"Why are we at NYADA?" asked Brittany.

"Just follow me, we're almost there," said Santana.

At the end of the corridor, there were large, oak double doors. Santana made her way to the doors and pulled one open. "Come on, I promise we aren't breaking any rules," she called over to Brittany, who was a little hesitant. After the shooting scare, Brittany felt uneasy in an empty school. There was now something disturbing and sinister about a deserted hallway. Hesitantly, she followed Santana through the door. Brittany entered a dark room.
Santana flicked on the light switch, revealing a small room with a large, very wide bay window that overlooked a dance studio from up above. It reminded Brittany of the observation deck in an OR.

"Oh," said Brittany, approaching the glass, looking at the figures dancing below. It was a man and a woman rehearsing a lyrical jazz routine. They were incredible. Their movements were fluid and precise, and their chemistry was palpable. It was clear they had been dance partners for a long time.

"There's always someone practicing down there, even on Saturday nights. They're freaks like that here. I come up here to think sometimes, usually before my extension class. I'm pretty much always late because I lose track of time." said Santana.

"I can see why. They're amazing. How do they even do that?" responded Brittany, commenting on a particularly fast and difficult lift sequence where a wrong move would result in the female dancer being dropped, head first, on the hard wood floor. Brittany had a natural talent for dance, but the technical skills and training required for the move were beyond anything she had attempted.

"No fear," answered Santana, looking at the dancers, "She's going to get some serious brain damage if he drops her."

Santana and Brittany watched the dancers in silence for a few moments, then Brittany spoke.

"So, if I hadn't lied about graduating, would everything be fine between us? You'd still trust me?" asked Brittany.

"No, it's just, that's where everything started to unravel... Actually, if I'm honest, that's not entirely true. There was something before that, too," said Santana.

"Are you talking about the sextape?" asked Brittany, as though she had anticipated this particular discussion.

"Yeah, I am, actually. I don't understand why you would do that to me? I had just been outed via a statewide commercial and then you release our sextape behind my back. I know it's mostly LT doing the dishes, and you can't really see anything. But that thing still follows me around."

"Good," said Brittany.

"Good?" asked Santana, not believing what she had heard.

"I needed a way to show you that you shouldn't compromise yourself for fame. I didn't want you to do anything permanent that you would regret. At least with the 'sextape' the actual damage was minimal, but it would show you that you didn't want to get famous by doing things like that," explained Brittany.

"Why did you think I didn't already know that? Or talk to me about it instead of manipulating me?" asked Santana.

"Because the last time I tried to convince you that you didn't need to change yourself for more attention or for other people's approval, you came back from vacation in Mexico with a much larger bra size. It's not like I want strangers to be able to see our sextape. That's not why we made it. I'm not proud of releasing the tape, but I thought the ends justified the means. If it stopped you from doing something drastic that you would regret, then I wouldn't take it back, even if I could. I would never do anything like that again, Santana. Frankly, I was surprised you weren't more upset when it happened."

Santana didn't know how to respond. Her adventure in plastic surgery remained her most expensive and painful mistake. She still remembered the disappointed look on her father's face. Her mother didn't speak to her for a week, she was so upset. It took Santana a long time to repair her relationship with her parents.

"I guess sometimes I need a kick in the head," said Santana, "But I think we need to be more honest with each other, instead of just making decisions because that's what we think is best for the other person. I still hate that it's out there for anyone to see."

"I'll take it down," said Brittany.

"How can you?" asked Santana, "It's already been online for like, a year. People could make copies. Stuff like that never disappears."
"I know this CS guy at MIT. He can attach a fatal computer virus to the video. That way, if anyone opens it, their computer is busted. Word'll get out that it's a Trojan horse, and then no one will ever risk watching it, no matter who's hosting it. Then, I'll take down the original, and the Santana Lopez sex tape fades from the internet's memory."

"Okay, sounds good," said Santana, impressed.

A silence fell and they began watching the dancers again.

"Santana, why did you break up with me?" asked Brittany, "And don't say it was because you saw a girl in the library." Santana looked back at Brittany.

"When I came back to Lima, you weren't happy. You were hurting, and I couldn't stand that it was because of me. And I realized that I hadn't been happy either. So I ended it. I thought it would make things better." said Santana.

"Did it? Were you happier?" asked Brittany.

"No," said Santana, thinking back to the fall, "I wasn't. It took me a long time to figure out it wasn't being in a long distance relationship that was making me unhappy. It was college. It was being in the middle of nowhere... cheerleading...for another four years of my life. Now that I'm in New York, pursuing what I love, what makes me feel alive, I know that this is what I was missing. But, you were happier, right? After we broke up?"

"No, Santana, I wasn't. Being left behind hurt, but you breaking up with me? That hurt a lot more. I barely got through it."

"What about Trouty Mouth?" asked Santana, skeptical. It seemed to her that Brittany had moved on pretty quickly, and pain-free.

"What about him? People kept telling me there were other fish in the sea. I guess I just took it literally."

"Come on, Britt. You freakin' married the guy," said Santana. The apocalypse wedding had shattered Santana's faith in the importance of their relationship to Brittany.

"Santana-"

"Do you know what it was like to hear about that? You married someone else, because it was the end of the world? You didn't even call me. I thought I meant more to you than that."

"It wasn't a real wedding," started Brittany.

"I know it wasn't legal, but..." answered Santana.

"No, I didn't mean that. I meant it wasn't a real wedding. There were no 'Save the Date's. There were no extended family members flying in and instigating petty dramas. There wasn't a wedding party. There weren't even any witnesses. No one walked me down the aisle. There were no awkward-yet-sweet best man or maid-of-honor speeches. We didn't have a first dance. We didn't cut the cake. There was no cake, you know, with those little plastic figurines at the top? I didn't throw the bouquet. I didn't promise to love and cherish and protect one person, for better or for worse, forsaking all others, till death do us part. It wasn't a real wedding. It was just something dumb I did on the eve of the 'Mayan Apocalypse'. It didn't mean anything to me. It was like playing dress up. I didn't think the world was really ending, Santana. If I had, you know who I would have spent my last night on Earth with."

Santana didn't respond. She just stared at Brittany, searching her face for any hints of deception.

"Don't think that my relationship with Sam somehow means that I forgot about you. That I didn't care. The whole reason we even got together was because I felt so alone without you. After you broke up with me, I thought, 'It's just the classic Santana Lopez panic move. She's going to realize she made a huge mistake and she just needs some time to think.' So I waited. Then you came back a month later, to see me, and you still didn't want to get back together. And when I said I wasn't seeing anyone, you didn't say you hadn't been seeing anyone either. Then these thoughts just kept cropping up. 'Were you dating someone? Did you just use distance as an excuse to break up with me, because you found someone else? Did you miss me the same way I missed you?' After a while, I had convinced myself that I was just your best friend, who you dated because I was your only option at the time. I felt like you dropped me, because you wanted to find someone better. Then I started dating Sam. When you came back in February, it really sucked. Nothing had changed. It really hurt to see you with someone else, before I knew it wasn't real. I knew you wouldn't be happy in Lima, that's why I pushed New York. I wanted you to follow your dreams. That's what I've always wanted for you."

"But why would you tell me to get a new girlfriend?" asked Santana, "It made me feel like you didn't care about us anymore. That you'd moved on, and that I should too."

"I would never want you to be alone and unhappy," said Brittany, "You should know that Sam and I worked because we were both lonely and we were both trying really hard to forget about somebody else. We had an expiration date, and we both knew that."

"I think we need to start over, completely," said Santana, "and leave all this drama behind us. I need some time, Brittany."

"Sure," agreed Brittany, pulling Santana into a hug, "Whatever you need. I'll be here for you."

After a suitable amount of time had passed Santana attempted to release Brittany, but Brittany just held her tighter.

"Britt? We can, uh, let go now," said Santana.

"Not yet, we've still got 14 seconds left," said Brittany.

"What?" asked Santana.

"When two people hug for more than 20 seconds, it increases trust." said Brittany.

"Is that a fact," said Santana.

"Yep, courtesy of Psych 101. I'll hug you all night long if that's what it takes. I've got stamina."

"Britt," said Santana, "Just one more thing."

"Yeah?" asked Brittany.

"When you accidentally called your mom last night. Who do you think you meant to dial," asked Santana, "Me or Sam."

"You, of course." said Brittany, " There's no way it was Sam."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Santana, still a little unsure about Brittany's real feelings toward him.

"No one has ever made me feel that way by singing to me, except you," said Brittany, "Besides, he's in my contacts as 'Lips'."