Glee and all related characters and places are owned by Fox - I just make them dance for my own amusement.
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~xxx~
It went on for another whole week. Brittany arrived in the mornings to pick Santana up, before dropping her off a short distance from school - the only difference now was that they actually talked. It was hardly enthusiastic conversation, but now Santana felt slightly more comfortable in the blonde's presence, she was surprised to find that Brittany was more than willing to respond when prompted. Their topics were far from exciting – mainly school related – but Santana was still thrilled to even be talking to Brittany Pierce at all. She wanted to find out more about Brittany's 'secret' time in the gym, or even more about her past; but something told her those topics were strictly off the table - at least for now.
The first morning after Santana's 'discovery' of Brittany's private work-outs, the blonde had stopped her just as she was getting out of the car. The taller girl considered for a moment, before finally speaking.
"You want a ride home after school too?" she asked, to which Santana nervously nodded. "Same place as before, then."
And with that, she let go of Santana's arm and drove off, leaving a very confused brunette behind her. Had Brittany Pierce just invited her to watch her train? Almost like they were…hanging out? Santana had spent much of the day in a daze, constantly glancing at the time. It was unusual for her to wish the school day away, but given the circumstances, she hardly felt guilty – almost every other student would kill to be in her position right now.
~xxx~
At the end of her final class, Santana was one of the first to leave the room, earning a few raised eyebrows. They probably assumed she was making some attempt at avoiding being slushied, but no one bothered to ask. As it was Tuesday, she would normally be heading in the other direction – but today, Comic Club was the last thing on her mind. It had taken more than an hour for her to even realise Brittany's invitation clashed with her usual routine, but of course when forced to decide, she would favour Brittany.
Who wouldn't?
She even passed Sam on her way to the front of the school. He smiled warmly at her as she approached.
"Hey," he greeted, slowing down and pulling his bag further up his shoulder. "Are you-"
"Not today, Sam," she almost snapped in response, not even stopping as she passed. Instantly she scolded herself for being so rude; she didn't dare turn her head to see her friend's reaction. She hadn't meant to be so blunt, but the last thing she wanted right now was to be forced into explaining where she was going. Making a mental note to apologise with some excuse later on, Santana continued on her way.
She headed straight for the gym, this time actually passing other students on her way. Several members of the football team gave her looks of confusion as she passed, looking suspiciously like lumbering trolls as they went. They looked far too confused to make even the simplest of snide comments, though that 'duty' usually fell to Quinn Fabray anyway. Without their bitchy cheerleader girlfriends, they actually looked decidedly less threatening – though perhaps that was simply because Santana was well aware of who she was meeting there. Though as she continued on her way the gym, a thought struck her – just what would Brittany do if she saw Santana being hassled at school? The Latina's own friends had often witnessed it, or - more often than not - been fellow victims; though they could hardly be blamed, given their own lack of physical ability. But Brittany, on the other hand, was an entirely different ballgame. One look from the blonde would be enough to send most people on their way, and those that were stupid enough to remain would end up like Karofsky.
But of course, that was unlikely to happen. Santana was pretty sure that even if Brittany was nearby when she was slushied, or pushed into lockers, or tripped up, or having her books dumped in the trash, or just about any of the other horrible things she was subjected to, that the blonde girl would just watch. Santana knew that it should make her angry; Brittany's insistence that no one know they were acquainted, but she found herself entirely unable to, try as she might. Santana pictured herself as a popular student – perhaps in Quinn Fabray's place as captain of the Cheerios. In the shoes of someone at the top of the social ladder, would she willingly be seen with someone at the bottom of it?
Her internal question went unanswered, as she had finally reached her destination. This time, she didn't hesitate, and slowly pushed the door to the gymnasium open. As she breathed in the musty smell of the old building once more, Santana realised she was entirely alone. It was almost eerily quiet, save for the very distant rumble of chatter from the school's main building. Much like large superstores or city centers, school was one of those places that had a strangely spooky quality when it was deserted. Santana almost felt as though she wasn't meant to be there, and stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the gym for a few minutes, simply casting her eyes around the old room. Near the wall furthest from the door was an ancient-looking boxing ring; probably just as old as the building that contained it. She wondered whether Brittany actually had any interest in the sport itself, or simply worked out to keep in shape. She couldn't really picture Brittany competing in any sort of organised sport, though perhaps that was simply her own perception of the blonde girl.
As if on cue, the doors swung open, and Brittany strode into the room. She was slurping on a slushie, and upon seeing Santana, she actually smiled. Supressing the butterflies that had suddenly decided to occupy her stomach, the Latina returned it, briefly noting that she had never actually seen someone drinking one of the icy drinks. Somehow Brittany seemed to have caught the direction of her eyes, and just smiled even wider.
"Don't worry, only place this is going is in my mouth," she said with a chuckle. "Dunno why everyone wastes them – these things are fucking expensive."
"I've never actually had one," Santana replied, stepping a little closer. She was well aware that her own smile had become someone stuck, but with the way the light was playing across the blonde's face and highlighting her eyes, she couldn't help it if she wanted to.
"Shit, really?" Brittany asked, eyebrows raised. She took one final slurp through the straw, before smacking her lips and holding the cup out for Santana. "Knock yourself out."
Santana took it with an embarrassingly shaky hand. "Thanks," she murmured, before finally tasting the drink. After a few slurps, she was definitely in agreement with Brittany – why would anyone waste these? The blonde herself was now busying herself setting up; she had dropped her bag to the floor and was already making her way towards the store room. Santana watched as she produced a key from her jacket pocket, unlocking the door and disappearing from view. Only then did Santana realise what was missing – Coach Bieste was nowhere to be seen. Did she only help Brittany on certain days?
She had little time to ponder this, however, as Brittany sauntered back into view, carrying a punching bag over her shoulder as though it weighed nothing at all. She passed Santana, who was fighting as hard as she could not to stare too much.
Naturally, she was failing.
As Brittany fixed the bag's chain to a low-hanging frame, Santana took a final look around the room, before finally asking the question that had been nagging her.
"So is it just us?" she question, hoping she didn't sound too hopeful.
"Hm?" Brittany's voice was muffled by her arm, still raised above her as she secured the bag. "Oh, yeah. Why?"
"Just wondering," Santana replied, going back to her drink.
"You trying to get me alone, Lespez?" the blonde chuckled, stepping away from the bag and giving it a gentle push to make sure it was hanging properly.
Santana almost choked on her slushie.
"What?" she spluttered, eyes wide. "No! No, nothing like that."
"Relax, Specs," the blonde replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Jesus, I thought you'd be used to a little teasing."
"Sorry," Santana replied, scratching the back of her neck nervously, but Brittany just shook her head. The taller girl stepped closer, narrowing her eyes at the Latina.
"Stop." She prodded the brunette's chest. "Fucking." And again. "Apologising." One more time.
Satisfied, Brittany moved away again and shrugged off her jacket, tossing it onto the floor beside her bag. Santana's eyes instantly shot to Brittany's arms, once again admiring the blonde's muscular build. Suddenly she wished she hadn't finished the slushy so quickly; her mouth seemed to have changed it's mind about not being dry as a desert.
"No wonder everyone walks all over you," the blonde said, not batting an eyelid as she pulled her tank top over her head, clearly intending to replace it with the ripped one Santana had previously seen her work out in. "You need to start sticking up for yourself more."
"That's easy for you to say," the Latina replied. "You're the most popular girl in school."
"And why do you think that is?"
'Don't say because she's the hottest girl on the planet,' Santana mentally scolded herself. It was a very difficult point to make, given that Brittany was standing there with only a bra covering her chest. Desperate to keep her composure, Santana glanced to the side.
"It's because I know who I am," Brittany continued, pulling on the ripped top. "It's because I don't give a fuck what people think about me, and I don't take shit from anyone either."
"It's still not the same," Santana said, a little more harshly than she had intended. The last thing she wanted to do was start an argument with Brittany Pierce of all people, but she wasn't going to let someone else tell her who she was. "You could beat the crap out of pretty much anyone that comes your way – people are scared of you."
"Honey, I could just as easily get what I want if I didn't have these," the blonde replied, holding her arms out to her sides. After a few moments, she let them drop. "I'm not saying you need to start terrorising freshman or shit like that, but you could still use a confidence boost."
"And you're going to help me do that, are you"? Santana almost scoffed, but Brittany remained nonplussed.
"Maybe," she said with a shrug.
And then without warning, she dropped her pants.
Santana caught a glimpse of long toned legs before her moral compass kicked in and she averted her eyes. She couldn't believe that Brittany Pierce was just getting changed in front of her like this; the entire male population of the school would kill to see what she had seen, and yet she couldn't help but feel guilty just standing there and watching. Sure, girls changing in front of each other was no big deal – but this was Brittany Pierce. And she was fully aware that the girl she was changing in front of was one-hundred percent gay. And as if that wasn't bad enough, adding to her predicament was the way Brittany continued to talk as though nothing was amiss.
"I mean, you can't tell me you wanna spend your whole senior year getting slushied by Fabray and whichever guy she's fucking that week, right?" she went on. "Hell, while we're on the subject – why the hell have I never seen you with a girl? How do you know you're even a lesbian?"
"Trust me, I know," Santana replied, before clapping a hand to her mouth and wishing she'd just kept quiet. Brittany turned to her, baggy sweatpants halfway up her legs and a huge grin on her face.
"Well well well…" she said, eyes twinkling. "Don't tell me Lopez has a sex drive after all?" She finished pulling her pants up, before kicking her jeans over to her bag and jacket. "You got your eye on anyone? Or are we just talking video game characters here?"
"That's not…I…uh…" the Latina stammered, directing her gaze towards her feet. Brittany just laughed.
"Christ, you ever actually going to look at me?" the blonde asked with a chuckle. "Seriously, it's kinda depressing when McKinley's resident lesbo thinks I'm too hideous to even look at." Slowly, Santana looked back up towards her. "Now then, I'll take that as a yes on the being sweet on someone thing."
"I didn't say that!" Santana protested, but the other girl just smirked.
"Didn't deny it either," she said, turning away and heading over to her bag. "Anyway, if you wanna get comfortable or something…"
And for a whole hour, Santana watched from a nearby bench as Brittany pummelled the bag as hard as she could. Without Bieste to steady it, the stronger hits sent it swinging away from her. Santana was almost dreading Brittany asking her to hold the bag still for her, but thankfully she was saved from that potential embarrassment. In fact, Brittany remained silent throughout.
Well, sort of.
She let out plenty of shouts and grunts, but the two girls didn't share a single word until the blonde was finished. Santana wondered why Brittany was allowing her to see this; she clearly considered her time in the gym to be somewhat personal, and yet not only did she allow Santana to watch, but she had invited her there in the first place. And it was far from an unpleasant experience – watching the sweat run down the blonde's face, which itself was tensed in concentration, was enough to make Santana's brow – and other places, for that matter – somewhat moist.
It was all over too soon for Santana's liking, and before she knew it, they were crossing the parking lot towards Brittany's car. The ride to her house that evening was the best they had ever had – they hadn't just talked, they actually chatted. The whole way back they had carried on an animated discussion regarding Brittany's 'instructions' on how Santana could 'fight back' against all those that picked on her.
In other words, the entire student body.
The blonde seemed adamant that Santana should try to work on her confidence, but as Santana pointed out – it was difficult to be confident when you're expecting a slushie to the face every five minutes. Still, she couldn't believe that Brittany was – more or less – trying to help her, and couldn't ignore the warm feeling spreading throughout her as they continued to talk. Despite everything she thought she knew about the blonde, and everything other people would say if they could see them right now, Santana couldn't help but feel more attached to Brittany than ever. She reminded herself that apart from her scary reputation, she really knew nothing about the other girl; Brittany was foul-mouthed, had something of an ego, was rumoured to have a very rich family, and that was about it.
And yet despite it all, Santana had fallen hard and fast for McKinley's resident badass. But that once again brought her back to uncomfortable truth – Brittany Pierce would never be hers. Even if she eventually acknowledged Santana as a friend in public, Santana was still certain Brittany was straight. She might be tougher than any of the guys at McKinley, but she had never shown any inclination towards girls. Santana had only rarely seen Brittany interacting with her own friends, but again – not even a blip on her gaydar.
She wondered whether getting closer to Brittany was such a good idea after all – her feelings for her were only growing deeper, and it was going to become harder and harder to be near her. And to top it off – it was all still completely secret from everyone, including the Latina's closest friends. She worried about what they would say when they found out; even if they were okay with it – doubtful – they would be hurt that she hadn't told them straight away. But what could she say? Just how are you supposed to break the news to your circle of nerdy friends that you're secretly sort-of-friends with the most popular girl in school?
The answer? You don't.
~xxx~
It was on Thursday that something shocked Santana so much, she almost walked straight into her own locker. The brunette had been heading to lunch, readying herself to dodge more questions about why she had missed Comic Club on Tuesday, when she had seen a very familiar blonde heading her way. She prepared to turn away – the customary response expected from someone as lowly as her when Brittany Pierce drew near. But just as she was about to, Brittany shot her a lopsided grin.
And winked.
Santana walked to lunch in something of a daze, clutching her books so tightly to her chest that she was in danger of leaving marks in her skin. Her friends regarded her with confusion as she sat down, her eyes somewhat unfocussed behind her glasses. Artie looked up from his phone, frowning at her as he put it away.
"What's up with you?" he asked. Santana blinked a few times, before finally focussing on her friends.
"Hm? Oh, nothing," she said quickly, shaking her head. "Just a bit tired."
"You gonna tell us what's been going on with you lately?" Artie continued, returning to his lunch. "You're still acting weird."
"No I'm not," the Latina replied, starting on her own food.
"Er…yeah you are?" Sam cut in. He was sat beside Santana, while Artie and Nicole were opposite them. "At the weekend you said it was because of the slushies, right?"
"I guess," Santana replied with a shrug. "Honestly, I'm fine."
"Come on, San," Nicole joined in. "If you can't tell us, who can you tell? We all get crap from people – we're not going to judge you."
"Guys, just drop it," the brunette protested. "Please."
"So why weren't you at Comic Club on Tuesday?" Sam asked, shaking his head. "You shot off like a rocket and then yesterday when I asked why, you just changed the subject."
"I was at the dentist," Santana replied quickly. "Look, I'm absolutely fine. Just had a lot of stuff on lately. You know that Rachel Berry keeps bugging me about designing stuff for the Glee Club."
"She's got a point," Artie said. "That girl is crazy."
"Well why didn't you just say so?" Sam asked with a frown. "We could have helped."
"Sam, you can barely draw a stick-man in Photoshop," Nicole scoffed. "Santana's the art whiz."
Artie looked as though he was about to add something, when his voice died in his throat. His eyes were fixed on a point somewhere behind Santana, filled with a mix of surprise and fear – it didn't take someone of Santana's intelligence to know who was standing behind her.
"What kind of convention are we having today, nerds? I smell grease and cheese puffs."
"Uhh…hi, Brittany…um…" Artie stammered. Santana was frozen in her seat; she didn't dare turn around. What on Earth was Brittany doing at their table?
"Not here for you, Wheels," Brittany replied, sounding almost bored. And then, with a loud thump, a biology textbook landed beside Santana's lunch. "Next time, take your shit with you, Lopez."
And with that, she was gone. The others looked at Santana in shock.
"Are you okay?" Nicole asked, leaning forward over her own food. Santana slowly turned to her and managed a nod.
They ate the rest of their lunch in silence, none daring to speak about what had happened. They were all aware of people from other tables staring at them, probably wondering what they had done to anger Brittany, but only three of them were genuinely frightened; Santana was just curious. Her own biology text book was safely in her bag, so just where had this one come from? Making a mental note to examine it as soon as she was alone, she got to her feet along with her friends, and was just about to leave when something occurred to her.
"Oh, we still on for the movie tonight?" she asked. The other three looked at her in silence; had Brittany really scared them that much? "…what?"
"I…ah…my folks said I couldn't go," Sam answered, looking rather embarrassed.
"And you know I'm not interested," Nicole added.
"And these two are the only ones with cars, so…" Artie trailed off.
"…oh."
Santana felt as though a weight had been dropped into her stomach. While her time with Brittany had been a distraction, she had still been incredibly excited about the midnight screening she had planned to attend with her friends. They had discussed it months ago, and it had just been an unspoken agreement that it was happening. She supposed it was her own fault: had her mind been on them - and not on a certain blonde – she imagined she would have remembered to check with them sooner.
Rather put-out by the movie fiasco, it wasn't until halfway through her next class that Santana remembered the textbook Brittany had 'delivered' during lunch. She pulled it out and gave it a good look over – nothing out of the ordinary. Only when she opened it to the first page did she realise Brittany's intention – there was a note folded inside it.
'Don't worry about Fabray until next week. You'd be amazed how easy it is to get blue hair dye into the cheerleader's shower system.
-Britt'
Santana spent the rest of the day trying and failing to supress her laughter at the mental images.
~xxx~
As she had done all week, Santana sat watching Brittany working out. Casting her eyes over the blonde's awe-inspiring body was a welcome distraction from the disappointment she was still feeling from her friends' group cancelation, at least. But as they headed off to Brittany's car, an idea occurred to Santana. It was a crazy idea – but try as she might, she couldn't get rid of it. She watched the blonde for a while, wondering exactly how she would react. When she finally spoke, they had been sat in silence for ten minutes. Despite their more talkative journeys over the past week, the blonde always waited for the other girl to start the conversations; if Santana didn't speak first, Brittany wouldn't speak at all.
"Hey, Brittany?" she asked quietly.
"Mm?" She didn't seem that bothered, and instantly Santana wished she had remained quiet. By now she was used to the other girl's aloof nature; hell, as much as it pained her to admit it - she was attracted to it. And yet it still somehow managed to fill her with dread that the taller girl was angry at her over something.
It wasn't until Brittany took her eyes off the road to give her a curious look that Santana realised she had completely drifted off.
"Oh…er…I was wondering if…" she trailed off, pausing briefly and biting her lip. This had gone a lot better in her head. "Well, I know we've only really been…uh…interacting…for a couple of weeks, but… we are friends, right?"
Brittany didn't react. Santana's eyes darted over her, searching for any sign of acknowledgement, good or bad. But her hands remained loosely gripped around the wheel; her eyes were still fixed ahead; her mouth hadn't moved in any way. It was as though she had been frozen – save for the fact she was still driving a car.
"Sorry," Santana mumbled, eyes downcast. "I didn't-"
"Guess we are," Brittany said casually, not even batting an eyelid.
"Oh." Santana tried her hardest to not sound too excited. "Okay, good."
"Any reason you're asking?"
"Well, tonight, uh…" She took a deep breath, and finally looked back at Brittany properly. "There's a midnight screening of The Avengers. Because it comes out tomorrow, but at midnight it's technically tomorrow, so they can start showing it right then, and it's always a special kinda thing, so…"
She trailed off again, once more watching the blonde's reaction. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"What about your nerd squad?" she asked. "Thought you'd be going with them."
"Oh, well they're all busy actually," Santana replied quickly. "Sam's parents won't let him out on a school night, Nicole's not interested in superhero movies – neither of them coming means Artie can't get there easily either, so…"
"So….what?" Brittany asked. "I'm your last choice?"
"No!" Santana blurted out, shaking her head vigorously. "No, nothing like that. Honestly, I…I wanted to invite you anyway, but they others…uh…"
"Don't know we're…friends, yeah," the blonde finished with a nod. She tapped her fingers against the wheel for a moment. "Can't you just see it with them at the weekend or something?"
"I could, but…" Santana bit her lip again. "Honestly I kinda really want to see the first showing." Brittany raised an eyebrow. "It's a bit of a tradition. We always see these movies at the midnight screenings. It's just this is the first time none of them have been able to make it."
"And just when have I shown even the slightest interest in your sorta movies?" Brittany asked, quirking that eyebrow again.
"I…" Santana began, but quickly sighed in defeat. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked away. She knew it had been a long shot, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed. "You know what, forget it. It was a stupid idea. I…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even-"
"I'll pick you up at eleven-thirty."
~xxx~
To say Santana was excited would be the understatement of the century.
She paced her room for at least an hour, unable to believe this was really happening. She was going to the movies with Brittany Pierce. Just the two of them. To see Santana's most anticipated film of the year. Could today really get any more perfect?
A great deal of her time was spent agonising over exactly what to wear. Originally, she had simply planned on wearing her Black Widow shirt and a pair of jeans – but now, everything was different. She had to keep telling herself it wasn't a date, and yet despite that, she couldn't help but want to make a good impression. She imagined Brittany would wear her usual attire, but she still wanted to look nice for her.
She had debated telling her parents about the others not being able to take her, but changed her mind during dinner – they didn't know she knew Brittany, but she was pretty sure they – or at least her mother – had heard of the blonde; even among parents, Brittany Pierce had a reputation. Some were impressed that she was able to defend herself, others were appalled that she hadn't been expelled for her actions. Santana had been pondering a way to bring Brittany up in conversation, if only to find out which side of the argument her parents took, but had yet to find a way to do so without sounding suspicious.
Thankfully, her parents were asleep by the time Santana heard a familiar engine rumbling outside the house. She gave herself one final look in the mirror – a beige turtleneck paired with neat black pants. It was hardly exciting, it was the best she could do with her limited wardrobe. In her own eyes at least, she looked rather smart. Satisfied, she headed downstairs – careful to not make too much noise on the stairs – and headed to the front door. She wondered briefly why Brittany didn't ring the doorbell, but realised the very fact she knew Brittany was there answered her question – the rather unique sound of her car was enough.
Double checking she had locked the door behind her, Santana headed down the path and let herself into the blonde's car. Sure enough, Brittany was wearing her usual outfit – jeans, tank top, leather jacket. She flashed Santana a brief smile, taking in the brunette's outfit.
"What's with the turtleneck, Specs?" she asked with a chuckle. "Did one of the grease faces finally get to first base with you?"
"…I…what?" Santana asked, completely confused. Brittany just laughed.
"You realise most people wear those to hide hickeys, right?" the blonde asked, still sniggering.
Suddenly, Santana wished she had gone with the Black Widow shirt.
"Nah, I'm just messing," Brittany continued, shaking her head and pulling the car away from Santana's house. "You look cute."
"Thanks," the Latina replied, instantly perking up.
"You want some music?" Brittany asked, nodding at the stereo. During their rides to and from school, Santana had never once witnessed it in use – she had even wondered whether it was broken. But upon closer inspection, she noticed that not only was it working – but Brittany had clearly swapped the original radio out for a modern CD player.
"Uh, sure," she replied with a nod. Brittany simply reached over and pressed play, and seconds later a rather familiar guitar intro filled the car.
"…is that…AC/DC?" Santana asked. Brittany shot her an incredibly wide grin.
"I thought it'd be appropriate," she said casually. Santana was instantly impressed. She wanted to ask just how Brittany knew about the Iron Man connection, but decided against it – once she started, she probably wouldn't be able to stop. "That okay for you?"
"It's perfect."
There was silence for a few minutes, before Brittany spoke.
"So, is this thing gonna be full of nerds?" she asked, glancing over to Santana.
"Probably," the Latina replied. She didn't want Brittany to feel uncomfortable, but there was no denying it.
"Awesome."
Well that was unexpected.
"Excuse me?" Santana asked, frowning at the other girl. Brittany just chuckled again.
"Well, what do you think they're all gonna say when they see us there?" she asked, as if the answer was obvious.
"I dunno…'how much did they pay that hot girl to come?'" the Latina suggested. She instantly scolded herself for her choice of words, but Brittany didn't seem to notice or care.
"No. They're all gonna say 'wow, look how awesome Santana Lopez is, she's friends with that hot piece of ass,'" Brittany said, shooting her another grin.
"So this is all part of your plan to 'boost my confidence'?" Santana asked, biting her lip to prevent her own smile from growing too much. Was Brittany serious?
"There is no plan," the taller girl said simply. "But there isn't gonna be anyone we know there, right?"
"There might few a few guys from school, but no one I know," Santana replied.
"Right, so even if there are, they'll be too scared to tell anyone," Brittany said with a nod. "Meaning you and I are gonna own that place."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh come on, Specs," the blonde said incredulously. "Two hot girls seeing the first showing of that movie? One of them's so smart she probably already knows everything about it? Those spotty fuckers probably don't even know what a real girl looks like."
"I..." Santana wanted to argue, but after a moment, nodded. "…you're not wrong."
"Trust me," Brittany said, her smile becoming somewhat more genuine. "Tonight's gonna be awesome."
~xxx~
After they had their tickets, the two girls still had about fifteen minutes to kill before they were allowed in. Rather than hang around in the crowded lobby, which – as Brittany rather bluntly pointed out – was filled with a large number of unsavoury smelling men, they headed back out into the parking lot for some fresh air. Santana watched with a small smile as Brittany took a deep breath, swinging her arms back and forth as she craned her neck upwards.
"Stargazing?" the Latina asked, following the other girl. Brittany looked down and chuckled.
"Something like that," she replied, tilting her head back again. "Always used to when I was younger…" She sighed. "…back when things were different…"
"Different?" Santana didn't want to ask to many questions, but her curiosity was piqued just too much now.
"Yeah…" Brittany looked down again, and looked at the other girl. The expression upon her face was unlike any Santana had previously seen her wear – she looked almost remorseful. Her bright blue eyes seemed almost grey, and Santana was pretty sure it wasn't just because of the dim light. "Look, Spe- …Santana. I…I wasn't always like this, you know. Sometimes I wish I wasn't."
"Do you want to talk about it?" the brunette offered, but Brittany just slowly shook her head.
"Another time, maybe," she said. She quickly forced a smile. "Come on, let's head back."
Once they were seated, Brittany seemed a lot more cheerful. She couldn't stop pointing out members of the audience, often making less than charitable comments regarding their appearance – and likelihood of living in their parents basements. Part of Santana hated herself for it, but she couldn't help but laugh. As Brittany had predicted, they were getting a lot of stares. Some of them seemed impressed, while others seemed to think they shouldn't even be there. One particularly obnoxious man – or boy, given his attitude, Santana thought – even had the guts to ask if they even knew what the movie was about. Brittany looked ready to kick off, but before she could react, a woman appeared next to the guy who was bothering them.
His mother.
Santana was pretty sure Brittany would be imitating the woman's cries of 'Nate, what did I tell you about picking on pretty girls?' for a long time to come.
As the lights dimmed after the last of the trailers, Santana leant over to whisper in Brittany's ear. She didn't mean to get so close, but she didn't want to forget to say this.
"Thank you," she said. "This really means a lot to me."
"The Tesseract has awakened…"
"Don't mention it," Brittany replied, her eyes doing that damn twinkling thing again. "Thank you for inviting me."
"It is on a little world… A human world…"
"Honestly, I never thought I'd be doing this with you," Santana admitted, glad the darkness was hiding her reddening cheeks.
"They would wield its power…"
"No regrets?"
"But our ally knows its workings as they never will…"
"No regrets."
~xxx~
The drive back to Santana's was silent. But this time, it was comfortable. Santana felt no need to say anything, and the casual smile playing at Brittany's lips told her the blonde was feeling the same. Tonight had left no doubt in her mind – Brittany Pierce was her friend. Somehow, maybe thanks to the bad weather, fate, or pure blind luck, she had crossed paths with the most amazing girl she had ever met. Sure, she had only spoken to her for the first time two weeks ago, and perhaps her other feelings were clouding her judgement, but for now at least, Santana was happy.
When they arrived at the house, Brittany actually got out of the car with her, walking alongside her to the door.
"Thanks again," Brittany said. "You know, for inviting me. It was pretty good."
"Yeah, it was…" Santana replied, smiling fondly at the other girl. There was a slight chill in the air, and yet she felt nothing but warmth. "Thanks again for actually coming with me."
Brittany just shrugged. "You're cool, Specs," she said. "Besides, I'd hate to think of you alone in there with all those overgrown children."
"Yeah…" the Latina trailed off. "Well, I…uh…" She glanced at her front door. Brittany nodded.
"See ya," she said, turning away from the house.
"Brittany, wait," the shorter girl hissed, lurching forward and grabbing the blonde's arm.
"What-"
Santana wasn't entirely sure what had made her kiss Brittany. Perhaps it had been inevitable, given how much time they had been spending together. Maybe it was down to her reading too much into the taller girl's protective words. Or maybe she was simply being a hormonal teenager who was alone with an attractive girl, upon whom she had a crush.
It only lasted a few seconds, and when Santana rocked back onto her feet, she instantly took a step back.
Brittany was staring daggers at her, her face contorted with what Santana knew could only be anger. Maybe even disgust.
"…oh my god…Brittany…I…I didn't…"
The blonde took a step towards her, her hands balled into tight fists. This was it, Santana thought – Brittany was going to kill her. The blonde had been nothing but kind; something no one else had ever seen from her, and now the Latina was going to become a human-sized smear on her parents' front door. The taller girl took another step, and Santana braced herself for the inevitable.
"Well," Brittany said, her lips curling into a smile. "It's about fucking time."
This time, there was tongue.