14 Years Ago, September 2009

It was around 7:45 am, and Brittany was just getting to school. Her parents had made her the traditional Pierce family birthday breakfast. French toast, scrambled eggs and hash browns extra crispy. In hindsight, Brittany loved her birthday. But at school it was a different story. High school was a different place, and no matter how many friends Brittany had she didn't want it to seem like she was making her birthday a big deal.

But Santana and Quinn had other plans and had gotten up early to make some cupcakes for their best friend. Quinn drove to school, and picked up Santana on the way so that they could stash their cupcakes in one of the classrooms so they could give them to Brittany during lunch.

The Unholy Trinity was a friend group at McKinley that everyone knew about. They formed their friendship during freshman year and have since been inseparable. The girls began playing basketball together and made a name for themselves by being the only 3 freshmen on the varsity team. And now, they all switched over to softball, with Santana still playing basketball during the winter season.

"San!" Brittany said as she walked down the hallway and spotted her friend at the end on the bench.

Santana waved her over. Quinn was hiding around the corner with the cupcake that had the most frosting on it.

"Happy birthday Britt!" Santana said as she stood up from her seat. "I been looking for you all day."

As Brittany got closer, Quinn jumped out and smashed the cupcake in her friends face. Brittany was taken by surprise. She wiped most of the frosting off, and went after Quinn. Santana was laughing on the side, nearly falling over the bench that was behind her. Brittany's attention shifted, and she headed towards Santana.

Santana hopped over the bench and began to run.

Brittany had always been the fastest of the three so Santana never stood a chance. She caught up to her and she in turn got the excess frosting on her face.

"Damnit." Santana said before she burst into laughter. She wiped her face before placing her arm around Brittany near her waist. "Happy birthday, B."

"Thanks San." Brittany replied. "Let's get Q before recess is over. She thinks she's untouchable."

Quinn was walking back down the hallway now and Santana was unsuspectingly holding a good amount of frosting in her hand while Brittany was holding her hands up to prove that she had nothing in them.

When Quinn went to hug Brittany and say happy birthday, Santana came from behind one of the pillars and got Quinn. The girls all broke out in laughter.

These were the moments that Brittany lived for with her friends. She had people in her corner, people that she could rely on. Growing up, she had a hard time making friends. Brittany was extremely shy, and while over the years it had gotten better, but didn't change the fact that she was shy.

Santana became her friend around the 6th grade, and things changed from then on. Halfway through the school year they became really close. They did everything together, from family reunions to random weekends looking through their friends' myspace pages.

When they got to high school, they met Quinn and became the Unholy Trinity. A bond that was built through the hardships of being the three youngest on the varsity basketball team. A team that had been playing together for years, now having to work in freshman that they felt- didn't belong there. They made names for themselves, proving that they earned those spots on the team. They also meshed incredibly well together even though Santana and Brittany had only met Quinn that same year.

And now, fast forward to senior year and the girls were all running on the same wavelength. They did everything together and spent every second they could with each other. Took a million pictures and were always texting each other.

"B, what are you doing tonight?"

"I don't know, my parents aren't going to be home. How come?" Brittany replied.

Santana turned to Quinn and they both smiled. "Let's go out for dinner. On us."

"Will we go to- "

"Your favorite place? Of course." Quinn said before she could finish.

Brittany jumped in excitement. Santana tapped the bench next to her and she sat. Quinn took the empty spot next to Brittany. Quinn took her phone out and they took a picture together. Faces covered in frosting, smiles from ear to ear.

"Can you imagine, this is the last birthday that we'll be celebrating in high school?" The girls were each eating a cupcake while watching students walk by near the football field. "Next year, we'll all be doing different things."

"Nah don't talk about that now, San. We still have the rest of the school year to make this the best ever."

Santana's had tears welling in her eyes. She turned away before they fell.

Brittany put her arm around San, placing her head on her shoulder. "Live for the moments now, San. We're still here."

Santana sniffled a little before placing her head on Brittany's.

Quinn always let the girls have their moments. She knew that they had been friends for a long time so even though they were all really close she understood that there were moments that belonged to just them. And this was one of them. Santana was a very sentimental person, and her going off to Louisville to play softball was going to split them apart.

But regardless, they were proud of her. She was the only one of the three that was going to play collegiate level sports and they promised to make it to at least one home game and one away.

"I know I'm sorry. It's just hard you know? I love you guys. I'm so used to being around you guys all the time and it's a weird thinking that time is running out."

The girls talked for the rest of lunch before heading back to class. It was a sunny day. Pretty hot with a slight breeze. They were planning on doing some softball conditioning afterschool.

Softball was something that the girls decided to do on a whim – something that would be fun and new. And they ended up loving it. Even more than basketball. There wasn't as much running (which was something that Brittany loved) and the sound of the ball hitting the glove was among Santana's favorite things in the world.

Santana ended up being a natural at softball. It came so easily for her. Freshman year she had won one of the starting spots on varsity. She was the team's catcher, which was incredibly impressive even though she had no softball experience. Quinn rode the bench for the first two years, while Brittany became a starter during sophomore year.

In the box, Santana was sitting on a .501 by the time junior year ended. Brittany was quick and good at running bases so she ended up being the team's bunter. Quinn was normally further down in the line-up.

But regardless of each other's skills, they were always so supportive of one another. There was no competition between them.

Brittany and Santana had their last class of the day together, and usually sat towards the back so that they could talk without getting caught.

"I already know what I'm getting tonight." Brittany said as she placed her binder on the table.

"Britt, you get the same thing every time we go. I think everyone, including the workers at BreadStix know what you're going to get." Santana said as she laughed.

"Okay but their pasta is good." Brittany rebutted.

"You're right, you're right. I'm sorry for second guessing your pasta loving soul."

The rest of the day went as it normally did, slowly. Once the last bell of the day rang, Santana and Brittany met Quinn at the softball field. She had already set up the pitching machine and it was ready to go.

Santana was up first as always, making her outfield hits look simple. That's how easy it was for her. They each hit about 10 balls before switching. Up next was Quinn, who normally took a little while to warm-up, so they usually gave her 20 hits instead.

Brittany was insecure about her hitting, and because she had been bunting so long, she used this time to practice her placement of bunts and beating the throw to first.

On the field, Brittany played center. Quinn was first base, and Santana was catcher.

After an hour or so of playing, the girls packed up and headed home to get ready to go to dinner.

Brittany walked into her room and sat on her bed, deciding on what she wanted to wear to BreadStix. On her mirror, there were tons of pictures of the trio but even more of her and Santana. She left just enough space to see herself to get ready in the morning.

She threw on a casual outfit for dinner that night. Checking her watch, she realized that she still had some time before Santana was going to pick her up.

On her mirror there was a specific picture that sat towards the top, dating back a few years. It was of her and Santana, sitting pool side each holding a mocktail. Carefully, she took it from the mirror and sat back down on her bed.

It was a nice day, Brittany remembered it like it was yesterday.

The girls were spending the weekend at the hotel for Santana's birthday. Quinn was away with her family, so she couldn't make it. But regardless, the pair enjoyed their time.

Santana was having a tough week, working through a sprained ankle and a upsetting C- on her history paper. She was somewhat a perfectionist and couldn't handle anything under a B+. Basketball season was about to start, and she didn't want to sit on the bench.

"San.." Britt pleaded as they walked over to the pool. "You know that you're supposed to stay off of your ankle."

Santana stopped walking, leaning on the wall to readjust her ankle brace. It was a new one that the athletic trainer gave her, so she was attempting to break it in. "I know B, but I want to enjoy my birthday weekend too. We're just walking to the pool, I'll be okay."

Brittany looked over at her friend with concern.

"Yeah but you know how I feel about stuff like this. Especially since it's the same ankle from 8th grade." She argued, crossing her arms. "You always play your ankle sprains off like they're nothing."

"I can handle my sprains, B." Santana argued back.

"I'm not saying you can't, I'm saying that acting like you're tough won't help you heal any faster."

Santana looked up at her friend, who was staring directly into her eyes. There was something about Brittany standing her ground. It was forceful, and something she was not used to. It was- hot.

"Britt I-"

"No San. I don't want to hear it." Brittany hadn't moved from the spot she was standing in.

"I was going to ask you to help me, that's all." Santana said a little softer. "Please?"

Brittany's expression softened, a smile appearing on her face. She walked over to her friend, allowing her to place her arm around her. Brittany didn't say anything, knowing better than to do something like that.

Santana hated asking for help. She'd do everything she could to avoid that. But the truth of the matter was, her ankle was really hurting that day, but she refused to say anything. She didn't even want to ice it because she didn't want her family, or Brittany to know.

If she was being completely honest? Santana just didn't want to show Brittany that she was hurting. For most of their friendship, Santana had always been the strong one. Brittany was the worrier.

Once they got to the pool, Brittany helped Santana take the ankle brace off before getting in the water. They swam for a bit towards the other side of the pool, getting to the jacuzzi that was hidden in the back. It was small but normally empty because no one wanted to swim across the water to get into the jacuzzi. There were others that was easier to access and those were where people normally went.

"San?" Brittany asked when they got in and got settled.

"What's up B?" Santana said as she rubbed her ankle a bit.

"You know, you don't always have to put up a front with me." Santana was taken a back by the sudden statement. "Just because you're hurt, or sad. Or whatever, you don't have to hide that kind of stuff from me."

"B.."

"No San, I'm being serious. I know that you're always looking out for me. And taking care of me. And I can do all those things for you too. Cause I know for a fact, you won't let anyone do that for you. Even Q. But you let me. So quit trying to hide it all the time."

Santana didn't say anything more, she moved over to where Brittany was and hugged her. "I promise."

Brittany had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Santana knocking on her front door. She was surprised when Santana opened her room door.

"B? You okay? I been outside for like five minutes waiting for you." Santana spotted the picture of the two of them in her hands. "Aw, are you getting sentimental on me, B?" She said with a playful tone.

"Shut up and take me to dinner."

Santana held out her pinky. "As you wish."