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

“Running away?” I snorted, patting Puck on the shoulder. “That’s a good one. We’ll just see about that.” Brushing past him, I made my way into my room, shooting an angry look at Mom’s room before I shut the door behind him.

“Red, I was serious. You can’t stay here anymore. Your mom takes advantage of you and you feel miserable! I saw the way you were looking at yourself in the mirror yesterday.”

“Oh, please. I hate to break it to you, Puck, but everyone has moments where they’re a little insecure. Just not you because you’re so perfect.”

“And you’re trying to tell me that your moment of insecurity just happened to be right after your mother called you a whore? Face it, Ellie!” I flinched slightly as he came closer to my face, angrier than ever. “Your mom makes you feel like shit, and you let her! She’s verbally abusing you! You could get her arrested!”

Swallowing, I took a couple steps back. He was right. Since when was Puck right? That was saying something, for sure. I just…I wasn’t sure if I could make that next step, that leap toward freedom.

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I just don’t know.”

“Then I’m making the decision for you.” He took my duffel bag from my closet and started tossing in clothes at random. Most of them, I didn’t wear anymore because I didn’t like how they looked on me, but that didn’t stop him.

“Puck,” I sighed, walking over to him. He ignored me. “Puck! Stop it!”

He turned toward me, looking furious. I’d never seen him look as angry as he had then, not at me. “I’m serious. I’m not leaving you here. So either you’re packing yourself, or I’m packing for you.”

“This could be categorized as kidnapping!”

“Not if you’re coming willingly. So am I kidnapping you, or are you coming?”

I took a deep breath and stared at my bedroom door. More than anything, I wanted to run away with Puck, back to his house. I just wanted to be happy like I was when I lived with the Puckermans, I really did. But what if they got in trouble for harboring a runaway, for not returning me to my guardian? The last thing I wanted was for them to be dragged down in my mess.

But no matter which way I went, I knew that Puck was going to get his way, that I was going to end up at his house.

So, sighing, I responded, “Let’s wait until my mom’s asleep.”

* * *

“Come on!” I whined, resisting the urge I had to stomp my feet like a five-year-old. “Please? It’ll add to the effect.”

“Fine,” Puck grumbled with an eye roll.

My grin was ridiculously huge as I disappeared into my closet and changed into a t-shirt, jeans, a sweatshirt, and a cap, all black. I looked like such a ninja, it was ridiculous.

“Do I blend?” I joked, reemerging from the closet and striking a pose.

“Oh, yeah. Your hair helps.” Puck’s warm hand closed around my cold fingers as he dragged me toward my bedroom door.

I led the way, a finger on my lips to warn Puck to stay quiet, as we made our way down the stairs. It seemed like the stairs were on our side, barely making a noise, though they usually squeaked.

Even when the crisp winter air hit my face, it didn’t sink in that I was running away, that I wasn’t going to have to see my mom again. The adrenaline still pumping through my veins alerted me that we weren’t out of the storm yet. We weren’t totally free.

We jumped into the car, me throwing the duffel bag into the backseat as Puck started the car. Immediately, without giving the thing time to warm up, he ripped out of the driveway at a ridiculous speed.

It was only when we had turned off my street that I allowed myself to breathe. “I’m on my way to freedom,” I smiled widely, closing my hand over Puck’s. “I think it was the clothes.”

“I think it was Puckzilla,” he retorted, smirking. “After all, I gave you the idea, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, but to take away from your already severely inflated ego, I probably would have thought of it on my own.”

“Sure…” he said sarcastically. “You just keep thinking that.”

“I’m not as innocent as you think I am.” I rolled my eyes, turning to look at him.

“And you can keep believing that lie, too.”

My eyes narrowed as I glared at him, but I didn’t have time to retort before he pulled into his driveway, the headlights illuminating his front yard eerily.

“We don’t have to sneak into my house. My mom’s going to be pumped. You have no idea how much she talks about you.”

“It’s only been a couple of days,” I laughed. “And you were kind of at my house for most of it.”

“Just proves my point, doesn’t it?”

Surely enough, when we walked into the house, Ms. Puckerman was sitting at the kitchen table, going through a supermarket flyer, a hand tangled in her hair.

“Mom, Ellie’s back,” Puck announced before pushing me up the stairs.

“Thank you for having me again!” I called to her, trying to walk as quickly as Puck was trying to get me upstairs.

I felt strangely at home when I stepped into my room, as if it was definitely where I was meant to be.

“Feel that rush?” Puck questioned with a huge smile. “That’s total rebel adrenaline, babe.”

“But it makes me feel exhausted after,” I yawned widely. “Damn, we have school in the morning…”

“We could skip,” he suggested.

“Um…I don’t really want to make a habit of skipping school. Plus, I want to know if we’re doing that show thing that Rachel clued us in on.”

“Fine, fine.” He put his hands up in surrender. “But just remember that I offered.”

“Noted.” I smiled at him before nodding toward the door. “Alright, go. I gotta change into my pajamas and get to sleep.”

“You sure that you don’t need me to stay with you? Just in case your mom tries to sneak in through the window and take you while you’re sleeping.”

Despite the late hour, I burst into a loud laughter, not able to control myself. “I just had a mental image for that, and it kind of made my night. But no, I think I can handle sleeping alone.”

“Suit yourself,” he scoffed jokingly, making for the door. “See you in the morning, Little Rebel.”

“In the morning, Corruptor.”

After he left, I stared at the door for a couple seconds, just smiling. It was great that I was back where I really wanted to be. I didn’t have to worry about Mom at all.

It only took me a couple minutes to change into my pajamas, and I crawled into bed, falling asleep the second my head hit the pillow.