Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf

“They what?!” I screamed, jumping up from my seat and gathering a crapload of attention. But I didn’t care. The anger running through my veins was so potent that I wanted to punch through someone’s head. “Who did this? Who spread it around?”

“Santana?” Finn suggested in a soft voice so no one else could hear.

My eyes narrowed, and I pondered the option. Santana did hate me…but I was sure that she wouldn’t want it to get out that Puck had an STD either, since they’d automatically link it with her, whether they thought that he gave it to her through me, or she gave it to him.

Puck. Oh my God, he wouldn’t. Shouting some incoherent thing at Finn, I threw my bag over my shoulder and darted into the hallway.

I was looking at the world through slits as I spotted Puck at his locker, shoving a couple of books and notebooks into his backpack. In a fit of anger, I pulled the backpack out of his hand and threw it down the hallway, scattering everything everywhere.

“You,” was all I could get out at first, since my mind was so clouded with rage.

“Hey?” he greeted in a question. “What’s up?”

“What’s up?! What’s up?! That’s what you have to say to me right now? Really?” All the blood in my body rushed to my face as I screamed at him.

A look of recognition crossed his face, and he laughed. He fucking laughed. Oh, I was so angry that I could rip out his eyeballs and shove them down his throat.

“Guess you found out, huh?”

“Why the fuck would you pin that on me?! You’re the one who cheated on me and deserved to get that STD. I don’t deserve any of this!”

“If I’m going down, babe,” he whispered, getting close to my face with that stupid cocky smile that made me want to punch him square in the nose until it was flat, “then you’re goin’ down, too.”

“You bastard,” I hissed at him, taking a couple of steps back, tears that I refused to show singing my eyes. “I can’t believe that I ever went out with you… I can’t believe that I ever wasted my time.”

After turning and walking a few steps, I had a second thought and turned back around. “And you know what? You can take that song saying that you still love me and shove it up your ass because I know you didn’t mean a fucking word of it.”

“I meant every fucking word,” he snapped back. “But I’m not going to let you walk all over me! If you’re going to play dirty, then so will I.”

“It was going to get out anyway, jackass. Nothing stays secret at this school.” Grimacing, I walked out of the school, bumping harshly into his shoulder. There was no way I was going to Glee Club, where I’d have to sit within ten feet of him for an hour. It just wasn’t going to happen.

So instead, I took a seat on the bleachers and turned on my iPod, waiting for Sam to finish up practice. I just wanted to get home, to forget everything for a little while as I helped Sam prepare his song for Quinn.

Already, the look that settled in his eyes when he was talking about her was beautiful. I wished that Puck was like that. Instead, he just pretended to care, pretended for everyone, and then he stomped all over me. Time and time again.

Leaning forward so my elbows were resting on my knees, I squeezed my eyes shut and blocked out all my thoughts, only focusing on the lyrics, the beat, the harmonies of the song that was playing.

An hour later, I felt this wave of hatred come over me, so I looked up, confused. Surely enough, Puck was walking onto the field, strutting his cocky walk that he didn’t deserve because he was just…

Alright, enough, Ellie. Don’t start ranting again. Taking a deep breath, I turned back to my iPod and wondered how my subconscious mind had picked up that the Peacock was coming out of the locker room.

* * *

“You okay?” Sam questioned, taking the seat next to me on the bleachers and watching a couple of the players carry the equipment back into the locker room. “I couldn’t help but notice that you skipped Glee Club.”

“Puck’s the problem,” I told him through clenched teeth, putting my iPod back into my back and crossing my arms in front of me. “Come on. I’ll tell you on the way home. You drive?”

A few minutes later, we were driving down the main street that the school was located on. I was surprised just how natural and calm Sam looked at the wheel. Whenever I started driving, I definitely wouldn’t look like that. I’d be a nervous wreck.

For a few minutes, I waited for him to ask what the story was before remembering that he didn’t like to prod into people’s business. So I just started anyway, word-vomiting all over the place without taking so much as a breath.

But Sam seemed to catch everything because the look on his face grew more and more horrified as I continued my story. “That guy is a dick. You gotta get over him, Ellie.”

“I know. You have no idea how many times I’ve told myself that, and yet I just…can’t. Every time he does something new and stupid, I tell myself, ‘Alright, that’s the last straw. There’s no way I’ll ever get butterflies when he gives me an intense look, when his leg is close to mine. All feelings for him are totally out the window.’ But it’s so much easier said than done.” Groaning dramatically, I threw my head back against the headrest and stared out the front windshield. “I hate my life.”

“You’ll get through it. It’s just a rough patch,” Sam assured me. I smiled a little at his reassurance. I’d definitely found a good friend in Sam. “So is it a left here?”

“Mhm,” I answered, twisting a piece of hair around my finger to focus on something else but my racing thoughts.

When we pulled into the driveway, Aileen was already home, so Sam just parked behind her. “So what song are we going to do?”

“That’s up to you,” I informed him as I pulled my keys out of the pocket of my sweatshirt. “What kind of music do you listen to?”

“That’s like asking what foods do you like,” he laughed. “I listen to pretty much anything.”

“Oh, great.” Chuckling a little, I let us both into the house.

Aileen’s eyes went wider for a second when she saw Sam, obviously in shock. Maybe I should have warned her.

“Um…hi. I’m Aileen, Ellie’s sister.” She wiped her hands on her pants for a second before extending her hand. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“If you’ll have me, I’d love to,” he smiled, shaking her hand. “I’m Sam.”

“Okay. So I guess I’ll call you guys when it’s ready.” And with that, she turned back to the stove. No lecture on how we shouldn’t be alone in my room. No warnings. Nothing.

It felt refreshing to have a family member that trusted me.

Sam and I rushed up to my room, and he plopped down on my unmade bed, looking around at my walls. “You like The Beatles?” he asked, nodding at one of the records on the wall.

“Who doesn’t?” I replied with a smile. In a sweeping motion, I grabbed my laptop from the floor and booted it up to try to find a song for Sam to sing. “Hey, you listen to 70’s music, right?”

“Sure. Why?”

“I was just thinking that maybe you should sing a song from then, since it’s our assignment.”

“Okay. If we’ll find one that I don’t butcher,” he shrugged.

I was about to shove him onto the floor when he interrupted me. “I’m kind of jealous of your room. It’s awesome.”

“Thanks,” I grinned. “Alright, so…”

“Wait for a second. So…about the STD thing. You know that you’re going to have to tell everyone that it’s wrong. You. The whole school isn’t going to believe anyone else.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m just saying that you need to find a way to get your message out. You know?”

An idea dawned on me, and I let out a wide grin. “Sam, you’re a genius.”