Chapter 1
"You're a bitch, Lopez."
Santana chuckled low in her throat as she made her way up the steps to her apartment, her phone balanced precariously between her ear and her shoulder. After a long Friday of classes, there was nothing she wanted more than to put on some relaxing music, soak in her tub for a few hours, and then collapse in her bed to sleep like the dead until halfway through tomorrow.
"What can I say, Fabray? It's a gift. Bestowed upon me by whatever gods are up there, and perfected with years and years of practice hating people." Rummaging in her bag for her keys, Santana groaned, making a mental note to herself to actually attempt to clean out her purse, realizing with a quick glance that there was far more dumped into it than she ever used in a month, much less on a daily basis.
"You could at least come home for the actual holiday. Doesn't even have to be for a week." She could hear the plea in Quinn's tone, the desperation to not be faced with the town they'd both escaped on their own, but Santana wasn't budging.
"Not a chance," Santana replied, letting out a sound of triumph when her hand closed around the jagged metal of her apartment key, pulling the keychain from her bag and grabbing her phone with her hand once more. "I already told the 'rents they were on their own for Thanksgiving. Can't go back on my word, can I?"
She heard Quinn sigh through the phone, a pleased smile spreading across her lips when she realized her best friend had given up arguing with her. She knew Quinn was hoping for a buffer when it came to her own parents, having already made plans to return to Lima for the entirety of her break from Yale, but Santana had promised herself freshman year that she would only return home for summer break, Christmas too if she was really feeling up to it.
It wasn't that she didn't love her parents - she did, really. They were loving, and kind, and supported her need to be on her own. Her father had been the one to insist she look at colleges outside of Lima, and had offered to pay for everything, a gift Santana was relieved to have not needed to take. They'd always had her well being at heart, and she had to admit that a small part of her felt guilty for avoiding the holidays back in her hometown. But Lima was...Lima, and Santana had no interest in inserting herself back into the world she'd fought so hard to get out of.
"Fine," she heard Quinn's defeated voice filter through the phone, "but you so owe me when I drag my ass up to the city to see you."
A chuckle vibrated in Santana's throat as she turned on the midway point to make her way up the final set of stairs that would lead to her apartment. "You got it, Fabray. I'll take you out and get you all kinds of wasted." They hadn't been out drinking in ages, Santana's fake ID collecting dust at the bottom of her desk drawer, and she had to admit that the thought was definitely appealing.
She was just about to start telling Quinn about all the trouble they were going to get in when they finally made room in their busy schedules for a girl's weekend, but the words died on her throat when she glanced up towards the landing of her apartment, catching sight of the blonde that lived in the apartment across from her own. She'd only seen her once when the girl had moved in over a month ago, but she'd been in a hurry and the girl had been turned away dealing with boxes, so she had no real idea what her neighbor even looked like.
"Hey listen," she said into the phone, not taking her eyes from the blonde with her back to her, "I've gotta go, Q. Say hi to Russell and Judy for me."
Without another word, she was ending the call, sliding her phone into her purse as she climbed the remaining steps until she was level with her neighbor. The baby that she'd been kept awake by was nowhere to be seen, the other girl murmuring quietly as Santana moved to walk towards her own door. She heard the words taper off, Santana assuming the other girl had just become aware of her presence, and she couldn't help the way she peeked over her shoulder, curious to see more.
Her heart stuttered in her chest when she finally caught sight of her, the sole glimpse she'd gotten before today hardly justice for the beauty that was standing before Santana. She was tall, a few inches taller than Santana's own height, with gorgeous blonde hair that fell loose around her shoulders and piercing blue eyes that were examining Santana curiously. Santana's own eyes scanned up and down the woman standing in front of her, clad in simple jeans and a white t-shirt, her feet bare and toes painted a bright pink color.
"Uh, hi," the other girl said as Santana's eyes jumped buck up to her face, pocketing a phone that Santana assumed she'd been talking into just moments before and stepping closer, holding her hand out for Santana to take. "I'm Brittany."
Santana was frozen for only a moment before she found her wits, lifting her own hand to slide into Brittany's, a small, if unsure, smile spreading across her lips. Brittany. The name definitely suited her, and Santana found herself rolling it around in her head as she continued to examine the woman standing in front of her. "Santana," she replied, shifting her bag on her shoulder as the smile on her face grew to a genuine one, her other hand running through her hair. "I'm sorry I've yet to introduce myself. It's been a crazy semester and we always just seemed to pass each other by."
Brittany laughed softly at that, nodding as she let their hands fall apart, her own slipping into the pocket of the worn jeans she wore. "I can understand that. I've been really busy with Ryan anyways. 6 month olds aren't exactly the most self-sufficient people around. I'm pretty much always dealing with him, but I finally got him down for a nap so I figured I would slip out here and try to make a few phone calls."
Ryan. So that was the name of her biggest nuisance. "Ryan. Is that your little brother?" She hadn't seen anyone else coming in and out of the apartment, but one glance at Brittany told her there was almost no way this woman could be a mother. She was ridiculously young, and while that wouldn't have surprised her based solely on her experiences in Lima, she was also obviously in amazing shape, no sign of ever carrying a child on her body. Not that Santana was checking her out, or anything.
"Oh, no," Brittany replied with a laugh, Santana's eyes tracking the way she brushed a single strand of hair behind her ear. "Ryan's my son. It's just him and I here."
Surprise must have shown on Santana's face, because Brittany continued with her explanation, shifting her weight from foot to foot. "I had him when I was young," she said with a shrug, glancing back towards the apartment door with a smile on her face, one that was obviously full of love and adoration. "And I'm a dancer, so it wasn't too hard to get the pre-baby body back."
Santana's eyebrows arched into her hairline as Brittany spoke, the candid way in which the other girl seemed to read exactly what Santana was thinking and had no qualms about sharing her personal details throwing her for a loop. The dancing part certainly explained the body.
"Well, listen, it was nice to meet you Brittany." Shifting her keys to her other hand, she held out her right, taking Brittany's once more and shaking it, trying her hardest to ignore how warm and soft the other felt in her own. "But I've really gotta get to studying. I'll see you around?"
"Sure," Brittany replied brightly, flashing Santana a bright smile before turning to head back into her apartment. "See you around, Santana."
Letting out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Santana nodded, watching as Brittany's door closed behind her before turning back to her own. She fumbled with the key in the lock for a few moments before successfully unlocking the door, making her way inside and doing her best to keep from glancing back towards the door that now separated her from the beautiful stranger.
A/N: Feedback appreciated, as always! Now that we're in to the actual story, my goal is to update about once a week, and chapters will definitely get longer as we get into things.