glance she links pinkies with Brittany and begins heading down the hall. I roll my eyes and follow her with a chuckle (Not because I'm creepy or anything, it's just my next class is this same way too) with Noah popping up beside me with an amused cackle of his own.
"Ouch bro," he tells me sympathetically as he pats me on the shoulder a couple of times.
"It's whatever," I say back with a shrug, dislodging his hand as I duck into my next class. I then feel a grin spread across my face when I see Santana sitting in the back of the room and I make an immediate beeline for her. I take the seat next to her and silently begin to take out the things I think I'm going to need for the class period without looking in her direction.
"What do you want Berry?" She asks me with an exaggerated eye-roll as soon as she realizes I'm not going to be the first person to speak.
"Nothing...just waiting for class to start," I reply innocently with a shrug. And it's partially true. I really am just waiting on class to start. If Santana decides she wants to make my day by striking up a conversation with me then that's totally on her. I'm rewarded for my patience a few seconds later after she studies me silently but intensely before,
"How do you know Puck?" She questions with a raised brow. Mmm...sexy.
"I've known Noah since we were little. We used to hang out all the time until I moved to New York when I was eleven," I explain.
"New York? That's pretty awesome. What made you move back to this dump?" She questions me as if I've lost my mind, and I smirk at her tone.
"It's complicated," I answer simply, not wanting to get into it. I still haven't told Noah yet, and he's one of my best friends. She opens her mouth to say more, most likely to ask what's so complicated, but thankfully the bell rings and the teacher begins class. I sigh in relief 'cause for some reason I didn't want to have to lie to her.
"What's your next class?" She questions me with only a slight interest as the bell to release class rings, and I hand my schedule over to her while watching her look over it slowly. "We have the last two classes together," she tells me with a small smile, and I grin at her before we walk out of the class and separate in the hallway with a small wave.
"Please don't!" I hear someone plead fearfully from not too far in front of me as I almost reach my last class before lunch. I stop in my tracks at the sound and hurriedly scan the hallway to see two jocks surrounding a boy in a wheelchair and a flamboyantly gay dude, each neanderthal holding a slushie in both of their hands. I start down the hall again faster than before, lengthening my strides so I can step in front of the jocks and shield the guys from any future harm.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I question casually as I eye the drinks in their hands like a hawk. If they tried anything my timing would have to be pretty much perfect.
"Who the hell are you?" One of the neanderthals asks me in confused aggravation.
"I'm Rayden Berry, pleasure to meet you. And you two are?" I answer with a grin while also being a smart ass and holding out my right hand for them to shake.
"Azimio, and Karofsky," the guy who spoke up originally answers while gesturing to himself and then the other guy with a nod of his head. They both then stare down at my outstretched hand with almost identical looks of confusion before the confusion turns into annoyed glares.
"Cool...Well, me and my friends have gotta go now, class and all that jazz, but it's been real fun talking to you guys. We've gotta make sure to do it again soon," I say casually while flitting eyes back and forth between the jock's faces to gauge their reactions and the cups held in their hands as I gently and discreetly nudge the gay kid behind me to get moving.
"We don't really care what you do Berry, but we have unfinished business with these two," the guy who was introduced as Karofsky tells me with an annoyed sneer replacing his glare.
"No, I really don't think you do though," I snap out at them with an eyebrow raise. I'm annoyed now too.
"Says who?" Azimio challenges as he tries to stand taller.
"Me," I answer matter-of-factly with an easy shrug. The guys then share a long look with each other before shrugging to themselves and turning back to me with what I'm guessing is supposed to be menacing smirks. They then begin to pull their arms back to slushie me, but before they can fully get their momentum going forward I quickly crouch down, lunge forward, and rapidly hit the bottom of the cups one after another upward as hard as I can in quick succession. This in turn causes the slushies to fly all over them instead of me, and they both release enraged howls almost simultaneously as soon as the icy beverage hits their skin.
"What the fuck?!" Karofsky screams out, his eyes blazing with murder as he wipes the frozen beverage off of his face and out of his eyes as best as he can.
"You two honestly didn't really think I was just going to stand here and do nothing as you threw that shiz on me did you?" I ask incredulously. They just stare at me silently for a long moment in shock at my tone and actions before that shock slips away into angry glares aimed at me. They then turn around on their heels with loud huffs and squeaks from their shoes on the wet and sticky floor as they begin to head towards the nearest boys bathroom. I turn away from them as soon as they disappear into the restroom with with an amused chuckle and begin to walk away without another thought before someone shouting my name stops me.
"Thank you so much," the gay kid tells me gratefully as him and the wheelchair dude catch up to me.
"It's not a problem," I tell them with a grin and a mock bow. Always happy to please.
"Still, thank you. I'm Artie and this is Kurt," the wheelchair kid tells me with an outstretched hand and I shake both of their hands with a friendly smile.
"While it's nice to meet you both I've gotta get to class. We're already late, so I'll see you two around," I tell them with my grin still in place before heading off on my way again to my class.
"Hey Jewbro, you're sitting with me at lunch," Noah demands as soon as he's within my earshot as he walks up to my locker after the last class before lunch.
"Sorry Noah, but I've gotta get home," I tell him with a small but apologetic smile.
"What?! Why?" he asks with a pout and I can't help but roll my eyes at him. Badass my ass.
"Stop pouting. I thought you were a badass?" I mock him with a teasing grin.
"Fuck off. I am a badass," he tells me with a smaller pout while flipping me off, and I sigh while studying him for a moment while debating with myself.
"Look...Come home with me and I'll explain what I couldn't earlier," I tell him seriously as I close my locker and his face lights up in excitement. I can't help but laugh at his childishness before grabbing my bag from where it lay on the floor and heading out into the parking lot. He follows right beside me to where my jeep's waiting, and once we're situated inside I start it up and quickly pull out of the lot to head home.
It takes no time for us to arrive at my place, and as I pull into my driveway I take a few deep breaths before I get out and lead Noah up onto my porch. "What your fixing to see and learn doesn't leave this house," I tell him seriously.
"Don't worry bro. My lips are sealed," he tells me, playfully zipping his lips and throwing away the imaginary key. I just stare at him blankly before I give him a nod and then open my front door. I then motion Noah in first before I hurriedly follow him inside.
"Daddy, I'm home!" I call out into the house as I take off my shoes, motioning Noah to do the same. He does so just as my Daddy answers back.
"We're here in the kitchen," he calls to me happily, and I grin at the thought of seeing my son again. It's been way to many hours now, so I quickly walk into the kitchen with Noah right on my heels and as soon as my Daddy sees his familiar face he grins at him brightly. "Noah! It's been awhile."
"Heya Lee, it really has," Noah says with a fond grin and a brief glance, but his eyes have now found my kid and are now trained on the car-seat that's sitting on the table with the baby in it like a hawk. "You didn't tell me you have a brother now?" Noah says to me with a confused grin as he looks between me and my daddy.
"It's 'cause I don't," I answer him with a nervous smile. "This is what's so complicated and what I'm going to explain...Noah, meet Chord...my son..."
Thank you to anyone who's still reading this story after so many years of me originally startin' it. It means more to me than y'all know...I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new chapter if you have the time to drop them in the review section.
