Santana felt a lot better after she'd talked to Brittany. She didn't know what had made her talk; it was probably the nightmare, because she hated having them and Brittany witnessing was just wrong. But she loved Brittany for listening to her and she hoped Brittany didn't feel guilty because of it. After thinking about it, Santana knew she could've just left that part out, but she didn't, and she couldn't take it back.
She had fallen asleep in Brittany's arms and she felt safe. Brittany always made her feel safe and she didn't have to do anything for it. So she didn't have nightmares, and she had woken up to a sleeping Brittany. She didn't move, or say anything to wake her friend up, because Brittany needed the sleep too. But then there was a knock on the door and she looked up. The Glee club was back. It was already late, even though Santana didn't bother to look she just knew because she had been lying on the bed in Brittany's arms for a while now. So she stood and made her way to the door, carefully so she wouldn't wake Brittany.
''Shh, Britt is sleeping,'' she whispered when she opened the door, and she looked at Rachel. ''Where's the rest?'' she asked when she didn't see the others, and Rachel looked inside and then to Santana. Santana opened the door further and stepped aside, and closed the door behind her when Rachel was inside.
''I told them I wanted to check on you, and Mr. Schue said they'd get one last drink before going up. So we have some time,'' she replied, and Santana nodded. Rachel sat down on the bed and watched Brittany for a while, and then she looked at Santana, who was still standing even though a little closer. ''I've come up with an idea. It's not much but it will help you,'' the brunette said, and Santana nodded.
''I told Brittany. I told her everything – well, expect what happened in the halls, but I hadn't…'' Santana stopped talking when Rachel raised her hand, and she sat down next to the brunette and stared at her.
''It's okay; I'll keep that to myself for now. Now, my idea was… you need some protection around town, right? But when you're at home, or at Brittany's house, you don't, right?'' Rachel asked, and Santana nodded, indicating Rachel was right. ''Well, we can tell the club some of what happened, like when he pushed you against those lockers and all those things. I don't know what he did to you-''
''He raped her,'' Brittany mumbled, interrupting Rachel. Santana looked up to see Brittany staring at her, and she looked to her side and saw Rachel was looking down at her feet. ''He raped her, Rachel.''
''Rachel…'' Santana said, feeling the tears on her face, and Rachel looked up, ''it's okay. Like you said, I need Brittany to be safe and if you have an idea, please, tell me so we can see if it could work.''
''But…'' when Santana shook her head Rachel stopped talking for a while. Santana looked up at Brittany and saw Brittany smiling, and then she nodded to Santana. Santana didn't get it, but she loved Brittany non-the-less because the girl knew when to interrupt someone. Santana hadn't been able to tell Rachel what happened even if she tried to beat it out of her, and Brittany had just done what Santana couldn't. ''I was thinking we could pick you guys up from home in the morning and just make sure he doesn't come near you at school. We're with a lot and the girls can help with that too, so that's one part. And as for going home, the same thing, but you need to be careful when you're at home and you want to go out,'' Rachel said, and Santana nodded.
''I think that could be a plan. But you're right, the being home part scares me because he can still come and… he can still go to Brittany's house,'' Santana said softly, and Rachel nodded. ''But, what if I go to the cops when we get back?''
''What about it?'' Rachel asked, and Santana shrugged. Rachel nodded indicating she got what Santana was saying, and said, ''well, it would give you some time, yes. We can even make sure you're never alone but that would mean for one of the guys to always be with you two, and I don't think you like that,'' Rachel said with a small smile, and Brittany giggled. Santana didn't get it though.
''So if we can tell the Glee club what happened in the halls, they help us and I go to the cops. I don't know if I can go to the cops right now though,'' Santana said softly, feeling the panic come over her again and she took a deep breath.
''It doesn't have to be right away, San. You need to be brave though, because you can't wait for too long,'' Brittany said softly, and Santana nodded. Brittany was right; she needed to be brave.
''Okay, a compromise; I'm going this week, and I'm going to report it. Rachel?'' Santana said, looking at the girl next to her, and when Rachel nodded, Santana sighed and closed her eyes. It was a start. ''I don't want to be there when you ask the club for help though, if that's okay?''
''That's okay, I'll just ask it later, but you need to take Brittany with you because…'' Rachel looked at Brittany who stared at her in confusion but didn't say anything, and Santana got what Rachel wanted to say. She needed to tell Brittany about what happened in the past two weeks and Brittany didn't think before she spoke. Not often, that is. ''And you can call me Rachel more often, I like it,'' Rachel said, and Santana stared at her.
''What?''
''You called me by my name twice in this conversation. I like it,'' Rachel said, and Santana smiled. ''Okay, so this is cleared,'' Rachel added quickly, and Santana and Brittany sighed in relief and then Brittany held out her hand.
''Come here, Santana, I want to cuddle,'' she said softly, and Santana scooted over to Brittany and cuddled into the blonde's side. ''Thank you Rachel, for helping us,'' she said, and Santana nodded, as Rachel looked down and blushed.
''You're welcome,'' she whispered, and then she lay down on the other bed and closed her eyes. ''You know, I don't even feel guilty for kissing Finn,'' Rachel said after a while, and Brittany giggled.
''Well, I thought it was cute,'' she said, and Santana smiled at her. Santana loved it when she was happy, and Brittany was happy at this moment. So, so was Santana.
Brittany looked down at Santana and smiled when she saw her friend was already asleep. She looked up at Rachel to see the other girl was still swinging her legs over the edge of the bed and she sighed. Brittany couldn't sleep.
''Rachel, it's been hours since you came. When are the others coming?'' she asked, and just then there was a knock on the door and Brittany laughed softly. Rachel got up, because Brittany couldn't, and she opened the door. She placed a finger over her lips indicating someone was sleeping, and Brittany was grateful for that because Santana didn't sleep like her. Santana woke up whenever she heard something. The girls walked in and began getting ready for bed, and Brittany closed her eyes and sighed.
''So he asked where the cute brunette was, and I said 'I don't know', Quinn was saying, and Rachel looked up and sighed. ''He was talking about Santana, though. He saw you kissing Finn,'' Quinn snapped at the girl, and Brittany sighed.
''Q, be nice,'' she whispered, and Quinn shot a glare at her but didn't say anything. Brittany closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep, but she couldn't because all she could think about was Santana. Santana in Puck's bed; Santana with Dave. It hurt thinking about it, because Santana had been hurt that night.
''Britt?'' it was Tina. Brittany opened her eyes and stared at the Asian girl, and Tina smiled. ''The guy that was asking about Santana, he didn't seem that interested. He just wanted to know where she went,'' she explained, and Brittany grinned.
''I wasn't worried about that, Tina. But thanks,'' she replied softly, and Tina shrugged. Brittany loved her friends, because they always tried to make her feel better even though they didn't know what she felt sad about. ''Did Mr. Schue let you drink alcohol?'' she asked to change the subject, and she smiled when Quinn turned around with a pout.
''Of course not, not after what happened with the Rachel Berry party,'' she replied, and Brittany chuckled. She looked down at Santana who was still asleep and she wondered if she just needed it, because normally the Latina would've woken up by now. They weren't that quiet. ''What happened in here though? She looks like she's been crying, and you too,'' Quinn said after a while, and Brittany sighed.
''We talked, it's not a big deal,'' she replied, ''she was sad because Lord Tubbington had been reading my diary again.''
''What?'' Quinn asked, her stare blank and the expression on her face comical. Brittany shrugged one shoulder and closed her eyes again, and soon she felt everyone get in the beds around her. ''Good night you guys,'' Quinn said after a while, and everyone just hummed a little. Then there was silence. Real silence, and Brittany found it suffocating. She tried to sleep but she couldn't because every time she sank into sleep, she could see what happened at the party, and she could see Santana's face after she came down from the stairs and told her she wanted to go home.
But after a while she was just too exhausted to fight the sleep, and she dozed off.
Santana woke up the next morning and noticed she wasn't alone. Quinn was staring at her from the other side of the bed, and Santana realized she had snuggled in with Brittany really close. She stared back at Quinn and then stepped out of the bed, walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
She was still tired but she felt a lot better, having slept through the night for the first time in two weeks. There was a knock on the door and then it opened, and Santana sighed when she saw Quinn stepping in. Quinn locked the door, and Santana wished she had done the same before Quinn had stepped in.
''So I know something happened last night. Maybe it even happened earlier, but you are a mess,'' Quinn said, and Santana sighed and shrugged, because she didn't want to talk about it. ''I think it has something to do with Dave and the party at Puck's two weeks ago, and if I'm right I think I also know what happened.''
''Oh really?'' Santana asked harshly, and Quinn just nodded. ''Well, if you know, why don't you tell me?''
''I think he did something to you in Puck's room. Wait, I know he did something to you because of the look on your face just now,'' she added when Santana widened her eyes. Santana just stared at the blonde, the girl she had always thought of as a friend, and then she nodded. ''Okay, so what is keeping you from going to the cops?''
''Nothing, not after last night.'' Santana didn't know what else to say but Quinn seemed to get it, because she nodded. ''Listen, I appreciate the concern-''
''Oh, stop it right there. You act like you think no one cares about you, but you're wrong. I think Rachel proved it last night by going back to the room earlier to see how you were doing. She's been worried about you, you know?'' Santana just looked down at her feet at this, because she felt guilty all of a sudden. She really did think no one cared about her because she was a bitch, and she knew it. ''But you know, everyone is worried because you haven't been yourself lately. You haven't been as bitchy and you've been avoiding some people.''
''You know Q, you're right. I did become less bitchy, but it's not only because of what happened. I've had a lot of time to think, after it happened, and I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't help being bitchy all the time. But you know, it's me, and I still have to come to terms with everything,'' Santana said, and Quinn nodded and took her hand. Santana looked at her in surprise, Quinn never was the touchy-feely kind of person.
''I'm your friend, and people in the Glee club too. Even though you act like you hate them, I can see that you appreciate them,'' Quinn said, and Santana nodded. ''It's just hard, I know how hard it can be to be accepted for who you are, and you just need to get used to it because they are like that you know? They're sweet and caring and all of them just want you and each other to be happy,'' Quinn added, and Santana nodded again. She knew that even though she didn't say it out loud.
''I know,'' she simply said, and then she turned and unlocked the door. ''I'm going to get changed, I bet Mr. Schue will be knocking on that door soon,'' she added, and then she walked out of the bathroom and into the room. The girls were all awake now, even though only Brittany looked like she had been awake for hours, because she was bouncing off the bed when Santana walked back into the room.
''What where you doing there? Where's Quinn?'' she asked, and Santana pointed toward the bathroom in answer of the last question.
''I wanted some time alone but Q ruined that for me, so I'm going to get dressed. Don't have to take a shower because of last night,'' she replied softly, and then she went to her bag and took out jeans and a shirt with long sleeves. Brittany grinned at her and Santana smiled back, and then she took off her sweat pants and pulled her jeans over her legs. ''You know, I haven't had a good night sleep in two weeks,'' Santana said softly when Brittany was by her side, and she looked up.
''I know, and I'm glad you did now,'' she replied with a smile, and Santana nodded. ''I know it helps talking about something, it always helps me to talk about my bad dreams because… you know,'' she added sheepishly, and Santana smiled and nodded.
''I know, and thank you for listening last night. It did help,'' Santana replied, and Brittany jumped up. She went to look for clothes to wear and then when she found some, she ran to the bathroom, smiling because she was the first and then she closed the door. Santana stared at her best friend as she ran to the bathroom and couldn't help but appreciate the view. Brittany was absolutely stunning. Santana shook her head and pulled the t-shirt over her head, and then she went to brush her hair.
''Hey Santana, how's Dave doing?'' Lauren asked from across the room, and then there was silence. Nobody said a word, everybody held their breath. Quinn and Rachel exchanged a look between them and Santana just slowly turned around toward the girl.
''I don't know,'' she said slowly, and Lauren grinned at her and moved toward her, but Santana stepped back. ''You know what, back off. I'm not in the mood for your fights or something,'' Santana added softly, and Lauren frowned.
''I wasn't planning on fighting you little girl, I just wanted to know how your boyfriend was doing,'' she said, and then she turned around. She saw everyone staring at her and sighed. ''What? Can't a girl ask another girl how-''
''Shut up Lauren, I mean it,'' Quinn growled, and Lauren growled back and left the room. Santana sat down and sighed, and then Brittany came out of the bedroom clueless as to what had just happened. ''Santana, you okay?''
''Yeah, I'm fine. She's right though, she just asked, but… you know…'' she replied, and Brittany frowned at the two but didn't say anything. The room was silent again, though another silence as before, and Santana was grateful for that.
''So we're going home in a couple of hours,'' Brittany broke the silence after a while, and Santana looked up with a smile. ''I mean, it's cool right? I missed my mom and dad.''
''I missed your mom and dad too,'' Santana whispered, and then she looked down. She didn't even miss her own parents, but she missed Brittany's parents. How weird was that? The conversation around them started up again, but Brittany and Santana didn't say a word as they packed their bags.
''Okay, is everybody here?'' Mr. Schuester called out as he began to count heads. Santana held hands with Brittany and sighed, because she hated it when teachers did that. ''I see… We have to wait for Noah but other than that, we're complete,'' he said after a while, and Brittany looked at Santana with a grin.
''Puck is always late,'' she said, and Santana nodded. There was a moment of silence between the two while they listened to everyone talking and than Brittany looked at Santana again. ''Do you think the Glee club will help us?''
''I think the club will definitely help you,'' Santana said softly after thinking about it for a while, and Brittany frowned at her. ''I've been a bitch, even though they say they care for everyone, I've been the biggest bitch to all of them and if they help you, they help me. I don't know, Britt-Britt. But I know they will help you because you're sweet,'' she added, and Brittany sighed.
''You are too. You've been nice to them for the past two weeks, even though it was because of what happened. But you showed more of yourself than you have in the past and I think they will catch up on that too,'' Brittany told her, and Santana smiled weakly. She just didn't know.
''I hope so, but if not… I can always protect myself,'' she said, and Brittany rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything anymore. Santana thought about everything Brittany just said and she hoped the girl was right. She had been nicer, because of what happened. Maybe the club would see that and not only the bad things that she did and said. It was a lot to hope for though. Suddenly she was pulled out of her thoughts by two strong arms wrapping around her, and she tensed. Memories of that night flashed before her and she felt her heart jump, then start to race like she'd run a marathon. She couldn't stop the scream, though, even though she wanted to.
''Jesus Lopez, what the fuck is the matter with you?'' someone asked, but Santana couldn't hear whom. All she could hear was the blood in her ears, and suddenly the arms let go of her and strong but feminine arms took over. Brittany.
''Calm down Santana, it was just Puckerman being stupid,'' she whispered in her ear, and Santana nodded but couldn't calm down yet. She wasn't screaming anymore, but she breathed heavily and she pressed herself into Brittany for comfort and the safe feeling Brittany gave her.
''What's the matter with her, Brittany?'' it was Mr. Schuester this time, and Santana looked up at him. He was blurry, and for the first time she realized she was crying. She just wanted it to be over with. She wiped away the tears and sniffed, and then the mask slid into place. The mask she so hated.
''Nothing, Mr. Schue,'' she said, her voice hoarse. She didn't know what else to say, but Mr. Schuester didn't look like he was convinced. ''Something that happened a while ago – I don't like people sneaking up on me,'' she added, shooting a glare at Puckerman, and seeing for the first time that the boy was pale. She shook her head to tell him nothing was wrong but he didn't look at her, so he didn't see.
''Okay, if you feel okay now, let's get going, everyone is here,'' Mr. Schuester said, and the club made their way to the exit. This weekend was officially over.