Hello lovelies! you guys are the bomb dot com! How has your week been? Mine's been great; i got a new tattoo (you who follow me on tumblr might have seen it). Okay so only two of you, butter-bomb and NINAvanS, scored the teaser. Who's ready to find out what happens for the rest of the day?! let's go!
"Oh. My. God."
Dani picked up the box from Santana's lap to take a closer look at its contents as Santana buried her face in her hands.
"I know. It's so embarrassing. Ugh why did I even show you..."
"How many do you have?"
"...I lost count..."
"Are you serious right now?" Dani couldn't help the teasing grin on her face. She pulled one out of the box.
"I wish I wasn't. Now you know why you have to keep this quiet."
"Oh yeah I totally get it. We wouldn't want anyone knowing that Santana Lopez is a top notch nerd!" Dani started laughing.
"Oh shut up Dani," Santana grumbled as she took the box back. "I'm not a nerd."
"Um, that big ass box of Batman comic books would like to disagree with you," Dani joked.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. And give me that!" Santana reached for the comic in Dani's hand, gently putting it back in the box. She closed the lid and walked over to the closet, carefully placing the box back under the floorboards. After rearranging everything, she made her way back to the bed and sat next to Dani, who had laid backwards and was staring at the ceiling.
"How did that not-so-little secret collection come about?" Dani asked, looking over at Santana.
"I was in a convenience store on vacation and saw one by the magazine rack," Santana shrugged. "This was when the movie remakes were coming out. I was planning on seeing the movie with Puck," Dani frowned slightly, "but I didn't know anything about Batman, so I looked at it hoping to get more info on the movie, and was hooked."
"So how do you keep your collection a secret? I mean Lima isn't a big place, you'd most likely run into someone you know in any store."
"I...uh...oh god, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but...once a month I go to the comics shop two towns over." Santana threw her body back on the bed, landing next to Dani. "I can't help it! Batman's pretty much the coolest dude ever! And the artwork is incredible..." she felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. "Oh god I am a nerd. I'm a total nerd," she groaned. Dani giggled, causing Santana to smile. She loved hearing Dani's laugh.
"A totally cute nerd." Santana felt her heart stop. "But yeah, still a nerd," Dani teased.
"Ugh whatever," Santana reached over and lightly hit Dani's arm. "Batman's cooler than you'll ever be."
"Excuse me?"
"You're excused."
"Ha ha, very funny. Batman may be cooler than me, but he's nowhere near as cool as," she paused, leaning over to whisper in Santana's ear, "Superman."
If Dani hadn't mentioned the Man of Steel, Santana probably would have melted right then and there. Even so, she had to admit that having Dani whisper in her ear gave her the worst butterflies she'd ever experienced. With the butterflies raging, she sat straight up and glared at Dani.
"You. Take. That. Back."
"Oops, too late. Already said it. And you can't take back the truth. Superman will always be one step ahead of Batman," Dani gave Santana a wink.
"Danielle you take that back or so help me..." Dani shot up at the mention of her full name, but couldn't help her laughter at the sight of Santana's deadly serious face.
"Did you just use my full name against me?"
"You lost both your nickname privileges when you insulted Batman," Santana crossed her arms and pouted.
"Aw Tana, I'm sorry. I don't take back saying Superman is awesome, but maybe, just maybe, Batman is just as awesome." Santana was still pouting, so Dani threw her arms around the brunette's neck, rested her head on her shoulder, and batted her eyelashes. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Santana felt the electricity running through her body as Dani put her arms around her. She thought her heart would beat out of her chest when the blonde put her head on her shoulder. When she turned her head to look at Dani and saw her batting her damn eyelashes, Santana knew there was no way she could ever stay mad at the blonde, even if she tried.
"I suppose..." she sighed, a tiny smile playing on her lips.
"You're the best," Dani squeezed her arms tighter around Santana's shoulders. Santana tentatively wrapped one arm around Dani's lower back and let her hand rest on the blonde's hip.
"Don't you forget it," she grinned.
They stayed like that for a couple minutes. For Santana, it was the best couple minutes she had ever spent with Dani. Of course she enjoyed every second with the blonde, which was weird considering that most people annoyed the shit out of her after fifteen minutes, but this was different. There was no pressure to be anything but herself. She had already revealed her second biggest secret, and Dani hadn't laughed at her. Well, not seriously anyways. And it certainly didn't hurt that the most beautiful girl she had ever laid eyes on was still draped around her shoulders. She wasn't used to people being so touchy with her, but in that moment, Santana was perfectly content.
"Hey Tana?"
"Hmmm?
"Is that the window you use to get on the roof?" Santana looked at the window across from her bed.
"Yeah, why?" Dani lifted her head off of Santana's shoulder to look at her.
"Can we go out there?" Santana smiled. She liked hearing her and Dani together as a "we".
"Sure thing. Construction finished this morning," she stood up and walked towards the window, Dani following. Santana opened the window and stepped out onto the roof. She turned around and, to her own surprise, held her hand out to help Dani through the window. The blonde took hold of the offered hand and climbed out beside Santana. She looked around and immediately shuffled closer to Santana.
"Shit, I didn't realize it was so high up." Santana faced her, concern etched on her face.
"We can go back inside if you'd like?" Dani took a deep breath and squeezed Santana's hand, which she had yet to let go of.
"No, I'll be okay. Can we sit down though?" Santana's breath caught in her throat as Dani squeezed her hand.
"S-Sure," she stuttered, mentally berating herself. She led Dani to the spot she usually sat in, the blonde keeping a firm grip on her hand. They sat down close together, and Santana was elated when Dani didn't let go of her hand.
"So why did you move to Bumfuck, Ohio?" Santana asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Dani sighed and let go of Santana's hand, at which the brunette frowned, and played with her shoelaces. She sat in silence for a couple minutes before speaking.
"I always had problems with getting bullied, starting in the third grade. It was so bad I had to transfer schools in the sixth grade and again for freshman year. When I...um...when I came out a couple years ago, it got worse. I thought I could handle it, but this last year was basically hell. I dated a girl who was still in the closet in the beginning of sophomore year, but she got freaked out and broke up with me. She told the whole school I came onto her and forced her to do things against her will, and everyone believed her. I didn't, I swear, but no one listened. The bullying got worse and worse, and I just couldn't take it anymore. I asked my parents if we could move somewhere, anywhere else. We have family a couple hours from here and my dad's job let him relocate, so this is where we ended up."
Santana couldn't believe it. Dani was gay? Halle-fucking-lujah! But then the rest of her story sunk in. Who in the actual fuck could be mean to this girl? She was gorgeous, funny, intelligent, talented, kind, and just all around wonderful. Santana felt her jaw clench and her hands ball up into fists. She wanted to find every single person who ever had a bad word to say about the blonde and introduce them to Snix, who hadn't made an appearance since freshman year when someone made fun of Brittany. Nobody messed with either of them after that, or anyone else Santana was close to. She looked over at Dani. The blonde looked so small with her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knee, a stray tear making its way down her cheek. Santana reached over and wiped away the tear, wrapping her other arm around Dani's shoulders.
"Dani, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through that."
Dani leaned into Santana, resting her head on the brunette's chest. Santana laid her head on top of Dani's, listening to her quiet sniffles as a few more tears escaped. After a few minutes, Dani spoke.
"Thank you."
"For what, D?" Dani pulled back and turned to face Santana.
"For listening, for not judging, for being here. Just, thanks," she looked down, a small smile on her lips. Santana smiled back.
"Anytime," she paused, contemplating her next question. "You said you were bullied before you came out...why?" Dani let out a sigh.
"Ask me again sometime," she replied, turning her head away. "I don't really want to talk about more sad things. Not today at least." Santana nodded, disheartened, and looked down, playing with a small hole in her jeans.
"Hey." Santana didn't look up. "Tana." She still didn't move. "Santana look at me." Dani brought her hand under Santana's chin, bringing the brunette's eyes up to meet her own. "I promise I will tell you. Just give me some time. I have a hard time trusting people, but I know I can trust you more than nearly everyone I know. I have no idea why. I've already told you two incredibly important things about myself that very few people know, and we just formally met not even four days ago. I want to tell you. Just be patient with me. Please?"
Santana looked into those brown eyes she loved so much. She saw so much sincerity and hope that she couldn't do anything but smile and agree.
"Okay."
Dani smiled and dropped her hand from Santana's chin. She turned back and scooted her body closer to Santana's. Santana was more than happy with the close contact, but one thing still danced around in her mind.
"Who else knows? I know earlier you said that I was the second person to know that you write, and I assume not very many people know about the bullying."
"Most of my family knows about the whole deal, and since I didn't have many friends in school I didn't have anyone else to tell. My derby team was really nice, but most of us didn't really talk outside of practices and matches."
"Okay, but who is the other person who knows that you write music?" Dani hesitated to answer. She abruptly stood up.
"I'm getting cold, can we go back inside? I'm hungry too," she said lamely, giving Santana a half smile. Santana sighed and pushed herself up.
"Yeah let's go." She walked behind Dani and mouthed "ask me again sometime" to herself. Santana knew that opening up was hard, especially to someone new. Hell, she still hasn't told Dani that she's gay too. She had no idea how Dani had the confidence to tell a near stranger something like that. Santana was so happy that the blonde trusted her so quickly, but she wished that she could know Dani more. That girl was still a mystery.
The two of them headed inside and made their way to the kitchen. Dani insisted on leading the way, ending up in the downstairs bathroom. Santana laughed at her the whole time, letting the blonde continually walk into the wrong rooms. Eventually she made it to the kitchen, and fist pumped like she'd won the lottery. Santana couldn't help the smile on her face as Dani sat on the counter and watched her make popcorn. When it was ready, they headed into the family room. Dani walked around the small coffee table and plopped herself down on the couch as Santana handed her the popcorn, walking over to the bookcase next to the TV filled with DVD's.
"What do you wanna watch?" Santana asked the blonde.
"Something...silly." Santana looked around for a minute, and pulled out a case.
"How do you feel about 80's comedies?"
"They're usually the best." Santana grinned.
"Awesome. Have you ever seen Airplane?" Dani laughed and clapped her hands.
"Oh my god I love that movie! 'Surely you can't be serious!' 'I am serious, and don't call me Shirley.' Yes let's watch it!" Santana chuckled as Dani recited the lines. "That was so cute," she thought.
"Okay okay we'll watch it."
Santana put the movie in and made her way over to the couch. She sat down next to Dani and put the popcorn bowl in between them. Half an hour in, she looked over at Dani and watched as the blonde brought her hand up to her open mouth to eat some popcorn and missed, dropping the kernels onto her chest. Santana's body started shaking in silent laughter, hoping Dani wouldn't notice.
"I don't wanna talk about it," Dani grumbled, picking the kernels off of her chest and throwing them at Santana.
"I kinda want to talk about it," Santana laughed. She stopped laughing as one of the kernels hit her on the forehead. She grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at Dani. The blonde gasped as she was showered in popcorn.
"Oh it it so on!" she exclaimed, tossing a handful at Santana. She grabbed another handful and ran behind the leather chair in the corner of the room.
"Like Donkey Kong!" Santana dodged the flying popcorn, grabbed the bowl, and started chasing Dani around the house, throwing popcorn everywhere. She cornered Dani back in the family room on the couch. Dani threw her hands up in front of her face, yelling "Truce! Truce!" through her laughter. Santana dumped what was left of the popcorn onto her head and fell back on to the couch next to her. Dani calmed her laughter to giggles, eating the popcorn still on her. Santana picked some off of her own shirt.
"Great, now we're out of food!" Dani whined.
"I can order a pizza?" Santana suggested.
"Ooh yes please. I don't really care what kind."
"Okay." Santana stood up and made her way into the kitchen, grabbing the house phone. As she called the pizza place and ordered, she looked around at the mess she and Dani had created. Popcorn was everywhere, some was smushed into the carpet, a couple chairs were tipped over, and pillows were flung far from their original resting places. Santana grinned. She hadn't done anything as childish as a food fight since elementary school, and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Dani made her feel like she could just cut loose and be silly. It was something she never felt around other people. Everyone expected her to have all of her shit together all the time, but whenever she was with Dani, she didn't feel any expectations other than to just be.
Santana finished placing their order and walked back to the couch. Dani was in the middle, still eating stray bits of popcorn. Santana sat on Dani's left and leaned back against the armrest, bringing her feet up next to her. They watched the movie for a couple minutes before Dani turned to face Santana.
"You can stretch out, if you want," she offered, leaning back into the couch and holding her arms up, motioning for Santana to lay her legs across her lap. Santana hesitated for a moment before moving her legs, her calves resting on Dani's lap and her feet hanging over the couch on Dani's right side. The blonde dropped her arms on top of Santana's legs, turning back to face the TV. Santana tried to refocus on the movie, but found herself looking back at Dani's arms on her legs, almost as if she couldn't believe they were actually there. How was this girl so confident? Santana would never have been brave enough to try something like that. Then again, she never thought she would be brave enough to offer her hand to the blonde, but she'd done that just a couple hours ago. Dani was having a strange effect on her, and she found that she liked it. She sat staring at Dani's arms, before noticing Dani move her hand to play with the seam on Santana's jeans. She smiled, and looked back at the TV.
The doorbell rang, and Santana let out a groan at having to move. Dani gave her an encouraging slap to the knee.
"Get up lazy, I want my food!"
"Your food?" Santana glared at the blonde.
"What I meant was," Dani put on her best puppy dog eyes, "Tana can you pretty please get up and go get that delicious pizza from the lovely person outside so we won't starve?" Santana tried her hardest to not give in, but whether either girl knew it or not, Dani already had Santana wrapped around her finger.
"Ugh fine," she grumbled as she stood up. "You're lucky I like you, D."
As Santana headed towards the door, she could've sworn she heard Dani whisper to herself, "Yeah, I am." She brushed it off, thinking her ears were playing tricks on her. She paid the pizza guy and made her way back to Dani. Bringing the coffee table closer, she put down the pizza box and opened it, taking a slice and handing it Dani, then grabbing one for herself. They ate in relative silence, the only sounds coming from the TV and the occasional giggles the girls got as they watched. When they had finished, Dani drew her legs up under her and gently rested her head on Santana's shoulder as the last few minutes of the movie played. Santana smiled and tried to calm her racing heart. Dani was obviously a cuddly person, and that was something Santana could get used to. "Okay yeah she's gay, but you don't even know if she's into you! And you still haven't told her yet..." Of course her stupid brain had to ruin the moment. "I'll tell her soon," she promised herself.
The movie ended and the girls began cleaning up the remnants of the pizza. When they had put the last couple slices in the fridge, Santana turned to Dani.
"So, what do you want to do now?"
"Can we just go hang out in your room?"
Santana motioned for Dani to walk ahead of her.
"Oh no. You can go first this time."
"Can I now? I thought you knew where everything was," Santana teased with a smug smile.
"Yeah yeah," Dani rolled her eyes as she followed Santana to her room. Santana sat down on the edge of her bed, and Dani laid down on the floor, arms behind her head.
"So how'd you end up on the Cheerios?"
"Because I'm awesome."
"No you're not, dude, don't lie," Dani teased in a sing-song voice.
"No I'm serious. The summer before freshman year started, I was at a cheer camp with Quinn and Britt and at the end of camp we were recommended to Sue. We were going to try out for the Cheerios anyways, but the recommendation sealed our places on the squad," Santana explained. She looked down at Dani. "Why are you on the floor? There's plenty of room up here, and there's a chair literally right next to you." Dani looked over at Santana.
"Because I'm awesome," she replied with a cheeky smile.
"I don't need you, cause I'm neato," Santana sang to herself, just loud enough for Dani to hear. The blonde sat up.
"And I beat you, cause I'm awesome?" Santana's head snapped up, looking at Dani. They both grew wide smiles, and Santana rushed to plug her iPod into her boombox. She cranked up the volume and sang as loud as she could.
I got a new style
And I'm walking right down your street
Dani joined in.
I'm on your speed dial, you know
The one everyone wants to meet
Dani sang alone.
I always tell you how cool you dress
Santana.
It's cause I'm fashionably socialized
Dani.
You're smarter, better, no, the best
Santana.
Just look at me!
They sang together.
I'm a leader, I'm a winner, and I'm cleaner Cause I'm awesome I don't need you cause I'm neato and I beat you Cause I'm awesome That's right They say I'm gifted Well I'm a certified prodigy I'm gonna own you I'm gonna bring you to your knees I always tell you how smart you are It's cause my brain is really supersized You're an academic superstar Just look at me
Santana picked up her hairbrush, using it as a microphone, and danced around with Dani. I'm a leader, I'm a winner, and I'm cleaner Cause I'm awesome I don't need you cause I'm neato and I beat you Cause I'm awesome Got a career plan Gonna make lots of money I bought a self tan Don't I look healthy? I always tell you how great you smell It's cause I'm naturally deodorized You're stronger, faster and can spell Just look at me I'm a leader, I'm a winner, and I'm cleaner Cause I'm awesome I don't need you cause I'm neato and I beat you Cause I'm awesome That's right
Finishing the song, they both fell over onto the floor laughing.
"How do you know that song?" Santana asked, once she got her breathing under control.
"I listen to a lot of not very well known artists. How do you know it?" Dani questioned.
"It was on a TV show I really like."
"Oh cool which o-"
"MIJA! Why is there popcorn all over the floor?!"
"Oh shit!" Santana stood up and raced to the landing. "Un momento por favor!" she shouted to her mother. She turned around to find Dani gathering her things. "Wait where are you going?"
"My mom just texted me and told me to come home," Dani said sadly. She looked up with a small grin. "You didn't tell me you speak Spanish though."
"What, Santana Lopez wasn't obvious enough for you?" Santana teased.
"Ah, got me on that one."
The girls headed downstairs, meeting Santana's mom. Santana introduced Dani, then walked her to the door to say goodbye. She really didn't want Dani to leave. She wanted to spend more time with the blonde, getting to know her. Unfortunately, she would have to wait until Monday. Unless...
"Dani wait!"
Dani stopped at the end of the driveway as Santana jogged over to her.
"Do you want to go to the mall with me tomorrow? A bunch of people are going, and you can meet Quinn and Brittany and hang out with us and get to know Lima a little more and-"
"Santana!" Santana stopped rambling, mentally kicking herself. "Yeah I'd love to," Dani smiled.
"Awesome! Okay. I'm gonna go back and clean up your mess, so...night." Santana turned around to walk back inside when she felt a hand on her arm.
"Hold up. First of all," Dani turned Santana back around to face her, raising an eyebrow. "we both made that mess. And second, can I have your number? You know, so you can tell me when we're leaving and where to be and you're like the first real friend I've made here and-"
"Dani!" It was Dani's turn to stop rambling. "Of course," Santana replied, holding out her hand for Dani's phone. She was overjoyed. To be honest, it hadn't really crossed her mind to get the blonde's number, so she was glad Dani had thought of it. At least one of them had a functioning brain. She put her number in Dani's phone and handed it back.
"Okay well I'll catch you later then." Before Santana could react, Dani gave her a quick hug and made her way back to her house. Santana remained where Dani had left her, still recovering from the sneak attack hug. "It wasn't a sneak attack, people hug all the time, dumbass," she told herself, heading back inside.
Santana spent the rest of the evening cleaning up the disaster zone she and Dani had created. While she loathed cleaning, she remembered what had led to this mess, and couldn't stop the smile creeping onto her face. She got ready for bed, replaying the day over and over in her mind; the laughter, the sharing, the little touches. She laid down, trying to sleep, but was way too excited for another "Dani Day" tomorrow. At around 11, she got a text from an unknown number.
From: Unknown
Night nerd. See you tomorrow :P
Santana felt butterflies erupt in her stomach as a huge grin made its way onto her face. She saved Dani's number and drafted a text. "Okay be cool, be cool."
To: Dani
Night D. I'll text you when to be ready :)
That was "being cool", wasn't it? Santana hoped it was. That was about as cool as she could get right now. She set her alarms for tomorrow, already groaning at the amount of time she would have to do other things before she could see Dani. She drifted off with her phone clutched in her hand, dreaming of the slightly less mysterious girl next door.
And there you have it! Maybe we'll see more of nerdtana in the future…who knows ;) I quite like that: nerdtana. Yay nicknames! Okay i enjoy talking to you beautiful people so tell me your 3 favorite nicknames for either yourself or someone you know. Mine are, for myself: SeaWaffle (waffle for short), iPod, and Polar Bear.
Let me know what you liked, what you didn't like, come say hi, tell me a joke, talk about your favorite day of the week, whatever floats your boat :)
song is Because I'm Awesome by The Dollyrots