A/N: So… This was a dream that I had. For those who know anything about me and read this, you can tell I turned it into a Glee thing. But hey, we'll see how far I go with this. My dream was only so long, you know.
It was the beginning of summer now. It was hot in the thick air of Lima, Ohio. One of the hottest times it had been in years, her father had told her. In her yellow bikini top and denim shorts, she sat on the front porch under the shade, sipping some lemonade that was brought out to her a few moments before. The sweat from the glass gathered and fell to her tan skin, making her shiver in the slightest, most refreshing way. She sat with a laptop on her legs, humming along to the music coming through the buds in her ears. She smiled as a messenger on her screen popped up with the picture of the girl across the world that she had been talking to for months now.
She frowned slightly as the other girl informed her that, for the summer, her parents were sending her to an all girls' type of summer school for the talented. It was a good thing, of course, but it also meant no outside communications for a while. She sighed, pushing her brunette hair off of her forehead before typing in her not-so-happy response to the new information. She looked up and out into the emptiness around her. The houses around her own were lifeless, almost as if no one had lived there in a long time. She assumed that everyone was taking advantage of the heat for a vacation, but she, on the other hand, couldn't do the same. Her even smaller family now couldn't take off to head to the promises of a cool beach since her dad had died. Money was tight and her other father was having to do what he could to provide for himself and his daughter while trying to maintain as normal as a lifestyle as possible.
That was the main reason Rachel hadn't fled to England, where her friend lived, yet. Had they had the money, Rachel would have left the lonely state of Ohio and all of its confusing characteristics behind her. She would have left Finn Hudson and his marriage proposal behind her, Jesse St. James and his love confessions, NYADA and her rejection letter, her dad's death, her so-called friends and all of their remarks… All of it. If she had her way, she'd run off to live with the only real friend she had in a different country. There were other complications, of course. The other girl's parents, for example. Rachel was a little older than the other girl, and apparently that made everything wrong somehow. It's not even as if anything was said….
Except for Rachel falling in love with the other girl over the time.
She had never seen it coming. That's not what their initial meeting had even been about. She thought she was making a new friend over a website who even lived in a separate part of the world. She never imagined… Especially with Finn and Jesse calling on her ever few spare moments. She had never even imagined herself with another girl, but… There was something about Santana. The Latina was so sure about herself, about who she was, that it was just natural and not really talked about. Rachel, on the other hand, had only ever thought about having feelings for one other girl- a Miss Quinn Fabray- but after everything that had happened between the two, Rachel put her feelings behind her and accounted all of the awkwardness to her own sexuality. It was clear that, although ever open to the possibility, she was simply attracted to men. Until she met Santana, that is.
They spent long hours and late nights talking across a computer screen and even more were spent texting at every hour of the day. With the time difference, someone was always staying up late or waking up early to talk to the other. It was long video calls that had to stay hidden on that side of the world, texts that would randomly stop because someone might find out. It was a secret across an ocean. It was difficult, but it was worth it. At least, Rachel knew it was to her. With the distance came the fears, the doubts, that maybe this wasn't as important to Santana and her life as it was to Rachel. Being five years older, she knew that she was looking for what to do with the rest of her life- not the summer. Being fourteen, Santana could be thinking about other things entirely, and Rachel was just a way of saying she had someone. But with the distance, Rachel feared for the other girl finding someone else constantly. It was a struggle, a battle, within herself to stay calm and remember how she felt for Santana. But, of course, it was scary most times. And when the replies took a little longer, when they couldn't speak, Rachel was terrified and waited by the phone. It wasn't like her to be so clingy of another person- unless she was really in love with them.
When another sound came from her laptop, Rachel jumped some, snapping out of her thoughts. Looking back down, her eye grew wider and her jaw fell some. There are still scholarships available, you know. You could apply, if you wanted to. It's for all ages, and I think they'll even pay for airfare. This could be it then? The moment that they met? And all the time, she could be showcasing her singing ability to another country. Rachel nodded to herself, eagerly typing in her reply before clicking on the link Santana had given her. She was going to do this. She was going to make it, and she was finally going to see Santana…