A/N: Apologies for the extensive wait. Life, blah, blah…

BUT! Happy birthday to me! And my birthday gift to you is an update on all three stories :)

Much love :)

Never fear, my faithful readers, this is definitely a Brittana endgame (duh ;p) and there will be a lot more interaction between them from now on. As this story is from Brittany's point of view, I felt it was important for you to get a better understanding of her character. I hope I've succeeded in this thus far :)

Onward and up!

-H

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee :( (If I did, I still wouldn't make Santana mute…come on…who doesn't love that amazing singing voice?)

CHAPTER 4: Wonderful

Brittany collapsed on her bed. It had been an exhausting Monday at school. She had been inside her head all day after her morning evaluation report with Mike.

Brittany stood in front of her mentor, hands on her hips expectantly. Their relationship was such that pleasantries were pretty much non-existent.

"Well?" Brittany prompted.

Mike glanced up at her from the folder that he held. She knew it had her scores and comments from all the judges.

"What made you decide to change our performance?"

Brittany sighed. "I'm tired of playing it safe. What's the point in attending this school, getting the kind of exposure that I am, the opportunities afforded to me, if I'm just going to do the same thing every year? I told you last week, Mike, I'm looking to be the best well-rounded dancer that I can be."

"You do realise that you meshed two completely contradicting styles of dance?"

"I do. And I did that on purpose. There's so much to be said about the components of each. On paper, they're completely different and shouldn't work together. But I made them work together. That's what I want to do, Mike. My ultimate dream is to create a totally unique style of dance that pushes the boundaries."

Mike just nodded.

"Sooo…?" Brittany asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, some were concerned that you don't know what you've gotten yourself into. Personally, I thought it was great." He handed her the sheet and her eyes greedily scanned the page.

The rushing disappointment crashed over her. She just handed the file back to him and turned away.

"Where are you going?" Mike called.

"Admin office. I need another eval arranged."

"I already did that."

Brittany stopped and turned around, trying desperately to quell the unusual hurt that she was feeling. She wasn't used to failing. She was Brittany Pierce. She was the star. She didn't get Bs or Cs. She sure as hell did not crack Ds on evaluations.

"Don't worry about the score, Britt."

"How can I not?" Brittany burst out. "Mike, a D is like a frigging F in this world."

"I know that. That's why I arranged another evaluation for the end of the week. You gonna be ready?"

Brittany sighed. "If I do another mash up, I'm gonna get the same mark, aren't I?"

Mike shrugged, but Brittany knew him well enough to know that she was right.

"Will you work with me then?

Mike nodded. "It's gonna mean long hours, Britt."

Brittany scoffed. "As if my dedication to my dancing has ever been a problem."

Mike just turned to put the file in a drawer. "Be here at four."

"See you after lunch," Brittany amended, walking out of his office.

Mike had been brutal. Brittany hadn't really expected any less, though. Most of the first three hours were spent with correcting her posture. She was in the bets shape that a dancer could be, but she could feel her muscles aching. Ballet really used so many more muscles than she'd expected.

The ringing of her phone forced her to sit up and lean back against her pillows.

"Fabgay," she greeted.

"You ok?"

"Tired."

"Did you only get home now?"

"Hmmm." Brittany yawned.

"Britt, I know you want this, but for the purposes of graduating, why don't you reconsider your ideas?"

Brittany was silent for a long time, many different emotions running through her.

"B?"

"I can't believe you're asking me to do that," she eventually snapped. "Just because you got your usual fucking A and you're content with your performances doesn't mean that I'm just as happy to settle."

"Britt, that's not-"

"Q, I need something more! Don't you get that? I'm just another dancer amongst millions in New York. I need to have something extra."

"Brittany, listen to me. In no way was I insinuating that you're not good enough or that your performance wasn't astounding because it completely was. I'm not asking you to settle! You know that Juilliard don't only look at your audition tapes though, right? They look at everything. Which means that this D could have a serious impact."

"I fucking know that. I'm not an idiot."

"Jesus, did I say you were? You're incredibly difficult to talk to like this, you know that?"

"Fine."

Brittany ended the call and rolled over, burying her face in her pillow. Her friendship with Quinn was always up and down, but they always made up. It was kinda the beauty of how they worked.

"Hey, you," a familiar voice said at her door.

"Hey, sis," Brittany replied, her voice muffled by her pillows.

"You look pooped."

Brittany turned her head. "That's one way of describing it." She sighed. "I got a fucking D on my eval, Rach."

She heard Rachel take a sharp breath in and the bed dipped as she sat down. "What happened?"

"Apparently my style is too out there for the dinosaurs that judged me. I've got another one on Friday and Mike's training me all week long to do a total ballet performance."

"That sucks," Rachel sympathised. "You knew it was a risk from the get-go, Britt."

"Yeah, I just didn't think I'd get a D. Everyone who saw it said they loved it."

"Who saw it?"

Brittany could hear the curiosity in Rachel's voice as though she'd screamed it from the rooftop.

"Well, the judges, obviously. Quinn was in the wings. And Santana. Not sure how she saw it, but-"

"Who's Santana?"

Brittany sighed. "She's perfect,"

"Oh, really?" Rachel chuckled. "Do elaborate."

So Brittany did. She told Rachel everything about Santana, about every second of the three and a half interactions that they'd had and how she made her feel, not only when she played.

"Hoo boy," Rachel murmured when she'd finished.

"Tell me about it. I can't help it. I'm drawn to her. It's difficult to explain."

"No, I get it," Rachel almost whispered.

Brittany sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as a pained expression crossed her sister's face. "Rach," she began.

"Oh, I think Mom's calling us down for dinner!" Rachel said quickly, standing up. "Plus, I gotta get back to Finn. He's, um…yeah. Bye, Britt!"

And then she was gone. Brittany shook her head. Her sister's love drama with her best friend would have to wait until next week. She had an incredibly important evaluation that demanded all of her attention.

The week flew by for Brittany. Virtually every second not spent in her academic classes was spent in the studio with Mike, perfecting the routine they'd come up with (well, mostly Mike) to impress the judges at her make-up eval.

Mike was a great teacher and Brittany considered herself extraordinarily lucky to be trained by him, but she hated how robotic everything felt. Every arabesque, every chassé, every plié and every pirouette felt…pre-ordained. It didn't feel anything like what Brittany had felt with Santana or with her two previous performances. She had to suck it up because she knew that this robotic, unfeeling dance would probably get her the A that she'd received for every single evaluation she'd ever had at McKinley.

"Ok, Britt, I think we should leave it at that," Mike said, eyeing her with his critical eye that most people cowered under, but Brittany was so used to.

"Mike, I've got twenty hours until the eval. I need to practice. I'm still not connecting that grande jeté to the piqué smoothly enough."

Mike chuckled. "Britt, considering that you've only really be trained in ballet for a week, you're doing really well. And that movement is fine."

"Fine isn't good enough!" Brittany suddenly snapped.

Her mentor raised his eyebrows. "Brittany, you're going to be fine tomorrow. I need you to go home now. It's late and you should get a good night's sleep."

Brittany stepped away from the bar she'd been stretching against and had a staring contest with Mike. Eventually she huffed in resignation. Without another word, she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room.

She wasn't ready to go home, not by a long shot. She felt completely disconnected with the dancing that she was doing and it was a really horrible unsettling feeling that she didn't like.

She didn't like it one bit.

Brittany sat down outside the music wing on her way to her car (not that she had any intention of going there) and hurriedly untied the tight bows of her ballet shoes. Her feet were hating her. She'd never had so many blisters on her feet at one time in her life.

It's worth it. You're getting the training you've wanted for years and you're going to get that A. This dance…this dance…

She couldn't continue as tears fell thick and fast down her face. Why did it feel so hopeless? Why did she feel like she was selling her soul? And why did she wish more than anything that Santana was next to her at that moment?

Brittany dropped her head onto her knees and cried quietly. She let the tiresome and stressful week overwhelm her. She wept at how she hated feeling so empty when she was dancing. Dancing. Her greatest passion in life! It wasn't meant to be empty. It wasn't meant to be meaningless. It was everything.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there for, but she did feel a little lighter after her crying session. She knew what she wanted more than anything in the world at that moment. She pulled out her phone and bit her lip as she hesitantly typed a message.

Hi. I know this is a strange request…Do you have some of your music that you could send to me? I just need to escape and your music is the best thing to help do that… Britt

She just hoped that Santana wouldn't consider her a creep or weirdo. She figured that someone who lived for music the same way she did (albeit in a different way) that she might understand what she meant.

She continued taking off her slippers and flexed her cramped toes painfully. She would definitely need another soak tonight. Luckily, her mom had done ballet for a big part of her teenage life, so she knew all about taking care of the injuries that came with the demanding style of dance.

Her phone vibrated next to her and she jumped in fright, almost forgetting that it was there. She nervously picked it up.

Are you still at school? You've been training quite late this week. I'm in my usual room if you want to join me?

Brittany grinned and quickly pulled her other shoe off, forgetting her sensitive feet as she ran with her usual light steps towards Santana's secret room.

She'd noticed that Brittany had been training late! What did that mean? Was Santana as curious about her as she was about Santana? Did she look for her in the halls? Brittany felt a little giddy as she entered the wing with the music rooms and immediately felt herself relax as she heard Santana playing the piano. She calmed her breathing and hesitated outside the door, closing her eyes and just letting the beautiful music wash over her.

This was what she needed. This was what she wanted to dance to. Brittany walked inside the room and dropped her bag quietly next to the door. She met Santana's warm gaze and returned her smile. The brunette didn't stop her playing and her eyes flicked to the open space, silently encouraging Brittany to do what she wanted to.

Brittany definitely didn't need a second invitation. Any pain in her feet dissipated as she launched into now practised movements. The stiffness of the routine that she'd perfected over the week now seemed so much more fluid and easy.

Was it Santana's music? Or was it simply Santana? Brittany didn't really care which it was. She just cared that she felt at home again. She felt happy as she moved across the floor. Once again, she lost track of how long she danced. Santana didn't seem to mind; she just continued to play piece after piece.

As Brittany paused for a moment, she met Santana's eyes and the young girl quickly finished. She placed her hands on her lap and looked at Brittany expectantly. The blonde was trying to get her breath back, but found that the Latina was stealing it just as quickly.

"I'm assuming you know that I have another evaluation tomorrow," she eventually said quietly.

Santana glanced down at her hands and nodded.

"Would you play for me? Please? I know it's a lot to ask…" Brittany bit her lip nervously.

Brown eyes met hers and a beautiful smile graced Santana's face as she nodded again. Brittany smiled back in relief.

"Ok, great. Um, it's at four in the auditorium."

Another nod.

"Ok… It's pretty late. Are you ok here by yourself?"

Santana shrugged and turned back to the piano, running her hand across the shiny ebony gloss. The way she was looking at it was almost…wistful.

"Someone as talented as you should surely be able to play at home?" Brittany inquired.

Santana nodded slowly and then shrugged. Brittany sat down on one of the chairs opposite the piano and studied the Latina.

"It's not the same though, is it?"

Santana looked up.

"There's something about this school, about being in that creative space that is purely there for the honing of your talent, that can't be fulfilled anywhere else."

She smiled and nodded.

Brittany shrugged. "I have a space as big as this in my room with mirrors and a bar and music and everything, but I still prefer staying late in my little room."

Santana cocked her head and held up her thumb and index finger to indicate small. Brittany giggled quietly, partly because Santana looked utterly adorable with the slightly confused look on her face and partly because she loved that she could understand her.

"Yeah, I use one of the small rooms right at the end of the wing. It's secluded, kinda like this," she indicated the room they were in. "I may be a big shot or whatever, but I don't need a huge studio to do what I love."

Santana nodded eagerly and leaned forward, her hands twitching. Brittany smiled.

"I think it's cool that we seem to understand each other," she said softly, glancing down. "I know you want to say something back." Her eyes widened and she looked up. "I-I mean, with your hands. You know, the si-sign language. Shit," she breathed.

She heard Santana snap her fingers and she looked up. The brunette was giving her the A-ok sign, which made her smile and roll her eyes.

"Ok," she said, standing up. "We should decide which piece of music we're gonna use for my performance tomorrow."

Santana turned back to her sheets of music and shifted through the multitudes. Brittany was surprised that she actually still had so many. She never saw her glancing at them once when she was playing. She was suddenly presented with a page and she glanced at the title.

"Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini?" She looked at Santana, who nodded enthusiastically and turned the page slightly so that they could both look. Brittany was suddenly very aware of how close they were and she closed her eyes automatically, savouring the Latina's perfume. God, it smelled so good. She smelled good.

The snapping of fingers caused her eyes to jump open and her cheeks went red. She cleared her throat subtly and looked at what Santana was pointing to. On the top left of the page, she'd written violins.

"You want to use violins as well?" she queried. "I doubt Sue would let me, especially on such short notice."

Santana shook her head and walked over to a really complicated looking machine fastened to the wall behind the piano stool. Slowly, she got up and stood next to Santana, looking at all the buttons. Her eyes widened.

"Hoo boy. This looks way too complicated."

She saw Santana's shoulders shake again and the young girl had a smile on her face as she played around with a few buttons. Brittany didn't even attempt to understand what she was doing, so she glanced at the sheet music again. It was a beautiful piece; she could tell. Very flowing and melodic – exactly what she wanted. It would help to ease out the rigidity she felt doing the routine.

"Thank you for helping me, Santana," she said quietly. "You really are one of a kind."

Brittany thought she could see a shade of red blooming on tan cheeks, but it was hard to tell for sure. A soft brush of her fingertips would register any heat, though…

Snap out of it! You may be head over heels for this girl, but she's not like any of the other girls at McKinley.

Brittany shook herself mentally. Of course. She couldn't use any charm or tricks with Santana. She had to be genuine. Well, honestly? She wanted to be genuine. She didn't want to push her. She definitely didn't want her feeling uncomfortable in any way whatsoever. And brushing her really, really soft looking cheek would probably freak her out and then she'd just be the weirdo who tried to hit on the musical prodigy.

Santana clapped her hands together softly and pushed a big red button. Nothing happened though, and she spun around to sit at the piano. She seemed to be in her own world and Brittany just watched her, mesmerised. She reached back for the music and Brittany handed it to her, their fingers brushing for the barest of instances. It was enough to send a glorious tingle up Brittany's arm and down her spine. The way Santana paused momentarily told her that she'd felt it too.

It made her grin like an idiot.

Santana spread the sheet music across the stand and swivelled, hitting a black button. She turned back and started playing. The soft melody started filling the room and Santana played louder until the sound of violins emanated from the machine and Brittany blinked in surprise. It sounded brilliant. She just listened the first run through, completely in awe of the music that Santana was able to create. Not that it was hers; Brittany knew a Santana original from another composer's. But how she incorporated the other instruments while she played the piano as perfectly as she always did was astounding.

"Wow," she breathed as Santana finished the last note with a soft smile. "Santana, that was…wow. It's perfect."

The brunette gestured the floor and turned around to presumably reset the recorder or whatever the hell that machine was. She waited for her pianist's cue as was accustomed. As soon as the first note flew from beneath Santana's fingers, Brittany launched into her routine. She had a smile on her face the whole time and it felt wonderful. For the first time that entire week, she was enjoying the routine that she was doing.

And no matter what anyone said, it was all because of the young girl sitting at the black piano and looking the most peaceful that Brittany had ever seen anyone look before. It was inspiring and she threw herself into the routine with more vigour and passion than she had the entire week.

The timing was a little out at the end; Brittany's routine was about thirty seconds longer than the piece of music, but Santana simply waved away her queries and picked up a pencil that was lying on top of the piano and made a few notes. She got up and fiddled a bit more with the machine and tapped her foot absently against the floor. Brittany just sat and watched her. It was wonderful, watching an artist go about their work. She knew it was going to be amazing, so she didn't concern herself with the intricacies of what Santana was doing.

She spun around to face Brittany and chewed on her lip.

"You can try sign language," Brittany offered. "I'll do my best to understand."

Santana smiled shyly and lifted her hands then shook her head, reaching for her phone on top of the piano and started typing away furiously.

Brittany frowned in frustration. She really needed to learn sign language. And fast. Her phone buzzed from where it rested on top of her bag and she walked over to pick it up.

For now, this will be easier. I can change the music to fit the length of your performance. I won't be able to get it done completely tonight, so would it be ok if we just went through it once or twice tomorrow? I was going to come in early anyway. Maybe during lunch we could practise? If anything's off, then I'll have time to adjust it. Are you ok with that?

Brittany lifted her head and smiled, nodding. "I trust you completely, Santana. You do whatever you think is best."

Santana returned the smile and put her phone back on the piano, sitting down again. She help up one finger and pointed to her watch before swirling the same finger around again.

"Once more so that you can time it?" Brittany asked.

A happy nod made Brittany grin widely. She clapped her hands and stood in her starting position. She made sure to concentrate on the music and timing it to her dancing, but either Mike must have some kind of superpower or Santana's choice of music was just unbridled (not that Brittany doubted that for a second), but the choreography fit perfectly with the melody. She knew that she should probably be doing the practice performance with her slippers on, but she wasn't bothered. There wasn't a difference in her timing with or without her shoes on. She and Mike had perfected it without the shoes first so that it was second nature with them on.

The violins stopped, but Brittany continued, as did the piano. Brittany smiled to herself. She'd love to know how Santana's mind so quickly worked out a new piece. Then again, the same could be said for her working out a new routine.

She came to a graceful end and Santana finished on the last note.

"Perfect," Brittany breathed, standing up straight and smiling at Santana, who nodded in agreement.

A loud buzzing from the top of the piano made Santana roll her eyes and Brittany wrinkled her nose at how cute it was. Her brows furrowed as she put her phone up to her ear. She was taking a phone call? But…how?

She watched as Santana sighed noiselessly, the heaving of her shoulders a dead giveaway. Every now and then, her thumb would press something on her keypad as she continued listening to whomever was on the other line. After about two minutes, she ended the call and ran a hand agitatedly through her hair.

"I'm sorry if I was keeping you from something," Brittany apologised quietly.

Santana whirled around and shook her head fervently.

"Oh, ok. But you do have to go, right?"

She nodded with a disgruntled frown. Brittany tried not to smile at how cute she looked when she was trying to be angry. She couldn't ever imagine Santana Lopez angry at anyone or anything.

"Ok, well I should probably go too. How about we walk out together?" Brittany offered.

Santana met her eyes and smiled, nodding after a moment. Brittany jumped up a little, unable to contain her excitement at spending a little more time with Santana, even if it was just to her car. The two girls gathered up their things and Brittany waited at the door, leaning against the frame as Santana walked around the room, checking that she had everything. She realised how creepy it was that she could watch the young girl do just about anything, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Damn, she really was falling hard.

Santana was in front of her and those captivating dark eyes held hers for a few moments and Brittany could swear that they were trying to convey something to her.

If eyes could talk, huh?

She stepped out into the hallway and let Santana switch off the light and pull the door closed behind her. There weren't many lights on due to the late hour and Brittany felt Santana grip the back of her sweatshirt.

"Don't worry," she whispered. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Santana just fisted her shirt tighter and Brittany started heading to the parking lot. One of the security guards waved at her and she returned it. Most of them were so used to her practising late that she'd gotten to know most of their names. She wasn't about to shout it out like she normally would for fear of startling Santana. She got the feeling that Santana had an obvious fear of the dark, and she wasn't about to aggravate it.

They reached Brittany's car, but Santana still held onto Brittany's shirt tightly.

"Where are you parked?" she asked softly.

Santana just pointed to the opposite end of the lot. No way was Brittany letting her walk that distance by herself.

"Would it be ok if I drove you to your car?" she offered.

Santana swallowed and nodded quickly, her eyes on the darkness around them. Brittany frowned in concern, but just walked slowly around to the passenger side and unlocked the car. She opened the door for Santana, who finally let go of her shirt to climb in. Brittany closed the door as gently as she could and quickly jogged to the driver's side. Something about Santana's behaviour just told her that she didn't want to be alone. Once Brittany was inside her car, she turned on the inside light and started the car, reversing slowly and making her way to Santana's little hatch.

Brittany's mind was half focused on the road and half racing about why Santana was so obviously scared of the dark. Or maybe it was the school? Or the parking lot? Why on earth would she stay at school so late if either of these things terrified her? She'd have to deal with them at some point.

She pulled up next to Santana's car, but the brunette made no move to get out of the car. Brittany turned to face her, but Santana was looking out the window and her breathing seemed really quick. Brittany didn't know what was bothering Santana, but all she knew was that she was going to do everything that she could to make sure that Santana felt safe around her.

"Santana?" she queried quietly.

It didn't seem as though she'd been heard and Brittany was hesitant to touch her with how jumpy she seemed.

"Santana," she said in a normal tone.

Dark hair whipped around and those dark eyes bore into hers. Brittany swallowed at their intensity.

"Your car is right there. If you'd like, I can follow you home to make sure you get there ok? Or I could take you home now? Seeing as how we've got to prepare for tomorrow, I could come and fetch you in the morning."

Santana took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

"Whichever you prefer, ok?" Brittany's voice was back to being soft, and she was careful to ensure that it wasn't patronising.

Santana shakily grabbed the seatbelt and pulled it across her body. Brittany understood the message and did the same, putting her car back into drive and pulling off.

"When last did you eat, missy?" Brittany scolded playfully. "I bet you get like me, totally lost in your music and you forget what time it is."

She glanced sideways at Santana, who was looking down sheepishly.

"Ok, well, how about I treat you to some dinner? If you don't have to be home right away?"

Santana fiddled with her phone, which was in her hands, for a few moments before nodding.

"Awesome. I'm starved. You ok with Charlie's?"

Santana nodded again.

Brittany figured that the best approach was to act like everything was normal and that Santana hadn't had a little breakdown in the parking lot. But it wasn't surprising to Brittany that she would do whatever it took to make sure that Santana felt safe with her. She'd never been a knight in shining armour or whatever and she knew immediately, the moment that she'd seen uncertainty flicker in those dark eyes, that she wanted to protect Santana at any cost. She'd done it last Friday night and she'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Because Charlie's was so close, it felt like ten seconds before Brittany was pulling into the lot. She made sure to park where Santana could see inside the diner and underneath a light so that they could see the car.

"One second," Brittany murmured, turning the car off and unbuckling herself. She grabbed her purse and jumped out the car, jogging around to open Santana's door for her. She got out on her own and seemed to be a little more at ease with all the brightness of Charlie's. And it was bright. Brittany always thought it was kinda tacky, but she was never more grateful for Charlie's taste in décor than she was at that moment.

"Shall we, madam?" she asked in a horrendously overdone British accent, offering her arm. It did the job, though – she saw a small smile on Santana's face before she turned it away shyly.

Nicely done, Pierce.

She walked them up to the door and opened it for Santana to step through first. As she followed suit, a thought suddenly struck her.

Was this a date?

"Britt!" Charlie called from his usual spot in the kitchen. "Haven't seen your gorgeous mug all week? Ah, and you brought some equally gorgeous company with you this eve."

Brittany rolled her eyes and waved at Charlie. She doubted she'd ever get used to his harmless flirting. She guided Santana to the same booth they'd sat in previously (unofficially her booth) with her hand barely resting against the small of Santana's back. She knew it was courteous, but the simple, almost non-touch was still setting the butterflies aflutter in her stomach.

She couldn't remember the last time she'd had butterflies. A grin crawled onto her face as she decided that she kinda liked it.

"Hmmm," Brittany mused as she peered at the menu that ran above the counter. "What are you in the mood for?" she asked Santana.

The younger girl simply shrugged, focused on her fingers.

"Hey," Brittany said softly. She waited until Santana looked at her. "I know that something's going on in that beautiful and brilliant head of yours, but know that I won't ever push you to divulge something that you don't want to. So, I'm here if you need anything, ok?"

She saw the grateful look in Santana's eyes and she smiled. "Now, Miss Lopez, I have a feeling that you would decimate a Grade C Cheeseburger. Oh, wait," she added with exaggerated drama, "you're not like a…you know…?"

Santana's lips curled up in a genuinely amused smile and she cocked her head. Brittany leaned forward and lowered her voice as though they were discussing a big secret.

"You're not a…vegetarian, are you?" she whispered.

Santana sat up and did her noiseless chuckle. She shook her head.

"Whew! Damn, if you were, I think our friendship would have had to end right here and now. I can't be seen with someone who's afraid to take on the Grade C Cheeseburger."

Santana smirked and raised an eyebrow and Brittany had to subtly squeeze her thighs together because holy shit, it looked sexy.

"So, what do you say to a little friendly competition, Lopez? Think you can take me on."

Santana pointed at her and moved her thumb downwards slowly.

"Oh, really?" she replied with a smirk of her own. "We shall see, Lopez. I'll have you know that I hold the record here for finishing the Grade C Cheeseburger the quickest. 7 minutes 13 seconds. And I wasn't even hungry that day."

Santana just nodded slowly, obviously seeing right through Brittany's macho bravado. The blonde didn't care, though. Hell, she didn't even care if Santana beat her record (although that would be hella difficult). She'd do pretty much anything to ensure that those beautiful dark eyes remained fear free.

"Hey, Britt," Jackie, one of the regular waitresses greeted her. "And Brittany's friend," she added with a friendly smile.

"Jackie, Santana. Santana, Jackie. Santana goes to McKinley with me."

"Oh, awesome. Another brilliant artist to add to the ranks. Pleasure," Jackie said with a nod. Santana returned it with a smile. "So, what can I get you two lovebirds?"

Brittany instantly went red. "Oh, um…no, we're not together. Well, I mean we're here together, but we're not together, like…" She took a deep breath, "Fuck. Um, Jackie, could you get us two Grade C CBs with all the dressings and, um, I'll just have a water. Santana?" Brittany was utterly embarrassed, but stole a look at her companion, knowing that it was probably more awkward for her because she couldn't say anything to defend herself. She got a short nod, but Santana's eyes were downcast. "Uh, yeah, so two waters then. Thanks, Jackie."

The waitress gave her a knowing smile before walking off and Brittany ran a nervous hand through her hair. She'd love it if she could shout from the rooftops that she and Santana were lovebirds, but that wasn't going to happen. And Santana knew about her reputation. Jackie had now created an unnecessarily awkward situation for her.

"Santana," she began softly, but the Latina's hand just came up and she shook her head. "No, look, it's not what you think. I know this isn't a date." Well, now I know. "We're just friends. And I don't want you to think that I bring girls here all the time because…well, I don't. In fact, it's mostly just me and Q."

Santana simply gave her a pointed look and Brittany hated that uncertainty that was creeping back into the alluring eyes she could stare into for hours.

"Ok, yeah, bad example. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. I don't want to do that. You already know about my reputation…and my reputation with Quinn. Most of it is, unfortunately, true. But Quinn and I are just friends. We were never anything else."

Santana just looked at her, arms folded defensively and Brittany hated how closed off she was.

"I don't date. I never date. Quinn is pretty much my only real friend. Well, and my sister, but that's a whole messed up situation on its own. Um, what I'm saying is that I can't undo what I've done in the past. I just want you to know that the person you've met and who you're, hopefully, getting to know is really me. It's not a game, it's not some façade to trick you or anything because I would never do that to you. You-" Brittany bit her lip and stopped herself from saying something that would definitely scare Santana off.

She took a breath and focused on her own hands as she wrung them. She heard a soft snap and lifted her head to meet Santana's eyes. Slowly, Santana pointed at her chest, then her temple, clasped her hands together in front of her then pointed at Brittany.

Ok, I know that means something. Think, Brittany, think!

"I…something…you?" she asked hesitantly.

Santana nodded. She repeated the middle sign. Brittany stared at her hands and wracked her brain. She found it easier trying to think of what Santana meant. But she didn't want to assume incorrectly and look like an ass.

"Um…trust?" she almost whispered.

Santana shook her head and her two hands around some invisible rod or something in response.

Hmmm…she's teaching you, Pierce.

"Trust?" she asked in clarification, mimicking the sign.

Santana nodded, then repeated her earlier sign. Brittany sighed, furrowing her brows in concentration. Something about the mind? Clapping of hands…would that mean agreeing? Agreeing!

"You believe me?" Brittany asked, her eyes wide.

Santana smiled a small smile and nodded, dropping her eyes.

"Wow," Brittany breathed. "Thank you, Santana. I can't tell you how much that means to me."

Santana lifted her hand to her temple in what seemed like a salute, but she touched her brow twice.

Crap! Another one. Ok, focus

Something mental again, right? She thought about an appropriate response to her comment. Her eyes brightened.

"I know!" she said proudly.

Santana smiled widely and nodded, clapping her hands.

"Teach me more?" Brittany asked.

Santana bit her bottom lip and glanced at the table. She held up her phone and Brittany nodded. She extended her thumb and pinkie finger and put them up to her ear.

"Ok, well I think that was fairly obvious," Brittany giggled.

Santana smiled and rolled her eyes. She placed her palms flat against the table and knocked against it. Brittany raised an eyebrow. Santana moved her arms in front her chest horizontally, one resting on top of the table. Brittany cocked her head. "Are you doing a Russian dance?" she asked with a smile.

Santana chuckled and shook her head. She knocked the table and did the sign again.

"Ok, ok, I get it. Table."

They continued like that, Santana teaching the signs for random things in their near vicinity.

"Water?" Brittany asked when Jackie had brought the two bottles. She took a swig of hers.

Santana held up a hand as if to say she wasn't sure. She pointed to their bottle and gave the sign. Brittany nodded. Santana held up a finger and scooped up some condensation on the bottle. She rubbed it between her two fingers and, with her other hand, brought her index and middle fingers perpendicularly to her bottom lip.

"Oh!" Brittany said in understanding. "First one was a bottle of water and the second was just water, right?"

The smile that crossed Santana's face made the butterflies flap around in Brittany's stomach happily. She smiled back and took a sip of water.

"Here you go, ladies," Jackie said, depositing the two plates in front of the girls. "Enjoy."

Brittany burst out laughing at the horrified look on Santana's face as she eyed the monstrous burger in front of her. The Grade C Cheeseburger had not one, but two 500g beef patties with two slices of cheese, garnish on a roll that Charlie baked himself. Plus a side salad and fries. It really was a whopper.

"Think you're up to the challenge, Lopez?"

Santana did that smirk and raised eyebrow, which made the smile on Brittany's face freeze.

It's seriously not fair how hot she looks when she does that.

She repeated her earlier sign of Brittany going down and the blonde tried really hard to keep her mind away from the gutter. She stared at her burger for a few seconds until she'd gotten herself under control.

"Ok, so the rules are, you have to eat the whole burger. Buns, garnish, everything. We'll leave the fries and salad for dessert." She winked.

Santana pushed sleeves back to her elbows and sat forward in anticipation. Brittany had to giggle. It was too cute how eager she was.

"Oh, and no barfing," she said seriously. "Ready…" She held Santana's gaze. "Set… Go!"

It wasn't a pretty sight and seven minutes plus change later, Brittany just stared as Santana licked off her fingers in triumph.

"Holy crap. That was unbelievable."

Santana grinned and took a swig of water. Brittany dropped the two bites left of her burger and sat back, groaning. Her stomach felt like it was about to burst. She hadn't had a Grade C Cheeseburger in a while and she was definitely out of practice. Not to take anything away from Santana.

"You were like a vacuum. You just inhaled that thing."

Santana chuckled and shook her head. She pointed to the bathroom and Brittany nodded.

"Well, guess she knocked you off your pedestal," Jackie commented as she stopped by their table.

"She's knocked me alright," Brittany murmured, her eyes following the smaller girl.

"Oh my God, does she know how bad you have it for her?" Jackie teased.

"No!" Brittany said suddenly. "And you can't say anything, please! She's…special, ok? She's really special."

Jackie smiled knowingly. "Honey, I knew that the minute you two walked in here. You've never looked at anyone the way you look at her."

"How…how do I look at her?" Brittany asked nervously. She didn't want Santana to see these looks and freak out.

Jackie lifted a shoulder. "Like you'd jump in front of a freight train to prevent anything from happening to her."

"Well, I would," Brittany replied immediately. "I can't let anything happen to her."

"Ah, young love," Jackie said dramatically, gripping her shirt and staggering away.

Brittany chuckled and saw Santana's phone light up. It was still lying on the table. She glanced at the screen and saw that someone named Holly was calling her. She bit her lip. Did she answer? Crap! What if this was the same person that called earlier and now was worried because Santana wasn't home yet? She knew she'd be worried.

Santana slid back into the booth and picked up her phone, rolling her eyes as she answered. She did the tapping thing on her screen as the person on the other end spoke.

Brittany held out her hand in an offer to take over the phone call and Santana bit her lip before nodding and handing her the phone.

"Hello?" Brittany asked.

"Holy Sweet Jesus!"

"Sorry. I guess you weren't expecting a voice on the other end. I'm Brittany, Santana's friend from school."

"Hi, Brittany. I'm Holly, Santana's aunt. I was just getting a little worried because she told me she was leaving school half an hour ago and she's still not home. You know…we worry."

"Yeah, no, I totally get it," Brittany replied. "It's my fault, actually. I knew she hadn't eaten so I kidnapped her and brought her to Charlie's about two blocks from the school. We've been here ever since."

"Oh, ok. Well, I'm glad she's ok."

Brittany chuckled. "Yeah, she just killed my record here at Charlie's, but I think I can forgive her."

Santana stuck out her tongue, but smiled nonetheless.

"Record?" Holly queried.

"Oh, my record for finishing a Grade C Cheeseburger."

Holly laughed. "Yeah, for someone so tiny, she sure as hell puts a lot away."

"Hmmm, you're right about that," Brittany said, looking at Santana teasingly. Her eyebrows went up then furrowed. Brittany knew she was wondering what they were talking about.

"Anyway, Holly. I won't keep her out too late. I'll have her home in the next half hour."

"Oh, does she not have her car?"

"Well, she stayed late to help me with an evaluation that I have tomorrow and we're heading through early tomorrow morning to polish it off, so I figured the least I could do was take her home and fetch her with promises of coffee."

Santana grinned. Brittany figured she loved her coffee.

Good guess, Pierce.

"Ok, awesome. Well, I guess I'll be meeting you soon then."

"Yup. See you soon, Holly."

"Bye, Brittany."

"Byeeee!" Brittany sang before hanging up the phone. She handed it back to Santana, who quickly fired off a text. "She sounds cool."

Santana smiled and nodded.

"I think I've met my aunt maybe like three times in my life." She shrugged. "They got all pissy when my folks hit the big money and she just realised how fake they were."

Santana looked at her with interest, her phone discarded next to her.

"Oh, I guess I'm delving into my family history now, am I?" Brittany asked.

Santana just smiled.

"I bet you could cure cancer with that smile," Brittany muttered, but the shy look that crossed Santana's face told her that she'd heard her. Whoops. Oh, well. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to leave little hints here and there for the Latina to clue her in on how smitten Brittany really was.

"Anyway," Brittany continued. "It's just me and my parents in our frigging crazy big house. My sister, well adopted sister, Rachel lives with her fiancée a couple of blocks down. It's really quiet without her. She's a singer so there was always noise. She's fantastic and she's all set to head to New York as soon as Finn graduates."

Santana arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's another depressing story for another time. My dad cashed in big time with an app he created. It's some business thing that I don't understand, but he did really well and my mom now gets to do what she loves – garden. Well, interior design. Or exterior design. Whatever it's called." Santana quickly typed on her phone and Brittany felt hers buzz.

Landscaping.

"Seriously, how do you type that fast?" Brittany asked in amazement.

Santana grinned and wiggled her fingers in front her face super fast and blew on them. Ok, fair enough, she was an incredible piano player. She had to be good with her fingers.

Oh, shit.

Brittany got back on topic quickly. "Right, landscaping. So she loves doing all of that stuff. They always supported me, which was really cool. When I went to New York over the summer, they made sure that I had everything I needed. It makes a huge difference when you're surrounded by people who believe in your talent."

Brittany's eyes had travelled down to her hands during her speech, and when she lifted them to meet Santana's, the Latina looked sad.

"Shit, Santana, I didn't mean to…I mean, I don't know if…I'm sorry."

Santana just shook her head and breathed in deeply. When she looked up again, her eyes were still as captivating as they always were, but there definitely a guard there.

"I meant what I said earlier," Brittany said softly, holding her gaze. "No pressure to divulge anything you're not comfortable with. That's not why I'm here. If you want to share your secrets, then I'll consider myself lucky that you trust me with them. But you're my friend and we're just two friends getting to know each other, right?"

Santana nodded slowly.

"Ok, great! Unfortunately, I did tell Holly that I'd get you home, so we should probably head out soon. I don't even know where you live."

Santana nodded again, but Brittany could tell that her earlier happiness had been lost.

Crap, Pierce. You need to cheer this girl up pronto. You can't drop her at home all sad! Holly will think you've done something to her!

It was a little confusing for Brittany how quickly Santana's moods changed, but perhaps that was because she couldn't voice her thoughts and emotions like most other people.

"Hey, Jackie," Brittany greeted as they reached the register. She opened her purse and pulled out some money. She didn't need to look to see Santana pulling out her own purse, but she gently placed a hand on top of hers accompanied with a gentle smile.

"Next one's on you, Lopez. I want a rematch."

Score! she thought as a smile flickered across the Latina's lips.

"Bye, Charlie!" she called, her hand automatically resting against Santana's back again as they turned to the door.

"Leaving so soon?" Charlie asked with a pout.

Brittany laughed. "Early morning, Charlie. I'll see you at seven for two morning coffees."

"It's a date."

She laughed again and opened the door for Santana before she could even reach for it. The puzzled look she sent Brittany threw the blonde and she had to pause for a second in confusion before following Santana to her car.

The ride was silent, with Santana pointing out directions every so often. Within ten minutes, Brittany had pulled up outside a modest brownstone and turned her car off.

"What time tomorrow?" she asked Santana, trying desperately to break the sudden awkwardness she felt between them.

Santana showed her seven on her fingers and Brittany nodded. The Latina opened the door and got out. Brittany tapped her steering wheel in frustration and opened her door.

"Santana, wait!" she called, grabbing her arm.

Santana jumped away and Brittany immediately felt bad.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just…did I do something wrong? I feel like…I feel like I have."

Santana sighed and shook her head.

"But something's bothering you. And it's something to do with what I said. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to upset you."

Santana shook her head again and stepped forward slightly. From the light from the sidewalk lamps and the house's outside lights, Brittany could see that damn uncertainty in her eyes again.

She sighed sharply, but more at herself. "Santana, I'm your friend, ok? I don't expect you to tell me everything about your life within a week of us really knowing each other. I would never ask that of you. Just…I'm here, ok? And I'm not going anywhere."

Before she could register what was happening, Santana had leapt into her arms, her face buried in her neck. The blonde caught her easily and held her tightly. There was clearly so much that Brittany didn't know about Santana's life and why she reacted the way she did sometimes. The fact that they were hugging right now was pretty frigging incredible by Brittany's book.

Santana started to fidget slightly, even though her arms were still tightly around Brittany's neck, so the blonde released her grip slightly and let her feet touch the ground again. Santana quickly released her and stepped back, looking uncomfortable. Her breaths were quick.

"Hey, hey," Brittany cooed, careful not to move forward or reach out to her, even though she really wanted to. "It's ok. I won't let anything happen to you, Santana. I promise you that."

They stayed like that, an arms length apart, with Brittany trying to catch her gaze, but Santana not being able to hold it for long.

Ok, something has definitely happened in this girl's past to make her untrusting and scared. She needs a friend, someone she can trust. I'm going to be that person for her if it's the last fucking thing I do.

"Why don't you go up to bed?" she suggested softly. "I'll wait until you're inside before I go, ok? And I'll text you when I get home too."

Santana nodded very slowly, but didn't move. Brittany sensed that she needed some reassurance about something.

"And I'll be here at 7am bright and early. We'll go and pick up some coffee from Charlie's – seriously, it's amazing – and then we'll head back to school and you can work your magic on that huge, recording box thingy."

There! It was a small curl of the lips, but she'd take it.

"Night, beautiful," Brittany said with a smile. "Off you go. I'll wait right here."

Santana nodded and turned to the house, her steps becoming more confident with every pace. She reached the front door and put her hand on the handle before turning back to Brittany, who simply smiled and waved from the spot she hadn't moved from. The Latina returned it, making Brittany's heart beat a little faster, and opened the door, disappearing inside the house.

She couldn't stop herself from doing a little dance on the grass before jumping back into her car. Her smile was huge. Santana had hugged her. Like full on jumped in her arms hugged her.

This was pretty much the awesome day ever. She glanced back up to the house and saw a light go on in one of the upstairs rooms. She started her car up again and pulled off, feeling happier and lighter than she had the entire week. It amazed her what being in Santana's did to her. Even though the girl obviously had some issues, it didn't matter to Brittany. Santana was still the most beautiful, most talented, most amazing girl with the most gorgeous smile and mesmerising eyes one the planet. And there was no way she was going to give that up without a fight.

She turned her stereo on and sang loudly to some top ten chart. Hey, at least she knew the songs. She pulled up into her driveway, bopping her head to Ke$ha's new song and killed the engine. The blinking light of her phone from where she left it in the console caught her attention. She smiled when she saw it was from Santana, and her heart soared when she read the words. This was the best fucking day of her life.

You are wonderful.

A/N: Enough Brittana? :)

It is with a heavy heart that I conclude this chapter with the following:

I am taking another hiatus. This time, it's indefinite. I'm going cold turkey on fanfic (gonna be so difficult) to focus solely on my manuscript. I've mentioned this to a few reviewers already, but for the benefit of everyone, this is not something I'm doing lightly. I love writing fan fiction. More than finishing my manuscript at the moment. However, if I ever hope to achieve my dream of creating a career in writing, I need to focus on what will get me there – enter my manuscript.

I'm going cold turkey because it's too distracting to still read alerts and reviews because then I want to reply and I get ideas etc etc…this is what happened last time and that didn't last very long, did it? :/

Please accept my sincerest apologies, my dearest readers. Your support means the world to me and I promise that I will be back – you couldn't tear me away if you tried :) I just figure that without the distraction of Brittana (ugh, torture), my manuscript will get done quicker. And I have an incentive now too – to get back to you guys.

I'm uploading new chapters on all three fics at the same time to help ease into the hiatus.

Once again, I love you all and you mean the world to me. I'll see you soon!

*cue theme music*

Fade out…

Aaaaaand scene!

-H

Twitter: HellsBells1313 :)