Santiago
Don't get me wrong I'm a nice person and especially with women the nice guy catches more flies with honey if you know what I mean. However there's only so much kindness I can show Pierce before I have to set her straight. It's like poison, if I don't get it out I get constipated you know?
That's why I'm here at one of Puck's gross parties, where I am 100% certain he invites homeless people to get it more crowded, watching Pierce get hit on by this college doofus with a hoodie tied around his waist. Like seriously? Are you in middle school and you just got your period?
"Yo Quinn! Come here" I shout over the music. Instantly a blonde bob turns in my direction and makes a detour from wherever she was going to perch besides me at the kitchen counter. Quinn and I have the same dynamic as a bear and a shark when it comes to mutual respect. I'd consider us friends but because of bro code and this on and off thing she has with Puck I don't see her like that, however I did ask her out to winter formal during middle school and both her and Puck cursed me out about it the same day. They are so whipped for each other.
"What's up?" she says with a friendly smile and glazed eyes. She must be drunk already, she never smiles at me.
"Who is that?" I interrogate pointing at the lesbian man who probably made a joke about the same tampons they use causing Pierce to throw her head back laughing.
Well I must be a comedian too because Quinn gives me the same cackle before answering, "What's it to you?" she accuses.
"Nothing just being a good Samaritan making sure blondie doesn't get date-raped by some frat bro who none of us even knows" I counter quickly.
"No I know him, that's Bradley".
"Of course" I roll my eyes. What a fucking shock. His name is Brad. I should play the fucking lottery.
"No, I said his name is Brad-ley!" she yells over the music. I look at her crazy cause there's no way she can read my mind. I might've said it outloud which means I am definitely drunker than I thought I was. I grumble a 'thanks' to her as I put my cup down and make my way over to the duo and stop to get into character and channel my inner Kurt Hummel. As soon as I am in eyesight I start strutting in the most flamboyant way I can muster.
"Oh my God sweetie! Where have you been?" I say in a high pitched voice while I plant two fake kisses on Pierces' cheeks and her expression is almost comical.
Is this homophobic? I wondered.
"Girl! I heard that hunk Jason you got with last week fell sick with.. the clap" I fake whisper the last part just loud enough for Brad's features to spring to his hairline. "You are one spicy thing my little Kit Kat Britt Bratt!" I finish with some over the top head bops trying to sell this new persona like I was in the hunger games interviews. This must be homophobic. Apparently that was enough for Brad to take the hint that he didn't want any of Britt's… spices and ended up making a swift escape without even a goodbye. I smirk getting ready for a fuming Brittany but when I turn around I am hit with my nightmare.
Brittany is toppled over holding her stomach laughing like a maniac. There's actually tears forming in her eyes when she stands back up straight before making eye contact with me and losing her shit all over again. Blaming the liquor I start chuckling with her until it turns to a full blown belly laugh while watching her fall to her knees bumping into this dark haired girl making her spill her drink and walk off with a scowl on her face. We looked high for sure but again there's something about knowing someone for over a decade that makes moments like these comfortable.
"Holy shit San I haven't laughed that hard in forever" she wipes small tears from her eyes to emphasize her point. I'm still chucking when she looks at me and starts shaking her head with fake annoyance. "Finally coming out the closet?" she adds.
"You know me and closets" I quip. I figured we can blame the friendliness on the party so I joke. "I wanted to mess with you and Ken but I am guessing he's not your type since you're not mad?"
" What do you know about my type?", she steps near me daringly. Is she flirting? Nope you're just drunk dude.
" Well judging by the last hundred", I jab and this gets me a blue eye roll, "you like bigger guys at least taller than you". This gets me a nod in agreement and I start recounting the really few guys and girls Brittany was dating.
"People think you're dumb but you really only go after guys that can keep up with your wit. You're actually pretty fast on your feet. Figuratively and literally so you tend to go after more athletes. You don't like serious people. You think that the world is serious enough so you go for funny people too.", I explain. I'm too busy looking up at the ceiling trying to use my tipsy brain that I don't notice Pierce staring me down until I look back at her. There's that weird look again that I got in the broom closet like there's something extra there. Two milliseconds go by before I panic because of the closeness so I do the most rational thing I could think of.
I blow in her eyes. Like a buffoon.
Obviously she closes her eyes rubbing at them calling me an idiot while pushing past me. Still I'm assuming because of the liquor she's chuckling like she's messing around with her little brother and… I don't know why that pisses me off so bad.
Brittany
Fucking Santiago.
I am listening to two cheerios chat about literally nothing while waiting for Saturday practice to end. I'm starting to think I am going insane! He's just so cocky, and by cocky I mean confident. Like seriously no other guy in McKinley would have the balls to act like that in a party without fear of being the next target of humiliation and "homo" jokes. Not Santiago though he's just so sure of himself and who he is that he will probably wear a tutu if it means embarrassing me and it drives me crazy. Like who does he think he is? Some self-assured, charming, Puerto-Rican prince that can get whoever he wants?
I'm walking out the main entrance still in the middle of my villain speech in my head but I just can't help it when my thoughts pivot into something warmer. After our conversation last night I just had to get out of there. There's not a lot of people who don't call me stupid and sometimes I just can't remember why I dislike the guy so much when he can just know and say things like that. I wanted to tell him that he's the reason why I worked so hard on myself, getting better at comebacks just so I can keep up with his razor sharp tongue since third grade when he got out of speech therapy for beating his stutter. I wanted to give him some props because even if I hated him sometimes the evidence of his impact on my life is literally everywhere. He's in the way I carry myself, he's in the way I train harder to be the best on the field, he's… in front of my face right now actually.
I eye him slowly up and down when I see him walking up with Matt Rutherford not paying me any mind. He's wearing his shit eating grin while I'm assuming he's getting ready for the football guys to start practice. I squint my eyes trying to make sense of everything and I start… noticing things. Like how his gold necklace that contrasts his skin really well poking out of his black tank somehow not getting lost in his chest hair. The way he has pieces of loose black curls hanging in front of his face that he usually slicks back on days he's not working out. How the white in his teeth compliments the pink in his lips when he smiles or how defined his shoulders are that you can see them pop out of his varsity jacket. He can be a freakin' male model if he wanted, no wonder that's where he gets his confidence from.
What's worse is that lately he can be very sweet when he wants to. Like he's been trying to hide this side of himself because that's what he finds embarrassing of all things is being nice. If that's the case I wonder why we can't just hash things out and be friends or at least friendly like normal peo-
" Oh hey Pierce" the object of my thoughts boom. I turn around on the steps and get hit with a slushy iceberg right to the face ultimately answering my inner question. Laughter comes from the two boys I just passed and they walk away while I am still squeezing my eyes shut to make sure no blue dye gets in my retinas.
Oh right it's because he's an asshole.
The audacity of me to pick this story up like it hasn't been 8 years is so funny. Let me know what you guys think.