It was a pretty warm day out in Lima which meant the students of McKinley High School were either out on the bleachers or courtyard.
Nellie along with the rest of the girls plus Kurt sat on lunch tables as they begged Mercedes to spill all the juicy details about her and Jays relationship. Despite the fact Jay told Nellie practically everything that went on between him and Mercedes, she still felt as if she should play along just so none of the other girls don't feel left out.
"Mercedes, what's the deal with you and Jay? He flirts with you nonstop and you've been stealing glances in the choir room, and you still haven't told us what happened over summer vacation." Tina mentioned.
"Tell us." Brittany and Rachel added, Nellie nodding in agreement.
"Okay okay okay, it's true. Jay and I spent a lot of time together at the lake. I got to know him. He's a really sweet guy. And.....we had a fling."
Nellie squealed and clapped her hands together, a wide grin on her face at Mercedes words.
Meanwhile with the boys, they all sat on the bleachers surrounding Jay who had his arms crossed over his chest and trying to look tough.
"Alright man, cut it out. We wanna know what went down between you and Mercedes over the summer." Sam stated.
"Yeah, can't hurt to tell us." Matteo added. Like Nellie he also had all of the details about Jays relationship. They were like an iconic trio, always telling each other everything and making each other smile when smiling was the last thing any of them wanted to do.
"It was incredible, guys." Jay grinned.
[Summer Nights-Mercedes Jones, Jay Parker, and the New Directions]
*********
"Finn! Drum roll!" He ordered before making his way up to the white board. Finn did as he was told and Nellie watched as Mr.Shue wrote the words "Marry Me?"
"Yes, I am proposing to Miss Pillsbury." Mr.Shue stated, causing everyone to cheer loudly for him.
"It's about time." Nellie snarked causing Matteo to laugh and hit her arm lightly. It was true. Mr.Shue had been in love with Miss Pillsbury since the start of glee club. So you can only imagine how agonizing it was for Nellie to watch them not admit their feelings for each other up until now.
"This is the kind of news that you share with your family. And you guys are your family."
"Aw!" Matteo gushed, pressing a hand to his heart. Jay did the same, nodding in agreement.
"Mr.Shue, we are so happy for you." Finn said with a grin.
"We totally don't think you'll screw it up this time." Quinn added.
Mr.Shue let out a laugh. "Here's the thing. It's got to be perfect. I'm sitting down with Emma's parents to ask for permission, and then this proposal needs to knock her well-washed socks off. And that's where you guys come in, ok? So the assignment for the week is to come up with a proposal number. And you know Miss Pillsbury. It's got to be perfect."
"Well you can count on us." Artie grinned.
After glee club Matteo and Nellie sat on the bleachers together as they tried to come up with songs for Mr.Shue. But all it consisted of really was just Matteo doodling in his notepad and Nellie just staring off into the football field.
"Come on, we gotta do this," Nellie nudged Matteo's shoulder to snap him back into reality. "We promised Mr.Shue."
"Right, right. So I was thinking of a Bruno Mars song. Like, Marry you or something?"
"No, we used that for Burt and Carole's wedding. It seems repetitive."
Matteo nodded. "Right, right. You're completely right. So what about "Just the way you are?" Miss Pillsbury is perfect just the way she is. It'll be a cute little song before he pops the question.""
Nellie softly smiled at this, taking notice of how excited Matteo looked about the topic. The two had never sat down and talked about marriage, or if they were going to go to the same college together. However Nellie assumed that because they had been together for so long they were going to at least go to the same college.
"That's a cute idea," Nellie commented. "You come up with that all on your own?"
"Google works wonders." Matteo hummed.
Nellie giggled at that, and the two sat in comfortable silence for what seemed like forever. It wasn't until Matteo reached forward and placed his hand over hers that she snapped back into reality and looked into his eyes.
"You're thinking about it, aren't you?" He questioned with a raised brow.
"Thinking about what?"
"Marriage. Us. I wanna get married to you, I really do. But I also don't wanna rush things and we wind up hating each other in ten years."
"I can't see myself hating you in ten years."
"Aw, glad to know you can go everyday seeing my handsome and lovely face."
"Alright now, don't make me take it back." Matteo let out a laugh before pulling Nellie towards him and kissing all over her face.
"College?" He asked once he pulled away.
"College." Nellie confirmed with a nod.
*********
The next day Nellie and the rest of the glee girls were gathered in Mr.Shues office to talk about wedding proposal plans. Nellie couldn't be anymore excited about this. She's always wanted to plan a wedding, no matter how big or small it may seem.
"In order to help you propose to Miss Pillsbury, we're going to need some salient information first." Rachel stated.
"Okay. Come on ladies, it's not like this is the first time I've ever proposed." Mr.Shue replied.
Nellie let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, and how'd that work out? She went on and lied about having a baby. Real nice and lovely marriage you had going on."
"Let's start from the beginning with you and Miss P. What'd you think the first time you met her?" Mercedes suggested, drawing all the attention away from the topic Nellie had just brought up.
Mr.Shue seemed to have gone into some sort of trance for a moment, most likely thinking about the first time he laid eyes on Emma. Nellie recognized that look anywhere. It was the same look Matteo would put on when anyone would ask or talk about her around him.
"I'll never forget how I felt the first time I saw her." He finally replied.
Rachel nodded at that. "I think we've got this one covered. Come on ladies."
[The First Time I Saw Your Face-The Glee Girls]
Throughout the entire song all Nellie could think about was Matteo. The first time they met on the first day of sophomore year, and how Nellie immediately felt her heart swell at the sight of the boy. Matteo's laugh, which lit up Nellies day every single time. There was just so many things about Matteo that Nellie fell in love with. If she was to name all of them it would take hours, maybe even a full day. By the time the song was over Nellie could feel a tear rolling down her cheek which she quickly wiped away.
"So apparently our song was too emotional, which kinda sucks because I put my heart and soul into it." Nellie ranted to Matteo as she leaned against his locker.
"Aw, babe, Mr.Shue has no taste. Remember the toxic song we did at that one event for school?"
Nellie gagged at that and shook her head. "Don't remind me."
"Oh, I will. We were all wearing these hats and it was soβ-"
"I just got frickin' friend zoned." Jay exclaimed, walking up to the pair and throwing his hands up. Nellie furrowed her brows at the teen, confused on what the hell he was taking about.
Jay proceeded to explain how Mercedes sat him down the other day and told him that they were better off as friends then as a couple. By the end of his speech he was crying, and both Nellie and Matteo pulled Jay into a hug, letting him cry out everything that he felt.
"It's just......every time we get closer she just pulls away. I don't understand."
"It's gonna be fine, Jay," Nellie assured with a nod. "Mercedes does this all the time. You just have to let her let you into her heart. I promise you guys are gonna be endgame."
"Yeah man, all else fails we're just gonna find you a cute chick who wants you."
Nellie hit Matteo's arm, sending him a warning look. Matteo winced and turned towards Jay who had now burst out into laughter. Well, at least he was laughing. That was slightly making the situation better. However Nellie couldn't help but feel bad for Jay. He had been head over heels for Mercedes since day one, and here he was getting shot down time after time. But at the end of the day Nellie knew Mercedes, and she knew that eventually she was going to take Jay back with open arms.
"Let's go to Breadsticks." Matteo suggested.
Nellie nodded. "Yeah, good idea. Jay, you in?"
Jay nodded and Matteo wrapped his arms around both Nellie and Jay as they walked down the hallways of school.
**********
So Sam had apparently come up with this glorious idea on helping Mr.Shue propose to Emma. It consisted on swimming around, which Nellie was not a huge fan of at first. But after Sam begged her for ten minutes straight she finally gave in and agreed to do the routine.
[We Found Love-Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez, Nellie Puckerman, and the New Directions]
Mr.Shue got down on one knee after the song causing Nellie to squeal and cling onto Matteo's bicep.
"Emma? You are the one. You always have been. The truth is, I feel like I've had to stop myself from doing this...from the second I first saw you. The first time I held this hand, it felt like I'd held it a million times before. Like somehow, it's always been here. Life is messy. It just is. And I-I know that's hard for you, but that's why you have meβto balance things out. But you have to realize, you do that for me too. Everyday. Loving you and being loved by you makes everything better. I love you with everything I am and everything I hope to be. SoβEmma Pillsbury, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"I love you so much." Emma whispered, staring at the ring in shock.
"Is that a yes?"
"Yes! Yes!" Mr.Shue leaned forward and pulled Emma in for a kiss, causing everyone to cheer loudly.
"Oh thank god. I need to get out of this water." Matteo muttered, shivering as he got out of the pool. Nellie laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, watching Mr.Shue and Emma share their moment together as a newly married couple.
Word count:2,878
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