The New York weather is cloudy and overcast as Santana and Haley walk down the sidewalk together. The other girl grabs Santana's hand as they make their way to the pizzeria.
"I kind of like this weather," she says with a smile as they enter through the door.
Santana returns her smile, "Me too. I have to be in the mood for it though… So what kinds of toppings do you like on your pizza? Veggies or meat?"
"I'll eat anything. I'm not picky."
They choose a booth on the side of the restaurant to sit down in, Santana facing the window. The waitress comes over to take their order, the girls finally deciding on half veggie/half pepperoni.
"So what made you finally decide to ask me out?" Haley asks playfully, her dimples showing.
"My friend did actually. She thinks I need to quit my womanizing ways and start dating so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm not sure it's really my thing though."
"Well, you're not completely blowing it."
Santana sighs, relieved. "Thank god. You look pretty by the way."
"You too."
"So what else do people usually do on these things?"
Haley laughs. "I'm not sure really. I don't go on too many either… But at least we know we're compatible in the what comes after the date department." She runs her fingertips across the other girl's hand.
Santana raises an eyebrow, smiling. "Maybe dates aren't so bad after all."
[\\]
It's late afternoon by the time Quinn and Amy are done teaching the children for the day. Since the schooling system isn't at all organized, they had to push back the start time because half the class was running late. Both are exhausted, but excited for the weekend festivities they have planned. As they head out, a soft voice interrupts them.
"Ms. Q!" The little girl runs after Quinn and grabs her hand. "Happy birthday!"
Quinn kneels down beside the little girl and gives her a hug. "Thanks, Pui. That made my day. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"
The girl nods and runs back into the school to wait for her mother.
Amy chuckles. "That right there makes it all worth it, huh?"
"Totally," Quinn says with a smile. "But I'm definitely ready to party it up in Bangkok!"
They both give each other excited high fives as they hop onto the back of a worn down scooter. "I fear for my life every time we get on this thing."
"Just drive slowly," the blonde girl advises. "I'll haunt you from my grave if you kill us before we get to celebrate my birthday."
[\\]
It's around 2:00 in the morning by the time the girls finally reach their hotel. They both fall onto their beds in exhaustion.
Amy sighs, "Well, they definitely weren't exaggerating about the traffic. I'm glad we're not going out tonight, I would die."
Quinn laughs. "Don't be so dramatic. And you better get a good night's sleep so we can go hard tomorrow night… I told my friend I'd Skype her when we got here so she can wish me a happy birthday though. Is that ok with you?"
"Go ahead. I'm so tired that I could sleep through construction work at this point. Tell Santana hi for me."
"Will do. Night, love."
The blonde girl signs onto her Skype account, waiting for Santana to get on.
God bless Bangkok wifi.
Her eyes start to feel heavy as she drifts in and out of a light sleep. The ringing sound coming from her laptop jolts her awake as she accepts the call.
"Happy fucking birthday!" Santana shouts.
"Damn, San. It's not all that happy at the moment. I need sleep."
Seeing Quinn's sleepy expression makes Santana laugh her ass off. "Wow. So attractive."
"Shut up, meanie. You're supposed to be nice to me on my birthday."
"True. Skype me again tomorrow and we'll pick this up where we left off."
"I can't be witty. I'm too tired."
"Ok, ok. Well I hope you have a blast tomorrow night. I know you will because it's BANGKOK. Not gonna lie, I'm a bit jealous. By the way, I went on an actual date today."
Quinn perks up a little. "Whaa—Really?"
"Yeah. I figured you had a point. Since my way hasn't been doing wonders for me I figured it was worth a shot."
"And what did you think? And who with?" The blonde asks a little too quickly.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It is kind of nice just being able to talk to someone about stupid stuff. We legit had a conversation about what kind of transportation we think there'll be in the future. And it was with Haley. I mentioned her before, we've hooked up a couple of times."
"Wow. Well, I'm happy for you, Santana. I think this is a good thing for you… to date." She makes sure to emphasize the last part.
"Maybe. Just don't go and buy the wedding cake yet."
"Oh, I won't."
"Only a couple more weeks til you're back! Excited?"
"Of course. I will be a little sad to leave all the cute kids though. And my tummy has finally gotten used to some of the spicy food... Oh, Jeremy told me that his sister Rose is getting married not soon after I get back so I was going to ask if you wanted to go with me… But it might be kinda awkward now."
"Why?"
"Well, I'm not sure how serious you are about Haley and what not."
"Q, we went on one date. It's not like she owns me. I think I should be able to go to a wedding with my friend. You know I'm always game for an open bar! Oh and I have a surprise for you as well."
"Ooohhh, I'm intrigued what is it?"
"I agreed to do a performance at Chris' club, you know, Brittany's boyfriend, but I told him it would have to be when you got back to NY so you could attend."
"OH MY GOD. BEST THING EVER."
"Yeah! And it'll give you a chance to meet Haley too!"
"She'll be there?"
"She works there actually."
"Of course she does," Quinn mutters under her breath.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. Okbye!"
"Bye freak."
Quinn closes her laptop and gets ready for bed. The beds in the hotel room are so much comfier than the rock hard ones back in Amphawa. The blonde girl lets out a small sigh, letting herself digest the information. A tiny part of her already hates Haley but she knows she has to give her a chance if it means that Santana has a real chance of happiness.
Besides, you idiot, you're the one who practically sent her running into her arms with your little tantrum.
Thankfully she's exhausted enough not to let her thoughts disturb her sleep for too long. Her eyes grow heavier.
If only you could say what you mean. "Santana, I do want you to be happy… with me."
She quietly chastises herself knowing that it would be a selfish thing for her to admit given their circumstances. Not to mention the fact that Santana definitely wasn't ready to hear it. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready to hear it, and that was what scared her the most.
At least her going out with Haley means that she's admitting her unhappiness. It's a start.
[\\]
"WAKE UP! Party time! Party time! Party time!" Amy jumps excitedly on her bed holding a large bottle of tequila.
Quinn moans before opening her eyes. "Oh my god, where did you get that?"
"At the 7-11 across the street! It was only $10 USD! Thailand is the best sometimes!"
Quinn cracks up. "We should at least try to make it past the hotel lobby. That thing would have us smashed in minutes."
"We're not going to drink all of it! But get your ass up! Let's get the party started!"
The blonde girl rolls out of bed, and looks at the clock. "Amy, it's only 3:00 PM."
"No matter. We need to get food first anyway. And it takes you at least an hour to get ready. And we can have our own dance party before we go out."
"Good point."
It's 7:00 when the girls are finally on their way to their first bar.
"Wow, it's really deserted," Amy comments.
"Well yeah, that's what we get for going out so early. I don't think people show up til 11, maybe not even until 1 at some of the bigger clubs."
"I was just so excited."
Quinn laughs. "No worries. We'll just be the drunk Americans all night."
By 11:00 both of the girls are totally wasted at one of the hip hop clubs.
"We look like idiots!" Quinn laughs drunkenly as they tear it up on the dance floor.
Amy just laughs crazily in response. The blonde girl grabs her arm in a vice grip causing her to stop.
"Amy, look!" Amy tries to focus on whatever Quinn is going on about. "She's fucking gorgeous!"
Quinn walks toward the beautiful Thai lady and puts her arm around her. "Um, Quinn, what about Santana?" Amy pipes up.
The lady is laughing and speaking Thai to the locals seated at the bar, pointing to the pair of them. "Santana who?" She mumbles drunkenly.
Despite Amy's drunken state, she informs her friend, "Ummmmm. Quinn. Honey. That's a lady boy." Quinn's eyes shoot open in surprise.
"Whaaaat? But he/she's soooo pretty. It's not faaaaiiirrr," she slurs. Amy grabs her friend by the shoulders.
"I think this means party's over." They both break out in laughter.
Quinn decides to try out some accent that's halfway British, halfway pirate. "Aye! But what a successful night it ize!"
"I'm going to miss this," Amy says as she puts her arm around her friend's shoulder.
When they get back to the hotel room, Amy goes straight to bed but Quinn decides to check her e-mail before passing out. She notices that Santana's online and after a slight debate, she decides to IM her since she looks like shit at the moment.
QUINNFABRAY: HAAAIII SAN7NIEZ.
SLOPEZ: Hey Q. Wow, drunk you sounds fun.
QUINNFABRAY: VURrY
SLOPEZ: Lol! I'm excited to see you at your cousin's wedding now. Haven't seen you drunk drunk yet.
Despite the fog the alcohol has subjected on her brain, Quinn's emotions run high as she types 'I-L-Y' into the text box. Her finger freezes on the send button. ILY was a friend 'i love you' after all, she didn't know why the thought of sending it made her nervous. After a few moments of hesitation, she decides to delete it.
Come on, Q. Pull it together.
QUINNFABRAY: I'm glad were friends san
SLOPEZ: Me too, Fabray. Me too.