Brittany's POV
When I woke up the morning after the Cheerios' Halloween party, it took me a while to remember that I was at my aunt's house. I had known she was on vacation; otherwise, I wouldn't have even mentioned it. She would not have approved of me drinking alcohol at fourteen years old.
I noticed that Santana wasn't there anymore and saw that she had left me a note saying that she had gone back home and would see me on Monday, since she was sure her mom would ground her after the previous night.
I got out of the bed and made it neatly. I didn't feel too hungover. I had only consumed a small amount of alcohol, since I had known that I had dance lessons that day and I did not want to feel awful while exercising. Realizing that I wasn't wearing my clothes, I found them thrown around the room and put them back on. I wondered how much Santana had seen, but decided I didn't care, since I could blame all my behavior on the alcohol.
Leaving the house, I made sure the door was locked and the spare key back where it belonged before I walked back home.
"Brittany," my mom said when I stepped into the house, "why didn't you come home last night?"
I considered telling her the truth but didn't want to make Santana sound bad just because she got drunk. "We stayed at Quinn's," I replied.
"Okay. Just please call me next time."
"I will." Then I walked to my bedroom and fed Lord Tubbington. I felt awful for leaving him alone so long, but he didn't seem to care, so I continued working on the latest friendship bracelet I was making.
I ate lunch with my mom and sister before dance class. Mom drove us, since Jessica took dance too. I took jazz and contemporary, though, while Jessica took ballet.
After dance class, I texted Santana to ask her how her day had been so far.
From Santana: I should've drunk less and my mom grounded me
To Santana: I hope you're better soon! See you Monday!
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The rest of the weekend passed slowly, and I was looking forward to Monday when I could see Santana again. So, first thing Monday morning, I put on my Cheerios uniform and rushed to the kitchen.
"Are we picking up Santana this morning?" Mom asked as she handed me my breakfast packed for after practice.
"Yup!"
"Then let's get going."
We got to Santana's house at the same time as usual, but she wasn't waiting for us outside.
"I'll go get her," I told my mom. Then I got out of the car and walked up to her front door and rang the doorbell.
I waited for close to five minutes before the door opened.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't ready, Britt," Santana said. "I slept in."
"It's okay," I replied, then we went to the car and my mom drove us to school for Cheerios practice.
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We were greeted at practice with three more freshmen who had made the real Cheerios on Friday after school. It was clear they were excited, but the seniors knocked them down a few pegs during our warm-up.
Santana and I ran together, just like we usually did until Sue told everyone to separate, but Santana didn't talk much.
"Are you okay?" I asked Santana.
"I'm fine," she replied, lying as usual. I could always tell when she lied; she looked down and to the side and she tried to force too much confidence into her words. I knew she wasn't okay, but I didn't say anything.
---
During my last class of the day, I was called down to the office. I wondered what I could be in trouble for, but as it turned out, I wasn't in trouble. Instead, my mom was in the office.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Is it Lord Tubbington?" Of course I knew it didn't have anything to do with Lord Tubbington because my mom wouldn't have come to school for that. I just wanted to add some humor to a situation that was scaring me.
"No, Brittany," my mom sighed. "Your sister broke her arm. She's at the hospital now."
"Wait, what? How?"
"She fell off the play structure at school and landed on her arm. She also hit her head and may have a concussion. Your dad's with her. Why don't you come with me?"
"Okay." Without even picking up my homework and Cheerios uniform from my locker, I followed my mom to her car and she drove us to the hospital.
My sister was sobbing when we arrived. It was obvious that she was in a lot of pain; her face was scrunched up and she was shaking. Seeing her so hurt when I couldn't help her filled me with so much emotion that I had to leave the room.
In the waiting room, I decided to call Santana.
"Brittany! Where are you? You weren't in our usual place; I assumed you'd left." Santana sounded a little annoyed but mostly concerned.
"I'm at the hospital," I said in a quiet voice.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but Jessica broke her arm and probably has a concussion."
"I'm so sorry, Britt. I can't come visit, but I'll do what I can to help."
"Brittany?"
I looked up and saw my dad in the waiting room.
"Who are you talking to?" he asked.
"Santana," I replied before saying goodbye to her and hanging up.
"You sister can come home now; we just have to be careful with her," he said.
---
Back at home, Jessica was told to rest in her room while the rest of us ate supper.
"Can I go to Santana's tonight?" I asked while we were eating. I wasn't even sure if Santana would be allowed to have me over, but I really wanted to talk with someone, namely Santana.
"If it's alright with her parents," Mom said.
So, I called Santana and asked her if I could go to her house for a sleepover. I told her that my mom would come pick both of us up in the morning to bring us to Cheerios practice and that my house just felt too suffocating at the moment, so she agreed.
"My parents are gone for the night anyway," she reasoned. "They probably won't mind."
I told my parents that I could walk to Santana's house on my own, packed a bag with a few items, then left. I ran to her house because exercise always helped me cope with my feelings; that was why I loved to dance so much.
I was panting from both the running and crying when I got to Santana's house. She let me inside immediately, hugged me to show she cared, and gave me a cup of water to help calm my breathing.
"Will your sister be okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I didn't want to stay home with her like that."
"That's fine by me. Being home alone is boring anyways," she said. "Do you want to watch a movie?"
"Do you have any Disney movies?"
Santana smiled. I couldn't understand why people said Disney movies were for kids, and I loved almost all of them. She showed me her family's movie stash. I looked through the movies until I found "Tangled."
"Can we watch this one?" I asked, holding it up for Santana to see.
She nodded and got the movie ready.
After the movie, we got ready for bed. It was early, but we were tired, since it was a Monday and Cheerios practice was early the next morning.
"Britt?" Santana asked from the bathroom where she was changing.
"What?"
"Do you want me to set up a bed for you on the floor?"
"No. I'm sure there's room for both of us on your bed," I said. "Unless you want me to be on the floor."
"I don't mind," Santana replied coming out of the bathroom.
I was very lucky to have a friend like Santana. I knew she cared about me and was someone who would stick by my side, even when everyone else thought I was dumb. Sure, we had become friend's because of popularity, but that's not why we'd gotten so close. I hoped we'd be best friends forever.
"Do you want to go to bed already?" Santana asked.
"Sure," I replied.
I looked at Santana. She looked more mature than I did and she was beautiful, like always. She turned to look at me, and I walked a step closer to her. Without thinking, I leaned over slightly and kissed her on the lips. It was a short kiss, but it felt perfect to me.
Santana pulled away. "Maybe you should sleep on the floor."
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There will be another update next Friday!