Chapter Twenty Five
You're One Lucky Baby
Santana had always loved the atmosphere at these sort of cheerleading competitions. She loved the fact that everywhere she turned her head, girls were doing difficult jumps, training, working hard, and in general being serious athletes. She loved how all these girls cared so much about this; that they all wanted it so badly that they were willing to do practically anything to get it. She especially loved how everyone turned to look at them though, when the familiar colours of red and white made their way through the crowded hall, moving people out of the way as if they were Moses crossing The Red Sea.
Everyone knew about the Cheerios. Their reputation was extraordinary. Everyone loved them, feared them, hated them. They all wanted to be them – or at least one of them. Or maybe have their talent. And Santana soaked up the glory that it was to walk right behind Quinn with Brittany by her side. She was no longer at the bottom of the pyramid; she was second-in-command, God-damnit, and she was going to enjoy this day.
There was tension on the team – not because they feared that they weren't going to win; they had this one in the bag already – but because even though the win was for certain, they still needed to do the best. There could be spies from other teams lurking anywhere, so their general behaviour – as well as their performance – was very important, and they had to do their utmost best.
"This is it, ladies," Coach Sylvester said, when they were done doing their warm-ups and had to go take a seat to wait for their turn, "today you will show me that you're not just a bunch of whimpering uncoordinated pussies. You will bring me to victory!"
"Yes Coach!" they all replied, and Santana caught Quinn's eyes across the circle, and she couldn't help but grin. They were so ready for this.
Sue gave them all a pointed look, "I'm proud of you girls! We can't all be as gorgeous and talented as one Sue Sylvester, but you're a close second. Especially if I can get that trophy and rub it in Will Schuester's face!" she barked a laugh, "We all know he won't get his own winning trophy for Regionals, but you know what? I'm feeling rather generous today, so I might let him borrow mine. For ten seconds, he's going to stand with that trophy in his arms and know what it's like to be a champion." she sighed heavily. "Not that he'll ever experience it... Get some water, stay hydrated, girls, and find your seats. NOW!"
They all scrambled to find their seats in the crowd, and Santana found herself seated next to Quinn. She slumped back on the uncomfortable bench and heaved out a deep breath. She was kind of tired and worn out, even if she was ready to fight for the win. She just really hadn't been able to sleep that well yesterday, not after... well, that disastrous end on her date with Rachel. She couldn't believe that some people could be so stupid. That guy really deserved an ass-kicking, and she really wanted to sneak into his house one night and do something truly horrible to him.
He had some nerve, saying that to Rachel... Sure, it was one thing that he tried to hit on her, people got that all the time, at least, girls got that all the time. But to tell Rachel that she wasn't good enough? Santana had wanted to rip his head off. And even though Rachel had been cool about it after they left the restaurant, the Latina had been able to see that the comment had really gotten to her. She knew that Rachel had always been unsure about the way she looked, mostly due to the fact that other people kept reminding her that she didn't look like everyone else and that she wasn't pretty enough (Santana hated her own part in that... she so wished she could take it back now). Of course it would have gotten to her somehow. And even though she was more confident about it now, it seemed, Santana knew that her insecurities on that matter still somehow peeked. It didn't matter that Santana kept telling her otherwise either, because she was still going to believe she wasn't pretty enough.
Even if Santana thought that she was beautiful.
"How did your date go last night?" Quinn suddenly asked, as if she'd been reading the Latina's mind and thought she'd rub some salt in it.
Santana glared at her. "Everything was perfect-" she paused when Quinn raised a questionable eyebrow, "-no seriously, it fucking was! - Until some douche-bag decided to hit on me, and Rachel threw a hissy fit."
Quinn chuckled. "Oh really? Was it fun to watch?"
The Latina punched her friend roughly on the arm.
"Hey!" Quinn whined, "That hurt, bitch."
"It was supposed to." Santana grumbled, before she continued with a sigh, "And no, it wasn't fun to watch. Especially not when the dude decided to tell her that I was way out of her league or some messed up shit. I mean, what the fuck? Rachel's gorgeous, like, legit the way that she smiles and everything, it can sometimes, y'know, take my breath away and stuff. And that mother-fucker has the nerve to tell her otherwise! I wanted to rip off his balls!"
Quinn furrowed her brow. "He really said that?"
Santana nodded. "Yeah... and, I don't know, I kept telling Rachel on the way home that she should just forget it, and that she's like, the most beautiful girl in the world, but I don't think she really believed me. She was all quiet and stuff. Which we all know is not Rachel."
The HBIC nodded in understanding.
The Latina continued, "I just wish I knew if she was still worrying about it. I keep worrying about it, but I don't want her to. But she was not answering my texts this morning, and when we said goodbye last night she just pecked my lips and went inside."
Brittany butted in then, from Quinn's other side, with her adorable smile, "Why don't you just ask her, San?"
"Ask who?" Quinn questioned, licking her lips briefly.
Brittany giggled, "Ask Rachel, of course! Now you're being silly, Q! We were just talking about her."
Santana gave Quinn a pointed smile, "Yeah, you're just being silly, Q!" she teased her as she nudged her foot with hers, before looking back at the taller blonde. "How would I ask her, though, Britt? I just said that she wasn't answering my texts."
Rolling her eyes, Brittany sighed heavily, "You don't have to text her, San," she explained as she shook her head, "you can just go across the gym." she finished, before she leaned back in her seat and continued to watch the – quite frankly – horrific cheerleading squad on the floor.
What the fuck? Santana felt her head snap to the side before her brain caught up with it, and scanning the crowd, it didn't take her two seconds to locate the tiny diva in the midst of all the other on-lookers. She was wearing a smile brighter than ever before as she waved eagerly at Santana. "Holy fuck." the cheerleader breathed, and she didn't know whether or not she should be pleased or worried about her presence. What the fuck was she doing there?
"Oh my God!" Quinn cheered teasingly and clapped her hands together to mock the Latina, "You girlfriend's here, S! That's so sweet."
Santana groaned, "Shut up, Quinn."
Leaning forward, Quinn continued to stare at Rachel with a sneaky smile on her lips, "Is she wearing..." she trailed off for a second or two, before she turned back to Santana with a bright smile, "Yes she is! She's wearing a Team Santana t-shirt! How cute!"
Snapping her head to the side, Santana's eyes zoomed in on her girlfriend and she felt herself gasp dramatically. Rachel was still wearing her true Rachel Berry-smile, and she was pointing over-exaggeratedly to the white t-shirt she was wearing, which clearly, in bold, black letters, said 'Team Santana!'. The Latina heard herself groan.
Fuckety fucking fuck. This is so not happening.
"Hi!" Brittany exclaimed (even though Rachel couldn't possibly hear her) and waved happily across the gym, "Hi Rach! I love your t-shirt!"
Quinn laughed, and Santana resisted the urge to hit her once more. Sue probably wouldn't be so happy if she injured her head-cheerleader minutes before their competition.
She felt her phone buzz and bent her head to sneak a peek at her iPhone. It was from Rachel. Glancing briefly back at her girlfriend, who was now waving her phone at her, Santana bent to the side to shield whatever it was from Quinn. Opening the text, the message was pretty clear.
Surprise, Baby! :) :) xoxo
Santana felt herself warm slightly by the sweetness of that simple message, even though she was still very mortified that Rachel was spotting a t-shirt like that. She couldn't help but think that it was adorable of the other girl to plan something like this, just to support her. None of the other girls on the team had been surprised by their boyfriends, and Santana felt like she should consider herself lucky that Rachel cared that much. She just wished that her girlfriend would have been a bit more subtle about it.
They had to go on in like five minutes, so Santana quickly typed a response to the diva. After they were done, they were going to go into the changing rooms to change into a clean uniform and fix their make-up (they always did that, Sue didn't want them to walk around, looking sweaty and ugly, as she put it), so Santana figured she could tell Rachel to meet her outside the dressing room for a quick chat. She simply had to do something about the t-shirt.
"Alright team!" Quinn suddenly said and stood up from her seat, "Follow me, we're on in two minutes! Are you all ready?"
"Yes!" they chorused to get themselves pumped, and the entire squad followed their leader away from the benches into the little nook from where they'd come when their team was called.
Santana held her breath. Today she was going to win Regionals with the Cheerios, but two weeks from now... she was going to win Regionals with New Directions. And she could honestly say that – even though she was excited about today – she found herself looking even more forward to when she'd be standing there with Rachel by her side.
"And now!" the announcer dude said, causing all chatter to fade out in the full gymnasium, "From McKinley High in Lima, Ohio, we have the Cheerios, lead by Sue Sylvester!"
Everything blew up then, as everyone cheered them on, excited to see the true masters at work. And Santana felt her blood pump through her veins as she followed Quinn onto the floor.
They were going to fucking kill it.
x
It was no surprise that they fucking killed it.
Everyone was jumping around as they made their way down the hallway outside followed by thunderous applaud from inside the gym. Even Sue Sylvester cracked a smile, because even she couldn't deny that that was fucking perfect. The Latina found herself in the middle of a big three-way hug from her two favourite blonde cheerleaders, and after they released her, she gave Haylie a pad on the back for her good work. Santana didn't know what it was, but she'd grown a soft spot for the little red-head after what she'd said to her that day. No one needed to know though, but the Latina had a feeling that the younger girl really appreciated it, and looked up to her.
Suddenly she felt two very familiar arms wrap around her from behind, and Santana would recognize those arms anywhere, so she let herself relax against them for a second or two as they squeezed her tight.
"You were so perfect, Baby!" Rachel whispered, pressing a light kiss to her neck. "I kept telling the couple next to me that you're my girlfriend, but I don't suspect they cared too much. Which I really don't get."
Santana turned around in her arms, and even though she was horrified that her girlfriend was so eager to be proud of her and let everyone know it, she pressed her lips to Rachel's for a brief kiss, before she intertwined their hands. She sent a saying look in Quinn's direction, and when the blonde head-cheerleader gave her a nod of confirmation, Santana pulled the brunette off to the side, while Quinn ushered her team into the dressing room to get them to change and in some people's cases – shower.
"What are you doing here?" Santana breathed when they were standing up against the wall and Rachel was smiling happily at her. It came out a little more stand-offish than she'd wanted it to, but what the fuck was she going to do about it?
Rachel pouted, "I wanted to surprise you, Baby! Are you not happy I'm here?"
Santana couldn't help but smile at her and cup her chin. She was fucking thrilled that she was there, she just wished that she wouldn't always be so there. Why couldn't she just sit in the audience like a normal person and just watch her and support her from there? Oh that's right... Santana reminded herself as she kissed the diva's lips once more, she wouldn't be Rachel Berry if she was anywhere near subtle. "I love that you're here." she whispered, before eyeing that t-shirt with disdain, "And I think that you look really cute, but..."
Rachel glanced down at her t-shirt for a second, and looked up then, scrunching up her nose. "But?"
"Did you have to write my name on your t-shirt? I'm like, the only Latina on our team, so everybody in that gym knew that it was me."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Santana felt really horrible about it. And she knew that she'd said too much. She should have fucking kept quiet. Like fucking seriously. The crushed look on Rachel's face was not good for her heart, and especially not for the diva's confidence, which already took a severe hit yesterday.
Rachel huffed, "And so what?" she questioned, taking a small step back to create some space between them. "Are you embarrassed that people know you're my girlfriend?"
"No!" Santana quickly blurted out, because fuck, it wasn't even like that, but of course Rachel was going to assume that it was. "No Tiny, I-" she cut herself off and sighed, "Fuck, Tiny, it's just 'cuz even though we're, like, out at school, maybe we shouldn't just announce it everywhere."
Rolling her eyes, Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and stomped her foot. "Are we seriously going to have this conversation again, Santana?" she bit her lip and turned her head to the side, staring pointedly at the wall for a good thirty seconds, "We've come this far, and you're ready to go back into the closet with me?"
The Latina was digging herself into an even bigger hole with each word she said, and she could feel that. Fuck, you know! Like... why did she have to say stupid things like that? And why did she have to get embarrassed over some stupid t-shirt? It didn't even fucking matter, because if people had anything to say about it, they could just go fuck themselves instead. They just wished they had a hot-as-fuck midget girlfriend to support them!
"Rachel, I... I didn't mean it like that..." Santana mumbled then, awkwardly shuffling on her feet, as she looked up at her girlfriend, who'd, thankfully, turned her eyes back on her and was watching with a slightly open mouth. "You know I love how far we've come, and I love how you're so out-spoken and not afraid to be truly yourself, but... that's you, not me. I can be myself back at McKinley because that's familiar, I'm comfortable there and I can control those bitches, but..." she reached a hand out and grabbed Rachel's smaller one, squeezing it tightly, "It's different here, these are people that..."
"That you'll never see again." Rachel finished, but she didn't let go of her hand, which told Santana that on some level the other girl understood her. Sure, Santana had never been afraid to be herself, except when it came to her sexuality. Coming out in Lima had been huge, and she'd cried herself to sleep the first couple of days, and even Rachel didn't know that, only her mother did. It just wasn't easy for her to go around parading Rachel off as her girlfriend, especially not when this world still was full of morons.
Santana sighed. "I know, I'm just..."
Rachel offered her a little smile then, and stepped closer to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her midsection. She laid her head on her chest and rubbed her back, and Santana relaxed then, tugging the girl even closer, as her own head found a perfect spot on top of Rachel's. They stood like that for a few seconds, just breathing in and out, and there were people passing them in the hallway, and they could hear the music thumping from inside the gymnasium, but it felt good, and it was exactly what Santana needed right now.
"You know," Rachel murmured into her hair, "you're being silly, but I'm here for you. And it's gonna be alright, it's gonna be okay."
Santana sighed, no doubt in her mind that Rachel was right.
"Oh!" Rachel said then, pulling away from the Latina with a giant grin, "That reminds of this song I used to listen to!" she giddily said and opened her mouth to take in a breath.
Horrified that someone was going to hear, Santana lounged forward to cover her mouth with her hand, but unfortunately she wasn't quick enough, because Rachel was belting out the lyrics before she had time to stop her.
"It's gonna be aaaalright, it's gonna be A – okay, I'm gonna stay by your side, girl, you make my day! It's gonna be aaaalright, don't you worry-"
"Don't start singing!" the Latina hissed, and finally succeeded putting her hand across her mouth. Rachel just stared at her with displeased eyes, but she seemed to have gotten the hint, because she closed her mouth beneath the cheerleader's hand and continued to slowly giggle instead. Dropping her hand from her girlfriend's mouth, Santana rolled her eyes at her. "You're too much."
Rachel just smiled back at her, and Santana found herself grinning goofily back like some complete moron, and the two of them stared at each other for a little while, until someone cleared their throat next to them, and Santana's head snapped to the side, to see who dared interrupt the little sickenly cute lovefest she was having with her girlfriend. She paused though, when she came face to face with one of the most beautiful girls she'd ever seen. Like seriously. She was even more beautiful than Quinn. And she was taller than Brittany, and curvier, if that was even possible. And her beautiful long curls were framing her face delicately, while her pitch-black eyes shimmered with laughter.
"Am I interrupting something?" she questioned, and smoothed the top of her Camels cheerleading uniform down.
She's from Carmel, Santana thought, as she opened her mouth to tell her to get the fuck out of there and leave them alone, but before she actually had the chance to utter those words, Rachel had flung herself into the other girl's arms, and the Afro-American cheerleader was laughing while she spun them around in a little circle, lifting the little diva several inches over the floor.
Santana furrowed her brow and frowned. What the fuck?
Laughing, this girl placed a lingering kiss to Rachel's cheek as she placed her back onto the ground, "I'd know that voice anywhere, Ray." she whispered.
The Latina frowned even more. Ray? What the frigging fucking frack?
Rachel pealed herself out of her arms and said, "Mandy! What are you doing here?" she gasped as her eyes caught sight of the light blue and white colours of Carmel, "Are you a cheerleader now? I didn't see that one coming."
And suddenly everything fell into place for Santana. Mandy? Amanda. Amanda Adams. Azimio's little sister. The little sister who had had her tongue down her girlfriend's throat once upon a time. The girl who did not look anything like her big, lumpy brother, but actually the exact opposite. That was so not fair! No one ever told her that Amanda Adams was so beautiful. Seriously, stuff like that should come with a warning. Like, when you get a girlfriend you really love and want to keep, there should be a label for these sort of things. 'Warning: Comes with stunning ex-girlfriend'. Yeah, that sounded about right in Santana's ears.
How was this – in any way – fucking fair?
Amanda did a funny little twirl on the tips of her toes. "Well, I had to do something with a bit of a resemblance to ballet. I would have joined Vocal Adrenaline since they're our school's royalty, but I can't carry a tune – you remember that don't you? - and show choir never really did anything for me."
Rachel's light laughter rung out in the almost empty hallway. "Oh, you could sing just fine, Mandy! But I'm sure you're a wonderful cheerleader, too."
Amanda shrugged her shoulders, and Santana didn't miss the way that her eyes surveyed over Rachel's lithe body in an appreciative way, before they locked onto Rachel's face again, just shining with love and adoration. Santana felt her throat grow tighter for a second, before she was met with those black eyes herself, and the other girl frowned slightly.
Sensing the awkwardness, Rachel quickly took a step to the side, and Santana was relieved when she claimed her rightful spot by wrapping an arm around her waist like she usually would. "Oh Mandy! This is my girlfriend." she said and smiled brightly up at Santana, which made the cheerleader feel even better.
The other cheerleader stuck her hand out, "I'm Amanda Adams. I assume your name is Santana?" she laughed, nudging her head towards the infamous t-shirt.
The Latina made sure to squeeze her hand a little too tightly. "That's right. You're Azimio's sister?"
The black girl nodded.
"He's a douche."
"Santana!" Rachel gasped, slapping her lightly on the stomach, just to prove her point.
The other girl didn't look offended, but Santana made sure to add to it, "Don't say he's not, Tiny, he's been slushying you for two years. He's a moron."
Rachel shot Amanda an apologetic smile. "Perhaps he's a bit of a Neanderthal..." she trailed off, but it only lasted a second, before she drew in a new breath and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, "So how are you doing? Are you dating?"
Amanda shook her head. "No. I mean... I go on the occasional date with some boys just to keep my parents off my back. Everyone at home knows I'm gay, but they all like to pretend that I'm just focusing on school and that's why I don't bring boys home." she shuffled on her feet and nudged the toe of her shoe into the ground, "There's not really any interesting girls here either... No one I just click with. Like you, Ray."
The diva's grip tightened around Santana's waist for a second. "Oh..."
"But I see you're dating!" the other girl continued, wearing a smile that looked absolutely forced. "And you're out and everything?" she paused while Rachel offered a nod, "That's really good for you guys." she turned to Santana then and smiled softly at her, "You're lucky to have her."
"We've been together for a few months." Santana just replied, to make sure that the other girl knew her limits; the Latina knew she was lucky to have Rachel, she didn't need some stranger telling her that, and she really couldn't explain why, but just the way that the other girl looked at her midget? It was unsettling. Plus... there was just something with the way that Rachel looked at her, too, and it worried Santana, it really did.
She didn't want to sound like some fucking moron, but crap. She was worried about this.
There was an uncomfortable, tension-filled silence between them then, as Santana clung tightly onto Rachel, and the blast from the past tilted back and forth on her feet. Rachel was glancing at her though, wearing that award winning smile, and all they could hear was their breathing as it rasped in and out.
Swallowing loudly, Amanda said then, "You look really good though, Ray." she nodded her head slightly, "You still work out, I reckon?"
"Yes, you know me." Rachel smiled as she slipped slightly from Santana's side, "I have my specific workout regimen, and I must stay true to it. I'm still following my special diet, too."
Turning her wrist over as Amanda responded and she tuned her out, Santana knew that she had to go inside and change now, because the winner would be announced shortly, and she had to be ready before so. But she wasn't really feeling that great about leaving Rachel and this person alone. What would happen if she did? She sighed though, because she didn't want to get her ass chewed out by Quinn or Coach Sylvester. Grabbing Rachel's shoulder, she cut the diva off mid-ramble and threw her a sideways grin, "I'm gonna go change." she whispered, before she placed her lips to Rachel's for good measure.
And she might've thrown a saying glare in Amanda's direction as she turned on her heel and caught her eye. Just might've. But she could hear her and Rachel continue their chatter until the door into the dressing room was shut firmly behind her, and as soon as it was, she groaned loudly and stomped across the floor with thumping feet.
Brittany gave her a questionable look as she pulled off her top and threw it on the bench next to the blonde. "What's wrong, S?" she asked, and the concern in her voice was just adorable.
The Latina ignored her for a second and angrily pulled down her skirt and spanks, too, in rough movements, before she kicked off her sneakers and they hammered against the wall, which caused Quinn to turn to her too with a raised eyebrow.
"S?" she hissed.
Santana cursed beneath her breath and ripped the towel out of her bag. "There's a fucking hot cheerleader outside – hitting on my girlfriend!"
The look on Quinn's face was one of pure confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Remember when Rachel told you about her past experience with Azimio's little sister?" she groaned as she tugged the towel beneath the water in the sink and tried to quickly clean herself in the face and other important places. "She's on Carmel's fucking cheerleading team and she just so happened to come by and see Rachel, and when I left them out there, talking, she was eye-fucking my girlfriend!"
At some point, the tone of her voice had reached shrill, but she was pass the point of really caring. That damn hottie outside and her damn way of knowing Rachel – and things about Rachel – that Santana never would due to obvious reasons. Fucking fuck and crap and damn and shit and other stuff, too! She's going to take my girlfriend, I know it, she's going to hit on her!
Brittany placed a comforting hand on Santana's arm, "San, you should totally just calm down. Rachel's like super in love with you, so even though Azimio's sister eye-fucks her, she'd never eye-fuck her back."
Quinn nodded. "She does have a point, S."
"You didn't fucking see her!" Santana argued as she leaned down to pull on a clean pair of spanks and a clean sports-bra, "You weren't fucking there to see how pretty she was. Not at all like her fucking brother, no!" she shook her head and reached for her skirt, "She was all tall and beautiful and 'Ray, you look so pretty, do you still work out?'!" she bit her lip and sat down on the bench then, wrapping her head inside her hands.
Quinn sighed heavily. "Why are you jealous? Santana, that's not like you. And plus, Rachel loves you. She drove all the way out here by herself to support you today, and she's wearing a 'Team Santana' t-shirt. What does that tell you? She's nuts about you."
Santana just mumbled. "You didn't see her..." she trailed off, and stared up at her oldest friend then, willing her to see that this was a serious problem. She wanted Quinn to get it, because Brittany sure as fuck wouldn't understand, but Quinn might. Quinn had to. "She hasn't been dating anyone, and she obviously liked Rachel again the second she saw her!" she groaned, "And Rachel? Rachel looked at her like the sun shines out of her ass or somethin'."
Quinn furrowed her brow for a second, before she turned around on her heel and crossed the dressing room. With one hand on the doorhandle, she told everyone to shut the fuck up, before she pulled the door open and peeked outside with one eye. Santana could only see her back and nothing else, and everyone was watching their head-cheerleader, barely comfortable with breathing. The blonde girl only had the door open for about twenty seconds or so, before she let it fall shut with a barely audible clasp.
She turned around then and looked at Santana uncertainly. "Holy shit, she really is stunning." she breathed out then, and Santana leaned back and clonked her head into the wall.
As all talk resumed in the dressing room and Quinn returned and took a seat next to her on the bench, Brittany wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and brushed her hair away from her forehead. "San, you're really super stunning too, and you know what? Rachel doesn't wanna date this other girl, she wanna date you, because you're, like, her crab and stuff."
Turning her head to the side, the Latina sighed. "What do you mean, I'm her crab?"
"When they're old," Brittany replied in a 'you should seriously know this, and why don' you?'-sort of way, as she pulled her arm away and linked her fingers together, "they walk in the tank, holding the claws."
Quinn snorted.
Santana closed her eyes; she so did not have the energy to deal with this right now, but she knew she had to. "What? I – I'm sorry, I don't get it, Britt. In the tank?"
Brittany nodded eagerly. "Yeah! They hold the claws, in the tank. Phoebe Buffay told me, and she's like, my idol because she's the best singer in the world, right after me, of course. And my favourite song is My Headband, but right after that it's Smelly Cat, because it's about a cat, and it always gets Charity and Lord Tubbington very happy when they're both on Atkins and eating a lot of cheese." she nodded again, "I saw it on TV with my friends."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I saw that too, B, and I'm pretty sure that those weren't crabs, but lobsters."
"That's what I said." Brittany replied, before she did the claw-thing again with a saying smile in Santana's direction.
Turning her head to the side, the Latina stared at her other blonde friend with a desperate look on her face, and Quinn took mercy on her; kneeling down in front of her, the HBIC placed her hands on Santana's knees and pulled her nose to Santana's so their faces were inches apart. "Listen to me Santana Lopez," she whispered in a firm voice, "that girl might have had something with Rachel once upon a time, but you're her girlfriend. She's dating you! She loves you more than anything, it shines right out of her whenever she's with you. And you need to get over these stupid insecurities that you're feeling right now, because it's really quite pathetic and not at all the girl I know and love. So you get dressed and you march your butt out there and let her know who got the girl, okay?"
Santana stared right into those familiar brown eyes, and the power inside of them told her that she could do this; she had to do this. So she gave a sharp nod, before she stood up abruptly and stepped aside Quinn. She grabbed her Cheerios top and told Brittany to take care of her shit, before she marched right out of that dressing room with determination.
But she so wouldn't have had to worry, because the second she came outside, she found Rachel (alone) leaning against the wall. The diva lit up completely when she saw who it was, and Santana stepped closer, placing a lingering kiss on her cheek.
"You all clean now?" Rachel whispered, letting her hands roam down the cheerleader's body in appreciation. "I'm sorry about the t-shirt. I won't ever wear it again." she promised.
Santana shrugged her shoulders, because that fucking didn't matter. "What happened to Amanda?" she questioned instead. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that something wasn't really as it was supposed to.
Rachel lightly replied, "She had to go with her team. They're getting ready to announce the winners soon."
Why did it feel like there was something Rachel wasn't telling her?
"You're gonna win, Baby." Rachel whispered, before she pulled the Latina's head down for a kiss; their lips mashing together as they stood in the empty hallway. Santana couldn't help but let herself sink into the kiss, even though something still felt slightly off. She enjoyed it though, and couldn't ignore the flutter of her heart when Rachel breathed out her name, before she placed her head on her chest and closed her eyes to breathe her in.
Santana let her head rest on top of hers and her arms wrap around her then, holding onto the moment for a little while longer.
The two were only broken out of their little spell, when the door to the dressing room was smacked open and her team emerged. "S!" Quinn barked as she passed her, and Brittany stood there, holding out her duffel bag, "We need to get into the gym. Get in position."
"We probably won't see each other afterwards, because we're going to celebrate with Coach." Santana quickly told Rachel as she brushed a piece of her hair back.
The diva grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow then? For your birthday." she sang.
Santana gave her lips another peck in excitement, before she grabbed her duffel bag and turned around on her heel, running down the hallway to catch up with the rest of her team. They had to go get that fucking trophy.
I'm back! A little quicker than before, thank you very much ;-) I hope that you enjoyed this chapter; after much contemplating and haven been asked a bunch of times about Amanda, I decided to bring her into the story. Up until this point I really hadn't decided, partly because I still wasn't sure in which direction I wanted the end to go, but now I'm certain, so I brought Amanda in for a little colour and drama. I hope that's alright with everybody :) next chapter is Santana's birthday!
And about last chapter... Some of you were furious about the waiter dude, and I understand that. Had someone said that to my girl, I would have decked him, too. But it does happen a lot, especially when girls are out together. I've seen it happen to my friends a lot of times. Some idiot always thinks that he can hit on someone or comment on their relationship, it's nauseating. Oh. And just to make it clear to everybody! I think Lea Michele is absolutely stunning, as if my big inappropriate celebrity crush on her isn't proof of that. But on the show the general idea has been that Rachel is not pretty – at least that's what everyone seems to believe, whereas Santana has always been one of the pretty girls. So I just wanted to stay true to the idea of the show, and a big part of Rachel is her insecurities about her looks and being compared to Santana AND Quinn. So yeah. I'm sorry if I got some of you upset with that, but rest assured, Lea Michele is gorgeous in my eyes :)
I can't wait for Prom Queen, I seriously cannot. The FIVE songs are all fantastic (I am not going to comment on Friday, because in my opinion, that noise is not a song – no offence to anyone who might actually like Rebecca Black?), but I especially really loved Rachel singing Jar of Hearts. And I can't wait to have Jesse back – hopefully it'll be interesting, and I love me some Jon Groff ;-)
Thanks for reading! :D
Disclaimer; I don't own Glee, or RENT or not Friends either (which is where the lobster comment is from... I used to be obsessed with that show!). Oh. And the song that Rachel sang some lyrics of? It's called 'It's Gonna Be Alright' and it's by Zididada.