A/N: I do not own these characters.
A sheen of sweat began forming across her forehead as her hands switched back and forth with skill across the turntables. These were the nights that she lived for. There was nothing better in the world, than when the beats were flowing out of the clubs speakers and your heartbeat was replaced with pounding bass of the music. The lights of the club mixed with the gyrating bodies in the crowd only assisted in heightening the feel of euphoria as the DJ set up and transitioned into the next song.
"Lopez!" Yelled a tall guy with a mohawk, as he balanced a tray of shots in his right hand, and frantically waived his free hand in the air in an unsuccessful attempt to get the Latina's attention.
Bam Bam Bam "Santana!" he yelled while banging on the Plexiglas wall of the DJ booth. This finally gained the DJ's attention. She gave him a waived hand gesture to enter the booth, while distractedly making adjustments to the switches on one of the boards laid out in front of her.
"Hey sorry Noah, I didn't hear you out there." the Latina stated.
"No big, I don't know how you can hear anything with those headphones blaring in your ears four nights a week" He joked with a smile.
If Puck had learned anything about his friend early on, it was that when she was spinning, she was in the zone. He couldn't deny that she had mad talent when it came to mixing beats, songs or anything that made a sound for that matter. As soon as the track hits the speakers, she seemed to be lost in a world of bass and beats. There for a moment they were scared that the club was going to close down due to lack of business. Then the Latina showed up one night as a fill in after their previous DJ walked out, claiming this place as a waste of his time. The place had been booming ever since.
"Here ya go, the guy in the blue shirt over there bought you a couple of shots." Puck chuckled as he motioned to a guy off to the side of the dance floor and set two clear shots on the side of the DJ table.
"Noah you know I don't drink." Santana exaggerated with a roll of her eyes to Puckerman. She thought that they had made it past this subject already. When she first started spinning at Shell Shock, Puck had given her a hard time about her decision to stay sober. Especially considering how the rest of the clubs employees were known for their raving after hour's antics.
"I know!" He raised his free hand in defense.
"That's why I made sure that these were water." He said with a wink.
This caused the DJ to give a slight laugh as she picked up both shots and saluted towards Mr. Blueshirt. She slammed the shots back to back and finished it off with a wink and a smile towards the stranger by the bar. This didn't' go unnoticed by Puck.
"-Ooo damn Lopez, you are a cruel woman. Lets hope that satisfied his approach for the night." Puckerman laughed.
"Psh, I was just being polite Noah. If he approaches me I'll just turn him down like I do all the others." She chuckled as her attention was taken back to the music for a moment.
It was a sad day in the Hetero world when Puck learned that his new co-worker batted for the other team. It wasn't until after several declined advances that he finally caught the hint from his friend. Being the lady killer that he was, Puck did not have girls as just friends, but a definite exception to the rule had been made for the Latina. Never in his wildest mind would he have ever considered that a girl would be the best wingman he ever had. She had some serious game; maybe it was her charming smile, easygoing attitude or the self-confidence that eluded from her body. One thing that he did notice however was how she would always decline an advance that went further from flirty conversation, even with the girls who were basically throwing themselves on the young DJ. He had always figured that maybe she just had too high of standards.
"Mmhmm" Puck hummed with a smile.
"Well I gotta get back to the bar, it's almost midnight and you know what that means!" He prompted.
"SHOWTIME!" They exclaimed in unison.
"Get going, I'll wait for you to get back to the bar before I start up the entrance." The DJ said as she began to pull up her play lists on her laptop.
"Thanks buddy, I'll see ya later!" Puck yelled as he retreated back into the sea of moving bodies and began to make his way back over to the bar along the side of the club.
Santana enjoyed working at Shell Shock, it was slightly different from the other places that she had spun at before. It had the strobe lights and dance floor just like any other club on 6th Street. The entire perimeter of the first floor was lined with bar tops. There were various platforms around the club for go-go dancers that could be raised or lowered to various heights by pulley systems that were stationed on the catwalk hovering high atop the club. The second floor was set up as a lounge area for guests, with some portions segregated by hanging curtains for VIP party guests. The DJ booth itself was a lowered extension of the second floor, making it to where it seemed to be hovering over the dance floor, but in between both floors. It was made of Plexiglas walls so you could see the entire club from that center point. What differed were mirrors that lined the walls behind the bars on the first floor. Every other mirror panel doubled as trap door. Once the clock hit midnight Santana would drop their opening track and each panel would flip around to reveal a dancer from the clubs dance team. From there they would hop onto the bar and perform a routine and then move on down to the dance floor where they would complete their entrance number before individually making their way to one of the platforms.
Santana grabbed the mic and flipped it on as she saw Puck give her the thumbs up to start the entertainment.
"Ladies and gentleman, skanks, hoes and everyone else yo momma doesn't what you to know! We're glad to see you decided to come party with us tonight at Shell Shock. In appreciation, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to our welcoming committee!"
The crowd went wild as the lights went out. The DJ flipped the mic off and began playing Girls On the Dance Floor by Far East Movement.
[10 minutes before in the dressing room]
"Okay who the fuck took my pink lip gloss?!" yelled a shorthaired dirty blonde across the room. She looked over several of the blank expressions she received back. One thing Quinn never quite understood was why it was so hard to return something that you borrowed from someone else. The thought seemed to jog her memory slightly, and she began to make her way over to a dancer stretching in the corner of the large dressing room. If anyone had borrowed something without returning it, she was sure to assume it was most likely her best friend.
"Brittany, do you have my pink lip gloss?" she questioned in exasperation. The longhaired blonde had just finished stretching down, touching her toes. She stood straight back up, flipping her hair in the shorter girls face in the process.
"Hmm, that depends. Hypothetically speaking, how mad would you be if I did have it?" Brittany asked with a sweet smile. The taller girl knew how much Quinn hated it when she took her stuff without asking or returning it for that matter. Its not that she did it on purpose, she just kinda got distracted and would forget.
"Ugh, where is it Britt?" she sighed as she rolled her eyes.
"In the red bag in front of my mirror." Brittany flinched. The gesture made Quinn chuckle as she walked past her to her friends bag on the counter.
Brittany followed behind her. She sat down on her stool and began to put the finishing touches on her long blonde hair as her friend applied gloss to her lips.
"Ladies, 5 minutes!" Yelled the clubs coordinator as she passed by the dressing room door.
"Okay, I'm determined that tonight will be the night I get that DJ in my bed" Quinn stated with a sly smile.
"Oh really? So 9th time's the charm Quinn?" Brittany said with a chuckle "God forbid you make her think you're desperate."
"Shut it bitch, you're just jelly because I got to her before you." She said with a challenging look, "…and it's the 3rd time thank you very much!"
"Oh please, if I wanted in on that I would've sealed the deal a loooong time ago. Plus DJ's aren't my thing. You remember all the shit that I went through with Carmen, and then there was the last one we had, he was such a creeper."
"Ew, I know! Thank god he's gone! But if you think for a second that you can seal the deal with Snixx then guess again." Quinn stated matter-of-factly "I pretty much tried almost everything, and still nothing. I'm pulling out the big guns tonight." She chuckled with one last look in the mirror, and spun on her heel.
Brittany watched through the mirror as her best friend left back to her locker on the other side of the room, and looked back at her own reflection. It's not that she didn't find the Latina attractive; her feelings were almost quite the opposite. She just knew how most people who worked this type of nightlife were when it came to relationships, or lack there of. Most of her coworkers, dancers, bouncers and bartenders alike had all hooked up with each other at least once. She made the mistake of thinking things were different with her ex Carmen. Carmen DJ'd here a year or so ago. After about a month of dating, she had caught Carmen with another one of the clubs dancers in the DJ booth. She had decided to go up to the club a little early to spend time with her girlfriend while she set up for the night. Needless to say it was not a pleasant surprise. Carmen had stated it was all just a misunderstanding. The next 4 months seemed to be filled with misunderstandings until Brittany got tired of looking the other way and accepting empty apologies. She cut ties and vowed never to date someone from her work place ever again. Despite her personal vow, Brittany was never one to back down from a challenge. With that thought she finished buckling her high heels and began walking to the door of the dressing room.
Brittany and Quinn gave each other the once over while they walked down the hall to their stations behind the trap doors. Brittany could hear DJ Snixx hyping up the crowd for their grand entrance. If it was one thing that the DJ knew how to do well, it was being able to entertain a crowd. Whether it being through her sick remixes or goofing off on the mic, the girl had talent.
"Okay girls, strike a pose! Lets get this shit going!" Emma the coordinator yelled, while quickly walking down the hallway checking that all the girls were in place.
"Ready B?! Let's kill this –ish" Quinn smirked.
"Are you ready Quinn?" Brittany replied under her breath. The opening beats of the music started playing. Quinn door turned her around, Brittany's following immediately after. The spot light above her head illuminated her position on the back of the bar in the dark club. All the lights had been shut off for visual effect. The only other light visible was what was coming from the laptop in the DJ booth. Brittany looked up and immediately spotted the Latina, she had her full attention on her computer screen. From what Brittany could guess, she was setting up the next track. It must have been the intensity of Brittany's stare. Even though it only lasted for the fastest moment, the DJ could feel the stare and turned to see the source. Just then for a split second, they made eye contact. She smiled.