Santana Lopez was a bitch, a slut, a liar, and a cheater. But above all, she was just a lonely girl. In the end, everyone left her. Puck left her for Quinn, then Rachel, then Mercedes, then Quinn again. Brittney left her for Artie once, then again. People just left her, over and over again. Then there was Finn. He could've been the best thing that had ever happened to her, but instead he ended up being her biggest mistake. She thought of trying to cultivate something, some hope of a relationship, but instead he denied it ever happened, and he ran back to that dwarf, and she let him. The first good guy she'd ever slept with, and she'd let him slip away. Which wasn't so surprising- everything Santana touched disintegrated eventually.
So now she had to live with the nasty whispers, the tortured looks Rachel shot Finn's way, and the angry looks Finn gave her. Finn got all the high fives, and Santana got all the crap. Brittney treated her same as always, but that was Brittney. Puck was too wrapped up in Rachel to worry about her. Those were the only two people Santana trusted. Well, them and Finn. There was just something about him that made Santana want to trust him. Which, of course, was why she had screwed it up. She didn't want to trust him, knew she really shouldn't. She knew Rachel bitched about coming in second all the time, but at least she had a place. Santana came in last. Always last. The only reason Finn slept with her was because she offered. Otherwise, she was positive it never would've even crossed his mind to sleep with Santana the slut.
Santana started spending more time alone. During lunch, she hung out in the choir room unless someone else was there. If someone was, she went to the football field and sat behind the equipment shed. During her alone time, she would sing to herself, read, write, anything to keep herself busy. After a few weeks, she started to believe she deserved to be alone. Singing and reading gave way to crying. People began to whisper about her puffy eyes and downcast manner. Brittney believed her when she said she was fine. Puck was busy sucking face with the dwarf. Finn didn't seem to notice.
It was a rainy day when things finally began to look up. It was wet and cold, so Santana popped the lock on the shed and sat inside, staring out into the rain, shivering slightly.
"Santana?" she jumped and looked over to see Finn standing outside in the rain. He stepped inside and took his jacket off, placing it around her shoulders. She smiled her thanks. He sat down next to her. She glanced over at him.
"What are you doing out here, Hudson?" she asked quietly. He shrugged.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said. Santana snorted.
"Please," she said. "Since when do you care? I made you lose your precious Rachel." Finn laughed. It was a hollow, mocking sound.
"My precious Rachel cheated on me with Puck," he said. "She did it on purpose. She knew how it would affect me. And when I broke up with her, she ran back to him, just like last time." Santana glanced up at him.
"I'm sorry, Finn," she said quietly. He shook his head, smiling his lopsided half smile.
"It's not your fault," he said softly. "I should have just been honest with her in the beginning. All you did was force me to be honest, something I was too scared to do for myself." He stopped and cleared his throat. "And I'm sorry for the way I've treated you, Santana." She sighed.
"It's okay, Finn," she said quietly. "I've gotten used to being alone." Finn leaned over, placing his fingers under her chin, touching his lips to hers gently. Santana pulled back and looked into his eyes.
"Why did you just do that?" she asked. Years of experience had taught her to be guarded with things like this.
"I don't know," Finn answered honestly. "You looked so sad, and you're actually a nice person sometimes." Santana stared at him, then laughed for the first time in two weeks.
"See, that's why I like you Finn," she said. Finn's eyes seemed to brighten.
"Like me?" he said. Santana opened her mouth to deny it, then realized she didn't want to lie anymore.
"Yes," she said softly. "I like you, Finn. And not because dating you will mean I have a boyfriend on the football team, and not to get back at Puckerman. I like you because you're sweet and funny, and a good person." Finn smiled.
"You're a good person too, San," he said softly. "You just have to let that show more often." Santana smiled back at him, then lifted her chin to kiss him again. Then she scooted over so that she was sitting right next to him, and laid her head on his shoulder. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Maybe later they would talk about what this meant for them, and where to go from here, but for now it was enough to just sit and watch the rain fall together.