So this is a total AU. It may be a little unrealistic, but it's just fun to write. Songs used in this chapter that are said to be written by Santana are actually "Love On The Rocks" by Sara Bareilles, "Hold My Heart" by Sara Bareilles, and "Someone Like You" by Matt Wertz.
Enjoy. Much more to come.
I had always thought of love and soul mates as some kind of fantasy. It was just too good to be true. Since I was a kid, I had to keep reminding myself that I shouldn't get my hopes up; only the lucky few would find true love. The kind of love that you dream about, the kind that makes your heart skip a beat, the kind that only exists in movies, the kind that changes your whole life overnight. Don't even get me started on love at first sight. How the fuck was that even possible? It all seemed too fairy tale-esque. And fairy tales weren't real.
Everything I had once thought about love was blown to fucking pieces when I met Brittany Pierce.
…
After three years of countless demo tapes, playing small shows and tirelessly promoting herself however possible, the stars finally aligned and Santana signed a record deal with a small label. With that contract, she recorded her debut album. It wasn't a chart topper...and she wasn't expecting much with her first CD, but it was enough for one of the songs to be featured on an episode of Grey's Anatomy. It was a lucky break but she took it with open arms. After that exposure, a lot of people had heard of her single, "Love On The Rocks," but no one had any clue who Santana Lopez was.
When the record label approached her, she took it as a sign to continue pursuing music because for a while she contemplated giving it up completely. It assured her that she wasn't crazy for still having this dream of being on the radio and selling millions of records, no matter what her mother said. Now with a little experience under her belt, it was time to start thinking about her sophomore record. Thankfully, her contract was extended to cover her next album. After her first CD didn't do as well as the label hoped, Santana was nervous they were going to drop her. When she convinced them that this album would be different, they decided to stick with her for one more, pending its success. That was in March, and back then Santana had been sitting on some good material but the label gave her six additional months to keep writing, organizing, and collecting the group of songs she would record. Santana didn't argue, in fact, she was pretty happy about it. She didn't want to blow this second chance, so the more time she had to figure her music out, the better.
Writing sessions and trips to the studio became daily routines for Santana, but everything changed in April when she was contacted by Pink and was asked to join her summer tour. Yes, Pink, the Grammy award winning superstar. When her manager first told her the news, Santana almost slapped him. She couldn't stop swearing and she simply kept repeating, "shut the fuck up." She accused him of lying, but when he proved it, she almost fainted. Santana could not believe that something this awesome could happen to her. After years of living paycheck to paycheck, countless nights of sleeping in her car, and once in an act of desperation, pawning half of what she owned to pay the rent; things like this just didn't happen to her. She had to pinch herself everyday just to remind herself that she even had a record deal to begin with. Going on tour with Pink? It just seemed too perfect. Santana instantly thought that something terrible was bound to happen, just to put a balance to her universe.
But apparently, Pink was a big Grey's fan. When she heard Santana's single, she became obsessed with it. After listening to the rest of her stuff, she knew she had to have Santana join her on tour. Pink was a genuine fan and one of her favorite things to do was to help jump-start the careers of artists she loved. Santana wasn't about to convince her otherwise, so she accepted the superstar's offer before she could change her mind. Talk about catching a fucking break. Even though Santana originally wanted to spend the summer writing and working on new material, she couldn't pass up this opportunity of a lifetime.
Pink's show had two opening acts and she liked to have something different for each one. The other act was a guy named Artie Abrams. Santana had heard of him before...but not for his music. He was born with a handicap that forced him to live in a wheelchair, but when he was 17 he underwent an experimental surgery that changed his live. It was all over the news: "Miracle Surgery Gives Boy Ability to Walk." After the surgery, he discovered his calling and he dedicated his life to music and dancing. Even though he was a geeky looking white boy, he had moves like Usher and his music was described as an addicting combination of rap and R&B. Despite his medical claim to fame, at age 23, Artie was still struggling to hit it big in the industry. When Pink found out about his story and his passion for music, she fell in love with it. He was an obvious choice for her other opening act.
...
The tour's start date was May 4th, so Santana spent most of April rehearsing with her band that consisted of her best friend, Puck, and his roommate Sam. Puck played guitar and bass, Sam played the drums, and Santana played the keyboard and dabbled in the guitar as well. Together they created a very unique sound of pop combined with genuine soul. The three created a set list containing some of Santana's originals along with a few popular covers to attract the audience. Santana knew that she would be a stranger to most of the people she would be playing for, so she chose her songs carefully, hoping to come off as appealing as possible. They practiced for hours a day until Santana felt like they were perfect. Her nerves made her a bit paranoid, and band practice usually ended with Puck convincing her that they sounded great. Towards the end of April, the entire show need to be rehearsed before the tour's kick off, so all of the opening acts and crew met Pink at the venue of the first show to run everything over.
They were told to be there at 9 am sharp, and when Santana and her band arrived, they were unprepared for the spectacle they were about to see. Security directed them to the floor of the venue, and the sheer size of the room stopped them in their tracks. Sure, they had been to this place before...but they had never seen it empty. And they definitely didn't think they'd be playing there anytime soon. The arena was massive, studying it closely Santana thought it was bigger than any stage she'd ever seen. A sea of thousands of empty seats circled a crew of 15 people who were frantically assembling the technical parts of the stage. Five others were getting the band's instruments in place, and 10 more were setting up the backdrop and taking orders from Pink as the vision of her Funhouse Tour was brought to life.
Santana, Puck and Sam were star-struck by the production they were witnessing. For what seemed like 20 minutes, they stood and just observed. Santana closed her eyes and imagined what the place would look like in just a few days, full of screaming fans. It was only when Puck cleared his throat when she snapped out of her reverie and noticed the blonde who was running towards them from a group of dancers who were sitting in the middle of the arena. Now for a whole other reason, Santana had to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming. To put it simply, the girl was stunning. She was wearing shorts that were far to short for Santana not to notice her flawless and tan legs. Not to mention the white v-cut shirt she was wearing perfectly accentuated her breasts that were not too big but not too small. Santana couldn't contain the smirk that snuck up on her. Her blonde hair rested messily on her shoulders and as she got closer, Santana's heart beat quickened.
"Hi! You're Santana, right?" she said as she stopped a few feet in front of them.
"Yep, that's me," Santana replied, taken a bit off guard by the peppy manner of the blonde.
"These guys are my band, that's Puck and Sam."
"Oh great! Nice to meet you guys! We've been waiting for you, Santana. I'm Brittany, by the way," the dancer said, and extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you," she said as she grabbed her hand. Brittany's skin was softer than she thought was possible. The handshake lasted a little longer than usual, and as their hands parted Santana craved more.
"Come on, come meet everyone else!" Brittany said and skipped over to the other dancers who were stretching in a circle.
"Dude, she's hot," Puck said, leaning closely to Santana just for her to hear.
"I know, right?" Santana couldn't explain this rush of excitement that came over her. "Don't even think about it Puckerman. I got dibs, she talked to me first."
"Fine. But if she comes onto me then no promises. You can't turn off the Puckerman allure," he smiled.
"Fuck you," Santana laughed and gave him a punch as they followed the blonde to the middle of the floor.
Just as they reached the group of dancers, Brittany casually grabbed Santana's hand and introduced her and the boys. Usually, Santana refrained from contact with others, but the way the blonde took her hand without thinking twice made her feel light and comfortable. Lost in the feeling of their interlocked fingers, the only name Santana caught out of the 10 dancers was Mike Chang, and that was only because Brittany put emphasis on the fact that he was her best friend.
They exchanged smiles and small talk for a while and within minutes, Santana had the crowd figured out. Reading people was her specialty and she had a terrible habit of passing judgment, so after twenty minutes it was clear that the only person she really had an interest in was Brittany. She knew she would eventually have get to know these new acquaintances since she'd be spending the long summer with them, but for right now her attention was solely on the blonde. Santana loved the way Brittany licked her bottom lip before speaking. She loved how she ran her hand through her hair unconsciously throughout the conversation. She loved how her foot was always tapping to a beat that was looping in her head. Everything little thing she did was cute and it all drove Santana crazy.
With one glance at Puck, Santana could tell he was in his own personal heaven. He was already flirting with a red head that was falling for his every word while Sam had found himself a shorter blonde to sweet talk. Santana rolled her eyes. Yep, they were going to fit in just fine.
...
After meeting the dancers, Brittany took Santana under her wing. At first, Santana couldn't tell if someone had put the blonde up to hanging with the newbie, but after a while it was obvious that it was by choice. They were on a tight schedule for the rest of the day, the first thing on the agenda being set practice for the opening acts, starting with Santana. Before her band's sound check, Brittany introduced her to everyone else; the stage crew, tour directors, Artie Abrams, and the hair and make up team. It was all very overwhelming for Santana. By what seemed like the 50th introduction, all of the names blurred together in a cloudy haze. Gary's sounded like Larry's and Katherine's got mixed with Caitlin's, but Brittany assured her that she'd help keep them straight.
It wasn't until right before she took the stage for her set practice when she met the person who was responsible for all of this craziness. Santana thought she'd be a lot more nervous the superstar who was personally making her dreams come true, but Pink made it feel like she was simply bumping into an old friend.
"Well if it isn't Santana fucking Lopez," Pink said before giving her a bear hug. "It's so good to finally meet you!"
Santana laughed as Pink squeezed her so hard she thought her ribs would break.
"It's nice to meet you too! You have no idea how grateful I am to be here."
"Oh please, you deserve to be here," her sincerity made Santana blush a bit.
"Well thanks, I still can't really believe it. This stage looks incredible."
"I know, it's insane, right? But I think you're up! Go kick some ass, girl. I'll be watching!" Pink nudged her before turning around and heading to the sound booth.
The tour manager was calling her name, so Santana composed herself and took a deep breath. Brittany could sense the girl's nerves so she offered up some words of encouragement.
"You'll be great. No need to worry, you already got the job." Brittany smiled and put her hand on her shoulder. Her touch radiated heat through Santana's body and the warmth seemed to calm her instantly. "Just go have fun."
Santana returned the smiled and nodded in agreement and took the stage.
...
Their practice took about an hour to run through in its entirety. When it was over, Santana felt ten times more confident about her set than before. They did a quick sound check and played their six song routine. As Santana and the band practiced each song a couple of times, Pink and the producers gave them some constructive criticism but ultimately they were impressed. They loved the energy the three spunky kids brought to the stage and they especially enjoyed the band's covers.
After Santana's set, she and the boys joined Brittany and the other dancers in the stands to watch Artie's run through. They watched in awe as the once crippled boy completely owned the stage. Santana wasn't sure what to expect, but Artie completely blew her away. Talk about talent. He could dance better than anyone Santana had ever seen and his rapping skills were untouchable. When his hour long practice ended, he had earned the respect of everyone who was watching.
...
Next on the agenda was a tour wide meeting. Everyone from the dancers to the make up artists to the tech crew met on the floor of the arena to listen to speeches from Pink, her tour manager, Greg, and a couple of other people who were in charge. Over the next hour or so, they discussed how the next four months would operate. Pink kicked off the meeting with a quick pep talk about her excitement for the tour and how she felt like she was surrounded by the best group of people possible. Greg took over from there, explaining the ins and outs of each night's show as well as how the traveling between shows would work. Some guidelines and rules were mentioned, along with the staff's expectations and goals for a smooth tour.
As important as it was for Santana to pay attention to the speakers, she couldn't keep her mind off Brittany. There was just something about her that was intoxicating. In a room crowded with performers and tour staff, the tall dancer was the only thing Santana could focus on. The combination of the blonde's laugh, her perfectly messy hair, her stunning blue eyes and her toned body were almost too much for her to handle. Each smile and passing glance from the dancer made Santana feel weak in the knees.
When Greg began discussing how the tour buses were divided and assigned, Santana forced herself to pay attention since she'd been very curious about their living arrangements. Greg explained that there were three buses for the performers; one for Pink and her close staff, one for Pink's dancers, and one for the opening acts and the hair and make up crew. He explained that there was ten bunks in each bus so everyone better get used to close quarters. Santana groaned at the thought of sharing a confined space with three cluttered boys, but having the six girls from the hair and make up crew there as well would make it less painful.
...
Once Greg closed the meeting, he announced a 20 minute break before they'd have to meet back in the arena for Pink's set practice. Ecstatic, Sam, Puck, Artie, Mike and a couple of other dancers went to grab some food. A few others went back to explore their dressing rooms which left Santana alone with Brittany.
"Come on, let's go check out your bus. I already saw mine this morning," Brittany said.
Santana agreed. The girls made their way outside and to the bus, chatting about their excitement for the first show. When they reached the bus, Santana paused to remember the 4 digit code that Greg had told them earlier that she needed to unlock the door.
"I've always wanted to do this. I feel so legit," Santana said as she typed in the code.
"It's the real deal," Brittany replied, smiling wide.
The two climbed the small set of stairs and entered the bus. Santana's jaw dropped, "Whoa." She looked around to see the bus was furnished with the most elegant accessories possible. On her right, a long couch made up the first quarter of the bus. On her left, there was a small booth-like table and behind that there was a tiny kitchen. Above the fridge, there was a flat screen TV. Brittany plopped herself down on the couch and began flipping through the channels.
"It's pretty nice, huh?"
"Pretty nice? This is better than my apartment."
Brittany laughed at Santana's reactions as she investigated the place. The more she discovered, the more impressed and giddy she became. Cable TV? A mini bar? Wi-Fi? Santana was baffled. She continued further down the bus, past "the common area," as Brittany called it, to the bunks. They were stacked in twos, bunk bed style. Greg was right, they were definitely close quarters. At least each bunk had a curtain so there would be some sense of privacy. Santana claimed a bunk for herself and crawled in, imagining what the new few months would be like sleeping there. It was manageable, she thought.
After she finished scoping the place out, she joined Brittany who was watching some cartoon on the couch. The blonde sat with her arms wrapped around her knees that were brought up to chest. She leaned against the armrest, facing Santana who sat indian style next to her. Realizing she finally had more than a couple of minutes alone with the blonde, Santana didn't waste any time asking some of the questions that had been running through her mind all day.
"So how'd you end up dancing for Pink?" she asked.
"It's kind of a long story..." the blonde started.
"Well we got time, don't we?"
"I guess we do." Brittany's attention shifted from the TV to Santana, "Long or short version?" she asked, uncertain of the girl's interest.
"Long, for sure," Santana replied quickly. She wanted to know as much about the blonde as possible.
Brittany hesitated. It wasn't a story she told in its entirety often...but when she looked up to see Santana smiling softly and patiently, she spilled.
"I guess I just worked my way up. When my parents realized I was planning on making a career out of dancing they cut me off. My dad thinks it's just a hobby...He hates it. He just doesn't understand. He works on Wall Street and he wanted me to follow in his footsteps and pursue business, but there's no way I could ever do that. A job like that is just not for me. And I've seen what the corrupt business world has done to my father over the years..."
Brittany stopped suddenly. Was she really about to tell this girl about her family issues? The blonde was pretty reserved and wasn't used to being the one doing all of the talking...but there was something about Santana that made her feel comfortable. Something that made her feel like Santana was more than just some girl she had met that day.
Santana looked at her with eager eyes and she continued, "Anyway, without their support I wasn't sure if I could make it as a dancer...but there was no way I was gonna give up, especially in spite of my father. So I worked my ass off. I put everything I had into my dancing; in high school I practically lived at the studio and my social life was pretty much nonexistent. In the end it paid off cause I got a scholarship to a dance academy. Fast-forward four years later and after my senior showcase I landed a job at a local dance company. Through some connections from the academy I found out about Pink's auditions. One thing led to another and now I'm here."
"Holy shit," Santana had to focus on keeping her mouth shut. "That's incredible, Britt."
"Thanks," Brittany smiled, liking the sound of her shortened name coming from the brunette sitting next to her. "It's all about who you know, I suppose."
"Well, yeah...but you earned this. You deserve to be here. You know that, right?"
Brittany locked eyes with Santana and saw how much she meant it. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Well don't forget it," Santana smiled and nudged the girl next to her. "What does your dad think about you being on tour?"
"He thinks it's better than working at the dance company, but it's still all a joke to him. He doesn't get how I can make a life out of it."
"Well, you're just gonna have to prove him wrong, won't ya?"
"I plan on it," she smiled. "But enough about that. I have a confession to make."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" Santana's eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"I'm kind of having a fan girl moment right now," she said.
"What?" Santana laughed, a little confused.
"Ya know, a moment when you feel a little star struck. I really love your music. I think you're amazing."
"Seriously?" Santana almost shouted. It's not that she didn't believe Brittany, it was just that she wasn't used to having that effect on people. She'd met a few fans since her album was released, but people who were really fans of more than her single were hard to come by.
"Seriously! When I found out you were coming on tour I freaked out a little," she said, blushing a bit. Santana couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's reaction. She was so damn cute.
"Well, thanks. I assume 'Love On The Rocks' is your favorite then? It's usually the only one people know."
"Right, cause of Grey's and everything." Brittany knew her stuff. "Well I like that one, but it's not my favorite. I like Hold My Heart the most."
"Yeah?" Santana's face lit up. "Me too. I guess it's kinda weird to have a favorite of your own songs...but that one means a lot. The record label almost didn't let me put it on the CD. They said it was too depressing or some bullshit like that. I had to fight for it."
"Well, I'm glad you did." Brittany shifted her body position so her knees rested against Santana's.
"Me too." Santana reacted to the blonde's touch and shifted closer.
"I choreographed a dance to it."
"Really?" Santana was amazed. Brittany was gorgeous, funny, talented and she loved her music? This girl was too good to be true.
"Yep. I performed it in a fundraiser show a few months ago. It was pretty great too," the blonde joked. "Maybe I'll show it to you one day."
Santana was about to respond when Brittany's phone buzzed in her pocket.
"Crap, it's Mike. We're gonna be late for sound check. Let's go, San."
The blonde got up and began walking out and Santana followed her like a lost puppy. The only thing on her mind was Brittany's dance to Hold My Heart.
...
Pink's sound check lasted two hours. Santana, Puck and Sam watched and took mental notes as Pink rocked the house. She performed like a professional; she put on her game face and hit every note perfectly while still maintaining her personality. Santana hoped that by the end of the tour, a part of Pink's stage presence could be seen in her own.
During Pink's set, Santana and her band were introduced to Mindy who was their personal tour manager. She referred to herself as the designated "Tour Mom" and explained she'd be in charge of assisting them and scheduling their day-to-day activities. Mindy reminded Santana of an Aunt she never had, someone with a kind heart and a genuine interest in her well being. How did she get so lucky? The more people Santana met the more she had to ask herself that question.
When Mindy left, Pink was playing her song Funhouse. Santana's eyes were immediately drawn to Brittany who was in a new costume, wearing red metallic spandex leggings and a matching top revealing most of her stomach. Santana was mesmerized. The way she moved was so natural. She was completely in sync with the beat of the music, and each movement she made was precise and fluid. It was like she was walking on air, moving effortlessly with rhythm. Santana had never been more turned on in her life.
"Close your mouth, Lopez. You're drooling over there," Puck laughed.
"Shut up," Santana responded quickly, but her eyes never left the blonde. She couldn't muster up anything else to say that would put Puck in his place and she really didn't care. She was too busy watching the blonde roll her body back and fourth, moving along with the other dancers. At one point, Santana swore they made eye contact. Brittany's blue eyes met hers and she smirked like she knew the effect she had over Santana.
...
After Pink and her crew had practiced her set till perfection, it was time to call it a day. Santana didn't realize how exhausted she was until Pink called for one final tour wide meeting. The day of orientation had completely drained her. She practically had to force herself to get up to meet everyone in the middle of the arena for some closing thoughts from Greg. The first show was in three days so he told them all to rest up and meet back here on Friday. It was a quick meeting, and it ended with what Pink described as a "pre-show ritual." They all locked arms and formed a circle around the superstar who gave some words of inspiration. Within a minute she had everyone pumped up and Santana suddenly forgot how tired she was. Similar to a high school cheer, they came together and put one of their hands in the middle. The circle was so large that not everybody's hand could reach the middle, so they settled for placing it on the shoulder of the person in front of them instead.
"Funhouse on three!" Pink yelled. She started the countdown and the mass of people finished the cheer on cue. Santana laughed watching her boys voluntarily participate in something that reminded her so much of her high school cheerleading days. After they said their goodbyes, everyone split and began packing up. Sam and Puck had already gathered their things so they told Santana they'd meet her at the car.
"Hurry up, Lopez!" Puck warned over his shoulder as he left. Santana rolled her eyes and scrambled to her dressing room. As she was frantically collecting her things, she heard a soft knock on the door.
"Hey," Brittany said with a smile and walked in.
"Hey Britt," Santana looked up from her rushed packing and smiled back at the blonde. "You were really great up there."
"You think so?" Brittany asked. Santana swore the blonde was just provoking her to spill about how much she loved her dancing.
"Yeah. You're crazy good."
"Thanks," the blonde smiled.
"I'm sorry, I gotta go though. The boys are waiting. I think Puck's timing me," she joked and slung her backpack over her shoulder. The sound of Brittany's laughter made Santana want to do nothing more than stay with her.
"Oh okay, well I had a lot of fun today. I can't wait for the tour to start."
"Me neither. I'll see ya on Friday," Santana said as she walked past the blonde.
"Wait!" Brittany grabbed the brunette's arm and stopped her before leaving, "Here's my number. I have a feeling we're gonna be friends."
A wide grin spread over Santana's face as she took the piece of paper with Brittany's scribbled number on it. "Me too. See ya later, Britt."
...
Santana met the boys at the car with a smile plastered to her face.
"What are you so giddy about, huh?"
"Oh nothing. I just got her number, that's all."
"You bastard! The tour hasn't even started and you're already getting some."
The three got in the car and began the drive home. Over the next thirty minutes, they talked about what the summer would hold. Puck talked about his expectations with the redhead and Sam boasted that he could get into his girl's pants within a week. The two boys bickered back and forth while Santana remained relatively quite. She had enough going on in her head to keep her occupied. Later, Puck filled Santana in on some of the details she'd missed during the first tour wide meeting. After the two opening shows in LA they were headed to San Jose. Then Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and so on. It was going to be a four month tour with 60 shows; 35 in North America and 25 in Europe. Split by a two week break, the crew would head overseas in mid-July, which Santana was especially excited for. She'd always wanted to leave the country and she had a feeling that going with this group of people would make it a once in a lifetime experience.
...
When Santana arrived at her apartment, she found she had a new spark of inspiration. With Brittany on her mind, she sat down and began writing. Images of the blonde flew through her mind and she couldn't believe what she was feeling for a girl she'd only known for less than a day. She was so sweet and innocent; two of the qualities Santana wished she could be better aquatinted with. Santana knew she was a little rough on the edges, that's just how she always had been. The more she thought, the more she realized how compatible they would be.
While she wrote, Santana couldn't stop questions about the dancer from flooding her mind. She needed to know more about Brittany. Was she feeling the same? Or was Santana just imagining their chemistry? Why did she give her her number? The questions drove her crazy and she couldn't put her mind to ease. Santana had been sure of her sexuality. Ever since middle school she'd known she was gay. As she commonly would say, the only straight she was was a straight up bitch. But was the blonde? Was she imagining the flirting? Was she just making this into something it wasn't? Santana replayed her encounters with the blonde in her head until she could hear Brittany's voice as clear as day. There was no way she was making up their chemistry. There was something there. It was undeniable.
Twenty minutes later, Santana had written a song she thought was a shoe in for her next record's single. It was called "Someone Like You."