Chapter 5 – Icy start

Brittany…

It was one of those days… there were way too many of them. She drove to school by bicycle and the first thing she thought when stepping into the building was how no one there was waiting for here somewhere in the hallways. It made her want to turn around and leave but since that wasn't an option, she just kept on walking to the first period of the day.

Somehow those days went by extra slowly. The ones were she was especially aware of the fact that she hadn't made any friends. Transferring to another school for senior year was probably the worst point in time. All the seniors had formed their groups to hang out, not really interested in what was going on with the rest of the students. They had other stuff in mind like college applications.

Brittany didn't see herself going to college. Ever. She was a terrible student. She had never gotten an A. Not once in her life. It was a miracle she had never flunked her classes.

The fact that she just couldn't seem to make progress in the friends department was nagging at her more than she would have admitted if anyone had asked.

Because that thing with Quinn and Santana a couple days ago didn't count… they were juniors and didn't share classes with Brittany. She saw them in the lunchroom yesterday where they had been sitting with some of the popular guys. For a second Brittany thought that Santana was going to wave at her but then she got distracted by one of her friends.

Brittany kept eating her sandwich and reading in her book, the headphones always protecting her from hearing what some kids were tossing her way when they walked by. Stuff like "What's wrong with her? Why does she always sit by herself?"

Brittany thought it was ridiculous. She didn't think it was worth the energy to stand up to them and ask what their problem was. She chose to just ignore everyone.

Until that day…

She was munching on an apple that tasted like nothing, an open book on the table in front of her and her thoughts drifting off to a dance choreography she had come up with the night before behind the trailer.

Her favorite song was playing on her Walkman and lunch break was almost over but she wanted to finish the song before getting up. Whenever the chorus sounded in her ears, it did something to her. She could feel a tingling sensation in her chest.

She pictured herself dancing on a stage. For people who really wanted to see her. Who found joy in music and dance just as much as herself.

Maybe it was a couple hundred people… maybe just one person…

She closed her eyes for a moment, forgetting everything around her. It was a mistake because the next thing she knew was how she nearly suffered from a heart attack when ice cold liquid hit the back of her neck.

She jumped and screamed at the most disgusting sensation of thick drops running down her back, drenching her shirt.

She quickly pushed off her headphones and turned around to see what the hell had happened. It took her a couple seconds to realize that she had just been slushied on purpose in front of the whole school. Her eyes found two guys in their letterman jackets standing a couple tables away, empty cups in their hands and the most stupid grins on their stupid faces. They earned some jeers and hooting while other students wordlessly stared at Brittany. No, not some students.

Everybody.

Some of them were laughing from where they were sitting at their tables, others shook their heads but no one seemed to be shocked. It must have happened before.

Brittany's cheeks were burning in comparison to the cold skin on her back. What was the reason for anyone doing something like that? She hadn't done anything to any of them. What was so fascinating about making other people feel like crap?

She could feel the sticky stuff drenching the hem of her pants and only getting stopped by the belt she was wearing. It was probably going to soak the material further down when she'd get up but she had no other choice.

She needed to go to a bathroom or back home to change into something new. At the same time she just wanted to slap the guys across the face who were still standing there, laughing at what they had accomplished.

When Brittany realized that sitting there wasn't making anything better, she decided to just get it over with. She got up on her feet and wanted to grab her book and Walkman but her hands were all sticky from when she had reached behind her back in shock.

"Hey"

Brittany startled, fearing another attack. When she turned around to see what was about to come next, she exhaled a breath.

Two familiar faces were standing right behind her. Two pairs of compassionate eyes gave her the "it was bound to happen sooner or later…" look. Brittany didn't know what to say.

"You can either run off and let them win" Quinn said with an eyeroll, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Or you walk with us and we make everyone see what stupid jerks they are."

Santana nodded encouragingly. Brittany looked back and forth between the two of them, not really considering the first option but still surprised about the fact that somebody was talking to her.

She raised her sticky hands to point out the mess and then motioned at her stuff she couldn't pick up.

"I'd like that a lot, I guess" She muttered under her breath when the two girls quickly grabbed all her things.

Seconds later she found herself in their middle, getting guided through the cafeteria. When they reached the two idiots with the empty slushie cups, Quinn stopped and raised her chin in a challenging way.

"Hey assholes" She addressed them. "I thought I'd let you know that you're no longer going to mess with our girl, Brittany. She's one of us in case you didn't know but why am I even surprised… you guys don't know anything. Oh and Derek-" Quinn put a hand on one of the guys' forearm. He seemed surprised that Quinn suddenly gave him a sweet smile. "I don't know if it's just a rumor or if it's true what they say… but don't worry… it's just a tiny rumor. A teeny… tiny… rumor."

Brittany watched in awe how Quinn's eyes wandered down to Derek's crotch painfully slow and back up into his widened eyes.

Brittany pressed her lips together when students around them whistled at Quinn's bold words.

"Let's go, girls" Santana said and led the way out of the cafeteria.

Brittany couldn't believe what was happening but she just went along with it because it felt too good not to be a part of it.

The day had started so awfully dull and now she was in the middle of the coolest thing she had ever witnessed.

They stepped into the hallways and approached what seemed to be Quinn's locker.

"Always keep some emergency clothes in your locker" She commented when she grabbed a fresh shirt from her locker and handed it to Brittany. "But don't worry… that was the first and last slushie that was thrown your way. They now know not to mess with you."

Brittany thanked Quinn for the shirt and couldn't wait to take off her wet one.

"Now you've officially been welcomed to this school." Santana spoke up with a shrug of her shoulders. "Luckily it didn't get into your hair. I had to wash mine three times when it happened to me."

Brittany chuckled when she followed them to the bathroom. She still couldn't quite grab what just happened but she decided not to ask questions about what it all meant. Maybe they just said that Brittany was one of them but didn't actually mean it. Maybe they weren't going to talk to her anymore tomorrow.

At least it felt amazing right in that moment and she was going to enjoy it a little longer.

/

It turned out that they did meant it.

It was from that day on that Brittany had found new friends. Quinn and Santana didn't share any classes with Brittany but they spent every single lunch together. They'd either wait in front of Brittany's classroom to pick her up or they'd wave at her as soon as she stepped into the lunchroom.

They'd talk about whatever was going on in class, some stupid tests, teachers or whenever they got asked out by boys. Well… Quinn constantly got asked out even though she was seeing Jake. Santana not so much. Or she just didn't tell them because Brittany couldn't imagine guys not asking her out.

They didn't really talk about Quinn's pregnancy though… she hadn't told Jake, yet. She still had to do the painful thing to come clean to her parents, too and while Santana sometimes tried to bring up the topic, Quinn always told them she still needed some time.

Brittany didn't know how much time she had left before she was going to show. For now she was fine, minus the fact that there had been two incidents where she had to storm out of the lunchroom because of certain smells that made her feel super nauseous.

"How expensive can a bed be?" Brittany looked up from her salad. Santana was sitting across from her at the lunch table, outrage written across her face. "Yesterday I went by that furniture shop to check out a new bed for my brother Iker but they cost like a fortune."

Brittany honestly didn't know what to say. She had no idea how expensive a bed was because she never had to buy one herself. She knew that Santana's family wasn't very wealthy and that Santana worked at Schuester's bar a lot.

Quinn dropped her fork with a shrug, probably once again not enough appetite to eat her whole meal.

"I told you that I can lend you some money, Santana. It really wouldn't be a big deal."

Brittany observed how Santana's cheeks blushed lightly. When she replied, her voice was a tiny bit snappier.

"That's not what I was trying to reach, Quinn. I can afford the bed. One day… but until then I have to figure out how to get my abuela's guest bed back to our house. Because what I can't afford is hiring a moving company just for one stupid bed."

Quinn said nothing to that. Instead she excused herself after a short while in order to go to the bathroom.

Brittany watched how Santana pushed her empty plate away and hid her face in her hands for a moment.

"Sorry you had to witness that. Sometimes we're like an old married couple."

Brittany chuckled at Santana's choice of words. She fumbled with the lid of her water bottle when she realized that in like a minute lunch break was going to be over. She wanted to say or do something to make the brunette feel better about the expensive bed thing.

"I'll come over with aunt Patty's truck." She stated simply when Santana was already packing her stuff together. She gave Brittany a surprised look. "To transport the bed. I'm sure it'll fit in the back. If you want to."

A smile was about to crack in the corner of Santana's mouth when she nodded after a short hesitation.

"That would be great." She said simply when she grabbed her backpack and was about to leave for her next class. "Thanks Brittany."

Brittany wanted to say something like "you're welcome" or "no problem". Somehow nothing came out though… she just watched how Santana gave her a smile and then walked away.

She knew they were going to see each other again tomorrow. It had become their unspoken deal to have lunch all together. Brittany was more than thankful. Not once had anyone tried to throw mean words at her or to give her weird looks anymore.

It just stopped. She even started talking to other students in her class. There was this guy named Blaine and somehow they clicked right away. He had always been sitting in the back and was very quiet so Brittany never even noticed him at first. But now they always sat next to each other whenever they found themselves in the same classroom.

She loved the fact that he wore those cool clothes that nobody else was wearing and how his hair was always neatly gelled back. He looked like he came straight from a shop window and he smelled really good. She simply appreciated his presence because he made her feel like everything was totally alright.

At one point they started to drive to school and back home on their bikes next to each other because Blaine didn't live that far away from the trailer park. One thing led to another and after a couple weeks Brittany found herself sitting in Blaine's bedroom from time to time where they did their homework or worked on a project together. It was mostly Blaine letting her copy his homework… he didn't have the nerve to explain everything to her. He was too busy writing his own music on the piano he had in his room.

That was another thing she liked about Blaine. He loved music and dancing almost more than Brittany. He'd always ask for her opinion or if she could dance while he played because it helped his inspiration.

So they mostly did that for the rest of the afternoon before Brittany would ride back home on her bike, still humming the sweet melodies Blaine had created.

/

It didn't take long for Quinn and Santana to find out that Brittany had found someone to spend her free time with. She had just closed the door to her locker one Friday afternoon when she found herself getting sandwiched between the two girls who dragged her along the hallways.

"We need to have an intervention, Brittany" Quinn began when they left the building and headed over to the bleachers next to the football field.

"Ok" Brittany muttered and let them guide her to take a seat. She looked up at them, narrowing her eyes at the sun burning behind them.

"It's about Blaine", Santana explained when Brittany waited expectantly. Brittany didn't know what to say so she just tilted her head to the side. "It's uh…"

Santana trailed off so Quinn took over and put a hand on Brittany's shoulder.

"We can understand why you like him. He's handsome, he's smart and very, very polite. His taste in clothes might be a little… questionable but it's also the thing that should make you see why… there's no chance that he and you…"

Brittany felt silly to be sitting in front of the two girls, trying to understand what the hell they were talking about. Quinn squeezed her shoulder with a compassionate look.

"Brittany, he's gay." She said eventually and then they both sat down next to her, probably trying to show some kind of support.

Brittany shook her head, completely taken off guard. Why did they tell her that? Why was it even a matter in the first place?

"Don't worry, you're not the first one to assume he's interested in you in that way… but we just want to make sure, you won't get hurt." Brittany jumped up on her feet and turned around to face the two girls sitting there. They both looked at her with worry.

Actually it was just Quinn. Santana just stared at her.

"I didn't assume he was into me in any kind of way" She explained with a surprising strong voice. "I like Blaine. He's a friend. I'm not in love with him or anything. And I couldn't care less if he was gay which I don't think he is by the way. He's got Mariah Carey posters next to his bed and-" Brittany stopped speaking because she didn't know if this was an information she was allowed to share but at the same time it was the way Quinn covered her hand with her mouth in order not to laugh out loud.

Brittany's cheeks turned hot, just like the day she got slushied in front of everyone. What made it worse was the fact that Santana couldn't hide her amusement, either.

The two girls burst into laughter but quickly tried to recover when they realized that Brittany didn't join in.

Somehow it felt like they were laughing at her.

"Brittany, I'm sorry." Santana spoke with a more serios expression on her face when she saw how Brittany just looked at them, feeling lost. "I didn't mean to laugh – we just wanted to warn you-"

"You don't need to warn me about anything." Brittany cut her off. Santana's mouth closed right away. "I don't get it." Brittany shook her head in confusion. "I actually don't get it. I'm glad I found a friend in Blaine because it wasn't exactly an easy start at this school. Now I'm thankful you guys helped me that day with the slushie and I really like hanging out with you. But you don't need to warn me about Blaine. You should maybe take care of your own problems… just saying."

Brittany watched how Quinn immediately lowered her face but Brittany was too upset to stop talking.

"I don't know for how long you think you can keep pretending that everything is fine by hiding your pregnancy, Quinn. Sooner or later it'll show and maybe – just maybe it would be a good thing to inform the father. And Santana…" Brittany directed her eyes straightly at the brunette who was gazing back at her, embarrassment written on her face. "I meant it when I said that I'll help you with the bed but if you're too proud to take help from anyone then fine, I'll put all the crap back into aunt Patty's truck that I had cleaned out in order to make some space like two weeks ago."

With that she grabbed her school bag and left the two girls sitting there. She was too upset to let them say anything in return. Maybe she was being too harsh but something about the whole situation just hit her at the wrong angle.

She stormed off to the bike sheds and made her way back home to the trailer as fast as never before.