Author's Note: So, uhm, this is AU. And it is kind of depressing...Anyway, of course this is Brittana, because they are now my OTP and I love them together sososo much, even though Sam had to ruin everything -.-

Title: A World of Color

Summary: Brittany Pierce lives in a colorful world. One that is beautiful and wonderful and oh so positive. It is the world she spent years building in that back of her mind. She escapes there whenever things get bad, whenever she is frightened or threatened. That is probably why she often comes off as a dunce. Her world is amazing, except for the fact that she lives there alone. No one knows how to get in; and even worse, she does not know how to get out.

Santana Lopez, on the other hand, lives in a black and white world with no color in between whatsoever. After a tragic string of events, she doubts that her life will ever be the same. Drowning in her depression, she tries her best to just finish high school and move on with her life, hoping to eventually leave the past behind. However, her struggles may be for nothing, as every day she finds herself slipping under just a little bit more, and soon enough she will be so far gone that no one will be able to help her.

After a chance meeting one day during the summer, the two girls find themselves drawn to one another. Can their budding friendship help the two of them, or only make their situations worse? Will Brittany be able to bring color into Santana's world? Is Santana going to drag Brittany under with her? Or perhaps Santana will find a way into Brittany's world, and the two will be trapped there forever. Whatever the outcome, they both hope it will be for the best.

How could they be wrong?

Pairings: Brittana, hints of Faberry, hints of Klaine

Rating: T for now ;)

Santana

"Santana, wake up!" my mother called up the stairs. Groaning, I buried my face into my pillow. "Santana!" she shouted again. Slowly, I lifted my head off of my pillow and checked the time.

12:30

The numbers flashed on my clock, though it had little effect on me. This was rather early considering how late I had slept in the past few days. Taking in a deep breath, I pushed myself up and climbed out of my bed and towards the door. Just as I opened it, I heard my mother yell my name again. I called back, telling her that I was awake. She hated it when I slept in too late. Of course, I had never seen why, since it was summer vacation.

"Santana," my mother said, this time her voice coming from right outside my bedroom. I opened the door again and saw her looking at me with a determined expression. "I think it is unhealthy for you to continue to be slouching around the house. Why don't you go outside and do something? You could take a walk down to the park. Maybe you'll even see some of your friends."

"Mama, I would do that, but that involves effort, and effort isn't really my thing," I told her honestly.

"Well, make it your 'thing.' I'm going to run a few errands. If you're still here by the time I get back, then I'm taking away your cell phone," she said.

"You can't do that! Quinn was going to text me about a party later!"

"Then you should probably get dressed and go outside. Otherwise you can't go to the party."

I had no idea what her problem was. She had not been on my case about this for the past two weeks. Why was she suddenly being so damn uptight about it? So what if I wanted to hang around my house and do nothing all day? It was summer for christ's sake! I was allowed to be lazy!

Reluctantly, though, I got myself ready. Grabbing my iPod off of my desk, I put my headphones in and made my way down the stairs and out the front door. Even clad in short-shorts and a skimpy tank-top, I still felt like I was going to start sweating non-stop. Still, I turned down my street and walked in the direction of the park.

Within minutes, I was there, staring down a hill at a basketball court, playground, and tennis court. Behind the three was the actual park, grass greener than it was in my backyard, with hills and benches and everything a typical park would include. Too many people for my liking ran around, dogs were off their leashes chasing balls and frisbees, and some people were jogging. I almost gagged when I saw a older man in shorts that were way too short for him jogging. His gut and man-boobs were flapping around as he jogged down the hill, and I almost felt bad for the people that were closer to him.

After a quick decision, I made my way down the hill and decided to go to the basketball court. It was the least crowded, as only about ten people were there. Thankfully, it was not all guys, as I spotted about three other girls there. Two of them were in the game, while the third was sitting on the sidelines watching. My eyes watched her carefully as I walked into the court, being sure to stay at the side.

I had never seen her before, though she looked to be about my age. There was only really one high school in the area, and I wondered if maybe she was just staying with relatives for the summer. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back and her head was down as she stared at something in her lap. When I drew nearer to her, I realized it was a thin, though wide, book. I took a seat next to her and offered a smile when she looked up at me. She instantly returned it with an even warmer smile.

"Hi, I'm Brittany," she said brightly, her face lighting up more than I thought was possible.

"Santana," I replied with less enthusiasm. Her smile never faultered, not even when my eyes landed on the title of the book and I raised in eyebrow. "Why are you reading that?"

"This book is so good, oh my gosh. Do you want to read it with me?" she asked as if it were normal to ask someone-who was clearly in high school-if they wanted to read, Green Eggs and Ham.

"Why would I want to read..." My voice trailed off as I saw the pleading look on her face. With a sigh, I gave in. "Sure."

She read aloud to herself more than to me, but I did not mind. Something about her was intriguing. Maybe it was the way her voice got a little bit higher when she was excited, or how her laugh sounded so much like music to me. It made me a bit warmer. However, I pushed the feeling away, not wanting to deal with something like that. No. Everything in this world was so stupid. One person was not going to change that.

I did not know how wrong I was.

Brittany

My mom had always told me that I was good at making friends quickly. I guessed that was why Santana had agreed to read my book with me. Sam had brought it with him when he dragged me to the park. He said I was not allowed out of the court, because the last time I wandered off without him knowing, I ended up lost in some really bad part of town.

Santana did not read with me, but I knew she was listening. I was not really sure how I knew. It was just a feeling. Hopefully, I was right. A part of me wanted nothing more than to be right about that. I was not sure why it meant so much to me at the moment, but it did.

"Did you like the book?" I asked her when I finished the last page. She nodded slightly, her eyes not leaving the book in my lap. "Will you go to the playground with me? I really want to go on the swings, but Sam doesn't let me go by myself. Would you go with me?"

For a while, Santana just narrowed her eyes at me. Confusion spread across her face, and had I noticed, I probably would have taken back my words. Then again, I probably would not have. I stared back at her, a dopey smile planted on my face as I waited for her to responde. Slowly, she nodded and rose to her feet, holding out her hand to help me up. I took it gratefully and allowed her to help me.

"Sammy!" I called to the people in the game. Sam's head whipped around almost immediately and he jogged away from the people playing. "Can I go to the playground?"

"The game is almost over, Brit. Could you wait a bit more? Then I'll take you," he said.

"Santana can take me, though," I told him in a small whine, tugging on Santana's hand, which I had not let go of. Sam turned to Santana, only just realizing that she had been standing there.

"Are you friends with Brittany?" he asked her slowly.

"We just met, but I mean, like, I'm fine with going to the playground with her," she explained. Sam smiled at her.

"Cool. Just...don't let her out of your sight," he warned her. He leaned in to whisper to Santana, but I still heard him. "She sometimes tends to get herself into trouble. Please take care of her."

Santana nodded as if the words barely meant anything, and I started towards the playground in a run, dragging Santana behind me. We made it there quickly, as it had been connected to the basketball court. I immediately went to the swings and, luckily, there were two empty swings right next to each other.

I laughed as I sat down and started to swing my legs back and forth until I was in a good rhythm. Santana just sat on the swing, twirling her foot in the sand a bit, not really trying to get into the air. I looked at her in confusion for a while, watching as she stared at the ground. There was a vacant look in her eyes and a loneliness that was somehow familiar to me.

"That looks boring. Why aren't you swinging?" I questioned. Santana looked up at me, and it appeared that I had startled her, as if I had just dragged her out of deep thought. I giggled at the confusion on her face. It was adorable.

Adorable? Had I ever thought of someone else as adorable? I did not remember a time. Yet, I did admit to myself in that moment that Santana looked adorable.

"Come on, swing. Like this," I said as I swung even higher.

"Yeah, sorry. I just got distracted," she told me.

"Distracted by what?"

"The...sand..." she replied.

I giggled a bit louder this time. "Well," I began, "sand can be pretty distracting."

"Yeah." Her cheeks had started to turn red, and I could tell that she was embarrassed. I did not understand why, though. She had not said anything that could have potentially embarrassed her.

Dismissing it, I continued to swing, humming under my breath. Santana's head immediately snapped around to look at me, and I stopped humming.

"Was that The A Team?" she asked me. I nodded vigorously, a large smile spreading across my lips.

"I love that song," I admitted.

"Me too," she said.

Her cell phone beeped and she took it out of her pocket, her face lighting up as she read what I suspected to be a text message. Soon, though, her smile faded and her expression became nervous as she looked over at me.

"So, my friend is having a party tonight, and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go?" she asked cautiously.

"I love parties! I would love to go!"

"Great. So, did you want to meet there? Or should we pick you up or something?"

"Here, give me your number. I'll text you my address," I told her.

"Alright, cool. We'll probably pick you up at around eight tonight."

I could already tell that my night was going to be fantastic.