"So, how does it feel to be twenty-one, Santana?" her sister, Lana, asks. They are hanging out in a park in Westwood, Los Angeles. It's a hot summer day and they had decided to have lunch outside instead of the UCLA campus, where they are both studying.
"I've been twenty-one for over two months now. Every time you ask me that question, it has an agenda. I'm here to study, you know? Not partying it up every single weekend," Santana says. Ever since she had her birthday, Lana has been inviting her to every college party possible. Santana thinks there isn't a bar in Los Angeles she hasn't been to yet. She is obviously wrong, but she also likes to exaggerate things.
"There's no agenda! I just feel like as your big sister I can, and am obligated to, show you around the party life of LA," Lana says enthusiastically raising her hands in the air. "I've been waiting for this for three years, Santana. Don't take this away from me now!" Santana rolls her eyes. She may exaggerate things, but her sister is definitely the more dramatic one. That was probably why Lana is studying to be an actress and Santana is just studying English. A fact, that took their parents a lot longer to get over from than Santana being a lesbian. Well, that didn't really take too long to understand. All they were worried about was how to act when Santana would bring her girlfriends to visit. Which has never happened. Maybe exactly for that reason.
"Fine, but I'm bringing Mercedes. Where are we going?"
"You're coming to my place. It's Tina's birthday and she wants only the cool people to show up. But don't worry! I know it's a house party but we were thinking of inviting about twenty-five, so it won't be too full. We didn't even make an event on Facebook." Well, at least Santana gets along with Tina. God knows if she had to go to Lana's other friend, Rachel's, birthday party. That would have been a lousy night drinking wine coolers and singing karaoke. Tina organizes good parties and knows a lot of cool people. The only issue Santana has with her is that she is a little bit of a telltale. Tina once accidentally outed Santana at a party, which ended in a huge fight between her and Lana since obviously Lana had told Tina first. Both had a lot of making up to do and that's probably another reason why Lana is inviting Santana everywhere. Of course, Santana hasn't mentioned that she is mostly over it. But she's not going to say no to free lunch.
"I'll buy you your drinks," Lana offers. Santana stares at her contemplating for a while. Should she take advantage of the situation or not? There is only one answer to that question. She takes a gulp of her Dr Pepper.
"Sure."
"If there aren't any good looking guys there, I swear I'm out like a lightning," Mercedes exclaims. She and Santana are walking to Lana and Tina's place, which is close to their dorms. All night Santana has had to listen to Mercedes's rant about boys. It's getting annoying. So what, if there aren't any good looking guys?
"You can have a good time without looking for love, Mercedes. Just this once. Please? I need your help with Tina, anyway. I think we need to stitch her mouth shut," Santana tells her friend the plan she has been putting together ever since she heard about the party. She's not risking Tina spilling anymore secrets.
"No, that's too extreme. We'll use tape," Mercedes says seriously and shows a roll of tape with a bow on top, making it look like a birthday present. Santana laughs out loud. She and Mercedes have been friends for a long time and always have each other's backs. Mercedes was the first person to know about Santana's sexuality and since then she has been acting like a lioness every time Santana faces someone who's not as accepting. In turn, Santana let's her rave about the boys. But not tonight.
"Maybe you're right. But seriously though, let's just have fun and forget about everything and everyone else, okay?" Mercedes is doesn't look convinced.
"You say that every time we go somewhere. I don't understand why this is such a big deal for you. If I find a guy, I'll find a guy and I will have a damn good time finding that guy," she says sternly. "Maybe you should try and find a girl for change. You have a serious case of dry spell." Santana shakes her head, but doesn't look at Mercedes.
"No, I don't." Mercedes scoffs.
"Okay, maybe a little bit. But that doesn't mean I have to find anyone. I'm perfectly fine with being single," Santana says proudly. Mercedes is smirking at her knowingly. Santana sighs. "Fine, so I'm kind of a rookie still and I'm not really sure how to hit on a girl or even recognize if she's into it or not…" Mercedes starts laughing. Santana is irritated. One of the problems of having a best friend is that they're allowed to make fun of each other mercilessly. Mercedes definitely likes to take advantage of that.
"Santana, you've been doing fine for the couple of years you've been out," Mercedes says still laughing. "Just be yourself and remember the golden rule. Treat everyone how you want yourself to be treated. If you find a girl, good for you. If you don't, good for you still. Don't take too much pressure. You can have fun, even if you're flirting with tons of people in one night."
"Yeah, I guess…" Santana mutters. They've reached Lana's apartment complex. The party is in full swing. They can hear music pumping and people chatting inside the apartment. Santana rings the doorbell. Tina opens the door and squeals when she sees her new guests. She's obviously had few already, which means some gossip is on its way to Santana's ears. She can hardly wait. At least it'll be easier to use the tape after Tina has more drinks. Suddenly, Tina throws her arms around Santana and starts jumping up and down.
"I'm so happy you guys made it!" Santana pats Tina on the back and wishes her happy birthday. Tina lets her go and moves on to Mercedes. While Mercedes is threatening Tina with the tape, Santana looks around her. There are definitely more than twenty-five people. Fucking Lana. No, fucking Tina, who can't keep her mouth shut. How is she supposed to find girls? Or even move around the apartment? It's a two-bedroom and not even that spacious. She needs a drink and that means she needs to find her sister. From that very tightly squeezed crowd. She groans and throws her head back. She notices Mercedes and Tina staring at her.
"…Don't say a word," she warns and starts making her way through the mass of people.
After about two hours in the party, Santana is ready to leave. It's the worst party she has ever been to and she is not exaggerating this time. So far she has had two girls whining about their boyfriends' lack of skills in bed, dealt with a guy who didn't speak english but hindu (how he managed to get himself into this party is beyond Santana's understanding) and held Tina's hair back, when she wasn't feeling good. She was also crying and apologizing to Santana at the same time, so Santana's top was covered in tears, mascara stains and vomit. She had to borrow a shirt from Lana and their styles are totally different (Lana is a little bit on the hippie side of clothes whereas Santana tries to look as hot as possible). So yeah, the party is on her part very much over. She's trying to find Mercedes, but she has vanished from the apartment. Mercedes also has some trouble understanding that cellphones were invented so people could actually reach each other wherever they are, which means she's not answering her calls. Just as Santana's getting really worried, she bumps into someone's back and drops her phone.
"Oh man, I'm really sorry," the person says and bends down to retrieve the phone. So um, nice ass. Why hasn't she talked to this girl all night?
"It's okay, it was my-" Santana starts as the girl turns around to face Santana. "-fault…" Holy crap, it's Brittany. Her camp councilor a few years back that she had a crush on. She looks even more surprised than Santana does.
"Santana?"
"Brittany?" Yeah, she's playing herself some time to process this. Seeing Brittany again is… weird. Last time she saw her was when they were saying goodbye on the last day of camp four years ago. Around that time Santana had finally accepted the fact that she likes girls. Brittany had sort been the launchpad for that. Now she's out and proud, and Brittany looks almost the same, except for some new freckles on her nose and a little darker hair.
"Wow, it's so nice to see you again," Brittany says, still stunned. Santana chuckles awkwardly.
"Yeah… You live in Los Angeles now?"
"Yup, I moved here almost two years ago. I know Tina, so that's why I'm here," Brittany explains without asking.
"Oh," Santana lets out and can't figure out what else to say to that. Wow, this is really awkward. Maybe she should just leave this conversation.
"What about you?" Brittany asks. Okay, just a little smalltalk, find Mercedes, leave and never come back.
"I'm studying English in UCLA. I came here with my roommate, who is currently missing and I should find her so…" Santana tries to smile apologetically but somehow ends up drooling on her chin. Quickly wiping it with a swipe of her hand, she starts turning around, but Brittany has other plans.
"I'll help you look for your friend! I just really want to talk to you a little bit more. How do you know Tina?" They start making their way trough the mass of people in the kitchen to the living room.
"My sister lives here too. You probably know Lana?"
"She's your sister? That's why she looked so familiar but I just couldn't place it. Mystery solved!" Brittany says happily and skips a little. Santana laughs nodding. She's glad Brittany is still so cheerful after all this time. And pretty too.
"So, what are you doing in LA? I thought you said you'll never leave the east coast, even for money," Santana teases with a grin. Brittany smiles, clearly pleased that Santana remembers that.
"Well, it turns out money is a big factor in deciding whether to move or not. I'm a dance instructor and I live in Santa Monica. Sometimes I volunteer in an animal shelter, but not too often anymore, now that I have more classes to teach." Santana smiles. Neither seems to notice that they have actually stopped and are now standing in a corner in the living room.
"So, any girlfriends?" Brittany asks smirking. Santana stares at her wide eyed. They have been talking for a while now and Santana's sexuality has not been on topic.
"How'd you…"
"Santana, it was obvious you liked me back then," Brittany says knowingly. "Maybe I'm just assuming, but I think you were also staring at my ass earlier, so…" she shrugs and is still smiling smugly. Santana scoffs and waves her hand.
"In your dreams, Pierce. And you're right. I'm gay, and no, I don't have any girlfriends. Not even one," she says. Brittany laughs and throws her back. Santana smiles widely and starts,
"So what about yo-"
"Santana!" It's Mercedes. "I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone, this guy took it from me so I'm not distracted of our conversation. But I gave him my number. I also gave it to two others and I'm ninety-nine percent sure that at least one them is going to call…" she trails of as she sees Brittany. "Oh, you've got yourself some company. Sorry, I'll just be leaving…" she snickers. Santana rolls her eyes.
"You can go ahead, I'll catch you up in a minute," she says and pushes Mercedes to the direction of the front door. She turns to Brittany and smiles.
"My best friend, ladies and gentlemen," she laughs awkwardly. "Sorry about her."
"No problem! Everyone has that annoying best friend," Brittany says and goes for a hug. Santana wraps her arms around Brittany's waist and squeezes. Brittany gave such good hugs. Maybe she'll get more if she had the guts to ask for Brittany's number. After the hug Brittany hands Santana her phone and tells her to put her number in it.
"I want to hang out with you sometime, Santana," she states. And then smiles curiously. "You grew up."
Santana chuckles and puts her number on the phone and quickly texts herself to get Brittany's number. As she hands Brittany the phone, she says, "I think you just shrank, Brittany." Brittany laughs again and Santana joins her. They say they farewells and Santana makes her way outside, where Mercedes is waiting eagerly.
"Well, did you get her number? She was really pretty. When are you going out?" she starts her queue of questions. Santana sneers.
"Yes, I got it. And I don't know, we just agreed that we'll hang out sometime. Oh, and thanks a lot for abandoning me with too-drunk-to-walk-Tina. I had a really good time." Mercedes snorts.
"At least the end went well. And sorry, won't happen again," she promises. That promise is out the window by the time they go to bed, Santana's sure of it. But she's right about something. The end of the party was a nice surprise.
It's the first day of camp and Santana's already bored out of her mind. So far they have been playing silly games to get know each other and none of these people seem fun. Nothing of this is fun. How the hell could a camp that has clear rules, like strict bedtime and "don't leave the property"-signs all over the place, be any fun? Her mother thinks she's been moody lately and apparently the answer is a summer camp in Michigan. So while she's in the woods, her best friend Mercedes is having the time of her life in New York. That's the right place for a seventeen-year-old girl during summer break. Not this place. No. Just no.
"Okay, you guys! It's time for an another game and then you'll have free time!" one of the camp councilors shouts in the canteen. "Let's go outside!" All the kids start flooding out of the room. There's a big clearing right in the middle of the camp and the cabins and the main building are around it. Around that all, is the forest. There is a path to the lake. That path is filled with huge ants that bite. This place is terrible.
Everyone forms a circle with the blond camp councilor, whose name Santana can't remember, in the middle. She smiles widely.
"I know you're all fed up with the games, but don't worry! This will be the last one of today! Now, let me just explain the rules real quick. As you can see, I have no place in the circle. To find a place, I have to say one thing that I like. For example: I like cats. And then everyone else who likes cats start running around to find a place and the one who can't stands here in the middle and repeats the process. So, let me begin. I like… parrots." A few people start to run around in panic. Santana doesn't blame them. She certainly doesn't want to middle. But she has nothing in common with these people, so she's good. A boy with glasses and a really weird afro stands in the middle now. He's sweating while trying to find something to say.
"I like stalking." What the fuck? "No, I mean… taking photographs." Santana is so not taking a shower this week. People run around again and a girl ends up in the middle.
"I like music." Shit. Santana has to move. Where the hell is she supposed to go? This game sucks. All the games they've been playing today suck. Especially when she's put on the spot. Like now. She doesn't know what to say and looks to people around her trying to find some hints. Her eyes land on the blonde councilor, who smiles reassuringly. Her shirt has a picture of a pen and paper.
"I like writing," she lies and almost snorts to herself. She does not like writing. But it works, because a girl gives up her spot next to the blonde. Santana remembers her name was Brittany. Brittany smiles at Santana when she sheepishly walks to her spot. She weakly smiles back.
At the end of the camp, Santana finds out she actually enjoyed herself. Sure, the games still sucked and that stalking guy was preying on every girl at the camp. Also, the showers, which she chose to take, were uncomfortable. They're all in a row without any cover and Santana was trying really hard not to look at the other girls. Getting caught would have been be so embarrassing. But at least she found a couple of people she liked enough to spend time with. And then there's Brittany. Who is freaking perfect. She's a few years older but Santana gets along with her so well. She's very quirky but also smart and Santana likes smart people. Quirkiness is a feature Santana has started to appreciate only recently. Brittany's also stunning. She looks like a woman. Santana likes women. Right now they're saying their farewells before stepping on the bus to take them to the airport.
"I'm really gonna miss you guys!" Brittany says sadly. "This was the best camp ever." She's hugging everyone and Santana stands there waiting for her hug. She said her goodbyes to the ones she deemed worthy. There's only Brittany left. She turns to Santana and smiles a little.
"Saved the best one for the last," she says and opens her arms. Santana walks into them and hugs Brittany back. She's flailing inside. She's the best one. Duh.
"I'm gonna miss you the most, you know. You're funny," Brittany says quietly. "And also because this is the last camp I will be on and you're the last one on the camp that I'm gonna hug, so…" Santana giggles.
"I'll miss you too, Brittany." Okay, so she developed a crush on the girl. So what? At least she's admitting it to herself. Now she needs to figure how to tell other people. They break the hug and look at each other. Santana hopes they will see each other again. Maybe when she's grown up a bit.
"Maybe we'll meet again sometime," Brittany says and grins. Santana grins back and nods. They wave and Santana gets on the bus. She gets a window seat in the front of the bus and turns to look at Brittany one last time. She's waving at everyone enthusiastically and jumping up and down. The bus moves and they're driving down the road. Santana sits back and leans her head on the window. This camp turned out to be a good thing after all. She feels a lot better about herself.
Thank you for reading! This was supposed to be longer, but I liked the ending like that. But if you want to read more, I'll add the rest I had planned for this.