This is a 2-shot response to a fanslide prompt for "Elastic Heart" by Sia. I suggest you give it a listen before/during reading. Rated M for the second chapter. Enjoy!

The door to my bedroom slammed shut behind me as I let the first sob escape my lips. I pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes, willing the tears to be sucked back into the ducts before they could fall, knowing that once they were released it would be hours before they stopped.

How could I be so stupid?

I had gone to Brittany's locker to finally be honest with her, to tell her how I really feel about her. Her locker, in the middle of the main hall at school, probably wasn't the best spot to confess my love to her, but I wasn't really thinking.

The past few weeks with her had forced me to admit that I love her and that there wasn't anything I could do about it. I had tried for ages to control my feelings, to convince myself it was just some dumb high school crush, or normal feelings that everyone had for their best friend. In the end, my heart had won and I couldn't stop myself from falling.

I had been watching her all morning. Her hair was in a messy braid that fell to the side of her shoulder. I loved when she had her hair that way, because I knew her little sister had most likely insisted on braiding it the night before. Brittany's lateness to first period confirmed my thoughts; she hadn't had time to fix her hair since she woke up.

I spent the day trying to figure out how to do it, how to confront her and spill my guts. I didn't really know how she would react. On the one hand, she might already know; in fact, I was pretty positive she did. But on the other hand, she could be horrified and totally freaked out. I knew the second option was unlikely, because her sexuality was as fluid as the ocean and there was no way she would give a rat's ass if mine was capital-G-gay.

It took me until right before lunch period to find her. She was struggling with her locker combination, as she always did, and I stood back for a beat or two until she managed to get it open. A couple of textbooks immediately fell out and onto the floor, but she didn't seem to mind. She just watched them tumble before stuffing her backpack into her locker and removing the pen from behind her ear before placing it into her mouth.

I thought now was the best time to approach her, so I walked up and bent down to pick her books up for her before she had the chance.

"Oh," she started as she looked down at me crouched beside her. "Hey, Santana."

I couldn't bring myself to make eye contact, not yet.

"Hi," I muttered, slowing standing and straightening the books in my arm before handing them to her. "Here."

"Thanks," she said cheerily, taking the books and turning to push them into her locker on top of her backpack.

I sighed, knowing I couldn't keep it in any longer. She was so cute and sweet and I had to face this eventually.

"Brittany," I started, my tone more serious than intended.

She turned to me, her locker door still open, giving me a perfect view of the pictures of us that were stuck to the inside. She furrowed her blow slightly upon seeing my expression, our eyes finally meeting.

"You okay?" she asked, worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said, letting out the breath I had been holding. "But I need to tell you something."

"Oh-kaaay," Brittany started, closing the door to her locker quietly, not bothering to fix the lock. "Wait, does this have anything to do with what happened to Zizes in the cafeteria today? Because, Santana, I know you can be cruel, but that was probably a little too much."

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped from my lips.

"No, Britt, not that. I didn't have anything to do with it."

Brittany brushed some of the loose strands of hair that were in her face behind her ear, smiling.

"Cool."

I took a step closer to her, taking in one last breath before speaking.

"Brittany, I need to talk to you about something really important. About me," I started, my eyes roaming the hall before landing on hers. "About…us."

"Sure, okay," she answered, looking as confused as ever.

It was now or never.

"I have feelings for you," I said, my brown eyes locked on her blue. "More-than-friends-feelings, Brittany."

Her brow furrowed, eyes never leaving mine.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" I asked, eager to continue but not wanting to confuse her further.

She just nodded her head, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, waiting for me to continue.

"I know I've dated a lot of boys and stuff, and I know we kiss sometimes and I told you it didn't mean anything…but that was a lie. It did mean something, does mean something, to me."

Brittany's expression didn't change, but something shifted in her eyes as she listened.

"Brittany, I—I love you, okay? I love you. And not just in a best friends way. In a…romantic way."

I waited a beat.

Then another.

And then another.

"Say something," I said, almost a whisper.

That seemed to jar her back into reality, and she shook her head slightly.

"Santana, I…" she started, willing the words to come to her. "I don't really know what to say."

Her eyes were boring into me, and that was all it took. I looked back at her locker for a split second before speaking again.

"Forget it, okay? Just—forget it."

I turned on my heel and pushed through the crows of kids, my hands gripping the straps of my backpack, knuckles white. I turn to look for her, didn't stop until this moment, when I was finally alone, closed up in my room.

Why did I think she wouldn't be freaked out? Why did I think everything would turn out okay? She was my best friend; She had been for pretty much our entire lives. Springing this on her in this way, it was foolish. I should have known that her reaction wouldn't be a positive one. I should've have known she'd be repulsed, or weirded out, or shocked, or whatever the hell it was that made her respond the way she did.

The tears came, and I let them. I walked to my bed and climbed onto it, curling into the fetal position, face pressed against my pillows. There was no use in trying to remain calm. Nothing was going to be okay. My world, the one I had worked so hard to build and keep intact, was quickly crumbling, and there was nothing I could do about it.

My sobs wracked my body, my nose so full of mucus that I was gasping just to breathe. I couldn't stop the sounds that were coming out from between my lips. I had never cried like this in my entire life, and it was terribly painful but also kind of a relief. At least I could move on now. I could go back to being a stone-cold bitch and none would be the wiser.

Except, that is, for Brittany.

Of course, at that precise moment, there was a soft knock on my door, and before I had time to register it, the door was slowly pushed open and I heard my name being called, softly.

"Santana?"

It was Brittany.

Part 2 coming soon