Update for the week! I know everybody's busy with school, life, etc. so I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read, review, and all. I just got my class schedules, it's really gonna be a busy semester for me, and classes start next week but I'll try updating weekly 'cause I'm really liking writing this fic now. Big thanks to my constant reviewers (you know who you guys are) ;) and everyone who's reading.

The first part of this chapter follows a little after where we left off last time…that was when Santana suddenly wanted to leave after opening up about her parents' divorce. Questions, complaints, and all, don't hesitate to let me know

Chapter 5

When Brittany arrived home right after school, she almost flinched in shock as Rachel's frighteningly wide grin greeted her the instant she could open the door to their apartment.

"Jesus, Rachel! Are you trying to kill me?" the blonde said in between pants, holding her palpitating chest.

"No. But I'm willing to try anything in order for you to dish out the details of how it went between you two after my brilliant and simply generous work as a matchmaker."

Although she made a note to herself to give Rachel a word about meddling with her "romantic" business, she really wasn't in the mood to humor the brunette right now after what happened with Santana earlier. "Whatever are you talking about, Rachel." She nonchalantly said and plopped her exhausted body into their comfortable couch.

"Santana had been pestering me practically the whole day yesterday." The diva announced with exaggerated exasperation. "But how are things looking up? How many dates do you think you'll need before love finally comes into the picture?"

Annoyed, Brittany abruptly sat up and flashed Rachel a barely threatening glare. "Rachel, how many times do I have to tell you? Santana and I are not going to happen. She's nothing to me." Those words seemed to just have accidentally escaped her lips and had burn her tongue. But she's not going to take it back. It's probably for the best. "The only potential progress that we're going to have is a casual friendship, that's all."

Despite her clear intent in dismissing the matter, the resident diva only gave her a disbelieving shrug, coupled by a sneaky grin. "I doubt Santana would agree with that rather preposterous and unconvincing claim, Brittany. I, for one, thinks it is glaringly obvious how that gorgeous woman is taken with you. I don't even know the girl well, but the way she pursues you, whether or not in a romantic sense, is just so heartwarmingly impressive."

She could only roll her eyes at her loss for words. There was absolutely no winning against Rachel but Brittany wondered where Rachel, or any of her other friends if they had been told about Santana, would have stood in the matter if only she knew the whole story. "She's just – not the one I've been waiting for, Rachel." Not anymore, at least that's what she thinks now.

With a burdensome sigh, the blonde wordlessly headed to her room, depriving Rachel of the details she had demanded. She's positive there's nothing she could fish out of Brittany when the girl is intent to be suspiciously secretive. However, there's Santana who seems in dire need for some of her assistance, and assistance it is that Rachel specializes when it involves romance and a little drama. Oh, how she loves to play Cupid!

When Santana showed up again on the same spot outside her school the following day, surprisingly, it didn't take a lot of begging for Brittany to agree to another invitation of spending the short lunch time together. Maybe she just felt bad about how it ended last time. Maybe she just really wanted to get over it, have a proper, drama-free conversation with Santana, and move on. And really, secretly, Brittany was a little glad and relieved that Santana still showed up after how awkwardly their conversation had previously ended. Though if one of them was much happier with the apparent ease of the present situation, it was obviously Santana, seeing as Brittany seemed to be, even if was just gradually so, getting more comfortable and amicable around her now. The time they spent together had been significantly less awkward than the last and Brittany now finds herself casually smiling from time to time. Santana was hoping not to have to look forward to anything like the bitterness from their previous conversations, but it was astonishing how Brittany had all of a sudden seemed soft-spoken towards her as compared to the last time. Not wanting to question something so great and inadvertently find a way to ruin it, yet again, Santana could only bask in the relief of this new cordial arrangement.

Too soon for both of their liking, lunch ended and Brittany would have used it as an out to be away from Santana's presence but she remembered not having anything to do for a few hours more and had unintentionally let it slip to the hoping brunette. Santana pushed her luck and bravely decided to ask Brittany to further their time together a little to which Brittany straight off said yes, much to the brunette's relief and suggested to continue their conversation in the quiet park across the street.

Brittany was somewhat relieved to discover that Santana's personality seemed to have gotten positively better from time to time. It was as if Santana was now, once again, different from the one she had perceived of for the last few weeks. She still, however, constantly reminds herself to keep her guard up. Even with her former best friend unfolding a more likeable and tolerable personality as time goes by, and she really wanted to give her another chance, but it doesn't mean she was going to have herself displayed vulnerable to Santana again. It was almost unforgivable what the other girl made her heart feel. Almost. And she would never want to assume things, give in, and left broken again.

And since she was still curious about Santana's life for the past thirteen years, despite everything that had happened between them, she intently listened to everything Santana willingly talked about. She was being more careful with the things she asked about this time, limiting herself to small seemingly harmless questions, avoiding her mistake of opening up a very sensitive issue the last time.

"So as you know, we moved to L.A. when I was eight."

"Yeah." Brittany seemed pensive for a moment before she added, "I remember you told me back then that you're only going away to visit your abuela for a while."

Santana flinched a bit with apparent surprise in her face at Brittany's recollection, and the blonde couldn't help but worry that she might have opened up another sensitive issue again but felt relieved when the brunette went on, albeit reluctantly the blonde notices. "I don't really remember a lot about my first few years there. In fact, at first, I didn't really understand why we needed to move so far away –"

Brittany took it upon herself to fill in when the brunette seemed to pause in hesitance. "Your dad got a job as a big time surgeon there in LA, I know now, or at least that's what my mom told me when I asked her why you still hadn't come back two years after you'd left."

It was Santana's turn to look pensive and Brittany started to worry again when the brunette was being oddly quiet for a short while. Maybe Santana simply just didn't like talking about her family, she thinks, and noted to herself to avoid mentioning them for now until Santana feels comfortable about it. But the brunette seemed to have a different idea.

"Actually, Brittany, I really thought that was the only reason why we moved." She broke her silence, noticeably hesitant still, though. "I don't really like talking about this –"

Brittany cut her off, feeling sorry for now causing what seemed like a dismal mood in Santana. "Santana, it's alright. I get it. Your parents just had a divorce and it's not easy. We can talk about other stuffs that you're comfortable with. After all, this is about us getting to know each other, not other people."

Santana shook her head no, however. "I made a promise to come back for you, Brittany. So you at least have to know why I never did for so long. I think I owe you that for all the years I made you wait, don't I? I don't like talking about them, but it's you, so..." Brittany wanted to protest and insist that Santana didn't owe her anything and they should just forego with the sad memories but the brunette decided to just tough it out, "When we first moved to California, everything was so new to me. Like I said, I don't remember that much from my childhood but the first few years in a new home when I was only…crying." The brunette sighed wistfully and went on with a bitter chuckle, "I had no friends, at first. Apparently, there are a lot of much more badass kids than I was in LA."

Brittany was unsure whether or not she wanted Santana to follow through with her story. This was it. She was going to find out how Santana's life went all those years, as she had been wondering and imagining about for so many, many times before. But the look of melancholy in the brunette as she apprehensively spoke of the poignant events of her life broke Brittany's heart a little and she wasn't sure if she's able to endure.

"Back then, there was never a day that my parents didn't fight. I hated home. It's like, eventually, they stopped caring that Greg and I were there to hear their endless arguments and all that crap. It was then that I found out the real reason why we moved."

Brittany was certain that Santana's somber expression while she paused, as if to recollect more of the sadder memories, indicated an even bigger drama that the other girl had so obviously been avoiding to unveil and she wanted to assure Santana for at least one more time that it was perfectly alright to just let the subject end there, but it was as if Santana was intent in not letting her interrupt.

"My dad had an affair with another woman in Lima." Brittany's eyes widened at the revelation, almost choking on the lump forming in her throat. "Apparently, she was his first love or something back in their high school days…the one that got away and some crap like that…and was then working as a nurse in the same hospital in Lima where my dad used to work at. When my mom found out about it, she threatened him with a divorce and fight custody for us if he wouldn't agree to move far away from that place. It was really convenient that my abuela lived in LA and they kind of used her as an excuse for Greg and me to not question the sudden move."

Brittany could clearly see the gleam of sadness in Santana's eyes and she wouldn't be surprised if tears would come pouring in soon. But then she had always known how stubborn and tough Santana liked to pretend. And though she thinks that the conversation was a little premature, especially since they were still barely starting over, she couldn't help but admire Santana and her apparent determination to completely open up to Brittany and show how sincere and resolute she was with reviving their friendship.

"I was eleven when I found out about that. Greg always told me that Dad chose us over this woman who was his first love because he loved us more and he couldn't lose us. I say bullcrap, though. I was never a trusting kid even back then. Because I know there could be plenty of other reasons for him to stick with his messed up family. Like saving face, his reputation, and his precious career that he was so devoted into. Not hard to imagine since he was never home most of the time."

"Santana, if you want to stop, you totally can. I want to know you, everything about you, I've been wanting that for so long, but I'm not going to make you tell me things that would hurt you."

The wistful brunette didn't seem to hear her though. Or she simply just didn't want to stop anymore. Like letting out all of these painful memories made her heart desperately ache for relief, even if it's not Quinn, or Puck, or Greg. "Barely a year passed since we moved, mom found out that the same woman was contacting my dad again. I don't even know if he actually responded to her messages at all to have my mother so furious and depressed that she relied on alcohol for years. I was so young back then that I didn't understand what was happening. But I did see that she wasn't the same anymore. With my mother being an alcoholic, and my dad away for work all the time, I didn't have anyone to make me feel like I have a family other than Greg. He was the only one who took care of me as a family should. My abuela was there for me, too. But when I came out to her at 16, she never wanted to see me again."

She remembered how Santana practically worshipped her grandmother when they were kids. Even when Brittany had never really seen the woman, Santana talked about her dearest abuela so much more than she would care to talk about her parents. And to be shunned by someone you have loved and respected as much as Santana did her grandmother, Brittany could only imagine the pain Santana had to deal with coming out. Even when she hasn't really told her parents that she's also attracted to the same sex, because there really wasn't any other girl to bring home and reveal the big news, or anyone else for that matter, she was positive that her family was supportive enough to not push her away like that, if ever.

"I was twelve when I started becoming a real pain in the ass to my parents. I was sent to Juvie camp once, where I met Puck. He was not the most pleasant guy, but we got along good and eventually became close like a family."

Brittany remembered the Mohawk guy, Puck, and though she still thinks he is weird and creepy, the sudden smile in Santana's face as she talked about the strange young man was very telling of their close bond. After all, she did remember Puck introducing Santana as his best friend.

"I met my other best friend, Quinn, freshman year." Santana's smile was even wider, and prettier as though the heartbreaking revelations from earlier had all been forgotten with just the mention of this Quinn that Brittany has yet to meet, "After hanging out with Puck, she was like my guardian angel, guiding me to the right path and some shit like that. Other than Greg, they're my family. We were so different from one another but if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have started dreaming big for myself. I probably wouldn't end up anywhere. Back then, I just couldn't wait until I can finally leave home and be away from my parents.

"After high school, mom was finally sober. They wanted to start anew and so they moved here in New York but I decided to stay in Cali. Figured it was my chance to finally get away from them. We rarely see each other since then."

She wasn't sure why, but suddenly Brittany felt worried that Santana was only in New York for, perhaps, a short visit and hadn't actually moved here if she really wanted to be as far away from her parents as possible like she said. "So why are you in New York, then?"

"When Quinn moved here for NYU last year, I decided I just had to follow her. I practically couldn't live without her. Quinn was like – a mother and a sister to me," Santana chuckled at her own comment. Brittany could only imagine how close Santana was with this Quinn to have her so dependent on the said friend, and for a moment, as silly as it is, wondered if she would have been just as close to Santana if it was her that the brunette grew up with instead of someone else. "So, yeah, Puck's dad came back, and mysteriously got a load of cash in his bank account now. He had never seen him since he was ten, so when he asked Puck to live with him after he got rich or something, he straight out refused and just demanded him for some money so he could start his own life here in New York with us. Then we moved here, I live with Quinn, Puck's with his cousin. And my parents – "

Santana's somber expression found its way back into her face again and Brittany wanted to say that she really didn't have to know, but Santana still beat her into speaking. "When we met up last week and announced their divorce, it was the first time we talked and met as a family for over a year. Crazy life, huh?"

Brittany wanted to offer Santana all the comfort she could possibly give and found her hands rubbing the brunette's back before she could even realize it. "I'm sorry to hear all of this, Santana. I'm just glad that you pull through everything."

"Thanks." Santana cleared her throat, as if to clear the sadness that had now laced in her tone. "Well, I had Quinn so it was easier. Puck, too, and my other best friends in LA. It just makes me wonder – Like, how would my life turn out if we just stayed in Lima?" Brittany couldn't help but wonder about the same thing. How would her own life turn out if she had Santana to grow up with? "From everything Greg told me, even if my parents still fought all the same, if I still had someone like you there as a friend, would my childhood not feel as hard?"

Brittany was no psychic and there's no way she could tell the future – otherwise, she would have begged Santana before to stay and avoid the long 13 years of separation. But considering how significant Santana was even to her eight-year old self for her to dedicate half of her life waiting for Santana's return, she was more than certain that if there was any way to reach the other girl in all those times that she had struggled and felt alone and abandoned, that she would have rushed to Santana's side every time and more than willingly and wholeheartedly go through with all of it with her former best friend.

"I'm sorry to have not remembered you all those years, Brittany." With a heavy sigh, Santana slowly shook her head in shame. "I truly regret it. From everything I know about you now, you really are an amazing person. It was totally my loss."

"It's okay. I'm not holding it against you. You didn't know, Santana." She would have wanted to add that, maybe, they can still recreate that special friendship they once had, but she didn't want to assume things with Santana anymore. She made that mistake once and look how it broke her heart.

"Oh, I guess it's time to take you back to school now, huh?"

Brittany wanted to respond that they still actually had plenty of time to spare but she could easily see that Santana was just using that excuse as an out. Maybe, she thinks, Santana had reached her limit with how much she had opened up to someone and needed some alone time to deal with the unwanted emotions brought in by the painful memories, and Brittany totally get that. Besides, their day together began in a better mood even with how the way things ended the last time, so she could only hope that the next time they spend together to talk would have an even better start and end.

"Sorry about that. I just didn't notice. I didn't really mean to take up so much of your time, Britt."

Brittany yet again couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up at the shortened name. It was a very common nickname that almost all her friends call her, but to hear from Santana's lips with her soothing raspy voice made her feel things that she was afraid to name. "Santana, it's totally fine." She gave the other girl a small reassuring smile.

"I'm really glad that we're starting to know more about each other. And Britt –" Santana paused, looking up at the blonde with hopeful eyes, shy even. "I don't know if there are any rules that I should follow in proving to you how sincerely I want our friendship back, but if it's already too stalker-ish to show up and invite you to lunch again tomorrow, then, perhaps, would the day after that be fine?"

Brittany couldn't help but giggle at Santana's sudden shyness. "We can have lunch again any day you want, Santana. It's not like I have anyone else to spend it with, anyway."

Santana had to bite herself to stop what would surely be an embarrassingly wide grin, "Same time?"

Brittany smiled back, amused at the brunette's obvious excitement at the prospect of another meeting. "Same time."

"Darling, you are glowing."

"It's probably that moisturizer you gave me, Kurt. I don't know, my face feels kind of super oily now that I'm using it."

Brittany was smooth with the excuse but Kurt could easily see through her act. "Rachel told me you're seeing someone. How's it going?"

Brittany seemed dumbfounded with the question, resulting to another smug look in Kurt. "I'm not seeing anyone, Kurt. You know how Rachel likes to exaggerate every little thing. The someone I'm seeing is just a friend."

"Interesting. A friend who makes you beam like a moon-eyed teenager, while absentmindedly staring with heart-shaped eyes at your now cold cappuccino. Oh, please. Shoot me in the head if I can smile like that while thinking about Rachel or Tina, or you, for that matter, 'cause that's just disgustingly creepy in my book." Kurt reasoned out teasingly. "And you're blushing really hard, in a love drunk sort of way, so you couldn't convince me otherwise, love girl. You're obviously into someone."

"Kurt," the blonde heaved an exasperated sigh, "We're just friends, that is all, and with the way things are looking up for us, it's going to stay like that."

"You say it now but I can totally see the difference in you lately, Britt. I've never even thought you were capable of blushing like a crushing school girl over someone." Kurt continued to tease, not that Brittany, knowing her best friend too well, expected he would stop even until he gets into her nerves. "Tell you what, I'm going to stop asking you about it for now, as long as you're going to stop with the pretense that there's already a certainty in you that it is not going to work. Promise to keep an open mind and give it a chance, and I promise you to give you space and my lips tightly sealed."

Brittany could only heave another heavy sigh. Ugh, friends.

"It's your turn to tell me something about you."

They were in Brittany's favorite café again after Santana, not so surprisingly now, waited for her on the same spot – that the brunette had now claimed to be her spot – again, as if planning to make it a daily habit.

"You probably don't remember, but I have a younger sister, Sophia. She was three when you last saw her. I remember you used to really like her because she has this cute round face and chubby cheeks back then that you couldn't stop wanting to pinch."

Santana's eyebrows meet and her nose adorably crinkled, as if trying to remember anything but came up with nothing.

"She's 16 now, one of the best students in her year level, and really pretty, too. I actually have a picture of her," She browsed through her phone and showed it to Santana when she finally found the said photo. "Here."

Santana gave it a long stare, admiring the look of youthful innocence and stunning prettiness of the young girl in the photo. "Wow. No wonder you say she's really pretty, Britt. She looks so much like you."

The comment seemed to have just casually slipped from Santana's mouth without even realizing it, leaving the blonde blushing secretly, oblivious to the fixated brunette. "If you saw my high school album and didn't know it was mine, you would probably think it's Soph's. She's like my identical twin, born years later. Unlike me, though, she's really smart."

"Well, you're smart enough to me. I'm sure of that." Santana assured her, totally not liking how Brittany seemed to depreciate herself undeservingly. "Say, can she dance like you can?"

"Ha! Barely." The blonde instantly replied with a smug look.

"See?" Santana couldn't help but smile happily that at least the blonde took pride in her supposed amazing talent that she so wished to see for herself. "People are ought to be better than you at other stuffs, doesn't mean they're better than you or you're inferior to them, in general." Brittany shyly smiled at her in lieu of thanks. "Are you two close?"

"Yeah. We used to go often to that lake you and I always went fishing at before."

"Fishing, huh?"

"Yeah. My dad loved fishing on the weekends. He always took me with him and I always dragged you with me ever since the day we met." She heaved an audible sigh and with a nostalgic smile at the memories before realizing how quiet it had suddenly gotten between them. When she looked over Santana, it almost took her breath away how the beautiful brunette was just staring at her, with a dreamy look in her eyes mixed with what seemed like wistfulness.

"What?" the now bashful blonde looked away, feeling the signs of blushing creeping in her face.

Santana shrugged, with a Cheshire cat smile and an equally mischievous glint in her eyes. "I'm just trying to picture you and me in our six, or seven, year old selves, fishing at the lake. I could imagine you – maybe, in shorter curly blonde hair? Cutely hooking the bait on your fish pole and holding some big fish we caught."

"Nah. First, we never caught anything bigger than a small-sized sphere aquarium goldfish because the little kids weren't allowed where the big fishes were." The blonde cutely explained, much to Santana's secret amusement. "And you were always the one to do all those things for me, like the worms. I don't want to have to remember those icky little creatures while eating my favorite gummy worms. And I never again touched any fishes we caught 'cause one time I did, I felt bad for it and threw it back into the water. It took you hours to catch it though so then I felt bad about it, too."

Santana let out a short giggle, shaking her head in astonishment at the blonde. "You're pretty amazing, Britt." And really, she was even more amazed how Brittany could still perfectly remember even the littlest details of their childhood together. How she wished she could, too.

Brittany could only shrink back into her seat with her red cheeks that stubbornly wouldn't return to their natural color, drunk with all the compliment and the amazed look in Santana's eyes that seemed to not want to look away from her own.

"Let's see." Quinn sat next to her seemingly absentminded best friend on their couch, fingering her teacup with a playful look in her face. "Endless playing of nauseating sappy love songs, doing almost nothing productive at home but daydreaming, taking so long in the bathroom doing God knows what or just possibly lost in a daydream again while singing oh so loudly in the shower, always goes out at a certain time in the day and comes back home with the stupidest looking grin, and munching on some Lucky Charms instead of your favorite barbecue-flavored popcorn while watching a series of rom-coms that you used to call 'stupidly unrealistic and overflowing with cheesiness that it could kill you', and what have you. Either a good lovesick spirit has taken possession of your body or someone has finally boarded the love train and still stuck in it."

Santana snorted, as if amused by Quinn's insinuation, and her somewhat stalker-ish observations. "I honestly don't know what you're talking about, Fabray."

The blonde best friend could easily see through the denial clearly revealing itself in her face though. "Are you two dating each other now?" she asked teasingly.

"What?" Santana almost choked in her cereal at Quinn's bold question. "Uh, no."

Quinn cheekily pursed her lips at Santana, as though showing how she wasn't so convinced. "Well, would you date her if it was a given option?"

The question seemed to have stumped the brunette, potentially giving Quinn the upper hand in the teasing battle for once. Seeing the smug smirk in Quinn's face, Santana would have just ignored her nosy best friend, but even she knows how obvious her answer would be, especially to Quinn. Though she wouldn't have the audacity to outright say that yes – if she be asked whether she had a type, Brittany would top every category – but it would be utterly stupid of her not to even acknowledge and proudly elaborate all the blonde's attractive qualities. Brittany just simply deserved all the praises.

"Oh please, if I was persuaded into that silly idea of blind dating anyway, why wouldn't I consider dating someone like Brittany? She's beautiful, talented, and is very sweet –" Quinn's smirk had gotten irritatingly wider at her admittance and she was suddenly reminded how she shouldn't be thinking about Brittany like that when obviously the blonde was now reluctant in trusting her even with friendship. And she would respect that, if it's the only way to earn Brittany's trust and friendship again. "But let's not talk about that. Brittany and I, we're doing so well with trying to be friends again and I don't want to ruin that with anything she's not comfortable with."

Quinn just flashed her a mischievous look and a cool shrug. There was actually no need for Santana to elaborate anything to her because she definitely knows what's up. "Oh, well, whatever, Wuss-Pez. If I have to, I'm just always around to give you that hard push you seem to always need, anyway, whether you like it or not."

Meeting each other, spending lunch together, and making small talks about anything at all, from the random memories of the past and anything silly that happened in between their meet-ups, had as though became a daily routine. And as the days go by, Santana seemed to have gotten more confident in asking Brittany, "Tell me more about you."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

Santana pondered for a moment, not wanting to start any awkward subject, like, Brittany's romantic life, for example, because that is about the last thing she's going to feel comfortable knowing about, for some reason.

"Anything you want to talk about, really. Like, maybe how life is in Lima. Or, high school, there's where all the interesting stories come from."

"Well, Lima's plain boring and my high school wasn't that interesting. I had few friends. Most of them are from Glee Club. My best friends are all actually from the Glee club. Out of the group, I'm not close with anyone else."

"Glee club?" Santana's eyebrow arched in curiosity at the strangely named club.

"A show choir. It's a club where we sing and dance and get slushied every day for it. Basically, a loser club if you ask anyone from our high school."

There it was again, Brittany's self-depreciation that someone as amazing and beautiful as herself shouldn't even have. Seeing the frown forming in the blonde's face, she tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "Well, I've never been slushied before but that sounds really cool."

The blonde let out a small chuckle, catching on the joke, "Jerk..." and playfully slapped the teasing brunette's arm.

Just like that and Santana couldn't fight the grin creeping across her face at the feeling from Brittany's small display of affection. "Well, I didn't know any club like that in my high school."

It was Brittany's turn to tease back. "Simple. It's probably because no one there can sing and dance, huh?"

"Hey, I totally can." Santana defended, feigning a little hurt. Brittany knew all about it, though. When they were young, Santana was the only one to sing for her other than her mother at night. And even when she could sound a little nasally as a kid, Santana's voice was always her favorite. "I was in a band with Puck and two of my other friends."

Brittany was a little surprised with the information but continued to tease her anyway. "I bet Puck's the one who sings in that band…or one of the other two."

"Oh, please. Puck sings like a loudly barking leashed dog that desperately wants to get free." Santana snorted, her smug look coming back. "No one there's better than me, of course, so I'm lead vocalist, slash guitarist. I'm so talented like that."

"Can't convince me until I hear it for myself." The blonde playfully said.

"Oh I will let you. Just you wait and see."

Their free time to be together had ended shortly but Santana gladly offered to work her back to school. When they reached the gate and Brittany was about to say her goodbye, she noticed the hesitant look in Santana's face, as if wanting something but too shy to ask for it. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Santana bashfully averted her gaze to her feet, a trait that Brittany was sure didn't normally have. "It's just, I probably wouldn't see you over the weekends since you don't have any classes. I'm kind of getting used to this short lunch meetings we're having."

Brittany wouldn't verbally admit it to Santana's face, but secretly she feels the same. "Here, give me your phone." Santana's eyebrow arch in curiosity but her lips broke into a wide grin a moment later upon realizing what Brittany was about to do with it. "I'm going to give you my –" her words seemed to have been choked back seeing the image on the screen that Santana had as her wallpaper.

Santana and another woman, a beautiful blonde with pretty hazel eyes, were smiling together with dreamy looks in their faces and their heads leaning sweetly against each other. And the way she sees it, Brittany's instant thought was that they looked like a…couple. And for some reasons she wouldn't want to admit, the thought didn't sit well with her. She had assumed Santana was single, because otherwise why would Santana sleep with her, unless of course she was a shameless cheater despite already having someone as pretty as this other woman. And honestly, she wasn't sure what to expect about where this starting over was heading because, as much as she adamantly thinks they are better off as friends and nothing more, completely letting go of the feelings she held on for more than half of her life was not an easy task to accomplish this soon. And to have been suddenly slapped by reality in the face that Santana could, perhaps, be already taken – by someone so beautiful like this other blonde, as compared to her dull, small-town blonde girl looks – before they could even get that chance again, she felt as if her throat was suddenly constricted.

" – my number," were the almost forgotten words released after a long enough pause.

The brunette noticed Brittany's sudden silence and caught the blonde staring at the picture on her screen. "Oh, that's Quinn." Santana casually said, oblivious to the tumult in Brittany's chest seeing the seemingly romantic picture.

"Oh," Brittany was momentarily speechless, unsure if she should feel relief that her assumption was stupidly wrong or feel even more insecure of herself that the girl Santana thinks so highly of was that heartbreakingly pretty. Because, really, even though she would rather lean towards not pining for Santana's affections anymore, if in some twisted circumstance that Santana would have to choose between them, she clearly doesn't stand a chance. "Quinn. The best friend?"

"Yup. She keeps on telling me to say 'Hi' for her, by the way. She really can't wait to meet you."

Brittany suddenly felt a little dizzy at the suggestion, unsure what to feel about that idea anymore.

It was probably for the better that Santana couldn't come to see her today since she works at the diner almost the whole day on Saturdays now. It doesn't mean though that she didn't miss their time together any more. As though having gotten used to their 'daily routine', like clockwork her mind would automatically think of seeing Santana again at a particular time of the day.

Then again, she hasn't seen Santana the whole day. The brunette earlier texted that she promised Quinn to help clean their apartment today and run a few errands as well. And it suddenly occurred to her that she really doesn't know what Santana does when they're not together. Does she have a job? Is she still in college, too? Santana hasn't told her about that part of her life yet but, maybe, it was because she hadn't really asked. She mentally noted to ask about it the next time they meet.

It was only half past six in the evening but she couldn't wait for her remaining four hours of work to end so she could finally go home and freely Indulge in her newly-found attachment with her cellphone. And it was silly, really, because nobody else texts her these days other than Santana. Maybe she's just quickly getting used to seeing each other every day. And it was funny to her because she had lived a decade without Santana and now that they had to be away from each other for even just a day, it was as if she was pining for her more.

Absorbed in her little daydream, she did not notice right away that Tina was now standing in front of her, quietly observing the absentminded blonde and catching her dazed and smiling stupidly at nothing in particular. "What's got you smiling that big?"

Blushing and surprised, she tried to deny, "What? Nothing." Her lips betrayed her though as they broke into an even wider grin.

Brittany tried to ignore the knowing looking on Tina's face as she stood up and took off her apron. She moved impossibly quickly though when her phone suddenly vibrated loudly to signal a text message, much to Tina's amusement and ever growing curiosity.

She read that it was from Santana and the smile just naturally reveals itself. When she looked up at Tina, head perched on her clasped hands with a teasing smirk at her, she feigned a small cough and tried to act cool, as if it would hide the excitement in her eyes. But Tina was not to be easily fooled, or Brittany was simply just too obvious.

"Don't even start, Tina."

But instead of it stopping Tina's glaring curiosity, the Asian friend could only smirk even mischievously at the blonde's obvious in denial.

What would make you say yes on a Sunday ice cream at the park tomorrow? - Santana Lopez

Either Tina's existence had totally been forgotten or Brittany had just stopped caring about her nosy best friend when she typed in her reply with the widest smile on her flushed face:

Uh…if you say you're gonna pay for it? xD

She jokingly typed in and didn't waste any moment hitting send as if it would ensure a faster reply to quell her excitement, turning a deaf ear to Tina's playful whistling. Much to her delight, Santana's response came in almost in an instant.

Sold! Same time? – Santana Lopez

Brittany almost fist-pumped in excitement. It's a date, she typed, but almost instantly realized how else it could be interpreted and reluctantly erased the ambiguous texts. The excited smile temporarily fell in a moment of contemplation, which didn't go unnoticed by Tina, as she typed out a rephrase:

Yeah, same time.

Okay, nothing exciting but at least more things had been revealed, right? Santana seems to be going all out in this honesty thing with Britt and decided to just narrate her dramatic life story so soon, but was that all? And uh-oh, it seems like Quinn has unknowingly earned herself an anti-fan xD. How will she be able to redeem herself?

Next chapter: Maybe we'll have Brittana interact with other people together…perhaps someone who could spill for us some details of Santana's past….who's your bet? xD