So, the original plan was to have this story to be eight chapters, but I decided to split this last chapter into two since I'm not totally done writing it yet. Hope you enjoy this second to last bit! :)
The next two weeks passed fairly quickly. Eliza spent most of her free time with Santana, watching movies and eating ice cream and talking like normal teenage girls did. Well, plus the sex.
Friday morning, Eliza walked down the hallway towards her locker, planning on swapping out her books for her second class of the day. As soon as the brunette rounded the corner and looked down the hall, however, she was stopped cold in her tracks. It was like she was transported back to freshman year, because leaning against her locker was none other than one Holly Hale. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, and she had traded her Cheerios uniform for a short pink pleated skirt and white blouse. Holly- now a college freshman- was inspecting her flawless nude lipstick in a compact mirror, while Eliza was frozen in place, mesmerized. She hadn't seen Holly in over a year, but she was just as beautiful as Eliza had remembered, maybe even more so.
Eliza swallowed thickly, knowing that she wouldn't be able to avoid Holly forever so she might as well bite the bullet now. Holly was nothing if not persistent- if she wanted to talk to Eliza, she would, if it was the last thing she did. Nerves twisting her stomach, Eliza commanded her body to put one foot in front of the other until she was hovering awkwardly near her ex-girlfriend. "Holly," the brunette managed to get out in greeting, her tongue suddenly feeling a lot heavier than it had before.
The blonde snapped her compact shut and a huge smile took over her face. "Eliza!" she practically purred, tucking the mirror and lipstick away in her purse before wrapping Eliza in a tight hug. "Oh my goodness, I missed you so much!" Eliza was overwhelmed by Holly's scent, a combination of strawberries and rosewater that was near intoxicating.
"W-What are you doing here?" Eliza asked once she had been released. Her hand instinctively reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears, a nervous tic that she vaguely remembered she had developed freshman year. "I-I mean, it's great seeing you, but-?"
"No, yeah," Holly agreed breathlessly, gesturing with a hand, "I was in town and Coach Sylvester asked me to come speak to her Cheerios, whip them into shape, you know." She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "So here I am."
Eliza nodded slowly, knowing that Holly was Coach Sylvester's favorite back in the day. "Why were you back in town?" she asked, frowning. Eliza highly doubted it would be to visit her parents- Holly hated them. Mr. and Mrs. Hale were two of the most narcissistic, unfriendly people Eliza had ever met. They treated Holly like her sole purpose in life was to be an extension of themselves- Holly was expected to do, say, and even think whatever they wanted her to.
Holly's face suddenly hardened and she looked away, working her jaw. "It's not very pleasant to talk about," she said coolly, but after a moment she sighed and made eye contact with Eliza again. "My father… My father died, a week or so ago. Heart attack or something. So I came back to town for his funeral."
Eliza's suspicion instantly faded away and she wrapped the blonde in her arms in another hug. "I'm sorry, Holly," she said softly.
Holly pulled away and shook her head, a pained smile on her face. "Nothing to be sorry about." Eliza knew what Holly was probably thinking- Old bastard deserved to die- but would never say out loud. Holly didn't like to talk about personal things, and sure enough, the former Cheerio quickly turned the conversation around. "Anyway, enough about that. I'd love to catch up with you after school?"
It was less of a question and more of a statement, leaving little room for Eliza to say no. Still, Holly's smile was so infectious that Eliza couldn't help but mirror it. For the first time since Eliza's gaze had fallen on the blonde, she remembered Santana. The two had made plans for the night, and Eliza didn't want to cancel on her. But Holly was probably only going to be in town for a few more days and her father had died and damn it, it was Holly Hale, Eliza had always had trouble denying her anything. She and Santana could hang out some other night. "Okay," Eliza agreed, nodding her head and hugging her books to her chest.
Holly grinned brightly. "Perfect!" she exclaimed. "We'll grab coffee at the Lima Bean, I'll meet you in our usual spot." The blonde winked at Eliza like they were sharing some intimate secret. "I should go catch up with Coach, I know she hates to be kept waiting. I'll see you later." Holly didn't wait for Eliza's response, simply waving and walking away.
Eliza couldn't believe what was happening. In the back of her mind, she knew how much Holly had hurt her her freshman year, but logic tended to be thrown out the window when Holly Hale was involved. Besides, Holly telling her the truth about her father dying- maybe the blonde had changed? It was wishful thinking, Eliza knew, but what would be the harm in meeting Holly for an innocent cup of coffee?
Xxx
Eliza met up with Santana in the hall later that day, the Latina immediately launching into conversation. "So, guess who I met at cheer practice this morning?" Santana began, her voice a mix between excitement and hesitation.
Eliza glanced over at the cheerleader and arched an eyebrow. "Holly Hale?" she guessed, knowing that that is what Santana was going to tell her. Eliza had mentioned the blonde by name before, and that she had been a Cheerio, so of course Santana would know who she was.
Santana frowned and nodded her head slowly. "Yeah… I thought that that info would cause a little more of a reaction?" At Eliza's questioning look, the cheerleader continued a bit defensively, "I mean, you said she broke your heart and everything, are you okay?"
Eliza couldn't help but smile at Santana's concern, touching her arm gently. "Yes, I'm fine," she said lightly, rolling her eyes. "Whatever happened between Holly and I is in the past. Actually, she asked me to get coffee with her after school today."
At that, Santana's frown deepened, a look of hurt flashing over her face. "Wait, I thought we had plans tonight. You know, because my parents are away for the night?" Santana pointed out, voice lowering suggestively. The girl crossed her arms over her chest, covering the WMHS logo on her cheerleading uniform.
Eliza's brow furrowed slightly and she nodded her head. "I know, and I'm sorry for canceling on you, but Holly's dad just died and I really think she needs a friend right now."
Santana's emotions seemed to shift from hurt to irritation, her jaw visibly tightening. "Sorry, quick clarification," the Latina began sarcastically, her hands fanning out, "Friends as in you and the hobbit, or friends as in you and I?"
For once, Santana's bitchiness wasn't amusing or cute, and Eliza's eyes narrowed. "Is that what this is about?" Eliza said exasperatedly, shaking her head. "God, we can just have sex some other night, okay?" That was obviously not the right thing to say, because the look of raw injury in Santana's eyes made Eliza want to immediately take the words back. "Shit. Santana, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
But Santana was already pulling away roughly. "No, whatever," the Cheerio spat, "Have fun on your little date with the cheer bitch." Eliza only got a glimpse of the tears shimmering in Santana's eyes before the girl turned around and stalked away, shouldering her way past an unsuspecting freshman boy.
Eliza groaned and pressed her hands to her face, knowing that she just screwed up, big time. Later she would have to apologize to Santana and try to make up for her insensitive comment, but for now, she had to get to class. Eliza was still going to meet Holly after school, and hopefully by the time that meeting had ended, Santana would have cooled down enough to hear Eliza out. Hopefully.
Xxx
Eliza was feeling miserable when the end of school came around. The look of hurt on Santana's face just wouldn't leave her brain. Eliza heard a voice in the back of her head that sounded remarkably like Rachel's reminding her that this time, she was the one who had hurt someone and not the other way around. Eliza truly felt awful about hurting Santana's feelings, and it was all she could think about as she drove to meet Holly at the Lima Bean.
As soon as Eliza walked into the coffee shop, she spotted Holly sitting in the corner table that they had always sat at. The blonde looked up when she heard the bell at the door, smiling and waving when she saw Eliza. Eliza returned the gesture, standing in line and ordering her coffee when it was her turn. After a few minutes she joined Holly at the table with her latte in hand. "Hey, Holly," Eliza greeted, sitting in the seat across from the blonde.
"Hey," Holly responded brightly, fingers wrapped around her own coffee. "I would have ordered your coffee for you, but I couldn't remember what you usually get." The former cheerleader nodded in the direction of Eliza's drink and the brunette's eyebrows arched briefly.
Eliza wasn't sure why Holly acted like that was anything new- even back when the two girls came to the Lima Bean practically everyday, Holly never remembered her order. At first, it had been annoying to Eliza, especially since she had memorized Holly's annoyingly complicated order after their third coffee 'date'. But she'd dismissed it, because it was coffee, not exactly the end of the world. But it wasn't just Eliza's coffee order that Holly didn't know- she didn't know Eliza's favorite color or what music she liked because the blonde just didn't pay attention to things like that. Santana would remember my coffee order, Eliza thought to herself, but that thought was quickly dismissed because Santana wasn't her girlfriend. Comparing her and Holly made no sense.
"It's fine," Eliza found herself saying, waving her hand in dismissal. "So, how are you liking Yale so far? It has to be pretty challenging." She forced herself to smile, taking a sip of the steaming-hot latte in her hands. Holly had had near perfect grades in high school and graduated as valedictorian, mostly because she was a complete perfectionist that hated to lose in any way, shape, or form.
Holly shrugged her shoulders. "It's not too bad," she deflected, then after a moment continued, "I'm doing very well, actually. My teachers seem to be very impressed with my work." Eliza wondered how truthful that statement actually was. Holly tended to exaggerate her achievements, after all- not in a jokingly braggy way, like Santana sometimes did, but in a condescending way.
"Wow, that's great," Eliza mused unenthusiastically, not missing the way that Holly's eyes gleamed at the compliment. Holly lived for people to fawn over her and her accomplishments. She wanted people to pay attention to her so badly that she couldn't even tell the difference between a genuine compliment and an ingenuine one. It was sort of sad, to be honest.
"So," Holly began, brown eyes staring intensely at Eliza. "Have you been seeing anyone?" Holly doesn't say 'since we broke up', but that is what she means- Holly never mentions their past relationship, and Eliza thinks that the blonde likes to imagine it never happened.
Eliza considered how to respond to the question. The easy answer would be to say 'not really'. Holly would frown and say that that was too bad, but Eliza knew that the blonde would secretly be happy. Holly would talk about her latest prick of a boyfriend, despite the fact that Holly had drunkenly confessed to Eliza one night that she didn't feel anything when she kissed or had sex with boys. So Eliza decided to be honest. "Actually, I am kind of seeing someone right now. Or at least, I was, but I may have totally screwed that up today," Eliza confessed, feeling the frustration within her begin to build. She shook her head and leaned forward in her seat. "What are you really doing here, Holly? Showing up at my locker, bringing me to where we used to hang out, asking me if I've been seeing anyone."
Holly tilted her head and frowned, a perfect picture of innocence. "I don't know what you mean," Holly responded lightly. "I'm just here to catch up with a good friend." One of her pale hands reached out across the table to gently stroke Eliza's arm in a manner that was a lot more than friendly, brown eyes locked onto Eliza's blue ones.
Eliza expelled an incredulous laugh and pulled her arm away. "I can't believe you, Holly. Two years later, and you're still the same exact person. Lucky for me, I'm not. I'm not the same lovesick girl I was freshman year that, that clung to your every word, okay?" She shook her head and stared up at a spot above Holly's head. Eliza couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to be dragged down this rabbit hole again. She was better than that, but apparently she wasn't as over Holly Hale as she had thought.
Holly's lips were pursed when Eliza's gaze dropped back downward to the girl's face. "I missed you, Eliza," she said quietly, reaching out for the brunette's hand again. "I came to talk to you and invited you here because I missed you, I missed us." Eliza was sure she did. Holly missed the power she had over Eliza, missed the feeling of being adored and practically worshipped.
"You know what, Holly?" Eliza eventually sighed. "You really screwed me up my freshman year. I know you probably get some sick pleasure from knowing you had such a profound effect on me, but you broke my heart and that's-" Eliza carded her fingers through her hair, "that's just not okay with me."
When Eliza looked back up, Holly face was tight and stoic. "Don't be so dramatic," the blonde said coolly, and that was enough proof for Eliza to know that she was doing the right thing here.
Shaking her head and laughing humorlessly, Eliza said, her voice wet, "I'm sorry about your father, Holly, I really am. I know that he and your mother inflicted more damage on you than you will ever be willing to admit, and I pray to God that you find a way to move on from that at some point. I pray that you find a way to accept yourself and find real, actual love. When I was younger, I fell under your spell and let you treat me like shit the same way your parents treated you like shit. But I am not going to allow myself to fall for you again." Fighting to hold back her tears, Eliza stood abruptly and grabbed her coffee, turning around to leave. She knew Holly wouldn't run after her, because she never did.
The first thing Eliza did as soon as she got into her car was dial Santana's number. She listened to it ring, on and on, before the Cheerio's voicemail message played. "Santana," Eliza choked into the phone after the beep, trying not to sound like she had been crying, "I am so, so sorry, I really need to talk to you. Please call me back." Eliza hung up the phone and wiped her eyes.
She knew she made the right choice by sticking up for herself to Holly- freshman year Eliza would have never done that, so for that she was proud of herself. However, she was still ashamed about how she had treated Santana, shaking her off like Holly had done to her numerous times. She knew how horrible that felt, and she was determined to come clean to Santana as soon as possible.
