"Where is she?" Brittany grabbed Manuel's hand and spun him around. "I know you were fighting. I could hear you. So tell me," she demanded with pleading eyes.

"Why do you even care?" he asked but continued to walk to his seat between his mother and Isabella, not really expecting an answer.

She followed him to their table and leaned over it to say something to Isabella. "Sorry I have to go now. But I will try to come back later, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Isabella asked incredulously. "It's only 6:30," she added with a look at Manuel's watch.

"I need to look for San. Maybe you can find out why she left… just ask them." She motioned to Manuel and Maria.

"Why do you care so much about her?" Isabella asked curiously, not really understanding their connection.

"She's my friend, okay Bella? So I'm going to try to find her now. I can't leave her alone. Maybe you could give me her address, so that I'm not aimlessly wandering around town searching for her at midnight." Isabella hesitated a bit but then told her the address, which Brittany quickly typed into her phone. "Thanks, Bella. And have a great night." Then she turned around and left.

"What was that about, Manuel? ... What did you do?" Isabella turned to her husband, confused.

"She cares way too much about her." Maria thought out loud, shaking her head. Her husband Armando just watched as Brittany left through the door.

*B*S*

Santana couldn't stop the tears from falling down her face as she dropped down behind a tree where she was hidden from curious eyes. She just sat there… motionless… disappointed… broken. She really thought that Manuel had changed when he invited her to the wedding. He promised her that he wouldn't listen to his mother, but after all… he did. He didn't defend her. She knew that he had no problem with her being gay. He told her today that she would find the right person some day. She knew he cared. But she couldn't care less about her parents now, especially after what happened today. The little hope, for her brother to come around eventually, was gone.

"He promised," she whispered into her hands as new tears built up in her eyes.

*B*S*

Brittany grabbed her purse and stepped out into the warm summer air. The sunset made the city glisten in a shade of red. The air was dry and craved for the long awaited rain. Brittany scanned the area. She kept her eyes searching so that she wouldn't miss any important detail. The first thing that came to her mind was her car. Quickly - but still with inquiring eyes – she stepped into the parking lot. There was no sign of the brunette, but Santana's car still stood in the space where they had left it. Brittany grabbed her phone out of her purse and tapped at Santana's number when she found it. She waited till Santana's voice rang through the phone. "Sorry. I'm not available right now. It must be something important, when my phone is off, because I carry it everywhere. You can try later or leave me a message." A beep came from the speaker. It must be something important.

Brittany tried to think of the right words to say. "Hey San. It's Brittany. Please call me when you hear this. I just want to know if you're okay. Please call me back."

Brittany ended the call and turned her phone louder, so that she could hear when Santana hopefully tried to contact her. She quickly sent another message and pushed her phone back into her purse. Brittany needed to find her. She needed to know what happened. No, scratch that. She needed to know if she was okay. She will not pressure her to talk when she would find her. At least she would try to find her and not leave her everybody else did.

*B*S*

Santana wanted to leave and go home as soon as possible. She couldn't stand the close proximity to her family anymore and was afraid that anyone could find her here. She stepped out in the evening sun again. She made a beeline to her car, fighting back the tears, which seemed to never stop. She drove home with blurred vision. Her hands were shaking when she pushed the door to her apartment building and pressed the elevator button. It felt like a wonder that she came here alive. This was the first time she fully took her appearance in the huge mirror. She saw her mascara-stained face and tried to wipe the make-up away, but it didn't work. The doors slid open and she tried to search for her keys. This didn't work either. Her hands were still shaking and she wasn't able to find the keys. She was tired. Exhausted even. The door wouldn't open and she was tired of trying so she just let her body slip down to the floor and her arms hug her propped up legs. She just gave in when she rested her forehead on her knees.

*B*S*

Brittany made her way to the nearby park and searched everywhere. But nothing. After what felt like hours of wandering around parks, shops, and cafés, leaving and sending messages, she made her way back to the parking lot. The sun was almost completely gone and the streetlights were already on.

Santana's car wasn't there.

Brittany hurried to the street and hailed a taxi, which she found surprisingly fast. She told Santana's address to the driver. Then she waited and let her mind wander as she watched the city lights passing by her. Why do you care so much about her? She heard Isabella's voice in her head. Honestly… Brittany had no idea. She didn't even know if she and Santana were friends or not. But they had a connection. That was unquestionable. She didn't care if it was creepy that she was following her, but she wanted to make sure that she was alright.

After a couple of minutes, the car stopped in front of a nice renovated apartment building. She paid the driver and walked through the entrance. She looked at her phone again to find out which floor she needed. 3. Her finger pushed the elevator button and the door closed.

Brittany took a deep breath before she stepped out. Her hands were fidgeting and she was more nervous than before. What if Santana wasn't there? What if she was still wandering around town and nobody helped her? Or maybe she was totally fine by now and Brittany just made it a bigger problem than it actually was?

But when she saw the limp body of Santana propped up against her apartment door, she knew that it was a good decision to follow her. She had no intention to startle the brunette, so she slowly made her way to her. Her heels tapping against the tiles were way too loud and it seemed that the sound made the whole hall vibrate. Santana lifted her head up slightly to see who it was. It couldn't be the old woman who lived across from her, because she was probably asleep by now.

"San?" Brittany broke the silence first, when Santana caught her blue eyes and dress. "Are you okay?" She clearly was not, so she mentally slapped herself for asking that question. When Santana's face contorted and she shook her head no, she buried her head into her hands again. Brittany didn't think twice about it and stepped closer to her. She sat beside her and pulled her body into her own. She held her like that in a warm embrace and occasionally stroked some of the dark hair away from her face. Brittany's warm body curled around her soothed Santana a bit, because she knew that she was safe with her now.

*B*S*

They sat there for an inestimable period of time, when Santana's skin started to form goose bumps. She only wore her short cream dress after all and the tiles and the hall weren't warm either. "Let's get you inside, San," Brittany whispered into her ear. There was still no reaction from Santana. Brittany eventually pulled away and grabbed Santana's purse to get the apartment key. After she figured out which one fitted the key hole, she stretched her hand to Santana's direction, who was staring at her with sad eyes. It almost broke Brittany's heart, seeing her like this. But luckily Santana grabbed her hand and let Brittany pull her up. With steady arms around her shoulders, Brittany led her inside and she closed door with her foot.

The apartment wasn't really big but comfortable. There were some colorful paintings on the otherwise white walls. The wooden floor cracked a little when Brittany led Santana to the soft fabric couch in the living room. Santana was shaking now and her arms immediately found their way around her own body again to ease the cold. Brittany searched for a blanked but didn't find one right away so she stepped into the really cozy bedroom and pulled the blanket with her, careful not to let it touch the floor in the action. She put the blanket around the shaking woman and leaned down to make sure every part except her face was covered by it. "I'm going to make some tea for you, okay? It will get you warmer." Brittany said while brushing some strands of hair out of Santana's face and made her way to the kitchen. First she had to figure out where everything was. She opened random cabinets until she found the tea bags and set up the kettle.

While she waited, she let her eyes wander through the kitchen until they fell on the fridge full of notes and pictures. One showed Santana in a white summer dress with a black, kind of chubby woman standing at a beach. Santana looked breathtaking. Her hair was loose except for her bangs, which were pulled back by a matching white hair band. She looked really happy and laughed that huge smile that made Brittany's heart flutter. She took a quick glance at the couch, which was halfway turned towards the kitchen. Santana was still tucked up in the blanket, but she wasn't sleeping even if she had her eyes closed. Her eyebrows were furrowed and it seemed like she was having mental pain. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

She turned back to check on the kettle, which was still not ready yet. She used the time to inspect the fridge door further. She felt kind of bad of looking through her stuff, but it wasn't entirely private when it was propped on the fridge door, right? ...Right. A familiar card caught her eyes. It was the invitation to today's wedding only with a little note in the bottom corner. Please call me when you read this. We need to talk. It was definitely Manuel's hand writing. He acted weird after Santana had gone. She knew that he had something to do with her state right know. She could feel it.

The water started to boil audibly and Brittany quickly grabbed the cup that she took out earlier to pour some hot water in. When she propped the tea bag inside, she walked to the couch table and put the cup down. Santana slowly opened her eyes but stared motionless at the wall in front of her. Brittany took a seat at the armchair and waited.

*B*S*

"He promised me," Santana said breaking the silence, nearly too quiet to understand. Her hoarse voice made her clear her throat. Santana didn't know why she told Brittany that, because Brittany couldn't use it to understand how she felt right now. But she had the urge to tell her. "He promised me he would help me," she stated again, a bit louder this time. But when the words left her mouth, she felt her throat tighten again and tears were already forming in her eyes. She hated herself for crying right now. She should have known. She heard a rustling besides her and suddenly felt the blonde's arms around her body again. She let her body relax as the tensed feeling wavered. It felt good when Brittany held her like that. She knew that she was not alone right now.

Brittany pulled away again and leaned back to the table to grab the cup. "Here." She held it in Santana's direction. "Drink this. It will make you feel better."

You make me feel better, Santana thought to herself. She gathered all of her strength to sit a bit more upright to take the cup from Brittany. Their fingers lightly brushed when they both had them around the cup. They bashfully looked away and Brittany let herself fall against the couch table to watch Santana once more when she took a sip. "That's really good, Brittany," she stated, surprised as she tasted the liquid again. "There is something different…" A smile was forming on her lips.

"It's a special ingredient. It's a secret. I'm not supposed to tell." Brittany made a move like she was locking her lips and throwing away the key. Santana let out a small chuckle, which caused Brittany to sigh in relief. The first goal for tonight was to make the girl laugh. Check. Brittany smiled to herself.

"Thank you, Brittany." Brittany wasn't entirely sure what she meant. Every friend would do that, right? She shot her a questioning look.

"For everything you did tonight. You left the party, didn't you?" Brittany nodded. "Why? You're Isabella's maid of honor. You were not supposed to leave the wedding so soon." She said with a guilty expression on her face.

"I heard you and your mom fighting. I don't know about what, but it seemed serious and when Manuel walked past me I just had to ask where you had gone. He wouldn't answer me, so I asked Isabella for your address. First I searched in the park and at some shops. Then your car was gone from the parking lot, so I hailed a cab… and here I am now." She didn't realize she was rambling and totally ignored Santana's question in the first place. "I was worried about you. I… when I found you earlier, I knew it was the right decision to search for you." Santana looked her straight in the eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that. You were having fun and I totally ruined your night with you running through town only to find me curled up against a wall."

"You haven't ruined it. Bella can have fun without me. And I had a great night because you were there at the party making me laugh. So…it's no big deal, San." Brittany told her sincerely. Santana got butterflies in her stomach every time she heard Brittany use San as her nickname. Only Mercedes called her that. It made her smile widen. She placed the cup behind her on a side table and pulled her arms around her knees again but now she was a lot warmer than she was in the hallway. Silence fell upon them, but neither seemed to mind. Brittany thought about the relief that she felt when she found Santana earlier, because she was scared that something had happened to her.

Santana thought about how much better she felt now after Brittany stepped into her apartment. But the hate for Manuel and her mother was still very present in her chest. She wanted to tell Brittany or Mercedes…someone. But she didn't know where to begin. Brittany didn't even know she was gay… So telling Brittany was probably not a good idea. Although she was almost sure that Brittany didn't mind, but she didn't want to make things awkward between them. Okay. Things were already awkward. Their touches and the lingering hugs. Oh, and the glances. Santana admitted that something was going on there, but she didn't know what exactly. Flirting? Kind of... Attraction? Hell yeah.

So, what do you think of the chapter? I promise you that the next one will be longer ;) There's still so much to talk about between the two of them, right? ;)