Words 9
"Don't believe your friends when they ask you to be honest with them. All they really want is to be maintained in the good opinion they have of themselves." Albert Camus
Friendship, it was a word that Rachel Berry did not comprehend. To her, it was a fraud formed by an intricate web of lies. She was shocked by how easy it had become for her to pretend. She was concealing her true nature to please others and, at times, she could hardly remember why she was acting that way. Then, someone would smile at her and she would forget her loneliness and, for a moment, a brief moment, she would truly believe that the lie she was living was real.
Her blossoming friendship with Santana had drawn away from her Kelly and Meredith but it didn't matter anymore. They had served their purpose.
Rachel would now travel from group to group without ever being able to build strong relationships with anyone. It was easier that way to keep the image she had chosen to portray and it helped her maintain her social status. Everything was progressing smoothly, almost too slowly, but key elements were falling into place.
Since her last encounter with Brittany, Rachel had found herself a growing interest in the naïve girl. Strangely, it had never occurred before their conversation how important she had been, and still was, in Santana's life. She surely knew her more than anyone else. It was almost foolish of her to never have exploited that relationship in the building of her plan of the socially destroying the fierce Latina. After all, the brunette did seem to have genuine feelings for the girl who had been, until recently, her best friend.
Their relationship defied logic. They were so different from one another. One was as dark as a moonless night and the other one was bright as the shining sun. They were two extreme poles. They were, in Rachel's mind, as irreconcilable as the ideology of capitalism with the one of communism, but yet, there they were, well, used to be, in love with each other.
She had tried many times to subtly approach the subject with Brittany which hadn't resulted in much since the childish girl's conversational skills were pretty much none-existent. Sometimes, Rachel would wonder if she was mocking her refusing to believe that someone could be that deeply lost in her own little world.
"A few years ago, Santana and I travelled to the moon. San kept some of the moon rocks we found. They're in her room. They're probably hiding under a pile of clothes. They like to hide. I don't know why 'cause they're so pretty. They're, like, black and sparkly." She told her once answering to the question:"In what kind of activity did you use to engage when you and Santana were spending some time together?"
Rachel stood there speechless because, sincerely, even she couldn't find a reply to such a statement. She obviously wasn't looking in the right direction. There was no way Brittany could give her any valuable information on her relationship with Santana, but maybe other people could.
She was pondering the question one morning, walking pensively towards her locker with her books clenched against her chest, when a mocking voice stopped her reflection.
"Hey Berry!" Speaking of the devil, there she was, Satan, exposing her teeth with a pearly white smile. "Look, since you started acting like a normal person, I sort of can stand being in the same room as you without feeling like punching you every time you open your -"
In order for her plan to work, Rachel had to befriend the highly frustrating girl, but there was no way she could let her step on her self-esteem in such a malicious way.
"First of all, my name is Rachel not Berry and I would be really pleased if you stopped that habit of yours that consist in including as much insult as possible in every sentence that comes out of your mouth."
"Whatever Rachel," Santana replied stressing on the second word. "You don't have to be such a bitch. I was just going to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with me tonight."
Rachel stood still, slowly processing, hardly swallowing, what she had just heard. Her eyes blinked a few times as she stared blankly at the girl in front of her.
"Why me?" She whispered. Experience made her afraid to believe it could be true.
The other brunette shrugged her shoulders indifferently.
"We're friends, no?" Rachel clenched her teeth at the word but nodded firmly. "Usually, I'd go with Queen Fabray, but Ken and Barbie are going on a double date with-"Santana sighed forcefully. "The other two and I like Breadstix but I'm not really down for an explosion of sappy romance bullshit."
Clearly, she wasn't over Brittany and she couldn't stand seeing her in love with someone else. Rachel shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She took her time before answering to the awaiting dark eyes. This was more than perfect. She had been waiting for an opportunity to deepen their friendship. Never would she have expected that Santana, herself, would be the one throwing the bases of Rachel's trap.
"Okay," the small diva had to restrain the excitement in her voice. "What movie did you have in mind?"
Santana smirked proudly and crossed her arms over her chest. She was obviously glad to be having her way and completely oblivious of the singer's deceptive mask.
"I was thinking of Beastly" Which, the smaller brunette noted, wasn't a sappy romance bullshit movie at all. "The guy is so hot."
"You do realize he has a "bestial" appearance for most of the movie?" Rachel mocked her.
"Well, at least, I'll get to see five minutes or so of that eye candy on screen. It's totally worth it." The Latina bit her lower lip in a suggestive manner and sent her a wink. "You know how I like my men."
Rachel almost dropped her books at the last comment. She wasn't entirely sure if what Santana had said was meant to be a jab at her. Had she tried to remind her of her sexual encounter with Finn? If she hadn't, which the small singer doubted, the words still stung. It took her all of her will to bite back the acid reply that came to her mind. "I know how you like you're women too," seemed to want to fly out of her mouth like a swift murderous arrow. She took a deep breath, swallowed her pain, and forced a smile.
"You bet I do." She whispered through her teeth.
Santana went into a giggle fit, throwing her head backward as she did so. Rachel did her best to join her with a polite laugh.
"It's just some friendly teasing." The Latina said suddenly. "We're cool, right?"
"Yes, Santana, we're cool. I'm glad that we're friends. You're really funny when we get to know you and I have to admit that it isn't bad for my reputation to be seen spending some time with someone as popular and beautiful as you."
Santana smacked her lips together and smiled at Rachel conceitedly.
"Yup, girl, you'll see, just follow my lead and the school will be ours."
part10