Brittany has just finished listening to the four songs for a second time, because she made the mistake of saying that she didn't remember what the first one sounded like by the time Rachel got to the fourth. Now, having heard them all twice, she thinks maybe she just heard eight different songs, because none of them sounded familiar. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she quickly pulls it out, desperate for any form of distraction.
From Quinn: Hey Brittany, it's Quinn. Santana is running a bit late, so I'm going to pick you up for the meeting. Is it okay for me to come get you a little early? Are you ready now?
To Quinn: I am. Everything's okay with San though, right?
From Quinn: Yes, she's fine. Just late. I'll be outside in two minutes.
"Sorry Rach, I got to go, lost track of time. Sorry!"
"Wait! Which one was best?"
"Uh…three." She picks a number at random, then grabs her keys, phone, and wallet and runs out the door. By time she exits the building, Quinn's already there waiting for her.
"Hey Britt, sorry for the short notice."
"It's all good. My roommate was singing at me. I was glad to leave."
Quinn smiles a tight-lipped smile at her, and Brittany feels a little nervous. Quinn has always looked at her in a funny way, like she's somehow suspicious of her. "So...the reason I picked you up early is because I've been wanting to talk to you for a few days now, but I haven't had an opportunity. This one kind of fell into my lap."
Brittany nods like she understands, but she has no idea where this is going.
"What are your intentions with Santana?"
Brittany stares at her blankly for a moment. She intends to make her smile? The question is confusing. "What?" If nothing else, that answer will buy her a few more seconds to think.
"What do you want with her? Why are you with her?"
Well, those are easy questions to answer. "I want to be around her. When I'm around her, she makes me smile, and I make her smile." Brittany nods as if to say that's her final answer.
Quinn does her best to not roll her eyes. Is this girl for real? Too sweet, she thinks. Maybe straightforward is the best approach. "You're not with her as some kind of cruel joke, are you?" Brittany shakes her head emphatically to the negative; she'd never, ever do something like that. "And you're not doing this because of Santana's…addition, right? You don't have some fetish or something?"
Now Brittany is completely confused. Why is Quinn asking her these things? She knows she shouldn't be offended, because Quinn is just looking out for Santana, but her feelings are a little hurt. "I'm not really sure why you think I would do those things, but I promise I'm just here because I really like her, and I want to make her happy. I'm sorry if I've done something wrong."
Okay, Quinn feels kind of bad now. Brittany's clearly being honest about her intentions, and now she's gone and upset her. Santana's going to be pissed, but Quinn needed to do it to feel okay about the situation. "You didn't do anything. I just watch out for her, that's all. She's my best friend. I'm sure your friends would do the same." Brittany sniffs. Is she crying? Oh no, Santana really is going to kill her.
"I understand, Quinn. You're a good friend. Can I get out now?"
Quinn nods, then realizes Brittany isn't looking at her. "Yeah. Brittany, I'm sorry I—" She's cut off by someone else opening the passenger side door. Santana pulls Brittany out of the car and smiles as Brittany hugs her.
"Hey B! Got back earlier than I thought." She notices Brittany's hugging her a little tighter than usual, and her face is buried closer to her neck than usual. "Everything okay, Britt?" she asks, concerned. She feels Brittany pulling away from her, and when she looks at her face, she can tell she's upset about something.
"You know that I like you, right? That I'm seeing you, not for any reason other than that you are you?"
Santana nods, her eyebrows creased in confusion. Where is this coming from? Then, she sees Quinn deliberately not watching them, with guilt written all over her face. "What did Q say to you?"
"She was just being a good friend, but I don't want you to think those things she said are true."
Unacceptable. "What the fuck, Q? What did you say to my girlf—to Brittany?" She sees the side of Brittany's mouth quirk up in a smile and Quinn's eyebrow arch. "Tell me, what did you say to uher? All you were supposed to do was pick her up so she didn't have to walk in the rain. How the hell did this turn into something else?" She's starting to yell, her temper getting the better of her.
She watches Quinn open her mouth to give her an explanation that'll probably make her even madder. Just as she's about to cut Quinn off, she feels arms wrap around her from behind and hold her tight. How can she be angry when all she feels is Brittany wrapped around her?
"Don't be mad, San. She was just being a good friend. I'm okay, I promise. Can we go inside now? It's starting to rain again."
Just like that, Santana's anger disappears. With one last mean look at Quinn for posterity, she walks away with her hand in Brittany's, unaware (or uncaring) of the looks that Quinn, Mercedes, and Sam are giving her and each other as they all walk into the building.
When they get inside, they all sit together, but Santana notices Quinn is quieter than usual. Good. She should be ashamed. Has she not met Brittany? How can she not know that she's the most genuine and sincere person Santana has ever met? She's also sensitive; of course Quinn's little "you'd better not hurt her, or I'll hurt you" speech would hurt Brittany's feelings. Just as her anger starts bubbling up again, she feels Brittany pull their joined hands up to her lips and place a small kiss on Santana's before lowering them both back to her lap. She hadn't even been looking at Santana; how had she known to distract her? Santana really thinks there's something to this crazy connection she feels with Brittany.
"Alright everybody, let's get started!" Kurt claps and yells over the noise in the room. People settle down, and he announces a bunch of campus events, such as a speaker they're bringing to campus next month to talk about bisexuality. Brittany thinks it could be interesting to hear about how other people think of being bi, so she squeezes Santana's hand to show interest. The Latina just looks at her and nods.
"Next order of business, the annual talent and drag show! We've already booked the headlining drag acts, so now, we just need to put sign-up sheets out for anyone who wants to be in the show. There'll be prizes, and anyone can do just about anything. There's a board set up to approve talent acts, but pretty much anything that isn't too out there gets approved. I'll email out the information tonight, and please let anyone who might be interested know!"
"Are you going to do it this year, Satan?" Mercedes asks Santana, who scowls at the nickname.
"I don't know yet. You? Britt, would you do it?"
Mercedes says she's going to do it and win this year. Brittany just shrugs; it could be fun to do something that she isn't really doing in any of her dance classes. "Maybe. But I'd rather watch you perform," she replies sweetly.
"Santana, aren't you kind of a drag queen? You've got a dick, and you dress up like a girl and sing. Or…I guess you're more of a tranny?"
Brittany watches Santana's face fall and her body tense as Anna's voice cuts in. Santana looks at Brittany and shrugs as if to say it's no big deal. Everybody already knows about her anatomy; Anna had made sure of that. It is a big deal, Brittany thinks. This is private business. Nobody is calling Anna out for her blatant displays of discrimination and bullying, and she isn't going to stand for it.
In the half second of dead silence that follows Anna's comment, Brittany makes up her mind. "Isn't this club supposed to be about supporting each other, building community in a world that doesn't always accept us? Raising awareness, helping to stop bullying? But you let it happen right here in your own meetings. This isn't the first time she's said something, and I've only been to a few meetings. I don't think this is the right organization for me if everyone here is going to be so completely hypocritical." She stands up to walk out, but the President starts to speak.
"She's right. Anna, one more inappropriate comment from you during meetings, and I will be forced to ask you to not come back."
Quinn feels like a complete bitch now for making Brittany sad when she clearly cares enough to stand up for Santana against an entire group of people. She definitely approves of this girl.
Santana looks at Brittany, eyes wide. Brittany is looking back at her, fierce in her adoration. "I got your back, San."
"Thanks Britt-Britt," she whispers. She's embarrassed that that went down and shocked at Brittany's response, but mostly, she's acutely aware of how hard her heart is pounding with all the feelings Brittany gives her.
The rest of the meeting passes without event except the dirty looks that Anna keeps throwing their way. Santana and Brittany don't really notice, but Mercedes does, and she throws dirty looks right back, much to the amusement of Sam. After the meeting, the group decides to hang out for a bit at the coffee shop. Brittany is glad for the chance to spend more time with Santana and also really excited to be accepted into her group of friends.
They walk outside and toward their cars, past a group of girls standing near the doors. "Stupid, confused girl. Bet Santana makes a great transition for you from boys to real women." Anna yells in Brittany's direction.
Santana can deal with Anna's comments about her, but she will never, ever allow someone to call Brittany stupid—especially because it's clearly an issue she struggles with so deeply. "What the fuck did you just say, bitch?" Santana turns around before most of them have even processed what she'd said. Brittany has already processed it though. How can Anna know she's stupid? She barely even knows her. Is it that obvious?
Sam reacts the most quickly after Santana. He grabs her arm to hold her back, but she won't stop struggling against him. Quinn comes over and stands in front of her, blocking Anna from view. "Brittany's upset, Santana. Go fix that. Anna isn't ever worth it."
Although she wants to kick the shit out of Anna, her need to comfort Brittany wins out. After flipping Anna off, she turns around to see Brittany, head down, shoulders slumped in defeat. "Baby, it's okay. I know that's not why you're with me. And I know you're not stupid."
"You say I'm not stupid, but it's obvious enough that she can call me out on it without even knowing me. And in front of everyone else too." Brittany starts tearing up, and Santana hugs her.
"B. You are not stupid. Nobody here thinks you're stupid; they all thinksheis. And you're right, she doesn't know you. She's just talking shit to get a rise out of us, and it has nothing to do with you. She's just a bitch. Honestly. I've known her for a year now, and she's nothing but a bitch."
Santana's words help, but the hug helps even more. Her hugs are definitely magic, Brittany decides.
Just then, Mercedes comes up and hugs her too. "Don't listen to her, Britt. We're your friends, and we all know she's an idiot."
Sam nods while Quinn smiles at her. Your friends? Brittany thinks. She knows they're Santana's friends and that they let her into their group, but she'd thought that was just because Santana likes her. But maybe it isn't just that; maybe they're her friends too. The thought cheers her up. They get in their cars, Brittany with Santana, and Mercedes and Sam with Quinn. Santana opens the door for Brittany, but before she gets in, she kisses her deeply. "I needed that."
"Me too." Brittany responds and climbs into the car.
After Santana gets in, they drive to the coffee shop in comfortable silence. Brittany suddenly remembers that Santana had almost called her her girlfriend, and realizes how much she wants that. She wonders if it's too fast; after all, she had sworn to herself that if she were to get into a relationship again, it would be carefully. But they're practically in a relationship already. Why not make it official? She'd love to call Santana her girlfriend, and she'd love for Santana to introduce her to other people as her girlfriend
They pull up outside the coffee shop and meet the others inside. Once everyone has gotten their coffee, they all sit down at a table together. Sam is telling a story about someone he saw on campus wearing a helmet with a metal detector, and they're all laughing when a thought comes to Brittany. "Why does Anna say such mean things about you?" Brittany asks Santana quietly. Despite her effort, the rest of the group hears. She feels Quinn bristle beside her and desperately hopes it's in response to Anna and not to the fact that Brittany asked the question.
"For a really stupid reason," Mercedes answers.
Santana figures that telling Brittany isn't really a big deal. Honestly, none of them really even understand why. "Last year, Quinn dragged me to my first LGBTA meeting, because she thought I should meet some accepting, non-judgmental girls."
"Not such a good plan on my part, apparently. But hey, it seems to be working out okay now, a year later." Quinn interjects, looking at Brittany with a small smile, which Brittany returns gratefully.
"Yeah…I think so." Santana squeezes Brittany's hand. "Anyways, I met Anna. Of course, my first introduction to her wasn't 'Hi, my name is Santana, and I'm a girl with a dick,' because who does that?" They all laugh a little. "Even though she was kind of a bitch, we hung out and made out a few times. Then, she started talking about wanting to be my girlfriend and stuff, and I didn't really like her that much, but I'd never had a girlfriend, and the idea was kind of exciting. So, against the better judgment of Quinn, I decided to go that route. But first, I thought I should probably tell her my secret. I figured she'd be okay with it. Lesbians are women who like women, and I am a woman. Plus, she seemed open-minded, which isn't actually true, but I had deluded myself into thinking so."
Brittany thinks that Anna is the exact opposite of open-minded...and really stupid herself, because who would pass up an opportunity to be with Santana? Well, she's glad Anna did, because now she gets that opportunity.
"So one night, we were making out and watching a movie, and she started trying to go beyond that point, so I stopped her and told her that I had a penis. I told her that I was a girl, that my boobs are real, and I've never had any cosmetic surgery, but she didn't hear any of that. She just freaked out. She accused me of lying to her and all this stuff. Which, maybe I should have told her earlier, but I honestly didn't think it would be a problem. Ever since then, she's been a bitch to me."
"That's the entire story, so you can see why none of us understand. Like, if it's really that big of a deal, then just don't date Santana, but being cruel? That's just ridiculous." Sam adds, and they all nod in agreement.
After that, the topic quickly moves on to the giant list of movies Brittany hasn't seen, and Sam decides he'll make her a must-watch list soon. Soon, it's getting late, and everyone is starting to get tired, so they decide to leave.
As Santana drives Brittany back to her dorm, the blonde's thoughts drift back to the whole girlfriend thing from earlier. She doesn't really know how to broach the subject and is scared Santana will reject her because it's too early or something, so she decides to just drop a hint—a really obvious hint. When they pull up to her building, they sit in the car for a few minutes talking about potential weekend plans. Then, Brittany leans over and kisses Santana, relishing in the feeling of warm lips against hers. They fit perfectly together. They say their goodbyes and their good nights, and Brittany gets out of the car. Before closing the door, she leans back in.
"I would be, you know," she says with a smile.
"Huh?" Santana is clearly confused.
"Your girlfriend. Good night, Santana." She winks, closes the door, and walks up the steps to her dorm, leaving Santana staring after her, open-mouthed.
Wait, what? What does that mean? Does that mean she should ask? Or are they already girlfriends? Or was that Brittany asking her? Before her brain explodes, she needs to talk this out with someone. Quinn is probably already asleep, but she knows someone who definitely isn't.
To Sam: Need advice ASAP. Coming over now.
From Sam: K. Putting pants back on.
Ew, she thinks. Why are his pants off? Putting the car in drive, she rushes over to his house.