Closed Poll: Since Within You Without You is one chapter away from being completed, I decided that I would use the opportunity to post the first chapter to a new story at the same time. I have been working on, well, a lot of ideas and some are pretty well developed…enough so that there are a few that could potentially be ready to start posting with the last chapter of WYWY. So, since I couldn't decide which one for myself I let you, my lovely readers, choose for me. The winner is indicated below.

Story Descriptions

Consequences of Clarity: Seventeen and fresh out of rehab, Santana struggles to find the girl she used to be before drugs, alcohol and sex took over her life. She has the love and support of Brittany, her lifelong best friend, but will that be enough?

This starts with Santana leaving rehab at the end of December after going into detox the day after Thanksgiving. The story will cut between things happening in the present as well as certain events that led up to Santana having to go into detox and rehab in the first place. Her memories of how much she put Brittany through in contrast to how consistent and patient Brittany had always been with her will play a big part. Things are complicated since Santana has to stay with the Pierce’s, sharing a room (and bed) with Brittany and not knowing how strong Brittany’s feelings are for her, even though she refuses to act on those feelings. Santana’s drug and alcohol problems consumed her too much to allow her to question her sexuality, all of her previous sexual encounters having been under the influence and entirely opportunistic as she’s considered her partners’ gender to be irrelevant.
The pacing of this will vary in that some scenes will be more slow paced to reflect Santana’s lethargic, detached mood or they’ll be fast paced to reflect how hyperaware she is of everything as she readjusts to living clean and sober. Drama and angst galore, but there is also a very close bond between Brittany and Santana that is more intense than what we saw on the show considering how dependent Santana is as she continues to fight cravings and keep from relapsing. Expect a lot of physicality between them. Very rarely will they be together in the same room and not touching in some way, anything from pinkies to total full-body cuddling. The title took me forever to come up with and I really like it, but I am open to suggestions.

*WINNER* Found Out: The last thing unpopular gleek Brittany Pierce expected when she got to school this morning was to witness the gorgeous Head Cheerio making out with someone she definitely shouldn’t be. The next day Santana Lopez finds herself sitting in glee club because she’s Brittany’s new ‘friend’. On top of it all, she has an almost-relationship more complicated than ever now because she finds herself increasingly drawn to Brittany and how she looks in that Cheerio skirt.

I don’t want to give away who Santana’s sleeping with just yet even though it’s revealed within the first few paragraphs of the story itself. Brittany transferred to McKinley early in her sophomore year and the story starts a little over a year later. She’s in the glee club and good friends with Quinn, who never rejoined the Cheerios. Santana, without someone like Brittany, is a sociopath (according to Quinn) and has been the Head Cheerio since the beginning of last year. After Brittany accidentally sees Santana and someone in the parking lot and talks to her about it, it’s decided that Santana will owe her a favor. What Santana doesn’t expect is to start developing feelings for the girl that’s been crushing on her since she was assigned the locker next to hers. Nor does she expect the shift in dynamic between her and her current non-girlfriend.
Fun, light on the drama. Features a love triangle that I’ve somehow never seen done but that I love the idea of way too much to not write it myself. Not at all attached to the title.

Wreckage : Following a horrible accident, the tables get turned and a guilt-ridden Brittany finds herself stepping into the role of protector when Santana needs her the most. Can gaining new insight into the Latina and discovering her own inner-strength be enough for Brittany to help Santana recover and mend their complicated relationship?

After the infamous ’Hurt Locker’ scene in Sexy, Santana gets in a car wreck and leads everyone to believe that she can’t remember the accident or the days leading up to it. Her injuries are such that she is unable to take care of herself and, because of her chronically absent parents, she finds herself staying with the Pierces.
Santana silently struggles under the weight of her survivor’s guilt as she tries to cope with the trauma of the accident on her own. Brittany struggles with her own guilt, blaming herself for Santana’s accident. With Santana being so lost in her own head and her memories, Brittany finds herself protecting and defending the other girl in the same way Santana always did for her. With everything going on, there is a big shift in the dynamic between Brittany and Santana, as well as New Directions…and the rest of McKinley High, for that matter. But will it end up being for better or for worse?
Drama and angst like you wouldn’t believe. Expect hurt/comfort to be a major aspect in this as well. The possibility of Santana suffering from PTSD will also play a role and not just its effects on her, but on her relationships with other people as well. Questionable coping mechanisms will also appear, but not in the form of cutting for those of you wondering…that would be too emo (‘emo’ is still a thing now, right?). I am fond of the title but open to suggestions.