A.N. First off I want to acknowledge that I have previously uploaded this story last year; however I lost all my work when my laptop crashed and burned and I sort of gave up on the story and writing in general. This was the first piece of fan fiction I have ever written and to this date has still not been finished. Hence why I am re-uploading this now with an ending in sight. I've re-written almost every chapter and I hope you enjoy it.
Any name referenced in bold is to let you know who's 'pov' it's in.
Any characters used do not belong to me and the plot twist is inspired by the film of the same title; All the real girls.
Santana.
I watched as the boys messed around in the lake. This was our hideout. The only fucking place in Lima where we could come as a group and just hang out for a while, without feeling as though we were being judged. We were just a bunch of useless fucks who worked for the local garage because we ruined our chances to make something of ourselves.
I laughed along as Finn tried his best to tackle Sam in the water. At one point we all thought Finn was actually going to make it out of this shitty town. He was even considered one of the most athletic boys on the field when it came to football. However, right before one of the biggest games, the one which would have scored him a ticket straight out of Lima, that chick Berry which he was dating broke his heart. Turned out, her and her father's just woke up one morning and made their way to New York. She left him here without as much as an explanation or goodbye. He refused to play that night, the team lost and the rest is history.
Sam caught me watching as he dived out of the way of Finn again and smiled. Sam never went to high school with the rest of us. We met Sam at the fair one summer about 3 years ago. Sam and I dated for a while after that and he tagged along with the little group I call my friends. We didn't last long together as a couple but he remained a very good friend to both me and the rest of the gang. Both his mother and his little sister were sick. Very sick. He chose to stay at home and take care of them after his father left for the city in order to find some employment so he could pay for his family. His mother's illness only got worse and after a long time of suffering she died last year. They said she had a heart attack through the night and passed away in her sleep, that there was nothing more they could have done. After that his father moved back home to be with his family, meaning he lost his job. They may not own much but the love he has with his father and sister allow them to manage.
I took one last drag of the cigar in my hands, savouring the bitter taste which it left in my mouth, before dumping it. I sat up from my position on the banking of the Lake and debated on whether or not I should join the two boys. Noah failed to show up this morning and as much as I love the two idiots I can only spend so much time with them on my own, so I decided to wait out here on the banking for Noah to turn up instead.
Noah Puckerman considered himself the leader of this shitty group. Throughout our lives we had what was considered an odd relationship. It started as best friends when we were young. He was my first kiss when we turned 13 and eventually my first a year after. We thought we could make something work between us, until we reached high school. Despite the constant promises to stay faithful to each other we both continued sleeping with the entire population of WMHS. We broke it off when I realized my preference for the ladies in our senior year. After that things were rocky for a short while, but after my father left my mother and I when I came out to them we made up. He was always there for me. Always had my back. We were best friends. Always had been and as much as the boy infuriated me, I hoped we always would be.
Now, however, it's midday and the sun is casting this fucking horrendous heat all over Lima. It makes it impossible to do anything other than lie around or bathe in water, hence why we decided to spend our day at the Lake. Giving up on waiting for Noah to appear I removed my shirt from my body, cringing at the sight of the sweat which was making my skin glisten. Stupid, fucking heat. Just as I'd finished removing my shorts and had started to place the clothing in my bag a voice caught my attention.
"Looking hot Lopez," Noah smirked, walking towards the old rug which we'd laid out earlier.
"Fuck off Puckerman," I growled, turning my back to him.
"The fuck's wrong with you today?" He questioned, grabbing my wrist and turning me around to face him.
"What's wrong with me, oh, I don't know, how about the fact that you choose the hottest day of the fucking year to disappear off the face of the earth without so much as a text to let us know where you were," I stated, pulling my arm from his grip , "I waited on you out here for fucking three hours, that was three hours you left me alone with those two idiots you bastard" I growled, making sure that he knew I was pissed. After a few seconds of silence I caught his eyes roaming over me and folded both arms over my chest, regretting the fact I'd chosen to wear one of the most revealing bikini's I owned, "and quit your leering perv, you know I'm fucking gay."
"Doesn't hurt to look," He shrugged, "Go on, get in the water, but make it quick, we're going to that café that Quinn works at in ten."
"Are we fuck," I growled, glaring straight at him. "She fucking hates my ass and you know it!"
As I turned towards the water I heard him shout after me, "I don't give a fuck, that's your problem, I'm hungry and that's the closest place to here."
I trailed behind the three boys as they made their way along the back road to the small café on the edge of town. Being the only girl in the group often meant having to put up with all of their childish ways. For a group of 22 year old males they were nowhere near being classed as mature. Not that I was any better. Usually I'd join in with whatever topic they were discussing but the heat had gotten to my head so I was content just to hang back and listen to their conversation.
"Don't beat yourself up man, don't let it get the better of you" Finn replied to Sam, who was moaning about how shitty life had been recently. "Look at life this way, I think it's called the butterfly principle, which is basically if a bird flaps it's wings in Africa, it causes an apple to fall, which causes a chain reaction of a painting to be made of the falling apple, somebody looks at the painting, forgets they gotta pick their mom up at church, runs a red light and gets charged $80. You know, all because a bird flaps it's wings in Sambuca which is over 600 miles away."
We all stopped to stare at Finn, letting a few seconds of silence commence whilst we tried to make sense of what the boy had just said. Finn wasn't the smartest of people, but for some absurd reason we could all relate to what he had just said. We could all twist the words to mean something which fitted each of our lives.
"So in other words," Noah continues, looking straight at Sam. "Life's always gonna be shit."
This only made the silence worse and just as the silence was becoming unbearable Sam looked back at Finn and commented: "Isn't Sambuca a drink?"
"Maybe" Finn replied, as Noah turned and began walking away again, chuckling to himself. After that we continued walking, making small talk about everything. Again I chose to hang back, content just listening.
"Hey, did you all hear about Artie Abram's?" Sam asked.
"No," Finn replied, his face showing his curiosity.
"He got into that car accident," Sam stated.
"The one where the guy cracked his ass off the steering wheel, before going through the front window?" Noah asked, stopping as he faced Sam.
"Are you kidding me?" Finn asked, unsure whether or not to believe what he was hearing.
"Yeah, that one, the boy snapped his whole god damned neck in half," Sam stated, turning to face the other two boys.
"Oh god," Finn said, his face visibly paling.
"They say he's gonna be paralysed and put in a wheelchair for the rest of his life," Noah commented, turning back to look right at me.
"I've never known anybody in a wheelchair before," Finn said, a new tone of wonder in his voice.
From behind them I scoffed, looking straight at Noah before commenting, "man, that dude's a dumbass, and we all know he's a shit driver."
Noah turned his face away from me when he heard the venom in my voice, god knows he knows how much I hated the boy Abrams. As far as I was concerned he had got what was coming to him.
We reached the Café and thankfully luck was on my side for when we entered the old building Quinn decided it was time for her to take a break. We sat down at a small table in the corner of the building and Noah gestured for a small brunette waitress to come over.
"Come on girl, help me out here?" Finn said, turning towards me, almost pleading. "You know Spanish better than any of us."
Both he and Sam were discussing something about the Spanish language, I don't know, I wasn't really listening.
"Well, I mean, you know... Just because I'm Latina does not mean I speak fluent Spanish. That's.. Look, I've been to school, that's the last and only time I ever spoke the bloody language, that's about it dude, I'm not supposed to know all the words in the dictionary from it." I scoffed, resting back in my seat and trying to avoid the conversation.
"Don't you have a Spanish cousin?" Sam asked, turning his gaze towards me.
"I know that albóndiga is meatball soup," Finn said seriously, looking at us both, "and, uh, dios is..."
Noticing that Finn was struggling for words I decided to chime in: "Mujer is woman."
"Moo-hair?" Both Sam and Finn said at the same time, confusion laced through their voices.
"I don't think so, girl." Finn says, shaking his head at the thought.
"M-u-j-e-r." I growl, spelling it our for them.
"Are you sure, 'cause I think señorita is woman." Finn says, turning towards Sam for back up.
"Yeah San, Finn's right." Sam states, only to be interrupted by the young waitress who came towards our table.
We ordered our food and generally had a good time in each other's company, despite Finn being a complete idiot most of the time, it was oddly fun. After about an hour we decided it was best that we each made our way back to our respective homes.
"Uh, guys, before you go," Noah said, looking straight at us all as we exited the café and started walking down the back road, "My sisters just come back to town.."
"What, the blonde one who went to boarding school?" Finn interrupted.
"Dude, I only have one fucking sister," Noah spat, "but yes, the school years over, she'll be here until September, then she's moving to New York to become a writer."
"That's great bro, but what's that got to do with us?" Sam questioned, looking at me to see if I knew anything. I just shrugged in response.
"Look mom's throwing her a welcome home party tomorrow night at our place, it'll be a BBQ outdoors, Mom's invited the whole fucking town as she doesn't know a lot of folk round here, so I'd appreciate it if you guys came along," Noah said, his tone becoming serious, "party starts at 7.30pm sharp, make sure you're all wearing something decent and Finn, if I catch you so much as looking at my sister in the wrong way you won't have your nuts by the end of the night, got it."
Finn cringed and turned a deep shade of beetroot as he watched Noah walk away and Sam just stood and laughed at the boy's reaction.
"Looks like I'll be seeing you both tomorrow," Sam said, a grin gracing his features, "I'll come pick you up at 7 tomorrow San."
I nodded at the boy, grimacing at the thought of having to spend a whole night in the company of half the town. It's not that I don't like social contact; it's just that almost everybody in this fucking town hates me. This usually means that I end up spending the whole night by myself watching as Sam and Finn try and get off with any girl who so much as looks in their direction. Not that their failed attempts don't amuse me, but after a while it gets a little boring, which usually results in me drinking an unhealthy amount of whisky with Noah and calling Quinn, which never ends well. With a small sigh I say goodbye to Sam and Finn and make my way back to the run-down apartment I share with my mother. Fuck, tomorrow is going to be such a long, shitty night.
I dragged my ass out of bed around about midday. The sun was out again and the heat was just as fucking bad. Groaning I made my way out to the back lawn and lay down on the grass, closing my eyes and just basked in the heat. Tonight was not something which I was remotely looking forward to. Having to spend hours with everyone in this town. Quinn would probably be there as well if Noah's mom had put together the invite list. Hours passed and before I knew it mom had come home from work, shouting that she had something for me in the kitchen.
Sighing, I got up from my position out back and took my time wandering into the house. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom. It's just, sometimes she can be a bit too much to handle. When I walked through the door I found her sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth, dressed in that ridiculous clown outfit which she considered amusing.
My mother was a professional clown. I know what you're thinking, but she volunteers at the local hospital, going down there three times a week to cheer up and distract all of the younger, sick patients. I respect her for it; it's not something which I think I could ever do. She's experienced so many young children losing their lives, it's a wonder she's still so happy all of the time. Although, she could really do with losing the outfit... and the face paint.
"Look what I bought on my way home from work," She sang, hopping off of the counter and making her way over to me, swinging the bag in front of my face and grinning from ear to ear.
I took the bag from her hands and emptied out its contents. Inside had been a beautiful pair of deep red heels which practically screamed sex. They must have cost a fucking fortune.
"Mom, how much did these cost?" I ask, looking at her.
"Oh, don't worry about that love, it was just a small fortune, plus, they match that dress you looked out for tonight."
"Mom," I sighed, dropping the shoes back into the bag and looking at her seriously.
Since my dad had left us we'd been struggling for money. My father was a surgeon; he made the most income whilst mom spent her days down at the hospital. After he left we lost our old house and had to move into this crummy house which used to belong to my grandmother.
"Santana," my mother warned, searching deep into my eyes. "What kind of parent would I be if I didn't treat my daughter once in a while, now go put them away for later and start smiling, you'd think I'd just handed you a dead puppy with a face like that."
"Whatever," I shrugged, knowing she was right. "Do me a favour though, take that make up off of your face, you look ridiculous."
She laughed, leaned in to brush her bright red nose against the side of my cheek in an attempt to rub some of it off onto my face and then took off for the bathroom. I walked to my room and dumped the god damned shoe's down beside my outfit for tonight.
"How was your day?" I asked mom over dinner.
"Oh, it wasn't bad, one little boy was sick all over Miss P, much to her disliking," mom chuckled.
"I bet she loved that, did she freak out?" I smirked. Miss P was the most annoying person in all of Lima, since Berry left. She had a raging case of OCD and decided the best job in the world would be becoming a children's nurse, dealing with all the mess a young child makes throughout their stay in the hospital. This often meant that she was highly intolerable which made situations like this much more enjoyable for mother and I.
"Of course she did, the poor boy was devastated. We had to sit him down and explain to him that he hadn't really done anything wrong." Mom replied, a sad smile gracing her features.
Silence took over the meal for a while, both of us just content to sit in the silence and enjoy the food.
"I noticed that Sam's sister wasn't in the ward today, she doing ok?" Mom asked, standing up from the table and clearing her plate.
"I don't know, Sam's never mentioned anything." I say, shrugging my shoulders, suddenly losing my appetite. I had always been fond of Sam's little sister, she was the sweetest little girl I'd ever met.
"San," my mom said, walking towards me and resting a hand on my shoulder. "Just because she wasn't in today doesn't mean that something bad has happened. She may have even felt a little better."
"Yeah," I mumbled, pushing away from her grasp and walking towards the door, "I'm going to start getting ready, shout to me if you see Sam pull up."
"Santana, honey, Sam's here." My mother shouted from her position in the front room.
Taking one last look at myself I smirked. Noah had said to look decent and I'd sure as hell made an effort. I walked into the front room and embraced my mother, promising that I wouldn't get too drunk or arrive home too late. I walked to Sam's truck which I noticed was loaded with beer bottles.
"You look nice," Sam said, starting the truck and turning to face the road. "Feel free to take a bottle, there for us."
"Thanks," I muttered, reaching behind me to grab a bottle and taking the cap off with my teeth. "I didn't realise we had to bring our own?"
"We didn't, I just thought, since I didn't know how much Noah's mom would provide, at least this way there's enough for us to get drunk off of if we want too." Sam said, never taking his eyes off of the road.
I laughed a little at his logic and leaned back in the passengers seat enjoying the soft hum of music coming through the speakers of Sam's truck. I turned to face out of the window knowing that we had a good ten minute drive until we'd reach Noah's. Most of the ride after that was spent in silence with Sam attempting to make small talk every now and then.
"You alright, you're a little quiet?" Sam asked as we turned the last corner, nearing Noah's.
"Mom said that Stacy wasn't in the ward today?" I stated, turning to look at his face.
Sam managed to get a space directly in front of Noah's and grabbed the bottles from the back.
"And?" he questioned, his voice never faltered.
"Just wondered if there was something wrong which you weren't telling us, that's all" I snapped, climbing out of the truck and slamming the door closed.
"Look," Sam said, following me out of the truck and grabbing my hand before I could storm away from him. "It's nothing that you need to know right this moment, lets.. lets just enjoy tonight ok."
I nodded and took a couple of bottles from him, knowing that there was no point in arguing any further. It didn't look like I was going to have many friends to keep me company tonight and I was in no mood to decrease that number of people any further.
"You know she's going to die eventually though, right?" Sam whispered, turning away from me and walking towards the house.
By half eight the party was in full swing. Noah was taking charge of the barbecue and the food, Noah's mom was making her way around all the adults present, some of which I recognised as member of the Puckerman family and some of which I knew to be neighbours. Finn was currently on the make shift dance floor "grooving" to some shitty song which was being blasted full volume, trying to catch a red headed girl's eye. Not that he was doing much good for himself. The boy couldn't dance for shit. Sam was by the table which was holding all the drinks chatting to a group of people our age which I recognised from town but never bothered to ever acknowledge.
I spent my time sitting on the logs by the fire, humming along to the poor excuse of music which was being played and allowing my body to consume as much alcohol as it desired. I spotted Quinn sitting on the rug farther down the lawn with a group of girls I recognised as old students from WMHS. She must have felt me staring at her as she turned around, meeting my eyes for a short second before sending me her best bitch glare and turning her focus to the girl next to her, purposely resting a hand on the girl's thigh.
Sighing I knocked back another bottle and threw it to the ground before resuming my position of people watching. That's when I noticed her. The blonde haired, blue eyed teenager staring at me from the dance floor. She was wearing dark denim jeans and one of Noah's shirts. Ridiculous really considering the weather we'd been suffering recently. We held each other's gaze for what felt like hours but was only really a matter of minutes before I ducked my head.
I knew this blonde. She was Noah's sister, Brittany. Last time I'd saw her she was seven years old and I was eleven. I thought she was just some stupid little girl. Then before we all knew it she was shipped off to some dance academy for children before going on to boarding school. Fuck had she changed. No longer the little girl but a mature and fucking gorgeous young woman.
"Hey, mind if I join you?" Brittany asked her voice soft and her eyes glowing.
"Sure," I smiled, moving over on the log to make room for us both to get seated.
"I'm Brittany and you're Noah's friend, right? The one that kicked dirt in my face when I was six," She states, grinning at me. Her eyes never leaving my face.
"Yeah," I chuckle, looking at her properly for the first time, noticing the colour of her eyes. They were ocean blue, a very beautiful ocean blue, almost the same as Noah's. "Sorry about that by the way, I was a wicked child."
She laughs and I swear I've never heard anything so angelic.
"So, you're back from boarding school right?" I ask, shifting on the log so that I can face her.
We conversed for hours, just the two of us sat by the fire on the old log. She tells me about her time at boarding school and her plans for college in September. For once I listen to every detail of the conversation. There's something about her voice which is captivating. I listen as she tells me about the difficulties of having to share a dorm with snobby rich kids who think they're better just because their "daddy can afford to send them away to proper schooling." She tells me about her best friend Kurt and how she swears he's going to famous one day. She tells me about her interests and I learn that she could spend forever talking about dancing. I learn that sometimes she wonders if she has what it takes to become a dancer. I learn that she loves country music, although she'd deny ever saying that if I told anybody else.
In return I tell her about my mom and the work she does at the local hospital. I tell her about my job working down at the garage which Finns step-dad owns. I tell her about my time at WMHS and entertain her with stories of the bitches which I met. I tell her about my own interests and confide that sometimes I wish I'd graduated and had what it takes to go off and make my own music. I tell her that my favourite genre of music is also country or jazz before confirming that if she told anyone that I'd also deny it, which makes her laugh. I tell her what her brothers been up to whilst she's been out of town.
I find that I enjoy Brittany's company more than I thought I would. I guess that I spend so much time with the guys and my mom that I'd forgotten how good it felt to have a proper conversation with another girl. I sneak her a beer from Sam's collection when I'm positive that both Noah and their mom isn't looking and simply enjoy her company and when she smiles at me, the light from the fire reflecting in her eyes I'm suddenly glad that I came tonight.
The song that was playing comes to an end and the intro to whatever is coming on next is slowly starting to blast through the yard. She squeals suddenly and her eye's light up even more, a bright smile gracing her face.
"I LOVE this song," she explains, bouncing up and down on the log a couple of times before humming and swaying along to the beat.
"What is it?" I ask, knowing I haven't heard of it.
"Are you kidding me?" she almost shouts, disbelief covering her face, "It's called Edge of Glory, by Lady Gaga?"
"Nope, never heard it." I shake my head, "Thought you loved country?"
"You're knowledge of good music is appalling," she states, shaking her head at me and laughing, still swaying along to the beat. "and I do, but this one's catchy, plus the girls in the dorm would play it all the time, begins to grow on you quickly."
I smile at her logic and watch her dance for a moment longer.
"You should go dance," I comment, gesturing towards her swaying.
"By myself, yeah right." She laughs before her eyes suddenly develop a new spark in them, "dance with me?"
It's a command, not really a question. I glance around and notice that Noah's still busy serving the numerous amount of guests food. I notice Sam still standing conversing with the group of people whose names I never bothered to learn. I notice that Finn's no longer on the dance floor and instead has managed to sneak off with some brunette who looks as though they're still in high school. I notice that Quinn's still focused on the girls whom she's sitting with. Brittany's still looking at me, her eyes staring straight into my own, ocean blue meeting chocolate brown and that smile is still plastered all over her face. There was no way I could say no to her looking at me like this.
"I can't dance," I manage to blurt out as Brittany stands, holding out her hand for me to take.
"Of course you can," she laughs, shaking her head. "Everyone can dance, plus you'll have me there, I won't let you look stupid."
Glancing at Noah one last time and discovering that he's still busy I relent, setting my drink down and laughing at myself as I almost fall over my own feet upon standing up. I realise I've drunk more than I originally thought I had and try to make my way graciously to where Brittany is standing, her hand outstretched.
Brittany
Growing up I was always told that home was "where the heart is." I suppose that's what got me through eight years of private education away from home. It wasn't easy. It was never really set up to be though I suppose. Unlike the other kids I was chosen to attend the academy through a scholarship due to the fact that the dance teacher happened to attend one of my recitals when I was younger and was "very impressed" with my performance, whereas they had had to go through numerous years of studying in order to pass the high standard exams to even get the chance to attend. Unless you were lucky enough to be related to someone who earned enough to buy your way into the education system.
I suppose that was the reason why the majority of the students disliked me. They'd either worked their entire lives to get into a school like this or they owned so much land that their expectations of people were unrealistically high as well. They just brushed me off as some stupid little girl who only got in due to the fact that she was 'underprivileged.' It's not like I minded much, it turns out that spending most days by yourself means you can actually focus on studying more which ultimately produces good results when it comes to the end of year exams.
Now however, school was over and I was back home. Back with my family. Back with my mother who kept wrapping me up in hugs and continually showered me with affection right from the moment I stepped off the plane on my return to Lima. Back to my brother who tried to act as though he didn't care but I could see the pride and adoration in his eyes every time we spoke on the car ride home. Yes, it was definitely good to be back home.
The first thing I done was spent some time in my room. Nothing had changed since I was last here, the walls were still that sickly yellow colour I used to love as a child, the carpet was still cream. Nobody had taken down the posters of all the Disney princesses which I was obsessed with as a child. My books were still aligned in alphabetical order of the author on my bookshelf. Even the clothes I last had on before I had flew back out last summer were still strewn across the floor.
I removed the clothes and started to unpack the basic necessities which I would be needing over the next few days. Things like my toothbrush, hairbrush, perfume. I sorted through my washing before leaving the rest of my bag for later.
Lying on my bed I closed my eyes and embraced the comforting smell which was that which resembled home. Mom had told me that she had invited a few of the neighbours and our family round to celebrate my coming home and graduating. I'd smiled at her due to the fact that I didn't have the heart to tell her that I just wanted to spend the night in with her and Noah, cuddled up in the living area watching crappy tv shows. The type of things you learn to miss whilst you're away from home for so long. Knowing that there was no way I was going to get out of this party I decided to do the next best thing to cuddling on the sofa. I grabbed a pair of my mom's old jeans and tied a belt around them to keep them upright before grabbing one of Noah's shirts and shoving it on. Sure I would probably overheat but at least I felt like home.
Dinner passed reasonably quick and before I knew it people had begun turning up to the house for my party. Mom had done a great job setting up the lawn to make room for everyone. She'd laid out rugs and old blankets on the grass and set up a fire with a few logs around it. Noah had a barbeque going and was busy preparing a ton of food for everyone. They'd managed to set up a few tables near the door to the house which currently held the drink. They'd set up the speakers that Noah had gotten for his birthday not that long ago and were blaring music at an illegal volume. They'd even cleared out the back of the lawn to make what I'm sure was supposed to resemble a dance floor. It was pretty awesome.
By about eight thirty in the evening the whole lawn was packed with people. Some of whom were family and were more than excited to see me. Some, I recognised from my old dance class when I was younger who were pleased at the chance to catch up with me. Others I knew as neighbours from our area, the type of people you always see in passing but hardly talk to. However, some people I assumed had heard about the bash from Noah as I had no recollection of who they were and so just guessed that they'd came for the chance to get pissed.
My cousin Emily eventually managed to drag me up to the makeshift dance floor to dance. It was nice for a while, until everybody started to join us and the area became cramped. One girl, a blonde with an insane amount of attitude crashed completely into Emily whilst we were dancing resulting in a minor scene being caused. After that we settled for standing off to the side and began chatting. She told me all of what my uncle had been up to whilst I was gone and even shared some interesting stories about Noah. I was starting to have a pretty good time with Emily when something caught my eye.
A Latina girl was sat by herself near the fire, divulging her way through bottles of alcohol. I figured that she must have been waiting for someone to reappear and so I watched her actions from afar for a short while, completely intrigued by her. After about ten minutes I came to the conclusion that she wasn't waiting on anybody to return and was simply here by herself.
I excused myself from Emily, telling her that I had to go and talk to some of the others who I had just noticed had arrived and wandered over to the other side of the dance area to get a better look at the girl.
From my new position I could see her more clearly. She had dark flowing hair and tan skin. Almost the colour of caramel. She was frowning into her bottle, trying her hardest to avoid the death glare that were being sent her way from the blonde girl whom I recognised as being the one to crash into Emily. I tried to converse with those around me so as not to make it too obvious that I was outright staring at this girl.
Her eyes darted around the lawn. For a moment they stopped on my brother, watching him contently as he continued to serve the numerous people food which he had made. She then turned her glance to my mom, smiling as she watched her make her way around the various members of my family, chatting enthusiastically. She soon turned her attention to the giant boy not too far from me who was currently flailing his arms and legs about on the dance floor. I can only assume that he thought he was dancing. She then looked towards a blonde boy by the drinks area who was deep in conversation with people who I assumed were Noah's friends and I didn't recognise any of them. She carefully, almost skilfully, avoided the glare that was again sent her way by the blonde before casting her eyes onto my brother once more. She watched him for a little while longer and it was then that I realised who this girl was.
When I was six, Noah came home from school one day overly excited, exclaiming that he had made a new friend and that they were going to be best friends forever. Nobody took him serious at first as he went through friends quicker than he went through shoes. However, after a few months we began to realise that this friend was here to stay and more importantly, she was a girl. She started spending more time at our house and before long the two were inseparable. You would never find one without the other. The following year another boy joined their little crew and I thought that she might start to play with me more, now that my brother had friends which were boys. One day when she was over I noticed that Noah and his new friend were ignoring her whilst they played some stupid ball game. Trying to be nice I had asked her if she wanted to share my dolls with me or perhaps we could practise some dance routines but she just ignored me. When I asked again she told me I was just a silly girl and laughed at me before running away to try and join the two boys.
After that incident I'd always avoided the girl. Last time I saw her was when I was ten before I jetted off for the first time to my new home at the big private school. Looking at her again now, I could see the resemblance to that fiery young girl I'd always known her as. Her skin still looked as smooth, the only difference was that the colour had gotten a little lighter. Meanwhile her hair had grown out, no longer the short shoulder length bob it once used to be. Now I noted that she'd grown it out long so that it stopped about the middle of her back, settling in a variation of waves. She must have noticed me staring then as her eyes connected with mine for a moment. Her eyes were still the same chocolate brown colour that they'd always been. I'd always found them lovely, not just because I like the colour but because even as a young girl her eyes had always shown so much more emotion that she let show on her face.
Something about her kept me drawn to her. I mean she looks gorgeous in that one shouldered red top and those black high waisted denim shorts with a stunning pair of red heels to match. It was more than that though. It was her attitude, the way she was tensed up as though something bad was about to happen. Her eyes glazed over although they were still staring in my direction and I took this as a cue to make my way over to her. When I got closer I realised that she had let her mind wander somewhere else. Reaching out I let my hand fall onto her shoulder.
"Hey, mind if a join you?" I asked in my gentlest tone, trying not to startle her.
"Sure," she smiled back at me, moving around on the log in a somewhat flustered manner until there was eventually space for the both of us to sit.
"I'm Brittany," I introduced, trying to dull the nerves that were building up in my stomach out of fear that I would make an idiot of myself, "and your Noah's friend, right? The one that kicked dirt in my face when I was six?"
I'm such an idiot. Why the hell would I say something like that. Stupid Brittany. Stupid!
"Yeah," she laughs, which I assume is a good sign. "Sorry about that by the way, I was a wicked child."
She smirks as she says that and I can't help but laugh. It was so true. Her and Noah would always be getting into trouble as young children.
"So you're back from boarding school right?" she asks, visibly relaxing and shifting on the log so that she's facing me and I take this as my cue to start talking.
We converse then for what feels like the whole night. Just the two of us sat by the fire under the stars. Every time she smiles or laughs the glow from the fire reflects in her eyes and I can feel my tummy doing little flips. I've never felt this way before. She asks me questions about my time at boarding school and she listens to everything I tell her. She laughs at my stories of all the girls I encountered throughout my time at the Academy and I swear its the sweetest sound I've ever heard. When the conversation begins to feel a bit one sided I ask her questions about herself and unlike the young latina who would reject even the slightest bit of contact with me, she openly accepts it. She answers everything I ask her readily with a grin on her face. I learn that her names Santana and that she lives with her mother on the other side of town. I learn that she's been openly gay since high school and that she works for the same garage that my brother works for. She informs me that she's still good friends with my brother and the giant that was dancing earlier whom I learn is the little boy that joined their crew shortly before I left. She introduces me to Sam and manages to sneak me a couple of alcoholic beverages when she's sure that my mom and brother aren't looking.
We're so busy talking that I almost miss it when the speakers start playing the intro to my new favourite song. I'm so excited by the fact that it's playing that I manage to squeal out loud. Smooth Brittany. Smooth. However I notice that Santana isn't laughing at me but instead smiling up at me.
"I LOVE this song!" I state, moving my body along with the rhythm.
"What is it?" She asks, her face showing what can only be described as a very concentrated look whilst she tries to figure it out.
"Are you kidding me?" I almost shout at her, genuinely shocked and at a loss for words that she hasn't heard of this before. When she looks at me curiously I realise that she really has no clue. "It's called Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga."
"Nope never heard of it," She says whilst shaking her head, she pauses for a moment then looks up at me smirking. "I thought you loved country?"
"You're knowledge of good music is appalling," I state, shaking my head dramatically at her before laughing, "and I do, but this one's catchy, plus the girls in the dorm would play it all the time, begins to grow on you quickly."
She smiles and watched me for a moment.
"You should go dance." She says, gesturing towards my body which is unconsciously swaying along to the rhythm on the log.
"By myself, yeah right." I laugh. I watch her for a moment before an idea hits me, "dance with me?"
In a matter of seconds her eyes convey so many emotions. First they show that she's shocked that I've asked her before immediately changing to one of happiness. Then they shift to something which I register as being uncomfortable. I notice that she glances around her surroundings quickly before looking back up into my eyes. I smile at her and try to plead with my eyes. Now that she's mentioned it I really want to dance to this song and we've been having such a good time together so far that I don't want it to end.
"I can't dance," She states, her face showing no emotions as she looks into my eyes. I reach out my hand for her to take and laugh.
"Of course you can," I say, shaking my head slightly and shoving my hand closer to her. "Everyone can dance, plus you'll have me there, I won't let you look stupid."
With one last glance towards Noah she relents and takes my hand, allowing me to drag her up onto the dance floor.
I had such a great night with Santana that night that I exchanged numbers with her and made her promise to call me sometime soon. I've now been home for over a month and have settled into a comfortable routine. I get up in the morning and do the chores around the house. After lunch I go out and visit Noah at work, although it's really just an excuse to see Santana again if I'm being honest. Sometime I take Sam's sister with me as I like to spend my afternoons hanging out with her. She's such a sweetheart and doesn't let being ill stop her from doing anything. I usually have dinner at home before making excuses about going out with a couple of the girls I knew from dance class. Really I head over to Santana's place where we'll hang out with Maribel, Santana's mom, for a while before going out walking somewhere.
Santana kept her promise and called me the next day and since then we've been meeting at least once every day. Most nights we walk to an old woodland where we sit underneath a tree and talk about anything and everything. I find it amazing that it's possible to talk with one person for hours on end without ever getting bored or running out of things to talk about. It's quiet there and it's some place where nobody will see us together. It's not that we like hiding it's just that Santana doesn't want my brother to feel uncomfortable. Although I don't know how he'd feel uncomfortable. It's not as if we're doing anything wrong. He knows and has excepted that I'm bisexual and Santana says he knows that she's gay so unless there's something which she isn't telling me then I don't see what the problem is.
Three weeks after the party and the continuous time that we spent together she admitted that she found me very attracted and I informed her about my own sexuality. We then spent the night discussing our feelings, admittedly this was something which I had to almost force her to do but it was worth it in the end. We now have some sort of odd relationship formed. We're more than friends and I've never felt this way around anyone before but I'm not sure if you'd be able to class it as a real relationship.
You see, Santana never fails to amaze me. She has a way of making me feel comfortable all the time. She doesn't ever bother that I'm four years younger than her, she claims that age is just a number. One thing I have noticed though is that she's hesitant. She wont hug me goodbye at nights and wont even hold my hand, let alone kiss me goodnight. Yes, I'll admit that I've never had a relationship before so I'm not entirely sure how this whole thing works but from what I've read and saw in the movies I'm pretty sure that there's supposed to be some level of intimacy. Especially when I'm as attracted to her as I am. It's just so frustrating when the most I can ever get out of her is for her to lock our pinkies together.
We sit by the tree for hours. It's a nice night and the weather is pretty good again. We're talking about our childhood when I suddenly get an idea. Above her on the tree I notice a patch of bark which has come undone slightly, making it possible to carve into. Grabbing a stone with a sharp end and with much pleading to Santana I eventually manage to carve both of our names into the trunk of the tree and date it. She smiles at me at takes a photo of the tree with our names newly carved into it before turning the device towards me and taking another photo. I laugh at her antics and turn towards the tree with my own phone to take my own picture. It's then that I notice the time and my mood suddenly deflates.
I hate this part the most. The part where I have to say goodbye to Santana and then act as though she doesn't even exist throughout the day. I take one quick, sneaky picture of Santana, setting it as my wallpaper before picking up my things from the floor and looking at the Latina.
"I should probably start heading back now, you coming?" I ask.
She nods and locks her pinkie with mines before we walk again. We always walk back to town in silence, simply enjoying the feel of being in the others company. We eventually reach the alley which acts as a short cut to get back to my place, and stop. We spend a few minutes just silently staring at each other with our pinkies interlocked.
"What're you doing?" She asks when I glance away, her stare becoming too much, her voice husky from the cigar she smoked by the tree.
"I'm just staring at that wall," I start, knowing that I sound stupid. I stop speaking then and she looks at me, her eyes full of concern. I take a deep breath in and then continue. "I'm looking at that wall and I'm wondering, why won't you kiss me."
The smile drops from her face and she looks at the ground for a moment. She looks back up, staring straight into my eyes and I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's searching for the right words to say.
"I... I wont..." she stutters, shaking her head and laughing at herself slightly, "I wont kiss you, because I'm scared that if Noah asks if I've kissed you, then I'll have to say yes."
I smile at her, letting her know that I understand. Getting an idea I unlock my pinkie from hers and move my hand closer to my stomach.
"Well, maybe you kiss me right here" I say, gesturing towards the inside of my thumb on my now free hand.
"What," She says, looking slightly amused at the idea, "Right there."
"Yeah," I nod back at her as she reaches out her hand and brushes her fingers over the smooth skin on the bottom of my thumb.
"Okay," She states.
She looks at me for a short moment before lifting my hand towards her face and slowly, so agonizingly slowly connects her lips to the skin on my hand. She stays like that for a moment, her eyes still locked with mines before pulling back slightly and smirking. It takes every fibre in me not to jump her right there. The second she lets go of my hand I step forward and take charge, cupping her face with my hands and looking into her eyes, taking in every emotion they show before pressing my lips onto hers for the first time.
A.N. Well that's the first chapter. Newly re-written.
This is my first story and I really look forward to developing it and taking all the readers on Santana and Brittany's journey.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, any constructive criticism is welcomed.