"What do you think you're doing?" Santana practically yelled when she finally cornered Brittany the next day. "I thought- I thought-"
"We were together?" Brittany supplied. Santana threw up her hands and nodded, obviously exasperated. Brittany sighed and set a hand on Santana's shoulder. "Santana, you said it yourself; sex isn't a relationship. It's sex."
"Oh, yeah?" Santana said angrily, throwing Brittany's hand away as if it had burned her. "Well what if I wanted more?" She was fighting back tears, hot and heavy in her dark eyes.
"Sweetie..." Brittany's hand raised to cup the other girl's cheek, but Santana backed away from her grip. "If you really wanted more then you should've said something! It wasn't that long ago that you told me this was nothing more than a physical thing. What changed your mind?" Santana braced herself to answer but was interrupted by Artie.
"Hey, Santana." He gave her a polite wave and turned away. "Hey, Britt. Ready to go to class?"
Brittany nodded and flopped into Artie's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling in tight against him. "Yep." He smiled and pushed away, but not before Brittany could give Santana one more worried smile.
"I'll be singing It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing by Shania Twain," Santana announced to the auditorium.
Mr. Schuester furrowed his brow. "Nice choice, Santana, but it's not really your style. And particular reason you picked it?"
Santana stared off into the crowd, knowing she was looking directly at the blonde of her dreams. "Just thought it was a good pick for this week's assignment."
Schuester appeared to be worried about this, but he waved his hand to let her start. The lights dimmed, leaving only one shining down on her.
Hope life's been good to you
since you've been gone
I'm doin' fine now-I've finally moved on
It's not so bad
I'm not that sad
I'm not surprised just how well I survived
I'm over the worst, and I feel so alive
I can't complain
I'm free again
And it only hurts when I'm breathing
My heart only breaks when it's beating
My dreams only die when I'm dreaming
So, I hold my breath to forget
It only hurts when I breathe.
Santana gasped with her finish. She reached up to touch her cheek, just now realizing that salty tears were rolling down them. She turned on her heel and stalked offstage, never looking back as the others called her name.
"Santana? Santana!" She shook her head, wishing the voices away.
"Just breathe, Santana," she muttered to herself. Panic was settling in and gripping her lungs with an iron fist. "Just remember to breathe."