The next morning...

After not really getting to spend much time with Santana over the weekend, I was really looking forward to seeing her in class. I thought about going over to her house yesterday to hang out, just the two of us, but after the day went on and I didn't hear anything from her, I guessed that I would be flying solo.

It's weird though...

Ever since I broke up with Kelly, things have gotten better between me and San and we've been spending a lot more time together; however, whenever we do hang out, it's always in a group setting. I can't remember the last time we hung out alone.

Well... that's not entirely true.

The last time we were alone together was the day we almost kissed. I wish I would've been brave enough to just dive in and plant one right on her, but I wasn't and then we were interrupted and haven't talked about it since. I guess it's for the best though cuz the timing was just awful. The last thing I would want is for Santana to think I was just using her as a rebound or something.

I'm just not sure what's going on between us anymore and to be honest... I'm kinda afraid to ask. I mean, what if Rachel and Mike were right and San does like me? Don't get me wrong... that would be awesome! However, like I told them, I don't want to rush into anything, especially when it comes to San.

I think that's where I went wrong with the whole Kelly thing.

I was so excited about the fact that a girl actually liked me that I ignored all of the obvious signs that Kelly was completely wrong for me. I think because I was so terrified of coming out to begin with, I freaked myself out into believing that I would be alone forever cuz I didn't know anyone else in this town that was gay. The moment Kelly batted her eyelashes at me, I jumped at the opportunity to get to know her.

And look where that got me.

After the break-up, Trevor, one of Kelly's guy friends, contacted me on Facebook and told me that he was sorry about what went down between me and her. He informed me that Kelly was a player and basically slept with any girl that would open their legs for her. I guess the reason he told me all of this was because he felt guilty about knowing about all of Kelly's extra-curricular activities while I was completely in the dark. Trevor told me that I was a cool chick and we've actually kept in touch since then.

You know what the ironic thing about all of this is?

I didn't even like Kelly that much. Sure, she was attractive and had a decent personality, but that was basically it. I tolerated her for as long as I did because I liked the idea of having a girlfriend more than actually having one. Maybe if I had had a better girlfriend, like someone who actually cared about me, then I would feel differently. Maybe if I had someone like Santana, things would've worked out and we'd still be together.

Nevertheless, Kelly will always hold a special place in my heart because she was my first girlfriend. Don't worry though... the place that she holds is very small and will hopefully by filled by someone even better.

As I sit in homeroom, the sound of the bell breaks me away from my thoughts. I'm confused as to why the seat next to me - which is usually occupied by Santana - is still empty. I look around the room to see if maybe I've missed her entrance, but no dice. I'm a little worried because Santana has never been late or missed class before.

After a few minutes have passed and there's still no sign of Santana, I sneakily retrieve my phone and shoot her a text.

To San: Hey, where r u? I'm starting 2 get worried :(

Halfway during class, I check my phone, hoping to see the message indicator lit up. Sadly, it's not.

After class, I run into the bathroom and try to call Santana. Unfortunately, it doesn't ring at all. Instead, her phone goes straight to voicemail, indicating that it's off. I leave a quick message and then run off to second period. When I get there, I spot a seat next to Mercedes.

"Hey Cedes, have you seen San by any chance?"

"Nah girl, I usually don't see her until lunch," she responds. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, but I'm getting a little concerned," I reply. "She didn't show up for homeroom and her phone is off."

"Hmm, that is weird. I've haven't seen or talked to Specs since Saturday."

"This just doesn't make sense," I say more to myself.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation," Mercedes tries to assure me.

Before I have a chance to respond, the bell rings and our teacher wastes no time diving into the lesson.

After third period passes and I've still yet to hear from my Latina bestie, I head to lunch in hopes that someone else from the group has heard from her.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Mike says to the group.

"Nothin' much bro," Sam replies as he and Mike do there little goofy handshake. "Hey Cedes..." he says a little shyly.

Weird.

"Has anyone heard from Santana today?" I address the group.

"No, why... is she not here?" Rachel ponders.

"No, and I haven't been able to get ahold of her either."

"Really? That's weird... I just saw her last night," Sam states casually.

Something about the way he says that rubs me the wrong way. Of course he would know since he was hanging out with San yesterday. I was already bummed last night when I didn't get to hang out with San for whatever reason. At one point though when I happened to look out my window, I saw her playing her guitar and singing some song. I always love it when she sings so my natural reaction was to smile widely at her. To my surprise though, I was not expecting to see Sam in the background, singing along with her.

Don't get me wrong... Sam is a great guy and like a brother to me. However, lately it seems like every time I look into Santana's room to see what she's up to, he's always there. I wonder if there's something going on between them? That would explain the distance I've felt between her and I as of late. What if she did like me but doesn't anymore because she's into Sam now?

God, I hope that isn't the case.

"I know she wouldn't have missed school today unless something important came up," Sam says knowingly.

That's it... I can't take this anymore, Sam seemingly knowing more about my best friend than I do these days.

"Sam, can I speak to you for a second... in private?" I emphasize in a not so friendly manner.

"Sure, B... what's up?" Sam asks as we step outside the cafeteria.

"Okay, what the hell is going on between you and San?" I demand.

"What are you talking about Britt?" Sam questions back.

"Why is it that I rarely get to spend any quality time with my best friend these days, but every time I look up, you're at her house?"

"Woah, B... you've got it all wrong," Sam tries to explain, but I don't want to hear it.

"Do I? I mean, at first you and everyone else were like 'what's up with you and San?' but now, you're like attached to her hip," I retort. "If you guys liked each other, why didn't you just tell me instead of making me believe she had feelings for me?"

At this point, I'm exasperated and have no idea what I'm even saying.

"I know that San wouldn't just screw up her perfect attendance if it wasn't for something important," I sigh as I lean against the locker and slower slump down to the ground. "The fact that you were apparently the last one of us to talk to her or see her bothers me. I feel like I've been replaced."

"Aww, Britt..." Sam says as he slumps down beside me. "Trust me... it's not like that at all. San's just been helping me with something."

"And what's that?" I inquire.

"She was helping me figure out a way to tell Mercedes that I like her," he mumbles out quickly.

"You like Cedes?!" I yell out in shock.

"Yes, Jesus... keep it down, would ya?" Sam says as he covers my mouth with his hand. "I don't want the whole school to know before I get a chance to tell her."

"My bad... I just wasn't expecting that," I apologize. "Since when?"

"I don't know... I guess it started when you and Kelly started dating," he replies. I turn my head in disgust at the sound of my exes name and give him a skeptical look. "Once you guys started dating, little by little, everyone else in our little group started pairing off. And so, I started hanging out with San and Mercedes a lot more."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense," I respond, feeling a bit foolish now.

"That's why I was a little surprised when you said Santana wasn't here cuz she was supposed to give me a little pep talk before I talked to Mercedes."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Sammy... Mercedes would be lucky to have you," I state sincerely.

"Thanks Britt!"

"So... you don't have feelings for San?" I cautiously ask, just to make sure. Sam shakes his head no. "And San doesn't have feelings for you?"

At the sound of this, his big guppy lips from an endearing smile.

"Nope... I'm not the blonde she's interested in," he replies with a wink as he gets up from the ground, offering me his hand. "We better get back before our food gets cold."

"Yeah, okay..." I respond, still trying to process his last comment.

After I get out of my last class for the day, I hope in my car and head to Santana's house. Throughout the day, I've sent numerous text messages and left a couple of messages, all with no response. It's very uncharacteristic of Santana to at least text me back or communicate with me in some fashion to let me know she's okay. Something had to be up… I just don't know what.

As I parked my car in my driveway, I walk over to the Lopez's house and knock on the door. After a few knocks, the door finally opens, revealing Mrs. Lopez on the other side.

"Hey Mrs. L, is Santana home? She wasn't at school today so I just wanted to come by and check on her," I explain.

"She's sick," Mrs. Lopez replies very shortly.

"Oh, okay... is there anything I can do? Can I see her?"

"No, you've done enough. Go home Brittany," Mrs. Lopez sharply states as she closes the door in my face.

After the initial shock wears off, I drag my feet across the yard and make my way inside of the house. I don't know exactly what just happened, but I most certainly didn't like it. Mrs. Lopez has always been very warm and super sweet to me; hell, she's like a second Mom to me. But that lady that I just spoke to was most certainly not her.

Maybe she had a rough day at work cuz she's usually not home at this time. Maybe it's that time of the month or maybe she's heading into menopause and it's jacking up her hormones. Or maybe she just hasn't gotten laid in a while.

Hmm... maybe I should talk to Mr. L so he can take care of that.

Once I make it to my room, I immediately look out my window to see if I can catch a glimpse of my best friend. What's weird is that her curtains are closed. Her curtains are never closed. At this point, I feel so hopeless. At least I know that she's okay, but still... I can't stand not being able to talk to or see my best friend. I don't know what's going on over there, but it must be something extremely serious.

Not knowing what else to do, I send Sam a text.

To Sammy: Went to check on San, but her mom wouldn't let me see her. Mrs. L is acting weird. Maybe you'll have better luck

After I hit send, I remember that my blonde friend had something important to do after school.

To Sammy: Btw, hope everything went well with u & Cedes ;)

After a couple of minutes, Sam responds back.

From Sammy: Thanx! We're actually getting ice cream at the moment so I'm gonna tell her in a few mins. I'll stop by San's later to see if her mom has cooled down

To Sammy: Ok, sounds good :)

Not knowing what else to do at this point, I start on my homework. Once I'm done with that, I watch a few re-runs of The Big Bang Theory until dinner is ready. I don't eat much; I can't when there's so much on my mind. My parents notice that something's off with me, but thankfully decide not to question me about it.

After dinner, I return to my room and watch some more TV until I doze off.

Santana had been a mess ever since the incident with her mother. As she laid in bed, curled up in the fetal position, tears fell endlessly from her eyes. She cried and cried all through the night until her body was completely drained. Eventually, she fell asleep until her alarm for school went off. Looking at the clock, she realized that she had only drifted off for 45 minutes.

As Santana went into the bathroom to begin her morning routine, she became horrified at sight she saw once she looked at the mirror. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying all night. There were obvious bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

Quickly, Santana went into a frenzy looking for make-up to help conceal the state of her face. Santana never wore make-up, but she did on one occasion when one of her teammates accidentally elbowed her in the eye during swim practice. After that, she had stopped by the store and bought some concealer to hide the discoloration that was sure to appear and become worse as the hours passed.

Once she located said item, Santana began hearing some strange noises coming from inside her bedroom. As she popped her head out of the bathroom to see what the commotion was about, she was surprised to see her mother rifling through her things.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Santana asks while keeping a reasonable distance.

"You're not going to school today," Mrs. Lopez says as she unplugs Santana's lap top and wraps the cord around it.

"What do you mean I'm not going to school?"

"Was it the simplicity of my statement that's got you confused?" The older woman harshly replies.

Santana is stung by her mother's hasty tone.

"You're not going anywhere where that girl will be," Mrs. Lopez continues. "So that means no phone, no computer, and no school!"

"You can't keep me from going to school," Santana tries to reason with the doctor. "Brittany's my best friend and our next door neighbor... you can't stop me from seeing her."

"Who in the hell do you think you're talking too?" Mrs. Lopez spits out as she takes a step closer to her daughter. "I am your mother. As long as you live under my roof, you will do as I say. So, if I say that you're not going to fucking school, then you're not going to fucking school!" Mrs. Lopez continues while lifting her hand up to point for emphasis.

Upon seeing this motion, Santana flinches, thinking that a replay of last night is about to take place. As Santana closes her eyes and prepares herself for more pain, she's surprised when it doesn't come. Realizing that her daughter is afraid of her, Mrs. Lopez slowly lowers her hand.

"Hija, I'm sorry..." her mother says apologetically. She doesn't miss the way that Santana winces at the term of endearment.

"Maribel... that's enough!" Mr. Lopez says firmly as he steps into his daughter's bedroom.

"Ben, I didn't mean to-" Mrs. Lopez tries to explain, but her husband doesn't want to hear any of it.

"Just go so I can talk to my daughter... alone," Mr. Lopez replies.

Maribel doesn't argue this time. Instead, she turns on her heels and exits Santana's bedroom. As soon as she disappears from sight, Ben turns to face his daughter. As he takes in the way that Santana's arms are protectively wrapped around her body, he can't help but feel his heart break.

"Oh, honey... c'mere," he says as he wraps his arms around his sobbing daughter.

As Santana falls into her father's embrace, he leads them over to sit on her bed. After a few minutes have passed and Santana has recollected herself, Mr. Lopez tries to talk to her.

"What's going on sweetie?" Mr. Lopez inquires.

"M-mami h-hates m-m-me..." Santana struggles to get out as she buries her face into her father's chest.

"Aww, sweetie... I'm sure that's not true," her father states as he rubs her back. "What would make you think that?"

"Because..." Santana tries to respond without choking up again. She feels a little hesitant to tell her Dad about her feelings for Brittany, especially after the terrible reaction she received from her mother.

"It's okay, honey... you can tell me anything," Mr. Lopez assures.

"I'm... I'm in l-love with B-B-Brittany."

For a few seconds, it's silent inside of Santana's bedroom. The longer her father goes without saying anything, the more worried she gets that his reaction will be just as bad as her mother's. Before she can internally panic though, she hears a light chuckle emitting from the older male.

"Can't say that I'm really surprised, Banana Bear," Mr. Lopez finally replies with a smile.

"Dad... I thought we retired that name," Santana whines upon hearing the childish nickname her father made up years ago.

"Oh, c'mon... it's cute," Mr. Lopez says with an adorable expression for a man in his early 40's. "You're still my little girl so that name will never be retired."

As Santana playfully rolls her eyes, she lets a small smile appear on her face for the first time in 12 hours.

"So... you're really okay with this?" Santana carefully asks as she looks into her father's eyes.

"Yes, sweetie... I really am," her father reassures. "Santana... you are my daughter and I love you with all of my heart. Short of becoming a psycho murderer, there's nothing you can say or do that will ever change that."

As Santana's eyes fill with happy tears, she hugs her dad more tightly. "I love you too, Dad!"

"Are you gonna tell her?" Mr. Lopez ponders.

"I don't know... I was planning on doing it today until all of this happened," Santana replies. "I'm just not sure anymore."

"That's understandable," her father kindly states. "So... tell me what happened with Mom," he gently asks.

Santana takes a deep breath before recounting the events still fresh in her mind. After she finishes, Mr. Lopez can tell how exhausted his daughter is.

"Get some rest, baby girl..." Mr. Lopez says as he tucks Santana in and places a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Once he sees that Santana is resting peacefully, he leaves her room and travels a few doors down to the master bedroom.

Once Mr. Lopez enters his bedroom, he spots his wife sitting on top of their bed. Finally feeling the anger and frustration topple over, he confronts his wife on what took place the previous night.

"What the hell did you do to our daughter?" Mr. Lopez says in the calmest tone he can muster.

"Look, Ben... I may have said and did some things I'm not proud of, but we can't let this happen," Maribel explains.

"Maribel... I'm gonna give you the opportunity to tell me in your own words what happened last night cuz what I walked in on this morning... I wasn't happy with," Ben says. "The last thing I expected to see after being away on business all week is my wife yelling at my daughter."

"Ben, she's in love with Brittany... a girl!" Maribel argues. "How can you be taking this so lightly?"

"Because she's my daughter!" Ben sharply replies. "Gay, straight, purple, green... I don't care! She's my daughter... our daughter!"

"You don't understand... this can't happen! It's a sin!"

"Oh, and you're a perfect angel?" Ben retorts. "Maribel, none of us are perfect. Just because Santana is starting to embrace her sexuality doesn't mean she isn't the same little girl that we raised."

"She is different... and it's Brittany's fault!" Maribel a verily responds back.

"How can you even say that?" Ben questions. "Brittany has been nothing but a positive influence in our daughter's life. Up until yesterday, you thought the same thing too."

"Well, I was a fool. Besides, what does Santana know about love? She's only 16 for God's sake."

"Santana is constantly surrounded by love on a daily basis," Ben tries to reason with his wife. "Plus, we were only 18 when we met and fell in love. Don't you think you're being a little hypocritical?"

"What did you just say to me?" Maribel responds quickly as her hand begins to rise.

Apparently being called a hypocrite twice within a 24 hour period didn't sit well with her.

"What... you gonna hit me too, like you did our daughter last night?" Ben challenges her.

Sure... Ben knew that his wife had a temper; however, he had never seen her get this out of control. As Maribel lowers her hand and clenches it into a fist by her side, she looks at her husband with harden eyes.

"You may be fine with our daughter's alternative lifestyle, but I'm not," Maribel states sternly. I will not condone nor tolerate it."

"If my daughter's happy, then that's all that matters to me," Ben firmly replies. "You're treating her like she's some type of criminal. That will not be tolerated."

"Ya know, I never thought we'd be so fundamentally different on an issue of this magnitude," Maribel scoffs.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Ben responds. "This is your issue... not mine and certainly not Santana's."

"Well, I'm sorry for caring about our daughter's future," Maribel replies.

"Santana's a smart girl; she'll be just fine, despite thinking that her mother hates her," Ben answers back.

"So... what are we gonna do here, Ben?" Maribel questions. "Clearly we're on opposite ends of the spectrum. I do not and will never accept this."

"Well, then... I don't really know what to tell you then," Ben sighs. "I will say this though; if you ever put your hands on my daughter again... we're done!"

As Maribel lets her husband's words sink in, she's surprised at his take charge attitude. Normally, Ben was more laid back and easy going. Perhaps when it comes to defending his daughter, a little of the badass side of him comes out.

"I don't know what happened to you, but you are not the woman I married," Ben solemnly states. "Maybe you should go to work and find her."

Without another word, Ben leaves the room with a million things running through his mind. He's torn between protecting his daughter and reasoning with his wife.

In the 23 years that they've been together, the Lopezes have never had an argument like this. Ben isn't sure what to do next or what new revelation will mean for his family and his relationship with his wife. As he sits alone in his office, he hears the sound of garage opening, signaling that his wife was perhaps taking his advice and leaving the house.

"What do I do now?" Ben says aloud to himself as he closes his eyes and inhales deeply.

When Santana awakes again, it's almost 10pm. After realizing that she's been out for nearly 13 hours, she gets up to use the bathroom and wash her face. Once she re-enters her room, she notices her phone and lap top resting on her desk with a sticky note attached to it.

Thought you'd might like to have these back. Dinner is in the fridge. Love, Dad :)

PS - Btw, Sam stopped by and Brittany called earlier. She seemed very worried about you. Maybe you should give her a call back ;)

Santana smiles at the note as she grabs her phone and heads downstairs to heat up the dinner she missed. As her food is warming up, she turns on her phone and immediately sees numerous amounts if missed calls, voicemails, and text messages. The majority of them are from Brittany, - of course - being concerned about her best friend. Mixed in are other texts from her group of friends, expressing the same sentiment.

After finishing her food, Santana grabs her house keys and makes the short journey next door. Although the lights are off, she can see that Brittany's window is open. It's been a while since she's snuck inside her best friend's bedroom, but she thought that now was a good time since she didn't want to ring the doorbell and wake up Brittany's parents.

After she quickly maneuvers her way up the tree, she clumsily trips into Brittany's bedroom after getting her foot caught on the window sill.

"Oww!" Santana silently shouts as she rubs the elbow she landed on.

"Shit!" I scream as I jump out of bed and grab the closest thing next to me to use as a weapon.

"Are you gonna beat me to death with a Nicholas Sparks book?" Santana jokingly states. "That seems a little twisted, don't ya think?"

"Santana?" I question as my vision comes into focus. Once I realize that there's not a prowler in my room, I lower the book in my hand. "Oh my God, Santana... I was so worried about you!" I state as I help my best friend off of the ground, immediately wrapping my arms tightly around her. "What happened?"

"Me and my mom got into a fight," Santana briefly states. "Sorry that I didn't call or write you back; she took my phone and computer away."

"Oh, wow... what are you guys fighting about? She told me you were sick when I stopped by earlier."

"She would say that," I hear Santana mumble under her breath. When I give her a questioning look, she shakes it off and continues. "I don't really wanna talk about it. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course," I softly reply.

I can tell that whatever is going on between San and her mother, it has greatly affected her. Judging by her mother's coldness to me earlier, I'd say that it has really affected her too.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't mean to wake you up; I just missed you, I guess..." Santana bashfully says. She's just so damn cute that I want to hold her tighter and never let go. "Can you just hold me?"

"Of course," I instantly reply as I lead her over to my bed.

Once we're both under the covers, I place my arm over her midsection as we face each other. I can tell that she's been crying, based on the redness of her eyes and slight swelling around her eyes. I want to ask her about it, but I respect her request to not discuss what happened between her and her mother earlier.

As I look deeper into her eyes, I feel the urge to lean just a little bit closer and press our lips together. I want to do it so badly, but this most definitely not the right time, especially when she's in such a vulnerable state. My only job right now is to be her best friend and hold her until she falls asleep.

"Go to sleep, San... I've got you," I whisper as I gently kiss her forehead. She smiles in return as she turns to lay on her side with her back facing me. I tighten my grip around her waist and pull her closer to me. "I missed you too."

Santana doesn't say anything in response. Instead, she covers my hand with hers and laces our fingers together. Once I hear her breathing even out, I fall back asleep.

The next day at school, Santana briefly informs the rest of the group that she was "sick" to explain her absence yesterday. For the most part, everyone buys it and tells Santana that they hope she feels better. After most of the group leaves, Sam fills me and San in on his outing with Mercedes.

As Sam spoke about Mercedes, I could see his eyes light up as he explained to the diva about his feelings. He said that Mercedes was pretty shocked at first, but agreed to go on a date with him this Friday. We both told Sam how happy we were for him and how we hoped the things worked out between the two of them.

After that, I left to head to my next class. As I turned my head to get one last look at my friends - specifically Santana - I can't help but notice the intensity between them. San looks like she's telling Sam something very serious while Sam places a comforting hand on her shoulder. I know that Sam and Santana have zero romantic feelings for each other, but I can't help but feel like I'm witnessing an intimate moment. I feel like it should be me in Sam's place. I still feel like she's hiding something from me, but I don't want to push her if she's not ready to tell me yet.

Without wanting to intrude any longer, I turn my head and continue on to my class.

"I'm sorry to hear that, San... what are you gonna do?" Sam softly asks.

"I don't know... if I don't tell Brittany, then things will stay the same and she'll never know," Santana begins. "However, if I do tell her how I feel and about the fight with my mom, she'll blame herself and I don't want that. Plus, I don't know how my mom will react."

"Shit, San... I feel like an asshole for going on and on about my date with Mercedes," Sam apologizes.

"Don't be... I'm happy for you," Santana sincerely states. "If things work out, I think you'll make a cute couple."

"Thanks, San..." Sam responds. "Well, at least your Dad is cool with it."

"Yeah... thank God for him," Santana replies. "I don't know what I'd do without him. Whatever I do decide though, you can't say anything to Brittany."

"Great... another secret to keep from Brittany," Sam sighs.

"Well... it's either that or I'll have to kill you," Santana states in a serious manner.

"It's good to know that you haven't lost your humor," Sam chuckles out. Santana shrugs her shoulders in return.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. It was pretty long, so I split it into 2 chapters. Look out for the next chapter to be posted right after this one. Sorry about the heaviness, but trust me… it's necessary in order to get to the good stuff.

-Kris