Hey guys, I know it's been a while. Honestly, with everything going on with Cory and Lea and the rest of the cast, I couldn't really be around the fandom without getting insanely sad, not to mention having killer writer's block. This is short, and I'm sorry but I really just wanted to get this chapter done and move on. So, I may have lost a lot of viewers since May, but I hope whoever is still out there enjoys this. And please review!
"I can't believe you are dragging us to a club, Fabray…" Santana grumbled aside Rachel on the sidewalk.
"C'mon Lopez, where's your sense of adventure?"
The apparently rebellious blonde had forced the girls out of the bowling alley and into the main streets of Lima, where all its inhabitants come to shop and converse and eat, because there is really nothing else to do in Lima, Ohio anyway.
Quinn and Brittany led the way, making it obvious to the other two girls that they knew their way around their hometown, even after being locked up for a few years.
While they were walking, Santana couldn't help but glance down at her patient. She could tell by the look on Rachel's face that walking around in the town was like a whole other world, the shock of being outside the Institute never going away. It truly warmed Santana's normally cold heart knowing how happy she could make Rachel. She liked making her happy.
Suddenly Quinn pushed the girls into a boutique called Femme, immediately going towards the endless racks of dresses.
"Quinn what are we doing here? I thought we were going dancing." Rachel asked, looking around. She couldn't remember ever going shopping before. Whenever she outgrew her clothes, her aid always went out and bought her some new things. That was also partially why the brunette had such an unfortunate wardrobe, her aid being fifty-three at the time.
"Like I said Berry at the bowling alley, we can't possibly go dancing in our everyday clothes," Quinn picked of a lacy red dress and put it up against her body, checking her reflection in the mirror, "we have to look sexy!"
"Sexy? Why?" Rachel's brows furrowed slightly.
"Because dressing up and looking hot is all part of the fun of going dancing. It's just like an unspoken rule. Now, I suggest you and Santana both get going looking for dresses. Chop, chop!" The blonde clapped her hands and shoved both Santana and Rachel into some racks.
Santana absent-mindedly flipped through some of the frocks, more interested in watching Rachel, who unlike her, looked at each dress as if she was studying it. She couldn't help but smile to herself. Rachel was cute when she concentrated.
"What's the intense look for?"
Rachel looked up from the dress she was currently eying, "Oh, I'm just not used to seeing such fancy clothes."
Santana smiled warmly down at her, "Listen, Rach, pick out anything you want. It's my treat."
"I can't let you spend so much money on me." She shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. I want to."
Rachel grinned, biting her lip, "Yeah, okay."
Dear god, does she have to bite her lip like that…
"Hey San, you should try this on. This color would look amazing on you." Rachel nearly threw her the dress.
It was short and tight and bright red and Santana was certain that it would make her look like a whore, but she took it anyway because Rachel picked it out for her. She seriously couldn't understand what her deal was. Yeah, she liked Rachel, but why was she suddenly acting like she was somehow under a trance whenever she was in a three foot radius of the brunette – which was often.
After being handed a few more dresses by Rachel, and picking out a few of her own choices, the two met Brittany and Quinn in the dressing room.
Santana surrounded by Quinn's constant chattering as she tried on dresses. She can infer that Quinn, who was in the room next to her with Brittany, had been bit of a prima-donna before being committed into the Institute with comments like, "God, I miss retail therapy," and, "I wonder if I can sneak back some makeup from that drugstore back into my room."
Then a new voice was heard from her right, a slightly less annoying one.
"Hey San, do you have a dress on?"
"Yeah, it's the red one you picked out for me." Santana called back.
"Can I see it?"
"Sure." She opened her dressing room door where Rachel was waiting for her to come out.
"See, San! I told you that color would look amazing on you!" Rachel squealed, clapping her hands together.
The dress actually looked alright, not as slutty as she had originally thought on the rack and it fit great. Rachel had a really good eye.
"What's with all the squeaking out here?" Quinn and Brittany emerged from their joint dressing room. Quinn then smirked when she then caught sight of Santana's attire.
"Damn Lopez, you that dress is muy caliente." The blonde crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, Brittany's head nodding profusely in agreement.
Santana turned around to get a full view of the dress. She did look hot, and man did it make her ass look good.
"You better watch out Berry, or else someone might snatch up your aid right from under you." Quinn laughed.
Rachel looked up at Santana, "What does she mean by that?"
Santana made it very clear with her eye contact that she was mentally throwing daggers at the blonde, "Nothing, she's just messing around. Um, did you find a dress you like?" the Latina tried to change the subject.
Rachel's face fell and she groaned, slightly stomping her foot. "No, all of them were too big."
"Why don't you go back and get some smaller ones?"
"Those were all the smallest size they have!"
Quinn laughed, "Now that is something I've never heard before, someone being upset about someone being too small to fit into the smallest size."
"Well, maybe there's a different store we can look at?" Santana tried to think of a different solution, not wanting Rachel to feel left out because she had a small frame.
"That would be a negative, actually. This is the only dress boutique in Lima. I do have a better idea though." Quinn added.
"What did you have in mind?" Rachel asked.
"My cousin lives just a few blocks from here and she's about your size, seriously, I spent half of my life being jealous of how tiny she was. But anyway, she parties a lot, so she's bound to have a dress you can wear."
"That's insane, Quinn! We can't go to your cousin's house when you are supposed to be in a mental institution. You're asking to get us all caught!" Santana exclaimed.
Quinn just rolled her eyes. "Please, with the amount of times I've covered for her when she snuck out, she owes me. She won't tell."
"And you're sure your cousin will let me borrow one of her dresses?" Rachel asked.
"Of course! It's a win-win situation. You get a hot dress to wear and we all get a place to get ready." Quinn smiled, proud of her resolution.
Santana groaned in frustration, "Okay, fine, but if you get us caught Q, you're the one who's going to take it up with my parole officer."
The four girls left the dressing room, Santana, Quinn, and Brittany paying for their dresses and heels and leaving the little boutique.
"Okay, ladies, this way." Quinn linked arms with Brittany and Santana and Rachel followed her around the corner and through the streets.
They walked through a long road lined with dozens of houses, each one slightly different from the last. She looked at unfinished lawns and garden gnomes and heinous yellow paint and three-car garages. The more she looked around, the more she came to terms with fact that she would hate to live in Lima. She realized that Columbus actually wasn't the worst place in Ohio to grow up.
"Ugh, Britt, Q, you guys actually grew up here? This place might be even duller than watching paint dry."
Quinn laughed, "You don't have to tell us that. At our old high school, we had a term called a Lima Loser and if you weren't ambitious or your life had no direction and you didn't leave after graduating then you were known as a Lima Loser and –"
Quinn stopped in her tracks mid-sentence, Santana running into her from behind.
"Jesus, what the hell, why'd you stop walking?"
But Quinn didn't answer. Rachel and Santana looked to see Quinn staring at the house in front of them, a slightly pained look on her face.
"Quinn, are okay, what's wrong?" Rachel asked concerned.
"This is where she lives." Quinn said quietly.
"What?"
"This is her house."
Santana looked between the ordinary two-story, brown house and Quinn. "Who's house, your cousin's?"
"No," Quinn shook her head, taking a deep breath, "My daughter's."
Santana glanced back at the house, seeing what she hadn't before. There toys discarded on the lawn, chalk on the sidewalk and what looked like a princess fort in the backward. It was obvious now a little girl lived in the house.
"I haven't seen Beth since I left for the institute." Quinn stared insanely at the house, as if she was trying to see right through the walls, if only to get a glimpse at her little girl. But at the same time, Quinn's body was practically numb, unmoving. Her eyes were vacant and her face was filled with pained remorse, because deep down she desperately wanted to go up and knock on that door, but she couldn't.
Rachel lightly touched the blonde's shoulder and Brittany squeezed Quinn's hand from beside her in support.
Quinn smiled, quickly wiping her eyes and shaking her head, "Thanks guys, but let's just keep going. My cousin's house is in the next neighborhood over."
It was those rare moments when Santana could see a real person past all of Quinn's layers and Santana was glad they had decided to become friend, even if the blonde was difficult a fair share of the time.
The next time the girls stopped was at a huge iron gate of a posh gated community. Santana hadn't noticed the transition in the houses but there had been a definite one. The lawns were cleaner and greener, the houses had no paint chips and every other car was either a BMW an Escalade or a Mercedes Benz. Quinn typed in the code and the gate opened in a very strange and majestic manner.
"So I'm guessing your cousin has a lot of money, Q." Santana laughed.
She nodded, "Yeah, I guess you can say that."
They ended up at a house at the end of the row, looking nothing less than perfect, a white Escalade and navy BMW navy convertible in the driveway.
"This is the house."
They followed Quinn up to the doorway where she made three firm knocks on the door. It swung open minutes later, revealing a petite girl about the age of sixteen and a spitting image of Quinn. The girl's eyes immediately went wide when she realized who was standing on her front porch.
"Oh, my god! Quinn, what the hell are you doing here? Call me crazy, but you're supposed to be chilling with the maniacs right now." She questioned.
"It's so good to see you too, Kitty." Quinn smiled back down at her cousin.
"I'm going to repeat myself, what are you doing here?" Kitty then looked past her tall cousin, noticing the other girls. "Hi, Britt. Q, who are these people?" she narrowed her eyes at Santana and Rachel.
Yep. Definitely the smaller version of Quinn.
"These are my friends Santana and Rachel from the Institute. Speaking of which, my girl Santana here is on the staff so she snuck us out to have a free day and I decided that we are going dancing. That's where you come in Kitty. Rachel's very small as you can see, just like you, and while the three of us were able to find dresses to go out in, she couldn't fit into anything. Got anything in your closet that might be perfect for her? I know you do." Quinn explained.
Kitty looked over at Rachel and smirked. "Yes, I do believe I have something for you Rachel. But I'll only let you borrow it if you let me do you hair and make-up too. I've been bored all day and a makeover might just fix that."
Rachel just shrugged, "Uh-"
"Great! Follow me up to my room." Kitty grabbed Rachel by the arm and began to drag her up the stairs while the others stepped inside the house. "Quinn you better be glad that my parents took my brother's car to the shop today or else you all would have been dead." Her voice traveling with her up the stairs.
Quinn, Brittany, and Santana all got ready in Quinn's aunt's bathroom. Santana had to admit it, they looked insanely good. Maybe what she needed was a good girl's night out.
"She's done! Come out Rachel!" Kitty opened the door and as soon as Rachel walked in, all other thoughts that had previously had been inhabiting in Santana's mind had been forgotten, her eyes instantly being glued to the diva.
Her hair was in big curls, bangs swept to the side. She had on smokey make-up and wore diamond studs in her ears. Her dress was black and strapless and oh-so short and her silver heels made her legs look like they went on and on and never stopped. Rachel looked amazing. Santana couldn't keep her eyes off of her.
"You're drooling." Quinn whispered in her ear, and the Latina quickly wiped her mouth.
"How do I look, San?" Rachel asked, slightly embarrassed.
Santana choked on her saliva slightly, "Yeah, you look great, Rach."
"I have to say Kitty, you really outdid yourself. Thanks for your assistance."
"No problem Q, anything for blood. I promise I won't tattle on you guys." Kitty winked and the four girls left the Wilde residence.
Quinn had led them to the only dance club there was in Lima, called Cantina. Quinn knew the bouncer (of course) and they got in right away.
The atmosphere of the club was filled with dim lights and red walls, giving the place a crimson hue, the Latin music dancing around every corner of the room, smells of spices and cider in the air. It reminded Santana a lot like her Abuela's house minus all the people.
Brittany and Quinn disappeared within the first ten minutes, leaving Rachel and Santana together in the midst of the crowd. It was a little awkward at first, but then the band began playing a very familiar tune.
"I love this song," Santana shouted over the music, "my mom plays it all the time at home."
Rachel smiled up at her, "Then let's dance!"
"What? No…"
"C'mon, San, it'll be fun, that's what we're here for anyway." Rachel's long, enhanced and sexy lashes batted only four times before Santana gave in.
She let herself be guided by Rachel onto the dance floor and they started swaying to the music.
Santana didn't know why she was doing this. She couldn't resist Rachel like this. She looked so beautiful and the way she moved when she danced…it was literally hurting Santana physically to be with her now.
But eventually Santana had somehow let those thoughts go. Without realizing it, her hands found her way to Rachel's hips, her arms then snaking up around Santana's neck. They swayed to the music in perfect unison, one with the beat, getting closer and closer, inch by inch. They were getting more and more intimate, but they were having too much fun to notice. Rachel and Santana had formed a bubble around them, giggling and laughing as if they were the only ones in the room.
Soon, their faces were closer, foreheads resting on each other. They could feel one another's breath on their cheeks. The pull of the music and the dancing and the crowd pulling them so close.
Santana had never felt this whole. She had never touched something so delicate, or had ever been held by something so gentle. Rachel's skin felt so good against her own, she felt just right.
She didn't know what was happening, she didn't know what the hell she was doing or why she was letting herself do it, but it felt so wrong that it felt so right. And then, before she could stop herself, too deep under Rachel's spell to realize what she was about to do, Santana pressed her lips onto Rachel's. She felt a glorifying shock and her mouth immediately felt warm, their lips fitting together perfectly. The kiss at first soft, growing more heated, and going deeper and deeper with their bodies pressed up against each other. It wasn't until Rachel started kissing her back that Santana realized what had just happened. Her eyes opened wide and she jerked back away from Rachel, their lips parting.
She saw Rachel's look of confusion and the brought her hands to her lips.
Santana felt hot, her hands were suddenly clammy and she needed to get out of there. She was blushing profusely and didn't know what to do.
That was a mistake. That was a big, fat, freaking mistake.
"Uh, um – we, we should find Brittany and Quinn. It's almost nine, we can't miss our bus. I – I'll go look for them." Santana stammered, and she left Rachel on the dance floor, but not before seeing the hurt look in her eyes.
She walked through the crowds of people, looking for her blonde friends haphazardly. She needed to get out of there, she desperately needed some air because she messed up. She messed up big time.
God damn it, why the hell did you just do that? You just effing kissed her! Do you remember the part where there was a line? Well congratulations Santana, you just crossed it.
Santana face-palmed and groaned. There was no way she could turn back and undo what she just did and there was also no way that this was going to go away.
"Shit."
Hey guys so this wasn't my best work, but I hope at least one of you enjoyed it. Please review. Until next time!
-katie