Hey, guys! I'm really sorry for the huge gap in updating. I had a terrible case of writer's block for this chapter. I actually rewrote the entire thing twice before it finally came to me and I managed to finish it.

Sectionals is now over, with the obvious New Directions win and the girls rejoining the group. Next will be Christmas and lots of fluff. Maybe a filler chapter or two. I still have plans for the Shelby/Rachel story line for this story.

Also, I don't remember if I said anything about it, but after this story is over, I have plans for a third installment in this series. But don't worry. I still have a lot to get through before I tackle on that. But, I hope this chapter makes everyone happy. It feels like a long time coming since I noticed the other day, I wrote Written in the Stars over a year ago. It's been so much fun doing this story and I love writing all of this. I miss Glee and all the joy it brought to my world. I really relate myself to Santana, because I struggled when I first came to terms with my own sexuality, and I behaved a lot like she did. I put up a huge front and replaced it with fake smiles and anger and hid my feelings for my (ironically) best friend. But things have changed. I've learnt to accept myself. I spent so many years doing things and being someone that pleased other people before myself and Glee, and other things, have certainly helped me to achieve that. And I hope that if any of you out there are reading this, and were like me, reading and divulging themselves in fanfiction to try and ignore reality, that you understand you're not alone.

I will be back with another chapter soon hopefully. Let me know what you all think. Any thoughts are appreciated. Even the negative ones. You guys are the best. Lots of love, and remember, always be brave. ~BraveGirl

Ch:11

Logan

"Are you sure you're up to performing? I'm sure Mr. Shue wouldn't mind you sitting out on tonight's performance after what happened yesterday."

I let out a sigh as I held the door to the auditorium open for my parents, turning my back to the sounds of mic checks and chatter echoing off the walls. "I'm not going to sit out on tonight's performance. This is my last year in the group. Not to mention without me, the only girls in the group are Quinn, Tina and Skylar."

"Rachel's not performing?"

Rolling my eyes, I pointed over at a row of seats blocked off by a rope, waving at Hiram and LeRoy and the other parents already seated. "No, she's not. Apparently she stuffed a bunch of ballets with Kurt's name on them during the voting for class president last week. She owned up to it to keep Kurt from taking the blame for it and she was banned from competing tonight."

"We're just worried about you, honey."

When we finally reached the choir room, where I smiled and briefly exchanged a few words with some of the other New Directions members before turning back to face my parents. "I know that I scared you guys yesterday, but I cannot let myself become that person again. I don't want to go back to that place where I shut everyone out. Please. I need this."

My mothers shared a brief look, you know, one of those "we've been together for so long that I know what that little quirk of an eyebrow means," before wrapping their arms around me. "Okay. We're gonna go be good parents and sit with Hiram and LeRoy and take loads of pictures to show our grandkids. Speaking of, are you and Santana going to be hyphenating or…?"

Feeling my eyes widen, I gently shoved my mothers in the opposite direction. "Oh my god, you two are incorrigible! Go find your seats."

"Hey, we like Santana. You have our blessing."

After a glare, the two disappeared into the crowd of people parents, the blush from their comments about me and Santana deepening when Maribel and Tony, who both waved atheistically in my direction. I gave a small smile in return, weaving my way through the crowds to make it backstage, my eyes searching the small area for my teammates.

"Nice dress."

The sudden voice that was very close to my ear startled me, and I automatically jumped, turning with a glare as the owner of the voice laughed. "Sorry. I thought you knew I was standing there."

I playfully hit the girl's shoulder, which only caused her to laugh harder and I let out a huff, trying to calm my heart from frantically beating around my chest. "How the hell was I supposed to know you where there? I didn't even see you as I walked up. Were you hiding out and waiting for me or something?"

Santana blushed lightly, tearing her eyes away from mine before wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me in the direction of the other glee clubbers. Thankfully, despite the impending competition, the Trouble Tones and the New Directions were all huddled together. "Maybe, maybe not, Mackenzie. You'll never know."

"Or I could just force you to tell me."

She slowed her steps, and by extension my own as we neared the group, letting out a snort. "Never knew the word force was in your vocabulary. But please, do enlighten me on how you think you would force any kind of information out of me?"

Shrugging a shoulder, I stepped out of her arm, sliding my hand down until her fingers met mine, entwining both of them together before tugging her towards me, a smile forming on my face as her eyes widened. Leaning in slightly, I could hear her breath hitch as my face inched closer to hers, chuckling when I placed a quick kiss to her cheek and broke away from her, marching over towards a smiling Quinn who had, no doubt, been watching the entire exchange.

From behind me I heard a small wine before Santana was suddenly by my side again, a frown plastered on her incredibly beautiful features. "You're a fucking tease, you know that?"

"Only for you, Lopez."

"Whatever. I gotta go round up my girls. I'll catch you ladies after the show. We still on for the part tonight, Q?"

The blonde in question nodded, and I mumbled a quiet goodbye, my eyes following Santana's form until I could no longer see her. From beside me, Quinn cleared her throat and I turned my attention towards her, a goofy smile on my face. "What?

Rolling her eyes, Quinn wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "You've got it bad, my friend. You've got it bad."

"Excuse me?"

The blonde smiled, squeezing my shoulder as the rest of the glee club all formed around us. Mr. Shue and Shelby were off talking quietly to the side, and after they dispersed, I smiled politely at the older brunette, making a mental note to ask Rachel later if she'd had the chance to speak with her yet.

"Your not so obvious feelings for Santana. It's refreshing, though. To see both of you so in tune with each other. It's about damn time, too."

Raising an eyebrow, I crossed my arms over my chest, pointedly looking at my best friend. "Oh, and you and my sister were so much better?"

Quinn's smile quickly dropped from her face as she pulled her phone out of her dress pocket. "That's completely different."

"How is my sister holding up?"

The blonde blushed, tapping the screen of her phone a few times before tucking it away again. "She's acting to be expected. Dramatically declaring it the end of the world as we know it. What about you? Are you doing okay?"

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged a shoulder, my eyes scanning the group of people seeing as her question had caught the attention a few of the other glee club members. "I am fine. Despite what happened yesterday, I feel fine. I'm assuming whatever plans San was referring to earlier is that sleepover you've been planning for a week?"

"Uh, hell yeah? We're celebrating our win, party style! Without Puck and his tendencies to ask to watch while your sister and I kiss."

Grimacing, I faked gag, causing Tina to chuckle while the blonde next to me simply rolled her eyes. "At least we know dramatics run in the family for you guys. Anyway, party plans include massive amounts of pizza and junk food, and, drum roll please…Disney movie marathon with every member attending being forced to sing their favorite song."

Raising an eyebrow in question at the singing portion, Quinn shrugged, leaning back in her own chair. "I promised Rachel that we could do a sing-a-long since she couldn't perform tonight, okay?"

"Ha. Whipped much?"

The blonde snorted, turning her head towards me. "How many times have you tried to say no to that pout…and lost?"

Frowning, I slid out of my seat, giving myself a once over in the compact mirror Tina was handing around for last minute makeup checks. "Point taken. And besides, what if we don't win tonight? Are we just celebrating for the heck of it?"

"Yes. We're celebrating a win either way. Even if it's for the Trouble Tones."

From out of the corner of my eye, I silently counted everyone in attendance in our group, frowning as I came up one member short. "Whatever. Hey, have you seen Skylar? She's not here, and I didn't see her coming up?"

"Yeah, because you were too busy making goo-goo eyes at Santana. But, yes, I have seen her. She's around here somewhere. Have you managed to talk to her yet?"

I let out a sigh, shaking my head, my own phone vibrating in my pocket. I pulled out the device, glancing up at Quinn before glancing back down at the message on the phone screen. "No, uh, I haven't. I need to run to the bathroom before we start. Save me a seat if you guys head out before I get back, okay?"

Quinn nodded, watching me a confused look as I slid out the back entrance of the auditorium and into the girl's bathroom, my eyes glancing around until I noticed Skylar leaning against one of the sinks. "Hey. You got my message."

"Yeah. I was surprised to see it, though. I figured you'd be ignoring me for the rest of the school year or something."

The blonde grimaced, hanging her head. "Listen. I totally reacted horribly yesterday. It's not a good enough excuse to throw your past in your face like I did, but something inside of me snapped when Santana told me about what happened back in Chicago. I just…I felt like no matter what I did or will do, she's always going to be one step ahead of me when it comes to you. And she will be, won't she? Always one step ahead?"

Frowning, I watched as the girl looked up at me, pain and something that looked a lot like longing swirling in her eyes. "Santana and I are complicated, Sky…you know that."

"I know. I know that no matter what I do or say, it's not going to change how you feel about her. Will it?"

My mouth opened and closed a few times, my brain trying to come up with the right words to respond. But it came up with nothing, and I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind that I couldn't lie to her anymore. Or to myself.

"No. Nothing is going to change how I feel about Santana."

Skylar nodded, pushing herself off the sink and making her way towards me. "She'd better make you really happy."

Despite the depressing matter of the conversation, I smiled slightly as my mind instantly thought of the brunette. "She does. I promise."

"Well, then I guess all I can say is that you shouldn't wait to make your move. If you want the girl, go and get the girl."

"But we-."

Skylar shook her head, taking those last few steps until she was directly in front of me, her hands seeking mine out and squeezing them slightly when she found them. "No. Don't try and explain anything to me, okay? I've known all along that you two belong together. I was just selfish in thinking that I could change it. But who the hell am I to stand in the way of love?"

Smiling sadly, I pulled my hands away from hers only to wrap them around her shoulders tightly. "You're gonna make a girl really happy one day, Sky."

The blonde laughed into my shoulder, returning the hug just as tightly. "Thanks."

Pulling away from the embrace, I kept my hands on the girl's shoulders. "We're still friends right? Even if we're not…you know?"

Skylar scoffed, taking a step backwards before wiping at the bottom of her eyes in the mirror. "Like you can get rid of me that easily, Logan."

Chuckling, I held my arm out for the girl, pulling her out of the bathroom and in the direction of the auditorium. "Good. Because you make life interesting. I couldn't to get rid of you even if I wanted to. And I don't. Oh, hey, you know Quinn is holding that sleepover party thing after the competition tonight, right?

"Yeah, she invited me. What about it?"

"Are you coming?"

The blonde shrugged as we stopped outside the auditorium doors, glancing over at me. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I want to indulge in the chaos that I know will ensue all night."

"All night? Quinn's planning this thing to last all weekend. Unfortunately. We're apparently making this celebration thing last until Monday."

The sound of music starting pulled us out of the conversation and I opened the door, glancing up at the stage to see the Unitards just starting their performance. Turning back to the blonde, I let out a sigh, smiling slightly. "Come on. We have competition to make fun of and then we're gonna win this thing. You don't have to say yes to coming to the party right now. I get it. It'll be awkward and stuff, but at least promise you'll think about it? Please?"

Skylar stared at me for a few seconds before nodding, pulling me into the auditorium and towards the two remaining seats next where the other New Direction members were watching the group on stage. I took my seat next to Quinn, Skylar in the empty seat behind me next to Mr. Shue. I smile slightly as the blonde next to me raised an eyebrow, her silent question asking if everything was okay.

The Unitards performance was good. Their lead singer was exactly as they all said, excellent. But we definitely had this in the bag. The Trouble Tones had yet to do their set, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Sure, I thought we had a pretty good chance at winning, but there was pretty talented girls on that team. They had just as much of a chance as we did at winning.

Before I could blink again, the Unitards were making their way off stage, and I followed along with the clapping to be polite, but soon enough Mr. Shue was directing us back out of the auditorium to get ready for our performance after the Trouble Tones.

The all-girl group was busying themselves at the bathroom outside the back entrance doors, and I easily let myself rest against the cool wall, my eyes watching for one particular girl to emerge from the bathroom. Eventually a stage hand came out to announce that the Trouble Tones had two minutes before their slot, and finally Santana walked out of the bathroom. I kicked off the wall, yelling out the girl's name to grab her attention before she could disappear into the crowd of her teammates.

"Hey. What's up?"

Without breaking my straight face, I slid up to the girl, grabbing her by the straps of the dress she was wearing and pulling her to me, our lips crashing together. For a second, I felt her tense, but just as quickly she melted into the kiss, her lips moving against mine.

Hearing the wolf whistle from behind me, I pulled back, both of our cheeks flushed as I quickly wiped the smeared lip gloss off the other girl's lips before letting my hand cup the girl's cheek. "You remember what you told me a few weeks ago at that party?"

The Latina nodded, her cheeks still slightly flushed. Either from the kiss or the round of applause we were now receiving from our friends. "When I told you I loved you?"

Smiling, I winked at the girl as the stage hand was now calling them up for their performance. "I love you, too."

With her own smile, Santana and I pulled apart, both of us joining our different groups. When the Trouble Tones were out of sight, and what I recognized as I Will Survive started to play out of the auditorium speakers, my eyes finally landed on the other members of my group, each of them wearing a smile as they looked knowingly at me.

"What the hell are all of you smiling at?"

Quinn let out a sigh, slinging an arm around my shoulders. "It's about damn time! I thought Rachel and I were going to have to run an interference before one of you made a move on the other. And let me say, that was one hell of a kiss, Mackenzie."

Rolling my eyes, I ignored the other comments about the kiss, instead opting to smile to myself. My lips were still tingling from the sensation of Santana's lips against my own. One victory down tonight, one more to go.

Logan

"I am so stoked! Logan, you'll have to show us where all the good tourist sites are in Chicago at Nationals!"

Chuckling lightly, I broke off from the group of girls giggling in the middle of my living room floor, taking a sip from my water bottle. "Sure. I'll be the unofficial tour guide."

Despite our win at Sectionals, I was feeling kinda bummed about it. The Trouble Tones gave us a run for their money tonight, and to me, it wasn't fair that their competition season was over. Or at least, was over if they didn't take up on the offer the rejoin the New Directions, with a guarantee that the Treble's would be able to perform an entire song at every competition.

Sliding the patio doors open, I shivered slightly as the cold air whipped around me, and I was suddenly thankful that I had thought to grab my hoodie when changing earlier. A round of laughter rang out from behind me, and I smiled to myself, happy that they were all happy.

I slumped down into the patio chair, letting out a breath and allowing my head to lean back against the chair, opting to stare up into the night sky, something that I had done on my first night here in Lima. And something that I still tried to do as often as I could.

"So I guess congrats are in order."

Turning my head slightly, my eyes focused on Santana, who I assumed had just shown up seeing as she was the only one who wasn't in attendance when I left the others moments ago. "Hey. I tried to find you after the show, but Mercedes said you already left."

The brunette shrugged, closing the patio door behind her before walking in my direction. I silently scooted over, holding my hand out and smiling slightly as she automatically took it, taking the spot next to me. The chair was small, and I was forced to lay on my halfway on my side to even fit on the chair with her, but I didn't care.

"I'm sorry you guys lost."

Santana shrugged again, and I wrapped my arms around her right one, leaning my chin on her shoulder to watch her face as she stared up at the sky like I had been doing. "You guys were better than us. You all deserved to win."

Squeezing her arm slightly, I scooted in what limited space I had, my own attention turning towards the stars above us. I felt the girl next to me shift slightly, the arm that I had wrapped myself around now resting across my hip. The sheer shift in our relationship wasn't unnoticed. 'Friends' didn't exactly cuddle like this, or kiss and decree their love for each other either, but that was a conversation that could be held later.

"I'd never seen the stars until I moved here."

"Really?"

Nodding, I cuddled down further into the warm body next to me, my eyes dancing over every star and constellation I could find. "You couldn't see them in Chicago. Something about the city lights or whatever."

"My Papi used to take me outside at night and point out the stars to me. I remember he once told me that when you love somebody enough, and look up at the stars, wherever that person is, they'll be looking at the same time. Something about fate or whatever. I don't really remember. It's been a while."

Silence filled the space between us, and it wasn't an awkward once, but one that was clam and easy to sit in. The kind of silence I felt whenever I was with my family, or my friends. One where nothing needed to be said.

"Quinn asked me about rejoining the New Directions."

"Are you going to?"

Santana shrugged, her fingers beginning to trace absent minded patterns on my hip. "I think it depends."

I opted to focus on the conversation, instead of the tingling that was spreading throughout my body as her fingers danced across my jean covered leg. "Depends on what?"

"Whatever this is between me and you. And what about softball girl? Is she gonna like that we're doing this? Because I don't have intentions to stop this anytime soon."

I slowly shook my head, nuzzling the shoulder that it was resting on. "Skylar and I are just friends. And this is us. It's always been us."

The fingers on my hip stalled slightly, only to grab my hand and entwine our fingers together and rest our hands against my leg. "You ever feel like things happen for a reason?"

"Honestly? I do. I like to believe that everything's meant to happen, no matter what it is or what comes of it. It's all written in the stars."

Santana nodded, seeming to contemplate my words as we continued to stare up at the night sky, another round of comfortable silence washing over us. Thinking about my words, I let my eyes close, taking comfort in the girl's presence. "Will you stay with me this weekend? Sunday is…I don't wanna be alone again…"

The hand tangled up with mine squeezed slightly, and I could feel the other girl place a light kiss to the side of my head before I felt her nod. "You wanna talk about it?"

Chewing on my bottom lip, I carefully thought about my next words. "I don't…I've never talked to anyone about what happened. Except the police. Rachel is probably the only one who knows, and even then she doesn't know all of it."

"You don't have to-."

"I want to. I just…not now, okay?"

"I'm not gonna force you to talk about it. But I'll be here, whenever you're ready to. But can I at least ask you something?"

Nodding into her shoulder, I finally opened my eyes, coming face to face with a familiar pair of soft brown ones that instantly made my heart flutter around in my chest. For the first time, save for a few moments where she had managed to let her guard down, her eyes no longer held that sense of anger and self-hatred. Instead they were full of…well…love. And I vowed to myself that I would do anything in my power to make sure they stayed that way.

"What happened with Nicole, it's not…this is real, right? I'm not gonna wake up tomorrow and find out all of this was a dream? Or that you're just doing this to get over her?"

At some point, the question would have angered me. Because I used to think that I would never, ever be happy after Nicole's death. I didn't expect to, and I didn't try to be. But everything changed after I met Santana.

"It's not a dream. I promise. And no, I'm not using you to get over her. I tried that. With a few girls back in Chicago and all it did was make me even colder. Don't tell my sister that, please, she'll flip. But I love you, Santana. I have been in love with you since I met you last year. Love isn't a feeling I want to take for granted anymore. I want this, with you. All of it. I'm done living in the past. I'm done blaming myself for things that I have no control over."

The smile that appeared on the other girl's face was contagious, and before I could begin to contemplate that feeling of relief that came with my words, her lips were on mine, and every single thought was pushed to the back of my mind. All I could think and feel was Santana.

"Seriously? You two snuck out here to make out?"

Jumping away from each other, my eyes widened as Santana slipped off the patio chair, landing on the ground with a thud and string of curse words in two different languages. I leaned over the edge as my sister and Quinn began to laugh hysterically, my hand reaching out to the spot on her head where the brunette was rubbing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just hit my head on the concrete."

Laughing lightly, I placed a quick kiss to the spot before standing up and holding my hands out to the girl, pulling her to her feet as she glared towards the duo still laughing in the doorway of the house. "Keep laughing, assholes. Karma is a bitch and she keeps razor blades in her hair for instances just like this."

Rolling my eyes, I wrapped my arms around the girl's waist, pulling her into the house behind my best friend and sister in the direction of the laughter and what sounded like the beginnings of a Disney movie.

We huddled down into a corner of the couch, Quinn and Rachel cuddled up on the other side. And I couldn't help but think, as everyone was singing along with the opening song of The Lion King, pressed into Santana's side, how the hell did I get so damn lucky?