Hello everyone. So, I've added another chapter, just because. I actually rewrote a bunch of stuff from this story. I re-evaluated the story and I've noticed some really bad written English. I could see it more clearly, since it has been some time since I wrote everything. The story itself stayed the same, there are just changes in spelling mistakes, strange formulated sentences, grammar errors, unclear explanations, more detailed descriptions, ... If you've read the story before and decide to reread it, then I sincerely hope you'll see it as an upgrade, not a downgrade ;).

So anyway, rereading this story made me come up with another chapter, so I thought … why not make a new epilogue, since the previous one seemed a bit rushed anyway.

Just one more big thanks to everybody again, and have a very nice day, week, year, …!

Epilogue

I see a small shade of blonde hair in the far away distance. It's from Brittany. She's in the middle of the track road, next to her bike. Shit. I hope she didn't fall or something… I didn't see what happened, since I've only just arrived here. I always come here when she texts me she's going for a practise ride… It's an odd hobby to have as a teenager. Then again, Brittany is not your most typical ordinary 'girl next door'.

She discovered her love for motorbike riding not that long after her parents went to jail. Her therapist advised her to find something she can get lost in… To find something that shuts of her brain. That makes time disappear.

Do I like that it's something as dangerous like motorcross? Nope. Not at all. But what can I do? It took her a while to find something. At first I hoped she'd play more basketball, but apparently that's not entertaining enough. There's not enough challenge. Well… This is plenty of challenge…

I think my heart jumped out of my chest when I first heard her talk about it. Yet, I can't seem to try to convince her of something else. She speaks about it with such passion … I can't take that away. Plus, I've got to admit, she promised me she would always drive save, always put on her full gear, always pay attention.

She didn't break that promise, and it results. Sure, she had her falls, but nothing too bad.

Hah, I know I am calm about it know, but you should've seen my face the first time she mentioned she was going to start doing motorcross. Believe me, I've got nicer memories than that.

"Brittany, wait up! Don't let me miss this moment!"

I hear stumbling on the stairs of my home. I'm currently in my room, playing some stuff on my keyboard. I'm a bit startled at the sudden voices in my house. I didn't hear the bell. I know my mom's home, so maybe she was just passing through the hallway or something. I don't know.

It's not that important how they get in anyway. The stomping up the stairs and Quinn yelling out Britt's name is enough warning they're coming up here.

A flash of blonde hair rushes towards me. She basically almost jumps onto my lap. I can feel she's full with excitement, she can't sit still for one moment.

I put my arms around her waist, keeping her in place. She gives me a small butterfly kiss in way of greeting. She's breathing quite heavily. She must have really sprinted to my room.

Not a moment later another blonde comes to a stop at my room. She leans her weight on my door frame, trying to catch her breath. "Jesus … how can you … run that fast … why .. didn't you …wait?"

Brittany puts her arm around my neck, nuzzling her nose in the collar of my shirt. "Well I wanted to tell her as fast as possible, so I couldn't just wait for you could I?"

Quinn looks a bit pale. It's making me almost offer her some water or something… with the emphasis of almost. "Yeah well … you run too fast."

Ha. Wow, that's one of the worst remarks I've ever heard come out of Quinns mouth. It's hilarious. I'd mention it, if my curiosity wasn't peeking through the roofs right now. "All right guys, stop bickering. What is so urgent you need to tell me B?" I give Quinn a quick once over. "And why is it so important to Quinn to witness the moment?"

I look to Brittany, her eyes are twinkling. "I found a new hobby!"

I arch a brow. I'm overcome with happiness. This is great news! "Really? That's awesome!" I remove my hands from around her, trying to adjust our position. I give her a questioning look. "What is it?"

"It's dirt bike racing." I blink. I blink again. I need a second to let the words sink in.

"Wait. I'm sorry, I think I'm misunderstanding. You don't mean motorcross right?"

She nods. "Yeah no, you heard right… Track fields. Speed. Helmets. Motor gear. Dirt bikes. You know …" She waves her hand likes it's not a big deal. "Motorcross."

My jaw drops to the floor. I hear Quinn laughing in a faraway distance, murmuring this was worth running for… I tune her out. Brittany's words are mulling around in my head.

Speed… Helmets … danger…

I'm shocked. It takes me a whole minute to come up with any words. "Isn't that … extremely dangerous?"

She gets off my lap, jumping on my bed instead. "Well if you're doing it wrong, then yeah. But I won't."

"But .. but … what about basketball?"

She tilts her head, giving me an analytic look. "What about it?"

"That's something you like too right? And .. it's a lot safer."

She starts pouting. "San come on. You're exaggerating. I really know how to drive. I'm not doing anything reckless. People who improvise on their bike are the ones who get in accidents. If you follow your instructions, then there's not that much that can go wrong."

I jump of my chair. My emotions are taking over. "Not that much that can go wrong?! What about the unfortunate accidents? I'm not ready to visit you in the hospital, looking all broken again."

Shit. That was too far. I shouldn't have said that. Her shoulders fall down, she's closing up her walls. Crap. I really shouldn't have spoken before thinking.

Quinn speaks up, trying to break the brewing tension in the room. "Santana, I think you should let this go. If Britt really wants to do this, then let her."

I cross my arms, giving Quinn an unimpressed look. After breaking eye contact with her, I look back towards Brittany. She's giving me a determined look. "I'm not letting this go San. I really want to do this."

Yep, there is the unfamous Brittany-pout. Ugh. Of course I'll let her do this. It's not my decision to make. It's just … frustrating. Why doesn't she like … knitting or walking … or something else safe like that?

I put my hands in the air, showing her my surrender to the topic. "Just give me a minute."

I walk out of the room, going nowhere.

It took me more than half an hour before I could go back to my room, not feeling like steam was fuming out of my ears. We talked it out (without Quinn, I sent her away after she gave her non-asked opinion on the matter. I love that girl, but sometimes she can be too much). It took me some time to feel completely comfortable with the image of such a fragile person riding a motorcross bike, making jumps in the air on a muddy road at high speed … but I got there… Sort of. I let her be. She lets me be worried.

It's a 'find each other in the middle' situation. she always texts me when she's practising and when she'll leave. Plus, every time she gets on her bike, she posts me a picture with her full protection gear on. She was right in saying that that's a huge difference. I can't believe there are people out there who do stunts without a helmet … I mean, how much can you challenge faith until you're just being dumb. And … I must say … that workout gear … it's not bad to look at. I may or may not have made an album on my phone, with only pictures of her in her gear.

So anyway, she texted me like half an hour ago she would go to the tracks to practise some tricks or something. I know she drives around for thirty minutes most of the times, so I like to surprise her to pick her up afterwards. It's not that far away from my house. Plus … it gets me more time with her.

I notice she hasn't seen me yet, but she's also not riding. I'm a bit worried. Did she fall? She didn't hurt herself did she? I start to run at a faster pace, trying to get to her as fast as possible.

Once I've stopped a few feet away I analyse her actions. It doesn't seem like she's hurt. But … she's frantically trying to fix something. She has opened the bike, so all kind of screws and metal is visible. I have no clue what she's doing, but she's great at fixing up that sort of stuff. I don't know where she found the skill for that, but she did.

Her motions are panicked and rapid. I get worried. She gets like this sometimes. It's like she's in a panic attack, but she doesn't want to panic, so instead she frantically starts to obsess over something. This time the bike has her full mind. Poor bike. She starts to punch some parts with her wrench out of frustration.

I think it's time I'll try to get her out of her daze.

"Brittany. Brittany!" I gently grab her shoulders, trying to get her attention. She jumps up at my touch. "Hey Britt. Relax, it's me. Calm down."

I caress her hand, like she told me helps her get out of a bad mood. She doesn't react immediately, but she doesn't shrug my hand away either. It's enough conformation for me to keep touching her. I gently stroke her arm, letting my hand travel towards her shoulder. Once there, I dare to take it a step further and step closer, nuzzling my nose in her neck.

She takes in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "SSan?" Her voice sounds very fragile. "Yeah it's me relax." She wraps both her arms very closely around us, embracing me.

We keep hugging like that for a long time. Once I hear her breathing calm down, I give her a small peck, before taking a step back.

Our eyes connect. Clear blue eyes look at me with an immense amount of love. I grab her hand, wiggling it between our bodies. "What happened B?"

She shrugs, kicking away a small rock to a faraway distance. I sigh. I get it. I really get it. She needs time to open up sometimes. I understand her walls can't break down with a click of our shoes (Nuhuh, you're wrong, I didn't watch Wicked. Brittany definitely made me not do that). Social habits - like being closed off - you want to work through, take time. They take a lot of effort.

However. I'm here. I want to help her in any way she wants. She asked me some time ago to remind her if she's being closed off again. At first, I just said it out loud. But … I'm not really known for my subtleness, so that didn't work. Now we use this trick. Starting with holding her hand, to giving her a hug, to not speak until she's ready.

Don't get me wrong, it's okay to be closed off. It's okay to not overshare anything you do. Everybody can do what they feel is them. But Brittany is not a closed-off person. It was a defence mechanism to not get caught in lies or trouble. Keeping herself closed-off can bring back past trauma's. Which is … traumatizing, to say the least.

It's not good to just bury the past away, you need to find a way to let go. Let it be there, without overruling your life.

At first I was really insecure to help her. I didn't know what triggered her, didn't know what could make it worse. I still hesitate sometimes, but it's become a minority now. We know each other's body language through and through. We know what the other one needs and thinks before we've even made the thought ourself.

That's why I know I don't need to talk right now. She knows I'll be patient. She knows she's got time to explain what's going on.

After another few minutes, she starts to speak up. "I just … uh San, I'm sorry."

I get confused. "What are you sorry about?"

"I promised you the minute I'd feel confident enough I'd give you a joyride. But now my bike is broken and I can't seem to fix it!"

It's probably not the time to say wanky is it? … "Hey Britt that's okay. There's no rush. I can wait." … I'm not really looking forward to that anyway. I know I don't look like it, but those things are scary.

She combs her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit of hers. Her hands were greasy from using her tools, so now there's a black line on her forehead. It shouldn't be, but it looks so adorably cute on her. However, her nervous motions snap me out of my thinking. She sounds frantic now. "No, you don't get it San. Today's our anniversary! I promised myself I would have done this by now. This was like my deadline!"

I frown. Today's not our anniversary. "What anniversary?"

She puts her hands in the air, giving me an incredulous look. "It's the anniversary."

I still don't get it. "But … today's not our anniversary of being together? That's not for another few months? What are you talking about B?"

She gives a frustrating sigh. "I know that San. This is another one." Seeing I'm still wearing a puzzled look, she continues. "It's our nickname anniversary!"

Uhm … what? What is she talking about? Is that a thing? Or is that a Brittany thing? "What … uh .. what's a nickname anniversary B?" I sputter.

Her gaze glanced towards something beside me, lost in her own memories. "It's the day you first called me Britt and I called you San. That's like … such an important step in a friendship … plus … it's like the moment I uh …"

She stops talking. God. I'm too curious for my own good. If I didn't have any restriction, I would have grabbed her by the shirt, shaking her until she gave me an answer… good thing I've got some self-control.

Instead I just take a step closer, giving her the encouragement to continue. "It's the moment I knew I wanted to be your girlfriend." She fumbles with her fingers, trying to hide her embarrassment from me. "I mean … at the time I didn't think that would ever become a reality, but it was nice to have in my imagination…"

I grin. "You're cute B. You know that?" she crosses her arms, but her cheeks betray her. There's a small blush creeping up her face. I decide to play this out a bit. "So …" I take an impossible step closer, bringing my lips towards her left ear. I'm not touching her skin, but I'm certain she can feel my breathing. "In that imagination of yours …" I put one hand on her lower back, the other one is firmly planted on her waist, pushing her body against mine. "…What were we doing?"

I gently bite her earlobe. "Was it as innocent as this…" I gently move my hands lower. She gasps in response. "Or was it more than that?"

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this. I know I'm teasing right now. We're in the middle of a track field. Sure, we're the only ones around. But that's not an … ideal make-out location.

I should stop myself, before this thing escalates.

I let go of her earlobe. Yet, I can't resist the urge to plant some small kisses on her cheekbone and a gentle kiss on the lips. She tries to deepen it, but I protest. This is not the time.

I take a step back, trying to control back my own breathing. It seems like the distance was a good idea, because Brittany isn't doing much better. Her chest is going up and down in a very rushed tempo. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes have darkened. I have to look away. This mental image is not doing any good for my hormones.

I clear my throat, trying to think back why I started this teasing matter. Oh right … the anniversary of our nicknames. That's so sweet. I give her another small peck before I start talking. "That's so cute B. Thank you for sharing that. I'll make sure we can celebrate it tonight … in a more closed environment."

She laughs. There's still a bit of embarrassment and shyness visible in her body language. I give her a gentle nudge. "You know I'm perfectly fine with waiting a bit longer right? There's no rush in going on a ride together on your bike."

She crosses her arms, lecturing herself. "I know San, but it's what I wanted to accomplish in my mind. It's important to me. I should have…" Sensing she could go in another panic-mode again, I grab her hands. "Hey, hey. It's okay."

I'm trying to read her. She's really frustrated about this. It's really getting to her. "What about we take a step back from your bike? Let him lay there for a moment. We can put our focus somewhere else for a sec."

She shakes her head. "No San. I can't. I need to fix this now. I need to be able to be in control of it."

I frown. Every time she uses the word control, a small alarm goes off in my head. I know she has some issues with it. She explained me once that that's because her parents didn't let her be in charge for her entire life she lived there. Control is a way your mind gets overview of situations. It gives you mandate over your own choices and life.

Brittany talking about needing to be in control of something … most of the times that means there's something wrong. I sit down, gesturing her to follow me. After some reluctance she does. "What's this really about B?"

She looks startled, like she didn't expect me to ask that question right now. She doesn't answer immediately. I wait. I'll give her the time she needs.

I start to play around with my fingers in the dirt, making a small doodle of … nothing. I stop once I hear a soft voice. "This hobby … it's the first thing I did my parents have no knowledge off. They didn't suggested it, they didn't told me to, they didn't see me making the decision to do this. They don't know I rent a motorbike… And it's just … now it's broken and I can't seem to fix it and it's their fault. They're not in control of that motorbike. I am. Or at least I want to be. But if I can't fix it … They made me stupid, I'm too stupid to fix the damn thing and I… that means they're in control of me, without being here. And I hate it!"

I readjust myself, so I'm sitting across of her. I take both her hands in mine before answering. "Brittany, you listen to me. I know I've got nothing new to say. I've given you a hundred talks already about this. You're looking too closely to this. You're seeing it too black and white. It's not because you can't seem to do something, that that means they're back in control of you… they're not here B. They're gone. You never have to see them again…"

She interrupts. "I know, I know San. I really do. It's just … it gives me flashbacks because this is the first thing I did without them. I know what I say is not right. I know I'm making too rash conclusions. I'll be over it in a minute, but you know … sometimes those flashbacks come in waves so strong I can't hold them back."

I put my hands on her knees. She jerks a bit at the motion, but calms down again when I stop moving. "What can I do?"

She grabs my hands, and starts fidgeting with my fingers. "Nothing much, I'll get over it." She stops for a second, her tone gets a bit more lighter. "If you know anything about broken motorbikes, then that would be a good moment to tell. You're not planning on learning to be a mechanic after school by any chance are you?"

I give a small laugh. "Nope, not at the moment." I look around. It's starting to get a bit dark. "We should go Britt, it's getting nighttime."

I uncross my legs and stand up, offering her my hand to pull herself up too. She's hesitant for a moment, but once I've lifted her up, something in her clicks. She grabs her bike by the handles and pushes it forwards to the start of the track. There's a place there, where she can park her bike.

There's a locked garage for the rental bikes. It's a nice system. It's genuinely your bike for the time you're paying. Nobody else can ride with it if you're paying the rent for the vehicle. The garage is in the contract, plus track field training time is too. All fails of the bikes are on the rent company too (except if you've broken it on accident … no idea how they prove the difference). Anyway, that doesn't matter. The point is, she doesn't have to bring the bike with her to Judy's house. She'll just have to make a few phone calls to report that there's something broken.

"Hey, its Charlotte's birthday next week right? Are you going to do something? Has she mentioned anything she wants to do?" I question.

Brittany shrugs her shoulders. "I don't really know. We haven't really had a real tradition of throwing a birthday party or something. But … yeah maybe we should do something." We've arrived at the garage. She puts away her bike, and together we walk towards my car.

Brittany steps into the passenger seat, turning herself towards me. "Oh, we should throw her a birthday party or something! With like a frozen theme, and like unicorns and stuff. And like a big birthday cake we can bake together. And confetti. And …"

"Wow, slow down B. Those are all great ideas, but maybe we should filter some of them. Maybe we can talk to Quinn about it? See what Judy would allow and what not?" I take a quick look at her. "And put your seatbelt on Britt, we're not on your bike anymore."

She gives me a playful eyeroll, but does just that anyway.

…

I park my car at the driveway of Judy's house. I've changed my opinion about the house through times. Brittany and Charlotte made some decoration changes (with the approval of Quinn and Judy of course). They made the house much more … cozy. Not that things have changed so much on the downstairs … except maybe some lost toys from Charlotte. But I don't know… it's the vibes or something. The house seems more alive. Not in a creepy horror-movie vibes-way though.

Once I've put down my keys, Brittany rushes out of the car, running towards my side. She opens the door and gives me a bow, giving me a hand to step out of the car.

And they say chivalry is dead.

"My lady."

"Well thank you very much, my knight in shining armour." I give her a sweet kiss on the palm of her hand, showing my gratitude.

We walk hand in hand to the entrance of the door. We stop once we're at the port. She wibbles around her helmet in her hand, trying to … I don't know. I give Brittany a puzzled look. "Uhm.. what are we waiting for?"

She huffs in frustration. "I need to grab my key, but I don't want to let go of your hand, and my helmet is stuck in the other one."

My whole face lit up at that. God, she's such a romantic cutie… I can't even grasp it myself I'm even open to those sort of things. She's the only one who gets away with stuff like that though. She's the only one that makes my heart soft and into putty.

"Where is it? I'll grab it for you." It's funny. If Quinn would see us like this, me trying to manoeuvre my body around to get to her back pocket of her jeans, without having to let go of her hand … she'd fall over from laughter.

Good thing she's not here to witness it.

We put down our stuff in the hallway and grab a snack out of the kitchen, before we head upstairs.

"We should talk to Quinn, look for some ideas for a birthday party for Charlie." She looks at her hands. "But let me grab a quick shower first San, I feel dirty. I think Quinn's in her room if you want the company, or…" She gives me a smug look "You can join me if you want?"

I hit her on the arm and gasp. "Britt! There are three other people in this house!"

She shrugs, waving away her own suggestion. "I know I know, I was joking … sort of."

We walk into her room. She grabs a towel before going to the bathroom, while I go to Quinn's room. I'll pass the time with her I guess.

I don't bother to knock. It's a thing. I freeze in place once I locate her, already feeling regret of going to Quinn's room. "Oh no, nuhuh. You're painting your nails… again? You only did that last weekend?"

She doesn't look up. "Ugh, come on Santana. Quit whining about me painting my nails too much. It's relaxing to me. What's the big deal?"

I settle myself down on her desk chair, wobbling around on it. "Nothing." I shrug. "It's just boring. I'm bored."

Quinn gazes over, giving me an unamused expression. "Yeah, well, if I'm so boring to you.." she points towards her door. "The exit is that way. I'm sure your other half wouldn't mind if you'd take a nap in her room."

I don't react. It's what we are. It's what our friendship is. Being a pain in the ass. Bickering around. It's fun.

I'm not mad though when Britt walks in. Looking dead gorgeous, as usual. Her hair's still a bit damp from her shower, but she put it in a ponytail already anyway. She's wearing some short shorts, the muscles from her legs strongly visible. She's actually wearing one of my shirts. Our whole wardrobe is mixed up. It's ridiculous. We don't exactly have the same size of clothes, but sometimes there's a shirt or hoody that can fit perfectly for the other one. I never know why, but seeing her wear something of mine … it does something to me.

"Close your mouth and stop giving googly-eyes to your girlfriend S. It's making me want to puke."

I snap out of my gazing, giving Quinn a threatening look. "You're just jealous you don't have a significant other yourself. Don't let it out on me and Britts."

Brittany crosses her arms. "Come on Sanny, that's just rude. Quinn didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah come on Sanny, stop being a baby." Quinn jumps in.

"She never said I was being a baby." I snap. She just shrugs in response. "But I did."

Oh. That's it. She's going to get it. I jump out of the chair, lunging forward to the bed, before I get interrupted by another voice.

"Brittie you're home!" A small body collides into Brittany, making her fall down on Quinn's queen-sized bed. Aaw. It's always so heartwarming to see these two interact. They have such a strong sisterly bond, it's amazing to witness.

Brittany shrieks from the startlement, but quickly recovers. She grabs her sister by the waist and flies her around, before giving her a bear hug. Once everything's settled down, Brittany speaks up. "Now what did I tell you about knocking before entering a room Charlie?"

Even though she didn't look at me, I start blushing. There was this one time, where things were getting a bit out of hand in her room … and suddenly Charlie stormed into Brittany's room. It was a really good thing it was still morning, so we were under the bedsheets, but it startled us both.

From then on we agreed on two things. One; never get things too far when there are other people in the house. Two; learn Charlie how to knock on doors. There were other times where things weren't going too far, but still… some not so innocent kisses were in progress when she entered. Luckily we were able to jump a few feet away from each other the second she saw us … but just to be safe, it's better to not do anything when she's around. And again … learn her how to knock.

Getting lost in the memory of our make-out session, Quinn gives me a push. She sends me an amused look, probably figured out where my mind went. I shake my head, putting my attention back to the sisters.

Brittany is trying to give Charlotte a stern look, trying to teach her the lesson, but … she's not really the best person to scold her little sister. She's such a big softie for her.

Suddenly, Charlotte jumps up, running back to the door and slams it shut. We give each other some confused looks, but then we hear knocking. Quinn speaks up. "Who is it?"

A small voice is audible from outside the room. "It's Charlotte."

"Well come on in Charlie." Britt quips in.

The door flies open and another episode of Charlotte-Brittany hugs and happy squeals start.

After Charlotte gave an equally exited greeting to me and Quinn, she runs out of the room again, saying something like being in the middle of a master piece in the making.

I give her an excited wave in passing, wishing her good luck on her art craft. Apparently Quinn's still in her teasing mode. "If people could see you turn to mush the minute one of the Pierce sisters come in view … your reputation would break."

That's it. I'm not letting her talk about me like that. I lunch forward, taking a pillow and throw it in her direction. I miscalculated my throw, because Brittany gets hit in the back instead. A fake hurt look crosses Brittany's face. Mischievous and playfulness written all over her.

"Did you just throw a pillow at me?" A dangerous look glistens in her eyes. She puts a hand over her heart, looking towards Quinn. "Did you see that? My girlfriend just threw a pillow at my face?" A fake pout is fully into view. I know it's 100% fake, but I still feel the need to kiss it better. However, I won't do that. Getting in arm reach of Brittany right now is not a good idea! She knows all my weak places.

Quinn, very happy with the fact Brittany is siding with her, offers her a pillow. "Yes, she certainly did B. What should we do about that?"

I peer towards the entrance of the room, but it's already blocked by Quinn. There's the window … but that would be a bit overdramatic though. I look for other ways to avoid a pillow fight … I find none.

Fine. It's time to armour up. Good thing Quinn has a thousand pillows in her room… She's literally a pillow princess. Before I can grab one though, Brittany has already thrown a pillow back. It hits me right in the face. Blocking my view, I can only feel a second later that another one hits my arm, probably from Quinn.

They must have not thought it through, because now I'm the one with two pillows in their hand. "Oh no you didn't! I declare war!" A playfulness takes over.

Not knowing where I should throw first, I react to the first one that moves. It's Quinn. She shrieks and hides behind Brittany. I don't care, I full on attack Britt, in the hope some of it catches Quinn. Britt sputters out. "Guys, guys. Truce!"

I stop throwing the pillows at them, listening to her peace offering. I shouldn't have. I know she plays dirty when it comes to fights like this. She grabs the pillows out of my hand, offering them to Quinn. After that, she pushes me forwards by the waist, until I fall on my back on Quinn's bed.

She starts tickling me, until I start calling out for mercy. Hearing Quinn snicker in the background, I see Brittany making a subtle nod towards her. Yes! She's on my side know. She lets go of me and turns around, gazing over to Quinn. "You know, if I reanalyse the situation …" she gets up, grabbing one pillow, cornering the other blonde. "… you did provoke Santana into throwing that pillow, so …"

She doesn't finish her sentence, she just starts throwing the pillows I offer towards Quinn. Quinn yells, laughs, snorts and shrieks all at once. I could say the same about her you know. If people could see her now … the unhurtable queen B of McKinley, yeah right.

It's a more fair fight now. We all have two pillows in our hands, hitting whatever comes in our way. After a few more hits, I fall down on the bed, exhausted. God. I didn't know a stupid pillow fight could take so much of your energy!

I doesn't take long for Brittany and Quinn to fall down next to me. We're very closed huddled together, her bed isn't exactly made for three persons. We're trying to catch our breath, until Brittany suddenly whispers.

"I love you guys. You know that right?" She moves around, looking over at both me and Quinn. "I know I'm strong and I know I could have taken on my recovery on my own, but I didn't have to. For that I am forever grateful for you guys."

She leans over me, grabbing Quinn's hand. "Q." She swallows away a lump in her throat. "Even though we're the same age, you are like the big twin sister I never asked for, but wished for at the same time." Quinn is a bit speechless. Only Brittany can do that. After another minute she whispers back. "Dito B, I love you too." Taking a quick look at me she continues. "In like the most platonic way ever. You know, just like you said, the sister you've never asked for but wished for at the same time."

Quinn takes a look at me too. "Same for you San, even though I express it in a totally different way." Crap. I'm getting emotional at this. What is my problem? When did I turn in such a big softy? When did this situation turn so sentimental anyway?

I shrug, whispering the same response back to Quinn, before Brittany moves around, half leaning on me, half on the bed. "And you San…"

I interrupt. It's not my intention, but I need to crack a joke right now, it's what I am. "Don't tell me I'm like a sister to you too B?"

She hits my side in a playful way, full pout on display now. "Saaan, don't ruin the moment." she looks into my eyes, getting tongue-tied in the process. I can't seem to form any words either.

It's not even necessary really. We know we're each other's world. We know we love each other. She gives me a small kiss, before nestling herself between me and Quinn, grabbing us both by the shoulders, keeping us close. It's a very secure feeling. Don't judge me, but I tangle my fingers through Quinn's hand, connecting the three of us together. It's lame and corny, I know. But it's us.

It makes me feel so old, but I fall asleep in minutes. Apparently I wasn't the only one, because it took us two hours to wake up together.

…

Hmmpf. Stupid sun shining in my eyes. Stupid sheet making me feel too warm. Stupid arm from … somebody laying in my way. Do I have to get up now? What time is it anyway. I stretch my limbs, giving out a huge yawn. "Brittany?"

I don't get an answer. I repeat her name, but nothing happens. Suddenly there's other movement on the bed. "Shut up San, I'm napping."

It's Quinn. Puzzled why Brittany doesn't respond, I open my eyes. It's only me and Quinn who're still in the room. I try to get the sleepiness out of my voice before talking. "Where did she go?"

Quinn sits up in the bed, pulling her arms above her head, her neck makes some cracking noises. That's just nasty. It's like her neck could fall off. It's a horrible habit she has, crunching her neck or fingers. I hate it. It gives me the chills.

"She went downstairs, something about baking cookies with Charlie or something. I don't know, I was still half asleep when she left."

After we become fully awake, we decide to go downstairs. I walk down the stairs, before I come to a sudden stop.

You'd think I've begun to break the habit of eavesdropping after … yeah, I can't finish that sentence. It's just something I do. Nothing much to say. I can't learn to not do it. It's stronger then myself.

Yeah, yeah, lame excuse, I know. But everybody got bad habits. This is mine. Big deal.

"What are you …" I put a finger on Quinn's lips, shushing her. I don't want Brittany or Charlotte to hear us. "Give me a minute." I sit down, right at the corner to the kitchen. You can hear exciting squealing from the kitchen. I sigh happily. Witnessing moments where Brittany and Charlotte can be carefree sisters are still so precious to witness.

Both of them have been so serious this past period. It's such a treasure to see them find their own playfulness back.

"I want to crack the eggs Brittie, they're mine!"

"But you already broke three of them. Your fingers are dirty. I have egg in my hair from your hug! Plus, what if there's a little chicken in there? I'm the big sister, I should check first… you can do the butter after?"

Meanwhile Quinn sat down next to me. I think she gets what I'm doing. "It's nice to hear them interact like this right?" Quinn whispers. I nod, laying my head on her shoulders… just enjoying the peace and quiet of the moment.

After some friendly sisterly bickering, the conversation falls silent for some time. Charlotte speaks up after I can hear the microwave beep. "I remember baking cookies with mommy and daddy in the summer… it's more fun with you."

My ears perk up at that. A small gasp escapes my lips. Brittany mentioned Charlotte talks about their parents sometimes. It's normal. Jack is still her real dad, she's only eight years old. They barely showed her what they did to Brittany. It must be really confusing for Charlotte what to think of the situation… though she does seem to have a lot of understanding about the situation for an eight year old. It did became very clear that Charlotte figured some things out during the last few weeks.

It's a miracle it took her so long. Brittany is one hell of a chameleon. It must have been so hard for her. Even in her room she had to be careful to show her pain, knowing her sister could barge in at any moment. Charlotte never saw a thing on Brittany, except on that one evening, before everything came to the surface.

And Brittany tried to explain it to me too. How the parents she had, weren't the same as Charlotte her parents. They were different people, different characters. Though all people have weaknesses. Charlotte, the little smarty pants she is, started to see through the situation too. We'll never know how much she heard or saw. We'll never know how long she knew how bad the situation was at her house. We can just hope she's young enough to forget the memories and find solace in Brittany, Judy and Quinn.

The sound of scraping pots and pans stop. A fragile voice is barely audible through the walls. "Do you miss them? Old mom and dad?"

I hold in my breath. Quinn pinches my arm, trying to not make any noise. This is it. These are the moments I regret eavesdropping. It's not my business listening to stuff like this. Guess my curiosity is too strong to step away now. And I'm even taking it further by pulling Quinn with me in this mess.

Charlotte gives a way too mature sigh. "I don't know. They're still my mommy and daddy… but they hurt you. It's like Hans. They look like the good guys, but at the end of the movie they're not. I'm just sad I couldn't punch them in the water."

Quinn snorts at that. I push her, obeying her to keep silent. "Yeah, what makes you think you're Anna and I'm Elsa?"

"I just know."

The noises of blending something start again. "But what about Santana, Quinn and mama Judy? If Santana is Kristof, then shouldn't I be Anna?"

A cute gasp is audible. "Santana is not Kristoff. Mommy Judy is Oaken, very protective of his family. Quinn is Bulba, the super nice and meddling troll…" Quinn's brows furrow. I get it, I don't know if that is a compliment or not. Probably a huge compliment in Charlotte's world. "… and Santana is Marshmallow, soft and sweet when you're not annoying, very loyal to Elsa, he'll do anything she asks."

Quinn bursts out laughing. I frown. Marshmallow? Who the hell is that? I can't remember a character 'marshmallow' in frozen … no! That creepy ass frozen thing that guards the ice castle? That's me? He literally throws Kristoff and Anna in a well! He's … all right, he is very loyal to Elsa. But … still, that doesn't make much sense to me.

Small footsteps sprint towards us. Quinn's laughter was less then subtle. Of course they heard us. I jerk up, grabbing Quinn with me. It's the best I can do, making it look like we just arrived.

Charlotte jumps up and down excitedly when she sees us, not aware we've heard their conversation. "Great, finally! You sleep for tooooo long. I want to eat the cookies, but Brittie said we needed to wait to put them in the oven until you wake up. Come quickly!"

Charlotte grabs mine and Quinn's hand, pulling us towards the kitchen. Brittany gives us a calculated look. She must realise we were doing … something at least. Plus, she knows of my talent for listening to conversation that weren't meant for my ears, so I think she already knows we've been listening for some time now.

She gives us a small scolding look, but nothing more. I guess she's not mad at us for eavesdropping.

After everything is settled in the kitchen, we decide to play a little board game. Once the timer for the oven goes off, I take them out, tasting a few of them.

I look at the clock, seeing that the evening is already in sight. Shoot, I promised dinner with my parents tonight. I guess I should really go now. After grabbing a few extra cookies and gathering together all my stuff, I bid goodbye to Quinn and Charlotte.

Brittany walks me towards the front door, giving me a tender kiss in goodbye. Sweet little nothings are whispered, gentle kisses with promise for more later are exchanged.

A few days later

"Santana! Where are you?"

I spit out the last bit of tooth paste that was still in my mouth before calling out to Brittany. "Bathroom!"

A second later the door bursts open, revealing a very excited Brittany. "Hey. Don't you have to knock? What if I was naked?"

She wiggles her eyebrows. "Then my day would have been complete already."

I put away my toothbrush, smirking like an idiot. "Wow, my girlfriend is such a romantic…"

She comes closer, giving me a hug from behind, whispering in my ear. "I noticed the very subtle sarcastic tone my dear. Though I am also noticing the slight blush on your cheeks. So I guess it was worth it."

"Pff, whatever." I turn around, seeing her excited grin. "What's so urgent anyway?"

She grabs my hand, pulling me out of the bathroom. "My bike is fixed, we can go on a ride now!"

I slow down my movements. Shit. Why is this making me afraid? Am I not a badass?!

Brittany must sense my hesitation, because she comes to a stop too. "San? You know you don't have to, if you don't want to right? I just thought it could be cool, but I definitely don't want to make you feel obligated to do so. We can do a bunch of other stuff instead, I wouldn't mind. Not one bit."

I'm contemplating what I should say, I don't want to, but on the other hand … "Yeah, I don't know B, it scares me a bit… but it's something you really like and I want to experience everything you like so … I really don't know."

She frowns, thinking before answering. "How about this. We take a walk, pass the track field, stop there for a minute. Then we'll see how you feel. No judgement. Just us. If you want to ride with me, fine. If not, totally fine too."

I nod, getting back some of my confident composure. "Yeah, yes I like that idea!"

…

We take our time walking to the track field. It's nice to slow yourself down in life. Especially if you've got Brittany's hand in yours. I'm still not sure what to do about the bike thing though, my opinion is too two-sided to know what I should do. One part of me wants to really try it out, the other part absolutely not. It's annoying. When Brittany asks me what I think, I say just that. After getting a puzzled look for some time, an idea flashes in her eyes.

"I've got it San. We should take this one step at a time. We can sit on the bike, see how that feels. If you want to stop there, then we stop. If you want to take it a step further, I could start up the engine, see how we go from there."

I think it over for a moment. "Okay, let's do that!" Yeah, I feel confident about that, sitting on the bike won't be a problem.

Brittany walks away to the garage to fetch her motorbike. I take a quick look on my phone, seeing I've got one missed message from Mike… yep, the Mike. I wonder what he's got to say right now... I take a quick look towards Brittany, but she's still busy readying her bike, so it gives me time to open his message…

/Mike: Good luck today Satan, don't wet your pants in the process ;).

I almost drop my phone. When did he start to get so bold with his teasing towards me? Also … how does he know I don't like motorbikes? Grr. He's going to pay for that. I don't know how yet, but he will. Nobody laughs with me. I'll … ugh, I've gone so soft. I can't even come up with a decent response. I'll just ignore it. That'll be enough of a message towards him he's not appreciated right now… He means well though, I know that. I think our bickering is just as bad as me and Quinn. Nobody but us understands that we do it out of teasing, not out of bullying.

The sound of heavy wheels riding on the road gain back my attention. Brittany comes to a stop, holding out the gear for me to take. I take a helmet and put it on. Safety first, even though I'm not sure yet we will drive.

Once seated on the bike I'm not sure what all my panic was about. I wouldn't like to drive one hundred miles an hour … but just sitting isn't scary. Not at all. It gives me the confidence and craving to go one step further.

I wrap my arms around Brittany's waist. "What about one tour next to the track? No bumps and hills, but still riding together?" I'm half-yelling because of the helmets.

"You sure?"

I just nod. She can't see that though, so I give her a thumbs up instead.

The next moment is one of those times where my heart literally melts. It warms so hard at Brittany's gestures. She's such a kind-hearted person. So caring about me … Her actions are so careful, saying every step about what she's going to do out loud. Starting to drive at the slowest pace ever. It takes her an order to drive faster from me, before she steps up another notch… I needed to repeat myself four times before we were finally driving faster than a decent running pace.

It's actually quite nice. Feeling the resistance of the wind. Feeling every bump in the road. Seeing the trees become one, because your eyes don't have enough time to count them separately … I like this. Not that I would want to drive at high speed in a mud track … but this is good. I wrap my arms around her a bit firmer, showering her with love at my best abilities right now.

At one point she stops. We've arrived at a nice spot near the forest. There's a small grass square, full with flowers. It kinda reminds me of that scene in twilight … uhm. I mean … not that I remember much of the movie. Not at all. It's just … it's a nice place to sit down, alright?

We take of our helmets, placing them beside the bike. We sit down in the grass for a moment, listening to the birds and wind at peace. After a while Brittany moves around. She grabs my hand, linking her pinkie with mine.

I look up at her, meeting her own intense gaze. Her lashes flutter and a small blush comes into place. "I love you Santana. I love you until infinity and more."

I move closer to her, nuzzling myself into her side. I feel completely at ease. My heart still flutters every time she says those words. "Love you more B."

The end