"So how did you fit an entire phone in your handbag?" Brittany asked with wide eyes as Santana lead her along towards her car briskly, her hands shoved into the pockets of a black hoodie. She pulled her hood over her head and threw on her aviator sunglasses, not wanting too many people in the "Heights" to recognize her.

"Have you never heard of a cellphone before in wherever you come from?" Santana snarled under her breath. She didn't want to be rude but this girl seemed to be constantly in a state of shock about everything around her. It was a wonder she had made it to Lima Heights Adjacent in the first place without getting lost along the way.

A group of men were standing by a nearby fence staring openly at Brittany's legs and wolf whistling as she passed by. Judging by their posture and their clothes, these guys looked like they were part of one of the well-known gangs that hung around the area.

Brittany, with her head in the clouds as always, was clueless about it and even gave a friendly wave to the men. They snickered to themselves, making some obscene gestures at the blonde. Santana scrunched up her face and leaned in closer to Brittany, grabbing the other woman's arm to pull her along. Brittany looked at her in confusion.

"Hey, keep it moving! Nothing to see here! " Santana yelled at them, taking off her shades to give them the most menacing glare she was capable of. The guys just laughed, knowing of Santana's reputation for being a troublemaker and getting into some pretty bad fights when she was younger so thinking it wise not to start something with the Latina. They had heard rumours that she had razor blades hidden in her hair.

"Wow it's so tiny…" Brittany stared in amazement when the street-smart woman finally whipped out her smartphone and handed it to her. "This is just so rad!"

"Yeah, whatever," Santana groaned. It was like Brittany was expecting one of those huge wall phones her Abuela used to have in her house twenty years ago to come out of Santana's bag. "Look, do you need to make a call? Maybe you can use the internet to look up a map and find where you're going?"

"The internet?"

Please tell me she knows what the internet is …Santana prayed, massaging her temples. She was beginning to think this girl was from another century or maybe another planet.

"Damn, wherever you're from must be really behind in technology…" Santana stared at her, shaking her head. She was gradually losing her temper as a headache set in and reminded herself to take deep breaths like what her therapist - and her good friend Mercedes kept reminding her to do. "Who doesn't have internet on their phone now? And for that matter, why do you look like you haven't been to a hair salon since 1985?"

Brittany just giggled in her breezy way but chose to let Santana's comments slide. Santana tried to ignore how it was the cutest laugh she had ever heard from any girl in her entire life.

"I really love your shirt, by the way! Metal Tiger rocks!"

"Oh yeah?" Santana was surprised the seemingly vapid girl had ever heard of the band, especially as the dark-haired woman often listened to some obscure and old bands that no one else ever seemed to have ever heard of. "Do you know their music?"

"They're only like the best band ever! I have all their albums! My friend Puck was in - I um I mean I just saw them on tour this spring!" Brittany gushed.

"Nice try. Last time they toured was close to forty years ago so there's no way you could have been there…" Santana narrowed her eyes.

"Oh oops! My bad!"

"Need help with that, Princess? It seems like you're struggling…"

The blonde was holding her phone out in front of her cautiously as if it was a deadly device that would explode if she pressed the wrong button.

"I just need to know where the closest Holiday Inn is, like I said before."

"You ain't gonna find anything like that anywhere around here in Lima Heights, Blossom ." Santana told her with a laugh.

"That's a bummer," The blonde sighed gloomily. "I took fifty bucks…that's enough for a five star hotel, isn't it?"

"You only have fifty bucks with you for your whole trip?" Santana gave her a disbelieving look. "How long are you here for?"

"Two weeks. That's like, a lot of money, right?"

"Um...not exactly. In fact, not at all actually… it probably wouldn't be enough for more than a day. If that, even."

"Oh…" Brittany just looked so sad and scared. In fact she basically collapsed, dropping her face into her hands and seemed on the verge of tears. "I'm such an idiot. I don't know what I should do now."

Santana shook her head, sighing and once again wondering how on Earth she had ended up in this weird situation and what possessed her to even say what she said next...But Brittany seemed about as harmless as a kitten and Santana couldn't just leave her alone like this. She took her phone back, slipping it into her pocket.

"Look, I can't believe I'm saying this but, Querida… if you need a safe place for the night you can stay at mine."

"Oh thank you, thank you, Santana!" Brittany beamed at her and threw her arms around her. Santana stiffened, trying to ignore how the close proximity of the girl and the sweetness of her perfume were making her feel so flustered, even though she prided herself on being a tough bitch who was never fazed by anything. Brittany looked like she wanted to kiss her right there and Santana didn't know why her stomach was doing cartwheels at the idea but she had to create some distance between them fast.

"J-Just for one night," Santana reminded her hastily, once Brittany had let her go and moved away quickly, opening the passenger side door for the blonde. She cursed herself for stuttering and cleared her throat, trying to compose herself. "Just so you know, I don't normally do this but there are a lot of creeps out there and I wouldn't want anything to happen to a young, defenseless girl on my watch."

"My knight in shining armor!" Brittany purred, her cattish eyes gleaming mischievously and Santana felt her cheeks heating up again. She tried her best to ignore Brittany's constant flirtations. At least she assumed that it was flirting…maybe the eccentric blonde just thought she was only being friendly.

Santana then noticed the cat Brittany was carrying who was giving her a death glare and she narrowed her eyes, glaring back at the morbidly obese creature. In fact, she had never seen such a massive cat before. She sighed, not really wanting to deal with a cat too on top of everything, especially one that clearly hated her but she couldn't exactly turn Brittany's beloved pet away.

They continued driving along the highway in virtual silence as Brittany kept staring out of the window, entranced by all of the sights around her.

"So no offence but why do you want to be in Lima Heights? You're going in the wrong direction, Princess . Most people run from this place, not towards it."

"It just… seemed really cool in the brochures," Brittany lied quickly, plastering an easy smile on her face. "I'm just looking for a good time."

"Seriously?" Santana arched an eyebrow in disbelief but chose not to question her further at the moment.

Santana then flipped through the channels on the radio mindlessly. She winced, hearing the familiar deafening sounds of power chords and synths. She switched to another station and jerked when Brittany grabbed her free arm.

"Ohh! Oh my gosh! Turn it back, please! That's like, my favorite song like ever! It's Warrant! " Brittany cried out in her Valley Girl accent.

Santana gave her a weird look but obeyed and was surprised to see Brittany immediately start dancing in her seat like crazy while headbanging along to the tune.

It was some cheesy old glam rock song but Brittany evidently knew every word by heart and she started singing along at the top of her lungs.

" Cherry Pie is your favorite song?" Santana snorted a laugh. "I haven't heard this in years. My dad loves that song. It's kind of corny, isn't it?"

"It's so cool!" Brittany said excitedly, humming along. Santana raised an eyebrow, chuckling but didn't change the station even as one eighties classic rock song after another continued to play and Brittany jammed along to each one of them like if she was having the time of her life.

Even Santana had to admit that the songs were catchy, even though she felt like she was going deaf by the time the last song had finished because Brittany was singing so loudly. She had a cute singing voice that seemed to fit perfectly with music from that decade. Brittany tried to get Santana to join in with her but the brunette just shook her head at her, laughing at her antics. She'd grudgingly admit that she hadn't had so much fun in a while.

They finally took the elevator up to Santana's apartment and Brittany glanced around in wonder as if everything she was seeing was all completely new to her. Santana's apartment building was rather upscale considering how desolate and broken down the rest of the housing in Lima Heights Adjacent seemed to be. "Wow, Santana, I love it. I've never seen anything like this before!"

"Thanks," Santana mumbled awkwardly, thinking Brittany must be being sarcastic because the types of appliances and furniture she had were really common. "Make yourself at home, Blondie."

She noticed Brittany's gaze lingering on some photos she had framed on the wall. There were a few of Santana and her close friends Mercedes and Quinn, along with others of Santana's parents and her Abuela.

Then there was one she had still forgotten to take down of herself and Shannon. It was taken at one of Quinn's parties, when they had first begun dating and Santana had thought Shannon was the one. It was clearly a couplish pose with Santana's arm around the taller girl's waist. Santana grabbed the photo and made a mental note to throw it in the trash later, her stomach lurching at the sight because of the memories it brought back. She also was nervous about someone else, especially someone who didn't know Santana was a lesbian seeing it.

"That's my ex. I'm um… gay, by the way," Santana told Brittany, deciding to be upfront about it. She had become much more comfortable talking about her sexuality with people now that she was older but it still always made her a little nervous not knowing how a stranger would react. "Just thought you should know."

"Radical!" Brittany smiled.

Radical? Who even uses that word?

"Just making sure you're okay with that…"

"Why wouldn't I be? Thanks for telling me. No offence but I could totally already tell you were gay because of how you were staring at my boobs and my ass when we first met."

Santana was completely taken aback and didn't know how to respond to that. She cursed herself for blushing so much around Brittany all day like a smitten schoolgirl. Damn, this woman was shameless.

"I-I wasn't..."

"Don't worry, it's completely okay. More than okay actually…" Brittany gave her a coy look, batting her eyelashes again in a teasing manner. "Lots of people stare at my boobs and my ass all the time. My boobs and ass are flattered that a sexy babe like you thought they were hot enough to look at."

Santana was at a loss for words, her heart beating fast. She cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to ease the tension.

"Satan? Is that you?" Mercedes heard their voices and walked into the living room, pausing when she noticed the blonde in her very, very bright clothes with plenty of denim and giving her a curious glance. "Who's this? You didn't tell me we were having company."

"Oh this is um…Brittany! Brittany Pierce!" Santana exclaimed, thankful for the interruption as she swore she was losing her mind around this woman. She debated whether she should tell her best friend and roommate the truth about how she met Brittany but it would probably sound too weird.

She couldn't just tell Mercedes that she had picked Brittany up off the street just like that after thinking the bubbly girl was a thief. Mercedes would never believe her. She would assume Santana was going crazy and think Brittany was a prostitute or something.

"She's um…a friend from out of town and she needs a place to stay for the night. You don't mind if she stays over, do you?"

Brittany gave her a strange look, wondering why Santana wasn't telling Mercedes the truth about how they only just met but went along with the story without arguing.

"Oh," Mercedes sounded skeptical but smiled at the other woman welcomingly regardless. "Of course I don't mind. I'm Mercedes, Santana's roommate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Brittany."

"The pleasure is all mine!" Brittany smiled big and shook her hand enthusiastically. Mercedes eyed the girl weirdly, not understanding why she was so hyped up about meeting her. "I love your outfit! It's so... modern!"

Mercedes turned to Santana and said in a hushed voice. "You know I don't care what you do in your personal life but I thought I told you to warn me ahead of time if you're going to be getting busy with one of your girl toys in this apartment?"

"What?! It's not like that!" Santana protested too quickly and too loudly. For some reason she felt so flustered by the idea of someone mistaking Brittany S. Pierce of all people for one of her trysts. She literally just met this woman that she was sure probably belonged in a psych ward or had forgotten to take her pills maybe.

Mercedes' skeptical expression did not change and she shook her head, muttering something like "Sure, Jan" under her breath. Santana was always coming up with excuses for her ways but Mercedes knew the Latina had a habit of bringing home all of these girls she picked up from bars and Brittany looked like exactly her usual type. "Look, Brittany is just an old friend, Mercedes. I'll explain later."

Mercedes held up her hand warningly, silencing her. "I'm sure she's a friend. We all know what kind of friends you have. I don't want to know all the details, Satan. Just let me know whenever you plan to do the do so I can get some earplugs or better yet, go out for the night."

"She's not…" Santana cringed. She rolled her eyes at Mercedes' teasing. "Look, forget it. What would you like to drink, Brittany? We have wine, water, soda…"

"Ooo do you have hot chocolate? I just love hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows!"

Mercedes and Santana gave each other a look. Santana was beginning to wonder how old Brittany actually was even though she looked around the same age as they were.

"Alright, I'll get you some hot chocolate." Santana sighed, walking into the kitchen. She would grudgingly admit it was very cute how Brittany's blue eyes lit up in childish delight at the thought of the sugary chocolate drink.

"So Brittany, Santana said you were from out of town. Where exactly are you from?" Mercedes asked, politely making conversation, her eyes lingering on the tacky clothes the girl was wearing that were not remotely in fashion for the current decade along with her very obese cat that had been let out of his cage and was watching the two women balefully. They got settled on the couch while the brunette walked off to get their drinks.

"Oh I'm from um…" Brittany started to panic, trying to think of somewhere that sounded believable but exotic. It had to be somewhere she could be sure the other two wouldn't know much about. "Antarctica!"

"Oh really?" Mercedes smiled. "That's quite far away. What brings you all the way over to Lima? How long are you here for?"

"Two weeks. I'm actually searching for a husband!" Brittany told her cheerfully. "Or a wife. Either one will do."

Mercedes tilted her head to the side, puzzled. She laughed loudly, assuming Brittany was making a joke. "Oh, you're a funny one. You didn't tell me your friend was such a riot, Santana!" Mercedes shouted the last part so her roommate would hear her.

Santana handed the cocoa to Brittany and a glass of wine to Mercedes, confused, having not heard the conversation they were having before. She began to get scared that Brittany had said something weird.

"Haha yeah she's a riot! Just ignore whatever she told you. Things are um…very different wherever she's from and she's here on business." Santana hastily explained, handing them their drinks as she returned to the living room.

"Oh! That's good! I mean that's right!" Brittany giggled, "I'm here on business from Antarctica. But if I happen to meet someone…interesting while I'm here, that would just be the greatest thing ever."

So Brittany's single? Santana shook this thought from her head, telling herself she didn't care about the blonde's relationship status.

"Oh my bad, I just assumed you two were together together," Mercedes smirked, gesturing between the two of them. Santana gulped and shifted awkwardly beside Brittany. "Since our little Santanita here is a bit of a womanizer and she does have a weakness for blue-eyed blondes with long legs who look almost exactly like you."

"I'm not a womanizer, Wheezy" Santana glared at her, crossing her arms. "I just have fun. With a lot of women. Between the sheets. It's not exactly a crime."

"Sure, sure," Mercedes said, not sounding remotely convinced. She muttered something that sounded very much like "slut" in between coughs. Santana gave her a murderous glance. "So exactly what do you do, Brittany? Santana and I are lawyers."

"Oh you're lawyers… you must be really smart," Brittany sighed. Mercedes was looking at her expectantly and Santana was watching her nervously. "I'm an um…interior decorator!"

"Okay…an interior decorator from Antarctica," Mercedes intoned, giving her a suspicious glance. She was bemused by the blonde's hyper energy and not sure what to make of her. "Well you guys have…fun I guess. I'm going out with my boyfriend Sam for dinner in a few minutes."

"Have fun with Trouty!" Santana called over her shoulder with a smirk. "Don't get pregnant!"

Mercedes grabbed her purse and flipped her off. "Don't get us noise complaints from the neighbours again!"

It was getting late and Santana glanced over at Brittany, realizing she needed to figure out sleeping arrangements. This was awkward…

"Um, I can sleep on the couch," Santana told her politely. Brittany might be one of the oddest people she'd ever met but she was still a woman. A really stunning woman and Santana believed in being chivalrous. Or at least not being a total asshole to guests even if they were uninvited. "You can take my bedroom…I guess."

"Oh that's very sweet but I wouldn't want to impose, Santana. I don't mind taking the couch if you prefer." Brittany suggested.

"No, no, it's alright," Santana grunted, waving her off. "You can sleep in there for now."

"Such a gentleman - or should I say gentlewoman !" Brittany quipped, while giving Santana one of her simmering, sidelong glances with cat-like laser eyes again that made the dark-haired woman shudder and bending over to scoop up her cat, holding him like a baby in her arms before he could make his escape. "C'mon, Lord Tubbington!"

"Your room is so cozy!" Brittany smiled, bouncing onto the queen-sized bed with it's black silk sheets. Santana's room was simple and sparse but had a very classy look about it with some expensive looking décor. Everything was black and white.

"Um, do you have any clothes with you to change into?" Santana asked, running a hand through her hair. Brittany shook her head and Santana sighed then began rummaging through her wardrobe, tossing some of her old tank tops and pajama shorts on her bed. "Um, you can wear these if you want for now. I think we're about the same size."

"That's so sweet of you, Santana," Brittany gave her an adoring look. "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough for everything you've done."

Santana avoided her gaze and walked off, fumbling with her hands. "Yeah, yeah you're welcome. Just don't make me regret this, Blondie."

Brittany smiled that night as she rested her head against Santana's pillow. It had that comforting woodsy smell with a hint of spice which she now associated with the woman. She knew she should be scared in this new, weird world of the future but something about the vibe she got from Santana made her feel protected.

The woman had only known Brittany for less than one day but she already felt a strong magnetism between them that she couldn't explain. Brittany could hardly believe her luck that she had met such a gorgeous stranger.

Even if the prickly brunette was so guarded and seemed to resist all of Brittany's charms at the moment, she had a feeling Santana might be her perfect future lover if only she could win her over...