Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

What Is True And what Is Not

There is no truth. There is only perception. Gustave Flaubert

Brittany Pierce knows that she is different.

Not because she is taller than all the girls in her class or because she always forgets where her classroom is or because she never knows the right answer when her teacher asks her.

No, she is different because she sees things.

She sees things nobody else sees. Sometimes she can even touch and hear them. She doesn't understand why she is the only one who sees these things because for her they are as real as every tree and every house and every person the others can see as well.

It doesn't matter, though, that nobody believes her. Because for her these things are real.

Sometimes it makes her sad that she can't share the exciting and awesome miracles she sees all the time with anyone. Before she met Santana Lopez she used to feel lonely because she knew nobody would ever be able to really understand her. But then again, she thinks now, most people don't deserve to be a part of this parallel world anyway. When they already feel intimidated by a girl telling them about things they believe don't exist, then how would they react when they could see all of this for real?

When she was little she thought that everybody could see what she saw. She talked about it the way all kids talk about what fascinates them. Enthusiastically, she told her parents and the other kids about the unicorn that always steals the apples from the tree in her garden and the graceful fairies that dance in front of her window every morning and wake her up with their pretty sing-sang voices.

It took her some time to realize why people rolled their eyes whenever she said things like that.

She tried to show them what she meant, she tried to convince them that she hadn't invented these stories. It was in vain. When people don't want to believe something, then nothing can change their attitude.

The adults only said that she had a too vivid imagination. The kids laughed about her and called her a crazy freak. They still do today.

Therefore she learned quickly that it is better not to tell anybody about what she sees. When she was little she had done so one time too often and it had only resulted in her parents panicking and sending her to a psychiatrist for a while. She still remembers exactly their worried and sympathetic looks that made her feel like she had some terrible, deathly disease. That was when she understood that nobody was like her, and that being like her was not seen as something positive by most people.

It took her years to figure out how to distinguish between the things everybody sees and the things that are only visible for her. When she now concentrates a little while staring at something she can see a soft silvery glow around everything that belongs to The Other Side, as she calls it.

Brittany does her best to behave inconspicuously so nobody notices how different she really is. People's reactions to her have taught her that it is easier and less dangerous to fit in. Be what people want you to be and they will leave you alone.

But sometimes she doesn't even notice that she stares at something that for everyone else looks like just an empty corner. Sometimes she simply forgets and talks to her friend, the elf, as if he were a normal human being after he unexpectedly showed up at her locker in the McKinley high school. Sometimes she just can't listen to what the person next to her tells her because she is too distracted by the antics of a fairy flying in wild circles around her. Sometimes she accidentally lets slip a sentence without realizing that what she just said only makes sense in her own world.

That's why everybody thinks she is dumb, aloof and peculiar.

But she isn't.

"Britt! Are you asleep? Come on, wake up, it's time for lunch!"

At the sound of the familiar voice Brittany slowly lifts her head from where it had rested comfortably on her desk. Confused, she looks around with sleepy eyes, realizing that she must have fallen asleep during the monotonous lecture of her English teacher. Seemingly, class has just ended and all students storm out of the room, merging into one single blurred stream of colors in front of Brittany's hazy view. Santana is standing next to her, waiting patently for her to stand up and follow her.

Brittany yawns and mumbles: "I didn't sleep much last night, the elves invited me to their Dance into May."

Santana laughs. Affectionately, she grabs Brittany's hand and tucks at it. "You can sleep during Glee Club. But English is important, you missed the whole lesson.", she scolds Brittany lightly.

"Will you help me with my homework again today?", Brittany asks sweetly. Still too tired to get up, she wraps her arms around Santana's waist and buries her face in the Latina's stomach. Brittany wishes she could go back to sleep like that.

Santana smiles, completely smitten with the blonde like always. "Of course, Britt. Now come on." The dark-haired girl reluctantly breaks away from Brittany's embrace and begins to pack the blonde's bag for her.

When Brittany is finally ready to leave for lunch Santana grasps her hand tightly and leads the blonde to the break room, knowing that without a strong grip on her friend's hand Brittany would get hopelessly lost in the masses of students. When they arrive they quickly get their food and sit down next to the other Glee girls and Kurt. They are cheerfully greeted by everyone.

"Have you already decided on a song for this week's assignment?", Rachel asks excitedly. Without waiting for an answer from her friends she begins to tell them effusively about her own plans until Santana cuts her off harshly.

"Shut up, Berry, I'm getting a headache! Your voice sounds worse than a screeching teakettle!" Brittany grins dreamily at the sight of Santana huffing at Rachel. She knows the Latina well enough by now to detect the slightly curled lips that betray that she is not truly annoyed by Rachel's rambling. Strangely enough Santana has found a liking in the small diva, even though she would never admit that and still enjoys teasing and insulting her.

"You are almost like a banshee, Rachel. Only that your voice makes me sleepy instead of killing me.", Brittany remarks seriously. Rachel's frightened facial expression, caused by Santana's affronting words, melts away as she laughs about Brittany's words.

Surrounded by the familiar voices of her friends, Brittany rests her head on Santana's shoulder as her thoughts drift away. There is really only one person in the whole wide world that Brittany trusts completely and that's Santana, her best friend and much more. She isn't really sure of what nature their relationship is, but Santana says labels don't matter and as always Brittany thinks she is right. All that matters is that Santana is the only one who never looks at her as if she is crazy when she says something stupid, the only one whom Brittany can tell about all the magical things she sees and who actually enjoys listening to her, the only one who loves her the way she really is and not the person she has to pretend to be so often.

Brittany zones out fluently, her brain overwhelmed by the task of processing the double amount of sensory perceptions than all the others. There are exotic creatures dancing in the room, beautiful elves in dresses made of colorful leaves, with long dark hair and dazzling smiles, that form a grotesque contrast to the trivial everyday scene of high school kids eating lunch.

"Brittany... Brittany... hello? I've asked you something!" The impatient voice of Mercedes, who sits across from her, arouses Brittany from her daze.

"Leave her in peace, fat Oprah!", Santana snarls gruffly at Mercedes. The girl lifts her hands in an appeasing way.

"I want an eggplant for my birthday so that I can harvest the eggs it grows and eat omelets all the time.", Brittany deadpans, feeling that the best thing for her to do is to just say something strange, the way everybody is used to. As expected, the others shortly laugh at her quip before returning to their conversation.

Only Santana continues to watch her. She tenderly strokes Brittany's hair and whispers in her ear: "What do you see?"

Brittany giggles at Santana's breath tickling her skin. Her eyes are fixed on something a few feet away from their table. "There is a puck of the size of a cat. It has sandy brown fur, it looks soft..." Brittany slowly reaches out her hand towards the creature in order to touch it.

Santana furrows her brows and gently, but determinedly grabs Brittany's hand to stop her motion. "Not here, Britt!", she reminds her firmly.

Reluctantly, Brittany averts her gaze from the little puck and meets Santana's eyes. Brittany's breath hitches at the intensity of Santana's look. Many people wonder how it is possible that someone like Santana, who is so mean and dismissive most of the time, can be so patent and loving with someone like her. For Brittany this is not surprising at all because she knows that Santana is the best person in the whole world (in both worlds, actually). Santana is just so terrible to most people because she knows that most people don't deserve anything else.

Finally Santana looks away, breaking the spell that had the two girls staring at each other like mesmerized. "You should eat some more, Britt.", she says, taking care of Brittany like always as the blonde sometimes forgets mundane things like eating.

Brittany blinks and smiles dopily at Santana who averts her attention from her and chimes in loudly with her opinion on the matter the others are discussing.

The rest of the school day goes by in a blur and eventually Santana, Brittany and the other Glee kids sit in the choir room with Mr. Shue telling them some story as an introduction to what they would do today. When he is finally finished Rachel leaps out of her seat, squealing so irritatingly high-pitched that Santana rolls her eyes, and starts singing.

Brittany likes the song, so she stands up along with some other Glee kids and starts swaying and dancing to the music that soothingly fills her ears. Whenever Brittany dances everything around her seems to fade away until all thoughts have left her head and all she concentrates on are the fluid and elegant movements of her body. She loses herself in this world of sound and motion, all she perceives is the steady rhythm of the song guiding her. She closes her eyes and enjoys the feeling of her muscles stretching and pulling, her body and the music blending into one perfectly harmonious thing.

Then she feels two warm hands grabbing her own. She opens her eyes and sees Santana's stunningly beautiful face in front of her. Brittany breaks out into her trademark smile, a bright and carefree and childlike one that most people think is inappropriate for her age but that Santana tells her is the most gorgeous thing she has ever seen.

"You look like an elven princess.", Brittany says softly. Santana, who is always so serious and morose, beams at the compliment and spins them around in an untroubled circle.

For every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it. For every truth there is an ear somewhere to hear it. For every love there is a heart somewhere to receive it. Ivan Panin

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