A/N: Hello everyone! It's my pleasure to introduce my first fan fiction story, "The Serenade". This is a one-shot, and it's all HeYa friendship, no romance between them, but I hope this doesn't discourage you from reading. This story takes place well into Season 3, but with plenty of flashbacks- 99% of it is Naya's POV, because something happens to her that threatens her happiness. I really explored Naya's character...and perhaps I over-analyzed her a bit, but what can I say...I'm an aspiring psychologist. Ha.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naya or Heather. Hopefully they own themselves. Naya's and Heather's actions in this story do not in any way express my opinions of them, and I do not claim to have any insight into their personal lives, thoughts, issues, feelings, or anything else of that sort. Actually, I think that Naya is much stronger in real life than how I portrayed her to be in this story. All in all, I'm just a fan, and I love HeYa's friendship.
Enjoy! :)
Naya Rivera sighed happily on her sofa as she looked down at the sight before her. Heather was sleeping soundly with her mouth slightly ajar; her long blonde hair framing her delicate face. Her face, which was half buried in the pillow which took up Naya's lap, faced the television. Naya watched as the light from the tv flickered across her best friend's sleeping face, illuminating the pale girl's freckles, and smiled to herself. Heather's freckles were a rare sight. The blonde loved her makeup, and never believed her best friend when she told her that she looked the most beautiful without it.
"Heather, c'mon," Naya had said with exasperation the last time she had caught her friend touching up her makeup in the mirror, which she had already done several minutes before. "You look fine, okay?"
Heather closed her small portable mirror, clicking it shut and looked up, rolling her eyes. "Yeah," she said, her voice tinged with equal exasperation, "I know you think I look fine." She paused at her choice of words, giggling. Naya had giggled also, blushing slightly. Heather blotted her lipstick quickly, oblivious to Naya's reaction. "I just gotta make sure my freckles are covered up." Now it was Naya's turn to roll her eyes. She playfully hit her friend's shoulder.
"Sweetie," she replied, "you're crazy. Your freckles are adorable." Heather only smiled back at her friend appreciatively upon hearing this, her eyes still filled with doubt.
Naya snapped out of her reverie when she felt Heather stir on her lap. The blonde sighed softly and shuffled slightly under her blanket without opening her eyes, her long legs now peeking slightly out from under the covers. Naya absentmindedly adjusted the blanket so that it covered Heather's legs, before looking up again to continue watching her show.
A couple hours earlier, she had been alone on her sofa, still in her pajamas as she watched reruns of Iron Chef and other shows on the Food Network. Cooking was a hobby of hers, and one that she had been neglecting lately because of her tight schedule. Now that she and her coworkers had been given a week off from work, she welcomed the idea of using the time to try some new recipes, and was watching Iron Chef in order to gain some inspiration.
Out of the blue, she had heard a knock at the door of her apartment. She yawned and stretched, before quickly getting up from where she laid to see who was at the door. Her curiosity peaked as she checked her cell phone for any text messages that would indicate who was at her door, but found none. She unlocked the deadbolt, pulling the door open slowly and squinting as the sun invaded her eyes. Sure enough, Heather was standing there in sweats and no makeup, slowly removing the sunglasses that were perched on her nose, to reveal tired blue eyes over dark circles.
Naya just stood there for a second, taking in the sight with a confused look on her face. "Oh no," Naya paused, faltering "were we supposed to hangout today?" She asked, her expression guilty.
"No no," Heather said, shaking her head. "Sorry to bother you NayNay," she continued, her voice tired. "But," she began, looking slightly embarrassed, "I don't feel very well. And Ashley is working late today, so I'm alone. I was just wondering," she bit her lip, looking down, "can I stay with you?"
Naya smiled, "Oh, HeMo," she said, relief washing over her as she realized she hadn't done anything wrong. She took both of the blondes hands in hers and squeezed them as she pulled the girl inside and closed the door. "Of course," she answered. "Of course you can stay with me. Stay as long as you want, sweetie." Heather smiled softly at Naya, thanking her. Naya nodded, motioning for her friend to sit on the sofa while she walked towards her room to retrieve a pillow and blanket for her.
Naya grew up assuming that she was heterosexual. The long list of boys that she had fallen for, dated, broken up with, or cried over since she was a kid had only reaffirmed this assumption, as well as greatly influencing her choice to remain single for a while, which she was and had been ever since she was cast as Santana Lopez on a new sitcom, Glee, at age 22. While still thoroughly bruised and shaken from her last painful relationship, she had met the newly-casted blonde dancer, Heather Morris, the day before they were to start filming the show. Heather was the first person who had ever caused Naya to question her own sexuality.
Ever since the pair were introduced to each other on the set of Glee, they had developed a special connection; a friendship that any average person would kill to have. Shortly after they met, they became inseparable, emotionally, mentally, socially, even physically. As their characters on Glee developed, so did Heather and Naya's friendship. The time the young women spent together on set at work for twelve hours a day slowly extended to include hours spent off set, outside of the work. Their playful bantering, whispered secrets and laughter also slowly extended to include longer and more meaningful conversations, deeper secrets and self-disclosure, and comfort, advice, and consolation during hard times in each of the girl's lives.
Even after a few years of being Heather's best friend, Naya was still dumbfounded at how incredibly lucky she was to have found someone as perfect as her. Heather added something to Naya; she complimented her, and Naya knew this from the beginning. She could feel her heart changing every time she was around the blonde. She felt her heart swell each time, pumping a warmth through her veins, causing a euphoric and surreal feeling of happiness and love to radiate from inside her chest. The blonde girl made her happy; happier than anyone she knew or had ever known could. Sometimes even deliriously happy. She cherished this feeling, and therefore cherished the time she spent with the girl who caused her to feel this way. Before, Naya had known that these feelings were mutual. She could tell by the way Heather would smile at her; eyes bright with the same degree of love and happiness that Naya experienced in her best friend's presence. This was why the two were inseparable; they loved how they felt while they were together.
For a long time, Naya never questioned these feelings and enjoyed them, simply attributing them to the fact that her best friend was just special. She was also never shy about showing any kind of affection towards Heather. The two were constantly conjoined, whether it be by the hands or arms or hips; they're coworkers thought it was adorable. The three writers of Glee soon caught on also, endeared by the fact that the two were so close. The romantic and sexual relationship between Heather and Naya's characters on Glee started out as an innocent joke between the writers and cast members; the blonde and brunette having the last laugh. As soon as Heather's character, Brittany Pierce, uttered the words to hint that she and her best friend Santana Lopez were having sexual relations during the first season of the show, the two actresses' fan bases blew up. The overwhelming support for Santana's and Brittany's relationship on Glee only grew, finally encouraging the writers to take it seriously. Heather and Naya were all for it; they both thought it would improve their acting, as well as further the bond between their characters and the fans. Lastly, it was another excuse to spend more time together on set.
The question came to Naya as she was drifting off to sleep one night, following the wrap up of filming the episode 'Sexy' during season 2, in which Santana finally confesses to having feelings for Brittany. She was pondering over the events that had occurred that day; the filming of the scene by their lockers and how easy it had been to slip into character, how easily the tears flowed, how genuine her words felt as she spoke them to Brittany, and the loud applause after the director yelled 'cut' with a wide grin across his face. Her coworkers then surrounded her, complimenting and congratulating her on her acting, astounded grins also lighting up their faces. Heather had jogged down the hallway to embrace her tightly, before quietly whispering, "You're amazing," into her ear. Naya only smiled, equally astounded at herself. She had no idea why Santana's vulnerability had been so easy to access that time, but she was enjoying the attention she was getting as a result.
Suddenly, she had sat bolt upright in her bed after the question came to her, every ounce of sleepiness leaving her wide awake. It was as if a small voice had gently whispered in her ear, so quietly that she almost didn't catch what it said. What if it wasn't acting? The voice in her head whispered. What if you're really in love with her? After that, she couldn't sleep, because as soon as the thought had entered her mind, Naya knew it was true.
Heather stirred again, this time sighing softly and opening her eyes, causing Naya's stomach to flutter a little. Naya had initially assumed that Heather was suffering from a hangover, only to realize that she was actually running a fever, causing Naya to feel guilty for automatically assuming she had gotten smashed that previous night, before she lectured her about driving while in her current state. Now Heather was blinking slowly at the tv and yawning, before turning her face to look up at the brunette above her.
"Hey princess," Naya said quietly, giving Heather a big smile as their eyes met. "How are you feeling?" Heather beamed at her friend's pretty dimpled smile and giggled at her nickname. Naya giggled too, pleased to see that Heather was showing teeth for the first time that day.
"Tired," the blonde responded, yawning again and sniffling. She shivered as a chill ran through her; her teeth beginning to chatter. Naya's brown eyes grew solemn with concern as she tucked the blanket tighter around Heather, gently moving the girl closer to her. "But I'm okay," Heather continued, still chattering, "only because I have you to take care of me," she added, her voice soft and sweet. If Naya's heart wasn't already melting like butter due to Heather's adorable manner, it certainly was now; she could almost feel a puddle forming at the bottom of her ribcage.
"Thank you," the brunette replied with sincerity, smiling brightly down on Heather and smoothing the messy blonde mop of hair on top of her head. "You know, you're sweet when you're sick."
Heather snorted. "Yeah? You best not get used to it."
Naya rolled her eyes and laughed. Heather grinned adoringly up at her best friend. She'd always loved the sound of Naya's laughter. She watched as the brunette quieted and paused as a thought came to her. "Well," Naya continued, "since I'm such a great care-taker all of the sudden, is there anything I can get you?"
Heather nodded, the corners of her mouth turning up slowly. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I'd like two things."
"And what are they?"
"Well, first of all, I'd really like some of your homemade salsa." Naya chuckled at this, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, my salsa is pretty awesome. What else?"
Heather raised her eyebrows, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, her cobalt eyes beginning to sparkle. "Sing me a song."
After Naya's discovery, even being in the same room with her best friend for hours on end was becoming increasingly difficult, as well as distracting and confusing. She wasn't used to the butterflies and the heat that spread through her body every time Heather's eyes were on her, or forcing herself to be the first to pull away when they touched. She wasn't used to having to consciously turn her head away to keep herself from gawking at Heather's body, or the jealousy that swelled in the pit of her stomach when the blonde would talk to, laugh at, or make physical contact with anyone besides herself.
To Naya's surprise, the hardest thing to accept about this ordeal wasn't the fact that she had feelings for her female best friend, or that she felt she had to constantly hide them from her, but instead it was the fact that she'd spent 24 years of her life believing she was something that she clearly wasn't. At 24 years, Naya believed that she knew herself, for the most part. Discovering that she wasn't the male-loving heterosexual that she thought she was only led her to question other things about herself that she thought she knew.
Although Naya knew she had a pretty face, which had always complimented her overall good-natured and fun-loving personality, she wasn't exempt from having the same insecurities and issues as any typical girl when she was a teenager, and even now as a young adult. Before, and especially since she had started working on Glee up until her shocking self-discovery, she had always been thankful that she had at least been given a free-ride around the emotional turmoil that defined coming to terms with one's sexuality. Before, her sexuality had been spelled out to her, ever since her first crush on a boy in kindergarten class at the tender age of 6. Ever since then she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she liked boys, and never strayed from this knowledge. Knowledge of her sexuality had been handed to her at a young age, and luckily it was one to be desired by the vast majority. She knew of others that hadn't been as privileged as she. Once she realized her feelings for Heather, she also realized that she hadn't in fact been exempt from these issues at all, but instead found that she had become one of the unprivileged ones.
The smaller questions only puzzled her at first. When did she start having feelings for Heather? Had it been all along? Or did it begin after she had to start pretending for Santana? Has she always been attracted to girls, as well as guys? These were the questions that troubled her. They started out only occupying her thoughts during restless nights, but slowly spread to invade her thoughts during the day as well, distracting her. The smaller questions of self-doubt only got bigger, expanding to include other areas of herself that she thought she knew like the back of her hand. Doubt had spread through her like a disease, and each day she felt a little less confident, and a little less sure of her own identity. Each day it became harder to be herself around Heather, and to treat the blonde the same way as before. Naya was deeply frightened by her own downward spiral, but the only thing that frightened her more than this was Heather rejecting her after finding out the truth about Naya's sudden change. For the first time since their friendship, Naya didn't confide in Heather about her issues; she couldn't. The worst part was, she could tell that the distance she put between them was hurting Heather, and when the blonde inquired about it, Naya lied to her each time, and it tore her heart to pieces.
As a result, the next several weeks following the filming of 'Sexy' were some of the blackest in Naya's life. In retrospect, Naya even had a hard time recalling most of this hard season; most of which was just a blur of alcohol, tears, scripts, dance routines, and one constant fear-ladened roller coaster of emotions. The big smiles, joking, and laughter became increasingly difficult to force. Before long, the negativity and tears she cried alone began to surface around others, which worried Heather to no end.
The first time Naya burst into tears at work, the sympathy she received from her coworkers and Heather was overwhelming, and they had let her take the rest of her work day off. The last time the tears came was also the umpteenth time; her infamous emotional breakdowns had become almost a daily occurrence, and the sympathy that usually went along with it had long since been silenced by annoyance, especially since Naya pretended like nothing was wrong when anyone tried to help her.
One day, Naya had run out of the dance studio after their choreographer, Zach Woodlee, had lost it and yelled at her. It took a lot of pleading from her coworkers and begging from Zach to get her to come back to work the next day, for the final day of shooting the season 2 finale episode. Naya never cried at work again, and it took all she had to plaster a smile onto her face for Heather, her coworkers, and the paying audience and fans she encountered on their tour. Thankfully, no one ever asked about her crying again.
While on tour, it didn't take long before Naya realized that she was always working; she was always acting. She was always an actress, always putting on a show; always hiding her true feelings from others. She felt like she didn't know who 'herself' was anymore. She only knew that this 'acting' was tearing her down, in every way possible. One night, after the show of the fifth consecutive tour date had come to an end, Naya finally got her wake-up call. They had just wrapped up a show in South Dakota?—South Carolina?—South something-or-other, Naya had no idea.
Her first and thankfully only panic attack occurred minutes after she walked off stage one final time with her coworkers. Aside from the usual adrenaline rush and the ringing in her ears, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Naya's physical state. The relief that was coursing through her veins at getting through another show was all she felt.
Suddenly, she was taken aback by the most intense heart palpitations she had ever experienced, leading her to let out a loud gasp that alerted everyone around her. This led to short and labored breathing, dizzyness, and what felt like a hand made of iron gripping her chest tightly. Despite the tremendous amount of physical discomfort associated with panic attacks, the fear was undoubtedly the worst part about it. There was no question about it; Naya knew that she was dying, or going crazy, or both. In a matter of seconds, a panic attack had reduced her to a messy heap on the floor; a hysterical, crying, trembling heap as her heart thumped painfully in her heaving chest and a mixture of doom and sheer terror swam through her. She didn't remember what events took place after that, although she had random flashes in her memory of frantic background shouting, frightened expressions, Cory's words as he tried to comfort her while he carried her in his arms, and her life flashing before her eyes just before a flood of oxygen filled her mouth and lungs and everything went black. The worst memory she had of that night was the one glimpse she got of Heather. The blonde's eyes seemed to mirror Naya's fear, wide with horror, sadness, and helplessness; such a complex array of negative emotions that Naya had ever seen taint her usually happy and blissful baby blues. The image still haunted Naya at times.
The events that unfolded following Naya's panic attack and rushed trip to the hospital were like that of a bad soap opera. She woke up a couple hours later in a hospital bed, drowsy from the sedatives and in a state of confusion, not knowing where she was. She remembered her eyes darting around the room frantically, before they met with Heather's red-rimmed blue eyes. The blonde was alone, simply sitting on Naya's bed with her delicate hand in hers, blinking back tears. It was the look in Heather's eyes that had caused Naya to recall the previous events. As the scary memories flooded back to her, tears also flooded her eyes and overflowed onto her cheeks and she began to sob loudly. This started Heather up again, who practically choked on the heaving sobs that escaped her, and she quickly collapsed next to Naya on the bed, pulling the smaller girl to her and embracing her tightly as she continued to cry, her tears dripping into brunette hair. Naya sobbed into Heather's shoulder, also hugging her tightly.
"I was—" Heather began after the pair had cried hard for several seconds. She was still unable to speak properly because she kept inhaling sharply. "I was—" she tried again, "I was so scared... I thought I was losing you..." She sobbed. "I thought...you were dieing..." She whispered this. This caused her to sob even more loudly into Naya's hair.
The revelation that came over Naya just then had hit her so hard that she almost stopped crying; the revelation that this was her own fault. She had let this happen. She allowed her own emotional and mental state to spiral downward, finally dragging her physical state with it. None of this would have happened if she hadn't turned her emotions inward during a huge personal crisis, instead of outward, openly expressing that she needed help. She had taken a psychology class before, and new of the destructive effect bottling up emotions had on people, and this was the perfect example of that. As a result, she had gone crazy and now she was lying in a hospital bed next to an extremely upset and frightened Heather.
With that last thought, Naya's tears slowed down and her breathing quieted. It comforted her somewhat to know that she wasn't dieing of some sort of illness, but guilt sank in as she looked up to catch a glimpse of Heather's tear-stained cheeks. She loosened her grip on Heather before pulling away to examine the blonde beside her, who's sobs had quieted as well. Heather's watery eyes met Naya's and both of them began to relax, as if this one silent gesture was enough to convey that the worst was over. Naya broke the gaze by sitting up to retrieve a tissue from the box that sat on the stand next to her bed before handing it to Heather, who took it gratefully. It was then, as Naya watched Heather dab at her eyes with the tissue, that she made a vow to herself that she would seek help, that she would get better. Even if working through her issues was painful, she needed to do it. If anything, she needed to do it for Heather. She would do anything to ensure that the blonde would never hurt like this at her expense again.
Naya felt a sense of peace as she made this conclusion, a feeling that was now so foreign to her, and a glimmer of something—was it hope? Though it seemed like eternity since the last time she felt hopeful about anything, she still knew the feeling, and graciously accepted it as if it were an old friend. She exhaled slowly, automatically reaching her hand up to brush away a stray tear that was rolling down Heather's cheek, letting the back of her hand linger on the blonde's face. It had been a long time since she and Heather had made physical contact like this, and it was comforting for the both of them. Heather closed her eyes at the contact with Naya's hand and her breathing quieted.
"Heather..." Naya began quietly, hesitating as she stroked her friend's cheek. The blonde opened her eyes again, focusing on the solemn brown ones in front of her. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, apologizing not only to her Heather, but to herself and the people around her that she had burdened.
"What?" The blonde asked, yawning.
Naya looked away briefly. "I'm sorry," she repeated. Heather just nodded. Naya took a breath. "I love you," she added bravely, exhaling. Her best friend blinked back tears, a faint smile forming on her lips.
"I love you too, Naya." Heather grasped the tan hand that was still on her cheek and clutched it to her chest for several moments, before bringing it to her lips and releasing her grip on it. She yawned again, exhaustion taking over her features. Naya silently tugged the blanket out from under Heather and spread it over both of them, flipped the light switch next to her bed, and lied down again. Heather took the smaller girl into her arms protectively, pulling Naya closer until the brunette's head was tucked under her chin. Naya closed her eyes, exhaustion washing over her as well. She smiled softly as she felt Heather's lips kiss her forehead, feeling safe and content for the first time in a long time. She had avoided letting Heather touch her for so long, scared that she wouldn't be able to control the intense physical reactions to her touch. Surprisingly, she only felt that same love and happiness radiating from her chest that she had always felt for the blonde lying next to her. She snuggled into Heather's chest even more, and swore she could feel the same love inside of Heather, engulfing her.
As sleep began to overtake her, she silently braced herself for the inevitable hardships that she would have to face in the near future, maybe even as soon as the next day. Something about the way Heather was holding her empowered her, and she knew she was ready to fight her demons, especially with her friends, family, and best friend at her side, fighting with her.
"Sing me a song."
Naya stared at Heather silently, her expression mixed with amusement and disbelief. "What?"
"You heard me."
"Heather..." Naya replied, laughing. "You sure you're okay? I think your fever is making you delirious." She placed her palm on the blondes forehead, her smile fading as it was met with an abnormally high heat. With effort, Heather rolled her eyes dramatically as she saw her friend's forehead crease with worry.
"That's why you need to sing to me," she said weakly, sounding pitiful instead of irritated like she had intended. "Your voice has healing powers," she added, pouting. Naya fought against those pouting lips and big, innocent blue eyes for about a total of two seconds before she gave in. She knew she would do anything for the blonde beauty.
"Okay. Fine. But you have to choose a song."
Heather groaned, closing her eyes. "NayNay...just...sing anything. Please? I can't—I don't have the energy to even come up with a song. I just...wanna hear those beautiful goddamn vocals of yours."
"Well, I justwanted you to pick the song," Naya said mimicking Heather's whiny tone and smiling. "But okay, I'll come up with something." She paused, smiling wider. "You really think my voice is beautiful?" Heather groaned even louder this time, hitting her head with her hand.
"Yes, very beautiful."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"How beautiful is my voice?" Heather sighed, a look of defeat on her face.
"Please Naya, just sing!"
"Ask nicely." Heather glared at her, causing Naya to erupt into loud laughter, which shook the whole sofa. Heather turned her head away, trying to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. "Are you smiling?" Naya asked between giggles. Heather shook her head, trying to keep the stoic expression on her face. She covered her mouth as she broke into a large smile, not being able to help it. Naya's laughter always had that effect on her. "You're smiling!" Naya exclaimed.
"No I'm not!"
"Okay, how about now?" She tickled Heather's sides, causing the blonde to squeal and sit up, moving to the end of the sofa and temporarily out of Naya's reach. Naya followed her, grabbing at Heather's waste with her hands, a goofy grin on her face. Heather normally would have had no trouble prying Naya off of her, but she was weaker than usual.
"Na—Naya!" Heather gasped between fits of laughter. "Stop it! I can't—NO! NAYA! STOP!" She all but shrieked. The brunette finally relented, letting her friend breath. Heather clutched her stomach, the last of her giggles escaping her.
"You okay, sweetie?" Naya asked, smirking as Heather was catching her breath.
"You almost killed me!" She whined breathlessly, but she was smiling. Naya nodded, satisfied with the blonde's brightened attitude. She picked up the pillow which had fallen onto the floor and put it in her lap, patting it and motioning for Heather to lie down. Heather obeyed, re-situating herself as Naya covered her with the blanket once again.
"I'm so getting you back for this," Heather threatened. "When I get well, you better watch your back." Naya rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh.
"Whatever, HeMo. Anyway...are you ready for the serenade of your life?"
"Finally. Yes. More than ready." With that, Naya calmed down, her smiling face becoming serious, a look of concentration taking over. She muted the television and looked down at the blonde, who encouraged her with her eager eyes. Naya gave her a small smile, nervous all of the sudden.
In truth, she used to fantasize about serenading Heather as a way to confess her feelings for her, just as Santana had serenaded Brittany with "Songbird" on Glee. Heather still had no idea about Naya's feelings for her. Even after the six months that had passed since Naya's breakdown, she still never uttered a word to Heather about her feelings, but she didn't need to. Heather had been respectful in the way that she never pushed Naya to talk about the cause of her panic attack. Instead, she had told her that she loved her and would always support her, and would willingly listen if Naya ever decided to bring it up.
Although Naya was not a stranger to mistakes, she was extremely resilient when she wanted to be. After drowning, she found her way back slowly, during the next few months following the incident, to the surface. Her first brave step toward recovery began when she confided with her mother in the hospital, and that odd grief counselor that sat on edge of her bed, about her feelings for Heather. After explaining to Naya that she had endured a panic attack, a sure sign of mental and emotional distress, her doctor had insisted that she talk to the grief counselor. Naya complied, and before she could blink the counselor made up a custom list of recommendations for psychiatrists and therapists in the LA area for Naya and her mother to use, even though they were still at some hospital in Texas. Yes, she had been way off about her location before.
Naya was frightened somewhat by the prospect of seeing a professional because of her issues, and regressed slightly to a child-like state as she leaned into her mother for support and comfort. She remained that way as they flew back to LA. It had been forever since she depended on her mother, or really let her mother 'mother' her, and when she finally did it felt amazing. For once she stepped back, gripping her mother's hand as the woman stepped forward and took over, making arrangements for Naya to live in Valencia with her temporarily, and making a few appointments as well. The next few months were nothing short of hard; involving lots of tears, a couple different medications, a wise therapist, and support from her loved ones. In the end, it only made her stronger, more humble, and happier than she'd ever felt. The relationships she had strengthened. Also, her feelings for Heather faded considerably, enough so that she could be her old self around her best friend again, without faking anything. Although she still had lingering feelings for Heather, she knew how to handle them this time, and she did.
Here goes, Naya thought. She knew exactly what she wanted to sing to Heather, even before the blonde had requested that she sing to her. Although she knew it was more than just a little cliché for her to sing a song that had been covered on Glee already, she knew the song was perfect. The first time she heard it was when Cory covered it during season 1, and she fell in love with it. The lyrics had reminded her of her growing love for Heather, a simple love without the complexities of attraction. This was the kind of love that she wanted to show Heather now, hoping this song would communicate the gratitude that Naya felt for their friendship, and the fact that Heather had stood by her and loved her through thick and thin. She wanted to ensure Heather that she, in turn, would always be there for her.
Naya took a deep breath and touched Heather's cheek with the back of her hand, before slipping her hand into the blonde's. When the night falls on you, she sang, beginning a shortened version of the song "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders, You don't know what to do, she continued. Heather nearly gasped at Naya's beautiful, husky voice as it rang out of her, filling the silence and the blonde's heart, making it beat faster. Nothing you confess, could make me love you less. The blonde smiled up at her. Naya smiled back as she sang, squeezing the blonde's hand. I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you. Won't let nobody hurt you, I'll stand by you. Take me in, into your darkest hour, and I'll never desert you. I'll stand by you. Heather teared up, watching Naya's face which was full of emotion; she was really getting into the song. Even her eyes closed during the higher notes. And when, when the night falls on you, baby. You're feelin' all alone. You won't be on your own. Heather could hardly stand the beautiful sight before her that was Naya. The combination of Naya's voice paired with the raw emotions on her face as she sang was painfully beautiful. So beautiful that it hurt to look at her, so Heather closed her eyes and leaned into Naya's stomach and listened. I'll stand by you, Naya belted out, I'll stand by you. Won't let nobody hurt you. I'll stand by you. Take me in, into your darkest hour, she sang, her voice quieting. She looked down on Heather again, just as the blonde open her eyes, and their gazes locked onto each other. And I'll never desert you. Naya held the blonde's gaze. I'll stand by you, she finished, her quiet vibrato lingering on the last note, before she brought the back of Heather's hand to her lips. The blonde smiled widely, sitting up slightly and clapping her hands together.
Heather was taken aback by her reaction to Naya's serenade; she never remembered feeling this way around her best friend. Her heart was still pounding, skin tingling, cheeks blushing, ears buzzing, and she was smiling like a mad woman. Maybe it was her fever? She didn't know. All she knew was that she had a sudden urge to squeeze the life out of Naya, so that's exactly what she did. She sat up and pulled the smaller girl into the tightest hug she had ever given anyone.
"That—was so amazing, Naya," she murmured into the brunette's ear. Naya smiled into Heather's shoulder.
"Really?"
"Yes. It was the most beautiful serenade I've ever witnessed, and your best performance by far."
"Well," Naya responded as they pulled away from each other, "I meant every word of it."
"You did?" Naya nodded as Heather lied back down.
"Heather..." Naya began. "I just wanted to thank you. Thank you for loving me...thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for making me laugh, and thank you for listening to me," she was choking back tears as she said this. "You're amazing, Heather," she paused, "and I'm so honored to be able to call you my best friend." A tear ran down her cheek as she pushed some strands of blonde hair out of Heather's eyes. "I just want you to know," she continued, "that I'll always be here for you. I'd bend over backwards for you, because I love you, and I will always love you." She sniffled, giggling slightly. "And that concludes my speech." Heather's eyes glistened with tears, her smile impossibly wide.
"And I will always love you, Naya," she said softly. A few seconds passed between them as they grinned at each other, simultaneously blinking back tears. Naya leaned down, bringing her lips to the blonde's heated forehead and smoothed her hand over it once.
"You still want that salsa?"
Heather nodded eagerly. "Hell, yeah!" Naya laughed.
"Alright, I'll be right back." Naya lifted Heather's pillow and slid out from under her quickly. Heather's teeth started chattering again as Naya's body heat disappeared.
"Be quick, NayNay. I needz my furnace." Naya let out a laugh before turning around to walk toward her kitchen. "Naya?" Heather called out again as Naya was walking away, and she turned around quickly.
"Yeah sweetie?" Heather sat up and peered over the sofa at her, giggling. "What?" Naya asked, confused.
"Oh, nothing. It's just that, I'd like, totally go gay for you. That's all." Her voice was weak and raspy, but Naya could hear it loud and clear. The brunette snorted loudly and shook her head. Yep, she's definitely delirious.
"Well, like I said before, Heather, I'll always be here for you," she hinted teasingly, stressing the last sentence so that the blonde would get the double-meaning. She winked at the blond, watching as Heather giggled nervously and blushed before her head disappeared behind the front of the sofa. Naya chuckled to herself, smirking as she turned around in order to begin making her famous homemade salsa for her sick best friend.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Like I said before, this was my first fan fiction story, so please feel free to leave a review. I'm pretty sure I will continue writing fan-ficts, as I'm already scheming my next couple of stories, but I don't think I'll right anymore HeYa, just Brittana- because Brittana is on, and always on. Hehe. Thanks again every one!