A/N: This story needs a Beta like whoa. Message me if you want in on that.
I'm calling this chapter a "Prologue" mainly because after this chapter the story will alternates chapters between current day & flashbacks to the first time.
Blanket Disclaimer: Blahblahblah, I don't own Glee or any of it's characters, blahblah, this isn't making me anything [except crazy], blah.
She was supposed to be driving back home, back to Lima Heights [adjacent], but her head was so dazed from what had just happened that she'd put herself on autopilot as soon as she got behind the wheel...and her autopilot decided to take her to Brittany.
She had already turned onto Brittany's street and was nearly to her driveway before she realized that this wasn't right. It only took her a split second more to decide that no, this was right.
After the day she'd had, the one thing Santana needed more than anything else was Brittany.
She nearly lost her nerve and turned around again when she got up to the door, but she managed to ring the bell before she chickened out.
Santana knew Brittany was coming to the door several seconds before it opened, because she could hear the distinct thumping sound made by Brittany bounding down the stairs, taking several steps at a time.
How many times do I have to tell that girl she's going to hurt herself, yet again? Santana thought as she listened for the telltale clunk that said she'd missed a step and fallen.
Luckily, it didn't come, and Brittany got to the door in one piece. She swung it open, with that big, beautiful smile on her face, ready to greet anyone on the other side with open arms, only to have her face fall when she saw who was on the other side.
"Why are you here? I thought we agreed that we weren't gonna hang out together this summer, that we needed some time apart?" Brittany looked so confused, and a little sad, but then her eyes grew wide, "Wait! Is summer over already? Lord Tubbington was supposed to warn me when I had to go back to school!"
"No! No, Britt, it's still summer, don't worry. Lord Tubbington hasn't let you down." Santana interjected quickly, before Brittany could get too worked up.
"Oh, good. Well then what's going on? Are you OK?"
"Honestly, not really. I don't really know. All I know for sure is that I need to talk to you."
Brittany looked conflicted for a few moments, but ultimately stood aside and let Santana in. "OK, but we talk down here. I'm not taking you up to my room."
Santana nodded and stepped into the familiar house. She'd missed this place more than she realized in the past month since school ended, since she and Brittany had decided stay apart.
Santana sat at the bottom of the staircase, with her head down, staring at her ankles. Brittany sat down next to her, and put a comforting hand on her friend's knee. "What happened? You know you can tell me anything."
Santana just nodded again, still not bringing her head up, still avoiding Brittany's eyes. "I know." She took a deep breath, and started in on her story.
"I've been going crazy all summer; sometimes I feel like I know exactly what I want, and other times I don't have a clue. I was trying to do all of this self-discovery and solitary thinking, but that wasn't working for me, so I decided that maybe instead of trying something new, I should just go back to what's worked in the past when I'm trying to forget my problems. So I went to the mall...to try and find the perfect guy for a worthless summer fling."
Brittany almost drew her hand away from Santana's knee, but before she could, Santana put her own hand over top of Brittany's to say No, I need you here.
"So I was sitting there in the food court with my minidress and my ice cream cone, trying to attract a man, but suddenly all the guys who were looking at me or coming up to me seemed incredibly creepy, and none of them seemed attractive. I finished my ice cream, got up, and as I was walking away, I saw someone else looking at me. A girl. She came up to me, and we started talking, and she was really nice, and the next thing I know we're making out in a hallway outside of the bathrooms."
Brittany's had started to tense up, her hand tightening, gripping harder and harder through the end of the story. She'd forgotten that Santana could feel it, since it was Santana's knee that her hand was on. "H-How was that?" she asked, shakily.
"It was great. It was kind of really great. It felt so much better than any guy I've ever kissed before...but—" Santana trailed off, as she finally lifted her head and made eye contact with Brittany, "But it still wasn't anywhere near as good as kissing you."
Brittany smiled, her eyes lighting up, and closed the gap between her face and Santana's, kissing her full on the lips, enjoying the familiar taste of the Sweet Lady Kisses she'd missed these past few months. "Do you really mean that?" Brittany asked when they finally drew their lips apart, their foreheads still resting together.
Santana nodded, still a little breathless, "I've kissed plenty of boys, but I'd never really kissed another girl besides you before. I think...I think it really helped me to realize that its not just you, you know? I really do like girls, not just girl. But it also made me realize that I like you more than any other girl, and definitely more than any guy. I love you, Brittany."
She brought her face forward, trying to kiss Brittany again, but Brittany put her hands on Santana's shoulders and pushed her away, holding her at an arm's length.
"No," Brittany said, firmly. "I can't do this again, not like before."
Santana could feel her eyes start to sting, and struggled to keep tears from forming. "Why not? I—I thought you loved me, too?"
"I do, I really do Santana. But this is why we decided to take the summer off, I can't be with you just a little bit. All of the hiding and the lying, and the not talking about our feelings, it was making my boobs hurt."
"You mean it makes your heart hurt, Britt. Those are chest pains, not breast pains."
"Yeah, I get those too. It makes everything hurt, so it's all or nothing. If we're going to do this, it has to be for real this time."
"What does that mean?" Santana was skeptic, but she'd do just about anything if it meant she could have Brittany again.
"No more sex, no more kissing. Not until you take me out on a real date," Brittany grinned. "I wanna be able to show off my amazing girlfriend."
Santana bit her lower lip. She hesitated, a million thoughts running through her head. Maybe she could so it this way. Maybe they wouldn't see anyone they knew. Maybe by the time school started again, she would be so used to holding hands with Brittany in public, she wouldn't care what their classmates said behind their backs.
Finally, she nodded. "OK, but we've gotten dinner at Breadstix a thousand times together, and we go to the movies all the time...or we did before this summer. What's going to make this a real date?"
Brittany looked at the ceiling for a moment, trying to think, the gears of her mind groaning. "Well, first off, we're going to get ready separately. Then you're going to come pick me up, and you're going to knock on my door instead of texting me from the driveway. And then I'm going to pay for both of our dinners, and you're going to pay for both of our movie tickets...and maybe I'll think of something else special too, to make it even more date-like." She ended with a mischievous smirk.
Brittany was actually planning something. It didn't happen often, but when it did it was either completely disastrous or completely amazing. Santana ignored the bit of dread creeping into the pit of her stomach and decided that she couldn't wait to see how it turned out.
"OK, what time should I pick you up? And where are we going?" Santana stood up from the stairs, holding both of Brittany's hands and pulling her up, too.
"Breadstix. We'll keep it simple this time. I'll call and make reservations," Brittany said, letting go of Santana's hand. "You just worry about getting yourself pretty for your date and picking her up by 7." She punctuated her sentence by grabbing Santana's ass.
Santana jumped and giggled, surprised "Hey! None of that until after our first date." She gave Brittany a quick peck on the cheek before the other girl could stop her. "I'll see you tonight."
Santana walked back out the door and towards the car, and Brittany waved goodbye, staring after her, with a dreamy smile plastered on her face for several minutes.
When she came back to reality, Brittany pulled out her phone, scrolled down to the right contact, and dialed.
"Hi! Um, can you do me a favor tonight?"
"This isn't a favor of the sexual nature, is it? You know I don't do that."
Brittany giggled, "Of course not! I was wondering if you'd be available for a double date tonight?"
"You do know that 'double date' implies that you bring a date too, right? Otherwise you're just a third wheel on someone else's date."
"Don't worry, I have a date to bring, too."
"Oh? I thought you were flying solo for the summer. Is it anyone we know?"
"People can't fly, I've tried that before. You just end up on the ground, all purple."
"I just want to make sure that its someone who will be OK with doubling with us."
"Oh, that won't be a problem. Just be at Breadstix by 7:30 tonight."
An exasperated sigh came from the other end of the line "Ok, we'll see you there, Britt."
Brittany hung up and dialed Breadstix, "Hi! I'd like to make a reservation for tonight at 7:30. Party of four."
A/N: It get's better. I promise. Wow, that's a terrible way to start out a story. I'm just saying, I know bits of this seem a bit rough, but don't worry, because that stuff gets worked out for the later chapters...or it will once I finish writing them.