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"And my heart won't beat again if I don't feel him in my veins..."
The auditorium is empty, and Tina belts the song for all she's worth. It's not like anyone can hear her.
It's not like anyone wants to hear her. Not Mike, who hadn't so much as given her a courtesy call before showing up. Not the glee club, because apparently nobody even considered her an option for Rizzo.
Not Finn, who'd called Santana up from college to play the role.
Tina loves Santana. She loves and fears her, but mostly loves her, and respects her talent, too. And anyway, it's true — Santana is perfect for the role.
"He can do no wrong, don't even need to try..."
She shuts her eyes and leans into the mic stand, pouring passion into the song through the bridge and into the last chorus, and as the song comes to a close, music trailing into silence, she inhales. Exhales. A couple of steps to the front of the stage and she drops to her knees, swinging her legs around and letting them dangle over the edge.
"Nice," a voice calls from the side of the stage, and Tina turns her head. It's Santana, leaning against the wall. Absolutely the last person Tina wants to see.
"How long have you been watching?"
"Long enough," Santana says, folding her arms. "You killed it, by the way."
Tina narrows her eyes and looks away. "But not as good as you'd have done, right?"
"Ouch." Santana smiles sadly, shaking her head. "I guess I deserved that."
"You deserve everything you get," Tina says. She doesn't look up.
Santana's voice is sharp and pleading. "What do you want me to say? I'm sorry? Here, take the part and I'll leave, and never come back?"
"What difference would it make?"
"What do you want?"
She can't help it; she laughs, harsh and bitter. "Like I said. What difference does it make?"
Santana walks forward, settling herself on the stage floor beside Tina and crossing her legs. "I'm sorry you didn't get the part," she says, after a moment of silence. "I didn't know you'd wanted it until I already had it."
Tina shrugs. "Whatever. You're better than I am."
"Don't say that," Santana snaps, and for a second there's fire behind her eyes, the kind that used to make people run. Santana's presence was power. "You're better than every one of those scrotal rejects."
Now, Tina glares back, challenging. "It's easy when you're Rizzo. Or Anita. Or captain of the Cheerios." She gets louder, and she can't find it in her to care. Letting it out feels good, and if Finn won't listen then she's damn well going to tell someone who will. "I'm not Rachel, but I thought I could be somebody, and right now I might as well be nobody. You have never known how it feels."
A flinch, and then silence. Santana blinks slowly. She hugs her knees to her chest, facing the empty auditorium.
"A year ago..." she begins, voice almost too steady, "I felt like worse than a nobody. Everyone in this stupid town knew something about me that I had barely even started to accept."
Tina remembers, flushing, heat prickling up the back of her neck. "I — didn't mean..."
"I know."
"How did you get past it?"
"Did I?" Santana snorts. "I wasn't aware." She lets her knees fall to the side, towards Tina, and leans in closer. "But I had the Troubletones then. Even if this entire school thought I was a freak, I knew I would be so much more than anything they'd ever be."
"I'm not going to start my own group."
"I'm not saying you have to." Santana gives a small half-smile. "I just mean...you know you're amazing. And people may not see it, but if you know how good you are...well, maybe someday you'll get to prove it to the world. And they'll listen, because you'll make them listen."
"You make it sound easy," Tina says, and Santana laughs.
"I wish it was."
She's never seen Santana this unguarded. Tina smiles back, genuine, but she pauses, wondering if she should continue. "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did," Santana says, but she nods.
"Why'd you say yes when Finn called you? I thought you were done with performing."
"I had my reasons. I took the chance — I missed it." Santana's smile dims, though she doesn't break eye contact. "I missed everyone."
Tina knows what she means, but she takes her hand anyway. "It's good to see you again."
"Yeah," Santana says, climbing to her feet and pulling Tina up with her. "Likewise." She releases Tina's hand and walks to the stereo, thumbing through the CD booklet Tina left on top. "Hey," she says, cocking her head. "Feel like one more song today? Track one. Let's go."
They share a mic, and they sound phenomenal. Tina doesn't remember the last time she sang like this, for fun, for no other reason than to please herself, and when the song ends she hugs Santana extra long and extra hard.
These wings are made to fly...
She believes it.