Counting
Santana looked down at her wrist. One hour until she would meet her soul mate. It felt like she'd been waiting her entire life for this moment. In a way, she had. She looked around the coffee shop nervously. Was her soul mate already here? She stared at an old man in the corner, nursing a coffee. The man looked up and saw her staring. He winked back at her. She cringed.
"Fucking hell." She muttered under her breath.
She moved along the queue and finally reached the counter. She ordered her usual order. Iced Skinny Flavoured Latte. Perfect for this hot summer's day. She took her drink and sat down at an empty table. She stared out the window, letting her thoughts take over. She wondered what her soul mate would look like. What color hair does he have? What color eyes? And most importantly, how good looking was he? She started to worry, what if her clock was broken, what if it was wrong? What if this person wasn't her soul mate? She took a sip of her drink and sighed. She had never been this nervous before. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked for Quinn's name in her contacts. She pressed call and waited.
"Hey sexy lady!" Quinn giggled down the phone.
"Listen up, Preggo, I need you to help me. I'm freaking out." Santana said desperately.
"What now? I'm not bailing you out of jail again. Santana, you need to stop getting into fights it's re-"
"I didn't get into a fight. I've only got fifty minutes to go. I'm so fucking scared."
"Fifty minutes? Why the fuck didn't you tell me? I didn't even realise it was today. I would have helped you sort out your outfit. God Santana, how are you holding up?"
"What did I just say? Do you even fucking listen? I'm shitting it. I want to leave, I don't know where to go."
"Just go wherever you want, it's fate. You'll meet him when your clock gets to zero. Just be patient. There's nothing you can do now."
"How did you feel when you met Puck?"
"I was excited…" She paused. "Sorry, I know that's not what you wanted to hear."
"Why am I so scared? It's not like I can do anything to change it. Like you said, it's fate."
"Just breathe. You'll be fine. I wish I could be there. You'll be great, Santana. Listen, the baby just started crying, I have to go, but I'll call you later to find out what he's like." Quinn hung up the phone. Santana rolled her eyes. Quinn still hadn't named her baby after two weeks. She put her phone on the table and checked her clock. Half an hour to go.
"Breathe." She whispered to herself. "You can do this. Your Santana mother fucking Lopez. You once beat up a girl for calling you Santana Smelly in fifth grade. Be brave." She felt a tap on her shoulder. She froze. Shit shit shit. She glanced at her clock. 29 minutes. Was her soul mate early?
She turned around to see a young woman with ginger hair standing behind her. She was wearing a Starbucks and an apron.
"Sorry to bother you, it's just…" she leaned in a little closer. "I was asked to give you this." She put a folded piece of paper on the table and shrugged. "I can't say who it's from." As she walked away Santana opened it.
You're sexy. Here's my number, call me.
She turned the piece of paper around to see a scrawny written phone number.
She looked at the paper, then scanned around the room. Was this from her soul mate? She frantically searched for anyone showing a glimpse of interest in her. She looked around again. A middle aged woman with her toddler, a group of teenagers, a couple who were staring lovingly into each others eyes and the old man. She cursed under her breath and went up to the counter again. The ginger lady smiled at her.
"Hi, can you please tell me who this is from? It's really important."
"I'm afraid I can't, they told me not to tell you. I guess they're your secret admirer." She chuckled.
"Please." Santana begged. "I've got ten minutes."
The woman looked puzzled for a second. Her face dropped. "You mean…Your clock?"
Santana nodded.
"Shit." The woman said. The woman started laughing. Santana could feel herself getting angry.
"What's so funny?" She asked impatiently.
"Nothing, it's just...I don't think he is your soul mate." She said, nodding her head in the direction of the old man.
"He's the one who sent me the note?" Santana asked, disappointed. The woman nodded.
She went back to her seat, avoiding eye contact with the old man, he was definitely not her soul mate.
She decided to go to the toilets and make sure she looked presentable. She stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself. She knew she was attractive, but today she felt self-conscious and fat. She checked her teeth. All good. She got a mint out of her purse and started sucking on it. She splashed her face with some cold water, letting it drip down her face and onto the floor. She pulled out her make up bag and touched up her make up once her face was dry. She looked at her hands. She was shaking. Fuck fuck fuck. She tried to calm herself. She went into a cubicle and sat on the toilet, wondering what her soul mate's personality was like. What if he was boring? What if he didn't get her sense of humor? Worst of all, what if he was exactly like Finn Hudson? Santana shuddered at the thought. She got up and washed her hands thoroughly. She looked at her clock. Five minutes. She left the toilets. Her knees started shaking. She stood by the door, contemplating leaving. She repeated what Quinn had said to her. There's nothing you can do now. She watched her clock count down. She felt sick. You'll be fine. She looked out the window. There were only a couple of people out there, but after a couple of minutes they were gone.She watched as her clock counted down. Ten seconds. She looked around the coffee shop. Six seconds. She looked outside the window. No one was out there. Three seconds. She looked back at the old man. Two, one…She looked around. Nothing. No one had moved, nothing had happened. Maybe her clock really was broken. She sighed and opened the door to leave. She looked back down at her clock. 00:00 – She should have met her soul mate by now. What if I'm not meant to fall in love? What if I'm going to be alone forever? She thought to herself.
"Oh sorry." She looked up, a blonde woman was standing in front of her. Santana had been so intent on reading her clock that she'd forgotten to see where she was going and had bumped into this woman. Santana smiled politely.
"Shit, sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Me neither." The girl said with a shrug. Santana watched as the girl looked down at her wrist.
"Have you…I mean…Are you on zero too?" Santana asked nervously. The woman nodded and smiled awkwardly.
"Hi, I'm Brittany, your soul mate."
Santana giggled and put out her hand. "Santana." She said.