Santana is walking down the hallway to her first class in the University of Washington. People around her are chattering and she's desperate to fit in and trying not to look like a freshman. The problem is she can't find her classroom. She was there for the orientation week, but she forgot everything they said there. But do people actually expect you to remember everything? They give so much information that only a person with the brain of Einstein would remember. And Santana does not have that kind of a brain. Obviously. She's going to study biology, after all. Someone bumps into her on their way to class and Santana decides it's time to ask for directions from someone. She's ready for that humiliation over being late for class. She stops the first person she sees, and asks.
"Freshman, huh?" the boy chuckles. Santana sighs and does something between a shrug and a nod. The boy's smile widens.
"Well, was there to lead the orientation week, so I won't give you too much trouble for this. Did you pay attention, though?" he narrows his eyes. Santana widens them in outrage. Who the hell does this dude think he is? Does he not remember what it is like to be a freshman?
"I forgot a lot of the things you guys said. There was a lot of information," she says. "Look, can you just point me to the class? I really don't want to be late." The boy nods and tells her the directions.
"If you have any questions, you should just call someone. We gave you the sheet which all of the orientation leaders, remember?" he recommends and smiles. Santana throws him a fake smile and thanks him for his help. She turns and walks away to the right direction. On her way, she decides she is never going to be an orientation leader. The students that are not are probably more friendly, anyway. And only a loser would call them and ask for advise. College teaches people to survive on their own, right? No use of relying on too many people.
She finally reaches her class and notices the professor isn't there yet. She finds herself a seat in the middle of the room and waits and texts her best friend Quinn to kill time. A few minutes later, the professor comes in and starts the class. Santana is staring at the professor with her mouth open. How many deadlines can there possibly be? Aren't they supposed to ease the freshmen up a bit, before throwing everything in their faces? Maybe those orientation leaders aren't so useless, Santana muses. Suddenly someone opens the door.
"I'm really sorry I'm late! I got lost," a girl with blonde hair walks in. "I don't have the best sense of direction." Santana rolls her eyes. She doesn't need to tell everybody that. It's normal to be late sometimes. The professor points the girl to a seat in front of the class and the girl slumps on the chair, looking around a little embarrassed. Her eyes meet Santana's and suddenly she feels sympathetic. Didn't she say earlier how embarrassing it would be to be late for your first class in college? She sends the girl a small smile and hopes for it to be encouraging or reassuring or something. The girl smiles back and they both turn their head back to the front of the classroom.
It's been two weeks and Santana has for her delight made herself some friends. Most of them are from the same dorm she lives in, but some of them have integrated to their little group by knowing someone beforehand. For example Mike, Tina's new boyfriend, joined them and brought Brittany with him. Brittany is the girl that was late from their first class. They haven't talked much. Actually Santana hangs out with Tina, Mercedes and Rachel the most. Brittany usually hangs out with the boys for some reason.
Right now, they are at their first party since school started. It's something that the orientation leaders organized for them to get to know each other better. Surprisingly, the party isn't as lame as Santana thought it would be. She came to college with the lowest of expectations. She knew the dorms probably wouldn't be as glamourous as in the movies. She knew the professors probably wouldn't be as personal and characteristic as in the movies. So, she also expected the party wouldn't be anything epic. So she's pleasantly surprised. It's not epic yet, but judging how close Rachel and Puck are sitting next to each other, it's possible that she and her friends will have some gossiping to do tomorrow.
They're scattered around the room but still making it seem like they're a group. That's some serious skill right there, Santana thinks proudly as she sips her drink. Someone slumps down next to her on the couch and she turns her head to identify the person. It's Brittany, who throws her a smile.
"Hey," she says a little out of breath.
"Hi," Santana says back. "Having fun?"
"Yeah! People are really nice here. And I love dancing at parties, so… Can I have some of your drink? I'm thirsty," Brittany says casually. Santana frowns and glances at her drink.
"Um… It's not water, you know that right?" Brittany snorts and nods. She starts waving her hand in front of her face to cool herself a bit. Santana purses her lips and suggests that she goes with Brittany to get her own drink. Brittany complies and together they walk towards the table where all the drinks are. Walking past a door that leads outside, they hear people chanting. Waiting for Brittany to make her drink, Santana thinks of something to say, but before she even has the time to open her mouth, Brittany says something.
"I heard they are having a beer pong tournament outside. Do you want to go and watch for a bit?"
"Sure, let's go. It's always so funny to see their faces trying to drink the beer and it spills all over them," Santana jokes. Brittany laughs and nods in agreement. They arrive to scene and the game is about halfway through. Some boy is trying to drink his beer but he keeps taking brakes. Santana and Brittany laugh with everyone else, while the boys teammate is yelling next to him.
"Dude, do I need to find someone else to be on this team, or what? Just drink the fucking beer!" The boy drinking the beer shakes his head and finishes the beer. He wipes his mouth as he claps the other one's back.
"I got it, man. This shit's important." Santana snorts and Brittany smiles next to her.
"Bet you ten bucks he's out like a light by end of the game," she whispers in Santana's ear. Santana shivers to the warm breath that came from the whisper. She gathers herself and turns to face Brittany.
"I don't have to bet on that. I can't believe they are taking this so seriously, anyway," she wonders.
"It's all about the reputation, Santana. Who would want to be remembered as the one who lost beer pong at the first party of the year?" Santana can tell Brittany's joking, since she's snickering like a little kid. Apparently winning the game is important. She decides to mess with Brittany a little bit.
"Or who would want to be one late for the first class of the year?" she smirks at Brittany, who wipes the smile of her face quickly. Trying to regain some dignity, she stands up straighter, several inches taller than Santana.
"I really got lost." Santana pats her arm and smiles.
"I know, Britt," she says patronizingly. Brittany makes face but then lights up.
"Well, at least you were nice to me." Santana drops the act and shrugs.
"I sympathized."
"You did," Brittany says and grins. "Let's go back inside?" Santana nods and they walk back to their friends. They sit back on their spots on the couch next to each other. Brittany is a lot closer than earlier. Her bare thigh is touching Santana's and it feels really warm. Santana takes a breath and finishes her drink quickly. She leans back only to find herself leaning towards Brittany's arm. Did she miss something happening between them during their talk? This looks like they're cuddling and she sees Tina and Mercedes eyeing them opposite of where they are sitting. She clears her throat and starts talking to Finn, who is sitting next to her.
"So…"
"So?" Santana says in puzzlement. She and Quinn are having dinner in downtown. Santana has been feeling bad lately because she doesn't have time for Quinn like she did before. So she chose to take the initiative and invite her to dinner. She's paying her own half, though. She's not the one working like Quinn is.
"So, aren't you going to tell me anything about the first few weeks in the college world? You don't say much on the phone," Quinn says and raises her eyebrows.
"Oh, um… I don't know. There isn't that much to tell. It's college," Santana says indifferently. Seriously, everything worth telling has been told through texts. Like how bored she's in a class. Or how a random guy asked her if he's allowed to smoke while in class. That kind of stuff. Everything else is just… normal. Quinn scoffs and looks displeased. "What? It's normal life now!"
"Santana, I don't care about your classes or teachers. I want to hear about the people you've met there. Who's okay and who's annoying the shit out of you by being too nice to be actually nice?" Quinn enquires with an expecting face. Santana tries to think of something to tell. She's been hanging out with Mercedes, Tina and Rachel a lot. They're the people who she can go to. Mike, Puck and Finn are okay, but they don't see each other that much. The group she has been working on a project with, is dull. They're all good student's and don't really care about life outside of school. The only thing Santana could talk about, is Brittany, but telling Quinn would mean that Santana is accepting her teeny tiny crush on her and that… Santana refuses to go there. She goes to the safe route.
"Well, I've been hanging out with some people there and they're okay. Rachel's kind of annoying sometimes, but so are you." Quinn rolls her eyes at Santana's childish behavior.
"Great," she says sarcastically and reassumes to eating her pasta. Santana picks at her food and rolls her eyes at herself. She's in college, maybe she should start acting like it.
"Okay, there's this girl in this group. Her name's Brittany and I don't hang out that much with her, because she's more with the boys. But when we all come together, she's there."
"And what does she look like? Do you like her?" Quinn starts firing her questions at Santana like an interviewer.
"She's tall and blonde. Pretty," Santana tries to downplay it a little. "And why do you think I mentioned her?" Quinn puts on an innocent look.
"To indulge me, maybe?" she asks. Then smiles. "Sorry, I just wanted to see you admit it."
"Huh, well you got me there," Santana mutters. "But like I said, we don't hang out much. There just was this party where we talked and stuff, but nothing happened. I don't even know if I'm being just paranoid."
"What do you mean?" Quinn asks curiously. Santana explains how they were sitting closely on the sofa and how Brittany wanted her to share her drink with her. She tried to convey the way Brittany was talking with her and how she didn't really care about personal space, which Santana cares about very much. She's always been kind of iffy about people touching her. Even if she knows the person. Quinn listens and tells her to see how things go.
"Can't hurt to have something going on, right? Especially after Regina." Regina is Santana's ex-girlfriend who dumped Santana by really not telling her that they're not together anymore. Santana had to hear from their mutual friends after she had returned from her vacation in Mexico. She had been furious then and hasn't had anyone in any way ever since. Santana smiles and scratches her head.
"Yeah, it's nice to know that I can feel something again, I guess…" Quinn nods and they both return to their food.
Santana isn't feeling too good. She's been at this party for two hours and she feels like she could pass out at any given moment. They are sitting in circle on the ground and booze is circling around them. Santana thinks of what she has been eating today and concludes that the apple and yoghurt in the morning is the latest thing she ate. No wonder she feels like shit. A bottle is put into her hand and she takes a sip.
"Do you think she's okay?" Santana hears someone say. Maybe it's Tina.
"I don't know, she hasn't said anything in a while. She's just… staring right ahead." That's Mike. Well, maybe they could just ask her instead of talking amongst themselves. Except, she thinks she might throw up if opens her mouth. So maybe it's better she just let's people talk about her and determine if she's okay. She certainly knows the answer.
"Santana?" someone says right by her. Santana wracks her brain and remembers that she's sitting next to Puck. "You okay there, Lopez?" She nods but looks straight ahead. She can't look away from what's ahead of her. A perfectly inviting trash can. It's green and there's a sticker that says: "Do not litter!" There's a little graffiti there too, but Santana's focusing on the sticker. Is it littering if she just vomits right here, where she's sitting? Moving isn't something she wants to do right now. Puck puts bottle in her hand and she takes a swig again.
"No, Santana, I meant for you to pass it to Finn!" Puck says frustrated. "Why the hell are you still taking swigs? You've had enough." Santana sways a bit and shakes her head.
"I'm fine, Puck-"
And she's vomiting. And after that, she can't remember anything.
On monday morning she's walking as slowly as possible to her class, where most of her friends are. She tries to delay the inevitable remarking she's going to have when she gets there. She can't remember anything about anything. Did she do something stupid? She's still feeling a little hangover and hasn't eaten properly. Thinking about eating still makes her a little nauseous. Someone must have helped her to her dorm room, because she woke up in her own bed, alone. She hopes whoever helped her, comes clean. She wants to thank them. God, this has never happened to her before. It's the worst feeling in the world. She texted with Quinn almost all Sunday complaining about how embarrassed she is. Quinn was sympathizing and triumphant at the same time. She is not the best person to seek pity from.
Santana reaches her class and all her friends are there. They are all stifling their smiles and laughs when she gets there. She takes a seat and glares at them all.
"Go on! Laugh, you assholes!" They all burst to laughter. Even Brittany, though she's the only one who also asks if she's okay. Santana nods sheepishly and can't help but smile at Puck, who pats her on the back.
Weeks pass, and Santana has pretty much forgotten about the shame she had to endure. She hasn't drunk anything after that fateful weekend. Today, there's another party. Again. Apparently college is all about parties because that's all she's been doing lately. Today, there's a theme, though. She and her classmates have to dress up as germs and complete some tasks they are given. That should be easy, and maybe she doesn't have to drink as much. She made sure to eat, of course. Nothing wrong with preparing a little. And not making the same mistake again.
Right now, they are at a park dressed up in weird costumes. Brittany is wearing a giant ball that has some juts poking everyone somewhere in their body. Santana went with neon colored clothes and some strings presenting as some kind of a tail. She knows she didn't do the best job, but she made an effort. She hates dress ups, anyway.
"Okay, you guys!" someone, who's leading all the freemen, shouts. "This is called The Beer Race! The rules are the same as in relay race, but before running, you have to drink one cup of beer!" Oh, come on. It's like they are trying to get Santana drunk again. She hates beer and she certainly doesn't want to run around after drinking that shit. Brittany steps right next her, poking her in the ribs.
"Sorry! What I meant to say, should be easy, right?" Santana rubs at her side and makes a face.
"I don't know. I kind of hate beer." Brittany nods.
"Yeah, it's not my favorite drink either, but I can drink it fast."
"I don't know if I really want to think about drinking, right now," Santana whines. She pouts at Brittany, who starts laughing, again poking Santana's stomach accidentally.
"It's been like a month! You can drink a little, I'll make sure you won't be in the same state as last time." Santana nods reluctantly and this time Brittany pokes her on purpose.
"Game on!"
Later on, they are at an after party someone is throwing at their house. They have all changed out of their costumes, after the costume winner was announced. Brittany, of course won. She has been getting compliments from a lot of people, but mostly she's staying next to Santana. Santana is very aware of that and is trying her best to ignore it. She's talking to Rachel, but Brittany's constant chatter and moving is proving to be distracting and Santana can't concentrate on Rachel's story about her parents met. Who even tells such a detailed story about their parents?
"Santana!" Brittany snaps Santana out of her musings.
"Yeah?"
"We're all going to dance, come with!" Santana stares at Brittany. When was that decided and was that an invitation to dance with Brittany or everyone?
"Okay."
At the dance floor, they are dancing in a circle. Some old 90's music is playing instead of the annoying techno music that Santana has been hearing lately. This is a nice change. Brittany, however, is dancing right next to Santana. What is her deal? They have never spent time so much at a party. Sometimes, Brittany's right hand touches Santana's arm, shoulder or waist. Santana is just trying to concentrate on Finn, who sucks at dancing. Next, Britney Spears' "Oops, I did it again" starts playing and everyone's singing and dancing and having fun. Brittany turns to face Santana and Santana follows her movements. They are singing to each other and checking each other out quite blatantly. Suddenly, Brittany takes step closer and Santana takes step forward as well. Their arms go around each other and they start dancing a lot more intimately. They are staring at each other right in the eyes and don't notice their friends whispering about them behind their back or even the music. It's kind of dark, but Santana can easily make out the color of Brittany's eyes. They're incredibly blue. How can someone have such an intense, but soft gaze at the same time? Santana can't look away.
Until Backstreet Boys start playing and Mike interrupts their moment. He insists he and Brittany have a dance off to "Everybody" and Brittany is pulled away from Santana. Santana is standing right where she was left in a daze. She can still feel Brittany's arms around her waist. What the hell was that?
Santana, Rachel, Mercedes and Tina are studying at Tina's dorm room. They've been at it for three hours, because for some reason they all have trouble with the individual project they are working on. They all agreed earlier that their professor is kind of useless, so failing to understand the assignment is not that bad. The conversation they are having is bad, though.
"Santana, it's pretty obvious."
"No, it is not. You guys are just seeing things. I understand you want the attention away from you and Mike, Tina, but it's so different when it comes to me and Brittany." Santana feels like she has explained this a thousand times already.
"It doesn't have to be the same situation, though," Rachel throws in. "You can still like Brittany, even if you don't want to date her."
"Yeah, Mike and I just moved fast and skipped the whole friends-before-dating," Tina says. Then her eyes widen and she gasps. "Do you guys think that was a mistake?" Mercedes looks at Tina with look that shuts her up immediately.
"This is about Santana and Brittany. If you want the attention away, then quit talking about your relationship, please and thank you." Santana shuts her book and tries to stray the others from the subject.
"Are you guys thirsty? I really want some juice or something."
"There's some in the fridge, take your pick," Tina tells her while she's checking her phone for any messages. "Oh, and don't think this conversation is over. Mike just texted me and said that Brittany admitted that you're sexy," she looks at Santana snidely. Santana shakes her head. Seriously, if she was looking for someone to be with, she would not talk about it with these people. Also, of course Brittany thinks she's sexy. Santana thinks herself as sexy. It means nothing.
"I think Finn said something about cornering Brittany and asking questions about them. So, prepare for more texts," Rachel says and grins at Santana. "And I have some information about this too." All three girls start talking about Santana and Brittany, acting like one of them isn't even there. Santana drinks her drink and tries not to listen to them. Sure, it's nice to have something going on but that doesn't mean she wants anything serious. Despite what she says, her ex-girlfriend Regina really messed up with her head. Regina was kind of depressed and their relationship in the end was really bad. But not having the decency to tell about the break up herself? That put Santana off for months. And lately, Regina has been messaging her on Facebook, trying to reminisce. Santana is not going to start anything new and deal with old at the same time. Not that the old really means anything to her anymore. But yeah, she and Brittany are not going to do anything. It's just for fun to flirt sometimes.
"Santana, Mike just texted that Brittany apparently wouldn't mind if something happened between the two of you." Santana just looks at Tina and shrugs.
"Why can't that girl just say it to Santana's face? How the hell are the boys getting these answers out of Brittany?" Mercedes wonders. "I've been trying to interrogate her since we were at our party together. I'm telling you, it's impossible." Rachel just smiles while Tina reads the texts to Santana out loud.
"Funny, pretty, cool, sexy, nice, sexy… These things are right out of Brittany's mouth! You have to give her something."
"I don't have to give her anything, if I don't want to!" Santana exclaims. "Okay, look. I like her, fine. But I don't want anything out of it. It's nice to flirt and stuff, but it's just that and it's going to stay that way," she hesitates. "For now. At least." She returns back to her book, but sees out of the corner of her eye that the girls are looking at her and each other with knowing smiles.
"I talked to her two days ago," Rachel starts. Santana bangs her head against her book on the floor. "Just hear me out!" Rachel laughs. "She said that she could see something with you, but not yet. So at least you are both at the same page, even if you haven't talked about it together." Well, that's nice to hear. But like Mercedes said. Why can't Brittany tell Santana herself?
"You don't find it annoying?" Quinn asks in disbelief. They are talking on the phone and Santana is explaining what has been happening in the past few weeks.
"What?"
"The meddling. I wouldn't like it."
"You never like people putting their noses in your business, anyway. It's actually kind of fun. Even if it's annoying. I mean, now I have some inside information."
"What if they made it up in their head to get you to think too much about this? Because that's what you're doing."
"They're not plotting against me, Quinn!" Santana says incredulously. "Don't be so suspicious just because you don't know these people. And I know."
"I just personally wouldn't like it! But fine. So now you know Brittany likes you. What are you going to do about it?" Santana lies on her bed and stares at the ceiling.
"I don't know…"
"Well, I can't really help you with this. But I have something to say," Quinn says and sounds determined.
"Well, spit it out," Santana snaps. Quinn could be more supportive. Wouldn't hurt anyone.
"I'm sick of our talks always being about Brittany. You're constantly talking about her and over-analyzing her and this thing between the two of you. Do something about it or forget about it. I don't care, either way. Just… talk about something else for a change. Please?" That's not unreasonable. But that's pretty much the only thing that's happening in her life. Now she's not allowed to talk about it with her best friend? She's the neutral party.
"Sorry, I know… I'll stop talking about it. But I'll still report to you if something happens," she warns.
"I would be mad if you didn't."
Once again, Santana is at a party. She hasn't seen Brittany all night and Tina told her she would be there. They have been avoiding each other and the subject quite successfully at school, but did that mean parties too? Maybe Brittany feels too awkward being around Santana now. Santana certainly does. It's weird when other people are meddling with your life. They can both decide themselves if they want something or not. But then again, Santana would never take the initiative and apparently that's something she and Brittany share. So, maybe pushing them into the right direction is a good thing? But is it even the right direction? Santana rolls her eyes at herself. Thinking too much has always been one of her biggest flaws. She should just go with the flow and relax. She takes a sip as a token for her decision.
Tina and Rachel come sit on both sides of her and look at her with smirks. She looks at both of them blankly.
"Yes?"
"Brittany's here," Rachel says and bats her eyes. Santana pretends to act excited. Even if she really is, a little.
"No way!" she says giddily. Rachel and Tina huff.
"Go talk to her!"
"No! I have nothing to say. If she has, I'm sure she'll come to me," Santana tries to get her matchmakers to understand. "We don't need your help, do you hear me?" Rachel and Tina pretend not to hear and pull her off the couch she's sitting on. Santana tries to struggle, but because it's two against one, her struggles are futile. Rachel and Tina lock her between them and start marching her somewhere. Santana assumes that somewhere is Brittany's location. They end up in the kitchen, where Santana sees Brittany and Mike talking. Mike is clearly saying something that doesn't sit well with Brittany because Brittany is looking at him like she will throw the drink in her hand to his face soon.
"Mike!" Tina says loudly, drops Santana's arm and marches to her boyfriend and starts making out with him furiously. If that isn't obvious, then Santana doesn't know what is. Brittany looks at the pair with exasperation and turns to Santana. Rachel decided to flee as well. Santana nods to greet Brittany, who smiles a little and rolls her eyes to Tina and Mike. Santana scrunches her face and nods again. She gestures for Brittany to follow her. They go back to the living room and sit on the same spot Santana sat earlier. They look at each other and start laughing.
"It's so ridiculous! Could they be more obvious with their matchmaking?" Santana says after taking a breath.
"I know, right? We can fend for ourselves," Brittany agrees.
"Yeah." They sit on the couch and sip their drinks. Santana can't really find anything to say. Now they have at least acknowledged each other for the first time in a few days. That's progress.
Two hours later they are still on the same spot but now their group has scattered around them. Rachel and Tina keep throwing Santana and Brittany glances that Santana would deem as desperate. Because they are desperate at trying to get her with Brittany for some reason. Why are they so interested in their relationship? First timers, Santana thinks. Brittany hasn't moved from her side, though. They actually made some conversation about mundane things, so this thing hasn't ruined their friendship. She taps Brittany's arm.
"I'm gonna go use the bathroom. Can you make sure no one takes my seat? It's really crowded in here."
"Actually, I'm going to come with you if that's alright with you? I'll ask Mike to hold our seats," she says and Santana complies. They make their way through the house and find the bathroom, which has a line.
"So… Do you think they're totally gossiping about us?" Brittany says tauntingly as they are waiting and Santana grins.
"I think that's evident. I caught Rachel and Tina staring at us a couple of times." Brittany laughs and shakes head. But then she turns pensive.
"I don't know why I feel so against it, though," she says. "Or why I feel like I should be against it." Santana nods.
"Yeah, same here." They look at each other. Santana tries to catch some kind of answer in Brittany's eyes, but finds nothing. Maybe this time she should actually say something. "I don't know… Maybe one time wouldn't be so bad."
"No, not really," Brittany concedes. "But I really think it should stay that way, you agree?" Santana nods.
"Yeah, definitely."
Thank you for reading, guys! This is a two shot and I think I'll have the second part uploaded around… Christmas, maybe? I'll try my best! If I should fail, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (: