A/N: Hey! How's it going? Oh my god, it's so close to the holidays. I can't wait. An early Holiday gift. Another update! This chapter is Finn/Blaine-centric

Flashback/Thoughts/ Song Lyrics

Chapter Three

Finn hated being restrained by his brother. He didn't understand what had changed. They used to be so close. He squirmed under Blaine's death grip, squealing. "Blaine! You're hurting me."

Blaine sighed, letting his grip loosen, but still holding his little brother's wrist, firmly; just enough so that he wouldn't be able to get out. Little did he know how his little brother's new friend had rubbed off on him.

I need to make sure 'Cedes is ok. Finn thought, no longer struggling. Oh, I know what to do. Finn positioned himself, just barely behind Blaine.

"What're ya doing Finn?" Blaine asked.

No answer, until… SNAP! Finn let his feet fly, hitting Blaine squarely in the back of the leg.

Blaine turned, glowering, and involuntarily loosening his grip just enough for the small boy to get away. Seriously? Blaine rolled his eyes, debating whether or not to give chase when he saw his Will's truck. Perfect. He'd just let his dad handle this.

He half ran half walked over to his dad's truck. "Dad!" Blaine exaggerated his limp in all the right ways, as his Dad turned.

"Blaine! What the hell? Why are you limping?"

Then Blaine went on to explain, exaggerating parts to suit his needs, and tried to hide his satisfaction as Will's expression darkened. The man said nothing, opening the door for his son, and speeding the truck erratically in search of Finn.

_p&f_

Puck gasped, for as they went down the road, a car was waiting for them. It wasn't like the rickety SUV Mama Puckerman drove. It was a real nice car. As the pair walked up, the car door opened, and a man held it open for them. "It's a pleasure to see you again Miss Jones."

"Thanks Mr. Berk." Mercedes laughed at the young boy's expression. "Close your mouth honey. You look like a fish outta water."

"I…is this yours?" Puck asked.

Mercedes laughed. "No. It's Mike's. You'll meet him soon enough. His parents don't know the meaning of modesty." This last part was murmured to herself.

"Mercedes! How are you doing?" Puck was nearly flung out of the open car door as Mercedes was ambushed by a wildly dressed boy.

"Kurt!" Mercedes returned the embrace, before being interrupted by the driver.

"Ahem! Miss Jones, Mr. Hummel!" Mr. Berk grabbed Puck before he could fall.

"Oh my god! Puck I'm so sorry." Mercedes said.

Puck pouted, sticking his tongue out at Mercedes, as he took a seat next to the boy.

"Hey kid, always nice to see a new face." The boy said. "I'm Kurt Hummel." Kurt stuck a hand out, as the car pulled away.

Puck's gasp was audible as the car pulled up to a huge house. "Wow! Is this all one house?"

Kurt nodded as he explained about the Changs. "Mr. and Mrs. Chang are both doctors. They have very expensive taste, and they don't even know that modesty is a part of vocabulary, hence this car."

Mercedes slapped him with her purse. "Shut your face Hummel."

"What? The kid's gotta learn eventually. The world isn't all rainbows and sugar cookies."

"Yea, but he doesn't need your biased ass telling him what to think. He can make his own decisions." Mercedes responded with a smirk.

Puck rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?"

Mercedes smiled as she opened the door, piling out after Puck, and followed closely by Kurt. "Have a good day." Puck smiled, and waved to Mr. Berk, as he followed Mercedes and Kurt around to the back of the house.

"Ok, so is there any new business?" Rachel Berry asked.

"Rachel, how many times do I have to say it? You aren't in charge here." Mike said annoyance plain on his face.

Puck slowed his pace as he turned the corner, waiting for Mercedes. "'Cedes!"

The group of friends turned as they heard the boy's shout. "Well, check it out guys. Seems we've got ourselves a new recruit." A teen with blond hair walked over to Puck, causing him to shrink back slightly.

"Who the hell brought the midget?" A tall Latina shouted.

"C'mon guys, back off!" Puck sighed with relief as Kurt and Mercedes appeared around the corner.

"Puck," Mercedes said. "Meet the New Directions." Puck glanced around at the group of teens, as Mercedes rattled off names.

The blond with the big mouth was Sam Evans. He came from a rougher background than the others, but Mike was the one with the highest standing, and the only son of the Changs. Puck like them immediately. The one that called him a midget was Santana Lopez. She was rough around the edges, but Kurt said that once you got to know her, she could be an ok friend. I'd pay to see her be anyone's friend. Puck laughed to himself. Artie Abrams came next. He was the closest to Puck's age in the group at ten years old. Mike's girlfriend Tina was introduced next, along with Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry.

"Alright everyone, what do you say we show the new kid what New Directions is all about?" Mike said. Puck watched as Mercedes and Kurt walked over to the others. "…5, 6, 7, 8… 'Me and all my friends… We're all misunderstood. They say we stand for nothing and there's no way we ever could. Now we see everything that's going wrong with the world and those who lead it. We just feel like we don't have the means to rise above and beat it. So we keep waiting, waiting on the world to change.
We keep on waiting; waiting on the world to change. It's hard to beat the system when we're standing at a distance. So we keep waiting
waiting on the world to change'." Puck watched the group, mouth agape. This seemed so much fun. They were all singing and laughing, without a care in the world. Puck remembered that his mom would always have some sort of music in their house. The radio was always on no matter what, and those moments always made Puck feel good, so what else did he do? He started singing along.

Once the number ended, Mercedes pounced. "What the heck Puckerman? You never said you could sing."

Puck shrugged. "You never asked."

"So what's your name kid?" Sam asked.

"Noah, but people call me Puck." Puck replied.

"Nice to meet you Puck. Do you wanna join our group?" Sam asked.

"Do I?" Puck jumped up and down excitedly. "But…" He stopped himself. "I have to ask Mama Puckerman."

"Already got it cleared honey. I asked Mama Puckerman yesterday." Mercedes smiled. "You're all good."

Sam took Puck over to meet the rest of the group, leaving Kurt and Mercedes alone.

"That went off without a hitch, don't you think?" Kurt asked, eyes glowing with mischief.

"Yea." Mercedes said with a sigh.

"What's wrong Hon'?" Kurt asked.

Mercedes shook her head, and gave her best attempt at a smile. "Nothing's wrong. What makes you think something's wrong?"

"You don't have that look of accomplishment you always have when one of your plans works." Kurt smirked. "As soon as I didn't see your cocky grin, I knew something was wrong."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "You got me. If you really must know, I saw him today."

Kurt leaned over. "Oh 'Cedes, how was he?"

"Still a jerk. I swear he lets his old man get to him. I don't get it Kurt. We used to be so close. And he caused this." Mercedes lifted her jean leg, revealing the bandage that wrapped her ankle.

"People change Hon'." Kurt said. "And he's probably still sore over his mom leaving. Don't take it to heart."

Mercedes nodded. "Thanks Kurt." Mercedes limped over to the rest of the group, as Mike and Sam pulled Kurt aside.

"We've gotta help this kid." Sam said.

_p&f_

Finn ran over to the forest, looking to where he'd seen Mercedes fall. No one was there. Darn it. 'Cedes, Puck where are you?

Finn looked around. Maybe they'd gone into the forest, but as he peeked in, he didn't see anyone. I dunno if they went too far. 'Cedes seemed hurt pretty bad. And he wondered for the tenth time that day, what made Blaine so mad. He remembered.

"Blaine, Blaine!" He was five years old, and it was late at night, probably an hour or more past his bedtime, but he didn't care. All he knew was that there was a monster under his bed and he wanted it gone. He ran, sock feet skidding all the way, until he reached his older brother's bedroom.

"Wha… Finn!" Blaine sat bolt upright. "Whatsa matter kiddo? Do you know what time it is?"

"There's a monster under my bed! C…can ya come and check?"

"C'mon let's go get rid of the monster." Blaine said. He grabbed his little brother's hand, as Finn led him to the offending area.

Blaine checked under the bed, and he didn't see anything. He checked the closets, nothing. "Well, looks like the monsters went invisible." Blaine sighed. "But do you know what scares monsters away for good?"

"What?" Finn jumped on the bed, eager for the monsters to be gone.

"Music. They can't stand the sound of it. As soon as you start singin' they turn to dust and get swept out the open window. Do you wanna try it?"

Finn nodded, as Blaine thought.

"I know the perfect monster scaring song." Blaine smiled. "But you gotta sing too, or it won't work, and sing as loud as you can. 'Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by. Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there. Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead. And don't be shy, just let your feeling roll on by, on by. You know love is better than a song. Love is where all of us belong. So don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by. Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there, you're there. Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by. Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there. Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead. And don't be shy; just let your feeling roll on by on by, on by.'" As the song finished, Finn was laughing.

"I bet that monster couldn't get sweeped outta here fast enough huh?"

"Only one way to find out." The closets, and underneath the bed were checked again. An all clear was given, and Finn was tucked under the covers. As Blaine left, an audible gasp could be heard, and Finn shot upright. "Dad, I didn't mean to wake you up."

Finn hiccupped as he remembered. After that night, nothing had ever been the same. There was arguing almost every day and Blaine didn't come in for monster checks any more. In fact, he acted as though Finn didn't exist at all. They didn't get along like they used to. But it all peaked on Finn's sixth birthday.

"'Cedes! Guess what I got?" Six year old Finn ran out the door to where the eleven year old girl waited. "Dad got me a huntin' jacket!" He proudly showed off the plaid coat. It was a couple sizes too big but the boy didn't care.

"Wow! That's awesome Finn!" Mercedes high-fived the boy. "Is your brother around? We got one more present for ya."

"I'll go get him. Blaine!" Finn shouted through the screen.

Blaine walked to the screen, and saw Mercedes and his brother. His hard exterior softened in the slightest. Seeing his best friend here made things seem a lot better. He opened the door and stepped out. "Hey Mercedes, what's up?"

"Don't you remember Blaine? The present for Finn."

"Oh… right… 'Cedes, listen, about that…umm…" Blaine felt a familiar pair of eyes watching from the window, and felt the shift, and a sudden fear. His defenses went up.

"What? Blaine is everything ok?" Mercedes asked. She went over to comfort her friend, and Finn felt the change. He knew Mercedes was about to get hurt. He went to the farthest corner of the porch, wrapped in the huge hunting jacket, and bowed his head.

Since that day, Finn wondered how Mercedes could even keep a happy face for his sake, but she did. Finn shuddered remembering the heated words, the words that sounded less and less like the brother he loved, and more and more like a stranger who hated the world. Then he remembered a very important piece of advice Mercedes had given him.

"Finn, see that house over there?" Finn looked where Mercedes pointed. It was a quaint little house, significantly smaller, and more beat up than his. "If you ever need a safe place, and a kind ear, go over there. That's where Mrs. Puckerman lives."

That's when he put two and two together. Mrs. Puckerman, the same Mrs. Puckerman that Blaine and his Dad hated so much. Maybe Mercedes had gone over there, and maybe, Puck was there too. He nearly shouted with how overjoyed he was. Then he ran.

Mama Puckerman was busy cleaning, and looking at photo albums when she heard a tiny knock on her door. Oh my, are Noah and Mercedes home already? She walked over to the door, and saw the little boy on her doorstep. Finn Schuester. She opened the door, and stepped out onto her porch. "Hello dear, what can I do for you?"

"Umm…" The little boy looked up at her. "Are Mercedes and Puck here?"

Mama Puckerman looked at the little boy. "I'm afraid not Finn. They probably won't be back for a while. Why aren't you at home?"

"I needed to make sure 'Cedes was ok. Blaine was being a meanie, and she seemed like she was in a lot of pain."

"Mercedes will be fine Hon'. She's a big girl." Mama Puckerman looked around, looking for any sign of headlights. "You'd better get on home before your Dad gets here."

SCREECH! It was too late.

Will clambered up the steps to the porch, gripping Finn's hand with twice as much force as Blaine did earlier. It took all of Finn's restraint to not cry out, as Mama Puckerman looked on with a glare to rival Mercedes'.

"Puckerman, I should've known. Get in the car!" Will pushed, a running Finn down the steps. Finn was lucky he grabbed the railing in enough time. He winced, as he felt a splinter enter his palm.

"Dad, it wasn't her…" He shouted only to be silenced by a death glare from his Dad. What was going on?

"I don't want to hear it." Will's volume decreased but his tone was still firm.

"William, be reasonable to the boy. He was only trying to check on his friend, who your other son injured severely."

"Shut your mouth you ungrateful female." Will spat. Finn shrank back, trying to hold back a gasp. "Are you aware of what your grandson has been doing?"

"Excuse me Sir, are you assuming I don't take care of my grandson?" Mama Puckerman bristled. "I'll have you know that I am very aware of what he has been doing."

"Good, then you'll know why I'm saying it ends now."

Mama Puckerman shook a fist. "Will Schuester, you monster! You are an absolute disgrace to Lima."

Will spat at the old woman's feet, as he walked to his truck. "If I even hear a word of him being hide or hair near Finn, well, let's just say you're gonna wish you didn't pawn your husband's things." This last part was a lethal whisper, unheard by the boy that sat shaking in the flatbed of his dad's truck. Mama Puckerman heard it perfectly, but she didn't believe it.

Will Schuester's full of hot air.

She should have though.

A/N: This chapter end even gives me chills. Well thanks for reading and R&R Songs used in this chapter: Waiting on the World to Change by John Mayer and Don't be Shy by Cat Stevens. Do you think I should use Big Mama's song to Todd in the next chapter, where she explains to Todd about Copper, as Mercedes explaining to Puck? Let me know in a review or PM.