Oh my God, I'm updating! I'm sorry it's taken to long, but school was finishing and life was a bit crazy. Fortunately, I now have one written exam left in my entire Bachelor of Music degree (hooray!) and then I'm completely free to write all summer long. I've also been enjoying Hell-o and The Power of Madonna while attempting to (read: not happening yet) study for my History of Modern Europe exam.
My junior high jazz band played this song when I was in it in 10th grade, and we all hated playing it. I love the song though, as I grew up listening to Billy Joel, along with Elton John, the Bee Gees, the Beatles....all the good stuff. My mom's been a huge influence on my musical tastes, so I'd like to dedicate this to her, despite the fact that she doesn't watch the show or read my stuff. Still, this is for you, Mom!
I'd love to hear ideas for I through Z, as I've only got a few ideas jotted down for the future. I'm definitely using future ideas for other letters, so keep them coming! Thanks for still reading, and I hope you enjoy this latest installment!
J – "Just The Way You Are"
Four months after Emma's rather hasty exit from Will's apartment, Will finally appeared in front of a judge along with Terri and their mutual lawyers. It had taken Will threatening Terri with telling his lawyer and the judge about the fake pregnancy, something that he'd graciously kept out of the way so everything would be finished faster, for her to finally sign the papers and stop harassing him. Terri had been showing up at the school before, during, and after school to try and convince Will to return to her. This included barging in on glee club rehearsals and shrieking at Emma to the point where Will had to forcibly drag her out of the glass-encased office before Emma's composure shattered completely. That occurrence had been the last straw for Will, leading them to the inevitable court date for the judge to sign the papers and make everything official.
The night it was all over, Will decided to spend the evening cleaning his new bachelor suite. It turned out that Emma had had a strong influence on him during their short attempt at a relationship, and there were a multitude of cleaning supplies that now sat in the small cupboard underneath the sink. Will had a large selection to choose from as he decided to start with the bathroom and work his way through the rest of the apartment.
A knock on the front door stirred Will from the cleaning trance that he'd been encased in. He turned down the Elton John blasting from his iPod docking station and hurried to open the door.
"Emma?" A slightly confused look crossed Will's face at the sight of the petite redhead standing on the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?"
"I was just checking to see how you are," Emma said nervously. "I remembered what today was, Will."
"Oh," Will scuffed his bare foot on the ground. "Do you, uh, you want to come in?"
"Thanks," Emma slipped through the door and toed off her shoes, still not making eye contact with him. "What are you doing?"
"Cleaning," Will said. "I couldn't think of anything else to do, and I just didn't want to do nothing tonight."
The entryway was silent for a few moments as both adults got lost in their thoughts. "Um, Will?" Emma broke the silence. "Would you like some help?"
A look of relief crossed Will's face and the tension seemed to drain from his body. "That would be fantastic, Emma," he smiled his first real smile in the past four months. "Would you like something clean to change into?"
"Sure, Will, that would be great," Emma nodded.
Emma dressed in the sweats and button down shirt that Will retrieved from his closet, rolling up both the sleeves and legs so that she wasn't swimming in the pieces of clothing. She quickly took charge of cleaning the kitchen, gently correcting Will's usage of a few different products that were meant for other uses. Will coaxed Emma into singing along with him as they cleaned, even pulling her up into a lively dance during Elton John's Crocodile Rock. It was easily the most fun evening either of them had had in quite a long time, and neither wanted it to end.
Will's iPod switched to Billy Joel just as Will and Emma were finishing with the final room in the apartment. Four songs in, Will set down his dusting rag and pulled Emma's out of her hand gently. "Will, wha--" Emma was cut off by Will placing his finger gently on her lips.
"Just trust me," Will whispered, pulling Emma close to him. She wrapped both arms around his neck loosely, staring at a small bleach stain on his t-shirt rather than making eye contact with him.
This song, Will knew for sure, didn't belong to him and Terri in any way, shape, or form. Terri had never liked Billy Joel, so Will didn't get a chance to listen to him that often. His mother loved playing Billy Joel and Elton John around the house when he was growing up, and his father always pulled his mother up do dance with her whenever this particular song came on during the evening. Will would sit on the couch with his homework, pausing to look up and watch the true love that his parents seemed to exude while dancing. He'd always hoped to renew this tradition with Terri but it just hadn't felt right to do so at any point in their fifteen years together.
"Thank you for coming here tonight, Em," Will whispered, afraid that he would disturb the atmosphere if he spoke any louder.
"I thought you might not want to be alone," Emma found herself drifting closer to the warmth emitting from Will's body. "I'm glad you let me in."
"I'll always let you in, Emma," Will promised. "I've missed you."
"Missed you too," Emma mumbled. She finally gave in to her desires and rested her cheek on Will's chest, her head tucked snugly underneath his chin.
"Emma, there's something I need to say to you," Will said, securing his arms around her waist to keep her close. Upon hearing her hum of consent, he continued: "I wanted to apologize for what I said a while back. I shouldn't have pressed you to go see a counselor. That really should've been your choice from the beginning."
"I wasn't brave enough to take that first step, Will," Emma pulled back just enough to finally look him in the eye. "I needed the help, and you are the main reason why I finally went for it."
"Emma," Will breathed, unable to tear his eyes from her face. He pulled her back to his chest and began singing quietly along with the lyrics to the song.
"I said I love you, and that's forever,
And this I promise from the heart,
I couldn't love you, any better,
I love you just the way you are."
Tears slipped from the corners of Emma's eyes at the raw sincerity in Will's voice and the way it rumbled through his chest and directly into her ear. "I love it when you sing," Emma nuzzled firmly into his chest.
"I mean it, Em," Will kissed the top of her head. "Don't go changing for me. You're perfect just the way you are."
"And the other part?" Emma said quietly, running her fingers through the soft hair at the bass of Will's neck.
Will stopped their soft swaying to the music and leaned down to press his forehead to hers. "Most definitely," he closed his eyes and inhaled the unique, calming smell of Emma. "I love you, Emma, just the way you are."
"I love you too, Will," Emma said, unable to keep a smile from stretching across her face. "I've always loved you."
He pressed a soft kiss to her lips before returning Emma's head to its place on his chest. There was no reason to rush anything – they had all the time in the world. Tonight Will wanted nothing more than to hold the woman he loved in his arms, knowing that she was his and he was hers and nothing or no one was going to keep them apart any longer.