Chapter 8: Gone and Alone

Quinn expected her to cry her eyes out for hours. Puck expected her to try and commit suicide. Santana did none of those.

Sure, tears fell and her body tried to keep sending oxygen through her body. But it was like she was broken for all of ten minutes. Quinn and Puck watched her in disbelief as she pulled herself out of their comfort. They watched her as she tried several times to stop the tears from flowing until she finally accomplished that task. Santana stood upright, eyes closed and frankly, she looked defeated and was ready to surrender. Her shoulders dropped, her posture relaxed. And when brown eyes opened, it seemed like they were smiling sadly.

Santana was accepting her fate.

"Let's go. We have class." She said, her voice soft as she moved towards the door. Something was happening outside as proved by the collective whispering. Santana was thankful for this – it was an escape from the hurt; it was a distraction. Quinn and Puck followed suit after they shared a worried glance.

Silence followed the trio as they made their way to the exit. Just as they were about to reach the door, Karofsky's voice penetrated the glass.

"Hey Retard, Fatso, Cripple! How's the loser life going?"

At first, Puck, Quinn, and Santana looked at each other. And then as if they had one body, they squeezed themselves through the door just in time to witness how Karofsky and Azimio slushy Brittany, Artie, and Lauren. The reaction was instant. Santana was back to her fighter mode only this time she was practically ablaze with rage. Puck went from badass to demon, his pupils dilating, his fists clenched.

"Santana."

"Puck."

Before Quinn could do anything, they were already off, each moving dangerously fast to their respective target. The blonde was smart enough to know that nothing can stop them now. She heard the yelp and scream of pain even before she reached the scene. Quinn's expression turned grim as she was introduced to the painful fate the football players were currently suffering. She turned to her slushied teammates. They were standing in shock and it was apparent on their faces that they were not expecting this. Quinn laid a hand on Lauren's arm as she faced Brittany.

"Britt, take Artie and go clean up." The soaked trio looked at her as if they did not recognize her.

"I'll take care of this." Lauren closed her mouth and nodded.

"But Santana – …" Brittany started only to be silenced by a groan of pain. She looked at Quinn and then at Santana again. She could barely recognize the Latina as she actually growled, her hands ready to claw Karofsky's face off.

"Please, Brittany." With one last uncertain glance, Brittany reluctantly nodded before wheeling Artie to follow Lauren to the nearest restroom.

Karofsky was on a level of pain he had never imagined. One second he was laughing and in the next, a knee planted itself to his nose and in the next second, a foot crushed his private parts as he fell backwards, effectively shutting him up and pinning him to the ground. Azimio was already turning blue by the lockers as Puck grasped his neck with intent to kill.

Santana can't see or comprehend anything. But she knew she had to kill this guy. Kill. She was growling before she could even realize that the sound was ripping out of her throat. Momentarily, she was distracted and actually looked away from a green Karofsky to look behind her back. Brittany wasn't there anymore. Of course. She was, after all, fighting for nothing.

Karofsky saw this distraction as an opportunity. He managed to free himself from Santana's crushing foot and swing his legs to knock the Latina down. Her head his the cold, hard floor and she was pulled out of her momentary distraction just as Puck turned to look at her subsequently being hit by a big fist to his jaw. Blood was gushing out of her head when Santana pulled herself up.

"How dare you." She snarled, her tone feral. She pushed the big football player to the lockers, pinning him right next to Azimio who was back to turning blue and white as her hand clawed his face. Karofsky was screaming in agony as scratch marks appeared on his face.

Quinn was at a loss. She didn't have the slightest idea on what to do. So when she spotted Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste hurrying toward the scene she breathed a sigh of relief. Cautiously, she approached Santana and laid a hand on her shoulder. She almost cowered in fear when the girl turned to look at her with a look of barely controlled fury. Karofsky made to move again but Coach beiste was already there pinning her player.

"THAT"S ENOUGH." She bellowed. Karofsky's pride was injured.

"You bitch! You fucking dyke! You're going to pay for this!" He screamed. Santana glowered at him but Quinn grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"OH YEAH? BRING IT ON AND WATCH ME RIP OUT YOUR CRUSHED LADY BALLS."

Mr, Schuester was currently dragging Azimio away from a still-seething Puck.

"Quinn, take care of these two, okay?" Mr. Schuester told her before he dragged Azimio away.

"I'll kill you, black boy. I'll fucking kill you." Azimio was too busy gasping for air to formulate a reply. It was only then that Santana became aware of the crowd.

"WELL? MIND YOUR OWN SHIT!" She yelled, effectively dispersing the crowd.

"Santana. Enough, please. Calm down." Quinn murmured. "Puck." He turned to look at her. "Please." After a moment, Puck relaxed and nodded. Santana was still tense but at least she wasn't looking at anyone like she wanted their heads off.

"Come on Satan, we have to get you to the nurse." Blood was dripping down to the floor from her head wound. At this point, she wouldn't have cared. She just wanted to know if Brittany's alright. But then she remembered that Brittany wasn't there. She turned to Quinn, her eyes glazed.

"Yeah. Okay."

There was nothing there. Nothing.

Santana was already bandaged up and deathly calm when Lauren barged into nurse's office. She went straight to Puck who was nursing his bruised cheek. Santana didn't want to ask but she wanted know. Luckily for her, Quinn relieved her of that burden.

"Where's Brittany?" Lauren looked straight into an expressionless Santana as she answered.

"She's with Artie." Hurt flashed through glassy eyes. "He couldn't reach the sink so he had to ask Brittany to help him clean up. They're okay."

Santana could feel the onslaught of tears at the back of her eyes. She reached out for Quinn's arm in need of something to stabilize her. Quinn understood and moved to sit next to her. Lauren did not miss anything from the moment brown eyes tightened to way the Latina was subtly gasping for air.

"You know what, Lopez? You're a bitch." Lauren said, bluntly. Santana chuckled, darkly, bitterly. "But you're not alone."

A/N: I am so sorry. I know it's been so long but it's currently hell week. I'll be posting the next chapter sooner than you think so please, please review. :) Oh yeah, my friend's writing a fanfic right now and I feel like recommending it. It's great, I swear. Loaded with angst but oh my God. Sorry, I'm always at a loss for words when it comes to describing that story. Anyway, here's the link: .net/s/7001601/1/Setting_Rain_on_Fire . And I have a new oneshot, it's called Linger. It's not related to this story and there's no character death. Just thought you guys should know. :))

Lastly, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. Keep it coming. ;)

Brittana (or Heya?),

theangel1710