Disclaimer – I do not own Glee

Hello dear readers, sorry its been a while but you know, life happens. Admittedly 'life' doesn't often happen to me but when it does a bunch of stuff tends to happen in one go. Work promotions, wedding plans, funerals, birthday parties, a game of hide and seek with the nieces and nephews where you discover that you're too big and tall to hide in any of the good places anymore, and some desperate old queen who should go home and fuck his husband instead of trying to scam on my fiancé right in front of me… you know, normal stuff.

Hope we all enjoy the chapter…

Chapter 22 – What is a Bad Boy Afraid Of?

"With all this drama going on we're never going to get time to rehearse for Sectionals," Rachel commented with a sigh after Finn had stormed out and Mr. Schue had taken Quinn and Matt into his office for a private talk.

"Oh look, selfish Berry's back," Santana remarked.

"I haven't had a complete personality change you know," Rachel replied. "I still care deeply about this club and I want our team to succeed. Vocal Adrenaline will have been hard at work for months whereas we've barely gotten a decent practice in."

"She's right," Puck acknowledged. "If Sectionals were tomorrow we'd do nothing but embarrass ourselves. We really need to get to work."

"But how do we do that?" Tina asked. "Mr. Schue is inappropriately interfering with Quinn and Matt's lives and Finn's ditched."

"Britt, Mike, you guys sorted out any choreography yet?" Puck asked.

"Sure, we've got a few basic routine ideas worked out that everybody in the club could dance to," Brittany said. "And we've been working on a more complex piece that Mike and I could dance together to really impress the judges and audience."

"Well that's a start right?" Puck asked. "Go through the simple choreography with us and we'll help the others catch up next time."

"And we should have extra rehearsal time," Kurt suggested. "Rachel's right. We're really behind. We need to get to work if we want to win Sectionals."

"What about Quinn?" Santana asked. "That mutant baby in her belly is only going to get bigger. She'll look like white trash and how will she even be able to dance?"

"Quinn has a natural ability for movement," Mike stated. "She'll do fine. And she won't be showing that much when we go to Sectionals, right?"

"And we've got the girls' classic rock mash-up songs picked out," Tina spoke up. "We should start rehearsing that now and get Quinn caught up later. Mercedes can practice her duet with one of the other guys until Finn gets over himself and comes back."

"Maybe somebody should go and talk to Finn, see if he's ok," Brittany said. "I know he's kind of a douche sometimes but he did just find out his girlfriend is pregnant with someone else's baby. Sometimes even douche-bag guys need a friend too."

"I could go talk to Frankenteen," Santana offered.

"No way," Mercedes said. "You'll just piss him off more. Puck?"

"Hell no, he just accused me of screwing Quinn behind his back, why should I help him?" Puck complained.

"I'll go," Artie said.

"I'm not convinced that's a good idea," Kurt remarked. "You and Finn have sort of been at one another's throats lately."

"I won't electrocute him, I promise," Artie assured. "I'll just talk or listen to him rant and rage. It's about time I tried to get back on good terms with him anyway. We all need to try and get along. If we can't then we're definitely going to lose at Sectionals."

"Remember Artie, you're a cloud, not a lightening bolt," Brittany advised. "Stay calm and keep control of your power. Don't let Finn bring the bad stuff out."

"Don't worry, I've got his," Artie told them before turning to leave.

"You'll find Finn in the locker room throwing girly punches at the punching bag," Rachel advised. "Wow, he really is feeling hurt, angry and betrayed," Rachel commented to the others as she rubbed at her head. "His pain is so loud. I think I'm actually feeling sorry for him."

"Looks like you could use a headache tablet and a nap," Mercedes said.

"No," Rachel objected. "We need to rehearse. Shall we start with choreography?"

XXX

As Rachel had claimed, Artie found Finn in the boy's locker room taking out his anger on the punching bag.

"Is that helping?" Artie asked, announcing his presence.

"It's not making the day any worse," Finn panted out throwing a few more aggressive punches at the bag.

Sitting down on a bench, Artie kept quiet and simply watched for a few minutes as Finn unleashed some frustration. Over the years, Artie had often watched some of the other boys throw right-hooks at the punching bag. It had always seemed to be rather therapeutic in helping them deal with anger issues in a healthy way. Silently, Artie had envied them for it as it was just another thing on what seemed a long list of things he couldn't do. Of course, Miss Pillsbury had been helping him to think positively and appreciate the things he could do rather than wallow in what he could not. But there were times when negativity and frustration entered his mind and he could never unleash it in the same way as his peers.

"I should beat the hell out of Matt Rutherford," Finn seethed aiming a final punch before turning to rest his sweaty brow against the cool metal of a locker door.

"That won't solve anything," Artie said. "Quinn will still be pregnant and the baby will still be Matt's."

"I can't believe Quinn cheated on me," Finn turned round to face Artie again and sank down to sit on the floor, his back resting against the lockers. "And with Matt? I thought he was my friend. He's like the last person I would have thought would do this. Well, last person after Kurt I guess."

"Look, I don't know why Quinn and Matt did what they did," Artie said. "But I'm sorry they did. It wasn't right for Quinn to cheat on you or for Matt to betray your trust. But they're both dealing with the consequences of their actions now. In the grand scheme of things, you've got off easy. Right now you're hurt, you're angry, embarrassed and you have every right to be. But at the end of the day you've only lost your girlfriend and got a bruise on your ego. Quinn and Matt will be losing a lot more. Being pregnant is really going to damage Quinn's reputation and her popularity. And she's terrified about how her parents are going to react. They could disown her and kick her out over this. That's something you'll never have to worry about with your mum, right?"

"I guess," Finn shrugged. "But it's not fair, man. When this gets out people are gonna be laughing at me too."

"Dude, you're in Glee Club, people are already laughing at you," Artie pointed out. "And whatever backlash you get from this pregnancy won't be anywhere near as much as what Quinn's going to get. She's always going to have a tougher time than you or Matt over this. Now, we've got a lot of rehearsing to do. Are you gonna come back to Glee?"

"No, no, I'm never coming back," Finn shook his head. "How can I? I won't be able to look at her without wanting to cry and I won't be able to look at him without wanting to punch his face in. I don't care about Glee, I'm done."

"We can't perform without you," Artie sighed.

"I don't care," Finn sulked. "I don't want anything to do with Glee or any of you."

"So what's the plan then?" Artie asked. "Are you gonna go back to throwing Kurt in the dumpster? Making fun of Tina? Throwing things at Rachel? Locking me in a port-a-potty?"

"I never locked you in a port-a-potty," Finn replied. "I got you out and I…"

"You took me home and explained to my mum what had happened," Artie finished for him. "I remember. And I really appreciated that and really respected you for it. That day, you were my hero. And it took being in Glee Club for you to behave like that and have the courage to stand up to Puck and those other guys. You might not have really bullied any of us before you joined Glee Club, not like the nastier jocks did, but you never stepped in to defend us before either. Mr. Schuester and Glee Club brought out the best in you, Finn. If you walk away now then you'll just be another dumb jock who didn't have the balls to do things that truly made him happy. You wouldn't be special anymore. You'll just be another ordinary sheep."

"Maybe I wanna be an ordinary sheep," Finn retorted. "And maybe I was never special in the first place."

"Look, man," Artie sighed. "I can't give a big inspiring pep talk like Mr. Schue can. All I can say is that the Glee Club needs you."

"No you don't," Finn denied. "You're all better dancers than I am and you can all sing better and half of you have these cool mutant powers. I'm just the guy who gets cheated on."

"Man, you're depressing," Artie groaned with a roll of his eyes. "Stop focusing on negative stuff. Be positive, don't drag yourself down. And you've done so much for this Glee Club, Finn. Before you joined it was just five of us and we sucked. I mean, we really sucked. Then you joined and Mr. Schue nearly left and for a moment the club was nearly over before it had even begun. But you saved the New Directions, Finn. Our performance of 'Don't Stop Believing', that was the first time we were actually good. You made that happen. And then Puck, Mike, Matt, Quinn, Brittany and Santana, they joined because of you. Without you, we wouldn't have them. Without you, Mr. Schue might have actually left McKinley to be an accountant and without you this Glee Club definitely wouldn't still be together. Without you, New Directions would have failed. And without you, we don't have a chance at winning Sectionals."

"I just… I just want everything to go away. I want this pain to stop," Finn complained. "I just wish I couldn't feel anything."

"Not being able to feel anything is not a good thing, Finn, trust me I know," Artie said.

"What do you mean, how could you possibly know?" Finn asked.

"I was in a wheelchair for half my life, remember?" Artie pointed out. "And I can't tell you how much I wished I could feel something, anything, in my legs. An itch, a graze on my knee, a girl's hand on my thigh. But I couldn't feel anything. That's not something you should wish for in regards to your heart. Now, I'm gonna ask you one more time, man. Come back to Glee. Please."

"Fine," Finn agreed looking at the floor. "But not today. And I am not speaking to him and I am not speaking to her."

"Fair enough," Artie conceded. "I really am sorry you know."

"Whatever," Finn mumbled before standing up and facing the punching bag once more.

XXX

With all the drama of Glee Club, Kurt was more than happy to breakaway from it all by going on his date with Puck. Having witnessed Quinn's pregnancy reveal, Matt's declaration as to being the father and Finn's furious reaction, Kurt found that the prospect of going on another date with Noah Puckerman didn't make him feel as nervous as he had been expecting. He supposed his mind was still reeling from the explosive events of Glee rehearsal that there was no room to feel so nervous. It also helped that Mercedes and Rachel had assisted him in selecting a fabulous outfit and looking so good naturally led to him feeling more confident.

"Goodbye, dad," Kurt called out grabbing his car keys.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Burt asked emerging from the living-room in his flannel shirt and baseball cap.

"Oh, me and the girls are going shopping," Kurt answered indicating to Rachel and Mercedes either side of him, the trio trying their best to look innocent.

"Alright," Burt nodded. "Have fun."

The three teens left the house and slipped into Kurt's car, Rachel riding in the backseat.

"Did he buy it?" Kurt asked Rachel.

"He bought it," Rachel confirmed. "But he is a little worried that you might spend too much money."

"You know, you're probably gonna have to stop at the mall and buy a new scarf or something just so he doesn't get suspicious," Mercedes pointed out.

"I'm taking Puck on a date, I don't have time to go to the mall," Kurt replied.

"Not a problem," Rachel chipped in. "Mercedes and I will go to the mall and pick out a few things for you. After your date with Noah just come and pick it up. That way your dad shouldn't ask any questions."

"You girls are amazing, what would I do with out?" Kurt sighed wistfully.

XXX

After dropping the girls off at the mall, Kurt sent Puck a text to let him know he was on his way then headed over to the Puckerman household. Parking the car outside Puck's front yard, Kurt noticed a young girl's face staring at him curiously from the living-room window. Soon enough, Puck was clambering into the passenger seat of Kurt's car, flipping his finger to his little sister who had started making lewd kissing faces in the window.

"So Hot Stuff, what's the plan?" Puck asked.

"It's a surprise," Kurt told him mischievously. "But going forward, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling me 'Hot Stuff'."

"Why?" Puck wanted to know. "It's a compliment."

"Nevertheless, I'd prefer if you didn't use it as a pet name for me," Kurt replied.

"Can I call you Sweet Ass?" Puck smirked.

"Not if you expect me to answer," Kurt smirked back. "Just call me Kurt for now."

"Alright," Puck agreed. "But if you're gonna be my boyfriend then you've got to get a pet name at some point."

"Do I get to give you a pet name in return?" Kurt asked.

"Sure," Puck grinned. "You can call me Puckzilla, Puckersaurus, Captain Big Dick, Prince Gorgeous," he suggested.

"Your modesty is so admirable," Kurt deadpanned.

"I try," Puck shrugged.

"I think for now I'm just going to call you Noah," Kurt told him. "Or maybe Sweet Kitten," he giggled.

"Sweet Kitten," Puck blanched. "That's not sexy or badass," he complained.

"But it's so cute," Kurt laughed. "Hey, here we are. I hope you're ready for some fun."

Puck looked out the window as Kurt parked the car in the lot and he felt his stomach drop. He remained silent as he followed Kurt up to the building and they went inside. Soon enough, the pair were standing at the bottom of the indoor rock-climbing wall. Their helmets and harnesses were on and after a member of staff had checked they were both safe and secure, they were given the go ahead to start climbing.

"Race you to the top," Kurt challenged with a wide grin on his face.

"I didn't think this would be your type of thing," Puck managed to say as he craned his neck to look at the top of the wall.

"Cars and climbing are probably the only typical boy activities I enjoyed as a kid," Kurt admitted. "I used to climb trees all the time and I could always get to the top of the climbing frame at the play-park. So when I was nine my dad bought me here and I fell in love with rock-climbing. We even had a holiday climbing an actual outside mountain a couple of years back. It was amazing. Now come on, climb with me," Kurt said as he gripped at the wall and started to climb upwards.

"Right, yeah, um, right behind you, babe," Puck said, licking his lips nervously.

"Noah, come on," Kurt called when he was halfway up the rock-climbing wall and Puck had yet to start climbing.

"Right, yeah," Puck murmured taking a breath and gripping the wall with his hands. He pulled himself up so he was about two feet off the floor and felt his heart racing and his stomach tying itself into knots. Looking up, he saw that Kurt was nearly to the top already. He really was an amazing climber and he seemed to be so far away. Reaching up, Puck dared to pull himself just a little bit higher. He then made the mistake of looking down and felt himself freeze against the wall feeling like he might throw up.

"Noah?" Kurt asked in concern as he came back down the wall. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine," Puck replied with his eyes squeezed shut.

"Oh my…" Kurt trailed off in realisation. "Noah, are you afraid of heights?"

"No," Puck objected instantly.

"Right," Kurt replied struggling to contain his laughter. "Why don't you climb to the top then?" he asked, his cheeks starting to hurt from how wide he was smiling.

"Sure, I can do that," Puck said. He opened his eyes, took a breath and climbed another foot up the wall. "Am I near the top yet?"

"Um, not quite," Kurt laughed as he settled his own feet firmly back on the ground, his shoulder in line with Puck's knees. "Keep climbing," he encouraged.

Puck looked up to the top before looking down to the floor again.

"Oh shit," he swore. "Kurt, I can't. I'm stuck," he admitted in a whisper.

"Ok, ok, it's fine, just come back down," Kurt told him trying to sound gentle and soothing, which proved difficult on account of his laughter.

"I can't, its way too high," Puck replied.

"Noah, it's fine, you could literally jump down," Kurt told him.

"No, I can't," Puck said. "You're gonna have to call the fire brigade," he said in a panicked tone.

"Just calm down, Sweet Kitten, Kurt Hummel is here to rescue you," Kurt sniggered.

He wrapped his arms around Puck's waist and simply pulled him down away from the wall, eliciting a shriek from the muscular teen as he did so.

"Fuck, I'm gonna die!" Puck swore before his feet safely hit the floor. "Ok, I'm ok, I'm ok," Puck sighed in relief as he straightened up.

"I present Lima's most notorious badass, ladies and gentlemen," Kurt teased bowing to Puck with an amused look on his face.

"Shut up," Puck mumbled as a staff member helped him out of his harness and he removed his helmet with a pout on his lips.

"I'm sorry," Kurt apologised with a smile. "If I'd known you were afraid of heights I would never have brought you here."

"I'm not afraid of heights," Puck insisted and Kurt just bit down on his lip to stifle his laughter.

"Come on," Kurt said. "I'll take you for a burger and milkshake," he offered knowing that was something Puck would genuinely enjoy.

XXX

Even as the two boys sit opposite one another eating a burger, fries and drinking a milkshake (chocolate for Puck and strawberry for Kurt) Puck still refuses to admit that he has a fear of heights.

"I'm telling you, that harness thing wasn't secured properly," Puck said adamantly. "If I'd climbed any higher I could have fallen and died. And I still managed to pretty much make it to the top anyway."

"Yes, you were so close to the top," Kurt laughed as his mind replayed images of Puck too terrified to climb any higher on the wall.

"Damn right I was," Puck insisted.

"How's your burger?" Kurt asked.

"Best burger ever," Puck answered. "We should do this every week."

"I am not eating burgers as regularly as once a week," Kurt told him. "I work hard to keep my body looking this good."

"Any chance you'll show off your smoking hot body to me with a lap-dance?" Puck asked quirking his eyebrows suggestively.

"Maybe I'll do a dance for you when I'm invisible," Kurt replied.

"That wouldn't count," Puck complained.

"Fair enough," Kurt nodded. "No lap-dances then."

"Hey, I didn't say no," Puck said quickly. "As long as I actually know that you're there and can cop a feel and stuff it would be cool. I'd just have to use my imagination."

"Um, Noah, you know I'm not ready to have sex with you, right?" Kurt checked, being sure to keep his voice quiet.

"I know," Puck nodded. "To be honest I'm not sure I'm ready either. I totally need to watch a load of gay porn first so I can be confident with what I'm doing."

"Please don't do that," Kurt sighed. "Porn is not an accurate portrayal of sex and I most certainly do not want you treating me like I'm a porn star."

"Um… so… should I watch Queer as Folk or Brokeback Mountain?" Puck asked. "I totally have a tent we could use."

"Just eat your burger, Sweet Kitten," Kurt told him.

XXX

Pulling up outside Puck's house again, the two boys climbed out and Kurt perched daintily on the edge of his car. Puck stood in front of him, placing his hands at Kurt's waist.

"I get to kiss you now, right?" Puck asked.

"I'd like that," Kurt smiled.

"Cool," Puck grinned back before leaning in.

To Kurt, it felt like the sun set as they kissed, allowing the moon to bathe them in a halo of impenetrable light where they could remain forever more as Kurt and Noah, never to be interrupted by judgemental gazes or hateful words. To Puck, it felt like they were flying with the stars glittering around them, lighting up the sky so that everybody could look up at them in awe and wish for a romance like theirs. Puck suddenly felt compelled to make an absurd and dramatic declaration of love. But he imagined an 'I love you' was far too premature in their relationship and would probably scare Kurt away. Besides, Kurt was the most romantic of the pair; he ought to be the one to say those three words first, not a badass like Puck.

"I guess I'll see you in Glee Club," Puck said breathlessly once their kiss ended.

"Maybe you'll see me in your dreams first," Kurt whispered pressing a chaste kiss to Puck's mouth before gently pushing him away so he could get back in his car.

"Damn," Puck sighed to himself as Kurt drove off. "I've got it bad," he acknowledged as he gripped himself through his pants before rushing up to his bedroom to jack off.

Kurt drove on to Rachel's house where she and Mercedes had been watching movies. He picked up a bag of shopping the girls had gotten for him which consisted of a new scarf, an array of skincare products and a sweater that Mercedes insisted Kurt Hummel just had to have.

"Thanks girls, how much do I owe you?" Kurt asked.

"It's on us," Rachel told him. "Provided you give us all the details about your date with Noah of course."

"Ok," Kurt agreed excitedly flopping down on to Rachel's bed so he could tell the girls everything.

"No way," Mercedes laughed a while later. "Puck's afraid of heights, that's hilarious."

"I know, he was so adorable," Kurt chuckled. "Just promise you won't tell anyone."

I wonder if I should give him a lap-dance when I'm invisible, Kurt mused to himself before casting a nervous look to Rachel.

"I heard nothing," she told him with a faint blush on her cheeks.

To Be Continued…

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