A/N: First off, Thank you for all the reviews and follows! Special shout out to the two guest reviews who gave me great feedback as to what they want to see in this story. I am going to try to incorporate some of it in as I go along. I am going to be updating chapters as soon as I can so please try to be patient with me. Work can get stressful and I'll be heading back to school soon so there'll be some delays. As usual, I don't anything. Merely my imagination. And now I give you: the next chapter!
The Invitation
*4 Years Later*
Santana's POV
Keep. Keep. Keep. Trash. Give to Berry. Keep.
I haphazardly throw the articles of clothing to their designated piles. It's about time I go through my closet. Like seriously, who knew I had so much crap! At least I'll be able to give Berry some descent looking clothes now. She's gotten better since high school, but she still decides to walk out of the apartment in those tights thinking it is a great idea… no, no it's not. I've continued living with HummelBerry ever since I got back here 4 years ago. Wow, I can't believe it's been 4 years since that night. I glance down at my hand and gaze at the ring a certain blonde placed on my finger all those years ago and remember those promises we made. Stop it! Get back to cleaning. I dig deeper in my closet until I find a box that seems like it hasn't been opened in ages. What the heck is this? I pull it out and see there is a lock on it… wait, what? What is this? I don't usually hide my porn or at least not like this. And I don't think I have any deep dark secr-WAIT! I turn to the combination. 3-8-11. Click. My hands shake as I slowly open the box and am greeted with a blast from the past. Dusty pictures and letters line the box and a single tear comes to my eyes. Brittany.
That's right. I kept all of our pictures together, all our notes we passed back and forth in class, hell even playlist she made me for our only Valentine's Day together. Too many emotions come running back and I need to close this thing fast! Until I see a familiar shirt tucked in the corner. Hesitantly, I pull it out and laugh as I see the faded black letters across the dusty white shirt. Lebanese. Oh Britt.
"How's it going, Babe?"
I drop the shirt and turn to see my girlfriend, Dani. Yes I have a girlfriend and no it isn't Brittany. But more on that later.
"Hey, yea it's going. Slowly but surely." She comes over and leans down for a quick peck. Once she pulls back I see a confused expression on her face. "What's that?"
I follow her gaze to the shirt in my lap. I give a sad smile. "Um it was part of a Glee assignment and uh Brittany helped me with it." God, I remember that day. I remember how scared I was when she gave me the shirt, how frustrated she was with me when I refused to wear it, how much I regretted not dancing with her. The metal on my finger seemed to weigh a ton all of a sudden. I glance back up at Dani and see her let out a long sigh. "Santana, we have to talk about this. Especially if we're going to be living together."
I'm about to respond when I hear a hushed argument coming from the kitchen.
"Kurt, we have to give this to her. She made her decision."
"I understand Rachel, but we can't just hand it to her like it's no big deal!"
I stand up and go towards the noise til I see the dwarf and Porcelain standing beside the table with what appears to be the mail sitting on the edge of the table.
"Everything ok in here?"
Their eyes go wide as they look back at each other. What is going on? Kurt lets out a long sigh and gives a shaky nod as Rachel holds out an envelope to me.
"What is this?"
"Just open it."
I take the mail from Man-Hands and glance down at it. My name is printed on it with fancy calligraphy. Who uses this font? I glance up to my flat mates and they're just standing there holding their breaths like they're waiting for something. Kurt has an apologetic expression in his eyes, but he remains silent. I open the envelope and feel cardstock. My eyebrows furrow as I pull out the fancy paper and read
You have been invited to celebrate the bonding of two souls
Jasmine Alice Smith
Brittany Susan Pierce
I go numb as I reread those words hoping I'm reading them wrong. This can't be right. I trace my fingers over the cursive name still not believing what I'm seeing. I feel my throat closing and my heart racing. I'm about to drop the paper until I feel something taped to the back of the invitation. I slowly unfold it and immediately recognize the crayon penmanship. Please Call Me. I haven't talked to her in months. I knew she was dating someone, but she never told me how serious it was. I continued to stare at the contents in my hand. This has to be some sort of dream, no, nightmare.
"Santana..." Rachel starts.
"Babe, everything ok out here?" Dani walked out of my room. I break out of my daze looking around the room. Everyone is staring at me. I open my mouth to say something, anything. But nothing is coming out.
Ring Ring
"I-I better take this" I grab my phone and head to the fire escape.
I take a deep breath and slide my finger across the screen. "Hey Q"
"Hey S, I haven't heard from you in a while. How's it going?" I roll my eyes. Really Quinn? You suck at lying.
"Cut the crap, Q. I just read it." I let out a long breath that I didn't even know I was holding. Usually I would pretend like nothing is wrong, but I can't even lie to Quinn. She's too important to me and has no problem with calling out my bullshit.
"Santana, I had no idea they were that serious I swear. They've only been dating for 6 months before Jasmine proposed." Quinn was closer to Brittany as far as distance. She would give me updates on her when she talked to her. I would hear about when Brit defended herself when some creep got a little too handsy during an end of term party. But 6 months that's it? I guess that makes sense since it was after I started dating Dani.
"Yea, I know. It's not your fault, Quinn." The fact that not even Quinn saw this coming means something has to be up. It can't be a shotgun wedding unless they found a way for girls to impregnate other girls. That would be highly unlikely because if it was the truth, Brit and I would have our own TV show with our 15 kids.
"How are you?" I can tell she's hesitant with her question. I don't blame her. I wouldn't know how I would react either.
I let out a nervous laugh "Well I've been better. I mean, I'm moving in with Dani next week so I'm packing and I found Brit's box just 5 minutes before I read the invite. And even better, she wants me to call her!" I groan. I don't know how I'll be able to listen to her voice and keep it together. I just can't.
"I got that note too, though I think she want to talk to you more so." Wait, what? Why did she need to talk to Q?
"What did she say?" I'm gripping the cold metal railing with my free hand trying to keep myself standing.
"She wants me to be a bridesmaid. I'm guessing she wants you to be maid of honor…" I freeze. Maid of honor? Me? So I would get to stand next to her at the altar as she marries another woman? Oh hell no!
"I don't know. I mean, what do I say if she does ask? Yea she's my best friend, but I don't think I could watch my ex marry someone like that, especially if it's Brittany."
"That's up to you San. If you say yes, I'll be by your side to help you along. If you say no, will you at least come to the ceremony? Or at least come back to Lima and see everyone?"
I sigh. "I'll see."
"Well aside from all that, how's it going with Dani? You said you are moving in with her. You've been together for what, a year?"
"8 months. We were friends for a few months from work. It's going good I guess. I like spending time with her, but..."
"But you don't love her." Damn you, Quinn.
"Am I a horrible person?" I groan. There is no point in even denying it.
"If you don't love her, why are you moving in with her?" I pause trying to find the right words.
"Well, Tweedledee and Tweedledum want to get rid of the apartment since money is becoming an issue. And they could only find two bedroom condos so Dani offered to take me in and I mean we are in a relationship so it would happen eventually. And I can grow to love her." I sound like I'm trying to convince myself.
"C'mon S. After 8 months, you should be feeling something more than "like" by now. We both know you're not." She always knew me better than I knew myself. Her and Brit both.
I lean my head into my hands and sigh, "Quinn, she's getting married."
"They aren't married yet," she replies with a more optimistic tone. I sigh and try to find a way to escape this conversation. I can't deal with this right now.
"I should get back to Lady Hummel and Gay Berry before they think I've jumped or something. I'll talk to you later, Lucy."
"See ya Satan." I end the call and let out a long sigh. I wish I could stay out here for just a bit longer, but I know Kurt and Rachel are probably worried. As annoying as they are, I know they mean well. With one last breath, I go back inside.
"Babe, are you okay?" I really don't want to talk to her right now.
"Yea I just need to sort some things out. Can I talk to Rachel and Kurt alone?" She slowly shakes her head and sighs.
"Yea… I'm going to head back to my place. Call me when you get a chance."
We share a quick peck, but something seems off or maybe it always was. I feel bad as I watch her leave the apartment. She's been trying to get me to talk about my past with Brittany for a few weeks now, but I refuse to do it. I feel like if I tell her, then I would be letting go of Brittany and all our times together, something I'm just not ready to do.
"Santana, talk to us please," Rachel pleads once Dani is gone.
"I just got off the phone with Quinn. She's going to be a bridesmaid and she thinks Brit is going to ask me to be her maid of honor."
"San..." Rachel tries to cut me off again.
"No, let me finish. I'm going to call Brittany tonight. And I would appreciate it if you two didn't look at me like I'm a kicked puppy. And if anyone asks, cause I'm sure Trouty will call, tell them I'm fine. Nothing happened." Once I see them both nod, I turn around and head to my room. I glance at the boxes and shake my head. There's no way I can pack now. I might as well try to get this over with. I bring up my phone and call the familiar number… After 3 of the longest seconds of my life, I hear her.
"Santana?" I almost gasp as I feel a smile come to my face. Her voice alone manages to weaken my walls. This is going to be a long night.
"H-Hi Brittany." God, it's so hard to get those words out.
"Santana, you really called." She sounded surprised and relieved. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I heard her almost choking up. No! She can't do that to me. Not after everything that happened.
"Of course I did. You asked me to." Wow, even when we aren't together, I'm whipped. Why did I call?
"I know, I just didn't expect to hear from you so soon." I knew I should have waited. I probably seem so goddamn desperate.
"So- uh what's up?" Seriously, you find out your best friend/ex-girlfriend is engaged and you say what's up? Pull it together, Lopez!
"Well I know you saw the invitation… I'm getting married." If it didn't hurt before, it sure as hell hurts now. I take a deep breath before I respond.
"Yea I saw… C-Congrats Brit-Brit. I'm happy for you." I can almost hear her smile on the other side over the sound of my heart slowly breaking.
"Thanks Sanny. It means a lot to me to hear you say that. So I know I'm a bit late in planning in asking this, but well, you are still my best friend in the world and you mean so much to me. Would you- would you be my maid of honor?" Annnd there it is. Her voice sounds so soft at the end, almost like she's not sure if she wants to as the question. The silence is back. The same silence when I read the invite and I could feel everyone's eyes on me. I can feel those piercing blue eyes on me even if I can't see them. I didn't even realize how long the silence lasted.
"San? Santana, are you still there?" She sounded worried.
"I-I'm still here" I hear my voice crack. Ok Lopez. Now let her down easy and just say you can't do it. Tell her it is bad luck for an ex to be part of the wedding party. It may be a lie, but I'm sure there's some truth to it. Ok, let's do this. "I would love to be your maid of honor, Brit-Brit." What?!
"Really?" NO! C'mon Lopez, take it back!
"Of course, you're my best friend." What the fuck is wrong with me?! Stop talking! Abort mission! ABORT MISSION!
"Oh my god San, thank you! Thank you! Quinn is also going to be a bridesmaid so it'll be an Unholy Trinity Reunion!" I drop my head to my hands. I am so hopeless. At least I'll have Q to keep me sane- oh wait she's going to be pestering me the whole time. Shit. Wonderful.
She continues, "Oh we'll get to do dress shopping and cake testing and flowers and-"
"Whoa there Brit, when is all happening?" I vaguely remember seeing a date, but with everything going on, I honestly couldn't tell you when it was.
"Well, we don't want a long engagement so the wedding is April 22, our anniversary. You know how bad I am with dates. So we should start ASAP!"
I look at my calendar. It's just November now. 5 months to plan a wedding? This won't be easy.
"That's only 5 months away. Are you sure you don't want more time?" Please give me more time to deal with this.
"We've already booked the venues and we really wanted that say. I don't want to wait!" She never was very patient, especially when… STOP! Get your mind out of the gutter! You can't be thinking about her like that anymore. And it's your own damn fault.
"Ok Brit, I'll be in Lima in a few weeks for Thanksgiving so we can start then." Remind me again why I'm doing this.
"I can't wait to see you San! And you'll get to meet Jasmine." Yippee.
"Yea, I can't wait." So there may have been a bit hostility to that statement… Oops.
"Santana, what's wrong? I can tell when something's up. Tell me. Please." Well you see, I'm still in love with you. Arg I can't tell her that! But maybe I can hint at it…
"Actually Brit," I start until I hear another voice on the other end.
"Hi baby!" I hear lips smacking and an all too familiar moan through the phone. Jasmine must be home.
"Come on, it's late and I haven't seen my fiancé in a while. Time for bed, baby." I hear the suggestive tone and my blood begins to boil.
Brit giggles, "I'll be there soon, I'm talking to Santana" I hear the smile she's wearing as she says my name. Man, I'm reading too far into this.
"Your ex- Santana?" I can't fight the smile that forms as I hear the jealous tone. Hell yeah bitch!
"She's my best friend and she's going to be my maid of honor," Brit exclaims.
"I don't like that idea Brittany." That makes two of us. At least she's not a complete idiot.
I hear Brit give a slight groan, "San, you there?"
"I'm here, though it sounds like you have quite the offer over there." Even though I don't think you should take it.
I can practically hear her roll her eyes, "San, what did you want to tell me?" She's genuinely asking. Why must she be so perfect!
I gulped. I can't say it now. "Just that I've missed you and I can't wait to see you. And I'm happy for you." I struggle to get it all out while holding back the most important part. I love you.
"I've missed you too. I'll talk to you later so we can get started on the wedding. I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Yea, I'll see you then."
"Bye Santana."
"Bye, Brittany."
I glanced down at my screen where I see Brit's caller ID. It's us cuddled together in the castle right before I left for Louisville. Despite that we were going to be separated for a while, she still had her one-of-a-kind million watt smile, the smile that could light an entire city. How did all this happen? We were great 4 years ago when she headed off to MIT. Oh yeah, it was about a year ago when the former Glee members came to New York to celebrate Blaine's 21st Birthday. The last time I saw Brittany in person.
Flashback
We were coming up to the last bar on our list and we may have already been a bit tipsy… ok a lot tipsy. I'm about to grab another drink when I hear the sweetest voice behind me. "Hey there gorgeous, can I buy you a drink." I look up and see Brittany swaying, trying to stand still, but having a little trouble from the alcohol. She takes me in her arms and I hum in response.
"I think we've had enough to drink Brit-Brit." I've missed being in her arms like this.
"Then how about we get out of here and find some other way to occupy our time. It looks like everyone else is about to leave as well."
I turn and see Klaine dry humping in a corner, Samcedes deep in conversation, Puck trying to pick up some poor chick, and Quinn and Rachel getting a bit too close. Remind me to ask Fabgay about that later. I am about to turn back to Brit when I feel the most amazing mouth on my neck. Oh God.
"Brit, not here. We should bring this somewhere private." I turn in her arms and see her usual bright blue eyes clouded with lust. I grab her hand and rush to the door quickly saying a goodbye to whoever was on our way out.
We catch a cab back to my apartment and we can barely keep our hand off each other. I go straight for her lips. I taste a mix of her cherry Chap Stick, tequila, and lime. It drives me crazy as I only want more. As the cab slows, Brit throws money to the driver, grabs my hand and drags me up the stairs tripping in the process. "Brit, slow down!" I giggle. She really is not patient when it comes to sweet lady kisses. As I catch up, she slams my back into the door, peppering kisses down my neck and getting dangerously close to my rambunctious twins. "Brit, I gotta open the door"
"Hurry up San. I need you."
I manage to open the door as soon as those words leave her mouth. "Finally," she breaths out. I can't help but giggle as I wrap my arms around her neck as her hands make their way under my ass and I wrap my legs around her waist. Thank god for her strength. I grasp at her golden locks as her lips reattach to my neck, kissing and sucking and I'm positive there will be several marks when I wake up. "Oh jeez Brittany. Bedroom now." I gasp and feel her smile into my neck. After a few collisions with walls, doors, and tables, we finally make it to my bed. She drops me onto the mattress and pulls back. Where did she go? I look up and I see her leap midair onto the bed, or more importantly onto me.
"Oomph Brit!" We laugh into each other as we exchange short kisses until it becomes too much and I'm clawing at her back. Her hand make their way to the bottom of my dress and push up til it's bunched by my boobs. The downside of being well endowed, it is a pain to get tight clothing over the twins. Yet Brit has no problem pulling it up over my head. I reach for her blouse and carefully undo each button until Brit stops my hands and yanks the material apart sending buttons flying. Damn I love it when she's like this. Her dominance is so sexy and so intoxicating. I wouldn't mind being a bottom forever as long as Brittany is the top. I grab hold of her shorts and thong and yank them down needing to see more of her body. Soon, we are both naked and writhing on the sheets. "Brittany" I whine. I am so sensitive from the teasing between us all night. I can tell she needs this just as much as I feel her smirk into my lips. Well fuck it. I thrust my fingers into her tight folds not bothering with any more teasing. The whole night has been foreplay. "SANTANA! Oh god, Yes!" I match her smirk into the hungry kiss but it doesn't last long as I feel long fingers teasing my clit. "Brit-please". Soon her fingers are buried in me as I add another finger and pick up the pace. Moans fill the room as our climaxes continue to build.
"Oh right there."
"Faster, so close."
"Oh my god"
"SANATANA!" "BRITTANY"
We still for a few seconds letting our orgasms crash over us. Brit buries her face in my neck as we catch our breaths. Wow. Drunk sex with us is always hot, but that was something else. I look over to my best friend and can't fight the smile growing on my face. I lift her chin so she's looking at me and give her a sweet loving kiss. We fall asleep wrapped in each other's arms not knowing what morning would bring.
We wake the next morning to yelling in the living room. Confused, Brit and I throw on sweatpants and t-shirts and listen at the door where we hear Kurt and Blaine arguing.
"Blaine, why are you getting so upset? He's just a friend! You met him the other day!"
"You don't get it Kurt! He was trying to get with you all night. I had to mark my territory so he would know to stay away!" I cringe at the poor choice of words on Blaine's part.
"Mark your territory? So is that you want to call it? And here I thought you actually wanted to be with me. But no I guess I'm some piece of property."
"Don't be like this. You know that I mean!"
"Do you even trust me? I know you aren't around 24/7, but don't you trust me?"
There was a pause and Brit and I look at each other both knowing what's about to come. We all knew the dangers of distance in a relationship.
"I'll take that as a no. Well it's nice to finally know where you stand. You should leave Blaine."
"Kurt-,"
"Leave"
We hear a slam of the door and soft sobs on the other side. Poor Kurt. I was about to open the door to help him when Brittany grabs my shoulder.
"Santana, we have to talk." Oh I hate those words. I nod to tell her to go on.
"Santana, we've spent a lot of time apart, but I'm always thinking of you. I want to make us work. So what do you say, do you want to get back together?" She's gives a shy smile. I want to say yes and kiss her like there's no tomorrow, but …I think back to Kurt and what just went down. I glance down at our rings. She is almost finished school, but she still has her dream to chase. And I know we are both the jealous types. My smile drops and she notices. "Brittany, I want to, but it's not the right time. You still have to finish school and I know you've been looking into jobs up in Boston. We can't do it now."
"That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard, San. Even if I was looking for work in Boston, you could live with me or I could find work down here."
"Did you not pay attention to what happened out there? Distance tore them apart again. It'll do the same thing to us."
"The only reason we broke up last time is because you were too scared to make us work. I thought we moved past all that crap. We gave each other these rings because we promised to come back to each other."
"And I will always love you, Brittany. But I can't right now. I-I'm sorry" I know these excuses suck, but we can't get together now. I try to wrap my arms around her, but she pulls away shaking her head.
"No Santana, you don't get to do that to me again." She grabs the remnants of her clothes from last night and heads towards the door. "You obviously didn't mean what you said, so I'll give you time to think it over. Call me when you finally get the balls to follow your heart, cause I'm sick of reliving junior year." And with that she was gone.
I walked to the living room where I found Kurt glancing up at me with his tear-filled eyes. I sat next to him as we held onto each other and silently sobbed.
A few weeks later, I met and befriended Dani. Months later, she asked me out. I tried calling Brittany, but it went straight to voicemail. I called her roommate who told me Brit was with some guys from her differential equations class and last she heard didn't want to talk to me. So I went on a date with Dani.
And the rest is history. How could I be so stupid?! We were both single and had mind blowing sex. I hadn't felt that happy in years. I can't believe I let her go again. She was right, it is a repeat of junior year. I was too fucking scared to follow my heart and be with her so I made up all those lame excuses. I thought I promised myself that I would stop acting like an ass, but apparently not. I throw my phone on my bed and stare at the ceiling. Brittany S Pierce is getting married in 5 months, I'm her maid of honor, I still love her, and I'm moving in with my girlfriend next week. I twist the ring on my finger. What am I doing?
Brittany's POV
I hang up giving a small smile to my phone as I see Santana's Caller ID stay on the screen for a moment. The day before she left for Louisville was hard, but simply by being with her, I managed to forget about the impeding distance. I was broken from my thoughts when I hear a voice.
"Honey, I'm not comfortable with your ex being your maid of honor." I look up to my fiancé, Jasmine. Her skin is tanner than mine, but lighter than Santana's. Her brown eyes remind me of chocolate, but not the same caramel chocolate that Santana's remind me of. Ok yes, she looks a lot like Santana. Except for her hair. She dies her hair bright red, like Ariel red. Maybe it was her appearance that first caught my attention, but she is also a sweet person. She attended MIT as well and majored in Mechanical Engineering. That's like math but more sciencey and stuff, I think. Ok, back to the conversation and that strange look she's giving me.
"She's my best friend, Jaz. Are you seriously jealous? I'm marrying you." I know I agreed to marry her, but why do the words seem… wrong?
"I'm fine with it, but I remember you telling me of how possessive she could be. What if she tries to win you back?" I cringe as I hear those words.
"1. I am not a prize to be won. 2. I am marrying you. And 3. She has a girlfriend." I feel my heart crack at that last statement. It's all my fault after all. But how can she be jealous? I told her everything about my past. Well almost everything. She doesn't know the story behind the ring I wear around my neck every day.
She sighs, "I know, I'm sorry. I just know how much she meant to you." Means. "Are you coming to bed?"
I swallow and nod, "Yea, I'll be up soon. But I'm really tired, so no funny business tonight." I can't have sex with her while thinking of Santana… again. It's not fair to any of us.
She gives a small smile and heads towards the bedroom. I let out the breath I've been holding and collapse on the couch. Everything is a mess. When I heard Santana was trying to call me a few months ago, I secretly hoped she finally figured it out. But I guess not. The day I heard about her and Dani from Quinn is the day I met Jasmine. I was at the bar right off campus and was drawn to her and the resemblance she had to the Latina. A few drinks and a cab ride later, I found myself in her bed. A one night stand turned into multiple nights until she asked me out a few months later. And here I am 7 months later living in her apartment and planning our wedding in another 5 months. If only I answered my phone that night. If only I hadn't walked out on her that morning, even if it was mainly her fault.
My hand instinctively finds the ring around my neck. My fingers trace the engraved message, the words that I said to her all those years ago when she told me she loved me. Proudly So. A few tears come to my eyes as I relive those moments. I may have a ring on my left hand, but it still doesn't feel right. Oh Santana, what am I doing?
A/N: I'm not sure if future chapters will be this long yet. Anyway, what do you think? Please don't hate me! I know the arguments between Brittana and Klaine were lame, but that was the point. It was so lame, it was stupid and unnecessary. You'll also find various Disney references sneak into the chapters if you haven't picked up on that already. Also the wedding planning is going to be very unconventional and potentially impossible as far as some aspects. That's why it's fiction.
To the Guests who gave their input for what they would like to see: I'm sorry I wasn't able to incorporate it all, but I still value your thoughts. They still made me reconsider a few things in this chapter (a bit of the reason why it took so long to upload) so Thanks!
And not just them, Thank You to everyone who reviewed, followed, favorited, or even read the story! I will try to upload the next chapter as soon as I can, but it will be at least a week due to my schedule.
If you have any questions or comments, you can always send me a PM or message over Tumblr (sentimental-idiot). Reviews are much appreciated!
