Doors unlocked and Open

It was no secret that Will Schuester was in an extremely good mood. Any teacher in the lounge or student in the hall would be relieved to see that no rainy day quiz would be given in Spanish today. Though he probably wouldn't admit it to anyone who asked, he knew the exact reason for his positive change in demeanor. It was all going to become clear by 2:30. Practice this year had been made into an elective thanks to the increasing demands by students willing to be a part of the show choir. The students involved in the senior level classical choir had started to grow jealous of the fact that New Directions was getting more and more attention and eventually overshadowing their already small window of attention. Though they were still not on par with the sports programs, every student who was aware that McKinley had fine arts programs was aware of New Directions. Will walked among the halls smiling at the children who stared at him like he had been given a drink with an illegal topper. Last hour lunch was almost over, and then the Glee Club would meet for the day. He didn't think the practice room was unlocked, not to mention, he had learned a long time ago to be in the room before the students started to enter.

The past two years at McKinley had been a slow hard adjustment for Will. The fact of the matter was, he missed his old kids. It was hard to form a family group and watch them disperse like dandelion seeds. It was even harder realizing that just because he had been able to form a family out of New Directions part one, didn't mean that the new members would get along just as easily. Or at all for that matter. The club consisted of kids that had displayed talent initially, but in the past two years they had grown lazy and lethargic in class. It was depressing to come into class smiling with new sheet music and watch them all shrug in indifference. Glee Club had no value to these kids. Hopefully today would change all of that. Though his students had changed, Will certainly hadn't.

It took him only a few moments to realize that the practice room doors were already wide open. He walked towards the open doors, a little hesitant in case some club had signed up to use the room this hour and he had not been informed. Though their popularity was growing, they were still an arts program…

"Hello?"

Standing in the door way he could see that the chairs had been set up. They were empty…no students or teachers to be seen. He let his gaze cross the rest of the room and finally found who must have been responsible for the open doors. If he hadn't known she was coming, he would have sworn it was Shelby Corcoran. Her raven hair had grown out long and fallen into heavy curls at her elbows. She had gotten a few inches taller, and her wardrobe had developed from short school girl skirts and cardigans to a professional black pencil skirt and a white tunic shirt. His smile was already lighting up his features, a laugh escaping his mouth. Her grin followed as she folded her hands in front of her.

"Hi, Mr. Schue."

He moved forward and they met halfway between the piano and the door in a friendly embrace, laughing at the sight of each other. When they broke apart, Will could not take his eyes off of her. She had changed so much…

"Rachel!...Wow!" He couldn't stop smiling "You look incredible!"

She bowed her head and swept a strand of hair behind her ear, laughing a little as she did so.

"Well thank you, Mr. Schue."

He blanched "Call me, Will."

She smiled and laughed, giddy with the moment. Both of their energies bouncing off of one another. This moment was so surreal. To see her standing here all grown up after just two years …it seemed like so much longer. He let his hands rest inside his pockets.

"Well how have you been Rachel? I haven't heard much except that you're living with Kurt in the city."

Her own hands rested on her hips. Even in this commanding gesture she seemed so much more relaxed. Her smile was easy and happy. There was no rush behind her words or in the way she tilted her head while she spoke.

"Oh yes! He wanted to come too but he's gotten into a show." She crossed her arms and waved a nonchalant hand, "You know him. He sends his love."

Will shook his head with a smile "Same old Kurt, then?"

She laughed again. That laugh…he was so impressed by her.

"Yup! Same Kurt. I actually just got cast in 'Angels'. It's a musical based on Adam and Eve's banishing from the Garden of Eden. Rehearsals start next month though so I have plenty of time to visit here for a while before the hard work begins. It's going to be on Broadway."

He smiled. There was that matter of fact tone. All professional when it came to her talent. It was a relief to see some part of her hadn't changed. "I never doubted you would make it Rachel." His grin turned to a knowing smile. "It was inevitable."

She smiled at him with her eyes this time. Small in her lips but her eyes sparkled with thanks. She turned then, taking a few steps around the room, then moving back to the piano and sitting behind it. He watched her as she laid her hands upon the ivory keys, playing out the first bar of Fur Elise before turning back up to him. Wide brown eyes.

"What about you, Will?"

The name made him smile warmly. His hands still in his pockets, he gave a casual shrug, using his head to gesture around the room. "This is pretty much it. Trying to get another Glee club to band together."

"You can do it, Will. If you could do it with us, you can do it with anyone."

He wanted to ask her more. Whether she had heard from the other members, how she came across her role, whether she was living in the city itself. But at that moment the bell rang and Will realized he had better prepare what he was going to tell the class.

"Okay, Rachel this is what I have in mind."

It was almost funny how abrupt her change was. From lazily plunking keys, to sitting at attention, long legs crossed at the ankle, hands resting in her lap, as focused as an actress memorizing her lines.

"The kids are having trouble with work ethic. They don't know what they can get out of Glee. All of the things it can do for them. They have talent but they're reluctant to show it, so maybe you could talk to them and sing a song."

She smiled and nodded as the first group of students entered and noisily took their seats on the far back risers. "Leave it to me, Will." She said in a sly whisper. He gave her a thumbs up and moved to his stool in the center of the room, leaving her to sit on the piano chair.

He shuffled his sheet music as he sat, chancing glances at Rachel from the corner of his eye. She had changed in ways he never would have imagined. Not just physically but…in other ways too. Ways he couldn't place. A look in her eye and something in her step. In two years she had accomplished so much, already on the verge of everything she wanted and he found that he was jealous of her ambition.

There was two minutes until the late bell would ring, and the majority of the class was in their seats, talking in their two-person cliques, quietly. None of the loud comradery of their predecessors. Rachel was smiling at them shyly. He had never seen a shy smile from Rachel. This was an opportunity he wasn't going to miss. As the bell rang he stood and walked towards Rachel. Her doe eyes gazed up at him in question once again and he smiled down on her, a questioning look of his own to give.

"Do you have any plans after this? Maybe we could get coffee? I want to hear more about New York."

She smiled and nodded briefly before he smiled and turned to address his class.

All of the tittle chapters are from the authors of the story's namesake. Theres a reason for this but it wont be apparent until later. As always, reviews are appreciated. I don't write much in this person so I know there will be a few mistakes in the writing. Its in a different style than my other stories but I wanted to see if I could do this. Interesting plot twists in this particular story. I plan to take my time with this one as far as the length, though I don't imagine it will exceed ten chapters. Then again, who knows? thank you so much to all of you who reviewed on my other stories, Its extremely flattering that you like the writing. I hope you like this one too!