This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: Follow Me To The Cabaret.


"Those Are Wooden Wings"

2. Burning the Midnight Oil

Their dance review was all through the next day, their academic tests on the two days after that, so Tuesday was their last free day to buckle down and prepare for everything without test times. All the studios were packed, backed up, but after very little pleading, Santana had said Brittany could bring Tessa and Aimee and practice at her place, if they broke nothing. Before they could do that though, they needed to hit the books and hit them hard.

Brittany wad definitely improving. She wasn't anywhere near genius and it was small progress, but it was already something to be proud of, and she was proud. She had also been made aware of the fact that it wouldn't be enough, and she had to continue improving or it wouldn't matter. If she had been all on her own it might have ended another way, but she wasn't alone, and her friends kept her motivated in ways she hadn't known to be possible.

Sitting in the library, her head would begin to pound, and she wouldn't so much panic as she'd mentally flee, as Tessa would put it. A couple of times she had fallen asleep, sitting up there, and she would be awakened with a shoulder nudge. When she'd realize she had fallen asleep she would feel bad about it, but they had to keep going, so they did.

Aimee had helped her a lot in organization. It was definitely easier when she had a plan. Crossing things off her to-do list, she'd feel some accomplishment, which was a really good thing to her.

By lunch time, she was spent, but they had done what they wanted to accomplish for the day on that front, so they could reward themselves with lunch out of school, Tessa's idea. They had thought of going to the diner where Santana worked, but knowing it would be a distraction, for both her and Brittany, they had decided against it. They found themselves doing a 'pick and choose' lunch, which was when they would go to a food court, each get something from a different restaurant, stick everything in the middle and then let their forks go where they wanted to go.

That day's pick had involved a salad, a stir-fry, and spaghetti and meat balls. They knew to be careful in the mixes they chose, having learned from one incident that it could lead to... disaster... when they got back to dance class.

"What time are you going in tomorrow?" Tessa asked the other two as she eyed the stir-fry, presently met with Brittany's fork.

"10:20," Aimee replied. Brittany finished her bite, passing the container.

"11:40," she told her once she'd swallowed. "You?"

"11:00," Tessa spoke before eating up her bite. "So..." she spoke after swallowing, "We should be done by lunch time, right? We can go to the library after."

"Please, no more study talk, my brain is going to fall off," Aimee breathed. Brittany looked up.

"Fall off what?" she asked, and the girls smirked.

"Nothing, let's just focus on something else for now, please." Tessa pushed the spaghetti toward her. "Yes, exactly," she hummed, twisting her fork through the pasta, which now had Brittany laughing.

They had finished eating, so after a walk through the mall to start digestion going, they had gown down to Santana's apartment. The living room, not too big to begin with, was transformed into a practice space by pushing all the furniture - what little of it there was - out of the way. They all had their routines figured already, now they just had to get them to the best they could be. The other two would observe, critique, correct... and then they would switch and do the same.

They were midway through Tessa's turn - she'd gone last - when Santana returned from work and they saw how late it had gotten. The roommates would stay for dinner, and then they'd head back to the dorms. When they went, Brittany had this look like she didn't want to leave, so they had told her good night, and in case they didn't see her until morning, not to be late.

With just the two of them now, Santana sat by Brittany on the couch – the trio had put everything back, at her demand, while she'd gone to shower off her work day. Now she looked to the blonde who looked exhausted.

"Hey, come here…" Santana told her, patting her lap. Brittany blinked, resting her head there as instructed. "Long day for you too, right?" she asked, and the blonde nodded. "It's almost over…" she promised, brushing through her hair with her fingers. With her other hand at Brittany's side, she could feel her start to calm.

"I know… that's the problem…" she mumbled.

"You don't want it to end?" Santana smiled.

"Don't want to leave you…" she went on, and Santana's smile trembled.

"It's only for a little while," she promised. "You'll be right back here before you know it." There was a pause.

"What if I'm not?" Santana turned Brittany's face up so she could look at her.

"Why wouldn't you be?" She wasn't speaking yet, but the way she was looking at her…

"What if I fail? They won't let me stay…"

"You'll do just fine. You're a superstar, they'd be crazy to…" Brittany gave her a look. "Hey, I mean it, alright? You were already the best one we had when you left McKinley, and now you're just… You blow me away, every time," she promised. Brittany blushed.

"But it's not just that, you know."

"I know," Santana nodded. "But I know you can do that, too. You've worked so hard. And, look… you want to review right now, just tell me and we'll stay up as long as we have to." Brittany considered this.

"Can we get ice cream after? You know, to cool off my brain." Santana smiled.

"Sounds fair," she agreed. Brittany sighed.

"Okay… just give me a minute?" Santana didn't argue; she was good with this position, too.

"Only a minute."

Thirty minutes and a nap later, they hey had gotten up and broken out the books. They were up to two in the morning, and the next morning they would wake up, still fully clothed, tangled with one another on Santana's bed, books all around.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)