[ARRIVAL, TAG PUCK] "Reminisce some time, the night they took my friend."

[gotstarpower]

Who: Mercedes Jones and Noah Puckerman
Where: The beach, just near the resort
Time of Day: Late evening
Open or Closed: Closed

Mercedes heart was pounding harder and more fast in her chest than it ever had. She felt like she was going to have a heart attack, but it was just adrenaline and shock. Total and utter shock. Unlike anything she had ever felt before. There was a ringing in her ears too. She just stood there watching the younger ER doctor adorned in light blue scrubs as he continued to speak, but it was like nothing was commuting anymore. She clung to Puck's side, her fingers sunk into his arm in a vice-like grip as her legs began to feel like jelly. Puck had paled beyond belief. He didn't even look just sick, he looked like he was going to pass out. In fact, it was right that minute as Mercedes dark eyes flicked to Puck's face to check if he was okay, that Puck did just that. He slumped hard in against her and her arms closed around him, catching him before he fell. The doctor reached out to help, but as Mercedes stumbled under the added weight to her legs, she didn't fall to the cold, hard linoleum ground of the Lima Emergency Room, her knees fell to warm sand and the sound and scent of the ocean lapping engulf her senses, capturing the nauseating sterile hospital smell and evaporating it.

A reflexive stunned gasp fell from her lips. It was night time, but the hospital was gone. Puck was gone, the doctor was gone. On god, the shock of what had just happened hit her like a tonne of bricks and horrified sob escaped her and echoed through the sea air. "PUCK!" she screamed out, looking around frantically with another panicked sob. What the hell was going on?

Comments

[gotstarpower]

Mercedes hadn't ever really managed to get the romance thing right in her life. She had a few near misses, but never managed to find The One. Then after Kurt died, she never had the energy to try. She started to think it was just easier to be alone in case you put your heart and soul into something, only to have them torn away from you. She knew what a broken heart felt like, and that hurt enough. She didn't know if she could handle finding love and losing it, plus Lima had been really slim pickings on the guy front. At least, guys who would complete her. It was a lonely life, but at least her heart was protected, right? "You said Quinn was here, but from a different time? Does she know any of this? Did you ever tell her? Maybe you guys can try again? As weird as this place is..." she said, feeling vulnerable and scared as she glanced around the unfamiliar surroundings. Why was she just going along with it? She didn't know... probably the trauma of Blaine's death and the fact Puck was a familiar face. She was willing to cling onto anything right now.

She watched him put Blaine's pendant on and gave a tiny nod. It's what Blaine would have wanted. At least, this would be the second choice after being buried with it. God, she hoped like hell they requested he be buried in that and his wedding ring back home. More tears were coming now, and she put her hand over her face. "How did you just learn to survive here knowing everything back there? How can you just switch it off and keep going?"

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

Puck shook his head firmly. "No. Quinn doesn't know. Not unless Kurt told her, and I asked him not to. He said he wouldn't. It's best if she doesn't. She came from right after her accident, and she's about the same age now as she was when we got married. I'm a lot older... Closer to thirty than I'd like to admit. And she's... She's with Nick now... Who, by the way, has no idea he hooked up with Jeff later on. He just thinks Jeff was his BFF. It's just a bunch of really fucked up, painful shit that I don't think... I don't know how you just tell somebody things like that. How do I tell Quinn that we got married, but she pulled away from me when Kurt died, and now, with what you know, that she left me? I can't do that to her. She doesn't deserve the guilt of dealing with that. She's having a hard enough time trying to help Kurt without feeling bad about stuff that she hasn't even done yet in her life." He shook his head. It would've sounded crazy to anybody else, but once you'd been on this island for a while, weird shit made perfect sense.

Puck reached out to put a comforting arm around Mercedes' shoulders, trying whatever he could to help her work through the pain she had inside. He wished he had a good answer to her question, but there really wasn't one, and he fucking ached all over just thinking about that. "You don't have a choice," Puck admitted weakly. "You either do that, or it eats you alive. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do for your friends."

[gotstarpower]

Mercedes watched Puck quietly, her eyes looking over his face. "That's a hell of a secret to have to carry 'round with you, babe," she pointed out quietly. There was nothing accusatory in it, though. Just merely observational. "Nick? As in Nick and Jeff? He's with Quinn? That's... that's... but they're married back home. I mean, granted, it ain't been a smooth ride, but they're still together. Nothing was ever a smooth ride for anyone after everything. Ain't a single damn one of us figured anything out after Kurt died. I just thought Quinn woulda been more... curious, I guess. 'Bout where she ended up in the future, asked more questions. I guess this place really does change you, huh? And somehow I gotta figure it out... somehow gotta figure out how the hell I can see Kurt in person after I've lived with talking to his gravestone for two years. It was such a nice gravestone too. Blaine had lil silver stars embedded all over it with a tiny gold heart in one corner. But you... well, you know that. I'm so confused right now, I'm sorry..."

Her voice hitched and more emotion tickled in her throat. "I think I need to lie down or something, I ain't feeling so good. This is just... I-I need time. I dunno how I'm gonna do any of this, but I need time."

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

He just nodded, forcing a weak smile. "You do what you have to when you have to protect the people you love. Like I said... There was a weird age gap when she got here. I always planned to tell her if she was still around when she got over, but she hooked up with Nick, and they're happy... Yeah. Nick as in Nick and Jeff. You know, there are times, even now, when his name almost comes out of my mouth attached to Jeff's? Those two belonged together as much as Blaine and Kurt did, and yet, on this island? Nick has no fucking idea. It does... It changes everything. Kurt told her that she was happy where he came from, and I guess that was enough for her. I've kind of kept to myself, other than Mike. He's my roommate here. It's okay. You probably will be a little confused for a while. You get used to it, and you learn to live with it."

Puck nodded quietly. "You can come back to my place if you'd like. Have a lie down in my bed. I'll take the couch, it's no big deal. You'll have your own place, but you might not wanna be alone right now... At least, I know I didn't when I first got here."

[gotstarpower]

It was just all too much. Mercedes brain suddenly felt like it had information overload and like it was going to explode. If she tried to take in anymore, she didn't know what would happen. For now, she just had to try and switch off to collect herself and deal with the shock of Blaine's death. Not to mention the shock of ending up here in this strange place that made no sense. The place where Kurt was alive. It was going to take more time than just accepting on face value.

"Thanks," she said, choked up. She wasn't sure she could handle being somewhere strange and all alone right now. Not after what she just witnessed. She was beyond spooked, and it felt like she couldn't stop shaking. Part of her still felt like she wanted to be sick. Whatever this all was, she trusted Puck not to be lying to her and even if it was freaking her out, at least he was a familiar face. Somehow, this had to start making sense sooner or later.