Sorry for the wait, guys. We're almost to the good part; just hang in there. I apologize for any mistakes, and I hope you enjoy.
7:30 AM
Santana watched curiously as Brittany removed her shirt and pajama pants, leaving her only clad in white lace underwear. The Latina took in a deep breath at the sight of her beautifully bare best friend and turned her eyes away, fighting the urge to run across the room and kiss Brittany into oblivion.
Once Brittany had put her cheerleading uniform on, she picked up a hair tie from her dresser top and turned around to face Santana.
"Can you?" she asked, as she held out the elastic band. Santana simply nodded and smiled, having turned her head back to face Brittany at the sound of her voice.
Santana moved towards the blonde and pushed the girl into the seat right in front of the mirror. She reached for the hair tie, feeling her skin brush against Brittany's and shivering slightly at the touch.
She then proceeded to run her fingers through the soft blond curls and rub the girl's head gently. Brittany immediately relaxed into the touch and sighed loudly.
In the back of Brittany's mind, she was reminded of something that she had wanted to bring up but hadn't been able to, due to the uneasy and sickening feelings that had overcome her. She looked up through her eyelashes and focused her attention on the brown orbs that were busy concentrating on the task at hand. Brittany smiled as she took in the beautiful and breath-taking girl behind her. She couldn't help but squirm as a warm, buttery feeling rushed through her, covering up the less-obvious pain.
"Santana?" she asked, keeping her voice as perfectly sweet as she could.
"Hmm?" Santana responded, not moving her eyes from the blonde's hair as she continued to work on the curly mess.
"I wanted to ask you something…" she started. Brittany wanted to gauge the Latina's attention and mood. She thought that Santana looked relaxed and happy enough to lessen the disappointment that Brittany knew would surely accompany the topic she was about to delve into.
Santana lifted her eyes to the blonde's in the mirror, hesitantly. The Latina could recognize the tone in Brittany's voice; it was one that always meant she was about to bring up their private relationship.
"I wanted to ask you about…last night," she finally said, smiling at the memory.
Santana's cheeks flushed red, and she stopped moving her hands so she could stare at Brittany's face. After a few seconds had passed, Santana cleared her throat and began working on the blonde's hair again.
"What about last night?" Santana questioned nonchalantly, although she was pretty sure she knew what Brittany was going to respond and was actually kind of nervous.
"Santana?" Brittany half whined. She could see the Latina avoiding the seriousness of the conversation she was trying to start.
"It was fun," Santana looked at her with sincere and caring eyes, which contrasted her words. "We always have fun," she finished, smiling and raising her eyebrows.
Brittany hated when Santana whisked everything away like it was no big deal that they had sex almost every day. She hated when Santana pretended like their relationship wasn't as serious as Brittany knew it was. She hated that, while Santana lied about her feelings for Brittany, the blonde was constantly sharing affectionate words and asking for more.
"It's more than just fun," Brittany said, a little angry. She watched as Santana's eyes grew wider and then closed as she was contemplating the blonde's true statement.
Brittany took a deep breath before she said the words that she knew would cause Santana to close off from her. But, she wanted to be honest, and she was ready for the consequences.
"San…" she waited again as the Latina opened her eyes to look wonderingly at Brittany. "I love you," she finished, wincing at the change in Santana's expression.
Before Santana could respond with some shitty excuse or horrible reason for why they couldn't be "like that," Brittany continued.
"And don't lie to me like you did last night; I'm not stupid, Santana," she explained, bitterly. That was the one thing that pissed Brittany off most about Santana. She hated that the Latina thought the blonde was gullible enough to be tricked into believing just about anything. Brittany knew that she wasn't the brightest individual, but she certainly wasn't dumb.
Brittany looked up at the brown eyes that were piercing her through the reflection. She didn't like having this conversation through a mirror, so she turned around now that her hair was tied into a tight ponytail on the top of her head. When she was facing the brunette, she could see Santana frozen with fear. Brittany had known that those words would have an adverse affect, so she was patiently waiting for the brunette to come around.
When Santana finally spoke, she was tripping over her words and stuttering like a lunatic.
"I…t…think we…ssshould get t…to school now," she managed, a bit incoherent.
Santana turned around quickly, facing away from the blonde so she could breathe and collect her thoughts.
This had always been her biggest fear: that Brittany would admit her feelings, which Santana already knew existed but tried to ignore, and things would change between them. As much as Santana cared about Brittany, she wouldn't let this happen. She knew the consequences of a relationship like that coming out in Lima. She would be disowned and thrown off the top of the hierarchy spot that she had worked so hard to attain. As much as she could feel the pain of the lie in her head, she still told herself that Brittany wasn't worth it.
She hadn't realized that the blonde had gotten up from the stool to stand behind her, until she felt the warm hand scorching through her uniform top.
"You don't get to do that," Brittany stated, angrily. Santana didn't have to see Brittany's face to know that her best friend was mad. She could hear the resentment in her words.
"Do what?" Santana asked, knowingly. Her voice was shaking.
"Pretend like you didn't hear what I said."
Santana turned back around to face the blonde and immediately was surprised to see the concern and sincerity in her eyes.
"I just told you that I love you, Santana, and you don't get to ignore me this time," she stated, firmly. Brittany was sick and tired of Santana's unwillingness to deal with the truth.
"I…" Santana began, but she didn't know what to say.
Brittany leaned forward to place a light kiss to the Latina's lips. It was soft and quick, but Santana could feel her whole body buzzing. Brittany pulled back just as quickly as she had leaned forward, and was smiling at Santana, hopingly.
"I know you have feelings for me, Santana. Just say it." Brittany's eyes grew wide, and Santana could feel the intensity pooling within the crystal blue orbs. She could feel herself getting lost in the trance.
But, Santana wasn't week; at least, that's what she told herself. And agreeing with Brittany was just about the weakest thing that Santana thought she could do. She had built up a wall for a reason and she wasn't about to smash it down so easily, just so she could give Brittany the satisfaction of being right. She would hate herself for giving in. She would hate herself for admitting that Brittany was right. She would fight against it for as long as she could.
The Latina was shaking her head back and forth, while her eyes were still focused on the blue ones in front of her. She felt Brittany move forward again, this time, standing so close that they could feel the other pressed up against them. The Latina closed her eyes.
"It's not hard to say, Santana," Brittany began, grinning. She was going to do whatever it took to get Santana to agree, even if that meant teasing.
She moved her face forward, so that her mouth was pressed against the brunette's cheek. She planted another soft kiss there and began moving her lips up Santana's jaw, leaving hot kisses across the skin, until she was at her ear. Brittany hesitated.
"I love you," the blonde whispered, and smiled, before moving her lips back down her face. She kept planting delicate kisses until her lips were at the corner of the Latina's mouth. She didn't move from the spot and just waited for the brunette's reaction.
Santana was frozen in place, breathing heavily at the blonde's ministrations. Her face felt hot and she could barely see out of her blurry eyes. It felt like torture.
Before she could stop herself, the Latina was moving her head, so that the blonde's lips were right on top of hers. Before she could stop herself, she was moving her tongue over Brittany's bottom lip and tasting the sweetest skin. Santana could feel her knees going week.
Brittany wasn't giving in, though. Santana always ended up getting what she wanted, and the blonde wasn't willing to throw in her towel this time. So, she took a step back and watched as Santana's eyes popped open immediately, and she shot Brittany a questioning and upset look.
"No," was all Brittany said, and Santana shivered at the harshness.
Brittany stared at the brunette and studied her with expert eyes. She could see that Santana wasn't going to say what she was desperately begging for. She could feel her expression fall into a hurt scowl.
Though Brittany wasn't giving up, she decided to stop pressing the Latina for the time being. She sighed deeply and looked to Santana's feet. She would try later.
"Let's go," Brittany said, defeated, as she turned away from the stunned Latina to walk out of her bedroom.
As soon as Brittany was away from the close proximately of Santana, she felt that same anxiety boil over again. She groaned out loud and silently hoped that Santana had been right when she had promised that everything was going to be okay.
Their drive to school was extremely silent. Santana hadn't even bothered to turn on the radio. Neither of the girls spoke a single word to the other, in fear that they would say something that they would regret.
Brittany rested her head against the window, and watched the landscapes and houses rush past them. Every few seconds, she would release a heavy sigh and begin playing with her hands.
Santana focused on the road, turning her eyes over to look at her best friend every minute or so.
When they finally reached the school, there was a long line of cars at the entrance, as always. They could recognize a few of their friends through their car windows, and they smiled at them as they passed.
Santana pulled into the student parking lot, and continued until she found her parking space under a tall tree at the top of the hill.
She put the car into park and turned off the ignition. She sat still for a few minutes, waiting to see if Brittany was going to say something. When the blonde hadn't even turned back to face the Latina, Santana finally spoke, breaking the uneasy silence.
"I'm sorry." Santana knew she didn't have to clarify what she was apologizing for. She knew Brittany understood.
The blonde finally turned to face Santana and smiled. "You'll see," was all she said. She reached for the door handle and pulled it, opening the car door. She got out and stretched, hoping to alleviate some of her inner anguish, and Santana stayed still, watching intensly.
On the other end of the parking lot, hidden in between the side of the school and a large dumpster, four teenage boys were talking heatedly.
The oldest was very tall and skinny and was wearing a pair of brown cargo pants and a tight black vest, just like the others. He had sharp red hair, glasses, and a very scared face from horrible acne. He was assembling a batch of weapons as the three others argued.
The second one was much shorter and darker. He was rather quiet, only cutting in to say a few words every few minutes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he finally asked, and the other boys turned towards him quickly and silently.
The third, chubbier boy was the one who responded, sensing the fury in driver's expression.
"Shut up, Caleb. Of course we want to do this," he answered, carefully replacing 'he' with 'we'.
"I wasn't asking you, Jamie, you idiot," Caleb grunted angrily and turned to face the driver.
"David?" he asked, softly.
David took the moment to look over his henchmen who were watching him, waiting for his response. He could see Jamie's eagerness, which he was sure reflected his stature as well. But, he could spot the uncertainty plastered across Caleb's face and he felt the malice consume him. He turned to face the third, red-headed boy, and smiled.
"Is everything ready, Joe?" he asked.
The red-haired boy simply nodded and adjusted the large glasses on his face.
David turned back to face his one nervous friend and grabbed the boy's shoulder, squeezing tightly.
"Are you in, or not?" he practically yelled.
Caleb nodded his head immediately, knowing it was the only way to get David to release the tight grip on his arm. "Okay, okay," he agreed, his voice shaking.
David let go of Caleb's arm and turned to face the red-headed boy again. "Time?" he asked.
Joe looked down to his watch and grinned. "It's 7:44," he answered.
David took a deep breath in and relaxed slightly. "Okay," he said, meeting his eyes with his partners again. "We wait," he finished, his body shivering with anticipation.