Summary: The boy that she has always claimed to want, the one who has broken her heart more times than he is even aware of, the one who is now finally free to be hers is not the boy that she is with now. It's the other boy, the one she had sworn she couldn't stand most days, the one who threw slushies in her face, the one who had somehow wormed his way into her heart when she wasn't looking. (Post Sectionals) Rated M for language and future sexual situations.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters.

1. You Found Me

I found God
On the corner of First and Amistad
Where the West was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said where you been, he said ask anything
Where were you when everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang
When all I needed was a call that never came
To the corner of First and Amistad

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

She watches him as he sits all by himself on the bleachers with his elbows resting atop his knees, a cigarette dangling between his fingers as he stares out at the deserted snow covered field in front of him. It's cold and the leather jacket he has on somehow seems less than sufficient as does the lack of gloves and hat, his shaved head and mohawk clearly visible from a distance, but he appears unaffected by the temperature.

As she watches, she can t help but notice just how alone he looks. After the truth came out about Quinn's baby, Finn had washed his hands of his so called best friend and his supposed girlfriend. Sides were chosen and fingers were pointed and punches were thrown and when the dust finally settled Puck was left out in the cold. As it should be. Right?

He was the one who betrayed Finn and he was the one who led his best friend to believe that the baby that Quinn was carrying was his. He'd stood by and let the lies go on for weeks, seemingly quite content to relinquish his rightful responsibility. So, he deserves everything that is coming to him now; after all, he brought it upon himself. Then why is she here now?

It's strange because she once thought that she had him all figured out. He was the jock, the bully, and the self-prescribed bad ass of WMHS. She'd convinced herself that there wasn't much more else to him. But then he joined Glee and she found herself wondering if she'd gotten him all wrong.

It wasn't until they actually dated, brief as it was, that she truly began to see him for who he really is, just a boy who'd grown up without a father and who was trying desperately to prove that he was not the Lima Loser that everyone had already pegged him to be.

When he was around her, he wasn't Puck. He was Noah. He was genuine and sweet; albeit, it was often buried beneath lewd comments, suggestive smirks, and sexual innuendo. But she never really expected him to be like Finn, who was nice and considerate and always said the right things. No, Noah was the complete opposite, rude and offensive and never apologetic, except for maybe that one time. He was not the boy she envisioned herself with which is why she had ended their- whatever it was, it s kind of hard to define something that barely lasted a week.

And yet, the boy that she has always claimed to want, the one who has broken her heart more times than he is even aware of, the one who is now finally free to be hers is not the boy that she is with now. It's the other boy, the one she had sworn she couldn't stand most days, the one who threw slushies in her face, the one who had somehow wormed his way into her heart when she wasn't looking. It would be just like him too.

She slowly walks across the field, approaching him, clinging to her red wool coat, her dark locks covered in a white knit toque, matching mittens on her hands and a scarf wrapped around her neck. Her short skirt whips around her thighs from the wind, the knee high boots offering some protection, however, the cotton tights weren't as warm as they looked. It was fine enough when she was walking straight from the parking lot to the school entrance, but it wasn't exactly the right attire to be spending her free period standing out in the field.

She steadily climbs the steps and then sits down beside him. He doesn t acknowledge her at first, simply bringing his cigarette up to his lips and then turning his head away to blow the smoke out slowly. It doesn't matter, the distinct stench of nicotine is unavoidable and she tries not to cough.

"You know that's an awful habit." The words slip out, unable to control her mouth. "I mean, there's the risk of cancer and plus, if you're caught smoking on school property, you could get suspended."

"It wouldn't be the first time." He looks at her out of the corner of his eye and then shakes his head. "If you don't like it, you could leave. It's not like I asked you to sit there."

She tries not to be hurt by his curt reply. She watches as he deliberately takes another drag. She's certain it's only to prove that he didn't like being told what to do, especially by her. But after a few more minutes, he drops the remainder of the cigarette onto the ground and puts it out with his shoe.

"What are you doing out here anyway, Berry?" He mutters. I'm sure you'd rather be sucking face with Finn than freezing your pretty little ass off out here with me."

She makes a face at his crude remark. "Well, if you must know, Finn and I are not together and therefore, would not be sucking face as you put it so crassly. And as for why I'm out here, I figured that much was obvious."

"You felt it was your civic duty to lecture me on the consequences of poisoning my lungs." He deadpans. "Or was it that you simply felt the need to torture me by talking me to death."

"No." Pausing. "And that doesn't even make any sense. You can't talk someone to death."

He smirks. "In your case, I think it's quite possible."

She huffs, crossing her arms and looking away. "I don't even know why I bother."

"That makes two of us."

She sighs, turning back to look at him. "You know, I'd think you'd be a little more grateful that someone is still willing to be your friend."

He chuckles bitterly. "And when have we ever been friends, Berry?"

Ignoring his question. "Noah, I know I'm partly to blame for telling Finn and I feel bad about the way things turned out, because I think you truly are sorry and you never meant to hurt Finn."

"You don t know anything!" He snaps. "I'm happy that it's all out in the open, I don t have to deal with all the secrets and lies and shit. As for hurting Finn, to be honest, I wasn't really thinking about him at the time, if you know what I mean." He leers at her. "I just wanted to fuck Quinn and it didn't matter that she was my best friend's girl." He says bluntly.

She shakes her head. "You can't expect me to believe that you are the person that you just described."

"Why not? It's who everyone thinks I am, right? A fuck up." He says darkly.

"I don't think that. I think you made a mistake and you're not sure how to fix it now." She says softly.

"And what makes you think that I want to fix anything?" He scowls. "Quinn doesn't want anything to do with me and she's already made up her mind that the baby is better off without me. I can't say I blame her. Finn hates my guts as does pretty much everyone else on the football team and in Glee Club. In fact, I think it's exactly the way things are supposed to be." He scoffs with disdain.

And then he looks at her, a cold and unfeeling expression on his face. "And if you think that I'm desperate enough to want a loser like you to be my pity friend, then you obviously need to start taking your crazy medication." He spits out before getting up and walking down the bleachers, leaving her sitting there to watch.

Before, when she didn't know him and he was just the boy who threw slushies in her face, she would have taken his biting words personally. But now, after getting to know the real Noah Puckerman, she knows that he uses words to push people away. He uses anger like a shield, to protect himself from being hurt. He lashes out when he's feeling insecure and vulnerable and sometimes that means finding herself on the receiving end of some pretty cruel remarks.

She doesn't claim to be an expert on him, no one is really an expert on Puck, but she knows enough about him to know not to push. The way she looks at it is that she'd taken the first step in extending an olive branch, whether he takes her up on her offer or snaps it in two, is up to him.

For the rest of the week, she doesn't try to approach him again at the bleachers.

TBC...

Song Credit: You Found Me by The Fray

Replies are welcome, encouraged even. It's my first story on and also my first attempt at Glee fanfiction, although I've written fiction for other fandoms for years. But I just couldn't help myself with these two. So, here I am.

Thanks for reading!