This chapter takes place BEFORE the first chapter, just so you all know. Thanks for reading, and I don't claim to own Glee.
1:30 Santana thought to herself. I'll probably be late to class again. Or, maybe I just won't go. Well, actually, I probably should. She debated internally. Sigh. She slid across the booth, and stood from her table. The scratched iPhone that previously rested on her right thigh slid off of her lap, and fell to the ground making a sharp clatter noise when it met the floor. She simply sighed again, and stooped over to pick it up. This was a typical occurrence for Santana. She swiped it moodily from the ground, and shoved it roughly into her front pocket. I hate math she thought to herself as she forcefully pushed her notebooks into her already over-filled backpack. She paused mid-grunt, and a smile slowly crept up her face. Well, she thought, I may not like math, but at least Brit has it with me. She nodded in approval at this positive thinking, and situated her backpack on her shoulders.
The walk to her math building from the student cafeteria wasn't far. A slanted, concrete walkway connected the entrances to both of the buildings. Santana had made it about halfway down this walkway when she noticed a group of tall, muscular boys that had centered themselves in the middle of the path. They were leering at Santana, arms crossed, and sadistic smiles playing up their cheeks. Oh no thought Santana. Here we go again. She had been constantly harassed by this particular group of homophobes ever since they had seen Brittany and Santana together one afternoon. Beatings were just a typical occurrence; Santana knew not to complain, because at least they weren't hitting Brittany.
"Where ya headed, dyke?" sneered the leader of the group, Klyde.
"To a bright, fulfilling future. I know you chose the other path.." retorted Santana, "so, I suppose I will let you get on your way" she finished. Klyde's expression changed from disgust to absolute fury. Uh oh, thought Santana. Wrong thing to say. Klyde kicked her roughly behind her ankles, effectively knocking her to the ground. Santana felt her head hit the ground with a rough crack. Santana groaned in pain.
"You shouldn't have said that, you stupid gay slut! I guess we are going to have to teach you another lesson" spat Klyde. Santana thought about begging him to let her go, but she knew better than that. The more she screamed and tried to get away, the rougher the beating would get. Klyde delivered a rough kick to her side, as if reminding her that she wouldn't be able to scream for help. He wordlessly held out his hand, making eye contact with the shorter man behind him. The man's face contorted into an evil sneer, and he reached into his bag, retrieving a long, blunt bat. Oh crap she thought. They found a cop's baton. Klyde snatched it from his friend, and rolled it between his hands, taunting the latina.
"I don't know if you've ever been chased by a cop, dyke, but these things hurt like hell when they catch up with you" he remarked. He raised the baton above his head, and it was all Santana could do to shield herself before he began raining blow after blow upon her face. He began to grunt and yell at her, but she paid no attention to his words. She could hear his friends laughing and calling in the background, egging him on. Before long, she could taste something metallic that seemed to be coming from both her throat and her nose. Santana couldn't say how long she lay there, shielding herself. It felt like hours. Finally, Klyde retreated, carelessly tossing the bloodied baton back to the short man.
"For your sake, I hope I finally beat the gay out of you. Don't let me catch you with that blonde whore again, or I will kill you" Klyde hissed. The word rang through her throbbing skull, whore. He had just called her beautiful, sweet Brittany a whore. Despite the dull aches and pains, Santana was furious. She rolled to her feet and caught Klyde around the throat before his gang had time to react.
"DON'T YOU DARE CALL HER A WHORE" she screamed furiously. She clawed mercilessly at the exposed flesh around his collar, beginning to draw blood. He howled in pain, spinning madly from left to right, trying to fling the crazed girl off of him.
"GET HER OFF OF ME!" he screamed to his companions. They seemed to be rooted to the spot, horrified by what they were witnessing. A man about the same height as Klyde rushed forward, locking his arms around her neck. She instinctively released her target, attempting to free herself from the other man's grasp. His hands tightened around her neck, holding her two feet from the ground. She flailed and kicked, trying to break free. Her vision began to leave her; darkness edging into her line of sight. She had almost lost consciousness when she felt the pressure around her neck dissipate. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, gasping and choking at as much air as she could inhale. She sputtered and coughed for several minutes, before regaining her composure.
When she finally turned to look around, Klyde and his gang were nowhere to be seen. Thank God thought Santana. She brought a hand up to inspect her face, but flinched at its initial contact. Great she thought. Her face was throbbing, and she could feel the hot, tender skin beginning to bruise. Blood was dripping from her face onto the concrete below, and after attempting a breath through her nose, the whistle noise that occurred confirmed that it was broken. She sighed, and stood to her feet. She lost her balance almost instantly and collapsed onto the ground again. Was her leg broken? She couldn't tell. It hurt so much to stand; she wasn't ready to attempt it again. She glanced down at her watch; 2:25. Crap she thought. I'm late. She sighed, and slowly maneuvered to her feet, wincing as she put weight on her right leg. She knew she would have to go to class eventually, or Brittany would worry. Right on cue, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She reached into her pocket, wiggling her phone out of the snug fit of the fabric. She quickly tapped the password in, and read the text message.
"Hey, where are you? Are you okay?" –B
Santana quickly typed and sent a response.
"Fine, sorry. Got caught up in the library." –S
She sighed at how pathetic the lie sounded. But, she realized that Brit would see her eventually, and that there was no hiding what happened. This had happened before, and Brit knew it wasn't going to stop anytime soon, though Santana was sure she had her hopes. Her phone vibrated in her hand before she could fit it back into her pocket.
"…the library? San, what's going on? I know you don't study…Lord Tubbington told me." –B
Despite how much Santana hated Brittany's enormous, obnoxious cat, she couldn't help but wonder how much of her information Brittany figured out on her own, and how much of it she actually "heard" from the cat. Santana typed another response, trying to brush off Brittany's concern.
"I'm about five minutes away from class. See you when I get there :)." –S
Santana hoped that the smile would ward off Brittany's suspicions, but her next text didn't make her sound convinced.
"I'll see you when you get to class. We WILL be talking later. I love you." –B
Santana sighed. She knew her girlfriend better than this; no matter how convincing she could make her lies sound to other people, Brittany could always see right through them. Defeated, and still wincing in pain, she dragged herself towards the math building.