Chapter 6: More Than Words

Santana's eyes fluttered open almost as soon as her alarm clock sounded. Blindly, she reached out to turn it off. The light was blinding and normally, the first thing she would do is to get up and curse. Not today, though. Not after yesterday.

Santana Lopez was actually fucking smiling in the morning.

She hadn't felt like smiling or even showing any emotion close to happiness after she got rejected. But yesterday was just wonderful. It hurt at first. But she was completely prepared for it. Besides the feeling of Brittany's hand on her cheek was priceless. It was all she needed to start another day. And it was only proper for her to start it the way she had always wanted. She grabbed her phone and typed a message.

Morning, B! Did you have a goodnight's sleep? I was just dreaming about you. We were in the park with the ducks. See you later? Love you. :)

For once, she didn't care about being a sap. It feels right, okay? So she hit send without hesitation and was grinning like an idiot as she wolfed down her breakfast and even while she was driving to school.

Brittany wasn't hers. Yet. She knew that. But Santana was just glad to be near her again. Somewhere inside her, the pain was still there and so was the doubt that she may never be able to kiss Brittany without having to think about anything else. It doesn't matter. She's going to give this her all and if her bestfriend didn't want her, then she'd gladly have her in her life as just a friend rather than none at all.

"Tone down the smile, Lopez. You're freaking me out." Santana was shocked to find herself in the hallways of her school. For her, it felt like she was floating. Quinn was smirking at her, amused by the lovesick face Santana had.

"Deal with it, Fabray." She may be acting all lovey-dovey today but her bitchy side was sure as hell still there.

"So I take it the ride home had gone well?"

"I love her, Quinn."

"I know. But that didn't really answer my question." Santana laughed. Students turned to her wondering if the world was about to end. "It hurt when she left the car. I felt like I was alone again, a leftover. But then, when I got home, I felt warm. It was like she hadn't left my side at all! And for me, that beats the shit out of pain's ass."

Quinn couldn't help laughing along with her. She could see the sparkle of life in Santana's eyes that had been missing and though both knew that it wasn't over yet, that they were still in the middle of a war, they couldn't help but cling desperately on this moment. And that's exactly what they did.

If there was one person on earth who could be both sad and happy at the same time, it would be Brittany.

Artie had never seen his girlfriend so torn and yet so content before. Actually, he was pretty sure he'd never seen anyone express something like that in his entire life. Brittany was glowing when they met in front of McKinley. But he was around her long enough to notice the sorrow in her eyes. It was hard. He had to squint behind her smiling face to see. It was faint but it was definitely there. But on the brighter side, Brittany seemed to be bouncing on the balls of her feet. And Artie could only chuckle as they went to class.

Maybe she saw ducks.

/

Brittany woke up today feeling like her cat had just died. Memories of Santana flashed through her mind.

"I love you."

She wasn't expecting her to say it and Brittany really wanted nothing more than to say it back. But something held her back. Maybe it was the fact that she had a boyfriend, she didn't know. So she opted on reaching out to the touch Santana's cheek in a way she knew the Latina loved.

Brittany was shaken out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed. Her breath hitched at the back of her throat. It was Santana. Hesitantly, she opened the message and after reading it, she read it again. It took her three times and a pinch on her own arm to make sure that it was real.

'Love you.'

It was possibly the sweetest text message she'd ever gotten. Even Artie didn't text her like that. Oh. Artie. Her boyfriend. She was about to reply to Santana when she decided against it. She knew that it would only confuse her more. Instead, she let the feeling of longing and content mix together. Really, the girl was torn. But she was sure that she'd eventually know what to do. She just hoped that by then, it wasn't too late.

When the school bell rang indicating it was time for lunch, Santana sighed in relief. She really needed to stop floating all over the place if she wanted the horrified stares to stop. But then, Santana felt both was impossible stop.

At least, she felt like that before she caught a glimpse of Brittany and Artie. They were at the end of the hallway. He was holding her hand and Brittany was smiling sweetly at him. Santana felt jealousy kick her in the gut but she pushed it down. Instead, she calmly turned her attention back to her locker and was delighted to find that she was still calm enough to open it on her first try. Hell yeah.

"Hey." Santana nearly jumped ten feet off the ground when an oh-so-familiar voice came out of nowhere. Brittany chuckled.

"Jeez, Britt. You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry."

"It's okay." At this point, Brittany was staring hopelessly at her locker. Wordlessly, Santana did something she was positive Artie never did for her. She reached out and spun the dial on Brittany's locker, successfully opening it. The blonde beamed at her, relief evident on her face.

"Thanks!" Santana flashed a smile.

"Sure."

"Where's Artie?"

"He went off to class. He had a report to present and he says that he can't be late for that." Santana grabbed a notebook and looked questioningly at Brittany.

"Why would he be late? He has like twenty minutes to get there." Brittany closed her locker and looked at Santana, a guilty smile on her face. Santana's heart broke.

"I kinda asked him to take me to class since I always get lost and I can never get to my class early. He said yes. But I always end up forgetting where my class is so then we have to go back here to check my schedule. It's okay though. I'll try to find my way to class before it's done." Santana sighed. With only a moment's hesitation, Santana reached out to take Brittany's hand. Brittany looked surprised and sad.

"Hey, it's okay. It's not your fault. Come on, I'll take you to your class. You have… Biology, right?" Dazed, Brittany nodded.

Santana squeezed her hand reassuringly, her way of promising that she won't leave her. Not while she's alive and not even when's she's dead. She can't tell Brittany that yet. She knows that even though she is fighting for her, she wasn't ready yet. Santana knew that if she was to be honest with herself, her real enemy is not some cripple in a wheelchair. It was herself.

Brittany watched as emotions flashed in her bestfriend's eyes. She understands. She always does. Beside the door of her classroom, she gave Santana's hand a squeeze back. The Latina never let go of her hand on the way here and for her it was more than enough to tell her that Santana was trying.

"You're gonna be late for your class, S." Santana laughed, her heart leaping when Brittany called her by her pet name.

"B, my class is just beside yours." She said, gesturing to the said classroom. Brittany smiled sheepishly.

"Oh. Well, thanks for bringing me here." Before they were even aware of it, they were caught in each other's eyes. Santana's mind was yelling at her for being so fucking cheesy and cliché but at this point, Santana couldn't care less about anything aside from the fact that she misses the blue eyes staring right back in hers. They barely heard the bell ring and ignored Kurt who passed by them muttering something like "eye sex" under his breath. They were in their own personal bubble. Suddenly, it didn't matter that Brittany had a boyfriend and that Santana had to pull her shit together.

Without thinking, Santana reached for Brittany, looping her arms around her neck and pulling the girl close to her. Instinctively, Brittany locked her arms around Santana's waist.

There were no words. They didn't need it. It was enough that their hearts were beating in sync.

I miss you. I'm yours.

A/N: The Rumours episode broke my heart. And I'm so sorry for the late update. A PANDA BIG THANK YOU FOR THOSE WHO REVIEWED AND EVEN TO THOSE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS. As always, all mistakes are mine. Tell me what you think?

Brittana is endgame,

theangel1710