Imagining Tigers
Chapter 5:
A.N.: The song in this chapter is the Hall of Fame by The Script ft. Will.
It was Monday noon when I stepped out of the court room. I waved to Mr. Smith who was thanking me for the money he won from this case. Another successful case for Ms. Santana Lopez, I thought. I allowed myself to wear a satisfied smile when a voice called my name.
"San?" Said the voice. I stopped walking, turned around and was met with Quinn jogging towards me from down the hallway of the courthouse in all her tight skirt and high heels glory.
"Hey, Q. What are you doing here?" I wondered when she was closer to me. She waited a couple of seconds to catch her breath before answering.
"Meeting with the D.A." She said and started walking towards the exit. I started walking beside her too."You?" She asked.
"Divorce case." I answered and she nodded.
"Are you free now? Do you want to go grab some lunch?" Quinn asked me.
"Sure." I nodded at her. Just then another familiar voice caused me to stop.
"That's bullshit! He can't do that!" The voice exclaimed. I turned my head and saw a fuming Brittany inside of one of the offices at the courthouse. She was ready to make an even bigger scene so I rushed by her side and grabbed her upper arm, pulling her out of the office and in the hallway. My hand burnt where I touched her for the first time and my heart started beating faster inside my chest but I ignored it when Brittany turned at me with wide eyes full of anger and surprise. When she saw that it was me she allowed the surprise to vanish but the anger was still there.
"What are you doing?" I hissed at her frowning, looking back in the office to make sure that they went back to their business. The courthouse was the last place someone should be making a scene. Brittany huffed at me and shrugged her arm out of my grasp looking away. "What's wrong?" I asked her again when she said nothing, allowing my voice to soften. Brittany looked at me and her eyes were stormy and her jaw was set. She looked like a wild animal that someone locked in a cage and was trying to escape. She was angry and desperate. She opened her mouth and I actually thought that she was going to tell me but then her eye caught Quinn standing behind me. Brittany closed her mouth again and angrily shook her head at me frowning and turned to leave.
I stayed put in my spot wondering whether the scene that just happened was all in my head or if it actually happened. Quinn came beside me and spoke up, confirming that the scene did happen.
"What's wrong with Brittany?" She questioned. I momentarily forgot that Quinn and Brittany knew each other from the dance studio but that quickly left my mind when I replayed the scene in my head. I wondered what was wrong with Brittany too so I just shook my head at her.
"I don't know." I shrugged at her, hoping that she would let it go. But she didn't.
"Are you two like friends now?" She asked frowning. I frowned too. Are we?
"I don't know." I said and shrugged again. Quinn looked at me skeptically but I didn't want to talk to her about Brittany so I changed the subject. "So, lunch?" I asked her. I figured I would talk to Brittany again and eventually find out what was going on. It was obvious that the blonde needed her space, if the anger in her eyes was any indication.
"Ok." Quinn nodded and sighed, probably realizing that I wasn't going to talk about Brittany.
…
Quinn and I were sitting at a diner near the courthouse and were talking about our cases for the last half an hour. But I wanted to take my mind off of work and off of Brittany.
"So, what's going on with you and Chang?" I queried. Quinn blushed slightly.
"Uh, nothing." She said shaking her head and looked down at her food. I cleared my throat to get her to look at me. Once she did I arched an eyebrow in question and she blushed again.
"Quinn Fabray." I warned her teasingly, trying to hide my smirk.
"We just went for coffee." She shrugged.
"Like a date?" I asked with as much excitement as I could muster, considering my mind was occupied by a fuming blue eyed blonde.
"No!" Quinn protested loudly and blushed. The sight in front of me was really amusing."We just drank coffee and talked." She said.
"Sounds like a date to me." I shrugged innocently and waggled my eyebrows teasingly when she groaned.
"It wasn't a date!" She protested again, starting to get upset.
"Ok. Relax." I said smiling and held my hands up in defense before going back to my food.
"What about you?" She asked me then. I frowned.
"What about me?" I wondered. I had no idea where this was going.
"You and Brittany." She shrugged, taking a bite from her food.
"There's no Brittany and I." I frowned at her and took a bite of my own food. Quinn chuckled.
"Please, San." She scoffed."Tell that to someone who doesn't know you." She looked at me pointedly and I swallowed my food hard."Brittany was being Brittany, always being a little bitchy." She said. I wondered how often Quinn saw Brittany to form that opinion about her. And why did she form that opinion since she never talked to her? Maybe that was why. It wasn't the truth though.
"She's not a bitch." I defended and frowned. But Quinn paid no attention to my protests.
"And you being you, should act bitchy but you didn't." She frowned. "What's going on? Since when do you care about people who act like Brittany acted today?" She wondered.
"And how did Brittany act, Q?" I frowned at her angrily. I felt the need to defend the tattooed blonde, even to my best friend.
"Like she doesn't care?" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world and shrugged.
"You don't know her." I said and fixed her with a pointed look.
"And you do?" She frowned at me. I frowned too, because maybe she had a point. I didn't know Brittany that well but I knew a lot of stuff about her.
"I know enough to not judge her." I retorted. I didn't want to start a pointless fight with Quinn though."Look, just let it go ok? Nothing's going on." I sighed. Quinn eyed me for a few seconds and then nodded slowly.
"Ok, just be careful." She said and I rolled my eyes, allowing a small smile to take over my face.
"Yes, ma'am." I told her and she chuckled.
We fell in a comfortable silence while eating and I couldn't help it when my mind drifted off to Brittany again. What was she doing in the courthouse? Maybe it was a legal thing that was bothering her. I perked up at that. Maybe I could help her. But then again, I didn't think she'd want me to. I decided that I would help her no matter what. And in order to do that I had to find Brittany first. I decided to search for her in the only place that I knew she could be. The dance studio.
…
After I rushed Quinn to eat faster, we left the diner and parted our ways. I didn't tell Quinn that I'd make my way to the dance studio. She was not stupid though, she knew that I was going to find Brittany because she threw me a warning look, which I ignored.
As I entered the building I was met with a dozen of teenagers leaving and I held my bag closer to me, ignoring their sweaty smells. After the lobby cleared I saw a receptionist at my right. I walked to her and cleared my throat to get her attention. The brunette looked up and smiled at me.
"Hello, how can I help you?" She said in an annoyingly high voice, her smile so big I feared her face might broke.
"Is Brittany here?" I asked immediately. She frowned and looked behind me and then back at me.
"She's in her room but the door is closed. I would say bother her only if it is an emergency." She replied, her smile coming back on her face and her voice still annoying. I frowned. Her room? I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and nodded, forcing a smile on my face.
"Where?" I queried, wanting to know which door was Brittany's.
"Down that hallway, the last door on your right." She smiled gesturing behind me and I nodded my head at her.
I turned and walked towards Brittany's door. As I neared I could hear music playing from the inside but I couldn't recognize the song yet. I knocked on the door and unsurprisingly there was no reply. The music was too loud for Brittany to hear. I slowly opened the door and got inside closing it behind me and turning around.
I stood frozen at my spot, the view in front of me too mesmerizing for me to be able to do anything. I recognized the song. Brittany was dancing to the Hall Of Fame from The Script and her eyes were closed. She was wearing leggings and a tank top and she was barefoot, her hair held in a ponytail. She didn't notice me and I took the opportunity to see the blonde dancing.
She was gliding on the wooden floor, turning and splitting, showing just how flexible and what a great dancer she was. Brittany was so beautiful while dancing and I concentrated on her face and the frown she wore. Just then she started singing the lyrics of the song, while still dancing with her eyes closed.
You can go the distance
You can run the mile
You can walk straight through hell with a smile
You can be the hero
You can get the gold
Breaking all the records they thought never could be broke
Yeah, do it for your people
Do it for your pride
How are you ever gonna know if you never even try?
Do it for your country
Do it for your name
'Cause there's gonna be a day...
When you're standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame
Her voice and movements held so much pain in them, I felt my eyes filling with unshed tears. I wanted to take Brittany in to my arms and never let go, just to keep her safe. But the frown of determination that was still on her face and the way she sang and danced with fierceness, told me that she didn't need that. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. I felt a weird feeling of pride for the blonde and I didn't even know why. She just looked so tough and brave, like she'd been through hell but she finally made it.
She danced and sang with so much emotion that I felt like I was invading her privacy, so I spoke up.
"Brittany." I said loudly to be heard over the music. She stopped and turned quickly around with wide eyes. When she saw it was me standing there she turned away and went to turn off the music from the stereo. She kept her back to me, letting her hair loose and running a hand through it. I heard her sigh. She turned and walked towards me.
"He claims Ali's sole custody." She said once she was right in front of me. I could tell that she was still irritated. I had so many questions about that statement but I went with the simple one.
"Who?"
"Her father." She answered, frowning at me. I had no idea what Brittany's relationship was with Alice's father but obviously it wasn't a good one.
"I'm assuming you denied it." I more said than questioned and she nodded. I nodded along with her. "So this goes to trial."I stated then and she nodded again. I sighed, this was complicated."Can I help you?" I asked her hopefully.
"I don't know, can you?" She huffed at me. I frowned at her angry behavior but otherwise ignored it. I spent enough time with the blonde to realize that the anger she was letting out was her defense mechanism. She got angry whenever she felt threatened or cornered or just uncomfortable.
"Will you let me help you, Brittany?" I asked her again and she huffed again.
"I don't like this. I don't want you digging into my life." She said looking away from me, still irritated.
"I won't." I answered her immediately and she turned to face me with a look of disbelief in her beautiful blue eyes." I promise." I told her then. "I'll only know whatever you choose to tell me. And whatever we'll need for the case." I finished. She looked like she was thinking about it.
"I don't know." She said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Motta doesn't know about this, not even my sister. Why should I trust you?" She asked, challenging me. I tried to hide my hurt feelings from her and I ignored her question.
"The court is open for the public, anyone can hear anything that will be said."I warned her. She nodded at this and frowned irritated. Her eyes went on her feet, and her tongue was playing with the piercing on her bottom lip."But, I won't tell anyone. And I doubt Sugar will go to the court." I told her."I don't know about your sister."I shrugged, this was the first time I heard that Brittany had a sister. She nodded again, probably her sister wouldn't go to the court either."Please let me help you?" I asked once more. She sighed angrily and ran a hand through her hair, anger still evident in her behavior. "You can trust me."I said softly and she snorted.
"Why would I trust my daughter with a stranger?" She asked irritated. I decided that being soft with Brittany wouldn't help me to win this battle, so I ignored my sad feelings.
"You and I both know I'm not a stranger to you." I frowned and she looked away."Do you prefer trusting anotherattorney that you don't even know with your kid? An attorney that doesn't even care if you get to keep your daughter or not?" I challenged her. She started pacing in front of me.
"And you care?" She retorted back.
"Of course I do!" I exclaimed and she chuckled humorlessly, still pacing.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because." I care about you, I wanted to say but this wasn't the time."Why are you so against this?" I wondered. She stopped pacing and went to sit on the couch. I turned to face her."What are you afraid of? Are you afraid to trust me?" I dared to ask. She didn't look at me, she just took a bottle from the couch in her hands and put her legs on the couch and hugged them at her chest still frowning. I huffed at her when she said nothing and she looked up.
"You don't understand." She said angrily and looked away again. I ignored her statement, I could see her walls crumbling down.
"Or maybe…" I started again and she looked at me. I took a deep breath."Maybe you are afraid because you already trust me." I said and she looked away again. I sighed."This is for the best and you know it, I won't push you to tell me anything and we'll do this by your rules, ok?" I asked but she still didn't look at me. "No other lawyer will give you this, Brittany. And definitely no other lawyer will care if someone learns anything. They just don't care." I said. "You can trust me." I told her softly one last time. She looked up like she just thought of something, now determination in her eyes.
"Ok." She said and shrugged. "Let's see what kind of person you are, Lopez." She challenged me. I frowned.
"I don't understand." I told her.
"You will." Was her cryptic reply.
I was not naïve. I already knew that Brittany had a shady past. Maybe she was testing me. Maybe she wanted to see my reaction to decide if she could trust me or not. And I was definitely fine with that.
A.N.: What do you think is going on?