Fic: Curdle (Finn, Puck) PG-13 (11/12)
Title: Curdle
Author: hyperemmalawlz
Fandom: Glee
Chapter: 11/12 (probably)
Characters/Pairing: Finn, Puck, ensemble
Word Count: 1380
Rating: PG-13
Summary: "I don't need help," Puck had said, even when he turned up bleeding and almost-crying on Finn's doorstep at 2 AM. A year later, he still needs the help -- and Finn is still slightly incompetent.
Spoilers: Up to 1x22, "Journey."
Warnings: Swearing, discussion of child molestation, sexual references.
Author's Notes: Written for the glee_angst_meme, the prompt: "Puck's mom has an on again off again boyfriend who abuses him sexually. Now they're on again and said boyfriend has moved into their house. After the last time they broke up, when Puck thought he was gone for good, he told Finn about the abuse."
11: WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Apparently, him and Kurt didn't get the same opportunity to skip school for the rest of the day as Puck did. Finn was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to pay much attention; like, even less than usual. At least he had double Spanish in the middle of the day. It would be awkward, but Mr. Schue would cut him some slack.
Mom walked with him until he got to the hall outside his Math classroom. “So,” he said. “If everyone sees you, they'll like, do something stupid so you should probably - not that I'm ashamed or anything of you, Mom, it's just...”
“It's okay, Finn,” Mom said easily, which was a relief. Then she winced, which wasn't. “Finn... you really knew for a year? He snuck into our house in the middle of the night?”
Finn shrugged. “Yeah?”
She sighed. “You could have told me.”
“I kind of promised him I wouldn't,” he explained. “It mightn't have been my best moment, but... the dude wasn't even there for a year. Then he was and, well, I just kinda didn't know what to do.” He paused. “I still kinda feel like I betrayed him.”
“Finn, you did the right thing by telling us,” Mom told him. “If you hadn't spoken up, Noah wouldn't have gotten help himself. And I'm fairly sure that... bitch wouldn't have done anything herself without someone pressuring her.”
“Kurt kind of actually told more than I did,” Finn pointed out. “I wouldn't say his name, remember?”
Mom just rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. “I'm sorry you had to do all this, baby,” she said.
He nodded and eventually pulled away. Then a thought hit him. “Hey, is, uh... Burt mad because I got him... um...”
Mom shook her head. “I'd doubt it,” she said. She gave another look to the door. “Well...”
Finn nodded. “Yeah. Uh... bye, Mom.”
“See you. Call me if you need anything?”
*
“Mr. Hummel?”
“Gah!” Burt practically jumped out of his skin. That what happens when people come sneaking up behind you like that.
He turned around saw it was Schuester. Oh. “Yeah?” he asked. “What is it?”
Schuester shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. “Look, I wanted to... apologize,” he said. “I panicked and jumped to conclusions.”
Burt sighed. He would have loved to be pissed at Schuester for everything that happened, don't get him wrong. It's not easy when a man you hardly know and don't particularly like comes up out of nowhere and accused you of doing that to a kid. But he couldn't really blame the guy. Given everything, he kind of thought Schuester had just done the best he could when he thought Finn was in danger. All that proved was the man cared about Burt's stepson, and did his fucking job. It's kind of hard to hold that against anyone.
“It's alright. I mean, giving the circumstances I probably woulda done the same thing. 'Sides - if it weren't for all this, pretty sure no-one would have got Puckerman to open up, so...”
Schuester sighed to. “Yeah,” he said. “I feel bad for the kid.”
Burt shrugged. “Well, yeah,” he said - 'cause who wouldn't feel bad for the kid? “Still, least that freak's out of his life now.”
“Assuming his mother was...”
Burt winced. He wasn't quite ready to consider that possibility yet; that the woman they'd tried so hard to convince was just lying. Not just because honestly, if that boy couldn't stay in his home anymore Burt was pretty sure Puck'd wind up living with them, and he wasn't capable of raising three teenage guys, even if one of them was Kurt.
“Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “Well... no grudges held, Schuester. Don't worry.”
Schuester nodded, and the two men shook hands. “Anyway, I have a job to go do, so...”
Burt nodded and walked off, to where his wife was waiting next to the car.
*
Helen didn't talk to her son much on the way home. She was still trying to get everything into her head, and he didn't really look like he wanted to talk about it anyway.
Once they got home, they stood around awkwardly in front of the stairs. Was he waiting for instructions or something?
She sighed and avoided his eyes. “I'm going to go back up Hugo's things. It'll be easier if we don't have to let him in to get them.”
Noah looked a little surprised. “You really are kicking him out?”
“Well, yes.” She let the 'do I have a choice?' go unsaid.
He flinched a little. “Okay. Not sure why we're even bothering to give that guy his stuff back, but...”
She sighed. “I am not having us dragged into court.”
She just hoped he'd get the message - don't try and press charges and humiliate me.
It sounded callous, but, she reasoned, it's not like he'd ever get a conviction with his history and attitude. She wasn't even sure if she believed it (although obviously, she wasn't allowed to say that - she was a bitch if she dared to believe that her lying, manipulative delinquent son could be lying to and manipulating her, right?)
“...Okay,” said Noah. “What are you going to tell Sa-”
“Just shut up, Noah!” she snapped.
He looked at her with the best impression of 'vulnerable' he could do - which wasn't that great, honestly. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Just asking.”
She sighed. She did not need to deal with him lingering around right now. “Just... go up to your room and do whatever it is you do. I'll go pack.”
“You don't want me to help?”
“No.”
He raised his arms in a 'surrender' pose, and quickly did just what she said - went up to his room. She sighed and made her way towards her own (her own).
Five years. Five fucking years on-and-off with this guy, and now she got told he's a child molester. Five fucking years of crying over breakups, stressing over buying gifts, having anniversaries forgotten, getting drunk way too much, and all that cliche bullshit a boyfriend does to you. Because after That Bastard hightailed it and left her with the kids, he was the one guy who stuck around long enough to make her feel like she wasn't a complete failure at life and relationships. Of course, he was probably just sticking around because she gave him a young and unwilling place to stick it (okay, maybe two).
Of course, she still wasn't sure she believed Noah. Why should she have? She knew she'd been hard on him; treated him badly. He thought she thought he was a disappointment. He could have been making it all up so it looked like he had an excuse for being, well, him; it didn't sound all that out of character. Of course, there was Finn fucking Hudson, but that boy would probably cover for Noah, or could be easily tricked. Maybe she should have been kinder, but... he was a disappointment. He got a girl pregnant! She'd never really had high hopes for Noah, and he had met her expectations brilliantly.
It didn't really matter whether she believed him or not, of course. She had to get rid of Hugo - if she didn't, his principal and that teacher and Carole and her boyfriend would panic. They'd go call Child Protective Services, and say Helen wasn't a capable mother. She wouldn't go through that. She'd spent years with those two, on her own, and done as good a fucking job as she could manage. She wouldn't have herself go down as the woman who let her kids be molested because of her abandonment issues. It was the same reason she didn't want Noah taking anything to court.
She practically wanted to scream in frustration, but instead she started throwing shirts and shoes out of the cupboard violently. She had to give up fucking everything in the end.
Author: hyperemmalawlz
Fandom: Glee
Chapter: 11/12 (probably)
Characters/Pairing: Finn, Puck, ensemble
Word Count: 1380
Rating: PG-13
Summary: "I don't need help," Puck had said, even when he turned up bleeding and almost-crying on Finn's doorstep at 2 AM. A year later, he still needs the help -- and Finn is still slightly incompetent.
Spoilers: Up to 1x22, "Journey."
Warnings: Swearing, discussion of child molestation, sexual references.
Author's Notes: Written for the glee_angst_meme, the prompt: "Puck's mom has an on again off again boyfriend who abuses him sexually. Now they're on again and said boyfriend has moved into their house. After the last time they broke up, when Puck thought he was gone for good, he told Finn about the abuse."
11: WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Apparently, him and Kurt didn't get the same opportunity to skip school for the rest of the day as Puck did. Finn was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to pay much attention; like, even less than usual. At least he had double Spanish in the middle of the day. It would be awkward, but Mr. Schue would cut him some slack.
Mom walked with him until he got to the hall outside his Math classroom. “So,” he said. “If everyone sees you, they'll like, do something stupid so you should probably - not that I'm ashamed or anything of you, Mom, it's just...”
“It's okay, Finn,” Mom said easily, which was a relief. Then she winced, which wasn't. “Finn... you really knew for a year? He snuck into our house in the middle of the night?”
Finn shrugged. “Yeah?”
She sighed. “You could have told me.”
“I kind of promised him I wouldn't,” he explained. “It mightn't have been my best moment, but... the dude wasn't even there for a year. Then he was and, well, I just kinda didn't know what to do.” He paused. “I still kinda feel like I betrayed him.”
“Finn, you did the right thing by telling us,” Mom told him. “If you hadn't spoken up, Noah wouldn't have gotten help himself. And I'm fairly sure that... bitch wouldn't have done anything herself without someone pressuring her.”
“Kurt kind of actually told more than I did,” Finn pointed out. “I wouldn't say his name, remember?”
Mom just rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. “I'm sorry you had to do all this, baby,” she said.
He nodded and eventually pulled away. Then a thought hit him. “Hey, is, uh... Burt mad because I got him... um...”
Mom shook her head. “I'd doubt it,” she said. She gave another look to the door. “Well...”
Finn nodded. “Yeah. Uh... bye, Mom.”
“See you. Call me if you need anything?”
*
“Mr. Hummel?”
“Gah!” Burt practically jumped out of his skin. That what happens when people come sneaking up behind you like that.
He turned around saw it was Schuester. Oh. “Yeah?” he asked. “What is it?”
Schuester shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. “Look, I wanted to... apologize,” he said. “I panicked and jumped to conclusions.”
Burt sighed. He would have loved to be pissed at Schuester for everything that happened, don't get him wrong. It's not easy when a man you hardly know and don't particularly like comes up out of nowhere and accused you of doing that to a kid. But he couldn't really blame the guy. Given everything, he kind of thought Schuester had just done the best he could when he thought Finn was in danger. All that proved was the man cared about Burt's stepson, and did his fucking job. It's kind of hard to hold that against anyone.
“It's alright. I mean, giving the circumstances I probably woulda done the same thing. 'Sides - if it weren't for all this, pretty sure no-one would have got Puckerman to open up, so...”
Schuester sighed to. “Yeah,” he said. “I feel bad for the kid.”
Burt shrugged. “Well, yeah,” he said - 'cause who wouldn't feel bad for the kid? “Still, least that freak's out of his life now.”
“Assuming his mother was...”
Burt winced. He wasn't quite ready to consider that possibility yet; that the woman they'd tried so hard to convince was just lying. Not just because honestly, if that boy couldn't stay in his home anymore Burt was pretty sure Puck'd wind up living with them, and he wasn't capable of raising three teenage guys, even if one of them was Kurt.
“Yeah,” he said awkwardly. “Well... no grudges held, Schuester. Don't worry.”
Schuester nodded, and the two men shook hands. “Anyway, I have a job to go do, so...”
Burt nodded and walked off, to where his wife was waiting next to the car.
*
Helen didn't talk to her son much on the way home. She was still trying to get everything into her head, and he didn't really look like he wanted to talk about it anyway.
Once they got home, they stood around awkwardly in front of the stairs. Was he waiting for instructions or something?
She sighed and avoided his eyes. “I'm going to go back up Hugo's things. It'll be easier if we don't have to let him in to get them.”
Noah looked a little surprised. “You really are kicking him out?”
“Well, yes.” She let the 'do I have a choice?' go unsaid.
He flinched a little. “Okay. Not sure why we're even bothering to give that guy his stuff back, but...”
She sighed. “I am not having us dragged into court.”
She just hoped he'd get the message - don't try and press charges and humiliate me.
It sounded callous, but, she reasoned, it's not like he'd ever get a conviction with his history and attitude. She wasn't even sure if she believed it (although obviously, she wasn't allowed to say that - she was a bitch if she dared to believe that her lying, manipulative delinquent son could be lying to and manipulating her, right?)
“...Okay,” said Noah. “What are you going to tell Sa-”
“Just shut up, Noah!” she snapped.
He looked at her with the best impression of 'vulnerable' he could do - which wasn't that great, honestly. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Just asking.”
She sighed. She did not need to deal with him lingering around right now. “Just... go up to your room and do whatever it is you do. I'll go pack.”
“You don't want me to help?”
“No.”
He raised his arms in a 'surrender' pose, and quickly did just what she said - went up to his room. She sighed and made her way towards her own (her own).
Five years. Five fucking years on-and-off with this guy, and now she got told he's a child molester. Five fucking years of crying over breakups, stressing over buying gifts, having anniversaries forgotten, getting drunk way too much, and all that cliche bullshit a boyfriend does to you. Because after That Bastard hightailed it and left her with the kids, he was the one guy who stuck around long enough to make her feel like she wasn't a complete failure at life and relationships. Of course, he was probably just sticking around because she gave him a young and unwilling place to stick it (okay, maybe two).
Of course, she still wasn't sure she believed Noah. Why should she have? She knew she'd been hard on him; treated him badly. He thought she thought he was a disappointment. He could have been making it all up so it looked like he had an excuse for being, well, him; it didn't sound all that out of character. Of course, there was Finn fucking Hudson, but that boy would probably cover for Noah, or could be easily tricked. Maybe she should have been kinder, but... he was a disappointment. He got a girl pregnant! She'd never really had high hopes for Noah, and he had met her expectations brilliantly.
It didn't really matter whether she believed him or not, of course. She had to get rid of Hugo - if she didn't, his principal and that teacher and Carole and her boyfriend would panic. They'd go call Child Protective Services, and say Helen wasn't a capable mother. She wouldn't go through that. She'd spent years with those two, on her own, and done as good a fucking job as she could manage. She wouldn't have herself go down as the woman who let her kids be molested because of her abandonment issues. It was the same reason she didn't want Noah taking anything to court.
She practically wanted to scream in frustration, but instead she started throwing shirts and shoes out of the cupboard violently. She had to give up fucking everything in the end.