Constants
"No one wants any pizza?" Mr. Schue asked his students. The room remained silent so he awkwardly continued on, "Okay, let's get started. Welcome to the First Annual New Directions Regional Set List Nominations Party."
"What's the point, Mr. Schue?" Artie said hopelessly. "Ms. Sylvester's one of the judges; she's going to crush us."
"Artie…you don't know that."
"Yes, we do," Santana said. "She told us at Cheerios practice."
"Yeah, she said, 'I'm going to crush Glee club'," Brittany agreed. Kurt nodded from where he sat next to Puck, remembering the high of just winning Nationals for Cheerios being ruined by that announcement.
"A whole freaking year," Puck sighed, "All that hard work for nothing."
In the middle of the silent room, Tina let out a sob. The group turned to her and she explained, "I'm sorry…I just really love you guys. Do you know how many Facebook friends I had before I joined Glee club? Two: my parents." She laughed softly, "Rachel was right: being a part of something special made me special. I just can't believe it's going to be over in a week."
"Wait, who said it's going to be over?" Finn asked from the other side of the room as Kurt and Puck.
"Please," Mercedes scoffed, "Do you really think Santana or Brittany will acknowledge my existence when we're not in Glee club together anymore?"
"…She's right," Santana agreed.
"Mr. Schuester?" Rachel asked, "Do you think instead of nominating songs we can just go around the room and talk about the things we loved about Glee club this year?"
Despite Mr. Schue and Finn disagreeing, the Glee club decided to talk about what they liked most, taking turns around the circle to talk about it. They commented on each one, from little aws to full out stories spawning from it. When it got to Kurt, he let out a small laugh, "I've had a lot of adventures this year, it's hard to choose one." The rest of the group laughed with him since that was definitely true.
He mulled it over for a moment and quietly said, "Ever since I was three, Noah's been the only person in my life besides my dad. I never had other friends to talk to about anything because I was bullied and teased my whole life. I just had Noah." Kurt stared at his hands and took a deep breath, "I never expected to have any friends besides him. And then Glee club started and it was the first time I did something without him at school. And I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm just glad to say I have more friends now. It's not easy for me to trust people, but I trust you all." He looked up, "I really do."
"Awwwww," Tina and Rachel cooed as Mercedes rested her head on Kurt's shoulder and hugged him. "Love you, boo," Mercedes said.
"Love you, too," Kurt repeated.
Then the room turned to Puck. "Um…" Puck rubbed the back of his neck. What did he like about Glee club? Hanging out with Kurt was nice and so was…wow…he really couldn't think of anything. How did Kurt have all this fun and made all these friends but he didn't? Glee club just introduced him to pain by making him see Quinn with Finn and then Quinn pregnant and single and refusing him. Glee club was supposed to open him up to joy, but it only opened him up to getting punched repeatedly in the head by Hudson. He liked singing, yeah, but everyone else had all these deep moments or rewarding experiences except him. Even Santana, who almost never showed emotions, had admitted to it before.
"I just really liked having the chance to sing. 'Sweet Caroline' has been one of my favorites for years, and it was nice to have people besides my family and Kurt hear it," Puck finally said as the rest of the group aw-ed, Kurt smiling and squeezing his knee softly.
—
"I've missed you at home," Puck told Quinn. He sat at her side as they waited for the doctor for the final ultrasound that would tell them if their daughter was facing the right way and all those other things Puck didn't really understand. "Sara misses you, too. She keeps asking if she can trade me for you."
Quinn smiled softly at that but simply said, "I just need some time with Mercedes to clear my head." It wasn't a complete lie; she knew that the more time she spent with Puck the more she felt compelled to make a stupid mistake and try to raise a daughter as a teenager. The more she was with him, the more she felt the feelings she really had for him grow into something that wouldn't last between the two of them, something that wasn't truly real from his end as long as Kurt was around.
Puck grabbed her hand, "Well, if you ever want to—"
"Okay," a voice said as he opened the door, "Time to see this baby." Puck nodded, letting his thought drop from discussion. The doctor gave him a weird look, probably wondering why there was a different guy here than from the first appointment, but he went about his work.
After he squirted that weird liquid on Quinn's exposed belly and she had the typical reaction of "oh, that's cold", he started the ultrasound. Puck watched in awe as his daughter, something he could really call his, was up on the screen.
"Woah," he said, holding Quinn's hand still as the Doctor pointed out things on the screen like her heart ("which is beating at a normal rate") and her head. Puck had never felt such pure joy in his heart as when he watched Beth breathe and simply be on the screen.
"And she's definitely facing the right way," the doctor finished, pulling the tool off of Quinn's stomach. Puck wanted to protest that he wanted to see more of Beth but the doctor just kept talking, "She could still shift at this point in the pregnancy, but it's rather rare. But all of her vitals are fine, so even if she's born now she'll be completely fine. Any questions?" Both teens shook their heads. "Good. And you're going for the natural birth, right?"
"Yes," Quinn said, pulling down the hospital gown over her now slick skin, starting to get self-conscious about her stomach just being on display.
"And you're in Lamaze classes then?"
Quinn nodded, "Yeah, Puck's been helping me with them."
The doctor looked at Puck with the same confusion and disdain from earlier but nodded. "Good. Well, see you when you're in labor then."
Puck waited for the door to close completely after the doctor left before saying, "I don't like him."
Quinn rolled her eyes as she started sitting up, "Whatever you think, he's still the best in Lima, so get over it." She slowly stood on the tile, the hospital gown draping over her as she winced on her swollen ankles. "Now get out of here so I can change."
Puck took his turn to roll his eyes, "C'mon, Quinn, I've seen you naked; there's not need to hide from me." One sharp glare from Quinn later and he quickly said, "I'll be in the waiting room."
He went to the waiting room and found Kurt off in the corner rereading The Count of Monte Cristo for his upcoming English final. When he sensed Noah in front of him he looked up and put his book down. "So?"
"Everything's completely healthy, she's great."
Kurt grinned, "That's great!" Puck sat down next to him and he rubbed his knee, "I'm glad I could be here for you."
Puck nodded and just sat there for a few moments. Finally he said, "I just wish Quinn hadn't left the house, you know?" He turned to Kurt to keep talking but stopped himself when he saw Kurt was back to reading his book.
Kurt took a moment but he eventually turned to Noah, "Wait, did you say something? Sorry."
"No, it's nothing," Puck said, turning to the wall in front of him and sinking down in his seat, annoyance burning in the pits of his stomach.
—
Kurt threw himself at Puck as soon as they got off stage from performing. "You were fantastic, Noah, I'm so proud," he exclaimed, hugging him tightly.
Puck laughed, on a bit of a performance high himself, thanking Kurt. They both whooped with the rest of the team as they ran back to the dressing room, actually feeling like they could win this thing. They were two of the first people back in the dressing room, dancing around and cheering like nobody's business. After Artie wheeled in, Puck looked around and realized Quinn wasn't there.
"Guys, have you seen Quinn?" he asked.
"She's out there," Santana said, jerking her head back from where they walked in from, "Her mom showed up; she's talking to her."
Puck didn't know what to think. On one hand, he was beyond grateful that Judy seemed willing to talk to Quinn now because then maybe Quinn would finally have her home back. On the other hand, there was a small part of him who just wanted her to move back in with him, maybe even raise Beth together.
But all his thoughts were interrupted as Quinn yelled, "PUCK!" Puck looked at Kurt and then quickly ran for Quinn, the rest of the Glee club following him.
He found her holding onto her stomach, looking slightly horrified and surprised, "My water broke."
It took several seconds for Puck to realize what that meant, but eventually the words all connected in his mind and he knew what was about to happen.
He was about to see his daughter be born.
"Okay, we've got to get to the hospital and now—"
"What about the competition?" Kurt asked without thinking.
Puck turned to him, glaring, "If you don't want to be there, you can stay behind, I don't care."
"Be nice, Mohawk," Mercedes warned, stepping out from the group to stand behind Quinn. "C'mon, guys, let's go."
"You comin'?" Puck asked Kurt, staring him down.
"Of course," Kurt said, following them out the door, still sensing a stiffness from Noah towards him, something he never felt before.
—
Giving birth was something everyone said was a beautiful thing. Well, Puck was pretty sure whoever said that had something against vaginas.
First off, they had to wait until Quinn was dilated, like, eight centimeters. Eight! Man he hoped vaginas were like elastic or else Quinn's would never go back to normal size.
After she was fully dilated to that freaky size (eight!), the actual labor started. Puck wasn't sure how expelling something that big from one's body would feel, but if Quinn's cursing and pleas to be let go and tears were any indication, it was not a very pleasant feeling. It was actually hurting his pride with all the insults, too, and Mercedes' hand looked about ready to be snapped off as Quinn squeezed it and Judy seemed hurt that Quinn hadn't held her hand, so no one was safe from the pains of giving birth.
But just in hopes that vaginas were still pretty, Puck stuck his head over to look.
That was a bad choice. Good thing he still had boobs to look forward to when it came to girls.
But even with all the vagina stretching and Quinn's yelling and hand gripping, Puck was most upset that he was just so completely frozen. He had gone to the Lamaze classes and yet he seemed to have forgotten everything about it. He found himself sending a silent prayer of gratitude to God for having Judy Fabray there to help instruct Quinn in what to do and for doing simple things Puck should've remembered to do, like getting ice cubes to rub on her forehead and just being soothing.
Damn it, he wasn't going to do anything right.
Eventually he got himself to go back over to Quinn, helping to encourage her to push Beth out, encouraging her to keep going. He held onto her other hand until she let go of both of them to hold onto the safety rails on her bed as she pushed and pushed. He did all he could, but it just seemed like their child would never be born.
But then it finally happened. Quinn gave a final push and their daughter was there. Bloody and covered with some goo, but still there. And Puck got to cut the chord, because he was the father, he was the father of this perfect, beautiful creature.
He had done something right.
—
"She looks like you," Puck said softly, unable to take his eyes off of his baby girl, his daughter. He couldn't believe it was real. Finally he had to ask, "Do you want to keep her?"
"No." Puck resisted the urge to sigh. He had known all along that he wouldn't be able to convince her, but actually getting told the answer was a completely different story. "Do you?" Quinn asked. Puck didn't say anything, but his look said everything that needed to be said. She sighed, "Did you love me?"
"Yes. Especially now," he smiled and looked over at Quinn. They stared at each other for a moment before laughing softly, the utter lack of romance of the moment really sinking in.
"Which one is yours?" Quinn and Puck turned to find Shelby standing there, looking at the nursery.
"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked.
"Ah, I see her now," Shelby said, avoiding the question. "She looks like you." Quinn frowned; she really didn't want this beautiful baby to have a connection to someone as screwed up as her when they would never be connected again. "Does she have a name?"
"No."
"Beth," Puck replied a split second later.
"Pretty. I like that name," Shelby said softly, looking at her again.
The three of them all stood there for a while, just watching Beth. Finally Shelby asked, "Are you guys keeping her?"
"No," Quinn said again. Puck wanted to correct her and tell Shelby that she wanted to keep Beth more than anything, but he couldn't. He knew Beth needed a better home than what he could provide, even if it tore him apart just thinking about it.
"So you're putting her in adoption?"
"Not much else we can do," Quinn said quietly, turning away from the window. She couldn't watch her beautiful girl anymore.
Shelby took a deep breath and turned to them. She looked at Quinn, "Let me adopt her."
The two stood in stunned silence for a while as if they didn't understand her words. "What?" Quinn finally said, "You want to raise her? But…but I thought you told Rachel…" Quinn trailed off, not sure what she was trying to say.
"Look," Shelby started, stepping towards them, "I can't undo what happened with Rachel. I never had a chance to raise her, and because of some medical problems, I'll never have a chance to raise another child again unless I adopt."
"But what about Vocal Adrenaline? You're in rehearsals all day," Quinn pointed out.
Shelby sighed, "I'm stepping down. I want a normal life, or maybe a performing life in Broadway again. I don't want to raise soulless automatons anymore; I sent in my resignation earlier today."
Quinn blinked, the news shocking her. "Okay…"
"And do you realize how hard it is to get adopted? It could take months before she gets adopted, if she even gets adopted at all. She'll be put in foster care, she could move around and around," Shelby sighed again, "I know you don't know me, and I know you probably dislike what you do know about me because of your friend, but I promise I'll give Beth a great life. And even if I move away, I'll make sure to let you see her when you want. We'll have an open adoption, which is something anyone who adopts her could deny you." She looked at Beth again, smiling softly at the beautiful baby right in front of her, "Just think about it, okay?"
With that, Shelby started down the hallway. Quinn watched her for a moment and then looked at Beth. After a large pang in her heart, she called out, "Shelby, wait!" Shelby turned around and Quinn continued, "I want you to adopt her."
"What about you, Puck?" Shelby asked, her brown eyes hopeful.
Puck hadn't spoken during the whole exchange. What was he supposed to say? It was Quinn's choice either way. He wasn't raising Beth without her and he wasn't going to oppose who Quinn wanted to raise Beth either. And he had only managed to do one thing right by helping create her, he wasn't sure he could pull himself together enough to raise her well, too. He wasn't that great of a person.
"…Yeah…yeah, sure. You should raise her," Puck finally said, a large lump forming in his throat.
Shelby's face slowly formed into a smile, her whole face looking optimistic enough to cure cancer. She walked back over to the two of them and whispered, "Thank you." Her eyes started watering as she looked back at Beth, a small laugh leaving her throat. She just watched Beth for a while, smiling and crying. Finally she said, "Let's start the paperwork, then."
And start it they did. Puck felt awful, each little stroke he made with the pen feeling like he was signing away his heart. How could he get rid of the one good thing he had done with his life? He kept telling himself how he wasn't ready to raise a kid, how he wasn't raising Beth without Quinn, how he wasn't abandoning her because she'd have a mom who'd love her, but it didn't stop the burning sensation in the back of his eyes.
As Quinn and Shelby worked on more paperwork, Puck sat in the hallway, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. After half an hour or so he recognized that Kurt had sat next to him at some point, when he wasn't so sure, but there he was. Knowing Kurt wanted to know what was going on, he said, "Quinn and I are signing the paper for Shelby to adopt her."
"I'm so sorry," Kurt whispered, barely audible. Kurt leaned into him, his left hand reaching across Puck to hold his right. He gently stroked the calloused skin, simply breathing and sitting with him. After a while he added, "Sadly I can't even tell you that we won Regionals to cheer you up."
Puck looked at Kurt like he was crazy, "Seriously, Kurt? You're bringing up show choir right now?" He scoffed, "I just got and lost my daughter in one day and you're comparing it to us losing a stupid singing competition?" He stood up, "News Flash: just because Glee is ending, it doesn't compare to what Quinn and I have been through today."
Kurt's brow furrowed as he looked up at Puck. "Noah, I know that, I was just telling you since I thought you wanted to know how it turned out. I'm sorry I offended you—"
"Just…never mind, Kurt. I need to find Quinn and finish filling out paperwork. I'll see you later."
"Noah, I—"
"Later," Puck said again, almost glaring at Kurt before walking away.
—
"So…we have something we need to say to you," Rachel started.
Puck listened vaguely as everyone talked about how they had changed over the course of the school year because of Glee club. But he hadn't. He had started out the school year with no one but Kurt at his side, a Lima Loser who cleaned out pools and had sex with cougars and various Cheerios. He was still the same at the end of the year: he had no girlfriend because Quinn needed "time to herself" over the summer; he had no daughter because Quinn was in the process of signing her away to Shelby; and he had no new friends. It was just Kurt. The Glee clubbers were his "friends" supposedly, but who was really his friend? Who would text him to say hi over the summer? Who would talk to him on Facebook past wishing him a happy birthday? Who would actually go out of their way to spend time with him? Not Quinn, not Tina, not Artie, not Finn, not Mercedes…the only person who would ever do that was Kurt. Glee club hadn't changed him in anyway. If anything, it just made him realize how much of a Loser and a loner he was.
"I wasn't honest about who I was," Kurt said.
Now it was his turn to say something, right after Kurt, just like they practiced. He was just supposed to follow Kurt and be with Kurt and never be as good as Kurt because he was just Kurt's best friend. That's all he was and all he could ever expect to be. Somehow he managed to mutter, "I never sang outside my room," and the group went on talking about how they changed, about how Mr. Schue had changed them, about how they were better people now. But none of it meant anything to him. Would he miss Glee club? Well, yeah, but it didn't make any difference past singing and having fun to him.
And the one good thing he had done with his year, hell, with his whole life, was making his daughter. And what happened with her? She was yanked away from him immediately. His one good deed was flushed out of his life before he could even show the world how he had done something positive with his life. He was back at fucking square one and he was starting to think he'd never move past that square.
When they finished their song, everyone was crying. They were losing the best part of their life. Puck, however, was just numb. He left as soon as it was socially acceptable to and stalked out of school. He didn't feel like spending another day listening to everyone talk about how much Glee had changed them when apparently he would never evolve like that.
—
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Schue?" Puck asked, his hands under his backpack's straps as he stood in the door of Mr. Schue's office. He was sweating, nervous that Mr. Schue was going to call him out on not growing at all over the school year.
"Yeah, Puck, come on in," Mr. Schue said, waving him in to sit in the chair in front of his desk. Puck hesitantly did so and Mr. Schue looked at him, "You can read sheet music, right?"
Puck's brows furrowed, "Um…yeah. Why?"
Mr. Schue's face split into a grin, "Would you be able to play guitar and sing harmony for me today in the emergency Glee meeting I called?"
Puck relaxed into a smile. That was all he wanted? "Of course," Puck said, "What is it?"
"It's the Israel Kamakawiwo'ole version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'," Mr. Schue said, pulling out sheet music from his desk drawer. At Puck's confused look he added, "The Hawaiian version."
"Oh," Puck said, recognition dawning on his face, "Yeah, I know that one." He took the sheet music in his hand and looked it over, "Kurt calls it an abomination of the Judy version." Mr. Schue laughed as Puck continued to look it over, "Yeah, I can totally play this. It's pretty basic…" He looked back up at his teacher, "If I just play it through during lunch I can even do it memorized if you want."
"Really? That'd be great," Mr. Schue said, a bit surprised. "I should've known a talented guitar player like you would be able to get it."
"Um…thanks," Puck said, looking back down at his music.
Mr. Schue continued looking at him like he did with his students, like he was seeing into their soul. "Everything okay, Puck?"
Puck swallowed, "Yeah, never better."
The teacher leaned forward and said, in that soft voice he always used when he was saying something supposedly deep, "Shelby told me about what you and Quinn are doing." Puck tensed up as he continued, "I know it must be hard to do, but she'll have a great life with Shelby. It's the right thing to do."
Puck nodded, "Yeah…yeah, she'll love it." He stood up, sheet music in hand and said, "I'll go practice this. I'll see you later, Mr. Schue." Before Mr. Schue could stop him, he was out the door.
—
"We've got another year!" Mr. Schue announced with great joy all over his face. It took several moments for the club members to realize that he truly meant, but when they did, the room was filled with the commotions of screams and laughs and cheers and the image of everyone hugging those around them. Puck even gave Mercedes a hug, avoiding Kurt as he hugged his other friends, partly to avoid Quinn, who was sitting next to him, but mainly just because every time he thought about Kurt he started getting angry lately.
"Now I think this will be a great time to start working on Sectionals for next year—"
"No, you've guys have worked hard this year," Mr. Schue interrupted, sitting Rachel back down. "You all deserve a break. Take the summer off, relax! But since you guys sang for me yesterday, I want to sing for you today." He took out a ukulele from a case on the piano and motioned to Puck, "Puck, if you're ready."
Puck nodded and stood up, getting his guitar from his case and pulling up a stool next to Mr. Schue's. With a quick tune up so they were in the same key, they started the song, the other kids doing hula moves and aww-ing and cuddling as they thought over the school year.
It was nice to perform the Glee club like this, though. He actually felt like people cared about his talent this way, like people wanted to hear and see more of him. Mr. Schue chose him even though Artie played guitar or even when he could've gotten a stupid little karaoke recording. It meant someone really appreciated his talents.
But as soon as the song ended and the kids stopped jamming, he realized how little it really meant. He wasn't special; he was still just Puck. Quinn had given birth and realized being popular wasn't the only thing that made life worthwhile; Finn had a girlfriend that was a much better fit and became less homophobic; Rachel had become less concerned with competing against her friends; Mercedes dressed snappier and had more confidence; Tina stopped faking a stutter and got the principal to accept her choice of dress; Mike actually let people see how he well he could dance; Matt had actually spoken; Santana had learned to love something besides just being a bitch; Brittany let herself be friends with people that weren't Quinn and Santana; Artie became the fucking King of Confidence, doing everything everyone did but in a wheelchair and without complaints.
And, of course, there was Kurt. Perfect little Kurt. He had grown so much. His circle of friends had grown, his trust had grown, his confidence had grown, and he had even grown physically, now taller and less baby-faced. Kurt had grown into such a great guy and yet his best friend had been left behind.
That was never supposed to happen.
He wasn't supposed to grow so much without his best friend, he wasn't supposed to become better than him. Kurt was always destined for bigger and better things, but Puck was meant to take those steps towards a brighter future with him, not behind him. But Kurt had moved on in his life past Noah and hadn't even thought to warn his best friend of that.
And Puck couldn't really stop himself from hating Kurt for that.
—
"I liked your playing today in Glee," Kurt said as Puck finished putting his guitar away, the rest of the kids leaving to start studying for finals. Kurt figured he would talk to Puck some more first and then study with him like he always did, Puck helping him remember geometry terms ("pentagon, not pentagram") and Kurt helping Puck with his English assignments.
"Thanks," Puck muttered, his back still turned to Kurt. That puzzled him since it shouldn't have taken that long to pack up a guitar, right? Kurt just shook it off, continuing on with his comments.
"Obviously that version isn't as good as the Judy one, but that was definitely the best version of that version I've heard."
Puck's fist clenched for a moment, feeling belittled by Kurt's words that were just meant as Kurt being Kurt. He didn't say anything in response.
"So, ready to study for finals?" Kurt asked.
"I didn't realize we made plans," Puck mumbled.
Kurt's brows furrowed and his stomach sank; something definitely was wrong. "Well, I guess we didn't, we just always study together, so I assumed we were—"
"I'm not just someone you can expect to always be waiting for you, Kurt," Puck said, finally turning around, anger burning in his eyes. "I have things in my life besides you."
"I…I know—"
"Just because I didn't grow over this fucking year like everyone else doesn't mean I'm not awesome or that you can just expect me to always be the same in your life, because I won't. I'm not going to be the same person all the time, Kurt, I'm not, I could've made plans with anyone else, you can't assume things," Puck ranted.
Kurt's eyes narrowed just a bit in recognition, "You're upset because you don't think you've grown over the year? Of course you've grown over the year, Noah, I could've told you that. Why didn't you just talk to me?"
"Funny enough, Kurt, I'm my own person outside of you. I don't have to come after you with everything I say or do or think because I can make up my own mind about things concerning me. You're not the only defining factor of my life even if you think you are."
Kurt was confused as to what Puck was upset over, his head starting to throb as he tried to follow what his best friend was saying. "Noah, I'm not following you. I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong here."
Noah laughed hollowly. "Oh, nothing, you did nothing wrong, because you're Kurt Hummel, and you are perfect. You've grown in every sense of the word, you have friends who care about you and you're not stuck with just one person looking out for you."
"But everyone in Glee club is your friend, too," Kurt said, clenching his eyes shut as he tried to follow Noah's screwed up logic. "You have ten other people in that club who love you and want you to be happy, it's not just me."
"Yeah, right," Noah laughed again, "Would Mercedes would totally speak to me if it wasn't for you? Please, she wouldn't even give me the time of day. Hudson still hates my guts, too, and Quinn—" His voice caught on Quinn's name, tears stinging at the back of his eyes.
Kurt's eyes opened and softened at the look on Puck's face. He stepped closer to him, placing one of his hands over his, and softly said, "This is about Quinn."
Puck's hand flew away and back as if he was about to strike him. Kurt jumped back, actually terrified for the first time that Puck was going to attack him. "This isn't about Quinn, this isn't about Beth," Puck's voice cracked on his daughter's name, but he powered on, "This is about you, do you have a hearing problem? Are you not hearing what I'm saying? It's about how you expect me to never change, you expect me to be here for you forever, just waiting for you to go on and do these great things and just fucking wait for you to come back and tell me about how awesome it was. Even today, I'm sorry that it wasn't your fucking version of the song but I was proud that I was asked and you just acted like it was nothing."
"Noah, we both know you lash out when you're hurt, but you need to realize that this is not fair, Noah, you know that I always compliment people like that—"
"Just another example of how you don't support me at all."
Now Kurt felt his own flames start to grow bigger, "Don't you dare Noah Puckerman, I have supported you through everything, I—"
"Yeah, you did a fucking good job with it at the hospital, huh? All those times you helped me when I looked at Beth or had to sign her away—oh, wait, you didn't help with any of that!" Puck yelled, his hands flying around as if they would express his emotions better.
"I was giving you some space since everything I was saying was just pissing you off more," Kurt said, his voice a mix of desperation, hurt, and fury.
"Just some space, huh? Well, fine, you like giving people space, how about I show you what it's like," Puck said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a silence fell on the room and a roaring sound filling Kurt's ears as everything he thought he knew fell down to the floor and shattered in a million pieces.
"…What?" Kurt finally whispered, "What do you mean 'space'?"
Puck set his jaw, "You know what I mean, Kurt." He grabbed his guitar and softly said, "We were always meant to separate at some point; we always knew that." And with that he left the choir room and his best friend.
—
Kurt was in such a daze the next day he didn't even notice that Karofsy and Azimio were swooping in on him until it was too late. With practiced synchronization, they had him lifted in the air. Kurt didn't fight it, he never did, and soon he was thrown in the dumpster, the smell of old yogurt and ketchup making him nauseas.
Outside the dumpster, the jocks laughed and fist bumped, rejoicing about getting the school homo in the dumpster on one of the last few days before summer break. Azimio was laughing at something Karofsky had said when he saw Puck walking from the parking lot.
"Shit, Puckerman's here, we gotta split," he said. They quickly walked towards the school building, not willing to be attacked then and there by Noah Puckerman.
Kurt perked up at the mention, looking over the edge of the dumpster. As Puck got closer, his heart lifted. Puck would help him out of the dumpster and they'd make up like always, Kurt helping Puck realized he was loved and both of them moving on with their lives. It's what they always did, it was a constant of their life.
He smiled at Puck as he walked closer and reached his hand out, ready to be helped out. Instead of taking his hand, however, Puck did the unimaginable.
He walked right past him.
He bumped into Kurt's hand and just walked right by.
Kurt's hand stayed stretched out as his eyes followed Puck. The boy didn't even turn around once as he walked to the building.
Finally all the words Puck had said yesterday hit him like a bucket of ice. Puck wasn't a constant in his life, he wasn't always going to be his best friend. He choked out a sob and lowered himself back in the dumpster, his legs losing the strength to keep him up.
For once in his life, Kurt Hummel was completely alone.
A/N: Welp, I'm ready for you guys to kill me now.
But I'm going to try to update weekly now. And reviews are great motivators, thank you for all of them, lovelies.
Love,
xLessxThanx3x