A/N: A little longer chapter because I wasn't sure there was a good place to cut it.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Chapter 4
They met for lunch, as usual, on Friday and fell into an easy silence as they ate. They had been sitting for about half an hour when Santana seemed to remember something.
"Oh, I talked to Quinn and she and Daniel said we'll be there but probably not until ten."
"Awesome!" Brittany broke into a bright grin. "I'll save seats. I can't wait to meet Quinn."
"She wants to meet you, too." Santana ducked her head and bit her bottom lip. "Um, I'll apologize now for Quinn's overprotective interrogation."
Brittany laughed. "No problem. I get it." Her grin widened. "I'm really glad you're coming."
"Yeah. Me, too."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Brittany checked her phone for the hundredth time in five minutes.
"Will you chill? I've never seen you like this." Puck said.
They'd gotten to The Palace around eight-thirty and grabbed a bigger high-top table about half way to the stage. It was now nine-thirty-five. Brittany knew Santana said ten but … she was so excited!
"I really like this girl, guys, please try not to be overly-jerky." She glared at Puck. "Do NOT hit on her." She practically growled at him.
Puck started to open his mouth and Brittany's glare intensified so he just raised his hands in surrender.
Brittany checked her phone again and huffed a sigh; nine-thirty-eight. So far, they'd seen three singers; one male, two female – none of them particularly bad but none particularly good, either.
A light tap on her shoulder made her jump and turn around; a pretty blonde with a shag cut and pretty green eyes stood there. She was a little taller than Santana (Brittany automatically noted) and had a cute, petite figure. Standing behind her was a tall, muscular guy with short brown hair and a day's worth of stubble.
"Hi. Are you Brittany?"
"Yes," Brittany answered warily.
The blonde smiled and offered her hand. "I'm Quinn. This is Daniel. Santana will be here shortly."
Brittany smiled brightly and shook both their hands.
"Hi! It's nice to meet you." She gestured to two of the empty seats. "Please, join us. This is Puck and Sam."
Quinn smiled at the guys as Daniel shook their hands.
"Honey, I'll go get drinks," he looked around the table, "any of you need a refill?"
They all shook their heads and he went off to the bar.
Quinn sat next to Brittany on the side with two chairs leaving the single seat on Brittany's left open for Santana.
They chatted for a few minutes, only half paying attention to the girl on stage; she was nervous and her voice showed it.
Daniel came back and gave Quinn her drink; she smiled sweetly and kissed his cheek as he sat next to her.
Quinn took a sip of her drink and then turned to Brittany. "Let me get this out of the way right now, if you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a shovel,"
"A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend," Brittany nodded, finishing the quote for her with a small smirk.
Quinn grinned. "Points for getting the reference."
"Points for using the reference," Brittany laughed before becoming serious. "If I hurt her? I will buy the shovel, dig my grave, and let you beat me to death." She shook her head. "I have no intention of hurting her. I probably will, though. I'm human … I'll say something stupid or make a joke that hits wrong. You don't know me but, I promise you, the last thing I ever want to do is hurt her."
"You like her a lot, huh?"
Brittany nodded and took a pull from her beer. "I do. I spent all last year looking for her. Meeting her … was even beyond what I thought. You know how when you see someone attractive and then, you get to know them and the shine kind of wears off because they're a jerk or have no personality or something?"
Quinn nodded. "Sure."
"Santana's shine just gets brighter. Like her inner beauty makes her outer beauty that much more beautiful."
Quinn smiled. "She really likes you." Quinn hesitated, as if weighing her words. "She wasn't always so scared. It's her story to tell but … I've started seeing the old Santana show up a little more. She's fiercely loyal and protective. I met her when we were kids; a bigger kid had knocked me over and here comes this tiny Latina barreling out of nowhere, ran straight at him, head lowered and head-butted him right in the stomach. Knocked him over and knocked the wind out of him. She started yelling at him in Spanish and kicked dirt at him. Then she pointed at him, said 'no me gusta', with a scowl that could curdle milk before turning back to help me up." She shook her head. "We've been friends ever since and everyone else gave her a wide berth."
"That doesn't sound like Santana," Brittany was confused; how could the shy, skittish rabbit of girl be so formidable?
Quinn nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, it's her story to tell when she's ready but you've been good for her, hence the warning. I don't want to see her get lost again."
Brittany nodded her understanding.
"You said you spent all last year looking for her?"
Brittany smiled. "She didn't tell you?"
Quinn shook her head. "No, all she said was this beautiful blonde asked her out twice and then sat down at her lunch table."
"Well, that is true." Brittany laughed. "Last year, last week of September. I was getting an early start on an end of semester visual arts project. I was taking pictures in the quad and heard a shout. When I swung my camera that way, I caught this really pretty Latina catching a rogue frisbee. Then she laughed and her smile … just … I couldn't breath for a second. I was dating someone at the time and I have this thing about dating only one person at a time. Before I could convince myself to follow her, the Latina was gone." Brittany paused, drank the last swallow of her beer and looked at Sam. "Evans, your round." She waggled the empty bottle. "I broke it off with Rachel the following week and spent the rest of that semester and all of the next haunting the quad hoping to find her again." She shook her head. "Imagine my surprise at literally bumping into her first day of classes this semester."
"She did not tell me all of that. So … you haven't dated anyone since last year?"
Brittany shook her head. "No. I didn't want to miss my chance if it came." Brittany didn't think it was necessary to tell Quinn about Jenah. She looked back at Quinn. "I really like her. I mean, yeah, I thought she was beautiful but … I don't know … there's something about her."
Quinn smiled. "Good. She deserves someone who will see her for the special person she is. And treat her like she is."
"Thank you Tammy Jackson!" The manager of the bar was on the stage introducing the next act. "Please welcome our next guest … Santana Lopez!"
Brittany's head snapped to the stage and she pulled her camera up to her face, snapping three pictures in rapid succession as Santana, holding a guitar, took the stage.
"I didn't know she played."
"Since she was eight."
And then she opened her mouth and began to sing and Brittany was lost in one of the most amazing voices she'd ever heard.
Ooh-ooh, ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did, you fell so hard
I've learned the hard way to never let it get that far
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you, I am afraid
I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh, every day of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me
Because of you
I am afraid
I watched you die, I heard you cry every night in your sleep
(I watched you die, in your sleep)
I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me
(I was too young for you to lean on me)
You never thought of anyone else, you just saw your pain
(You never saw me, yeah, yeah)
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid
Because of you (Ah-ah, ah, ah)
Because of you, mmh, ooh
Xoxoxoxoxo
Quinn POV
Quinn smiled as Brittany lowered her camera, seemingly forgetting it was there. She didn't even notice Quinn take it from her and put it away; handing the bag to Daniel so it was closer to the wall, out of the way and at less risk of getting broken or stolen.
Quinn watched Brittany as Brittany watched Santana. The blonde was mesmerized and Quinn allowed herself a smile. Although, she was a little surprised at Santana's song choices; it had been several years since Santana had allowed herself to be vulnerable.
She leaned over to Daniel. "What do you think?" she asked, nodding toward Brittany.
Daniel looked at the taller blonde. "I think, if she wasn't in love before, she is now," he chuckled. "Honestly? I think Santana is in good hands."
Quinn nodded. "Yeah." She watched Brittany brush away a tear as Santana sang her heartache. Santana had let music be her voice since junior year of high school. You could feel every emotion and it hit like a punch to the gut. Santana knew how to reach people with her voice. She thought Daniel might be right; if Brittany wasn't in love, she was definitely falling.
Xoxoxoxoxoxo
Brittany watched with rapt attention as Santana switched from the emotional "Because Of You", to the bouncy "Valerie", to the soulful "Out Here On My Own", and then her jaw dropped as Santana continued;
"This next song is an original. Hope you all like it." She closed her eyes and began to sing.
It was soft and not quite slow but not really fast either and Brittany found herself hanging on every word the Latina sang.
They say
let go of the past
They say
that love is patient
They say
that love is kind
I settle down for the night
but I cannot unwind
I hear her voice in the dark of night
and I start to think they might be right
She knows I'm broken
so she bought some glue
knows I'm afraid
but she stands true
Hand outstretched
waiting patiently
for me to grab hold
I swallow hard and I try
I want to believe
I want to believe
but
believing in her
means trusting in me
They say
let go of the past
They say
that love is patient
they say
that love is kind
I settle down for the night
but I cannot unwind
I hear her voice in the dark of night
and I start to think they might be right
She is patient
she is oh, so kind
she holds her hand outstretched
waiting for me to find
the courage to
believe in her
trust in me
They say
that love is patient
They say
that love is kind
She's making me believe
that maybe they're right
Brittany was speechless. Santana … she … it had to be about her, right?
Santana waved to the applauding crowd and packed up her guitar, making her way to where Brittany was sitting. Brittany couldn't help herself; she wrapped her arms around Santana in a tight hug. She felt Santana tense for a moment before relaxing in the blonde's arms.
"You're amazing." She whispered before realizing that she was actually hugging the Latina; other than the day they finally met, they'd never touched. She stepped back. "Sorry. I ..."
Santana smiled shyly. "It's okay. I'm glad you liked it."
She was stopped from saying anything else by Quinn who came over and wrapped her in a hug. "That was beautiful, sweetie."
Santana smiled. "Thanks, Q."
Daniel kissed her on the cheek and added his compliments. They all finally sat back down; Brittany moved over next to Sam to allow Santana to sit between her and Quinn. Brittany introduced her to Sam and Puck before handing Puck twenty bucks. "My round, you fetch, Puck. Santana?"
"Just a diet cola, please."
Puck nodded and got Daniel and Quinn's drink orders before going up to the bar.
"So, Santana, you interested in fronting our band? Your voice is amazing, best we've heard since Trisha graduated."
Santana bit her lower lip and ducked her head for a minute before looking back up. "I might be persuaded."
Sam nodded. "Cool."
After Puck came back, they all chatted amiably … with Puck and Sam tag-teaming to try to convince Santana to join them. She finally agreed to at least attend a rehearsal.
"Great! We practice at our place from twelve to four on Sundays and six to nine on Mondays while Britt's at work or class."
Santana nodded. "Okay, I guess I'll see you guys Sunday."
"Cool."
Talk turned to other topics and Brittany noticed Santana's energy starting to flag. She leaned her head on Quinn's shoulder and Quinn turned her head and placed a small kiss on the top of the Latina's head. Brittany felt an irrational spike of jealousy. She wanted to be the one to cuddle Santana, dammit! She took a pull of her beer and forced herself to chill out. 'Patience,' she thought, 'she let you know, in an incredible way, that's she's trying. She wants to be with you. Patience.'
"Tired?" she heard Quinn ask.
Santana nodded. "Nerves and adrenaline have both worn off. Been a long week. Yeah, I'm beat."
Daniel looked at his watch. "It's also one-thirty in the morning," he chuckled.
"Oh, the bartender's gonna ..." Brittany started.
"Okay folks! Time to go! Not saying you gotta go home but ..."
"YOU CAN'T STAY HERE!" The crowd finished with a yell and a laugh.
Everyone started filing out. Brittany looked around for her camera, unable to remember when she let go of it and gave Daniel a grateful smile when he handed her the camera bag.
"Thanks."
He grinned. "You seemed a little distracted," he winked at her, "Quinn didn't want it to get damaged or stolen."
She blushed and smiled shyly at the two of them. "Thanks."
They reached the sidewalk and started to walk in the same direction; when they came to the intersection where they'd part ways, Brittany desperately wanted to walk Santana home. But. Daniel and Quinn were with her so she wouldn't be walking alone and Brittany couldn't come up with another reason to go out of her way. They said their good nights and she started to turn to follow Sam and Puck up the street that would lead her home when a warm hand touched her wrist. She turned to find Santana smiling shyly at her.
"I'm really glad you were there tonight." The brunette said softly.
Brittany smiled. "Yeah. Me too. Really glad."
Santana seemed to hesitate, then took a determined step forward and hugged Brittany (much to Quinn's surprise the taller blonde noted) and whispered in her ear, "In case you weren't sure, the song was for you."
Brittany whispered back. "Thank you. It was really beautiful."
Santana stepped back and bit her lower lip, ducking her head, and giving Brittany a shy smile.
"Text me when you get home? So I know you got there safely?" Santana asked her.
"Yeah. I will. Talk to you soon."
They parted ways and Brittany wasn't sure her feet ever touched the ground.
Xoxoxoxoxo
Because of You – Kelly Clarkson
They Say – Santana Lopez
The quote referenced is from Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer