What if Santana had met Brittany in college instead of in high school?

Santana Lopez never believed that she could be so comfortable with herself, with her true self, but with Brittany Pierce, it came so naturally.

For years she was trained to watch her every move, as every move was constantly judged by her classmates, by her friends, by her teammates on the Cheerios, and by the eccentric coach of the Cheerios, Sue Sylvester. One wrong move and she could instantly be demoted from Captain, Lead Singer, and Hottest Bitch in school to bottom of the pyramid, background sway-er, and joke of the century, just one wrong glance at the most tempting piece of eye candy in the school and her life could turn into a giant shitshow and a living hell.

She enjoyed hooking up with Puckerman, Sam and just about anyone who else crossed her path in high school but there was never anything more than the immediate physical payout of the interaction. It was more of a game to her, there were never any emotions involved. Unless you count "indifferent" as an emotion, because that's as close as she ever got. She would never dare to admit it to anyone but she always hoped there was more to love than that, there had to be right? Otherwise, why the hell were people always talking about it and writing movies and entire albums about it? What she felt wasn't all that great, she didn't feel anything at all really, other than the far too rare orgasm that one of the guys was able to accidently give her. It was never anything to think twice about.

It never felt natural. She didn't feel safe letting any of these guys see who she was as a person. Her way of dealing with this for a long time, too long really, and of keeping people away was meaningless sex. But as she starting opening herself up to her own emotions and feelings, she started to realize that those boys would never be able to make her feel anything, because it wasn't what she really wanted, it was never what she wanted. She was just too scared to see the truth.

However, largely due to the support of her Glee Club in high school, the time in between high school and college and her first couple of weeks of school at a small, liberal college, Santana was slowly becoming much more comfortable with her sexuality and more accepting of herself than she had been in the past; she wasn't running away from herself anymore, and she was just about willing to admit that she finds women unbelievably sexy and damn near irresistible!

And it only took a single glance at Brittany Pierce at the first university glee club meeting for every single cliché about love at first sight that she had ever heard to rush into her immediate train of thought. She was instantly charmed beyond belief by this girl. She knew there was something exceptional about her before she had even spoken a word to her. The butterflies in her stomach felt more like hummingbirds. She was only certain about one thing and that was that she had to get to know more about her!

It was a few days before the next Glee meeting and Santana was determined to find a song to sing to get Brittany's attention, without being too forward or obvious. She didn't want to scare her but she knew she could impress her with just the right song.

She literally listened to every single song she owned, from the romantic to the silly to the suggestive. She re-listened to all of her favorite songs, hoping something would jump out at her the second time. Nothing fit, nothing was right, and nothing was good enough. The song had to be good enough. After hours of searching she was beyond frustrated, had a horrible headache and was ready to give up. She felt absolutely defeated the day of the meeting, she almost didn't go but told herself it was stupid to be this beat up over something she didn't fully understand.

As Santana walked into the room she saw Brittany talking to a couple of the girls in the group, she had an easy smile on her face and was laughing occasionally, her smile was one of the most breathtaking and memorable things Santana had ever seen. Something caught Brittany's attention, and her brilliant blue eyes were suddenly staring into every inch of Santana's being, and at that moment she knew exactly what to sing. It is a song that her dad used to sing to her mom and her when she was growing up. She remembered the smile her mother used to have as her dad would sing the familiar words; it was the same smile she was hoping to get from Brittany.

The meeting started and as the minutes dragged on Santana grew more and more nervous; she had never sung in front of this group of people before and even though she was confident in her ability she was still insecure about her feelings. Several girls volunteered to sing and everyone was enjoying the new bond that was occurring between the group. It was a fun atmosphere, but one that Santana couldn't fully enjoy because honestly she couldn't stop staring at the flawless back and neck and ears in front of her. She couldn't help but imagine her lips on every inch, an image she found she enjoyed very much as she slipped deep into her own thoughts, completely lost from the rest of the group.

"It's almost time to end this week's meeting; does anyone else want to sing today?"

Santana barely interrupted the words as they were spoken; they brought her back down to Earth from her fantasy and she immediately felt embarrassment flash hot over her cheeks, an unintentional yelp dragged out from her lips. She had to get this song out today; she couldn't possibly wait two more weeks to try to impress this girl.

"I want to sing!" Santana frantically said.

"Alright Santana, we are excited for you to share with us!"

She made her way to the front of the club; her heart was having a field day beating nervously against her chest as she took in the sight in front of her. A little more than a dozen women were in the group, but Santana could only focus on those eyes in the second row that now held her undivided attention.

She had never felt her heart pound like this before, she wasn't quite sure how to react to all the feelings that were happening every time she looked at Brittany, but she took a deep breath and trusted that the words would come when she needed them to…

" I've just seen a face,

I can't forget the time or place

Where we just met, she's just the girl for me

And I want all the world to see we've met

As Santana was singing she could picture herself in the backseat of her dad's car when she was 7 years old. One of her dad's favorite songs came on the radio. Normally, Santana was annoyed by her dad's old music but she had always liked this song.

Had it been another day

I might have looked the other way

And I'd have never been aware

But as it is I dream of her tonight

Her dad would always sing every single word to her mother like everything in the world depended on every word that came out of his mouth. Her mom always had the most radiant smile during this song, Santana knew it was because her mom felt adored and loved completely.

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again

Santana would sometimes hum along in the backseat, and her parents would occasionally glace back at her with a loving smile.

I have never known

The likes of this, I've been alone

And I have missed things and kept out of sight

But other girls were never quite like this

Then, her thoughts shifted to her life today. She was finally finding herself, accepting who she really was. It was a scary thought but it was also exciting, because it meant there were so many possibilities and so many new experiences waiting for her.

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again

Santana thought about the person she was singing for, although, they didn't know this song was directly for them. She hoped Brittany would be intrigued. She was confused by her need know and impress this girl. She knew nothing about her except that she was different, special.

I've just seen a face

I can't forget the time or place

Where we just met, she's just the girl for me

And I want all the world to see we've met

Finally, Santana thought about her future and what she hoped was to come. She thought about a rewarding life with a loving family and someone special to share everything with. This thought was surprisingly peaceful for Santana. She knew one day she would feel at home.

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again

Falling, yes I am falling

And she keeps calling me back again"

Santana opened her eyes as she finished the last words of the song. She looked around the room, kind of embarrassed that she had been so lost in her words and thoughts, but as she saw Brittany captivated on her every move she knew she picked the right song. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she walked back to her seat.

Santana was gathering her things, getting ready to walk back to her dorm room to relax and study when she felt the lightest tap on her shoulder, she wasn't even sure she felt it, but when she turned around Brittany was standing shyly in front of her. They both hesitated for a moment before either of them said anything.

"You have an amazing voice. I didn't want the song to end." Brittany was still shy and quietly spoke the words.

Santana couldn't help the pink blush from crawling over her cheekbones, "Th-thank you."

They stood in the middle of the room awkwardly both unsure of what to do next.

"Do you want to go get coffee or something? If you are free, I mean." Santana blurted out the words, she didn't mean to but she did before she could stop herself. She immediately felt stupid, why would this beautiful girl want to spend time with her just because she liked her song?

"I'm free..."

It's all Brittany said and they started walking towards the door together.

They filled the time as they walked to Hospitality Café, a few blocks away, with small talk about how their day was going, but Santana was finding it hard to focus on Brittany's words; there was something about Brittany that was completely tripping her up, in every sense of the phrase. She was nervous and bashful and hesitant. She didn't understand why, she had no reason to be intimidated and yet her stomach was doing some Olympic quality somersaults. She was definitely not acting like her typical badass, Lima Heights self. People at McKinley would be laughing at Santana right now instead of fearing her vicious words like they used to do. She honestly didn't know this version of herself.

She took a deep breath as she held the door open for Brittany trying to compose herself. Brittany gave her a little smirk and thanked her as she passed.

Santana ordered a Café con Leche and asked Brittany what she would like, she ordered her a small Caramel Frappe, which Santana thought was super adorable.

They found a table outside in the sun, both wanting to enjoy the beautiful, warm autumn afternoon.

It was almost two hours later when she said goodbye to Brittany and left the coffee shop for her dorm. The sun was barely still peaking over the horizon, creating a deep pink hue, which matched Santana's mood perfectly.

Once she settled into her room she sat at her desk with her Statistical Methods textbook and notes, trying to study for her exam the following week. She re-read the same paragraph about 7 times and couldn't quote one word from it. She only had one thing on her mind, electric blue eyes and the interesting girl they belonged to. It had only been about an hour since she left the coffee shop but she was reciting parts of their conversation over and over. She knew trying to study was a waste of time and that she was going to have a long night, restless night.

Santana was an over thinker, she analyzed every possible outcome to every situation most of the time, which is why inviting Brittany to get coffee in the first place was kind of a shock but she couldn't have planned a better time for her spontaneous side to appear.

Once they sat down with their coffee the girls were able to relax a little and they found that conversation came surprisingly easy and was actually very comfortable for both of them.

Santana had learned that Brittany was also a freshman but started school during the summer semester so she was already fairly comfortable getting around the small campus. She lived just off campus with a couple of friends as opposed to in a dorm, which Santana was extremely jealous about. She was an Education major but unsure if she wanted to go into Art Education or general Elementary Education, which was an item to add to the adorable list along with her coffee order. She has a younger sister named Lindsey, who she seems very fond of and a cat named Lord Tubbington who she brought to school with her and who she is definitely fond of. She was in the glee club in high school and loves to dance. She also learned that the song she chose was a favorite of Brittany's dad as well and one he always played on family road trips. This information made Santana's heart fill with joy and excitement, knowing that she had in fact picked the perfect song.

Santana was completely overwhelmed thinking about Brittany, she felt like they created such a strong connection so quickly and Santana was unsure about it. She just met this girl a couple of weeks ago and just had a real conversation with her for the first time today, but she wanted to spend all of her time with her, she wanted to know everything about her and learn all of her habits and mannerisms. She wanted this person in her life and it was a need that Santana had never felt before. It scared the shit out of her. She didn't know exactly what she wanted from Brittany but she knew she wanted the opportunity to find out.

It was Thursday afternoon, two days after having coffee with Brittany, as Santana was leaving her English Composition class. She hated that class and was glad that she was done with it for the week. Her thoughts had been almost entirely consumed by Brittany and that made her care even less about the Edgar Allen Poe poem synopsis that was due next Tuesday.

She checked her phone before heading to get a late lunch when she saw,

New Message: Brittany Pierce

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest. She had wanted to send her a message, she had written several that she quickly erased; she had picked up her phone at least two dozen times to call Brittany but was never able to actually press the call button, so she was relieved that Brittany decided to send her a message. Santana was pretty positive she wouldn't have ever worked up enough nerve to call Brittany on her own.

"Hey Santana! What are you doing tomorrow?"

She took an uneasy breath before she thought about how to respond. The first thing that came to mind was to just respond with "NOTHING!" But that was ridiculous and sounded desperate and that is not how Santana wanted to come across to Brittany.

"Hey. I don't have any Friday classes, so I'm pretty open. What do you have in mind?"

Santana knew not having any Friday classes on her schedule was the best decision she had ever made.

"Brunch, 10:30, Hospitality Café? "

"Sounds great, I'll see you tomorrow."