Unexpectedly Yours

3.

I jumped up, tore my ear buds from my ears, and looked at her in disbelief.

"How-?"

"Brittany…" she replied not really knowing the whole question. She took a wild guess. She smiled brightly at me and my heart melted.

"My parents-?" I said and felt like a jerk for not being able to form complete thoughts.

"They let me in and know we're up here," she said and still had a smile on her face.

"Hi! How are you?" I asked genuinely.

"I feel stupid…and like a jerk, really," Quinn said as she pointed to the empty chair,

I nodded my head and said, "Why?"

"Cuz I ran away from you," she said sadly as she sat down.

"I sounded like a creepy person," I said and half smiled, "which I am not, by the way!"

"Oh, I know," she replied. She smiled again.

"Can I ask what you are thinking?" I asked.

"Right now?"

I nodded my head. I brought my knees to my chest as I waited for her response. My eyes never left her.

"I am wondering and maybe you can clarify it for me, just how you'd like to get to know me? As friends…" she said.

I gulped and she saw this.

"Or as more?" she finished her question.

"Both!" I replied.

She smiled, but said, "Oh."

I got up from my bed, walked over to her, knelt down, and looked up at her.

"I know this is kinda crazy and a little weird. You pretty much didn't know that I existed before today and now here I am asking you for permission to get to know you," I said and suddenly got nervous so I looked down.

She lifted my chin with her hand and looked into my eyes and said, "Wanna get out of here? Bring a poem cuz I want to read it!"

I nodded my head feverishly. I then grabbed everything that I needed which included a poem. She walked to the door and then said as she turned around, "Oh, Santana, I knew you existed."

Then she left my room. I stood there motionless.

"C'mon slow poke!" she yelled as she descended downstairs. I suddenly found myself running towards her. I whizzed past her and asked her to stop at the foot of the stairs so I could officially introduce her to my parents.

"Um ok, I don't do parents too well, but for you I'll try," she said and smiled shyly.

"Oh, thank you, Quinn!" I said humbly.

I led her to the kitchen where my parents were sitting having coffee.

They looked at me, or rather us, as I said, "Um, Mami and Papi, this is my new friend, Quinn Fabray. We were paired off in English today to write and read a poem to the class in the coming days. We are going to go and work on it. Is that okay?" I asked not really caring if they said yes or not. I was only being respectful.

"It's Friday night," my Papi, "Go out and have some fun. Homework can wait!"

"That's really responsible of you honey," my Mami said and looked at him.

"I know," he said, smiled cheekily, and looked at her. When his eyesight returned to me and Quinn, he asked, "Why are you two still here?"

We backed away toward the door.
"Home by midnight. Nice to meet you, Quinn. Hope to see you again," my Mami called out as we walked away.

Quinn turned around and waved.

Once we were outside, we got into Quinn's car and she said, "I agree with your Dad, we'll work on the poem tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Definitely, what did you want to do," I asked overexcitedly.

"Well, being that it's still light out I have just the place," she said and then revved her car and drove off.

"Where we going," I asked since the scenery didn't look familiar.

She didn't say anything.

"Quinn…" I said.

Again she didn't say anything.

"Quinn…" I repeated.

"Wow! Control freak much? Just trust me, okay?" she asked me with a smirk.

"Ok, Quinn, I trust you," I simply said.

Before I knew it we were at the park. She got out of the car and began to walk towards the swings first. I followed her like a puppy dog. I didn't say anything. I just followed.

She sat down on a swing and began to pump her legs to get the momentum going for it to go higher.

"Would you like me to push you," I asked knowing what that meant.

"Um sure," she responded. I was surprised.

"Oh, ok," I said as I stepped up behind her and began to push. There was a comfortable silence between us. As I pushed I noticed her looking around.

"Are you expecting someone," I asked.

"Oh, no, sorry."

"Don't be," I said.

Then she continued to gaze off. I knew that I now enjoyed this…just staring at her while she staring off in the distance.

"Tell me about your family," I asked. I felt like I was intruding on her private thoughts.

She suddenly said, "You can stop pushing."

"Did I say something wrong," I said and she noticed my scared expression. She planted her feet on the ground so that she would stop swinging.

"Oh, no, Santana," she said as she grabbed my hand for the first time.

"Oh, ok," I said and took a deep breath. We made eye contact while we held hands. It felt great!

"Come, let's sit over there and watch the sun continue to set," she said and dragged me with her. We both plopped down onto the grass and we both looked straight ahead at the setting sun. I took occasional glances at her and I saw her smile and then when I looked again I saw her frown.

"Hey, Quinn, if you don't want to talk bout it or anything at all, there's no pressure. When we hang out, ya know, in the future there's no pressure, okay?" I said just to make sure she knew that.

"Thank you, Santana…you're pretty special, do you know this?" she asked and looked at me.

"Actually no…no one has ever told me that," I replied honestly. I actually started to get teary eyed.

"Aw, I didn't say it to make you cry or be upset," she said and moved closer to me. Once she was close enough she threw her arms around my shoulders and tugged at me.

"Oh, I know Quinn. It just touched me is all," I said as I tried to hug her back, but due to my position it wasn't possible. I maneuvered myself to be face to face with her.

"May I?" I asked.

"May you what?" she asked.

Instead of answering her question, I pulled her towards me and into a hug. And there we sat, in each other's arms.

"Wow," I whispered more to myself than to her, but she obviously heard it since we were hugging.

"Wow what?" she asked.

"It's just that I've been waiting for some time to get my Quinn cuddles on," I said with a smile as we pulled back from each other.

"Oh really now," she said, smiled, and then laughed.

"Darn tooting," I responded with a huge smile.

She just looked at me with endearment and laughed lightly.

"You know if I had known that we were coming here I'd have packed a picnic…" I said and then looked into her eyes.

"You hungry?" she asked me concerned.

"Little bit. I didn't enjoy my dinner," I said truthfully.

"Why not?"

"Because I had a lot on my mind. I don't like being the cause of someone's sadness or questioning…" I replied being totally truthful.

She stood up and extended her hands to me. I grabbed ahold of them and she pulled me up. She's stronger than she looks which excited me a lot.

"I'm truly sorry bout that. I needed to think," she said.

"And did you," I asked.

"Yes, San, if I didn't think bout it, I wouldn't be here with you," she said confidently.

"Where are we going," I asked as she led me to her car.

"Dinner…you're hungry, right?" she asked.

"Famished," I replied.

"Good, I'm hungry also," she said, "And I also want to read that poem!"

"Oh, ok. Hey," I said and she looked at me sideways as she drove.

"We have a little getaway. Ya know someplace we can go to talk, get away from the crap that is school, and just…be together…" I said hopeful.

"Exactly," she said and did a fist punch. I giggled.

We arrived at the semi-crowded diner and were seated immediately. We ordered and our beverages came out pretty quickly.

"Ok, moment of truth, let me read it," she said and smiled.

I handed over the piece of paper and she took it from me as she said, "I am going to read it aloud if it's alright with you. I understand better that way."

"Whatever you need, Quinn," I replied nervously.

She unfolded it, looked up at me for a second, smiled and then started to read, "A Glowing Candle…You are a candle that has been placed in my hands…To help guide me through life…Now that your light is in my life…I can't imagine what I did before I knew you…Your candle has illuminated my thoughts…You have guided me through my trials...By showing me my life through your flame…From a perspective that helps me see how I can fix my life…Your candle makes me proud to be me…You've shown me the person I could be…All the while never allowing me to forget the person that I am now…I hope that your candle can shine forever in my life…I cherish it everyday and will for years to come…You and your candle will always have a home…In my heart," she said as tears fell from her eyes.

"Did you like it? I kinda wrote it for you," I said wholeheartedly.

She got up from her side of the table and came around to my side and slide in. I turned to look into her beautiful green eyes. She gave me a kiss on the cheek first. Then she cupped my face and leaned forward to kiss me. When our lips were inches apart, I heard myself whisper, "Quinn…"

That was all she needed. She closed the gap between us and she kissed me. It wasn't a total make out kiss. It was chaste and sweet. It met every expectation I had of kissing Quinn Fabray. When the kiss stopped she pulled away, but didn't open her eyes immediately. I did and saw that I had a couple of seconds. I made sure that when her eyes opened she saw me smiling. So when her eyes did open that's what I was doing. I was wearing a smile from ear to ear. Proudly.

When I found my voice all I could think of saying was, "Thank you."

She looked into my brown eyes and said, "My pleasure."

Then our food came, but we sat next to each other and held each other's free hands while we ate.

"I do have more poetry…I mean poems about you," I said in between bites.

"Well, I look forward to reading those and working on our project together," she said.

"When the project is done and we've read it to the class is that the end to us?" I asked not really knowing how she'd respond to that.

"Do you want it to be?" she asked.

"God no," I replied honestly.

She smiled and said, "Then Santana it won't be!"

That's all I needed to hear.

We spent the rest of the night driving around. We went for ice cream and learned what our favorite flavors were. I could sense that she was having a good time because she allowed herself to. There wasn't awkwardness to our first outing. I didn't know if this was a date or not.

"Is this our first date," I asked hesitantly.

She was in the middle of swallowing her ice cream. Once she did that she looked directly into my eyes and said, "You don't want to date me."

Then she became silent. I could tell she was thinking about something.

"Why wouldn't I want to date you? You're Quinn Fabray!" I said.

"See you want to date my rep and not me," she accused and began to get up from the table.

"Quinn, wait," I said as I gently grabbed her arm just before she could get away.

"Let go, Santana," she asked meekly.

I immediately let go because I didn't want to scare her. She stood in front of me because she knew I had something to say.

"Fuck your rep. What I meant is that I've waited a long time to get to know you. I think about you a lot! Quinn, I see beyond the person you are in school. I see the true and sincere Quinn Fabray and this is the person I want desperately to know," I said with conviction.

She walked back to the chair and sat down.

She stared at me intensely.

"You do believe me, don't you?" I asked.

"Um," she began.

I grabbed her hand and started to massage her porcelain skin.

"If you don't believe me then I don't think this'll work," I said as I pointed to the both of us.

I continued," I am always honest with my friends. They deserve that from me. Quinn, you are now my friend whether you like it or not. I'll never lie to you."

"I'm…I'm just a little paranoid at times. I think people are nice to me only because of what I can get for them, ya know, popularity and other little perks. I never think that people actually want to spend time with me," she said as tears streamed down her cheeks. She wiped them away, but more followed.

"Well, there's one girl who wants to get to know you and spend as much time as you allow with her…" I said and pointed at myself with a smile.

She smiled.

"Do you believe me?" I asked.

"For the first time in my life, I honestly do. And you know what?" she asked.

"No, what?"

"It feels beyond wonderful. Get up from your chair," she asked.

I did and she walked over to me and pulled me into a warm and tight hug in the ice cream parlor.

It was a magical hug in the sense that we molded together perfectly. It felt, to me, like this was the person I was supposed to be hugging for a long time.

Once the embrace ended she said, "I don't want to have to drive you home and say, 'Good night'."

"But I have a curfew," I said and lowered my head, "but would you like to spend the night at my house?"

"Yes, sure," she replied quickly.

My head jolted up and then I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my home number.

"Hi, Papi, it's me…no, we didn't get arrested…haha! I actually have a question…Um, Quinn's parents are away this weekend and she hates…sorry…doesn't like to be alone in her house…I was wondering…she can stay over the weekend! Thanks, Papi…I'll lend her a tee shirt and pair of pants to sleep in…I'll sleep on the floor…We'll be home before 12…Thanks again! Love you," I said and then hung up.

When I looked up from my phone I saw her staring intensely at me.

"Well, um, that's taken care of," I said and smiled.

"Thank you, Santana," she replied.

"No worries…this'll be fun…I haven't had a sleepover since Brittany and I were twelve. Oh God…do you mind if I text her real fast? She might think you kidnapped me,"

Quinn chuckled and motioned me to go ahead.

"Hey maybe we can go out to breakfast tomorrow morning, not too early. Sound okay?" I asked.

"Coolbeans!" she replied and I smiled.

"B, I'm okay. Interesting night with Quinn. We'll fill you in 2morrow at breakfast. Will text 2morrow with time and place. ~ S." I texted it out and read it aloud. Then I hit send.

In a few seconds my phone buzzed with "Details are def needed. See you tomorrow. ~ B." I read aloud.

Then we got left this place, which had become my new favorite place because it's where I had my first kiss with Quinn. We got into the car and drove home together.

When we arrived home, my parents weren't on the first floor of our house, so I assumed that they went to sleep. I locked the door and turned off the porch light outside. We quietly walked upstairs and into my room. I closed the door and turned on the lap, which was beside my bed. Quinn was standing right in front of my bed staring at me. When I turned around she startled me because of her intense staring.

"So you need PJs," I said trying to not sound as nervous as I felt. She watched as I walked over to my dresser and pulled out my Van Halen tee shirt and a pair of black shorts.

"Is this alright," I asked soundly realizing that I needed a makeover.

"Yes, they're fine!" she said and laughed as she took the clothes from me. She actually changed pretty much in front of me. I think that she could sense how strange this whole experience was for me.

I took a big breath and she saw me do this so she asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Yup," I said simply as I changed into my pajamas.

"You have no reason to be nervous, San," she whispered into my ear. I love when she calls me "San". With that boost of, I guess, self esteem, I stepped towards my bed and unmade it for her. I grabbed a pillow and threw it on the floor. I then went to my closet on the other side of my room. I opened the door and got out a blanket. When I returned to the bed I saw my pillow back on the mattress.

"I thought you could take the bed," I suggested.

"I don't like sleeping in an empty bed when there's someone else who could sleep in it with me. This is your room," she said seriously.

"I-I-," I stuttered.

"Hmm," she asked as she climbed in.

"I want you to feel comfortable, is all," I said.

"I want you in this bed right now," she demanded. I jumped in without any hesitation.

"Thank you," she said as she tucked us in. We lay there looking up at the ceiling. I boldly went to find her hand in the darkness and found it by her side. I entwined our fingers together and she squeezed my hand. We lay like this for some time and then we both turned over to face each other.

"So…" she said.

"So?" I responded.

"You have Quinn Fabray in your bed, what do you want to do," she said teasingly.

"What I want to do isn't what's going to happen. I want to get to know not only your body, but more so your heart. So I don't want to rush into anything physical, if that's okay with you?" I said.

"Wow!"

"What?" I said

"You do have feelings for me."

"Um, yea, Quinn, I do, genuinely," I said.

"Thank you, Santana, for wanting to get to know me and not just my body. Other people just want to…" she started to say.

"Well, I'm not other people," I interrupted.

"No, I know you aren't," she said and leaned over a little and kissed my forehead.

"Good. Please remember that. I said no pressure and I meant it," I said and smiled as I felt her lips on my skin.

"Ok, I will. Would you like to me to tell you about my family?" she asked.

"Only if you feel comfortable," I said.

"It's my Mom, Judy and my Dad, Stan. We try to portray the image that we are an all American, Christian, happy family. We aren't. I don't feel that I can talk to my parents and have a real and authentic conversation. They can't have a conversation without it turning in an argument. They fight over the stupidest stuff too," she said and wiped away a tear, "Anyway, I had a pregnancy scare with Puck, did you know that?"

"I try not to listen to the gossip about you because I only get upset," I said as I shook my head no.

"Well, thank you," she continued, "Well, I was scared with the idea that I was pregnant so I went to my Mom for help, or at least someone to listen. All she did was pretty much throw a pregnancy test at me and told that if I was pregnant I had to move out. I'm not sure if it was lucky or not, but it turned out to be a false alarm. So I stayed in the house. My father doesn't talk to me. My Mom is barely home. You know that they're probably home, but I'm sure that they're not even thinking, 'Where's Quinn?'"

"Quinn, I'm sorry. I'd like to say that when you're here, you could consider yourself home. No matter what happens you have a home here," I told her.

She pulled me closer and into a hug. I hugged her tightly. When the hug broke, I turned over to turn off the light.

Then we just lay there in the complete darkness and silence. I pulled her toward my body once I turned to face her again. As I was pulling her to me, she opened her arms up so that we could be hugging each other as we started to fall asleep.

The only light I saw came from the twinkle in her green eyes. She brushed away the strands of my black hair. I pulled her as close to me as possible. I felt her breath hit my face. I knew when she was falling asleep because her breathing calmed down.

"Good night, San," she whispered to me.

"Good night, my Quinn," I said and hoped that she'd be okay with her nickname.

She laughed a little, but it was endearing. Then she kissed me to show me how much she liked the nickname.