Chapter 6

The next few weeks passed in a haze for Santana. Her new students were settling in well, finding some of the work a little difficult but surprising her with how quickly they picked it up. Unsurprisingly, Karofksy and Azimio hadn't returned since the first lesson, and although Santana did notify Figgins they were cutting class, she didn't chase it up too persistently. It was the class she looked forward to teaching the most, and she knew that having the two jocks back in the room would ruin the easy, friendly relationship she had with the other students.

Surprisingly she had still heard nothing from Sue Sylvester. The coach would definitely be aware by now that she had taken her captain and at least 5 other cheerios out of her mid day practises, but she had tried nothing to get them back. Will seemed to think Sue was planning something, but Santana hoped that maybe she had realised that 20 hours practice a week was enough and that in school time, actually attending lessons was important. But she couldn't be sure. The only time she ever saw Sue was out of her window, where she would sometimes stand to watch a few minutes of the cheerios practising. She would squint, trying to make out individual faces, unconsciously searching for a pair of soft blue eyes, that she always realised with slight disappointment were too far away to make out.

As the fall break approached, Santana was swamped with work. She had essays to grade, end of term papers to set and more pressingly, Rachel Berry to avoid. Since she had started at McKinley she had grown to dread hearing the musical knock rapping on her classroom door, a pavlovian response to Rachel's many visits. It had begun fairly harmlessly, a bright hello when they passed in the hallways, Rachel always turning up a few minutes early to class to discuss some urgent matter about the debate club, and at first Santana had been amused by the girl's enthusiasm. But it had started to get ridiculous. In the past few days Santana had barely been able to get from her car to the staffroom without being waylaid by a panting Rachel, breathless from having chased her down the hallway.

"Ms. Lopez I have another idea for the democratic asso-"

"Can it wait Rachel?"

"Oh,sorry, I'll come and find you at lunch, ok?"

And Santana had wearily agreed, not wanting to hurt the girls feelings.

It wasn't that she didnt have anything helpful to offer, Santana was the first to admit that most of her ideas were actually very good, but just looking at that wide eyed face, leaning excitedly round her classroom door made Santana feel tired.

She had asked Will about it in the staffroom, after Rachel had presented her with yet another suggestion, this time for a new school club in which she would, inevitably, be the president. She had needed a teacher to agree to help set it up and as usual, Santana had been her first port of call.

"I just don't understand why she always asks me? Surely there are other teachers she could harass"

Will had paused, chewing thoughtfully and regarding her closely before putting another piece of pasta in his mouth.

"She looks up to you" he said simply

Santana pulled a face

"What?" She tutted at him across the table "No.."

"Think about it Santana...you're young, you're intelligent, you're strong" He smiled "And I don't mean to be shallow but you're hardly difficult to look at. Most of the students," here he had leaned in confidentially, gesturing with his head over to the basketball coach who had spent most of his break trying to catch Santana's eye "and at least some of the staff here are half in love with you"

She had opened her mouth to answer him and then shut it again, her eyebrows furrowed as she made a noise of disbelief in the place of words she couldn't find. Will had laughed, placing the lid back on his lunch and getting up as the bell had rung.

"Trust me Santana, you're something kinda special in this town"

She had dismissed his comments offhand, but had decided to make more of an effort to be patient with Rachel, flattered by Will's take on the situation. So on a particularly cold Thursday afternoon, about 5 minutes after school had ended, she heard a knock on her door and looked up from her desk with a smile.

"Come in"

Expecting to be greeted by the petite brunette, she was surprised to find herself staring up at Emma Pillsbury, the school guidance counsellor, who saw that she was writing and quickly apologised.

"Oh! Sorry, I thought you might be free.."

"No, it's fine, I'm not busy...Did you need something?"

"Oh..well.." She looked upwards, frowning slightly as though she were trying to remember what she was supposed to say "Will sent to me to ask you if you would watch the Glee club for half an hour tonight? He said he was sorry to just spring it on you, but he had to go and meet with Shelby Corcoran from Vocal Adrenaline, and he won't be back in time for the start of the rehearsal...it was a kind of last minute thing"

She turned her perfectly spherical eyes to the other woman, waiting for her answer

"Uh..yeah, that's fine" Santana got up from her chair, leaving her bag and jacket on the desk "Don't you usually watch the Glee club when Will is busy?"

"Oh..well yes, but I umm...have a date" she gave the other woman an embarrassed smiled as her cheeks grew pink and Santana had to restrain an eye roll. The woman was like a little girl, so coy and sickly sweet that the idea of her on an actual date with an adult man made Santana feel faintly nauseous. But she smiled and played along anyway.

"Wow...exciting"

Emma gave a little laugh and nodded, holding the door open as Santana walked past her into the hall. She locked the classroom behind her and they walked together, past the choir room and to the auditorium where Emma said the kids were running through some songs for regionals.

Emma pointed to a large sound proof door "It's right through there, if you just tell them Will should be here in about half an hour"

"Do I have to do anything?"

Emma shook her head "Oh no, they know what to do. You just have to make sure they aren't messing around or anything, which I'm sure they wont be. They're good kids. Just keep an eye on 'em"

"Ok, I can do that"

"Great" An uncomfortable silence "Well...I guess I will see you..tomorrow"

"Yeah, well, have a good night" Santana smirked and couldn't resist adding "Don't do anything I wouldn't do"

Emma gave another high, slightly nervous laugh and walked back down the hallway as Santana pushed open the theatre door and slipped in quietly. She could hear music from the stage and walked into the theatre silently, not wanting to disturb the performance. The auditorium was huge, plunged in darkness with hundreds of empty maroon seats facing a large proscenium arch stage, softly lit, on which stood Rachel Berry, eyes closed, poised to sing.

Santana vaguely remembered Will telling her on one of her first days which of her students were in Glee club but she had forgotten almost immediately and she looked around now, trying to spot any familiar faces. She thought she could just see some figures behind Rachel on the stage, but it was too dark to make them out and Santana quickly chose a seat, sitting down silently and leaning forward, waiting for Rachel to begin.

After 30 seconds, Santana became aware that her mouth was hanging open. Rachel's voice was unbelievable. She raised her eyebrows in amazement as the girl effortlessly hit another dangerously high note and blinked in disbelief. The girl really did seem to be good at everything.

After the first verse a dark haired boy, who Santana recognised as captain of the football team, walked out of the shadows behind and joined in the song. He was very tall, almost freakishly so, and there was something a little forced about the way he moved around the stage. There was nothing wrong with his voice exactly, but Rachel's was just so good that he seemed to be a unnecessary addition, and Santana couldn't help but wish he would walk back into the darkness and let the girl finish the song.

And then as the chorus began, the stage lit up and 12 more students appeared, bursting onto the stage, their voices blending perfectly. They were surprisingly good and with the exception of the giant football player, they all danced very well. Santana leant further forward, seeing Puck, Quinn, Sam and with a small jolt that she couldn't explain, Brittany, all dancing at the back, slightly obscured by Blaine, Kurt, Mike and a few others she didn't recognise. From what she could see, Brittany was a good dancer, but it wasn't until Mike grabbed her, laughing, and pulled her to the front of the stage that she saw just how good the girl was.

She seemed to dance as though gravity wasn't an issue, hitting the beat perfectly every time as she expertly moved around the stage. Compared to Brittany, the rest of the kids, who Santana had thought were pretty good dancers at first, looked jumbled and messy. They seemed to fade into the background as Brittany Stole focus even from Rachel, her blonde hair that for once was hanging loose, whipping around her shoulders as she danced. It was a fast song and Brittany's body moved quickly, always seeming to perfect the movement a split second before anyone else.

She had a startlingly impressive body, which Santana found difficult to ignore with only her tight cheerio's uniform covering it. She had taut, strong abs and her long legs, lightly tanned from the summer, were firm and toned. Santana sat up in her seat slightly, leaning forward to see as Brittany leant towards the back of the stage before a hot flush of embarrassment reminded her she was looking at a student. She blinked, averting her gaze and quickly looked around her, double checking there was no one sitting in the empty sea of seats that had seen her staring. Careful not to let her gaze stray, Santana looked back up at the stage and continued to watch the performance, a faint blush staining her cheeks.

"Hey"

She hadn't noticed Will enter the auditorium and she looked up with a faint frown as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Are you meant to be at a meeting?" she whispered

"Postponed. Shelby had a show choir emergency. One of her dancers collapsed from heat exhaustion"

"Oh...ok, well, do you mind if I stay and watch?"

He grinned "I would love you to stay, I could really use another opinion on some of their numbers" he pointed up to the stage where the first song was coming to an end "What do you think so far?"

"Will, they're amazing. I can't believe you didn't show me before." She let her eyes drift back to the stage as Brittany was being twirled by Mike during the final chorus "They're so talented"

Will followed her eyeline and nodded

"Rachel?..I know, she's pretty impressive"

"Rachel?..Oh, Yeah. She really is"

The song finished and Will stood, clapping, Santana getting up slowly to stand behind him.

"That was great guys" he gestured to Santana "And I think you've got yourselves a new fan."

From the stage, Rachel spotted her favourite teacher and waved furiously as Brittany looked over and felt her cheeks get hot. Had Ms. Lopez seen the whole performance? She tried to replay the last few minutes in her head, trying to remember if she had danced well. She could definitely do better, but she hadn't even known there was anyone watching. Did Ms. Lopez think she was good? She didn't know why she cared so much but she felt her stomach clench nervously.

Santana and Will were walking down the aisle now, coming to sit nearer the stage for the next performance. Santana was wearing one of her trademark power suits, a white fitted blouse that clung to her flatteringly and a tight, high waisted skirt, cinching her tiny waist and ending just above the knee. She wore black, sheer tights and stiletto heeled court shoes that were high enough to leave her standing just an inch below Will. As usual her hair was loose, falling in gleaming, black waves a few inches below her shoulders and she had left two buttons on her shirt undone at the top, leaving a triangle of olive skin just visible.

As she got closer, her heels tapping a muted beat on the carpeted floor, Puck let out a low whistle that only Brittany and Quinn heard. Quinn made a noise of disgust, slapping him sharply on the arm but Brittany sighed softly, not really sure if it wasn't a completely justified response to the woman in front of them.

"Ok" Will spread his hands and looked across the line of kids "You wanna show Ms. Lopez a couple more songs?"

Rachel answered for all of them "We would be happy to perform for Ms. Lopez " She beamed down at Santana "What a brilliant oppurtunity to get some constructive feedback. Maybe we should start with a solo...I would be happy to oblige-"

Will laughed as Kurt interrupted her

"Rachel, although I am sure we would all love to hear you sing the entire Evita soundtrack, for the second time...I was thinking maybe we should practise the final group number, we haven't gone through it yet on the stage and it would be good to see what Ms. Lopez thinks"

There was a murmur of agreement and Rachel stepped down graciously

"Great" Will said, nodding "That's fine by me"

The Glee club took their places as Will and Santana sat down a few rows from the front, choosing the seats in the middle for the best view. He nudged her and pointed towards Mike and Brittany.

"You know, those two choreographed this whole number"

Santana nodded along, as though she hadn't already been looking that way and Will continued

"They're pretty amazing dancers"

Santana agreed, her eyes glued to the blonde cheerleader as she stretched her arms out, getting ready to perform again.

Yeah, she thought, inhaling deeply...she'd noticed.

...

Half an hour later and the auditorium was quiet, the lights were up and the last few students hung about on the stage, chatting briefly before they left to go home.

"Ok, I'll meet you in the car, I just need to really quickly ask Berry something" Quinn held her palm up, a visual aid to the statement "I'll be five minutes, tops"

Brittany nodded up at the other blonde who turned, hastening up the aisle and out into the hallway, chasing after Rachel and Kurt who had left a few seconds before.

With a friendly wave to the remaining Glee clubbers, Brittany gathered her bag and cheerios jacket, and followed. She exited from the door on the other side of the auditorium, closer to the car park, and walked slowly out into the empty corridor.

"Hey! Brittany.."

She turned to see Ms. Lopez, her coat folded neatly over one arm and a beautiful leather handbag on her shoulder, walking hurriedly to catch up to her.

"Hey.." She was slightly breathless, smiling widely "I just wanted to say, I thought you were incredible today"

Brittany was taken aback by the compliment and found herself stumbling slightly over her words

"Oh,uh, thank you..I'm..really glad you liked it"

Santana nodded "I did. You're all brilliant. But you're dancing was just...well, it was amazing"

Embarrassed at how red she knew her cheeks were, Brittany shook her head slightly, not sure how to deal with such earnest praise and mumbled "it wasn't..that good"

But Santana laid a soft hand on her arm and looked into her eyes, saying firmly "Brittany...you were incredible"

She paused

"So, you heading home?

Brittany nodded, her arm tingling from where Santana had just touched it "Yes"

"..You need a ride or anything?"

The minute the words left her mouth Santana regretted even thinking them. It was so inappropriate, she barely knew the girl, and Brittany was a student.

She swallowed nervously, not sure whether to take it back or wait for the girl's reaction.

Brittany faltered.

"Oh, well, actually Quinn just passed her test and she said she could drive me home so I guess...I'm good" She finished dejectedly. She realised Ms. Lopez was just being polite, she probably didn't even want to drive her at all, but at that moment Brittany felt more disappointed about riding with Quinn than if she'd had to walk home.

"Thanks though"

Santana smiled again, almost disappointed the girl had declined but mainly relieved that she wouldn't have to deal with such an awkward situation.

"No problem, I'll see you tomorrow anyway, in class"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow"

Brittany smiled back, lifting her hand in a wave as she carried on towards the car park, leaving a slightly uneasy Santana standing alone in the hallway, staring after the cheerleader as she disappeared out of the doors and into the cold autumn evening.

...

Hope you like.

Thanks for all the reviews, I'm still surprised anyone is even reading it so seriously, thank you

Also, I have a feeling that Santana would be wearing 'pantyhose' in America, but in my neck of the woods we call them 'tights' so I'm sorry, that's my English colloquialisms coming through - but we all have our cross to bear.

Quick Note On Real Life Brittana - I love it...but seriously, will they ever kiss?

Anyway...Feel free to review, I would love it if you did, so go on, treat yo self.