I walked home in all my hungover glory. In some ways the exercise and fresh air helped matters, but in other ways it made them worse. I had a dull ache in my head, made worse by the noise of the city. Still, I needed to spend some time in my own space before work tonight.

When I walked into the front door, Kurt was sitting on the edge of the couch with his phone in one hand and a takeaway coffee in the other. He looked tense and jumped up as I shuffled inside.

"Oh, you bitch." Kurt said, throwing his head back.

"What?"

"I was worried when you didn't come home last night."

"Then why didn't you text me?"

"You wouldn't have replied to me."

"That's true." I admitted. I was really bad at answering messages. It was occasionally a problem.

"But then I remembered you share your location with me so I checked it and you were at Quinn's. But anyway, I was worried. For like the twenty minutes where I hadn't checked your location yet." Kurt shrugged.

"Awwwww, Hummel! You like me, you really like me!" Teasing Kurt for his well-meaning acts of friendship was my favourite thing to do.

"I have grown accustomed to your covering the other half of the rent, I'll admit it."

I flopped down on the couch and curled up into myself. "It was world war Fabray last night, so we got 'shwasted."

Kurt gasped and then scurried over to sit down next to me. "You're kiiiiiidding!"

"I'm not. Well, it wasn't that bad." A pause. "No, it was pretty bad."

Kurt sat with wide eyes.

"She told them about teaching, they hated it, then her Dad somehow brought up what happened in sophmore year. Then Charles blamed me, or something. Then, Quinn pointed her finger in his face."

"You're fucking kidding me."

"Yup."

"Did you yell at him?" Kurt asked.

"Nope."

"No wrath of Snix?"

"None to be seen. No, I don't know. I was mad, but it was Quinn's fight, and we talked about that this morning. But she lost her shit at him for bringing me into it, basically. The spirit of Snix took over her body." I shrugged.

"Damn. She finally did it." Kurt shook his head, exasperated.

"Gave it back to them? Yeah, I guess so." I sighed.

"It's about time. God, her Dad never liked any of us. Even at our graduation, he made a comment about how he figured I'd fit in better in New York. It was coded. He also called Sam dumb once to his face. He's like, really mean."

"He told me last night... and I quote... that I'd finally given up the life of a starving artist?"

"Bitch, you've NEVER been starving."

"That's what I'm saying!" I exclaimed.

You and Kurt both let out exasperated sighs.

"Anyway, me and Quinn totally woke up Brittany last night. Quinn feels really bad about it so they'e going to dinner tonight at O'Malleys. Feel free to come along to get the lowdown from the woman herself."

"Thanks girl, but I'm seeing Jamie again tonight.." Kurt trailed off at the last word of the sentence.

"Damn, okay! Is this the fourth date?"

"Fifth. Kinda."

You didn't want to pry too much on what 'kinda' meant.

"Do you like him?" I asked.

"Well, obviously. Or I wouldn't agree to see him five times."

"No, but like do you like him or is it just fun?"

"I don't know yet. I think maybe a little of both. I'm just gonna ride the wave."

"Wanky."

"Shut up, Santana."

I popped a couple of Advil with a diet coke before my shift, and the combination did wonders. I didn't usually work Sunday nights, but I'd agreed to swap shifts with Tina last week and I wasn't too mad about it. Sundays were never terribly busy at the pub. It was mainly groups of people in their twenties and thirties who were trying to fight off the Sunday scaries before the advent of the working week. The pub was only about a twenty minute walk from my apartment but I had walked enough today for a hungover person, so I decided to drive the five minutes it took to get there.

When I arrived for my shift, Marco was already behind the bar doing inventory. Marco had been a friend from New York who had migrated over to Philadelphia at around the same time that I had with Kurt. I had never imagined moving here. When I was younger, I had thought it was New York or bust. The desire to get out of Ohio was overwhelming and at the time I had a yearning to be in the biggest city I could. But inevitably, a few years after college I begun to crave a change of pace. As much as I loved New York, the cost of living there began to take its toll. It's hard to enjoy living somewhere when you can't afford to do much.

"Bella, you gotta look more excited to be here!" Marco greeted you.

"Sorry, I was so hungover this morning. Did you know alcohol makes you feel like shit?"

"Really?" Marco said, then leaned in to whisper. "We should let everyone here know."

Shifts with Marco always went by quicker because you had fun together. This was something you missed in your office job.

I started cutting up some limes on the counter. "Quinn and her new roommate are gonna come in a bit later, by the way. She looks as hungover as I do, though. Maybe worse."

"That's a steep competition." Marco joked. I swatted his arm in response. "Who's the roommate?" He asked.

"Her name's Brittany. She just moved here. She's really nice, honestly."

"What's she do for work?" Marco asked as he was unpacking stock.

"She's a dance teacher. She was a professional dancer, too. Maybe she can give you a few tips, querido."

"Oh shush. When I got cast in that show I did just fine!" Marco protested. He was a theatre actor who famously hated any musical roles, because he thought his dancing was subpar. It really wasn't too bad, but it was fun to chide him about it.

"Yeah, yeah." I replied.

Marco disappeared to do some inventory and left you to fend for yourself at the bar. You didn't mind. Out of all the service jobs you'd had, tending bar was by far your favourite. There was a kind of power in it, maybe because you had total domain over the space. You could be in charge of something.

About an hour into the shift, I spotted Quinn and Brittany walking in through the main entrance. Quinn still looked hungover, but I thought better of making fun of her tonight. When you had left her house earlier, there'd been an awkwardness between the two of you that you couldn't quite place. It was very rare for either of you to be emotionally vulnerable with the other, and something about it caused a weird tension.

Quinn and Brittany walked over and sat at the bar. Quinn's eyes looked as glassy as yours did.

"Ladies, welcome to the happiest place on earth." I joked.

Brittany laughed and Quinn grimaced. "I'm not even sure I should be this close to alcohol so soon after my trauma."

"Self inflicted trauma." I reminded her. "Whaddya want, guys?"

"Can I just have a coke. With a big slice of lemon. Like a really big glass of coke. Maybe even just give me a jug, honestly." Quinn demanded.

"Yes ma'am." I deadpanned in reply. "Brittany?"

"Can I please have an old fashioned?" Brittany asked, the pitch of her voice getting higher towards the end of the sentence.

"Very mature, very mature." I affirmed the choice. "Of course."

I prepared both drinks, complete with a jug of water on the side, which was mainly for Quinn. I had a couple more customers approach the bar and served them. I was grateful that it was a Sunday night, and the drink of choice for most of the crowd was beer. When I turned back to look towards Quinn and Brittany, Quinn was mid sentence, gesticulating with her hands and definitely talking about her parents. I turned back to serve another customer and looked again towards Quinn and Brittany as I was pulling a beer tap. Brittany had been looking at me, but then looked away the second I'd turned my head.

Marco appeared back to the bar and greeted Quinn, kissing her on both cheeks. He chastised her a bit for being clearly hungover until he sensed that it was a sensitive topic and moved on to greet Brittany.

"The new roommate! It's nice to meet you, Brittany." Marco said.

"You, too." Brittany replied. "You work with Santana?"

"Yes, unfortunately." Marco replied. I glared at him. "Just kidding. Santana tells me you're a dancer?"

Brittany chuckled. "More of a teacher now, but yeah."

I walked over to their side of the bar to join the conversation. Brittany seemed a little shy with Marco and kept looking down and swishing her drink around.

"Brittany, do you wanna help this one with his dancing?" I said, pointing to Marco. I put one hand up to my face and fake-whispered. "He sucks."

Marco swatted me on the arm playfully. "I do not, Santana. Well..." He trailed off, and we both started laughing.

"I mean, you're more than welcome to come by the studio sometime." Brittany smiled.

I went to serve a few more customers while Marco chatted to Brittany at the bar about her career and the Philadelphia Dance Academy. Eventually, Quinn started to look a little brighter and Brittany looked less nervous. I felt grateful that the vibes in the pub tonight were a lot calmer than they had been last night. Quinn had certainly needed the reprieve after the night before. Maybe Quinn having a new friend in Brittany could be good for her.

I heard my name from across the bar and turned back to see all three of my friends looking at me, then turning back to their conversation. I turned back to the customer I was serving but managed to catch some phrases amongst the echo in the pub. Something about singing and moving from Lima and being an Aries. The astrology conversation seemed to go on for a while while the three of them shared details about suns and moons and everything in between.

I walked over again and was grateful that the conversation had changed to the menu.

"Signorinas, head over to the bistro area and I'll have Asher take your orders." Marco went to usher Quinn and Brittany over to the sit-down area. I interrupted to ask if they wanted any more drinks from me for their dinner.

"Can I get some soda water, S." Quinn asked.

"You sit down Quinn, I'll get our drinks and then come over." Brittany said.

Marco took Quinn to their table while I poured Quinn's drink. Brittany stood at the bar, looking around at the high ceilings of the pub. I placed Quinn's soda water down in front of Brittany. "And for you?" I asked her.

"Hmmmm.." Brittany wondered. "Do you have like, ginger beer?" She asked.

"Sure do." I replied. I went to grab the bottle out of the fridge and grabbed a glass. My curiosity began to pique from the conversation my friends were having earlier.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" I asked, shyness obvious in my voice.

She smiled. "Dance stuff. Astrology. But we were mainly talking about you." Brittany said.

I looked up at Brittany from where I was pouring the drink and could feel myself blushing. "Oh, geez." I replied. "What was that little Italian boy saying about me?" You asked.

"Nothing incriminating, I swear." Brittany laughed. "He was talking about how he met you at the singing diner place. He said you had an amazing voice, but also that you were the most classic Aries he'd ever met. it was pretty funny."

I rolled my eyes at Marco's obsession with astrology and shrugged. "The man loves his stars."

I placed Brittany's drink on the bar for her. She went to grab it and then hesitated. I observed her and then she looked back at me. "Sorry. My brain just went weird. I get weird sometimes when I meet new people."

It felt like something had stung me. My face softened. Brittany looked back at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Don't be sorry. I get weird too, sometimes. You've met a lot of people this week, it's probably been a lot. You should give yourself more credit." I smiled.

Brittany took the drink off the bar and smiled back at me. "Thanks, Santana."

While Brittany and Quinn had dinner in the bistro, I continued my shift, running around the bar. Occasionally I glanced over at Brittany and Quinn's table, but they were engrossed in conversation and I didn't want to interrupt. There was something about Brittany that was unlike anyone I'd ever met before. She seemed self-assured but also not at all. There was no ego about her, even though she probably deserved to have one with the kind of career she'd had. As I served customers I thought of her and wondered why she'd gravitated toward me over the past few days, observing and listening to me and then sharing small pieces of information with me about herself. The parts she shared felt like clues.

I looked up and saw Quinn speed walking to the bathroom. Brittany was sat at their table, grimacing and looking ahead at Quinn as she walked away. Was Quinn upset? I approached Brittany's table and she looked up at me, cringing.

"I don't think Quinn feels very well. She ate some of her food and then said she felt sick."

"Shit, she's probably still hungover from last night." You replied. "Don't stress Britt, I'll go check on her."

I found Quinn in the bathroom staring at the mirror, her arms positioned up on the basin. She looked pale.

"Fabray, are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah. Sorry, I just had some salad and it tasted exactly like the salad that I threw up from last night." Quinn let out a small laugh. "God, this is pathetic."

"Fabray, go home. You look like shit." I told her.

"I'd feel bad. Britt and I were having a nice time." Quinn whined.

"I think she would feel worse if she felt like she was holding you hostage at dinner." I replied. "Don't worry, I'll talk to Marco and work something out. It's quiet here, I can keep Britt company."

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked.

"I'm sure. How will you get home though?"

"I'll just walk. The fresh air might help. If I get in a car, I think I'll make it worse." Quinn joked.

I walked out of the bathroom and spoke to Marco about Quinn's bathroom escapades. He told me to finish up my shift in fifteen minutes. It was quiet in the pub and if I didn't mind my shift getting cut short, he didn't mind me leaving earlier. I walked over to Quinn and Brittany and saw Quinn packing up her stuff, profusely apologising while Brittany assured her it was fine.

"Britt, I've got fifteen more minutes and then we'll hang if you want." I offered her. "Don't want you to go home just because boozey can't hang." I pointed at Quinn.

Quinn nodded. "Stay, Britt. You should enjoy your night and you and Santana should hang out." She assured.

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked.

"Yes." Quinn and I said at the same time.

It was decided. I closed out my shift and then made my way back to the table. Brittany was seated eating her fish and chips and she smiled up at me.

"Sorry" I said as I sat down. "I probably smell like gin and the men of Philadelphia."

Brittany laughed. "It's okay. I like the musk." She teased.

I asked Asher to bring me some fries and leaned in to face Brittany at the table.

"I feel bad that you had to cut your shift short."

"Don't. It's pretty quiet here and I wouldn't have made much in tips anyway." I shrugged. "This is way better than work."

Asher came and put the fries down at the table. I sat with my legs crossed and started devouring them. I decided to take the opportunity to ask Brittany a bit more about herself. Maybe for tonight, I could be the observant one.

"So Quinn told me you had a break up recently?" I asked and wondered if it was too invasive of a question. Thankfully Brittany looked up in the middle of eating and nodded, looking ready to divulge some of the details.

"Yeah." She replied. "We were together like.. two years? It was kind of on and off though. I met her doing in a show in New York, she was the choreographer."

"What was her name?" I asked.

"Jordan." Brittany gulped.

"Sorry" I said. "You didn't have to get into it."

Brittany waved her hand at me. "No, no. I probably should, honestly. Sometimes I feel like talking about it kind of... takes the power away, if that makes sense."

I nodded and smiled, understanding the logic in that sentiment.

Brittany continued. "It was.. kind of a whirlwind at the beginning. We were obsessed with each other, and we were with each other all the time because we were working together. We tried to hide it for a while, though, because of work."

Brittany took a bite of her chips. "But then I was in L.A auditioning while she was still in New York, and we were doing a long distance thing for a while. But then it just wasn't working, so we broke up." She looked down and played with her bracelet. "A few months later I moved back to New York, we got back together and moved in together. But she was always like... I don't know. She loved the dancer lifestyle and travelling and all that, and I think being in one place bored the shit out of her, honestly. We were living together, but I still always felt like I was waiting for a real commitment that didn't come."

I sat quietly, waiting for her to continue.

"Then she went to L.A for a dance conference and cheated on me." Brittany shrugged. "And that was the end of it."

"Jesus." I said. "I'm so sorry. What a bitch."

Brittany laughed. "Thanks. Nah, I don't know. It was only until months after we had been broken up that I kind of looked at the situation for what it was."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Jordan was always.. like, chasing the next best thing. She had a kind of fucked up upbringing, and she was never really satisfied, not the entire time I knew her. I accepted after a while that it wasn't me that couldn't make her happy. She couldn't make herself happy."

"That's an awfully good perspective to have." I replied. I was impressed at her acceptance, and the grace with which Brittany carried herself. "But I also wouldn't have blamed you if you keyed that bitch's car."

"I did steal her Nintendo switch when I moved out." Brittany admitted.

"Nice." I laughed.

Brittany pushed her plate to the side, finished with her meal. She sized me up for a moment and then asked the question I hated. "How about you? Any ex stories?"

I took a deep breath while she looked at me and cocked her head to the side. "Sorry, you didn't have to get into it if it's hard to talk about."

"Oh, no. It's not that. It's just that there's not much to talk about." You replied.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked.

"I've like.." I paused. "I've never really been in a serious relationship." I shrugged.

"Oh." Brittany said.

"I know." I replied. "It's kind of embarrassing."

"No, no no. I don't think it is at all. I'm just surprised."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because you're like... gorgeous?" Brittany replied, smiling.

"Oh my god, don't give me a big head." I said, covering my face with my hands.

Brittany laughed. "I swear I'm not trying to, it's just objectively true."

I looked away and gulped, trying not to make eye contact. "Anyway, I've dated, and stuff. But my longest relationship was like... five months? I'm not sure, I think maybe I sabotage."

"I get that. But also maybe no one's been good enough for you yet." Brittany shrugged.

"No, I think I'm just a dumbass." I replied.

"Maybe." Brittany laughed. "But maybe you also just know you're a catch, and it's good to have high standards. The right person for you would have to be pretty impressive."

Something was doing flips in my stomach and I didn't know what to say. All I could muster was quiet, with a wave of my hand.

"You are too much."