Standard disclaimer, I do not own Glee or any of its characters.
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Quinn should be exhausted, but strangely she felt full of energy. She and Rachel had stayed up till two in the morning talking and giggling about anything and everything and it had been a lot of fun. Over the course of the night Rachel had given her a crash course in all things Broadway and had even gotten Quinn to commit to watching Funny Girl with her as well as seeing the next two plays that were being done at the community theatre. "Arsenic and Old Lace" was the next play and after that was "Crazy For You" both of which, Rachel assured her, were worth seeing.
The first one was supposedly a dark comedy, Quinn could get on board with that, one of her favorite movies of all time was a dark comedy, "Death to Smoochy," Quinn's sense of humor could be a little twisted at times, and the premise of the play amused her. "Crazy for You" was a romantic comedy, Quinn wasn't as excited about that one but she had agreed to go with Rachel to see it and would just have to trust the girl's judgment that it was good.
All in all Quinn was feeling pretty good, she was about to head to glee club right now, having stopped by her locker to drop off her books before heading to glee club to meet up with Brittany and Rachel. She wasn't singing today, they were finishing up the ballads assignment this week but Quinn wanted to get a start on figuring out where the others' talents lay. She was by no means an expert but she did have an eye for what would be pleasing to an audience. She had to, cheerios was all about performance and pleasing the crowd, Quinn just had to figure out how to apply that knowledge to glee.
Her good mood was brought to a screeching halt when she saw Puck making his way over to her, she had been avoiding him and now it seemed like he had finally had enough and had waited for her. Right now Quinn could compare him to someone who looked like a kicked puppy, his hands were in his pockets and his shoulders were slumped in defeat and he was looking at her with big doleful eyes. Quinn might have felt bad… if she didn't know him so well for the bastard that he was.
"Hey, can we talk?" He asks sliding up next to her locker.
"No." She says, leaving no room for argument, slamming her locker shut and beginning to walk away. She didn't know and didn't care about what he had to say. His words were useless dribble.
He chases after her and leans in closely, talking softly so that nobody could hear him. "Look I know you're pissed at me but don't you think you cost me enough as it is, Finn won't talk to me and you keep telling people that I… that I raped you, I didn't, just because you're mad that it happened doesn't give you the right to treat me like that."
Quinn stops and stares at him in disbelief, she honestly can't believe that he just said that to her. "Oh poor Puck, are your actions finally coming back around to bite you in the ass, are you finally having to face the consequences for being a complete and total dick? Poor baby." She mocks him "Listen, if Finn is pissed at you, it's rightfully so, or is sleeping with your best friend's girlfriend covered under some kind of bullshit guy's code."
"Well he should be mad at you too." Puck grumbles.
"Why? I came clean to him, I told him how sorry I was and that I never meant for him to get hurt. He and I worked out our issues, we talked about it and admitted to mistakes made on both of our parts. You, however, didn't give a damn about his feelings, you were content to spend the rest of your life thinking you had gotten one over on him, with him none the wiser. The fact that Finn called you on your bullshit and won't put up with it anymore, is finally realizing what a piece of shit you are, is only a good thing in my mind."
"That's not fair!" Puck growls.
"Isn't it, well I guess you and I will have to agree to disagree on that, and if you are having problems with Finn they are of your own making and you can deal with them yourself, but I'm not going to intercede on your behalf, because quite frankly I think he's better off without you. And as for telling people that you raped me, I haven't, although it's amazing how many people came to that conclusion when I told them what happened, don't you think? I may not have fought you off, but I was certainly in no condition to give consent, I doubt I could have even counted to ten, and I sure as hell never said yes, and if it bothers you that much, if you need my reassurance that what you did was okay and that I'm just being bitchy about it then maybe you need to take a good look in the mirror and think about why it bothers you the way it does. Maybe they're right. Either way, it's done, and I'm not going to pursue it, so you don't have to worry about that, so congratulations it looks like you're off the hook. Now go away."
"You got drunk and you had sex, big deal, get over it. It happens and just because you regret it doesn't mean that what I did was wrong! It happens all the time and you don't see other girls running around crying foul! You have no right to go around spreading that kind of lie about me, I've never forced myself on anyone!" Puck snaps.
"And see, why don't I believe you? And let the record show I didn't tell anyone anything of the sort, I didn't want to tell anyone that you and I had sex, if I could have taken that secret to my grave I would have, the thought that people know that you touched me makes me sick to my stomach. And let's clear up a little misconception you seem to have, I didn't get drunk, you got me drunk and you took advantage of me. You saw someone who was hurting and in trouble and the only thought you had was how could you benefit from the situation, and I think that the only reason it bothers you so much is that you think Santana was right when she called you on it and now you keep picturing every other girl you've done that too and you're wondering if they feel the same way about what happened that I do. The answer is yes, they probably do, but I can't speak for them. I don't know why nobody has ever called you on this before, but I do know that for me, that I personally want nothing to do with you. I've had three people tell me to press charges against you, do you want to know why I'm not going to? Because whether as your friend or your enemy, I don't want you in my life at all and if you dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow, never to be seen or heard from again I wouldn't care. Pressing charges means I have to acknowledge your existence, that I have to keep you on my mind and quite frankly I have too much to deal with without putting you into the equation. You are beneath notice."
Puck blinks back the tears, refusing to cry in front of the girl. "Fine, you and I will never be best friends… or whatever, fine, but what about the kid? You may not like me and you may have this warped view of what happened that night, but I still have a right to be a part of its life, I am still the father-"
"You are not the father!" Quinn snarls, shoving Puck into a nearby wall. "You are the sperm donor! Don't you dare call yourself a father, I've been lucky enough to recently see what a real father is like and you have done nothing to deserve to call yourself a father!" Quinn takes a moment to calm down, before speaking up again. "And the only right you have to this child is the right to stay the hell away from them and I'm going to make sure that you do. I'm putting the baby up for adoption, I'm going to find it a loving family who will take care of it, and I'm going to make sure that you never ever see them."
Puck's eyes widen in shock. "Adoption, what? But… We could take care of it, I could take care of it, how can you leave our baby with some strangers!?"
"The baby, even my baby if you want to be technical, but never your baby. I'd leave the baby in front of a firehouse or an orphanage, or with a pack of fucking wolves before I'd leave it anywhere near you. And the baby's family won't be strangers, I'm going to make sure they are everything that I'm not and everything that you will never be. The baby will be fine, as if you actually care. And you keep saying that you want to take care of it, that you will take care of it, but you haven't done a thing to show me you actually mean it. Which is fine, I wouldn't accept your help anyway, but at least I know that you're insincere in your efforts, because this is the first I've heard from you in weeks and you haven't approached anyone else about the baby either. Not an offer of support, not a place to live, not a single damn thing."
"Well… I mean… I'm not in a position to offer those things yet, I mean I don't make all that much cleaning pools and what I do make I need, plus I haven't even told my mom yet, she doesn't even know for fucks sake so it's not like I can just go up to her and ask if you could live with us."
Quinn rolls her eyes. "Like I said, insincere, you like the idea of being a father but you are way to selfish to actually make the sacrifices necessary to be one, you've just been sitting on your ass doing your high school "badass" thing without a care in the world for this child growing inside of me. It's not his baby but Finn stepped up, he owed me nothing and he still tried, and I may have even considered keeping the baby if it had been Finn's, you…" Quinn scoffs. "Not a chance. Stay away from me Puck, there is nothing you have to offer that I want and you have nothing to offer this child either."
"Wait!" As Quinn turns to walk away, Puck reaches out and grabs her arm to stop her, desperate to change her mind. Quinn can only stare in anger and disbelief at the audacity he had to actually grab her after everything that he has done. But before she even has a chance to tell him to let go, someone else beats her to it.
"Let her go of her! Right. Now." A voice growls that is full of such hatred and venom that even Quinn is taken aback.
She looks over and sees Brittany standing there, her body ripe with tension, her fists clutched and shaking at her sides, and the look in her eyes is as cold as ice. There was none of the usual kindness or happiness that Brittany usually seemed to exude, all that was there was a barely suppressed rage that was seconds from unleashing with the force of a hurricane.
Rachel is standing just behind Brittany, her eyes narrowed at Puck as well.
"Just stay out of this, alright! This is between me and Quinn, we have some things we need to work out." Puck snaps back, but he does let go of Quinn and take a step back.
"No you don't, because there is nothing that you can say to her that will make it okay, nothing, and the only thing you need to work out with her is the best way that you can stay out of her way. And if you ever touch her or grab her again, then you and I will have some "things" to work out." Brittany snarls.
"I'm the father of the baby I have right to say what happens with the baby, it's just as much mine as it is-"
Brittany's eyes widen and her pupils dilate and she begins to charge forward and Quinn has to physically move to intercept her friend from attacking the boy, who takes a few startled steps back. "Britany! Brittany! B, it's okay! It's okay sweetie, please it's okay, calm down." Quinn says soothingly, trying to calm her friend down.
Brittany looks down into Quinn's eyes and begins to settle down though her breathing is still shaky as she tries and forces herself to calm down, her body still rigid and tense.
"Noah… maybe it's best if you left Quinn alone right now." Rachel says, trying to defuse the situation. She didn't know the details of what was going on but she did know that she didn't like the way that he had grabbed her friend and that if Brittany was this angry then it was for a good reason.
Puck throws his hands in to the air in anger. "Fine, whatever! I don't fucking care anymore, I'm done!" He turns and punches a nearby locker leaving a large dent, "I don't need this shit." He growls as he storms away.
When he's finally out of sight Brittany visibly relaxes and the anger is replaced with concern. "Are you okay Quinn? He didn't hurt you or anything?"
Quinn smiles at her friend. "No, I'm fine he didn't do anything, but thanks for coming to my rescue."
Brittany kisses Quinn's forehead and hugs her tightly.
"Um, not to intrude or anything but what was that about? Noah seemed really angry?" Rachel asks. Brittany and Quinn pull apart.
"I told him that I was putting the baby up for adoption, he wants me to keep it, so I told him what he could do with his opinion. You guys came along at the end of the argument, no big deal." Quinn reassures Rachel.
"Are you sure?" Rachel asks.
"I'm sure, but what are you guys doing here?"
"You were running late, we came to find you because you said you would be right there and that you just wanted to stop at your locker, we thought it was a little weird that it was taking you so long." Rachel answers.
"Well thanks, both of you, it's not much a first impression I'm making by being late on my first day as captain." Quinn says as she links her arms with both Rachel and Brittany, blowing off the encounter she just had with Puck. "Well, we better get going, they can't start without their star performers." Quinn says smiling at Brittany and Rachel as she begins to lead them to the choir room. While she isn't paying attention Rachel and Brittany share a worried glance, wondering if their friend is really okay.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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"So Quinn's glee captain now? Huh, that's interesting." Finn comments distractedly as he mashes the buttons on his controller.
"Yeah, I didn't see that one coming but she's pretty excited about it and I think she'll be pretty good at it too." Santana grunts in response as her character is slammed into the ground multiple times.
"Oh I'm not disagreeing, Quinn's pretty much good at whatever she puts her mind too. I'm just surprised that she wants it, that's all."
"Why? Why wouldn't she want it?" Santana's character uppercuts Finn's. "She's talented," her character sweeps his character's legs. "She's passionate," her character slams his into the wall. "She is dedicated." Her character knocks his into the air. "She'll be great at it." Her character begins to juggle his. "She'll lead us to a championship." Her character finishes his off with its special attack.
Santana doesn't even acknowledge the first victory she's had in over an hour, she just turns and looks at Finn with a serious gaze. "Quinn's basically been beaten down to the ground and you see, that's not right. It like goes against the laws of nature or something. We all know that Quinn belongs on top, that she deserves to be on top, but unlike us she doesn't always realize that. But it's like instinctual within her, if she's going to do something she isn't going to half ass it, she is going to be the very best she can be. She can't help it and why should she?" Santana smirks at Finn. "Even if it is something as lame as glee club."
Finn rolls his eyes. "Whatever, you and I both know that you love it."
Santana stares at him and tilts her head for a second before speaking. "Fair enough, you're right I do love it, I love singing and I love performing. I didn't think I would, but I do, I'm excited every day to go there and I can't wait to go back and sing with everyone, even if the majority of the songs we sing should be left back in the eighties somewhere in a dark corner, hidden and slightly ashamed of themselves, I do love it, in-spite of all of its "gleeky" glory."
Finn smiles at Santana, but doesn't say anything. He never thought in a million years that she and him would ever get along, let alone be friends but he was coming to see just how amazing she really was. Yeah she could be a… well not to sugar coat it or anything, but she could be a complete bitch when she wanted to be. She was actually quite proud of that at times and he spent quite a bit of time as one of her favorite targets, but he was learning that it really was just a front and that it was easier for her to drive people away with a harsh personality than it was to let people in and he counted himself very lucky that she was beginning to let him in. Moments like these, though few and far between, where she was real with him were some of the best moments of his day, and so he usually responded with just silent acceptance that way he didn't say something to ruin the moment. He could acknowledge that he wasn't the most tactful of people and that he often times got stuck with his foot in his mouth.
He actually counted the fight as a good thing, not that Quinn had been hurt was a good thing, but the friendship that had resulted because of the fight. His mom was still super pissed that he had gotten suspended and didn't want to hear any excuses as to what was the cause. She didn't care, "he had a future to think of, he couldn't just throw it away because he wanted to look tough or prove a point." But Finn didn't agree, it was more important to him that he was able to look at himself in the mirror and not be ashamed, that he was able to go to bed with a clear conscience, than some vague future of what may or may not be. His friend had been attacked and so he did what he felt was right, he stood up for her. He wouldn't change a single thing about the way he reacted.
"So speaking of glee club," Santana says. "When are you and mini-Streisand going to hook up?"
Finn turns pink, embarrassed and uncertain about this topic. "I… I'm not… I don't know, I mean… it's a little more complicated now, I mean Quinn's living with her now and I… I don't know how that will affect things or if it does, or even should. I like Rachel, I like her a lot, but I don't want to hurt Quinn any more. Besides I don't even know if Rachel likes me like that… we haven't really talked about it."
Santana rolls her eyes. "Look, you and I are friends now so let Aunty Tana lay down some words of wisdom for you. That girl is crazy about you, if you ask her out she will say yes. So as your friend, I'm telling you to ask her out. Stop putting it off, quit being a wuss, and just do it."
"Thanks… I think, and yeah I guess your right-"
"Hold up, I'm not finished yet." Santana interrupts him. "Now that was my advice to you as your friend. This is me speaking as both Rachel's and Quinn's friend, so you had best pay attention." She waits for him to be looking her in the eyes before continuing.
"Quinn is my best friend, and you were a shitty boyfriend. You could be charming when you wanted to be but you didn't listen to her, you treated her like arm candy when you and I both know that she is so much more than that, and you cheated on her. That was where a lot of our issues came from, I didn't like the way you treated her. And now Rachel is my friend too, just like Quinn, just like Brittany, and now even just like you. I look out for my friends, so when I say this you had better pay close fucking attention. I told you that Rachel likes you, that she would say yes if you asked her out, that doesn't fucking matter, you had better go out of your way to go above and beyond what is needed to be with her. A guaranteed yes doesn't mean that you get to slack off, it means that you had better bring you're A-game every single time and you had better be worthy of that yes. You cheated on my friend, honestly I didn't think I could forgive anyone for that but she forgave you and you earned it, so I forgave you too. So as far as that goes we're good. You ever do that to Rachel and all bets are off, treat her like she deserves to be treated."
"Now back to being your friend. If you need help with it, if you need ideas on asking her out or help setting up or you're just worried that you're fucking up or maybe you just need advice then come and talk to me. You're my friend and I'll help you anyway that I can, or Brittany can help you, she's freaking Yoda when it comes to feelings and shit. You're a good guy Finn, better than I gave you credit for and you deserve to be happy too."
She looks at him seriously. "And I don't want you to think that I'm gonna let Berry get away with not treating you with the respect that you deserve either. You had better believe that if she tries to treat you like you're her servant or fucking slave or bank account or some other shit like that, that I'm gonna call her on it." Santana laughs. "You're going to find that being my friend is a mixed blessing. I'm not going to let you fuck up or get fucked over and I find that the best way to make sure that happens or doesn't happen is to be all up in your business, so get used to it."
Finn laughs as well. "You know, I don't think I'll mind too much, having someone I know I can trust watching my back." Finn says sincerely
Santana has a light blush on her face with a small but pleased smile at his acceptance of how… pushy she could be at times, it takes her a second but she manages to force a smirk. "Just try to keep in mind that Santana knows best. You do that and your life will be smooth sailing. And as for Quinn, she's okay with you two being together. It'll be weird for her but she wants you both to be happy, maybe just tone down any PDA at first and make sure you don't let your relationship interfere with your friendship and you should be good. And like I said I'll be there to keep you from screwing up."
Finn nudges her playfully. "It's a wonder I could ever function without you."
"Please, everyone needs one of me in their lives. Unfortunately I'm an original one-of-a-kind, so count your blessings bitch."
Finn just laughs, but doesn't disagree. "So, do we keep playing this or do you want to switch it up?"
"What did you have in mind?"
"Call of Duty." Finn suggests hopefully.
"Nope, not happening."
"Ah c'mon, why not?" Finn pouts.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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When Finn pulled up to his house he was surprised to see Puck's truck parked in front of it with the owner leaning against the driver side door. Since their fight he and Puck hadn't said a single word to each other, so Finn was feeling hopeful that maybe his friend was coming around, that he might actually get a sincere apology and that his friend was going to start helping Quinn.
The frown on Puck's face as Finn got out of his own truck dashed that hope. "What are you doing here?" Finn asks.
Puck pushes off his truck and walks over to Finn. "Can we talk?"
Finn shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know, can we?"
"Look I wasn't trying to get one over on you, and I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings," Puck says, rolling his eyes, and Finn figured that was about as close to an apology as he was going to get, he just needed to decide if it was enough. "I know you're still pissed at me, but I'm here now, and I want to make it up to you."
"Alright I'm listening." Finn says.
"I'm leaving. This town has nothing to offer me and I'm ready to move on, there's nothing holding me here and I figured since you're my bro, that you could come with me."
"Wait what?" Finn finally notices a couple of packed bags in the back of the truck and is even more confused.
"I said let's leave this shit town, I've got it all planned out, we'll take my pool cleaning business to California, do you have any idea how many lonely rich women own pools there? We go, we get rich, we have fun, and we forget this place. Think about it."
Finn stares at him in disbelief. "You're kidding right?" there is no way that he can be serious about this.
"No man, it'll be great, we'll hit the open road and then get our own apartment, we won't have to answer to anyone but ourselves, no rules, no responsibilities, tons of beautiful women, it'll be great."
"What about our families?" Finn asks slowly trying wrap his mind around what Puck is saying and hoping he can get his friend to see reason. "I can't just leave my mom, and what about school? And you, what about your mom and your sister and the baby? I know Quinn's giving it up for adoption but still, you owe it to her to be there and to help her through this." Finn finishes starting to feel angry.
"I don't owe her a damn thing! If that bitch wants to do it on her own, wants to give up her kid, fine, I don't care anymore, I've offered twice now to help out and she's turned me down. I've tried, I've done my part and I'm done!"
Finn growls. "Oh yeah, you've offered twice huh, and what exactly have you offered? Have you offered her money, a place to stay, what exactly have you offered? Because from what I've seen you've been content to just sit back and let her take care of everything!?"
"Look, I said I would take care of her and the baby, she doesn't want me to, and she keeps telling people that I… you know what it doesn't matter, I've offered and she shot me down, I don't owe her a thing."
"Yes you do, she is going through a lot right now, she's pregnant, essentially homeless, her parents beat the shit out of her and like it or not part of that is on you. You're the one who slept with her, so man up! Go out, get a job, and get her some damn money, show her that your serious about wanting to help, don't just say that you want to help, fucking do something! And look maybe I can talk to her, maybe I can help get her to hear you out and at least listen to what you-"
"I don't want your help and I don't need it! I'm done with that bitch and all I want to know is if you're coming with me or not?"
"Not." Finn says angrily, unable to believe that his best friend of eleven years is really doing this, is really going to just run away.
"Fine, I'm gone then." Puck snarls back, before turning and getting into his truck.
"So that's it, life gets a little rough and you take off, you abandon your family and your responsibilities just like your father did to you!? Is that how you want to be!?"
Puck stops short and then he stares at Finn straight in the eyes. "You know I used to hate my dad for that, but now… now I get it. Nobody gave him a chance, not my mom, not my sister, and not even me, but I get it now because I'm finally in his shoes, everyone tried to tie him down with some bullshit sense of responsibility that he didn't want in the first place and no matter what he did it was probably never good enough for anyone anyways. So he got smart, it took him a while, but he got smart and he took off. Well that won't be me, I'm not just going to stick around just because people say that I should. I'm going to look out for myself, me, and if you don't like it tough. You can go fuck yourself, and so can Quinn and anyone else who doesn't like it. I tried, I did my good deed, I offered my help and it was rejected, but I'm not going to stick around and keep trying just so I can be shot down again and again. I tried being a nice guy and it didn't work and when all of this blows up in her face she'll have no one else to blame for it but herself, but I'm not going to stick around to watch the fall out because guess what, I don't care anymore, about her or the baby."
And with the slam of his truck door Puck pulls out of the driveway and is gone, and Finn feels like all of the air has left his lungs. He has no idea what to do as he watches Puck drive farther and farther away.
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A.N. So that was chapter 26 and I hope you all enjoyed it, next chapter will hopefully be up next Friday.