Author's Note: I had started this story for National Novel Writing Month in November and then forgotten about it but recently I opened it up to look at it. I edited it up and decided to dust it off and post it for you guys to check out. Enjoy!

My life was good, you know? I was fine with the way my world turned out to be. My family was good. My grades were above average...most of the time. I had a lot friends and they were good...ish. I was at the top of the social ladder at school. Head cheerio. Top bad ass. I could have anyone with a swish of my hips, a wink or with one flash of the trademark Santana smirk. The students of this school were under my thumb. I could squish them at any moment and everyone knew that. People feared me. I had power to do as I pleased and no one would stop me. I liked it that way. I liked my life, even if it wasn't a fairy tale. It was comfortable. It was just fine the way it was.

Then with one pivotal moment it all changed. She showed up.

-/-/-/-/-

"Can we just leave already?" I groaned, looking at Quinn through her vanity mirror.

It was Monday morning and I had spent the night over at her house. So, obviously I figured it would be easiest if we were to drive to school together. One car, less money to spend on gas, we could talk or whatever. Simple plan, right? The problem was Quinn had a tendency to get ready in slow motion. I had been ready to go for half an hour and still she was situated in front of the mirror. I wouldn't mind if she was actually doing something that needed to be done, but it was ridiculous the amount of time it took her to put on makeup, especially when we put on the same amount. "No amount of makeup is going to be able to cover up the fact that you were born butt ugly... so can we just leave already?"

Quinn didn't flinch at my comment. The only reason I knew she heard me was from the subtle raise of her perfectly manicured eyebrow. Trademark Quinn move. The eyebrow raise. She continued applying her eyeliner in silence as I rolled over on her bed with a loud, exasperated groan. I should have driven here in my car so I wouldn't have to wait for her... Rookie mistake...one I seemed to make every time I came here.

"You can only blame yourself for the time I'm taking. You're the one who insisted on being out until three in the morning. These red eyes," she pointed at them for emphasis, "with bags the size of your ego are your fault and they will take time to fix."

I rolled my eyes and gave a dismissive wave of my hand. I looked fine and I was out until the same time as her so she just needed to toughen up. I had dragged Quinn out of her room last night because she was started to look pitiful and that was no help for our reputations. I would not be caught dead with my supposed best friend acting like a wussy niner. She kept moping around, whining about losing that dope of a boyfriend, Finn Hudson. She could be like a normal high school girl and blink her eyes and go for the next one in sight, but no. She had to be some psycho freak about it and obsess. She was focusing all her time on formulating plans to get him back from Rachel Berry. First off, the man was obviously insane to dump her, being as she is one of the hottest girls in school. Second off, he must be a maniac to want to be with Rachel Berry. The girl was a freak of nature. No one with one ounce of sense in their bodies would date her. Both of them were a waste of space, if you asked me though.

Quinn always was drilling me about finding a boy I really liked and dating him, but she was one of the key reasons I didn't. Nothing funny like I was in love with her, but because what she was like when she was 'in love'. Every time I witnessed people who were supposedly 'in love', including Quinn, they never looked happy. They looked caged and pathetic. They never looked heart-warming and sappy to me. That was only on movies and television shows. In real life, they were content at most. All I had to do was look at my parents and my thoughts were even more certain on its stand against love. They would kiss each other before and after work. My mami would sit silently beside my papa at dinner. My mami would cook and clean and mi papa would work and sleep. It was like a routine and nothing more. No one looked happy in love. Why would you want that? Quinn would never change my mind on that.

That was why I thought Quinn's obsession with Finn and being in love was completely ridiculous. Since they were broken up, I took the one chance I had. So, I took Quinn out to a party that I had told Puck to put on. I would get her out of the house and have a good time myself. Win win situation. And of course because it was a Santana Lopez plan, it worked. Quinn was drunk after a few wine coolers (pathetic, right?) and having a good time. I even thought she might have hooked up with Puck but being the prude she is that thought quickly left my mind. But whatever she and him were up to, she was smiling afterwards, no thought of Frankenteen.

Now after getting her out of her junk at the part last night and me doing my part as the womanizer, our reps would be in perfect shape for school.

"Ready," Quinn stated as she calmly put her eyeliner down on her dresser.

"For what? High school ended three years ago," I remarked, being as snarky as ever. Regardless I got up and grabbed my Cheerios bag and my backpack. After lugging these things around all day, it was no surprise we were in such good shape.

"And to think everyone says you're a bitch..." Quinn mumbled sarcastically.

I laughed and exited her room. Quinn loved me and she knew it. She was probably as good as a best friend as I could get. We had an understanding. We wanted to the same thing and that worked out for us. It was our common dominator. Our eyes were set on the same prize and we owned the Lima High by teaming up. If we ever broke our friendship the school would turn into a battlefield...

Quinn and I rushed to her car as the early morning autumn air bit at our bare ankles. This was not the time of year that the Cheerios outfits were good for. Most cheerleaders wouldn't need to wear their uniforms all the time but Sue demanded that we do. It was a symbol of pride. We didn't have any problem with it either. It showed our superiority. People longed for Cheerios uniforms and lettermen's jackets. Once you had that, you had a chance in high school. Without it, you were doomed.

I pulled my Cheerios jacket tighter around me, trying to collect as much heat as I could as I slipped into Quinn's Ford Focus.

"So, who'd you land up with last night?" Quinn asked with a bit of an edge to her voice. She was trying to hide her judgemental nature with a voice of curiosity.

"Who says 'I landed up with anyone'? I don't go to parties to immediately jump into someone's pants." I scoffed, narrowing my eyes at the blonde viciously. Just because there was a crowd of boys and I was there didn't necessarily mean that I would sleep with one of them. Phft. Whatever.

Quinn laughed sardonically. "Spill it."

I rolled my eyes, but let her assumption go. After all, she was kind of right. "Matt. He was all over me like a puppy desperate for a home. I finally gave in. Pretty sure I just made his year."

Quinn shook her head with a small smile on her lips. "I don't know why those guys all sleep with you. You're like that girl from that stupid show you're always watching-Jersey shore. "After I have sex with a guy I will rip their heads off." I'm surprised they aren't scared you'll kill them in bed or something..."

"They'd die happily," I replied smugly, propping my feet up on the dash, smearing the mud that was on the bottom of my shoes all over it.

Quinn just rolled her eyes and turned silent. Slowly an odd expression began to take over her face. It was like she was in a deep concentration. After a minute or two her hands wound tightly around the steering wheel as if she was about to crash or something. She looked stressed.

"What's up, buttercup?" I asked nonchalantly, shoving my hands in front of the car heater.

"Hmm?" Quinn asked, almost jumping from out of her skin at the sound of my voice.

"You look constipated or something. What's wrong?" I asked with narrowing eyes.

Quinn's eyes hardened and she quickly looked away from me. "My head hurts, that's all. I should have said no to you and your stupid plan to drink and be merry last night," she snarled defensively at me. Her words were icy and actually sent a chill down my spine. Quinn the snow queen is here. Exit the premise for your own safety.

"Right. Whatever. Tell me what's wrong when you want to." I mumbled, looking out the window. I knew something was wrong, but I understood not wanting to talk about certain things... We all had our dark secrets...

Quinn quickly changed the subject off herself and decided to drill me. "So...when you going to stop jumping from guy to guy and keep one for, you know, at least a week?" Way to be supportive, bestie.

"I'm seventeen. I'm not looking for marriage, grandma." I spat at her. I was tired of this talk. I swore she brought it up like every month. Date a boy, Santana. It's good for you. You're not going to find happiness sleeping with every guy. You'll only find STDs. Yeah, like going out with some idiot in this dump was going to find me happiness. It obviously wasn't working for her. I was perfectly happy how I was: single and ready to mingle.

I liked it the way I had it anyways. I made of a hobby out of it. Maybe it was a sick hobby, or unhealthy or whatever, but it was fun. I had a list. Think about when high class prostitutes keep a list of all their clients. Some of those girls would keep those names down for blackmail. Some would have pictures or videos. It was kind of like that except I didn't do it for money. I picked who I pleased and then wrote their name down on my list. It wasn't only who I slept with. Any guy I kissed, dated, slept with, whatever would land up being on my list. Once they were on that list I knew I had them forever. I could go back if I wanted or I could get whatever I wanted out of them. They would just hope for another Santana Lopez experience, which they may or may not get again. It was perfect.

I had begun the list on my first year of high school. It started with kissing, then making out, second base, third base and finally bam a homerun. I was good at it and the boys would swarm around me. I figured I could use this as power. How did the media get power? They took what they could get and twisted it to meet their needs. That's what I could do. It was especially fun because eventually rumours were being passed around about my list. Particularly because they had heard that I had rating in the book. How good was Puck at kissing? You could find it in my little black book. How good was Finn at getting down and dirty doing the deed? Find the book and you'll find it (though I had no problem with telling everyone that he was awful and it was the truth.)People were reeling. They needed to know what they were in the little black book of mine. If they weren't begging for a peek at the book, they were fighting to be in it. The book surprisingly did wonders on keeping me at the top of the school.

Before that, I had only thought of my list as a book of activities to do when I was bored. It kind of gave me a purpose and an importance in the school. Why not keep it going? I figured it was a hell of a lot more fun than running after some douche bag, begging and pleading with him to love me forever. I wasn't one of those girls and I never wanted to be. Quinn could be one if she wanted to...

Quinn didn't like my hobby, but then again, she was a prude. I didn't give a crap what she thought. She was all being holy than thou but when it came to scandals and hurting people she was all up for it. She was packed full of double standards. I wasn't. I did whatever I wanted. End of story.

Quinn didn't push me anymore on the subject because she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere. Her goal had just been to get the conversation off of her. We remained silent for the rest of the drive.

The silence disappeared the moment our car doors opened at school though. The Cheerios swarmed like bees around us, talking faster than lightning about all the new rumours. I noticed the absence of the rumour that should have been the juiciest: Finn and Quinn breaking up. I watched as the overly curious Cheerios reined themselves in, trying to keep the subject off it, but throwing not so subtle glances at Quinn. They were hungry for details that I knew they would never get.

I ignored their pointless babbling and headed into the school. Sighing as they began to follow me, I speed up, almost into a jog. They were like leeches... I looked over my head after I turned a corner in the hallway, seeing if I had lost them and left them with Quinn. I smiled in satisfaction as I saw I had gained a lot of space, I turned back quickly to keep walking. That didn't happen though. My body collided painfully with another, resulting in us flying to the floor and a stream of curses flew out of my mouth.

The hallway fell silent. An eerie silence that only happened when you knew something bad was coming. It was the calm before the storm. Someone had gotten in the way of Santana Lopez.

I took a deep breath, breathing in the taste of anger like it was an airborne virus. It filled my lungs and I sat up, in a snapping motion, preparing myself to attack whoever was in front of me. Whether a geeky freshmen or senior football player, they were dead. Before I had time to launch myself at the victim, I was stuck in the grip of someone. I froze. What was happening?

Hands gripped both my shoulders, not in a rough way to fight but in a supportive way to help me up. I blinked. A face was in front of mine. Not even inches away. It was literally like one inch away from mine, so close my eyes were having trouble focusing. What the hell?

"Aw, crap, Lord Tubbington was right... I did bump into a tall, dark stranger..." The face in front of me mumbled sadly.

I blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the close figure. For once I was too stunned to start going all 'Lima Heights' on her ass. All I could smell was skittles and grape soda. It was fruity and mouth watering.

"Although, you really aren't that tall, are you?" The person said in a teasing tone, squeezing my shoulder gently, probably trying to get my attention. It worked, apparently. The small touch made me jump as it sent tingles down my vertebra. It sent me straight back two feet. Far enough to get out of the grasp of the mysterious skittle-smelling, nonsense-speaking, stranger.

Once I was on my feet, I saw a tall, thin, blonde girl with big blue, innocent eyes dressed in overly colourful clothing. Who was she? I didn't know this girl. I searched my mind frantically, trying to place this girl's face. I knew everyone. Maybe not their names, but I knew everyone faces; losers or popular kids alike. I made sure of it. But I did not recognize this girl. And for some reason, I thought I would have remembered that face.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Her voice was warm and sweet like melting chocolate. Something told me this girl ate too many candies.

I stood staring in a trance, mystified for reasons unknown to me. I quickly ripped myself out of that trance when I heard people begin to whisper around me. Instantly I knew what everyone was gossiping about. I hadn't killed her yet. I was about to open my mouth but her eyes caught mine. They were blue. But not like normal light blue. They were dark blue like the deep part of the ocean. They met my brown ones easily. They were wide filled with concern. It was a foreign look to me. It only added onto the strength of my confused trance.

I guess the girl panicked in my silence as much as everyone around me because she tried again, "I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm kind of confused with all these hallways, and this new school, and I was trying to find room—"

"Whatever," I cut her off, frustrated. For some reason my mind wouldn't focus long enough to form an insult but I wouldn't stand here and look like I accepted her clumsy, disrespectful attitude. "Don't let it happen again," I warned her in a venomous tone, showing everyone I was not letting this girl off.

The blonde froze in place, looking shocked, hurt, confused and all together flustered as hell. Good.

I brushed past her with a little, but still rough, nudge of her shoulder against mine. She wouldn't let it happen again.

"That's the new girl we were talking about!"

Oh my gosh. They caught up. I sighed as I saw a couple Cheerios behind me, causing hate for the new tall blonde to boil my blood.

"Is it really now?" I asked spitefully, slowing my pace since there was no use in trying to outrun them now. I couldn't lose them now… This was that stupid blonde bimbo's fault… She wasn't really giving a great impression on her first day.

"Yeah really," One of them answered unaware of the sarcasm that had been in my voice. No wonder there were stereotypes about cheerleaders…

Tiffany, another Cheerio, jumped in all too eager to spread the latest gossip. "She's from New York, I heard. Her parents moved out here for a 'change of scenery'." Tiffany added air quotation marks for effect. "Or so my mom heard, but I think that must be a cover story. No one would move to Lima for a change of scenery. I bet her dad was a big CEO of a company and cheated on his wife with his hot secretary. Then his wife found out and she threatened him with divorce but he begged that she give him another chance. So they moved to a small town to rekindle their love for each other," she sighed happily and zoned out with a dreamy expression on her face.

Oh god… I think I just puked a little in my mouth.

"Lay off the soaps, Tiffany. If you don't have anything real or useful to offer me: leave," I grumbled, stopping as I reached my locker. I rested my head against it for a second and then began to gently smash my head against it. These bimbos drove me mad.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tiffany drop her head in shame and the other girls looked around at each other frantically. No one knew if they had anything worth the risk of saying out loud.

"Scatter. I'll fill her in," Quinn commended them, coming up behind us almost silently. Leave it to Quinn to already have all the information on a new girl in literally five minutes.

The Cheerios were gone in seconds, knowing not to push Quinn Fabray's buttons. Even though we were both the captains of the Cheerios, Quinn was volatile. She would strike to kill. Surprisingly enough, I had more mercy on those wastes of space... Probably only because in comparison to Quinn the psycho I was a civilized human being. Sometimes I wondered why she didn't take me down because deep down I knew she probably could…

Quinn began to give me the lay down as I grabbed the books I needed out of my locker. "Her name's Brittany Pierce. She's a senior like us. She's a dancer, won a bunch of competitions in New York. She's not the brightest blub and she's a complete humanitarian type. Like full out. Her parents were hired to come here as consultants on how to help the environment and crap… She's already joined a bunch of the school's clubs that are for that kind of thing as well."

"So we don't really need to worry about her?" All we really needed to know was if she was a power hungry cheerleader or a hardcore whore. If she wasn't either then she wouldn't be any bother to us.

Quinn shrugged, nonchalant. "Doubt it. Unless Sue finds out about her dancing abilities… She'll want any fresh talent she can get…" Quinn's voice faded and I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes, but it left as quick as it had come. We didn't need any more competition. The only way we were going to get out of this dump was through cheerleading scholarships. We were on the best team in the country. So as long as we stayed co-captains and kept up our appearances and grades, we had a very good chance of getting out of here.

I softly bumped my elbow against Quinn's. "I doubt Girl Wonder is going to have time for the Cheerios when she's out saving the world. Plus, she would be squashed like a bug if she ever tried being on it," I assured her with a smirk. Only the toughest could make it on the team.

"Hey, Sandbags!" I heard a booming voice echo off the hallway walls. Sue.

I turned around to where the voice was coming from and my thoughts were confirmed. I saw Sue strutting down the hallway. I smirked as I watched the students part like the red sea. I looked up to Sue sometimes. I knew in some ways she was a basket case, but I also knew it worked. No one in this whole city dared to defy her. That was what I wanted: power.

"Oh, you're both here. Good." She praised as she came closer and Quinn came into view. "You know, I'm kind of disappointed in you two." She informed us, leaning sideways against the lockers with her arms crossed. "You're supposed to be my captains yet I heard of new blood from the lesser Cheerios. Hmm."

Quinn straightened up confidently, and a bit defensively. "We were just discussing if she was worth your time, Coach," she lied smoothly and effortlessly with her innocent smile.

Sue didn't buy it for a second. "I'll be the judge of that. 3 o'clock. In the gym. Get her in for a try out." Sue didn't wait for a response before turning on her heels, yelling insults at any student who dared get in her path.

"The little snitches," Quinn sneered.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please, Fabray, you know we would have done the same thing if we knew we'd get on Sue's good side for it." I really couldn't care less about the new girl or the snitches. None of it would matter. I knew nothing would change even if Brittany did an audition. She was a goody-goody, change the world, bake cookies for your neighbor kind of person. The Cheerios were different. Once you entered it, you entered a dog-eat-dog world. She'd break, especially if she got in my way again. And honestly, breaking new girls was one of the best parts of school. So I was carefree.

"Did you just want to get it over with right now?" I asked, glancing at my cell phone for the time. We still had a good few minutes before we had to head to class.

Quinn shrugged. I didn't know if she had actually been listening or not because she had that scheming look on her face, which probably meant she was planning the deaths of all the Cheerios who could possibly have said anything to Sue. I could see in her eyes that she was narrowing down the list in her head. Sometimes I wondered about her sanity...or lack thereof.

I grabbed the first kid in sight, not wanting to search the whole damn school for this girl. If Sue hadn't already been pissed at us, I wouldn't even be bothering with this. I would have gotten some of the Cheerios to do it. But I knew I had to make this right so Sue wouldn't be at my throat for the next few weeks.

"Where's the new girl?" I asked the shaking freshman, giving a menacing glare and a tug on his collar, just for the fun of it. Why not torment them? High school is about learning and growing and being bullied. We had school counsellors for a reason.

"I-I think I saw Rachel Berry talking to her near the choir room," the boy stammered, keeping his eyes away from mine. It was as if he thought I was Medusa and if he looked into my eyes he would be turned into stone. Medusa might as well be my ugly twin sister. If I typed my personality up on a dating website, she and I would be a perfect match.

"Of course...Berry..." Quinn growled as if Rachel was the reason for all the world's problems. I didn't disagree though.

I let go of the kid because I was pretty sure he thought Quinn was about to dislocate her jaw and swallow him whole.

"Well, it's time for revenge then, Fabray. Let's get the girl before the hobbit can." I motivated her.

Bam! Just like that Quinn's mouth tilted upwards into one of the most cunning smiles I had ever seen. She twirled around and headed straight down the halls with quick determination. And that was why I was co-captain. I knew what buttons to press. Master of manipulation should have been my title.

I smirked and followed her lead, letting her do the job. Quinn thinking she was in control would give me the upper hand if we were dealing with Rachel Berry.

I swished my hips seductively down the hallways, smiling a smile that I knew would leave all the boys I passed flustered and panting for more. I smiled inwardly with satisfaction when I saw a jock almost lose his grip on a slushie and dump it on himself.

"Hey," I smirked, the trademark Santana Lopez smirk, at a somewhat new transfer to McKinley. He was already on the football team as a running back. His eyes widened in surprise and gave me a double take, blinking as if he didn't expect me to greet him. Ever.

He nervously licked his lips and stood a couple inches higher. "Hey you," he replied smoothly in a gravelly yet surprisingly sexy voice.

And just like that, he was on my list. Or at least he would be. I wasn't going to leave that fine specimen out of my black book. I left him with wink and continued behind Quinn, never lingering too long. I wasn't that interested.

"I swear she is some kind of parasite," I heard Quinn grumble as we rounded the last corner before the choir room.

And there they were, just as the frightened freshman had said. Rachel practically had Brittany pinned up against a locker, speedily and overenthusiastically talking to her. I was sure it was about the Glee Club. That damn club was so desperate...

"Man hands! Move it. We claimed her first, if that means anything at all to you," Quinn spat at Rachel venomously.

Here we go... I crossed my arms against my chest, giving the persona that I had Quinn's back and I was ready to take Rachel done if I needed to. In reality, I could care less about her. She wasn't even worth my time.

Rachel jumped back, startled by Quinn's voice, knowing it all too well. It was probably the voice that haunted her nightmares. But Rachel quickly recovered, composing herself, taking a step away from Brittany. She took a visibly deep breath, coolly smoothing out her skirt then gave Quinn a calm look. "Quinn, I am truly sorry it had to be this way. I, in no way, had intended on hurting you but –"

Before she could utter another word Quinn had launched herself forward towards the lockers, enraged. In a blinked of an eye, she had Rachel pressed against the lockers.

My eyes shifted in response to a movement in the side of my eye, Brittany had taken a step back and was now frozen with eyes as wide as saucers. Her eyes bounced from Rachel and Quinn struggling against each other to me and then back. She looked panicked and then like a scared mouse, she scurried down the hallway, away from danger and out of sight.

Oh for the love for God... I sighed deeply and rolled my eyes. So much for that plan. We probably had scared that girl too much to ever look us in the eye. How was she even going to consider the Cheerios after this morning? Smooth move, Lopez, great way to make things right with Sue.

I quickly grabbed Quinn's arms, frustrated, and tugged her as hard as I could to detach her from the frightened, derailed Diva.

"Let's go before Sue shows up," I hissed. Sue was known to be like a ninja and could show up in seconds. She did not appreciate any kind of reports of violence in regards to her Cheerios. She would get us out of the trouble if we needed it, especially to perform, but she would make us make it up to her for months. All of us. Even if it were only one stupid Cheerio. But we were the co-captains of the squad and we had titles to lose. I knew Quinn didn't want her title being at risk anytime soon. Plus, if Berry was the reason behind Quinn losing her spot on the Cheerios and the reason Quinn lost that big oaf of a boyfriend, I didn't think she would live to see another day. If Quinn was merciful enough not to kill her, she would make her life a living hell. Even more than she already did.

Quinn grudgingly let go of Rachel, a wild expression masking her face. "Watch your back, RuPaul," Quinn warned her as I managed to drag her down the hall.

My eyes frantically scanned the crowded halls. Class would be starting any minute now and we lost the girl...

"Sue's going to be pissed," I mumbled under my breath, gripping my books a bit tighter to my chest. I was not looking forward to the wind sprints I was going to have to spend days doing because of this.

Quinn was still fuming and gave a careless shrug. "Sue's the least of my worries right now. If we don't get the girl a tryout Sue will find the girl herself, you know that. Right now, we have to figure out a way to get rid of Rachel or snap Finn back into the right mind. I have no idea what he sees in that big-nosed, undersized, loud-mouthed, overdramatic, annoying Broadway freak..."

Quinn continued to rant on about the stupid problems she thought were the end of the world and I tuned her out. Sometimes she was just about the whiniest human being in the world.

"I'm going to class," I interrupted her, walking away without a backward glance. She could come up with her own failing plan. I had to try and fix things with that blonde dancer.

Unfortunately, the new girl wasn't in any of my morning classes and must have been hiding out during break periods because I couldn't find her anywhere. No one knew where she was. I knew we had scared her off after all of interactions. Maybe I shouldn't have snapped on her in the hallway. She would have talked to me and I probably could have guilt tripped her into trying out for the Cheerios. After all, she had knocked me over and I had let her live.

I headed to lunch frustrated. Quinn was giving me no help whatsoever as she was creepily following Rachel and Finn around, trying to formulate some evil plan.

I had no idea what to do. I wasn't the kind of person you send to convince someone to do something, unless that meant scaring them into it. At least Quinn had a fake sweet side. I didn'tand I didn't desire to develop one for anyone, especially this annoying blonde bimbo who knocked me down in the hallway.

I grabbed my food and took a beeline straight out of the school. I had no desire to eat with any of the Cheerios or any jocks at the moment. I just needed to breathe before I ripped someone's head off with my teeth. I had already had enough of this day.

I plopped down under an old, storming oak outside the school. The tree literally towered outside the school making a huge, engulfing shadow over the grassy area in front of it. It was great for blocking the sun, especially at the end of spring term, when everything was getting hot and humid this was the place to be. Of course, you could only sit there if the Cheerios allowed you to. Right now, it was a crisp fall day and people were scurrying inside as if the small gusts of wind were signs of a tornado. Everyone was still so used to the warm weather... I didn't care though. It would do just fine. I wanted to be completely alone. I ripped my fruit cup open with my teeth, glaring furiously at the parking lot of the school.

"You know, I bet if you tried hard enough you could set fire to one of those cars with the laser beams I'm waiting to see come out of your eyes," I heard a soft voice say from behind me. A teasing voice.

I laughed, "I wish."

I was surprised I hadn't replied with a snarky comment, but I figured I was just too frustrated to try, but something within me told me that wasn't the case.

I tilted my head to the side to see who it was and almost grinned in surprise at the face in front of me: The long legged dancer.

She nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other, holding a lunch tray in her hands with a conflicted look on her face. Her eyes wouldn't meet mine.

"I'm surprised you had the balls to talk to me after this morning," I murmured, putting on what I tried to turn into the nice Santana charm. I let my eyes slide away from hers and turned back to look at the parking lot. I hoped that by looking away it would help her relax. I silently tried to convey the message that my laser beams wouldn't kill her, just yet.

"You actually don't scare me as much as the Glee Club girl does..." I heard her mumble under her breath. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear it or not, but I laughed regardless.

"I don't blame you. She's a fucking nutcase," I assured her.

Brittany smiled softly and looked at the ground.

She's smiling. I made her smile. Maybe I could do this. If all it took was making fun of Berry than I was down for it.

"Do you..." Brittany started in a small voice.

I turned my head nonchalantly towards her, hope filling my insides. I knew what was coming. I saw the signals. She was nervous, glancing anywhere but my eyes. Her body moved from leaning towards me to leaning away as if it were a direct mirror of her thoughts saying, "Sit with her. Don't sit with her. Sit with her! Wait. Maybe you shouldn't." I could see her eyes flicker to the patch of grass beside me. She wanted to eat lunch with me. A warm feeling rushed through my body and I shivered. It was as if warm and cold hit me at the same time. Wow, relief has such a weird feeling.

Of course I was only relieved because I needed her to like me. I needed her to want to be just like me like all the other girls in this school. That way she would join the Cheerios and Sue would be off my back for a while. She'd have new meat to chew on for a couple weeks and I could stay under the Sue radar.

I smiled at the thought and my smile only continued to grow as I heard the blonde beauty say, "CouldIeatlunchwithyou?"

Author's Note: How was it? Think it has potential? I got some more written so let me know whatcha think!