Of Coffee Shops and Comic Books
Ch. 4: Perfectly Distracted
Santana woke up to the familiar tune of John Williams' 1980s Superman Theme blaring from her phone the next day. She reluctantly opened her bleary eyes and moved her hand across the counter blindly to find the offending object.
"Why did I set it to 8AM?" she mumbled to herself after turning off the alarm. Santana submerged herself back into her warm bed and blanket, intending to sleep in a little more. It was Sunday, so she didn't really have anything to do. A nice lazy day was what she definitely needed. Her final for her Anatomy course, both lab and lecture classes, were on Wednesday and Thursday respectively. She had already planned out her study schedule, but she was pretty confident on passing with an A. Today she was allowing herself to just stay at home and relax.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes before realizing that she was still in her clothes from the previous night. A smile crept up on her face as she remembered her outing with Brittany. She sighed and made herself get up to change into something more comfortable.
"Good Morning, Santana!" Rachel greeted cheerfully while pouring herself a glass of milk at the dining table.
Santana padded into the kitchen stretching and replied back with a sleepy, "Morning". The black tank top she had opted to wear rode up her stomach slightly as she raised her arms over her head. Her grey shorts with a Superman symbol imprinted on the front left side and "Superman" labeled on the back were -thankfully- modest enough to just cover her backside.
"As much as I appreciate the female human body, as I have told you before, how is it that you decided to wear this... rather revealing outfit?" Rachel inquired, eyeing Santana's choice of clothing curiously.
"It's not like I'm going out to pole dance, Berry. I'm just going to stay here and chill for the day, I only wear this at home," Santana explained, pushing up her glasses with her index finger. She walked over to grab a bowl from the dishwasher rack and a spoon in a drawer near the cupboards.
"Did you have breakfast?" Santana questioned, motioning to the various types of cereal in the pantry.
"No, I'm leaving to meet with Mercedes. She invited me to a cafe to catch up and converse about how the LA life of trying to make it in the business is treating her," Rachel looked at the microwave clock. "Which I should actually get going to now," Santana noticed that she was already dressed to go out in a navy blue blouse and a patterned white and navy blue polka dotted skirt. She shrugged and took a box of cereal to the table.
"Alright, cool," Santana replied back, as she sat down and began pouring it into her bowl. Rachel finished her glass of milk and made her way to the kitchen sink.
"I forgot to mention last night, before you went to bed prematurely, that I'm staying with you and Quinn for the time being. If that's okay," She said while washing her cup.
"Of course it is. I kinda figured since I heard you singing through my door when I was changing earlier," Santana took the milk carton that Rachel had left on the table in her hand to pour it next in her cereal. The other girl shut off the water and walked to the front door.
"I'll be back soon," She called out before exiting. Santana nodded and waved her hand dismissively from her seat. "Also, I expect a full explanation of the events leading up to this Brittany girl you kept raving about last night," Rachel added with a perfect broadway smile on her face.
"Get out already, Berry. You don't want to be late to your meeting with Aretha," Santana narrowed her eyes and then shifted her attention on a comic book she left on the dining table before as she put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth. Rachel hummed with a flip of her hair, closed the door and left Santana alone in the kitchen to eat her breakfast.
About 10 minutes later there was a knock on the door.
"Quinn!" Santana yelled, knowing her roommate would hear her because her door was propped open. She had emerged from her room right after Rachel left but went back in after a few minutes.
"You're already in the kitchen, Santana! Get it yourself," Quinn shouted from her room. Santana rolled her eyes as she set down her comic and got up to answer the door.
"It's probably just Berry forgetting something here," She muttered. She was about to throw an offhanded insult but was caught by surprise when she turned the knob and pulled it.
"Holy heart failure, Batman," Santana's mouth went slightly agape as her eyes settled on the one person she did not expect to be at her doorstep. Blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and that dazzling smile she had just seen last night.
"Are you always going to greet me like that whenever we meet?" Those familiar blue eyes, glinting with amusement, locked with brown.
"Brittany!" Santana blinked a couple of times, noticing Brittany in a pair of purple yoga pants and a sleeveless, stretched out, over the shoulder, white shirt. Her neon yellow sports bra was visible on her exposed left shoulder. "W-what are you doing here?" She quickly shot her hands down to her shorts as she fumbled with the hem to try and make them stretch longer, "... at my apartment... so unexpectantly... at this hour..." Brittany giggled at Santana's fidgeting. Santana could have sworn that she saw Brittany's gaze linger at her legs while she was speaking.
"Quinn has something of mine, I believe. She told me to pick it up here," She looked back up at Santana and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... Come in, then" She moved aside to let Brittany have room to take a step inside. Santana was about to try and continue the conversation as she closed the door but was interrupted.
"Hey Britt!" The two turned towards the source of the new voice.
"Quinn," Santana stated dangerously as she pursed her lips. Quinn, however, paid no attention to this and walked up to them in her grey sweatpants and an old blue UCLA shirt.
"I have your ballet flats that you let me borrow for dance in my room," She told Brittany, still blatantly ignoring Santana's glare.
"May I use your bathroom first, actually?" Brittany asked with a tiny smile.
"Yeah, sure. It's down the hall and the first door on the right," Quinn directed as she pointed in the direction down the hall.
"Thanks," Brittany nodded. "Nice S by the way," She commented directly towards Santana before walking off. Santana's eyes went wide and she suppressed a squeak of shock from that statement.
"If you notice any weird, nerdy things in there, it's Santana's!" Quinn called out. Santana regained her composure and went back to glaring at Quinn who started to walk back to her room.
"Really? Again Quinn?!" Santana fumed as she followed her.
"What do you mean, 'again'?" She questioned airily once they were in her room. Quinn gave that tone of indifference as she made her way inside.
"Why didn't you tell me that Brittany was coming over to our apartment?!" Santana did that half-whispering, half-speaking tone again. Her arms flailed out to show her distress.
"I thought she would stop by later," Quinn stated simply, as she bent down and took hold of a pair of black flats that were neatly placed at the foot of her bed.
"You could have at least given me a heads up!" Santana crossed her arms, looking unamused at her. Quinn turned around and smirked.
"I was, but then you went to your room last night..." Quinn replied with a shrug, looking back at Santana with the same expression.
"Great Caesar's ghost," Santana exhaled as she shifted her left hand over her hip and her right hand sprawled on her face.
"Well, this definitely looks like a job for Superman," Quinn mimicked a 1950's male reporter's intonation.
"Shut the fuck up, Quinn," Santana bit back.
"You shouldn't have worn those shorts. You had that one coming." Quinn told her in a factual tone as she brushed past her to go back out. Brittany was already in the living room waiting for them. She was looking around, interested with the few pieces artwork on the walls. Santana couldn't stop the feeling of warmth as she took in the site of Brittany actually being at their place.
"Thanks Quinn," Brittany said happily when Quinn handed her the shoes.
"No, thank you. You saved me in that class," She told her with an appreciative smile.
"It's no big. I always have an extra pair with me," Brittany explained as she stuffed the flats in her bag. She looked back up at Santana and Quinn, her eyes settling more on Santana. Quinn cleared her throat after a few seconds.
"By the way, one of our old friends is visiting from New York and she's only here for a couple of weeks." Brittany focused her attention on Quinn, "We're gonna have a little party here on Friday night for her, think you can make it?" Santana snapped her head towards Quinn too, mentally adding another thing that her best friend had failed to inform her about.
"Friday night..." Brittany tapped her chin lightly as she paused for a second, briefly going over her schedule silently in her head, "Yeah, definitely!" she nodded with giddiness.
"Bring along your friends too. Because this is actually going to be a costume party!" Quinn added on excitedly with a smirk directed to Santana.
"Wait... A wha-?" Santana began, her face scrunched up in confusion and surprise. What a double whammy.
"Costume party?" Brittany's face illuminated with eagerness at this. She was beaming as she listened on to Quinn.
"Yep, a superhero or comic book related outfit would be preferred," Santana's jaw dropped at Quinn's words. She had always bugged her about throwing a costume party, but it was always just a joke. It clicked in her mind as to why Quinn was doing all of this.
"This just got about ten times more interesting," Brittany said, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she clapped her hands together.
"Suffering sappho..." Santana murmured off to the side, she pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. Quinn was setting this all up. She was setting her and Brittany up.. together... again. Four surprises in one. That was a new record.
"Also it's for Santana because she's done with her Anatomy class by the end of the week," Quinn continued on nodding her head towards Santana, who immediately dropped her hand and clamped her mouth shut. Make that five surprises.
"Oh really?" Brittany inquired with her attention back on her. Santana gave a timid smile.
"Yeah... My finals are Wednesday and Thursday," she explained, raising her hand to push her glasses up. She was trying to avert the awkwardness she felt with the spotlight now suddenly focused on her after Quinn's incessant talking.
"Good luck," Brittany's voice had a genuine tone to it. Her eyes were soft as they remained on Santana.
"Thanks... so you'll definitely be seeing me engulfed in my textbook and notes at Pinky's" Santana laughed lightly as she shyly scratched her cheek with a more relaxed grin on her face.
"I'll be sure to make you a special drink," Brittany said as she began to pick at her hands, her eyes still focused on Santana.
"I'd like that," Santana's grin widened as she told her this. Brittany glanced away and pulled her bottom lip in her mouth where a small smile was forming as well.
Quinn eyed them with a scoff but was thoroughly enjoying their silly, awkward, yet cute, antics.
"I... better get going," Brittany told them after a few moments. She shifted her bag over her shoulder and moved towards the door.
"Yeah..." Santana quietly agreed as she followed her. Quinn loomed behind shaking her head while still smirking at the two.
"We'll see you later, Britt!" She said cheerfully, she strode ahead and opened the door for Brittany.
She was then overtaken with a hug from her. Quinn chuckled as she hugged Brittany back with a light squeeze. Brittany released Quinn and gave Santana a second before her arms wrapped around her next. Santana practically melted in their embrace and took note of how nice it was to be in this position at the moment. She didn't mean to, but she ended up being pleasantly surprised at Brittany's scent. It was a vanilla smell with a tinge of coffee, probably from working at the coffee shop practically everyday. Santana sighed contentedly and regretfully pulled away from Brittany when she saw Quinn's inquisitive stare.
"Bye," Brittany parted with a wave and another of her warm smiles.
Quinn shut the door and turned around expectantly.
"It's like you two are perfectly distracted by each other," she informed with an amused expression.
"A comic-book costume party. Seriously, Quinn?" Santana deflected, running a hand down her face.
"Why not? It's not like you don't have anything to wear. You have that section of costumes in your closet," she retorted as she cruised past Santana and headed towards the couch.
"What about you?" It was Santana's turn to be presumptuous. She moved a couple steps towards the living room and stood there.
"I'm obviously going to borrow one of yours, duh." Quinn retaliated back clearly, she took a seat and took hold of the remote on one of the couch cushions next to her.
"Of course you are," Santana sighed and shook her head. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight on her left leg.
"You should be thanking me. Brittany's gonna show up in some skin tight latex costume for you," Quinn called out teasingly. Santana's jaw dropped again.
"Quinn!" Santana was shocked. She had nothing else to say and Quinn started laughing at her.
"Don't tell me that you won't enjoy that," She continued on, looking at Santana smugly.
Santana grumbled. Quinn could be such an asshole sometimes. An idea then popped in her head and she quickly went to her room. She came back out a few seconds later with five foam Bat-A-Rangs in her hand. Quinn looked up from the television and saw what Santana was holding.
"I thought you didn't want to waste those on me," She said challengingly, sitting up straighter in her seat.
"You're definitely worth it now. These aren't my real replicas anyway. Screw not using you for target practice. Justice is going to be served, bitch" Santana growled, fanning out the 5 replicas from her left hand.
"I'd just love to see you try," Quinn replied defiantly as she rolled her eyes. She relaxed back into the couch and turned back to the TV. Santana smirked triumphantly as she took the opportunity to fling one right at her face.
It hit Quinn square on the forehead.
"Jesus! That hurt!" Quinn cried out. She instantly rubbed where the object had smacked her. She picked up the Bat-A-Rang, that had fallen to her left side, with her other hand and inspected it. There were rubber endings on it, making it easier to throw around as well as it being slightly heavier in weight.
"Don't use the lord's name in vain!" Santana imitated mockingly, recalling Quinn's words from a few days ago.
"Real mature, Santana" She deadpanned, still rubbing her forehead. Santana stuck her tongue out in response.
"I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!" She declared, throwing another in Quinn's direction.
"You're the nerdiest freak ever, that's what you are," Quinn dodged it at the last second and stood up quickly.
"Run. I'll give you a five second head start, Fabray," Santana clutched the remaining three in her hand and took a stance.
Quinn huffed before making a break for her room.
Santana flung another as she sprinted towards Quinn after jumping over the couch. It barely grazed her and Santana unleashed another right after missing. Quinn let out a shrill cry when the fourth Bat-a-Rang collided with her ass.
"Damnit, Santana!" she barked out as she turned the corner into her room. She hastily slammed her door closed and locked it.
"You brought this upon yourself!" Santana yelled while standing in front of Quinn's room.
"After you and Brittany get together, I expect monetary compensation for this mental and physical abuse I had to endure for this time!" Quinn shouted back.
Santana threw the last Bat-A-Rang at Quinn's door as a response.
The Next Day
Santana was seated in her usual spot at Pinky's. Her head was bowed down and her eyes focused on her laptop screen notes. The open Anatomy textbook was set next to her on the couch as well as her twelve completed labs spaced out in an unorganized matter on the table before her. She sighed as she took a minute to look up around the store.
She had been at been at the coffee shop since it opened at 7:30 in the morning. For the past 5 and a half hours she had been completely immersed in her studies of the human body. The only break she took was for ten minutes to go to the bathroom and stretch out. She directed her gaze to the front counter, where Kurt was flipping through a Vogue magazine.
Brittany still hadn't come in yet.
She felt a some disappointment at not seeing her favorite worker, but turned her attention back to the Nervous System.
"Okay... The Human Nervous System. Split into two main parts: The Central Nervous System (CNS) that is the brain and the spinal cord, and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) which is everything else."
Santana paused as she shifted her gaze from her online notes to the textbook diagrams beside her.
"The PNS is further divided to the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) which is for involuntary movement, so the cardiac and smooth muscle movements. Also the Somatic Nervous System (SNS) that handles voluntary movement that correlates with regular skeletal muscles..."
A half an hour passed by with Santana refreshing her memory of what nerves go where and what innervate which muscles. Another break seemed like a good idea to take. She pulled out the headphones from her ears and removed her glasses from her face before setting them down on the table.
She buried her face in her hands and exhaled audibly as she tried to release some tension emitting from her body.
"So, how's the studying going?" Santana peeked out of her fingers and found Brittany standing before her in her work attire with a drink in hand. She blinked a few times before taking her glasses from the table and slipping them back on her face.
"Fine... I guess, it's just so much information," Brittany smiled at Santana's answer and extended her arm to offer her the cup.
"I bet," She took the liberty to sit next to Santana once she grabbed hold of the drink. Santana beamed back gratefully as she clasped it with both of her hands, suddenly self conscious of the fact that Brittany was right next to her.
"But it's so cool, you know? You basically learn about how your body works. It's pretty incredible actually," Santana fiddled with the rim of her lens and shrugged. She tried to stay focused on the conversation at hand, rather than the close proximity of a certain person.
"You're totally gonna rock your finals," Brittany announced in an unmistakable tone. Santana set her attention back on her.
"Oh, am I?" Santana quirked up an eyebrow, interested in her statement.
"Yep," Brittany replied back in a confident matter. She had a smirk to go along with it.
"Please, enlighten me," Santana motioned for Brittany to go on. Clearly still intrigued as to why Brittany would say such a thing. The smirk grew bigger as Brittany decided to lean in closer to Santana.
"Because that drink is going to give you magical powers to make you super smart and Ace 'em" Brittany lowered her voice as she told Santana this secret in a playful matter.
"Awesome," Santana acknowledged in understanding.
"This one's on me, so don't worry about it. Besides, it's my own special creation. Think of it as... your Chemical X" An amused glint was evident in Brittany's eyes.
"Powerpuff girls, huh?" Santana smiled at Brittany's reference of choice as she nodded approvingly. Brittany continued on with the allusion as her reply.
"Has some sugar, spice and everything nice in it," Brittany leaned back to her original position, but was still close to Santana.
"Thank you, Professor," Santana bowed her head in reverence, causing Brittany to giggle a little bit.
"Just make sure you use your powers for good," She lectured jokingly.
"With great power comes great responsibility," Santana quoted. Brittany paused for a second before answering.
"Right you are, Tiger," Santana wasn't able to hide the surprise that became evident in her expression. Brittany gave her a pointed look.
"I watched the Spiderman movies too, you know," She told her knowingly as Santana nodded with a small laugh and tried to ward off the embarrassment creeping up again.
"So, have you decided who you're going as on Friday?" She changed the subject after running a hand through her hair.
"I have a few ideas, but I don't know... there's so many choices" Brittany explained with a sigh.
"Good thing you still have time to decide," Santana said in an assuring matter.
"What about you?" Brittany asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I don't have any idea either, but I'll be looking forward to seeing you," Santana hadn't meant for that last part to be said out loud. Brittany looked rather interested with both her eyebrows raised up. Another grin was on her face. Santana shut her mouth quickly and began to internally panic.
"I-I mean seeing what outfit you choose..." Santana tried to amend her sentence, the heat becoming evident upon her cheeks. Brittany tried to cover up her laughter again by covering her mouth.
"Same for you," She told her, that warm smile that Santana was accustomed to firmly set in place.
"Well, I better be getting to back work, Kurt has been looking over at us for the past few minutes," Santana's gaze looked past Brittany to her co-worker who was in fact observing them with an inquisitive eye.
"Right, thanks again for the drink," Santana expressed her gratitude as Brittany stood up and nodded.
"No problem. I'll check up on you later," She gave Santana a quick wink before turning around towards Kurt.
"Stop with the staring Kurt, I'm coming," She told him briskly. Kurt looked around him as if there were other people there and shook his head.
"I wasn't staring, Britt..." He replied back with a finger pointed at himself, emphasizing the "I".
"Of course you weren't," Brittany said with a laugh.
Santana looked down at her cup and wet her lips with her tongue before taking a sip of the drink. It tasted delicious, she had no idea what it was but it was definitely one of the best things she had ever tasted.
She glanced back up at Brittany, who was at the cash register having a conversation with Kurt. Blue eyes took a glimpse back at her brown ones with a glimmer of distinct interest. Before Santana could do anything, Kurt grabbed Brittany's attention again with an animated waving of arms.
Quinn's words were true.
The both of them were perfectly distracted with each other.
Hi. That's chapter 4.
Glee is coming back. And I don't know what to think.
So, actually, I'd love to hear your input of who you would like to see dressed up as a comic book superhero or villain! (I swear I thought of this before Ryan Murphy answered that twitter question)
I do have a tumblr -but I'm a bit of a noob on it- hit me up
perseids13
Tell me your thoughts and suggestions, or befriend me... because... you know, that'd be cool.
It's easier to get back to people on there than here.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and #5 is in the works.
Thanks guys!
As always, review if you feel so inclined to (alerts and favorites are accepted as well)
-Perseids