"Mija, stop sulking." My father's stern voice carried from the front of the car, his tone had an air of pleading about it which made his statement sound like more of a request than a command. My parents had spent most of the journey trying to convince me that shipping me off to my grandmother's house for the summer was a good thing; that I'd have fun. I had spent most of the journey rolling my eyes, and sighing dramatically, and spent the other half of it tweeting about how unjust life is, and how idiotic parents are. Excuse me for not seeing the "fun" side to being torn away from my friends for the whole summer before senior year!
"You brought this on yourself, Santana." My mother chimed in when my sulking didn't cease. My mom, was in fact referring to my rather reckless behavior over the last year. So, I threw a handful of out-of-control ragers, and may or may not have totaled her SUV (I still blame Puck for that one), but what teenager hasn't done things like that? Answer to that question: the loser, hermit types with no social etiquette, and an allergy to fresh air and sunlight, that's who!
"Your mother's right, how can we trust you enough to leave you alone all summer? You have yet to prove that you're responsible enough to handle that kind of freedom."
I clenched my teeth to avoid throwing the tantrum that I knew would do no favors in helping my case.
"Whatever..." I mumbled somberly, and returned my attention back to the bleak landscape that was the outside view from my window.
"Wake up, Mija, we're here!" I slowly opened my eyes and squinted as they adjusted to the bright sunlight flowing through my open car door. My mother stood in front of me, a buoyant look on her face. I sat up straighter, unbuckled my seatbelt and gestured for my mom to move out of the way so I could exit the vehicle.
My feet landed clumsily on the graveled driveway, half asleep from the long ride.
"Santanaaaaaa!" came an excited squeal from a little farther away. I drew my attention to the sound and couldn't help the smile that broke across my face upon seeing my grandmother descend the steps of her porch, arms outstretched, and her signature toothy grin set firmly in place. Moving my now tingling legs to meet her halfway, I fell happily into her strong embrace.
"It's great to see you, Abuela." I murmur quietly into her hair, so that no one but her could hear the affectionate tone to my voice. Sure, I hated not getting to spend the summer before my final year of high school with my friends, but that doesn't mean I wasn't completely thrilled to see my Abuela. She's probably my favorite person in the world. I used to love coming to stay with her, as a kid. If the circumstances were different, and I wasn't stuck in bum-fuck nowhere for the entire summer, I would be more than happy to be here. We don't visit much anymore, and Abuela usually only flies out to see us for Thanksgiving, or Christmas, and maybe one or two weeks in the summer. She alternates holidays every year between my family and my uncle's family (he and my dad don't get along, so it never happens that we all come together for the holidays).
"Ooooh, right back atcha, Sweetpea!" She said, squeezing me just that little bit tighter before letting me go. She stepped back slightly, keeping her hands on my upper arms, and giving me the once over. "What are you feeding her? She's tiny! If I turn her sideways," she twisted me slightly to the left, "I can barely see her." This was directed at my parents, but her tone was light, letting them know she was just kidding. I don't really watch what I eat, but Sue has all the Cheerios on a strict diet and exercise regime, and with Nationals taking place only two weeks ago, we all had to up our game. So I guess I probably was a little smaller than the last time Abuela had seen me.
"I assure you, we feed her just fine, Mami." My father chuckled, stepping up and kissing my grandmother lightly on both cheeks.
"Well, you can bet your pretty, little toosh, that I'll be fattening you up this summer!" She declared, throwing me a playful wink. I laughed, almost forgetting that I was still supposed to be sulking.
My parents stayed for lunch, but left shortly afterward to catch their flight. My dad had hoisted my luggage up to my new summer sleeping quarters, and I decided now was as good a time as any to start unpacking.
I had the first two cases successfully unpacked, but chose to leave the third, still holding out hope that my parents might change their minds and let me go home, when I heard a light tap on the door.
"Come in." I called from my place on the bed. My grandma peeked her head in first, and I was grateful for her appreciation of my personal space.
"How's the unpacking coming?"
I shrugged, "Pretty much done with it actually."
She sat in front of me on the bed, a curious look in her eyes that I haven't seen her wear before.
"Abuela, is everything okay?" I spoked softly because the situation seemed to call for gentle tones.
My grandmother placed comforting hand on my knee. I wasn't exactly sure why it was comforting, or why she felt she had to comfort me, but it was nice.
"Your mother told me." She stated plainly. I was a little confused, told her what? About my binge drinking? Out all night partying? The SUV? But judging by the look on her face, I knew it was none of the above.
I felt the confusion fall from my face, before dropping my eyes to my lap, where my hands had found each other and my fingers were nervously fidgeting.
"Oh." I said simply. What else was there to say? She didn't seem mad, or even upset, so I wasn't sure what it was she wanted me to say.
She squeezed my knee again, this time encouraging me to look at her; so I did. "Santana, who you are is nothing to be ashamed of! Be proud of yourself, because I sure am!"
I knew her opinion mattered to me, I always knew that, but I don't think I truly realized just how much until she said those words. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I let out a choked kind of noise that was halfway between a laugh of relief, and a sob of happiness.
"Really?" I felt a single tear fall down my cheeks, but it was quickly brushed away by her warm hand.
"Of course! You're my grand-baby, I love you no matter what! And I'm just glad to see you finally accepting all the wonderful you are. So what that you love girls the way that you're "supposed" to love boys? Who ever decided who you're supposed to love? Huh? You only get one you, Santana, embrace it!"
I lunged forward and pulled her into a tight hug, which I hoped truly expressed just how grateful I was for what she had said. She squeezed back with equal force, and we just sat like that for a few minutes, the tension I hadn't realized I'd even been carrying around, falling off my shoulders in an instant.
The doorbell sounded and we pulled apart.
"That'll be the girls for our weekly game of Bridge.. you're welcome to join?" She offered, but I shook my head.
"No thanks. I don't know how, besides, I wouldn't wanna cramp your style." I winked and she laughed in response. "I think I'm just gonna head into town; look around for a bit."
"Okay." She leaned forward, placing a delicate kiss to my forehead, before getting up to greet her guests. "Have fun."
This place seemed a lot smaller than I remembered.
When I was younger I adored this town, my parents would always let me wander off on my own – which I was never allowed to do anywhere else – I guess it had something to do with this being the most boring town in all of America that they felt no harm would come to me.
I liked that it hadn't changed much since my last visit – the old guys still hung outside the barber shop discussing God-knows-what after all these years, the little tea shop still buzzed with the handful of tourists that were mostly just passing through, the grocery store on the corner was just as retro looking as ever, and the arcade still looked to be the coolest hangout for kids aged seven – fifteen. The only thing that stood out as different was the addition of a bright, lime green colored, juice bar kiosk in the middle of the sidewalk leading onto the pier, with about five empty tables standing in front of it.
Walking up to the counter, I was pleasantly surprised to find a pretty blonde swinging bag and forth on a stool drinking a rather questionable looking yellow smoothie.
I cleared my throat hoping to garner her attention, but all it seemed to do was startle the girl, causing her to wobble on the chair and reach her arm out frantically to steady herself against the counter.
"Geez! You scared me!" She looked up and her eyes locked on mine – they were a mesmerizing shade of blue; I've always been a sucker for blue eyes. A moment passed where nothing but silence and intense staring was exchanged between us; it could almost be deemed as awkward but it didn't really feel uncomfortable.
"So, uhm, can I get you something to drink?" she asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, right..." wow this girl is pretty. "Yeah, sure! Uhmmmm..." I scanned the menu which listed a variety of wittingly named juices and smoothies, "what would you recommend?"
Her eyes lit up at my question and though I wasn't sure exactly what about it had warranted such a dazzling smile from the girl in front of me, I felt quite pleased with myself that I had been the cause of it.
"I actually invented a new juice this morning! Wanna try it?" I instantly nodded 'yes'. She seemed so hopeful that the thought of refusing didn't even cross my mind.
"This is so exciting! No one around here really drinks any of these things" she indicated to the menu above her head, "they're very much your basic orange or apple juice kinda people."
"Well that seems pretty dull." I said just for something to say to the girl.
She nodded.
"It is. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like working here and everything but I just wish someone would sometimes just order a Berry Blitz or a Tangy Twizzler, I really don't see why my dad thought a juice bar would go down well in a town that basically is stuck in a permanent standstill."
I laughed at her voicing my earlier thoughts. She certainly wasn't shy about conversing with strangers. It almost didn't matter that I was hardly contributing to the conversation at all.
"Your dad owns this place? That's cool."
She looked over her shoulder at me from her fruit cutting station and smiled. There it was again!
"Yeah, he went to one of those innovator seminars in Florida a few years ago and while he was down there apparently discovered juice bars and figured there was a market for one here... guess not." She looked down rather sadly and though I hated to see her look so down, I found it endearing that her father's business obviously meant a lot to her.
She put all the random fruits in a blender with some orange juice and yoghurt and pressed the button before turning to me having perked up considerably.
"So..." she began, bouncing a little on the spot. So cute. "I haven't seen you around before, I definitely would have remembered a pretty face like yours."
Her cheeks flushed red and she turned to distract herself with with wiping down the chopping board she had been using. My guess is she didn't mean to say that last part, but I was certainly glad she did.
Did that count as flirting? I mean, it's not like I have a whole lot of experience romancing other girls, hell, I've only started to admit to myself that I even wanted to, but this town made Lima seem like a big city and what if the rules of flirtation were different here? What if she was just being friendly?
"Eh, yeah. I'm actually just visiting my grandma for the summer."
"Oh, that's cool. Where are you from?"
The blender cut off and she filled a plastic cup with the smoothie before capping and sticking a straw in the little hole on top before placing it in front of me.
"Lima, Ohio." I said, eying the drink before bringing the straw to my lips and taking a sip. My eyes widened and the delicious flavor – given that the color had been a not-so-appealing pea green, my hopes hadn't been too high. "Mmmmm this is amazing!"
"You really like it?"
I nodded, locking eyes with her again.
"I really do." There may or may not have been double meaning behind my words but I was still working that one out. I took another sip before speaking again. "What's it called?"
"Oh – uhm... I kinda just made it up, so it doesn't have a name." Her eyes widened and the biggest smile she'd worn yet, graced her face. She looked like she'd just had the most genius plan ever. "Why don't you name it?"
"Me?" I laughed. "I don't know..." Her smile faltered slightly and I couldn't have that.
"Snixjuice!" I announced suddenly, before her smile could fade completely.
She laughed. "Snixjuice?"
"Yeah. Something wrong with it?" I raised an eyebrow while drinking some more.
She shook her head, still laughing but then agreed, "Snixjuice it is!... I'm Brittany, by the way."
"Santana." She smiled again, this smile was fast becoming one of my favorite things and it made me feel like a bit of a creep since I'd only just met this chick.
"Pretty name for a pretty girl." She seemed more confident this time in complimenting me and I was a bit more certain she was flirting. It was my turn to blush and for the life of me I couldn't think of anything flirtatious to say back, which was totally out of character for me!
Dear God, I thought to myself, please don't let me be a lesbian with no game! PLEASE?!
"So, Brittany... what's fun to do around here?" I asked in an attempt to steer the conversation into safer territory.
She just shrugged. "Not much really."
"Well, what do you and your friends do for fun?"
She looked down at her hands for a second before grabbing a nearby dishcloth and wiping the already spotless counter. "I – uh, well my friends... I don't have very many friends..."
My heart broke at her admission. Who wouldn't want to be her friend? I'd only known this girl for twenty minutes and I already wanted to be her friend.
"Their loss."
This brightened her up and I'd never been so pleased with my choice of words before, EVER!
"Maybe you can show me around... or we could just, hang out? I haven't been here in years, I'm sure some things have changed."
"I doubt it" she chuckled, "but yeah! I'd love to hang out. I actually get off in fifteen minutes if you wanna do something then?"
"Sounds perfect." I smiled.
Brittany and I chatted more while I waited for her to finish her shift, and in that time not a single customer appeared. She didn't seem surprised by this at all, I guess she really wasn't joking about people not being into it.
She came out from behind the kiosk and it was the first time I got a proper look at her. She'd taken off the baseball hat she'd been wearing and her hair know flowed, slightly wavy, past her shoulders, she wore denim daisy dukes and a tight yellow top with the words 'Smile' emblazoned on it in all different colors. I let my eyes roam from her converse clad feet, up her long, toned legs, past the rambunctious twins that lived on her rib cage and right into her piercing blue eyes. She looked hot. It was simple as that.
Unfortunately for me, my leering obviously hadn't gone unnoticed judging by the crimson color of her cheeks. I was too embarrassed to apologize and she didn't bring it up either so we just smiled awkwardly at one another before heading off down the sidewalk back in the direction of my grandma's house.
The sun was lowering in the sky and a cool breeze was blowing as we walked in a somewhat comfortable silence before Brittany spoke.
"So," she began, "when I said I don't have many friends, I didn't mean that I like, don't have any friends, I have friends, they're just... kind of at the bottom of the social heap... and I don't want you to think I'm not cool or anything because you seem really cool but I'm just... not really cool."
She seemed embarrassed to reveal this as she fidgeted with the bracelet on her left hand, and sure back home I wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with the nameless faces at the bottom of the popularity totem pole, but this wasn't back home, and I liked Brittany so what the hell? Maybe if my abuela saw me hanging out with some social outcasts, she'd report the information back to my parents and they'd let me finish out the summer with my friends.
"I think you're cool." Out of the corner of my eye I saw her give a bashful smile and patted myself on the shoulder... figuratively speaking.
"Thanks." It amazed me how she can go from so outgoing to so shy in literally half a second, but I liked it. "Uhm, you're probably busy with your grandma or something, but, one of my friends from glee club is throwing like a 'kick off summer' party tonight, it's just a small party... but you could come?... if you wanted?"
She was in glee club? Yep, if anyone back home found out I was hanging with gleeks, my rep would most definitely be shattered into a bazillion pieces... but they won't know, and what they don't know won't hurt 'em!
"I'd love to go Brittany." I smiled genuinely.
"Okay! Great!" She did that thing where she bounces on the spot again and I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Just, let me go tell my grandma." I hoped abuela wouldn't mind but surely she'd have no reason to protest, after all, these were glee club kids, I highly doubt it'll be a crazy rager. I wouldn't be surprised if I was home by midnight...
A/N:
If you've made it far enough to read this part, thanks for giving it a shot!
I have a few other stories in progress that I totally lost motivation to continue with, but I have some time off and some story ideas I've been thinking of for a while so I'm starting on a new fanfic slate for 2013! If you like it, wonderful! If you hate the fic, that's fine too, I'll just toss it in the scrap pile!
Next chapter will include the party, and what else I have yet to decide, but I'm open to suggestions if there's anything anyone would like to see happen :)