When the bell rang, excusing already bored students from their classes, Brittany made a beeline for the door and managing to be the first one out, avoiding confrontation with the two meat-heads she knew she would have to deal with sooner or later.
Oddly enough, she did remember where her locker was. Since she spent most of the morning wasting time looking for things, she tried her best to keep track of her surroundings.
Brittany fumbled with her lock desperately, occasionally kneeing the locker door in frustration. Was it possible to hate a place that you've only been in for half a month? Already she can see people look at her funny when they walked past her. Some girls she recognized from the table over in her English class watched her yank violently at her lock and growl in frustration. The group of girls giggled loudly as they passed her.
The blonde blushed a deep shade of red. It was completely embarrassing being laughed at over something as stupid as not being able to open her locker.
Why do they have to make these combinations so damn complicated. She wished there was a secret lock instead. Ooh, or a secret password. Her's would be Zombified Unicorns. No one would be able to know that. She rammed her shoulder against the locker.
Shit! Why wouldn't the damn locker open for her.
She just wanted to put her new stupid books away and hide until lunch was over.
Brittany bit her lip and concentrated hard on the lock in front of her.
This time you will open. I will put in your combination and you will fucking open.
She slowly turned the dial, stopping exactly on the correct number before turning the lock in the other direction. When she got to the last number she pulled her hands away and took a deep breath. She cautiously put her hand on her new locker. She held her breath and yanked on the door violently.
"Argh!" Brittany pulled repeatedly at her locker and kicked it for extra measure. Her eyes watered and she had to hold herself back from clutching her foot while yelling in agony.
She could here faint snickers in the back round. She whipped her head to see a nerdy boy with a large ginger fro who seemed to be filming her with his cell phone. She sent him her best glare. She was good at those too. Apparently it has something to do with making the most innocent of faces look deadly serious. The boy's eyes filled with fear as he scuttled away from the pissed off blonde.
Brittany sighed deeply and slammed her head on the locker in defeat, creating a loud thud.
"Seriously? This is absolutely painful. Move."
Brittany didn't have time to react before she was pushed away from her locker. Thanks to her many years of dancing, she quickly regained her footing. She stood in ready position, prepared to fight, but she felt her arms drop limply to her side when she saw a Latina girl wearing a cheerleading uniform pop open her locker with ease.
"Thanks..." She said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly avoiding the other girl's penetrating gaze. She didn't want to seem like she was completely incompetent.
It's probably too late for that. She thought to herself when she met the girl's gaze.
"Yeah well, I filled this locker with dirt once," She replied nonchalantly. Brittany raised her eyebrows in confusion.
She had to admit, she was probably going to give that idea to Carlos and the twins.
"Uh... Why?"
The girl smirked.
"Just some loser that was in the old Glee Club. She was on the cheerio's and she defected to a group full of dancing and singing losers. Can you believe that?"
Brittany could feel her eyebrows narrow.
"Well sure, she chose doing what she loved over popularity there is nothing wrong with that." Brittany answered, trying to choose her words cautiously.
The Latina girl and Brittany stared at each silently for a few seconds. The now empty hallway was silent except for the faint echos of someone's footsteps rebounding off the wall.
Her eyes had the same look that most popular kids she delt with had. Superiority, confidence, judging, with just a sprinkle of evil. The recipe for the bane of her existence. But there was something else in those dark brown eyes that she couldn't detect. It was unnerving her.
Brittany startled when the girl chuckled quietly. She could here the sound of people filing into the hallway. The bell must have rung. Out of the corner of her eye she saw some people pointing and whispering at her and the girl.
Who was this girl? She must be important by the looks of it.
"Look, I don't know what kind of happy excepting school you came from, so I'm gunna give you the run down, chica." The girl stepped forward slowly so that she was standing directly in front of Brittany. "We have a social ladder society. Actually, even better, it's like a building, are you still with me, blondie?"
Brittany nodded mutely. The girl really needed to look up the definition of personal space. The smell of cinnamon filled her senses and she subconsciously found her mouth starting to water.
What? She really, really liked cinnamon.
"We have the people on the top floor. The jocks," The Latina gestured to a group of guys leaning against a locker wearing letterman jackets. She noticed the boy that had tried to pick her up earlier talking to Karofsky from English class. Karofsky met her eyes and glared. "And the Cheerios obviously." she added cockily, shimmying in front of her.
Brittany watched the pleats of her skirt sway back and forth before the girl cleared her throat. Brittany's head snapped up to see the girl smirking at her.
"We have all the people in between. The normal people who's puny brains can't even comprehend popularity. And then we have the nerds on the bottom floor playing dungeons and dragons in their mother's basements. Then there are the newbies like you. In the sub-basement. Now you have to make your way up." She said with a laugh.
"As much as I loved this little lecture that I couldn't care less about, I have to get to my third period class." Brittany sneered, sliding to stand in front of her locker. She pulled out a couple of chemistry books before she yanked her hands out of the way to avoid them being smashed by her locker door.
The girl grabbed her arm before she could turn away.
"Do you know who the hell you're talking too? I am from Lima Heights. Do you know what happens in the Heights? Bad things. And if you were smart you would shut those pouty lips and listen." She snapped in, what appeared to be, a ghetto voice. Brittany didn't know if she flushed from anger or from the backhanded compliment.
"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm not that smart." Brittany bit back before yanking her arm away.
"Do you really want to piss me off? The last idiot who had this locker can vouch for me. I have quite the record when it comes to making people cry, blondie." She called out cockily.
"Well considering the only thing you can call me is 'blondie', I'd say you have quite a way to go. I've delt with much bitchier and much scarier." She called back before facing foreword and walking away, her smug smile planted on her face.
As she rounded the corner she could here the Latina snap at the crowd that formed around them during the conversation. Soon the halls were filled with the usual random chatter.
She is Brittany Pierce. She is unbeatable in a battle of wills, and she will take on anyone who says different.
SXBXBXBXBXBX
"Brittany!"
Brittany's head turned to the only human life form in the room. One, Rachel Berry was sitting in the front of the empty classroom by the window, calling her over.
She shrugged mentally. Why not? And sat down next to the pint sized girl.
"Is it true?" She asked the moment she sat down.
"Of course not." Brittany replied immediately.
"So... Santana Lopez doesn't have you on her hit list?" Rachel asked her confusedly.
Santana Lopez. Pretty name for a scary girl.
"Oh, I thought you meant the Selena Gomez pregnancy rumours. As for the Bandana Valdez thing: Maybe. She really doesn't like me, I think." She replied nonchalantly.
Rachel looked around dramatically to make sure no one was listening, even though the room was empty.
"Brittany this is no laughing matter. I should know. Santana and her friends have made my life a living hell since kindergarten. She is the spawn of the devil himself. You have to be careful." Rachel warned. Brittany looked at the girl wearily before answering.
"Please, I've dealt with people much worse than Santana. And besides, what is she going to do? Annoy me to death?" She asked sarcastically as she flicked open her copy of Zombies vs Unicorns.
Rachel chuckled nervously and gave Brittany's hand a small squeeze.
"If only there were more people like you around here. Maybe if there were I would have actual friends."
"Don't say that Rachel. You're all kinds of nice. I'm sure you have friends." She said before turning her attention back to her book.
Rachel frowned and tangled her fingers together.
"I think at one point in time, there was a possibility that I could of had friends." She murmured quietly. "But ever since glee club was cancelled we- we don't really talk anymore."
"Just be careful, Brittany. Promise me?" Rachel asked seriously.
Brittany met her eyes and snapped her book shut. She turned to face Rachel fully.
"Which team are you on? Unicorn or Zombie?" Brittany asked with her best poker face.
"Brittany..." Rachel replied wearily.
"Just answer the question." Brittany said.
"Fine... Though I cannot make a quick decision without a back-round check on both creatures, off the top of my head I would have to say, ugh, unicorn?" Rachel finished uncertainly under the pressure of Brittany's gaze.
"Exactly. We are Unicorns, Rach. We don't have to crawl down to their levels of self-loathing. We are ourselves because we choose to be. We don't need others approval to be awesome. We are awesome without trying." Rachel looked at her blankly as she continued. "The zombies are the ones who get infected by the rest of the crowd. They fall into the 'social ladder'. If anyone tries to infect me, or you, they can't get rid of our awesomeness." I said simply as Rachel looked at me dumbfounded.
"Um... Wow. Has anyone told you how smart you are?" Rachel asked with a smile.
"Nope. You'd be the first." Brittany said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
Rachel smiled sadly at her.
"I wish we still had the Glee Club. You would have met tons of Unicorns."
The bell rang and soon the chemistry lab was filled with students throwing wads of paper and gossiping with each other. Some cast a few curious glances at Brittany, but other than that it was a regular classroom. Brittany looked at the clock and frowned. What kind of teacher could be this late for their own class?
"Why was it cancelled? My old school never had one- but it seems like something me and my friends would have enjoyed. The twins played guitar and drums, Carlos sang, and we all danced. Wow, we should of started a band." Brittany finished, disappearing into her thoughts.
Rachel sighed.
"We didn't have enough members to qualify for sectionals. We had eleven people and I finally convinced one of the cheerleaders to join. She- she went through hell. Santana and the other co-captain Quinn made her life horrible. She was booted off the squad, she- she was called so many horrible things, just because of her promiscuity. She was just so naive and innocent..."
Brittany internally fumed. This must be the girl that Santana told her about earlier.
"But Quinn was the worst to her. That or she had the most opportunities. She was her next-door neighbour-"
Brittany's mouth was suddenly dry.
"-It got so bad that her parents made them move. I-I haven't really heard from her since. But it's not all that bad. I'm sure I can achieve my Broadway aspiration without something as silly as a glee club." She finished, tucking her hair behind her ear shyly.
Brittany studied Rachel carefully. She could tell that Rachel was really upset talking about it.
"It's not stupid. You loved it, I can tell."
Rachel sighed yet again.
"It doesn't really matter if I loved it or not Brittany. It's over. Mr. Schue got a job as an accountant and Principal Figgins cut all the funding and gave it to the Cheerio's budget. It's pointless to think that it could have gone any other way."
"That's right." A voice from behind her added.
Rachel's eyes widened in fear, whereas Brittany turned to give the girl behind her a steely glare. Behind her was one, Santana Lopez and her lab partner, her neighbour, Quinn Fabray. The two cheerleaders seemed to have heard most of their conversation.
"Do you mind? You're really not part of this conversation." Brittany said with a glare.
"H-How much did you two overhear?" Rachel stuttered under Quinn's icy gaze. Brittany understood Rachel's discomfort. She had the sudden need to shiver herself under the mischievous cold orbs.
"Oh look, Quinn. RuPaul managed to keep the dialogue to a minimum. Yay." Santana clapped sarcastically. Quinn giggled quietly as Rachel turned a deep shade of red and averted her eyes to the front of the class.
"What do you want? I don't suppose you have anything nice to contribute to this topic." Brittany said.
"Listen," Santana leaned over her desk and looked her straight in the eye. Brittany found herself hypnotized by the chocolate brown orbs until she spoke again. "The whole Nude Erections things is in the past."
"Nude- what?"
"New Directions." Everyone's eyes snapped to Rachel. The girl seemed like she wanted to sink back into her seat, but the shorter girl sat up bravely. "We were called the New Directions and we were a family. And if you narrow-minded prom queens had taken the time to listen, you would have realized that we were quite good."
"Ugh, I seriously doubt it." Quinn replied with an eye roll.
Rachel laughed incredulously as Brittany watched the diva speak with awe. It was apparent that Rachel was very passionate about her old glee club.
"Why is it so hard to believe that people who aren't as popular or as beautiful as you have talent." Rachel snapped. Brittany noticed Quinn's usually pale skin flushed. "Even some of your friends joined the New Directions. There was Puck, Mike, and Matt, Sam too. And Ali was your best friend, Santana."
Santana glare softened before returning to it's steely gaze.
"And lastly there was Finn." Rachel finished shooting a glare at Quinn.
"He was going through a faze, Berry. He was looking for a creative outlet, and now he has a less gay one. You should be happy for him." Quinn said with a small smile.
"I am happy for him. Despite our fleeting romance during glee club we still manage to be at least civil towards each other."
"Whatever." Quinn snorted.
Brittany was about to interject until Ms. Holiday entered the class.
"Hola, classe. I am filling in for Mr. Stonewall for the rest of the semester thanks to falling asleep in a tanning booth, he is now spending awhile at the hospital."
Brittany felt a shiver go down her spine. Gross.
"I was thinking that today is a new start, so we should get to learn our surroundings. Get into groups of four and go at it!" She instructed, clapping her hands together. "Commence."
Rachel and Brittany didn't move a muscle until Ms. Holiday strutted towards them.
"Is there a problem here girls?" Ms. Holiday asked. "I feel bad vibes between the four of you." She said gesturing between them.
"Ms. Holiday. We already know each other well enough." Brittany replied, shooting the other two girls a look.
"No more excuses, senoritas. Start mending the bridges between you four." She demanded before walking away.
The girls sat in awkward silence.
"So... What's this Finn guy's creative outlet?" Brittany asked, breaking the silence.
"Writing cheesy, horribly written love poems to Quinn." Rachel laughed.
"You're just jealous. You'll never have any guy love you as much as he loves me." Quinn's voice wavered as she finished. "Maybe you should try your luck with Jewfro since he's the only one that's interested."
There's a silence. Brittany takes the opportunity to study Quinn's expression. It's time to use her special gift.
"Or... maybe you're the jealous one." Brittany said causing Quinn and Santana to look at her in shock. "I've never heard Rachel sing, but I don't doubt that she's really good and you seem to know it too, even if you are denying it."
The rest of class was spent in awkward silence between the four of them. When the bell rang dismissing the students to lunch, Brittany chased Rachel out the door.
"Rachel, wait! I have an idea!"
"Listen, Brittany, I appreciate what you did for me in there, but I do not need any more of your help." Rachel said, speeding up her pace.
"But I know what to do about your glee club!" Brittany stopped and called after her.
Rachel stopped and turned on her heel to face Brittany with a small smile.
"For once... I'm listening."
A/N: I'm sorry for all mistakes. Reviews are appreciated :)