The Will/Emma thread on Glee Forum is going to fry my brain with the ideas they keep making me want to write. This is one of them, so thank them for the many awesome stories I keep chugging out.
"Miss Pillsbury!"
Emma paused in the middle of the hallway at the sound of her name. She turned around curiously and saw Rachel, grinning and waving at her from a little ways down the hall.
Emma smiled genuinely at the over exuberant student. She hadn't seen much of Rachel Berry in the last couple of months, she hadn't seen much of any of the glee kids at all. It saddened her that she had to avoid the sweet kids just because she was trying to avoid their director.
Ever since Will's confession of love, their relationship had been strained. Will clearly wanted to be more than what she could offer him. Emma was not prepared to have her heart broken again and the less time she spent near Will the better it'd be for her.
Emma approached the younger girl with a warm smile. "Hello Rachel, did you want to talk to me?" Emma questioned, raising her eyebrow. "We can go down to my office."
Rachel smiled but shook her head. "No thank you Miss Pillsbury, I am in no need of your people skills today. I am in need of your height."
Emma's smile quickly faded into a frown of confusion. "My-my height?"
Rachel motioned towards the supply closet with a cheeky grin. "My math teacher sent me here to get the box of extra calculators but they are out of my reach."
Emma eyes the supply closet and skeptically and then turned back to Rachel with a skeptical look. "Rachel, I-I'm only an inch or two taller than you."
Rachel's confident face did not falter. "You can reach it Miss P. Your heels will help too." Rachel motioned to Emma's shoes.
Emma glanced down at her feet and bit her lip in contemplation. The heels didn't make her that much taller but if trying to reach the box would appease Rachel she supposed she could at least try.
Emma offered Rachel a small smile with a nod and Rachel's grin brightened. She swung the door further open and Emma's eyes immediately widened.
The supply closet was rather large but it was filled with boxes of supplies that were likely covered in dust and hadn't been cleaned in months or perhaps even years. Emma felt her stomach flip uncomfortably and she bit down hard on her lip.
Why did she have to be walking through the hallway at that time? Why had she even agreed to do it for Rachel? There was surely a taller male teacher that would be able to help Rachel, even a tall male student would suffice.
With a deep breathe, Emma slowly walked into the supply closet, scanning the room for the box of calculators. Rachel slithered behind the open door and tapped her heel against the floor three times.
Kurt poked his head around the corner and Rachel waved him on with one finger. Kurt disappeared again and the sound of footsteps quickly approaching echoed through the quiet hallway.
"Where are you two taking me?" Will's voice reached Rachel's ears and she grinned excitedly. Rachel peered around the doorway to see Emma had moved more into the storage room, continuing to look for the box of calculators, oblivious to the fact that Will was just down the hallway.
Rachel glanced back over her shoulder to see Kurt smirking at her from around the corner. She grinned mischievously and gripped tightly onto the door handle. Mercedes appeared around the corner dragging a confused Will by the hand.
His face grew even more confused at the sight of Rachel holding the door to the supply closet open. He raised an eyebrow and turned to question his other two students but Mercedes quickly cut him off.
"We need you to get something for us Mr. Schue." She said quietly. "It's out of reach though and only you can get it."
He cocked his head in suspicion and before he could protest, Rachel took him by the hand and pulled him into the supply closet.
As soon as he entered the closet he saw a familiar figure that had his heart fluttering. At the sound of someone entering the room, Emma turned around and she froze at seeing him there.
His shocked expression mirrored her own and her wide, frightened eyes could not tear themselves away from his longing ones.
"Have fun!" A distant call from Rachel reached his ears and he managed to tear his gaze away from Emma long enough to see the door closing.
His heart leapt into his throat and he bounded for the door just as it clicked closed. He grabbed hold of the door and shook the locked handle. "Rachel!" He called through the heavy wooden door. "Mercedes, Kurt, open this door!"
He heard the faint sound of giggles from the opposite side of the door and he frowned heavily. He couldn't believe his kids had just locked him in a supply closet. He never thought they'd be capable of doing such a thing and he wondered immediately what they were up to. What possible reason could there be for locking him a closet?
The sound of breathing caught his attention and he slowly turned his head, his eyes landing at the still frozen and wide eyed red head. All thoughts of the kids had disappeared as he stared across the way to Emma.
He let go of the door knob and backed away from the door, all the while never taking his eyes off of Emma.
Emma felt her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. She hadn't been that close to Will in months and it scared her. Not because Will was untrustworthy, not because Emma thought he might try something, but because of the terrifying and thrilling feeling she felt in her stomach. The feeling she had felt for him for two years, the feeling that she so desperately wanted to get rid of, the feeling that she had never felt for Carl.
Her eyes snapped up to the flickering light on the ceiling and she swallowed hard. Being in a minimally spacious, dimly lit room with Will was not where she wanted to be. She didn't want to go into the supply closet in the first place and she hated herself even more now that she was trapped.
After she broke eye contact with Will she tried her best to look anywhere but in his direction. She scanned every shelf and every item until she finally did find the box of calculators. She went over every letter in her head, slowly, and more than once. She read the word so many times that the word didn't seem to be written in English anymore.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Will back up against the corner wall and reluctantly, her eyes drifted towards him. Their eyes connected from opposite sides of the room and Emma felt her body ignite in flames.
She slowly backed up and pressed herself up against the other corner wall, trying to gain control over her erratic breathing. Will's gaze was smoldering, she could feel his passion in his stare. Her heart fluttered at the sight. She had longed for nothing more than for Will to give her that look, like she was the only thing that mattered in his universe, that she was the only thing that he wanted and although she desperately tried to convince herself that she could care less, the truth was it was the only thing she cared about.
But she could never admit that, to herself or to Will. She had to move on, she had no other choice, she could not have her heart broken again.
Will wanted to say something, anything, that would break the awkward tension. He hated the awkward tension. In the couple of years that he had known Emma there had never been anything awkward between them. Will could come to her with any problem that he had, which mostly were about his wife, and not feel awkward about it even though he had secret feelings for her.
Of all the things that he imagined happening, Emma avoiding him at all costs, and him sitting lonely at home while he pined for her, was not one of them.
Will slowly slid down onto the floor, his knees curling up to his chest. He never wanted any of this to happen. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let the one right thing in his life go? Emma was everything he ever dreamed for, everything he ever wished and dared that Terri would be. But his hurt, his confusion and his stupid male instincts led him astray and caused him to lose her.
Will furrowed his brow and stared at the ground in deep thought. Perhaps he hadn't lost her. With his declaration of love at the end of last year he made a silent vow to fight for his lost love. However, the last couple of months he hadn't done much fighting. He rarely saw Emma and her new boyfriend (Will didn't want to even think the man's name) together but when he did, he'd sulk away quietly, moping around for the rest of the day. Was he really going to do nothing while the dentist snatched her away?
Will would reluctantly let Emma go and be with her dentist boyfriend if he thought she was truly happy. Emma smiled, Emma laughed, Emma giggled in the presence of the handsome dentist but the twinkle in her eyes was absent. There was only one time that Will had seen that twinkle and that was whenever she looked at him. Still today, through all the fear and hurt, Will could see the twinkle in her eyes whenever she looked at him. That twinkle gave him hope that Emma had not given up on him either.
Emma was just scared, he knew that. He had messed up and had broken Emma's heart in the process. Emma was a very fragile woman and her heart was something she held dear to her and he knew that she was reluctant to give it to him again for fear of him breaking it again.
If only she could see what he saw. If only she could know how truly sorry he was, how he truly hated himself for breaking her heart, how if ever got the chance to be in her arms again he'd never do anything to let her go.
Will had to let her know somehow and since he knew he would probably never get to have Emma alone again, now that they were stuck in a closet it was the perfect opportunity.
He had to start slow though, he couldn't rush into trying to win her back with apologies and confessions, he needed to start with the small talk.
He decided to start with the simplest of all small talk.
"Hi." His voice was sweet, warm and loving, greeting her in the way he was used to to prove that nothing has changed between them.
Emma's eyes drifted back to Will and she furrowed her brow. A small smile spread across his lips and he waggled two fingers at her in a form of a wave.
Emma bit her lip and ducked her head, trying to hide the immediate response of a blush. "Hi." She mumbled back.
"So.." He let out a sigh. "It appears we're trapped."
A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "It appears so."
The hated awkward silence filled the stuffy air and Will felt at a loss for what to say. So many words ran through his mind. It used to be so easy to talk to Emma, what made it so different now?
After running through many different scenarios in his head he finally blurted something out.
"I miss you."
Emma's eyes widened and he immediately cursed himself. He had said those words to her before and it ended up making him feel like he had just been punched in the stomach by Emma's confession of her new boyfriend.
Emma's lips parted slightly and before she could say anything Will quickly rushed to stop her. "Sorry, Sorry, I'm sorry." He sighed and ran through his hands through his curls, desperate for anything to change the subject.
"How're things with um...uh...things with..." He stuttered, his heart clenching painfully as he tried to bring up the subject of Carl.
"Good." Emma reacted quickly sensing his discomfort. "They're good."
Will nodded slowly and the room fell silent once again. Will rubbed his palms against the material of his jeans and pursed his lips while Emma fingered the edges of her skirt.
"Just good?" He prompted after a while, turning slowly to look up at her.
Emma closed her eyes to avoid his pitiful look and shook her head slowly. "Will..." She started to protest in a quiet voice.
"It doesn't have to be this way Emma."
She nodded quietly, still refusing to open her eyes. "It does Will, it does. I'm with Carl now and I-I really like him."
Will felt like he just got punched in the stomach again. His breath caught in his chest at the pain that ripped through his heart. It was his own fault he knew that but he still couldn't stand it. He had messed things up and he was determined to make them right again.
He slowly rose to his feet, he couldn't do much if he was sitting in a vulnerable position on the floor.
"Emma..." His soft voice pulled her eyes open and her heart fluttered at the determined yet loving and gentle look on his face. She swallowed hard as he took a few steps toward her. "I know that I messed up Emma and I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness or your love but from my mistakes I've realized that I can't live without you."
Emma's face fell and she ducked her head to hide her trembling lips. She sucked in a breath and shook her head, braving a look back up at him. "I'm sorry Will." She surprised herself at her even and stern voice. "We had our shot and I've moved on."
"Our shot?" Will questioned moving even closer to her. "Emma, we barely had a shot at all. I had just left my wife, you were just left at the alter, we rushed into things Emma because we were so eager to be with one another. It was way too soon for both of us, so the way I see it, we didn't get our fair shot."
Emma let Will's words sink in. On one hand, he did have a point, she had waited so long to be with Will that when he kissed her and expressed that he held the same feelings she wanted to act on it before it all disappeared but neither of them were ready for it. On the other hand...
Emma's softening face suddenly hardened and she stared at Will sternly. "You're right Will, it was too soon for us. I broke it off remember? I told you you had to find yourself because you were still not over Terri. It was wrong of me to throw myself at you so soon afterwards only to break it off again but as I remember it was you who declared a no-dating policy until your divorce was final."
Will frowned heavily at her words. He had forgotten about that, he really had messed up, hadn't he?
"And I'm sorry if I misunderstood but I thought when you said that you meant you'd wait until your divorce was final to be with me. I guess I didn't realize that the no-dating policy was only for me and you'd be free to see who ever you'd like."
Will felt his chest constrict painfully. Was he really that much of a jerk? Oh how could he have ever done any of that to his beautiful Emma.
"It wasn't like that." Will whispered hoarsely.
"Really?" Emma countered, the courage she possessed that day in the faculty lounge over coming her once again. "Because it doesn't seem that way to me."
Will desperately wanted to set her straight but his throat started to close up and he could only shake his head slowly.
"I'm sorry that I wasn't good enough for you Will." Emma's voice finally faltered and Will's stomach twisted in guilt. He wanted to tell her differently, that she was all he would ever need, all he would ever want. "I'm sorry that I couldn't give you what you wanted. I hope Shelby and April fulfilled those needs for you." Emma let out a shuddering breath, doing her best not to cry. "Carl respects me Will. He wants to be with me because he likes to be with me, not because he wants to be intimate."
Will felt his eyes prick with tears. It hurt him to know that Emma thought so little of him. That he had made Emma think so little of him. He wasn't that type of man and he never could be that type of man and it suddenly pained him to realize that he had been that type of man. He had cheated on the most wonderful woman in the world because she had admitted that she was a virgin. He strained to keep the tears in his eyes at bay, he truly was a horrible, horrible person.
He bit his lip and turned his head so Emma couldn't see his eyes glistening. "You're right." He whispered and started to back away from her.
Emma's stern expression faltered and she furrowed her brow, eying the slumped form of Will as he backed against the wall.
"I'm sorry." He whispered pathetically. "I'm really happy for you Emma. I hope it works out with Carl."
Emma frowned and her stomach clenched painfully. "Th-thats it?" Her voice softened. "You're giving up?"
Will shrugged. "I don't deserve you Emma. You are the most wonderful and beautiful person that I have ever known and you deserve to be treated well and I have treated you horribly and for that I'll never forgive myself. Shelby meant nothing to me and I swear that I'm not just saying that. She was just something that happened and I'd give my life to take it back."
Emma's hardened expression had completely melted away and was replaced with a soft, thoughtful, and confused expression.
"A-and April?" She questioned softly, not really sure as to whether or not she wanted to hear the answer.
Will slowly looked up at her and Emma's heart nearly stopped at how bloodshot they were. "April...April needed my help but I was reluctant to give it to her. April is my friend, I haven't felt anything for her since high school. She's a drunk and doesn't have her life together, I felt bad for her and she suckered her way into staying for the night."
Emma's brow furrowed and she let out a few breaths before speaking, "W-wait, you and April, you-you didn't have-"
Will's eyebrows shot into his hair line at her outrageous accusation. "What? No, god no! We didn't...no, nothing intimate happened that night. I just gave her a place to stay for the night."
"Really?" Emma whimpered, her hard exterior that she had shown only a minute ago had completely faded to show her vulnerable heart.
That loving, genuine look that Will sent her nearly collapsed her into tears. "Of course Emma. What happened with Shelby convinced me enough that all I ever wanted was you. I'd never be able to do anything like that with anyone else."
Emma placed her hand over her mouth and stifled a whimper, turning to hide her emotions. All she had convinced herself had just been flipped upside down. Will was no longer the slut she thought he was, Will cheat on her as easily as she thought, in fact Will didn't cheat on her at all except for Shelby but it wasn't Shelby that bothered her, it was April. Now that she knew that April and Will hadn't done anything at all, it changed everything.
Emma thought it'd be easy to get over Will because she thought he was just another heart breaker. Now that Will had proved to her otherwise and she found that Will was actually the man she had fallen in love with those years ago, her mind was a jumbled mess of confusion.
She really liked Carl, he was sweet, gentlemanly, didn't pressure her to do anything she didn't want to do, and he made her laugh. However, Will was the man she had fallen in love with, he was her dream come true despite Shelby.
She cared about both men deeply but the question she left herself with was: Who could she not live without?
With Will's next words, Emma had her answer.
"I love you Emma and I want to see you happy. If you can't be happy with me then so be it and all I can say is Carl is a very lucky man." Will's voice was not bitter but genuine and full of love.
Emma bit her lip and whirled around to face him. Will smiled sadly at her and gave her a nod, confirming his words.
Surprising him, a bright smile spread across Emma's face. She slowly walked towards him and a mixture of hope and confusion crossed Will's face.
She paused only inches away from him and Will held his breathe wondering if she was going to hit him or kiss him. She surprised him again by doing neither but closing the distance between them by slipping her arms around his middle and resting her head on his chest.
Will stood there with his arms out in the air and then upon realizing that Emma was actually holding him, his arms slipped tightly around her. Emma smiled and squeezed her arms tighter around him, snuggling into his chest.
Will buried his nose in her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. Relief flooded through him along with indescribable joy. He didn't know what was going on or what was running through Emma's mind that possessed her to hug him but at the moment he didn't care. All that mattered was the fact that Emma was in his arms and for the time being he'd do anything to keep her there.
Too soon for Will's sake, Emma started to pull away from the hug. He tightened his grip around her for a second but then released her. However, Emma didn't completely pull away. Although she unwound her arms from Will, she still remained close to him and locked eyes with him.
The hope in Will's eyes brought a grin to her face. "Emma... what-" She lifted her finger to his lips just as he had done to her all those months ago. She gave him a small smile and then followed through, lifting herself onto her tip toes and kissed his lips softly.
Will stood there blinking for a good second or two, then his eyes fluttered closed and he relaxed, smiling into the kiss. They had kissed a few times before but Will knew that as long as he lived he'd never love anything more.
Before Emma could slip away, before if or when she realized she was making a mistake, Will pulled her tight against his chest afraid to let her go.
To his surprise, Emma threw her arms around his neck and brought herself even closer. The kiss remained gentle and sweet, Emma was above making out like a couple of teenagers in a supply closet.
Even the thought of it had her blushing and she slowly pulled away from him but leaving their bodies touching. She bit her lip as she glanced up at Will whose eyes slowly started to flutter open.
The questioning yet hopeful look still remained plastered on his face as if he were waiting for Emma to back away and leave him alone. Emma smiled shyly, unwound her hands from his neck and placed her palm on the side of his face.
"Will..." She whispered and his eyebrow twitched and his breath caught in his chest.
She let out a contented sigh as she smiled up at him. "I love you."
His lips twitched upward as he stared at her unmoving for a second, waiting for a confirmation of some sort to prove that he wasn't dreaming. Emma nodded once and the certainty in her eyes caused a big grin to form on his lips.
It only lasted a few second though as another thought popped into his head. "What about Carl?"
Emma's hand slid down to rest on his chest and her face fell slightly. She cleared her throat and shot him a small but sure smile. "I'll have to um, deal with him later." Her eyes locked onto his and she shook her head slowly. "You're all I've ever wanted."
Emma could only see the grin on his face for a second before his lips came crashing down onto hers. Emma gripped onto his shirt and returned the kiss with just as much fervor.
Outside, a grinning Rachel Berry, holding the key she had stolen from the janitors office, gave a thumbs up to her fellow students who had gathered around the door.
Matching smiles crossed each of their faces and they all shared a high five and some laughter.
Rachel waved the rest of the glee club down the hall and waited until they were completely gone before she silently slipped the key into the door and unlocked it. She quietly jogged down the hall and unbeknownst to her that door didn't open for another half hour.