2000 (10 years ago)
It's Friday night and Santana is always over at their house on Friday nights. Brittany can hear her talking loudly from down the stairs. At times, she giggles uncontrollably at something Quinn whispers to her and Brittany feels all funny inside because she would like to be old enough to know how to make Santana laugh like that.
Brittany is always compelled to listen to them. She wants to know what teenage girls talk about. She wants to know their secrets. She wants to know how it is to be a part of their world.
This time is no different; she lowers the sound of the television and tries to catch glimpses of their conversation. Her best friend from school, Rachel Berry, says that older girls are always talking about boys, kisses, and also music because apparently they have glee clubs in high school.
Quinn doesn't like Rachel much. She says that Brittany is cool enough to find much better friends. She is constantly making fun of the poor girl. She teases her about the way she dresses. She rolls her eyes when Rachel opens her mouth and sighs noisily whenever the small girl decides to show off her musical talent by improvising a song.
"She is so annoying," Quinn tells her younger sister time and time again.
Brittany likes Rachel. They have a lot of fun together. They spend most of the time singing and dancing in Brittany's room. They have big dreams of making it to the stage when they get older and to assure their future Rachel makes them practice intensively every day.
Once a week, they make a little show in Brittany's living-room. 'Broadway nights', Brittany's mother calls it. They invite Rachel's fathers but they are not always able to make it. That her parents are there or not, Rachel wears her everlasting optimistic smile.
"The show must go on," she tells Brittany when she asks her how she feels about it.
Brittany likes when Santana is part of the audience on Broadways nights. It makes her blush to have the older girl's stare set on her performance. She tries not to lock eyes with her because it makes her uncomfortable to meet the brunette's intense brown gaze. She gets so shy that she makes mistakes she would never do under normal circumstances. Sometimes she starts giggling in the middle of their routine and Rachel glares at her.
Everybody laughs at them when it happens and, as much as Brittany thinks it's funny, Rachel can't stand this kind of humiliation. She storms out of the room with her nose up in the air and her hair flying behind her like a superhero's cape.
Brittany has to run after her and make things better. She tells her friend nice things and goofs around until she smiles. It never takes too long. Rachel might get easily offended but she's a nice girl and they are best friend. She can never stay angry at Brittany for more than a few minutes.
"Brittany, darling, could you bring some pizza to your sister's room?" Her mother asks her from the kitchen.
Brittany is fast on her feet. She runs towards her mother and extends her hands forward with obvious impatience. She is fidgeting on her spot. One of her feet is tapping the tile ground excitedly. When she sees that her mother hasn't finished preparing Quinn's pizza plate, she puts her hands on the kitchen's island and starts jumping up and down.
"Can I eat in my room too?" She asks, flashing her mom a bright smile.
"No Britt, you eat at the kitchen's table. You'll eat in your room when you get older" The woman replies before handing the plate to Brittany.
Brittany would usually protest that her mother is treating her unfairly, but she can't wait to see what the older girls are up to. With Quinn's pizza plate in her hands, she climbs up the stairs, her cheeks already flushed at the idea of being in her sister's friend imposing presence.
"I really don't get what you see in him," she hears Santana grumble as she reaches the top of the stairs. "Finn is such a loser."
Quinn sighs heavily and moves a few objects. Brittany can see her shadow travelling around the room.
"Stop it, will you? I'm tired of hearing you talk about my boyfriend like that." She takes a pause and stops pacing before hissing a bit viciously."At least, I'm not whoring myself around like you do."
Brittany is not sure she should be listening to their conversation. It seems a bit too private for her ears to hear and, even if she would like to know more about the two older girl's conflict, she feels a bit guilty. She clears her throat and knocks on her sister's door even though it's already open. She wants to make sure that the two teenagers will notice that she's there. She wouldn't want Quinn to be mad at her for eaves dropping on them.
"What are you doing here?" Quinn asks her, her voice laced with contempt. Her hands are twisting awkwardly the hem of the shirt she is wearing and her hazel eyes are darkened with anger.
"I—I, huh, I-"she stammers.
Brittany swallows thickly. Her eyes travel from Quinn to her sister's friend, looking for support. Santana is in a half-laying position on Quinn's window seat. There's a magazine on her laps and her feet are propped on the wall in front of her. She's looking at the scene ahead of her with slight interest. A smirk is dancing on her lips. She doesn't intervene until her dark brown eyes fall on the plate in Brittany's hands.
"Look, she brought us pizza," Santana exclaims happily. "Come here!" She tells Brittany, beckoning her to come closer and swinging her legs to the side so that her feet could rest on the ground. She is so careless that she doesn't even bother to look down at the magazine that fell off her laps at her sudden shift of position.
Brittany glances towards her sister, but ducks her head before she could meet a disapproving glare. She starts walking into Santana's direction. There's a lump in her throat. Her mouth is dry. Her footing is unsteady and she is afraid she might trip on her own feet. When she's into arm-length distance, a greedy Santana grabs the plate from her.
"God, I love your mom's pizza," she tells Quinn, causing Brittany to chuckle. Santana pats the cushiony space next to her and looks up at the small girl standing in front of her. "Sit down," she orders the child with her mouth full of pizza. "Take yourself a piece of pizza."
Brittany gives a shy pleading look to her sister. Quinn walks up to them, looking clearly annoyed and grabs a pizza out of the plate on Santana's laps.
"Your mom doesn't like it when you eat outside the kitchen Britt," she points out before resting her back on the wall next to her friend and glaring down at her sister.
"Then we won't tell her," Santana said, sending a wink to the little girl next to her."I'm sure you can keep a secret."
Quinn scoffs loudly. Santana shakes her head at her friend and smiles at Brittany. The little girl nods timidly and picks up a piece of pizza with shaky hands. Her eyes widen when Santana scoots a little closer to help her hold the humongous piece of pizza in her hands.
"I know you're a big girl and you can eat all by yourself, but I'm not sure Quinn would be happy if you were to make a mess on her bedroom's floor."
Brittany tucks a strand of golden hair behind her ear and takes a small bite of the piece of pizza Santana is holding in front of her. Santana's sunshine smell is invading her senses and its taking her hunger away. The only thing she can think about is how perfect the world seems to be when the older girl is sitting so close to her. She eats a few more bites under Santana's motherly gaze. She wonders if Rachel would be jealous if she knew she was hanging out and eating pizza with teenagers like that.
"You shouldn't baby her like that. She's already way too immature for her age," Quinn comments after a while.
"How old are your Brittany?" Santana asks her in a soft voice.
"I'm 6 years old, but it's my birthday soon and I gonna turn 7'," Brittany lifts her hands and sticks eight fingers up in the air. "You wanna come? There's going to be a princess, a real princess, my mommy promised. And also some cake, a lot of cake. I can tell her to make some pizza for you if you want."
Quinn bends forwards to take a better look at Brittany. Her eyebrows are knitted together. She is snarling. Her nostrils are flaring angrily.
"Why would Santana come to your birthday party Brittany? You think she's going to want to play Barbie with you?" She asks in a condescending tone.
Santana laughs so hard at Quinn's words that she has to wipe tears off her eyes. It doesn't take long before the other teenager stops frowning and joins her with a loud obnoxious laughter. Brittany hangs her head in shame, feeling a bit foolish to have thought that the older girl would want to be her friend.
She is feeling so sad that there are tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. Suddenly, Santana's laughter stops and Brittany feels a strong arm snaking around her waist, pulling her into a tight embrace. Brittany hides her head in the red fabric of Santana's cheerleading top and sobs loudly. She is a complete mess and the brunette has to rub comforting circles down her back to soothe her down.
"That's exactly why I don't want my sister hanging out with us. Stop encouraging her into thinking you're her fr-." Quinn starts but is soon interrupted by her friend's glare.
"Hey kiddo, don't be sad," Santana whispers softly in her ear. "I promise to be there if I don't have anything else. If I can make it I'll bring you a present, okay?"
Brittany lifts her head from the older girl's chest and wipes her tears.
"Okay," she mumbles awkwardly.
"Now, I want you to smile for me and finish your pizza."
Brittany grins at her and picks the last remains of her pizza piece from the plate in Santana's laps. She munches on it happily, half-listening to the conversation between the two teenage girls beside her. They are talking about the party they are going to attend later that night and they sound so excited that Brittany wonders if they're going to be a clown or a magician there. Santana's arm is still enveloping her. Brittany feels Santana's sunshine warming her heart. She is happy and comfortable in this position.
When she's finished eating her pizza, she looks up at Santana, trying to meet her eyes, but the brunette is staring up at Quinn with a look Brittany has never seen on her before. Santana's dark eyes are incredibly shiny, twinkling with admiration, and her mouth is slightly parted. She seems in awe. She has the dreamy gaze of a child in front of a Christmas three. The funny thing is that Quinn doesn't even seem to take notice of it. She's sending a text message to Finn and her full attention is on her cell phone.
There's a knot in Brittany's stomach. She has to give a few kicks at the bench to have Santana's attention again. When she gets it back, nothing is the same. The warm sunshine feeling in Brittany's heart has gone away.
