Santana's staring down at the now half-filled coffee cup in her hands, gazing into the brown liquid, watching the ripples that appear when she moves.
Her attention is diverted when she hears a small thump, followed by a fresh pot of coffee set on the table. The blonde that brought it sits down in front of her a second later, a smile on her face.
Santana slightly points to the coffee pot, obviously confused at its presence. Just as she opens her mouth to question it, she hears a chirpy voice answer the unsaid question.
"I figured your coffee was either cold or in need of a refill." She shrugs. "So I made a fresh pot." Her smile is beaming, and Santana wonders what's got the girl so happy.
"Thanks," She simply says. "You brought the whole pot, though?"
The blonde looks down at the pot and grabs the handle, offering to pour some into Santana's cup. "Yeah, I'm closing tonight, so I get all the coffee I want."
Santana watches the steam that arises from the coffee as it's being poured into her mug. "That actually sounds like a good perk."
"I like to think so. Plus, I get to take home all the leftover goods in the case, so that's even better." She nods over to the transparent case holding all the baked goods the cafe has to offer. "My boss comes in early to make a new batch for the day anyways, so we never resell the old ones."
"Free baked goods and coffee…that's a perfect combination." She says with a slight chuckle, now somewhat jealous of the blonde.
The girl shrugs and grabs Sebastian's cup, sliding it closer to herself on the table. "I usually give them to my little sister. She loves the chocolate muffins."
"That's sweet," Santana smiles, now picturing a smaller blonde resembling the one sitting across from her. "How old is she?"
"She's 7." She says with a sigh. "Her and my mom live on the opposite side of town, but I try to visit as much as I can. It's only one train ride away, so I can't make any excuses about not seeing them."
"It's good to have family here though, right? I mean, I only have my best friend, Quinn, but she's all the family I really need."
She smiles and nods her head in agreement, but there's a hint of sorrow evident on her face. Santana finds herself curious about it, but it's not really any of her business.
Hello? I just met the girl.
"Quinn…that's a pretty name." She says, almost like she's trying to change the subject. "Is it short for anything?"
Santana furrows her brows and looks at the ceiling, wracking her brain for any names Quinn could possibly be short for. "Uh - no, it's her middle name."
The blonde smiles and is about to reply when it looks like an epiphany comes to her. Her eyes widen for a second, and a blush brushes across her cheeks.
Santana looks at her quizzically before asking the girl what's wrong. "Are you okay?"
She shakes her head with a small smile as she says, "Yeah, yeah," She looks at Santana, embarrassed. "I just realized that we've been talking for a few minutes now, and I don't even know your name."
Santana lets out a sigh of relief, knowing nothing's wrong, before replying. "It's Santana."
The blonde nods her head with a sheepish smile. "Santana…well, your name's prettier." She compliments. "I'm Brittany…I might've told you earlier, but it was in passing, so you probably didn't remember." She laughs.
Santana chuckles and shakes her head, feigning that she remembered the girl's name. She remembered that it started with a B, but everything else was vague.
"Nice to meet you, Brittany." She says with a smile before taking a sip of her fresh coffee. "So, how long have you been working here?"
Brittany takes a small wooden stirring stick from the caddy at the end of the table and plops it in her cup.
She didn't even add any sugar or cream…
"About six months. This isn't my primary job, though. I teach dance classes to kids on the weekends, but I pick up shifts here throughout the week for the extra cash." She stirs the stick around. "Can't ever have too much of that living in New York, can you?" She jokes.
"Good point," Santana nods. "You like to dance?"
Brittany nods and brings her mug up to her lips to take a sip. "Yeah, it's always been a passion. I was a cheerleader in high school, so I got to dance there, but after I graduated, I knew I wanted to keep dancing a part of my routine."
"I was a cheerleader in high school, too…never really liked all the dancing and stunts, though." She says with a laugh.
Brittany looks at her, feigning shock. "That's the best part, though! Why else would you join the cheerleading team?"
Santana scrunches her nose, wincing at the question. She definitely knows why she joined the Cheerios, but it's not the humblest of answers. "I, uh," She pauses but looks to Brittany, who has an expectant look on her face. "I wanted to be popular - be important." She exhales.
She doesn't see any change in the blonde's features. No hints of judgment or patronization. Just curiosity.
"I was kinda competing with Quinn, funny enough, to be the HBIC in school, and being captain of the Cheerios was really the only way to do that." She shrugs, feeling ashamed of her reasoning.
"I get it," The blonde shrugs and Santana deflates in relief. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the popularity it gave me, so it's definitely appealing."
"I guess it's just part of the meaningless things you think are important in high school, you know? Like, being popular has had absolutely no effect on my life now, so it makes me think of how dumb of a priority it was." She stares at the coffee, reminiscing on all her old McKinley memories of being the person she doesn't even recognize as herself today.
"Don't beat yourself up about it…I think everyone feels that way." The blonde reassures. "As long as it doesn't carry over into your professional life, how you were in high school has no effect on the rest of your life. Just the haunting memories." She laughs.
Santana shakes her head with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm definitely not like that anymore - thank god. I just feel bad about things I did or said to people…people that I'm actually sort of friends with now."
"Well, at least you feel remorse." Brittany sits up in her chair, leaning her arms on the table. "I think that if you feel bad about it, or regret it, in any way, it shows that you're not truly a bad person…not truly the person you tried to be back then."
Santana nods her head and sighs. The girl has a point. She tries to keep her head clear of high school and the memories that come with it, but sometimes it's hard.
She's halfway forgiven herself, so that shows some kind of improvement. Hell, Berry's forgiven her, so why can't she forgive herself?
"Thanks, Brittany." She looks at the girl across from her with a soft smile. "Look at you - saving my ass twice in one day."
"It's what I do," She shrugs playfully and continues stirring the stick in her coffee.
What's that about? She wonders.
It stays silent between them for a few moments, both girls looking back and forth between their coffee and each other. Santana can feel the blush creeping up her neck whenever she looks at Brittany, only to find the other girl peeking up at her.
Brittany has a look on her face, one that shows she wants to ask something but is debating whether she should or not. After a couple more beats of silence, the blonde speaks.
"So, not that it's any of my business," She brushes a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks down shyly. "What were you doing here with that guy?"
Santana's caught a little off guard by the question, honestly not thinking that Brittany even cared. "Oh - uh - Quinn set us up…he's her coworker." She nods.
Brittany nods in acceptance, but her eyes narrow like she still doesn't understand. "But…why would she set you up with him?" She asks, gesturing towards the door. "He seems like too much of a…" She trails off.
"Asshat?" Santana offers with an amusing smile.
Brittany's face breaks out in a grin, and she chuckles. "Asshat," She repeats. "He seems to be too much of one to be hanging out with you."
Santana can feel heat flood to her cheeks at the other girl's words. She shrugs in response. "I honestly think he's too much of a dick to be hanging out with anybody."
"Yeah, but wouldn't your friend know that?" She ponders. Santana can tell she's not being judgmental or condescending, but genuinely confused.
"I'm not sure," She fiddles with the handle on her mug, wondering the same thing Brittany is. "She told me he was really sweet."
Brittany's brows furrow further but loosen after a minute of thinking. "Maybe he's nice to her, then." She guesses.
"Maybe," Santana agrees, making a mental note to talk to Quinn about it later.
"Anywho," Brittany says lightheartedly, changing the subject. "Other than going out with egotistical jerks, you got any other plans for the week?" She asks, making small talk again.
Santana looks through her mental calendar, checking for any events. "Nothing exciting. I have work, obviously, but I don't really get out much."
"Why not?" Brittany asks, reaching for the coffee pot to refill Santana's mug. "Going out is fun! I know this great place off 34th Street called Cloud 8 - I go there all the time."
Santana scrunches her face and shakes her head. "I just don't really like the whole socializing thing…plus, I don't have many friends to go out with, so I usually just stay home and read."
Brittany stares at her with a blank expression, blinking a few times. "Read?" She asks, astounded. "For fun…you read?"
"Yeah," She says simply. "I have, like, a whole collection of books at home…I have ones that I've read and ones that I need to read."
"I don't think I've ever met someone who prefers to stay home and read instead of going out." She shakes her head with a laugh.
"Well, now you have." She smiles. "It gives me a break from the busy world around me - to get lost in my imagination. And it's even better because the only conversing I have to do is with the characters in the book…I get the best of both worlds." She raises a shoulder in a half-shrug.
"You really don't like talking to people, huh?" She teases. Santana shakes her head with her lips pursed, showing how much she dislikes it. "Well, we're conversing now…is it so bad?"
Santana looks into blue eyes for a moment before shaking her head slowly. "No…but I'd consider this one of the few exceptions." She says softly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, most of the time when I socialize, it turns out like the situation earlier. Either they're a total jerk or make me extremely uncomfortable. I guess it doesn't help that I moved to New York of all places." She chuckles.
"I don't know, things haven't been so bad for me yet. I mean, I don't have a lot of close friends, but most people I talk to seem friendly enough."
"Well, you are very likable." Santana teases, causing a blush to tinge pale cheeks. "So that's probably the reason why."
"And you aren't?" She challenges, looking Santana dead in the eyes. "I just met you, and I can already tell you're a good person. Anyone that's anything other than kind to you has very poor judgment."
Santana looks down shyly, not used to being complimented this much within a short period of time. Well, it might not be so short anymore.
How long have we been talking?
She moves her gaze to look around the cafe, seeing it completely empty now. She notices the dark sky outside the window and furrows her brows. How did so much time pass?
Brittany follows her line of sight and seems to understand her confusion. "Time flies when you're having fun, I guess." She teases, standing from her seat.
The other girl's movement snaps Santana's attention back to the table. "Isn't this place supposed to be closed by now?" She asks, standing so she's level with Brittany.
Well, sorta…the girl's a solid three inches taller than her.
"It is," She states simply with a shrug. "I closed right before I came to talk to you."
"Y-you didn't have to do that," She stutters. "You could've told me you closed, and I would've gone home." She says, confused as to why Brittany let her stay.
"Yeah, but what's the fun in that?" Brittany winks. "I wanted to talk to you anyways, so I'm glad you stayed."
"Why?" She asks. Why would anyone voluntarily stay after closing to talk to someone they don't even know? She could've been a capital B bitch for all Brittany knew.
The blonde shrugs. "I really don't know…I just knew that I wanted to." She can tell Santana's still at a loss with her reasoning. "Weird, right?" She chuckles.
"Sorta," Santana says slowly, but a smile graces her lips.
She doesn't know what it is, but there's something about the blonde that just draws her in…so she completely understands where Brittany's coming from.
It's still weird, though.
They stay silent for long moments, now gazing completely into each other's eyes. Santana swears she could get lost in the blue orbs for an unspeakable amount of time.
She almost wants to.
"Well," Brittany says, breaking the staring contest. "Can I get you anything for the road? Coffee, muffin…?"
Santana shakes her head with a warm smile. "I'm good, thanks. I've had enough coffee to keep me up for a week, and I'll let your sister have the muffin."
"I know she'll appreciate it," Brittany teases.
Neither girl makes a move, like they don't want to say goodbye yet. Their eyes lock again, and it feels like time's completely stopped - that the only two people existing in that moment are them.
"Thanks for chatting with me," Brittany's the first to speak.
"Thanks for letting me stay," Santana replies. "I'll see you around, Brittany." She slowly steps around the blonde, tentatively making her way towards the door.
"You know where to find me," The blonde says, turning to watch Santana walk out.
Santana grabs the door handle and opens the door slightly. Before taking a step out, she looks back to Brittany and finds the girl already looking back at her.
With a final smile and small wave, one that's returned immediately, she takes a deep breath and walks through the door.
/
The following days consist of Santana constantly thinking about the blonde. During work, during dinner, during her reading time…
She doesn't understand what it is about the girl that's making her practically obsess like this. And she would tell herself to stop thinking about her - but she honestly doesn't want to.
She thinks about her blonde hair, her radiant smile, her charismatic personality…everything.
Even now, as she's on her way to another lunch with Quinn, she finds herself thinking about what the other blonde is doing. Is she working at the cafe? Does she have the day off?
She debates going by after lunch to get a cup of coffee or something, just to see if she's there.
This is weird. She tells herself. She's never done this with any other person before, which makes it even more strange. She feels like she has this constant pull towards the blonde - which doesn't make sense, since they barely know each other.
You've talked to her once, Santana!
But maybe that's the problem…maybe if she talks to her again, she'll get it out of her system. Yeah, that makes sense. She lies to herself and shakes her head.
She's so deep into her thoughts that she almost walks past the restaurant she and Quinn meet at every week. As she's trying to clear her head, she grabs the door handle and walks in.
Quinn's sitting at their usual table and spots Santana as soon as she walks in. She waves her over dramatically, obviously excited about something.
When she sits down, Quinn wastes no time before bombarding her with questions…questions she had hoped never came.
"How was it? How was it?" She asks, bouncing in her seat.
Santana doesn't even try beating around the bush to avoid it and just gets straight to the point. "Horrible, Quinn." She deadpans, setting her purse down next to her.
Quinn's face falls. "What?" She asks meekly.
"Did Sebastian not tell you?" Santana asks. She was sure Sebastian would run his mouth about how "awful she is," and she wouldn't have to deal with explaining everything to Quinn.
She shakes her head slowly. "He told me it went great."
Santana's eyes widen in disbelief. Okay, so the dick is a liar, too! "Why would he tell you that?"
"He said you guys had a good time…" She trails off, confused. "He said he didn't think it would work out since you didn't seem to have anything in common, but other than that, it was overall a nice evening."
"Yeah," She nods as her lips move into a thin line and frustration seeps into her bloodstream. "It was anything but, Quinn."
"How?"
"Well, first, he showed up ten minutes late." She starts counting on her fingers. "Second, he got all aggravated that I ordered a coffee before he got there. Third, he started making snide comments about my job - which I happily retaliated with digs at his job. And finally, he made a comment about being more into blondes."
Quinn's staring at her like a deer in headlights, her eyes' blinking few and far between. "B-but he's always been really sweet."
"Does that sound sweet to you?" She challenges. "What about him is sweet to you, Quinn?"
She shuts her eyes tightly, shaking her head back and forth. "That doesn't even sound like the same person."
Santana doesn't say anything in response, but opens her menu to look through as Quinn sorts through her thoughts. The waiter comes up a few minutes later, and Santana orders their drinks.
It isn't until their drinks are set in front of them that Quinn speaks again. "I'm really sorry, Santana. I had no idea he would act like that."
Santana looks at the blonde across from her and can tell she's being sincere. She deflates and lets down her defensive demeanor. "It's okay, Quinn. It's not your fault."
"I kinda feel like it is, though." She says, sounding small.
"I promise, it's not," Santana reassures, bending her head down to get Quinn to look at her. "But the night wasn't a total bust, if that makes you feel any better."
Quinn's eyes narrow in confusion. "What do you mean? The date went horribly."
Santana raises a shoulder in a half-shrug. "Yeah, but it wasn't so bad. I got free coffee out of it, and I met someone new." She feels a smile grace her lips at the mention of Brittany.
Quinn's face lights up at her words, her eyes widening as she regains her previous excitement. "What's his name?" She asks eagerly.
"Her name's Brittany, and she's really nice. We sat down and chatted for a while afterward." She left out the part of Brittany asking Sebastian to leave, as well as allowing Santana to stay after closing so they could talk.
"Oh," Quinn says with a bit of disappointment lacing her tone. Santana furrows her brows at the blonde, causing Quinn to shake her head quickly in reassurance. "No, no, I'm happy you found a new friend. I just got excited that you might've found someone, that's all."
Santana nods her head in realization, understanding what Quinn was talking about now. She meant that she thought Santana found someone new romantically.
She rolls the thought around in her mind for a moment, wondering if she actually might've…
No, no…Brittany's just a friend. An acquaintance, really.
"It's good that you're getting out there, talking to people, though. I'm proud of you." Quinn says sincerely. "I know how much you hate doing that - getting out of your comfort zone."
"Yeah," Is all she says, agreeing.
The waiter then comes to take their order, and they tell him their usuals as he jots them down.
Impeccable timing. She thinks.
After the waiter disappears, Quinn changes the subject, allowing the rest of the lunch to go by smoothly.
New update is here! This chapter was mostly about the two girls getting to know each other, but don't worry, the story's going to start progressing soon!
If you can, please review! I love hearing what you guys have to say about the chapter!
Thank you so much for reading! :)