Chapter 4: How it all happened
Brittany's POV
October 2013
I'm just about to start teaching a class when I notice a man, maybe in his 30's or 40's, hanging around outside the door. I've never seen him before in my life so I know he's definitely not a teacher here and I don't mean to be rude but I doubt he's a student either because of his age. I don't particularly want to start the class when he's out there so I wait five minutes to see if he'll leave. When he doesn't though, I decide to go out and speak to him.
"Can I help you with something?" I ask.
"Sorry I…uh, I heard you had some pretty good dancers in your class, mind if I stay for a while and watch?" the man asks.
"I'm sorry I don't mean to be rude but who are you?" I ask narrowing my eyes.
"Sorry, I'm Mr Hunt" the man laughs while holding out his hand. "I was just speaking to your manager because I'm here on behalf of a new show coming up and we're looking for dancers."
"Oh" I say slightly surprised.
"Did she not tell you that I was going to come to a few of the dance classes today?" Mr Hunt asks.
"I'm afraid she didn't, no" I shake my head.
"Well I'd really like to stay and watch but I get you're a little apprehensive of me right now so would it help if I quickly went to get your manager and she can confirm who I am?" he asks.
"If you wouldn't mind" I nod.
"Ok I won't be a minute" he says while going off to my manager's office. He and my manager come back shortly later and they explain the situation to me.
"That's fine then, you can stay and watch" I smile.
"Thank you" Mr Hunt smiles back while following me into the room.
"There's definitely some talent in here so I hope you see some dancers you like" I smile.
"I hope so too" he smiles back.
Mr Hunt takes a seat at the side of the room and I then begin the class. We start with warming up and then I go on to show them a new dance that we haven't covered in class yet.
XXX
"Ok everyone, enjoy the rest of your day" I say and all the student begin leaving the class. I then walk over to Mr Hunt. "Did you see anyone you liked?" I ask.
"I did actually" Mr Hunt nods, "perhaps we could go somewhere and talk. Do you have an office?"
"I do so if you give me two seconds to sort things here first and then we can go" I say and he nods. Once I'm done we head to my office. "Just take a seat anywhere" I smile.
"Thank you" he says while sitting down while I sit across the desk from him.
"I have a few names that I think you might have liked but if you want to go ahead and tell me first then its cool" I smile.
"I'm not actually familiar with everyone's names actually" he says.
"That's ok, we actually record the class so that the next week we can see which areas needed worked on so I can just play the footage and you can tell me who you like" I say while getting the footage ready.
"Sounds good" Mr hunt smiles.
"Ok, here we go" I say while pressing play on my laptop. "That's Jessica there, what do you think about her?" I ask.
"She's actually quite good" Mr hunt nods, "and so is this girl here, who's she?"
"That's Tiffany" I reply.
"And this boy here?" he asks.
"James" I smile. "He's actually one of the most talented students I've seen."
After going through the footage from today's lesson, Mr Hunt takes a few notes and the names of a few of the students he likes. We then sit back down and discuss a bit more about today.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Mr Hunt asks.
"Sure" I nod.
"Why are you here teaching dance?" he asks.
"Dance was always my passion and I wanted to help people in creating their dream. Every time I get a student come up to me and tell me they've got a part in a show or they've landed some sort of dance gig, I'm so happy and proud of them" I reply.
"Don't you ever wish it was you though?" he asks.
"Excuse me?" I ask slightly offended.
"I don't mean to be rude and I can see you're an excellent teacher but you're still very young Brittany. Don't you wish you were the one coming up to your dance teacher thanking them for helping you get your dream?" Mr Hunt asks.
"I have my dream, I'm a dance teacher" I state.
"Brittany you're a great dancer, why would you want to settle for being a teacher?" he asks.
"Ok I'll admit my first dream was to become a professional dancer but I was never good enough so I settled for this because I couldn't not dance" I sigh.
"Thank you for being honest" he nods.
"Ok so are we done here now or do you need any more information on the students?" I ask.
"I need a little more information if that's ok" Mr Hunt replies.
"Sure" I nod. "I know you said there's only a few places left for dancers because you've been to a few schools so who would you say shone the most today?" I ask.
"Like I say Jessica, James and Tiffany were all really good but I'm not sure that it's any of them that I want" he states.
"O-k" I say confused. "Why are we here then if you don't like any of my students?"
"Because the person I want to hire for the new show is you" he smiles.
"I beg your pardon?" I ask completely shocked.
"You have more talent than anyone here, why can't you see that" Mr Hunt asks.
"Just about every dance audition I went to, everyone turned me down" I admit.
"Well I'm serious Brittany, I want you in this show and if you say yes I'll draw you up a contract right now" he states.
XXX
After a long talk with Mr Hunt, I finish up my classes for the day and then head home. I'm so excited to tell Santana about this. She's at my apartment now hanging out or whatever and then she's going to cook for us tonight. It's not that we live together or anything but I gave her my spare key a few weeks ago so that she can use my apartment whenever she needs to, whether that's to get some space from Rachel and Kurt or just to hang out with me.
"Hey baby" I say happily while throwing myself to the bed.
"Uh, hi" Santana laughs.
"I need to tell you something" I say while moving the laptop from her lap and straddling her hips.
"You sound super happy so I'm guessing its good news that you're going to tell me" she smiles.
"You think I'm a good dancer right?" I ask.
"Of course I do, you know that baby" she smiles.
"Good because I just quit my job today" I tell her.
"Wait…back up" she says in concern.
"Ok so…" I say before beginning to tell her the whole story about earlier.
"So what does this mean?" Santana asks.
"Basically I get to be one of the main dancers in the show and Mr Hunt thinks this could just be the start for me. He thinks there's plenty more dancing opportunities to come for me" I reply.
"That's fantastic, oh my god" she says pulling me into her and she hugs me tightly. "I am so proud of you baby, I really am."
"Thank you" I say hugging her back. "I think I'm finally heading where I've always dreamed of."
"You are and it can only be great things from here on" she smiles.
"They also need singers by the way" I smile as we pull out of the hug.
"I mean it depends what kind of show it is but I could tell Rachel to audition anyway" she says.
"No baby, I'm not talking about Rachel" I shake my head.
"Then who?" she asks confused.
"You honey" I lean down to kiss her.
"Me? No way could I do that" she shakes her head.
"Wouldn't it be so much fun to work together?" I ask.
"Of course it would but I work in a diner Brittany, they're not going to want me" she states.
"You're talented Santana and anyone can see that" I tell her.
"I'm really not Britt" Santana shakes her head.
"I'm not saying this because I love you, I'm saying it because it's true" I reply.
"Y-you love me?" she asks looking up at me in shock.
"Crap, I wasn't supposed to tell you yet. I had this whole romantic night planned for tomorrow and I was going to tell you for the first time then" I say shaking my head. "Honestly it wasn't supposed to come out like this, I did want…"
"It's ok" Santana smiles interrupting me.
"Um…ok" I smile back.
"I love you too by the way" she smiles.
Santana's POV
February 2014
Luckily enough, I did get a part in the show that Brittany was doing and it ran all through December and January so now we're both exploring what to do next. Brittany's birthday was just last weekend so we said we'd take some time off and as soon as that was over we'd get back to work. Even though Brittany quit her job teaching, I took some time off for the show but now I'm back at the diner in the meantime until something comes up.
"Hey you" Brittany smiles walking into the room.
"Hey" I smile back.
"Are you working tonight?" she asks.
"Yeah I am but you should come and see me" I say.
"Ok cool" she smiles. "What time do you think you'll get a break because I could swing by then and we could have dinner together?"
"It probably won't be until nearer 7 tonight" I reply.
"That's cool, I'll come by then" she smiles.
XXX
Just like Brittany said she would, she comes to the diner around 7pm. I'm not quite allowed to take my break just yet so I pour Brittany some coffee and she waits for me. As soon as I do get my break though, we sit down together and have something to eat.
"So what were you up to when I left?" I ask.
"Funny story actually" she smiles. "I went to your apartment because I couldn't find my scarf so I wondered if I left it there and luckily enough Kurt was there and let me in. I found the scarf and just as I was leaving, a friend of Kurt's arrived and we got to talking and her boss is actually looking for another dancer to be in an episode of a TV show" she says.
"Ok so does she want you then?" I ask slightly confused.
"I need to audition and it's only for one episode but it's another job right?" she says.
"It is and it's something you love so you should take it" I smile.
"The audition is in two days so here's hoping I kill it" she says excitedly.
"I am sure you will and I also happen to be off in two days if you want me to come with you" I say.
"I'd like that babe" she smiles before leaning over to kiss me.
"So what else have you been up to?" I ask.
"Well I actually had a thought about something" she says.
"Oh really, what's that?" I ask.
"I think we should go on vacation together, what do you say?" Brittany suggests.
"I mean I'd love too" I smile.
"We've been so busy recently and it'll be nice to spend some quality time together alone. I mean it was nice working together and stuff but I also like fun together, you know?" she says.
"Yeah I understand babe" I agree.
"I was thinking maybe sometime in March, would you be cool with that?" she asks.
"Yeah that suits me, the sooner the better really" I smile.
March 2014
Rachel and Kurt are both out at the moment so I'm just relaxing at home with my laptop. I'm just doing some online shopping when Brittany bursts in the door while throwing her jacket to the floor.
"I got a job offer baby" she says excitedly while jumping onto the bed.
"Hello to you too babe" I laugh.
"Sorry" she apologises while kissing me. "I just got so excited and I couldn't wait to tell you."
"So what's the job baby?" I ask.
"It's actually for a new movie. I'm only cast as a dancer so I don't really have lines but I've got plenty of screen time. I mean I know I said I wanted to branch into acting at some point but I'm just happy to get a dancing part right now" she smiles.
"Well I'm really proud of you babe" I say genuinely.
"There is a slight problem though" she points out. "It's during the time we planned to go on vacation this month."
"I guess that can't be helped" I say. I mean I'm a little sad but it's not the end of the world.
"We should totally reschedule though" Brittany states.
"Yeah we definitely should" I nod. "How about some time in June?" I ask.
"Sounds good baby" she smiles.
September 2014
After we cancelled the vacation in March, I managed to get us somewhere booked for July but right before it Brittany got another dancing thing so she couldn't make the vacation. We ended up cancelling again but I'm hoping maybe this month we could do something because we're both free in a few weeks' time.
"Hey honey, how was your day?" Brittany asks while walking into her apartment.
"It was ok" I shrug. "Work was pretty busy so I'm quite tired but other than that it was ok."
"Cool" she smiles.
"Actually I did have a thought about something today" I point out.
"Cool, what was it about?" she asks while taking a seat next to me.
"What do you say we finally go on that vacation" I smile.
"Yeah I'd love to, when?" she asks excitedly.
"I was thinking at the end of the month maybe" I say.
"Wait this month?" she asks and I nod.
"Will that be a problem?" I ask.
"Well one of my friends told me they heard something about a new show in the works and they were thinking of casting it at the end of the month. Apparently they're looking for dancers so I was kind of hoping to audition" she replies.
"Oh" I nod sadly.
"I was sort of wanting to keep the end of the month open just in case it is true" she tells me.
"That's ok, maybe next month then" I suggest.
"Yeah definitely" she smiles.
"I don't know if we'll be able to travel that far though because we have cancelled the vacation twice already and we didn't get the full deposit back" I say.
"That's ok, with me getting a few more jobs then I can just pay for most of it" she smiles.
"That's not what I want though Brittany. I want to be independent too you know" I state.
"I understand babe but it'll also be nice to go away together so it should be somewhere really nice" she says.
"You just don't get it" I mumble sadly. I don't want to reply on Brittany all the time.
December 2014
It's Christmas Eve and I'm sitting in Brittany's apartment alone. I had made dinner for the two of us but I had to put it in the trash a while ago when she didn't turn up and the food went cold. I've been trying to distract myself until she gets home but I can't because I'm so mad right now. She promised she'd be home on time and we could have a nice night together before Christmas tomorrow.
"Sorry I'm late baby" Brittany says rushing in the door.
"Are you sorry?" I ask.
"Of course I am" she frowns in confusion.
"It seems like you'd rather be anywhere else than here with me" I state.
"Honey that's not true" she says while sitting down next to me.
"It's fucking Christmas tomorrow Brittany, it shouldn't be hard for you to want to spend it with me" I say annoyed. "My family aren't even here so I thought I could at least count on you."
"I said I was really sorry babe" Brittany sighs.
"You know how hard I find the holidays when my parents can't come here. I chose to spend Christmas here in New York since I went home for Thanksgiving so the least I thought you could do was spend it with me" I state.
"Santana I am spending it with you. Rehearsals ran late so I can't change that" she sighs again.
"I know I'm not a child any more but this is the first time I'm not spending Christmas with my family and I really miss them. It'd be different if I actually had a valid reason like I have a steady job here now but I don't so I'm still floating through life wondering what to do with myself and not having my parents here makes me feel even more depressed" I say.
"Honey I am here for you. Yes I ran late but it's not quite Christmas yet and we're going to spend the whole day together tomorrow and then I'm going to Ohio with you in a few days" she tells me.
"You will actually make it to Ohio, right?" I ask.
"Of course I will, why wouldn't I?" she frowns in confusion.
"Well work things keep popping up and you're always cancelling things we have planned" I reply.
"I don't mean to babe but I promise I won't cancel going to Ohio. I know I have cancelled a few things but this is important to you so no matter what happens we're still going" she says.
"Ok" I nod.
"Why don't I make us something to eat and we can just watch a movie together" she suggests.
"That sounds good" I smile.
"Good" she smiles back before leaning in to kiss me.
March 2015
Brittany and I were just hanging out together when she got a phone call. It was about a job offer she auditioned for last week so she took the call to the other room so I'm just waiting to find out if she got it or not.
"Hey" she smiles while walking back into the room.
"Hi" I reply. "What did they say then?"
"They asked me if I want to do a 6 month tour as a backup dancer" she says excitedly.
"Oh my god, that's fantastic babe" I smile while hugging her.
"I know and I want you to go with me" she states.
"Go with you, what do you mean?" I ask confused.
"Well it starts in LA but then I travel all around for the 6 months so I want you to come with me" she says. "Won't it be fun?"
"Honey…we have to talk" I say regrettably.
"What's wrong?" she asks.
"I can't just follow you around all the time and do nothing, that's not what I want" I sigh.
"I didn't mean it like that but maybe once the 6 months is over then…"
"No honey" I shake my head. "Things just aren't working anymore between us. We're at different stages in life right now and it's killing our relationship when we constantly keep arguing" I say.
"We're not arguing now" she says.
"I know but if I go with you then we probably will" I sigh. "I don't want to be just your girlfriend, I want to actually be someone and do something with my life and if I keep following you around and not getting anywhere then it's not making me happy and it's causing problems for us."
"I don't understand" Brittany sighs.
"I want to be here in New York right now and you need to be out there exploring the world and doing what you love" I tell her. "I need to try and get a career for myself and I won't if I just tag along with you all the time."
"What are you saying?" she asks slightly confused.
"I'm saying I think we need to take a break" I reply regrettably.
"But you seemed so excited for me in the beginning" she points out.
"I was and I still am but I'd feel better if it was somewhere closer like here but it's not" I reply.
"Surely we can just do long distance" she says.
"Honey, no" I shake my head.
"I want you to support me on this, please" Brittany says.
"I will support you but that can only be as a friend Brittany, we can't be together if you're just going to move to the other side of the country without a second thought" I state.
"It wasn't a second thought Santana, I had you in mind too" she states.
"But you don't really get it Brittany" I sigh.
"Come on Santana, I asked you to come with me" she sighs.
"Yes but I don't want to move across the country right now. I want to stay here and find what my dream actually is. It's all good having gigs here and there but I still haven't found what I want to do" I say.
"Ok well you stay here and like I say we'll do long distance until I'm back" she says.
"If you leave then we're over" I say. I don't mean to be as blunt but our relationship can't survive this anymore.
"Isn't that a little harsh because I'm only trying to follow my dreams like you want to do" she says.
"I know honey but my dream is not being in a relationship where we resent one another because we don't want the same thing. I can't ask you to stay because I know you want this and you can't ask me to go because I don't want to" I say.
"But I love you" Brittany says beginning to get teary.
"I know you do and I love you too but this isn't going to work" I state.
"It doesn't feel like you love me" she says through tears.
"I love you so much but I can't put myself through this" I say in tears. "You're whole life is coming together and I'm happy for you but I can't be with you right now."
"I'll be back in 6 months" she says.
"But then you'll get another amazing job and I'll still be here in New York" I say.
"Baby you don't need to stay in New York to be happy. We already know people out there love your voice and want you so come to LA with me. Take a risk and get your singing career on track" she says.
"No I have this show going on here just now and I have my job at the diner if things don't work out so I can't just go to LA for 6 months. Then when you finish you'll move somewhere else and I'll be back to square 1, I can't do that" I say.
"I won't go to LA then, I'll just continue to look for work here" she states.
"No because you'll regret this. This is a great opportunity for you and you're still young so you have to take it" I say.
"It's not a great opportunity if you're not there" she says.
"I don't want to just follow you around Brittany because I want a proper career too but I also can't do long distance because we'll never know when it'll stop" I state. "We have to stop here before things get worse baby."
July 2015
Once the show ended, I was back working in the diner full time. I mean it's good that I get to sing there too but it's not the same as being in a show because the clientele is a lot different. I don't get as recognised at the diner.
"Hey Santana" Rachel says walking over to me. She ended up getting a job here too a few months back so she could help me with the rent.
"Hey" I smile.
"I want to introduce you to someone" she says.
"Um…ok" I say slightly confused.
"This is Dani, a new waitress" Rachel says.
"Uh, hi Dani" I say politely.
"Hi" she smirks.
"She also likes girls" Rachel smiles.
"Oh that's nice but why…wait a minute" I say once I realise what's going on. "Rachel, over here right now" I say while pulling her by the arm over to the other end of the counter.
"Ouch Santana, that hurts" Rachel says while glaring at me.
"Good, I'm glad" I state.
"What is going on with you?" she asks.
"I know what you're trying to do Rachel and it's not going to work. I don't need you to set me up with Dani because I'm not looking for anyone right now" I say honestly.
"But you should be looking for someone" she states.
"Why, what's the big deal?" I shrug.
"You're young so you should be having fun, not moping around" she replies.
"Even though I broke up with Brittany, I'm still not over her" I tell Rachel. "She meant everything to me so I can't just move on this fast."
"Brittany wasn't right for you" Rachel states.
"Come on Rachel, that's a little harsh" I sigh.
"She wasn't right for you Santana, she didn't truly love you if she could just leave you like that" Rachel states.
"I was sort of in the wrong too so let's not blame everything on Brittany" I say.
"But she put you through this misery" Rachel states.
"Look Rachel just stop picking on Brittany. I am the one who ruined the relationship because ultimately I was just jealous of her. I moved here to find my dream but instead of finding it we found Brittany's and her career is taking off while mine isn't" I sigh. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm proud of everything Brittany achieves but it was also hard seeing that and knowing it wasn't happening for me.
"At least just agree to hang out with Dani then and maybe you'll realise things eventually" Rachel says.
"I don't want to lead the girl on though Rachel" I state.
"I'm sure she'll be fine with just hanging out with you. Plus you two are going to need to work together from now on so you might as well be friends" she points out.
"Fine, I'll be nice to her but I'm not getting with her" I state.
"Ok" Rachel smiles.
It turns out though, I did end up falling for her so we did start dating relatively soon after we first met. It might seem a little sudden but it felt right because we both seemed set on the same goals so I didn't see how anything could go wrong. She was happy here in New York and this is where I wanted to stay.
January 2017
"Santana Lopez, will you marry me?" Dani asks as she goes down on bended knee.
"Uh…I don't know what to say" I reply in complete shock. I never expected Dani to ask me something like this.
"Yes, hopefully" she smiles.
"I mean yeah, of course I want to marry you. I'm just so shocked right now" I say before leaning down to kiss her.
"Hey I'm really happy for you both but could I talk to you for a minute Santana" my sister asks.
"Uh, sure" I smile.
"Let's go over here" she says while pulling me over to the side.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Why did you say yes?" Ava asks.
"Because I love her and I do want to get married at some point in my life so why not with the woman I love, you know" I reply.
"But what about B…" she says nervously.
"I haven't seen Brittany in a year so why would I still think about her?" I say cutting Ava off.
"Because you just brought her up" she states.
"No you did" I say.
"I didn't say I was talking about Brittany. You cut me off but it wasn't Brittany I was going to say" she replies.
"Oh really so what were you going to say?" I ask not believing her.
"Ok fine it was Brittany but you were so quick to know that so it just proves that maybe you shouldn't make any rash decisions right now" she says.
"Look Brittany and I are never going to work because we're in completely different stages of life right now so no matter what I feel for her, it will never make things ok with us" I say.
"I know you love Dani because I can see it but marriage is a big thing honey. Do I need to remind you of the state you're in every time you see Brittany and then she has to leave again?" Ava says.
"Brittany was a big part of my life so it's sad whenever she has to leave again" I state.
"I know you still really love her Santana so you need to be sure Dani is who you want" she sighs.
"Look enough, I am engaged to Dani now and we're going to get married so let's leave it there" I say before walking off.
I promise next chapter follows straight on from chapter 1.