Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Brittany POV

Another day at William McKinley High School just means another day of being a nobody for me. The only time people at that stupid school even acknowledge my existence is when they take time out of their day to throw a slushy in my face or shove me into a locker. And the worst bully of them all is head Cheerio Santana Lopez. I don’t know what I did to her but ever since my first day of second grade when she pushed me into the sand she’s made it her goal to make me miserable. Now in our junior year she’s still at it. Wether by berating me with a rant of insults all geared towards my biggest insecurities or by getting her Cheerio cronies to write mean names all over my locker without any repercussions. I’ve tried telling somebody about the constant bullying but the Cheerios are untouchable. Their coach Sue Sylvester would never let some stupid girl like me tarnish their spotless reputations. So of course Principal Figgins would always give me the same bs speech about how “his hands are tied” and there was nothing he could do.

The only thing that gets me through the days is knowing what comes afterwards. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday I had dance classes. Not only was I able to forget about everything for a couple hours but I got to see my only real friend at McKinley, Mike Chang. Despite being a football player Mike has always been nice to me since we’ve been dancing together for years. He’s actually really really good even though he says his Dad thinks it’s a waste of time. I feel bad for him because he could totally become a professional dancer but he’s dead set on becoming a doctor or something like that to make his Dad happy.

Luckily my parents are totally supportive of whatever I do. As long as I’m happy they seem to be happy. They’re the exact same way with my little sister Melanie. Melanie’s in 8th grade and is my best friend. We talk about everything together, from crushes, to school, to our favorite tv shows and movies. She’s the only person who I’ve told about my bisexuality. Yeah since my freshman year I realized I had feelings for both boys and girls. I haven’t told anyone at school cause it would just give Santana more to berate me on.

Anyway, I remember exactly how everything started. It was a Thursday, and a pretty bad one at that. The night before my Mom and Dad had a pretty bad argument. That didn’t happen often but when it did they always got super angry and screamed really loudly. Melanie and I spent the night cuddled together on my bed watching movies to distract ourselves. It helped a little bit but I was still sad at school the next day. And when I got to my locker things just got worse. On it written in permanent marker were the words DUMBASS and SLUT. Now the dumbass I can kinda understand, I mean I don’t get the best grades and sometimes when the teacher calls on me I can say some stupid stuff but the slut part made no sense. I hadn’t kissed anyone let alone lost my virginity. Santana just seemed to be going for anything at this point.

Even if the insults didn’t have much sense to them it still hurt. Seeing people laugh at me when they saw my locker or how they would take pictures of it always made my heart sink. And things only got worse when I was quickly shoved to the ground. I turned from my spot on the floor and saw several Cheerios walking away giggling. I felt tears start to form in my eyes but there was no way I was gonna cry with all the people around me. So instead I grabbed all my things and hurried to my first hour class.

I was the first one in the room besides the teacher and as I made my way back to my desk I tried to remain strong. Unfortunately I let out a whimper as I sat down immediately catching the teachers attention.

“Hey kid what’s wrong?”

I looked up and for the first time noticed it wasn’t the usual history teacher. Instead of old Ms. Sanders this women was much younger, and I could already tell more lively.

I shrugged, “Nothing but your classic high school jerks.”

She stood up from her desk and walked back to me pulling out a chair to sit down facing me.

“Well is there anything I can do to help.”

“No, they practically run this school. Besides I don’t even know you.”

She put out her hand and said, “I’m Miss Holiday. Mrs. Sanders broke her hip yesterday in some sort of longboard accident so I’m filling in for now.” I slowly shook her hand not sure of what to think of her quite yet.

“I’m Brittany,” I replied quietly.

“Well Brittany let me tell you something. Back in my day I had to deal with a fair share of jerks. The worst of them all was Nancy Carver. Trust me kid she was a grade A bitch, who totally hated me. I mean sure I slept with her boyfriend on Prom night but that was ultimately his decision. Anyway, you’ve just gotta remind yourself how much stronger than them you are. They wouldn’t last a day getting treated the way you do, yet here you are taking blow after blow.”

“Yeah I’m so strong for sitting in the back of the class crying,” I said wiping my eye.

Miss Holliday looked me right in the eyes before saying, “Trust me kid. Once you’re out of this school you’ll be walking all over those bitches. Just wait and see.” I smiled at the sentiment. Sure it didn’t help my current situation but it felt good to look towards such a bright future. More student started filing in so Miss Holiday went back to her desk to start class.

My day actually started to get better after that. At least until Spanish. Spanish was the worst class of the day by far, mostly because Santana sat right behind me. And since she was fluent in Spanish she didn’t have to pay attention so she would instead focus on pestering me. Usually by throwing little balls of paper into my hair or kicking my seat. Totally immature stuff that somehow managed to entertain her and her idiot friends. She was definitely the reason I was failing that class. It was impossible to focus with all the giggling and annoying distractions.

Anyway this particular Spanish class was even worse than usual. All because of Sasha Monroe. Sasha was easily one of the hottest girls at McKinley and my biggest crush at the time. And that day she was wearing my favorite pair of jeans. They made her ass look amazing so I help would glance over every now and then. But when she dropped her pencil and bent down to pick it up I couldn’t help but full on leer. I didn’t think I was being obvious at first... until.

“Geez Pierce, could you be anymore obvious,” Santana said loudly causing all eyes to go over to us. “You’re practically undressing Sasha with your eyes over there. Poor girls just trying to get her pencil and you’re going into heat over her ass.” I looked around the room and realized everybody was staring at me. “Didn’t necessarily think of you as a carpet muncher but I guess I was wrong.”

My classmates started to laugh which finally got the teacher to stand up and say something.

“Santana that is enough,” he said sternly. “Report to Figgins office now.”

Santana rolled her eyes and smirked, “Alright William whatever you say.”

She stood up and headed towards the door glaring at me as she walked by. I knew nothing would happen to her since Sue always made sure they got off Scott free. It didn’t matter either way though, the damage was already done. Everybody kept staring at me, especially Sasha who seemed disgusted.

After school I rushed out of the building hearing a couple people whispering about what happened. I ignored them and got to my car where I sat inside before taking a deep breath. It had been a rough day to say the least and I really needed to relax. Luckily I had the perfect spot. Right behind my grandparents house was a lake that I always went to when I needed to clear my mind. It was always so soothing and I could really be alone so that’s where I went. I sat on the gravel beach right next to the water and threw rocks as far as I could. The whole Spanish situation just kept playing in my head. I was almost positive some lesbian slur would be written on my locker tomorrow even though it wasn’t true, but I wasn’t about to correct them.

I let out a deep sigh and reached down for another rock. I pulled my hand back to throw but stopped when I saw what it was. In my hand was a translucent purple gem. It was about the size of a quarter and had a strange glow to it. As I moved it around in my hand I thought about what Miss Holliday said. About how they wouldn’t last a day going through what I do.

“She’s right,” I said to myself. “Just once I’d like to see Santana try to get through a week as me. All the slushys and the insults and the shoving. Maybe then she’d turn it down on the bitchiness.”

As I spoke the weird gem seemed to glow brighter and brighter. I looked down at it confused as some sort of subtle yellow energy buzzed off it. Out of a mixture of fear and anxiousness I decided to throw the rock into the water not sure what it was about to do. I saw the purple glow sink into the water before eventually disappearing.

“That was really weird,” I said to myself as I stood up.

I returned home and instantly made my way upstairs suddenly feeling exhausted. I got to my bed and quickly laid down as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Finally I gave in and before long I was asleep.

I don’t know how long I slept for, all I know it what woke me up.

“Mija if you don’t get up now you’re gonna be late for school,” I heard someone yell.

I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. My Mom sounded weirdly different and had definitely never called me mija before. I shrugged it off and stepped out of bed before glancing around my room. My heart stopped when I realized something. I wasn’t in my room. In fact I had no idea where I was. There were trophies on a mantle on the wall and several posters for popular musicians on the wall but I had never seen the room before in my life. But even worse was what happened when I looked in the mirror. Because when I approached it expecting to see me, I instead saw Santana Lopez staring back.
Worst. Thursday. Ever.

Chapter Text

As I looked in the mirror I was frozen. I kept staring at the reflection of Santana feeling scared, anxious and most of all confused. I tried to remember what happened last night but the last thing I recalled was going to sleep once I got back from the lake. Everything seemed normal except for how exhausted I felt afterwards. I pinched myself hoping that I’d wake up but no luck.

“Mija this is your last chance to eat before you have to leave,” I heard a voice yell again.

I blinked a few times in pure confusion before I slowly walked over to the dresser and pulled out a shirt and some jeans. I threw them on and cautiously made my way out of the room. I looked at the walls and saw several pictures of Santana with her Mom and a few of her with a baby. The one that confused me the most was her with another girl who looked just like her only maybe a few years older. I had never heard anybody mention her having an older sister.

It took me a couple minutes to find the kitchen but once I did I walked in slowly. Standing at the oven was a women who basically just looked like an older version of Santana who I recognized as her mother. Sitting in a high chair at the kitchen counter was a baby, who looked to be about a year old if even that.

“Good to see your alive,” she said to me. “After practice yesterday you walked in like a zombie. Sue’s really working you hard.” She finally looked up from the stove and instantly seemed confused. I could see her looking me over as if she could tell it wasn’t really her daughter. “Excuse my bluntness mija, but what are you wearing?”

I looked down at my outfit. It seemed completely normal. Just a white t shirt with some bands logo on it and a pair of jeans.

“What’s wrong with it,” I asked?

“Well Sue will have your head on a stake if you show up without your uniform. I washed it last night so it should be hanging in your closet.”

I hadn’t even thought about that. Obviously all the Cheerios had to wear their uniforms daily, including Santana. I left the kitchen back tracking to her room where I saw the red and white cheerleading outfit hanging. I closed my eyes well I changed since it felt weird to see Santana’s body undressed even if I was in it. Once I was in the uniform I looked in the mirror and honestly just felt uncomfortable. Not just because I was in Santana’s body, but because of how I felt in the uniform. It was way tighter than anything I’d normally wear and the skirt did little to hide anything. I groaned as I thought about the day I had ahead of me. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do since there’s no way anybody’s gonna believe me, even if I am the most popular girl in school now.

After an awkward breakfast where I wasn’t sure how to act I drove to school in Santana’s car. Once I was in her parking spot I just sat in the car for a few minutes. In my head I was completely freaking out. Ahead of me was a huge new wave of relationships that I had absolutely no context behind. Obviously my main priority was just trying to figure out what was going on and how to reverse it. That meant I’d need to find myself. And not in some deep metaphorical way, I literally needed to find my body and see if there was somebody in it. So after taking a deep breath I got out of the car and started towards McKinley. As soon as I was inside things felt different. People looked at me with what seemed like fear in their eyes and they scrambled to get out of my way. Honestly it felt good to be on top for once. Even if it was all fake.

I realized after a few seconds of walking that I had no idea where Santana’s locker was or what her schedule was like. I ended up just wandering the halls for a few minutes until I heard something.

“Santana,” someone yelled.

I turned towards the voice and my heart jumped when I saw Noah Puckerman approaching me. Puck was Santana’s boyfriend and another huge bully at McKinley, famous for throwing people in dumpsters. As he approached me my heart pounded faster and faster.

“I’ve been looking for you all morning. Why weren’t you waiting at your locker,” he asked me.

“Oh, sorry Noah I guess I just forgot,” I responded sounding nervous.

He looked at me confused before replying, “Is everything okay babe? You haven’t called me Noah since freshman year and even then it’s cause you were pissed at me?”

“Sorry I just barely got any sleep last night.”

He seemed to buy the lie much to my relief. However my nerves returned immediately as he put his hand on my cheek and bent forward to connect our lips. I couldn’t believe my first kiss was with Noah Puckerman, and it was unpleasant to say the least. He roughly moved his lips against mine and when I felt his tongue slip in I almost gagged. Instinctively I pushed him away and stepped back.

“What is wrong with you today,” he said sounding annoyed.

“It just seems a bit weird to kiss in the hall like that. Everybody can see us.”

“Santana we literally make out against the lockers at least once a day. You’re the one who claims it helps up your rep.”

“I’m really sorry Puck but I’ve gotta get to first hour.”

And with that I turned around and walked away quickly. I didn’t have a destination in mind but there was no way I was gonna stop walking. Puck already knew something was off and it wasn’t like I could explain everything to him. I sped walked across the building until I found myself in a less crowded part of the school. Only a few other people were getting things out of their lockers giving me some time to breath. That time didn’t last long though as I felt Santana’s phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out and gasped quietly when I saw my number on the screen. I nervously pressed the green button answering the phone.

“H-h-hello,” I stuttered out due to nerves.

“Who the hell is this?” It was definitely my voice on the other end.

“Um... Santana Lopez?”

“Oh really, cause last time I checked I was Santana Lopez. Not that you could tell by looking at me since I’m currently stuck in the body of McKinley’s resident freak,” she yelled.

I flinched from her loud voice before responding, “Okay Santana I was just making sure.”

“Making sure of what?”

“I don’t really know how to say this, but I think we’ve been Freaky Fridayed.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I think somehow we’ve switched bodies. I just don’t know how or why?”

Santana was silent for a few moments before she once again screamed into the phone. “You’re telling me that Brittany freaking Pierce is walking around in my body right now.”

“Uh yeah?”

“Meet me in the auditorium in 5 minutes.”

Suddenly she hung up leaving me very confused. I hurried through the halls towards the auditorium noticing some confused looks from people as I rushed. They were used to the confident Santana who took her time relishing in her status above them rather than the somewhat spastic Santana who jerked through the halls at high speeds. When I finally got to the auditorium I opened the door and slowly made my way in. It was relatively dark except for a few lights on and I could tell the stage was empty.

“Hello,” I said hoping for a response.

I approached the stage and lifted myself to sit on the edge of it well I waited. About three minutes went by before I finally heard some foot steps. I glanced towards the left wing of the stage where out of the shadows stepped... me? At least it looked like me but obviously I knew somebody else was inside. I slowly stood up onto the stage not taking my eyes away from my body.

“This is even weirder than I thought it was gonna be,” I said.

“Really, cause I expected it to be completely normal,” she said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes, or her eyes I guess, before responding, “Listen Santana I know this is weird for both of us but...”

“No you listen Pierce, this is only weird for me. For you this is probably some sick fantasy. You finally wake up in a body that isn’t completely disgusting with a face that doesn’t make people wanna hurl. I bet you’re already trying to figure out how to stay in there permanently.”

Her words stung even if I knew they weren’t true. I was proud of my body especially now that I was truly seeing it for myself, and I also knew that I was fairly attractive. But still, Santana always managed to tear my confidence down. It was like her superpower, no matter how good a person felt about themselves she’d make sure they felt like crap only minutes later.

“I just wanna get back as my old self,” I yelled back at her. “Believe it or not Santana not everyone thinks your bodies that great.” That was a total lie. She was smoking hot even if she was a bitch.

“You’re lying Pierce. I know what I look like when I lie and it’s all over your face. You totally think I’m hot. You probably spent the entire morning just staring at me naked in the mirror, you perv.”

I looked down at the floor for a second before glancing back at her eyes. “Actually I shut my eyes when I was changing. It felt wrong doing it any other way,” I said softly.

For a second the glare she had on wavered as if she felt bad for me but it returned only a few seconds later.

“Well thanks. Good to know you’re a dyke with morals I guess,” she grumbled.

My heart jumped at the word. Nobody had ever called me something like that before. Hearing it directed at me made me feel weirdly exposed. As if Santana just accessed some sort of hidden secret, even if the insult were only half accurate I wasn’t gonna correct her.

“Do you have any idea how this started,” she continued interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah but it’s gonna sound stupid.”

“Can’t be any worse than what’s already going on, so just spill it.”

“Well yesterday I was at a lake that I always go to. There I found this weird purple gem that seemed to glow when I talked. Anyway I wished that you’d live my life for a week and threw it in the lake. I guess that’s what caused this.”

She looked at me with a mixture of confusion and disbelief. “You’ve gotta be kidding me Pierce. You seriously think this all happened because of a magic rock? That truly is the dumbest thing to ever leave your mouth. And trust me that’s quite the honor considering your level of stupidity.”

“Will you just shut up for a second Santana,” I yelled. “You asked me what I thought happened and I told you. You don’t have to tear me down for every single thing I say.”

I turned around and got off the stage before heading towards the exit.

“Pierce wait up,” Santana groaned.

I stopped and glanced back watching Santana jog up to me.

“Listen, I’m sorry okay. If we’re gonna be stuck like this for a week than maybe I can try to be 1% less bitchy to you. But that’s only if we make this work. You’ve gotta act like me and I’ll do my best to act like you.”

I closed my eyes for a few seconds thinking everything over before I nodded. I knew there wasn’t many other options so I just agreed. At least I got to be McKinleys HBIC for a week. After trading schedules Santana and I headed off to each other’s classes. Her next class was calculus which really made me nervous. I was just praying we didn’t have a test or something cause I’d totally bomb it and Santana would be pissed. Luckily when I got there I saw a substitute sitting at the teachers desk meaning we’d probably just have a study hall. I made my way to a desk near the back and sat down just hoping nobody would talk to me. My hopes were quickly shattered when two Cheerios entered the room and walked over to me. At least I knew their names, Kitty Wilde and Bree... something?

“Hey San,” Kitty said smiling. “We’ve got some big news.”

“It’s about Natalie,” Bree continued. “Rumor has it that she’s pregnant after a one night stand with Tucker Milton.”

“What a slut”, Kitty said giggling. “What do you think Santana, do you believe it?”

I was uncomfortable for 2 reasons. Firstly because I had literally never gossiped about somebody in my life and secondly, I had no idea who they were talking about.

“If it’s true Sues totally gonna kick her off the team,” Kitty said. “Serves her right for spreading her legs like that.”

I finally said something, “If it’s true than she’s gonna need us to support her. We are her teammates after all.”

They both stared at me confused. I was definitely gonna have to work on my Santana impression.

“You feeling okay San? Usually you would’ve berated her down to nothing by now.”

“Oh... yeah I was just kidding. She’s totally a slut,” I mumbled out.

That seemed to ease their nerves as they started another conversation about even more people I didn’t know. My next few classes were much easier since nobody tried to talk to me. But when Spanish rolled around I became nervous again. Spending an hour staring at the back of my own head was gonna be strange for sure.

When I got to the classroom I saw myself already seated so I quickly made my way one seat behind. As I waited for class to start Santana turned around.

“I overheard a few people talking about me today,” she whispered. “Something about how Santana’s acting different. Would you care to explain?”

I shrugged, “I’m sorry I don’t know how to do a perfect Santana Lopez impression. It’s hard going from a nobody, to running the school.”

“Meet me at your locker after school. We can go over to my house and I’ll give you lessons on everything Santana Lopez okay.”

I nodded as Mr. Schue began talking. I looked down at my notebook and smirked. If there was one thing about Santana I understood it was that she loved annoying me during Spanish. So I tore off a bit of paper before crumpling it into a ball and throwing it at my head. Upon contact she turned around and glared at me. I couldn’t help but smirk as I threw another ball of paper at her. Revenge felt amazing.

Once the day way finally over I rushed to my locker where surprisingly Santana wasn’t waiting. I glanced around the hallway and didn’t see myself anywhere. I waited for about five minutes until finally I saw her. Except now she was wearing a sweatshirt she didn’t have on earlier and she looked like she had been crying.

“Are you alright,” I asked her.

“I’m fine,” she spat out. “Let’s just go over to my house so we can get these stupid lessons done with.”

I was kinda surprised by her outburst but I still followed her out to the car, getting a few confused glanced along the way. The drive over to her house was silent and awkward as I just stared out the window. Once we got there we walked straight inside where her mother was busy rushing around the kitchen.

“Oh mija thank god your home. I just got called for a shift tonight. One of the other nurses had a family meeting and I was the only person who could replace her. I just put Daniel down for his nap so he should be okay for a couple hours.”

I stood in front of her not saying anything until I realized she was talking to me, of course thinking I was her daughter. “Oh yeah Mom, sounds great,” I smiled.

The look she gave me was a bit weird but she seemed to shrug it off before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll be back late tonight. Have fun with your friend.”

As soon as she left the real Santana turned to face me.

“Well let’s get started. We’ve got a lot to get through.”

I took a deep breath feeling anxious. Now it was time. I was really gonna learn how to be Santana Lopez.

Chapter Text

“So let’s go over this one last time. Let’s say you and some other Cheerios are eating lunch together. One of them mentions a boy flirting heavily with them earlier. An appropriate response would be...”

“Wanky?”

Santana sighed, “Yes, but it needs to be said with confidence. You can’t be questioning wether or not something is wanky. It either is or isn’t there’s no in between.”

I rolled my eyes before falling back onto Santana’s bed. I stared at the ceiling and mentally recapped all the stuff she’d been teaching me for the last hour. Everything from how to walk to how to act in class and even how to flirt with boys. As if she didn’t already have a boyfriend.

I let out a sigh before responding, “Can we work on you for a little bit. You haven’t learned anything about how to act as me.”

She rolled her eyes, “Oh are you gonna teach me how not to stand up for myself. Or how to duck and cover when somebody throws a slushy at me,” she said sarcastically.

I had to admit. Hearing her fiery tone coming from my voice was bizarre. I barely talked in general but when I did it definitely wasn’t with so much attitude.

“I tried standing up for myself once,” I whispered.

“Let me guess, somebody cut you in the lunch line and you politely asked them to go to the back.”

“Actually no. It was against you.”

She looked surprised. “I don’t remember that. I’ve always just walked all over you,” she smirked.

“Yeah well one time you shoved me into a locker and walked away, but I yelled at you. I called you a bitch or something.”

“Wow Pierce. Didn’t know you used such naughty language,” she mocked. “So tell me, what did my badass self do in response.”

I looked at the floor before quickly responding. “You slapped me across the face.”

The smile fell from her face. She also looked down at the floor presumably feeling guilty.

“Geez. I know I’m a bitch but that’s cold,” she said. “I’m really sorry.”

“It was back in freshman year. I’m over it by now.”

“Doesn’t mean it was an okay thing to do,” she replied.

Things get awkwardly silent for a few minutes until we hear some soft whimpers from down the hall. Santana glanced at the door before standing up.

“Sounds like Daniels up. I’m gonna go grab him and then we can keep working.”

She left still seeming a bit somber. Well she was gone I glanced around the room at the place where I’d be living for the next week. It was definitely gonna be a challenge being Santana but I was hoping I’d at least learn a bit about her. Speaking of which she reentered the room carrying a now crying Daniel.

“Hey I know this is annoying, but I need your help,” she said to me.

“Yeah what’s up,” I replied.

“Daniels always really cranky after his naps and I usually sing to him so he’ll calm down. But no offense, he doesn’t seem to like your voice,” she said with a smirk.

I also smiled before standing up from Santana’s bed. I reached out for Daniel and she reluctantly handed him over.

“Is there anything specific he enjoys,” I asked?

“Well I usually sing You Are My Sunshine. That seems to be his favorite.”

“Okay, just forgive me if I mess up a bit.”

I cleared my throat and nervously began to sing.

You Are My Sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You’ll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don’t take my sunshine away

It only took the first bit of the song to calm Daniel down. Now he was softly cooing at me with a bit of a smile. I looked over at Santana who’s face was unreadable. It was a strange mixture of confused, impressed, and some other third thing I couldn’t quite figure out.

“So if you don’t mind me asking,” I finally said, “Who’s baby is Daniel? I mean your Mom isn’t old or anything but a 17 year age gap seems a bit surprising.”

The expression finally dropped from her face as she responded. “He’s actually my sister Valerie’s. She left right after he was born and we haven’t seen her since.”

“I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”

Santana shrugged, “She could’ve never loved Daniel as much as my Mom and I do so maybe it’s for the better.”

I have to admit I was shocked by how many walls Santana seemed to breaking down. I had never heard about her being this open or honest with anyone else so I don’t know why she was with me, the person she arguably hates the most. She too must’ve realized how much she was sharing because she kinda shut down after that. My phone buzzed and I looked down at it too see a text.

Mike: Literally can’t wait for classes tonight. Gotta bunch a stuff I think we can work on together.

I groaned at the text. I had totally forgotten I was supposed to go to dance class tonight.

“What’s wrong,” Santana asked noticing my annoyance.

“I totally forgot I have dance class tonight. I’ll just have you call my Mom and let her know I’m not going.”

She picked up my phone and started dialing the number, but stopped near the end.

“I could just go for you,” she suddenly said. “I mean I dance on the Cheerios all the time so how hard can it be. I kinda owe you some nice deed I guess.”

I smirked, “I mean if you really think you’re up for it, just stick with Mike. He’ll walk you through everything. He just might be a bit confused.”

She shrugged, “Hey how hard can it be.”

Santana’s POV

An hour later I found out exactly how hard it could be. I spun around trying to follow along with Mike, but I was struggling. He looked at me weirdly meaning Brittany probably didn’t mess up this much. I don’t know how since this choreography was super intense. We finally got a break after 30 minutes of near constant dancing so I immediately made my way over to my water. I nearly downed the whole thing as Mike waked over to me.

“Is everything okay Brittany,” he asked sounding genuinely worried?

“Yeah of course,” I replied.

He definitely wasn’t convinced as he continued staring. “Just wanted to make sure cause you weren’t looking as polished as you usually do.”

I shrugged, “I’m just a bit distracted today. There’s a lot that’s been going on.”

That seemed to convince him to back off. Things were comfortably silent for a few minutes until my phone started ringing. I picked it up and saw a call incoming from the real Brittany. I walked out into the hall to answer it.

“What’s going on,” I asked knowing it must’ve been serious.

“There’s an emergency. Puck asked me if I wanted to go to a party with him so I obviously said no. I thought he would’ve backed off but now he said he’s coming over. I don’t know what to do Santana.”

I sighed and racked my brain for answers. There seemed to be only one solid conclusion.

“Alright Brittany. I give you permission to have sex with Puck.”

“Eww, what? That’s not at all what I as suggesting. I was looking for something to tell him so he’ll leave me alone.”

“Just tell him you’re on your period or something. He’s dumb enough to fall for that.”

“Alright thanks. I just hope that gets him to leave.”

She hung up and I let out a sigh. To be totally honest I wasn’t sure if Puck would just leave her alone or what. He could be pretty stubborn when it comes to getting off. I knew he would never assault her or anything, but I still felt a bit uncomfortable. I just cannot wait for this week to be over.

Chapter Text

When Santana hung up I honestly didn’t feel much better. Noah Puckerman was still on his way over and I was gonna somehow have to get him to leave. There was no way I was going with Santana’s first suggestion. My first kiss was already ruined by Puck there’s no way he’s getting my virginity too. I just put Daniel down for bed right before Puck texted. He’s honestly the cutest baby I’ve ever seen and I can’t imagine why Valerie would leave him. Aside from some minor fussing he’s been behaving perfectly making watching him pretty fun actually. At least until Puck texted me.

Speaking of which the doorbell rang and I knew it was him. I took another deep breath before I walked to the front door and opened it. He barged straight in stealing a quick kiss in the process which I wiped off when his back was turned.

“Uh Noah I really don’t think you should be here. I’m supposed to be watching Daniel,” I said forgetting to do my Santana impression.

He looked at me weirdly before responding, “You watching Daniel is the exact reason I’m over here. You put him to bed so we’ve got the whole place to ourselves babe.”

He put his hand on my cheek and it just felt wrong. I was seriously wondering why Santana was dating him when he leaned in for another kiss. Right as he was about to connect our lips I interrupted.

“I’m on my period,” I said quickly.

He pulled back as if I was contagious before shrugging. “No problem, I can just get some third base action. Then I’ll give you a bit of above the belt attention,” he smirked.

I nearly gagged at the thought before backing away from him.

“Honestly Puck, I’m just not in the mood.”

“Since when is Santana Lopez ever not in the mood? Usually when you’re home alone you beg me to come over so we can do it.”

“Well maybe if you tried to be romantic I’d be more willing. Rather than just barging in ready to rip our clothes off,” I replied.

I was honestly proud of myself for how I sounded. It seemed like Santana’s sassy nature was easier to impersonate than I had thought.

“Romantic? You told me being romantic was for wimps and love doesn’t exist. We’ve literally been dating for over a year and you’ve never been like this before. What’s going on with you. You’ve been a completely different person today and honestly it’s really getting on my nerves.”

I was about to argue with him more when I had a realization. This wasn’t my relationship to ruin. Even if I couldn’t stand Puck Santana clearly had some sort of connection to him. And I would feel horrible if I was the one that broke them apart. So even though I really didn’t want to I made a compromise.

“Maybe tonight we could just cuddle and watch a movie,” I shrugged. “I’m really not feeling good.”

Puck’s expression was hard to read until he finally sighed. “Fine, just pick something out and I’ll pop some popcorn.”

When he left to go to the kitchen it seemed like a huge weight was being lifted off my shoulders. Now I didn’t have to worry about getting physical with him, for tonight at least. I could definitely tolerate some cuddling as long as he didn’t try to feel me up or anything. My phone buzzed and I glanced down smirking at what I saw.

Santana: Damn Pierce how do you do that 4 times a week. Cheerios practice is brutal but that was something else.

Knowing Santana had a hard time keeping up at dance gave me a slight feeling of pride. Though you wouldn’t know it based on my reply.

Brittany: I’m sure with some practice you’ll be able to do fine. I won’t make you go to the other three practices if you don’t want to.

Santana: Don’t count me out yet, I’m just a bit rusty but I’ll get there. How are things going with Puck?

Brittany: Pretty good. I managed to talk him into just watching a movie, so we’ll see how that goes I guess.

Santana: Alright good luck. I guess I’ll just head back to your house for tonight. Wanna meet up tomorrow morning?

Brittany: Yeah sounds good. I’ll text you if I need anything before then.

Santana: Sounds good

I put my phone away right as Puck came into the living room before sitting down next to me and swinging his arm over my shoulders. I got as comfortable as I could and settled in for the next two uncomfortable hours.

Santana POV

After dance classes were finally over I walked out to the parking lot my entire body feeling sore. Right as I reached my car I heard Mike call Brittany’s name. I turned and saw him jogging over to me.

“Hey Brittany, I know it short notice but my girlfriend Tina is having a small party tomorrow. She told me I could invite some of my friends from dance so I was wondering if you wanted to come.”

I was about to tell him no when I had a thought. Brittany didn’t have any friends other than Mike but this could change that. If I could use my Lopez charisma to win some people over then I’ll be doing Brittany a huge favor. Then I won’t feel like such a bitch for what I’ve done to her.

“Yeah Mike that sounds good,” I said with a smile.

“Alright awesome. I’ll text you the details tonight.

As I drove home I felt proud of myself.

“You actually did a good deed Santana,” I said to myself. “Good job.”

Once I arrived at the Pierces I said a quick goodnight to her Mom before rushing up to her room. I was getting ready to sleep when there was a knock at the door. I turned around to see a girl. I hadn’t seen her this morning and I was a bit confused cause she looked nothing like Brittany. She had dark black hair and seemed to be of Asian decent.

“Can I help you,” I asked ruder than I intended.

She seemed taken aback by my attitude but she quickly replied.

“I was hoping we could talk for a little bit. It’s been awhile since we did that.”

I was nervous but I responded, “Yeah just give me a couple minutes then I’ll be right over.”

She nodded before turning around and walking back to her room. I quickly whipped out my phone and texted Brittany.

Santana: What’s your sisters name?

Brittany: Melanie, why?

Santana: She wants to “talk” any idea what that means.

Brittany: Sometimes we just sit down together and talk about stuff. Whatever’s going on in our lives.

Santana: She’s totally gonna see right through me.

Brittany: Just try and listen to what she has to say and think of the nicest most gentle response you can.

Santana: Ugh, why does your life have to involve all this emotional crap. Can’t you just be a cold hearted bitch like me.

Brittany: Just please be nice, Melanie’s my best friend.

I groaned and set the phone down before I stood up from the bed and made my way across the hall. Melanie was already sitting on her bed cross legged. I walked over and sat down on the edge before lifting myself up to be right across from her. Things were quiet for a little bit before I finally asked her a question.

“So how’s school going?”

She shrugged, “It’s okay I guess. All my classes are fine and I’m getting good grades, but Sabrina Nelson keeps picking on me.”

That definitely caught my attention.

“What do you mean picking on you?”

“She always says stuff about how you’re not really my sister because we don’t look alike and how Mom and Dad probably love you a lot more cause your prettier.”

“Geez what a bitch,” I said bluntly, surprising Melanie. “On Monday you’ve gotta just walk straight up to her and kick her ass. That’s the only way to deal with people like that.”

It took her a few seconds before she finally replied, “That would be pointless. She’s way taller than me and is super athletic. Plus she’s got a bunch of friends who could gang up on me. “

“Don’t think like that. Just look at me. I’m short but I can still beat up anybody I want.”

She looked at me confused. “You’re not short Britt.”

I realized my mistake and quickly recovered, “I meant when I was your age of course. Just trust me Mel, you’ve gotta stick up for yourself.”

“Mom and Dad would get mad at me. Remember how annoyed they got when you yelled at Santana.”

I was honestly surprised to hear her say that. That’s probably another reason why she never tried anything again.

“Oh, yeah maybe your right,” I said switching back into what I called Brittany mode. “Well you should at least tell the principal or something.”

“I guess so,” she shrugged. “Enough about my drama though, I wanna hear about high school.”

I smiled at the way she said that. It was clear she really looked up to Brittany in a way that reminded me of when I was in 8th grade and Valerie was a Junior. I used to talk to her about everything before she left. Melanie must’ve noticed my sudden sadness cause she leaned in for a hug.

“What’s this for,” I chuckled.

“You looked like you were thinking about something sad. Is it Santana again.”

My heart jumped. I really hadn’t realized how miserable I made Brittany until now.

“Sort of. It’s complicated,” I replied.

After leaving the embrace I cleared my throat started telling Melanie about all the McKinley drama. About a half hour later I left her room feeling great. I took out my phone and quickly sent a text to Brittany.

Santana: You’re sisters pretty amazing.

I then walked into Brittany’s room and crawled into her bed making myself comfortable underneath the blankets. My phone buzzed so I grabbed it to read the notification.

Brittany: Yeah she’s helped me through a lot of stuff. She’s super mature for her age.

I was right about to respond when I heard the door creak open.

“Hey Brittany,” I heard Melanie whisper.

“Yeah Mel,” I mumbled in response.

“I think Lord T wants to sleep with you tonight.”

The door opened wider and in the dark I could vaguely make out the sight of Melanie walking in with something in her arms.

I whispered to myself, “Who the hell is Lord...”

My sentence was cut off by something super heavy being dropped onto my chest. It nearly knocked the wind out of me as I looked down and on the bed was the fattest tabby cat I’d ever seen.

“Goodnight Britt,” Melanie said as she turned around to leave.

“Night Mel,” I groaned out.

I once again grabbed my phone.

Santana: You didn’t warn me about your fatass cat.

Brittany: Oh you met Lord Tubbington!!

Santana: Please don’t tell me I have to take care of him.

Brittany: No Melanie will handle most of it. Just make sure he doesn’t get any cigarettes. We’re trying to get him to quit.

I genuinely didn’t know how to respond to that last message to I just turned my phone off and lied back down. I looked down at Lord T and smirked.

“Can’t you tell the difference between Brittany and I, Tubby.”

He hissed in response, which to me obviously meant he knew something was up.

“Maybe my other good deed will be getting you on a diet. You could afford to lose a pound... or maybe like ten?”

I heard a soft purring meaning Tubbs had fallen asleep so I too closed my eyes and before long I was dreaming.

The weird thing is... I was dreaming of Brittany. Her and I were on some sort of picnic together. She was wearing a red flannel shirt and jeans well I had on a yellow sundress. I looked around to see a place I had definitely never been too before. It was a beautiful green hilltop overlooking Lima that I’m pretty sure didn’t actually exist. I was so caught up in my surroundings I didn’t even notice Brittany talking.

“So is that a yes or a no,” Brittany asked me.

“I’m sorry, what was the question.”

She giggled, “Oh Sanny, you’re so funny. I just asked you if wanted to be my girlfriend.”

The question shocked me so much I actually woke up. I was breathing hard as I looked around Brittany’s room.

“What the hell was that,” I asked myself.

I couldn’t get the dream out of my head as I closed my eyes again. All of could think of was Brittany. And that was terrifying.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5
Brittany’s POV
The next morning Santana and I were hanging out at her house for a little bit. She had to go to Tina’s party later well I was gonna stay at her house. Surprisingly we were actually having a pretty good time.

“So tell me Brittany, what's the hardest part about being Santana Lopez?” she asked me.

“Dating Puckerman for sure. He’s literally the only person I’ve ever kissed and even I know he’s bad at it.”

She nodded for a second, “No kidding, it feels like he’s trying to prove how tough he is or something.” She paused for a second. “Wait a minute did you just say Noah’s the only person you’ve ever kissed?” I blushed before nodding. “That’s gotta be rough. Trust me there not all that bad.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know Santana, he’s making me wanna become abstinent honestly.”

She laughed and I felt my heart jump. There was just something about her laugh that made me feel… weird. A good kind of weird. We spent the next few hours doing that exact same thing, just laughing like we were good friends. It’s crazy how much our relationships changed in only a few days. Obviously not under normal circumstances but it was surprising nonetheless. Finally she had to leave for Tina’s party so we spent a few minutes going over her impression of me before she left. As she pulled away in my car I had to admit, I was really nervous.
Santana’s POV

As I drove to Tina’s house I kept practicing my impression of Brittany. My mind was full of everything from her physical mannerisms to the way she pronounced words. I wanted to make a good impression on these people as a favor to Brittany. I felt like I owed it to her.

When I arrived at Tina’s house there were already a few cars out in front. I walked up to the front door and reached towards the doorbell. My hands were shaking as I waited for somebody to open the door. Luckily it wasn’t long until someone opened up. It was a short brunette girl wearing an absolutely hideous sweater.

“Oh I’m sorry you must be at the wrong address. This is an exclusive party only for the members of the William McKinley High School Glee Club so I unfortunately cannot allow you access.”

I rolled my eyes, “Listen Hobbit, I dance with Mike Chang and unlike you he actually has some human empathy and was nice enough to invite me.”

She seemed taken aback as she stuttered out, “Oh okay come on in…”

“Brittany,” I answered with a smile.

She nodded clearly, still intimidated which I honestly relished in. Just because I was trying to make the real Brittany friends doesn’t mean I couldn’t up her scare factor too. After a few seconds of her staring at me wide eyed she finally turned around and led me to the basement. There were already like 8 other people there just sitting around talking. I could already tell this wasn’t gonna be like any other party I’d ever been too. There was gonna be a lot less alcohol and a lot more lame party games. But if it helped out Brittany I guess I’d suffer through it.

“Mike your guest of honor is here,” the girl mumbled as she made her way over to one of the couches.

“What’s wrong Rachel,” asked a kid sitting in a wheelchair.

“Oh she’s just mad I had to go Snixx on her annoying ass,” I said with a smirk.

Mike, who was sitting nearby, looked at me confused, “What does “going Snixx” mean. I’ve never heard you say that.”

“Oh uh it’s from some movie I saw,” I quickly lied. Come on Santana you’ve gotta do better than that.

“Hey as long as it shut her up we should all be happy.”

I turned around to the source of the voice and was shocked. There standing in front of me was ex Cheerio captain Quinn Fabray, seven months pregnant.

Quinn and I’s relationship was… complicated to say the least. Sue made her captain of the Cheerios our sophomore year so I was left basically following whatever she did. We weren’t exactly friends but we knew we needed each other in order to stay on top. She was there to uphold appearances in public and during competitions. My job was making sure everyone below us knew where they belonged through various means, mostly slushy facials.

That all changed 6 months ago when the news came out that she was pregnant with the quarterback Finn Hudson’s baby though. She fell down the social ladder fast, all the way from head Cheerio to Glee Club backup dancer. I haven’t talked to her since so this was super awkward. At least until I realized that she wasn’t really talking to me, she was talking to Brittany who she obviously had no history with.
“We should play a game,” Tina recommended, hoping to break through the room's awkward tension.

Everyone else agreed so before long I was seated on the couch next to Quinn and this other blond kid with huge lips. We were playing charades, and it was the kid in the wheelchair, Artie’s, turn to act it out. Unfortunately the trouty mouth guy who’s name I found out was Sam was quite possibly the worst guesser I’ve ever seen.

“Professor X! Jake Sully! No, no no Oracle.” Were just three of his guesses.

“Are you just gonna guess characters in wheelchairs,” Artie replied annoyed.

“I’m sorry I’m just focusing on the wrong details.”

I looked around the room and could tell everybody else was bored. Even Tina seemed pretty disappointed with the results of her gettogether. So even though it's basically the opposite of what the actual Brittany would do I decided to intervene. I stood up quickly and turned around towards the group.

“Alright who’s ready to have an actual party?” I asked. They all looked at each other clearly a bit confused so I continued. “Tina I want you to go upstairs and get as much of your parents' alcohol as you can, I’ll help you replace it. Mike I’m putting you in charge of music, make it something exciting and danceable please. Hobbit you go with Tina and handle the food okay.”

“She’s vegan,” someone shouted.

“Nevermind Hobbit you can stay down here. Finn you clearly eat so you can handle the snacks.” Finn nodded dumbly clearly not understanding my jab at him. ”The rest of you find a way to make Tina’s basement less depressing.” I clapped my hands together and surprisingly they all stood up and got to work. It’s good to know my persuasiveness didn’t stay with my body.

Before long we had what looked like an actual party set up. Someone had managed to find some lights that gave the basement a much better aesthetic and Mike’s choice of music was already motivating a few people to dance. Tina’s parents fortunately did not disappoint when it came to alcohol options meaning everyone but Quinn was working on getting buzzed. I gotta admit the next hour or so was actually pretty fun. Even though I didn’t really know any of these people I felt like I made a good impression and they seemed like good friends for Brittany.

I spent a while dancing, especially with Sam since he seemed like Brittany’s type, until I got tired. I stepped away from all the dancing for a little while and I noticed Quinn going up the stairs.

“You're leaving already?” I asked after walking over.

“No I just need some fresh air.”

“Mind if I join you?”

I could see her smile slightly before she nodded so we both went upstairs. Quinn was clearly in need of friends so I figured Brittany could be a decent choice. I’d just have to explain this all to her when I got back to my house.

Quinn and I stepped outside onto Tina’s porch and immediately she took a deep breath. I looked over at her and honestly didn;t know what to say. Luckily she was the one to talk first.

“I’m glad Mike invited you,” she said.

“Why?”

She shrugged, “Ever since I got pregnant it seems like I’ve lost any semblance of a real friend so it;s always nice to meet new people. It’s like a new opportunity to find someone who doesn’t think badly of me.”

I was surprised by how open she was being so I decided to “investigate” further. “What about Santana Lopez, I thought you two were friends.”

She smirked, “We were never actually friends, she was always talking about me behind my back. She’s probably happy this all happened to me.”

My stomach dropped because she honestly wasn’t wrong. Now I felt bad but at the time I was practically celebrating. I was about to respond when I noticed her starting to cry.

“Uh… what's wrong,” I asked bluntly. Dealing with tears was never my strong suit.

She looked over at me and shook her head.

“I can’t tell you, it’s too horrible.”

Well now I had to know. “You can trust me Quinn. It’s not good to keep stuff like this bottled up you’ve gotta tell someone.

She looked at me and seemed almost scared. “It’s the baby. It’s not Finns.”

Now this was unbelievable. Premarital sex was shocking enough for pure innocent Quinn but infidelity as well. I had to know more.

“Well do you know whose it is?”

She nodded slowly, “Noah Puckermans.”

My heart stopped. Suddenly this went from simple gossip to real heartbreak. Sure Puck and I were never an ideal couple but… but I didn’t think he’d cheat on me. Especially with Quinn Fabray. My mind was racing with what to do and I couldn’t determine my best course of action. All I knew was that I wanted to be as far away from Quinn as possible. So without warning I ran off the porch over to my car much to Quinn’s confusion. I saw her staring as I pulled away quickly.

Tears were running down my face as I drove aimlessly until I winded up in front of my house. The light was on up in my room so I knew Brittany was up there, I got out of my car and went straight inside running upstairs to my room still crying. When I pushed through the door I saw Brittany laying on my bed. She turned towards me confused but she was on her feet within seconds. She wrapped her arms around me in a hug and I rested my head on her shoulder before I let out a few more tears.

“What happened,” she asked sweetly.

It took me a few minutes to calm down before I could explain everything to her. She listened patiently through it all until I was done.

“Back when we were both Cheerios she was the one who got everything,” I told her. “I thought Puck was the one thing I could say was solely mine… but she had to go and take him too.”

“I’m really sorry Santana I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

I shrugged, “It’s not even that I really like him or anything. I mean he’s decent to have around but nothing special. I just… wish I was good enough for someone.”

“You are Santana. In the two days I’ve spent as you I’ve learned just how amazing you are. You take care of Daniel, you manage to deal with Puck, and you’ve become a lot nicer to me. The problem isn’t being good enough for someone, the problem is finding someone good enough for you.”

Through my tears I looked at Brittany. And even though technically I was looking at myself it didn’t feel that way. It felt like I was staring over at a gorgeous, caring, blonde. One who despite being relentlessly bullied, continued to be a better person than me. So despite how crazy it may have been I leaned in to kiss her. I connected our lips and instantly my nerves and sadness seemed lessened. She seemed surprised but it didn’t take long for her to return it. As we kissed I forgot that it was my own body beneath me and just thought of Brittany. The kisses were soft and slow and I could already tell Brittany was improving. We pulled away for a second and she looked up at me before speaking.

“Santana I… I don't know how to feel.”

“Me neither… but I think that's okay.”

She nodded and I leaned back in to reconnect our lips. We stayed like that for a few minutes before we separated again. I looked into her eyes and I could tell. She was good enough.

Chapter Text

10 Years Ago
Santana’s POV

I still remember my first day of Second grade. I was more scared than I had been in my entire life. It had already been a terrible week for me, between my parents' constant fighting and Valerie pestering me at home. Starting at a new school was just the cherry on top of everything terrible.

“I don’t wanna go inside,” I told my Mom when she pulled into her parking spot.

“I know it can be scary mija but if you just be yourself it’ll be fine. Just be nice and the rest will come naturally.”

I didn’t budge from my seat until my Mom finally sighed before leaving the car and coming around to get me out. She walked me hand in hand all the way to a room with the name Ms. Peters labeled on the door surrounded by various colorful stickers. Class had already started so my Mom had to knock on the door prompting Ms Peters to open the door.

“Well hello there,” she said with a bright smile. “You must be Santana, we’re really excited to have you in class.” I hid behind my Mom’s legs still feeling nervous.

“Sorry,” my Mom replied. “She’s a bit nervous about today.”

“No problem, I totally understand.” She crouched down to my level. “Santana, why don’t you come inside and meet all your new friends. I know there's lots of girls here who’d love to play with you.” I sniffled before nodding slowly. Ms. Peters put her hand out and I took it following her inside. I glanced back at my Mom giving her one last wave before the door closed. “Okay Santana there’s still a seat at that table over there.” She pointed towards the circular table in the back where one of the four seats was open. I walked over nervously analyzing who I’d be sitting next to as I did. There was a boy with a mohawk, a blonde girl in a sundress and cross necklace, and another blonde wearing a unicorn shirt. I sat down in the seat and just stared down at my desk, too nervous to say anything to any of them. After a few minutes I glanced over at the girl in the unicorn shirt. She was coloring a picture of a puppy with a very odd choice of colors. She must’ve noticed me looking at her because she suddenly spoke up.

“I’m coloring all his fur purple cause he’s a magic puppy. His Mommy is a Unicorn, and his Daddy is a pegasus.”

“How would they make a puppy,” I said.

She shrugged, “I don’t know, magic I guess.”

She continued scribbling with a huge smile on her face. Something about that smile pissed me off even as a 7 year old. How could somebody be so happy when everything in my life was so terrible. Here I was dealing with my parents divorce, a bratty older sister, and being stuck at a new school with no friends, well here she was without a care in the world. If I was miserable why shouldn’t she be too?

“That’s stupid,” I spit out.

She stopped coloring and looked over at me. “My Mommy said that’s a really mean word that no one should ever say.”

I rolled my eyes, “Well that’s even stupider.” I reached over and took her picture from her crumpling it in the process.

“Hey give that back,” she shrieked.

I looked down at the puppy picture, all my anger, sadness, and jealousy starting to bubble up before eventually it unleashed and I tore it in half. Brittany burst into tears before running over to Ms. Peters. She made me sit inside for recess that day which just made me even angrier. From there it just grew and grew. What started with tearing pictures, turned into shoving, name calling, and slushie facials everyday. The girl I tormented for years and tried to make miserable… she was the same girl I had kissed the night before.

That night I got zero sleep. For multiple reasons, the first being that Brittany was right next to me softly snoring with her head on my shoulder. And second, because I couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened.

How could I be stupid enough to kiss her. Just two days ago I was throwing slushies at her and calling her names but now… something’s different. I had to admit living her life even if just for two days gave me a whole new perspective. She had to work a lot harder for things than I did, yet she still managed to be kind to people. Whereas I have everything handed to me yet I’m still a total bitch.

Brittany shifted next to me and suddenly her arm lifted up before wrapping around my torso. In her sleep she pulled me closer which I didn’t even know was possible. This was the first time I’d ever been in bed with someone like this since Puck always bailed after our hookups leaving me by myself. It was… nice to say the least. Even if my mind was racing with how I just ruined everything. That’s why as soon as I saw the sun come up the next morning I detangled myself from Brittany and sat up. I walked over to my closet and grabbed the few things that I knew would fit Brittany. I was extra careful not to look at her body well I changed since that just seemed wrong, especially since she told me she did the same thing. I needed to clear my head so I left my house and started jogging down the street. Brittany’s legs definitely had their perks and speed was one of them. As I jogged I thought over everything that’s been going on. I didn’t think I was attracted to girls, but kissing Brittany did feel really nice even if I’m not sure why I did it. In the past I had found certain girls attractive but I always brushed that off as just simple admiration not some sort of crush. As I was jogging I felt my phone buzz so I stopped and pulled it out.

Brittany: Hey, I woke up and you were gone. I’m sorry if I did something wrong. I was kinda hoping we could talk.

Santana: Sorry, I just went out on a run. I’ll be back in a bit and yeah I kinda wanted to talk too.

I put my phone away and sighed. Honestly I was really scared to talk to her about what happened last night. I didn’t know what she would think or do and it felt completely out of my control. So I didn’t jog home. Instead I just ran, to nowhere in particular. I took random turns and went down streets I was unfamiliar with hoping after a while I could just outrun all my problems. Eventually I had to stop to catch my breath and I looked at my surroundings instantly realizing where I was, Quinn Fabray’s house. I stared at the huge house in front of me feeling angry. I wanted nothing more than to get back at Quinn somehow but I didn’t know how… or why. It’s not that I really cared about Puck, I mean I probably should’ve known he was cheating on me but it was still hard. It felt like I didn’t mean anything to him, or anybody for that matter. Maybe that’s why I gravitated towards Brittany. She was so caring and sweet despite how nasty I was to her. Eventually I jogged back to my house and went inside. Brittany was waiting for me in my room. She gave me a small wave when I stepped inside.

“I was starting to think you weren’t coming back,” she said with a small smile.

“Sorry, I was just kinda nervous I guess.”

“Yeah, me too. To be honest I’m still kinda processing exactly what happened.”

“I’m really sorry about all that Brittany. I was just desperate for somebody last night and you were the closest person,” I said with a shrug. “It didn’t really mean anything.”

I saw her face drop but she quickly faked a look of indifference, “I get it. I didn’t really think it meant anything either. I mean it was kinda weird kissing ourselves anyway right?”

“For sure. Let’s just forget it and move on. I’ll deal with Puck once we switch back.”

She nodded and an awkward feeling started to fill the room. We couldn’t look each other in the eye and we both knew why. Because that kiss last night totally meant something, we just couldn’t figure out what.

Chapter Text

Brittany’s POV
Neither Santana or I had any plans for today and we were trying to figure out something to do when my phone buzzed.

Tina: Hey Britt, a few of the other Glee girls and I were headed to the mall today. Would you want to come with us?

I showed the text to Santana and she shrugged, “I’ve got no problem going. If you wanna become their friends I can hang out with them,” she paused for a second and looked at me, “But only if you come with me.”

I was shocked, “Why would you want me to go? If people see you hanging out with me and the glee club it’ll be a huge hit to your rep.”

She shrugged, “Don’t worry about it, I just figured if you’re gonna become their friend after we switch back then you should probably get to know them yourself rather than just hearing about them through me. If you really don’t wanna go though that’s fine.”

“No, I think it’ll be fun. I’ll do my best to act like you though,” I said with a wink. She rolled her eyes playfully and I replied to Tina’s text.

Brittany: Yeah that sounds fun. Is it cool if I bring a friend?

Tina: Of course. We’ll meet you over there in like half an hour, sound good?

Brittany: Perfect

“Alright they said you can come… or I guess it would be me coming technically.”

Santana smirked, “Wanky.” I couldn’t help but smile and blush lightly at her comment. I still wasn’t super used to seeing this side of Santana, she seemed much happier than the angry, mean Santana that terrorized me everyday. “Hey, do you think before we go over there we could stop by your house, to get me some fresh clothes, I’ve been wearing this for almost a full day.”

“Yeah definitely.”

We left her house in her car and started the drive over to my place. Things were completely silent the entire time. Neither one of us wanted to address the elephant in the room. That that kiss meant more than either of us let on. I mean it had too right? If it was truly nothing it wouldn’t have felt so amazing. Kissing Santana was unlike anything I had ever felt before. It didn’t even feel like I was kissing myself, it truly felt like I was kissing Santana. She was so soft and caring and our lips worked perfectly together to the point that even if we were in the right bodies I don’t think much would have changed. I was so deep in thought about the kiss I didn’t notice that we had pulled up to my house. I looked over at Santana who seemed nervous.

She said, “I’m just gonna run inside and grab some clothes real quick.”

I nodded, “Okay I’ll just wait out here.”

Santana’s POV

I made my way inside Brittany’s house as quietly as I could. I was really hoping nobody in her family would try to talk to me. I still wasn’t used to interacting with them. They were all so kind and bubbly, especially compared to my own Mom who was way too stressed and busy for any of that. Not that I blame her. I snuck up to her room and got changed before heading back out towards the front door. I nearly made it unnoticed but right as I turned the doorknob I heard a shout from the kitchen.

“Is that you Brittany?” Melanie shouted.

I groaned quietly before shouting back, “Um… yeah I was just heading back out.”

She walked out of the kitchen looking super excited. “Oh my god you have to tell me about this party.”

I shrugged and played it off. “Oh it was nothing special. We just hung out and talked. You know the Glee club kids aren’t exactly the hardest partiers.”

“Yeah and you and I definitely are,” she said sarcastically. “Are you gonna hang out with any of them again?”

“I was actually going to meet some of them at the mall now.”

When I said that I saw her glance outside at my car and her expression changed to one of pure surprise. She did a double take at the car just to confirm exactly what she saw.

“Why is Santana in our driveway?”

“We’ve actually been hanging out the last few days. We kinda made out.” I instantly paused after that came out of my mouth. “I mean made up. We made up.”

She gave me a weird look but continued saying “I gotta say that is hard to believe.

“You’re telling me? These last few days have been really bizarre. I've learned a lot more about her than I ever expected to.”

“Well that’s great I guess. Who knows if you and Santana can make up, maybe Sabrina and I are gonna become best friends in the future.”

I laughed before pulling her in for a quick hug. “I’ll see you later okay.”

She nodded, “Have fun with Santana. If she gives you any trouble just follow the advice you gave me and kick her ass.”

I laughed once again as I stepped out of the house and walked to the car. Brittany looked at me curiously, noticing my happy expression.

“What just happened?”

“Nothing, you’re sister and I were just having a moment.”

It looked like she wanted to ask me something but she was choosing not to. I can’t lie I was contemplating pushing to see what was bothering her but I was just as scared of making things even weirder between us. So instead we just drove to the mall, both of us deep in thought. Once we finally arrived we headed inside towards the food court where we were meeting the other girls. I had to admit I was feeling nervous. Even though they were gonna think I was Brittany that just meant they wouldn’t be scared to tell me how they truly felt about who they thought was Santana, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear people's opinions of me unfiltered by fear.

We spotted Tina, Mercedes, Rachel and Quinn sitting at a table deep in conversation. Once they spotted us I gave them any Brittanyist wave and walked over with the real Brittany right behind me.

“Hey Brittany,” Tina said before looking over next to me, “uh… and Santana?”

She looked at Tina and shrugged nonchalantly, “Yeah Britt and I have been hanging out and she said you guys were meeting up so I figured I’d join. Thought I could help some of you with your sense of fashion.”

She said that last sentence well looking directly at Rachel and I had to admit, she was getting good at being me. I looked over at Quinn who was doing her best to just keep her head down and not be the center of my attention.

“Well okay then,” Mercedes interrupted. “We usually start upstairs and then just make our way down.”

We both nodded and started following them to the first shop. Brittany and I trailed behind so I took the chance to tell her.

“Anything you want today I’ll buy.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well this is a rare opportunity for somebody to model clothes for you… on you. So if you like how I look in anything I’ll buy it.”

“You don’t have to do that Santana.”

“But I want to. Consider it an apology present. For years of tormenting you and for last night.”

“You don’t have to apologize for last night either. You were already very clear that it didn’t mean anything okay?” She said coldly. She sped up to catch up with the other girls leaving me behind to really think about what she said. Maybe I had been too harsh. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t lead her on or give her the wrong idea.

I mean even though Brittany was kind, and thoughtful, and beautiful, and forgiving, and funny and talented and had an amazing body, doesn’t mean I was attracted to her… right?

My thinking was interrupted when I noticed Quinn now walking alongside me. She looked over at me nervously.

“I didn’t realize you and Santana were friends.”

“Oh uh yeah, it’s kind of a recent thing I guess.”

“Would’ve been good to know last night. I don’t usually spill secrets that could ruin my life to people if their friends with the person the secret is about”

“Don’t worry I didn’t tell her anything.” That was technically a lie but I didn’t feel like explaining to Quinn that she had actually been the one to reveal her big secret.

“Ok well thanks. I don’t think I could handle what would happen if Santana found out. She’d probably ruin my life even worse than it is now.”

I nodded briefly before saying, “She’s trying to do better I think.”

Quinn rolled her eyes, “At this point I’m not sure it matters. Do a few instances of being nice make up for years of being a bitch? I mean seriously Brittany you were her number one target most of the time. You of all people have no reason to be friends with her. If anything you should hate her more than the rest of us, She even…”

“Well at least I know she won’t have sex with my boyfriend.” I cut in. I didn’t totally mean to say it, it kind of just slipped out.

She looked hurt for a second but quickly put her uncaring expression back on. She walked back up to the other girls leaving me following behind as we walked into the first store.

Brittany’s POV

The first store we entered was a fairly high end clothing store, nothing like what I’d normally shop at. We were planning on just trying some stuff on but probably not buying anything. I had to admit there were several things I found that I really liked but I didn’t want to take advantage of Santana's offer. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to buy my forgiveness or just doing it out of kindness but it was unnecessary either way. Santana must’ve noticed me eyeing this shirt I wanted because she pulled it off the rack.

“Let’s go try it on,” she said.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I’m telling you Brittany you’ll never be able to model something this way again,” she said with a smirk. There was a hint of flirtiness in her voice but I couldn’t exactly interpret what that meant.

She took my hand and pulled me back towards the changing room. She pulled me inside one and closed the door behind her.

“Wait a second we’re both gonna be in here?”

“I mean… it’s your body. If you wanna step out you can. I just figured you wouldn’t care.”

I shook my head, “No it’s fine. Nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Before I knew it she was pulling off the shirt. I noticed that she kept her eyes shut the entire town and I felt my heart patter at the kind gesture. Like I said I had obviously seen myself shirtless countless times before but there was something about this time. I definitely had a good body but that combined with the confidence Santana always had really made me realize it.

Santana smirked, “Really eyeing yourself up Pierce.”

“Sorry it’s just, even though you're me, you still have this way about you that seems completely Santana.”

“Okay and how exactly would you describe that “way”?

I shrugged, “I don’t know. You just always seem so confident. The way you carry yourself,, your expressions, how you never turn away when talking to someone you're always completely head on. It’s like you're never afraid of anything they could possibly say to you. I guess you could say I’m just taking notes on how to improve myself.”

“It’d be pretty hard to improve you,” she said with a smile towards me. She slipped on the shirt I was looking at and inspected herself in the mirror. “What do you think?”

She gave a few spins showing it off from every angle. I shrugged, “I mean yeah I like it but there’s zero chance I’m actually letting you pay for it.”

“Too bad Britt. Even if we leave without it I’ll just come back later to get it and leave it in your closet before we switch back.”

I rolled my eyes playfully as she looked at me with a signature Santana smirk just on my face. My thoughts began racing back to last night once again. I had been so dismissive towards her when we arrived at the mall but I’d be lying if I said I truly didn’t want us to talk about it anymore. So I decided to be bold.

“I need you to do something for me?”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Kiss me again. Right here right now.” I saw her open her mouth to speak so I continued before she got the chance. “You told me last night it didn’t mean anything and if that’s true you have nothing to worry about. I just need to know for sure.”

“And you think this is the best way to do it.”

“Well Santana, every time we try to talk about it we just go around in circles. So let’s just go for broke. You kiss me, I kiss you. If we both feel something then we’ll know there’s something here,” I said, gesturing to myself and then her.

She sighed, “And what if only one of us “feels something” then what? Then we just live miserable lonely lives without each other?”

“No, if only one of us feels something then that person goes home, eats a tub of ice cream while watching trashy tv and then they move on with their life more aware of who they are as a person..”

I could tell she was debating it in her head. Finally after what seemed like years she spoke. “Okay fine, one quick kiss, just like the one last night.”

“Yes, just a simple quick kiss.”

She nodded before taking a deep breath and slowly stepping towards me. She stood in front of me before moving her eyes up from the floor until they reached mine. I closed my eyes and prepared for our lips to connect. In a second I felt her lips peck against mine and backed up.

“Well?” she said. “That answer your question?”

I glared at her. “Are you serious Santana? That was the least passionate kiss I’ve ever gotten in my entire life.”

“How many kisses have you gotten?”

I stopped for a moment before responding, “Two but that doesn’t matter. I told you it had to be a kiss just like last night.”

“Well maybe I don’t want to do a kiss like last night again.”

“Why not? You can’t honestly tell me you 100 percent think last night didn’t mean anything. That it was just a way for you to get back at Puckerman. You don’t even like him Santana. So why are you so worried?”

“Because Brittany you’re right. I’m not 100 percent sure. Shit, I’m probably not even 50 percent sure. But that’s scary. Because if I feel that way about you or even about girls in general my entire life changes. People will look at me differently, they’ll treat me differently, some will even cut me off entirely. So yeah I don’t wanna kiss again. Because if I do it’ll just confirm everything I’m scared of. That I really really like you Brittany.”

“I really really like you too,” I said smiling. “So why don’t we just try to do this slowly. Or even privately. Nobody has to know about the two of us for as long as you want. I can just be your mysterious significant other you tell all the Cheerios about. As long as you're willing to give us a chance.”

“That wouldn’t be fair to you. With Puckerman still in the picture.”

“Then get him out of it. Santana, you know he cheated on you. Just dump his sorry ass. He’s done nothing but hold you back for years. He’s stopped you from being the amazing girl I’ve seen you be the last few days. The girl I really desperately want to kiss right now.”

She paced around the changing room for a few moments clearly thinking it through. Finally she stopped and looked at me. I was gonna say something but I was cut off as she stepped towards me and pushed me against the wall before pressing her lips against mine. Once again they fit perfectly and as I closed my eyes and imagined it was her body pressing mine against the wall rather than vice versa. After a minute she pulled away catching her breath.

“Ok… let’s give it a shot.”