A/N: I've been looking forward to writing this chapter and I'm sure y'all are going to like it! At least, I hope so!

Reviews -

G #1: Thank you!
G #2: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far! If I had the time, I would definitely update every day ;) I hope you like what I had planned for what happened the next day!

rg52: Just a little bit awkward :P
Jaminica: I hope I brought you the Brittana action you were looking forward to..
OkayBlueJay: The slow burn isn't going to be too slow.. The story itself is going to be about 30 chapters long but it doesn't take that long to register what is going on.. If that makes sense?
alamoSAuRuS99: Thank you!

Chapter 5: Morning After

As my eyes fluttered to open, a groan rumbled through my body in response to the pounding headache I knew was a massive comedown from the night before. As far as I could remember, I hadn't had that much to drink.. Or smoke for that matter. When I felt a slight shuffling on top of me, my entire body froze like cold stone at the realization of contact and my eyes snapped down to my chest. Santana Lopez, the biggest dweeb in the school, was clinging to me like her life depended on it. That was all it took to remember what last night had brought me.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I cursed myself for actually falling asleep with her there. Honestly, I wasn't sure what got into me at Sugars' party. All I wanted to do was get the biggest nerd in school high so she had a panic attack or embarrass herself so much that we could pick on her for it for the remainder of their time at school.. And most important, win that stupid bet. If the Brittany that planned that could see that I had let said her stay over in my bed, she probably would have punched me in the face.

Feeling my jaw clench, an ache shooting through my teeth, I took hold of the wrist of Santana's arm that was wrapped tightly around my waist and peeled her away, slipping away from the death grip. Pushing myself out from under the sleeping girl, I dragged myself out of the bedroom to have a shower. I needed to wash the utter shame off myself before Puck or one of the other skanks called me out on it.

As soon as I stripped out of the previous nights' clothes and stepped into the cool stream of the shower I instantly felt better. My neck was sore, the result of an awkward night pressed up against the pillow and headboard. Regardless, I felt well rested, ignoring the headache. After quickly washing my body and hair, I shut the shower off and jumped out, definitely feeling less grumpy which was a good start to the day.. At least, for Santana's sake.

Picking up a black towel I rubbed my hair, getting the worst of the water off before wrapping it around my body to open the door and walk back into my room. As I stepped back into the bedroom, my eyes went straight to the girl who was now wide awake in my bed. Her eyes were wide, confused and frantic as they took in the vision of me in a towel.

"Finally awake. Lopez." I grumbled, walking towards the chest of drawers to find some clothes. "You really passed the fuck out last night." I explained, knowing that she probably couldn't remember much, while I fished myself out some underwear, a v neck and a pair black jeans.

"I… W-what happened?" Santana whispered, her voice wavering. Turning around, I shot her a smirk before resuming to face the drawers and dropping my towel to my ankles. Hearing her gasp behind me, I rolled my eyes to myself as I quickly slipped on the clothes. Subtle, Lezpez.

Finally dressed and decent, I turned back to Santana to find her eyes averted, her face bright red. God, if she was this nervous to see my back and ass, it was a good thing I didn't give her any real show. She would have thrown up with embarrassment.

"Well, are you gonna lie in there all day?" I asked, though it came out a little snappier than I intended. Force of habit.. Or maybe just embarrassment from being so nice the night before. That and what the hell do you say to someone you usually bully when they spend the whole damn night cuddling you without your permission after you drug them?

"I… N-no…. Sorry," Santana stuttered, scrambling to her feet and visibly shaking. Crossing my arms against my chest, I watched as she stumbled around my bedroom looking for her shoes. "Sorry." As the small girl got more and more panicked, I felt guiltier about snapping. After all, it was kind of my fault she was in the state she was the night before.

Sighing, I finally gave in, walking over to her and tugged her shoulder gently. "Woah, calm down Speedy. You'll make that head even worse if you're not careful." I suggested, a little softer than before. I really didn't have to be a bitch but the mechanism was just drilled too deeply into me to just stop. "If you feel like shit, you should lay down,"

Santana cringed away from my hand and shook her head a little too fast to be normal. The effect the cannabis brownies had on her at the party was insane. She was all over me then – and now she was freaking terrified. "No.. I can't. I'm.. I've been," She stuttered, trying once, twice – three times to tie her shoe with trembling hands. My eyes widened as she straightened up again, her weak body falling back to sit on the edge of my bed, heaving and almost wheezing.

"I can't.. I can't breathe."

Though I had been watching her with a pretty neutral expression as she stumbled around, my eyebrows suddenly knitted together with concern. The girls' face was getting redder and her hands wouldn't stop wringing together in her lap. I remembered Puck saying that he heard that she had panic attacks in school, and that it was fucking hilarious, but this wasn't funny at all. She actually looked like she was about to die, or something

"What do you mean you can't breathe?" The scowl fell from my lips as I rocked from one foot to the other, not sure what the hell I was supposed to do. Going against my better judgement of my own nature, I moved to kneel in front of her, reaching out to grip at her thigh to get her attention on me. "Are you having one of your…. Freaking the fuck out things?" Weirdly enough, I actually felt like I gave a shit about her. Maybe it was just down to the fact that I put in so much effort to make sure she didn't die last night, if she did now, all that effort would have been for nothing.

"I can't.." Santana tried to talk, but was cut off my a huge gasp leaving her body. Pulling her thigh away from under my hand, she brought her knees up to her chest and held onto them, as though she was trying her best to keep myself together. She looked terrified, and I have no idea what I was supposed to do.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Br… Brittany," Her voice was laced with pure fear, and it tugged at my chest.

Hopping up on the bed, I did the only thing I could think of. Remembering how much she liked to cling onto me the night before I pulled her against my chest and held her steady. It was awkward, and everything inside me was screaming to let her go and punch her in the face, but I kept her there – nestled in my arms.

"Just breathe. I got you," I mumbled, my hand coming to the back of Santana's head to keep her against my chest as she gasped and trembled.

Ever so slowly, I felt her trembles lessen and her breathing settle from being erratic. Her arms snaked their way to grip at my waist as she starting clinging onto me again. My jaw tightened in discomfort, but I powered though it. She needed this, no matter how much I hated it. As she slummed against me, sniffling and catching her breath back, I knew I did the right thing.

"Sorry…" She mumbled quietly into my chest, hiding her face away. She was obviously embarrassed as hell and I didn't blame her. I would be too.

"Don't apologize," I replied in a grumble. That girl apologized too much, and it was already getting pretty annoying.

Sighing, I tightened my hold on the girl and moved back to lay myself down, bringing Santana with me. If I was going to have to play the role of a fucked up teddy bear again, I might as well be comfortable while having to be put through it. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked softly after a few moments silence, filled with Santana's slowing breaths. Looking up at the ceiling, I only just realized that my hand was still cradling the back of Santana's head when she nodded against my chest.

"I think so.. Thank you,"

Laying in silence once again, I had no idea what to say. When I hung out with my friends, they usually tried to engage me into whatever they were talking about, whether it be asking my permission to do something or wanting me to bitch it out. Regardless, we actually had things in common.. I didn't know how to communicate with Santana on that level at all. Not only was I not a talker and her painfully shy – but we didn't mesh together at all. We were pretty much polar opposites.

"Brittany.. I don't remember most of last night," She started quietly, taking me a little by surprise. "But I don't think I've ever had that much fun."

"Never?" My brow rose, even though I knew she couldn't see my face. "What the fuck do you do all day every day, Lopez?"

"Not much…. I read, I study. Play video games and design my own comics sometimes," That must have been the reason for the picture of me. "Just.. Thank you for hanging out with me. I know I probably wasn't your first choice,"

"You really weren't that bad," Before I could stop it, a tiny smile creeped it way to the corners of my mouth. I actually did have a pretty good time but I would never admit that. I was high, so I probably would have had fun with anyone else that was high at that point, anyway

I wanted, pretty badly, to ask her what the hell just happened with her freak out, but I didn't really want to stick my nose in too far. After all, I knew all about how much it sucked to have people always wanting to get in your business. But, seeing as Santana was clinging to my chest like a koala, it probably gave me some kind of unspoken right to know

"So.. was that a panic attack or some shit?" I asked, wanting really badly to move my hand out of Santana's hair but I wasn't really comfortable moving at all in the position we were currently stuck in. I wasn't used to being touched if it didn't involve a fight or sex.

I felt Santana stiffen against me, her fingers clenching at the sides of my shirt. I could feel her mulling over the pros and cons of telling me what was obviously something she was really embarrassed about.

"Yeah… It was a panic attack," She admitted after a few moments of silence relaxing against my chest. "I'm anxious a lot.." I didn't know much about what a panic attack was, but what she just went through seemed awful.

"Shit," I breathed, my mouth turning to a frown. "'Suppose it doesn't help when I beat on you, huh?" When she shook her head, I felt uncharacteristically awful. Without even realizing it, I pulled Santana closer into me in response and froze, unaware why I was even doing it. I guess I really did have some kind of conscious after all.

"Do you want some… Water or food or whatever?" I asked, letting out the bated breath I was holding in my lungs. Maybe that meant that I could finally get my personal space back and stop feeling so Goddamn awkward.

"No… Food makes me feel nauseous right now," Santana replied, and I felt my shoulders slump at the idea that we weren't going to be moving at all. "But you should get something if you're hungry," She continued, lifting her head from my chest to look up at me, releasing me a little from her grasp.

"I'll get some toast," I nodded moving to sit up and making Santana get off me as I did. "And I'll get you some water," Standing up from the bed, I stretched out my arms before moving to leave the bedroom again.

"Brittany," The voice calling out behind me made me stop in my tracks and turn around, finding Santana sat on my bed, her eyes darting around my bedroom.

"Are you parents… Okay with me staying over? I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

I froze a little, my jaw getting tight as I let out a puff of air from my nostrils. It was kind of an unspoken rule between the skanks that no one mentioned my parents, and it wasn't like many other people came over to my place and asked. It was a little strange to be thinking about it again. Letting myself relax a little, I shook my head.

"I don't have any, so don't worry 'bout it. I work for this place myself," I shrugged, moving to collect my packet of cigarettes before turning back to the door.

"Oh… Why? Where are they? Where do you work? "

Deciding not to reply, I pretended not to hear her as I left the room, lighting a cigarette and heading to my kitchen area. I wasn't used to anyone asking personal things like that. Usually, I'd just insult anyone who even bothered to try. I was always mean but if anyone struck a nerve, I could easily slip into a blind rage and that was one of the reasons people steered clear of me. Deciding against bothering to make toast, picking up a cereal bar, I unwrapped it and began to eat, walking to the fridge to get two water bottles. Leaning against the counter, I sighed as I finished my last mouthful, working myself up to being with Santana again. There was something about the girl that made me not want to get angry, but I couldn't put her finger on what it was just yet. Maybe if I made some sort of effort not to be totally nasty to her, it wouldn't be so bad.

Walking back into my bedroom, I found Santana stood by my dresser, looking at a picture of me and Puck when we were younger. It almost made me smile/

"That was one of the first pictures of us," I piped up as I closed the distance between us, making her jump a little. Once registering what I said, she turned to me with a sweet smile.

"Is he your best friend?" She asked me as I handed her a bottle of cold water.

"I guess so," I shrugged, my eyes falling to the frames picture. He had gotten me it for my 16th birthday the year before. What a sappy dude. "He's a good guy, even if he is an ass."

I watched as Santana turned to look at the rest of the pictures I had. Puck's was the only one frames, but there were a few just pinned into the side of the mirror, all of me and my friends.

"I don't really know him.." She mumbled, opening her water bottle. "Is he like you? A nice guy under all the tough exterior?" I think she took herself my surprise as much as she did me, freezing for a moment before taking a long drink to distract herself. She was a pushy one. A silence fell on us as I mulled over what to say. If she was Sugar, she would have gotten a slap, most likely. But for some reason, I didn't want to be such a dick

"He's… Not such a bad dude." I decided to settle on, earning a bright smile from her when she realized she wasn't in trouble.

"I work at a garage outside of town, by the way. I maintain and fix cars and motorcycles." I shrugged after a long silence between us, answering one of the questions Santana had asked me. I didn't mean to be too rude by ignoring it before, but the prying on her parents shook me up a little. "It's not much but it pays my rent and for everything else I need. Plus I really dig motorcycles."

"Really?" She beamed at me as I took a drink, obviously happy I was opening up a little. "That's really cool. Do you have a motorcycle?"

I smirked a little, noticing how exciting she was getting over all of this. She was a little like a kid on Christmas now I wasn't being such a bitch. It was the first real, big smile I had seen from her, when she wasn't high as a kite, and it actually made me smile a little along with her.

"Yeah. A Yamaha YZF R6. She's my baby." I replied. My motorcycle was my most prized possession. I fixed her up myself at work, scouting out the parts, and the rest of the people I worked with helped me with the payments as a birthday present.

"Can I see it?" Santana's request took me a little by surprise. I didn't know the girl was that into motorcycles. Maybe she was just into me.. Whatever it was, she was kinda cute with it.

"C'mon," I smirked, tilting my head in the direction of the bedroom door to indicate for her to follow me. She seemed to have a skip in her step as we were on our way to leaving the apartment block, heading to the garages to the side of the parking lot. It was definitely a difference to having to carry her up the night before.

"Do you have a job or something?" I asked, kind of new to this whole conversation thing but making an effort nonetheless. Other than the fact she was the schools' lamest nerd who drew pictures of me and had random panic attacks, I didn't know anything else about her.

"No.." She replied with a shake of her had as we walked side-by-side down the stairs. "My parents want me to concentrate on school." Of course.

"School's kinda your thing, huh?" I smirked, glancing beside me at the small girl.

"Yeah, I love school so it's not really hard for me to put all my time into it."

"Totally get it. I love being a grease monkey so it's no big deal," I nodded

When Santana didn't say anything in response, I turned to look at her again as he hit the parking lot. Her face was a little flushed and her lip was pulled between her teeth.

"Well.. Yeah," She replied, noticing that I was staring and seeming to get a little embarrassed by her flushed face. "That's good.. That you enjoy it.. I mean,"

Chuckling a little at her embarrassment, I led us over to my garage, pulling my keys out of my pocket to unlock and lift up the heavy metal door.

"Here she is," I smirked, revealing my heavy, black motorcycle. "What d'ya think, Lopez?"

"It's so cool!" Santana gasped, her eyes wide with awe as she stepped into the garage and walked closer to the machine. It was almost as though she had never really seen one before. I was never one to protest when someone wanted to moon over my Beauty. She was the best of the best and I spent most of my free time tinkering and working on her to make her perfect.

"How did you learn to ride?"

"I used to love mountain biking when I was a kid," I shrugged with a smile, "When I got my job, I started testing our dirt bikes and found out they had a motocross team so I joined and kinda went on from there. I love all bikes, I guess."

Santana beamed at me, before turning back to the boke, running her fingers lightly over the handlebars.

"Does she have a name?"

Walking up to the bike, I tapped my hands against the leather seat. I would never tell anyone the story behind the name of my bike but there was something about Santana that made me want to tell her. Normally, I would have automatically responded with a no to anything that would make me seem lame or even slightly human, but I found myself speaking before her brain could tell me no.

"Black Beauty, y'know, after the horse. It was my favorite when I was small." I shrugs, feeling a little dumb for admitting it, but Santana smiled widely. She was pretty happy today, and it was a little infectious.

"I've never ridden a motorcycle before," Santana admitted, her fingers tracing over the buttons on the dashboard.

"Maybe I'll let you ride on the back one day.. Take your motorcycle virginity," When I saw the dark red flush on Santana's cheeks, it was so worth it.

"That would be awesome," Santana finally replied, her voice small and shy as her face slowly returned to its natural color. "Can I use your bathroom?"

After nodding, I led us back upstairs.

"I like that you named her after Black Beauty. I always wanted a horse for Christmas when I was younger," Santana smiled at me as we walked back into my apartment.

"Not gonna lie. I did too.. But I wanted a unicorn more," I scoffed at myself and Santana let out a little giggle. Yet another thing I would never usually admit, but Santana seemed to lap it all up.

"Bathroom is in there," I indicated when we were back inside, pointing towards one of the few doors leading off from the living room. Watching Santana walk away, I fished a cigarette from the packed in my pocket and my lighter, sparking up the cigarette and sprawling out on the couch. With Santana in the bathroom, I was surrounded by silence again and I didn't really like it. As irritating as I always found questions, CI didn't find Santana's so bad. If anything, it caught my attention how she could still be how she is after I bullied her so badly. When I had experienced the same thing, I definitely wasn't anything near as strong…

"Did you know.. When hippos get upset, their sweat turns red?" Santana's voice took me by surprise, before I could ever register what she said. Leaning up from the couch, I found her and chuckled.

"They do huh? Weird.." I offered, watching the nerves cross her face before I let out a low laugh. As soon as I did, her smile returned. She really should let loose a little more.

"Well, I gotta go pick up some parts for my motorcycle, so I can drive you home if you want." I offered with a shrug as I stood up, putting out my cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"Yes please… If that's okay. I don't want you to be late," Santana replied quietly, nervously trailing her toes on the floor.

"It's cool," I offered as I led us back to the door and down to the garage. I half wished that I didn't have something to work on and places to be, because I was kind of having a good time hanging out. She talked too much and asked a lot of questions, but it was a nice change.

"This is mine, by the way," I smirked as we got close to my truck, "You pretty much passed out in it last night," I could tell how teasing my tone was, but it wasn't (for once), in a nasty way. I was playing, for a first.

"I can't believe I was that bad," Santana giggles to herself as we climbed in and I started the loud engine. It wasn't the best kept truck, but it got me where I needed to go. Besides, if it ever broke down, I had pretty much a free ticket for the garage where I worked.
"You have quite the stamina, Squirt. Impressive." I nudged her shoulder playfully as we pulled out of the parking lot. "I dunno where the fuck you live by the way, so I need directions."

"I passed out.. So I don't think I was that good," Santana laughed lightly at herself as she started directing me through the streets of Lima. I lived right on the outskirts, and it looked like Santana lived in one of the super rich areas, so she wasn't too far away. It was most definitely a neighborhood I never went into. They would probably shoo me out with a broom or something.

"You'd be surprised. My first time, I puked all over myself, thought I was gonna die and was out cold for a good few hours," I smirked, thinking back to the days of being innocent. Of course, I had gotten high on plenty of things since then, so it was amusing to think back.

"That's it.." Santana pointed to a mansion-looking house with a long driveway. Damn. Pulling in, I slowed to a halt and cut off the engine.

"I guess I'll see you around.. On Monday or whatever," I shrugged as I turned to Santana. I'm not sure why I said it.. After all, it wasn't like I was going to actually talk to her at school or anything. There was a social hierarchy to think about. I may have acted like I didn't give that much of a shit about it, but I liked being untouchable.

"Thank you.." Santana replied with a small blush as she unfastened her seatbelt and opened the door of the truck. "I had a lot of fun." When she stepped out and dropped the foot or so to the ground, she turned to me and smiled. "Thanks again."

After nodding in response, I watched as Santana walked up to the front door and doesn't switch my engine back on until she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Starting up the truck, I reversed back onto the road to start my drive towards the garage I had my parts ordered into.

The whole morning had been an incredibly strange experience and I hated to admit it, but I actually enjoyed myself. I wasn't sure what was going to happen from then on, because my reputation wouldn't have stood a chance if I was seen talking to Santana at school.

Tightening my grip on the steering wheel, my eyes narrowed as I revved my engine harder. What the hell was going on with my head?

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please read and review! .ox