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CHAPTER V

Rebecca Puckerman walked into her son's room to find him sitting on his bed, hunched over with his head in his hands. She walked over and sat on his right side, "Noah," she began, "Rachel left& and she looked like& like she was crying."

Puck said nothing.

"She had bruises on her arms."

Still, nothing.

"Noah& what did you do?" She asked, concern dripping from her voice. Puck began to weep. Rebecca sighed and tried to put an arm around him, but all he did was shake it off. "Noah Puckerman, how dare you!" She yelled at him like never before, making him snap his head up. "I thought I taught you better than that! To treat women with respect! Noah, stop acting like-" she stopped herself before letting the next words come out of her mouth.

Puck's jaw tightened. "Like what, Ma?" He asked, his eyes narrowing, flickering across her face to see guilt travel across it. "Like dad?"

Rebecca's eyes filled with tears. "Noah," she tried, but Puck was having none of it.

Puck scoffed and grabbed his coat before running out the door. He didn't bother to grab his keys, he didn't want to drive. He wanted to run. Run far away. Run away from his mother, from Rachel, from the problems that seemed to rule his life. Just run away from all of it.

He made it as far as the park before he couldn't run anymore. His chest began to heave and his shirt was drenched in his sweat. His legs gave out just as he sat down heavily on the swing. He looked up at the sky, staring at the full moon. Just staring. His eyes began to water and he was just about to let the tears come when he heard a twig snap behind him. He jumped up into a defensive position, putting up his fists and squaring his shoulders and feet. He was ready to fight. Ready to kick the ass of whoever interrupted his private moment. He was really not in the mood for it, but it might make him feel better if he did have to fight someone who was trying to mug him or laugh at his pathetic ass for crying in public.

The figure stepped out from between the bushes and from under the shadows of the trees, revealing a familiar face. Puck became enraged, lunging at the man in front of him. Before Puck could get his hands around his neck and strangle him he jumped out of the way, grabbing the hands that were headed for his neck and held them behind Puck's back.

"Noah," the man said, "calm down. I just want to talk to you, son."

"Don't call me 'son', I stopped being your 'son' when you stopped being my dad! When you walked out on us!" Puck swung around, but Mr. Puckerman tackled him to the ground.

"Noah, you have to calm down, or else you'll change." Mr. Puckerman pressed Puck further into the ground when Puck tried to free himself. "Noah& relax," he warned.

Puck complied and Mr. Puckerman let him up. Puck walked over to the swings and sat down, Mr. Puckerman following.

There were a few moments of silence that Puck used to calm himself down more before he spoke again, "What did you mean, 'change'?" Mr. Puckerman looked at him, perplexed, so Puck continued, "What did you mean when you said that if I didn't calm down I would 'change'?"

Mr. Puckerman kept his gaze on the mulch ground and changed the subject, "Do you know why I left?"

"Cause your a deadbeat and a drunk who's too much of a pussy to handle one kid, let alone two?" Puck said in a sarcastic, deadpan tone.

Mr. Puckerman, if he was, didn't seem phased by his son's comment as he continued on, "Have you ever heard of the Quileute tribe?" Puck's breath caught in his throat at the mention of that name. Mr. Puckerman went on, "I'm a decedent from that tribe, and so are you. The Quileute are descended from wolves as many legends say, but the truth is that, it's not so much evolution, as it is the spirit thats in us. We are protector, Noah, we protect humans from threats, mainly, threats from the cold ones-" Mr Puckerman looked at Puck's questioning face, "-vampires."

Puck looked at his father for a moment before beginning to shake with laughter, "Va-vampires? Vampires, as in blood-sucking feinds? Are you crazy? I mean, did you spend time in the loony-bin? Is that why you left us?" Puck continued to shake.

Mr. Puckerman was unaffected by his son, "Your mother moved us to Lima so we could be away from them. They terrified her."

Puck's laugher stopped short, "Mom knew?"

"It's why I left. I couldn't be away from my mission... and now I have to take you so you can learn and do what you were born to do."

Puck's eyes grew and he jumped off the swing, "No!" He yelled out, "No way! Absolutely not! I have a life, friends! I can't just leave!"

"You have to, you-"Mr. Puckerman noticed his son shaking in anger, his fists clenching at his sides. "What is so important in Lima, Ohio that you won't leave?"

Puck was still shaking, willing himself to calm down. "Mom, Sarah," Puck said and then he paused as he thought of Rachel, "and... there's this girl."

Mr. Puckerman quirked at this, "A girl? Well... what's her name?"

Puck unclenched his fists and stopped shaking as he thought of her, "Rachel," he whispered out, "she's... amazing. She's smart and cute, she's a singer," he plopped back down onto the swing, "hearing her sing is, like... mind blowing."

Mr. Puckerman smiled to himself, "You've imprinted on her."

Puck looked at him, "Say what?"

"You've imprinted on her. You... you love her, so you marked her as yours."

"Love! Whoa! Who said anything about- Ah... dammit, I cant even deny it."

Mr. Puckerman stood up with a smile on his face, "Noah, I'll make you a deal. If you come to this park everyday after school-"

"Not everyday." Mr. Puckerman looked confused, "I have football, and glee club, on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday."

"Fine, right after those, and if you don't tell your mom, I'll let you stay"

"Deal! I gotta go! School tomorrow," Puck jumped up and began to run off.

"Puck!" He stopped, "Tell her. Don't just let it sit. Tell that girl you love her." Puck nodded and ran off home.

I'm on a roll! I just hope I can stay that way. I hope you guys are liking the story! Tell me what you think in a review!