{Part one}

…

"love we need it now, let's hope for some so we're bleeding now."

…

"What's her name?" Quinn asks, smiling knowingly as picks up a tangerine from the fruit bowl and starts peeling it. She sits down next to Jake on a stool behind the kitchen island.

"What?" Jake looks up from his phone, startled and Quinn lets out a small laugh. She's gotten to know her husband's little half brother pretty well over the past weeks, they'd always gotten along but ever since he moved into her home a few weeks back during summer— a whole new world of Jake Puckerman had opened up. Jake's mother had gotten a job in Europe, a once in a life time offer she couldn't refuse. Puck and Quinn had offered their home to Jake, so he could at least finish his senior year in the US. (Quinn was trying to convince him to go to college subtly by strategically placing pamphlets about various colleges around the house and continuously mentioning how ' fun college years were' and how 'she had the most educational and best time of her life'.)

"Come on, Jake. You've been staring at your phone for ten minutes now and I'm pretty sure you're not waiting for that Sam guy to text you the geometry homework, are you?" Quinn raises her eyebrows challengingly. Sam was a guy in his class he'd been complaining about since his first day of school, only a couple of days ago. He kept talking to him in some Avatar language and doing impressions of celebrities he had never heard off.

Jake sighed, unlocking his phone once again and tapping his foot on the footrest of his stool impatiently. "I don't really want to talk about it with you, Quinn."

Quinn shrugs as she eats a piece of the orange good in her hands, "So you want to talk about with Puck?" Quinn smirks slightly (and sometimes Jake forgets how devious she really is). "Or maybe with one of your many friends at school?"

Jake was kind of a loner (kind of as in definitely) and spent the entire summer huddled up inside playing video games with Puck, messing around with Jayden or playing pranks on Quinn. Most of the time he ended up doing nothing. He hasn't made any friends at school yet either, telling them he, as an LA kid (born and raised), was 'too badass for Lima losers' and everybody was 'scared shitless of him'.

"Fine," he mutters as he puts his phone down yet again, obviously disappointed that there was nothing new (yet). "Her name is Marley Rose. She's in a few of my classes."

"Oh, so you're on last name base already? After a few days? Impressive," Quinn nodded her head, her voice sarcastic as she ate another piece of tangerine.

He narrows his eyes slightly, "If you don't shut up I will just ignore you and I'll never talk to you about stuff like this again."

"Stuff? As in.. Sex?" Quinn put the food in her hands down, blinking a few times. "I know you don't want to hear this, but please use protection. You know what happened to your brother and me, and God bless Beth, but I don't want you to make the same mistake as we did."

"Quinn, please stop, I'm not a virgin and no offense, but I'm not an idiot either," his cheeks colored slightly and Quinn let out a deep breath. "Besides, Marley.. She's different. She's special." He grinned and Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Of course she's different and special, Jake, you say that about every girl," Quinn smiles at him teasingly before reaching over to punch his shoulder. She recalled the nights in which Puck told her about one of Jake's recent catches— about how this girl was different, and this girl was special and each time she turned out to be not that different and not that special either. (Probably because each time the girl was blonde, tall and dim. She didn't have anything against blondes— she was one herself after all— but one time during Thanksgiving dinner in LA he introduced them to a girl who wrote her name in crayon, and not exactly effortless.)

"Whatever, I guess she kind of redefined the words."

"Listen Jake," Quinn's face softened, "Do you want me to talk to Finn? Ask him what he knows about Marley?" Quinn referred to her and Puck's old highschool friend. He worked as a music and Glee club teacher at Jake's school.

"Did you just not hear everything I said?" Jake shook his head slightly, "I like her. I don't want to stalk her and fucking scare her off."

Quinn eyes hardened at his language before she smiled softly, "Okay, fine. What was her last name again?" Quinn pulled out her own iPhone and dragged her finger over the small screen.

"Marley Rose," Jake rolls his eyes as he tightens his jaw. His sister in law could be so annoying.

Quinn's eyes lit up, "That's the reverend's daughter!" Her smile faded, as she let out a tiny gasps,"That is the reverend's daughter, Jake!"

"No shit," Jake licked his lips, "Don't worry, Q. I'm not just going to hump and dump her."

"Well— I'll go pick out a new church, just in case. Maybe I could become a Jew, too? Sounds good, right?" Quinn offered, half joking. "We could wear those silly hats together."

"Those are just for males," Jake reminds her, cocking an eyebrow. He thought she went to college and shit, shouldn't she be smarter?

"Just please," Quinn's voice softens and her green eyes catch his, "Be careful, okay, Jake?"

He nods his head, repeating firmly, "I really like her, Quinn."

"Is little Jakey in love?" Puck enters the kitchen as he makes kissy faces before pulling open the refrigerator, missing the apple Jake threw at his head just in time.

Quinn widens her eyes at him as she purses her lips, she folds her hands together on the table in front of her as she stares him down. Jake rolls his eyes, grabbing up the apple before throwing it back into the fruit bowl.

Jayden pulls on his leg before he can sit down, "Uncle Jake, uncle Jake, do you want to play hide and seek with me?" Jake smiles picking up Jayden and flipping him upside down, holding on to his legs.

"Sure, little buddy."

"Be careful," Quinn exclaims, and he raises his eyebrows at the horrified look on her face. She was such a fucking girl.

Jake huffs, swaying him from the side to side a little as he smirks. "I won't drop him." Jayden giggles, Quinn however glares at him as slaps her husband's chest. She hisses, "Do something, Puck."

"Jake put him down," Puck smirks as Jake rolls his eyes yet again (something that seems to be a habit whenever he's around the two of them).

"You guys are such pussies," he tells them as he puts Jayden back down and Quinn gasps. The little five year old boy laughs, enthralled by his mother's reaction to Jake's words. "Pussies," he repeats and Puck muffles a laugh. Quinn however, isn't even the slightest bit amused.

"You are so grounded, Jake Puckerman," Quinn points her finger at him and he forgot how scary Quinn could be.

"Quinn," he pleads but she shakes her head, "No. And playtime is over. You need to make your homework. I got a call from your math teacher the other day saying you hadn't showed up to a single class ever since you joined McKinley. You're heading into the same direction as your brother."

"Ouch," Puck mocked her, putting a hand to his heart— trying to lighten the mood but his wife ignored him.

"Oh, but Quinn," Jake's voice dripped with sarcasm, "He turned out all right. He has you, hasn't he? What a lucky guy!"

Quinn narrowed her eyes and Jake made the wise choice to back away. "Sorry, Jay, your mommy wants me to do boring school stuff." Jake scrunched his nose as he lowered himself to the little boy's level.

"That's alright. School's fun," Jayden smiled big, showing off his two missing front teeth. Jake grimaces at his words before ruffling the boy's hair and getting up.

"Well, he certainly didn't get that from me," Puck snickers but shuts up as soon as Quinn shoots him another one of her loopy Quinn glares. No one missed her smug smirk though.

Jake places a quick kiss on Quinn's cheek, smirking at her (he knows he's only pissing her off more and it'll come back to bite him in the ass soon enough) before rushing up to his room.

He checks his phone one more time, but still no messages. So he turns to his homework since Quinn shut down the WiFi and disconnected his tv (see, she was smart). Damn homework.

…

He tries going to his math class, okay? He tries walking there but as soon as he spots Mr. O'Malley— and smells the musty air from chalk, cold sweat and fucking math— he feels like drowning himself.

Marley has the same class, but that makes it even worse. Sure, he wants to see here but then he'll risk embarrassing himself by saying something stupid. (Besides, she's just a girl. Just a girl he talked to once or twice. He's Jake Puckerman, he doesn't do shit because of a girl.)

He's just not that good at math (at all his classes overall but math just seems like a foreign language to him— like Spanish but then different, it doesn't even make any fucking sense, okay?). It's like he gets it until they start throwing in the alphabet. The other day he opened his book onto a random page and they were using exclamation points. He doesn't know what the fuck is wrong with whoever came up with that, but that was not okay.

So he sits out on the bleachers instead. It's quiet and secluded and he can actually hear himself think here. Lima was so different from Los Angeles. He didn't believe in the whole 'city people' thing until now. People were people, right? That didn't change when you left a state. People were still assholes.

Or so he thought until he entered McKinley. People here were much duller, and besides the occasional stoner or 'skank' there wasn't much variation between people. Being half white, half black at a school with only three black guys to begin with wasn't easy either.

Marley was different though, not because of her looks (she was insanely fucking pretty but never mind that) or her skills (she was so smart, she had almost all AP classes and he heard she had a killer voice that he would very much like to hear one day) but everything about her, really. She was much different from him. He was a city boy and she was a country girl— but he could feel it, you know? That feeling that she was one of those people that was destined for more, for greatness.

He was lab partners with her in AP chemistry (the only class besides music that actually made sense to him which he knew was weird but fuck it) and she sat a seat ahead and a row across from him in AP lit. He knew he wasn't dumb, but most classes just didn't interest him so why bother?

School just wasn't his thing. Thinking about girls who he hasn't gotten more from besides bright smiles in the hallways and hasn't said anything more to besides 'hi' and 'hey' and hasn't done any more with than a fleeting brush of arms and a quick handshake when they met. That wasn't his thing. He didn't get obsessed by a girl, he didn't get infatuated by a girl— it was fucking strange to say the least.

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" A voice interrupted his thoughts, coming from behind him— from the very top of the bleachers. He turned his head. It was Marley. Fucking figures.

"I could ask you the same," he smirked as she sat down next to him. He spotted the bible in her bag and almost rolled his eyes (Sure, he was all for religion, he was a Jew and all, but carrying a bible around everywhere you go? Fucking weird. That's like him carrying around his x-box manual). "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Lunch started," she raises her eyebrows, reaching down her bag to grab a sandwich. "But I didn't see you in class today again. You don't like math?"

He tightened his jaw, leaning back on his arms as he shook his head. He looked out on the football field but he could feel her stare on him. "No. "

"So you don't get it?" She asked him in that sweet voice that could turn him absolutely crazy but somehow only pissed him off. Who did she think she was? Fucking prancing around in her skirts and judging him like she's Facebook friends with God himself and running around in his thoughts the entire day? She was no one.

"What? You think I'm dumb?" His head snapped towards her and her cheeks turned pink. He really hated himself for making always smiling Marley not smile (he was a fucking asshole all right).

"I don't think you're dumb, Jake," she bit her bottom lip looking down at her shoes. "I didn't mean to draw conclusions. I just.. I—I just thought that… That.."

He grabbed his bag, getting up. He took one more glance at her, a hurt expression on her face, her hair blowing in the mind before he left her by herself. His words left hanging in the air.

"Yeah, that's the problem. You don't know anything about me."

…

He couldn't really help it that he build this wall around him whenever a girl (or anyone for that matter) got too close (and in her case that was really fast— like she cast this spell on him that he couldn't shake off) but now Marley hadn't looked at him in two weeks and during chemistry lab she only said the necessary words. Something about the way she still said 'could you pass me the water' so sweetly, so angelic made him feel like he was the fucking devil himself .

"Sorry," he mumbled one particular Tuesday before their AP lit class at her locker. He wasn't good at apologies but she seemed amazing at forgiving. She smiled at him, "Have you finished Romeo and Juliet yet? I finished it in two nights, it was so romantic."

He shook his head, as she continued talking about the play. They started walking to class and in the middle of the hallway he interrupted her, "Hey, Marley?"

"Yeah?" She looks up at him from under her eyelashes, biting down on her bottom lip, and man, he just really wants to be able to reach over and kiss her.

"About math.. Do you think you could help me?"

…

"Jake.. What are you doing?" Quinn asks him suspiciously, her hand on her side as she walks towards him, putting a hand on his forehead. "You don't have a temperature.. Is there something you need to tell me? Why is your room clean? Why are you reading a book? Oh God.. Noah, call an ambulance!" She calls out, a smirk forming on her lips.

"Ha-ha," he pushes her hand away, "Marley is coming over to help me with math. You knew that."

"Oh," she draws out the word teasingly, "Your girlfriend Marley?" She misses the shoe aimed for her head just in time but what she doesn't is the grin Jake isn't able to wipe off his face for the life of him.

…

"Well— you can use the exclamation point instead of writing it all out. It's actually really handy. You just need to figure out when to use it and when not," she told him as she pointed her pencil at his messy handwriting in his notebook. Her head was resting on her fist and her lips were shiny and she smelled so fucking good. He was really, honestly trying to pay attention but whenever she started talking he instead stared at her.

"Jake?" She asked, waving her hand in front of his face. "You're staring." Her smile widened and her hair shined in the light and her eyes sparkled and he just— fuck. Her tongue dips out to wet her bottom lip before she bites down on it softly and he's thinking off dead kittens and his mom's boobs by now.

"So fucking hot," he mumbles, not quite yet fully conscious of the fact she's actually here and not just in his dreams and he's talking out loud. Her eyes widened and her cheeks colored as she opened her mouth to say something. He blinked a few times, sitting up. "I mean, it's really hot." He stands up to open his window and at the same time wonders where the fuck his smooth moves went.

…

"What the fuck.." He mutters as he looked at the complicate description of their next lab practicum. He adjusted the safety glasses on his nose as Marley shook a flask with a blue liquid.

She muffled a laugh, "Look, all you have to do is suck on the pipette so it the liquid reaches the blue bar. Just be careful not to swallow it." She looked really fucking adorable with her hair up, a few strands falling in her face and smiling like she was so excited about actually finding out the results of this damn assignment. He shook his head to himself, since when did he think fucking girls were 'adorable'? This was all just so weird.

His eyes lingered on the gold cross around her neck (even though it wasn't all about sex with Marley, he still really cared about that part a lot.. with her and he couldn't help but think that damn cross was going to get in the way of it) before moving over to suck on the pipette.

She laughed as he had great difficulty with getting the liquid high enough to reach the blue bar, when he finally managed it he reached out of high five her. She burst out into a fit of giggles as she pointed at the pipette, the liquid slowly moving down again,"You have— you have to— k-keep your thumb on— on it."

He laughs along with her— because how could he not?— and maybe he didn't completely mind it when he accidentally swallowed it and she had to wipe away tears in the corners of her eyes and her cheeks were flustered and everyone was staring at them. He so didn't mind— it was worth it.

…

He finds her humming a song to herself by her locker and he covers her eyes with his hands. "Guess who?"

"Mhm.. Mr. Shuester, I told you not to sneak up to me like that anymore," she exclaims and he chuckles. "Very funny."

She bends her knees, making a little mock bow before smiling, "Why thank you. I thought so, too."

"We should hang out sometime," he blurts out and her smile widens. "We hang out, Jake, remember? I teach you about formulas and quadratic equations and you repay me by telling me lame stories about the walking dead and your theories on the apocalypse," she jokes, poking him in the chest teasingly and he grins.

"No, I mean.. No math. No lame stories. Just us.. Hanging out."

She bites her lip (and man, if she doesn't stop doing that he's going to need to take daily cold showers), "Sure, I'd like that."

…

They watch a movie and he learns that she wants to become a singer, that she loves dogs and books and her mom and that one time during middle school she had a phase in which she refused to wear anything that wasn't pink. (He also learns she isn't as religious as he thought. She's allowed to date so that's definitely not the worst case scenario in which she wore a chastity belt.)

"I came to school dressed as Mega Stud once," he told her and she tried keeping a straight face, nodding and pressing her lips together. She tried, because a moment later she was laughing the loudest he'd ever heard her laugh. "No, seriously. We had this superhero day and my mom insisted on sowing together this entire suit, including a cape, which was pretty cool."

"LA schools are so weird."

"This school uses cold drinks as a main weapon to bully kids."

"Got me there," her smile slowly fades as she realizes how close their faces are.

"So, Marley.. I really like hanging out with you. Do you like hanging out with me?" His eyes flicker towards her lips and she slowly nods her head, her eyes fixed on his mouth.

He's leans in and he thanks the fucking angels in heaven above (or whatever) he's going to be kissing Marley Rose in a matter of seconds— "Uncle Jake, uncle Jake, uncle Jake!"

Or not.

He turns away from Marley. He's a little annoyed (more like fucking irritated) but it's Jayden and Jayden is Jayden and he can't possibly be mad at Jayden. "What is it Jay?"

"I saw a squirrel outside and daddy told me it ate nuts and mommy told me daddy used to look just like that and it was so pretty! I named him Thomas, the tank engine. He's my favorite," the little boy rambled as Jake pulled him into his lap.

"That's awesome, Jay. This is Marley," he looked over at Marley, who was looking slightly flustered but happy nonetheless. "Marley, this is Jayden."

"Hi, are you Jake's girlfriend? Because he talks about you a lot, and mommy told me you're his girlfriend. Are you guys going to get married? Can I throw around the flowers this time? Aunt Rachel wouldn't let me. I had to carry the stupid rings. She got mad at me when I lost them and called me a really mean word. Mommy told me it was because of the stress of the baby or something but it was mean. If you guys get a baby can I hold it?" His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks excitedly and he was speaking so fast Jake couldn't even stop him.

"Slow down, buddy. Me and Marley aren't getting married or having a baby," Jake laughed, his cheeks slightly turning red. He didn't dare looking over at Marley. Commitment wasn't really his thing you see, and even though for her he'd like to try— marriage and babies? So not relevant right now. So not relevant ever.

"But when you do, can I hold it and dress it up? Because remember when I asked to hold aunt Rachel's baby and she told me I couldn't because I was too small? Well, I'm really big now so I can handle it," he said proudly, flashing Marley his pearly whites, although he lacked quite a few already.

"Oh, so you're a big boy?" Marley pretended to be shocked and he nodded his head furiously. "Yes, so Marley? I'd really like you to have a baby that's a boy with Jake so I can have someone to play with. Girls are icky and Jake's always busy."

"You want one right now?" She laughed, running a hand over Jayden's curly blond hair and he clapped his hand excitedly. "Yes! Can we Jake, can we?" He can't help but imagine a little Marley running around though, a little tiny beautiful perfect her. He considers he's going fucking mental for a moment.

"Not right now, but maybe mommy and daddy will have one. Go bother them," he took Jayden off his lap, who seemed to over think the idea for a second. "Fine, but when the baby comes you have to tell me!" He warns them before smiling brightly over at Marley. He suddenly turns shy, remembering the manners his parents (mainly his mother) taught him, "It was really nice to meet you, Marley."

"It was nice to meet you, too, Jayden," she nods her head at him before he rushes off back to his parents giggling.

"I'm sorry," Jake apologizes as he runs a hand over his head. "He's a handful."

"It's okay, he's really cute," she bites the inside of her cheek, trying to pretend there's something really interesting on the floor. He puts his hand next to hers and slowly moves it closer, until their fingers are touching. He's never fucking been this nervous around anyone before, especially not a girl but he's slowly starting to realize Marley's not just any girl— she makes him do funny things.

She slowly turns her head to look at him, a teasing smile on her face as she intertwines their fingers, "So you talk about me a lot, huh?"

"Maybe," he shrugs, blurting out, "I just like talking about things that make me happy."

"I make you happy?" She asks, timidly.

"No, math does," he teases her and she nudges him with her elbow. He squeezes her hand, "I do, really like you a lot, Marley."

"Me too," she agrees, her tongue dips out her mouth to wet her lips slowly and he leans once again. His hand lands on her cheek and her fingers wrap around his wrist as their lips connect.

Her lips are soft and perfect and everything he ever wanted and he feels this twinge at his heart and— she's just perfect, okay?

…

"Jake, I'm sitting right here," she exclaims, not caring they're at a public restaurant— it was Breadstix (not that classy really, she heard there'd been a gang fight once), but still.

"What?" he hisses back annoyed, in response because what the fuck's was wrong now?

He knew kissing made everything more difficult. When him and Marley were just friends it was never this difficult. Sure, it wasn't easy, but kissing? That just complicated everything by ten. Holding hands in public spaces and when they were alone, her fingers dancing absentmindedly over his skin when they watched a movie, kissing down his neck when they were at the bleachers, making him feel things and shit, slowly driving him crazy with that smile? Fucking bad news.

"Maybe if I dye my hair blonde and get a boobjob you'll listen to me the first time I ask you something," she states firmly, stabbing her fork into her salad as she leans back and crosses her arms.

"I was just smiling at her, Jesus Christ, Marley! That's Kitty, we have geometry together," he defends himself because sure Kitty's got a nice body and she's totally smokin' and all and he's heard a lot of good stories about her in the locker room but he's kind of dating Marley now, isn't he? And Marley, she's.. Marley. And he's Jake. They're Marley and Jake. She gets that they don't need a label to make sure he doesn't screw her over, right?

"Sure, and the other night when I was helping Ryder with his homework and you basically threatened to kill him? Wasn't I just helping him?" She challenges him and he sees that look in her eyes, the one she gets when she's hurt— when he knows he should up but he can't (because he's an asshole with a huge temper).

"So it's about that now?"

"No," she exclaims aggravated as she throws her napkin onto the table. People are starting to stare so she lowers her voice slightly. "It's about the fact I don't even get hang out with a friend but you get to check out and smile at a girl that's obviously out to get me!"

He bites back, "I don't get what the big deal is, we're not even together." Yet. He forgets to add yet.

"You're a jerk," she huffs as she takes the napkin off her lap and throws it onto the table, getting ready to leave. He gets up and grabs her wrist, "Marley.. I didn't mean it like.. that."

"That's funny, because it sounded exactly the same."

"Marley.." He tries but she cuts him off. "You know, I like hanging out with you, Jake. You. My friend, Jake. My best friend. Not this.. This cocky, mean, insensitive womanizer version of you. It makes me wish I'd never kissed you."

"I.." He starts but he's can't even think of any words to tell her she's wrong, because she's not. He's all of those thing and he doesn't know why he lets fear get to him. But he's so fucking afraid she'll realize he's just as worthless as the other fucking members of Maroon 5 one day, and he just wants to make sure he doesn't get hurt in the process.

She shakes her head at him before she leaves and he's too much of a fuck up to go after her and she's been the only girl to put up with him ever— so what is he supposed to think off her leaving him like everyone else?

…

She opens her locker, to find a note that says 'meet me tonight' and she almost rolls her eyes at the predictability. She knows he's watching her so she crumples it, just to bother him. Jake can be so sweet and sensitive one moment and the other one he's basically tearing out her heart and stomping on it. It's frustrating.

She does go to the bleachers that night though, because she can't possibly resist him. Something he seems to know quite well.

They lay down on the field and she tells him about a few constellations her father taught her. She's not the kind of person that stays mad forever, and it's only been a few days but she can't be mean to him. She can't ignore him. She can't not tell him about her day. She can't not disregard the butterflies in her stomach whenever he looks at her.

His fingers keep reaching closer and closer to her until they wrap around hers. She's not stupid, she can feel her defense crumble by the seconds and he hasn't even opened his mouth to say anything besides 'hey' yet. She refuses to look at him, because if she does she might kiss him. And if she kisses him, he has her right back in his trap and she's bound to get hurt again.

"Marley?" He asks her while she's in the middle of pointing out Orion.

She turns her head to look at him and she can feel his palms get sweaty. She never makes anyone nervous, especially not guys like Jake Puckerman. All this time she thought she was just going to be another girl on his long list of names and here he was, Jake. Sweaty palms, shifting eyes and nervous voice.

"I kind of want you to be my girlfriend," he manages to get out because he doesn't do commitment, he doesn't go any further than 'casually dating', he doesn't ask pretty girls if they want to be with him.

"Kind of?" He turns his head to look at her this time, but when he notices her smile (the kind of smile that makes his lips itch to kiss her), he breaks out into a grin himself.

"A lot." Her fingers unwrap themselves from his as she sits up, pulling up her knees as she bites down onto her bottom lip.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" He raises his eyebrows as he sits up himself. She smiles teasingly as she gets up slowly, her eyes remaining locked on his. "I'll consider it."

"Are you being for real right now?" He leans his elbow on his knee and she pushes him slightly, whispering, "Catch me."

She runs off and it takes him a moment to register what just happened before he gets up and chases after her. She laughs and looks over her shoulder— beaming , hair flowing in the wind, her baby blue eyes sparkling in the moonlight— and she's never looked more beautiful to him than in that moment.

He finally gets to her, wrapping his arms around her waist tightly, lifting her off the ground slightly. She squeals, pressing her fingers into his shoulders before leaning down and kissing him.

"Fine, I'll be your girlfriend," she mocks a sigh and he puts her down, but he doesn't let go off her (and he can't help but wonder if he'll ever will).

"Wow, babe, the enthusiasm is killing me," he retorts sarcastically and she stands on her tiptoes connecting her lips to his. His hands squeeze her sides and her hands run over his chest towards the back of his neck. He really likes kissing her. He really, really likes Marley.

…

Being with Marley is kind of easy. It's not like he doesn't want to try hard to make it work but she has this graceful, sneaky quality that just makes it so easy for him not to stare at other girls anymore or to not yell at every little single frustration or to not constantly unconsciously be in fear of losing her (because she makes it pretty clear she's not leaving).

His family likes her, too. Quinn has taken her shopping twice, Puck keep sending him these obvious winks and thumbs up whenever she's around and Jayden just adores her.

Which is good but it isn't like he had expected anything less. Marley is special, and she is different and she kind of makes him want to be a better person— which at first he didn't really like.

She helps him pick out a school (who cares about college? About the future? For all he knew he'd be dead tomorrow), she makes sure he doesn't get in trouble (he keeps hearing her voice in his head, telling him 'that's a bad idea, Jake' which is really annoying) and the other day he was nice to Sam because Marley convinced him he was a great guy (he really wasn't that bad actually, he played guitar, too).

See, he didn't really care about the changing part that much, he knew he'd never turn into the good, innocent, romantic guy she deserved— it was too late for that— but he was really trying to be the best version of himself when he was around her (even if she was the best part of him).

Her family is much different from his. Their dinners are quiet and reserved and fucking boring if you ask him— but he had managed to make a good impression up until now. (Besides the fact he got constant glares from her father whenever he dared to touch her hand or made a joke a little too much out of his comfort zone).

He was Jake Puckerman though, he could handle it.

…

He goes to the auditorium to pick her up from Glee club one time, but he's early and he nearly loses his mind. She's singing some song about being titanium or some shit and he's pretty sure he's never heard anything so magical.

He doesn't get why she's so insecure all the time. She's so perfect. Anyone can see it, even her fellow Glee club members are gawking at her all the time, trying to do what she does, trying to be as amazing as her— but they never will be. She's one of a kind and the way she moves so effortlessly on that stage, throws out the notes like she's sung the song a thousand time, the way she smiles and twirls and radiates... He wishes he could see her like this all the time. This happy. (Most of all, he wishes he was the one that made her that fucking happy.)

They finish the song and he leans against the door opening, way in the back until she finally spots him, her eyes lightening up as she rushes over to him. "What did you think?" She asks him, almost shyly and he shrugs idly, "What do you think, Marley?"

She blinks a few times, her eyes landing on her shoes. Sam passes them, gives him a nod but he doesn't even register it. He grins, "You were awesome, babe."

She breaks out into a beam as she leans over to hug him, tightly. He squeezes her waist as he whispers, "You're way too good for this place, Marley."

She ignores his statement as they start walking down the hallways, to his truck.

"Why don't you join? I know you love dancing," she nudges him with her elbow, a teasing smile on her lips, "And you can sing. I've heard you before."

"Nah, it's too late for that," he tells her as he changes the subject, "So, do you want to watch Pitch Perfect again or are you finally over it?"

"Never," she mocks a gasp before a laugh bubbles up her throat and she loops her arm through his, connecting their fingers. "Are you over the Avengers?"

"Never," he smirks and she squeezes his bicep with her other hand, moving down to his wrist to wrap her fingers around it.

All he knows is that Marley's got something special about her and he's going to come to Glee club rehearsals early more often.

...

"Okay, so remember all of our numbers are on the fridge—"

"They're on my phone too," Jake cuts her off but Quinn only glares at him and Marley stifles a laugh, sitting on the stool behind the kitchen island.

"Do not interrupt me while I talk, Jake Puckerman," she balls her fists, fire in her eyes and for a moment there, he's scared shitless.

"Calm down, queen bee," Puck chuckles, as he grabs her hand pulling her towards the door. "You can castrate him later, but if we don't leave now we'll miss our reservation."

She stops one more time at the door, pointing a finger at him as Puck holds up her coat and she slips one arm in the sleeve, "No funny business." Her eyes land on Marley, who blushes furiously. Jake smirks as he raises his hand and waves at her mockingly as Puck drags her towards the front door.

Jayden runs up to them, hugging Quinn around the waist as she bends down to kiss his head, her eyes immediately softening. She's such a fucking sap. Puck ruffles his hair before pounding his fist against the little guy's. Jayden runs back to the TV as fast as he can and Quinn sends him one more warning glance as Puck smirks, "We'll be back at eleven.. Maybe later." He winks and Quinn colors red as she elbows her husband in the ribs.

"Bye Marley," she says sweetly before turning to other Puckerman in her life, "I've got eyes everywhere, Jake. Everywhere."

He snickers and Puck finally manages to pull her away. With a sigh, Jake turns to Marley who offers him a smile before letting out a deep breath herself. "I love her but she's crazy."

"I know," Jake agrees as he helps her off the stool and twirls her around. She laughs at his antics as he continues, "Puck tells me she used to have short pink hair and was like batshit crazy after Beth was born, my other niece. She's almost just as old as me which is kind of freaky but... She's all right."

"Isn't that the blonde cheerleader who's mom is a history teacher at our school?" Marley frowns a little as she tries to recall her name. She grimaces jokingly, "Beth... Cocoman?"

"Corcoran," he laughs as he pulls her towards his chest and wraps his arms around her. She locks her hands behind his back as she looks up at him. He puts a hand on her cheek, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. Her smile widens in response and he leans down, their lips inches apart.

"You're such a tease," she whispers, her eyes not leaving his. "Oh, that's right, I forgot. I'm the one who's wearing the shortest skirt I own," he replies, smirking and she blushes (seriously, she does it so often he's used to it by now) before she reaches up and grabs him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him down and kissing him.

"Wow," he says pulling away, before he jabs her in the stomach playfully, "Feisty, baby."

She slaps his chest before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him again. Her tongue slips in his mouth and her hands are on his chest, grabbing the fabric of his shirt softly and he just has this feeling now (always) whenever he's around her— like he just wants to hang out with her forever.

"Gross, you guys!" They pull away to find a horrified looking Jayden, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed.

It takes him two cans of ice cream, a bowl of popcorn and a promise to go to the zoo ("With Marley because she's nice and pretty and if I go with you they'll keep you there because you look like a monkey." "Ha-ha, you're such a little punk." "He's right, Jake. You better wear a cap or something.") to convince him to not tell his bitchlet mom he basically caught them slowly moving towards second base.

They watch some dumb movie about a bunch of animals on some island and Jayden, the biggest, smallest cockblock around, sits in between them the entire time, rambling on about every little detail (he doesn't know who he got that from because Puck and Quinn both aren't that talkative— maybe his aunt Rachel). After a whole night of painfully no touching Marley and shameless bribery by a five year old, he considers Jayden's bedtime is a gift from God himself.

"I can't sleep," Jayden tells them after they brushed his teeth and managed to pull on his pajamas, ("No, I want the one with the bananas from Auntie Tana!" "But aren't these stars pretty though?" "Noooo, I'm still mad at Aunt Rachel for not trusting me with her second baby! Her second baby, Jake. I really wanted to hold it. I wouldn't have dropped it, you know that, right?" "No, sweetie, we know you wouldn't have, you're a big boy.") his arms crossed as he leans his head against his headboard.

"Do we need to read you a story?" Jake offers, already looking around for a story book. He opens a few drawers but Jayden makes him stop, "No! I'm not a baby any more, Jake. Mommy and daddy always sing me a song when I can't sleep."

Oh, so that's where all the censored rock songs and over-the-top religious tunes at three a.m. were coming from. It explained a lot of bags under the eyes, weirdly embarrassed looks whenever he asked about it and Jayden's outstanding knowledge of eighties rock songs.

"Yeah, but mommy and daddy are two big, crazy a—" Jake mumbles but Marley elbows him in his side, hard. He rubs the sore spot, giving her an incredulous look. She spots the same one though so he guesses it's not of much use.

"We'll sing you a song, okay?" Marley tells him, "But you have to go to sleep otherwise you won't be strong and healthy tomorrow." She pats his stomach softly after she tucks him, running a hand through his blonde curls. She sits down on the side of the bed and he sits down next to her, leaning backwards slightly so he can see Jayden, still.

"Heart beats, fast. Colors and promises, how to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?" She starts and he swears to God, he might have a heart attack— his heart is beating that fast.

He knows this song, she wouldn't stop listening to it after they watch that lame vampire movie she loves so much. He watches Jayden yawn and almost laughs, because it's so the complete opposite from how he feels when he listens to Marley. Alive and awake.

"Time stands still, beauty in all she is. I will be brave, I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me," he sings this time and she visibly tenses. He puts his hand on her hip though, drawing small circles with his thumb, and she seems to relax a little.

"I have loved you for a thousand years and I'll love you for a thousand years more," they harmonize the final lines of the song and Jayden's eyes slowly droop close.

"Goodnight," Marley whispers, a smile on her face.

"Mommy.. Daddy.. Better," Jayden mumbles before finally drifting off to sleep. Jake stifles a laugh and Marley shushes him, putting a finger to her lips before taking his hand and pulling him out the room.

He pushes her against the door as soon as she closes it though, because how could he ever resist her? "You're amazing," he tells her and she raises her eyebrows, playing with the open zipper of his hoodie. "So are you."

"I know, but you're better," he takes her hand off his zipper and intertwines their fingers, squeezing her hand softly. She sways their hands slightly, looking down at them and so does he. He looks at the contrast of their skin and it strikes him how different they really are. They're like fire and rain, the sun and the moon, the best and the worst.

"No, I'm not. You're really talented, Jake," her eyes turn serious and she acts like he just offended her or some shit.

He leans down a pecks her lips, "You're much, much more talented, baby." She's about to protest again when he leans down and captures her lips in another kiss, but this time it lasts longer.

"Ugh, you drive me crazy," she leans her head back on the door, smiling at him as she reaches out fondle his cheek, like she just wanted to touch him because.

"I know I do," he smirks, leaning down to kiss her again, and again, and again because she's absolutely the only person in his entire life that shines bright enough for the both of them, that lifts his spirits even when he doesn't want them to be lifted, that accepts every little thing about him and doesn't ever get fed up with him. (And he doesn't think he'll ever, ever get fed up with her.)

"I love you," she whispers, her eyes squeezed closed as her forehead leans against his— like she's afraid to see rejection in his eyes.

She loves him though. She loves him. And he doesn't know if what he feels for her is love, because he simply doesn't know what makes love love. He wants to laugh whenever she pretends to be mad at him, and when she kisses him he feels it from head to toe, and every lyric, every dance he makes up in his mind is about her and fuck man, he wants to be with her always. That might be love, he isn't sure. He hasn't ever felt like this for anyone else, and she's so beautiful and he wants to hold her in his arms and tell her that over and over again and he wants to see her smile everyday of his life.

"I love you, too," he connects their lips again before subtly scooping her up in his arms, and she giggles as he carries her to his room.

They eat cabbage patch kids and watch silly youtube videos of cats and turtles and cats and turtles and talk about useless shit the entire night, but he's never felt so— at home.

So, yeah, he loves her. And not love that has always been there like 'thanks mom for always taking care of me' or people you have to love no matter what like Quinn or that one girl from a reality show that gets on your nerves because she's so stupid but she's so funny she'll always be your favorite and it isn't like he loves his guitar or Aerosmith either. He loves her because he can, because he wants to, because she's Marley. He's in love with her, and he doesn't know how not to be.

…

She mentions college a lot but she never mentions where she's going, or what her plans are, always avoids to name her dreams, afraid they might crash and burn before they'd even have time to start. He thinks the distance's a big part of it, too. He knows she wants to be on a stage, and the place where that is most likely to happen is in Los Angeles.

She just convinced him to audition for Juilliard, which is all the way in fucking New York. The shortest route from Los Angeles to New York is two-thousand-seven-hundred-and-seventy-five miles. He fucking spent an entire night on Google trying to find way to get from place A, Juillard— something he wants, something that makes him happy, his dream— to place B, Marley— his girlfriend, his best friend, someone that for the first time in years has him smiling the entire day, just by the thought of her. Not only was it fucking expensive (no way he could afford that and an elite school) to fly or drive there but it was two-thousand-seven-hundred-and-seventy-five miles apart.

He really doesn't know what the fuck he's going to do anymore.

…

Sam invites them to some 'final party before finals' party (he knows it's just some bullshit excuse for a party, it always is) with all the football guys and cheerleaders. He isn't exactly friends with any of them, but Marley really wants to go and if there's free booze he figures it couldn't really hurt, right? (Unless he ends up in a fight again.)

By the end of the night he has drunk too much though, and Marley's almost falling over and he can't even see or think straight. She shushes him as they stumble up his stairs in the middle of the night, but she lets out a huge laugh when they enter his room, so loud he has to cover her mouth because otherwise they'll end up grounded for life.

Her hands run over his chest under his shirt soon enough though and she kisses him— sloppy and quick, not like she usually does, slow and longing— and before he knows it they're both down to their underwear.

"Marley, no," he tells her lazily as she reaches for his boxers. Because fuck man, he's so drunk and she's so drunk and she'll end up regretting it or only half remembering it and it's not worth it.

"Please," she whispers in his ears, her hand actually running over his boxers now and he almost chokes as she starts kissing his neck. "Marley.." His voice trails off, but she seems to know he's losing his defenses because she starts running a finger over his chest, slowly going downwards and fuck man. Why is she doing this? He knew that damn party was a bad idea.

"Let's just do it, Jake," she tells him pulling away. Her hair is slightly tousled and her bra strap is hanging down her shoulder and her lips are red and swollen— and he's a guy and he loves her and she's so hot and he isn't going to sit here and pretend like he hasn't wanted this from day one.

So he kisses her and she seems to be so happy he does but the next morning when there's no Marley sleeping beside him and he feels like he might be dying because of this huge hangover and there's no fucking Marley and he remembers last night— he might actually die because she probably hates him.

He'd hate himself if he was her. He has no self control whatsoever. He kicks against his desk out of anger and his laptop ends up on the floor, the screen cracked and his foot ends up bruised but it's nothing compared to the way his heart is beating now— like it's about to burst out of his chest and into a pool of acid.

Fuck, he does hate himself.

…

He doesn't see her for a week. She doesn't pick up her phone, or answers her texts and emails, or replies to his messages on Facebook and one time when he's really desperate and decides to knock on her front door— her fucking dad opens and tells him to get lost, that he made his baby cry.

He ends up breaking two knuckles from punching the wall next to the front door and Quinn tells him he's being an idiot, that he needs to give her some time. Well fuck time, he wants to see her, wants to tell her he's so sorry, wants to take everything back.

Puck is the one who ends up luring Marley to their house though (without Quinn's permission), telling her some lame story about him supposedly crying himself to sleep every night. They leave to visit Quinn's mom in Chicago, hence the no permission slip from Quinn deal.

Marley doesn't say anything to him though, not like she normally does but he expected it all. He had thought about seeing her after that particular night since he woke up the following day, he had mapped out every possible situation.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he tells her eventually as they sit on the couch, inches apart but it feels like miles.

Tears spring from the corners of her eyes and he hates himself so much for making her cry. "I was drunk and I should've stopped you and I shouldn't have—"

She starts shaking her head though, tears rolling down her cheeks, "It's okay, Jake, really. It's not your fault, I was basically forcing myself onto you."

School's over soon enough and he's going to New York and she just— she felt him slipping away and then she thought that maybe if she gave him what he wanted, he'd either stay and they'd be together or he'd leave and he could follow his dreams. Free of her. Free of commitment, of an anchor to his past.

She shrugs a little, and he grasps both of her hands in his. He can see it in her eyes that she isn't happy, that she is just pretending, that for the first time— she isn't being honest to him. He can see— feel the doubt she's feeling and it's killing him.

He cups her cheeks and kisses her salty lips because why does she still of herself like this? Why does she still think for a second that she isn't his first choice above everything? Because she so is, and that shit fucking scares him and the fact that they're going to be apart for a long time fucking scares him, too but he wants to make it work, he wants it to work, it has to work.

"I love you," he convinces her, but his head is fucking exploding with thoughts and feeling and shit and he isn't one of those guys that pops out a poetic, swooning, romantic ramble of words. He just knows the truth, and it's simple and it's blunt but he can't think of any other way to tell her. "And even though we'll be apart soon, we'll still be together, okay?" He wipes her tears with his thumbs and she nods her head, burying her head in his shoulder.

"Can I show you something?" She nods and he takes her hand, leading her upstairs to his room.

He opens his door to reveal his room all cleaned up and tidy, candles and rose petals everywhere and maybe he opened one of Quinn's girly magazines for this. She gasps a little though, a squeezes his hand."There's no pressure, but I just thought that maybe we could forget your real first time and maybe have a second, better first time. I swear to God I didn't do this with the intention that we'd, you know, but I just wanted to find a way to show I'm really sorry and I— I— we can totally watch a movie, if you want?"

He's rambling and he's so fucking stupid and he just screwed up everything again.

"You did all of this for me?" She asks, turning her head to him and he swears she's going to cry again.

He nods his head, because doesn't she know he'd do anything for her. She smiles, so brightly, so genuine and for fuck sake's when she kisses him he swears he can feels his hands shake. (He won't ever admit it though. He's a guy. A guy whose kissed many girls, even slept with some, he doesn't get fucking nervous.)

He asks her about a thousand times if she's sure and he's so nervous he knocks over the lamp of his bedside table and this new smile she smiles, one he hasn't seen before, is his new favorite smile and when she moans his name he swears he feels like floating up to heaven. Overall, he likes this first time so much better. Mainly because he remembers the next morning and he gets to wake-up to her face and she trails her fingers over his chest and he gets to do it all over again.

…

He hooks his finger around her necklace, running his thumb over the cross. He's leaning on his elbow and she's staring up at the stars. "Shouldn't you have waited?"

"What?" she asks him absentmindedly as she plays with the fabric of her shirt.

"Shouldn't you have waited? I mean— You're the reverend's daughter and shit," he lets go of the cross, his fingers picking at the grass instead.

"And you ask me this now?" She raises her eyebrows teasingly as she sits up, leaning back on her hands.

He doesn't look at her, decides to count the amount of blades of grass instead. "I know how important it is to you."

She sighs, picking at the grass herself, "It's important to my mom and my dad and I love them and I want to make them happy— but I don't believe there's a God. When I look around and all I see is pain and sadness and miserableness.. How could I?" She's that good of a person, and that right there sums up why she is so amazing. She spends hours in church and with a bible and has a cross hanging around her neck that basically screams 'I'm a Christian' but not for herself, but because it's important to her family.

"I don't regret it, Jake, if that's what you're worried about," she grabs his chin and makes him face her, because she loves him and only him and she could never regret anything done out of love.

He offers her a smile and she scoots closer to him, hooking her arm through his as she starts drawing patterns on his arm and leans her head on his shoulder. They both look at the stars for a while before a laugh bubbles up her throat out of nowhere.

"What?" He asks her, slightly skeptical and she beams, "If we ever marry I can't become a Jew though, I think my dad would probably commit suicide."

He mocks shock, bumping his shoulder into hers, "Oh, but Marley, that's a sin."

…

Summer's almost over but the weather in Lima is still hot and clammy but with a lot of rain. It's fucking ridiculous.

They sit on the rear bed of his pickup truck, their legs dangling of the end. They don't really talk, they ever really talk about what's going to happen when their basically a country apart. (Because talking makes it real, makes it present, makes it touchable.)

"How does that song go again?" She starts humming a tune and he frowns, not recognizing it, "If I could fall into the sky, do you think..." Her voice turns quieter and she hums along, not knowing the words, before she sings louder again, "'Cause you know I would walk a thousand miles, if I could just see you tonight."

"That was so cheesy," he smirks raising his eyebrows and she bumps her shoulder into his, not able to wipe the smile of her face, "You're a jerk, I was trying to be romantic."

He laughs, fixing his eyes on hers, trying to remember every little feature of this happy face of hers, something he could think off at night when he wouldn't be able to hold her anymore, only every now and then.

"Babe, that was a total overkill."

"Hey!" She pretends to be offended, scrunching up her nose a little, "Next time I'll sing hey there, Delilah, see if you like that, huh?"

His face softens and he puts his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. "We'll get through this, we will and then when you're on the radio and I'm choreographing some big ass show somewhere in Europe or some shit everyone will know we proved them wrong and long distance does work."

She nods her head, placing a kiss on his jaw before lowering his arm to her waist, grabbing a hold of his hand. He burst out in laughter and later so does she, too after she quietly starts singing again.

"Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in New York city? I'm a thousand miles away, girl but tonight you look so pretty.."

…

"you belong with me, i belong with you, you're my sweetheart."

…

( A/N I don't even know what this is guys. I just started writing about Jake and Marley and this happened. I wasn't planning on putting in Marley being religious (it's not even that significant) it's just something that slipped in. This is a three shot. I hope it was any good because I'm so fucking nervous about posting this. Thank you for reading, hope you leave a review! This was senior year: college is up next. Sorry I'm not sorry for all the Quick, they're my otp. Also, I checked for any errors twice but I'm only an idiot so there might be some left in there. Don't hate me because you ain't me. The next part(s) will be uploaded within a week or two. Thank you again! The songs I do not own, in order: Ho hey by the Lumineers, A thousand years by Christina Perri, A thousand miles by Vanessa Carlton and Hey there, Delilah by the Plain White T's.)