Title: Inside Out
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 10.8k
Summary: Santana's back from Indiana for Senior year. She lived here five years ago, but there's something different about the place.
Warning: G!P
Notes: First off, apologies. It's been forever since I updated this. Secondly, think Heather Morris at the SAG awards when you think of Brittany's dress. That's the imagery I'm going for with this.
/
Before Santana knows it, it's prom night.
Her and Brittany have managed to keep their relationship on the down low for a week now, and it's been a struggle at school, and especially in Spanish class as now Brittany knows enough of the language to tell Santana what she wants to do to her in her native tongue – that's genuine torture – but it all goes smoothly, and they sneakily see each other after school and in school as much as possible, making full use of empty classrooms and the janitor's closet and the bleachers that one time.
(Although they were rudely interrupted by some of the Skanks, but they don't talk to anyone outside of their circle, so Santana knows their secret is safe.)
They spoke about the whole Rick and his threat about moving to Washington, and Brittany cleared it up, stating she's 18 and an adult and there isn't any prospects for her there, so it's not like she'd go. Apparently Puck was right about her parent's relationship, and that Brittany never really understood why her mom stood by her dad with the way he treats her most of the time, but Santana supposes the guy is away so much, it's almost like they're divorced anyway so Santana understands a little more, and the concern is more or less been quelled.
During the week, there are also a lot of attempts on Quinn's side, trying to get Santana to change her mind about prom, but she stands her ground. It's just not worth the risk, even if Sue Sylvester – the newly appointed principal – announces that Brittany's in the running for Prom Queen which makes Santana seethe beneath the surface.
Not that it's a shock as Brittany's the co-captain and pretty much everyone loves her so Santana's happy for her on one hand, but on the other, she isn't happy as it means there's going to be a Prom King and no public knowledge of their hidden relationship.
They'll probably have to dance, and so Santana's glad she isn't going as she won't have to watch it. Especially when she hears that Sam's a nominee, so she uses that as defence when Quinn bugs her for the millionth time about going as she's not down with seeing the results if it happens to be those two voted as Prom royalty, regardless of how unlikely it is that he's going to win. The guy's only been in school for like a month or something.
But anyway, it's the night of the prom and they all head to Quinn's house – as Dani has no idea where that is and so the chances of her turning up at the door are slim – and somehow Brittany manages to convince Dani that she's getting ready with Quinn so that she doesn't have to go alone as an excuse seeing as Rachel's doing her own thing. Santana isn't sure of the detailed ins and outs of what was said, but Brittany reassured her that there'd be no need to worry and so she's going to trust that.
Anyway, she's waiting downstairs with Puck, who turned up five minutes ago, and they're both waiting for their blondes to come down. Santana was up there about half hour ago, but Judy kicked her out and said even if she wasn't going to prom, she still deserved the reveal of her girl. It made her insides flutter, as she and Brittany haven't put a label on them yet, but it's enough to know that Brittany's dressing up for her, regardless of her attendance or not.
"Nervous?"
She turns and sees Puck smiling at her, but the shake in his leg is showing he only asked that question in hopes she'd say yes as he's nervous, too. He's dressed up in a smart light grey suit with a handkerchief hanging out the pocket and it's the first time she's seen him look formal. It's kind of weird.
"Not really, but I'm not going to prom," she counters, and he chuckles slightly.
But the brief conversation is interrupted by a loud clap, and she snaps her eyes up the stairs to see Judy stood there, absolutely glowing. She looks like someone just told her she won the lottery, and in turn, Santana does start getting nervous. She's been trying not to imagine what Brittany looks like all done up, and her mind has wandered, and even though Judy probably looks like that because her daughter is beautiful and will look breath-taking in a gown, she won't have anything on Brittany. Santana's sure of it.
She doesn't have to wait for long either to find out, because instead of talking, Judy just holds her hands out as two blondes appear behind her, and Santana swears her heart stops beating.
Because yeah, Quinn does look good, but Brittany…
She's like nothing Santana's ever seen before. Not in real life, anyway.
The gown Brittany's wearing is pale, with no straps and a flowing bottom. Her shoulders are bare, and she grasps one side of the dress up, so she doesn't step on it as she descends down the stairs, tucking her straightened hair behind her ear with the free hand to hide the blush that creeps across her cheeks when she notices brown eyes staring her way. And Santana would walk towards her, or say something, or do anything if she wasn't frozen in her spot because fuck, she's starting to think that not going to prom was a bad idea.
Brittany looks fucking insane. Santana's fully aware she's gazing like a village idiot, and she has no shame about the drool gathering at the side of her mouth because it's not from arousal, it's from amazement. She's seen this girl in jeans and a t-shirt. She's seen this girl in her birthday suit. She's seen her in a Cheerios outfit that highlights how long her legs are, but this… This is just another level. This is like Santana's been sucker punched and graced by God at the very same time, and she's not sure whether she wants to smile or cry.
Her heart and breath has been stolen, and she kind of wishes she had bought a dress as a back-up so she could change her mind last minute because damn… How can she let Brittany go somewhere looking like this, without her?
"Wow," is all she hears from the side when the two blondes finally get to the bottom of the staircase and Santana forces herself to blink, forces her lungs to start working again and heart gain a normal rhythm as Puck steps forward, taking Quinn's hands with an equally dopey gaze.
It's only now Santana registers what her friend is wearing, and it's a baby blue dress that matches Puck's tie, and Santana tries not to smile but they're so darn cute that she can't help it. But then she hears a giggle, and her attention is fully drawn back to Brittany who's smiling at her softly, and for the second time in under a minute, Santana can't breathe. She really doesn't know why she thought getting ready with Brittany was a good idea, and now the room has grown quiet because she's lost in her eyes, and it feels like they're all alone.
Still, she tries to explain how incredible Brittany looks, even if it fails. "You look…"
Brittany giggles when the sentence isn't finished, and Santana would be embarrassed but she has nothing isn't of her that is. She spent so long not being able to look at Brittany, not being able to drink in her beauty that when she's given the chance that now she is given it – as there isn't any judgement amongst the people she's with – that she just continues doing it until there's hands grabbing hers and Brittany's lowering her head, somehow staring past her eyes and into her soul.
If Santana died right now, she'd die happy. This would be the last image she sees before the lights go out and that'd be more than okay.
"Do I look okay?"
Santana nods rapidly, still unable to force out any words or hear anything other than Brittany's voice and the sound of her own heart thumping loudly inside her chest, but she manages to pick up on the sound of the blonde giggling again and God… She's got it bad. "Y-yeah," she finally stutters out. "You look… Amazing."
She breathes out the last word, and Brittany sucks in a sharp gasp, it leaving her body with a shake and then they're just staring at each other again. It genuinely feels like Santana's never seen the light before, or the night sky, and it's only when she hears Quinn's voice that she's broken from her daze.
"Okay, okay, break it up," the other blonde says and steps away from Puck, as they're clearly over their moment but Santana isn't over her and Brittany's.
She scowls, flashes a glare. "You get to go with your date, I don't," she spits and Quinn pauses, shrugging when she realises she's got a point.
"Yeah, but that was your choice… So kiss her or whatever you can do in sixty seconds that's appropriate in front of us and my mother," her eyes flit up the stairs to the older woman who's grasping her hands in front of her face and sighing loudly. "And say your goodbyes," Quinn waves off, looping her arm through Puck's. "We've got a prom to get to and I am not dealing with Rachel if we're late."
Santana flips her off, not wanting to end this moment, not wanting to let it go and definitely not giving a damn if Rachel's mad they're late – she chose to get ready by herself and get the full cliché prom experience with a Prom King nominee that's also her boyfriend – because it really still feels like just them, but she knows she has to.
So, reluctantly and with a heavy exhale, she nods, and Quinn takes it as a good sign and steps towards the door, Puck turning into a total gentleman and opening the door, ushering her out since he's discovered manners thanks to this relationship, and Santana would tease him, but they've come so far. This time six months ago, nothing was like this, and everyone was with the wrong person, and no-one knew what was to come, and they've all fought through fire to get to this place in time, so for now, she'll hold back and just enjoy the moment.
She looks back to Brittany when the other two disappear out on to the stoop, and she sees sadness flash behind blue eyes. She only recognises it because she knows its in her eyes too and as much as she hates herself for not going, she knows it's for the best. The last few times she's gone against the feeling in her gut about a night, she's gone against it anyway, and it's always ended in tears. There's no way she'll risk Brittany's night, if not her own.
"Are you sure you don't wanna come?"
Santana lets out a sigh at the question, pinching her lips up at the side. "I'm seriously reconsidering it with you looking like that," she admits, trying to come across playful but fully knowing the blonde can see straight through it.
"You still can," Brittany tries, and Santana can see the desperation in her eyes, but ultimately, she knows bad things would probably come her way if she changed her mind.
She's already said she'll go to the afterparty and that's only based on the fact she's going to turn up late and hope everyone is too drunk to notice the glances and light touches that her and Brittany will undoubtedly share. They've been hanging around at school, so it's not like people don't know their friends, but she's been keeping everything else to a minimum in hopes that no-one will catch on to their relationship.
Or whatever it is.
"I know, I know," she bobs her head, sucking her lips into her mouth and inhaling deeply through her nose. "But you'll have a great time, and I'll see you after anyway, right?"
"Definitely," Brittany replies, not missing a beat and Santana can see how badly she wants her to go, but they both know for the greater good, she shouldn't. The afterparty is going to be challenging enough. "I'll see you there? At 10?"
Santana grins and nods again. "Yeah, I can't wait," she whispers, and the blonde drops her head, but Santana tilts it back up with a stroke of her finger beneath her jaw, urging their eyes back together. "You better bring that tiara, too," she adds, and Brittany's face brightens, teeth showing and eyes sparkling immediately.
"I'll try."
They both just stare at each other for a long moment before the sound of Quinn shouting their names from the stoop interrupts, and Santana rolls her eyes before leaning forward, sparing one last glance at the blonde's face before pressing their lips together. She doesn't try to deepen it, just keeps it soft and meaningful, but when she pulls back, she sees Brittany's face screw up and manages to let out a short laughter before there's arms wrapping around her neck and Brittany's tongue is stroking into her mouth.
If it wasn't for the grip Brittany has on her, Santana would jelly leg to the floor, so she's super grateful that the girl is and instead lets it go on for a little too long considering she can hear Judy clearing her throat behind them, but it's not like she can push the woman away or tell her to go away – it is Judy's house, after all – and whimpers as quietly as possible when Brittany's tongue flicks against her teeth and steals the next breath she tries to take through her nose.
But then it's over and there's a thumb swiping her bottom lip as she lazily blinks herself back into reality, grinning the goofiest grin at Brittany who grins so widely her face could crack and Jesus Christ, Santana is so into this girl that she can barely breathe.
"I'll see you later," the blonde whispers, dropping a lingering kiss to Santana's cheek, and she manages to restart her brain – it glitched out for a minute there – as she spins around with the blonde and escorts her to the stoop, finding Quinn and Puck smirking at them like they saw the kiss.
Santana doesn't even care.
"We good to go?"
Brittany nods at Puck, and Santana feels the disappointment sink in as their hands finally part, all three of them walking down the pathway to the car parked on the street. It's Puck's truck, which isn't even decorated or anything, and Santana reminds herself to kick him in the shin for that. Both those girls deserved the full experience, even if he can't afford a limo or whatever, doing up the truck would've been a good start.
Still, the goodbye is far too disheartening for Santana to release the venom, and she wraps her arms around herself as Judy steps out beside her, watching as her friends all pile into the underwhelming vehicle which roars to life only seconds after and peels down the street, blue eyes holding hers until they can't anymore.
At least she'll see Brittany at the afterparty.
/
She sighs loudly when Judy shuts the front door, smiling at the older woman and it would be weird to be left alone wither mom's friend, but her dad is close to her and apparently is coming over soon for dinner.
That part is a little weird, but Santana supposes she can be happy for her dad if there's something going on, even though she's already given him a warning about having Quinn as a stepsister. That's so not something she can handle, but if her dad is happy, then she'll find a way to be too.
"Your dad is gonna be here soon," Judy says, coming over to Santana and reaching out, hand setting on her bicep and gripping in a way that only a mother can do. "You wanna stay for dinner?"
Santana takes in a deep breath, eyes flitting to the door as she wonders how quickly she'd have to run to catch up with Puck's truck, but ultimately that thought seeps out because she doesn't have a dress and she wouldn't want to ruin anything. Every time they've gone somewhere together, there has been some sort of drama and the best part about the past week is that everything's been quiet. No-one's caused trouble, even Dani who just ignores her existence whenever she's around, and even Kitty and Bree – the devil Cheerio twins – have left her alone.
So she shakes her head, lips pinching up at the side as she has no need to hide the disappointment running through her veins around her current company. Judy's giving her that empathetic head tilt like she wants to help, even if she can't.
"Yeah, if that's okay with you," she finally replies and forces a smile to her face. She doesn't want to seem ungrateful, and if she declined she'd just be going back to an empty house and thinking about which dress in her closet would be the closest to a prom one, so dinner is good. At least she'll be around her dad, too.
"Course it is, sweetie," Judy coos and bobs her head. "Come help me set up the table."
Santana accepts with a smile and they both head into the kitchen.
/
About half an hour later, there's a knock at the door.
Santana glances up from where she's setting the table, cutlery in hand and she never does this kind of thing at home – her and her dad are eat dinner on a tray in front of the tv kind of people – but it's different and weirdly nice. Seeing as her mom fucked off when she was younger, she never had the whole family dinner thing and she's beginning to see the silver lining in potentially having Quinn as a stepsister. They'd have loads of money as someone would have to sell a house and it wouldn't feel like it was just her and her dad against the world all the time and they could do shit like this.
She already feels like Quinn is her sister with how close they are. Maybe she can warm up to the idea.
"Would you get that, honey?"
Judy flashes her a grin and tips her head towards the door, following her words and so she does, carefully placing down the last items in her hand before dusting her palms off on her jeans and heading over to the door. If Quinn was here, she wouldn't have hesitated in doing it without being asked, but she feels slightly uncomfortable as this isn't a familiar house to her and without her best friend, she feels like a guest. Otherwise she feels completely at home here but being a teenager that's completely normal so she's just being extra polite.
She swings the door open, already grinning and her dad's facing the street, back to her, which instantly makes her frown. He just knocked on the damn door and so she cocks her hip up, presses her lips together and folds her arms over as she stares at the back of his head. Apparently his age is starting to show.
"Wrong way, abuelo," she teases, laughing the words out.
Diego laughs loudly but still doesn't turn, and so entirely intrigued, Santana leans over a little and sees that he's holding something. It's big, as his arm is up in the air and it goes down to the floor but because of the tree in the front yard, there's a shadow being cast so she can't quite make out what it is and she just cranes her neck forward, brows furrowing deeper and deeper as she squints, trying to figure out what the hell it is.
"What are you–"
"Mija," her dad interrupts, still facing the wrong way. "You know I love you," he says and pauses, which she makes a noise of acknowledgement to. Why isn't he turning around? "And I always have your best interests at heart, so you can't be mad at me."
Considering he's her dad and him saying that makes her think that he's going to do something to evoke such a reaction, she totally can be mad at him, but she doesn't say that. "What are you talking about? Why would I be mad?" She breathes, pressing her lips together. "Turn around, you're scaring me."
Diego takes in a deep breath and after the count of three, spins on his foot. The light beams over him from behind Santana, temporarily blinding him but also illuminating what he's holding, and Santana's jaw hits the floor as her eyes trail over it, recognition kicking in. She's seen one of those before, mostly because every time she's had to go to a funeral or a formal event, she's gone out to buy a dress and had to carry it home in one of these covers and she puts two and two together as her heart begins picking up the pace.
He's holding a freaking garment bag and seeing as he was super eager about her going to prom a week back, she thinks she knows where this is going.
"Pops, tell me that's not what I think–"
"It is, sweetie," comes from behind and Santana jolts, head snapping around to find Judy walking up to her, hands clasped in front of her and eyes soft. That's why she got her to open the door. She's in the know of whatever the hell is going on. "But hear us out…" The pause makes Santana nod. She doesn't know what else to do. She's kind of stuck staring. "Me and your dad were talking," Judy begins explaining and confusion, fear, and a tinge of appreciation surges through Santana as she listens intently. Usually she's full of words but right now, nothing. Nada. "And I know you said that you didn't want to go to prom for good reason, but I saw the way you looked at Brittany, Quinn and Puck tonight and so we wanted you to have a second opportunity," she cocks her head to the side, lips sucked into her mouth.
"And I told you once," her dad takes over and her eyes slide to him, her mouth still wide open, eyes equally so. "It's a rite of passage and it's your Senior year," he parrots the words from before with a shrug and she'd roll her eyes if she didn't feel intense emotion right now. The overriding one? She isn't sure, as she's now happy, still scared, but also really freaking unsure as she wasn't exactly expecting this. She feels like she's being ambushed but in the best way possible. "So, a couple of days ago, with Judy's help, we bought you a dress just in case you changed your mind last minute," he states and takes a step inside the foyer, his free hand reaching over and fingers pinching the zip at the top of the bag but not tugging it down. "If you want to reconsider… But there's no pressure."
For a second, Santana freezes. Her eyes slide to Judy, then to her dad, then to the dress and she repeats the circuit for a long moment as she thinks about this. Realistically, she knows that prom hasn't even started yet but it's close to kick off, and if she did go, then she'd have to go upstairs and do her make-up and hair and that'd take a good hour at best. She'd turn up late and that's a good reason not to go, but it's a lone thought.
She scrambles through her mind to think of any other reasons – the previous ones including fear of shit going south is still there, but lesser so now she's seen what Brittany looks like as even if it did happen, it'd be totally worth it – and half of her is impressed that these two have conspired behind her back. She likes to think she's pretty perceptive, but she didn't freaking see this coming and if she manages to find her voice, she'll tell them that but there's a more pressing issue at hand.
Not to mention there's still two pairs of eyes locked on to her, complete silence around them as she's yet to reply.
But she does anyway. "I can't go to prom now," she tries, thinking of an explanation to tack on to the end of that but comes up blank. "They've already left," she sweeps her hand out the door, but it's weak and Diego presses his lips together, unimpressed, seeing through it.
"I can take you," he offers and peers over his shoulder at his truck parked on the street. "And Judy can help with your hair and makeup," he adds on with a raised eyebrow and Santana narrows her eyes as it sounds like a prepared response. These two really have put thought into this.
"At least take a look at the dress," Judy steps in, tapping Diego's hand out the way from where it was still lingering on the garment bag and she takes it, folding it over her arm and smoothing her palm across the fabric. "If you don't like it, then you don't have to go," she shrugs, but Santana knows better than that.
The apple never falls far from the tree, and Quinn's her freaking best friend so she knows she's a devious bitch, which in turn means that her sneaky, manipulative ways probably came from her mom. There's an innocence in Judy's eyes that's making her seriously doubt that, but she's running out of things to say as her mouth opens, then shuts, her tongue poking out to wet drying lips as she searches around the foyer like someone's going to hold a sign up and tell her what to say next or even think of the plethora of reasons she had earlier not to go as a base.
But she's kind of a sucker for dresses, and for Brittany, and this would mean combining those two and after a long moment of severe indecision, she rolls her eyes and begins smiling, not quite giving in yet as it's up to what she sees and how well Judy knows the world of fashion, but knowing her resolve is diminishing quickly.
"Okay, fine," she feigns a huff, but the grin that's stretching across her face widens and Diego pumps his fist in the air, making her roll her eyes again. "I'll take a look at the dress, but no promises," she points a finger between the two people in front of her before heading for the stairs.
Judy and Diego just share a look and Santana feels it but is way too excited to even comment.
/
Okay, so turns out Judy has a good eye.
Not only for fashion, but for the type of dress that would look good on Santana and after trying it on (with little convincing) she kind of fell in love and somehow, she's now pulling up outside the school, literally quaking in her heels with Judy and Diego beside her in her dad's truck. She kind of hates that she gave in so easily, but after seeing Brittany come down those stairs wearing that dress, making it look like freaking magic and stealing her breath, she can't deny she wants to see her again and soak up as much as she can.
Plus, her dad had a point. It is Senior year, so fuck it. She's late and people are probably already and dancing and distracted and the likelihood of her being noticed is slim, even though she can't deny she looks fucking hot and that usually pulls focus.
The dress is long and red, with lace on the shoulders and tight around the waist and her dad took three photos of her on his phone before she threatened to toss the damn thing out the window if he didn't stop. She didn't want anything going up on social media as that'd be super humiliating and run the risk that maybe someone from her school would find out somehow and there'd be a whisper flowing through the prom before she's even got there.
So being sneaky is good.
(She's also really freaking excited to surprise Brittany and that could ruin it.)
(She hopes she looks good for her.)
"You okay, kiddo?" Diego throws his arm over the back of the passenger seat, where Judy is sitting and meets her eye, concern in his features.
"Yeah," she breathes out unsteadily, desperately trying to come across cool but her palms are clammy as hell, and this is her dad. He knows her better than anyone and is staring right at her, so she knows she isn't being that convincing. "Kind of hoping I can just slip in the back without anyone noticing," she laughs out, even though she's deadly serious.
"They'll be announcing prom king and queen soon," Judy cuts in and whereas that's supposed to be reassuring, as it gives an opportunity to get in when everyone's attention is drawn to the stage, it just reminds Santana that Brittany's nominated… and so is Sam. That's the type of shit that will really ruin her night if they get nominated together as royalty, but she's kind of hoping Brittany won't notice her until after and maybe one of the other kings will win. The likelihood of it being Sam is low seeing as he's relatively new.
"You can sneak in then, but find Quinn," Judy continues and reaches through the seat to pat the back of Santana's hand. "She's going to be so excited to see you."
Santana exhales but manages a smile, and Diego nods his head at her in support. She's totally got this, and the fact that these two people in front of her were scheming behind her back has reinforced the idea that this is the right thing to do. If it wasn't, her dad wouldn't have got involved and that's basically the only motivating factor here as she opens the door and climbs out the truck, shutting it and moving to the window in front as it rolls down.
"Thank you," she whispers, feeling her cheeks flush with heat because what they did was kind of the nicest thing anyone's ever done for her. "I appreciate what you two did, you didn't have to."
Judy grins at her and Diego shoots her a wink. "Go on, mija," he waves his hand over the space in front of the other woman and scrunches his nose up. "You look beautiful."
Santana steels herself with a deep breath, bobbing her head once, twice, before spinning on her heel and staring up at the school.
She's totally got this.
/
Sneaking in is considerably easier than she expected.
Due to her being about an hour and a half late, there's no nameless students sitting at the welcome table to take her name, and everyone seems to be inside the school hall. She heads down the quite hallways, pinching her dress at the sides so she doesn't stand on it and when she gets to the large double doors, hearing the dulled music flowing out from behind them, she pauses to take a deep breath and think about this.
Now that she's here, she's not sure it's such a good idea. As she was getting ready, Judy was doing everything and anything to convince her of the benefits of doing this, like how excited her friends will be and how Brittany will look at her the same way she did on the stairs and how it'll be a night to remember. She did all the right things, with good intention, and so did her dad when he pretended like he totally didn't cry as she came downstairs, but now she's all alone, all the hesitations she had from before come rushing back.
But no. No.
She's dressed up, her hair and makeup is done beautifully, and she knows Brittany's going to be over the freaking moon with this surprise. The past week has been filled with pouting that Santana's had to kiss away – not a bad thing, admittedly – but she still had to avoid talking about it as she couldn't go with Brittany anyway. That was one of the stronger motivating factors, and sure, she agreed to meet her at the afterparty anyway, but it wasn't the same as coming to prom as it's kind of a statement that doesn't bode well with the whole keeping them on the down low thing.
So with that thought, she inhales deeply and forces herself to push through the double doors, finding bright lights flashing around the hall, but otherwise it being relatively dark, and she carefully lets it shut behind her, grateful for the soft close as a large bang drawing all attention would so not be subtle. Luck is on her side, and no-one even turns to look at her as she stays back, finding the room crammed full of teenagers and the room is kind of beautifully decorated.
It's a 'night under the stars' theme, so there's hundreds and hundreds of twinkly lights hanging from the ceiling, with fake clouds attached to rope to create the image the ceiling is the sky, and Santana's got to give it to them, the prom committee has done well. She's seen pictures of the previous proms from before, some being 'under the sea' theme and the generic ones including fire and ice, masquerade and whatever, but they've all looked average at best.
This year, however, is kind of amazing and for the first time since she stepped into the hall, she's glad she came for other reasons. It may not be that bad after all.
"Everyone gather around!" Comes a booming voice from overheard and Santana presses her back against the wall, keeping herself in the shadows as Principal Sylvester climbs onto the stage, squinting as she thrusts a hand over to the DJ in the corner. "And turn that God awful racket down. My ears are bleeding and I want to get this hugely unimportant part of the evening over and done with."
Santana laughs to herself, sucking her lips into her mouth when the first person notices her presence, but she has no clue who he is, and he apparently feels the same towards her as he just eyes her suspiciously before disappearing into the crowd. For that, she's glad, and she watches as all the students huddle towards the main stage and the lights turn down low as the principal – dressed in a tuxedo version of a tracksuit – begins reading off the cards in her hand.
"As you all know, we have to uphold the ridiculous tradition of giving out plastic crowns to students whose names I will have forgotten after they leave the stage," she announces and a low laughter flows across the crowd which she just scowls fiercely at, bringing it to a swift end. Santana laughs again, quieter this time, but her eyes continue scanning across the crowd to find a familiar face. She's sure Quinn and Rachel will be in the crowd somewhere but she's having no luck.
Or so she thinks.
Before she can finish glancing around the room one more time, she hears a squeak she knows only too well and her head snaps around, eyes locking in on Rachel, about ten foot away from her, coming in from the hallway and she damn near jumps up in the air when she notices Santana. Her eyes bug open, her hands go to clap together like a freaking seal, but Santana shakes her head, widens her eyes, and tries to convey as strongly as possible that this is not the time to draw attention, swallowing the command as that'd only have the same reaction.
So far, it's been easy, and she's been like a ninja, and despite her presence being discovered, she'd rather get through the prom royalty part before going to find her friends. If there is a worse time to get seen, it's right now and she knows it'd be dangerous to even attempt as her life always has a way of going wrong and the shit she doesn't want to happen, usually does, so avoiding the prime time moment when that type of thing happen is the right way to go.
Apparently, Rachel catches on to it swiftly, nodding her head fiercely and trying to hide the wide grin as she carefully weaves through the crowd. She looks really good, in a baby pink floor length dress and Santana thinks about telling her as she comes up beside her, but she just puts her finger to her mouth and points back at the stage, knowing she can do it after.
"However," Principal Sue continues, voice firm and Santana rolls her eyes as Rachel continues bouncing beside her, apparently super excited that Santana came and shit, it's making her feel good. If this is the way Rachel's reacting, she can't even begin to imagine how Quinn and Brittany are going to react. The girl beside her is borderline peeing on the hall floor with excitement and bumping her in the shoulder every two seconds. "For some reason I'm still not entirely sure of, we have a special guest to announce the winners."
Santana stills, her body suddenly going cold as she squints, rocking up on to the balls of her feet in as the heels aren't giving her near enough height to peer over the crowd as Sue steps to the side of the microphone and sweeps her hand out towards the side. She doesn't know why she feels like this, but the small gasp that starts from the front of the crowd and rolls back towards her in a wave only makes her think that it's for good reason.
Fuck.
"So would you all give a warm welcome to Senator Pierce!" Sue shouts, clapping her hands and Santana swears her heart drops out her ass.
Everything slows down around her, the students raising their hands into the air to join in with the applause and celebrating someone of stature is in their high school, but she's not feeling it. She's really not fucking feeling it because this is the only thing she didn't expect – the Cheerios going all Carrie on someone or even someone slipping liquor into the punch bowl was on that list – and she's kind of hating herself for coming tonight.
Because that can't be good, and she's now getting an itch in the back of her skull, making her think about why Brittany didn't tell her that her dad would be here.
If she even knew.
But she doesn't get to think on that long, nor regulate the way her heart is picking up speed, the blood rushing so fast around her body now that for a split second, she's dizzy, because from the long curtain hiding the backstage, out comes Rick fucking Pierce, dressed in a pinstripe suit and holding his arm up into the air, fist pumped, as all the students clap him on. There are a few cheers – she thinks she hears the idiot jocks shout his name which just irks her instantly as there's one specific jock that she knows is pally with the Senator – but all she can do is stare, registering the way Rachel gasps loudly beside her, her hand shooting out to grasp at Santana's wrist in shock, and ignoring it in favour for drinking in the sight before her.
And now she's thinking this really wasn't a good idea turning up.
Still, that doesn't stop Rick from stepping up to the microphone, quietening everyone down and throwing a wink at a few of the front row students who all sigh – he is a good looking guy, but he's still an ass – and clearing his throat before he speaks.
"Thank you, Sue," he nods his head and grins at Principal Sue who gets a little flustered. In another situation, that'd be amusing as Santana thought the woman was gay, but she's kind of distracted right now. "And thank you McKinley High for having me here tonight!" He cheers, earning the same sound back and Santana bites down on her tongue, ignoring how her jaw is already aching from how tight it's been since that asshole walked out on stage.
"Sue, if you would help me do the honours of announcing the nominees," he sweeps his hand in front of him, and Sue bats her lashes and tucks her short hair behind her ear before wandering over and beginning to peel open the envelopes in her hand.
"For prom king," Sue begins, after clearing her throat and pretending like she didn't blush when Rick touched her lower back. Santana really doesn't get it, and she'll put more thought into that later when she isn't totally stunned by what's going on. She doesn't really know what to do or say, so she just keeps staring. "The nominated finalists are…" Her eyes scan over the card and then look back out to the crowd, a deadpan expression back on her face.
"Jake Puckerman," she reads out, and immediately the whole crowd claps their hands and begin cheering as the jock stumbles up the steps, rocking up onto the balls of his feet as he searches the crowd and if Santana wasn't entirely zoned in on Rick Pierce and how he's smirking, his façade dropping when he thinks all eyes are on someone else, she'd probably notice how Rachel squeaks again, but out of pride this time because he's looking for her.
"Brett Bukowski," is the next name read out, and there's a considerable smaller reaction to that, and even Santana has to search around until some stoner stumbles up the steps, hand pressing to the floor to catch himself before he holds up a peace sign and heads across the stage to join Jake on the far side. No-one bar his friends who are bundled up a few feet away from Santana cheer, but it's more of a low groan and Santana shakes her head, not being able to focus on anything insulting to say to anyone as the cat has got her tongue.
The cat being Rick fucking Pierce and she's starting to think he being here might be a calculated move. He did warn her to stay away from Brittany and this sure does put a spanner in the works of her being able to talk to his daughter without narrowed eyes and judgement that'll no doubt cause some sort of drama.
God, he's such an asshole.
"And last but not least," Sue continues but pauses and frowns, eyes looking over the card with confusion before she glances back up to the crowd, looking entirely unsure. "Someone I've literally never heard of before…" Her voice goes again, and when she talks next, the name comes out in slow motion. "Sam Evans."
For the second time in under five minutes, Santana's heart drops out of her ass. Sam fucking Evans is a finalist? The kid who literally transferred to this freaking place like a month ago, is somehow up for prom king? Sure, he's been taking up Puck's position as quarterback on the football team whilst the injury heals, which earns natural respect and popularity, but that doesn't seem like enough. She doesn't even fucking know what the explanation to this could be, or how it's possible, and she even spares a glance to Rachel to see if she's overreacting or reacting justly, but Rachel's already staring up at her, shaking her head and reflecting the confusion Santana knows is on her face, too.
But when she returns her attention to the stage, her eyes automatically dart to Rick Pierce who begins smirking even wider as Sam moves up the steps and onto the stage, clapping his hands which is a totally lame move as he's basically congratulating himself, but she manages to catch the way the older man's gaze flickers down to the crowd, his head bobbing the slightest like he's nodding to someone as he shakes Sam's hand.
For anyone who isn't putting all attention on him, it would probably go unnoticed, and then maybe Santana wouldn't be beginning to think that Rick being here whilst Sam magically gains enough popularity to be a nominee, isn't just a fucking coincidence but it's tugging heavily at her stomach and her gut instinct is strong.
She feels like there's something more than meets the eye going on here.
"And now for the only category anyone actually cares about," Sue announces as she tucks one envelope beneath her arm and gets to work on the other. "Prom queen."
Those two words shoot through Santana and make her struggle to breathe. Something inside her mind clicks and she swallows thickly, remembering how she told Brittany to bring that tiara to the afterparty with her and now… Now that seems like a really fucking stupid thing to have said. Now she's hoping that Brittany isn't even a finalist, even though that would be absurd and is highly unlikely – even without campaigning – because she's like, the best person in this damn school and she's got a great reputation. It's hard not to like her and shit, she's obviously drop dead gorgeous and is already a queen in Santana's eyes…
But now Sam's up there, and Santana can feel all those reasons she didn't want to come slam into her like a truck into a brick wall.
She's going to be sick.
"Kitty Wilde," Principal Sue reads out and there's a round of applause from the front of the crowd whilst a whole lot of students choose to remain quiet, but that's not the name Santana was listening out for, and if Kitty's up there then it probably means there's not going to be any Carrie ideas floating about, so she's okay to skip to the next nominee.
"Bree Westbrooke," is the following name and again, Santana is kind of relieved. That just backs up her thesis that if the devil twins are up there, nothing bad is going to happen in the next few minutes.
Although as she goes along that train of thought, she can't help but looking back at Rick Pierce and questioning his reason for being here. Sure, his daughter goes here and is probably going to be stood on that stage in the next few seconds – excitement and nausea pulses through her at the thought of seeing Brittany but knowing she's in sight for reasons she's not okay with anymore – and he's a public figure with a questionable reputation (in Santana's eyes) but good to the public, but it still seems all too convenient.
It feels like Santana already knows what's going on even if she doesn't, and it isn't helping that Rachel is edging closer and closer to her, like she thinks something is going to make Santana react and she's going to have to hold her back.
Unfortunately, she doesn't get to think about that for too much longer because that's when it happens.
Her suspicions are confirmed as she watches Rick smirk as Bree skips up on stage, joining Kitty on the stage and the first look is shared between them – the same fucking look that's on the freaking Senator's face – and then across to the man himself, and Santana feels that itch in the back of her skull treble in sensation. To the point where it actually gets painful, and she bites down on her tongue to stop herself from yelling something stupid as the pieces are now falling into place and she's remembering someone talking about how Principal Sue put her Cheerios in charge of counting the votes.
Rick being here, Kitty and Bree fucking smirking at each other and at him after getting nominated, Sam also being nominated even though he's been here for like, a minute… All of those reasons are swirling inside Santana's brain, pounding, and giving her the start of a headache and she can't help but drop her chin to her chest as the last nominee is announced.
Because this isn't a coincidence.
It's a fucking plan.
"And obviously, Senator Pierce's very own daughter… Brittany Pierce," Sue finally says, and Santana feels like a fucking idiot when Sam, Kitty, Bree, and Rick all grin at each other, completely unsurprised of the announcement, as the most beautiful thing in this room glides up on stage.
Everyone gasps because Brittany looks like a freaking princess, and she's grinning widely, her cheeks flushing pink and Santana's heart swells as she sweeps across the stage, blue eyes momentarily shifting to her dad who's staring at her now, with a flash of something that's gone before Santana can linger on it, and Kitty and Bree are clapping their hands as she joins them, the other two prom king nominees on stage leaning forward and watching what's going on with wide eyes.
But Santana can't feel anything other than idiocy.
She came here, in a gown bought for her with two supportive hands on her back encouraging her to come to prom, with full intention of surprising Brittany and making this night one to remember and seeing that grin beamed at her, but that's all for nothing. She's starting to believe that she's always known Kitty and Bree have been strangely quiet when it comes to her for and everything that's happened for a reason, and whereas she ended up assuming they were far more preoccupied with other high school bullshit like breaking up with Jake or pranking that poor Freshman, Dotty Kazatori, that maybe they were silent because they were planning.
That maybe the silence has been the calm before the storm and now that there's an opportunity to publicly humiliate and bring Santana's world down – however direct it may be and by who, she doesn't know – is here, that it's been taken full advantage of and the worst part?
She wasn't even supposed to be here.
As much as that should settle her as it means it's not a direct attack, it means that there's three people in this freaking room right now that are going to go to any extent to ensure that she doesn't exist regardless of whether she sees it or not and make sure stays away from the person she's falling in love with.
They're already treating her like she doesn't exist, that there isn't something obvious going on regardless of how hard her and Brittany are trying to hide it, and if her suspicions are correct and prom royalty is announced in the most incestuous way possible with two people who could be brother and sister, that that's something she won't be able to avoid. There's a certain attitude that high school kids take towards prom royalty, and Santana doesn't even want to think about going to the afterparty as she's thinking that's a no go. She shouldn't even be here and now she's watching it happen, that's going to haunt her for the rest of the night.
"Senator Pierce," Principal Sue mutters into the microphone and urges him forward with a wave of her hand. "If you could read out the winners."
And then Rick Pierce is standing back up to the microphone, taking the two golden envelopes out of the woman's hands and she bows her head slightly as the entire room goes silent. Or so Santana thinks. She can't actually hear anything over the hammering of her heart inside her chest and the sound of her own damn breathing, and she wants to look away, maybe even slip out as quietly as she came in, but it's like car crash and it's just pulling all attention because she's never wrong about these kind of things.
Whether it be due to psychic abilities or just sheer luck, she already knows whose names are on those cards. If Kitty and Bree had any say in this, then they've gone ahead, and forced the votes a specific way and if Rick Pierce is here with some bullshit reason like he just wanted to get involved in the community… Well, she knows which way it would be swayed.
A hand presses into the lower of her spine, and she slides her gaze left and up to find Rachel staring back at her, lips sucked into her mouth and shit… Santana usually loves when she's right, but this isn't one of those times.
"I can proudly announce that the prom king and queen of McKinley High this year are…" Rick trails off and the room drops into dead silence once again as everyone holds their breath, but his eyes flit up and the blood drains from Santana's face as they meet hers, from across the room and she stands up, shoulders squared as the realisation hits. She's not in the light, nor did she think that anyone would be able to scope her out from the stage but when the hand on her back pushes down a little, noticing the way the Senator's gaze is now solely focused on her, she knows it doesn't matter how he knows she's here or even how he can see her.
Because he does, and he can.
Her heart is now in her throat, and she's trying to fast forward time so she can hear the two names that are already being screamed in her head, but all she can do is stare and resist the urge to snarl audibly. It's like time has stopped, like she's in a freaking movie as Rick flicks open the top of the envelope, his eyes darting down too quickly to actually acknowledge what's on the paper and he's smirking all over again, swiftly turning into a forced grin that Santana sees straight through and even bares her teeth at as fury, jealously, sadness…
All of them pulse through her veins, sparking beneath her skin until the room is spinning and she's feeling all kinds of stuffy and hot, knowing she was a fucking fool for coming here in the first place because this sucks so much more seeing it than fucking hearing it later on at the afterparty when everyone's drunk and everything's a little less dramatic.
But she is.
"Sam Evans and Brittany Pierce!"
She fucking knew it.
/
The hand on Santana's back pushes so hard that she almost tumbles a step forward, but instead of getting angry, she gets upset.
It's not exactly how she thought she'd react, as something like this would normally piss her off and make the Spanish come out in full force, but when the names are announced and everyone is cheering loudly, throwing red cups up into the air with leftover punch that several students groan loudly at, Santana moves her gaze away from one Pierce to the other stage, seeing Brittany frozen in place, her mouth open and eyes wide as Kitty and Bree jump up and down, hands on her arms, bouncing widely even though they just lost the crown.
But it shouldn't be that surprising, as it's just more evidence that this was a freaking set up and that's what hurts because Brittany doesn't even look that happy. She doesn't know for sure, but she suspects this pill would be easier to swallow is Brittany wasn't looking all kinds of confused and suspicious too as she moves for the first time since her name was called out, eyes narrowing and neck twisting as they shift towards Rick Pierce who's celebrating verbally and physically but nodding his head sternly once and then lifting his chin as if he's telling her to do something silently, but Santana can't see his face to confirm that.
It doesn't matter though, because Kitty and Bree are pushing Brittany forward towards Sam who's cheering himself on again, fist punching in the air as his idiot team mates make sounds that only gorillas make, and jealousy shoots through Santana, hot like fire. She's felt like this before, when she thought Brittany and Sam were hooking up and as much as she knows that it definitely isn't the case, this is just bringing back those feelings she thought she'd got over and bring back the fears about not being good enough for her and how their relationship – or whatever it is – isn't exactly approved of.
Not by any of her friends, very obviously shown by Brittany's apparent Cheerio buddies and definitely her fucking dad who's crowning Sam and then grabbing the tiara off the cushion now Principal Sue has in her hands and lowering it on to Brittany's head before dropping his hands to her shoulders and leaning down, muttering something lowly to her. The blonde reacts instantly, stepping out of the touch which should make Santana feel better as whatever was said wasn't warranted, but it's the wrong thing to do as Rick spins around quickly, grabbing the microphone in a hurried manner and Santana knows his part was supposed to be over by the way Sue leans in and tells him that.
But he's not going to stop.
"And now for the first dance with your chosen prom royalty... My beautiful daughter and this handsome young man on her arm," Rick announces loudly and begins another round of applause even though the first one wasn't over just yet. There's a brief pause, which Santana gulps in but then it feels like someone yanked out her stomach when she hears the next few words. "You two make a fabulous couple."
And that's where Santana's going to draw the line and forces herself to do something other than stare open mouthed.
She's already kind of doing something, as she's putting half her focus on making sure her knees don't buckle and make her fall to the floor, and the other half into not bursting into tears, but the images of what she's about to witness is hitting her badly and she thinks if she ate anything before she came, she'd be throwing it up right now. But she didn't, and she knows more than anything that she can't stand here and watch Brittany and Sam freaking dance with everyone staring at them with adoration and jealousy as Rick makes it clear who his preference leans towards and is literally forcing them together in front of the whole school.
This can't be happening. This can't actually be freaking happening because that's a shitty move with shittier consequences and as much as Santana was aware that Rick wanted her to stay away from Brittany, she knows this is him showing the power he has to ensure it heads that way. Whether it's here in Ohio, or after he somehow wrangles Brittany into moving to Washington with him at the end of the year.
Rachel must see it on her face or notice her complete lack of reaction which is unknown to her as Santana always reacts to everything, and something like this is definitely in that remit, because she leans in and for the first time since Santana walked in, she speaks. "Santana, what do you–"
"No," Santana grits out, through a strained throat and she wishes she could say it's up to the fact she hasn't spoken in like, ten minutes now, but she knows it's because she wants to cry. If she talks, she won't be able to attempt to swallow the lump in her throat, or contain the heat threatening her eyes, and she made it in here quietly, so she knows she needs to leave in the same way. Anything Rachel is going to say is going to be supportive, probably irritatingly so, and she can't handle that.
She can't handle that or, or handle watching Brittany and Sam, and she sure as hell can't handle Rick staring at her any longer like she's a piece of shit as Sam reaches out to grab Brittany's hand and leads her off the stage, the crowd parting like the Red Sea. She can't do any of it and she doesn't need to, as no-one knows she's here yet bar Rachel, but she's really hoping there's a silent understanding that she came here to for a surprise she no longer wants to do anymore and the way Rachel sucks her lips in, nodding her head just the once, makes her think that is the case.
It makes her think that the girl won't go and immediately find Quinn and Brittany and tell them what just happened, because as annoying as Rachel Berry can be, she's Santana's friend for a reason and shit, she's kind of tearing up at being glad for the girl existing right now.
So without any more hesitation, Santana looks away from the stage as the soft love ballad begins playing overhead. She holds her head high, inhales deeply through nose and steels herself, forcing all the broken pieces in her chest back together as she prepares herself to leave, and goes back through the double doors she first entered through to do just that.
/
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