Chapter 1

My alarm went off at 7am and I decided that there was no way I'd be attending class happily this morning. My bed felt too good to bother getting up and who would even care if I didn't show anyway? It's not like professors had attendance policies senior year. I turned off the beeping sound and looked over to make sure my roommate was still sleeping.

Quinn was curled up in a ball with her covers in the floor. She must have fallen asleep studying, because her glasses were still on her face and the law-book she had been reading was partially under her and the other half was hanging off the bed.

I got up and ran to the bathroom real quick to brush my teeth. Nothing annoyed me more than being awake and having the rankest breath in the world. As I did, I glanced up in the mirror and got a good look at myself. My hair was matted and I had dark black circles under my eyes. Anyone could give me a quick glance over and know that the last few weeks of this semester were killing me.

"Santana! What time is it?"

Apparently I hadn't been as quiet as I should have.

"Look at your effin clock Fabray! It's not a difficult thing to do."

I could hear her grumbling as she was getting out of bed, obviously upset with me. It was pointless to be angry. She had a class in about an hour and if anything, I had kept her from oversleeping.

I threw some water on my face and walked back into the room.

"You should be thanking me. You know I'm the only reason you're going to get to class on time. You've got to quit pulling all-nighters. I can't save your ass every day."

Quinn rolled her eyes and threw a tee-shirt on. "Oh gee, thanks. You must be the only thing keeping me together anymore. I love getting up forty-five minutes before I really have to."

"We both know you need to shower a little more there, smelly. Just because finals are in a week it doesn't mean you get to ignore personal hygiene."

Quinn looked completely shocked. "Are you being serious? You don't think I shower enough?"

I smirked. "I'm mostly kidding Quinn. But all the same, you're overdoing it a little bit don't you think?"

I walked over to my dresser and grabbed whatever was on top. As much as I got on Quinn for studying constantly, she wasn't the only one. Getting to class on time and going over the final exam reviews are the only things I care about for the next few weeks.

She walked over to the bathroom and opened the door. "Maybe, but it's hard to be the valedictorian of our class and not study as much as I do."

I rolled my eyes and she shut the door. "Whatever Fabray. You're the smartest person in this entire world and no one else could even compare to your amazingness." She shut the door as I threw her fallen book at it. "And get your stupid bed out of my room and back into yours! I'm sick of you being in here. What's the point of even having a two bedroom apartment if you're going to insist on only sleeping in mine?

In reality, I knew exactly why Quinn was in here. But that didn't change the fact that I wasn't exactly excited about sharing my room these past few days.

I heard the shower turn on. "Fuck you, Santana! You know exactly why I'm in here. And it's only for a few more days, so back off."

We had just painted the entire apartment and the fumes really got to Quinn's head. My room was the only one that had escaped with its character and earlier wall color intact, therefore becoming her safe haven.

"Sure, sure. You have two more days. That's it."

"Whatever you say S." I could hear the annoyance in her voice and I had to smile.

I honestly didn't care that she was staying in my room. If anything, it made me feel less lonely during the night. These past few days had been hard to tackle by myself, but it was worth it. Puck wasn't right for me and I knew that, but it didn't change the fact that I missed having a warm body next to me every night.

I looked at myself in the bedroom mirror and frowned. I hadn't looked like my normal self in a while. It was time to change that and get back to the sultry goddess I usually radiated. I'm a catch and I know that. It's time to make everyone else realize it too.

As I stepped into class, I saw that Kurt, Rachel and Tina were already there in our regular seats.

Kurt was the first to look up and see me. "Damn girl. Did you have a long night? You look awful."

Rachel gasped and hit his shoulder. "Kurt Hummel, you shut up this moment. That's an awful thing to say. She looks more than fine and even if she didn't, you still shouldn't say that."

"I just wanted to know why she looks like she's been told that the just out of bed look is acceptable!"

I sighed and took my usual seat next to Tina. "Remind me why I'm friends with him?" I said, giving her a sarcastic smile.

She smiled back. "Because he actually does have wonderful taste in fashion and is the only reason you were able to get through your junior year of music composition."

I laughed, remembering how Kurt had pretty much written every song I'd turned in that year. "Good point. He's still an ass sometimes though."

"And I'm damn proud of it Lopez. Damn proud." Kurt smirked and looked to the professor who was already clearing his throat to get our attention.

After class I grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and sat my favorite deep chair in the corner. I had promised myself to get a bit of studying done this morning, but was well aware it wasn't going to happen. I knew I'd end up sitting here, staring at my computer screen and wondering why in the world I ever broke up with Puck. Not that I'm upset about it, because I'm not. But when you lose someone who knows you better than anyone, it's hard to not even be able to keep them as a friend.

I heard the bell on the door ring and instinctively looked up. A tall, very muscular blonde girl walked in followed closely by a shorter black girl with curly hair. The blonde walked up to the line and ordered for them both it seemed, and once they got their coffees sat just a few feet away from me.

"Can you just get off like an hour early? Please Britt? You know how bad I want you at my show."

Mercedes was pouting and I couldn't help but feel bad. I knew just how much she wanted me there tonight, but I didn't think the bar was going to let me off. It's a Friday and we're normally killed on nights like these.

"Look, I'll try." The other girl squealed. "Now wait, wait. Don't get too excited. I'm not saying it's a for sure thing, but I'm going to do my best to be there. Okay?"

"Thank you so much Brittany. If it wasn't my last performance in NYC I wouldn't be so crazy about it. But since we're all going to be heading our own separate ways in a few weeks, I want you there."

They both got quiet and sad for a moment. Graduation was right around the corner. Everything they had worked so hard for was within their grasp. I have a job in the city still, but Mercedes is going all the way to L.A. to try to make it with an independent record company that wants to sign her.

I realized my face was burning and I looked up to see a girl staring at me from across a few tables. She was incredibly beautiful, with black hair and very plump lips. I'm sure she's the prettiest person I've ever seen.

As soon as she realized that I was staring back, she blushed and looked back down to her book. But I didn't look away yet. I was staring at her face, trying to memorize it. She was so distractingly gorgeous and I had the sudden urge to get up and try to talk to her.

"So it's at 9pm tonight Brittany. Don't forget." I looked up at Mercedes and nodded my head. She was looking at me with a smirk on her face. "Close your mouth there, ya creep. You're going to make her think you're a stalker before she even knows your name."

It was my turn to blush and I look down. I noticed my watch and realized I only had five minutes to get to class.

"Shit, sorry Cedes but I've got to get to class. I didn't realize I was cutting it so close."

As we got up I took the opportunity to glance at the Latina sitting by herself. She was smirking at me, but this time didn't blush when I caught her gaze. Instead she gave a tiny wave and a raised eyebrow. I felt my own cheeks flush immediately and turned around towards the door. For some reason my heart had just decided to go into overdrive.

As the blonde left I couldn't help but giggle to myself. She seemed to notice I was here just as much as I was taken away by her presence as soon as she entered the room. All I could think about was when I was going to get to see her again. But that thought made me frown. I would be graduating in a few weeks and didn't even know her name. There was probably no chance I would ever see her again.

I shrugged my shoulders and finally looked down at the book I brought in. I had a very long time before Rachel's performance tonight and not a lot to do leading up to it. Studying would have to suffice for now, but maybe I'd ask Tina or Kurt to go out drinking with me before we would be forced to sit through another group performance. Hitting the bar after the month I've had actually sounds amazing.