You and Me… and Everything in Between

Chapter 2: Everything's Gonna Be Alright

"Heather?" the all-but-familiar rasp of Naya's voice says.

"Hi…" she says back, her voice sounding defeated.

Naya takes a moment to process the sudden appearance of her best friend at her door step at 11 o'clock at night. It's been a few weeks since the girls last saw each other, with their different schedules and all. Looking back at Heather – the disheveled hair, the apparent dried tear stains on her shirt, the puffy, red eyes, and the sad look on her face – something clicks.

"Oh my God! Heather, what happened?" Naya asks while bringing Heather into a tight embrace. Concern is now coursing through her body as Heather just stands there, her body limp in Naya's arms.

Naya squeezes Heather tighter, while gently stroking her arms to provide warmth and comfort. Heather's body finally come back to life as she wraps her arms around Naya's waist and buries her head into the crook of the shorter girl's neck. Her breathing is escalating, but she's trying very hard to keep it together and not have a re-enactment of Sobfest 2012.

After standing like this for several minutes, outside in the cool breeze, Heather's breath slowly returns to normal. Naya tilts her head back just enough so that she can brush some hair out of Heather's face and look into those somber blue eyes.

"Hey…" Naya says softly. Heather managers to whisper a 'hey' back before she continues. "I'm gonna take you inside, okay?" Heather nods weakly and with that, Naya takes her hand and leads her into the house.

"I'm gonna make us some hot chocolate," Naya states, as she guides the blonde to the couch and throws a blanket over her shivering body. "I'll be back in a sec."

Shortly after, Naya returns with two cups of hot chocolate and takes a seat next to her best friend. Heather takes the first sip, letting the warm milk, cocoa, and hint of nutmeg (just the way she likes it) fill her mouth and warm her body.

"Thanks," Heather says, shooting a small smile Naya's way. Naya smiles back in return.

A million things are running through Naya's head right now. In the past 4 or so years that she's known Heather, she has never seen her like this. Heather is usually very upbeat, energetic, and optimistic, much like the character she portrays on Glee (minus the random comments about dolphins being gay sharks). It kills her to see her friend in such a state and not knowing what caused it.

"Taylor and I broke up…" Heather finally says, as if on cue, breaking Naya away from her inner monologue.

"What?" Naya half asks, not really sure if she just heard Heather correctly.

"We broke up," the blonde says a little more firmly while taking another sip of her cocoa.

"Oh, wow… I'm sorry Heath," the Latina regretfully says, placing a comforting hand onto Heather's. "Are you oka…" she stops herself from asking because the answer was pretty obvious.

"I don't know…" Heather begins. "Nothing really makes sense right now."

"Come here," Naya says, patting her lap.

Heather sets down her empty cup and rests her head on her best friend's lap. Her hands instantly make themselves busy by messing with the fabric of Naya's shirt.

"Start from the beginning," Naya says, as her hand gets lost in long, wavy locks of blonde hair.

It had started a few months ago… the problems between Heather and Taylor. At the beginning of the year, everything was great. Heather was so excited about this being the last semester Taylor would be playing baseball for his college because he would finally be able to move to LA. Taylor being in LA meant the two of them living together and possibly, one day, getting married. Heather and Taylor had been looking forward to the day when they both were living in the same place again. Sure, they had to work twice as hard to maintain their long-distance relationship, but things always seemed better when they were able to actually be together. However, somewhere between their visit on Valentine's Day to now in September, things had gotten worse.

During the summer, they saw each other sporadically, mostly due to the fact that Taylor decided to play in one last summer league with a few of his teammates. Heather didn't necessarily mind because she knew how important it was to him… it's just that he kind of sprung the idea on her at the last second. You see, Heather was all set for the plans they had made months ago, which entailed them going away to an exotic location to just be with each other for 3 weeks… no interruptions. Unfortunately, due to Taylor's carefree attitude and his reasoning of them being able to spend all the time in the world together once he moved to LA, that romantic vacation never happened. Instead, Heather spent most of the summer with her family in Arizona, and of course, with her bestie Naya.

Heather tried not to dwell on their broken plans for too long because it seemed a little silly to harp on since her boyfriend was moving to be with her, after all. Plus, she didn't want to turn into one of those Stage 5 clingers that have to be with their significant other every second of every day. She knew that line of thinking was a bit extreme, especially given their situation, but she also had to make sure she kept herself in check. More than anything, Heather was just bummed because the vacation was supposed to be a somewhat trial run of them living together. She had to admit… she was nervous. She and Taylor had never lived together before and the thought of him being around 24/7 made her a little anxious. Not because she didn't love him and want to be with him, but because they hadn't been together in one place for so long. Also, the fact that they had grown into adults together, but separate from each other, made her worry that they might not be as compatible anymore.

And now, back to present day, Heather replays the conversation she had with Taylor hours ago. She had meant it when she said that it bothered her that she didn't miss him as much as she thought she should. Sure, she missed talking and joking around with him because before they started dating, he had become a really close friend of hers. She missed his personality and his goofiness. However, the romantic feelings that she once had for him seemed to have slowly drifted away within the past few months. It didn't bother her that she didn't get to see or talk to her boyfriend as much as she missed talking to or hanging out with her friend Taylor, who was a boy. It didn't bother her that she didn't get to kiss and cuddle with him at night or be like a regular couple and actually go on dates throughout the week. Hell, it didn't even bother her that they hadn't had sex in months! What did bother her was the fact that the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this break-up was permanent, unlike the other times.

"Wow, Heath… I didn't realize things had gotten so bad," Naya say, sympathetically. "Why didn't you say anything, hun?"

"I don't know, I guess I just didn't want to bother you with it," Heather responds honestly.

"Heather…" Naya removes her hand from the blonde girl's hair and places it on her chin, tilting it up so that she can look into her eyes. "You know you can tell me anything, good or bad… despite our crazy schedules nowadays, I'll always make time for you!"

"I know, Nay… I'm sorry I didn't say anything," she says with a sad smile. "I guess I thought if I just kept myself busy at work and pretended that there wasn't a problem, then it would kind of fix itself."

"Oh, HeMo…" Naya says softly, stroking Heather's hair once again. "So… what does all of this mean exactly?"

"I think it means we're done… for good," Heather trails off.

"Is that what you want?" the Latina asks.

"Maybe… I mean, there's gotta be a reason why we've been on and off for the past 7 years. I just feel like I'm at a point in my life where I need something more stable, ya know?" she responds.

"Yeah, I hear what you're saying," says Naya.

"And if we're not meant to be together, then the last thing I want is for him to pack up his whole life to move down here to be with me," Heather starts. "The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt him, but I can't pretend that this is working anymore," she finishes, burying her head into Naya's stomach.

"It'll be alright, HeMo… trust me," Naya states. "I think you both just need a few days to just cool down and think about everything. Once you talk again, just put everything on the table, that way there is no confusion about what you both want and whether or not that includes you guys continuing your relationship."

Heather pulls her face away from Naya's stomach to look at her. "You're so smart, Nay… God, I've missed you!"

Naya smiles in return and leans down to place a soft kiss on top of Heather's head. "I've missed you too, kiddo!"

Heather shakes her head and smiles back at her best friend.

"Now there's that smile I love so much!" Naya says, joyfully.

"Shut up," Heather replies, ducking her head to hide the blush threatening to form on her cheeks. "Anyways, enough about me… what's up with you and Matt?" she recovers, wiggling her eyebrows.

Naya rolls her eyes and lets out an exasperated sigh. "Nothing! Why does everyone think there's something going on between us?" Naya questions.

"Maybe because there is?" Heather says with a wink. "I mean, we all know he has the hots for you! Can't really blame him though…" she says with a shrug.

Naya freezes momentarily, replaying Heather's last statement and the possible implications behind it. She quickly shakes those thoughts away and responds, "Nothing is going on between us, like I said. Besides, I would've definitely told you if there was."

"Well, what's the problem?" Heather asks. "He's smart and cute… although he's gonna be pissing a lot of Brittana fans off in the upcoming weeks. On second thought… maybe you should stay away from him because his life might be in danger," she deadpans.

Naya bursts out laughing, and soon enough, Heather joins her. "You are too much! Man, I miss just being goofy with you every day," Naya says, earnestly.

"Me too! Hopefully Santana will get some more screen time soon, that way I can have my bestie back on set with me," Heather states.

"Yeah, hopefully… but only time will tell," Naya replies. "To answer your other question though… there's nothing wrong with Matt. We went on one date. He's a nice guy, but the spark just wasn't there," she concludes.

"Spark, huh? Sounds a bit serious for just one date," Heather responds.

"I didn't mean it like that… like I was expecting to fall head over heels for him," Naya starts. "I just meant that I'm tired of just dating someone for fun, ya know? I want something serious, something that can actually turn into a meaningful relationship… I'm ready to find the person I want to spend the rest of my life with!"

"Whoa Nay, that's deep! My little girl's all grown up!" Heather chokes out, wiping a non-existent tear from her eye.

"You're an ass!" Naya says, pushing the blonde off of her. Heather sits up, giggling.

"You know I'm just messing with you! But, seriously… that's great Nay-Nay!" she responds, honestly. "So… is there a special someone you have in mind?"

Naya contemplates her answer, unsure if she should be completely honest with her best friend. She wants to… in fact, she's been dying to tell her for years now, but there has never been a good time. In all the years that she's known Heather, she's been with Taylor. Even during the times when they were "on a break", she never felt it was a good time to bring up her feelings to the blonde beauty, especially since their breaks never lasted more than 2 weeks. But now, armed with the new knowledge that their relationship may be over for good, could this be the right time? No, of course not… they just broke up like 4 hours ago!

A pale hand waving in front of her face snaps Naya back to reality.

"Nay, are you still with me?" Heather questions.

"What? I mean, yeah… sorry. I just zoned out for a minute," she quickly responds.

"So, is there someone? And if there is, why am I just hearing about it now!" Heather asks tentatively. She knows that Naya has never really been candid about the guys she's dated or has been interested in, so she treads lightly.

"Maybe… but it's too soon to tell, that's why I haven't said anything," Naya replies with a shrug.

"Okay, I understand. Keep me updated though!" Heather says.

"I will," Naya simply states.

Heather lets out a big yawn as the events of the day hit her hard. "Man, I'm exhausted… what time is it?"

Naya checks her phone. "Almost 2," she answers. "Why don't you take a nice long bath and then we'll go to bed?" Naya suggests.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Heather responds.

Naya hops off of the couch and extends her hand out for Heather to grab. The two-shot make their way upstairs to Naya's bedroom and Heather heads to the dresser, opening up the drawer that Naya specifically designated as hers. She grabs the clothes that she needs and then heads to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Naya lies down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. So many thoughts are running through her head at the moment and she's not sure what to do with them. The only thing she knows for sure is that Heather needs her best friend right now, a role that she has never failed at (and doesn't intend to now, despite her feelings).

After about 45 minutes, Heather re-emerges into the bedroom to find a sleeping Naya. Heather can't help but smile at how adorable her best friend looks at the moment and how lucky she is to have Naya in her life. As quietly as possible, Heather gets into the king size bed and crawls under the covers, trying her best not to wake up the sleeping beauty next to her. Unfortunately, she is unsuccessful, as Naya begins to stir before slightly opening her eyes.

"Hey," she breathes out.

"Hey… I didn't mean to wake you," Heather apologizes.

"It's okay, no worries," Naya replies simply. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks!" the blonde responds.

It's silent for a few seconds before Naya speaks again.

"I was thinking that tonight, maybe we could have a girl's night or something," Naya starts. "I figured we could get all the girls together and go dancing and then have a sleepover. What do you think?" she finishes.

"I'd love that!" Heather says with a bright smile.

"Good, then it's settled," Naya states.

"Hey Nay, what are you doing during the day? I thought maybe we could hang out, just you and me," Heather asks, hesitantly.

"I have to go to the studio for a few hours to work on some tracks for my album," she answers.

"Oh, okay… nevermind then," Heather says, disappointment apparent in her voice.

"You could come with me, if you want," Naya states. "I could show you some of the stuff I've been working on and you could meet Dizzy, my co-writing partner."

"Really? You wouldn't mind if I tagged along? I mean, I don't want to get in the way or anything," Heather replies.

"What? Of course I won't mind. Besides, you could never get in the way!" she says simply, bopping Heather's nose with her index finger.

"Okay then, if you insist," Heather says happily.

"Alrighty, let's get some sleep then. Night HeMo," Naya says sweetly.

"Goodnight, Nay!" Heather replies back, just as sweet.

Heather rolls onto her side, facing away from Naya. She's exhausted and her eyes are closed, yet her body refuses to give in and just let her sleep. She lets out a sharp breath in frustration. Maybe she can't sleep because she suddenly feels a little lost and lonely. And as if she was reading her mind, Heather feels a slight shift in the bed and a caramel arm wrap around her stomach.

That was one of the great things about her and Naya's relationship… the girls knew each other so well that usually words did not have to be spoken for them to know what the other was thinking. But sometimes, even the smallest word or phrase was all that was needed to calm the other down.

"Sleep, Heather…" Naya whispered. "Everything's gonna be alright!" she stated as she tightened her grip around her best friend.

Heather relaxed into the embrace and placed her arm on top of Naya's, interlacing their fingers. And with that, Heather was finally able to fall asleep.

Author's Note:

First off, I just want to thank everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited (not a real word, but I'm going with it), and/or is following this story… it really means a lot. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. The next one should be up later this week! Also, if you haven't read my other stories, take a break from your busy day for a few minutes :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing!