Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Quinntana

Seventeen

meet me in the lobby 15 minutes before glee

Santana double checked the message from Quinn. She'd read it correctly. So where was the girl? Santana was standing in the middle of the lobby, on time for once, and Quinn was nowhere in sight.

High school was a place that brought back a lot of memories, good and bad. It was the place where she met her best friends. The place where she was outed to the entire state of Ohio. The place where she found her love for singing. The place where she got into fights a little too frequently. Being back was a lot all at once.

Finally, Quinn appeared in the doorway. Behind her was Ms. Pillsbury. Santana looked at the two of them in confusion.

"Oh, hi Ms. Pillsbury. I wasn't expecting to see you." 

Ms. Pillsbury responded with a warm smile. "It's good to see you, Santana. Quinn here told me you could use a little guidance."

"Quinn, what?" Santana felt some defensiveness rising in her chest, but more prominently, she was curious about what Quinn was trying to do.

"Just give her a chance. C'mon." It was hard to ignore Quinn when she made that face. Her green eyes were open wide, begging Santana to comply.

"Alright, alright. Whatever."

The three entered Ms. Pillsbury's office. Ms. Pillsbury took her seat behind her desk, and Santana and Quinn sat across from her, Quinn's hand resting on Santana's leg to comfort her.

Santana scanned the pamphlets on the desk. Divorce: Why Your Parents Stopped Loving You. Wow! There's Hair Down There. I Am Too Depressed to Even Open This Pamphlet. Jeez.

"So, Santana—how have you been liking college?"

Santana shrugged. "It's good."

Quinn looked over and gave her a disapproving glance.

"Okay, fine. It sucks."

Ms. Pillsbury's face twisted into a concerned expression. "What sucks about it?"

Santana felt Quinn's hand give her leg a squeeze of encouragement. "The people suck. The classes suck. Even the cheerleading sucks." 

"Well, Santana. You don't have to stay if you don't like it. Did you know that 37% of all college students transfer at least once in their college careers? We can find a school that's a better fit for you."

Santana was overwhelmed by all this information. She wasn't used to people caring so much about her future. "That sounds like a good idea, but I don't even know where to start."

Ms. Pillsbury offered a comforting smile. "Actually, with some help from Quinn, I've found a few schools you might like." She reached under her desk and spread 10 or so pamphlets on its surface. "Quinn said you have a knack for songwriting, huh? Well, this school would be perfect." She slid a pamphlet toward Santana.

"Hey," Santana said with a sharpness that caused Quinn to remove her hand from its place on her leg. "You weren't supposed to talk about that."

"C'mon," Quinn begged. "Just hear her out."

"It's called the New Haven School of Music. NHSM. It's similar to NYADA in the way that it's small and very selective. You could go there to study songwriting and improve as a vocalist. And it's very close to Yale. You and Quinn would practically be neighbors."

The bite from Santana's words was gone. "That sounds amazing, but I wouldn't actually be able to get in, right?"

"If what Quinn says about your songwriting is true, you definitely have a chance." Quinn offered Santana a half smile. "However, the application deadline is January 1st, and you need to have a portfolio put together by then."

"January 1st?" Panic rose in Santana's voice. That's really soon."

Quinn's hand interlocked with Santana's. "You can do it, San. I can help you with recording since I've already got equipment at home. And anyway, you have a notebook full of songs already." She reached into her bag and pulled out the notebook. "Here. You dropped this yesterday."

Santana slowly looked from the journal up to Quinn's face. "You didn't read any of it, did you?" She whispered. Quinn avoided her gaze. Santana was tempted to blow up at her right then and there, but it didn't seem like a good idea to do so in front of Ms. Pillsbury. "We'll talk about this later," she uttered with a slight crack in her voice.

The school bell rang, meaning it was time for the girls to visit the glee club. Santana thanked Ms. Pillsbury and took the NHSM pamphlet from her desk. Santana and Quinn walked to the choir room together in silence. It was about to be an interesting rehearsal.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading, voting, and leaving comments! As you may have noticed, my rate of publishing chapters has been slowing down. I'm running out of prewritten stuff, and I'm starting to get very busy with school and other things starting. I will still be writing, especially since I have character arcs and a really good ending in mind that I refuse to let go to waste. The pace of releasing chapters just might be a bit slower from here on out. Sending you all love <3