DISCLAIMER: All characters all belong to Glee, FOX, and Ryan Murphy. I'm just borrowing them.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Takes place after the Season One Finale based on what Brittany said she did over summer break.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
FEEDBACK: To silverwriter01[at]yahoo.com
IT
By silverwriter01
"You saw what in the sewers?" Santana exclaimed.
"A clown. He said his name was Pennywise," Brittany explained as they lay in her twin bed, side by side.
Santana knew she shouldn't believe the story Brittany was about to tell her because anything that started with a clown in a sewer was only going to get more insane. However, Brittany had been missing for the past week and she had never been more terrified in her life.
Brittany's parents hadn't been too concerned. They said she wandered off all the time and Santana knew she did. But Santana also knew that Brittany would have called her before leaving and she asked Santana to come watch Lord Tubbington. The blonde had just vanished and Santana had aged years in a week. She aged enough to realize she was in love with Brittany.
So Santana settled in to listen to Brittany's story. Brittany may get facts mixed up some times, but she never lied to her.
"Go on," She urged.
"Well, it had rained so hard the other day and I had taken Barbie out on her Yamaha jet ski…"
One Week Earlier
Brittany smiled as Barbie raced brilliantly along the stream of flowing water. The little doll hadn't fallen off once of her Yamaha jet ski.
The blonde happily skipped along in the rain, pleased that her pink raincoat was keeping off the water. Brittany didn't notice the water speeding up at first and by the time she had, it was too late to see the storm drain and all the water flowing into.
"No," She cried out as Barbie raced for the gutter. She raced to it, but when she reached out her hand, Barbie had already fallen down into the drain. Brittany felt tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't know how she was going to break this to Barbie's friends and family.
She knelt to see if Barbie was anywhere in sight and then sighed. She moved to get back up when she heard a deep raspy voice, "Hi Brittany."
Her brows came together in confusion and she turned back towards the storm drain. She slightly jerked back when a face appeared into view. He had a white face, red nose, and red hair.
"Aren't you going to say hello?"
Brittany shook her head, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."
The clown looked disappointed, "Aww. But don't you want a balloon animal?"
The clown lifted up a balloon dog into view and Brittany started reaching for it. She then shook her head, "I'm not supposed to take stuff from strangers, either. Santana said so."
"Very wise of your Santana, Brittany. Very wise indeed. I, Brittany, am Pennywise the clown. You are Brittany so now we know each other. Correct?"
"I guess so," The blonde said, not so convinced. Santana had been really firm about not talking to strangers. She wouldn't let her talk to Rachel until Brittany had known the shorter brunette for three years.
"I'm Pennywise the dancing clown," Pennywise corrected
"I love dancing," Brittany exclaimed.
Pennywise smiled, "Come down here. There's a circus down here with balloons and cotton candy and dancing. We can dance all night, you and I."
"Umm," Brittany said. The offer was really tempting.
"And when you come down here, you can get this," Pennywise said, holding up Barbie and her jet ski.
"Barbie," Brittany exclaimed.
"Exactly," Pennywise smiled, "Go on kiddo, take it."
Brittany thought about it, "Well, Santana told me never to stick my arm down a drain."
"Your Santana is very wise," Pennywise said, though his smile seemed more forced. Who was this Santana who kept feeding this girl all this advice?
"But there's a manhole right over here. I'll open it and then I can come down. I don't think I could fit through this covering," Brittany happily said.
Pennywise's grin became wider, "That's a brilliant idea. I'll be waiting."
Brittany stood up and went to the middle of the road. She stared down at the manhole, trying to figure out how to open it. Pennywise seemed to be on the other side because it lifted up and slowly started to slide to one side of the road. Brittany bent down to help, pushing the heavy cover. It made a loud scratching sound as it slid across the pavement.
Once the cover was off, Brittany could see a ladder but no Pennywise. It was dark down there so she drew out her keychain. On it was her house key, a picture of Charity and Lord Tubbington, and a small LED flashlight Santana insisted she put on there. She clicked it on and shone it down the hole.
"No need for that light," Pennywise quickly said from somewhere in the dark, "Plenty of light down here."
"I'll just keep it on until I get down the ladder."
Brittany sat down and put her feet on one of the rungs. She then started to slowly climb down, the tiny flashlight shining a ring of light at the bottom of the sewer. She was glad she wore her knee-high rain boots as she stepped off the ladder into ankle deep water. Brittany had expected it to smell really bad down there, but it didn't.
She couldn't see Pennywise at first. Then a faint light appeared down one of the tunnels. It was yellow and she could hear music coming from that direction. A shadow appeared, blocking some of the light, "The circus is down this way. Just turn off the light and follow mine."
"I'll keep mine on," Brittany said as she started down the tunnel, "I like to watch where I'm stepping."
"Suit yourself," The raspy voice replied.
Brittany walked and walked, but she never got closer to the light. Sometimes she would come to an intersection of pipes, just to find the light had changed from one tunnel to another. She made several turns and lost track of which way.
"You're almost there," Pennywise urged.
The blonde wished she had a watch or her phone, but she had left it at home so it wouldn't get wet. She wanted to know what time it was because she had to make sure Lord Tubbington ate all his supper.
"How much further?" Brittany complained.
"Soon."
Walking for what seemed another hour, Brittany finally watched a place where the large pipe ended and opened up into a large cavern that was dimly glowing orange. She frowned, "There's no circus here. I thought there would be dancing."
"You'll dance," Pennywise growled, appearing twenty feet in front of her, "You'll dance as you die!"
Brittany watched in horror as the clown transformed into a giant spider. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run. However, as she gripped her keychain in her hand, she calmed. Her mother told her to always be brave, her father told her never to be afraid of anything, and Santana told her she was the bravest and smartest person she knew. She was not going to let some clown/turned spider get the best of her. She felt filled with energy and light.
As the spider lunged for her, she danced out of its way. This game continued for a while with It chasing and Brittany gracefully moving out of the way.
"Stop moving, you stupid girl," It screamed.
Brittany's jaw set in determination and she shouted, "I am not stupid!"
The creature laughed, "Oh, yes, you are. That's your fear, isn't it? To be left behind because you're so stupid. Too stupid to know what love is and be loved. Too stupid to have good things in your life."
Brittany started breathing deeply. That was her fear, but something inside of her urged her not to believe it. Her hand suddenly felt heavier and she looked at the keychain in it. She had turned the light off as she became adjusted to the faint, orange light in the cavern. Now something was telling her to turn it back on.
She clicked the light on and the spider moved back from the spotlight it made. Brittany grinned fiercely, "You're wrong. I know what love is and people love me. "
She shone the light on the face of the spider. It screamed in pain and tried to back up before hitting a wall. Something urged her to call out all the things that were important to her.
"Dad," She shouted. Her flashlight seemed to grow brighter and It screamed from the additional pain.
"Mom!"
"Cheerleading! Glee! Dancing! Charity! Lord Tubbington! Quinn! Rachel! Finn! Becky! Tina! Artie!…" Brittany continued to shout out the names of what meant the most to her. It was now screaming in constant pain as her light shone brighter than she had ever seen it shine before. It was like a strobe light.
Finally Brittany came to the name that meant the most to her. It was the best name in the world as far as she was concerned.
"Santana!" She screamed from the very bottom of her soul and heart.
The whole room seemed to be lit up with white light. It screamed and screamed as its flesh burned away until it was a charred remain, unmoving.
Brittany was breathing deeply as she lowered the light. Though she didn't check, she knew it was dead.
The entire cavern was now dark and now Brittany was left wondering how to get home. It was dark and she had taken so many turns in the sewer, she knew she could be stuck down there for days or weeks. A tear slipped down her cheek.
She held the flashlight close to her heart and whispered the name of the person she wanted to see the most, "Santana."
It felt like something was tugging on her heart. She whispered her best friend's name again and the tug became stronger, as if urging her to walk in one direction. Brittany followed her heart home.
When she emerged from the manhole, she hadn't known it would be right in front of her house. Brittany hadn't also expected to see Santana sitting on her porch. The Hispanic cheerleader was in a rocking chair, petting Charity, who sat on her lap.
Santana's jaw dropped when she saw the blonde emerge from the ground. She leapt out of the chair, ignoring the hiss of displeasure the cat gave, and ran as hard as she could.
"Where were you?" Santana shouted as she wrapped Brittany in a giant hug and spun her around, "Do you know how worried I've been?"
Brittany just held on as hard as she could. She didn't want to let go. She never wanted to let go. She eased back to look at her friend's face. There wasn't a touch of makeup on Santana and the brunette looked like she had been crying.
"I'm sorry," Brittany said, "I never meant to be gone so long."
Santana looked as if she wanted to start crying again, "You're filthy. Let's get you inside so you can shower."
"And that's what happened," Brittany stated, sleepily. She had been surprised when Santana said she had been gone a week. A day or two maybe, but not a whole week. She didn't argue though.
Santana brushed a few strands of hair away from the blonde's face, "That was quite an adventure."
She wasn't sure if she believed everything Brittany had said. She was sure something had happened down there. Santana decided not to focus on the story and focus on the beautiful woman in front of her. She loved Brittany. She wasn't ready to say it, but she knew it. Tomorrow she would make herself forget and train Brittany to never talk about the clown/spider again. But tonight, she knew she loved Brittany.
"I love you," Brittany sleepily muttered.
Santana pulled her friend closer and kissed her forehead. She mouthed the words against Brittany's skin. It was the best she could do, but it was all Brittany needed.
The End