Will Schuester sat at his desk grading papers, trying to ignore the incessant ringing of his cell phone. He shrugged off the noise, figuring if it was important they would leave a message. His day had already been long enough, he honestly did not have the energy to answer another question or solve another problem. He had most recently sat through what was supposed to be a quick conference with Rachel Berry's father but had actually lasted over an hour. The older man had explained her current situation, much of which Will had heard from Shelby already. He had nonetheless agreed to allow Rachel to return to glee club when she was ready, as if he ever would have turned her away.
Will sighed as the ringing continued. He finally gave in and fished the cell phone out of his top drawer.
"I need to go out." A voice stated before he even had a chance to say hello.
"Shelby?" He asked, glancing at the number on the screen.
"Yes, it's Shelby." She scoffed.
He allowed himself a small smile, he and Shelby had met up a few times for coffee, but he had always initiated their meetings. This was something new.
"What do you mean you need to go out?"
"I mean exactly that. I need to go out, have a drink, listen to some music, anything. I'm going crazy over here, agonizing about every decision I've ever made and I need to get out." She declared dramatically.
"It's a Wednesday night Shelb." He rationalized.
"Even better, we won't run into the college crowd."
"I don't know…"
"Oh, come on Will. I'll bet you could use a good night out on the town. You deal with high school kids attempting to speak Spanish in the middle of Ohio every day, you deserve it."
She had a point there.
"Alright, I'm in." He gave in.
"I knew you'd cave." She teased. "Meet me at the Bank around eight?"
Contrary to its name the Bank was a local dive bar, trying desperately to be an Irish pub. It had been conveniently named in the 1960s so that husbands could tell their wives they were "heading out to the bank," but actually go to a bar.
"Sounds good Shelby, I'll see you then." Will responded. He generally didn't go out on Wednesday nights, but despite the melodramatics, this was the most upbeat he'd heard Shelby in a while. He gathered that it had something to do with Rachel's recent visit.
A few short hours later Will found himself sitting at the bar alone, sipping a beer as he periodically glanced at the door.
"Waitin' on somebody special?" The older bartender asked.
"No, no just a friend." Will answered, glancing at his watch.
The older man chuckled to himself, he had heard that one quite a few times.
Will was about to defend himself when the door swung open and Shelby appeared. She walked over to him as gracefully as ever, but he spotted the turmoil in her eyes immediately.
She squeezed his shoulder as she sat on the stool next to him and tucked her purse under the bar.
"Sorry I'm late. Had a bit of a fashion crisis."
"No don't worry about it. Although I have to admit, I never thought I'd see Shelby Corcoran in jeans and converse." He joked.
"Oh, who are you kidding? You saw me in a ratty old sweatshirt at the grocery store." She reminded him.
"Well, you made it look good."
"You're too kind." She responded cheekily. "How long have you been here?"
"Only about fifteen minutes."
"Oh, so you've met Jimmy?" She asked.
"Jimmy?" He questioned.
"Jimmy!" Shelby called, motioning for the bartender.
"Shelby!" He returned her smile, opting for a half hug over the bar. "I haven't seen you in here in a while. How have you been sweetheart?"
She shrugged, her smile fading a bit. "Jimmy, this is my friend Will. He teaches over at McKinley."
"We met briefly." Jimmy said, smirking at Will. "You want your usual?" He asked her kindly.
"You know it." She said.
"So, I take it you've been here before?" Will asked as Jimmy went about mixing Shelby a Long Island Iced Tea.
"Maybe a few too many times." She admitted. "Jimmy and I go way back. His daughter Charlene was my best friend growing up."
"Where is she now?"
Shelby paused for a moment and Will couldn't read the look that flashed across her face. "She's not here."
Will sensed that he had hit a nerve and took a sip of his beer before changing the subject. "So how's retirement going?" He teased.
"I'll have you know that it is quite wonderful." She retorted. "I have so much time I don't know what to do with it. I'm thinking about picking up a hobby."
"What about singing?" He asked.
"Don't you think that ship has sailed?"
"That's up to you." He said. "Do you ever just sing for fun?"
"Well, of course I do." She said defensively.
"Good, because that's the best kind of singing."
"And what about you Will. Do you have any crazy hobbies?"
"Nah, I hardly have a spare second between glee and school. Some of us don't have the luxury of retirement." He winked.
"Heads up." Jimmy interrupted placing Shelby's drink in front of her.
"Thanks Jim."
"No problem Shelly." He said wistfully before heading off to fill another order.
"Shelly?" Will questioned.
"He is the one person in the world who can get away with that. So don't get any ideas." She warned.
"Alright, alright." He threw his hands up in defeat.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments and Will scanned the pictures lining the back of the bar. Then one picture in particular caught his eye.
"Is that you?" He asked, pointing at it.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Holy eyebrows Shelby, it is!" He cried out.
"Don't you dare make fun of my eyebrows! It was the nineties, what do you expect?"
"I take it back, I'm more of a fan of the dress and boots combo." He said, referring to her floral dress, turtleneck, and Doc Martens.
"I was very fashionable, thank you very much. And what about you mister high and mighty? I'm sure you just missed all of the nineties fads? Please."
"I may have partaken in a few myself." He admitted.
"I'll bet you were all about the acid wash jean jacket." She declared.
"I wasn't cool enough for the jean jacket." He admitted. "I was all about the flannel."
"Flannel, huh? I can see it." She giggled.
Will couldn't help but smile as Shelby chuckled. It was the most carefree he had ever seen her.
"What?" She demanded. "Do I have something on my face?"
"No, it's just good to see you laugh."
"I'm not always hard Will." She said pointedly, narrowing her eyes. They then widened abruptly when she realized what she had said. "Oh my god! I did not mean it that way!"
Will raised his eyebrows and smirked at Shelby.
"Shut up." She said, taking a large swig of her drink.
"You've got to admit. It's a little funny."
"Yeah, hilarious." She pouted.
"Come on." He nudged her.
"Sure, fine, whatever." She said, sticking out her tongue at him.
"I see the mature part of the evening has begun." He teased.
"I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"
"Not for a while." He smiled.
"Fabulous." She muttered. "On that note, I'm going to get myself another one of these." She gestured towards her glass and sauntered to the end of the bar where Jimmy was focused on a basketball game.
Will shook his head. He never knew what to expect with Shelby. They had become friends during a rather transitional period in both of their lives and he had certainly witnessed many of her ups and downs. This night was definitely an up.
He smiled as he watched her flutter her eyelashes at Jimmy and grin. He didn't know if it was the alcohol, the environment, or a combination of the two, but Shelby seemed like a different person.
"So how have you really been?" He asked, as she returned to her stool holding her drink.
"I've been okay." She said, fiddling with her straw. "I'm getting to know Rachel a bit, and it's not as scary as I expected it to be."
"That's good. That's really good Shelby. So you've seen her again?"
"She's stopped by a few times after school. You'd think we'd run out of things to talk about, but she's always got more questions."
"I think that's great. She's seemed a lot better in school too. She'll probably be back to glee in no time."
"That's good. It killed me to know she'd left something she loved because of me."
"Shelby—" Will started.
"And don't tell me it wasn't my fault." She warned.
He just nodded and took a sip of his beer. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments when Will's phone rang.
He mumbled an apology while he fished it out of his pocket and answered. Shelby tried to focus her attention on the basketball game to give him some privacy, but she couldn't help but overhear his side of the conversation.
"Emma?" She asked quietly after he hung up.
"Uh, yeah." He said sheepishly. "I guess she's having some sort of an argument with her dentist."
"Her dentist?"
"Sorry, her boyfriend, he's a dentist."
"Oh, of course." Shelby smiled. "Did you want to…I mean, if you need to go talk to her." She trailed off.
"No, no. I'm here with you." He smiled. "She chose him, it's not really my job to run off and help her anymore."
"Will, it won't hurt my feelings. Obviously she called you for a reason."
"She called me because it's comfortable. I'm tired of being her fallback. She can handle it tonight."
"Okay, if you're sure."
"I'm sure." He answered. "Another round?" He asked, gesturing to their drinks.
An hour later Will realized he had probably ordered one round too many, at least for Shelby. She was hanging onto his shoulder and he imagined that was the only thing keeping her upright.
"I like your shoulder." She slurred, a sleepy grin on her face.
"Thanks Shelby." He laughed.
"It's the perfect height." She explained, slipping off of her stool.
"Whoa there!" He said, sliding an arm around her waste to catch her.
Jimmy noticed the commotion and approached them.
"She doin' alright?" He asked, a knowing smile on his face.
"I think she had one too many Jimmy."
"Jimmy!" Shelby cried. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too Shelly." He smiled sadly.
"It's all my fault." She wailed, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Don't go there Shells." He responded. "I'll call her a cab." He said to Will.
"It's okay. I can drive her home."
"I'd really rather she take a cab."
Will was thrown off by the older man's change of mood. It was like something had flipped a switch in him. Will was about to continue arguing, but something in the man's eyes made him stop. He supposed he would have to ask Shelby about it when she wasn't slumped on a bar mumbling the lyrics to Defying Gravity.
"Okay, I'll just wait with her until the cab gets here."
Jimmy's expression softened and he grabbed the phone to call a cab.
"Don't be mad Will. He just wants to make sure it doesn't happen again." Shelby explained, lolling her head to the side.
"Okay."
"You're pretty." Shelby responded, poking his nose.
"Thanks Shelby. So are you." He laughed.
"So pretty…" She mumbled, as she rested her head on the bar again.
Will could only laugh at her antics.
"I could be a stripper if I wanted." She mumbled.
"Okay Shelby." He placated her.
"We could be the great whale friends."
Will laughed again, drunk Shelby was definitely amusing. She continued to mutter nonsensical things for a few minutes until he saw the cab pull up in front. He half-carried, half-dragged her to the car and gave the driver her address. He shook his head as he walked to his own car; spending time with Shelby was always an adventure.
Thanks for reading! Sorry it's been so long since an update...I have no excuse.
Also, the drunken Shelby comments come from a particularly classy night I myself had...at one point I [allegedly] declared myself Hillary Clinton, offered to give free plastic surgery, proclaimed my friend and I the "great whale friends," and played a saxophone... hahaha.