You guys! With your reviewing and your following and your favoriting! I love all of you! *ahem* So this chapter's important. As you may or may not be able to tell, I am not a Finn fan, so watch out if you love him or whatever. I'm keeping secrets in this chapter, and alluding to things, and I'm just trying to keep it all straight. So. I own nothing, review... I don't even get why people say these things, it's, like, a given on this site. Love- Maya

The locker room doors slammed open, and Puck looked up to see Finn, breathing heavily and looking confused. Puck lifted a bro, not setting down his weight. "'Sup, bro?"

"Don't you 'bro' me!" Finn snarled, before blinking and going on, "And-and do you 'sup' me either!"

With a sigh, Puck set down the barbell and got to his feet, wiping his hands on his basketball shorts. "Problem?"

"Dude, what are you doing with Kurt?" Finn demanded. "That's my brother, man, you can't mess with him!"

"Who says I'm messing with him?"

"You came in here fucking snuggling him!" he burst out, like it was some big reveal. "That's right, I heard."

Puck sighed and turned to replace his weight on the rack. "That was the point. I want people to hear."

Finn shook his head in confusion at him. "What're you talking about?"

"I'm talking, Frankenteen, about using my badassness to protect your little brother, who's older than you anyway." He looked over his shoulder at his former best friend, who stared back in obvious puzzlement. Puck rolled his eyes and eleaborated, "If people think he's tight with some hardcore juvie survivor, no one'll mess with him."

"He's older than me?" Puck just looked at him. "And anyway," Finn went on, apparently back on-topic, "why would you do that?"

Puck considered his answer. "Atonement."

"Toes?"

"Finn. Atonement is making up for something you've done wrong."

"Oh." Puck waited for it. "What?" There we go.

Leaning against the weight rack, he crossed his arms and ankles. "I was really horrible to him back in the day. I'm trying to make up for it now." Pinning Finn with the most judging look he could manage, he continued, "What I don't get is why you haven't tried this already. He's your stepbrother."

Scratching at the back of his neck and examining the disgusting locker room floor, Finn defended, "'Cause, man… hanging all over Kurt like that is, like… weird. You know he used to have a crush on me?"

Puck snorted. "He's been over that; we laughed about it in his car this morning."

"O-oh… well, he used to, and that makes it weird."

"Look, whatever helps you sleep at night, man. If you don't want to protect him, I will because I do."

Finn's head shot up, eyes full of fire. "Of course I want to protect him!"

"Yeah, just not in public." Finn went quiet, looking down again, and there was a moment of silence until the bell rang. Puck sighed, turning away and going to his locker for his jeans and a fresh shirt. "What's he got next?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "I'll pick him up and walk him there."

Without looking up from the floor, Finn surprised them both. "He's got a free period. 'S probably in the auditorium."

Puck glanced briefly over his shoulder with some approval. "Thanks, man." With a nod Puck didn't see, Finn left.

Once he had changed, Puck wandered through the halls to the auditorium. He shut the door silently behind himself out of habit and made his way down the shallow audience steps. Onstage and off to the side, Hummel sat at the piano, staring down at the keys and not seeing Puck. The jock began to call out, but Hummel tapped out three notes. He did it a few more times, his expression unreadable, and then he began to sing softly:

"Strip away the flesh and bone.

"Look beyond the lies you've known.

"Everybody wants to talk about a freak.

"No one wants to dig that deep.

"Let me take you underneath."

Silent, Puck leaned his hip against an aisle seat and let Hummel take him "underneath." His brow rose when Hummel sang "Such a beautiful release, you inside of me," but he said nothing. Instead, he focused on the tears on Hummel's cheeks as he sang about the tears in his eyes and the stars in his black and blue skies.

"Look at me, now do you see…?" His whole soul was bared in his face as he played those final notes, and he looked tired, like he needed someone.

Puck stepped forward, climbing the steps onto the stage. He hadn't realized that he had started moving toward the broken-sounding boy until he was right at the foot of those stairs, just out of Hummel's line of sight. As he approached, Hummel didn't look up; his shoulders were hunched as he stared at his hands in his lap, his back to Puck. "Hey."

Despite the softness of his voice, Hummel jumped a mile. He whipped his head around and met Puck's eyes with his red, teary ones before turning away again instantly. "Hey," he answered almost-hoarsely (Hummel could never be hoarse), producing a handkerchief and wiping at his eyes.

Puck moved to stand beside him. "Nice song."

"You heard?" He looked up into Puck's eyes, some of that vulnerability fading. Puck wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Went looking for you when class ended."

Hummel snorted. "Like you go to class."

Puck smiled; there he is. "Yeah, no, I had guns to work on."

"Of course." The red was leaving his eyes, too, leaving them greyer than earlier. His face was relaxed, clear of tear tracks.

"Scooch." Hummel obliged, and Puck sat next to him on the bench. Puck wasn't small (thankyouverymuch) so they ended up kind of squished. Hummel's body tensed against his side. "So, how's shit?"

"It's shit." Hummel grinned at him, and Puck had to grin back. "Mercedes interrogated me as soon as she got to class."

"How come?"

"Because of your hanging all over me in front of everyone, obviously," Hummel sniffed.

"Oh, that. Yeah, Frankenteen was pretty pissed."

"Finn?" Puck smirked at Hummel recognizing and acknowledging the nickname. "Why?"

"He thought I was messing with you. Figured he'd try to protect you from the big bad wolf, nice and private, until I explained to him that I was just doing what he didn't have the stones to."

"What?"

Puck met his eyes. "Protect you in public."

"Oh." Hummel looked down, and he looked so small that Puck had to throw an arm around his shoulders and squeeze. Hummel only jumped a little at the contact, so, bonus.

Anyway, subject change. "What was that song for? Glee?"

"Oh, no, it's for that project I told you about." He seemed to forget all about Finn and his misguided… well, everything, and Puck had to stifle a grin. "I had to practice singing in this register, since the song I'm using is by the same artist, and I've always liked this particular song."

"What kind of project is it?"

Hummel gazed up at the catwalk thoughtfully. "Uh… outreach, you could say."

Puck arched a brow at that. "You're atheist."

"Not all outreach is religious."

He nodded slowly. "You wanna explain a bit more?"

Their eyes met as Hummel considered him. He had this weird way of staring into people's eyes like he was trying to read your every intention, your very soul. It made Puck shiver, and he hoped Hummel wouldn't notice. Finally, Hummel said, "Thanks, but no thanks." His gaze cooled, and Puck exhaled, having forgotten to breathe. "I think if I told you, you'd want to help, and I have to do this on my own."

Stiffening, Puck tightened his hold on Hummel. "You confronting somebody?"

Chuckling sadly, he answered, "Not really, he probably won't even see it. This is just on the off chance."

Puck stared blankly down at him. "I don't get it."

With another chuckle, indulgent this time, Hummel patted his knee. "That's okay." He blinked and jerked his hand away as if burned, clearing his throat.

Cocking an eyebrow, Puck changed the subject again. "What about the Glee assignment?"

Hummel cast him a grateful look and nodded. "I have that in the bag, I'm not even worried."

"What're you singing?"

He started rummaging around in his bag, ostensibly for his iPod. "Florence and the Machine. Know them?"

Puck shrugged and let go so Hummel could search better. "Kinda."

Producing his iPod and earbuds, he found whatever song before handing it over to Puck, taking one earbud for himself. At first, Puck was simply impressed with this chick's lungs. As the song went on, though, he watched Hummel from the corner of his eye. The boy's expression got sadder and sadder as Puck watched him chew his lip. Somehow, mixed with all that sadness, there was a grim determination, and Puck wondered what it all was for.

Song is Underneath by Adam Lambert. I don't own him or his music, now stop reminding me. Neither do I own Florence and the Machine. Or just Florence or just the Machine. I own nothing, okay? Jeez.