Hey, everyone! Okay, so I said on LJ that I was going to be taking a hiatus to focus on school, but I apparently suck at hiatuses. This time I mean it! I swear! As always, read and review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did...let's just say Sam would have disappeared long ago...
Here In The Dark (Our Two Hearts Are One)
One-shot
The summer before their senior year couldn't have gone anymore wrong.
It was just supposed to be a simple pool party at Santana's to celebrate the start of summer and another year of Glee. They'd placed at Regionals that year and they'd be at Nationals in less than two weeks.
Well...they would have been if they ever made it.
"They're children," Quinn said with a shake of her head as she watched Finn, Puck, and Mike chase each other around Santana's back yard with water guns. Artie, Kurt, and Blaine had opted out of the war, Kurt for sunbathing (Blaine sat behind him, applying lotion to his back as they chatted) and Artie because he would have ended up being much too easy a target. Lauren wasn't there. She'd quit Glee after Kurt returned to New Directions and brought Blaine with him. She'd left them with nothing more than a "later, losers". Sam's dad was transferred to Miami days after. They were gone from Lima by the end of finals.
"Is that safe?" Rachel asked nervously as Finn and Puck jumped onto the railing of the deck and the mohawked boy lifted himself onto the low roof.
Santana shrugged without looking up from where she lay beside the pool.
"Is Puck gonna fly?" Brittany asked Mercedes, curious.
"No. Break his neck? Maybe."
"Mike!" Tina screeched, slapping the stream of water that her boyfriend sent flying at her. He offered nothing more than a grin and a shrug before shooting a well-aimed shot at the center of Finn's chest.
Finn flailed on the railing, hitting the side of the house as he fell forward back onto the deck.
Puck never had enough time to catch his balance before he toppled backward.
It happened in slow motion after that. Brittany made a soft cry that made Santana look up and everyone watched Puck hit the ground, head bouncing off the path with a sickening sound of skull against concrete.
He didn't move.
"PUCK!"
It took Puck two days to wake up. Two days of tears, bad coffee, uncomfortable chairs, upset parents that called them irresponsible.
Two days of Quinn clutching her cross necklace until her hand bled and just praying.
Then he woke up and their hearts broke all over again.
"I can't see..."
Quinn still wasn't sure what broke her heart more. The way Puck's voice sounded, scared and small. Or that he couldn't see the horrified looks that overcame every single one of their faces.
She'd hoped and prayed some more that it was just because of the concussion, that his sight would come back and he'd regain that mischievous twinkle in his eyes and replace that blank, dead one that he had then.
But then his concussion healed and his eyes didn't.
The doctors said he could still see shadows if the light was bright enough, but the broken look on his face when the adults started talking about special classes, brail, and walking sticks...everything seemed just that much darker.
They forfeited Nationals, one member short and unwilling to go without him anyway. No one worried about it, knowing they were safe because of their win at Regionals.
Summer melted away as fast as one of Finn's Fudgy Buddies and it was August before anyone knew it. Puck had spent most of it hidden in his room, iTunes playing in a continuous loop. He'd barely spoken to any of them until Finn pulled him out, kicking and screaming. Even then, it was more shouting than speaking. He'd given up.
"What the fuck am I supposed to do?" he snapped, eyes staring at nothing when they should have been glaring at each and every Glee member that crowded his living room. "I can't see! I can't read music. I can't walk to the fucking bathroom without giving myself three new bruises. How do you expect me to do Glee Club when I can't see the end of the stage?"
"With help," Quinn said softly, nervously, as she covered Puck's clenched fist with her hand. "You've been on that stage with us for two years. You know it. Just like you know your guitar. It's instinct, Puck. I've seen you play with your eyes closed. You know where each string is."
"We can help you with the songs," Rachel added. "You'll just need some extra coaching. You can already read music. All you need to do is learn the notes and follow the music."
"Just follow the vibrations. It just takes practice," Blaine said.
"Mike and I can help you with the dancing," Brittany offered.
Mike nodded for a second before cringing softly at his mistake. "Yeah. The stage is just an area-"
Puck snorted. "With a three foot drop if I take one step too far."
"We wouldn't let you," Mercedes said with a smile.
"So long as you don't get too annoying," Kurt quipped.
"Hummel..." Puck growled.
"What are you gonna do?" Santana asked. "Hit him?"
"Santana!" Tina chided.
"No. What's he gonna do about it? He's been pushing this badass bullshit since freshman year and now he's hiding in his bedroom like some emo bitch."
"Santana," Finn hissed. "Seriously. Stop."
"Finn, she's right," Artie said. "He's doing what I did when I got in my accident. Puck, it sucks. I know. Who knows better than me about having something ripped away from you? But you can't hide forever. Sometimes, you need to accept help no matter how scared you are."
"I'm not scared!"
"No. You're terrified. You're blind, Puck." None of them missed the pained flinch Puck gave. "And that's not going to change. Sooner or later, you have to leave this house."
Puck bit his lip, eyes shutting on habit. "You'll help?"
Quinn smiled and gave Puck's hand a squeeze. "Every step."
The last month of vacation was spent in the auditorium, helping Puck relearn the layout of the stage and counting steps to old routines. Blaine fell into the spot that was once Sam's and Matt's before him. He caught Puck on the first day, grabbing him by the arm when the blind teen tripped over his own feet. Puck barely grumbled a thanks before he was pulled back to his starting point.
He was able to do "Valerie" almost perfectly by the first day of school, hindered only by the occasional misstep on the risers or ending in the wrong direction. A small, guiding hand on his arm helped to act as a guide. No one mentioned that the hand was almost always Quinn's.
"I'll never get to see her," Puck whispered as he and Quinn sat alone on the edge of the stage long after rehearsal had ended. "Even if she ever wants to meet me, I'll never get to see her."
Quinn's own eyes filled with tears at the hopeless tone in Puck's voice. Beth would always be a touchy subject with them and she'd considered it once when Puck was still in the hospital.
"If she does," Quinn whispered back, "I'll describe her for you."
School wasn't easy. The first week, everyone seemed to be in awe of Puck. Azimio didn't even get his full insult out before Finn almost broke his nose. The teachers turned a blind eye (and, God, didn't that pun make them all sick now) as they always did.
Lectures were recorded and notes were provided to be converted to the brail Puck was finally learning. No one mentioned it, but they were all fairly certain someone had intentionally put at least one Glee member in every one of Puck's classes and one in his following class so he'd have a guide.
"Try to give me that stick again, Hudson, and I'll shove it up your ass."
Sectionals almost came out of nowhere.
Hearts were pounding as Quinn led Puck to center stage and they waited for the curtains to open. She held his hand in a tight squeeze that he returned.
"Make sure I don't fall off?"
"Promise."
Then the curtains opened, their hands dropped, and the music began. Quinn watched Puck, transfixed as sightless eyes stared out at a packed audience. He turned to her, nervous like he hadn't been since his first Glee solo, and sang.
Look at the sky, tell me what do you see
Just close your eyes and describe it to me
The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight
That's what I see through your eyes
He'd bitched when she suggested something from a children's movie for their duet assignment, but the song, for them, had been perfect. Mr. Schue hadn't even heard the other performances before declaring theirs the song for Sectionals.
She circled around him like they'd rehearsed and he turned to meet her when she stopped on his left to take her verse.
I see the heavens each time that you smile
I hear your heartbeat just go on for miles
And suddenly I know why life is worthwhile
That's what I see through your eyes
Her hand drifted up from its place over his chest to stop behind his neck as her other intertwined fingers with his and their voices melded together.
That's what I see through your eyes
Here in the night, I see the sun
Here in the dark, our two hearts are one
It's out of our hands, we can't stop what we have begun
And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes
They separated, walking to separate ends of the stage, still singing together.
I see a night I wish could last forever
I see a world we're meant to see together
And it is so much more than I remember
Puck's eyes closed, voice strong.
More than I remember
Quinn's misted, wishing he could see the tears on his mother's face or Sarah's lips mouthing the words.
More than I have known
Her arm reached out towards him as his reached to her, fingers searching.
Here in the night, I see the sun
Here in the dark, our two hearts are one
It's out of our hands, we can't stop what we have begun
And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes
The music took over as they returned to center stage, and pressed together. Her hands went to either side of his head, thumbs at the corners of his eyes. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her close as their foreheads pressed together.
Looking through your eyes...
Their lips met as the final notes tapered off.
The End
For anyone that's interested in listening to the song Puck and Quinn sang, you can listen to it here:
www. youtube. com/ watch?v=WUhMHhM8W_k
PLEASE REVIEW!