A/N: Here is the second chapter. More of Brittany's thoughts about Santana at the beginning. Let me know what you guys think! I appreciate any feedback, and love all of the follows and favorites!
As an update, I am about 10 chapters into my new story. It is an AU Brittana fic, and I am pretty nervous/excited about it. It looks as if it is going to be around 30 chapters long, but I have gotten a little bit behind in it this week due to some unforeseen circumstances. I am hoping to get it done before I finish posting the rest of this story. I am still debating on whether or not I want to post chapters before the story is finished. I just really don't want to be one of those people who start posting chapters and then never finish the story and leave everybody hanging. But I also really kind of want to get the story out there, too. I am still thinking about it though...
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2
The first week of Cheerios practice was some of the most miserable moments of Brittany's life. The work wasn't hard and she didn't have a problem learning routines or keeping up with the exercise. The problem was that Sue Sylvester was one of the meanest and most intimidating people she had ever met.
Sue was constantly yelling at them and saying mean things through her megaphone. Brittany had been insulted a lot before, but not to this extent. Cheerleading was supposed to be fun, like dancing was, but it was turning out to be a bummer. The best part of practice was getting to see Santana.
Santana and she had gotten to talk a little bit during that week, but not as much as Brittany would have liked. They were able to stand next to each other and chat a little as they were rushed through warm-ups, but once practice started they had very little time to speak. That just made the week even more miserable for her, because she wasn't even able to spend time with her new friend like she wanted to.
She was looking forward to the sleepover at Quinn's so she could get to know both girls a little better. She only hoped that being around them like that wouldn't make them think she was stupid and not want to be her friend anymore.
Brittany knew that she was considered to be one of the better girls on the squad because Santana told her so. She, Santana, and Quinn received dirty looks from some of the other Cheerios, and Quinn told her it was just because they were jealous of them. She was happy that she at least got some recognition for her skills, even if it came in the form of jealous looks. But the constant insults from the coach made her question if she was really even that good at all.
After practice was finished the day of the sleepover, Brittany was feeling especially down. Sue had yelled some particularly nasty things to them, but had called Brittany stupid once when she couldn't remember which way was left when the coach told her to shift over when they were doing a pyramid. She really didn't like being called stupid, and now she was feeling stupid since she was so upset from what Sue had said that she couldn't remember how to open her lock to get her stuff out of her locker.
She sat down on the bench in the locker room, defeated. Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she began to sob quietly. Brittany really hoped nobody was in there to hear her cry, because she was afraid they would think she was stupid for getting so upset about it. She slumped over a little, hoping that her sobs would ease soon so she could figure out what to do about getting her stuff out of her locker.
"Brittany?" A quiet voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She recognized Santana's slight rasp, and looked up to meet concerned brown eyes. "What's the matter?"
She became embarrassed as the brunette came toward her, obviously wondering what had Brittany so upset that she was crying in the locker room. She felt her lip tremble as she fought off more tears, and she looked away as her face heated up a little with a blush. She didn't want to admit to Santana what was wrong. She didn't want her friend to think she was stupid. But if she couldn't trust Santana with this, then Santana obviously wasn't going to be her friend after all.
"I forgot how to open my lock," she whispered, hoping that the Latina wouldn't laugh at her.
"You forgot your combination?"
Brittany could hear the confusion in Santana's voice, and she became more embarrassed. It would have made sense if she forgot her combination, but she easily remembered the numbers. She just didn't remember how you were supposed to rotate the dial on the lock properly to open it up. She shook her head at Santana's question, and looked at the floor, wishing it would come up and swallow her.
"No, I remember my combination. I forgot how to open the lock."
She almost heard the moment the words sunk into Santana's head. But surprisingly, the brunette didn't make a nasty comment or laugh at her like anyone else would have done. She just asked for the combination and explained to Brittany how to open the lock. As she spoke, Brittany calmed down and she began to remember how the lock worked.
"Thanks," Brittany told Santana once the lock was open, looking up into the chocolate eyes. She was glad that she didn't see any laughter in them, just concern. Maybe Santana really would end up being her friend. Her heart started to lighten at the notion.
"No problem, Brit," Santana told her. Brittany almost smiled at the nickname. "But can you tell me why you forgot? I know you knew how to do it earlier. What happened to upset you so bad?"
Brittany was surprised that Santana knew that the reason why she couldn't remember how to open the lock was because she was upset. The Latina hadn't automatically assumed that she was stupid, which really amazed her.
Santana moved to sit down on the bench, and Brittany followed. They sat so they were facing each other, and the blonde could see the caring look in the brown eyes studying her. She looked away for a moment, unsure if she should tell Santana what was on her mind. But she knew she should try to confide in her friend. That's what friends were there for, right? To listen to you when you have a problem and offer support? At least that's what Brittany thought friends were supposed to do. She turned back to look at Santana, having made her decision.
"I think I want to quit the Cheerios."
Brittany watched as Santana's eyes widened and an almost panicked expression take over her normally calm face.
"What? No! You can't quit! We are the best on the squad, why would you want to give that up?" Santana spoke rapidly, astonishment and slight fear in her voice.
Brittany wasn't sure why Santana was upset by her thinking of quitting the Cheerios. It was just cheerleading, and it wasn't making her that happy. Besides, being the best on the squad didn't mean that much to her. She knew it meant a lot to Santana, but it wasn't the reason behind why Brittany had joined the squad.
She had joined to make friends and hopefully get rid of that cloud that hung over her throughout middle school when people teased her and made fun of her. She couldn't explain everything to Santana fully, but she did decide to tell her why being on the Cheerios wasn't something she thought was worth it anymore.
"I don't think Coach Sue likes me very much," Brittany said quietly, sadness evident in her voice. "And I don't like the way she makes me feel stupid."
Santana was quiet for a moment as she took in Brittany's words. The blonde could see something click into place for the brunette, and her face softened as she looked at Brittany.
"Brit, you are not stupid. You pick up her routines faster than anyone, and you make them look better than she ever could," Santana told her emphatically. Brittany's heart soared at Santana's confidence in her. She couldn't believe that Santana didn't think she was stupid.
"Sue is just a bitch," Santana continued, looking imploringly into Brittany's eyes. "Don't listen to her. I don't."
Brittany knew that wasn't true. She knew that Santana took Sue's words and criticisms to heart, too. She knew that being a Cheerio was one of the most important things to Santana, and she would do whatever it took to be one. Which meant putting up with Sue and listening to every word she said so she could do better next time.
"Yes, you do," she told Santana. She knew the brunette had said that to her because she was trying to offer comfort, but she still didn't like that Santana would put on her confident act around her instead of just being herself. Santana looked down after Brittany spoke, and Brittany could tell that she was embarrassed at being called out.
"Well, yeah I guess I do. She is pretty mean, and to be honest, she kind of scares me a little bit." Brittany was glad that Santana decided to be truthful with her. She liked seeing the real Santana and not the act she put on with everyone else. Brittany watched as Santana looked back into her eyes, and this time she saw that the Latina had real confidence in her brown eyes. "But we can't let it affect us. The things she says she just says so she can intimidate us and hold power over us. I'll tell you what. If she starts making you feel bad again, just know that I will always have your back. We can face her together. I am going to be there for you."
Brittany's heart started to pound at Santana's declaration. Nobody had ever offered to do what Santana was offering. Nobody had ever told Brittany that they would stand up for her and stay by her side when someone was being mean to her. She really had trouble believing that Santana was giving her something that she truly thought she would never have again in her life.
Her tears had stopped falling, and she searched Santana's eyes. She looked for any sign of Santana being false with her. But all she saw was sincerity and caring in the Latina's pretty brown eyes. She finally started to believe that she was going to have a best friend. Someone who would always be there for her no matter what. Someone who actually cared about her and wouldn't turn her back on her when she didn't measure up.
Brittany's face softened as she fully accepted that Santana meant what she said. She gave a small smile and wiped the drying tear tracks at her cheeks. "Promise?"
Santana smiled back at her, offering the pinky of her right hand for Brittany to pinky-promise with her.
"Promise," Santana said sincerely.
Brittany couldn't help but grin as she looped her left pinky around Santana's extended digit, and she felt so happy that she swung their now linked hands a little out of excitement. Santana laughed at this, and Brittany watched as the Latina's eyes lit up and her nose scrunched a little.
The only thing Brittany could think of at that moment was how Santana was the prettiest girl she had ever seen. She felt a funny tug in her chest as Santana's eyes sparkled with her joy, and she became acutely aware of the Latina's soft finger wrapped around hers. Brittany felt a kind of swooping feeling in her stomach, kind of like what she felt when she rode the roller coasters at King's Island. She had never felt anything like this before, and she didn't know what it meant. Only that it was kind of both a scary feeling and thrilling one at the same time.
She was broken out of her thoughts when Santana stood up suddenly, keeping their pinkies linked. Brittany was drawn up off of the bench by Santana's motion, as if her body had to remain close to the Latina's, like magnets.
"Come on, BritBrit," Santana said cheekily. "Let's get out of this place. We've got a sleepover to get to!"
Brittany laughed at the new nickname, Santana's cheerfulness spreading to infect her. They kept their pinkies linked, neither girl wanting to end their connection, and gathered their things. They walked out of the gym together side by side, smiles never leaving their faces as they walked outside.
"What do we got here? A couple of lezzies?" A boy's voice ruined the moment. Brittany looked over to see a large boy in a letterman's jacket on the sidewalk near the doors.
She was used to taunting after enduring years of it in middle school, so she was just going to keep walking and ignore the boy. But she noticed Santana stiffen next to her, and felt the Latina's pinky finger start to loosen around hers. Brittany didn't want the other girl to let go. They had nothing to be ashamed of, and she liked having contact with Santana like that. So she tightened her pinky around Santana's, not letting the brunette pull away, and was relieved when the digit relaxed in her grip as Santana stopped trying to pull out of her grasp.
Brittany knew Santana was upset by this boy, although she didn't really know why. She didn't think she was a lezzie, as this boy put it, but even if she or Santana were then it didn't matter. Nobody should get made fun of for liking who they liked.
She knew she could try to lessen the tension by acting like she didn't know what the boy was talking about. It would mean that she risked being thought of as an idiot, but if it got Santana to relax then it would be worth it.
"My name's Brittany, not Lizzie," she said. She saw Santana's head turn sharply to look at her out of the corner of her eye, but she remained looking at the boy, careful to keep her expression blank. It was important that the boy didn't think she was messing with him, otherwise he could get mad and then things could get worse.
The boy's face scrunched in confusion for a moment. "No, not Lizzie. Are you stupid or something?"
And there it was. Brittany figured it was coming, but it didn't stop it from still hurting. Especially after the day she already had with Sue and the lock incident. She started to look down in embarrassment, but she noticed Santana straightening beside her. She felt Santana's pinky tighten around her own, and she couldn't resist the pull to look over at her friend.
Santana was clearly mad. Her eyes were snapping lightning, brows furrowed in anger as she directed her wrath at the boy.
"Listen up, mouthbreather. When my bestie and I are married to rich men living the high life away from this shitty place, you're going to be selling used cars downtown reminiscing about the "glory days" when you actually had friends and a future to look forward to. Now why don't you go along now and pretend that you don't get a hard on every time you slap another dude on the ass, knuckledragger."
Brittany watched Santana go off on the boy, in utter amazement of the beautiful girl next to her. She watched as the Latina's breathing sped up slightly as she ranted, and a faint flush cover her cheeks. Brittany thought that Santana was the best thing that had ever come into her life, and for some reason she had the urge to press a kiss to the brunette's cheek. Especially after the boy turned away and scurried off in fear.
Nobody had ever stood up for her like that. Brittany was in complete awe of her new friend. One thing she definitely knew for sure was that she was glad Santana had decided to like her and be her friend. She would never be ungrateful for the Latina's presence in her life.
"Sorry about that," Santana said as she turned to look at Brittany. Brittany could tell that Santana was a little worried about her outburst. But she definitely didn't need to worry that Brittany was upset by it.
"Don't be sorry," Brittany told her, trying to ease her mind. "Thanks for having my back."
Brittany smiled at her, showing the other girl that she truly meant what she said. Santana smiled back, and the tension eased out of her shoulders. Brittany truly was thankful that Santana kept her promise. Santana Lopez was definitely Brittany S. Pierce's best friend. Now if only she could find some way to make Santana's wishes come true the way the Latina had fulfilled Brittany's.
Brittany hadn't been to a sleepover in such a long time that she didn't really know what to expect. The last sleepover she had gone to involved watching Disney movies and playing games while giggling a lot. She was relieved to see much hadn't changed. The girls were relaxing in Quinn's really awesome basement on their sleeping bags, eating popcorn and supposedly watching a movie. Brittany was a little disappointed that the Disney movies were replaced by more age-appropriate films, but figured it didn't matter too much since they weren't really watching what was playing anyways.
But talking about boys seemed to have taken the place of playing games. This made Brittany a little uncomfortable, since she hadn't even been kissed yet. Having to tell her new friends that she hadn't ever been kissed because people thought she was weird wasn't a pleasant experience. But Quinn and Santana seemed surprised when she had told them that. Santana especially seemed surprised, like she couldn't imagine why anyone would think Brittany wasn't worth kissing. She was truly grateful to her new friends for making her feel accepted.
Brittany was glad when the topic of conversation started to move away from boyfriends and kissing. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel like Quinn was being honest about her boyfriend. And it felt like Santana wasn't being honest, either. Brittany got the feeling that Santana was a little uncomfortable about that topic of conversation as well, but she was better at hiding it than Brittany. The little bit of tension in the room faded as their conversation moved on.
Brittany's thoughts were in a whirlwind, as they usually were. She thought about how nice Quinn's house was. Quinn's parents were obviously rich, and the house was a little stuffy. She was glad she didn't have to live in it. Her house was so much more comfortable than Quinn's. And her parents were nicer.
She wondered if Santana's parents were nice. Santana was super sweet, so Brittany figured her parents would be, too. Brittany found that her thoughts kept returning to Santana often. She thought about how nice Santana's smile was. She thought about how pretty Santana's eyes were. She thought about how great it made her feel when Santana stood up for her and promised to be there for her. She thought about how nice Santana's skin felt when they linked pinkies.
She had gotten that swoop in her stomach a couple more times when Santana smiled at her. And her heart beat a little funny when she looked at her, too. It didn't happen with Quinn, so Brittany just assumed it was because Quinn wasn't her best friend like Santana was.
As the girls talked, Brittany was excited to learn more about Santana. She learned that Santana's dad was a doctor, but Brittany wasn't exactly sure what her mom did. The blonde just knew that Santana's mom was gone a lot, just like Santana's dad. She learned that Santana had cheered in middle school and that she liked cheering because it made her popular (although Santana didn't come right out and say that part). She learned that Santana was really close to her grandmother, which Brittany thought was really sweet. And she learned that Santana acted differently toward her than she did toward Quinn.
Santana definitely made Brittany feel special, and she had to admit that she liked it. Brittany liked Quinn, and thought she would be a good friend as she got to know more about the blonde girl. But as she learned more about Santana and spent more time with her, she knew that Santana was going to be closer to her than anyone else. Santana didn't give her dirty looks or laugh at her when she said something strange or mixed up her words. Quinn had done so a couple of times, but stopped quickly when she got glares from Santana and realized that it hurt Brittany's feelings.
She was glad when Quinn fell asleep, because it meant that Brittany could talk to Santana alone. They had laid down on their sleeping bags right next to each other, and rolled onto their sides so they were face-to-face so they could continue to talk quietly.
"I can't believe you don't have tons of friends," Brittany told Santana after the Latina told her that she didn't really have many friends in middle school.
"I have a hard time letting people close to me," Santana told her. "I don't know why, but I am just afraid that people would think I am different or don't fit in. That's why I want to be a Cheerio, because being a Cheerio means you are respected. And I want to feel like I belong, you know?"
Brittany understood that perfectly. She knew what it was like when people thought you were different and you didn't belong. She just couldn't imagine Santana ever not fitting in anywhere. She was just too awesome to not have friends.
"I am sure that you will be the most popular girl at McKinley," Brittany reassured her. "You will have tons of friends that you won't be able to hang out with them all."
Santana smiled at her. "You think so?"
"Yep. But I hope that you will always have time for me. Because I'm your best friend, right?" Brittany couldn't keep the hope out of her voice.
"Of course, Brit. I will always have time for you, no matter what."
Brittany grinned at that. Her face sobered a little as she thought about her own fears of starting high school.
"I am nervous about school starting," Brittany confided.
"How come?"
"The high school is so much bigger than my middle school, and I don't know where everything is. Plus, having to learn my schedule and what classes I am supposed to go to and remembering where they all are is kind of scary." Brittany was quiet as she said this. She was more comfortable with Santana than anyone else she ever knew before, and she knew that Santana wouldn't laugh at her, but it was still hard to admit her insecurities to her new friend.
"Don't worry, I can always help you find where you need to go. And I'm sure Quinn wouldn't mind either," Santana told her sincerely.
"I'm also scared people will think I'm stupid and weird like everyone at my old school," Brittany whispered. She didn't get the best grades and her teachers got frustrated with her a lot. Not to mention all of her classmates making fun of her. She really didn't want high school to be the same as the past several years had been.
"Hey, BritBrit, listen to me," Santana said softly, but forcefully. "You are not stupid. You are awesome! And if you need help around school, you know that I have got your back, remember?"
Brittany smiled, content that Santana was truly her friend. "I remember."
She was starting to get sleepy, but she didn't want to lose the connection she had with Santana while they were talking. So she reached out her left hand, extending her pinky toward the Latina. She was glad when Santana wrapped her right pinky around Brittany's digit. It helped to soothe her. She thought she saw Quinn lift her head and look over at their hands, but she didn't think much of it as she started to drift off. They fell asleep slowly, keeping their pinkies linked as they descended into slumber.
