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I do not own Glee or its characters.
The day after the faux shooting was rough on everyone, Will included. He sat in the teachers' lounge remembering what happened. How Brittany and Tina weren't there, worrying him endlessly. How he and Shannon watched over the kids, praying the shooter wouldn't find them. How the kids spoke with fear, wondering if they were speaking for the last time.
He was relieved it was over, but it also made him reflect. His life had taken a downturn recently, breaking up with Emma, losing his best friend, and even Sue being fired, as much of an annoyance as she was, she pushed him to do better. The only good thing that remained was the Glee club to which he had devoted all his spare time and energy.
The kids had already grown so much. Sam and Blaine even led a lesson when he was out sick. It wasn't surprising, Blaine was practically the new Finn, rallying everyone and taking over lessons. Who was he kidding? No one, not even with Blaine's charisma, could replace the ex-quarterback. The one who'd go over lessons with Will and see the best in every member. The one who was always at his side, directing the club.
Will sighed and Shannon, about to sit in the chair in front of him, asked, "Did you get a chance to talk to Finn yet?"
There was no evading well-meaning Shannon, he gave in and replied, "No, not ready."
"Will, come on. You need to patch a hole in this fence so the squirrels don't escape."
He didn't understand the analogy all too well, but responded, "People grow apart, Shannon, that's life."
But he knew deep down that he didn't want that to be his life. Finn was more than another Glee club member who'd come and go like Lauren or the black guy's name that he shamefully forgot. He was his best friend, going to be the best man at his wedding.
"There's nothing wrong with that," he finished, knowing he was only trying to convince himself.
"That's what I thought about my sister Denise," the football coach started, "We used to scrap like grizzlies in the Arctic and then she helped me out and we finally got to talking. I'm more stubborn than anyone here."
Will chuckled, not doubting her.
She kept talking, "But I swallowed hard and made amends with her. It was one of the best things I've ever done in my life," she stood up and stated, "It's worth it."
Will looked into her sincere eyes and any doubt that was left in his body dissipated. The events of yesterday put life into perspective for him. Now it was time to put it into practice. He didn't want to leave his best friend behind because of one mistake. He knew what he had to do.
Will supposed he acted rashly during Glee, automatically dismissing Marley's songs like that. He wanted to win and although they had performed original songs before, they only got 12th place at nationals that year and he couldn't risk losing. There were more important things to focus on.
Things like reconciling with Finn. Will grabbed his leather bag and took out his car keys, readying himself for the trip to the University of Lima. He knew Carole had no reason to lie about his whereabouts. He said he wanted to apologise to her son, something she wouldn't decline.
He was making his way to the exit when a voice stopped him, "Mr. Schue."
He looked behind to see Blaine, wearing a grey and black-striped sweater that showed off his body we-, don't think like that, Schuester, he reminded himself. He then asked what was going on.
"I think you should give Marley's songs a chance. It may not be my place to say this, but they're good and we could really use something like them."
Will took a deep breath and said, "Look, I agree they're good, but they're just not regionals material. We have to make sure we win."
Blaine didn't respond for a moment, but soon after looked up and answered, "I understand, but please at least consider it."
Will smiled slightly and nodded, "I will," he turned around toward the exit and added, "You're a good friend, they're lucky to have you."
He was soon at the University of Lima, a place with a lot of memories and hopefully soon, a mended friendship. He entered and scurried about, not knowing where to find Finn. He went down various hallways and asked a few students to which one girl pointed in the direction of a loud shriek.
"WOOHOO!" shouted a familiar voice.
"Aw, Mr. Schue!" his former student, Puck, greeted him, accompanied by a pat on the back.
"Hey!" he responded, genuinely surprised to see him.
He gave him another pat and said, "Welcome to Geneva Hall AKA casa Puckerman."
He spotted Finn from the corner of his eye and responded, "Noah, I didn't know you're enrolled here!"
"I'm not technically enrolled, but I'm just auditing a few classes."
Will wondered if that was true and asked, "Do you even know what that means?"
He responded, "Gotta go." and ran towards the impressively long slip n' slide.
Noah sliding down in joy made him smile, he turned to Finn, his reason for being there, and said, "Looks like you're really having the college experience," he paused while observing Finn, "Hope you're finding time to make it to class."
"You know, Mr. Schue, I don't need you to come into my house and tell me how to live my life," he said with a tone more bitter than Will expected.
Taken aback, Will replied, "Look, you're right," he centred himself and said, "I came here to apologise."
Finn looked away, but he continued, "I was still stingy from what happened at the wedding and then when you told me about kissing Emma, I totally mishandled the situation. After the whole shooting and Emma breaking it off with me, I now see we only have so many days."
He breathed in, trying not to get emotional, "I want you to come back and help me coach the Glee club. They need you. I need you."
He didn't know where the last line came from, but before he could ponder, Noah ran up and exclaimed, "Finn! I just got us invited to the delta kappa chi frat party tonight. It's supposed to be the biggest party of the year."
The two young men's faces lit up and Will felt a tinge of pain, not able to give him that happiness. They high-fived and shouted, "Yeah!"
Noah muttered something before patting his back one last time and saying, "Good to see you, Mr. Schue."
"Yeah, thanks bud," he said half-heartedly before Noah ran back into the crowd.
He turned to Finn, hoping for a yes, instead a sandwich was shoved into his hand and his ex-friend responded, "Thanks, but no thanks."
Will didn't want to take no for an answer and pleaded, "I'm not expecting things to go back to normal right away, I'm willing to work at it."
"Well, I'm not. There are just some things you can't come back from," Finn said in a serious tone.
He lightened up a tiny bit and followed, "It's a nice offer, but as you can see, I'm pretty busy with college."
Before he could respond, Finn unbuttoned his shirt and ran down the slip n' slide, Will could only look on in shock. He had no idea what to do now.
Will sat in the auditorium, the auditorium where so much had happened. Where they won numerous sectionals, lost their first regionals, had practiced so many times. Students came and went. Rachel, Kurt, and Santana were now living their dreams in the Big Apple. Mercedes had gone off to LA and Mike to Chicago. Noah and Quinn were at college. But there he was, moping over a 19-year-old.
He knew it wouldn't accomplish anything, but Finn was his best friend, and even though he claimed not to play favourites, his favourite student. He got up and looked out at the stage, thinking of better times. He remembered nationals, the joy, and pride he felt when they won. All their failures led to one big success.
They were together, as a family. Now, they were divided. Would that feeling ever come back? He sighed, wishing for better times. But perhaps there was nothing he could do. He almost turned away until a familiar silhouette caused him to turn.
"You were right," the deep voice said.
He replied, "About what?"
He handsomely chuckled and said, "Me," before continuing and walking towards him.
"Needing to get my focus back, so I talked to the dean of students about your offer, and she said she's willing to give me college credit for all the time I spend here helping out."
Will was happy, but a part of him felt the need to be in the right, "Is that your way of saying apology accepted?"
"That's my way of saying I'm willing to come back," he paused and took a breath, "But if I do, things have got to be different. No more fetching your coffee or picking up your dry cleaning. I mean, I don't want to come back to be a butler."
Will felt guilty for not realising how he treated him. He left all the tasks he considered less important up to someone else. He wondered if Emma felt the same way when he assigned her the wedding planning while he was focusing on other matters, he'd have to ask her sometime.
"It's gotta be a partnership," Will 100% agreed, longing for the easygoingness of their friendship.
"I want to be treated like an equal, like a teacher," Will smiled as he continued, "Then you bring your best and I bring my best and we get another trophy."
The history teacher calmly responded, "That all seems fair, but I also have a condition. Let's just move past this and be friends again."
He held out his hand and Finn firmly shook it, "Alright."
The two embraced each other in a hug and Will felt warmth spread throughout his body. His anger toward himself for losing Finn disappeared, knowing he had him back and would do whatever it took to keep it that way. He refused to lose his best friend again.