Chapter 7 - What I Know (Parachute)
"I don't know she hasn't talked to me in a week, then you know what happened and I haven't tried to talk to her since."
"Did you creep her facebook? Maybe it's family stuff? He could just be a friend, if you saw her with Sam or Mike there would be no problem."
Santana sighed as she laid back on her bed, grabbing her pillow to cover her face. "Nothing changed, I really don't know that the deal is."
"Are you going to the class tonight?" Quinn asked, wishing she was closer so she could be there for more than just a phone conversation with her best friend.
"Hell to the no!" Quinn laughed leaving Santana even more irritated. "Seriously? That's not helping, what the fuck are you laughing at."
"I'm just glad you found the city girl in you again, the take no prisoners attitude. Okay are you at least going to the fair tonight?"
"Yeah, Mercedes, Sam and some other people are going when Mercedes is done class."
Day after the kiss
"Pool at my place today?" She asked as she held the phone up to her ear, trying to calm her nerves. So what they had kissed, it wasn't like it was a huge deal and things had to be awkward now.
"I'm sorry Santana, I can't. Rain check?"
So much for things not being awkward. "Yeah sure, have a good day Brit."
"You too." She heard the click on the other end of the line. One kiss and everything that had been built over the past month and a half was crumbling at her feet.
After hours of staying inside watching the rain fall she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to go out, she needed to do something to take her mind off Brittany. Something was off and she knew it, the girl had never been short with her, not even the day we had met. Naturally she started to worry, Brittany was her one real friend out here and all the other people she know considered friends were friends because Brittany had introduced them. If things were weird around Brittany there was no way things wouldn't be weird around them, just by association.
As she walked out of the house to her car she wasn't sure where to go or if she should text someone to go with her. For awhile she just drove, still unsure of what to do, not having Brittany around if even for a day really sucked. She was accustomed to her phone ringing non-stop of people wanting to go to the beach or into the city but that wasn't the case here. She knew she had to start making better relationships but she still didn't want to get attached. Her plan remained, even if it wasn't always front and centre it was also there. Not to mention she didn't know what to do when it rained, at least not if it rained more than once a month.
Passing a Starbucks she realised her coffee addiction had taken a major hit. It wasn't that there wasn't a Starbucks around because there was, two to be exact but they were further away than she was used to. As she parked her car and got out she hoped that a nice warm venti caramel macchiato would make the day more bearable. The rain was started to come down harder as she entered the coffee house, and thankfully there was nearly no line. Without paying much attention to her attention she walked up to the register and ordered her drink.
Her wait time for barely a minute, something she was almost certain was a record. Normally the line ups were brutal and it took forever but she figured the rain had kept everyone inside, and that everyone else was at work. The question now was what else there was to do. Retail therapy, she thought to herself as she thanked the barista for her coffee. Before opening the door she unlocked so she could minimize the damage done by the rain. As she walked out the door something blonde caught her eyes. The door closed as she turned her head to look back thru the glass at what it was
There she was, blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes, using her straw to put whip crème on some crippled kids nose. Sure that was entirely politically correct but at the moment she didn't care what it is. The only thing she cared about was that her Brittany, the girl that had kissed her on the porch the night before was now getting her flirt on with someone else.
The rain was gradually started to come down harder but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight she was seeing through the glass. Her heart sank, the butterflies that once lived there vanished as she felt the anger build up inside her. Then, almost as soon as it had reared its ugly head the anger faded and she was left with an ache in her chest she couldn't quite get rid of. To say that it felt as though someone had stabbed her with a knife, while over dramatic, was completely accurate. Time felt like it had slowed as she kept watching the girl shamelessly flirt with the boy, whose hair she really just wanted to take a pair of scissors too. Finally finding her feet again she raced back to her car, not wanting to been. Once safely inside she let a single tear fall from her eyes and if you asked her about it again she'd say that it was the rain, it wasn't.
'It was probably a misunderstanding', at least that's what Quinn had told her. She wanted to believe her best friend, she wanted to believe that what had happened between her and her neighbour was real and not a mistake. 'Talk to her about the fair that opens soon, you guys were supposed to go so it's the perfect opportunity to talk to her.'
'We still on for the fair?' The text was hard for her to write, she was still hurt and angry but Quinn was right, she at least had to give Brittany the benefit of the doubt.
'Yeah, how about the 24th? I know it's three weeks away but it's the last day of the fair, it's normally the best anyways. It'll keep us distracted from thinking about starting school the next day.' Santana read the text no less than four times and in her mind it meant that Brittany didn't want to see her for at least three weeks. When they had first talked about it Brittany made it seem like they should go almost every day, or at least the first and last day. Now Santana felt like she was being put on the backburner, and it only reinforced what she had thought earlier. Brittany had a boyfriend. Brittany had a boyfriend and he hadn't just sprung up over night, he had always been there.
Turned out that Brittany apparently had plans that she couldn't get out of and that was why she suggested the last day opposed to the first. Santana knew that plans meant spending time with the crippled kid. Not like her can actually go on any rides. Santana scolded herself internally for bashing the kid with the condition that he was in, but she was jealous. Normally jealousy wasn't her style but right now she had a bad case of it.
"Hey girl." Mercedes waved as she pulled into her driveway. "Get your booty in the car so we can go hot stuff." Santana couldn't help but smile at the girls attempt to make her feel better. While Mercedes didn't know the finer details of the mood Santana had been in later she knew that it had something to do with Brittany. "Sam and everyone else are going to meet us there since I wanted to go home and change after class."
"Works for me, way to look hot and not like a cowboy."
"Thanks, you too. Ready to knock them boys off their feet?"
Santana smiled devilishly. "I'm 'bout to bring it."
They had been at the fair for awhile now, and for the most part it was exactly as Santana imagined it, only slightly bigger and more elaborate. She was expecting rides that couldn't really be gone on because they were falling apart, crazy carni's trying to get you to play games and beer, lots of beer. Sure there were carni's and there were rides, but the rides looked like they could be at an amusement park and were not run down.
As the small group walked around eating cotton candy and drinking slushies they carried on funny conversations. Santana had to admit being out with different people was nice for a change but she still missed Brittany. She was at her most comfortable around her neighbour, it was easier for her to be herself.
"Hey ya'll look," Sam pointed across the grass. "Come on, let's go over and say hi." Santana and Mercedes didn't bother to look too deep in their conversation about the best songs of the 90's. They followed the group of guys until they finally came to a stop at a ticket booth. It was then that Santana looked up and instantly wanted to either puke, go home, or both.
Brittany was knelt down in front of the boy in the wheelchair and it looked like they were having an intense conversation. At least until Santana watched Brittany lean her head back and laugh, a laugh she loved eliciting from the other girl.
"I didn't know Artie was finally back." Sam said as he wanted for everyone else to get their tickets.
"Who's the crip?" Santana whispered in Mercedes direction.
"Oh, that's Artie, Brittany's boyfriend. He's cool, don't let the wheelchair fool you. They've been together for like ever but his family goes on really long vacations during the summer."
There it was, that sickening feeling in her stomach again. Except this time it was just an expression. Clasping a hand over her mouth she moved around the side of the booth before emptying the contents of her stomach onto the grass. She was right, Brittany had had a boyfriend and she was nothing more than a joke, someone to help pass the time.
"You alright?" She heard Mercedes ask, feeling a hand start to rub her back.
She nodded. "Yeah, just suddenly not feeling very well, must have been that hot dog or something.
"Come on, I'll take you home." It was the best thing Santana had heard all night. At least until she realised she had to walk in Brittany's direction in order to the car. After sipping on some water that Sam brought her she was finally ready to go home.
The closer they got to the couple the anger and hurt started to boil over. "Some plans." Santana huffed as they walked by the couple, finally breaking Brittany from her Artie bubble. Before the blonde could say a word Santana and Mercedes were half way to the car.
Once Mercedes had dropped her off Santana went upstairs changed, grabbed her keys and headed out to her car. She needed to get away, she needed to do something to take her mind off the rush of information she had just gotten.
Driving helped her clear her head, not that she knew where she was going. She was just driving, the white strips blurred and helped her ease her mind. A single line kept playing over and over again in her head, 'Brittany's boyfriend'. After an hour she stopped her car and pulled off onto the shoulder. She definitely didn't know where she was and she had no service. All that was around were trees and an open road. The rain was coming down so hard now she could barely see a foot in front of her and she was content to lean her sit back and close her eyes.
With her eyes closed all she could see was the agonizingly beautiful face. Flashes of smiles played across her mind and she couldn't help but let the tears flow freely. She hated to cry and she especially hated to cry over someone that she had a crush on. But there she was, alone in the middle of nowhere crying over a stupid girl. She never should have gotten her hopes up, the ache in her chest wasn't worth the single kiss they had shared. It wasn't worth having to see Brittany with Alfie, Alf, whatever is name was. Come to think of it the alien monster Alf was a lot cuter than the thing Brittany was seeing.
An hour later the rain had stopped falling so hard and Santana had composed herself enough to figure out how to get home. Looking down at her phone she realised she had no service, probably a good thing since she really had just wanted to cut herself of the world for awhile. Turning the key that was still in the ignition she waited for it to start. It didn't. She tried again. No luck. Once more. Nothing. She smacked her hands down on the steering wheel before leaning back in her chair. "Fuck!" She yelled out as she hit the steering wheel once more leaving her hands red. "Great now what am I supposed to do, not only is it raining and my car if fucked but I have no service."
She waited another fifteen minutes before trying her car again. Nothing. All she could do was wait it out for a bit longer and see if anyone else drove by. That or wait until the rain stopped so she could start to walk back far enough for her to get cell service.
Another half hour came and went, her car still wouldn't start and the rain wouldn't stop. She wasn't sure how much longer she could wait it out, before her parents started to get really worried. Soon she'd have to suck it up and bare the elements if it meant getting home sometime before Christmas. Her eyes were closed, her mind was reeling, she didn't see the vehicle pull up behind her. It wasn't until she heard a knock on her window that she was brought out of her daze. Relief washing over her as she realised someone was around to help.
She quickly opened her door and stepped out, looking up she was shocked to find blue eyes looking back at her. This time they were different, they were tired, sad and what looked to be a bit angry. "What are you doing here?" She asked with a fierceness the blonde didn't know Santana had.
"Went for a drive, what are you doing out here?"
"Went for a drive, car broke down." Shaking her head the blonde opened the drivers side door and popped the hood.
"Get back inside so you don't get sick, you can go sit in my truck if you want."
Santana shook her head. "I'm fine in my car, you should just go."
"I'm not leaving you stranded out here, get in the car Santana." She wasn't sure why but she listened to the girl. She had been out for what seemed like hours and she knew her parents would be getting worried, she needed to get home so she took the help she could get. For right now she was also fine letting Brittany stand outside in the rain. Another couple minutes later Brittany tapped on the glass again, this time Santana rolled down her window.
"Looks like you've got a short, this rain probably didn't help, I have no cell service because of the storm and it's only supposed to get worse. Come on, I'll book us a room, there's a motel not to far from here."
Santana laughed as she got out of the car, keys in hand. "Thanks but I'll pass, just point me in the right direction and we can both be on our way."
"Santana stop, what are you doing its pouring and dark, you don't know who's out here."
"Yeah I do, you are and frankly I'd rather tempt fate with psycho lady killers right now. I'm also going to guess that the motel is that way," she pointed in front of her, "since I came from the other way and didn't see one. Thanks for you're help, run along back to your boyfriend or should I say roll." She turned and walked away leaving Brittany standing there soaking wet.
"Would you stop!" Brittany yelled from where she was still glued to the ground. "Just stop Santana, please if something happened to you…" She trailed off happy that her comment as least got the other girl to turn around.
"If something happened to me what?"
Brittany shook her head. "Please just get in the truck so I can get you some place dry. It's not a short walk to the motel. We don't even have to talk, just, please."
The angry side of Santana wanted to turn around and keep walking away but the cold, soaked, sensible side told her to go with Brittany. Without saying a word she started to walk towards Brittany's truck, locking her car as she walked by it. She brushed past Brittany bumping the girls shoulder with her own before opening the passenger side door for herself. A moment later a soaking wet Brittany got into truck, neither girl said a word. "We're getting their, I'm calling my parents and a tow truck then you're leaving."
Brittany nodded without saying a word.
A/N: Please don't kill me, I'm too young to die. I know it isn't all rainbows and fluff but a girl can only write so much fluff before there needs to be some drama. Thank you all once again for all the lovely reviews, they're inspiring to say the very least. Also feel free to request some songs you think might fit, the hardest part about writing this fic sometimes is finding the right song to use so the more options the better. Thanks again and I hope you liked it.
