Later that night, Amy and Brittany were finishing up their homework in an awkward silence. Amy knew her sister needed help, but didn't want to disturb her sister while she worked. She knew the conversation would turn into a fight about Santana. Their private conversations always did. At around 11, Mr. and Mrs. Pierce finally arrived home. The second they heard the car door slam shut, Amy rose and ran up the stairs to her room.

Brittany was always confused by her sister. She got mad at her parents every time they came home, but when they didn't, she got even madder. Santana had tried to explain it once, but Brittany had forgotten every word of the explanation. She always forgot things like that.

"Hi sweetie, how was your day?" Brittany's dad asked "Staying out of trouble?"

"Yes"

"You still in that um, singing and dancing thing with Santana?"

At the sound of her name Brittany's normally slow mind kicked into high gear. She thought of the way her face glowed as she sang, the way her perfect red lips and gorgeous white teeth formed every word perfectly. She thought of the way her hips swayed and her perfect body moved to the music. Then she thought of the way she felt when she moved that gorgeous body all over the birth-father of a certain adopted child.

"Yep. Sectionals are coming up." She said, after a long pause, which Brittany's drunk parents seemed to enjoy

Brittany went upstairs shortly after, as the conversation with her parents was essentially the same every time she saw them. They'd ask her about New Directions, or the Cheerios, both names they could never seem to remember. Then she'd go upstairs and go to bed. It made her kind of sad, but she knew she was lucky for those few minutes that happened most nights.

Brittany walked into her room, and before she could turn on the light, the door was slammed shut and she was pulled onto her bed by someone who seemed to want to make out with her pretty badly right about then. It took her no longer than a second to know exactly who it was. The hands, the lips, the hair, even the sound and smell was so familiar.

"Sorry about today" Santana said between kisses "Crap at home. I'll. Explain. Later."

"Later sounds good" Brittany replied while struggling out of her top. "Just be quiet, my parents are home and they may just still be conscious"

"I'll try" Santana said.

Much later, after some rather questionable activities, and a flirty talking, Brittany asked Santana what was wrong with her at school. Santana told her that her mother had another pregnancy scare, but after school she had announced that it was a false alarm. Santana wouldn't admit it, but she already hated sharing her parents with her little brother Carlos. Another baby would just take away from that. After a while Brittany rolled on her side and shut her eyes. As usual, Santana waited a few minutes then spoke very quietly.

"Are you awake Britt?"

No reply.

The darker girl propped herself up on her elbow, brushed the blondes hair off her cheek, leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "I love you, Brittany Susan Pierce" she whispered, tears in her eyes. "I hope that deep, deep down you know that. I love you. A lot" After her little speech, she laid back down and closed her eyes. She had no idea that the girl she was holding, the girl she loved, was awake and had heard every word. She always did. She lived for those few seconds. She had never told anyone that Santana did that. Not even Amy. Brittany had a page in her diary where she tracked every time Santana said she loved her and every time she said she didn't. Under the "Yes" column there were 323 marks. And this was one thing Brittany had managed to count correctly. Under the "No" column there were 156. Earlier today those 156 marks had felt like 156 pounds weighing down her back. Now, it was as if they didn't exist at all.