Chapter 9

It was 3 hours later and the school bus was just pulling up outside McKinley high, a light dusting of snow starting to fall as the afternoon sky slowly turned to grey. The doors of the bus shuddered open and the icy wind rushed in, a collective shiver going round as gloves and scarves were hastily put back on in preparation to go outside.

"Ok, everybody off"

Will went first, standing beside the open doors and head counting the students as they filed past, trudging reluctantly up to the school for the last hour of lessons.

The glee kids were the last to get off, Blaine and Kurt hand in hand at the front, whilst Puck trailed the pack, shooting angry glances at Quinn, who walked arm in arm with a gloomy looking Brittany.

"See you all in Glee" Will called out to them as they tramped away, only Rachel turning back to give him a nod and a cheerful "Can't wait"

He smiled and looked at Emma who stood beside him

"At least Rachel's excited"

She giggled in agreement and wrapped her coat tightly around her small frame

"Shall we go in? It's freezing" She turned to look over her shoulder at the brunette who stood silently behind them "..Santana?"

"Yeah, let's go"

She threw a short "Thanks" to the bus driver and then began to walk quickly up to the school, careful not to slip on the ice as she went ahead without a backwards glance.

With a puzzled look at Emma, Will followed.

"Hey..Santana"

She slowed slightly, allowing him to catch up without actually stopping, a faint frown shadowing her face. When he drew level, he seemed concerned.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine Will, honestly. I'm just really cold"

He looked at her doubtfully and she forced a brief, unconvincing smile

"Will, seriously there is nothing wrong. I'm just cold. I've always hated this weather, ever since I was a kid. I'll be fine once I'm inside"

He seemed to believe her, his face relaxing as he threw a friendly arm over her shoulder, his gloved hand rubbing her sleeve to warm her up.

"It'll be nice and warm in the school" he assured her, keeping his arm looped around her as they walked, Emma close behind.

Once they reached the doors Santana smiled and thanked them for helping out, throwing a "See you later" behind her as she left them, anxious to get back to the classroom and be on her own. Once out of sight, her brow creased again in a frown as she hurried along and up the stairs, her mind having a silent debate whilst she walked.

She knew that she wasn't attracted to Brittany. It was ridiculous to even let the thought into her head. Of course she wasn't attracted to her, she was a teacher, and the girl was only 18. It would be completely inappropriate.

But she just felt so strange around her, so confused, and she didn't know how to explain it. She'd never had this feeling before. With everyone else she was always confident, assertive - domineering even, but something about the blonde cheerleader disarmed her, and she couldn't work out what it was.

Walking up the empty hallways, she tried to reason with herself. Yes, Brittany was very attractive, of course she was, anyone could see that. But she didn't have any romantic feelings towards the girl, did she? Of course not, she couldn't, she definitely didn't.

It was just that they kept being thrown together in awkward situations. Santana nodded to herself, tucking a dark strand of hair forcefully behind her ear. That was it. The coffee, the classroom, the cheerios jacket, the trip. They were all just coincidences, embarrassing coincidences that were the reason she felt so uncomfortable. It wasn't that she liked Brittany, she just hadn't wanted her to feel strange, to feel like there was something else going on. She just felt worried that the girl might read something into these random accidents and feel confused, she didn't want Brittany to misread the situation. There was no other reason. Of course there wasn't.

She relaxed slightly, once again safe in the knowledge of her innocence and went to open her classroom door. She was about to slide the key into the lock when she suddenly remembered with a soft sigh the cheerios jacket still folded neatly in the trunk of her car from that morning. She had meant to give it back when they got off the bus but she had been so eager to get away from the cheerleader that she had forgotten.

She briefly considered waiting till Brittany's Government lesson the next day, but quickly decided against it, the girl would probably need to wash it before her next Cheerio's practice and she didn't want to get her in trouble with Coach Sue. She also felt like she should really apologise to the girl for earlier, Brittany probably had no idea why she had reacted like that and she owed her some kind of explanation, however untrue it would be. So she slipped the keys back into her pocket and turned around, heading down the hallway and towards the staircase.

In the back of her mind she noticed light footsteps from around the corner behind her, but the sound didn't really register until it stopped abrubtly, the silence breaking into her thoughts. She heard a low whistle, and turned to face Sue Sylvester, standing in front of her, as though Santana's earlier thought had summoned her there at that moment.

She wore the usual tracksuit, red today, with bright white sports shoes and in one hand she carried a vibrantly coloured health drink, a smirk on her lips.

"Well look who it is...Carmelita Tropicana."

Santana stared "..I'm sorry?"

Sue took a small sip of her drink before continuing

"I was wondering when I'd run into you"

She was a tall woman and Santana had to look up to make eye contact, but she lifted her chin firmly, making it clear she wasn't intimidated.

"I haven't see you around much. Clearly you've been pretty busy chumming up with Schuester and his gang of talentless freaks...but you know who I am, don't you Conchita?"

Santana inclined her head in a slight nod, her body instinctively tensing a little as she regarded the other woman carefully.

"I thought so, most people do"

A small pause and another swig on her vitamin shake.

"And I'm aware of you of course. New government teacher...taking over from preggo Jackson."

She nodded towards Santana

"And I hear you're already causing quite a stir. There's been a lot of talk about you in the staffroom. Apparently you're kind of a big deal here at McKinley...That true Tex Mex?"

Santana frowned in irritation

"I don't know where you're going with this, but I'm just going to tell you now that I'm not mexican"

She paused before adding

"Or from Texas"

Sue took another gulp of her drink, dismissing Santana's comment with a uncaring shrug

"Well, South of Ohio, it's all the same to me"

Santana's previous indifference to the woman was quickly becoming dislike and her tone grew impatient. She had a feeling this was going to be about the students she had recruited from Sue's cheerleading team, and she wanted to get it over with.

"Did you have something to say Sue? I'm kind of busy"

Sue flashed her a smile, revealing 2 rows of perfectly straight white teeth

"Well yes actually, as a matter of fact I do...I have a proposition for you Salma"

Santana tilted her head "Salma?"

Sue nodded "Hayek"

"Of course...still not mexican, but carry on"

Sue leant in, so their eyes were level, her voice low as she stated simply

"You stole my cheerios"

Santana stared straight back at her, unflinching as the woman continued

"Now I let that go...mainly because I need that time to write poison pen letters to Emma Pillsbury, but also...because there's something I want from you. And if you agree to it, then we're even"

She raised her eyebrows at the brunette's confused expression

"You with me amigo?"

Santana narrowed her eyes

"What is it that you want Sue?"

The blonde woman straightened up so she once again towered over Santana, her tone instantly less threatening.

"You were a cheerleader at Ohio state. Co-Captain if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes" Santana answered slowly "But what does that have to do wi-"

Sue put up a hand to stop her

"Woah there Chimichanga..let me explain."

She took a thoughtful sip on her drink and continued

"I've been a cheerleading coach for a long time. I'm the best and I train the best. Now I've been to high schools all over Ohio, but I've never stayed anywhere as long as McKinley and do you know why?"

Santana felt completley disconcerted by where the conversation was going and replied truthfully

"No I don't, why?"

Sue gestured with her free hand to emphasise her point

"Because these kids, have what it takes. And I would rather rip out my own heart than tell them this, but they've got it, whatever it is, they've got it...I don't know if it's something they put in the water here but those Lima losers sure know how to cheer. They have the drive, the talent, they never question me, and most of the time, they actually want to be there. And they need a coach who can channel all that"

Santana looked at her blankly

"Right...how am I part of that?"

Sue looked at the shorter woman carefully, trying to be sure she was making the right decision before she answered her. After a few seconds, she seemed to decide to go ahead and she leant forward consiprationally.

"Well you probably wouldn't notice this because of my kick ass bone structure and thick, naturally blonde hair...but I'm getting older Consuela."

Santana rolled her eyes

"And I can't coach the cheerios forever, I've still got a good few years in me but, there's gonna come a time where I'm going to want to retire, not in the too distant future. And I'm going to need someone I can trust to hand my legacy to."

She nodded to Santana

"Now I don't know you very well, but I've heard good things. The way you dealt with Figgins, how you chucked that neanderthal Karofsky out of your class, the journey in the back of some guy's lorry you must have taken to break into this country...I'm impressed by all these things. And I think maybe you might just be the person I need. If I trained you up right, I think you might just be perfect"

Santana couldn't believe what she was hearing

"You want me to take over as coach when you retire?"

"You got it senora"

"You know I'm only here until Ms. Jackson gets back from maternity leave? Even if I wanted to do this, I'm leaving at the end of the school year"

Sue shook her head

"Just hold on a second muchacha, you can stay as my assisant. You'll be able to study at my feet until the time comes for you take over"

She shrugged and took a sip of her health shake

"There'll be some light laundry and cleaning as part of the job, but I imagine your people are more than used to that kind of work-"

Santana put her hands up to stop her. She had heard enough. This whole conversation was becoming crazy. Will had warned her about Sue but she hadn't expected anything like this, did she really want to be Santana's mentor? Was it a some kind of trick?

"Look, I don't want to be a cheerleading coach. I'm not interested, and even if I were, I still wouldn't do it, and not just because I suspect you might be horribley racist..but also because I've seen the way you treat your cheerleaders, and I don't like it. So thanks, but my answer is no. Really, really no"

She started to descend the stairs, not breaking step when she heard Sue's voice behind her.

"I would respond to that Chica, but I don't speak Spanish. It's the one language I never learned, out of principle. So I'm going to assume you said yes, and we can carry on this conversation later as you seem to have someplace else to be. I guess there is a lawn that needs mowing poorly, or some alcohol that needs drinking...so you just go ahead"

Santana ignored her, coming to the bottom of the staircase and walking briskly down the hall and out into the car park. She dipped her hand into her pocket, pulling out her keys as she reached her car, shivering slightly against the wind.

Jesus, that woman was awful.

She replayed their conversation in her head, and couldn't stop a small smile spreading on her lips when she remembered some of the names Sue had called her. With a grudging acceptance, she had to admit, the woman was remarkably witty.

And she seemed to know an impressive amount of mexican stereotypes. Santana laughed to herself, she couldn't wait to tell Will what had happened.

She opened the boot and leant in to grab the jacket, grimacing slightly when her fingers clasped the cold, wet material. The ice covering it had melted by now, leaving the cotton heavy with moisture, a layer of dirt still clinging to the sodden fibres. When she picked it up to shake it out, a small patch of damp was left underneath it, staining the bottom of her trunk.

Brittany definitely couldn't wear it home, Santana thought, attempting to wring it out onto the ground. She'd be freezing, she might get the flu or something. She would just have to let her borrow her Ohio state jumper for the night, which she was wearing already, so it wouldn't make much difference if she kept it for a bit longer.

Santana didn't want her to get ill, and the girl could just give it back in their lesson the next day. It's not like Santana needed the jumper for anything, and Brittany couldn't go home in just her tiny cheerleading outfit, it was far too cold. It was fine, she'd just let her hold onto the jumper, it was a good idea. It wasn't weird Santana assured herself, it was the kind of thing Will would do, it was responsible.

She locked the car and checked her watch, only 10 minutes until school finished. She was pretty sure that Glee club was on tonight, so Brittany would be staying around, and she knew that Will and Emma would almost certainly be in the teachers lounge right that minute, having already cleared their schedules the week before in anticipation of a longer trip. So she could just go and give him the jacket now, ask him to give it to Brittany when he saw her at Glee.

Or, she could not.

As she slipped back in through the double doors, into the welcoming warmth of the hallways, she debated handing the jacket straight to Will to pass on, or waiting until Glee club had already started and delivering it herself. She really did want to apologise to the girl in person. Brittany was one of her favourite students. and she didn't want her thinking she was angry with her, she wanted to make sure things were ok between them. That was the only reason.

In the back of her mind she knew that it made more sense to just give the jacket to Will straight away. Then she could go back to the classroom, collect her things and go home with a bottle of wine and a stack of essays to grade. But even as she firmly decided that she would go straight to find Will, she looked up to realise she was already standing outside her classroom door. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had walked straight past the teachers lounge, up the stairs and all the way back to where she had started from.

She looked down at the dripping coat in her hand and paused for a moment, before shrugging and unlocking her classroom door. She would just drop by Glee club on her way home, it was no big deal. She switched on the lights, chucking Brittany's jacket onto her desk and going over to the closet to get her things. She transferred her phone and keys from her coat back into the leather handbag that hung from the door and stuck her hand into the zippered pocket to pull out her phone.

3 missed calls. She pressed the green phone button, and sighed heavily as the inevitable name flashed on her screen.

Taylor

"Big fucking surprise" she muttered to herself, chucking the blackberry back into her bag and loading a folder of 11th grade essays in after it.

She slung the bag over her shoulder and went to grab Brittany's jacket, just as she heard a light knock on her door.

Thinking it was Sue coming back to try and persuade her, she swung the door open, her eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

"Sue, will you just fu-" She stopped short as she saw Brittany standing there looking a little scared, Santana's Ohio state jumper folded neatly in her arms.

"Oh!..Brittany...God, I'm sorry I thought you were someone else"

"..Coach Sue?" The blonde asked nervously

"Uh, well..yes actually" Santana said with an embarrassed smile "But, yes,..sorry about that...um, did you want to come in?"

She stepped aside so the girl could get past and Brittany regarded her closely, her mood seeming to have undergone a drastic change since they last saw each other.

"Uh, ok"

Brittany stepped into the classroom, a little warily, and stretched her arm towards Santana.

"I just came to give you your jumper back...it was really nice of you to let me borrow it, so thanks"

Santana pushed it gently back towards her

"Oh no, you should keep it for tonight, it's fine, you'll need it..I mean, because your jacket isn't dry yet, I was just coming down to Glee to bring it to you, but it's still wet so you can't really wear it, well you could but you'd be freezing, so you really shouldn't..."

She was rambling, so she turned to grab the coat from her desk, holding it up so Brittany could feel how wet it still was.

"You can't wear it like this..but you're welcome to hold onto the jumper for a little longer, I dont mind"

Brittany smiled, but it was perfunctory, she still looked uncomfortable. She unfolded the jumper and slid it hesitantly back over her head before picking up her own jacket.

"Thanks, I'll bring it back tomorrow...if you really don't mind"

"I don't...I don't mind at all"

Santana looked away, catching her lower lip between her teeth as the awkwardness became almost tangible. She was unable to lift her gaze from her hands as she apologised.

"Listen...Brittany...I'm sorry I was weird earlier, you know on the trip...it was nothing to do with you...Will, uh, I mean Mr Schuester told me something and it kind of threw me, it's all ok now but I was just a little shocked, and I am sorry because it must have looked like I was angry at you..."

She forced herself to look up, Brittany's face was unreadable

"but obviously I wasn't angry at you.. you didn't do anything...so..I'm sorry, I hope I didn't upset you"

She swallowed, feeling stupidly anxious as she waited for the blonde's response, her tense brown eyes flicking from the girl's face back to her hands, unable to stand the intensity of the cheerleader's stare.

Opposite her, Brittany felt a huge wave of relief wash away the stress that had been clutching at her all day. She had been so worried, paranoid that Santana didn't like her any more, that she had somehow worked out Brittany's feelings for her and turned away in disgust.

It was only that morning that the cheerleader had really seemed to work out what it was that she felt towards her teacher and Santana's behaviour during the film had scared her. The way she had snatched her arm away as though it were on fire, it had replayed in Brittany's head over and over again, making her cringe in embarrassment to think she had been the cause.

From the moment the woman had suggested they share the arm rest, the wild flutter in her heart had made her realise just how much she liked the teacher, more than she had ever really liked anyone before. And as she had edged her arm closer, the butterflys dancing in her stomach as her little finger rested impossibly close to Santana's, she had felt a faint blush spread on her cheeks as she realised she was more excited just sitting there than she had been the week before, when she made out with Artie at Puck's party. Or that time she made out with Finn at Kurt's party. Or any of those other times with people before that.

And then, as though she could read Brittany's mind, Santana had yanked her arm away, striding out of the projection room and avoiding contact with her for the rest of the trip. And Brittany had stressed all day, unwilling to face the woman again, but anxious to return the jumper so she wouldn't think she'd had stolen it in a kind of stalker, obsessed way.

And now Santana was apologising, as though it was her who had done something wrong and Brittany couldn't help the huge smile spread across her face.

"Don't worry Ms. Lopez, it's fine. I'm just glad there isn't anything wrong"

"No..of course not, everything's fine"

Santana felt happy for the first time that afternoon as they smiled at each other, all awkwardness forgotten. She was just so relieved that Brittany wasn't asking any questions. She didn't really have an explanation, and she would much rather just fall back into their easy, friendly relationship than discuss the reasons for her freaking out at the museum. The apology had gone well, a lot more smoothly than she had imagined, and she had to remind herself that of course it went well, because there was nothing going on, it was fine. She was just a teacher, saying sorry to her student for being a little moody. That was completely normal she thought, staring into the deep, blue eyes that gazed back at her.

After a few seconds Brittany reluctantly broke the silence

"I guess I should probably go to Glee now.."

"Oh, right, of course"

Santana rushed to get the door for Brittany, who left slowly, pulling the jumper sleeves over her hands and folding them over her chest

"I'll bring this back for your lesson tomorrow"

"Ok,...I hope you have fun in Glee"

They were talking quietly now, Santana fiddling with the door handle as she said goodbye

"Thanks..see you tomorrow Ms. lopez"

"See you tomorrow Brittany"

Brittany unwillingly turned and started down the hallway, the hem of her cheerios skirt riding up slightly to expose creamy, toned thighs covered only in thin, sheer tights as she walked hurriedly to Glee.

Santana breathed out, stepping back into her classroom and gathering her things up. She cleaned the board and cast her eyes over the room, checking it was tidy for tomorrow. Then she shut off the lights, locked the door behind her as she left and headed back down the hallway, pulling her phone out of her bag as she walked.

She reached the car park just as the line she was ringing picked up with a soft click

"Hello?"

"Hey Taylor, it's me"

"...Santana?"

"Yeah...listen, do you want to meet up tonight?"

There was a brief pause

"Really?.."

"Yeah really, you can come over to my apartment. I'll make dinner, we can have a few bottles of wine, you can stay over...it'll be nice"

"Uh, wow, I'd love to. I'll definitely be there. What time do you want me?"

"Come over around 8.00"

"Great, I'll see you then"

"Yeah, see you later"

Santana hung up, putting the phone into her pocket and climbing into her car, placing her forehead on the steering wheel with her eyes closed.

What was she doing? This was so stupid, she'd completely regret this in the morning, it was so irresponsible, but she couldn't help herself. She was so angry for ringing, after she promised herself she would stop doing it, but it had almost been a sub conscious thing. She hadn't even been thinking about Taylor when she picked up the phone.

She breathed deeply, pushing her hair out of her face and trying not to think about how much of an idiot she was being.

This would make things even harder to deal with now.

"Stupid, stupid, fucking, idiot" She muttered to herself as she sat up in her chair and started the car. There was nothing she could do now, she'd invited her, the decision had been made.

So she drove home, back to her apartment, towards her booty call with a woman she could barely force a conversation with and tried to clear her mind. At least she would have a little fun that evening she thought unenthusiastically, and she tried to focus on having a good time with Taylor, desperately trying to ignore the panic that rose in her chest, when the image of smooth pale skin under a tight red cheerleading skirt proved impossible to shake from her head.

...

I hope this is showing up now? Apparently it wasn't loading last night? I re uploaded it but I don't really know if that's made a difference. Can anyone see it?

I've had quite a few reviews saying there aren't enough Brittana moments soooo, because I love anyone who takes the time to review, I promise the next chapter is going to be loco caliente Brittana. There will be practically no one else in the chapter. And it will probably be up soon-ish, definitely before next weekend so you don't even have to wait that long for it.

Again, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who reads this, especially to those who review and add this story to chapter alert, it's really flattering so thanks :)

I hope you like this chapter, I feel like it's getting more difficult to write but hopefully that wont show in the writing.

It's 3.20am now so I'ma go to bed.

Thank you, I love you all, Goodnight.

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