Nothing much to add in this note... Just that I love you guys, heh.
Chapter 7
Santana slid back down in her seat, arms crossed over her chest. She breathed deeply, glaring at the others as they stared at her in wonder. Not a single one of them had suspected such an outburst. Well, maybe Puck had seen it coming. Otherwise it was a total surprise to them all when she blew up in Kurt's face. Mr. Schue awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to get their attention.
"Uh, alright," he said, relieved as the teens turned to listen, "this week's assignment will be... feelings. I want you to find a song that expresses what you feel, and why."
"Does anyone know a song about being a unicorn?" Brittany asked, a serious expression on her face.
Dani pushed up the sleeves of her jacket, looking down at the tattoos on her wrists. She had gotten them the year before, after begging her parents to sign off for them for months. At that time, she was bullied, pushed around and generally treated like a worthless bag of shit.
Stay Strong
That's what she had to do. She really shouldn't let Kurt's, or anyone else's, words get to her. She was used to it, after all. However, ever since her and Santana had become friends she couldn't help it. It was getting harder to hide herself. Because Santana made her want to shout how she felt to the whole world. She wanted to be able to hold hands with her, and kiss her in public. She wanted to show the world that she was proud of who she was, and proud of being with Santana. She wouldn't tell her, but she was falling hard for the other girl. She made her feel comfortable and protected. But her parents would make sure they never saw each other again if she told them she was gay. And she couldn't risk losing her only source of joy, couldn't risk being kicked out of her own god damn home. She allowed the tears to break free, internally scolding herself for not being stronger than that.
"Dani?" a careful voice said. She heard someone step in and close the door behind them. She looked up at the intruder and her eyes met a familiar pair of brown orbs. Santana walked closer, carefully placing her hand on Dani's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. Dani nodded as the tears from her eyes started running faster. She let out a broken sob, holding up a hand to hide her face from Santana.
"No," Santana said, "you're not. Please talk to me?"
"Please just leave," Dani replied weakly. She really, really wanted to be alone right now.
"I won't leave until you talk to me," Santana said, more firmly this time. She left Dani's side for a second to get a chair. She sat down beside her, scooting impossibly closer, wrapping her arms around the other girl. She felt Dani tense up and a frown crossed her face.
"Why won't you just talk to me?" she asked, slightly desperate. She couldn't just let Dani cut her out again.
"San," Dani sighed tiredly, "go. please."
"I told you I'm not leaving," Santana said, "not till you let me in."
"Then you'll be stuck in here forever," Dani answered coolly. Santana sighed too, a deep sigh of frustration.
"What is going on with you Dani?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady, "don't you trust me?"
Dani did. She trusted her a lot, and it scared her. She wasn't used to trusting people. But with Santana it felt easy, natural. Instead of admitting that, she just shrugged. She felt a slight shiver on her spine when Santana pulled away from her.
"What we have Dani, is special," Santana said slowly, "but we're going to lose it. If you don't work with me, so we can make this work."
"It's not that easy," Dani muttered. Santana leaned a little closer.
"Excuse me?" she said, not sure she heard what Dani said.
"It's not that easy!" Dani repeated, spitting the words at Santana.
"Why not? It could be," the other girl replied, fighting not to lose her temper with Dani. That was the last thing she needed at the moment.
"Because this isn't a fucking fairytale," Dani snapped, "and this isn't the part where you sweep in to save me. I might look like I need saving, but I don't want that. I can't let you be my knight in shining armor."
She was scared. Scared by how much she needed Santana. Moreover, scared that Santana would still try to save her, fix her. Because if she did that, Dani might just love her. And that was the most terrifying thing she had ever imagined.
"You're no fucking princess Dani," Santana bit back, "but I want to help you anyways, because everyone deserves saving. Even assholes like you."
"You think I'm an asshole?" Dani asked weakly, avoiding Santana's eyes.
"Right now, yeah," Santana answered honestly, "and honestly, I'm just trying to understand why you haven't left me yet. You don't seem very happy to be with me."
"San, I..." Dani tried weakly, she wanted to tell her how badly she needed her, how much she mattered, "please don't break up with me."
Santana's expression softened a little.
"I won't," she finally sighed, leaning close to Dani's face, finally getting eye contact, "but don't bother talking to me."
She pressed a soft kiss to Dani's lips, a happy sigh leaving her mouth as Dani returned the kiss sweetly.
"I'll s-see you," she muttered. She then turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving a confused Dani behind. Santana didn't think she wanted her. Dani had made the world's greatest girl think she didn't want her. She had screwed up, and now she needed to fix it.
