Chapter Text
After a long summer of cheer practices, family get-togethers, and time spent with Brittany, Santana realized junior high was about to start. She struggled occasionally over the summer to present herself as the cool kid she had hoped to become. It was a lot of work to keep the mask on. Luckily, Brittany made it all a little easier. Santana still worried sometimes that Brittany would turn out to be like her previous classmates, but Brittany always assured her otherwise, most of the time, unintentionally. After all, Brittany didn’t know that Santana had ever been bullied in elementary school.
Brittany must've really liked to compliment Santana because she did it so often. Brittany would tell her how she liked her curly hair, that her skin looked nice after spending the day in the pool, or that her comic book collection was totally cool. Santana had always been subject to mockery rather than affirmation. That’s part of the reason that Santana liked spending time with her. Brittany was a breath of fresh air.
The weekend before their first day of school rolled around, and the two girls were laid out on the floor of Santana’s room reading a comic book together. Well, Santana was doing most of the reading out loud as Brittany still struggled with it. After finishing one of the comic books, Brittany asked excitedly, “Okay which one next? Even though Wonder Woman is our favorite, I was kinda thinking we could read one of your Superman comics.”
Santana just smiled as she listened to Brittany ramble on about the different comic book options, but she just had to interrupt. “How about we read something else?” She stood up and grabbed a plastic shopping bag from her desk.
“What? You mean like Marvel? I thought you were more into DC.”
“Well, I like both even though I like DC more.” Santana was about to explain what she appreciated about each of the comic book publishers, but she stopped herself. “But no. I asked my mom to buy me these.” Santana pulled a stack of teen magazines from the plastic bag. She went back to her spot on the floor next to Brittany and opened one.
Brittany just stared blankly at the magazine in front of them. “This looks really boring.”
Santana couldn’t argue with her there. It did seem really boring, especially after reading about superheroes and their adventures beforehand. “Everybody our age reads this though. It’s how you know what’s cool and what’s not.”
“Couldn’t we just figure that out ourselves. I mean that’s what I’ve done. I don’t think we need a magazine to tell us.” Despite Brittany’s frustration, she didn’t take a combative tone. “Do you think I’m cool?”
Santana nodded her head. “The coolest.”
“Then I don’t need a magazine to give me advice on how to be cool because my best friend already thinks so.” Brittany kept a reassuring smile on her face.
Santana was speechless. No one had ever called her their best friend before, and it sounded great coming from Brittany. Then, they heard Maribel’s voice coming from downstairs. “Brittany! Your mom’s here to pick you up!”
“Looks like I gotta go.” Brittany leaned over and hugged a still speechless Santna. “I’ll see you at school!”
Santana followed her friend to the door of her bedroom. Brittany was just about to leave the room when Santana spoke up. “Brittany.”
Brittany turned around. “Yeah.”
Santana wringed her hands and looked up from where she was studying the ground. “You’re my best friend too.”
Brittany said nothing but reached out to give Santana another hug. This one was much tighter than the one before and lasted much longer too. Santana wrapped her arms around her best friend just as tight. They only stopped when they heard Maribel calling for her again. The pair said their goodbyes once more as Brittany left the room.
That night Santana tossed and turned in her bed again. The first day of school was extremely important to Santana. She had to make a good first impression, so she wouldn’t be subjected to slushy facials like the ones in elementary school again. Brittany’s reassurance meant a lot to her, but she was also reminded of her abuela on her dad’s side. Alma Lopez used to always remind her granddaughter that other people’s perception of her mattered. That’s why she suggested Santana start taking dance lessons, so she would learn to be more feminine rather than her tomboyish self. She weighed the two differing perspectives in her mind. Brittany’s perspective sounded incredibly appealing. She could be herself, keep her interests, and dress how she wanted. She could keep the mask off. On the other hand, she could keep the mask on but be accepted by her peers.
Santana got out of bed, turned her lamp on, and brought one of the magazines back to her bed. Maybe she could just pretend to be cool at school and be herself around Brittany and her family. Yeah, that would totally work. Santana opened the cover and began reading.
—
“Say cheese!”
“Mami,” Santana groaned. “That’s enough pictures.”
Maribel dropped the small digital camera from her face. “One more, Santana.” The girl rolled her eyes. “You look so cute in your uniform.”
Santana was honestly grateful that Coach Dixon had ordered the Junior Cheerios to wear their uniforms during the school day. It was something about the Cheerios being more than an extracurricular. She said it was their identity, so they had to wear it all the time. All the other girls complained about the outfit being uncomfortable or cold in the locker room after the coach had told them. Santana, on the other hand, was relieved. Getting to wear the uniform to school meant that Santana would be easily identifiable as cool. She would stand out, but not for the same reasons she stood out at her old school. She also wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get a trendy outfit together from her closet that contained pieces from back when she was more tomboyish and t-shirts with superhero logos. She would still need to go shopping for cuter clothes for when she would be seen in public without her Cheerios uniform, but that was a problem for another day.
The camera quickly flashed again. “Can I go to school now?”
Her mom finally put the camera down. She held her daughter’s face in her hands before taking her into a hug. “You’re growing up so fast, mija.”
Santana bounced her leg anxiously all the way to the school. She was still worried about how her new classmates would perceive her. After Maribel dropped her off, Santana waited until her car was out of sight. Then, she quickly took her glasses off and tucked them into her glasses case in her backpack. Her mother had told her to wear her glasses at all times, so she wouldn’t get headaches, but Santana would rather have a headache than a brain freeze and a ruined uniform from a slushy.
That’s when Santana saw a blonde approaching her waving her hand excitedly. She thought it was Brittany, but she still squinted her eyes in an attempt to fully make out her features before she waved back. She didn’t want to risk embarrassment by waving at the girl when she was actually waving at another kid behind her or something like that.
“Santana!” The girl called out. It was definitely Brittany. Santana could recognize that voice anywhere. When Brittany finally made it to Santana’s side, she wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’m so excited we’re in the same class. This is going to be the best year ever.”
Santana was about to go on to Brittany about her mutual excitement, but she was interrupted by an already annoying voice. “Hi, I’m Rachel Berry.” The girls looked at her with blank faces. Santana immediately zeroed in on what the girl was wearing. According to the magazines she read the night before, Rachel’s outfit was not in. She immediately knew that she did not want to be seen talking to the girl. “Do you know where sign-ups for the drama club might be? I’m going to be a star, and I have to find somewhere to shine.” That piqued Santana’s interest. The girl might have been totally uncool, but she was a theater kid. Maybe Santana would get along with her. Before Santana could answer her, Rachel was covered in a red slushy as a few boys walked by laughing. Santana knew the feeling all too well. She also knew then and there that Rachel was not someone she was going to be friends with. Not if she wanted to survive junior high. Santana tugged on Brittany’s arm, and the two were gone before Rachel could wipe the slushy from her eyes.
Brittany looked back at the girl wiping slushy from her face. Rachel was already in tears. “Do you think we should help her?”
Santana kept walking as Brittany talked with their arms linked. Santana liked having someone by her side to get through school. “No, we have to go find our class.”
Later, the best friends sat at their desks which were arranged in groups of three. The teacher said something about emphasizing team work this year. Santana wasn’t really paying attention to that part because she was so excited over the teacher letting them pick their seats. Normally, teachers would assign their seats for them. However, there was still one more seat in their group to be filled. The teacher started taking attendance, and got to a name that made Santana internally panic.
“Rachel Berry,” the teacher monotonously called. “Has anyone seen Rachel Berry?”
There was no way Rachel was in their class. There was one seat open in the room, and it was in the group with Brittany and Santana. That meant that when Rachel would eventually get to class, she would sit next to Santana. This was awful news. To be honest, Santana was worried less about the girl being annoying. She was more worried about actually enjoying sitting next to the girl and losing all the progress she had made in trying to be cool.
That’s when Rachel walked through the door. Her hair was now pulled back, and she must have been wearing clothes from the lost and found because they somehow looked even worse than the clothes she was wearing before. “I’m here. Sorry I’m late.” Rachel found the empty seat and seemed just as upset to be sitting next to Brittany and Santana as Santana was to be sitting next to her. This was going to be a long year.
As the school day neared the end, Santana’s head was pounding. Not only did she have to put up with Rachel’s constant talking, but she also had to deal with trying to do her work without her glasses. Santana really thought she would be able to make it through the first week of school before her eye doctor appointment that Saturday. She was hoping she could just wait the first week and get contacts that weekend. However, she was not prepared for all the work she would actually have to do during the first week of school. She was so used to the first week of school being light work in elementary school, but this was something else. They had to do so many worksheets. Santana didn’t think she had ever experienced so much eyestrain.
Santana pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes to try and make the pain go away. That’s when she felt a hand graze hers that was still under the desk. She opened her eyes and looked at Brittany through squinted eyes as Brittany locked their pinkies. Brittany whispered with concern, “You okay?”
Santana smiled through the pain at Brittany’s concern for her and nodded her head. “Just a headache,” she whispered back.
“You should go to the nurse, so they can give you medicine.”
“No.” Santana shook her head.
The teacher whipped her head around at the whispering. “Brittany. Santana. Pay attention before I have to separate you two.” Rachel turned her nose up at the two girls after their scolding.
Santana scowled at her, but before she could go all Lima Heights on her she saw Brittany slide her a piece of paper. On it was written, “y not?”
Santana grabbed her pencil and wrote down, “It’s not that bad. I’ll be okay.” She slid the note back to her best friend. If Santana was being honest though, she was dealing with the worst headache she had ever had. She was just scared to draw attention to herself by asking to go to the nurse.
Brittany must have seen right through Santana’s act because she raised her hand to get the teacher’s attention. The teacher called her, and the blonde asked, “Can I go to the nurse? I don’t feel very good.” The teacher gave her permission. Santana knitted her eyebrows in confusion as Brittany stood up, letting their little fingers fall from one another.
Ten minutes must have passed before Brittany came back into the class room. Santana watched as she discreetly reached into her pocket after sitting down. She felt Brittany’s hand touch hers under the table again, and place some pain reliever in her hands. Santana raised her eyebrows in shock before mouthing a quick but sincere “Thank you.” Brittany just brought her finger to her lips in a shushing motion.
Santana was somehow able to take the medicine without getting caught. That was especially impressive considering one of the nosiest girls she had ever met was sitting right across from her. Once the girl got situated again, Brittany’s pinky found hers under their desks again.
—
Coach Dixon had just instructed the Junior Cheerios to hit the showers when the cheerleaders made their way into the locker room. Santana enjoyed the after school practices a lot more than the summer practices. They had less time to work with, so they worked on their routine more than they conditioned. Santana also enjoyed them more because she had finally gotten contacts. That meant she could go without her glasses and actually see clearly during practice.
As Santana finished up changing, she heard the cheer captain, Sadie Drew, talking down to one of the sixth graders. “I’m gonna tell Coach Dixon that you’re bringing down our rep and need to be off the team.” Santana’s interest was piqued at that. She stood up and opened her locker, so she could listen without being caught.
The helpless underclassman’s voice quivered. “Why?”
“Because you’re just so uncool.” The upperclassmen laughed along at Sadie’s snide remark. “You don’t command any respect at all. That’s like currency here. And let’s face it, none of the boys are gonna like you with your whole… look.” The Cheerios laughed again.
Santana honestly didn’t like to hear such cruel joking, but she did appreciate the advice. What she gathered from that exchange was that if she was going to survive junior high, she needed to command respect and get the boys at school to like her. That’s exactly what Santana intended to do. She closed her locker and found Brittany waiting on her outside the locker room.
—
“Happy birthday!”
Santana was shocked to see most of her classmates standing behind her front door wearing party hats and wishing her a happy birthday right after she got home from shopping with Brittany at the mall. This party was the last thing Santana was expecting on her birthday. Her birthday fell really early in the year which kind of disappointed her. It meant that she wouldn’t be able to make enough new friends to invite to her party when it was time. She was still relatively unknown despite being a Junior Cheerio.
That’s what she had told Brittany a week ago when she had asked about her upcoming birthday. She figured that by not inviting a bunch of people to her birthday party, she would avoid the disappointment of no one showing up. She thought she would just have a small get together with her family and Brittany. Here she was though with what looked like half of the school cheering as she entered her own home.
The crowd waited expectantly for Santana’s reaction, so she snapped herself out of the awkward shock she was wearing, smiled, and said, “Wow! Thanks so much, guys!” The crowd promptly got back to socializing amongst themselves.
She turned to Brittany who came home with her after practice. “What is this?”
Brittany laughed, wrapping her in a hug. “After you told me about not having a birthday party, I got really sad. Every birthday girl deserves a party, so I talked to your mom last time I was over and asked if we could throw you a big surprise party. Of course she said yes, and then I made invitations and invited my friends at school.” Brittany held up one of the colorfully drawn invitations.
“That looks really good, Brittany, but how did you convince them to come? I mean most of these people don’t even know me.”
Brittany shrugged. “Maybe because of the cake and ice cream. I think it’s because they like you though.” A group of boys were sitting on Santana’s couch and called for Brittany to join them. “I’m gonna go say hey to them. Happy birthday again.”
Brittany was off before Santana could thank her. Santana’s best friend might have insisted that all these people showed up for cake or for Santana, but Santana knew exactly why they showed up: Brittany. Brittany was popular. Everyone liked her, especially the boys.
Santana watched as Brittany talked to the boys who were sitting on the couch. They were all laughing and having a good time. One of the boys, named Josh if Santana remembered correctly, scooted over and invited Brittany to sit right next to him. Brittany, being the friendly girl that Santana knew, of course accepted his invitation. Santana couldn’t help but feel her heart drop to her stomach when she saw. She had felt that before only when she was jealous. She wasn’t jealous of Brittany. She did not want any sweaty and stinky boys anywhere near her. She couldn’t be jealous of Josh because that would just be weird. Maybe she was just jealous of Brittany’s popularity. That had to be right. Santana wouldn’t let her jealousy come between her and Brittany. She really liked Brittany, and she figured that her popularity would make Santana popular by association. Despite her logic, Santana still felt that weird feeling in her stomach when one of the boys would get too close to Brittany. She decided she would go spend some time with her family members that were able to attend.
After socializing, having cake and ice cream, and opening her gifts, Santana decided she would get the gifts out of the way of the party. She gathered up her gifts and carried them upstairs. To her surprise, she heard voices coming from inside her room. The girl put her ear up to her closed door to listen in. From what she could hear, it seemed like some nosy boys had wandered into her room. This was a nightmare. They were definitely going to make fun of her after seeing all of her comic books and Wonder Woman sheets. She had to come up with something to tell them.
Before she could enter, she heard Brittany’s name. “I only came here because Brittany invited me. I don’t really know that Santana girl. All I know is that she’s a Junior Cheerio and kind of quiet.”
Another voice came from within her room. “She seems alright. I would say she’s a seven, but if she didn’t have curly hair, she would probably be a solid nine.”
That comment really hurt Santana, but the boys didn’t stop. “Yeah. Also, if she wasn’t so into superheroes. It would be cool if she was a guy, but she’s not. It’s just kind of weird.”
Santana had heard enough. She willed her bottom lip to stop quivering and opened the door abruptly. She scowled at the boys in her room. “What are you doing in my brother’s room?”
The boys jumped as they heard Santana. One of them looked confused. “You have a brother?”
Santana hesitated. She didn’t like lying, but she had to save her reputation. “Yeah, he’s really into Wonder Woman.” She was worried they would see right through her act.
As the boys got up to leave, one of them remarked. “He likes a girl superhero? That’s weird.”
“Tell me about it.” The boys laughed at her joke as they left her room, and Santana let out a sigh of relief. She sat on the floor with her back against her bed and let her head fall into her hands. She hated hearing them make comments about her looks and interests. She didn’t want to let it get to her like it did, but she couldn’t help it. She felt the tears welling up, and she just let them fall.
Just a few minutes later, she heard a knock on the cracked door. “Santana? Is that you?” Santana immediately recognized the voice as Brittany’s. Panicking, she wiped the tears from her eyes. The door slowly creaked open, and Brittany peaked around. Santana dropped her head into her hands after seeing the undeniable look of pity on her best friend’s face. This was so embarrassing. Brittany just sat in front of Santana on the floor. “What happened?”
Santana shook her head, refusing to look up or speak. She already knew her voice would come out quivering if she tried to speak and just seeing that caring and concerned look on Brittany’s face would trigger the waterworks.
“Santana,” Brittany said quietly. Santana knew that was Brittany asking her to look up, so she did, avoiding eye-contact. Brittany’s eyes softened even more at Santana’s bloodshot eyes and quivering lip. “Talk to me.”
Santana took a shaky breath. “They don’t like me.” That was it, there was no more holding it in. The tears were flowing, and Santana couldn’t stop it.
“Who doesn’t like you?”
“None of them do. I heard them. They think I’m weird, and they don’t like my hair-”
Brittany cut her off. “That’s because they don’t know you like I do.” Santana turned her head, listening to her best friend. “I know you better than any of them, and I think you’re really cool. You’re so awesome, Santana, and all those kids would know that too if they knew you like I did.” Santana smiled as Brittany paused. “And I happen to think your hair is very pretty.”
The pair giggled, and Brittany reached her arms out inviting Santana in for a hug. The two stayed content in the embrace before Santana sniffled and spoke with her head still resting in the crook of Brittany’s neck. “I’m sorry.”
Confused, Brittany pulled away to look into Santana’s eyes. “What are you sorry for?”
“You threw this awesome surprise birthday party for me, and I’m just in my room crying.”
“You don’t need to say sorry, Santana. I do wish you could enjoy the whole party, but it’s not your fault those kids said mean things about you. I’m just glad you’re feeling better now. You are, right?”
Santana nodded as they both stood up from the floor. Brittany made her way to Santana’s desk to get her a tissue. Taking the tissue Santana was finally able to talk without her voice quivering. “Thank you. For everything.”
Brittany gave Santana one last short hug. “What do you say we go enjoy the rest of this party before it’s over?”
—
After a long day of school and Cheerios practice, Brittany and Santana were sitting at Santana’s dining room table working on homework. Their English teacher had told the class to write an essay about their favorite animal. Santana wrote her paper on chameleons and was just wrapping up when Andres came in silently from his office. It was like he didn’t even see the girls working at the table.
“Hi, papi,” Santana greeted.
The man jumped. “Santana, you scared me.” He looked over at what the girls were busy with. “I’m surprised you’re actually working and not in your room reading those silly comics.”
Santana sighed. Her father was always making some snide remarks. “I told you I grew out of that. That’s why I got new sheets and stuff.”
Her father just nodded. “Let me read what you’ve written so far.” He gestured toward the paper on the dining table. Santana really didn’t want him to read it. What if he didn’t think it was good? Then, she’d be in for a lecture from her father about work ethic and all that. She couldn’t tell him no, so she picked up the paper and nervously handed it to him. He put on his reading glasses and read the essay very quickly. “Good.” That was all he had to say, but Santana was able to let out the breath she was holding.
That’s when Brittany spoke. “Wanna read mine, Mr. Lopez?” An awkward silence fell over the room, but Brittany must’ve been oblivious to it as she kept a smile on her face, holding her paper for Andres to read.
Silently, the man took the paper written about unicorns and skimmed it. A minute later he handed the paper back to Brittany, smirking. She waited for feedback from her best friend’s father but was left hanging, so she decided she would just ask for it. “What did you think?”
Andres tried to contain his laughter and looked for the right words to say. Then he joked, “At least you’re pretty.” He chuckled at Brittany’s confused reaction.
Santana hated that her dad would say such a thing to her best friend, but it’s like she could stand up to her dad. She was glad that Brittany didn’t catch the insult of her intelligence. Santana didn’t want her to figure out what Andres meant by the backhanded comment, so she decided to change the subject quickly. “Do you like my hair today, papi?”
That comment made Brittany roll her eyes, but Andres smiled at his daughter. “Yes, your hair looks much better straight. You should keep doing it that way.” Santana felt good to get some kind of praise from her father, as he was usually very critical.
Brittany must not have felt the same way because she stuffed her paper into her backpack, along with the crayons she used to write it and went upstairs. Santana was glad that Brittany felt so comfortable in her home, but she was confused because this was out of the ordinary for Brittany, especially the aggressiveness of her actions.
Santana followed the blonde up the stairs to figure out what was going on. Brittany dropped her stuff on the floor of Santana’s room and huffed. Santana had never seen her like this. “Brittany, what’s wrong?”
Huffing again, Brittany asked, “Why is your dad so mean?” Tears welled up in her eyes, which she quickly wiped away.
Santana reached out to put her hand on Brittany’s back to sooth her. “I’m sorry he said that to you.”
Brittany snapped her head in Santana’s direction. “Me? He was being mean to you, not me.”
Santana chuckled, thinking Brittany just misunderstood the situation. “No, he complimented my hair, but he implied you were…” Santana trailed off. If Brittany didn’t pick up on the backhandedness of Andres’ comment, Santana certainly didn't want to bring it to her attention.
Luckily, Brittany cut in before she could question Santana’s unfinished thought. “He said that your hair looked better straight and that you should wear it straight more often. It’s like he’s saying you’re not pretty with curls, but you are!” She sniffled.
Santana couldn’t help but get defensive. She happened to like her hair straight. “Do you think I’m not pretty with straight hair then?” The attitude was thick in her tone, and she winced as the words left her mouth. The hurt was already evident on Brittany’s face.
“No, of course you are pretty with straight hair! You would look pretty with any hair, but I just…” Brittany’s voice was shaky. “I just don’t want you to think that you’re not pretty when you have curls because that’s what your dad made it sound like.”
Santana did not know what to do in this situation. She had never gotten into such a heated exchange with Brittany before. Granted, it wasn’t that bad. She would hardly even call it an argument. She was still scared though. She didn’t want to lose Brittany or their friendship. It was then that she remembered her cousin Izzy’s advice for when she felt scared. Use some of that Lima Heights confidence. “Ummm look at me.” Brittany was clearly confused at Santana’s change in tone. “I would look hot with any hairstyle.”
She honestly felt kind of awkward saying it. Brittany knitted her brows and didn’t say a word, but soon, the two bursted into laughter. Brittany wasn’t supposed to laugh at that, but at least it improved the situation. Santana would have to work on her delivery, so her confidence would seem more believable. That would probably have to start with believing what she said herself.
—
As Santana sat in the backseat of her mom’s car, she secretly hoped that the other kids at school would be wearing their Halloween costumes. She told Brittany that she wasn’t going to wear a costume for Halloween to school because they were told by Coach Dixon to only wear their Cheerios uniforms to school. While the uniform was uncomfortable, Santana was grateful that she had an actual reason not to wear a costume. That way, she wouldn’t have to tell Brittany that it was because she didn’t think it was cool and sit through another one of her lectures about how what other people think doesn’t matter. That was easy for her to say since she was already one of the most popular girls in school.
Santana had a backup plan though for if there were actually a lot of people wearing Halloween costumes to school. Stashed away in her backpack was a Wonder Woman costume that she had promised Brittany she would wear as they went trick-or-treating that night. As she walked into school, she looked around to see no one except Rachel Berry wearing a costume. The girl was clearly dressed as Elpheba from Wicked with her face painted green and everything. Santana honestly appreciated the quality of the costume. It was actually kind of cool. That was until Santana saw Rachel get slushied by some boys on the football team. She definitely would not be wearing her Wonder Woman costume at school.
That night, Santana and Brittany clutched their pumpkin trick-or-treat baskets tightly in the backseat of Maribel’s car. The woman looked back at them as she stopped the vehicle. “You two just look so cute.” She grabbed her camera from her purse and snapped a picture of the girls. Brittany matched the superhero theme in her Supergirl costume smiling next to Santana. “You two be safe. I’ll pick you up right here in an hour.” She waved at her daughter and her friend as they climbed out of the car and went to their first house.
Santana did feel a little awkward as they were some of the oldest kids trick-or-treating, but Brittany was clearly having a blast. Every time Brittany would laugh and smile at Santana, it made Santana feel warm inside. No wonder all the boys at school liked her. She was like an angel that came straight from heaven. Any boy would be lucky to date her.
“What? Is there something wrong with my cape?”
Santana was snapped out of whatever trance she must have entered while looking at her best friend. “Hm? No, it’s just-” Santana quickly searched for a reason she was staring at Brittany. “Your shoe’s united.”
Brittany looked down at her foot and giggled. “No, it’s not.” Santana panicked. “You’re funny Santana. I’m glad you came trick-or-treating with me. I’m having so much fun.” Santana let out the breath she was holding and smiled.
Before she could respond, Santana clearly saw a girl dressed in a Junior Cheerios uniform not too far from them on the sidewalk. Her eyes widened, and she gasped. She recognized the girl. It was Sadie Drew, the meanest girl on the squad. She was begrudgingly approaching a house behind a little boy dressed as Spider-Man. Santana figured it was her little brother or something, but she didn’t have much time to speculate because she needed to get out of sight. If Sadie caught her out here dressed like a superhero, she would be done for. All her dreams of being cool and popular would be gone. Her only option was to turn and run.
Brittany called out after her, “Where are you going?” The blonde followed behind her as her concern grew. Brittany found her sitting hidden behind a bush. “What was that about?”
Santana grabbed her best friend’s hand, pulling her. “Get down.” She paused and looked around the bush. “Sadie Drew is out there trick-or-treating.”
Brittany peeked over the bush and smiled. “Should we go say hey?”
“No, we can’t let her see us. She’ll tell everyone, and we’ll be a laughingstock.” Santana grabbed Brittany’s hand and pulled her down once more.
Brittany sighed. “Santana, we’ve been through this. Stop worrying about what other people think.”
Santana took a deep breath. She didn’t want to be scared anymore. She didn’t want to appear scared anymore at least. She just needed to take Izzy’s advice. Be confident, and don’t let them scare you. Scare them instead. “No, no…” Santana leaned over and whispered her plan into Brittany’s ear.
“I don’t know Santana. Isn’t that a little mean.” Brittany shrugged and peeked around the bush again. “She probably already feels bad enough with that costume. She wears her uniform to school all the time, so it’s kinda boring.”
Santana almost felt guilty, but she had to stand her ground. “Isn’t Sadie a little mean? She told me the other day that I’m not pretty enough to be a Cheerio.” She kind of faltered at the end. She hated that she let the girl’s comments affect her like that, and she didn’t like to talk about it.
“She did?” Brittany’s brows knitted, her eyes narrowed, and she sounded sure of herself as she spoke. “Do it. I don’t want anyone being mean to you, so do it.” Santana paused, confused. How could she become so sure of herself after Santana’s admission? “You know what? I’ll do it.” Brittany took the digital camera that Maribel had let them borrow (if they promised to take care of it, of course), zoomed in as much as she could on Sadie holding her basket and ringing a doorbell, and snapped the picture. She dropped down behind the bush quickly after the flash went off.
Santana gave her a high five and giggled. “I’m printing this out on my dad’s printer tonight, and tomorrow, I’m hanging them up all over the school.”
“Good. That’s what she gets for being mean to you.”
—
“Since our captain, Sadie Drew, transferred schools after her embarrassing breakdown, we need someone to fill her spot. As each of you know, Sadie’s old part is essential to the entire routine, so it has to be perfect for the state championship in two weeks. Anyone willing to step up?” Coach Dixon tapped her clipboard with her pen waiting on someone to raise their hand.
“I can do it.”
Coach Dixon pointed at the only hand up in the bleachers. “Alright, Lopez, show us what you got.”
Santana looked around before standing up, and Brittany gave her a reassuring look. She walked to the middle of the field and counted off after Coach Dixon blew her whistle. She then performed Sadie’s old choreo as best she could. If she was being honest, all those years of learning choreography for theater really helped her.
After she finished, silence filled the room. Then, it was broken by clapping. Santana looked around and figured out the clapping was coming from Brittany alone who smiled proudly at her. She then saw Coach Dixon scribbling something on her clipboard. “You can do better.” Santana nodded, trying not to let the comment affect her too much. “But I think with enough practice you will be good. You got the part. Don’t disappoint me. If you do, you’re cut.”
Santana nodded quickly. “I understand, coach.”
She sped over to her spot next to Brittany who gave her a high five and hugged her. With her arms still wrapped around her, Brittany whispered, “I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.”
—
“And this year’s winners of the Ohio State Junior High Cheer Championship are…” The voice from the speaker system paused for dramatic effect, but it seemed like forever. Santana felt hands behind her grab her shoulders and squeeze – hands that could have only been Brittany’s. She reached up toward her own shoulders to grab Brittany’s hands as she anticipated the verdict. If they lost this, Santana would be off the team, and she could kiss all her dreams of being popular goodbye. Santana held her breath just as she held Brittany’s hands. The arena was still overcome with a still quiet, and a few beats passed. “The Junior Cheerios of Lima, Ohio!”
The entire team jumped up and down and screamed in celebration. The first thing Santana did was turn around and hug Brittany. That’s who Santana had to thank for performing so well anyway, as Brittany spent time walking her through the choreography patiently. Brittany squeezed Santana right back. “I always knew you could do it, Tana!”
Santana giggled amidst the celebration. “What did you call me?”
“Tana. It’s my nickname for you now.”
Santana had never had a friend close enough to give her a nickname, but she had to admit, it was kind of enduring.
Coach Dixon approached Santana and patted her on the back. “Good job out there, Lopez. Keep it up.” That was the only compliment she had ever received from her cheer coach and it made her so much prouder of her accomplishment. Brittany must have been proud too because she wore the biggest smile on her face although she didn’t say much. She just covered her ears from all the noise that was clearly causing her discomfort.
Santana placed her hand on Brittany’s back soothingly. “I think we can go to the locker room now if you wanna go?” Santana knew that Brittany just needed to find a quiet place as she had seen this behavior from Brittany before. Brittany nodded and Santana followed her to the locker room.
That’s when she heard her name being called from the bleachers. She turned her head and found her mom meeting her right where she was. “Mija! You did so well out there! I’m so proud of you.”
Santana hugged her mom and thanked her. She looked around to find her dad. “Where’s papi? He said he was coming.”
Maribel pulled her daughter in close. “I’m sorry, mija. He had to work late again. He couldn’t make it.”