Not What You'd Expect (1/?)
Title: Not What You'd Expect (1/?)
Author: drakotheking
Pairing: Santana/Rachel
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Spoilers: Up to s02e15
Summary: After Santana finishes telling Brittany how she truly feels, She gets an unexpected shoulder to cry on.
Santana made a beeline for the nearest bathroom without making eye contact with anyone. She thought that if somebody saw her tears, they would think she was going soft when she was anything but. When she got inside, she made the few girls standing around get out without even saying anything. She turned on a sink and splashed some water on her face. As the tears continued to flow she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Brittany I said leave me-"
"Last time I checked my name was Rachel."
Santana turned and was at a loss for words. She stared at the shorter girl with a paper towel in her outstretched hand wondering what she was doing in the room.
"I saw you run in here crying and I came to see if you were alright," Rachel replied. Santana didn't realize she said it outloud.
"Well I'm fine now go away."
"Is this about Brittany?"
"How would you know?"
Rahel gives her a sad smile. "I'm just going from your tears,the song you sang with her in glee club, and the fact that you almost bit my head offwhen i commented on it."
Santana couldn't help but chuckled at her analysis. "Well if you spoke like a regular teenager, we could've avoided that last bit. Why are you helping me?"
" I was at my locker a few down from you and Britt. I'm sorry." Hearing this, Santana started a fresh wave of tears. Rachel wanted to give the girl a hug but didn't want to get hit in the process. Seeing this side of Santana made her realize that she wasn't as unpenetrable as she thought.
"Well now you can tell people you seen me cry."
Rachel snapped back to attention at the remark. "I wouldn't do something like that."
"Even if you did I would deny it," she replied laughing.
Then Rachel had an idea. "Look Santana, I know we've never been the best of friends but i was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight. My dads are away on business and since I was going to be alone I thought you could use the company just as much as I."
The first thought that popped into her head was HELL NO but after seeing the look of sincerity on the shorter girl's face, she rethought the situation. The only thing she was gonna do when she got home was cry her eyes out because her best friend and the love of her life turned her down.
"I think I can handle dinner. What time should I be over?"
Rachel actually did a doubletake because she didn't expect her to give in so easily. "Um, i guess around 7 o'clock? i gotta stop pass the store for a few things".
"Should a bring anything?"
"No. Just, please no insults tonight?"
Santana laughed and nodded her head. "No insults... Rachel."
"Okay," she replied. She decides to be bold and gives the Latina a hug. When they connect, the taller girl clings to to Rachel like a lifeline. Rachel tells her it's going to be okay while rubbing her back. As they move away Rachel reaches for another papertowel. After she gives it to Santana, she makes her way out of the door when the other girl calls her.
"I know you didn't have to but I'm happy you invited me."
She just smiled and moved out of the restroom. She had a dinner to plan.
*********************************
Santana sat in her car at 6:55 because she was still suprised that she got invited to dinner by Rachel Berry. She's still trying to figure out how she got here. Even though she and Rachel have had their differences, they really didn't have anything in common. Come on Lopez, she thought. It's only dinner and it's only Berry. Get it together. She grabbed the flowers she decided to grab at the last minute and exited the car. She made her way up the walk thinking over and over that she could do this. When she was about to knock on the door it opened to reveal something that she'd never seen before in her whole life.
Rachel was standing there in a pair of jeans and an opened shirt with a tank top underneath. Her hair was bold and curled at the end. She had on a pair of heels (not high heels but heels nonetheless) instead of her cutomary mary jane's. When she heard a chuckle, she looked up to see a smile on Rachel's face.
"Not what you were expecting," Rachel asked. She laughed again when the Latina nodded her head speechlessly. "Won't you come in?" She shook her head when Santana just continued to nod. When she grabbed the other girl's hand, Santana snapped out of her daze. As they made their way into the house Santana took stock of the beautiful decorum.
"These are for you," Santana said, presenting the roses to her.
"Aww they're beautiful," Rachell replied. "Why don't you come with me into the kitchen? I'm almost finished cooking."
"What's for dinner tonight?"
"Well I don't know if you know this but I'm a vegan but I garuntee that the meal will taste great. I made a home made vegan pizza. I make this sometimes for my dads."
After thinking about it, Santana replies "I'll give it a try. I ment to tell you how nice the house decorum is. It reminds me of the Martha Stuart catalog." When Rachel gives her a shocked look, she quickly replies "My mom is a big fan."
When they reach the kitchen, the oven timer goes off. While Rachel takes the pizza from the oven, she ask Santana to take something to drink from the refrigerator. While they move around the kithchen, they make small talk about music and fashion. They were sort od surprised by how much they had in common. When they started to eat Santana was kind of shocked by the food.
"Wow!" she exclaimed. "I've never had anything vegan but this is good. Where did you learn to cook like this?"
Rachel basked in the complement. "I taught myself. One day when I was 10, my dads were taking a nap. When I got hungry, I just went downstairs and pretended to be my dad at the stove. I remember making a cheese sandwhich. I guess my daddy woke up smelling food then realized tohe only other person who cooks in the house was right next to him. He ran down the stairs to see his princess at the stove making a meal. He was so shocked he didn't say anything. He just backed out of the kitchen and went back upstairs. Later when they came downstairs he asked me how the sandwhich was, my dad looked at me in shock and asked what happened. Daddy told him that he seen their daughter standing at the stove making a grilled cheese. They asked me what made me decide to make it myself instead of waking them up and asking. I told them that they work really hard and they deserved a nap. They just looked at me and laughed. They really took me serious when I made spaghetti. they decided if I wanted to cook, then I could cook."
Santana listened to the story and was actually paying attention to her. "That's kinda similar to me. I started out earlier. I was 6 when I made a steak on the grill during the summer. My parents were on the front porch painting my dollhouse. The propane grill had been out for a while and, like you, i've seen my dad and uncles cook on it. I grabbed it from the fridge and slapped it on the grill. tehy came rushing to the back of the house when dad said he smelled food. They looked at me standing on a chair with a spatula in one hand and spices in the other. I'd put on my dad's "kiss the chef" apron. They were so shocked mom just took a picture and dad sat down on the deck chair. When I thought it was done mom brought me a plate, knife, and fork. it really surprised them when they saw the steak was well done."
They started laughing as they finnished their meal. Rachel asked ifshe wanted coffee with the cherry turnovers she made earlier that morning. while they took their dessert and coffe into the living room. Before she sat down, Rachel asked Santana if she wanted her to light the fireplace and was happy when she got a yes. She sat next to her dinnermate in conpanionable silence. Santana broke the tension.
"Why did you come to me earlier?"
"I figured you could use a friend and a shoulder to cry on if you needed it" was the answer.
"I wouldn't have expected it from you though."
"I'm just full of surprises." When she laughed Santana noticed how sexy she really was. This wasn't the first time she noticed this. When they did Britney Spears, She almost jumped her then. It dawned on her that the only reason she was here was because the girl she truely had feelings for shot her down. On the other hand she couldn't use Rachel like that. Her next question came out of nowhere.
"Rachel how do you really feel about me?"
"Do you want the real answer or the answer you want to hear," was the response. The only reason she asked was because she had always had feelings for the hot-headed Latina. Ever since the day she stopped a football player from giving the girl a slushie facial, she's had a thing for her.
"I want the real answer."
She took a deep breath and responded, "I've always had feelings for you. Ever since you stopped that meathead football player from slushieing me, I've liked you. It didn't hurt that you were extremely beautiful. The only reason I didn't say anything is because I knew you wouldn't be into a girl like me."
Santana looked at the other girl in amazement. "Not saying that looks are everything, but if I knew this side of you, the sexy sweet layed back version of you, I definitely would've noticed you."
Rachel smiled at the complement and moved closer to the taller girl. "So now that you know how I feel, what are you gonna do about it?"
The Latina looked at the girl who had gone bland to bold in a matter of seconds. "I would suggest we go up to your room where I could show you better than I could tell you what I wanna do. The only reason I won't do that is because I want us to become friends first. I hope you can forgive me for all the cruel messed up things I did to you in the past. I want us to get to know eachother first. The only reason I don't just want us to actually be together is because I want to give myself time to deal with my feelings for Britt. If the feelingsbetween me and you are still there then we will explore them. What do you think about that?"
The fact that she'd made Rachel Berry speechless is shocking in itself. "I like the way you think. It's like you're reading my mind." She moved toward Santana and hugs her new friend. They stay that way for a little longer before Santana says she has to get home so her mom won't freak out. Rachel walks her to the door where they exchange one more hug. "See you at school tomorrow friend."
Santana smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "See you later friend."
As she walked to her car, the Latina rethought the whole eveningand smiled. who would've thought that she, Santana Lopez, would have feelings (nonthreatening feelings) for Rachel Berry. That is definitely not what she expected.
To Be Continued.......