Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf

“Are you suuuure that you don’t want to join Glee Club?” I sing-songed as Sam and I passed the chorus room. “It could be fuuuun!”

He rolled his eyes. “I saw some kid get slushied today, and I don’t really want to get in line for that. Anyway, I have to go talk to Coach Beiste about getting a tryout for the team."

“Alright, alright,” I sighed dramatically. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Definitely. See you, Ellie.”

There was still a smile on my face when I walked into Glee Club, one of the last people to arrive. Santana and Brittany were still missing, as was Finn, but everyone else was in attendance.

Including Puck, who was staring at me with absolute fury. “Wow,” he expressed as I sat down, not bothering to lower his voice so the rest of the club couldn’t hear him, “didn’t know that you went for girls.”

“Is that the best you got?” I snickered, turning to face him with one arm resting on the back of my chair. “Because it’s pathetic. Plus, you have no reason to be jealous, considering you’re not my boyfriend anymore. Why don’t you go have a quickie with Santana? I’m sure she’d like that.”

He squirmed in his seat for a second, not breaking his glare on me. “I’m not going to be having sex with Santana anymore. I already told you I was sorry, didn’t I? So aren’t you supposed to forgive me or something?”

Scoffing, I turned around to face the front, ignoring the sets of eyes that were boring holes into my back.

But, of course, since Puck is painfully and annoyingly persistent, he was soon in the seat next to me, his knee touching with mine. I scowled as I felt a familiar, and dreaded, patter in my chest, a tightening in my stomach. How could I still get those reactions after all the hell he put me through? It just wasn’t right.

“Come on, El. I know you still like me. It’s all over your face. So just get over yourself and forgive me already.”

“Alright, gang,” Mr. Schue smiled, walking into the room and going immediately to the white board, scribbling down one word. Or…it was kinda a word.

“The 70s?” Mike read aloud.

“Yup, the 70s. That’s your assignment for the week.”

“Can we work in partners?” Rachel questioned loudly, throwing her hand up in the air. “Because I know a great duet that-”

“No partners for this one,” Mr. Schue interrupted with a smile. “You’re all on your own.”

I grinned widely, feeling the weight of my iPod in my pocket, begging me to listen to the song that I already knew I was going to perform.

* * *

After Glee Club, I got pulled aside by Puck. Shocker there.

“What do you want?” I snapped at him. “I have to get home.”

“Are you going to be walking?”

My face flushed and I looked down at the ground as I responded, “Yeah, and no, I don’t want a ride. No, I don’t want to talk to you. And now I’m leaving.”

I tried to step around him, but he just stepped in front of me. “Will you listen to me for a second? I’m trying to tell you something important, okay?”

The tone in his voice made me forget my anger for a second. “Fine. What is it?”

“Well, I told you how I slept with Santana, and…” He stopped for a second and let out a breath.

Right there, I almost puked all over the place. There was only one thought running through my mind: She was pregnant. She was knocked up with his friggin’ baby, and they were going to raise the child. Though they would be train wrecks of parents.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I yelled, shoving his shoulder. “Haven’t you ever heard of a damn condom? But no. All you do is go around and screw every girl without thinking! You already got a girl pregnant, Puck! How many more times are you gonna do it before you learn-” I was more than ready to lecture him until I got gray hairs, but he slapped his hand over my mouth. Angrily, I ripped it off my face and glared at him.

“Will you listen to me? She’s not pregnant!”

Then, it settled in what he meant. And I started laughing hysterically, so hard that tears came to my eyes and my face turned bright red. “You…Oh my God. Which one?!”

“Does it matter?” he mumbled.

“You so deserve that.”

“Glad you’re happy about it.”

“Maybe you should think with your brain instead of your dick next time, huh?” I gave him a tightlipped smile. “Oh, and by the way…I’m so glad that I didn’t sleep with you. God knows what you would have given me.”

“I didn’t have anything before now!” He was clearly frustrated by the fact that I didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him, that I was actually enjoying his pain and suffering.

“Mhm. I’m gonna pretend to believe that for a second. But now I really gotta get home. Thanks for telling me that. Really! It brightened my day.”

Still chuckling, I made my way to the front of the school, feeling the slight autumn breeze on my face.

Puck…with an STD. It was about damn time. After everyone he’s slept with (which was probably close to every girl in the school, plus all the lonely cougars in the Lima area), I was just kinda surprised that he hadn’t contracted one earlier.

Remembering his knee on mine, I wiped off my jeans, as if that was all it took to take away the germs. How did he have the nerve to try to win me back, to hit on me, while he was having some problems?

The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted to know which it was… More than anything, I wanted to look up just what kind of horrors he was going through. The more pain inflicted on him, the better. In my eyes, anyway.

When Aileen came home from work at four thirty, I was still at the table, doing my homework.

“You look awfully happy,” she observed, putting a paper grocery bag on the counter. “Especially since you’re doing history work.”

Eying my oversized book, I shrugged. “I guess that I just had a really good day today.”

“Did Puck fall off a cliff or something?” It made me laugh, how she referred to him as Puck, ever since I told the whole story. I must have forgotten my Aileen filter.

“Even better.” I was about to tell her, but I ended up laughing instead.

She didn’t ask, instead just putting the groceries away and mumbling something about how strange little sisters could be and how she wondered why in the world she had ever missed me. That was sweet of her.

Later that night, just as I was on the brink of unconsciousness, I thought about the song that I’d wanted to sing in Glee Club. It was no longer applicable, since I no longer felt the need to get back at Puck.

So right there, I made a song change and snickered, thinking about what people would make of my performance.

The daydreams made me want to perform the next day, if possible.