A/N: I'm gonna start off by saying thank you guys so much for all the positive feedback you've been giving! Because of you guys, writing is fun for me again, so I'm really enjoying it. So thanks to Neon-Rainbow80, JellyFish152, MeganLovatic, HighOnFaberry, DantanaAretheCutest, AMPitUp, bubbleandsqueak, FangirlBitch, KamisaMF, Alex sweets, LemonyBomb, slowturtles, zero, and the four 'guests' that reviewed, it really made my day .
Okay, to business! I've had a couple of suggestions as to who to pair Brittany with, and I think I'm gonna go with Mike, at least for now.
Okay, so maybe Santana can't claim to know Dani, since they've only had a few conversations during class or a Quidditch match, but something about her has captured Santana completely. Maybe it was the intrigue of her blue hair in the boat, or maybe it's the grace with which she flies, weaving between players and bludgers with ease. Maybe it's the dimples in her cheeks and chin, or the way she grins with bright eyes when she laughs. Santana doesn't really know. All she does know is that she can't stop staring.
"Santana?" Rachel's voice breaks into her thoughts.
"What?" Santana snaps out of it just in time to catch a small smirk on Dani's face. Crap; she'd been caught.
"I was just saying that I bet you can't wait for the Quidditch season to start again," Rachel continues, amused. Quinn looks at her with a knowing smile, and Santana kind of wants to slap both of them.
"Uh, yeah, I haven't been able to play all summer. Y'know, muggle town," she manages, determinedly avoiding Dani's eyes.
Dani speaks up. "I was gonna go for an early morning practice tomorrow, get a head start. Do you want to, like, join me? About six-ish?"
Santana flails for a few seconds before nodding mutely. Dani smirks again, like she knows what she does to Santana, and soon after, she excuses herself to bed. When Dani leaves the room, Santana lets out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. Quinn is now openly laughing.
"Oh my God, Santana! You have no game," she comments, still sniggering.
"Shut it, Fabray, before I tell everyone who you've got a huge crush on!" This makes Quinn pale, and everyone look around with interest. Santana knows she's won, at least for now. "Besides," she continues, "it's not like it's a date or anything." Santana hates how disappointed she sounds.
"Santana, she wants to meet you, one on one. Even if it's not a date, Dani still wants to get to know you," Rachel interjects. Santana wishes the brunette would stop getting her hopes up. She shrugs.
"Whatever. I'm tired, you guys, I think I'm just gonna go to bed,"
As she leaves, Santana swears she can hear Rachel quizzing Quinn about her crush. She smirks.
…..
Santana's up early the next morning; far too early for her liking. Still in a stupor, she throws on a pair of jeans and her warmest Slytherin jumper. Slipping her trainers on, and grabbing her Firebolt from under her bed, Santana sneaks out of her room and passes through an empty common room. It really is too early for this.
As she approaches the Quidditch pitch, she can see a lone figure zooming around fifty feet above her. Dani's a blur, flying laps through the early morning gloom. Again, Santana can't tear her eyes away.
Presently, Dani lands next to Santana, cheeks red and eyes sparkling from the chill. "Hi," she greets cheerfully.
"Um, h-hi," Santana kicks herself for stuttering, "You were amazing just then."
Dani looks at her with amusement, "I was just warming up,"
Santana doesn't need the cold to turn her cheeks red. "Still, you were great," she mutters.
She knows Dani can sense her nerves, and Santana's grateful when she suggests more laps to warm up. She swings a leg over her broom, and pushes off from the ground, feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline course through her. Dani is alongside her, and they race a few laps of the pitch side by side. It feels so good to be flying again; since she lives in the middle of a muggle town, she can't exactly get her Firebolt out and fly over the park with a beater's bat. She'd been worried about losing her touch, but it all feels so familiar, like riding a bike.
She may, however, be letting Dani win on purpose.
The blonde raises her hand to signal a stop, and Santana pulls up in midair, hovering thirty feet above the dewy grass. Dani stops beside her, and they both just spend a minute catching their breath. Looking out over the grounds to the castle, Dani says, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," Santana says. And okay, she knows it's cheesy, but she's not really talking about the castle. If Dani notices, she doesn't let on; she just gazes at the view for a few more seconds before turning back to Santana.
"Know any tricks?"
"Of course," Santana says, "but I'm not gonna show them to you."
Dani pouts, and Santana just about melts. "Why not?"
"Uh, because they're part of our game plan, and I can't give our secrets away to the enemy!"
"So I'm the enemy?" Dani looks affronted, and Santana stammers, alarmed. After a few seconds, she notices Dani's grinning at her, all pretence gone. Santana calms down somewhat when she realises Dani was joking, and curses herself for being so damn awkward around her.
Dani's always had that effect on her.
…..
"Do you have a quill I can borrow? Mine got smashed."
Those had been the first words Dani had said to her. Santana had been the last one into class during one Charms lesson in their first year, and the only spare seat was by her. Taking a deep breath and frowning at her nerves, Santana had sat down next to Dani, who had been rummaging in her bag before pulling out a shattered quill.
"Um, yeah, s-sure," Santana had stuttered, handing the blonde a spare quill from her pocket.
"Thanks," was all Dani had said, but it hadn't mattered because she'd flashed that grin at Santana, and butterflies had sprung to life in her stomach.
Safe to say, she hadn't learned anything in Charms that day.
…..
The next time they'd talked, Dani's hair had been pink.
Santana, like the smooth talker she is, had blurted out in the corridor, "Why's your hair pink?"
Passing her in the opposite direction, Dani had replied, "Felt like it," and then she'd been out of sight before Santana could formulate a response beyond a slack jaw.
That had been halfway through their second year.
…..
Dani's back to blonde now, but being a metamorphagus, it probably won't stay that way for long. It's one of the many things Santana likes about her; she never knows which colour Dani's hair is going to be next. Last year, Dani had showed up after Christmas with purple hair, and Santana had just about died.
"I've got a trick," Dani says.
"What is it?" Santana expects her to fly off and demonstrate.
She does not expect to see Dani's face screw up, almost like she's about to cry.
Santana's about to ask her what's wrong when, starting from the roots, Dani's hair turns green. She's too shocked to respond for a second, and then she notices the silver streaks amongst the green. It clicks; Slytherin colours.
"What do you think would happen if I turned up to the Gryffindor-Slytherin game looking like this?" she smiles deviously.
"I think there would be a riot," Santana answers honestly, allowing herself a smile.
"Cool," Dani says, "I might just do that."
She shakes her head, and her hair turns blonde again. She notices Santana's stare, and she must misread it as envy, because she smiles proudly and says, "It's a pretty cool party trick anyways."
It's then that Santana realises it's a lot lighter, and as she checks her watch, she sees they only have another ten minutes before they should really head back inside. Absentmindedly wondering where all that time went, she points this out to Dani, who only says, "Race you to the castle?"
This time, Santana's pretty sure Dani lets her win.
…..
"So, how was your date with Dani?" is the first thing Rachel asks when she sees Santana outside the Great Hall later that morning.
"It wasn't a date, Rach!" Santana protests.
"Yeah, but you wish it was," Quinn comments.
"One word, Quinn," Santana says, "One word and I could ruin your life."
Quinn shuts up, and once again, Rachel is intrigued.
"Come on, guys," Brittany is the one who breaks the tension between the friends, "let's just get some breakfast. We're getting our timetables this morning, remember?"
They girls all nod, and when Mike and Kurt join them, enter the hall. Just as Santana is about to go in, she feels a hand on her arm, and turns around to see Quinn glaring at her.
"What?"
"Just because I told you who I like, doesn't mean you can blackmail me, Santana!" Quinn hisses through gritted teeth.
"Quinn, I don't care that you're g-"
"I'm not!" Quinn insists, eyes darting, "Just because you're comfortable with liking girls, doesn't mean I am."
"Who said anything about me liking girls?" Santana challenges.
Quinn rolls her eyes, "Please. You don't have to be a genius to work it out. You've been practically in love with Dani since first year!"
It's Santana's turn to hiss. "I'm not in love with Dani! I just… um…"
Quinn shakes her head, "Come on, San. Admit it."
Santana says nothing.
"Fine," Quinn says, "be a coward. At least I plan on telling Rachel how I feel about her. Eventually."
And with that, she storms into the Great Hall. Suddenly, Santana isn't hungry.
…..
Santana knows she should apologise to Quinn, but as the day wears on, her confidence wanes. It doesn't help that Dani keeps distracting her with that smile. Santana's pretty sure she sees Dani wink at her once after catching her staring. It's not her fault Slytherin share a lot of their classes with Gryffindor. This can't be happening, Santana thinks, why would Dani suddenly be showing interest in her?
Unless… Rachel.
Santana doesn't know if she wants to strangle Rachel, or hug her.
It's not like she'd ever have told Dani herself, she reasons.
…..
Santana's always had a problem with not telling people how she really feels. She'd never told her father how much she loved him, and she never could. Not since that fateful day.
No-one knows about Santana's father, not even Brittany and Quinn.
She'd been ten years old when she'd seen her father get stabbed on the street.
A/N: So I wrote this pretty quickly, but I wanted to update as soon as possible, so I hope you like it. The whole Brittany/Mike thing will probably start in the next chapter, but it will only be a side ship, and I'm not sure how permanent it'll be. Let me know what you thought of the new chapter
I'm hoping to update again tomorrow, but don't hold me to that!
