Title: Different Roads

Pairings: Santana/Brittany

Rating: PG for some swearing.

Summary: Santana Lopez is forced by circumstances beyond her control onto a different path at the start of High School.

Disclaimer: I don't own them and will return them when I have finished.

Author's Note: This is my second attempt at writing Glee fiction and a little longer than my first, so please let me know what you think. There may be a little angst in places, but I will give full warning prior to anything, so if this isn't your thing please feel free to avoid.

Chapter 1

This year was going to be different Santana Lopez told herself. This year she was free of that uber-bitch Lulu Grant. This year she was going to leave behind all the shit that she had been saddled with the first time she encountered the former Captain of the Cheerios.

This year she was going to be free of all the names, all the bullshit, all the looks. Well that's what she keeps telling herself, whether it was really going to be different or not remained to be seen.

The halls to West McKinley High School were always the same. They never changed. They were always populated by the same people. Santana rolled her eyes as she watched three football players, decked out in letterman jackets shove some freshman out of their way.

The same groups always wandered the hallways looking for ways to torment and torture. While the intended victims looked for ways to avoid them and escape the inevitable. The same jocks slammed the same geeks into lockers. The same cheerleaders threw the same slushies at the same losers day after day. It was an endless cycle, repeated year from year. Oh sure the faces changed, but the groups and their chosen assault weapons rarely did.

Early on in her first few months of High School Santana just happened to earn herself the title of McKinley's resident dyke. Not that she had done anything to earn the title. Well unless you consider minding your own business an open invitation to ridicule. No, it was the simple fact that Lulu Grant had been kind enough to spot and mark her as target that day, her reaction to that didn't help matters either.

Apparently her gaze had lingered a little too long on the then head cheerleader and her minions of choice, Amber Sung and Flora Gold. One look and she was saddled with the label of lesbian for her entire high school experience.

It was ironic really that she was picked as a target of the people she should have been standing with, ruling the school. Now that she thought about it, it's a little sad, but from when she was little she had wanted to be a cheerleader. Santana can still remember walking home with her older brother from Elementary School. They would pass by the High School and she recalled being enthralled as she watched the girls clad in red and white, throwing each other in the air while practising their routines.

She had begged my mother the first time she saw them and eventually she had allowed her to take dance and gymnastics classes. While she wasn't the greatest dancer her dance tutor had told her that she moved with raw power, and she could flip and tumble like no other in her gymnastics team.

Santana's dream came to an end the day before she was due to start High School. She had been playing with her little brother when they had heard the ice cream truck. Her brother had taken off running betting her that she couldn't beat him there. Well Santana Lopez never backed down from a challenge, nor did she get beaten in anything by her nine year old brother.

So with a shout and a laugh she took off after him to get to the ice-cream truck first. She didn't look when she ran across the street. As it turned out this was a seriously bad move. The last thing she could remember was a flash of red, a searing pain in her leg and then there was nothing.

The next thing she knew was that she was in some serious pain, and her mother was holding her hand with tears in her eyes telling her that she had been hit by a pickup truck. It was the day High School was to start and Santana was stuck in hospital with a broken left leg, a nasty gash on her forehead and five of her ribs cracked.

As a result she had been incapable of trying out for the Cheerios, and had started school a whole 3 months later than everyone else. To make it worse she had still been incapable of walking without the aid of crutches. It immediately put her at the bottom of the fucking social ladder, only one step up from that kid in the wheelchair.

Santana couldn't stomach that. Santana Lopez had ruled the roost in Middle School, everyone had been either scared or in awe of her. There was no way that she could allow High School to go by in a flash of disappointment. She knew had to do something to elevate her lowly status.

So a week after her belated start to High School, even though she knew tryouts were over, in a brief flash of bold bravery she had found herself seeking out Coach Sylvester and asking her could she try out when I had fully recovered. She had blathered on for at least ten minutes about how she was the best gymnast in the region for her age and that she was also a super cool dancer and that she should be on the Cheerios. Only she had been hit by a pickup truck the day before school started and was now stuck on crutches.

Her rant was another bad move as it turned out. The woman had no heart, fuck it was rumoured she didn't have a soul. First the woman had looked her up and down and then point blank told her to get out of her office. Santana had mumbled that she needed to try-out for Cheerios and Coach Sylvester had replied that she didn't win three consecutive national championships by allowing cripples on her squad.

She had opened her mouth to protest but the look in the tracksuit clad woman's eyes was enough to stop any moaning words from escaping her mouth. She could see that no amount of pleading would change her mind, if anything it would make her more determined to not let her try-out, ever. With a quick look of contempt Coach told her to get out of her office and that she would have to wait until next year, and that was that. So that meant no cheerleading for Santana Lopez and no step up the social ladder either.

It sucked. Santana had her High School career all planned out. From age 10 she had been plotting how she would become head cheerleader and rule the school. Now it was here, the reality was very different. Instead she found herself hobbling up and down the hallways as her so called peers laughed at her.

It was half an hour later, after her run in with the Devil in Addidas that she had her first encounter with her Cheerios themselves. Santana had been stood by her locker, her crutches propped up next to her while she was rooting for her history text book. She had heard giggling and turned book in hand and found her gaze locking on a group of six cheerleaders standing next to some football players. Three were clearly on the varsity squad while the others who looked like juniors stood in awe of their team mates.

She felt a wave of envy flood her system as she stood there. They had everything she had ever wanted. She would have to wait a whole year to get that Cheerios uniform on and then there was no guarantee that Coach would pick her. If the look on her face was anything to go by she knew she would make her life a living hell if did. It was during this little thought that Lulu Grant had spotted her.

Santana felt her breath stick in her throat as the tall dark skinned head cheerleader had glided towards her. Within seconds she was surrounded by the three senior Cheerios looking at her like she was the dirt under their sneakers, while asking her name.

It wasn't an experience she was used to. People didn't dare look or loom over Santana Lopez like that. She steeled herself and flippantly answered while leaning back on her locker. There was no way she was going to let them intimidate her. She was Santana Lopez, she might not have been in that uniform yet, but she could sure as hell act like she was.

She could never really be sure what it was about her that Lulu disliked, maybe it was the way she responded to her, or maybe she came off as a little cocky, but whatever it was the head cheerleader's eyes narrowed slightly before a smirk twisted her full lips. A second later Santana was gasping in shock as she was covered in an icy cherry slushie. She had sputtered as Lulu told her never to look at her again and also saddled her with the nicknamed of Lezpez.

It wasn't particularly inventive, or cleaver, but it was catchy and unfortunately it stuck. It was like Rachel Berry had been stamped with man-hands and hobbit to name but a few. Santana could understand that she did have unusually large hands for someone who was practically a midget.

Still Santana was nothing like Rachel Berry, she was hot. She didn't look like a lesbian. She didn't act like a lesbian. Hell, she just wasn't a lesbian. She didn't like girls like that. Not that she particular cared what they called her, well not anymore anyway. When you get called something, over and over again, you kind of become immune to it. She was more than used it by now, but it had hurt the first few times. No one likes to be ridiculed, especially not her, and especially not in front of the whole school.

It was also that very same moment Santana earned a reputation throughout the school as a badass. As that cold red ice had covered her face and seeped into the blue and white tee and the white denim jacket I had been wearing, two words had been reverberating around her mind. Fuck and no. Santana couldn't control herself as her anger had exploded, the air around her become charged as she found herself telling the older girl to go fuck herself and then had wiped as much slushie off herself, before running her hands down the head cheerleaders face and the front of her uniform.

Silence had descended upon McKinley as everyone had stopped and gasped at the sight of a freshman standing up to the schools Queen Bitch. However no one was surprised when Lulu had glared told her she was gonna wish she had never been born before turned away still glaring and ran towards the bathroom with her minions chasing after her.

In hindsight it probably wasn't the smartest move. All it did was make her the sworn enemy of the biggest bitch to ever walk the halls of West McKinley High and by proxy every cheerleader under her command. Santana was relegated to geek status instantly. After that she was even lower than the wheelchair kid, even lower than Rachel Berry who was the main target for the junior cheerbitches.

Every time she passed one of the stuck up fuckers they would laugh and chant Lezpez, slam her into lockers or throw a slushie in her grill. They couldn't quite match the cruelly or the stinging delivery of Lulu Grant, but they tried. When they saw that she was trying to rise above their shit, they would just come back with harder and struck her with more derogatory comments and names. There was dyke, rug-muncher, queer, lesbo, dildo diva, gay, homo, butch, lez, fag/faggot, queer lips, freak, he-she, oh the classic lezpez and the list is still growing.

Santana had to admit that the Lulu Grant did her favour in a way. Not only did she make her see what a bunch of nasty untoward sluts the Cheerios are, she gave her real friends. Not the fake friends she had had in Middle School, but real friends who liked her for who she really was.

When Lulu Grant had thrown that slushie over her, Santana had been standing a mere foot away from fellow outcasts Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel. Both knowing what it was like to have that frozen drink thrown in their faces had come to her aid the moment those bitches had fled the scene. Santana had instantly told them to fuck off that she could take care of herself. Of course she couldn't. Her eyes were stinging and she couldn't open them without more of the freezing liquid obscuring her vision. Mercedes had just mumbled the word stubborn as she shared a look with Kurt before Santana felt a strong grip on her arm. She told the other girl to let her go but she was ignored and was steered towards the opposite bathroom away from the Cheerios.

Kurt was following behind holding her crutches and tutting about how her tee and jacket were ruined. After Mercedes had helped her clean the sticky red ice from her hair and face and Kurt had handed her a spare tee from his gym bag, and that was that, Santana suddenly found herself in possession of two friends.

Friend's weren't a luxury that she had factored into her High School plan, neither was not being in with Cheerios, but there was nothing she could do about that. As the year progressed Santana found herself grateful that Mercedes and Kurt had ignored her attempt to push them away that day. They were labelled freaks as well. Mercedes was ridiculed over her weight, and Kurt suffered the same gay slurs that Santana did. Both knew what she was going through and both were there to offer her a shoulder to cry on should it get too much.

But it was a new year now. Lulu Grant was gone. Quinn Fabray had taken over the reigns as head cheerbitch and she seemed to have kept her fixation on Rachel Berry. Well if the two slushie a day facials Rachel had been receiving all week were any indication things were going to change. This is what gave Santana hope that her torment had ended with Lulu's reign.

Her hope was short lived however as squeaking footsteps alerted Santana to the fact that I wasn't alone. It was sound that anyone in school could identify. Well anyone who had been slammed into a locker anyway.

Santana turned away from her locker just as one brunette and one blonde slid up to her. She recognised them both instantly. Jenny Sunil, second in command to the new head cheerleader, and Brittany Pierce, her ever present slightly dim sidekick.

Jenny smirked at her cruelly while Brittany smiled brightly and geniunly. Santana knew what was about to follow. She had gone all week without incurring the wrath of the Cheerio's. She supposed that the escalation of Rachel's torment is what made her think that 'Lezpez' would die when Lulu had graduated. The second Jenny opened her mouth; Santana knew she had been too optimistic.

"Look there's Santana Lezpez, the grade-A dyke. Wanna watch it if you're ever stuck in the locker room with her Britts she might try and give you a good licking." Jenny turned towards Brittany and the blonde's eyes widened before she nodded somewhat hesitantly her eyes flicking from Santana to Jenny.

Santana couldn't help but roll her eyes before she found herself smirking back, because the bitch was poking the wrong mother fucking bear. Growing up in Lima Heights Adjacent had taught her how to fight, but clashing with Lulu Grant had taught her how to fight back with style.

"Fuck Jenny, what's wrong, mad because I didn't return your calls? I told you those crabs in your spanxs put me off." Santana couldn't help the surge of pleasure that warmed her chest as she saw the smirk slip from Jenny's lips and her dusky skin flush with displeasure.

"Watch your mouth Lopez." Jenny spat as she unfolded her arms and took a step forward.

"What no insult? No Lezpez? No dyke? No homo? You're slipping Sunil." Santana laughed. Jenny just didn't have what it took to scare her. She had seen her terrify others and she had to admit the girl did give off an aura of 'I'm a bitch get out of my way', but Santana had seen and been the subject of worse. Maybe it was the fact that Jenny Sunil was shorter than her, and it's hard to be scared of someone who was a little under five feet tall. Now if you could transplant her personality into Brittany, well that would be intimating.

"Could always throw rug-muncher at you if it makes you feel better, but I don't want you getting any ideas, it's a known fact that you wanna get up on this." Jenny said as she pointed a finger to herself.

Santana snorted. "Known to whom? You're living in a fucking fantasy world Sunil. Besides I could never touch anyone that had had more pricks that Kerplunk."

"Are you calling me a slut?" Jenny asked through her teeth.

Santana nodded, it was well known that all the Cheerios, apart from Quinn Fabray, put out on a regular basis. Hell half the school had seen Noah Puckerman's video of Jenny giving him a blowjob in the car park at Breadstix's.

"Well yeah, you and every other Cheerio." Santana allowed her eyes to flick towards Brittany too, she hadn't said anything but she was guilty by association; she was a Cheerio and thus the enemy. Besides she had made out with every guy in school apart from Kurt for obvious reasons, so she could be included in the statement. "What's that old saying, if the boot fits, or should I say anyone's dick?"

"I'm gonna destroy you lesbo." Jenny screamed through gritted teeth.

Santana couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth. "Is that the best you can do? I stood a whole year of that shit from that bitch Grant and I wasn't scared of that whore. What make you think you can succeed where she failed?"

Santana saw Brittany's eyes widen as Jenny raised a hand to slap her and then stop in mid air as she stared at something over Santana's shoulder. Santana turned slightly and sighed as she watched Coach Sylvester march down the corridor towards them.

"Sunil, Pierce, on the field, laps, now!" The Cheerleading Coach bellowed as she drew level with the three girls and then jutted a thumb over her shoulder.

"Coach, we were just..." Coach Sylvester growled and Jenny trailed off.

"I don't have time to listen to your undoubtedly tired pathetic excuses Sunil. Get the hell out of my sight now; just looking at you is making me want to gouge out my own eyeballs with my gold personalised letter opener. So move before I am forced to demote you both to the bottom of the pyramid."

Santana couldn't help the smile that overtook her face as the two girls nodded and then bushed past her.

"Later Lezpez." Jenny whispered menacingly as she fixed Santana with a look that told her that she would be the future recipient of Jenny's insults. Brittany just smiled at her and Santana found herself frowning at the weird look in the blondes eyes.

"In your dreams fucktard." Santana muttered under her breath as she turned back to her locker. Santana couldn't help but sigh, so much for a free year.

"Lopez."

Santana turned back around and met Coach Sylvester's gaze. She had thought that the woman had followed her cheerleaders when they had left.

"Coach Sylvester."

"I did not just hear you back chat one of my Championship winning Cheerios did I?"

"No Coach." Santana shook her head, not many people affected Santana, but Coach Sylvester was one of the few. She quite frankly scared the shit out of almost everyone; Santana had even seen other members of the school's faculty run when the Cheerleading Coach was walking their way.

"I better not have. Not trying out for the Cheerios this year Lopez?" Santana saw the smirk on the older woman's face as she knew that she remembered her begging for a tryout in her first year.

"No."

"Had a change of heart? Well good, you don't have what it takes to make it on my squad."

"If you say so." Santana responded when the woman walked away. She knew she could and probably would have made the squad. She was more than cut out to be a cheerleader, only now she couldn't think of anything worse. They had to starve themselves, workout every hour God sent, and they were generally bitches. Well she could be a bitch without working her arse of for Sue Sylvester, without a single word of praise. Santana shuddered when the sudden thought that she could have been Jenny Sunil crossed her mind.

"Santana."

'Fuck, aren't I popular' Santana thought as she looked into her locker and allowed her shoulders to slump. She almost allowed a groan to escape her mouth. She knew that voice well. Anyone who had internet access and a MySpace account could hear that voice on a regular basis.

"What do you want?" Santana asked and she slammed her locker shut and met Rachel Berry's beaming face.

Santana couldn't fathom how the girl remained so chipper in the face of such adversity. Santana knew she only coped because she pushed all her feelings down and allowed her anger to surface. Oh and the fact that she spent her Saturday's ranting to Mercedes and Kurt about the injustice of it all. But Berry didn't have any friends unless you counted Jewfro but he was more of a stalker and she didn't do angry, she just managed to rise above it all. It was all incredibly annoying.

"I saw your name on the Glee Club signup sheet and I for one think that is excellent news. We are low on numbers, I only saw six other names not including yours, that's not..."

Santana rolled her eyes the minute the smaller girl mentioned Glee. She had only signed up because Kurt and Cedes had asked her to. They alone knew she loved to sing, while she wasn't as flamboyant as Kurt when she preformed, or as powerful and naturally talented as Mercedes, she was more raw and sensual, when she sang, it was like she was making love to her listeners.

Her friends didn't see why she shouldn't make the most of her talent and after an hour of pleading she had agreed. But seeing Rachel Berry smiling at her while she blabbered on about how there weren't enough people signed up and how she was sure no one would be as talented as she was, Santana started to regret bending to peer pressure. She knew she should have joined Lauren Zizes' A/V club.

"I'm gonna ask again Berry. What the hell do you want?" Santana asked holding up her hand as she looked up and down the hallway and waiting for Rachel to fill her in on why she thought it was ok to talk to her.

"Well I thought we could walk to the auditions together." As Rachel beamed at her Santana knew that if she got through her audition, Glee was gonna be an unbearable part of her week and it would all be down to the girl standing before her in pony sweater.

"Why would I wanna do that?" Santana asked puzzled. She avoided Rachel like the plague, they weren't friends. Santana knew that Rachel was ridiculed just as much as she was, and If they were seen together anywhere other than class, it would only intensify the bullying for both of them. Add to that fact that Berry was was quite possibly the most annoying girl in the school, if not the face of the planet.

"Seeing as we are both going to the same place for the same purpose, it is..."

"Berry." Santana interrupted before Rachel could work up a head of steam and give her a long winded version of whatever she was trying to say. She didn't have the time or the inclination to listen to her waffle on.

"Yes?" Rachel asked her smile returning to its full wattage.

"OK we can walk to the auditions together, but for God sake shut the hell up and keep at least a two meter distance from me." Santana glared once and took off down the corridor towards the auditorium with Rachel following on her heels. She knew they might be in the same social set, but it didn't mean I had to like the little midget. Besides she had an audition to get to she refused to let those Cherrios or Rachel Berry get her down. This year was gonna be different, she was gonna make sure of it.