An Unexpected Hero
It had happened quicker then she had realized what she was doing; the simple act of playing the hero to the one person who meant the world to her. She had seen it on TV and in movies. The one who takes the fall goes down as the eternal love and savior for the other. And it was easy, on TV and in the movies. Just step in front of the oncoming piece of burning steel to save the one you love. But once the bullet entered her well toned frame, all the make believe coming from the box with the moving pictures, became real. And the invisible pain never truly portrayed in Hollywood began to inch its way slowly over her now horizontal form.
And with the freshly created hole the size of dime, now found in her abdomen, came the crimson fluid seeping from her wound, staining the red and white uniform she was usually found wearing while on the underside of her body, a small trickle would soon be a fairly large puddle if the teenage girl didn't get help soon.
Her eyes, once a bright and lively blue that sparkled in any kind of light, were slowly growing dim and weary. And the constant loving, but clueless gaze had now become soft and a realization of what was really happening. "I-I did good…right, Santana?" she couldn't help, but choke the words out to the smaller, but fiercer girl hovering over her. Nodding a simple, but grateful yes, hot, salty tears stained the brunette's cheeks, while quiet, warm ones poured down the side of the wounded girl's face.
As chaos arose around them in the halls of William McKinley High School, in Lima, Ohio, the world seemed to stand still for Santana Lopez and Brittany Smith.
With all her strength and poised Indian style in the middle of the hall, Santana had pulled Brittany into her lap, blood now covering her hands and arms from trying to frantically find a way to stop the bleeding, but for a cheerleader who hadn't yet become legal, pulling a miracle out of thin air to stop a bullet wound was near impossible.
Stroking the wounded teenager's head as a means of comforting her, tears remained a permanent fixture as spackles of blood were found throughout Brittany's sun stained hair.
Was this really it? Would a once lively, friendly, and happy girl's life be over all because some kid had had enough of the bullying that went down in the locker room after gym class and lunch room during the middle of the day? Would Santana loose her best friend since they were little and the possible love of her life, because a few of the older, bigger kids decided it would be funny to throw the smaller meeker kid in the dumpster out front?
"Hang on, Brittany - Baby…hang on. Please? Please!" And with those few words, Brittany's eyes closed. Her pulse slowing as the scattered chaos left her ears, and her body growing cooler with every lost ounce of blood.
A warmth, now, surrounding her, the happy go lucky spirit of the playful Brittany, felt as though she was leaving Earth to roam in a field of flowers with animals she never imagined would come near her. The sky, just like her eyes, had become bright blue once again, and her kind and loving laugh filled the empty space that the birds chirping, didn't. No longer in pain, Brittany had found her own little piece of Heaven, and she loved every minute of it.
But soon everything in the world began to grow dark, and as the birds quieted and the animals scattered no longer approaching her, the joyful sixteen year old began to feel cold and scared. By herself and longing to be with the one person she had given her life up for, her once bright smile had completely gone from her face, as pain managed to find its way back into her body. And within a matter of minutes, her eyes were opened to the harsh tones of an overhead light in a hospital room.
Shivering and haunted with fear as reality suddenly began to creep into her mind, the blonde headed teenager felt alone, but the warmth she had found in her moment of oasis, had suddenly returned upon seeing her best friend and love of her life, once again, hovering over her with a relieved smile gracing her tanned face.