Here's the update! Thanks to my friends who helped me develop this chapter a little, as well as the same friends who always look over and edit my chapters for me. I couldn't do this without your awesome editing skills. Thanks guys, and I hope you like the chapter! Also, I'd like to remind you all that this story is not strictly Faberry. I hope to expand it and make the story include all of the glee club, focusing on different characters and different pairings at their own times. I'll weave in and out of storylines, so make sure to tell me if something doesn't make sense. Thanks!
"Now that we have the x-rays, and we should have an answer back in no time."
Quinn sat on a medical table in the Lima Emergency Room, her legs dangling off the edge, surrounded by a mixture of people from doctors to Cheerios. Brittany and Santana each were sitting in chairs, both very silent. Sue was in the corner of the room, explaining with an extremely frustrated tone to yet another doctor what had happened.
Luckily, the emergency room wasn't that far away from McKinley, so they didn't have far to travel.
"Don't worry Quinn, I know it's painful, but you're not critically hurt." The doctor assured her. Quinn knew that, she wasn't worried about it at all. She had broken bones many times as a child, and she was almost accustomed to the pain.
Nodding quickly, she turned to Brittany and Santana, "Hey, would you guys mind driving me to school, I left all of my stuff in the girl's locker room, including my phone and everything."
"We'll get it." Santana replied promptly, standing up and grabbing Brittany's hand. It was obvious that she was ready to escape the sharp smelling, well scrubbed emergency room. The idea of being alone with Brittany might have made a difference too.
"OK, thanks." Quinn smiled at the pair. She knew Santana was still pissed at her for "trying to steal her Cheerio's captain spot", but she believed that she would heal. Santana had rage, but she also had a heart.
As the Cheerios made their way out the door, the doctor who took the x-rays bustled in. "Good news." He announced plainly, "You aren't badly hurt. You broke a wrist."
The room buzzed with the announcement, and Quinn attempted to bend her wrist. Up till that moment she thought the pain had originated from her elbow, but sure enough, her wrist felt like a billion needles stabbing into her skin, and it brought automatic tears to her eyes.
"You're badly bruised in other places, but that's no problem." The doctor continued, "So you will be in some pain for a week or two. Luckily, broken wrists are very common, and a simple cast will fix it."
"A cast?" Quinn was somewhat shocked, "But what about school? I need to be able to write, and then there's Glee club, and…"
"Don't worry, it won't be for long." The doctor, a man in his 50s with graying hair explained, "And even though it may be a little hard to write or do everyday things, it's temporary, and I'm sure people will be willing to help you."
Quinn's jaw dropped, and she swallowed hard before continuing, "But isn't that a little extreme? It's a broken wrist! I've broke arms and been able to do more than that!"
The doctor ran his hands through his hair, sighing deeply. Quinn felt bad for a second. He looked so frazzled, the fact that he had explained this a million times and was sick of it was evident on his face. Quinn bottled her frustration and turned, nervous to see Sue's reaction. Her face was solemn, her eyes contained intense emotion.
"Come on," She beckoned to Quinn carelessly, "Off the table. Just because your wrist is broken doesn't mean you can be lazy."
"Come on Britt."
Santana grabbed Brittany's hand as they dashed through the halls of the emergency room, heading towards the parking lot. Brittany flashed Santana her sweet smile, gripping her hand and following in her footsteps. Santana felt her stomach flip over and she turned her head so the blond didn't see the vibrant red of her blush.
It was getting darker, and stars were beginning show their faces. The moon shone silver in the corner of the sky, and cast a romantic moonlight on the parking lot, silhouettes of cars casting long shadows on the walls of the building. It was chilly, and Brittany pressed her shoulder against Santana in order to keep warm. The parking lot was empty, and Santana glanced around quickly before snaking her arm around Brittany's waist. The blond rested her head on her shoulder, her hair flipping in her face bringing the strong smell of flowers and dew with it. Both girls dived into the car and situated themselves.
Once in the car, Brittany held up a CD with a picture of a girl's face on it.
"Let's listen."
The girl's eyes were giant, innocent, baby blue, and her hair was chocolate brown with vibrant streaks of rainbow in it. Of course it would be this CD, this was the only thing Brittany listened to, and had listened to for the past year.
The album cover was hauntingly beautiful, and Santana knew the song.
Take me to your best friend's house,
Goin round this roundabout,
Oh yeah
Brittany opened the car windows and stuck her head out, singing at the top of her lungs to make sure that every house in Lima, Ohio could hear her. She balanced with her knees on the seat, her torso stretched out of the car. Santana giggled, watching Britt out of the corner of her eye as she drove.
Take me to your best friend's house,
I loved you then and I love you now,
Oh yeah
Her blond hair fluttered in the wind as she sang, her arms spread open on either side of her like in the Titanic. Her head was thrown back as she laughed, clapping, whooping, spreading sounds through the frozen, silent night air.
Don't take me tongue tied,
Don't wave no goodbye,
Don't...break
On the last line, Brittany screamed at the top of her lungs before collapsing into a fit of giggles. "BRITTANY!" Santana shrieked giddily, one hand on the wheel and one hand reaching over to pull the blond back in the car. Both girls screamed and laughed hysterically, while the car swerved dangerously to the right.
"Whoa!" Brittany placed her hands gently on Santana's, helping her to get a grip on the wheel and steer the car back to safety, and they neatly slid into the McKinley High parking lot. "Good job driver." Brittany joked, leaning over and pecking Santana lightly on the cheek. Santana felt her cheeks grow very hot.
The pair hooked arms and jogged together towards the building. Brittany grinned at Santana, jumped and clicked her heels together like a leprechaun. Santana smiled a little, shaking her head at Britt.
Santana's heart was alive with a strange feeling just from the mere minutes she had spent alone with Brittany. Her heart was thumping out of her chest, and she could barely take her eyes off the blond. Sure, she had always felt special about Brittany, but watching her shadow dancing in the moonlight slightly ahead of her made her want to lean over and kiss her.
And kiss her, and kiss her.
Santana attempted to swallow this feeling, as they swung open the doors of McKinley and made their way towards the girl's locker room. Brittany walked slightly ahead of her, admiring the posters on the walls of the hallway.
Santana felt something clinking in the pocket of her Cheerios jacket. Frowning, she dug into her pocket, and her fingers closed around a long, thin shape. She gasped and pulled out a recorder. Didn't she only steal one from the choir room?
Tossing the recorder between her hands, she called out ahead of her, "Hey Brittany, I found an extra recorder. I'm going to have to return it."
"OK, I'll get Quinn's stuff." Brittany began to skip down the hallway, her feet clapping against the shining floor like a horse galloping. Santana smiled to herself, and headed towards the choir room.
All of the lights in the hallways were off, the trickles of moonlight glittering through the windows and the doors. Santana made her way up to the choir room door, pressing her hand against the cold surface. It was pitch black inside, except for the sparkles of light dancing and reflecting on the piano. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it, expecting the door to slide open with ease as it usually did.
Locked. Of course, she shouldn't have expected anything else. Santana felt her legs transform to jelly with the exhaustion collected from the day. She placed her back against the door and slide down so she was sitting on the floor, fingering the recorder in her palm.
Now that she had helped Quinn to the emergency room and in a way, made even more of a spectacle out of the situation, Santana wasn't sure she would make the Cheerios again. Coach Sylvester liked things to run smoothly and professionally, and even if the interruption was for safety reasons, she wasn't going to like it or like anyone related to it. Santana didn't have to worry anymore about Quinn taking her spot for this reason, but what if she never made the Cheerios again? The Cheerios were everything to her, the one thing she took pride in and cared about besides Glee club. They had made her popular, got her friends and followers, and led her to Brittany.
Brittany.
Santana rested her head against the door, a flood of emotion leaking into her as the events from the day slowly seeped into her head. Rachel's recorded confession, Quinn's obsession with the situation once she heard, the fall during tryouts, the drive from the ER, Brittany's smile while she stood up in her seat, head out the car window, singing her heart out.
Santana loved Brittany, she truly did, and she knew that. She just couldn't always bring herself to accept it. From the moment they met, Santana adored the special spunk that Brittany always had, the never-ending stream of optimism. They had become fast friends, and as friends, they were extremely close. Santana always felt so comfortable with Brittany, comfortable enough to make out with her on occasion. She felt like such a real person with her because Brittany accepted her for who she was, and Santana didn't need to put on the bitchy mask. When she was with Brittany, she was at home.
Brittany knew that Santana loved her too…or did she? Santana had told her on multiple occasions that she loved her, but it was never in a serious way. After all of the times Brittany had said it to her, Santana's reply had always been more staged, such as "Of course I love you too Brittany!"
Pressing the "record" button on the recorder, Santana pressed the object to her lips briefly. "I love you Brittany." She whispered, blushing soft pink when she realized what she had done. It was Rachel's method of admitting to Quinn, why couldn't she do it too?
"I love you, I love you, I love you." Santana felt tears biting at her eyes, and she swallowed hard, "I am truly in love with you Brittany S. Pierce. I just wanted you to know that." Her voice faltered at the end, and Santana pressed her eyes shut, willing a single tear to slide out.
Wiping it away hurriedly, she picked herself up the ground and began to run towards the girl's locker room. She was a coward if she couldn't tell this to Brittany's face. True, it was easier to say it when she was alone, but Santana wasn't known for taking the easy way out.
"Brittany!" She called down the hall, clearing the lump in her throat, "I have to talk to you!"
"Yes?" The voice mumbled from the back of the locker room, and Santana navigated herself through the maze of lockers until she was face to face with the beautiful girl.
She had been rummaging through Quinn's bag, probably scavenging for a snack or something only Brittany would want to look for. Of course she was invading Quinn's space and privacy, she didn't know better. Santana leaned forward, her lips brushing Brittany's ear lightly, a mere tickle.
Pressing the recorder into her hand, Santana softly whispered, "Listen."
Brittany glanced at Santana, her eyes warm and curious. She looked down at the recorder in her hand and pressed the "play" button.
"I love you Brittany. I love you, I love you, I love you. I am truly in love with you Brittany S. Pierce. I just wanted you to know that."
Brittany's clear blue eyes were wide. She stared at the recorder in silence for a while, her pink lips pursed, and her cheeks pale pink. Finally, she lifted her head and made strong eye contact with Santana. "I love you Santana" was all she said.
The girls wrapped their arms around one another, lips locked, the force of the kiss so strong it picked Brittany off the ground. Brittany squealed and buried her face into Santana's shoulder, her legs wrapped around Santana's waist.
Sure, there were tears in Santana's eyes, but they were tears of happiness.
The cast was red and white and very stiff.
Quinn had made sure to request for Cheerios colors for her cast to prove to Coach Sylvester that she was still dedicated to the team. Even though Coach S only rolled her eyes when she heard those were the colors Quinn wanted, Quinn had hoped it would make somewhat of an impact.
The locker room was humid, sweat radiating off the bodies of the girls who just got out of gym. Quinn slipped past the girls changing, and made her way towards locker 143. Santana and Brittany never returned her bag to her. Figures, they probably got caught up with one another in a shower or something, knowing those two.
Quinn bumped past a few girls with a small, "Excuse me." She reached the locker, quickly pulling it open and dragging her bag out.
Light filtered into the locker, illuminating the space inside. As Quinn pulled out the bag, she noticed a dark shape in the back of the locker. She reached in, and grabbed the familiar shape of shoes.
They were purple and white, the shoelaces frayed, the sides stained with streaks of mud, proving that the shoes had been used many times. Quinn recognized them, but she couldn't exactly place a finger on where she had seen them.
Her bag was unzipped, and as Quinn reached to zip it, she remembered. If her bag had been unzipped, that meant the recorder would be exposed. Panic suddenly erupted in her stomach, and she dug into her bag, the absence of the shiny recorder suddenly obvious.
The recorder wasn't in her bag or her locker. Quinn bit her lip, nearly ripping her clothes from the other day as she tugged the contents of her bag out in order to find the recorder. She never got the chance to do whatever she would want to do with the recording, which could have been finding a way for Rachel to hear it.
Quinn felt her heart sink. There goes her dreams of being able to hold Rachel's hand in the hallways, kiss her beneath the stars, sing with her arms around her in glee club. She actually hoped that something would happen if Rachel heard the recording, something would come out of it. And now it was lost, and her hope went with it.
Quinn slowly slid her bag over her shoulder, a gaping hole in her heart. She gently picked up the sneakers and made her way out of the locker room, she would put them in the lost and found in the school office.
Fingering the frayed laces, thinking about Rachel Berry, one thing led to another and something clicked in Quinn's brain. These were her shoes. These were Rachel's sneakers that she wore to gym every class, that she ran track with, that she sometimes wore to glee club only before she could sit down and change into her ballet flats.
Rachel took the recorder.
*The song featured is Tongue Tied by Grouplove. It was also featured in the Nationals episode of Glee season 3.