Will nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he stood against the door to the choir room to wait for Emma. Inside, members of the glee club were finishing up decorating the room for a surprise party. He had finished writing and composing his song a couple of days earlier and he was very proud of it – a friend even helped him record it and burn it onto a CD along with some other songs he knew she liked. He had put every bit of his heart and soul into it and hoped she would like what he did.
The final bell rang at last, and people began to fill the hallways. The note he had left for her instructed her to come down 10 minutes after the bell to give the kids enough time to finish decorating. Ten minutes finally passed, and he could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. He turned towards the window in the door and gave some frantic hand gestures as a signal to the kids to stop what they were doing. He smiled as he saw Emma come closer, she was carrying the pink rose he had left with the note. "Ready to come inside?" he asked her. She nodded, and he slowly opened the door and led her into the room.
"SURPRISE!" cried the glee kids in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
Emma stood in a state of shock. A birthday banner was hung in the back of the room with clusters of balloons on either side. On a table off to one side was a tray with 14 large frosted cupcakes – Puck and Quinn had made them that morning before classes – and a pitcher of juice with 14 plastic cups beside it. The glee kids then serenaded her with a rendition of "Happy Birthday" as Finn led her to a chair and sat her down. "I can't believe you all did this just for me," she said, trying to hold back a tear. "It was the least we could do," replied Finn, "after everything you've done for us…and a few hints dropped by Mr. Schu." Will partially blushed as the kids laughed and Finn gave him a wink. Then Rachel stepped forward and addressed Emma. "And now, we have two very special presentations," she announced. "We heard you liked heartfelt gifts, so this is a present from the glee club to you." She handed Emma a gift wrapped in pink paper and silver ribbon, who then started to unwrap it. Inside was a photo album filled with pictures of the glee club as they progressed, including pictures from the invitational performance when Will and Emma sang their duet together. "Thank you Rachel, thank you everyone," Emma said with a smile. "Now for the second presentation," continued Rachel. "Mr. Schu would like to present his gift to you, he worked very hard on it and he hopes you like it too." The kids applauded as Rachel returned to her seat and Will stood at the front of the room to face Emma. "At first I wasn't too sure what kind of gift I wanted to give you," he told her, "so I turned to the students for advice and they helped me figure out what to do." He then walked over and picked up the nearest guitar, slipping the strap over his head and tuning the strings. "Em, I wrote you a song, it's called 'You're The Only One'. I hope you like it." A hush fell over the room as he began to play the beginning of the song. Then he began to sing in his strong, clear voice.
From the day I met you
The day I saw your smiling face
I knew my heart would guide me
To a better place
I couldn't help but notice
The way you looked at me
That look so kind and caring
And I knew instantly…
That you were the only one for me
The person I could be with
Even through the darkest night
You saw in me the things
That no one else could see
And you saw me in a different light
You made me feel safe in your arms
And on you I could depend
There's no better person than you
That I could call my friend
Hope and inspiration
Were the things you gave to me
You gave me wings and made me fly
And you set my spirit free
You are the only one for me
The person I could be with
Even through the darkest night
You saw in me the things
That no one else could see
And you saw me in a different light
You must have been an angel
Sent from high above
To guide me down my lonely road
And help me to see love
You are the only one for me
The person I could be with
Even through the darkest night
You saw in me the things
That no one else could see
And you saw me in a different light
You are the only one for me
When Will finished his song, there wasn't a dry eye left in the room at that moment – everyone was extremely moved by his touching gift. Emma was beaming with pride, tears streaming down her face. "Thank you so much," she said as Rachel leaned over to hand her a tissue. "This was the best present I could ever hope for."
Will smiled. "Happy Birthday, Emma."