Chapter Six

New Student

Santana glared through her large sun glasses while she sat at the stop light in front of Brittany's apartment building. It was nearly 7:30 in the morning and according to Santana, way too fucking early to be awake. Sunlight was barley illuminating the empty streets of Ohio as she turned into the small parking lot. To make it worse the apartments Brittany lived in reminded her of some place cops might bust a drug dealers. Not exactly the safest place to be, no matter the time of day.

Santana parked and waited for a moment in an attempt to wake up a little more before walking up to Brittany's door. She was really starting to wish she had stopped to get a cup of coffee or something, but had she done so there would be no way she could have made it to school in time.

"Fucking Quinn..." Santana grumbled under her breath as she grabbed her purse and slammed the door to her Prius shut. Why did she have to invite Brittany to their stupid lame ass high school. The Oakwood girl seemed to be more then content where she was at, so why mess with a good thing. Even worse, if Brittany chose to go to McKinley then Santana would have to see her all the time. Roman would constantly be inviting her over and Santana would never get a good nights rest again.

No matter how much she fought it the out come seemed to be inevitable. Brittany was moving down to Lima and William McKinley was the only logical school for her to attend, team loyalty be damned. The thought spun knots into Santana's belly as she reached the door she glimpsed Brittany slip into the day before. She took a moment to glance down at what she was wearing.

Despite loathing her own attraction to the tall sexy blonde, she couldn't help trying to impress her at every turn. Today her hair fell to her shoulders made it seem as if she weren't really trying, her white top with black roses printed all over accentuated her cleavage which just barely passed school protocol, and her high waisted jeans hung on her hips adding a casual flare. Over all Santana was pretty satisfied with the way she looked.

Taking a sharp breath, she rapped on the door hard, trying to communicate her early morning frustration. For a moment she thought she hard someone running around inside, but she couldn't be sure. There were a few clicks before the door opened just a crack for Brittany to peak out.

"Morning San, I'll be ready in just a second." Brittany said nervously. She refused to open the door wide enough for Santana to glimpse inside. By the looks of her messy hair she had just woken up.

"Okay , well can I at least come in? It's fucking cold out here." Santana crossed her arms impatiently. Brittany's eyes darted around, but then she quickly shook her head.

"Sorry no. I'll only take a minute." She closed the door leaving Santana just as confused as always. Santana scoffed and pulled her phone out of her pocket, just as it began to vibrate.

'Morning Sexy.' read a text from Puckerman. She couldn't help, but roll her eyes. This casual fake dating thing going on between them was getting to be a little too life like. Santana was beginning to wonder if Puck might actually have feelings for her. She sent him back a 'Hey', hoping that would satisfy him.

The door to Brittany's apartment open and shut quickly, Santana was able to catch the other girl locking the place up. Brittany slipped the key under the mat and turned back to face Santana with a smile brighter then the lights peaking over the horizon. She wore a pair of short shorts and a unicorn t-shirt that had been cut to hang off the shoulder. It was completely stupid, but some how Brittany made it look sexy. Santana slipped her phone back into her pocket.

"Where's your backpack?" She questioned suspiciously. Brittany simply cocked her head to the side considering Santana's question.

"I'm only visiting right? I don't really need a backpack today." Brittany mused.

The answer was good enough for Santana. The last thing she wanted was to try and make small talk at 7:30 in the morning.

"My car's this way." she grumbled leading the way.

Santana unlocked her car and got in. It was then that she realized that she was alone with Brittany for the very first time since they had met, but not just alone; she was stuck in a very small car with no where to go for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. Next to her the passenger door opened and Brittany slid in. The smell of her perfume filled the car almost immediately, leaving Santana's heart fluttering.

"Get a hold of yourself Lopez." She mentally scolded her self. To a right there was a small giggle. Santana's head snapped to Brittany who sat smiling with her seat belt fastened. Her expression made Santana weather or not she could read a persons mind. If that was the case, Santana was fucked.

"You're not really a morning person are you?" the girl asked softly as though Santana were some angry bear about to be awakened from hibernation, which wasn't totally far from the truth. Santana pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road.

"No. Not really."

"Okay...Do you mind if I turn the radio on? " Brittany asked in an attempt to fill the awkward silence. "It usually helps me when I'm a cranky duck in the morning."

"I—what? I'm not a-a 'cranky-duck'." Santana stammered. " Who even says that?"

"I do." Brittany smirked. She seemed content having gotten some kind of reaction out of Santana. 'She does this on purpose. 'Stop letting her get to you so much Lopez!' Santana rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and punched the knob to the radio. "Just play with this to find a station." She pointed out.

Brittany leaned forward and played with the knobs until she found something she knew. Santana held her breath and tried to focus on the road.

"Oh I love this song!" Brittany suddenly said with a big grin. Her fingers snapped with the beat as she began to hum and dance along.

I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address,
In the torn-up town, no post code envy

Santana couldn't help, but glance over at the girl. She loved this song too. A small smile played at her lips as she tried to ignore the girl dancing—like really dancing next to her, however Brittany didn't seem to want that to happen. She began catering her performance to Santana.

But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.
We don't care, we aren't caught up in your love affair.

Brittany nudged Santana's shoulder a little trying to get her to join in. Santana couldn't stifle her laughter anymore. She shook her head and smiled.

"You're crazy!"

"I know, but it make life a little more fun don't you think? Come on sing with me!" Brittany begged she held up an invisible mic for Santana to sing into, but she just pushed the girl's hand away.

"I can't I'm driving Britt."

Let me be your ruler (ruler),
You can call me queen Bee
And baby I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule.
Let me live that fantasy.

"Liar! You so can! Do it come on. No one is around just belt it out!" the girl egged on.

Looking back Santana wasn't quite sure what possessed her to go along with the game, but it felt like a turning point down a never ending rabbit hole. She laughed and held up her finger for Brittany to wait one beat. As the next verse came around she opened her mouth and began to sing while also turning up the volume.

My friends and I – we've cracked the code.
We count our dollars on the train to the party.
And everyone who knows us knows that we're fine with this,
We didn't come from money.

But every song's like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom.
Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room,
We don't care, we're driving Cadillacs in our dreams.
But everybody's like Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your time piece.
Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash
We don't care we aren't caught up in your love affair

Brittany danced while Santana sang the rest of the song, occasionally offering a few back up notes. When the song ended both girls couldn't help their laughter.

"Wow you're such a good singer Santana! Like...really really good" Brittany said pretended to be a little shocked. Santana simply rolled her eyes.

"I'm not that good and this stays between us."

"You got it captain. Oh, hey your phone is buzzing." Brittany pointed to the cup holder where Santana nearly forgotten she had set her phone when they first got in.

"Go ahead and look for me." Santana said without really thinking about it. She lowered the volume while the commercials played.

"Uh. It's puck. He says 'Wanna meet up to get our mac on before class.'He says he'll be waiting for you in your 'special spot' " Brittany quoted dryly.

Santana pursed her lips. She could sense the awkward suddenly rising in the car.

"I—uh—sorry. I didn't know—I'll text him back when we get to McKinley" Santana offered sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry. He's your boyfriend right? I mean the things Roman and I say over text sometimes-" Santana could see the blush rising in Brittany's cheeks just a little. It left a sour taste in her mouth. " So you and Puck...how long—I mean you seem to be really comfortable with each other. You must have been with him for a while."

Santana raised her eyebrow as she pulled into the parking lot of the school.

"Not as long as you might think. We went to grade school together so I've known him a long time" Santana muttered quietly under her breath.

"That must be nice. I've never really stayed at one school long enough to get to know people like that. My mom is always trying to find work, so we move quite a bit." Brittany shrugged.

Santana parked without saying anything more.

"Hey, if you want to go find Noah, just point me in the direction of Quinn and she can show me around." Brittany said as she climbed out of the car.

"No. It's fine really. The halls are confusing and Puck is irritating me right now." She said pulling her backpack out of the back seat and locking her purse in the trunk where no one could see. "First period is about to start, we should go there first and meet up with Quinn after during passing period." Santana lead the way already feeling exhausted. It was going to be a long damn day.

Passing period came and went, but there was no sign of Quinn anywhere. Santana might have been annoyed if she wasn't so caught up in Brittany. No matter where they seemed to go people flocked to her almost instantly. Her fellow students seemed to adore her though they found her a little strange. Maybe the effect she had on Santana wasn't so uncommon after all.

Santana made a point to sit in the back of each class that day so that way she could quietly whisper important information, like the latest gossip. Most of the teachers thought she was just explaining the way the school worked and in a way she was.

"...That girl over there wears the same stupid shirt to school everyday and I'm pretty sure she's sleeping with booger boy over there." Santana muttered in Brittany's ear. Brittany kept her attention straight ahead choosing not to say anything about it. She seemed to rather pay attention to the teacher then Santana's words, which of course Santana felt annoyed by. She wanted Brittany's attention all to herself.

"Can anyone tell me who Napoleon Bonaparte was?" the teacher asked the class, but as usual the students seemed to stare up at her with blank faces. Santana of course new the answer, but the last thing she wanted was to look like a nerd. However Brittany's hand shot up in the air.

Santana gave her a confused look. Did she really not know how things worked in school? Oakwood couldn't be much different then McKinley.

"Yes? Brittany?" The teacher said expectantly.

"He was the guy who decided to put all three flavors of ice cream into one." Brittany stated confidently. The room erupted into a fit of laughter. People patted Brittany's shoulder and even the teacher cracked a smirk at her little joke. Santana sat there watching the girl closely, because something seemed off. Brittany smiled along with everyone else, but it wasn't the same smile that could light a dark room. It was a hurt smile. A smile that had been developed through awkward situation after awkward situation so no one could see the the truth behind it. It was a smile that Santana had perfected to a science.

Could they not see that she had been a hundred percent serious? It was probably better that they hadn't. Santana couldn't help but wonder if Brittany had ever endured bullying for a lack of book smarts. The thought made her insides ache.

When the laughter died down the teacher resumed her lesson on the after effects of the French Revolution. Santana couldn't help, but watch Brittany grow quiet. She leaned over and gave her a small nudge, which Brittany offered the same fake smile she had given to all the other. Unsure of what to say Santana dropped it.

In the next class Santana managed to check her phone. She had two missed texted from Noah and one from Roman. Knowing her so called boyfriend had nothing intelligent to say Santana skipped to her brother's text. The time stamp told it was from earlier that morning.

R: Hey where did you go this morning? Mom wanted to know if you even came home yesterday.

S: I had to get up early and pick Brittany up from her house. She wanted to visit McKinley to see if she wants to transfer. It was Quinn's idea.

R: You drove all the way to Oakwood and back?

S: No. Her new place off of Johnstone.

R: Brittany hasn't found a new place to move yet...

S: Well I dropped her off there yesterday and she was there this morning. Seems like she has and just hasn't told you about it yet.

R: If they had found a place Jason would have told me. He's been bitching about their place for the last two weeks. Where ever you took her wasn't her house.

S: Weird. She's your girlfriend, so you can figure out what's up and you can drive her back to her REAL house later.

R: K. let me know how school goes.

The lunch bell rang before Santana knew it. She gathered up her things and waited for Brittany to join her.

"So what do you think of McKinley so far?" Santana asked tentatively as they walked toward her locker. Brittany shrugged.

"It's like pretty much every other school I've ever been to. Nothing really stands out as special or different to me." Santana couldn't arrange with that. McKinley was kind of a shit hole as far as schools went. Their test scores were low, their football team sucked, and the students were more bigoted than white southern plantation owners. There wasn't much she could say that would change Brittany's mind on that. Instead she called out to Quinn who stood waiting at their locker.

"Where the hell have you been all day Fabray?" Santana snapped as she fiddled with her cobo. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Well hello to you too. Hey Brittany, so glad you came. I hope this one hasn't been a bitch to you all day."

"No. Not at all. Santana's been the best tour guide ever." Brittany said with a much more believable smile. Santana loved that smile.

As Santana opened her locker she came face to face with the flier that Father Thomas had given her. She could feel her stomach twist painfully. 'She like a sister' Santana told herself over and over again.

"Santana are you coming or what? The boy are saving our seats in the cafeteria." Quinn called half way down the hall with her arm linked in Brittany's. Santana glared at her and slammed her locker shut. She eventually caught up to them, but by that time Brittany was seated on the end of the table next to Quinn while Puck sat with a seat open for her close to the middle. Santana did her best to try and hide her irritation as she sat down.

Lunch seemed to drag on, as did the rest of the day. Santana sat by while Quinn talked Brittany's ear off and pretended to care about all the same things as the lanky blonde. Santana couldn't resist rolling her eyes repeatedly, but every so often she would catch Brittany looking her and Puck's direction. Santana suspected that Brittany wasn't quite convinced of her and Puck's relationship, so she forced herself to put on a good show. At the table she laughed at Puck's stupid gross boy humor and held his hand under the table for everyone to see. The kids at her school weren't exactly hard to fool.

"Excuse me."

Santana looked up to see Rachel Berry standing behind her. 'God this girl can not take a hint can she?' Santana thought to herself.

"What Hobbit." Santana snapped. She could feel Brittany's eyes on her, but chose to ignore them.

"I think we misunderstood one another the other day." Rachel said softly to Santana, but so that everyone at the table could hear. "You guys are the most popular kids in school and I have an eye for talent. Some of you have real potential to be something. If you were to join Glee it would mean a lot to us. I've heard both you and Quinn singing in the girl's locker room when no one is around. Finn you also have a great voice. We could really use your talent. We're trying to make it to New York this year. If you joined no one would question it. You'd still be just as popular."

Everyone's eyes fell on Santana. She could feel the lunch room grow tense as everyone waited to hear what she had to say. It was true that Quinn was the queen bee in these parts, but Quinn had always left the messy chores for Santana to clean up, mainly telling losers to fuck off in a way that they could understand.

Truly, Santana loved to sing, but glee club was like social suicide. If she joined that club of misfits she might as well pain a sign on her back that said raging lesbian on her back, or that's the way if felt. Instead she spun around in her seat and stood to her full height only a few inches above Rachel.

"Listen up RuPaul. I'm only going to say this one last time. No one here is interested in your little progressive club, where people sing and dance their way through life problems. This is high school and life couldn't get much better for us. You're right when you say I'm talented, Yentl. I have more talent then you have in your pinky finger. I'm going places, unlike you, and I don't need you or your club of dorks and dweebs to get me there. You will never be popular, so run along back to what ever hole you crawled out of and stay there before I end you." Santana said with a vindictive hate.

Rachel backed away slowly before turning and walking across the hall to her own table of friends. Santana took her seat once again. Her friends all looked satisfied by her comment as though she had said just what they were thinking, but there was one pair of eyes who looked unhappy by her brutal words and those were the only eyes that mattered.

Abruptly Brittany stood up from the table and walked cross the hall to where Rachel sat. Everyone including Santana held their breath as the beautiful girl shook Rachel's hand and introduced herself. No one could hear what was being said, but the small brunette seemed over joyed. Brittany returned just as the lunch bell rang.

"Er...are you ready for the next class." Mumbled to Brittany shyly.

"Actually I think I'm going to finish up the day with Quinn, but I'll see you after." Brittany said candidly. Santana felt as though her body had turned to stone.

"Oh—yea. That's cool. Whatever's fine with me." She said, but inside she was raging.

' She hates me. She saw how I treated Rachel and she hates me. What else could I do? Everyone was watching. If I dismissed her nicely she would have come back and then people would start to question me. I had no choice, but to be a bitch.' Santana fumed all the way to her next class.

Santana spent the last two classes of the day dreaming up ways to make it up to the girl. Each grew more and more fantastical then the last.

'Flowers? No. That's so gay. Girls don't give other girl's flowers. I could offer to take her out to dinner and try to explain the way things are. She'd never believe that. She probably knows just how Rachel feels. After how I acted she's probably scared I'd make fun of her, but I'd never do that.'

"Fuck" She muttered under her breath several times through out the afternoon.

The last bell rang with Santana still in a bitter mood. She had lost the considerable spring to her step she had begun with that morning. Quinn and Brittany stood waiting by her car smiling and laughing with each other. It was enough to make Santana sick. The scowl on her face grew thicker.

'Fuck her. If she doesn't like me the way I am then she can just fuck off and torment someone else for a change.'

"What's wrong with you now?" Quinn asked as Santana approached.

"Nothing. I just have a headache. Are you ready to go? Roman is going to drive you back to Oakwood—you know, where you actually live." Santana said bitterly to Brittany who looked taken aback. It was clear she was caught in her lie.

"I-"

"What's she talking about Britt?" Quinn asked curiously. From Brittany's pocket came a vibrating sound. She pulled it out and glanced at it.

"..sorry I have to take this...hello?" She said stepping away for a moment leaving Santana with Quinn.

"What do you mean her real house?" Quinn asked again.

"That place we dropped her off at doesn't belong to her. She hasn't moved yet and who knows if she will. She's probably playing us for information about the Cheerios." Santana said out of spite.

"...What? Jas—stop yelling I'm fine. I'm in Lima. I'm sorry I didn't call. I sort of forgot. No I haven't heard from her, have you? Okay...well I'll be home in like an hour. Yes for real...don't be like that. I'm fine. I'm sorry" Santana over heard Brittany say on the phone. She was finding it hard to focus on what Quinn was saying while Brittany was standing off to the side swaying her hips back and forth as she spoke.

"That's possible. I invited her to practice, but maybe we should hold off until we get to the bottom of this—hello Santana. Stop thinking about Puck and pay attention to me!" Quinn scolded. Santana looked back to Quinn and agreed. The two continued to talk about their day until Brittany was finished on the phone. The tall blonde looked stressed as she ran her fingers through her straw blonde hair.

"Do you mind if we go. My brother is being mean, so it's better if I get back home as soon as possible." She said quietly. Her smile had all but vanished. It was as though she had been reminded of something she didn't wish to speak about. Santana felt conflicted. One the one hand she was mad that Brittany had ditched her for Quinn and on the other hand she wanted to kick Jason's ass for upsetting her so much. Instead she said bye to Quinn and climbed into the car.

It had been a strange and stressful day for everyone, but looking back on it she couldn't believe she had just spent it with the angel of her day dreams. Each new flaw Santana had uncovered made her seem all the more perfect and all the more envious of what her brother had. Though she hated herself for it, she wanted Roman's girl and something inside her demanded something be done about it. The question was, did she stand a chance. She prayed the answer was yes.

*A/N- After the insanity of this morning let me start off by saying there is no Bram in this fic what so ever. Feel free to take a deep breath. Second I'd like to say thank you so much to the wonderful reviewer who shared such a personal story with me. Thank you for what you said and if you ever want to talk my ask box is always open. Lastly many people were asking about seeing Brittany's POV and for this fic there wont be any. I'm personally enjoying the reality of Santana's life and in reality you never know if the person you like really likes you back unless they say something. I want the reader to struggle with the idea of not knowing just like Santana has to. I think it helps to connect to the main character more.

I also want to point out that Brittany and Roman's relationship is real. Her feelings for him are real and we will be seeing more of it in physical and verbal ways, so be warned now that will be something that comes up which Santana will have to struggle with. The song does say

I'll play along with this charade
That doesn't seem to be a reason to change
You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute
I wanna tell her that I love but the point is probably moot
'Cause she's watching him with those eyes
And she's lovin' him with that body, I just know it!
And he's holding her in his arms late, late at night

So please don't be upset if and when that is played out. Sorry for the extra long note, but I thought I should be clear now after what happened with UTVE.

Thank you all for your wonderful messages so far and I hope you continue to read this fic. If you could please review that would be so helpful!