Chapter 2

The first day went on impossibly slow and uneventful. I avoided all eye contact and walked incredibly fast to and from class to avoid confrontation in the halls. At first glance, you would think I was very shy and antisocial. Well, I am at first but once you get to know me I'm the biggest goofball on the planet. I just usually never make the first move in a friendship. One of my biggest fears is being judged by others. I'm very paranoid that people are constantly looking at me and judging me. I'm not just like that just because. I'm like that because of past experiences.

I've been bullied ever since I can remember. When I was younger, I wasn't the skinniest kid and the other kids never let me forget that. I couldn't go anywhere on campus without somebody saying something about my weight. It hadn't really been a major issue for me till 2nd grade. I had become really close with this boy named Cole. He was very sweet, cute, and very into music like I was. Having a huge passion for music at such a young age was a rarity so I felt we had a special bond. Now that I look back, I might have had a crush on him. We'd hangout every day at recess, sit next to each other in class, and eat lunch together. One day, that all changed. It was a couple weeks after my birthday actually. I went to school like usual, sat down next to Cole, and started to talk to him. He just started telling me to leave him alone. I was so confused and so at recess and lunch I followed him because we were always together. He kept saying how he didn't want to be friends anymore and that I was fat and needed to leave him alone. I had never heard anyone call me that before. To be perfectly honest, I knew I was overweight but I didn't think it mattered because nobody said anything, until then. Eventually Cole, got my whole class to make fun of me and I would burst into tears in the middle of class or randomly at home.

I ended up leaving that school because we moved and it was too far to commute from where we now lived. It didn't change at my new school though. It turns out fourth and fifth graders were cruel at any school. I was getting in trouble at school because kids would start making fun of me so I would attack them and hit them because I knew that anything I would say wouldn't matter, because I was fat. I got in trouble so much that I realized I shouldn't be taking my anger out on others. It wasn't their fault I was this way. So, I started attacking myself. I started excessively drinking ever since I had my first sip of alcohol in middle school. I didn't want to become one of those girls with an eating disorder or harmed their body with rasor blades so I guess getting lost in my own world for a couple hours was a great way to escape. I don't have a problem though, alright. I can manage it pretty nicely regardless of what Janet might say. I only got unmanageable once. Now, even I have to admit that that wasn't ideal but I'm totally under control now. I just have to prove that to everyone else here.

The next day of school was a little more exciting. It was club and team sign up day. There were booths for every club and sports team this school offered. I was especially giddy when I saw the softball teams booth. I saw a few girls approaching it so I didn't get a bad vibe that the softball team was a bunch of rejects. I approached the booth with a hesitant smile. There was already a girl there talking to a brunette who, I'm assuming, was the captain of the team. She was a blonde, a tiny bit shorter than me, and that's all I could tell from where I was because I was facing the back of her head. While the two girls were in conversation the brunette looked right at me in the middle of the blondes sentence with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Amanda." She was really sincere and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Uh, hey. I'm Santana. " I stuck my hand out for her to shake, which she did. I also kept it out for the blonde girl next to me. She smiled and shook it without hesitation.

"I'm Jen. I just moved here from California." Green eyes. Definitely a sucker for green eyes. She had freckles all over her nose which crinkled when she smiled...And I have to stop checking out every person I meet damn it.

"Wow, that's a big move. It makes me feel like I was being a little dramatic moving here from where I'm from." She giggled slightly and that's when I realized we were still shaking hands so I smoothly let go.

"Where did you move from?" She asked like she honestly was interested in my answer.

"Cleveland," I shrugged,"Not as glamorous as California but still better than this hicktown." She bit her lip and grinned at me.

"Well," she looked down shyly,"maybe you and I can make this hicktown a lot less shitty, together?" She looked me straight in the eyes and I internally shivered. God those eyes. Two days in a row with two blondes with gorgeous eyes. Stop it Santana. Just stop.

"Yeah," I breathed out,"maybe." my lips curled into a shy half smile. She turned back to Amanda ,"Thanks so much, I'll see you at tryouts." She turned to me,"Bye, Santana."

I watched her leave as if in slow motion. Someone clearing their throat brought me back to reality.

"Yeah, you definitely need to try out. Be at the field next Monday at 4:30." She smiled at me, winked, then started talking to a redhead that apparently moved next to me. I scrunched my face up in confusion. What the hell did she mean by that? Let's see, what could I have done? Hmmm...I was just talking to Jen. Thinking about her brought a smile to my face. Jen-wait hold on...Am I thinking about a chick? Like romantically? Oh shit. Amanda thinks I'm a lesbian. That's why she said that I should tryout. Softball players are notorious for being lesbians. Pssh, she's insane. I like guys. I mean, granted I've never had a boyfriend, and I can appreciate attractive girls but like it's just infatuation or some shit like that. Ugh, whatever. She probably meant nothing by it. Pull yourself together, Lopez.

I kept glancing around the booths to see if anything else peeked my interest. My eyes quickly scanned the booths: Harry Potter club, Role playing Club (wanky), Women's Rugby team (now that screams lesbian), Cheerios...I noticed someone very familar at that booth. I felt my face start to soften when I saw Brittany. I didn't know she was a cheerleader. I guess I wasn't really paying attention to her outfit yesterday. She was talking animatedly with another blonde girl at the booth with her. This other blonde didn't seem as cheery as Brittany though. When she'd see people coming near their booth she would scowl at them and they'd scatter. Her scowl did soften, I noticed, when she spoke to Brittany. Huh, I guess she has that effect on everyone.

I was about to turn away when she glanced up and met my gaze. I was nervous for being caught staring but when she saw my face she immediately grinned brightly at me and waved me over. I smiled at her but didn't move. I was hesitant because, lowkey, that other blonde girl was pretty intimidating. She saw my hesitation and pulled off the most adorable pout I've ever seen. Like, seriously, it should be illegal. God, I was doomed.

I walked over and she quickly turned her pout into a smile when I finally made my way over. What surprised me next was the massive hug she gave me.

"Hey San! I haven't seen you all day!"

It was gone before I even had time to react and my look of shock was apparently plastered on my face because the other blonde was looking at me amused.

"Britt's a very touchy feely person. You'll get used to it." She smiled at me before she continued,"I'm Quinn."

I looked over at Brittany who was way too overly excited about the fact that she was sharing her new friend.

"I'm Santana. And I think I could," she looked at me confused so I continued,"get used to it. Brittany's hugs I mean." She continued to smile at me and nodded in acknowledgement that she heard me.

"So, San, how do you like school so far?"

"Uh, it's okay. I mean, it's school." She nodded in agreement.

"Oh totally, when I become president and Lord Tubbington is my vice president, my first order of business is to brand the whole country of school cuz it's like totally boring and puts me to sleep. Which is confusing because we're supposed to sleep at night and not during the day." I looked over at Quinn to see if this was normal for her and she just rolled her eyes.

"It's ban, Britt."

She looked at Quinn confused,"Why do I need a pan? I'm not cooking anything." Quinn just scoffed and went back to filing her nails.

"Well, Brittany, you would officially become my hero when you ban school." She smiled down at the floor and I could see a hint of a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Thanks San." I just nodded and waited for her to say something to fill the silence. "So, we have our first pep rally on Friday, at the football field, and I was wondering if you'd like to come watch me cheer?" She looked so shy and cute.

"Uh, yeah sure. What time is it at?" She looked like a child on Christmas morning when I said yes. There was no way I was going to say no to her.

"Um, it's at 7. Are you sure you want to go? You can say no if you want to. It won't hurt my feelings." She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She was totally lying. It was refreshing.

I shook my head,"No, I totally wanna go. I've never been to a pep rally before." She looked at me like I grew two heads!

"Are you serious?" She looked at me skeptical.

I giggled uncomfortably,"Yeah, I just, didn't really go out much at my old school." I mumbled it out quietly in fear of judgement from anyone within a 5 foot radius of us, including Quinn.

"Oh, well we're just gonna have to change that, right Q?" Quinn was apparently really into whatever it was she was doing.

"Oh yeah B, whatever you say." Brittany seemed pleased with this answer and gave me a firm nod.

"Well, I look forward to it." The bell rang signaling for me to get to class. "I'll see you around Brittany. Can't wait for Friday." I gave her a quick hug.

"Bye Quinn." I smiled and nodded at her in which she nodded in return.

Well that went better than expected.

The week went by a little better than the first day. I realized that I had two classes with Quinn and one with that Jen girl. I decided to sit next to Jen in class and surprisingly Quinn decided to sit next to me in both our shared classes. Before I had anticipated, Friday was here.

I was at my locker shuffling through it for my english binder when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to my right and was met with blue eyes and pearly white teeth.

"Hi," she breathed out.

"Hey Britt, what's up?" I asked as I shoved a book back in my locker.

"Well I wanted to see if you were still coming tonight?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world." She nodded.

"Cool, cool. Would you maybe wanna get something to eat after? I'll probably be hungry from all that cheering and I don't wanna go alone so.." She's funny when she rambles.

I could feel my nose scrunch as I giggled softly at her,"Yeah, I'd like that." She nodded again,"Sweet okay well I'll see you later then?" She held out her pinky in front of me. I haven't pinky promised since elementary school. I bit my lip stopping myself from grinning wider.

I wrapped my pinky around hers,"Yeah, see ya." We dropped our pinkies in front of us still linked and she swung them a couple times before letting go and walking away slowly.

Brittany was probably my favorite person and we hadn't even known each other that long. I've never felt so strongly about a friend before. I could tell already we were gonna be besties. This is what best friends feel like right? I mean, I never felt like this with Chelsey but maybe it's different for every friendship? Well, all I know is that I was really excited for tonight and I had Brittany to thank for that.