A/N: And, back to Cory. Please review and let me know what you think so far, and also what you want to happen next! I can focus on a different couple for a little vignette if I get requests for it. Thanks! 3

Lea walked in as Heather was trying to teach me to dance. The second I saw her small figure slip into the room I all but dropped poor Heather on her head. She was game, though, and merely readjusted her ponytail, took a seat, and grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Cory." Lea looked shy, something I hadn't seen in her since the first day we met.

"Lea," I said, breathless. "Um, what's up?"

"Nothing." We stood there awkwardly, maybe five feet apart, when Lea, her eyes flickering briefly over to Dianna, tugged at my hand. "Cory, can we… talk?" she asked, licking her lips nervously.

"Sure." My heart was leaping around in my throat – this could be it. This could determine whether I won or lost. "Here we go." It was my old drumming room. The drum kit was in some warehouse on the set, but the sentimental value of the place was still there. I shut the door, muting the noise from my living room, and motioned for her to take a seat. We sat across from each other on sagging ottomans: not the ideal location for whatever was going to happen next.

Lea shivered, wrapping her arms tightly around her shoulders. "I need to talk to you."

"Talk away."

"Do you… how do you feel about me?"

Great. Was I really about to embarrass myself, to ruin my friendship with her? But we were best friends, and we needed to be honest with each other regardless of consequences, that much I knew. "I… I really like you, Lea. As more than just a friend. You're like, so beautiful. And I'm in love with you, I guess. I really hope it doesn't make things awkward between us or – "

She leaned forward and kissed me.

Wait, what?

There I was, in the middle of my hurried speech, and the love of my life, one-sided as that may be, leaned forward and kissed me.

It wasn't a Finchel kiss. Those kisses were staged, and though I felt something, it was masked under the directions crew were shouting out and the fact that we had to do it over and over again, to get different angles.

This was a real kiss. From Lea Michele to Cory Monteith. A real, true kiss. And I won't gross you out with the details, but it was amazing. And it wasn't just a peck; it lasted for awhile. My hands came up to cup her face, and she kept kissing me. You know how Finn, when he kisses Quinn after he's dumped Rachel, sees fireworks? Yeah, well, that's how I felt. Of course I didn't see fireworks, but I felt them. It just felt so right, like a hallelujah moment or something. When the guy finally gets the girl, and vice versa. Tingles, the good kind, were spreading through my body, like a hot drink was seeping through my veins. It was so perfect.

We finally broke apart after some time, and Lea's eyes were glazed over. One tear slowly made its way down the edge of her face, and I lovingly swept it away with my thumb. "Theo," she whispered, looking miserable. My heart broke.

I moved so I was sitting next to her, her lithe frame leaning against my Frankenteen body, and wrapped my arms tightly around her, lips nestled in her hair. "It's okay," I murmured, unsure as to what else I could say.

"Cory, that kiss was real."

Euphoria shot through me. So I wasn't the only one. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

"But what about – I'm engaged, Cory. I…"

"Have you ever felt that way when you kissed Theo?" I asked, trying not to spit out his name.

"No," she answered immediately, looking up at me and planting a light kiss on my jawbone. "I never have."

"Then there's your answer."

"I can't just dump him! He'll want a reason and if I tell him he'll freak out at you, and it'll just be bad."

"Dude, I can handle a freak-out. All I want is to be with you," I confessed. "Like, that's all I think about, is being here with you. So let your soon-to-be-ex-fiance freak out at me. I can handle it. What I can't handle is if you end up with him, all because you're such a moral person you can't stay with me, the guy who's always been here for you. You've gotta admit it, Lea. We're just so… right."

"Yeah," she concurred softly, burrowing her face in my neck. "Yeah, we are." And with that, she gave a little contented sigh and fell fast asleep.