A/N: I have realized that posting the remaining chapters to this story at the time I did was a gigantic mistake. Or a blessing in disguise. Too soon to tell if it's the latter, which it probably is. As you probably realized this chapter is late, and if you saw my tumblr post you know why, but now it's super late. Oh well. Nonetheless, I just wanted to make it known that even though some chapters may be late and even though no one is reviewing I will still be publishing chapters because I am dedicated to the story and characters I have created and must finish it, for myself.
"Hey, what'll ya have?" Will looked up at the cute waitress, who looked like Emma and Lana merged together. Her hair was in a ponytail, she wore the diner's colors, pink and blue. Her smile brightened his day. Her smile was understanding and unconditional. He loved that she smiled at him even though he knew it was a courtesy. She looked so innocent, he wanted to make love to her but he knew in his current state of mind he would destroy her innocence and that he didn't want. He didn't know if she was so cute because he was so sad, or if she was really that cute.
"My fiancée and I just broke up because I'm in love with my teenage sweetheart." He didn't mean to open with that but it blurted out. He surprised himself by saying 'in love' instead of saying he had feelings for her.
"Aww, I'm sorry sweetie. Hey, whatever you order it'll be on the house. I know how tough break ups can be." He wondered who would ever let her go. He wanted so much to love her. He wanted to get up, hold her face in his hands and kiss her like she has never been kissed.
"Um, coffee. Black please."
"Alright, I'll go get that for ya, sweets." After he drank his coffee he stood up and kissed her. He pulled her tiny frame against him and he kissed her like he was going off to war. He put his hand on her hip and cupped her face. She fell weak under his kiss and melted in his arms. He pulled away and looked at her face. In shock, but in ecstasy. He walked away without another word.
Will shot out of bed with a sick feeling in his gut. He felt like he got punched into reality. He was shaking from adrenaline and fear, He heard Emma showering in the master bathroom and couldn't stop himself from walking in and was surprised to find the door unlocked. It wasn't a shared hall bathroom where locking the door is essential, but this still intrigued the thoughtfully curious side of him. Emma had her back to the door and couldn't see Will. Emma was humming some Top 40 hit that Sophie was playing non-stop. The lyrics she sang ironically matched the actions about to ensue, but neither would notice this. If he was less focused on the task at hand (or in a relationship with Emma) he would have stood in the middle of the bathroom listening to her singing and watching her spread conditioner through her hair. In this hypothetical relationship he wouldn't be focused on the way the soap traveled down her slender back. Instead he would be focused on the cute and inexperienced way she moved her hips to whatever song was playing in her head. He would fawn at the way she removed the nozzle and gave herself a salon equivalent wash.
Will opened the shower door and saw Emma's surprised face. He couldn't focus on any emotions but his own and held her face in his hands and pulled her lips to his own. He and his clothes were getting drenched, but there was nothing in the world that mattered more than this kiss and the fact that she was kissing him back. It wasn't fair, she was naked and he wasn't. He would feel bad in hindsight, but now all he could feel was her lips.
They naturally rested against the wall, out of the shower's spray and naturally became cold quickly and Emma pulled away. Then the full effects of their actions were shown to them.
"Emma" Will said breathlessly. "I have to have you." Emma seemed to be thinking and looked down. Will was surprised that she didn't jump out of the shower and cover herself with a towel when she realized she was naked. Everything was out in the open now, and he wondered what she was thinking.
"Will. This isn't healthy."
"I don't care." He started to say but she cut him off.
"We both just got out of long and intense relationships. We need to be alone. Plus," Emma said with a smiled growing on her face. "We've never really been true friends, have we?" She playfully tugged on his bottom lip and quickly kissed him again. She completed her shower like he wasn't there and left the bathroom without any more acknowledgement of him than giving him a towel. He slid to the flood and stared into space. He wanted to cry, but felt stoic. He was emotionless, thinking about the different ways the situation could have ended. Time was irrelevant. He could have sat there for an hour or 5 minutes and would not have been able to tell the difference.
It felt irresponsible, but he had to get out of the house, get fresh air and let his mind fully digest the events of the morning. Usually his workout mix was compiled of remixes of already energetic songs, but today it was full of sad but still pop-y songs. When he came back after a few hours, Emma was not in immediate sight. There was pizza on the counter and Connor and Sophie on the couch watching a movie. He didn't ask them if Emma was still with them. He walked into his bedroom to find a small woman on his large bed.
"I thought you might have left."
"Why would you think that?" She smiled, closed her laptop and scooted to the edge of the bed.
"I thought you might be too awkward from the shower."
"Oh no, I enjoyed it. It was nice."
Will's rage almost took over. "I'm sorry?" He turned around from looking at his closet. He rubbed his forehead. He felt a stress headache forming. "Emma," he said as he walked towards her. His face was full of anger and confusion. "Do you like me?" As soon as he said that, he realized it wasn't what he wanted to say. He noticed that she could have liked kissing him but not want to pursue a relationship. He felt like a jackass. "Emma, I want to be with you. Romantically." She opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke first. "I understand what you said this morning. I want you to know what I want and that I'm not giving up this time." Emma knew better than to say anything. She was flattered and happy, but wasn't sure what she wanted. Will left the room without another word. When he came back from a shower, Emma was back on her computer.
"Hey Will, I think I just found the perfect apartment!"
"Yeah?" He sat next to her as she showed him the photos. "That looks really nice, Emma."
"It hasn't been lived in for 7 years so I'll need to hire a fumigator and someone to clean the floor. Probably put in new appliances and a new coat of paint."
"Do you want some help painting?" Will asked and leaned back on his bed.
"Really?" She looked back at him. "You would do that?" She turned to face him completely.
"Yeah. It'll be fun. I'll bring Connor and Sophie."
"I can't wait!" The excitement was obvious in her voice as she kissed his cheek and laid on his arm which was outstretched on the bed.
It was so hard to be so close to Emma physically but so far away from her romantically. He lay awake at night staring at the ceiling just thinking of all the things they could be doing at that moment. Mostly it wasn't sexual, it was the things that when you say out loud sound stupid but they mean the most in a relationship. He fantasized mostly about talking to her without any possibility of any repercussions. He wanted to kiss her whenever he felt like it. He didn't fantasize about a passionate kiss, but the kiss that two lovers give each other when one of them does something stupid cute, like almost putting the milk in the pantry and the cereal in the refrigerator. What he wouldn't give to be able to go into the study/Emma's room, spoon behind her, kiss her neck, move her gorgeous red hair out of her face and listen to her breathing. He would give all his money, all his physical possessions and probably his soul to be able to do that.
The next day Will, Emma, Connor and Sophie went over to Emma's old apartment and got the rest of her furniture out.
Her hair was up in a messy bun with tendrils each coming from a perfect place. She wore a large sun hat to protect herself and her creamy white skin from the sun. The shade which it provided extended as far as her upper arms. Her face looked rejuvenated and rested, she wore a tight crop top and when she moved Will thought he could see more than flowers bursting through the floral print. They were both sweating and panting from moving her furniture down four flights of stairs. He was so infatuated with her that day. He wanted to grab her, push her against a wall and make love to her. He couldn't, not only because they weren't dating or because they weren't alone but since they could hardly lift the couch with the just the two of them they called moving helpers. On the phone the company said there were traffic accidents and road blocks all over the city, plus it was their lunch break and it would take two hours or more for someone to arrive. Emma made a joke that she should throw away all her furniture and start over. Will and Sophie supported this idea and they started rambling about how great it would be. Will went down the street to the deli and bought everyone sandwiches. As they ate lunch they went through her stuff. She decided only to keep things that were sentimental to her. She was very set on restarting her life, beginning with her new furniture in her new apartment. She was ready to find peace in her soul like she always wanted to. Nothing was going to stop her now.
She kept a lot of her books, hoping to read them again and find something prolific. When faced with the choice of keeping her laptop or not she decided to back up her files and give it to Will. She was planning on getting a new laptop anyway. She seemed to blush when Will asked if she really cared for 'all these documents labeled with roman numerals'. He concluded that they were works of fiction she came up with.
She gave her laptop to Sophie, whose birthday was soon. Connor got a little jealous, so Emma promised to get him something equally awesome.
"Okay. But you have to kiss promise." Connor, who still had his arms crossed and his lips pouting, said.
"What is that?" Emma asked. She could guess, but wanted to see his cute explanation.
"A kiss promise is where you replace a shake or a pinky with a kiss. If you don't follow through then I get to cut off your lips." Connor smiled. "It dates back to ancient Roman marriages."
Emma gave Will a look. "It's true."
"Okay Connor, I kiss promise that I will get you something equally as awesome as Sophie's laptop. Come here." They kissed and Connor jumped up and down with happiness. Even though he was small, the whole truck moved with him.