Authors note: Thank you so much for the reviews so far, hope to hear a lot more from you all!
Special thanks to BrittzTana for your dedication and kind words, JJLives for your lovely comments and ThoughtsInColour for your lovely words! I'm glad you're enjoying the ride so far.
Brittany is up the earliest she's ever been in her life. It's mostly because she doesn't want another run in with Santana; not that they ended yesterday on a bad note, Brittany just can't be bothered dealing with the girl today. If Santana was at least remotely interested in Brittany then the blonde would continue to flirt with her, but yesterday Santana was giving the blonde mixed signals; especially after they returned home.
In the car when Brittany was getting close to Santana, the brunette didn't shy away at first. It was probably because they were in an enclosed area and Santana didn't really have a place to retreat too. But what Brittany doesn't understand is why Santana keeps denying that she's a lesbian, because when she purposely stripped in her room she knew Brittany was watching and the blonde was left flustered and confused.
So Brittany isn't ready to see Santana yet, until she can formulate intimidating questions for the brunette that Santana won't be able to give bullshit answers too.
She heads outside in a denim vest and black basketball shorts. She didn't really look in the mirror before she left the house but Brittany suspects that she looks decent enough. She finds a tool box in the garage and heads to the Jeep to start working on whatever the problem was last night. She suspected a flooded engine, but when she drove the Jeep to and from the mall the other day it seemed fine.
Brittany props open the hood and places the tool box down next to her feet. It makes a bit of a bang and Brittany looks towards Santana's house to see if she interrupted anyone. When she notices a curtain in the front window move, Brittany's brow creases but she ignores it and starts working. She notices how old and rusted the engine looks and thinks she'll need to get a new one altogether. Her uncle will most definitely be able to afford it though, so Brittany grabs a cloth and starts cleaning parts that look as though they've been shat on by an eagle. She's surprised that she's woken this early to help her uncle out, because Brittany never cleaned or helped around the house with her parents.
A door slamming shut causes Brittany to flinch but she doesn't look up. She suspects it's one of her neighbours off to work early, but then loud rap music starts playing and the blonde smirks but remains focused on cleaning. She doesn't want to give Santana the attention she so clearly wants.
"Hey," Santana yells when she's closer to Brittany. She places her speaker box on the grass near Brittany's Jeep. "You're out of the house," she comments with a smirk, hoping to receive a reaction from Brittany.
Brittany just exhales a slow breath and scrunches the cloth in her hands before turning to Santana.
"You might have a crack in your window," she says casually, pointing to said window, "your curtain kept moving around. It was um, probably the wind."
Santana's smirk disappears instantly and her palms begin to sweat. She can't have Brittany know that she was the cause of the curtain shuffling because she was watching the blonde for a minute or two. Biting her lip, Santana's eyes travel down Brittany's neck towards her chest. She can see a little bit of cleavage and stomach because Brittany only buttoned up the bottom two buttons on her vest. The fact that she isn't wearing a bra causes Santana's breathing to pick up and she has to step back a bit so she's near to her front yard; a safe distance from the blonde.
"I'll tell my dad to check it out," she replies breathlessly.
Brittany turns to Santana to give her a nod in understanding but almost trips over her own feet at what she sees. "No cheerleading uniform today," she states quietly. Santana watches how the blonde's mouth parts slowly, before Brittany licks her lips. Knowing that she's got the upper hand again, Santana just shrugs and turns the volume up on the speaker.
She sings the first line of J. Cole's Power Trip and Brittany feels her body temperature rising by the second. Santana's tight, mini black shorts and tight white singlet is giving her heart palpitations to the point where her vision is slightly blurry. She quickly rubs her eyes and focuses back on the Jeep.
"Got me up all night, all I'm singing is love songs…"
Brittany rolls her eyes; of course Santana has an amazing, raspy voice. She tries to block out the sound but it's no use. Santana is belting out the lyrics and soon enough she's rapping.
"I'm still on you, I'm still on you, my drink spill on me while I feel on you I'm saying…" Santana spins around on the grass, her eyes closed and not really caring if Brittany is watching or not. She loves this music and getting lost in it.
Brittany knows the song and she's tempted to join in with Santana. Maybe she'll surprise the brunette and Santana will grow defensive with her music. Maybe Santana is the type of person to protect what they love and if anyone shows a remote interest in it she gets jealous. Brittany smirks, slamming the hood down and closing her eyes.
"Would you believe me if I said I'm in love? Baby, I want you to want to me…" Brittany belts out and Santana immediately grows quiet. She leans down and presses pause, walking cautiously over to Brittany and standing directly behind her.
"You know J. Cole?"
"Who doesn't?" The blonde shrugs casually and throws the dirty cloth in the toolbox beside her.
"You have a really good RnB voice for a white girl," Santana comments with a small smile. Brittany turns around, her butt resting on the edge of the hood and her chest out.
"Yours is a little better," she replies, her tongue sliding against her teeth. Santana's smile turns to a smirk and she steps forward.
"Just a little bit?" She teases.
Brittany feels that this is the perfect moment to question Santana, but she doesn't want to scare the brunette away so she treads carefully with her words.
"Do you like teasing me?" Brittany asks.
Surprisingly Santana 's smirk stays in place. "It's the best part of my day," she replies, her voice strong.
Brittany's eyebrows rise in response to the answer. She decides to be bold with her next question. "Were you flirting with me last night when you stripped?"
Santana's smirk fades slightly and she folds her arms, staring in a different direction to avoid the blonde's gaze. "I wasn't flirting."
"You weren't flirting huh?" Brittany questions again, giving Santana a chance to answer truthfully. She shrugs when there's no response, "okay then."
"I wasn't flirting!" Santana protests. "I just like seeing your reactions…"
"My reactions? Well I like seeing your reactions." Santana turns back to Brittany and walks forward slowly, cringing slightly at the stones pressing against her feet through her socks.
"You just want me to be a lesbian so you can fuck me," Santana says with a roll of her tongue. Brittany finds the brunette's new found confidence incredibly sexy and she can't help but let her gaze fall towards Santana's breasts.
"Santana," Brittany breathes, "you don't have to be a lesbian for me to get you into bed." Santana doesn't have time to respond, because Brittany grabs her by the waist and hoists her on top of the hood. Santana's gasps loudly and her hands automatically grip the blonde's shoulders. Brittany laughs, "Your reactions are priceless."
"Stop it," Santana practically moans, pushing Brittany away. From this distance the brunette is able to count the sweat droplets on Brittany's chest that slide through the crevice of her cleavage.
"Stop staring at me like that and I will," Brittany whispers, having not moved at all at Santana's weak attempt at a push.
The door to Brittany's house closes, but both girl's barely hear it because of the trance they're in. Kurt strides over to them and raises his hand to his forehead to block out the sun.
"Whoa is there a rap music video going on here that I wasn't informed about?" He asks enthusiastically, hoping the tension dissipates. Brittany rolls her eyes and Santana practically jumps into the blonde's arms while trying to get off the hood of the Jeep. She creates as much distance between them as possible and grabs her speaker box, sending a small smile to Kurt before retreating inside her house.
"God dammit Uncle Kurt," Brittany curses.
"Sorry," Kurt apologizes weakly with a smirk. "Did I interrupt something romantic?"
Brittany groans and picks up the toolbox. "Your Jeep is fucked."
"Well it's not the only one," Kurt kicks his leg back and raises his arms in victory, "I've got another date tonight!"
It might be the heat, but Brittany suddenly feels like throwing up.
X
Sitting in her room for the past few hours has been relaxing. Brittany feels so much safer in her room, alone and without the worry of other people's problems. She's thankful Santana is going to be at school for another five and half hours, or even more if she has cheerleading practice which is a high possibility.
As much as Brittany has grown to like teasing and flirting with Santana, she also enjoys time apart from the girl. She can't admit to herself that she enjoys being in the girl's presence, even when they aren't talking. There's definitely chemistry when there's silence and tension when their eyes meet. But not being one to talk about feelings, Brittany is hoping that Santana is the one that admits there's something between them; whether it's all physical or if it involves a bit of romance and emotion.
There aren't many people Brittany has opened up to in her life. Her parents were a definite no, no. Kurt is really her only option because of lack of friends, but she isn't ready to delve into her deepest thoughts when she doesn't even know herself what lies there.
Two things are for sure, Brittany finds Santana insanely attractive and she'd love to see the girl naked. Maybe being blunt with Santana will bring out some emotion, or it could scare her off altogether. Isn't that what Brittany wants though? She's spent the past week trying to avoid Santana because she had a rule of not making any friends in her new neighbourhood, unless she got a job and people were nice to her there.
Santana has a way of keeping you attached however. She lures you in without even trying and once you watch those plump lips move and hear her voice you're blind to everything in the world but her. Brittany has wondered for so long what it would be like to have a relationship with a girl; something that is real and involves dinners with each other's parents and holding hands at shopping malls. Apart of her longs for someone that unconditionally adores her, but another part screams for independence and sex with no strings attached.
There isn't really a better way to put it; Brittany wants to feel.
She grabs her blanket, a cigarette and lighter before stepping out onto her balcony. The sun isn't harsh anymore and there's no wind (its perfect weather to Brittany) so she lays the blanket out and lies on it stomach down and head turned towards Santana's bedroom window. She lights the cigarette and exhales the smoke, closing her eyes. Sometimes she wishes she could go back to the careless days of recreational drugs with people she barely knew but respected. Although those times involved her parents and she'd rather not relive them.
Brittany's eyes peer right when she hears voices and notices two adults exit Santana's house. Her mom is hot, Brittany thinks. Her dad isn't too bad either. They're holding hands, walking to the driveway and kissing each other slowly before they enter separate cars. A stray tear falls across her nose and Brittany sniffles. She adores parents that don't stop showing love for each other even after they're married and have kids. She hates how love and life stopped for her parents. In a way she feels sorry for them having to live with themselves after all they put her through and all they put themselves through. Life could have been so different for them if they didn't allow it to consume them.
Brittany would rather spend half of her life finding someone that's worth all the love in the world than settle for someone who isn't worth half or any. She sits up and walks back into her bedroom after butting out the cigarette. She grabs her diary from her drawer and sits on the edge of her bed. Clicking down on a pen, Brittany writes onto the one of the pages.
Period is late this month. Vagina is probably angry from lack of sex. I should download an app so I can keep track of it. Also there's this girl…
She leaves it there, closing the book and placing it back inside her drawer.
Brittany is not good at showing emotion, but that just means when she does eventually show emotion, she isn't good at hiding it. She's been angry for so long that the anger turned into laziness when she first arrived at her Uncle's, now it's just tiredness. She should find a job now that Santana isn't around to distract her.
X
"Janitor!" Kurt yells.
"Huh?" Brittany asks, peering over her laptop.
"Janitor wanted at local high school," Kurt reads aloud, propping his glasses further up his nose.
"Which school?" Brittany asks curiously.
"Lima Heights High," Kurt replies like it's obvious, "what other local high school is there?"
Brittany cringes at the thought of working so close to Santana. She can't live next to the girl and then go to school with her.
"Next," she says loudly.
"Brittany," Kurt says sternly. "You can either go back to school as a student or you can start from the bottom and work your way to the top of the job chain."
"I don't want to be a janitor," Brittany whines, "why can't I work at a coffee shop!"
"Brittany, you barely passed tenth grade," Kurt exclaims, "a lot of places only hire people who have graduated or…who can count."
"I don't have to know math to make a coffee," Brittany replies pouting.
"But you have to know math to count to the change for the coffee," Kurt replies smugly, shutting his laptop. "Come on, I'll call the school."
"I'll work for you!" Brittany yells. "Please don't call them yet I have to think about it."
Kurt sighs, taking his glasses off and placing them on the table. "Okay, it's your choice at the end of the day."
"Awesome," Brittany says with a grin. She closes her laptop as well and heads outside to see if there is any mail (not that she'd be receiving any).
Brittany checks the time as she walks to the mail box and pinches her lips together. Santana should be arriving home any minute now. Brittany opens the lid and pulls out a few bills before turning around and walking back to the front door. She hears a car door slam and she stops. Giggling follows after that and two pairs of feet stomp against cement. A male's voice grabs her attention and Brittany walks towards the fence separating her and Santana's homes. She looks around the corner and witnesses Santana holding a boy's hand, dragging him inside her house before slamming the door shut.
Brittany doesn't recognize the jock. He isn't the one Santana was flirting with yesterday. Brittany shrugs, already well aware of Santana's effect on people, then bolts into her house and upstairs to her bedroom. Trying to be as discreet at possible, Brittany opens the curtain to her balcony and watches as Santana walks past the window with the boy following behind. She isn't able to see anything after that (thankfully) and Brittany decides that the best thing to do is go for a run. At least she'll be away from Santana now that she's home and she won't have to hear any grunts from that boy she brought home.
Brittany makes her way down her street, picking up her pace as she reaches the high school and sprints around it to get to another road. She admires the houses on her run. Most of them have the typical white picket fence and bright green grass leading up to their humongous mansions. She likes to the think that maybe one day she'll own a home like these ones in the future (hopefully not alone).
She reaches a home that occupies a woman in its front yard. Brittany slows down to a walk and the woman notices her immediately, sending her a bright smile.
"Excuse me," the woman calls out, "could you help me with these last few weeds?"
Brittany walks past the gate, approaching the woman slowly. She doesn't want to give this woman the wrong idea, because she definitely looks like one of those cougars she seen on television.
"Uh yeah sure," Brittany replies kindly. The woman smirks and steps back after handing Brittany a gardening glove. Surely this woman was looking for an innocent teenager to prey on because she's dressed in a mini skirt and heels while gardening. Brittany smirks, shaking her head at how desperate this woman must be.
While she bends over to pull out a weed, the woman runs her hand down Brittany's back.
"Do you need a drink or anything honey?"
Brittany straightens up and steps away from the woman. "No, um I'm fine," she mutters. She bends down again, making sure her ass into facing the woman. She really doesn't want to get involved in a love triangle or divorce between this woman and her husband, but clearly the woman isn't happy so the least she can do is help her garden.
"I think that's it," Brittany says, arching her back to stretch. She hands the woman the gardening glove and waves goodbye.
"Wait, won't you come in for a drink?"
Brittany sighs, watching the woman's smirk grow and her chest pop out. As much as she would love sex right now, especially with a cougar, she just doesn't want her new life in Lima Heights to get messy. "You have a good day."
X
Santana feels wetness through the boy's jeans and immediately breaks their sloppy kiss, jumping off her bed and grabbing a towel. "Are you freakin serious?" She asks the boy whose embarrassment is written all over his face.
"Sorry," he whines, "I just got a little too happy."
"We were just making out," Santana replies in disbelief. She throws the towel at the boy as he stands up. He wipes his jeans until most of the stain is unnoticeable then attempts to hand Santana back the towel. "Keep it," she says with a disgusted look.
"I'm sorry. Please don't tell anyone at school," he begs. Santana just dismisses him with a wave of her hand and the boy scurries off. She exits her house soon after to watch his car speed off down the street, almost hitting a neighbours mailbox.
"He probably jacks off while he drives," Santana mutters to herself. She hears feet pattering against pavement and turns to watch Brittany slow down to a walk just outside her front yard. "You would not believe what just happened," she says with a breathless laugh. She doesn't know why she's starting this conversation with Brittany, but it feels so natural. She wants to be able to tell Brittany about everything that happens to her, whether it's embarrassing or remarkable. She hopes that Brittany will at least listen.
"Let me guess, you want to brag about the sex you had to see if I'll react," Brittany replies smugly, walking across the grass in Santana's yard to her own house. Santana follows behind the blonde and frowns.
"No I just…" She sighs frustratingly. "Never mind." Huffing loudly, Santana walks off in the opposite direction. Brittany rolls her eyes and feels a little bad for assuming things so she chases after Santana and grabs her arm, spinning the brunette around.
"Tell me," Brittany says, gazing into those brown eyes that dart everywhere but her own.
Santana pulls her arm from Brittany's grip and folds her arms defensively. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you have better things to do than to listen to me."
Brittany snorts. "Well yeah, but I'd love to hear about you having sex with a guy while your parents aren't home."
Santana winces at Brittany's condescending tone. "I didn't have sex with him. In fact we were making out when he came."
"Ooh," Brittany hisses, "that must have been a letdown."
"Well I wasn't planning on letting him see my goodies anyway, so I'm glad it happened," Santana retorts, finding her confidence again.
"He must have been pretty special for you to bring him home," Brittany states, "were you going to introduce him to your parents?"
"Hellz no."
Brittany smiles, enjoying the banter with Santana (especially her adorable street talk) despite her growing desire to rip the girl's cheerleading uniform off. Santana notices Brittany's wondering gaze and smirks, stepping forward so Brittany is forced to meet her eyes.
"Let's hang out," she suggests.
Brittany shakes her head. "No."
"Why not?"
"We're basically hanging out right now!"
"No we aren't, we're just talking," Santana rolls her eyes, "that's practically what we always do."
A smirk immediately takes over Brittany's lips. "So you don't want to talk anymore?" Santana gulps, watching the blonde stalk her like an animal.
"I…" The word barely leaves Santana's lips.
"Santana," Brittany whispers, walking forward so the brunette has no choice but to back up against her front door. "It's the 21st century, you shouldn't be afraid to want another girl."
"I don't," Santana chokes out.
"Prove it," the blonde murmurs as she leans down towards the brunette's neck, placing a soft open mouthed kiss against her smooth skin. Santana's mouth parts widely and short, sharp breath exits between her lips.
She shakes her head then violently shoves Brittany back. "Stop it!"
Brittany regains her footing after the push and frowns at Santana. "You fucking stop it."
"You're the one kissing me!"
"You're the one flirting with me so what the fuck do you expect me to do?!" Brittany yells back.
Not wanting any of her neighbours to come out and witness this, Santana opens her front door and stares back at Brittany one last time, her teeth grinding as she speaks. "It may be the 21st century, but I wouldn't touch you even if it was the 51st century."
She slams the door and Brittany is left on the lawn stunned, reeling from Santana's freak out. She doesn't understand why it's such a big deal if they mess around, even if it they kept it a secret. Maybe Santana doesn't want to get into anything with Brittany because she's afraid she will feel more than she expected. There was absolutely no truth to Santana's last statement, Brittany thinks.
It did hurt a little though.
X
Brittany is tapping her pen against her diary when she hears a splash. She sits up from her bed and walks out on the balcony, staring past a few trees to see half of the pool in Santana's back yard. She watches as a figure swims laps and then floats back in the water. Even with dim lighting Brittany can tell it's Santana. She checks the time; 9:34pm. She wonders if the brunette's parents know she's out there, but figures it doesn't matter because Santana is in senior year and most likely doesn't have a bed time.
The blonde isn't the least bit tired and because Santana is still awake, she thinks it might be a good time to apologize to her. Well, not really apologize, because Brittany isn't sorry for kissing Santana's neck. Just thinking about how soft the girl was makes her shiver.
Shaking her head to rid her thoughts Brittany places on her sneakers and heads next door. Kurt is on another date tonight so she locks her front door before leaving. When she reaches Santana's front door, she's surprised that it's unlocked. She knocked of course but no one answered.
"Hello?" When there's no answer again, Brittany suspects Santana is the only one home. She treads through the dark halls and rooms until she finds the backyard. Sliding open the door, Brittany steps out and stands by the pool, watching Santana floating on her back with her eyes closed.
Wanting to lighten the mood (even though Santana will probably go nuts) Brittany picks up a beach ball and throws it so it hits the brunette's stomach.
"What the fuck?" Santana squeals, standing on her feet and rubbing her eyes.
"Just wanted to grab your attention," Brittany replies innocently.
"You couldn't have just called my name?" Santana asks agitatedly.
Brittany shrugs, trying to hide her smirk. "Thought throwing the ball would be funnier."
"Well ha-ha," Santana replies dryly, clearly unamused. Brittany sits on the edge of the pool and Santana swims towards her, making sure there are a few feet of distance between them. "What do you want?"
"I couldn't sleep without talking to you about what happened today," Brittany answers truthfully. Santana notices how quickly Brittany can go from being cheeky to vulnerable, but remembers how blunt and rude she can be so Santana keeps her guard up. "I'm not sorry for kissing your neck because you knew what you were getting into with me when you continued pursuing a friendship."
"I honestly didn't know you'd take my teasing to heart and kiss me like that," Santana replies.
"But I…Well okay, but my intentions were clear."
"Your intentions were to not be my friend and then you wanted to get me in bed," Santana retorts firmly.
Brittany groans quietly, unable to think straight when she knows Santana is half naked under that water. Maybe showing no emotion at all is better than being smug or genuine. Brittany sighs, running her fingers through her hair and looking up at the stars.
"I want a lot of things in life. That doesn't mean I can have them," Brittany replies monotonously. She finds talking easier when she isn't looking at Santana. The brunette swims a few feet closer to grab Brittany's attention, but the blonde's attention remains upwards on the sky.
"So you understand that I'm not a lesbian and you can't have me," Santana replies slowly, her eyes wide.
Brittany bites her lip to hide her 'you're bullshitting' victory smirk. Instead of using words she just nods and reluctantly turns her gaze down to Santana again, immediately noticing the devious smirk the brunette is wearing. Without a chance to even yell, Brittany is dragged into the water; all the noise around her just a dull hum in her ears.
When she surfaces, Santana is laughing and leaning against the wall of the pool. Brittany splashes water in her face and Santana returns the attack. After arms start to pain, both girl's quit their attack and stand in the water opposite each other, breathes uneven and chests heaving.
There's something different about this moment, Brittany thinks. Not only does she not want to touch Santana, she doesn't want to kiss her. Staring at Santana this close is enough – water drops falling off her thick lashes and plump lips being tucked into her mouth for moistening. Brittany watches Santana's eyes drop from her own to her lips and back up again. She could kiss her, fuck her in this pool and walk away.
But maybe being her friend isn't such a bad idea.
Brittany walks left and pulls herself out of the pool. She cringes at the squash sound her socks make against her shoes.
"Wait," Santana calls out breathlessly, lifting herself out of the pool and grabbing her towel. She wraps it around her and tucks in the corner of it to make it stay. "I can get you a towel," Santana offers.
"Its fine," Brittany holds her arms, shivering. "My uncle collects soft towels." She walks towards the back door but doesn't even reach up to the handle when Santana's calling her name.
"Brittany, my parents are going to be out for a while can you stay? Not the night," Santana rushes out, "just for a while."
What would they talk about if Brittany stays? Santana will think they're best friends and ask her all about her childhood and why she's living with her uncle and not her parents. The last thing Brittany wants is to be civil with Santana and alone with her.
"Call one of your friends, or that guy that came over today. I'm sure he'll want a second chance."
"I'm giving you a second chance though," Santana replies in a desperate tone, "as long as you promise not to kiss me again."
Brittany huffs and walks away from Santana. "I forgot we were in the 51st century...this is bullshit, you can't ask that of me when you fucking lead me on." She doesn't remember the way out because the house is so damn big, but as long as her neighbour isn't near her she should be fine.
"Brittany I like being around you and yes I admit I flirt a lot but I do that naturally with everyone," Santana explains, hurrying after the blonde.
"Well good luck being single for the rest of your life," Brittany yells back, using her hands to feel around in the dark. She makes it to the front door finally and pulls it open, but unfortunately Santana slides in front of her.
"You came here wanting to talk! Why are you mad all of a sudden?"
"I don't know Santana," Brittany yells in frustration, "I just need to get away from you before I lose my mind."
"Why would you lose your mind? Please explain this to me because I won't be able to sleep now," Santana orders firmly, her hand pressing on either side of the door making her look like a starfish.
"Santana you don't realise how fucked up I am! It's best you let me leave and never try to talk to me again," the blonde answers tiredly.
"I want too though…" Santana replies gently.
"No you don't," Brittany replies through gritted teeth, growing angry again. She steps forward and points to Santana. "You don't want to know me, okay?" Santana is left speechless and weak so Brittany pushes her aside and runs to her own house. Without a second thought Santana runs after the retreating blonde, taking a detour to the side of Brittany's house because she knows the blonde won't let her in if she knocks.
"I'm coming up," Santana yells, grabbing a tree branch and hoisting herself up. She looks around for another foot hole but comes up empty, awkwardly standing on a bending branch near Brittany's balcony. "No I'm not," the brunette mumbles as she bends her legs to sit on the branch. Santana has no idea if this is a dream or not; it sure feels like one of her strange dreams. Never in a million years did she think she'd climb a tree just to get someone's attention.
"Santana what the hell is wrong with you?" Brittany asks as she steps outside.
"I didn't think it through," Santana replies casually, not in the mood to argue any longer. Brittany can't help the amused smile that crosses her lips. She leans over the railing of her balcony and watches Santana swing her legs back and forth.
"Are you going to get down?" The blonde asks.
"In a minute," Santana replies with a self-righteous attitude. Brittany rolls her eyes and walks back inside her room, down the stairs and outside her house. She finds Santana clenching onto the tree branch she's sitting on.
"You're a cheerleader," Brittany states, chuckling, "you get flung through the air."
"Shut up," Santana spits back weakly, causing Brittany's smirk to grow. Both girls are stunned at how fast they went from a screaming match to speaking civilly. Brittany so desperately wants to leave Santana on that tree branch and go inside, but the brunette actually looks terrified sitting eight feet up in the air (especially because she's wearing a towel and the bark from the tree is probably digging into her beautiful, soft, angelic skin).
"Jump down I'll catch you," Brittany suggests, holding her arms up, her stance solid.
"No freakin way!"
Brittany groans annoyed, deciding to step back a little to give Santana space. "I've actually learnt a lot about you in the past week. You hate storms, you're afraid of heights and you don't like being alone in your house…"
"That's not a lot," Santana argues, "those are just some of my um, childish…fears."
"You don't have to be ashamed of them," Brittany says in a comforting voice that almost makes Santana's heart melt. She's caught gazing at the blonde again for a moment before something pricks her thigh.
"Fuck," she hisses, "is this tree made out of thumb tacks?"
Brittany snorts loudly and covers her mouth. Santana can't help but laugh as well, no matter how much her ass is hurting.
"Come on," Brittany says seriously, stepping forward, "just fall into my arms."
"Hellz no," Santana replies, firmly shaking her head.
"I have really strong upper body strength," Brittany states confidently, causing the brunette to immediately rethink her decision.
"Please don't drop me," Santana begs, squeezing her eyes shut.
"No promises," Brittany teases.
"What!" Santana squeals as she slides off the tree branch. She braces for the dirt below but finds herself floating when she opens her eyes again. Brittany's hands are on her waist, literally holding her in the air.
The blonde's veins on her neck are visible as she strains to keep Santana lifted and Santana chooses to focus on them as Brittany slowly places her on the ground, toes first. Santana's hand lifts an inch, ready to touch the blonde's veins because she's so entranced, but at the last moment her brain redirects her hand towards her own neck and scratches it awkwardly.
"Thanks," she mumbles, "I'm a bit of a drama queen," she chuckles embarrassingly.
Brittany nods, her lips in a thin line. She steps back, effectively letting go of the brunette's waist. Unfortunately the towel didn't slip off Santana on her way down.
"I guess we'll go back to me avoiding you and you trying desperately to figure me out," Brittany says with a slight smirk. Santana's smile grows slowly as she hugs the towel around her body.
"I guess so…" Santana brushes past the blonde but stops to say one last thing. "You remember everything we spoke about before right?"
"Yes," Brittany sighs, "unfortunately I do."
"You'll find someone that will let you kiss them Brittany," Santana replies with a giggle.
Brittany pinches her lips together, hiding her smirk. "Go to bed you have school tomorrow."
Santana turns around and waves a hand in the air. Brittany thinks about that moment in the pool when she saw Santana up close and didn't feel the need to kiss or touch her. It makes her want the girl even more, not someone else.
But the chance of having Santana even let Brittany get close to her again is extremely low, so maybe the blonde should be friends with her. Because sometimes friends become more than that, or they become the best friend forever that the other confides in when they're in love with some random they meet in a coffee shop that shows a common interest over the same novel.
"Ugh," Brittany breathes, sitting down on the grass by the tree outside her bedroom. The night air isn't as cold as she thought it would be. She doesn't realise that Santana is watching her from her own room, wondering what the blonde is thinking about.
Santana isn't going to lie; when Brittany stares at her she feels something she's never felt; something that leaves a dull ache in her chest and a shiver through her fingers. Maybe Brittany is right; it's the 21st century and no doubt the cheerleaders on her squad have probably all experimented. But why would they have called Brittany a dyke?
Santana groans, closing her window and lying back in bed. As much as she doesn't want to have a million thoughts about her sexuality floating in her mind, she also doesn't want to take her sleeping pills because the thoughts of Brittany are actually calming. As much as the blonde doesn't want to admit that she's a sincere person, Santana knows there's a nurturing side somewhere inside Brittany. She'll just have to try a different tactic to allow the blonde to trust her again.