Title: Ten Second Lifetime

Author: Jailynn

Couple: Will/Emma

Fandom: Glee

Spoilers: Showmance (1 x 02)

Rating: PG

Summary: His fingertip brushes her nose with white chalk

Warnings: Unbeta'd

Feedback: Please and Thank you

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One

His fingertip brushes her nose with white chalk. She should feel panicked. The color is out of place on her pale face. It's dirty. It's messy. But...her heart feels calm as she watches him finish. Her hazel eyes follow the arch of his finger and the dust it leaves behind.

Two

Will's finger is gone and the tingles start. Her mind races with thoughts and feelings cloud her vision. He's so close. She can feel his breath against her cheek. She wants to look up at him but she fights that desire the moment. Her hands start to curl in, so that she doesn't reach out...

Three

She isn't sure where she would reach though. Would she go up and wipe the offending powder from her skin? Would she extend her arms out and pull him to her? Would she finally get to taste his lips? Her nails are pushing into her skin now. The pain barely registers because he is...

Four

Watching her closely. She can feel his gentle, sweet brown eyes on her face. Emma looks up. Her breath catches in her throat. Her heart stops in her chest. Will looks like he is holding his breath as well. She knows it's wrong...

Five

But she wishes he would close his eyes and lean closer. His lashes are so long and frame his eyes perfectly. She's never seen a man this beautiful up close before. Her body is hyper aware of the heat radiating off of his. The way that ugly janitor's jump suit contours to his body, his shoulders, his waist, his legs. He is beautiful. When Emma was younger she dreamed of the man that she would fall in love with...

Six

...and Will looks exactly like the man she dreamed of. His arm moves slowly into her view. The sleeve of his dark blue overall pulls up and the muscles under his skin flex slightly. Her throat goes dry as she watches him move. He moves toward her...

Seven

She inhales quietly because her lungs were starting to hurt from the lack of oxygen and his cologne fills her head. Emma loves the way he smells. She often passes the cologne counters in the mall and thinks about which fragrance matches his. She's narrowing it down slowly. Once she finds out which one it is...

Eight

...she plans to buy a bottle and keep it next to her own perfume. So that she can smell it anytime she wants and remember him. This will come in handy during those long summer months when she can't plan to accidentally run into him at seven thirty eight in the morning...

Nine

...sometimes it's seven forty one. Sometimes Will runs late, but that's okay Emma doesn't mind waiting a little longer for him. She takes another deep breath and waits now for his next move. Will's arm is almost against her nose. She can feel the hair on his skin tickle her...

Ten

He wipes the chalk from the tip. She thinks he does it quickly or at the very least at normal speed, but she can feel each light brush of him against her. Emma never takes her hazel eyes from his. She can't. She's completely frozen.

"There," he says softly. "Ten seconds."

"You are good," she responds breathlessly. How could she possibly be anything but breathless with him so close? With his arm still in the air from rubbing the chalk from her nose? Her body sways and she forces it to move a tiny bit away from him. Because it would be so easy to lean into him, to give herself over to the intense need to kiss him...a married man. That's the thought that chills her and makes her realize she has to get out of here. "It's late. I should, um," she swallows. Emma looks away because if she continues to hold his gaze, she might end up wanting more than just a kiss. "I should be, um," she pauses to catch her breath a little, "going."

Walking around him, her shoulder touches his arm, sending sparks flying through her body. Each step takes more effort than it should. She doesn't want to leave. She doesn't want him to be married. She wants him to ask her to stay, to touch her again, to pull her back. Her body is singing. Her cheeks are burning, blushing. Emma reminds herself that she has to leave once she reaches the door, but she can't stop herself from turning back one more time to look at him.

Their eyes lock again. Her heart begs her to stop, to wait – didn't she just say she didn't mind waiting for Will? But her brain wins out and she exits the class room. The further away she gets, the more she wants to run back and finish what they could have started. It would be so easy. Emma loves him. And she could convince herself that he is worth compromising her beliefs. Heck she's already started to.

She pushes against the door to the front of the school, inhaling the cool fall air. Trees sway in the breeze, the moon's light bounces off the five cars that are still in the parking lot. Emma shakes back her hair, moving to her vehicle quicker. She passes Will's on the way and her step falters. Her left hand lifts up and almost touches the trunk, only her need to stay clean and a small amount of common sense she has left stops her from actually laying her hand on it. Closing her eyes briefly, Emma resolves to continue on.

Without thinking, she reaches into her purse, pulling out her small bottle of disinfectant and some wipes, preparing to wipe the car handle clean of germs. The motions are second nature- no thought required. She could do them in her sleep- and she might have at one point. After making sure it is completely sanitary, she slips her key into the lock and slides behind the wheel.

Looking out the clear glass of her front window, Emma sighs. He counted ten seconds. That's all the time that past from the moment he placed white powder on her nose to the time he wiped it off, but to her it was a lifetime of memories. And she will remember each one. She'll remember each one when she goes to bed alone and dreams of him.

The End