CHAPTER 8
A/N: Thanks to pacumeme57, Supergirl2121, writersblock1000, BizzleB90, Marie RieRie England, Mariu4, Tamardejong, santana is my satan, heyamustbreal and the Guests for their reviews! And many thanks for your feedback to my question! I will carefully reflect on it! Special thanks to WhitWalk for proofreading this chapter, which alternates between Santana and Brittany's POV. I'm sure you didn't expect me to update the story already (me neither!) but I was inspired and for once, I wrote this quite quickly! Hopefully, it's a good surprise!
LATER THAT MORNING (SUNDAY) – AT McKINLEY – SANTANA POV
I arrive at McKinley so early that I'm the first one in the choir room. Even Mr. Schue is not here yet! But I couldn't stay in my parents' empty house any longer, it was so quiet over there that I could hear myself think and it was making me nervous.
I have been desperately trying to get Brittany out of my head since I left her house this morning, but she's all I can think about… And I'm getting even more anxious now that I'm here, knowing that we'll be in the same room for the whole day!
Oh my God… what if she sits next to me?! Oh no, no, no… I can't have that! Because knowing Britt, she's definitely going to want to talk about last night and that's really the last thing I want to do… I guess I'll just have to make sure she can't sit next to me, unless… oh my God, what if she doesn't even remember that we had sex? That would not be so crazy considering that she was pretty drunk last night and I was gone by the time she woke up…
A WHILE LATER – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
Fortunately, it doesn't take long before Mr. Schue and a few Gleeks join me in the room. I eventually decide to sit next to Gay Berry, on the far end of the first row. And if that's not a cry for help, I don't know what is...
A minute later, Lady Hummel and Blaine take the seats right behind me, much to my relief. There is no way Britt could sit anywhere near me now.
"Oh… San, I wanted to ask you something!" Rachel suddenly says, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I was talking to Mr. Schue earlier… and he said that although he will assign a duet number to each of us, we were also free to choose a second duet ourselves!" She adds in her annoying over excited voice. "So, I was wondering if – "
"I'm not singing with you, hobbit." I immediately cut her off.
"But I…"
"Listen to me, Berry." I interrupt her again. "Every year, you ask me to sing with you and every single time, I turn you down. When are you going to get the fucking hint?" I say, looking her straight in the eye.
I've barely finished my sentence when Brittany enters the room and as our eyes meet, it only takes me a split second to understand that she remembers everything about last night… Feeling my heart suddenly pounding hard in my chest, I quickly look away, to avoid her gaze.
"Ah, Brittany, you're here… Good!" Mr. Schue says with a smile, acknowledging her presence. "Take a seat, we're gonna start."
I discretely watch Britt from the corner of my eye as she takes the empty seat next to Mercedes, on the second row.
"So, this afternoon we'll focus on duets." Mr. Schue says. "I will randomly assign you one and then you'll sing another duet of your choice. But as I told you yesterday, I also have a surprise for you!" He smirks. "You know that we usually redo old numbers at our reunions, but I thought that this morning, we could sing and improvise on brand new songs!" He suddenly announces, earning enthusiastic clapping from all of us.
LATER THAT DAY (AFTERNOON) – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
After a very fun morning singing, we all had lunch together in the choir room. Even though it was not easy, I managed to sit with Quinn, Puck, Mike and Tina, successfully keeping Brittany away from me.
"Alright, guys… it's time to get started on the duets!" Mr. Schue suddenly says, inviting us to get back to our seats. "To keep it fun, I have written down each of our duet numbers on pieces of paper, which I put in this hat… And I will now randomly pick them, until everyone has one." He adds, plunging the hand in the hat.
"So, the first duet is… Sam and Quinn, with 'Lucky', which – I remind you – was the victorious song of our duet competition!" He says, earning proud smiles from Fabray and Trouty mouth. "And they will be followed by… Mercedes and Tina, with 'Dog Days Are Over', and Rachel and Kurt, with 'Get Happy/ Happy Days Are Here Again'…" He announces, before pulling another piece of paper from the hat. "And then, we'll have… 'I wanna dance with somebody', by Brittany and Santana…" He adds, immediately sending cold sweat down my spine.
Fuck.
LATER THAT AFTERNOON – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
I have been so nervous at the idea of singing with Brittany that my mind went completely blank during the first three duets. I could have shared a song with anyone but of course, the universe decided to put me with the woman I slept with last night! That's just my luck!
Mr. Schue just announced it was our turn and I watch Brittany take her spot in the middle of the room, my heart beating increasingly fast. Just like 25 years ago, she's going to sing the first part of the song by herself.
Clock strikes upon the hour
And the sun begins to fade
Still enough time to figure out
How to chase my blues away
I've done alright up to now
It's the light of day that shows me how
And when the night falls, my lonely heart calls
As Britt is about to sing the chorus, she pulls a few Gleeks by the hand, inviting them to dance with her.
Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
I watch her walk in my direction, her eyes locked with mine, until she eventually holds both of her hands out to me.
With somebody who loves me
Swallowing hard, I grab her hands and let her lead me to the middle of the room, while the others get back to their seats. It's my turn to sing now.
Somebody who, somebody who
Somebody who loves me, yeah
Somebody who, somebody who
To hold me in her arms, oh
I find myself highly uncomfortable, feeling like everyone in the room knows what we did last night, even if it's impossible. I'm sure Brittany picks up on it though because she gives me a comforting smile, before singing the next part.
I need a woman who'll take a chance
On a love that burns hot enough to last
Her blue eyes are staring at me and I can't help but wonder if she's simply singing the lyrics of the song or if the last two sentences are also some kind of a secret message for me. We could have sung any random song but of course, it had to be one with ambiguous lyrics! Oh yes, Universe, you definitely have a wicked sense of humor, don't you?
Oh, I wanna dance with somebody
I wanna feel the heat with somebody
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody
With somebody who loves me
Brittany and I are now singing in harmony while dancing in synchronicity, and I can hear the others cheering us on.
At the end of the song, she engulfs me in a hug and I can feel her breath on my neck, which immediately sends electricity throughout my entire body. I give her a timid smile in response, before silently getting back to my seat.
LATER THAT DAY – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
"Seriously, you want to sing 'River Deep, Mountain High' again?!" Rachel asks me. "But you and Mercedes already sang it last night! Isn't it a bit repetitive?"
"Repetitive how?" I frown, sending her a death glare. "Is it more or less annoying than you constantly telling us how many Tonys you've won?" I ask while she rolls her eyes.
But when I suddenly spot Britt walking up to me, with a determined look in her eyes, I panic and decide to immediately change strategy.
"Okay, Berry, you win." I add out of nowhere, much to her surprise. "Let's sing a duet together." I say through my teeth.
"Oh my God, are you serious?" She asks in disbelief.
"Hurry, before I change my mind!" I reply, quickly pulling her by the arm before Brittany can join us.
"Okay!" Rachel says in her irritating cheerful voice. "What number do you want to do?"
"I don't care. You pick."
A FEW MINUTES LATER – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
After briefly talking to the band, Rachel runs back to the middle of the room, to stand right next to me.
"Let's change it up and swap our parts… I'll start, okay?" She whispers to me and I only shrug, not even knowing what song she picked.
I don't know why I like it
I just do
My eyes open wide and my jaw drops in shock once I realize she chose "So Emotional".
I've been hearing your heartbeat inside of me
I keep your photograph beside my bed
Livin' in a world of fantasies
I can't get you out of my head
Oh my God, why on earth did I even let Rachel choose the damn song? It's like everything is against me today! But before I can think this through, it's already my turn to sing.
I've been waiting for the phone to ring all night
Want you to make me feel so good
I got a love of my own, baby
I shouldn't get so hung up on you
I seriously fucking hate Gay Berry for making me sing these words on a day like today! I feel completely exposed right now!
Totally oblivious to my discomfort, the Hobbit just smiles at me and joins me in harmony, putting her arm around my shoulder.
Oh I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn't like it so much
Oh I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do
It figures that this is what I get for singing with Rachel… Dammit, I should have known better!
EVEN LATER THAT DAY – AT McKINLEY (IN THE LADIES' ROOM) – BRITTANY POV
I sigh as I look at my own reflection in the mirror, trying to process everything that has happened in the last 24 hours. It's still hard to believe that Santana and I had sex, because it was so out of the blue! I'm not even sure who initiated it… I think it was mutual? All I know is that one minute, she was taking off my shoes, helping me get in bed and the next, we were kissing. But it was clear to me right away that we would go all the way, because once her lips were on mine, I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself.
But I can't say I was surprised when I woke up to an empty bed this morning… This is just classic Santana! She's going to go to great lengths to dodge any discussion about her feelings! The fact that she's even willing to sing with Rachel - of all people - just to avoid me speaks volumes.
But I have to find a way to talk to her, because this is too huge… And knowing her, it's not going to be easy, especially with all the Gleeks around… Maybe I can corner her before we all go to Breadstix' for dinner…
A FEW MINUTES LATER – IN THE CHOIR ROOM
But when I return to the room, Santana is nowhere to be found. Where is she?! She can't be in the bathroom since I was just in there!
"Sorry, guys…" I tell Quinn and Artie, interrupting their conversation. "… but um… have you seen Santana?"
"Oh, she left a few minutes ago…" Quinn replies, much to my surprise. "She got a call and said she needed to go home before dinner. She'll meet us directly at the restaurant."
"I see… Well, I actually also need to do an errand before dinner so I um… I'll meet you there too, okay?" I say, walking away before they can even react.
A WHILE LATER
As I park my car in front of Santana's parents' house, I suddenly feel nervous. But I know this is my only chance to have a conversation with her while we're in Lima…
After taking a long inhale to give me courage, I eventually get out of the car and ring the doorbell.
I hear a few steps getting closer, on the other side of the front door, until it finally opens.
"Melissa…?" I frown in disbelief upon seeing her.
"Oh, hi Brittany!" She smiles.
"Hi! I… um…" I trail off, not knowing what to say. I really didn't expect her to be here! "I thought you were in Chicago this weekend?" I eventually ask.
"I was, but I kind of felt guilty for not coming to Lima with Santana… And I was missing her too much." She shrugs. "So, I decided to surprise her!" She smiles. "I suppose you want to talk to her?"
"Um… no… I mean, I just came here to see if… she wanted a ride to the restaurant?" I lie. "I don't plan to drink alcohol tonight so I thought I could perhaps drive her… you know, to let her enjoy the evening…" I say. "I could drive both of you, actually!" I'm quick to add. "I assume you'll be joining us for dinner?"
"I wouldn't miss it! And I must say, it would be really great if you could drive us!" She says with a smile. "But please, come in…" She adds. "Santana should be here any moment now, she was just getting ready."
I follow Melissa into the living room and I have barely taken a seat when Santana enters the room.
"Brittany…" She says in a surprised tone, as our eyes meet for brief moment. Even though she's trying to hide it, I can tell that she's panicking right now. "Um… what are you doing here?" She asks.
"Brittany kindly offered to drive us to the restaurant." Melissa replies before I can say anything. "Which means we're both free to enjoy some alcohol tonight!" She adds with a smile.
"By the way, are you ready to go, honey?" She asks Santana, and I can't help but clench my jaw upon hearing the term of endearment.
"Um, yes… I'm ready." Santana replies, forcing an embarrassed smile. "You're really sure you don't mind, Britt? Because Mel and I could easily take a cab, you know…" She says in a calm voice, to keep up appearances. But I can hear her thoughts loud and clear: 'What the hell, Brittany? You know it's a terrible idea!'
"It's fine." I lie.
LATER (EVENING TIME) – AT THE KARAOKE BAR
Without surprise, the trip to the restaurant was really awkward, you could cut the tension with a knife. Fortunately, I don't think Melissa noticed anything, she was too busy telling us about her stay in Chicago. I caught Santana's eyes a few times when looking in the rear mirror but sadly, I also caught Melissa giving her a few kisses. And that's when it finally hit me: I'm the other woman.
I don't know how I ended up being part of this love triangle, but it's every bit as hurtful as one could imagine.
During dinner, I purposely sat as far as possible from Santana. With Mel here, it's not like we're going to be able to talk anyway… And I surely don't need to witness any more acts of affection between them!
We have been at the karaoke bar for a while now and I'm starting to regret my choice not to drink tonight...
EVEN LATER – AT THE KARAOKE BAR
"Oh my God, babe… that was so hot!" Melissa says in an enthusiastic voice, hugging Santana after she sang 'Nutbush City Limits'.
Since the other cheerleaders are not here, Santana did the dance moves on her own but just like Melissa said, it was still smoking hot…
And while everyone praises her performance, I remain quiet at the table, thinking how crazy it is that barely 24 hours ago, she was all mine but now, someone else gets to kiss her.
"Well, it's our turn now!" Rachel suddenly says. "Come on, Blaine!" She adds and they both get on stage.
As they sing the first verses of 'We've Got Tonight', a few couples make their way to the dance floor, including Melissa and Santana. As I watch them dance together in a tight embrace, it quickly becomes too much for me and I decide to go out for a while, to get some fresh air.
A WHILE LATER – AT THE KARAOKE BAR
As I enter the ladies' room, I unexpectedly find Santana and Rachel talking, while adjusting their makeup by the sinks.
"Ah, Britt! I was looking for you earlier!" Rachel says with a smile. "You've got to sing tonight, we haven't heard you yet!" She adds while I look around, noticing that all toilets are free.
"Could you give us a minute, Rachel?" I ask out of nowhere.
"Oh, um… sure…" Rachel mumbles, putting her makeup back in her bag.
"You can stay, Berry." Santana is quick to say, grabbing her arm to prevent her from leaving. "Come on, Britt… Tonight is a celebration! I'm sure that whatever you have to say can wait another day." She adds, looking me straight in the eye, to make it clear that I don't have a choice. But I don't care anymore.
"Rachel, please leave us." I insist, not breaking eye contact with Santana.
"I uh…" Our friend lets out, obviously not sure what she should do.
"Get out, Rachel!" I tell her in a louder and impatient voice. "Now!"
Rachel opens her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but eventually remains silent. After throwing a quick apologetic look at Santana, she hurries out of the room, leaving us alone.
"We need to talk, Santana." I say in a firm tone.
"Not now, Brittany." She replies, not even bothering to look at me.
"Yes, now. You've been ignoring me for long enough and I…"
"When are you going to get it, Britt?" She cuts me off, turning to me. "I don't want to talk! And even if I did, this is certainly not the time nor the place!"
"Yeah, well, if it was up to you, it would never be the time or the place!" I argue. "So we might as well talk now."
"Brittany…" She sighs. "Can you even imagine the chaos that is my head right now?" She asks with a shrug. "You know that I'm not good at talking! I need time to think and with Melissa's unexpected visit, I haven't even got a chance to process any of this!" She says, raising her arms in frustration. "I don't even know how to act around my girlfriend right now! So, I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to wait." She adds in a determined voice, before getting out of the room.
LATER THAT NIGHT – AT THE KARAOKE BAR
Sitting at the table, I watch a drunk Melissa getting all over Santana, making me increasingly jealous. I can tell that Santana doesn't know how to handle it, obviously having a hard time finding the right balance between acting normal with her and sparing me from this display of affection.
God, how did we even get caught in such a messy situation?
On the contrary of Santana - who tends to run away from her emotions - I need to talk to process mine. And it's really driving me crazy not to be able to discuss what happened between us! I eventually get so sick of it that I decide to get on stage, for the first time tonight.
Since I'm not allowed to talk, maybe I can express myself through music instead.
SANTANA POV
As soon as the first notes of music play, I recognize the song that Brittany is about to sing.
Somebody said you got a new friend
Does she love you better than I can?
It's a big black sky over my town
I know where you at, I bet she's around
I'm sure everyone thinks she's just redoing one of her old numbers but I know this is directed at me. It figures that even though I specifically told her I didn't want to talk, Brittany would find a way to get her message across.
Yeah I know it's stupid
But I just got to see it for myself
I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, Ohhh
I'm right over here, why can't you see me, Ohhh
Our eyes occasionally meet and even though it makes me uncomfortable, I don't manage to look away.
I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, Oooh
I keep dancing on my own
I keep dancing on my own
I know she's sad, I can hear it in her voice… But I don't know what to do right now…
God, this is such a fucking mess!
LATE THAT NIGHT – AT SANTANA'S PARENTS' – BRITTANY POV
"Thank you so much for the ride, Brittany!" Melissa says with a smile, as we all stand right outside the house.
"Oh, you're welcome…" I shrug, feeling uneasy.
"Well, good night, Britt…" Santana says, obviously trying to put an end to an uncomfortable evening. "Get home safe."
"San, wait…" I say as she's about to get inside the house. "Um… since the kids are coming back tomorrow morning, can we quickly work out the practical details?" I ask.
"Okay, I'm sorry but if you don't mind, I'll leave you two to it because I've really got to pee right now!" Melissa suddenly says. "Bye, Brittany!" She waves, before hurrying into the house.
"This better really be about the kids, Britt…" Santana warns, once Melissa has gone.
"It is…" I nod in confirmation.
"Well, my mom said that they should be home by 10:00." She says. "But I would like to spend some time with them before Melissa and I leave for the airport so… is it ok for you to pick them up around 11:00?" She asks.
"Sure… 11:00 is perfect." I say. "What time are you flying back to L.A.?"
"Our flight is at 3:30 PM." She replies. "What about you?"
"Oh, we'll take the evening flight… Since I got to Lima only on Friday night and they all went on their weekend trip the next day, I have barely seen my parents, so… I thought I would spend a few hours with them before flying back home with the kids."
"Okay, it sounds good…" She says. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning then?"
"Yeah." I nod. "Night, San…" I whisper, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, keeping my lips on her skin a little longer than I should.
As I pull away, our eyes briefly meet and all I can think of is how bad I want to kiss her right now. But she's not mine to kiss…
Just like I sang earlier, I'm not the girl she's taking home... And no matter how much I hate that thought, she's gonna share a bed with someone else tonight…
THE NEXT MORNING (MONDAY) – AT SANTANA'S PARENTS' - SANTANA POV
"Even if it was way too short, it was great to see you, dear…" My mom tells Britt, hugging her tight.
"You too, Maribel…"
"Will you come to my poetry showcase on Thursday, mama?" Gabriel asks me as we say goodbye.
"Of course I will, mijo!" I reply, holding his face in my hands. "I'm always there to see my kids shine!" I add with a smile, before hugging him once more.
"Come on, boys…" I say in a soft tone while Sofia is hugging my parents. "You don't want to make your mom late…" I add, helping them get in the car.
"Well, I guess I'll see you in L.A.?" Brittany asks me, her piercing blue eyes locked with mine.
"I guess so…" I smile timidly.
"Have a safe flight!" She says, kissing me goodbye on the cheek. And just like yesterday, I feel my skin burn under her touch.
"What's going on between you two?" Sofia whispers out of nowhere, looking at Brittany and me. Fortunately, there is no one to hear it, since my parents and Mel already went back inside the house, and her brothers are in the car.
"Did you guys have a fight?" She asks. "You look weird today!"
"What? No!" I frown. "You look weird!" I tell my daughter, as if I was 12 years old.
"Right…" Sofia squints, clearly not buying it. "That reaction of yours just makes it even more suspicious, you know!" She adds, making me roll my eyes. God, she's such a smarty pants!
"Well, look at the time! I think you need to go now, mija!" I tell my daughter, trying to put an end to this conversation.
"If you say so…" Sofia says, her eyes still set on me, as if she was trying to read my thoughts. "Well, see you in L.A., mama!" She adds, hugging me.
A/N: So, this is how I imagined Santana would react, you may or may not agree lol. At this stage, we don't really know what she thinks though, except that she's not ready to talk about it.
You probably noticed that I didn't even mention Nick in this chapter but that was on purpose, because the girls were in Lima and the situation was already complicated enough due to Melissa's presence. But he will be part of the next chapter and we'll see what that brings.
Now, please tell me... What did you think of this chapter? Did you expect it would turn out like that? What do you think will happen next? Please let me know in the reviews! Thanks for reading and I'll do my best to update regularly!