warnings; underage sex and child abuse.

Pre-Glee mostly, but mentions of it later on.

42)

NOISE

Finn wasn't an expert when it came to sex.

They both knew that.

So it wasn't much of a surprise that he didn't put enough lube on his fingers, or that he pushed in far too soon, or that he didn't give Noah time to adjust properly.

Finn hated himself for hurting his best friend like that, but then the dark skinned teen started making these needy little moans in the back of his throat, and it encouraged him.

Then when he thrust forward and Noah throw his head back and a great loud moan erupted from deep inside his chest, Finn fingered that maybe he wasn't such a bad lay after all.

43)

IRIS

They didn't talk about it the next day.

Maybe Noah didn't remember, Finn reasoned with himself, he had been pretty drunk.

But then Mike made a comment about them both disappearing at Noah's fourteenth birthday, and then Noahs eyes flickered over to his, and Finn could tell. Noah remembered, he could see it in his eyes, he remembered.

44)

ALARM

Noah wasn't Noah anymore. He was Puck now.

Finn had to admit, he was worried at the sudden attitude change, but when he confronted him about it, Puck had just laughed. He had said he just had a cool new badass nickname to go with his cool new badass personality.

That wasn't the case though, Noah had been a badass in his own right, but Puck…Finn didn't really like Puck much. He wanted Noah back. He missed Noah, and at fourteen, Finn knew he had suddenly lost his best friend of seven years.

45)

FRIEND

Despite the fact he had a new name, sometimes Finn still got to see Noah. It was only glimpse of him, but he was still there, buried deep down under the shadow of Puck. Like now, it was just the two of them, and they were sat down watching an old cowboy movie that Finn was currently obsessed with. The darker skinned teen had his knees curled up against his chest and his head in Finns lap, something he would call too girly to do in front of the football team.

Finn was running his hands through Pucks new haircut, a hairstyle he never imagined Noah having, but it suited Puck.

As the film cut off in to a commercial, Finn glanced down at his best friend to see his was dozing off. He smiled to himself, having his hair stroked had always been the best way to help Noah sleep, and if the bags under his eyes were any indication, he hadn't been getting much sleep lately.

They both jumped when they heard a loud banging noise from down stairs. Puck was up in an instant, and Finn saw every well defined muscle in his chest, back and arms tense instantly.

He glanced over at Finn nervously, and the pale teen felt his own nerves go haywire. Puck never got nervous, and nether did Noah, for that matter.

They both flinched as a loud booming voice called up the stairs. It was a man, Finn realized. Since when did Mrs. P get a boyfriend? He wondered.

"You need to go now, Finn."

"but-"

Puck gave him a stern look, which only made the lanky teen more worried. Puck was never serious, and normally, if he was, it was never good. "Just go home, and leave through there." He inclined with a tilt of his head towards the window, where Finn knew there was a grape vine. He had just it hundreds of times to get in and out. Puck's mom didn't like other people much. Well, she didn't like people in general.

They both flinched again at the sound of the man yelling, and Puck dragged his best friend up before pushing him over towards the window.

Reluctant, the taller teen started climbing down the ivy. Then he heard a loud banging sound, like something hard hitting a wall. He froze when he heard sobbing. When he heard Noah sobbing - because Puck never cries.

Feeling like a complete prick, he slipped down the vines and ran home as fast as he could.

Some friend he was.

46)

ARMOR

Finn thought he understood it all now. The whole, Puck, via Noah now.

At first, he thought it was because he developed a weird type of mental illness. Like a split personality, or something similar.

It wasn't though. It was a type of protection, a way to stop himself from getting hurt. Because if you make yourself seem badass enough, than nobody would dare try and hurt you.

So he guess after the other day, he finally got it.

Puck was nothing but Noah's shield; Puck was the heartless womaniser who had lost his virginity to a girl when he was thirteen. The guy who thought old movies were shit, that dancing and singing was for gay people. Puck would never rest his head in another guys lap didn't like he did with Finn. The badass whom loved football, slushieing kids and throwing them in dumpsters.

Noah though; he gave Finn his heart and anal virginity, Noah loved singing and would gladly watch old cowboy movies with him, just because he enjoyed them. He also knew Noah hated Puck, hated the more outlandish part of his personality.

Finn had noticed that he had been seeing less and less of Noah lately. Ever since had had practically shoved him out of the window and he had ran off, listening to the fading cries of his best friend.

Now all Finn wanted was his best friend back.

47)

COAT

As Finn stared out in to the rain, he suddenly realized what an idiot he really was. Mom had warned him it was going to rain today, yet he still forgot to take a coat.

Then as him and Puck walked towards the door, the shorter teen poked him in the back and he turned around to see he had poked him with an umbrella.

The dark skinned teen was glaring up at him, like this was all his fault, but Finn was close enough to see the light blush on his checks.

The two walked home together, huddled under Noah's umbrella and Finn was smiling the entire time.

Because whenever he got to see Noah, he couldn't hold the excitement in for too long.

48)

TUNING

Finn knew nothing about how to play the guitar. He could play the drums, yes, and he was proud of that. Guitar though, no, he kinda sucked at it.

He was over at Pucks for the first time since the incident and they were both sat down on Noah's bed. The shorter teen was leaning against him, guiding his hands as he tried to show him how to pluck a guitar string.

After half an hour, Finn finally successfully plucked his first note.

"Noah, I did it!" he exclaimed, grinning.

Noah though, was on the edge of patience.

"Good, now remember how to do that and try the next note."

So the other boy did, and felt glee burst through his chest as it worked. He continued to do this, becoming more vigorous in his movements.

Then the chord snapped and the tall boy could have sworn he heard something in the other boy snap. Probably his patience.

"Right," he muttered through tightly clenched teeth, "Tomorrow I'm gonna teach you how to fix that and retune it."

49)

CRUSHING

Even though Finn and Noah had slept together before, Finn had never really thought about his feelings towards the shorter teen before. He had just blamed it on the beer. He was sure that was what it was...right?

Maybe it was just because he was a bit slow, or because he wasn't really willing to think about it, but after joining Glee club two months after starting his sophomore year, that's when he started to notice it.

At first, he thought it was just because he was worried about his best friend, about the bruises on his back and even the one that showed up around his neck that Puck just shrugged off. Then after a while, he realized that wasn't the only case.

He wasn't just thinking about the bruises, he was thinking about more than that. How he talked, how he laughed, and smiled, and just everything about him.

Maybe Glee had just given him the chance to really want to express himself, he didn't know.

All Finn knew was that it was official.

He had a crush on Noah 'Puck' Puckerman.

50)

CORPSE

Finn was scared. Terrified even. Not for himself. Not because he had finally realized he was Bi-sexual and in love with his best friend, no, it was nothing to do with that.

He was worried about Noah.

No matter what ever happened, the shorter teen was always so full of life, always cracking jokes or insulting people in, what was normally a playful way.

Now though, he hardly ever spoke. He barely even flirted with people anymore; hardly ever spoke up with a smart mouth comment. None of it.

It was like he was dead.

Like he might as well not really be there.

51)

EYES

"What's wrong?"

Puck glanced up at the older as he pulled his sneakers on from the bench in the boys changing room, which was now empty. "What do you mean?" he said, holding back a sigh. He didn't succeed.

"You're acting weird, man! Seriously, I'm worried about you!"

Puck shock his head. "There's nothing to worry about Finn," he answered as he stood up, and pattered the taller teen on the back. "I see you later."

As he went to walk away, Finn grabbed his arm, forcing him backwards so he could look the other teen in the face.

The dark skinned teen looked down.

"Please?" Finn begged.

Sighing, the shorter teen shock his head again.

"Please?" he whispered.

"Dude, it's just..."

On instinct, the pale teen cupped his best friends face and forced him to look up at him, and then Finn saw it. In his eyes the tears where gathering and threatening to spill over his dark lashes. He quickly pulled the shorter teen into a tight hug, ignoring his protest.

"Please, Noah."

At the use of his real name, the Jewish teens form started shacking as he tried to fight off the tears, tried to get himself under control. The taller teen found himself swallowing the stubborn lump in his own throat.

"I can't do it anymore, Finn," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Its...it's just too much. I...I c-can't cope with it. With Brian and Mom and...it's too much..."

"Noah, I-"

"Don't." Noah suddenly begged, and Finn found himself stunned. Even Noah never begged. "If I stop now, I never have the courage to say it..." his whole body was shaking, a few stray tears leaking through. Without thinking, the tall teen raised a hand to wipe it away.

Finn felt like crying when Noah actually flinched back.

The pale teen bit his lip. The fear in Noah's eyes was so strong, and, the fear was for Finn...

"Go on," he said.

The dark skinned teen swallowed. "L-last week..."

"Yes?" he encouraged.

He watched Noah swiftly wipe away the tears that dared to fall. He watched him try to compose himself, he managed it for a few seconds before he finally broke down, a sob ripping through him.

"I'm so sorry, Finn!" he sobbed, burring his face in the taller teens solder. "Fuck, man!" he cursed. "Why the hell am I so fucking pathetic?"

Finn, not really knowing what to say, simple tried to ensure him he wasn't pathetic as he cried into his shoulder. All he knew was he was glad Noah didn't look him in the eyes as he finally admitted it, finally admitted that last week he had tried to end his life.

Because the pain in his voice was hard enough to listen to without having to see it in those beautiful hazel eyes too.

51)

WARMTH

In all honesty, Noah really didn't know what would have happened to him if Finn wasn't in his life.

After his confession, the tall teen had refused to let him go home. Let him go back to his emotionally abusive mother and her physically abusive boyfriend. No, that was because Finn was a good friend, a good person in general, something he had never been.

He led next to the taller boy, who was sleeping peacefully, his mouth open with a dribble of saliva hanging from the corner of his mouth. Finn had one arm wrapped around Noah's slim waist, which to both of their concerns, had been becoming thinner recently.

No, he knew where he would be if it wasn't for him; at home, trying to kill himself again.

He could admit that Finn was one of the best things that had ever happened to him, even if he could only tell himself that at the moment.

52)

NIGHTMARE

Finn gasped as he snapped awake, bathed in a thick layer of sweat. He struggled for a second, that he realized he wasn't in the bed alone.

He glanced over to the other person and was thankful to see Noah, sleeping with a small smile on his face, the first he had seen in days.

He's still here, he thought happily. I've still got my best friend.

Finn couldn't help the few stray tears as he pulled the taller teen closure to him, hugging him life he was the last good thing on this earth.

53)

HOPE

He was getting better.

It hadn't happened over night, but he was opening up to Finn finally. He still wasn't his normal self at school though, and some people had started to catch on to the little fact and were useing it against him.

Finn though, wasn't going to let them get to him.

He found it funny really. It had always been the other way round; Noah or even Puck was the one protecting him all the time.

Still though, he was getting back to his old self, showing him Noah when they were alone and letting everybody else see Puck again.

There was hope, he realized as he saw Noah laugh for the first time in weeks.

54)

KISS

It was getting harder and harder to resist. Those lips, those beautiful plum soft looking lips. So think and so fucking kissable!

Finn was shamed to admit how many times he had unconsciously lead in to kiss those devilish lips.

When ever he watched Noah sing, and he make the damn 'O' shape with his mouth; God! It wasn't fair! They were so tempting and every time he saw it all he had was images of the shorter teen putting that mouth to use. Normally those images involved that beautiful mouth wrapped around his dick.

It wasn't the right time though. He would wait before he had his way with those lips. Before he had is way with that body.

That was if Noah let him.

55)

ARRANGING

It had taken him weeks to finally work up the courage to ask him out on a date. Too long, in fact.

It was silly really, he had got his nerves in a reck, not sure if he should bother, worried that he would say no. he hadn't though, he just laughed and said 'I was wondering when you'd ask.' Just like that, then strolled off with a bit more bounce in his step.

Finn grinned as he watched him walk away.

56)

TOLERANCE

There was only so much a person could take, Finn had noticed.

Like Noah. There was only a limited amount of time he could deal with abuse before he had done something drastic.

The same went for Noahs mother too. She had finally had enough. She had kicked him out.

The look Noah gave him, the relief in his eyes as he said that had filled Finn with so much joy. Because now he was safe, now he could really start to healw

57)

FRAME

Maybe it was corny and sappy, like Noah had said, but Finn didn't care. Because every night he could roll over and fall a sleep looking at Noah's face, and besides, the way he blushed, then laughed before punching him in the arm was too cute.

58)

CIDER

It was kinda funny really. The first time they had had sex they had been drunk. That was almost three years ago now. Finn was seventeem years old now, and Noah would be seventeen come August.

But it was funny that the first time they told each other they were in love, they had been drunk too. Then when Finn woke up the next morning to here those words again, he knew it wasn't going to suddenly end again.

Noah was there to stay.

59)

CHANCE

Maybe it was off by chance, or just because they were lucky.

Or maybe it was just fate that they both had gotten accepted to NY college. Finn didn't care though. He still had Noah.

60)

HOLLY

Ten years. That was the precise number of years since they had had sex together the first time.

Now, ten years later and at the age of twenty four, they were adopting their first child. Little Holly Hudson.