AN: The reviews for this fic have been amazing. I am so grateful to each and everyone of you who have taken an interest in this story! I certainly don't write for reviews or praise, but it doesn't hurt :D Every so often I'll pick a few reviewers and respond to them, so here goes:
RoseLee: Your attention to detail is amazing! All those important events in Glee canon are always in my mind. My story is canon up until Diva. I try to think how my Brittany and Santana would relate to those events, because while my events are canon, my characterization deviates a little bit, if that makes sense. I am glad you are enjoying the story!
Chubby911: Sad to hear you don't think the story telling is realistic. But to push back on your point, is there a set timeline to mend a broken heart? Isn't that so dependent on the relationship? Santana and Brittany's emotion and physical relationship extended well beyond the time they spent together as a couple. While I understand it might seem like 8 years is a long time, but it's really only been 2 and half without any contact. That definitely plays a part in this. I hope you stick with the story and if not thanks for reading while you did.
To my guest reviewers: Mad love for all of y'all.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, Adele or any copyrighted material mentioned in this fic. Just borrowing!
Santana sits in her studio office, re-watching her performance on Kimmel, painstakingly going through the playback second by second, critiquing her own showmanship. Santana's would list her first album under the club pop genre, songs written to get people dancing, full of auto-tune, cheesy lyrics and little skill. With her new album, persona and direction of her career, she had to be less concerned with her dance moves matching the beat and more concerned with her display of emotions. As her producer John told her, she was no longer a singer, she was a balladeer. People would write her lyrics in love letters, get them tattooed on their bodies, and when Santana performed, she had to perform those lyrics. Every subtle movement of her body and every emotion etched on her face had to fit the song to a T.
Sweetest Devotion had actually gone through many evolutions since Santana had originally put pen to paper. Originally, the lyrics were completely written in past tense and the music was more melancholic. The words painting a picture of a great love lost. To be honest, all of Santana's songs were about a great love lost, and while the music was amazing, the producer's thought the album was too one noted. Thus they changed the tense of Sweetest Devotion, making it seem like Santana was in the midst of a great love. While Santana thought the song missed a bit of honesty, she understood that at the end of the day, this was still her career and other people's jobs and she had to make some sacrifices. She was just grateful to no longer be writing songs about being sorry.
Santana was overall pleased with her performance on Kimmel, this had been her first live show for television, and for an audience that wasn't in a bar or club. Aesthetically, the staging and costuming worked really well. Acoustically, the band and reverb sounded great, she was on key and didn't struggle through lyrics or sound quality. In terms of her acting, she bought it. She bought that there was someone out there that made her feel like home, someone who kept her grounded, someone who she was so wholly devoted to. No one needed to know that it wasn't true. The performance winds down and Santana watches herself waving to crowd, and she hits her space bar freezing the image. She unconsciously rubs the tattoo running up right pinky.
She rolls back in her office chair, gliding over to the bookshelf to grab one of her notebooks. A new melody has been running through her head for a few days, and she needed to get some of it down on her paper, before she put lyrics to it. As she is picking out her melody journal, her phone starts buzzing on the tabletop. Quickly, she rolls back over before hitting the blue tooth button on the phone and getting back to business.
"MJB" the Latina states, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"MJB?" the voice reverberates through the small garage studio.
"Mary J. Blige."
"That's weak, even for you, Satan" Merecedes replies through a chuckle.
"Coming for the girl who has never called me anything but Satan for the 10 years of our friendship. What's up, Ceds?"
"Nothing, just coming back into town. I went down to Santa Barbara for the night to catch the tail end of this new talents set at an open mic night."
Santana could hear the whir of traffic in the background and figured her friend was driving, "I thought you killed it last night, San. Jimmy loved you and wants to bring you on for an actual interview."
Santana gasps "Kimmel wants me on for an interview? Wow."
"Don't sound so surprised, you're making quite the name for yourself. And, if I do say so myself, you have some pretty fly representation."
"You got that right" Santana flips her journal open and lays pen to paper posed to write "It's just all happening so fast."
"In reality this is ten years in the making, babe. This has been your dream since we were seniors in high school right? Your mistress has always been fame, right, S?" The diva asks the very pointed question, challenging Santana to prove her wrong.
"Totally, Cedes. That's why I am in this, I want everyone to know my name" the Latina replies, though her voice fails at the confidence she was going for.
"Right" the diva replies, "Anyways, can you meet me at the office in like 45 minutes? We need to nail down your mini tour details. Discuss logistics etcetera."
"I'll be there." You hear the phone call disconnect and your attention is brought back to the journal laid out in front of you. Your attention is drawn to the markings you had made during the phone call with Mercedes. An undeniable B was traced into the paper.
Forty minutes later Santana finds herself pulling into the parking garage of Hell to the No Studios. She flashes her badge at Hank, the security guard, and she pulls her Range Rover into her reserved space. Though her first album didn't do as well as she had hoped in the United States, it was a huge dance craze in Europe and the royalty checks were nothing to sneeze at. Santana had always wanted a slate grey Range Rover, so it was the first and last thing she bought with her money. Being a small artist at an indie label now, she had to invest a lot of her money into herself, patiently waiting for her return on investment.
The final sounds of "You Learn" by Alanis Morisette plays out, and Santana hops of her car, fixing her outfit as she heads into the building. Even though S\she has been with the agency for almost 2 years now, it's always a little nerve wracking being called in for a meeting. Cedes might be the Latina's best friend outside these four walls, but when it comes to her label she certainly doesn't mess around, and she isn't afraid to give it to Santana straight and harsh if need be.
Santana is met with a bright smile from the receptionist and Mercedes' assistant, Frankie. Frankie met Mercedes when she first moved to LA. Frankie was an aspiring dancer, who was unfortunately injured in a freak bike accident 4 years ago. Mercedes always felt a connection with the girl, since their days of surviving off ramen noodles and chasing the dream.
"Hi, Santana! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes" the girl behind the desk greets the Latina with a megawatt smile.
Ever since Santana had joined the label, Frankie had always been especially nice to her. Santana knew deep down it's because Frankie had a crush on her, but the Latina always kept a safe, platonic distance from the girl. Frankie was a heart breaker, and certainly not someone Santana was looking to get mixed up with. Frankie's allure was her danger. Her edgy haircut, unique style and motorcycle. There had been a few times at company events when Frankie's touches lingered a little too long, and her advances on the Latina were a little less than subtle. Mercedes was always in support of Santana hooking up with Frankie, but the appeal just wasn't there.
"Good afternoon to you as well, Francine" the Latina replied back with a smirk. She knew Frankie hated when people called her Francine. The spikey haired girl grimaced at the singer.
"You must have a death wish, Lopez" Frankie says as she grabs her phone, "Santana is here" she says into the speaker, "Sure, thing I will send her in." The receptionist hangs up the phone, "Mercedes and John are waiting in conference room 2. Don't forget to say bye on your way out."
"Sure thing" The Latina breezes past the desk and makes her way towards the conference. The office is small, but classy. On the walls are pictures of all the artists signed to the label, as well as many of Mercedes through her rise to stardom. Santana can't help but in awe of her friend. All her dreams came true. The Latina stops abruptly in front of a new picture that must have been put up in the last few weeks. In front of her she see's Mercedes clad in red, standing in the old choir room in McKinley, flanking her are two cheerleaders, one brunette and one blonde. Santana reaches out and runs her hand over the picture, delicately tracing the outline of the blonde cheerleader.
All of a sudden, the conference room door bursts open, and Mercedes steps into the hallways. She notices Santana looking at the picture, "That's one of my favorites. It's the day I figured out I was worth more than just being the daughter of a dentist with killer pipes. You and Brittany always had my back."
Santana turns to face her friend, "Troubletones for life, right?" She says quietly.
"For life. Come on in, girl."
"Santana! My favorite new songstress!" John jumps out of his seat to hug the girl. "We are glad you could make it in. We have some exciting news to share, please, please take a seat. Do you need anything? Water, coffee, tea? Are you hungry, we can send Frankie out to pick up some sandwiches?"
You chuckle at the man's enthusiasm, "I am all set, John. Just anxious to hear the news."
Mercedes rolls her eyes at her partner, before setting her stare on Santana, and giving her a subtle wink.
"Well, Santana. As you know, the record has been doing well and is being really well received by our target audiences. The radio spot with Seacrest and the surprise performance with Jimmy were great pub, and seem to be having a very positive impact on your public image."
Public image was always a hot topic in Santana's camp. Due to Santana's sexuality, and her demands on being open about it, Santana's team worked incredibly hard on her perception. It bothered Santana that she had to be treated any differently than any other client, but she tried not to show it.
"Long story short, we want to open your tour up, right now it is just three weeks hitting the major west coast cities in small venues. Our idea is to extend the tour to 8 weeks, both coasts, more cities. Keep the venues small because we think your music will resonate better in more intimate settings."
Santana's stomach flips, an 8 week tour was not something she was expecting, "Wow, that's really incredible, John. I don't know what to say!"
"Say yes" Mercedes laughs. "You've earned this, Santana. You are the new face of Hell To The No, and we want to make sure we are supporting you in every way we can." The diva gives you a comforting smile, "We are still working the details of the tour, in terms of additional cities, but we do know that we want you promoting the new album, while also doing some popular covers. The more people we can convince to come see you the better. We will be flying dancers out next week – we know you don't typically do dance music, but anything to add to the spectacle of Santana Lopez will be beneficially."
Santana just sits there nodding along with her two producers, speechless. Everything was really coming together.
Brittany finds herself in the middle of her bedroom in a sea of clothes. The decision to uproot to LA has her moving like a whirling dervish. She called her boss the morning after seeing Santana perform and gave her two weeks notice. The blonde decided it was in good practice to keep her Dayton apartment, she had already paid through the end of the year, and since it was only the middle of May, there was no reason to try to find a sublet. She had been on the phone with realtors in LA all day, even looking at Air B&B, trying to find a temporary space to stay while she looked to find something more permanent. Now, she was trying to gather her life together and bring enough clothes to LA that she thought she would need for at least the next month.
"Look, Brittany, I am in total support of you FINALLY going after Santana after all this time. Believe me! Hell if you didn't do anything, I was about to call the girl myself on your behalf, but have you really thought this through?" Tina's voice rings out in Brittany's cluttered mind, as the blonde continue to throw clothes out of her walk in closet.
"I have done enough thinking when it comes to Santana, Tina. It's been 8 years and I am still in love with her. What else do I have to think about? I have wasted too much time over thinking this." The blonde walks out of the closet, "Do you think I will need this snow suit?"
"It's Los Angeles, Brittany."
"Who knows, people wear weird stuff out there."
"What about a place to stay, Britt?"
"I am working on it, Tina."
"A job?"
"Working on it."
"Money?"
"I have some saved. Look, all of that stuff I will figure out once I am there. Plenty of
people move to LA or New York with nothing and they are fine! I will be just like them!"
"But, instead of chasing a dream, you'll be chasing a girl."
"Something I should have done a long time ago" Brittany moves and sits on her bed and leans over to pull a box out from under her bed. "In this box is everything Santana. Every picture we have together, every receipt for everything I have ever bought her, every movie ticket stub, just everything. Every time I am sad or lonely, I look at it. Sometimes it makes me sadder and lonelier, but other times it gives me hope. Hope that what we had wasn't temporary, wasn't fleeting, but it just happened at the wrong time. I will chase her until we find the right time, until we are finally both on the same page."
Tina's phone starts ringing before she can reply, "Hello, Tina Chang of Chang Interior Design" Brittany recognizes Tina's unknown number answer. "Yes, actually is right here." Tina holds the phone out to you, "Brittany, I think you should take this."
The blonde looks at her friend quizzically before taking the phone from her, "Um, hello?" Silence fills the room, as the blondes eyes grow wide.
"Holy shit, Mercedes, hi."
A month later, Brittany finds herself sitting in an office building in downtown LA. And, not just any office building, but the office building of Hell To the No Records, the record label of her former glee teammate Mercedes Jones. The blonde was sitting in a dance studio with a handful of other dancers. While Brittany hadn't danced in close to four years, she wasn't really concerned about that. She was mostly concerned about impressing Mercedes enough that the diva would give her any job. She doubted that whatever artist was coming in to watch their dance trial would be interested in a 26 year old dancer, who hadn't actually performed in years.
After the phone call with Mercedes, where the singer offered Brittany a job and a temporary residence in LA, Brittany booked her tickets and never looked back. It was like fate was speaking to her, there was no way that Mercedes phone call was a coincidence. Little did the blonde know, a group of glee mates past were secretly pulling the strings.
Brittany had spent her last month in Dayton renting out studio space for 10 hours a day, trying to get herself back in the dancing groove. Luckily, she stayed in shape doing yoga, pilates and running close to 6 times a week, but dancing was a whole new beast. Her body hadn't been that sore since Coach Sylvester four a days, but Brittany knew it was worth it.
The studio door opens up and in walks Mercedes and another producer. "Hello, dancers! Thank you all so much for coming to our open call for this upcoming tour. We are really excited about the talent we have on this label, and we are look for anywhere from one to three dancers to join us on a bi-coastal 8 week tour. Today is June 15th and the first night of the tour opens up here in LA on July 18th, so the window for rehearsal is small, so we really need to get moving."
A jitter of excitement flows through the room, as the dancers all look at one another. It doesn't seem like anyone knew about the possibility of going on tour. While the other dancers are excited, Brittany's heart drops. If she gets this spot that means she isn't going to be in LA full time and won't be able to begin the arduous journey of patching things up with Santana.
"Now, this particular artist is new to the scene, but her music has taken the country by storm in the past month. Her music is about the pain and sorrow of heartbreak" her eyes meet yours at these words "with a real cutting edge that makes it different. She takes her music very personally, and her craft very seriously, so she will be watching all auditions. She is just outside, so please line up against the wall." Mercedes and the other producer walk out, as you and the rest of the girls line up.
The door opens again, "Ladies, it is my pleasure to introduce you to…" the diva gestures toward the door and Brittany heart jumps to her throat, while her stomach drops out.
"Santana" Brittany whispers.
AN: I know we all knew it was Santana's tour, but Brittany certainly didn't! How do you think Santana will react to the blonde popping back up in her life?!
Fic suggestions: LeighKelly is back with an amazing new fic "Completions and Connections"!