Just do it already!

By KristinMichelle

The song begins to crescendo and she subconsciously reaches for his hand. A pause mere inches away before the climax hits and decides this moment may warrant such a simple, friendly gesture. The contact however leaves her feeling less than friendly. She is as overwhelmed by the touch as by the song and moves her free hand to her chest to keep her heart from popping right out. It is at this moment that Emma Pillsbury decided she could no longer be an innocent bystander.

Over the past couple of years, Emma has been as good a friend to Will Shuester as an admirer really can be. She may have loved him the moment she first encountered his crooked, heart-wrenching smile, or maybe the day he offered her a spare handy-wipe he just happened to save from the previous night's take away. The time and place do not matter as much as the certainty in her heart that Will truly belonged to her.

As the last notes of the song faded away, the audience leapt to its feet. Emma, still holding Will's hand stood and bounced with excitement, for the kids, for the hand that was still in her own. It was a great night. She turned to look at the man next to her, surprised to see a single tear running down his cheek. Even though it was full beyond capacity, her heart swelled a bit more for her long time crush; he was truly amazing. Emma let go of Will's hand and slowly reached across his back in a side hug. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned towards him in an attempt to whisper. The crowd was still cheering too wildly to really whisper but she managed to get the point across when she said into his ear, "I take back what I said about long shots. If anyone has a chance of winning, it has to be you. That was amazing!"

He turned that 100-watt smile on her at that moment and reached around her pulling Emma into bone crushing hug. "They were pretty good huh?!" His lips brushed against her hair as he spoke and she felt a chill run down her spine. So much touching and closeness, she could not breathe and she did not want to.

In the spirit of not being an innocent bystander any longer, Emma pulled away slightly from his embrace. She noted that his eyes were dancing and that he looked truly happy, and handsome. Still in the circle of his arms, Emma stood once again on her tiptoes briefly meeting his lips. The contact was short-lived but quite effective. She was prepared to remember everything about the split second kiss, to store it up in case it never happened again. As her lips met his, Emma felt the warm, soft skin she had always imagined and was able to experience first had that heady aroma that was all Will. Just as quickly she plopped back down, plastered a smile on her face and turned applauding at the stage.

Innocent bystander no more! Emma just kissed her crush, not only that but a married man. She quickly realized the moment inspired by a song, and executed in haste left her to face the reality of the moment. Luckily the crowd was still cheering and the Glee kids were still bowing. In the seconds that passed, no had noticed the world had stopped turning.

Aware as ever of Will, Emma kept close tabs on his movement in her periphery. He seemed shocked at first, so much so that he was facing her with his arms still outstretched from holding her. He slowly began to move again, first in her direction, as if to touch her again, before pausing and turning back to the stage to clap for his kids. Occasionally looking back toward her.

As the crowd died down and began to clear out, Emma turned to Will determined to be cool.

"I think that was the best night I have ever had in this auditorium." Emma said sweetly hoping he understood she meant more than the song.

Looking down at her through his long blond lashes, his smile crooked as ever, "It did have its moments." He totally knew she meant more than the music. He reached up to scratch the back of his head, classic shy guy move. "Hey Em," he paused reaching up to grab her elbow, "I …I was wonder…"

"EMMA!" Ken Tanaka yelled across the auditorium, "Let's get going!" Looking at his watch and back up towards her in a universal signal that time was of the essence.

Emma turned back to Will slowly, inwardly cringing that she had brought this upon herself. She had agreed to date Ken, and she noted that it was unfair to judge him against Will. Smiling sweetly she said to Will, "The kids did great! Really. You are doing a wonderful job with them. "

"Thank you," he said and in a smaller tone added, "you know… you are as much a part of this group as I am. This is your victory too!" He squeezed her elbow before dropping his hand.

Emma smiled and sighed, as much as she wanted to stay, she knew Ken was waiting and Will had to get home to his wife. She would rather end the night on a high note than dwell on the facts. She turned and began walking down the end of the row to the aisle. "Will?"

He looked her directly in the eyes and she almost could not say, "Did I ever tell you how proud I am you?" With that, she turned on her heel and walked resolutely to Ken and out the doors. Emma was not able to see the look of humble gratitude and shock that passed over Will's face.

The following Monday, Emma walked through the halls toward her office (with an extra long detour which conveniently passed the Spanish classroom on the sophomore corridor), as was her daily routine. Walking quickly, but not too quickly, her heels were heard from several doors down. She braced herself as she neared the Spanish room, not planning to go in but ready just in case he happened to appear at any moment. Taking a deep breath she took the final steps passed his door when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her.

"Ohh!" Emma squeaked. This she did not expect and with that, the hand pulled her into the Spanish room and the door shut with a resounding WHAM! behind her.