"I'm sure the cricket who reads to me at night is stealing my jewlery..."

They all thought Brittanys talent was dancing, but her biggest talent was really her ability to see the things that most people ignored.

They ignored the pretty things- like rainbows and birds- and the awesome things- like cherry flavoured slushys and sales discounts- and focused on the bad stuff, just so they could complain about it.

They complained that it rained yesterday and ignored the sunny day .

They complained about the noise and ignored the music .

They complained that Santana was an uber-bitch-queen-slut-from-hell and ignored everything else about her- like the sweetness, the kindness and the loyalty that usually, only Brittany saw.

They saw her boob job, her Cheerios uniform and her sharp tongue, but Brittany wished they could see HER Santana- dancing around Brittanys bedroom as she blow-dryed her hair, singing along to the music on the tv, and looking so happy, so relaxed, that it gave Brittany physical pain when she thought about how nobody at school even knew THIS Santana existed.

"San?"

"Yeah, B?"

"Why don't you ever sing in front of people?"

"... Glee?"

"Yeah, but only in, like, the chorus..."

"So who cares?"

"I do, San!"

"Why?"

"Becuase you always look so...i dont know, just so happy when you sing when its just you and me, but whenever we're in glee, you just go along with everyone elses ideas, you don't even TRY to get a solo! And... i think you should. Because i know you like singing, more than chorus, REALLY singing..."

"It's ok..."

"I know you love it. Don't try and pretend with me, San. You're like... you're a freakin' cricket!"

"..."

"Crickets sing, right? And i bet if a crickets best friend asked it if it liked singing, it wouldn't just be all, oh , its ok..."

"Britt-"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think i've ever been called a cricket before..."

"Don't you like it? Its a good thing, San, they're really cute, and they sing awesomely!"

"Well...as long as YOU like crickets...i suppose i don't mind being one..."

"MY cricket, San"

"Sure, Britt. Your cricket".

They all thought Santanas talent was cheerleading, but her biggest talent was really her ability to see the things in Brittany that the teachers ignored.

They complained about essays written in crayon and ignored the content.

They complained about her inability to concentrate on anything except things she was really interested in- like dance and singing and cheerleading- and ignored her voice, her agility and grace, the fact she could dance better than any other student to ever enter McKinley High.

They saw her blonde hair, the way the letters turned backwards and upsidedown when she tried to read by herself and her "unique way of thinking" (as Santana liked to think of it) and ignored everything else about her- like her quiet logic, her ability to memorize any dance routine after only seeing it once, and the way that, as long as someone else did the actual READING for her, Brittany was unusually quick at picking out metaphors and understanding the point of the story- things that only Santana saw.

They saw Brittanys confusing comments, her always-slightly-puzzled expression and her innocence, but Santana wished they could see HER Brittany- lying across Santana bed as Santana read aloud from her copy of The Great Gatsby, and looking so totally absorbed that it made Santana angry when she thought about how none of the teachers at school would ever take the time to find out that THIS Brittany existed.

"...

Standing behind him Michaelis saw with a shock that he was looking at the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg which had just emerged pale and enormous from the dissolving night..."

"Like god..." Brittany mumbled, her face half obscured by a pillow.

"What?"

"You know..." Brittany sat up and hugged the pillow to her "Its like...these big eyes are, like, WATCHING everything- like all the bad stuff thats happening. And like, you think it'd be god watching, because its usually god watching us, you know, like Quinn says? But because all they care about is money, they care more about money than...you know, being good and god and everything. So instead of god, all they have is the big advert-thing...you know?"

Santana was starring at her; she trailed off.

"Is that wrong, San? I mean, i haven't read it before, so its probably wrong...like usually..."

"Britt...how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"I had to read this book twice before i got the whole god/advert significance thing. You hear it once and you know it like that? God, Britt, how do you DO that?"

"So...i'm right?"

"Yes!"

"Yay!"

"You know you're always right about this kind of stuff"

"I am?"

"Totally..."

"Awesomeness!"

"Love you, B. Even if you are so modest its stupid..."

"Love you too...Cricket..."

"Ha, ha. You're so freakin' funny..."

"I know, San... I know..."

"I'm pretty sure the cricket who reads to me at night is stealing my jewlery..."

Santana cursed inwardly and reluctantly tugged at her stolen bracelet.

She honestly thought Brittany wouldn't notice...