A/N: Holy crap you guys are awesome seriously. Almost 200 review?! And over 200 follows?! Never in my wildest dreams did I think that would happen with this fic. So thank you! You guys are amazing! With that I apologize for the delay in this chapter. Been a little busy this week so I busted butt trying to finish it tonight and did a quick proofread before posting so sorry for any mistakes. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Don't own glee…. Sad I know…

Chapter 21

I found myself sitting in Rogue's stall leaning up against her large shoulder while she took her afternoon snooze. It had become a ritual of ours on the weekends and the occasional weekday when I actually had time to spend in the barn without worrying about chores or homework. I often brought her in after lunch on Saturday and let her sleep before riding her later in the day. One Saturday I sat in the corner of her stall reading some Fantasy book Brittany told me I had to read while Rogue ate her hay. Britt had a list of her favorite series that she wanted me to get through so we could talk about them; since Quinn hated the genre, she always had to keep her thoughts and theories to herself. And she gave me that pout and puppy dog eyes that I couldn't say no to. Rogue had suddenly laid down near me and I decided to slide over near her. She never moved a muscle and fell asleep as I leaned against her. It became our thing.

Book in hand I snuggled up into Rogue already halfway Wizard's First Rule. It was actually really good and the main girl was badass; I could see why it was one of her favorites. Brittany explained there were eleven books in the main series and that I had all summer to read them.

The summer.

I've never ever dreaded summer and yet I wish it would never come and school could just continue on until we graduated. Over this past week I had calls almost every night from my mom explaining the plans for the summer. Ok so that wasn't the entire conversation and it wasn't every night even if it felt like it. She just hinted every single time that it would be nice for me to be home and that everyone missed me. It was usually at the end of our conversation so I had no really time to cause a fight before she hung up. But every time we ended I had this awful feeling that I was going home soon.

I leaned my head back against Rogue's neck. I stopped reading and just thumbed the page thinking. Yeah, I know it was a scary thing for me to do since my mind kept going toward home and well Brittany. But I often thought about Brittany but not like this. The possibility of leaving and what that would do to Brittany made me sick to my stomach. Maybe I could start skipping or failing some of my classes and make my parents think I was back to my old tricks. I frowned more; that wasn't an option. If I did that I'd lose all privileges I had earned including training Rogue. I glanced to my left and watched her sleep; nose planted into the shavings which blew around every time she breathed out. I just love that horse. No way was I going to ruin my chances on losing her too.

I wish Brittany was here; she was visiting her grandparents this weekend in Orlando. I wanted to talk to her about this whole summer issue. It was eating me up. More so than the pending reveal of our relationship to her parents. That was apparently going to happen soon according to Brittany. I was letting her decided on the right place and time to tell them both.

I began playing idly with Rogue's long wavy mane. Brittany would hate me if I left. I'd hate me. "So this is where you've been hiding lately." Auntie A stood at the door looking over at me crossing her arms on top of the stall door watching me.

Giving her a small smile and nodded. "She likes to take a nap and lets me cuddle so I can read." I held up the book for her to see.

"Well you two look very comfy." She quietly opened the door. Rogue's ears only twitched when the latch opened. My eyes watched her as she walked up closer to us and slowly squatted down near me. "I talked with your dad this morning…"

I couldn't look at her. So I focused my attention onto Rogue's mane that I currently twirled around my finger. I knew where this conversation was going. "I don't want to leave." My voice cracked slightly. Great I could feel my eyes well up with tears.

"But you have so many people who can't wait for you to be home." Her voice was soft and I felt a small tear roll down my cheek. Remaining silent for several minutes I finally got the courage to look up at her with tears streaming down my face. "Oh sweetheart…" She frowned and moved closer to me.

"I love-" I sniffled trying to get myself composed. "-it here."

Her hand rubbed my upper arm. "I know." I wiped some of my tears from my cheeks. "You've made a life here in these past few months. It'll be hard adjusting back. You'll be missed here." Her sudden statement causes me to start sobbing. I'm suddenly on my feet and wrapped in a tight hug in my Aunts arms crying into her shoulder. "What's wrong Santana? I thought you'd be happy to go back home to your family and friends."

"I-I can't," God I was a wreck. I couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

Her hand rubbed my back soothingly letting me cry. "Can't what sweetheart?"

Finally sniffling deeply several times I just clung to her tightly my good sobbing session finally coming to an end. "Can't leave-" I started mumbling into her shoulder. "I love – her." It felt good saying it out loud even if it was muffled into a shirt.

"What was that?"

Pulling back I wiped my cheeks and just stared at her. I'm pretty sure she heard me but I repeated it anyways. I took in a shaky breath. "Auntie A. I don't want to leave you guys or Brittany. I love her."

Her smile was warm and she rubbed my arms. "Of course you do. She's your best friend."

I took in a couple of deep breaths. "Auntie A. I love her." I knew I should have waited for Brittany to be there with me. It was something we were doing together. But she needed to understand why I was having a hard time accepting the fact that I was heading home. She stared at me. "She's more than my best friend."

I really hoped she understood what I was trying to tell her; not really sure I would have the courage to spell it out for her. Her eyes lingered on mine for what seemed like minutes. "So… a girlfriend…?" I just nodded rapidly. "You two are dating?" Another nod; it was the only thing I could really bring myself to do. "How long?"

With a quick rub to my face I went back to looking at her. "Couple months."

"Months?" I let out another shaky breath and gave one more nod.

There was no disgust on her face or disappointment…there was a hint of anger when her brow knit into that classic Lopez beginning anger face. I gulped. "Are you mad I'm dating a girl?" I asked softly. I was scared shitless; what if she sent me home now? I never even thought about that.

Her face suddenly softened. "Of course not Santana. I'm just a little upset you didn't tell me sooner."

"I'm sorry. I was scared for people finding out. Judging… me, Brittany… us." I dropped my gaze looking at my feet.

Auntie A remained silent for some time and I finally looked up to see her reaction. The minute I looked at her she smiled. "Let me talk to your dad ok? See if I get you to stay here for at least the summer."

My eyes snapped open wide. "You can't tell him. About Britt and me." She frowned slightly. "Please Auntie A…" I begged it was the only thing I could do. "I'm not ready to tell them yet. Please."

I watched her face turn into a sad smile. "Okay sweetheart I won't say anything to anyone." Her hand rubbed my arm again. "You don't have to be scared. Trust me they won't care. They'll love you no matter what."

"Thanks." I gave her a soft smile. I felt better a lot better.

"Come up to the house when you're ready. I think we're going to do takeout tonight. Be prepared to fight Rachel over her zealous choice." I chuckled and she kissed my forehead gently before heading towards the door. She turned and looked at me once at the door. "By the way open bedroom door policy just went into effect when Brittany is over."

Great there went my girlfriend time. I huffed loudly once she walked away and turned to see Rogue standing up. When did that happen? I don't remember seeing her get up… then again I was a little preoccupied. She was nibbling on something and my eyes widened. "Rogue no!"

It was too late. The book cover was already destroyed and torn off. Snatching the rest of the book up from the floor examining it and besides the fact that it no longer had a cover it still looked semi ok. "G'me that." I tugged the cover out of her mouth and narrowed my eyes seeing the half eaten paper. "You're lucky you're cute…" After giving her a quick scratch under the ear and a peck on the nose I left her stall with the ruined book in my hand. I'd have to buy Brittany a new one to replace it.

Speaking of Brittany; I pulled out my cell as I made my way to my 4-wheeler. Call me later if u get a private moment ;) xoxoI sent my text and felt my phone vibrate not even a minute after.

Britt: Absolutely :D xoxo

I smiled. She wouldn't be mad that I told my Aunt. Probably a little sad that she wasn't there with me. And I really wasn't planning on blurting it out to Auntie A but once again word vomit took over; good word vomit I guess. I got up to the house and looked at myself in the little side mirror on the 4-wheeler. Well I looked like shit and like I had been crying; which was all true, I remained seated for a few minutes rubbing my eyes hoping to look less disheveled.

Finally walking into the house I found Rachel and Auntie A in the kitchen making fresh lemonade. Rachel's smile quickly turned to a frown; probably due to my appearance. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." I pulled off my boots which gave me the chance to look away from her.

"You look like you've been crying." She kept questioning.

Glancing up at her I snatched the ruined book next to me and held it up. "Sad part." She stopped her questioning and I got a look from Auntie A that made me feel guilty for lying to Rachel. She did know about me and Brittany so I could have told her the truth. But I probably would have started crying again if I mentioned it. "So… what's for take-out?"

"Sushi." Rachel beamed.

My eyes narrowed slightly. "Seriously? That's nasty." I'm pretty sure you can't get sushi take-out anywhere and if there was such a place it would be sketchy and not fresh. "How about… Chinese?" I had a sudden hankering for Lo Mein and Teriyaki steak.

"Italian?"

"Chinese."

"Mexican."

"Chinese." I was determined to win.

Our eyes locked in a heated stare down. I was a pro at these; no way was she going to win. Auntie A's sudden laugh caused both of us to glance at her. "I think Chinese sounds good." I smiled brightly. Yup, I won.

"I'm going to go change." I started for the stairs. "Chicken lo Mein and Teriyaki steak for me please."

"Okay; I'll place the order and we can head in and get it. You girls want a movie?"

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and glanced at Rachel. "I could go for a movie." Rachel nodded in agreement with me. There was nothing else to do really since Brittany wasn't in town, Quinn was off doing god knows what and Tina and Mike were having a date night. That left just me and Rachel. "We can go in and get everything."

"That'd be great."

Starting my way back up the stairs I paused and looked back at them. "Oh crab rangoons too."

Auntie A laughed and wrote it down on her to order list. "Alright." I dashed back upstairs and quickly jumped into the shower. Pretty sure it was a record. I dressed casual; black yoga pants and a red t-shirt. Pulling up my still wet hair into a messy bun I grabbed my phone and headed back down to the kitchen.

Rachel raised an eyebrow seeing me. "That was fast…"

"Hoping we could leave early and stop at the used bookstore."

"Sure." Rachel smiled at me while I laced up my Converse.

Auntie A poked her head around the fridge looking at us. "I'll place the order after you leave. Should take about half an hour or so."

"Okay." We both chimed at the same time before grabbing our purses to leave.

We climbed into the Audi and I got comfortable in the passenger seat turning on my Bluetooth to listen to the music on my phone before Rachel got a chance to do the same with hers. Sometime too much Broadway was…well…too much Broadway. "Just any used bookstore."

"Okay."

"Rogue decided to have a snack with Brittany's book she let me borrow. Gotta find her another one." I explained as we headed into town.

"That's sweet." She cooed at me, which prominently got an eye roll from me in return.

We pulled into the parking lot of the used bookstore and I had Rachel wait in the car while I quickly ran into to see if they had a copy or Wizard's First Rule. I couldn't just buy a new copy it needed to look like her old one. One that had been read many times and the spine cracked from obvious use. With the help of the older woman inside I was able to find two copies. Neither of them were the exact cover match so I choose the one that I thought Brittany would like the best.

"All set." I put the book down by my feet. Rachel headed towards the Chinese restaurant and we opted for the Redbox in the grocery store across the street to get our movie from since it was the most convenient location. Choosing something was a whole different issue. I wanted Contraband. She wanted The Vow. We finally decided on This Means War which satisfied both our action and comedy needs.

I ran in to get the food returning to Rachel's car with two large bags. "Wow that smells good."

"Aren't you glad I suggested it?"

"Yes." I smirked.

We started our drive back home in silence before I looked at my cousin. "Auntie A knows about me and Brittany."

"What?!" She stared at me.

"Road! God!" Her attention quickly went to the pavement ahead of us when I pointed forward. Pretty sure she was trying to kill us.

Her eyes glanced towards me wide before returning her attention back to the road. "Did she catch you making-out in the barn? Cause I think I've been traumatized for life by you two."

"Ha ha…funny." I let out fake exaggerated laugh. "No I told her. This afternoon. Hence the tears."

Rachel remained silent for a second. "Oh…everything good?"

"Great actually. She took it well really well."

"I knew she would." She tossed me a brief smile. "She loves you. We all do. Having you around has totally been the best thing for us."

I huffed. "Yeah well… get all your Santana time in now my parents want me home this summer. They think my rehabilitation has gone according to plan. So it'll probably be for good."

"What?!"

My fingers clutched the door handle when she drifted slightly towards the curb. "Rach pay attention! Want me to drive…gee…"

"Sorry. I thought they were just talking it up. Mom didn't think they actually were serious about it." Rachel frowned slightly. "You can't leave."

"Yes I realize this. She's going to talk to them."

"What about Brittany?"

I kept quiet staring out the window for a minute. "I haven't told her yet. I will when she gets back from her grandparents."

"She's not going to like it."

"Tell me something I don't already know hobbit." I couldn't help but snap at her. She was telling me stuff I knew and things I really didn't want to think about. "Sorry." I muttered softly.

And that was the extent of the conversation. Nothing else mentioned, which I was kind of glad about. I wanted a mental break from all the "going home" stuff that had suddenly been thrown at me in the past hour.

The three of us basically we're having an unofficial girl's night really. Uncle Leroy was on a business trip to New York City this weekend and Josh was camping with a few friends. So we girls sat in the living room watching the movie and eating out of the Chinese containers trying not to make a mess over everything. I was stuffed within a few minutes and hadn't even eaten half of my Lo Mein. That was the problem with Chinese food; it fills you up so fast then an hour later you're starving again. It was annoying.

The movie was about halfway through when my phone started vibrating next to me. I saw the goofy picture of Brittany displayed on the screen and quickly snatched it up getting up from the couch. She had stolen my phone one morning while I was in the shower and had taken random silly pictures of herself. I couldn't bring myself to delete any of them and finally choose my favorite as her caller ID picture. "Hi. I miss you." I quickly breathed into the phone. My eyes narrowed seeing Rachel sticking her finger into her mouth making a gagging noise. I punched her shoulder as I walked by her chair and headed for the stairs to go to my room to talk privately.

Brittany giggled on the other end. "Miss you too."

"When are you getting home?" I took the stairs in twos before walking into my room shutting the door.

"Late tomorrow night. I'll be at school on Monday."

Flopping down on my bed I stared up at the ceiling. "That is way too far away, you do realize this?"

"I'm sure you're having a blast!"

"If you consider a night eating Chinese food and watching a movie with Rach and my Aunt a blast…then yes…" I muttered sarcastically.

"That does sound like fun. I love movie watching."

A small smile crept onto my lips. "I know you do. So how's everything down there?"

"Great! We went to Universal today. Not that I haven't been there so many times but it was Allie's first real time going. Pretty much spent the entire day at Harry Potter. Never been. It was awesome. I think I rode the Dragon Challenge roller-coaster with Dad like five times and the small kid one with Allie three. Then we went to Broomsticks to have lunch, then did a bunch of shopping. Oh I got you something!"

I relaxed against my pillow listening to her ramble on about her day. "You did?"

"Yup."

"What is it?"

"I'mmm nooot teeellin'." Her sing-song voice made me giggle.

"Please?" I pouted not that she could actually see it but I felt it help in my pleading factor.

"Nope. You can see it Monday."

"You're impossible." I let out one last giggle before sighing. I really did miss her. How on earth was I going to make it back home when I couldn't go one weekend without my Brittany fix? "So… how about a movie and homework night when you get back?"

"That sounds awesome."

"I thought so." I began playing with the hem of my shirt. "We'll have to go to your house if we want you know… girlfriend time."

She paused for a second. "Ok if you want. My parents won't care they love having you over."

"My Aunt knows about us…" I finally blurted out. "It just kinda came out. That word vomit thing that I do… She was really cool about it. But she's now enforcing an open door policy when you're over."

The line was quiet for a second. "That's fantastic!"

I slowly sat up, she wasn't mad that was a good thing. "Ahh no it's not Britt. Now I can't get my sweet lady kisses on with my girlfriend in my own room."

"But we still have the barn and my truck."

My smile grew. "Truuuue."

"Can't you be home like now? That would be fantastic."

She laughed. "Monday morning. How about I pick you up for school?"

"Don't you pull my leg Miss Brittany S. Pierce." That girl was on a strict schedule and getting up early was not something she did often.

"Serious. I want to see you like as soon as possible. I'll come by and pick you up." I could practically hear her smiling through the phone.

"Yes please." My Cheshire cat grin couldn't get any bigger. "So you're willing to get up earlier than usual to come pick me up?"

"For you totally."

I flopped back down on my bed. "I-" The words 'I love you' almost slipped from my lips. "Can't wait to see you." It wasn't that I couldn't have said it. I'm ready. Completely ready. Just saying it over the phone for the first time wasn't exactly how I wanted that to happen.

"Can't wait to see you too."

I grinned brightly. Our conversation wasn't all that long; and I protested when she had to hang-up not wanting give up my phone time with her. But she was going downtown with her mom and grandmother. I headed back downstairs once she finally hung-up. Smiling. I plopped back down on the couch.

"So how's Brittany?" Auntie A asked with a smirk.

My smile never left my lips. "Great, she's coming back late tomorrow." I returned my attention back to the movie which I missed a good fifteen minutes of and now I was semi-lost. But it was worth it. I'd totally miss any movie for Brittany time.

A/N: Yay! Santana told her Aunt… not in the way she had really pictured in her head but she still told her. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Next chapter will be loaded with Brittana. And I promise either in the next 2 chapters you'll find out about whether or not Santana will be going home or not. :D Reviews are always welcomed!

~Quest
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