A/N: It's about damn time, isn't it? I am so sorry! A lot has been going on, but I battled through whatever illness to which I've succumbed to bring y'all a fairly long update.
Thanks as always for the feedback, y'all help keep me writing!
Enjoy! :)
~Chapter 43~
A few days had passed and Hermione was sitting next to Kurt, rolling her eyes as Rachel interrogated the poor boy about why he was seen outside of a motel with Sam.
"Oh, Rachel, how I've missed your insanity. Sam may be cute, but I only have eyes for Blaine, so will you please drop it?"
"I will not drop this, Kurt! Why else would you be meeting up with Sam at a motel? You're cheating on Blaine!" Rachel accused as she continued rambling. Hermione and Kurt just tuned out the tiny diva until they were disrupted by a furious Latina rushing over towards them, causing the well-dressed boy to shriek.
"Hermione, what the hell is this? What blondie former cheerleader is having a secret moonlight motel rendezvous with our favorite British beauty?" Santana spat waving the newspaper in the older girl's face.
"Are you mental? You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Hermione responded exasperatedly.
"Why shouldn't I? I know Fabray's trying to get into your pants!"
"Ok, seriously, San, you've got to calm down. Quinn and I are just friends."
"Unfortunately," the hazel-eyed girl grumbled before Santana lunged at her. Quinn's eyes narrowed as she started trying to throw the other girl off of her. Before things could get too out of hand, Hermione shot up and pried the raven-haired girl off the blonde.
"Santana, calm down! And Quinn, you're not helping!" The young witch shouted out, trying to keep the two girls apart. "Puck, a little help here!"
"On it, babe," the boy with the Mohawk answered, throwing the Latina over his shoulder and carrying her over to the other side of the room, ignoring the Spanish insults spewing from her mouth.
"Not really what I had in mind," the British girl sighed before turning to look at the smirking girl in front of her. "Q, do you really have to push her buttons like that?"
"Sorry, Hermione," the blonde muttered sheepishly before returning to her seat.
"Like anyone believes that bullshit!" Santana retorted, trying to get out of Puck's grasp. Hermione shook her head tiredly and approached the fuming girl.
"San, you seriously need to stop acting like this right now. I'm not in the mood to deal with your childish behavior."
"Why can't you open your eyes and see that she is just a little skank who is trying to take you away from me?"
"Takes one to know one, Slutana!" The former cheerleading captain yelled back.
"Oh, that's it! I'm about to go ALL Lima Heights!" The raven-haired girl managed to break free from Puck's grasp before Hermione blocked her path to the hazel-eyed girl.
"Whoa, guys! What is going on here?" Will cried out, finally entering the room to see Santana glaring dangerously at Hermione and Quinn.
"Oh, nothing, Mr. Schue, just Little Miss Priss trying to steal my girl!" The Latina screamed, trying to get around Hermione. "Damn your cat like reflexes," she grumbled, crossing her arms angrily.
"Santana, stop. We're on a break, remember? At least until you can go around being proud of our relationship. Quinn doesn't even care anymore about what people are saying about her."
"Yeah, thanks to you," the blonde spoke with a fond smile.
"Don't mess with me, Tubbers," the Latina growled before storming off, Hermione hurrying after her.
"Um, I guess we're not having rehearsal today. Hopefully, everyone comes in with new attitudes tomorrow," the choir director stated sternly.
"San, wait up!" The British girl yelled out to the furious former cheerleader. "It's just a bloody rumor. You know you're the only one for me."
"Would you keep it down?" The shorter girl hissed as she whipped around.
"So you get all fired up about some gossip about me with another girl, but you still won't publicly acknowledge what we have?" Hermione scoffed as the Latina's glare faltered.
"You promise there's nothing going on between you and Quinn?" Santana questioned apprehensively.
"Yes, San. Despite being on a break, I'm still mad about you and I think I always will be."
"Ok," the younger girl nodded before turning around and walking off. Hermione huffed as she watched her walk away before going off in search of Sam. After several minutes of searching, the young witch finally found the blonde football player asleep in the back of the library.
"Sammy, you need to wake up," she muttered, gently shaking the younger boy.
"Herms? What time is it?" The boy questioned sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
"It's a little after three," she informed him, sitting down beside the blonde.
"Crap! We need to get to glee!" Sam exclaimed, trying to stand up quickly.
"No, we don't. Practice got cancelled for today."
"What? Why?"
"Someone saw me and Quinn outside of that motel and wrote an article about us having an affair…"
"And I'm assuming Santana saw it and flipped out?" The British girl nodded. "Shit, I'm sorry, Herms. This is all my fault."
"Samuel Evans, stop that right now. This is not your fault. San's just being ridiculous. Quinn and I are going to keep helping you for as long as you need it," Hermione murmured, throwing an arm around him. Sam frowned at her words before attempting to stifle a yawn. "I really wish you didn't have to work yourself nearly to death," she spoke sadly.
"I need to do what I can to help my family, you know that."
"I know, but you're only sixteen," she stated grimly.
"Herms, I appreciate your concern, but you were doing stuff a lot more dangerous when you were eleven than me delivering pizzas at sixteen," he chuckled for the first time in a while.
"Don't make me regret telling you all that stuff, Sammy," Hermione growled playfully, happy to hear the younger boy laugh. "At least let me buy you and your family dinner tonight, alright?"
"There's nothing I can say to change your mind, right?"
"Nope, definitely not!"
"Alright, fine. Let's go get Stacy and Stevie and ask them what they'd like for dinner. My parents won't really care what we get."
"Sounds like a plan. How are your parents doing?" The wavy-haired brunette inquired as they stood up.
"They're still really stressed out, but at least they aren't taking it out on each other anymore. My mom found a job at the grocery store, so that's helping a bit. They really do appreciate everything you and the others are doing."
"I only wish I could do more," she told him forlornly as they walked to her car.
"Herms, you got over your fear of driving again to help me with my siblings, you babysit them all the time, you tutor all of us, you provide us with food as much as we'll let you, and you've even helped us pay for the motel room. You've done plenty for us," the blonde murmured, giving her a watery smile.
"Oh, Sammy, come here," Hermione cried out softly, pulling the boy into her arms. "Things will get better soon, I know they will. Now, let's go get those adorable little monsters you call your siblings."
As Hermione sat in glee the next afternoon, she couldn't hide her happiness as Will and April Rhodes, whom she had met last night, sang Fleetwood Mac's Dreams.
"Blimey, I think I am in love with her voice," the British girl murmured to Kurt.
"Oh, I know what you mean. The first time I heard her sing, I cried," the well-dressed boy responded quietly as he admired the blonde songstress. After April and the choir director finished their duet, the group was informed of their next assignment.
"Rumours. A classic record by Fleetwood Mac. One of the greatest albums of all time. Written as the band was breaking apart to keep it together. Now, this week, we are done with the backstabbing and the gossip and we're channeling all that energy into working together. So, pick a song from the album and put your own spin on it. Simple as that," Mr. Schue told his students with an encouraging smile.
"This is brilliant! I love Fleetwood Mac," Hermione cried out happily as she threw her arms around her uncle and quietly began throwing out ideas to him left and right.
"I'm loving the enthusiasm, Mia," the hazel-eyed man chortled before taking her aside. "Are you going to be helping Sam and his family tonight?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah, sorry I haven't been home much, but I just can't abandon them..."
"I know and I don't expect you to," he told her encouragingly. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to be doing some work with April tonight for her show."
"Oh, well ok then," she smiled, relieved that he wasn't going to ask her to stop spending so much time with the Evans family. "And really? That's great! This could be your big break!"
"Well, I don't know about that, but between you and me, I'm keeping my fingers crossed," Will muttered, smiling nervously. Hermione beamed at him and gave him one last hug before hurrying over to Sam and Quinn. The trio walked out of the room, talking in hushed whispers, unaware of a pair of dark eyes glaring at them from across the room.
That night, Santana and Brittany found themselves sitting in a car across the street from a shady motel.
"Why are we here, Sanny?" The blonde dancer questioned confusedly.
"We need to make sure that there's nothing going on between Hermione and Fabray, B," the Latina muttered slowly, handing the girl a pair of binoculars.
"Oh, why don't you trust Hermy?"
"I trust her. It's Little Miss Priss I don't trust," she growled out, focusing on the rooms in front of them.
"Where did you even find all of this stuff?" The ditzy girl asked with a tilt of her head.
"My abuela has a ton of surveillance equipment in her garage for some reason. Now, shh, I think someone's coming outside." The two former cheerleaders fell silent as Santana put a camera up to her face and zoomed in on the door.
"Oh, look there's Q and Hermy!" Brittany pointed out cheerfully. "Can we go say hi?"
"No, B," the raven-haired girl snapped as she glared at the former head cheerleader embracing the British girl. She continued to watch them chat until Quinn kissed the taller girl on the cheek and walked over to her car. Hermione shook her head before turning to head back into the hotel room. "I'm gonna kill her."
"Who?"
"Fabray," the brown-eyed girl snarled before getting out of her car and charging at the hazel-eyed girl. "What the fuck are you doing with her?" She screamed before throwing Quinn into her car.
"What the fuck is your problem, Lopez?" The former head Cheerio shouted back while pushing the other girl off of her. Santana moved to attack the taller girl again before a pair of arms latched onto her and pulled her back.
"You need to calm down," Hermione ordered, holding her tightly.
"Get the fuck off of me! You're lying to me! Something's going on between the two of you," the Latina shrieked before shoving the older girl to the ground, whose head hit the ground with a sickening crack. The British girl's whimper of pain seemed to snap Santana out of her trance and she spun around to find the other girl removing a blood-covered hand from the back of her head. "Shit, Mia, I'm so sorry. I—I—I didn't mean to." She tried helping the wavy-haired brunette stand up but her hands were slapped away.
"B, why don't you take Santana home?" Quinn murmured before helping the fallen girl up and walking her back into the hotel room.
"San, what have you done?" Brittany questioned softly as they walked back to the car, watching the Latina struggle to keep her tears at bay. The blue-eyed girl gently ushered her into the passenger seat and started driving them back to her house. During the drive, Santana barely made a sound, causing the taller girl glance at her worriedly every so often. When they finally returned to the blonde's house and made their way up to her bedroom, the dark-eyed girl finally released a sob.
"Brit-Brit," the raven-haired girl whispered brokenly, collapsing into her best friend's embrace. Brittany gazed at the distraught girl sadly, wrapping her arms tightly around her friend and trying to tell her that things were going to be okay.
Meanwhile, inside the hotel room, Quinn walked Hermione to the bathroom, cursing the temperamental Latina under her breath.
"Quinn, is Herms ok?" A little blonde girl asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, Stace. I just fell walking up the steps. Go back to bed, we'll be out in a second," Hermione told her soothingly.
"What do you need?" The hazel-eyed girl questioned as she situated the girl on the counter.
"Can you just grab the beaded back out of my messenger bag?" The younger girl nodded and disappeared for a few moments before returning the bag.
"Do you need your wand or…?"
"No, I think I just need to take something. Do you see a small purple bottle in there? That should heal any damage after a few minutes."
"Um, yeah, here you go. How are you remaining so calm right now?" Quinn inquired, watching the older girl swallow the potion with a grimace.
"Well, I've had worse. Part of me is actually seething on the inside and wondering how she can be so bloody careless."
"She was just temporarily blinded by her rage," the former head cheerleader offered with a shrug. "I may not be her biggest fan right now, but I know she'd rather kill herself than ever hurt you. If I know Santana, she's probably beating herself up right now."
"I know. I've just had issues in the past with people taking their anger and fear out on me and I'm sick and tired of just standing by and taking it. I'm worth more than that," the British girl spoke up tiredly.
"I know you are, and I also know that I'm guilty of taking out my fear on you once upon a time. I think one of the reasons Santana and I fight so much is because we're really quite similar. We both have a lot of insecurities and we're terrified of losing our popularity. That was really all we cared about until this year," the younger girl stated with a small smile.
"What happened?"
"You entered our lives and turned our entire world upside down," Quinn answered with a chuckle. "I may have come to terms with myself sooner than Santana, but she has a lot more to lose than I do. I finally have a family who loves and supports me unconditionally," she spoke fondly, thinking of the Jones family. "Santana, on the other hand, is uncertain of her family's reactions if she were to tell them that she had fallen in love with a girl. She may not show it, but family really is everything to her."
"You do have a point…" Hermione acknowledged slowly. "I wasn't aware you knew Santana that well."
"We were pretty close freshman and sophomore year. I mean, sure we fought over crazy little things, but we always had each other's back."
"Is it my fault you guys aren't as close anymore?" The wavy-haired brunette inquired with a frown.
"No, well not entirely," the blonde smirked. "We kind of lost touch over the summer. I was so torn up about giving up Beth and she was dealing with her own insecurities, which drove her into thinking a boob job was a good idea." Hermione 's frown deepened. "Plus, we've always been competitive. You were just a much better incentive than being captain of the Cheerios," Quinn murmured with a wink.
"Oi!" The former prefect shrieked, hitting the younger girl on the arm as they walked to the door. "I'm not sure if I should be flattered or…"
"Definitely be flattered."
"Quinn Fabray, what am I going to do with you?" The taller girl asked with a shake of her head as she opened the door to let the blonde out.
"I can think of a few things!"
"Get out of here, Q! And you better text me when you get home!" The brown-eyed girl yelled back, laughing when Quinn aimed a mock salute at her.
The next day, the raven-haired singer shuffled into the choir room looking miserable and sat down in the seat furthest away from everyone else. As soon as Will walked in, he frowned at the visible tension surrounding the room.
"Um, does anyone have a performance prepared for today?" Hermione stood up, grabbed a guitar, and sat on a wooden stool in the center of the room. "Ok, Mia, whenever you're ready." The British girl sighed and began strumming before opening her mouth to sing.
"Listen to the wind blow,
Watch the sun rise,
Run in the shadows,
Damn your love, damn your lies."
After Hermione sang the first verse, she glanced briefly at Santana before moving into the chorus. Her eyes only leaving the Latina's when she found it difficult to keep her tears at bay.
"And if you don't love me now,
You will never love me again.
I can still hear you saying,
You would never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now,
You will never love me again.
I can still hear you saying,
You would never break the chain.
"Listen to the wind blow,
Down comes the night.
Run in the shadows,
Damn your love, damn your lies.
Break the silence,
Damn the dark, damn the light.
"And if you don't love me now,
You will never love me again.
I can still hear you saying,
You would never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now,
You will never love me again.
I can still hear you saying ,
You would never break the chain.
And if you don't love me now,
You will never love me again.
I can still hear you saying,
You would never break the chain.
"Chain...keep us together,
Run into the shadows.
Chain...keep us together,
Run into the shadows.
Chain...keep us together,
Run into the shadows."
When she finished the song, she set the guitar down and silently exited the room, unaware of the tears trickling down the Latina's face.
"Um, what was that all about?" The choir director questioned his remaining students.
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Schue, it'll work itself out," Brittany told him, wrapping an arm around her distraught friend.
"If you say so…" The hazel-eyed man murmured. "I'm still gonna go check on Mia. You guys feel free to hang out here though."
"Santana, what did you do?" Rachel asked spinning around to glare at the girl, faltering slightly at the look of utter despair on her face. "Erm, why don't we give Santana and Brittany the room, guys?" The rest of the New Directions quickly rushed out of the room, but not before Quinn said one last thing.
"Fix this, Lopez."
"Q's right, Sanny. You do need to fix this. I hate seeing you both so sad," the blonde dancer muttered, a deep frown evident on her face.
"How am I supposed to fix this, B? I seriously fucked up this time!" The raven-haired girl cried out before she began pacing around the choir room.
"Remember when you were terrified after Hermione's car accident?" The shorter girl nodded slowly. "And remember what Hermy did to get you back?"
"Yeah, of course, she sang Your Song to me. Oh! Brit-Brit, you're a genius! I'm sure there's a perfect song on that Rumours album too!"
"Well, looks like we've got some work to do," Brittany spoke up happily. "'Operation: Get Hermy to Forgive Sanny for being a Dumbass' is a go!"
A few days later, Santana approached the British girl in the hallway, wringing her hands nervously.
"Hey, can we talk?" She asked the older girl quietly. "Well, actually, I want to sing something to you." Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded and followed the other girl into the choir room. "I went through that album and I found the best song to express my feelings for you. I know I've been such a bitch to you lately and you don't know how sorry I am about that. I guess I didn't see how stupid I was being until the other night when I—I hurt you," the raven-haired girl cried out. "Just listen to the song, ok?" The wavy-haired brunette motioned for her to begin, so Santana took a deep breath and signaled for Brad to start playing the piano.
"For you, there'll be no more crying,
For you, the sun will be shining,
And I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.
"To you, I'll give the world
to you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,
It's alright, I know it's right.
"And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before.
"And I wish you all the love in the world,
But most of all, I wish it from myself.
"And the songbirds keep singing,
Like they know the score,
And I love you, I love you, I love you,
Like never before, like never before,
Like never before."
As she finished singing, the girls locked watery gazes before Hermione stood up and placed her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder.
"That was really beautiful, San."
"I meant every word. I'm really going to try and work on myself so I can be the girl that you deserve. I, uh, even started meeting with Miss Pillsbury to work on my anger issues. I never meant to hurt you," the Latina choked out, refusing to look the other girl in the eyes.
"I know, love, I know," the British girl replied soothingly. "Don't worry about it, ok? I fixed it up perfectly with a bit of magic once I got back into the hotel room."
"I'll never hurt you again. I promise you that. I finally understand why you wanted to take this break. Hiding our relationship isn't fair to either of us and I want to be confident enough to walk up to you in the hallway and kiss you in front of everybody. I'm not going to bother you about whatever's going on with you and Quinn and I'm not going to lash out irrationally at you anymore. I just—" She was cut off by a pair of lips crashing down onto hers.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Hermione mumbled sheepishly a few moments later. "I just caught a glimpse of the girl I fell in love with."
"Well, I'm certainly not complaining," Santana responded with a blush. "No more of that though, ok? Not until I can fully embrace the gay."
"I am so proud of you, Santana Lopez," the British girl told her sincerely as she wrapped her arms around the younger girl.
"Really?" The raven-haired girl questioned vulnerably, pulling away from the young witch.
"Really, really," the older girl responded with a bright smile, linking arms with the Latina and leading her out of the choir room.
A/N, part II: Songs were "The Chain" and "Songbird" and are both by Fleetwood Mac (one of my all time favorite bands, in case you were wondering).
P.S. Quinntana is my OTP of all OTPs. How awesome was that Valentine's Day episode? I'm still on a high from it! (Or maybe that's just from the meds I've been taking...)