Chapter 17- Half of My Heart
Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter; all of you have been so nice throughout this story. Well, sadly, this is the last chapter. I have really enjoyed writing this story and I hope that all of you liked it. I tried really hard on this ending and I hope I got it right. HannahAli, I didn't want to tell you before to spoil anything, but yeah, I am using 'that song' you mentioned earlier. That was the plan from the beginning. Here's the chapter ;)
Will Schuester was sprawled out on his sofa, texting Emma again. It was the thirty-first of December, New Year's Eve. The two had been texting each other and talking on the phone since their almost-kiss but still no one ever brought it up. Will really wanted to see Emma again before they went back to school. He glanced out the window and came up with an idea. He typed out a message to Emma and sent it right away. It read; Em, do you want to spend New Year's Eve together? You can come over and we can hang out…you know do the countdown thing and stuff to the New Year. Will drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, waiting for a reply. His phone buzzed and he looked down hopefully. Sure! Can I come at nine? So we won't have to wait that long until midnight, it read. Will quickly told her sure and then looked at the den's clock. It was six-thirty now, so in less than three hours Emma would be here.
It was nine at night and Will's doorbell rang. He ran to the door and opened it to find Emma holding a bottle of sparkling grape juice. "Hi Emma," he greeted, as he waved her into his apartment. He took her green North Face jacket from her and hung it on the coat rack.
"Hey Will. I brought this for when the clock hits midnight…it's what I always did," Emma explained, handing the bottle to him. Will smiled gratefully back at her.
"Thanks, you didn't have to," Will smiled, placing the bottle on the kitchen counter.
"I really thought I should, after everything," Emma said. Will winced at the word 'everything,' remembering what had happened the past few weeks. "But, hey, it's to new beginnings, right?"
"Yeah, new beginnings," Will smiled, liking that idea. "So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know," Emma replied, glancing around the room. She spotted some Blockbuster-rented movies on the coffee table and walked over.
"We can watch one," Will offered, watching as she flipped through his movies.
"Let's see," Emma smiled. "The Hunger Games, The Avengers, and The Adjustment Bureau. All very good movies but my favorite is The Adjustment Bureau."
Will smiled. "Mine too. Want to watch it?"
"Sure." Will walked over and slipped the movie into the DVD player. After the screen got to the menu, he pressed play and walked back over to Emma. Will plopped down on the sofa next to her and suddenly hated the space between them. He knew they weren't quite in a relationship yet but still, he was ready to be near her. Will looked at Emma; she was absorbed in the movie. He didn't want to be obvious so he started counting to ten in his head, every time he reached ten; he would scoot slightly closer to her. Will continued doing this, and after a few minutes he was only a foot away from her. Will was pretty sure that Emma had no idea what he was doing but actually she knew exactly what he was doing. Emma smiled and instead of waiting for him to move again slightly, Emma sat up and moved over next to him so that they were touching. Will pretended to be watching the movie, acting like Emma didn't just catch him.
"You were being a little too obvious, Will," Emma whispered, her breath hitting the tip of his ear. Will blushed and looked down at his lap.
"Sorry," Will mumbled.
"I thought it was cute," Emma laughed. "You have nothing to worry about." Will smiled and the two went back to the movie.
The movie ended around eleven and Will popped the disc back into its case. "Emma, I have your Christmas present," Will announced, smiling.
"Okay," Emma smiled.
"Just hang on one second," Will said, running out of the room in a way that made Emma laugh. Will appeared back in the den a minute later, holding his acoustic guitar and a small box wrapped in green paper. Emma looked at him, quizzically; secretly hoping that he was going to sing to her. "It's kind of a two part present," Will explained. "I'd like to sing something for you, if that's okay."
Emma smiled. "That's more than okay."
Will sat down on the footrest in front of Emma and positioned his fingers on the right guitar chords. Will started playing a familiar tune and hummed along, Emma smiled, encouragingly.
"I was born in the arms of imaginary friends,"
"Free to roam, made a home out of everywhere I've been,"
"Then you come crashing in, like the realest thing," Will sang, smiling. He thought of the first time he met Emma and how beautiful he thought she was.
"Trying my best to understand all that your love can bring,"
"Oh, half of my heart's got a grip on the situation,"
"Half of my heart takes time,"
"Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you,"
"That I can't keep loving you, can't keep loving you,"
"Oh, with half of my heart,"
"I was made to believe I'd never love somebody else,"
"I made a plan to stay the man who could only love himself,"
"Lonely was the song I sang, 'till the day you came,"
"Showing me another way and all that my love can bring,"
"Oh, half of my heart's got a grip on the situation,"
"Half of my heart takes time,"
"Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you,"
"That I can't keep loving you, can't keep loving you,"
"Oh, with half of my heart,"
"With half of my heart,"
"Your faith is strong,"
"But I can only fall short for so long," Will sang, looking deep into Emma's brown eyes. Emma shook her head, knowing that Will could never fall short in her book with anything.
"Down the road, later on,"
"You will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart,"
"But I can't stop loving you,"
"I can't stop loving you,"
"I can't stop loving you,"
"I can't stop loving you,"
"But I can't stop loving you with half of my…"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart's got a real good imagination,"
"Half of my heart's got you,"
"Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you,"
"That half of my heart won't do,"
"Half of my heart is a shotgun wedding to a bride with a paper ring,"
"Half of my heart is the part of a man who's never truly loved anything,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart,"
"Half of my heart," Will sang, finishing. Emma started clapping, smiling at Will. Will put the guitar down and slowly took her hands in his.
"Will, that was amazing!" Emma exclaimed, hoping that there was meaning behind that song.
"Thanks but there was a meaning behind that song. A big meaning," Will started. "Emma, all my life I've never really, fully, given myself to someone. I mean, I was married to Terri but I never really let her know the real me, warts and all. I guess you could say that I was afraid to open my heart to real love. And when Terri and I got divorced, it was only worse. I had never felt more vulnerable and afraid in my life. She had shattered my heart into a million pieces and let me tell you, it was not a good feeling. Then you came along and flipped my world upside down. You were so different than anything I'd ever known, you were loving and compassionate and actually cared about others. Terri was never like that. I had never felt being loved like that…it was magical. You loved me for who I was, not for who you thought I could be. You didn't spend all your time trying to crush my dreams, instead you encouraged them. The thing was, once we kissed and became a couple it was too much, too fast. Our love was so strong that I was blinded and confused. It was like being asleep for your whole life and then finally opening your eyes for the first time. The sheer force of your love for me was too strong. You…you made me feel too much," Will paused, looking at Emma thoughtfully. "You came along and made me feel more than I had ever felt in my life. I didn't even know what being in love felt like until I knew you. I didn't know what to make of this powerful feeling…I was scared and confused. It was overwhelming, really. I just, I don't know, no one's ever made me feel something like you did. But, like I said, you made me feel too much, too early, and I was nervous. So, I kissed Shelby, in hopes that the feeling would calm down. It was stupid really. Thinking that the feelings I had for you would slow down, by kissing someone else. If anything, the kiss made them grow even more and then I knew. I knew that you were the one, that this incredibly overwhelming feeling was true love." Will tilted his head, Emma's eyes were growing wet and Will could feel the tingling in his nose and throat that came before tears. "Then all of the bad stuff happened," he mumbled, his voice breaking on the last word.
"Will…I want to forget about the bad stuff. I understand what you did now and I was so stupid with everything. With Carl, and Sue and all the other bad stuff. I'm so sorry. Will, I love you. I finally said it…I love you," Emma announced, a few tears falling from her eyes.
Will pulled out a rectangular box and handed it to Emma. "It's your Christmas present," he uttered, trying hard not to give into the overwhelming urge to cry.
Emma opened it to find a silver necklace with a heart on it; the necklace was beautiful and looked to be expensive. Will slowly reached out and put the necklace on her. "Thank you, it's beautiful," Emma whispered.
"This necklace symbolizes my heart. I'm giving my heart to you, Emma. For the first time, I'm giving somebody my heart…my whole heart. Not half of it, but all of it. It's fragile and it's been broken but it's yours. And I know that you'll take good care of it," Will admitted, smiling at her through clouded vision. "I love you, Emma."
"I love you too, Will, more than anything," Emma declared, leaning over. Will quickly closed the gap between them, placing a sweet kiss to her lips. They pulled away slowly, both smiling like teenagers receiving their first kiss. Will saw the clock behind Emma, and noticed the time.
"It's midnight," Will whispered, smiling.
"Happy New Year's," Emma said, quickly running to the kitchen. Before Will could ask what she was doing she returned with two glasses of the sparkling juice. Emma handed one to him and clinked her glass with his. "To new beginnings," she announced.
"To new beginnings," Will repeated, taking a drink. For them, it really was a new beginning; a new beginning of true love and forgiveness, and finally taking a chance by loving someone with all of your heart, instead of half.
So what did you think of the ending? I hope that all of you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. This was my first ever fanfiction and I hope that it was a success. The songs I used throughout this story were Apologize by One Republic, Begin Again by Colbie Cailliat, and Half of My Heart by John Mayer and Taylor Swift. I want to thank everyone who reviewed but especially the people who reviewed all or almost every chapter; WrittenInCrayon, Moonbike, ma1teo, and r0ckgal. Big thank you to HannahAli and r0ckgal for your ideas for chapters. I hope everyone liked this and please review! I want to know what you thought of the story and this chapter…R&R! ;) My next wemma story will be a high school au…look out for it! R&R! ;)