Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf

Kurt had been going through rack after rack, throwing things at me to try on, while I followed behind like an assistant, the clothes draped over my arm. We were mostly quiet, which was kind of shocking for Kurt, but it felt natural, too.

That didn’t last too long, since there were just certain things that Kurt had to get the details on. Like what had happened the night before with Puck.

After confirming that no one I knew was in the store with us (not that any people in our grade could afford much from the place), I let out a sigh and told him the whole story.

Kurt’s eyes just grew wider and wider as I spoke, almost to the point that I figured his eyeballs would pop out and roll across the floor.

“You…kissed him…” he trailed off slowly, as if he was having trouble grasping the concept. “What happened to you two being at each other’s throats?”

“Well, you know that we made up.” He nodded. “So I guess that we were just trying to be friends, but unresolved feelings plus alcohol equals stupid decisions.”

“Does Aileen know that you were drinking with Puck?”

“I’m pretty sure she convinced herself that I wouldn’t drink. Hell, even I didn’t think I would drink. But no, she doesn’t know that Puck was over last night, and I’m hoping it’ll stay that way.” I pulled a bright blue, reasonably priced top out of the rack and draped it over my arm, along with the couple pairs of jeans and sweaters. “After all, she’s not exactly a big fan of Puck.”

“Can you blame her, though?” Kurt questioned, making a face at a pair of mustard-colored sweatpants. “She doesn’t really know him, and what she does know is that he cheated on you with the school slut.”

I laughed for a second, nodding. “You’re right. Something tells me that she wouldn’t exactly change her mind if she did get to know him, though. It’s not like he has the best personality.”

“Obviously, it’s good enough for you.”

Huh. Good point. “Yeah, well,” was the most intelligent response I could come up with for that. I couldn’t exactly deny it, could I?

Trying my hardest to push all my thoughts out of my mind, I continued to search for something else that I could look at, until I bumped into Kurt.

He looked very serious as he stared at me for a second. It was kind of unnerving after a bit, his eyes clearly analyzing every aspect of my face.

“Ellie,” he said finally with a tone that told me whatever he was about to say was going to be a bit lecture-ish, “what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to help pick out some clothes.” My face reddened as I looked through the stack of clothes. “I can put some back, if you-”

“Not that,” he scoffed, waving the thought away like it was an irritating bug. “I’m talking about with Puck.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but was promptly cut off before I could even make a noise. “I know that he cheated on you and that you say that you hate him and what he’s done for you. But it’s obviously a bunch of shit.”

My eyes widened slightly at his language, since he usually wasn’t one for excessive swearing, but he didn’t even miss a beat. “Whenever you talk about him, even when you’re trying to be angry, you still get that loving look on your face. So whatever you say that you hold against him, you obviously don’t. And I know that he was a douche, but if he said that he won’t do it again…then maybe he won’t. You never know unless you give him a chance. You know what I mean?”

Yeah, I knew exactly what he meant. They were all the thoughts that I had tried to suppress a thousand times before, saying that I was wrong, that I needed to stay strong.

Hearing someone else say exactly what I had been afraid to admit to myself, it just made everything more real.

Maybe I did have to give Puck a second chance…

But was I ready?

* * *

At the end of the day, Kurt pulled into my driveway, and I grabbed the few bags that I had. Although I didn’t buy a ton of new clothes, I did buy a good amount. Enough to make me feel a little guilty. One thing that I really didn’t love to do was spend money on things that didn’t have a bigger cause. Like, spending a lot of money on clothes made me antsy, but I would put thirty dollars in a Jimmy Fund canister without a second thought.

What? Charity made me weak, I couldn’t help it.

When I got inside the house, Aileen was curled up in a chair in the dark living room, the only light coming from the TV, where the brightness varied depending on the scene.

I actually figured that she was asleep until she called my name when I was halfway up the stairs.

Stopping in my tracks and trying not to make a too-shocked face. “Hey. Watcha watching?”

“Restaurant Impossible,” she responded sleepily, wiping her eyes. “Buy anything good at the mall?”

Putting the bag on her lap, I sat in the chair next to her, watching Robert Irvine running around, chastising the chefs for being awful at their jobs. It was kind of funny, kind of mean, and kind of intriguing at the same time. Although I had every intention of going right upstairs, I found myself glued to the TV, just wondering if the restaurant would actually be done in time.

“Mind if I steal this shirt?” Aileen questioned, her voice breaking through my trance.

Pulling my eyebrows together, I turned to face her. She was holding up a black v-neck sweater.

“Why don’t we share?” I laughed. “I’m pretty sure Puck would kill me if he found out that I gave you some of the clothes I bought.”

“Puck? What does he have to do with your clothes?”

Shit. Had I said Puck? Aw, man. “I meant Kurt, Kurt. He’s the one I went shopping with. He’s kind of uptight about fashion, and he likes to make sure that I’m not too out-of-season.”

“I see.” She was still watching me questioningly, trying to figure out where the slip of the tongue had come from. Though it was kind of obvious that I was clearly thinking too much about Puck.

Thankfully, she didn’t encroach on the subject, instead just putting everything back in the correct bags and settling into her former position again, eventually nodding off to sleep in the chair as the bursts of TV lit up her face.

Once her soft snoring started, I grabbed my stuff and headed upstairs. Even though it was only eight thirty, I found myself starting to slip off to sleep, too.