Searching for Something Special

Chapter 1; Time Starts

The room was dark, almost pitch black. The only trace of light were the neon pink number emitting from the small alarm clock in the corner of the room, which flashed 2:34AM. The room was quiet, almost silent. The only trace of sound were the soft snores coming from the overweight cat that was sleeping quietly at the foot of the kingsized bed that sat in the middle of the room. The night was still.

In the middle of the room lay a young woman, who was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to what was about to happen. In fact, everyone was oblivious to what was about to happen, because despite it having to happen to everyone, it was always completely random. So just like every other night, Brittany Pierce was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the way her wrist was beginning to grow warmer and how her pulse was beginning to beat faster.

If you asked Brittany Pierce about herself, she'd tell you that she's not at all that interesting. She didn't have many friends, preferring to keep herself to herself. It wasn't because she found it difficult to make friends, because she didn't. Her current friends had been easy to make friends with. It was because it was a rare occurrence for her to find people that she actually clicked and connected with. She found it pointless to have acquaintances with people who she couldn't even hold a conversation with, which is why she opted to keep to herself. Whenever she did find someone interesting to talk to, she made a point of speaking to them and getting to know them. She was picky, she was aware of that.

Brittany was aware of a lot of things, actually. She was aware that she didn't have many friends, and instead opted in confiding her deepest secrets to her cat Lord Tubbington, and sometimes her roommate Quinn... but not always because sometimes she's scared of how Quinn might react to them. She's aware that she doesn't go out much, unless it's to college or the store, and instead spends the majority of her time curled up with her nose in a book or at her desk, doing more college work. She's also aware that she spends too much time on her own, finding solace in being in her own company rather than others. It's not that she doesn't like being surrounded by her friends, because she does, it's just that when she's alone, she's able to think clearly. Without any interruptions.

However, despite Brittany being very aware of what's going on around her most of the time, she's also incredibly oblivious. She's oblivious to the beautiful body she owns, which she maintains by working out four times a week, and always covers it in skinny jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. She's oblivious to the way that when she and Quinn go to The Bean for their morning coffee, that both the waiter and the waitress always try to hit on her. She's oblivious to the way that so many people in her college classes envy her because she seems so 'naturally smart', when really it's because she spends so much of her free time studying. She's also completely oblivious to how everyone seems to be in a rush all day everyday, while she just strolls on by in her own time.

There's never any rush, at least not to Brittany, anyway.

"Shit!" Brittany inhales sharply through her nose, her eyes going wide as she sits bolt upright in her bed. The sudden movements cause Lord Tubbington to wake up and jump off the bed, all while he hisses in disappointment, but Brittany is too focussed on the burning sensation in her wrist to notice. It is what woke her up after all.

Her wrist feels like it's on fire and her pulse is pounding so hard that she's quite sure her hearts moved from her chest down into there instead. Clambering over her bed, she hits the switch to her bedside lamp, a bright light fighting away the darkness in the room. She blinks her eyes a few times, doing her best to familiarise herself with the light and when she does, she inspects her wrist and gasps at what she sees.

74: 08: 12: 36

She blinks and looks again.

74:08:12:35

Her clock has started.

Brittany can't believe this is happening. Well, she can, kind of, because she knew that this day was inevitable. Everybody in the world has a timer on their wrist, that they were born with, and at some point in their lifetime, it will start. According to research so far, there's no science behind it, and so Brittany likes to think of it as fate. She's been wishing for her timer to start for years now, the main reason being so that she can meet her soulmate and hopefully fall in love with them so that her parents will stop nagging on at her to meet someone. She's got other reasons too, like she's impatient and the fact that her timer has been frozen for twenty one years has been bugging her. She also was getting really tired of being the only one in her small circle of friends who's hadn't started yet. At least now she's not the butt of all their jokes. She guesses, that in a weird way, this is a really nice birthday present.

She traces her finger over the numbers on her wrist. Her eyes wide in amazement.

74:08:10:26.

She's going to meet her soulmate in 74 days, 8 hours, 10 minutes and 26 seconds.

"Happy birthday, Britt." She mutters to herself, her body still in some state of disbelief.

She glances at the alarm clock on her bedside table, noticing how it's almost three o'clock and she groans inwardly to herself. Her roommate, Quinn, is an early riser and she knows that she isn't going to let her sleep late on her birthday. She wriggles back down beneath her blanket and lays her head back down on her pillow, but knows that she's probably not going to be able to sleep. Especially now, since she can't keep her eyes off her timer that's ticking away.

/

"IF I COULD TURN BACK TIIIIIIIME. IF I COULD FIND A WAAAAAAAY!"

Brittany groans loudly when the sound of her roommate singing (or screeching, in this case) wakes her up from her peaceful slumber. With her eyes still screwed tightly shut, Brittany reaches over and blindly hits her hand against her mattress until she finds a spare pillow before grabbing it, and placing it over her ears in an attempt to block out the noise. She's been living with her roommate, Quinn, for almost a year now and almost every day she wakes Brittany up like this. It isn't even done intentionally. Quinn is simply an early riser who loves to sing, and Brittany is a late sleeper who is always woken up because of it. She wouldn't change it though, because she likes living with Quinn in their two bedroom apartment. It's small and cosy, and Quinn is an excellent cook which means Brittany comes home to delicious meals all the time. She's lucky.

Brittany keeps her eyes shut, and she's pretty sure that if she keeps the pillow pressed against her ear to drown out Quinn's wailing then there's a pretty good chance she could probably fall back asleep. She's about to test her idea to see if it will really work, but then the events of last night suddenly come flashing back to her, causing her to throw the pillow to the bottom of the bed and sit up quickly.

74:01:27:52.

Her timer is still ticking, it wasn't a dream.

A faint smile graces Brittany's lips as she watches the numbers change continuously on her wrist, her eyes full of fascination. She finds herself tracing the numbers with her index finger, noticing how her wrist still seems to be pulsing a little more so than usual. She wonders if this is what happens once your timer starts, she makes a mental note to check with one of her friends when she gets the chance.

Brittany is broken out of her trance when the strong scent of bacon and eggs begins to drift through into her bedroom, causing her stomach to growl, and making her realise how hungry she really is. She thinks back to last night and remembers how she skipped out on dinner and supper because she was too tired after her college classes, and instead had gone and lay in her bed to read a book until she fell asleep. She realises now that it probably wasn't the smartest decision to make.

Hopping out of her bed, Brittany dances over to her bedroom door and places her hand on the handle, ready to open it. However, instead of doing just that and making her way into the kitchen, she turns around and grabs one of her sweaters that are hanging over the seat in her bedroom. Hastily pulling it over her head, she grins at herself in satisfaction and exits her bedroom. She wants to keep her news to herself for a little bit longer.

Just as she predicted, Brittany wanders into the kitchen and finds Quinn standing in front of the cooker, swaying her hips in time with the music blaring from the radio. It's a common sight, one that never fails to make her smile, and Brittany takes a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island and watches her closely, wondering how long it will take for her roommate to notice her.

Brittany met Quinn on the first day of college, when they both got lost on their way to their first class and ended up in the library together. When this had happened, Brittany didn't really mind because she knew that even though they were going to be late, nothing important ever happened in their first class of a year, and she really liked the library. So she didn't mind being lost in one. Out of the two of them, Quinn had been the one brave enough to speak first, and offered a simple; "hi I'm Quinn Fabray." to Brittany. Brittany had merely nodded in response and offered a tight lipped smile, she was kind of intimidated by her.

There was no denying that Quinn Fabray was beautiful, because she was, like a goddess. She had short blonde hair that didn't go much further past her chin, and round hazel eyes that always seemed to be on alert. She wore pretty sundresses and hairbands, and had a voice so sweet that Brittany's sure it could melt the coldest of hearts. She was like a real life doll, just a lot less plastic. That being said though, Quinn was not someone to mess with. She had a fiery temper, but it wasn't something that was ever unleashed unless provoked. Brittany had only ever seen her lose it a total of six times, and all of them had been because of Noah Puckerman, their friend, or as Brittany liked to call him, their acquaintance.

"Happy Birthday, Brittany!" Quinn sings as she spins around on her heels when she hears the feet of the stool scrape against the cold white tiles of the kitchen floor. "How does it feel being twenty-one?"

"Thanks Quinn." Brittany smiles, drumming her fingers against the countertop as she thinks of an answer. "It's alright, I suppose, it feels the same as always."

She guesses that's a tiny lie. She doesn't feel the same as always because her clock has started and what she's realising is that every second she spends sitting down, or eating, or thinking, or anything really, is a second closer to her meeting her soulmate. It's actually kind of exciting.

"Yeah, I felt the same on my birthday too." Quinn admits, thinking back to two months ago. "I'm making you breakfast. I was going to make you pancakes but we've not got any flour since I used the last of it for dinner last night, which by the way, you never ate!"

"I'm sorry." Brittany apologises, despite knowing that Quinn isn't angry with her in the slightest. "Classes just kicked my butt yesterday, I was so tired."

"I get you, but luckily we've only got a few more months until we're done for the year." She responds, looking for the positive. That's something Brittany really likes about Quinn, she always looks for the positive in every situation. "Do you have any plans for today? Remember we're going out to that new club tonight to celebrate your birthday."

"No plans for today." Brittany replies, grabbing a bit of bacon off the plate that her roommate has just put down in front of her, and pops it into her mouth. "Do we have to go out tonight? You know I don't even like going out!"

"You know we have to." Quinn drawls out, taking a seat next to her friend and ignoring the pout that's firmly etched on her face. "Kurt's timer runs out in less than a month and he's totally convinced he's going to fall in love and settle down with his soulmate as soon as he sees them. He wants to have a little fun before that happens."

Brittany thinks about this for a moment, mindlessly twirling her fork between her fingers. She never understood why her friend's were all in such a rush to do things and go out and have fun, but now that her timer has started and she can see time physically tick away, she guesses she understands it a little bit better. She has always believed that once she meets her soulmate, she'll fall in love with them and want to be with them which is why she's never dated anyone before. She's never been out on a date, ever kissed someone or ever had sex. She's never seen the point in doing any of that stuff if it isn't going to last. Which is why she still doesn't fully understand why her friends want to go out and do it.

"Fine." She sighs, stabbing another piece of bacon with her fork. "I want to be home by three in the morning though."

"That's fine, B." Quinn responds with a smile. "It gives us plenty of time to have fun."

Brittany doesn't think fun is the right word to describe the night ahead of them.

/

73:11:12:22.

Brittany is in the middle of the dance floor, swaying her hips in time with the music. Although she doesn't typically look or act like the dancing type, she's actually very good at it and enjoys it a lot. In fact, if her passion for animals and helping them wasn't so strong, Brittany's sure that she would have spent all her time dancing instead of at college, like how she used to spend her time when she was younger. However, it's nothing more than a hobby for her now. She doesn't mind though, she prefers it that way because it makes her appreciate it more.

What Brittany doesn't appreciate however, is the fact that she's currently got someone grinding up against her. She lets her bright blue eyes roam over the girl in front of her and Brittany can't deny that she is pretty. She's got short light brown hair and bright green orbs that are eyeing her hungrily. Brittany's aware of what the girl wants, she wants Brittany to dance with her, but the blonde doesn't want that. In fact, Brittany doesn't even really want to be here at all.

Her eyes scan the crowded room and eventually stop on a playful pair of hazel eyes staring back at her, belonging it Quinn. She's leaning up against the bar with a drink in her hand, ignoring the guy who is desperately trying to flirt with her. Brittany knows that look in her eyes all too well, she wants Brittany to let loose and have a good time. Too bad the blonde doesn't want that. She pleads with her friend silently, her eyes widening and her face scrunching up in dissatisfaction when the girl grinds into the front of her.

"Help!"

She silently mouths to Quinn, and she guesses that the other blonde must have had enough entertainment from watching her because seconds later, she struts over to her to save her from her misery. "Hey hot stuff." Quinn purrs, sidling her way past the brunette and over to her roommate. "Wanna dance?"

Quinn wraps her arms around Brittany's neck and leans in, pecking her cheek, all while keeping her eyes on the strange who looks less than happy that she's arrived. Quinn and Brittany have played this game many times before, and so Brittany plays along, placing her hands on Quinn's hips and pulling her in closer. They dance like this for a few minutes, until the girl gets the hint and disappears back into the crowd. As soon as she's away, the two girls share a laugh, and then make their way over to the bar for another drink.

"You know..." Quinn starts once they're leaning back up against the bar. "You should just let yourself go, Brittany, and see what happens."

Brittany rolls her eyes and snorts in response, grateful that the bartender comes over at this very moment to take their orders. She orders herself and Quinn a double vodka each and waits patiently for them to be made, and once it's in her hand she sips on it slowly, using it as an excuse to not reply to her friend's statement. She doesn't want to have this conversation yet again, because the topic is always brought up whenever they go out. It's always the same, Brittany gets hit on, she declines the advance, Quinn watches her do this, and then tells her she should let loose and have fun. As always, Brittany tells her roommate that she doesn't want to do that and waste her time, and Quinn will eventually drop the issue.

"Brittany?"

Brittany snaps out of her thoughts and focusses all of her attention back onto her friend in front of her. She downs the last of the liquid in her glass, wincing as the alcohol burns the back of her throat, and slams the glass back down onto the counter, signalling for the bartender to make her another.

"You know I don't want to have that kind of fun." Brittany responds with a small shrug. "It's not me, it never has been."

"I know, B." Quinn nods her head, sipping her own drink. "But you never know, you could meet someone at a party or a club, and you could create something special with them." She reasons. "You never know unless you try."

"I doubt that I'm going to create something special with someone that I've met at a club." Brittany responds with a sigh, eyeing the people around her. She can't imagine ever hooking up with someone and later creating something special with them. It just isn't her. "I like being on my own, I only ever have to rely on myself."

And it's true, Brittany likes being on her own because it means that she doesn't have to rely on anyone at all. She's in her own little bubble that she doesn't let many people into, and that way, she reduces the risk of ever being let down or disappointed. The key in not being disappointed is to not expect much from anyone at all, and so she doesn't. She relies on herself, and sometimes when absolutely necessary, her friends.

"If you say so, Brittany." Quinn downs the rest of her drink and decides to drop the subject because she too, knows exactly how this conversation goes. The petite blonde calls over the bartender once again and order four shots. She pays for them and pushes two across the surface of the bar to her friend. "Let's down these and go back and dance."

So they do, the two blondes down the shots simultaneously and then walk back to the dance floor arm in arm to dance the rest of the night away.

/

73:07:14:10.

Brittany unlocks the door to her apartment, blinking the tiredness out of her eyes as a yawn escapes through her lips. With her free hand, she turns the handle to let herself inside and pulls Quinn in alongside with her. Her roommate stumbles a few steps forward, her head cast down towards the floor and then collides into Brittany, the alcohol making her unaware of just how close she was standing next to her. It's not long after three o'clock in the morning, and unlike Brittany, Quinn didn't stop drinking after the couple of shots they shared and instead continued on competing with Kurt to see who could drink the most. Brittany still isn't too sure who won, she's just glad she's been able to get them both home safe.

"Let's get you to bed." Brittany mumbles, more to herself than to Quinn as she begins to guide them both through the small apartment. She dumps her bag on the sofa as she passes and also stops to slip her shoes off. She ended up wearing heels tonight, something that she quickly began to regret because despite having broken them in ages ago, they still hurt her feet whenever she wore them. She doesn't think she'll ever learn.

When they reach Quinn's bedroom, Brittany guides her friend over to her bed and sits her on it. She watches in amusement as Quinn flops backwards onto the mattress, her legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Moving over to her friend's dresser she grabs a pair of pyjamas out for Quinn and chucks them over to her. She hopes she isn't too drunk to change her clothes because even though Brittany's helped her change plenty of times before, she doesn't fancy doing it tonight because she's too tired. She just wants her bed.

"Change into your pjs, Q." She instructs, peering over to make sure she's still awake. "I'm going to find you some aspiring and water because I know you're going to need it."

She hears Quinn mumble something that sounds a lot like 'yes, chief' in response as she exits the bedroom. Making a quick stop in the bathroom that they share, she grabs the box of aspirin from the medicine cabinet and then goes into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. She grabs one for her too because even though she isn't drunk, she knows that she's probably going to wake up with a very dry throat in the morning. She tiredly drags her body back into Quinn's bedroom just in time to see her pull her shorts over her legs and then fall back down onto the bed as she struggles to pull them up over her thighs.

"Take these." She instructs, handing two of the tablets and bottle of water to her friend. "You're definitely going to feel this in the morning."

"I'll be fine." Quinn rolls her eyes and huffs, but does what she's been asked. "I've got big plans for tomorrow."

"Oh really?" Brittany cocks her head to the side. "What are they?"

"I'm meeting Santana." Quinn says, acting as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "You know, my best friend from high school?"

"Oh yeah." Brittany nods her head. She's never met Santana before, but Quinn has always spoken a lot about her. Brittany thinks she sounds very nice, but unfortunately whenever Quinn has tried to introduce them to one another something has always gone wrong to allow it to happen. "I hope you both have a great time."

"We will." The blonde replies confidently. "You should join us! She would love to meet you!"

"I'd love to meet her too." Brittany begins to walk towards the door, knowing that the two of them both need to sleep and if she continues to talk to Quinn then neither of them will get any. "But I can't. I'm meeting my brother, Sam. He's just back from spending three weeks in London."

"You'll need to meet her soon."

Brittany agrees by nodding her head, and then after bidding goodnight to her roommate, she exits the room. She really would like to meet Santana soon, it would nice to be able to put a face to a name that she so often hears about.

What Brittany didn't know however, was that she was going to meet Santana in 73 days, 6 hours, 55 minutes and 49 seconds.

/

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Let me know what you think so far, I've got the first six chapters planned out and although there's not much interaction in this one, there's loads to come. Please review!