Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, Dr. Horrible, or Shriek.
I love references but since people don't always get them... I try to minimize the amount I use. But these just seemed to fit really really well.
Chapter 9 – The Auditorium
Once the contract with Sue was established, Santana made sure that she never went outside the initial bargain. That held true until today. Today, she had come into Sue's office and asked for a favor. Sue experienced a foreign feeling, surprise, never did she think this girl in front of her would ever stoop so low as to ask for a favor.
"This going to cost you," Sue reminded the girl.
"Yeah, so?" Santana had a look on her face that said 'yes moron I know, thanks for the warning'.
"So what do you want?"
"Just, use of the auditorium," Santana said vaguely.
"Why? And Minion, stop beating around the bush because this bush might hit back."
"I want to let somebody use it."
"Who?
"A friend, you don't know her."
"A friend"? Sue wanted to meet this "friend". She watched Santana's usually stoic face as it gave away her emotions; she doubted Santana realized her feelings for this "friend". She wanted to meet this person who could bring out this side of this aggressive girl.
"Very well. But I want to meet this friend of yours before I decide. Oh, and I'll have thought of something by then you can do to pay me back." Seeing nothing wrong with this proposal, Santana agreed. She was willing to do anything to get the auditorium for a day, although she hoped that Sue wouldn't ask her to do something ridiculous unlike last time. Personally, she thought that asking her to dress up like a spy and follow Will Schuester around for a week fell under that category. Leaving the office, she bid goodbye to Sue. Sue reclined in her chair and wondered what kind of person this girl had fallen in love with.
The next day, late in the afternoon Santana took Brittany to the high school. It was deserted no one stuck around the school longer than they absolutely had to. Walking toward the office Santana took this time to try and explain to Brittany about Sue. If the look on the other's face was anything to go by, the words coming out of her mouth were lost on Brittany. So she tried to do it a different way.
"Have you seen Shriek?" Santana asked.
"Donkey was awesome," was all Brittany said. Santana took that as a yes.
"Sue, is like an ogre. Remember, ogres are like onions."
"Sue's an ogre?" Brittany said before she could stop herself.
"Yes. No."
"Does she make people cry?"
"Yes."
"Then she's an ogre," Brittany stated matter-a-factly.
"No, no. She's not an ogre. She has layers, get it? Both she and the ogre have layers."
"Oh… not like pie then."
"Not like pie," Santana agreed. "Wait, what?"
"Like pie. Sometimes there's a third even deeper layer, that's the same as the top surface one," explained Brittany.
"Is it strange that made sense?"
"Nope," Brittany said happily.
"Just remember her name is Coach Sylvester," reminded Santana as they neared the door, "Ready?" Brittany nodded and Santana opened the door.
"Minon! You're late!" Sue called from her desk.
"I'm early," stated Santana. She didn't bother to play along, "This is Brittany. Brittany this is Coach Sylvester."
"And don't you forget it," said Sue. "So you're the one that's taking my minion's precious time from me."
"Sorry?" Brittany was confused, Angel was a minion? Whispering to Angel, "what's a minion?"
Santana didn't respond, instead she turned to Sue, "Ok, you've met her, have you decided yet?"
"You can use the auditorium, next Monday during break. Be there at nine am sharp or you lose it." Sue had already decided on the answer before Santana had even entered the school that morning; she just wanted to meet the other girl.
"Auditorium?" Brittany asked.
"Yes, your little friend here has agreed to join Glee Club if I let her use the auditorium." Sue explained. Santana looked at Sue and mouthed 'Glee Club?' and Sue nodded with her trademark smirk in response.
"Come on Brittany let's get you back to the hospital," said Santana who gave Sue a look that said 'we'll talk about this later' and ushered Brittany out the door. Adding as an excuse, "Don't want to make your father worry."
"That's bad?" Brittany couldn't help but tease Santana a little.
"Yes Brittany, that's bad."
"Come by tomorrow kid, we'll work it out," Sue shouted as the door closed. It was too bad she didn't get more time with the new girl before Santana ushered her out; it would have been good to know what she was like.
The following morning, Santana visited Sue's office, "Glee Club? Glee? Club? I can't join Glee Club."
"Oh yes you can, I already turned in the application form with your name and signature on it."
"My signature?"
"Years of covert training can teach you many skills."
"Yeah, if you had covert training. I'm not doing it."
"Then you don't get the auditorium."
Santana paused and reconsidered her position. "Fine," she sighed. "I'll go after Winter Break, but I get to quit at the end of the year and I get the auditorium starting at eight."
"Deal," Sue agreed, that was what she was really after, besides she could get Quinn to spy next year when she rearranged her own practice schedule, if Glee Club was still around. Santana rolled her eyes, any minute now the Coach was going to slip into "Army General" mode.
"Listen up, soldier!" Yup there it was. "This is a dangerous undercover mission. You may lose some body parts, but nothing that's not expandable to me. To keep casualties at the minimum you're going to keep a low profile. Don't do anything out of the ordinary. At the end of each week you are to give me your report. If something important happens you are to report back to me right away. Got that soldier?" Sue faced the back of her office, her back to Santana.
"Yes, ma'm," replied Santana giving Sue a mock salute as she left, she better have that damn auditorium for the whole day.
"Dis-missed!" yelled Sue obliviously to an empty room.
Monday, the first official weekday of break finally decided to roll around. It found Santana and Brittany outside the auditorium as a distant chime signaled that it was nine o'clock. Entering the building to get out the biting cold, Brittany couldn't help but wonder why they were here. Apparently this was her surprise, it didn't really matter what it was if it meant spending more time with Angel. Santana led Brittany to the middle of the stage, she had arrived early to make sure everything was cleared off and the lights were on before she had gone to get the other girl.
"Brittany, right now we're standing in the middle of the stage. I'm going to lead you around the edges of it, ok?"
"Ok," Brittany said, almost afraid to hope of what this was about. She hadn't been on a stage, or even a large open place, where she could dance for a long time. Even just thinking about it, the muscles in her legs twitched in anticipation. After leading Brittany once around the stage, Santana returned them to the middle.
"I could only find one CD at my house, it's a mix," Santana informed Brittany apologetically. "I'll go put it in, just don't fall off. Please. I can't… I don't want to get in trouble with your father." The slight pause in the sentence was not lost on Brittany, who wondered what the other girl was trying to say. The thought was lost, as the music started.
Santana sat down in the front row of the audience, she doubted that Brittany would fall off but she wasn't about to take any chances. If something happened to her, Santana didn't know what she would do. When Brittany told her she loved to dance, Santana had been formulating this plan but it wasn't until she was sure that it would be safe enough to do it that she put it into effect. She didn't want to risk her friend's life needlessly. Watching Brittany, Santana admitted that she had no idea that anyone could dance so well. Several people might love to dance, but it was only one in millions that could move like the girl in front of her. The movement was slightly stiff at first, probably due to how long she'd been kept in the hospital, but as Brittany warmed up, it was evident to any viewer that they were watching someone with a gift. As for Santana, she failed to notice that the music even stopped playing until Brittany stopped moving, she shook herself as if waking from a dream and started clapping.
Brittany was lost in thought, the high of dancing hadn't left yet and she was working on a song within her head that she could continue to dance to. When she heard the clapping, she was slightly startled, she had never danced in front of someone who wasn't from her family before; she still didn't want to, but somehow Angel was different. She wanted to share her world of dance with her, something her parents never understood. Her parents were supportive, maybe they were just relieved that there was something she was good at, but they never really understood what it meant to her. To dance, to be able to fly, the expressions she couldn't put into words, it was a release from the world, but they had never understood. She hadn't done it in front of anyone for years.
Feeling embarrassed, Brittany left the stage in a hurry forgetting that she had no way of knowing exactly where she was going. She crashed into an occupied guitar stand and onto the ground even as Angel yelled a warning. The guitar fell with a twang and it sounded as though one of the strings had come undone in the accident. Brittany got up, it didn't feel like anything was wrong, but the guitar.
"I think I broke it," Brittany said as Santana's footsteps came up behind her.
"Nah, the string just popped out, give me a sec." Santana went about the process of resetting the string and checked the pitch with the other strings to tune it. "Good as new," she said experimentally strumming the guitar.
"Play me something," said Brittany. There was no response. "Please?" she added.
Santana looked at the other girl and back at the guitar she was holding, "I'll try, no promises that it'll be good." She could never say "no" to Brittany. Besides today was special, it'd be their last full day together until New Years. Taking a breath and nervously strumming the guitar she began.
I close my eyes,
Go back in time,
To a point where you and I,
Are all alone,
In this place,
There's nothing to fear,
No world outside.
There's only us,
As the music plays aloud,
So take my hand.
There nothing to fear,
No need to worry,
No one to tell us what to do.
You're here with me,
We're here tonight.
The music show us the way.
So take my hand,
I'll lead you to,
So just come and dance with me,
I'll take you away.
Take my hand,
Follow me,
Let us leave this place,
Let's go and see.
Take a step,
Take a leap,
To a world somewhere,
It's just you and me.
It may be far,
It may be here.
Let the music lead the way.
We'll get there,
Just wait and see,
To a place where we are finally free.
There nothing to fear,
No need to worry,
Just let the music take us there.
Nothing but us,
Nothing but now,
Let's dance 'til we don't care.
So take my hand.
I'll lead the way.
And come and dance with me.
Please listen to the song,
I was always waiting for you,
To come along.
'Cause here I was,
In this place,
Looking to show someone way.
Let me take your hand.
And together
We'll find a way to go.
There's a place,
I'll lead you to,
A place where we belong.
There nothing to fear,
No need to worry,
Just let the music take us there.
Nothing but us,
Nothing but now,
Just us here tonight, alone.
So take my hand.
And If you need to find me,
All you have to do, is
Follow my voice,
Follow my soul,
Listen for my heart as it beats,
Out of control.
Follow my words,
Follow my light,
Then when you find,
Me at the end of the road.
We'll leave behind,
The day, the night
And go somewhere beyond this cage.
And that is where,
You will find,
You'll hear the beat,
The music as it flies.
I will lead you there.
There nothing to fear,
No need to worry,
Just let the music play.
Nothing but us,
Nothing but now,
So let us dance this night away.
There's nothing to fear,
There's no need to worry,
Just hear the music play.
It's only us.
It's only now.
Help me dance the night away.
Come help me dance,
Let us dance the night away.
So take my hand.
There was a moment of silence as Santana and Brittany listened to the last note reverberate around the theatre. Santana put the guitar away, she took Brittany's hand and helped her to her feet.
She asked, "Come with me?" Brittany smiled in response and hugged the shorter girl. She squeezed Santana's hand as if to say 'Always'.
A/N: Lyrics and music that goes with them are owned by one of my friends (who will not be mentioned). If you wish to use them or some such thing (no money only) feel free, you have to credit me though (friend insisted). If you use them and make money, I will help sue you and pay off all my student loans. =D
I'm writing this during finals week… I'm so tired.
Thank you for all your help, and your reviews, and encouragement.
By the way if you guys find any continuity problems, tell me please, I have so many ideas that run rampant in my head (usually unrelated to this so I don't worry about those) that I forget which ones I'm actually using. I don't always have time to re-read all of the chapters as they get posted which (as the story, apparently, gets longer) gets harder and harder to do. Suggestions on things you'd like to see happen are also welcome (but probably will not be used unless it's a O.O that's a good idea that goes well right here, where I needed something). And I'll fix any problems with each update.