With you on my shoulder
By HeartofSummer
Genre: Brittany and Santana romance
Copyright: Playing around with these awesome characters for fun. If only I owned them and got paid for it.

Chapter 5: The Rhodes not taken

(Santana)

Typical Puck to be the one to bring the first scandal of Glee Club into the light. In a way I was a little disappointed that it hadn't been me who'd figured it out. Then again, I'd been busy trying not to think about last weekend. It seemed like no matter how hard I tried to stay away from Brittany, it just kept getting more and more inevitable. She was everywhere. Not only was she the first person my eyes searched for when I entered a room, but she somehow always seemed to gravitate to my side. She left me feeling tingly and a little too aware of myself.

When I'd entered the choir room today, she'd already been there talking to Mike and Mercedes. She'd looked up just as I entered the room, and something had passed between us. A fluttering feeling in my stomach. She'd smiled, skipped over to give me a hug and then shooed Mike off the piano chair he was sitting on. She pulled it closer to the other chairs, before pressing me down. I hadn't argued, a little shocked by her bossiness.

"You look like you need a massage," she'd said in her innocent tone of voice, before starting to rub my shoulders. My eyes fluttered half closed and I gave a small moan before I could stop myself. Brittany laughed quietly, and she kept massaging my shoulders by circling her thumbs across my skin.

"We're discussing Quinn's behaviour," she said to me. I could hear the geeks at the piano come up with silly reasons. I wondered if they actually had a point. Quinn had been acting out a lot lately.
After a few minutes of exploring, she settled on massaging just the right spots, working out the kinks I'd had since forever. I crossed my legs and took a hold of my hand not to let out any other pleasurable sounds. I saw Mike and Matt stare at us, and caught a glimpse of Brittany winking towards them, pressing down harder on me and making me flinch and bite my lip.

But then Puck stopped fiddling with his guitar and spoke up, and his words changed everything.

"Maybe Quinn's got one in the oven." Brittany moved onto my hair, combing her fingers through it, not really paying any attention to what she was doing.

"Who's the baby's daddy?" I felt her sit down when she heard that. I mentally kicked myself for being that aware of her every movement.
"Who do you think? Finn." Right at that moment, Midget came into the room, but no one really cared what she had to offer. Nothing could compare to this. I turned around to face Brittany, and she looked away for a second, before standing up to whisper in my ear.

"Santana, why is Quinn baking?" Her breath tickled my cheek and I held back a shiver.

"That's not what it means, Brit." I said, shaking my head.

"Does it mean she's... preggers?" Brittany whispered, so quietly I was more reading it off of her lips than actually hearing her say the words. I nodded, half smiling in disbelief. Quinn was the head of celibacy club. I knew she was sneaky, but this was just too much. I'd heard that you could see it on a person when they've lost their V card, but it just didn't look like Finn had. He looked the same as always. A little too tall with a little too long limbs, together with a brain that still seemed to belong to a 13 year old, shy boy.

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd be welcomed back with a tad more enthusiasm," Rachel moped only to be answered by a delighted Kurt.

"Sorry, Glee club has just been rocked with it's first scandal."

"Poor Quinn," Brittany whispered, putting her cheek to mine, and I stayed still, even though the touch made me loose my breathe, wanting to pull away, but at the same time wanting nothing more than the simpleness of her touch. "We should go talk to her." I wasn't sure it was the best idea. Me and Quinn had lost a lot of our closeness since she started dating Finn. But still, Brittany was probably right...

She pushed the "talking to Quinn" issue so hard, that after practice, I was seriously thinking about it. We were all three tired from Coach Sylvester making us do 50 push-ups and 30 sit-ups every time someone didn't smile to her satisfaction (and she was only ever satisfied in 1 out of a 100). I was packing my bag when Brittany was suddenly at my side, taking a hold of my wrist.

"She's leaving." she whispered loudly, so that some of the others close to our lockers looked up with questioning eyes. I saw the door close, knowing without scanning the room that it was Quinn. She had stopped changing with us, and I'd assumed it had been because she was rushing to meet Finn, but...

"Let's go," I said to Brittany and she followed me, after a rushed Quinn through an empty, grey looking corridor. It was late afternoon and the sun had somehow disappeared through a bundle of clouds. Brittany hurried past me now, calling the Head Cheerleaders name. She turned and smiled, a little dryly.

"Brittany, Santana. Aren't you gonna shower?"

"We thought we'd get home early," I said, coming up on her right, Brittany on her left.

"I need to work on my letter of recommendations to Hogwarts." Brittany said, face blank. Quinn looked at me for an answer, and since I didn't have one, I shrugged.

We started walking together towards the exit.

"So, how are you really, Quinn?" Quinn gave me a side look, and I knew she was suspicious. I never asked her how she felt, we just dealt with our problems by being bitchy towards others together. It was a great way to get out your anger and frustration. That and sex.

"I'm fine," she said, looking forward, content on getting to her car. She pushed her hand into her bag and brought out her phone.

"You've been out of it, lately." I told her, flat out. She ignored me.

"Typical," she muttered. "I've been having trouble with the food after drinking that mix Coach gave us last week." The knot of worry and hope untied, and I felt relief and disappointment wash over me.

"Oh, yeah. It taste like total shit." I retorted, and Quinn just gave a:

"Mhhmm," as an answer. "I haven't been able to keep my food down, which is a good sign I guess."

"I put sand in mine," Brittany added. I just ignored her, though my head was screaming: "WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT DID YOU DRINK SAND?"

"Yeah, it's really effective. Mix that with practice and wine coolers and you've really got something."

"Are you really feeling okay. It's not because you're... baking, is it?" I knew that Brittany meant well, but that just made me want to seriously ask her what she was doing. Asking Quinn flat out would not work. But before I could react, Quinn's hand shot out in front of me, and I stopped.

"Lend me your car, S." I looked at her, raising a shocked eyebrow.

"I'm not lending you my rhinestone," I said, crossing my arms. "You'd wreck her."

"Since when did "it" become a "her"?" Quinn snapped at me.

"Since she's my car." Quinn gave me one of her famous "are-you-serious?" looks and wiggled her fingers on her still outstretched hand. Brittany was standing a few paces away from us, seeming to examine the water fountain. I caught a glimpse of her pressing down, looking all riled up about the water jumping out in a little arch.

"I need to pick up my mom for church and since Finn gave me a ride this morning and is now stuck at friggin' practice, I have to pick her up somehow." I walked around Quinn's hand and faced her, swishing my ponytail and crossing my arms over my chest for full effect.

"Find another way home then, Q."

"I could give you a ride home, Santana." We both looked at Brittany, who was smiling towards me. "It would only take a little while."

"See, you got yourself a ride," Quinn said, bossily but with a smile, and put the other hand on her hip. "Keys." I let my eyes go up and down on her posture, and then, to my dismay, my hands acted on their own free will, pulling out the keys and dangling them in front of Quinn.

"If you wreck my beaut-" She stole them out of my hands.

"Simmer down, S. It's just a car." Then she was out the door. Me and Brittany walked out slowly, watching her start my baby up, running the motor way too harsh. Now my seats would smell of her perfume for days.

Brittany caught my eye, and nodded.

"That was very nice of you, Santana." I just sighed, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you're giving me a ride home, so..."

"Yep. Let's go over to my house." I stopped in my tracks.

"What?" Brittany smiled.

"My car is at home. It's only a ten minute walk from here." She pressed her books to her chest, starting to walk with long strides down the street. I slung my bag over my shoulder, staring at her red and white back in disbelief, before hurrying up to her side.

"Really, you walked to school this morning?"

"It was sunny."

"When you have a car?"

"It wasn't raining." I shook my head, in shock of how natural it sounded. Then I felt the first drop, and I knew we were in trouble.

"It's gonna fucking rain now!" I blurted out, just as the sky seemed to open up and a whole ocean washed over us. Brittany took my hand and started pulling me with her, running.

"I know a quicky!" she called over the noise, rushing in through some bushes, jumping a fence like she was walking over it with her tall legs.

We ran across two major lawns with slides and sandboxes and I could feel the cold drops slap my cheeks. Brittany's hand slid away from mine as she ran, her cheerios uniform already clinging to her body like a second skin – but then again, it always did. We jumped over a fence and then jogged across a street, in through a gate and finally, stopped on a big porch. I was trying to catch my breath as I noticed the elephantine garden. There were about four trees and what looked like a small pond, with flowers popping up everywhere. The house was a colour of lemon yellow, looking like the sun was shining on it despite the rain. I looked at Brittany, who caught my eye and started laughing.

"You're so wet!" she exclaimed, making me laugh too, thinking inappropriate thoughts.

"Well, we got our shower," I smiled at her, wondering how being both cold and wet could ever feel so good. I could see the water streaming down her face from her hair, then looking down I saw her knees shivering. I felt her hand on my arm, had a flash back of her warm lips and snapped back up.

"You've got goosebumps," she said quietly. I looked at her eyes, feeling like the water had reached my lungs. "Let's go inside."

She brought out her keys from the bag and as soon as she put the key in the lock, a bark was heard from inside. Naturally, I took a few steps back. I hated dogs, they were so dumb, obeying whatever you told them to do. Besides, they smelled bad and if you patted one you wouldn't get rid of the stench for days. I was surprised I hadn't smelt the dog on Brittany before.

A huge honey coloured monster pushed its nose through the door, rushing out with open mouth to do a run around Brit, before acknowledging me by barking and waving it's tail like crazy, trying to sniff my hands that I was holding to my chest.

"Move over, dog," I barked right back at it, but it didn't do any good.

"Sit." Brittany's sweet but firm way to say the word made the dog sit down immediately, craning it's neck back to look at her. I didn't know why, but somehow, that voice she had used made me feel a bit turned on. I shook the revelation off and looked up at her, then at the dog, and back again.

"This is Bailey," she smiled at me. "We've had her for three years." She reached over to pat her, and Bailey sat still, but closed her eyes and leaned her head into Brittany's hand.
"She's... I don't really like dogs." I admitted, seeing Brittany's eyes grow wide and a little sad.
"Oh, but she's really not dangerous at all!" she said, her hand shooting out to pull me closer. "Come on, she's not gonna bite you!"
"No, it's not-" but it was no use. Brittany thought I was scared of the thing, and maybe I was a little, but it was mostly the part about dogs smelling each others butts that freaked me out. She just placed my hand on top of it's head.

"See, she's super trained! You could make her wear a dress and she still wouldn't move!" Something told me Brittany had tried that, and I believed her. Brittany guided my hand across the head, up and down a few times, and the monster just looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, waiting patiently for me to be done with massaging her head.

"Yeah, she's... cool." I said, the words finally making Brittany let go of my hand, which I pulled away, holding away from my clothes as if the stench would spread like Mono.

"Come on in!" The mutt lead the way inside, and I stepped into the hall that was quite huge, with light walls and a big staircase to my right.

"I'll give you the tour as soon as we've dried off," Britt stated and went up the staircase. I quickly pulled off my shoes, staring back at the dog that was now sitting across the hall, staring at me.

"What?" I asked it, but it just put it's head on a tilt at my words. I followed Britt up the stairs, looking around as I came to the second floor. The house was quiet, but I could hear Brittany moving around somewhere down the hall. I looked around, seeing old pictures of her family and Bailey. In one of them was girl about 11, grinning back at me and showing off her braces. The girl looked a lot like Britt, but I knew for a fact that it had to be her little sister, Daphne. I couldn't believe how big she looked. Last I'd seen of her, she'd been 3.

"Santana, come here," I saw Brittany stick out her head two doors away, and I moved over to her.

"Here you go!" she smiled as I appeared in the doorway, just barely managing to catch the towel she threw at me. She had already stripped out of her uniform, standing before me in a bluish bra and black panties, making my heart stumble and miss a beat.

I reached up to pull out my hair, before letting the folded towel unfold itself and threw it on top of my head, trying to dry my now evident curls.

"I'll go get some clothes for us," Brittany said, and left the bathroom. I looked after her in the mirror, before dropping the towel to the floor and leaning closer. My mascara had turned into huge smudges around my eyes, and I looked like a tanned panda. Pulling the top of the uniform over my head, I looked around the bathroom. It was light blue, with heated floor and a bathtub with lion feet. I hang up the top beside Brittany's on the side of the bathtub, pulling off my skirt and adding that too. My underwear was wet too, but I decided I'd just take off the bra and let the panties stay wet.

Something sounded down the hall, scratching footsteps, and when I turned around, big brown eyes were watching me. Bailey waved her tail slightly at the sight of me I scrunched up my nose and turned on the tap to wash away the stench on my hand from before.

I took soap twice, and washing, before doing it once more. I was watching the dog in the mirror, making sure it stayed outside of the bathroom. I picked up the towel from the floor, only to turn back to the mirror, drying myself off.

"Don't even think about it," I mumbled more to myself than the dog.

"Think about what?" Brittany had appeared in the reflection now, dressed in a big, bright pink sweater and cosy pyjamas pants. In her hands she held another blue pair just like them, and a black shirt with something red on it. I smiled at her as she handed it to me, looking at the letters on the t-shirt.

"Worlds greatest sister" I smiled at Brittany who sat down on the side of the bathtub, Bailey close by her side. I pulled on the pants and shirt, before reaching back and unclasping my bra. Usually I would've just thrown off the bra before, but for the first time since, like, ever, I felt shy flashing my boobs.

"Thanks," I said, as I pulled the bra out from under the shirt.

"I got it from Samantha," she answered, smiling slightly at me. "She bought it when she went to Spain." I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. Brittany looked at me, patted the monster absent-mindedly and I looked at the dog, trying to control the thoughts in my head.

"Santana-" I looked up at her, heart rushing when I met her intense stare, and looked back at the dog.

"Yeah?"

"Where did the sexy giant elephant hide in glee club today?" I swallowed and shrugged. The memory stung my conscience, but the truth was that I'd done it on purpose. I always did it on purpose, especially with the gay kid. He just annoyed the hell out of me. Going around talking, walking and dressing like a typical out gay dude, he might as well have been carried by a muscular tranny in short skirt, waving the rainbow flag as he walked down the corridor.

"Could we please talk about the giant elephant in the room?"
"Your sexuality?" I'd smiled an evil smile at that, but I'd felt that familiar feeling of the comment hitting close to home. Not that I was gay! Gosh, fuck, never. But then again... I was thinking about that kiss an awful lot. I'd actually gone as far as thinking about it while having sex with Puck, which was so not okay. We lived in a small town that still believed that football, beer and porn were God's greatest gifts to mankind. Not many people were ready to even acknowledge the existence of homosexuality, let alone accepting that some of their closest friends, children, teachers and parents were in fact gay or bi. I mean, I didn't care much for labels. Heck, I made out with girls all the time, but never without an audience. Fine if you liked that sort of thing. My eyes might slip once in a while over some girls legs or chest, and I might have some sexual fantasies I would like to try out, but I wasn't gonna go put myself in some kind of box. If I was anything, I was a sex loving cheerleader, who brings it on whenever she gets the chance.

Be gay, fine. But don't expect me to wave that flag with you. There's one thing more important than supporting what you think is right, and that is reputation. You are what people see you as. Sad but true, a truth I learned to accept a long time ago.

"It wasn't actually and elephant, Brittany." I started, realizing someone had to tell her, so why not me. "You sometimes say that when a something, let's say a subject, is hanging around and everybody thinks about it but no one says anything." She studied me intently with those innocent, wide eyes and I realized I was using big words, sounding book smart. For once, I didn't really care.

"But why an elephant?"

"Because it's as invisible as an elephant. If there actually was a giant elephant in a room, it wouldn't be able to hide, right? Everyone would see it." I waited for her to think, then nod as she'd understood. "So the subject is too big to hide as well." She was quiet, then:

"So you said that Kurt being gay was as obvious as an elephant in the room, when Kurt was talking about Rachel having quit Glee club." I let a small smile tug at the corner of my lips.

"Exactly." She smiled at me too, the dog standing up and looking from me to Brit and back again, waving it's tail encouragingly.

"Then let's talk about this giant elephant in the room," she said, smiling. I stopped smiling, feeling confused but trying to hide it. "Where's our hot chocolate?" she giggled, reaching out for my hand and pulling me with her, the yellow thing dancing around us, trying to make me trip over it.

Just as we got downstairs, the door opened and a woman with a just as blond mop of hair as Brittany appeared in the doorway. She was carrying a huge tray with a towel draped over it, and with her came the smell of daffodils, sugary icing and freshly baked muffins.

She turned around as Brittany squealed ("Mum!") and gave us the brightest, most heart warming smile. I felt like I'd never been cold and wet in the first place.

"Girls! Am I happy to see you home." Her German accent made her sound a little brisk, but her voice was as smooth as honey. "You're just in time to taste my newest experiment." She whispered the last part with a conspiratorial tone and walked into what I assumed was the kitchen, the plate of hidden goods leading the way. Brittany smiled at me, then took my hand and pulled me after her. I craned my neck to look at the sofa in one corner, the open door to what seemed to be another bedroom, and then I felt my world cringe when I felt the smell of muffins.

Brittany's mom, Silke, was looking at me with those same wide eyes as Brittany's, but instead of being innocent, they were filled with motherly experience and love. I almost took a step back, feeling overwhelmed by that vibe she was giving, looking at me like I was a masterpiece of some kind. Her eyes crinkled at the sides as she dried off her flour covered hands on the pink apron and hurried over to give me a huge hug. I hugged her back, not knowing what to do, fighting the urge to close my eyes, breathe in and cry for a bit.

"Gosh, Santana!" She remembered me. Of course she did, she had been like the mother opposite of what I'd had. She took a step back, still holding onto my upper arms, looking me up and down.

"Holy buns, you've grown up to be such a woman!" Her words made me feel small and needy, and embarrassed, which I never felt. Ever.

"Thank you, Mrs. Pierce," I mumbled.

"Oh, don't be bashful, dear! And please call me Silke." She almost sang at me, laughing that laugh that sounded like it was coming from a happy hen, clucking. "And no wonder Brittany hasn't stopped talking about you since we moved here!" Now I was blushing too! My eyes crept to Brittany at my side, and she was smiling and looking at me, pink evident on her cheeks too.

"Oh well, now onto the experiment!" Silke exclaimed and rushed over to pull the towel off the plate. The muffins were made of chocolate, pretty dark, it looked, with yellow icing and silver balls on top. She picked to up and put in our hands, telling us to eat.

I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I remembered Silke's baking skills and I didn't want to be rude.

"Go on!" she urged me. I poked back the paper and bit into it. A strong taste of chocolate hit me, mixed with cinnamon and the sweetness of the icing, which seemed to be tasted with oranges. I sighed, chewing away at big bits of chocolate and soon taking another bite.

"Well...?" Silke said, looking at us with expectant eyes.

"These are amazing, Mrs. Pierce!"

"Silke, dear," she said, laughing slightly. "And thank god you like them. I got a little carried away with the vanilla and cinnamon." I shook my head, chewing on my third bite.

"No, not at all. It's like a food orga-" I almost choked on the piece, hoping she hadn't heard me since I'd had muffin in my mouth. "- eh, explosion!"

"They aren't as good as the ones you did last week, but they're good, mum." Brittany said. I was almost in shock. You could actually get used to having a mum like this? Silke smiled knowingly.

"I thought you would say that. But then again, you've always liked strawberries more than oranges," she clucked.

"Dad'll love them, though," Britt said, smiling towards her mother, chewing.

"Oh, your father loves sweets, especially orange once, so I'm sure you're right. He'll be home any minute now. So will Daphne." I felt myself grow small beside Brittany, searching my head for an escape.

"I better start making dinner," Silke mumbled, looking at the clock above the stove. "Would you stay for dinner, Santana dear?" Two pairs of wide blue eyes stared me down, but I swallowed the piece of cake in my mouth and said:

"I'm really sorry, but my parents will be waiting for me for dinner." I saw the expectation in Brittany's eyes fall, and her smile faded, but Silke's didn't.

"Oh well, some other time then. I'll make sure to cook lasagne, it used to be your favourite if I remember correctly." She winked at me.

"You're right," I smiled politely, and ignored Brittany's hurt look.

"How about this friday?" I swallowed, thinking of an excuse but couldn't find any. Oh heck, why not. Brittany's eyes had lit up again too, and I didn't want to smother the light in them.

"Why not? Sounds great." I answered, smiling. Silke gave me huge hug, and Brittany followed me to the door.
"I'll drive you."

"It's only a ten minute walk or something," I protested, needing time to think.

"I wish you would stay longer," she said in a sad voice, pouting.

"I'll go home with you straight after school this Friday, okay?" Her lips stretched out into a smile instead, and she threw her arms around me, placing a kiss on my cheek that made my eyes feel hot and my heart take flight.

"That's perfect, Santana!" I stood there, a little dumbfounded, as I saw the dog coming down the stairs, showing off it's teeth and tongue. I smiled at Brittany and went out before she would force me to stay pat that thing again.

"You can give me my clothes tomorrow," I called over my shoulder. "Bye!"

I swung the door shut in her face, standing still on the porch for a second, letting out a breath. I was invited to an actual family dinner... the realization dawned on me, and I panicked slightly. What were you supposed to wear? I couldn't exactly go in my cheerio costume.

"Fucking hell." I swore to myself, suddenly realizing I was staring at a grey, white and black figure luring at me from under the tree on the other side of the garden. Brittany's cat. I knew she had one, because she'd mentioned it about ten times since I met her. I stepped out from the porch, looking up at the sky, a little surprised.

It had stopped raining.

A/N: Please give me inspiration to keep writing by telling me what you think!

I'm always interested in suggestions and discussions so don't hesitate to tell me!