A/N: Thank you guys so much for the awesome feedback! I really appreciate hearing everything you guys think. It's really encouraging and it makes me take everything into consideration. You guys are so supportive and I don't ever want to disappoint!
Yay for the return of Terri! If you haven't yet listened to the studio version of "Loser," do it, because Jessalyn sounds amazing... Even if it is only background vocals! She needs more. Terri is so my new favorite.
Anyway, I'm all emotional, with the season coming to a close... So I'm more dedicated to this than ever! Please tell me what you guys think. It really helps make the story stronger. I read and respond to everything and really appreciate it all!
Enjoy!
Emma awoke to a fresh strip of sunlight, peaking through her blinds, hitting her barely open eyes and causing her head to throb. She shifted, trying to escape the glare, then nearly jumped at the realization of the arm that was currently draped over her. Her panic slowly subsided, once she remembered it was just Terri. 'Just Terri…?' She had invited Terri Schuester into her bed!
As soon as she glanced at the alarm clock next to her, Emma did, in fact, jump. Bolting upright, she gasped, pushing a hand into her disshelved updo. "Oh my gosh! The staff meeting!"
Terri stirred, grabbing her own head. It seemed far too early to be waking up, after a night at the bar. "Em? What is it?"
Jumping out of the queen sized bed, Emma ran towards the bathroom. Had she really gone to bed without brushing her teeth? She pushed the horrific thought out of her mind and took her toothbrush with her—which was certainly not a regular habit—and started searching through her drawers for a pair of jeans.
Emma paused to run back into the bathroom and finish her teeth brushing, before resuming her frantic search in the bedroom. "I have a staff meeting and I'm already late! I can't believe I forgot…" Emma said, hardly acknowledging the person she was answering.
Terri sat up in the bed, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and unsure what to do. "Can't you skip it?" she asked. "You really should sleep some more…" If it hadn't hit her yet, Emma probably would not be feeling too pleasant, once she calmed down.
"Oh, I can't! I missed the last two, because I was in the middle of my resignation, and then I was avoiding Will, and, well, Figgins said I absolutely had to or—!" Emma didn't really know what the 'or' was, but she was distracted, anyway, pulling on a pair of jeans and ripping bobby pins from her hair.
Still sitting awkwardly in the panic-stricken woman's bed, Terri was at a loss for what to do. While she did not want Emma to leave, she definitely did not want Emma to leave her here. "Emma, just—"
"Terri, I'm so sorry, but I really have to go!" Emma grabbed her keys and a black blazer, nearly speed walking out of the room, before halting and turning back. "Oh! Gosh, um, make yourself at home. You know, help yourself to, um… things." Emma cringed, not yet fully comfortable with the idea of anyone making themselves comfortable in her own home. But at this point, she had no other choice. "Okay, I'll see you soon…? I'm sorry! I'm—. Bye, Terri!"
With that, Emma had left the room, and just seconds later, Terri heard the front door close. She sat there, in a state of shock, never having felt more uncomfortable in someone else's bed. Not that Emma's bed wasn't comfortable. It certainly had been last night…
Terri jumped out of the bed, snapping back into reality. If it weren't for a number of circumstances, Emma would not want Terri occupying her house that morning, without her accompaniment.
They had both fallen asleep in their clothes. Terri would have changed, but asking for a pair of Emma's pajamas would have been completely out of the question, even if they were the same size, and Terri had leant her top to Emma (which she was still wearing).
Aside from that, they had left the room a complete mess. Well, technically, it couldn't even be considered a bit scattered. But compared to the state Terri had seen it in yesterday, it may as well have been hit by a tornado.
Terri picked up Emma's clothes off of the floor and threw them in the hamper, then returned the shoes to where she had originally seen them in the closet. She lingered there, for a moment, scoping out the personal closet of Emma Pillsbury. That's where the secrets lie, after all. But for someone as, well, unique, as Emma, there was just nothing very personal about her home—aside from the freakish cleanliness.
Grabbing the glasses off of Emma's nightstand, Terri went to the kitchen to dump out the water and place them in the dishwasher. Then, she popped a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster, since Emma had said to make herself at home.
Sitting at the island counter, she ate her toast. It felt good to get something in stomach, given all the alcohol that was still in her body, after last night. Terri should have left by now, but that meant putting a definitive end to all that was last night.
She had kissed Emma. She and Emma had kissed.
When she accepted her feelings for Emma, even if she did not fully understand them, Terri had decided not to hold back. It wasn't in her character to do so. Besides, if Emma was truly put off by anything she was doing, she would know it.
Then again, last night had not been a very accurate representation of anything. While she may have been slightly more open and vulnerable than usual, Terri had meant everything she said. But the frazzled woman she had witnessed this morning was probably a much more accurate portrayal of Emma, than the confident, flirty little party animal she had encountered last night. But drunken actions were sober thoughts. Or that was how the saying went, at least.
Terri cleaned every visible mess she could find. It was creepy and awkward, but Terri felt oddly comforted by moving about the condo. She hadn't had a place to call home, in a while, only rooms, to define her. With Will, it had been the craft room, which had quickly transformed into a painful reminder of the desperation she had turned to. And now, she rarely left the guest bedroom, unwilling to deal with the dysfunction in her new place of living.
After finishing, Terri grabbed the extra set of keys that were lying on Emma's counter and locked the door, slipping them back under the crack. While Emma's condo wasn't 'home,' at least it was a place she wanted to come back to, again.
Emma felt completely horrified, every time she was forced to glance at her mirrors. The only make up she was wearing was the leftover, smudged black eyeliner and shadow that she had worn last night. Her hair was still curled, but after taking it down, it looked completely unkempt. But without a doubt, the worst part about her appearance, however, was the fact that she was still wearing the corset, demi cup top, underneath her black blazer.
Despite the hours of therapy she would have to endure, in order to get over it, Emma was surprisingly thankful for the debacle that was her morning. Admittedly, she had probably exaggerated it, a bit. But it had been necessary, in order to avoid what would have been an incredibly awkward awakening.
Focusing on not crying, due to her lack of cleanliness, and getting to the school as quickly as possible, without any traffic violations, had been doing a pretty good job of distracting Emma from the previous night's events. But now, every time she caught sight of herself, she was reminded of everything. Even given her drunken state, not a single detail had slipped her mind.
How had she let things get so out of hand? Somehow, the singing, yelling, stumbling, puking, and passing out didn't really get to her. Aside from the germs, it all came down to the effects alcohol could have on a person. That, she could accept and move on from. But the way she had acted towards Terri was a completely different story.
She had kissed Terri Schuester. Or had Terri kissed her? But she had definitely kissed back…
Emma shook her head, as if trying to sort out her thoughts. She had been very, very drunk last night. And alcohol lowered your inhibitions and the ability to make quick decisions. So, that meant she would have done things she wouldn't normally do—like karaoke, for instance. But Emma liked singing and she would want to do that, under normal circumstances, if she had the confidence. So, did lowered inhibitions result in heightened confidence? That would mean that Emma would have kissed Terri, sober, if she was a more confident person.
This was absolutely absurd. Emma Pillsbury was the definition of chaste, and yet, she had kissed a girl. And it had been Terri Schuester, let alone just any girl. True, Terri had turned out to be a pretty good friend, but that did not change who she was. Or who Emma was, for that matter.
'Yes, it was definitely the alcohol,' Emma told herself, as she pulled her SUV into her place in the school parking lot. Fortunately, there was no chance for a counter argument, as she had to pull herself together, as best as she could possibly manage.
Emma walked into the staff lounge five minutes late, but fortunately, everyone was just starting to sit down. Of course, Will was still standing near the front, having just fixed a cup of coffee. Emma tried to simply walk past him, but there was no way she would go unnoticed.
"Emma…?" The look on Will's face went beyond shock and concern, and came across to Emma as pure mortification.
"Come off it, Will!" She snapped her head back around to glare at him, before storming to the far back corner and isolating herself, to pout. This was not supposed to happen to her! It was so unfair that he was even seeing her like this…
Will did not dare approach the back of the room, at all, but continued to observe her from a table towards the front. He didn't really need to worry about being discreet, as Emma was cradling the side of her head in one of her palms and had slumped down in her chair, rather than sport her usual perfect posture.
As much as Will hated to admit it, even just internally, Emma looked like one big hot mess. Both her hair and makeup were not only undone, but very uncharacteristic of Emma. Plus, under her blazer, she was wearing a shirt that more closely resembled lingerie, and would have been inappropriate for anyone at the staff meeting, let alone Emma Pillsbury. She almost looked nauseous, sitting there. If Will didn't know any better, he would have thought she was completely hung over.
'Wait a minute…' Will looked back at the shirt, trying not to focus on how her body looked in it, as he had more to be concerned about. He had seen that top before… in his house, in fact. It was Terri's! He was certain it was her exact shirt, too, because there was no way Emma actually owned something like that. So, that explained the hangover… But why had she gone out with Terri?
Will spent the duration of the meeting pondering different scenarios and explanations, while Emma struggled not to puke all over Sue Sylvester's track suit. Before Figgins could even properly dismiss them, people were already starting to leave, and Will could see Emma struggling to make a beeline for the exit.
"Emma, wait!" Will said, reaching out and grabbing her arm.
"Don't touch me!" Emma snapped, pulling her arm away from him, quickly. It was not about anything in particular, but she already felt like she was going to be sick and didn't want to further risk it.
Will's mouth dropped open a bit. He had hoped Emma's counseling would have been helping. He shook his head. This had to be Terri's doing. She was the most manipulative person he knew. "What is she doing to you, Em…?"
"Wh-what are you talking about, Will?" Emma stammered. He had already messed up her life enough, on his own, and now he had to start directly interfering?
"Terri is angry with the both of us, Emma. She's extremely bitter and all she does is get vindictive. It makes sense that she would try and seek revenge on you…" He said, not wanting to be too harsh, while still getting his point across. He still cared about Emma and wanted to win her back, but that would become impossible if she was under the influence of Terri.
She didn't even bother questioning how he knew. Tears were welling up in her eyes, she was feeling sicker than ever, and just wanted him to stop. "Leave me alone, Will. I don't want to talk about this. Especially not with you…" She turned away and walked off, not looking back.
She did hear him call after her, "Emma, be careful!"
Somewhere between throwing up in the back parking lot and the drive back to her condo, Will's words sunk in and Emma's pain, confusion, and hurt all developed into fury. Her morning had been absolutely dreadful and she had humiliated herself multiple times, since last night. There was one person to blame for everything, and that was Terri.
How had Emma forgotten how manipulative Terri had been? And even worse, how had she allowed herself to be manipulated by her? Terri had lied to everyone and used whoever she could, to get what she wanted. And she placed blame on other people, for everything that she had done to herself—especially Emma. Of course she wanted revenge. Terri was a sneaky, lying, manipulative bitch. Emma wouldn't even be surprised if she had found out about Emma's staff meeting and had taken her out on purpose, just so she would embarrass herself in front of Will.
And on top of everything else, she had kissed her! How far was this woman willing to go to get under skin her skin? Emma was never too quick to trust people, but of all people, how could she have let her guard down to Terri Schuester?
Emma had finally grown tired of people abusing her, when Will had gone behind her back and hurt her. After all the progress she had made, there was no way she would tolerate it, coming from his horrible wife.
She picked up her phone and dialing, standing in the middle of the living room, because she knew there was no way she could ever do this sitting down.
"Hey, Emma! I hope—"
"Terri! I have something to say to you and you better listen and, um, listen good!" She felt her voice shake, but she could not falter. This was important.
"Um, okay…"
"I don't know what I was thinking, letting you manipulate me like this. But I have had people taking advantage of me for far too long and I am not putting up with it anymore! Especially not from someone like you!" She had made far too much progress to allow Terri to ruin her life any more than she already had. God, these Schuesters were awful, miserable people.
"No, Emma! I swear, I would never—. Those weren't my intentions!"
"Terri, you and I both know what kind of person you are! You're never going to change… And apparently, neither am I."
Emma snapped her phone shut, without a second thought. She sat on the couch and waited for the feeling of liberation to come over her, like it had when she first stuck up for herself, to Will. But it did not come. This time, the only thing to rush over her, was the tears.
As soon as she heard the other line click, Terri allowed the cell phone to slide from her hands and fall onto the bed, not even bothering to hang up, herself.
She stared, blankly, at the white walls in front of her, that she hadn't even bothered decorating. She had never heard Emma sound so… angry. Even when she interrupted her date preparation at Will's apartment, it was more a tone of defense, confidence, and honor.
Terri sighed, with a shaky breath, immediately regretting the decision, as it triggered a tear from each eye to roll down her cheeks. She couldn't have said she would never treat Emma the way she had described, because at one point, she would have. But she had changed! And so had her feelings for Emma. But one thing never would, and that, was Emma's hatred towards her.
If Terri had known, back then, how horrible Emma had felt, every time Will rejected her, she thought she might have given him up to her. Because no one deserved this kind of pain… especially not Emma.
Terri put her needlepoint aside and crawled under the covers, thankful she had an excuse to stay in bed all day, nursing her 'hangover.'
A/N: Try not to hate me too much! ): They're both pretty clouded right now... especially Emma. I know this chapter seemed a little filler, but it's leading up to everything... and then hopefully all of the confusion will be explained!
Also, I've already figured out how the next chapter is going to go, so hopefully I'll have a lot to give you guys, and soon! Every time I'm writing, things get more in depth than I expect. So I'm really looking forward to writing the next chapter and hearing what you guys think about this one!