Shake It Off

Rating: It's fine.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the Glee characters.

Summary: "I was hurt," Emma admitted, nodding her head as if to convince herself. "I was hurt the same way you were today in that gym."

A/N: Hi, guys! :) -waves- My name is Brittney and this is my first Glee fic. I really hope you guys like it. I'll warn you now, the beginning and middle are a bit Shannon/Cooter, but I promise the end will make you smile. These are a few scenes from the most recent episode, I Kissed A Girl, that I rewrote and a new scene that I would have loved to see. It's Emma/Will, of course. Hope it makes you guys smile. Sorry for any grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

It was finally lunch time at McKinley and Emma had made it first to the teacher's lounge, where she sat at the normal table with Shannon, waiting for Will to arrive so they could start their lunch. Shannon, on the other hand, had made it to the table even before Emma and seemed to be tearing apart some type of animal that made Emma shift uncomfortably in her seat.

"What is that animal you appear to be so nosily enjoying?" The question was innocent enough, but Emma made sure to give her a small smile as she asked the question.

"A chicken stuffed in a duck... jammed in a turkey!" She presented the animal to Emma as if it were some kind of miracle. "A turducken! It's like a barnyard in a bite!"

"Wow." Emma nodded. That's as much detail as she needed. Emma was so caught up in Beiste's explanation of her meal, that she didn't see Will come into the lounge until he was pulling back his seat and placing a fresh coffee in front of her, which made her smile sweetly and softly thank him. "Thank you."

"I've been exhausted lately and I'm trying to eat as much protein as I can to keep up my strength."

"Why are you so tired," Will asked her, with a concerned look on his face. At the same time, he reached under the table to grab Emma's hand, squeezing it which only made her still in her seat and look down at the food that Shannon was ripping apart.

"I've been working hard as the student election adviser," she answered with a mouthful of turkducken. "And my nights have been much more..." Her gaze shifted to the table top as she looked for the words to explain. "-well... busier, lately," she finished with a small smirk, going in to lick her fingers again.

"Well if you need help with... anything," Will started, looking at Emma to join in with his offer. She nodded eagerly and made a small noise of agreement at her boyfriend's words."Just let us know."

Shannon, with a piece of her lunch in her fingers, pointed the food at Will and nodded herself.

"I could use some help counting the election ballots." The couple that sat across from her gave her an interested look, which only encouraged her to explain why she needed help. "My quadriceps have been trembling like jelly all day." And with the mention of what seemed to be a TMI moment, Will let the bite of peanut butter and jelly idle in his mouth so he wouldn't choke and Emma avoided putting a grape into her mouth, pressing her lips together instead and looking at Will for a sign to make sure that this conversation was actually happening. "Cooter really pushed me to my limit last night."

At that, Emma's mouth fell open slightly in shock as Will slowly opened his lunchbox. Emma straightened up in determination, not wanting to let this conversation die and turn awkward, which she predicted would happen anyway. Looking back at Shannon and unfolding a wet towel, she asked,

"So I take it things are going well between you and Mr. Menkins?" Emma smiled as she handed over the wet wipe for Shannon to wipe her hands with.

"Last night," she began, which made Will's face fall in horror. Did he really want to hear this? Was it too late to excuse himself from the table? He knew, though, that if he left Emma to listen to the grotesque story by herself, she'd never let him live that down. "Cooter asked me to do something I'd never imagine I'd be doing."

Little did Will and Emma know, she had been talking about things far, far from sex. She and Cooter had been meeting after school almost every day, bench pressing and lifting weights. Shannon had to admit, Cooter was definitely a guy who knew how to have fun. No one had ever challenged her or made her feel more comfortable in her own body than Cooter did. It didn't matter if he wanted her to bench press 300 pounds or leg press 250. As long as he was there with her, encouraging her, she could do anything.

She reveled at the memory.

"Our connection is so amazing. We have so much in common. I really feel like I've met my match."

"We are so happy for you, Coach."

"Cooter Menkins... is the one for me," she admitted out loud for the first time, which was followed by a sigh of relief.

–

Coach Beiste walked into Breadsticks nearly ecstatic. Before, she never really had anything to get excited about when the work day was over. After practice, she would go home alone, watch television alone, and eat dinner alone. But now that Cooter was in the picture, she could do all of that stuff with someone else, someone she cared about.

"One four-cheese, ass kickin' triple dippin' chicken tequidos- double the chicken." Shannon smiled in delight and approval. "One big-daddy chicken patty with extra chicken." Shannon nodded her head again. "And instead of a side... you just want more more chicken."

"-more chicken," Shannon answered at the same time, proudly.

"Smile for the camera."

Shannon turned quickly at the familiar voice. The grip she had on the bag of food nearly loosened all together when she saw the couple huddled close together, smiling happily and posing for the camera. She looked down quickly to make sure she hadn't dropped her food, but that was the least of her concern. Cooter was with... Sue?

"Get those to the Lime Times... ASAP."

"Sure thing, coach," Becky obliged happily, moving past Shannon in a hurry.

"Hey Cooter," she walked up slowly to the table. "What are you doing here," she asked, hearing the betrayal in her own voice. He looked surprised and almost instantly moved away from Sue, his arm sliding down from the seat and away from Sue.

"Oh, hey Coach... just ugh... grabbin' some dinner with Sue, here."

Sue looked up at Beiste with annoyance written all over her face and squinted her eyes at the woman.

"Well excuse me, Bluto. But I'm on a date with my man, enjoying some disgusting creamy pasta and phone calls with several major media outlets. So why don't you just hurry on to your next face widening session at the John Travolta Institute for head thickening and facial weight gain."

Nothing went through to Beiste except the word "date".

"You're on a date," she asked surprisingly.

"Well yeah... I guess."

"And listen home perm, Cooter's been my regular booty call since the late 1990's. Oh! My iPhone 5 is vibrating- it's a new feature of the iPhone 5; they vibrate now. I have to take this. It's a reporter from USA Today. Newspaper for people who can't read," she said, looking back at Cooter and getting up from the table, leaving Cooter and Shannon alone.

The disappointment was everywhere in Shannon's face, but she was determined not to let him know what was really wrong.

"It was nice to see you, Cooter," she said softly, turning and heading for the door.

"Shannon... Shannon," Menkins responded quickly, shifting behind the table to scoot closer to the edge of the seat. She turned around, hoping he would say something- anything remotely apologetic for what was going on. "You okay?"

She looked at him in disbelief and shook her head.

"No... No, I'm not. I thought you and I were doing stuff and... stuff."

"Shannon, I didn't think you were interested. I mean... every time I gather up the courage to ask you out on a date, we end up lifting weights at the gym or at a protein seminar. So last time I said to myself, 'Dangit, Coot, you just gotta make a move. And so I tried to hold your hand and you punched me," he emphasized.

"It was a reflex," she defended herself. "I thought you were trying to steal my class ring!"

"I like you, Shannon. And I like hanging out with you. The truth is, I can't tell what's going on with us. I'm not looking for a buddy. I'm a grown man... I need more than that."

–

Will and Emma, bubbly as ever, walked together to where Shannon sat behind the table in the gym.

"Hey. How's it going?"

"I can't believe I agreed to let district hold polling places at our gym today." She nodded to Sue, who was locking-lips with Cooter for a picture. "It's like she's rubbing it in my face."

"Don't take it personally. It's all just a big campaign strategy for her." Emma looked over at the sight and a wave of remorse chilled through her. She knew exactly what Shannon was going through. Watching the man you love pretend with another woman? Now that was something Emma Pillsbury knew all about. She brushed it off, though, and flipped through the clipboard of papers in front of her.

–

Later on in the day, Emma wandered the halls aimlessly, trying to find Coach Beiste. Emma knew deep down that although the coach appeared to be a strong woman, literally, love could always tear down the strongest walls and defenses. She needed to talk to the older woman, to encourage her not to give up the fight... that when things seem like there crashing down around her, there's always hope.

Emma passed Will's office and looked in from the hallway. He was grading papers and concentrating, for the most part. He had looked up at her and smiled, giving her a small wave. She could feel heat rush to her cheeks and she looked down at her feet before blowing him a kiss. He laughed to himself and made sure to catch her kiss with his hand and press his palm to his own lips. She giggled and quickened her pace to get to the locker room.

Locker rooms had always been a fear of hers, but she was willing to do this to get through to Shannon. She peaked through the windows of the red double doors that was the final separation between germs and boys from the hallway. When the coast was clear, Emma kicked open one of the doors and rushed in before it could come back and hit her.

She looked around the locker room, noticing how empty it was and how surprisingly... clean it seemed. She knew if Ken was still here though, maybe it wouldn't be this way. A moment of panic struck her when she realized maybe a rush of boys would come stumbling in any minute, but when Coach Beiste emerged from her small office and saw Emma standing there, aimlessly wandering around, she smiled and made her presence known.

"Hey Emma. Lost," she asked with a chuckle.

"Um... no," she replied softly, wondering which surface would be the cleanest to sit on. She opted for the wooden bench and looked up at Shannon with wide eyes and a smile. "I came here... to talk, actually."

"Oh? About what?"

Panic resurfaced again. She wasn't as close to Shannon as Will was, but she was a woman, who like Shannon, felt the hurt and confusion of a man who couldn't seem to make up his mind. No. She needed to come clean about this. This, with Shannon, was the perfect situation, too.

"I um... I saw how... upset you were," Emma said softly, causing Shannon to look down at her feet. "In the gym today, I mean. When Sue and Mr. Menkins were... um..."

"Yeah. I was hurt. What about it?" Emma could hear the annoyance in Shannon's voice and decided not to be around the bush with this.

At the same time Will Schuester, still in his office, had decided that maybe Shannon needed some reassurance. He saw how hurt she had been in the gym with Sue parading around, rubbing the fact that Cooter was her's, in Shannon's face. He shook his head at Sue's relentlessness. She'd hurt anyone in her path to victory without any second thought or feeling of guilt at all.

He left his office in a hurry, trying to get to the locker room before P.E. was over. As he grew closer, he could already hear two voices coming from inside. Two very familiar voices. He stopped just outside of the double doors and placed a small crack in the two, just small enough to listen.

"I was hurt," Emma admitted, nodding her head as if to convince herself. "I was hurt the same way you were today in that gym," she repeated herself. Shannon's demeanor had shifted and she gave the younger, petite woman a sympathetic look. "I was in love with a married man and I had convinced myself that maybe... maybe I could be happy with the flirting... and-and the little moments." The nodding turned into shaking. "When he told me he was going to be a father... that's when I knew I had lost him," she whispered. She could feel moisture in the corner of her eyes and tried to blink it away, but it was pooling in her lower eye lids just at the sheer memory. "So... I settled. I settled for another man and thought maybe I could be happy with him." It was almost as if Shannon wasn't even in the room anymore. She didn't know where all of this was coming from. "He wasn't Will," Emma confessed, the tears now spilling from her eyes and trailing down her flushed cheeks.

Shannon's instinct was to move to Emma's side and hold this poor woman as she spilled her secrets to virtually a stranger, but she kept her distance and opted for sitting directly in front of her.

"When him and his wife finally split up, those few weeks we were together were the best weeks of my life," she whispered. "And then Sue..." Emma laughed. "Sue and her diabolical plans to ruin people's lives... She got to me. I was hurt and confused. I loved him and hated him... and lost him again."

"Emma," Shannon whispered.

"No," she interrupted. "I need to tell you this. I need you to know that if you give up on Mr. Menkins, you could lose the man you love. I fought for Will and I still lost him... and when he left for New York City for April's show, I thought for sure I'd never see him again."

"But he came back," Shannon whispered, trying to enlighten her. "He loves you, Emma. Everyone sees the way he looks at you..."

Emma smiled and wiped away her tears, then reached out to lay her hand on Shannon's shoulder.

"Don't give up on Menkins, Shannon. Go find him and tell him how you feel."

On the other side of the double doors, Will looked down at his feet. His heart pounded against his chest painfully just like the first time he had kissed Emma in the hallway. He turned and left before the two women could spot him.

–

"You're awfully quiet," she whispered at the dinner table, moving her vegetables around on her plate as she watched him eat. He looked up at her contently and wiped his mouth, then placed his fork on his plate when he finished his dinner. "Is it bad," she asked quickly, suddenly worried that maybe the dinner she had cooked wasn't good. "I overcooked the vegetables, didn't I," she asked shamefully, placing down her own fork against her plate. "Will, I-"

"Emma," he whispered. "I have something to confess." Her heart began to race and her hands were shaking. They flew to her face and she cupped her own cheeks, endless thoughts racing through her mind at what he could possibly have to confess.

"Oh God. You're leaving me, aren't you? Oh no," she whispered. Will's mouth dropped and he pushed himself out of his seat, rushing over to where Emma sat. He pulled out her chair and grabbed her hands, bringing them together and pressing them against his lips. "Will, I'm sorry I overcooked the vegetables. I promise I won't ever do it again," she whispered, her voice cracking with sadness.

"Emma, honey. No," he shook his head. "No, I'm not leaving you." He suppressed a laugh at her silliness. "Not leaving ever," he whispered, letting her hands drop and replacing the hold she had on her cheeks with his own warm, gentle hands. "What I was going to confess... is that... this afternoon? I kind of... listened in on your speech to Shannon," he explained, making her look at him to see the honesty in his eyes. "I had gone in to talk to her about Sue and Menkins... but you had gotten there first."

She didn't understand why he was confessing this... until it hit her. He has listened in? He saw the confusion, revelation, and embarrassment all play out in her features and silenced her before she could protest.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

"It's... it's fine, Will." He shook his head. "You didn't know."

"I should've known better. I should've known not to pull you into the mess that was my failing marriage."

"The moments, Will. All those times where it was just us- you and me. I would do it all over again." He sat back and considered her words. "If it meant I got you in the end, I would do it again in a heartbeat."

"Emma, I love you so much." She smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

"So the vegetables were okay," she whispered against his lips. He laughed and pulled her out of her seat and onto his lap as he sat back on the kitchen floor.

"They were perfect. Just like you," he whispered into her ear before kissing her again.

A/N: BAM! And there it is. I read through this at least five times, so if I missed any grammar mistakes, I'm sorry! Peace, love, review. :)