The next week was brutal for Santana and her fellow cheerios. During their Monday morning practice, not only did they fail to keep their pyramid standing for the required minute and a half, the squad also couldn't for the life of them learn the new routine. They just weren't working together, and Coach Sylvester punished them for it. As of that morning, they were to have three a days for the however long necessary in order to "regain their standing as viable human beings and not fall to the level of those despicable mouth breathers who possess neither the guts nor talent to pass as the aforementioned species." Santana knew that there was a compliment somewhere in that statement. It's the only thing that stopped her from slashing the tires of her coach's prized 1979 Le Car that day. Well, there was also the fact that she was terrified to even try such a thing. No one needed to know that though. So she sucked it up and attended her three practices a day.
July 19, 2010
Today marked day six of having belonged to the devil. She had begrudgingly awoke each previous day at seven in order to be at the field by nine. Their first session concluded at noon, followed by an hour lunch break, and then it was back to work until six in the evening with another long break thrown in somewhere at Sue's discretion. In other words, they got their butts handed to them. So much in fact that upon her arrival home on these days, Santana showered, ate and threw herself into bed falling asleep almost instantly. Today was one of those rare days where she was home by one. It started pouring just as the cheerleaders finished their first session, and remaining practices were cancelled for the day as the presence of lightening demanded that all outdoor activities cease immediately. If it were up to one Sue Sylvester, her squad would be out there running wind sprints and dodging lightening bolts, if they were so lucky. Unfortunately for her, Principal Figgins anticipated this and was on hand to handle the situation. The squad couldn't have been more grateful. Santana couldn't be more grateful. This meant she wouldn't be dead to the world for yet another day and could possibly have the chance to talk to her online companion. It's been all of eight days (including the weekend which called for a visit to her grandparents house in some secluded, woodsy area), after all. One thing stood in the way of that at the moment though, Quinn.
Pulling into her driveway, Santana put her Mustang into park and sat waiting for her best friend to do the same. Once they were both situated, they entered the house heading straight to the kitchen. The refrigerator was opened and two bottles of Gatorade were extracted as per their usual routine developed the year prior. They both made their way to Santana's room to drop their stuff off before separating for quick showers. Thirty minutes later, both were clad in sweats watching tv. Eyeing her laptop, Santana thought about picking it up. However, thinking of what that would lead to she decided to forgo venturing online. She was SO not up for the inquisition from Quinn. She figured she had all night to possibly talk to B.
"You know...you could just go online and do whatever it is you do..." Quinn said sizing up her friend with a mocking look.
Feigning innocence, Santana replied asking Quinn to further elaborate claiming that she 'didn't know what she was going on about'.
"Oh don't play that! You know damn well what I'm talking about Miss 'I'm gonna stare longingly at my laptop looking all sad because I can't talk to my girl.' It's pathetic." The two engaged in a staring match as Quinn said those words. Santana was the first to break it by rolling her eyes.
"Fine. I will, but only if you text the person who has you staring at your phone all longingly and shit." With a smirk, she continued "Gee! I wonder who that could be?" While Quinn didn't verbally say anything, the redness flushing her cheeks told Santana everything she needed to know. "Thought so!"
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Trying to look anywhere but at her friend, she continued "but deal."
Santana's head shot up at her friend with a disbelieving look. Raising an eyebrow and biting her lip, she let out a chuckle. Knowing Quinn would never talk about who was on the receiving end of the impending texts openly, she simply slid off her bed to retrieve her computer. Opening it up, she logged onto the various sites that she immediately brought up on her screen, including her Aim account which opened on it's own. Scrolling down her list, she sees a familiar name. She was about to initiate a conversation when a hand hit hers away from the trackpad.
"Um..ow! What the fuck?" She turned, facing the owner of said hands.
"Oh..excuse me. I'll let you hit up your friend seconds after you sign on because that doesn't seem..a tad desperate." She deadpanned, earning a very goldfish-esque reaction from Santana. "Sheesh! What would you do without me?"
"Ok. First of all, wipe that shit eating grin off your face before I do it for you. Second, if you didn't make such good points, I'd hate to be you right now after I got done with ya for not only hitting me, but being mad fucking nosy!" Santana delivered in a calm tone. That caused Quinn to lunge over and pinch her friends cheek.
"Aww Sannypoo! You're welcome!" She laughed and winked at her friend before nonchalantly returning her attention to her phone as if nothing happened.
"Whatever Fabray!" Reaching over she smacked her friend in the head earning a glare in return.
That was short lived though as Quinn's phone went off. Santana watched as she started grinning like an idiot, completely lost in her own world. Forming a devilish grin herself, Santana went back to her computer where she continued to set her away status to something her friend would be sure to love when she saw it later.
After looking at various sites for a few minutes, she went to check her profile inbox. Glancing to her left, she concluded Quinn was too caught up in texting, so it was safe to proceed. There were four messages waiting for her. Smiling, she clicked open the first one.
danceefreak (Monday, 3:30pm) wrote:
Hiya! How are you? Hope you had a good night yesterday! We ended up watching The Lion King, which reminded me of Simba =P lol. Anyway! Guess you're not around. Probably at your cheer practice that's twenty times more legit than mine. Ahh I can't wait to be on your level! sighh
Well I'm off of here for a bit. I'll be around on aim though so hit me up. Don't be shy ;) hehehe
ttys
-B
Still smiling, she went to open the second message.
danceefreak (Thursday, 6:55pm) wrote:
So I'm slightly worried! You've been mia for a little bit now. I hope you're...you know, alive and stuff. I'd be sad if you weren't. Hmm..well I have to run out for a little. Having a girls night with some friends. Uh..yeah, hope you're good over there. Guess I'll talk to you soon! :)
danceefreak (Friday, 2:00pm) wrote:
guesssss what? I just booked plane tickets to go to that freaking D1 school! I can't believe it's practically only a week away. Anyway! I just wanted to share that with you :) ttys!
danceefreak (10:38am) wrote:
Hmm..so I just realized that us not talking may have been intentional on your end. I hope not! But if that is the case, then please ignore the other messages I left you. Anyway, take care.
-B
Upon seeing the last message, Santana hurriedly went to type a reply, after a quick "awww" which she was unaware had been said out loud.
cheeriox21 (2:06pm) wrote:
hey there! thanks for your concern abt my absence. long story short...my coach is a lunatic who has us scheduled for three practices everysinglefuckingday! i've been dead to the world pretty much. i would never intentionally not talk to u. talking to u is fun :) lol anyway i see u over on aim so i shall go hit u up there!
True to her word, Santana went to IM the other girl. Before she could even do anything, a box popped up on her screen.
canttouchthis21 is away: *Quinn...aka the grinning idiot next to me must be having quite the text convo. hmm...a little sexting perhaps? i wonder who's on the other end of those... lol*
danceefreak: why hello there! glad to see you're alive and NOT ignoring me =P
canttouchthis21: hahaha hi! def wasnt ignoring u, and thanks for the concern :)
danceefreak: i'm glad! and np :)
canttouchthis21: soo whaddup?
danceefreak: nothing much...u?
canttouchthis21: same. just chillin. got outta practice early today thanks to the rain and i'm so fucking excited!
danceefreak: i bet u are! i mean..u get to talk to me right? ;)
canttouchthis21: word!
danceefreak: nah i'm just kidding =P
canttouchthis21:...i wasn't ;)
danceefreak: oh..quit making me blush!
canttouchthis21: only returning the favor ma
danceefreak: lmao! u did not just call me "ma"
canttouchthis21: lol don't hate on my swag. u know u like it
danceefreak: righttt...lol
canttouchthis21: =P
danceefreak: youre such a dork
canttouchthis21: never that lol. so anyway! what have you been up to the past week? missing me?
danceefreak: uh huh...sure! and I've been uhh...missing u ;)
danceefreak: hehe jk. i've mostly been working out, finalizing stuff for next week. it's so flipping weird! and kinda stressful
Before Santana could read the girl's response, she felt a pillow connect with her head. She turned her head to the culprit with her patented 'what the fuck' expression.
"What was that for?"
"I hate you. Did you seriously have to write that shit on Facebook?" Quinn asked.
"What are you talking about?" She really had no clue what her friend was talking about.
"Well according to Rachel, I'm apparently a grinning idiot or something of the sort cause of the person I'm talking to...sexting...which I'm NOT! I should have known something was up when she asked me if I was texting anyone else."
"Oh, that! I forgot that shit gets posted everywhere." Santana said with a chuckle. "Oops?" With a smug look, she brought her attention back to her computer.
danceefreak:...u there?
canttouchthis21: yeah..sorry bout that! my friend distracted me for a bit.
danceefreak: the one in ur away? Quinn? that's an interesting name! i like it :)
canttouchthis21: yeah...her. she's a dork. but moving on...srry youre having a hard time working things out. just think of how it'll all be worth it!
danceefreak: that's what i keep telling myself :)
canttouchthis21: good!
danceefreak: yup yup. so 3 a days huh? that's nuts. i'm sure that can't be legal! lol
canttouchthis21: omg! tell me about it! my coach is crazy.
danceefreak: sounds it! but hey..at least u get a nice body out of it. one of the perks yeah?
canttouchthis21: that's right! I'm bangin!
danceefreak: hahaha sure u are =P
canttouchthis21: lol trust..i'm def not lacking in that area
danceefreak: yeah yeah..guess it's one of those "i have to see it to believe it" moments lol
canttouchthis21: yo u'd be lucky to be graced with my presence ;)
danceefreak: sighhh...so you say
canttouchthis21: ugh! moving on...again.
danceefreak: haha go for it
canttouchthis21: ive got nothing
danceefreak: lol well tell me about ur practices. why 3 a days? what are u guys working on?
canttouchthis21: spying for the opposition i see =P
danceefreak: lol well considering i don't know ur school, that's impossible! so..go on
canttouchthis21: uh huh...but omg..ok so it all started when some freshman messed up the pyramid which is a huge no no..i mean, u can't even so much as quiver. it's gotta be perfect. THEN this new routine my coach has us working on is fucking impossible. so yeah..long story short...my coach is insane lol.
danceefreak: wow..that's nuts!
canttouchthis21: yeah tell me about it..smh (a/n: "shaking my head" for those unfamiliar with it)
danceefreak: uhh yeah, the coach at that new school better not be like that!
canttouchthis21: yeah for your sake i hope not! so how's that process going?
danceefreak: it's going. kinda stressful, but it's alright. my mom and dad have been looking into houses and such where it's at so it's becoming more real! i'm excited though. their squad is really really good...supposedly the best.
canttouchthis21: yeah it'll die down eventually. and lets not get too excited here..mine's the best =P y'all can take second tho i guess
danceefreak: lol..what section are u guys in?
canttouchthis21: east
danceefreak: ooh same! guess we'll have to see then ;)
canttouchthis21: damn straight! don't get ur hopes up tho...JUST SAYIN lol
danceefreak: uh huh...sure. u keep thinking that. but just keep in mind how much better mine will be once i get there :)
canttouchthis21: ahh u and ur mad skillz huh?
danceefreak: heck yeah! so anyway..it seems we'll be running in the same circle pretty soon
canttouchthis21: indeed...small world
danceefreak: well uhh..if u ever need some pointers or anything...let me know =P
canttouchthis21: u wish!
danceefreak: haha "JUST SAYIN"
canttouchthis21: yeah yeah..the same goes to u btw.
danceefreak: uh huh...
canttouchthis21: i mean..lets be honest. u'll need it more than i will. i'm an excellent teacher too! promise ;)
danceefreak: i'm sure u are!
canttouchthis21: dont hate! =P
danceefreak: "never that!"..oh look! i'm learning from u already lmao.
canttouchthis21: dork.
danceefreak: :)
canttouchthis21: do u get to do ur big decision reveal?
danceefreak: as soon as i sign my letter of intent!
canttouchthis21: ooo yay! u gotta let me know
danceefreak: of courseeee.
canttouchthis21: sweett!
danceefreak: just promise me one thing..."when you go to Nationals, bring it. don't slack off just because you feel sorry for us. that way, when we beat you, we'll know it's because we're better"
canttouchthis21: "Oh i'll bring it! don't worry..."
danceefreak: "i never do" ;)
canttouchthis21: fucking bring it onnn mannn! that's like the "mean girls" of the cheerleading world
danceefreak: hahaha yes! that was awesome! so glad u caught on. wouldve questioned ur cheerleading status otherwise
canttouchthis21: hehehe...right? that movie's a must. but for real tho. i can't wait to know which school to absolutely destroy ;)
danceefreak: dream on missy
danceefreak: lmao! omg missy! she was the freaking best. eliza dushku...HOT
canttouchthis21: lol that was perfect! and yes. she. IS.
The girls spent the rest of the night chatting idly with each other, only taking breaks for food and other necessities before saying their goodbyes to get some sleep. She didn't even fully acknowledge Quinn's departure a full 2 hours prior. Luckily, that went unnoticed by the other girl because she too was engrossed in her own little world. It was the most content Santana had felt in a while and that scared her a little. Actually, she was terrified. How did she attain such a strong connection with someone she barely knew and communicated with strictly through a computer. It almost felt unnatural. Almost.
A/N: Ok..I suck. I know lol. Working on it though! I pretty much have a set time to write each day now, (during my breaks from classes) so I should be a little better about posting. Thanks for taking the time to read/review/alert the previous chapters! It means a lot :)
Enjoy!