A/N: Sorry this chapter's kind of short. There was no decent way to break up the next one. Thanks for sticking with me so far! T for language.
Chapter 4
By half past two they had all the clothes put away and were up in Puck's room, eating a veritable ton of snacks they'd taken from the kitchen and working their way through Portal on Puck's computer. Finn was playing first, chewing on his lip as he steered the girl on the screen through a series of puzzles.
"No, no, no, shoot one higher onto the ceiling and then jump through the floor!" Puck was shouting, pacing back and forth behind Finn's chair.
"I can't do that! If I do that, the stupid gun thing up there is gonna blow my brains out. Damn it!" he shouted, frustrated, as his character was obliterated for the third time in a row.
Puck was rocking excitedly on the balls of his feet. "Here, let me, dude, I see the trick. I know what to do."
"Alright, alright," Finn said weakly. He got out of the chair and let Puck sit down. "Show me how it's done, then."
Puck obliged, clacking away on the keys, maneuvering the girl through several twists and turns until he got her past the spot where Finn kept dying. "See? You just had to move the block over there," he explained as he beat the level. "And then it's easy. See, Finn? …See?" When his friend didn't answer, Puck spun around only to find his room empty. Panic flooded him and suddenly, his mind was filled with images from The Exorcist. He envisioned his bed rising in the air, shaking with demonic possession like Regan's did. He shook his head to clear it, shooting out of his chair and running to the doorway. "Finn!" he shouted desperately, looking around for him.
Finn stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at Puck bewilderedly. "Uhh…yeah?"
He'd never been so relieved to see Finn's trademark confused expression. He leaned against the doorway casually, trying to play it cool. "Uh, hey man, where you going?"
Finn cocked an eyebrow at him. "To the bathroom," he said slowly. "Is—is that allowed?"
"Well, yeah, but…why do you have to go downstairs?"
Finn stared at him. "Well, you see…you guys only have the one bathroom. And it's down here."
"I mean, you could always just, um, pee out the window," Puck suggested hopefully, pointing back to his bedroom.
Finn looked taken aback. "Pee out the—? What? No way, dude!"
"Here, I'll come with you then," Puck said in a very strained voice, taking the stairs three at a time and landing heavily beside Finn.
"You're gonna come to the bathroom with me?" Finn asked incredulously, looking down into his friend's anxious hazel eyes.
"Well, not like, in the bathroom. I'll just come along downstairs with you. Keep you company so you don't get bored," Puck explained in a voice he hoped sounded nonchalant. "Here, c'mon. Let's go." He put a hand between Finn's shoulder blades and gave him a little nudge. Together they walked through the darkened first floor; a confused Finn in the lead with Puck right on his heels.
Just then, it dawned on Finn. "Dude, you're not still scared from that movie, are you?"
"Who me? Nah, of course not," Puck said in that same strained voice, but when a car door slammed outside, he jumped, grabbing on tight to Finn's elbow before he could stop himself.
Finn grinned in understanding. "Yeah, you totally are!" he said, slinging an arm around Puck's neck and mussing up his mohawk. "Listen, you can guard the door while I pee and I'll make sure no demons get you, okay?" Puck smirked and gave Finn a half-hearted shove, but privately he was very grateful because that was exactly what he wanted.