Not overly thrilled with this chapter, but I don't own anything, just having fun.
I'm human, so there might be some mistakes.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Rachel straightened against the wall and folded her arms against her chest. "With all due respect, I would rather have this conversation with Santana before I have it with any of you."
"Cute," Mercedes snapped, "but with all due respect, I would rather you not act like we don't all deserve to know what the hell is going on. How did Finn and Azimio know you were even in Lima? How did they get to you so easily? How did you manage to rope Santana into all of this drama? She's a demon, one of the worst, but she's my friend, and I refuse to let you waltz in here and cause her an early death."
Rachel stayed silent. She understood the anger, but it was misplaced and shrouded the fear Rachel could see written all over the other girl's face. Her silence, however, was mistaken for something else and was nothing but fire to feed the girl's flames.
"If you weren't Santana's, whatever the hell you are, I would gladly drag your ass to the town line and leave you there for the Hunters, let them have their fun and be on my merry little way."
Had this Mercedes character been paying attention, and if she were really Santana's friend, she would've seen the danger coming from a mile away. She would've apologized, regardless of the truth she spoke, and she would've made an effort to make up for her mistake. But she wasn't, she isn't, and she didn't. Rachel saw Quinn inch away from the wall towards Maria and how the witch of the group backed towards the Elemental doing a poor job of pretending to be human.
"Hey, Cedes?" Tina murmured. "Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to place this all on Rachel? We still don't have all the details. It's unfair."
"Bullshit! Am I the only one saying what needs to be said? Y'all are standing around, listening to this sad and depressing tale, but have none of you understood that we have HUNTERS coming here? All because of this," she gestured widely and hesitated before she said, "Elemental wannabe! She started all of this, how come we have to be involved in it?"
"No one said you had to be involved."
Santana frowned and held up her finger to forestall any response. She stood up from the couch, tense and the brown slowly faded from her pupils. Rachel twitched, scratching at the back of her neck, and bit down on her cheek to keep from crying out as what felt like fire burned through her core. Maria reached over subtly, and with a small nod, Rachel assured her she was okay. When Santana moved closer, Rachel's knees buckled, and Maria and Quinn wrapped their arms around Rachel to keep her standing upright. No one else noticed, no one but the Elemental on the opposite side of the room. Rachel stared at him, and he cocked his head. The two of them shared something, something only they had in common, and she decided that outside of Santana, there was someone else she needed to catch in private.
"I appreciate your support, Mercedes, I genuinely do. I respect the fact you have my back, but despite my best efforts, I cannot sit here and listen to you berate my-," she paused and cleared her throat, "Rachel over something that was bound to happen eventually. Finn and Azimio were waiting for the right time to come after me. These events merely sped up the timeline. Now, if you want to help, then by all means, help, but if you disrespect Rachel to her face or behind her back again, I will treat you like I treated Finn and Azimio, and no amount of years spent being in each other's lives will change the outcome. Am I clear?"
Rachel leaned heavily into Maria. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but it was beginning to hurt, and she was starting to get dizzy.
"Are you serious? You're going to get yourself killed!" Mercedes shouted. "You don't have your magic, Santana, or have you forgotten that? All you have are those magic supplements Tina gives you now and then."
Rachel cocked an eyebrow. Even in her dizziness, she recognized the significance behind that statement. Why did Santana need magic supplements?
"Yes, thank you, Mercedes," Santana growled. "I am reminded of that little detail every time I get up in the morning and every time I lie my head down to go to sleep. My feelings on the matter have not changed. So either shut up, go home, and mind your business like you have been doing for the past several years, or quit complaining and help figure out a way to keep both myself and Rachel alive. Deal?"
Mercedes stared at Santana, and Santana stared back. Rachel knew she should feel guilty for causing the argument, as she was responsible indirectly, but the truth was, the fewer people around Santana, the more comfortable she felt. Though, Rachel had no idea why that was even a thought in her mind.
"After ten years, you're picking some chick you barely know, who could or could not be this soul mate…bond…whatever, over someone who's had your back in everything?"
"The ultimatum is not coming from my end," Santana responded coolly.
Mercedes flinched, and as she turned to leave, she glared at Rachel with so much hate that Rachel was almost, almost, concerned. But common sense kicked in, and her concern shifted to what all the girl would do to prove her point.
"Fine." Mercedes bowed her head and added, "I won't stand here and help you plan your funeral, San. I'm out."
She sighed and walked up the stairs, and the witch hesitated before she ran after her.
"Tina?" Santana called out.
Rachel was glad to note no one called Santana out on the desperation dripping from her tone.
The witch stopped, smiled, and said, "I'm only walking her out, San. It's late. I'll be back."
Santana deflated in relief, and Rachel wondered what the story was between the two of them. In all honesty, she was starting to wonder about the relationship between all of them.
"Rachel, you're melting," Quinn hissed.
"I'm…what?" Rachel muttered.
"It's Santana's fault," Mike said.
"Not you too," Santana scowled.
"No, you're radiating a ton of heat right now. Rachel's the equivalent of an ice cube in the middle of summer."
"That's not the only reason," Tina interrupted, hopping down the last couple of steps. She smiled sheepishly when the group jumped at her arrival, and she added, "Sorry, I thought you guys heard me coming down, but in all seriousness, the two of them can't escape this until they do the bonding ceremony. The bond is there, but it's unstable, and the two of them will have much worse reactions if they don't do it soon. For example, Santana might feel colder than normal, and-"
"Aha! So that's what was going on with you earlier!"
Everyone glanced at Simon and Santana shot him a dirty look before she grudgingly confessed that before the rest of the group got there, it'd felt like there was ice in her veins.
"Actual ice?" Mike asked.
"Her veins were turning blue and everything," Simon said.
"Okay, moving on," Santana cut in. "Can we just raincheck everything until later on? We have school, and it's already going on three in the morning."
"Is that your way of dodging the topic?" Maria asked.
"It's my way of making sure people get enough sleep," Santana ground out.
"How kind of you," Quinn drawled.
"Santana's right," Mike said. "Maybe we can catch up tomorrow afternoon? Catch an early dinner?"
"Fine, but only because Santana gets cranky when she doesn't get enough sleep," Quinn grumbled.
No one missed the sneer on Santana's face, nor the smothered laugh on Rachel's, and they agreed to meet up after school. Mike stayed over Tina's, while Quinn and Rachel came home with Santana, Simon, and her mother. Maria didn't say much to Simon, only that he looked too much like their father and she would prefer it if he did something different with his hair. Simon cocked an eyebrow but said nothing.
Santana and Rachel avoided speaking to one another, but with Quinn and Maria holding up Rachel, and Simon holding up Santana, it was apparent the conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later. When they got back to the house, two cops were waiting on Maria's doorstep. Simon narrowed his eyes and whispered something in Santana's ear.
"Are you sure?" Santana whispered back.
"I'm positive," he hissed.
The group stopped, and the cops stepped forward with apologetic but wary grins on their faces.
"Hey, Maria," one cop greeted.
Maria frowned and handed Rachel to Quinn completely. "Hey, Jimmy. What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us. I know it's late but..." the cop trailed off, and Santana thought about what Simon said. Her brother's sense of smell was stronger than hers, and if he told her the officers smelled like Holy Oil, then she believed him. And the only people who used that type of oil in Lima were the-
"I'm so sorry, Maria, but I have to put you under arrest now," Jimmy said.-
"Wait, what?! Why?" Santana protested.
The cops ignored Santana, and they placed zip ties on her mother's wrists as they arrested her for the murder of Ethan and Susan Pierce. Santana argued with them, trying to get more information, but the cops walked Maria to the car without another word. Simon grabbed hold of his sister, keeping her in place, and Santana tried to fight his grip, but as the police got in their cruiser, Simon used a bit of magic to hold her in his arms. The car backed down the driveway, and Santana was angry enough that the grass under her feet started to scorch and turn an ugly shade of gray. When it seemed like she was going to take off after the car, Quinn elbowed the side of Santana's head.
Simon winced, knowing when his sister came to they were all going to be in the line of fire, both literally and figuratively, but he hefted her over his shoulder and carried Santana inside of the house. As they walked, Simon glanced to the side, studying the girl bonded to his sister, and he pretended not to notice the way she rubbed the side of her head.
He frowned. Maybe that bonding ceremony wasn't too bad of an idea.