"How're you holding up, Mar?" Brittany asked with a smile. The girl in question was back in the break room, bent over at the waist breathing heavily. She looked up with a sheepish grin as she dropped back onto the bench in the middle of the room.
"I kinda forgot how crazy those little guys get when they have to wait for the big guy," she chuckled, shaking her head. Some of her dark hair fell out of the sloppy bun she wore but she made no attempt to fix her disheveled appearance.
"Did you sing again? Because you have to remember that that only keeps them hushed for a little while." Brittany walked in and sat down beside her friend and bumped shoulders with her. "Try dancing with them, they get tired out real easy and tend to be less of a pain."
"Britt, they'd get tired with you because you're a machine. Me? I can't compete."
"Have you tried it?" the blonde persisted. Sure she knew Marley wasn't a pro but that didn't mean she couldn't get a crowd of three to seven year olds to dance along.
"About that…" she trailed off, twirling her loose strands of hair between her fingers. Brittany smirked, nodding as she pat her friend's shoulder. "Don't be so smug with me, Miss Pierce, we can't all be child whispering Juilliard material dancers."
"Me? Smug? I don't know what you're talking about," the blonde deadpanned. Marley searched her face before rolling her eyes and huffing loudly. Even after years of being Brittany's best friend, there were times she didn't understand the way her friend did what she did.
"Y'know, for a class A genius you're such a butthead."
"That didn't even really make sense… did it?"
"Shouldn't you be getting ready? It's almost noon," Markey replied, choosing to ignore the more than likely rhetorical question.
"I was born ready," she beamed, jumping up and rushing toward her locker. "I have a feeling the kids are gonna love it even more this year. We're gonna go for a grinchmas this year with a little bit of Jingle All the Way, a pinch of Home Alone and a dash of Deck the Halls."
"I really hope Santana got which songs you mean from your index card, because I don't think I'd be able to catch on." Marley's comment caused Brittany's smile to grow exponentially as she reached into her locker and retrieved her special keyboard.
"I'd be willing to bet LT's prized collection of cigars that she knows exactly what I mean." She frowned thinking of her cat's smoking habits but shook it off, putting in an ear piece that connected her to a live feed of her magical piano, the piano she controlled for five years and the surrounding people.
Again Marley opted out of a direct comment to what her friend said for a better reaction. "Everyone's gonna love you guys, like always." And it was true, the crowd always loved the show the two put on, even if they didn't know it was Brittany behind the piano.
"I guess but I know it'll be even better this year, you'll see!" Brittany sang. She played a few keys and smirked when she heard a soft giggle coming from the other end of her ear piece. Oh yeah, they were going to rock people's shoes off. For sure.
"Well, you better get the voice modifier and get to your spot in front of the video streamer, we're minutes from the countdown and you know they flip when you join in during the last seconds." Marley quickly stood up and gathered her special elf hat and pointy shoes. With a quick wave goodbye she hurried out and took her own position near the piano.
"Right, come on, Alicia, we have a show to put on and a girl to woo!" the blonde grinned, skipping her way towards her playing station.
...
Quinn watched her best friend from a distance with a small frown on her lips. Santana had been there for nearly 5 hours straight but that didn't seem to faze the Latina in the least, unlike the blonde. In fact, if Quinn didn't know the brunette any better, she'd think that the head cheerleader looked as if she were growing excited more and more with each passing minute, very unlike the blonde.
When they arrived, they went straight toward the build-a-bear place and set up the little shop they were going to be in charge of until noon, when the piano show would take place. The duo got on well enough for most of the time with only a few issues with some particularly snobbish kids. Quinn, who tended to be the more patient of the two, was at her wits end and couldn't wait until their shift was over. Santana on the other hand, got gentler and sweeter as the time went by. She sang with the kids as she helped them assemble their stuffed animal and danced to each station. It was exhausting just watching her but the kids loved it and so did the parents.
When their supervisor went to tell them it was almost time for the show, Santana nearly ran over a toddler in her haste to get to the piano. To say Quinn was curious was an understatement; she was dying to find out what- or rather who- was making her best friend act so crazy. Who was capable of taming the wild Lopez?
"Come one, come all and watch as our special elf volunteer, Santana Lopez, plays with our magical piano once again! The spirit of Santa's purple piano loves everyone but there is a special bond between our lovely singer and this beautiful instrument. In fact, for those of you that don't already know, she was specifically chosen by the magical player five years ago. Now, gather around and join in for the countdown!" Millie Rose announced. The jubilant woman clapped and walked away, leaving the crowd to focus on the Latina seated on the piano bench.
Quinn paid extra attention as her friend straightened her back and smiled blindingly at everyone. Their gazes met as the crowd grew with enthusiasm, clapping and cheering. The noise only died down when the brunette lifted her finger to her lips and she began to hum softly.
"It's almost 11:59 and as soon as it is, I want you to sing the countdown with me, okay?" she asked. All the children nodded excitedly and, after a bit of insistence, had their parents agreeing as well.
The silent area was awarded with a few keys of the piano player, prompting applause and soft cheers. Even with the dialed down noise, Quinn almost, would have missed the small giggle that came from her friend if she hadn't been staring. 'Mystery man is near!' the blonde thought as she ran her gaze around her, searching for who it could be.
"It's time!" someone yelled gleefully.
Santana nodded and opened her mouth, singing a clear and mesmerizing, "it's almost Christmas time." For a moment the onlookers were too wrapped up in the teen's voice to join in but when she got to 30, there was a cacophony of voices blending with hers.
Quinn watched the event, temporarily forgetting to search for Santana's Romeo to take in what was going on. In all the years the Latina had been involved with the piano show, Quinn never had a chance to watch because of the church activities her family was always taking part in. It was nice to finally see what all the hype was about after so long.
When they were down to the last ten seconds an ominous voice joined in, booming out through the speakers. It wasn't harsh, despite the volume and if Quinn were ever asked to describe it, she'd definitely use the word gentle but couldn't decide if it belonged to a man or woman.
"Three... two... one!"
Santana jumped up, pulling out a mic no one had noticed and crept slowly to the center of the semicircle that formed around the piano. Each step she took was in perfect sync with the familiar notes of 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch'. She kept the rhythm and continued walking around, grinning at the children who gazed back and forth from the keys of the piano to the dark haired, special elf.
"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch," she began.
"No, I'm not," the gentle giant voice rumbled softly over the speakers, making some people chuckle. Santana continued, dancing and singing in perfect sync with the piano, smiling more than anyone had ever seen in the halls of William McKinley.
Some of the older generation in the crowd drew together the songs chosen and related them to the movies they might have spent their childhood Christmases watching. It was a great show to watch, especially the times where Santana would ask for suggestions from the "purple piano player" and be answered by a mashed up version of three different Christmas songs. The Latina would look completely flustered which made everyone laugh, so the song would settle on one and Santana would start again. At times the children would decide what song would play and others the teens and adults would which gave Santana a small break.
After about an hour, a lullaby began to play and the soft voice of the mysterious musician began to whisper goodbyes and good nights, mentioning the time it was in the North Pole.
"Sleep well, friends. The elves and I shall be drinking nog and singing along while making your gifts. Santana and these mall elves helped here in your town to give the little guys a break back home and I should get back... it's almost passed my bedtime," the voice gasped. "I really have to go, but I hope you all had fun! Don't forget to say thank you to all the elves and your families for bringing you here! I'll see you all tomorrow!"
There were a flutter of keys played and a gust of wind that twirled around the piano, shocking everyone, including the head cheerio whose hair was lifted and tousled. Apparently whoever set it up hadn't notified a single person of the grand finale for the day but the crowd ate it up.
After a final goodbye, Santana simply smiled, shook her head and waved at the direction the hidden camera was placed.
...
Brittany, still sat on the bench in her 'secret lair', waved back, gazing at the screen in front of her which showed Santana's smiling face. The blonde's heart swelled knowing she made the beautiful Latina smile as brightly as she did. It was a huge improvement to time she witnessed the same strong willed and lovely girl crying on the piano bench so many years ago. Brittany tried not to think of the incident as often as she did but she couldn't shake the memories away that always seemed to creep up on her, especially during Christmas time. It was because of that moment that the blonde fell for Santana so readily; she saw the brunette for who she really was.
A/N: So, this chapter was pretty much just fluff to set up the next chapter which will mainly be a flashback. I was going to upload this yesterday but I got too wrapped up in family stuff. I hope everyone that celebrates had an amazing Christmas and for those that don't, I hope ya had an awesome Wednesday. Until the next time, I hope you enjoyed!