Title: Around the Course

Author: Quest

Pairing: Brittana

Rating: PG-13

Summary: AU - Troubled teen Santana is sent to stay with her Aunt and Uncle at their horse farm in FL to try and get her life back on the right track and onto college. While trying to deal with the sudden location change, being accepted at a new high school, forced to work in the stable, and put up with her annoying cousin Rachel she meets a young ambitious blonde who might just help her in more ways than one. Brittana fic!

A/N: After reading a ton of Glee fanfics lately I got this idea that I haven't been able to get out of my head so I decided to write it. I'm going to try and stay pretty close to character personality. Brittany is not going to be as spacey as she is in the show but I plan on giving her some awesome one-liners. This is my first Glee fic and f/f so be gentle. LOL. Proof read story once hopefully not too many mistakes. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: All television shows, books, movies, and other copyrighted material referred to in this work and the characters, events, and settings thereof are the properties of their respective owners. This is for entertainment purposes only, no profit is being made.

Chapter 1

(Santana's POV)

=.=.=.=

My flight was uneventful to say the least. The child behind me constantly kicked the back of my chair for almost an hour straight. Thank god for my layover in Atlanta or I would have been forced to turn around and go all Snixx on the kid. Needless to say it wouldn't have been pretty and I would have been in big trouble with the pissy flight attendant; not that that had ever stopped me before. So I just blasted my iPod and tried to not dwell on what was going on in my life. It sucked plain and simple.

My two hour layover seemed like four and I was almost tempted to bail. But I had no money and what was I really going to do or even go for that matter. So I sat and thought about the past couple of hours. My mom had sobbed as we stood waiting for my flight; I was almost sure she was going to stop my dad from sending to my Aunt and Uncle in Ocala. Which would have been awesome.

=.=.=.=

(3hrs earlier)

"Mija…this is for the best…you'll love it there." My father stood there with my mother rubbing her shoulder in hopes she wouldn't start crying once again.

I glared at him. "Whatever." It wasn't for the best. It plain sucked ass. They were sending me to live with my Auntie Anita and Uncle Leroy until I finished high school. Apparently I'm too much of a troublemaker to stay in Lima. I was arrested last month along with Puck for vandalism; it was really no big deal but the quickie mart owner was not impressed. Lucky for me my dad had some pull with the local po-po, being a big time surgeon and I was released into my parents custody after spending only a few hours in the slammer.

I had never seen my parents so mad at me in my entire life and apparently being arrested was the last straw. There was a lot of swearing and Spanish being thrown at me once we got back to the house. I was lucky my younger brother Tony was staying at a friend's house that night and didn't have to witness the epic yelling battle between me and the parentals. The night ended with me storming up to my room sobbing and my mom sobbing into my dad's shoulder with him saying he'd fix everything.

"Call or text us when you get to Georgia and when you get to Orlando." Mom sniffled and wiped her tears that were starting to fall yet again.

"I will." I tried to keep from snapping at the both of them but I was still too pissed off at this whole new arrangement.

The day after our huge fight my father took matter into his own hands calling his sister for a favor. And that night my parents informed me they were sending me to live with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins in Florida to finish out my junior and senior years of high school with them. They both thought it was for the best, they would never admit it but the main reason was to get me away from my best friend and often hookup buddy Puck. He was a 'bad' influence on me.

My mom's quiet sob broke me from my angry inner thoughts. "Call me often."

The look on her face broke my heart. She was my mother I loved her and seeing her so upset over this was actually hard for me to handle. A part of me wished I could take back some of the rebellious things I did so this wouldn't be happening. "I promise." My eyes watered and I fell into my mother's arms as she gave me one of her big bear hugs. I was going to miss those.

I heard them call for my flight to board and I slowly pulled myself out of my mom's grasp. "Love you." She mumbled and kissed both my cheeks.

"Love you too." I gave her a small smile. I slowly turned towards my dad and I swore I saw a tear roll down his cheek.

"Come here Mija." He whispered and held out his arms. I almost didn't step up into them. This was all his fault and I wasn't ready to forgive him just yet. But I stepped into them anyways and he wrapped me up tightly and I was so glad I decided to hug him. His hugs always comforted me. "Love you. Behave for your Aunt and Uncle." I was glad they decided to ship me off after New Years and I was able to spend the holidays with my friends and with them. This would be so much harder if I missed out on the holiday festivities at the Lopez household.

I just nodded and picked up my carryon bag and pulled my ticket out from my back jean pocket. Slowly I made my way over to the terminal; looking over my shoulder one last time after handing over my ticket, I saw a small wave from both of them. I gave them one back and walked through the gate to the plane. I'd never admit it out loud but I was going to miss them both. But I was going to miss Tony the most. He had refused to come along and we said our goodbyes the day before. He was so mad at me I could tell. I was leaving him; his big sister wasn't going to be there to give him advice or just hangout. I promised to text him all the time and that maybe he could come down during summer break for a visit and that seemed to brighten his mood slightly. Sitting in my seat I just stared down at my hands and a small tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't want to leave.

=.=.=.=

(Orlando, FL)

I waited patiently at the luggage claim for my large suitcase and duffle bag to come around. I pulled out my phone and texted my mom to let her know I landed safely and was just waiting for Auntie A to arrive. Finally with my massive amount of luggage in hand I walked away hoping to spot my Aunt in the sea of people around me. I was getting frustrated by the minute and was about to give her a call when I heard my name being called loudly over the crowd.

I stopped and looked around spotting the two brunettes waving wildly at me. I rolled my eyes seeing my cousin Rachel there as well. I walked up to them both and gave them a small smile and curt hello. Rachel clapped her hands excitedly and smiled brightly. I swear she's adopted… she looks nothing like a Lopez, unlike my Aunt who looked exactly like my dad they had the same eyes and the dark brown Lopez hair. Rachel was a Berry through and through looking just like my Uncle Leroy. "I can't believe you're here!" She hugged me tightly when I stopped in front of them.

"Whoa there Hobbit you're gonna squeeze me to death." She released me with an eye roll at the nickname but just kept on smiling.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked at my Aunt who smiled brightly. "It's good to see you Santana."

"You too Auntie A." I gave her a quick hug and followed them to their parked SUV.

I climbed into the back seat and remained slightly as we started our journey north towards Ocala. Rachel blabbered on and on hardly giving me a chance to say anything, not that I was planning on speaking full sentences but damn the girl could talk.

"It's going to be so great having you here. We haven't seen each other in years!" Rachel once again began rambling on. "We are going to have so much fun hanging out! Just like when we were younger!"

"Sweetie calm down." Auntie A to the rescue.

Rachel nodded quickly. "Right sorry."

I locked eyes with Auntie A in the rearview mirror and she gave me a sweet smile. "We know this is going to be hard for you but we hope you'll be happy here. Your dad already enlisted you at Rachel's high school so you'll start in two weeks when classes start back up. Moving to a new High School halfway through the year is always rough but Rach will be happy to help you out."

"Of course I will!" Rachel whipped around in her seat and smiled brightly once again at me. God she was way too bubbly for her own good.

"I'll be fine." People loved me. I was super-hot, a total bitch, and kept it real. I had been the most popular girl at McKinley, this would be no different.

"I have no doubt." Auntie A smirked brightly. She glanced at me and the smirk slowly faded. "We do have to discuss a few things."

Great, I knew this talk was bound to happen and my Aunt was cleaver giving it to me in a moving vehicle and not in a place I could storm off. "We have some ground rules." I just rolled my eyes. "You have an eleven o'clock school night curfew just like Rachel. And you will work in the barn before and after school." I opened my mouth to protest but quickly shut it, crossed my arms, and just glared out my window. It was completely unfair. "We have thirty-two horses; twelve are ours. So you will help with those twelve. I have eight horses in for training which you will also help take care of. The borders will be handled by the staff. I'll give you a day to settle in then we'll start showing you the ropes."

There was no reason to argue I wouldn't have won even if I brought out Snix. "Yes ma'am." I muttered under my breath.

"Good now that's out of the way. Josh is really excited to see you. He had Basketball practice and wasn't able to come with us. But hasn't been able to stop talking about you since we told him you would be staying with us for a while." I couldn't help but let out a smile hearing my younger cousin's name.

I wouldn't say it out loud but he was by far my favorite cousin and was just a year younger than Rachel and I. When my family would visit Josh and I often blew off any family outings to go hangout. He was like another brother. I couldn't wait to see him.

We spent the last twenty minutes chatting about my family. Auntie A wanted to know how everyone back home was doing so I tried my best to smile and give as many details as I could without snapping at either her or Rachel when they asked something. The stable was just outside of Ocala and as we pulled into the long driveway I was reminded of how incredibly rich my Aunt and Uncle were. I wouldn't even call it a stable it was more like a state of the art equine facility. My Auntie A had been a rising star in Eventing when she was younger and even went to the Olympics back in 1992. Unfortunately the USA team didn't medal but I always love hearing the stories of her experience. She even had hoped to go to the one in 1996 but Rachel decided to arrive and gears quickly changed to family instead. Her ambition didn't stop there, oh no. She and Uncle Leroy bought the large farm and fixed it up and created the place it is today.

I couldn't even begin to comprehend how many acres they owned but had to be in the hundreds if not thousands. It was so beautiful. There was gorgeous white fencing on either side of the wide driveway. Which seemed endless; just pasture after pasture. There were a few horses in the fields eating the green grass and I couldn't stop smiling to myself. I missed being around them. My dad and I used to ride a lot when I was younger but I gave it up my freshman year of high school; deep down I missed it - a lot. I watched a few people hacking out some of the horses after a hard lesson from the looks of lathered sweat on the horse's chests.

"We've added another barn since the last time you were here. Just wait until you see it. It's huge!" Rachel smiled at me. "I can give you a grand tour later if you want."

"Ok." I just nodded and continued to look around.

The driveway split and we hung a right heading towards the large house off in the distance. "Oh we have a new outdoor pool!" I smirked at Rachel's enthusiasm. The thought of a pool and a nice deck area was nice; I could totally get my tan on. We pulled up to the large garage and piled out of the vehicle and Rachel helped me with my things.

We headed inside and my mouth dropped. The house was more beautiful in the inside than it was on the outside. It was spotless and so modern looking. I felt the urge to quickly take my shoes off so I wouldn't track any dirt like product into the house. "Come on I'll show you to your room." Rachel quickly grabbed my hand before I could kick off my shoes and pulled me towards the stairs.

"Dinner will be at six!" Auntie A yelled at us.

"Ok." Rachel and I muttered in unison. I followed her down the hall and she opened up the door to 'my' room. My eyes widened slightly. It was huge. Almost double the size of mine back home. "I helped mom decorate." Rachel set my duffle bag on the bed.

"It's nice thanks." I looked around.

"I know red is one of your favorite colors." She smiled. "So I added some nice red highlights to the room. Give it a little flare." I just rolled my eyes at her. The room had beautiful cream white walls with black accents. The full size bed looked extremely comfy with the candy apple red comforter and black headboard. I couldn't believe they went to the extent to decorate a room for me. There was even a flat screen on the wall across from the bed and an iMac on the desk in the corner.

I really was speechless…which was very rare for me. "Oh look at this!" Rachel grabbed my hand again and pulled me over to a door and pulled it open revealing a good size walk in closet. "There is also a dresser right outside if you need more room. And your bathroom is over there." She pointed to the other door across the room.

My eyebrow rose slightly. "My bathroom?"

"Of course silly. This used to be one of the guestrooms." We walked back out into the room and she quickly gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're here it's going to be so much fun!" She just about squealed in my ear before pulling back. "I know it wasn't your choice to come here but it won't be all that bad I promise." I gave her a very small smile and just nodded. "I'll let you unpack see you at dinner."

She walked out and closed the door behind her. I let out the giant breath I had been holding since I walked into the room and rubbed my face. I just looked around the room still in awe. I went over to the curtain and pulled it back. My breath caught slightly. I couldn't help it the view from my room was breathtaking. I pulled open the glass door and walked onto the small wrap-around deck that ran along the top floor of the house. I just leaned against the wooden railing and looked out. The new barn sat just off the distance; Rachel was right it was enormous. I could see some of the cross country jumps way off in the distance by the tree line. I smiled remembering all the times we'd come to visit and Rachel, Josh, Tony, and I would take some of the lesson horses out and just gallop through the fields and woods racing each other until our horses were lathered in sweat.

I could see several of the pastures and a few of the riding rings from my viewpoint and it was going to be a nice change of scenery. I went back into the room after a few minutes and started unpacking. It didn't take me that long to get things organized and start pulling out some of my picture frames I brought along with me. I placed them around the room to give it more of a homey feel to it. Within an hour I finished and flopped down on my new bed. Damn it was comfy. I pulled out my iPhone and flipped through my contacts before putting the phone up to my ear.

"Go for Puck." I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smile brightly hearing his voice.

"Hey." I muttered softly.

"San! How's my home girl?"

Boy I missed him already. "Bored. Wish you were here." He was my best friend. With benefit's I might add. We had the perfect relationship. Neither of us got jealous when one of us would hook up with other people and both of us were completely comfortable helping each other out when they need a warm body underneath them.

"Wish your dad wasn't an ass and you could have stayed in Lima."

"Me too."

"You should see this room it's bigger than my old room. And the bed… Is very comfy." I couldn't help but give him my sexy husky voice.

I heard him groan on the other end. "I hate you right now."

"You love it." I laughed.

"You know it. What am I gonna do without you around?" He sounded sad for a brief second and I couldn't help but frown.

"Find some blonde bimbo that is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol." I joked trying to cheer him up.

"That could work."

I heard Rachel yell my name and glanced at the clock I was just about six o'clock. "Look I gotta go to dinner. I'll talk to you later."

"You got it babe."

We hung up and I slowly rolled off the bed and headed downstairs. The minute I rounded the corner to the dining room I was body slammed and lifted off my feet. I squealed and laughed looking over my shoulder to see Josh's smiling face. He dropped me down and I turned around giving him a giant hug. I pulled back and looked at him. "Holy crap Joshy will you stop growing?" I laughed noticing how much he had grown since I saw him. He must be almost six feet by now just a tad bit taller than Tony.

"Not quite yet." He laughed and pulled me into the dining room. I gave my Uncle a giant hug and took a seat next to Josh who couldn't stop smiling.

The meal looked amazing grilled chicken, fresh green beans, and mashed potatoes. "Auntie A this looks amazing."

She poured me a glass of iced tea and took her seat. "Dig in then."

We sat and ate dinner talking about school, the stable, and my family. It wasn't as awkward as I had thought it was going to be and I found myself talking more than I had planned to. I wanted to stay angry and mope around the house but I couldn't my relatives were just way too sweet to let my wrath loose on them.

"So I'll give you the tour tomorrow?" Rachel questioned with a small smile as she and I helped my Aunt clear off the table after spending almost two hours at the dinner table talking.

"Sure," I nodded. I set some of the dishes into the dishwasher and glanced at her.

"Great just text me when you get up. I'll be down in the barn all in the morning."

"Sounds good." I nod before thanking Auntie A for dinner and headed upstairs to my room. I was exhausted both from the flight and the emotional toll from that morning. Changing quickly into my pajamas, I grabbed the remote to the TV and started flipping through channels as I snuggled down into my new comfy bed.

I found an X-Files marathon and turned off my light before snuggling down deeper into my covers. I had this gut feeling Rachel was going to put me through the ringer tomorrow with this tour and I might need a good night's sleep to keep up with the peppy girl. I don't even remember falling asleep but it was most welcomed.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are always welcomed!

~Quest
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