8 missed calls, 8 texts
Santana, I'm sorry.
I miss you.
Please, Santana, will you let me explain?
San...I know we just met but I love you.
You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.
San, don't forget me.
San Francisco isn't the same without you.
Just forget about Logan please.
Mentioning Logan just made Santana even angrier; it reopened the wound on Santana's heart. But none of the text messages could makeup for what Quinn had done. If Quinn had truly loved her, then she would've stopped all this from happening before it was too late and both of them got hurt. Because now look at what happened. Everything was ruined.
Santana looked out the plane window. The sun was low; the sky was a dark indigo with orange streaks. It wasn't as pretty as the California sky, but it was home. New York was where Santana belonged, not in some fantasy world called California.
And with that thought, Santana left the airport in a taxi, like a true New Yorker.
2 years later
"Santana, you're such a pack rat!" Jamie exclaimed as she dropped a cardboard box on the ground.
"A what?" Santana's head peaked out from behind mountains and mountains of boxes.
"A pack rat. You know, someone who keeps everything? And I mean, EVERYTHING. You don't even need half this shit. Like this keychain from San Francisco, or this super old valentine from some friend..."
Santana's ears had perked up when she heard San Francisco. "Valentine?" the brunette asked. "What valentine?"
"I don't know," Jamie replied, "it's all pink with writing on it and stuff. Here..."
Santana took the pink sheet of paper from her girlfriend. Yes, Jamie had been her girlfriend for the last two years, and they were finally moving in together to a bigger apartment. It started off as a rebound, right after the ordeal with Quinn, but their relationship had grown into something more. Before Quinn, Santana was known for her one night stands and threesomes. But then she met Quinn, and everything changed. Everything was different. Hell, Santana was settling down! She had been tamed by Jamie and was now taking the next step and moving in with her. Santana would've called their relationship love, but Jamie didn't give her butterflies like Quinn did. Santana loved Jamie, but she wasn't totally in love with her. Jamie was safe, Jamie was easy, Jamie was blonde. And Jamie would never lie to her.
When their relationship started getting serious, Santana took things slow. She had learned from Quinn that rushing did nothing for either side of the relationship. So, with Jamie, Santana decided to be mature and not do anything rash. Their successful relationship was proof that Santana had learned, had matured, had become wiser. Or maybe Jamie had that affect on her, whereas Quinn tore Santana's walls down, made her feel young and carefree again, gave her tinglings all around her body. No, Jamie was better. Jamie was honest and could never hurt her. Ugh, she should really stop comparing the two.
Santana looked down at the paper in her hand and realized that it was not a valentine, but some sort of letter.
San,
I don't know when you'll get this. Maybe you'll never. But I need to tell you this. As an author, I'm better with written words than with words that are spoken. Just hear me out, please.
Before you leave for New York, there are a few things I want you to know.
First, even though we just met, I think I'm really falling for you, and that scares me. No one has ever made me feel the way you do.
Second, I don't even know if I'm gay. You're the first girl I've had feelings for. But you're something special, Santana. I'd do anything for you.
Third, and most importantly, I have a boyfriend. Named Logan. He's in the army, so he's always away, training on different bases all over the country. I should've told you before we had sex that first night, but I was too scared. I know, I'm such a coward. I thought you'd hate me, or worse, leave me, and I didn't want that to happen. Like I said, I really like you, Santana. You weren't just a replacement for Logan, or a one-night stand. I'm just really confused right now about my feelings and everything. I wish we had more time to figure things out. Of course, now you're going to leave for New York in a few hours, and I may never see you again. I realize that we can't make something out of this. This was all just a fantasy. But believe me when I say that I don't want this to be. I wish we could be an us, that we could be real. But reality is a bitch.
Just remember that you are a part of my heart, Santana, and you always will be.
I love you.
Quinn
There were no more words. Santana could almost feel her heart being sliced up again. This note was obviously written before Logan had returned home. Gods, just thinking about San Francisco made her heart ache. Santana had spent the last two years trying to forget, yet here it was, right in her face. She didn't cry though; she had wasted too many tears on Quinn. But she knew it still hurt.
"Well?" Jamie looked at her expectantly.
"It was a letter. From Quinn. About Logan," Santana choked out.
"Oh," Jamie drew in a sharp breath. She knew about Quinn, the whole ordeal, everything. She wasn't jealous, but she understood. "I think it's time you moved on," Jamie breathed quietly.
"I think so too," Santana admitted. Jamie's eyes perked up. She was about to ask a question, but Santana cut her off.
"This letter just proved it. It made me think about what Quinn and I had. We were just two girls, lonely and looking for somebody to love. I realized that what Quinn and I had was more lust than love, I mean seriously, I don't even know if she has siblings or not. I don't know Quinn at all. Gods, I was so naive back then, thinking I loved her. But no, Jamie, I love you," Santana poured her heart out. She felt relieved to be confessing all her feelings. But at the back of her head, a little voice was calling her a liar. Santana ignored it though; this wasn't the time. Santana had just been talking about feelings, something she rarely did. old Santana would've wrinkled her nose in disgust. But things were different now. The letter was a sense of closure. Santana was finally over Quinn. And for good.
Jamie's eyes lit up and she smiled at the last three words of Santana's little speech. She maneuvered through boxes and belongings to where Santana stood, wrapping the Latina in a warm hug and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, too, and I'm so proud of you," Jamie breathed in Santana's ear. "Let's forget about unpacking now. How bout we go out to eat? It's almost lunch time."
Santana agreed and the couple went out to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Times Square. They sat at the front, sharing a dish of fried rice and dumplings, laughing and forgetting about the world around them.
Quinn sat at the back of a Chinese restaurant with her now-fiancé Logan opposite her. He had surprised her with plane tickets to New York as a gift, knowing that Quinn had always wanted to visit the Big Apple. Logan had just completed his army training when he proposed to Quinn on the Golden Gate Bridge, and then they had flown to NY to celebrate.
Quinn stared at her left hand, admiring her diamond ring. She looked into the blue eyes of her fiancé, her heart swelling at his sweet smile.
"I'm so glad we're getting married," Quinn quickly pecked him on the lips.
"Me, too, babe. Now that I'm done with training, I won't have to move around as much. I even have a few years off before my next assignment," Logan smiled.
"Really? That's great! Now we've got time to plan a really great wedding, maybe start a family...We should get married here!" Quinn's eyes sparkled like a kid on Christmas Day.
Logan chuckled. "Anywhere is fine, Quinn. As long as I'm marrying you."
Quinn's heart swelled at his words. He was such a charmer. Quinn had met Logan at age 5 when he had accidentally pushed her off a slide. They were best friends-turned-lovers. Logan was there for Quinn when her hamster died, when her parents got divorced, and when she went through that tough transition from Lucy Caboosey to Quinn Fabray. In return, Quinn had Logan's back when he broke his arm, when his brother was diagnosed with cancer, and when every college he applied to turned him down, forcing him to join the army. The two were inseparable throughout elementary and middle school, and became a couple in high school. During Quinn's time at Stanford, and Logan's first years of training, they remained a long-distance couple, fighting often, but always resolving their conflict and strengthening their relationship. And now, they were getting married.
"So, what do you wanna do after?" Logan asked.
"Well, I...we..." Quinn's voice faltered as she turned her head toward the sound of bells, signaling the arrival of a new customer. Two girls walked in. One was a tall, skinny blonde in a light purple dress that was way too short in Quinn's opinion. She was holding the hand of a shorter, tanner girl in an equally short red dress. As the darker girl turned to talk to a waiter, Quinn's eyes widened and she gasped, her breath hitching in her throat. Those warm, chocolate brown eyes, wavy black hair, deep cleavage...all the memories came flooding back to her, her mind going blank. The Latina hadn't seen Quinn, but Quinn had definitely seen her. Fortunately, time had been kind to her. Two years later and she still looked fit and beautiful. Quinn felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Santana kiss the other blonde; all the repressed feelings for the brunette came up again. Her chest flared with anger as the kiss became deeper. She wanted to be the one on those delicious lips; she could almost taste Santana's cinnamon scent on her own lips. The two girls only broke the kiss when a waiter came over with the menus.
"Babe, what does your fortune cookie say?" Logan seemed oblivious to the fact that Quinn was distracted.
"What? Oh yeah...here..." Quinn showed him the slip of paper.
Ease your heart in a direction and free it from guilt.
"Huh, that's deep. Mine just says, 'The future is full of surprises.' Frickin' fortunes," Logan grumbled.
"Uh-huh..." Quinn replied nonchalantly, her mind running in another direction. She could barely believe that Santana was so close to her. Her thoughts ran wild. Quinn scolded herself for getting jealous over Santana because, really, she had no right to. But the butterflies in her stomach started up again as she found herself glancing toward Santana and the blonde more and more often. She hated seeing Santana being all mushy with someone else. She wanted to be the one that held her hand, that fed her pieces of food, that made her smile like that. Her heart raced when Santana turned towards her direction, but the brunette never seemed to notice Quinn.
Quinn huffed. She badly wanted Santana to notice her, but she didn't want to face the awkwardness that would result from it. Suddenly, she had idea.
"Come on, Logan, lets go walk around Times Square. Then we can go to Central Park," Quinn grabbed her purse and led the way to the door. As she made her way towards the exit, she made sure to pass close by Santana's table, but she kept her head down, afraid to make eye contact with Santana. Her heart quickened and her pace increased as her hip brushed the edge of the table that Santana was sitting at. But Quinn didn't have the courage to stop. She exited the restaurant, hoping Santana had noticed her, the butterflies in her stomach still fluttering, her heart longing for the past.
"Hey, I heard Les Miserábles is playing on Broadway tonight!" Jamie exclaimed, brandishing a dumpling with her chopsticks.
"Really? That's my favorite musical! We should totally go!" Santana bounced up and down on her chair, excited by the news.
"Yep, I already got tickets!" Jamie announced proudly, holding up two little blue and white tickets.
"Gods, Jamie, you're the-" Santana stopped suddenly when she heard a rustle by her table. She look up and saw a flash of hazel eyes looking down. Wait, hazel? Santana did a double take. A lump formed in her throat when she recognized the blonde curls, the sashay of those hips, and the toned calves of the lady that was passing by. Her heart quickened and Santana tried to make eye contact, but the blonde had exited the restaurant in the blink of an eye. But Santana's eyes narrowed as she saw the person behind the blonde: cropped blonde hair, tall, muscular, and army backpack. Of course.
"Santana? You okay?" Jamie was confused by Santana's sudden stop.
"That...that was... Quinn," Santana mumbled distractedly. "And her fucking boyfriend, Logan," she spat in disgust.
"Oh," Jamie watched as Santana's mood suddenly changed because of the appearance of the two blondes. "Do you want to talk about it?" Jamie asked softly.
Santana shook her head no, and the two continued their lunch in peace, but there was a heavy tension that hung in the air.
In order to break the thick atmosphere, Jamie asked hesitantly, "So...you still up for Les Mis?"
Santana nodded her head and smiled, but her mind was in a different universe.
Throughout the whole evening, Jamie carefully observed Santana, trying to figure out what was going on in her head. But Santana's guard was up high, and she kept it up for the rest of the night. She enjoyed Les Mis, though, singing along to all the songs and clapping loudly at the end. But when Jamie talked to her, Santana kept her answers short and tight-lipped.
At the end of the day, after they had finished unpacking and were about to go to bed, Jamie saw Santana holding the San Francisco key chain and re-reading Quinn's pink letter.
A/N: Let me know what you think so far. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thanks!(: