A Very FaBerry Glee-verse-part IV-Funk
By Shiney1983
A/N: Hey all! First off I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words about the story thus far, especially the last chapter. I can't tell you how happy I am to know that you guys are enjoying the story. This one I'm really nervous about; it's the furthest outside an episode I've had to go. It's where some major conflict begins to build. Sorry for the angst. Also, it's the first major appearance of Brittana, my second favorite "Glee" couple. I just hope I can do them both proud. Here goes nothing…
Disclaimer: I own nothing belonging to GLEE, including any dialogue I borrowed straight from episodes for my own purposes. Also, any songs mentioned belong to the original artists.
"You could stay," Brittany quietly suggested to the back of her best friend, as Santana redid her ponytail.
"Sorry Britt, I can't," the Latina replied, pulling on her tennis shoes and standing.
"But I thought we could just-"
"Brittany, I have to go," Santana spat out, hands on her hips, her voice sounding harsher than she'd intended.
When the blonde began to pout, the brunette softened. Brittany's effervesce was the only thing that made Santana truly happy most days. She couldn't stand it when Brittany was sad, especially if she was the cause.
Slowly the snarky Cheerio moved back toward her friend's bed and sat down. She leaned closer to Brittany and began to play with the silver friendship bracelet on the girl's slender wrist, sliding it up and down her arm.
"Look at me, Britt-Britt," she commanded softly. Sad, blue eyes found Santana's and the Latina forgot her point. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping to recover. When she had, she continued. "Look ever since Quinn went and got herself knocked up, we're on top of the high school social pyramid, and that's a good thing. It means I can protect us, can protect you. I don't want you on anyone's bullying radar ever again. If I'm on top, I can make sure no one hurts you. Understand?"
Brittany nodded.
She and Santana had been friends ever since the day in second grade when Santana had kneed Dave Karofsky in the crouch for stealing Brittany's ice cream cone. Ever since then the feisty brunette had taken it upon herself to be the meek blonde's bodyguard. Brittany didn't think she needed so much protecting, but if protecting her made Santana happy, then who was she to argue?
She continued to search Santana's dark brown eyes with her own. "I don't see how that means you can't stay."
Santana expelled a puff of air from her lungs and removed her hand from Brittany's arm. She moved her hand to her own wrist to twist her own bracelet, identical to Brittany's. This was a habit Brittany easily identified, that told her the brunette was nervous.
"I need to work on our Cheerios routine for Nationals," Santana replied, "Quinn's gonna pop any day now and you know coach has always had a soft spot for her. But if I can win her Nationals, there's no way Coach Sylvester will bump me back down to second in command next year."
"Oh," Brittany answered, and then she brightened, "I could help if you want." As soon as the offer escaped Brittany's lips, however, she yawned.
Santana frowned. "Nah B, it's cool, I gots this. Besides, it's late and you're tired."
"You sure," Brittany asked unconvinced.
The raven-haired beauty smirked. "No worries. I'm five by five."
Santana tapped Brittany nose then, and Britt smiled. The gesture always comforted the blonde reminding her of the Latina's softer side. That coupled with the "Buffy" reference meant that Brittany had her Santana at the moment, the unguarded version. Brittany loved that one the most.
"Mmmkay," the blonde accepted contently, resting her head on her hand. "See you tomorrow?"
The Latina nodded in response then moved forward to kiss the other girl sweetly on the lips. "Goodnight Britt-Britt," she whispered as she slowly moved away.
"Night, San," Brittany responded her eyes still closed, savoring the taste of her friend's sweet lady kisses. She didn't open her eyes until she heard her bedroom door open then softly close again.
The blonde was sure there was something more bothering the brunette than just her never ending quest for popularity. Usually Brittany could read Santana like a book, but lately there was a part of her friend Brittany couldn't reach, and that scared her more than any bully ever could. She just hoped Santana would let her in before anything bad could happen.
Quinn watched helpless as the opening notes to "Another One Bites the Dust" filled the McKinley High auditorium. The blonde was seething. She couldn't believe it! Jesse St. James had had everything. A lead position in glee club, he was either respected or feared by a majority of the student body, and best of all he'd had Rachel. The tall wavy haired brunette had been a perfect match looks and talent wise for the petite diva, and what's more Rachel had worshipped him. Yet there he was, shaking his skinny ass with his once and again teammates, spitting in the face of what he'd had. As if that weren't enough, Quinn also had to stand beside Rachel as the starlet's heart broke. Who did Jesse St. James think he was?
Quinn inched over closer to Rachel and gently took her hand. The blonde's heart skipped a beat as the tiny brunette clung to her hand, determined not to cry.
Rachel did her best to appear indignant as the song ended and one of Jesse's cohorts haughtily dismissed the auditorium. As soon as Vocal Adrenaline was out of sight Rachel turned on her heel and stormed out of the auditorium. Concern for the diva overtook Quinn and she quickly moved to follow her.
The singer was half way down the hallway by the time the very pregnant teen caught up to her. "Rach, wait," Quinn called, trying to catch her breath.
As soon as Rachel turned to look at Quinn, her angry look faltered, and her anguish took over.
Quinn moved forward and wrapped her arms around Rachel, desperate to comfort the singer.
"What is it about me that's so unlovable Quinn," the diva choked out through her sobs.
Quinn closed her eyes and breathed out lightly in an effort to keep her own emotions from overwhelming her. "Nothing, Rach, absolutely nothing," she reassured while running her hand up and down the shorter girl's back. "Those people wouldn't know a good thing if it walked up to them with an outstretched hand and said, 'Hi, I'm a good thing.'"
The blonde moved her head slightly then to whisper in Rachel's ear. "That's why we're gonna kick their asses at Regionals." Quinn breathed a sigh of relief when she felt Rachel laugh against her.
She pulled back, urging the other girl to look up at her. When their eyes met, Rachel gave Quinn a small smile. "Hey," Quinn said brightly, hoping to keep the starlet's spirits up, "I've got an idea." Rachel's brow furrowed, and Quinn's heart skipped a beat at how impossibly adorable the girl was. "Why don't we go back to Puck's and watch "Buffy," Quinn offered, when she was able to find her voice, "we can watch the musical episode, and you can sing as loud as you want."
Rachel sniffed once as she search the blonde hazel orbs tentatively. "Will you sing with me," she asked meekly.
Quinn threw her head back and laughed; draping her arm around the singer, and leading her further down the hallway. "Sure, Rach. Let's see how much we can annoy Puck when he gets home."
The two headed out the door, entirely unaware that the scene between them had been witnessed by a very smug looking Latina.
Santana was stretched out on two chairs in the choir room next to Brittany trying to stifle a yawn as she listened to Mr. Schuester drone on and on about regrets.
True Santana had them, but they didn't have anything to do with whether or not the glee club won Regionals.
Although Santana would never admit it, she enjoyed glee club. She had a killer voice, when she was allowed to use it, and watching Brittany shake her moneymaker more often was a definite plus.
However, Santana Lopez was anything but stupid. Glee simply couldn't offer her and Brittany the kind of social armor they needed to stay safe. Cheerios was the Latina's access road to that, and Santana was going to do whatever it took to stay on top there. That's why she'd never regretted playing double agent for Sue Sylvester in the ruthless woman's on going attempts to destroy the club.
No, the things Santana regretted were more basic than that.
She regretted that her father was hardly ever home.
Victor Lopez was a world class doctor, and though the two had been close when Santana was little, the middle-aged man's hectic schedule had caused them to grow apart recently.
Maria Lopez worked at a credit union in the heart of Lima, and while it was true that she loved her daughter more than life itself, she had trouble understanding Santana, especially since the younger Latina had hit her teenage years.
Santana regretted that the two couldn't bridge the gap between them.
But the relationship that plagued Santana with the most regret at present was her relationship with Brittany.
The bubbly blonde and the bitchy brunette had been close since they were little; "two peas in a pod" Anna Pearce, Brittany's mom, always said.
Brittany trusted Santana, when few others did, did whatever the Latina asked of her, always assuming it was the right thing. So, when Santana had told Brittany at the start of their freshman year that the best policy when it came to guys was to "never say no," the kind-hearted girl didn't bat an eye.
Since then, Santana's heart had broken little by little, watching her best friend compromise herself day after day. It shouldn't be that way. Brittany shouldn't have to be with guys who wanted her one minute, but then turned around and called her stupid behind her back.
It infuriated Santana, but she knew she could fix it.
With the information she had stumbled upon yesterday seeing Juno and the midget in the hallway, she could kill three birds with one stone.
The plan was simple. She'd out Quinn to coach Sylvester, ensuring that Coach would never let the hazel-eyed girl back on the squad. Quinn would be devastated. Unable to handle any further rejection, she would immediately break things off with Rachel, leaving the hobbit without a song to sing. Mr. Schue, without the beating heart of his glee club, would have no choice but to disband. Sue Sylvester would be overjoyed, and would be further indebted to Santana, permanently securing the Latina spot on the Cheerios.
Sure it was cutthroat, but in the end, all for the greater good, Santana reasoned. Without glee, Schue could concentrate on the love life he so desperately seemed to want. Rachel, the tiny diva wannabe, could just fade back in to the woodwork of McKinley, and stop seeking the approval of her small minded peers, something she probably never would've gotten anyway. As for Q, she'd never admit it, but Santana knew the blonde was dying to regain her parents' approval someday. That'd never happen if their little Quinnie gave her heart to a girl, especially if that girl was the daughter of Leroy and Hiram Berry. So all in all, it'd turn out a win-win.
Santana's main problem now, as it usually was, would be convincing Brittany that this plan was positive.
"San, please, this is a terrible plan. It'll hurt people."
Santana was determined. She stood across from Brittany and looked her right in the eye. She wasn't backing down on this one. "You don't understand, Britt," Santana argued back, "I already explained that-"
Brittany took a tentative step toward Santana. "I know. You told me how your plan'll help you, me, Quinn, Rachel…but what about the others? What about Tina, Mike, Matt, Artie, Mercedes? San, I know you wanna help, but sometimes your help does more harm than good."
The truth in Brittany's last statement made Santana reconsider briefly. How could anyone ever think Brittany was stupid? She was, and always had been, one of the most insightful people Santana knew. But when it came to worldview, Brittany was an innocent. Her world was one of black and white, right and wrong. She was blind to the gray areas; and the Latina was sure this situation was one hundred percent gray.
"They were all doing okay before glee," Santana tried, "they'll be okay again. You'll see B." The Latina reached out and stroked her friend's cheek with the back of her hand. When the blonde's gaze softened, Santana knew she was winning. She turned away and moved toward Brittany's bedroom door.
"If you do this, I'll be disappointed in you."
The words were soft; not a threat or an ultimatum, merely a statement of fact. They cut Santana to the quick. The pain was sharp enough that she stopped in the doorway and grabbed the frame. Then she took a deep breath and kept walking.
She didn't see Brittany's blue eyes fill with tears.
"Coach," Santana started, standing in Sue Sylvester's doorway Wednesday afternoon, "I need to talk to you."
It had taken Santana until Wednesday to work up the courage to set her plan in motion, and to stop Brittany's voice from echoing in her head, but now she was ready, she could do it.
"Make it fast Lopez," the verbose woman stated, looking up from her journal and motioning the Latina in to her office, "I've got a hormonal cleanse in a half hour."
Santana scrunched her forehead in confusion. As usual, she had no idea what the older woman was saying. She took a breath, deciding quickly to let it go. "I have the perfect way to destroy glee club."
She watched as her statement hit the short haired blonde, and was shocked when Sue shook her head negatively. "Forget it Lopez. I've decided to leave Schuester and his band of misfits alone. While their songs are outdated and painfully boring, and I'm sure their singing could make Brittany's overly large cat jump out a window, they are legitimately harmless. Besides, William and his Brillo Pad of hair make excellent joke fodder, and I'm not sure I wanna let that go."
Santana couldn't believe it. Her mouth hung open so wide in shock she nearly had to pick her jaw up off the floor. "But Coach, you don't understand-"
"No you don't understand, Lopez," Sue interjected, standing and moving around her desk, "my quest to destroy the glee club has ended. You and your fellow tone deaf miscreants can butcher every song in the classic rock genre 'til the cows come home. You have my blessing. Now get out of my office. I'm sure I have more important people to ignore."
"Oookay," Santana stood, eyeing Sue suspiciously, more confused than ever, "if you say so."
The brunette shook her head to stop the headache that was threatening to form and left the cheerleading office. She shrugged; well at least Britt would be happy. Glee club was safe and Santana would think of another way to maintain her status. At least she still had Cheerios, unless Sue lost it completely, though the Latina found that unlikely.
Santana headed toward Brittany's locker to tell her the news. A smile spread across her feature as she spied the blue-eyed beauty, standing at her locker, humming to herself.
"Hey," the brunette greeted happily. When Brittany turned toward her however, Santana's good mood dissipated instantly.
"I'm mad at you," the blonde stated, her mouth set in a hard line.
"I know Britt," Santana replied pressing forward, "but you don't have to be. I didn't tell Coach Sylvester about preggo and the midget. For some bizarre reason, she claims her vendetta against glee is over."
Brittany's face showed a hint of a smile, but then reverted to its earlier form. She crossed her arms over her chest and her gaze burned through Santana. "That's great," she said, "but I'm still upset with you. That was an awful plan Santana, and just the fact that you'd hurt our friends like that…"
Brittany trailed off and Santana opened her mouth to speak, but Brittany held up a hand cutting her off.
"Pregnant or not, Quinn is still our friend and if she likes Rachel, she'll tell her in her own time. She doesn't need you telling the whole school. A lot of people in this school are gossips, and they don't care who their gossip hurts, but you're better than them. You're a good person, Santana, the best I know. You just haveta remember that too sometimes."
Brittany kissed Santana softly on the cheek before walking away.
The Latina sighed and closed her eyes, leaning up against the locker. Brittany had so much faith in her, but Santana feared that one day that faith would run out, and without Brittany she'd be lost. Slowly the Latina moved toward her locker to retrieve her things and head home. It had been one hell of a day and she was beyond glad it was over.
"Santana are you alright? What…" Mr. Schuester asked on Monday afternoon, his voice laced with concern.
Santana couldn't find the words to answer him, and was beyond relieved when Kurt pulled him away. Their voices faded, as the defunct Cheerios only male cheerleader led the curly-haired man down the hallway, explaining as they walked.
Santana was a mess. She had been confused when practiced had been cancelled on Thursday and Friday, worried when the same thing happened over the weekend, but now there was a sign on the door to the cheerleading offices informing all the Cheerios that practice had been put on hold indefinitely.
Santana knew there was something weird going on with Sue last week, but she'd shrugged it off. Now things were a disaster.
She'd shaken Brittany's faith in her all to enact a plan to maintain her top ranking on the social pyramid to protect the blonde. She'd had to endure the disappointment she saw in Brittany's baby blues for nearly a week, and now it was for nothing. Cheerios was gone, and if Coach remained in her funk it might be for good.
Slowly, Santana got up off the floor and headed toward the bathroom. She may not be able to salvage her reputation, but maybe if she talked to Brittany and promised not to mess with glee club, ever again, she could get the girl to forgive her.
Santana didn't see a curious and concerned Rachel Berry move to follow her as she past the diva's locker wiping her eyes.
"Santana what's wrong," the tiny brunette questioned, as the door swung closed behind her. "I know you and I aren't close, but I read people pretty well, and I scarcely believe the loss of the Cheerios is solely responsible for your uncharacteristic display of emotions."
"Let it go Berry," Santana spat, her expression hard. She locked eyes with the brunette through the bathroom mirror, but the girl seemed undaunted.
Rachel slowly stepped forward. "I might be able to help," she offered.
The Latina smirked. She didn't deserve help especially from Rachel Berry.
Santana looked up in to the mirror once more, and a familiar self-hatred began to move through her. Santana hated herself for many things, some she was sure she even had yet to realize. She hated herself for using people, for hurting people, for not being enough for her family, for not being strong enough to protect Brittany on her own…the list went on and on.
Most of all, she hated that even though she'd been willingly to hurt her not seven days ago, Rachel Berry still felt she was worth helping.
As Santana gripped the sides of the sink, trying to keep her emotions in check, and listening to Rachel blab away about how helpful talking to someone could be, her negative feelings grew. When Rachel mentioned Quinn, those emotions boiled over, and the starlet became their unwitting target.
"I know you have an unfortunate crush on our resident baby mama," Santana sneered, venom lacing every word.
She stalked toward Rachel, backing the girl up to the door as they moved. "Make no mistake about it though, Rachel," the use of the shorter brunette's full name caught her off guard and Rachel's breath hitched. Santana didn't stop though. "Quinn changed everything about herself to gain her popularity," and then at seeing Rachel's reaction, "yeah I know."
"So don't fool yourself. Once her little baby-gate has passed, and she can get that prestige back, she'll do anything to get it back, including dropping you without a second thought."
"Quinn wouldn't-" Rachel's voice quivered with emotion.
Santana interrupted hastily. She shrugged as the poison started to leave her body. "Besides, if you really care about Quinn, you'd want the best for her right? You wouldn't want some fluke of a crush to taint her high school status permanently, now would you?"
The Latina breezed past the stunned singer, not sticking around to see the effect her words had had. She didn't second guess herself. Sure her words had been harsh, brought on by raw emotions, but they were true, weren't they?
Santana had always seen her role amongst her peers as a truth teller, the one who said what everyone else wouldn't. She made people face things they needed to face.
Rachel needed to let go of Quinn, plain and simple. She had saved the singer a lot of undue heartache.
She took solace in that fact as she took a deep breath and approached Brittany's locker, determined to make things right.
It had taken Quinn until Friday, after the New Directions showed Vocal Adrenaline their funky side, to gather the strength to confess her feelings to Rachel. She knew there was a chance the pint-sized diva would laugh in her face or just flat out reject her, but she had to try.
Not only that, but after the last few weeks Rachel had endured; first the rejection by Shelby, and then the rejection and total humiliation by Jesse, Quinn figured Rachel deserved to know that there was at least one person out there who loved her and would do anything for her.
Quinn noticed her hand was shaking as she raised it to ring the Berry's doorbell.
Rachel answered almost immediately. "Oh hello Quinn," she offered tiredly, expelling a breath as she let her shoulders slump.
It hurt Quinn to see the bright star so defeated. "Hi, Rach. I just came by to see how you're feeling."
Rachel stared at Quinn, her deep brown eyes filled with sadness. "Emotionally drained," she answered, "like if one more person requires a heart to heart with me this week, I'll scream."
Quinn took an involuntary step back and bit her lip. She couldn't tell Rachel now. No, she'd just have to wait until the girl was in a better state of mind to receive her confession. She could do that. For Rachel, she could do anything.
When she realized the diva was staring at her, and that she hadn't spoken for several minutes, she took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry Rach," she said softly, reaching out to stroke the brunette's cheek. She swore she felt Rachel lean in to her touch as the girl let out a ragged breath, but she decided to just let it go.
"Thanks Quinn. You're a good friend." Rachel gave the blonde a small smile, even though tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"What can I do," Quinn questioned as her heart broke for Rachel.
"I don't think there's anything you can do," the starlet answered, "Maybe it'd be best if I was alone for a while…"
"You sure?" Quinn really hated to leave Rachel alone like this.
Rachel squared her shoulders, a determined look on her face. "I'll be alright Quinn," she stated, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. "After all, we don't have very long until we have to beat Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals, and the show must go on right?"
Quinn beamed at the diva. Just when she thought she couldn't love Rachel any more, the girl found some new way to amaze her. If only Rachel could see how special she really was.
"Right," the blonde enthusiastically agreed.
"I'll call you later Quinn," Rachel promised, "Thank you for stopping by."
"Anytime Rach," Quinn replied stepping off the porch, "and if you need anything…" Rachel nodded. "Bye Rach."
"Goodbye Quinn," the singer said, as she slowly closed the door.
Later that night, as Quinn lay in the Puckerman's basement, she made a decision.
She would take Mercedes up on her offer to live with her family for a while.
The girl was right after all, Quinn did need a place where she could sort through her feelings. Maybe a change of venue would do her some good. Besides, Quinn didn't think she'd be able to keep a lid on her feelings for Rachel while surrounded by such happy memories of their relationship.
Yes, it was settled. The Jones' would be Quinn's new home as of tomorrow.
A/N: The story's moving along now! So much happened… What did you all think? It turned out better than I feared. I hope you all liked it. Please take a second and let me know. Also, don't be too upset about my depiction of Santana. She is one of my favorite characters after all. She's just in so much pain at this moment in time. Besides, who better to plant seeds of doubt in Rachel right? Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read and review. You'll never know how grateful I am for your input.