Chapter 3
Disclaimer: blah blah. Do people even read this part? Well, just in case Ryan Murphy decides to hunt down poor creative souls, I'll state that I don't own Glee. Sadly.
AN: There's a really fat squirrel outside my window right now. Just in case you wanted to know. Anyways, enjoy.
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Puck cursed and bolted up the stairs past Quinn to his little sister's room. Calming himself at the door, Puck took a deep breath and opened her door. What he saw broke his supposedly non-existent heart. He was, once more, greeted by his little sister curled in a ball, sobbing in the middle of her bed.
He clenched his fists in anger towards his father. Puck hated that man with a burning passion. For what he did to his mom. His sister. Him.
Briefly pushing aside his fury, Puck sat down at the edge of his sister's bed, gently rubbing circles on her back in comfort.
She whimpered and cried, asking why their father had to leave them, what she did wrong. Puck fought back his urge to cry with her – he needed to stay strong for their family, needed to be the man of the household. So instead of fixing himself, he worked to fix his family. He would give his strength to his mom and sister. He would remain broken if they were fixed.
As his sister's tears subsided, she fell into a pitiful sleep once more. Puck carefully rearranged the blankets around her and stood up to leave.
He ran his hand through his Mohawk, sighing. Too often he had to spend his nights taking care of his sister, and lately, with work, the lack of sleep was wearing him down, even if he refused to admit it.
After closing his sister's door, he looked up from the ground and met Quinn's eyes, staring at him in worry from the top stair.
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When Quinn heard the shout, she froze. As Puck rushed by her, she swiveled around and followed him up the stairs. What she saw broke her supposedly ice-cold heart. There, in his little sister's room he sat, trying to comfort the shattered little girl.
She paused at the top stair, unwilling to break the brother-sister moment. She stood in silence, sadly observing the scene in front of her. She felt guilty for watching, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from them.
It was at that moment when she realized that she hadn't given Puck enough credit. No one had. He was forced to grow up faster than practically everyone around him. He was forced to take care of both his mom and sister. He was forced to step up as the man of a household. Quinn felt a tear slip down her cheek in sorrow at the thought and quickly wiped it away.
As Puck emerged from the room, Quinn took in his haggard appearance. He looked exhausted. There were bags under his eyes. His face was longer, cheeks sunken in. She took a sharp breath. How had she not noticed this before? Her conscience mocked her, reminding her that since he was still hot, that was all she noticed. Ignoring the little voice in her head, she took one step closer to Puck and opened her mouth to speak.
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Noticing that she was about to talk, Puck simply shrugged his shoulders. He was tired and didn't want to talk. He knew that it was immature and selfish, but he wanted time to himself. After nights like these, he always did.
He headed back down the stairs, shoulder lightly bumping Quinn's again. He got halfway down before he heard Quinn whisper his name. He stopped. Exhaling and inhaling, he slowly turned around to face the only female who wasn't related to him that he actually cared for.
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When he turned around, Quinn took in his spiritless form. He had let down his walls and given up on his tough boy act. In front of her, all she could see was a teenager burdened with problems he didn't create. Looking so hopeless, it took everything she had to keep from embracing him.
Instead, Quinn gave him a small smile, telling him that he needed sleep. In response, she received a slight nod as Puck started to go to the couch.
Shaking her own head, Quinn knew he wasn't going to fit there, and she wanted him next to her. With that, she called to him once more, inviting him to sleep in his own bed.
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Puck stared long and hard at Quinn as she bit her lip, shyly telling him that his bed would be the best place for him to sleep. He finally blinked, stating that she needed the bed more than him. Ready to collapse on the couch, he was halted once again when Quinn said that his bed was big enough for two.
Locking eyes, Puck changed his destination and followed Quinn back up the stairs. Under normal circumstances, perhaps he would have made some comment after checking out her ass, but he didn't have the energy left in him.
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Quinn bit her lip as she silently went back to Puck's room, mulling over her thoughts. She had no clue what she had just done. Yes, she had wanted Puck's warm body next to her, even craved it, but she hadn't planned on basically telling him that she wanted something physical from him. Still, as Puck was subdued the whole way to the room, she was more worried about him than her executed own actions.
As they entered the room, the silence became uncomfortable and suffocating. Quinn's eyes wandered around the room, able to see everything in the light. It was surprisingly void of any posters and decoration. There was a simple desk, his bed, drawers, and a stack of football gear. With nothing left to survey, Quinn let her eyes wander back to Puck, and she wasn't sure how to react with what she saw.
There, in the middle of the room, Puck was stripping off his clothes. As he lifted his shirt above his head, Quinn took the opportunity to let her eyes feast on his body.
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The awkwardness of the situation was lost on Puck. The one thing in the forefront of his mind was sleep, so he started undressing himself. As he finished taking off his shirt and throwing it in a corner, he looked at Quinn, seeing her checking him out. When her eyes finally moved to meet his, he smirked.
Purposefully maintaining eye contact, Puck slowly undid the button and zipper of his jeans. He watched as she visibly gulped, her eyes traveling away from his face to the movement of his hands. As he eased himself out of his jeans, he cleared his throat, content to see Quinn blushing as she looked up.
He raised an eyebrow, staring pointedly at his jacket on her body. She sheepishly smiiled, hugging it closer to her body. Shaking his head, he walked over to his closet.
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Quinn was flustered. She couldn't believe she had blatantly checked Puck out. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment. So much for Ice Queen Fabray.
When she realized that Puck wasn't staring at her chest but his jacket, Quinn gave a small smile, not wanting to let go of the letterman jacket. She was surprised when he didn't argue, simply shook his head and strolled to his closet. Once again, she caught herself following his every move with her eyes.
She had a perfect view of his back muscles at work as he picked out a blue button-up, plaid flannel shirt. As he sauntered over to his dresser and bent down, this time her eyes had a very nice sight of his ass. When Puck started to straighten, Quinn quickly averted her eyes to elsewhere. Still, with sweat pants in his hands, Puck glanced at Quinn with a knowing look in his eyes.
Blushing once more, Quinn concentrated on the clothes he offered her. He said they were clean, and they did smell like refreshing detergent. Smiling at the clothes, she followed Puck's finger which pointed her to the bathroom.
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Puck smiled as he watched Quinn's retreating form. She had seemed so happy to be holding clothes. Clothes. It dawned on him that she would probably need new clothes soon, and he wondered if Finn was earning enough to buy that too.
Puck angrily kicked the foot of his bed. It didn't matter what Finn did or made. He, Noah Puckerman, was going to continue on lifting those damn tiles for money. If Finn couldn't make enough, then that was Finn's own fault. His baby mama was still going to get it all even if it killed him.
Puck went over to his dresser and pulled out is stash of money and counted. He had no clue how much clothes were for women. All he knew was that Quinn obviously was lacking a coat, and he doubted that she would accept his letterman jacket. Running his hand through his hair, Puck stood and looked out the window of his room. Maybe she would accept some of his hoodies. They were pretty thick and warm. He sighed and turned away from his dresser and window only to be met with the sight of Quinn in the doorway, eyes open wide and mouth parted.
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Quinn returned from the bathroom extremely content. Mrs. Hudson was great, but her clothes were uncomfortable and too loose. Puck's, on the other hand, were still loose, but really comfortable. As she came back from her thoughts, Quinn could barely breathe. Puck was in front of his drawer counting a lot of money. When she finally shook herself out of her stupor, Puck's eyes were on her.
She feebly raised her arm, pointing to where the money was stored, trying to form words. Puck shrugged, telling her it was only seven thousand and that his next seven hundred bucks were coming tomorrow. She stared at Puck incredulously. Seven thousand dollars?! Finn hadn't even made a hundred. She shook her head and started crying. She didn't deserve either of them.
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As Quinn began crying, Puck gave a soft sigh. Dealing with two crying girls in one day was almost too much. Still, he went over and wrapped his arms around her small frame. She looked gorgeous in his oversized shirt and sweat pants. As she leaned into his bare chest, sobbing, Puck just held her tight.
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When she regained control of her emotions, Quinn reluctantly withdrew herself from Puck's grip. She wiped the tears from Puck's chest, stumbling over her I'm Sorry's.
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Puck shivered as Quinn's hands brushed his chest. He was pretty sure that he'd rather have a soaked chest than what she was making him feel right now. The images of that fateful night flashed through his mind at record pace.
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As if realizing what exactly she was doing, Quinn dropped her head and stared at her shoes. She hadn't actually comprehended her movements, but now that she did…
She was brought out of her thoughts as Puck quietly offered her the money for clothes. She was grateful for his charity since she needed clothes, but she recognized the fact that the doctor's bills had to be paid first. As if sensing her dilemma, Puck swiftly added that the money was all hers to spend however she wanted.
She felt even guiltier for how she treated him as he offered up some of his own sweatshirts for her use. Falling back into his embrace, she hugged him tightly, crying and repeating her thanks and regret.
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With Quinn breaking down in front of him for the second time in ten minutes, Puck was drained even further. Leading Quinn to his bed, he stroked the back of her head, and gently untangled himself from her. Puck guided the bawling girl under the covers, following her lead as he turned off the lights.
In the dark, he could still hear Quinn sniffling and was greatly surprised when he felt her press against him. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her in place.
Puck knew that the day was greatly different than the night. In the morning, she would probably run back to Finn's arms, pretending tonight hadn't happened. Maybe she would take some of his clothes, maybe she wouldn't. Still, as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn't help but hope that tomorrow would bring a new day, a new beginning.
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What Puck didn't realize was that the clock had already turned past midnight a while back. The new day had already arrived.
Outside, the red of a traffic light changed to a neon green.
El fin.
AN: Hope you liked it. Review please!