Santana went to school the next day with a black eye. To her surprise, wherever she went, she was applauded by the students. There were even posters spread out in protest against racism and prejudice. Santana wasn't looking for social justice, but if her schoolmates saw it this way: good for them. Not that Finn was a bad person. No, he wasn't. Finn Hudson was trying to be a nice, decent guy. He's trying to get it right. But he's also somebody who had the emotional intelligence of a 10-year-old boy, as well as having lived his whole life in a bubble, being overprotected by his mother. In addition, Finn was protected at the school by the ensemble he represented: jock, good guy, good looks, white. That is why Finn had little sensitivity to the different. He didn't understand the systemic ways to make things uneven. That's what made him outed Santana, or fail to understand the deeper issues surrounding the disputes between Mercedes and Rachel over the competition grounds. Santana understood these aspects about Finn Hudson, but that didn't make her like him.

During lunch, Santana helped herself a salad, milk carton and grilled meat. She rarely dispensed meat at school, since she didn't have a chance to eat it at the Berries'. The cheerio sat at the table with her friends from the choir.

"If anyone here asks any stupid questions about what happened yesterday or about my sex life, you will suffer the consequences." Santana said in a tone to make it clear that the threats she made were concrete.

"Did you hear that Schuester will announce the set list for our final presentation? It looks like he's going to ask us to make Queen again." Mercedes said, while Santana cut the piece of meat and tasted it. "San, we need to do something."

"I like Queen. It's a classic." Artie snapped. "I don't know what the problem is?"

"The problem is that we didn't take risks." Mercedes snorted.

"That's not true. We took a lot of risks last year when we made the original songs. We went to nationals!" Artie pondered.

"And we lost in the moment Finn wrote that horrible song to do the duet with Rachel. Mr. Schue chose Finn's music over the one that Santana and I wrote." Tina complained.

"Light Up The World is Santana's lyrics." Kurt said.

"The song that Tina and I wrote was more a lullaby than a ballad." Santana said to the group. "Schuester was going to give it to Berry and Hudson anyway. I'm even glad he chose that horrible Pretending, and that Berry and Hudson made out up on stage. It's their fault that we lost, not ours. So, I'm good."

Kurt looked at her best friend, who was approaching the table. Rachel was still unsure whether or not she could sit there with Santana and Brittany, who was also at the table. But Kurt waved her over and motioned for her to sit next to him. There was a silence when Rachel joined the group. Everyone immediately looked at Santana and Brittany, trying to read their expressions. That Brittany barely tolerated Rachel, was known and that wouldn't change, but Santana was another story, and she was the one who broke the ice.

"I hope you won't run after Mr. Schuester to gossip about what we're talking about here... or go call your boring boyfriend!" Santana grunted.

"I respect our agreement, Santana: I don't interfere in Troubletones, and you don't interfere in my solo. Besides, Finn and I broke up."

Another awkward moment of silence, until it was Brittany's turn to break it.

"It's about time!" The dancer looked at her with natural indifference. "What? Finn is a boy with the personality of a door, who looks more like a billboard with motivational messages. He's practically Mr. Schuester's lost son!"

A moment of tension in the air, until Blaine burst out laughing, making the others follow. In general, apart from Kurt and Rachel, everyone agreed with that.

"We need to do something like Alicia Keys with Amy Winehouse for Troubletones." Santana suggested Mercedes, after the moment of laughter passed.

"Just like that jam we did the other day."

As Mercedes spoke a few points about the Troubletones' part of the presentation, Santana saw Rachel's expression of disgust at her eating the meat. The cheerio shook her head and smiled. Artie suggested some songs for the group number, which were discussed animatedly by those present. But the group didn't understand very well when Santana "suddenly" got up and said she needed to pee. It was just a lame excuse to not talk about the pain she knew very well, a little milder than the first, but that still bothered her. The captain just needed to get to a quieter place and wait for the transformation to pass and the music room was empty.

"Something wrong?" Rachel had followed her wife. She was concerned to see Santana sit in one of the chairs, to bend her legs so that she could lean her chin against her knees.

"It's just the return. It will pass in an instant."

"The return?" Rachel sat down next to Santana and only then did she realize what it was about. "Oh, that return."

"Yes." Santana took a deep breath. The pain was already passing. "Say bye-bye to mini-Lopez… thank god!"

"This Lopez in question is definitely not a mini, Santana." Rachel smiled and rubbed her wife's back. "What can I do for you?"

"There's not much to do but wait a few minutes. It's already getting better. Seriously. The return isn't so bad."

Rachel put her hand on Santana's back and was relieved when she saw that her wife relaxed her legs again.

"How are you?" Rachel asked.

"Better now." Santana stared at her wife and took advantage of the room's discretion and isolation. "Don't you think they're fine with us at that table?"

"Is what it seems." Rachel nodded. "It wasn't the first time our choir saw a fighting between our own, or that Finn punched someone. Do you remember Beth's father?"

"Ah, yeah… I remember. At least that punch was well done."

Rachel was silent for a moment. She stared at the door, thinking that someone else would follow Santana or herself, like Quinn or Brittany, but no one came.

"It looks like you and Brittany are fine, despite us..."

"She's not fine, Rachel. We aren't fine." Santana cut it off in irritation. "She broke up with me. We dated for solid two years, and this was the first time that I cheated on her. She is still trying to understand what happened. I'm sure we'll be friends not matter what. But she is not fine. Me neither."

"I'm sorry for the situation, I'm sorry that she is upset, and quite rightly... but I don't regret our night."

"I still don't know what to think. Our sex time was... great. We... we have chemistry in bed, at least. But the consequences were pretty nasty."

"I agree. Finn and I broke up too."

"Well, good for you. You deserved better."

"Who is better? You?"

"Maybe."

"You confused me."

"I'm confused with all this situation. None of this is easy, Rachel."

"Fair enough." Rachel nodded. "But how are we?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should take some steps back. Try to be friends before jump into each other's bones again."

"We can do that." Rachel smiled. "Are you coming home after school, or are you going to sleep at your parents' again?"

"I'm coming home."

Rachel stood up.

"See you at the Glee Club."

…

There was a great expectation in the choir. Finn was still suspended, there were protest signs around the school, and even people asking for William Schuester's resignation. Santana didn't want this problem for her teacher, after all, the guy had his own leaves, like any human being on planet Earth. Schuester played double standards and that was a fact, but that wouldn't be worth his job. All they could do was try to learn from the situation. All New Directions were seated waiting for the teacher, except Finn Hudson. Everyone was eager to see what he would say. When Schuester arrived at the music room, he faced the students. He put his hands together and nodded before speaking.

"Good afternoon." Schuester started. "I had already apologized in private, but I would like to do it again here, face to face with Santana and the rest of you. I would like to apologize for yesterday's unfortunate scenes, and I would like to apologize for my poor judgment. I wasn't aware of what was going on, I confess that I acted according to our past experiences. Santana generated some noise among us before, and that led me to believe that she was the one to blame. It was a regrettable error of judgment. We argue, we fight, but physical violence is unjustifiable, and even more abominable when that violence starts from a man against a woman. Santana, will you forgive me for my poor judgment?"

"Mr. Schuester, I forgive you. But I don't think it's just a matter of forgiving a poor judgment. I believe that you need also rethink about your favorites and about what you said once that just being in a choir makes us all minorities. This is not true outside this room, nor is it true inside this room. Think about it, Mr. Schuester. I'm not asking for special treatment because of my color, my ethnic background, or my sexuality. I'm just asking you to understand that being in an unpopular group doesn't make Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson less privileged here or outside this room."

"I understand. I will reflect on it. Promise."

"Mr. Schuester?" Sugar Motta raised her arm.

"What, Sugar?'

"If Santana was kicked out for fighting Rachel, does that mean Finn will be kicked out too?"

Schuester bowed his head. Those past 48 hours made him face an unwanted reflection of himself.

…

Saturday was approaching and Rachel was a nervous wreck. It wasn't just any Saturday, but Nyada's round of auditions. Rachel and Kurt were going to Chicago, where auditions would take place, and perform. It wouldn't be any performance. It was Rachel's first chance to show Nyada's professors that she deserved to be accepted. She knew who would be on the selection stand: Carmen Tibideaux. The professor was famous both for being one of the greatest singer trainers, director and for being demanding and difficult. Tibideaux was Nyada's Fletcher, minus the part of physical abuse and the vindictive persona. The professor wasn't impressed by clever speeches, jokes, performances full of frills, costumes or attempts at seduction. Tibideaux cared and looked only for excellence.

Rachel didn't understand why Nyada's most notorious professor and the director of the drama arts school decided to be at that audition in Chicago. Usually it was professors with less curriculum who needed to do such work. The big names in the art school usually participated in the graduation boards, in the final exams, not in the auditions.

"What are we going to do, Kurt?" Rachel walked with her friend through the streets of Lima, on her way to the cafe they liked so much.

"Don't think about it and do your best."

"But what if it goes wrong? What if we invest so much in a single dream that it can go nowhere? What if Santana is right?"

"What? Does Santana say anything about our dream? I bet she puts you down, especially now that she's been accepted into CCNY."

"No, you're wrong. It's amazing how Santana supports me these days since we talked about our relationship status. The point is that she always stresses how risky it's to bet all my chips on a single dream. If something goes wrong, I don't have a solid plan B, just improvisations."

"Said the girl who only was accepted at CCNY because her ex-girlfriend filled out the forms."

"Brittany sent in the forms, but Santana had already filled everything or almost everything. She forgot the deadline because of our marriage. But she's a good student, Kurt, with good grades, good SAT's. Santana was accepted at two universities, and she only goes to CCNY because I didn't give her another choice."

"She is going to New York because it's a place where she can study and still try a spot in the sun! Make no mistake, Rachel." Kurt warned. "You can even get along with her in bed, but never forget that we're talking about Satan."

"Santana is not like that all the time. She acts like a bitch at school and in the choir, but at home she is not like that. She is nice and quiet. She's even helpful."

"Anyway, it's Satan."

Rachel had Kurt's words in her head for the rest of the day. When she got home, after a coffee with Kurt, Rachel went into Santana's room and found her wife packing. The cheerios would leave for Nashville in the next day for the finals of the national cheerleader championship. That's the reason Santana couldn't accompany Rachel in the auditions for Nyada.

Rachel stood for a moment at the bedroom door, just watching Santana organize the uniform that would be used exclusively for the competition, and the regular clothes. She noticed that Santana separated a shiny and sexy black dress.

"Are you going to a party in Nashville?" Rachel asked crossing her arms, her conversation with Kurt still fresh in mind.

"That?" Santana pointed to the dress and smiled. "It's a cheerio tradition to bypass Sue's surveillance and going to a party with the other teams."

"A party when you should be competing? Very responsible, Lopez. Don't forget that you are a married woman."

"Yes, I am married, Berry. But I'm still 18 and I'm not dead! I'm going to dance a little, drink a little and nothing else, despite all those other cheerios that are into me."

"Is that what you think I'm concerned about? We're still figuring things out, and fidelity is not in our prenuptial contract." Rachel spoke indignantly, unable to hide her jealousy.

It's something new for her: feeling jealous of her wife. Rachel was always jealous of her wife's beauty, of how she was naturally impetuous and attentive, a much better dancer despite her lack of training, or her popularity at school. Hearing Santana imply that she attracted the eyes of other girls (and boys too) was something very different from the recurring envy. Rachel felt an urge to fight with Santana over such an overture. It wasn't just the sex that changed their relationship. The transformations deepened. Santana smiled, feeling the jealousy emanating from Rachel. She allowed herself to come closer and kissed Rachel. They had agreed to take it slow. Well, a few kisses and nothing more were going slow.

"You don't have to face the audition for Nyada like you have to be perfect to win Fanny Bryce's part." For Santana, it was obvious that Rachel, in her self-centered persona, would care only about her problems, without caring about looking the big picture.

"And isn't it almost that? Don't you think I'm going to have a defining moment in my life on Saturday while you're at a cheer party, with girls throwing themselves at you in Nashville?"

"First, I won't be at a party on Saturday, because it's the competition's day. Then, on Saturday, I will be climbing on someone's shoulders, raising my arms and waving pompoms." Santana simulated the position. "I will be judged by the most futile criteria possible, and I will hear screams from Sue Sylvester more than anything else because I am in the captain. But that's okay, because that's how the system works."

"Are you going to miss it after it's all over?" Rachel pondered, curious to know more about the backstage.

"Yes and no." Santana stopped for a moment to pack and looked at her wife. "I'm definitely not going to miss Sue's screams, nor having to put the other cheerios in place, because if I hesitate for a second, I would have to bear several daggers on my back. Quinn Fabray taught me that very well. I'm definitely not going to miss waking up early to train at half past six in the morning three times a week. On the other hand, I will miss the jokes, the smiles, how we support each other in the toughest exercises."

"And are you going to miss Brittany." Rachel said again with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I don't need cheerios for Brittany to be a part of my life." Santana replied sharply, but soon tried to change the subject. It was still complicated and painful to talk about her ex-girlfriend, as much as she and Rachel are getting along. "What did you prepare for your audition?"

"I'm in doubt between Don't rain on my parade and My Man." Rachel frowned when she saw the expression of someone who wasn't impressed at all. "What? This is my life, Santana. It's the defining moment and I need to sing my best song."

"Do you think that doing Barbra Streisand vocal cosplay is the best you can do? Please!" Santana shook her head.

"This is my life." Rachel raised her tone. "Don't make fun of it."

"Listen, you're going to be in an auditorium with a bitch and extremely strict professor who will ask you some questions and will hear you sing. You don't have to do anything extraordinary, you don't have to show that you're ready. You survived the first selection when Nyada cut about 80% of the candidates. They don't want a ready formed artist. They want someone with talent, who shows some personality, but above all, that they can shape and still be sure that this student will finish the course and pay. And you fit the profile perfectly. You have nothing to worry about. Just sing ... I don't know ... Another Brink In The Wall, and it will be all right."

Santana started saying silly things about the cheerios competitions that Rachel didn't pay attention to. All she could think about was the fact that her wife was going to a party wearing an incredibly sexy outfit with Brittany and other girls. Meanwhile, Rachel would be in an auditorium to prove her life, in front of the worst examiner possible. She wanted to fight and say some ironic insults. Instead, she went to her own room, picked up the phone, and decided to call the last person she was supposed to talk to.

"Rachel? Hi." He heard Finn's voice on the phone.

"Hi." Rachel sighed and then fell silent.

"Rach? Are you okay?" Finn sounded concerned. "Did Santana do anything to you? Because if she did, I swear..."

"It's not about Santana." Rachel interrupted her ex-boyfriend. "It is in a way, but it's not that she has done anything. It was just about something she said to me."

"What she said?"

"That I don't have a plan B. That this is unwise."

"I would say it's risky, but not necessarily unwise. It's a sign that you dedicate all your strength and soul to do a touchdown." Finn said in a calm and confident voice. It was also exactly what Rachel wanted to hear. "Do you already know what you're going to sing?"

"Don't Rain On My Parade."

"Sounds good. It's your best play."

"I miss you so much!" Rachel confessed on the phone. "What you did was unforgivable, yet I miss you."

"I feel the same. I feel like dying when I see Santana with you at school. But it was my fault and I've already apologized to you, to her and everybody else. I know I shouldn't have punch Santana. I was so out of my mind, and I've learnt my lesson."

"Santana and I... it only happened once. She... Santana is not a bad person. After you known her beyond the HBIC persona, you discover that she has a heart and she can be a good friend. But I still don't know if I can love her as much as I loved you."

"I still love you too, Rach. I'm sorry what happened to us."

It was really hard for Finn to hear such words from Rachel. He understood that Santana wasn't just an obstacle to his happiness with Rachel: she was a real competition that was gaining ground every day. He needed to do something. She couldn't just sit with my arms crossed and loose the love of his life.