Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 58th cycle. Now cycle 59!

"Seeing & Feeling"
Nora (AU!Beth), Emily, Grace
Sunshine Girls 2 series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

Emily walked into McKinley High that day feeling like, if she made it through to the end of it without throwing up or passing out, it would be nothing short of a miracle. The thing was she had two best friends, and on that day she knew she should have felt happiness for the first, but on the other side of that she also felt like the second was about to sideswiped with something that was in part her own fault.

For now, the only thing she needed to concentrate on was to find Grace so she could talk to her before…

"Kelly!" she shouted across the hall when she spotted her fellow Glee Clubber. The boy froze and turned at the sound of his name and Emily dashed up to him. "Have you seen Grace?" His locked was next to hers, so with any hope…

"I-I ran into her when I got to my locker… She was headed to class."

"Thanks, man," she tapped him on the shoulder before running off again. Monday, first period, that was… the worst thing, so of course that would be where she'd be.

She reached the classroom to find the redhead just outside, talking with one of the girls from class. Emily didn't bother to stop before taking her by the arm and pulling her toward the bathroom.

"Emily, have you completely lost…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to have to do it like this, but it's kind of short notice," she spoke rapidly, checking to see that they were alone. "Look, I… I've been leaving you alone with this, because I know it's kind of a big deal, and you need to really figure these things out for yourselves even if it all just kind of got sprung on you without warning, but where are we on this thing with you and Nora?" Grace had been staring at her the whole time like she was convinced her friend was suffering from a mental breakdown. The moment Nora's name came up though, her face shifted.

"Emily…"

"I swear to you, whatever you say, I will keep it to myself. Really it's a good thing to have someone to share this with, and as your best friend it would be my honor to be there to listen to you, and I know right now it doesn't make sense, but I just need to know, have you… sorted things out or…"

"I don't know!" Grace blurted out, and she stopped, closing her eyes, taking a breath and repeating quietly, "I don't know." Emily looked at her, and of all the things she could have said, that might have been the worst. Even her saying 'yes' would not have seemed as bad in a way.

"I'm sorry, I…" she reached for Grace's hands. "I so wish this… all of this, could have happened a different way. It hasn't been fair on you, or Nora, or me, but that's… my part isn't important," she shook her head. She had to say something; they'd have to leave this bathroom eventually. "I need to tell you…"

"Tell me what?"

"It's about Nora. Last Friday, she went out with Francesca again, on a date," Emily started, looking into the other girl's eyes. She looked like she had no idea how to respond.

"She did?"

"She did," Emily confirmed. "She said she needed to give it a try, for her sake, and… this morning she texted me saying that they'd decided to keep seeing each other. I don't know if they're going to be showing it at all here today or if they're keeping it private, to themselves, but… if they are going to show it, I thought… I thought you should know before you saw them."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Grace replied, her voice flat, her mind elsewhere. Before Emily could say anything else, the girl had walked past her and exited the bathroom, so she turned and followed her out.

In the hall, Grace had come to stand still, and Emily stopped at her side when she saw what she'd seen. At the other end of the hall, they could see Nora standing before her open locker. Francesca was by her side with a smile that could be easily interpreted by anyone who saw it as being the kind of smile you gave a boyfriend or girlfriend. Even with her back turned, they could see Nora responding in kind.

They had never seen her like this, but what couldn't be denied, once she turned and the two girls started up the hall, was that she looked happy.

"Emily, you promise me right now. You can't tell her. Not anything, not one word."

"I swear," she looked to Grace, thinking she might run. She wouldn't. She would stand and face the music. When Nora had seen them both, her face grew reserved. She wasn't about to go and throw her new relationship in her friends' faces, especially not when one of those friends was Grace. Even if she didn't know that the Scottish girl was now aware of her feelings for her, she did have those feelings, and flaunting Francesca in her face was not her style.

"Hey, coming to class?" she asked them.

"We'll be right there," Emily promised, though Nora was fixed on Grace.

"Are you alright, you look a little pale," she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, I'm just… pale, that's normal. Be there in a minute," Grace promised.

"Right, okay," Nora nodded, only mildly convinced. Once she and Francesca were gone, Emily turned to Grace.

"Are you going to be able to get through this alright?" she asked. Grace looked frozen in place like a statue before she blinked and moved toward the class.

Emily wanted to feel thrilled for Nora, as well she should be. After so little of a romantic life all this time, pining after a girl she never thought she could get, she was moving forward. Emily would have been happier if not for the fact she knew some pieces of the puzzle were in the midst of shifting as they spoke. The look she'd seen in Grace's eyes, when she'd seen Nora and Francesca in the hall… she couldn't forget it. The look wasn't unlike the kind one would give when they'd run and run, faster than their bodies, to the last breath in their lungs, only to find they had arrived too late.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!