Five

Being new in a town is hard. Like, really, really hard. Now figure being new in a country.

It's not like you had never been to the US before. You had; probably more than girls three times older than you or more had been, but that's not the point. Of course, you loved the United States. Your dad had taken you to see all the Disney's princesses and heroes once, and it was really nice. He also had taken you to New York, which you had been obsessed with since the age of three, and to so many other places you couldn't even remember.

At the age of five, you had been to the United States at least twelve times, a few which you barely remembered. And you really, really loved visiting the country.

But moving in was a little bit different.

It's not like your dad had even asked. He just came home three months ago with a huge smile on his face, telling that he got a promotion. At first, you were really happy. Until he mentioned you'd have to move to a town called Lima, in a state called Ohio. And it wasn't near to the Disney's parks or New York. Lima was a small town in the middle of nowhere, close to nowhere.

And you hated it the second you put your little feet in there.

First of all, people were old. You had been in there for over an hour, travelling around the city in a small, yellow cab and you hadn't seen a kid, not even a teenager. And second of all, people only spoke English.

It's not like you didn't speak English too; your parents lived in Connecticut for a long time before moving back to Costa Rica. You had a good English; with a very strong accent, but still. But growing up in San José, you were surrounded by people who would only speak Spanish to you. And now, your whole world, all of your security was gone.

"I promise you will love the house." Your mom whispered, as the cab started to slow down. "There's even gonna have a friend for you on the other house. You'll have a lot of fun, baby; we can get a dog if you want to. Or a cat maybe." You sighed, jumping out of the cab, following your parents.

"Why can't we just go back home?" You grumbled, crossing your arms. Your mom kneeled in front of you, brushing a strand of dark hair away from your eyes. "Mama, I don't want to be here! I want abuela."

"She'll join us, sweetie." Your mom assured. "Santana, you are not even giving it a chance. Just try, okay? You'll get used to it. And besides, next month we'll go back to pick abuela."

"But mami –"

"Hello there, neighbors!" A very, very tall, pale and blonde man greeted. He had a huge grin on his face, but it barely appeared due to his giant moustache. He was a weird man; but still, somehow, you didn't feel intimidated by him. At least there was a pro. "Need help with anything?" Your parents smiled, approaching the man. There was a woman by his side, not as tall as him, but just as blonde and pale. Both of them had blue eyes, ou noticed.

"We are all good. Santanita, come here!" Your dad called, and you shyly obeyed. You didn't really enjoyed meeting new people. Though this man and this woman looked somehow nice. "These are the neighbors mami was telling you about. This is Peter Pierce, and this is Whitney. Say hello."

"Hello." You mumbled, feeling your face heating up.

And then you spotted them.

Blue eyes too. But bigger, brighter and much more warmer than theirs. And they weren't so distant; you could see them perfectly. Behind Mr. Pierce's dad, looking curiously to you. You also caught a glimpse of blonde hair, but not too blonde, in that color that looked almost white. You hated that kind of blonde; but hers was just the perfect color. And when she came to sight, fully, everything seemed to match. The pale skin, with very light freckles, the blue eyes, the blonde, but not too blonde, hair. Almost as if angels had made her.

"Britty, say hi to Santana." Mr. Pierce whispered loudly, and the little angel, Britty, smiled at you.

And your heart melted.

"Santana, this is our daughter, Brittany." Mrs. Pierce introduced, petting her daughter's hair. "You two are the same age, you know?"

"You can go play with Brittany if her parents allow, sweetie. There's a lot to do; you'll get bored." Your mom said, giving you a little push. She knew you had some trouble with making new friends.

"Britt, take Santana to the backyard." Brittany's dad suggested, and the angel nodded. And you were so caught up in her eyes that you barely noticed when Brittany grabbed your hand, pulling you with her in direction to her house. You barely had the time to make her legs move; Brittany was already running and practically dragging you together. And she was giggling. You thought it was probably your favorite sound now.

She guided you until you reached a yard, quite a lot like yours, apart from all the toys laying on the ground and the tree house. But still.

"Do you like dolls?" Brittany asked, sitting on the grass and grabbing one. You nodded, shyly accepting the doll she was now offering you. "You can talk, you know? I'm Brittany."

"I-I'm Santana."

"I know. You have a very pretty name." She turned around to get her other dolls, apparently not noticing the slight blush on your cheeks. Then, she turned her face back to you. "You can sit down, silly. Come play with me."

And you did. You sat on the grass, your hands shaking a little because, well, you were nervous. You weren't good with people. You never had many friends, because people didn't seem to like a girl who would barely open her mouth and that would hide behind her mother if she had the chance.

But yet.

Yet there was this girl. The angel, so to speak. And she seemed to genuinely like you, even though you had a little trouble with talking and making friends. She didn't seem to care.

So, as the afternoon was passing by, you were loosening up a bit. You were more talkative than you'd been with other people in years, and you were interacting and playing and making her laugh and, and –

You two lied on the grass, side by side in silence for a while. The sun was setting down, and your parents would probably come to pick you up at any moment now. But, for the first time, you didn't want to leave. You didn't want to run away when Brittany's mom brought you two snacks and asked you where you were from, if you wanted some more juice, if you were excited to start school in a few months and other things. You didn't want to run away when Brittany hugged you because you promised you'd teach her how to speak Spanish, and you didn't want to run away when she told you that you were her favorite friend, even though that made your tummy feel funny.

"I'm so happy you're gonna stay here, Sanny!" Brittany said, sitting on the grass again. "Mommy said you can sleep over when your parents let you. They will let you, won't they?"

"I think so." You mumbled, smiling.

"You speak funny." She noticed, and your cheeks burned a bit. "But I think it's very cute." And if it was any possible, your face burned even more. "You'll stay here forever, right San?"

"I dunno." You shrugged, closing your eyes for a moment. "I mean, I'm going back to San José next month." You smiled, remembering your abuelita would be home too in a month. You really missed her, even though you'd been in the U.S. for only a day.

"W-what?"

Your eyes snapped open. You sat on the grass, confused, searching for Brittany's eyes. Her voice was cracking, but you couldn't understand why. And her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes, perfectly molded on her face, were sad and tearful.

And that was the first time you had your heart broken.

"Y-you can't leave!" Brittany cried. "You are my favorite friend! Y-you – " She sobbed, and for a second you didn't know what to do. "You can't do this! You can't be like the little prince and leave the fox alone!" You crawled in her direction, opening your arms and embracing her. It was so natural you barely noticed what you were doing. "That movie is so sad, San. And you are making me sadder than that movie."

"I'm not leaving, Britt." You promised, her head buried on your neck. "Britty, I'm just gonna go pick my abuela. I'll come back." She sniffed, and your heart ached even more.

"Pinky promise?" She whispered, and you nodded, linking your pinky to hers. "Okay. I trust you."

And just like that, she fixed your heart again.

You two stood there, in that same position for a few more minutes. Brittany was already giggling, arms still wrapped around your neck. Until your mami came and said it was time to come home.

"But can't she sleep over, Mrs. Lopez?" Brittany asked politely, but your mom just laughed.

"Another time, honey. Come on, Santanita. Say goodbye to your friend."

And, very much to your mother's surprise, you were the one who pulled Brittany on a thigh hug, not wanting to let go. She watched in awe for a few seconds, before petting your head and wishing Brittany and her family good night.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, when you were lying on your bed with tons of boxes around you, your mami came by to say goodnight, after your dad tucked you in.

"I don't think I want to go back anymore, mami." You whispered, and she smiled.

"That's fine, baby." She promised, kissing your forehead. "We're not going anywhere."