It was the first day after winter break and everyone was busy including Emma. She was on her way to her office while reading the memo she got from Figgins when she almost slipped on the floor, making the papers she held fall on the ground.
"Oops. Careful." A tall blonde woman caught her elbow.
"The kids like to say welcome by buttering the floor. Puckerman's doing I guess. Are you okay?" She smiled and picked the papers up.
"Yes. Thank you..." She was about to bend and pick up the papers, but the lady was already done and was now handing them out to her. "Here."
"Thanks. You saved me from a day of humiliation."
"You're welcome. Oh, I gotta go. See you around Emma..." Wait. She knew her name? How? Emma couldn't help but just stare at her as she walked away. Who was this woman who saved her?
Free period came in and Holly was already at the teachers' lounge, having a humorous discussion with Sue. It was easy for her to get along with just about everyone. She was the life of the party.
She turned around and saw the redhead she just met. She was staring at her. Staring a little too long. "Hi!" She gave her a little wave and smiled brightly.
Emma took a seat next to Holly, blushing softly as she bit down on her lip. She looked up into her eyes and smiled brightly. "Hey." Emma rolled her eyes, seeing Sue give her a disgusted look, and she turned her attention back to Holly. "Thanks for this morning, by the way."
She took out her plastic gloves, and began to wipe down the table with her disinfectant wipe. "I uhm.. I've seen you around quite a lot, you know.. But I've never actually caught your name." Holding her gloved hand out, she smiled. "I'm uhm.. I'm Emma Pillsbury."
"I know." She smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Holly Holliday. I'm new. I teach Sex Ed. So how was your Christmas Emma?" She tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for Will. They agreed to exchange food at lunch ever since they started dating. It was something he suggested to help her enjoy their sense of commitment.
She took a bite out of her sandwich, watching Holly as she tapped her fingers. "It was.." Well, Emma's Christmas had been.. eventful. She hadn't told anyone that she had split up from her husband, and she had still kept her name. "...It was alright." She lied, taking a sip of water. "Yours?"
Something was wrong. Holly could see it in her eyes, but ignored it. She wanted to ask further but it was too soon. "Oh, it was great. My folks from New York came in to visit. They even met-" She was going to say his name when Will cut her off with a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Sorry I'm late. I got stuck in Spanish class." He smiled as he took a seat. "Hey, Em." He greeted her. "I see you've met Holly."
Listening to Holly, she smiled politely and nodded her head. As Will walked in, kissing Holly's cheek, Emma averted her eyes to her sandwiches, giving Will a quick nod. "We... uhm. Yes. Just a few minutes ago." She pushed her sandwiches away and bit her lip. "Uhm.. I'll give you two some privacy."
"No, no. It's okay. " She tried to hold her hand, but immediately pulled back as she remembered her sensitivity to being touched. "Don't worry, we're not gonna make out at the lunch table." She laughed, looking at Will.
Will chuckled softly, looking up at Emma. "Yeah, Em. Just stay.. We haven't spoke since before Christmas! How are you and Carl?"
Emma looked down as Holly reached out for her hand, smiling softly. "It's alright. I know you're not germ ridden." She sat back down, nodding her head as she looked away from Will. "I'm great." Mumbling shortly, she took a sip of water and ran her hand through her hair, hoping he wouldn't notice that she missed out Carl.
"We are going to the movies tonight. Would you like to join us?" He was rubbing it in on purpose. Was he trying to get back at Emma for doing the same to him?
"Yeah, it'll be fun. Like a double date." Holly added. She knew Emma and Will dated. She knew Emma was married. She knew what she knew, but she wanted to know more.
Emma's eyes welled up with small tears, shaking her head silently. She opened her mouth to speak, and then cleared her throat. "I'd love to.. But I.. Just. No. I can't." Without saying anything else, she packed her lunch back up and hurried out of the teachers lounge, letting a tear slip down her cheek.
Will and Holly looked at each other, wondering what went wrong. "I'll be right back." Holly squeezed his hand and left the teachers lounge to find Emma sitting in her office, crying. "I'm sorry. Did Will...Did I do something to offend you?"
Emma ran to her office, earning a few concerned look from passers by. As she heard Holly's voice, she choked back more tears and tried to smile, shaking her head. "C-carl left me." She mumbled, keeping her gave to the floor.
Holly hugged her without a doubt, hoping she wouldn't pull away. "I'm really sorry...I knew something was wrong, but I wasn't sure." She handed out her handkerchief. "It's clean."
As Holly hugged Emma, the only instinct she had was to hug her back tightly. "I.. I loved him.. So, so much.." Emma whispered against her shoulder, politely taking the hankerchief with a quiet thank you and began to wipe the mascara streaks that were left on her cheeks.
She ran a hand up and down her back, doing her best to comfort her until she saw the clock. "I don't want to leave you like this, but I have a class in 5 minutes." She looked at her. "Do you mind if we talk about this later? I'm free after 4 o'clock."
She wiped her cheeks dry and nodded. "I'm free.. But you have a date with Will. I don't want to get in the way of that." Emma sniffled quietly, slowly pulling away from holly. "Thanks, anyway."
"It's fine. It's just a date. It can wait. Oh gosh, that rhymes." She said, trying to make her laugh. "So...?" She tilted her head slightly.
Emma laughed softly, grinning up at Holly. "I'd.. I'd really like that holly. I'll come round to your class at four, and we can go back to mines?"
"Yeah. Sounds good to me." She smiled, feeling relieved with the fact that she made her laugh. "Here, eat this." She gave her a piece of caramel candy. "I'm not sure if you feel nauseous when you cry, but it always makes me feel better."
Taking the candy from Holly, Emma welled up with more tears. It wasn't often she made new friends. She smiled warmly at Holly and hugged her again, laughing slightly. "Thank you. So much."
"Anytime." She was surprised with the gesture but welcomed it without wonder or hesitation. She loved making new acquaintances. She loved making people feel better and she was glad that Emma was one of them. "See ya!" She left her office in a hurry, but with a smile on her face and a conversation to look forward to.
Emma sat down at her desk, re-organizing the things that she didn't think were perfect. She was looking forward to meeting up with Holly, and was hoping she wouldn't screw it up, like she'd done with every other "friend".
Time fleeted more than it should that day and Holly was in her classroom, listening to her ipod while flipping through the pages of piled homework on her desk. The class just ended and she was waiting for the little guidance counselor.
Emma walked over to Holly's class, knocking quietly on the door. "I see you have the joy of teaching Sex Ed to Noah Puckerman. How's that going for you?" She smiled, walking into the class.
Holly removed her ear plugs and laughed. "Pretty awkward and hilarious, but I guess it should be okay." She smiled back. "How are you feeling?"
She sat at the edge of the desk, laughing softly. "You'll get used to it. Figgins had me give him extra Sex Ed lessons. Seems he already knows enough." Emma nodded as she chuckled, looking around the class. "I feel a little better. I'm just pretty hung up on him, you know?"
"Must be some guy, huh?" She rested her face on her hand, looking at her. "I would love to tell you what to do, but I've never been married so..." She smiled and sighed, taking a risk with her next question. "What happened?"
Shrugging slightly, Emma played with her fingers. "He got fed up. I'm.. I like things clean. And nothing will change that. And he.. He just got sick of it."
"Don't worry. You're gonna meet someone who's gonna make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else." She smiled at her, like she was so sure.
"You really think that?" Emma looked up at her hopefully, biting on her lip. "I always thought my chance had been and gone."
"I know that. Everyone deserves a happy ending Emma. Sometimes, you just have to wait for yours." She laid a hand on hers, looking straight in her beautiful auburn eyes.
"You're.. You're amazing, did you know that?" Emma whispered quietly, looking into Holly's eyes. She tried to look down, but she couldn't. She didn't know why, exactly. She just.. couldn't.
"Thanks for reminding me." They stared at teach other for a moment, not knowing how, not knowing why. They just did like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Emma's smile slowly traveled towards her eyes. She bit softly on her lip, and leaned forward. This was the most daring thing she'd ever done, and she done it without thinking. Slowly, Emma brushed her lips past Holly's.
She pulled back, with eyes wide open. "Okay...What was that?" She wasn't offended. She wasn't pleased either. It was ...different. 'Maybe she was just sweet and overwhelmed.' She told herself, trying not to give it meaning.
"Maybe we should just go home and forget about it." She stood up, gathering her stuff, waiting for her reaction.
Emma nodded her head, picking her bag back up and turned her back. "I think that's a good idea."