AN 1: Just pumping out content because I have it. A reviewer asked if I was going to show more of the time the girls spent apart. To be honest, it didn't strike me to do so. This is a Brittana centric fic, and I personally think the girls are better together. I try to give a little idea of what their life is like alone, but I wanted to get into the competition part of the story. I am more than willing to do some additional one shots about Santana in Chicago and Britt in Lima if that interests people. That way you could see more of the tertiary characters. Anyways! Enjoy.

Disclaimer 1: I am taking a lot of artistic liberties with the rules, regulations, pacing and set up surrounding X-Factor, I just thought the premise of their group competition was a good fit for the story. For an X-Factor purists out there, I am sorry. I have basically combined the premises of X-Factor, Idol and a little SYTYCD.

Disclaimer 2: I don't own Glee or the concept for X-Factor, just borrowing!


Brittany's POV

Santana: 3 Days. I wish you were already here with me. Now I can say see you soon and mean it. 3 Days. Xo

You stare at the text Santana had sent you this morning when she landed in LA. The Troubletones flew out a few days early to relax before the competition. The New Directions did not have the same luxury. Instead, you were working overtime until your flight left at the last possible minute. Things at home hadn't necessarily gotten worse, but you knew losing your income wouldn't be helpful, so for the past 12 weeks you have saved every dime you could, just to make sure your mom and Aubrey were taken care of.

You're sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal for dinner. Lately your meals had consisted of "whatever you had within reach." Santana was really worried you weren't eating well and or enough, and had actually taken upon herself to send in reinforcements. Somehow, she managed to get in touch with Sam and Artie and wire them money to bring you food. One night you came back from rehearsal and found a take out container with your name on it. You pull it out of the fridge, pour the contents on a plate and pop it in the microwave before you dig in.

You assume your mom had ordered take out and got you some, but as you sit down to enjoy your meal your phone starts to ring. You realize it is Santana FaceTiming you, and you rush to answer.

You answer with a big wave, "Hi, B" she beams at you through the screen. She is sitting in the kitchen of the TTs penthouse, glasses on, hair in a messy bun and you can see the top of her favorite Janet Jackson Experience concert t-shirt poking out, "Did you find your surprise? I figured since I can't actually take you out to dinner, we could have a little virtual dinner date." On the word date, her voice gets shy and she is looking down from the camera. She shifts the camera and you see her kitchen table set with flowers, candles and place setting for you. "I know it's not great, but it's something." She looks back at you, her deep brown eyes shimmering.

"Tana…" you breathe. Trying not to let your emotions overwhelm you. No one had ever been so thoughtful. It was little things like that that kept the past 6 weeks from being torturous.

Now all you had to do was get through the next 72 hours, and you could actually see her, in person, in the flesh. You could hear her laugh the second it happened and not wait for it to travel through cyberspace. You could run your hands gently through her hair when she sits at her piano writing music. You could hold her hand. All things you have thought about countless times since the moment you plane left LA almost 3 months ago.

As you get lost in yet another of your countless day dreams about Santana, you don't hear Aubrey shuffle into the room. "Hi, Britty" the younger girl says as she pulls out the chair next to you. Even though she is turning 13 in a months time, she hasn't broken the habit of calling you Britty.

"Hi, Bree" you smile at the young blonde, who is the spitting image of you at that age, except her eyes are a deep green. "Why are you still awake?"

"I heard you come in from rehearsal and I know you're leaving soon, so I wanted to spend time with you" she responds sadly, while glancing at you.

"Aw, Bree. I am going to miss you and mom so much, and Tubbs of course. But, this won't be forever. I will be back before you know it."

"I don't want you to come back, Britty."

You almost choke on the spoonful of cereal you had just shoveled into your mouth. As you cough it down and shake the tears forming in your eyes, you look at your younger sister confused, "What do you mean?"

"I don't want you to come back here, Brittany. You need to be somewhere when you can actually dance and do something for yourself. For too long you have been taking care of this family and not taking care of yourself. You're special, Brittany, you need to be somewhere you can be special. You had to grow up too quickly, mom and I will be fine, you need to be a little selfish."

You stare at your younger sister and wonder how you missed her growing up into this young, insightful girl sitting in front of you. Tears slowly fill your eyes, as you lunge over and grip her into a hug. "I love you so much, Bree. All I've ever wanted is for you to be cared for and safe. I am going to miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too, Britty."


Santana's POV

Today is a big day for a lot of reasons. For The Troubletones, it is the first producers meeting for the X-Factor. You will get assigned the theme for the week, you will finally see all 10 groups in one place and be able to literally size up your competition, and you will finally be able to see if all your hard work over the past 6 weeks has paid off. For you personally, today is the first day you will see Brittany, since the one amazing night. Sure, you and the blonde have been consistent presences in each other's lives, but just emotionally. The physical presence would be new, exciting and really scary. All The Troubletones knew about you and Brittany, and the rather ambiguous relationship you two shared. They were supportive of course, because they were your home girls, but you knew that they were also very skeptical.

Mercedes cornered you in your town house on the X-Factor compound while you were getting ready to head over to the main house for the initial meeting. The show really set up the group contestants, the housing was unbelievable. Pulling into the compound, there was a long drive leading up to a circle of town houses all surrounding a huge mansion in the middle. The mansion was serving as head quarters for the show. It held the studios, the "Santana, we need to talk" the diva states as she closes the door to your bedroom behind her.

"Santana?" you question, "You haven't called me Santana since the first time we met in sophomore year. Usually it's Satan or S. This must be serious" you try to keep your tone light, but inside you're nervous. You assumed this was going to be the Brittany conversation, in fact you were waiting for one of the group members to approach you, you kept telling Quinn it was only a matter of time.

"Look, girl" Cedes begins, "You know I love you. We have been through the works together, from starting this group, to turning down scholarship to chase our dream, from rejection to affirmation, we have done it together - I mean Quinn was there, too. But, me and you, this has always been what we were about. The music and the chase. We have worked so hard for so long, and this could really be our big break, S. Winning this show could mean never having to look back, never having to make another demo, never singing in another bar. This is our moment, our chance. I need you all in on this, San. We can't afford for you to be distracted by some girl. I really, really need you, Santana. We all need you. You are The Troubletones." Mercedes finishes her speech, visibly shaken and emotional. She clearly meant everything she said and you wanted to respect her feelings, while also defending yourself.

"Cedes, you know how much I care about The Troubletones. I would have been lost without you girls in high school. You also know how much this competition means to me. It upsets me that you think I wouldn't give my all everyday for this team. But you have to understand that Brittany is important. Sure, I may not have known her for that long, and the majority of our relationship has been over the phone, but I have never been happier. She makes me a better artist, a better singer, a better musician, she is going to help me be better for the group. She isn't just some girl, Cedes. She's not."

Mercedes looks at you with what you think is understanding and maybe envy in her eyes, "I have never heard you talk about anyone with that much passion, Santana. This girl must be special. I just had to make sure. I want you to be happy, but I know this dream, the group, this life also makes you happy. I just want you to be sure about Brittany. You don't let yourself be loved Santana, and all of a sudden this blonde-eyed beauty waltzes into your life and you're a changed woman…it just seems too convenient. I just want you to be careful. This is a competition, we are the ones to beat, how do you know she just isn't trying to get a leg up on us?"

You can't lie and say that this thought had never crossed your mind. Everything with Brittany did seem to fit perfectly in place, from the first night when she called you out for being a bitch and then forgave you so quickly. From everything that has transpired the past 3 months, no hitches, rarely any arguments – only those surrounding which movie you were going to "watch together" on Netflix – Brittany was partial to Disney and you partial to action. It all seemed to good to be true.

You wrung your hands together, your steel nerves almost cracking. But then you thought about Brittany. Sweet, kind Brittany, who in the past 3 months had completely rejuvenated you as a person. There is no way someone could fake that.

"That's not Brittany."


Brittany's POV

You just hopped into a cab at LAX and were rushing through the streets of LA, obsessively checking your watch to make sure you wouldn't be late. You were meeting The New Directions at the X-Factor compound just before the first producers meeting, where you would go over the rules and regulations as well as be given your first assignment. Your flight in Dayton had been delayed, and you were really on a time crunch. You legs shook impatiently in the back seat, as you anticipated what lies ahead, when all of a sudden your phone chimed twice in a row.

Rachel: Hello, Brittany. I realize that you probably just landed, but we are anxiously awaiting your arrival. We will all meet you in front of the main house on the compound, you certainly can't miss it. Don't worry about bringing your bags to our town house, one of the runners will take care of that. See you soon!

Santana: 30 minutes. The countdown is almost complete.

Reading the text from the Latina confirms that this is in fact real. Your stomach fills with butterflies in anticipation of actually seeing Santana again.

The cab screeches to a halt in front of this huge mansion just outside LA, and waiting for you on the front steps is your entire team. You burst out of the door and run to hug your teammates. Even though you just saw them last week, being here and knowing how hard you have worked to get here, you feel like it's been years. Artie spins you around in his chair, Puck tries to grab your ass and Tina winks at you before Rachel calls the group to attention.

"Okay team, this is it. No matter what happens, we bring our all each and every week. We can be no less than perfect if we want to win this thing. Follow my lead and we should be fine. Hands in."

"Hands in?" Puck asks with a skeptical look on his face.

"Yes, hands in. We are a team, and to get ready for my role as captain on this team I have been watching many sports movies to motivate myself and try to really get in the right mind set. In each of this sports movies they all join there hands together and break in some kind of chant. I think being a team we should do that same." Rachel looks around at the group, eager to see if anyone joins in her enthusiasm.

"The hell with it," you say "Let's fucking do this thing." You throw your hand in the middle, while the other members follow your lead. "New Directions on 3,…1….2…3…"

After joining your teammates, you all enter the mansion and are escorted downstairs to one of many rehearsal rooms. The other teams are already filled into the rehearsal room, and your eyes scan the room trying to find Santana. Your search is cut short when a producer calls attention.

"Hello and welcome! We cannot tell you how excited we are to have all of you here for the X-Factor. These ten groups were narrowed down from a field of thousands and we are so pleased to be filled in a room with such young talent. Many of you will be household names before the end of this competition. Before we introduce ourselves, I would like to go over some basic ground rules for the competition."

The producer drones on about privacy policy, contract policy and every boring rule in between. All of you were already briefed on the rules after being chosen in LA. You resume your scanning of the room, but are having trouble finding Santana. The groups are varied – some of one gender, some are mixed, some are small and some big. The producers voice cuts back into your search.

"Okay, now we would like one representative from each group to step up, introduce your team and where you are from."

One by one team captains step up to introduce their team. Some you remember, some of very forgettable. You notice another group, an all male group, each boy dressed in grey slacks with a navy blazer with red piping. Their representative steps out, his hair gelled back on his head. "Hi! I am Blaine Anderson, and we are the Warblers. We are from right here in Los Angeles." Blaine flashes a winning smile and steps back and immediately grabs the hand of one of his teammates, a fresh faced boy with light, porcelain skill and perfectly styled hair.

You're distracted by the two boys, when you hear a familiar voice. "Hello" your eyes immediately dart to the group that was standing behind the producers, "My name is Santana Lopez, the group of bad bitches behind me is The Troubletones and we are from Chicago, Illinois." She finishes introducing the team and then immediately finds your eyes, like she had known where you were standing the entire time and grins at you.

You beam back at Santana, and take a sharp breath. She's here. She's real. You miss Rachel introducing The New Directions, and before you know it the producers are bringing in a wheel of themes.

"So" the producer continues "Now that we all know each other, it is time to reveal the theme for our first live show next week. Each week, a theme will be randomly assigned, and you will have one week of rehearsal to come up with a routine. Since this is the first week, I will do the honors." She reaches up and yanks down on the wheel. You see the themes spinning around, anxiously hold hands with your teammates waiting for the wheel to slowdown.

"The first weeks theme for our brand new season of the X-Factor will be….BROADWAY."


Santana's POV

Broadway.

Broadway.

Needless to say. You were not expecting to have Broadway week 1. You took a glance at the other themes on the wheel. Why couldn't it have landed on 80s or Kings and Queens of Pop. Those were right in the Troubletones wheelhouse, but Broadway? This should be interesting. Quinn and Mercedes already have their heads bowed together, scheming. Dani looks at your and rolls here eyes mouthing "Broadway, WTF?"

The producer closes the meeting, and suggests that you all take some time to settle in before coming back for the meet and greet hour in the main house. You look back over at the New Directions trying to catch Brittany's eye, but she is animatedly talking to the other blonde guy in her group and the kid in the wheel chair. Your stomach tightens and she openly laughs and puts her hand on the blonde's shoulder. You were jealous, Santana Lopez didn't get jealous. What was this girl doing to her. As that thought crosses your mind, Brittany looks up and finds your eyes. Immediately, you soften. Her blue eyes drawing you in as it you were two opposite ends of a magnet. As you take a step in her direction, the red hair producer who ran the meeting hops in front of you.

"Santana! We are so excited to have the Troubletones here for our competition. We are looking to start our solo camera interviews with team captains, do you have a moment to answer a few questions in the quiet room?" She asks.

You glance back and see that the New Directions have dispersed and you sigh, "Sure" you reply "now is fine. Wheezy!Q! They need us."

As you are walking to the quiet room with Mercedes, Quinn and red hair produce your phone beeps.

Brittany: Rachel called an urgent team meeting to begin planning. See you later, I hope.

Before you can reply, your phone chimes again

Brittany: You're even prettier than I remember.

After your interview, you and Mercedes head back to the Troubletones' town house. As a group you decided it was best to take some time to think about the theme before deciding your course of action. Because each of you had such different musical tastes and preferences, it made more sense to work the process out as individuals before meeting as a group. Most of the Troubletones' are getting ready for the meet and greet social hour. Kitty is in the kitchen mixing drinks, "Lopez, get your spicy, Latina ass in here and rip a tequila shot with me. We have to live up this last night before a grueling weak of rehearsals." Marley giggles next to Kitty, as she picks up one of the shots and downs it. It amazes you how much Marley has changed since joining the TTs. You don't think she knew what alcohol was before meeting the rest of you.

You surprise them all when you decline the shot and say you will meet up with them later, but there is only one person you want to be social with tonight. You grab your phone and shoot a quick text before quickly changing into a more appropriate outfit.

Santana: Take a walk with me? I'll pick you up at your town house in ten minutes, if you want to go.

Brittany: Absolutely.

Ten minutes later, you find yourself outside The New Directions townhouse, which was three down from you in the opposite direction of the main house. You text Brittany to let her know you're outside.

You try to calm your nerves, but you are bouncing from foot to foot, anxiously pulling at the light scarf you wore over your tank top. You are mentally amping yourself up when you hear the door open.

You look up and you feel your heart shoot up to your throat. You've forgotten how beautiful this girl was. Here blonde hair falls natural and wavy below her shoulders, she is wearing cut off jean shorts and a shirt that reads "I Rode My Unicorn Here" with a flannel tied around her waist. On her feet are a pair of bright yellow converse, which you remember her telling you her younger sister got her for Christmas two years agos. No picture or video chat will ever do her justice. Her bright blue eyes sparkle in your direction.

Before you can open your mouth to say hi, Brittany is flying down the stairs and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug. You are enveloped in her scent and feel. Lavender and brown sugar fills your nose, and your body literally feels electric as it molds against hers.

"Hi, Tana" she mumbles into your neck.

"Hi, Bumble" you breathe back into her shirt.

You aren't sure how long the two of you had been standing there holding each other, but when you pull back you notice the blonde's eyes were filling with tears.

"Brittany! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Happy tears. I am just really happy." She buries herself in your neck once again.


Brittany's POV

You and Santana take off behind the main house to explore the grounds of the compound. You have never seen such an expansive grounds. Your room in the townhouse is bigger than your whole apartment in Lima. Sure you are sharing it with Tina and Rachel, but still it feels like a palace. You're excited to have your own bed. The only time you got to sleep in your own bed at home was when Aubrey was sick. Speaking of, you had to make sure to Skype your little sister tonight, she had called you and left a voicemail when she thought your plane had landed, and she was so excited to hear about everything.

After you and Santana shared what you are calling the hug of the century, the girl clammed up and is intentionally keeping at least three feet of space between the two of you. She keeps bringing up small talk like the weather and your flight. You can tell she is noticeably uncomfortable. She is rattling on about how Sugar's dad paid ahead of time to make sure the girls got the nicest town house on the compound. The townhouse was split into two suite style apartments. Santana was sharing a suite with Quinn and Mercedes, while Dani, Marley, Kitty and Sugar shared the other one. She was down to describing the finish on the wood floors, when you stop abruptly and pull her physically back, and metaphorically out of her head.

"Tana, breathe. I have never heard you ramble like that. You're beginning to sound like Rachel. What's wrong?"

She sighs and kicks a rock in front of her, "Ugh, I am nervous. Sure, you know me better than anyone in my life, even Quinn. And, we have known each other for 3 months, but this is all new. What if occupying the same space physically doesn't work for us? There are so many things I want to do, but I am not sure if they are okay with you. I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She starts rambling again and you need to find a way to calm her down.

Without thinking, you lean in and catch her lips in a soft kiss. When you pull back, her eyes are still closed and lips pursed. "Don't over think this, Santana. We are in this together, just do what feels right for you."

She smiles shyly at you, and reaches out to lace your fingers together. You continue your walk, and soon you reach a small lake. Santana takes and seat and pats the ground next to her. You take the flannel off from around your waist, and wrap it around the small girl before settling down next to her.

You press your shoulder against hers and a shudder rips through your body.

"Are you cold?" She asks, "You can take the flannel back." She starts to remove the shirt and you pull your hands up to stop her.

"I am not cold. I just" you look at her and slowly run your fingertips against her cheek. She turns her face into your touch and hums quietly, "I just can't believe you're real. You're actually here. We are actually here, together. Everything is happening."

Her brown eyes find your blue eyes and she smiles her Santana smile that you thinks she specifically reserves for you. The smile that makes her nose crinkle, and her right dimple stand out. The one that lights up her eyes like fireflies. She slowly brings her hand up to your cheek and shifts her body slowly closer to you.

She very lightly presses her lips against yours. The kiss isn't deep, but it holds power. In that moment you forget every kiss you have ever had in your entire life, all you can think of is Santana. Slowly, she wraps your upper lip between her two plump ones. This kiss was different than the chaste one you shared on the walk down. This one was one of expression, she was saying through her actions something she couldn't express through words. You always heard people talk about fireworks when kissing, with Santana it wasn't fireworks, it was serenity, utter and total serenity. Like nothing else in the world mattered, but what was happening right then and there. You knew that you would never get tired of sharing kisses with her. When she pulls away she wipes your lip with her thumb, "We are so real."


The time you spend with Santana at the lake, sharing slow kisses, whispering memories and being together gets you through the long and grueling week. Before you know it, it is Wednesday evening and you are panting, standing in front of the judges waiting to hear their take on your performance. New Directions picked 5th in show order, which was difficult in a large group set. You either wanted to be early to set the bar high or be late in the order to be remembered. The Troubletones picked 9th, and you were excited to finally see what they had put together. You and Santana had made a promise that while you were going to be supportive of the other girl and their group, you were not going to pry, but she did tell you that you would be surprised by their song choice.

The New Directions have been busting your asses in rehearsals perfecting your routine for Broadway all week. After much deliberation, mostly between Rachel and herself, the group decides it's best to have spectacle that showcases the talents of the entire group, which means a group number which shows off Rachel's vocal range and the groups' dancing ability. You finally settle on What is this Feeling from Wicked. Rachel and Tina will take on the lead vocals, while the rest of you portray the ensemble working on vocal blending and stage dancing. You think Wicked will have strong audience reaction.

You're on your final run through, before calling it a night and resting up before the long day ahead of you. For the past two hours, Sam and Finn could not figure out how to simultaneously lift Tina and Rachel in choreography, while staying on beat and in tune. The lift was timed to final verse of the song and was meant to emphasize the girl's biggest notes, before the comedic hits. The timing was imperative because they had to bring the girls back to center stage for Rachel to "scare" Tina. The frustration of the group is palpable, and you are pulling your hair out trying to figure out how to fix the choreography. Finally an idea hits – "Hey, what if instead of the lift, you and Tina both hit wide outs on stage and Mike and I do a more complicated dance in the middle. That way, you two aren't worried that Finn and Sam will drop you, and the boys can then just concentrate on the more simplified stage dancing. I think it would give our performance more depth. And then you can use the final note to make your way towards center."

Mike nods in agreement. While Sam chimes in, "I think Britt is right, Finn and I are having trouble enough staying on beat in the stage dancing, let alone with the lift. Let's show off Britt and Mike as much as we can."

With some convincing, Rachel finally agrees and now here you stand waiting to see if it paid off. You're holding fast onto Puck and Tina's hands waiting for the crowd to silence, so the judges can give you their feedback.

The first three judges commend you on choosing a strong group piece and think you all did a "nice" job. One noted that Tina and Rachel had great stage presence, and they really felt the story from the two girls. The fourth and final judge, know to give the most biting and harsh criticism scans over the group.

"Wicked is one of the most popular musicals in recent history, so choosing it was smart, but also risky. It is well known, so you would have to put a lot of effort to make it your own. I think your rendition of the song was safe, and you didn't take any risks. It wasn't bad by any means, but it didn't wow me. However, I will say, that you miss the dancer." When he says dancer, your eyes connect with him "It has been a long time that I saw someone dance with so much passion. If the team was smart they would showcase you every week."

You turn bright red and mutter out a quick thank you.

Before you know it the host is ushering you off stage and calling on the next group. The group meets backstage and huddles up, Artie is the first to speak "We did a good job y'all. It's the first week. It is the judges' job to weed out the weaker teams, maybe we weren't great, but we were not bad. It was good enough to stay."

"Good enough isn't good enough," snaps Rachel "We need to be on the top each week, we can't afford to be lost in the shuffle. We need to work harder. When we find out the next theme all we are doing tomorrow night is brainstorming and finding the perfect number for us. We do nothing but eat, breathe and sleep New Directions." You notice that she stares at you when she says this.

The rest of the New Directions leave the back stage area, and you sigh as you feel arms wrap around your midsection. You melt back into the embrace of Santana, "You were amazing, B" she breaths in your ear.

"Well, the judges certainly didn't think so." You turn in your arms to face the beautiful Latina.

"Fuck the judges. I have never seen anybody dance like that in my entire life. You alone will be reason enough for the team to move on. You guys will get better. No one is going to be great tonight – too much anxiety and nerves. You lit up the stage, Bumble. You were breathtaking. Be proud of yourself. I gotta go" she turns her head and sees the other Troubletones getting ready "I will see you after, okay?" She ghosts a kiss on your cheek, because she can't ruin her make up as she walks over to meet her team. You notice they are all dressed very simply, in different all black ensembles. You wonder if they have a different costume underneath, but you aren't sure where Santana would hide another costumer in her form hugging dress.

You see her engage in their pre-performance ritual, and then she walks out of the backstage area, as the rest of the girls stand in the wings holding stools. You wonder where Santana went, and before you know it the judge is calling on the Troubletones.

Anticipating a huge musical number, just as all the previous groups had done, you are shocked when you hear the keys of a piano. A spotlight hits the stage and there sits Santana at a black baby grand piano. She opens her mouth and her voice rips through the auditorium:

What's the time?

Well it's gotta be close to midnight

My body is talking to me

It says time for danger

Slowly, as the song progresses, each of the Troubletones joins Santana on stage one at a time, taking a seat on an unassuming black stool. Committing themselves to an unconventional, slow downed, raw version of Out Tonight from Rent. Your mouth drops as the pure quality of their voices echoes through the auditorium. You can't take your eyes off Santana as she sings and plays with such passion.

The song progresses and soon it's just Santana's voice again,

So let's find a bar

So dark we forget who we are

And the scars from the

Nevers and maybes die

Slowly, smoke fills the stage and all the other Troubletones seem to disappear. All that's left is Santana, playing the keys as she whisper sings,

Let's go out tonight.


AN: Let me know...