AU: They are young, hot and successful. Santana Lopez is one of the most influential fashion photographers in New York. Brittany Pierce, model and newly crowned "Newcomer of The Year" on the runways.
With great success comes...
Brittana and Pezberry friendship.
Rated M for different reasons.
A/N: Hola amigos. This is my first fanfic ever.
I was looking for a supermodel Britt story, but didn't find any, so I decided to make one myself. Feel free to let me know if there is one out there! I want to reeeead!
I guess it would have been more "convenient" to make Brittany the photographer, but helloooo, she forgets the lens cap on! (and she's a bit taller than Santana, so, yeah).
It might be a little jumpy and maybe even slow, but I hope that will change.
Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I think there's lots of them. Lets blame that on my foreign-ness, shall we?
Let me know if you like. I might just continue!
Oh. I don't own Glee.
CHAPTER 1.
Santana Lopez was one of New York's most influential fashion photographers, at the age of 25.
She was not only good behind the camera, but she worked it like the supermodels in front of the camera as well if she wanted to.
She got her first camera, a disposable camera, at the age of two.
The camera and her, literally, clicked in a flash.
Now, twenty-three years later, she was considered to be an up and coming icon in the fashion world, hired by some of the biggest fashion magazines and some of the finest fashion brands from all over the world. Famous for her daring and innovative concepts, not afraid of anything.
She somewhat enjoyed her work and knew ever since the beginning that this was her call in life, she didn't expect her work to become so popular and she certainly didn't expect herself to be seen as an up and coming icon in the industry. Honestly, fashion photographer was not her ultimate idea of a life. But it was fine for now.
After all - she was young, hotter than fire and more successful than her parents could ever dream of becoming.
Rachel Berry was a young woman with big dreams, hoping to become a singer on Broadway. Working as Santana Lopez's assistant was just a short stop on the way, short stop on the way, meaning about two years and still counting. Details. She just wanted to wait for the right moment, anyway.
The both girls met at high school, Santana ruling the school with an iron fist, Rachel being at the bottom of the ladder and self-accalimed leader of the Glee club. They usually didn't acknowledge each other in the hallways, other than Rachel receiving a slushie thrown in her face from time to time, the Latina being the one with an evil smirk on her face as the shorter girl ran towards the bathroom to wash off the cold and sticky liquid.
Somehow, they connected and forgave each other through senior year and had since then been friends, nagging and banter each other whenever they got the chance, which was something included in their daily schedule. The banter usually came from Santana, but Rachel wasn't afraid to speak up anymore.
Even though Rachel annoyed Santana more than anyone walking on Earth with her happiness and constant singing (and talking while she didn't sing), Santana enjoyed the company of Rachel, even though she would never ever admit that to the shorter brunette, ever.
At the same time, Rachel found a certain calm in being around the fiery Latina, they knew each other better than anyone and would probably be considered best friends if it weren't for Santana denying the fact that she would "never be 'best friend' with a person as annoying as Berry", to quote Santana.
But Rachel knew better, she knew that, deep down in her cold heart, Santana appreciated her as much as she appreciated Santana.
Four years earlier, right after graduating high school, they both decided to run away together and share an apartment in New York to pursue their dreams.
Rachel attending the prestigious New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts, her dream coming true.
Santana taking night classes in graphic design while freelancing as a photographer at the same time as she worked as a cashier in a supermarket, not something she hoped would last forever.
She was unhappy. She snapped at people more frequently, she snapped at her friends and the employees and customers at the supermarket for annoying her and making her day worse with their presence.
It was a miracle that the store manager, Mr. Figgins, still let her work there after receiving complaints from customers, but he was a weirdly understanding man and only told her that "great things will come to those who are patient", to quote the older man.
It all happened so quickly, the day Santana got the call about the open spot as a contributing photographer for the leading fashion magazine, Valentina. At first she thought it was a joke, that Rachel must have called some of her acting friends for revenge after the little joke she had pulled on Rachel, including whipped cream and slippery floor.
But the man on the other side of the line just laughed at the Latinas assumption and assured her that this was the real deal.
The man explained that the Editor-in-chief had seen some of her already published portraits and fell in love immediately. The concepts, the expressions, the feelings awoken, the whole thing. They wanted her. They wanted her art.
After being completely convinced that it was actually real, she didn't need to think twice before accepting the offer and planning a meeting at the headquarters the next day.
"Rachel, you home?" the Latina screamed as she rushed into their shared apartment. It wasn't big, only two bedrooms, a small kitchen and a living room with enough space to fit a pretty big television, but it was enough for the two of them and their budget didn't really allow something bigger anyway, at least not unless they wanted to live out of eating garbage every month.
"Ouch. In here!" the shorter brunette replied from underneath the kitchen sink, she just hit her head as she got scared by the unexpected scream from Santana.
"What the fuck are you doing down there?" Santana burst out laughing as she saw Rachel crawling on the floor with her ass in the air.
"Language. I was just, uh, I dropped my engagement ring in the sink and it fell down the pipes. But I got it now." Rachel said as she crawled out from underneath the sink, holding up her silver ring, a small blush creeping up on her face.
"Honey. I think you're trying for the wrong business. Why don't you work as a plumber?" Santana said jokingly, still laughing and shaking her head slightly as she looked down at the mess that was all of the tools sprawled out on the kitchen floor.
"And don't you think that this is a sign? You're not supposed to be with that doofus of a fiance. He's not even..." Santana continued.
"Hey! Don't talk about Finn! He's my high school sweetheart and I love him dearly..." Rachel replied and Santana could only huff in response before walking away, not wanting to hear anything about Finn.
Finn Hudson, Rachel's fiance since a few months back and boyfriend since a few years. Santana had always thought that Rachel was captial "G", gay, and when she found out that she was dating the man that could only be described as a doofus with a dopey grin, looking like a giant too, she sure was surprised. Finn still lived in their hometown Lima, Ohio and Santana knew that Rachel had a hard time handling the long distance relationship, but she couldn't help pushing it sometimes.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about a thing" Santana began, as she walked back into the kitchen, looking at her roommate who now stood by the stove, cooking some vegan food that looked really gross.
"Yeah?" Rachel curiously asked as she looked up from the pans where she cooked bean sprouts, hummus and tofu.
"I got a job offer today, I said yes" Santana continued and smiled.
"Yeah? Continue" Rachel said and looked down to continue preparing her food, only half listening to what her friend said.
"Well, it's only a regular freelancing thing, but still..."
"Aha..." Rachel nodded, still only half listening while stirring her food.
"... Contributing photographer for Valentina Magazine..." 'Valentina Magazine' was the only thing Rachel heard, this got all of her attention and she now stared at the Latina with wide eyes.
"You mean, THE, Valentina Magazine? Not only the biggest magazine in New York, but the best magazine in, well, probably the best magazine in this country?" Rachel said excitedly, but not really believing what she heard. Her roommate usually tried to pull jokes on her, so she was always ready for her friend to burst out laughing and scream something like 'Got ya', she did indeed have some trust issues with the Latina.
"No, Rachel. I'm not kidding you" Santana exclaimed as she sensed her friend not believing anything she just said.
"Oh my Godness! This is so exciting! Congratulations!" Rachel saw that Santana wasn't joking with her and decided to jumped up and down in excitement. Hugging her friend, as Santana awkwardly patted Rachel's back, still not being used to her roommates cheery nature.
It was the next day. The day when Santana was supposed to meet the Editor-in-chief for Valentina.
The Valentina headquartes were located on Madison Avenue, not really the quarters where Santana usually hung out, but a nice change compared to Chinatown.
When she walked into the building she was met with women looking like models all over the place, only spotting a few men. Everyone were beautiful and very fashionable, something that should've been expected. It was a fashion magazine, after all. She did almost feel out of place, even though she had dressed up in her best dress and blazer, matching with her favorite pair of pumps.
The interior was stylish and very modern. Purple, silver and white, just like the magazine's graphic profile. The bottom floor was enormous, Santana could only imagine what the other floors looked like.
"I got an appointment with the Editor-in-chief. My name is Santana Lopez", the Latina told the receptionist, a cute teenager, with glasses framing her deep blue eyes and long blonde hair framing her face, and a wide smile grazing her lips. Santana couldn't help but smile back.
"Yes, Holly will be down here in a few minutes. You can take a seat in our super-comfy lounge in the meantime" the receptionist replied after a short call, and Santana thanked her and walked over to an armchair located in the lounge area.
After a few minutes a tall blonde woman walked up to her. She could see all of the people around her making way for her, as if she was some kind of Goddess.
She was probably in her early thirties, probably a former model, Santana thought.
"You must be Santana Lopez? I'm Holly Holliday, just call me Holly. I'm the Editor-in-chief for Valentina, it's a pleasure to meet you" the blonde woman introduced herself and shook Santana's hand as Santana rose up from the comfortable armchair.
Holly looked very young to actually be the Editor-in-chief for the biggest fashion magazine in the Big Apple, Santana thought to herself.
The women introduced each other and decided to take the elevator up to Holly's office. Top floor. Killer view over the whole city. Santana was actually stunned as she entered the top floor and looked out through the panoramic windows. Holly told her that Valentina's office only consisted of four floors, only. The floors were enormous and different departments were located on different floors.
"Beautiful view, huh" Holly asked as she saw Santana's stunned expression as she looked out over New York City.
"It's fucking amazing" Santana exclaimed and realized that she just said 'fucking' in front of her possible employer. She blushed but turned around to take a seat in front of Holly's desk, who didn't seem to notice the Latina's choice of words.
"Sure is! I'm sure you could take some nice pictures from up here. That's why you're here today too, isn't it. To discuss work" Holly smiled brightly at Santana as she looked through some files on her desk.
"Yeah, your assistant, Blaine, told me that you had seen some of my work?" Santana said, more as a question than an actual statement. She was a bit unsure of what to actually say.
"I did, it was love at first sight I tell you" Holly beamed and reached into the file and picked up a few printed images, Santana immediately recognized them as some of her own photographs.
"I especially love what you did with these" the older woman said as she laid out the images in front of them. Still smiling as she looked at the Latina.
"You are truly talented, I can tell that you will go far in your career if you continue. I think you got potential to change the fashion photography industry" she continued.
"Thank you. That really means a lot to me. But don't you need any references before actually hiring me?" Santana asked, looking down at her lap a little nervous. She was still a little hesitant about the whole job offer, it couldn't be that easy. Even though she actually sat down with the Editor-in-chief right now, in what probably was the most amazing and luxurious office she had ever seen.
"Sweet cheeks, that's already done" Holly laughed at the Latina who looked chocked at the editor's forwardness in already coming up with a nickname.
Holly just ignored Santana's expression and continued.
"Well, I saw your portfolio online as well. Then I made a few calls. I saw that you actually had done some freelancing for one of my old friends, Will Schuester over at Macaroni Magazine? He highly recommended you. I also read in your biography that you take night courses, I made some calls to your teachers there, they all praised your skills when it comes to photo editing and design" Santana just nodded, surprised that her new employer seemed to know so much about her past work experiences without even talking with her before. Also very surprised that her teachers actually said that about her, they always seemed so stiff and unimpressed by her work.
"That's it? I got the job?" Santana asked surprised. She didn't expect it to be such an easy task to get the job.
"Definitely. Shall we talk about your payment?" Holly still beamed at the Latina who looked ecstatic over her new work, this was definitely better than being a cashier.
The two women made some small talk to get to know each other. They talked about everything from Will Schuester (who, apparently, Holly had dated back in the day! Who would've known that Will had such a great taste in women), Santana's photography and life in New York. Santana also found out that she would earn a small fortune for every work she would assign.
Santana was more than surprised that a woman with such a high rank in the fashion industry could be that kind and humble as Holly Holliday was, she had heard stories about other people in the industry before.
She also learnt that it was Holly who pretty much set the bar in what fashion that was considered hot and what was considered not, that probably being the reason to why people spoke and acted like she was a Goddess. She never expected the fashion world to be like that, and this was just the beginning for her to see things from a fashion perspective.
The two women were about to thank each other for the meeting, Santana wouldn't work from the office, but was always welcome to come by whenever she wanted to visit.
Before leaving Santana couldn't stop thinking about a certain question,
"Aren't you a little young to be working as the Editor-in-chief for a magazine as big as Valentina?" Santana blurted out without really thinking. Santana stood wide eyed and embarrassed, not really expecting the words to come out. It's not the ideal question to ask, before you have even really started working. This earned a giggle from Holly.
"It's okay. I guess I'm still young, considered my position. I actually landed the job thanks to my great grandmother, Valentina Lovejoy, the founder of Valentina Magazine" this time Santana let out a loud snort that made Holly laugh. Valentina Lovejoy? Is it Valentine's Day or what? What's up with all of these names?
"I know. My family is kind of known for being creative when it comes to names" the blonde continued, smiling at the younger woman in front of her.
"Well, I have always loved expressing myself with fashion. It was convenient with my great grandmother running this magazine. The industry is always on the move and I like keeping myself updated, even though I'm the one who pretty much choose what's hot or not, but that's not the point" Holly said and smiled wide at Santana who smiled back.
They both thanked each other for the meeting and Santana thanked Holly for believing in her enough to hire her.
Santana almost jumped out of the Valentina headquarters. She was happy. Things were finally looking up.
PRESENT DAY
It has been three years since she got her first assigned job at Valentina Magazine.
She still remember the first photo shoot she did for them, the proud look of Holly and the feeling inside of hear which screamed 'success'!
When she first saw the garments that the models were supposed to wear, it immediately hit her what kind of shoot she wanted to do. It might not have been the most convenient concept for a fashion magazine with the target group being women in the age, well, every woman read Valentina.
"I want it to be science fiction, future-esque themed. The area should look like a science lab. I think it would go well with the feathers, metal, leather and colors of the fashion pieces. Kind of like a mad scientist creating monsters" the Latina told excitedly and confidently to the women gathered at the meeting.
The pitch mostly got weird looks, except from a certain blonde Editor-in-chief, Holly smiled brightly and applauded the idea. Holliday had the last word after all, and she believed that this idea could work, even though their audience weren't science fiction nerds.
It was a confident young woman standing in front of them, Holly knew that she did the right thing to hire this young firecracker.
Santana ended her pitch with; "I want everyone to find their inner nerd."
Most of the women who had attended the pitch meeting got surprised when they finally saw the result of Santana's shoot. It could only be described as innovative and stunning.
Holly looked like a proud mother while seeing what her latest photographer had created and noticed the stunned reaction of her co-workers when Santana showed the pictures from the shoot, which caused the Editor-in-chief to let out a giggle.
Santana had gotten access to a modern science lab for the shoot, Valentina had helped her get four beautiful models with different facial structures, perfect for the concept. They all did an amazing job in front of the camera and the crew behind the camera killed it.
Santana had never felt better. This was it.
The feisty Latina enjoyed to party, and who would say no to partying with A-list celebrities and supermodels? Not this girl!
Most nights after work she would hit it up on exclusive night clubs with her newly found model friends. They would all dance and drink the nights away and not go home until the sun was rising in the morning.
Some nights Santana even ended up in bed together with a supermodel, something that Rachel wasn't too fond of.
You see, Santana did not only like to party, she enjoyed the so-called after party in her or someone else's bedroom as well.
Santana liked the ladies and would lie if she said she didn't sleep around.
Considering her rising status in the industry she always had to be careful, Santana knew better than to expect people to actually like and care for who she really was. She knew that there were people out there that would use her to get themselves higher up on the ladder in the industry.
Santana quickly realized that the fashion world wasn't what she expected it to be, not that she really had any expectations the day she walked into the Valentina office. But the dark side of the industry began to show and she didn't like what she saw.
She saw the models, her friends, becoming skinnier and skinnier. She saw them do drugs and walk the runways, not really-really being there.
It wasn't only an issue for this industry or generation, but for everyone involved, the audience, the people. The fashion industry set the bar for what others think is hot, it's all about influence.
There was nothing Santana could do to help, but she wanted to change that.
As time passed Santana realized that her work got more and more praised in the media and among the readers. With her gaining popularity she also realized that she needed an assistant to help her out with business calls, bookings and other appointments, and who fit better for that position than her roommate - Rachel Berry.
Rachel gladly accepted the offer when Santana had asked if she would be interested. To Rachel, being Santana's assistant meant doing what she usually did, but actually getting paid doing it, it was a win-win situation.
Right before hiring Rachel as her assistant she also began to get bigger offers from all around the world, which meant more traveling for Santana.
Her work schedule was often packed with shoots for bigger and smaller fashion spreads, but Rachel tried to do her best to not let Santana do too many shoots and work too much than what would be healthy.
She was still often working for Valentina Magazine, after all, it was thanks to Holly and Valentina that she had gotten so far in her career after only a year in the industry.
A year quickly turned into three and three turned into...
With great success came more pressure, with more pressure came more stress and Santana did not enjoy the work as much as she once did when she started out.
However, she could not just leave. Hell, she was successful, she got everyone and everything she wanted, and success and influence was exactly what she wanted. She was on top of the ladder, just like it was in high school. The only difference was, this time she ruled even greater things, not just stupid cheerleaders and jocks. She would not let anything ruin this, this was her moment.
So she stayed. She was getting back to her old ways of snapping at people.
She tried not to. But it was a hard task to compel when the models didn't agree and acted stupid and innocent with her instead.
