Hi all! We're here! The Shuesters' anniversary... Thanks for the kind reviews and messages, I always appreciate them!
Let me know what you think of this chapter :)
Back in the hotel, Santana took a shower and got ready for the Shuesters' anniversary dinner. She had chosen a lavender dress that hugged her body and fit her like a second skin that went down to just above her knees and had a plunging neckline. She gently applied make up and fixed her hair. Nothing too elaborate, just her wild wavy curls that framed her face. She slid on her dress and silver heels and admired herself in the mirror. She still looked damn good, even if her smile was only half-hearted. Stop thinking about it, Lopez. Just go have fun with your friends and grace those small town losers with your awesomeness. She called Mercedes' room before leaving, to make sure her friend was also ready. The party was being held in the same hotel, so they didn't have to wait for Rachel or Quinn. When Mercedes said she was ready, the two girls met by the elevator. Mercedes was wearing a flowing black and gold dress and golden highlights in her hair that shimmered when she walked. Santana gave an approving nod. "Looking hot, Wheezy!" Mercedes smiled. "Right back at ya, Satan! That dress looks all kinds of smoking on you." Sam walked over and placed an arm around Mercedes. "Both of you ladies look beautiful tonight, now let's go have some fun!"
When the elevator stopped and they got out, they walked over to the big reception area of the hotel, where there was a small table to one side. They quickly gave their names and got a table number in return. The music was blaring from inside the room, and when they walked in they had to take a minute to admire everything. There were already people dancing, sitting on tables or by the bar getting drinks. The whole room was decorated with red and white tones, there were about 20 tables scattered around with elegant numbers on top so everybody could see them. A band was playing on the stage in front of the dance floor, right in the middle of the room. The bar was off to the side, and on the other side there was a table with a huge 4-tiered cake and assorted hors-d'oeuvres. They quickly located table 4, which was to the left of the bar, and went to leave their coats and purses there. They stopped on the way to greet some people they knew, old McKinley teachers, students and friends' parents. Sam rushed to the bar to get them drinks, as the girls sat down. "This place looks great, right?" Santana nodded in response. "Yeah, looks like the Lima crew can dress up nicely from time to time. Hey, where's Mr. Shue, though?" Mercedes looked around and pointed towards the other side of the room. "I think that's him, talking to some old guy. Should we go over now?" Santana stood up and smoothed her dress. "Please, we're so much more interesting than some old fart, let's go." Mercedes stood up and linked arms with Santana as they both navigated the length of the room until they approached Will. When he turned around and saw the girls, his face erupted in a smile and he rushed over to hug them.
"Oh wow, if it isn't superstar Mercedes Jones and powerhouse Santana Lopez! Thank you so much for coming, girls!"
Mercedes beamed. "We wouldn't miss it for the world, Mr. Shue."
Will shook his head. "Please, I've been telling you for years now, call me Will…"
Santana chuckled. "Easier said than done, but you know we try… Will…"
"That's better! Now, just so you know, when you came in, your name was put in a hat, because after dinner we're gonna have a little duet competition!"
Santana shook her head. "Fine, just as long as you don't rap, I'm game."
They all laughed. "I promise, no rapping! Emma already made me agree to that."
Santana whispered: "Smart girl…"
Mercedes nudged her. "So, where is she?"
Will looked around and went to grab his wife, who turned and hugged the girls. "Oh my! Hi! So glad you could make it!"
Santana smiled. "Yeah, looks like a great party, open bar, right?"
Emma chuckled. "Yes, it is, Santana, not to worry."
Santana clapped her hands. "Then we're glad we're here!"
Will clasped the girls' hands. "It means a lot to us that you came, really. So go have fun, we're gonna go greet some more people!"
And with that, the Shuesters disappeared among newcomers. Santana and Mercedes said hello to Joe and Rory who were stuffing their mouths with canapés, and walked back to their table. When they got there, they saw that Rachel and Quinn were there already, along with Mike, Tina and Artie. They hugged and sat down. Santana grabbed the white wine Sam had gotten her and they all toasted.
A little while later, it seemed that the room was nearly full and so Will and Emma took to the stage amidst applause. "Thank you all so much for coming to celebrate with us our 10 year anniversary." More applause. "Emma and I are very proud to call you all our friends and family, and we know that we wouldn't be standing here, together and happy if it weren't for you. So please, let's enjoy our dinner, the entertainment will come afterwards, courtesy of our New Direction alumni that now boasts over 50 great and talented performers." Emma then took the mic from Will. "And don't worry, Will won't rap." Laughs. "But yeah, we are very grateful so many of them could come back and celebrate with us. Enjoy your dinner!" They walked down and settled on their table, as waiters clad in white walked in and served dinner. The low murmur of conversation and the metal clanking of silverware filled the air. The DJ played quiet music while everyone enjoyed the meal. At their table, Sam and Mike were exchanging TV horror stories, while the girls looked on amused. Artie was trying to defend his artistic vision but getting nowhere. Quinn noticed Santana was pushing her food around and leaned forward. "San, eat, please… Look, all our friends are here, and that blonde you keep looking for hasn't showed up. Just enjoy yourself, please?" Santana looked at her friend, seeing her worried expression. She relaxed her face and nodded. "I know Q, I know, I'm trying. And you're right, even if she does show up it doesn't mean we have to talk." Santana took a piece of chicken and stuffed it in her mouth, earning a satisfied smile from Quinn.
After the waiters had cleared the plates, Will stood up on the podium again. "After that great meal, it's time for some entertainment! If you want to dance, the floor is open!" Everyone clapped and most of the New Directions shuffled closer to the stage. "And what better way to start this, than with our own New Directions' superstars? Please welcome on stage Mercedes Jones, Santana Lopez and Quinn and Rachel Fabray-Berry!" There was a thundering applause and whooping from the audience, as Will descended and the four girls took the stage, their backs turned. Then a guitar started blaring and Rachel turned around to start singing.
This is for all you girls about thirteen,
High school can be so rough can be so mean,
Hold on to on to your innocence,
Stand your ground when everybody's givin' in.
This one's for the girls
Mercedes turned around to sing the next part, while Santana harmonized.
This is for all you girls about twenty five,
In little apartments just tryin' to get by,
Livin' on on dreams and spaghetti-o's,
Wonderin' where your life is gonna go.
Finally, all girls turned to sing together.
This one's for the girls,
Who've ever had a broken heart,
Who've wished upon a shooting star,
You're beautiful the way you are, (Quinn)
This one's for the girls,
Who love without holdin' back,
Who dream with everything they have, (Rachel)
All around the world,
This one's for the girls.
Quinn took a step forward to sing while Rachel harmonized
This is for all you girls about forty two,
Tossin' pennies into the fountain of youth,
Every laugh laugh line on your face,
Made you who you are today.
The four girls started jumping and singing together
This one's for the girls,
Who've ever had a broken heart,
Who've wished upon a shooting star,
You're beautiful the way you are, (Santana)
This one's for the girls,
Who love without holdin' back,
Who dream with everything they have, (Mercedes)
All around the world,
This one's for the girls.
Mercedes pointed at the audience as she sang
Yeah we're all the same inside,
From one to ninety nine
The music faded as Rachel sang
This one's for the girls,
Who've ever had a broken heart,
Who've wished upon a shooting star,
You're beautiful the way you are,
The four girls joined in to end the song
This one's for the girls,
Who love without holdin' back,
Who dream with everything they have,
All around the world,
This one's for the girls.
The crowd went wild and clapped for the girls, who were taking a bow on stage and hugging each other. Will came on stage and hugged each of the girls. Before they climbed down, Santana took the mic stand. "Follow that, bitches!" She threw her arms up as the crowd clapped louder and walked off the stage. As the next performers were getting ready, the girls walked back towards their table, where Sam, Puck, Finn and Artie were waiting with a bottle of champagne. Sam came forward to hug Mercedes. "That was awesome babe! You girls killed it, so we thought we'd toast to your awesomeness." They all grabbed a glass and clinked as a group of three guys and a girl took the stage. They watched the newer kids perform, noting how they barely knew their names, except for a few they got to know after leaving high school, mainly because Artie and Tina mentioned them. After Kurt and Blaine performed a Broadway duet that had Santana rolling her eyes every three seconds and Rachel singing along next to Quinn, it was the boys' turn to take the stage. Puck and Sam had their guitars and Finn settled behind the drum set. To show their support, the girls got up and walked right to the edge of the stage. Sam took the mic. "Thanks for that, Finn, Puck and I were talking yesterday about what song we wanted to sing for you, and so we decided to slow it down a little, and perform a song we wrote together right after graduation, before we had to go our separate ways, me to New York with my wonderful girl, Puck to LA and Finn off to Columbus for college. We never got a chance to sing it in Glee Club, so we thought this was the perfect chance for that." Everyone applauded as Puck started playing a mellow tune. He closed his eyes and started singing
Whenever I close my eyes, I picture you there
I'm looking out at the crowd, you're everywhere
I'm watching you from the stage, yeah
Your smile is on every face now
But every time you wake up
You're hearing me say
Goodbye
Sam and Finn joined in
Baby, you don't have to worry
I'll be coming back for you, back for you, back for you, you
Lately, I've been going crazy
So I'm coming back for you, back for you, back for you, you
Sam continued, looking at Mercedes
I've never been so into somebody before
And every time we both touch I only want more
So tell me nothing's going to change yeah
And you won't ever walk away yeah
'Cause even though every night you'll know what I'll say
Goodbye
Finn and Puck sang with Sam
Baby, you don't have to worry
I'll be coming back for you, back for you, back for you, you
Lately, I've been going crazy
So I'm coming back for you, back for you, back for you, you
Right back for you
Right back for you
Right back for you
Lately, I've been going crazy
So I'm coming back for you, back for you, back for you, you
As the boys finished and everyone clapped, Sam stood up and leaned over to give Mercedes a kiss while everyone cheered. Will announced the first part of the entertainment over, and the DJ took over putting club music so everyone started dancing. Santana got dragged to the dance floor by Quinn and Mercedes and danced a while, getting more relaxed as time went by because of the absence of a specific blonde. But at the same time – and she hated herself for this – she was a little disappointed that the blonde wasn't there. She stopped thinking about it with help of the champagne and the white wine and danced with her friends. There were around 250 people at the party, so she got lost amidst the dancing bodies.
When she checked the time and saw it was almost 9, she excused herself and walked out to the hallway to call Maribel.
Hola ma, I was calling to say good night to Sophia.
Hola Tanita, she's right here, we were reading a story. Hold on, I'll put her on.
Mami?
Hola mi amor, how was your afternoon with Bita and Buela?
It was awesome, we made cookies and watched novelas and then we watched Frozen but in español!
Santana chuckled. I may owe my mom a bottle of wine for that one.
That's wonderful mija, now I'll come over tomorrow before lunch so we can eat together ok?
Ok mami!
Buenas noches Sophe, te amo.
Buenas noches mami, te amo más.
Impossible mija, but you can keep trying! Sleep tight.
You too mami!
When Santana ended the call, she had a big smile on her face. Whatever else had happened over the years, at least now she had Sophia. She heard someone approaching and when she turned and saw Finn, she smiled.
"I think that smile can only mean one thing, you were talking to Sophia, right?"
Santana nodded as they both sat on a plush loveseat. "Yeah, I was calling her good night."
"Is she driving your mom crazy, yet?"
Santana chuckled. "Ohhh yeah, but my mom loves her, so it's fine." She looked at Finn. "How about you?"
Finn feigned shock. "Me? I never drive my mom crazy..."
They laughed and Santana playfully nudged him. "You know what I mean."
Finn shrugged. "I'm good, the shop is doing better than I expected and I'm actually good at this."
"And Michelle? I thought she'd be here with you."
Finn shook his head. "She... she decided to stay home with the kids."
Santana put her hand on his shoulder, and he smiled a sad smile. "I've given you a lot of shit over the years, Finnocence, but you know you can talk to me if you want to."
Finn covered Santana's hand with his own. "I know, I just don't know what's going on. After Leigh was born, Michelle just ... pulled away from me. We've been married for almost 4 years now and we've never had any major problems. But lately, she barely leaves the house, she works from home and she spends all day with Billy and Leigh, playing with them and when I get home, it's like I'm not even there. And she wasn't like this when Billy was born, at all."
They were silent for a while, as Santana thought of what to say. "How old is Leigh now, like 5 months?"
Finn nodded. "She turned 5 months on the 4th."
"It's definitely not just a case of the baby blues, why don't you try to take her out on a date or something, get a babysitter or your parents to come over, and see if you can get her to talk to you? A lot of moms tend to bottle up their feelings when their kids are newly born, because our attention is so focused on the little one that we forget to take care of ourselves."
"I think I can do that. I don't want to lose her or my family."
"You won't if you work on it. I mean, the fact that you're worried means a lot."
Finn looked up at Santana and they smiled. She threw her arms wide and they embraced. He leaned close. "Thanks Santana, for listening."
"Anytime Frankenteen, I mean, all your previous exes are lesbians now, so I figured one had to stick."
They laughed and Finn stood up, offering her a hand. "C'mon, let's go dance. Or at least, you'll dance and I'll try not to step on your toes."
Santana took his hand and they walked back in and joined their friends on the dance floor.
A few hours later, when the older crowd had already left and the remaining ones had either loosened their ties or kicked off their shoes, Will took to the stage again, this time with a very familiar top hat in his hand. "All right everyone! It's time for the hat! As you know, it was a New Directions tradition to pick duet partners by fate, and when there were only 12 of you it was considerably easier to guess who would sing with whom. Now, as of last count, we have 32 former New Directions' members here tonight, and all your names are in this hat. And following tradition, I will pick two names and you'll come up here and perform a duet for us. I have some old friends here to help you." He gestured as Brad the Piano Player and the former Jazz Band members took the stage. Everyone clapped and jumped up and down excited to see them. Will made a flourish with his hand as he picked the first names. "And the first ones tonight are… Mason McCarthy! Aaaand… oooh, good luck Mason! The one and only, Santana Lopez!" Santana smirked and moved forward as she saw a tall lanky curly haired boy walk towards the stage. Will introduced them on stage, they shook hands and walked towards the band to decide what to sing.
"All right, listen up curls, Santana Lopez needs something badass to sing. Like, Rolling Stones or something."
Mason looked like a deer in headlights. "Can we compromise? What about Bette Midler covering Rolling Stones?" Santana stared at him for 10 seconds before smiling. "Deal. Hit it Brad!"
They walked towards center stage where there were two mic stands.
Santana started singing as the audience clapped in tune with the music.
Now write this down
I'll never be your beast of burden
My back is broad but it's hurtin'
All I want is for you to make love to me
She turned to Mason to continue singing
I'll never be your beast of burden
I walk for miles, my feet are hurtin'
All I want is for you to make love to me
Mason took the mic off the stand and sang at Santana.
What's the matter with me?
Ain't I hot enough?
Ain't I rough enough?
Ain't I rich enough?
I'm not too blind to see, ohh, ohh
Santana continued, playing off of Mason
I'll never be your beast of burden
So let's go home and draw the curtains
Put some music on the radio
C'mon, baby, make some love to me
Mason kneeled down to sing
Oh, what's the matter with me?
Ain't I hot enough?
Ain't I rough enough?
Ain't I rich enough?
I'm not too blind to see, ohh, ohh
He turned towards the audience and pointed at a girl, while singing
My little sister is a pretty, pretty girl
My little sister is a pretty, pretty girl
She loves to ride, she loves to crawl
They love to take her out behind the garden wall
Santana sang the next part
And when they're done they just throw her away
And she don't have an awful lot to say
It hurts her so bad to come to the end
I remember all the times she spent sayin', please
Ain't I hot enough?
Ain't I rough enough?
Ain't I rich enough?
I'm not too blind to see, ohh, ohh
Ohh, ohh
Mason took over as they danced.
I'll never be your beast of burden
My back is broad, baby but it's a' hurtin'
And all I want is you to make love to me
What's the matter, what's the matter with me?
Ain't I hot enough?
Santana sang
Ooh, yeah, ain't I rough enough?
Mason sang
Ooh, yeah, ain't I rich enough, rich enough, rich enough
Too blind to see? Too blind, too blind, ohh
They sang the last part together, harmonizing
I'll never be your beast of burden
I walk for miles, honey, my feet are hurtin'
And all I want is for you to make love to me
When the song ended, they high-fived and took a bow as everyone clapped. When they walked off stage, Santana turned to Mason. "That was great, curls! How about we grab a drink to celebrate?"
Mason gushed. "Oh my, yes, that would be awesome! I've always wanted to sing with you, you were both a Glee legend and a Cheerios legend!"
Santana took him by the arm. "Oh, you're another one of Sue's survivors? C'mon, this may be the booze talking, but I'll let you in on some war secrets."
They walked back towards the bar as Will announced the next duet partners (Tina and Blaine). Santana took one look at the stage and leaned to Mason. "20 bucks says they're gonna do Katy Perry." Mason just lifted an eyebrow and then said. "Deal." Santana smirked as the tune of "Waking Up In Vegas" started sounding. Mason groaned. "Oh man, how did you know?"
Santana shrugged. "Blaine is a sucker for Katy Perry, and Tina is a sucker for Blaine. Easy." She smirked as Mason reached for his wallet and handed her two ten dollar bills. She turned her attention back to him and he started telling her about his experience in Cheerios with his sister, Madison, while being teased by Kitty. In the distance, Santana heard cheers which indicated that Tina and Blaine were done. She was swapping stories of Cheerios tryout horrors when Will's voice said the only three words that would be able to render her speechless. "Brittany S. Pierce!" She felt chills run down her spine, stopped midsentence, grabbed Mason's forearm and squeezed as she slowly turned towards the stage. What did he say? No way. He must've made a mistake, right? I mean, Brittany wasn't there, she hadn't seen her all night! And just as her mind was rationalizing that obviously Shuester had screwed up, a tall blonde took the stage behind a chubby bespectacled guy and hugged Will. Her eyes were seeing it, but her brain failed to register that it was indeed Brittany. She couldn't take her eyes off the blonde, she didn't hear Mason's complaints that she was hurting him, she didn't see Quinn, Mercedes and Rachel searching for her frantically in the crowd and she didn't notice the dryness of her throat. It wasn't until Mason snapped his fingers in her face that she came to. "Santana! You're hurting me!" She snapped back to him and released his arm with a murmured "Sorry." She wanted to run away, away from here, from her, but she couldn't move. She was hypnotized by the tall blonde girl on stage, looking – fuck – as beautiful as ever, blue eyes sparkling as always, even from the distance. When the song started, she froze in place and just looked on.
Rodrick started singing
I'm not surprised
Not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times,
I stopped keepin' track.
Talk myself in
I talk myself out
I get all worked up
Then I let myself down.
Brittany took over as she danced around the stage
I tried so very hard not to lose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought, I thought of every possibility
Both harmonized
And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out
Rodrick sang alone
And I promise you kid, that I'll give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet
Brittany sang, looking at the bar
I might have to wait
I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing
And the other half's luck
Wherever you are
Whenever it's right
You come out of nowhere and into my life
Rodrick took over
And I know that we can be so amazing
And baby your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility
Both harmonized
But somehow I know that will all turn out
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out
Rodrick too over
And I promise you kid, I'll give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet
Both sang together
They say all's fair
In love and war
But I won't need to fight it
We'll get it right
And we'll be united
Brittany took center stage as she sang
And I know that we can be so amazing
And being in your life is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility
And someday I know it'll all turn out
And I'll work, to work it out
Promise you kid, I'll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get
Both sang together as they danced around
Oh you know it will all turn out
And you'll make me work, so we can work, to work it out
And I promise you kid, to give so much more than I get
Rodrick sang alone
Yeah I just haven't met you yet
I just haven't met you yet
Oh promise you kid
To give so much more than I get
Brittany sang
I said love, love, love, love, love, love, love
Rodrick sang
I just haven't met you yet
Brittany sang
Love, love, love, love, love, love
Rodrick sang
I just haven't met you yet
They finished and hugged, and the crowd applauded. Quinn had finally spotted Santana, and she was walking over with Mercedes and Rachel. Santana hadn't moved in the last 5 minutes, her mind seemed to be going in twenty different directions.
She hadn't been in the same room since Brittany in so long, she forgot - or rather, she had made herself forget - the blonde's magnetic presence, radiating light, goodness and love. That smile that made Santana's head turn to mush and made her stutter. Brittany's whole demeanor when she danced, like every cell in her body was enjoying it. Santana felt her body scream. It screamed in pain, in heartache, it wanted her to stand up and go on stage and kiss the blonde, slap her, yell at her, claw at her, cry, let the blonde embrace her and cradle her, all at once. How dare she come back and do this to her? Who the fuck did she think she was, making Santana feel all this again? Santana wasn't really there, in that room. She was back in her front porch watching the blonde drive away. She was back in her room with a letter in her hand, reading Brittany's words written in her handwriting but not really understanding how they came out of the blonde. She was in her car, on the Pierce's driveway crying, not daring to go in and let Whitney hold her.
Quinn stood in front of Santana, and it took the Latina a minute to focus on the hazel eyes. "Santana, talk to me. Focus!" Santana saw the worried expression on her face and the fire in her eyes and took a sip of her drink before stammering an answer.
"I – I'm… shit Q, I don't know, I feel like I've been hit by a truck right in the gut!" Mercedes and Rachel sat to each of Santana's sides and put their hands on her knees. Santana ran a hand through her hair.
"Yeah, I can tell, none of us had noticed she was even here… So… what are you gonna do?" Quinn's tone was both parts questioning and daring Santana to take action. Santana shook her head.
"I'm not gonna do anything Q, I'm gonna sit here, finish my drink, get my heartbeat back under control and then we'll see. So if you want to stay with me, you bitches are doing shots." She turned back around and motioned for the bartender to pour four shots of tequila. The girls exchanged worried glances, Mercedes shrugged and turned around. Quinn sat next to Rachel, a resigned look on her face. The girls took the shot and were just setting their glasses down, when Santana ordered another round. After three rounds in silence, Santana finally turned towards her friends. "I'm gonna go dance." She stood up abruptly, swaying slightly, and the girls hurried to the dance floor with her. Santana saw in her peripheral vision the blonde on the other side of the room talking to Artie and Mike, and she purposefully walked towards the opposite end of the dance floor grabbing Mercedes' hand and danced her nervousness away. She closed her eyes and let her body move with the music until she could feel the nothingness envelop her. And then she heard a faint voice say "Take her to her room" and strong but tender arms guiding her. She let the arms guide her, where, she didn't know. She couldn't focus, all she kept seeing was the tall blonde in her wispy silk shirt and tight leather pants. Santana felt the warm fluffy embrace of a comforter, closed her eyes and thankfully couldn't see the blonde in her mind anymore.