I had soon packed my bags and was heading for Santana's house, which wasn't far away.

As I walked I passed the old treehouse that we used to play in when we were kids. So many memories started there. It was where we first kissed, all those years ago.

I smiled as I walked, feeling elated. It was never easy, trying to keep myself from touching her when we were together. But it was better than keeping away from her completely. At least this way, I got to see her smile.

And make her smile, when I could. Her smile was so beautiful, after all.

I hesitated outside her front door before ringing the bell. Would her parents be angry with me? Would I have to treat her differently when around them? How accepting were they?

But then, the door was opened and Santana was hugging me.

'How did you know I was out here?' I said, confused.

'I've possibly been watching from my window for the last half an hour,' she grinned, leading me inside.

I felt a little lightheaded from her burning touch but I tried to walk straight as I followed her into the kitchen.

'Mom... Dad... Brittany arrived.'

Mr. Lopez didn't even look up, he just grunted. Mrs. Lopez met my eyes and smiled. That was it.

'Um, shall we go upstairs?' asked Santana. I nodded.

'Your parents are still being cold, then,' I observed once we were climbing the stairs.

'Yup,' she said sadly. 'It's getting better, though. I think they're starting to adjust to the idea that I'm gay.'

'I'm proud of you for being honest with them,' I said truthfully.

'I'm proud of me, too,' she laughed.

Once we got to her bedroom, she led me inside, and I frowned.

Everything had changed.

She had painted her walls a lighter colour, which made a huge change to the room. She had replaced her old single bed with a double bed, which was now on the other side of the room.

'Wow,' I said. 'This has changed.'

'Um, yeah,' she said. 'I felt like a change over the summer.'

You sure did, I thought.

'Would you mind if I go for a shower?' she asked. 'I didn't have time before you arrived.'

'Sure,' I said, smiling.

She left, and I sat down gingerly on the edge of her bed.

I looked around at all the changes. Her drawers were different, and I took a look inside to find them sorted perfectly. When it used to just be a mess of items thrown in at random.

Her curtains had changed, too. It didn't feel like Santana's room at all. It was like a stranger's.

I looked over at the pictures on top of her dresser. It used to be a display of pictures of us two – posing childishly, dressing up... You could watch our whole childhood by looking at those photos. But now? Nothing. There was two photos – One of Santana on her own, from last year.

And the other picture...

It made my heart sink as I saw who Santana had her arms wrapped around.

It was Jamie.

Because, even though I knew she was dating her, I liked to fool myself into believing she really wanted me. But in the end, it was always Jamie.

I blinked back the tears as I thrust the picture back down, as if burned. I turned back to her bed and flopped onto it, breathing in the smell of her duvet. It was the only thing I recognised in this place.

Santana entered after about five minutes of not moving, and I heard her giggle.

I got up. 'What?'

'You looked like you'd passed out,' she laughed.

I smiled, trying to hold back the sadness.

'So... Do you want to watch a film, or something? It's kind of late...'

'Yeah,' I agreed. 'It's pretty late. Maybe we should just sleep.'

She nodded in agreement, and changed into her pyjamas. I followed suit, and we both headed to the bathroom to brush our teeth.

After that was done, we seemed ready to go to sleep. It wasn't like our old sleepovers – we used to try to stay up all night, but we never managed. We'd get to about 3am and pass out.

I smiled at the memory, and Santana looked at me questioningly.

'What you smiling at?' she asked, sliding under the blanket.

'Just remembering our old sleepovers,' I said, grinning. 'We were so weird back then.'

'We still are, B,' she said, laughing.

I shrugged, and slid under the blankets with Santana.

I stared at the ceiling awkwardly, but I could feel Santana watching me and so I looked round, meeting her eyes.

'What?' I asked softly.

'Nothing,' she whispered, smiling.

She closed her eyes and I watched her sadly until I heard her lightly snoring.

I turned over, trying to get comfortable. But every time I moved, my leg would touch her's and I'd have to move away, scorched.

After much restlessness, I gave up, deciding to just keep still so as to not wake up Santana.

She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping. I'd noticed it before – all the fight she usually shielded herself with, was gone. She looked more content than she ever did while awake.

I brushed the hair away from her face, pressing my lips softly to her forehead. She mumbled something non-coherent, and I tried to stop from giggling.

Let her sleep, I told myself. Let her find peace, at least for a little while.

Santana stirred a few hours later, and I felt her sit up.

I turned, barely able to see her in the dark.

'San? You okay?'

'Yeah,' she said. 'Fine. Just... It's boiling.'

'I know,' I agreed. 'I can't sleep.'

'Do you want to... I don't know... Go for a walk?'

'At this time in the morning? Won't your mum kill us?'

Santana shrugged.

'Maybe,' she said. 'If she finds out.'

I smiled. 'How are we going to do this?'

'We sneak out my window,' she said. 'I've done it so many times.'

'Is it, like, safe?'

'Don't worry. I won't let you get hurt.'

The sincerity of the promise hung between us for a few seconds, until I pulled myself together.

'Let's go.'

Ten minutes later, we'd climbed out Santana's window and down the pipe, jumping the last few feet and hitting the ground with a soft thud.

'You okay, B?' Santana said as I steadied myself. She put her hand on my waist and I froze.

'Yep, fine,' I said, smiling at her nervously, and she delayed a few seconds before letting go of me.

'It's really warm out here too,' she observed.

'Where are we going, then?' I asked curiously.

She hesitated.

'It's a surprise.'

I raised my eyebrows.

'And why's that?'

'You'll see.'

She grabbed my wrist and led me down the street. I could feel how hard she was holding on to my wrist. Like her life depended on it.

'Do you remember that day, B. The day when we sat on a bench and made origami ducks.'

'Yeah,' I said. I wouldn't ever forget that day. It was special. 'I remember.'

'Do you remember how I couldn't fold the paper right?'

'You kept doing it wrong,' I reminisced, grinning. 'And you wouldn't let me teach you.'

'I wanted to make one for you. And I wanted to do it without your help.'

'But you couldn't do it, and I had to help you in the end.'

'Exactly.'

She stopped walking, and pointed to a bench beside the park close by.

'That's the bench, Brittany.'

I frowned at her. 'So...'

'I brought you here for a reason. Because, that day I realised something. You need my help sometimes – help remembering your timetable, help with your homework, and stuff. And there are some things I need help with too. That day at the park... I realised that I need you. And I rely on you more than I would have ever admitted at the time.'

She took my hand in hers and we walked over to the bench and sat down. I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage, trying desperately to break through.

'And you rely on me. We're... Two halves.'

'Two halves of what? A cake?'

She smiled.

'Two halves... Of the complete picture. We need to be together, to be complete.'

The realisation of what she was saying kicked in.

'But... Jamie...'

'Brittany,' she moved closer, and I could hear her shaking breaths as she squeezed my hand with both of her's. 'It's not about Jamie. I thought it was, but... No matter what happens. I always end up back here.'

'Back where?' I whispered.

'Wherever you are.'

I met her eyes and I saw tears forming there.

'I can't control it. We're... We're soulmates, Brittany. I'm sorry for ever doubting that.'

'Soulmates,' I repeated breathlessly.

She moved even closer so our noses were brushing.

I inhaled sharply and was unable to speak as her lips moved closer.

They pressed against mine in a whirlwind of insane passion. Like being hit by a ton of bricks. It was as if my entire life had been leading up to this moment, and this was my first chance to really live.

She whimpered softly into my mouth, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me closer in desperation.

I wrapped my arms around her back, holding on for dear life as she kissed me with more passion than I could have known was possible.

She pulled away for a second, whispering softly in Spanish, planting gentle kisses against my lips, my cheek, my chin, my neck. I whimpered as her hands ran across my skin, making me feel dizzy.

'Santana,' I cried, my voice cracked and shaky. 'Santana.'

She kissed my lips again, her hands pressed against my cheeks, groaning into my mouth.

'I can't stay away,' she said between kisses. 'I can't.'

I felt the tears on her cheeks and kissed them away.

'This is the way it's meant to be.'

'I won't forget it again,' she promised. I felt her hand intertwine with mine as she pressed her lips to mine once more.

It could have been seconds or hours later when we surfaced.

I couldn't stop my smile as I pulled back, needing more but knowing it was unwise.

'We should go back,' I said, my smile wide.

'You're right,' she agreed, taking my hand in her's and standing up. 'My parents will be asleep, so I say we just let ourselves in through the front door.'

We began to walk and I felt more elated than I'd felt in a long time. I was back where I belonged.

We arrived at her house a few minutes later, and she motioned at me to keep quiet as she opened the door, walking in.

As soon as the door was shut, we were kissing again. I could barely see in the dark but we stumbled through the house, desperate to touch each other, barely caring that our voices were growing louder.

I lay Santana down on the stairs softly, climbing onto her lap and brushing her hair out of her eyes.

She closed her eyes and I kissed each of her eyelids, desperate to remember how they tasted, and to never forget it. Her eyelashes tickled my chin and I giggled, a little too loudly.

But neither of us cared in the heat of the moment, as I placed my lips back against her's.

'Santana? Is that you?'

We froze as a light clicked on from the top floor, and Santana's dad was revealed at the top of the stairs.

All of us froze.

A/N: Sorry to leave it on such a cliffhanger! Ugh. This chapter. THIS CHAPTER. Please, please review. I would love to hear you feedback, especially on this one. Thank you if you've reviewed, it means so much to me.