It had been a quiet night for Will. He had graded some papers, worked on vocal arrangements for glee club, and now he was sitting on his couch watching a movie, a mug of hot chocolate sitting on the table in front of him. Whenever he was feeling down, he liked to watch an animated movie that would cheer him up a bit – he had so much on his mind lately that he often found it hard for him to concentrate on things.
He missed Emma greatly, and he had hoped the song he had sung for her on that CD made her realize how special she was to him.
Suddenly, he heard a beep coming from the intercom mounted on the side wall by the door. Pausing his movie, he got up from the couch and walked over to the intercom, pressing the button to talk.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Will?" came a familiar voice on the other end that was trying not to cry. "I-it's me. I need to talk to you about something."
Emma, Will thought. "Okay, come on up, I'll be waiting for you." Depressing the talk button, he pressed another that was the signal to unlock the door that would allow visitors into the building. Stopping his movie altogether, he took a sip of his drink and set the mug back on the table as he waited. And sure enough, five minutes later, he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he saw Emma standing in the hallway, her makeup smeared a bit, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face – it was apparent that she had been crying.
"Oh Will," she said between sobs, as she collapsed into his embrace, his strong arms not letting go.
"Shh, shh, Em, it's okay. I'm here," said Will softly as he continued to hold her tight.
As soon as Emma had a chance to calm down and wash her face, Will had the kettle going in the kitchen to make some tea. Two steaming mugs sat on the table a little while later as they sat on the couch together. Emma stared down at her hands, lost in thought.
"So what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Will asked.
"Well," replied Emma, "the first thing I want to tell you is that I apologize for calling you 'that word' that day during the confrontation in the faculty lounge. "
"Believe me, there was nothing going on between me and Shelby," Will interjected. "I was concerned about one of my students dating one of hers, so I went to Carmel High to talk to her, and then it just happened – I was the one who stopped it because it just didn't feel right. As for April, I've been trying to sublet my apartment while I find another place to live, so she came by to check out the place and she crawled into my bed. We never slept together."
"There's more to this," Emma went on. "You see, the thing is Sue told me everything – she bribed your building superintendent to bug your apartment with baby monitors. That's how she knew about April and Shelby. I had been under her influence, she told me she was a therapist and I believed her. Oh Will, I'm so sorry."
Sue. Will should have known she had been behind all this. She tried to destroy the glee club, and then tried to ruin his relationship with his best friend while invading his privacy at the same time. Sure enough, he reached under the sofa and pulled out a baby monitor that had been hidden there. He'd probably find one under his bed too. He would probably have to have a talk with his superintendent about this.
"It's all right, Em, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner about this," he said as he stroked her hair. "I thought you were on a date with Carl tonight. What happened?"
"I- I broke up with him," confessed Emma.
"But why?" inquired Will.
"Because it just didn't feel right between the two of us," she admitted. "You were still trying to find yourself, plus you were finalizing your divorce with Terri. So I dated him for over three months, hoping that by then you will have found a way to open your heart. But then I found a pink rose on my desk along with an unmarked CD after my last SAT prep class, so I took them home with me and listened to the disc as the note that was left inside the case had instructed. When it hit me that the voice I heard singing on the disc belonged to you, that's when I realized that what you had done really touched me. You found the way to express your real feelings towards me, so I knew you meant your words when you confessed your love to me that day in the hallway after regionals."
"I really did mean it," Will said. "You're my best friend, you were the only person that I could really talk to, the only person who gave me advice when I needed help. I didn't want to lose you."
"So I went out with Carl tonight," Emma said, "and I just couldn't get your song out of my mind. Even at school, I couldn't walk past the auditorium or the choir room without hearing your voice inside my head. And tonight, it was the same thing – your voice singing that beautiful song. I got up from the table and Carl embraced me, but it didn't feel right. That's when I confessed to him that the relationship wasn't working out and that I was in love with someone else. So then I came here because I wanted to make everything right again with you."
"So what you're trying to say is…" said Will, but Emma put a finger about an inch to his lips like he had done that day in the hallway after sectionals.
"I love you, Will," she said softly. "I always did, and I always will. And if you will let me, I would like to start over. No more lies, no more bad influences."
"I love you too, Emma," he said, and he pressed his lips against hers.
The evening went on as Will and Emma continued to talk about their re-kindled relationship. They laughed, they cried, and they talked about glee and what was going to happen next.
"I can't believe Sue of all people helped give glee another year," said Emma.
"It certainly was a surprise to me," Will admitted. "So now our goal is to re-focus and start building again towards regionals. It's going to take a lot of hard work, but I think we're going to get back there."
"I know it too," Emma replied, "because they have you as their teacher."
"Come with me, there's something I want to share with you," Will said, and he led Emma to the digital piano in the corner of the room. He had a keyboard before, but Terri had told him that it wasn't necessary so he sold it. After the divorce, he bought the piano and had enjoyed playing it whenever he felt sad or lonely, because music was his way of expressing himself. Sitting down on the bench, he began to play a song that also reminded him of his love for Emma. After playing the intro, he began to sing.
Oceans apart day after day
And I slowly go insane
I hear your voice on the line
But it doesn't stop the pain
If I see you next to never
How can we say forever
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I took for granted, all the times
That I thought would last somehow
I hear the laughter, I taste the tears
But I can't get near you now
Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
I wonder how we can survive
This romance
But in the end if I'm with you
I'll take the chance
Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me going crazy
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I will be right here waiting for you
"Thank you, Will," Emma said as the song ended. "You always know the way to my heart, even when we're not together. I really do love you."
And Will knew that deep down in his heart, it was true.