Hey, sorry for a late update. I had another case of writer's block due to midterms in school but I'm back now! :) Don't be shy when reviewing!
"Come again?" Rachel's brows furrowed. Are her ears clogged? Is she hearing properly?
Santana pulled out a chair and sat down in it."Tell me everything you know about Dani. Like her favorite color, favorite movie, flowers she likes-"
"Woah. Hold on, why are asking about Dani's interests? Are you planning to do something terrible?" Rachel asked the last part suspiciously earning an eye roll from Santana.
"Berry, listen. The whole feud between me and Dani is officially over. No more plotting, it's done." Santana proclaimed firmly. "I only want to know more about Dani so I can make up all the years of torment."
"Then how about you do exactly that. Go and get to know Dani by befriending her." Rachel stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and it actually is.
"Befriend?"
"Yes, Santana. Befriend; act as a friend to someone by offering he-"
Santana waved her hands with an annoyed expression on her face. "I know what that means Berry I'm not stupid!" She snapped.
Rachel didn't seem taken back or upset by Santana's sudden outburst, she merely tapped her nails on the table and stared at the Cheerio, her face basically saying "Are you done?".
Santana sighed. "Sorry. You can be a bit of a smartass sometimes and it's annoying. What I was getting at is that me and Dani...aren't exactly the same. We don't really share the same interest and no offense to her but...she's sorta a nerd."
Rachel laughed. "That's exactly what someone who doesn't have a clue who Dani really is would say. If you ever want to make it up to her, get to know her. I promise you won't regret it."
Santana did want to make things better. She didn't want to die knowing that she couldn't step over her own pride to make someone else happy. "Fine. I'll try, I guess. What does Dani have now?"
"Dani has PE but she's sitting out due to her injuries." Rachel answered, flipping a page in her book.
"Then that gives me a perfect opportunity to talk to her." Santana said as she stood and turned her back, getting ready to walk away.
"Oh and Santana." The Cheerio stopped to look at the brunette with a raised eyebrow. "Be gentle. Choose your words very carefully."
Santana frowned slightly. "I'm not going to attack her with words, Berry. I know what I'm doing." She defended herself before walking away.
Rachel only turned her attention back to her book with a small sigh because she knew exactly how that situation is going to play out.
***
Santana entered the gym, her eyes scanning the large room of teenagers playing volleyball. When she stepped inside further she spotted Dani sitting in the bleachers at the far end, writing in a small book with her good hand, her head is bowed slightly so that her hair is blocking her face and obviously her view because when Santana ended up standing no less than 3 inches away from her she didn't notice until the Cheerio cleared her throat.
Dani's head lifted slightly, she peeked up at Santana through her long dark lashes before quickly closing her book and averting her eyes. "I'm sorry, do you need me to move?" She asked, ready to stand up and move.
Santana placed a gentle hand on Dani's arm but the girl still flinched at her touch. "No. You can stay, I just want to talk."
Dani settled back down onto the wooden seat, reopening her small notebook to continue what she had been writing.
"Whatcha writing?"
"Lyrics." Dani answered, keeping her head down.
Santana raised an eyebrow. She was sure that Dani was solving math problems in that little notebook of hers. "Really?You write songs? For how long?"
Dani's eyes furrowed for a short while as she glanced over at Santana from the corner of her eye. "Ever since I learned to speak in coherent sentences. So that's age 3 or 4."
"You any good?"
"I like to think I am." Dani answered slowly. Finally, she turned her head to look over at the girl sitting right beside her. "Santana are you feeling...well?"
"I feel fine. Why?" Santana replied, genuinely confused for a moment.
"You're asking personal questions, " Dani paused and Santana stared at her. "About me." Dani added, in attempt to make her point more clear but Santana still gave her a blank stare. "And you sound genuinely interested. It's weird."
That actually is true. If someone told Santana a couple of months ago that she would be sitting here and actually trying her best to her a conversation with Dani Taylor she would either laugh or slushy the person before they could even finish the blonde's name.
Santana looked down at her fingers. "I know it's a bit strange for me to speak to you and all but Rachel told me-"
"I know."
"And I felt-wait you know?" Santana's head popped back up.
Dani nodded. "Rachel told me right after she spoke to you and how you slapped her-"
"Which I apologized for." Santana quickly interrupted. "It was an act of pure impulse."
Dani's lips quirked upward into a small smile. "I also heard the apology you made back when I was in the hospital."
Santana finally understood the meaning of a damn plot twist. "Oh. So you weren't asleep?"
Dani shook her head. "What you said was really sweet, Santana." She stated softly.
"Please don't get mushy on me. I'm not sure how to react to situations like that." Unless one person is unconscious, that makes everything simple. "Seriously, my ex told me he loved me and I said okay."
Dani had a look of disbelief on her face before she started to laugh. Like an actual laugh. Santana had no idea that Dani is even capable of laughing because she has never seen the girl do so. And to Santana's surprise, Dani had a pretty nice laugh. If you asked her to describe it she would say it's between a squeak, a baby, and a witch. She means that in the nicest way possible. And it also turns out that Dani has one of those contagious laughs and soon enough Santana found herself laughing too.
Away from the bleachers, onto the gym floor stood Brittany who's no longer paying attention to the game at hand. Instead her attention is glued to the two females sitting in the bleachers laughing with one another. A deep frown formed onto Brittany's face as she begin to shake her head.
Quinn walked over toward her friend, her eyes also trained on the pair in the bleachers. Quinn tried to place a hand on Brittany's shoulder in a comforting gesture only to be shrugged off. "Britt-"
"No Quinn you're such a liar." Brittany snapped before storming out of the gym.
Quinn sighed in frustration, threading her fingers through her hair. She continued to stare into the bleachers but her focus is now only on one person. Dani's becoming more of a problem and Quinn didn't like that, she had to do something.
"So Dani, what do you think about hanging out with me after school? We could catch a movie or go to the park." Santana suggested with a small smile, lightly nudging Dani in her arm in a playful manner causing the blonde to smile. For once Berry was right, if she wanted to know more about Dani to make up years of torment she had to actually make an effort to do exactly that.
Dani couldn't help but smile. This a whole new side to Santana, sure she's still being sarcastic and she's keeping on that tough outer shell but at least she's being nice. Dani opened her mouth to answer, she had every reason to say yes so why not? That was until her eye caught the sight of a certain blonde standing on the floor of the gym with an icy glare that's directed right on her. Then Dani remembered who Santana is and the people she hangs out with. Dani's paranoid side along with her insecurities squeezed at her brain and heart.
"Um, I don't think that would be such a good idea." Dani cast her eyes downward, suddenly going back to that self conscious girl she always has been.
Santana's brows furrowed. "What?" She snapped almost a bit too harshly making Dani's heart pump faster. "You're rejecting my offer?"
"It's just-I can't." Dani quickly stood up, her book in hand and her one strap book bag over her good shoulder.
Santana said nothing. She only watched as Dani walked away wondering what the hell went wrong. Still confused, Santana shook her head and stood up herself. Right at that moment she managed to catch Quinn who had a satisfied grin on her face.