A/N: So this is where Brittany comes in. Enjoy

LostInNaya'sEyes: What can I say, when you know, you know. And Quinn knows. Enjoy Santana's story.

DanielaGoncalves: Hahaha serial killer Santana is so my next story hahaha ;-)

25 December, 2012

Santana began telling the story: "I was with a girl, her name was Brittany. I loved her more than anything. She was the light in my life but she had her own problems. At one stage she even stopped talking, just random one-liners here and there. We hardly ever talked about her problems, I think she just tried to avoid them. But in the end it didn't work."

Los Angeles, 2010

Santana sat in the corner of the library. She looked up and saw her secret girlfriend approaching her. Santana was madly in love with Brittany. She had been for three years before she finally had the opportunity and nerve to stop her stupid friends with benefits arrangement and actually ask Brittany to be with only her. Brittany had thankfully agreed and they were currently in a happy, monogamous, albeit secret, relationship.

Santana looked around her and noticed that they were alone in that section of the library, surrounded by books and towering shelves.

Brittany skipped towards her girlfriend and said: "We're alone so I'm going to kiss you. K."

Santana smiled into the kiss that Brittany placed on her lips. Brittany broke the kiss and sat down next to Santana.

"So sweetie, what are we doing tonight?" Brittany asked in her most loving voice as she put her elbows on the table and leaned her head on her hands. She quietly stared at Santana as she waited for the answer.

Santana stared at her girlfriend for a few seconds before saying: "Well seeing as we have our history exam tomorrow, I thought maybe you would want to come to mine and study with me?"

"Are your parents going to be there? You know they don't really like me all that much." Brittany replied with a frown.

"They have to work late so they should only be back by eightish."

"Awesome. I'll wait for you by your car after school." Brittany stood up again and moved towards the waiting lips of her girlfriend.

"I love you." Santana said as Brittany straightened up again, "No matter what my parents think of you. But thank you for letting me keep us on the down low until I can tell them. You're amazing."

Brittany giggled and said: "I would do anything for you. I love you too." She then left the library.

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes peeping at them through the nearest row of books.

Later that day

"Britt, we really need to focus, we are writing our history exam tomorrow." Santana said with a smile as she tried to get Brittany to stop straddling her.

Brittany looked at her with puppy dog eyes and said: "But San, I want to get my sweet-lady kisses on."

"Fine, but just for a little while because my parents will be home soon and then we are going to have to study." Santana caved.

They were on the verge of being completely naked by the time they heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Britt, my parents are home. Come one get dressed." Santana said as she pushed Brittany off her and quickly gathered all of her clothes and pulled them on.

Santana's parents were never very happy that Santana chose to be friends with someone who was a little less driven than her. They expected perfection of Santana and were of the impression that Brittany never really brought out the best in her.

Santana was just walking Brittany out when her parents walked in. Neither of them looked too please.

"Hey Mami. Hello Papi." Santana said.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Lopez." Brittany greeted.

"Leave now, Brittany. Santana, dining room." Her father said in a voice that screamed anger.

Santana and Brittany exchanged worried looks but Brittany did as she was told and left through the front door which was slammed behind her. Santana made her way to the kitchen, hearing angry whispers behind her. She couldn't make out what her parents were saying to each other though. She sat at her usual seat and waited for her parents. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what she had done.

Her mother and father walked in and did not sit down, instead they stood in front of her in a threatening manner and waited for Santana to say something.

"What-what's going on?" Santana asked in a shakey voice.

"What's wrong is that you have brought our family name into disrepute. A friend of mine from work informed me that his daughter saw you and Brittany at school today. Together." Her mother spat.

"Mami, me and Brittany are friends. I know you don't like her all that much but I do hang out with her at school." Santana knew that this was trouble but maybe she could talk her way out of it.

Her father drew himself up to his full height and screamed at her: "Do you think we are stupid! She said she loved you and you said you loved her back. After kissing! That is not friendship Santana and we do not accept that type of behaviour in our house!"

"Papi, I am sorry," Santana started as tears streamed down her face, she didn't know what to say " this was not how I wanted to tell you."

"This is disgusting, Santana. Are you just trying that attention seeking whore style that Brittany seems famous for?" her mother screeched at her.

Santana felt as though she had been slapped. Her mouth fell open and she looked at her mother with repulsion in her eyes. Her tears suddenly stopped and her courage returned.

"Brittany is not a whore and this has nothing to do with attention seeking. I have kept this secret in me for years so that I wouldn't disappoint you but fuck that!"

"Watch your mouth young lady." Her father stuck his finger out towards her.

Santana snapped. She felt like an internal protection mechanism had kicked into high gear but for some reason she wasn't shouting. Her words came out in little more than a whisper.

"I cannot believe you two. I have been the perfect daughter for all this time and because I love someone that means I am less of a person? Well let me lay it down for you two. I am better than either of you because I love Brittany. I have been afraid of the looks and the whispers behind my back but most of all I have been afraid of losing you, because you are my parents and I love you. But not anymore. I'm going to love Brittany out in the open and stop being a coward. I'm out." With that Santana walked out of the house, leaving all of her belongings except for her cellphone, which was in her pocket.

Santana walked around for hours, ignoring the ringing of her cellphone, eventually she turned the phone onto silent.

"Well that went well." Santana said out loud to no one in particular, sarcasm lacing her voice.

Eventually Santana decided to go to her girlfriend's house and tell her what happened before she heard from someone else. No doubt the whole neighbourhood had heard her parents shouting. She got the front door of Brittany's house and rang the buzzer, she heard someone bounding down the stairs and Brittany pulled the door open. She pulled Santana into a long embrace had guided her inside. Santana started sobbing into Brittany's shoulder.

Brittany's mom poked her head around the corner but she was waved off by Brittany. They never broke their hold as they made their way up to Brittany's room. Collapsing on the bed, Santana sobbing died down a little.

"What happened?" Brittany said in a loving, soft voice.

Santana explained what had happened through her sobs and as Brittany heard the story she just clung on tighter to Santana's trembling form. They fell asleep like that and woke the next morning when Brittany's alarm went off.

Santana opened her eyes blearily and looked up at Brittany as she had fallen asleep on her chest with Brittany's arms wrapped tightly around her. Brittany started to stir, her eyes opened and they immediately found Santana's.

"There are clothes of yours in my bottom draw. You wanna use the shower first or shall I?" Brittany said.

Santana got up and headed to the shower. After they were both dressed for school, they headed downstairs and into the kitchen where Brittany's mother, father and younger brother were all eating breakfast. Good mornings were exchanged but other than that not much was said. Everyone picked up on the sombre mood surrounding the two girls. They left for school not long after that, Brittany drove.

As they walked in through the front doors, Santana immediately sensed that something was wrong as people took one look at them and instantly turned their backs to gossip with their friends. Santana steeled herself for a tough day as she headed to her first period without Brittany.

She was sitting in class when her other best friend, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, joined her at their usual desk.

"I don't care, just so you know. Your still my best friend and as soon as you two are ready to leave, we gonna fly this stupid coop. I never knew LA could suck this much."

Santana turned to Puck and smiled at him.

"You're an amazing guy Noah. And I love you." They both turned back to the front of the class, acting as if nothing had changed. Everything was normal and Puck went back to commenting on the young teachers 'assets'.

By lunchtime Santana was itching to see Brittany. She knew the blonde would be upset if her own day was anything to go by. She had been called names, pushed into lockers and, for the first time in her school career, she was on the receiving end of a slushie.

She saw Brittany sitting at a table, in the corner of the cafeteria, away from everybody. Nowhere near her normal seat. Santana started to worry, Brittany didn't need any hurt in her life, she had just started to get over the last incident and all she needed was stability.

Santana made her way over to Brittany who looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Santana asked while internally kicking herself. Of course Brittany wasn't okay.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Brittany replied.

Santana accepted the answer, not wanting to press Brittany any further. Lunch was another silent affair and thankfully they had made it through the rest of the day without any more major events. They travelled home together and walked in the front door. The two girls had a short discussion with Brittany's mother who agreed to let Santana stay for a short while until things were sorted out. Her one stipulation was that they slept in separate rooms which both girls agreed to without hesitation.

They went to sleep that night in separate beds but both hoping that the following days would get easier.

Over the next few weeks Santana and Brittany were subjected to more bullying. Puck protected the two girls as much as possible but even he and his badassness couldn't be everywhere at once. Little by little Santana watched Brittany retreat further into her shell. She had no idea what to do. She didn't realise how much this whole thing would truly affect Brittany.

She walked into the cafeteria and looked around for Brittany, her eyes starting at the table in the corner that Brittany had taken to sitting at. However, Brittany was nowhere in sight. She decided to skip lunch in order to go find her girlfriend.

Santana hated not knowing where Brittany was. She had made a promise to Brittany's parents that she would look out for Brittany when she had attempted suicide nearly two and a half years ago. Now the two were practically inseparable.

After looking everywhere, including the choir room, auditorium and bathrooms, Santana decided to try looking underneath the bleachers on the football field where Brittany used to go to hide out.

Santana rounded the bleachers and stopped in her tracks. In front of her was a body, swaying slowly. Brittany's eyes were closed, her face blue and she was not moving. Santana ran forwards and grabbed onto Brittany's legs holding her up so her neck was no longer taking the strain.

Santana looked around in a panic, tears starting to flood her eyes.

"Somebody help!" She screamed with all her might.

"Somebody! Anybody!" Santana tried to reach up to undo the knot but she was too short.

Santana didn't hear the heavy footfalls as the football coach came sprinting into view.

"What's going... Oh God." Were his only words as he ran forward and quickly undid the knot.

He and Santana lowered Brittany to the ground slowly. He checked Brittany's pulse and pulled out his phone. He dialled 911.

Santana's hands had started to shake violently as she stroked Brittany's hair: "It's all going to be fine. You are going to be fine. You know why? Because you are not allowed to leave me. Normally I'm the one to cave but not this time, it's your turn Britt. Come on, open your eyes. Please." Santana started to beg.

Santana didn't know how long it had been until strong hands moved her out of the way. Paramedics were around Brittany trying with all their might to resuscitate her but Santana knew it was futile. Brittany hadn't responded to her, she wasn't going to respond to anyone.

There was a buzzing noise in her ears as the paramedics looked up at the football coach and then turned to Santana. She knew this was it, she had lost Brittany.

Santana stood in the same position. She wouldn't allow the paramedics to lead her away. She was unmoving. She didn't move when Brittany's body was taken away. She didn't move when she was told that Brittany's parents had arrived and she most certainly didn't move when Puck came up behind her. He just stood there, not saying a word.

Tears were streaming down her face as she turned around to face Puck.

"She's gone Puck."

"I know Santana. I'm sorry." He said as he walked forward and took her into his arms.

Puck eventually carried Santana to the car as she was too weak to walk. He took her to Brittany's house. They opened the unlocked door. Her parents were in the lounge, they were holding their crying son whilst trying to control the tears running down their own faces. They looked up at Santana as she walked towards them. Brittany's mother disengaged herself from her son and stood up in front of Santana.

"It's not your fault Santana. It's not your fault." She said as she took the girl into her arms. Santana started crying again.

"I should have stopped her, I should have known." Santana cried into her shoulder.

"You couldn't have known." Puck said as he rubbed circles on Santana's back.

The rest of the evening was spent mostly in tears and silence. Puck left near 10 o'clock. But nobody moved after that. They stayed in the lounge and stared at nothing.

Brittany's funeral was three days later. The sun was out and the sky was clear and all Santana felt was anger. The world was mocking her. How could the sun still shine? Who gave the birds permission to chirp when an angel had clearly just fallen. She wanted to scream at someone. But when she did open her mouth nothing came out. Her throat constricted so much that it hurt. The tears had stopped by now. She was all cried out.

Santana looked around from her place in the front of the church. Puck sat on her right hand side, his hand around hers. He had held it for most of the day. Brittany's mother was on her other side and she too held Santana's hand. Behind her sat other members of Brittany's family and behind them sat the same people that had mocked her everyday. The ones who had driven Brittany to this.

Santana suddenly felt violent, she wanted to get up and beat them into oblivion. She moved to get up but Puck squeezed her hand and whispered: "Not now, not here."

She realised that he was right. Today was about remembering Brittany.

She and Puck were two of the pall bearers. They carried Brittany's casket down the aisle of the church, through the open doors. Santana was briefly blinded by the sunlight.

They carried Brittany to the awaiting hearse and put her down gently. They stepped away and Puck took her hand again as they watched the hearse drive away.

"I can't be here Puck." Santana said as people started to disperse towards their cars. They were supposed to go to Brittany's graveside.

"Get me out of here. Please."

Puck took her hand and pulled her towards his old beat up VW. They got in and Puck drove. He dropped Santana at Brittany's house.

"Pack." Is all that he said as he drove away.

Santana walked inside and threw all of her belongings into a suitcase. She wrote a note to the Pierce's. All it said was: Thank you. I'm sorry.

Puck arrived 30 minutes later to find Santana sitting out on the sidewalk. He helped her put their bags into the trunk and got back into the driver's seat, Santana climbed into the passenger side. She didn't know where they were going until she started seeing signs for LAX. They arrived at the airport where Puck parked, he got out of the car and pulled the bags that he had packed along with Santana's bags out of the trunk and put them onto a nearby trolley. Puck locked the doors and pulled out his phone.

"We're here. Yeah. Okay, see you now." Was the only part of the conversation over the phone that Santana could hear. 10 minutes later an old model sedan pulled up and a man whose face looked like it belonged on a wanted poster stepped out. He handed Puck a thick brown envelope.

"Everything in here including the money?" Puck asked.

"Yeah" Came the creepy man's reply.

"I don't have to check?" Puck raised his eyebrow.

"It's there. Now where are the keys. I gotta go." Puck handed over the keys and watched the man go.

When he was out of sight Santana caught up with a walking Noah and said: "Okay. What's going on?"

Puck looked at her but kept walking: "I just sold my car to that dude and I got my savings from my pool cleaning company. He also gave me passports for you and me. Don't worry, they aren't fake. Let's just say that his way is quicker. It only took a couple of days. It was my contingency plan in case you wanted out of here. My uncle has a pub in England and we are going to run it for him. He has been begging me to go there for ages , he needs the help."

Santana stopped walking: "Puck you can't just up and leave. I just wanted you to take me to the airport, you can't come. You have too much to lose."

"Brittany was my friend too. You are my friend, Santana. My mom is useless and she won't care. You are the most important thing to me. You're like my little sister. We are going to do this and we are going to rock it!" Those were Puck's last words as he carried on walking.