When Brittany picks Artie over her, Santana ends up at Finn's house. She's a mess of tears, smudged eye make-up and rejection, and she needs distracted badly. She's never been one to dwell on feelings, okay? And the one time she tries to be different, someone fucking rips out her heart and stomps on it. Well fuck that. She's Santana Lopez, and she's not gonna waste her time feeling sorry for herself.
It's a man who answers the door, Kurt's dad, and his eyes automatically widen as he stares at her in surprise and fear. It's like he's never seen an emotional teenage girl before.
"Finn." Is all she says, and he doesn't reply, but simply opens the door for her and points to the staircase. Santana nods and steps into the house, furrowing her eyebrows at the smell of burned toast and Kurt's favorite Britney perfume.
She heads quickly to Finn's bedroom, not even bothering to knock. He yells as she bursts in and she rolls her eyes at his position on the bed, propped up against the pillows with his fly down and his jeans unfastened, his hand hidden snaking its way underneath the denim. The tall boy swears loudly at the sight of her and scrambles clumsily to his feet. His face is bright red, and he knows he's been caught. She thinks he's pathetic.
"Let's watch a movie," She says simply, quickly using her hand to wipe the evidence of her tears away. Finn is staring at her like she's grown three heads.
"Santana, you're like, crying or something?"
"Yeah, got a problem with that, Finnessa?"
"No, it's just that... Want a hug?" He trails off and reaches out for her, but she shoves his hands away, the familiar disgusted expression back on her face.
"Wash your hands before you touch me, Finnocence."
Finn blushes again, dropping his eyes to the floor. "I didn't... You came in before..."
Santana sighs impatiently but sits down on the bed, kicking off her shoes. "I want zombies."
Finn is wearing his confused-puppy face. "What?"
"Zombie movies. Keep up, Hudson."
"Oh." Finn clumsily hurries to his pile of DVDs and grabs 28 Days Later, shoving the disc into the player before looking awkwardly at Santana. She sighs and pats the bed, and he gratefully moves to lie beside her.
The girl lets out a pitying sigh, and her fingers fly to his crotch, quickly fastening his jeans again. He's half-hard under her touch and she can feel it, though decides to ignore it.
"Sorry," He says and she shrugs, uncaring. The movie starts.
"Finn?" She asks ten minutes in, and even though her eyes are closed in an attempt to hold back the tears, she feels him look at her. "A hug would be cool now. Or whatever."
He has her in his arms in less than a second. She appreciates it.
Their zombie film night becomes a regular occurrence, but there's less crying involved (apart from the time she accidentally punched Finn. He still insists he wasn't crying, but she's not buying it) and more popcorn.
They've got a routine going now. He lies with his arms around her and she rests her head on his shoulder, with their legs tangled together. It's weird, but she doesn't hate it. It's comforting, actually, though she'd rather eat her own vomit than admit this to anyone. Surprisingly, she likes being so close with someone other than a ditzy blonde cheerleader. Finn is much taller, not as soft, and undoubtedly wimpier, but he wants her around. He thinks she's funny. And he said that she was more awesome to hang out with than Puck, because she's just as badass and skilled on Xbox as he is, with the added advantage of being smoking hot too.
So, yeah. She has a new best friend.
She kisses him one night, just to see how it feels. His kisses aren't as experienced as Brittany's, but he's definitely improved since the last time. He's taken aback at first, but surprisingly he relaxes against her, and his large rough hand slides upwards and into her hair. He's controlled, calm, and she thinks she could get used to it.
"Bet I can kick your ass at Halo," She says as she pulls back after a while, and it's like nothing ever happened.
Brittany and Artie sing a stupid duet at Glee club one day, and she tenses. She doesn't mean to, but Finn notices, and although he's pretty much clueless, she knows that he's picked up the basics of what happened over the last month.
Look, she doesn't mean to be such a pussy when it comes to Brittany. But the girl was supposed to be her best friend, more than her best friend even, and then she fucking broke her like their relationship was nothing at all.
Santana is not second best, okay? She just isn't. And fuck Brittany if she thinks differently.
But yeah. Artie kisses Brittany at the end of the song and as Santana watches, she goes completely stiff. Natural reaction, she can't help it, whatever.
And then Finn's hand is on hers, squeezing it firmly.
She kicks him gently on the shin and rolls her eyes, but she doesn't let go.
And she sure as fuck doesn't smile when Finn winks privately at her. Of course not.
They kiss some more.
She doesn't mind it.
She tells him everything, and yeah, maybe she cries a little when she does. It doesn't seem to bother him though, and he simply watches her with understanding eyes, knowing she doesn't want his sympathy. When she's finished, he simply kisses her and lets her pick the movie.
She slaps his butt playfully as he bends down to turn his TV on. He laughs and she does too, wiping away her tears with a tissue he throws at her.
It's nice having him around.
Sometimes he tries to hold her hand at school.
It's ridiculously elementary school shit, but sometimes she lets him.
And when she's at his place, she sometimes even lets him get to second base.
No further. Not yet.
"Are you like, my girlfriend?" He asks one day, when they're on his bed eating pizza, classic rock music playing in the background.
"Fuck no," She scoffs, rolling her eyes and taking a large bite of her slice. Finn looks like she's kicked a fucking kitten or something.
"I kind of want you to be."
She's surprised. The thought of someone wanting her exclusively is a strange one. It's never happened before. Guys want her for sex and not, y'know, relationshippy stuff. She doesn't know what to say, so she settles on "why?"
"Well, because you're like, funny and kinda scary, but mostly in a good way. And you're gorgeous and sexy, and stuff."
It's a lot of awkward words pieced together with an eager expression, but Finn looks like he's made a legit love declaration, and she tries hard not to smile.
"Well, yeah..." She agrees with his words with a knowing smirk. "But I'm totally fucked up, you know."
He shrugs, grinning hugely. He's got a bit of tomato sauce on his chin and he doesn't even realize. She knows she's pretty much screwed when she thinks he looks fucking adorable.
"It doesn't matter. Look, do you, uh, want to be my girlfriend?"
She can't help but roll her eyes. "I'm sitting on your bed in my bra and jeans eating pizza and listening to shitty bands when I was invited to three parties tonight. I've been letting you make out with me for nearly two months. I think it's safe to say that I could probably tolerate being your girlfriend as long as you're not all crazy over the romance shit. You know that's not my style."
"Is that a yes?"
"You're an idiot. Yes, it's a yes." She laughs and reaches over to wipe away the sauce on his chin, and he smiles at her sheepishly before briefly pressing his lips to hers.
"No more thinking about Brit-"
"Brittany who?" She says easily, and he smiles.
