Miss Harper's POV:
What the hell was I thinking? I knew that I shouldn't have asked her to come over, but it was easy for me to forget that she was only 17 when I wasn't looking her dead in the eyes. She sounded so mature, so wise that I could hardly believe that I had almost 10 years on her. It didn't seem possible when she acted, behaved so much more mature than I did. I mean, I kissed her, I pursued her much more than she ever did me, I gave her my phone number so easily and here I was now, inviting her to 'lay with me'. How lame. How stupid. That being said, I did want her here. I wanted her here despite the fact I feared she'd expect more from me than I could give right now, probably ever. I was heartbroken and I needed a friend, not a lover. A lover was the last thing I wanted. I didn't bother to move from my bed, laying in the centre of it, drowning in sheets and my oversized sweats. I looked horrible, I knew it but as explained, I wasn't looking to impress right now. I just wanted to wallow in self pity whilst watching the Fight Club with some ice cream and Santana, I didn't want anything else. I scrolled through my facebook timeline and narrowed my eyes on a picture of Lilly. She had gone out last night, wearing a dress that showed more of her than I had seen in months. But that wasn't the worst thing. She was with someone, her arms were wrapped around her waist and their lips were locked and beside her name read the words that I hadn't expected to see right now. Lilly Rodriguez is in a relationship with Emer Collins. Emer Collins. Who the fuck is Emer Collins? I thought, I'd never, ever heard that name before but after only 10 seconds I despised it, hated it, wished that it had never existed. Had she been cheating on me? Was that why she had never been at home with her fiancé? Anger shot through me like a lightning bolt, but it was the type of anger that made me sob hysterically, made me want to rip my hair out of my head. Why was this happening to me? What had I done to deserve this misery? I guess I'd never know now that she had completely moved on from someone she had wasted years with. I wished in that moment that I had never met her. I'd go so far to say that I wished that I was dead.
Santana's POV:
I didn't bother to change out of my sweats, finding it quite comical that she had invited me over to her house despite everything. It shouldn't amuse, perhaps excite but I worried that she would change her mind so I tried to hurry without seeming overly keen. I mumbled a brief goodbye to my parents and headed out, driving across town to a store beside her house. I mulled over which ice cream to get her and wished that I had asked for her favourite so I simply guessed it, deciding on mint choc chip, picking up a litre, hoping that it would suffice whilst she went through a tough night. It made me feel good, responsible almost that she had confided in me. I thought myself to be a good, strong support system and I was glad that she was allowing me to support her through such a crap time. I wouldn't let her down, or push her too far. I'd work with her and help her and care for her like she deserved and that was all there was to it. I wouldn't try anything, partly because I knew she wasn't up for it right now and I cared and respected her enough to realise the boundaries. But also because I know how much it sucks to be a rebound, someone to fall back on and drop as soon as the heartache seized. It wasn't going to be easy for her, I was sure of it. But I decided to just ensure that she knew that she had me whether she wanted me or otherwise. I would give her support and the second she denied it, I would back off and give her the space that she needed. I wasn't going to be a child about this and demand all of her affection. She needed to save that for herself.
I pulled up outside of her house, well a little bit away from it and walked to her front door, knocking quietly with the bag in my hand. Jase opened up, looking kind of surprised to see me and I guessed that she hadn't told him I was coming over. "Hey.. Santana, what are you doing here?" he asked with a huge smile, letting me inside and closing the door behind us to keep out the cold. "Dani asked me to come over, so here I am" I laughed, showing him the tub of ice cream. He laughed and shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. "You know... you're the only person she will talk to, she hasn't even spoken a word to me since it happened" he said and I didn't know whether to feel sympathetic or elated, so I just shrugged softly. "It must be hard for her... I guess she just needs friends, she'll come around" I reassured him and he nodded, running off to the kitchen to fetch two spoons. "If you walk upstairs and along to the end, her bedroom is the one on the right" he told me, plopping back down on the couch. "Thanks" I said, smiling and heading up to her. I knocked on the door and she didn't open up, but I could hear her crying inside and I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around her and try to make it all okay. I tried the handle but the room was locked, so I knocked again. "Dani... it's me" I said quietly and I heard her shuffle around inside, opening the door and letting me into her room. I looked at her, mascara running down her cheeks and let her collapse into my arms, holding her so tight. "It's okay, shh" I said, holding the back of her head and kissing the top of it. She whimpered and clung to me tighter, so I lifted her and carried her back to her bed. It was hot in her room and I knew that coupled with the sobbing, she'd get a migraine if she didn't cool down so after I had dropped her down onto the bed, I walked over to the window and pushed it open, closing her curtains and putting the ice cream on her nightstand. "Santana" she cried, opening up her arms, wanting to be held. I nodded and slid onto the mattress, resting my head on the headboard and allowing her to shuffle into my arms. Her face nuzzled against my chest, her tears staining the soft cotton of my t-shirt but I didn't mind, just stroking my fingers through her soft hair. "S-she" was all I heard fall from her perfect lips, along with a mumble that I couldn't quite make out, but I heard the word 'girlfriend' and my eyes widened. "She has a girlfriend?" I asked and she nodded. I shook my head in disapproval and pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her completely. "Then she isn't worth it" I told her and she looked up at me, doubting what I was saying for probably the first time ever.
Eventually her tears ceased and she just laid motionless in my arms, making me wonder whether she had fallen asleep. I looked at her face and noticed her eyes focused on the bare wall across from us. No, a picture of her and her ex, I hadn't noticed it before. "Do you want it taken down?" I asked her and she didn't respond, only turning away from it to look at me. She looked at me so intensely that I worried I'd disappear underneath her gaze. Her fingers reached up and stroked my jaw, her thumb brushing over my bottom lip. "You're... extraordinary" she told me and I smiled sadly. "I wish you weren't" she finished and my smile turned to a frown. "Y-you make me want things that I shouldn't want. You, you make me want you and I'm trying to control it, but it's just so hard to have any restraint when you're so... you." she told me and I'd laugh if it wasn't so serious. I kissed her fingertips and moved them away from my lips, intertwining them with my own. "I know" I told her with a small smile. I couldn't say anything else because she launched herself at my lips. In any other circumstances I would kiss her back, I'd give in to what we both needed but she was vulnerable and I couldn't take advantage of her like that. "Dani" I said, moving away from her slightly and she buried her face into my neck. "Ugh, I'm sorry... I'm all over the place" she said and I smiled. "It's okay... don't apologise" I told her, reaching across for the ice cream and a spoon, opening it up and scooping some onto the spoon. I offered it to her and she took it, licking her lips and mumbling a soft 'mm' into my ear. I smiled and ate some myself, laying back with her and feeding her ice cream.
Miss Harper's POV:
She had gotten my favourite ice cream. I could taste it on my tongue when she fed it to me and it was almost as good as a kiss would have been, so good. I moaned against her neck and she smiled. She was so caring, she was doing everything right and it warmed my heart how she was treating me. I felt good, better than I had before she had arrived and I sighed, letting her feed me the ice cream whilst I laid there in her arms. My arm rested across her chest and I smiled at how comfortable I felt being this close to her. "Does this feel weird?" I asked her and she nodded, making me laugh. "I thought so too... I like it though, I like being held by you" I told her and she smiled, reaching her hand up and stroking my face. I nuzzled into her and pulled one of my legs over her waist, she held it and I laughed. "Easy tiger" I said, mimicking her words from a few days ago and she laughed. "You're so impossible" she told me, like I didn't already know. Her hand didn't move away from my leg though, just holding me close to her. "You're a good cuddler" I told her, getting worried by how much I was inflating her ego. "So are you" she told me, kissing my forehead softly and I laughed, grabbing a huge spoonful of ice cream, feeding some to her before finishing it off for myself. "How did you guess my favourite?" I asked her and she shrugged. "I know you like mint... we've kissed a few times so I figured I couldn't go wrong by getting that." she laughed and I did too, stroking her hair out of her face. "Pretty" I told her and she smiled, turning her head and kissing the centre of my palm. "You are" she told me back, making me blush. I knew I shouldn't be behaving this way, but it wasn't causing any harm and it was helping to take my mind off of everything else going on in my life.
I settled down, the both of us eating ice cream and watching fight club. However, my thoughts drifted back to her again and again, amused by how much she made me feel. My heart fluttered in my chest because I was laying with her and I just realised it. I'd gone from wanting to kiss her, to fuck her to be with her in such a short amount of time that I wondered how it could ever stop. I'd never been good at turning off feelings and I'm sure that she was more than aware of that by now. I could feel her soft breath against the top of my head as she nuzzled my hair, stroking her fingers through it so gently that I thought I might fall asleep. "I can't concentrate when you do that" I told her and she laughed, moving her hands down and tickling my sides instead. "Don't do that" I said, laughing uncontrollably, wriggling around on top of her. I ended up with my body flush on top of hers, looking down at her, our faces so close. "Look what you made me do" I laughed and she gasped in mock offence. "That was not my fault" she said and I raised my eyebrows at her, kissing her nose. "You need to not... I only have so much self control too you know" she told me, making me laugh. I hovered my lips over hers, just waiting for her to give in. She didn't, sticking to her guns and refusing to kiss me. I pulled away and smiled, it making me happy that she respected me enough not to take advantage of the opportunity. "The best" I told her, giving her lips the smallest of kisses and pulling away to look at her. She rolled her eyes at me but tightened her grip around my waist, keeping me on top of her. I finally gave up teasing her and laid in her arms until she told me that she needed to go. Granted, she'd been there for hours but I wasn't quite ready for her to leave. "Will you call me when you get home?" I asked and she laughed, shaking her head, teasing me this time. I rolled my eyes at her and she gave me another squeeze, rolling over until my back hit the bed. I pouted at her and she stretched, coming back into my arms and resting her hands on my waist. "You know I'm going to have to leave sooner or later" she told me and I shrugged. "Later then" I replied cheekily and she laughed, shaking her head. "But we can't cuddle in different houses" I stated obviously and she raised her eyebrows at me. "I know that, but you know that I can't stay out all night" she told me, stroking the bruise on my cheek and I huffed. "Fine" I said, releasing her and folding my arms over my chest, pretending to throw a tantrum. She put her hands on my shoulders and kissed from my temple all the way down to my jaw, leaving butterfly kisses in her wake. "You can at least give me what I want" I told her and she leaned into my lips teasingly, pulling away before I got the opportunity to kiss her. "Nope" she said simply and I glared at her, making her laugh again. She stood up and dragged me out of bed, over her shoulder and carried me downstairs. "No" I yelled at her, laughing and it caught Jase's attention. "Someone's looking a little happier" he observed and I glared at him, telling Santana to put me down and she finally did. "Right, I'll see you tomorrow... remember you have my number if you need anything" she told me and I nodded reluctantly, my hands on her shoulders, moving down her arms until I was holding her hands. She kissed my forehead, giving me another cuddle and waving goodbye to Jase, all before leaving.
I sighed when I closed the door behind me, making my way back upstairs to bed. Jase was hot on my heels, pushing his way into my bedroom and jumping on the bed. "So?" he asked and I raised my eyebrow at him. He gestured towards the ice cream and said the most amusing thing I had heard in weeks. "You only used one spoon.. so I'm assuming you shared" he said and I nodded slowly, trying to figure out his point. "You like her" he said and I shook my head, denying it. "Yes you do, don't lie" I sighed and shrugged. "So what?" I asked. "Well that's good... It's good that you're moving on" he told me and I shook my head furiously. "Well not really when I'm moving on with my student." He shrugged at me and I shrugged back, sitting on the bed. "Have you two-" he started and I interrupted him. "No.. we haven't. I kind of wanted to tonight but she knows I'm kind of a mess so she didn't let it happen, didn't even kiss me" I told him, still swooning over that. "Ooooh, a real gentlewoman" he said, sounding camper than ever and I rolled my eyes. "Yeh, I guess so" I said simply, reluctantly settling into his arms instead of Santana's.
Santana's POV:
I drove home feeling quite pleased with myself. Everything had gone better than I expected and I was proud of myself for managing to resist temptation. It hadn't been easy at all considering her mood. She made me so frustrated and she knew it, but it had all worked out perfectly and I felt good about managing to make her feel a little better for a while. I got home and went to bed, laying down and letting out a long, drawn out sigh. I definitely wasn't as comfortable or as warm as I had been in Dani's bed but it would have to suffice. I checked my phone on the off chance and was surprised that she had texted me already. I smiled at the words projected from the screen. "I had a really good night, Santana... thank you for being there for me, it means a lot more than you know". I thought carefully about my reply and eventually settled on. "No, thank you... I'm glad I was able to make you feel a little better. I'll see you tomorrow, sweet dreams :)" and with that, I did indeed fall asleep.
Author's Note:
Well, look at me. Neglecting all of my responsibilities to update again. Thank you for the lovely reviews, I hope you enjoyed!