July 28, 2010
The first and second days had been torture. Sure, Brittany was in shape, but this was no joke. After two days of full on cardio and endurance, she was ready for the dance/routines portion of the week. Luckily for her, that day was today. She set out that morning, making sure to leave way ahead of schedule since she was driving there solo for the first time after endlessly begging her parents. That would be why she found herself in the McKinley High parking lot an hour early. She observed the few other student athletes and parents roaming around, no doubt trying to get to their summer commitments as well, she figured. Brittany took the time to take each one in as they passed in front of her. There were mostly the typical jock popular types with their letterman jackets in tow, even in this humid and hot weather, walking calmly to their destination leaving a crowd of girls swooning behind them. She really didn't get the appeal; especially of that guy with the ridiculous mohawk. The sound of her phone playing "I'm a Hustla" broke her out of her thoughts. With a giggle, she answered it.
"I'm alive, ma."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that. You were supposed to call me!" Susan raised her voice, causing Brittany to cringe.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I just get..." Her sentence trailed off as she saw a silver Mustang pull in opposite her.
"Britt?"
"Distracted. You know how I am, I get distracted!" She looked back into the other car just in time to see Santana, the girl she spent the past two days with, looking back at her. In a surprising move, she waved shyly and jerked her head to the side in a gesture Brittany understood to mean, "Meet me outside". She ended her conversation with her mother still in a daze as she exited the car. Taking a deep breath, she made her way out and approached Santana.
"Hi"
"Hey. You're here early...coach will like that."
"Good. I swear that woman is insane-" Santana quirked an eyebrow. "-ly wonderful!"
"Hahaha it's ok. I think she's just as wonderful as you do." Brittany looked up at the other girl and smiled shyly. The tension between them eased a bit and both girls slipped into an easy conversation as they walked to the bleachers.
"So, where are you from?" Santana asked.
"Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh actually...it's not that far from here."
"Ah, yeah. I've passed through there on my way to New York. Cute town."
"Yeah, it's alright. Living there gets boring sometimes and it's not like I can escape to New York City on the weekends or anything."
"That sucks! You've been out there though, yeah?"
"Definitely. Not as much as I'd like though. That's why I'm totally moving there after high school. Well, I hope to."
"Really? Me too! Well either there or LA."
"Nice! So what grade are you in?"
"Sophomore this year. You?"
"What? So how are you the captain? Oh and same."
"I'm just that good." Santana shrugged and brushed her shoulders, causing Brittany to burst out laughing. "What? I'm serious! Coach has been watching me since the sixth grade. She made me an unofficial member of the squad in seventh, and I took over in ninth when I got to high school. Quinn too. We're like the holy duo or some shit like that."
"Wow. That's amazing. Can't wait to see what you've got then." Brittany said in a semi-flirtatious voice causing Santana to blush.
"Uh...yeah...well, prepare to have your mind blown!"
"Doubt it! I'll be the one blowing minds."
"Guess well have to see after today then, huh?"
"Guess so!" Both girls grinned toothily. They were so completely wrapped up in each other that they failed to notice the figure walking over to them, whose appearance shook both girls out of their stupor.
"Fabray." Santana sneered looking up at her friend.
"Lopez." Quinn winked before turning her attention to the other girl. "Brittany, right?"
"Y-yeah. Hi Quinn."
"Hey! I'm glad to see you guys are getting acquainted seeing as Brittany is sure to have a spot in the fall if she chooses to go here. Not many can keep up with Coach Sylvester's intense cardio days. Anyway, I hate to cut this...conversation short, but Santana and I should get to our spots on the field. Coach will be here any minute." Looking between the two, she sensed some tension so she decided to give them a minute. Before walking away though, Quinn pointed to the label on her chest, reminding Brittany to put on her nametag.
"Okay...guess I'll see you out there? Make sure you put that tag on too. Today's definitely the day to have your name known." With one more glance, Santana hurried off to catch up with her best friend.
Brittany remained silent and seated, processing what just happened. One of the captains just said she was a shoe in and the other was on somewhat friendly terms with her. This was turning out to be an amazing day. Figuring she should get out to the field, she took out her nametag and put it on. Then it hit her. "Quinn". That was the first time she saw how the girl spelled her name, and it was awfully familiar to her. She thought back and remembered seeing it on her friend's status, thinking it was unique and pretty. Brittany wanted to write this off as just a coincidence, but she didn't believe in those thanks to Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. With a shake of her head, she jogged over to the field, mind boggled and mumbling to herself.
"This time it just had to be. Surely there were other girls named Quinn who happened to be a cheerio, right? Totally. Heck, maybe she even misspelled her own name. 'Kwin' seems more appropriate. I mean, 'Quinn' should be pronounced 'queen' or something. Plus, 'S's Quinn probably isn't a cheerleader. Good, that's solved. Shit, Santana started with a 'S'. Ugh...okay, gotta focus on cheering today, Britt. You got this."
That mini pep talk paid off for Brittany. She stood mountains above the other recruits and had really garnered plenty of attention and praises. None from the coach herself, but all the returners, and more importantly the captains, took notice. At the end of the day as the girls were doing their "cool down" jog, Brittany felt a presence join her. Looking over to the girl, she smiled and continued to run in silence.
"You were pretty good out there. I mean, not as great as me, but decent."
"HA! Well let's hope Coach Sylvester feels that way."
"I'm sure she will. Anyone with eyes can see how great you are."
"Thanks." A suddenly red Brittany replied.
"Awe, look...she's blushing." Santana teased, shouldering Brittany before speeding up to finish her lap. Brittany slowed down to a walk, looking at the girl in amusement and bewilderment before sprinting to catch up. She had a feeling she would be doing a lot of running around with and after, this girl.
A few hours later, Brittany was face down on her bed in pretty much the same position since showering when she got home. A loud ding filled the room. She rolled over and picked up her laptop, happy to see who had messaged her.
canttouchthis21: hey...sup?
danceefreak: hi :) nothing much. just dyingg...a slow, painful death lol you?
canttouchthis21: SAME! cheerleading?
danceefreak: yep! this D1 thing is no joke. It's been cool though. it's just so much more than i'm used to, and this coach doesn't play. though i mean, the girls are hot hahaha.
canttouchthis21: aww, yeah..u'll get used to it once it's in full swing. and nice! that's always a deal sealer. we've got a couple lookers too. how's the squad?
danceefreak: amazing! i'm barely keeping up with them
canttouchthis21: what happened to ur "skillz" miss?
danceefreak: oh..they were front and center! everyone else was just THAT good...or so it seemed anyway. especially the captains. i did get a few compliments though :)
canttouchthis21: sweet! see..you're fine. and yeahh, that's our job. u don't just get handed that spot. gotta earn it like i did ;)
danceefreak: wait..you didn't tell me you were the captain of your squad? wow..that's awesome
canttouchthis21: yeah, i fucking love it. so u like the school and stuff? like u think u'll move out there?
danceefreak: most likely. the rents are still looking into houses and such. it really all comes down to if i get invited back though
canttouchthis21: i'm sure u will :)
danceefreak: thanks! anyway, how's life? it's been a little bit since we last spoke
canttouchthis21: same old same old really. just been chillin, cheerleading. u know there isn't much life outside of that
danceefreak: yeah, i'm starting to realize that lol. it's all good though, i mean...you meet people who'll become your friends and that's a win in my book
canttouchthis21: exactly. like my best friend is on the squad too
danceefreak: see? and that's awesome
canttouchthis21: definitely
danceefreak: yeah and one of the girls i met, i can already tell we're gonna be good friends.
canttouchthis21: aww yay! oddly enough, i'm in like the same position. it's so weird cause we just click, you know?
danceefreak: totally! i love when that happens
canttouchthis21: ditto. so what are u up to for the rest of the day?
danceefreak: relaxing, then figuring out what to do for dinner with the parentals. you?
canttouchthis21: most likely heading out to dinner with some friends in a few. breadstix has all you can eat pasta so u KNOW i'm in there!
danceefreak: hahaha amazing! ahh i almost forgot to tell you! there's one of those in the town we're in. went there for dinner a few nights back. it was pretty good.
canttouchthis21: omg really? hmm. hadn't realized there were so many. i mean, i know they're a chain restaurant and whatnot...that's amazing tho! glad u got to experience the orgasm i'm sure ur mouth had ;) lol
danceefreak: lol! i wouldnt go that far, but it was good =P
canttouchthis21: that's it? just good? i don't think we can be friends anymore
danceefreak: someone's obsessed!
canttouchthis21: hell yeah!
danceefreak: hahaha loser
canttouchthis21: far from it babe :)
danceefreak: uh huh...sure.
canttouchthis21: lol whatever! so hey, i gotta go get ready and shiz then head out.
danceefreak: kk, have a good one!
canttouchthis21: thanks :) u too yeah?
danceefreak: yup yup..thanks!
canttouchthis21: :) and enjoy the rest of cheerleading too! not sure when i'll get back on here
danceefreak: gracias! you too...ttys :)
Sighing, Brittany sat back from her laptop. There were so many things to think about. The similarities between her online friend and her new friend, Santana, were quite a bit much. It's an extreme circumstance she's found herself in, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. She spent the next ten minutes thinking before coming to a rash decision.
"God this is such a bad idea." She said to herself as she made her way to the common area of the suite.
"Hey Britt, how are you feeling?" Susan asked, smiling at her daughter.
"Better, thanks." Brittany looked around. "Where's dad?"
"He just stepped out for a bit. What's wrong?"
"Oh, I was just wondering what the dinner plans were for the night."
"Hmm, I don't know. Have anything in mind?"
"I'm kinda feeling for Italian tonight. I thought maybe we could head out to that place we went to on Saturday?"
Susan paused to think about it. "Oh, that's a great idea! I enjoyed their food. Let me just call your father then we can go. You should wash up in the meantime."
"Sweet! Ok, let me know when we're leaving."
Brittany ran back to the room to change and "wash up". After picking out a satisfying outfit, she decided to lounge around on her computer until her father got back. She updated her facebook first, then went to do the same to her aim. She stopped herself though. It was unclear if the other girl was putting together the pieces like she was, so there was no need to take that risk. She would just show up, and if Santana was there...well she wasn't sure what would happen. She had to find out though.
"Brittany, your father's here!"
Shaken out of her thoughts, Brittany shut her laptop and made her way to join her family.
Thanks for all the lovely reviews, favorites and messages of encouragement to get this thing out. And to everyone who's still reading. I appreciate it sooo much!