A/N – I've had a few people asking me whether this is going to be a friend-fic or something more and those of you who might have read my other stuff will have guessed, this is going to end in some PezBerry loving. But of course, half the fun of that is getting them together. I don't plan on throwing them together randomly, Santana has a lot to deal with and she needs friends and other characters will be making their presence known in later chapters. The pezberry side of things will develop throughout the story.
Santana let out a loud yawn as she slowly dragged herself from her car, she could feel her eyelids weighing down and with another huge yawn she slammed the door shut behind her. It was barely 8.30 in the morning and the cheerleader was already wishing she was back in bed and not about to sit through a gruelling day of lessons. She was just glad there wasn't a Cheerios' practice scheduled for that morning because there was no way in hell she could survive the wrath of Coach Sylvester today.
"Here." Rachel mumbled as she made her way around from the passenger seat and handed her friend one of the two coffees' she was clasping, her normal perky smile still glued to her face, "This day needs caffeine."
Santana gratefully accepted the cup as she replied, "There is not enough caffeine in the world."
As the two slowly made their way into the hallways of McKinley Santana smiled as she realised that Rachel had not been as oblivious to her avoidance techniques as she had hoped and she had to give the singer credit, she was persistent. She still didn't know exactly how the singer had managed to convince her to not only stay the night at her home after a night at the carnival but also to stay up insanely late watching old school horror movies. It had been a lot of fun though, eating popcorn and making fun of the lame special effects and even though the thought of surviving the day on only a few hours' sleep made Santana groan she didn't mind that much.
Downing the last of her coffee in record time Santana tossed the empty cup in a nearby bin and shooting Rachel a cheeky grin she quipped, "If I can do that five times in a row can I win the gift of sleep?"
"No." Rachel chuckled as they came to a stop by her locker, "By I will buy you extra coffee at lunch…I mean, you know if you want to…"
Santana cocked her head as the singer trailed off. She knew exactly what her friend was thinking; it was so much easier for the two of them to hang out outside of school. There were no worries about popularity or the 'social hierarchy' they could simply be themselves and not have to worry about what anyone else thought but being in McKinley wasn't as straight forward.
"It's fine." Rachel continued, taking the other girls silence as a rejection, "I actually had a song I wanted to work on anyway…"
Santana blinked as the singer wrenched open her locker and began sorting aimlessly through books, reaching out a hand the cheerleader playfully nudged her friend, "How about we meet in the auditorium then? And I'll bring the coffee?"
"Really?"
"Really." Santana confirmed, smiling as she saw Rachel break out into a grin. She wasn't naïve enough to think their new friendship was going to go unnoticed by the rest of the student body but she was happy to realise that she didn't care. It was a small step for her but none the less, she had wanted this year to be different and for her to give herself a chance to be more than the image she had created, "But now I gots to get to my books and get to Spanish so I can correct all of Mr Schue's pronunciation."
"I still can't believe they let you take that class."
Santana grinned as she turned and made the short journey to her own locker which was conveniently just down the hall from Rachel's. As the cheerleader quickly juggled her own textbooks she couldn't help but shoot a last glance at her friend, her smile faded though as she saw Finn now leaning casually against the row of lockers as he stared down intently at Rachel. She knew the two hadn't spoken much over the summer but from the looks of things Finn was more than ready to reconnect with his ex. Again. Santana tried not to linger over the other two's interaction and she tried even harder to ignore the weird knot it caused in her stomach.
It was only because she was happily watching Finn trudge away from Rachel that she saw it coming, the looming figure of Azimio lumbering down the hallway as he hunted down a victim for the ice cold slushy in his hand. She was too far away to do anything though, and as she saw the football player focus his sneer on Rachel she could only shout a warning as the singer closed her locker and was met with a face full of ice.
Marching the short distance down the hallway Santana didn't think twice as she approached the football player and shoved him away from Rachel, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What's your problem, Lopez?" Azimio sneered as he tried to look as though he hadn't just been sent stumbling back by a girl half his size, "You sticking up these losers now?"
Santana glared as she stepped forward, a predatory glare on her face as she poked Azimio's chest sharply, "Damn right I am. If I see you anywhere near her again, I will end you."
"You can't do anything to me." Azimio said, trying to appear confident as his gaze flicked between Santana and a stunned blue-faced Rachel.
"I can make sure no girl ever goes near you again." The cheerleader growled, a sickly sweet smile on her face as she dropped her voice to whisper, "It be a real shame if the girls found out about your little herpes problem…"
Azimio shook his head as he looked around nervously to see if anyone had overheard, "I don't have herpes-"
"That's funny because in the rumours I could start, you do." Santana stated, one eyebrow raised as she challenged the boy, "And let's face it, no-one wants a disease ridden whore of a football player."
With a growl Azimio slammed the now empty cup the ground and took a step back, his eyes darkened as he muttered, "Whatever Les-pez, should have figured you'd be the butch one in the relationship."
Santana clenched her jaw angrily as she tried to appear unfazed by the jibe, "Whatever, get lost. Now."
Azimio growled something unintelligible and with one last glare at the two girls he turned and fled the scene pushing past the small crowd that had gathered and Santana assumed, back to whatever rock he'd dragged himself out from under. Seeing the now staring faces focused on herself and Rachel the cheerleader glared, "What are you losers looking at? Show's over."
Slowly the crowd began to disperse and as Santana turned to look at Rachel she gave her friend a smile, "Come on; let's go get you cleaned up."
"I don't have any spare clothes." Rachel mumbled as she wiped a clump of slushy from her top, the liquid splattering down onto the floor and narrowly missing Santana's white sneakers.
"You can borrow mine." Santana replied, "After Karofsky caught me last year I keep a set in my locker, they might be a little big but it's better than nothing."
"Thanks." The smaller girl mumbled as she let the cheerleader gently pull her towards her locker.
After stopping to pick up Santana's emergency-slushy kit the two girls headed for the nearest bathroom which emptied of all occupants the second the cheerleader swung the door open and stormed in. Thankful for the privacy Santana tossed Rachel the spare clothes and while the smaller girl changed she dragged a chair over to one of the sinks. She was glad that the glee kids had the forethought to set up a system for post slushy attacks but it also kind of sucked how prepared they had to be.
"Are you sure you don't mind me borrowing these?" Rachel asked as she shimmied into a pair of skinny jeans and a McKinley High hoodie.
Santana shrugged as she gestured for Rachel to sit, "If I did, I wouldn't have offered them to you."
"Touché." The diva replied as she crammed her ruined clothes into a ball and shoved them on the counter. Slumping down in the chair Rachel sighed, "I smell like blueberry."
"I like blueberries." The cheerleader replied casually as she began to carefully wash the slushy from Rachel's hair, her eyes widening at her words she coughed awkwardly as she added, "I can't believe that tool slushied you before the bell even rang. He's such an ass."
Rachel nodded, her eyes closed as she let herself relax into the warmth of the water washing over her head and the feel of Santana's hands gently ridding her of the ice, "Thanks for sticking up for me."
"What are friends for?" Santana asked rhetorically, her mouth curving into a grimace as she added, "I just wish I'd gotten there quicker, I'd like to see how he feels about getting a slushy facial."
The singer giggled, "That I would like to see."
Santana hummed her approval as she continued to wash the blue dye from the singers scalp, "Ergh, blue is the worst."
"How did you see him?" Rachel asked suddenly, her eyes opening as she tried to look at her friend, "I mean you yelled before I even saw him. Were you watching me?"
"No!" Santana said defensively, her features moulding into a frown as she added, "Well, yes but when you say it like that it makes me sound creepy."
Rachel chuckled, "No it doesn't, I like it – having someone look out for me is nice. It makes a change from…"
"From…" Santana repeated as she wrung out the last of the water from the singer's hair and turned off the taps.
Sitting up Rachel grabbed the towel Santana offered and began drying her hair, "Finn."
"I saw you talking to him earlier." Santana stated, hoping she sounded casual and not as strangely unhappy about it as she felt. She knew she had no right to have any kind of say in who Rachel spoke to but seeing that lumbering giant making googly-eyes at Rachel had instantly set her on edge and while she tried to convince herself it was because she still blamed him for their loss at Nationals, a niggling voice in the back of her brain said otherwise.
Rachel sighed, her eyes flicking down to the floor she shrugged, "Exactly."
"What?" the cheerleader asked, a confused look on her face as she offered Rachel a comb.
"He was right there, literally a few feet away and much closer than you were but he didn't do anything. He didn't defend me, he did nothing." Rachel explained as she hurriedly pulled her hair into a loose braid, "The whole reason he came over to speak to me was to say that he was still in love with me and that he wanted to get back together but I…I can't be with someone who won't stand up for me. It's not like I can't take care of myself but I need to be with someone who will support me when I need it, you know?"
Santana blinked as the diva stared up at her with wide eyes; she could practically hear her own words to Brittany echoing around the room, "I know exactly what you mean."
"Finn is a good guy and the time that we had together was nice but it's time to move on." Rachel stated as she stood up and made her way over to the mirror to check her restored appearance, "I need someone who's going to challenge me and make me want to be the best I can be, someone I can talk to and isn't afraid to deal with my admittedly high maintenance traits. I just –I want to feel special, is that too much to ask?"
"Not at all." Santana murmured as she watched the other girl reapply her make-up.
"What about you?" Rachel asked, her eyes lingering on the other girl's reflection in the mirror.
Santana felt her heart quicken, her mouth dry she stuttered, "What?"
"Well, what are looking for in a girl?" the diva explained as she spun away from the mirror to look at her friend.
The cheerleader shrugged uncomfortably as she averted her gaze, part of her wondered why Rachel wasn't grilling her on the Brittany situation – she knew it was pretty much the worst kept secret in the club but she also figured it was obvious that the two weren't on the best terms any more.
Deflating at the other girl's reaction Rachel coughed and focused on piling her belongings back into her bag, silently cursing herself for forgetting how private Santana could be, "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"No, it's not that." Santana replied awkwardly, her eyes snapping back to meet her friend's as she shifted from foot to foot, "It's just…I mean, I haven't…I've never talked to anyone about…girls."
"Oh." Rachel stated, the sudden realisation quickly changing into a friendly smile she continued, "Well, do you have a type?"
Santana bit her lip as she thought about it, shaking her head she sighed, "I don't think so."
"Blondes?" Rachel asked with a knowing smile as she hopped up to take a seat on the counter.
"If that were the case, I'd be all over Quinn." Santana replied with a grin, her nervousness fading as she hopped up on the counter next to her friend, "And believe me, I do not have a thing for Quinn."
The singer smiled as she scooted over slightly, "She is pretty."
Santana quirked an eyebrow at that, causing Rachel to blush and look away as she joked "But I'm starting to think you do."
"You're funny." Rachel said as she rolled her eyes and playfully nudged the cheerleaders shoulder.
The cheerleader laughed, her eyes dropping to the floor as her face turned more serious, "I don't know, I mean…it's not like I can be too picky right? There's no exactly a mass of girls out there waiting to date me, I have a hard enough time finding people who can tolerate me as a friend so…"
"Don't talk like that, you're awesome Santana." Rachel argued as she twisted slightly to look at her friend, "And you shouldn't settle for anyone less than perfect."
The cheerleader tilted her head a smile tugging at her features she whispered, "I-I just want someone who really sees me. Someone doesn't need me to hold everything together all the time, I mean I like being the…strong one but it's freaking exhausting trying to do it all."
Rachel smiled as she agreed, "Sometimes it's nice to be the little spoon."
"Even when you're an awesome big spoon." Santana agreed with a chuckle.
The sound of the bell echoing through the school broke the girl's from their bubble and with a loud groan Santana slumped back against the mirror as Rachel hopped off the side and grabbed her bag. If the thought of going to class had been horrible when she got out of the car it was even worse now, even with the clean-up operation both girls were still tinged a little blue and Santana knew that she didn't actually need to go to Mr Shue's class to learn anything.
"You're going to class." Rachel stated firmly as she grabbed the cheerleaders hand and dragged her off the counter, "And then you're going to your next one and so on until lunch where I will bring coffee and you will bring food."
Santana rolled her eyes as she swung her backpack over her shoulder, "Fine but I'm only going because it's fun to wind up Mr Schue."
"Whatever gets you through the day." Rachel beamed as she held the door open for her friend, "Just try not to get detention. Again."
"Yeah, yeah see you at lunch Ray." Santana replied with a roll of her eyes, "Don't forget my caffeine."
