Santana stands outside Breadstix, the cold February air fierce and unrelenting- almost painful on her tan skin. She couldn't stay inside, though. Not when Brittany was completely ignoring her, and Puck was sitting with Lauren Zizes, trying to make a move. She doesn't think she's ever felt so stupid in her life.
Santana had never liked Valentine's Day very much. It was a stupid holiday that Halmark invented. A holiday where every one went around flaunting how in love they were, and all the singles sat at home and cried because they were going to die alone. She always felt out of place, because she didn't think she really fit into either category. Puck wasn't her boyfriend, but they weren't just friends either.
Every year, Santana always deluded herself into thinking that this would be the day that Puck would finally admit that he didn't want to just be her bed-buddy. She wasn't stupid, though. She knew where they stood. Free sex with no strings attached. Though if she's being honest with herself, sometimes she wishes this wasn't the case.
When Sam comes out of the restaurant, frowning, Santana smirks.
"Bad night?" she asks, and he looks up at her, a smile tugging on the edges of his lips. He shrugs, and walks closer.
"You could say this has probably been the worst Valentine's Days of my entire sixteen-year-old life," he laughed humorlessly.
"Why did you come, then?" Santana asks.
"Well, Quinn and I were going to come together, but then she got mono..." Santana briefly feels guilty for that, but the feeling passes. "...and I just figured I would come to support Kurt and all..." She nods, because really, she'd planned on being with Puck tonight. When that plan fell to shit, she kind of did the same thing.
"I noticed you were eating chocolate cake, though. I don't believe that's on the abs diet," she says jokingly, and Sam smiles back at her. She's taken aback by how adorable he really is.
"Comfort food," he explains, laughing. "I'll probably be on the treadmill until midnight trying to make up for it." Santana smirks seductively at him, and he seems terrified.
"I can think of another way you can burn off the calories..."
"Santana, no. Quinn and I are still together."
"And yet, she's still cheating on you." He winces. She almost feels bad about it. Almost.
"Fine," Santana says, trying to sound indifferent. The rejection stings more than she'd ever admit to anyone. "I'll see you in Glee." It's obvious dismissal, and Sam picks up on it. He murmurs a goodbye, and walks to his car. She watches him drive away, frowning. She can't believe she'd let another one get away. Whatever. She was done caring.
She almost went home, the freezing air and biting wind burning her skin. However, Santana was waiting for someone specific, and once Santana has her mind set on something she doesn't let go.
When he finally comes out, Blaine and Kurt are giggling together, and all she can think is 'just shut up and make out already'. However, she knows that if she said that out loud Kurt would probably never speak to her again. Not that he did much now, but Kurt was one of the people that Santana didn't truly hate, and she didn't want to lose him.
"Santana," Kurt says. "What are you doing out here in the cold?"
"Actually, I was waiting so I could talk to your boy-toy for a moment...alone." Blaine's eyes widened, and he glanced at Kurt before nervously looking back at her.
"Don't worry, Dapper Dan, I'm not going to jump you. I know you're gay."
"Not that it's ever stopped you before," Kurt mumbles under his breath. Santana glares at him, and he smiles at her, but she knows he means it.
"Kurt, I'd never steal this dashing young fellow away from you. I just need to ask your friend a question in private if you don't mind." Kurt rolled his eyes, grabbed the keys from Blaine's hand, and made his way over to his car.
"You can chill out now. I'm really not going to try to seduce you. Even though you're all kinds of sexy, you're really not my type," she says to Blaine.
"And what is your type, Santana?" the implications in his voice made her angry.
"What are you saying?"
"Nothing. It's just that from what Kurt has told me about you, your only standard seemed to be a beating heart." She glares at him, though she knows what he's saying is true.
"Despite Kurt's know-it-all holier-than -thou attitude, he doesn't know me- and neither do you," she says, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.
"You're right," Blaine tells her. "This is the first time we've met. However, all I have to do is look at you to know that you're beautiful, and don't like waiting around for someone like Noah Puckerman. You're suffering more than you'd ever admit. You're hurt that Brittany is blowing you off for her boyfriend. Without them, you're alone." Santana glares at him angrily.
"I am not!" she blurts.
"Really?" Blaine asks, and he's not sure why he's being so up front with a girl that he'd actually never met before, and essentially was a stranger. He has a feeling however, that this is the only way that anyone will ever get through to her. "If that's true, why are you here tonight?" There's a pause while Santana thinks of an answer, but Blaine speaks before she can.
"Look, Santana. You deserve more than a one night stand, fling, hook-up, or whatever the kids are calling them these days," he says, smirking. She laughs. This Blaine guy might not be as bad as she originally thought. "You're worth more than that. You deserve to be with someone on Valentine's Day. But until you find a guy who sees that in you, you can't do this to yourself, okay?" She just nods because she's too choked up to say anything else.
"Have a good night, Santana. I hope to see you around," Blaine tells her, lifting his hand in a short wave as he walks towards Kurt's car. Seconds later, they've pulled out of the parking lot and are making their way back to school.
As Santana watches the car disappear down the street, she starts thinking about what Blaine had told her. No one had called her beautiful in a really long time. Sure, 'hot', 'sexy', and 'a rocking body', were fine replacements, but they weren't the same. The whole reason that she'd become what she was in high school was that Quinn was always beating her out for everything. Hooking up with more guys is something that Santana has always had over Quinn- something she was good at. Something Quinn couldn't even try to beat. So, Quinn's boyfriend turning her down should've hurt Santana. But it didn't. At least, not after what Blaine had said to her. Because now Santana was beginning to not care.
And sure, a guy calling her beautiful who she was sure wasn't trying to sleep with her was an added bonus.
Today, February 14th, 2011, marked the beginning of a new era in Santana's world. She wasn't a bitch, like Lauren had said. She would not be working on a pole, like Rachel had told her. She didn't know exactly how she was going to do it, but she was going to prove them wrong. She was going to show Rachel Berry and the Glee club that she was more. That she had a rightful place in the school, in the Glee club, and in the world.
She was going to prove them all wrong.
I really felt bad for Santana, so I had to have some sort of redemption for her.
Review and let me know what you thought! :)