After almost a full twenty-four hours of traveling Santana's flight finally touched down at LAX. The pilot spoke over the intercom. "Welcome to Los Angeles, Ladies and Gentlemen. The local time is 11:45 am and the weather is a humid 91 degrees and sunny. On behalf of the flight crew I would like to say thank you for flying with us today and we hope you enjoy your stay in LA. Have a great day everyone."

Santana rose from her seat in first-class promptly. She opened the overhead compartment and grabbed her carry-on bag. She pulled her purse onto her shoulder and dragged her small suitcase behind her as she made her way off of the plane. She let out a deep sigh. "This is it," she thought to herself. "Back home. Back to reality." As she walked swiftly down the corridor and past the terminal gate she slipped her Gucci sunglasses onto her face hoping to disguise herself slightly. She could already see a few paparazzi standing around anticipating her arrival. Santana didn't used to mind them very much. There were a few guys that followed her around on a regular basis and they were always very polite and respectful. They didn't bug her with the gossipy questions too much. In general, they kept things light and just hoped to get a smile out of her. Things changed last May when the story broke about her secret two and a half year relationship with fellow Hollywood starlet Dani Lomanto. Once the media got a hold of that story they became relentless in their constant digging for more gossip. The questions became ultra personal, inappropriate and often times perverted. And more and more paparazzi would follow her on a daily basis. It was no longer just the same few faces she had gotten used to. It was now at least a dozen guys chasing her down, shoving their cameras and video cameras in her face. That is what ultimately led to Santana fleeing for the summer.

It wasn't enough that she was dealing with a breakup, trying to mend a broken heart; no. Everyone wanted to ask her questions... Expecting her to divulge the intimate details of her love life to them. Some of her fans were even taking things a little too far. They would send her intrusive tweets, write suggestive blogs, and some even went as far as to shame her for being in the closet. Santana didn't really blame them though. On some level she agreed with them that remaining in the closet for so long was a complete and utter act of cowardice, which was extremely out of character for Santana. She didn't seem to care what people thought about her. And that is what drew most of her fans to her. Her "I don't give a damn what you think" attitude coupled with her sweet and welcoming smile made her seem genuine. She was someone young girls could relate to. She felt real to them. Now, they all seemed to wonder if that was just an image she was putting forth. Did her PR team mold her into what they thought the public wanted? Was she really just a pathetic coward who couldn't stand the thought of being who she really was that she had to live a fake life in the public eye? That she could only be herself behind closed doors. Some of her fans felt let down... Like she betrayed them. And if she was being honest with herself, she knew that was the worst part about all of this.

She honestly didn't care that people knew she was a lesbian. She truthfully didn't have an issue with her sexuality one bit. In her defense, she never did pretend to be straight. When her team suggested that she start "dating" a Hollywood heartthrob she quickly shot that suggestion down with a laugh. No way in hell she was gonna be in a faux relationship. Whenever she was photographed with a man, whether he was a friend or costar, the media would immediately plant the seed and splash the picture all over social media with the tag line "Santana Lopez steps out with new beau". And she would laugh it off. Whenever she was being interviewed she would deny the dating rumors because they weren't true. And if an interviewer asked if she was dating a special guy, or asked her if she had a boyfriend she would always say no. Again... The truth. Was it her fault they didn't ask if she had a girlfriend? However, she couldn't pretend to be completely innocent in all of this. There was definitely some deception on her part. Whenever she was photographed with Dani everyone just assumed they were best friends. After all, they had known each other for years and had both entered the spotlight at the same time. At that point in time, they were truly just best friends. So that is what they presented the media and public with. Once their friendship blossomed into a romance no one suspected anything so there didn't seem to be a need to announce from the rooftops that they were in love. No one ever question the sight of the two of them out and about. Why would they? Truth be told, it was Dani that was adamant about keeping the relationship a secret. No one in her life knew she was dating Santana aside from her management team. None of her family or friends knew and she wanted to keep it that way. Santana agreed because she loved Dani and frankly, she felt that her personal life was no one's business. Still, when she would allow herself to dwell on it, she couldn't help but feel like a fraud.

"Ms. Lopez." Santana looked to her left and saw her friend waiting for her at the end of the terminal.

"Puck!" She was relieved to see his familiar face. Puck was Santana's childhood best friend turned personal bodyguard. "I am so glad to see you. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in to a hug.

"Me too, kid." He smiled, pulling away. He continued, "Just a fair warning... It's a mad house down there." His eyes full of concern for her.

"I figured it would be." She sighed. "Whatever, they can ask me whatever they want... I'm not gonna answer anything."

"Atta girl!" Puck said with a smile and he placed a military style cap on her head. "The sunglasses look good but I think this is a nice touch."

"Always looking out for me." She said with a smile.

Puck took her bag for her and they continued down the long corridor to the escalators. "Prepare yourself, Santana." He said with a laugh.

She smirked. "They better prepare themselves!"

As soon as Santana stepped onto the escalator she could hear the camera shutters clicking and she was blinded by the flicker of the flash bulbs. A wave of chaotic voices shouted out to her.

"Santana, over here!"

"Santana, where have you been?"

Flash. Flash. Click.

"Santana, have you spoken to Dani recently?"

Click. Flash. Click.

"Do you miss her?"

Puck put his arm around Santana and ushered her through the crowd of photogs. "Out of the way!" He scolded. Santana moved her hand to grip the brim of her hat. She held her head up high and kept looking straight ahead. Not paying any mind to the animals before her.

"How does it feel to be out the closet"

Click. Click. Click. Flash. Flash. Flash. Click.

"Are you still in love with her?"

Click. Flash. Click. Flash. Flash. Flash.

"What do you have to say to your fans?"

Flash. Click. Click. Flash. Flash.

"Are you heading back into the studio to finish your album?"

Click. Flash. Flash. Click. Click.

"Is it true that you turned Dani into a lesbian?"

With every question hurled at her Puck tightened his grip around her and kept barreling through the crowd of men with their lenses pointed at his friend. "Almost to the car," he said in her ear.

"Santana, smile!"

Flash. Flash. Flash.

"Is he serious?" She thought to herself. Smile? He just told her to smile. Of all the things that were being shouted at her for some reason that was what set her off. She turned and looked in the direction of the pap with the ridiculous request. She flipped her sunglasses up from over her eyes and grinned the biggest smile she could muster up and politely said "Fuck off."

"There it is look at that smile!" The man called back to her. "Thank you Santana." Did he not hear her? No, he heard her. "Ugh!" She thought to herself. She couldn't believe she let him get to her. That was exactly what he wanted. She fed right into it. Gave him a response. She was so annoyed with herself.

Flash. Click. Inappropriate question. Repeat.

Over and over again until they reached the outside. Santana could feel the LA heat swarm over her body. The humidity was so thick it felt as though you could cut through the air with a knife. The crowd of paparazzi followed her outside where a few more were awaiting her arrival.

"Move! Get the fuck out of my way!" Puck shouts as he pushes the newest photogs to join the crowd out of the way. He escorts Santana to the car that was waiting for her outside. He opens he door for her and as she lowered her head to take a seat in the car he guided her head in with his hand. He quickly slid in next to her and slammed the door behind him.

"Fucking vultures!" Puck said exasperated. "They are unbelievable." He ran his hand over the top of his head a few times, scratching at his closely buzzed haircut. He looked over to Santana. "Are you ok, babe?"

She let out a huge sigh. "I think I'm in shock. There were so many of them. More than ever before."

"Yeah I counted about 25-30." Puck informed her.

"Christ, that was intense. This isn't the God damn red carpet." She laughed frustratedly.

"Welcome home, Santana," a familiar voice called from the front seat.

She smiled. "Oh! Hey, Finn."

Before he could respond there was a loud thump on the side of the car. A few of the photographers were pounding on the car still yelling their questions hoping for a comment. Her smile quickly faded, "Ok, get me out of here NOW!" She demanded.

Finn laughed, "Right, sorry," and with that he put the car into gear and started driving toward Santana's house.

Finn was another childhood friend of Santana's. She did her best to keep her friends close to her. She promised them when they were younger that if she ever became famous she wouldn't leave them behind. Santana Lopez was true to her word. She was the most loyal friend anyone could ever ask for. Sure, sometimes, she would cut them with her viscous, vicious words, that was usually just all in good fun (she had a bizarre sense of humor). She would do anything for her friends. There were few people in this world that Santana truly thought of as friends. Sure, she had plenty of acquaintances, everyone in Hollywood did. But, true friends. Friends that she would do anything for, that type of friend, she only had a handful.

Aside from Puck and Finn, there was Quinn, Rachel and Kurt. They went to the same high school, in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles, and were all in Glee club together. Quinn and Santana were also on the Cheerios, the school cheerleading squad, and were attached at the hip. She didn't really become close with Kurt or Rachel until after high school. When Santana graduated from McKinley she went to the university of Louisville on a cheerleading scholarship but only lasted one semester. It just wasn't the right fit for her. She impulsively moved to New York City and didn't really have a plan. As luck would have it both Kurt and Rachel had been attending NYADA and Santana bumped into them at a coffee shop and they convinced her to move in with them. That wound up being the best thing that ever happened to her. After living in NYC for a few months she met Mercedes Jones an up and coming R&B sensation. They became instant friends and seemed to share a musical vibe. It was through her friendship with Mercedes she got introduced to the right people and her career would take off. Her friendship with Mercedes also brought her and Dani together. But she didn't hold that against Mercedes.

About an hour and half later Santana finally arrived at her Los Feliz home. She bid farewell to both Finn and Puck telling them she would call them in a few days after she had settled in and was cured of her jet lag. She couldn't wait to collapse on her bed. She had made sure her schedule was kept clear for the next week so that she could slowly get back into the mindset of being back in LA. There was nothing on her agenda for the next 24 hours except for sleep. Oh, and picking up her dog from Quinn. "I hope she remembers me," she thought to herself. She made her way up the stairs to her second floor bedroom. She made her way to the bathroom and started the shower. She turned to the double sink behind her and noticed it was tidy. There were no pill bottles strewn about. No toiletries cluttering up the counter. Nothing on the right side of the counter at all. Dani was gone. For a moment she had forgotten. Not necessarily forgotten that Dani had left, that they broke up and she was single. It was more that she had forgotten, although just for a moment, that Dani had ever been there. "Progress." She thought to herself. Maybe Dani would vanish from her mind sooner than anticipated. "One can hope..."

After her shower Santana flopped down onto her bed. She slowly sank into the lush bedding and let out a deep sigh. Despite everything, she was glad to be home. She pulled her down-comforter up over her body and snuggled down. And just then her stomach started to grumble. She suddenly realized she hadn't eaten since dinner in the London airport the night before. She debated for a moment as to whether it was more important to sleep or to eat. "They'll be plenty of time to eat in the morning," she decided. So sleep she did.

Author Notes:

Hey Guys- just a small update that I worked on this afternoon. I am currently in the process of writing the second portion of this chapter but I wanted to give you some more of what I had already finished. Please feel free to leave feedback/comments... It is much appreciated. This is my first ever fan fiction so this is very much a learning experience for me. I hope you enjoy the first part of this chapter! And I plan on updating again either later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Please excuse any typos you may come across. My laptop is on the fritz and I'm writing this on my ipad. I will correct my mistakes when I come upon them in later rereadinng/editing process. Thanks again and Happy reading!

PS- this is not gonna be a fic where Santana and Brittany get together quickly after meeting. There will be lots of build up and character development before that happens. Hopefully you stick with me and this story. Also, my chapters will be getting a bit lengthier.