𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 | s. lopez

On My Way

"I don't want to be involved in any more of this Sebastian drama," said Juniper as she got out of Santana's car.

"Look, all you have to do is stand and look cute while Auntie Snixx takes care of him," Santana replied with a smirk.

"So, what did he do exactly?" asked the brunette as she walked into the Lima Bean with Kurt, Blaine, and Santana.

"He photoshopped an inappropriate picture of Finn and he's going to post it if Rachel doesn't drop out of regionals," said Blaine.

They walked up to Sebastian who was at a table working on homework.

"Let me break it down for you, from one bitch to another," said Santana. "All of this vicious, underhanded crap has got to stop."

"Exactly," he agreed, looking up. "That's why I called you here. First of all, Blaine, I am so sorry about your eye."

"That means nothing to me," said Blaine, glaring at the Warbler.

"Just give me a chance. I have no excuses other than a lame prank got completely out of control. Second, the Finn photo's have all been destroyed. I want the Warblers to win fair and square. And we're gonna take donations for Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. Win, lose or draw, we're gonna dedicate our performance to Dave Karofsky. I thought you might want to join us."

"Is this a trap?" asked Juniper.

"Wait for the punch," Kurt said to her. "You know it's coming."

"No," said Sebastian. "Not this time. For too long, I have treated everything like a big joke. It's all fun and games... until it's not."

****

Everyone was in the auditorium sitting on the stage in a circle. Mr. Schue doesn't want any of them doing what Karofsky did, so he asked all of them to go around and share one thing they're looking forward to.

"Someday I want to earn enough money to buy my folks a new place so they don't ever have to go through losing their home again," said Sam.

"I'm most looking forward to seeing Rachel Berry's children," said Mercedes and they all laughed.

"I want to be there to see my kids' first steps," said Artie.

"I want to be there to see Sex and the City, Part 3," said Sugar.

"I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, but I really do want to graduate high school," said Puck.

"I'm gonna petition the army to change my dad's dishonorable discharge status to an honorable one," said Finn.

"I'm looking forward to graduating from Yale at the top of my class," said Quinn.

"I'm looking forward to the day when my grandmother loves me again," said Santana. Juniper put a comforting arm around the Latina, who gave her a small smile in return.

"I'm looking forward to when foster kids everywhere get adopted into loving homes like mine," said Juniper.

"I want Lord Tubbington to kick his ecstasy addiction," said Brittany.

"I'm looking forward to marriage equality in all 50 states," said Blaine.

"I'm looking forward to the first time I dance at Carnegie Hall," said Mike.

"I just want a song," Tina smiled and everyone laughed.

"I'm looking forward to watching my dad make a difference in Congress," said Kurt.

"I'm looking forward to being friends with all of you for the rest of my life," said Rachel.

"I know this sounds silly, but peanut butter really is amazing," said Rory. "But you know what I'm looking forward to? Winning at regionals."

****

****

"And the winner is..." said the announcer. "From William McKinley High, the New Directions!"

Everyone screamed and Santana pulled Juniper into a tight hug.

****

After regionals, Juniper decided to celebrate at a party. She found one a few neighborhoods away, but she didn't realize it was in Lima Heights until it was too late.

Juniper had already had a couple drinks when a gang of teens around her age, maybe older, started harassing her. She ran out of the house and got as far as she could before sitting down on the curb and calling Burt.

"Hello?" he asked when he answered.

"Burt? C-can you pick me up?" asked Juniper, tears streaming down her face. "I'm scared."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Juni?"

Juniper looked up and saw Santana in black running clothes but the younger girl didn't question it. She got up and went over to her, hugging her tightly.

"Juniper, what the fuck are you doing in Lima Heights?" asked the Latina. "It's so dangerous here, especially for a sweet girl like you." They pulled out of the hug and Santana furrowed her brows. "You smell like alcohol. Juniper Oakley, please tell me you did not go to a Lima Heights party so you could get drunk."

"Only if you tell me that you're not out on a late-night run to burn off the calories from your dinner," said Juniper, crossing her arms.

"Fine," sighed Santana, crossing her arms. "We both broke our promise to each other."

"Then let's make a new one," said the brunette. "From now on, we check in with each other every night. And be completely honest with one another, even when we mess up."

"Deal," said the Latina. "Do you need me to give you a ride home?"

"Burt's gonna be here any minute," said Juniper.

"I'll stay with you until he gets here then."

Santana and Juniper sat down on the curb. The Latina wrapped a protective arm around her, holding the younger girl closely in the dark night.

A little while later, Burt arrived to take Juniper home. When they got back, the burnette had a long talk with Burt and Carole and they decided it would be best for her to go to rehab for the summer. Juniper texted Santana to let her know, and the Latina said that her parents are putting her into out-patient treatment so that she can get professional help. 

The road to recovery isn't going to be easy for either of them, but as long as they have each other... they'll be okay.