Intro: This is set in season 2 right before Nationals. In this version the glee kids don't all share two big rooms but they're split up into pairs. Brittana's confessions in "Sexy" never happened, so Brittany isn't even on Santana's radar really. They're just friends. Also, Tina's stutter is real.
This is a Santina story. Enjoy.
A Change of Heart
Chapter 1
It's a lovely Friday afternoon in April here at McKinley High. The sun is shining, birds are singing; everything is perfect. When the final bell of the day rings, I slam the chemistry binder in front of me closed and slide the black backpack strap onto my shoulder. I quickly hurry to the choir room, frightfully excited for what Mr. Shu has to say. This weekend is Nationals, so we're getting the details of the trip and our roommate assignments this afternoon. I'm desperately hoping that Mr. Shu won't pull an 'everyone needs to get along' and put us with glee clubbers that we don't like.
When I enter the choir room everyone is already there. Mercedes waves me over and I excitedly sit in the red, plastic chair next to her.
"Girl, I hope we get to be roomies," Mercedes gushes, a big smile on her face. "We can stay up until 3 am and watch movies and paint our nails. I mean, without Kurt it won't be the same, but still…"
"Alright, everyone settle down," Mr. Shu shouts, and Mercedes roll her eyes at his irritating interruption. I grin knowingly at the diva; silently pleading that Mr. Shu would fulfill our wishes and let us be room together. Everyone stops his or her conversations to listen to the choir leader.
"Okay, listen up! I have here in my hands the rooming arrangements for Nationals!" We all cheer in excitement, all of us ready for Nationals. Mr. Shu smiles and unfolds the paper in his hand, reading the first pair of roommates off his list.
"For the guys, Finn and Puck, Artie and Mike, then Kurt and Sam," Mr. Shu announces, and all the guys (save for Kurt) high-five each other, stoked for the all night parties they think they'll be having. The Spanish teacher clears his throat before he resumes reading.
"And the girls: Brittany and Rachel, Quinn and Mercedes, and Santana and Tina."
As soon as the last word leaves his mouth, I hear a shout from a certain feisty Latina behind me.
"Oh hell no! I'm not sleeping in the same room as Chang-Wonder!" Santana exclaims, her hands flying in the air. "Why can't I stay with Brittany, Mr. Shu? I thought you said you would take our suggestions into consideration or whatever!" The Spanish teacher shakes his head and puts his hands out to stop Santana's rant.
"Santana, sit down and take a breather," Mr. Shu says to the enraged girl. With a reluctant groan, Santana sits back down and crosses her arms on her chest, sending a murderous glare over to me before I turn back to Mr. Shu. God, she hates me.
"I did this so you could all get to know each other a little better. We're not changing anything; just deal with it for the three days we'll be in New York," Mr. Shu says, calming the Latina down a bit. As he continues to talk about the details of the New York trip, all I'm thinking about is how suddenly Santana spoke out about being my roommate. I mean, I haven't really done anything to her. I know she's the HBIC and all in glee, but she's never had much of a problem with me before. As I turn around I see Santana's big brown eyes staring right at me. I try to smile at her, but she just goes back to the dagger throwing. With a frown, I sink down in my chair and think about how horrible my nights will be.
o o o
"Let me just say that I am extremely excited for this trip. I've always wanted to see New York, because one day I'll end up on the Broadway stage," Rachel says, making me roll my eyes a tiny bit. Rachel was alright, but only in small doses. I'm just glad I don't have to room with her. Mercedes shoots me a look from two rows down the aisle. Rachel decided to sit between Kurt and I before we could protest, and Mercedes was too late getting to the terminal to grab a seat with us.
"I can see it now, our names in lights above the stage, 'The New Directions, Starring Lead Vocalist Miss Rachel Berry'. It will be fantastic!"
I'm drawing the line here. "L-l-listen, Rach," I say, trying a nickname in order to sound friendly. "Would you mind n-n-not talking for a bit? It's just that… you're kind of getting on Kurt's nerves."
Kurt makes slicing motions at his neck in an attempt to stop me from pinning Rachel on him, but it's already too late.
"Kurt, you think that I talk too much?" the diva begins, her hard brown eyes trained on the fashionable boy. "Because if you do, that's not acceptable. I've worked too hard -" I zone out when I hear someone snicker. Trying to find out who was laughing, I look over to Mercedes, but she's got headphones on and is reading a Skymall magazine. I hear a stifled giggle behind me and I twist around to see Santana covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. Without thinking about it, I laugh as well, smiling at the Latina. When she sees me, though, she immediately breaks eye contact and buries her head in a random magazine (which is upside down, by the way). Feeling confused, I turn back to an enraged Rachel and an apologetic Kurt.
This is going to be a long flight.