Disclaimers: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do own all OCs until ownership is otherwise given, which will announced in appropriate chapters.
Spoilers: None
Rating: T for Santana's and Brittany's cussing at the end because apparently points cannot be made in this story without them dropping the
f-bomb ever 3 seconds.


Reply to reviews: (chapter 31)

Boris Yeltsin: part 1: Thanks for the review. Kurt and Mercedes will start to ask more appropriate questions, they are just going to little shits for a bit longer. But Mr. Schuester will step in and their accusations will turn into questions, and eventually, the entire Glee club will be one big family! And I love writing Pezberry. It's funny because I was not very confident that I could write their interactions correctly, but it is turning out to be one of my favorite things!

Part 2: I also love writing the siblings of my characters calling them all "aunt" or "uncle". And Beth will definitely be one lucky little girl, even if she is put up for adoption. we should see Mike's siblings sometime around the Christmas chapters. I just can't seem to find a way to introduce them. :/

Isa Yodice12: Thank you for the review! I really enjoyed writing the scene with Mrs. Barnes the most of the entire chapter. And it is funny you say that because I actually do have her starting off with a 504! And it has accommodations like do not call on Quinn to speak in class, etc. She will eventually have the IEP (as soon as Josiah and David get the process for it complete) because her anxiety is definitely bad enough to qualify for one. :)

chloe2007: Thank you for the review. Noah makes an appearance in the Thanksgiving chapters! I even have a Quick scene in chapter 35. I will try to write more Sue, Will, and Emma, maybe in the Glee scenes, and of course, they will all be there for the trial! :)

Lord Jeremy Silver: I'm glad you are enjoying the story! Thank you for all of your reviews so far! :)

Qaanie: Haha, I'm happy you're happy about the shoutout. I am not sure about Santana's relationship, mostly because of everything going on right now, I don't think she could handle a relationship, but also because I am doing season 1's canon storyline of the "behind the scenes" Brittana (just without the cheating parts). But I may do something after the trial and sentence hearing, when things calm down. :)

Thank you to ALL my reviewers! We are heading towards 200 so quickly, which is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Thank you!


Notes: This is the longer version of the chapter 32 excerpt. Santana/Rachel find out why David was acting this way to Britt, and you find out just what kind of secret Brittany, Quinn, Azimio, and David have been keeping from the others!

Enjoy! :)


Thursday, November 19th, 2009


*McKinley High School*

It is Thursday morning when it happens. Just before their free period. Brittany is unaware of the looming football player making his way straight for her. She is chatting with Santana when it does happen. The older girl is leaning against the lockers and, since Britt's locker door is open, no one sees him.

Until the door is slammed shut, that is, and she comes to have a face full of one David Karofsky.

He looks pissed and she wonders why, though it takes less than 10 seconds for her to realize exactly why.

"Will one of you please explain to me why the fuck Coach Sylvester told us Rachel Berry is off limits? What the hell, Pierce?" He punctuates this by jabbing his finger in her direction, "You said you'd keep us in the loop!"

She sighs. Yeah, she should have known this was going to come up sooner or later, and maybe it was bitch move not letting Z and Dave in on the "know". But, she has had a shit-ton going on, and it was just not top priority.

However, before she can say anything, Santana is stepping around her to in-between her and Dave.

"Karofsky, who do you think you are, coming at my girl like that?"

Brittany groans at the same time David rolls his eyes. And they both bite out,

"Hush, Santana!" – "Shut it, Lopez!"

To which they get an immediate response of, "Brittany!"

"No!"

While Santana is busy resembling a fish out of water, Brittany turns her attention back to David. "Dave, I need you to tell Z that–…" And she falters here because, fuck, this moment is something all of them have wanted to happen for years.

She takes a deep breath and can tell by the change in the football player's body language that he understands but is also trying to reel in the eagerness. "I need you to tell him that I need to speak with him… and you… in the gym… at–… at lunch. Okay?"

Rachel and Quinn are still going home at lunch, and now, she guesses she and Santana are going to be staying the rest of the day. It seems she has a lot of explaining to do.

It must seem so odd, though, to everyone watching, one of Rachel's protectors conversing with one of the football players who used to slushy her. Briefly, she wonders if Quinn remembers the deal the four of them made all that time ago.

She can tell he definitely remembers by the minute break in David's voice as he grits out, "… You don't get to fuck with us like that, Pierce."

And she swallows past the lump in her throat.

"Please, Dave. Just do it. Okay?"

It is surprising that Santana stayed quiet this long. Brittany recalls the moment they made the decision to keep the Latina out of their plans.

Now, it is confusing, and she is unsure of who needs protecting from who because to her, Brittany Pierce and David Karofsky are having the type of conversation that should never take place between two people like them.

"Brittany–" Santana tries it again but just gets the hand, and she blinks in… something.

"No, hush."

"Britt–"

God, she really does have time this…

"Go stand by Rachel. I have this under control."

"Britt–!"

"No, Santana!" David begins to actually to question whether doing this now was the best way to do it. "Go. stand. by. Rachel, now!"

And if people were not confused before, they certainly are now. Because Brittany Pierce does not yell, not at Santana, not at anyone, really, but absolutely not at Santana.

"Whatever…"

David watches her walk a little ways down the hall, to where Rachel and Quinn are standing, observing them.

"You've been spending time with Rachel," He says, voice softer now. "She's wearing Quinn's Letterman, and Coach Sylvester put an Order of Protection on her. It… You…"

"David… please."

He suddenly understands that this conversation is not going to go anywhere right now. The bell rings and the students, though some linger, start to clear out. So he nods once, saying,

"Okay. Alright, fine. We'll see you at lunch."

And he turns. He walks away, to his locker, to his next class, leaving the rest of them hanging without answers.

"Anyone care to tell me what the fuck just happened?" Santana demands while Finn just sort of… points in the direction David just left in, and…

"Does anyone else feel like we've entered the Twilight Zone?"

"Brittany, what the hell was that?"

The dancer makes eye-contact with Quinn. She gets a miniscule nod from her friend before continuing to walk down the hallway, replying to Rachel with, "I'll tell you later."


Flashback:

Date: End of August 2007 (eighth grade)
Place: Lima High School

"Brittany!"

The 13-year-old whirls around at sound of her name. One of the football players, David Karofsky, is running towards her. And she smiles, because she likes him. He is nice. He is one of the only kids who does not make fun of her for going to the Resource room for help with her math.

"Hi, Davie," She uses the nickname that she knows David's best friend, Azimio Adams's little brother, Thomas, calls him.

"Hey, Britt. I have a question for you. Can I sit next to you in science? I don't think we are doing much."

"Yeah, sure."

The two continue down the hall and upstairs to their eighth grade science classroom. He even carries Brittany's books for her because his mama is raising him to be a gentleman.

Once in the class, Brittany goes to her normal science partner and asks if it is ok for them to trade for the day. Her name is Megan, and, whether she is pissy about being paired with Azimio, or just simply wants to be mean, Britt does not know.

All she does know is that it hurts, big time, when Megan replies with,

"Fine, Pierce. Besides, I don't like being your partner. Your always too stupid and slow to follow along, anyway!"

And it hurts, it really, really hurts. Because if there is one thing she will never get used to… it's being called 'stupid' or 'slow' or any of the other "nicknames" the kids have for her.

Maybe it is payback, she thinks, for how much they – the Unholy Trinity – have hurt their once best friend, Rachel Berry. That is also the reason that she does not ever complain to the teachers. Because she is sure that she deserves those "nicknames" for how awful she treats Rachel.

But, it seems like today is her day. Because their teacher, a wonderful older gentlemen by the name of Mr. Bryson, who has absolutely no patience for bullying, overhears Megan's words, and immediately snaps,

"Miss Taylor! Gather your things and go to the Office; you can do your assignment in there."

"But, Mr. Bryson! I didn't do anything!"

"There is no need to lie, Miss Taylor. I heard your words, loud and clear, as I am sure many of your classmates did. Now, gather your things and go to the Office."

Megan grumbles while trying to think of something to say that would get him to let her stay. She settles on, "But what if I don't understand something?"

He decides not to mention the irony of that statement, and instead says, "Then I will help you this afternoon in detention."

The rest of class 'oohs' her as she stuffs her book into her bag, and huffily stomps out. Mr. Bryson turns to Brittany then, and gentle asks, "Are you all right?"

Brittany just shyly nods her head and then goes to sit with both Azimio and David. They are tripled up today since Azimio would have been Megan's partner.

After they go through roll-call and go over the assignment from the night before, Mr. Bryson lets them have a free period, because Monday is Labor Day, which means no homework for the weekend.

"So, Britt, how have you been? We don't see you much except when Thomas goes to play with Maya."

The dancer just shrugs.

"Yeah… Well, you know. I've been busy with Cheerios."

"Yeah, you've been busy with Cheerios," Azimio repeats, then adds with some snark. "You have also been busy slushying your best friend, too, haven't you, Pierce?"

David slaps his shoulder, but Brittany is the one to actually reply to that. She looks up at the both of them from where she was drawing with her pencil on her notebook. They are shocked to see the tears in her eyes.

"You don't get to judge me when you have no idea of the reasons."

And Azimio nods once, immediately letting it go. The three change the subject to something more… easy to speak about. Like Thomas, Azimio's little brother, and his best friend, Maya, who just so happens to be Santana Lopez's little sister.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*Skip to end of November*

It has been four months. Four months of Dave and Z watching, in confusion, as Santana, Quinn, and Brittany all three treat Rachel horribly.

Every day it is the same – name calling, slushies, making fun of her. And every day, they ask Brittany what is going on. They ask Santana and they ask Quinn, and they go from simply asking to demanding because fuck, this just isn't right.

It confuses the hell out of them because they have seen, with their own eyes, the friendship between Rachel and the Unholy Trinity. They may not be close to the three girls. Hell, at this point, Z and David are mainly spending time with them because Thomas and Maya are best friends.

But they do know Santana loves her little sister, Maya, with all of her heart, and they know that if Maya were to find out about them doing all of that to Rachel then…

It would devastate the little girl. She is only 7, and there would be no way to actually explain this in terms that would make her understand why they had to go from being best friends with Rachel to… to being her worst enemies.

So, David and Azimio decide to, once and for all, demand to know what the fuck is going on.

Surprisingly, Brittany agrees to tell them. And Quinn tags along but not Santana. They get no reasoning for why Santana does not come but they don't question it. Because they are 13. And 13-year-olds don't think to question details like that.

Brittany tells them everything – Russell forcing Quinn to stop hanging out with Rachel, him forcing them to call her names, ignore her, and then… this year happened.

When he demanded that they start slushying her.

To say they are stunned would be the understatement of the year.

And god, they are 13 fucking years old. What the fuck are they supposed to say to this? How do they react?

Brittany asks them not to say anything and fuck, they listen. They agree. They fucking do exactly that.

:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/

*Skip to April 2008, end of eighth grade*

And when, 5 months later, in April, Brittany comes to them and tells them they have decided to tell a grown up, well…

They think maybe being friends with a bunch of girls wouldn't be so bad after all. And they, at 14 now, – older but not by much, – think nothing can shock or scare them. Because they are 14, and what do 14-year-old men have to be scared about?

But winter has turned to spring, and they are a little older, and they get a little too comfortable and then…

Then Brittany is coming to them an absolutely mess and Quinn looks like she is barely holding it together, and… why is she wearing a long-sleeve shirt under her Cheerios uniform when it is hot outside?

Z jumps to being protective immediately and both their hearts sink when she says,

"Santana's mom and dad are having another baby."

And while they should be happy, their minds go back to how Britt explained that they were going to tell someone last year, but then Santana's mom got pregnant, and, when she was supposed to be taking it easy, she was all stressed out because of how Santana was acting.

And all that stress led to a miscarriage and now…

Now they are having another baby. Now they can't just fucking tell them because if Santana acting out leads to stress then what would all this lead to?

"We can't keep doing this!" Brittany sobs. "We can't! Quinn isn't sleeping and she's started having anxiety attacks, and me and San can't keep pretending everything is fine, and we just can't do it, Z!"

And her voice breaks their heart, and because they are 14, and because, sometimes, 14-year-old little boys are gentlemen after all, David is immediately saying,

"We'll do it."

He knows it is confusing, so he continues with, "We will slushy her. Just the two of us. And someday, Brittany, someday, you will be able to tell someone, and when you do, all you have say is stop. Okay? That's it. And we will. We will stop. Okay?"

He looks to Azimio to back him up. Which Z does. Because these girls are family now. Santana is Thomas's best friend's big sister, and Britt and Q are just as important, so yeah…

He agrees.

And for the next two years, Azimio Adams and David Karofsky take over the task of giving Rachel Berry a daily Slushy Facial.

** End of flashback **


*Present time – Thursday – lunchtime*

It did not lessen the pain on the girls' faces. And, as they get older, the anger grows stronger inside David and Azimio.

Because Rachel is family to them. And now, two years later, the day they thought would never come seems to be here. So, at lunch, when they meet in the Gym, when Brittany shows up alone, when Santana does not come blazing in…

They still have to be sure because it isn't just them.

This does not affect just the three of them.

It affects Thomas. And Maya. And they are two little kids who have been protected from all of this for nearly three years.

So, Azimio has to be sure, and that is why he says, "I swear to God, Pierce, if I tell Thomas this, and it turns out to be a lie, I–… I won't be held accountable for my actions."

Because he needs to know. There are no 'backsies' with Thomas. His mind just would not understand. He has to be told something, have it explained, and something like this?

He will be told they do not have to be mean to Rachel anymore and to him? To him that would mean from now until they day they die, and if they have to go back on it, he just will not understand.

Brittany takes a deep breath, and she whispers, "We told Rachel's parents, and our parents, an-and the police." Her voice cracks but she forces out, "They were… They have been arrested, and–… and there's gonna be a trial and…" She makes eye contact with him. He sees the sincerity in her blue eyes.

"It's real. Okay? It's real."

But he just has to be sure.

"I just need you to be sure. Cause I–… I can't just tell him this and then it… I have to know for sure, ok? 100%, no joke."

She replies with, "I'll come with you to pick him up." And then adds, "I'll have San call her mom and Mamí can let the Office know you have permission to pick up Maya."

"We can all go back to Rachel's house, or my house, just whatever he is comfortable with." Always looking out for him. This is one of the things Z loves about the dancer. Other people see her as stupid or ditzy, but him? He gets to see the real Britany Pierce.

And that is absolutely amazing.

"We don't have to pretend now, Z, not anymore. It can… It's just–… It's true, 100%, I promise."


*Elementary school*

The best thing about all of this?

The little ones are surrounded by a plethora of older kids who will love and protect for as long as they possibly can.

"Uncle Z!"

And Brittany is reminded of this when Maya and Thomas come running out of the Elementary building, and Maya heads straight for Azimio.

"Hey! How's my bug?"

Azimio sweeps her up into her arms because he is big enough and strong enough to go that. He becomes less of the mean football player he is known as at school and more of the 15-year-old who adores his little brother.

"Good! Did she tell you, did she, did she?" Maya bounces on her heels after she is placed back down. Z smiles at her excitement.

"Yeah, bug, she told me."

And while he is speaking with Maya, Brittany bends down in front of his little brother, Thomas.

"Hello, Thomas."

The 8-year-old smiles back, "Hi, Miss B…," He then frowns as he notices that she has been crying and, just as he has been taught by his big brother and friends, he asks, "May I touch your face?"

Brittany gives him permission, so he does. His fingers gently brush against her cheek. "… You've been crying. Did something bad happen? Maya has been happy all day, but mommy says stuff can happen even while we are at school. Your parents are ok, right? Miss Jen and Mister Michael? And Lexie and Amara and Madalyn?

He is such a sweet little boy and, though he lacks the normal third-grader's level of social interaction abilities, which his family and friends are working on him with, he still is able to pick up on some things that others may miss.

And Brittany smiles because of that. Because he is so much smarter than anyone gives him credit for.

"Yes, Thomas." She answers. "Everything is all right. And no, nothing bad happened. In fact, these are happy tears. And your big brother and I, we have some very good news for you."

She looks to Azimio and Maya. The little girl is practically buzzing with excitement, and the older boy, he smiles as Thomas looks up at him, confused.

"It's about Rachel, bud… Miss B's friend."

Of course Thomas knows who she is. Maya talks about her all the time, and he remembers meeting her when he and Maya met in preschool.

"The one you have to be mean to?" He questions. "You have to call her names, throw slushies on her, and–"

"Thomas…"

The little boy stops as his brother says his name, and he realizes this may be one of those times his parents are trying to teach him about – social cues, mainly what to say and what not to say.

But just to be sure, he asks, "I am sorry, Miss B… Was that rude, Bubba?"

And Z smiles, "Yes, bud. It was a little rude."

He understands why it would be. So he says, "I apologize, Miss B." And hopes that he did not upset his friend too much.

But Brittany just smiles and says, "That is ok, Thomas. It was the truth. I did have to do all of those things to Rachel. But, that is the good news is–"

"It's good news that you have to slushy Miss Rachel and call her names?" Now he is confused. Because he was told that this was something bad they had to do. And it was explained that all those things were something that Miss B and her friends hated having to do to Miss Rachel. And that is why it was bad.

Except, maybe this was thing was only bad because they did not like it, like how he thinks getting shots is bad, but they help protect him from sickness, so he has to get them anyway.

Brittany waves off Z who was about to gently scold Thomas for interrupting. And instead, she says, "No, you see, the good news is… Well,… We do not have to do that anymore. We finally told someone."

"About you slushing Miss Rachel and calling her names?" He checks because he wants to understand that this is what Miss B is meaning.

"Yes. About us having to slushy Rachel and calling her names, and every other bad thing. We told our parents and the police, so now we do not have to do it anymore. No more slushying, no more mean names, just us being Miss Rachel's best friend, and protecting her."

"Like Maya protects me from the kids who pick on me," He asks because he is aware, no matter what people think, of the mean words people call him, and the fact that this leads Maya Lopez to fight for him. "and call me names, like you did with Miss Rachel?

"Yes, exactly like Maya does with you."

He nods at this but before he can say anything, Maya jumps in, eagerly asking, "Britty, can we go see Rachie, please, please, please? And Thomas and Uncle Z can come, too, right?" She looks up at him and Azimio wants to say yes but he knows that it will throw Thomas off if they do not do their usual afterschool routine.

Which is home, snack, TV, tablet time, homework, shower, dinner, skype with Maya, and then bed. He is very particular about it and it helps him immensely because his brain is unable to appropriately process why the routine is disrupted, which will lead to a sensory overload and/or meltdown.

He is thankful, though, that Brittany mentions this Maya. Britt understands more than most people and she can handle Thomas's sensory overloads and even his meltdowns like a pro.

She is an amazing person and he knows people do not often give her enough credit for that. Because there is a lot more to life than being book smart and getting good grades.

And Maya understands herself. She has seen it. It is what happens when the teacher forgets to tell Thomas's parents about a scheduled fire drill or tornado drill, and his school/class routine is messed up.

The loud noises, the disruption from his routine, and the crowds rushing outside, along with the kids being rowdy and wild definitely cause a sensory overload.

So, she agrees that it would not be good for Thomas to come over right. But, she is absolutely thrilled when Thomas, himself, asks if they can come over on Saturday.

And he does it in such a polite voice that Brittany is sad she has missed just how far he has come in his learning over the last few years of not really seeing him.

Azimio drops Brittany and Maya off at Rachel's house before he heads home with Thomas.


*Rachel's house – after Glee (Brittany did not go to Glee)*

Dave pulls up right as the others are pulling in with Mike, who is dropping them off after Glee practice.

Dave was at football practice (which Azimio skipped for today), and he says Z texted him and he wanted to be there when Britt explained things to Rachel and Santana because he knows Quinn is not speaking, and it would be unfair to put all that responsibility on Brittany for by herself.

The girls follow them inside after saying 'goodbye' to Mike, and Rachel shows everyone to the basement. San is pissed off, not only because of how Brittany acted this morning, but also for her disappearing at lunch, and refusing to explain why, and then again after school.

She has no idea why or how David Karofsky and Azimio Adams suddenly fit into this. And she demands to know what the fuck is going on and…

They explain it.

Brittany tells her about how her and Quinn told them what was going on. When she says the exact date, Santana realizes they lied about having to go to see Coach Sylvester at lunch that day. And instead, they snuck off to the bleachers by the football field and told these two football players what was happening.

To say she is enraged would be the understatement of the year.

"Have you lost your fucking minds?! What the hell were you thinking?! Do you know what could have fucking happened if that jackass found out that you told someone?!"

Quinn is too caught in things to react to the yelling but oh, does Brittany do it for her.

"Santana Maria Lopez, don't you dare take that tone of voice with me!"

Both girls are standing and everyone – Rachel, Quinn, and Dave, – stay quiet, wide-eyed, alarmed, and a million other emotions, as they watch and wait for Santana's reaction…

"I'll take that tone of voice if I want! Do you REALIZE what was at stake when you told them?! How do you know they could be trusted?! Why the fuck did you trust them?! They are ones that were fucking slushying Rachel, Brittany!"

Brittany slaps away the hand and finger Santana is pointing in her direction, and jabs a finger into the fuming girl's chest as she emphasizes,

"I am going to say this once, and one time only so listen very carefully – Thomas Adams is Maya's best friend. Azimio loves him more than life itself, and Dave? Dave is so much more than a high school boy who plays football. They both care deeply for every person in this room, and several that are not here at the moment. They would never do anything to put that at risk."

"You want to know why they were slushying Rachel? You want to know why, Santana? Well, I will tell you why – because Quinn and I fucking went to them and told them about us telling someone. And then, we went and told them about Mamí being pregnant, and then, Santana, then, we went to them and told how we couldn't keep doing that!"

She takes a deep breath though it does absolutely nothing to actually calm her down.

"We told them that we could keep doing that, and they volunteered, Santana. They volunteered to slushy Rachel, so we did not have to. Did you ever wonder why the fuck we stopped doing it? Huh?! Did you?! Because they are the reason why! They volunteered to fucking do it and now, Santana, now they are going to stop because – finally – we fucking told someone. So now, Santana, now they are our friends, and if you cannot except that, right there is the door, and you can show yourself out!"

Brittany turns, walks exactly six steps, stops, stays facing away, and says,

"Santana Maria, I love you with all of my heart, and you are my very bestest friend in the whole world, but if you ever imply ever again, that I am not smart enough to think of the consequences to my actions, you and I will not be friends anymore."

And then, she walks up the stairs, out of the basement, and to the kitchen, where she calls her mom to come and pick her up.


That ending came out of nowhere. I literally had a burst of anger and was trying to show Santana being pissed off and that was the outcome. So, you got three new characters – Azimio and Dave – in this one, along with seeing Maya again, and Z's little brother, Thomas. And also Brittana fighting, which was fun to write.

About Thomas – I just want to say it now that he has Autism. Just in case it was confusing the way I was describing him. He and Maya are best friends, she is his little protector, all 4 foot-2 inches of her.

And also, they had a deal – Quinn and Britt had told Z and Dave about what was happening, and that was why they were slushying Rachel. That part on Monday was because no one told them the deal was off, but they know now, so no more slushies!

Rachel is under the protection of not only Sue Sylvester and the Unholy Trinity, but also several football players (Mike, Matt, Finn, Noah, Z, & Dave). She has went from the very least popular student, to one of the most protected.

Now, the extended part of this can be found in Snapshots. It will have two extended scenes, one of which will be directly after Brittany leaves the basement. I will probably put it up sometime later today. I want a few people to rea this first, because the extended scene definitely will not make sense if you do not read this first!

Please review and let me know what you thought! :)