AN: I promised myself I wouldn't go to bed until I finished this because I've been kinda lazy. I just haven't been feeling it lately, you know? I'm listening to "See What I Wanna See" to cheer me up a bit. Hope you like it. Also, I apologize in advance to Hollie and Starophie, you're really not gonna like a part of this chap.

Chapter 14: Park & Tunnel

Shelby found the number she was looking for. Liz lived in an old building in Brooklyn. Her loft was too big for her but it wasn't expensive and she was very particular when it came to roommates. She had agreed to live with Shelby because she really needed it back then, but she hated having to bring a stranger into her house. She'd lived with her ex for a couple of years but he got a job in Chicago and she didn't want to leave New York so she stayed and he left.

Liz buzzed her in and she went up to the third floor. Liz opened the door with a huge smile. "Hey girlfriend, you ready to kick it?"

Shelby arched an eyebrow. "Kick what?"

Liz rolled her eyes and let her in. "So you're Show Choir Competition thingy national champion again, huh?"

Shelby sat on a couch and nodded distractedly. A tear made its way down her cheek and she wiped it away furiously. Liz crouched down in front of her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She sniffed and looked away. "Will sent me flowers, red and yellow lilies like the ones he gave me on our first date."

"Oh he's so cute."

Shelby chuckled dejectedly and new tears started flowing from her eyes. Liz reached up and wiped one away. "Why are you crying? Flowers are good, right?"

"Yeah, flowers are good and he's good, too good. God, I don't know what to do. He put in this card with the flowers with a verse from 'Don't go Breaking my Heart'. On our first date he took me to a karaoke bar and we did that song." She pressed her face to her hands and started sobbing. "He's amazing. What am I doing?"

Liz sat down next to her and rubbed her back. "Maybe you should call him."

Shelby looked at her. "How can I call him after I broke up with him over the phone? I told him we would never work. I can't just take that back."

Liz sighed. "He wouldn't have sent you the flowers if he didn't want to talk to you. Give him a chance. Just call to thank him for the flowers and see how that goes. You don't have to say anything about what you said or what's going to happen."

She walked away and came back with the phone. She handed it to Shelby who stared at it for a while before she punched in Will's number. She bit her right thumbnail and waited for him to answer. Right when she was about to hang up he picked up.

"Hello." He sounded out of breath. She held the phone not breathing for a second. "Hello? Who is this?"

Liz elbowed her. "Hi Will, it's me."

Will was the one who stopped breathing now. He didn't know what to expect after he had sent the flowers, but he wasn't ready for her call. He wanted to tell her so many things but didn't know where to begin.

Shelby spoke since he didn't say anything. "I got your flowers, they're beautiful."

He smiled. "I'm glad you liked them. I didn't know if you'd like me to send them after what you said the other day."

Shelby didn't want to talk about this. If there was a way to just undo what she said and go back to where they were before, she would take it. Everything felt awkward now. "No, it's ok. I really liked them, the card too. It reminded me of our first date and what a great time I had with you."

"That was the point." He took a deep breath. "Listen, Shelby, can we talk? I really don't want to leave things the way we did." He held his breath waiting for her answer.

Shelby stood up and walked to Liz's balcony. She needed some air and she couldn't talk with Liz staring at her. "I don't want to leave things like that either."

He smiled widely. He knew she hadn't meat what she said the other day. They could work things out.

"But right now is not the right time to discuss it. Can I call you when I get back to the hotel?"

Will deflated a bit but he guessed that it was better than nothing. "Sure, whenever you want."

Shelby smiled as she leaned on the railing. "So I'll call you later then. Bye."

Will heard the line go dead and he took a deep breath before he put the phone down. He had almost missed Shelby's call. He had just returned from running to stop thinking about what Shelby thought about the flowers and he was about to jump in the shower. He had already taken off his sweaty T-shirt when he heard the phone. He thought of letting the machine answer it but something made him go pick up. He was glad he did.

He walked back to the bathroom. He was afraid, terrified really, that Shelby might not call him back. She wasn't the type of person who would lie but maybe she intended to call him when she said it but she would regret it later and not call. Maybe she wanted to talk but she still wanted to break up with him. He groaned and stepped into the shower. This was going to be another long day.

Rachel and Kate walked out of a store. They were exhausted and the amount of bags and boxes they were carrying was not helping. They had started out early, enthusiastically trying on everything they liked. Modeling out different outfits for each other and laughing hysterically at some of their choices. It was a little past noon and they hadn't had anything to eat yet so they decided to take their stuff to the hotel and have lunch before continuing with their shopping day.

They were walking out of the hotel to find somewhere to eat when Rachel saw Jesse in the lobby. She waved at him and he walked over with a mischievous smile. He was with Adam, another boy from Vocal Adrenaline. Rachel thought he was a sophomore too, but she wasn't sure.

Rachel suddenly felt very nervous which was completely ridiculous since, first of all, she'd already dated Jesse, and second, nothing was going to happen between them. She had already thought about it and talked it over with Kate and she decided that Jesse and her were just not meant to be. Besides, Kate was there, he wouldn't try anything with Kate there. "We're going to go get some lunch, do you want to come?"

"Sure. Where are we going?"

Rachel turned to Kate who just shrugged. "We don't know yet. We're open to suggestions."

Jesse smiled and took Rachel's hand. "Come."

They walked out of the hotel, Rachel and Jesse on the front and Adam and Kate on the back. A block away from the hotel Jesse turned back to look at Kate and Adam and leaned in to whisper on Rachel's ear. "I think Adam likes Kate."

Rachel turned to look at them and saw Adam walking very close to Kate. He said something, Kate laughed and he smiled. They didn't seem to notice Jesse and Rachel looking at them. Rachel smiled. "Oh yeah, they're kind of cute."

Jesse thought it would be a good idea, since it was their last day, to enjoy Central Park. So they bought some sandwiches and sat down on the grass to eat. They finished their food and Kate stood up. "I'm going to go get some ice cream, do you guys want to come?"

Adam stood up. "I'll go."

Rachel smiled at the stunned look Kate got for a second. "You guys go ahead. We'll meet you back at the hotel in a while." Kate mouthed thanks to Rachel before she turned around and walked away. Adam took her hand a few steps away and Rachel chuckled. "They really are cute."

Jesse pouted and rested his head on Rachel's lap. "Cuter than us?"

Rachel laughed. "Well, I never thought of us as cute."

Jesse frowned and Rachel traced his jaw line with her index finger. His face relaxed and he closed his eyes. Rachel brushed her fingers along his lips and he kissed them. She got a tingling sensation that spread through her arm. She removed her hand and he opened his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He squinted up at her and she turned away from him. He sat up and turned her by the chin to look at him. "Hey, what happened?"

She sighed dramatically. "What are we doing, Jesse?"

He gave her a confused look. "We're hanging out? Eating? Enjoying the weather? Never waste a hot afternoon, right?"

Rachel smiled for a second and looked down. She started plucking the grass near her foot. "I mean, why are you being all, you know, nice and romantic? Why did we almost kiss last night?"

"Because we like each other." Jesse pulled a strand of Rachel hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek.

She shook her head and pulled away from him. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" He frowned not really understanding what she meant.

"Yeah, do you want to get back together?"

He smiled. "Of course I do, I mean, if you want to. Do you want to get back together?"

She sighed. Part of her did want to get back with him. "I don't know. We already tried it and it was a disaster. Besides, you're going away for college in the fall. I don't think long distance is going to work either."

Jesse looked down and ran his hands through the grass next to him. He nodded. "You're right, it's not fair of me to ask you to get back together and leave. I just have to say that I do believe we could be amazing together. Maybe if we meet again later in life we can try again."

Rachel smiled and tipped his chin up. "I'd like that, maybe, we'll see." She leaned over and kissed him. When they parted she pressed her forehead to his. "We should go back to the hotel, see if Kate and Adam are back.

Jesse nodded and stood up, offering his hand to help Rachel up. She took it and they walked back to the hotel without letting go of each other's hands.

Shelby walked back in from the balcony. Liz was still sitting on her couch and looked at her expectantly. She sat on a chair across from Liz without saying anything. Liz just looked at her until she lost her patience and started waving her arms around. "So? What happened? What did he say?"

"I thanked him about the flowers and the card. He wanted to talk, he said he didn't want to leave things the way we did the other day." Shelby bit her bottom lip and wrung her hands on her lap.

Liz gave her a second but she didn't say anything else. "And then?"

"I told him I didn't want that either but that it wasn't a good time and that I'd call him when I got to the hotel."

"What? Why?" Liz stood up and started pacing around her living room. "I thought you were going to give him a chance. Shelby I can't let you do this to yourself. You love the man!"

"I know I love him, I just freaked, ok?" Shelby didn't realize what she said until the words were out of her mouth. She placed her hand on top of her mouth as if trying to push the words back in. "I just said I loved him."

Liz stopped pacing and turned to her. She was really freaking out now so she crouched down next to her. "Sweetie, I need you to take a deep breath for me please."

Shelby took a deep breath. She felt weird. She was terrified but she was also sort of happy. "I love him. I love Will Schuester." She took another deep breath and then started laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh lord, she finally lost it. I knew this was going to happen eventually." Liz stood up and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. When she came back Shelby was still laughing, tears were rolling down her cheeks and her face was red.

"Shelby, you're scaring me. I need you to calm down." She waited for a bit for her to calm down but when she saw that wasn't happening she splashed the whole glass of water on her face.

Shelby stopped laughing and gave her an outraged look. "What the hell was that for?"

"You needed to stop laughing and it was the only thing I could think of to do it. Now are you going to tell me what is wrong with you?" She handed Shelby a towel she had also brought with her to dry herself.

"I just find it really funny that I love him, that's all."

Liz arched an eyebrow. "How is that funny?"

"It's just funny. I fell in love with a recently divorced man who also happens to be my daughter's teacher and a rival Glee club coach. Me, Shelby Corcoran; I haven't fallen in love with anyone since… well, it's been a while, and I chose to fall for the most inappropriate person I could think of."

"It's not that funny." Shelby threw her a look and Liz smiled at her. "So, now that you've accepted you love him, what are you going to do about it?"

Shelby sank down on the couch. "I have no idea."

AN: I wanted to thank you guys because I passed 200 reviews a couple of chapters ago and I didn't really notice it until Hollie pointed it out :) So, maybe I can get to 300 this chapter? Hahaha that would mean I would need 69 reviews for this one (yeah, right). Maybe just to 250? Let me know what you think if you want, no pressure, really :P