I'm frozen still where I'm standing. I don't even think my brain's processed what exactly happened yet.
So, I was in the kitchen, got mad, and then everything came flying across the room at me. I put my hands up to shield my face and then everything froze. And when I moved my hands after that, the floating utensils followed my movements.
Holy shit!
Why did it do that? Is that even possible? There's no way…I'm probably in one of those lucid dreams or something that I saw on the Discovery Channel.
My thoughts are interrupted when I hear footsteps down the hall, growing louder with every step. Effectively startled, I snap back to reality and all the metal falls to the ground simultaneously.
"Hey, Santana, have you seen my-"
Tina stops speaking as she walks into the kitchen and sees the mess displayed around the room. She looks around in confusion before looking back up at me, eyebrow raised.
I have no clue what to say to her. I mean, what am I supposed to say in this situation? "Hey, Tina! Guess what happened…I got really pissed and all the metal in the room came flying toward me! But that's not the best part…it's following my every movement, almost like I'm in control of it!"
Hell no, I can't say that. She loves me, but she would definitely check me into the mental hospital after that. I opt to just stare at her with a blank expression.
"Okayyy, well are you going to explain what all…this…is?" She says as she waves her hand around, signaling to the mess on the floor.
"I-uh…I just got really mad," That's all I can think of to say. I mean, I'm not lying.
She just nods her head and surveys the room again.
"I'm gonna let you take a breather, given all you've been through the past few days…but this talk definitely isn't over." She said pointedly. "Anyways," she sighs, "I was coming to ask you if you've seen my blue scarf. Mike and I are going to a production down at the theater tonight and I wanted to wear it with my new white dress."
"Last I saw it, it was hanging up on the rack behind the dryer."
"Alright…I'll go check."
She still sounded wary and concerned, but I'm glad she dropped the subject for now. When she turned and walked out of the kitchen, I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.
I need to figure this out. But for now, I guess I better clean up the mess I created.
/
Multiple hours later I'm sitting on my bed with my laptop watching an episode of Friends. It's the one where Phoebe gets put on hold for multiple hours…a classic.
Right now it's the scene where she's getting stuck in her sweater, and struggling to call for help.
"Phoebe?"
"What?! Monica, I'm scared!"
As she continues to talk to the phone, convinced that someone might be on the other line, I suddenly remember something from earlier today.
Shit. My phone.
I jump up from the bed and scramble over to my nightstand, almost knocking my laptop to the floor. I get caught in the covers for a second but manage to get over to the left side where I usually place my things.
Whew. My phone's sitting there plugged into the charger, turned off.
I pick it up and power it on, eager to see the message that awaits me. As it boots up, I can still hear Friends playing in the background, but the show is pretty much forgotten now.
As soon as my lock screen appears, I quickly unlock it and open the messages app. Sure enough, there's a new message from an unsaved number there. I tap on the message to read what it says.
Hey! It's Brittany, which I'm sure you could've already guessed, but I wanted to see if you maybe wanted to get lunch tomorrow? I don't know if you already have plans or have work or whatever, but I'd love to hang out! :)
I can't help the beaming smile that comes across my face. Of course I want to get lunch with her! I'm honestly surprised she still wants to be friends with me. Given all that happened, she can see how stubborn and hard-headed I am. Now..how do I respond without looking like an idiot?
It takes me 10 minutes just to type out a response since I keep deleting and rewording my message every time I'm about to hit send. I finally just tell myself to send the message, no matter how stupid I sound, because I'm getting frustrated.
Hey, Britt! Yea, I'd love to get lunch tomorrow. I actually know a great place downtown…wanna meet there at 1?
Satisfied with my message, I give myself a reassuring nod. I didn't come off too strong or seem too relaxed and disinterested. It's a happy medium. Short and sweet…mainly so I didn't make a fool of myself. I have all during lunch tomorrow to do that.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and yea, I'll admit that I was probably a little too eager to check the message. But, hey…you'd be the same way if you were in my shoes, so no judging.
That sounds great! Just send me the location and we can meet there! :)
I go to Google Maps and link the diner to her before closing out my phone. Then I flop on my bed and daydream about tomorrow.
The diner I'm taking her to is this quaint little place called Albert's. I'm pretty close with the owner, Albert, so I know it'll be a good experience for us.
I place my phone back on my nightstand and close my laptop before getting up to change into my pajamas. It's getting close to 9 pm now and I want to be well-rested for tomorrow, so I decide to go ahead and go to bed.
I change into an oversized black Metallica shirt and my favorite pair of shorts, blue with rubber duckies on them, and crawl into bed. I pull the covers around me and nuzzle into my pillow, drifting off to the thought of getting to spend time with Brittany tomorrow.
/
The sun shining through my curtains at just the right angle, into my eyes, wakes me up.
Goddamnit, I thought I closed those.
I roll over, so my back is facing the bright light, with the full intention to go back into slumber. As I turn to face my nightstand, I catch sight of the alarm clock sitting there with big red letters telling the time.
11:48.
Shit! How the fuck did I sleep over 12 hours?!
I jump out of bed and make a run for the bathroom. My body hasn't fully woken up yet, and my eyes are still blurry from sleep, causing me to hit my shoulder on the door frame of my bedroom. That's definitely going to bruise.
I don't have time to stop and think about the pain, so I just keep moving. I have around 45 minutes until I have to leave to meet Brittany. I still have to shower, do my makeup, and pick out an outfit to wear.
I rush through my morning shower, making sure I have enough time to diffuse my curls afterward. The whole shower would've been for nothing if I run out of time to make my hair look decent.
After my hair's tamed, I head back into my room to switch the towel I'm wearing in exchange for some clothes. I've never been too girly or extravagant with fashion or anything. That's Kurt's territory. I pull out a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt, giving the shirt a French tuck to make it a little cuter.
I look over my shoulder at the alarm clock on my nightstand. 12:16. I have around 14 minutes to put on a light coat of makeup. Once again, I never really got into makeup like most girls did. I know the basics, but my parents usually hired someone to do it for me when I really needed it.
Ugh, don't think about them right now. You're about to see Brittany…this is a happy day.
Truth be told, I haven't really stopped thinking about my parents since I saw the letter from my mom yesterday. They're supposed to be out of my life…out of sight, out of mind. So why is she still trying to contact me?
I shake my head of the depressing thoughts and focus on putting the mascara only on my eyelashes and not smearing it on my eyelid like last time. Kurt got so mad.
Thinking of the memory makes me smile. I'm really looking forward to seeing them again this weekend. I didn't get to see them last Friday because - well, you know - so it'll be good to see them again.
To finish up, I put a coat of chapstick on my lips. I've never been a fan of lipstick or lipgloss…it's too sticky. I give myself a final once over in the mirror before grabbing my Converse and slipping them on.
I grab my phone off my nightstand and place it in my back pocket and leave my room, closing the door behind me. As I walk down the hallway I can see that Tina's bedroom door's open and the inside is empty. She must still be at Mike's.
I take my aviators off the foyer table and place them on my head before grabbing my keys and leaving the apartment.
The drive to the diner is less nerve-wracking than I thought it would be. I'm filled more with excitement than anything.
I parked a couple blocks down the road, since the diner is downtown and doesn't really have a parking lot. The early afternoon sun is beating down, but it's not unbearably hot outside. The sunglasses definitely came in handy, though.
As I approach the diner, I see a familiar blonde figure standing outside with her head down. She's wearing a simple blue shirt with grey shorts and white sandals, and her hair is pulled back in a half ponytail. Even dressed so simply, she's easily still the most beautiful person there.
When I get closer, she lifts her head and makes eye contact with me as a bright smile comes across her face. One that I happily return.
"Hey, Santana!" She bounces on her toes a little. "I already put our names on the waitlist for a table. They're packed in there."
"Yea, that's usual for around this time. Did they say how long?"
"Well I put us on the list about 10 minutes ago, and they said it'd be around a 15 minute wait. So hopefully not too much longer."
"No biggie," I smile and shrug my shoulders, "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Oh, nothing exciting. After this, I have to put a load of laundry on, but then I'll probably just be watching TV afterward." She dismissively waves her hand. "What about you?"
"Same here…nothing exciting. Probably go home and watch Friends."
Her face lights up at the mention of the TV show.
"I take it you like the show?" I ask with a chuckle.
"It's my favorite," She says as she nods her head excitedly. "I know it's really popular, but you're actually the first person I've met that watches it."
My eyes widen. "You're joking."
"Serious as a heart attack," She puts a hand over her heart.
I shake my head in amusement - and bewilderment - at the girl standing in front of me. I open my mouth to say something but I'm interrupted.
"Brittany! Table for 2!"
We both look in the direction of the hostess standing next to the booth with two menus and silverware.
"Guess that's us," She says before grabbing my wrist and leading me inside. She must like physical touch, based on the way she can comfortably grab my hand and lead me places.
We follow the hostess around the diner until we're shown to a small booth off to the side in a quieter portion of the restaurant.
We both order water and coffee to start off before taking a look at the menus that were handed to us. I really don't need to look at mine since I get the same thing every time, but I have to divert my attention away from the blonde seated in front of me so she doesn't catch me staring.
"What's the best thing here?" She asks suddenly, breaking my staring contest with the menu.
"I haven't had everything on the menu, but I usually get the chicken and waffles and they're pretty good." I shrug my shoulders.
"Alright then," She says as she closes the menu. "That's what I'll get too."
"A-are you sure? I mean, my taste buds could be all kinds of fucked up, so it might not even be that good," I say nervously, even though I know that none of Albert's food could ever be anything less than amazing. I just don't want to ruin lunch for her in case she doesn't like it.
"I'm sure. My grandma used to make chicken and waffles every Sunday for brunch, so it's kinda nostalgic. Plus, I trust your judgment," She smiles sweetly.
"As long as you're sure." I return her smile.
She nods her head in response as the waitress brings our drinks.
"Santana, glad to see you're recovering well."
"Hey, Eliana," I roll my eyes. Of all the waitresses I had to get today, of course it would be her.
"What can I get you, Santana and…" She trails off and looks at Brittany expectantly.
"Brittany," Brittany pipes up with a polite smile.
"Brittany," She nods her head, "So what can I get you girls?"
"We're both gonna have the chicken and waffles," I say pointedly and hold out the menus for her to take. Anything to get her going as soon as possible.
"Gee, Santana, don't you ever get anything different?" She writes down the order in her notebook. "I swear you get the same thing every time you're in here…even all the way back then." She says as she takes the menus out of my hand with a wink.
I can feel the frustration radiating off my body in waves, and if she doesn't go back to the kitchen soon, it's going to get the best of me. I was never the best at controlling my emotions anyways.
"Alright, it'll be out shortly." She puts her notebook back in her apron and gives us utensils and straws.
"Thank you," Brittany said after she realized I wasn't going to say anything in response. "What was that about?"
When I look over at her, she doesn't look upset or anything, but just curious…and maybe a little amused.
"Nothing. Just someone that I used to know, I guess."
"Oh, I love that song!" She perks up in her seat as she reaches to grab the sugar canister.
I love how she can brighten the mood with just one sentence. Not everyone has that effect, especially on me. I can feel myself relaxing the longer it gets with Eliana gone and Brittany here. I'm definitely still tense, though.
"Sugar?" She asks, holding out the canister to me.
I shake my head. "No, I usually drink it black. I could never get the cream-to-sugar ratio right so I just gave up." I say with a chuckle.
"Oh, I mastered that years ago." She pointed to my cup, silently asking if she could put it in. I slide my cup closer to her and let her pour in a small amount of sugar followed by a splash of cream.
I smiled at how concentrated she was, making sure to get just the right amount of each ingredient in there. When she was done, she passed the cup back to me.
I unwrapped my silverware to grab my spoon to mix the coffee with. However, when I reached down to grab the utensil, it flew up and met my hand halfway.
Alarmed, I look over to Brittany to see if she saw it. Luckily, she was still putting creamer in her own cup of coffee, so she was distracted. Breathing out a breath of relief, I set the spoon in the coffee and began to stir it.
After a moment, I noticed a set of eyes on me. Brittany was looking at me expectantly over the rim of her mug, waiting to see my reaction. I slowly brought the cup to my lips and took a small sip.
Well, hot damn!
It's actually really good. It's not too sweet, despite the sugar she put in, yet not too bitter either. I'll probably still stick with my black coffee in the mornings since there's no way I could ever recreate this.
"Britt, this is amazing!" I set the cup down and stare at it, amazed. "How the hell did you do that?" I look back up at the blonde.
She shrugs her shoulders. "Just practice, I guess." She has a teasing smile on her face and wiggles her eyebrows. She takes another sip of her coffee as I laugh.
"Alright, two chicken and waffles for two beautiful young ladies!"
An elderly man came up to the table with a bright smile on his face and two plates in his hands.
"Hey, Albert!"
He sets the plates down on the table before motioning for me to scoot over so he can sit.
"How's it been?" I ask.
"Oh, you know, same ole same ole," He plops down next to me and dismissively waves his hand in the air. "Staying busy - which is good for the diner, not so good for me."
"Well, I told you if you needed help, I'd be back here in a second."
"No, no…can't do that to you," He shakes his head. "But you," he pokes me in the arm, "Need to introduce me to this beautiful young lady here."
I blush, a little embarrassed that I forgot to introduce them to each other.
"Britt, this is Albert," I look at Brittany and motion to him, "And Albert, this is my friend, Brittany." I motion to the blonde.
He starts slightly laughing, which confuses me at first. "Yeah…'friend'," He winks and uses air quotes around the word.
Sometimes I thank the stars that I'm ethnic, because when I blush, it doesn't usually show…unless I turn super red.
"Oh, look! We got her blushing!" He points and teases. The attention is now directed to me and my blushing face, which doesn't help tone it down.
"Nice to meet you, Albert," Brittany says as she extends her hand, effectively changing the subject.
"You too, Brittany," He accepts her hand and softly shakes it. "Hopefully I'll be seeing you around more," He winks at me.
"Me too," She says softly. When I turn my attention over to her, I notice she has a small smile on her face and is looking at me with a warm expression. I nod my head, silently telling her I agree.
"Well," He slaps his hands on his thighs, getting ready to stand back up. "I'll leave you girls to it. Don't want your food to get cold."
"Thanks, Albert," I say with a small wave.
"Thank you. And again, it's nice to meet you," Brittany says.
"The pleasure's all mine, doll," He pats her on the shoulder before walking back towards the kitchen.
"Well, he seems sweet," Brittany says as she picks up her fork and knife. "You guys seem close."
"He is," I pick up my utensils as well, "And yeah, we are. He's a family friend, so I kinda grew up around him."
"That's cute," She says with a soft smile on her face, which effectively brings a blush to my cheeks again. Hopefully you can't see it this time.
We eat our meal, the majority in silence, but with a little small talk here and there. It's awkward to talk when our mouths are full.
After our plates were finished, Eliana came back with the check. Before I could react in any way, Brittany had already grabbed it from her hands where she was holding it out to us.
She grabbed her wallet and took out her card, placing it in the book.
"Uh, Britt, I don't mind paying." I had already gotten my card out of my wallet and put it in my pocket when I parked my car, intending to pay for the food.
"Nope. My treat," She said matter-of-factly. She looked up at me, face unwavering, and placed the check on the edge of the table out of my reach. I could already tell she wasn't going to budge on this, no matter how good of an argument I put up.
"Fine, but I pay next time," I say.
"Santana Lopez, are you saying there's gonna be a next time?" Brittany teased with a smirk.
Shit. I didn't mean to say that. Well, of course, I hoped there would be a next time, but I didn't want to pressure her or make her feel obligated to. I just don't want to mess anything up.
"If you want there to be…yes, I would like that." I said shyly.
She paused for a moment and scanned her eyes over my face.
"I'd like that, too," She was giving me a soft smile, which caused me to break out in a wide grin. She started chuckling and shaking her head.
"You're cute, you know."
I lowered my head as a bashful smile came across my face. I don't want to look too much like a fool.
"How so?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know…you just are," She looked like she wanted to say something more, but decided against it.
We sat there maintaining eye contact until Eliana came by to pick up the check. She didn't say anything, but was staring daggers into the back of Brittany's head as she charged her card.
When she brought the check back, she didn't say anything more than a 'have a good day' before leaving our presence. Brittany opened the book and stuck her card back in her purse, then grabbed the pen and receipt to fill out the tip amount.
"Don't leave her a big tip."
"Why not?" Brittany looked up at me with a confused expression. "She seemed nice enough, and the service wasn't bad."
"Just…trust me, Britt. Don't leave her a big tip."
"Oh-kay," She drug out skeptically. "What would you like me to tip her then?"
"10-15% should be fine," I said. "I only said not to give her a big tip because I get the feeling that you're one of those lovely people that tip way more than the normal 20%."
This causes her to smile, which tells me I was spot on.
"I usually tip close to 30, unless the waiter was a real asshole. People in this business work really hard and are underpaid a lot of the time, so you never know whose day you might make better."
"I admire that…I really do." I didn't tell her that I was one of those people, because that's a story for another time. I swear every time I see this girl, she does something else to make me that much more amazed by her.
We gather our things to leave and head out the front door. I'm honestly disappointed our lunch is over, but I know I'll see her again soon enough.
"I had a really good time," She said as we make it outside and stand on the sidewalk.
"Me too," I reply. "We definitely have to do it again soon."
"Looking forward to it," She nodded with a smile.
"Where are you parked?"
"Oh, just down the road," She pointed to the right, which is opposite of where I'm parked. "You?"
"I'm a couple of blocks that way," I say, pointing to the left.
She nodded her head with a smile, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes. I'm sure she could see them in mine as well.
"Well, I'll call you later?" She asked more than said, with a hint of hopefulness in her tone.
"Sounds good," I say with a smile.
I decide to be bold and reach up to put my arms around her neck, bringing her into a hug. A wave of relief flows through me when she puts her arms around my midsection and squeezes back.
When we let go, I notice a blush on her cheeks.
"Ah-ha…who's blushing now?" I tease. She gently pushes my shoulder and laughs as she turns to walk toward her car.
"Bye, Santana," She says softly as she gives me a little wave before walking down the sidewalk.
"Bye," I wave back and turn around to start the walk back to my car.
I couldn't help but feel super giddy about what just happened. We had an amazing time at lunch, and she wants to hang out again! That's more than I could ever have hoped for, so don't blame me for getting excited!
I'm just replaying the last hour and a half in my head over and over again as I walk back to my car. When I finally get there and look up, I see a skinny man in a green suit sitting on the hood with his legs dangling off the front. Beside him is a bigger guy in a black suit with his arms crossed, scowl on his face. I intend to keep walking and go by unnoticed, not trying to gain their attention. I divert my attention to the ground and continue walking.
"Santana Lopez!" A voice with an accent calls out. I look up at the mention of my name and see both men staring directly at me. The skinny one points at me and the bigger guy starts walking towards me.
"Woah, woah, woah!" I yell and place my hands over my right front pocket. "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you, Jumbo, because I got mace in here." I nod my head down towards my hand. He stops in his tracks for a second. "Uh, huh. One spray and you're eyes are going to feel like they've been dipped in hot lava."
He turns back to the skinny man, who nods his head, before continuing his trek towards me. Now I start to panic, because like hell I actually have mace in my front pocket! I was lying to get him to back off.
"Okay, okay, wait!" I yell again. He stops walking again, but this time he looks annoyed more than anything. "Before you do anything…have you considered-"
I take off running as fast as I can in the direction of the diner, not finishing my sentence. I'm running as fast as my feet will take me, putting every ounce of energy into each stride to get away from them.
All of a sudden I run into something as solid as a brick wall, effectively knocking me hard on my ass. I don't remember there being anything on the sidewalk that I could've run into. I just walked past here on the way back to my car.
I look up to see the same burly dude glaring down at me. How the hell?
He reaches down to pick me up and, despite my efforts to fight him off, contains me and throws me over his shoulder like a potato sack. Oh, for the love of God.
"Put me down!" I yell as I thrash around.
Okay, seriously? Where are the bystanders and witnesses to all of this?! Is no one noticing a potential kidnapping on the street in broad daylight?
I glance around at my surroundings and see absolutely nothing. No people walking, no one in the shops around…nothing. Just my luck.
We're back to the car within seconds, which feels really weird because I was running pretty fast for at least 30 seconds, so I got a decent amount of distance away.
He places me down right in front of the man on the hood of my car and stands directly behind me with both hands on my arms, keeping me anchored in my spot.
The skinny man leans in impossibly closer to my face and studies me for what seems to be a few minutes.
"Confirmed. Load her up," He says, his face still not even inches away from mine.
"Dude," I choke, "Do you got a breath mint or something? Cuz you seriously might wanna pop-"
I was cut off by a quick pinch in my neck followed by darkness enveloping my vision as I blacked out.
Hey, guys! I'm only a day late on this one, which isn't too bad I hope.
Hopefully I made up the wait by writing a longer chapter this time! This is the longest chapter yet!
Like always, reviews are appreciated but don't feel like you have to. It means a lot that you're even reading! :)
The next update should be up within a week, so I'll try to actually get the chapter up on time!