A/N: Hello! I have officially decided that I will continue with this story! I would just like to clarify something…. I am not going to tolerate those guest reviewers who have nothing constructive/positive about this story. So don't even bother. If you are one of those guest reviewers, I think that you should really find something better to do with your time. I also always find it funny that these people only review as guests, when we all know that they have accounts they are choosing not to use. I have full control over whose reviews I let stay on my stories. This means that I have the opportunity to delete those I wish to. I rarely do it, but I still have that choice. Personally, The reviews can only have a positive effect on me, seeing as the more reviews I have, the more likely it is my story will get read…..
I would also like to add that I would like readers to keep an open mind about any possible pairings in this story.
Okay, mini-rant over. I would like to thank the people who have already reviewed or followed/favourited this story. I really do hope that people are enjoying/will enjoy the story. I'm so glad that you have enjoyed this. Also, I do try to respond to all the reviews that I get. It's a personal preference. If I don't it's probably because I've been hellishly busy, and haven't had the opportunity. Just know that I do see the reviews and I really appreciate them. Also, please check out the poll on my profile page, it will only take minutes and be greatly appreciated. So, here's the new chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it, please review if you do, I love reading them, and I will see you all on the other side!-Lauren's Glee Stories
A/N: Also, this roughly follows canon for the first two seasons, and will twist certain aspects from all the first three seasons to fit the story. As you already know, it officially becomes AU after the crash at the end of their senior year.
A/N 3: Also! I am so very sorry for the long gap between this chapter and the last one! I have had an incredibly shitty past month or two and though I know it's not your fault, it has gotten in the way of my writing. If it helps, I feel very guilty about it. So, again, I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review and I'll see you at the end of it!-Lauren's Glee Stories x
...Last Chapter...
"Look, I can see my car, do you want a ride home?" She asked,
"Sure," Santana agreed after a moment, "I've got a feeling we have a lot of catching up to do..."
Rachel winced and nodded in agreement, "I've got a feeling that you're right," She replied quietly.
Rachel's POV
After they had gotten into Rachel's car and pulled out of the carpark, they were silent. Rachel was fully aware that the pair of them had a lot to talk about, but she had no clue how to start.
They'd been driving for several minutes before Santana cleared her throat awkwardly,
"So..." She started, trailing off at the end,
Rachel nodded determinedly, "So," She agreed,
"This is fucking weird," Santana blurted,
Rachel nodded, too tired to bother calling Santana out on her language,
"I know," She replied, unsure what else to say,
Santana tapped her fingers on her door before speaking again,
"So, where do you live now?" She asked conversationally,
"New York," Rachel replied with a small smile,
Though Rachel hadn't necessarily made any of her dreams come true, she hadn't yet gotten tired of telling people she lived in New York,
Santana whistled appreciatively,
"Nice, Berry, at least one of us made it," She replied, looking out her window,
Rachel frowned slightly at that, but didn't bother to correct her,
"Why, where do you live?" She asked curiously,
"L.A.," Santana replied, her face not giving away much emotion,
Rachel nodded, absorbing the information,
"Do you still know anybody from McKinley?" She queried, turning down the next main road,
Santana did a kind of half-nod, half-shake of her head,
"Actually, I live with Mercedes," She admitted, "In L.A.," She added as if it weren't already mentioned,
Rachel's eyes widened slightly, "Wow, I haven't seen her since... Graduation..."
She saw Santana wince slightly, possibly at the mention of graduation,
"Have you?" Santana replied,
Rachel tilted her head slightly, "Not really," She realised,
Santana looked at her confusedly, "Well, you either have or you haven't..."
"I actually married Jesse," Rachel told her, internally wincing at the fact that after all these years, those words still didn't sound right, "St. James, from Vocal Adrenaline," She clarified, keeping her eyes firmly on the road,
She could practically hear Santana's mind racing with questions,
"The guy who made breakfast on your head?" She spluttered,
Rachel laughed, "The very same," She affirmed,
"I thought you hated that guy after what he did to you," She muttered, almost as if she were speaking to herself,
Rachel smiled in amusement and shook her head, "We're actually really good friends," She confirmed,
"Well, clearly you're more than friends, otherwise you wouldn't have married the guy," Santana replied, still sounding slightly shocked,
Rachel only then realised the words she had used,
"Right, obviously," She laughed nervously, turning down the next road and coming to a stop outside her house, only realising after she had stopped that she needed to take Santana home,
"Sorry, I guess my brain was on auto-mode," She apologised,
Santana waved a hand at her dismissively, "No problem," She replied,
Rachel deliberated her options briefly,
"Want to come in for dinner?" She asked in a tone which sounded strangely hopeful,
Santana blinked in surprise before nodding slightly,
"Yeah, why not?" She agreed, taking her seatbelt off and climbing out of Rachel's car, Rachel getting out after her.
Santana's POV
They had gotten halfway down the path before the pair of them stopped in their tracks,
"You just thought the same thing didn't you," Rachel said slowly,
"About how we're several months from becoming 'friends'," She said, with quotation marks for 'friends', "And your fathers think that we hate each other?" She clarified,
Rachel nodded, "Yep," She muttered,
Before they had the chance to discuss it further, the front door of Rachel's house swung open to reveal LeRoy,
"Too late," Santana muttered under her breath,
"Rachel?" LeRoy called out confusedly, "You never told us you were bringing a friend around," He reminded in a forced 'cheery' voice,
"Sorry, Daddy," She apologised, looking appropriately guilty, "You remember Santana?" She said pointedly, nodding to the girl next to her,
"I do..." He replied, his expression unreadable,
"Well, we have a glee assignment together and we thought we should get it done sooner rather than later," She explained, not totally lying,
"Is that right?" He said slowly, directed towards Santana,
Santana nodded, slightly nervously if Rachel was correct,
"Yes, Sir," She affirmed,
"Well," He said, moving away from the door, "Come in then," He invited, waving them in,
Rachel heard Santana take a deep breath before she led the way to the door, Rachel following closely behind, ignoring the pointed, questioning glance from her daddy,
"Dinner will be ready in just under an hour," Her father informed them, closing the front door,
"Want to practice?" Rachel asked Santana in a light voice,
Santana nodded, "Sure,"
"Door stays open!" Mr Berry called as they walked up the stairs, causing Rachel to blush and look slightly confused,
Santana chuckled but didn't say anything on the matter, which Rachel looked grateful for.
They walked to Rachel's room and left the door slightly ajar, Santana looking around the room curiously,
"Haven't you seen my room before?" Rachel asked her, tilting her head slightly,
She shook her head, "Nope, you only ever came to my house," Santana explained, "The one time I was here was for the R.B.H.P.T.W.E," She added, "Which was in the basement,"
Rachel looked at her confusedly,
"The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza," Santana clarified, "Your house party,"
"Oh, that," Rachel laughed, "That was an interesting night,"
Santana snorted, "Interesting..." She agreed,
They silently agreed to not mention the one bit about their evening that still bothered them from time to time.
"You seem different to when I last saw you," Santana commented, absentmindedly stroking the faux-fur blanket on Rachel's bed,
Rachel's expression hardened slightly, "Well, people do change, Santana," She replied, trying to keep the coldness out of her tone,
Santana held her hands up defensively, "I know, I didn't mean anything by it," She insisted,
The other girl studied Santana's face for a moment before her expression softened slightly,
"Sorry," She apologised, "It's a tough subject for me," She commented,
Santana looked like she wanted to look into it further, but she decided otherwise and instead laughed at something on the wall,
"You still have that photo?" She asked incredulously, moving off the bed to study the photo,
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Technically it was only taken a month ago," She pointed out, looking at the photos fondly,
Santana blinked, "I guess you're right," She realised,
Rachel decided to let her off the hook though,
"I do still have that photo," She admitted, "All of them," She confirmed, "I keep them in a shoe-box under the bed,"
"Why in a shoebox? Why don't you put them in a scrapbook or something? These are some really good photos," Santana asked her, her gaze falling on a photo of the glee girls after their performance of 'I Kissed A Girl', which, according to Santana's mental timeline, was around three weeks ago,
Rachel ran her hand over a picture of her and Finn,
"They're too painful," She whispered,
Santana looked at her, raising an eyebrow,
"The photos...?" She replied in a slightly questioning tone,
Rachel shook her head, "The memories that they hold," She clarified, her voice barely audible,
Santana opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out, so she shut her mouth and just nodded. After all, she understood what Rachel was saying perfectly.
Rachel turned away from her and wiped under her eyes, hoping that Santana would forgive her moment of weakness, or that she wouldn't see...
The firm hand on her shoulder was clearly the final straw, and she burst into tears, falling to her knees as a slightly surprised Santana tried to support her, falling down next to her and wrapping her up in her arms,
"Hey, hey, shhhh, you're okay," She whispered comfortingly, "Everything is going to be fine, don't worry," She assured, trying to fight her own tears as she comforted her,
Rachel just shook her head,
"I don't…" She started, choking out her words, "I can't," she gasped out,
Santana's heart broke at the sight of her… was Rachel officially her friend? Yeah, her heart broke at the sight of her friend breaking down, looking more defeated than Santana had ever seen her,
"Yes you can," Santana told her firmly, "Because we'll do it together," She assured her, "We have no choice," She reasoned,
She shifted the pair of them slightly so they were leaning against Rachel's bed and Rachel tucked her head into Santana's chest, still sobbing as Santana smoothed down her hair and whispered comfortingly in her ear.
Santana heard footsteps approaching and the door was pushed ajar by Hiram, who must've just gotten home,
He made to move forward but Santana raised her hand up to him, shaking her head,
He raised an eyebrow up at her, nodding towards Rachel as if Santana hadn't recognised the crying girl,
'I've got it,' She mouthed to Rachel's father, 'She'll be fine,'
Hiram reluctantly nodded and stepped back out of the room, closing the door gently behind him,
"What if we don't get it right? What if we fail again?" Rachel whispered, calming down just enough to ask the questions,
"We won't," Santana promised,
"Thank you, Santana," Rachel thanked quietly,
Santana smiled softly, "For what?" She asked her, pulling Rachel's hair out of her face and behind her ear,
"For being here," Rachel replied, "I couldn't do it without you," She added, pulling away from Santana, still hiccupping slightly,
Santana nodded, "We need each other," She countered,
Rachel smiled gratefully at her for a minute, with Santana looking back with a similar expression on her face, the pair silent for a few moments,
Santana suddenly coughed and turned away, causing Rachel to jump up from her spot on the floor,
"Right, thank you, Santana, for that," Rachel said quickly, "Uh, I just need to use the bathroom," She excused, walking into her en suite before Santana could reply,
Santana laughed to herself, "Well, that got a bit too emotional for this girl," She muttered, shaking herself slightly before standing up and smoothing down her Cheerio's uniform,
Rachel emerged from the bathroom minutes later, "Would you still like to stay for dinner?" She asked her politely,
Santana gave her a questioning look, "Of course I do," She answered as if it were obvious,
Rachel shrugged, a look that Santana wasn't used to seeing on her, "I just thought my father might have scared you off, he's very protective," She explained,
Santana raised an eyebrow, "Trust me, I've dealt with many an over-protective parent before, your father's a teddy bear,"
Rachel tilted her head in consideration, nodding it to the side slightly,
"What are we going to do for the duet competition?" Santana asked, changing the topic, sitting down at the end of the bed,
Rachel hummed thoughtfully, "I'm not sure..." She admitted,
Santana toyed with the blanket, debating whether to tell Rachel about her conversation with Finn,
"I talked to Finn earlier," She blurted, deciding that full-disclosure was going to be pretty important to the two of them over the next few months,
Rachel tilted her head, "Present Finn or Angel Finn?" She asked curiously,
Santana chuckled, "Well, that's something I can safely say I never expected to hear," She muttered, causing Rachel to glare at her in a friendly manner, "Angel Finn," She clarified,
"When?" She asked, looking a little hurt, if Santana was correct,
"After Lunch," She told her, spinning the truth slightly, not even sure why she did it,
Her friends face brightened slightly, "Oh, okay, what did he say?" She asked,
"It's more like what did I say..." Santana responded, "You know how we're kind of supposed to hate each other?" She asked, relaying her and Finn's conversation to the brunette, who interjected only as she saw fit,
"Right," Rachel said when Santana had finished, "I talked to Britt," She admitted, "About the same thing," She explained, "Look, let's just fast forward our friendship 'storyline'," She said, using quotation marks, "We can't spend the next four months hating each other, so let's just fast forward what happened naturally anyway," She reasoned,
"I have the perfect idea for our duet," Santana decided,
Rachel's eyes twinkled mischievously,
"Go on," She invited.
Santana got Rachel to agree to perform their duet the next day. After all, they had already technically rehearsed it... Even if it was a few years ago...
"Ready?" Rachel asked, smoothing down her hair before they were set to perform,
"Yep, let's change history," Santana affirmed, waiting for the drums to start before bursting into the classroom, singing along to 'So Emotional' by Whitney Houston.
Santana:
I don't know why I like it, huh
I just do
Ooh-ooh, hee!
I've been hearing your heartbeat inside of me
I keep your photograph beside my bed
Livin' in a world of fantasies
I can't get you out of my head, (and Rachel: oh)
She interacted with Rachel as she sang, the two dancing around each other in a way that they hoped was at least a little bit sexy.
Rachel:
I've been waiting for the phone to ring all night
Why you wanna make me feel so good
I got a love of my own baby
I shouldn't get so hung up on you
Rachel and Santana:
I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn't like it so much (Santana: Uh!)
Oh!
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Rachel:
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Rachel and Santana:
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Hee!
I gotta watch you walk in the room baby
I gotta watch you walk out, mhmm
I like the animal way you move
And when you talk
I just watch your mouth
Santana walked over to Brittany and sang to her as Rachel moved in front of Finn, who was recording the performance on his phone.
Oh I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn't like it so much (Santana: No!)
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Rachel:
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Santana:
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Rachel and Santana:
Hee hee!
Santana:
Ha!
Rachel:
Ha!
Santana:
Yeah, you got me
You got me
Hahahahaha
Rachel and Santana:
See, I remember the way that we touch
I wish I didn't like it so much (Santana: No, no, no)
I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
(Rachel: Oh!) I get so emotional baby
Every time I think of you
I get so emotional baby
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
Rachel with Santana:
I get so emotional, ohh! (Santana: Oh baby!)
Rachel and Santana:
Ain't it shocking what love can do?
The girls in the group decided to join in from the risers, singing along, supporting Rachel and Santana as they moved through the song.
New Directions Girls:
(Santana: I get) I get so
Emotional baby (Santana: So emotional)(Rachel: I get so emotional)
Every time I think of you (Santana: Every time I think of you)
I get so (Santana: Every time!)
Emotional baby (Rachel: Oh-oh!)
Ain't it shocking what (Santana: Yeah)
Love can do? (Rachel: Ooh!)
Santana:
Oh!
Rachel:
Oh!
Rachel and Santana:
Yeah!
They finished the song strongly, breathing heavily and smiling widely,
Rachel skipped up to Santana, much according to their plan, and tapped her on the shoulder,
"I'm going to hug you now," She informed very seriously, moving forward and giving Santana an enthusiastic hug, which the Latina accepted with a fake begrudging smile, the two proud of their plan and superb acting skills.
Brittany's POV
Brittany was having tea with Lord Tubbington senior in their little house as she watched Santana and Rachel's performance unfold, smiling proudly at her two friends,
There was knock at the door, purely a polite gesture, not at all necessary, and she called the person in,
"Hey, Britt," Finn greeted, "Lord Tubbington," He added politely, nodding his head at her cat,
"Hey, Finn," Brittany replied back brightly, "Did you see the performance?" She asked excitedly,
Finn nodded with a big smile, "Yep, they're doing well," He commented,
"Do you really think they can get it right this time?" Brittany asked in a hopeful tone,
Finn nodded with a smaller, more honest smile, "I really do, Britt," He replied,
"Would you like some cake?" She asked him coaxingly, nodding to the chair opposite her,
Finn just grinned at her as he sat down.
A/N: Another chapter has been and gone! I hope it was up to expectation! I'm once again sorry for the huge delay, I'll try to be better in the future. I GOT A TWITTER ACCOUNT! Sorry for the caps, I wanted your attention :D. So, if you guys want to check up on the progress of my stories or bug me about when I'm going to update, go follow me at 'L_GleeStories' and I will try to update and respond as often as possible. Okay, as usual, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review if you did as I love reading them (plus, reviews are fuel to an author's fire), and I'll see you all next chapter!-Lauren's Glee Stories x
Song: 'So Emotional'-Whitney Houston, cover performed by Naya Rivera and Lea Michele on Glee. I used the Glee Cast version, which features the ND girls.