Okay so I'm sorry for how long this has taken but here's the second part to the sequelll:) I hit a writer's block for a couple weeks but hopefully it turned out well enough. Tell me if you want a sequel to this and I'll think about it;)
As Dani ran through her vocal warm-ups she couldn't keep the butterflies in her stomach away. She was usually nervous for shows because she always wanted to put on a good performance for her fans, but today was different. Her voice faltering on a note brought her out of her thoughts. "Ugh," she groaned out loud frustrated with how she was letting her mind get the best of her.
"What's wrong over here blondie?" Samantha had crept up behind her.
Dani glanced up to meet the woman's eyes then dropped her head again. "I-I," she hesitated contemplating telling her manager, "I saw Santana this morning. She works at the coffee shop John and I went to earlier on the way here." She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.
"I thought we were past this, Dani. I thought you had moved on. Does she know about your concert tonight?" Sam nodded towards the girl willing her to lift her head.
"I don't think I ever moved on," the shorter girl mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?"
Dani's gaze rose to look her manager in the eyes. "I said, yes she does. I invited her." She corrected herself not wanting the woman to know what she actually said.
"Why's seeing her causing you to not hit your notes in warm-ups? She's not even here yet girl. What're you gonna do if she does show up and you're on stage?" The brunette stepped closer resting her hand on the girl's shoulder trying to comfort her.
Again Dani's eyes locked on the ground in front of her. "I don't know Sam. I'm so nervous to see her not because I want to impress her necessarily," she paused, "she's already heard me sing. I just can't shake what I'm feeling from talking to her. I don't know what—"
"You're gonna do when you perform the songs about her?" The manager interrupted. She knew Dani well enough and after having countless conversations about her relationship with Santana, she caught onto the fact that the certain Latina was the muse for most of her songs. Although Dani had short flings here and there, it had always come back to her. This was a silent understanding between the singer and Sam and neither pushed the subject often.
Dani's eyes widened and her head snapped up in shock. "How'd you—um…yeah." The girl decided not to question it. "Like what if I forget the words because she's there? It's been four years, what the hell is wrong with me?"
Samantha simply shook her head and gave the girl a brief but warm hug. "You need to get back to warming up that voice of yours. The concert starts in 30 minutes and you need to go get your hair done still. You're gonna be late…as usual."
"I can sing while they do my hair stop worrying so much." Her smile shone through as she pushed her worries to the back of her mind.
"That's what you pay me to do, sweetheart." The brunette laughed with Dani at the last comment before walking away to leave her alone.
Dani walked in the direction of her room backstage and sung the entire way. When she sat down in the chair the woman started to brush through her blonde hair. She knew not to talk to the singer during warm-ups or this close to before the show in general. The sounds coming from Dani were a mixture of words and vowels and sounds she couldn't make into any recognizable letter. As Dani sat there, she ran through her routine thoughtlessly. She had it down which allowed her mind to wander without missing a beat. She wanted Santana to see how much fun she was having being a singer. Where did all her confidence from earlier go? I can do this. Just pretend she's not here. She probably won't be anyway she's busy tonight. Stop worrying over nothing, Dani thought. She wanted to show her she had a good reason for leaving her all those years ago. It was worth it…wasn't it?
"Dani! Show starts in five!" She heard Samantha yell from behind the closed door.
She looked over her shoulder to the woman touching up her hair and received a nod telling her it was okay to get up. She opened the door quickly and walked down the hallway to the opening backstage. Sam was standing there with the rest of her team, people rushing back and forth double and triple checking equipment. Dani watched as they raced past each other and laughed to herself. The crazy work that went into these shows was beyond her and she still wasn't used to it after all these years. All she had to do was go out there and sing while everyone else backstage made sure it ran as smoothly as possible. As time passed, she made her way to the spot directly next to the stage.
"You ready for this?" The man who handed her the in-ears earlier asked her.
"As ready as I'll ever be."
He smiled and motioned toward the stage. "Well then go out there and kill it. You're up."
She looked back to the stage in front of her and took a deep breath before jogging out to the front. The screams and shouts erupted at the sight of the blonde. Dani quickly scanned the audience with a bright smile on her face, then turned back to her band and gave them the signal. The electric guitar started to strum and the noise around the stage rose. "What did I do to deserve this? Tell me the truth and don't lie," the words slipped off Dani's tongue as she grabbed the microphone in front of her and pulled it off the stand.
Santana walked through the field of grass toward the blaring noise. As she got there she heard Dani's voice lost in the words of her song. You know that this town is just too small and I'm too tall to take this, again. She walked through security and stayed behind the crowd of kids to watch from a distance. She knew Rachel and Kurt would be frustrated with her for blowing them off again but she could explain why later. The Latina shook off the thought and focused solely on the girl performing. The energy in her motions and voice was breathtaking. She had heard Dani sing before and knew she had talent but the amount of work she put into her voice over the years was very evident.
Dani had gone through three upbeat songs since the opening number and she was high on adrenaline rush. She loved being so close to her fans and being on that stage just gave her life. The next one was going to be a slower song that most her fans loved. They could all relate to the heartbreak and pain in the lyrics. The song, of course, was one of the ones Samantha had been referring to before the show. She took a deep breath while sitting on the stool they had brought out for it, and allowed the words to drop from her lips. It's probably what's best for you, I only want the best for you, and if I'm not the best then you're stuck.
The fans Dani could see in the front all knew the lyrics and were singing them with her. She could see a few sad smiles and a couple girls were crying. The tears always caught her off guard; she never thought that her music could evoke such emotion from people. As she reached the chorus the second time around, everyone was singing along. Scanning the crowd, her eyes landed on a fateful Latina's figure.
Her breath caught in her throat seeing Santana at the back of everyone. She held the microphone to the audience and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Gathering back her courage, she sang the last line; you never really can fix my heart.
Santana clapped with the rest of the crowd but felt her heart crack at the shaky sound of Dani's voice. It sounded faint and insecure as she almost whispered out the final line to the song. With the exception of that song, the rest made the singer sound happy and on top of the world, but the Latina knew there was more behind it. That one song was only just an insight.
The blonde turned to her band and looked towards Zach, her drummer. She mouthed a song name to him that drew a shocked expression from him.
"Do you really wanna do that one?" He attempted to yell over the speculating fans.
She didn't hear him but picked up on the movement of his lips and nodded. Her chest tightened with nervousness but she wanted to sing the song tonight. After not singing live or releasing it, she felt it was finally the right time. Zach turned to the guitarist on his right and mouthed the song name to him. They had run through it a lot when Dani was in the process of writing it and just after she finished just for fun.
You got this, Zach mouthed to the short Latina and raised his hand to give her a thumbs up. With that, she turned around and addressed the audience.
"This is a song you don't know but I hope you like it." Dani didn't drag the intro out because she knew if she did then she'd never have the courage to actually sing it. Her guitarist ran back stage and handed her an acoustic guitar so she could play along before returning to his spot. After the cheering died down, she slung the strap over her head and nodded to Zach and he began the song.
Couple of lovebirds kissing on the corner
Couldn't help but remind me of you
Halfway through dialing your number
You know it's true, I wanted to.
She felt the confidence in her voice slowly seeping through as she kept the tempo. She moved her gaze that was locked on the floor around the room, seeing how many people were watching her.
Took a stroll down Sunset Boulevard
Heard an old man singing the blues
Halfway through writing you a love song
You know it's true, I wanted to.
The blonde gently slung her guitar around to her back. She held her hands up to signal to her audience when to clap with the beat and continued singing.
Sunrise on the east side
Want to wake up next to you
But I'm dreaming on the west side
Trying to find my way to you.
She quickly glanced backstage only to find Samantha beaming back at her. They had talked about this song one too many times. Her manager knew the real meaning behind the contrast of the east coast and west coast, while the members of the audience remained blissfully clueless. Well, all the members but one.
Tell me you want me
Speechless and I'm shaking
Tell me you need me
You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness
You are my weakness and you get me every time
Tired of flipping through the channels on the TV
Nothing on could shake you out of my mind
So I grab my coat and I'm out the door
I'm just killing time till you're by my side
Too many places get in the way of bringing you back into view
Dani turned slightly and nodded for her guitarist to come over. She bounced to meet him and started singing and dancing in front of him, causing the man to laugh, then skipped to the other side of the stage..
Sunrise on the east side
Want to wake up next to you
But I'm dreaming on the west side
Trying to find my way to you.
Before beginning the chorus again, she looked over to where she saw Santana previously in the crowd of people. She searched for a couple seconds then found the brunette and locked their eyes.
Tell me you want me
Speechless and I'm shaking
Tell me you need me
You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness
You are my weakness and you get me every time
She never took her eyes off the Latina and smiled knowing the verse that was about to come up. She moved to the closest part of the stage to the other girl and continued.
Caught in the middle of the storm, you are my shelter
When all that I see is black and white, you are the color
Nothing can stop me, no distance too great to cover
All I want to hear you say
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She looked down at her fingers to switch chords and slowly dragged her eyes back up to meet the brown pair in front of her.
Tell me you want me
Speechless and I'm shaking
Tell me you need me
You better believe me when I say that you are my weakness
Dani slowly walked back to the center of the stage, breaking their gaze, and the tension she could feel between them.
You are my weakness
You are my weakness
Yes, you are my weakness and you get me every time.
Dani ran backstage before her last song and whispered something in Samantha's ear. Then she jogged back on stage and nodded to Zach signaling for him to start the Neon Lights. She always loved to end her shows with upbeat songs because she felt like she was leaving her fans pumped up and happy. They all got really into it too so Dani walked closer to the edge and followed it high-fiving fans as she went. The blonde held out the microphone for the last chorus and pulled out her in-ears. She loved to hear her fans sing the words with her. It made her feel more connected with them on a much more personal level. With a smile beaming across her face, she brought the microphone back to her lips to sing the last few words, be still my heart cause it's freakin out.
For the first time all night she heard the screams full force and waited for them to die down before talking. "Thank you all for coming tonight! I'm so glad I got to do this show while I was here in New York. I love you guys!" She waved to them then turned to go backstage. Samantha complimented her on a good show and mumbled something about not messing up any of the words which made Dani giggle.
The familiar sound caught Santana's ear and she spun on her heels to face the direction of it. "Dani, what on Earth are you laughing about? And why am I back here exactly?"
The shorter girl smiled and walked closer so they wouldn't have to shout. "You're here because I wanted to know what you thought about my show. And it was just something my manager said."
Santana's smile faltered slightly but only for a second. "Oh, she's that funny, huh?" She teased.
"We just like messing with each other that's all. I tease my whole team. She's just the person who gets it most because of how much she's helped me over the years with stuff."
"Stuff?"
Dani bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes to the ground remembering the time right after she met Samantha and how much the woman helped her through her break up. "You never told me what you thought about the show," she said with a faked confidence as she decided to brush off the Latina's questioning. Nothing had happened or would ever happen between Dani and her manager and she wanted to assure Santana of that for some reason. But she had no need to. They weren't in a relationship; she didn't need to explain it.
Santana allowed the subject to be dropped seeing the pain flash through the girl's caramel eyes. "It was incredible, honestly. I've never seen a singer as comfortable on that stage as you. You looked at home just like you always have. This time the crowd was just a lot bigger."
Dani smiled at how loving the girl was being with her. She knew that Santana wasn't like this with most people, but she always had been with her. "Did you recognize any of the songs?"
"I thought I was just making things up in my head!" Santana laughed at herself drawing a giggle out of the girl in front of her. "The first one I knew you wrote before we met but there were a few others I thought sounded familiar."
The nervousness in Dani's stomach grew stronger at the sound of the laugh coming from the girl she fell in love with and that she remembered some of her songs after so long. "Yeah they made me change them a little and it made them a lot better so hey, I'm not complaining."
"I don't know I'd say they were pretty good before." Santana said in a softer voice, her gaze locked on her feet.
"Santana Lopez, is that a compliment I hear?" Dani teased trying to draw a reaction out of her.
"Take it as you wish." The Latina lifted her head and smiled at how quickly they had fallen back into being comfortable with each other.
Dani smiled back then redirected the conversation. "What was your favorite song?"
"I was actually waiting for you to ask me that. I have a bias towards all of them but I think it was the second to last one you sang." Her voice unsure of the answer.
"What'd it sound like? I don't even know my own setlist it's kind of sad."
"Well something like..." Santana mentally took a deep breath and sang the chorus back to Dani. Tell me you want me, speechless and I'm shaking. Tell me you need me, you better believe me when I say that you are my weakness.
"Oh!" The blonde recognized the song with the first three words but let Santana finish to hear more of her voice. "My Weakness. Yeah...I actually wasn't gonna perform that song tonight but we decided to last minute." She started to talk quicker than before, the nerves getting to her.
The taller girl furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Dani quizzically. "Why wouldn't you perform it? It's really cute and catchy."
"Well because I wrote it for...um..." She looked down and played with her fingers while finding the courage to finish her thought. "you," the word fell softly from her lips. After looking back up she saw the shock in the other girl's eyes and began to speed talk. "I mean it was a while ago that I wrote it but I haven't performed it live until tonight because I- I don't know but I don't want you to feel uncomfortable you know how I write my emotions into lyrics and I'm—"
Santana stepped forward and cupped the girl's face, pressing her lips gently but firmly to Dani's, cutting her off. "I know." She replied after pulling back and resting their foreheads together.
Dani's heart jumped at the feeling of having the other girl's lips on hers. She beamed back at the girl in front of her. The kiss left her in a daze and she barely noticed the rate of her heart escalate.
Santana smiled brightly at the lighter Latina and was lost in the brown of her eyes the second their eyes locked. A breath caught in the back of her throat when she realized she just kissed her ex-girlfriend. Her now famous ex-girlfriend and left her four years ago ex-girlfriend. She pulled away abruptly, shock covering her own face after realizing her own actions. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, someone beat her to it.
"Dani! It's time to go, they have to pack this all up!" Samantha yelled in the girls' direction.
The blonde hesitantly turned and began to walk away. "I'll call you?" She suggested, looking over her shoulder at the girl she left in shock. She knew they needed to talk about the kiss. They couldn't ignore it and Dani knew she definitely couldn't ignore the butterflies that never once left her stomach while she talked to Santana again.
Santana nodded, her heart swelling at the fact that after all these years Dani still had her phone number. John came over and led her out from backstage back to the sidewalk. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "It was nice to meet you."
"It was nice to meet you too, Santana." He turned and started to walk away and said just loud enough in hopes that the brunette might hear him, "Although I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you."
The next day, Santana woke up in a much similar condition as she had fallen asleep. She couldn't take her mind off how kissing her ex-girlfriend felt. The butterflies still hadn't entirely faded from the pit of her stomach since she heard the blonde's voice in the coffee shop. She had walked home after the concert last night and started to go through it in her head all over again
Turning and walking to her car Santana heard Dani's bodyguard say something under his breath. She glanced over her shoulder but he was already too far away to check and see what he said. It was probably meaningless anyway, the Latina thought to herself before heading in the direction of her apartment.
She twisted the key and walked through the doorway before shutting it and eventually making her way to the bedroom. She allowed her legs to hit the bed and fell back onto it, sighing when she hit the comforter. Why did she have to kiss Dani? It only left her more confused than she was after talking to the blonde that morning. They had fallen right back into the slight teasing and hidden smiles. Santana couldn't help but miss her.
The thoughts swirled around her head until she slowly started drifting off to sleep. She didn't bother changing or getting ready for bed. All she had the energy to do at that point was sleep so the thoughts would cease for a few hours.
A loud knock pulled the Latina out of her daydream and she sat up. She groaned standing up from her bed and walked over to the bathroom to check her reflection quickly. Once she was content with her appearance she went and opened the door. However, the last thing she expected was to see the girl standing on the other side.
"Dani?" The taller girl almost whispered out of shock. The blonde only looked down to her feet in response.
Santana stepped aside to let the shorter girl into her apartment. She watched as the blonde walked over to her couch, head hanging a little lower than it should in order for the girl to be happy. Santana followed and took the spot next to her.
"Why're you here, Dani?" The Latina turned to face her and folded her legs under herself.
The lighter Latina bit her lip while keeping her eyes locked on the hands in her lap. "I-I," she hesitated nervously, "I couldn't stop thinking about how you kissed me yesterday. And I just kinda hoped you hadn't moved. I know I said I would call you but," she trailed off.
Realization washed over Santana's face. "I um kind of haven't been able to either," she stated quietly.
The two sat in silence for a moment before the taller girl moved her hand to gently lift Dani's head.
"Look at me," the Latina requested and waited for their eyes to lock onto each other. The second they did, she continued. "I don't know how you feel about me kissing you but I did it for a reason. Even after all these years you managed to get my heart to skip beats and take my breath away. It was like we first met when you walked into the coffee shop yesterday. I kissed you because I wanted to see if we still had that spark." She saw the nervous and worried expression in the blondes face soften. "I missed you. I've spent four years trying to get over you and everything we were. It worked for about 6 months and then I realized I was only lying to myself and hiding behind random hookups and a whole lot of wine."
Dani's heart broke hearing how badly she left Santana. The girl had been a mess because of her and resorted to self-medicating just to escape the pain of their break up. However, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't at least thought about doing the exact same.
"I don't think I ever stopped loving you, Dani. And I know this is all so much to take in and I'm sorry but I need to tell you before you leave me again. You're the only person capable of making me stutter. The only person I've felt comfortable with enough to be emotionally vulnerable. I fell so hard and so fast for you that it kind of blindsided me. I had never felt that before but damn was it the best reason to be terrified. I love you. I've always loved you and I always will love you. So I know you probably don't feel the same way because you've probably moved on with some gorgeous LA girl and that's okay I just—"
Santana was cut off without warning. She felt Dani's lips move beautifully against hers like they had since the day they met. The kiss was brief and she had to bit the inside of her cheek to fight back her whimper at the loss of contact.
"I've missed you so much, San. I don't know why you think I've moved on. I loved you more than I ever thought was possible. I fell hard for you, just as quickly as you did and it took my breath away. I was scared but not too badly because I knew together we could take on the world. It killed me leaving you. My manager had to help me get to a point where I wouldn't tear up at the mention of love. Yeah, I've tried dating people since we broke up, but not one made my heart swell like you can. None of them ever made me feel like you did. Well like you do." She paused, taking Santana's hands in hers and squeezing gently. "I never stopped loving you either. I just couldn't bear to come back here and break you all over again. I didn't have the answers on how we could be together and I couldn't help but think you had moved on."
The darker Latina leaned forward capturing the girl's lips in a long sweet kiss. When they finally pulled apart, she spoke quietly. "So now what?"
Dani rested her forehead against the girl's in front of her and took a moment to think. They stayed in a comfortable silence until she started to answer. "I want to be with you San. I don't care how much work and compromise it takes. I can't let you go again."
"I think I like that plan," Santana said, her words seeping through the smile covering her face. She placed a hand on the girl's face and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.
"God I missed this," Dani said her lips brushing against the Latina's with every letter before pecking the girl's lips once more.