Okay, so this is a VERY angsty, dark piece. I've always wanted to write a story about this topic because I wanted to explore characters' responses and feelings in this type of situation. Though I will include other characters' reactions and emotions, this is a Brittana fic, so I will mostly focus on them. If you like what I've written so far, leave a review so I know it's something people are interested in reading. Thanks so much, and I hope you enjoy!

7:00 AM

The sky was a burnt orange, a very unusual color for daybreak. There was a calmness in the air due to the dry and windless sky that was eerily hovering over the outskirts of town. All along the suburban neighborhood streets of Lima, Ohio, sat boxed houses containing unsuspecting teenagers, who were regrettably getting ready to drive to the local high school.

Most of the students knew each other fairly well. After spending eight plus years together, growing up, it was hard not to. But with such close proximities, came heated and unfriendly relationships and hurtful gossip and rumors, which plagued the town relentlessly. Though Lima was located in present day America, "land of the free," there was an unspoken caste system that not only the middle and high-school students lived by. When you were born in Lima, you were either an "It" or you were no one.

Sadly, those who were less-than-qualified in their ranking and status were also the individuals least likely to find their way out. Most of those families had lived in Lima for three, four, five generations, and barely any of them got away.

For the upper-class citizens, opportunities were plentiful. The doctors, lawyers, and businessmen and women of Lima constantly reminded their children of the world outside of small-town Ohio. Those children had their futures to look forward to; those kids could spend their time dreaming and planning for something better.

The first house on the nicer side of Lima was the home of Dr. Lopez and his wife and two children. Their abode was probably the finest home in all of Lima, seated on a beautiful couple of acres of land and towering over the other, nearby houses. The Lopez family was also the wealthiest family in Lima, and had a lot of pull in the local government. They funded the campaigns and meetings that the citizens reluctantly took part in.

Though Dr. and Mrs. Lopez's oldest son had long graduated and finished his undergraduate at Berkley and law school at Harvard, they also had a younger daughter who was just as smart and talented. Santana Lopez was fierce and extremely motivated. She had a niche in the high school that most of the other kids would have killed for. On this fateful morning, she was happily getting ready for her regular school day, trying to fight back the enormous grin that had been plastered on her face since the previous night before.

Santana was staring at herself in the closet mirror, admiring her obvious beauty. Her dark, smooth hair was pulled up into a pristinely knit ponytail that helped accent her deep, chocolate-brown eyes. Her plump lips were covered with a creamy lip gloss and her eyelashes were neatly coated with dark mascara. Though she was wearing a very basic cheerleading top and short skirt, she still managed to look amazing. As Santana twirled herself around in front of her closet door, she knew she looked good, and she gave in, letting herself smile brightly and showing off her dazzling white teeth.

After doing several once-overs to make sure she looked perfect, she turned to grab her keys that were resting on the nearby dresser top. As she exited her bedroom and proceeded down the over-sized wooden staircase to the foyer, she could hear her mother singing a familiar Spanish tune and could smell her father making bacon, eggs, and coffee. To Santana, these sounds and aromas reminded her of her childhood and comforted her greatly. She loved her parents more than anything and was extremely grateful for everything they did for her.

She walked down the hall and entered the large, beautiful kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the long, dinning table with the newspaper laid out if front of her; she was no longer singing, but humming the song that Santana knew backwards and forwards.

Her father was standing behind the marble-countered island, flipping a dozen bacon pieces, while simultaneously scrambling a couple sizzling eggs. Santana smiled again, warmly as she approached her father to give him a morning hug.

"Hi, dad," she greeted as she wrapped her arms around the front side of her father and rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Good morning, hija," Dr. Lopez responded, pausing his cooking to turn around and face Santana.

As his eyes fell upon his darling little girl, he couldn't help but wonder why she was acting so friendly. Normally, Santana would barely say hello in the morning before running out the door. Though he wasn't complaining, he was curious at the newfound kindness resonating from his daughter.

"Why are you so happy?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow curiously and chuckling softly. He turned back to the stove to continue making breakfast, while waiting for Santana's response.

Santana's mind immediately returned to the memories of the previous night that had been on constant repeat throughout her morning. Though she was happy to replay the images in her own head, she was pretty sure her parents wouldn't have been as impressed or thrilled. In fact, she was sure her parents would throw a fit if they knew what Santana had been doing with a certain blonde friend of hers at such late hours in her bedroom. She laughed loudly at the thought of them finding out.

"No reason, papá," she gently patted her father on the back as she reached over him to grab a piece of bacon from the plate the cooling slices were resting on and tossed it in her mouth to eat.

She then proceeded to the dinning table to say hello and goodbye to her mother before she left the house. Mrs. Lopez was dressed in her navy blue robe and slippers. Her hair was a complete mess, but she looked comfortable, and Santana grinned again.

"Good morning, mom," Santana said as she pulled out the chair next to her mother and reached for a banana that was resting in a wooden bowl on the table. As she sat down, her mother looked up to her with the same incredulous eyes that her father had displayed only moments before.

Instead of addressing Santana, Mrs. Lopez looked to her husband, questioningly. "Is this our daughter, Martin?"

Dr. Lopez laughed again and shrugged his shoulders, as if wondering the same thing.

"Well, good morning to you, Santana, darling," her mother responded, still holding an unsure expression.

Santana just rolled her eyes at her parents' joking attitude as she pulled apart the banana peal to eat the delicious fruit. As she took a giant bite, she let her eyes wander up to her mother who was still staring at her curiously.

"What?" Santana asked as she swallowed her bite and stared back at her mother.

Mrs. Lopez could tell that something was up with her daughter, but she respected her daughter's privacy. So, she shook her head and returned to the morning paper that she had been diligently reading. "Nothing, querida," she answered.

Santana got up from her chair and made her way over to the fridge on the other side of the kitchen. When she opened the door, she reached for a bottle of water and twisted the top off, closing the door behind her. After she had taken a gulp, she walked back over to her father to place a kiss to his cheek.

"Bye, papá," she said, and she left the kitchen, quickly, leaving behind a very confused mother and father.

Santana entered the garage that was located off of the hallway to the side of the kitchen. She continued until she was standing at the driver's side of her black BMW and peered into the back seat to make sure her bag was still there. When she found it, resting in the far corner, she opened the front car door and fell onto the leather seat, putting her keys into the ignition, placing the car into reverse, and rolling out of the safe confines of her home.

She was on her way to Brittany's, the blonde that had been interrupting her thoughts and greatly affecting her personality all morning. Though the blonde was Santana's safe haven, there was a great fear that accompanied their more-than-friend relationship. Santana was scared of many things, but the possible consequences of people finding out she was interested in another girl, in that way, were more haunting than all the others combined.

Though Brittany seemed sure of what she wanted from Santana—a real relationship—Santana was less inclined to agree. She was more than happy hiding who she was from her friends and family and sneaking around with Brittany behind everyone's backs. She seemed to think Brittany was too naïve and innocent to understand what a "real" relationship constituted, so she had tried tricking the blonde into believing that a mind blowing orgasm meant that they were an official couple. Unfortunately for Santana, Brittany wasn't as dumb as she came across. In fact, Brittany had been the one to trick the Latina. Knowing that she would just bring up the same conversation the following day, like nothing had changed, she still got to come really hard. Today was the following day, so Santana's happy, blissful mood was about to change dramatically.

But more importantly, Santana and Brittany and the rest of the student body at McKinley High were about to get a rude awakening; Santana's closeted issue was about to become the least of her worries.

On the other side of town, another city resident resided. Unlike Santana, David Karofsky was not nearly as privileged. Where Santana had a giant mansion, David lived in a run-down apartment with his absent older brother. David's father had left when he was too young, and his mother had died when he was in elementary school.

David didn't have a parental figure that he could look up to and admire. His brother was the closest thing he had to a role model, but Andrew Karofsky was far from a law abiding citizen. He came home each night, hammered and too high to care. His addictions to various drugs fueled his rage and abuse towards David, growing up. The poor boy was scarred, permanently, and the only thing he had to look forward to was getting the hell out of Lima.

Though his brother had antagonized him relentlessly, constantly telling him that he was worthless and would be stuck in Ohio forever, David tried to study and do well in school. He wasn't the smartest kid on the block, but what he lacked in intelligence, he made up for in size and stature. He was a large guy and could pound a load of bricks with his bare hands if he wanted to. He joined the football team at McKinley during freshman year and learned to let his frustration out on the field. But when he played, he got hammered in the head and the little bit of smart in him, began to dwindle more and more.

Junior year, he got kicked off of the football team because his grades had slipped too much. By that time, it was too late to even try and finish the year off strong, so he turned to the one thing he knew too well: violence.

David met a group of his brother's friends who weren't as into drugs, but just as mean and aggressive. They got involved in various low-level crimes that made them some money and entertained them. They bullied kids at school just for the fun of it.

But while David was slumming away like his brother, he still kept his dream of one day leaving Lima and doing something with his life. After leaving football, he spent a little more time studying and working to make his grades more presentable to a couple out-of-state colleges that he was interested in. He took the SAT and was beginning to hope that senior year may have been a blessing in disguise.

He applied to those less prestigious schools that he thought he could get accepted into, and just like every other high school senior, waited and waited and waited.

But this particular morning, David was no longer waiting for those acceptance letters, because they didn't come. Instead, David had received two giant rejected letters the previous day. Upon opening the small envelope, David felt crushed and helpless. His brother had then laughed at him and called him a fool for ever thinking that a school would want him. So, just like David always did, he turned to violence.

That afternoon, David went down the street to his friend Jamie's and asked a few of his buddies if they wouldn't mind helping him out with a little project. Those guys were in the same boat as him: slumming around with nothing to live for. He requested that they accompany him to school the next day and make a statement about the "fucking ridiculous Lima 'Its' who got everything they ever wanted, while he was fed the shittiest life imaginable."

So, this morning David got into his white van that was parked outside his apartment and found that his three other buddies were excitedly waiting in the back. He turned around in his seat to face his accomplices and eyed them carefully.

"You know the plan. Don't mess anything the fuck up! Got it you bastards?" he practically screamed at them.

The others just nodded and remained silent. David turned around to put his key into the ignition and start the van. A wild grin appeared on his face as he reached to his side near his pocket. There, nestled under his belt and weighing him down like a thousand-ton block of iron was his brother's revolver.