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wheresmynaya · 3 years

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Lost in the Lights Ch.12|Brittana

A/N - Sorry this took forever but better late than never, right? I’m literally posting this right before I leave for work so I hope I don’t forget anything LOL. Thank you all for being patient! Not sure how I feel about this chapter but I'm sure you'll let me know if I've lost my touch 😅

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) wattpad (x) & under the cut!

Two days go by after the Titans’ big win over Crawford County Day and Brittany is starting to wonder how soon is soon for Santana. She spends Thanksgiving with her family at her grandparents’ house watching football and stuffing her face with all kinds of good food and for awhile it’s enough to distract her from constantly checking her phone.

It’s a quiet day filled with random moments of sadness because her dad isn’t there to drag her and Pete outside for a quick game during halftime like he usually would. He’s not there to carve the turkey or start up with the Christmas music despite their mom’s protest, but they all set a place for him at the head of the table as if he were just running a little late.

It’s the weirdest feeling ever to know that he’s not coming.

Black Friday comes and goes in the same way. Whitney breaks out all the Christmas decorations in anticipation for the holidays which have snuck up on all of them. Pete’s as excited as always and Brittany would be too if it weren’t for the melancholy.

It’ll be their first Christmas without him, just like it was their first Thanksgiving, and Brittany’s not sure how she’s going to cope with that just yet. She’s strong and she usually speaks up when she’s ready to talk about how she hurts, but she has a hard time when it comes to her dad. Everyone in the family hurts, it’s only a matter of it getting easier to cope with as time goes on.

It’s hard to pretend sometimes that she’s over the denial of it all. Sometimes she thinks she doesn’t have any more tears left to cry when it comes to her dad, but she always surprises herself in the end. It’s true what they say about grief, it does come in waves and Brittany longs for the day they only feel like ripples.

On top of the holiday blues starting to settle in, there’s also everything going on between her and Santana. In the two days that have passed since the game on Wednesday, she hasn’t heard from Santana at all.

At first, Brittany figured it was because she was busy. With Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping madness, things can get hectic so she was understanding like always. However, now that it’s going on Day 3 and her texts and calls have still gone unanswered, her patience has started to run thin – now she’s just annoyed.

Her head is coming up with all kinds of reasons for Santana’s silence. Did she get scared off after their talk after the game? Was she really needing all this time to work out what she wants? Maybe she got kidnapped and is being held for ransom?

That last one is a little ridiculous, but what else is Brittany meant to think? Everything that they talked about that night wouldn’t have led to a cold shoulder, not after Santana said all of those things about dates and flowers.

She likes Brittany, she said it herself, so why would she be giving her the silent treatment?

If Santana isn’t going to answer her phone or return a text, Brittany will just have to take matters into her own hands and find out herself!

When Brittany arrives on Santana’s door step later that afternoon, all that bravado from earlier starts to dwindle. She’s been here once before with Pete, but now that she’s alone and doesn’t have her cute little brother to lean on it’s kind of scary.

Brittany has heard the rumors about Santana’s family and it makes her nervous – like she’s coming in from the wrong side of the tracks. Brittany definitely didn’t grow up in a similar fashion as Santana so she isn’t sure what to expect. Then again, it wouldn’t be the first time rumors have been wrong about a Lopez.

Still, Brittany didn’t want to take any chances in case she was wrong and Santana’s parents actually are the worst. Who knows if Santana’s parents would be around, but if they were Brittany wanted to make sure she made a good first impression. Her dad always said the first one was the most important so she spent extra time trying to look presentable.

And all this because Santana wouldn’t return a call or text?

She’s going to owe her big time if this ends up being something silly.

After a big deep breath, Brittany gives a firm knock on the front door before taking a step back. With her head held high, she braces herself for whoever is bound to answer.

A broad-shouldered man with his shiny black hair neatly coifed opens the door a moment later and Brittany’s heart nearly jumps to her throat. His brow quirks in a similar fashion as Santana’s when she’s being critical of someone and it makes Brittany gulp.

So much for steering clear of any judgement…

“Can I help you?” He asks, his voice deep and unwavering.

Brittany doesn’t know why she scared shitless right now because he hasn’t really done anything to scare her but she is. She hopes it doesn’t show though as she gives him her best smile.

“Hi, I was wondering if Santana was home?” Brittany answers politely, “I’m Br – “

“Brittany?”

Santana’s voice can be heard before she’s seen wedging herself between the man and the front door. She’s dressed so casually in dark jeans and a sweater, a stark comparison to the Cheerios uniform Britany’s so used to seeing her in but the blonde is so relieved that she’s there.

Santana looks a little shocked to see Brittany standing there on her doorstep though.

Brittany continues to smile at Santana although the man frowns and looks to the side.

“Did you invite her here? You’re grounded, Santana, that means no – “

“Who is it?” Another voice calls out, “Why are you all standing by the door?”

Santana gives an apologetic look to Brittany before she’s turning away to answer, “It’s Brittany, Mami.”

“Oh! Really?” The woman sounds equally surprised before the man steps to the side too. Out comes this woman who looks just like Santana only a little older. She smiles brightly, “Brittany, hi. I’m Maribel, Santana’s mom. This is Hector, her dad.”

Brittany looks between the three of them and smiles nervously. She wasn’t expecting to meet the entire family all at once, “Nice to meet you both.”

They all stand there for a moment and Brittany isn’t sure what’s happening right now or what all the tension she feels means. Hector continues to eye Brittany while Maribel looks delighted to see her.

Santana’s just looking back and forth between her parents like a lost little girl.

It has Brittany backpedaling, “I – I’m sorry, was I interrupting something? I could come back – “

“No, come in. Please,” Maribel gestures, “We’re just about to sit down for a late lunch.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t –“ Brittany says at the same time Hector speaks.

“Santana is grounded remember?” He says, “She’s not meant to have any visitors.”

Maribel only waves him off, “It’s Thanksgiving, Hector, it’s fine. Brittany, will you join us?”

Brittany shifts awkwardly. She can’t really find it in her to say no to Santana’s mom; she seems really nice, but super intimidating at the same time.

Hector is just intimidating in general, but a chance to spend time with Santana has Brittany leaning towards a yes.

“Uhm, okay. Sure!” Brittany answers.

Maribel beams, “Great!”

Brittany watches her shoo Hector to the side so that she can invite Brittany in. Santana lingers near her mom also watching this unfold with this curious look on her face.

“It’s only Thanksgiving leftovers,” Maribel explains, “But I make a great panini with them.”

Brittany smiles at her, “Sounds awesome. I’ve never had one before.”

“Really? Well good! Come Hector,” Maribel instructs, “Help me in the kitchen.”

Hector looks back and forth between Maribel and the girls with this confused look on his face, “But Santana is – “

“Let her have this,” Maribel insists in a hushed voice that even has Brittany’s neck hairs standing on end.

Hector nods obediently before following his wife to the kitchen which leaves Santana and Brittany alone in the living room.

Brittany turns back to Santana with raised brows, “So…you’re grounded?”

Santana rolls her eyes, “Yeah. Word got back to them about my little disagreement with Karofsky and Azimio…and whoever else was on the field that night. Dad’s pissed because I keep causing scenes, but Mom’s proud that I care about someone else other than Quinn and myself.”

“Wow,” Brittany chuckles awkwardly, “Well…I guess that would explain a lot. I though you were ignoring me.”

Santana’s shoulders drop, “I’m sorry. It happened so quickly, I couldn’t warn you that I didn’t have my phone anymore.”

Brittany nods, relieved that this wasn’t something bigger. It was purely a misunderstanding.

“I’ve missed you,” Santana whispers through a small smile that makes Brittany blush. Her hands are wringing themselves out and she kicks at the floor so bashfully that Brittany would laugh if she wasn’t so smitten, “Uh…how was your Thanksgiving?”

“It was okay,” Brittany answers shortly, not wanting to touch on how many times she secretly cried about missing her dad, “Just hung out with my family at my grandparents’ house and started Christmas decorating. I missed talking to you though.”

“You did?” Santana looks amazed which has Brittany giggling.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” Brittany smirks, “Talking to you is my favorite.”

It’s Santana’s turn to blush at that but just before she replies, Maribel’s voice interrupts them.

“Girls!” Maribel calls out, “It’s ready.”

The grin Santana wears instantly falls as she goes to inhale deeply, almost as if she’s preparing herself for something big to happen. It worries Brittany.

“What’s that for?” Brittany jokes lightly, “Did I just get myself into something I shouldn’t have?”

“We’ll see,” Santana chuckles nervously before leading the way to the dining room.

Brittany and Santana sit next to each other on one side of the table while Maribel sits opposite them and Hector sits at the head. The tension is still there from before and Brittany’s not sure why that is, but she focuses on her manners and continues to be polite.

Despite only eating sandwiches, the antique China cabinets and ornate dining set make the meal feel way more formal than it actually is. They drink fresh lemonade out of crystal glasses and eat off of the thinnest plates Brittany’s ever seen.

She feels like she might break something with just one touch and it puts her on edge a little, but then Santana’s hand find its way on her knee. She gives it a gentle squeeze and it’s almost enough to relieve some of Brittany’s anxiousness. It’s the hardest thing ever for Brittany to keep her eyes forward instead of watching Santana’s hand move.

“This looks really good, Mrs. Lopez,” Brittany compliments.

“Thank you, Brittany,” The woman replies with a smile, “And please, call me Maribel.”

“Of course,” Brittany nods and everyone digs in.

It’s kind of funny how they’re in such a fancy looking dining room yet they’re all eating with their hands. Maybe this isn’t as formal as Brittany thought?

“So Brittany,” Hector starts after wiping his mouth with the napkin laid in his lap, “Santana says you play football?”

Brittany gulps the last of her bite and nods, “Yes sir, I do.”

He hums and Brittany’s not sure what that means. He’s just as hard to read as Santana can be sometimes, but thankfully Maribel steps in.

“Quarterback, is that right?”

Brittany smiles, “Yes. That’s right.”

“And your parents are okay with that?” Hector asks with just a hint of disbelief in his tone.

Santana stiffens at the question, but Brittany’s no stranger to it.

“Yes sir,” Brittany answers proudly, “My dad always said if you can play the game well then you should. Judging by my stats, I think I do pretty well.”

Hector hums again but Brittany’s not sure if that’s in approval or not. She’s thinking it’s the latter just by the tone of his question and she knows it shouldn’t make her feel small but it kind of does.

“I’d never let my daughter play such a rough sport,” He says dismissively.

Brittany looks to Santana but it seems like she’s just focused on constantly keeping her mouth full. It’s a good tactic, Brittany should’ve thought of that first.

“Cheerleading is pretty rough,” Brittany shrugs casually, “I don’t think it gets enough credit really, you have to be pretty athletic. I think I was injured more times cheering than I have while playing football.”

Her answer seems to take everyone by surprise and Brittany fights the urge to smirk. A girl being able to do both – cheer and play football? – that’s unheard of, right? Brittany chuckles on the inside, secretly loving how she can shut down stereotypes.

“Well…” Hector sighs, seemingly stumped for the moment, “I suppose all sports have their risks.”

“True! I think the Cheerios’ drills might even be a little more intense that what I have to do with the Titans,” Brittany replies with a glance towards Santana, “I couldn’t imagine doing what Santana does every practice. I can see why she’s been Co-Captain for so long.”

“Santana’s such a hard worker,” Maribel agrees, “We’re very proud of her accomplishments.”

“I bet there’s a ton of them too,” Brittany jokes. When she sees Santana’s dimples all on display it makes her entire day.

“Stop it,” Santana whispers through flushed cheeks.

God, Brittany just wants to kiss her.

“So Brittany,” Hector says as he aims the focus back onto Brittany, “What do your parents do?”

“Well, my mom works at a diner at the moment while she tries to get her Real Estate license in order,” Brittany answers, “There’s been some mix up with the paperwork so it’s taking a little longer than usual, but she doesn’t mind the change in work since it’s temporary.”

Hector hums while Maribel smiles, “Which diner does she work at?”

“I think it’s called Frank’s?”

“Ah yes, I know the one,” Maribel nods, “Great coffee.”

“And what about your father?” Hector asks stiffly, “What does he do for work?”

Santana glances to Brittany as the blonde answers, “Well, my dad died earlier this year so…”

“Oh,” Maribel frowns, “I’m so sorry, Brittany.”

Hector nods too, seemingly a little guilty for prying, “My condolences.”

Santana just reaches over and squeezes at Brittany’s knee again and it makes this all feel just a little less awkward. Brittany’s always hated this part of the conversation, she never knows what to say.

“Thanks,” Brittany replies, trying to force a smile.

The awkward silence lingers a little longer before Santana reaches over to top up everyone’s glass with lemonade. It doesn’t take long before Hector asks another question.

“What are your plans after graduation? Will you continue playing football?”

“I hope so,” Brittany answers honestly, “I know it’s a crazy dream, but I want to play at the college level. A couple of scouts had their eye on me at my old school, but I don’t know if they’ll follow me here. It’ll look really good if I can bring home a Championship win for McKinley though – especially for the Titans considering their long dry spell.”

Hector nods, “Yes, I don’t believe the Titans have won in many, many years. It’s part of the reason why they brought Coach Beiste in, but it doesn’t look like she’s been able to end the drought either.”

“It’s probably because she didn’t have the right person leading the team,” Santana replies, “Like Brittany.”

Brittany quirks her brow at the sassy tone before looking to Hector to see what he’ll do.

“You know Brittany made Team Captain after her third week?” Santana adds as she sends Brittany a proud smile, “It took Finn Hudson an entire semester before he was made.”

“Wow! That’s amazing, Brittany,” Maribel compliments, “You must be a born leader.”

“She is,” Santana answers instead, “Brittany’s the perfect person to end the Titans’ drought.”

Brittany tries to keep the smirk from growing when she realizes what Santana’s doing and instead watches out for Hector’s reaction. He only narrows his eyes at Santana before looking back down at his plate.

The tension is palpable again so Brittany quickly fills the awkward silence.

“It’ll be an important game for a lot of people so I hope we can make something happen,” Brittany says, “Coach Beiste is really great and most of the team is really hard working. There are rumors that a recruiter from Ohio State might be there too.”

“We should watch, Hector!” Maribel suggests, “It’ll be history in the making.”

“Maybe, if I’m not working,” Hector responds with a shrug, “So if this scout doesn’t pick you up, then what? I’m sure you have back up plans. It would be silly not to.”

“Hector,” Maribel chastises.

“What’s the harm in asking?” He defends.

Brittany gives Maribel and Santana an assuring smile before responding, “It would be kind of silly, wouldn’t it? I have other interests too that I can fall back on if football doesn’t work out for me.”

“Like?”

“Papi,” Santana begs.

But again, Brittany isn’t too bothered. This time she’s the one to give Santana an inconspicuous squeeze to her knee.

“I do pretty well in math and science,” Brittany answers, “I got a near perfect score on my SAT too. I only struggle with English but Santana helps me with that. She’s a really great tutor.”

“Thanks,” Santana grins.

“College isn’t just about playing football,” Brittany adds, “I doubt I’ll be getting into the NFL so I do have other plans. I’ve always loved animals; one of my other dreams is to be a vet or marine biologist. Someone who helps those that can’t help themselves, you know?”

Hector looks surprisingly impressed by Brittany’s answer.

“Are we done with the 21 questions now?” Santana quips which earns her a glare from her mom this time.

“I’m just curious,” Hector replies as he cracks a smile for the first time, “Small town, Brittany, everyone knows everyone. It’s rare that I come across someone new.”

“You work in Cincinnati,” Santana retorts, "You meet new people all the time.”

Brittany can tell Santana’s getting more and more wound up for some reason, so she moves to diffuse the situation before Santana can get herself into anymore trouble with her parents.

“It’s okay,” Brittany shrugs, “I don’t mind.”

“See?” Hector waves his hand, “We’re just talking. It’s important to have conversations about options when it comes to college.”

“Is it now?” Santana asks sarcastically, “I wouldn’t know. Seems like your mind was pretty made up when it came to my options.”

Brittany’s brows rise at that tone and her gaze averts right to her plate.

“Who needs options when you’re Harvard-bound?” Hector questions, “There’s no better university.”

“Maybe to you.”

Hector looks taken aback, “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying – “

“Let’s not do this here,” Maribel interrupts.

There’s that familiar motherly tone that makes Brittany’s neck hairs stand on end, but she peeks up to see Santana and Hector standing off through glares while Maribel is giving them one of her own.

Out of the three, Maribel’s is the scariest.

Santana backs down first with a mumbled, “Sorry.”

Hector only takes in a deep breath while Maribel smiles again at Brittany.

“Forgive us, Brittany,” She says.

“It’s cool,” Brittany smiles before chancing a glance in Santana’s direction. The girl is still fuming in silence and Brittany wants nothing more than to comfort her.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Hector says lowly.

“Fine,” Santana huffs.

Thankfully, Hector and Maribel dismiss themselves shortly after and Santana’s left to clean up. Brittany tags along to offer her a hand, but they don’t make any small talk. She can see that Santana’s stuck in her head, but Brittany can understand why. After such a short lunch, she’s starting to see why Santana struggles so much with being herself and owning her feelings.

“I’m sorry about him,” Santana mentions awhile later after the dishes are done.

Brittany tries to make light of it, “I haven’t been grilled like that in awhile.”

“Yeah,” Santana shakes her head, “He isn’t usually like that, but if it’s any consolation you did a lot better than when Puck came over for the first time. You should’ve seen my dad’s face when Puck told him about his plans for college.”

“Why?”

“Puck doesn’t have any,” Santana chuckles, “Afterwards my dad told me I wasn’t allowed to see him anymore.”

Brittany’s eyes widen, “You two dated?”

“I wouldn’t really call it that.”

“Oh.”

“It’s whatever. That was before everything happened,” Santana shrugs before she starts to smirk, “So you never told me you used to cheer.”

“You never asked,” Brittany replies jokingly, “The coach at my old school let me join after the football season finished up. I did that for a year before I decided to stick to training in the off season and work.”

“And you had a job?”

“Yeah,” Brittany laughs, “I made smoothies at this one place. I got free drinks whenever I wanted so that was pretty cool.”

“I’ve never had a job,” Santana admits, “My dad won’t let me.”

Brittany chuckles, “Why am I not surprised by that?”

Santana sends her a playful glare before asking, “So why’d you quit cheering?”

“It’s boring.”

“Boring?” Santana laughs out of disbelief.

“Yeah, it didn’t really challenge me,” Brittany shrugs.

“But the stunts?”

“I’ve already done gymnastics so nothing new to me.”

Santana gives her a look for that, “You must’ve not had the right kind of Captain. “

“You think so?” Brittany raises her brow challengingly.

“I know so,” Santana smirks and slides a little closer, “I can promise you’d never get bored on my squad.”

Brittany bites her lip at the sound of Santana’s flirty tone but she puts some distance between them. After all, they’re still in Santana’s kitchen and who knows where Maribel and Hector are.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Santana asks innocently.

Brittany narrows her eyes although she can’t help but smile, “Flirt with me.”

“I didn’t realize I was.”

“Well, you were and you can’t do that right now,” Brittany says before drying her hands, “I came here because I’m mad at you, but… I guess that was before I knew you were grounded so I can’t really be mad anymore.”

Santana looks confused, “Wait…you’re mad at me? Why?”

Brittany turns away, “It sounds silly now.”

Santana softens at Brittany’s sudden shyness, “Tell me.”

“Well, I thought you were ignoring me on purpose,” Brittany admits guiltily, “You said we would talk soon and then I went two days without hearing from you and…at first I was worried and then I got kind of angry. I thought you might have had…second thoughts.”

“Oh,” Santana breathes out and combs her fingers through her long dark hair, “I’m sorry. Like I said, it happened really quickly – I couldn’t send out a warning or anything.”

“I get that now,” Brittany nods, “Especially after that lunch.”

“Yeah,” Santana says sadly, “I should get my phone back soon, maybe later today if my mom has anything to do with it.”

“Okay,” Brittany replies, “Then maybe we can talk about what we’re doing?”

Santana sighs, “Britt…this is still really new for me. My family isn’t like yours and I’m not like you.”

Brittany starts to frown, “I know that.”

“So you have to stop pressuring me,” Santana replies.

“Santana,” Brittany sighs as she takes one of her hands, “I wasn’t trying to pressure you, I just don’t want you to get comfortable in hiding who you are.”

Judging by the surprised look on Santana’s face, Brittany’s not sure if she’s just crossed a line she shouldn’t have. She wasn’t trying to be rude, if anything she cares way too much and she just wants Santana to know that.

“I’m sorry,” Brittany says in a softer tone as she runs her thumb over the back of Santana’s hand, “I just…I know how hard it is to venture out of your comfort zone – especially when it comes to this stuff – and I feel like that’s exactly what you were doing. You were getting comfortable with hiding us and with the way I feel about you and knowing how you feel about me…I don’t want to do that.”

Santana looks a little guilty as she nods, “I don’t want to either.”

“I like you,” Brittany admits around a timid grin as she lets go of Santana’s hand, “I really like you and I like kissing you and being around you, but I can only be patient and wait for so long. I’m not asking you to have everything figured out, because who does at our age?”

“Like, no one.”

“Exactly.”

Santana gives her small smile, “There’s that infamous Pierce wisdom again.”

Brittany lifts her shoulder casually at the compliment while Santana just stares at the blonde with this serene look on her face. It kind of makes Brittany feel see-through but in a good way. The kind of way that has her going out on a limb here and voicing exactly what she wants for them.

Brittany nervously bites her lip, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think you and I are awesome together and I wouldn’t mind figuring out stuff with you.”

Santana looks like she’s about to melt into a puddle as she says, “Brittany.”

The blonde has never heard her name sound so pretty, but she guesses it helps when there’s a gorgeous girl saying it. It makes her feel tingly all over and she can’t help but grin.

“We won’t have to label it yet if you don’t want to,” Brittany rambles, “I mean, I’d love to call you my girlfriend because I think it kinda has a nice ring to it but I don’t want to pressure you. I just need to know whether or not we’re an us or still Santana and Brittany.”

Santana flutters her thick lashes as she looks up at Brittany with this look of pure adoration.

“Did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?” Santana asks around a small smile.

Brittany lets out a nervous chuckle as she squeezes the back of her neck, “I think I did – which I didn’t plan on doing but I’m not taking it back now.”

“Good,” Santana replies and that makes Brittany’s smile widen, “I don’t want you to.”

Brittany bites her bottom lip to keep from beaming, “So does that mean…”

Santana giggles as she tugs a little on the bottom of Brittany’s shirt and pulls her in even closer. Her expression turns solemn and Brittany’s smile falters, unsure if that’s a good or bad sign.

“I can’t promise you that I won’t say the wrong thing again or I won’t disappoint you,” Santana says, “You know I’m still a work in progress and I wish that meant that you didn’t have to worry about me back stepping or getting scared, but I really don’t know.”

Brittany looks worried but she tries to mask it with an, “Okay.”

“But…I can try to be better,” Santana adds sounding a lot more hopeful, “I want to be better. Like I’ve said before, I want to be someone you deserve to be with and if we’re going to do this thing for real then it’s time that I put in the work to show you that. I’ve never really been a great girlfriend in the past, but with you – there’s nothing I want more.”

The overwhelming relief that washes over Brittany is unmatched and all she wants to do is wrap Santana up in the tightest hug ever and kiss her silly, but she’s so surprised by the turn of events that all she can do is stand there and stare dopily.

“Okay,” Brittany says again behind her grin.

Santana laughs before looking around hesitantly. After a glance around the kitchen, she’s rolling up on her tippy toes to place a chaste kiss to Brittany’s cheek. The move surprises the quarterback but she smiles anyway.

“I’m taking that as a yes?” Brittany jokes.

“It’s definitely a yes,” Santana giggles and Brittany can’t stop staring at how cute her dimples are when she’s smiling so brightly. She wants to do everything in her power to make Santana smile like that more often – hopefully she can – but then she sees the time displayed on the microwave and suddenly frowns.

“Crap! I should get going,” Brittany says in a hurry, “I’m supposed to pick up Pete from my grandparents’ house in like five minutes. They’re hosting poker at their place tonight.”

Santana quirks a brow, “Poker?”

“Yeah,” Brittany answers casually, “Pretend you didn’t hear that though. I’m not really supposed to say. My mom doesn’t like when they gamble.”

Santana chuckles at that, “Okay then, let me walk you out.”

As she leads the way, they pass Maribel reading in the living room alone. The woman glances up at them and smiles.

“You heading home now, Brittany?” Maribel asks.

“Almost. I have to pick up my little brother first,” Brittany replies, “Thank you for lunch.”

“Of course, any time!”

“I’m just going to walk Brittany to the car,” Santana says to which Maribel only nods with this knowing smile. It makes Brittany wonder what that is but soon Santana’s nudging her out the door and closing it behind them.

“Geez, can’t get rid of me soon en – “

The closes just in time for Santana to steal a kiss. It catches Brittany off guard but she smiles into anyway, hoping it lasts a little longer than the peck on her cheek in the kitchen.

“I couldn’t do that in there,” Santana explains when she pulls away, “Not yet.”

“Not yet,” Brittany grins, “We can wait awhile to do that in front of your parents. Your dad kind of scares me a little. Actually, your mom does too.”

Santana chuckles, “So could I call you later? You know, if I get my phone back tonight?”

“Sure!”

“Okay cool,” Santana nods happily, “Well…have a safe drive.”

“I will,” Brittany winks before walking to her car. She buckles in and waves one last time to Santana before heading off.

\\\\\

Santana’s heart is a little heavy when she heads back inside despite what just happened in her kitchen. The pure joy and happiness she feels for finally clearing things up with Brittany is great, but it’s not enough to overshadow the impending doom since she opened her big mouth during lunch. Santana has felt this particular storm brewing for some time now and all she has is her attitude to thank for it to finally happen.

Maribel glances from her book when the front door closes and Santana instantly feels her shoulders sink beneath the weight of what’s to come.

Why couldn’t she have bit her tongue like always? Why’d she have to do this now of all times?

There’s this sympathetic look on Maribel’s face as she sets the book aside.

“Brittany’s a sweet girl,” Maribel mentions like any talk of Brittany is some sort of ice breaker for Santana.

It kind of is now; it’s hard not to smile when the blonde crosses Santana’s mind.

“The sweetest,” Santana agrees bashfully before joining her mom on the couch.

They sit there in silence for a moment and Santana’s not sure what Maribel’s going to say next. Talk of Brittany wasn’t her first choice, but she rather that than the latter – at least while it’s just them sitting there.

“So are you two…a couple?” Maribel asks hesitantly.

Santana’s first instinct is to lie and she really considers going through with it, but she doesn’t. She has to do things differently this time – for her and for Brittany. With Maribel, Santana finds a little comfort and pushes her boundaries.

“Kind of.”

Santana’s answer makes Maribel look back at her quizzically.

“Kind of?” Maribel asks, “That was a yes or no question.”

Santana blushes as she stammers out, “Yes. Yes, we are.”

Maribel smiles proudly, “When did that happen?”

“Just a little while ago,” Santana can’t help but smile, “While we were doing the dishes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Santana’s grin turns bashful, “I…I really like her, Mami. I’ve liked her for awhile now.”

“I can see why. She seems like a great girl,” Maribel winks, “What took you two so long?”

Santana knows Maribel was only joking but it makes her start to frown. She knows she isn’t the easiest person to be with and it takes a special kind of patience to stick it out for as long as Brittany has, but that doesn’t make her feel any less guilty about it.

“It’s complicated,” Santana ends up saying.

Maribel nods like she understands, but Santana doubts she really does.

That’s not on her though, that’s on Santana because she makes every conversation about her feelings so difficult. She’s not sure when the wires got crossed and everything started to feel like pulling teeth to her, but it’s been like this for years and she hates it. It’s like being honest with herself and her feelings meant going against this image she has created over the years.

Santana hates how she has played this role for so long – has tried to live up to everyone’s expectations – that she doesn’t know who she is anymore. Did she ever even know in the first place? The crazy thing is though, with Brittany she can see theses glimpses of her true self – the person she wishes she could be all the time if no one cared about reputations or sexuality.

Her feelings for Brittany came so easily, it was like the moment she laid eyes on the blonde at Puck’s End of Summer party that was it. Santana was hooked then and there. She didn’t expect Brittany to have that kind of effect on her, but here she is a few months later wanting to be the best version of herself…just so she can be someone Brittany deserves.

And really, it sounds like the biggest task in the world. To sort through everything that makes up Santana and pick out what’s real and what isn’t so that she can finally be herself…it’s a lot. But, she’s making some progress when it comes to her love life and that’s half of the battle. The other half is about her future and she has only begun to voice her true feelings.

Santana picks at a thread that has come loose on her sweater and wonders aloud.

“Is Papi angry with me about what I said?”

There’s a quiet sigh from the opposite end of the couch before Maribel answers, “He’s surprised.”

Santana bites her lip, unsure if that really answers her question. Judging by Hector’s reaction and how abruptly her parents left after lunch, it doesn’t look good for her.

“You should talk to him though,” Maribel adds, “He won’t begin to understand you if you don’t.”

Santana lets out a dry laugh and Maribel quirks her brow at that.

“What’s so funny?”

Santana only shrugs, “I’m just not in the mood for another lecture.”

Maribel straightens up as Santana continues.

“I don’t know how many times I can apologize for things that I’m not actually sorry about,” Santana says, “I wasn’t really sorry for breaking JBI’s camera or starting that fight with those jerks on the football team and I’m not sorry for wanting to go somewhere other than Harvard. I’m not, Mami, and I can’t go up there if an apology is what he wants from me.”

“That is exactly why you need to talk to him. Tell him what you just told me,” Maribel replies before scooting closer to Santana, “Mija, you should never apologize for standing up for yourself. Granted, there’s a certain way to go about it that doesn’t involve your fists or football players three times your size…”

Santana ducks her head, “I’m really working on it.”

“I know you are,” Maribel replies, “But he doesn’t and that’s only because you talk to me more often than you talk to your father.”

Santana crosses her arms protectively over her chest, “He’s so hard to talk to.”

“Doesn’t mean you stop trying.”

“Tell that to him.”

“Go tell him yourself.”

Santana looks wide-eyed at her mom, “Seriously?”

Maribel only reaches for her book, “Yes, seriously.”

“But,” Santana stammers, “He never wants to hear what I have to say and I’m not trying to be grounded for the rest of my life.”

Maribel only chuckles, “You won’t be.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because,” Maribel replies, “One conversation between you two where you actually say what you mean and he actually listens will work wonders and I think now’s the perfect time for that to happen. I think you’re both ready to have that talk.”

Santana bites her lip nervously, “What if it doesn’t work out?”

Maribel looks to Santana and gives her this sympathetic smile, “Then he isn’t the man I married and this might be an even bigger problem than I thought.”

Santana’s brows rise at that but she doesn’t say anything more, just sits there in silence mulling over whether or not she’s brave enough to actually face her dad. With everything currently on her plate, she doesn’t think she’s ready. If anything, she’s drained and thinking about having to go up to Hector’s office and have this talk just makes her feel even more exhausted.

Maribel watches Santana hesitate in leaving and reaches over to pat her ankle, “You don’t have to talk to him today, but don’t leave things unsaid for too much longer. The sooner, the better.”

Santana nods, wondering where she’s heard that before.

\\\\\

Later that night, Brittany’s sprawled out on her bed watching footage of Carmel High’s Championship game from last year. She wants to be more than prepared for their upcoming game in two weeks’ time so putting in this extra work will hopefully help.

Brittany’s about halfway through when her phone starts to ring on her nightstand. She glances to it, not expecting to see the name that pops up and quickly scrambles to answer the call.

“Well, look who got their phone back!”

Santana chuckles down the line, “Yup! I’m officially a free woman…again.”

“Awesome,” Brittany beams as she rolls onto her back and stares up at the ceiling.

She has been thinking about Santana since the moment she left the Lopez residence. This is her girlfriend and even though she has yet to say the title out loud, just thinking it makes the butterflies in her stomach go crazy.

“How’d the rest of your day go?”

Brittany tries to recall the past few hours, “Well, Pete kicked my butt in Monopoly. The kid is pretty ruthless, I wonder if he’ll be some big shot business tycoon when he’s older.”

“That’s cute.”

Brittany feels like blushing, “How about yours?”

“It went okay,” Santana hesitates for a moment, “I told my mom about us.”

“You did?” Brittany’s eyes widen and she can’t hide the surprise in her voice.

“Yeah, is that okay? She asked if we were a couple after you left…I didn’t want to lie.”

A smile stretches across Brittany’s face, “Yeah, that’s totally okay! I wasn’t sure if you wanted to tell people yet or…you know.”

“Well, I’m trying out being honest for a change,” Santana replies, “I figure if I have such an amazing girlfriend, why hide it?”

Brittany’s jaw drops and she’s so glad that Santana can’t actually see her right now because she must be a sight to see. She tries to play off being so blindsided by Santana’s glimmer of confidence by moving along the conversation.

“Sorry about leaving so suddenly earlier,” Brittany apologizes.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“So…Harvard, huh?” Brittany mentions, “I didn’t know you wanted to go there.”

“I don’t,” Santana answers with a chuckle.

“Oh,” Brittany moves to sit up against her headboard wondering if this was the right topic to switch to, “Is that why lunch got weird when we started talking about college?”

“Kind of,” Santana sighs, “I haven’t told my dad yet and I probably should’ve instead of the way I brought it up today. I’m supposed to be a doctor like most in my family and Harvard is where they’ve all gone. It’s kind of tradition.”

Brittany frowns, “So traditions aren’t just a Lima thing?”

“Not really, at least when it comes to my family,” Santana explains, “It’s a legacy thing.”

“Is that what you want to do?” Brittany wonders, “Be a doctor too?”

“I’m not sure anymore. I feel like I have to redeem myself for all the crap I’ve put them through and going to Harvard is the guaranteed way to do that.”

“But that’s not fair to you,” Brittany replies, “Especially if it’s not something you really want, or is it?”

Santana lets out a tired sigh, “I’ve spent so much of my life being told what I wanted that I can’t tell if it’s what I really want or what I’m just conditioned to want. I mean, I like helping people but I don’t see myself being a dermatologist like my Dad. Number one, it kind of grosses me out and two…I think it’s boring.”

Brittany giggles at that, “So is there anything else that does interest you? What about one of those kid doctors?”

“Me? Dealing with kids?” Santana lets out a bellyaching laugh, “Not a chance in hell, even if I’m making bank while doing it.”

Brittany finds herself grinning at the sound of Santana loosening up, “Why not?”

“I’m not really the best with kids.”

“Liar,” Brittany teases, “You’re great with Pete!”

“That’s because Pete isn’t like other kids, he’s actually cool. Sick kids can be brats and I’m not down to listen to all that whining.”

Brittany shakes her head and laughs, “Well, from personal experience I think you’d make a great doctor if that’s what you want to be. You’ve taken great care of me a bunch of times.”

“Thanks Britt,” Santana says and the blonde can practically hear the smile she probably wears, “What about you? Any schools your mom is forcing onto you in order to uphold the family legacy?”

“No family legacy here,” Brittany chuckles, “But Ohio State would be cool if I could get a scholarship for football, especially if those scouts looking at me back in Florida don’t pull through.”

“So that’s where you’re from,” Santana jokes, “You’ve never said.”

“Really? I swore I have.”

“No, but it does explain a lot.”

Brittany quirks her brow, “Does it?”

“Definitely. I was thought there was this different air about you,” Santana explains, “It’s probably because you’re one of the few people here who have actually seen the ocean.”

“Wait,” Brittany chuckles, “You’ve never seen the ocean?”

“Nope. I’ve lived in Lima all of my life, never really left either.”

“That’s so crazy!” Brittany gasps, “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that hasn’t seen the ocean. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss it now that I can’t go to the beach anymore. It used to be my favorite place, everyone has to experience it at some point in their life.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to check it.”

Brittany softens as she imagines Santana and how she might react. She thinks about the cheek-bunching smile she’d wear and the sound of her laughter mixing in with the sea breeze. She imagines her being so carefree for once in her life and it makes Brittany smile.

“Maybe I’ll take you one day?” Brittany finds herself saying.

Santana doesn’t say anything for a moment and Brittany wonders if maybe she crossed a line or something? One day hints at a future together, maybe even one that lasts longer than the school year since taking trips to the beach isn’t something they could do during the weekend.

Waiting for a response makes Brittany’s heart thud, but soon Santana speaks up.

“I could be down with that.”

“Yeah?” Brittany grins.

“As long as you’re my tour guide, it sounds like fun.”

Brittany bites her lip at that, once again super thankful that Santana can’t see how her words can turn Brittany into mush.

“Sweet. So,” Brittany hums as she sinks down into her pillows, “What else did you get up to after I left?”

“Not much,” Santana answers, “Just finishing up some work before school starts up again. My parents went to my Abuela’s house, they’re still there so they must be having a good time.”

Brittany can swear she hears sadness in Santana’s tone, “How come you didn’t go too?”

Santana doesn’t answer right away and Brittany wonders if maybe she has breached a touchy subject. Before she can try and change the subject though, Santana answers.

“I’m not exactly welcome there anymore.”

Brittany isn’t sure what to say.

“She’s not very…accepting. We haven’t spoken since I came out to her. It didn’t really end well for me and clearly she isn’t interested in making amends so…”

Brittany can tell Santana’s trying to be nonchalant about this but the sadness is so evident. It just breaks Brittany’s heart and all she wants to do right now is wrap her arms around Santana, to make her feel safe and wanted.

“I’m so sorry,” Brittany replies softly, “I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Don’t be sorry. We’re talking, you’re allowed to ask questions.”

“I know, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You aren’t. I promise, if you cross a line then I’ll just hang up on you.”

Brittany gasps but softens when she hears Santana’s cute little giggle.

“Not funny,” Brittany smirks as she turns off her bedside light. Now the light of her alarm clock is the only glow in the room.

“Kind of is.”

Brittany shakes her head, her eyelids feeling a little heavier than before, “You should’ve texted me earlier or something. I could’ve invited you over for Monopoly, really test Petey’s skills.”

Santana chuckles, “Maybe next time.”

“Maybe,” Brittany accidentally says through a yawn.

“You sound tired,” Santana mentions, “Losing is hard work, isn’t it?”

Brittany giggles sleepily, “In most cases I’d say I wouldn’t know, but since we’re talking about Monopoly…yeah, it really is.”

Santana laughs at that, “Do you want me to let you go so you can get some sleep then?”

Brittany rolls onto her side and snuggles into her pillows, “Not really.”

“But you’re tired, you should sleep.”

“I know, but I like talking to you more.”

“More than sleep? Aren’t I special?”

“Duh,” Brittany giggles, “I will gladly lose sleep over you.”

“Okay,” Santana laughs too, “How can I argue with such a smooth talker?”

“You can’t,” Brittany teases; she isn’t even trying to keep her eyes open anymore, “Can you stay here until I fall asleep?”

“Sure Britt,” Santana replies softly, “It doesn’t sound like you’re too far off.”

“It’s been a long day,” Brittany mentions tiredly.

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm, but it’s ending way better than it started.”

Santana hums happily, “So… what do I talk about if I know you’re falling asleep?”

“We don’t have to talk,” Brittany chuckles weakly, “Do whatever you were doing before you called and I’ll just listen?”

“Oh, okay then.”

There’s a long pause and Brittany nearly falls asleep, but then she hears the melodic sounds of piano keys followed by a familiar voice singing so beautifully.

At first, Brittany perks up a little wanting to make sure that she isn’t hearing things – that Santana really is singing to her. She’s only ever heard Santana a couple times before and she usually stops when she realizes someone is listening, but it’s not like that now.

Santana doesn’t care about someone listening because she is singing just for her.

And wow, what a voice!

It’s like rolling thunder with a warmth that reminds her of a crackling bonfire; Brittany hasn’t heard anything like it. She can only smile as she lays her phone down on the pillow next to her, trying her hardest to will herself to stay awake even longer just so she can continue to listen to Santana’s beautiful voice.

#Lost in the Lights #Brittana #Brittana Fanfiction #Fanfics #QB!Britt

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cefh-rp · 6 years

Text

Happy birthday Noah Puckerman || Group discord

Date: October 19th

Involved: Santana, Puck, Quinn, Audrey, Sam, Marley, Brody, Rachel, Vince

Summary: Part of Noah Puckerman’s birthday party. All other things will be discussed oocs

Warnings: none.

OOC Note: again this is part of the party and clearly not the entire thing. Any errors made were made by the original chat participant.

Santana

Far more equipped for a party than an open field loud music filled every room. It seemed like an even bigger crowd gathered just at hearing that it was Puck's birthday party than an undisclosed person at first. Sure Santana knew all about the Puckerman appeal but this was a little insane. Adjusting her dress as she came downstairs she already felt a small buzz as she had already had a few drinks. Smiling as she came downstairs she didn't even know what to focus on. Someone blocking the last stair was nudged out of her way before she muttered "It's my boyfriend's party, and who the hell blocks the stairs?" She wasn't even thinking about whether or not friends or randoms would end up going into rooms to hook up. Grabbing another red cup she made her way towards the drinks, all the while cursing her shoes she knew wouldn't come off until the party did down.January 20, 2018

Rachel

Rachel Berry didn't really understand why she had decided to come to the party she had heard was being thrown for Noah. While she of course wanted to wish him a happy birthday, and give him the gift she had meticulously wrapped, opening herself up to a high school party where there were sure to be people who didn't like her seemed like an idiotic idea. She walked towards the large crowd already forming, looking around for the resident bad boy, hoping that maybe she could get in and out safely.

Marley

Marley had come into the party, looking for the present table, not that they actually had a present table at a high school party. She looked around for Puck or maybe Santana, seeing her best friend making her entrance down the stairs, looking as beautiful as ever. "Hey beautiful one, you look fantastic. Where's the birthday boy?" she laughed, taking a peek in Santana's cup. "And what's on the menu for the night?"Vince came in a little late, peeking into the party and looking around. It was the usual crowd of drunk and disorderlies with the same faces he remembered from years ago. He wasn't sure about how he fit in any more but he was going to try if just for a couple of his oldest friends, especially since he'd been in charge of getting all the alcohol. He'd been setting up the kegs in the basement, but now came the hard part, actually being there and not looking at his phone every five seconds. Looking around, he didn't see Puck and Santana was busy talking to people but he saw Rachel so he headed over. "Hey Rach," he said, coming up behind her.

Rachel

Rachel turned around, her long hair whipping around her as she did. "Hi" she squeaked before clearing her throat. "Hey Vincent" she said looking around. "I didn't know you were behind me" she tried to reason with him before shaking her head and holding up the box in her hands. "Do you know where I should put this...where...Or could you give it to Noah for me?" she rambled

Puck

Looking up at the teen filled house, Puck was currently on the dock, a few meters from the side entrance. Levi was yelling at him through his phone, and he just wanted to throw his phone into the water. "No. No! I'm not coming home. I don't care what day of the week it is. You should care about what day it is, but apparently, you're counting on Facebook for that." Clearing his throat, the older male voice boomed through the phone. "Don't wait up," he said, hanging up. Puck shook his head before making his way back up to the house, thoughts filling his mind quickly. Not even making it inside, he sat down on the steps, putting his hands on the back of his neck.

Sam

Sam had just arrived at the party and had made his way up to the front entrance when he caught sight of Puck on the phone. It was hard to ignore the conversation he was having on the phone since it seemed like it was upsetting. Watching at Puck sat down on the steps, Sam walked over and sat down next to him. “Happy birthday dude… I guess we’re gonna have to work up to the happy part” He said, “Everything okay?

Puck

Seeing someone sit down beside him, Puck looked up to see Sam. "Thanks, man," he said, voice low. Between words, his phone kept making a noise, letting him know that he had a text message. "Yeah. Everything will be fine. My dad is just being an asshole, and just like last year, he forgot it was my birthday." Shrugging, a sigh fell from his lips. "If you want, dude, you can go on inside. I just need to clear my head before going in there." Looking down at his phone, it continued to go off before Puck looked over at Sam, a small smile on his lips.

Sam

Sam thought it was pretty messed up that Puck’s dad forgot twice in a row about his own son’s birthday, but he could tell Puck was taking it pretty hard to he refrained from going on and on about what he thought. “At least none of your friends forgot, I’m pretty sure the turn out to your party is gonna be a bigger turnout than Homecoming” Sam said jokingly to help Puck’s mood. “Alright, I’ll see you inside though, pretty sure the team and I have a special toast for you later” Sam added with a small smile, patting Puck on his shoulder before getting back up to go inside. Once inside, Sam took a short glance around to find Quinn but didn’t waste much more time on it when he couldn’t find her since he had new mission and that was finding Santana. Catching sight of Santana at the stairs yelling at someone already, he couldn’t help but laugh a little as he walked up to her and Marley. “Thanks, Marley, I am beautiful and I do look fantastic” He said, jokingly, already knowing Marley’s compliments were for Santana and not him. “Anyways, you guys both look pretty amazing tonight” he said with a small smile before leaning in closer towards Santana to tell her something, “Puck’s outside. He was on the phone with his dad, I know I’m not always good at reading signs but I don’t think it went well. You should go make sure he’s okay.”

Vince

Vince chuckled and shook his head at Rachel. "I do not know where you can put that nor do I know where Puck is, but I'd assume you can set it anywhere since this is his beach house and then I can get you a drink so you can actually settle in and enjoy yourself," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and maneuvering her to the alcohol table. "What'll you drink?" he asked her with a little wink, grabbing a little something for himself too.

Rachel

Rachel swallowed thickly as she looked at the table. Aside from the random sip of wine or Champagne with her Dad's, she had never really had a drink, and now she was at a party with so many people, and a table of so many different drinks. "I'll just take whatever you're having?" she asked before looking around. "Do you know where Noah's room is? I could leave this in there"

Marley

Marley looked out the door to where she supposed Puck was and nodded. "Yeah, hey, you go San. I'm sure that seeing you in that dress will make everything better," Marley murmured, worried about Puck but trying to make light of it. She turned to Sam and gave him a smile too. "And, for the record, you are gorgeous, absolutely from head to toe. I mean are you doing something new with your hair cause it's like super shiny?" she laughed, happy to be with people who made her feel completely at ease.

Vince

Vince looked at his own drink and then at Rachel. She wasn't going to have what he was having, not when she possibly didn't drink that much and he was having vodka with the barest bit of orange juice in it, a favorite of his. He would make her something comparable though, pouring in a little bit of the vodka and going a little heavier on the orange juice. "I made you something like mine...though here, take a sip of mine and then take a sip of yours," he said, handing her both and leaning back on the wall.

Rachel

Rachel looked at him, and took a sip of hers first. It tasted like orange juice, with a slight burning sensation as it went down. It wasn't bad, and she could understand why people would drink this. But then she took a drink of his coughing as it burned with a hint of citrus. "So...sorry" she sputtered, handing him his drink as she quickly brought her hand to her chest.

Brody

Brody let out a breath, running a hand down his face. He wasn't sure on why he was coming to the party. Sure he wanted to see his friends, hang out with them, and it was nice to get away from home. The last conversation he had had with his dad hadn't been pretty, and he just needed to get away, and maybe have a couple of drinks. He walked inside, the first thing he was going to find was the drinks, and after that, well he'd see what he could do, there was probably someone around that he could talk to. He took a deep breath, grabbing a beer, taking a sip from it.

Vince

"And that's why I figure you'd probably want something a little different. I've had a little bit of practice drinking over the years...like since maybe middle school. It might take you some catching up to hit the level of alcohol tolerance I'm at," he joked, handing Rachel's drink over and sipping on his with relish. It'd been awhile after all since he'd gotten out there and been drinking. Still, the atmosphere brought back memories and the memories were good ones. He missed the carefree boy though who had been there in those days though.

Rachel

Rachel nodded, running her fingers through her hair as she took another sip of her fruity drink. "I have a feeling I'm never going to be good at drinking like you" she said with a small laugh. She saw Brody come up to the table and took a step to the side, joining Vincent on the wall.

Santana

Before she could even fully thank Marley she heard Sam’s voice. Rolling her eyes playfully she waited until Sam was completely in view. “See, there you go stealing compliments from me. Let me get my props for what I’ due.” She still smiled Sam’s way before her smile faded. Without a second thought she looked past the throng of partygoers. “He’s already seen me in the dress, and out of it.” She winked at marley before brushing past Sam. “I’ll be back later.” Pushing past even more people she knew better than to make a scene now. Making any sort of a scandal would only call attention to Puck. Walking out she kicked off her shoes before following him onto the sand. “Babe.” Walking faster she reached out to him pulling his arm back. “Talk to me.” Her eyes pleading. “I know there’s that lame song and it’s your party and you can cry if you want to but there’s no way I’m letting that happen.”

Vince

Vince waved at Brody as he came up. "Hey man, what's happening?" he asked before turning back to Rachel. "You never know Rachel, you could find you like the taste of a certain kind of alcohol and all of a sudden you could be drinking like me in no time." He looked past them both and saw Santana making her way outside with a worried face and made a mental note to find her later to figure out what was going on, but he didn't want to interrupt yet so he just shot her a text asking if she was okay.

Rachel

‘I could find I like it, but probably when I’m 21’ she thought but to Vince she gave him a small shrug. “I guess I could...”she said with a small nod. “Promise me that you won’t let me do anything stupid if I’m a lightweight?”she asked as she put her back against the wall so she could see anything coming at her.

Audrey

Excited for something to do, and another party, Audrey arrived at the beach house ready to celebrate the guest of honor. Having grabbed a small gift, she carried it inside as she looked around to see all who was already there. She recognized faces and waved at a couple girls on the squad before moving further in the party. She surveyed the area, looking for a place to drop the gift, placing it on a table and then making her way towards where the drinks were held, she was ready to get started, and catch up to some of the patrons. Looking over the alochol bottles, she contemplated on what to choose for the first drink of the evening.

Vince

"I promise that I will not let you do anything too ridiculous and that after you've hit tipsy/buzzed, I'll switch you over to something that has barely any alcohol or maybe just orange juice. Did you eat before you came here?" he asked, unconcerned but still caring. He knew that there was a very low chance that Rachel Berry of all people would let herself go completely but he would look after her, nonetheless.

Rachel

Rachel bit her lip, her eyes going slightly large. "I ate lunch...is that bad?" she asked looking over at him. "I told you, I'm not good at this."

Quinn

Quinn eventually arrived after sliding away from her parents' overbearing questions. With the card she had grabbed with an Xbox game card tucked securely inside for Puck, she slid it onto the table where she saw the gifts already towering for the guest of honor. Letting her eyes glance around the room, her eyes landed on Sam, but decided against going that route and risk creating a scene. Instead, her eyes landed on a familiar looking girl from Santana's dance team over at the drink table. Quinn strode over to the table and perused the drink selection before grabbing one of the pink wine coolers. "Audrey, right?" she asked the girl.

Puck

Puck was sitting there when someone else had walked up on him. Turning to her, phone in hand, the screen was lit up with all of the text messages from his dad. "No crying here. I'm just trying to calm my anger down before I go back in there." Sighing, he showed her his phone. "He wants me to come home, and to top it off, he forgot my birthday again."

Marley

"Come on Rach, I know where the kitchen is," he said, nodding at Brody as he hooked his arm in Rachel's and led them to the kitchen, pulling open the fridge and looking for something easy she could eat. "Whatcha hungry for? And do not tell me that you're not hungry because you're gonna get sick if you don't eat and I'm not having you puke at your first real party, especially because you're probably gonna have more to drink before the night is through."

Rachel

Rachel put her gift to Noah, the newest leather jacket from her Daddy's collection on the gift table as Vincent led her towards the kitchen, looking into the fridge with him. "I don't really know the answer to that" she said, looking over at him with a smile. "What would you suggest, Oh great party drinker" she teased with a laugh

Santana

Pushing Puck's Phone down Santana took a hold on it before tucking it into one of the pockets of her jacket. "You're not going anywhere." Quirking a brown before resting her hands on his shoulders. "You're going to stay here. With me. Your mom knows where you are, and all of us. All those people in there, they didn't forget that today's your day." Her thumb brushed against his skin before shaking him a bit. "You're way too sober to be dealing with him right now." Her hips connected with his. Standing on her toes she kissed him quickly, almost chastely compared to how she usually kissed him. "And now you're not going to have to deal with him for the rest of the night because I'm keeping your phone."

Vince

"I would suggest the dreaded food of any dancer, carbs. Carbs suck up alcohol and you'll feel a hell of a lot better. " He grabbed a few bagels off the top of the fridge and spread cream cheese over them, handing them over to her and then sitting on top of the counter. "So, big question there for you Rachel Berry. What made you decide to come to Noah Puckerman's birthday party, with a present no less?"

Rachel

Rachel took the bagels from him with a thank you before pulling herself up and sitting next to him on the counter. She took a bite of the bagel, before covering her mouth, a small cough coming out as she almost choked on the food. "D..do I need a reason?" she asked after she had swallowed.

Puck

"I wasn't planning on leaving though, babe." A sigh fell from his lips as he stood there looking at her. "You're good to me, you know that?" He put his hamds on her waist, closing the distance between them. "I don't think I'm in much of a mood to drink right now though."

Vince

"I don't think you're someone who comes to a party like this where you know things are going to be raucous with people you probably don't love unless you have a reason to be here. So what brought you here? And don't tell me it was just to see my silly mug. I want the truth," he finished, leaning back and watching her squirm slightly. He had his own secrets after all; he could tell when people had theirs and he definitely could tell if someone nearly spat out their food.

Rachel

"Maybe you're just a draw for me?" she asked, looking down at the bagel in her hand, hoping he couldn't see how red her cheeks felt they were getting. "And maybe I wanted to be where the raucous are."

Santana

"Good. Not like I was going to let you." Still rubbing her thumb against his skin she smiled a bit at his compliment. "Yeah well who else is going to deal with you when you're like this." She angled her head so that she could look into his eyes. "What? You afraid you can't keep up with my drinking?" Santana challenged him a bit as she still pressed hr body against him. "I mean I get it, you already did admit that I was a bigger badass than you were so it's only right that I can drink you under the table."

Vince

"If I'm the draw, you would be looking at me Rachel. So what, you got a crush on Puck or something? You wouldn't be the first girl, you know that right? Though I wouldn't go up against Santana for the world so there's that," he said, mostly trying to protect her though some part of him didn't quite see that fitting together. Then again, good girls did seem to love the former player before Santana made it something of a bad choice. Still, he definitely didn't believe that she wanted to be where the raucous was. "Yeah, I can see it. You're a party animal."

Rachel

Rachel couldn't help the face of disgust she made, pretending to puke at the idea of it. "Contrary to whatever Noah thinks about making good girls go bad, I do not have a crush on him" she looked over at him, taking another bite of her bagel, chewing it carefully as she thought about it. "I'd much rather talk to you then pretty much everyone at this party...so...and I may not be the most party animal of them all...but I'm not some stick in the mud either..."

Puck

"True. I'm just lucky that way," Puck said. When she challenged him, his gripped tightened on her waist. "Are you challenging me? Are you just wanting to get me completely wasted?" Brown eyes looked into hers as the water crashed against the shore.

Sam

“You know, Marley, I did actually do something different with my hair. I’m using new product in it, I’m so glad you noticed, at least someone did” Sam said, running his fingers through his blonde hair before his laughter gave him away. “So what'd you get Puck for his birthday because I got him an xbox controller and my amazing friendship as back up” He asked, glancing around the room until he saw Quinn talking to Audrey. He felt the familiar pang in his chest but decided that he needed to be optimistic, so he forced back a smile.

Vince

"Wow, that was pretty definite!" Vince laughed, both surprised and amused. After all, he'd spent most of his time in middle school with most of the girls they knew fawning over Puck. Still, the answer hardly explained what Rachel was doing here. "Then what made you show up and with a present no less. I didn't even really get him a present, I just brought the alcohol and made the mixed drinks. So, as far as I see it, you're not really here because you want to get trashed like most people here and you're not here cause you like him so that still leaves the question open."

Audrey

Audrey had settled on a drink and began pouring it into a red plastic cup as she heard someone come up next to her and she smiled, looking over as she heard a voice. "Yep, that's me." She looked at the blonde next to her and spoke again. "Quinn, right?" She recognized her as the captain of the Cheerios, and definitely saw her around school. Noticing what she had grabbed to drink, she looked towards it. "Are those things good?"

Santana

"Mhmm, real lucky," Santana smiled. Biting her lip as she felt his hands against her she didn't try to stop him. As romantic as the moment was she still bore in mind the countless people who had come to celebrate him. "Maybe both," she shrugged. "If not you can just enjoy your party. Forget about everything else. Just focus on me... and everyone here for you."

Rachel

Rachel sighed and put her bagel aside and looked around for a moment. "You can't exactly say anything..." she said before she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Noah and I are friends, we have been since I was 12 and a kid was messing with me at temple when I first got here...So of course I had to come...but being friends with me is a little embarrassing for him so we just...don't talk about it"

Marley

Marley had gotten Puck something she considered silly, but figured he might like. "I didn't really know what he would want so I got him tickets to a Dallas game and a gift card and reservations at a pretty nice restaurant there so he and San could have like a getaway outside of Dillon. I know, I'm not the best with gifts. Plus, it's not like Puck really needs anything. Oh and I got him a book, The Outsiders actually. I don't know if he'll like it or anything, but I just wrote a note in it for him about how I see him in a lot of the characters in certain ways, you know," she rambled a bit, watching as his eyes went to scan for Quinn. "So, I saw you at Burning Boat talking with someone new. Want to spill the details," Marley said, bumping him lightly in an attempt to distract him.Vince cocked his head, a little surprised even if his face didn't show it. "Well, don't worry about me telling. I'm pretty good at keeping secrets. And since I got an answer to my question, I'll give you one that you get to ask me," he offered, taking another sip of his drink and pulling out a bagel for himself, not that he was particularly hungry, but he didn't need to be getting trashed either, especially when he'd have to head home soon.

Rachel

Rachel thought for a moment before leaning in again, not wanting to ask anything too personal out loud. "What are your consequences?" she asked before leaning back and taking another bite of her bagel.

Sam

“Wait, you got him tickets to a Dallas game and a reservation at a restaurant?” Sam asked with the raise of his brow since those were some pretty amazing gifts, “Yeah you’re totally right, Marley, you suck at gifts” He said sarcastically as he shook his head. “You might actually be the best gift giver in the world. Those are pretty thoughtful and great gifts, Puck’s pretty lucky to have you as a friend” He added. “Just making new friends, it’s nothing” Sam said with the shrug of his shoulders, “Why, jealous I might replace her as my new best friend and buy her amazing burritos instead of you?”

Vince

"Consequences?" Vince asked Rachel, deliberately missing the point though he was sure she meant something along lines which would, if he wasn't careful, end up back at Maggie.

Rachel

Rachel raised an eyebrow as she looked over at him. "You said you can't do too much because you have consequences so what are they?"January 21, 2018

Marley

"Okay, but those aren't like personal gifts and I had to make them good because they were for him and Santana so they had to work for both of them, even though I think San might be a little pissed that she has to go to a Cowboys game," she laughed, shaking her head at herself. She'd, of course, second guessed herself the whole way through. She also hoped that San would understand the presents were kind of supposed to be for both of them, other than the Outsiders. "For the record, I'd have a better idea what to get if I was shopping for you." She already had what she would get Sam picked out, maybe not a football game, but in her opinion something way better. And maybe she was a little worried about Bella and the friendship she was developing with Sam, but she couldn't exactly tell him why or risk sounding as petty as she probably was being. "Maybe? Who knows, you might decide to pick a best friend who's better dressed."Vince thought a moment, biting his lip before he could respond. "I...made some stupid decisions a year back, ran off with a girl I loved. It seemed right at the time, you know. I was in love and she was in love and my family didn't really like her but I sure as hell didn't care. Things went south though, as they do, and I came home with a broken heart having to mend fences with my family. Let's just say that I grew up a little quicker for my time on my own, enough that all this, the parties and whatnot don't fill me with the excitement they once did.."

Rachel

Rachel nodded slowly as she listened to him talk. She put her hand on his leg and gave it a small reassuring squeeze. "You know, this is the part in any big musical where I would sing you a song about her not being worth it and that your heart will mend" she said giving him a big smile. "Thank you...for telling me. Your secret is safe with me" she said holding up her pinky to him.

Sam

“Uh those are definitely personal gifts, I mean we live in Texas, you get arrested if you don’t cheer for the Cowboys. He’s gonna really love it, I can already tell. And I think Santana will appreciate it too in her own way” Sam said with a smile. “Well now I’m kinda sad my birthday isn’t coming up soon since I kinda wanna know what you’d get me” He was sure it’d be absolutely perfect for him, Marley had always been very thoughtful and it was one trait he really did love about it. “Considering I pronounced Chanel as channel at first, I also don’t have a clue about fashion. I can’t keep up with the brands and stuff, I can however keep up with your sense of style, it’s much more my speed. Plus you'd never judge me for my plaid.”

Vince

"If this were a musical, I'd believe you and I'm sure it'd cheer me up," he winked, a wry smile returning to his face as he wrapped his pinky around hers and gave it a small squeeze in return. "And since that's a pinky promise, I'm holding you to that," he added. In the moment, he almost wanted to tell her about Maggie, but there were too many people around and this wasn't that night.

Rachel

"Break a pinky promise? Me?" she asked putting her hand to her chest in shock. "That's just plain wrong"

Marley

"Why do you think I got it for him? I mean Texas forever right? I mean I could have gotten him something for Houston, but between the two, you always go with the Cowboys, at least we do in my house.," she shrugged. She was even more excited about the book that she figured Puck probably wouldn't care about, but she still had to give it to him. It meant more to her anyway cause he was, in some ways, very much like a big brother to her. "You just wait. It might take me some time to build up the capital anyways so it's probably a good thing." She wouldn't tell him yet. She'd surprise him when the time came and what a surprise it would be. "Okay, I would never make fun of plaid cause it goes with a lot, but I don't know, she's like this cool New York girl so I just figured I'd ask if there was anything happening there.""Well, I'm glad you know the laws of pinky promises. After all, they are the most sacred of promises, " Vince laughed, hopping down from the counter and holding his hand out to help her down as well. "Shall we return to the raucous and see if our birthday boy has made his appearance yet?"

Rachel

She took his hand and jumped down squeezing his hand. "Sounds good to me...quicker I see him, the quicker I can get out of here" she said with a laugh

Vince

"Oh, so you're looking to bouce quickly then I see. Not that I can blame you," he said, checking his phone quickly to see if there were any messages from his parents telling him something, anything about Maggie, "I'm probably going to head out fairly early myself."

Rachel

"I mean, once I say hi to Noah who else could keep me here?" she asked looking up at him. "Especially if you're leaving too"

Vince

"You never know, you could choose to stay here and see how things go down especially once the alcohol has everyone's inhibitions nice and loose. After all, it's like a case study, fun to observe and usually, if you're into that kind of thing, more fun to participate in."

Rachel

"Let me think...A bunch of kids who hate me, drunk with no inhibitions and me, not exactly the most fightiest of people...I think I will pass" she said with a laugh

Vince

"Or you could get drunk yourself and turn into a wildcat or something and take them all out, who knows? Maybe drunk Rachel is like an MMA fighter," Vincent joked. Of course, he knew enough to know what he was like drunk and he didn't care to get past his chill phase, not at this party anyways.

Sam

“Yeah, Texas forever…” Sam said before leaning in closer to Marley as if to tell her a secret, “I’m a Titans fan, don’t tell anyone or else your dad might murder me” He had come from Tennessee and his dad was still a Titans fan which meant he also was a Titans fan despite now living in Texas. “Don’t waste your money on me, Marley, I’d be pretty happy if you just sang to me or gave me a birthday card, I’m pretty easy like that” Sam said with a smirk even though he knew Marley wouldn’t listen to him about it. “Yeah, she is pretty cool, a lot cooler than a lot of the other girls I’ve met but we’re just friends. Is this because Quinn wants to know or?” He asked, though it might have been wishful thinking on his part. In reality it seemed like Quinn didn’t care very much, and had even encouraged him dating other people, but Sam was hoping it’d be a sign that maybe Quinn still cared about him enough to even be jealous.

Rachel

"I would love to be able to watch that from the sidelines" she said with a laugh. "How about this, I promise to someday unleash my MMA fighter if you promise to be here to protect me when it happens" she said grabbing a bottle of water to sip from

Marley

"Don't worry Sam, I kind of figured that you probably weren't a Cowboys nut, but that's okay because my Dad still loves Notre Dame more than any other team to ever play football and that's saying something. Once again though, that's not something we ever admit here in Texas where there's Texas A&M and University of Texas and Baylor to worry over," she whispered in return with a grin. "I mean of course I'm going to sing you a birthday song, that's obvious but you're also going to at least get a Marvel blanket and something else of my own devising," she returned. She knew Sam would love whatever he got; he was awesome that way, but that just made her more determined to get him something good, hopefully something he could share with Quinn if they ever got back together. She wanted to be able to tell him that Quinn had been the one to ask her, that it hadn't been her own jealousy, but she shook her head. "Quinn totally wouldn't ask me cause she knows I'd just spill to you. She probably has other people on the cheer squad to dig into stuff like that.""Protect you or protect them? I mean come on Rachel, you may be tiny, but I'm betting you could do some damage if you felt so inclined. In that case I'd just want to film the whole thing and watch you wreck shop....but I promise I'll be there if shit gets real," he laughed.

Rachel

Rachel couldn't help but laugh, her head falling forward as she did so. "I think you're going to be trouble for me Mr." she said with a grin up at him. "I'm tiny but mighty" she said doing her best Wonder Woman pose

Quinn

Quinn nodded as the brunette next to her questioned her identity. "Yeah, that's me," she confirmed. "These?" she asked, motioning to her drink, "These are great. They're cotton candy flavored wine coolers, so it's like you get the taste of the alcohol, but hopefully without the annoying drunken hangover since the alcohol content is a lot lower," she explained. In a swift movement, she popped the cap off the glass bottle and took a tiny swig of the beverage, letting the cool taste of the alcohol run down her throat. "What's your drink of choice tonight?" she questioned, pointing towards the red solo cup Audrey had.

Vince

"I've never been trouble for anyone...you know, unless you count my parents and my friends and such and maybe a few teachers here and there when I was younger," he quipped. He gave her a grin as she showed him her pose, the tightness seeming to loosen if ever so slightly. "Like Mighty Mouse?"

Rachel

Her mouth opened into a perfect 'o' of shock when he said she looked like Mighty Mouse. "That is the absolute rudest thing you have ever said to me" she said slapping his arm lightly, a smile already forming on her lips

Sam

“Wait your dad’s a Notre Dame fan over any other team? I never would have guessed, but now I have the perfect gift to get him for Christmas” Sam said with a smirk. He knew how crazy everyone was abotu Texas but it was nice to know even the most hardcore fans had other teams too. Alright, I would definitely love a Marvel blanket but I’m not gonna tell you which character I would want one of so that’s all you” he teased. Marley knew him better than he sometimes knew himself so he would never worry about her getting him something he didn’t like. “Yeah… or she doesn’t care at all, that’s a possibility I guess” Sam said with a shrug, “I mean what even is a break anyways, that’s just a break up, but a nice way to break up with someone or something, right?”

Vince

"Well isn't that like Mighty Mouse's catch phrase? I'm not saying you look like Mighty Mouse, just that you have similar catch phrases. I guess you could be a different hero if you'd prefer. I don't know maybe you're like a singer by day, spy by night. I'm not sure," he said, lifting his arms in the air, a pose of mock surrender.

Rachel

"I don't know, but I guess I'll let you slide tonight...out of the kindness of my heart" she teased before taking a drink from her water. "But don't let it happen again or I'll be mad faced and that can cause premature wrinkles that no one needs or wants on their ingenue.

Audrey

Audrey nodded along, an amused smile on her face, wondering if she should ditch her cup and grab one of the drinks Quinn talked about instead. "That sounds good, but I mean also could be dangerous being so sweet. If you drink too many." She looked at her cup before answering Quinn's question. "For now, vodka, and I was searching for something to add to it. Probably some juice or something. " She took her eyes off Quinn for a quick second to search around. Settling on something to add to her drink she turned back to her company. "So, did you just get here too, or have you already been around enjoying yourself?"

Bella

Bella arrived like a Del La Rosa would-- late. But with a purpose. So everyone could see that they in fact finally made it, and they made it wearing their label best. And in tonight's case, Bella's label read Yves Saint Laurent. She was stunning, but alone, which wasn't such a bad pay off until she saw the only person she really knew was already in deep conversation with someone else. So she waltz right on over to the makeshift bar to get herself a drink. It was there that she saw two familiar faces. They were in the middle of a conversation as well so Bella stayed quiet and assessed the drink situation. It took her a couple of minutes but she managed to have made a cranberry mojito without the mint.

Marley

"I told you, he's all about the classic football and you don't get much more classic than old school Notre Dame. Hell, he still has old sweatshirts in his closet though he doesn't really usually wear them anywhere but around the house when it gets colder around here which isn't really that often. If you come over during Christmastime though, you might see one," she chuckled. "Like you think I wouldn't get you one with a bunch of them. I might get you one of those that ties at the ends and then have one side be Marvel and one side be DC so you can switch to how you're feeling depending on the day." Even the most Marvel of guys could have DC days after all. Seeing Sam's mood start to fall though, she put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "I'm sure she cares Sam. You don't just turn off caring for someone. She's just not really able to show it great right now . That doesn't mean that she doesn't give a shit.""I'm sure that you could figure out something to keep the wrinkles away seeing as you've been preparing to be an actress your entire life, did I get that right?" he shot back playfully, reaching over to the bar and pouring himself another drink, this one much less potent than the first, though none of the guys he knew here needed to know that. In fact, a few of them passed him and gave him high fives before he came back to Rachel. "Sorry."

Rachel

Rachel watched him, and watched the way people interacted with him. People really liked Vince, not that could blame them at all, and it made her happy because Rachel was sure she saw a bit of an underlying sadness in him. "It's okay" she said when he came back over. "I have been prepping forever so you did indeed get it right...and you want to be a mechanic?"

Sam

“Alright, maybe if I show up in a Notre Dame sweatshirt he’ll know that I know his secret, could be a rpetty amazing plan if you ask me” Sam said with a small laugh. Truthfully, Sam looked up to his coach so he was always amazed at knowing more about him. “In that case, I’ll see you at your house on Christmas, I’m pretty sure my mom will have a fruit cake for your parents anyways” Sam added. “Okay that blanket actually sounds pretty amazing and now I wish it was my birthday already. Plus some days I’m feeling like Batman and other days I’m feeling like Captain America so that’s a pretty good idea.” Sam didn’t want to talk about his relationship, it was still pretty fresh and as frustrated as he was by it, he knew the best thing to do was play it cool and give Quinn her space to grow. “And I care about her but I get it, the timing isn’t right. It’s fine, I’m fine” Sam said with a shrug, “Gives me more time to plan your birthday gift now" he said, wiggling his eyebrows and bringing up something else if only to drift away from his sad love life.

Vince

"I'm going to be a mechanic," Vince responded with a shrug. "Here taste this. It's cotton candy so it should taste pretty good, plus it's not got the highest alcohol content," he handed her the drink. It was a hard question, whether he wanted to be a mechanic or not. He was good at it and he'd done it for most of his life. He'd never really thought of anything he'd do outside of it, but was it what he wanted, he wasn't sure.

Puck

Puck laughed a bit at Santana's words. Nodding, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I can definitely focus on you. You and that dress. You in that dress. You out of that dress." A smirk appeared on his lips before a sigh fell from his lips. "I guess I need to go in, don't I?"

Rachel

She took the drink from him, taking a sip before nodding appreciatively. "This is pretty good" she agreed, taking a bigger drink. "Well...you know you're still young...you could anything you put your mind to?"

Marley

"You won't even need to say anything because it'll just be an unspoken signal that you know," Marley agreed, nodding as the smile spread even wider on her face. "And, of course, your family would be totally allowed to come over any time for the holidays, though I'm sure you guys probably have plans for Christmas and stuff anyways. Still, you're always welcome," she added. "See? It's gonna be the best blanket ever. I might make one for myself so I can have my own Marvel and DC days. Then we can tie them around us and wear them as capes when we start our own superhero team." She looked over to Quinn and patted Sam's arm lightly. "My birthday is like a whole year away so you have a lot of time for that. It's pretty chill though cause I still have to work on Christmas for you too.""You can have that one if you want and I can go get another," he answered, leaving it to her before going to get another for himself. "I've always known what I was going to do. I mean my dad runs the shop so if I don't take it over then no one will and I definitely don't want it to go to someone else."

Rachel

Rachel nodded slowly as she picked at the label on the drink. "I guess I get that...My Daddy always tells me that I can run his company and work on stage too" she said with a nod. She leaned against the wall again and looked over at him. "But if that wasn't a thing...if the world was perfect and you could do whatever you wanted....what would that be?"

Sam

“Yeah I’m sure my parents are gonna invite yours to play Scrabble with us, even though I hate that game so feel free to decline when it happens. Or feel free to suggest Pictionary instead because I’m totally amazing at the one” Sam said with a small smile. “We’re gonna have matching blankets, I can already hear Stevie and Stacie’s jealousy over this” he added with a laugh. “Christmas is even easier, just get me Christmas cookies and I’ll be the happiest guy in the world. Or just put a bow on yourself and sit under my Christmas tree, whichever is easier" Sam had never been very materialistic to begin with, and he felt like Marley was probably one person who understood that being around people who cared about you during the holidays beat any gift you could ever get.

Brody

Brody nodded his head at Vince, at least he had seen someone he got along with. He took another sip from his drink. Maybe if he just walked around a little, having a drink or two, he could get his head in the game and be somewhat social, but at least he wasn't drinking alone. He grabbed another beer before he left the drink table, trying to figure out where to go, a sigh left his lips tipping the can back, taking a drink again.

Blaine

Blaine held his drink in his hand. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. Parties were still not quite his thing. He had only had half of what was in his cup. Getting drunk didn't even interest him at this point. He could look for his friends around there. To be honest, Puck scared him a little bit and he made sure not to do anything to piss him off. Maybe a bit more to drink would relax him, though.

Santana

“Maybe if you get lucky you can see me out of the dress again tonight.” Santana already counted on being the last person around just to lock up and help clean. “You’re cooling off.” She shrugged before leaning in closer. “Five seconds. Then we both have to go back in. I’m supposed to be busy getting drunk with the rest of the girls and doing body shots til I can’t see.” Santana also took a breath, the sound of the waves actually helping to calm her some. “One.” She leaned in kissing his lips softly. “Two.” She went to the side of his mouth with a slight smile on her lips. “Three.” Leaning down to his jawline she was sure that maybe one mark of her lipstick would stay on his skin. “Four.” Her long nails dragged against his covered chest possibly even passing over the marks she had left on his body earlier. Pausing she leaned back to look at him in his eyes. Pulling him closer she kissed him the way he deserved. Slow and deliberate she kissed him enough to make sure he only focused on her for the moment. Her tongue moving in sync with his, before she pulled away still giving him quick kisses as if to tell him there could be more to come. “Now we have to go inside. You can hang with the guys and after I’m all yours.” She felt another buzz in her pocket before narrowing her eyes. “And if any hoes text your phone you should find a way to tell them that I have it on me and I’m not really looking to smack a bitch tonight.”

Puck

"Well, if you get so drunk you can't see, I'll be there to take care of you," Puck said, moving to brush some hair away from her face. "But I guess I can do five more seconds." Nodding, he let out a breath through his nose before she started counting. WIth Santana's actions, he felt a slight sting on his chest from her nails moving over the marks again. When she kissed him though, Puck melted against her, hands moving to rest on the small of her back. He stood there lips still parted slightly as she spoke again. "You better be all mine," he said, hands moving to cup her ass. Puck pulled her hips closer to his as she spoke again. "Here," he said after a few moments. Hands let go of her before he fished for his phone, pulling it out. Turning it off, he placed it back in her pocket. "Alright, come on." Taking her hand, he led her towards the side entrance, the sound of the waves still calming him.

Santana

"Smart man, Puckerman," she still narrowed her eyes knowing that he had mostly turned off his phone for his benefit than hers. Sliding her hand in his she gave it a small squeeze, not even completely acknowledging what had happened outside. "I won't get too drunk," she promised as they stepped into the house. "Go hang out with the guys, say hi to people and I'll see you at the end of the night." She doubted that it would honestly be until then, but she still wanted him to feel like he had the freedom to enjoy a party even while they were in a relationship. "If I need you to hold my hair back i'll come find you," she joked before kissing his cheek. "Happy birthday, babe."

Puck

"Alright, alright," he said, looking over at Santana. "I'll try and fun. Maybe not as much fun as we had earlier, but I'll try and get out of my head." Nodding, Puck smiled at her before leaning in close to her. "Thanks, babe." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips before he slowly walked away from her. Taking a deep breath, eyes searched for the alcohol. To get him out of his head, alcohol definitely needed to be involved. Feet carried him towards the bar before he mixed his own drink, leaning up against the bar.

Santana

Giving Puck space Santana still smiled as she walked towards a table with beer. As much as she liked the harder stuff and even mixed drinks this was the drink closest to her. Not to mention that Puck was probably right in thinking maybe she should slow down on the drinking. Nearly running into Brody as she came to the table she rolled hr eyes, already defensive. "You know if you're going to sit here and nurse a drink or babysit the table you can at least pass me one." She wasn't as snarky as she could have been honestly giving a weak attempt at being civil for Marley's sake.

Brody

Brody had been nursing his drink. It might not have been the best idea to actually come but he was here, so he should try and enjoy himself. He let out a small breath, "I'm not babysitting the table," he replied, he wasn't going to get into a fight the first thing he did, they were here to have fun. "Sure, I'll get you one, what do you want?" he wasn't going to risk giving her something that she didn't want.

Santana

“Sure does seem like it.” She gave Brody a quick once over before shrugging. “I’m not being picky tonight, the goal is to not get as trashed as last time.” She gave him a tight look almost as if telling him what they had talked about the last time she had been hungover. “I’m actually surprised you’re here. Do you even talk to Puck? Or anyone on the football team since you’re so hellbent on not trying to be one?”

Brody

"I can't babysit a table," he replied, "if it's anything, it's table-sitting," he raised an eyebrow looking at her, "Okay, so a jungle juice with more juice than alcohol," Brody said, he stood up mixing a drink, "hopefully this good enough," he said handing her the drink. Their last conversation hadn't been pretty, it might have been the worst one to date. "Sawyer's around here somewhere," he replied, "and I didn't want to be at home so this seemed to be the place to be." He took a sip from his drink, "I talked to Sam at the last party, and some other guys." Brody let out a breath, "and here I thought that we were going to have a somewhat nice talk. Why I'm not on the football team is not a nice conversation."

Santana

“Don’t get technical. It’s not cute.” Not even bothering to put up a fight about the drink no matter what it was she just took the cup. “I know every other bimbo around here loves getting loose off this juice but I’m more of a tequila girl.” Still to probe a point she took a long sip of the red liquid. “Any party I decide to throw or help throw is the place to be.” Santana didn’t even try to hide how smug she actually was. “Oh please, it’s not like everyone here doesn’t know your story. You joined basketball and went against everything daddy wanted and now you mope about the fact that daddy wants you to join a team anyone would be happy to be a part of. The whole story isn’t as tragic as you make it out to be.”

Brody

"You can be honest with me, it's not cute because I was the one saying it," he said, looking at her. "Okay, the I know for your next drink," he said, "but you said you didn't want to get as drunk as last time, and tequila and straight up vodka will get you drunk," Brody said, looking around, trying to see if he could spot his sister, he was going to let her have fun, but it didn't hurt to make sure she didn't get too drunk. "I guess so, I don't really think about who throws what party," he said with a shrug, "They know the short version," he said leaning back, "and I'm sure he'd be fine with me not playing football, or at least okay with it if it was another sport like baseball or lacrosse," he said. "I know it's not a Shakespearean tragedy." He wasn't going to get into the details, "and if you want the long story and the details you gotta get me drunk."

Santana

"Well now that you mention it," she nodded now that he had mentioned how she didn't think he wasn't cute. "Next drink? You planning on being my bartender tonight Weston?" She still didn't call him any other slur of nicknames she had prepared and even called him before. "Trust me, even if you think you don't think of who's throwing the party I doubt you'd be at some jazz ensemble get together and say that it was a hit." Sh shifted her weight to one side having put her heels back on. "What makes you think I want to see you drunk." Still she took another long sip before passing the empty cup back to him pretty much encouraging him to keep up with her.

Vince

"That seems like a lot, " Vince said with a questioning look, but he nodded. If anyone could pull of acting and running a country, it would be Rachel Berry. "I don't know," Vince murmured. To be honest, Vince had never even really considered doing anything else except for the short period of time when when he'd been with Kasey. "I...um...I play music a bit so I guess that would be my pipe dream but like I said, that's a pipe dream."

Rachel

"You...You do music and you weren't going to tell me?" she asked, shock on her features. "I may be genuinely hurt by this" she said raising an eyebrow at him. "When are you going to play something for me?"

Marley

"I happen to love Scrabble because I'm rather good with my words so you can be on my team with me and we will win, don't you worry," Marley nodded, her eyes shining with a semblance of competitive desire, though nothing compared to some. "I'd be fine with Pictionary too though especially if Stevie and Stacie are part of it. Then, at Christmas, I can make Stevie and Stacie blankets like ours and all four of us can match and fight crime. And you can wear your blanket while you eat your cookies." Marley smiled broadly. She knew that whatever they got each other, they'd both love it. It was one of the great parts of her best friend, he always knew how to make her smile."I don't really play in front of audiences," he responded quickly; it wasn't exactly true. He played in front of Maggie of course, writing her songs to help her sleep. He' d played a few dive bars in his time too, but the people there were almost always drunk and they didn't really care one way or another how he played.

Rachel

"I'm not an audience, I'm just a Rachel" she said looking up at him. "If you think I would ridicule you or be rude or mean....I promise I wouldn't"

Vince

"Less that I think you would be mean Rachel, just that I don't think there's anything to listen to." His hand went to the back of his neck and he looked down sheepishly.

Rachel

"I highly doubt that" she said softly, her hand going over to lift his chin. "You know, I'm a pretty good judge of talent, and I don't think you could be bad at something if you tried"

Vince

"I think you give me too much faith without having a lot to go on," Vince joked impishly.

Rachel

"I think you need someone to have faith in you" she murmured

Vince

"Well, thank you for having faith in me Rach. I think of us two though, you might be the performer and I'll happily be the mechanic."

Rachel

She bit her lip and shrugged letting her hand fall back to her side. "Maybe I should be a mechanic?"

Vince

"I'm sure you'd be a kick ass mechanic. You could rock those coveralls," he laughed, touching her shoulder lightly.

Rachel

She looked up at him and laughed. "I think I would ruin more cars then I would fix"

Quin

"True," Quinn shrugged as Audrey's statement processed in her mind. "Honestly though, I never really drink much so I've never really been too worried about having too many of these," she explained. Watching as the brunette girl selected something to mix into her vodka, she nodded in approval, "Yeah, I would mix something in with it too. Vodka is just too strong for me to handle it on it's own. Anyways, yeah, I arrived not too long ago. I just figured this party is better to handle with a little alcohol in my system." Then out of her peripheral vision, Quinn saw a raven haired girl come up and start making herself a drink. "Bella, right?"

Audrey

"That's good, avoid the really bad hangovers." Audrey smiled as she swirled her drink around and took a sip to make sure it had enough alcohol to juice ratio for her liking. She licked her lips and nodded. "Yeah, I'm not at the alcholic level that just drinks vodka over ice by the glass." She cocked her head a little to the side at Quinn's statement, prying a little. "Something happen that's got you needing a little liquid courage?" Her vision followed Quinn's towards the girl she recognized making a drink. "Hey." She echoed after Quinn, knowing her a bit from around school.

Brody

"You know I can take it," he replied, "and how fun would it be if we all thought that everyone was cute, or the same people, it would be boring," he said, a laugh left his lips, "I'm not planning on it," he said, "but if it helps me keeping an eye on how much my sister drinks sure, maybe I'll be everyone's bartender tonight." It was a surprise that they hadn't said anything too bad yet, and it was actually kinda nice not fighting, but he was sure that it would be weird if they actually got along. "Yeah, I didn't even know we had one of those, so I guess I just end up at parties where the people with certain status throws." He leaned back taking another sip. "I don't know, maybe I'll be even more honest when I'm drunk," he said, "or maybe you'll like me better when I'm drunk," he said, "so another one?" he asked, "maybe some tequila," he suggested pouring a couple of shoots, sliding one over to her. "Bottoms up."

Santana

"Oh, you can think my man is cute all you want but the second you try to do something about it is the minute I actually step in and rain on just about anyone's tiny little parade." She faked a tight smile to prove a point but wasn't worried about Brody or even Puck doing anything t damage their relationship. In fact she hadn't even looked over her shoulder in search for him just knowing that he was fine. "No one likes the helicopter sibling," she rolled her eyes. "Trust me, my sister's already tried it and failed. If your sister's going to do something stupid she's going to do it whether you're around or not so you might as well stop being a stick in the mud and actually pretend like you're having a good time." Taking the shot glass she knit her eyebrows together wondering if she was actually being civil towards Brody. The thought confusing her even as she slowly took her shot. Swallowing down and cringing some she wasn't sure if it was the shot or the thought that she was actually not fighting with Brody that left a strange taste in her mouth. Shrugging off her emotions she held up the empty glass. "And that's exactly why you come to parties with people of a certain status. Whether you like to admit it or not, Weston, you're in it. The whole social pyramid of high school. You're not down at the bottom no matter how much I hate the fact that you're not. None of us around here is all that different." She turned and already saw the people who were out of place. "Well, besides the obvious losers that are here just because they crawled out of obscurity. But, no matter how many drinks I have. I doubt that I'll like you any more than the loser in the corner so you can stop hoping that I will."

Brody

"Okay first of all, I never said that your man is cute," he began, looking at her, "and just so you know I won't take a step in that direction, but I'm sure there are some people around here that's stupid enough to try." He let his head fall forward, of course he already knew that but that didn't mean he could at least try and make sure that nothing too bad happened to her. "I get that, but I'm just keeping an eye on her, she get to have her fun but I still gonna have an eye on her. Sure I can try and have some fun," he replied. This whole conversation felt like an alternative reality, he needed to get back to his own reality, because this felt fake, they never got along, the only thing they ever agreed on was that they wouldn't agree on anything. "I know that," he grumbled, "but I don't like it, and maybe I should try and make it fall," he laughed. "And I'm sure you don't hate it that much you love to fight me too much to have me on the bottom," he replied taking his shot. "You do know why they're here right?" he asked looking at her, "everyone and their mother got a hand on that flyer of yours." He shook his head, "and who said I was hoping that you'd start to like me?" he asked, "another shot?"

Santana

Now looking around her she saw girls in horrible outfits who quite possibly would have flirted with Puck. For now she wasn't worried. "Yeah there might be some morons willing to try to go toe to toe with me, but I'm not worried. He won't do anything." The confidence she had in her relationship then, especially after her moment with Puck outside couldn't be shot down by some desperate girl who couldn't scrounge pennies to get him an actual gift. "Try and make it fall?" She scoffed at the thought. "Who are you kidding? This isn't high school musical where everyone sings we're all in this together at the end. Things are the way they are for a reason and one person or even a few isn't going to lead us all to sit around braiding each other's hair and reenacting Woodstock." The thought of everyone getting along made her stomach churn more than the alcohol in her system. "People aren't meant to all get along and live in John Lennon's version of the world. So you can go ahead and try but just know if there's one thing it's that I'm always going to be on top." She meant the euphemism but let it hang there before she could even back track. "So what you're saying is that aside from your sis that I should be expecting your mommy to drop by too. How cute. You all can carpool home together." Lookin past him at the people behind her she scoffed again. "I guess I just wanted this to actually be something people came to because it's important to someone I care about." She raised her brows nearly leading into a comment about Marley but refraining just to save face. "Last one, before I stop wasting my time talking to someone who's trying to go full on revolutionary on the social structure, and who won't admit that you actually care about my attitude towards you. You're not fooling anyone."

Brody

"I'm not saying that he will," Brody said, holding up his hands, "and I know you know him better, but there's always someone that will try something," he huffed. "And they're probably semi new and have no idea on who they're gonna face of with." He shook his head, "maybe they believe that they're the gift or can give him something," he said, "like I said I don't know them." Brody was close to rubbing his hands over his face, he knew that he alone couldn't do anything, "I know that I can't change everything, but change always start small," he said, leaning forward over the table, "and here I thought that Coachella was the new big festival thing," he said, a laugh left his lips. "And no, my mom won't show, and before you ask my dad won't either." But then again he wouldn't be surprised if his dad did, he did after all like living in the past. "And we're not carpooling," he mumbled. Brody sighed, "I'm sure that there are people here for that reason, but they're also here for a party and have a good time." He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. "Okay, one more," he said pouring another drink, "and I'm sure people would think I'm even cooler than I am if managed to start a revolution." He threw his drink back, "look you can hate me all you want but you can always try to do it without attacking my looks. It would be fun and a challenge for you." He licked his lips, "or maybe I'm fooling everyone."

Santana

“They can try. It’ll just be embarrassing to see them fail.” Santana crossed her arms over her chest almost challenging girls who would even try her. “You trying to tell me something about some of the new girls around here?” Santana wasn’t worried about the two she had seen so far but it was actually funny to see that Brody was a bit more paranoid about new girls around than she was. “Please, Coachella is for people who like to drop E and got pissed off over Beyonce being pregnant with her twins. That’s not a true hippie event no matter how much Vanessa Hudgens tries to make the bohemian cowgirl look work.” The fact that Brody actually seemed serious about changing the way things were at school only made her question what he was really about. Before she could focus too much on that she chuckled and shook her head. “See the one who mentioned your dad that time was you,” she retorted now as if to remind him that he had mentioned that he was a sore subject. Deciding to take her time with her shot she held it in her hand. “I never said I hated you. I didn’t like you. Still don’t, but you’re going to have to stop being so sensitive about the way you look. If you don’t like the harsh truth, or if you don’t like the way something is then you can always change it.” She shrugged as if she hadn’t enhanced one part of her body. “Fooling everyone about?? Liking me? Because if that’s what you’re admitting you should know that I already know that. Everyone falls in love with me sooner or later so the sooner you accept it the better.”

Vince

"Well, you'd never know unless you tried," Vince joked.

Rachel

Rachel laughed and nodded. "That is quite true, maybe I do need to give it a shot" she said with a wink.

Brody

"And that means you'll get something fun out of it," he replied. Brody still couldn't wrap his head around this whole conversation with Santana, it was weird. They shouldn't have been getting along this well, even if it was just for a few minutes. "Not really, since I don't really know them but doesn't everyone always trying to get on top, since the hierarchy here is so important even if I don't really buy into it, it seems that most people do so, you take a guess." He shook his head, "I'm not into the whole festival thing so I'm not exactly paying attention to it. And if we're honest from what I've seen no one is actually pulling of the real cowgirl look." A breath left his lips, taking a sip from a drink, "fine, but if I hadn't I'm almost sure you would have." He placed a hand on his chest, "ah, so you do like me deep down, I knew it. And I'm not sensitive, and even if I was, isn't that what girls like, someone that's in touch with their feelings and not afraid of show it." Brody laughed, "sorry, to burst your bubble but I ain't in love with you," he pressed his lips together, "but", he looked at her, "I do have some respect for the fact that you actually never hold back and is honest."

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