Chapter Text
Prologue:
It was hot. The heat bubbling up off the sidewalk just about melted through Ellie Reilly’s flip-flops as she lugged another box out the back end of an ailing station wagon.
“Ellie, come on, baby,” Georgia Reilly called out.
Looking around at the dirty brown grass in front of the Beaver Apartments in Lima Heights Adjacent, Ellie sighed. It was so different from the tiny house they’d just left in Akron. But, her momma had gotten a really good job offer and it was time for a new start.
New start, yeah.
Then, a dark blue Bronco drove by and a boy with a mohawk lifted his hand in a wave. Waving back, Ellie pulled the box out and watched the truck turn at the last block to the left.
Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad here, she thought.
***
Six months later....
Ellie thought Sam was a sweet guy, she really did. But walking into Breadsticks on a Friday after a long night at swim practice was almost too much. She had a Trig test on Monday that she needed to study for, not to mention Honors Chem. Plus, tomorrow morning, bright and early, seven short people were expecting her to teach them how to swim, or at least not to drown. So, if she held back while he walked straight up to a crowded table, could she be blamed? And wow, did that one guy actually have a mohawk? Interesting.
“Guys,” Sam announced as he walked up to the table. “This is Ellie.”
When he turned to look for her, she blushed. Yeah, Sam was really nice, but ugh, she didn’t want to go on parade in front of a bunch of people she didn’t know. Then, he waved her over and smiled. Mentally cursing herself, she pushed her glasses up her nose and walked forward.
“Ellie, this is Kurt, Finn, Tina, Mike, Puck and Mercedes.”
She gave a small wave to everyone at the table. Mercedes, or the pretty girl she thought was Mercedes, patted the spot beside her.
“Here, Ellie, take a load off.”
Sliding in the booth beside Mercedes, Ellie tried to keep track of conversation around them as Sam pulled up a chair at the end of the table next to Mohawk Boy’s and straddled it backwards.
“So,” Mohawk Boy started. “What grade are you in?”
Ellie opened her mouth to answer when Sam held up a hand.
“No,” Sam said. “No way, Puck. Ellie’s a nice girl and as a fellow Guppy I’m sworn to protect her so, no.”
“Am I missing something?” Ellie asked.
Mercedes tapped her lightly on the leg.
“Only that Mr. Noah Puckerman - “
“Hey, it’s just Puck. I’ve told you a thousand times, Mercedes.”
“Sorry, Puck.”
She turned back to Ellie, and continued, “It’s just that Puck tends to be kind of a ….”
“Tramp?” Finn offered.
“Whore of Babylon?” Tina suggested.
“Hey! I’m open to all kinds of love.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Kurt muttered.
Puck crossed his arms and leaned his chair back on two legs.
“Why don’t we let the new girl find out for herself if I’m a super sex villain or not.”
Ellie laughed nervously and pushed up her glasses again. “I’m really fine without finding out one way or the other.”
“Well, I think we’re all ready to order. Ellie, are you ready to order? Where is that server?” Kurt snapped his fingers and looked around expectantly at everyone.
“Oh right, dinner.” And Ellie pulled her eyes away from Puck’s forearms to look at the menu.
Tina passed her the bread basket and pointed out a few of the dinner specials.
“The eggplant lasagna is my favorite, but you can’t go wrong with the chicken Marsala.”
Ellie could feel Puck’s eyes on her as her glasses slipped down her nose again, but came to earth with a crash as Sam slammed the other two legs of his chair back onto the floor and handed him a menu. She snickered.
“What? Like I need to look at that, dude. I’ll have four slices of the pizza. Whatever has the most meat on it. Meatapalooza.”
“It’s called Triple Meat.”
“Dude. Same thing.”
Ellie looked up and caught Puck staring at her again. She self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit she was trying to break. She smoothed her hands on her jeans legs and ordered whatever Tina had pointed to on the laminated list.
“So what year are you, really?” Mercedes asked.
“I’m a sophomore. Just joined Varsity for the Guppies.”
Sam offered his fist for her to bump. “Go, Guppies!”
“Yeah, and I’m taking all these honors classes, hoping to study marine biology someday.”
Puck leaned over to dip his bread in the marinara sauce suggestively, “So what’s Ellie short for anyway? Elliot?”
“No,” Ellie replied, moving back from the table as the server brought their food. “Elspeth.”
“Bless you,” replied Puck.
“Oh, that’s pretty,” Tina said, propping her chin up on her hand. “Try being stuck with a boring name like Tina your whole life.”
“Mike’s not any better.”
“I like Mike,” cooed Tina.
Ellie looked over at Mercedes who was rolling her eyes. She leaned close when Mercedes crooked her finger.
“They’re adorable and sickening all at the same time. You get used to it.”
“I’ll remember that,” Ellie replied. “Does Mercedes mean something, besides the car?”
Sam spoke up, “It’s ‘our lady of mercies’, in Spanish.”
Mercedes looked down at her food and didn’t say anything, and Ellie looked back at Sam.
“Sam’s really good at Spanish. If you know what I mean.”
“Puckerman, even when it doesn’t make any sense -” began Kurt.
“- we always know what you mean,” Finn joined in, making Ellie laugh.
As she ate, she watched the group teasing each other playfully, occasionally singing lyrics from show tunes, and eating from each other’s plates.
Eventually, Puck pushed his chair back from the table and burped.
Tina giggled as she wound her noodles around her fork. “Yum, nooodles.”
“I think I better get this one home soon,” Mike said fondly.
Finn stood and grabbed his coat from the chair back. “Yeah, and I’m supposed to meet Rachel.”
“Mercedes, are you riding back with Finn?” asked Sam, still sitting.
She looked at him alone. “I don’t think I’m ready to go yet.”
“Hey, don’t worry about the new girl. I can give her a lift.” Puck got down on one knee and took Ellie’s hand.
“Where do you live, Ellie? Can we drop you on our way?” Tina sidled between Puck and Ellie, glancing back at Sam, who hadn’t noticed.
“Oh, I’m a couple miles that way, so I can walk...” Ellie started to point, but Mike interrupted.
“Don’t be silly; it's dark out. We insist.” He gathered up their coats and helped Tina on with hers.
Finn held the door open for them as they filed out to Tina’s car.
“Wait up!” Puck tugged on the hood of her sweater, “Nice meeting you, Elliot.”
He grinned and jogged backwards to Finn’s Jeep, as Ellie waved timidly.
Following Finn, Tina pulled out of their space, leaving Sam’s truck in the next spot over.
Later, as Ellie brushed her teeth she wondered about the group of people who were actively slushied at the school and how much they seemed to love each other.
And Puck.
She wondered how he fit in that group the most. They were all misfits, but Puck? He seemed like the typical McKinley jock. But, then, so did Sam and knowing him like she did... Well, he was far from it.
What was Noah Puckerman’s story?
She spit the toothpaste out and wiped her mouth after rinsing. Looking in the mirror, she saw the same old plain Ellie Reilly from Lima Heights. Lank brown hair, thick glasses, uncoordinated anywhere but in water, and dirt poor, but with the best Mom in the world.
Just then she heard the deadbolt turn in their front door. Georgia Reilly came walking in from a ten hour shift as a housekeeper at the hospital. Her momma, she thought. The part that had been waiting on something slid back into place and Ellie walked to the kitchen to heat up the leftovers she’d brought back from Breadsticks.
“Supper, Momma.”
“Ellie, you’re the best. What are you still doing up?”
“Just got in. Sam took me to Breadsticks to meet some friends of his.”
When Georgia raised an eyebrow as she sat at the small table in the kitchenette, Ellie laughed.
“He loves Mercedes. Not me.”
Ellie sat down across from Georgia and tucked a leg up under herself. Picking at the peeling formica, she looked up through the tops of her glasses.
“You look so old when you do that. Quit growing up so fast on me,” Georgia said, leaning over to pat her daughter’s cheek. “You always know too much.”
“Just about Math. Everything else is confusing.”
The light from the bulb over the stove made everything soft and quiet in a place that Ellie normally thought as of unpretty, and they filled the air with conversation about her evening and Georgia’s workday.
“Puck, huh?”
“What?” Ellie questioned, looking up from the peeling formica.
“You mentioned him four times, Ellie.”
“I don’t know,” she trailed off, tracing between the designs on the ancient table. “I just don’t get how he fits in that group.”
“Not everything is a math equation, baby. Not everything fits neatly into a line.”
Ellie thought of having butterflies over a seemingly empty-headed, pretty boy and nodded.
“Maybe you should hear him sing with that group of his. Might figure where he fits into that equation brain of yours then.”
Ellie just smiled and nodded. She just might do that.
“How did I get such a smart daughter?”
“Sure I wasn’t one of those switched-at-birth kids? ‘Cause you’re so beautiful, Momma, and I’m so not.”
“Hush, you. You’re lovely.”
“You’re my mom. You have to say that.”
“No, I don’t.” Georgia kissed Ellie on the top of the head and put her plate in the sink. “Come on, little one, bedtime.”
“I’m not five, momma.”
“Boy, don’t I know it,” she laughed.
Ellie crawled into bed after saying her prayers and wondered what loving a boy felt like or what being in love felt like or what being loved by a boy like Puck was like.
***
Puck dropped off his little sister at the Middle School and made sure she had enough lunch money, calling after Natalie to ‘get milk, not any crappy sodas.’ He didn’t want her catching osteoporosis or anything.
He swung into the senior parking lot at McKinley, where he had parked ever since he was a sophomore, not thinking about much other than whether he’d eaten enough breakfast or not. A guy could really never eat enough hard boiled eggs. He slammed the door to his Bronco and headed into school, knocking aside a freshman at the entrance.
As the Puckinator had once told himself, ‘the key to being a bad-ass is to act like one.’
Passing the underclassmen lockers on the way to the gym, he thought he recognized the new girl from Breadsticks the other night.
She turned around, stuffing a huge textbook into her backpack, and almost walked straight into Puck’s chest.
“Whoa there...” and he trailed off, forgetting her name, as he steadied her shoulders.
She pushed her glasses back up on her nose, and blushed. “It’s Ellie. Hi.”
“I remember,” even though he didn’t. Something about her made him want to get it right, and he wasn’t used to feeling that way about anyone except his family. And Glee Club.
Ellie cleared her throat, “I better get to class.”
He realized he still had his hands on her shoulders, and removed them in the universal ‘hands-off’ gesture, then gave her backpack a pat.
“Maybe I’ll run into you later. Elliot.”
He watched her turn and walk away, probably to some early-morning smart kids class where they cured cancer or whatever when they were bored. Maybe they’d figure out a cure for osteoporosis.
“Dude,” he greeted Finn in the weight room, and tossed his duffel bag under the bench. “What’d you and Rachel get into last night after you dropped me off? Anything good?”
“We watched a movie with her dads. We made our own popcorn from the kernels and everything,” Finn said.
“I said anything good. Homemade popcorn? Movie on the couch with the ‘rents? Did you even sit next to her? Get any boobage at all?”
Finn squinted at him. “No luck with that foreign exchange student, huh?”
“Didn’t even call her,” Puck grunted as he added weights to the bar. “Waste of time. I heard she doesn’t put out unless the guy knows three different languages. I only know English and Pig Latin. And Blaine wouldn’t text me back.”
“Pirate?”
“Pirate.” They bumped fists and they switched places, and Puck spotted Finn.
“What about the girl on the swim team with Sam? She’s cute.”
Puck turned to get a towel and replied, “Ellie? What about her? Yeah, she’s cute. Rachel’s more your type, though.”
“I meant for you.” Finn strained to push the bar up to the rests, as Puck turned back around to settle it.
“Dude, she’s a sophomore.”
“So?” Finn reasoned. “You’re only two years ahead, and her reading comprehension is probably decades past yours.”
“Not making it any better, dude. Besides, she’s the kind of girl you get serious about, and the Puckmeister doesn’t get serious.”
“Yeah, you do.”
Puck hated it when Finn looked at him like that. Like, just because he’s known him since they could crawl, he could see right through every bit of Puck’s bullshit.
“I’ve got a record. She’s young and impressionable. I’m a man with needs. I need a woman, not a child. Women. I need lots of women.”
“What you need is one good woman, like Rachel is for me. You’re a good guy, Puck.”
Puck slung the towel around his neck, grabbed his bag and headed for the door. “Is this vagina monologue over? I said I’d help Mr. Schue move some equipment before my nap during History.”
He waited to make sure Finn was finished with the weights, before pushing through the door. He might be an ass with a record who flirted with underage genius hotties on occasion, but he sure wasn’t gonna leave a dude hanging on the bench.
***
Ellie popped into the bathroom after lunch to brush her teeth when she heard Mercedes and Puck coming through the doors. Darting into one of the stalls, she sat on the toilet and stuck her feet up on the door hoping like hell it fooled them both. Feeling utterly ridiculous, she hoped their conversation would be over soon.
“Puck, you cannot be following me in here.”
“Don’t worry, mama. I’ve seen it all before.”
“Well, at least make sure there’s no one in there.”
Holding her breath and counting to ten she waited until she saw Puck’s shadow pass her stall before letting it out quietly.
“Nope, we’re good.”
“What do you want?”
Mercedes sniffled and it sound like to Ellie that she had been crying. Puzzled, she leaned forward.
“Listen, I know this shit with Trouty is bugging you.”
“It’s just really hard, and if you say that’s what she said, I’ll kick your ass.”
He laughed and it echoed off the walls. “Wouldn’t dare.”
“I know what I’m doing. It’s what I wanted.”
Ellie’s brow furrowed as she listened intently and it definitely sounded like Mercedes was having trouble talking through tears.
“Yup.”
“You just gonna stand there and agree with me, Puck?”
“Yup.
“I - I miss him.”
“C’mere.” Ellie heard Puck say. He must be hugging her, Ellie thought.
“Trouty ain’t going anywhere.”
Ellie could barely hear him as he whispered to Mercedes.
“How the hell do you know? He left before.”
“‘Cause he came back here for you more than anything else. And because he made a complete jackass singing in front of everyone in those boots and he learned Spanish for you. You know he wants to be your baby daddy.”
“What is with you people and us having ‘cocoa’ babies?”
“They’re pretty,” Puck said.
Ellie heard Mercedes laugh.
“Thanks, Puck.”
“Yeah, just remember what I said. He’s just waiting on you to blow the whistle so he can come barreling through your neutral zone.”
“Only you would make football sound disgusting.”
“It’s a gift.”
Mercedes laughed again.
“Okay, get outta here. I gotta fix my face.”
“See ya later.”
Ellie waited until she was sure they were both gone before putting her feet on the floor. She couldn’t believe that Noah had been so kind to Mercedes. He was normally so smartass with everyone and that was still there - ‘baby daddy,’ really? - but he was so sweet about it this time. Digging her tooth brush from her pocket, Ellie opened the door. He was so confusing.
She thought about him on and off through the week and maybe watched him a bit more than usual. What she saw surprised her in a good way.
On Tuesday on her way down the hall, she saw him pick up a glove of Artie’s from the floor when it fell. He did it without thinking, she noticed. Just bending over, picking it up and handing it back without breaking a stride. That Wednesday, she sat by the side of the road with Finn and Sam until Puck got there to help them with Finn’s Jeep which was currently burping white smoke out of the engine. Ten minutes, two gallons of water, and three high fives later they were back on the road.
A week later, she walked by the Glee Club’s practice on her way to the library. Ellie could hear the song down the hallway long before she even got there. Peeking her head around the door, she saw Puck and Sam on the side of the room with their guitars, hands strumming in sync as Sam sang. She recognized it as one Sam had been playing over and over in his truck on his way to and from practice. His voice rang out as Puck harmonized and Ellie hung back in the shadows of the door. The whole of the glee club was watching but it was clear who the song was for. Ellie looked over at Mercedes face to see tears streaming out of her eyes. Scanning the group, there wasn’t a dry eye in there.
“....I won’t give up on us, even if the skies get rough, I’m giving you all of my love, I’m still looking up...”
She watched Puck, unnoticed. And when he looked up and caught her eye, she nearly gasped. He winked. She took a step back into the shadows of the door. Pressing a hand to heart, Ellie felt it beat out of control. The room was dead silent when their voices died out and she walked away towards the library; although, she’d completely forgotten why she wanted to go there in the first place. Maybe her Momma was right. She had needed to hear him sing for it to make sense.
That Sunday she was studying, again. She and her mom were sitting at the low coffee table in the living room with books staggered between them and the radio on low in the kitchen.
“Ellie.”
She shook her head as her mom snapped her fingers in front of her face.
“What? Sorry. Spacing out.”
“I know.” Georgia smiled, softly. “Go. Call one of your friends and do something.”
Ellie stole a look at her phone, at the text from Tina. ‘SMS from Tina Cohen-Chang: ‘Jam @ Finns. Food & Fun. Pick u up in 20.’
“Tina texted. They’re having a jam at Finn’s.”
“Well, get changed.”
“Actually, I think I’ll stay here. I’ve got some laundry and stuff.”
“Honey, I never thought I’d say this, but get dressed and go be irresponsible.”
Ellie laughed. She stood up, gathering her books and things to take to her room, and leaned over to kiss her mom on the head.
“You’re funny, Momma.”
“Yeah, my jokes bring all the boys to the yard.”
“Actually, I think it’s your milkshakes,” Ellie said, pointing at Georgia’s chest.
Ellie smiled as her Momma’s laughter rang out in the small apartment.
***
Puck strutted through the Hudson-Hummel house. He’d been running with Finn since they were old enough to army crawl across the carpet and it didn’t matter what house they happened to be living in, he was always welcome day or night. Burt was cool, too. And after everything shook down, Kurt was an honorary brother.
Everyone was out by the fire pit but Puck detoured to the patio where Burt was grilling some wicked dogs and meat. The smell made his stomach rumble.
“Not ready yet, Noah,” Burt said.
“Damn.”
“Get some chips from Carole.”
“Naw, I’ll wait on the protein, thanks.”
He walked over to the group and sat by Artie who had Sugar Motta snuggled up on his lap. His group was pairing off and sometimes it chapped his ass that he didn’t have a girl to warm his legs up, but there were worse things.
Like athlete’s foot.
Shit itched like hell, he thought.
Sam came and sat with his guitar and Finn kicked off a beat with his sticks. Slinging his strap over his shoulder, Puck let Sam lead and he joined in. This brotherhood of the traveling guitar was so much easier than anything else he ever did. Easier than thinking, his fingers danced over the strings. Jamming on one of Sam’s fucking country tunes, he sang during the chorus as the girls danced. Looking across the fire pit, his eyes found Ellie’s.
He didn’t know when Super Geek had come walking in, but she was sitting there beside Cohen-Chang and clapping along. He hummed along while watching her without her knowing. He felt a little like a creeper, but she was so fucking prickly about everything and when she caught him staring, she shut down quicker than an automatic garage door missing a spring. Her hair was blowing in her face and he wanted to tuck that loose strand behind her ear. And when she shivered, he thought about how warm his letter jacket was and wondered what it would look like tucked around her tiny shoulders.
Shaking his head, Puck turned back to Finn and Sam.
Girl like that was trouble with a capital Tee and he didn’t want that shit. He didn’t want someone to need stuff from him other than him showing up and dropping trou. It was easier that way.
Didn’t explain why his feet walked over to her and sat after they’d eaten and picked up their guitars again.
“Elliot.”
“Puckerman,” she replied, laughingly.
“Got any requests?”
“Come on, Ellie, pick a song,” Tina pleaded.
The group chimed in and he watched her cheeks color up making her look even prettier than before.
“Okay, okay,” she said, holding up her hands. “Something Disney.”
Puck barked out a laugh and nodded over at his man, Blaine.
“You’re up, Anderson.”
It was a running joke that Blaine had wanted to do Disney forever.
“Belle or Ariel?” The Warbler Wonder questioned.
“Ariel,” Ellie answered.
Blaine nodded at Finn who tapped out a beat on his knees with his sticks. Sam and Puck began playing and Blaine started singing on the beat. Out of the corner of his eye, Puck could see Ellie’s face light up. The group started clapping and singing along.
Blaine danced over and kneeled down in front of Ellie and her cheeks lit up like the fourth of July. She scooted closer and for a second, Puck forgot how to breathe. She was plastered against his side, and let’s face it, aside from rosey palm, it was the closest thing he’d gotten to action in a damned long time. He nudged her with his elbow and winked. Her face went beet red and she looked up at him.
“....up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day under the sun...”
He could barely hear Blaine singing over the buzzing in his ears. He could see Ellie’s lips moving along with the lyrics.
“....wandering free, wish I could be, part of your world...”
Everything sped up but his fingers stopped. Everyone was clapping, he could hear ‘em, but he couldn’t look away from her face. His lips tingled like he had just shotgunned a shooter of Jack.
Ellie glanced away to Blaine and Puck whispered a small ‘fuuuuck’ under his breath and got up. He avoided Super Geek the rest of the night and snuck out.
Pulling up outside of his house, he killed the engine and leaned back in the seat. He could go in and hit the hay or …
He turned the keys in the ignition and opened his phone.
“Hey, Greta baby, you around?”
Burying the thought of the girl with grey eyes, he looked forward to a night in the sorority and shots of Cuervo.