Once again, Shanna was hiding under the bleachers. The blonde had promised herself that she would stop this; she knew she could never tell the girl who she was watching. This was the girl who tormented her; she had told everyone that Shanna was a 'Crack baby' despite it definitely not being true. Shanna's Mum had started taking drugs though, but that was when Shanna was five.
Sighing slightly, Shanna looked out from behind the bleachers over to where the Cheerios were practicing, or more specifically, at the head cheerleader. Shanna couldn't help but feel attracted to this girl's beauty and figure. Shanna was practically mesmerized as she watched the complicated routine. Finally the routine came to a close. As Sue began yelling at the Cheerios about how sloppy they were and how terrible they did, Aylin looked her way. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Shanna fled back under the bleachers. She couldn't help but feel stupid as a blush began to creep up her face.
"Why does she make me feel this way? Why do I want her so badly?" Shanna murmured to herself, as she walked towards the car park to drive home.
Aylin felt someone staring at her while she was in the middle of her nationals winning Cheerios routine. Of course, they hadn't won yet, but Aylin knew that this was the winning routine. The girl was the captain of the Cheerios, meaning that whoever was staring was probably some dumb jock who thought he stood a chance with her.
The girl knew that she would flirt with him of course, as that was a regular pastime for her, but she knew that she'd never date him; Aylin knew that she liked girls. She didn't want anyone to know though, as she knew that her parents probably wouldn't accept her. The only one who did know was her ex, Blake Jenner; however she knew he wouldn't tell anyone as that might put his reputation at risk too.
Finally Aylin finished off the routine as she was thrown into the air, successfully landing on the hands of several of the other girls. Aylin could tell that Sue was impressed, despite the fact that she was currently spewing out insults. As the cheerleader was placed carefully on the ground she turned to look at the person whose interest she had caught. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp as she saw Shanna staring at her with longing in her eyes.
"What is she doing here?" Aylin muttered to herself as Shanna disappeared under the bleachers.
Aylin quickly begun her laps around the large field. While her body was focusing on the task, her mind drifted. Shanna. Aylin had always been drawn to Shanna. The cheerleader knew that Shanna was pretty enough to become a Cheerio, and Aylin had even offered her a spot on the team, only to be rejected by the girl.
"Stupid rejection." Aylin murmured, earning herself a confused stare from the running girls around her.
Aylin hated rejection. She had even told everyone about Shanna's Mum, who had begun taking drugs when Shanna was in first grade, due to the rejection of the blonde. The Turkish girl did feel bad about what she did though, as she had seen Shanna trying to hold back tears in the arms of her two best friends, Ali and Brittany, later that day. It almost made Aylin go and apologize, but she wanted to show everyone that no one rejected her and got away with it.
"Why would Shanna be watching her practicing the Cheerios routine? Could she be interested in joining?" Aylin thought, biting her lower lip gently. The cheerleader was excited at the thought of this, athough she didn't know why, as she knew Shanna wouldn't be anyone significant if she did join.
Finally Aylin completed the forty laps that the Cheerios were required to do after every session. After gulping down some water, she slowly walked to her car in order to drive home. The girl noticed that Shanna's car was not present, meaning that the blonde had already left. For a second Aylin was strangly disappointed, however she quickly shook of the feeling.
"What are you thinking, Aylin?" She questioned herself, before getting in the car and driving home.
"Home Late again, I see." Her grandma commented when Shanna arrived home.
"Yeah." Shanna sid lamely before heading towards the staircase that lead up to her room.
"What were you doing out so late, might I ask?" Her Grandma persisted.
"Just studying at the library, Ma." Shanna lied, as she was quite embarrassed about watching the Cheerios and Aylin practice.
After Shanna said this, her Grandma looked at her with suspicion. The old woman could see that Shanna was trying to hide a blush.
"Is there a boy?" Shanna's Grandma asked, refusing to drop her stare.
"Of course not, Ma." Shanna responded with complete honesty, her blush deepening.
Shanna's Grandma looked like she was about to dismiss her granddaughter upstairs; however, instead she quietly asked,
"Is there a girl?"
Shanna hesitated slightly at this question as her Grandma narrowed her eyes. The elderly woman had always taught her not to ever lie, and had always been there for her. She knew that her Grandma was a very religious Christian, but Shanna had seen her interact with Rachel Berry's fathers, and she seemed to like them well enough. Finally she decided to admit to her feelings.
"Well, I have a crush on one, but we're not together or anything." Shanna shyly whispered, biting her lip slightly.
"Get out, you dyke." Shanna's Grandma immediately shouted at her. Shanna's smile immediately dropped; a look of confusion and sadness quickly replacing it.
"What?" Was all Shanna managed to stutter before her Grandma stood up, dragged her to the door and physically threw her out.
"We do not accept those who sin against God in this house." She yelled at Shanna.
Shanna felt sadness begin to fill her chest as a small sob escaped her lips.
"Don't you love me Grandma?" Shanna weakly asked.
"Not anymore." Her grandma coldly stated, before walking back inside the house and closing the door.
Shanna couldn't believe it; her Grandma had always been there for her. Whether it was a scraped knee, or a messy break-up with a football player (who she never really liked in the first place); she had always been there to shower the blonde with love and support. She had been patient with Shanna when she had struggled to do homework, and she always pushed Shanna to be her very best. The blonde couldn't understand how her grandma could just tossed her aside like last night's leftovers.
Shanna shakily grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialled Brittany. The Pierces were the most accepting people she knew; Shanna just hoped that they would allow her to stay there.
"Hello?" She heard Brittany sing into the phone. Shanna went to say hello back, but all the came out was a miserable sob. Immediately Brittany's anxious voice came from the phone,
"Shan? Is that you? Are you okay, sweetheart? Has Lord Tubbington upset you again?"
"No." Shanna replied through sobs. "It's just, I told my Grandma about my crush on Aylin and she…" Shanna hesitated before whispering, "she threw me out."
"Come stay we me." Brittany immediately offered to the crying girl.
"Thanks a lot Brit, I really appreciate that." Shanna gratefully whispered, not trusting her voice to go any louder.
"Okay, I'll see you in two minutes. Do you need help carrying your things?" The taller blonde asked.
"No, they're all still in the house, and I'm no longer welcomed there," Shanna sighed, allowing a fresh wave of pain to pulse through her chest. "I'll see you soon." Shanna quickly hung up her phone.
The blonde was glad to still have her school bag with her, as that contained things like her phone, laptop and car keys. Quickly she hoped into her car, and just sat. Slowly she rubbed her eyes, desperately attempting to clear them of tears. Once she felt she could drive without crying her eyes out, she begun driving to Brittany's house.
Brittany stood outside her house, worrying for her friend. She loved Shanna a lot, in a friendly way, and the tall blonde really hated seeing her upset.
"Why is the world so mean sometimes?" Brittany asked no one in particular.
What happened to Shanna reminded her of what happened to her girlfriend. The latina girl who Brittany loved had been thrown out of her Abuela's life too, although Shanna's Grandma throwing her out affected Shanna's daily life way more than Santana's was affected. The blonde knew that Santana was upset about her Abuela for a very long time, and had found comfort in herself.
Slowly and steadily with the help of Brittany and her parents, Santana managed to (mostly) forget about it, although Brittany knew that she still got sad about it sometimes. The blonde knew that Shanna would be a wreck from her Grandma's betrayal; it would take much more comfort and support from Brittany in order for her to make Shanna happy again, as unlike Santana, the only family Shanna had left was her Grandma.
Without warning, Brittany saw Shanna's car, and instantly approached. Once the upset girl had parked and gotten out, Brittany slowly moved towards her. She could see that Shanna was trying to put on a brave face, but tears were shinning in her eyes. Brittany quickly enveloped the smaller girl into a hug and allowed the shorter girl to cry into her shoulder.
"Come inside, Shanny, it's cold out here and it may rain." Brittany quietly whispered to her vulnerable friend before gently leading her inside the house.
After what felt like an eternity, Aylin arrived home. She felt fatigue overcome her, as she unlocked the door to her house. Her parents were on one of their many business trips, and while this was great for constant parties at her place, she did feel a little lonely sometimes.
As Aylin walked into her house, she dropped her bag in the middle of the floor, not really caring about putting it away neatly. Then she grabbed a book from her bookshelf and crashed on the couch. Not many people knew that Aylin loved reading but she did. It took her away from the stress of her life; of living up to the expectations of her parent or Sue Sylvester.
Aylin let a content sigh escape her lips as her eyes moved along the page and the exciting story continued onwards. Her reading was soon interrupted, though, as a car squeaked to a stop on the other side of the road. Aylin glanced away from her book and out the window. She saw that Pierce girl, who used to be on the Cheerios, standing outside of her house. Aylin saw Brittany walk towards the disruptive car; she then saw Shanna exit the car. Aylin was about to turn away, and get back to her book, when she saw Shanna burst into tears.
Worry appeared upon Aylin's face. Had she caused this with her crack-baby comments? She knew that Shanna couldn't look her in the eye without tearing up for a long time after that. Maybe she still hadn't forgiven Aylin?
"What are you thinking?" Aylin asked herself. "And why have you been thinking about Shanna so much lately? Why do you feel so sad when she does?"
Aylin pondered these thoughts in her head for a while. Could she, maybe, have a little crush on Shanna? Immediately she dismissed these thoughts, as she didn't see how she, the head cheerleader, could like a girl who chose Glee club and Drama club over her acceptance.
"Plus she's straight," Aylin thought, then scoffed at herself.
"A crush on Shanna. Yeah right.' She said out loud.
However, a part of the Turkish Muslim knew that she was starting to fall for this blonde girl. Slowly she begun to slip into thought, gently placing her book on the bench beside her. After a lot of internal debating, Aylin decided to go over to the pierce residents and make sure that Shanna was okay.
Aylin stood on the front porch of Brittany's parents' house. Slowly she extended her hand out towards the door. She hesitated slightly before knocking swiftly on the door. She soon heard footsteps on the other side of the door.
"Aylin! How nice of you to stop by. How are you parents?" Mrs. Pierce said as she opened the front door and stepped aside, allowing Aylin to walk inside.
"They've been pretty busy, as usual." Aylin replied. "They're actually on a business trip right now." She added.
"You know you're always welcome here if you want some company or a good homemade meal." Mrs. Pearce kindly replied.
"Thanks a lot Mrs. Pierce, but I'm actually here to see Shanna. I kinda saw that she was upset before. Is she okay?" Aylin nervously asked.
"I'm not sure, really." Mrs Pearce sadly murmured. "I'll call her and my daughter down, maybe you can cheer her up. Brittany!? Shanna!? Someone's here to see you."
Aylin nodded in thanks at Mrs Pearce. As Aylin realised that the two blondes were coming down the stairs, she felt butterflies flittering in her stomach. The girl couldn't help but realise that she had no idea what to say when Shanna came down. Aylin gulped as she heard the footsteps plonking down the stairs.
"Who is it?" She heard Brittany ask. "Aylin?" Brittany looked confused as she poked her head around the corner of the stairs and saw Aylin.
"I wanted to see how Shanna is," Aylin slowly whispered. "I saw her crying earlier. Is she alright?"
"I think she will be, in time." Brittany replied sadly; suddenly the blondes face lit up. "Maybe you can help her! She really needs someone who she can trust right now."
"Trust? Me?" Aylin asked sadly. "I don't think she'll ever trust me after I called her a crack-baby."
"Oh, but she will! You just have to be the nice, trustworthy Aylin, like the one who used to play with me and my stuffed dog, Buddy, in the park."
"If you think it will help I'll try." Aylin murmured, although she doubted Brittany's word.
"She's in my room, upstairs," Brittany exclaimed. "It's the first door to the left."
Aylin nodded at Brittany; slowly she made her way up the stairs and into the blonde's room
"Who was it, Brit?" Shanna asked as she heard footsteps approach the room. Brittany had managed to comfort her enough to stop any tears from running down her face, but Shanna was still visibly upset. Shanna saw Aylin slowly and nervously walk through the door.
"Aylin? What are you doing here?" Shanna asked with shock in her voice. Aylin could see that her eyes had widened slightly.
"I saw you crying outside Brittany's house and I felt bad. I'm sorry for calling you a crack-baby. It's just that I kind of fear getting rejected and I felt like you rejected me when you didn't want to join the Cheerios." Aylin blurted out. She then quietly gasped; she hadn't meant to reveal her fear to Shanna.
"I forgive you." Shanna simply said.
"But how can you forgive me so easily?" Aylin whispered.
"Well, my Grandma taught me to always forgive those who have done wrong to me."
At the thought of her Grandma, Shanna suddenly began to tear up again.
"What's wrong, Shanna?" Aylin gently asked.
"N-nothing" Shanna stuttered.
"Please tell me, Shan, it's obviously tearing you up. I promise I won't tell anyone, not a single soul."
Shanna looked Aylin directly in the eyes; she could only see honesty in them. Gradually she allowed herself to reveal the truth to the cheerleader, although she was still hesitant.
"Alright," Shanna agreed. "But if you tell a single soul you have to Quit Cheerios."
At first Aylin thought that Shanna was joking but soon realized that she was serious.
"This really must be important." Aylin thought to herself. "I have to somehow let her know that I'm here for her."
Aylin looked straight into Shanna's eyes.
"I Promise," she exclaimed with sincerity in her voice.
"I," Shanna hesitated. Aylin, knowing that she needed support, gently grabbed her hand and smiled at her, encouraging the blonde to continue.
"I'm gay." Shanna finally whispered. "And my Grandma threw me out."
Aylin was instantly sympathetic towards the girl as she knew that her parents would probably do the same thing if she ever told them. Aylin grimaced as she saw a lone tear roll down Shanna's face and drop off the bottom of her chin; another tear soon joined it.
Aylin gently pulled Shanna over to the bed and sat her down; she then pulled the girl into a comforting hug. For a minute they just sat in this hug position, as Aylin gradually pulled the girl closer and closer to her.
"Want to know a secret?" Aylin gently whispered into Shanna's ear, "I am too."
"Really?" Shanna murmured threw her tears.
Suddenly both girls realized how close they were sitting; Aylin used this opportunity to gently push a kiss onto Shanna's lips. Aylin suddenly felt fear; what if Shanna rejected her? Worry begun to overwhelm her and she quickly went to pull away. However, before she could, she felt Shanna's lips pressing against hers. Aylin let out a happy sigh as she realized how much she liked the way that Shanna's kisses were so shy and gentle. Eventually they both pull away from each other and shared a timid smile.
Brittany slowly looked into her room through the keyhole; as she peeked in, she saw her best friend and Aylin gently kissing. Brittany smiled to herself; she knew that Shanna would be alright. It may take time, but Shanna would pull through with Aylin's backing on her side.