Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
They say in a true relationships jealousy is a myth, is that fact or fiction?
"Seriously?" Rachel took a sip of her drink asking Mercy "That's the fourth time he's called since we've been here"
"Is he ringing your phone as well?" Mercy asked sarcastically
"No but…"
"Is he sleeping with you?" she asked Rachel with anger in her voice
"Hey" Jessie called to her "That's not called for"
"Does he always stick up for you like that?" Mercy huffed "I mean that's the second time tonight he's defended you"
"Okay" Rachel frowned "I get your point" she snapped "it's your friendship, your business"
"Thank you" Mercy put her phone down on the table and took a sip of her cocktail
"Is he coming tonight?" Jessie asked
"He wanted to, but he's got this work thing going on, they're in the middle of getting these lyrics done and… well.. he's busy" she smiled "Maybe next time"
Jessie looked at Rachel knowing she had something to say, but they'd already been closed down about this guy, so he wasn't about to take the chance "Maybe next time" he smiled at Mercy
"Maybe" Mercy smiled hopefully
"Hey" Puck walked into the bar "Sorry we're late" he looked back at Kurt and Blaine walking behind him "Took Kurt a while to get ready"
"I knew I shouldn't have left you guys to get ready" Mercy laughed
"No Sam?" Puck asked looking around the bar
"He's busy" Mercy smiled at him "You know how he is"
"Yeah" Puck smirked "How many times has he called?"
"Four" she smiled at her boyfriend taking his kiss
"And each time he asked if I was here yeah?"
"Yeah" she laughed
"We'll talk later" Puck told her "Remember when all this shit hits the fan" he waved his finger at her
"Puck" she frowned at him "He's busy"
"Yeah" he sat next to her nudging her playfully
Mercy and Sam had been friends since forever, they'd done a lot together, but when Puck came on the scene it was clear they had some sort of one upmanship thing going on. She'd fancied Puck from the off, always talked about him relentlessly with Sam, so when they finally got together it was no surprise, except to Sam, the day he found out about it their relationship changed he was jealous as hell and had no difficulties in showing it.
Out of the five of them that went to college together Puck was the first one to get work once they finished their studies, so he put a deposit down on a large apartment. Mercy, Sam, Rachel, and Jessie moved in and then when Blaine and Kurt came to live in Los Angeles it seemed natural that they stay at Puck's place too, shortly after Jessie and Rachel moved out.
It was a complicated tale; Jessie's mom had been married to Puck's dad their second time around, so Jessie and Puck had grown up together, but when they went off to college, their parents broke up and Jessie's mom ended up with Kurt's dad, so they were all three linked by marriage at some point. That was something else that pissed Sam off, the fact that they were all connected except him, Puck could never do enough to prove to him that he hadn't come into Mercy's life to take his place.
Since Puck had got together with Mercy, Sam was rarely around, he'd always got some gig to get to, or staying over at someone's house, but the fact that they had phones made it seem like Sam needed to be involved in every aspect of Mercy's life. He was obsessed from the start, but now things were getting out of hand. Mercy was stuck in the middle of it all, she was Puck's girl, but Sam had been her best friend a lot longer than he'd been around and of course she felt bad, so the least she felt she could do was keep them as happy as she could
Rachel and Jessie lived busy lives, so them all getting together wasn't a regular thing, tonight they'd set up this special meet because they had news and yet again Sam was nowhere to be seen.
Sam's odd behaviour had caused concern for all of them, he kept blowing up Mercy's phone when he wasn't around, but when they were in the same space as Puck he hardly spoke to her, in fact he'd go the opposite and monopolise Puck's time like a jealous schoolboy. Puck knew it was to get a rise out of him, but he was being the bigger man, Mercy was his girl, they were good, and Sam was just her best friend and as long as they had those boundaries everything was good. Except over the past month or so Sam was trying to blur the lines, he was getting on Puck's last nerve with his shit, and against his better judgement Puck was becoming the jealous, possessive, idiot Sam was trying to make him into.
"So" Mercy's voice louder than usual wanting to move the focus of the conversation away from her best friend, as she looked around the table at everyone "What's this announcement?" she asked Rachel
"We didn't want to do this over the phone" Jessie smiled at Rachel
"OMG" Kurt held his face
"No" Mercy grinned looking from Jessie to Rachel
"We're pregnant" they both laughed at the cheers coming at them
"Congratulations" Mercy jumped up to hug them
"I'm going to be an Uncle" Kurt tried to hold back tears hugging Blaine
"We're going to be Uncles" Puck corrected him before he hugged Jessie and Rachel
"Congratulations dude" Blaine bumped fists with Jessie "Mommy Rachel" he grinned at her
"Excuse me" Mercy picked up her phone again, everyone pissed off, but no one said anything, Puck looked at her and whatever that look they shared told her, the reaction was a tap on the shoulder for him
"Dude" Jessie looked at Puck "You okay?" Puck simply nodded, he was too busy listening to the bits of the conversation he could hear, trying to piece it together
"What did he want?" Puck asked as soon as she sat back down
"He was just checking I was alright" she smiled
"Didn't he check a second ago?" Puck asked her
"Yeah but…"
"You're with me, what's going to happen to you?"
"Puck" she looked around the table "Can we do this later?"
"I'll do something later" he huffed, wrenching his hand away when she tried to hold it
"Puck" she looked at him shocked
"Sorry" he grabbed her hand "That friend of yours is just getting to me"
"He wants me to meet him for lunch tomorrow" she smiled knowingly
"Then I guess you should go"
"I wasn't asking permission" she frowned "I was just letting you know" she smiled "Do you want to come?"
"No" his face readable "I don't think it's me he wants to see" he smiled "So" he looked at Rachel and Jessie still in conversation with Kurt and Blaine about the pending baby "How far gone?" Mercy sat watching him, she knew he was trying his best not to be jealous about the situation, but the cracks were showing
"Nearly 14 weeks" Rachel opened her jacket to expose her tiny bump "Just started showing"
"Imagine us responsible for a life?" Jessie looked at Puck rubbing their baby bump, feeling proud of himself
"I struggle with a pet, don't expect much from me" Puck laughed
"He's right" she laughed "How about you come meet me after lunch, walk me back to work?" she whispered in his ear
"Just let me know when" he smiled kissing her cheek
"Are we ordering I'm starving" Rachel announced, everyone looked around for the waitress, wanting to get the pregnant woman food
Mercy got another four calls before the night was out, she answered all of them to Puck's disgruntlement, they were standing outside waiting for a cab when she got the last one before he finally burst "Why are you answering every damn call?" he snapped at her Blaine and Kurt stood staring at him in shock
"He's my best friend" Mercy looked at him shocked "What do you expect me to do?"
"Tell him your busy, with me, and you'll call him back when you have time"
"Puck" she frowned "Could I tell you that if Kurt or Jessie called you?"
"They're my brothers, this is a damn friend"
"He's like my person, I'm like his person, we've always looked out for each other"
"Is that not what I'm here for?" he looked into her eyes asking, "To look out for you?"
"Just give him some time to adjust, this is hard for him"
"Time?" Puck asked sucking air through his teeth, he looked at Kurt and Blaine standing there wondering what was going on, then bit his bottom lip, this wasn't him, he never behaved like this, Sam was winning "Okay" he smiled at her "Sorry, this is hard for me too" he sunk inside for backing down again, they'd been seeing each other for nearly eight months now, living together for over three months, how much longer did that dumb ass need to adjust.
"It's hard for all of us" she smiled up at him as the cab pulled up
The ride home was all about Rachel and the baby, Jessie and Rachel hadn't been married for eight months yet, recently they'd been brought their apartment by his father and his new rich wife, some sort of sorry for not being there thing, Jessie had struggled with the decision to take the money, but Rachel talked sense and here they were. They were dedicated to each other, Puck often thought maybe their model was the one to follow, take Mercy away from that house and leave Kurt, Sam, and Blaine to it so he could start a fresh new life with just them.
Apart from the time they spent in secret getting to know each other, they hadn't really had any other time completely alone, Sam had always planted himself in the middle of everything they did. The fact that he moved in with them was a situation he'd forced by not paying his rent, or fuel bills alluding to the fact that he couldn't cope without Mercy, and she'd talked Puck into letting the man stay with them, it was never supposed to have been a permanent thing, but it was looking like that was what it was.
Home
"Drink?" Blaine asked throwing his jacket on the coat hanger by the door
"Please" Puck and Mercy replied stepping into the house themselves
"Who's for backgammon until we're tired?" Blaine asked walking over to the pile of boardgames
"I suppose" Puck shrugged his shoulders and sat down, grabbing Mercy's hand to make sure she sat by him "Until we finish our drinks at least"
"At least" she grinned at him
They played a couple of games before deciding to go to bed, it was the only place they ever truly got any alone time "So can we talk about the Sam in the room again?" he asked as they took their clothes off to get ready for bed
"Sure" she smiled turning for him to undo her dress buttons
"I'm trying my best to be that guy I promised I would be" he stood looking at her in the mirror in front of them "But he's pissing me off, he calls what… like 30 times a day, he totally ignores me, like I did something to him, and now he's taking over our lunch breaks"
"I intend on speaking to him about it all tomorrow, that's part of the reason I agreed to meet him" she turned to look at him "I', Sorry…"
"Don't apologise for him" he moved away from her
"So" she grabbed his arm pulling him back "Thanks for being so… understanding, I'll sort it"
"I hope so, because I can't promise I'm going to put up with this for much longer"
"What do you mean?"
"One of us is going to have to go" he looked at her "I'm sorry but that's just the way it's got to be"
"He's my best friend" she told him unsure how she felt about his ultimatum
"Your best friend that's in love with you, can't you see that?"
"He loves me yes, but in love with me?" she laughed
"Mercy" he sat on the bed "If he's not with you he's on the phone checking up on you" he huffed "How often do I call you?"
"Two maybe three times a day"
"He calls close to thirty" he raised his eyebrow "You said he's constantly moaning about the amount of time you spend with me, if he had his way we'd barely be together"
"Exaggeration" she laughed as her phone rang "It's Sam" she looked up at him
"Don't answer it" he stood up "Please don't answer it"
"Puck" she frowned at him "It could be anything" she flicked the phone open and answered, watching as he stepped past her and left the room "Where's Puck?" she ran downstairs asking Blaine and Kurt twenty minutes later when the call finished
"He slammed out the door" Blaine told her with a mouth full of food
"Where was he going?"
"He wasn't happy"
"Fuck" she sat down and raked her hand through her hair frustrated "I'm so tired of this shit"
"You don't seem to be" Kurt snapped eager to defend his brother from another mother, and father to think of it
"I am" she moaned "If it's not Sam throwing his toys out the basket, it's Puck being jealous about everything"
"So, it's Puck that's being unreasonable?" Kurt asked
"They both are"
"Listen Girl, I don't know for sure" Kurt held his hand up "But I'm guessing, you're in your bedroom with your guy and some other guy, namely Sam, calls, it's like 11pm, so unless it's a near death emergency I'd say it was a safe enough time to think you had your girlfriend to yourself?" he nodded for confirmation "And then she gets a call, which I'm assuming she answers, rather than jumping in the sack with me, oh I'm pissed not jealous"
"See things from my side" Mercy sighed "I have this friend who I love dearly who's been the man in my life since forever, I started seeing this other guy because truthfully my friend always claimed to be a friend, a best friend, but now he's having a really hard time coming second with the girl who's always put him first, am I supposed to just ignore his feelings?"
"No" Kurt snapped "But you need to set boundaries between your best friend and your boyfriend before you lose one of them, or god forbid one of them snaps"
"Puck should trust me"
"I'm not saying he doesn't, actually he must do to have put up with your shit for this long, sorry" Kurt held his hand up "But someone's got to tell you before Puck loses it, if I have to be that one, so be it"
"Puck's a gentle giant" she smiled
"When he wants to be, and with you yes, but…" Kurt rolled his eyes
That's the thing Sam's the not so jolly green giant when he's pissed" she frowned "And seriously, you wouldn't like him when he's mad"
"Just sort things out and talk to him, before you lose him"
"Tomorrow" she turned and went back upstairs, she had things to think about, Puck had been nothing but a gentleman since they'd got together, she was actually enjoying being a part of someone else's life, it felt sweet, when it was left to happen. But for sure there was something stopping her from allowing what they had to get serious, and for whatever reason she wasn't allowing it to come to the forefront of her mind, she was playing a dangerous game, Kurt was right, she needed to choose.
Puck
Puck sat in the nearby café angry because Sam was testing his last nerve, he knew what he was doing, they both did, but somehow Mercy refused to see it and put him in his place. It was all so blatant; as soon as Mercy put anything on social media he was on it, quicker if she put him on the page, he was always ready to tell her how beautiful she was, using words like babe, sweetheart, love, even the way he said you made it sound sexy, leaving him with hey or Mercy as his only endearing options.
On the rare occasions he actually turned up for any event he'd monopolise the entire evening reminiscing about their childhood, laughing about things they'd done, constantly commenting on those being the best days of their lives, as if Mercy had nothing more to look forward to. Annoying as hell was when he'd suggest Mercy and he do something together in an attempt to get Mercy to himself for an evening, and Sam would jump in with a remember when we did that comment, putting his claim in an underhanded way on her, with his I did it with her first one upmanship thing he had going on.
Puck had kept all those thoughts to himself because he knew only too well what jealously looked like, he'd had that first love kind of jealousy, and that coat, back then, looked even worse on him. Sam was just waiting to pull the trying to isolate you from your friends card, and he wouldn't have a counter argument because that would be his motive. The guy was obviously in love or infatuated with Mercy but for some unknown reason he'd never approached her and somehow that was turning into Puck's fault.
"Fuck this" he finished his coffee, threw the cup in the bin, and made his way back home, he'd calmed down enough to keep his mouth shut
"Puck" Mercy jumped when he walked into the bedroom
"I'm tired" he went to the bathroom, climbed into bed, and turned his back to her
"Okay" she turned her back too and that was the end of the night for them
The Next Day
The night hadn't been a nice one, she didn't relish having too many more of those, she had to do something "Puck?"
"Can we meet before your lunch?" he asked
"Call me" she smiled awkwardly watching him leave the bedroom, she'd done some thinking too
Lunch
Puck
"Thanks for meeting me" Puck walked towards her smiling
"I wanted to" she got up to kiss him
"I suppose you can guess; I've been thinking" he frowned
"So have I" she sat down and watched him do the same "But you go first"
"Okay" he put his phone on the table and looked up at her "Last night I was childish, that wasn't the best version of me, and I'm sorry" he grabbed her hand "I wanted this, I really did, and it's not going to be easy for me to walk away, but that's what I have to do"
"That's" she meant to stop him, she meant to say it wasn't what she wanted, that's what she was thinking but it wouldn't come out, because in saying that she'd be leaving her friend and she couldn't do that
"Sam's obviously in love with you, I can't compete with that, I'm jealous of his love for you plain and simple, and last night I concluded that you love him back" he covered her mouth to stop her talking "And you might not even know it but…"
"I love Sam, you know I do, but I love you too"
"I love you too, maybe I'm supposed to be the friend" he smiled "Everything moved so fast for us, I know he doesn't trust me with you, and I don't trust my reasons for being in this relationship" he squeezed her hand "So, I've made up my mind, this is over, I'm going home for a while" he looked at her
"I can talk to Sam"
"Mercy" he made sure he had her attention "It's not Sam, it's you, you're the problem in this triangle, you need to make your choice"
"But I've been trying…"
"If you truly loved me, you wouldn't need to try" he leaned "All this happened too quick, I'd just fell out of a relationship" he looked into her eyes "I mean we hadn't known each other for three months before I buy a house and stick you in it, barefoot and pregnant comes to mind" he laughed sarcastically "I was that desperate to get you"
"Is that a bad thing?"
"It is when I wake up this morning and don't know if I'm thinking that because I love you, or I just don't want Sam to have you"
"This wasn't the conversation I was planning on having with you"
"Now and again life throws us a curve ball" he smiled
"Do you want us to move out?"
"Not right now, I'm going home for a few months, get you, and maybe even Quinn, out my system, then when I get back, you should have found somewhere"
"I'm sorry" she smiled, genuinely upset, because until last night, she didn't think she was being selfish, but he was right, that's exactly what she was doing, keeping Sam close because she didn't want anyone else to have him. "This time that's for myself"
"I'm sorry too" he smiled "I'd better go before he sees me and runs away"
"When are you going?"
"Now, I've got my car packed"
"Puck" she frowned jumping up into his arms, sad, but happy they were finally being true to themselves
Sam
"Hey Babe" Sam walked in ten minutes later being his totally loveable self as usual
"Hey" she smiled "Why didn't you come last night?"
"I was busy"
"So, what did you want to see me about?"
"Just lunch, I missed out on dinner last night"
"So, you just wanted me all to yourself?"
"Something like that, that guy of yours is always attached, pissing me off" he scoffed
"We live together, he's going be attached"
"Exactly, we live together too, hence attached" he grinned
"He just finished with me by the way" she looked into his eyes for a reaction
"You didn't give in to him did you?" he breathed out heavy
"No" she frowned "I'd have told you that"
"Good, because you can't let the first boy you meet be the last, you need to live a little"
"You mean sleep around?"
"Not really sleep around" he tried to stop himself from talking but failed miserably "I didn't like him Mercy, I don't trust him, and I didn't think he was the right guy for you"
"But that was still my choice Sam"
"He was on the rebound, the type who'd be gone as soon as something better comes along…"
"So, you're saying I wasn't good enough for him?" she got up to leave
"No" he grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit back down "I just didn't trust him" he kept hold of her arm "Mercy I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm… what do I know, maybe he was the guy"
"Now you want him to be the guy?"
"I want to know why you didn't choose me?"
"Choose you?" she looked at him puzzled
"Yes me" he huffed "Because I'm the one who's loved you since day one" his eyes widened unable to believe he'd just let that out
"But you said…"
"Friends I know but…"
"You said we were like siblings, you put us in that zone, you said no" she grabbed his hand
"And I've regretting it since the day I said it, I was just protecting myself" he looked into her eyes deeper "I was naïve, I thought we could live like that forever, I didn't see a Puck in the picture, him touching you, kissing you, even saying your name enrages me, I can't…"
"He's gone" she stopped his lips moving with her finger "And I love you"
"As in a friend?"
"As in I'm in love with you" she smiled "I guess I've always been"
"God you don't know how good it is to hear that"
"I didn't realise I was holding all that in until Puck politely pointed out what our problem was" she looked up at the music "Typical" She laughed "Our song"
"Yeah" he smiled as they sat in silence listening
"Will you be him, please?"
"I'd love to be him" he smiled pulling her face to him "And will you be her?"
"Forever" she giggled taking his peck
"That was strange" he pulled away from her "But nice, we're not playing at this anymore are we?" he asked
"No more games" she smiled
"Excuse me" he stopped the waitress "Could I get two coffee's to go please?" he looked at Mercy "We need to pull a sickie?"
"Sickie it is" she laughed
Three Months Later
"Dare I ask?" Sam watched her pick her phone up to check the message "Santa Clause is coming to town?"
"He's home" she frowned
"I guess you could pass by, say hello" Sam smiled
"I wished you two could get on"
"That could happen" he smiled
"So come with me"
"Okay" he smiled walking towards her "You gave yourself to me, I'm him remember" he hugged her
"And I'm her" she wrapped her arms around his neck, her kiss asking a questions
"Work" he chuckled, ushering them out of their new apartment
Later that evening they made the journey over to their usual restaurant to meet with everyone, intent on celebrating Puck's return "Hey" Puck jumped up as they walked in
"Hi" Mercy smiled walking towards him "Great to have you back"
"Great to be back" he laughed looking at Sam, trying to test the waters "Dude?" he held his fist out "No hard feelings?"
"Absolutely none" Sam bumped fists with him
"This is Quinn" Puck turned to grab her hand "We finally worked it out too"
"Hi" Quinn jumped up smiling, Puck was stood grinning wider than any of them had ever seen
"Everyone's happy" Sam smiled hugging Mercy