"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."- Dr.Suess

Will felt very anxious over the course of senior year, with college exams and all the stress that came with the last year. Ordering caps and gowns, class rings (overprized junk, Will thought, but he bought anything Emma asked him to. He was wrapped around her tiny finger. Now figuratively and literally with her class ring that was engraved with both their names.) He and Emma hoped it would go away when they graduated. Their relationship went strong. They rarely fought and they were always very mature. They both took care of Sophie who turned 5 in the spring. They were almost like parents.

Emma groaned as he kissed her amorously in the family bathroom of some news building they were supposed to be looking at for internships as a class trip. Will regrettably pulled Emma's arms from around his neck to lock the door as quickly as he could. Turning around he was greeted with the sight of his beautiful girlfriend breathing heavily for him.

"Come here." She beckoned and he obeyed as he always would. He took her waist in one hand and hip in the other and leaned down to adore her neck. He was tall, shadowing over her but seemed so small when she held him in her arms. She pulled him closer by the collar of his dress shirt, ruining the ironing he did that morning.

Her nails stung him as she wrapped her arms around him again. Her grip loosened around his collar as she threaded her fingers through his curls and forcefully brought his lips to hers.

"I'm so in love with you." He whispered as he tangled his fingers through her curly hair, not caring what it would like when they left the bathroom. The confession was not a new one. After year and almost six months together their short but emotion packed history provoked the confession earlier than most relationships.

"I love you more." Her challenge was not new either. She loved to get him hot and bothered.

"Oh, please." He scoffed and rolled his eyes playfully. He returned to her lips.

"Darling..." The term of endearment was spoken with a condescending tone as Emma's head fell back. Getting caught would result in suspension from school, getting kicked out of the journalism club, and never having a shot of working at this extremely creditable newsroom. Despite all they had to lose, they couldn't stay away from each other. He loved journalism and knew she did too. But they were horny teenagers and they didn't care.

"Sorry Emma." His eyes were truly apologetic and she kissed him. There was a knock on the door and they froze. Will quickly acted as though he would be in the bathroom sick for a while. "Occupied. Those sandwiches they have are bad luck." They sighed as the footsteps walked away.

Mr. Green looked around the classroom with excitement. It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he was holding it back. "What was the best part of the trip?" He called Will to answer. Emma blushed and looked at their knees touching, biting her lip. She was grateful she wasn't called on. He was much quicker on his feet.

"The bathrooms are nice." Will answered with a smirk, pulling Emma closer to him. She hung her head and blushed, holding back a snicker.

x

Sophie jumped on Will's bed with enthusiasm and crossed her legs, determined. "Em," She said to get Emma's attention, which she gave to the young girl across from her. "Can I sit in your lap?" Sophie loved sitting in people's laps. She said it made her feel like she had a mother. It took her a while to get comfortable and even longer to speak. "How do you know when you're in love?" Sophie whispered the question as if she was ashamed of it, like it was a secret.

Will was taking a shower and Emma figured that's why Sophie chose now to ask her. She didn't want to ask her brother. Emma knew why; Will would ask who he was, how long they've known each other, what they do together. Sophie just wanted an answer.

"When you think about that person all the time, you can't get them out of your head. When you miss them even though you just saw them. You love everything about them, even the things they don't like about themselves." She corrected herself, "Especially the things they don't like about themselves." Emma smiled as she thought she had this with Will. "Why are you asking?"

Sophie looked around nervously, checking to see if Will was still in the bathroom. "Well, I don't know. This boy gives me his animal crackers every day. One day I wore a dress, and he said I looked pretty."

"Well sweetheart," Emma brushed her hair with her fingers, loving how soft it was. "You have to remember to keep being yourself because that's the person you're meant to be."

Sophie sighed and her shoulders fell, ushering in a period of silence. Emma wondered what was taking Will so long. Usually he would've been out by now. "Yeah," Sophie said after a while and straightened her back. "I guess I know what you mean." They were quiet for a while longer, both enwrapped in thoughts. "Do you love Princess?"

Emma smiled at the girl's nickname for her older brother and bit her lip as she thought. But no thought was needed. She already knew she would be over the moon to spend the rest of her life with Will. "Very much, buttercup." Emma popped the matching letters in her words, liking how that added a bit of a 'twang' to them. She kissed Sophie's head and sent her out of the room when Will walked in with just a wash cloth around himself and walked straight back. Emma giggled and covered her mouth at Will's blush and the way he peeked through the door to make sure it was safe.

x

Will's 18th birthday was one to remember (as all coming of age birthdays are,) It was especially special because of the box his Aunt gave him. He was shocked when she wordlessly handed him a wooden, aged box and walked into the house to make lemonade for Sophie.

"What is it?" Eric asked, getting up too quickly and almost falling forward.

"I don't know." Will said, staring at the box. Emma's hand snaked around his shoulder and her nails ran down his bicep and back. He turned to smile at her.

"Open it, Sweetie." Emma peered over his arm, anxious and excited for what he would find. He took a deep breath, and pulled off the top. The first thing he found inside was a ring with a piece of paper through it. It said '47192'. His breath caught in his throat and he picked it up in awe, looking at it as if he couldn't believe it was real.

"This was my Grandmother's wedding ring. My mom kept it after she died to give to me." His eyes welled up at the memories his mother told him when he was small. "My grandparents had the perfect marriage." Emma was speechless. He sat in the lounge chair behind him and pulled Emma into his lap. Eric's attention span ran out and he jumped in the pool fully dressed.

Under the ring was a police report saying they managed to rescue it from the crash and that it was in his mother's will to leave it to him. Attached to it was the will, with parts highlighted. $400,000 and a vacation home in Santa Monica, California left to Will Schuester; the sole beneficiary. Will would find that later that night, when Emma went to sleep and he couldn't. After that was a letter to Will written ages ago, obvious by the ageing the paper suffered. the last sentence was the only thing that was new. In his mother's neat cursive penmanship read,

Willam,

You're eighteen now, so I think you're old enough to hear this. Will, I'm sorry for your Dad. He's a nice man. When he's not drunk. I love you. You're the star of my life and I should have spent more time with you. I should have protected you and held you. I probably should have left your father. Be wise. Find a woman (or a man) that makes you happy. Fuck what anyone says and do what makes you happy. I love you. Keep Sophie safe. Tell her I love her too.

- Mommy

Will started crying then. Emma held him and let him sob into her collarbone, kissing him and whispering comforting things so he wouldn't go over the edge of the strange anxiety he felt since the beginning of the school year. She hoped he was just stressed about graduating but now the graduation ceremony was only a few days away and she was lost on what he could be feeling nervous about. He already got his acceptance letter to NYU whereas she hadn't yet. She should be the one feeling anxious. She didn't tell him that, he had enough to deal with. He knew she was nervous about it and that was all he had to know.

What he found after that made Emma jump in her seat on his lap and hide in the crook of his neck. A small gun lay in the box with no note but Will knew it was from his dad. He chuckled as he looked down at the weapon. This 'gift' was nothing out of the ordinary.

Then the box was empty. Besides a few clothes he kept in the back of his closet and hidden from the world, that was all he had left of his parents.