This is my first attempt at a Brittana fic. I've read about a hundred of them, so I wanted to try to write one myself. This is probably more for me than anyone else.
Santana Lopez sat at the local coffee shop with the Sunday paper laid out on the table in front of her. Every couple of minutes, she would reach for her coffee and take a sip of the scalding hot, blissfully comforting drink. She read the front-page headlines while she occasionally let her gaze wander outside to the falling snow that was slowly blanketing the city. She fucking hated the snow with a searing passion; the snow reminded her of Lima and all the shit that had happened to her growing up.
Santana had lost her father when she was thirteen. He had died of Leukemia, and Santana had watched the disease gradually take over his body and break him until there was nothing left. Three months later, her mother started drinking, and despite Santana's pleading and begging, had become an alcoholic who refused help from even her closest family members.
As soon as Santana had graduated high school, she had packed up her Jeep and took off for her new life in New York. She was ready to forget her past and move on.
As Santana finished her large cup of coffee, she had made it to her least favorite section of the paper: the Style section. The wedding announcements always made her feel sick to her stomach. Thank god it's only on Sundays she thought to herself as she got up to fetch another cup of caffeine. Every morning for the past three years, Santana would take her New York Times down the street to Earl's and read the paper while she drank her regular two cups of black coffee.
"Another?" Jake, the young boy behind the counter asked her as she handed him her cup.
"As always," she said, and gave him a warm smile.
As she waited for him to fill up her cup, she glanced around the store and noticed that it was oddly empty; Sundays were usually very busy.
"I guess people are afraid to go out in the snow," Jake shrugged his shoulders as he reached over the counter to hand Santana her coffee.
"Hmmm, maybe," she considered for a second. The snow hadn't let up for a few hours, and she wondered if they were expecting a particularly harsh storm. "Thanks, Jake," she gave him a nod and turned around to return to her seat at her table as she took a sip of the hot drink.
At this point in her morning, Santana would usually turn over the paper to work on the crossword puzzle, but she had a nagging feeling to skim the Style section. Fuck it. She turned the paper over and let her eyes wander across the page. The couples all looked the same to her: fucking ridiculously happy. She couldn't stand to look at their faces because they seemed to remind her of the one thing she was sure she could never have. Santana was determined that she could never fall in love, ever. Again.
As her eyes reached the bottom of the page, though, she caught her breath.
She had lived in New York for five years; she had been in the city for too long to let her mind wander back to her youth. Yet, here was the one person that she hadn't let herself think about in forever, on the page of the New York Times with a man she knew, a man she knew very, very well.
She sat back in her chair and continued to stare at the two people that were hugging and smiling at each other, like there was nothing in the world that could make them happier. Santana could feel her skin begin to burn and her stomach begin to churn, but she couldn't look away from the woman in the picture. She knew the girl; she fucking knew the girl like the back of her hand. At least, she used to.
She looked beneath the photo to the words that were typed out.
Brittany Susan Pierce and Nathan Anderson Berk were married on January 4, 2012. Nathan Berk, son of the city's mayor, is currently at law school at NYU. Brittany Pierce is studying dance at Juilliard. The couple married in front of their friends and family on Long Island at a family church of the groom's. They plan to spend their honeymoon next month in Paris.
Santana nearly choked on her own spit as she finished reading the caption. She couldn't believe that Brittany was in New York, let alone married to one of her old classmates. It had been a year since she had seen Nathan, and she hadn't thought about him in a while. They had dated for a couple of months during their last year as undergrads at NYU, but Santana had broken up with him. He was a nice guy, but she couldn't stay with him because he wasn't her.
Santana started to feel a little faint, as the color drained from her face. How fucking messed up is this? She asked herself. She groaned out loud as she turned the paper over and crumpled it up in her hands. She threw it over at the trashcan sitting a few feet away from her.
"Something wrong?" Jake asked, as he raised a questioning eye.
Santana got up from her seat with her coffee in hand and turned to leave. "Just the god damn world!" she shouted over her shoulder, raising her free hand up in the air. She could hear the quiet chuckles from Jake behind her as she stepped out into the cold January winter.
Immediately, she felt the inside of her coat pocket begin to vibrate. She removed her iphone as she started walking back to her apartment down the street. There was a text message from her best friend.
U have to call me. I read something in the paper this morning that I think u may want to know about. –Quinn
Santana rolled her eyes at her friend's timing. She decided to text Quinn back, instead. She didn't want to have a conversation about how fucked up her life was with someone who would just make her feel worse.
I know, Quinn. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. –Santana
This was a lie, of course. Santana was sure that she would go home and drown herself in work for the next few days. There was no way that she was going to let herself end up thinking about her old boyfriend and the stinking love of her life in that way. If she did, she might end up drinking, and that was the one thing that she had a taboo about. With her mom's alcoholic state, she felt like she could just as easily end up in that hole as well.
As she approached her apartment, she felt her phone buzz again. She sighed heavily, as she pulled out her phone.
There's more…she wants me to give her your number. –Quinn
No fucking way, Q. –Santana
There was no way that she could be convinced to see Brittany again. Especially since she was now married.
She opened the door to her apartment building and began walking up the apartment stairs, still taking occasional sips from her coffee cup.
Yeah, I didn't. But then she kinda tricked me into telling her where u live. –Quinn
As Santana bounded up the last flight of stairs, she hadn't read the final text message that her best friend had sent. If she had, she could have prepared herself for a surprise. She could have turned around and ran in the other direction. She could have made up an excuse as to why she didn't have to come back to her apartment to work.
Instead, she found herself staring at a beautiful blond who was standing in front of her apartment door. It was the same blond that she had seen in the newspaper only moments ago. It was the same blond that she had been so sure she would never see again.
"Santana," the blond-haired beauty sighed as she smiled at the stunned brunette.
At that moment Santana realized that she had been right; she could never fall in love, ever. Again.
