Recipe for Disaster

Chapter 1: Beautiful Stranger

"Lindsay! What the hell is taking you so long?" I shout from the kitchen while grabbing a drink.

"Sorry… just give me a few minutes," she replies back.

I swear… if Lindsay wasn't my little sister, I wouldn't put up with this crap. Without fail though, she always manages to come up with some excuse as to why she is never ready on time.

For the first time in months, I finally have the weekend off. You would think since I am my own boss, I would be able to make my own schedule, but sadly... no. Being only 26 and the owner of the best dance studio in Lima meant that I was always in high demand. Parents loved me and loved having me personally teach their children. It's great to get that kind of feedback.

It's always nice to know that you've had a positive effect on someone's life. Don't get me wrong… I love my job. If I'm being honest though, teaching isn't my biggest passion. I once had bigger hopes and dreams for myself, but unfortunately sometimes life throws you a curve ball. You can either move out of the way or be hit by it… I like to think I ended up somewhere in the middle, but that's a story for another time.

"Linds… the movie starts in like 15 minutes," I state while walking into the living room and plopping down the couch. "You know how much I hate missing the previews."

"I know, I know… I'm sorry Britt," she answers back. "I got a little distracted."

"By what?" I inquire. "I called you over an hour ago so you would have plenty of time to do whatever it is you do before I came to pick you up."

"Geez Britt, you act like we can't see the movie at a later time," Lindsay says exasperated.

"Obviously I know that, but we kinda had other stuff planned for the day," I answer back feeling a bit more irritated that usual. "Seriously, what have you been doing for the past hour?"

"I was watching Cupcake Wars, okay?!" Lindsay responds loudly. "I know I'm a terrible sister, especially when it comes to baked goods. Hello, my name is Lindsay… I'm easily distracted by sweets!"

"Okay, okay… you can quit with the dramatics," I reply sarcastically. Unfortunately, that is a very true statement. Had I known that from the beginning, I could've saved myself the headache. I guess it's expected when you're dealing with a 17 year old.

I finally look at the muted TV and see that it's still on the Food Network channel. Lindsay's favorite show has been over for a while because it looks like the episode of Chopped that is currently on is almost over. As I look around for the remote to un-mute the TV while I'm waiting, my eyes are met with the most beautiful sight once I look back up at the screen.

The girl on the TV has caramel-colored skin, ebony-colored hair, and the most incredible smile that I've ever seen. I mean, seriously… her little dimple may have only flashed for just a second, but it was adorable. She looks to be around my age too. As I blindly look for the remote with my hands because I can't take my eyes off of this beautiful Latina, I can't help but feel like I know this girl. I feel like her face is so familiar, but I can't place her. Finally, I find the remote and un-mute the TV where my ears are met with the sexiest voice I've ever heard. Her voice is so raspy and also so familiar. I have no idea what she's even saying because I'm so enthralled by this seemingly complete stranger. Whatever she's saying though… I like it.

I've always felt pretty fluid when it comes to my sexuality. I appreciate the different forms of men and women. I don't judge, nor do I care which sex you are. I like people for who they are and not based on which bathroom they use. Although I've never dated a girl before, at least not to my knowledge, I've never been so mesmerized by a female like I am right now. To be honest, I haven't dated much at all… at least nothing serious.

"Alright, I'm finally ready… let's go," Lindsay says. I'm not trying to be rude and ignore her, but I feel like I'm almost in a trance that I can't break free from. "Hello… earth to Brittany."

After getting no response, I feel a light slap to my arm.

"Huh?" I finally say, pausing the TV.

"You've been hounding me for the past few minutes about getting ready and now that I am… it's you who's slowing us down now," Lindsay states with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever. Does she look familiar to you?" I ask her, looking back at the screen shot of the mysterious Latina.

"Uh, I don't know… maybe?" Lindsay responds. "Why, who is she?"

"I don't know, but I have this weird feeling like I know her… or that I'm supposed to," I reply.

"Whoa… that's kinda deep Britt," she says playfully. "Let's find out who she is then…"

I guess the expression on my face said "WTF" because I had no idea on how to find out who this woman was.

"Give me the remote," Lindsay says rather than asks. Before I could even respond, she had already taken the remote from my hand.

"What are you doing?" I question.

"Well… since this is the end of the show and she's the only chef I see, I'm assuming that she won," Lindsay starts off. I give her a questioning look because I'm still not following her logic. "I'm gonna rewind it back a little so that we can get a name…"

"Oh, okay…" I state dumbly. Why didn't I think of that?

As Lindsay rewinds the TV back to about a minute before, I see the other contestant walking away with their head down. I guess they were really upset about losing. Lindsay finally gets to a reasonable spot to hit play.

"… and that means, Chef Santana… you are the Chopped champion!" Ted says.

Santana… that's a beautiful name. It seems very fitting. As Ted makes his announcement, I see a quick smile appear on Santana's face. There goes that cute little dimple again.

"So… what do you plan on doing with that $10,000?" Ted inquires.

After wiping away a few stray tears, Santana finally answers.

"My mom's from Puerto Rico… she hasn't been back there since she was a little kid," Santana starts off. "I want to take her on a vacation cuz she's always supported me and has been there for me through the hardest time in my life," she says, her voice breaking a little.

My heart immediately goes out to her. I have no idea what hardships she's had to endure in her life, but I kinda wish that she was here so that I could hug her or something.

"I think you're right… she does seem very familiar," Lindsay says, breaking me away from my thoughts. "I'm gonna start the episode from the beginning, that way we can get a little more information on her.

I nod my head and silently watch as Lindsay restarts the episode. The movie that we were planning on seeing has long been forgotten. I'm suddenly much more interested in this Santana person and I don't exactly know why. It almost feels as if there is an imaginary string connected between us, pulling me closer towards her. I don't know what this feeling is, but I'm not questioning it. Besides, Lindsay appears to be intrigued as well. Nothing like sisterly bonding.

"4 competitors think they have what it takes to be the Chopped champion… let's meet them," Ted's voice says through the speakers. I guess Lindsay skipped the intro of the show. "… and finally, Chef Santana Lopez…"

As Santana walks down the Chopped hallway, her voice-over kicks in.

"I'm the Executive Chef and Owner of Maribel's in Los Angeles, CA. I specialize in Italian cuisine, but every once in a while I'll draw from my Puerto Rican heritage," Santana starts off. "Cooking has always been a hobby of mine, but I never thought about doing it professionally until a few years ago."

As she continues to speak, footage of her in her daily life plays on the screen. She looks so fierce in the kitchen. I'm not gonna lie… it's kinda hot!

"Sometimes tragedies happen and you eventually just have to cope with it and move on or become stagnant and let it slowly eat away at you…" she continues. "I chose the former and now I'm one of the youngest chefs to own and cook at a 4-star restaurant. I wanna win Chopped for my mom!"

As Santana takes her place at the last station, Lindsay and I watch as the countdown begins. Some of those basket ingredients were awfully strange while others were just downright disgusting. No matter the obstacle though, Santana handled each basket like a champ. She had so much finesse and creativity that the judges were completely blown away. I'm starving just looking at the amazing food she was able to create in such little time.

"So, what brings you here today?" Amanda asks.

"My mom… she's been my inspiration through all of this, hence the name of my restaurant," Santana replies. "There was a point in time when I just wanted to give up and lost hope in everything, but my mom was right there to guide me through my darkest hours. If I win today, it would be awesome to be able to do something nice for her since she's the reason why I became a chef."

"That's very moving," Marc states.

"I'm sure whatever happens, your mom is gonna be so proud of you!" Scott adds in.

A very small smile appears on Santana's face as she tries to hold back a tear from falling from her obvious watery eyes.

After we finish watching the episode, Lindsay hops off the couch and darts into her room. Less than a minute later, she returns with what appears to be a book in her hands.

"What's that?" I question.

"It's your yearbook from Senior year," she states while sitting back down on the couch, thumbing through the pages.

"I didn't know I even had a yearbook," I mumble. "Wait… where'd you get that from?"

"I actually forgot I had it," Lindsay starts. "I think I found it in the trash bin in the office years ago."

Who throws away yearbooks, I ponder to myself.

As Lindsay continues to flip through pages, she finally lands on one.

"A-ha! I knew it!" she exclaims. "Santana Lopez, Class of 2005… you went to school with her Britt."

I guess that would explain why she looked and sounded so familiar.

As Lindsay continues to explore the blast from the past, she stops at a page near the back where there is a photograph acting as a bookmark. I look at the photo and see me, Santana, and 2 other people. There's another female about my complexion with shorter blonde hair and hazel eyes. Then, there's a guy next to her that appears to have a dead animal on top of his head. We're all wearing shirts that say "Loose Change" and appear to be very happy. It looks like we were some kind of band or something.

As I study the picture, I can't help but notice the closeness between me and Santana. We both look so happy and carefree. It's a nice sight to see, especially since I haven't really felt that way in a very long time.

"I guess we were friends…" I state casually.

"Looks like you guys were BFFs… look at what she wrote," Lindsay responds.

As I read the inscription Santana wrote for me, I can't help but be moved and feel a little sad. Here, I'm reading how important I am to this girl, yet I can't remember her. I wish I could remember her… I want to remember her. Technically, my lack of memory isn't my fault. But still…

"I found the other 2 mystery people… " Lindsay states, flipping through the yearbook once again. "The girl is Quinn Fabray and the dude is Noah Puckerman. It looks like you all were pretty tight in high school."

I simply nod my head. With every new bit of information we discover, I can't help but be even more intrigued and adamant about finding out anything and everything about one Ms. Santana Lopez.

Later on that night, after me and Lindsay decided to take a break from playing detective, I sat down to a nice home-cooked meal with my family. Although I was enjoying time with my family, my mind was still elsewhere, stuck on a particular Latina. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me.

"Hey Mom, do you remember a girl named Santana?" I asked. For a second, it seemed like my mother tensed up at the sound of Santana's name.

"No honey… that name doesn't ring a bell," she replies quickly, not looking at me. "Do you want some more potatoes?"

"Yeah… sure," I respond. I debated on asking her further questions, but I decided not to push the issue.

After dinner, Lindsay and I went to her room to continue with our investigation. As I struggled to comprehend the weirdness that just happened, Lindsay did a little recon on Facebook.

"Was it just me or were Mom and Dad acting strange?" I pondered out loud.

"No, it definitely wasn't just you," she responds. "After you mentioned Santana's name, the whole mood at the table change. Mom and Dad kept looking at each other…"

Lindsay was right. I did catch my parents looking at each other with wide eyes for a split second. It's odd that they wouldn't remember Santana, especially since it appears that we were best friends in high school. I don't know, maybe something bad happened between us and we stopped being friends. Maybe my parents just didn't want to dredge up old memories that might hurt my feelings. Either way, I still find it weird that they would pretend not to know her at all. I guess that's why I decided to drop the subject, especially after it seemed like my mom was very eager to change the topic.

"Let's see… Santana doesn't have a Facebook, but this Quinn girl does," Lindsay states after a few minutes. "It's set to private though, but it does say that she lives in New York."

"I used to live in New York, right?" I ask her, trying to remember.

"Yeah…" Lindsay trails off. "You went to school there for a couple of years… before the accident."

Oh, right… the accident.

I don't remember much about the car accident, just really what my family and some other people have told me. It happened during the summer, right before Junior year. I think I was 20 at the time and attending Julliard on a scholarship. On that particular night, I don't remember where I was going or who I was with, but apparently I was a passenger in a car that got T-boned by some idiot who can't drive worth a shit. Sorry… I still get a little angry and frustrated when I think about the whole ordeal.

That accident changed my life... completely.

From what my parents told me, I was in a coma for about a week. I had sustained multiple injuries, including a broken pelvis, a broken leg, a broken arm, and a couple of broken ribs. Basically, I got fucked… and not in the good way! Anyways, I also suffered from a traumatic brain injury. Once I woke up from the coma, I could only remember certain things, like my family and my childhood. Everything that happened in my life after middle school was lost. Till this day, I still can't remember. The doctors called it retrograde memory loss, or something fancy like that. They said in most cases, the memory loss is only brief. However, in some unusual cases… the loss can be permanent. I guess I turned out to be one of those unlucky bastards.

After the accident, my parents moved me back here to Lima to take care of me, especially since I couldn't take care of myself. It took a while for me to fully recover and get back to the point where I could actually dance again. Although I was happy to be dancing again, I knew my skill level would never be as good as it was before that unfortunate night. Because of that, I had to settle. Instead of going back to Julliard, I stayed here and got into the dance program at Ohio State. While I was attending school, I also worked full-time at the dance studio that I now own. I had been taking lessons there since I was like 3 so I knew the previous owner very well. Once she decided to sell the studio and enjoy her retirement, she told me that I was always her number one pick.

I still get bitter at times when I think about my lost potential. Sure… I'm still a pretty amazing dancer, but sometimes I hate the fact that I'm not where I'm supposed to be. Before the accident, I apparently had several dance companies approaching me about joining them. I don't remember any of it, just what I always dreamed of when I was a kid. I always wanted to be some big-shot choreographer that worked with the best musicians. I wanted to travel the world, planning intricate choreography for their tours that I knew everyone would love. I had such high expectations for myself and according to everyone else I talked to… I was definitely on my way to my dreams.

Unfortunately… life doesn't always turn out the way we plan.

"Brittany… are you even listening to me?" Lindsay says, waving her hand in front of my face. I guess I must've spaced out.

"Uh, yeah… sorry. What were you saying?" I ask.

"I said that Mohawk guy's profile is open to the public," Lindsay starts again. "He's got a lot of pics on here with Santana. It looks like they both live in LA."

As I look through this Puck guy's profile, I can't help but notice the closeness between the 2 of them. Initially, I felt a little jealous. I'm not sure why though. As I scrolled through more pictures, I could see the bond between him and Santana. It wasn't one that seemed romantic though… more family-oriented. In a majority of the pics, it looked like Puck was very protective over Santana. On one of pictures where they look like they were playing foosball, the caption below read "Me and Santana dominating!" Below that were several comments, one in which Puck responded saying "Yea, I'm her brotha from another motha… hahaha". I smiled at the sight, seeing Santana in a relaxed state and seemingly happy.

"Whatcha thinkin' about sis?" Lindsay asks.

"I don't know… I just feel like I need to know more about this girl," I reply honestly. "How come you don't remember anything about her?"

"Uh, probably because I was like 10 at the time and didn't know my head from my ass…" she responds. I bust out laughing. "I have an idea…"

"And what would that be?" I question.

"Well… you know how UCLA is one of the schools I'm interested in?" Lindsay inquires. I nod my head and slightly raise my eyebrow, trying to figure out where she's going with this. "I know we weren't supposed to go visit the campus until summer, but what if we went this week since I'm on Spring Break?"

"Um, okay…" I state dumbly, still confused. "I guess we could do that… I've got some money saved up."

Lindsay shakes her head at me, probably because I'm still not getting it.

"While we're there, I was thinking we could try some Italian food at this little place called Maribel's…"

Oh, I see… the light bulb finally went off in my head.

"That's genius Linds!" I exclaim.

"I know…" she replies, smugly.

"Do you think that Mom and Dad will let you go on such short notice?" I ask.

"I am almost 18 and it's not like I'll be going alone," she states. "Really, all I have to do is give them the "Pierce pout" and they won't be able to say no to their youngest offspring."

It's true… being the youngest of the family, Lindsay usually always got what she wanted. Luckily for my parents, she wasn't that difficult. She usually reserved our trademark pout for special occasions.

"I guess we're going to LA then!" I state excitedly.

I have no idea what's gonna happen when I see Santana in person, but hopefully she'll remember me and maybe we can build a new friendship from there. A girl can only hope.

Author's Note:

What's up guys? So, here it is… the new story! I hope you guys enjoy it as much as my other stories. I haven't abandoned You and Me. I still have some ideas left for that story before it's complete, but the updates are probably not going to be as quick as when I first started writing it. Don't worry though, the updates will still be out in a reasonable amount of time as I write this story too. As always, thanks again for reading, following, reviewing, and adding me to your favorites list… it really does mean a lot! (Btw… all mistakes are my own).

Til next time,

-Kris

Disclaimer:

I do NOT own Fox, Glee, or any of its characters. I also don't own the Food Network or any of its programs… I'm just an avid lover of Chopped!