Theme song 1 - watch?v=uagufW76mYc (this fits the chapter extremely well, which is surprising because I found it after I'd planned most of this)
Theme song 2 - watch?v=FL0bjwez8mg

Chapter 21: Summer Sun

August, between Fifth & Sixth years, Summer Holidays

We were dancing together, under the starry ceiling of the Great Hall.

"I love you."

She said it so softly, like she couldn't quite believe it, but I didn't care how she said it - I couldn't stop smiling. She stepped closer and looped both hands around my neck to pull me into a kiss, even though there were people all around. I stared around at them as I kissed her but they just kept walking past like they couldn't see us - Quinn, Chloe, Professor Ryerson, Santana's mum. Her fingers tickled at my skin as she tried to pull my shirt up with one hand and I pulled away, shaking my head.

"Everyone will see us!"

"No one's here, Brittany," Artie replied, kissing me again. I looked around and realised he was right, no one was here - but why were we outside? "Come on, let's go in the lake!" he announced with a smile, pulling me towards the mass of water to my right.

"But Artie, your legs! You can't get them wet!" He didn't hear and ran in anyway, splashing about. "Artie, wait!" I shouted, running in after him. I had to help him, he couldn't swim! But where had he gone? I ducked my head under the water, peering around to search for him, but then I heard laughter and I popped back up to see Santana in front of me again, her body only slightly hidden by the bubbles. She stepped closer and reached for me, pulling me into her with her hands on my hips as she attached her lips to my neck. My arms snaked around her waist to pull her closer, so I could feel her skin against mine, but she pulled away and walked to the edge of the pool. She climbed out and my throat dried at the sight of her. Then she turned and I could see everything, every beautiful part of her, and goosebumps spread all over my body as she smiled down at me.

"Brittany, come here," she said, stretching out her hand for me to take. I struggled forward to reach for it, but she was too far away. "Brittany!" she called again. "Brittany, come downstairs!"

I buried my head into my pillow, trying to retain the hazy sight of Santana in the Prefect's Bathroom for a little longer. I didn't want to abandon her, make her think that I didn't want to join her. My eyes flashed open for a second then closed again as I fought to keep her in my mind.

The thundering of footsteps on the stairs told me I wasn't going to be able to, but I pulled the covers over my head anyway as I heard my door burst open and felt Chloe land heavily on my legs.

"Mum says you have to come downstairs!" she chirped.

"'M sleeping," I grumbled into my pillow, trying to slide my legs out from under her without success. Why was she awake so early? I didn't know what time it was, but it felt early.

"We're going to Diagon Alley today, to get my wand before the rush!" she shrieked, bouncing up and down on my legs. "It's happening! It's real! I'm going to Hogwarts!" I turned my face to squint at her and found a massive grin on her face. She was still in pyjamas, her hair all over the place, and I swear her smile just kept getting bigger.

"I know, Chlo," I smiled back, struggling up to give her a hug as I began to properly wake up. She clutched at me tightly.

"You'll have to show me round, Brittany. You have to show me all the passages and the Prefect's Bathroom and the quidditch pitch!"

The reminder of the dream I had just had sent a shiver through me as I recalled being so close to Santana again. I couldn't help having that dream, but I hated that I had to remind myself about Artie. Artie was nice. Artie was my boyfriend. Artie loved me. And I could love him, if I could just get over Santana.

"Britt, are you okay?" Chloe asked, tapping me lightly just above my ear. I refocused on her and smiled.

"'Course I am!"

"Brittany, are you coming?" the shout came from downstairs again.

"Oh, yeah, your OWL results are here," Chloe said brightly.

"Wait, what? Here? Now? Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded, pushing her to the end of my bed so I could scramble out, scurrying barefoot along the corridor and down the stairs. Mum was pacing in the kitchen while dad ate breakfast calmly, and the Hogwarts owl was perched on the windowsill.

"Finally! It wouldn't give us the letter!" my mum exclaimed, reaching out to grab me by the shoulders and manoeuvre me towards the owl. Suddenly nervous, I didn't want to take it. What if I'd got bad marks? What if I just proved everyone who'd called me stupid right? A little shake to my shoulders made me step forward, and when I reached out a hand the owl immediately dropped the letter and flew off. I eyed the envelope carefully as my mum stepped closer so she could look over my shoulder.

I opened it as slowly as I could, not sure I wanted to read what was inside. I paused again before unfolding the parchment inside, my eyes immediately skipping past the introduction to the list of subjects and results, my heart beating fast.

Brittany Susan Pierce has achieved:

Astronomy - E
Care of Magical Creatures - O
Charms - A
Defense Against the Dark Arts - E
Divination - E
Herbology - A
History of Magic - A
Muggle Studies - O
Potions - P
Transfiguration - A

My mum was letting out a stream of congratulations before I'd even finished reading. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. Two Outstandings? And only one fail? Dad was next to me now as well, a big grin on his face as he hugged me. I managed to wrap one arm loosely around him, but I was still frozen in place. I'd worked so hard but I never thought it would turn out this good. Santana had helped me a lot, but - Santana.

"I have to see Santana!" I shouted above my mum's exclamations.

It was like she'd heard me and apparated straight from her house (even though she wasn't allowed to do that yet, she did anyway), because there was a sudden, frantic knocking at our front door. I slipped past my mum and ran over, pulling it open to reveal Santana standing on our doorstep with a big smile.

"Four Os!" she squealed before diving in to hug me tightly. I hugged her back, breathing in her smell before pulling away to reach for the letter she had in one hand, passing over mine immediately.

Santana Catalina Lopez has achieved:

Astronomy - E
Care of Magical Creatures - A
Charms - O
Defense Against the Dark Arts - O
Divination - P
Herbology - E
History of Magic - O
Muggle Studies - E
Potions - E
Transfiguration - O

She'd done even better than me, but I was expecting that. Santana was really clever, and she'd studied so much for our OWLs.

"That's amazing, Santana!" I said, at exactly the same time as she said 'that's amazing, Britt!' We looked at each other once then laughed as we switched back letters. Her arm was still around my waist and it felt really nice, except then my mum decided to come over and give Santana a hug, congratulating her as well and forcing her to pull away.

"Well done, Santana! You're both such clever girls! Your par- Santana, are you still in pyjamas?" she suddenly asked, stepping back to look at her up and down in shock. I looked at her as well, and realised she was just in loose shorts and a too-big t-shirt and slippers and… yeah, she definitely had no bra on underneath that t-shirt. I flicked my eyes up to her face straight away when I realised I was staring, hoping no one could see the heat I could feel in my cheeks.

"Yeah… I just wanted to come round and find out what Britt got straight away," she replied with a shrug.

"Well you can't walk back like that! Brittany, get Santana some of your clothes," my mum instructed. I nodded straight away, grasping Santana's wrist and pulling her with me towards the stairs, brushing past Chloe on the way.

"Santana, I'm going to get my wand today! I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"You're as bad as Britt, of course you're going to Hogwarts!" Santana called back, making her giggle before she skipped down the last few steps and disappeared round the corner. I pulled Santana into my room and she shut the door behind us as I went to my wardrobe and began searching for something to wear.

"Were you parents happy?" I asked quietly, glancing back at her as she sat down on my bed.

"I hadn't told them yet," she replied, playing with the corner of my duvet and not looking at me. I turned around fully to stare at her, throwing her a couple of shirts to choose between.

"You haven't told them?" I repeated. "But… you did well!" Santana's parents were strict sometimes - well, all of the time really - but how could they get mad at her when she'd got almost all Os and Es?

"I got a P," she reminded me.

"So? That was in Divination, I thought your parents thought it was a stupid subject anyway?"

"They do. But they still don't expect me to fail it," she said with a shrug. "I'll tell them, don't worry. Hey, you know about this beach party that's happening? Puck owled me yesterday," she added, changing the subject.

I shook my head, turning back to my wardrobe to find the smallest pair of trousers I could and wondering when exactly Santana and Puck had started being friends again. "No, when is it? Can I bring Artie?" I asked, finally locating one pair that I had outgrown but forgotten to get rid of. She was frowning, but quickly replaced that with a smile when I passed her the trousers.

"Weekend before the train leaves. It's somewhere in Wales, Puck's grandma lives there and he says we can use her floo. I guess you could bring him, but surely it won't be much fun for him – he can't go in the water can he?" she asked, standing.

I opened my mouth to reply, but then stopped when she pulled her t-shirt straight over her head and dropped it to the floor.

"You… uh…" I tried to speak, but I couldn't. Just like I couldn't tear my eyes away from her now. The real thing was so much better than a dream. She began to shimmy out of her shorts and I forced myself to turn away, dropping to my knees to blindly search for some shoes in the bottom of my wardrobe. I heard her laugh behind me.

"You've seen me naked loads of times before, Britt."

"Yeah, but… um…" I tried to think of a reason to not look at her, but it was hard when all I wanted to do was turn around and drink in the sight of her. Her body was branded into my memory anyway, but that didn't stop me wanting to look more. Realising there was a pair of Santana's own sandals right in front of me that she must have left here last week, I picked them up. I closed the wardrobe door and stood, staring at the wood as I tried to work out if it was safe to turn around. I felt something brush my shoulder and swivelled to find her right behind me, safely dressed. She reached out for the sandals and took them from my hands, lingering in front of me for a moment before stepping back and dropping them to the floor to slip on.

"Thanks Britt." She touched my arm lightly, then turned away to pick up her letter from my bed. "I'll owl you the beach party details. If your parents give you grief just let me know and I'll charm them into it," she said with a grin. I had to smile back. It was kind of funny how much my mum and dad loved Santana and could be convinced by her, when they didn't know half the stuff she'd pulled me into over the years. They still didn't realise that every detention I'd ever got was because of her.

"Okay. And… congrats on your OWLs. They're amazing," I told her with a small smile.

She laughed aloud at that as she scooped up her pyjamas. "You did great too, Britt. I'll come round later?"

"Sure… oh, wait. No. Sorry, we're going to Diagon Alley, then I'm going to see Artie. His parents are taking us out to dinner," I explained. She looked away and shrugged like she didn't care – but if she really didn't care, she'd look at me.

"Right. Some other time, then. Seeya Britt," she said shortly, turning to leave the room. A few seconds later I heard her feet on the stairs, a shouted goodbye to my parents, and then the front door slam. I moved to my window just in time to see her kick the neighbour's hedge before she went out of sight.

1 week later

I grabbed onto Artie when he lost his balance, stopping him from falling headfirst out of the fireplace, and he smiled back at me gratefully as I wrapped an arm around his waist.

"Good morning Mrs. Puckerman," I said to the woman sitting in an armchair opposite, directing some knitting with her wand. I never would have guessed she was Puck's grandma - she was so tiny!

"Morning, dear. Noah and Gabriel are in the garden," she said with a smile, gesturing with her wand to the door on her right.

My own smile dropped off my face at the mention of Gabe. I hadn't realised he'd be here.

"Uh, thank you Mrs. Puckerman," Artie said, nudging me forward. I walked with him, trying to get Gabe out of my mind.

"She doesn't look very much like Puck. She doesn't have a mohawk," I commented. Artie gave me a strange look, and I sighed internally. Santana would have known I was joking. We entered the kitchen and I could hear them straight away through the open back door. Stepping outside, I had to stop so I wouldn't trip over a massive pile of buckets, spades, deckchairs, bodyboards and some very old towels that made me glad I'd brought my own.

"Gabe, it's not here!"

"It must be! There's nowhere else it could be!"

"It wasn't there the last time I was here either, Grandma probably let Jonathan use it-"

"Grandma!" Gabe bellowed, stepping out of the shed that everything was piled in front of. He stopped at the sight of us, gave me a toothy grin, then slipped past us to step inside. "Grandma, did you let Jonathan use my surfboard?" he called, his voice fading as he made his way into the house. Puck stepped out of the shed a moment later and grinned when he saw us - well, me. He didn't really look at Artie. I wished people wouldn't do that.

"Britt, hey! Santana not with you?"

I shook my head. "She's coming in a bit. Is anyone else here?"

"Yeah, Finn and Berry are setting up on the beach. You can go join them if you like, I've gotta stay here until everyone's arrived. Just turn right at the front of the house and head down the path, it goes straight to the beach," he explained.

I nodded, dropping my arm from Artie's waist to curl my fingers around his as we made our way round the side of the house, turning right on the narrow path that wound its way downhill. It was barely wide enough for a car - but I guessed that Puck's grandma didn't really need a car when she had floo. Trees surrounded us at first, blocking out the sunlight, until we turned the corner and caught our first sight of the sea. It was glittering and blue and just wonderful. I wanted to run forward, but I had to remember Artie couldn't exactly run. He was laughing though and pulled his hand out of mine.

"I'll catch up," he assured me. I bit my lip, looking between him and the beach. "Go!" he encouraged me, giving me a gentle push. I grinned at him once then set off in a run down the gently sloping hill, my flip-flops slapping loudly against the pavement until I hit the sand and I suddenly had to slow down as the surface changed and my feet sank a bit. I stopped, bending over to pull my flip-flops off my feet then ran in a wide circle back to the bottom of the slope, loving every step I took in the warm sand. I couldn't believe it was so sunny this summer.

Artie was approaching at a much slower pace and I bounced from one foot to the other as I waited for him, not wanting to leave the sand again. It felt so nice between my toes. I turned my head and could see two figures next to one of the cliffs, one very short and one very tall, struggling with a windbreaker - that must be Rachel and Finn. There were a few other people about, but not many. Santana had been here before, one of the times she and Puck had been dating, and she'd mentioned yesterday that it was quite far from any big towns so not many muggles came here. Artie reached me and I gripped his hand tightly again, leaning into him as we walked together towards Rachel and Finn. I waved as we approached. It was nice to see them finally together after it had taken them so long to admit they liked each other. Well, mostly Finn.

"Hi Rachel! Hi Finn!" I called.

They didn't hear me, and instead I heard Rachel attempting to help.

"Finn, you're… no, Finn, that's not right."

"I can do it!" Finn replied immediately, struggling to hold the windbreaker in place as he hammered one end down with a large stone. "I've done this plenty of times before Rachel, I know how to put it up."

"That's not-"

"I said I'm fine!"

Rachel sighed, rolling her eyes as she turned away until she saw us and her face lit up.

"Brittany, Artie, hi!"

I grinned, and stopped myself from running forward again so that I wouldn't leave Artie behind. It didn't matter though, because Rachel came forward anyway to greet us.

"How was your summer? How did you do in your OWLs? Did you get good enough grades to do all the NEWTs you wanted?" she asked. I blinked, trying to process all her questions at once. I really did like Rachel, but she was a bit hard to keep up with sometimes.

"It's been good, we both got into our NEWTs," Artie replied with a smile, saving me the trouble.

"That's wonderful! I did well too, my dads are very proud-"

She stopped upon hearing a yell of frustration and we all looked to see Finn glaring at the ground where the windbreaker had collapsed. I stared down at it, then up at him.

"Finn, why is it in line with the wind?" I asked, confused.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Because that's how it's suppo- Ohh."

"I did try…" Rachel began timidly, and he nodded with another sigh.

"Hey!" a shout sounded from behind us, and I swivelled again to see Puck approaching, accompanied by Karofsky, Azimio, Quinn, Sam and Matt - but no Santana, to my disappointment. "Finn, you still haven't got that up? You've been down here for like twenty minutes already," Puck commented as he dropped several deckchairs onto the sand.

"Where's Santana? And… uh, Gabe?" I asked. I didn't like remembering the last time they'd been alone together.

"Santana's not here yet, and Gabe's still searching for his surfboard," Puck replied simply, walking over to help Finn with the windbreaker and immediately twisting it so it was actually facing in the right direction to block the wind.

Quinn came over and helped me and Artie lay out our towels, and soon we were sunbathing while the rest of the guys began a game of ground-quidditch – well, and Rachel, although she didn't seem to know the rules very well. They still got some weird looks from the muggles passing by because of the strange-shaped balls - the bludgers inanimate, of course, and the snitch not included - but whenever I had asked in the past they had assured me it was better than playing any muggle sports. I tilted my head a bit to see Artie watching them over the top of his book. A thought occurred to me.

"Artie, can you play quidditch?"

His eyes darted down to me and he smiled, but he still looked kind of sad.

"Not really. I can fly a broomstick, but I was always told I wouldn't be allowed on the team because of the rain."

"What?" I exclaimed, sitting up and twisting to look at him properly. I could see Quinn eyeing me over her book as well, but she didn't say anything. "But that's not fair! They should at least let you try out!"

He shrugged, setting his book down in his lap. "It's no big deal," he tried to assure me, but I shook my head.

"No, it is! We should practice - for the rest of the summer. We should practice and then they won't be able to say you can't be on the team because you'll be so good, even if you can only play in the sun. I know what'll impress Finn - and Finn likes you anyway."

"Finn's captain?"

I shrugged. "Probably. I dunno when they're sending out the badges, though. But I don't think it'll be anyone else."

"Maybe you could be made captain?" Artie suggested with a smile.

I grinned, but shook my head. "I'm bad at all the tactic stuff. I never understood what Monica went on about in the changing rooms. I just catch the snitch."

"You-"

"Britt!"

I recognised the voice immediately and jumped up from my place on the towel, swivelling to see Santana approaching - with Gabe right behind her, trying to keep up and without his surfboard. I wasn't sure she even knew he was there though, because she was just looking straight at me. I managed a few steps away from the towels before she barrelled into me.

"I got it! I'm quidditch captain!" she squealed in my ear - although quiet enough that no one else apart from maybe Quinn would realise that Santana Lopez had actually squealed.

I looped my arms around her waist and squeezed, lifting her slightly off the ground as I hugged her.

"That's amazing!" I said, spinning her around a little before loosening my hold enough that her feet could touch the floor again. "Wait, but how'd you know?"

"The book list arrived this morning - I was late getting ready so I was there when it came, and the badge was in it! Look!" she exclaimed, stepping back from me quickly to hold out her hand, which contained a silver and green badge with the letter 'C' engraved into it.

"That's great, Santana," a male voice said from behind her. I quickly lifted my head and saw Gabe straight away, standing a few metres away. My hand around Santana's wrist tightened slightly. She glanced back to see him there, shook her head slightly, then turned all her attention back to me. Her eyes locked with mine for a moment then glanced down a little and frowned.

"You haven't got suncream on," she accused. "You're burning already."

I looked down in surprise, trying to search for the redness. I hadn't really thought suncream would be needed. This was Wales, after all, but the weather was unexpectedly good today.

"It's fine, I'll put it on before you get any more burnt. Come on," she instructed, pulling me back to the towels by the wrist and tucking her badge safely away into her bag before pulling out a bottle of suncream. I pulled my loosely plaited hair round to the front so it wouldn't get in the way, shivering when I felt the cold cream squirt onto my skin. The moment her hand began rubbing it into my back, though, I tensed up. I couldn't help it. Quinn met my eyes then quickly looked away. I glanced up at Artie, but he was absorbed in his book again as Santana's hands massaged the suncream slowly into my skin, her warm breath hitting the back of my neck and my body wedged between her knees. Her fingers kneaded it in gently and I let my eyes slip closed with a soft sigh as she began to work on my arms. Then she shifted and stood up behind me, and my eyes flashed open, disappointed it was over. It only lasted a second though, because then she was kneeling down in front of me.

Our eyes met, and this time she squirted the cream onto her hands first before reaching out to press it against my skin just below my collarbone, knocking my plait back behind me. My lips parted but my eyes didn't shut this time. Instead they were locked on Santana's. She wouldn't look away. I bit my lip lightly when her hands worked a bit lower, brushing against the top of my bikini and for a moment it was hard to breathe, but then her hands were moving to my shoulders and I didn't know whether to be glad or upset. I gulped and her eyes shifted down to my throat for a second before refocusing on my face.

"Legs," she instructed with a light tap to my thigh, and I immediately shifted to spread them out. I broke eye contact doing so and glanced up again at Artie, who just smiled down at me when he saw me looking. My attention was diverted quickly when Santana began rubbing the suncream into my skin again, but this time I stared at the sky with my head tilted slightly back. It made it a bit easier, but it still felt like every touch was magnified. I felt a tap on my ankles and looked down again to see Santana smiling at me.

"All done. Time to go in the sea?" she asked with a grin.

I was about to nod enthusiastically when suddenly I remembered Artie. I turned to see him smiling at me.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine here."

I opened my mouth to object but Santana got in before me.

"Quinn?"

Quinn shook her head, not even raising her head from her book.

"Great! Come on, Britt." I hesitated. "Before Gabe notices and decides to join us," she pointed out, nodding towards where he had joined in the quidditch.

I nodded straight away at that. I definitely didn't want Gabe with us. She grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of the beach and I swivelled to wave goodbye to Artie once before pulling my hand away and setting off in a run.

"Race you there!" I shouted, already several metres ahead.

"Shit - Brittany!" she yelled after me but I laughed aloud and didn't bother to stop. The sea was only looking bluer the nearer I got. I was close enough now, I was going to win the race - my feet hit the water and I went still for a moment, then tried to backpedal. "Britt!" The shout was the only warning I got before Santana collided with me, sending us both crashing into the water just like had happened in Portugal - except then it hadn't been freezing.

"Fuck!" I gasped before I could stop myself, struggling to jump up. "It's… Santana, it's cold!" I yelped, wrapping my arms around myself as I tried to stumble back out. She laughed and reached out to grasp my wrist, pulling me in again. "Santana," I moaned, hopping from one foot to the other so I wouldn't have to keep either in the sea for too long. She giggled and pulled me forwards into a tight hug. I snuggled into her, my feet finally stilling as I tried to soak up all her body heat. I could feel goosebumps on her skin, so the cold must be affecting her too.

"We've just gotta get used to it," she murmured in my ear, taking a step further into the sea.

Reluctantly, I followed. Her arms stayed around me the whole time as she eased us slowly deeper. Finally we were in waist-deep, and Santana was the only thing keeping me there. Shivers kept running through my body, but I didn't want to let go of her to run out.

"Now we just need to duck," she instructed. We were closer together now. I could feel her knees bumping gently against mine and her face was only a few inches away. I gulped again, and nodded. "One… two… three!"

On three she dropped, her hands tightening around my back so I had to go down as well. I gulped in a breath of air before the cold surrounded me and I clutched onto Santana tighter, trying to pull her up again straight away. She kept me down, though, holding me close, and I felt her face brush against mine before she finally pulled us both up.

I gasped for air and she giggled, not stepping back. Her cheek was still resting softly against mine, but as I moved to pull away she whispered something in my ear.

"Te amo…"

I frowned, turning my face to look at her, but she was already pulling back and looking in the direction of the beach.

"Hey Puck! Don't be such a wimp!" she yelled. I turned slowly to see him standing just a little bit above where the waves were lapping against the sand. "Just get in!" she shouted again, moving away from me and towards him.

"Wait… wait, Santana," I called gently, but she didn't turn around. I stared after her as she started to run, chasing down Puck as he darted away and kicking water at him. I wanted to know what she'd said. I had to know. Because, wasn't that Spanish for… I love you?

Shit. Fucking goddamn bollocks.

I shouldn't have said that. I didn't even know why I had. I'd just been thinking too much recently, about Brittany, and then it had been so nice having her to myself again, getting to be so close to her and… it just slipped out. Thank god it was in Spanish at least. Maybe she wouldn't know what it meant.

I sprayed more water over Puck with my foot as I attempted to chase him down, trying to distract myself. It would be fine, Brittany wasn't good with languages. She barely even remembered 'obrigado' when we were in Portugal. But what if she did know this? Fuck!

I made a leaping jump towards Puck and succeeded in grabbing his arm, pulling him into the sea even while my mind was going crazy and he shouted half-hearted protests. That was stupid. So stupid. I didn't want to confuse her any more than I already had. Yeah, she had the cripple now. But she'd still reacted when I'd put that suncream on her earlier, and she'd kissed me back in that bar. But that didn't mean anything. Just like wanting to kiss her didn't mean anything for me. I didn't even know why I'd said that. I didn't mean it - did I?

My thoughts were cut off when Puck suddenly scooped me up in his arms to throw me straight into the water. I screamed a moment before I landed and my mouth was still open when I entered the water. I struggled, twisting as I tried to locate the surface, and a moment later a hand had grabbed mine and was pulling me up towards the sun. I gasped as I broke the surface, and found Brittany giggling at me with Puck running out of the water behind her.

"I should have done that when you tried to drag me in," she commented, pulling her hand away. I didn't want her to. I wanted her to stay as close to me as possible. But then there was another shout from the beach.

"Brittany! Brittany, lunch is ready! If you don't come now there won't be any left, they're eating it fast!" Artie called. He was stood several metres from the sea and I had a sudden desire to drop him in the water. Brittany was pulling away from me though, gesturing at me to follow. She was watching my face, and I knew she was thinking as well. But then she turned properly and began wading through the water to her boyfriend, leaving me behind. I paused for a moment, then hurried after her as quickly as I could.

"Hey Britt, you're coming round mine after, right?" I checked with a broad smile, trying to pretend everything was fine.

She hesitated. "Oh… I'm not sure, I think Artie and I were going to-"

"Please?" I interrupted her. "I have a surprise for you."

I held my breath, until finally, she nodded. "Alright. I need to help Artie floo home, but after I'll come straight to yours," she agreed.

My parents were shouting again. I hoped they'd stop by the time Britt arrived. I sighed, wandering through the house as I towel-dried my hair. She should be here soon. She'd said she just had to take Artie home and then pick up some food for the badger that had taken up permanent residence in the Pierces' garden just before we'd started Hogwarts. I halted when I almost walked into my father leaving the kitchen. He swerved around me after a quick nod of acknowledgement and made his way quickly up the stairs. I rolled my eyes and entered the kitchen, trying not to look as mamá quickly wiped at her face. I headed to the table, picking up an apple out of the fruit bowl and taking a bite from it as I dropped into a chair, glancing out of the window to search for Brittany.

"Did you have fun at the beach today, querida?"

"Sí, mamá."

"Who was there?"

I looked up, surprised that she was taking so much of an interest. She was directing some dishes that were being washed up in the sink, not looking at me.

"Quinn and Brittany and Puck, and some of Puck's friends. A load of other people from our year turned up in the afternoon too." Basically our whole year had been there by the end of the day. She nodded, still focusing on doing the dishes. I watched her silently, a question popping into my head. I wondered if it was safe to ask. It was probably a touchy subject considering what my parents had been like recently, especially since that dinner with abuela.

"Mamá…" I began slowly.

"Spit it out Santana," she instructed when I paused for two long, flicking her wand to the cabinets as she began to stack the plates. I took a breath, then spoke again, watching her the whole time.

"How did you know you were in love with papá?"

One of the plates knocked against the side of the cabinet and I winced at the sound.

"Why do you ask that, Santana?" she asked stiffly, walking over to check the plate hadn't broken.

"I… uh, I just…"

"Are you trying to tell me about a boy?" she asked with a tight smile, turning towards me.

"No!" I denied immediately, shaking my head. "I just wondered, y'know, 'cause… you and papá are always fighting, and you must have loved each other once. Right?"

She sighed, leaning back against the counter and not meeting my eyes.

"I still love your father, Santana. We just have different opinions, and we both work a lot so it is difficult to find time to relax."

"Okay. But… still. How did you know?" I asked again, knocking my knuckles softly against the table leg. As reassuring as it was to hear that my parents probably weren't getting divorced anytime soon, that wasn't exactly why I'd asked the question. I think mamá knew it as well, because she was eyeing me suspiciously.

"I suppose I knew, because… I always felt like smiling when he was nearby. I never wanted to be apart from him, and it was impossible to imagine life without him." She sounded like she was going to say more, but stopped abruptly.

I bit my lip, and nodded. I tried to imagine a young Carlotta, thinking about her future with papá. I wondered how much that vision had changed, with Tony gone and hardly a day passing without a new argument. Mamá looked lost in thought as well when I looked up, but then I noticed a familiar blonde head through the window behind her and I quickly stood.

"Britt's here," I explained, dropping the half-eaten apple in the bin and rushing out of the room to open the front door. Her hand was raised to knock as I pulled it open and she smiled when she saw me.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late, I forgot the badger food so I had to go back out and get it," she explained, stepping inside. She was still dressed in what she'd worn to the beach and I could see the ties of her bikini looping around her neck.

"Hello, Brittany."

We both turned at the same time to see mamá standing in the doorway of the kitchen with a gentle, if slightly forced smile.

"Um… hi, Mrs. Lopez," Brittany replied, her eyes darting to me. I shrugged as surreptitiously as I could as I began walking towards the stairs, and she followed. The moment mamá disappeared back into the kitchen Brittany leaned forward.

"Why did your mum say hello to me?" she demanded in a confused whisper.

"I don't know. She was talking to me earlier as well, like… asking about the beach. I think she's just… I dunno," I repeated, shrugging and risking a glance back. I couldn't see her.

"So…?" Brittany started in a slightly louder voice, tugging on my arm.

I wanted to smile, but instead did my best to maintain as oblivious expression as I could manage.

"So what?"

"You… you…"

"Yeah?" I asked, quickening my pace so I was a few steps in front of her as we approached my room.

The expression on her face was halfway between a pout and being utterly confused. It was adorable.

"You said you had a surprise…"

She trailed off as I opened my bedroom door and stepped inside, holding it open for her so she could look straight into my room, onto my bed and see the tiny brown tabby kitten struggling to walk over the duvet. I held my breath, flicking my eyes between the kitten and her face as she took a tentative step closer. The kitten let out a tiny mewl and attempted to walk in our direction, but the charms I'd set up stopped him from getting too close to the edge. He pawed at them, rising up on his hind legs for a few seconds before toppling over.

"Santana," she breathed, dropping to her knees to stare the kitten in the eye. He meowed again and attempted to pounce at her, but once again was knocked gently back by the charms. "Is… is it…?"

"He's yours," I confirmed, closing the door quietly behind me. "One of mamá's politician friends was round the other day and mentioned she had some kittens to sell, so I figured… why shouldn't one of them go the girl who got an O in Care of Magical Creatures? I picked him up this morning, it's why I was late," I explained.

"He's-" Brittany stopped to giggle as the kitten suddenly lost its footing and flopped down onto my duvet. She turned to look at me, her face brighter than I'd seen it in ages. "He's wonderful. Thank you, Santana," she said, rising to her feet once again and wrapping her arms around my neck. I moved mine around her waist in turn and enjoyed the sensation of being close to her. I stayed still, hoping it would make the hug last longer, and realised it actually was lasting quite a long time - was she lingering? Was it just me lingering and she didn't want to pull away because of that? Then she did pull away, returning to cooing at the cat. Yes, it must have just been me lingering. I held in a sigh as I knelt down next to her, smiling as the kitten tried to chase her fingers when she drew them across the bed.

"What're you going to call him?" I asked.

"I think he needs a strong name. Like… a King, or a Lord, or a Duke, or a Sir. Something like that. But he needs another name too because they all have real names." She paused, tilting her head a little as she considered the kitten, reaching out to lift him up. "He's stripy… and kind of chubby… tubby… ooh!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Lord Tubbington!"

I blinked once, and looked between her excited face and the struggling kitten.

"Lord Tubbington?" I repeated.

"Yes! It's perfect! Isn't it perfect, Lord Tubbington?" she said to the cat, bringing him closer to cradle against her chest and planting a gentle kiss on the top of his head.

I smiled, resisting the urge to do the same to her.

"Yeah, it fits him. I'll be back in a minute, okay? I'm just going to grab his food from downstairs."

She nodded, her eyes never leaving the kitten that had now stopped struggling and instead settled into her. I rose quietly, not wanting to disturb either of them, and quickly made my way out of the room and down to the pantry where I'd been keeping him during the day so that he wouldn't escape but would have more space to run around in. I balanced the dish carefully as I returned to the room, not wanting to spill any of the water, but when I pushed my door open again I realised it wasn't needed anyway. Brittany was sprawled out on top of my bed, her mouth slightly open but eyes definitely closed, with the kitten - Lord Tubbington - curled up on her stomach and also fast asleep.

I set the dish down on the floor, making sure the windows and doors were secured properly, before settling down on my bed opposite Brittany. I was sort of sleepy, but not enough to stop me lying awake trying to work out everything I'd shoved to the back of my mind today.

Te amo…

Why had I said that? What had possessed me to come out with something so stupid? I didn't love Brittany - at least, not like she wanted me to.

I always felt like smiling when he was nearby. I never wanted to be apart from him, and it was impossible to imagine life without him

My mother's words came back to me and I sighed as I reached out to brush away a strand of blonde hair that had fallen over Brittany's face. She did make me smile. A lot. The only time I could remember not wanting to smile was when she started going on about being in love and I just… panicked. Because you're not in love, I reminded myself. But I didn't ever like being apart from her, either. Although that was probably normal for best friends, but I hated it when she went off with Artie or went away on her family holidays - it was why I'd been so happy to be invited this year. And life without her…

I gulped, watching her chest rise and fall slowly. The corners of her lips were turned up, and one hand was resting protectively to the side of her stomach, from where it must have been draped around Lord Tubbington. I couldn't imagine life without her. She'd been part of my life for as long as I could remember. I couldn't remember life before her, and I definitely didn't want to think about my life without her. She made me smile and laugh like no one else could. I didn't have to worry about her judging me and I could tell her anything… except this. Except how confused she made me feel. It wasn't even a recent development. I'd never understood how the tiniest kiss from her could take my breath away, or how a brush of her fingers could make my skin tingle for more. I didn't understand why right now, as she slept, I wanted to lean in and kiss her until I had no breath left at all… but I was starting to understand.

But I couldn't love her. And not because of what people would say - although the thought of other people made my stomach clench - but because of what I'd already said to her. I'd pushed her away. I'd told her she was confused, I'd sent her to Artie.

I shuffled a little closer to her on the bed, watching her face for any signs that she might be stirring. When none came, I leaned in to brush my lips against hers as lightly as I could. My head buzzed at the touch, even after I'd pulled away and checked she hadn't woken up.

She was going to hate me for this. She was going to hate me if I told her I loved her when I'd pushed her away and to Artie. I'd had my chance. I couldn't risk losing Brittany to try and get another, especially when I wasn't even sure what it was I felt for her.

I did feel something though. Something more than what I should feel for my best friend. I felt it every time I saw her with Artie, and I couldn't keep pretending it was because I didn't like him - although I didn't, not at all. But it was more than that. Every time he was acting like her boyfriend, I wanted to be in his place. I wanted to be the one sneaking away giggling, and kissing her in public, and just… just holding her hand. And even though I couldn't have any of that, I couldn't stop myself touching her or tempting her, just to get a reaction that said maybe she did still love me.

I sat up for a moment to grab the blanket at the end of my bed, pulling it over Brittany up to her waist so I wouldn't disturb the kitten. Then I slipped under it as well, and moved as close to her as I thought I could without waking her. I kept my eyes open for as long as possible so I could carry on watching her sleep. When I finally couldn't stay awake any longer, the knowledge settled onto me and I didn't even try to fight or argue with it.

I love her.

It only took her 21 chapters to realise… xD

Apparently windbreakers are an English thing, so for those of you who didn't understand why Finn was trying to put up a coat – it's not a coat. It's a large sheet of thick canvas attached to wooden poles that are knocked into the sand, designed specifically to create a kind of wall that protects you from the wind.