Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it an alien invasion? No it's an update! Which is way rarer than an alien invasion. Well November passed us by without an update and for that I apologise (I did post a one-shot though). But you might like to know that my schoolwork paid off, I won the Chemistry, Physics, Literature and Geography awards for my year at our final awards night. And it has been so long but I still need to thank some special reviewers – claireeleven, you always leave me such heart-warming reviews and I always forget to put you in the author's note. But you are now in! Imalemonadeadictt, thankyou for just being you. And the anonymous reviewer Imnumberwah, I'm glad you like both of my stories and thanks for having the dedication to read it all in one sitting! It's nice to know that you are always picking up new readers :)
"Morning." Rachel greeted her fathers as she walked into the kitchen where the two were already eating breakfast at the counter. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice, pouring herself a glass before sitting down next to her dads.
"Where's Santana?" she questioned as noticed the girl missing from the kitchen and not recalling her still being asleep in the living room. Hiram nodded his head towards the kitchen window, Rachel following his movement to notice a lone figure sitting on the steps of the front porch.
"She was out there when we woke up, we didn't want to disturb her. We figured it might be best if you got her." Leroy explained, he was a much better morning person than Hiram. Rachel thought about this for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach the girl. If the stories that Quinn told were anything to go by, Santana was not exactly the most receptive person in the mornings. She had two stages of tired apparently, one which involved non-stop talking and no mouth filter and the other that left anyone nearby in tears. Making her decision she grabbed two apples out of a basket on the table, as well as a handful of cherries, and stepped outside. After all who could resist cherries?
Santana sat on the Berry's back porch, her legs dangling over the edge as she stared out into the garden. Her mind was racing, trying to think of an excuse for her behaviour last night. So far her mind was blank, she didn't think that they would believe her body had been taken over by an evil spirit so that left her with nothing. This was all her fault, she knew it. She bet Quinn would never have to deal with this, Quinn was so perfect, with her perfect blonde hair and her perfect skin and her perfect body. She had been pregnant and her body was still perfect, how was that fair? Santana was convinced that the gods must hate her, why else would she be so not perfect? She jumped as she heard a door open behind her, Rachel coming over and sitting down next to her.
"Hey." Rachel greeted softly, as if not to startle the girl again. The Latina did not answer, still staring out into space. She had noticed the stony look on the Santana's face had softened somewhat since Rachel had joined her, jolting her out of whatever thoughts she was having, but obviously not far enough.
"Santana?" Rachel asked, still trying to gain the girl's attention. She watched as Santana flinched slightly, blinking her eyes slowly before turning to face Rachel.
"What?" Santana snapped, a hint of anger in her voice. She was not ready to deal with this, last night was different because she had no control over what she was saying, but now she understood perfectly. And she was not happy about it.
Rachel sighed inwardly, obviously Santana was in her not so nice mode of tired. Which was not going to help her in the slightest, although she did note that it brought a strange sense of comfort to see the girl acting more like her normal self?
"I brought you something to eat." Rachel said simply, holding out the fruit as Santana eyed her warily. Pursing her lips Santana reached forward and grabbed a cherry, popping the entire fruit into her mouth without removing the stem. Several seconds later she spat out the stem, now tied in a neat little knot. Rachel looked in awe at the stem residing in the upturned palm of Santana's hand.
"How did you do that?" She asked, her eyes darting up to glance at Santana's and then at her own straight cherry stem. Santana just winked, grabbing an apple out of Rachel's hand before announcing that she was going to get ready for school, leaving Rachel still comparing the two cherry stems.
Opening the door Santana stepped into the kitchen, her eyes widening as she noticed the two Berry men sitting in the kitchen. Somehow she didn't think that her brilliant distraction technique she had thought of outside would work quite as well on Rachel's fathers as it did on the girl herself. Both men had turned when they heard the door open and were now staring at Santana so there was no way she could sneak past them to avoid any further questions like she had planned.
"Santana, good morning! Did you sleep well?" Leroy asked, sensing the apprehensiveness Santana was feeling and trying to lighten the atmosphere. Santana simply shrugged in reply, her eyes darting around like a wild animal as she remained in the doorway making no move to come closer.
"Why don't you come have a chat with us?" Hiram suggested, patting the empty seat at the table next to him.
"I – I have to get ready for school." Santana said, eyeing the stairs longingly. All she wanted was have a quick shower, stop by her own house and get changed and then go to school as if nothing had ever happened.
"It won't take long." Hiram added with a reassuring smile. Santana slowly walked over, reluctantly taking a seat as she refused to make eye contact with either Berry. She looked down into her lap where her fingers were weaving themselves through each other, another one of her nervous habits.
"I'm going to make this quick. To put it simply we're worried about you, both mentally and physically. Which is why we booked you a medical appointment for after school today." Hiram said, eyeing the girl for a sign of reluctance.
"You what?" Santana shrieked, pushing her chair back as she abruptly stood. "No. You have no right. I don't need your help!" Her final words ended in a choked sob as she grabbed her bag and stormed towards the front door. A loud bang echoed through the hallway as she slammed the door shut behind her, the sound of an engine revving a few moments after. The sudden noise caused Rachel to come back inside, her eyes scanning the room for the source of the noise as she walked.
"What happened? Where's Santana?" She asked after her quick scan showed no evidence of the Latina. Leroy looked up from where he had been staring into his coffee, a regretful expression etched onto his face.
"She left." He said simply. The confused look on Rachel's face urged him to continue his explanation. "We booked her into a doctor's appointment this afternoon. When we told her she freaked out, saying she didn't need any help. Then she just left."
"Rachel," This time it was Hiram who spoke, "Santana needs help. She's not going to get through this on her own."
"I know, but if she doesn't accept our help..." Rachel trailed off, rubbing her face tiredly. She felt like crying, she had seen Santana break down yet the girl left as if nothing had happened.
"Then we have to find a different way to help." Leroy said, an air of finality present in his voice.
Santana pulled up to school, parking in her usual spot at a run-down forgotten entrance of the building. The area was hardly ever used, making it the perfect spot to sneak out during the day if she needed an escape. She sat in her car, unbuckling her seat belt and just staring out the front window, thinking about what had happened. After she left Rachel's she had gone back home, taking a brief shower before leaving and as a result she was now a whole hour early for school. She rubbed her stomach slightly before leaning over and snatching her bag off the backseat.
She dug around in her backpack, searching for the small bottle of pain killers she had kept in there since her very first Cheerios practise. She located the white bottle, unscrewing the lid and washing two of the pills down with her water bottle in hopes that it would help her stomach. Her stomach had been aching for a few days now, but the pain seemed to have intensified this morning along with her exhaustion, both of which she blamed on her lack of sleep. She wiped a trickle of sweat off the back of her neck, deciding to get out of the car and wait inside the building where it might be cooler. She decided to go wait in the library where she could get some extra study for her history test in first period, not even noticing Rachel sitting in Miss Pillsbury's office as she walked past.
"Now Rachel, what can I do for you?" Emma questioned, looking at the girl in front of her as she organised the pens on her desk. It was not unusual for her to see students this early in the day, though it was not often Rachel came to see her and she was genuinely curious as to what the girl needed.
"I need to talk to you. About a friend." Rachel maintained eye contact with the guidance counsellor the whole time she was speaking, noticing the slight eyebrow raise as she claimed it was about a friend. Despite the red head's obvious disbelief at the claim she remained silent, allowing the girl to continue. After a moment passed and Rachel made no effort to elaborate Emma decided to speak up to encourage the girl to keep talking.
"Okay this friend of yours, what's their problem?" She emphasized the word friend, still maintaining her compassionate tone as she did so.
"I'm worried about her. I've tried so hard to help her, but she keeps putting up her stone walls that are impossible to tear down and I just don't know what else to do. I watched her as she fell apart and then got back up again like nothing had happened." Rachel kept it as short as she dared, not fully comfortable revealing the full extent of the situation to the other woman.
"Well Rachel I'm sorry you are going through all this, but I can't really advise you how to help her when I don't know what it is she is doing that has you so worried. I'm assuming you've tried simply talking to her about it?"
Rachel sighed before answering. "Every time I try and talk to her she gets so agitated and defensive, it feels like I make things worse. I couldn't even get her to eat this morning before she had run out."
"What do you mean you couldn't get her to eat?" Emma questioned gently, her large eyes boring into Rachel's looking for the answer to her question. By now she was convinced that the girl was telling the truth about it being for a friend and several suspicions were starting to creep into her mind.
Rachel froze at the question. She hadn't meant to reveal that much, she didn't even know why she had come to visit Miss Pillsbury in the first place. Her shoulders slumped as she realised that there was no turning back now.
"I think she has an eating disorder." Rachel half whispered the words, as if speaking them might make the situation worse. Emma pursed her lips at this admittance before sitting up straighter to address the girl.
"I'm going to ask you a question now if that's okay. Rachel is this friend you're worried about Santana?" The change in Rachel's posture as Emma spoke confirmed the answer, no vocal agreement was necessary.
"I-I never said her name," Rachel stammered "How did you know...?"
Emma smiled sadly before answering. "You're not the only one worried about her. Quinn was in here yesterday morning and Will, oh um sorry Mr Schue, was here as well. I've already cleared an appointment to see her during period six today upon his request."
"Well I guess I second that request." Rachel said as she stood up, tucking the chair back under the desk. "I guess if you already know there's not much else to talk about. Thanks for listening...and good luck with Santana. She needs all the help she can get right now." With those final words Rachel left, a certain Latina still occupying the majority of her thoughts.
Emma pinched the bridge of her nose as Rachel departed her office; she always hated having to deal with eating disorders. It was just so sad to watch pretty young girls think so little of themselves and Sue's cheerleaders were always the worst, obsessed with keeping thin and looking great to keep their position on the team. She had always thought Santana was stronger than that though, that she was more capable of seeing the stupidity of the situation the girls put themselves in. She remembered the last time she had to collectively talk to the Cheerios about the effects of eating disorders. Santana had very clearly stated her opinion on the 'skeletal anorexic idiots trying to become Slimderella so they can find their Prince Charming' which had assured Emma that she would not have a problem with Santana's eating habits. She should have realised then that Santana had been deflecting and the insults were simply a way of keeping people from getting to close. She sighed, hopefully she would be able to find out more when Santana came in.
The morning bell rung as Santana was packing up her books in the library, causing her to haphazardly cram them in as she started walking to class. She pulled her jacket closer around her body, her plan to get cooler had worked but now she was actually feeling a little bit cold. Stupid McKinley and their faulty heating systems, why couldn't the temperature just be normal? She walked in to her classroom and sat down at a seat in the back, not acknowledging anyone else in the class. Moments after she sat down her History teacher, Mr Reynolds, started to pass out the papers for the test.
Santana flipped through and read all the questions before starting to write her answers. It was moments like these where she was thankful she had nothing better to do than study, she was having no troubles recounting the dates and events of the First World War. Looking down at her answer for the last question, spilling over the lines and onto the blank space below, she flipped the booklet back to the start before carefully printing her name on the front cover. Pushing the completed paper to the side of her desk she looked up at the clock, noticing that there was still twenty minutes before she could leave.
She reached back and pulled her hair from the tight restrictions of her ponytail, letting it cascade over her shoulders as she leant back in her chair. She ran her fingers through the dark locks, hoping to ease the headache that was starting to form. Her stomach was still hurting and all she wanted to do now was sleep, the last few days had been way too stressful. She allowed her eyes to drift close as she listened to the furious scribbling of pens around her.
A hand on her shoulder startled her awake, her eyes opening to meet the less than sympathetic face of Mr Reynolds.
"My test to boring for you Lopez? You better hope you finished every last question in that booklet or else you can make up for it during lunch." He flicked through her paper, eyes narrowing at the completed questions. He huffed before addressing her, "You can go. Don't let me catch you dozing in my class again."
Santana rolled her eyes before walking out, she had held a deep dislike for the obnoxious history teacher since her first day at the school. She spun her combination into her locker and deposited her history books back on the top shelf before checking the time table tacked onto the door, sighing as she saw Glee highlighted in the next time slot. As much as she loved the misfit club she was not in the mood to deal with the people in it and she was really not feeling well enough to dance around and sing. She closed the door and started walking slowly towards the choir room dreading the next fifty minutes.
"One and two and three and four." Mr Schue counted as he instructed the club through the new choreography he was teaching. He turned around and watched as they danced their way through the group number, frowning as he noticed Santana stumble on one of the simple steps. It wasn't like the girl to be clumsy, she was one of the best dancers in the club so he let the mistake go, continuing to watch her carefully.
Santana panted as she tried to follow the steps for the routine, her hair sticking to the sweat on her forehead as she twist and turned around the floor. Sweat was dripping across her body, though she didn't feel overheated, just nauseous. Her head was pounding, her stomach felt like it was going to explode and she couldn't remember which way she had to turn for the next spin.
Mr Schue frowned as he watched Santana dance, something about her seemed off, it was almost as if she was not really trying which angered him slightly. It wasn't fair if one person didn't try because it ruined the dance for everybody else, and they had already restarted three times. He turned his attention back to the group for the next big turn, hoping that they might actually make it through the whole dance when something went wrong. Santana had turned the wrong way and crashed straight into Kurt who fell back into Tina, ruining the dance.
"I told you to learn these steps Santana!" Mr Schue half shouted, exasperated at the near perfect attempt of the routine.
At the same time as Mr Schue Puck had exclaimed, "What the hell Santana?" He threw his arms up in the air, glaring at the girl.
"I need a break." Santana tried to say, but her words came out thick and slurred, she was stumbling on her feet as she tried to move towards the chairs.
"Oh hell no you are not drunk!" Mercedes eyed the girl critically, her arms crossed over her chest and her mouth forming a thin line. Santana tried to shake her head in the negative but the movement made her dizzy, causing her to reach up to her head. She felt confused and sluggish, but a twinge in her stomach caused her to clutch it with both hands and let out a small moan of pain. Suddenly she vomited over the floor, small splashes landing on her pristine sneakers.
By now the previous anger the club had felt towards Santana had dissipated, replaced instead by concern for the apparently ill girl. Santana let out another moan before losing her balance and falling to the floor, narrowly avoiding the pool of vomit. Rachel rushed over to where the girl had fallen and set to work gathering the sweaty locks off her face, her jaw clenching when she eyed the physical appearance of the girl.
"Santana are you okay, you're shaking?" Rachel questioned, but received no answer from the very out of it Latina. Rachel gave a small gasp as her hand brushed over the girl's forehead and then turned to address the group.
"She's really hot, I think she needs to go to a hospital."
So yeah sorry about that cliff-hanger...But on the bright side the next chapter should be up some time on the weekend! Amazing right, two chapters in less than a week compared to the usual two chapters in two months kinda thing I've had going on haha :) But I hope it was at least worth some of the wait!