A/N: Wowzers! Thanks for the support!
Chapter ten
From Britt: Pick you up in 10 mins :)
Santana sat her phone down on her bed and checked herself out in the mirror for the tenth time that afternoon. She was wearing a tight red dress, a leather jacket and knee high boots, it was the middle of winter so she was pretty sure she'd freeze, but hey, she had to look hot for Brittany. Her hair was out and wavy and she was wearing enough make-up to make her features pop but not enough to look like a drag queen.
They had decided Brittany would pick her up early so she could help set up for the party and so they could have some alone time.
She had told her parents she was staying at Quinn's for New Years… she just had to ask Quinn to be her alibi.
To Quinn: My parents think I'm staying at yours tonight, If they mention anything please play along.
Santana picked up her bag and was about to leave her room when her phone started ringing. She groaned when she saw Quinn's name pop up on the screen but pressed answer anyway.
"Fabray, what's up?" She said casually even though she knew she was about to be grilled.
"Why do your parents think you're staying here tonight? Where are you going?"
"Don't be so nosey" Santana replied followed by one of her well known eye rolls. Why did she pick up the phone again?
If you want my help, just tell me why." Quinn ordered.
Santana sighed and gave in. "I'm just going to a party with older people and I don't think my parents would like me going. So can you just cover for me, if anyone asks I'm with you and Sam ok?" Santana pleaded.
"Is it with Brittany?" Quinn inquired.
Santana froze at the mention of the choreographer's name. Should she lie? Or should she just act like it's no big deal? "Umm… Yeah Brittany and her friends."
"You two are close then?"
"You sound jealous Fabray, don't worry she won't replace you."
"I'm not jealous Santana, I just think it's weird."
Santana looked out her bedroom window down onto the street and noticed Brittany's car pull up. "Look, I have to go. Will you be my alibi or not?"
Santana heard a huff on the other side of the line before Quinn eventually agreed.
Santana ran down the stairs… she may have been a bit excited. She yelled a quick, "see ya!" to her parents before leaving the house. Santana hadn't really thought about being nervous until she was reaching for Brittany's passenger side door handle. The nerves bubbled in her stomach and she began to feels sweaty even though she was freezing her ass off. She hadn't seen the blonde in over a month, would it be awkward? Would they find they had nothing to talk about? Was agreeing to come early a mistake?
She took a deep breath and opened the door, she sat down and turned to look at the beaming blonde. Well at least she looked as happy to see Santana as the Latina felt to see her. She was just as beautiful as Santana remembered, in fact she seemed more beautiful, if that was possible.
Brittany's hair was down and straightened, her make-up brought out the blueness of her eyes and Santana couldn't decide where to look, the glossiness of her kissable lips or the sparkling of her ocean blues. Santana noticed Brittany was wearing blue jeans, black converses, a white t-shirt with a rainbow printed across it and an open dark blue jacket under her puffer jacket….. Santana felt extremely overdressed.
"Santana you look amazing." Brittany breathed causing Santana to feel a lot better about her choice in wardrobe. "But aren't you freezing?"
Santana laughed. "So. Fucking. Cold."
Brittany giggled. "I can wait while you change, if you want?"
"What's the dress code?" Santana asked awkwardly feeling she had gotten it very wrong.
"Whatever you want to wear, as long as you don't catch pneumonia."
Santana sighed, she felt silly.
"My apartment has heating. You don't have to change." Brittany smiled reassuringly.
Santana nodded, this was kind of awkward.
Brittany started the car. Some Brittney Spears music blasted from the speakers and Santana couldn't contain her grin any longer, especially once Brittany started singing at the top of her lungs and swaying to the beat.
They arrived at Brittany's apartment not long after the blonde had convinced Santana to join her car disco. The two were laughing so hard they didn't notice the visitors at the door.
They got out of the car stilling holding their stomach that ached from laughing so hard.
"Where have you been?" An older blonde woman standing at the door asked Brittany. "We're freezing."
Santana stopped laughing, were they in trouble?
Brittany just smiled and hugged the older woman and the younger girl who was standing beside her.
Santana scrunched her brow, she was pretty sure she'd seen the younger girl before. She was blonde with glasses and kind of looked like Brittany but she just couldn't place why she looked so familiar.
"Oh Santana," Brittany smiled. "This is my Mum and my sister Julia."
Santana politely greeted them both but already felt that Julia didn't like her.
"Come on," Mrs Pierce said. "Let's get inside before Santana freezes, she's practically naked." The older woman giggled.
Great first impression, Santana cringed to herself.
Santana sighed as she hung the last streamer. This was not how setting up for the party was meant to go. Sure they had set up streamers, put out food, made sure the clocks were on the correct time and there was even a punch bowl but there had been no alone time. There had been eye daggers from Julia, warnings that she shouldn't be drinking tonight because she was underage from Mrs Pierce and the occasional smile from Brittany. Where were all the kisses, flirting and cute conversations? Or those moments when Santana couldn't reach the hook to hang a streamer so Brittany would sexily reach over her to hang it?
Santana was daydreaming about those movie-like moments when she heard a scoff from behind her. She turned around to see Julia eyeing her up and down and hoped she hadn't said any of that out loud.
"Ok, seriously blondie," Santana snapped in a whisper so Brittany and Mrs Pierce didn't hear. "I've just about had enough of your glaring and sneering. What's your problem?"
"You don't recognise me?" Julia snapped back.
Oh God, Santana thought. What had she done to this girl? "Umm… no?"
"I'm a freshman at McKinley." She stated. "My sister may not know what a bitch you are, but I certainly do."
"I think your sister can make up her own mind about who she decides is her friend and who isn't." Santana smirked. Pretending she didn't give a rat's ass about what this girl said, and she didn't… except secretly she was terrified. She'd done a lot of horrible things to people and she didn't want Brittany to find out what a terrible person she used to be.
"Brittany sees the good in people, she doesn't live in the same world that you and I do, she's special and I don't know what you're getting out of using her. Free alcohol? An older friend to make you look cooler? Whatever it is, you're not going to get away with it."
Santana scrunched her face in confusion. "I'm not using her." Santana said incredulously. "I've changed a lot since the start of senior year and Britt has been a big part of that. I know she doesn't see things like the rest of us. She's sweet, so kind, funny and maybe a little too innocent sometimes but that's why I love her. She sees the good when all I see is the bad, she reminds me that everything's going to be ok, that even though the world's a scary place, it can also be a wonderful place when she's around. She can take care of herself and she doesn't need her little sister to do it for her, so just back the fuck off Ok?"
Julia stood there stunned while she took in Santana's words. "You… You love her?"
The blood drained from Santana face. "What?"
"You said you love her." Julia repeated.
"No I didn't." Santana said a little too defensively.
"You said, and I quote, 'but that's why I love her.'" Julia said using air quotations.
"Umm, yeah I meant as a friend, duh." Santana smiled awkwardly feeling more and more queasy.
"It didn't sound like it." Julia smirked as she watched Santana squirm before her.
"I uh, I need to use the bathroom." Santana said walking away from the younger girl.
Santana couldn't believe she let that slip, she hadn't even admitted to herself that she may be falling in love with Brittany and then she just goes and blurts it out in front of said blonde's little sister. She took a deep breath, now was not the time to freak out.
"So how do you know Santana?" Brittany's mother asked.
"She's in the Glee club I was helping." Brittany replied, as she pulled some pastries out of the oven.
"She's very young, dear." Her mother said knowingly.
"Just friends Mom."
"I've seen the way you look at her, Honey, and the way she looks at you."
"I know." Brittany sighed defeated as she placed the tray she was holding on the breakfast bar and turned to look at her mother. There was no point in lying.
"Is she the one you cheated on Hannah with?"
Brittany lowered her eyes so she couldn't see the disappointment in the older woman's eyes when she answered. "Yes."
Her mother nodded. "When you're older, age becomes just a number. But right now, it's not, it's a gap in wisdom, in experience, even in opportunity. You're in two different places in life at the moment."
"Mom, I know all this. We've discussed this but it's complicated and it's between Santana and I, not anyone else, not even you."
Mrs Pierce paused, Brittany hadn't been this defensive with her in a long time. "I understand that. I just want you to be careful."
"I am." Brittany said as she turned and continued preparing the food.
Santana walked over to the breakfast bar where the food was laid out.
"Can I help?" She asked Mrs Pierce.
"We're all done dear." The older woman smiled. "Julia and I should start getting our house ready now."
"You're not joining us?" Santana asked and tried to hide the sense of relief she felt.
"I doubt Brittany would like her family crashing her party." The older woman smiled.
"I wouldn't mind." Brittany said appearing beside Mrs Pierce with a caring smile on her face causing Santana to melt a little.
"That's because you're a sweetheart but it's not really my scene anymore." She laughed.
"Anymore huh?" Santana grinned. "I bet you have some good stories."
The older woman gave a cheeky wink in Santana's direction.
"Thanks for helping." Brittany said as she gave her mother a hug.
"I'm happy for you," her mother said tugging Brittany closer. "I hope it works out, she seems like a nice girl." She whispered.
Brittany blushed and hoped Santana didn't hear. They hadn't even discussed what was happening between them lately and it wasn't like all there problems had disappeared because they spent a month apart.
The two parted. "Julia, thanks for helping." Brittany yelled to the younger girl who was sitting on the couch.
Julia got up and started walking toward the three gathered in the kitchen area. "No problem, I do looove my sister." She smirked at Santana.
Great, now Julia had something over her. She ignored the obvious remark directed toward her earlier slip up and smiled politely.
Brittany closed the door to the apartment after her mother and sister had left.
"I'm so sorry, I had no idea they were coming." she laughed.
"It's ok." Santana shrugged even though she really didn't think it was ok, especially after her little chat with Julia. "What now?" Santana asked.
Brittany smiled and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted but a knock on the door. "They're here!" She said excitedly, bouncing up and down on her toes.
The party had just started to get lively. Santana only recognised two of Brittany's friends. One was Sebastian that was at Sectionals and the second was Trish, who Santana recognised from the photo on Brittany's wall of the dancer mid-air.
Santana was sitting on the couch, next to some randoms who were making out. She couldn't help being reminded of Berry's party, when she sat alone in the corner of the room for most of the night. Was this who she was now? A wallflower at parties. Was she now the type of person she used to make fun of? She shuddered at the thought. Santana Lopez was not shy and there was no way in hell she was going to be the boring, quiet girl at the party. She stood up from the couch and made her way to the punch bowl. Alcohol would help her relax. She used the ladle to scoop the punch and poured it into a red plastic cup.
She went to take a drink when a hand came from behind her and snatched the cup away before she had even taken a sip.
"What the hell?" Santana growled as she turned to face the culprit.
Her breath hitched in her throat when she came face to face with Brittany, they were close, like really close. Brittany was smiling and had a cheeky glint in her eyes. "You heard my Mom, no alcohol for the underage." Brittany giggled.
Santana raised an eyebrow "If I remember correctly you seem to be a supplier for teens at parties."
"Not after last time, when I found you crying."
Santana scoffed. "That won't happen here."
"Is that so?" Brittany asked raising Santana's drinks to her lips.
"Hey, that' mine." Santana feigned annoyed.
Brittany shrugged, smiled and made her way back to some friends she had been talking to early, taking Santana's drink with her.
Santana frowned even though she wasn't angry. Brittany was taking care of her and it felt really, really good.
"Surely one couldn't hurt." A handsome looking guy said pouring some punch into a red cup and handing it to Santana.
"… Thanks." She said suspiciously.
"Just don't tell Britt." He winked. Santana nodded. "I'm Jeremy by the way."
"Santana." She replied taking a sip of her drink. "How do you know Brittany?" She asked.
"Ex-boyfriend." He said fondly.
Santana felt a wave of jealousy rush through her body.
Jeremy must have sensed the Latina's uneasiness. "It was freshman year high school, we've been friends ever since."
Santana smiled but even knowing it was years ago didn't help her jealousy. "She seems to have a lot of friends." She said looking around the room and changing the subject.
"Yeah, well it's Brittany, what's not to love." He laughed causing Santana to shoot him a glare. "Most of them are dancers, they've come home for the holidays. She doesn't get to see many of her friends anymore."
"What about you? Does she see you much?" Santana asked curiously.
"No I'm an accountant based in San Fran' now."
Santana relaxed a little. She didn't know why she got so jealous so easily. Brittany wasn't her girlfriend. It was just Jeremy got to call her that at one point, he got to touch her, kiss her whenever he pleased. She wasn't jealous of him so much now but more of what they had once. She really wanted that with the choreographer.
"Santana come and play Singstar." Brittany said rushing up to her. Santana handed her drink to Jeremy and gave him a thank you smile before letting herself be pulled to play the game.
"Britt." She said before they reached the console.
Brittany stopped and let go of her hand. "Sorry." She said disappointedly, her eyes lost their glimmer.
"Oh." Santana said looking at their now parted hands. "No it wasn't about hand holding." She clarified. She hadn't even thought that people would think they were something. Brittany's body language relaxed.
"It's just… Be my girlfriend?" she blurted hopefully.
A smile returned to the blonde's face. "What?" she whispered in disbelief.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" Santana asked.
"Santana, we're in different places, you're not even out of the closet yet."
"I know," Santana began. "But I'm getting there. It'll take time and I don't want to wait any longer. I think about you all the time, whether I'm in the closet or out of it, whether I'm a couple years older or not, none of it matters because I'm still going to have feelings for you, I'm still going to want you as my girlfriend." She paused and took Brittany's hand. Surprisingly she didn't really care if these people thought they were together but they were strangers so she guessed it was easier to forget about them and what they might be thinking. "I know you're going on tour and it will be really hard, but I'm willing to try." Brittany wasn't smiling, she was looking at Santana intently like she was taking in everything the younger girl said. "Please be my girlfriend?"
Brittany stood silent. Santana could see she was thinking about it. Her lips tugged at the sides and her mischievous smile returned. "Only if you promise to kiss me at midnight?"
Santana laughed. "That was the plan anyway."
The two played Singstar and danced together for most of the night until they found themselves alone in Brittany's bedroom counting down the seconds until midnight along with Brittany's clock radio that sat on her bedside table.
"Five…" They were standing close, staring into each other's eyes, smiles etched on both their faces.
"Four…" Brittany took a step closer so their bodies were pressed together. Her arms wrapped around Santana's waist, while Santana's were draped around the blonde's neck.
"Three…" Santana's heart was beating so hard she was certain Brittany could feel it. She was excited and nervous and she didn't think she'd ever felt happier. She was buzzing.
"Two…" Brittany was in awe of the girl she was holding, she was gorgeous and Brittany wondered how she got so lucky. Santana seemed to understand her more than people she'd known for much longer. Her heart felt like it was soaring, her stomach felt like it was hosting a rave for butterflies, everything felt so good. Her eyes were on Santana's lips and she couldn't wait any longer. She ducked her head and leaned in.
"One…" Santana whispered against Brittany's lips before she pressed her own against them. Brittany realised they didn't need to be outside with everyone else watching the fireworks from the street because they had their own. The spark was made when they caressed their lips together. The boom was their hearts beating hard against their chests. The after crackling was the tingles they felt from head to toe. The color was their intense feeling for each other swirling in their hearts, stomachs and in their minds.
There were muffled sounds of people yelling "Happy New year." from the streets but it was lost on the two girls standing in Brittany's bedroom, sharing a delicate, slow kiss they both hoped would last forever.
Eventually they parted after hearing the return of Brittany's friends in her apartment.
"Happy New Year Britt." Santana whispered smiling dopily.
"Happy New Year girlfriend." Brittany giggled and boop-ed the Latinas nose. "Oh, remind me that I have to feed Tubbs some time tonight."
They walked out of the bedroom and back into the living room. Brittany started taking shots with some of her dance friends while Santana fed Lord Tubbington because Brittany didn't remember. She couldn't believe she now had a girlfriend. A girlfriend who was the most amazing person in the world. She couldn't stop smiling, she hoped this feeling would never leave.
It was 3am and most people had either passed out or taken a cab home. Santana was the only sober one there and she was tired. Brittany was drunk and dancing bare foot on the couch with some guy. Santana wondered if she was sleeping in Brittany's bed tonight. They were girlfriends after all, but cuddling a woman and falling asleep next to a woman was something Santana had never done. It sounded weird when she thought about it, until she replace the word woman with Brittany. Falling asleep while snuggling up to Brittany sounded amazing.
Santana leaned against the wall and watched as Brittany laughed and sang along to the music. She was so cute and looked so happy it just made Santana smile. The song ended and Brittany looked disappointed.
"Again! Again!" She yelled and wobbled a little. "And this time I want to dance with Santana!"
Santana laughed and shook her head. "No way!"
"Come on San, let me just changed the song." Brittany slurred and jumped off the couch, she let out a yelp before falling to the floor.
"Shit!" Santana said rushing to Brittany's side. She knelt down and help Brittany sit up which was a struggle because she was already so drunk.
"Are you k?" The guy she was dancing with asked incoherently.
Brittany giggled. "I think I have a boo-boo." She laughed even more.
"Oh god." Santana said trying to take a look at the blonde's foot.
"Oh, is Doctor Santana going to fix me up?" Brittany said groggily and started playing with Santana's hair. "Doctor Santana is soooo pwetty."
"I think we should take you to the hospital." Santana said calmly but noticed the dancer's foot had begun to swell. "Where do you keep your first aid kit?"
"I'm fine 'tana," She said trying to stand but winced once she put any pressure on her swelling foot.
"Stay here." Santana said. She got up quickly and looked in the freezer. She got a packet of frozen peas out and wrapped it in a tea towel. She returned to Brittany who was now talking to Sebastian. Santana applied the DIY icepack. "Sebastian, are you sober enough to help me get Britt to the car?" she asked.
"Yeah sure, what happened?" he asked picking up the blonde who was now falling asleep.
"She jumped off the couch and hurt her foot. I'm going to take her to the hospital."
"Oh crap. I'll come too." He said, they both knew a hurt foot could affect Brittany's upcoming tour. Santana grabbed Brittany's car keys and apartment keys and followed Sebastian to the car. He put Brittany in the back seat and slid in beside her, while Santana got in the driver's seat.
"Do you think they'll burn the place down while we're gone? Santana asked looking at the apartment.
"They'll be fine." Sebastian said.
Santana nodded and started the car. She looked in the rear-view mirror at her now sleeping girlfriend and hoped her injury was better than it looked.
