Monday morning, Puck stopped at a payphone in Columbus, Ohio and called Jacob- McKinley's resident paparazzi. He was an anonymous caller, letting Jacob have the tip that Noah Puckerman had finally landed himself in juvie. Puck knew Jacob would put some sort of story together, thinking it was all the truth.

Puck then spent the next week living out of his car and making friends with a lot of the wrong people. Even with a broken arm, he kept up his badass persona, making sure no one messed with him.

What people don't know about Columbus, Ohio is that it can get dangerous and sketchy when you find the deep, seedy places in the alleyways. It's not as bad as living on the streets of New York or Chicago, but Columbus was still a major city, and it had its own level of disturbing.

For one, crystal meth had a major market in the Midwestern states. Ohio was caught up in the meth trade and Puck learned quickly which alleyways were for which illegal activity. There were the streets for prostitution, the ones for gangs, the ones for hard drugs- meth, coke, heroin- and the alleys for simpler things like weed and underage drinking.

After spending a couple nights smoking weed and drinking beers with some random Columbus teenage dropouts, Puck found himself in the wrong alleyway. He had been waiting for his cell to ring. He would know if his mom got the second note if she called him. So far, he'd spent a week with no phone calls. That meant 2 things. His friends bought the story of him being in juvie, and his sister hadn't yet found and/or given the second note.

He'd met a random guy named Isaac the previous night and they decided to get drunk together to 'celebrate' Puck's first week on the streets. Once they were drunk, Isaac led him down a maze of streets and kept Puck off to the side as he talked to an older, creepy looking guy. After a couple minutes, Isaac pulled Puck back towards Puck's car.

"Du… where we goin'" Puck slurred as he followed Isaac.

"Your car, man, we're gonna get high." Isaac replied with a smile.

Puck smiled, thinking Isaac just bought some weed. "A'ight man. Needed some weed."

Puck unlocked his car and the two teens slid into the backseat. He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat, allowing Issac to prepare the drugs. After a minute or so, Isaac nudged Puck in the side, causing Puck to flinch and hiss in pain. "Wha was that for man?"

"Sorry bro, it's ready, take a hit and that shit won't hurt anymore." Isaac said, glancing at Puck's side. Puck had drunkenly showed him the bruises earlier in the night, briefly mentioning his dad was an asshole.

Puck took the pipe from Isaac and smoked. After inhaling what he was thought was going to be weed, he coughed and sputtered. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?" He shouted, the first sober words he'd said in hours.

"Something better than what you've been dealing with," Isaac said as he took the pipe from Puck and got a hit for himself.

Puck stared at the other guy in his car. He knew weed, and he had no idea what the fuck he'd just inhaled but he'd bet his life on the fact it wasn't weed.

"Here," Isaac handed the pipe back to Puck. "Just take another hit. You're gonna be fine. You deserve to feel this good."

Puck hesitated. The damage was already done. He wasn't sure if it was because he had been living alone in his car for a week or because he was drunk and now partially high on crystal meth, but he took another hit before coughing again and shoving the pipe back into Isaac's hand.

"Alright, I'm done. I can't do this shit man."

Isaac finished off what was in the pipe and stuck all the supplies back in his jacket pocket. "How do you feel though man?"

Puck thought for a minute. His head was swimming with drunken thoughts, but he also felt amazing, like he could do anything right now. "My stomach kinda hurts… but I gotta do something man. I can't sit here anymore… what'd I just smoke?"

Isaac smiled. "Meth. Now let's get out of here. I know some girls that would love to make this night even better."

Puck's head shot up, "I don't pay for my sex dude." He tried to ignore the fact that he had just done crystal meth. He never imagined that he would ever have that in his system.

"Neither do I. We're covered man. Just follow me."

They got out of the car and Puck followed Isaac. They practically ran a mile and a half until they reached a rundown apartment on a dark street. Isaac pulled out his phone and made a quick call that Puck wasn't paying attention too. He had so many things inside of him. His body was feeling too many sensations at once and he just wanted the world to stop moving. He could almost feel the spinning of the planet. After what seemed like an hour to Puck, the boys were heading up a long flight of stairs to a dimly lit apartment. As soon as he was in the apartment, Isaac walked over and began making out with some girl who had been sitting on the couch. Puck then saw the girl who had led them up the stairs turn to him.

"I'm Jen, not that it matters." She pulled his waist towards her and smiled at him.

Puck wasn't sure where he was or why he was there, but he knew what the codes for sex were and he was in for it.

"Puck," he stated before leaning in and closing the gap between their lips.

What followed their short introduction was the best sex of Puck's life. He knew it must have been the meth that did it, but he felt such euphoria with every touch Jen made.

After 2 hours of perfect sex, Puck passed out in a bed for the first time in a week.

The next morning, Puck woke up to pure silence. It was as if his mind couldn't sense anything except the extreme pain his body was in. He tried to move, but could feel tears well up in his eyes. He glanced around the room and saw a random girl lying next to him. Next to her was a night stand with an alarm clock, gleaming with the numbers 1:26 PM. He had no idea how much sleep he had gotten, but it probably wasn't enough. He tried to remember where he was and why he was there, but he couldn't really remember. He just remembered the drugs, running a lot and then having sex. Everything else was blank. He slowly pulled himself up so he was leaning against the headboard of the bed. He let out a soft groan as he adjusted to his sitting position, happy that the noise and movement didn't wake the girl.

He looked around the room and spotted his clothes strewn at the foot of the bed. He quietly and gradually got out of bed and put on his clothes, his body aching in pain with every small movement. He could feel a couple tears begin to fall. What hurt most was the throbbing headache and the fractured rib that hadn't gotten the chance to heal properly.

Once he was dressed, he checked his phone, still hoping that his mother was going to call any day now. When his phone showed no missed calls or texts, Puck put it back in his pocket and sighed, causing him to cringe in pain again. It was difficult to breath and it took most of his energy just to do so. He suddenly heard movement from the other room and slowly walked out towards the sound.

"Puck!" Isaac said excited but quiet. "I was hoping you'd be up soon. Did you get anything from her?"

Puck raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh… she's still sleeping."

Isaac smiled. "No worries dude." He turned around and walked towards the bookcase in the corner of the room and searched for a certain book. Puck had no idea what was going on, but he was sure he was going to be getting as far away from this kid as soon as he could.

Quickly, Isaac found what he was looking for. He pulled a thick book off the shelf and opened it, taking a flask and a wad of bills out of the book that was apparently hollow.

He replaced the book on the shelf and ushered Puck out of the apartment. As they walked down the stairs, slowly for Puck's sake, Isaac handed him $200 in cash.

"The fuck is this for?" Puck asked, secretly happy for having some money he desperately needed.

"Services rendered." Isaac could see the confusion still on Puck's face. "She needed a service and you provided it for her last night. And apparently it was good. You guys kept me awake for hours."

Puck shrugged. Out of all the things he'd done over the past week, this was by far the least concerning to him. He pocketed the money as they finally reached the street outside.

"Alright man. It was a blast last night… I gotta head to a buddy's uptown. Can you get back to your car?" Isaac asked, squinting in the sun.

"Actually… No. I have no idea where we are," Puck admitted.

Isaac laughed. "No worries." He hailed a taxi and motioned for Puck to get in. "I don't think you'd be able to walk in your condition anyway." He then spoke to the taxi driver. "Take him to the Beaumont and Clark intersection." Turning back to Puck he finished his thought. "Your car is in the Wheels Pub parking lot out back. Give me a call if you want to hang again."

Puck nodded and was thankful when Isaac walked off, allowing the driver to take him back to his car. As soon as he made it back to his car, he took a couple painkillers and began to cry. The parking lot was empty, but even if it had been full of people, he just didn't care anymore. He was so tired and he was in far too much pain to care. He'd been run out of his own home by a guy who claimed to be his father, lived on the streets for a week, and now he'd officially done crystal meth. He tried to think about how he even got to this point in the first place. He'd just up and left Lima. His dad never said he had to leave Lima. Why didn't he just go to Finn's house, or anyone else's for that matter?

Then he remembered; they probably didn't care. He quietly cried himself to sleep in his car, only waking up at 7 PM because his phone began to ring. Not even looking at the caller ID, he answered quickly.

"Mom?"

"Uh, no… The fuck is up with you Puckerman?" Santana sounded confused and bitchy.

He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the screen, confirming it was indeed Santana. "Oh, sorry San, I was waiting for my mom to call."

"Right… Well, how's juvie? And how do you actually have your phone?"

"It's boring as hell. I'm pretty much top dog here, so I got a couple people to look the other way sometimes. I have to hide it most of the time, but I laid some Puckerman magic down with the female guard who's on duty now." He was amazed at how perfect he was at lying.

"You would… well anyway, I was going to leave you a message, but when do you get back?"

Puck sighed. He really wished he knew when he could go back home. "I… I'm not sure San. They haven't really told me exactly when. I'm guessing like a month, but could be less for good behavior."

"Ha, good behavior. So a month then?"

"We'll see," Puck knew he needed to get off the phone. The key to a good lie was to keep it short and simple. A long talk with San and she could probably get the truth out of him. "Look, I have to go. They're gonna switch shifts soon and I don't really wanna lay the moves on a guy."

They said a quick goodbye and he stared at the clock on his phone and sighed. Taking another pain killer, he started his car and began to drive. He needed food and he needed to get somewhere new.

After driving over to Delaware, Puck took out his wallet and began to count the money he still had. He had $300 left to last him for who knows how long. The $200 he apparently made for having sex the previous night really was a life saver right now; it replaced the $200 he'd spent over the week. He had brought $300 with him when he'd left his house. It's all he'd saved up from his pool cleanings and petty theft over the years.

It was now very early Tuesday morning. He drove to the nearest motel and just parked, wondering if he should actually get a room or not. Finally, he decided he just needed a real shower and bed for one night.

After getting a room, he nearly collapsed on the bed, but he knew he wanted a shower first. So after a warm shower, he crawled into bed and turned on the TV for background noise as he fell asleep.

Three hours after falling asleep, it was 7AM and he woke to his ringing phone. He let out a groan and then picked up the phone, not even looking at who was calling.

"No..Noah?" The voice on the other end was shaky and small, but Puck knew it immediately.

"Momma?" Puck sat up in bed quickly. He regretted it though as his vision grew burry and he had to breathe harder through the pain, but he didn't care.

"Noah, baby. I can't believe it. I'm… I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" She sounded nervous but safe.

"I'm alright now Ma. Are you and Sarah okay?"

"Noah, you come home right now. It's all going to be over this afternoon."

Puck ran his hand through his mohawk and laughed with happiness. "I'll be there soon Momma. I'm in Delaware, so it'll be a couple hours… I love you Ma."

"I know baby. I'll see you soon and we'll talk then."

They hung up and Puck wanted to jump with joy. He would have, if the pain still coursing through his body forced him to do otherwise. He instead took a pain killer and gathered his things, checking out of the motel only 4 hours after checking in.

Note 1

Ma,

I'm gone. Please don't try and find me. I don't know where I'm going yet, but I've taken my car and won't have my phone. Leave me alone okay? I'm a screw up and I don't want to be around this family anymore. Tell Sarah I love her, but I can't fight her monsters anymore. Actually don't tell her that. Just… leave me alone. I love you and all, but I just, I need to be away for a while. Don't contact anyone at school. They won't know anything and they haven't been my friends for a long time.

Puck

Note 2

On Envelope: Sarah, baby, you are very important right now in the fight against the biggest monster ever. I'm going to be gone for a few days and I need you to give this to Momma ONLY when you two are alone. This is very important, otherwise the monster will win. I love you so very much.

Inside: Momma, ignore the previous note. It's all hard to explain, but dad… he started hitting me the night he got back. Then he beat me again on Saturday and Sunday he kicked me out. He said if I didn't leave and stay away, he'd kill you and Sarah both. I do have my phone on me and I need you to call me when you get this note. I had to leave it in me and Sarah's secret hiding place 'cause it's the only place he would never find it. I don't have much time. If you get this and call me, we'll talk when I get back. I think I'll be in Columbus. I have nowhere else to go but I know I can't be in Lima in case he sees me. I love you and I love Sarah. Please be okay.

Noah