Hey :) New update. Took me a few days longer than normal for writing this chapter, but I was looking for a beta, and I've found one, so thank you Jenny aka AffinityFrequency for beta'ing my story. I freaked out when I hit 100 reviews so thank you all :) I hope you like it.

Brittany woke up, with Santana still sleeping next to her. Her breathing was soft and even, so it seemed that the brunette was still in a deep slumber. Brittany tiredly made the decision to go for a run. At home she would run two times a week, at the least, but she doesn't have the time to run here. She got up, silently picking up her running shoes. Whenever she went running, she cleared her mind, and Santana had been right— she really needed to think.

Brittany slipped into her pink running shoes Sam gave to her the past year. He bought them for her birthday after hearing her mention that she wanted to run more. He had drawn a little heart on the side of the right and left shoe. That way, my heart is always with you when you're running, he had said.

Sam was a frequent runner. He would go running three or even four times in a week, and you could tell. His body was rock-hard. He had abs with which you could literally cut glass. But sometimes Sam's obsession with health would annoy her. He would only eat healthy food. Brittany couldn't even remember the last time when he ate a burger or even a French fry.

She jumped upright from the bed, gave Santana one more glance and was out of the door. She put her headphones in, and immediately the music from her 'Running' playlist filled her head. It was a playlist with all remixes and dubstep. Normally she never really liked that kind of music, but whenever she was running, she needed it. The strong beat of the songs kept her motivated. She started running as the beat began. Normally running would clear her mind, and all she could do was feel the music and let her legs go.

But not this time, there was just too much to think about right now. Her thoughts immediately went to Santana. Her words had continuously played through her mind last night. Was she right? Had she really used her like a puppet? Because if there was one thing she didn't want, it was that. That was basically the reason she hired her. Brittany could have gone out with any guy she met at some bar, but then she would feel guilty for using him to make Sam jealous. Santana had seemed like the best solution. But Brittany didn't plan on being attracted to her. Of course she had noticed that the girl was hot and she was bisexual, so the fact that Santana was a girl wasn't a problem, but this kind of attraction was getting out of hand. Santana was this itch that Brittany couldn't scratch, and with every kiss that they shared, every touch and every glance, the itch got stronger.

And then there was Sam. Sam Evans. Brittany honestly didn't know how to think of him anymore. The love of her life? The guy who cheated on her? The guy who made her happier than anyone ever had before? Her best friend who she happened to fall for? And then there was this one question that kept coming to mind. Did she want him back? First, when she started the whole Santana-plan, she really wanted him back. She would have done everything to get him back. Including hiring someone to make him jealous, but now she knows the truth. He cheated on her. And Brittany just couldn't let that go. Yes, he was drunk, but being intoxicated shouldn't give be a go-ahead for cheating.

Then it hit Brittany. It wasn't that Sam cheated while he was drunk, because she maybe could forgive that, but it was the fact that that girl was pregnant and Sam ran from the truth. He was a coward. He ran away, just like a scared twelve-year-old boy. And in doing so he broke Brittany's heart without her even understanding. Those are the worst break-ups— the ones where you don't even realize what you've done wrong. The ones where you're feel yourself hanging on, just because you don't know the truth. You can't find closure, just because you don't understand. And until you understand, it will always haunt you. That's how Brittany felt about Sam, but now that she does know the truth, she doubts whether she really wants him back or not.

But closing the door on him now, making the decision that she never wants anything more to do with him, is something she is certainly not ready for. Her heart still skips a beat when she thinks of the times they had together. Suddenly she saw in the distance a tall blond running towards her. Oh no, please don't let it be Sam. It was too early to deal with him, and the last time they were alone, Sam had admitted to all of his mistakes concerning the trip to New York. Brittany slowed her running down when she saw that it was indeed Sam who was running closer. He didn't seem to notice her until they were only a few meters apart.

'Hi.' Sam's green eyes met with Brittany's. Oh, how she had missed his eyes.

He was wearing a pair of loose green shorts, without a T-shirt. He was tanned from surfing and his abs were still there. Brittany tried to control her leering, but she couldn't look away from the layer of thin sweat that covered his chest and his abs.

'Hi.' Brittany huffed back, a little out of breath from running.

'So, how have you been?' Sam asked back, a little hesitant.

'Great. How have you been?'

'Not so good. I've let the girl of my dreams slip away and now she's with someone else.'

'Sam, I'm sorry.'

'Brittany, don't. You're not the one who needs to apologize here. I screwed up. You did absolutely nothing wrong, so please don't apologize for moving on. I get it. It's my own fault.'

Brittany certainly did not know how to answer to that. Part of her felt guilty for rubbing her thing with Santana in his face, but another part of her reminded her that he deserved it.

'So you're running again?' Sam decided to suddenly change the subject.

'Yeah, I haven't been that much lately, and I decided to get back into it.'

'Cool, it's really nice running here. We should run together maybe? Be each other's running mates? Only if you want to.'

Brittany did miss Sam, so it seemed like a good idea.

'Good idea.'

'The rest of the group is arriving today, right?' Sam said.

'Yeah, do you know when they're arriving?'

'I think at 12 PM, so they'll be here for lunch.'

'Aw good. I've missed them.'

'Yeah, me too. It'll be fun to see them again. And Santana can meet your friends, right?'

'She actually knows Quinn and Puck from high school, so it won't be that big of a deal.'

'I bet she'll fit right in.'

'She'll be okay.'

'She's cool.'

'She really is.' Brittany desperately wanted to change the subject. Talking with Sam about Santana was just awkward, certainly with her feeling so confused about the both of them lately.

'She's way too good at videogames than a girl should be.'

'That's rude. Just because she's a girl doesn't mean that she can't play games.'

Sam laughed. 'It's not like you were ever good in games, babe.'

Brittany's heart sank and Sam's face dropped. He just realized what he said, what he called her; he blushed and was now staring awkwardly at the ground. The tension could be cut with a knife.

'Sorry, Brittany, it just slipped out.'

'It's okay, Sam. I get it. It was automatic.'

'Brittany?' Sam asked.

'Yeah, what is it?'

'You can totally say no, not a single problem, but I was wondering if you would, maybe, I don't know, hang out with me?'

Sam fidgeted nervously with his hands.

'Like a date?' Brittany asked confused.

'No, I mean, yes, maybe.' Sam stuttered.

'But it's not a date if you don't want to. I just miss talking to you. You're still my best friend and I really miss you. I thought we could maybe catch up with dinner and then see a movie, or something like that.'

Brittany really missed Sam too and if she was ever going to figure out if she wanted him back, she should at least give him a chance. They really should catch up, so Brittany just nodded. Sam's grin grew and his eyes flickered.

'Awesome. Tomorrow night?'

'Okay. See you then.' Brittany said.

'Cool.' Sam said before he started running again. He turned around one more time to wave at Brittany, still a big smile on his face. Brittany smiled back. Oh crap. What did she say yes to now? She just hoped that Sam wouldn't think that they were automatically getting back together now. First, they needed to work on mending their friendship.

Brittany started running again, the music in her headphones restarting. She ran for another twenty minutes and then got back to their house. She just wanted to slip into the shower, before she saw Santana, to think what she should say to the girl, but no such luck. Santana was already up and she seemed to be calling in front of the house.

'No mom, I don't want to drop by.'

Santana was pacing up and down as she was listening to what appeared to be her mom on the other end of the line.

'Well you should have thought about that before you kicked me out 8 years ago, shouldn't you? I don't have time to drop by anyways, I'm on vacation.'

Her mom seemed to be saying something.

'You're the one to talk mom.'

Suddenly Santana's eyes met with Brittany's and she flushed.

'Mom, I need to go. Bye.'

She hung up.

'Was that your mom?'

Santana nodded still staring at the ground.

'Look, Brittany, I shouldn't have said all that stuff last night, okay? Can we just forget it and be back to the way we were?' Santana looked up.

Brittany nodded. That seemed like a great idea.

'So you run?' Santana smirked at her outfit. Oh, they surely were back to normal, which meant Santana shamelessly flirting with her.

'Apparently.' Brittany agreed, pointing to her running shoes.

'So your friends are arriving today, right?'

'Yeah, at 12 PM. I'll just jump in the shower and then we can catch some breakfast.'

'Cool.'

Brittany jumped in the shower and when she got out, Santana was listening to music.

'Are you listening to Justin Bieber again?'

'Actually no, but nice try.' Santana set off her music and got up.

'Can we have breakfast now? I'm starving.'

'You must be, after all the running and everything.' Santana teased.

'Totally.'

The both of them ate breakfast together. Even though they said they would go back to normal, Brittany still felt the difference. There was more tension than there was before, and she hoped that it would soon disappear. Her attraction to the other girl however hadn't left yet. Brittany was still majorly attracted to Santana. She would catch herself staring at the brunette. Mostly at her boobs or her ass that looked amazing in those tight jeans.

'I think your friends are here.' Santana pointed outside the window. They had finished eating breakfast and they were now hanging out in the living room. Brittany looked outside and Santana was right: There were her friends. She rushed outside and immediately took Marley in a big hug. She was her best friend and she had missed the girl.

'Brittany. Long time no see.'

After they chatted for a minute, Brittany ran over to Quinn. The girl wasn't her best friend, but she was pretty darn close. She hugged her tightly.

'Hey, girl, I've missed you.' Quinn said.

'Me too.'

Brittany let go of the hug and started greeting her other friends. In the corner of her eye she saw Santana hugging Quinn.

'Well, if it isn't Santana Lopez?' She heard Puck say to Santana.

'Mister Noah Puckerman, long time no see.'

'It's been way too long, Santana.'

'Oh, I wouldn't say that, but I have to admit, I've missed you.'

Puck took the smaller girl into a tight embrace. Santana's feet were now floating a little above the ground considering Puck was a little taller than her.

'Me too.' Puck whispered into Santana's ear.

The both of them stopped hugging and Puck set Santana back on her feet.

'So are you still up for the hook-ups we used to have every week?' Puck asked boldly.

'Noah, I'm gay.' Santana said while she flushed.

'Didn't stop you then, I don't see why it should stop you now.'

Brittany's fists clenched. For some reason, she was getting furious. Her eyes were fixated on the duo in front of her, who apparently shared a more intimate history than Brittany had thought. All she wanted was to jump in between the both of them and push them apart, considering they were standing way too close to each other than they should be. Puck was clearly undressing Santana with her eyes, and she didn't even seem to care.

'Except the fact that I now have a girlfriend.' Santana looked at Brittany, and smirked when she noticed the fact that the blonde was already glaring at them.

'Oh right.' Puck rushed over to Brittany and took her also in a big embrace.

'Hey Britt, how have you been?' Puck asked.

'Pretty good.'

'If your girlfriend is Santana Lopez then you're doing more than good, if I recall correctly, the sex with her is amazing.' Brittany gasped.

'Puck!' Santana gave him a shove in his stomach.

'Ouch, well I guess I deserved that one.'

'You deserved a punch to your face, but this time I'll let it pass, Puckerman.' Santana sneered.

'Come on guys. Lay off of it.' Quinn shushed the both of them.

Brittany tugged on Santana's arm to meet her friends.

'So, apparently you already know Puck.' Brittany said, not able to hold the bitterness in her voice. Santana smirked.

'Yeah, him and me go way back.'

'And you already know Quinn. So this is Rachel.'

Brittany pointed to the small girl that was wearing a knitted horse sweater.

'Hi, I'm Rachel Berry. Brittany has probably told you already about me, but a small introduction can never hurt right? So, as I said, I'm Rachel Barbra Berry. Yes my middle name refers to one miss Barbra Streisand.'

'I don't know who that is.'

Rachel gasped and her mouth fell open.

'How do you not know who Barbra Streisand is? I mean, do you life on another planet?'

'Not everybody cares as much about Broadway as you do, Berry.' Quinn interrupted.

'I didn't know who she was either, to be honest.' Mercedes said. Mercedes was a black girl who was wearing a t-shirt with leopard print and yellow pants. Under that outfit she wore high light-blue sneakers. It was a special outfit to say at least, but Brittany was used to it by now. She always wore clothes that didn't exactly match.

'I'm Mercedes, by the way.' Mercedes greeted Santana.

'Mercedes, I wasn't done talking.' Rachel interrupted.

'Yes you were Rachel. Hi Santana, I'm Kurt. Rachel's best friend and most days the only one who can bare with her.' Kurt said. He was wearing black jeans and a grey tight pullover.

'San, this is Marley, my best friend.' Brittany pointed at Marley, who was standing next to Kurt.

'Nice to meet you.'

'Same.' Marley said shyly. She was always known as a shy girl, ever since she dealt with bulimia when she was in high school. She claims she's over it now, but Brittany knows better. She still ate less than the rest of them and she always thinks that other people consider her fat, even though she's the skinniest girl Brittany knows.

'It's really nice meeting you all.' Santana said to the group. She still looked a little overwhelmed by meeting all the new people, but Brittany thought she was doing great.

'Can we please go get some lunch? Before I eat Berry over here.' Puck picked up Rachel by her ankles. She immediately started screaming her lungs out and kicking her feet around. Puck was just laughing and after a minute he put her back down on the ground.

The rest of the day they spent eating, hanging out in the sun, and catching up with each other. Rachel ranted to Santana for way too long. First she wanted to be polite to Brittany's friends, but after a while, she tried running away from the girl. When that didn't work anymore, she just started to ignore the other girl. Rachel however still didn't get the hint and kept talking about Barbra Streisand and Broadway and some more Barbra.

'Brittany, help me please. Rachel won't stop talking.' Santana whispered into Brittany's ear. Brittany laughed. A couple of years ago she was at the same position than Santana was. Whenever Rachel made a new friend, it seemed to her a chance to rant endlessly about her interests, that usually nobody shared, except her best friend Kurt.

'Just run away from her, that usually helps.'

'Well, I tried that, but it isn't working, so I'll just sit here with you. I hope she just stays away.'

Santana sat behind her, so Brittany was sitting between her legs. First they were pretty far away, but Santana quickly shuffled closer to close the gap between them. Suddenly Brittany's back met with Santana's stomach. The brunette's boobs pressed into her back and Brittany's breath hitched at sudden touch. Santana wrapped her arms around the girl and now her hands were tracing up and down her thighs. It was distracting to say the least. Brittany however tried again to direct her attention to her conversation with Puck, Mercedes, Ryder, and Marley. Santana's hands first trailed up and down fairly close to Brittany's knees. But over time, her hands started trailing higher and higher, and Brittany was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. Brittany thought they were still talking about celebrities, but honestly, she didn't know for sure. All she could feel was Santana's hands on her thighs, every time gliding a little higher. Her body was heating up and she was afraid that Santana would notice what kind of an effect she was having on her. Santana also placed her head on top of Brittany's shoulder, so there was no distance between the both of them. Brittany was now staring at Santana's hands, slowly stroking her bare thigh. She was getting goose bumps.

'Brittany?' Marley stared at her.

'What?' Brittany was finally out of her trance.

'I asked you if there was anything to drink here? I'm really thirsty.'

'Oh yeah sure. I'll go get some drinks.'

Brittany stood up and Santana followed.

'Not so soon babe, I need another kiss.'

Santana tugged on her wrist and leaned in. Kissing Santana was breath taking, for lack of a better word. Santana's hand on her back pushed the blonde closer. Brittany felt the stares of her friends on them, and it was making her quite uncomfortable. It was one thing when there were a couple people looking, but everybody was just flat out staring at them; she could feel it. So she pulled away, which earned a pout from Santana, who seemed confused that the other girl pulled away so fast. Brittany also thought once she opened that door again, she wouldn't be able to close it again. So she just smiled at Santana and started heading towards the house.

'Brittany, wait up.' She heard Quinn behind her.

She stopped in her tracks and turned around.

'Hi' Brittany said once Quinn had caught up with her.

'So that was intense, that kiss.'

'Yeah, I guess.'

'Has it been like that the whole week?'

'What do you mean?'

'That she kisses you in front of that many people?'

'Yes, but it was mostly in front of Sam.'

'So, is she a good kisser?' Brittany blushed and looked over at Quinn.

'Why do you want to know?'

Quinn shrugged. 'Just wondering. So, is she?'

'I guess she is okay.'

Quinn laughed. 'You're blushing Britt.'

'Whatever Quinn.'

'But seriously, how is it going? Have you talked to Sam yet?'

'I did. I was jogging and so was he. So we talked a little and then he asked if I wanted to hang out.'

Quinn's eyebrows rose. 'What does he mean 'hang out'? Like a date?'

'I honestly don't know. I don't think he means a date, but he wants to grab some dinner and then watch a movie?'

'Britt, that's so a date. Did you say yes?' Quinn looked worriedly at her.

'I might have said yes.'

Quinn sighed. 'Why did you say yes?'

'I don't know, Quinn. I really do miss him. I miss how we used to hang out. I miss talking to him. I miss how he makes me laugh. And I might want to give him another chance and how can I do that if I don't even talk to him? That doesn't make sense.'

'Look, Brittany, I'm not going to stop you from doing what you want, but I don't know about this date.'

'What could be wrong with it?'

'One: you're supposed to be dating one Santana Lopez and two: he might think that you're back together.'

Brittany frowned. She already said yes to Sam, so she couldn't just ditch him, right?

'I said yes already Quinn, so I have to go.'

'I guess. But how is everything with Santana?'

'Good, I mean, I guess, I don't really know.' Brittany thought about telling Quinn about their fight last night. Quinn was the only one who could understand.

'I sense trouble.'

'We had a fight last night.'

'Really? Well, I guess it's only a matter of time before the Santana-Lopez-bomb went off.'

'Santana-Lopez-bomb what?'

'Back in high school we would always talk about the Santana-Lopez-bomb. Santana is a girl who could perfectly hide her feelings. We would never know what she was thinking about. But there were always moments when she snapped. Either it was a snarky comment from our cheerleading-coach on a bad day when she had her period or when her mom kicked her out. When the Santana-Lopez-bomb would go off, someone would always find her, either screaming at people or crying her eyes out. Most of the times it was both.'

'Well, last night it was the screaming, directed at me.'

Quinn placed a consoling hand on Brittany's arm, nudging her to continue.

Brittany hesitated, but then gave in. She really needed to get this off her chest.

'You know that Santana is quite a flirt, right? And she kisses me a lot in public. But the flirting doesn't stop when we're alone. And one night, after Sam told me… you know, what happened, she was really sweet. She brought me a lot of comfort food and a bottle of wine. So after a couple of glasses we started doing this game. ' Brittany hesitated. She really wasn't looking forward to telling Quinn about the whole hickey story. She would probably disapprove, so Brittany decided to keep that part of the story out.

'Anyway, I had the feeling that she was about to kiss me, but then she left the room and we went to bed without saying anything more. The next day, we didn't even talk about it anymore. We just hung out like normal. And then she was massaging me and–'

'Wait, hold up. Why was she massaging you?'

'I won the groceries race.'

'What? Never mind. So, she was massaging you?'

'Yeah, and then I had the feeling that we were going to kiss again, but once again we didn't. And then we baked a pie the next day, and things got out of hand. We sort of had a food fight.'

'A food fight?'

'Yeah, I started it, I guess. But it ended in me kissing her.'

'What? You kissed her first?' Quinn looked shocked.

'Yes, and then Kitty interrupted us. So we weren't alone for the rest of the day. But then back in the bedroom when we were alone, I thought we were going to finish what we started but I was wrong.'

'What do you mean?'

'I tried kissing her, and then she just freaked out on me. First she told me that I should know the 'rules'.' Brittany rolled her eyes. She knew the rules well enough.

'What rules?'

'That she kisses me and flirts with me in front of people to make Sam jealous and stuff like that.'

'Oh okay.' Quinn nodded.

'Anyway, I told her that I understood the rules and then she just started yelling at me, that I don't even know my own feelings and that I should take a hard look at them.'

'Isn't that kind of true?'

Brittany stopped in her tracks. 'What? No, Quinn, you're supposed to be on my side.'

'Britt, I am on your side. But don't you think she kind of has a point? I mean, you come here to win Sam back, but then you're kissing Santana?'

'Whatever, this is hard for me, okay?'

'I'm sorry Brittany. What happened next?'

'I got mad. She should keep her opinions to herself. We then yelled some stuff to each other and then Santana left. So we fell asleep. But then in the morning she apologized and–'

'Wait, what? Santana Lopez apologized?'

'Yes?' Brittany questioned, looking over at Quinn.

'Oh man, in the four years we went to the same high school, she pulled a lot of crap on me, but never did she apologize.'

'Really?'

Brittany's heart skipped a beat. That meant something right? But she immediately banned the thought out of her mind. She wasn't going to overthink this.

'Yeah, she never apologized to me.'

'Oh.' Brittany stared at the ground.

'So what are you going to do now? With the whole Santana thing? And the fact that you have a date tomorrow with Sam?'

'I don't know Quinn. I honestly don't know.'

After that they walked back down to the beach in silence, bringing three bottles of wine with them.

As always, thanks for reading. I appreciate every follow, favorite and review :) Bye.