"Q, if you came to sulk for the entire holiday, there's no point."
Quinn eyeballed Santana, still not saying anything, The two girls had been awake for a long time now and they were everything but asleep and peaceful. Brittany was even starting to wonder if she hadn't dreamt it all.
"Well, if that's how you see it," Quinn started slowly, "I just have to open the door and get out."
Joining action to words, she unbuckled her belt. Brittany locked the doors. Quinn was capable of it.
"Stop it, you two," she said calmly. "And Quinn, buckle up, don't be a child."
The blonde did as she was told without a word and sent one last glare to the Latina. Santana sighed, conspicuously annoyed.
"Anyway…" She continued.
"San!" Brittany shouted.
It was the first time she was raising her voice since they'd left, and it usually rarely happened. Santana froze and the anger you could see in the blue eyes in the rear-view mirror silenced her.
"Leave Quinn alone," Brittany said on a softer tone. "If she doesn't want to speak, it's her right."
Quinn could feel Brittany's gaze on her before she refocused on the road. She glanced towards Santana. She was watching her with a tensed look, and she stared her down for a few seconds. She was staring at her with such intensity that she thought she was trying to convey a message with only the strength of her dark pupils, but Quinn didn't understand what it was and stared back at her until the young woman eventually looked away.
There was such melancholy in Quinn's eyes that Santana was holding herself from pouncing on her to shake her up. They hadn't seen each other ever since graduation and she had no idea where the blonde had been all this time. All she knew was that she had accepted this speleology expedition's invitation rather tacitly and when she'd woken up, the day before, and walked out of Brittany's house, Quinn was standing on the threshold, her luggage at her feet. She hadn't said a lot ever since, no matter how much Santana would provoke her, even insulting her openly sometimes. The girl she used to consider a mini Sue's passivity was driving her mad, but now that she had managed to upset Brittany, she would rather stop. Strangely, no matter how much Q had become estranged from her, Brittany seemed to keep this same inexplicable affection for the ex-HBIC. Just like her friendship with Rachel; Santana didn't understand.
"San, you're sure you put gas cans in the trunk?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well we need to stop and put some in the car…" Brittany whispered glancing at the gauge that was furiously flickering among the other warning lights.
She waited to be out of the forest before stopping on the side of the road. As soon as the car came to a stop, Quinn quickly got out of the passengers' compartment and walked away from the vehicle. Squinting her eyes, Santana saw her taking a cigarette packet out of her blouse.
"Don't tell me she still has this bad habit…" She whistled to herself.
"San, can you help me?" Brittany asked her gently getting out of the car as well.
Santana obeyed, still slyly observing Quinn. She put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it before shaking the match to put it out and throwing it in the field on the side.
"It's going to ruin her voice completely…" Santana growled helping Brittany to take the can out of the trunk.
"She won't sing anymore anyway now that Glee Club is over for her." The blonde said softly. Santana lost her words for a moment.
"But, it's not an excuse! She needs to pull herself together!"
She held the funnel in front of the gas tank as Brittany was pouring the gas. Her gaze fell on her biceps that four years among the cheerleaders only helped to develop. Brittany noticed the way Santana was looking at her and smiled.
"Oh um… Sorry…" The Latina mumbled looking away.
"Why? There's nothing wrong with that, I'm yours after all."
Santana thought her head was on fire and she almost dropped the funnel.
"Yeah that's true…" She mumbled, keeping her eyes on her shaking hands.
Brittany didn't add anything more and recapped the can that she put on the ground. Santana pretended to be fascinated by the valve she had just closed on the gas tank but she felt Brittany getting closer and closer before she took the funnel from her hands and put it down,
"San."
Santana didn't know what to do and, paralyzed, saw Brittany's long hands taking hers and squeezing them affectionately. She looked up slowly. Brittany was staring at her carefully, and the love showing through her pupils was almost hard to take for the Latina. She didn't understand that someone loving her that much could exist on Earth. She didn't think she deserved it.
"Are you okay?"
Santana wanted to shake her head yes, but instead of that, she remained silent, observing Brittany like it was the last time she would see her. Eventually, understanding she wouldn't be able to give her a clear answer, she threw her arms around her neck and pulled her in a passionate kiss to which the blonde answered gladly. They only stopped when they were both out of breath. Santana kept her arms around Brittany's neck, and the young girl tightened her grip around her waist, almost pinning her against the car behind her. They stared at each other intensely, and Brittany eventually broke the silence between them:
"I'm sorry I got mad at you earlier…"
Santana made her understand that she forgave her by kissing her.
"I know Quinn is weird, and I also wonder what's up with her, but we never got anything from her by yelling at her. We haven't seen her in a while, and I liked us three together… So let's try to be the nicest we can be with her, alright?"
Santana nodded slowly, moved by how understanding Brittany was behind those innocent blue eyes.
"I think she'd rather come feed the ducks with us than being yelled at."
"You miss it, huh?" Santana asked on an amused tone.
As Brittany wasn't answering and just kept looking at her with hope, the young girl pulled her down into a soft loving kiss.
"As soon as we go home from this expedition, I promise you we will go." She whispered and felt the blonde's lips forming a smile against her own.
She stepped back a bit.
"And I'm sure it would loosen her up when I think about it."
"San!" Brittany was outraged.
"I've said worse things in my life, and don't act like it's the first time you hear me talk like that about someone. Especially about Q."
Seeing the blonde wasn't going to stop, she dug her nails into her neck to signal her the conversation was over.
"And now shut up and kiss me."
The other girl didn't need to be asked twice and pressed her a bit harder against the car, wrapping her arms completely around her waist. They almost didn't hear the tapping against the window from the inside. Sighing in despair, Santana broke the kiss and reluctantly turned her head. Through the window, Quinn threw daggers at her,
"You will have all the time in the world to fuck once we're there, but for that we have to leave." She said through the open window.
The tone was cold and not questionable. Santana pressed one last kiss on the blonde's lips and pulled away softly from her grip. Quinn instantly opened the door and got out of the car.
"I'm gonna drive," she decided. "At least it will keep me busy. And you can do whatever you like on the back seats."
"For god sake Q, how many cigarettes did you smoke to smell like that? Take a chewing-gum or I'll make you run behind the car regretting the day you started smoking."
Quinn put the chewing-gum in her mouth and got on the driver seat, slamming the door behind her. Brittany shrugged and smiled at Santana. She took her hand and pulled her with her on the back seats.
…
…
…
"We're hungry! We're hungry! We're hungry!"
Kurt rolled his eyes.
"We're almost there, you brainless losers!" He said tapping the wheel on each syllable to show his annoyance.
Silence instantly came back in the passengers' compartment, but it only took a few minutes for the racket to start again.
"We're hungry! We're hungry! We're hungry!"
"Blaine, could you open the glove compartment, please?" Kurt asked giving a haughty look to the hyper passengers in the back.
His boyfriend did as he was told and Kurt leaned over to take the first CD he found. Amy Winehouse's powerful voice covered Artie and Mercedes impatient exclamations.
"We're… wooooooooouh!" They acclaimed, even more excited as the song started to play.
"Since I've come home, well my body's been a mess," Artie sang.
"Too bad Santana isn't here to hear that," Blaine pointed.
"And I miss your ginger hair…"
Kurt glanced at him before looking back ahead of him.
"And the way you like to dress!"
"She would probably burst into tears," he replied with a shrug. "And you really don't want to have a crying Santana in a car with you, I can tell you that much."
"I thought she got over it?" Blaine said surprised.
"Yeah, right," Kurt said with a dramatic sigh. "Before that, Amy transcended her, now simply hearing her name is enough to depress her for an entire week."
"Stop making a fool out of me!"
"SO WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER VALERIE?"
"Valerie, Valerie!" Blaine hummed.
Kurt felt his intense gaze on him.
"Oh no! It's not gonna work!"
"Come on, Kuuurt," Blaine begged him putting on his best pouting face.
"No! I'm driving, I can't do both!"
"Come on, Kurt, the verse is all yours!" Mercedes cheered giving a tap on his seat.
The boy adjusted the rear-view mirror to glare at her properly and started to sing on a fatal tone:
"Did you have to go to jail, put your house out up for sale, did you get a good law-aw-awyer?"
"I hope you didn't catch a tan," Mercedes added.
"I hope you find the right man," Blaine continued, running a hand through his hair.
"Who'll fix it for you!" Artie concluded as Kurt glared at them while fixing his hair.
The song was giving them all so many memories, and even Kurt, who seemed to be as angry as the time Blaine ruined his shoes by walking on them by accident, could almost feel the nostalgia in the joyful atmosphere. He had always regretted being a Warbler during sectionals, because the only memories he had were boring meetings to decide what solo Blaine would sing, the even more boring rehearsals where he would only sway in the background, and finally their performance where he had felt like a clone among all these other boys wearing a black and red uniform. The New Directions probably had a bunch of funny rehearsals and to see them on stage that day had made Kurt realize how much he hated Dalton Academy and their boring traditions. To witness Santana's success, beaming and where she belonged, was only a paltry compensation.
Now, all of this didn't matter, he thought with a smile.
"Oh won't you come on over?" Tina asked.
"Stop making a fool out of me!" Mercedes answered.
"WHY DON'T YOU COME ON OVER VALERIE?" screamed Artie, Blaine, Tina, Mercedes and Kurt.
They were all in a wonderful mood and were bouncing impatiently at the idea of getting there. Kurt was already picturing the comfortable summer cottage, with couches and silk cushions. He and Mercedes had made a list of the things to bring to improve their comfort and he was already in heaven just by thinking about it. While the others would expend great effort in walking from one tunnel to another, he would share iced tea with Mercedes and Artie. He didn't dare think about the frustration he would have felt if his father hadn't let him go to relax a bit before leaving for New York.
"Kurt, take this small path on the left, that's the way!" Mercedes shouted out behind him.
The van moved into a path that snaked between the bright green pines and soon, their holiday house was in sight. It was a modest summer cottage, partly protected from the bright sun by a huge tree. It looked like a tree house, which displeased Kurt instantly, who wondered what kind of sneaky creatures could leave in this high plant overlooking it.
"Don't worry," Mercedes said, guessing what he was probably thinking. "The house is well isolated and the wood has been treated to avoid any intrusion. However, it's not my fault if you find a bug in your bed tonight."
Even if it was obvious that Mercedes was making fun of him, Kurt couldn't help but let out a disgusted sound.
He parked the vehicle in the small parking provided, just on the cottage's right, and they all got out with gratitude. Tina and Blaine helped Artie and his wheelchair to get out of the van and Mercedes joined them to carry him up the stairs leading to the patio, while Kurt was admiring the landscape. A few kilometers away, below the plains, the lake's crystal blue water was twinkling.
Mercedes gave them a meticulous tour of the inside. The habitation had five rooms on the ground floor, comprising a kitchen and a welcoming living-room, and the second floor was divided in three rooms, counting a bathroom and a bedroom, with fold-out couches, a large enough bed for four people and sleeping bags in a corner.
"The toilets are on the outside," Mercedes explained opening the shutters with Tina's help. "They are a few steps away from the tree. There are some books, DVDs, CDs in the attic, and an old TV. I will ask the boys to take it down once they're here. There is also a big fridge and a freezer, so if you have nothing better to do, Kurt and Blaine, it would be nice if you could put all the supplies in. The water comes from the lake, so it would be better if half of us took their shower in the morning and the other half in the evening, this way we always have pure and hot water. Considering the bathroom is big enough to welcome five people, girls should share it in the mornings and guys in the evening, or the other way around, we will see."
Seeing the questioning look Kurt and Blaine were giving her, she added on a threatening tone:
"No more than fifteen minutes, except Artie who can have half an hour."
She stopped their protestations with one of her usual killer looks.
"I'm inviting you so you listen to me. Unless of course, Artie agrees on giving 15 minutes of his time," she said turning towards the boy with an ironic smile.
Artie gave them a mocking smile. Kurt barely held himself back from stomping his foot and Blaine put a hand on his shoulder, as if he was trying to tell him they would find a way to break the limitation.
"Now, go take the food," she hurried them with an impatient gesture.
She turned back towards the teenager in the wheelchair.
"Artie, I'm really sorry but we don't have any elevator here, so every time you want to go up or go down, you will have to ask for somebody's help," the diva continued observing the spiral staircase in the middle of the room. "But we will try to all stay on the first floor to avoid any moving."
"Don't worry about me," he reassured her. "For a few days, I think I'll be fine."
"I hope so…" Mercedes said with a smile.
Tina went to check what supplies they had apart from the ones they had brought, and Artie had to check that the phone worked, and compose every number written on the side to make sure they were correct.
"My dad makes a new list of emergency numbers every year," Mercedes explained, sweeping the dust. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"Everything works perfectly, no problem," Artie announced hanging up. "Reception is great, mind explaining how this is possible?"
"We put a relay antenna on the roof; it covers the area over 200 kilometers."
"Nothing's too good for the Jones' family! A water tower and an antenna just for you, impressive!"
"Don't be silly," Mercedes said with a laugh. "It's not that expansive, there aren't a lot of people who are crazy enough to live in such a lost place."
"Apart from Doctor Jones and his family. It's not that bad here, though."
Walking past him, Mercedes gave him a tap on the head.
"Instead of saying stupidities, try and call the others to see where they are, and if you don't mind, add their number on the note!"
"You can't say no to Beyoncé."