Unmasking Superman
Who: Artie Abrams and Noah “Puck” Puckerman
When: Sunday, January 2nd 2019
Where: Rachel’s Guest House
What: Renewing a friendship.
Artie was a little surprised to get called on New Year’s Day by Noah Puckerman, but he was glad to hear the other man’s voice. Artie needed a friend right now, but he didn’t want to sound desperate. The whole holiday season had ended with him drinking in the New Year at Paddy Mac, but he couldn’t remember anything after 10pm. His mother had to go and bring him home, so he knew that whatever did happen couldn’t have been good. Everything was just becoming a little too complicated for Artie, especially after what happened on Christmas Eve.
Tina had called him the next day, and he tried to avoid it as much as possible. He tried to tell her as little as he could and definitely left out the part where he kissed her, since he was trying to forget that too. It wasn't like he had feelings for Tina, well maybe he did, but was it for Tina now or Tina then? He had considered calling Tina back, talking to her to see how much of it she remembered, what her mom had told her about the events of that afternoon. Just thinking about it made him nervous though, so he never had the ability to actually call her about what happened. He wondered if she told her boyfriend, Elliot or Eli or something like that. What would Mike do if he found out? That was something he had even considered. Artie figured that he would know if Mike found out about it, since he would have seen Mike by now.
He followed his uDrive, the latest in navigational technology, to the place that Puck was calling home. Artie didn’t know what to expect when he pulled into Rachel’s house. It was explained to him that Puck was living in an apartment that was detached from the Berry Household. Artie hadn’t seen Rachel since the summer before with a brief encounter at the pharmacy and he wasn’t too thrilled at the chance of seeing her again. Thankfully she wasn’t home and Puck came around from the backyard and found Artie.
Puck led him over to the gate, “Hey man, its back here. You’re going offroading for a little before we get there.” Naturally he walked behind Artie and started pushing him, as if it were high school all over again. Except instead of the tiled floors of McKinley High he was leading Artie through the backyard of a home that Rachel owned.
Looking at the little apartment back by the woods Artie was surprised. He knew that Rachel was making the big bucks in New York, but the little ‘guest house’ looked fully stocked and could be a small home on its own. “Nice place,” Artie said as they approached the door.
It was a small place, but it had more than enough for Puck’s needs. Once he got back on his feet, a good job and everything he was planning to get his own small home, but that wasn’t for awhile. He had a lot to sort out before he could do that though, everything from his relationships to his debt. Rachel was kind to let him stay there for the time being.
“You want something to drink? Water, Orange Juice, Soda?” Puck asked.
Artie almost asked for a beer before he stopped himself. He mentally put that on the list of things not to say to a recovering alcoholic. “If you have some Coke, I’d love it.”
Puck dug around his fridge and grabbed a couple Coca-Colas from the shelf. He walked back into the living area and handed one to Artie. He hadn’t really thought about what they would actually talk about. It had been years since they were actually close, and a part of him just wanted to just turn on a football game and not say anything to the man in the wheelchair. He knew that Artie could care less about who was going to be getting into the superbowl.
“Are we just going to sit here in some awkward silence?” Artie asked. He was nervous, he didn’t know what to do or say. From what he knew this could be the first time he’d ever spent time with a sober Puck. He tried to remember the last time he knew for certain that Puck hadn’t been drinking, and he didn’t know. Artie had no idea when the problem started or if Puck didn’t start until after. After... Artie hadn’t thought about the fact that the man in front of him gave up his family. A family that had meant everything to him.
“Yeah that was the plan,” Puck said. “To tell you the truth I had no idea what to say to you, all I knew was that I wanted to see what you were up to. I was never really good at planning ahead.”
Artie nodded, knowing that the statement was true. He thought about his own life choices and wondered if maybe he wasn’t so good at planning ahead either. “Look, I’m glad you did call. If I had known you were sober and here I would have called you myself. I always wondered what happened to your sorry ass, after... well after.”
Puck let out a little chuckle realizing that maybe Artie had grown out of his habit of saying everything that he thought. He remembered the days in high school when Artie would blurt out the most ridiculous things because the geek had no internal filter. “Sorry ass is a good way to put it. I went from place to place, never letting myself get too attached. It wasn’t much of a life, to tell you the truth. I just worked and drank, trying to forget everything I left behind.”
“Why didn’t you just come back?” Artie asked honestly. It seemed easy enough to him, sure Quinn would have been mad, but Artie couldn’t understand why it took him years to finally come back. “What made you come back this time?”
“If it was that easy I would have. It was more than just the fact that Quinn would have slapped me, it was the fact that after everything, I became my dad. After everything that he put me through, put Lily and my mom through, I still did the same thing. It’s hard to live with that, Art,” Puck admitted. He wasn’t really used to the whole opening up and sharing thing, but Dan had been working on it with him.
The two men sat in silence. There wasn’t really anything to say, nothing Artie could have told him would have made things better. He sipped on his coke and stared at the wall in front of him. He would never know what it was like to have a parent walk out, he was always lucky enough to have two loving parents that stuck around. Losing his Dad was hard, but it wasn’t anything like if he would have left them on his own free will. He would have never done that.
“As for why now? Same reason you are back here I guess, the flash. In June I saw myself talking to a little girl, with blonde hair and green eyes and an attitude that I knew was mine. I went into a spiral after that, but I knew it was time to get my act together and contacted the only person I knew would help. Rachel.”
“Tell me the truth Puck, how long had you been an alcoholic? High School? Before today had I ever seen you sober, because you are completely different and I don’t know if it’s the fact that we are five years older since we last saw each other or because for once you aren’t drunk.” Artie had to get to the truth, he wasn’t going to help Puck out if he didn’t know all the details. Sure he needed a friend, but he needed someone who would be honest.
Puck could sense the distrust in Artie’s tone. It’s now or never I guess, he thought to himself as he started to tell Artie the story. “In school it was a beer or two a day I guess, but I didn’t think it was a problem, it’s not like I got drunk on two beers. It started when Q got pregnant and tried to convince Finn it was his kid. I was just so angry all the time, the fact that she wouldn’t give me a fucking chance to be a man, I went to beer to calm myself. But things got worse after I bailed.”
Again a silence swept over the two men. Artie was taking in everything, realizing the friend that he remembered wasn’t the man he thought he was. Puck and Artie had an interesting relationship from the days of being thrown in the trash to their eventual friendship in the second half of high school. But the Puck that he was friends with was never sober. That was a lot for him to take in.
“Do you want something to eat? A think I have some burgers I could grill up,” Puck finally said. He was getting a little hungry, and he just wanted the awkward silence to end.
“Nah, I’m not really that hungry. Puck this is a lot to take in, and I want to say I’m glad you came back, and it won’t be easy, so I’m here for you. But right now I think it’s best if I go.”
“Artie, don’t. Look I know I told you a lot of stuff today, but please stay, I’m begging, and you know the Puckerone doesn’t beg.”
“Maybe some other time. I’ll call you, we can go out for burgers, probably better than the shit you were going to attempt to cook.” Artie gave a small smile. He just had a lot of processing to do, and he couldn’t do that with Puck there. He started towards the door of the guest house.
Puck helped Artie back to his car, the large SUV that allowed Artie to drive and carry his wheelchair. He didn’t say anything as he started to fold up the wheelchair and place it behind the drivers seat. There wasn’t anything to say, really. “See ya man.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you soon.” Artie answered as he shut the door and backed out of the driveway, leaving Puck standing on the pavement. He felt bad to leave after a half hour, but it was a lot to take in. He wasn’t lying when he said that he was going to call, he would, eventually.
Puck wanted to punch something, he was so pissed that Artie just left him after everything he had said. So he had some skeletons in his closet, didn’t everyone? He knew that Artie was no angel either, but that didn’t seem to matter today. Puck wondered if the bastard would even bother to call him, or if he was just being polite. Fuck him. Puck returned to his small guest house and turned on the football game. It was moments like this that he really wanted a beer.
When: Sunday, January 2nd 2019
Where: Rachel’s Guest House
What: Renewing a friendship.
Artie was a little surprised to get called on New Year’s Day by Noah Puckerman, but he was glad to hear the other man’s voice. Artie needed a friend right now, but he didn’t want to sound desperate. The whole holiday season had ended with him drinking in the New Year at Paddy Mac, but he couldn’t remember anything after 10pm. His mother had to go and bring him home, so he knew that whatever did happen couldn’t have been good. Everything was just becoming a little too complicated for Artie, especially after what happened on Christmas Eve.
Tina had called him the next day, and he tried to avoid it as much as possible. He tried to tell her as little as he could and definitely left out the part where he kissed her, since he was trying to forget that too. It wasn't like he had feelings for Tina, well maybe he did, but was it for Tina now or Tina then? He had considered calling Tina back, talking to her to see how much of it she remembered, what her mom had told her about the events of that afternoon. Just thinking about it made him nervous though, so he never had the ability to actually call her about what happened. He wondered if she told her boyfriend, Elliot or Eli or something like that. What would Mike do if he found out? That was something he had even considered. Artie figured that he would know if Mike found out about it, since he would have seen Mike by now.
He followed his uDrive, the latest in navigational technology, to the place that Puck was calling home. Artie didn’t know what to expect when he pulled into Rachel’s house. It was explained to him that Puck was living in an apartment that was detached from the Berry Household. Artie hadn’t seen Rachel since the summer before with a brief encounter at the pharmacy and he wasn’t too thrilled at the chance of seeing her again. Thankfully she wasn’t home and Puck came around from the backyard and found Artie.
Puck led him over to the gate, “Hey man, its back here. You’re going offroading for a little before we get there.” Naturally he walked behind Artie and started pushing him, as if it were high school all over again. Except instead of the tiled floors of McKinley High he was leading Artie through the backyard of a home that Rachel owned.
Looking at the little apartment back by the woods Artie was surprised. He knew that Rachel was making the big bucks in New York, but the little ‘guest house’ looked fully stocked and could be a small home on its own. “Nice place,” Artie said as they approached the door.
It was a small place, but it had more than enough for Puck’s needs. Once he got back on his feet, a good job and everything he was planning to get his own small home, but that wasn’t for awhile. He had a lot to sort out before he could do that though, everything from his relationships to his debt. Rachel was kind to let him stay there for the time being.
“You want something to drink? Water, Orange Juice, Soda?” Puck asked.
Artie almost asked for a beer before he stopped himself. He mentally put that on the list of things not to say to a recovering alcoholic. “If you have some Coke, I’d love it.”
Puck dug around his fridge and grabbed a couple Coca-Colas from the shelf. He walked back into the living area and handed one to Artie. He hadn’t really thought about what they would actually talk about. It had been years since they were actually close, and a part of him just wanted to just turn on a football game and not say anything to the man in the wheelchair. He knew that Artie could care less about who was going to be getting into the superbowl.
“Are we just going to sit here in some awkward silence?” Artie asked. He was nervous, he didn’t know what to do or say. From what he knew this could be the first time he’d ever spent time with a sober Puck. He tried to remember the last time he knew for certain that Puck hadn’t been drinking, and he didn’t know. Artie had no idea when the problem started or if Puck didn’t start until after. After... Artie hadn’t thought about the fact that the man in front of him gave up his family. A family that had meant everything to him.
“Yeah that was the plan,” Puck said. “To tell you the truth I had no idea what to say to you, all I knew was that I wanted to see what you were up to. I was never really good at planning ahead.”
Artie nodded, knowing that the statement was true. He thought about his own life choices and wondered if maybe he wasn’t so good at planning ahead either. “Look, I’m glad you did call. If I had known you were sober and here I would have called you myself. I always wondered what happened to your sorry ass, after... well after.”
Puck let out a little chuckle realizing that maybe Artie had grown out of his habit of saying everything that he thought. He remembered the days in high school when Artie would blurt out the most ridiculous things because the geek had no internal filter. “Sorry ass is a good way to put it. I went from place to place, never letting myself get too attached. It wasn’t much of a life, to tell you the truth. I just worked and drank, trying to forget everything I left behind.”
“Why didn’t you just come back?” Artie asked honestly. It seemed easy enough to him, sure Quinn would have been mad, but Artie couldn’t understand why it took him years to finally come back. “What made you come back this time?”
“If it was that easy I would have. It was more than just the fact that Quinn would have slapped me, it was the fact that after everything, I became my dad. After everything that he put me through, put Lily and my mom through, I still did the same thing. It’s hard to live with that, Art,” Puck admitted. He wasn’t really used to the whole opening up and sharing thing, but Dan had been working on it with him.
The two men sat in silence. There wasn’t really anything to say, nothing Artie could have told him would have made things better. He sipped on his coke and stared at the wall in front of him. He would never know what it was like to have a parent walk out, he was always lucky enough to have two loving parents that stuck around. Losing his Dad was hard, but it wasn’t anything like if he would have left them on his own free will. He would have never done that.
“As for why now? Same reason you are back here I guess, the flash. In June I saw myself talking to a little girl, with blonde hair and green eyes and an attitude that I knew was mine. I went into a spiral after that, but I knew it was time to get my act together and contacted the only person I knew would help. Rachel.”
“Tell me the truth Puck, how long had you been an alcoholic? High School? Before today had I ever seen you sober, because you are completely different and I don’t know if it’s the fact that we are five years older since we last saw each other or because for once you aren’t drunk.” Artie had to get to the truth, he wasn’t going to help Puck out if he didn’t know all the details. Sure he needed a friend, but he needed someone who would be honest.
Puck could sense the distrust in Artie’s tone. It’s now or never I guess, he thought to himself as he started to tell Artie the story. “In school it was a beer or two a day I guess, but I didn’t think it was a problem, it’s not like I got drunk on two beers. It started when Q got pregnant and tried to convince Finn it was his kid. I was just so angry all the time, the fact that she wouldn’t give me a fucking chance to be a man, I went to beer to calm myself. But things got worse after I bailed.”
Again a silence swept over the two men. Artie was taking in everything, realizing the friend that he remembered wasn’t the man he thought he was. Puck and Artie had an interesting relationship from the days of being thrown in the trash to their eventual friendship in the second half of high school. But the Puck that he was friends with was never sober. That was a lot for him to take in.
“Do you want something to eat? A think I have some burgers I could grill up,” Puck finally said. He was getting a little hungry, and he just wanted the awkward silence to end.
“Nah, I’m not really that hungry. Puck this is a lot to take in, and I want to say I’m glad you came back, and it won’t be easy, so I’m here for you. But right now I think it’s best if I go.”
“Artie, don’t. Look I know I told you a lot of stuff today, but please stay, I’m begging, and you know the Puckerone doesn’t beg.”
“Maybe some other time. I’ll call you, we can go out for burgers, probably better than the shit you were going to attempt to cook.” Artie gave a small smile. He just had a lot of processing to do, and he couldn’t do that with Puck there. He started towards the door of the guest house.
Puck helped Artie back to his car, the large SUV that allowed Artie to drive and carry his wheelchair. He didn’t say anything as he started to fold up the wheelchair and place it behind the drivers seat. There wasn’t anything to say, really. “See ya man.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you soon.” Artie answered as he shut the door and backed out of the driveway, leaving Puck standing on the pavement. He felt bad to leave after a half hour, but it was a lot to take in. He wasn’t lying when he said that he was going to call, he would, eventually.
Puck wanted to punch something, he was so pissed that Artie just left him after everything he had said. So he had some skeletons in his closet, didn’t everyone? He knew that Artie was no angel either, but that didn’t seem to matter today. Puck wondered if the bastard would even bother to call him, or if he was just being polite. Fuck him. Puck returned to his small guest house and turned on the football game. It was moments like this that he really wanted a beer.