One week passed and things were supposed to get better. Every smile was supposed seem real and every hello was meant to sound easier. But you can't go from lying to yourself for years to simply being cheerful over night. Santana Lopez knew the all the rules of being fake towards the people around you. She thought she could hide behind Brittany that entire week and become a shadow as the blonde became more popular. In the back of her mind though, Santana knew she'd have to face up to the world one day, whether she was alone or not.

"The funerals tomorrow sweetie and I need you to come straight home from school to help me prepare everything." Mrs. Lopez was ironing a black dress that she planned on wearing to her husbands service.

Santana didn't even want to think about the funeral, she tried to talk herself out of going but she knew that she'd regret it if she didn't. She knew that her mother would be let down and after all they've been through Santana could not be selfish.

"I have cheerios practice afterschool." Santana tried not to sound abrasive but her mother took it that way.

"You can get Brittany to teach you the steps. Besides," Mrs. Lopez placed her dress flat on her bed and looked up at her daughter. "I've already told Sue Sylvester about out situation and she's allowing you to take time off practice." Santana's eyebrows furrowed but she didn't speak.

Only a small gasp escaped from Santana's mouth, which caused her mother to glare at her in dissapointment.

"Alright, alright." She forced a smile onto her face which her mother accepted. Mrs. Lopez then hugged her daughter before heading downstairs.

Santana looked towards her father's side of the bed. He was only lying there a week before, looking cheerful and healthy. "Why me?" Santana questioned herself as she dragged her feet towards the door. With one final look back she left and shut the door tightly, pulling on the door knob which reassured her that no one could take her dad's place.


"Santana! How are you doing?" Brittany approached her friend the best way she could; with her arms wide open and a reassuring smile on her gorgeous face.

Santana got used to Brittany's good morning's every day. It was the only thing that got her through the day, the only reason she didn't feel lonely anymore.

"I'm alright Britt, are you enjoying cheerios?" They sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria and for once Santana didn't feel any eyes stare at her.

"Yeah! It's a little more demanding than glee club but I'm glad I get to do both." Santana nodded and thought about joining about glee club that week. The way Brittany talked about their freedom and modern song choices made Santana so envious.

She wasn't ready to committ though, cheerios was already adding enough pressure to her life which seemed to becoming more dark day by day. There was a light though that allowed Santana to continue on each day. That light was Brittany.

Brittany noticed Santana start to play with her food and she grabbed her friends tray. She stuck a fork in one of the fries and put it up to Santana's mouth. "What are you doing Britt?" Santana squealed. "You have to eat!" Brittany pushed the fry towards Santana's mouth which remained closed.

The brunette mumbled abit before finally giving in. She chewed awkwardly on the fry, looking at a very pleased Brittany. "Thank you Brittany," Santana nodded thankfully and took Brittany's hand in hers.

"Really, thank you." She repeated and saw Brittany's eyes light up.


Later that day Santana sat in Sue's office, wondering why her coach had called her in there when the woman knew about Santana's 'situation' as her mother liked to call it.

"Listen here sandbags," Sue wiped a finger across her lips and sat back in her chair.

Santana had gotten used to the nickname, she knew that if she spoke up Sue would banish her off the cheerios regardless if she had just lost a parent or not.

"You'll have to work extra hard when nationals roll around. I'm counting on you to lead the team to victory." Santana edged her chair closer to her coach's desk. "What about Quinn?" She whispered.

"Quinn has the passion but not the emotion. She smiles and cheers but you have the feeling when you cheer like it's not something you have to do, it's something you want to do."

Santana thought for a moment before sitting back in her chair and biting her lip.

"See Sandbags, I have a handicapable sister. I know it's nothing like what you're going through but we get stares and name calling. She doesn't deserve it but that's just how society is. I love my sister more than anything in the world and I don't know what i'd do if I ever lost her." Sue looked out the window as if she was trying to find an answer in the wind.

This was the first time Santana had seen the sensative side of Sue Sylvester and it stunned her how much she was willing to share with the girl.

"Well I'm glad you have trust in me Coach. I won't let you down." Sue nodded and flicked her hand towards the door.

Santana took the hint and exited.


That night Santana found it difficult to get to sleep. She tossed and turned and even considered counting sheep, but nothing worked. She picked up her cellphone and browsed through the numbers, landing on Quinn's. She hesitated before pressing call. She knew there would be a small chance that the blonde was awake, afterall it was 2 am.

After 9 rings Quinn's message bank came on the speaker.

Hi you've reached Quinn Fabray, I'm not here at the moment so please leave a fabulous message, bye!" Quinn shouted the last word causing Santana to pull away from the phone quickly.

She then browsed again landing on Brittany's number. She didn't want to wake the girl but she felt so lonely after seeing her only hours before. Santana stared at the screen of her phone at Brittany's name.

Just the name made her feel a tingle through her body and she smiled childishly, putting the phone under her pillow. She'd see Brittany the next day and that's all that mattered.


The church was astronomic. The ceiling looked as though it reached the clouds. The jewels encrusted on the walls and roof were shining brightly as the sunlight reflected off them.

The Lopez's weren't very religious but Santana knew that her father believed in god even if he didn't go to church every sunday.

That was thing Santana hated about preachers. People get the impression that if you're religious you don't have a life outside of church and preaching on everyone's doorsteps. But she remembers her father telling her stories of how he always believed in god and he didn't need to prove it other people.

Mrs. Lopez was extremely religious growing up however. Her parents sat her down everynight explaining the sins and morals that she had to obide by. They would say things like same sex marriage and sex before marriage was a sin, but the young Mrs. Lopez just nodded, not really understanding what her parents meant until she was able to venture into the world on her own.

It wasn't that Mrs. Lopez believed her parent's words, it was just that that was all she knew growing up and she couldn't believe any different.

Santana stood at the front of the church, staring into her father's coffin. She couldn't figure out if he was peaceful or not and that's normally the first thing a family would notice.

She turned as she heard her name being muttered behind her. Quinn and Puck slid in the row behind Santana and linked arms. The sight of couples didn't make her want to puke anymore, in fact she was happy that two of her friends found eachother through all the madness in the world.

Santana stared passed her two friends in the direction of Brittany who seemed mesmorized by all of the jewels that shone brightly around the room. The blonde's jaw dropped and her eyes lit up but before she could soak up the amazing atmosphere any longer she realized why she was here. She quickly closed her mouth and stared forward gazing upon the coffin.

Brittany peered left and saw Santana smiling at her. The blonde speed walked over to her best friend and sat beside her. They sat a few inches apart until the service began and when it did, Santana nuzzled her head in the crook of Brittany's neck.

As Santana edged out of Brittany's embrace an hour into the service the blonde looked on in discomfort at the thought of the brunette storming out. Instead Santana made her way towards the microphone.

Her mother gave her an encouraging thumbs up while Brittany was still baffled at what was happening. Santana looked down at the blonde and winked.

Santana could finally see that smile she had wanted to see all week. That one that reminded her she was going to be okay.

Santana looked forwards, not really at anything in particular. She then took a long breath and exhaled before leaning into the microphone.

"This was my dad's favorite song." Santana hadn't prepared a band for this, she just decided to sing it acapella and whether she sounded good or not she didn't care. It felt relaxing when she sung, especially in memory of her father.

The brunette began singing the lines of Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The raspyness and power in Santana's voice captivated Brittany. Much like the blonde's dancing had mesmorized Santana.

The last note left the guests breathless. Mrs. Lopez had heard her daughter sing at a young age but the skill she had gotten over the years without lessons or help from a professional astonished the woman.

At the end of the service Santana stood beside her mother at the door so people could give their condolences. When Brittany passed, Santana pulled her closer, whispering in the girls to meet her at the park near the blonde's house. The blonde nodded and walked slowly towards the park incase Santana tried to catch up to her.


Mrs. Lopez returned home while Santana ventured to the park where Brittany was swaying slowly on the swing. The brunette's face lit up as she wrapped her arms around her friend. Brittany squealed until she realized who it was and relaxed into Santana's embrace.

Santana's lips were about an inch away from Brittany's ear as she spoke. The blonde giggled as she could feel the breath of her friend so clearly. "I'm glad you made it Britt."

No matter how hard Santana tried to not let herself get close to someone, she couldn't help but feel wonderfully comfortable in Brittany's presense.

"You're an amazing singer." Brittany closed her eyes as she spoke, slowly turning her head towards Santana's. The brunette chocked on the words and loosened her grip. "I'm really not. Not as good as Rachel anyway." Santana froze after she spoke, realizing she had just complimented a girl she tortured for so long.

"Wow San," The brunette turned to walk away but Brittany leapt of the swing and grabbed her friends arm. "No it's a good thing, don't you realize?" Santana avoided eye contact until Brittany lifted her chin up with her hand.

Santana looked sheepishly into Brittany's eyes and mouthed 'thank you' before stepping back and sitting on the platform behind her.

Brittany stared around innocently before opening her mouth again. "Join glee club." She mumbled, quickly looking away. But Santana heard her. The brunette raised her eyebrows but didn't speak.

She bit her lip before walking over and taking Brittany's hand. "C'mon I'll walk you home."

Brittany sighed but allowed herself to be pulled along by her friend.

When they reached the doorstep Brittany quickly said goodbye to Santana before opening the door. For a short second the brunette heard yelling and plates smashing but Brittany acted as those nothing was happening.

"Are you going to be okay?" Brittany nodded and walked further into her house. "Don't worry San, everything's fine."

Santana was the master of lying, she invented the fake smile and that one liner. She knew that Brittany was hiding something and before she could make any assumptions she had to wait for the right moment to witness what was going on in that house.