Santana opened her eyes and pulled back so suddenly that she almost fell out the bed, nearly waking Brittany up in the process. When she had opened her eyes, her face was mere inches away from Brittany's, and her arm draped around the blonde's waist. She hadn't meant to. Especially after the conversation they'd had before falling asleep. But she guessed she couldn't control her body when she slept. Plus, Santana didn't sleep this well since… well, since the end of high school.

Nevertheless, as she sat with her back against the headboard, Santana couldn't stop wondering about what Brittany would think if she woke up to her ex-girlfriend clinging to her side. That might have been an awkward situation. Would she get mad? Would she even care at all? The truth was, Brittany had been pretty sad and regretful when Santana had told her that she went to her house that night. And Santana couldn't help but smile at that, because it meant that maybe, just maybe, Brittany still had some lingering feeling for Santana buried deep inside. With one last glance at the sleeping blonde beside her, Santana decided to head downstairs and bring Brittany some breakfast.

"Morning, San," Quinn greeted with a smirk as soon as Santana crossed the kitchen's doorway. Quinn, Abby and Aaron were the only ones in the room.

"Morning," the brunette mumbled before sitting heavily on the chairs next to Abby, who was happily munching on some mashed stuff that looked absolutely horrifying. Next to her was Aaron sitting on the highchair, eyes semi closed and a little bit of drool on the corner of his mouth.

"Rough night?" Quinn asked, continuing to make a bottle for Aaron without turning around. "One would never guess, since you were sleeping so heavily that you didn't even hear me come into the room."

"You were in Brittany's room last night?" Santana drifted her attention away from Abby, who'd finished her yucky mash and was now playing with strands of the brunette's hair.

"Yes, I was the one who hit her. The least I could do was to check on her. She seemed fine, though. Both of you, actually. It was cute."

Santana couldn't see Quinn's face, but she knew that a stupid smirk was plastered on her face.

"Shut up."

"You seem to be getting along fine."

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Oh, I don't know, because you have history together?"

"Yeah, history. As the name implies, it's in the past. We're friends."

"Just friends?" Quinn asked, wiggling her brows like a perverted teen.

"Obviously."

"Oh please," Quinn started, making her way to Aaron with the bottle in hand. "I see the way you look at her, Santana."

Santana felt her cheeks heat up, "I don't know what you're talking about. And I'll do that," she said, picking up Aaron from his chair and snuggling him in her arms.

"Sure you don't," Quinn teased and handed the bottle over. "Here."

Santana watched adoringly as the baby sucked lazily on the rubber tip. He really was the cutest thing ever. He had his eyes closed, chubby cheeks moving slightly, and his tiny hand upon Santana's on the bottle.

"I'm going to give Abby a bath. Will you be fine?" Quinn asked, already picking the little girl up.

"Sure," Santana replied absently, too immersed on the sight before her.

"Alright, see you later."

It only took a few more minutes for Aaron to finish, so Santana sat him again on the high chair and started to prepare something for Brittany to eat.

"What do you think she'll like?" She found herself asking the baby. "Eggs?" The baby contorted his nose.

"No? Hm, how about pancakes?" She asked again in a silly voice that made the baby let out an adorable giggle, bouncing back and forth on the chair, making Santana smile so wide that her cheeks hurt. "Pancakes it is!"

As she worked, she found herself singing and dancing, accompanied by Aaron's coos in the background. She stacked the pancakes on a plate, filled a glass with orange juice, and put them on a tray.

"Come on, little man. Let's go see mommy," Santana picked up the baby, who clung tightly to her neck, then the tray full of food, and made her way up the stairs once again.

"Do you think she's awake?" She asked the boy as she turned the knob of Brittany's room. The blonde was still fast asleep, her back rising and falling rhythmically with each intake of air. Aaron stretched his arms and leaned forward as soon as his blue eyes landed on his mom.

"Hold on, kid. Let me just put down the tray, then you can wake her up," Santana laughed lightly at his eagerness and put the tray down on the nightstand. She hadn't noticed before, but someone had definitely been in the room. There would've been another tray on the same nightstand since neither she nor Brittany had taken it down to the kitchen yesterday.

Santana settled Aaron down on the bed, and the little boy crawled as fast as he could in direction of Brittany's face. She watched him poke his mom's face lightly and Brittany scrunching her nose slightly. He looked from her mother to Santana, as if asking why Brittany wasn't responding. Santana just smiled at the adorableness of it all as she watched Aaron poke Brittany's face and lightly pull at locks of her hair, effectively waking the older blonde up.

Brittany cracked an eye open and smile upon gazing into equally blue ones. "Hey, baby. What are you doing here?" She sat up slowly and snuggled her baby to her chest, careful not to hurt her arm and shoulder. Aaron just giggled and buried his face further into Brittany's chest.

"Hi," Brittany smiled at Santana as she sat down at the end of the bed. "Is this all for me?" She pointed to the tray full of pancakes.

"Yes, it is. Aaron wanted his mommy to have breakfast in bed so we made it together," Santana smiled and took Aaron in her arms, allowing Brittany to eat her pancakes.

"Thanks, you didn't have to."

"You need to get your strength back so… no biggie," the brunette shrugged, while Aaron played with the buttons of her wrinkled shirt.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Actually, I didn't. I gave a bottle to Aaron and then made you the pancakes. Don't worry, I'll eat something later."

"Oh, no you won't," Brittany said, pushing the tray to stand between them. "You made a ton of them, we can totally share."

"They're yours, Brittany."

"Nonsense. Now, open up," Brittany ordered, nearly thrusting the fork inside Santana's mouth, and she had no other choice but to swallow a big dose of pancake. They finished breakfast in silence, only smiling at each other between bites.

"God, I'm so full," Brittany groaned, dropping the fork with a loud clink. "These were great."

"That's one of two things I can cook. Pancakes and eggs," Santana chuckled.

"Well, they were amazing," Brittany smiled sweetly before scrunching up her nose. "I need to shower. And fast. Can you keep an eye on him?"

"Sure, take your time."

Brittany gathered some clothes and went to the en-suite bathroom, leaving Santana playing with Aaron on the bed. She started the water and started to undress her smelly clothes. Her arm was a little better, still she hissed silently when she had to lift it to take off her shirt. It was difficult and hurt like a bitch, but she managed. Her body almost screamed in relieve when the warm water hit her skin. The more she stood under the torrent of water, the more her muscles seemed to loosen. Brittany didn't know how long she stood there, motionless. She was only brought back to reality when there was a light knock on the door and a muffled "Brittany?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, thank God. It was taking a long time, so I thought that something might have happened."

"I'm fine, sorry. I'll be right out."

"Okay."

Brittany quickly washed her hair and body with only one hand, and stepped out of the tub, carefully wrapping herself in a fluffy towel. She brushed her teeth and finished drying her body. She was able to put on some panties without major trouble. However, when she went to clasp her bra, she just couldn't do it. Her arm didn't bend enough in order to put the bra on. She tried putting her t-shirt on without the bra, but couldn't do it either. She either walked around bare naked from her hips up or called for help. The second option seemed wiser.

Brittany put on some pants and passed the straps of her bra over her shoulders, so the cups covered her breasts before calling for Santana.

"Brittany?" Santana said, knocking lightly before entering the steamy bathroom. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just need a little help," the blonde blushed, motioning towards her almost bare torso. "I can't reach the clasp."

"Oh," Santana let out, feeling her cheeks heat up upon landing her eyes on all the creamy skin in front of her. She definitely wasn't ready for Brittany in this state of undress. It also didn't help her case that Brittany was as toned and beautiful as she was in high school. Alright, maybe a faint stretch mark here and there, but hello, she'd had a kid not a year ago.

"Santana?" Brittany looked over her shoulder after several moments.

"Sorry," she mumbled, lifting up her shaky hands and clasping the damn bra. Santana couldn't help but graze her hands lightly and discreetly on the soft skin of Brittany's back. "There."

"Thanks," Brittany turned to face Santana with a light shade of pink covering her cheeks. God, what was happening? Even the lightest touch of Santana's skin against hers was enough to send chills all over her body. Brittany locked eyes with Santana and saw that at least the brunette seemed to be as out of breath as she felt. "Can you help me with my shirt?"

"Sure."

Lifting her arm was a hard task at the moment, so the whole putting on a t-shirt wasn't as easy as it sounded. Santana passed the collar through Brittany's head, followed by the right arm through the sleeve. Her left arm, though, was a whole different story. They tried every way possible and none of them seemed to work.

"Okay, I think we need to undress the right sleeve and stretch the shirt as far as it goes so you don't have to stretch your arm too much," Santana said after several minutes of failed attempts.

"Anything," the blonde replied, clearly hurting and spent from all the moving around.

"All right, let's do it."

Brittany took off her arm from the right sleeve and stretched her left arm as long as she could without it being unbearably painful, while Santana pulled at the fabric and tried to pass Brittany's left arm through the arm hole.

With a final push from the brunette, Brittany's arm finally went inside the sleeve, and left Santana's body almost flushed against the other woman's. Both their hearts pick up their pace when they realized how close their faces were from each other.

Santana, without stepping back an inch, guided Brittany's right arm through its respective sleeve and ran her hand up the arm to the blonde's cheek. Their breaths were mingling with each other and it was making Santana's head dizzy with desire.

It'd been years since she'd been this close to the woman she loved. Hell, she never thought she would ever see Brittany again. And yet, here they were, in the same room, breathing the same air, in the most improbable situation she could ever think of. She felt hot, her brain clouded, and her body seemed to have will of its own, because the next thing she knows, she's leaning forward and her lips are pressing lightly against Brittany's impossibly soft ones. It was like all that cliché stuff burst inside her body. The fireworks exploded inside her head, the chills ran down her spine, and the butterflies flew inside her stomach.

The kiss was quick. Santana pulled back rapidly when she felt the lack of response from Brittany. Her heart broke all over again. Brittany wasn't kissing her back.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking," Santana said, walking backwards towards the door with tears threatening to spill from her wide eyes.

"Santana…"

"I'm sorry," the dark haired woman murmured once again before disappearing from the bathroom.

Brittany snapped out of her daze and ran after Santana, but she was already out of the door. Only Aaron was lying on the bed, sleeping, with pillows flanking his sides to prevent him from falling off the bed. She slowly brought her fingers to her lips. Brittany could still feel them tingling from the brief kiss. What did this mean? Was Santana just caught in the moment or did she still have feelings for Brittany? Brittany doubted that was the case. She'd really hurt Santana by practically forcing her to come out. She didn't know better back then. Just that she wanted to show how much she loved Santana and make everyone wish they had a love like theirs. But her stupidity had ruined everything, like always.

And what did this meant for herself? Did she still have feelings for Santana? Brittany certainly couldn't deny that she felt something. But it was normal, right? Santana had been her first everything. Her first kiss, her first time, her first love. And you never forget your first love. They would always have a special place in our heart. And then there was Brittany's husband. She felt she was betraying him by kissing another person while it's been little over a year since her husband's death. What would her kids think? Would they feel like she wasn't sad anymore that their daddy had passed away? Or maybe they'd feel like Brittany was trying to replace him. Besides, how do you even tell your children that you like girls too?

So many questions running through Brittany's mind were making her head hurt. She grunted and let herself fall carefully on the bed. One thing she couldn't deny. She liked the kiss. She really liked the kiss.


The morning passed quickly with Santana avoiding Brittany at all cost. She wandered around the house, trying to keep herself busy. Finally, she decided to go to the jeep and unload the bags with the guns and ammo. Then, Santana rummaged around Quinn's garage and found several wooden boards, some hinges and screws, and occupied all of her morning building a box to keep the guns safe and away from the kids. All she was missing was a padlock. Santana hadn't found one, so she made a mental note to don't forget to pick one up when they went 'shopping'.

Afterwards, she tried about every gun. Holding them in her hands, taking in their weight and shape, performing a series of turns and moves to test the compatibility of the object with herself. She finally opted for a small silver pistol that was light and fitted her fingers perfectly. She still wanted to shoot the gun, but it would make too much noise. What Santana needed was a silencer for her gun. That way she could shoot without attracting unwanted attention. But how was she going to get one? Or several. Although she was slightly reluctant, the others still needed to know how to handle a gun.

"Santana? Are you down there?" Quinn's voice reached her ears from the stairs.

"Yeah!"

"Lunch is ready," the blonde's head appeared at the door as Santana set the box full of guns on the top of the highest shelf. "What's that?"

"Hm? Oh, I made a box to keep the guns away from the kids," Santana shrugged and made her way to Quinn. "It's just missing a lock."

"Awesome. I also would like to know why you're hiding down here," Quinn said with a raised brow.

"I'm not hiding," Santana glared when passing Quinn. "Let's eat, I'm starving."

"Whatever you say, Santana," the blonde chuckled and went after the other woman.


Mallory knocked lightly on Hailey's door. Mercedes had sent her up to get the other girl for lunch. Besides Brittany, Santana, and Quinn, nobody seemed to know why the hell Hailey was grounded for. The only thing Mallory suspected was that Hailey might have left the house without permission, because she seemed to have disappeared for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. But then again, she could just be in her room or someplace else in the house. With the amount of people currently living in the house, it was hard to keep up with everyone's whereabouts.

"Yes?" Came the weak voice from the other side of the door.

"Hey," Mallory said, poking her head inside the room. Hailey was lying down on her back, looking at the ceiling. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," the blonde answered dismissively.

"Mercedes sent me up to tell you that lunch is ready." Mallory got in the room and sat down at the end of the bed.

"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry," Hailey just continued with her eyes locked on the ceiling. "Besides, in not sure if I have permission to leave my room."

"Mercedes asked me to get you and your mom was in the kitchen, so I'm pretty sure that you can."

Hailey sighed, "Yeah, I know. Santana told me yesterday that I could go down for meals. I think I'm just dreading to see my mom."

"Did something happen?" Mallory asked softly, lowering her body next to Hailey's.

"Just me being stupid."

"Don't say that. It can't be that bad. Unless you sneaked in to wherever they went," the brunette chuckled and turned her head to the side, looking at the other girl's profile. She quickly sat up with wide eyes when Hailey didn't respond and a light blush covered her cheeks.

"Are you serious? Oh my God! That is both utterly stupid and awesome at the same time! Also badass! Who would have thought you had it in you?" Mallory hit Hailey's leg playfully.

"After all that happened, I think it was just stupid. God, I never saw my mom so disappointed in anyone."

Mallory was practically jumping with excitement. "Tell me everything! Where did they go? How did you know they were leaving? What happened?"

"Slow down," Hailey finally let out a chuckle. "I heard Santana, my mom, and your mom talking in the hallway and thought I could be helpful, so I teleported to the garage and got in the trunk."

"Why didn't you tell any of us?"

"There was no time," Hailey shrugged apologetically. She knew how much the four of them wanted to help, and felt kind of bad for going solo. At least they weren't grounded. "And there was no way we could have all sneaked in the car without our moms noticing."

"You're right. But come on, what happened next?" Mallory asked, placing her legs on each side of Hailey's bent ones, and her hands on the blonde's knees, resting her chin onto them. That way she could look directly in the blonde's eyes and don't miss a word.

"They drove to a gun store – "

"A gun store?" Mallory repeated excitedly.

"Can you please let me finish?" the blonde laughed at the other girls fervor.

"Sorry, go on."

"Right. So, I wasn't even planning on leaving the car. You know how I can only teleport to places I've already been, so I just wanted to take a look at it, but there were gunshot noises along with gross grunts and groans and an annoying as hell bell, and they were beginning to take a really long time so I started to worry and decided to check it out and help –"

Hailey was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Are you kidding me?" Mercedes said from the doorway, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. "I told you to get Hailey, not to sit down and have a lovely chat."

Mallory lowered her head in embarrassment, "I'm sorry."

"Come on, everybody's already in the kitchen," Mercedes said before heading downstairs.

"We better go, I'll tell you the rest later." Hailey got up from the bed, followed by Mallory who had a little pout from being interrupted in the middle of the story.

"You better, I'm might die from curiosity until then."

"You're such a dork," Hailey laughed and made her way to the kitchen with Mallory closely behind.


After lunch everyone was getting ready to go practice their abilities like usual. The only problem was that one of the rooms they used for practice was Hailey's room and the girl was grounded.

"Where are we going to practice?" Mallory asked, her eyes darting between the adults. "I'm sure you'll agree that one room is not enough for all of us."

All the women looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Kids, can you go play?" Santana asked loudly at the even louder kids who were finishing the last bites of their dessert.

"Do you mean we don't have to clear the table?" asked an overexcited Zoey.

"Yes, you can go," Santana rolled her eyes and let out a laugh. Who could blame them? She loathed doing the dishes when she was younger.

Although the little ones ran out the kitchen, Hailey, Mallory, Elle, and Matt sat still on their chairs.

"Why are you still sitting?" Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow.

Matt gazed at his mother, "You serious?"

"Yes, I am. We need to discuss this," Quinn stated. "Among us adults," she continued when she saw four mouths open to protest.

"We're not kids," Mallory whined.

"In my eyes, you are," Santana said with a slight smirk. "Too bad. Now, out of my sight, weirdos."

After a couple of huffs and groans, the four teens reluctantly got up the chairs and made their way to the door.

"Oh, but don't go far!" Santana added. "We'll let you know our decision in a minute. Have fun!" She couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Their pissed off faces before closing the door behind them were priceless.

"You're terrible," Mercedes also giggled.

"I love to annoy the crap out of them. Well, I love to annoy the crap out of anyone. They're just easier to annoy, and because they're lower in the family food chain, there's nothing they can do about it."

"Anyhow," Rachel shook her head at all the nonsense, "what are we doing regarding Hailey's room?"

"Can I say something?" Santana intervened.

"You're going to say it anyways," Quinn said, picking her nails.

"Of course I will," Santana smirked at Quinn before turning to Brittany. "Anyways… I know this is ultimately your decision, but I think you should lay off the punishment."

Brittany sat straighter in her chair, surprised with Santana's words. It was the first time Santana addressed her since the kiss. There was tension lingering between them, that was for sure, and Brittany certainly wasn't expecting Santana to ask her to let Hailey off the hook.

"Santana, she disobeyed me. We strictly told everyone to stay inside and she broke that rule. She put herself in incredible danger. Yeah, everything turned out okay, but what if it hadn't? What if something happened to her?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm not saying that what she did was right," Santana reassured, meeting Brittany's eyes briefly. "But she saved my life. That I can't forget."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Tina raised both hands in the air. "What do you mean she saved your life? What is this all about? Can someone please give us some kind of clue of what happened?"

Santana looked at the confused faces in front of her. She sighed deeply and told them everything that happened until they parked the jeep back in the garage.

"Oh, wow, hmm… I really don't know," Mercedes said after hearing the entire story. "I would be really, really mad if it were one of my kids, but if it weren't for her, none of you would be sitting here right now," she finished, pointing towards Brittany, Quinn, and Santana.

"But if Hailey doesn't get grounded, it would be practically telling her, and the rest of them, that going behind our backs and ignoring the rules we imposed is okay. That they don't have to deal with the consequences every time they do something bad," Rachel made her point.

"I went to her room last night, and honestly, seeing Brittany disappointed in her is hurting her more than any punishment," Santana said, looking at Brittany who was gazing down at her hands, deep in thought. "Just this once, I think we should let it pass. If any of them do something like this again, then we should ground them."

"It's Britt's call," Quinn shrugged her shoulders.

Brittany lifted her head and locked eyes with Santana. "I think Santana might be right. Also, we need the room to practice," she then looked between all of them, "and if you agree, when they break our rules, they all pay. If one of those four makes a mistake, all of them are grounded."

"It's fine with me," Quinn agreed. "Maybe that'll encourage them to behave."

Everybody expressed their consent and Mercedes went to call the teens back.

"So?" Mallory asked as soon as their butts hit the chairs. "What's the verdict?"

"Hailey's not grounded anymore –"

"I'm not?" Hailey interrupted, nervously searching her mother's gaze for confirmation.

Brittany nodded slightly, "No, but that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed anymore."

Hailey fixed her eyes on the floor and nodded in understanding.

"Oh, but there's more," Santana smirked.

"What do you mean there's more?" Mallory asked with narrowed eyes.

"Hailey's off the hook just because we need the room," Santana started mischievously. "So, to ensure that you'll think twice before you screw up, we decided that you four will pay whenever one of you breaks a rule."

"What? That's totally unfair," Mallory huffed.

"It sucks," Santana chuckled wickedly.

"We're just trying to keep you safe," Brittany reasoned.

"Yes. Besides, if you're good, nothing's going to happen," Quinn added. "It's not even that bad. Just the new basic safety rules so that nobody gets hurt. We want to trust you, but first you have to proof that you're worthy of that trust."

"Precisely, and that resumes to one simple task: don't do anything stupid," Tina finished. "Okay?"

They all nodded their heads at the same time. The rules weren't that bad. Just don't step outside the gates, don't wander inside the gates alone and without telling anyone, or do much noise.

"Okay, you can go now."

The teens all trotted up the stairs, leaving the women alone once again.

"How are we in terms of food?" Santana asked, already knowing that the answer wouldn't be pleasant.

"Not very good," Mercedes informed and got up to inspect the pantry. "There's enough for maybe three, four days tops."

That only confirmed what Santana already knew. "That's okay, we'll manage."

"Now, let's go practice," Quinn said and got up from her chair, followed by the rest of them.

After pushing all the furniture to the corner and finishing their sort of meditation session, the teens were dispersing around the room, like usual. Elle sat in the corner, first trying to absorb as many voices as she could, though she could only hear the people in Quinn's house. It seemed that really wasn't another healthy human anywhere around them. Her second exercise was to concentrate in only one person. It was kind of invasion of privacy, so she usually chose the little kids. It was actually pretty funny to be inside their heads sometimes. They were so innocent and full of imagination. It was fascinating and Elle often found herself laughing at the silly little things that went through their minds.

Today, however, Elle wanted to try something new. Today she was going to try one of the adults. Deep down, she knew that what she really wanted was to be inside her mother's head, but she was also afraid of what she'd find. So she opted for another one. Brittany. Brittany was always good to her, she wouldn't be mad at her if she found out that Elle had been rummaging through her mind.

She took a deep breath, blocked all the noises surrounding her, and sought Brittany in her mind.

"…should find something new to do with the plants. But not with the ones inside. Those won't do. I'd have to be outside, but that's too dangerous. I'll have to think of something," Elle smiled to herself when she heard the familiar voice in her head. It wasn't perfect though. She could still hear snippets of thoughts from the others, so she tried harder to isolate Brittany.

"Maybe I can create some kind of garden outside. Yes, that'd be awesome! That way we could eat fresh food. No fresh meat or fish though. Oh god, we're all going to turn veggies like Rachel!"

That made Elle chuckle. Turns out Brittany's mind could also be pretty funny and entertaining.

"And I'd have to get someone to be outside with me. But I don't want to bother anyone. I could learn to fight and stuff, that way I wouldn't need anyone. Yeah, that's it. Maybe Santana could… No. She's avoiding me since this morning. She's afraid, I know she is, and it's all my fault. Stupid Brittany. I shouldn't have let her leave like that. Well, it's not like she gave me a choice, really. But I need to tell her that she doesn't need to be afraid, that the ki –"

"Matt!"

Elle was brought back from her mind reading by a loud and scared scream from Mallory.

"What's happening? Matt, what's happening?"

Lately Matt and Mallory trained together. Well, not really together. More like trying to outdo each other. If Matt conjured a fireball, Mallory would either use wind or water in order to fight her brother's creation. Each day they were being more and more audacious. If, in the beginning, they'd only use simple fireballs and spurts of water, now they were firing complex water, wind, earth and/or fire formations that divided at some point in their trajectory, creating several points of attack or others that disappeared and reappeared in another completely different location.

They seemed to inside each other's minds though, because neither of them ever lost. Every single attack was blocked before reaching its opponent. It was quite fascinating to watch, actually. Like watching your own, very unique, firework show. How they had yet to burn anything in the room was a complete mystery in Elle's opinion.

But now, something new seemed to be happening, and Elle could see that neither Matt nor Mallory were in control of whatever it was. The twins were facing each other, with what looked like a silver glowing rope coming out of their chests. Both ropes met halfway and the ends wrapped around each other. The glowing turned gold, and Matt and Mallory were being pulled towards one another.

"Mal, are you doing this?" Matt asked with fear in his eyes.

"No, I'm not doing anything! What the hell is happening?" Mallory said just as scared.

"I don't know, but I can't control it."

Before Mallory could say anything back, their chests bumped each other and a flash of white blinded everyone in the room. Elle heard Hailey letting out a surprised scream from the other side of the room. What the fuck was happening? She couldn't hear Matt or Mallory. But just as fast as it came, the flash was gone.

Elle blinked her eyes several times, trying to get used to the normal light again. When she was finally able to see again, she spotted a single figure standing in the middle of the room with its head down. At first she thought it was Matt – where the hell was Mallory? But when she looked more closely, she let out a loud gasp.

What stood before her was neither Matt nor Mallory. It was kind of… both. The hair was Matt's dreadlocks, but the face and body were a complete mixture of both. It wasn't possible to say if the person in front of Elle was a male or female. The traits were completely mixed. Also the clothes were an odd combination. It seemed that it were Mallory's jeans, but those would never fit Matt. The same could be said about the shirt. It was Matt's shirt, only smaller. The clothes, like everything else, combined and adjusted to fit the new being that was formed.

"Matt? Mallory?" Hailey asked hesitantly, taking a step forward.

The figure turned its head to Hailey and the girl seemed a little frightened. Elle didn't blame her, that was for sure. All this crazy stuff was way out of everybody's comfort zone.

"What happened?" The figure spoke, making both Hailey and Elle jump.

It was a perfect fusion between Matt and Mallory's voices, giving it an almost computerized sound. Like they were speaking in some sort of strange harmony. The low tune of Matt's voice blending in with Mallory's higher one. It was an odd but fascinating and mesmerizing combination.

"I think you and Mallory, or you and Matt, depending on who's in charge, are only one now," Elle answered a little uncertainly.

"Yeah, we know that we're fused, but how did it happen? Was it the ropes?" The figure inquired in its robotic voice. "And we're both in charge, I guess. We're just one person."

Elle nodded a little dumbfounded. It was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen in her entire life. "Hm, I think so. The ropes pulled you towards each other, there was a blinding flash of light, and next thing I know, you were here."

The figure turned to Hailey, looking for confirmation, and Hailey nodded with her mouth still slightly open.

"This is the weirdest thing ever," Hailey let out a laugh.

"Tell me about it," the figure said, looking down to inspect its hands.

"Do you think it's temporary?" Hailey asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I really hope so, don't want to stay like this forever."

"Well, come on, try something!" Elle said excitedly.

"Try what?"

"Oh, please," Elle rolled her eyes. "The powers. Do something!"

"…Okay."

The Matt and Mallory fusion turned around, facing the wall, and took a deep breath. The next moment, an aura was forming around it, and the floor started to shake lightly.

Fuck, this is not good. Definitely not good. Elle thought as some pictures fell from the walls. Next, an enormous ball of fire shot out from one of the hands to the ceiling, followed closely by minuscule particles of sand that pierced the fireball and transformed it in a giant rotating ring. A second later, torrents of strong wind were engulfing the fire and sand, making them spin out of control and shine impossibly bright.

Elle and Hailey were shielding their eyes with their arms and had their backs against the wall, unable to move a feet without being sucked into the spinning madness above them. The shiny, spinning thing was increasing in size and brightness at each passing moment, and it was just a matter of time before it exploded. Elle could see and feel the pressure quickly building.

"Stop it! Whatever you're doing, stop!" Hailey screamed desperately. "It's going to explode!"

"I can't!" The computerized voice screamed back. "I'm trying, but I can't! I'm so sorry!"

"What the hell is happening here?" Santana's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Get out of here! Take everyone and get as far as you can!"

"What's wrong with his voice?" Quinn asked, appearing behind Santana with Tina quickly behind.

"I'm serious, this is going to explode and I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold it."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Santana sighed and walked as fast as she could to grab the girls. "Come on."

"Where's Mallory?" Quinn yelled, searching desperately for her other baby. She didn't know that they were joined, and with all the light, wind, and noises, it was easy to miss that the figure in the center of the room wasn't just Matt as the dreadlocks lead to believe.

"No time to explain, get out!"

"What about you?" Hailey shouted desperately, while being dragged out of the room by Santana.

"I'll be fine, don't worry. It can't hurt me. Now go!"

They ran down the stairs as fast as they could, but before they could make it to the ground floor, their bodies were projected forward as an ear-shattering explosion sounded behind them and pieces of wood and wall flew in every direction.


A/N: Thank you so much for reading :)