Jayden Berry was pissed, and it wasn't because of her hormones.
She loathed Finn Hudson for outing her, Santana, and Brittany's relationship. But it got worse. Thanks to him, there was a commercial set to air at the end of the week that would out Santana to everyone in the state of Ohio, if not the entire U.S.A.
Jayden's jaw was clenched, eyes and brows narrowed as she glared at the back of Finn's head. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under.
I wish looks could kill.
I want him dead.
I hate him.
Die.
She felt liquid under her fingernails, and she unclenched her hands, sucking in a shaky breath when she saw the blood.
"Oh, baby, nooo." Brittany took a tissue out of her bag and used water from her bottle to get it wet. She took Jayden's hands and gently cleaned her nails and palms.
"I'm sorry, Brittsy," Jayden mumbled, leaning her head onto her shoulder.
"It's okay, Guppy," Brittany whispered. She kissed her temple.
"Tana?" Jayden looked at the Latina with emotionless eyes. "Do you know how to hide a body?"
Santana's brows pulled together, her jaw dropping in disbelief at her sweet angel's words. "Jayden, why do you need to know how to hide a body?" she asked quietly.
"No reason," Jayden hummed, shrugging. She glared at Finn again, her nails digging into her palms. Her girlfriends each took one of her hands and laced their fingers together.
"Breathe, Jay," Brittany whispered, gently rubbing the back of Jayden's hand with the pad of her thumb. "All this anger and stress isn't–"
"Good for the baby," Jayden mumbled, sighing. "I know. You've been saying that for 8 months."
"We just don't want to risk early labor," Santana said.
"Why would that be a bad thing? The sooner he's out of me, the better." Jayden leaned her head onto Santana's shoulder, sighing softly. "I...I want to go back to dance. Not being able to do it has made me realize how empty my life feels without it."
"I can work with you after he's born, if you want," Brittany offered, smiling softly, her ocean eyes twinkling.
Jayden smiled a little. "Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I'd love that."
"Can someone tell us what's going on, please?" Mercedes asked as Finn wrote Lady Music Week on the board.
"This week, the Troubletones and New Directions will both be singing music created by ladies and for ladies," Finn said.
"Oh, hell, no," Santana scoffed.
"Next week, all of us will be going to sectionals, and one of us is probably gonna win. But, Santana, we're worried about you."
"Worry about yourself, fetus face," Jayden spat, her hold on Santana's hand tightening. The older girl used her free hand to gently rub the back of the younger girl's, and she slowly loosened her grip.
"Glee's about learning how to accept yourself for who you are no matter what other people think," Finn said. "And that's what this music is all about."
"So, wait," Santana frowned. "I don't even get a say in this? Not cool."
"Santana, everybody in this room knows about you, Jayden, and Brittany, and we don't judge you for it. We celebrate it because it's who you are. Look, I know not everybody outside this room is as accepting and cool, but we're doing this assignment this week so that you know in this rotten, stinking mean world that you at least have a group of people who will support your choice to be whoever you wanna be."
"It's not a choice, you fucking idiot!" Jayden snapped, exhaling sharply, her nails digging into the backs of Brittany and Santana's hands.
"Hey, Guppy, baby, look at me." Brittany gently placed her hand on Jayden's cheek and turned her head so that she was looking at her. "It's okay. Deep breaths, okay?"
Jayden took a deep breath in through her nose and slowly let it out through her mouth. "Okay," she nodded.
"That's it," Finn shrugged. "That's what we're doing here. Blaine? Kurt?"
"I wish I never got out of bed this morning," Jayden grumbled, turning to hide her face in the crook of Brittany's neck. "I knew I should've stayed home today."
Santana glanced over at Jayden as Kurt and Blaine went up to the front of the choir room. She sighed sadly, wishing she knew what was going on in her head so that she could help her. She hoped that she was just moody because of her hormones, but deep down she knew that there was much more to it than that.
She was angry. She'd been through a lot in the last couple years, more recently, the last few months. She was processing everything that happened that night with Sam, and she had no idea how to cope with the fact that she was ra–
"Santana, Kurt and I have a song we like to sing to each other in the car, and we wanna sing that for you right now," Blaine said.
How dare you interrupt my worried thoughts about my girlfriend, gel brain.
"While there's nothing I'd love more than having two pretty ponies serenade me, I think we'd get further staging a gel-ervention for Blaine than singing lady music," Santana snarked.
"I know it's hard," Kurt said. "It was hard for me, too. But you can get through this."
"Easy for you to say, you weren't the one who was outed," Jayden scoffed.
"If you two would just stop being so defensive–"
"We're trying," Santana interrupted Blaine. "But your hideous bow-ties are provoking me, and Little Snixx's hormones are making her moody."
"Not just the hormones," Jayden grumbled, folding her arms across her chest.
"Wait, are we talking lady on lady or girl on girl?" Puck asked, tilting his head to the side. "Cause there's a big difference. Why not just make it lady on girl cause Jayden's–"
"Puck, focus, okay?" Mr. Schue interrupted him, scoffing. "Kurt, Blaine, why don't you, uh, kick us off with what you got?"
Kurt began to sing the first verse of Perfect by P!nk. Jayden bit down on her tongue to keep from crying, her jaw clenching slightly.
All her life, she had to live up to her big sister's perfection in their dads' eyes. Nothing she ever did earned her attention from them. She was invisible.
She'd been an outcast all her life. Even in Glee Club, she didn't exactly fit in or have friends. Brittany and Santana didn't count because she was in love with them, and Quinn was like an older sister, so she didn't count, either. She was sort of close with Tina and Artie freshman year, but they drifted apart when they started dating, leaving Jayden all alone.
Jayden leaned her head onto Santana's shoulder and linked their pinkies together as the song came to a close. She used the sleeve of Brittany's letterman to wipe away a lone tear that fell down her cheek.
It was impossible for her to listen to that song without crying, because even though the message was positive, it just reminded her that nothing she ever did would be good enough for anyone.
"Thank you, guys. Thank you, Finn, especially," Santana said sarcastically. "You know, with all the horrible crap I've been through in my life, now I get to add that."
****
All of the numbers that people had put together for Santana that week were absolute shit. Brittany had to hold Jayden back to keep her from scratching Puck's eyes out when he sang Melissa Etheridge's I'm The Only One and called their relationship a phase.
When it was finally their turn to perform, there was only one song that Brittany and Jayden had in mind. They'd often sing it in the car on the drive to school in the morning, and it meant just as much to Santana as it did to them.
"Elevator buttons and morning air," Jayden sang, smiling softly at Santana from where she sat on a stool next to Brittany at the front of the choir room. "Strangers' silence makes me want to take the stairs. If you were here, we'd laugh about their vacant stares, but right now, my time is theirs."
"Seems like there's always someone who disapproves," Brittany sang. "They'll judge it like they know about me and you. And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do. The jury's out, but my choice is you."
"So don't you worry your pretty little mind," the two girls sang together. "People throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours."
There were always going to be people out there that would judge them. They'd judge them for being queer. They'd judge them for being poly. They'd judge them for being teen parents. It was unavoidable, but as long as they had each other, they didn't care what anyone else thought because they were happy.
"You never know what people have up their sleeves," Brittany sang. "Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me. Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles, but I don't care, 'cause right now, you're mine. And you'll say..."
"Don't you worry your pretty little mind," Jayden joined in, their voices blending together. "People throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard. The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours...And it's not theirs to speculate if it's wrong, and your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong, and I'll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you...'Cause I love the gap between your teeth. And I love the riddles that you speak. And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos will be ignored, 'cause my heart is yours."
"So don't you worry your pretty little mind," Jayden sang by herself. "People throw rocks at things that shine, and life makes love look hard."
"Don't you worry your pretty little mind," Brittany sang, smiling softly at Santana. "People throw rocks at things that shine, but they can't take what's ours."
"They can't take what's ours," Jayden and Brittany sang together. "The stakes are high, the water's rough, but this love is ours."
Santana wiped away a tear that fell down her cheek and jumped up to hug her girlfriends tightly. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love you both so much."
"We love you too, Tana," Brittany smiled.
"To the moon and to Saturn," Jayden added, the three of them laughing at the Taylor Swift reference.
****
"Okay, so, uh...I'm just gonna get straight to the point."
"What's straight?" Jayden giggled quietly.
Santana chuckled and shook her head from where she stood at the front of the choir room. She took a deep breath. "So, it's no secret that Brittany, Jayden, and I are together. I've loved them from the beginning...and I don't want to keep it a secret anymore. You're my babies, and this song is for you."
She nodded to the band, and they began to play the song.
There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking smiles
Same old tired, lonely place
Walls of insincerity
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your face
All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you
Santana didn't believe in love at first sight until she met Brittany and Jayden. She remembers the first time she first saw them like it was yesterday, and she recalled the exact emotions she felt in those moments.
She never hated Jayden as much as the Jewish girl thought she did. She was scared, and that's why she was so mean to her. She thought that picking on her would make her feelings go away, but it only made them stronger.
Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"
Across the room, your silhouette
Starts to make its way to me
The playful conversation starts
Counter all your quick remarks
Like passing notes in secrecy
And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you
This night is sparklin', don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushin' all the way home
I'll spеnd forever wonderin' if you knеw
I was enchanted to meet you
The lingering question kept me up
2AM, who do you love?
I wonder 'til I'm wide awake
And now, I'm pacing back and forth
Wishing you were at my door
I'd open up and you would say
"Hey, it was enchanting to meet you"
All I know is I was enchanted to meet you
She was jealous of how close Jayden was with Brittany when the two first met. She now realized that it was because she loved both of them, and she hated the thought of losing either one of them. She didn't want to be without her two true loves.
This night is sparklin', don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushin' all the way home
I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the storyline ends
My thoughts will echo your name
Until I see you again
These are the words I held back
As I was leaving too soon
I was enchanted to meet you
Please, don't be in love with someone else
Please, don't have somebody waitin' on you
Please, don't be in love with someone else
Please, don't have somebody waitin' on you
This night is sparklin', don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushin' all the way home
I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew
This night is flawless, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, dancing around all alone
I'll spend forever wonderin' if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you
****
Jayden stormed down the hallway, her face red and metaphorical steam coming out of her ears. She walked right up to Finn at his locker, slapping his stupid little dopey smirk off his face.
"What the actual fuck is wrong with you, you homophobic piece of fucking shit?!" she screamed.
"Little Jay–"
"Don't you 'Little Jay' me, you gigantic walking turd," Jayden scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest, her brows narrowing. "I hope you know how much I hate you. First, you out my girlfriend, and then you come up with some fake-ass apology by singing an acoustic version of Girl's Just Wanna Have Fun? That's offensive! You have no idea what it's like to be a girl who likes girls. You're lucky I don't have anything sharp with me, because I will slice you open and leave you here to die."
He deserves to die.
Kill him.
Hit him again. That was fun.
Jayden raised her hand to slap him again, only for it to be grabbed by Quinn as she and Rachel ran up to them.
"Jayden," Quinn said sternly, yet gently. She stepped in front of her and Finn, placing her hands on her shoulders to keep her from lunging at the freakishly tall boy. "Hey, bub, calm down. It's okay."
"It's not okay!" Jayden yelled, trying to push past Quinn to get to Finn, who was being ushered down the hall by Rachel. "He...He has to-to be punished! He can't just out Santana and sing fucking Girls Just Wanna Have Fun as a fake apology think he can get away with it! Let me go! Let me at him! Die, Hudson!"
"Hey, sweetie, breathe, okay?" Quinn pulled Jayden's squirming body into a tight hug and gently rubbed up and down her back. The smaller girl exhaled sharply through her nose and relaxed in the blonde's arms. "It's gonna be okay, sweet girl. Getting angry won't fix anything."
"I hate him," Jayden muttered, tears of anger burning in her eyes. "I hate him...I hate him...I hate him..."
Quinn held Jayden close as the girl continued to mutter under her breath about how much she deeply loathed Finn Hudson and wanted him to die. She exchanged a look with Rachel when she appeared at her side, their eyes communicating what Santana and Brittany had already figured out.
Something was wrong. What that was, they didn't know.
Jayden's eyes flashed with fear when she noticed a mirror image of herself looking at her with a smirk. She blinked and rubbed her eye. When she opened them, the girl was gone.
She felt something dripping down her leg, and a scared whimper fell from her lips. She pulled out of Quinn's tight embrace, her breathing growing heavy.
"Jayden?" Rachel frowned, placing a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"
"What's wrong?" Quinn asked, her eyes filling with concern.
"I..." Jayden sucked in a shaky breath and glanced down at the small puddle on the floor. "I think my water just broke."
****
****
a/n
...anygays 😅
thoughts?