This one isn't really based off a prompt on the list, it just kind of popped into my head so I wrote about it. I haven't updated this story in a while though, so I thought I might as well post it here instead of put it as an individual oneshot. Plus, I can't be bothered writing a summary for this. They're a bit out-of-character in this, ok make that very out-of-character. I tried my best to keep them in-character, but since the plot of this story has to have them be a little out-of-character I couldn't really do much. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you like it.
Exams
Sabrina has her big exams coming up and she's been studying nonstop for over two months now and everytime she comes out of her room she's all haggard and pale and zombielike. She just slumps quietly to the bathroom and closes the door behind her and when she's done she just slumps quietly back to her room and closes the door behind her and doesn't appear for a few hours.
Daphne and Granny and Jake and her parents are all getting a bit worried, but every time they confront her or go to her room with a bowl of soup (normal chicken soup, even) she just shakes her head and shoos them outside. It's getting unhealthy, they whisper, she needs to get out of the house, I can't wait for those exams to be over so she can get back to normal.
The only person who seems relatively unaffected is Puck, who just scowls in disgust whenever he sees her room "Studying! Gross!" but eventually even he starts sweating a little, and it soon happens that most mornings she'll trudge down the stairs to school and not get caught up in a net somewhere along the way.
...
A couple weeks pass and her exams are coming up and now they're only three weeks away and she's going stir-crazy. It's kind of scary for the others to watch, to see this normally headstrong confident young woman transform into this barely-cohorent mumbling machine, but to her credit she's had her eyes set on this school for years now, and somehow she's got it into her head that she has to get a scholarship there as soon as she can.
Meaning right now.
Honestly though, it's really frightening for Puck, because even though he'll never admit it this girl who's muttering into her cereal right now is not the Sabrina Grimm he knows, this is some weird creepy imposter of hers, and it gets under his skin.
So one day he barges into her bedroom and cries enthusiastically out that he's going to help her, shudder, study so that she can get back to normal because it's no fun pranking someone who doesn't really care if they're drenched in goo or not.
Of course, she tries to push him out, literally puts her hands on him and walks forward, but for some reason; maybe her fatigue, maybe his determination, maybe even both, he eventually sits down on her bed and starts quizzing her on biology terms.
...
It's one week til the big date (or dates, really) and no one knew it was possible but Sabrina's even more over-the-edge now. All her food is brought up to her room, every second which isn't taken up with school is either used frantically dashing up the stairs to her desk, or sitting at her desk studying madly away, and now Puck's getting dragged in too. It seems like most hours he's either in her room testing her and helping her learn, or otherwise cutting class and printing out revision material for her off the family computer.
It's unnatural and strange behaviour for him and normally he'd be wondering what exactly is wrong with him and why is he helping her out, but he's too busy thinking up new ways to help her revise, and honestly it's stressing him out so much.
On the bright side though, he's getting a lot of opportunities to test out his new pranking material on her when she falls asleep and he has to wake her up. I'll stick with the floating sludge bucket, he thinks.
...
Finally, it's the day of her exams, and she wakes up that morning with the cold feeling of dread in her stomach. I can do this, she thinks to herself, I've studied for ages. But she still clambers out of bed with darting eyes, and her hands are starting to shake ever so slightly.
Puck meets her at the front door, school bag slung on his shoulder (it's just a normal day for him, he couldn't care less about getting some scholarship) and a crooked grin on his face, but she just waves nervously and drinks her water. She's beginning to walk out of the house when he grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her to face him.
"Hey," he says "stop stressing. You're going to do fine."
"Yeah," she mumbles "I know."
He rolls his eyes but pulls her into a hug anyway, arms wrapping around her back. She's surprised, her eyes widen a little, but she rests her head on his shoulder, and for the slightest fraction of a second her stomach eases a little.
Then he pulls away, and lets her walk out, and now she has to go fight that monster they call tests.
...
"How was it?" He asks, leaning against the wall of the school when she walks out of the building. She had had her last test that day, and the bell had just rung for the end of school.
'What do you think?" She retorts.
He falls in step behind her as they walk, and drapes an arm over her shoulders. Either she's too tired to care, or doesn't actually mind, but she doesn't shrug it off. "Well that's what I'm asking you."
"It was..." She struggles to find the right word "alright I suppose."
"It was only alright?"
"Well obviously it wouldn't be perfect, I mean they're exams for God's sake. But I guess they weren't as bad as I thought they'd be."
"Why do you think they weren't that bad?"
"The studying I gue-"
"That's right. Me! Honestly, you should be thanking me right now, for helping you out so much."
She glares at him, at the self-satisfied smirk on his face, but she mumbles out a clipped "thanks".
"Sorry didn't hear that."
"Thanks." she repeats, a little louder this time, stressing the word.
He leans closer, a hand cupped over his ear. "What?"
"I said thanks Puck, and if you make me say it again one more time I'm going to punch you in the face!"
He laughs, and says casually "You know, now that your exams are over, I'm going to go back to pranking you. And don't expect me to go easy, I have a lot of catching up to do."
She groans. "Don't remind me."
...
In the two and a half months which follow, Sabrina is pranked no less than 216 times, according to Puck's score sheet. She's dunked in goo, pelted with water balloons (that didn't actually contain water), dropped into a lake, caught up in a net, had her hair dyed (or cut short, in one incident), and 210 different other things.
Each time Puck laughs, and she punches him, and he stumbles away wheezing, and still laughing. But in those last 216 times, there is something different. Daphne, with her keen eyes, sees something strange, something that wasn't there before.
Puck's pranks seem a little more mild than usual, normally the effects don't last for more than a couple days, and when Sabrina punches him he isn't left completely breathless.
With this information in her mind she delves right back into their wedding plans with great gusto, smiling the smile of secret conspirators.
...
Sabrina's hand shakes as she enters her login details, to check the results of her exams. It's going to be ok, it's going to be ok she tells herself, as her fingers type out her password, and press 'enter'.
The screen flashes, the cursor changes as the page loads, and with every second that passes Sabrina's heart became heavier and heavier. Finally the words show up, along with the all important numbers and letters, and her eyes scan the page.
She can scarcely believe what she sees. Her eyes widen, her throat clenches, and her stomach turns inside out.
Puck strolls in from the kitchen, sees her sitting by the computer, and frowns.
"What's that Grimm?" He asks, and walks over. He sees the page, and sets down the carton of chocolate milk in his hands. "Oh," he says quietly "I see." He turns around for a second, and wrings his hands.
"Congratulations." He mutters.
"Congratulations?"
"Yeah."
"I just got my scholarship, and all you can say is congratulations?"
His face flushes, and he turns to the grinning girl who spoke. "Well, I'm no good with feelings." He says simply, but a smile grows on his face.
She stands up and throws herself into his arms, feeling herself lifting off the ground as his wings pop out and they hover in the air. He laughs loudly and so does she, and he presses her tightly to him.
"You got it." He says, with barely controlled excitement.
"Yeah I did."
"You got it!"
"Yeah I did!"
He had never seen her so excited, not in a while, and his heart beats wildly in his chest. She can feel elation surge through her, elation at passing the tests, elation at being able to join the college, elation at being in his arms wait what? No not that definitely not that, she thinks, Right?
They stay like that for several minutes, as they wait for their heart rates to slow, before he lowers them down, though their arms remain around each other.
"I would have paid for you to go, you know, if you hadn't passed." He says.
"I don't like depending on people."
"Please, I save your butt all the time."
"Don't remind me."
His lips twitch upwards, she smiles, and the calm breaks and they start laughing again.
"You got it!" He repeats.
"Yeah I did!"
And he doesn't know if it was because he's incredibly happy, or that she looks just a little bit less ugly when she smiles, ok a lot less ugly, but without thinking he leans forward and plants a swift kiss on her cheek.
And just like that, everything grinds to a halt. His face turns even redder, a blush starts creeping up her neck, and the excitement fades.
"...Puck?" She asks tentatively, after two awkward minutes.
Good job me, he thinks. "Yeah?"
"Did you just kiss me?"
"Sorry."
"Don't be." And with startling confidence she leans forward and their lips meet. His hands slide down to her waist and he pulls her closer, her hands tangle in his hair, their eyes close, and she could his heartbeat thrumming into her chest, just as fast as hers. They pull apart, and he presses his forehead to hers.
"Well that took a turn." He says.
"It did."
"I'm proud of you."
"Never thought I'd hear you say that."
"Don't get used to it."
There's a short silence.
"Puck?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. For helping me, and all."
"No problem. You owe me though."
"Oh gosh." She pulls a face. "What is it this time?"
"Oh I think you'll like this one."
And his lips meet hers.
This chapter isn't very good I know. I was trying out this new style of writing, where I have like longer sentences but less commas. I normally reserve that style of writing for drabbles but I thought I'd try in out for a chapter. The ending's a bit poorly written as well, I know, I did have a lot of trouble writing that part. Anyway, tell me what you think of this style, and the ending. Thanks for reading, and please review.