A colossal, inky black bat was sitting on a purple throne in front of me. Agonized faces appeared in the throne, silent screams escaping their mouths. Slowly, they melted back into the violet metal, giving it the appearance of flowing water. I raised my apprehensive eyes to the bat.

Human arms were attached to his skeletal, thorny wings. His face looked like a goblin's; a crooked, elongated nose and pointy ears. He looked down at me with solidly white eyes, and stretched his mouth into a wide smile. Rotten teeth dangled from his gums.

"Hello, Santana," he said tauntingly. His voice sounded like a million chainsaws on a chalkboard.

I whimpered and looked around me. I was on my hands and knees in a swampy terrain. White eyes glared at me from all directions. There were creepy clown faces on the scrawny trees. They spun around slowly so that their chins were in the air and their crimson eyes down below. Their eerie smiles turned into ugly frowns. What is this? How did I get here?

The bat chuckled, sending chills down my back. "You don't know where you are?" he raised his eyebrows.

I tried to get up, but my hands and knees were trapped in the unyielding strength of the deep, viridian swamp. I raised my eyes to the menacing bat once again. He had a very amused expression on his face.

"What do you want from me?" I asked. I wanted to sound brave, but sounded like a mouse instead.

"Nothing but your audience," he sneered. "I have something here that may interest you…" He reached behind his warped back. A few moments later, his giant human hand returned, gripping a girl.

Tears plagued my eyes as I saw Brittany struggling to free herself. Her eyes fell on me, and she yelled, "San! Help me! Help me, San!"

I sobbed miserably, powerless. I tried to free my arms, but they only sank deeper into the muck.

The bat cackled heartlessly. "The more you fight, the deeper you will sink. You will never get your Brittany."

"Please," I wept. "Please, she didn't do anything! Take me! Take me instead!"

"But what fun would that be?" he mocked. He reached a long nail and dug it into Brittany's chest. Her scream rang through the swamp. I fought and fought against the dirt, but, as the bat said, I only sank deeper. Scarlet blood dripped from Brittany's chest.

"Please, please," I wailed as I tried to hold my head above the ground. Brittany was crying hysterically. "Pl—" Mud poured into my mouth and I struggled for air.

The bat laughed sinisterly. "Don't you see?" he bellowed. "This is your own twisted mind!"

Darkness.

I gasped and shot up. I was covered in sweat and my blanket was wrapped around me as if I had been rolling in my sleep. I looked at my watch. 6:34 A.M. I shuddered and got out of bed.

This is your own twisted mind…

I washed my face in the bathroom sink. I looked up at myself and immediately remembered that Brittany and I were supposed to meet the Glee Club today. I watched an eager smile form on my face.

I took a quick shower and ran back to my room. I opened and slammed my drawers, looking for something. There! The long-forgotten bag of make-up supplies. I looked fixedly at my face in the wall mirror, carefully drawing delicate lines around my eyes, applying eye shadow to my eyelids, spreading red lipstick on my lips.

I turned to my closet, looking for the perfect outfit. Nothing fit that category in my wide array of sweatshirts and jeans. I looked at the door. I could…but what if he's in there? Well, it's worth a try, isn't it?

I left my room and silently walked to my daddy's room down the hall. I opened the door just a tad. I sighed in relief. The room was empty.

I burst through the door and dashed into my daddy's closet. I hadn't been there in years.

Tattered shirts and faded jeans were lined up on shelves. I looked around. There they were. My mother's dresses.

I looked through them delicately. A sad smile appeared on my face as I recognized the dresses. This blue one…she wore it to a dinner party she had to attend for work. I remembered how I told her that she looked like a fairy, and the way she laughed wholeheartedly. And this pink one…she wore it on a warm summer's day. We walked around a nearby lake, hand in hand. She told me stories of her childhood.

A small sigh escaped me as I held a knee-long red dress. This was my favorite dress. My mother would wear it with a matching red hair band when she wanted to impress my daddy.

I left the closet with the dress and hair band in my hands. In my room, I undressed and cautiously put on the garment. It fit tightly and perfectly. I flattened the wrinkles, placed the hair band firmly on my head, and turned to the mirror.

I gasped. I looked so much like her. A new and transformed Santana gleamed back at me from the mirror. I was…I was beautiful.

I walked to school, with some difficulty, in my mother's red heels. When I entered the hallway, every head turned to me and every jaw dropped. I smiled confidently and walked past the students. I hadn't felt this good in years.

I turned around the corner and came face to face with Brittany. Her eyes widened and her mouth parted as she looked me up and down. I smiled at her from ear to ear.

"So what do you think?" I teased.

"I…" Brittany shook her head. She pulled me close to her and engulfed me in a fervent kiss. It seemed like forever until she drew back. She smiled at me disbelievingly. "You are the most gorgeous person I have ever seen," she whispered.

I smiled warmly and gave her a last peck on the lips. We walked together, hand in hand, to the choir room.

Mr. Schuester met us outside. He looked at the way we were holding hands. "Let me just say a few words to the kids, and then I'll let you come in," he patted my shoulder.

I was radiating excitement. Brittany raised my hand to her lips and kissed it gently.

After a few minutes, Mr. Schuester returned. "Alright, girls, you can come in."

He held the door for us and we walked into the room. Friendly faces looked up at us from the magenta chairs.

"Guys, these are Santana and Brittany," Mr. Schuester introduced us.

"Wait—what?" a tall boy with a naïve complexion asked.

The girl next to him, short and wearing a reindeer sweater and a skirt, looked at him threateningly. "This is Santana…" she said slowly. "And over here is Brittany."

"Wha—oh. Oh!" A childish smile appeared on his face. "Hi, Brittany."

"Hi," Brittany said coyly.

Mr. Schuester cleared his throat. "Um, so, Santana, let me introduce you to Artie." He motioned at a boy with glasses in a wheelchair. The latter smiled toothily.

"Artie will be directing our production of West Side Story. Artie," he turned to the teenager, "Santana wants to audition for Anita."

"Great!" Artie said enthusiastically. "Well, what would you like to sing for me?"

"I—what?" All of my confidence from the day's happenings vanished into thin air. "Right now?"

"Yeah, I mean, you have to get used to performing in front of people if you want to be in the play," he said reasonably.

"Um…" I looked at Brittany. She nodded eagerly and sat down in a vacant chair. "Um, okay. This is 'Someone Like You' by Adele."

I cleared my throat. Someone began playing the tune on the piano behind me, and I turned to see a red-haired man in glasses smile sweetly at me. I turned back to the audience.

"I heard that you're settled down

That you found a girl

And you're married now."

My voice was shaky and unconfident. My eyes darted between the faces, every one of them kind and understanding. I looked at Brittany. The love in her eyes was what made me raise my voice and sing to my fullest extent.

"Old friend, why are you so shy?

Ain't like you to hold back

Or hide from the light."

It was like I had this talent inside me that was just aching to burst. I could see the Glee students' awed expressions.

"Never mind, I'll find someone like you

I wish nothing but the best for you, too."

As I continued to sing, the students' expressions became thrilled. Artie's eyes were shining with joy.

"Sometimes it lasts in love

But sometimes it hurts instead…"

I finished strongly. The Glee Club cheered and hooted for me. A blonde boy with an oddly large mouth stood on his feet and clapped enthusiastically.

"And why haven't you joined us before…?" he said, beaming.

I giggled shyly and looked at Brittany. She was wiping proud tears from her eyes.

"That was amazing, Santana," Artie said. "The cast list will be posted next week."

I nodded at him and sat down next to Brittany. She leaned over, kissed me on the cheek, and held my hand.

Joining Glee Club was the best decision I had ever made. I finally felt accepted. The kids (I slowly learned their names, Rachel, Sam, Puck, Quinn…) liked me. They didn't treat me like I was dirt at their feet. They were friends. Real friends.

After school was over, Brittany and I walked to my house. She spent the whole twenty minutes praising me and my singing voice. I must've been as red as my dress.

We arrived at the crimson door. Before I let her in, I ran inside to check that my daddy wasn't there. Thankfully, he wasn't. I walked her to my room and we set our backpacks down.

Brittany came up from behind me and hugged me. She moved her hands all around my abdominal area, slowly inching toward my breasts. Her mouth was breathing into my ear.

"Can I take this off?" she whispered sultrily. I nodded. Somewhere in my mind appeared the fact that I had only known her for two days. That thought was crushed, however, by the moan that escaped me as her hands massaged my boobs.

She threw me onto the bed and kissed down my body until she arrived at my privates. She looked up at my aroused face, slightly smirked, and lunged in.

It was like fireworks. I flew high up into the sky, anticipating my glorious transformation, and boom! I exploded into a magnificent sight, most pleasurable to the naked eye.