Yes, yes, I know. I've been gone way too long than is it all acceptable. But, re-reading this story, I felt like it needed more. So, this is set towards the end of 'Mash-Off', possibly the beginning of IKAG. Yay! And, as we speak I am going through my other stories and (possibly) updating them as well, so, stay tuned!

I'll Be By Your Side

I sat in my room, humming along to 'Perfect,' smiling at the memories clouding my mind. Me and Blaine. Blaine and I...we...

Suddenly, without my permission, my mind raced back to that day in my room, telling Santana of the infamous kiss.

"Did you fuck?"

I sighed sadly. I missed her, in a weird way. Sure, she's a collosal bitch and hadn't even properly spoken to me since that fight, but she was fun to hang out with and we bonded well, having been through similar situations.

Suddenly, as if on cue, my phone went off. I picked it up and speak of the devil.

"S-Santana?" I said, strangely nervous. I hadn't spoken to her since last year, and it felt strange to suddenly be communicating again out of the blue.

On the other line, I was met with breathy gasps and sniffles. It sounded like she was trying to get some words out, but all I truly caught was "Finn," "didn't," "else," and "call."

"Wait, what? Santana, please, speak more slowly."

"F-F-Finn...Finn...Finn outed me."

Dead air. My jaw dropped slightly, eyes widened and I almost dropped the phone. It felt like someone had smacked me across the face. How could he do that to her?

"Santana, are you serious?"

She sniffled. "Do I sound serious, Twinkle?"

"Oh...oh shit. Fuck. Fucking hell."

A weak chuckle amidst the sniffles. "Damn, Hummel, I didn't know you even knew those words, let alone how to use them."

"Disregarding. Santana, tell me everything."

The atmosphere became serious once more, and I heard a deep sigh on the other line. "Well, I went to apologize to Shamu, and it kind of went...wrong."

"What happened?"

"Well, I kind of started...dissing him again. You know me, it's not like I can help it!"

"Okay...then what?"

"Well, I was walking away, and I just heard him say, 'Hey Santana, w-why don't you just c-come out of the c-closet?" The gasps returned, and soon I heard quiet sobs on the other line. "I-I didn't know who else to...to c-call," she choked out. "I couldn't believe it. I was mortified. It was in the middle of the hallway!"

"Santana...I...how could he even...after..." I couldn't even form a proper sentence, I was so furious. After everything I, his step-brother been through because of my sexuality? Violence, death threats, having to switch schools, and he can happily out a kid in the middle of the hall? It was hypocritical, stupid and worst of all, dangerous.

"K-Kurt, I need your help. Coach Sylvester's opponent 'The Sauce' is going to air a commercial outing me to the whole state. Everyone's going to know now, because of that idiot!" She paused, and just barely managed to squeak out, "Kurt, I haven't even told my parents yet."

Suddenly, I assumed the old mentor role I'd been absent from so long. "Okay, Santana. I'm going to talk to Finn about this and trust me, he is not going to get away without an apology. We're going to get through this, okay? Together. You have me here to talk to whenever you need me. As for that stupid commercial, there's nothing in my power I can do, though you better believe I would love to put every single channel it's on off the air forever. Being outed...sucks. I would know."

Suddenly, there was dead air. "Y-you mean...when...Kurt, I -"

"Can we please discuss the elephant in the room?"

"Your sexuality?"

"It's fine, I'm over it. My dad and Mercedes already knew. Anyway, this isn't about me, it's about helping you. I know it must feel like your entire world has just come crashing down, splitting into a million unrecognizable pieces. Being forced to let the entire world know your deepest, darkest secret is terrible and shouldn't happen to anyone. But, instead of thinking about that, which we honestly can't change, though we'd love to...I want you to think about Brittany."

"Kurt...what are you -"

"Think of Brittany. How she makes you feel. How much you love her, and that you'd never trade her for anything in the world. How happy she makes you. Her eyes, and how they sparkle when she sees you coming." Even though we weren't face-to-face, I could see her smile. "With her and her love for you, and me helping you every step of the way, we're going to get through this. And Blaine would understand too, but I won't tell him a single thing if you don't want me to."

"Kurt, you're amazing. Has anyone ever told you that?"

I smiled softly. "Yeah. You have."

"And it's absolutely terrible you've been put in this position, but -"

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I...maybe...come over? It's...been a while."

"Absolutely."

We sat at the foot of my bed, eating Girl Scout thin mints, and catching up. It was rewarding to see her grin and eyes light up when I told her what I did after the opening night of the show.

"Kurt, holy shit! You two did the deed?"

I nodded, and couldn't help but giggle. "Yep. Oh, god, 'Tana, he was amazing."

She burst into laughter. "That's amazing! Britts and I are going well, too. We sort of...made it official."

"Oh my god, congratulations!"

She shrugged, but there was a pink tint to her cheeks as he began closely examining the cookie in her hands. "Yeah, well, I'm not ready to go public yet or anything..." and there was a sudden pang in my chest. She looked up at me, eyes wide, and I just squeezed her hand, urging her to continue. "...but I love her. With all my heart. She's the best thing to ever happen to me, Kurt." Her eyes sparkled in a way specially reserved for Brittany.

"I know what you mean. That's how I feel about Blaine."

She smiled, and it was genuine. "Kurt, I'm glad we did this. You're a really great friend, and I feel like shit that I forgot that."

"You didn't forget," I said. "We just went our seperate ways for a while. But I swear, I will do anything and everything in my power to make sure you smile like that every single day."

With no warning, she leaned over and gave me and wrapped me in a hug. And it felt just like old times.