A/N - Currently scrambling to post this before work bc I forgot to post earlier LOL. Someone's going to be late today! Anyways, somewhat of a shorter chapter this week. I think the Epilogue for LITL kind of took it out of me. Enjoy!

The following afternoon Santana is at cheer practice standing front and center as Coach Roz Washington gives the squad a lesson on perfection. Really, she's just taking them all on another trip down Olympic memory lane. Not a day goes by that there isn't a constant reminder of why Coach Roz struts around wearing a bronze medal all the time and how they could also have medals if they took practice seriously.

Honestly, if Santana wanted a tacky medal that badly then she'd just buy one.

In fact, she stopped paying attention after the third time Coach Roz referenced her bronze damn Olympic medal. Now she's just clock-watching because practice was meant to be over fifteen minutes ago which is a total drag, but Santana finds that there's just a little satisfaction in being late.

Why? Because fifteen minutes ago, she was meant to be meeting Brittany at the library and there's something about making her wait that's truly satisfying.

\\

By the time Santana gets to the library, she finds Brittany sitting alone at a table near the back of the study section. She's nose deep in a book and surrounded by others along with her laptop. As Santana approaches, piercing blue eyes meet hers over the top of the hardcover Brittany holds.

There's a loud snap of the book closing before Brittany's setting it down and crossing her arms.

"So you finally decided to join me?" She says in a clipped tone then looks to her watch, "Thirty minutes after the time you suggested by the way."

Santana does her best to keep from snickering and just raises her coffee cup in greeting.

"What? I like to make an entrance," She replies with a cheeky grin. Brittany's quick to roll her eyes as Santana takes a seat across from her. She notes what looks like mathematical equations and scrunches her nose, "What's all this?"

"My work," Brittany answers shortly before gathering it all in a neat stack. "I figured I might as well do something productive here since you decided to take your sweet time."

Santana lets out a laugh, "Practice ran late so technically it's not my fault. Take your complaints to Coach Roz. I'm sure she'd love to hear them."

"And the coffee?" Brittany points out, "Is that a technicality too?"

Santana bites the inside of her cheek. This girl will be the death of her, she's such a smart ass!

"No," Santana replies proudly, "That was all me. Didn't think you'd mind."

"Oh no, not at all," Brittany says sarcastically. "And it's okay, I didn't want anything. Thanks for asking though."

"Just reading your mind," Santana smirks before taking a sip.

Brittany's stare hardens before she takes a calming breath and her expression shifts into a forced smile, like it's taking everything in her not to get up and walk out. Being the little shit Santana can be, she loves every minute of it.

"So," Brittany says in a more pleasant tone, "Are we here to waste more of my time or is there a real reason you wanted to meet?"

Although Brittany wears a smile and although her tone is pleasant, Santana can still feel that she's on thin ice so she dials down the sass…for now.

"We need to work out the," Santana pauses and looks around to make sure they're completely alone. Assured, she continues, "The details of our arrangement."

Brittany narrows her eyes, not understanding.

"We've spent a year hating each other. There's no way people won't think something is up if all of a sudden we're dating," Santana explains in a hushed tone. "We need a game plan."

"True," Brittany nods. "Before, you'd hook up with any girl that looked your way and now you actually have taste."

"Cute," Santana sneers. "Anyway, we have to ease into this. Right? Puck's onto something with the whole spending time with each other because of the assignment thing but I don't know if that's enough."

"Do you think people will really pay that much attention?" Brittany questions, "I know I've said you're self-absorbed but really?"

Santana chooses to ignored that second part, "I'm trying to cover our asses. This thing has to be water tight, okay? We need a story, an alibi. I've suddenly been taken off the market, people are going to notice and they're going to talk. It's inevitable."

"Wow," Brittany shakes her head with a laugh, "Off the market? What are you, a prized cow?"

Santana doesn't look too amused, "Yes. I'm your prized cow so what's our game plan?"

"Why are you asking me? This whole thing is your bright idea."

"No, it's Puck's," Santana replies. "Besides, don't you love asserting your ideas and opinions first? I'm just biting the bullet now because I don't want to be here all day."

"You don't want to be here all day?" Brittany's eyes widen in disbelief but she lets that comment roll off of her too. "Fine. So first thing's first – how did we start dating? Who asked who first?"

Santana frowns, "What do you mean who asked who? This isn't prom."

"So? There's still and asker and an askee."

"Askee?"

"Yes Santana, how do you think relationships happen?"

"The other person never leaves?"

Brittany lets out a huff, "You know what? Nevermind. If anyone asks – it was me, I asked you out first."

Santana looks completely offended, "What? Why does it get to be you?"

"Because you never make the first move."

"That's so not true," Santana gasps, "I make moves! My moves are great. My moves get me laid!"

Brittany gives her an unimpressed look, "And yet I'm still trying to wrap my head around how. Anyway, back to the alibi."

"Right."

"Okay, I'm thinking," Brittany hums as she taps her chin. Santana watches as she sips her coffee until suddenly Brittany sits up like a light has just gone off, "Okay I got it."

"Yeah?"

"This has to be realistic, right? Otherwise no one will believe it," Brittany asks, "So how about this: we start off simple and easy. You've had a thing for me ever since I transferred here last year."

"What about that statement is realistic?"

Brittany ignores her, "You were completely blindsided by my beauty when I walked into class. It was basically love at first sight."

"No," Santana shakes her head, "No love. We are definitely not there."

"Okay fine," Brittany corrects herself, "It was like at first sight…but nothing ever happened because the timing was always wrong – "

"Naturally."

"You were always with someone else – "

"Dramatic."

"And so was I."

"Very dramatic."

"Can you stop?" Brittany groans, "Your interjections are making me lose my train of thought."

"They're not interjections. It's creative criticism. Deal with it, this is my story too."

"Whatever," Brittany huffs, "Anyway…like I said, nothing ever happened between us, but then this project was assigned. Everyone was broken up into teams, but those teams were special. They were formed by drawing names out of a hat."

"Interesting."

"And the name you chose was mine."

"Huh," Santana sits back only the slightest bit impressed and sips her coffee again. "Throwing in a little fate. Not bad."

"Totally. And get this," Brittany goes on, "We're both single at the same time for once."

"You know what that means," Santana wags her brows jokingly. "Someone's about to be wooed."

Brittany nods, "Working on this project meant having to spend loads of time together, something we weren't used to since we ran in different circles and we're both super busy with our extracurriculars. Mine being academic and yours being well…Heather, Ashley, Stephanie or whatever flavor of the week you're on."

Santana doesn't look amused, "Just get back to the story."

There's a mischievous glint in Brittany's eye as she continues, "So in our free time, we're always together but it starts becoming less about the studying. We eventually get to know each other more, past the obvious attraction for one another."

"Hang on, obvious?" Santana starts to smirk, "Do you find me attractive?"

It was meant to be a joke, harmless teasing if you will, and Santana anticipated Brittany brushing her off as per usual. Instead though, she swears she sees the slightest misstep in the usually quite calculated blonde.

In fact, one could say Santana might've even seen the slightest bit of a blush creep onto Brittany's cheeks. Again there was an odd sense of satisfaction in being able to embarrass Brittany while simultaneously feeding her own ego, but it doesn't last long.

"In this story which I'm currently making up," Brittany insists. "Yes. I do find you attra – Nope, I don't think I can bring myself to say it. I already feel nauseous."

"Ha. Ha," Santana says dully. Her ego's slightly bruised as she grumbles, "So funny."

"Anyway," Brittany continues. "As I was saying, studying. We were doing that."

"Yeah," Santana smirks. "Until we weren't…"

"I don't know," Brittany shrugs. "I'd drop hints that I liked you but they were going over your head. You were completely oblivious, because well…you're you."

"Okay, I don't know if I like that part."

"Tough."

"Rude."

"Anyway, on one of our late night study sessions," Brittany takes a dramatic pause. "Something happened."

"I found my lady balls?"

"You sure did," Brittany exclaims sarcastically. "And with them, you finally made a move!"

"Thank God! I was about to take over this story. Your portrayal of me is horrible."

"Well, if the shoe fits."

Santana resists the urge to knock over the stack of books closest to Brittany's laptop and instead pastes on a smile.

"What happened next?"

"You kissed me."

Santana's brows rise, "Oh did I? Now that sounds like something I'd do."

"Does it?" Brittany starts to snicker, "Because right after, you ran off like a scared little girl."

"What?" Santana gasps, "No! Why?"

"Apparently you thought you crossed a line," Brittany shrugs. "A classic case of not thinking I'd feel the same way, it happens so often. I'm sure there's an underlying reason you do that, probably something to do with realizing you actually suck."

Santana scoffs, "Wow."

"So instead of talking it out, you just bolted."

Santana shakes her head. "And I thought your portrayal of me was bad before..."

"Don't be mad at me," Brittany replies, "Be mad at yourself. You did this."

"I did not!" Santana huffs before realizing that they're arguing over a made up situation. So she drops it and points out a flaw in Brittany's story, "I thought you said I didn't make the first move?"

"You're right, you don't."

Santana starts to frown but Brittany follows up with another reply.

"You half-assed this first move, you know," Brittany starts to grin, "Like you half-ass most things."

"I don't half-ass anything."

"You do and you did this time as well because after you kissed me, you ran off," Brittany tells her, "I had to go after you and we had this whole Nicholas Sparks moment where I told you how I feel and everything."

"Nicholas Sparks?" Santana doesn't look impressed, "Bit basic. Were we standing outside in the rain or something too?"

"Even better," Brittany replies, "It was snowing. But not like the heavy kind, it was more of a flurry, the kind where the snowflakes stick to your eyelashes. It was very magical."

"Oddly specific, but okay."

"You asked," Brittany shrugs. "Anyway, I made this big romantic declaration about how I've liked you ever since I first saw you and how it was always you. It would totally put The Notebook to shame."

"Fuck The Notebook, what about me? This is all very one sided. I want a moment too!"

"Oh, you have a moment," Brittany assures her. "Your speech is just as good."

"Not better?"

"Of course not," Brittany smirks, "You told me how I'm the hottest, smartest, most impressive woman you've ever met and how you wished you would've made a move sooner because none of these randoms could compare to me. I've always been the one that got away."

"Laid it on thick there."

"Well, you have some strong feelings for me. You couldn't help it."

Santana lets out a laugh, "Yeah. They're strong alright."

"Anyway, I asked you out right there and we've been inseparable ever since," Brittany finally finishes. "Think you can manage to remember all that or should we go with something simpler and more realistic for you?"

Santana quirks her brow, "And what might that be?"

"Something that screams Santana. Something that's so true to your nature. Something that everyone who knows you would believe."

"Okay?"

"We matched on Tinder."

Santana's jaw drops while Brittany tosses her head back with a hearty laugh.

"That's not how I meet people, thank you very much!" Santana then pauses to rethink her statement. "Okay, it's not how I meet most people. Give me a little credit here."

"Whatever you say, dear."

"Dear?" Santana mocks. "Am I suddenly dating someone in their late fifties?"

Brittany rolls her eyes at the jab but persists, "Whatever. Let's just give the dating apps a rest while we're an item, huh? I don't need you straying from me because you can't keep it in your pants."

"Please. Faithful is my middle name. I'm in this for the long haul," Santana says with determination. "We'll stick to the first story. With some minor tweaks, everyone will eat it up. Because there's no way I'm telling my mother I met my serious girlfriend on Tinder."

Brittany only shrugs, "So we've nailed down the story now. What else do we have to do to make this believable?"

Santana starts to think, but she struggles to find an answer. Considering she's never pretended to date anyone before, she's not really an expert. Whatever it is though, they need to have it perfected by the time they board the plane in less than a week's time.

"We're two of the smartest people at this damn school," Santana says after a moment, "I'm sure we can think of something."

\\

Santana spends the rest of her night doing just that. She's approaching this thing like it's another one of her class assignments, but she finally realizes what's missing. This relationship can't only pass as real on paper, it also needs implementation – believable implementation.

"Well duh. You think you two can just say you're dating and never interact?" Puck jokes when Santana breaks the news to him.

Santana huffs as she slumps next to him on the couch, "I thought about it briefly but I think I was more focused on the big picture of it all. That picture being that I'm in this mess in the first place with her of all people. Now I've got to like…what? I don't even know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Puck laughs. "Just do what you do with other girls."

Santana gives him a look, "I'm not doing that with her."

It takes Puck a second to make the connection before his face fills with realization.

"Obviously not that!" Puck replies, "I mean everything but that…like the lead up."

"You know I'm more of a physical person," Santana reasons. "I can't do any of the lead up stuff either."

Puck eyes her curiously, "Shit. You really don't know. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you hanging out with a girl you're talking to on campus before."

"Yeah, well there's a reason for that," Santana replies smugly, "I like my hanging out to be done in dark spaces, hopefully with good music in the background and a soft surface within arms reach."

"That's…kind of creepy."

"I'm talking about a club," Santana rolls her eyes.

"That's for hook-ups and one night stands," Puck jokes. "You're in a serious relationship now. You've got to change it up. Where's the romance?"

Santana lets out a tired sigh, "This is too much work."

Puck smirks as he pats her on the shoulder, "Yeah but it'll be worth it in the end. Mama Lopez will totally hand you a job and you'll have that grant in the bank."

"Yeah," Santana groans." But at what cost?"

Puck just reaches for a pillow and smacks her in the stomach with it.

"Quit your bitchin'," He tells her. "You make being with Britt sound like pulling teeth."

"Have you met her?!"

Puck shakes his head, "You'd be on your ass if she didn't agree to this."

Santana drops the attitude a little in favor of remembering something she heard Puck say to Brittany yesterday.

"And why did she agree?" Santana questions. "You two apparently talk about more than nerd shit during those study sessions. Spill."

"That's not my business to tell."

"Bullshit. You're my best friend. What happened to we're supposed to tell each other things?"

Puck doesn't waver, "Britt's my friend too and I'm not going to talk about her personal stuff like that when she's not here. It's not cool."

"So it's bad then?"

"Santana," Puck chastises. "Seriously. Drop it."

It's rare that Puck takes that tone with her, so Santana backs off for now but his resistance doesn't make her any less curious. In fact, it doubles it – triples it even! Brittany's always so perfect, it's so annoying! It'd be interesting to see what's really going on, but what could it be?

\\

The next day, Santana awakes at her usual time and goes off to get ready for class. She's so relieved that it's finally the day before winter break, because the early mornings are slowly killing her now that it's freezing outside.

Once she's dressed, Santana heads to the kitchen to get her first coffee of the day together along with her breakfast. Like normal, Puck's already gone to football training and he's left the kitchen a mess. Although, maybe he's learning because at least his cereal bowl made into the sink this time.

It's not long before Santana's out the door and on her way to class. She's hugging her books to her chest, using her them to shield herself from the cold wind. Yeah, she's definitely over this weather.

There are a few students around heading in the same direction and everyone has that same tired, zoned out look on their face that screams it's too early for this – understandable because it's true. No one in their right mind would be okay with being up and about at this time.

However, one person sticks out from the crowd.

"Dear God, no," Santana mumbles to herself as Brittany makes her way over. She's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, two things Santana can't stand which is why she's not a morning person.

"Good morning," Brittany says sweetly.

It makes Santana cringe, but she thinks about what Puck said last night. She has to put in a little effort here so she might as well start now, especially since Brittany's taken to walking along side her for some reason.

"Morning," She says. "You're a little far from where you need to be, aren't you?"

"I figured I'd walk you to class today," Brittany replies with a smile.

It's hard for Santana to keep the grimace off her face. Brittany's really going for it here, but Santana can't stand the thought of her pulling off this role better than she can.

"Awh. How thoughtful of you," Santana tells her with a smile of her own.

Brittany only winks before she's placing her hand on Santana's forearm. The touch surprises her so much so that she breaks character for a moment.

"What are you doing?" She asks, "You trying to carry my books to class or something?"

There's a glimmer of annoyance in blue eyes but it fades quickly. Good to know the real Brittany's still in there beneath this act.

"No," She says.

Santana frowns, "Then what?"

"Wow," Brittany exhales. The annoyance from before is once again evident, "You really know nothing about being in a relationship."

Santana's about to protest when Brittany cuts her off.

"Give me your hand," She says in a hushed whisper though she still smiles sweetly.

"What for?"

This time Brittany's the one to break character for a split second.

"Are you kidding me?" She asks before pasting on that smile again. "Couples hold hands, honey."

"Don't call me that."

Santana barely has time to react before Brittany's slipping her fingers through Santana's. She does an awkward juggle to adjust the hold she has on her books, but oddly enough they pull it off.

"If I can't call you honey, what can I call you?" Brittany whispers.

Santana thinks about that for a moment. She's never really been into the pet names, they always made her feel weird. However, she doesn't mind the occasional baby but that's only when it comes out around a moan or a whimper and they're caught in a compromising position.

That definitely won't be happening here which reminds her, this little arrangement is going to put quite the damper on her sex life. Yet another thing she didn't account for!

"Do we have to?" Santana ends up asking instead.

"I guess not," Brittany replies. She waits a moment before adding, "I mean, this is your mess. Who am I to ask you to do the bare minimum and commit to the role?"

"Alright fine," Santana grumbles. "Call me whatever."

"Can do," Brittany says with a proud smile.

There's a few curious glances in their direction as they get closer to their destination, but Santana and Brittany maintain their composure. It's oddly effortless despite everything that happened leading up to this moment, but they soak it in.

The further into the building they get, the more people they cross.

The more people they cross, the more looks they receive.

And holy shit, they're actually doing this!

"So here we are," Brittany says as they reach Santana's class a couple minutes later.

The few students seated already stare at them in the doorway and for Santana and Brittany it's like stage lights have just turned on: it's showtime! Santana didn't think this far ahead and by the looks of it, Brittany's at a loss too.

With another glance into the room, Santana's heart begins to race because they're losing their audience.

She knows what she has to do, doesn't mean she's going to like it, but drastic times call for drastic measures though. Santana acts fast and leans in. Her hand falls to Brittany's shoulder for leverage while her lips land on her cheek for a quick peck.

Emphasis on the quick.

When she pulls back, there's a brief look of surprise on Brittany's face but she soon masks it with another smile.

"Have a good day," Brittany adds with a grin.

"Thanks," There's a smile on Santana's face too but that's because they're totally nailing this and everyone's eating it up just like they planned. "You too."

"Okay," Brittany takes a step back. "See you later…love muffin."

Santana's eyes widen and her face goes red hot with embarrassment. Thank God her back is turned to the class!

"Love muffin?" Santana grits her teeth.

Brittany only smirks as she turns and goes on her way, totally fine with the chaos she's left in her wake.

Santana's hoping that no one heard that last part as she makes her way to her seat. She's thinking about how she should've saw it coming in hindsight considering she told Brittany to call her whatever. What a rookie mistake!

Deep in her thoughts of possible revenge, Santana's about half way to her desk when someone stops her: Tina.

She's one of the writers for the student-run magazine who specializes in Student Relations which really means she's constantly in everyone's business. She's usually the first to know about the hottest gossip and she can't keep a secret to save her life.

This couldn't be any more perfect!

"Santana," Tina greets with her voice recorder at the ready. "I had no idea you were dating Brittany S. Pierce."

Santana nods coyly as she takes a seat next to the writer, "Oh. You saw that?"

"Uh yeah!" Tina squeals. "You guys are so adorable."

Santana waves her off although she equally loves the attention. It's all the reassurance she needs after Brittany's little pet name incident.

"Aren't we?" Santana replies. "It's still relatively new but we couldn't be happier. She's really just a dream come true."

Santana surprises herself with how easy it was to lie about her feelings.

"Awh! Stop it. Who knew Brittany was the secret in taming the infamous Santana Lopez?"

Santana struggles a little more that time to keep her expression even, but she manages a smile and a laugh. She's not sure what Tina's inferencing with the whole infamous part but Santana keeps the conversation rolling.

"Not me, that's for sure," Santana replies charmingly. "I guess the saying's true: when you know, you know."

"I love that! So what's the story?" Tina entices.

Santana begins to smirk. Now's the time she gets to put her own spin on their origin story and man, does she have a few rewrites! Of course, she'll have to keep some of the basic the same because who knows who is talking to Brittany about this too but surely it wouldn't matter if she adds a couple more details.

"Well Tina, I'm glad that you asked," Santana starts off. "It all started last year, Brittany's first day on campus. What a talk glass of water she was! I've never seen someone so," Santana pauses and struggles to find the right adjective. She tries remembering the actual first time she saw her and nods, "Lost."

"Lost?"

Santana chuckles, "Yeah. She had no clue where she was meant to be. Actually, she walked into the wrong class by accident. I'm not usually the go out of my way for a stranger type but something about her made me feel different."

"Awh!"

Santana smiles, feeling like she's got Tina on the hook now. It's not a complete lie, Brittany being lost on her first day but it works in her favor. In reality, Santana didn't make a move. Puck was the one who got up to show her the way, but Tina doesn't need to know that.

"So I went and walked her to class, the right one. Turns out we had another class later on in the day together, but we never got to sit together. From then on, it was always passing glances. When ran in different circles, you know?"

"Definitely," Tina nods. "That's why I don't think anyone saw this pairing coming."

"No?" The question slips out before Santana can stop it. Tina's comment makes her a little nervous but she keeps the smile on her face despite feeling suddenly on edge.

"Oh it's pleasantly surprising. That's for sure," Tina clarifies. "I'm all for opposites attracting."

Santana's brows furrow, "Opposites?"

Tina looks at her curiously, "You're one of the most popular girls on campus and Brittany's incredibly involved with various academic programs."

"And that makes us opposites how? I'm also involved."

Tina struggles, "Well, yeah but Brittany's work in robotic engineering is nothing short of revolutionary, not to mention her hot streak during the Brainiacs' last match up against The Whizz Kids who are the current reigning champs."

Santana bites her cheek. She didn't realize she was speaking to Brittany's number one fan. Suddenly, the interest in talking to Tina about them is gone and replacing it is her familiar disdain for the blonde.

"So she's on a dorky trivia team with an even dorkier name and she's kind of good with a screwdriver," Santana replies passively. "So what?"

Tina chuckles, failing to see that she's struck a nerve. "I think it's a little more than just being good with a screwdriver. Brittany was one of the leading engineers in the development of Lord Tubbington."

Santana rolls her eyes, "It's a weird robot cat that barfs hair balls. Big whoop."

Tina raises a brow, "Are you also into robotics?"

"No," Santana wrinkles her nose. "But I could be…"

"Really?"

"What? Like it's hard?" Santana waves off, "Anyway what's all this have to do with Brittany and I being opposites? We're…we're like two peas in a pod, couldn't be anymore similar."

Tina pauses for a second, "Well you're…"

Santana can't help but cross her arms defensively, "I'm…"

Tina lets out a nervous laugh, "You're a very talented cheerleader being coached by a former Olympian. You're basically an Olympian yourself so you're like – "

"I'm not just a talented cheerleader," Santana interrupts. "Before Brittany even got here, I was at the top of our class. Why does everyone seem to forget that?"

Tina tilts her head to the side, looking as though she just realized she offended someone. However, that someone isn't meant to be offended by their girlfriend's accomplishments. They're meant to be supportive and encouraging and anything but jealous.

Not that Santana's jealous of Brittany. She's far from that.

"Sorry," Santana stops herself from going off the rails. "I'm super proud of my girlfriend's accomplishments. She's so ambitious and driven, most of her ideas are just…sheer genius."

Tina begins to smile again, "Of course. It wasn't my intention to make it seem like she's better than you or anything."

Santana struggles to keep the smile on her face, "No. I get it. She is a lot more involved in the academic side of things. She's just so great at it too. She's great at practically everything."

"Exactly. I was meaning that you're more of the socially elite," Tina stammers. "A cheerleader – a smart cheerleader – dating someone who would be considered more of a nerd. It's like opposites attracting and I – "

"Alright class!" Professor Wilson addresses with a clap, "Let's get started."

Tina looks thankful for the interruption.

"Sorry," She says sympathetically. "We're gonna have to cut this short."

Santana only nods, wondering how long she would've lasted before potentially smacking the girl with her book.

\\

Thanks to Tina and her big mouth, the word about Santana and Brittany spreads fast. By the end of cheer practice pretty much everyone knows about their relationship which is great.

What isn't great is how badly Santana's struggling to stay in character. It seems that everyone shares the same sentiment as Tina when it comes to Brittany being so great and if there's anything Santana hates more, it's being overshadowed – especially by her.

It's like having a pet peeve and you know you're being a little ridiculous for being annoyed about it, so you try to be the bigger person and ignore it for the sake of not causing a scene. However, when everyone in the entire world decides to do that one thing that you can't stand, then what? How can anyone just ignore it? The answer is, you can't.

So when Santana finds Brittany hanging around the gym after cheer practice lets out her patience is nonexistent.

"Well hey there, Shnookums!" Brittany greets sweetly like she's done all day. She's on her fourth cringey term of endearment which reminds Santana…

"You're killing me with the names," Santana says flatly.

"But you said I could call you whatever."

"I have limits."

Brittany only smirks as she follows Santana out of the double doors and into the cold.

Santana's already regretting not spending the extra minute or two to put on her warm-ups, but she's over the day and just wants to go home already. Her dastardly plans of annoying Brittany have totally backfired and now she's once again regretting ever agreeing to this.

All day it's been Brittany's so lovely and Brittany's so smart and Brittany once single-handedly saved me from failing a class – it's so irritating! And it's like Brittany knows it irritates the hell out of Santana so naturally she's loving this.

If only the student body knew that side of the blonde, Santana's sure they'd be changing their tune real quick!

"So," Brittany prompts as she hooks her arm through Santana's.

Santana looks down at the unwelcome gesture, "So?"

"Successful first day?" Brittany asks.

Santana has to think about that. As much as she hated having to be constantly bombarded with comments about how cute she and Brittany look together or the numerous retellings of how they started dating, the day turned out better than she thought.

"Well, it was definitely something," Santana says. "I didn't realize you had such a following."

Brittany scoffs, "I don't, not like you. All day it's been Santana's so talented and Santana's so hot and I'd totally let Santana step on me."

Santana crinkles her nose, "What does that last one even mean?"

"Beats me," Brittany shrugs. "But several people said it and it sounded like it was a good thing. It was so weird, but hearing everyone singing your praises all day while having a smile on my face – it was exhausting."

Santana starts to smirk, "Well at least you know how I felt. People would not shut up about you and all your accomplishments."

"You must've loved that," Brittany grins deviously. "Can't believe you didn't cave."

Santana lets out a laugh, "You have no idea. The will power I have is unmatched."

"Of course it is," Brittany dismisses as she drops her arm from Santana's.

With one glance around, they find that they're practically alone now aside from a couple other students heading home and they've just made it to Santana's complex. The brunette isn't sure where Brittany lives, but she doubts it's here since she's never ran into her which forms the question:

"Hold on. Why are you here?" Santana asks as they stop in front of the door.

"I'm walking you home?" Brittany replies like it's obvious. "Like a good fake girlfriend should?"

Santana blinks; she's never had that happen before and she's never done that for anyone else either. For once, she's kind of taken aback and unsure of how to react.

"You know this isn't a full service thing," Santana manages to say. "If no one's around, you don't have to keep up the act."

Brittany gives her a look of disbelief, "And that's the difference between you and I."

Santana's brows furrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm willing to put in the extra work for the best outcome, because you never know who's watching," Brittany then nods to a couple standing off to the side that Santana hadn't noticed. "Meanwhile, you're totally fine with being average."

Santana's jaw drops at the comment, but she quickly scrambles to form a comeback.

"Average? Never heard of her," Santana huffs. "And for the record, I put in the work. How do you think word about us travelled so fast? I'm the one that spoke that shit into existence to that gossipmonger Tina."

Brittany tries to brush her off but it only emboldens Santana.

Who is she to say that she's not putting in the work? Does she even know how hard it is to fake date her? Probably not because apparently she's God's gift to this campus and Santana should be so lucky to date her.

"Make no mistake," Santana continues, "Just because you think you're one-upping me with your little perfect girlfriend routine doesn't mean I'm not equally in this. I can be a way better fake girlfriend than you and that's a fact. I'm just warming up!"

"Oh really?" Brittany laughs, "Says the girl that's apparently never had a relationship last longer than a couple weeks. Before this morning, you didn't even know couples held hands."

"I knew!" Santana counters, "I just didn't want to do it with you."

"Neither did I! I'm sure your hands have been in many unimaginable places but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make in order to pull this off."

Santana rolls her eyes, "Look. Just because you haven't witnessed my sweet moves, doesn't mean I'm incapable. I'm super suave with the ladies."

"Right," Brittany drawls out. "Did Puck tell you that because I've got some news for you…"

"Hey, I don't see you with any significant other on your arm!" Santana challenges. "At least I get some type of action."

Brittany's smug grin drops and Santana takes that as a win.

"You know what? Let's just get through the rest of the week," Brittany grumbles. "We're of no use to each other if we can't even make our New Year's appearance."

Santana only nods in agreeance before Brittany's walking off without another word.

A part of her is proud that she was able to dish out the truth just as well as Brittany and another wonders if they'll actually be able to keep up this act.

An even smaller part of her wonders if they'll even make it onto the plane.