Chapter 5: Wedding Rehearsal
"So that's basically the story" I say after conveniently leaving the last two years out of it.
"So you haven't seen Brittany in over two years?" Dani asks.
"Uh…no" I lie. I feel like she's had enough to digest right now so I don't want to upset her any more by telling her I cheated on her.
"I just don't know where to go from here now Santana" she shakes her head.
"It's simple babe, we get married" I smile.
"It's not that simple Santana. You can't just tell me all this and think everything is going to be ok" she states. "You lied to me and it seems Brittany was a big part of your life so this wasn't just some white lie."
"I didn't want to hurt you" I sigh.
"Can't you see that lying to me is hurting me just the same?" she asks. "I thought I was the first proper girlfriend you had but apparently I'm not."
"If I'm being completely honest I didn't mention Brittany in the beginning because it didn't seem relevant but then the more things went on you assumed things so I didn't want to correct you" I say. "You assumed this was my first relationship and that I had never been in love before so I went along with it because you said this was your first proper relationship too. I didn't want to hurt you because you thought this was something special because it was both of our first proper relationships."
"I wasn't going to think differently about you just because you used to be in a relationship. I mean yes it was my first real relationship but I've dated plenty of girls before" she states.
"Look all I'm saying is that I didn't want to hurt you" I sigh.
"That's fair enough but I am hurt right now so I need some time to process things because not only haven't you told me about Brittany which would have been fine but she's also here to get you back so that's another thing to deal with" she points out.
"I love you Dani and I'm going to marry you so you don't need to worry about Brittany. As soon as she gets the message, she'll leave" I state.
"But when will she get the message because it doesn't look like she wants to leave anytime soon?" she asks.
"Listen to me, if I have to kick her ass to get her out of here then I will" I say.
"Wait a minute" Dani says just realising something. "You told her you wanted to take a break, you didn't explicitly say you wanted to break up forever so what if she's here because she thinks there's still a possibility?"
"She can think all she wants but it's not going to happen" I say.
"I hope not" Dani sighs.
"What do you say I rebel a little tonight and I'll stay here with you?" I smirk.
"I'd like that" she replies quietly. I can tell this isn't going to be as easy as I thought but I think she's beginning to understand my point of view about things.
"I have got plans with Rachel in the morning though so I will need to leave early and go back to my room to get showered and changed" I say.
"That's ok. I'd rather have you here tonight and leave early in the morning than not be here at all" she smiles.
"Ok" I smile back.
Thursday 13th July 2017
As soon as I left Dani's room, I went back to mine and quickly showered. I left probably thirty minutes later than I should have so I'm running slightly late. I'm only half dressed at the moment and I'm searching all over my bed to find my phone because I sat it down and now I seem to have lost it.
"Hey Santana, Rachel is at the door so shall I let her in or do you want to quickly finish getting dressed?" Ava asks while walking over to my bed.
"Yeah it's fine, just let her in" I nod. We've lived together ever since we moved here and we still do so it's not a surprise to either of us.
"Ok" she smiles before letting Rachel into the room.
"Are you all set for…evidently not" Rachel sighs as she sees I'm not quite ready yet. "Why are you not fully dressed, we agreed we'd meet at this time."
"I just slept in slightly, that's all" I shrug.
"Well just hurry up and finish please. This is our last chance to hang out before you get married so let's make it fun ok?" she asks.
"Ok" I nod. I barely get a chance to pick up my shirt, never mind put it on, before someone knocks at the door. "Could you get that Rachel, I'm not quite ready yet" I say.
"Sure" Rachel smiles before going over to the door. It's like my worst nightmare as soon as she opens the door.
"Hi" Brittany replies cheerfully.
"Miss Pierce what are you doing here?" Rachel asks shocked.
"For fuck's sake Rachel stop being an ass, her name is Brittany and we were together for almost 2 years I think you can lose the Miss Pierce" I shake my head.
"She was my teacher for a few months so she'll always be Miss Pierce" Rachel glares at me before turning to glare at Brittany. She's talking nonsense though because I've heard her say Brittany before, I think she's just trying to be smart.
"Oh I've missed you too Rachel" Brittany smirks while walking around Rachel to get into the room.
"Look what do you want Brittany?" I sigh.
"Believe it or not but I want you to do the right thing. Look if marrying Dani is what's right for you then fine, I'll go away but you have to be sure you're completely over me first" she says.
"I am over you so see you later" I smirk.
"If you're over me then why are treating me to a little show right now?" she smirks.
"Come again?" I ask confused.
"I will but you got to lose the pants first" she winks.
"Oh for god's sake Brittany" I shake my head, "and let me guess the show you're apparently getting is because I'm shirtless right now?"
"Usually you'd make me kiss you a little first but I'm down with anything so if you want to just get right to it then it's cool" she smiles.
"Just cut it out Brittany, I'm not in the mood for your shit" I say unamused.
"Ok, I'm sorry" she says genuinely.
"Rachel and I are about to go out somewhere so you need to leave now" I say.
"Isn't that Ava singing in the shower that I can hear?" Brittany asks.
"Yeah, what about it" I say not seeing her point.
"Well can't I just stay here and hang out with her?" she asks.
"I know you two get on well but that doesn't help my situation. How do you think my fiancée feels about you right now never mind how will she feel when she knows you're besties with Ava and are hanging out with her" I say.
"Ava's and my relationship is none of her business" she states.
"Brittany please don't make this any harder that it has to be. You've said what you wanted and I'm not interested so please just leave" I say getting tired of this whole situation.
"Don't you get it Santana" Brittany sighs. "You were my whole life and now I have nothing. We were so happy together and yeah sure a few things went wrong but I've never felt so unhappy before. I don't even like dancing sometimes because it reminds me of you, how sad is that?"
"Honey…" wow that has been a while since I called her that, "I'd be lying if I said I felt absolutely nothing for you because we meant a lot to each other but we both know this was never going to work. I'll always respect you and anything you do I'm always going to be so proud and happy for you but that's all it's ever going to be with us. We're not getting back together because I love Dani and I'm going to marry her."
"Exactly so off you go Miss Pierce" Rachel smirks.
"Rachel just don't please" I shake my head. It's bad enough dealing with this Brittany situation but I don't need Rachel chipping in either.
"Hey I thought I heard your voice" Ava smiles while walking over to Brittany.
"I'm just about to leave right now but don't worry I'm not going far so we should hang out soon" Brittany smiles at Ava.
"Definitely" Ava replies.
"I'll text you and if you're free we could do something fun" Brittany says.
"Awesome, I'll speak to you soon" Ava replies.
"I will be going now but make no mistake Santana, this isn't over" Brittany says looking at me before leaving.
"What an ass" Rachel shakes her head.
"You might think that but that's only because you don't understand" Ava replies. "Brittany is smarter than you think so she knows this situation isn't plain and simple. She knows Santana that there's still something between you two and she knows you feel it too otherwise she would leave you alone."
"Look she's left now so let's just get ready and do what we were supposed to do" Rachel says and I nod.
XXX
After hanging out with Rachel and some of my other friends, I went back to Dani's room to spend some time with her before the rehearsal tonight for the wedding.
"Hey babe" I smile cheerfully as I walk into her room.
"Hi" Dani replies quietly.
"Babe what's wrong?" I ask in concern.
"I got a text from Rachel not along ago and she informed me you had another visit from Brittany" she states.
"That bitch" I shake my head in annoyance.
"Who Rachel for telling me or Brittany for visiting?" she asks unhappily.
"Brittany of course" I state. Technically it was Rachel I was talking about but never mind.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take" she sighs.
"Honey I want to marry you and Brittany isn't going to change that" I say.
"I want to believe you Santana but you've kept this a secret for so long so how do I know you're not hiding anything else?" she asks.
"I'm swear baby, I'm not lying about anything else" I say.
"Ok" she says taking a deep breath. "But what about Brittany though, she doesn't seem to want to give up?"
"She just cares for me" I sigh. "I mean I was 18 when I first started dating Brittany and she was older than me so she's always been protective of me. She just wants me to be sure I'm doing what I truly want and I am" I smile.
"There's caring Santana and there's getting in the way. Right now Brittany is getting in the way because she shouldn't even be here" Dani states.
"Believe me, I've asked her to go" I sigh.
"I just don't understand why she won't take no for an answer. I mean you guys dated and then broke up, it's not like you still love her or anything" she says.
"Yeah…exactly" I say hesitantly. God why I am so confused right now. "Honey let's just get ready for the rehearsal dinner and enjoy ourselves, ok?"
"Ok, fine" she nods.
"I need to go back to my room and change but I'll see you soon" I smile.
"Yeah see you later babe" she smiles back.
By the time I got ready and met Dani downstairs, we were ready to start the rehearsal dinner. The first while went well and there were no hiccups until a certain someone showed up.
"Santana what is she doing here?" Dani asks annoyed.
"I have no idea" I shake my head. "I'll take care of it though" I say reassuringly squeezing her hand before getting up from my seat.
"Just don't make a scene though, my parents are here" Dani states.
"I won't" I smile. As soon as I reach Brittany, I grab her arm and pull her into the nearest bathroom. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I could ask you the same question Santana because that really hurts" she glares while aggressively pulling my hand off her arm.
"I didn't invite you here so what are you doing here? You know this is where my rehearsal is so explain to me why you'd suddenly need to come down here" I say annoyed.
"Do you think this is just some game for me?" she asks seriously.
"What are you talking about?" I ask confused.
"I know I've been messing around and not taking things seriously but that's only because I'm finding this whole thing too difficult" she sighs.
"For the love of god Brittany what are you talking about" I say getting frustrated.
"You just don't get it do you?" she shakes her head.
"You're talking in riddles and it's driving me crazy" I state.
"I love you Santana and it's tearing me apart thinking of you getting married to someone else. I get why you broke up with me but you're pretending like you don't love me" she says.
"I'm not pretending, it's the truth" I say getting tired of this charade.
"No Santana, we broke up because of work not because we fell out of love" she states.
"That's right but we're not in love anymore and I'm going to marry Dani. You really need to get that into your head" I sigh.
"You're not thinking of the severity of this Santana. If you are married we can never see each other again. No hook-ups in hotels; no occasionally emailing and no contact whatsoever" she says.
"That's cool with me" I shrug.
"Do you care about me at all?" she asks sadly.
"Of course I care about you" I say as if it's obvious. "You were a big part of my life Brittany so I'm not going to just forget about it but just because I care about you does not mean I'm not going to marry Dani."
"I don't believe you" she shakes her head.
"Why not?" I sigh in frustration. "Seriously why are you doing all this?"
"Santana you know me and you know I wouldn't carry on like this if it wasn't important. Forget how obnoxious I was yesterday and really think about things. Would I really act like a fucking ass if I thought you were doing the right thing?" she asks.
"Well you were being extra annoying I must admit" I point out. "It doesn't mean I think differently about the situation though. You were and still are way out of line and I am going to marry Dani on Saturday."
"I am only doing it because I still love you Santana and you must feel something for me too especially if we saw one another 7 months ago" she says.
"I don't want to hurt your feelings Brittany but this has to stop and you need to keep your nose out of my business. I'll never forget you or what we had but we're 100% over" I reply.
"But Santana don't…"
"What the hell is going on in here?" Dani asks walking into the bathroom. "You have been in here for a really long time Santana and it's kinda important you're there at the wedding rehearsal since you're one of the brides."
"I'm sorry, I'll be right there just give us a minute" I smile.
"I'm not giving you any more time with her alone. I don't even know why she's here but this whole thing is ridiculous. I mean she's your ex and we're about to get married so she really doesn't have a place here" Dani states.
"Look I just want you to know that if you're 100% sure Santana that you want to marry Dani and know exactly what you're doing. If you are then I respect that and I won't ever bother you two again" Brittany says genuinely.
"Yes she's sure" Dani states.
"Can I hear it from Santana please?" Brittany asks.
"Yes I'm sure" I nod.
"Ok well I'm ok with that" Brittany shrugs. "Just promise me something Santana, don't make the same mistakes we did, ok?"
"I don't intend to do anything wrong. Dani and I are for keeps, isn't that right?" I smile at Dani.
"Yeah" she smiles back.
"I want to ask one last thing and please hear me out before you dismiss me" Brittany says.
"Ok fine" I nod.
"I promise I won't cause any bother but please can I stay. You're one of the most important people I've ever had in my life and I'll be leaving soon so I just want to spend these last few moments with you" she says.
"Brittany, I don't know if that's a good idea" Dani shakes her head.
"I get you don't like me but Santana marrying you means I can never see her again and I don't want it to end this way. We've had too many shitty endings every time we said goodbye so can we please just have this one good ending because I promise you, you'll both never see me again" Brittany says.
"I know I have a cheek asking but if Brittany says we'll never see each other again then I wouldn't mind seeing her one last time" I say.
"I really don't like this idea" Dani shakes her head.
"I will promise to never bother you two again, honestly. I just can't leave when Santana and I aren't on good terms and I especially don't want to miss the happiest day of Santana's life because I know how much she's always dreamed of getting married" Brittany says sadly.
"Do you know what, I don't care anymore" Dani sighs. "I don't understand this situation one bit so do what you both want but if she puts so much as one foot wrong Santana then the wedding doesn't happen" she says seriously.
"Thank you" I smile.
"I'm going back out there so are you coming?" Dani asks.
"Yeah in one second, I promise" I smile again.
"Ok" Dani nods and leaves.
"I want you to stay but if you ruin things for me then I'll never forgive you" I state.
"I promise you that I won't" Brittany smiles.
"Thank you" I smile back. "Why do you want to come to my wedding though?" I ask curiously.
"I figured that if I can't get to marry you then I at least want to come to your wedding" Brittany says. "I want to see you in your wedding dress looking as beautiful as ever, even if that's not to me" she sighs.
"Brittany don't do this" I shake my head.
"I'm being serious Santana" she says beginning to get teary. "I accept the fact now that you don't want to marry me or even be with me."
"Oh Brittany" I sigh before going over to hug her. "Why are you torturing yourself like this, you know you and I wouldn't work."
"I can't help the way I feel about you Santana" she replies.
"You deserved to be with someone better than me though" I point out.
"Santana I don't…"
"Brittany we're not doing this again. I said you can come to the wedding so either come and be happy for me or leave right now" I say.
"I'm sorry, I want to come to your wedding so thank you" she smiles while pulling out of the hug.
"I need to go back out there but please don't think I don't care about you because I do. I'll always care about you Brittany but that doesn't mean things can change with us" I tell her.
"I know" she nods. "Anyway you go ahead, I just want to fix my makeup first."
"Ok" I smile and then leave.
XXX
"What the hell are you doing Santana?" Rachel asks while briskly walking over to me.
"Getting another glass of wine because we want to keep all the champagne for the actual wedding, is that a problem?" I ask confused.
"Not the wine, I'm talking about Brittany" she states.
"What about her?" I ask.
"Care to tell me why she's sitting with your sister making jokes as if she's invited to this wedding?" Rachel asks.
"Maybe because she is invited to the wedding" I mumble.
"I'm sorry, say that again?" Rachel asks narrowing her eyes.
"She seemed really genuine Rachel and she promised this would be the last time we saw each other. She just didn't want us to end on a bad note" I reply.
"She could just apologise and leave, she didn't need to stay" Rachel states.
"You don't understand my situation Rachel so just leave it" I say. "I know what I'm doing so stay out of it ok?"
"Ok" Rachel nods.
"I don't really feel like dancing right now but everyone else is so you should go and join them" I tell her.
"Kurt has been asking me to dance with him for a while now so I might as well" Rachel shrugs and then walks over to the dancefloor to find Kurt. I then go back to my table and sit down next to Dani.
"Everything ok?" she asks.
"Of course" I smile.
"So why have you got yourself a drink and not me?" she asks.
"Oh shoot, Rachel distracted me" I sigh. "I'll go and get you a drink right now" I say just about to get up from my seat.
"It's fine, I'll get it" Dani says standing up. "I want to stretch my legs anyway" she says while leaning down to kiss me before leaving.
"I notice Brittany is still here, what's going on?" my mom asks.
"Not now mom, I don't want a lecture ok" I shake my head.
"Honey I wasn't going to give you a lecture" she says moving to sit in a seat closer to me. "I just want to know what's going on, that's all."
"Well Brittany's staying for the wedding because as soon as I'm married we've agreed to no longer have any contact with one another" I reply. "I know she did this all out of love for me and I get it so I don't want to just turn her away because she was a big part of my life. I can't just pretend it didn't happen so we want to officially end things on a happy note."
"It might be a happy for you but I can't imagine Brittany would be happy right now" my mom says.
"I know it seems weird but she said she wants to see me happy. I guess she just needs that proof before she can fully accept we're over" I reply.
"I don't want to get you annoyed by saying this but do you really think you can both stay away from one another forever. I mean Ava is planning a vacation with Brittany and some other friends so with Ava being so friendly with her then are you sure you're never going to bump into one another from time to time" my mom says.
"Look we'll cross that bridge if we ever come to it but for right now the best thing is to end things properly and on good terms" I say.
"Ok fine" my mom nods.
"Hey what are you two talking about?" Dani asks while sitting back down.
"Oh just my dress but we're going to stop now because I don't want you to have any idea what I'll look like in it" I smile.
"Yeah I want a surprise on Saturday" she smiles back.
We drift into a silence for a few minutes just watching everyone around us having fun. It's not so much a rehearsal anymore, it's more just a gathering for family and friends now to have fun.
"Honey" Dani says grabbing my attention.
"Yeah" I turn to smile at her.
"Why do you keep staring over at the other table?" she asks.
"Uh…" I don't know what to say because Brittany was just at the other table a second ago and I don't want Dani to think I was staring at her.
"Were you keeping an eye on Ava again in case she drinks too much and embarrasses us?" she asks.
"Yep, that's exactly what I was doing" I nod. "In fact I probably should go over and make sure she's doing alright" I say while standing up.
"Ok" Dani shrugs. "I'm just going to hang out with some of my friends anyway" she smiles and then we both leave in different directions.
"Hey" Ava smiles as I approach her.
"Hey" I smile back.
"She's an amazing dancer isn't she?" Ava smiles over at the dancefloor.
"I mean I love Dani but she's a better singer than dancer I would say" I admit. "Plus she's only just went onto the floor with her friends so she hasn't really warmed up yet."
"I wasn't talking about Dani, I was talking about the hot blonde you keep staring at who also happens to go by the name of Brittany" Ava smirks.
"I'm not staring at Brittany" I reply annoyed.
"Look I understand Brittany's reasons for being here and why she wants to be at the wedding but I don't understand why you'd want her here if you're so sure you don't feel anything for her anymore" Ava says.
"I may not be in love with her anymore but she still means a great deal to me" I say. "Plus I feel better whenever Brittany's around as much as it pains me to say it."
"Are you sure you're ready to let her go then if you feel better when she's around?" Ava asks.
"I have to because she feels it's for the best" I reply.
"That doesn't exactly tell me that you want to let her go" Ava points out.
"I guess I always thought Brittany would be in my life in some way because every so often we always run into each other or send the occasional email" I say. "Now that she wants to end this completely then it doesn't exactly make me feel good."
"Why are you fighting this Santana?" Ava sighs and shakes her head. "You know you've never felt the same way about anyone as you have Brittany."
"Ok yes I'd really like it if Brittany stayed in my life because she's always been the only person who really gets me and…"
"Stop talking" Ava says abruptly.
"No it's fine, don't stop on my account, I'd love to hear more" Dani says causing me to twist around quickly.
"How long…"
"How long have I been standing here?" Dani asks, "Is that what you're going to say?"
"I can tell you're starting to get mad and I may have upset you slightly but please don't jump the gun here. I was just going to say that…"
"Save it" Dani says cutting me off again. "We are not doing this here so let's wrap this thing up and then you and I need to talk, again" she shakes her head in annoyance.