He was her forever. Her soul mate. Her future. They were supposed to grow old together. And now they'd never have the chance. The phone call that he was dead wasn't even real to her. Lea's entire world stopped in an instant and she fell to the ground, crying.
It was two hours later before any of her friends got a change to come over. When they found her, she was in her bathroom floor in a fetal position, crying her eyes out against the cool tile. The tried to comfort her, but nothing could keep her from crying. Jon was the only one that was able to stay.
He didn't try to calm her down; he knew there was no point. All he could do was hold her as she cried, stroke her hair the way he knew she liked, and hold her hair back as she vomited (multiple times) into the toilet. They barely spoke, she barely ate, and she had just begun to run out of tears when her eyes began to grow heavy with sleep. Jon offered to stay the night, which Lea thanked him for greatly. She couldn't sleep alone.
Lea could feel her best friend's arms wrapped around her, but the only one's she wanted at the moment were Cory's. She tried to cry again, but was only greeted with the pressure behind her eyes, not the tears she needed. She closed her eyes tightly, trying not to sob out her boyfriend's name in fear of waking Jon. She needed to sleep, but her mind was only occupied with one thought.
"Lea?" The voice sounded too much like Cory's, but maybe it was just her imagination. She must have woken Jon up. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn't her best friend that she saw. She must be asleep. She had to be dreaming.
"Cory." Her voice was barely above a whisper. He was standing there, as handsome as ever, in a suit and tie (her favorite one), walking towards her with his arms outstretched.
Slowly, she removed herself from Jon's arms and ran to Cory, surprised at how solid he felt as they embraced. The tears began instantly.
"Hey...shh...shh. I'm here, I'm here. I'm so sorry I left you, baby." His strong arms wrapped rightly around her small body, engulfing her in comfort.
"Are you...?" She didn't even know what she was asking.
"An angel. Yeah. How do I look?" he asked, giving her the famous half smile of his, which made her blush a little.
"Amazing," she smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek. "So handsome."
"You look amazing too. Except when you cry." He frowned at her tear-stained face, using his thumb to wipe the fresh wetness from her cheeks. "You know I hate seeing you cry. I'm okay, I promise."
Lea nodded. "I know, I know...Just...you were my whole life. I wanted to marry you, Cory."
"I wanted to marry you, too. Hell I still do. But..." He shrugged softly. "I guess it just wasn't in the stars." She looked deeply into his eyes, shaking her head a little. "Hey, listen to me, baby. You're gonna be alright. I'll always be with you. In your heart. Whenever you need me."
Lea rested her head against Cory's chest for a long time, feeling his arms around her for the last time. "Will you come back?" she asked softly.
"I don't know if I can, but I'll try. And even when I'm not here, I'll be watching over you, cheering you on, okay? But I've gotta go...angel training.."
Lea smiled again, nodding. "Nothing is going to be the same without you."
"Nothing will be the same without you either, Lea Michele." He smirked and her heart melted.
"I love you," she whispered, threading her fingers through her hair.
"I love you, too. Sleep well," Cory replied, placing a kiss against her forehead. She relaxed into him and he placed a hand on her back, helping her back to bed.
Lea slowly lay back down and snuggled under the covers. Cory smiled, kneeling down and stroking her hair again.
"I'll try to be back tomorrow night, okay? If you need me."
Lea nodded. "I'll always need you."
"Then I'll always be here." The angel placed a final kiss to his girlfriend's head before slowly disappearing into the darkness, leaving Lea to wonder when she'd see him again.