Chapter 2

"And who are you?"

"Dad!"

"What Jeremy? There's a stranger in my home, can't I ask who it is? What if she's a burglar, or worse, a rapist?"

"No offense, dad, but if she was a rapist I don't think that you would be her first choice of victim."

"What do you mean, Brittany? Are you saying your dad is an ugly old man?"

"Dad!"

"What Jeremy!?"

Jeremy points to you with a nervous smile, "…This is my girlfriend."

A long and painful silence settles in the room as Jeremy's and Brittany's dad looks wide-eyed between you and your blushing boyfriend.

You don't dare to move at all except for your eyes that quickly dart over to look at Brittany. She's wearing her trademark smirk. You've only known her for an hour but you feel like she does it a lot.

She meets your gaze and without any warning she winks at you. It's one of those really slow and playful winks and you feel your knees weaken. You quickly grab Jeremy's jacket for support.

"You have a girlfriend?"

Jeremy takes your hand that you gripped his jacket with and intertwines your fingers together. He has a big and strong hand and you feel safe holding it.

You don't know why you do it, but you look over at Brittany again. This time she's not smirking, she just looks at Jeremy with an intense gaze. You frown before you feel the grip tighten around your hand.

"Her name's Santana." Jeremy gives you a look and you quickly dart your free hand out towards their father.

"It's a pleasure meeting you." You're not very good with manners and being polite and you've never been good in meeting-the-parents situations. But you know you're supposed to shake hands, and act like you actually enjoy meeting them.

"Ho–why… What?" His whole face radiates 'confused' and your hand is still limply hanging in the air between you because he hasn't shaken it yet. You feel like you should take your hand back but you want to give him a few more seconds to come around before you pull it back like an idiot.

Jeremy doesn't say anything and you're silently begging him to open his mouth. Maybe tell his dad to shake your hand. Or say something, anything really.

"Well, okay." Jeremy's dad shrugs his shoulders. "Hi, my name's Rufus."

And he takes your hand and he shakes it. And you're so relieved you let out a small laugh.

OoOo

You find out a few minutes later, that "brunch with dad" means not only their dad, but with their aunt and their four cousins too, but you actually find yourself kind of relieved that it won't be an awkward and quiet brunch with only their dad.

You shake their aunt's hand, it's strong and warm. Her name is Jen. She's blonde and young and bubbly and reminds you a little bit of Brittany. You instantly like her. And when Rufus tells everyone to sit down before the food gets cold and their aunt rolls her eyes behind his back, you like her even more. She seems carefree and fun.

She has dressed her kids in colorful clothes and they're all running around barefoot. You usually don't like children but you can't help but find these ones cute.

Before brunch can start, Rufus insists they should all say a prayer. Jen tells him that he can do whatever he wants. And then she starts passing around eggs and bacon to her four kids. She asks if you want some orange juice and you can see Rufus at the other end of the table rolling his eyes.

"Yes, please," you smile before she starts pouring.

You sat down on the bench next to Jeremy on one side of the table and opposite you are their four cousins. They keep looking at you weirdly and you try to smile at them but you don't know if your smile really looks like a smile, or if it's just more of a terrified grimace. You feel kind of awkward and in the middle of everything, as if you're intruding on their family time. And you feel even worse because you're not even Jeremy's real girlfriend. You're just pretending and you don't really even know him.

You met him last night for crying out loud.

Brittany slides in next to you and she accidently brushes your shoulder as she sits down.

"Oups, sorry," she whispers and it's so cute that you can't help but smile at her in response. The fact that she even apologized for brushing your shoulder is adorable.

"So, Brittany, when are we meeting the boyfriend?" Rufus crosses his arms and puts his elbows on the table.

You glance over at Brittany from the corner of your eye and you can see how her cheeks brighten.

"Oh, yeah!" Jen snaps her head in Brittany's direction and smiles at her warmly. "What was his name again? Adam…?"

"Anton," Brittany corrects while looking down at the table. "And I don't know when you can meet him; our relationship is pretty new…"

Rufus shrugs and looks over at you. "So?" He smiles a crooked smile and glances at Jeremy. "Their relationship is even newer."

You feel like shrinking through the floor and never arise.

You feel disappointed about Brittany's boyfriend. And you instantly feel lame after realizing you're disappointed.

You know it can't happen. You're going out with her brother. But it would just have made everything so much better if Brittany didn't have a boyfriend, or wasn't straight.

"Maybe someday," Brittany mumbles and Jen is smart enough to change the subject before Brittany can get even more embarrassed.

Rufus talks through the entire brunch, while Jen keeps rolling her eyes and coming with hilariously snappy comments when Rufus is being grumpy and closed-minded.

Nobody asks any questions about how you and Jeremy met and you're so relieved. You think it's because Rufus is too self-absorbed to actually care about how you met. And you think Jen just don't want to put you on the spot with so many people around. She seems like that kind of person.

OoOo

When brunch is finally over, Jeremy suggests you sit down, talk everything through and make up some rules. You agree that it would be to your advantage.

You end up at a coffee shop a few hours later and like the good and traditional boyfriend he is, he pays for your coffee. You take a seat outside where you can watch the sun go down beyond the orange horizon.

Jeremy crosses one leg over the other as he puts on his bright pink sunglasses and you think to yourself that he needs to be more subtle about his gayness if this idea is going to work. You can't understand how someone can seem so gay and still successfully be hiding in the closet.

He takes a sip from his caramel latte before looking over at you, "So, what do you think so far?"

You quirk your lips into a smile, "I think we're making a cute couple."

Jeremy snorts at your sarcasm but you can detect a genuine smile underneath that smirk.

"Do you still want to do this?" His question is honest and he gives you a chance to back out. As much as today has been filled with awkward and uncomfortable situations, you've enjoyed it. You enjoy his company; you think you might actually like him, platonically, of course. He's funny, and he reminds you a lot of yourself. He's witty and he understands your jokes. And he doesn't take offense when you offend him. If you were both straight, he would've been your perfect match. You think he might be your long lost brother.

You also understand that he by some means needs you. Meeting his dad made you realize that. And you know your parents are the same way. You need each other.

Your mom would be so happy if you finally brought someone home for her to meet. And Jeremy is a mother's dream. He's sweet and cute. Your mom would love him.

"Definitely," you say and quickly fire off the same question to him. "Do you?"

"I do," he says with a smile. He takes a sip from his coffee and winks at you. "You're cool."

OoOo

As you're lying on your couch watching the latest episode of 'orphan black' that same night, your phone starts ringing.

First you don't plan on answering. It's not a number you recognize and you're tired of people calling who want to sell you cheap phone subscriptions. But after the third ring, you get tired of hearing that annoying whistle so you pick it up and press the green button.

"Hello?" you say, a bit angrily but you don't really care.

"Hi? It's Brittany."

You jump up from the couch like you got stung by a bee. You quickly straighten out your shirt and run a hand through your hair, you know, just in case she could see you through the phone.

"Oh, hi… there." You close your eyes hard and press your hand to your forehead. Smooth.

There's a rustling on the other end before her voice comes back, "I'm sorry. Were you sleeping?"

You clear your throat and shake your head. "No, I was just watching some TV."

"Okay, cool."

You swallow thickly and hum in agreement.

"So, anyway," she chirps. "You free tomorrow?"

"Yes," you say quickly, not realizing how desperate it sounded, until you hear a sweet giggle.

You don't even question her intentions, but she tells you anyway.

"I just want to get to know the girl who managed to tie down my little brother" she says and you can hear the sarcasm in her voice and you just know that she's smirking.

You snort. It's a bit unattractive but you hope she didn't hear it.

"Okay, sure." You smile stupidly and you're happy you're speaking on the phone so she can't see your face.

"Cool, we're going shopping then," she says firmly, as if you don't have a choice. You don't want to have a choice though. You'll do anything she says.

You bite your lip and scratch your neck awkwardly with your free hand.

"Okay, sure."

There's a rustling again, "Come to our house tomorrow morning and then we can drive together to the shopping mall."

"Okay, sure," you say again, now realizing you've said it three times in a row.

You can hear that giggle again and something flutters in your chest.

You bite your lip as she says bye and you tell her to take care.

OoOo

"Gum?"

You turn your head towards Brittany and she's holding out her hand, offering you some gum. It's one of those big red gums you buy in candy stores that looks like a strawberry and you bite your lower lip to hide a smile.

She needs to stop being cute.

You enter the shopping mall and you're instantly hit by the warm air. You zip down your jacket and look around; searching for a place you can buy coffee. It's still pretty early and you haven't had breakfast. And by breakfast you mean coffee. Because you can't eat anything in the morning.

You find a coffee shop in a corner of the mall and you turn to tell Brittany you need to go there but then you see Brittany smiling at an old woman holding a small puppy. You roll your eyes when the woman smiles back and Brittany asks if she can pet it.

You stand behind Brittany, watching her petting the dog while having a conversation with the owner.

"How old is he?"

The woman takes the question as an invitation to tell Brittany about the dog's entire life story. You switch your weight to your other hip while trying not to fall asleep standing up.

After a few minutes of petting and talking, Brittany says good bye and starts walking away. You quickly follow but you have to jog a bit to keep her pace.

"Such a cute dog," Brittany says fondly and you look at her from the corner of your eye.

"Yeah… sure." You're not a big fan of animals in general. You don't mind them but you like them to keep a fair distance from you. Animals don't usually like you, and the feeling is mutual.

Brittany softly pats the back of your hand with her hand and then points to a clothing store. "We can go in there, they have cool clothes."

You feel your chest flutter from the swift touch but you choose to ignore it. You can't develop a crush on Brittany. You just can't. You always choose the most unavailable girls to fall in love with. You don't want to have another hopeless crush on a taken straight girl.

"I think I need some coffee before we start," you tell her and when she smirks at you, you feel your cheeks grow warm. You want to tell her to stop smirking, because it makes you nervous. But saying that might actually make her smirk even more so you resist the urge of saying anything. Instead you shrug a shoulder and pop your gum. "I can't function without coffee."

Brittany smiles and before she starts walking, she sneaks her hand in between your arm and your waist, unintentionally touching the skin on your hip between your shirt and your jeans. She takes a grip around your elbow and interlinks your arms together.

Your shoulders bump together and it takes a second for you to figure out how to walk properly.

You sit down on one of the tables after ordering coffee for you and hot chocolate for Brittany. She insisted on paying but you managed to sneak your card to the cashier before she found her money. It earned you a frown and a poke in the hip and it was totally worth it.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Really?" you quirk an eyebrow at her. "This is your way of getting to know me?"

"Why, what's wrong with that question?" She meets your gaze and you shrug your shoulder.

"It's lame."

"Oh, okay, Princess." Brittany rolls her eyes at you playfully. "When did you lose your virginity?"

You almost choke on your gum but you manage to catch the gum with your tongue before it can happen.

"Too much?" Brittany smirks and you can't help but smile back.

"I can tell you if you must know…" you say and Brittany breaths out a small laugh. You find it very cute and you can't help but let your lips form a lopsided grin. But when Brittany squints her eyes at you questioningly, you realize you're just sitting there smiling at her.

You clear your throat and look down into your lap but you can see that she's smirking from the corner of your eye.

"I was seventeen," you say quickly, just to distract her from thinking you were smiling at her like a creep. Which you were, but you don't want her to think that.

"M-hm," she hums. She puts her elbow on the table and rests her head in the palm of her hand. You look down into your cup of coffee because her gaze is getting too intense.

You feel something hit your foot underneath the table and when you look up into her face, she's quirking her eyebrows at you. "Well, continue!" You laugh at her impatience and curiosity.

"You only asked when," you say and she rolls her eyes.

"It was just an opening question; you're supposed to tell me the whole story." Brittany tells you matter-of-factly and you bite your lip.

"Okay, okay. Sorry!" You put your hands up in defense as if begging for mercy and Brittany shakes her head while rolling her eyes again.

"So who was it with?"

"His name was Christian," you begin and Brittany hangs on to your every word. You don't think anyone's ever been this interested in anything you've ever had to say.

"Was he hot?" Brittany grins and you can't help but shake your head at her questions.

"Actually, he was kind of ugly," you laugh and she raises her eyebrows.

"Sometimes, the ugliest are the best between the sheets," she says and you feel your cheeks grow hotter and hotter for every second you're with her.

"That wasn't the case here though," you say, wrinkling your nose. "It was pretty bad."

Brittany pouts her lips and shrugs a shoulder.

"If it makes you feel better, my first time was pretty horrible too."

You smile at her words and she grins back.

You keep staring at each other and you don't want to look away, even though you probably should.

Suddenly your phone chimes and you're kind of thankful for the interruption. You pick it up from your pocket and see that it's from Jeremy.

Are you surviving or do you need saving?

You smirk at his text; it's sweet that he cares. When you got to their house earlier, he was in the kitchen making breakfast. You kissed his cheek because Brittany was looking at you and you feel like that's what you do if you find your boyfriend cooking breakfast. He warned Brittany that if she'll hurt you, he'll take away all her One Tree Hill dvd's. Brittany gasped and playfully hit his arm while saying "You wouldn't do that!" and you loved watching them interact. They have a really awesome relationship that you envy a lot. You think Jeremy's actually nervous though about you hanging out with his sister. You decide to joke with him a bit and you send a playful text back, though not far from the truth.

It's fine. Your sister's hot

"Is it my brother?"

You look up from your phone to see Brittany rolling her eyes.

"Yeah," you answer, not really sure what to say.

"I don't understand how you can be with him, he's so annoying." You know she's joking, there's a glint in her eye, but you also feel like she's half serious about the question.

"He's nice," you say, realizing that you maybe should've said something more romantic since he's your boyfriend after all.

Brittany smirks again, "He can be sweet, but he's mostly just annoying."

You purse your lips, feeling uncomfortable talking about him with his sister.

Brittany must've sensed your uneasiness because she stands up and motions with her hand for you to do the same. "Come on gorgeous, let's try out some clothes."

You almost trip and hit your nose on the table on your way up but she saves you last second, taking a steady grip around your waist, holding you up.

Brittany giggles and straightens out your jacket for you, "Falling for me already?"

You barely manage a smile as she lets go of you and turns around in the direction of the clothing store she was pointing at earlier.

You take a deep but shaky breath and follow suit.

OoOo

Um, hi. I didn't realize so many actually followed and favorited and reviewed the story until like a week ago haha. But yeah, this was the second chapter, I hope you enjoyed. And the next chapter will probably be up faster.