Well here you go...another chapter. And I really can't be bothered dragging out the suspense so go ahead, read it. Just kidding actually, you can read it in a minute. I just wanted to say wow! Like seriously, that last chapter got me so many emails! Maybe I should write shorter chapters more often...or not. But anyway it got me wondering what chapter has been your favourite so far? Seriously, I want to know! Anyway onwards to the story my awesome readers and even awesome reviewers!
Santana stood on the front steps outside Rachel's house. There was no way that she would ever admit to this, but she was slightly nervous about going inside. Hence why she was still standing on the steps despite arriving at the house ten minutes ago. She took a deep breath before reaching out and pressing the doorbell, hearing the faint ringing that echoed behind the door. She adjusted the book bag on her shoulder as she waited to be let in.
"Hello?" A tall black man asked uncertainly as he pulled back the door. It wasn't until Santana realised that she was still wearing her cheerleading uniform did the source of his confusion become clear. She guessed it wasn't everyday that Rachel had hot cheerleading friends show up to her house after school.
"Hi. Is Rachel here?" Santana asked as she unconsciously played with the zipper on her skirt, it was a habit she had acquired for when she felt uncomfortable or nervous. She watched as the man stepped back inside the door and called up the stairs.
"Rachel there is a girl here to see you!"
"Who is it?" Santana could faintly hear the other girl's voice coming from what she guessed was her bedroom upstairs.
"Sorry, what was your name?" The man questioned as he turned back to face her.
"Santana. Santana Lopez." The man's brow furrowed a little, as if trying to place where he had heard that name before, he looked her up and down again before his face cleared in recognition.
"Valerie." He said, nodding his head slightly to himself. This time it was Santana's turn to be confused.
"Umm sorry, but what?" She asked hesitantly, a little bewildered by the man in the doorway.
"You're the girl that sung Valerie at Sectionals. You did an awesome job!" This time Santana could clearly hear the enthusiasm in his voice as he praised her. She felt the nerves that had been bundled in her stomach start to ease, no one outside of the Glee Club and Mrs Pierce had ever complimented her on her singing before, and they kind of had too so it never really meant anything.
"You were there?" Santana asked, a hint of embarrassment colouring her cheeks. She was never too sure how to take genuine compliments that weren't just meant to get her into bed.
"Of course. Hiram and I go to all of Rachel's performances!" He said proudly. Santana was a little jealous by this on the inside, her mother didn't even remember that she was in the club, let alone remember when her performances were. Every time it was Mrs Pierce who was in the crowd cheering for her, recording the home videos and then congratulating her later.
"Daddy who was at the door?" Rachel said as she walked down the stairs. She had gotten impatient when there was no answer to her question, so she had gone down to see for herself. She huffed when she realised that she was still being ignored. "Oh hi Santana!" She greeted when she saw her standing outside, a slight blush colouring her cheeks.
"Hey." Santana subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself when she noticed Rachel eyeing her up and down, her brow creasing slightly as she did.
"Come in." Rachel gestured towards the stairs before walking away; Santana immediately followed her after giving Leroy a shy wave. "I hope he didn't say anything to embarrass you." Rachel added once they were out of earshot of her father. She couldn't help but notice that Santana seemed rather uncomfortable, not at all like the confident persona she normally seemed to portray.
"No he was fine." Santana said. She couldn't believe the amount of photos lining the stairs, pictures of Rachel and her dads at so many different places- Disneyland, preschool, the park, camping and even a photo from what Santana recognised as their first Glee competition. She unknowingly stepped closer to them, examining each one carefully. Rachel had paused when she noticed that Santana was no longer following her and a look of confusion crossed her face when she noticed that the girl was looking at her family photos with an expression that looked remarkably like envy. The Latina seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in as she continued walking up the stairs like nothing had happened. Rachel shook it off, putting it down to her imagination, as she pushed open her bedroom door.
"I'm just going to go downstairs to get us some snacks." Rachel said after a few moments of awkward silence. As she turned she noticed a small look of panic that had crossed Santana's face before it settled back into a neutral expression.
"That's okay, I'm not hungry." Santana said quickly, looking everywhere but at Rachel. Rachel's eyes narrowed suspiciously before she sighed.
"Santana..." She trailed off, looking at the other girl who was now staring at the ground. This one word seemed to make something snap inside her. Santana looked up from the ground with her bitch face back on.
"Look hobbit. I didn't come here to talk. I didn't come here so you could lecture me. The only reason I am here is to work on this stupid chemistry assignment. So unless you want the entire school to know that you have a photo of Jacob Ben Israel above your bed I suggest you keep that huge mouth shut when it comes to all things that aren't chemistry. Clear?" Santana practically snarled the last word, her eyes shooting daggers at Rachel.
"I don't have a picture of Jacob?" Rachel said as she looked at the ceiling above her bed.
"It will be my word over yours, and let's face it you say so many words that they just aren't worth a thing." Santana shot right back. "Or don't you know how blackmail works?"
"Fine. Chemistry only." Rachel relented, grabbing her text book off the desk and sitting on the floor. For the next hour the two girls worked in silence, only talking when absolutely necessary. They only stopped when Santana announced that she had to go to the bathroom. After getting directions from Rachel she walked out of the room, leaving her books on a pile in the middle of the floor. Rachel took this opportunity to read over what was written on Santana's notebook. As she read a feeling of anger overtook her and Santana chose this moment to walk back in.
"When were you going to tell me that you had already figured out what it is?" Rachel screeched. Santana looked confused for a moment before her gaze settled on her notes in Rachel's hand.
Santana shrugged. "It was kinda fun watching you try and figure it out. Anyway where's your bathroom, I need to wash my hands." Santana's question had thrown the diva, she didn't expect the argument to diffuse so quickly, causing her to shake her head a little before answering.
"The door opposite the toilet." Santana nodded and then headed out of the room once more. Once she left the song Bubbly by Colbie Caillat started blaring from the Latina's cell phone.
"Can you get that, it's Britt." Santana yelled from in the bathroom. Rachel hastily obliged, picking up the offending object and answering the call.
"Hello!" Rachel called brightly through the phone.
"Rachel? Why are you on Santana's phone?" Brittany asked in her signature tone, confusion.
"She's in the bathroom, we're working on a chemistry project together."
"Oh. Well can you tell her that she can't come over for dinner? Lord Tubbington has been naughty so he's not allowed to have friends over tonight. But that's probably a good thing because we are having seafood and San doesn't like seafood. Or my grandma. Do you think Grandma's coming? I bet Lord Tubbington was bad on purpose so San wouldn't have to come over!" Rachel listened patiently as Brittany rambled on. Sometimes she really couldn't understand how her and Santana were best friends.
"Okay Brittany I will make sure-"
"Sorry Rachel, I gotta go! Bye!" Rachel looked down at the phone as she heard the dial tone echo in her ear.
"What did Britt want?" Santana asked as she entered the room, a bright smile across her face at the mention of her best friend.
"She said that you couldn't come over for dinner. Something about a Lord Tubbington being naughty so you wouldn't have to eat seafood or be with Grandma?" Santana's face fell, she had been hoping to avoid going home tonight by spending the evening curled up in the Pierce's living room watching The Lion King.
"Oh. I, umm, I guess I'll just go home now. There's no point hanging around if we're finished." Santana flashed Rachel a sad smile as she started gathering her stuff off the floor. Rachel couldn't help but think that the girl sounded almost lonely.
"Wait! My offer from before still stands. If you want to stay for dinner you can? You know, now that you're no longer busy." Rachel half asked, half informed Santana, trying to keep herself from looking to hopeful. Santana pondered the offer, she really didn't feel like going home but she really didn't feel like dealing with Rachel's questions either. Why did Brittany have to cancel on her? She sighed, at least Rachel's father seemed pretty nice so it had to be better than home right? She bit her lip before nodding.
"Dinner would be nice." She said quietly, looking down at her hands. Rachel noticed the girl's demeanour change, she looked unsure, almost worried and Rachel didn't think that she had ever seen her look this fragile.
"Great! I'll go tell my fathers!" Rachel flashed the taller brunette what she hoped was a reassuring smile before practically skipping out of the room. Both men looked up as they noticed Rachel walk into the living room where they were watching tv.
"Hey Dad, Daddy! Is it okay if Santana stays for dinner?"
"Of course! The lasagne will be done soon and the salad's already made, so why don't you girls come set the table?" Leroy answered enthusiastically, he was excited to see Rachel hanging out with a popular girl.
"Who's Santana?" Hiram asked, the others had forgotten that he was not home when the Latina had arrived.
"She's one of Rachel's friends. She sung that solo at sectionals, remember Valerie? And guess what? She's a cheerleader!" Leroy grinned, wiggling his eyebrows as he mentioned her popularity.
"Oh really? That's great that you're friends with a popular girl! Is she really a cheerleader?" Hiram seemed shocked to hear about Rachel's 'friend'.
"Yes Dad. Head cheerleader actually. But do you need to sound so surprised?" Rachel asked shortly. The two men just grinned at each other, they knew it didn't take much to make their daughter angry and she would be over it by the time she got back upstairs. Leroy couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping as Rachel stormed up the stairs. She forcefully opened the door, startling Santana who had been day dreaming as she stared in the mirror. Rachel was so caught up that she didn't notice the hatred in the way that Santana was staring at herself and she had also failed to see the unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"We need to go set the table, not that they'd make you do it since they obviously think that you are too good for me." Rachel spat out bitterly before stalking back out of the room. Santana took a deep breath to compose herself as she carefully wiped her eyes, making sure not to smudge any of her make up before she also followed Rachel down the stairs. The girl's attitude change hadn't surprised her, she had seen way too many Glee storm outs for that to happen and she knew that the best way to fix it was to simply ignore it. Sure enough by the time she had followed the voices into the kitchen Rachel was smiling and laughing as she placed four plates on the table. Santana stood in the doorway as she uncomfortably watched the seemingly familiar family interaction.
Leroy glanced up, noticing Santana hovering nervously in the kitchen entrance, her eyes following the movements in the kitchen as her left hand played with something on the side of her skirt. He frowned as he saw small goosebumps on her arms, the tiny uniform she was wearing couldn't have been very warm.
"Rachel why don't you go upstairs and grab Santana a jumper to wear." Leroy whispered to his daughter, nodding his head towards the taller girl when Rachel looked at him in confusion. She glanced around and saw the ridges of flesh rising up on the girl's skin, as well as the faint shaking in her limbs. Santana watched her leave in confusion as well as a bit of panic, she didn't know how she would go alone in a room with Rachel's dads. She wasn't really the type of girl that most people took to meet their parents, so this was slightly overwhelming.
"Santana why don't you start moving the food on to the table?" Rachel's other dad suggested when he saw how uncomfortable the girl looked. Santana let a smile grace her lips, relieved at finally having a set job to do. She busied herself with the task and jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder.
"Here. You looked cold so I got you this. It's probably going to be a little short, but at least you will be warmer!" Rachel said with a smile as she handed over a red sweater. Santana gave Rachel a grateful smile as she shrugged it on, her body being enveloped by the warmth it offered. Rachel had to fight back a frown when she noticed the fit of the sweater. Sure it was a little short, but the concerning thing was how baggy it looked on the girl and Rachel was not overweight by anyone's standard so there was no way it should be that loose fitting. However before she could comment Leroy told the girls to sit down as he and Hiram were waiting.
With everyone seated food started being dished onto plates. All three Berry's looked in concern when Santana only put a slightly larger than bite size piece of tofu lasagne, one carrot stick, one piece of tomato, a piece of capsicum and a few lettuce leaves on her plate.
"That's all you're going to eat?" Hiram asked as he eyed off her plate. Santana's heart was racing, she couldn't deal with questions, not now.
"I'm not very hungry." She mumbled, refusing to make eye contact with anyone at the table.
"Sweetie I really think you should eat a bit more than that." Leroy offered gently, pushing the tray of lasagne closer to her.
"I don't feel well." Santana said, wrapping her arms around her stomach. It wasn't really a lie, her face had gone pale as all the blood drained from it which gave her a slight headache and her stomach had started churning in either nerves or anticipation at the mention of food.
"Santana my fathers are right, you really should.." Rachel started to say before she was interrupted.
"I SAID I WASN'T HUNGRY!" Santana yelled as she stood up abruptly. Her breathes were now coming in shallow gasps and it felt like her lungs couldn't get enough oxygen. The dizziness had returned and she could feel tears starting to run down her face. She could faintly see Leroy and Hiram walking around the table to get to her, Rachel already next to her trying to calm her down. She felt a gentle pair of hands pulling her over to what she assumed was a couch, but the ringing in her ears was making it too hard to hear what they were saying. She felt her body fall into a heap on the couch and then felt it dip when someone sat next to her and held her upright. A paper bag was thrust into her hands and she felt hands encircling hers as they guided the bag up to her mouth. Slowly she started to hear voices as her breathing slowed, people telling her to match their breaths and that it was all going to be okay.
Rachel stared in shock as Santana pushed her chair back and started yelling about how she wasn't hungry. However she quickly realised something was wrong when she noticed how much the Latina's frame was shaking. Her eyes widened in concern as she heard the girl's breathing become faster and uncontrolled as tears started running down her face.
"Shh Santana calm down. Just breathe." She said as she stood up, starting to rub small circles on the girl's back. Santana gave no indication of having heard her or of having felt the hands on her back. Rachel noticed Santana's legs starting to quiver and started gently pulling her over to the couch, the girl's body landing in an ungraceful heap. She noticed her dads racing over to help as she sat down and gathered the other girl in her arms, trying to keep her in an upright position. Hiram knelt down in front of the pair, shoving a brown bag into Santana's hands.
"Santana I need you to breathe. In, out. Nice deep breaths. Into the bag. In, out. Try and match my breathing." He said, taking long deep breaths to emphasis his point. When Santana still showed no response Rachel cupped her hands over the darker skinned ones, raising the bag up to the girl's mouth.
"It's going to be okay." Rachel kept whispering as she felt the Latina's breathing starting to slow. She could notice the girl's awareness slowly returning, her eyes finally starting to focus. After what seemed like an eternity Santana finally lowered the bag, her breathing at a much more controlled pace. She reached up and swiped the tears from her face, cringing when she saw the black marks on her palms from her ruined make up.
"Sorry." Santana mumbled, clearly embarrassed about what had happened.
"Don't. This is not your fault Santana, there is no need to be sorry." Leroy stated firmly, his eyes glued to Santana's, trying to convey his message. "Now why don't you tell us what happened?"
Santana sniffed before opening her mouth. "I-I just. I.." She managed to stutter before all the colour drained from her face. Hiram noticed this and reached for the empty trashcan that was just behind the couch, having been emptied earlier that day.
"I think I'm going to be sick." She managed to get out just as the trashcan was shoved under her face. She leaned over, retching as her stomach heaved until remnants of the master cleanse she had drunk after school was expelled, the acidic taste burning her throat. Rachel continued to rub comforting circles on the small of the girl's back as she gagged. Finally she sat up, slumping back onto the couch as she let her eyes shut tiredly. They re-opened as she felt a cool glass of water being pressed into her hand and she looked up to see Leroy smiling sympathetically at her. She greedily drank the water, swirling it around a few times to get rid of the taste. She once again felt her eyes drifting closed, exhausted from the physical toll the last half an hour had on her body.
"Santana you are welcome to spend the night here, on one condition. You tell us what just happened to give you a panic attack." Santana just nodded tiredly, her eyes still closed. All she wanted to do was fall asleep. Leroy seemed satisfied at that answer. "Do you want us to call your parents?" He asked once it appeared she would be staying.
"She wouldn't even notice I was gone." Santana mumbled sleepily, before rolling over and nestling into the blanket Rachel had covered her with. The two men frowned, adding it to their list of things to ask the girl about the next day. Then they turned to Rachel.
"We need to have a talk."
So I'm not real sure on this chapter, I don't know if I made Santana seem a little too crazy, but I felt like I owed you guys something! I'm working on a one shot at the moment as well, so keep your eyes peeled for that this weekend...that's if I'm not too busy watching Telethon to write haha! Sorry guys but Western Australia is obviously the best place to live, our telethon is the highest earning telethon per year in the world. 24 hours of non-stop entertainment here I come! Oh and just a warning that updates may slow a little, I'll try my hardest to not let that happen but I have the rest of my exams coming up and then I start all my final year classes. And yup I'm the idiot that decided to take every class at the highest level offered, well except in maths. I'm having a break there by taking the second highest...So yeah, at least I can now say that I warned you :) And now just to gross you all out I will leave you with a fact I discovered recently: On average a human will eat 8 spiders in his/her lifetime while sleeping. Paranoid now? *inset evil laugh here*