fanfic: Creeped Out And Flattered, PG (Finn/Santana)
Title: Creeped Out And Flattered
Author: ipickquinn & absentego
Pairings/Characters: Finn/Santana
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,684
Spoilers: none
Summary: Finn and Santana have another coincidental run-in, this time at a movie rental store.
Sequel to: Midnight Breakfast | Do You Know Karate? Because Your Body Is Kicking
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Finn and Carole Hudson) and absentego (as Santana)!
Creeped Out And Flattered
Santana was standing in one of the aisles of Lima's movie rental store, debating which movie she wanted. She could go old school and get Clueless, but really, she dealt with vapid clueless people all day. Did she really want to take that home with her? No, she didn't. Then there was Sweeney Todd, about as far from Clueless as you could get and still be on the same planet. It was dark and gory, and Johnny Depp was creepy as hell, but it was actually cool for a musical and she did love a good bloody horror flick. Then again, she'd seen it a million times.
With a frustrated sound - this was always so hard! - she turned and stalked over to the new releases lined up against the perimeter walls. Her hair flew out behind her as she moved. For once she'd left it down and it fell in loose dark waves almost to the small of her back. She was wearing a long-sleeved khaki-colored sweater dress that fell off one shoulder and was just long enough not to be obscene with chocolate brown Uggs that came halfway up her calves. As she considered the wall of movies, she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms. Really, she might as well just go home and watch a movie she had. This was such a waste of her time.
Finn was stalking up and down the aisles looking for a movie he and his mom could watch. Carole hadn't had a night off work all week and just wanted to relax, watch a movie, and spend time with her son. Finn felt too guilty at how had she had been working, and even though it was a Friday night, he had no plans of denying his mother this one measly thing. And that's why he found himself in the movie store, clueless as to what kind of movie he should get.
As he turned to walk down another aisle he spotted someone at the opposite end. Wearing a short dress. Shame her boots were so tall. She looked like she had really hot legs. Finn realized that he was flat out oogling the girl and looked up to make sure she hadn't noticed. It appeared that she was examining a movie, so he was safe for now. Except he couldn't get ride of this feeling that he knew that girl. She looked really familiar, hot legs and all. Deciding to investigate as stealthily as he could, Finn walked up next to her and pretended to be looking at the movies where she was standing.
Santana looked over to see who had come up beside her. Her lips pulled into a smirk and she tilted her head so her hair fell over her bare shoulder. "If we keep running into each other like this, I'm going to think you're following me and while I'm kind of creeped out, I'm also flattered."
Santana had a really nice neck, Finn noticed as it was all exposed in front of him, like taunting him. Wait, what? Finn seriously needed to get a girlfriend and stop perving on Santana. This was just weird. "Oh, I thought you looked familiar. Though last time I saw you you were in spandex," and that really wasn't helping with the 'stop perving' thing he had just decided on. "I mean, hi. Finding any good movies?"
Santana laughed, her shoulders lifting with it for a moment. "You know, I have more looks than the Cheerios uniform and spandex. Surprising, I know." She dropped her arms, smoothing her hands over her hips as she looked back at the wall of movies. "Not a damn fucking one." She scowled at the display as if it had personally offended her.
Finn chuckled awkwardly. Was that sarcasm? He had never been good at detecting that. "Oh, well, yeah." That had been lame. He cleared his throat, trying to get back into the groove, whatever that was. "Yeah me either. I was sent here without any kind of instructions and was just expected to pick a good movie. It's a lot harder than it looks though."
Santana's first thought was that a girlfriend had sent Finn, but that wasn't right. She knew every jock and their dating history and she hadn't heard about Finn seeing anyone. If he was, she'd know about it. Then she had another thought. But no. Finn wouldn't be that pathetic. "Who sent you here?" Don't say your mom, don't say your mom, don't say your mom.
Finn picked up some horror movie, looking at the back skeptically before setting it back. His mom definitely wouldn't want to watch a stressful movie like that on her night off. "Oh my mom. Tonight is like the first night she's had off work on a few weeks so she just felt like sitting at home," he said, shrugging. Maybe it was a little embarrassing admitting that to Santana Lopez, the epitome of cool at WMHS, but whatever. Anyone who couldn't accept that he and his mom were actually, like, friends wasn't really worth his time.
When he mentioned his mom, Santana cringed, but something in her softened when he explained. She turned and moved down an aisle, expecting him to follow. Brown eyes scanned the shelves before she pulled a video off the shelf and held it out to Finn. "Just Like Heaven. It's my favorite. She'll love it." She lifted her eyes to meet his, her usual edge gone for the moment.
Finn did in fact follow Santana, not really having anything else better do to. And the view wasn't bad either. Really, Hudson, stop perving he chastised himself before forcing his eyes up to scan the movie shelves. He stopped abruptly though when Santana did. He didn't want to knock her over, especially when she was wearing that short dress. That would just be indecent and ungentlemanly. "Oh. Cool. You want to watch it with us." Whoa, WAIT. Why had he just asked her that?! "I mean never mind. You are probably watching movies with people. But thanks for the suggestion," he said, reaching out to grab the dvd so he could make a quick getaway before he fully died of embarrassment.
"You don't want time with your mom?" Okay, so hanging out with your mom when you were a senior in high school was pretty fucking lame. Even Santana had to admit that. But she also kind of envied Finn. Anyone who knew Finn knew he was close to his mom. She almost resented him for that. Yeah, her mom was around, but all the woman was good for was telling her daughter what she wasn't good for. Her mom had never wanted her, and she let Santana know that on a regular basis. Having Santana had tied her down and made her lose any chance of achieving her dreams. Santana was the reason she was stuck in Lima. Santana's one saving grace was her father.
Finn's eyebrows furrowed together. Well that hadn't been the reaction he had been expecting from one Santana Lopez. Where was the taunting and ridicule? Not even a sneer? She actually looked... genuine. Was this some sort of parallel universe? Maybe the movie store had a weird energy in here. There was a lot of magnetism going on with all the cassette tapes and electronics around here. "Uh, I'm sure she would enjoy the female company and stuff..." He shrugged again, wondering if he and Santana were actually being serious about this.
Santana shrugged. "Okay." Why the hell not? It wasn't like she had anything better to do. All of her friends had other plans tonight, so she was on her own. Besides, this would give her the inside scoop on Finn's mom and she wanted to see first hand this mom that Finn was so close to. She snagged the DVD out of his hand and walked right up to the counter. After giving them her membership card, she paid the few dollars for the DVD rental and moved to the door, taking the bag once she was beyond the security detector. Only then did she look back at Finn. "Coming?"
The utterly confused expression was still on Finn's face but he followed her through the security detector. "You didn't have to do that, I could have paid since this was supposed to be for me and my mom. I mean, not that I don't want you to come to my house. Like I said, my mom will probably appreciate the female company. Plus I think she ordered pizza." Okay that last part had nothing to do with anything but he was actually really excited about the pizza. "Uh okay then. Well you drove right? Want to just follow me to my house?" What if she just drove away with the movie though? Then what would he do once he got home and he was empty handed? It's not like he could take the movie though since he paid for it. "Uh yeah. So that sound good?"
Santana gave him an amused look. "Wow, you babble almost as much as Berry does when you're nervous." She smirked up at him. "Do I make you nervous, Finn?" Without waiting for a response, and with a very cocky smile, she nodded. "I'll follow you. No way I'm getting in that death trap you call a car again." Turning on her heel, she headed to her shiny red Mustang and slid in behind the wheel.
Finn swallowed hard, but knew better than to answer her question unless he wanted to go on a babbling spree again. So he just nodded in agreement for her to follow him. But it sort of registered that she had insulted his car, once again. "It's a Volvo Wagon," he called after her. "It's a CLASSIC." He might be a little defensive about his crappy car. He wasn't entirely sure that Santana had heard him, but he had at least done his duty in defending his car honor. With that he jogged over to his car and once he was all in and buckled up, started driving home, making sure Santana was able to follow him.
In answer to Finn's yell, Santana just rolled the convertible top back and revved the engine of her Mustang. It was a little chilly out but she was used to practicing Cheerios routines in the snow so she'd survive. Plus, she looked really hot with her sunglasses on and the wind whipping her hair around. It wasn't hard to follow Finn. He wasn't exactly a speed demon. She followed him closing, gunning her engine a couple times. "Could you drive any slower?" she muttered. Finally, they arrived at Finn's house and Santana whipped the Mustang into a spot by the curb then grabbed the movie and slid out.
Finn had been a little nervous about Santana driving so close behind him and she was totally just showing off revving her engine like that. "Crazy woman," he grumbled as he slid out of the car. Finn leaned against it as he waited for Santana to walk up the driveway then straightened up once she was by him. "Uh hi. Again. So yeah. This is my house. Uh, let's go in." He said, leading the way up the sidewalk. This felt pretty weird, bringing a girl home to meet his mom. But it's not like he and Santana were dating and he was introducing his mother to the girl he was going to marry. Nah, nothing crazy like that. So why did he feel so nervous? He unlocked the door and walked in. "Uh hey mom I'm home. And I ... brought someone." He called out.
Carole had been grabbing pops from the kitchen and reentered the living room, holding two Cokes. She looked briefly at Finn then shifted her gaze over to Santana. "Hi dear, I'm Finn's mom, Carole," she said as welcoming as she could. Except she couldn't deny the fact that she was confused. Finn hadn't brought a girl home in... well ever really. Besides Quinn. But they had moved past that as a family and now it just wasn't really talked about. Setting the Coke cans down she walked over to Santana, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry if my hands are cold dear."
Santana stiffened a bit at the hug, having been caught off-guard. Not many people other than Brittany dared to hug or otherwise touch Santana Lopez, so she wasn't used to it. She usually gave off enough of a razor sharp vibe to keep people away. After a moment, she returned it awkwardly, then pulled away. She was very rarely off her game or flustered and right now she was both. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."
Finn cringed slightly when he saw his mom go in for the hug. But it's not like he could stop her. Once they broke apart, Finn looked at Santana, studying her expression. She looked so... not Santana. It kind of made him want to hug her too, but then she would probably be even more not Santana and then it wouldn't have helped anything.
"Uh, yeah, mom, this Santana. Santana this is my mom, Carole." There, hopefully that would diffuse some of the awkwardness.
Carole grinned between Finn and Santana. "Well any friend of Finn's is always welcome in our home."
Or not. "Uh we're not really friends. We just ran into each other at the movie store. I mean, we know each other since she's on the Cheerios and I play football and..." Okay he was babbling again.
Santana recovered and put on a hurt look like Finn had just broken her heart. "Yeah, we're not friends..." She hid a smirk. Fuck, she loved messing with Finn. It had to be the highlight to any day. She pretended to force a smile for Carole and held the movie out. "I hope you like Reese Witherspoon."
Carole gave Finn a disapproving look and reached out to pat Santana on the shoulder. "Please excuse my moronic son, now dear, do you want some pizza and pop? We have cheese and pepperoni," she said before starting to lead Santana to the kitchen. "Finn, sweetie, you can set up the movie."
Finn just frowned looking between his mom and Santana. This whole bringing her home thing was starting to seem like a bad idea. However, he grabbed the dvd, only grumbling slightly, as he walked over to the tv to get everything ready.
Santana broke character and laughed when Carole called Finn a moron. She grinned at Carole. "I would love some," she said, letting Carole lead her to the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder and blew a kiss at Finn. Yeah, she'd definitely made the right choice in agreeing to come over. Tonight was going to be fun.
Finn watched his mom and Santana walk to the kitchen, only to blush red when he saw her blow him a kiss. What was that about? This was all just getting really weird. And his mom and this girl he was barely even friends with had formed some sort of alliance against him. This just wasn't fair. He grumbled quietly as he cued up the movie then once it was all set to go, walked into the kitchen to grab some pizza.
Just as Finn walked in, Carole was concluding the story of the time Finn stuck a spoon in the electrical outlet, the wall still a little charred to prove the tale.
Santana was sitting at the table, her long legs crossed. She looked over at the outlet and laughed. "I see it!" She grinned up at Finn. "Admit it, Puck told you to do that. He used to do that in middle school because he thought it was fun."
Could this night get any worse?! Finn groaned and grabbed a slice of pizza, eating half the slice in one bite. Carole just rolled her eyes at her son. "He's probably just upset that I'm telling such a pretty girl all these embarrassing stories. It will probably ruin his chances with you." She said, a mischievous look on her face. What, besides tormenting their child, was a mother supposed to do?
Finn nearly choked on the food in his mouth and once he successfully swallowed without dying, he croaked out a strangled, "MOM!" This whole Santana thing had been a really bad idea. Not that he had a crush on Santana and was really worried about his chances being ruined. Never. This was just embarrassing though. Pouting, he put two more slices of pizza on a plate. "The movie's ready," he grumbled out before walking out of the kitchen.
Santana stood quickly and followed Finn, hurrying her steps to get ahead of Carole and catch up to Finn. "Actually, it's kind of helping your chances," she said quietly, then moved ahead of him and to the couch. She sat and crossed her legs, giving Finn a look that dared him to do something with what she'd just said.
Carole was no dummy and lingered in the kitchen for a few moments so the kids could talk.
Finn tried to look annoyed as he sat down next to her on the couch, but ultimately he was a little confused and a lot curious about what Santana had just said. Once he was all settled, he chanced a look at Santana. "So what was that supposed to mean?"
Instead of answering the question, Santana took a bite of her pizza. She chewed and swallowed before speaking. "I like your mom." If Finn couldn't figure out what she'd meant, he had a lot bigger problems than she thought.
"Yeah I like my mom too," Finn said as he continued to eye Santana cautiously. "Is this some kind of game?" It's not like he hadn't seen her do it before to other guys on the football team. He just never thought that he would be the next target.
Santana paused mid-bite, swallowed, looked at him. "Is what a game?"
Finn shrugged. "I don't know. You kissing me and running away. And now you being at my house. You bonding with my mom -- who I think really likes you by the way. You telling me you like me. Or something like that. I just don't get it."
Santana frowned. She'd actually been more genuine with him than she usually was with Brittany. Slowly her walls started to slid back into place and she sat a little straighter, taking a bite of her pizza to both try to look casual and to give her time to think of a response. "You invited me over, Finn. So if this is part of the game, you initiated it."
Finn opened his mouth to speak but before he got the chance his mom walked back in carrying another can of Coke. "So, ready for the movie kids?" She asked, sitting down in the arm chair. Carole could feel the tension in the room and regretted not giving them a few more minutes, but it's not like she could leave again without being suspicious.
"Yeah, here mom," Finn said before pressing play then tossing her the remote.
Santana put on her mom smile. She was great with parents. "I really hope you like it, Mrs. Hudson. It's one of my favorite movies." She glanced at Finn, her smile disappearing for a small second before she turned her attention to the tv. What the fuck was she doing here?
Carole smiled fondly at Santana. "Oh none of that Mrs. stuff. Just call me Carole. And so it was you who picked out the movie? I should have known. Finn would never come home with a chick flick."
Finn gave a sheepish shrug, but focused on eating his pizza, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Santana the next chance they got to talk.
As the movie played, Santana got sucked in like she always did. She practically knew the movie by heart and had to hold herself back from looking like she was enjoying it too much. The end was a real tear-jerker but she wasn't about to tear up. Not in front of Finn.
Carole found herself getting into the story as well and mostly forgot that she was even sitting with her teenage son and his lady friend. However, Finn wasn't digging the movie so much. He finished his pizza and took it as an opportunity to get away from the chick flick. "Uh, be right back..." he said before escaping to the kitchen. Carole couldn't help herself and glanced slightly at Santana, wondering if she was going to follow.
Santana caught the glance and looked at Carole. "What?" Oh, was she supposed to follow Finn? This was the good part, too, when she went up on the roof and found her garden and realized who he was. She sighed and stood, moving after Finn. "Why'd you ditch?"
Finn jumped slightly in surprise when he heard Santana's voice. He had been rummaging around in the fridge for another pop and she had caught him off guard. Removing himself from the fridge he turned around, confused. "What do you mean? I wanted more pizza. And then realized I was out of Coke." He chuckled slightly. "But if you keep following me I'll start to get creeped out," he said, mimicking her words from the movie store.
"Creeped out and flattered," Santana corrected, not able to suppress a smile. "The flattered part's what matters." She cocked a hip and leaned against the counter, crossing one ankle over the other.
"Right, and flattered." Finn swelled up a bit, almost proud that he had gotten that little smile out of Santana. "So why are you following me?"
"Your mom gave me this look." She shrugged a little and took the unopened Coke out of his hands. Okay, so that wasn't completely true, but Carole had looked at her. More of a glance, but still. She popped the top and took a sip of the cold soda.
Finn let out a disgruntled noise before turning back to the fridge to grab another Coke. "Oh... well that's weird." He opened his own can to take a drink. "Uh. So sorry." He was about to start talking about their 'game' of a relationship right now but chickened out at the last moment and added, "that you're missing the movie," instead.
Santana smirked at the noise he made and took another drink in response. "I know the movie by heart." She paused long enough to hear what was going on in the other room, then spoke quietly along with the lines. "Why do I know you? ... Maybe from your dreams." There was a pause in dialogue. "Flashback sequence." Then it started up again. "It wasn't a dream. ... No." She smiled. "And then they kiss. Big swirling camera angle. Cue the music. And then it's over."
Finn watched Santana reenact the ending of the movie, thoroughly amused. "I guess you weren't lying when you said it was your all time favorite," he chuckled slightly. He felt like they should talk about it. It being the almost serious discussion they were having before his mom interrupted them. He was just going to go for it. "For the record, I'm not playing any games."
"Didn't figure you for one who knew how to play games, Finnocence," Santana said, switching easily into the new topic of conversation.
"I'm really good at battleship," he said shrugging. "But I meant, you know, like... head games and stuff."
Santana hid a smile by taking a drink of her Coke. He was really cute when he was dense. Wait, what? That's Finn. Get it together, Lopez! "That's what I meant."
"I kind of thought if I told you I wasn't playing games you would tell me you weren't either but... whatever." This really shouldn't be bumming him out this much. What did he care if Santana Lopez liked him? They would probably separate after high school and never see each other again anyway. Maybe it was just better this way.
"If you want to know something, just ask. I don't perform well on command unless your name is Sue Sylvester." Santana made sure to keep the cocky look on her face. She liked him, maybe even had a crush on him, but that was ridiculous. He was Finn Hudson, star quarterback and all around good guy and she was Santana Lopez, head cheerleader and slut of William McKinley High. There was no way that would work even if she wanted it to. Which she didn't.
Finn was just confused. Because he had asked her before. And then she just completely ignored the subject. "Fine. Are you. You know, playing mind games or whatever?"
Santana opened her mouth to say something smart, but what she'd meant to say wasn't what came out of her mouth. "I am not playing mind games or whatever." The fuck? Where did that come from? It was the truth, which is exactly why she hadn't wanted to say it.
Finn blinked a few times, sort of surprised that she had just responded normally and hadn't changed the subject or made some wise ass remark. "Oh. Well cool. So what does that mean between us then exactly?" Hold up, had he really just asked that. Why didn't he just ask her if he could 'court' her or some shit next? This was getting really complicated.
Santana looked at him for a moment. "You sound like a chick trying to put a label on her relationship." And wasn't that weird. "All it means is we're not playing games."
Finn let out his disgruntled noise noise again. Why was that such a bad thing? Finn could always do with less confusion in his life. Besides, what was wrong with wanting to be honest about stuff like this? "Oh, okay. Well fine then. I just don't randomly kiss people. I mean, that's just me though. But fine. We're not playing games."
"Now you really sound like a chick. Do I need to be the dude in this relationship?" Relationship? Damn, she hadn't meant it that way. She smirked and acted like she hadn't just said that. "You didn't randomly kiss someone, I did. If you want me to stop, just say stop." She stepped away from the counter and over to him, close enough that there wasn't much space between them and she had to tilt her head back to be able to look into his face. "Go ahead. Tell me you don't want me to kiss you."
Relationship? So Finn hadn't been totally off in thinking she was feeling this too. He swallowed nervously, looking down at her. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Whoa. Hold up. Where the hell had that come from?! Finn's eyes widened. "I mean, I don't kiss girls unless they're my girlfriend. And I want you to kiss me. I... Oh fuck." Maybe if he closed his eyes it would go away so he squeezed them shut, feeling like an idiot. He wouldn't be surprised if when he opened his eyes, Santana was gone.
Santana slid a hand around the back of his neck and rose on her toes, pulling herself against him and kissing him. She kissed him for a long moment before pulling away. "Tell your mom I said thanks for the pizza." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she turned and moved out without answering his question. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn't ready to answer a question like that.
And his theory had been proven correctly. He opened his eyes and Santana was gone. Was this going to be a pattern with them? She kisses him then runs away? Was he supposed to go after her now? Her whole "tell your mom thanks" thing had kind of seemed final. With a sigh, Finn pushed himself off the counter and walked to the living room in time to see her car drive away.
"Crap. She forgot her movie."
Author: ipickquinn & absentego
Pairings/Characters: Finn/Santana
Rating: PG
Word count: 4,684
Spoilers: none
Summary: Finn and Santana have another coincidental run-in, this time at a movie rental store.
Sequel to: Midnight Breakfast | Do You Know Karate? Because Your Body Is Kicking
A/N: This fic was written by ipickquinn (as Finn and Carole Hudson) and absentego (as Santana)!
Creeped Out And Flattered
Santana was standing in one of the aisles of Lima's movie rental store, debating which movie she wanted. She could go old school and get Clueless, but really, she dealt with vapid clueless people all day. Did she really want to take that home with her? No, she didn't. Then there was Sweeney Todd, about as far from Clueless as you could get and still be on the same planet. It was dark and gory, and Johnny Depp was creepy as hell, but it was actually cool for a musical and she did love a good bloody horror flick. Then again, she'd seen it a million times.
With a frustrated sound - this was always so hard! - she turned and stalked over to the new releases lined up against the perimeter walls. Her hair flew out behind her as she moved. For once she'd left it down and it fell in loose dark waves almost to the small of her back. She was wearing a long-sleeved khaki-colored sweater dress that fell off one shoulder and was just long enough not to be obscene with chocolate brown Uggs that came halfway up her calves. As she considered the wall of movies, she shifted her weight to one hip and crossed her arms. Really, she might as well just go home and watch a movie she had. This was such a waste of her time.
Finn was stalking up and down the aisles looking for a movie he and his mom could watch. Carole hadn't had a night off work all week and just wanted to relax, watch a movie, and spend time with her son. Finn felt too guilty at how had she had been working, and even though it was a Friday night, he had no plans of denying his mother this one measly thing. And that's why he found himself in the movie store, clueless as to what kind of movie he should get.
As he turned to walk down another aisle he spotted someone at the opposite end. Wearing a short dress. Shame her boots were so tall. She looked like she had really hot legs. Finn realized that he was flat out oogling the girl and looked up to make sure she hadn't noticed. It appeared that she was examining a movie, so he was safe for now. Except he couldn't get ride of this feeling that he knew that girl. She looked really familiar, hot legs and all. Deciding to investigate as stealthily as he could, Finn walked up next to her and pretended to be looking at the movies where she was standing.
Santana looked over to see who had come up beside her. Her lips pulled into a smirk and she tilted her head so her hair fell over her bare shoulder. "If we keep running into each other like this, I'm going to think you're following me and while I'm kind of creeped out, I'm also flattered."
Santana had a really nice neck, Finn noticed as it was all exposed in front of him, like taunting him. Wait, what? Finn seriously needed to get a girlfriend and stop perving on Santana. This was just weird. "Oh, I thought you looked familiar. Though last time I saw you you were in spandex," and that really wasn't helping with the 'stop perving' thing he had just decided on. "I mean, hi. Finding any good movies?"
Santana laughed, her shoulders lifting with it for a moment. "You know, I have more looks than the Cheerios uniform and spandex. Surprising, I know." She dropped her arms, smoothing her hands over her hips as she looked back at the wall of movies. "Not a damn fucking one." She scowled at the display as if it had personally offended her.
Finn chuckled awkwardly. Was that sarcasm? He had never been good at detecting that. "Oh, well, yeah." That had been lame. He cleared his throat, trying to get back into the groove, whatever that was. "Yeah me either. I was sent here without any kind of instructions and was just expected to pick a good movie. It's a lot harder than it looks though."
Santana's first thought was that a girlfriend had sent Finn, but that wasn't right. She knew every jock and their dating history and she hadn't heard about Finn seeing anyone. If he was, she'd know about it. Then she had another thought. But no. Finn wouldn't be that pathetic. "Who sent you here?" Don't say your mom, don't say your mom, don't say your mom.
Finn picked up some horror movie, looking at the back skeptically before setting it back. His mom definitely wouldn't want to watch a stressful movie like that on her night off. "Oh my mom. Tonight is like the first night she's had off work on a few weeks so she just felt like sitting at home," he said, shrugging. Maybe it was a little embarrassing admitting that to Santana Lopez, the epitome of cool at WMHS, but whatever. Anyone who couldn't accept that he and his mom were actually, like, friends wasn't really worth his time.
When he mentioned his mom, Santana cringed, but something in her softened when he explained. She turned and moved down an aisle, expecting him to follow. Brown eyes scanned the shelves before she pulled a video off the shelf and held it out to Finn. "Just Like Heaven. It's my favorite. She'll love it." She lifted her eyes to meet his, her usual edge gone for the moment.
Finn did in fact follow Santana, not really having anything else better do to. And the view wasn't bad either. Really, Hudson, stop perving he chastised himself before forcing his eyes up to scan the movie shelves. He stopped abruptly though when Santana did. He didn't want to knock her over, especially when she was wearing that short dress. That would just be indecent and ungentlemanly. "Oh. Cool. You want to watch it with us." Whoa, WAIT. Why had he just asked her that?! "I mean never mind. You are probably watching movies with people. But thanks for the suggestion," he said, reaching out to grab the dvd so he could make a quick getaway before he fully died of embarrassment.
"You don't want time with your mom?" Okay, so hanging out with your mom when you were a senior in high school was pretty fucking lame. Even Santana had to admit that. But she also kind of envied Finn. Anyone who knew Finn knew he was close to his mom. She almost resented him for that. Yeah, her mom was around, but all the woman was good for was telling her daughter what she wasn't good for. Her mom had never wanted her, and she let Santana know that on a regular basis. Having Santana had tied her down and made her lose any chance of achieving her dreams. Santana was the reason she was stuck in Lima. Santana's one saving grace was her father.
Finn's eyebrows furrowed together. Well that hadn't been the reaction he had been expecting from one Santana Lopez. Where was the taunting and ridicule? Not even a sneer? She actually looked... genuine. Was this some sort of parallel universe? Maybe the movie store had a weird energy in here. There was a lot of magnetism going on with all the cassette tapes and electronics around here. "Uh, I'm sure she would enjoy the female company and stuff..." He shrugged again, wondering if he and Santana were actually being serious about this.
Santana shrugged. "Okay." Why the hell not? It wasn't like she had anything better to do. All of her friends had other plans tonight, so she was on her own. Besides, this would give her the inside scoop on Finn's mom and she wanted to see first hand this mom that Finn was so close to. She snagged the DVD out of his hand and walked right up to the counter. After giving them her membership card, she paid the few dollars for the DVD rental and moved to the door, taking the bag once she was beyond the security detector. Only then did she look back at Finn. "Coming?"
The utterly confused expression was still on Finn's face but he followed her through the security detector. "You didn't have to do that, I could have paid since this was supposed to be for me and my mom. I mean, not that I don't want you to come to my house. Like I said, my mom will probably appreciate the female company. Plus I think she ordered pizza." Okay that last part had nothing to do with anything but he was actually really excited about the pizza. "Uh okay then. Well you drove right? Want to just follow me to my house?" What if she just drove away with the movie though? Then what would he do once he got home and he was empty handed? It's not like he could take the movie though since he paid for it. "Uh yeah. So that sound good?"
Santana gave him an amused look. "Wow, you babble almost as much as Berry does when you're nervous." She smirked up at him. "Do I make you nervous, Finn?" Without waiting for a response, and with a very cocky smile, she nodded. "I'll follow you. No way I'm getting in that death trap you call a car again." Turning on her heel, she headed to her shiny red Mustang and slid in behind the wheel.
Finn swallowed hard, but knew better than to answer her question unless he wanted to go on a babbling spree again. So he just nodded in agreement for her to follow him. But it sort of registered that she had insulted his car, once again. "It's a Volvo Wagon," he called after her. "It's a CLASSIC." He might be a little defensive about his crappy car. He wasn't entirely sure that Santana had heard him, but he had at least done his duty in defending his car honor. With that he jogged over to his car and once he was all in and buckled up, started driving home, making sure Santana was able to follow him.
In answer to Finn's yell, Santana just rolled the convertible top back and revved the engine of her Mustang. It was a little chilly out but she was used to practicing Cheerios routines in the snow so she'd survive. Plus, she looked really hot with her sunglasses on and the wind whipping her hair around. It wasn't hard to follow Finn. He wasn't exactly a speed demon. She followed him closing, gunning her engine a couple times. "Could you drive any slower?" she muttered. Finally, they arrived at Finn's house and Santana whipped the Mustang into a spot by the curb then grabbed the movie and slid out.
Finn had been a little nervous about Santana driving so close behind him and she was totally just showing off revving her engine like that. "Crazy woman," he grumbled as he slid out of the car. Finn leaned against it as he waited for Santana to walk up the driveway then straightened up once she was by him. "Uh hi. Again. So yeah. This is my house. Uh, let's go in." He said, leading the way up the sidewalk. This felt pretty weird, bringing a girl home to meet his mom. But it's not like he and Santana were dating and he was introducing his mother to the girl he was going to marry. Nah, nothing crazy like that. So why did he feel so nervous? He unlocked the door and walked in. "Uh hey mom I'm home. And I ... brought someone." He called out.
Carole had been grabbing pops from the kitchen and reentered the living room, holding two Cokes. She looked briefly at Finn then shifted her gaze over to Santana. "Hi dear, I'm Finn's mom, Carole," she said as welcoming as she could. Except she couldn't deny the fact that she was confused. Finn hadn't brought a girl home in... well ever really. Besides Quinn. But they had moved past that as a family and now it just wasn't really talked about. Setting the Coke cans down she walked over to Santana, pulling her into a hug. "Sorry if my hands are cold dear."
Santana stiffened a bit at the hug, having been caught off-guard. Not many people other than Brittany dared to hug or otherwise touch Santana Lopez, so she wasn't used to it. She usually gave off enough of a razor sharp vibe to keep people away. After a moment, she returned it awkwardly, then pulled away. She was very rarely off her game or flustered and right now she was both. "It's, uh, nice to meet you."
Finn cringed slightly when he saw his mom go in for the hug. But it's not like he could stop her. Once they broke apart, Finn looked at Santana, studying her expression. She looked so... not Santana. It kind of made him want to hug her too, but then she would probably be even more not Santana and then it wouldn't have helped anything.
"Uh, yeah, mom, this Santana. Santana this is my mom, Carole." There, hopefully that would diffuse some of the awkwardness.
Carole grinned between Finn and Santana. "Well any friend of Finn's is always welcome in our home."
Or not. "Uh we're not really friends. We just ran into each other at the movie store. I mean, we know each other since she's on the Cheerios and I play football and..." Okay he was babbling again.
Santana recovered and put on a hurt look like Finn had just broken her heart. "Yeah, we're not friends..." She hid a smirk. Fuck, she loved messing with Finn. It had to be the highlight to any day. She pretended to force a smile for Carole and held the movie out. "I hope you like Reese Witherspoon."
Carole gave Finn a disapproving look and reached out to pat Santana on the shoulder. "Please excuse my moronic son, now dear, do you want some pizza and pop? We have cheese and pepperoni," she said before starting to lead Santana to the kitchen. "Finn, sweetie, you can set up the movie."
Finn just frowned looking between his mom and Santana. This whole bringing her home thing was starting to seem like a bad idea. However, he grabbed the dvd, only grumbling slightly, as he walked over to the tv to get everything ready.
Santana broke character and laughed when Carole called Finn a moron. She grinned at Carole. "I would love some," she said, letting Carole lead her to the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder and blew a kiss at Finn. Yeah, she'd definitely made the right choice in agreeing to come over. Tonight was going to be fun.
Finn watched his mom and Santana walk to the kitchen, only to blush red when he saw her blow him a kiss. What was that about? This was all just getting really weird. And his mom and this girl he was barely even friends with had formed some sort of alliance against him. This just wasn't fair. He grumbled quietly as he cued up the movie then once it was all set to go, walked into the kitchen to grab some pizza.
Just as Finn walked in, Carole was concluding the story of the time Finn stuck a spoon in the electrical outlet, the wall still a little charred to prove the tale.
Santana was sitting at the table, her long legs crossed. She looked over at the outlet and laughed. "I see it!" She grinned up at Finn. "Admit it, Puck told you to do that. He used to do that in middle school because he thought it was fun."
Could this night get any worse?! Finn groaned and grabbed a slice of pizza, eating half the slice in one bite. Carole just rolled her eyes at her son. "He's probably just upset that I'm telling such a pretty girl all these embarrassing stories. It will probably ruin his chances with you." She said, a mischievous look on her face. What, besides tormenting their child, was a mother supposed to do?
Finn nearly choked on the food in his mouth and once he successfully swallowed without dying, he croaked out a strangled, "MOM!" This whole Santana thing had been a really bad idea. Not that he had a crush on Santana and was really worried about his chances being ruined. Never. This was just embarrassing though. Pouting, he put two more slices of pizza on a plate. "The movie's ready," he grumbled out before walking out of the kitchen.
Santana stood quickly and followed Finn, hurrying her steps to get ahead of Carole and catch up to Finn. "Actually, it's kind of helping your chances," she said quietly, then moved ahead of him and to the couch. She sat and crossed her legs, giving Finn a look that dared him to do something with what she'd just said.
Carole was no dummy and lingered in the kitchen for a few moments so the kids could talk.
Finn tried to look annoyed as he sat down next to her on the couch, but ultimately he was a little confused and a lot curious about what Santana had just said. Once he was all settled, he chanced a look at Santana. "So what was that supposed to mean?"
Instead of answering the question, Santana took a bite of her pizza. She chewed and swallowed before speaking. "I like your mom." If Finn couldn't figure out what she'd meant, he had a lot bigger problems than she thought.
"Yeah I like my mom too," Finn said as he continued to eye Santana cautiously. "Is this some kind of game?" It's not like he hadn't seen her do it before to other guys on the football team. He just never thought that he would be the next target.
Santana paused mid-bite, swallowed, looked at him. "Is what a game?"
Finn shrugged. "I don't know. You kissing me and running away. And now you being at my house. You bonding with my mom -- who I think really likes you by the way. You telling me you like me. Or something like that. I just don't get it."
Santana frowned. She'd actually been more genuine with him than she usually was with Brittany. Slowly her walls started to slid back into place and she sat a little straighter, taking a bite of her pizza to both try to look casual and to give her time to think of a response. "You invited me over, Finn. So if this is part of the game, you initiated it."
Finn opened his mouth to speak but before he got the chance his mom walked back in carrying another can of Coke. "So, ready for the movie kids?" She asked, sitting down in the arm chair. Carole could feel the tension in the room and regretted not giving them a few more minutes, but it's not like she could leave again without being suspicious.
"Yeah, here mom," Finn said before pressing play then tossing her the remote.
Santana put on her mom smile. She was great with parents. "I really hope you like it, Mrs. Hudson. It's one of my favorite movies." She glanced at Finn, her smile disappearing for a small second before she turned her attention to the tv. What the fuck was she doing here?
Carole smiled fondly at Santana. "Oh none of that Mrs. stuff. Just call me Carole. And so it was you who picked out the movie? I should have known. Finn would never come home with a chick flick."
Finn gave a sheepish shrug, but focused on eating his pizza, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Santana the next chance they got to talk.
As the movie played, Santana got sucked in like she always did. She practically knew the movie by heart and had to hold herself back from looking like she was enjoying it too much. The end was a real tear-jerker but she wasn't about to tear up. Not in front of Finn.
Carole found herself getting into the story as well and mostly forgot that she was even sitting with her teenage son and his lady friend. However, Finn wasn't digging the movie so much. He finished his pizza and took it as an opportunity to get away from the chick flick. "Uh, be right back..." he said before escaping to the kitchen. Carole couldn't help herself and glanced slightly at Santana, wondering if she was going to follow.
Santana caught the glance and looked at Carole. "What?" Oh, was she supposed to follow Finn? This was the good part, too, when she went up on the roof and found her garden and realized who he was. She sighed and stood, moving after Finn. "Why'd you ditch?"
Finn jumped slightly in surprise when he heard Santana's voice. He had been rummaging around in the fridge for another pop and she had caught him off guard. Removing himself from the fridge he turned around, confused. "What do you mean? I wanted more pizza. And then realized I was out of Coke." He chuckled slightly. "But if you keep following me I'll start to get creeped out," he said, mimicking her words from the movie store.
"Creeped out and flattered," Santana corrected, not able to suppress a smile. "The flattered part's what matters." She cocked a hip and leaned against the counter, crossing one ankle over the other.
"Right, and flattered." Finn swelled up a bit, almost proud that he had gotten that little smile out of Santana. "So why are you following me?"
"Your mom gave me this look." She shrugged a little and took the unopened Coke out of his hands. Okay, so that wasn't completely true, but Carole had looked at her. More of a glance, but still. She popped the top and took a sip of the cold soda.
Finn let out a disgruntled noise before turning back to the fridge to grab another Coke. "Oh... well that's weird." He opened his own can to take a drink. "Uh. So sorry." He was about to start talking about their 'game' of a relationship right now but chickened out at the last moment and added, "that you're missing the movie," instead.
Santana smirked at the noise he made and took another drink in response. "I know the movie by heart." She paused long enough to hear what was going on in the other room, then spoke quietly along with the lines. "Why do I know you? ... Maybe from your dreams." There was a pause in dialogue. "Flashback sequence." Then it started up again. "It wasn't a dream. ... No." She smiled. "And then they kiss. Big swirling camera angle. Cue the music. And then it's over."
Finn watched Santana reenact the ending of the movie, thoroughly amused. "I guess you weren't lying when you said it was your all time favorite," he chuckled slightly. He felt like they should talk about it. It being the almost serious discussion they were having before his mom interrupted them. He was just going to go for it. "For the record, I'm not playing any games."
"Didn't figure you for one who knew how to play games, Finnocence," Santana said, switching easily into the new topic of conversation.
"I'm really good at battleship," he said shrugging. "But I meant, you know, like... head games and stuff."
Santana hid a smile by taking a drink of her Coke. He was really cute when he was dense. Wait, what? That's Finn. Get it together, Lopez! "That's what I meant."
"I kind of thought if I told you I wasn't playing games you would tell me you weren't either but... whatever." This really shouldn't be bumming him out this much. What did he care if Santana Lopez liked him? They would probably separate after high school and never see each other again anyway. Maybe it was just better this way.
"If you want to know something, just ask. I don't perform well on command unless your name is Sue Sylvester." Santana made sure to keep the cocky look on her face. She liked him, maybe even had a crush on him, but that was ridiculous. He was Finn Hudson, star quarterback and all around good guy and she was Santana Lopez, head cheerleader and slut of William McKinley High. There was no way that would work even if she wanted it to. Which she didn't.
Finn was just confused. Because he had asked her before. And then she just completely ignored the subject. "Fine. Are you. You know, playing mind games or whatever?"
Santana opened her mouth to say something smart, but what she'd meant to say wasn't what came out of her mouth. "I am not playing mind games or whatever." The fuck? Where did that come from? It was the truth, which is exactly why she hadn't wanted to say it.
Finn blinked a few times, sort of surprised that she had just responded normally and hadn't changed the subject or made some wise ass remark. "Oh. Well cool. So what does that mean between us then exactly?" Hold up, had he really just asked that. Why didn't he just ask her if he could 'court' her or some shit next? This was getting really complicated.
Santana looked at him for a moment. "You sound like a chick trying to put a label on her relationship." And wasn't that weird. "All it means is we're not playing games."
Finn let out his disgruntled noise noise again. Why was that such a bad thing? Finn could always do with less confusion in his life. Besides, what was wrong with wanting to be honest about stuff like this? "Oh, okay. Well fine then. I just don't randomly kiss people. I mean, that's just me though. But fine. We're not playing games."
"Now you really sound like a chick. Do I need to be the dude in this relationship?" Relationship? Damn, she hadn't meant it that way. She smirked and acted like she hadn't just said that. "You didn't randomly kiss someone, I did. If you want me to stop, just say stop." She stepped away from the counter and over to him, close enough that there wasn't much space between them and she had to tilt her head back to be able to look into his face. "Go ahead. Tell me you don't want me to kiss you."
Relationship? So Finn hadn't been totally off in thinking she was feeling this too. He swallowed nervously, looking down at her. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Whoa. Hold up. Where the hell had that come from?! Finn's eyes widened. "I mean, I don't kiss girls unless they're my girlfriend. And I want you to kiss me. I... Oh fuck." Maybe if he closed his eyes it would go away so he squeezed them shut, feeling like an idiot. He wouldn't be surprised if when he opened his eyes, Santana was gone.
Santana slid a hand around the back of his neck and rose on her toes, pulling herself against him and kissing him. She kissed him for a long moment before pulling away. "Tell your mom I said thanks for the pizza." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she turned and moved out without answering his question. Let him think what he wanted, she wasn't ready to answer a question like that.
And his theory had been proven correctly. He opened his eyes and Santana was gone. Was this going to be a pattern with them? She kisses him then runs away? Was he supposed to go after her now? Her whole "tell your mom thanks" thing had kind of seemed final. With a sigh, Finn pushed himself off the counter and walked to the living room in time to see her car drive away.
"Crap. She forgot her movie."