"Maybe, I should take out the entire football team." Charlie mused as she paced back and forth around the living room. Santana may be reluctantly eating the food that she brought for her, but was still adamant that she wasn't going to be her mate. "I mean, she's been in school long enough to know that taking out Finn isn't really that impressive. She took Finn out herself," Charlie says tilting her head. The thought pleased her to no end and yet she worried. Santana shouldn't have to lift a finger she was supposed to do all of that.
Russell frowned, "Are you sure she'd be impressed by that? Didn't your little fight with Quinn convince her that you were very capable?"
Quinn scowled, remembering how Charlie had ended the fight by putting her through one of the lunch tables. The fight wasn't supposed to be real, and they were both supposed to hold back, but Charlie hadn't, and soon they had brawled all over the lunch room but she had let Charlie win. She made sure that Rachel knew that. "It should have."
Rachel frowned and rubbed her alpha's knee. "It was very convincing." She assured Quinn.
"Did you try walking her to class?" Mike suggested. "That's how I got Brittany to notice me."
"I tried. She said no." Charlie shook her head running her forefinger and thumb against her jaw thoughtfully. There had to be something she was missing. "All she does is eat the lunches I bring for her. I don't know what else to do!" She was whining now and she didn't care. Her mate was stubborn and infuriating, and yet she simply wanted her more. It was maddening.
"Well," Judy began slowly. "There has to be something that you did." Of course Charlie would pick someone who didn't seem receptive to her. "Is there anything that you noticed?" Judy asked looking at Rachel.
Rachel bit her lip, while Quinn and Charlie had been fighting which was common for them, she had noticed that Santana's eyes were on Charlie the entire time, wincing whenever she got hurt, she cared in a way but then Charlie would go right back up to her and talk about being mates, which immediately seemed to turn Santana off. "I don't think—I mean the first time Charlie talked to her, she didn't even get her name. I had to tell it to her," Rachel admits slowly.
Brittany groaned. "What were you thinking, Chuck? You didn't even ask her name?"
"Who needs to know her name? She's my mate." Charlie retorted quickly as though it were obvious.
Judy sighed. That definitely explained some things. She spoke up before Brittany or Rachel could berate Charlie further. "Well, sweetheart, that might be the source of your problem. Maybe you just got off on the wrong foot."
Russell shook his head, still musing thoughtfully over the situation. It didn't make any sense. He had taught both his twins how to be the perfect alpha, so how could an omega resist them? "That can't be it. I didn't know your name for the first month we were together." The rest of the room went silent and he suddenly realized what he had just said.
"You didn't?" Judy clarified, her voice low and threatening.
"No." He shook his head. "Of course I did. I just meant—" Seeing his wife's disbelieving glare, he cleared his throat. "Maybe we should focus on Charlie?" He suggested.
"Yes," Judy replied, her tone clipped. "We should."
Quinn glanced around deciding to come to Charlie's aid, "Santana's been in heat all week long." It was maddening. When Rachel was in heat, she could barely concentrate in class, all she thought about was mating with her again and again. The fact Charlie wasn't walking around with a permanent erection near Santana was astounding. "It's not exactly normal—" Quinn was cut off by a growl from Charlie.
"It wouldn't be the first time," Charlie points out. Immediately jumping to Santana's defense.
"Yeah, if you were having sex. You're not. So either her heats are just longer than three days, but part of the reason you've been so keen on mating with her is because she's in heat. It's like a cloud up in your mind," Quinn scoffs and grins at Rachel. "It's all I think about when you're in heat."
Charlie crinkled her nose at the display, "Focus," she reminds them crossing her arms over her chest.
"Quinnie's got a point, though." Brittany pointed out. "If she's in heat, she's terribly uncomfortable. She really must not like you if she is turning you down when she's in heat."
"Gee, thanks Brittany." Charlie scoffed. "Way to make me feel better."
Brittany grins at her youngest sister, "That's what I'm here for."
"Charlie, I think what Brittany is trying to say is that maybe you should try and get to know her." Rachel broke in, trying to help.
"Well, no. That's not what I was trying to say. But that works too."
Judy ignores her oldest child and instead picks up on where Rachel left off. "If she's turning you down it's because you don't make her feel completely comfortable."
"What's to know? She's my mate." Charlie frowned. What was so difficult about this? Santana was supposed to be impressed. Clearly she wasn't and that meant that Charlie was doing something wrong.
Judy, Rachel, and Brittany groaned collectively. "That's it. You're beyond our help." Brittany frowned.
Judy exhales slowly, "She doesn't know you. She's at a new school, she doesn't have many friends, I'm sure she will eventually but change is difficult. So for now, why don't you simply put it aside and just be her friend. Because right now it seems that you care more about having sex with her then knowing her. Choosing a mate is a big decision, and while omegas can reject mate bonds, if we accept it, then we're with that person forever. You've shown her that you can take care of her, you've shown that you care that she eats, but it's not just about that. So take some time and get to know her. Maybe show her around town. Let her come to you when she's ready. Because you're chasing her and it's not working."
Charlie stared at her mother and frowned, she had a point. She hadn't even thought about how hard this must be for her mate. At least other alpha's knew not to mess around with Santana. "I'll try it your way," she says after a moment. "But if it doesn't work, I'm going to fight the football team for her."
"That's the spirit!" Russell said a pleased look on his face.
"Russell," Judy groaned, she really wished he would stop encouraging the behavior. She had thought he had talked to her about this, but clearly he hadn't done a very good job. It was a wonder Quinn had managed to bring home a mate all on her own. Then again it was Charlie.
Santana Lopez entered the cafeteria, today was a good day. She was no longer in heat which meant she wasn't attracting any unwanted attention from certain alpha's who would not be named. It was the first day that Charlie hadn't shown up first thing in the morning to greet her, much to her father's disappointment. She would certainly miss the free lunches but she could always make something for herself, it would just require getting out of bed earlier. Something she wasn't looking forward to. And it wasn't as if the salad was horrible. It was edible—barely. She hummed as she paid for her salad and water and found an empty table. She was going to try and avoid Rachel who was trying to be her friend.
She pulls out a book to start reading while she eats when the smell of bacon and baked goods fills her senses and she looks up to see that Charlie was standing in front of her with two brown paper bags. "I'm not in heat anymore, so what are you doing here?" Santana questions.
"I'm your mate," Charlie replies and frowns at the salad pushing the offending thing away and hands Santana a paper bag with her name on it. When Santana frowns she holds up her hand. "I know, you don't want to mate with me. We got off on the wrong foot but you have no idea what your scent does to me. I'm sorry," she makes a face as she says this before looking at Santana. "I'm sorry for trying to push you into mating with me. I want to—try again?"
"Try what again?" Santana pressed, feeling mischievous delight when Charlie flushed nervously. "Last time I checked, we didn't even get close to mating."
Charlie licked her lips at the images that spring to mind. "I want to be friends."
"You?" Santana eyed her skeptically. "Want to be friends with me?"
Charlie shrugged. "Yeah, why not?" Sure she didn't actually have any omega friends but Santana was her future mate and maybe that would help her get comfortable with the idea of the two of them spending time together.
Santana shook her head slowly. This alpha was persistent, she had to give her that. But she also brought a damn good lunch. "Fine. Friends then."
A pleased grin crosses Charlie's face, and she studies Santana carefully waiting for her to start eating before starting to eat herself. "So—where did you transfer from?" Charlie asks after a moment. She needed to start somewhere and this was always a good place to start.
Santana eyed Charlie carefully. "I lived in Chicago before I came to Lima—my mom got transferred. It's quiet," Santana admits. There didn't seem much to do around here for fun. "What do you do for fun? I mean apart from getting into senseless fights."
Charlie scratches her cheeks she can tell that Santana is teasing her and it's a good sign. Maybe she should go to her mother for advice instead of her dad. "I go to parties or I head into the city—you could come with me to the next party." Come to think of it, she was pretty sure Puckerman was an omega. He didn't go around broadcasting that fact, but he wasn't in any of her classes. Though maybe he was an alpha and just never went to class. She shrugged. She'd have to make it clear that Santana was off-limits though.
Santana frowned, she wasn't quite sure if she should start going to parties with Charlie. "My parents probably wouldn't let me go—" In fact her mom would probably freak they had been a bit skittish ever since she had come back with a bruise on her arm.
Charlie nods, "We can do something else—what do you like to do? You could come over to my house and—"
"No." Santana said shooting down that idea. She wasn't stupid, she knew that Charlie probably wouldn't try anything but it just seemed to a bad idea on her part. "Look—"
"Do you like to read?" Charlie asks picking up the book that Santana had placed on the table. "There are a few bookstores in town—"
"Don't—" Santana says as the jacket on the book slips off revealing a hardcover graphic novel. She turned a bright red when the alpha stared at the novel before turning to look at her. Charlie's hazel eyes danced in amusement. "I've given up on reading Pride and Prejudice." She had gotten a chapter into the book before quitting.
"So you're reading comic books in class?" Charlie asked.
"It's a graphic novel." Santana insists immediately reaching for it to snatch the book back. "They are simply another medium to tell stories in—"
"Where they wear their underwear over their pants?" Charlie teases and looks at the cover. "DMZ, volume one. What's it about?" Charlie asks finally giving in and handing Santana her book back. She watched as Santana slipped the cover back onto the comic book.
"It's about a second American civil war and a journalist who gets caught in the demilitarized zone that is New York. That's what DMZ stands for by the way," Santana explained. "It's far more interesting than reading about Victorian women who are basically on the hunt for rich men to marry."
Charlie smiles at this, "I agree," she leans in. "Even zombies doesn't make the book any better," she whispers to Santana. She watches as Santana flushes for a moment at how close they are and pulls back. "There's a comic book store nearby, I could show it to you after class and you can show me what I can read through English class."
Santana smiles at this. "What's with this school and English Lit? Like could they pick anything more boring?"
"Last year we had to read Waiting for Godot. Two men standing around talking about nothing, it is the most boring book on the planet," Charlie said with a shake of her head. "It's supposed to mean something."
"In my last school we at least got to read books that were interesting." Santana rolls her eyes. "At least, as interesting as forced reading can get."
"So the comic book store after school today?" Charlie presses and watches as Santana thinks about it.
"I'll have to tell my parents where I'm going, they're the ones that pick me up." Santana muses, it does sound like fun and if they're going to be reading boring books in English class then she was going to need to stock up. "But if they say that they're okay with it, then yeah, I can pick out a few things for you to read." There was a good chance that her parents would be okay with it. They were this close to parading a bunch of alphas in front of her so she could pick someone.