Once Upon a Time 1. Homecoming

Her heart was pounding. What the hell was she thinking? There was no way **Nomad **would really be here. The black cloak she wore hid her from prying eyes as she made her way into the school with Graham hot on her heels.

"Alright Emma, it's time. Give me the cloak." He said, the Zorro mask he wore covering most of his face. The Homecoming dance would be in full swing by now so hopefully she could just slip without too much drama. Her white mask covered the top of her face so that whoever it was she was meeting wouldn't be able to see who she really was. Little orphan Emma Swan. Loser. Diner Girl.

"Graham, I don't know if I can do this."

"Em, this is your one shot to meet the guy of your dreams. As long as we leave at quarter to 12, we'll be fine. Tell you what, gimme your phone." He said. She unclipped her small flip phone from her heel strap. "There I've set your alarm so you won't forget. Okay?"

"Thanks. Alright, let's get this over with." She untied her cloak, handing it to Graham.

"You look stunning, Em." He said kindly. She blushed as Graham headed down the stairs. He made it to the bottom and looked up to find every pair of eyes, including Regina Mills and her two sheep's death glares, staring up. "Em, what are they looking…" He trailed off as he saw her at the top of the stairs, the spotlight illuminating her face. She made her way down the stairs looking a combination of petrified and elated. When she reached him, he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Okay, let's go find your Prince Charming." He said mockingly.

He spotted David and Rob by the buffet. They were a little hard to miss in their musketeer costumes.

"Evening, lads." He said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He was waiting for **StorybrookeGirl** who he had fallen for… hard. Even though he was in a relationship with the most popular girl in school, Milah Gold.

"Killian? What happened to your costume?" Asked Rob.

"I'm not meeting this girl looking like a tosser." He answered, straightening his jacket.

"Oh, so you get to be Prince Charming and we're what? The two idiots?" Shouted David.

"Look, I'm sorry boys but…" He trailed off when he noticed they weren't looking at him anymore. They were both staring at the same place. He turned over his shoulder to see what was so interesting. Every thought in his disappeared when he saw her. A stunning blonde stood at the top of the grand staircase. She wore a strapless white gown and matching mask.

_It has to be her. Oh god, please let it be her._

He thought as she made her way down towards the dancefloor. It was just before 11 and they had agreed to meet on the hour under the disco ball. He would soon find out if this mystery beauty was the girl he had been waiting so long for.

"I'll be back." He simply said and walked towards the centre of the room.

"Good luck mate!" He heard them shout in the distance.

She stood under the disco ball, everyone around her was dancing and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. What if this was a huge mistake? She was 'Diner girl' and for all she knew Nomad was a teacher, a girl, a psycho. Okay, this was definitely a mistake. Just as she was about to move away, she felt a presence behind her.

"StorybrookeGirl?" He asked. This was it, he was stood behind her right now. Slowly, she turned her body to face him.

_No. Freaking. Way._

Her mouth fell agape as she stared into the ocean blue eyes of Killian Jones. School bad boy and captain of the football team.

"Killian Jones? You're… You're Nomad?" She asked in disbelief. He nodded.

"At your service… Do we know eachother?" He asked awkwardly.

"No. Look, this was a mistake. I've got to go." She said, pushing past him.

"Wait! Wait!" He caught up to her and grabbed her arm. "Please, don't go yet. Give me a chance to show you that I'm not the person everyone thinks I am." He pleaded. She took one look into those eyes and sighed.

"Okay." She said. He moved away from her and bowed mockingly, extending his arm to lead her outside. She laughed and moved in the direction of the garden. Graham watched them go and smiled.

"So, who are you?" He asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She said jokingly.

"Wow, I can see I'm going to have my work cut out for me. Can I at least know your name?"

"That is the one thing you can't know. I'm sorry." She said staring at the ground, unable to look him in the eye.

"How about we each get 3 questions to find out something about the other?" He suggested.

"Yeah, okay. I can do that. You go first." She said, finally looking up at his face as they walked along the stone path.

"Okay, you do actually go to this school don't you?" He asked.

"Seriously? That's your first question?"

"Well, I don't recognise you and we've only talked online so, yeah!" He joked. She giggled and stopped walking when she realised he had. "And, you'd think I would remember those eyes." He said, stepping closer and going to slowly remove her mask, but she grabbed his arms and pushed them back to his sides.

"Umm, next question." She said softly, starting to walk again.

They continued asking eachother questions, learning the slightest details about one another and laughing at the stupid questions like 'Would you rather eat a Big Mac or a Rice Cake?' Before they knew it they had reached the pavilion in the centre of the garden. He bowed again and offered her his hand, she took it hesitantly and he led her up the stairs and onto the small platform.

"Would you care to dance, Milady?"

"There's no music." She laughed. Just then, a small band started playing and the air was filled with the sounds of Guitars, Tambourines and Violins.

She laughed again, as did he. He placed his hand on her waist and the other held her hand. She held his hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder. They danced and laughed for what felt like hours but was likely only minutes. He dipped her and she tipped her head back laughing. He pulled her back to him and they stopped, looking eachother straight in the eye.

"Please let me know who you are?" He said, once again moving to remove her mask. This time she stayed still. They both jumped when her phone alarm went off.

"Not now!" She said, unclipping her phone and switching the alarm off.

"What? What is it?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. This was amazing." She said, beginning to run back towards the school.

"Wait!" He shouted again as he chased after her. Once she had reached the door, she looked around frantically for Graham. She caught him out of the corner of her eye… Making out with Regina Miils!

_What? How did that happen?_ She thought, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the stairs. They ran all the way to the car, Killian had clearly fallen behind as he wasn't in sight.

"So? How'd it go? What did he say when you told him who you are?" Graham asked, putting the key in and turning on the ignition.

"He didn't!" She shouted, ripping off her mask. "I didn't tell him who I am." She said.

"Em! Why not?"

"Because, it was Killian Jones. He's the most popular guy in school Graham. Do you really think he would be happy to find out that I'm Emma Swan, Diner Girl?" She asked.

"But that was your chance! He might not be the idiotic womanizer everyone says he is, you never know!" He said.

"I do! He was great and amazing and sweet and I screwed it up! Now, will you please step on it? If I'm not back in that diner in 10 minutes, Granny is going to kill me!"

They drove to Granny's and she jumped out, knowing that her shift started in 2 minutes.

"Thank-you!" She shouted to him over her shoulder. She ran in the back door and changed into her uniform as quickly as she could when wearing a dress the size of Texas. She left the dress in its box in the locker room and ran into the kitchen. She grabbed the first tray she saw and walked out into the diner.

"Hey Granny!" She shouted, making sure she was aware of her presence.

"Hello Emma!" She laughed. Granny was the nicest woman Emma had ever met, but Ruby had already asked for the night off to go to homecoming with Vic and it was only the two of them so otherwise Granny would have been rushed off her feet.

"Has it been busy?" She asked as she cleared a couple of tables.

"Not really. Sorry Emma, you could have gone to the dance after all. If you still want to go then you could probably still make it!" She said, guiltily.

_Seriously?_

"No, no it's fine. It ends at midnight so." She said, sounding bored. Granny looked a little less guilty at that and she smiled.

_So much for Prince Charming, huh?_

He couldn't quite process what had just happened. One minute he was dancing with this amazing girl and the next she was running away.

"Wait!" He shouted, running after her. He lost her in the crowds of the hall, but caught sight of her running up the stairs with a rather unwilling Zorro being dragged behind her. He ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time. He then froze when he reached the top. He caught sight of something on the ground. Her cell phone. She had dropped her cell phone. He picked it up and carried on running to the main entrance of the school. He ran out to the car park and looked around frantically. There was no sign of her anywhere.

He had lost his Cinderella within hours of meeting her.

_I didn't even get her name. _Was his only thought as he looked out into the distance.


	2. Searching

She was still reeling from the events of the Friday before. She had been so close! She didn't blame Granny, Emma was the one who had begged her for the job in the first place. She knew that it was her own fault. But, what was she supposed to do? Skip meeting the guy who could be her fairy-tale prince? _Oh god, that was cheesy._ She thought as she locked her front door and made her way to the drive where Graham waited in his 'I'm too cool for school' convertible.

"Hey Cinderella!" He joked as she climbed into the car.

"Seriously, when are you going to stop this?"

"Oh, come on. You know you should have stayed." He said, backing up the car and heading in the direction of the school.

"I promised Granny and you know I never break a promise." She said for the thousandth time, wiping the skin under her eyes to make sure she didn't have any stray make up. They talked all the way to school and as they got out of the car and moved towards the building. The weekend had been two days of pacing up and down trying to figure out what was best. Tell him? Don't tell him? Tell him? Don't tell him? She had asked those questions a hundred times over and over again. He e-mailed her 10 times a day asking the same thing, '_Please tell me who you are? K. _

"He'll have forgotten all about Cinderella by now." She said as they pulled open the front doors. They both froze when they saw the wall directly in front of them. It was covered in flyers reading 'Do you know Cinderella? Contact Killian Jones.'

"Oh my god." Graham scoffed. "So much for he'll have forgotten." He said. She didn't reply, frozen in place by the realisation that he had done all of this just to find her. Maybe, he did care. Just then her new phone pinged, she had lost the other one somewhere at Homecoming, telling her she had an e-mail. She opened it and saw that it was from him.

_I need to know who you are. Please meet me after the Pep Rally? By the pavilion. Plus, I have your phone ;) K. _

She read it and smiled.

"Is it him?" Graham asked.

"Yeah, he wants to meet me after the Pep rally to give me my phone back." She said, not lifting her eyes from the screen.

"Told you someone would find it! That's brilliant, you have to go."

"What if he…"

"Exactly! Emma if you don't go you will spend the rest of your life asking 'What if?' You're going." He said.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll do it." She said. A massive smile going across her face.

"Come on, man!" Rob said as they made their way slowly down the halls putting up flyers. "How do you know this girl even goes here?" He complained.

"I just have a feeling. She was amazing and…"

"Beautiful and funny and blah blah blah!" Exclaimed David. "We've heard nothing else for three days Killian."

"Sorry, I just need to find her." He said, looking down at the flyers in his hand.

He heard his phone ping, almost tearing his pocket in his hurry to get it out.

StorybrookeGirl [1 new message]

His heart started beating faster. He pressed Open.

_Okay. SG. _

He'd done it. He was going to get her back. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would meet his Cinderella.

Graham was still grilling her about what she was going to say to Killian when they caught sight of Regina in the corner of the hall. Her two minions, Milah and Mary-Margaret stood either side of her. Regina was looking angry to say the least. When she saw Graham, she stood and moved towards them.

"Hey there." She said flirtatiously.

"Hi." He said, confused.

"I was wondering if you wanted to pick up where we left off last night." She said, moving her hands up and down his arm.

"Oh brother." Said Emma on the side lines.

"Buzz off Diner Girl!" She said, glaring at Emma.

"Actually, she is my girlfriend." Graham blurted out. He put his arm around Emma's shoulders and pulled her into his side.

"What?" Asked Regina.

"Yeah I am so, maybe you should be the one to buzz off!" She said with just as good a glare as Regina gave her.

She stormed off, Milah and Mary-Margaret weren't far behind.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked, pushing Graham away from her.

"Sorry, I didn't know what else to do. She's crazy!" He said.

"No worries. Just don't do it again." She warned.

"Come on, I'll take you to work." Graham said, making their way to the car as the final bell rang.

She yanked open the back door to the diner and changed into her uniform. Graham had been quizzing her all the way about what she would say to Killian when they met tomorrow. She tied her small pink apron on and placed her notepad and pen in her pocket. She tied her blonde curls back into a high ponytail and re-applied her lipstick. She stepped into the kitchen and through the door to stand behind the counter, wrapping her arms around Granny's neck and giving her a gentle hug. Granny laughed and she smiled. She moved away and started cleaning the counter since all the customers were sat at individual tables and all seemed happy with their food and were all in happy conversation. She heard the bell ring, alerting them to a new customer. She looked up with a smile on her face to greet the new customer.

Her smile dropped. Her heart rate increased. She held her breath, praying he would go anywhere but to her.

_Oh god. _She thought as he approached the bar and sat on the other end of the counter to where she was cleaning. She looked over to Ruby and indicated for her to take his order, she ignored her and carried on clearing the tables she was working on. Emma turned to face him and approached him as slowly as possible.

"Hi, can I get you something?" She asked, almost too quietly for him to hear. He looked up from the menu he was reading and for the first time since their dance she saw those gorgeous blue eyes. He smiled at her.

"Yeah, I'll just take a Coffee, thanks." He said, placing the menu back in the holder and looking back at the counter. She watched him as she brought the coffee to him on a small saucer.

"Thanks." He said simply. He took a sip and placed it back on the saucer as she went back to her cleaning. She caught him looking at her a few times and eventually she placed the cloth down and went over to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked simply.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just… Do you ever worry that if you show someone who you really are they won't accept you?" He asked, watching her intently. She took in a deep breath.

"Actually, yeah." His head jolted up from where he had been staring at the counter. "Like you're wearing a mask." She explained.

"Exactly." He said, looking a little taken aback at how well she understood.

"Listen, Killian, I need to tell you something that I've been meaning to say for a while." His brow furrowed as his eyes searched her face. "Killian, I'm…" She was cut off by Granny calling for another customer. "One second!" She called over, turning back to face Killian but he was already stood up and digging in his pocket for cash.

"You know what, don't worry I've gotta go anyway." He said, placing the money on the counter. "And, hey." She looked up into his eyes. "Thank-you." He said with a genuine smile, then turned and walked out of the door.

"You're welcome." She said to herself, going back to cleaning and running their conversation over and over in her head.

She arrived home at 10 to find Ruby sat on the sofa with a magazine.

"Hey!" Emma said, dumping her bag and keys in the hallway.

"Hey… Cinderella."

Emma froze. "What?" She asked, looking at Ruby's face, she was wearing a smug grin and Emma then realised why. Her laptop was open on the coffee table with her e-mails open. "Shit." She hissed. Walking over and slamming the lid shut. "What gives you the right?" She shouted at Ruby.

"I wasn't snooping I swear. You'd left it open and it lights up every time you get a new one, which until earlier was about every 5 minutes. I can't believe you did it!"

"I know but Ruby it was incredible! We talked and laughed and danced and I think I might be falling for him." She spoke ridiculously fast.

"So you're going to meet him after the pep rally! What are you going to say?" Ruby asked, turning to face Emma as she plopped down on the sofa, tucking her legs underneath her.

"I don't know, what do you think?" She asked.

"Well, you could start with your name." Ruby said half-jokingly.

They carried on talking until well past midnight. In fact, they were so engrossed that they didn't notice the car pull into the drive or Mary-Margaret looking in the window with a direct view of Emma's laptop where her inbox remained open on screen. Her mouth fell agape as she put the pieces together. Then, an evil smile came across her face and she ran back to her car forgetting all about the text book she was supposed to be giving back to Ruby.

He sat staring at his screen, ever since Homecoming he hadn't been able to write anything, let alone a song. All his thoughts had been of her. Her jade eyes, her blonde curls, her porcelain skin, her laugh, smile, sense of humour. Everything about her.

"Killian?" His Dad called from the other room.

"Yeah?" He replied. His door open and he slammed his laptop screen shut.

"We've managed to get some college scouts to come to the game on Friday." Killian turned to face his Father. "They said if you play well, you're a shoe in for a scholarship!" He said with more excitement than Killian.

"Wow, that's great." He said. The smile fell from his Dad's face and he looked confused.

"Why aren't you more excited?" He asked.

"I am. It's just overwhelming I guess." Killian said.

"Well, it's a big thing. Look I'm headed to bed so I'll see you in the morning. Don't be up too late." He said, making his way to the door and closing it behind him.

"Yeah, night Dad." He said as the door clicked shut.

He opened the top drawer of his desk and picked up the white envelope containing a letter from Maine University to study Music. An acceptance letter.

_Now what?_ He thought, staring at the writing over and over, then looking up at the team photo on his wall from the previous season.

_My dream or his?_


	3. The Pretend Princess

She and Graham arrived at the Pep rally just in time to hear the last notes of the band before Coach Jones, Killian's Dad, jumped up on the stage.

"Who are we?" He shouted into the mic. In chorus, the audience shouted "Pirates!"

"Now, before we start today the Cheerleaders have put together a little show to build the team spirit." The pitch was filled with the sound of applause as Regina stepped through the curtain and up to the mic.

"Once upon a time, there was a handsome Pirate who was known as the best Pirate in all the land." The curtains opened and Milah walked out in a Pirates uniform. "One night, the handsome Pirate decided to leave his beautiful, popular girlfriend and go to the Prince's ball. At the ball, he met a Princess." At this point, Mary-Margaret walked out in a white ball gown, and curtseyed towards Milah. "They danced and talked all night before the Princess left the poor Pirate all alone." A choral 'Awwwww' came from the audience as Milah sat on a chair and pouted. "But, unknown to the rest of the kingdom, the Pirate had been having a secret e-mail relationship with a pen-pal called 'StorybrookeGirl'." Her jaw dropped as did Graham's and she could see Killian on the front row of the seats looking broken.

"How do they know?" Graham asked. She just shook her head, trying to hold back the tears.

"Little did he know, the Princess was 'StorybrookeGirl' and she wasn't a princess at all, she was a geek, a loser, a serving girl." Regina looked her directly in the eye as Mary-Margaret made her way back onto stage wearing the uniform from Granny's, falling face first into a bowl of cream. Everyone laughed except Emma, Graham and Killian. She caught his father leaning towards him, Killian said something to him and his Father returned to his seat. "Give it up for the Pretend Princess… Diner Girl, Emma Swan!" She said sarcastically. The tears were falling down her cheeks as the crowd turned to face her, chanting "Diner Girl!"

She only paid attention to the one face that mattered. His. He slowly turned to look at her, a pained expression on his face. She searched his eyes for him to help her but he simply sat there, staring at her.

"Em, come on, let's go." Graham said in her ear. She didn't take her eyes off Killian until he turned back to face the stage. Her heart fell to her stomach as Graham grabbed her arm and led her out of the crowd. She couldn't believe he had turned away from her. She thought he was a genuinely good guy. Maybe all those rumours were true.

"Give it up for the Pretend Princess… Diner Girl, Emma Swan!" He froze as everyone else turned around.

_It can't be her. _He thought, turning to face Emma. Tears were streaming down her face as he watched her, clearly wanting him to go to her. He didn't move. He couldn't face her. He turned back to the stage, relaying everything over and over again. Could his Princess really be Emma Swan, Diner Girl?

She walked into her room and sobbed into her pillow. Ruby sat with her whilst she cried on her shoulder. Granny arrived later on and sat with both of them as they explained everything, saying that Emma could have the next few days off. Her heart felt like it was in pieces and she still couldn't understand why he didn't go to her.

She stared at her laptop for most of the night, hoping he would e-mail her and explain everything. Nothing came through.

He walked out of his classroom with a book in his hand and made his way through the constant stream of people moving about the corridors. Up the stairs and onto the main floor of the school where the lockers were. It was packed. He stopped when he saw her. She wore a navy baseball cap, white t-shirt, blue jeans and a grey jacket. She was keeping her head down as everyone watched her move and the occasional 'Hey Cinderz' was called out as she went. He just watched her until he felt a presence behind him and smelled the unmistakable scent of Gucci perfume.

"People like her don't belong in our world, Killian." Regina said, right by his ear.

He walked away before Emma could see him.


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Romance