A/N: So this is a story that I've slowly been working on for a while now. It's got hints of Inception, but it's not based off of the movie in any way.
The plan is for this story to be about 8-9 chapters. Possibly more.
DISCLAIMER: The only character of my creation in this story is Millie Schuester. All other characters and GLEE belongs to RIB.
The day started out as normal. Emma woke up next to her husband of six months, reached for the snooze button on the alarm and rolled over, kissing his scruffy cheek. She watched him wrinkle his nose slightly as she did so and couldn't help but think of Will. Would he wrinkle his nose cutely if she kissed his cheek good morning? The thought was interrupted by two dark brown orbs suddenly staring at her.
"Morning, Carl."
"Morning, Ems."
They both rolled out of bed and went about their usual routine. It was Valentine's Day, but Emma didn't really have the heart to celebrate it, and Carl said that he didn't believe in Valentine's Day. 'It's a corporate scheme, Emma. I cannot believe you buy into that mumbo jumbo.' She watched him go into the bathroom and rolled her eyes, making their bed up. Sighing, Emma went to the spare bathroom, which she'd dubbed her own, and showered quickly and meticulously. Half an hour later, she stood before a steamy mirror, wrapped in a towel and brushing her teeth. She sighed.
No matter what she'd tell Will and her colleagues at work, her marriage with Carl was far from a happy one. After the newness of their spontaneity had worn off, he stopped being so loving towards her. He'd stopped coming by McKinley and picking her up for lunch, he was always coming home late from "extra appointments," and they hardly ever spoke. Emma wasn't stupid. She knew he wasn't coming to get her for lunch because he'd rather be at work than forcing her to be normal. His "appointments" were either him drinking late with some guy friends, or drinking and sleeping with other women since Emma still hadn't done the deed with him. And their silence? Farthest thing from comfortable. But she wasn't about to admit to Will, to Carl, to herself that she'd made the biggest mistake of her life walking away from Will, only to be trapped in a dead-end marriage.
Getting dressed was Emma's favourite part of the morning. It was the only time her husband ever actually looked at her and told her she was beautiful. In reality, being told she was beautiful didn't matter much to Emma; looks weren't important. However, Carl saying that she was beautiful meant that he was at least feeling something, even if it was shallow, about his wife.
This morning, Emma dressed herself in a red skirt with a crisp, white top and a black vest. She couldn't help but smile as she slipped the vest into her arms, tugging on it as it rested upon her shoulders. Buttoning the center button, Emma walked over and put in a pair of heart stud earrings and slipped on a pair of black pumps that were slightly higher than usual, but appropriate for school, nonetheless.
As she walked downstairs to make her usual breakfast of fruit and coffee, Emma paused. It smelled good downstairs, as if Carl was cooking, but he never cooked for her. Entering the kitchen, Emma smiled, seeing that he had in fact cooked breakfast for her. There was fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and coffee with a container of soymilk standing next to it.
"Carl, thank you," she walked over and kissed his cheek gently, "I appreciate it."
She sat down at the island countertop and started eating slowly, checking her watch. She had a good half an hour before she absolutely needed to leave for work.
"No problem, Ems. I should get going. See you for dinner tonight at Breadstix? Seven o'clock."
Emma nodded. "See you then. Have a good day at work. I love you."
Carl just looked at Emma for a few seconds, then turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen. Emma sighed.
"Carl? Carl!"
Nothing.
Standing, Emma walked out to the living room, where he was putting his coat on.
"Carl Howell, I told you I love you."
"Yes, Emma. I heard you. See you after work."
With that, he was out of the door and on his way to get on with his day, leaving Emma standing in her living room feeling oddly rejected and pointless. She walked over to the end table, grabbing her keys, purse and lunch, then stormed out of her home, her breakfast in the kitchen forgotten in her feelings of pointlessness.
Once in her car and on the way to school, Emma turned on the radio, flipping through the channels at a red light.
Thong song.
Sigh. Next channel.
Hello.
Next!
My life! Would suck! Withooooooooout youuuuuuuu!
Emma slammed the radio off and shook her head, looking up at the sky.
"Really? Valentine's Day and my husband doesn't say I love you, then Will's songs come on? Seriously?"
She sighed, exasperated and finished the drive to school, unable to get into her office fast enough.
The morning seemed to drag on, but as the lunch bell finally rang, Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She closed her office door and pulled out her lunch, content to sit in the silence and enjoy her break from the teacher's lounge, from her husband, from the whiney students who seemed to have double the issues on a day dedicated to love. She was just popping open her container of grapes when a tapping on the glass door interrupted her. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she looked up, surprised to see Will standing there, one hand waving at her and one hand behind his back. She smiled and waved him in.
"Hey!"
"Hey, you weren't in the lounge, so I figured you'd be here. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Emma shook her head, staring up at the man before her. Just his presence in the room made her feel better, and everything was a little lighter and brighter. He was her sunshine. She would never admit to him or anyone else, but she'd given him that name long ago in private, because that's how she thought of him; always warm and happy, caring, loving. Even when Carl the Cloud seemed to hide him in the shadows, he always managed to shine that much brighter and worm his way back into her atmosphere. It was deliciously perfect.
"No, no. Not at all. Please, sit."
Will smiled his signature smile, and Emma's heart melted. She watched him sit down across from her and pull his arm from behind his back. It held both his lunch, and a small wrapped box which he placed on her desk. Raising an eyebrow, Emma eyed the box.
"It's not going to bite, Em. Just open it."
She watched him take a cookie out of his lunch and start eating it. Finally, curiosity got the better of her and she reached forward, taking the small box. She removed the bow, then the wrapping very carefully, so as not to rip it. Setting it aside gently, Emma opened the box. Her breath caught in her throat seeing what the box held.
Nestled sweetly on a red, plush cushion was a heart-shaped locket with My Heart is Yours engraved on it. She stared at the necklace for a moment, trying not to cry. "Will…" she whispered the man's name quietly, staring blurry-eyed at the jewelry.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Em. I love you."
The redhead looked up in just enough time to see him leaving her office, closing the door behind him. Clearing her throat, she looked down at the necklace and picked it up, turning it over in her fingers. Opening it, there was a small piece of paper where a picture should be that said 'I will wait for you.'
Tears spilled over onto Emma's cheeks and she closed the locket with shaky hands, unclasping the necklace and putting it on. The cool metal burned a hole into her chest and she rested a hand over it. Drying her tears, she smiled, silently vowing to herself that she'd never remove that necklace as long as it was still intact.
The bell rang, startling Emma and she laughed slightly, throwing away the wrapping from her present; she quickly ate a few grapes before storing her lunch. She hoped to catch Will after school, and as the next scheduled student walked through her door, Emma began a mental countdown until she could see the man who'd always held her heart.
As the last bell rang, Emma was already out of her office and on her way to Will's classroom. She dodged behind a few jocks as Sue walked past, not wanting to deal with her, and then proceeded on her way. Upon reaching the empty classroom, Emma knocked twice.
"Mister Schuester? Got a sec?"
Emma leaned on the doorway and smiled, watching him light up at her presence. With a nod of his head, Emma walked into the classroom, closing the door behind her. They stood in an awkward silence for a moment, Emma looking Will over and Will's eyes scanning her body, coming to rest on the locket now gracing her chest.
"Emma, I feel like I need to ex—"
"Please, Will. Let me speak first," she cleared her throat, nervous. "I, uhm, I love the locket, so much. It's beautiful and it's sweet and it probably isn't very much to anyone else who would see it, but to me, it means the world and it says so much about you. About us. I…I love you, too. B-but—"
The rest of the statement was cut off as Will closed the gap between them, kissing her lips gently. She kissed him back, pulling away too soon, but at the same time, too late to prevent any damage.
"But I'm married."
A tear escaped Emma's eye and Will caught it with a thumb.
"Why are you crying? You're married, Emma, and I understand that you're happy and that I'm messing it up by telling you I love you, but I had to. And I will wait; as long as it takes. There's nobody else out there for me, nobody else like you. You're it for me, Emma. Whether you want to see that or not, and I will always be around, I will always be your friend – your best friend. I will always be in the wings waiting for you to call me on stage."
Tears spilled over a bit more and Emma hugged Will, shaking her head. It broke her heart that here was this man who loved her so truly, and her own husband couldn't even be bothered to tell her that he loved her before leaving for work. She couldn't tell him, though. It would just break her heart and his further.
"I'm just so thankful for you, Will."
She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "I have to go. I have a dinner tonight, but, uhm…thank you. For the necklace. For you."
She took a breath and turned her back on the man, walking out of his classroom and out to her car. She got in quickly and started driving home, refusing to allow herself to cry again. Emma told herself that she was going to see her husband and have dinner with him. She needed to focus on that, and not on turning the car around and running straight to Will's arms, telling him everything. How she dreaded going home to her husband and waking up in the morning to his face rather than Will's. She couldn't let her façade crumble like that.
Three hours later, Emma sat at a table in Breadstix, waiting for her husband to join her. She checked her watch. 7:45. He was almost an hour late. She was about to get up and leave when she saw him rushing into the restaurant, spotting her and hurrying back to join her.
"You're almost an hour late!"
"I had an appointment that ran late, Emma. Sue me. Did you order?"
"Yes. I got our usual. Nice to see you, too."
Carl sighed. "I'm sorry about earlier, babe. You know I love you."
Emma just nodded. The waiter came quickly with their food and they started eating in silence. They shared glances across the table, and though Emma tried to convey love in her eyes, she was sure all that was present was confusion. She couldn't help but wonder whether she should take advantage of Will waiting for her and just leave Carl, or whether she should be the honourable woman she thought of herself as and fix her marriage. She was about to speak up to Carl about how things had been between them the past few months, deciding on fixing the marriage, when he set his fork down.
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
"The necklace. I didn't get it for you."
"Oh..uhm, f-from my mom."
He leaned forward to look at it, reaching across and turning it back and forth in the light.
"My Heart is Yours? Not something that sounds like your mother would give it to you."
Emma froze. Carl wrapped his hand around the necklace and yanked it, breaking the chain and pulling it from Emma's neck. She gasped and her hands flew up, one to rub her neck where the chain dug in, and one to cover her chest where the heart just was. Tears filled her eyes as she realized in him breaking the necklace, her earlier vow to always wear it was now broken. She blinked through the salty water and watched as Carl opened the locket.
"I will wait for you," he read out loud, looking up at her and glaring. "This is from him, isn't it? Dammit, Emma!"
He slammed his hand down on the table and dropped money on the table for their meal, standing and walking out of the restaurant. Emma stood quickly and followed him outside, finding him standing in the middle of a surprisingly almost empty parking lot.
"Carl.."
"Emma, what the hell is wrong with you? I MARRIED YOU! I DID, NOT HIM, AND HE KEEPS GIVING YOU THESE THINGS? HOW MANY OF THESE ARE THERE?" He held up the necklace up to her.
"N-none! Carl, there are none, I swear, this is the first one! But I love you, right? I married you, didn't I? Th-that necklace means nothing to me!"
Lying. This is why Emma rarely did it. It left a bad taste in her mouth and a burning in her throat. Her heart throbbed painfully with the implication that something from Will could ever mean 'nothing to her'.
"Nothing?"
Emma nodded, "Now, please. Can I have it back?" Carl raised an eyebrow and ran over to the road, throwing the necklace out into the darkness. He turned back to Emma.
"NOW GET IN THE DAMN CAR!"
Emma cringed and did as she was told, hurrying into the car and buckling up. She'd come get her car later. She closed her eyes as Carl started practically screaming at her, telling her all the things that he's done for her, all the things he is giving up to be with an OCD bitch who can't function if her shoes are out of place, how he's putting his dream of having his own practice in California on hold to be a husband to her. Emma let a few tears slide down her cheeks, silent as he yelled at her.
"Now you're crying? Emma, I am not giving you a pity party! I'm not! This is BULLSHIT! I give up everything to be with you and you're still not over that greasy-haired buffoon?"
Emma opened her eyes, ready to scream at Carl, how dare he say that about Will? He cared about her deeply – he was there through everything, even when she didn't tell him what all was going on. He loved her and how dare Carl talk about him in such a way? Her mouth snapped shut and she was stopped by the quickness of the scenery passing them.
"C-carl, slow down. You're driving too fast."
Carl rolled his eyes and pressed on the gas harder, still yelling.
"CARL! I UNDER—HONEY, PLEASE! SLOW DOWN! HON—CARL!"
And that's when it happened. The voice that escaped my mouth can only be described as 'not mine' because when I look back on it, it didn't sound like Emma. It sounded like pure terror, so shrill and demanding, yet so frightened and weak. I reached forward; I don't know what for. Nothing I could grab in the passenger seat would be able to put a stop to that which was already in motion.
I looked to my right and saw two balls of yellow coming towards me. Headlights had never been brighter or more threatening than in that moment. Though at the same time, they were screaming at me to get out of the way. I only wish I could have.
They say when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes, and in the instant that my terrified amber eyes met the cold yellow glare of the headlights, my life went speeding through my vision. It really does flash. It's amazing how the mind works; fitting those thirty-two years of my existence into what must have been less than two seconds. Then realization sets in, and your life goes away and you're being thrown around.
Will was the last person I saw before my head crashed into the side of the car. It was his warm, hazel eyes that I followed into the darkness as a hauntingly beautiful lullaby of twisting metal and shattering glass sang me out of consciousness and into the black unknown.