"Damn it man, grow a pair of balls and ask the girl out, will you?" Puck hissed in Santiago's ear as they sat at the designated jock table in the McKinley High lunchroom. He had been staring at the table of cheerleaders for the past fifteen minutes.

"Whatever, dude. Shut up." He wanted to ask her out. Of course he did. But the problem was that she was so damned great and funny that he definitely wasn't the only guy with those intentions and he was convinced that he had been friend zoned anyway.

"Hi San." Brittany appeared out of nowhere in front of their table and took a seat beside him, robbing a fry from his plate.

"Ugh…hi B," Fuck. What a total idiot. He can't even talk to her properly anymore.

"Hey babe, you're lookin' fine today Brittany," Puck with his smarmy smile leaned over his shoulder to say to her. Santiago took the opportunity to elbow him in the ribs.

"Shit,"Puck yelped and jumped back in his seat.

"Thanks Puck, your Mohawk is looking pretty today," Brittany smiled back at him, giving a subtle glance over at Santiago who shifted awkwardly under her gaze.

"Are you guys coming to Quinn's party tonight?" She asked the whole table while still looking at Santiago. He was making a total dick of himself in front of the guys but he couldn't help himself. Brittany always made him feel like this. Like he wanted her to notice him and ignore him at the same time.

"Definitely, Tina scored some beer from her sister so we'll come packing," Mike smiled and fist bumped Finn.

"I'll be there too. Kurt's making some fancy cocktails for it. Apparently he made Blaine sample five different versions of it last night and he ended up passed out on the bedroom floor."

"That sounds great Finn." Brittany answered distractedly, she was still looking right at Santiago.

"Dude, are you going or what? We don't have all fucking day for you to make your decision," Puck smacked the back of his head and laughed in his face.

He realized he had been sitting there staring awkwardly at Brittany and forgot to answer the question. Oh great, of course Brittany is gonna be wooed by the guy who can't even string a sentence together in her company.

"Oh…yeah I'll be there Britt. I'm always up for a good party," he was smiling in a way that he hoped was alluring. It most likely wasn't.

"Cool, I guess we could go together seeing as we're like, neighbors. I'll see you at seven?" she stood up and grabbed another fry from his plate.

"Uh….yeah. Yeah sounds good. Makes sense seeing as we live close to each other and stuff. I mean, it would hardly….."

"He'll see you then. Later B," He was mid sentence when Puck cut him off. Thank god.

"Woah man, you have it baaad," Mike laughed while leaning over the table to grab a fry from his plate.

Santiago smacked his hand away before he could reach it; "Those are my fries man. Go get your own."

Mike started laughing hysterically along with the other guys who had started mocking him.

"What? What's so funny?" he was getting pissed off now.

"Point proven douchebag," Puck got up with his tray and kicked the back of his legs. "You'd give your fries away to sexy blondie but not to your own bro? Harsh man," he chuckled before walking off.

"Her name's Brittany," was all he managed to say before the guys left at the table howled with laughter muttering something about him being a pussy. Fuck them anyway. They just didn't get it. Assholes.

He was standing at his locker after the last class of the day when he felt a presence beside him.

"Hi Santiago," Quinn batted her eyes at him.

"Hey Quinn, can I help you with something?" He liked Quinn and all but this whole sexy virginal thing she had going on? Not his thing. Puck, however, was totally diggin' it.

"I was just wondering if you were coming to my party tonight? My parents are away for the weekend so it'll be an adult free zone," she leaned closer to him and bit her lower lip.

"Yeah I'm going. Britt asked us earlier. Should be good fun," he just wanted the conversation to be over with. Sure he and Quinn had made out a few times. He even got to feel her boobs (under her top, over her bra) and they totally dry humped at Puck's brother's party at the beginning of the year but he wasn't really interested in her like that. He was interested in someone else. Her best friend.

"Oh right, cool. I was just making sure you knew that you were invited. It's exclusive invitation only. I hope Britt made that clear. No Glee losers welcome." She had stepped back now and he couldn't smell her shampoo anymore. Maybe she took the hint.

"Well, I think Mike is bringing Tina and she's a 'Glee loser' so maybe you'd prefer we didn't go Quinn, is that it? Is Tina good enough for your party or will I tell Mike to leave his girlfriend at home for the night?" he was being harsh but he was sick of her bullshit. What's wrong with the Glee kids? They can sing and dance at the same freakin time and Tina was pretty cool.

"I suppose Tina can come. I was just letting you know that we need to keep the numbers to a minimum, popular kids only. I better go now, I think Puck is probably waiting to give me a ride home. See you later Santiago," she gave him her glassy eyed smirk. The one that said 'I hate you' and 'I still want to fuck you'. The one she used for all the guys that stood up to her.

He didn't care. The problem with girls like Quinn was that they were never happy. They were always looking for people to change and he just didn't like that. Yeah Rachel Berry could be annoying sometimes but she was hardly reason enough to dislike every Glee kid. Ugh, why was he obsessing over the Gleeks? Brittany really had done a number on him with her 'let's all be friends' and 'I think I'll join Glee club'. Maybe he did need to grow some balls. He's only known her for a few months and already he felt himself changing. They hadn't even made out. No wonder the guys were ribbing on him all the time. He was a total pussy.

He was ready for Quinn's party by 6.30 so he paced around his room panicking over what he would say to Brittany when he saw her. He checked himself out in the mirror for the fifth time, dark blue jeans, a nice red shirt and a leather jacket. He looked good. He knew that. He could have any girl in the school and they practically threw themselves at him at parties so he didn't get why he felt so self-conscious.

His phone beeped on the bed and he practically ran over to pick it up;

"Hi San, almost ready. U wanna meet at the big oak tree outside Mr R's house? "-Brittany.

His heart skipped a beat. He quickly tapped out a reply.

"Hey Brittany, see you there."

He pressed send before he cursed under his breath. Why did he use her full name like he was sending her a formal letter or something? She's gonna think he's weirdo.

"great, can't wait. c u."-Brittany

Can't wait? Can't wait for the party or can't wait to see him? Relax and breath, he told himself, you need to be chill and stop acting like Brittany is the first girl he's ever seen.

He checked his watch to see that it was almost seven so he grabbed his essentials; money, wallet, keys, phone and hurried downstairs, kissing his mom on the cheek, twirling his little sister around and fist bumping his six year old brother before leaving the house.

He walked toward Mr. Rutherson's house with an anxiousness tugging in his lower stomach. He was no player but he never had any trouble when it came to girls. He had always kept a safe distance though and made sure not to get emotionally involved with any of them. He needed to be strong for his family since his dad had left them and he never wanted to let a girl make him vulnerable. He was almost scared of Brittany since the first day she moved in to the house down the street and walked right up to him and asked him if he had seen Lord Tubbington or whether there were any street gangs in the area, because he was drawn to her right away. Her natural way of just being. She wasn't like any other girl he had met who always expected something from him. He wasn't into playing mind games and he wasn't into fucking his way around the Cheerios. He wasn't Puck, simple as.

They hung out that evening when he offered to show her around the neighborhood and it was the first time in his life he was comfortable enough around a girl to have a genuine conversation. They talked about life, their families, their dreams and ambitions. They made fun of each other and laughed and Brittany even got him to pay Hide and Go Seek with her. They had swapped numbers and hung out again a few days later. He brought her to the mall for food and then to the cinema. He never made a move because he didn't want her to think that was why he befriended her and a few months later; here he was, in the friend zone with the most beautiful girl he had ever met. Sometimes life really liked to kick him in the gonads.

He was standing outside of Mr. Rutherson's house with his hands in his pockets lost in thought when he felt a cold pair of hands cover his eyes;

"Guess who?" Brittany spoke into his ear. The feeling of her warm breath sent tingles all over his body.

"Lord Tubbington? I hope not because Britt is gonna go crazy when she finds out you're trying to sneak off to another party."

"Not Lord Tubbington, but close enough," Brittany giggled.

He turned around and her arms rested on his shoulders. He coughed awkwardly and took a step back to see that she was wearing a skin tight black shorts, a white tank top, sexy black boots and a denim jacket. She was unbelievably hot. Santiago had to drag his eyes from her body to her face.

"You look amazing." He said before holding his arm out for her to link.

"Thank you, you're looking pretty fly Mr. Lopez." She responded with a wink.

"Well, it's just the natural Lopez charm I think." Santiago managed to say without spluttering like an idiot or mumbling like a lovesick fool. Tonight might actually work in his favor for once.

"Oh, someone is feeling feisty this evening," Brittany playfully shoved her shoulder into him.

"And it's only just started." He bumped his shoulder back into hers and smiled when she giggled.

Yeah, maybe tonight would work in his favor.