Disclaimer: no ownership belongs to me.
A/N: Here's Puck's version of that fateful morning.
All reviews are welcome and appreciated.
Puck was awoken suddenly by a punch to the face and a knee to his side. His first reaction probably wasn't his most well thought out.
"What the fuck?" He felt something move away from him, and instantly last night came back to him. "Rachel?" He asked stupidly. Who else would it have been?
"Noah, what…" He laid there waiting for the rest of her question. "Where are we?" Was she serious?
"My room." He almost added 'Duh.' but he didn't think it would win him any points with her.
"Did we… did I…?" He waited for a moment, before figuring she was just asking if they'd shared the bed all night.
"Yes." He wasn't a liar, but the spot next to him where she had been was suddenly getting cold air. "Come back to bed, Berry. It's cold without you." He opened his eyes to look at her, but she was looking around the room, and he figured she was planning to stage a massive clean up.
"I need to go home." That took him by surprise. He pushed the covers down his chest and sat up. He might as well wake up if she was awake. She found the clothes he'd tossed last night, and then started digging through his dirty laundry. He realized what she was still missing, and admired the view for a moment before saying anything.
"Your shirt's in my truck. You want me to get it for you?" She looked at him, her eyes wide as a doe's, and nodded. He threw the blanket off of himself and she squealed and covered her eyes.
"Oh, gosh, sorry." He laughed at her sudden modesty, and how incredibly cute it was to him.
"Don't be so coy, Berry. It's not like you haven't seen it before." He went and stood right in front of her, and pulled her face up to look at him. There was something in those big brown eyes that he didn't recognize, and he said the first thing he thought of to try to make it go away. "After last night, I kind of figured this morning would involve something more than just 'I need to leave.' Why don't you stay awhile? I'm sure we'll find something to entertain us." He was already planning a picnic in the park, a thought that would get him a patriotic wedgie if someone were to see them. It surprised him how little be cared. He smiled at her, trying to get her to smile back.
"Noah, all I remember from last night is being at that party, and then I asked you to take me home, and clearly you neglected that task, because I am not at home. I am here, at your house, in your room, with you. I woke up without my clothes on, as did you, and I really have no idea what happened, but I'm very frightened by everything I've found out. So I need you to please take me home NOW!" That was completely not what he had expected. She looked, to him, like she was about to chop his balls off, and that was not a look he wanted to get to know better. Stepping away from her, he slid on his jeans from the night before and ran down to his truck, grabbing her shirt as quickly as he could and running back upstairs. He had not managed to rein in his confusion any, and when he got back to the room she was trying desperately to cover herself.
"Here." He held the shirt up to her, but she just stared at him. He extended his arm a little further, and she snatched it away from him.
"Could you… turn around? Please." He shook his head, but did as she asked. What was she on about? Didn't remember last night… she didn't drink that much did she? And her acting so differently this morning than she had last night had him completely wrong-footed.
"Okay." He heard behind him. He spun back around, and she had her head bowed down. He tried his hardest to figure out the right move, but came up with nothing.
"So did you want me to actually take you home? Or just back to your car?" He realized his voice probably sounded incredibly harsh, but he really couldn't help how gruff he was in the mornings.
"To my car. Please." He nodded.
"Fine. Let's go." He didn't want to watch her be like this any longer, so he strode quickly out of his room, down the stairs and out the front door. He considered holding her door open, but let that idea go when he saw some kids from school outside. He needed her to hurry up before they noticed him. She came out a few moments later, her face red spotted and climbed up into the cab. He drove slowly, looking over at her every few seconds, waiting for her natural talkative streak to shine through. A few times he went to start a conversation, but always ended up just shutting his mouth back and refocusing on the road. Too soon, it seemed, they were at Santana's. Before he even had it in park, she had her seatbelt off and was opening the door. She slid out and slammed the door shut without even saying goodbye to him. That was his final straw. He hit the gas, screeching around the corner, and away from her. What the hell was going on with this chick? Last night she was trying to seduce him, and having dreams about him where she confessed her love, and this morning she was acting like a scared little girl. Did she think he was going to go bragging to all his friends that she'd given him blue balls?
And what was with her comment about not remembering? He could not figure that out. She'd seemed drunk, sure, but not drunk to a point where she would have blacked out for an extended period of time. And more importantly, have been in and out of sleep the way she was.
His chain of thought would have continued further, but he heard his phone ring, and he answered with his standard, "I didn't do it."
"Didn't you? I heard you had a nice, juicy, little Berry in your bed last night" came a manly voice on the other end. One of the jackasses from the party. Great.
"Sure didn't. Where did you hear that?"
"A birdie told me. How was she?"
"I wouldn't know. Dropped her off at her house last night."
"Did you at least get some action in the car? Come on, man, I need details." Whoever this guy was, he was starting to piss Puck off. Not that it would have been difficult with everything he'd experienced since waking up this morning.
"Leave Berry out of this. You wanna spread a rumor, go tell your friends how Santana is so desperate for attention she has to roofie people to get them to spend time with her. Personally, I'm curious where she got them."
"Harsh accusations."
"Truth." Was all Puck could say. He had come to that realization, and it didn't come as much of a surprise to him. Because he knew Santana was not above drugging people, men especially. Santana slept her way to popularity, and sometimes that required more than just her charms. What surprised him was how sure he was that he needed to stand up for Rachel. And that he desperately wanted to.
"Whatever man." And then the phone line went dead. Puck threw his phone back onto the seat and hit the gas harder. He needed to think, and he did his best thinking while speeding. Puck's phone rang again, and this time he recognized the number.
"What up, Finn?" There was a silence for a moment before Finn responded.
"What happened last night? I didn't manage to get to the party but… I heard some things. About Rachel. And you." Puck pulled his car into a parking lot. He knew this conversation was not going to be a fun one.
"She… Santana got her drunk. And she did some stupid shit, like dancing on a table. And then I took her home."
"That's it?"
"That's it. I took her to her house, and went back to mine. The party was pretty lame, and I had plans today anyway." Finn let out a sigh of relief, and Puck stared out the windshield, not quite sure why he was lying to his best friend. Finn wasn't the kind of guy to spread rumors.
"Oh. That's a relief. I thought that you might have… it's good, though, that you didn't. She deserves better than that." Puck heard what Finn didn't say loud and clear 'She deserves better than you.' Puck closed his eyes.
"Yeah. Right. I wouldn't have anyway. God knows she would talk through the entire thing. I'd have to get out a gag." Finn laughed on the other end, and Puck relaxed a little. "So why didn't you make an appearance last night?"
"Oh, you know. Quinn was suffering, and had her "all hours" morning sickness pretty badly, and I wanted to stay and make her feel better."
"How's she doing, by the way?" Puck hoped he came across simply as a concerned friend, and not as someone too interested in Quinn's well being. Finn was still in the dark, and Puck would do everything he could to keep it that way.
"Other than last night, she's fine. She's mad at how big she's gotten, and so she's always nagging, trying to force some of her anger off on me. But I don't let it get to me. When that little girl's born, everything will get better with us. So I just… four months left man. I'm counting down the days." Puck hadn't realized she was that far along already. He felt a stab somewhere in his heart, but he just let it go. He didn't need anyone, and wanting to be there for Quinn's pregnancy was letting himself need that little girl she was carrying.
"Cool." Puck said. He could hear Quinn yelling in the background, and Finn responded with the phone muffled.
"Hey man, I gotta go. But thanks for not… you know."
"Yeah, no problem. Later." Puck shut the phone before Finn could respond. He laid his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes. His life was too complicated already; no way could he even consider adding Berry into it.
If only he could forget what she'd whispered to him.