Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. You guys might also hate me… but if I make it up to you, will you forgive me? Consider this your warning :)

Puck felt Mercedes place her head against his shoulder as they walked down the slight hill leading to the lake. The area wasn't too crowded, families had their barbecues, large blankets laid out for them, lawn chairs and tables under tents to ward off the light rain. He carried their belongings as they made their way toward the blue pop up tent near the edge of the lake.

"So, I hope you're okay with this," Puck started, and Mercedes rose an eyebrow in skepticism, "Its not bad, but I cleared it with your parents. Rachel is having a New Year's 'get together' later, and they said we could stay the night." Mercedes rose both her eyebrows now as she looked thoughtful.

"That sounds fun. And by 'get together' I assume party?"

"Exactly." He smirked and noticed Mercedes fingers felt a little cold. "Did you bring your gloves?"

"Yeah, its in the bag." She answered just as they arrived at the tent. So far only Artie and Brittany were there.

"Where's Tina? These are her chairs aren't they?" Mercedes questioned after everyone said hello. Artie was the one to answer her.

"Her and Mike took a walk around. They just left."

"So we're all going to Berry's house after this?" Mercedes asked and everyone nodded. "Remember all the crazy things that happened the last time we went there?" She chuckled and oh did Puck remember. He suppressed his thoughts as he laid down their blankets and grabbed a beer for them. Mercedes took it with a smile and sat down beside Brittany.

Puck didn't hear much about what they were talking about, he was just thinking about the last year and what a roller coaster its been. Suddenly, Artie rolled up next to him.

"Hey man." He greeted and Puck nodded his acknowledgement.

"Sup, Artie." The younger teen smiled to himself before speaking up again.

"Remember when you kept calling me anything but Artie?" He asked before pushing his glasses up.

"Yeah," Puck chuckled. "Man, how much things have changed."

"Yeah, I can actually stand to be by you now."

"Good grief." Puck replied and they both laughed quietly to themselves. It was still a bit awkward around Artie, but he was trying and that meant a lot to Puck. For a second he thought Artie never would. Artie's attitude toward Puck put a huge strain on his friendship with Mercedes and Puck didn't want to be the one to get between them. Thank goodness that bygones are now bygones.

"I see how you look at her, and I know she's got the right guy." Artie's remark was sudden and random, but Puck clapped him on the shoulder nonetheless.

"I'd hope to grow into that." He said before taking a drink of his beer.

"You are. Anyway, so what you up to these days?" He asked, and Puck went into his business and how he's thinking about going to school in the spring. "Maybe a community college, nothing too crazy."

"What're you going into?"

"I'm between social work and business."

"Both make sense. Given everything."

"Yeah," He chuckled. "So what about you?"

"Just school. Stoked my girls back. But as for after graduation, I'm applying for schools that are closer to her, but there are a couple of schools I'm interested in attending. One's in New York and the other is in Connecticut." Puck could see the debate in his eyes and felt the need to encourage him.

"Why don't you just go to the ones you want to?"

"I don't mind giving it up to stay in Ohio."

"I call bull." Was Puck's immediate response, and Artie looked at him incredulously. "If you didn't, you wouldn't have mentioned them to begin with. I say go for it. I know it might be hard to be away from Brittany, but you make it work now, you can make it work again." Artie didn't say anything for a few moments. Apparently whatever Puck said he was chewing on, then suddenly he could see the epiphany in the high schooler's eyes.

"So, Mercedes is planning on going out to California for school. Are you going to be okay if she leaves?" It was Puck's turn to wear a flabbergasted expression. This was the first he's head of this. For some reason, he thought she'd just attend Ohio State like her brothers. He had no idea California was Mercedes's goal, that was so far! He'd go with her in a heartbeat, lots of opportunities for a pool cleaning business, but was that his career goal in life? And most importantly, what about his mom? He couldn't just leave her in Ohio alone.

"Puck, you okay?" Artie asked and Puck relaxed his face into a lopsided grin, despite the confusion he may have felt.

"I think, if Mercedes leaves, and I couldn't follow her… that I would encourage her to follow her dreams. To not hold back because I'm here, and I know that would be Brittany's mentality, too. If you really love someone, you wouldn't hog all the support, but share some too. Brittany loves you, you two can work this out."

"Thanks man."

"Just, don't be stupid dude." Puck concluded and Artie laughed.

"Thats always good advice."

Just then Sam arrived with Rachel, and behind them were Finn and Quinn.

Quinn? He hadn't seen her since around graduation. He thought she was going to some school in Tennessee. She caught his gaze and offered a grin as she gripped Finn's arm, who glanced down at her with a smile on his own face. Huh, so they were back together, thats good, last he knew they were on the outs. Puck still felt a little bad about how things went down between them. If only he stopped playing games, he wouldn't've hurt her the way he did.

"Hey guys." She greeted, her gaze landing on Puck. "Its good to see everyone." He nodded his head in greeting and Mercedes stood to greet the four of them, ending with Quinn.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be here! I'm glad you are though, its good to see you." Puck always found their relationship a bit weird, maybe because they were actually friends. Kinda. Mercedes kept her company a lot during the summer he and Quinn were together and Quinn grew rather fond of her. Who knew what she thought now.

"Yep, Finn invited me. Heard I was back in Lima and was nice enough to extend an invitation. Its great to see you too, Mercy."

"Want a beer?"

"Oh yes please." Quinn answered as she widened her eyes like beer is exactly what she needed. Mercedes simply giggled and handed one to her after having Puck pop the top open.

"Thank you."

Finn walked up to them and scooped Mercedes up in a bear hug. She groaned against his chest as he restricted the air in her lungs. "How's my favorite girl doing?" He asked and Mercedes giggled. Puck noticed Quinn's face at the adjective. Finn must've caught it because he corrected himself. "Er, one of my favorite girls, of course." He said, putting his arm around the blonde's shoulder. She offered a tight, obligatory smile, and Puck knew it was too little too late for Finn.

"Um, I'm good. Are you guys going to Rachel's later?" They glanced at each other as they considered it, and Mercedes probably thought it was her duty to convince them. "Its gonna be fun." She sang-song and Puck smiled to himself about how right he was.

"Remember the last time Rachel had a party?" Finn asked animatedly.

"Yes, it was a very interesting night. Fun though. We could do it over in a Berry Party 2.0, so what do you say?"

"We're in." Quinn answered quickly and a little coldly. She chugged down her beer and grimaced as the last of the contents made it down her throat. "Got anything stronger?"

"Um, I think Tina has some wine, but you might have to raid her cooler." Mercedes answered a bit flummoxed at the scene in front of her.

"Perfect." She said before grabbing Finn's hand and taking off.

Mercedes turned to face Puck and it looked like she was trying to hold in a laugh. Once she was close enough to him, she let out a light chuckle. "That was… interesting."

"Yeah. She's probably mad at him because of that comment he said to you earlier." Mercedes didn't respond as she drank some of her beer. His girlfriend's eyes widened and jumped to her feet when she saw Kurt and Blaine walking hand in hand.

"Whoa, when did this happen?" She questioned scandalously and the couple looked at each other with a smile.

"After we realized that we had more in common than originally thought." Blaine answered and Kurt flashed a smile at Mercedes.

"Well, this? I like this. I can see it working." She said as they made their way to sit next to Puck. He watched in amusement as they talked on cheekily about how Kurt and Blaine realized the tension between each other wasn't caused by hate. It was misunderstanding. One day Kurt marched up to Blaine and demanded to know what his problem was. Blaine thought Kurt demanded attention, and Kurt fell into how he just wanted to feel appreciated. Blaine felt the same after Wes especially joined glee, and since Wes and Kurt split, Kurt was all the more eager to dog the former lead of glee. Their mutual distaste of Wes brought them closer and opened an array of doors for them to get to know each other better.

"Wow." Puck said.

"Yeah." Kurt replied dreamily.

"I mean, you two really did not like each other. Its so funny how things find their way."

"Like you and Cedes?" Blaine asked and Puck looked at his girlfriend.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

Mercedes was sitting between Puck's legs as they watched the fireworks far above them. The countdown to midnight was beginning and they looked at each other as it was growing closer to midnight. Once they heard zero, they leaned in and kissed each other hard. Puck leaned forward and Mercedes brought her hand around to pull him closer by the neck. This was their first midnight kiss together, and probably her first ever and he wanted it to be nice. He felt her tongue slide along his bottom lip and he opened his mouth wider so their tongues could swirl gently together. Mercedes began to turn in his arms and slowly started climbing over him once she did. Luckily, there wasn't anyone near them. Their friends were sprayed sporadically around their little area. Each couple busy with their own kisses for their special ones. Still though, with the alcohol in their systems and the level of exposure they had with other people around, he gently pushed her back.

"Babe, I'm enjoying this-"

"Good, then lets not stop." She said, slowly pushing Puck on his back then straddling him. They hadn't been in this position since that night they were in his car. She almost didn't stop and he had to be the one to think clearly. He wasn't thinking clearly now as he allowed her to suck on the sensitive spot behind his ear. Mercedes found that fun spot one day and he reacted largely. Ever since then, she went there to 'convince' him to do what she wanted. Now, it seemed she set her sights on this little make out session.

Puck groaned against her hair as she slowly made way back to his mouth. The mouth that invited hers eagerly. He ran his fingers through her hair, he could also feel her breasts against his chest and it made him remember the night he got to suck on them. The thought was making him hard and wondered if she could begin to feel his member through their clothes. She suddenly began to move her hips and Puck instinctively thrusted forward. It took everything in him to push her off.

"We need to stop because you're putting me on a roller coaster, baby." She looked at him with dazed eyes and he pushed forward to continue. "I mean, one day we're as celibate as celibate can be, then the next we're pushing lines that you're not willing to cross… and I don't think thats fair. For either of us."

"I didn't think of it like that." Mercedes looked so disappointed but Puck knew he was right. She needed to know how it made him feel because there was only so much willpower he had. "I'm sorry, babe." She said before stroking his face tenderly.

"Its alright." Puck replied, gripping her hand and pressed it onto his cheek.

"Happy New Year, babe."

"Happy New Year, love." He replied.

"Happy New Year!" Came the cheers of an extremely drunk Tina. She ran toward them and plopped down on the grass near their blanket. "Wow, you guys were making out for so long I never thought I'd be able to say that! I mean, I guess you didn't need the advice to have a great New Year's kiss. My apologies, Cede." She continued. "Anyway, we're gonna start packing up. Mike, Blaine, Kurt, and Rachel are all sober so they're gonna be our drivers to the AFTER PARTYYYY!"

Mercedes grimaced as she covered the ear closest to Tina, Puck did something to the same effect. "Ok hun." Mercedes chuckled, "We'll be there."

"Okay." Tina said before smacking a kiss on Mercedes's lips which left both her and Puck stunned. "Better hurry!" She threw at them before bouncing back to the rest of the group.

"We'd better go." Puck suggested when he recovered from the shock of Tina's actions and jumped up, reaching a hand down to help up his girlfriend.

"Yeah." Mercedes agreed as she grabbed it.

The party was in full swing and Puck was having deja vu. Mercedes and Mike were dancing closely with Tina cheering them on. Puck wasn't angry like the last time though, just looking at her face totally seductive as she eyed her boyfriend, it turned him on. Mike wanted to dance with her and Puck always knew that they enjoyed dancing together. It was something they shared and it was what it was. Puck was too busy watching his lady he didn't notice Quinn moving next to him.

"Some party, huh? I wasn't allowed at the last one because Rachel had a thing for Finn." She rolled her eyes as she explained.

"Yeah, this party is going better than the last, so you're already winning. Last time was a bust." Quinn had a perplexed look on her face.

"Mercedes said it was fun."

"Yeah, she thought so."

"Oh, so these opinions are objective?"

"Completely."

"Interesting because they seem pretty subjective to me. But if you're saying the last party sucked, I'm with you. I hate missing out." Quinn concluded and he chuckled.

"That I know." He said before holding up his glass in cheers, which she clanked against his. "So, you and Mercedes are still going strong, huh?"

"Yeah." Puck answered before glancing back at his girl.

"Thats lucky."

"What about you and Finn?"

"Oh, just a fling. He really knows how to take me from behind. Almost as good as another guy I know." Puck looked at her face and knew she was preying on him. There was a twinkle in her eyes that he knew all too well.

"Quinn, don't."

"What?" She asked with wide innocent eyes, but Puck knew better. "I'm just saying. If you still fuck the way you did when we were together, then damn… Mercedes must want you all the time." He was growing uncomfortable and felt the need to defend himself and Mercedes's honor.

"We're waiting."

"Waiting?" Quinn repeated scandalously. "Oh c'mon Puck, you can hardly 'Wait'. Remember when you were horny and convinced me to sit on your lap in my living room? My parents were in the other room and well… I rode you till we both came. Or that time in the library? We were literally looking for a book and you pulled me to one of the cubicles, made me sit on the desk, hiked up my dress and somehow managed to fuck me right there." She moved closer to him and he slightly jumped at her voice in his ear. "Its a good thing I wasn't wearing any underwear. Looks like somethings never change." She said before sauntering off. Puck swallowed the awkward lump in his throat. What just happened?

He watched her walk over to Rachel, bend over so that her dress was just covering her ass, and began to whisper in her ear. Puck looked back toward Mercedes but she was busy laughing with Artie and Sam.

"Guys, Quinn had a classic idea. Spin the bottle." Everyone hollered and hooted. They quickly assembled to the now clear floor and Mercedes pointed to Puck that he should sit on the opposite side from her. He shook his head. This was already a bad idea. He was secure in his relationship, but he did not know what Quinn had up her sleeve.

"Lets go Puck." Sam hollered as he and Mike pulled a very reluctant Noah to the circle. He sat across his girlfriend who happened to be sitting next to Quinn. Does no one else think this is a terrible idea?!

Artie spun first and it landed on Blaine. "First spin and it seems like the tone is set for this game." He said before rolling over to Blaine and quickly kissing him on the lips. Everyone cheered and it was Brittany's turn to spin. It landed on Mercedes. They got up, leaned over, and with cupping her cheek, Brittany kissed Mercedes hard. The dark haired girl obviously wasn't expecting it, but before she knew it, Brittany let go and Puck rose his eyebrows at Mercedes. She smiled shyly when he mouthed 'Hot.'

Next it was Mike's turn, who had to kiss Rachel, then it was Puck's. His landed on Santana and glanced at his girlfriend briefly before reaching over to kiss the latina. It didn't seem to bother Mercedes for she simply took another swig of her alcohol and giggled at something Blaine said.

Mercedes spun and ironically, it landed on Quinn, who moved in slowly to kiss her. The blonde lightly ran her fingers between Mercedes's hair and pulled her in for what looked like a french kiss. Puck believed that because he swore he saw Quinn's tongue flick as they opened their mouths. When they pulled away Mercedes fanned herself in a playful manner toward Quinn. Quinn, on the other hand looked at her, chuckled, then met Puck's gaze. Gently wiping the corner of her mouth and slowly brought the corner up in a smirk.

What kind of sick game was this?

Puck looked back at Mercedes who simply winked at him.

Quinn spun and Puck watched in horror as it landed on him. Her smirk grew as she quirked her lip attractively. Puck suppressed a groan as he leaned over the circle to kiss her. This was a bad idea, this was a bad idea, this was a bad idea! The phrase warningly repeated in his head. Suddenly, Quinn placed a hand on his chest and he made a chaste kiss to her lips then pulled away, when her hand found the back of his head and she pulled him in for a deeper kiss. She moved closer so she was flushed against him. Puck tried to move back again but she simply pulled him back, pushing her tongue between his lips. It was awkward and wrong, but he could everyone yelling their approval. She groaned in his mouth and Puck thought it would be easier if he pictured that it was Mercedes's groan. Maybe that was what motivated him to open his mouth and let her in. Her tongue was warm and strong against his own, and she tasted of beer and something not like Mercedes. Quickly and forcefully he pushed her off. It was so hard she nearly fell backward but was quick to catch herself.

Puck sat back down and saw the confusion written on Mercedes's face. He made kissy lips at her but she only scrunched her nose and Puck didn't know what to make of that.

Luckily, Puck never had to kiss Quinn again, but he had to kiss Rachel, Kurt, and Santana again. Mercedes landed on Mike, Blaine and Quinn again. That time, Puck didn't look at either of them, he kept his gaze locked on Rachel beside him.

When the game was finally over, Puck rushed to Mercedes but was stopped by Quinn. "I have to show you something." She said in an alert tone. It almost sounded important. "Will you hurry?!" He glanced at his girlfriend who looked at him in confusion before allowing himself to be yanked by the blonde.

"I'll be back, babe."

They ran up the stairs into the bathroom where Quinn closed the door. "I don't have time for your games, Quinn."

"No, please, I have to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Puck, I want you. After seeing you tonight I'm reminded of how much I need you." She said before pushing him against the mirror. "I've had tons of shit happen to me and I want to forget them all. Help me forget them all?"

Puck tried to push past her but she yanked his arm back to the sink. She hopped up on the counter and wrapped her legs firmly around him. "Just fuck me the way we used to before and I will leave you alone." He looked in her desperate eyes and pitied her.

"You need help."

"Duh! Thats why I'm here. Puck… please?" Her voice broke as she pulled him in for a kiss. Their lips made brief contact and Puck pushed her back. She grabbed his hand and he was surprised at how strong she was. It distracted him temporarily when he felt the inner folds of her pussy and it was soaked.

"Quinn, stop!" He roared and grabbed her shoulders. "I am in love with Mercedes." He said much more calmly. "I do not want you, and you need help."

The door rattled and Puck looked in horror at who it might be. Was it Mercedes?! Nope, somehow it was worse, it was Artie.

"What the hell?!" He yelled and Puck turned back to the blonde in front of him. Her dressed was hiked to the point you could pretty much see her bare bottom. Her hair was messy and his shirt was stretched. Her legs around him.

"Its not what it looks like." Puck protested but Artie was already rolling away. "Seriously! Its not!" He still didn't answer. "Artie, say something."

"You're disgusting. I always knew it." Puck felt heavy tears in his eyes, threatening to fall over.

"Nothing happened. Nothing was ever going to happen." He explained and hated that his voice cracked. Either way he approached it, this looked bad!

"Could've fooled me!"

"I know! It looks wrong, but I love Mercedes with everything I am. She means everything to me. Please, don't tell her."

"You want me to lie… for you? Yeah right."

"Okay then… give me till the end of the week to tell her what happened. Please!"

"Why, so you could lie straight to her face? Don't think so." Puck's tears were really coming down now. There just wasn't any bargaining with Artie, it was so frustrating! All that he's build to gain Mercedes trust in the last few years, and all the walls they've worked so hard to break down so that they could be vulnerable together … it was all gonna slip through his fingers. Man, this hurt.

"Fine, Artie." He was past the point of hysterically begging Artie to reconsider and to believe what Puck was saying, but Artie was dead set on what he saw and how he perceived it, there was no use. "If you're gonna tell her, could you at least not do it on New Year's day?" Puck's voice was soft and desperate. His eyes red from the burning of unshed tears. His hands were shaking so hard as he waited for Artie's answer.

"You should've thought of that before you did this." Puck's heart fell into his stomach. This was it, his happiness was going to come crashing down on him.

"Artie, please… You see how happy she is, at least consider waiting for a little while. Its Mercedes. She deserves to be happy."

"You're right, she does." He paused, then looked at Puck dead in the eye. "Fine I have another option." Puck's eyebrows shot up. Did he really get through to Artie? Had he remembered their conversation at the lake? A weight was beginning to lift before Artie spoke up again. "Break up with her, or I'm telling her everything I saw. Then the reputation you've build up with Mercedes will always be tarnished. Your betrayal will always be in the back of her mind whenever she looks at you." Puck didn't think his heart could fall any deeper.

"I can't do that."

"Then I can't do what you're asking." Artie turned to roll away and Puck hated him so much. Even with how much he hated Artie, he hated himself more. "Yo, Britts, I'm ready to come back down." He said in his phone and a few moments later she ascended the stairs.

"Whoa, Puck, what happened to you?" She questioned in sympathy.

"He's fine." Artie answered and Puck said nothing. After another worried look from Brittany and they were getting ready to head down the stairs. Puck continued to weigh his options. Well, breaking up was never an option, but at least if they broke up, there would be some hope of having her back. Couples broke up and got back together all the time, maybe this could be one of those times. Or, he could have a reputation that gave him absolutely no chance. But either from Puck's mouth or Artie's, they'd be lies. Puck would hide what he did, and Artie would say her boyfriend was fucking his ex at a party. Both lies, there was only one way to do this. Tell her the absolute truth, she could take it and they'd move forward, or she could hate him forever. The ladder hurt but he couldn't keep something like this from her. If anyone was going to tell her, fuck Artie- he wouldn't be the one to tell her-it was gonna be from himself.

"Artie, you have a deal."

"I mean it. Do it soon, or you're gonna have a problem." Brittany was looked at Artie like he was a monster.

"Whats going on?"

"Don't worry babe. Its all gonna be solved soon."

"Okay." She agreed, but her face still held skepticism.

"Lets get back to this party."

"You coming Puck?" She asked, and he looked at Artie, who gave him a challenging look.

"Nah, I'm gonna hang around here for a little."

"Okay. I hope that whatever is going on, it'll work out." She said before descending down the stairs with Artie. Puck was glad when they left because that last comment made his eyes burn with fresh tears.

"Happy fuckin' New Year, Puck." He spat angrily at himself before heading out the door. He had a brief debate if he wanted to go back in the house, snatch Quinn by the hair and make her confess what she's done to everyone, but maybe she really was in a bad place. Still though, that bitch would deserve it if he made her admit that she threw herself at him. A few calming breaths, or as calm as they'll ever be, he pushed off the door and ran home. He lived 12 miles away, but he ran as far as he could. Four miles in he threw up, then pushed himself for the next 8.

He absolutely loathed Quinn Fabray and Artie Abrams.

A/N Heyyyyy, please don't hate me! I know I'm sorry, this hurt for me to write. But from here we get to see whats going to happen. Don't worry, they'll work it out. And as for Quinn and where she came from? Well, we'll find out next chapter.

Hope despite the last half, you enjoyed it.

PEACE!