On his knees, Will began to pick up the files and books one by one. Not one item was spared the blue deluge that happened that afternoon. As he gathered everything into one pile, he stopped the janitor on his daily clean of the school and advised him of the spillage. The janitor went to work on the floor and Will returned to the lounge, hoping to salvage what he could by using the wipes.
Amongst all of Emma's paperwork and books, which were now, almost all blue-free, Will came across a copy of the 2009 Thunderclap. Will wiped the covers and spine and began to flip through the pages. The Cheerios dominated the annual, and, so did Rachel, Will noted, her face appearing in almost every club or extra-curricular activity that was on offer. Will reached the faculty pages, and did a double take when he saw his 'Teacher of the Year' photo. Around his head and torso was a perfectly symmetrical heart in black permanent marker. His own heart skipped a beat and he turned to the inside cover where he saw a nameplate. From the Library of Emma Pillsbury. He read it again and turned back to his photo. He traced around the heart with his finger. Emma.
Will leaned back into the lounge chair, closing his eyes. He let his mind wander back through his and Emma's all-too-short but sweet romance and their amicable break-up. Well, it wasn't really a break-up, Will thought, more of a hiatus, which consequently back-flipped into an embarrassing confrontation in the lunchroom. He softly sighed, lamenting over his feelings and what could have been when one sudden thought brought him back to reality. Holly. The woman I'm trying to have a relationship with, falling in love with. Will looked at his watch. 5:30pm. Where had the time gone? He quickly closed the yearbook shut and shoved it between Emma's other books, and finished cleaning the rest of her files. The cleaning wasn't perfect, but it would have to do.
Emma loved the warm beads of water trailing over her back and chest, removing all traces of the slushie. Still shaken up over the incident, Emma broke down in tears, but tried to keep as quiet as possible so Will wouldn't hear. She disliked being so vulnerable. She put her head under the shower and washed her hair with the new bottles of shampoo and conditioner. After that, Emma lathered up for a second time, just to make sure there was no more blue in sight. She turned off the taps and dried herself, before changing into her emergency set of clothes. A small hair dryer was on the bathroom sink and she lightly dried her hair.
"Hey, Will?" Emma opened the door to the bathroom and popped her head through the gap.
"Yeah, Em?" Will got out of the chair and walked towards the bathroom.
"I just realised, Carl, drove me to work today and now has to stay late; I was going to catch a taxi, but is it possible for you to drive me home? The last time I waited 45 minutes before my ride showed up. You don't have any plans, do you?" She asked, hopefully.
Will paused, remembering Holly was waiting for him, but it wasn't for another two hours, and it wouldn't take long to drive to Emma's before spending the evening with Holly. It was so long that he and Emma had a decent conversation; he really wanted a few moments with her, just to catch up and see what was happening in her world.
"I'm meeting someone later on, but that's not until late this evening, so I'll be more than happy to chaperone you home."
"Oh, Will, I can't thank you enough for everything today, it's so kind of you." Emma stepped out of the bathroom, dry with clean clothes. Her porcelain white skin with a touch of freckles was back to normal. In her right hand, a plastic bag contained her neatly folded soiled clothes, in her left, her favourite pair of gold Mary Janes. Her ginger hair, slightly damp, had curled from her now-normal straight hair. Emma smiled, happy to be all nice and clean, even if the shower did take 30 minutes.
Upon a closer look, he could see her eyes were slightly puffy and red, as if she had been crying. He didn't want to upset her further; instead, he tucked a rogue curl behind her ear.
"Em, your hair looks really pretty curled, you should wear it to work like that every day." Their eyes met for a brief second and they both turned away, sharing an awkward chuckle.
"Umm, th-thanks. Carl doesn't like it like this; he prefers it straight," Emma replied softly and cleared her throat. "I-I just need to clean my shoes, and then we can go," she continued, changing the subject.
"I'll do that for you, just take a seat." Will took the shoes from her hand, the very same shoes she left at his place the night they were going to do, in her words, 'the nasty'. Will grabbed one of the last wipes and polished the shoes until they gave their usual sparkle.
"Okay, Cinderella, your shoes are ready." He grinned as he displayed the shoes, and with Emma's nod of approval, kneeled and slipped the shoes on her feet. Emma blushed at his words, she flashed back to the last time he called her Cinderella, out in the school yard after he removed the pink gum from the soles with his credit card. His credit card. He was so sweet helping her like that, where even the slightest mess meant a small panic attack to her.
He helped her to her feet. "Let's go." Emma grabbed her handbag and they closed the door.
Will carried her files out to his car and placed them on the back seat. He opened the door for Emma and she got in and buckled her seatbelt. His car wasn't much, at least the muffler didn't drag on the ground anymore, but he loved it. He apologised to Emma for the mess, knowing it wasn't as clean as he'd like it, or she'd like it.
"That's okay, Will, it's not a problem," she said confidently as he drove out of the car park. The first few minutes of the drive back to Emma's, they sat in silence, the hum of the engine and the radio providing the only noise. Emma looked out the window, catching her reflection in the glass and watching all the scenery whiz by. Trying to keep calm and not have another breakdown was tough; she had a lump in her throat and tear gently rolled down her cheek. It wasn't until Will stopped at the next set of traffic lights he could hear a small sniffle from his passenger.
"Is everything alright Em?" Will questioned.
"Umm, yes, every-everything's fine." Emma continued to stare out the window, avoiding his glance. She'd breakdown again if she caught a glimpse of his face.
"Okay," Will pretended all was good. "Do I just turn left here?" Will hadn't visited Emma and Carl's place before, he was invited at Christmas, but couldn't bear the thought of spending the evening with Carl.
"Yeah, uh, it's the third house on the right." Emma grabbed a tissue out of her handbag and dabbed her eyes. No more crying now. You're a big girl.
Will pulled into the driveway and gazed up at the two-storey house in front of him. Dentist's salary, he thought to himself. He parked the car and ran around to open the passenger door for Emma. He helped collect her belongings and they walked to the front door. Emma found her house keys, unlocked the door and turned on the lights. Will scanned the room. Everything was monochromatic, from the white tiled floors to the black lounge suite. Minimalist. Not a mess anywhere, which wasn't at all unexpected. But to Will, the house seemed stark and empty, not a home.
"Wow, what a nice place, Em," he said, although to him it wasn't something he'd go for.
"Thanks, you can just put everything down over there," Emma replied, pointing to a small table near the kitchen. "Can I get you a drink or something?"
"Yeah, just water would be great," he answered. Emma retrieved two glasses from the cupboard and the water from the fridge. She poured the water and handed one of the glasses to Will. He took a sip and began to speak.
"Um, Emma", he paused, "Please stop me if I'm stepping beyond my boundaries here, but is everything alright? I mean, I know you said it was, but I've known you for too long to know when you're not exactly telling the truth…" his voice trailed off when he saw her bottom lip quiver.
"I-I-I thought I was getting better!" she blurted out, and began crying into Will's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, gently rocking her, until the crying subsided.
Will put his hands on her shoulders and peered directly into her eyes. "Shhh, you are getting better Emma, can't you see that? Today was an exception. It takes a long time to overcome your fears; you just need to take it one step at a time. And you're doing that."
"But I'm a guidance counsellor, Will, how am I supposed to give guidance to students when I can't even cope with something like this? I couldn't even speak! I can't give guidance when I can't take my own guidance on board! Look at me, I'm a mess!" She crumpled into a ball on the floor, burying her face into her hands, and began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Em, you're not a mess, and you can cope with anything, you're wonderful at your job, no one in the world would doubt that," he reassured her, sitting on the floor with her. "I hate seeing my best friend like this, don't cry Emma, please, what would Carl say if he saw you like this?" Will placed his right arm over her shoulder, holding her close. He was very worried about Emma and couldn't leave her now to see Holly, not when she was upset like this. Holly would have to wait.
Emma peered out from her hands, her face tear-stained and focussed on Will. His eyes, so calm and reassuring, met hers, and she felt instant security. It was nice for a change to have someone care so much about her. Normally Emma would hide her real emotions from Carl. He was always telling her to get over it and suck it up. Sometimes she just couldn't. "Can you stay with me until Carl gets home? I don't want to wait by myself."
Will nodded; the pleading in her eyes made it difficult to say no. "Anything for you Em, let me just make a phone call," he hugged her again and placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "Go lie down, Em. I'll check on you in a moment."
Will walked to a corner in the house, grabbed his mobile out his pocket and called Holly. The phone answered after two rings.
"Hey Holly, it's Will here."
"Hiya, sexy, can't wait to see you," she whispered into the phone, giving Will goosebumps. He loved it when she called him sexy.
"Umm…about that. I've got a small issue which needs my attention; it's going to take a while, nothing serious. I'll swing by a little later, okay?" Will hoped that she wouldn't mind, it was rare of him to break a date, but Emma needed some company right now.
"Oh," she sounded disappointed, "I guess that's okay, I'll just, uh, see you when I see you, hon."
"Thanks, babe, I'll make it up to you I promise, 'bye." Will closed his phone and turned back to the kitchen. Emma was leaning against the kitchen bench, wiping her eyes and drinking some water. "Hey," he said to Emma, "You're not resting."
"Will, I'm so sorry, I'm being completely selfish, I don't want you to change your plans because of me." Emma spoke softly.
"How did you –" Will started, but was interrupted.
"You weren't exactly talking quietly and the house has a terrible echo," Emma explained.
"Oh, you heard everything, then?" Will furrowed his brow.
"Most of it, look, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," she could hear Carl's words running through her mind. She closed her eyes and put her hands to her head.
"Even big girls need some TLC." Will took her hands and walked with her to the couch.
"I'm tired of crying in front of you, Will, you must think I'm some sort of blubbering idiot," Emma started.
"Never in my life have I thought that. It just means that you trust me, you can let your guard down in front of me and I will always support you, no matter how big or small your problems are. I'm there for you – as I said, you're my best friend, and best friends don't abandon each other when you need them the most." He put his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his.
"I miss my best friend terribly, Will. I miss our conversations and having lunch together. I know I caused you so much hurt, but I need someone to talk to, someone who isn't Carl." The honesty in Emma's voice resonated through Will. She draped her arm around his middle and snuggled in closer.
"I'll always be here." Will let Emma rest on him, until her breathing became steady and she was almost asleep. He rubbed her arm and kissed her again on her ginger locks.
"Em? Em, I'll take you to bed okay?" Will picked up her almost limp body and carried her over-the-threshold style into the master bedroom. He laid her down on one side and undid the other before laying her body underneath the covers.
Emma, a little groggy, looked at him and asked, "Who are you meeting up with?"
"Um, it's Holly, actually," Will replied nervously.
"Do-do you love her?"
"Well," Will cleared his throat, "I have a great admiration for her and I enjoy her company. I really, really like her, and I hope she feels the same. We have some of the same interests, you know and just enough differences to make it exciting. But I am falling for her..." Will smiled fondly at something in the distance that only he could see. Emma saw the happiness in his eyes, and couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy creep over her tired body.
"I'm happy for you, Will. I really am." Emma smiled as her eyes flickered shut. She was finally asleep. A last glance at the sleeping beauty that was Emma, and Will tiptoed out of her room, through to the kitchen and out of the house, locking the door behind him. Pushing his thoughts of Emma aside, he jumped into his car and started the engine. It was time to see Holly.
