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Glee practice had begun and Mr. Adams gathered the club together in a semi-circle. Will took a seat next to Emma and she already felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Ok everyone, I'm sure you've all heard by now that I have decided to implement a duet into our show next Saturday. I know it's a little impromptu, but all of you need to work on your solo performances more."

Everyone had heard about the duet and the room was riddling with nerves. Since it was the first show of the year, they had to come out really strong.

"Now, we've already decided Will is going to take the lead vocal for the guys, but he needs a strong leading lady. This is a little unconventional, but Will… I have let you decide whom you would like to sing with. I'll tell you now, the song I have chosen is one of romantic tones and I would like for you to sing with someone you will feel comfortable performing with in the duet. Now, you don't have to decide right now but we need to know by tomorrow."

All eyes were on Will as he smiled at the chance of a romantic duet with one of the pretty girls in Glee club and gladly accepted the challenge. He looked around and all of the girls were batting their eyes at him.

"Thanks for this honor, Mr. Adams. I'm psyched about the show!"

"That's wonderful, Will. I trust you will choose someone fitting for the lead. Which brings me to my next point… Emma,"

Emma had been so distracted by Will and the chance at maybe him choosing her when she snapped out of it.

"Uh—wh—what do you need Mr. Adams?" She replied nervously now that all eyes had moved from Will to her.

"I don't mean to single you out, but out of the 9 girls in Glee you're the only that Will hasn't had the chance to hear sing since you've just joined us this year and if you'd like the chance to sing now and go for the spot you are more than welcome."

Emma gasped audibly. She couldn't believe the predicament she was in now. She hated singing in front of anyone on her own and now she was called on the spot to sing for the whole club. Not to mention Will was sitting right next to her and she could barely breathe. But if she didn't sing, she may never get the chance again and Will wouldn't pick someone who was to frightened to sing for only 18 people…

Mr. Adams looked at her expectantly, hoping she would sing for the class. She had to try out for the club at the beginning of the year and he knew of the talent she held.

She couldn't even bear to look up at the class as she stammered something out quietly.

"What did you say, Emma?" Mr. Adams questioned, hoping she said yes.

"Yeah, speak up ya ginger pygmy!" yelled Patrick Campbell, a well-known jock on the basketball team.

"Shut the hell up Campbell, let her talk." Will shouted back at him as everyone started laughing.

Emma mentally slapped herself for ever joining Glee club. These people would never accept her and Will only felt sorry for her. But she finally she found her voice.

"I uh, I don't think I should sing today Mr. Adams… I—I'm just getting over the flu and my, uh my throat's…still, um pretty sore."

She couldn't do it. She didn't want to make an even bigger fool of herself.

Mr. Adams was disappointed at the declined offer, but somewhere inside he understood why she really couldn't sing. He didn't blame her for not wanting to perform in front of a room full of critics.

"Well, that's quite alright Emma. Anyway, we are going to start practicing the main number tomorrow so you guys get a day off. Will, you need to be thinking of a girl to choose for the role and let me know tomorrow."

"No problem, I'm on it."

And with that, everyone headed out of the room buzzing with laughter while Patrick's girlfriend, Sarah, imitated Emma's stammering behavior and joked that she probably couldn't sing worth a damn anyway.

Emma finally got up from her seat after everyone filed out and stalked out of the room headed towards her car just hoping to hold back the tears until she reached it.

"Hey! Em!"

She's caught off guard but suddenly enjoys the feeling of his hand on her arm as he grabs her to get her attention. Will pulls his arm back and she can feel the warmth still there.

"Um listen, would you walk with me to my car? I, uh, I wanted to talk you."

Before she can even dignify a response he continues as he puts his hand on the small of her back and leads her out into the hallway.

"Mr. Adams was wrong,"

"Wha—wrong about what?"

"I…well, I have heard you sing before."

"When? Where? I..I think you're mistaking me for someone else…" She continued walking with him gaining a sudden interest in the tiles and not his piercing green eyes.

Will quickly looked down at the floor embarrassed and let out a small chuckle.

"Do you remember the week before school, you know, when you were up here trying out for the club and I was headed to pre-season practice?"

Emma clearly remembers this day because it was the most nerve-wracking day of her life. She hadn't sung for someone other than her family in a very long time.

She was wringing her hands in anticipation outside the auditorium when she heard the sound of cleats clacking in the hallway and they were coming towards her. Emma hoped it wasn't her brother coming to make her even more nervous right before she went in.

It wasn't.

"Whoa, hey Emma, what are you doing here? You know school isn't for another week right?"

Emma let a small laugh escape her lips even with her nerves. He always knew how to make her laugh.

"No, I—I'm actually, well I'm trying out for the Glee club."

"Really?" He looked at her with eager eyes.

"Um, yes. Well you know, you guys took Regional's last year and I just—just thought it would be something fun to try. I used to sing when I was a little girl."

"I never knew that about you."

Just as she was about to reply, the door swung open.

"Emma, you ready?"

"I guess so, Mr. Adams."

Will looked between the two and then whispered into Emma's ear "knock 'em dead" before walking away.

She felt a little dazed as his warm breath tickled her ear but quickly regained composure. She needed to nail this audition.

Emma had chosen a piece from the musical Les Mis titled, "On My Own".

She got on stage and suddenly the empty auditorium was filled with a lovely sound.

And now I'm all alone again, no where to go no one to turn to,

without a hope without a friend without a face to say hello too.

And now the night is near,

And I can make believe he's here.

After Emma had gone inside, Will had been reluctant to walk away without hearing her audition now. His curiosity got the best of him and he waited around for a few minutes but he didn't hear anything and began to walk away when suddenly he heard it. He turned back and scooted close to the door to get a better peek.

Sometimes I walk alone at night

When everybody else is sleeping

I think of him and then I'm happy

With the company I'm keeping

The city goes to bed

And I can live inside my head.

On my own

Pretending he's beside me

All alone, I walk with him till morning

Without him

I feel his arms around me

And when I lose my way I close my eyes

And he has found me

Will was completely mesmerized at her voice. He had no idea she had such an amazing talent of singing, but he wondered why she had never tried out before. He knew she was shy but there was no trace of fear in her voice on that stage. Will was awestruck and almost forgot about soccer practice.

"Shit, I'm gonna be late now."

He quickly ran off not wanting to be seen by Emma and pushed out the doors heading towards the fields.

"Schuester, where the hell have you been? You're 15 minutes late. That's not like you at all!"

Will couldn't wipe the smug grin off of his face from hearing Emma sing. He had felt privileged to hear such a voice.

"Are you listening!? C'mon, I told you to get on that line and start your 5 laps, you know the drill…"

"Sorry, coach, won't happen again."

And Will began jogging his warm-up laps with one thing in mind.

"God, Emma is so talented and… her voice, it's just angelic… I sure hope she makes it."

Will admitted to Emma that he had stayed back that day to listen, but he left out the part about being ripped a new one at practice and not being able to forget about her perfect voice.

"Oh gosh, I'm so embarrassed now. I'm really not that great, but I thought I'd try-out for fun."

"Don't be ridiculous, Emma, you…well, you just sounded good when I heard you."

To Will, it was quite the understatement but he was nervous about telling her what he really thought of her voice.

"Anyway, since I have in fact heard you sing…well, I was wondering if you would maybe be interested in doing the duet with me? I mean, you don't have to, it's cool, but I just thought—"

"Oh wow, I don't know about that. Why—um why me?"

Emma wanted to ask why he would put his reputation on the line by choosing someone who wasn't pretty or popular for a romantic song and hoped it wasn't some sort of a joke. She dwelled on the thought that maybe… just maybe, he had some feelings for her too.

"Well, I mean, I've already had the chance to do a duet with every girl in the club you know? It's only fair I give you a chance to sing with me too, right?"

"Oh, umm yeah, you're right about that I guess. I had…forgotten."

It wasn't the answer Emma had been hoping for but she figured it was her chance to spend time with Will and maybe he would see that she wasn't really the freak that people pinned her to be.

"Then I guess I'll do it with you…the duet, that is. Not the…doing 'it', the duet that we were assigned—"

"—Emma, I got it, I got it," he had to let out a grin at her adorable babbling.

"I'm really excited about this. We're gonna do awesome together. Do you want to come to my house tonight to begin practicing? I've got the sheet music in my bag."

"Uh—yes that sounds…really nice. See you tonight…" Emma turned and headed towards her car at a brisk pace fully aware of her flushed face. She couldn't help but stammer out things like "doing it" when he was around.

Will watched her retreating figure and wished he hadn't tried to play it so cool with her. The truth was, he wanted to do a duet with her because not only was she the best singer but he had started to develop some genuine feelings for Emma. He thought back to the very first time Emma Pillsbury came into his life.

It was only two summers ago when he first laid eyes on her through his classic aviator shades. He had just moved into the neighborhood a mile away and landed a job as a lifeguard in the neighborhood pool. He liked the job because it was easy and he could bring his new girlfriend around to have a little fun when things got slow.

It was his second week on the job when she walked in with her beach bag and towel holding, what he assumed was, her little sister's hand. He thought he caught her staring at him but couldn't be sure as she walked over to one of the chairs and placed her bag down.

He continued watching her knowing she couldn't tell if he was looking behind the shades. It was an excellent investment on his part.

Looking away for a moment to check the kids he quickly glanced back as she reached to slowly pull off her floral sundress. Will involuntarily licked his lips at what he saw. Underneath, she was wearing a two-piece bright yellow bikini and he felt guilty for staring at her body. She was thin but curvy in all the right places. He couldn't help but watch as she pulled her hair out of a loose ponytail and teased her long, red curls. Will's mouth dropped open when she lay down on her stomach and began to discreetly untie her bikini strings to work on her backside tan.

She was pale with cute freckles everywhere but her skin looked so creamy and smooth. He adjusted himself forgetting about the blonde, tanned girl who would be on her way in 10 minutes. Cursing himself for calling Terri so soon, but she was a year older and not to mention really pretty... But he wouldn't have minded this view today at all.

He'd only approached her a couple times that summer with short conversations and the following summer he took the same job. He rationalized that it was the money and the easy workload and had nothing to do with the gorgeous redhead that he would stare at when she was lost in her books. It didn't help that when he had gotten closer to seeing her, her beautiful doe eyes and soft smile always shook him up. His sophomore year, he had gained a lot of popularity from being so successful with soccer and Glee and this last summer he ended up working for Terri's dad at the local car lot with a lot higher wages. He missed seeing Emma everyday, but…he figured it wasn't right to be staring at her with a girlfriend anymore anyway.

Six o' clock rolled around before Will knew it and Emma was at his doorstep right on time.

He smiled brightly at her noticing she had changed into a flirty, white skirt with a purple tank top showing off her freckled shoulders.

"Hey Em, come on in! We can practice in the new studio my dad built last summer in the basement."

They passed Will's mom who smiled at Emma and he led her down the stairs.

Emma was shocked that Will lived in such a large home with a studio. He was always so nonchalant about his family's wealth around their peers. Just another reason for him to be out of her league… "and the list just keeps on growing", she thought.

"Ok, Em. The song is "Crazy For You", but I thought we could do a couple warm-ups before we begin. I really think you should sing a solo first to get use to singing on your own around people."

"Oh…um, well I don't really have anything prepared—"

"—You've got to stop worrying about what other people think, Emma. You have a very powerful voice, I know you do. Just use it. You have so much potential, but it's only potential until you give it a shot and challenge yourself to be more."

"Well, I suppose you're right Will, I'm sorry I get so nervous…"

"Don't apologize at all, I understand. I really do. I get stage fright before performances too, but you just have to forget about that and remember your gift within. Just put your heart into your performances and that's all you need. The rest will follow."

Emma was surprised to see this side of Will come out. He was being so sweet and patient with her. She decided she needed to do this not only for herself but for Will. She had to be strong for this duet.

"Alright, Will. I'll try a solo first. I—I just want to thank you… for doing this. I know I'm kind of weird about germs and don't necessarily fit in with everyone, but I really appreciate you being patient with me."

Will couldn't believe how well this was going with Emma already. She moved towards the mic and began to sing the song "Hopelessly Devoted".

Guess mine is not the first heart broken,

my eyes are not the first to cry I'm not the first to know,

there's just no gettin' over you

Hello, I'm just a fool who's willing to sit around

and wait for you

But baby can't you see, there's nothin' else

for me to do… I'm hopelessly devoted to you

But now there's nowhere to hide,

since you pushed my love aside I'm not in my head,

hopelessly devoted to you

Hopelessly devoted to you…

He sat there in awe like he had the first time he heard he sing and his jaw slowly dropped at the confidence and beauty he watched radiate off of her as she continued the song. He noticed she didn't make one movement though as she sang. Her hands wrung together and she only swayed a bit. They had to perform a few choreographed moves within their song and Will wasn't sure she going to be able to do that part as easily.

"Em… that, that was beautiful. Honestly, you have to sing more for the club. You're one of the best singers I've heard in all the years of Glee. You don't give yourself nearly enough credit."

Emma blushed deeply at this compliment from Will. She was so glad he hadn't run for the hills after hearing her sing…

"—But.. you know we have to dance some in this duet too right? Which requires more than a little swaying…" He joked lightly, but she knew he was serious. They were going to have to dance…and sing… in front of tons of people. She started to sweat and her eyes grew bigger at the thought of so many people staring at her. Will sensing her discomfort had an idea.

"Emma, Emma, you'll be fine. Listen, here's something we could try if you think it will help… I, well, um, here…"

Will put on a new song and walked closer approaching Emma.

"Wait—what are you doing?" She felt excitement at the thought of him close to her but put up her hands instinctively anyway.

"Em, you just have to trust me. We're going to sing 'American Boy', it's just a fun song to loosen us up and—here,"

Will pulled her hands down so he could move closer and closed the gap between their bodies placing his hands delicately on her hips and started to sway with her as he began to sing…

Just another one champion sound,

Me and Estelle about to get down

Who the hottest in the world right now

Just touched down in London town.

As they swayed together, Emma began to loosen up and couldn't believe Will Schuester had his hands on her hips right now… not to mention she couldn't stop smiling as he attempted to touch on his rapping skills. He really was a golden boy.

Bet they give me a pound.

Tell them put the money in my hand right now.

Tell the promoter we need more seats,

We just sold out all the floor seats…

She sucked in a deep breath, shaking away all of her nerves and even found the boldness to place her hands over his still on her hips as she began to sing along.

Take me on a trip, I'd like to go some day.

Take me to New York, I'd love to see LA.

I really want to… come kick it with you.

You'll be my American Boy.

He said Hey Sister.

It's really really nice to meet ya.

I just met this 5 foot 7 guy who's just my type.

I like the way he's speaking, his confidence is peaking.

Don't like his baggy jeans but I'm a like what's underneath it.

Emma blushed at the words she was saying to him now, he must have not thought this song through very well because she could see his cheeks turning a bit pink now too.

And no I ain't been to MIA

I heard that Cali never rains and New York's wide awake..

But first let's see the west end.

I'll show you to my bedroom,

I'm likin' this American Boy... American Boy

They continued on both smiling wildly at one another and enjoying the closeness and the heat they were sharing. Towards the end of the song, Will pulled away and moved behind her grabbing her hips again and lightly pulled her from side to side. Emma was glad he couldn't see her face as she was showing pure thrill at the contact and the way he was slowly grinding against her. She moved to cover his hands with hers again as they danced. Will hadn't intended to be so close but she had become hard to resist with this new air of confidence in her that he saw.

He also couldn't help but notice Emma's germophobia had slowly dissipated as they danced and he held her close in his arms feeling privileged that she had opened up to him.

As the song came to an end he took in the smell of her strawberry shampoo and some kind of lavender lotion floating around him. He reveled in the fragrant smells and her hair lightly touching his face as she pulled away and turned to face him.

Emma knew her face was still flushed but she was growing more comfortable with him after dancing together. It really had proven to loosen her up in performing. She had even felt him stepping closer behind her as the song came to a close…

"So, ready to start on that song?"

He caught his breath and swallowed.

"Let's duet."

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