A/N: This story is co-written by Dgleefan. Since Dgleefan and I don't actually live near eachother and do not see each other everyday, we may not be able to update chapters right away. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
Pretending
"Somebody to, love!" the cast belted out the last notes of the song. They were in Dublin, Ireland and this was their last concert of the summer. They were excited yet sad to be going back to America. The cast stood on the stage waving goodbye to the screaming crowd of devoted fans. All of the cast members were hugging each other. Two certain cast members just could not let go of each other. Cory and Lea stood there, holding each other, and not wanting to separate although they knew they would eventually have to. They were surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans and their whole cast, but they felt as if they were the only ones in the whole world.
Lea and Cory let go of each other as the rest of the cast started exiting the stage. Lea grabbed Cory's hand and they walked to the steps at the edge of the stage. "Oh my god! That was the best show so far!" Lea exclaimed. "I know!" Cory smiled, "You were really good!" Lea smiled back, "You were pretty great too!" They gave each other another big hug.
"Okay, okay enough with the hugging!" Naya shouted at them, "It's not like we'll never see each other again!" The whole cast laughed and they all started to head back to the hotel promptly.
Not long after, the whole cast had changed into their normal clothes and were back at the hotel sitting on the couches in the lobby. Lea was resting her head on Cory's shoulder as she checked her phone. There wasn't much to do since they were just going to head back to the US tomorrow. "Hey you know what we should do?" Kevin asked. The cast looked at him, "We should celebrate by going out to dinner tonight." Kevin proposed. The rest of the group looked at each other and nodded. "I think I'm just going to stay here," Lea announced, "I'm kind of tired." "I'll stay too," Cory said looking at Lea, "I need to make sure Ms. Michele here doesn't do anything crazy like get another tattoo while were gone." Lea smiled at Cory. The rest of the cast chuckled. "Us ladies are going to go to the bathroom and get ready before we leave," Dianna said, "Lea we need you to come help us with our make up!" Lea got off the couch leaving Cory with the rest of the boys.
The girls walked into the bathroom, their heels clicking on the tiles. "So, why exactly do you need help putting on your make up?" Lea asked. "You know that's not why I made you come in here, Lea," Dianna said. "I know," Lea said looking down at her feet. "You and Cory are going to be alone, by yourselves, together, without any of us there," Jenna said smirking, "What are you guys going to do while we're out?" Jenna asked mischievously. All the girls looked at Lea. Naya and Heather stopped applying there lipstick and were looking at her intently. "You make it sound like were going to have sex!" Lea said, "We're just friends." Lea added. "Yah, just friends," Naya said sarcastically. Lea rolled her eyes and continued, "I'm with Theo now. I can't just cheat on him like that." "We all know you like Cory. So, why don't you just break up with Theo?" Dianna asked. "Ok, we're not talking about this right now. You girls get ready." Lea said. "Ok, ok," Dianna said not wanting Lea to get all upset.
Meanwhile, the boys were sitting on the leather couches waiting for the girls to come out. "So, Cory, why did you really decide to say with Lea?" Mark asked poking Cory's leg. "I just want to keep her company. That's what friends do." Cory replied shrugging a little. "Yah, friends" Harry said making air quotes with his fingers, "Dude, we know you like her, so why don't you just tell her?" Kevin asked. "Well, I can't just do that. I mean she's with Theo now," Cory explained. "You're Cory Monteith you can get any girl you want. Try and smooth talk her tonight." Mark replied. "Yah, this is your chance dude," Chord said. "She doesn't even like me in that way," Cory responded. "Yah, she totally does dude. You got to put the moves on her tonight," Mark said. "I don't think she likes me like that guys," Cory said shrugging a little.
Just then the girls came out of the bathroom and walked over to where the boys were waiting. "Ready to go ladies?" Mark asked grinning. "Have fun!" Dianna whispered into Lea's ear before going to Mark's side. The rest of the cast walked away to enjoy their dinner.
As everyone left, Cory and Lea found themselves alone.
"Mr. Monteith, I have an idea; since everyone is gone how about we rent movies and order room service till we pass out?", Lea asked with a smile on her face. Cory, who hoped she'd ask, responded amusingly "Well, Ms. Michele I guess we could hang out since it sure beats being alone all night". "Ha, Ha, Cory you just have to be a silly douche don't you?" Lea commented back. "Douche or no Douche, I'll race you to my room….. the winner gets to pick the movie", Cory added and started sprinting. Lea ran as fast as she could, because she knew that If Cory won they'd have to watch Broken Arrow which was one of Cory's favorite movies, but it really wasn't appealing to her. She ran as fast as she could, but Cory was already waiting for her in the room. "You…You.. are such a ch—chh—eater Mister" Lea said completely out of breath. "Ha, Ha, don't be jealous that I'm just faster than you" Cory responded. "Fine, we can watch your stupid Broken Arrow movie, but first…" "First what"? Cory asked "But, First…." Lea basically jumped on him and started tickling him"…" Hahahhaha, please stop, Lea…ahaha please stop…," Cory barely pronounced as Lea kept tickling him tirelessly". "Admit that you are a cheater"…" I'm …I'm a cheater…we'll watch any movie you want. Just please stop aahaha", Cory finally admitted. The reality is that Cory was strong enough to make her stop tickling him, but part of him didn't want to. It felt nice to feel Lea's touch. It felt so nice that he really couldn't compare it to anyone else's. "Well, what movie do you want to see, Lea"? Cory asked. Lea responds by saying "It really doesn't matter; let's give Broken Arrow a shot because otherwise I'll never hear the end of it". The reality was that it really didn't matter what movie she was watching, because being with Cory was enough to make her happy. Cory put the movie in the DVD and both of them sat on the huge couch that was in their hotel suite. Just about as the movie was about to start Lea added "Wait…, I think I am in the mood for a pizza, just make sure it's a Vegan pizza for me"…" I know Lea, I already ordered it", he added "You see you were so slow I even had time to order a Pizza"… She laughed, but she really loved how well they knew each other. As the movie began she could only think about how much fun she always has with Cory. Whenever she was with Cory her day was filled with laughter, joy, and happiness.
They started to watch the movie, but neither of them really paid attention to it. Instead, they were enjoying the pizza and red wine, which was complimentary from the hotel. They talked and joked around for hours. As Lea continued to talk about her future she started to think about the fact that Cory has to be in her future. She couldn't imagine not talking to him, she couldn't. As he was talking, she started moving close and close to him. Cory noticed this and just stopped talking.
He started thinking: Is Lea actually moving towards me…Is she going to kiss me?
This is where it hit him that he actually wanted to kiss Lea. Sure, he had kissed her before- but that was for acting. He has been fighting these feelings for a long time given that Lea was unavailable and his co-worker.
I know I shouldn't kiss him…I know I shouldn't kiss him Lea thought as she moved closer and closer to Cory's lips. But, she was so tempted….I can't do this…he is like a brother to me….we work together…and I'm with Theo—Oh, God, I'm WITH THEO." She finally stopped and realized that she is Theo's girlfriend and she just can't kiss Cory, not matter how much she really wanted to.
"Well, Mr. Monteith it's 2 a.m. I think I should go and get some sleep now". Cory who was completely confused about what was going on decided to not ask questions and just agreed "Sure, let me walk you to your room to make sure that you are ok". "Cory, don't be silly I am 3 doors down". "I know, but I need to know that you are safe". They smiled and ended up walking her to her door. "It's cold in this hotel," Lea said at the door of her room. She shivered a little. "Here take my sweatshirt." Cory said immediately taking off his jacket and helping her put it on. "Are you sure?" Lea asked looking up into his big brown eyes. "Yah," Cory smiled. "Well, Good Night, Sleep tight "Lea said as she hugged Cory tightly.
Cory left and entered his room more confused than ever. He started to get lost in his own thoughts- Was she about to kiss me or did I make this entire scenario up in my head? I really wanted to kiss her. I really want to kiss her. I am in LOVE with Lea….there I finally admitted it to myself. I finally stopped pretending… I have loved Lea for a while now, but glee and Theo have been in the way for a while. I finally had my shot and I didn't take it. I am such an idiot, there was Lea Michele about to KISS ME and I just sat there like a paralyzed freaked out dude.
Cory realized that tonight was his shot; he summed up all the courage he had and sighed heavily as he finally decided to walk over to Lea's room to finally admit his feelings for her. He didn't know what he will say to her, but he knew he had to try—it's now or never.
In the meantime, Lea closed the door to her room and smiled like a little girl because she couldn't stop thinking about Cory. She stood at the door and breathed in the smell of Cory's sweatshirt. As she took her shoes off someone yelled, "Surprise….." , Lea jumped and was just about to scream when Theo said " baby, please don't freak out, it's me….it's Theo…". Lea just stood there. "Well", Theo added," aren't you going to give your boyfriend a hug and a kiss"… "Sure, you just startled me," she smiled as she gave him a kiss but she kept thinking "What is he doing here? What am I going to tell him about where I was? Oh my god, what if he already knows." Her fears started to become reality when Theo asked "where have you been, I have been waiting for two hours"… "I was just hanging out with some of the glee family, the better question is what are you doing here", Lea quickly asked to switch the topic. "Well, I missed you baby and I wanted to let you know that I love you" Theo answered. Lea knew that this kind of talk would lead to sex, and that was usually fine with her but it just didn't feel right anymore. She and Theo just didn't have that spark anymore; she couldn't help it. "I love you to silly, well let's go to sleep I'm sure you are tired" Lea rambled in order to avoid sleeping with Theo. Theo was really mad "Wait what? I fly thousands of miles to be with my girlfriend who I haven't seen for months and you will barely even kiss me? Theo yelled as his pride was clearly hurt. Lea quickly realized that she really did go a little too far and started to explain "Oh come on Theo I think you were overreacting I was just suggesting that you sh-," but a knock on the door cut her off. The knocking continued, so Lea opened the door thinking that Theo probably ordered room service. As she opened the door, she was surprised to find Cory standing right in front of her. Before she could even say hello, Cory started talking " Lea, listen I really to need tell you something- tonight was amazing and it made me realize that I want to stop pretending anymore." "Pretending from what?" Theo asked
"Oh, um, Theo," Cory stuttered, "I-I was just um saying that um-." he wanted shout that he loved Lea and that Theo is great guy but they are not meant to be together, "I wanted to say that I want to stop pretending that I don't need my jacket because my phone is in there and my mom's going to call in two hours and I don't want to have to wake you up." Cory said quickly and then added a nervous laugh. "Oh of course," Lea said. She took off the sweatshirt and handed it to Cory. "I guess I'll go now." Cory said. He could feel the tension in the room. "Bye." Cory said and closed the hotel room door.
"What the hell was he talking about Lea?" Theo questioned. Lea just looked at Theo for a minute. She had no idea what to make of what had just happened. "I-I don't...I don't know," Lea said, her voice barely audible. "What do you mean you don't know?" Theo said, his voice rising, "Wait, didn't he say he had an amazing night?" Theo didn't give Lea a chance to respond, "Were you two together all night?" Lea could tell that Theo was furious. "Well," Lea started, "The rest of the cast went out and i wanted to stay, so Cory decided to keep me company." Lea said trying to calm Theo down. "Like that makes it any better." Theo said. She moved towards him and grabbed his hand. "Why were you wearing his jacket?" Theo questioned. Lea just looked at him. "Why were you wearing his jacket?" Theo repeated his voice louder this time. "I-I was just cold and Cory offered to give it to me." Lea answered. "I thought I was your boyfriend Lea! I thought you loved me!" Theo shouted. "I can't believe that you don't trust me, and that you are accusing me of being a liar and a cheater" Lea furiously responded. Theo took a deep breath, and asked Lea calmly" Okay, Lea you are right. Maybe my accusations went a little too far, but can you honestly look me in the eyes right now and tell me that you don't feel anything for Cory—anything at all?" Lea felt as if the ground had been removed under her feet. This was it; this was her moment of truth. This was the moment in which Lea realized that though she may have been with Theo physically, emotionally she completely belonged to Cory, and only to Cory. Lea just stood there speechless leaving Theo's question unanswered. Her silence was confirmation enough for Theo; Theo realized that Lea's heart belonged to Cory now. He gave her a disappointed look and stormed toward the door. "Where are you going?" Lea asked almost in tears. "Anywhere, but here!" He responded. He slammed the door closed on his way out. Lea fell on the bed and started crying. She wished someone were there to hold her, to comfort her, to tell her that it will all be all right. The first person she thought of was Cory. Her Finn. Her one and only.
And so this night which started out perfectly, has ended in pure disappointment for both Cory and Lea. Cory couldn't get Lea out of his head. Cory spent the entire night tossing and turning, blaming himself for not kissing Lea when he had the chance. Worst of all, he couldn't stand the idea that Lea was spending the night with Theo. Little did he know, that Lea spent the night crying herself to sleep.
The entire glee cast left the hotel to return to America. Lea and Cory found themselves next to each other on the air plane and were unusually quiet. As they were reading through some magazines, Cory decided to break the silence and asked "So, where is Theo?" Lea stopped flipping through the magazine pages and responded "Um, we got into this big fight yesterday and he left, but I don't really want to talk about it". Cory felt like an idiot for asking so he replied "I'm so sorry Lea, let me know if I can help—you know I'm here for you". He managed to get a little smile out of Lea and she proceeded to ask "I know, now you don't think that I will let you off the hook so easily, do you? Lea asked mischievously. "About what"? Cory inquired. Lea "Why did you really stop by my room last night? Even though Cory wanted to tell her the truth, he loved and respected her too much to confuse Lea even more. Instead, Cory smiled at her and asked "You and I are best friends, right?" Lea nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought; let's just leave it at that." Lea wanted Cory to confess his true feelings; one confession from him would have been enough for her to throw herself at him. But, for now they both accepted the fact that they were just best friends.