Okay, this chapter was soooo fun to write and I really hope you enjoy it because I do! Sorry it took a little while to update! School... :(

Santana's POV

3 days later

As the rain still continued to pour, Santana shoved the heavy and dreadful textbooks she wouldn't be needing (which was all of them) into her locker. Her sweater was cute, warm, and perfect for the weather. They had gotten a break from the rain on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but today it had started up again. The mini-calendar in her locker that she used for countdowns until important dates read that the day was December 8th, which meant winter break and Christmas were nearing quickly. She smiled.

Zoe, who was two lockers down, shut her locker, looked at Santana, and sighed. "I'm so happy it's Thursday. If it was Monday, I think I would be crying right now," she said, laughing. "And, only one more class until the end of the day!"

Santana smiled wider and looked over at her incredible friend. Her chocolate eyes locked with hers. "You're always optimistic, aren't you?" she said, walking a couple steps closer towards her.

Zoe brushed a small piece of dark blue hair out of her face and behind her ear. A bow matching the color of her hair was holding it up in a ponytail. "It helps me get through things I really don't wanna do." Joy danced inside of her emerald eyes. Santana thought they looked like fireworks lighting up a green sky. They always had sparks flying around and bursting with energy inside.

But the light in her eyes was soon gone as Santana noticed her eyes breaking contact with her own and focusing on something in the distance. Her smile quickly faded, and she suddenly looked worried.

"Shit," Zoe muttered.

Confused, Santana turned around to see what she was looking at. There was a girl with light brown hair, wearing a floral skirt and a black tank top with a green jacket over it. She was with a small group of other people who were all talking and laughing together. The girl, without warning, walked right up to the two of them, her pack of friends following her. They stopped talking as they did this.

"Well, well," said the girl with a bitchy tone. "If it isn't miss loner with no real friends." She looked up and smirked. "Nice hair," she said sarcastically. "What are you, a blueberry?" The girl's friends snickered behind her. One black haired guy in a WMHS varsity jacket whispered to a blonde girl, still laughing.

Santana frowned. Who are these people and why the hell were they being jerks?

"What do you want, Ariana?" Zoe said, rolling her eyes.

Ariana shrugged. "Oh, you know. Just thought I'd say hi to the biggest betraying bitch on the planet."

Santana scoffed and put one hand out in front of her. "Hold up," she began. She turned slightly towards Zoe. "This is Ariana? The girl you told me about who is supposedly your friend?" She looked her up and down. "But Zoe, you told me she was pretty..."

Ariana's jaw dropped. One guy in the back of the small crowd said, "Ohhhh, burn!" Ariana turned and glared at him, then whipped her head back around, looking at Santana.

"Why do you even hang out with her?" Ariana growled at Santana, her amber eyes narrowing. "You could do so much better. I mean, you're like one of the most popular girls at this school. You could be friends with anyone you want, and you choose..." her eyes flicked towards Zoe and her voice softened. "...her?"

"Is that all you really think or care about?" asked Santana. "Being popular and being a bitch towards everyone? Because it shouldn't be. Zoe is my friend because she is an incredible person and because I want her as my friend, and it doesn't matter to me if she is popular or not." She looked over at Zoe, who still looked offended and hurt from Ariana's previous words, and smiled. "What matters is who the person is on the inside." A couple years ago, she wouldn't be caught dead saying this. But Glee Club had changed her, and in a good way. She was a better person now, even if she still tended to insult others and could be a jerk. She had come a long way. Santana looked back at Ariana. "And that is exactly why I'm not friends with people like you. Because your insides are rotten to the core."

Ariana threw back her head and laughed. Her group of friends followed. "Ohmygod, you've become one of them!" she exclaimed. "You've become a total weirdo! You never should have joined that stupid Glee club."

Now, Santana wasn't usually the one to defend something like Glee club. But she loved Glee more than many things and the people in it were like her family, and she wasn't going to let this jerk insult them like that. "Ohh, right, Glee club is the stupid club, definitely not any clubs you join. Let me guess. Celibacy club? And you've had sex how many times now?" Santana laughed. "Don't worry, I'll give you a minute to count."

Ariana looked incredibly angry now. Three guys in her friend group were cracking up. The girls remained silent and emotionless, afraid to do anything. Santana looked over and soaked in the sight of Zoe laughing, too. This always made Santana smile.

Ariana walked up to Santana, her face only inches away from Santana's. "Why are you doing this? Why are you insulting me and defending this friendless loser?"

Santana chuckled with evil undertones. "Because you need to learn to not be such a bitch, and you need to lay off. She isn't friendless- she has me, and I'm 40x better of a friend then you'll ever be to anyone." Santana felt her eyes light up. "And Zoe is the most incredible person I've ever met, and doesn't need people like you. People who think they're better than the person they're bullying, when in reality Zoe is like... like a beautiful, polished gem and you are a piece of worthless trash that creepy homeless man around the corner uses to sleep on."

"Santana, you don't have to-" Zoe began, but was cut off almost immediately by Ariana.

"You know what?" said Ariana. "I'm not the bitch here. You are. And if I didn't know any better..." Ariana began snickering. "I'd say you are, like, in love with Zoe, or maybe obsessed with her or something, because I see no other reason why you would defend her like this."

A guy in the back spoke up. "Or describe her as a beautiful polished gem!" Giggles and chuckles erupted from the group, and one auburn-haired girl muttered, "Lesbian!" They began to laugh harder.

Santana could feel her heart almost bursting out of her chest and her stomach twisting in knots. "Where the hell did you get the idea that she's in love with me from? That's completely ridiculous!" said Zoe, walking a few steps towards Ariana.

Ariana noticed how much this statement had obviously bothered Santana and smirked. "Because I bet it's 100% true," she said. She leaned in towards Zoe. "Better watch out the next time you hug her," she joked, looking right at Santana. "She might take it the wrong way and try to kiss you..."

Santana felt herself completely lose it. She was panicking on the inside. But, she knew that every emotion that came out of her almost always came out as anger, and her panic was building up even more. She tried to contain it, but it wasn't working. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer, and she felt her anger rush out of her as she slapped Ariana straight on the cheek with the hardest slap she had ever performed in her entire life.

The smacking sound was so loud that after she had slapped her, the entire hallway was completely quiet. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads towards the sound. Some were too afraid to look.

Ariana was holding her cheek, her face and half of her body turned to the left and her light brown hair tousled in front of her face. She was slightly crouched and her mouth was wide open. Zoe, who had mixed feelings about what had just happened, had her hand over her mouth.

Just then, a teacher with short blonde hair bustled over. "You two!"' she exclaimed. "Principal Figgins office! Now!"

Ariana turned and began to protest, her hand still on her cherry-colored cheek. A small tear rushed down her cheek from the stinging. "But she was the one who slapped me!"

The teacher scowled. "I don't care who slapped who!" she yelled. "You and miss Lopez are going to Figgins office right this minute!"

"Class starts in three minutes," Santana stated. "We'll miss class!"

The teacher glared intently at the two girls and gestured for them to follow her to Figgins office. Ariana gave Santana the most intense glare she had ever seen, and began to follow the teacher. As Santana began to follow, she looked at Zoe, hoping she wasn't mad . Her hands were still over her mouth, but as her large green eyes flicked towards her friends she took them off. She saw Zoe's eyes softened with love for her friend as she mouth the words, 'Thank you.'

That was all Santana needed to let her know that Zoe wasn't mad at her for slapping Ariana. But, after all, why would Zoe be mad? Santana had stood up to her, and it wasn't like she didn't deserve that slap. She smiled at her, still trying to take in everything that had been happening, and continued towards Principal Figgins office.