Lima Loser - Part Two.

I opened my eyes, and they just about popped out of my head when I saw what Puck wanted to show me. The perfect amount of sunlight was shining in on a circular opening in the woods. A picnic blanket was laid out on a grassy area, with a huge picnic basket on it. The thing was stuffed with food. I also noticed a brand new guitar laid out across the blanket.

I looked over at him. “What the hell is this for?”

“Well, it’s part of my apology,” he answered. “I took all of the money Sue gave me and invested in something I thought you’d like. I know it’s the middle of October, but I figured I’d do it before the snow comes. Wanna sit?”

I looked over to the blanket and back at him. “I... no. I can’t.”

“Come on,” he pleaded. “We can have a nice lunch…as friends.”

“I already ate,” I made an excuse. “Plus, I have to get back to class.”

“Look, I’ll ask the teacher for your test review as soon as we get back, and you don’t have to eat. Just sit. I spent all of this money just to make you happy. You have to at least stay to enjoy that much.”

“It’s really sweet of you,” I began. “But it’s too late.”

“Please don’t say that.” Puck looked more sad than I’d ever seen him before.

“Well, what else am I supposed to say? I’m not gonna lie. I’m not you.”

He lowered his head, and I felt a little bad.

“Alright, Puck. Let’s sit and eat,” I gave in.

We sat on the blanket. Puck opened the basket, and I gaped at the amount of food he’d put in there. There was everything from soda to cookies to sandwiches to juice to chocolate to a fucking turkey. He took it all out and laid it in front of me. “Take anything you want.”

I lifted up half of a sandwich and took a bite. “Mmm.” It was actually decent. Ham and cheese. Yum.

“You like?”

I was still pissed off at him, but I nodded and in my head, gave him props for how sincere and cute this was.

“I made it myself,” he gestured towards the sandwiches and cookies. “I’m not much of a chef, but I asked my mom to help me out. Actually, I bribed her with a bunch of chores.”

I laughed a little. “You? Doing something yourself?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s weird. But I’m willing to do just about anything for you right now. I can’t believe how selfish I was before.”

“Me neither,” I nodded. “You’re a douchebag.”

“I know,” he lowered his head. “And I know I’m gonna have to make it up to you.”

“Damn straight you are,” I told him. I then eyed the new purple guitar lying next to him. “What’s that for?”

He lifted it up. “Well, I have something else for you. I’ve been working on this song ever since I realized how much I fucked up. Wanna hear it?”

“Go for it,” I shrugged.

He looked straight into my eyes and began.

“I went to sleep thinking about you,
And I woke up just the same.
You made it so hard for me to close my eyes.
Don't worry babe, this will be alright in the end.
And I'll be your everything.”

“So we'll both tell ourselves that this for the best.
But I'm depending on you to lead me through.
So try to stop those hands, you're riding down my neck.
You touch, I tremble, you never were one to play fair.”

“These past four walls won't be the only thing that's keeping me from you.
This distance could never hold this back.
(I need yoooou.)
So let's just take this time and we'll use this for reflection.
And I'll see you in three days.
And you'll think of me when you're next to him.”

“Don't mind my gasp, it's so much harder to breathe when you're near!
You made it so hard for me to learn through my eyes.
Don't mind my asking but could I trouble you, Miss, for a smile?
Just give me one last wish with a kiss.
It's what my dreams are made of!”

“So we'll both tell ourselves that this for the best.
But I'm depending on you to lead me through.
So try to stop those hands, you're riding down my neck.
You touch, I tremble, you never were one to play fair.”

“These past four walls won't be the only thing that's keeping me from you.
This distance could never hold this back.
(I need yoooou.)
So let's just take this time and we'll use this for reflection.
And I'll see you in three days.
And you'll think of me when you're next to him!”

“So here we are, again, in the same situation.
I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, and you're not saying a word.
Did you just say what you mean?
Why can't you can't you just mean what you said
When you said ‘No one can love you like me’?”

“These past four walls won't be the only thing that's keeping me from you.
This distance could never hold this back.
(I need yoooou.)
So let's just take this time and we'll use this for reflection.
And I'll see you in three days.
And you'll think of me when you're next to him.”

“We could have been beautiful.
We could have been beautiful.
We could have been beautiful.
We could have been beautiful.”

Well, by the time the song ended, I was in tears. I stood up, more confused about my feelings than ever.

Puck also stood up. “Hey, don’t cry.” He came closer to me, and I didn’t even push him away this time. He pulled me into a huge hug. “I love you.”

I couldn’t say those words back to him. I wouldn’t let myself do that again.

“I accept your apology,” I began as I wiped my eyes. “This is way too much for anyone to reject.”

“Really?” His face lit up.

“Yes,” I nodded. “I know how much you want us to get back together.”

“No, you don’t know how much. Words can’t even express it,” he told me, which made me feel even worse about what I was about to say to him.

“We can’t jump into things again.”

Puck looked up at me with sad little Bambi eyes.

“Seriously,” I continued. “If this is going to work, this has to be a friendship, and nothing more right now.”

“I understand…” he said, although the way he said it made me wonder if he actually did.

“And you can’t get jealous of me dating Blaze,” I added. “It probably won’t last much longer anyway, once he finds out that you and I are friends again.”

“Big deal. That kid’s a jerk, anyway,” Puck growled. “If he hurts you, I’ll kick his ass.”

I laughed a little. “Thanks, but I don’t think he, or anyone else, will be too intimidated by you without your mohawk. That thing was like, your weapon.”

“I feel a little naked without it, but hey. It was definitely worth it,” he smiled.

We both looked at each other for a second, until I realized how awkward this was, considering we were just friends for now. I then looked away. “Shall we be getting back to class?”

“If you want,” he shrugged. “Oh, wait! One more thing.”

“I think you’ve done enough for me today,” I joked. “It was really sweet of you. Thanks.”

“No problem. But there’s just one last thing.” Puck turned around, lifted up the guitar, and held it up to me. “I know purple’s your favorite color, and although I know how attached you are to your old one, I decided to put Sue’s money to a good cause. Here.”

My mouth pretty much dropped. Was he seriously giving me a new guitar?

“Oh, don’t look so surprised. You didn’t actually think I went through with buying this for myself, did you?” He laughed.

I nodded frantically, but took the guitar into my hands. “Wow,” was all I could say. I then laid it on the ground and wrapped my arms around Puck’s neck. “Thank you so much!” I exclaimed, squeezing him like a teddy bear.

I let go, and noticed that he was blushing to the max. “Sorry,” I laughed.

“It’s cool,” he smiled, and then changed the subject. “Why don’t we get back to class now?

So, we cleaned up all the food and put the leftovers back in the basket, along with the blanket. I had to admit, this was a sweet spot to have picnics, or to stargaze, or just to do it.

While cleaning up, Puck stared at me with a serious look on his face. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Puck… a lot.” I grinned widely.

After cleaning up, we made our way back to the school. I was extremely happy that Puck and I were friends again. And I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really glad that he lured me into the woods after all.