Lima Loser - Part Two.

TWELVE;

I invited Blaze over to my house later that day to brainstorm ideas for our song. We were lying down on my bed in my room, listening to my iPod on shuffle, searching for the perfect song. I had to admit, we were kind of slacking off, though. We could have had a song chosen and practiced already, but instead, we spent most of this time pigging out and well, making out.

I decided to bring up what had happened with Puck. I mean, I had to tell the poor guy sometime. He’d know what was up soon anyway, especially since we were all in Glee club together. It’d be odd seeing me not glaring at Puck for once, so it would be best if I just told him now. Plus, I felt a little guilty for accepting Puck’s apology, even though we were nothing more than friends now.

“Blaze?” I looked up from our cuddling session and into a pair of pale blue eyes.

“Yes?” he answered.

“I just wanted to tell you something. It’s not a big deal or anything, but I just want you to know that Puck apologized to me today.”

“Oh,” Blaze looked disappointed.

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “It wasn’t a small apology, either. He took all of the money Sue paid him to date me and spent it on one big motherfuckin’ picnic, and then convinced me to sit down and eat with him.”

Blaze shifted uncomfortably, and then sat up, which forced me to move from my comfortable spot on his shoulder.

“And then he played a song for me on the new guitar he bought... and then he gave me the guitar…” I nodded towards my new purple guitar in the corner of the room.

“How romantic,” Blaze rolled his eyes. He stood up.

“Hey, no,” I stopped him from making any assumptions. “It’s not like that.”

“Of course it is.” He narrowed his eyebrows. He walked over to my desk chair, grabbed his jacket, and began to put it on. “I knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time.”

“Wait, stop.” I tried to get him to listen to me. He looked over at me with a frustrated look on his face. “I’m not breaking up with you.”

The look changed to relief, and then confusion. “Okay…why not?”

“Well, obviously Puck expected me to drop you right away just because he was being sweet for once. And obviously, from the look on your face, you expected the same. But I’m stronger than you think. I said no.”

Blaze’s lips curved upward. “Really?”

“Yep. I told him that we have to be just friends. And I told him not to get jealous over you and I.”

“What’d he say?” Blaze was getting a kick out of Puck losing.

“He wasn’t too happy about it, but he understood.” I shrugged.

“Yeah, he fuckin’ better understand,” Blaze gave me a stern look.

“Oh, don’t worry, he does. And you have to understand that we’re friends now, which means we will be talking to each other. I don’t want you to get all controlling and try to break up our friendship.”

“Gotcha,” he nodded, but I could see his face drop a little, and it made me wonder if he actually “got me”.

“I’m serious,” I raised an eyebrow. “Don’t start anything with him.”

“I won’t,” Blaze told me with a more trustworthy look on his face. “I promise.”

“Good.”

“I am a little disappointed, though. I thought you had more respect for yourself than that.”

“What do you mean?” I eyed him, confused.

“Well, let’s just take a look at what he did to you. He dumped you in front of everyone, made you go into a spiralling depression, and then tried to get you back, screwing up your feelings even more. And you’re accepting his apology just like that,” Blaze reminded me. “I personally don’t think he deserves it.”

“Blaze, he bought me a new fucking guitar,” I informed him again.

“Yeah, and that just lets him know that whenever he screws up, he can just buy your forgiveness with guitars and food,” Blaze replied.

“No. It lets him know that being nice helps the situation a lot,” I argued. “I can’t just hold a grudge.”

“I’m sure you have before,” Blaze rolled his eyes. “You know what I think? I think Puck’s just an exception because you still love him.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I raised my voice. Blaze was totally out of line, even if what he was saying was true.

“Maybe I should just go,” he zippered up his jacket. “I’ll call you later or something.”

“What about our song? We haven’t even picked one yet.” I stalled.

Blaze looked over at me, blankly, and then at the iPod, which was still on. “Practice this one,” he said, pointing to the iPod dock, referring to the song playing at the time. “It’s a real classic.”

“We have to practice,” I told him.

“I’m sure Puckerman would be overjoyed with helping you out,” Blaze gave me a look of disgust.

“Please don’t be like that. We’re partners for this assignment, and I don’t want us to fight,” I gave him the same Bambi eyes Puck had given me earlier that day. Unfortunately, I don’t think they worked as well when I did it.

“Practice the song,” he repeated. “I’ll practice it at my house. We’ll run over it a few times tomorrow when I’m in a better mood, and we’ll perform it the next day. Cool?”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, knowing there was no way I could make him stay. “Alright.”

“Seeya,” he walked out my bedroom door without a goodbye kiss or anything.

----------------

I walked into Glee club the next day, hoping Blaze still wasn’t pissed off at me. Little did I know, I had other problems that I didn’t think through clearly enough while accepting Puck’s apology. These problems were walking straight towards me in a wool sweater and plaid skirt with loafers and socks that went right up to her knees. Problems such as Rachel Berry.

“Um, what’s going on?” she hissed as soon as I walked into the auditorium. “I stuck up for you, and you go crawling back to him anyway? I can’t believe it.”

“Can I please explain?”

“There’s nothing to explain, Courtney. You’ve betrayed our friendship once again,” she folded her arms.

“I didn’t,” I sighed. “I only accepted his apology. Nothing more.”

“Well, I have no reason to trust you now. I hope you’re satisfied.” She ‘hmmphed’ and walked back to where she was sitting next to Finn. I felt extremely guilty, but decided that if she wouldn’t listen to my side of the story, she wasn’t worth it anyway. I made my way over to Blaze, nervous that he was mad at me, too.

“Hey,” I whispered, kissing him on the cheek. I then sat down. “Still mad?”

He looked over at me and smiled. “Nah. Can’t stay mad at you for long.”

I hugged him. “Come over after school today and we’ll finish practicing.”

“I can’t. It’s ‘mom’ night,” he frowned. I gave him a weird look. “Don’t judge. My mom likes to take one day out of the week to go out for the day and spend time with me and shit. It’s a must.”

“Cute,” I chuckled. “Well, how are we going to practice?”

“As soon as I get home, we can have a Skype session? I know it’s not as good as in person, but it’ll be alright.” Blaze suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I agreed.

Mr. Schuester then walked in. “Good afternoon, guys! We don’t have a lot of time on our hands right now, so I’ll probably have to split this into two meetings, but is there any groups prepared to perform right now?”

Three groups raised their hands. Those groups were Rachel and Mercedes, Artie and Quinn, and Finn and Puck.

“Great!” Mr. Schuester smiled. “Who’s up first?”

“Well, obviously us,” Rachel stood up. Mercedes followed her up onto the stage. I had to admit, I wasn’t expecting much rock out of this performance. I mean, Rachel was extremely dedicated to her show tunes, and show tunes only. Mercedes was all hip-hop and R&B.

They sure proved me wrong. They were both up on stage, standing side by side. Suddenly, the song began, and my eyes just completely widened.

Mercedes: “Shot through the heart and you're to blame!
Darlin', you give love a bad name!”

The band began to play, and Mercedes and Rachel started clapping and jumping around the stage. It was totally unexpected. I mean, sure, Mercedes did a badass job with that Led Zeppelin song, but Rachel? Rock? Ha.

Rachel: An angel's smile is what you sell.
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell.
Chains of love got a hold on me.
When passion's a prison, you can't break free.”

Mercedes and Rachel: Ohhh! You're a loaded gun! Yeah.
Oh! There's nowhere to run.
No one can save me!
The damage is done!”

Mercedes: “Shot through the heart and you're to blame!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Mercedes: “I play my part and you play your game!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Rachel and Mercedes: “Hey, you give loooove…a bad name!”

Rachel: “Paint your smile on your lips.
Blood red nails on your fingertips.
A school boy's dream, you act so shy.
Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye.”

Rachel and Mercedes: “Whoooa! You're a loaded gun!
Whoooa! There's nowhere to run.
No one can save me!
The damage is done!”

Mercedes: “Shot through the heart and you're to blame!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Mercedes: “I play my part and you play your game!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Rachel and Mercedes: “You give loooove, oh!”

Mercedes: “Ohhhh! Shot through the heart and you're to blame!
You give love a bad name!
I play my part and you play your game!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”

Mercedes: “Shot through the heart and you're to blame!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Mercedes: “I play my part and you play your game!
You give love a bad name!”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”

Mercedes: “You give love.
You give love.”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Mercedes: You give love.
You give love.”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”

Mercedes: “You give love.
You give love.”
Rachel: “(Bad name.)”
Mercedes: You give love.
You give love.”
Rachel and Mercedes: “BAD NAME!”

They both ended the song in the same position they started in, and looked out at
the audience, who were all on their feet, as usual. The Glee club just kept getting
better and better with each performance. It was so amazing.

I especially didn’t think Rachel had a rock side to her. It scared me a little, to be
honest.

“Woo!” Mr. Schue grinned from ear to ear. “It’s real nice to see your inner rock, ladies! Keep it up!”

Both girls walked off the stage and took their seats again, looking very confident, proud and happy with themselves.

“Who’s next?”

“We’ll go,” Quinn volunteered herself and Artie. She stood up, and took a hold of Artie’s wheelchair handles. She pushed him over to the stage and coughed a little, expecting someone to come over and help her lift the wheelchair onto the stage. Finn and Puck made their way over and did the job for her.

Once they were both on stage, they wasted no more time getting down to business. The band began to play, and Quinn began to dance around Artie’s wheelchair. It was so adorable.

Quinn: “Home in the valley.
Home in the city.
Home isn't pretty.
Ain't no home for me.”

Artie: “Home in the darkness.
Home on the highway.
Home isn't my way.
Home I'll never be.”

Artie: “Burn out the day.
Burn out the night!”

Quinn: “I can't see no reason to put up a fight.
I'm living for giving the devil his due.”

Quinn and Artie: “And I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for you.
I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for yooooou.”

Quinn: “Time is the essence.
Time is the season.
Time ain't no reason.
Got no time to slow.”

Artie: “Time everlastin’.
Time to play B-sides.
Time ain't on my side.
Time I'll never know.”

Artie: “Burn out the day.
Burn out the night!”

Quinn: “ I'm not the one to tell you what's wrong or what's right.
I've seen suns that were freezing and lives that were through.”

Quinn and Artie: “And I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for you.
I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for you.”

There was a guitar solo during this part, and that’s when Quinn busted out her air guitar and started playing along with the actual guitar player. She didn’t stop smiling, and I could tell she was having so much fun up there. She didn’t get a whole lot of spotlight in the Glee club, so I was happy that this was her shot. Artie wheeled around her until the guitar solo was done. I wondered if he ever got dizzy from that shit.

Artie: “Burn out the day.
Burn out the night!”

Quinn: “I can't see no reason to put up a fight.
I'm living for giving the devil his due.

Quinn and Artie: “And I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for you.
I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’, I'm burnin’ for you.
I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ , I’m burnin’ for you.
I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’, I’m burnin’ for yoooou.”

The song came to a slow end. Quinn gave Artie a huge hug and whispered something in his ear as Finn and Puck walked back up to the stage to help Artie back down.

“It’s great to see you out of your shell, Quinn. And you too, Artie. Nicely done!” Mr. Schue clapped along with the rest of us. He then noticed Finn and Puck getting on the stage once Artie and Quinn were off. “Take it away, Finn and Puck!”

I noticed that the two had attempted to wear costumes for this assignment. They were both dressed in matching outfits, which were white muscle shirts, shades, and baggy jeans. I wouldn’t even deny that they both looked totally bangable. And I was super glad that Blaze couldn’t read minds.

The band began, and I immediately knew that during this performance, I would be tempted to go up there and hump Puck’s leg. No big deal.

Puck: “Backstroke lover always hidin' 'neath the covers,
'Til I talked to your daddy, he say.
He said ‘you ain't seen nothin' 'til you're down on a muff and
Then you're sure to be a-changin' your way’.
I met a cheerleader, was a real young bleeder.
Oh, the times I could reminisce.
'Cause the best things of lovin' with her sister and her cousin,
Only started with a little kiss.
A like this.”

He turned around so that his back was facing us, and wrapped his arms around himself to make it look like he was making out with someone. I couldn’t stop laughing and I knew Blaze was getting jealous because he kept looking over at me.

Finn: “See-saw swingin' with the boys in the school,
And your feet flyin' up in the air.
Singin' ‘hey, diddle, diddle’,
With your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn't care.
So, I took a big chance at the high school dance,
With a missy who was ready to play.
Wasn't me she was foolin', 'cause she knew what she was doin',
And I know love was here to stay.
When she told me to…”

Finn and Puck: “Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!”
“A just gimme a kiss!
Like this.”

This time, they both turned around and did the same thing that Puck had just done. It was so entertaining.

Puck: “School girl sweetie with a sassy, kinda classy.
Little skirt's climbin' way up the knee.
It was three young ladies in a school gym locker,
When I noticed they were lookin' at me.
I was a high school loser, never made it with a lady,
'Til the boys told me something I missed.
Then, my next door neighbor with a daughter had a favor.
So, I gave her just a little kiss.
A like this.”

Puck began to thrust his hips. My heart was like, melting, but I tried to keep it cool. Especially with Blaze around.

Finn: “Seesaw swingin' with the boys in the school,
And your feet flyin' up in the air.
I sing ‘hey, diddle diddy’,
Wit'cha kitty in the middle of the swing like ya didn't care!
So, I took a big chance at the high school dance,
With a missy who was ready to play.
Wasn't me she was foolin', 'cause she knew what she was doin',
When she told me how to walk this way.
She told me to…”

Finn and Puck: “Walk this way!
Talk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Walk this way!
Talk this way!”
A just gimme a kiss!
Like this.”

They both did some more hip thrusts, and then switched back to making out with themselves.

The song stopped and they both jumped off the stage onto the floor beneath them. Everyone was laughing and clapping, but I think mine was the loudest. And why wouldn’t it be? It was the best performance of the year. And I think anyone could guess why.