A/N: The idea for Puck's denial definitely came from Mark Salling's gut-wrenching tweet when he first heard the news - he apparently deleted it almost immediately, but all reports say he just tweeted "no." That, to me, is one of the saddest reactions I've been able to think of in all its implications, hence the inspiration for this chapter. (I also left the cause of death deliberately vague - I'm not sure how the show will handle this obviously, nor do I have any good ideas and am glad I won't have to be the one to write it for real.) If you think this should continue with one more chapter in the chorus room (and potentially a funeral), please let me know in a review. I'm still not sure. Thanks, as always, for the support.

Slowly, Will forms words.

"What - what do you mean, Noah?" he asks. He keeps his voice gentle. For the first time today, he's not sure how to handle this. The others were hard, of course, but the tears are what he'd expected. This, though - this is something else entirely.

And that's confirmed for him when Puck shrugs and says, "it doesn't make sense. It seems like it can't be real. Well, that's because it isn't. Think about it, guys. This is Finn. He wouldn't leave like this. So it's not true."

But even though his tone is light, Will notices that he's yet to really hold eye contact with any of them. He thinks he understands why as he glances over the red eyed sniffling group behind him. He contemplates standing and going to him, but the fact that Puck hasn't yet moved from the doorway tells him he's also a flight risk and that if he wants him here at all, he's going to have to leave him be.

So he sits for a moment, staring at his knees. He knows the other kids are dumbstruck with no idea what to say, and he's hoping none of them snaps. That's the last thing any of them needs right now, and especially not Puck. The problem is - Will doesn't know what Puck needs.

He looks back up at him, and Puck is still standing there, his arms folded, as he says, "I was thinking about this yesterday. They never said how it happened, right? And that's got to be because it didn't. Otherwise, we'd know how. So it's going to be ok. Because this has just got to be a big joke, and we're all suckers. And any minute now, Finn's going to walk in here, and we're all going to feel pretty stupid. Well, you are. I figured it all out. He didn't get me."

He almost looks proud of himself, and Will begins to feel distinctly nauseated. But he sees a movement behind Puck then, a shimmer of blond hair, and he feels a flicker that he knows is a combination of hope and dread. Because a face materializes then, and it's Quinn. And he knows, suddenly, that she chose the exact right moment to show up.

She's heard everything Puck's said - Will can see that in her face, and she also knows she has to be very careful here. He sees that, too, and he relaxes, knowing that she is far too well equipped for this role. He wishes he could help (or even look away), but he can't, and he watches as she reaches out and touches Puck's shoulder. He jumps, but then he turns in anticipation, and Will's heart breaks. He really was hoping it was Finn - he really did, it seems, manage to convince himself that it could be. When he sees Quinn, he stares at her open mouthed, and her eyes fill as she looks back at him sadly.

He shakes his head. "N- no," he stutters. "No crying. He's ok. He'll be here. This - this isn't real. It can't be."

But Quinn, who's always been able to read him best - well, next to Finn - reaches for him then, and the minute she wraps her arms around him, he has to close his eyes and swallow hard. It's because he can feel her shivering, he tells himself. That's all. It's not because this is real. Because this can't be real. And he keeps repeating that in his head like a mantra until he realizes that he needs to get away, and then he's flung Quinn's arms from him and taken off down the hall.

She turns to follow him but pulls up short when she realizes he's only made it the distance of a few lockers. She walks slowly, afraid she might spook him, but she needn't have worried. She knows as soon as she sees his face that he couldn't have taken another step if he'd tried, and then he looks at her, and for all that they've been through together, she knows she's never seen him look this broken.

"It - it can't be true," he says weakly. But then the question she doesn't expect: "can it?"

And Quinn knows she's going to have to be the one to really change everything for him - because whoever he'd heard it from the first time didn't have the same effect she always does, and she knows he'll believe her. And that's why she hesitates before she finally nods. Because she knows she's really about to change his life forever, and she's afraid of what might happen when she does.

It's not quite what she fears. He stares at her and then nods slightly. His jaw is clenched, and she worries that if she looks too closely into his eyes, they will start watering, so she doesn't. She simply reaches for his hand and then turns and leads him back to the chorus room. Mr. Shue is standing in the doorway, and Quinn releases Puck's hand because she needs comfort now, too; she needs the hug that her teacher is offering, and she stops worrying about Puck for a minute as she too wishes, not for the first time, that this really were one terrible nightmare. She's remembering all of those things she'd done to Finn that she can never fix now. She knows he forgave her a long time ago, but the lump in her throat is choking her. She might not be the worst person in the world, but Finn had to be one of the best if he forgave her for all of it. And now she'll never be able to thank him again or tell him how lucky she is to know someone like him. How lucky they all are. (She knows on a very distant level that she's still thinking about him in the present tense. She also knows that's not an adjustment she's willing to make now - if ever.)

Puck is not feeling so lucky at the moment. His vision is turning darker as he stares at the floor, thinking about the fact that this is real - it's real, he repeats in his head, but he's still not so sure. Or at least he doesn't want to be. When Quinn stumbles away from Mr. Shue, though, he realizes that he's looking at him now with so much concern in his eyes that Puck is forced to look away. If Mr. Shue is this worried about him, then this is even more confirmation that Quinn wasn't lying. And even as he tries to stay where he is, he finds that his feet are moving toward Mr. Shue because he doesn't know where else to go. They embrace, and Puck clutches the back of Will's shirt in his fist as he mutters, "I - I didn't want it to be real. I didn't know..." and he trails off because now his throat is burning, and he's afraid that if he says another word, he'll embarrass himself in front of the whole glee club.

But Mr. Shue isn't letting him off so easy, and he whispers, "none of us wanted this to be real, Noah. It shouldn't be. But," and now his voice is shaking, and Puck wishes he could let go, could run from this, but he's afraid to let go of Mr. Shue now, afraid that if he moves at all, all control will be lost. And that's all he has left now, this hard fought control. He sighs, but his breath catches in his throat, and then Mr. Shue is saying what he'd hoped he'd given up trying to - "but he's gone now, and all we have is each other," and he can't do this anymore, he can't, and as much as he tries to screw his eyes shut and block out the world, the only thing he sees is Finn's face and then the shattering reality that he won't - not ever again.

Reality isn't the only thing that shatters. Because now, without even knowing how it starts, Puck is crying in Mr. Shuester's arms. He gives up. It just hurts too much.