The bullying began at a very, very young age.
I never knew why it was they picked on me. It was just a group of eleven-year-old boys. What was I so afraid of, anyway?
When I look back on it, it wasn't as bad as I had made out. Now, if those things were said to me, I would laugh in the face of that person and probably give them a smack for good measure. But kids will be kids – and I was very sensitive.
But I had never learned to stand up for myself. My parents didn't have time to listen to the stories of what happened every single day at school – the name-calling, the pushing and shoving, chasing all other students away to make sure I never made a friend. So, in the end, I just learned to take it.
Don't fight back, Santana, I would tell myself every time they made snide comments. Don't fight them.
So I didn't. It was easy.
It took me a long time to realise that this was the exact reason why they chose me to bully. Because I was the only one who would take it.
And I did, until the age of twelve. That's when everything began to change – for better or for worse, I still can't be sure.
That year was the year that she joined the school.
It had started a pretty normal day, actually. I went to school, kept my head down. Refused to meet other's eyes. I kept to myself – it was the only chance I had of survival.
Class began slightly later than normal, due to the teacher arriving late, accompanied by the Head and... Someone else.
A new kid.
Immediately, muttering broke out among the students. The group of boys who sat as close to me as possible, so as to comment on what I was wearing or such things, put their heads together and began discussing, evil grins on their faces.
I spoke to no-one. I was looking straight at the new girl, and she was looking inquisitively around the room at each student.
When our eyes met, her gaze seemed to scorch me, and I looked down for a moment.
Once I thought her eyes must've moved on, I peeked up at her, and got a shock.
She was still staring at me. Me. No-one else.
There was a slightly puzzled, lost look on her face, and I frowned.
"Morning, class," said the teacher, and the magic of the gaze broke, just like that. I looked up at Miss McLeod instead. "I would like to introduce our new student here."
She gestured at the girl, who smiled wistfully at her.
"Brittany Pierce."
I felt her eyes move back onto me, and kept my eyes down, afraid to look up. Though still not a hundred percent sure why.
The boys were laughing now, and I refrained from giving them death glares. That wouldn't end well, after all.
"Brittany, why don't you go sit over there, in front of Santana."
She pointed at me and I started slightly.
One of the boys, Jake, sniggered.
"Yeah, come make friends with Santa here."
The girl, Brittany, frowned at me as she walked closer.
"She isn't Santa. Santa's a boy."
Jake raised his eyebrows, grinning at his mates one by one, then turning back to her.
"Fine, how about Satan?"
"No, her name is Santana."
Brittany was giving the boy a look which clearly said, I already despise the very air you breathe.
He rolled his eyes and looked down, obviously unable to think of another comeback.
Brittany sat in front of me, without giving me another glance. I stared at the back of her head for what felt like an age. This girl who I didn't even know, had just stood up for me. No-one had ever done that before.
At the end of class, she left quickly, and although I wanted to thank her, I hadn't got a chance to.
The days continued the same as normal after that though. At least, for a couple of weeks. Brittany didn't stand up for me again, possibly realising that it would only decrease her popularity. Though, when I thought about it, she didn't really seem to care anyway. Her bad marks and 'dumb blonde' comments were getting her a fairly bad reputation amongst the class, though any guy who dared say anything would likely get kicked in the nuts at break-time.
We started working together sometimes, on projects and things. But we never talked much. She seemed shy, too, so we went well together, even from the beginning. The only difference was that she wasn't afraid of anything.
Sometimes when we were sitting next to each other, which was only when we worked together, I would casually glance over at her and find her looking at me. In these situations we both usually ended up quite red in the face, though I can't deny that I found myself trying to catch her eye more often as time went on.
I soon realised that there wasn't anything I wanted more than to be friends with Brittany Pierce.
But I still wasn't brave enough to speak to her, so instead I spent my days staring at the back of her head, admiring the way her hair fell in smooth waves down her back, and the way she would rub her neck when she was thinking hard, or drink her water in one go without taking a breath.
I would never have admitted it to myself then, but I was slowly but surely becoming obsessed with her. It seemed perfectly normal at the time.
Which is why I was so shocked that day. The day when I walked out of my classroom to find Brittany waiting outside. Waiting for me.
"B-Brittany," I said, nodding at her, and trying to sound calm. "Forget something?"
"No," she said wistfully, smiling slightly. "I was waiting for you."
"Oh." I said, feeling heat rushing to my cheeks. "Oh."
"I just thought we could maybe hang out sometime!"
She said it in such a rush that I barely heard the proposition.
"Um...say that again?"
"I just thought... We could hang out, like, after school or something?" She was smiling broadly at me, her cheeks a little pink.
It was like all the air had been knocked out of me.
"Um... Okay."
"Cool!" She gushed happily, "Because I thought we could go to the park and play on the swings and you'd teach me how to do it on my own because I can't do it yet, and then..."
She trailed off, seemingly embarrassed by her sudden outburst.
"Sounds like fun," I murmured shyly.
And that's how I found myself walking to the park with Brittany.
A/N: I always found that in most Brittana fanfictions, Brittany was the one getting bullied. So I thought it would be interesting to explore how Santana became so judgemental and confident, and more of her background. I'm hoping this fanfiction will have about 22 chapters, based on the different lessons Brittany teaches Santana, and how things turn around. Please review. Thank you.
