[CLOSED TO PUCK] "When evening falls so hard, I will comfort you."

[notchangingwithyou]

Who: Noah Puckerman and Lyla Garrity
Where: Outside the synagogue
Time of Day: Evening
Open or Closed: Closed

Lyla was still dressed in scrubs, making her way home from a long shift at the medical centre. She loved being a nurse, and knew she was lucky to be able to do the job on the island once she had proven herself more than capable to Dr Chase. She had been on the island for over a year now, landing here after she had graduated from Vanderbuilt and was missing Texas like nothing else. She had a nasty fight with her father, who was trying to tell her where she should work now she was qualified, and Lyla basically told him to go fuck himself.

Next thing she knew, she was on the beach, being greeted by a hot Asian dancer who bought her a drink and explained everything to her. It had been a pleasant surprise to find both Tim and Jason there too. The three of them had set their past aside and re-built their friendship here on the island. It was nice. And honestly, Lyla loved it here. She was one of those lucky ones who really didn't want to go home.

She was checking Wavebook on her phone when she passed the Jewish synagogue and almost bumped into a guy exiting it... and he was crying. He was crying and trying to shield it, but he was still crying. "Hey... are you okay? Is there something I can do to help you?" she asked in concern, automatically reaching to touch his arm softly.

Comments

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

Puck had to smile back at her, no matter how miserable he was. There was something kind and gentle in Lyla that just helped. Mike was Puck's best friend here on the island, and they had carried on many conversations over the years about Blaine, hoping that he was okay, that he was safe... And now, Puck knew he wasn't. And he knew that he could talk to Mike about it, but in high school, he, Mike, and Blaine had been like the Three Musketeers. And as much as Puck was hurting right now, the thought of telling Mike and making someone else feel that pain, too? Was too fucking much. "Yeah... I did my share of drinking, but not when people I cared about were hurting. In the early days of school, yeah. I was kind of a dick, and I put up this front that nothing bothered me, and I didn't care about anybody. But Blaine? He was really the one who changed that when I thought nobody could. He made me wake up and see how important it was to have friends, and not just to have them, but to be one myself... And sometimes, being a friend means you just hurt because they hurt. But yeah, you're right. I'd rather hurt for the rest of my life than see my friends hurt for one minute. I'd give up anything to make their lives okay."

The part of the story that Lyla chose to focus on surprised Puck just a little, but when she spoke, he couldn't help finding comfort in her words. Maybe she was right. Maybe the island was just waiting until the right time... Making sure they appreciated what they missed before they had it again. Ordinarily, he would've thought that this was just some random stranger trying to make him feel better when she had no idea what she was talking about. But he didn't get that feeling with Lyla. She meant what she was saying, and she truly believed it. "I hope you're right. About all of that. About love, and about Blaine... It's really hard to believe it sometimes, you know?"

[notchangingwithyou]

Lyla just went her lips around another faint smile and nodded knowingly. "You and Tim are very much alike. I'm surprised some force-field hasn't sucked you two together in a pub crawl or something before now. He didn't have his parents growing up. Mom and dad walked out on him and his older brother, so Billy pretty much had to take care of Tim and Billy wasn't the most savoury of creatures in the world either. They were quite the pair. But I know that type. The false bravado that you don't need anyone because admitting you do is like admitting you're weak, and what if you need someone and they hurt you anyway? I know. I get it. Friendship is such a powerful thing. Everyone thinks love is the most important thing, but it's not. Not everyone is successful in love, but everyone can be a good friend if they care enough. It sounds like Blaine is so, so different to you, and came with the ability of opening your eyes up to things you were roadblocking on yourself."

"But at the end of the day, you still let him in. You changed yourself somewhere in there too, so don't underestimate your own strength. This is painful and it's hurting your heart, I know, but you'll wake up tomorrow and you'll keep going on this island because deep down, there is still a glimmer of hope that tomorrow might be the day your friend arrives. And you will keep doing that until you die because I can tell, you'll never give up hope on him. Not really, as hard as it feels right now to fight." She smiled softly at him again. "This place isn't about righting wrongs, Puck. It's why it's not filled with everyone single person in the world who has made a mistake. It's about giving people the strength to accept that sometimes, the wrongs are what make us who we are. It's why some people are here for a very long time. They change so much that they exist here more easily than back home where it all goes wrong."

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

"I've met the guy on more than one occasion... Seen him where I work more than a time or two. Just never really got to be good buddies with the dude or anything. He sounds like somebody I'd probably hit it off with, though. We sound similar enough to bond pretty well... Or want to kill each other, whichever came first," he added teasingly. "I had my mom, but when I was growing up, I was a lot like my old man... Troublemaker. Selfish. Stupid. And my mom had this way of constantly reminding me of that. But... See, that's another thing. When B came into my life, he helped me find a way to reconcile with my mom. And she was suddenly so fucking proud of me. I made something of myself. I became a better son, brother, and friend, and it was all because of him. Yeah, we were like... chalk and cheese, honestly. But it worked."

There was so much warmth and kindness in this girl that Puck couldn't help smiling back at her, no matter how heartbroken he was by the whole thing. She was right. Having company and not being alone was way better than drowning his worries in a bottle of booze back home. "No. No matter how hard it is, and how much it fucking kills me, I can't just stop hoping and believing. Right now, I'm the closest to giving up I've ever been, but even now, I know that I won't. I'll feel like it, think about it, plan on it... And end up holding on like hell, because he's my best friend. And Kurt deserves to have him here."

[notchangingwithyou]

"Where is it you work?" Lyla asked curiously. The island was one of those places where, no matter what you did back home or were destined to do, you could end up doing something completely different here that you would never have envisaged for yourself. Lyla was one of those ones who did exactly what she was going to do back home, which was be a nurse. It was something she never thought she would do, but once it dawned on her it was exactly what she wanted in the wake of Jason's accident, she had a true passion for it and it made her happy. Like somehow, it could help make up for the stupid mistakes she made in the past. "Tim's not particularly deep. I'm not sure he would be the sort you would bond with on a deeper level like you did with your friend you're missing. More like it would be a buddy to watch a game with and share beer. He's a real dude. That's where he and Jason always clashed. Jason's more intelligent and driven, where Tim's really not. He does what he needs to for survival and that's about it. But he's got a big heart and will do anything for anyone if they need him to. It's a prized thing to have people in your life who have faith in you to become a better person, Puck. We just don't always see it to appreciate it."

She nodded in agreement with him and then softly patted the back of his hand. "And you know what? It sounds like Kurt might need you too. He has a huge missing puzzle piece, and if you're here and his husband isn't, you can watch out for him in the meantime in Blaine's absence. It's not the same, anyone will know that, but it's something. It's something you can do to honour Blaine until the time comes that he arrives. Then you guys will work it all out. I'll pray for you that he comes. It can't hurt, right? And comes from a time he is okay and not too damaged so the island can give him his second chance too."

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

"I work at Hors de Prix," Puck replied with a little smile, followed by a short laugh. "It's funny. I always thought as a teenager that working at a strip club would be the coolest job ever. Like, it would be some kind of heaven of employment. But now I've got that... What I used to think would be a dream job... And it's just a job. Does nothing for me. It's just a living." It was true. He could remember being 15 or 16 and hoping that he'd grow up to run a strip club or be a porn star, but none of that really appealed to him anymore. He liked getting to work with Mike, and Remy was a good guy to work for, so that was why he liked his job. It had very little to do with the gorgeous women dancing on the stage. "Hey, a guy needs friends, no matter what. There are different kinds of friendship for sure, and I can use buddies to share a drink and a game with just like I need friends like B... It's just... My roommate... Mike, he was sort of the third musketeer to me and Blaine. We're roommates here, and we're tight as anything. It's like... Like we both miss B so much we've kind of had to make up for his not being here by getting closer ourselves. He's awesome. But even with that, there's just... There's a connection between me and Blaine that nobody else ever got or was ever able to replicate. It was a joke with all our friends, because we were so damn different, but we would've killed to protect each other."

Puck couldn't believe the kindness that was being shown to him out of the blue by this stranger, but in a way, she wasn't really a stranger. She knew the story that had rocked his world completely, and she understood where he was coming from even if she wasn't there herself. "Blaine would never forgive me if he showed up here and I hadn't taken care of Kurt," he replied. "It was always kind of an understanding we had. If anything happened to him, I was supposed to look after Kurt, and he would take care of my... My wife. If anything happened to me. But now Kurt's here, and my marriage isn't even a thing here, so... I guess watching out for Kurt is kind of the one thing I can do."

[notchangingwithyou]

Lyla just laughed at this. "Now why am I not surprised to hear that? Totally not judging at all because I know the guy who owns it and he's a sweetheart when he wants to be. I also know he will really fuck you up if he wants to too. But the pay would be good, and the island has the ability of letting people do things and try things they wouldn't normally do back home. I was one of the more boring ones. I qualified as a nurse shortly before I found myself here, and I loved it, so it was no real question about whether I should do it here or not. Plus, it's a career choice that means a lot. It was Jason's situation that put me on that path. Helped me dig my head out of my own bum and realise I wanted to help other people, not just cry and complain about how I wasn't getting my own way all the time. It's funny how growing up can really change the way you look at the world. High School made everything so amplified, and it was like if you didn't stand on the top there every single day to prove yourself, the world would spontaneously combust around you. But really, a small school in a small town, it should never have the ability to impact someone's life so much." She could see how hard it was for him to visit the topic of his absent friend. There was no doubt Blaine was clearly like a brother to him, and the bond went above and beyond mere friendship. She didn't think she personally ever had that with anyone. She never had any real close friends. Jason and Tim were, but they had the history that meant they still needed personal space from each other more often than not. "You know, I think coming to the temple for him after hearing about what happened back home was very telling. It means you still hold hope he could come. Maybe less hope than you did before, you came to pray for him and to think about him, honour him. You didn't just want to throw the towel in and give up on everything. I think as long as there is ever still a tiny chance he could come, you'll hold onto it and keep going... you'll go on keeping in an eye on Kurt for him. You don't have it in you not to."

"Oh, hey, you have your work cut out for you, though. Kurt's pretty independent from what I've seen. So, you're protecting him from afar without letting him know too much you are for fear he might smack you down or something. Kurt's the sort of person I always wanted to be and tried to convince everyone I was, but really, inside, I as just a weak and stupid little girl who didn't know better than anyone. How do you even cope with seeing your wife here on the island? Or does she just feel like a completely different person to who your wife is back home?" she asked.

[alloriginalgradeabadass]

"Oh, yeah. I can't complain about working for him. It's pretty straightforward work, the pay's good, he's good to work for. You just have to kind of make sure you walk the line. That's the main thing there. But I do like my job. It's like you said... This place gives you opportunities to try new stuff, and I can't really complain about that part. I've been lucky to get what I have, working for the guy I work for. It's definitely something I'm grateful for. But hey, it sounds like being a nurse meant a hell of a lot to you, and you worked hard for it, so there's no real reason you should need to give that up. Especially not with the medical facilities we've got around here. But you're right. High school changes us, even if it shouldn't, and we really shouldn't let it. We do, and after school, we're never the same again. It's just the way it is. Sometimes it's for the better, but other times, it's really very much for the worst." He went quiet then, listening to her. She had been sweet to listen to him, and he was going to afford her the same kindness. "You could be right," he finally admitted quietly. "I don't think I can ever accept the idea that he might not come. It fucking sucks to imagine living here and not seeing him again. He's just... He's my best friend, you know? We went through everything together. But you're right. I couldn't give up on looking after Kurt, or waiting on B."

"No joke," Puck replied. "But he's always been that way. And with good reason. When we were younger, nobody was there to look after him or protect him. I was actually one of the people teasing him, you know? I was awful. But he grew strong and he's one of the bravest people I know. He doesn't need or even really want me looking after him, but he's got it just the same. Because he's my best friend's man. As far as my wife... She's different here, that's for sure. She's been here a long time, and she came from a different time to me... Her life here isn't my life there, so it's almost like you said... like two different people."

[notchangingwithyou]

Lyla couldn't help but watch him a little more closely with a mix of curiosity and concern. She could see and feel the sadness, but he was also very lost right now. He had been holding onto hope probably for a very long time, and now it felt like it was gone and knowing the island worked in mysterious ways wasn't enough to comfort him. "So, other than work, what else do you do around here to relax or switch off? Or do have you just fallen into a rut of not doing any of that? I mean, I know it can't be easy knowing someone you loved is here and you can't have them, but have you been with anyone else since? Or is your heart trapped on pining for Blaine and pining for the love you lost? It sounds like other than your friends who are also here with you that you haven't let yourself open up to something new. Even if you wanted to, it would be hard. But it just sounds like you're very, very lonely and lost. It's okay to need comfort and seek it out. You're not going to betray your life back home if you look for it because life back home is another universe. What would Blaine say if he was here right now and saw you like this?" she asked, trying to at least get him to use his connection with his best friend in a positive way to keep Blaine alive inside and not fall into the trap of closing it all off now he knew Blaine was passed back home. "He's a guy, he would probably tell you to get laid and find someone special, right? Have you ever considered that here or has it been too hard to separate home from the island?"

She pressed her lips together wryly and nodded. "So, you were a bully. Don't beat yourself up so much. Shit happens in school. It's a danger zone, and you do what you can to survive the gauntlet. Knowing Kurt as I do, I doubt he holds a grudge against you anymore. Especially not if you're basically his BFF in-law. He has a big heart, it's just weakened and in pain not having what keeps it beating here with him. When was the last time you and he just hung out? Spent some time together? Maybe that's something to think about? You can both talk about Blaine and deal with the ordeal together. Together is always better than being alone," she murmured and gave his hand a squeeze.