Chapter Title: Running Scared
Author: Stargirl888
Word Count: About 4900
Spoilers: None
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel, Brittany/Santana, discussions of Rachel/Santana
Rating: T
WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption by young minors
Disclaimer: Not mine never has been and unfortunately never will be :(
Summary: Brittany's sister makes a silly decision and Brittany talks to Rachel and Quinn about reason developments.
A/N: Long delay, Ik! I've got exams starting in a couple of weeks so I doubt update speed will pick up until after that. Because I'm busy I haven't gotten around to asking someone to translate the conversation between Brittany and her sister, and then Brittany and her mom but just assume it is being spoken in Dutch
Timeline wise, this chapter starts the same Saturday the last one ended on, with Rachel and Quinn talking on Sunday. Please don't judge Quinn too harshly she's hurt and scared of what it could mean for her relationship (You'll understand when you read it). Otherwise, here you go…
-0-0-0-
That afternoon, Brittany was sitting on the sofa watching a movie with Stacy, when her sister let out an expected squeal of delight. Brittany glanced over curiously to see she was typing away rapidly on her cell phone.
"What's up?" She asked curiously
"You know Mariette Loftmann?" Stacy asked and Brittany shook her head. "She's a sophomore at McKinley and she's having a party tonight so Gracie's mom said Gracie could invite Loretta and I over to keep her company." Stacy explained.
"Stacy, if Mariette is having a party then there's no way you can go over." Brittany replied with a frown. Teenagers, plus party almost always equalled alcohol, sex and occasionally drugs. Now Brittany obviously wasn't going to judge that – considering the party she had attended the night before at Quinn's place and the numerous ones before, but it wasn't really something she wanted her baby sister to be exposed to before she had even hit high school and it wasn't something her parents wanted Stacy exposed to either. Brittany was fairly certain that Gracie's mom intended for the three younger girls to hole up in a room and watch movies or something and keep clear of the older kids but she also knew Stacy, and Loretta to some degree, and there was no way they would be content with that plan; especially if her previous excitement was anything to go by.
"Why not?" Stacy demanded as Brittany sent off a quick text to a couple of Cheerio's to find out if they had heard about the party.
"Because if it's the type of party I think it is then there is no way you're old enough to be within a hundred feet of it."
"I'm not a child anymore Brittany. I am growing up." Stacy replied hotly, "and besides, we'll probably just hang out in Gracie's room."
"Yes, because I'm naive enough to believe that. No Stacy. I'm sorry. Why not invite Gracie and Loretta around here instead?"
"You do know you're my sister, not my mom right?"
"Yes, but even Mom won't let you go." Brittany retorted. Stacy rose from her seat defiantly, intending to go find their mom. Brittany sighed and reluctantly made to follow her as her cell phone buzzed.
The text was from Marissa; one of the girls she'd texted moments ago, confirming it was the type of party Brittany suspected, though the guest list was limited to a couple of the more minor clubs like drama and music.
Entering the bedroom, Brittany resisted the urge to huff in irritation as Stacy turned to her triumphantly. "Mama said I could go."
"Did you tell Mama the whole story?" Brittany asked, glancing at her mother who was sitting on her bed behind Stacy.
"What whole story?" The girl's mother asked quickly. Brittany gave Stacy a pointed look.
"Well it doesn't really affect anything because we would be in Gracie's room far away from it, but the reason she invited me over is to keep her company while her sister has some friends over." Stacy explained.
"I'm not seeing the problem." Mrs Pierce admitted to Brittany, not understanding why her older daughter was objecting.
"Mariette is not just having some friends over; she's hosting a party. I think Stacy is still too young to be around that." Brittany explained.
"You were at a party last night." Mrs Pierce pointed out.
"Yes and I'm four years older than Stacy." Brittany replied
"If I recall right, you went to your first party when you were only a year older than Stacy is now."
"With people my own age, not two to three years older than me." Brittany argued, "And I at least was in high school at the time, Stacy's still has another whole year of junior high first."
"I thought Stacy just said they wouldn't even be at the party but upstairs in Gracie's room?" At this Brittany just sent her mother a disbelieving look.
"Stacy, do you promise to stay in Gracie's room and not bother the older kids?" Mrs Pierce asked her youngest seriously.
"Yes." Stacy replied without hesitating, and Mrs Pierce sent Brittany a look like that should satisfy her. Brittany just shook her head disbelievingly
"You're seriously going to let your thirteen year old daughter go into a house full of inebriated teenagers, where she'll be exposed to god knows what?" Brittany demanded, trying to ignore Stacy's Chester cat grin.
"Don't be flippant." Mrs Pierced warned lightly "I can't keep her locked in a closet the rest of her life and Stacy has promised she will keep away from the party. What else am I meant to do?" Brittany's mother responded.
"Tell her to invite Gracie around here instead. If they're just hanging out they can do it equally well here."
"But Gracie has an Xbox we can use." Stacy jumped in.
"There comes a point where I just have to trust I raised her right, same like I do when I trust you." Mrs Pierce sighed. Brittany's eyes flashed dangerously but before she could respond there was a knock on the front door.
-00-0-0-00-0-0-00-
It was late Saturday afternoon and Rachel's mind had been spinning the whole day since Santana had spoken to her. She had finally decided that she needed someone to talk to about it.
She was walking up the Pierces driveway when she heard a number of raised voices issuing from the house. Pausing, Rachel briefly considered if calling ahead would have been more prudent.
"Brittany?" Rachel called as she knocked on the blond's front door cautiously and the voices in side quieted. She could hear movement inside as before the door was pulled open
"Hello?" Brittany's younger sister, Stacy, answered the door, a smirk still on her face from whatever had been going on when Rachel arrived
"Hi." Rachel greeted with a smile. "I was hoping Brittany was around and had a few seconds to talk."
"Rachel?" Brittany appeared at the door beside Stacy.
"Umm hey. I was hoping we could talk?" Rachel asked tentatively, knowing she was interrupting something.
"Sure, give me two seconds to get a jacket and we can go for a walk." Brittany replied, turning back into the house and shutting the door.
"Stacy. Fine, Mama is trusting you and so I will have to too." Brittany said to her sister biting back her annoyance "You need to promise me that you'll stay away from that party, and those kids." Brittany's concern wasn't only about her sister's behaviour. Her sister and her friends were all rather mature for their age, physically, resulting in them easily looking older than they were. She didn't trust guys with beer goggles on to realise how young they actually were. "And more importantly, if anything happens, or you need someone to come pick you up or something, you call me, and if you can't get a hold of me then there's Mama, Papa, or even Santana. Okay?"
"Alright Britt, don't worry so much." Stacy shrugged off the concern.
"Okay. Well have a good time then." Brittany gave Stacy a hug, not planning on returning to the house for a good few hours, by which time Stacy would have already left. Grabbing her coat, cell phone and house keys Brittany shouted up to her mother that she was going out with a friend and would be back later before rejoining Rachel on the porch.
"Everything alright?" Rachel asked after a couple of minutes as they slowly meandered down the street.
"Yes." Brittany replied without conviction.
"You know, just because I'm always asking you for advice, doesn't mean I can't offer any." Rachel hinted. "And even if I can't help, expressing ones thoughts out loud can be rather cathartic."
Brittany gave a rueful smile. "It's just Stacy. She's going to a friend's house tonight while the friend's older sister is throwing a party, and you know what those parties get like. I don't want her around that – not at her age."
"What does your mother say?"
"Something about trusting that she raised Stacy right, the same way she trusts me."
"Well it worked with you." Rachel pointed out.
"No it didn't. I was going out to parties and fooling around with guys by the time I was 14." Rachel didn't have a response to that. "Stacy and her lot are going to try sneak downstairs to the party, same as San and I would have done at their age and I don't trust the guys there to not take advantage of them."
"Surely they'll realise how young the girls are and not want them hanging around?"
"Have you seen what my sister looks like?" Brittany asked rhetorically, "Now add heels and makeup, plus slight inebriation on the guy's part."
"Oh." was Rachel's rather effusive answer. "Everyone has to grow up eventually." She murmured softly.
"I know, I just expected it to come with high school, you know? That's when everything changes. She should still enjoy her time before all of that. It's probably a good thing that you arrived when you did though because my mom had just made the comment about raising Stacy right." Brittany didn't explain further but Rachel knew that it was a sensitive topic with the blond who looked after her sister more than her mother did. "Sorry, ignore me, I'm just ranting." Brittany stopped herself.
"I don't mind." Rachel assured her. "It helps to vent sometimes."
Brittany murmured her agreement but didn't go on. They rounded the corner of the street and arrived at the entrance to the park. The park was almost completely empty, since it was heading into early evening now. Rachel followed as Brittany led the way over to a patch of grass. Sitting down and without explanation Brittany lay back so she was staring up at the sky and after an awkward moment, Rachel copied her.
Brittany allowed her mind to calm as she stared up at the slightly purple hued sky, breathing deeply and allowing herself to relax.
Rachel, not wanting to break the quiet that had settled over them did likewise.
When she felt centred again Brittany tilted her head to Rachel.
"Sorry, you came over to talk to me and all I've done is talk instead." Brittany apologised. Rachel rolled over so she was lying on her side facing Brittany, her head propped up on her arm.
"I'm assuming Santana told you what we spoke about in the car?" Rachel asked and Brittany gave a little nod in confirmation. "Would you really be ok with us...exploring what we feel?" She hesitated to call it dating. Brittany looked at Rachel thoughtfully; she too had been thinking a lot about this situation today.
"Yes."
"Just yes?" Rachel asked, taken aback by the simple answer. Brittany sighed, and shifted so she was mirroring Rachel's position.
"I can tell what Santana feels about you, and I know you feel something too. I trust you to not intentionally hurt her, and I think that the two of you would go well together."
"And you're okay that if things go well, she and I will...?"
"Rach, honestly, I don't know what I'll feel when that time comes. It'll be different from when she and I used to see other people because with you there are deeper feelings involved, but right now, because I know you, and can trust you to be good to her; I believe I could handle it." Brittany offered her a soft smile, which Rachel returned. "But, "Brittany's tone became much more serious "Rachel, Santana is not as strong as she would have everyone believe, and while we may be friends, if you ever take advantage of her or intentionally cause her pain... " She paused and waited for Rachel to acknowledge her words. "Have you spoken to Quinn about this yet?" Brittany asked after a moment.
"No, I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first before rocking the boat needlessly with her." Rachel explained.
"Mmm, I don't envy you that conversation." Brittany commented, lying back again and watching the first couple of stars make their appearance. "I'm hungry." She added after a moment "Want to go get something to eat?"
-0-0-0-0-
They were both already in the middle of dessert, when Brittany's phone rang. Brittany glanced at the foreign number before answering it
"Hello?"
Yeah, hi. Is that Brittany?
"Yes, who is this?" Brittany asked, not recognising the voice, which had a slight slur to it.
It's Gracie.
"Is Stacy okay?" Brittany demanded quickly
Umm, you might want to come pick her up. She says she's not feeling well.
"Call Santana and ask her to come pick us up, and organise the bill." Brittany instructed Rachel, covering the mouthpiece of the phone - they had walked to the restaurant.
"What's your address?" she added to Gracie
Brittany listened to Gracie's garbled directions while Rachel quickly called Santana. Santana's house was not far from the restaurant so by the time they had tracked down the waiter and settled the bill, Santana was already pulling up outside.
They soon arrived at Gracie's house, and as expected, the party was already getting rather lively, though it was not particularly large. They were directed up the stairs and found Gracie and Loretta sitting in the corridor giggling. Both looked up apprehensively as the older girls approached.
"Where's Stacy?" Brittany asked by way of greeting.
"Bathroom." Loretta pointed to the door behind them and the sound of retching could be heard.
"Stacy?" Brittany called, knocking on the door lightly, but didn't receive a response. "Stacy can I come in?"
Brittany tried the handle when she didn't get a response and found the door was unlocked. Entering the room, Brittany found Stacy clinging to the toilet bowl, in which she had just thrown up in.
Stacy glanced up at Brittany pitifully before being hit by another wave of nausea and leant back over the toilet. Brittany quickly knelt down beside her, and taking the clip from her own hair, used it to pin Stacy's out of the way.
Rachel headed over to the sink and began rummaging around for some mouth wash while Santana rounded on the other two girls who were still in the doorway, looking slightly ill at the sight of their friend throwing up.
"You're all idiots, you know that right?" she asked severely "Why aren't you two in similar states?"
"She was thirstier." Loretta shrugged, clearly thinking she was being clever while Gracie laughed.
"Well we're not babysitting you two all night." Santana muttered impatiently, before heading to the stairs and shouting over the banister to Mariette.
When Mariette got up the stairs, Santana simply pointed at the two youngsters. "The only reason you get a stay of execution over Stacy getting wasted is because I don't know how she got a hold of the booze yet." Santana snapped impatiently, having always been protective of Brittany's sister. "We're going to take Stacy home, which means that those two," she pointed to Gracie and Loretta "are your responsibility. "
Just then Brittany and Rachel emerged from the bathroom, Brittany's arm firmly wrapped around Stacy as they made their way to the stairs. They could hear Mariette complaining about how her baby sister was ruing her party all the way out of the house.
They paused outside, next to the car and Santana placed a hand under Stacy's chin to tilt her head up so she could look at her properly. She was silent for a moment, listening to Stacy's breathing and feeling her forehead with her free hand while Stacy half heartedly scowled at the manhandling. Brittany watched with concern.
"Do you think she needs a doctor?" Rachel asked after a moment
"No," Santana replied after a moment, "she'll be fine. She's drunk, but not enough to warrant a doctor's visit. My place?" She added to Brittany questioningly and Brittany indicated her agreement.
"Are we not taking her home?" Rachel asked once they were all in the car.
"No, we'll take her to my place and get some food and water into her first."
"You don't want your parents finding out?" Rachel guessed, swivelling in her seat to look back at Brittany who was sitting in the back with Stacy.
"Proving my mother wrong is not worth the drama it'll cause." Brittany explained "And Stacy's my sister. I have a feeling though that she's already learnt enough from tonight to swear off of alcohol for at least another few years, although we will be talking about it in the morning when you're sober." Brittany added to Stacy, who let out a mumbled reply.
-0-0-0-0-
With Brittany's blessing, Rachel knew the next step for her was to talk to Quinn about Santana, something was dreading. After googling the internet for information on having multiple partners the following morning, Rachel decided not to delay and invited Quinn over to her place for the afternoon, hoping for an opportunity to talk.
"I was watching an interesting documentary earlier." Rachel commented offhandedly while she and Quinn were just relaxing around the house referring to something she had found on the internet.
"Oh, what about?"
"Non-monogamous couples."
"Oh," Quinn replied neutrally, not sure where the conversation was going.
"They interviewed a number of couples who had very successful relationships while one or both partners also had relationships with other people." Rachel waited nervously for her girlfriends thoughts on the topic.
"Well that shouldn't come as a surprise to you. Brittany and Santana have both been with other people whilst dating each other."
"So you think it's possible; to have a relationship with more than one person at a time and not ruin the original relationship?"
"I think it depends on the couple." Quinn replied evenly as warning bells began to tinkle in the back of her mind and Rachel could see Quinn was getting suspicious.
"Do you think we could manage that sort of an arrangement?" Rachel attempted to make it sound nonchalant but without great success. Quinn gave Rachel a hard look as she tried to determine how serious this line of questioning was.
"I don't know." Quinn replied honestly "Why?"
Rachel bit her lip, hesitating. Quinn raised an eyebrow and waited Rachel out.
"Fine," Rachel cracked, launching into full speech mode "I know this is the most clichéd break up line ever, and I swear I'm not trying to break up with you but I want to see other people. Or more specifically one other person. And this had nothing to do with you, or something missing in our relationship, because I love you and I like where we are as a couple right now, but I also think I'm developing feelings for someone and I really feel like I need an opportunity to try exploring them. I don't want to hurt you and it's not personal but I can't deny I don't feel tempted by them. I'd never cheat on you but I also feel like I can't ignore my feelings any longer, especially when I know that to some extent my feelings are reciprocated. I know she's your best friend and I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't t feel strongly about it."
Quinn listened to this speech incredulously, positively reeling from the implications of it all. She had always suspected Rachel had a crush on Brittany and Santana but never thought she'd acknowledge it, let alone ask to explore it. Rachel had said she didn't want hurt Quinn's feelings but Quinn couldn't help feeling hurt, and inadequate in a way. How do you not take it personally when your lover says she wants someone else?
"Wait." Quinn interrupted "Who exactly are we talking about?" Quinn knew it must have been either Brittany or Santana but she wasn't sure which.
"Santana." Rachel reluctantly admitted
"You know she and Brittany are in a relationship, right? They're not sleeping around with other people anymore. And how would you know that the feelings are reciprocated? Santana likes to flirt, and make people uncomfortable; it doesn't mean she actually likes you as more than a friend. Even if she did, it's not like she would out right admit it. Santana is more guarded about her feelings than anyone I know."
Quinn paused as she read the look Rachel gave her.
"She admitted her feelings to you?" Quinn half-shouted, getting more worked up by the minute. "Oh wait, it all makes sense now; only someone like Santana would start making moves on her soon to be ex friends girlfriend and suggest this unnatural 'exploring feelings' thing just to get in her pants. I can't believe you fell for that."
"Really Quinn? You honestly think Santana just wants into my pants?" Rachel couldn't even begin to explore the levels on which Quinn had just insulted her.
"I do. And I'm not going to let it happen. So no, you cannot 'explore your feelings with her', not as long as you're in a relationship with me."
"You're not even going to consider it. Just no, and that's it?"
"Yes." Quinn replied shortly. "You said if I say no you won't take things any further, and I'm saying no. You shouldn't even be having feelings for her anyway - you're dating me."
" I cannot control my feelings for Santana any more than I can control my feelings for you, but rather than just act on them I came to talk to you, and instead of discussing them and just mulling over my proposal for a minute, you shot it down without a thought. I had believed that you'd at least grant me the respect of realising how much thought and consideration went into the decision of bringing this up with you and maybe give it half as much thought before making a decision. But apparently that was too much to ask of you."
Not willing to argue any further, and hurt by Quinn's lack of consideration, Rachel stormed out. Quinn stared after her, confused and hurt by what had just happened.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Santana knew the second she saw Quinn enter the locker room early Monday morning that Rachel had told her, so the slap that came before she could dodge was not a huge surprise. The hand gripping her wrist and stopping her from retaliating with a slap of her own was and she glanced behind her to see it was Brittany. Irritably yanking her wrist free she turned back to Quinn, who was practically seething.
"What the fuck? You know you can't just walk into a room and slap someone?" Santana demanded, though not too antagonistically because she had a feeling she knew what it was about and could sort of understand where Quinn was coming from.
"I can when that person is trying to screw up my relationship just to get into my girlfriends pants." '
"Q, it's not about that – I don't even know if it will get to that point."
"Of course it's about that. Everything about you has to do with sex. You've been working up to this for months – I wasn't as oblivious to your flirting glances and innuendos as you thought." Quinn sneered, aiming to hurt and ignoring that on a good day Santana was like that with her too. "I only regret not saying something sooner before Rachel began to confuse lust with something more. I doubt she'd even get dinner out of you first, and then afterwards you'll leave her and go back to Brittany."
"Q, if you can't deal with the fact your girlfriend has feelings for someone else, then that's your problem, but I am not just trying to get into Rachel's pants, nor have I been working up to it for months. I wasn't even aware of just what I felt until the other night when I watched Ross kiss her." Santana snapped.
Scoffing, Quinn rounded on the other blond in the room who had been watching the exchange in silence. "And how are you okay with this? You must believe her, because I doubt you'd let her go through with this and hurt Rachel if you didn't, in which case Santana just admitted to having feelings for someone else."
Brittany was saved from replying though as at that moment Coach Sylvester entered the locker room and called Quinn away to discuss something.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
"Ugh, its days like today that I hate the fact she's the captain." Santana groaned as she sunk onto the bench in the locker room. She had had no further opportunity to talk with Quinn since Coach had interrupted "It's not right that she gets to take out her personal frustrations on us during practice."
"It's not even eight o'clock and I'm already exhausted." Brittany agreed, sinking down next to Santana. "I'm just grateful that Principal Figgins said we can't be kept late in the mornings anymore and miss class, otherwise we'd still be there."
There were mumbles of agreement from the rest of the team as they all reluctantly began to change into their uniforms (they did morning workouts in their McKinley tracksuits to keep their uniforms fresh for the day).
"I guess I should try talk to Quinn." Santana murmured quietly to Britt.
"Maybe I should try first; she might take it better coming from me." Brittany suggested.
"Okay, but please try doing so before this afternoon's practice!"
"I'll see what I can do." Brittany promised.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Hey, Q. Can I talk to you?" Brittany asked, intercepting the blond in the hallway between periods.
"I'm on my way to English at the moment and I really don't want to be late." Quinn replied quickly, picking up her pace in an attempt to get away.
"We need to talk about this." Brittany tried again, also quickening her steps.
"No, I've said what I have to say on the matter, Rachel is not going to be 'exploring her feelings' with anyone else as long as we're in a relationship and that's the end of it." Quinn retorted, slipping into the classroom and leaving Brittany alone in the hallway. Sighing, she reluctantly headed to her own class.
-0-0-0-0-
"Quinn, you cannot just declare the issue to be over with and expect it to be like it never happened." Brittany said, causing Quinn to jump as she walked out of the room as the bell went to find the blond dancer waiting for her. Deciding not to argue with her this time, Quinn just kept on walking as if she hadn't even heard her.
"This situation is going to have a knock on effect" Brittany continued, following her "and the way you are handling it is practically ensuring negative outcomes for all involved. I get what they're suggesting is scary but you can't just shut your eyes to it."
The rounded the corner and Quinn went into the bathroom, finally turning around to irritably face Brittany when she realised that Brittany had followed her in.
"You're going to follow me into the bathroom too?" Quinn demanded. Brittany paused to see two freshmen Cheerios by the sinks and waited while they hastily exited, closing the door behind them and leaning on it to stop anyone else from entering.
"Rachel and Santana were trying to be honest with you about their feelings and I get that it can be hard to hear that your girlfriend has feelings for someone else, but it happens and you need to deal with it without trying to blame it all on the other person. If you don't it's only going to cause problems between you two."
"And why would you care about my relationship with Rachel when your girlfriend seems intent on sabotaging it and you're doing nothing to stop her."
"Don't be so dramatic. Santana is not intent on sabotaging anything, if anything she is trying to find a way that will work for everyone. This is the situation that in most cases would lead to people cheating on their girlfriends, but rather than do that, they're trying to be honest with us. You're being selfish in trying to deny their feelings." Brittany said firmly.
"And you're being a martyr." Quinn replied heatedly "What sort of effect do you think this would have on your relationship? I get you and Santana are meant to be all evolved or whatever but do you really think you'll be able to handle seeing her with someone else, what if she decides she prefers Rachel and leaves you - wasn't that why you stopped sleeping around in the first place?" It was not lost on Brittany how much Quinn was revealing of her own insecurities, but she was gratified that, despite appearances, Quinn had actually considered the idea.
"No," Brittany replied honestly "we stopped 'sleeping around' as you put it because we were both content with just being with each other. I honestly don't know if I could handle seeing Santana in an actual relationship with someone else but I have to have faith that we could overcome any obstacles that this presents."
"Then why not just avoid obstacles and stop this? Why are you here trying to argue on their behalf?"
"Because I love Santana, and I think the two of them will have something special. They complement each other and the only reasons I can think of for stopping them stem from my own insecurities, and it wouldn't be fair of me to say no on that basis alone."
"The problem," Quinn said slowly, as she thought over Brittany's words "Is I can think of only selfish reasons to say yes."
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AN2: Anyone else feel it was a rather disjointed chapter? I think it has to do with how I wrote it. I know the Stacy bit was pretty pointless but it goes towards Brittanys character development. Anyway, comments? Thoughts? By now you should know what to do ;)