Disclaimer: I am just borrowing them for the fun of writing, BUT I do own the plot, ideas and original characters.
A/N: Not beta'd; all mistakes are mine. Please mention them if you find any.
A/N2: Sectionals was amazing! I loved it! This story is mostly AU after Mash-up, but with some of the topics discussed in the later episodes, I may sneak in a conversation or cover the same topic, but I will put my own twist on it.
A/N3: To all of my readers, new and returning, ~ you are amazing! Thank you for the wonderful feedback. It is very loved!
...
Friday, February 12, 2010
The school was having a four-day weekend from Friday to Monday; perfect planning on the Show Choir Board for Regionals, so Thursday night, Deborah, Puck and Arin stayed the night at the Berry's house. Arin would be staying with David and Alan for the weekend, while Deborah went with the Glee Club as another chaperone.
Four am came awfully early, but they managed to get to school by five-thirty. Again they left at six, for a two and a half hour bus ride, this time heading north to Detroit, Michigan.
The bus was packed a little tighter than their last trip with more adults and luggage to go along, but everyone still managed to be comfortable.
Crossing over the state line into Michigan, some of the kids began to wake up from their short naps to watch out the right side of the bus and take pictures of Lake Erie as they passed by. Rachel and Puck were already on the right side, but Puck was leaning against the window, still half asleep as he watched the world pass by.
"Noah, aren't you excited? We've never been to Detroit before!" Rachel grinned.
Puck had thrown his jacket over his arms before he had drifted off to sleep, but at her words, he pulled his hand out from under the warmth, showing her how shaky he was. "This is not excited," he commented putting his hand under his jacket again.
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked quickly. "Is your blood sugar low? Are you feeling alright?" She leaned forward and pressed her hand to his forehead, "you don't seem feverish."
Puck pulled his head from her touch and laughed a little, "I'm not sick," he told her taking her hand in his and squeezed it, "I'm just nervous."
"Noah, you're going to do great; I have the utmost faith in your abilities," she replied positively.
Deborah, who was sitting in front of them, turned around, "Rachel, somehow I don't think this is about being sick or singing at Regionals," she commented softly.
"Oh?" Rachel sat back, as if confused, her thoughts struggling to figure out what was going on, "oh! How stupid of me!" She exclaimed slipping her arms around his chest, still covered with his jacket, "Noah, I'm so sorry! I feel so bad now."
As she hugged him, he shifted an arm to wrap around her body, "it's okay. You can't really make me less nervous, so don't worry about it."
"But in all this time we've talked about Detroit, I never once thought about how this would be on you. It's not just our performances," she said softly, "you're dad is here, too."
Puck nodded, "yeah, he is. And me being an idiot asked him to come see us and what song am I singing? One about a dad that took off," he said with a sigh.
"You're not an idiot," Rachel said, "and the song was chosen way before you ever had a chance to talk to him," she added.
"Yeah, I know," he agreed, glancing out to see a sign saying Detroit was fifteen miles away.
"Hey guys, lets wake up," Mr. Schuester said from a seat in front of Deborah. "We should be at the hotel shortly. Our performance is at three, but we have to check in at noon. We'll have until about eleven to stay at the hotel once we get there. There are fifteen schools performing today and fifteen tomorrow, so we won't know the results until tomorrow night," he explained.
"What? That's not fair!" Mercedes yelled, "we have to wait a whole day to find out who goes on?"
"I know it's not fair, but that's the spot we drew," Will said, "and we'll have most of tomorrow free, because we won't get the results until seven tomorrow night," he added.
"What are we supposed to do? It's not like we all have cars!" Kurt exclaimed.
"This is why I told you to research things to do," Will replied calmly, "I didn't know when we would be performing until last night or I would have told you sooner."
The closer to the hotel they got, the busier it seemed. The bus driver started following Will's directions to their hotel and they pulled up in front of a fancier one than they expected. "We're staying here, Mr. Schue?" Tina asked.
"Yes, the choir board rents out the hotels for us and then we pay them back. They also pay a third of the cost, so it helps," he admitted, standing up as soon as the bus stopped.
Will and Brad, the piano player, went into to check the students in and as they returned Brad got the band off and unloaded their things, while Will passed out room assignments. "Deborah, you've got Rachel, Quinn and Brittany... Emma, Tina, Mercedes and Santana," he said passing the two adult women the keys for their rooms. "Guys, Puck, Kurt and Mike with Burt and I've got Artie, Finn and Matt," Will explained handing Burt the other set of keys.
"We're not on separate floors this time?" Rachel asked.
"Not this time; when the show choir board picks the rooms they put us all together, so I'm trusting you all to act like mature adults. Be back out here by eleven," he said reaching for his bags.
As students filed off the bus with their bags, they joined their roommates and piled their things onto a trolly for each room before heading inside to the elevators. There were two going up, so Emma, Will and their roommates went up first, leaving the next group to wait until they were upstairs.
Puck leaned against the wall, pulling out his phone and sending a quick message to his dad to tell him they just arrived at the hotel. He didn't get a response by the time they got on the elevator and as they stepped off, he walked down the hallway with his arm around Rachel's shoulders. Stopping at the girls room, Puck smiled, "so I guess I'll see you later, Sandy," he drawled out, pressing a kiss to her lips.
Rachel blushed as they kissed, but pulled away with a smile, "yes, Danny, you will," she giggled a little before stepping away, into the room where Quinn was holding the door open for her.
Puck headed down two doors to the room he was sharing with the guys and headed inside, seeing they had already claimed their beds so he headed for the one with his bags setting on top.
Mike, Kurt and Puck's costume bags were hanging in the closet and Mike and Burt were lounging back on their beds. Puck felt his phone vibrate as he unpacked a few things and noticed his dad responded, "glad you guys made it. See you later today. Had an early morning call so going to go crash for a few hours. When do you guys perform?"
"Uh, what time did Schuester say we were performing?" Puck asked glancing up at Kurt who was organizing his make-up and product case.
"Three, why?" Kurt asked turning around.
"Dad wants to know," Puck said, sending the information back before kicking back.
Time seemed to fly by and everyone began to head back to the bus around eleven; once they were sure they had everything, the bus took them to the convention center which wasn't too far away from the hotel.
The set up was the same as Sectionals; checking in at noon, it gave them an hour to hang out before their practice room was ready. They were able to catch the noon school and then at twelve-thirty, everyone stood to watch the next group, "and now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Attaché from Mississippi's Clinton High School!"
Twenty girls and twenty guys walked out on stage, and New Direction's immediately groaned; the girls were dressed in matching sequined prom dresses and the guys were wearing tuxes with vests and ties that matched the girls outfits. "I think we need to start upping our costume budget," Kurt commented.
"What we wear is only a small portion of what we're scored on," Will commented, "each school is scored the same, so even if we're smaller and don't dress as fancy, they can't mark us down for that."
Their harmonies were rich and strong with so many voices adding to the sound, but in some of their choreography, though fluid and uniform, Rachel noticed that a few members were slightly off beat, just enough that if she noticed it from as far away as she was, she hoped the judges upfront did also.
They performed two songs from 'Hairspray' the movie, 'Come So Far' and 'Ladies Choice,' for their second performance and Rachel cringed at the male soloist; he was slightly off key and his tone just did not work for the song.
Mr. Schuester caught their attention, stating that their practice room was ready so he suggested they head over so they could run through their numbers before getting changed. New Directions, their band and adult chaperones headed in the direction of their room, going into a large one with a sign on the door with their name on it.
Puck plopped down on an empty seat and kicked back as if he was going to sleep and closed his eyes, feeling someone sit down on his lap. Lifting his eyelids just enough to see his girlfriend, he slipped his arms around her waist, "hello beautiful," he murmured.
Resting her hands on his shoulders, she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, "how are you doing?" She asked.
"Fine," he said, but Rachel didn't look convinced, so he leaned forward a little and kissed her again, "I'm fine," he promised.
After a quick conversation between New Directions and their coach, they ran through each number twice to make sure there wasn't anything missing before they changed into their costumes. With more research on 'Grease,' they realized the the whole outfit that the guys wore during their mash-up was just like what the 'T-Birds' wore in the movie, so they stuck with those costumes, but chose black shirts instead of white and wouldn't wear the jackets during 'Emotionless' to make it more accurate to how Good Charlotte performed it.
The girls had more work cut out for them to get their poodle skirts ready, but they managed to come up with a red skirt with a black poodle on it, along with a black polo shirt and a red ribbon around their ponytails.
The guys wore their jackets down to the stage, but took them off, handing them to one of the girls. Rachel took Puck's and gave him a tight hug, "you'll do amazing," she told him.
Puck brushed his hand along her cheek, wanting to kiss her, but remembered the last time he tried to kiss her after Kurt had done his work, so he settled for what he could get, "see you in a few," he smiled.
"Please welcome William McKinley High School's 'New Directions' from Lima, Ohio!"
Puck took a deep breath and glanced at the guys, nodding at them before they stepped out onto the large stage, grabbing microphones as they went and immediately felt the heat from the lights. Artie settled the base guitar in his lap, while Puck sat on a stool with the acoustic electric guitar situated on his knee; the four guys standing between him and Artie, while the drummer found his way to the drum set.
Once everyone was settled, Puck took a deep breath and began the words he'd grown used to singing without getting too emotional. "Hey Dad, I'm writing to you. Not to tell you that I still hate you. Just to ask you how you feel and how we fell apart, how this fell apart. Are you happy out there in this great wide world?" Finn joined Puck for the other half of the verse, "do you think about your sons? Do you miss your little girl? When you lay your head down, how do you sleep at night? Do you even wonder if we're alright? But we're alright, we're alright."
The four other voices joined to sing the chorus, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried? You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine. I spent so many years learning how to survive, now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive."
Puck continued on alone with the next verse, "the days I spent so cold, so hungry, were full of hate, I was so angry. The scars run deep inside this (teenage) body, there's things I'll take to my grave, but I'm okay, I'm okay."
Strumming along on the guitars, Puck, Artie and the rest of the guys repeated the chorus, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried? You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine. I spent so many years learning how to survive, now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive, and I'm still alive," everyone stopped, letting Puck sing the end of the chorus, "and sometimes I forget, yeah, and this time, I'll admit, that I miss you, said I miss you."
The last verse of the song was a repeat of the chorus, but instead of music, Puck, Artie and the drummer stopped playing, allowing the guys to to sing A Capella, "its been a long hard road without you by my side. Why weren't you there all the nights that we cried? You broke my mother's heart, you broke your children for life. It's not okay, but we're alright. I remember the days you were a hero in my eyes, but those are just a long lost memory of mine. I spent so many years learning how to survive, now I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive." Puck wrapped both of his hands around the microphone and leaned forward just slightly to sing the final words of the song, "and sometimes I forget, and this time, I'll admit, that I miss you, said I miss you, I miss you..." he paused longer than normal, but finished, "hey Dad..."
The audience erupted into loud applause and cheers as the teen boys bowed and headed off stage. Puck glanced out to the audience before he slipped behind the curtain, noticing some the women wiping their eyes. Stepping backstage, he immediately took the guitar off his back and saw his mom wiping her eyes. Deborah moved towards him and gave him a tight hug, "great job, sweetheart," she whispered before pulling away and taking the guitar from him.
"Thanks, mom," he smiled at her and turned to see Rachel. With a grin, he pulled her into his arms and pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, being careful not to mess up her hair or make-up, knowing Kurt would erupt if he did.
"Noah, you did amazing!" Rachel grinned stepping back slightly to hand him his jacket.
Taking the jacket, he slipped his arms into it and situated the collar, "thanks," he smiled lightly, lifting his hand up to wipe his eyes. "So much for being emotionless," he murmured.
Rachel reached up and rested her hands on his cheeks, "it's alright, Noah, you're allowed to have feelings," she whispered.
Nodding, he bit his lip and looked at her and then his mom, "he's here. I didn't see him, but I know he's here," he said softly. "Does that make any sense?"
Deborah nodded, resting a hand on her son's shoulder, "it does, Noah."
The band was ready, so the girls headed out onto the stage, taking their places, the guys following right behind them. The guys huddled together on one side of the stage, Puck in the front of the 'group,' while the girls stood together, Rachel in the middle of them. With a nod from Rachel, the band began the opening bars of 'You're The One That I Want.'
Stepping out from the girls, Rachel stood with a hand on her hip, studying her nails and the guys quickly noticed, patting Puck on the shoulder to draw his attention to her. "Sandy?" He gasped.
Rachel grinned, turning her head to him, "tell me about it, stud," she said as the two began to step closer on stage.
The rest of the club also began to walk closer, partially mirroring the dance that Puck and Rachel were doing. Puck grabbed the lapels of his jacket and puffed out his chest just a little before beginning the first verse, "I got chills, they're multiplyin', and I'm losin' control, 'cause the power you're supplyin', it's electrifyin'!" The whole time, Rachel had stepped slightly back towards one side of the stage and Puck followed her before dropping to his knees at her feet.
Rachel slipped her hand under his chin, guiding him to stand and then rested her hand on his heart, as if pushing him back as she stepped forward, the two heading back towards the middle of the stage, "you better shape up, 'cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you. You better shape up, you better understand, to my heart I must be true."
Puck added, "nothing left, nothing left for me to do," before they stepped back into the group as everyone sang the chorus and danced together, "you're the one that I want, (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh. The one I need (the one I need), oh yes indeed (yes indeed)."
Rachel stepped forward again, glancing back at her 'Danny' as she started again, "if you're filled with affection, you're too shy to convey, meditate my direction, feel your way," her hands had been resting on her sides, but she slid them down her to her hips.
Puck stepped up to her, resting his hands on her shoulders, but at her last words, he jumped back, "I better shape up, 'cause you need a man," he stepped forward again, resting a hand on her shoulder, as she replied, "I need a man, who can keep me satisfied."
"I better shape up, if I'm gonna prove," Puck answered as they rocked back and forth to the beat, Rachel echoing, "you better prove, that my fate is justified." Puck grinned, "are you sure?" Both of them answering, "yes I'm sure down deep inside!"
Stepping back into the group, they all sang the chorus, repeating their choreography from before, "you're the one that I want, (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh. The one I need (the one I need), oh yes indeed (yes indeed)."
"You're the one that I want, (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh, honey. The one that I want (you are the one I want), ooh ooh ooh. The one I need (the one I need), oh yes indeed (yes indeed)." While repeating the chorus a second time, Puck took Rachel's hand and walked her towards the edge of the stage. The girls moved forward to line up next to Rachel, and guys did the same next to Puck, forming a line along the edge of the stage.
"You're the one that I want!" Instead of repeating the chorus two more times like in the movie, they sang those last words and on the final word, the band abruptly stopped and the guys lifted their right hands to the sky, the girls lifting their left hands, mirroring the guys. At the same time, Puck and Rachel turned to each other and Puck leaned down and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips before everyone turned, joined hands and bowed to the audience and judges as the crowd roared with life; cheering and clapping for them.
Puck kept a hold of Rachel's hand as they walked backstage, stepping behind the curtain as the applause continued, but slowly died down. Their chaperones were all smiles and congratulations, but Puck ignored everything as he pulled his girlfriend towards him, his lips finding hers in an intense, yet loving kiss while his arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up gently spinning them around.
Rachel caught his movement and wrapped her arms around his neck as he spun them, but pulled away with a blush as some of the guys started whistling at them, Matt yelling, "now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, Puckerman!"
He smirked at his friends, but stared at her, "I love you, Rach," he whispered before gently setting her down on the floor.
"I love you, too, Noah," she replied smiling up at him before slipping her arms around his body for a quick hug.
Their embrace was short, needing to get back to change, so pulling apart, they joined hands, lacing their fingers together as they walked with the rest of the club and adults back towards their room. Deborah noticed that her son was glancing around a lot, but she knew why, "he's waiting until you guys change," she said from behind him.
Puck turned to look at her, "what?"
"Your dad, he's waiting for you guys to change before he comes over," she explained holding up her cell phone; meaning she had been texting him.
Puck nodded, silently continuing their walk; he hadn't really thought about what meeting his dad for the first time would be like, but he now realized that it would be in front of everyone. Kurt, Burt, Quinn, Finn, Rachel and his mom were the only ones who had seen his dad on TV so they would know right away, but no one else knew what he looked like; this thought scared him a little.
"Noah," Rachel startled him from his thoughts; they'd made it into the rehearsal room and he didn't even realize it, "babe, you gotta let go so I can go change," she said, enjoying the feeling of his hand in hers, but they had all the time in the world, once she changed.
"Oh, sorry," he shook his head, letting go of her hand and heading over to the area where the guys were in the process of changing. Taking his jacket off and hanging it back in the costume bag, he kicked his shoes off and changed his pants first before tugging off his t-shirt. Replacing his shirt with the football t-shirt he had worn earlier, he slid his feet into his Vans and threw on his Letterman's jacket he'd snagged from Rachel's before they left home.
Stepping out from the curtained off area, most everyone was finished, but he noticed his mom wasn't in the room. Rachel saw him and moved to him, taking his hand in hers, "hey, you ready?" She asked.
"For what?" He asked curiously.
"To see your dad," she said, "you're mom went out a few minutes ago," she added.
"Oh yeah, sure, I guess," he shrugged, "as ready as I'll ever be," he added in his head.
"Alright everyone, do you guys have everything?" Will asked looking around.
The kids checked their bags and everyone and nodded, beginning to file out of the room. Puck, Rachel, Finn and Quinn were the last ones out of the room and everyone noticed the guy that Deborah was talking to. Puck took a deep breath, taking in his father's appearance. He was dressed in a pair of jeans, skate shoes and a black hoodie. The back of the hoodie had 'Detroit Police' written in white, but his red curly hair was what stood out. It was shorter than when he had seen him on TV in December, but it still was just as bright.
The entire group had gathered, watching the two adults; some were confused at who he was, but Kurt's voice echoed through the hallway, "oh hush up, it's Puck's dad."
Hearing Kurt, Deborah glanced up at saw her son and then Ethan pushed off the wall he was leaning his shoulder against and turned around, looking into his sons eyes for the first time.
The gasps that bounced off the walls were not missed, but Puck didn't care. Squeezing Rachel's hand, he let go so he could step towards him, just as Ethan stepped forward and they met in the middle of the hallway and Puck threw his arms around his dad, "I've missed you," he whispered.
As Ethan hugged his son for the first time in over ten years, he never expected to hear those words come from him; even after their e-mails since Christmas, but as they hit his ears, he couldn't help tightening his arms around his son who was just a few inches shorter than him, "I've missed you, too, Noah," he replied pulling away to look at him, "great song choice, by the way," he commented with a smirk.
Puck's eyes widened, "how much did you hear?" He asked a little shocked.
"All of it," he told him with a shrug, "it's cool. I had some warning about the Good Charlotte song, but it's okay," he admitted, glancing up to see several sets of eyes on them. "We have an audience," he said with a laugh.
"Oh yeah," Puck turned around and was glad to see the only ones standing there was Rachel, Quinn and Finn. "Come here guys," he said with a smile.
The three stepped forward, Puck reaching out to take Rachel's hand. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my dad, Ethan Ballard... Dad, this is Quinn, Finn," he paused, grinning at Rachel, "and my girlfriend Rachel."
Ethan watched his son introduce his friends, nodding at Quinn and Finn, but as he said Rachel's name, he could tell his son was in love, "it's nice to finally meet you guys. I've heard a lot about all of you," he told them, "and it's good to see you again, Finn."
"Uh, yeah, you too, Mr. P-" Finn started to say 'Puckerman', but stopped when he realized that it wasn't his last name.
"Call me Ethan," Ethan said extending his hand to him.
Finn shook it, "alright, Ethan," he nodded.
Ethan turned slightly to look at the young blond, "Quinn," he said softly, "it's nice to put a name to a face," he admitted, having never seen her before.
Quinn nodded lightly, "it's nice to meet you, too, Ethan," she replied, shaking his hand while her other hand rested on her stomach.
Turning the other way, he looked at the petite girl standing next to his son, "and Rachel. It's very nice meet the young woman who's stolen my son's heart," he smiled, holding his hand out to her.
Rachel blushed at his words, but shook his hand, "it's nice to finally meet you, Ethan. I wouldn't say I've stolen his heart, but I suppose it could be looked that way," she admitted, glancing at her boyfriend.
"More like permanently borrowed," Puck commented with a smile. "Where did everyone go?" He asked.
"Mr. Schuester talked them into going out to the bus so you could have a few minutes of privacy, but we wanted to stay," Rachel replied, "they're waiting for us, but we can take our time," she added.
Puck nodded, glancing at his mom, dad and friends, but he didn't really know what to say, but Ethan jumped in, "what do you guys say to dinner? I'm told you guys are free for the rest of the night," he said.
"Are you sure? I mean, wouldn't you guys like to catch up?" Rachel asked looking at them.
Puck shrugged, glancing at his parents before looking at her, "what do you think we've been doing for the last two months?" Puck asked curiously, throwing an arm around her.
"I'm craving Mexican," Quinn commented patting her stomach.
The group laughed at her comment, but all of them had experienced the pregnancy cravings, so they started to find their way outside to the bus, finding some of 'New Directions' standing outside the bus while others were on it already. Will immediately walked over to them, "Ethan Ballard, eighteen years later," he said holding out his hand.
"William Schuester, never thought I'd see you again," he laughed.
"Uh, okay, weird," Kurt commented from over by the bus, but when he wanted something heard, he had a way of saying it loud enough that his voice would echo.
Will turned around, "I was a sophomore at McKinley when Ethan and Deborah were seniors," he explained.
"Okay, so like dude, Puck, we're like all this, but seriously, we're board, can we go now?" Mercedes asked.
Puck rolled his eyes and looked at his dad, "so now what?"
"We are getting food, right?" Quinn asked.
"Yes we're getting food. I can follow you guys back to the hotel or you guys can come with me and I can bring you guys back later, either way," Ethan said glancing at Quinn before looking at Will, "that's up to your teacher."
Will looked at him oddly for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant, but as it dawned on him, he laughed, "oh yeah, well curfew is at eleven, so if you can have them back by then, go for it," he glanced at Deborah, "you're going, right?"
Deborah nodded, "yeah."
"How about Quinn and I ride back on the bus and you guys come get us?" Finn suggested, "so we can drop our stuff off and change," he said.
"That works," Ethan nodded.
Will, Quinn and Finn said goodbye and headed towards the bus. The four left waved at the bus before Ethan started leading them towards the convention center's parking lot. The cars were beginning to thin out since the performances were almost over, and Puck quickly realized that he didn't know what his dad drove, "are you sure that you can get six people in your car?" Puck asked.
"Oh yeah," he admitted tugging out his key and chucked it to his son, "I just got it. It's my non-work car, I guess," he laughed.
It took Puck a moment to realize what he was doing, but he caught the key before it fell to the ground, "whoa, are you serious?" He asked in shock.
"Serious, yes," Ethan laughed, "it's the 'Jeep Commander' design, but I had the seats changed, so it's bench seats in the front, too," he said.
"You have a Jeep Commander? When did you get it?" Puck's eyes went wide.
"Like I said, I just got it. Signed papers on Sunday and today was the first day I've been able to take it out. I don't go to work with it. I have a commuter car that I use to go to and from work," he explained as they came up to the black SUV.
Puck stopped to admire the body style of the Jeep, another style than his own Jeep and smiled, "this is nice!" The key in his hand also had buttons to unlock the doors, so he hit it, hearing a click from inside the car as the lights flashed, meaning the doors were unlocked.
"Rachel, do you want to sit up front with Noah?" Ethan asked.
"Oh, um, sure, but shouldn't you be up there to give him directions?" She asked.
"I can be a backseat driver," he laughed. "I'm used to it."
Rachel eyed him curiously, but after putting her and Puck's costume bag in the back end, she went towards the passenger side, sliding into the front seat and moved towards her boyfriend, while Ethan slid into the backseat behind her, "perfect," he said, able to see out the front since Rachel wasn't right in his line-of-sight.
Deborah slipped in behind Puck and once everyone was buckled up, Puck started the engine and after making sure it was clear, he shifted gears and reversed, following the arrows out of the lot and getting out on the main road.
Puck was being extra cautious, but still was comfortable enough to hold Rachel's hand. Ethan gave him directions to the hotel and passed their bus on the way, beating their friends back to the hotel. Puck parked the jeep in the lot and after getting their bags, they headed towards the front of the hotel and was inside before the bus pulled up.
Deborah and Rachel went into their room and Ethan followed Puck; as soon as they were in Puck's room, Ethan pulled a plain white envelope out from his pocket, "here, so I don't forget to give these to you," he said handing it off to him.
Puck looked at the envelope and smiled, taking it, "thank you; what did you end up getting?"
"As close to front row as I could," he admitted, "I think it's fourth row center," he replied.
Puck glanced inside the white paper and nodded, seeing the four tickets said fourth row, "thank you," he repeated, moving towards his bag. Slipping them into a side pocket so no one would see them, he was zipping up his bag when the door opened and Mike, Kurt and Burt walked in. "Hey guys," Puck said.
"Hey man, you beat us back," Mike commented.
"Yep, we did," Puck nodded, "guys, this is my dad, Ethan Ballard," he said, "dad, this is Mike, Kurt and his dad Burt," Puck added motioning towards them. "Burt's my boss, too."
"Nice to meet you guys," Ethan shook their hands.
Puck heard his phone beep and glanced at the text message from Rachel letting him know they were ready and waiting for them, so he and his dad headed out into the hallway, finding his mom, Rachel, Quinn and Finn waiting for them.
Getting onto the elevator, the six of them headed out to the jeep and got in. It was starting to get dark and they were heading further into the city, so Ethan ended up driving; Rachel sat between him and Puck in the front while Finn, Quinn and Deborah sat in the back.
The city's visitors watched out the windows at the new city, while Ethan headed towards a restaurant he knew well and parked in their lot, "best Mexican in Detroit, that I've found," Ethan commented as he turned off the engine.
Sliding out of the SUV, the young couples joined hands and walked towards the building, the parents following right behind them. Once inside the small lobby, the hostess recognized Ethan, "hey Ethan, no team tonight?" She asked him.
"Nope, out with the family tonight," he replied, as she guided them towards a table and set menus down for each of them.
Once everyone was seated, the girl looked from Ethan and then to Puck and smiled, "you look more alike than in the pictures I've seen," she said grinning.
"I guess good looks run in the family," Ethan laughed.
Feeling the green monster of jealousy next to him, Puck smiled at the girl, Christina, by her name tag, and then threw his arm around Rachel protectively.
"Mom will be out in a few," she said, "need anything?" She asked Ethan.
"Nah, we're good for now," he replied.
Christina smiled again at Puck, but disappeared and once she was out of range, Puck and Finn both started laughing. There was no denying that Christina was staring at Puck and what was funny was the face Rachel was making. The fake smile on her face looked more like a scowl and her eyes were darkening, a jealous face they rarely saw.
"Rachel," Puck smirked.
"It's not funny, Noah!" She snapped.
"Dude, I'm a stud. Chicks dig me," he grinned.
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest in a pout; she refused to admit she was jealous, but it was pretty obvious that she was. "I just don't like it when other girls look at you like you're a piece of meat," she murmured.
"Why's that?" Puck asked curiously.
"It is disrespectful," she replied.
"Babe, admit it; you don't want to share," Puck commented, glancing at her.
Rachel's mouth fell open and she closed it several times, unsure just how to respond.
Puck leaned towards her, looking at her in the eyes, "babe, they can look all they want, but they will never touch," he whispered pressing a loving kiss to her lips, "okay?"
Blinking her eyes, she nodded as a blush grew on her face, "yeah, okay."
A middle-aged Hispanic woman walked over to them, setting down two bowls of salsa and a container of tortilla chips, "hey Ethan, how are you? New faces today, I see," she said.
"Yeah, this is my wife, my son, his friends and his girlfriend," Ethan motioned towards them as he kind of introduced them to her.
"Oh," she grinned, "it's so nice to finally meet you; the guys haven't shut up about your visit. Are you going to the game tomorrow?" She asked.
"What game?" Puck questioned.
Ethan blushed, "it's a long story, I'll tell you about it later," he said, turning to the woman.
"What can I get you guys? Or do you want your guys' usual?"
"Anyone have any allergies?" Ethan glanced around at his question, but no one said anything, so he glanced back at the woman, "our usual will be fine," he smiled.
"Okay, drinks?"
"Just water for me. I'm driving, so no alcohol tonight. Though can you bring us a round of non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiris?" He requested.
"Sure," she glanced around and wrote down the soda or water choices for everyone else and excused herself to go put the order in.
"What's your usual?" Puck asked curiously.
"Instead of the guys and I ordering each a meal; they just bring out plates of tacos, chimichungas, taquitos, enchiladas and a big bowl of rice. Easier than picking out what we want," he commented, "we come here a lot," he laughed, "the office I work out of is less than a mile away."
"Perfect," Quinn grinned already going at the chips.
"So what's this game she was talking about?" Finn asked.
"Oh that," Ethan sighed, "I forgot this was the same weekend, but the Detroit Police Department and the Detroit Fire Department are having one of our hockey games tomorrow. I thought the game was next weekend and I wasn't reminded until yesterday that it was tomorrow, so if you guys don't have anything to do tomorrow and are up for sitting around and watching a bunch of cops and firefighters kicking a puck around on the ice for a few hours, I'd love for you guys to come; the whole group if you want, give me a head count and I'll get y'all in," he explained.
"I'm in," Puck smirked, "a chance to watch you play, hell yeah."
"Me too," Finn nodded, "and I'm sure everyone will be up for it."
The woman returned with their drinks and passed them out before leaving again, so Rachel leaned into the table a bit to look at Ethan, "did you play hockey at McKinley?"
"Yeah, and when the guys found out, they had to get me on the team," he laughed.
Just before their food arrived, Rachel sent out a text message to the other members and their chaperones, asking them if they would like to go to the game, but she set her phone aside as their food arrived. The table's conversation died out briefly as everyone started to eat, but their conversation picked back up, talking about topics they were all familiar with and it gave Ethan a chance to get to know the kids his son spent time with, along with finding out what his son was into. Through dinner, Rachel got positive responses from everyone, all interested in going; glad they had something else to do besides sit at the hotel or go shopping.
Even though no one wanted to leave, after just a few hours sitting around, talking and eating, the lack of sleep seemed to hit them, so Ethan drove them back to the hotel. He walked with them to the lobby and said goodnight to everyone there, but as Puck, Rachel, Quinn and Finn got on the elevator, Deborah waited, wanting to talk to Ethan before he left.
Getting off the elevator, the two teen couples walked towards the room Quinn and Rachel were staying in and all of them went inside, finding Brittany, their other roommate was still gone. Passing messages on to their friends, Rachel sent out another text to let everyone know what time they should be ready to leave the hotel the next morning, before finally giving her phone a break for the night to snuggle up with her boyfriend before the guys were forced to leave.
...
Music:
~ 'Emotionless' by Good Charlotte. YouTube has a video of them performing it live.
~ 'You're The One That I Want' by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta; 'Grease Soundtrack'.
...
A/N4: The group 'New Directions' saw with 40 performers is a real show choir. They are from Clinton, Mississippi; Clinton High School's Attaché. Can anyone guess why I knew this? LOL it floored me when it dawned on me. I chose the specific piece they did because I found a video of them performing it. Looks like Vocal Adrenaline has some major competition! :D
A/N5: Sorry it took so long to update, lol... I'm hooked on 'Burning Down The House' by Katertots; read it if you haven't yet! Puck and Finn as NYC firefighters! Just the thought of Puck or Mark Salling dressed up like a firefighter is WAY HOT! I remembered I had Season 1 & 2 of 'Rescue Me' on DVD, so I pulled them out and have been watching them since my last update, so I have been trying to balance writing and watching. Took a little longer to get this written, but hopefully now I won't get distracted again.
A/6: Ugh! Kept editing a few parts of this, but I think I finally worked it out. :D I'm liking what I'm coming up with, and I hope you all do, too. Can't wait to hear what you think. :D