When will I see you again?
You left with no goodbye, not a single word was said
No final kiss to seal anything
I had no idea of the state we were in

Santana gazed out across the horizon, clutching the photograph and worn, silver friendship ring in her clenched hand. A lone tear made its way down her cheek, surprising her… did she even have any tears left in her to cry ? It seemed so, she thought as she swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump that had resided in her throat since exactly 9.11am that morning…the moment she realised the love of her life had completely disappeared.

The sun trickled through the veils of the window, spreading out over tanned olive skin. Santana scrunched her nose slightly, a slight pout crossing her lips as she tried to cling onto sleep. Reaching her hand out, she tried finding the figure usually laid next to her, frowning when her fingers grasped nothing but fresh sheets. Slowly opening her eyes, she blinked the sleep away and again, she saw nothing, apart from the other side of the bed having been made and empty. Lifting her head, she called out into the apartment.
"Britt ?" she called croakily, her voice curious as she wondered if the bubbly blonde had just woken early and got bored.
She was met with silence.
Now frowning, she slowly threw the covers back, slipping her feet out onto the floor and stretching before standing up.
"Hey, Britt, you there ?" She tried again, the thought of 'maybe she didn't hear me' crossing her mind.
Again, no reply.
'Maybe she has her earphones in…yeah, must be it. She wouldn't ignore me…' her mind tried to reason, slight panic creeping in.
Running a hand through her long, dark waves, she quickly searched through the apartment, panic getting increasingly more evident as Brittany was no-where to be found.
Running back into the bedroom she quickly picked up her phone and checked for any messages. Brittany never went anywhere without at least letting her know where she was.
Nothing.
Rushing over to her closet, she pulled the door open and her heart hit her feet. Their big duffle bag that they used for trips was gone, and so were some of Brittany's belongings. Turning on her heel she quickly walked to the bathroom, flicking through all of the cabinets, her body getting colder with each thing of Brittany's that was missing.

Tears now building up in her eyes, she pulled her phone out and dialled her number, praying that she answered, and her tears falling as she was immediately taken to voicemail.
"Damn it !" She shouted, pulling her phone away from her ear to dial Quinn's number, getting an answer after the third ring.
"Santana ? Do you know what time it is ?" Quinn muttered, sounding displeased, not that Santana cared, there were bigger issues at hand.
"No. Have you heard from Britt? It's urgent." She quickly replied, her fingers tapping on the bathroom counter as she waited.
"No…the last time I spoke to Britt was…" there was a slight pause on the other end of the line before she continued, "2 days ago. Why ?" Her tone curious, and slightly panicked.
Santana's breathing hitched as she quickly replied "Nothing, I'll speak to you later. Bye" and then without missing a beat, she quickly rang the rest of her close friends, each having the same reply.
Frustrated, frightened, lost and panicked, she slid down to the cool tile, her tears now running freely down her cheeks.
What had happened?

Thinking back over the last few weeks with her new line of sight with her gone, she realised how dumb she had been. How she'd not noticed how distant Britt had become, how secretive. Deleting her browsing history…deleting all of her inbox and outbox on her cell…meeting up with 'someone', just for 'something'…it all made sense now.
And that broke her heart.
Sure she'd been mean in her past, but she was completely different now. Britt had changed her, so much, and all for the better. She was finallyhappy.
Now she was left wondering, What had gone wrong ?

Looking around she released a heavy sigh, and raised her clenched hand to over her chest, where her heart felt torn and heavy, bowing her head as she let out a sob.
This spot had held many tender moments for her, she remembered them all as vividly as the day they happened, which would always seem like a blessing, but not today. Today of all days, she just wanted to forget, and not have the scenes play out in her mind.
This was the first place she had met Brittany, the collision between the two 6 year olds fresh in her mind, and forever held dear in her heart.
The way Brittany had a fresh splash of freckles across her sun kissed lightly tanned skin, the way her shirt had a little yellow duck on the front, matching her trainers with ducks on the sides. She remembers how Brittany giggled, sticking her tounge between the little gap where she had lost two teeth, before standing up first and leaning down to hold out her hand for Santana to grasp, all sunshine and smiles. And her complete opposite, Santana, with her thick, jet black hair tied in two long ponytails reaching down her back, her favourite purple dress with the new added grass stain on the back, her face set in a tiny frown as she rubbed her sore back. She remembers looking up and seeing the sun, high in the sky and perfectly framing Brittany, casting a golden halo behind her. Most of all she remembers how all her anger evaporated as soon as their fingertips touched, and in that moment she knew Brittany would change her life.

This was the very place they had shared their first heart to heart, at 8 years old, before Brittany grinned and reached into her pocket before pulling out a clenched fist. "Close your eyes Santana, and hold out your hand", she had said softly, grinning the whole time with a spark in her eye. Santana eyed Brittany curiously, but did as she was asked and closed her eyes before holding her hand out. Brittany bit her lip and gently place the small, silver friendship ring into Santana's hand, before clasping it closed and looking up at her friend. "Now, make a wish." She spoke gently, and before she could even think about it, Santana wished for the one thing that came to her mind; A long, happy life with Brittany at her side.
Opening her eyes, she looked straight into Brittany's sparkling ocean blue orbs, as Brittany took the ring from her hand and carefully slipped it on Santana's ring finger before reaching back into her pocket and revealing another identical ring. "That's for you…and this is for me." She said with a big grin, "friend-ship rings! D…Do you like them?" She asked nervously. There was a small pause as Santana looked her straight in the eyes, before whispering "absolutely perfect." She replied honestly, "I'm never taking it off."
Brittany grinned, looking like the happiest girl in the world, before colliding with Santana and pulling her into a tightly squeezed hug.

And Santana had kept her word, til that very day she had awoken alone…