The rest of the week had been pretty normal. Santana still seemed bothered by my duet with Rachel but she didn't say anything. I could just sense she was still upset. It was now Friday and I went out with the Glee club and we got our free sundaes, then went to go sing Karaoke. Rachel even invited Santana, Quinn, Puck and Finn but they had laughed at her and said no. It made me so mad. I couldn't understand why we couldn't all be friends. These high school rules were so stupid. I really hated that Santana was so scared to break any of them.

The more I hung out with the Glee Club the more Santana hung out with Quinn, Puck and Finn. We hadn't hung out since that night we had sexy times. It felt like ages ago. She invited me to hang out with them one night but I said no. I didn't want to see Puck and Santana be all in couple mode. I felt like I was losing my best friend.

I asked Rachel if I could invite Mike to ice cream and she said it was a great idea. I thought he was going to laugh too but he said he loved ice cream and would love to join us. That's one of the things I really liked about Mike, he didn't really care about the high school rules and did what he wanted.

I still hadn't asked him to be my boyfriend but by the end of the night, I got the feeling he was going to ask me out. Again. He had left telling me that he had a question for me on Monday. He was either going to ask me out or ask me to help him with his math homework.

After Rachel dropped me off, I hung out with my family a little before going to my room and getting ready for bed. I was so tired. Once I was I was ready, I turned off the lights and got in bed. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep before I felt an arm around my waist. I jumped a little, scared, until I heard Santana whisper.

"It's me Britt," she said, "Go back to sleep."

I turned around and faced Santana and saw she was dressed in her usual sleep clothes of shorts and a tank top. "What time is it? What are you doing here?"

Santana leaned in and kissed me. "I thought a sleepover would be fun."

"I thought you were on your double date? Did my mom let you in?"

She groaned and got closer to me, burying her face in my neck. I tried not to think about how good she felt and how I wanted to hug her closer.

"Double date ended early and yes, your mom let me in. I told her we were having a sleep over and I went home to get my things."

I wasn't sure what to do. I mean, I loved that she was here with me but we hadn't slept together in the same bed all night in a really long time. Before Puck. I could feel that she wasn't here for sexy times and just wanted to sleep with me and I wondered if something had happened. Only last week she told me I was just her substitute sex partner. "Are you OK? Is Puck in jail again?"

She leaned back to look at me. My room wasn't completely dark because the moon was super bright and acting like a nightlight. "Why would you ask that?"

I shrugged. "Last time you said you were only with me because Puck was in jail so I figured that's why you're here now."

Maybe it was the moonlight but Santana's eyes looked sad. She moved away from me and laid flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling. She took a few deep breaths before she answered. "I'm here because…I mi…because I figured we could hang out since we haven't in a while." She sat up and removed the blanket covering her legs. "I'll go home."

She swung her legs to the side but I grabbed her waist and pulled her back. "Don't go."

She didn't fight me and let me pull her back. I covered her back up and made her my little spoon. I loved our sexy times, but I loved holding her more. I felt her relax and I buried my face in her neck. I thought she had gone asleep when she spoke.

"Did you really ask Rachel to be your girlfriend?"

Her question made me giggle. I remembered Rachel's face when I asked her and how weirded out she had been. I knew there was a chance she would say no, but it was worth asking just to see that look. "Yeah, I did."

Santana signed really loud and pulled my hand, the one holding her, up to her chest. "Why her? She's awful."

"She really isn't," I said, "If you hang out with her more, you'd probably like her." I took a breath and let Santana's scent fill me. I'd never get tired of it.

"Doubtful." Santana started caressing the back of my hand and it felt so good I was starting to get sleepy. "Don't ask out any girls, OK?"

"Why?"

She sighed again. "Because, you're not gay. And no one at the school is so you're wasting your time."

"Kurt's gay."

"I meant gay girls," Santana said, "I know Quinn is pressuring you to find someone so I'll help you. I'll talk to Jason Lytes and have him be your pretend boyfriend for a couple of weeks to get Quinn off your back."

"Jason?" I laughed this time. "He's so shy he'll probably wet his pants when I look at him. He never talks and he's so skinny I might break him if I hold his hand."

"It won't be real." Santana snuggled closer to me. "We'll talk about it later. Let's sleep."

There was no way I was going out with Jason who would probably cry if I got near him. I don't know why Santana even suggested him. If I had to date someone, I wanted it to be someone I could have fun with and actually liked. That's why I had asked Rachel because I knew we could do stuff together. I was still going to ask Mike on Monday despite Santana's plan to get me Jason.

###

I was surprised that Santana spent all weekend with me. Well, most of it anyway. She did have to go home and spend some time with her mom too. On Saturday night, she kept getting texts but she kept ignoring them. When she went to the bathroom, I took a look. I know I shouldn't have but I wanted to know who keep texting her and knowing her password made it easy.

The texts were from Puck asking her come to his place and, umm, do things. I knew they were a couple and couples had sex but I blocked all that out. The thought of Santana and Puck together made me sick. Her responses were a surprise because I would have thought she'd tell him she'd be right over, but she didn't. She kept telling him she was busy all weekend.

So, we hung out. We went to the park, the movies and all that stuff we do and it was so much fun. Even though I knew she wanted to, we didn't have sexy times or sweet lady kisses. I would catch her leaning in but then she'd suddenly pull back as if I caught doing something bad.

My dad had quit smoking a few years ago and it was super hard for him. He was totally addicted and had to struggle to not smoke anymore. The whole weekend, Santana reminded me of my dad but instead of quitting cigars, Santana was quitting sweet lady kisses.

When we got to school, we ran into Puck who immediately asked Santana out after school. I saw her shake her head but when Finn, Quinn and a couple of Cheerios joined the group, Santana immediately said yes. High school rules, I guess.

"So, Brittany," Quinn said, "Should we discuss you asking Rachel out?"

"I'd do her," Puck casually said, causing Santana to elbow him in his stomach. "Ooomph!"

"Gross," Santana said.

I just shrugged my shoulders at Quinn and she laughed a little. "I know I told you to find someone," she said, "But I didn't mean for you to get desperate with a loser like Berry."

"Please don't," I said. Now that I had gotten to know Rachel, I didn't like that everyone picked on her. "She's my friend so you should stop talking bad about her."

"Whoa," Puck laughed, "Brittany defending the losers. Calm down Britt, you're confused as usual."

I was getting so sick of the football players and Cheerios always picking on Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, Tina and anyone else they thought was a nerd. Why did they have to go out of their way to pick on them and even throw Slushies in their faces? Last week both Artie and Kurt had gotten a Slushie and had come to Glee club all blue. I felt so bad for them.

"Stop it!" I shouted. "I'm sick of all of you making fun of the Glee Club! You and your stupid high school rules. Guess what? I don't want to play."

"Britt…." Santana tried to calm me down. She looked almost scared that I was standing up the popular kids.

"No," I said sternly, "I don't care if it looks bad that I'm not dating anyone. When I find someone I like, I'll let you know but I'm not going to date someone just cause you tell me to."

"Brittany, calm down," Santana said. She kept looking back at the football players and Cheerios as if she was embarrassed by what I was saying. I wished she didn't care so much what they thought.

"Yeah, Brittany," Finn said, "It's not that serious."

I grabbed the straps of my backpack and shook my head. "Never mind. I'm going to class."

I turned and left hearing whispers and murmurs from the group as I walked away. My whole plan to ask Mike out forgotten. Even if I did want to go out with him, I wasn't going to ask him out now and let them think they won.

###

Santana had been quiet in the classes we shared before lunch. All she would say is that she would fix this. I don't know what there was to fix but I didn't ask any questions. I just wanted to forget what happened.

Mike had found me and he didn't ask me out. He asked me if I could help him with his math homework and we set up a day later in the week to study. Oh well, I guess my instinct was wrong.

At lunch, I got my food and scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. I saw my usual table with Santana, Quinn, Puck, Finn and the other football players and Cheerios but I didn't want to sit with them. I kept scanning and saw the table where all thee Glee kids sat. I went to sit with them.

"Hi Brittany!" Mercedes said, "What's up?"

"Hey everybody. Umm, is it OK if I sit with you today?"

Everyone looked super surprised.

"Of course," Kurt said, "But Britt, you do realize everyone will see you sitting here?"

"I don't care," I said as I sat down at the end of the table, next to Artie, "I don't feel like following the rules today."

"What rules?" Rachel asked.

I shook my head. "Never mind. So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Well," Tina began, "We were just talking about the last episode of Dance Moms."

"I love that show!" I was really glad I decided to sit with them. The rest of lunch we just talked and ate and it was the most fun lunch I'd had in a long time. I usually didn't like lunch because I'd just sit there and eat and listen to Quinn, Santana, and the rest talk about how other guys and girls dressed, what they'd done wrong, what party was coming up and other stuff they thought was super important. For awhile I liked it, but lately, it just sounded dumb.

Sitting with my Glee friends, I actually joined the conversation and we never talked about people we went to school with. Sometimes I'd glance up and caught Santana looking at me. I couldn't tell if she was mad, sad, confused or what. I consider myself a Santana Lopez expert-in-training and can read her mood and expression almost all the time. There were times I couldn't tell what she was thinking, like now.

The rest of the day went on as normal and all the popular kids didn't treat me any differently. Even Quinn, Puck and Finn acted like this morning never happened. I guess Santana fixed things. I was getting some things from my locker before meeting Rachel, so she could give me a ride, when Santana leaned against the locker next to mine.

"Ready?" she asked.

I put my Calculus book in my backpack and closed my locker. "Ready for what?"

"Uh, to go home," Santana said, "Or we can go to The Lima Bean for a coffee."

"So you're not mad? About this morning?"

Santana pushed herself away from the locker and stood straight. "I'm not mad at you Britt and don't worry about that. I fixed it."

I adjusted my backpack, now heavier after putting my book in there. "Fixed what?"

"Uh, your outburst? I told everyone that Sue has you undercover infiltrating the nerds and geeks to get some dirt. They totally bought it and your popularity is intact."

She sounded very proud of herself and was even smiling by the time she finished explaining what she did. "That doesn't make any sense," I said.

Her smile disappeared. "Well I had to say something. Look, I don't know what's wrong with you lately, but you need to be careful. We have a year and a half left at this school and we need to stay on top until graduation."

"Why?

Santana did that frustrated and annoyed sigh. "Because we have to, OK? Now come on, let's go."

I started to follow her when I remembered Rachel. "Wait, I already have a ride. Rachel's waiting for me in the choir room."

Santana had been a little ahead of me when she stopped and turned around. She did not look happy at all. "Rachel? Again? Why are you spending so much time with her?"

"She's my…."

She rolled her eyes. "Friend, I know. But ice cream dates, love duets, asking her out? What the hell Britt?"

"Why are you mad that Rachel and I are friends?" The hallway was empty except for us and there was an echo of our voices. It made it sound like we were yelling when we weren't.

"Friends, really? Why are you asking her for a ride when you ride with me? Or are you just hanging out with her hoping she changes her mind about being your girlfriend?"

I had no idea what was happening but Santana was getting mad for no reason. I'm the one who should be mad. "I thought you were going out with Puck after school. You said yes, remember? So I asked Rachel for a ride because I know she won't cancel last minute and because I found out she lives like a block from me."

Santana put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Are you still mad about that? I said I was sorry. You know what? I don't want to interrupt your plan to get under Berry's hobbit skirt."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, I'm going to go find my boyfriend and you can go get in Rachel's Smurf mobile and go home." Santana turned around and stormed off like those characters in the soap operas my mom watches.

"What the hell just happened?" My questions echoed in the hallway.

###

The next day, Santana was still moody but she talked to me. I sat at the popular table at lunch but made sure to say hi to the Glee table. After school, Santana drove me home.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. Something was going on with her and I wish I knew what it was. She was extra touchy feely with me, in private of course, and while I liked it, I also found it a little weird.

Friday morning, that annoying reporter with the afro and his stupid camera was running around the hallway asking students if they were going to the Carmel party tonight. At the mention of Carmel, I smiled thinking of Eva. She and I had been chatting on Facebook and she was pretty cool. I didn't get a chance to really talk to her at the last party because our tongues were in each other's mouths. She was cool though and if she lived closer, we'd totally be friends.

"Brittany S. Pierce!" Uh, oh. Afro Hair spotted me. What was his name again?

I squinted when the camera light hit my eyes. "Yeah?"

"Will you be attending the Carmel party tonight? Maybe have a romantic reunion with your lady love? Or will you be seeking man love tonight? You always keep us guessing."

"What?" I didn't really hear what he said because I was trying to protect my eyes from that light. I put my hand up to my eyes when the light disappeared.

"Beat it Jewfro!" Santana yelled, pushing him away from me, "Go bother someone else!"

Santana pulled me away and we headed to my locker. "Thanks."

"That guy is the fucking worst," Santana said, "What did he ask you?"

"Something about ladybugs and Barry Manollow, I think."

"That's weird," Santana shrugged, "Anyway, how about we hit up Breadstix and a movie tonight?"

"What about the Carmel party?"

"Shit, that's tonight, isn't it?"

I nodded. "I totally forgot about it too. What time are you guys going to be there?"

Santana looked like I had told her she had to go to the dentist to get all her teeth pulled out. She loved parties so I wasn't sure why she looked like she didn't want to go. "You're driving there with me, right?"

I shrugged. We always got ready for parties at my house but that was before Puck. Now I wasn't sure what the rules were. "You should probably go with Finn and Quinn. You know, have the power couples make and entrance. I'm going to see if anyone from Glee is going."

Santana looked surprised. "We always go to parties together. So you're ditching me for the Glee nerds?"

"No, I…." I didn't finish because Quinn showed up.

"Ladies!" she said with a big smile, "The Carmel party tonight is going to be amazing. The power couples of Carmel will be there so it's important we represent. So, Santana, go home and pick out the hottest dress, then come to my place and we'll get ready. I already texted the boys to come over too." Quinn looked at me. "Britt, you're welcome to come too, of course. Maybe we can find someone for you at that party."

"Maybe." I shrugged. I felt my phone alert me to a text. I opened it up and saw it was Eva asking me if I was going. I smiled and replied.

"Who was that?" Santana narrowed her eyes.

"Just Eva asking if I was going," I said. Santana's whole body tensed up and I saw that vain in her neck again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, and it sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

"Well," Quinn said, "I have to go. Don't be late! The ride to Carmel is like thirty minutes."

When Quinn was gone, I put my phone away and faced Santana. "I wasn't going to ditch you. I know you don't want to break the rules and figured you'd have to show up with Quinn and your boyfriends."

Santana let out a long breath and she suddenly looked so tired. Like she was working three jobs and wasn't getting any sleep. "You're right. It's better if I show up with them."

I nodded. I was sad again because here as another thing that we weren't doing together anymore. "I gotta go. I'll see you later."

"Bye Britt," she said slowly.

I turned and left and hoped that someone from Glee Club was going.

-tbc-

A/N: I'm glad you're liking the story. I appreciate the follows and reviews. :-)