Warning: Language
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the title The Familiar Taste of Poison.

'Is this me?' The words echoed through her head, over and over again.

Santana stood in front of her vanity mirror, staring at the girl who she no longer felt she knew. The classic red and white Cheerio's uniform, the long black hair pulled tightly up into a ponytail, the dark, unforgiving eyes, the nearly permanent scowl. Who was this girl? The answer seemed obvious. She was Santana Fucking Lopez—captain of the Cheerios, most popular girl in all of William McKinley High, and most certainly head bitch. At least, this was the girl that everyone else saw—the Santana everyone thought they knew.

It had taken nearly three years and a pregnant Quinn to accomplish, but she had done it. It started out as one full year of working her ass off as an entry-level freshman Cheerio. By sophomore year, along with Quinn, the newly appointed captain, she had risen to become one of Sue's best cheerleaders and evil minion, and with her sudden status-quo leap, she made her way to the top of the McKinley High food chain.

As much as she hated to admit it, Quinn's pregnancy was the icing on the cake. Had she not gotten knocked up, Santana would have never been made head Cheerio and taken her rightful place as the most popular girl in school. What bothered her most about this was the fact that she truly felt bad for Quinn. Quinn Fabray had literally gone through Hell and back: losing valuable friendships, her parents' relationship, and her place on top the school's social ladder, not to mention having to pop a damn baby out along the way. But Santana, with her bad-ass, take-no-prisoner's attitude was not allowed to feel this way. Instead, she was forced to ridicule the blonde the same way she would any other low-life gleek.

It was this sort of thing that Santana now hated about herself. As she looked in the mirror, all she could see was the cold, ruthless, bitch that she had slowly become. Truth was, she wanted out. Not necessarily out of the popularity, that she didn't mind (especially after seeing the way other kids were treated). Instead, she wanted to be able to express her real feelings without having to cover them up all the time. She wanted people to not be scared of her. She just wanted to be herself—the old Santana. The real Santana.

Sighing, she fixed her hair and took one last look at her predictable image. Then, grabbing her Cheerio's backpack, she left for school.

School was the same old, same old. She met up with Brittany at their adjoining lockers before first period.

"Hey, B." She greeted.

"San!" Brittany rushed over and threw her arms around her. "I missed you so much!"

Santana apprehensively hugged her back, slightly confused.

"It hasn't even been 24 hours..." She gave Brittany a puzzled look as they both pulled away from the embrace.

"I know." Brittany replied. "But I still missed you."

"Thanks, B." She rolled her eyes playfully and began to grab her books for the first two classes.

Brittany was the one light in Santana's life. Sure, she had the intelligence of a doorknob, but she was always unbiased and honest. She never once judged Santana and saw right through the tough-girl act. Around Brittany, everything was just so easy. When it was just the two of them, Santana could let down her guard and just be herself. Sweet, sensitive, unfiltered Santana. They were 'best friends forever!' as Brittany would always say.

Santana shoved her books in her backpack and shut her locker. She played with the hem of her uniform's skirt as she leaned against the locker, waiting for Brittany to finish getting her things. Once Brittany had shut her locker, Santana extended a pinky, which Brittany happily wrapped in her own. Pinky-in-pinky, they walked to class.

Between classes, the Latina walked with her head held high, her eyes dark and uninviting. When she wasn't scowling, her face was expressionless. Nobody would look at her—they were too afraid to. Even most of the Cheerios were terrified of her. Honestly, Santana could blame them. She'd be afraid too. She was the all-powerful, all-mighty Santana Lopez. She had complete control over the entire student population. If someone was going to get slushied, she gave the order; if someone stepped out of place, she would put them right back where they belonged. She had the whole Cheerios squad wrapped around her finger, aside from Sue, of course. Nobody messed with her, simply out of fear of the hell they would get back.

She knew she had no choice but to keep up the act. If she let up, she would be thrown off the top of the totem pole. She would lose everything.

The entire day was pretty much a blur. She mindlessly sat through classes, ignoring the teachers and texting aimlessly. When she had class with Brittany, the two spent the period passing notes and whispering to one another. She spent lunch at the Cheerio's table, sipping disdainfully at her Sue's Master Cleanse and gossiping loudly with the other girls. By the time Glee rolled around, Santana was slightly irritable and ready to go home, despite the inevitable three hour Cheerio's practice that was fast-approaching.

She walked into the choir room with Brittany at her side and they took their usual places at the back of the room. It seemed that everyone but Tina and Artie had arrived and they all greeted the two cheerios as they sat down. Brittany waived back excitedly, a huge grin on her face. Santana forced a smile that quickly vanished.

Santana actually really liked the kids in Glee. They were almost always friendly and were accepting of Santana's bad attitude, which, oddly, wasn't usually so bad in Glee. Although she wasn't willing to let down her guard the way she did with Brittany, she was still comfortable enough to relax and let up a bit. Not to mention she loved to sing and dance. It was her escape. When she was singing, she was allowed to be someone different. Inside, she knew that that person was the real Santana.

They all chatted quietly amongst themselves, aside from Rachel, who was warming up her vocal chords somewhat obnoxiously, when Mr. Shue walked in from the office in the choir room. Behind him was a cute blonde girl who Santana had never seen before. The girl was obviously shorter than Santana, her skin and hair naturally pale. She was skinny too, her cheekbones prominent and slightly square. Her eyes were a striking blue and a small smile was spread across her face. She bore an odd resemblance to Kristin Bell, Santana couldn't help but think.

"Guys," Mr. Shue started. The room quieted down.

"As Glee Club's reputation grows, so will our member base. Today, I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of New Directions."

There was silence.

"This is Elle."

A/N: Please be gentle. This is my first FF. It is also my first attempt at 3rd person since I normally write in 1st. I have a tendency to not finish things, but I'm going to do my best with this as this fic has been plaguing my mind lately and I've got most chapters planned out already. Sorry about the lack of dialogue or anything actually happening. I just felt I needed to explain some stuff and get it out of the way.
A/N/N: I am also assuming that Quinn has not rejoined the Cheerios after having her baby.