Can't Take My Eyes Off You || Quinntana

Twenty Seven

Returning to school was, once again, a big adjustment for Santana. She'd only been home for a week, but arriving back in Louisville felt like reality was slapping her in the face.

Her first day back, she'd had a math test, which did not go well. If she wanted to get into NHSM, she needed to keep her grades up, and this 38% did not help her average at all. She needed to do exceptionally well on her final exam to fix it.

Now, it was Tuesday night, and instead of preparing for the final, she was staring at her failed test and waiting for Quinn to call her back. The universe must have heard her plea, because at that moment, her phone began to ring.

"Hey, Q."

"San, you won't believe the two days I've just had."

"Believe me, same. You first."

"Well, yesterday, Nora finally convinced me to go to this LGBT alliance thing at Yale. So I did, and it was actually fun. The people there are really cool. This person River invited us to an open mic where they were performing, and that's, of course, where you got the phone call from. I wasn't planning on singing, but they convinced me in the moment. It was all so crazy."

Quinn sounded over-the-moon happy, like she was high on life. Santana was happy for her, but she couldn't help comparing Quinn's college experience to her own. While her girlfriend was making new friends and having movie-like experiences, she was spending her free time alone in her room, moping around over a bad test score.

"That sounds amazing. I'm so proud of you for stepping outside your comfort zone. It seems like it paid off."

"Definitely. So what's happened to you since getting back to school?"

Santana let out a nervous chuckle. She wanted to be honest with her girlfriend, but she felt guilty about ruining her good mood with her problems.

"I had a surprise math test yesterday, and let's just say it did not go well. Apparently we were supposed to have our trig identities memorized."

"Memorized? What kind of class makes you memorize your trig identities?"

"Advanced trig, apparently."

"I didn't know you were taking advanced math classes in college. That's amazing!" Quinn had a way of focusing on the positives of bad situations, especially when it was not exactly helpful.

"Yeah. I'm pretty good at math, but in high school, I never felt like doing my homework. Too busy. So, my grades weren't great."

Santana had always been one of those students who was labelled as having "a lot of potential," but never got exceptionally good grades. It wasn't that she didn't care about school—well—it wasn't her top priority, but she did hope to get into a good college and make her family proud. But, for whatever reason, she always had a difficult time making herself do the work.

"Makes sense." Quinn acted like she could relate, despite being one of the most motivated people Santana knew. "So how are we going to make sure you ace the final?"

"I thought maybe we could do some over-the-phone study dates? I need someone holding me accountable or else I won't get anything done."

Of course, she really just wanted to spend more time with Quinn.

Quinn happily agreed, and they worked out a study schedule together. When their final exams happened in a couple weeks, both would be prepared.

. . .

Quinn's next two weeks felt like a movie montage of phone study dates, insane amounts of homework, and fun outings with her new friends. The group had gone ice skating together, tried out a new sushi restaurant, and had a small holiday gift swap. Life was good.

And yet, she could still sense that a piece of her was missing. She would be packed into a car with her friends, the music turned up so loud she could practically feel her bones rattle, everyone having the times of their lives, and the same thought would cross her mind every time: Santana would love this.

At that point, her happiness would fade, replaced by a sense of longing. Still, she would put on a smile and sing along to the radio.

Pretending. It was a skill she was exceptionally good at.

Luckily for her, she only had one final exam left, and then it was time to go home for the holidays. She had some anxiety about her own exam, but the thought causing her heart to beat with increasing intensity was the fact that Santana was taking her trigonometry final at the same time.

The morning of the test, she got up at precisely 7:30, sent Santana a good morning text, as always, then started her typical pre-exam ritual. She listened to her favorite playlist while getting ready, then ate a large breakfast at the dining hall.

On her way to the test, she texted Santana one more time.

Good luck on your final, babe. You're going to do amazing.

She entered the classroom, took a deep breath, and found her seat. Just one more test, and she could finally see Santana again.

Happy finals season! Hope that all of you who are in college did great on your exams :)

Sorry for how  slowly I've been publishing chapters recently. School is a lot, and my motivation is at an all time low. I know this chapter is short, but a lot of fun things are coming soon!