Chapter Text
Buzz. Buzz. BUZZ.
Santana groaned as she swung over and tried to turn off her alarm clock, but, of course, it didn’t work. She scowled and picked up the dark red clock and chucked it at the opposite wall. The buzzing finally ceased, but her relief was short-lived when there was a sharp knock on the door. Her mother's voice pierced through the morning chill, “Santana Diabla Lopez! Get up, you’re going to be late!” Maribel all but shouted, and Santana rolled out of bed.
Her room was still covered in moving boxes from their home in Washington, and she kicked one out of her way. Unfortunately, the box was not empty like she had thought, and she felt a stinging pain in her foot. “Fuck” Santana muttered as she rummaged through her available clothes before pulling on a floral tee and some old slightly ripped overalls over them. She checked the clock that was now upside down, and the glass was splintered.
She only had a few more minutes till her first day at McKinley High or whatever it was, was off to a bad start. Santana ripped a brush through her hair and stabbed some gold hoops through her ears before rushing out of her bedroom. Before she could get out of this new cramped house, she was being grabbed by her Mami. “Santana, remember what we talked about: new state, new start. And a lot of your dad's new patients are in high school. You never know what someone's going through.” Maribel waited for Santana to nod before kissing her forehead and pushing her out the door with her backpack.
You never know what someone's going through. It had been her parents' favorite phrase since Santana was 5 and developed a penchant for pushing kids or insulting them whenever they annoyed her. They had been trying to get her to stop lashing out at other people since then, and unfortunately they had made very little progress. Santana, of all people, should know that people go through things, but she refused to let her own ordeals impact the way she treated other people. She was simply mean, and she knew it.
Santana slid into her dark red car and fumbled with the keys until she was setting off for this new high school. At least she had a fresh start. At least she could make up whatever she needed at this school to survive. She found her parking spot, which was all the way in the back thanks to it already being two weeks into the school year. Santana frowned as she realized the person next to her had parked at an angle that meant she had a few inches of space to get out of there.
She flipped the car off as she slid out with her backpack barely hanging off her shoulder. She ignored the surge of other students that were rushing into class and felt more than a few elbows land on her ribs and sides. Santana glared at everyone, but as the warning bell rang, the hallway suddenly seemed nearly empty. Except for a few football players standing against the lockers with drinks in their hands.
Santana passed by them, her eyes flicking down to the crumpled paper schedule she would be relying on. “Hey, new girl,” One of them barked, his hand going to her waist, slipping down. She immediately slapped his hand and took a step back. “Hands to yourself,” Santana snapped, and the guy recoiled, a frown covering his face. He crooked his fingers to the players behind him, and before her brain registered what was going on, the two cups were being thrown into her face.
She stiffened as ice began to drip down her shirt. Santana attempted to blink through the sticky red dye that now covered her face and was beginning to cling to her neck. But the stinging pain in her eyes only worsened. The guys just chuckled and high-fived before rushing off. Santana stayed there in the middle of the hallway, a million expletives running through her mind. Just as she went to run after them, a girl grabbed her arm. She had light blonde hair and a soft, sympathetic smile.
The girl didn’t let go even when Santana tugged, and the Latina's eyes were drawn to the way her ponytail swung as she rocked on her heels. The blonde was in a cute uniform, but all of it looked red to her eyes right now. “Ah, you got slushie-ed. I’ll help you clean up,” The cheerleader said before tugging her into the nearby bathroom. “We don’t really have extra clothes besides the lost and found… but there are cheerleading uniforms you can borrow even if coach loses it,” She explained as she tugged a stool up and to the sink before pushing Santana down onto it.
Santana's hands went flying to her hair, trying to help her take it down, her thoughts now fixating on the fact that she would have to be stuck in that skimpy outfit. “What’s your name?” Santana rasped as the girl helped wipe away the sticky residue on her neck and face. “Oh! It’s Brittany!” The blonde smiled again before skipping out of the bathroom. Santana blinked at the sudden abandonment and turned around to look at herself in the mirror.
The slushee was no longer obvious in her face or neck, but the red dye had stained her hairline and covered her clothes. She stood to leave, but as she walked out, she ran smack into Brittany, who had folded clothes in her hands. “You’re running off like my cat,” The blonde teased before pushing her into a stall. Santana peeled off her clothes before slipping into the uniform. She stepped out and looked at herself in the mirror. The sight wasn’t horrible, but she much preferred her volleyball shorts and tee rather than the skimpy skirt.
Brittany clapped her hands excitedly. “You’re new, I assume, so I’ll take you to your next class,” She said, offering Santana back her bookbag before swinging her own over her shoulder. Her smile could’ve lit up the room, while Santana tried to keep her lips from forming a smile. Santana handed over her schedule, and Brittany walked to the math room at the end of the hallway. “I’ll see you around,” Brittany said, waving with a smile before spinning around to head to her own class.
Santana slipped into her class, which was full of very bored-looking students, and the teacher seemed unfazed by her late arrival. He just waved her towards the front, and she sat down next to a blonde girl with short hair. She smiled, but she just focused on the half-scrawled equation on the blackboard. She barely managed to make it through the class without falling asleep, her mind drifting back to the extra few minutes of sleep she could’ve gotten if it weren’t for that damn alarm. Santana must have started to drift off because she felt a finger jam into her side, and the girl next to her muffled a snicker at the way she jolted.
It wasn’t until after class that she followed the girl out and realized she was in the same uniform as Brittany. She must also be in cheer. “So you’re not a cheerleader,” The girl stated, her eyes flicking over Santana's figure. “Oh no, I’m not at all. I just got my clothes dirty this morning,” Santana explained, her tone going defensive. The blonde just nodded and split off to one of the guys Santana had seen hanging around the hallway before first period.
She didn’t spot Brittany on her way to English. Or history. Or even on her way to science. It was as if Brittany just disappeared, and despite herself, she felt a pang of disappointment. It wasn’t until Santana was entering the cafeteria that she spotted Brittany. The girl was sitting at a table with the girl from her math class and quite a few cheerleaders gathered around them. Brittany waved at her, but Santana was more focused on getting to a table alive. The same football players that had slushie-ed her this morning were now shooting looks at her cleavage and ass.
Santana ignored them and found a table in the corner, deciding that her first day would be used to assess everything and then spend the next few days climbing up the ranks. What she didn’t expect was for an all too perky girl in a grandma outfit to sit down across from her. “Hi! I’m Rachel, can you sing?” The girl asked, setting down her lunch and removing the meticulously packed containers. “What?” Santana deadpanned, her own eyes going down to the meal her mother had packed the evening before.
Rachel just smiled wide, “Well, we now have a glee club, and we’re always searching for new members. So can you sing?” She asked as if it were obvious. Santana just stared before standing and leaving the table. She decided to go try and find the girls' volleyball captain, which resulted in her aimlessly wandering around the athletics area until she bumped into the girl from calculus. “Hey, you’re Santana, right?” She asked, and Santana nodded, her eyebrows furrowing when she realized she had never actually mentioned her name.
The girl seemed to float to her, radiating with confidence. “I’m Quinn. What are you doing in the athletics area? Gonna try out for cheer after all?” Her gaze raked over Santana, and the Latina laughed. “Never, but thanks. I’m looking for the volleyball coach,” she explained as they walked down the hallway. “Oh, you’re looking for Coach Beiste; she runs it when she’s not too busy with football. And I’m Quinn,” The blonde said, pushing Santana directly into the office.
The Latina stumbled and whipped around to glare at the other girl, but the whole chicken sitting on the desk in front of her captured her attention. “What can I do for ya, punkin?” The woman asked as she began to eat the chicken. “I want to join the girls' volleyball team. I have papers to prove my history. I’ve got my medical records, and I can do any athletic activity you throw at me,” Santana said confidently, her eyebrows knit together as she waited for the coach's reply.
Coach Beiste looked more than a little amused. “No need for all that. I’ll look at your transfer files, but after that you’re on the team. We don’t have a lotta girls, so having any experience is a bonus,” She said and waved Santana off. Her jaw dropped a little at the ease of this, as well as a slight feeling of anxiety creeping up her spine. She did not want to be on a team where the joining process was this easy, but she had dedicated her high school career to volleyball, and she couldn’t stop now.
So Santana just clenched her jaw and left the office heading back towards the lunchroom. Thankfully, Rachel seemed to have been banished to wherever the hobbit lived. Quinn had returned to her spot at the cheer table with Brittany, who was hunched over something on the table. Santana watched as all of a sudden the girl was hopping up and heading straight to her. “I heard you’re joining the volleyball team,” Brittany said with a smirk, and Santana nodded.
Brittany grinned, “Well, let me know when the games are, and I’ll be there. Oh! You should consider checking out Glee,” She said excitedly before waving and heading off to who knows where. Santana frowned at the additional mention of that stupid club. Her eyes were drawn back to Brittany as she walked out and to her next class. The classes were just as unbearable as the morning ones, but Santana was relishing the idea of heading to the gym.
She hadn’t been officially invited to the first practice but hey it wasn’t as if the school was particularly strict. If she was going to be let in without any try outs then it’s not like the practice would be grueling. So as soon as the ending bell rang she was making her way to the gym. Santana wasn’t certain she would be able to move as much as she should in the Cheerios uniform but whatever. She would do the best she could, which was probably a hell of a lot better than the other girls.
Santana strode into the locker room to redo her hair and froze when she realized literally all of the cheerleaders were crammed in there. They were in various states of getting ready and Santana found herself having to push her way to the front of the mirror. She didn’t realize she was standing next to Brittany until a gentle hand landed on her arm. “Hey I missed some of the slushee from earlier” The blonde murmured and was already wetting a paper towel to wipe it off. Santana shuddered when she felt the girls hands on the back of her neck.
Her hands stayed in the middle of doing her hair until Brittany pulled away. She finished tightening the ponytail and rushed out. Santana felt heat coil in her stomach and scowled at the sensation. She found Coach Beiste across the gym with a few other girls. And unfortunately it seemed as if Rachel Berry was there. She was in a white and black uniform that made Santana want to throw up. Rachel already had a smug smile on her face as she talked with the other girls. Santana sat down on the bleachers a few feet away from them ignoring them.
Her focus was on the coach who was glancing down at her clipboard and back up every few minutes."Alright let’s start out with laps around the gym. It’s Berrys turn for the music” Beiste said begrudgingly before allowing Rachel to take over. The girl walked up with a pink CD player and popped one in. Santana stared, her brain barely catching up as soon as…show tunes started blasting. She groaned but joined the other girls in their laps. She kept pace with all of them easily taking the time to assess them.
There was a short Asian girl that seemed to have good stamina, Rachel who was slowly turning pink, a heavier black girl who was clearly having fun, and some other girls running a bit slower. As soon as they finished their laps they were transitioning to drills. Rachel was clearly the unofficial captain of the team and tried to lead them more than once. Santana ended up being paired with her which was as infuriating as she thought it would be. Considering her confidence Rachel did not know much about volleyball.
By the end of practice Santana was seething and she could’ve sworn she had never hated anyone more than Rachel in this moment. The brunette didn’t seem to have any idea that she was annoying as well as unskilled as she prattled on. As if Santana hadn’t been telling her that this for the last hour. The Asian girl whose name was Tina was talking about her apparently very hot boyfriend Mike. Santana had never been in a room full of so many girls she wished would shut up. At least Mercedes seemed quiet.
She avoided the shower and just wiped her face and hair before heading out. Santan glared down at the cheer uniform as she passed by the arts department. Pop music floated down the hallway and she couldn’t help but peek her head in. It surprised her to see a tall Asian boy sitting against the wall of mirrors while watching a girl dance. She realised far too late that it was Brittany dancing and that heat came back. She all but ran down the hallway and into the parking lot. Once Santana was in her car she was taking a long breath.
The first day had been far from what she expected and the pain of missing Washington hit her hard. Santana turned on the radio before checking her phone. It was a message from her mother. *We are on call with your abuela ❣️* She growled lightly at the message and chucked her phone into the seat next to her. Now she was stuck in this car or wandering around Nowhere, Ohio. The exhaustion of the practice and dealing with idiots all day long rushed at Santana. Her eyes began to droop and she rubbed them halfheartedly. The music of the radio began to lull her into an unsteady sleep.