AN: I am terribly sorry about the delay! I've been swamped with work and I recently had to pay a visit to the hospital. All is well, though. Nothing serious. I wanted to get the first two chapters out at the same time to prevent any confusion. So, here's the new, re-vamped chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, sadly.
SANTANA
Santana and Dani's apartment
Santana rolled over, pulling the blankets above her head, willing the sun to go back down. When, minutes later, it still refused to go down, she grumbled, threw the blankets off and shuffled to the bathroom. Upon exiting, she was lured to the kitchen by the smell of coffee and eggs.
She stands in the doorway of the kitchen, watching her purple haired girlfriend work in the kitchen. Quietly, she slinks up behind the girl and wraps her arms around her.
Dani jumps slightly. "Good morning, baby," Santana laughs.
"You asshole!" Dani says as she turns around, smacking Santana. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry, baby," Santana said, kissing the shorter woman. "I won't do it again, I promise."
"You're such a liar," Dani said. "Here, have some coffee." She handed Santana a mug and sent her to sit at the table while she finished breakfast. Santana smiled and slowly sipped her coffee as she watched Dani.
In a few short minutes, Dani joined her at the table, laying breakfast down in front of her.
"So, what's on the agenda today," Santana asked.
"I'm covering for Lynn, the new girl, at the diner for the lunch rush. And then they want me at the studio until late tonight. We're really trying to crank out this new album before the new year. I'm so happy they're all so excited for it," Dani explained. "How about you, babe?"
Santana shrugged. "I've got to be at the station by 2. They've got me on a case with the homicide detectives. Captain Johnson believes it could help me get in good with them. Afterwards, Donovan invited me out to the bar for a drink or two. I was hoping you could come with?"
"San, I'd love too. But I have an early shift at the diner tomorrow. So I'll need to come home and crash. But you go out. You deserve to have some fun. When do you think you'll get that promotion?"
"I have to take the detectives exam first, hun. And the captain hasn't told me when that's going to happen yet. But trust me, you'll be the first to know." Santana stood, having finished her breakfast. She rinsed her plate and turned, brushing a kiss on Dani's lips. "I have to go. I promised the Hummelberry twins I'd meet them for coffee this morning. They probably think I ditched them or something."
Dani laughed. "Like you'd ever ditch them," she pushed Santana. "Alright. Go on. Tell them I said hello." She pulled Santana in for one last kiss before pushing her towards the bedroom to get changed.
An hour later, at a small cafe
Santana ordered her coffee and moved to sit with Kurt and Rachel. The two were discussing the latest fashion releases with Kurt's company. Santana rolled her eyes.
"Alright guys. I bailed on quality time with my lady to come here and see you. Are we going to sit here and just talk about work?" Santana asked.
"Well, you're one to talk, Santana," Kurt replied. "Why do we have to hear from Dani that you're looking at a big promotion at work? We've been friends for almost six years. You'd think you could share this information?"
"Promotion?" Rachel asked. "Santana. You're getting a promotion? Why does no one tell me anything?"
"Oh, calm down, Berry," Santana said. "You don't even like that I'm a cop. Why does it matter?"
"No, I don't like the profession you've decided on. But you are still my friend, Santana. And if this promotion means you'll be in less danger on a daily basis…"
"It doesn't. I'll be a homicide detective, Rachel. No less dangerous than a beat cop. Probably more dangerous." Rachel huffed. "Don't start with me, Dwarf. This is what I want to do. You should be proud."
They spent another hour talking about Rachel's work. Shortly after her TV series had bombed, she was offered a teaching position at NYADA. The small diva had two Tony's for her work in Funny Girl and countless other awards for her different work. Santana could see she missed the stage, but she was so passionate about teaching.
Looking down at her watch, Santana sighed.
"Do you work today, Santana?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, I actually have to go now. The captain is expecting me there in fifteen minutes. I'll catch you guys sometime later this week." Santana said, gathering her bag. Rachel stood and wrapped the latina in a hug.
"Stay safe, Santana. We'll send you a text if we do anything fun later this week," she said.
"Of course you will. It ain't a party without me. We gots to get our drink on!" Santana said, hugging the small brunette.
Later that night, after work
Santana sat at the bar waiting. Her partner, Donovan, had gone to get more drinks. She went to take a drink from her beer when someone collided with her from behind, causing her to spill all over herself.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" a feminine voice said from behind. Before Santana could say anything, the girl disappeared into the crowded dance floor. Santana grumbled and began cleaning herself off.
"Damn, Santana. I can't leave you for five minutes and you're making a mess of yourself," another voice said.
"Fuck off, D. Where the hell is my drink?" Santana asked.
"I gotta bail on ya, partner. The wife just called. She needs me to come home and fix a busted pipe. We'll have to have a drink some other time." Don said.
"Dude, you're so whipped," Santana chuckled.
"Have you seen my wife? And tell me you wouldn't go running if Dani called you home tonight. You're just as whipped, Santana." Don dug out his wallet, throwing a couple bills on the table. "Have a few drinks on me tonight. Relax and unwind. You've been a little tight laced lately."
"Yeah, alright. You don't have to tell me twice when there's free drinks involved. I'll see you on Monday, D." Santana said, waving her partner off.
"Yup, see ya on Monday, Satan," Don grabbed his coat and made his way out.
Santana moved over to the bar, picking a secluded seat and ordering another beer. She thought about what Donovan had said. All those times she'd bailed on him, telling him that Dani had called and wanted her to come home. They were all lies. It was Rachel who had called her, wanting to watch a movie or work on a new song. Every time. Why did she lie about it? It felt to her like she was ashamed of everyone knowing about her feelings towards the shorter brunette.
Lost in her own little world, she didn't notice the stranger settle next to her at the bar until she spoke up.
"If you keep staring at your beer like that, someone might think you're gonna jump in it and drown," the woman said.
Santana looked up with a start. "Oh. Um...sorry. I was just thinking. I didn't even notice you sit down."
"Thinking, huh? Don't people normally drink to forget? Let me buy you a drink." Santana looked the woman over. She was tall and slender and looked damn fine in the tight fitting jeans and tank top she was wearing. Her red hair fell to the middle of her back and her piercing green eyes almost made Santana feel like this girl knew her predicament already.
"Uh, listen. You're attractive and all, but I'm kinda in a committed relationship," Santana said.
"Oh sweetie. I'm not into women. I am straight as they come. You just looked a little lonely over here," the woman said. Santana nearly kicked herself for jumping to conclusions. "Look, I work here. I'm a bartender and I'm on my break. Figured I'd kick back and have a drink. You seem like good company, so wanna keep me company on my break?"
Santana smiled. "Yeah, sure."
Two hours later
Santana and the woman had talked for nearly 45 minutes before the woman, Tony, had to go finish her shift. But Tony said that if Santana wanted, they could go grab a coffee and talk some more when she closed up. So, Santana waited at a quiet diner down the street for the redhead to join her.
She wasn't there but 20 minutes when Tony walked in and joined her at the table.
"Hey! I'm glad you waited," Tony said.
"Yeah, I didn't wanna leave you hanging. Besides, you seem like the kind of person I could hang with." Santana said, sipping her coffee.
"Thanks! I don't get that much, so it's real nice to hear," Tony ordered her coffee and turned to the brunette. "So."
"What?" Santana asked, confused.
"You wanna talk about what had you so deep in thought tonight at the bar?"
"Oh. That was nothing. Not an issue you should have to deal with, anyway."
"Come on, Santana. I'm a bartender. I'm like, the best psychologist you'll ever come by. I'm a great listener. And if I don't have any advice for you, I generally tend to keep my mouth shut. Think about it. It seems like something you need to get off your back."
Santana thought about it hard. This girl didn't know anything about her past. Santana found someone who knew nothing about the friends she kept and nothing about the life she'd led. Tony was a third party, if you would. She was Switzerland. She toyed with the idea until the waitress brought the redhead her coffee.
"Alright. But here's the thing. A lot of what I'll say tonight was the old me. I've changed so much in the past six years. So, just keep that in mind," Santana said. Tony settled into the booth, pulling her coffee closer and nodded.
"I come from a small, close-minded town called Lima, Ohio. My best friends and I were queens of the school. We joined the cheer squad, The Cheerios, freshman year. Quinn, she made top rank quickly. When she was made captain, she made me co-captain. We made school a living hell for so many people. We started a bullying craze. We would slushie people we didn't like. People who annoyed us.
"Our first, and continuous victim throughout high school was Rachel Berry," Santana said.
"The Rachel Berry?" Tony asked quietly.
"The one and only. She urked us and we didn't know why. But it was hell on earth for her. Daily slushie attacks. Sometimes, more than once a day. Brittany and I, my other best friend, we were kind of the school sluts. We slept around; with everyone. Britt was something else. She loves ducks. She loved me, once upon a time. And I ruined it more than once.
"We had this club at school; a music club. Glee. It started out as a bunch of losers. But then coach wanted us to infiltrate it. She hated the instructor for some reason. So, the Unholy Trinity, as we called ourselves, joined the club. We were originally sent there to tear it apart from the inside out. But somehow, the club turned out to be a family.
"When I was outed, they had my back. They supported me through the entire thing. And I did nothing but bitch about it. I didn't want to be out of the closet. I wanted to be normal. This guy, Kurt, came out as gay. And the students there terrorized him. I was scared that was going to happen to me. I didn't want to lose my popularity. I had a reputation at that school. Sure, I was a slut, but everyone was afraid of me. Event the school badass, Puck, was afraid of me. But it got out anyway.
"I finally decided to stop hiding. I told Britt about my feelings for her; I told her I loved her. And she turned me down. She was dating a nerd in a wheelchair and didn't want to hurt him. I was heartbroken." Santana looked at her coffee.
"Did you and Brittany ever fix things?" Tony asked.
Santana smiled. "Yeah. She eventually broke up with Artie and we were happy. I got a lot nicer. I became friends with a lot of the kids in Glee. Especially Rachel. Even when I was nothing but a bitch to her, she wouldn't back down. She always wanted to be friends with me; to help me. There towards the end of high school, we got close. And I started realizing why I hated her so much.
"Graduation came. Rachel decided New York was calling her. Brittany didn't make the cut for graduation. She had to stay another year. Quinn was off to Yale and I got a scholarship to the University of Louisville for cheerleading. I broke up with Britt not long after that. The long distance relationship was tearing us apart anyway. Later on, Quinn and I had to come to New York to stop Rachel from making a choice that would have ruined her. And I decided I liked New York. So I dropped out of college and moved in with Rachel and Kurt.
"Not long after that, I met my girlfriend, Dani. We worked at a diner together. Hell...she still works there, even though she's working on a record deal. We moved in together. And now, six years down the line, I've had a few commercial acting opportunities. I've starred in a couple TV shows. I had my fifteen minutes of fame. I moved on. I'm a homicide cop now. Looking to become a detective," Santana finished as the waitress came over and poured her another cup of coffee.
"Wow. That's quite a story, Santana. And Rachel? Why was it that you hated her so much?" Tony asked.
"I hated her for so long because from the moment we bumped into each other freshman year, after a summer away, I've been in love with Rachel Berry."
AN: Alright folks! Chapter 1 is rewritten! Please, let me know what you think! Also, just for funsies, what's your favorite song that's been performed on Glee? Old or new. Cover or original. I mean, who doesn't love Loser Like Me? Let's see those favorites in the reviews, loves!