Santana skips her last class of the evening, which she almost never does, to meet some of her friends at a bar on campus to watch the election numbers roll in. Somehow being out of high school makes politics seem more real. Like this election might actually mean something for her. For her and Brittany. If there still is aher and Brittany.
It's the first time Santana has been able to vote in a presidential election, and she wants to know she's making a good choice. A mature choice. She stays up late reading about the voting process, learning about swing states, the popular vote, the electoral college: phrases she heard before, but never paid attention to. She talks to friends and classmates, and reads every article she can get her hands on She knows who she's going to vote for almost immediately. It's so obvious to her that she can't imagine why anyone would choose the other guy.
On Election Day she heads to the polls early, before the math class that she dreads waking up for every Tuesday morning. She votes and gets her sticker and feels proud of herself all day. Proud and anxious.
Once she's out with friends and the numbers start to roll in and chatter starts to fill her head, she goes from anxious to panicked. The numbers aren't working out the way she thought they would. She thought the whole tiny map on the tv would light up blue right away, but it doesn't. Southern states start to fill in red. She knew that would happen, but it still startles her when groups of people at the bar clap each time red lights up the tv screen. People cheer when Kentucky is one of those states.
No one at her table seems too worried at first. Most people seem more interested in their food and friends. After a while though, once red seems to be filling in the map, the bar gets a little quieter. Her friends seem less interested in the pizza and beer on their table and more interested on the slowly changing numbers.
One of her friends leans towards her and tells her not to worry, the blue states will start filling in.
And they do.
Blue starts popping up on the map and Santana feels like she can breathe a little, like maybe this will work out for her. For them. Numbers start moving fast. 150 moves to 185, then to 244. The man on the news explains that it will come down to only a few states. One of those states is Ohio. The outline of the state lights up on the screen and she can pinpoint where Lima is — where Brittany is. She wonders if Britt is watching the news. She probably is. She loves politics. She wouldn't be nervous like Santana is now. If Santana were with Brittany right now, she wouldn't feel like her heart was beating too hard. She listens as the numbers slowly rise. And then they say it. The Ohio numbers are in. The outline of her state turns blue.
People starting cheering around her. A friend leans over and hugs her, and then another does. She's smiling so big, and she can't help but saying out loud "that's my state!", and this time being proud about it. Some of the upperclassmen she's made friends with come back to the bar with big mugs of beer. One of them winks at her and hands starts to hand her a glass. She motions over the noise for them to set it on the table. She'll get to the party soon, but she has to do something first.
She walks out of the bar into the cool night and pulls out her phone. She scrolls through her contacts until she finds the one she wants. Britt-Britt. It's been three weeks since they've talked, and she just hopes that Brittany will answer.
The phone rings, and Santana holds her breath. Brittany answers.
"Hi! Is everything okay?" Brittany asks, worried.
"Yea, hey, everything is fine. Are you watching the election?"
Brittany giggles.
"Are you really calling me to check on my political devotion?" Brittany quips.
Santana pauses, because yea, she kind of is.
"Britt", Santana takes a deep breath, "I want to be with you. I want to be with you now, not later. Now, and forever. I want to marry you someday, legally. This is it Britt. All of this tonight. This is the kind of change we've been waiting for".
All of the things that Santana has wanted to tell Brittany since she left her crying in the choir room start rushing into her mind and she's saying them before she can even put the thoughts together. She's apologizing for not communicating more, and for acting like Brittany couldn't be part of the decision making in their relationship. She keeps talking until Brittany shushes her.
"It's okay Santana", Brittany says quietly, and Santana takes a deep breath to calm herself.
"It's okay" Brittany repeats. "I love you Santana, and I will always want to be with you. I know we can do this".
Santana smiles. Of course Brittany knows.
"I wish we could have watched it together" Brittany says, and Santana can hear the sadness in her voice.
"I know Britt. Me too. Next time though, okay? Four years from now. You'll be a senior in college then and we'll watch from our apartment. Together."