Chapter 7: In The Heights

Time: Same day, an hour later.

Santana sat in the passenger's seat of Elinor's car, the motor vibrating as they sped up the hill.

"I don't think I've ever met someone who actually drove a Corvette," Santana mused, "Let alone a vintage one. Props for not picking red, by the way. Prince had it all wrong. Silver is definitely sexier."

"I agree," Elinor said with a grin.

"I bet you get some strange looks in Lima."

"I get strange looks everywhere. Once people realize it's a girl behind the wheel, they look confused. Like only guys can drive muscle cars."

"I like it, it's totally badass. It goes with your 'bar wench' persona," Santana said with a smirk.

"Bar wench?" Elinor giggled.

"Yeah, kinda sassy but not a bitch."

Elinor chuckled. "Bar wench… I like that. I think I can handle that persona. What's yours?"

"Um… well I was a cheerleader. I got kicked off because I joined Glee club, which I know sounds super lame, but sometimes it's fun. So I have that. And most people would probably say I'm a bitch. Whatever. I just try to keep things real."

"So you are in high school," Elinor confirmed, glancing sideways at Santana with a smirk.

"Unfortunately. McKinley sucks," Santana muttered. "But just a few more months until summer, then I don't have to see any of those losers for a while."

"I think high school sucks no matter where you are," Elinor shrugged.

Santana pondered that for a minute. "Did it suck for you?" She doubted Elinor, with her casual confidence and familiarizing humor, had struggled with anything.

"Totally."

There was an awkward silence. Santana didn't know what to say, so she looked out the window. The road they were winding up had no houses or buildings, just trees and bushes and rocks.

"Where are we going, by the way?" she asked as they continued to climb the hill. Surprisingly she'd never been to the top of the only large hill in Lima.

"You'll see," Elinor taunted. "We're almost there."

Elinor stopped the car at the top of the hill. There was a deserted lookout point, and you could see all of Lima and beyond. They got out of the car and looked down. The stars above twinkled like reflections of the pin-point streetlights below. Santana gaped.

"No fucking way... How have I never been here before? It's fucking gorgeous. Not to mention handy…."

Elinor laughed. "I used to spend summers in Lima with my family when I was little. There are some trails that lead from here we used to hike on."

"Well that would explain it, then. The Lopezes don't hike. Or do anything together as a family, actually."

The girls sat on the railing of the overlook, a few feet apart.

"I come here all the time now. It's beautiful in the daytime, too. I thought I'd show you because it's a great place to think. It helps put problems into perspective," Elinor said as she gazed out at the view.

Santana cringed as she remembered her over-share from Gray's. "Like how?" she asked skeptically.

"Well…" began Elinor. "I had my heart broken… and coming here made me realize I'd survive. Everything down there is so small… Kind of makes it seem like from somewhere, that hurt could be small too." A light breeze blew a few strands of her long hair across her face.

Santana felt awkward. Was she supposed to ask more questions? Comfort Elinor? Say nothing?

She opted for: "Yeah well… love's a bitch."

Elinor gave her a sad smile. "Not always…"

Santana wanted to change the subject. Luckily Elinor snapped out of her daze and swung her legs over railing, heading back to her car. She pulled a blanket out of her trunk. Spreading it out, she beckoned Santana over with her finger. Santana hopped down from the rail and sat on the blanket as Elinor went back to the trunk and pulled out several wine spritzers.

"I figured I'd make a habit of serving the underage population of Lima," Elinor said with a wink.

"They drink wine coolers at Northwestern?" Santana sneered.

Elinor chuckled. "Hey, it's still college!"

Santana smiled and felt less lame.

"Cheers," Elinor gestured. They clinked their bottles together.

After a few minutes of looking at the lights, Santana grew more curious about Elinor. "So do you also make it a habit to give your number to people at Gray's?" she taunted.

"Nope. Only did that once… this one girl seemed kinda cool, like she knew what was up."

Santana looked away with a smug smile. Elinor was such a mystery; a smart bar-wench college girl who drove a silver Corvette, liked hiking and taking care of old people and gave her number to a high school girl in a bar.

"So what's your deal? I mean aside from making awesome cocktails…" Santana questioned, taking a sip of her wine cooler.

"My deal? I don't know that I have one."

"No, I mean… I can't get a read on you. You're in school and you bartend and you drive a hot car and take care of your grandma, but what else?"

Elinor grinned. "I'm studying sociology. I like figuring out why different cultures are the way they are. Lima culture is different than Columbus culture."

"Is that where you're from?" Santana asked.

"Not really. I was born in L.A., but we moved to Columbus when I was thirteen."

"That's a shitty age to move."

"Yup," Elinor agreed, taking a sip. "It sucked."

As they finished up the wine coolers, Santana found the conversation flowed naturally and she didn't need to make snarky comments. She asked about what life was like in L.A., about the move to Ohio, and what college was like. She heard about all the funny things that had happened at the bar Elinor worked at before she came to Lima, Elinor's crazy roommates, and how she had managed to buy that awesome vintage Corvette. Elinor asked about Cheerios and Glee club and seemed genuinely interested that New Directions had recently won Regionals. They talked about their families. Elinor's family seemed more like the families you see on TV, while Santana's two working parents were often absent.

After a few hours Santana grew tired and lay down on the blanket. It was a very warm night for April, and with her coat on she was quite comfortable. Elinor lay down on the other side of the blanket, her head by Santana's feet. Santana looked up at the stars and let the silence of the night surround her. She was sleepy. As she closed her eyes she realized she hadn't thought about Brittany in a while.

Brittany…

Santana wished she could share this view with her: the view and the stars and the night and the wine coolers - all of it. But most of all, she wanted to share the peaceful feeling she felt. She looked up at one star that seemed to be flickering, wishing that some day she would have Brittany here, holding pinkies, and knowing that even when they drove back down into town, Brittany was still all hers. She tried to shake herself out of the wish as it started to hurt.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Elinor?" Santana murmured.

"Happy," Elinor mumbled, half-asleep.

Normally Santana would have scoffed at the saccharine reply, but she didn't. She was quiet for a minute. "Me too," she agreed.

And with that thought, the two girls fell asleep.