flirt - noah puckerman

Chapter 14

chapter fourteen - bad reputation pt. 2

Noah's POV

I open my locker to grab my lunch and see Finn frowning and making his way over to me. 

"What the hell, dude?" He scoffs, making me cock an eyebrow at him in confusion.  "I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe you actually cared about Erin." 

"What?" I laugh, looking around to see if anyone was listening. "Of course I fucking care about Erin," I lean in and lower my voice. 

"You're dating Mercedes," he rolls his eyes at me. 

"I'm only dating Mercedes until my mohawk grows back, so I don't get thrown in the dumpster.  I don't have feelings for her," I laugh. 

"Did you even think for a second about how Erin would feel before you went out and started making out with one of her friends?"

"Look, Finn," I groan. "Erin and I already talked-- she's fine with it," I shrug.

"No, she's not," he frowns. 

"She would've told me if it hurt her feelings, dude." 

"No, she wouldn't," he sighs in frustration. "I know Erin seems like a blunt person, but she doesn't know how to stick up for herself.  I see her when you kiss Mercedes in the hallway or when you don't sit beside her in Glee Club-- it's getting to her, dude." 

"Fuck," I swallow the guilty lump in my throat, looking down at the ground. 

"You need to make a decision," Finn frowns. "It's either Erin or your reputation."  The bell rings, and he gives me a small nod before making his way back down the hallway.  I sigh and look back in my locker, seeing a small white piece of paper with cursive handwriting on it. 

Come over tonight after school   -Love, Rachel  

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion before stuffing the note into my pocket and heading to find Mercedes.  

---

"Erin," I call, spotting her at the end of the hallway.  She purses her lips and raises her eyebrows at me as I hurry over to her.  "I'm so sorry-"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Puck," she shrugs nonchalantly, avoiding my eyes.  Is she back to calling me Puck now?  "We're not together.  We never have been."  

"Look," I frown.  "I broke up with Mercedes.  I don't give a fuck about my reputation if it means losing you," I sigh.  I reach out for her hand, and she takes a step away from me.  "Erin-"

"What are you not understanding?" She interrupts, rolling her eyes at me.  "We're not together.  We're not anything, Puck." The corner of her mouth twitches into a small frown before she walks away from me, leaving me frozen in place in the middle of the hallway.  

---

"Did you know that when we dated, the rest of the school gave us a nickname?" Rachel grins, as I groan and take a seat on the edge of her bed.  "Puckleberry."

"That's humiliating," I frown. 

"The fact is that slumming it with me actually improved your reputation," she grins.