Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or the concept for X-Factor. just borrowing.
Santana's POV
6 Weeks Later
It has been 6 weeks since leaving LA, and coming back to Chicago. The penthouse you share with the rest of The Troubletones, and paid for by Mr. Motta, is always abuzz with singing, dancing and all around shenanigans. On the groups' return from LA, you threw a huge party with all your friends as a last hoorah before getting down to serious X-Factor preparation. Though you don't know which songs you would be asked to perform, as a group you decided to explore every genre under the sun to be ready for whatever might be thrown at you.
Sugar had her dad take over the floor below the penthouse and construct a complete dance and recording studio. This way there was no excuse not to practice. The first 6 weeks of rehearsal were spent on vocal training. You, Mercedes and Marley were tasked with training the other members in breath control and range, while Quinn and Kitty helped with your blending and background mixing. Sugar was mostly in charge of group fitness and staying out of people's way. Dani was in charge of sharpening her guitar skills as well as working of her vocal versatility, while you continued to redefine yourself as a pianist. You knew having musicians in your group would give you an advantage over groups that just focused on singing and dancing. The Troubletones were not going to be like everyone else.
This set up inherently meant you and Dani were spending a lot of alone time together working on instrumentals, which initially caused some tension. Dani made it clear to you that her motives in LA were to see if you two could be something and you had to make it clear to her that you were not looking for a relationship, and you needed to think about the needs of the group. She seemed to understand, and you two were getting along better than usual.
The last 6 weeks were to be dedicated primarily to dance training. Though you would be keeping up with your vocals, a majority of the day was blocked out for choreography. Kitty had instated a dancing booty camp this past week, which would continue until you fly back to LA. Kitty was teaching dance through time and genre to make sure you were ready for each week. In the past you have gotten away with simplistic dance moves due to your sex appeal and singing abilities, you all agreed you would need to step it up for the X-Factor. Not only did you need the judges approval, but you needed to appeal and impress a greater TV audience. The more complex and the more in sync you were as dancers, the better the performance would show through the screen.
For the last three days, Kitty was teaching you a complicated routine combining hip-hop, jazz and modern techniques. Today was a particularly grueling day and Kitty was unrelenting, barking orders and snapping at the smallest mistake. You rolled your eyes at Quinn when yet again Kitty shut the music off the chastise Marley for having the face of an undersexed orphan. "Marley!" Kitty shrieks, "Stop looking so god damn frigid all the time. If that is your sexy face, I feel bad for whoever has had to witness that. If anyone ever has!"
You cracked.
"Chill the fuck out, Wilde. Either you are on your period or in the need of a serious fucking. We are all working our asses off, and you're acting like a dancing baby Hitler. No one died and made you boss, so why don't you take it a step back before I go all West side on your ass." you snap at her. Before anyone has the chance to respond, you grab your phone and storm out of the mirrored room.
You unlock your phone and immediately scroll over Brittany's name. You know the blonde is at work right now and won't be able to answer, but you just need to hear her voice, so you press down on the green call button. It goes to straight to voicemail. "Hi! You have reached the voicemail box of Brittany S. Pierce, please leave your name and if I feel you are important enough I might call you back."
"Hi B, it's me. Just wanted to say hi. I know you're at work and have rehearsal later, but um call or text me if you get a chance. Bye."
You hang up, and sink down against the wall outside the recording studio. Your relationship with Brittany was a bit hard to define. You and the blonde spoke almost everyday, whether it was texting, on the phone or FaceTime. When you first got back to Chicago, the two of you would text incessantly, keeping up with your confessions game. Which is how you found out that you and Britt played for the same team – SCORE. Soon the conversations turned into daily check ups, and you found yourself looking forward to hearing from the blonde and lonely when you didn't. The two of you rarely talked about your growing feelings for each other. It was hard enough never seeing each other in person, but you both knew that the tension when you got back to the X-Factor could be detrimental to the budding relationship.
This ate away at you each day. You have never felt so connected to someone as you have with Brittany. She makes you want to smile each day, when you usually stomp around with a scowl. She makes you want to stay home on Saturday nights and write music instead of going out with the TT's, getting hammered and waking up next to another nameless girl. In fact, you haven't even had a hook up since coming home. Before meeting Brittany you always prioritized work over everything, but hooking up was a close second. Now you weren't so sure.
While you're lost in personal turmoil, you don't notice that Quinn has slid down next you. "Kitty apologized" you roll your eyes and scoff "Everyone is just really focused on our goal, S. But, you make a good point, we have been going at it vocally for 6 straight weeks, and these past three days have been a grind dancing. And we all know after this you, Mercedes, Dani and Marley are going to do more vocals. Maybe we need a little break. We thought a night on the town is in order. What do you say?"
"Yeah, Q, that sounds good. I need a little distraction. Sorry for blowing up. I'll apologize to everyone." You stand up and offer your friend a hand.
She slaps your hand away, "That's it? What is wrong with you? What have you done with my best friend? The old Santana would have some snarky comment about Kitty's botched boob job and shoot down any team-bonding event as being cheesy and worthless. S, what's going on? You're worrying me."
You sigh, "I am worrying you because I am being too nice? I don't get it, Q. What do you guys want from me? Do you want me to be a raging bitch or do you want me to be a team player?"
She gives you a once over, her eyes locking on the background photo of your phone. You had recently just changed it to a picture of Brittany and her little sister Aubrey. Brittany had taken Aubrey to the zoo and she documented the whole experience so you could feel like you were there. "You're really falling for this girl aren't you?"
"I don't know, Quinn. Is that so fucking hard to believe?" you snap back at her.
"Hey, easy, I have just never seen you like this" she replies softly, as she stands and rubs your arms.
You instinctively wrap your arms around yourself "She's different, Q."
"Then tell her that."
Brittany's POV
You were flying out of the convenience store rushing to your old high school to join The New Directions for rehearsal. During the week you were only able to make your schedule match 3 nights a week, and on the weekends you did a longer rehearsal on Saturday, with vocal training for an hour on Sunday. All of you wished you could rehearse more, but being back in Lima you all were shoved back into work and life. Finn at the tire shop, Puck at his pool cleaning business, Artie was helping out a the local TV station, Tina and Mike were waiting tables at Mike's parent's restaurant, Sam was working at a local gym. Only Rachel didn't have to work, but the rest of you had to make money to help with expenses at home, pay for college and to just live. Also, you knew that while being on the X-Factor was amazing, it wasn't a sure thing. You could all wind up back in Lima in a few weeks time.
You saw that Santana had called you while you at work and left a voicemail. You frowned while hearing her voice on the recording. Before you drove off you sent the girl a quick text
Brittany: Hi, Tana! Sorry I missed your call. You sounded like a sad panda, and that makes me a sad panda L. I am on my way to rehearsal, but can I call you tonight? Xx.
You put your phone in the cup holder, as you drive off the rehearsal. You take the time in the car to unwind from the convenience store. Sure the job isn't glamorous, but you have moved up to shift manager, which means you get more money and more influence on what happens in the store. In your car you blast music and just try to get in the right mind set for rehearsal. You pull into the parking lot of good ol' William McKinley High School and see there is a message waiting for you from Santana.
Santana: Hey, B. Don't worry I knew you were at work. I'm okay, TTs want to go out on the town tonight, not really sure I am feeling up to it, but I am sure Q will drag me out… Can't wait to talk to you. Have a good rehearsal. Xx.
Brittany: Try to have some fun. You guys have been working so hard. Maybe a night out is just what you need.
You pull your dance bag out of your trunk and make your way up to the front doors as your phone vibrates.
Santana: Hmm, maybe. Just don't feel like dealing with that whole scene. Or seeing anyone…
You frown at the Latina's message. What does she mean by "see anyone"? You knew that your relationship with Santana was undefined, but you hoped that she understood how you felt about her. Getting to know her over the past six weeks has been amazing, and while it sucked that your relationship was anchored to technology, you thought you both understood that it wouldn't be forever. You knew Santana was a bit of a player, and whenever she went out you worried that the next day she would be with some other girl. You type out a quick response as you walk into the auditorium.
Brittany: Oh. Well, I am walking into rehearsal right now. Text me if you can't talk later, if not I will call you when I get home. K?
Santana: You know I will always make time for you, B.
Rehearsal went about as well as you could have expected. Rachel decided that the group needed to showcase our strengths, so she Finn, Tina and Artie concentrated on vocals, while you and Mike worked on choreography with Sam and Puck. Rachel thought your best chance for victory was focusing on what you were good at and making it great.
You were fine with this concept at first, but having some clue as to what The Troubletones were doing, you knew all of you should be working on a complete act. You and Santana tried not to discuss rehearsals in specifics, because at the end of the day you were still competitors, but sometimes she would mention coming back from a dance or a vocal training. You also knew that The Troubletones were working every day, hours on end, and obviously, The New Directions had different resources, but it was difficult not to think you weren't taking advantage of your rehearsal time.
You tried to keep your growing friendship with Santana on the down low in front of the your group. Artie and Sam were clued in, and you had talked to Tina about in passing just to get a girls' perspective, but you knew is Rachel and Finn found out they would think it would have a negative impact on the The New Direction's chances. Label it as a distraction. Puck would just make gross comments about Santana that you were not willing to deal with.
"Okay, good work for tonight" Rachel says when the group meets at the end "I really think we are shaping up and have a great shot at this." Artie audibly scoffs.
"Is there an issue, Artie?"
"Yeah, by making our strengths stronger we will just me showcasing our weaknesses. You and Finn need more dance training, and Britt and Mike need more vocal blending. We are only as strong as our weakest link. We already have limited rehearsal time and we are wasting them! Our whole needs to be stronger than the sum of our parts, and right now it's not." He flares at Rachel.
"Watch it, dude" Finn retorts.
"Artie is right" you were surprised to hear Mike speak up. Usually you and Mike take a back seat to inter team issues. You just dance and mind your business. "If we are really want a chance to win this, we need everyone to get stronger at every element. Other teams are not just focusing on the strengths. We saw the quality of the competition. Do you think Santana Lopez and Mercedes Jones are just working on vocal runs? Not a chance. This is a big opportunity for us…the ONLY opportunity for some of us, we need to knuckle down."
Sam and Artie glance over at you at the mention of Santana's name, you just subtly shake your head.
"Does everyone feel this way?" Rachel asks with a surprised look on her.
Artie, Mike, Tina, Sam, Puck and you all raise your hands. You see out of the corner of your eye that Finn is scuffing his shoe with his hand held just below his shoulder, but still raised.
Rachel locks eyes with Finn and turns red, "Well that settles it then. We are adding another practice, and since you are all too busy to do it during the day, it will have to be in the morning. So starting next week we will do a morning session focused on our weaknesses from 5:30 – 7:30 and continue with our group work at night." Rachel states with a huff, she then turns on her heel and stalks out of the gym.
"Rachel, wait!" Finn calls after her and chases the brunette out of the auditorium.
You finally get home and quietly walk into the living room knowing Aubrey would be asleep. You drop off your bag and go to the kitchen and pull a pre-made sandwich out of the fridge and carry it to the back porch to call Santana. You really need her to tell you that even with the crazy schedule Rachel is mandating it would all be okay.
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Santana answers, clearly intoxicated. You hear the thumping of a distant bass in the background.
"Tana?" you giggle in response, "I guess you decided it was okay to have some fun tonight."
"Quinn is the devil, she kept force feeding me shots and now I am drunk. My tongue feels weird and my teeth feel like they are wearing sweaters. Why do my teeth feel like that, B?" You can hear her pout through the phone.
"I'm not sure, Tana. But, I will let you go and have fun with your friends. We can talk tomorrow" you say a little sadly.
"No! B, I want to talk to you. I miss you so much, B. I should start calling you Bumblebee cause all day you're just buzzing through my head. HAH. That was soooo cheesy. I just want to spend time with you. Not on the stupid phone. You deserve more than that. You're so special, Britty." Santana rambles on, "I have never felt this way about anyone and I barely know you! But, you make me feel lighter. I wrote you a song, it's a surprise so don't tell anyone, especially Brittany….Quinn! Quinn! It's Brittany. Brittany is on the phone! She's so pretty, Q. Like a blonde butterfly…" She hiccups.
Your heart races hearing Santana's drunken confessions. You wonder how much this is being fueled by her liquor-ridden mind and how much of it is true. "B? Are you still there, Bumble? Ugh, I don't feel good. I shouldn't have had that last drink." All of a sudden you hear what sounds like Santana's phone dropping to the ground.
"Santana? Santana!" You yell out "Santana, are you still there?"
"Santana, can you relax? Calm down. I have your phone, it's fine. Dani grab her! Just sit next to her on the curb, it's fine. Cedes will you call a cab, and fine Sugar and Marley? Kitty went home earlier." You see red when you over hear Quinn talking to Dani. Ever since that night that Dani dragged Santana onto the dance floor in LA, you haven't trusted her. "Brittany? Hi, sorry, it's Quinn. Santana had a little too much to drink and is now crying on the curb, so we are going to take her home. I will have her call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Is she okay? Why is she crying?" you ask concernedly.
Quinn laughs, "Oh yes, weepy Santana is a normal weekend persona. No worries, she will call you tomorrow. Bye, Brittany!"
You hang up your phone, a little disappointed. You were looking forward to just having some Santana time, but now you had to worry about her getting home okay, her being with Dani, and worry about everything she just said. You stare down at your lock screen – it's a photo of Santana that you took while FaceTiming the other day. She was caught in a deep laugh, her eyes were closed, her nosed scrunched up. Best of all, she wasn't wearing any makeup, she was just her.
You exhale and stand up to go back upstairs. You really hope she meant what she said to you.
You head to the small bathroom to take a shower and freshen up before bed. Your body is so exhausted from your routine that it hurts to lift your arms to wash your hair. You constantly remind yourself that in 6 weeks it will all be worth it. As you creep back into the living, and silently lift the cover to your shared bed with Aubrey, you phone lights up with a text. You think to ignore it and just check in the morning, but something tells you to look.
Santana: Come visit me. Come to Chicago.
Santana's POV
You are woken up by an alarming need to use the bathroom. As you bolt up and head for your en suite, you notice Quinn sleeping on the other side of your bed. Once in the bathroom, you get a look at yourself. Still in last night's dress, hair askew, make up caked and dried all over your face. Fuck, you think, what happened? Your head is pounding, so after you use the restroom, you chug a glass or water and pop a few pills before heading back to bed.
"Q" you whisper shaking your friend. "Q" you say a little louder. "Wake the fuck up, Fabitch" you yell shoving your friend in the back.
"What. The. Fuck, Santana?!" Quinn snaps back at you as she rolls onto her back, "You would think that after taking care of you all night you would at least have the common courtesy of letting me sleep in."
"What happened last night? Why are you in my bed? Usually you just dispose of me and head to your room," you question as you put your head in her lap and let her run her fingers through your hair.
"You wouldn't let me leave. You were a weepy, sobbing mess and wouldn't stop talking about Brittany."
You bolt up right and your head pounds from the sudden movement "FUCK!" You grab your head, "Please, please tell me I didn't talk to Brittany last night. Shit, I don't remember anything." You roll over to your side of the bed and grab your phone from the charging station. You don't have any texts from the blonde, which you don't know if it is a good thing or bad thing. You open up your phone and see that Brittany did in fact call last night, just after midnight, which means she had just gotten home from rehearsal, and you definitely answered. Okay, you think to yourself, maybe it's not that bad. You then open your text conversation and everything in your body clenches.
"Quinn."
"Santana?"
"I asked her to come here."
"What?! You did? What did she say?"
"She didn't reply…." You flop back down on the back. "Oh my god, this is so embarrassing, she must think I am a total stage five clinger. I ruined everything. There is no way she would want to be with me now. Fuck!"
"Whoa, slow down. You want to be with her?" Quinn asks?
"Duh, Lucy. Have you ever seen me this worked up over a girl. She's, I don't know, different. Special. Amazing. I don't know much but I do know that I want to be with her." You say it so confidently you even surprise yourself.
"What about the show? She is our competition, what about The Troubletones?" Quinn asks accusatorily.
"Can't I have both? You know I still want to win this, more than anyone, but I also want to be happy. She makes me happy, Q." you reply somberly.
Quinn looks over at you with kindness and understanding in her light, hazel eyes and reaches out to squeeze your hand. The moment is broken when your phone starts to ring.
"It's her."
Brittany's POV
You decide to call Santana first thing when you wake up, reasoning it was better to clear the air early than to let the potential awkwardness brew. You grab an apple from the fridge, and make your way out to the porch to call the Latina that has been the sole focus of your thoughts.
"Hey, Britt" you sigh at her voice. She sounds tired and a little hesitant.
"Hi, Tana. How you feelin' champ?
"Well," she laughs, "I have definitely seen better days, but I have also seen worse. Quinn ran some good damage control."
You giggle and are relieved she doesn't seem to be freaking out.
"Look, Brittany. I am really sorry you had to deal with that last night, especially after a full day of work and then rehearsal with the troll, which I am sure was unbearable. That was really unfair of me. I guess I just didn't realize how much I was drinking. I am not really sure what I said, but if I said anything to hurt you or upset you I am really, really sorry. I have a tendency to be reduced to word vomit when I get to that level of drunk."
"It's okay, Tana. You don't need to apologize. Though I am kind of upset you don't remember what you said."
You hear Santana exhale and can imagine her running her hands through her long dark hair "I saw the text, B. And, I am not sure what I said on the phone, but I can assume if I sent a text like that then I probably expressed a lot of feelings, too."
"Yeah, you did" you breathe back.
"Well, can you?"
"Can I what?"
"Come to Chicago."
"Santana, I would love to come to Chicago…"
"I am sensing a but…"
"However, I can't afford it right now. Literally and figuratively. Rachel is ramping up New Directions rehearsals to twice a day, plus I need to keep my job at the store so I can help my mom with rent. I just don't think I could manage to take even a weekend away from home, especially since we leave again in 6 weeks."
"I understand" the brunette replies sadly.
"Tana, that doesn't mean I don't want to come. You might not remember what you said, but I do, and I hope you meant it because" You take a deep breath realizing what is about to happen. Something the two of you have avoided and tip toed around for six weeks. Feelings. " Because, I miss you when we don't talk, and I wish we could see each other in person and get to know each other without the use of texting or FaceTime. You inspire me to be a better dancer and artist, and it might be fast and unconventional, but it works for us. I want there to be an us, Santana."
"We certainly are unconventional. So what, we just wait the six weeks and figure it out when we are together in LA? Is that going to be hard with the show? I mean we are competitors."
"If we want it to work, we will make it work. Do you want to make it work, Santana?"
You hear her breathing, and you hold your own breath anticipating her answer. What if she says no? What if this is too much for her? What if the distance is something she can handle or is willing to handle? What if the show is more important to her than exploring a relationship with you?
As you mind shouts at you, you almost miss her reply, "Yeah, B. I want to make this work." You grin so hard that you're sure Santana can feel it all the way in Chicago. "But, I want to wait to make it official. I am going to blow your socks off when I finally ask you to be my girlfriend. Plus, who knows, you might think I am a horrible kisser and regret ever saying any of this."
Girlfriend. You grin uncontrollably hearing her say those words in reference to you. You giggle, loving that Santana is slowly becoming her usual self, "The great, womanizing Santana Lopez a bad kisser? Couldn't be."
"Womanizer no more, B. Someone is slowly turning me into a one woman lady."
You feel butterflies exploding in your stomach. It's crazy the things this girl can do to you, even when she's hundreds of miles away. "She must be one hell of a girl."
"Mmhmm" Santana replies.
"So" you start "should I start wearing more black and yellow?"
"What are you talking about, B?"
"Don't you mean BUMBLE Bee?"
"Oh, god…"
AN: Tertiary characters - i.e Marley, Mike, Tina, Dani(kinda), Kitty, Sugar, Puck & Finn - will be used as necessary to move the story long, but I didn't want to burden myself with trying to keep up with everyone's separate stories. They are important to the group aspect of the fic, but aren't plot driven characters. They will be mentioned in how they relate to Santana and Brittany, and to the competition, but you won't get much of their personal stories. You'll probably see more Rachel, Artie, Sam, Quinn and Mercedes.
