A/N: Sorry for the wait, this was the first time I had yet to start the next chapter when I posted the last one so it took a while to write. I haven't seen any episodes of Glee past IKAG, and since I'm not following canon for that ep I should be winging it from here on out with the exception of some borrowed plot points. I also apologize in advance for writing such an unrealistic chapter aka making Will a decent human being here. :P
Ooh
Ooh
In the end, Santana had recovered just barely enough to do the mash-up. The rest of the Troubletones had left her alone to talk with just Brittany and Shelby and headed to the auditorium.
She
She ain't real
She's ain't gon' be able to love you like I will
A few minutes later, Shelby had shown up with Brittany and Santana by her side, both of them showing signs of having been crying then. Sugar didn't ask questions. None of them did.
Sure
She's got it all
But baby is that really what you want?
The music stopped and they all fell silent now. Sugar bit her lip. The real choreography was about to start, the part that took focus and concentration. Mercedes looked to Santana, who let out a shaky breath, but her body remained steady.
The song continued, Sugar using every ounce of concentration she'd mustered to get through the moves without issue. The rest of the girls had been trained for a long time, unlike her, but in that moment, she knew that with the exception of her moms, she had her heart in it the most. And if they could stay poised throughout this, then so could she. They were going to kill this number if it was the last thing they did.
Don't forget me, I beg
I remember you said
It was time for Santana's solo and the choreography called for a mix-up that left Sugar and Brittany briefly making eye-contact. Brittany had just enough time to send her a weak smile before they were mixed about with the other dancers again, and Sugar's mind went back to the steps. Santana was turning around now and Sugar saw her watching Brittany as she sang. The guilt built up even more heavily in her chest.
I heard that your dreams came true
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you
Oh, rumor has it
It was apparent that they were better than New Directions had been by the time they reached the last chorus, and Sugar caught a brief glimpse of Finn leaning over and whispering something to Rachel. In front of her, Santana tensed noticeably.
The music slowed and Mercedes stepped in front of them for the first of the last two lines. A moment later, Santana joined her while everyone else looked on in silence. Brittany was in front of Sugar now and she saw that she was shaking slightly. The dancing was over. Brittany was back to vulnerable again, and as soon as Santana's part was done, she would be too. Sugar could already tell this wasn't going to be good, and the way Finn was smirking now as he spoke to Rachel again only made her hunch even more certain.
Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead
The song ended and without warning Santana was immediately off of the stage and in Finn's face the same way she'd been in Sugar's just days earlier. Only this was much, much worse. Sugar hadn't done anything; not on purpose, anyway. Finn had done everything, and they all knew it.
"Did you tell her, too?"
"Santana-" Will interrupted, but he was ignored. Sugar watched Brittany step forward towards the front of the stage, and Sugar followed her there and stood beside Mercedes, who was looking on with what looked to be a hint of shame. Sugar wondered briefly if Mercedes was thinking back to what she'd said at their slumber party.
"Everyone's gonna know now. Because of you."
"The whole school already knows," Finn retorted. Sugar's jaw clenched. He deserved a slap in the face. "And you know what, they don't care-"
"Not just the school, you idiot. Everyone!"
"What are you talking abou-?"
Santana reared back and slapped him so hard it echoed around the whole auditorium, which immediately went eerily silent. Sugar's jaw dropped. Beside her, Mercedes' jaw dropped. Will and Artie both looked on in stunned concern. And in the very middle of it all, Santana breathed in and out heavily, even looking shocked at herself.
Sugar caught up to Brittany at her locker the next day, taking care to approach slowly and to be gentle when she tapped her on the arm to get her attention. Brittany glanced over at her briefly with tired eyes and gave a very obviously forced smile.
"Hi," Sugar almost whispered. "Have you heard-?"
Brittany answered her with a shake of her head before she could finish. "She won't return my calls. So I'm gonna go visit her after practice."
"She's ignoring you?" Sugar questioned, watching as Brittany closed her locker and then hurrying to keep up with her when she turned to walk down the hallway. "Why?"
Brittany sighed. "Because that's what Santana does when she's hurting. She pushes everyone away. But I'm not going anywhere."
Sugar couldn't help but smile at that. "Hey, can I come, too?" She still felt guilty about what had happened, and she wanted to prove that she would be there for both Santana and Brittany for as long as she could be. "I want to help, and I know she could use a friend."
Brittany thought about that for a moment. "I don't know… I mean, she won't be too upset about me pretty much breaking into her house, but I think she might kill you."
"I'll risk it," Sugar insisted. "Parking lot after practice?"
Brittany bit her lip. "Well…I guess you can come. But if she gets mad it's your fault."
"I can handle it," Sugar promised.
The Troubletones never ended up practicing that day. Instead, Shelby simply led the remaining six girls to the choir room where New Directions was supposed to be practicing. Will and the other club, with the exception of Finn, were already there, waiting solemnly, and Shelby simply gestured for the Troubletones to sit down wherever they wanted. The exception to this was Brittany, who Shelby took care to give a seat in the front and then sat down next to her with a gentle pat to her shoulder. Sugar noticed a projector in the middle of the room, pointed towards the white board. Will was standing in front of the group now and addressed them all once everyone was seated.
"There are a lot of rumors going around McKinley right now about what happened with Finn and Santana," Will told them. "And I know a few of you are very sensitive about this topic right now, but I think it needs to be addressed. If anyone's going to know the truth, it should be you guys. You're the closest friends they both have, and when Santana comes back here, she's going to need you guys' support, because frankly, I don't know who else is going to be there for her."
Brittany's eyes had already lowered and were beginning to water, and Shelby immediately put a hand on her back, rubbing it to try and comfort her. Sugar felt her own eyes beginning to tear up but had to hold it back; it'd be suspicious for her to cry.
"Santana and Finn are both suspended for three days. While it's clear that Santana has been punished for slapping Finn, the administration-"
"In other words, Principal Figgins, bullied into it by Sue," Shelby cut in, sounding disgusted. "Because technically there were only school rules placed against what Santana did."
"Right," Will agreed sadly. "Finn is suspended for spreading harmful rumors about another student. I'm sure you guys have been able to tell that there's been some animosity between Finn and Santana these past few days. From what I understand, Finn got tired of Santana taking jabs at him and decided he'd counter with an attack on her sexuality and her relationship with Brittany." The whole room was deathly quiet, and most, if not all of the seated students glanced toward Brittany at that moment. She kept her eyes down. "He did this in the middle of a crowded hallway."
Will let that simmer for a moment. Rachel's jaw was clenched and Kurt and Blaine exchanged looks of heavy disappointment. "Santana was wrong to pick on Finn the way she did, and I think we all know that. But it is never okay to do what Finn did, especially with no extra knowledge about what else is going on in a person's life. Brittany," he addressed her gently, "do Santana's parents-?"
"No," Brittany answered quietly before he could finish. "No one does. Did," she corrected with a wince.
Will nodded. "Exactly. I want this to be a lesson to the rest of you, at the very least. I know Kurt, Blaine, and Brittany can understand, but for the rest of us, we can't even begin to know what it's like to have a secret like that revealed to everyone." He took a tape from where it rested on top of the piano and walked towards the projector, bending down to the VCR sitting just below it. "This might be hard for some of you to watch, but I want you to see firsthand the ramifications of Finn's actions. Sue's congressional campaign has gotten slanderous, and one of her opponents has a niece who overheard what Finn shouted to Santana in the hallway. She told her uncle and he made this tape to get back at Sue. We're doing everything we can to prevent it from being aired to all of Ohio, but as of right now, we're not having any luck." He nodded at Shelby and she went to turn the lights off.
"Santana wasn't innocent in this situation. But it's never okay to out someone," Will finished, and pressed "play" on the VCR. Sugar was afraid to look, and she couldn't imagine how Brittany felt.
Sue Sylvester wants to represent Ohio. She says she shares your values. If that's true, boy do we have some questions. If you're so into family values, why did you promote a lesbian student to be your head cheerleader?
Sugar heard a gasp from behind her as a picture of Santana flashed across the screen, and she turned to see Rachel staring wide-eyed with a hand over her gaping mouth.
And when did you plan on telling Ohio families? Here's another question: Why don't you have a husband, Sue? Is there something you're not telling us? Sue Sylvester: so many questions.
The video ended and Will went to remove the tape while the students sat together in stunned silence.
"That's disgusting," Kurt finally whispered. "Does my dad know about this?"
"He was there when we showed Santana the tape," Will replied, "and is punishing Finn accordingly at home, I assume."
"I'm going home now," Brittany cut in quietly from the other side of the room as she stood up and began to gather her things. "Bye."
"Britt-" Tina started as they all watched her go, and Sugar stood up hastily and grabbed her own things before hurrying after Brittany.
She caught up to her in the hallway and they walked together in silence until Sugar finally had the courage to speak up. "Are you still going to Santana's house?"
"No," Brittany replied stiffly. "I have to go find the Chamber of Secrets."
Sugar took a second to figure that one out. "Wait… like from 'Harry Potter'?"
"Yep. That's where Salazar lives."
"Mo…uh, Brittany, I think that's a different Salazar. That's Salazar Slytherin, and the guy who made that video is Reggie Salazar. And you can't do anything to him or you could get into trouble."
Brittany paused. "Well, I can't just do nothing."
"You can be there for your girlfriend," Sugar reminded her. "And if you let me, I can help."
"Hi Mrs. Lopez."
"Grandma," Sugar whispered under her breath in awe as Santana's mother forced a smile at Brittany.
"Hi there, Brittany. Santana's up in her room; she's grounded so I don't want you two going anywhere but you're welcome to pay her a visit. Who's this?" Her gaze fell to Sugar who could barely contain her excitement. Her grandparents had been away on business during her last sleepover with Brittany and Santana, and she was finally getting to see what they'd looked like in their prime.
"This is our friend Sugar. She wanted to come say hi, too," Brittany replied.
"Alright; that's fine. Just don't be long; Santana's still being punished, after all."
Brittany nodded and led Sugar inside. Sugar caught a glimpse of her grandfather in another room, talking rapidly on a cell phone, but then they reached the stairs and Brittany gestured for her to climb them.
They stopped outside Santana's bedroom and Brittany took a small breath before gently pushing the door open and peering inside. Santana was sitting up in her bed, watching television with red-rimmed eyes and an emotionless gaze. That gaze slowly went to Brittany and she frowned. "What are you doing here?"
"You're ignoring me," Brittany replied simply as she entered the room, Sugar hot on her heels.
"No; my mom took my ph-" Santana paused, her eyes narrowing when she saw they had company. "Okay, why is she here, too?"
"Because she's our friend and she cares about you," Brittany told her while Sugar frowned and toed the carpet. Brittany took a seat on the bed while Santana glared at Sugar, until she finally scooted forward and regained Santana's attention by raising a hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, and then cupping her cheek. "Are you okay?"
"Stop," Santana mumbled, pushing her hand away with a glance towards Sugar, whose eyes were now focused on Santana's nightstand while Brittany looked hurt. Her cell phone was resting there, turned off. Brittany sighed and Santana's eyes squeezed shut. "Look…I just need time to think. I have a lot to deal with right now. That commercial's airing soon and I have to come out to my parents and my abuela before it does, and it's just…it's so much. I can't deal with you right now too, Britt."
"I didn't know I was such a burden," Brittany mumbled, moving away. "Sorry."
"You know that's not what I meant." Santana glanced at Sugar again. "Do we have to have this conversation with her in the room?"
"I can go," Sugar offered, but Brittany shook her head.
"Sugar's not going anywhere, Santana. And neither am I. So stop trying, okay? We're gonna help you. We can help you come out to your mom and dad. I've already done mine so I know how."
Santana forced a smile. "Britt, didn't they find your dad's old magazines under your bed?"
Sugar pulled a disgusted face and Brittany grinned. "Totally. Wanna do it that way?"
Santana smiled again, but it looked real this time. "Not really. I want to tell them about us, too. I'm just… afraid they won't accept it. They're not like your parents."
Sugar jumped in there, her knowledge of the future kicking in. "You know," she started slowly, gaining both girls' attention, "I actually had a friend, uh…at my old school, and she was gay too and thought her parents wouldn't accept it, but they actually were cool with it. So maybe yours will be, too."
"Your friends' parents weren't my parents," Santana replied with a roll of her eyes. "They'll probably hate me."
"No they won't," Brittany insisted. "No one can hate you. And if they don't like it, you can stay with me. Either way you'll still have people that love you when all of this is over. And you'll still have me." Taking care to remember Sugar was still in the room, she leaned forward and kissed Santana gently on the cheek, then shot her a small smile, which, after a little hesitation, was returned. "It'll be okay."
