And Here's What You Missed on...GLEE

“What?” Finn whispered, rubbing his hand. He and I were sitting outside, waiting for Puck to pull up. He was driving the both of us home.

“What’s wrong?” I questioned, scooching closer and looking over his shoulder.

“I have, like…sparkles all over me…” His eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Wait…does this mean I’m turning into a vampire?”

“No,” I responded, “it means that you’re turning into a fairy princess.”

He burst out laughing. “There was no hesitation there.”

I smiled in response. “So, how are you and Rachel doing?” I questioned, looking for a start to a different conversation.

“Fine,” he answered, not really sounding like he meant it. I was tempted to ask what, exactly, was going on, but I decided that it was none of my business.

“Not my fault, I hope…” I trailed off, thinking about all the times that Rachel has gotten angry on me for being nice to Finn, which she always misinterpreted.

“No,” he rushed to reassure me. “Don’t worry about it.”

Puck beeped, and we both jumped. Laughing, I got to my feet, throwing my bag over my shoulder.

“Want help?” I leaned over a little, extending a hand to him. He grasped it and stood, towering over me drastically. “God, you’re tall,” I breathed.

“I’ve heard that once or twice,” he chuckled.

We made our way to Puck’s car. I climbed into the backseat so Finn could have the front. If he was in the back, he would definitely be squished.

“’Bout time,” Puck commented. “I’ve been waiting here for five minutes.”

“God forbid,” I retorted. “So who are we dropping off first?”

“Finn,” Puck informed, pulling away from the curb.

“Okay,” I replied, putting my bag in the seat next to me. As we drove to Finn’s house, I kept my eyes glued on the scenery passing while Finn and Puck talked about something that had to do with football. I wasn’t totally clear on what it was, since I didn’t follow football at all.

“Thanks for the ride,” Finn bid before shutting the door.

“Getting in the front?” Puck asked, turning around to face me.

“Sure,” I replied, throwing my bag onto the floor in the front. Then, I climbed in the space between the two seats, over the console.

“Ow,” Puck mumbled as my foot collided with his shoulder.

I laughed a little too loudly. “Sorry,” I granted, turning to pull my seatbelt down in front of me.

“It’s okay.” There was a short, awkward pause, which wasn’t really all that common for Puck and me.

“Is there something wrong?” I questioned.

“God, what is it with chicks? They always think that something’s wrong, just because someone’s not talking. Maybe I just feel like being quiet. Ever think of that?” he snapped.

“Sorry,” I muttered, crossing my arms in front of me and leaning back in my seat. Another silence settled between us, so I spoke up again. “Thanks for standing up for me with Karofsky earlier, by the way. That was really sweet of you.”

“It was no problem. Like I said, he’s just a dick who needed to be put in his place.”

Tapping my fingers on the inside of the door, I tried to find something else to say, but I came up blank. Before I could think of anything to say, he pulled into my driveway.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?” I whispered carefully, my hand on the handle of the door. “You know you can say something if there is.”

Puck sighed loudly, and my grip tightened, nervous that I said something wrong.

“Do you like Finn?” he asked point-blank. His eyes were intense.

My eyebrows pulled together with confusion. “Well, sure. He’s a nice guy. But I not in the way you’re thinking. Just because I talk to him doesn’t mean I like him.”

It was weird. At that moment, Puck looked vulnerable, something that I had never thought I’d see.

Finally, he answered, “Okay.”

For a second, I waited for him to elaborate, to say why he had asked me that. But he didn’t.

“Thanks for driving me,” I said before getting out of the car.

That whole car ride was extremely awkward, which was not right. I was actually starting to feel a lot closer to Puck, accentuated by him sticking up for me earlier, and now…ruined.

It kind of sucked. Okay…really sucked.

“Will you just get a job already?!” Mom screamed loudly.

“I don’t need one!” Dad argued back. “You make enough money for the both of us, plus more!”

“I don’t want to provide for the family on my own!”

“Oh my God,” I said through gritted teeth before running up the stairs. As soon as I got into my room, I placed my iPod in my dock and closed my eyes as The Search is Over by Survivor played softly.

* * *

“Okay, kids,” Mr. Schue smiled as he entered the choir room. Everyone stopped talking and turned to him. “So, since everyone finished performing yesterday, since we ran late, we’re going to start a new assignment today! And this time…we’re going to have more than one person perform a day.”

I seemed to recall that Mr. Schue said that we were going to do duets. That meant, of course, that we were going to need partners. I wondered how they were going to be-

“Mr. Schuester?” Rachel spoke up, putting a hand in the air. “How are we going to choose partners? Because, personally, I believe that we should be able to choose our partners for once.”

Mr. Schue smiled evilly before reaching behind him and pulling out a hat. “Not a chance. When I call you up, pick out a slip, and that person’s your partner. Ellie, since you’re the newest member, want to pick first?” He shook the hat a couple of times to scramble the papers.

“Sure,” I responded, feeling a little nervous. I reached into the hat and felt a few different papers before I finally picked one out. After unfolding it, I let out a burst of laughter. “I picked myself. Can I go again?”

“Sure,” Mr. Schue chuckled. “That’s never happened before…”

I reached in again and pulled out another slip. Noah Puckerman, the paper read. “Wow, shocker. I got Puck.” I turned and smiled at him.

“I think that’s rigged…” Finn spoke up.

“Well, don’t complain,” Rachel smacked his arm. “It might be the same for us!”

On the back of my head, I could feel a gaze, and when I turned around, Santana was staring right at me.

Oh, shit.