Once Upon a Time 1. Welcome To StoryBrooke High

Emma awoke to the loud noise of her alarm clock. She snoozed it twice already.

"Emma! You'll be late for school!" Her mother calls from the outside of her room.

"Just five more minutes," she groaned as she buried her face into the soft pillow.

Her mom didn't stop slamming on her door. "C'mon Em. It's your first day!"

She stretched her arms and rubbed her eyes. She climbed out of bed lazily and stepped in the cold shower. After bathing, she brushed her wild hair and tied it in a ponytail. She put on her ripped out skinny jeans, a white collared top, a blue green pastel sweater and her black low cut sneakers. To complete the look, she wore her cute bow tie. She grabbed her snapback and headed to the kitchen.

"Have a great day at school, sweetie." Her dad said as he kissed her. "Got to go!"

Emma sat on the high chair, grabbed her cereals and poured in some milk.

"Are you excited?" Her mom asked. She looked more excited than Emma herself.

"Not really," she responded plainly as she scooped a spoonful of cereals to her mouth.

"Dear, you should be! It's your first day in school! You can make new friends!" Her mom exclaimed happily like she was in ecstasy.

"Yeah, well kinda got sick of getting eager everytime. You know, different year, different school."

Her mom frowned at that.

"Bye mom."

"Em, wait. Just a sec," she said as she fixed Emma's bow tie and handed her her eyeglasses. "Okay, you're good to go."

Emma smiled and said, "Thanks."

"Need a ride to school?"

"Nope."

She arrived in school and parked her bike. Everything looked so unfamiliar. "Welcome to Storybrooke High," she told herself. She scanned her surroundings and saw the groupings of the students: from the jocks, the elites, the sluts, the gangsters, the addicts, the cheerleaders, the happy go lucky and the nerds.

_Oh the nerds, that's where I belong_, she thought to herself. She fixed herself before making her way to her chosen group.

"Uhm, hey guys." Emma said to the group of students wearing braces and thick eyeglasses.

The students looked at her funny, tilted their heads and studied her quizzically. After a short silence, they closed their books and walked away.

_Or_ _maybe_ _not_. Emma shrugged and made her way to the office to get her time table.

"Hi. Good morning..." she paused and read the name on the table. "Ms. Mal."

"Hello, there. What do you need?" She asked while chewing her gum audibly with her mouth open.

"I'm Emma Swan, the new student. I would just like to get my-"

"Alright, alright! Here's your class schedule and student waiver. Kindly sign here." She points to the blank space at the bottom of the paper. "Your locker number is 127 default passcode is four zeros. You have any questions?" She said without pausing as she handed over the timetable.

"I uh, uhm." She struggled for words._Why is she in such a hurry? That woman is so rude._

"None? K. Now please proceed to your room, you don't want to be late for your first class."

"Wow." That was all she could say. She can't believe the office secretary. The woman raised her eyebrow at her. "Nothing."

_How did she even get the position? She has no customer service skills!_If Emma were to rate her from one to ten, she would've given her a negative five.

Emma shook her head and walked towards her locker. She placed the things she didn't need for the next three periods. She breathed in deeply before closing her locker. Being the new girl wasn't that easy as stares will drill holes in you. She carried her books close to her chest and looked down as she walked nervously in the hallway in order to avoid the deadly stares. Suddenly, she bumps into another person almost knocking her to the ground.

"Watch where you're going!" The girl snapped.

"I'm so sorry!" She picked up the scattered books and collected her eyeglasses.

As she was picking up her last book, a foot in white gym shoe stepped on it. Emma looked up to see a group of cheerleaders standing and smirking in front of her but her eyes focused on the most attractive one. She had long black curls, hazel brown eyes and perfect lips. She seemed to be the head of the squad. "Hey nerd, I don't want you getting in my way. Okay?!" She growled in a husky voice. Emma nodded as the brunette removed her foot from the blonde's book. The cheerleader was indeed beautiful but her attitude was obviously not.

The brunette managed to give her a devious smile before saying, "Let's go girls!"

As the group walked away, Emma muttered to herself, "Bitches."

She was starting to hate this day and maybe the rest of the people in school.


	2. New Friends, New Enemies

There was a look of horror on Emma's face when she saw what her first period was. It was Values Education with Mother Superior.

"Seriously? What the actual...?" she grumbled. "Ugh."

_God, I don't need another mom in school._ She rolled her eyes and sat on the last row. The period seemed like forever and she already felt exhausted after first subject.

She heard familiar sound of chattering. It must be the Queen Bitch and her pawns and damn she was right.

"That's our seat," the brunette snaps.

"Sorry, I didn't know."

"Well now that you do, you can leave."

"But I'm not yet done eating," she protests.

"If I say it's ours, it's ours!" The brunette demanded the attention of all students in the cafeteria and sure she did. Everyone was staring at them.

Emma didn't care. She just wanted to release the anxiety she felt this morning by eating so she continued munching on her food. "As far as I know, it's school property. So if you may, can I continue with my lunch?"

"I thought I made it clear that I don't want you getting in our way!" the brunette gives her a death glare that could burn anyone's soul.

"Yeah, but technically, I wasn't on your way... I'm just... having my lunch." Emma pointed out which pissed off the group even more.

"Ugh!" The cheerleaders scoffed and walked away. The students scurried away like rats as the mean girls made their way to the table next to the gangsters.

After a few minutes, Emma stood up and grabbed her tray.

From afar, a blonde cheerleader crumpled her juice box and threw it on the new girl. The blonde wasn't good at targeting and so she missed. Emma picked up the trash and looked at them before placing the carton in the garbage bin.

"I really hate that girl!"

As the blonde walks out of the cafeteria, someone jumps beside her. "Girl, where the hell did you come from?" A slim girl with long black hair with red streaks asked.

"Sorry?" Emma asked totally confused by her question.

"You totally bitched those bitches! I mean whoa! No one ever dares to mess with them!"

"I didn't," she muttered and looked down at her shoes.

"Don't be ridiculous! That was the best scenario I've witnessed! By the way, my name's Ruby and this is Belle," the slim girls says as she wraps her arm around the girl beside her.

She lifts her head and smiles, "I'm Emma."

_Maybe not everyone in this school isn't that_ _bad._


	3. Three Are Better Than One

The three sat by at the student lounge area waiting for the bell to ring.

"So Emma, tell us about yourself!" Belle says enthusiastically with such a cute Australian accent. Emma looks at her in surprise or horror, or maybe both. She hated introductions.

"I'm Emma..." Ruby rolled her eyes and huffed while Belle looked at her intently with so much excitement and curiosity in her eyes. "Obviously I'm a nerd." A sly smile spread across Ruby's face. "I love books, yeah."

"Oh me too!" Belle says and Ruby pouts her lips. "Tell us more!"

"Okay, well I just came in two days ago from Boston."

"I've never been there! How is it like?"

"Old buildings, bicycles, the accent. Things like that." Emma beams widely at Belle who clasps her hands together. "That sounds wonderful!" Then there was a short silence.

"Hey guys do you get offended easily?" Ruby suddenly asked, breaking the dead air.

"Nope." Belle replied right away. They both look at Emma and waited for her answer.

"Not really."

"Great!" Ruby squealed.

"Well Em..." Ruby trailed off.

_Em? Only my parents call me that and well I think I like it,_Emmathought_._

The blonde raised her eyebrows.

"I just wanted to ask... Are you a real nerdy nerd or just dressing like one?" Ruby asks and Belle's eyes widen at that. Belle gives her a look and Ruby holds up both of her hands.

"Well, I'm just... me?" Emma answered but it sounded more like a question.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Emma? Wait, what's your last name?"

"Swan."

"Are you fucking kidding me, Emma Swan? You look like Katy Perry in..."

"Ruby!" Belle stops her.

"What? I'm not Willy Wonka I don't sugarcoat things!"

Emma chuckled at the two fighting. She wasn't really offended by her query since it was asked a hundred times before. "Guys, it's okay." Emma says. "If it makes you happy then I can say I'm a nerd."

"But you're different..." Belle says sounding unsure. Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean I'm different? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Em, what she's trying to say is that... You're a nerd but you're actually not like one!" Ruby shook her head before continuing. "I mean seriously?! Who would answer back the Queen Bitch and her pawns like that?! You must be crazy!"

"But-" Ruby cut her off.

"Whatever, "nerdy" Swan, So what you got for second period?"

"I uhm," Emma says, not sure what she was having for second period. She pulled out her schedule and Ruby snatched it from her hands.

"Hey!" Ruby giggled.

"Oh, Chemistry!" The two brunettes checked on the other subjects. "The three of us almost have the same classes except for Values Ed and Foreign Language."

Emma sneaked in to see her Foreign Language course. Her eyes widened when she saw French, her most dreaded subject.

"No! What the! I hate French! What you got?" Emma protests.

"Español, mi amor." Ruby says and winks. Emma sighed. _Why is life so unfair?_

The bell rang and the three decided to proceed to their room. Ruby and Belle went side by side with Emma, with their hands clung around the blonde's arms.

"You'll gonna love our teacher!" Belle says happily. "He is..."

"...weird!" Ruby finishes her sentence.

"No! He's so smart and all." Belle defends as if he was her boyfriend.

"Oh, please Belle. Stop it. Mr. Gold's a creeper!" Ruby objects.

"He is not."

"He is."

"Is not."

Emma thought Belle and Ruby have total opposite personalities but they were like yin yangs; they balance each other through their differences. Emma smiles and says, "Okay guys, stop it. I'll have it figured later okay?" Both of her friends smiled and they strutted their way to the Chem Laboratory.


	4. We Got Chemistry

When the three entered the class, everyone turned to look at them like they were juveniles who just got out of the cell. Emma was starting to panic. She hated being the center of attraction.

Her eyes wandered in the room and her heart almost stopped beating when she saw someone glaring at her. "God, no," she mumbled. It was the brunette cheerleader she bumped into this morning and the one she had a show with back in the cafeteria.

_Where's her pawns_? She thought as her eyes swept new faces. She found them nowhere. _Good, at least that's a giveaway._

"Keep it cool, Emma," Ruby said feeling her new friend tensed up. "Yeah, it's okay Em," Belle reassured, giving her a sincere smile. Emma breathed in before walking to an empty desk. Belle sat beside her while Ruby sat on the next table. There were a few who got in after them, just in time before the second bell rang, which signals the start of the period.

"Now, now. Let's start."

"I would like to introduce myself." The old and tiny Chem teacher said when suddenly three boys came in laughing and panting, making a grand entrace.

"Sorry, we're late." One of the guy said with thick british accent.

"Since you three were late, why don't you give us a little introduction?"

The boys smiled. "Pleasure," he spoke.

"Hello! I, is Robin Locksley, the team captain of Football Team, the Merry Men," the guy with the british accent said. He then turned to wink at the head cheerleader. The girls in the room squealed. Emma didn't quite understand why the girls squealed and giggled because she don't find him the least bit of attractive.

"Aye, good morning mi ladies. My name is Jones... Killian Jones." The guy flashed a killer smile making the girls squealed even louder. He kind of look like he's wearing thick eyeliners but he sure was good looking.

Then there was the last guy.

"Hi everyone!" He introduced with so much energy.

"I'm Neal Cassidy!" People started to turn their backs and Ruby bit her lip to keep her from laughing.

"Hey! No squealing or something?!" He shouts at everyone goofily. "Ouch!" He said, placing his hand over his chest acting hurt. Everyone chuckled making Emma smile too.

"Okay, go find your seats. Now, where were we dearies? Ah, alright. Let me introduce myself this time. My name is Mr. Gold. I don't want anyone asking for my first name. Just Mr. Gold. Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone nodded nervously.

"I will be your Chemistry teacher for the school year. I will tell you, I am very strict when it comes to attendance." He said as he walked into the aisle making everyone sit up straight. "So this will be the first and last time I will accept tardiness in class. If anyone of you don't like my rules, you can leave and never come back." Then someone from the front row grabbed his bag and stumbled. He got to his knees and ran out of the room.

"Just like that one scared rat. Anybody else?"

_Belle_ _likes this guy? Oh god, what's gotten into her head? He gives_ _me_ _the_ _creeps_, Emma thought.

"Okay so, since Miss Mills was the Champion in the Science Quiz bee last year, I'm giving her the chance to pick her partner." Mr. Gold said and asked someone to go in front. Emma got a bit surprised when the cheerleader brunette started standing up.

_Her? I mean, oh my god. She's the cheerleading captain and maybe a bit of a bitch and okay, she's beautiful-that's given. But wait... she's... smart_? _I didn't see that_ _coming!_Emma creased her eyebrows as she thought.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Robin said raising three fingers and folding his thumb and pinky finger together. Regina smirked.

"Me! Choose me, Regina!" A nerd girl from the back cried out.

_So, her name is Regina? Hmm, nice name... Huh, what am I saying? She is not nice!_ Emma screamed in her mind, feeling conflicted.

"No! Pick me! Pick me!" Another one shouted from somewhere in the middle? Maybe in the back? Emma didn't know because everyone started volunteering.

There was a chaos in the room until Mr. Gold motioned his hand to silence the class. "I see everyone wants to be paired up with Miss Mills. I think it will be necessary and just to give everyone an equal chance by letting her draw who she'll be partners with."

Everyone booed his suggestion. The probability of being drawn will be one out of thirty-five, which is very small.

"Will that be fine, Miss Mills?"

She smiled. "Yeah, sure." Regina really looked proud. Everyone wanted to have her as their partner. It also kind of made her feel bad, thinking her classmates only wanted to be paired with her because she's smart.

"Any violent reaction from the body?" Regina's eyes moved from left to right.  
>All they heard were crickets until Ruby raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Lucas?"<p>

"I don't want to be her partner," Ruby spat out in disgust.

"Don't worry wolf girl, the feeling is mutual," Regina snapped back, rolling her eyes Ruby smirked, seeing her enemy pissed. They despised each other ever since.

"Okay anyone else? None? Let's get this down dearies!" Their teacher announced.

"Now, Miss Mills if you may." Mr. Gold handed the bowl and she put her hand in.

"And the lucky one is... Drum rolls please!" Some clasped the hands together, others crossed their fingers and everyone held their breaths, hoping their name would be called.

"I think it's your lucky day..." He paused briefly before announcing. "Miss Swan!" The blonde almost choked. She stiffened as heads turned around to glare at her.

"No way!" Regina objected strongly. Emma gulped.

"Sorry dearie, no backing out." They knew that Mr. Gold was a terror teacher and once he is decided, no one can reverse his decision.

"But!" Both girls tried to complain.

"No buts, Miss Mills. I asked you awhile ago if it's okay with you and you said yes. Same goes to you Miss Swan. You didn't object when I asked for other violent reactions."

_Out of 35 students, why does it have to be me?!_Emma screamed in her head.

"Now, let me assign your partners..."

He gave the rest of the assignments and once everyone was called he said, "Please sit with your new partners. I do hope you would harness a good relationship because you will help one another until the end of the year." Everyone whined.

Regina glared at the blonde as she walked towards her. "Move it bookworm!" She tells Belle but before Belle left, she shot Regina a death glare. Regina dumped her bag on the desk making Emma flinch a little. The brunette sighed loudly as she sat.

"Uhmm hello. My name is Emma..." She introduced herself to her new seat mate who was obviously unhappy with the new arrangement. The brunette did not respond or even look at her so she looked away. "Okay," Emma muttered under her breath. She just wanted to be civil with her, besides they'll be partners for the rest of the school year.

"Since everyone is settled down, I have a surprise!" Mr. Gold smirked. "I'll be giving you a pop quiz on how far you know in Science."

Everyone wailed in disapproval. "Worry not as this will not be recorded. Shall we?" Their teacher smiled sheepishly.

Regina finished it in two minutes and was the first one to pass her paper. She was sure as hell she aced that pop quiz. Her teacher smirked as he reached for her paper.

As soon as everyone was done, their Chemistry teacher checked the papers.

He went rounds handing the students their papers.

"Miss Mills, very good." Regina smiled proudly. "You were close enough but... not enough as your seat mate. I'm sure you'll do better than that next time," he says while handing the brunette her paper. Regina rolled her eyes bitterly at her seat mate as the blonde swallowed and pushed her eyeglasses up.

"I'd say I'm impressed, Miss Swan. You got a perfect score."

"What the hell? I missed number 7!" The brunette shrieked out softly.

"Not the keenest, aren't you?" Mr. Gold said. Regina rolled her eyes once more. _How did he hear it? He has the ears of a witch,_Regina thought_._

"Mr. Locksley, seems like you learned nothing of last year," he said as he handed the paper to Robin which he crumpled right away.

"Mr. Jones."

"Mr. Cassidy, good job."

And so on and so forth.

"Since this is your first day with me, I'll give you the rest of the period."

With that, Regina quickly made her way to her other group of friends. Emma let out the breath she didn't notice she was holding all this time. Regina made her nervous and conscious and maybe picked a little of her interest.

Ruby and Belle quickly jumped beside Emma. "Good luck Emma," Ruby said making Emma sigh. "Regina's not that bad. Kathryn is really the bitchy one," Belle said. "Who?"

Belle rolled her eyes. "Kathryn Nolan. The one who threw the juice box at you."

_Oh, that girl._

Soon, the room was filled with endless chattering and laughter.

"I'm hungry_,"_Ruby wailed. "But we just ate!" Emma said, surprised by the sudden outburst of her friend. "Yeah, well I'm hungry again! I have a big stomach!" Belle shook her head and grabbed her bag. "Good thing my mom packed me something."

Ruby anticipated with so much hunger in her eyes. When Belle pulled out a sandwich, Ruby practically lunged at the food like a hungry wolf. She grabbed the food from Belle and popped it in her mouth.

"Oh! PB&J! Gosh, I love your mom!" Ruby exclaimed. Emma thought, _maybe_ _this_ _is why they call her wolf girl?_

"Don't finish everything. Give Emma a piece!" Ruby shoved the sandwich to Emma's mouth which she gladly took a bite. "Mmm, that's pretty yummy!" The blonde said, making Belle smile.

After a short while, the bell rang to signify the end of the period.

"Class dismissed."

Ruby quickly stood up and turned to Emma and winked. "Adios, mi amiga." The blonde realized she'll not be with her friends in her last class. She face palmed herself, knowing she would have to bear with the subject she dreaded the most... French.


	5. Aidez-moi

Emma walked to her next class with her head bowed down, upset that she would have to go through this alone. It's just too much. It hasn't even been a day and she's already half dead.

When she entered the room, every desk was moving around in pairs, luckily she found an empty table somewhere in the middle.

She plugged her earphones and stared at the door, watching her new set of classmates come in. She got bored so she faced front but before she did, she noticed a familiar face so she had to look twice.

When she turned her head the second time, she was dumbfounded to see Regina Mills entering the room. _Not again please. She just found the wrong room,_ the blonde chanted in her head. But the brunette seemed to find the right room.

With her heart pounding, she quickly faced front so the brunette won't notice her. When she peeked on her side to see if Regina was away, her body stiffened because the bully was walking towards her.

Her eyes wandered from left to right looking for an empty seat she could transfer to. Unfortunately, there was only one vacant seat left and it was beside her. "Oh, dear lord," she mumbled under her breath.

"You again?!" the brunette groaned out loud. Squinting her eyes, Emma uttered a soft, "Hi." Regina rolled her eyes while Emma bit her lip. At that very moment, Emma swore she wanted the ground to open and swallow her, just to be away from that bully.

"Hey, okay look I'm so sorry about what happened this morning." Emma said, looking at her hands. Regina saw that the girl was sincere. "I-I," she stammered. "Bonjour!" their instructor greeted. Emma sighed.

All throughout the class, Regina kept hearing Emma curse. The blonde was obviously having a hard time speaking in French though she was pretty good at writing and knew how to use the language grammatically.

"We'll be having a project," the teacher said. The class let out a collective groan. Emma gulped, her throat dry as dust. If only her subject was Spanish. "No way!" complained a boy in the front row. "It's either you do the project or you retake my subject," the teacher reminded the class.

"...and before I forget, it's gonna be an oral presentation. Go grab a partner." Emma's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open at that. She started to panic.

"I, I'll look for someone. Don't worry." Emma looked around hoping someone doesn't have a partner yet. She sighed. Everyone else had a partner, leaving the two with no other choice.

Unlike in their Chemistry class, no one wanted to be paired up with Regina because of her renowned reputation. She was at the top of the school food chain and everyone was scared of her. She didn't have a set of friends in this class.

"I'm afraid that is not an option," Regina indignantly retorted.

"Miss Swan?" Emma stiffened. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't. She didn't know how to respond to the question of their instructor.

"Sit down," the teacher said in a stern voice. Her classmates snickered. Regina smirked as Emma sluggishly returned to her seat, her face flushed red with embarrassment. Emma mentally slapped herself at the thought. She really hates this subject.

"We're so gonna fail," Regina mumbled softly but her seatmate heard it. "Aidez-moi," (translation: Help me) Emma said under her breath. Regina let out a goofy smile when she heard Emma. The blonde saw her seatmate smile mockingly and shot her a glare.  
>_<p>

Emma quickly rushed out of the room to find her two friends in the locker area.

"Hey Em!" Belle and Ruby said in unison. The blonde sighed in response. "What's wrong?"

"Guess whose lucky day it is..." She said as she placed her textbooks in her locker.

Regina and Kathryn walked by and looked at the three, rolling their eyes. "What?! Gosh you might catch her nerd virus," said a freaked out Kathryn to Regina.

"Oh my God." Ruby exclaimed. Emma nodded. "She's my seat mate." Ruby placed her hand in her mouth to keep her from laughing. "So ironic," Belle remarked, giggling.

"Guys, can you not?" Emma said with an obvious annoyance in her voice. "I could use a frappe right now."

"Sure you do. By the way, you need a ride home?" Ruby asked.

"No, I'm okay."

"Where do you live?" Belle asked.

"Tallahassee St.," Emma responded.

"Oh, I live nearby. We could go home together!" Ruby said excitedly.

"Okay. Just need to grab my bike."

"Hey, sweetie! How's school?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Crazy."

"You look pretty exhausted," her mother said, stating the obvious. "Well, I am."

"Go rest and we'll be having dinner when your dad gets home."

The blonde went to her room right away and laid on her bed.

Plopping back, she spread her arms out and stared at the ceiling, thinking about nothing at all. Suddenly, Regina Mills appeared in her thoughts. _What the heck?_ She thought. She couldn't understand why the brunette popped out of nowhere. Maybe because she was the first one to ruin her day? Or maybe, just maybe, Emma found her in her liking? _No, that could never happen._Emma shook her head and tried to erase the thought.


	6. Student Organization Fair

"Emma Swan, get off your lazy butt!" Emma's mother yelled.

"Mom, I don't want to go to school!" Emma said rolling over in bed and pulling the covers up over her head. "You're coming to school or I'm sending you back to Boston?" her mother threatened as she stormed inside her room.

"No!" she quickly sat at the end of the bed. Boston? She hated it there. Storybrooke High was at least better.

* * *

><p>Someone knocked on the door. Mary Margaret opened it to find a gothic looking yet beautiful teenager. "Can I help you?" Mary Margaret smiled warmly at the stranger. "Good morning! Is Emma up?" the girl asked. "Em, you have a visitor."<p>

Wondering, Emma rushed to see who it was. "Ruby!" she exclaimed as she hugged her new friend. "Mom, this is my friend, Ruby. Ruby, my mom."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Swan," Ruby said, offering her hand. "Actually it's Ms. Blanchard. Anyway, just call me Mary Margaret." David goes to their front door to see what the commotion is about. "Am I missing anything here?"

"Dad, she's Ruby, my new friend." David reached out his hand for Ruby to shake. "Good morning, sir... sheriff." Ruby said, noticing the badge on his belt. "Just call me David, kid." Ruby beamed him a smile.

"So, let's go?" Ruby asked her friend. "Why don't you come in first and have breakfast with Emma?" Mary Margaret offered. "Actually mom, we're quite in a hurry. Org day! Yay!"

"But-""Bye Mary Margaret, David! See you around!" The two waved them goodbye. Mary Margaret shook her head. "Love you too. Take care, both of you!"

* * *

><p>Ruby turned left when they were supposed to be heading straight. Without any clue why, Emma followed her lead. "Rubes! Where are we going?" Emma asked while pedaling fast to catch up on her friend. "Rubes?!" Emma repeated. Ruby shot her a disapproving look with the nickname she just made. Emma wiggled her brows and giggled. "Are we gonna cut class? We'll be in a lot of trouble!"<p>

"Oh yeah, we are..." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a nerd, Swan. We'll just grab something to eat."

"Okay Rubes!" Emma said and laughed.

The two stopped by at an old fashioned but elegant restaurant. "So Granny's, huh?" Emma asked. Ruby shrugged and walked in as if she was in a fashion show, her hips swaying with every step. "Good morning, Ms. Lucas!" A waitress greeted almost automatically. "Hey," Ruby smiled at the girl. "Good morning. Welcome to Granny's!" The girl greeted Emma with a warm smile.

"What ya want, Em?"

"Hmm... How about grilled cheese? Oh and a cocoa with cinnamon on top to go, please."

"Make that three."

Emma pulled out her wallet to pay for her meal when Ruby stopped her. "Don't worry about it. It's on the house," Ruby said and winked at the blonde. "Huh?"

"After a minute or two, their order was complete. The cashier asked, "Will there be anything else, Ms. Lucas?"

"Nope, that'd be all... Oh!" the cashier glanced up from her monitor. "By the way Marian, you look pretty today. Nice haircut!" The cashier muttered a "thanks" and tucked her hair behind her ear.

Suddenly it hits Emma. The staff calling Ruby by her last name, her friend ordering like a boss and having their bill on the house. "You own this place?!" Emma yelled out in disbelief. Ruby shook her head. "I don't. My grandmother do." The brunette laughed at Emma's reaction.

The two met Belle on the school entrance. Ruby tossed the brown paper bag to Belle which she luckily caught with both hands. They sat in the shade of a little tree by the soccer field as they eat their food.

"What clubs are you planning to join, Emma?" Belle asked before taking a sip of her cocoa. "I," Emma choked. "I haven't thought of anything yet." The truth was she really wanted to join a spots club but thought it was a bad idea so she just kept it to herself. "I don't believe you. I'm sure you have at least one in mind," Belle raised her eyebrow. It's like she can read somebody else's mind.

"Well, I'm planning to take my chances on the swimming team..." Emma answered shyly. "Are you sure?" Belle asked with a hint of surprise in her voice then looked at Ruby weirdly. Emma nodded. "Very well then. We support you. Right, Ruby?" Ruby let out a forced smile.

Streamers, banners and balloons festooned the school ground. Loud music were played everywhere.  
>Emma walked towards the Swimming Team booth. She wanted to join the club for a change. She'd been forced to join almost all academic clubs for the past two years. She was a senior and it was her last chance. She cannot blow up this final one. She had to do everything she wants in her final year in high school as enjoyable as possible.<p>

She tried to gather all the guts she could muster and breathed in deeply before speaking. "Hi I would like to sign up for the tryouts," Emma said excitedly keeping her hopes high. Her eyes widened when the blonde turned around. "Sorry, no nerds for Swimming Team," Kathryn said smirking. "But you haven't-" she gets cut off.

"I'm the Team Captain and if I say no, it's a no. I suggest you go look for another nerd club. A club where you belong." She raised her eyebrow, being a total ass to Emma. "You're such a bitch, Nolan!" Ruby said angrily. The trio huffed and walked away.

That girl is really getting on their nerves. The three headed to the Soccer booth instead.

"Lucas." A tan girl with chinky eyes said as she fist bumped Ruby. "New recruit?"

"Depends," Ruby answered then turned to Emma, smiling. "Hi. Welcome to the Red Warriors Soccer Team! Would you like to join our try outs?" Emma looked at her friends. "I, I.." Ruby gave a nod of encouragement. "I would love to," the blonde finally said. "Cool! Here." The girl hands over the registration sheet. "Our tryouts will be on Friday at 4pm. Be in your soccer attire."

The girl watched closely as Emma wrote her name on the paper. "Emma Swan... My name is Mulan, Team Captain."

"Whoa, you're... you're the captain?" the girl nodded. "Cool!" Emma commented. "Wait, Mulan? As in like in the Disney movie?"

"Yes, sir!" Mulan said, wiggling her eyebrows. Emma chuckled. "Cute name."

"Thanks! I like your last name though." The blonde smiled. "So, see you in the try outs?"

"Yeah."

"Great! See you Emma." Emma waved her goodbye and they started walking away.

"And Second captain!" They stopped and turned around. "Don't be late," Mulan warned. Emma looked at her friends in question. She saw Ruby with a raised brow and smirking. Alternately, she looked at Mulan and the girl beside her. She finally realized Mulan was talking to Ruby. "What?! Why didn't you tell me! God, I'm friends with the Second Captain?!" She screamed like a fangirl. "Ruby Lucas... What else have you not told me yet?" Belle and Ruby laughed at her silly reaction. The three smiled and started walking. Emma was still in shock of what she just found out. "Like Oh my God, Ruby... I still couldn't believe my eyes."

"Let's go to the Mirrors booth!" Belle literally dragged her friends towards a booth that looked like an old post office. "Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "Where?"

"Mirrors, the school gazette."

Belle freed their hands to high five a guy wearing long sleeves and a tie. "Hey Sidney!"

"In a low an husky tone, he said, "Good morning Belle, Ruby." He paused, turning to the blonde. "Emma Swan... finally, we've met." He reached out his hand. "Sidney Glass."

"I'm not surprised," Belle remarked.

Emma creased her eyebrows. Shocked, she asked. "You know me?"

"Of course. As you know, news spread like fire in this school," Sidney said with a haunted voice. "Next thing you know, you're getting burned."

"Oh," Emma muttered.

"A long screech echoed throughout the school speakers then a voice came on. "Sorry about that. Attention everyone!"


	7. Pep Rally

The screech was painful to the ears. "Sorry about that. Attention everyone!" The loudspeakers screeched once again and a voice came through. "Kindly proceed to the gymnasium for the Welcome Pep Rally! Be there before 3:30 pm!" The voice said cheerfully as students from different parts of the school grounds screamed.

"Once again, there will be a Welcome Pep Rally at the school gymnasium. Be there before 3:30 pm!"

* * *

><p>Emma was amused to see the gym crowded. In her previous schools, pep rallies were never given such importance. Emma and her friends saw an open space beside their classmates and sat next to them.<p>

"Welcome to the annual pep rally!"

"Wow, this is crazy. Never had like this before." Emma said to Belle, who seemed very excited too.

"Pep rallies in this school is indeed crazy," Belle said and winked at her.

"Let us have a roll call first," the host announced. "Freshmen, make some noise!"

"Woooooh!"

"Let us hear it from the sophomores!"

"..." Everyone laughed. "Okay, well I guess there are no sophies in here."

"Juniors, where you at?"

"Aw yeah baby!"

"And last but definitely not the least... let's give it up for the seniors!"

"Wooooooooh!" "Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!" The boys chanted.

"Okay guys, calm down. Calm down. Let's welcome our dearest principal, Miss Ingrid Arendelle."

He then turned the floor over to the principal. She accepted the microphone and turned to the audience, then spoke in a stern and concise voice. "Hello wonderful students of StoryBrooke High. I am Miss Ingrid Arendelle, for those who don't know me yet. I would just like to welcome everyone to the annual pep rally in which, we will honor our cheerleaders and football players who were hailed champions last year. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the program!"

"Thank you, principal Arendelle. Now, are you ready StoryBrooke High?" The host giddily shouted.

"Hell yeah!" The students cheered, hands thrown into the air.

"I said are you ready StoryBrooke High!" The host yelled louder, placing his hand behind his ear.

"Hell yeah!"

"With no further ado, let's give up for the StoryBrooke Cheering Squad!"

The gymnasium was filled with screams and applause. The cheerleaders came in from both sides of the stage.

"Go Regina!" screamed the crowd. Regina gave them a cute wink and a flying kiss.

The music started and the squad began doing a set of cartwheels. The crowd went wild. The precision was amazing. The show was flawless until Kathryn screwed up a bit.

"Go stick with Swimming Nolan, you suck!" someone shouted from the audience. This teared up a laughter from the audience.

Emma focused her eyes on the head cheerleader. She was still staring at Regina, practically drooling. She didn't even realize her friends were already gone. Suddenly, someone snapped their fingers in front of her face.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. As she glanced up to see who it was, a pie hit her on the face. Wiping the whipped cream off her eyeglasses, she saw Belle and Ruby laughing with paper plates on their hands. She quickly ran after the two, grabbing a set of paper plates with frosting and threw it at them. Everyone were in chaos and happy music filled the gym.

"Boo!" Emma said and threw the plate onto Ruby, well that's what she thought.

The girl wiped the frosting from her face. "You bitch!" A blonde cheerleader screamed and bolted after her.

"Oh God, I thought you were Ruby! I'm so sorry!" Emma ran away like she was being hunt down by a psychopath murderer.

* * *

><p>After the pie throwing in the gym, the students made their way to the locker room to change clothes. The new students including Emma, and mostly the freshmen, not expecting a surprise like this, didn't bring an extra shirt with them.<p>

Emma couldn't find her friends so she called their phones. "Hey guys! Where are you?"

"In the field! Where the hell are you, we've been waiting for you for like 15 minutes already!"

"Well you should've told me to bring extra clothes! I feel so sticky!" Emma yelled over the phone. "Welcome to StoryBrooke High!" she heard her friends laughing on the other line. "Alright, meet me in the locker room. Be there in 5 minutes." Ruby said before hanging up.

Ruby let her borrow an extra shirt she kept for emergencies like this.

"Oh come on! Don't act like you didn't like it!" Ruby said, giggling. Emma joined afterwards.

After the blonde changed clothes, they sprinted to the field and made it in time for the friendly match between the football varsity versus the alumni team.

"Prepare to lose." Robin spat and smugged. Emma lipread what he said and found Robin arrogant.

The football varsity won although the game required dirty tricks. Other students didn't notice it but for athletes like Emma and Ruby, they know the limitations of a good game.

After the match, Emma hurriedly ran down the bleachers. "Bye guys. See you tomorrow!"

"Em, aren't we going home together?" asked a confused Ruby.

"Tomorrow! Need to drop by somewhere!"


	8. Testing the Waters

**Author's Note: **Thank you guys for all your wonderful support to this story and my other story, We Could Happen! I'll try my best to make another update before Christmas. And if you have any prompts, kindly tell me. Honestly, I have no idea where this story will be going. It would be a big help, really. I love you all!

* * *

><p>"So, this is why you ditched me yesterday?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.<p>

"Hey, I didn't ditch you!" Emma replied back in defense.

"I'm just kidding. You look better without the braces." Emma beamed widely at her friend, showing off her white teeth. The brunette rolled her eyes before heading towards the pool.

Emma saw Regina looking at her when she got out of the common shower cubicle. She wanted to congratulate the head cheerleader for their awesome performance yesterday. She wanted to tell her how good she was but she didn't have the courage so she just kept it to herself.

"Move it, Swan." The blonde stepped aside to give way to Regina. Just as when the brunette took a step, she pulled and tugged Emma's towel, only to reveal a sexy and perfectly toned body. Surprise was paintede all over Regina's face as maroon colored Emma's cheeks. Kathryn began to cackle and then bickered. "No more braces, huh? That doesn't make you less of a nerd!"

_She's so fair and flawless! How could that possibly be?_ That was what Regina thought when she saw how nice the nerd's body looked.

* * *

><p>"Miss Swan, you're fully aware you can't use your glasses while in the water, right?" Their redhead swimming instructor asked, raising an eyebrow.<p>

She placed her glasses on the ledge and went back to her line. Her annoying classmate, Kathryn, waved her hand from left to right just four inches away from Emma's face. "Can you see me still, Dork?"

"Tell me how many fingers do you see?" She asked raising her middle finger. "A hundred. Seriously?" Emma rolled her eyes at Kathryn. Of course she can see her! Her vision wasn't that bad, she was just using her eyeglasses to make an excuse so she wouldn't actually have to join her swimming class. She thinks her eyeglasses are cool.

"Kathryn Nolan!" Their swimming instructor shouted. She saw her giving Emma the dirty finger. "Do you want me to kick you out of this class? Or better yet in the team?!"

Kathryn shook her head frantically. "Do that again and you can never dip your little finger in this water! Is that understood?" Kat looked at the coach with puppy eyes.

"Is that understood!" The coach yelled louder.

"Yes, coach Ariel!" Kathryn responded, her voice shaking like she was going to cry anytime now. She always wanted attention but not in the sense of being humiliated in front of the class. Her face turned red with embarrassment. She stuck out her hand from the back and raised her middle finger once again at Emma. Emma just smiled because she found Kathryn so immature.

They did the basic strokes: freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke.

"Okay, who's up for a challenge?" Coach Ariel asked. "Let's have a friendly match, just two laps, any stroke you wish to use."

Students started getting out of the pool, leaving Kathryn with three other students: Ashley, Belle and Jacqueline.

"You." The coach pointed at Emma. The blonde looked sideways to check whom the coach was talking to. Her classmates nodded and pouted their lips. "Me?" she asked to confirm. "Yes, you. Down the water. Now!"

"I noticed how you girls have a big potential in swimming. May I remind you, this is just a friendly match to give your class a little entertainment. I'll give you a minute to warm up in the water and another minute up."

Emma looked at Ruby who was jumping on the side of the pool, giving her and Belle two thumbs up. Belle gave Emma a fist bump for goodluck.

They pulled down their goggles over their eyes. "Take your mark. Get set... Go!" the coach shouted.

All the five students dove from the platform at the same time.

"Go Ashley!"

"Go Kat!"

"Go Jack!"

"Go Emma! Go Belle!" Ruby cheered. "Go! Just keep swimming! Keep swimming!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Their classmates shouted and cheered in encouragment for their friends.

Kathryn, being the swimming team captain placed first. With the slightest second, Emma placed second, then Belle, Ashley then Jack.

Everyone clapped their hands at the friendly competition. All of them were so good. They congratulated everyone as they emerged out of the pool.

"Piece of cake," Kathryn said with a smirk on her face. Other students rolled their eyes on her remark. "Piece of cake your ass, my friends almost beat you." Ruby spat.

"Almost wolf girl, will never be enough." With that, she walked towards the coach. Ruby gritted her teeth but stopped herself from wanting to push the arrogant swimmer right back into the pool.

"You go girls!" Ruby ran towards her friends and hugged them tight. "So proud!"

Regina looked at Emma in amusement. _She_ _was_ _damn good at swimming_! _She almost beat Kathryn!_

"I'm impressed, Swan. Your surname suits you. You do fine in the water," Regina said before making her way to the locker room. Fine was an understatement because Emma was excellent.

Emma and her friends just stood there in shock._Did-did she just compliment me?! What in the freaking world is happening?_Emma screamed in her head, trying to understand why Regina had said that. Emma looked at her friends and then they started laughing. It was like they have mental telepathy and understood what they were thinking. The three just shrugged and started walking towards the locker room.

"Miss Swan wait," their instructor said. "Miss Nolan has something to tell you." Coach Ariel turned to the brat team captain. Belle and Ruby left Emma.

"I, erm, we, the swimming club would like to invite you to join our team." Kathryn breathed in before continuing. "No more tryouts."

Emma got a bit surprised but she remembered how Kathryn treated her during the org fair and ever since school started. She gave her a sheepish smile. "I was told that nerds are not allowed in the swimming team so I'm afraid I have to turn down your invitation, Captain Nolan."

"No!" Kathryn shouted. Coach Ariel shot her a look. "I mean, no. I'm-I'm so sorry I think you misinterpreted it," she whispered the words. "Everyone is welcome to join the club," she said softly in a tone almost pleading.

"I'm pretty sure, the girl in the booth made it clear. No nerds in the team. Therefore I'm definitely out."

"Are you sure about this, Emma? You have a big potential. This is a whole lot of opportunity for you." The coach obviously wants her in the team.

"Thanks Coach but I'm hundred percent decided. I'm sure there are other girls who are interested in the position, you just have to look."

Their coach sighed deeply and shook her head in disappointment. "Okay, if you don't really want it, there's nothing more I could say."

* * *

><p>She was one of the last few students to use the shower. After changing into her soccer outfit for the tryouts, she rummaged her locker, looking for her shoes.<p>

"Where's my shoes?!" she asked, panicking.

Ruby glanced up from her phone and Belle stopped combing her hair. "What do you mean?"

"My shoes! It's... It's gone!" Emma almost felt like crying.

For five minutes, they searched for Emma's spikes only to find it inside the trash can.

"That bitch! Bet you $20, it's Regina!" Ruby said angrily. Emma shook her head. _No, it can't be her. She didn't have any motive unlike... Kathryn._ That girl wouldn't let her go easily.

"Ruby, no. I don't think it's her," Emma said as she placed her spike shoes over running water.

"Bet you $30, it's Kathryn!" Belle said.

"They are gonna pay for this!" Ruby shrieked out. Ruby's phone started ringing. "Em, I have to go now. I'll see you at the field, okay?"

"Actually, me too. I still have to give some articles to Sidney." Belle said apologizingly. Emma nodded, looking down to hide her watery filled eyes.


	9. Soccer Tryout

Emma looked around for Ruby. She didn't find her but saw Mulan sitting on the first row of bleachers, talking to a cheerleader. The captain noticed Emma and walked towards her.

"Hey, Emma! This is my girlfriend, Aurora."

"YOU?!" Aurora scoffed. Emma's mouth dropped open. She was the one Emma hit with the pie during the Pep Rally. Mulan looked at her girlfriend then to Emma then back to Aurora.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean it. I thought you were Ruby!"

"You thought I was her? Like how? Like she was in an auburn wig, in a cheerleading uniform? Seriously? How dare you smash me with a whipped cream!"

"Come on. Just drop it, babe... She already said sorry."

Aurora turned to Mulan with blazing eyes. "Are you siding with her?!" The cheerleader had already lost her temper.

"What? Of course not! I'm not siding with anyone I'm just trying to-" Before Mulan could finish, Aurora walked out on them. The team captain ran after her fuming girlfriend.

Ruby walked towards Emma and teased, "I think you're a walking magnet for cheerleaders." The brunette laughed as the blonde sighed and shook her head.

The coach then blew his whistle. "Okay, line up!" Everyone came jogging towards the coach. The blonde noticed Jack was also trying out for the team. Emma smiled and waved at her but the girl rolled her eyes in return.

Eyeing everyone, the coach looked at Emma with a weird expression. Ruby signaled her to remove her glasses and when she did, Ruby gave her a thumbs up.

"My name is Coach Graham Humbert. I will be your coach. Don't expect me to be easy on you just because you are girls. This is no stupid childplay. We have to get the crown back this year so you better get your asses moving."

_Wow, he is a bit... harsh._

The first thing they did was to run 3 laps on the field. The guys on the other side of the field saw Emma running and they started whistling and laughing. Shortly, they started the drills and everyone showed off their skills. There were at least 20 girls and not all of them could make it to the team. The coach studied the girls carefully, jotting down notes on his clipboard. Emma also noticed how Coach Graham kept glancing at Ruby.

Seeing Emma as a threat, Jack kept trying to trip her all throughout the game. She finally succeeded when Emma fell on her butt which caused the watchers to laugh. "Hey you!" Ruby shouted to Jack whilst offering Emma her hand for support. "Stop with the dirty tricks!"

"I didn't do anything! It's not my fault she's clumsy!" Jack said, trying to act as if she was the victim. "Liar!" Coach Graham shouted from the bench. Jack froze. "The thing I hate the most are dirty players. I've seen your plays. You did try to trip not only her, but the rest of the girls. Now, get out of my face!"

Jack glared at Ruby and Emma before grabbing her bag on the bench. The second captain tilted her head and stuck out her tongue.

Finally, the coach blew his whistle and everyone gathered around, catching their breaths and sweating. Mulan handed Ruby and Emma water bottles. "Good job, ladies. I want to congratulate everyone of you for a job well done. Give yourselves a round of applause."

When the applause died down, Coach Graham continued. "Not because the other team lost means I will not be picking people from their group. This is based on your performance, individually and as a team player. We'll be posting the names of those who got in by Monday afternoon. Now, you can take your shower and change. Once again, great job and congratulations."

"Em, you did amazing!"

"Thanks Rubes! Hey, by the way. What's up with you and coach Graham?" Emma smiled sheepishly, nudging Ruby's side. Her friend blushed a shade of pink.

"Huh? No-nothing," she stuttered. "What's with the eye sex awhile ago?" Emma asked. Ruby gave her look of disbelief. She couldn't believe Emma will be that straight forward. "You're ridiculous!"

"And you're blushing!" Emma answered back before laughing.

"Is that him you're texting?" Emma asked inquisitively, peeking up at her friend's phone.

"No, of course not!" Ruby answered defensively, putting her phone out of reach from the blonde. "Okay," Emma said smiling.

"What?" Ruby asked then looked at the blonde.

"What, what?" Emma asked back, still smiling. "What's with the smile!"

"What's wrong with smiling!" Ruby shook her head and they both laugh.

"You can tell me anything, Rubes. I hope you know that." Emma said, offering her friend a sincere smile. "Works the same for me," the brunette replied with a grin.

"Hey, hotshot!" someone called out. Emma and Ruby turned around to see Killian and Robin.

"What is it Hook?" Ruby asked, rolling her eyes. The brunette noticed the question in Emma's eyes then she whispered to her. "Hook, short for Hooker."

"Not you, Lucas," Killian answered and turned his eyes to the blonde. "Aye, what's up lass?" he asked, winking.

"Didn't know wimps could play," Robin remarked. Emma frowned, glaring at the man. "So what now? You gonna throw books at me?"

Emma's face flushed red, anger coming from somewhere within her. "Maybe," she muttered sharply. It scared her to hear how confident that sounded. She wanted to kick Robin's balls, that is, if he has. He's in no position to call her a wimp because he doesn't know a thing about her.

The man looked at her in disbelief. "Oh really?" he said, taking a step forward.

"Oh yeah, you should be thrown with books because you know nothing, Locksley!" Ruby spat out. "What did you say?!" Robin shouted back making Ruby's smirk to grow wider. "I said, you're an airhead," Ruby repeated.

"You're a slut!" Robin yelled. "We all know what's true and what's not. Unfortunately, you being stupid, is a fact," Ruby answered back. Robin clenched his jaw and wanted to punch the sharp-tongued brunette but Killian stopped him.

"Dude, you just got burned!" Killian laughed. Robin grabbed him by his collar and yelled in his face. "Shut up!"

Robin let Killian go harshly and Killian adjusted his collar casually like nothing happened.

The two girls strutted their way to the change room.

"I hate Robin! I so wanna kick his balls," Emma said.

"I know, he's such a douchebag."

Thanks for waiting guys! Consider this my early Christmas gift. Haha. I hope you liked the update. Don't forget to hit the favorite/follow button. Also, your words encourage me to write better. I love you all mwah!


	10. Revelations

It was a Saturday morning which meant no school, no tryouts and no cheerleaders. Emma decides she has had enough for her first week in her new school, so she makes a break for it. The sky was a bit gloomy, black clouds loomed overhead and the wind was quite strong. But not even the bad weather could keep the teen inside. Jogging was Emma's quiet time and she enjoyed it a lot. Sweeping her hair into a ponytail, she threw on a matching gray sweat pants and hoodie and a pair of running shoes. She brought her dog Ava to keep her company. Little did she realize, she'd already been running full force.

* * *

><p>Regina was cleaning her room when she noticed someone in a gray hoodie jogging in the street. She had never seen the dog around the neighborhood and wondered who might be stupid enough to jog on a gloomy morning. She watched the stranger until she had disappeared at the end of the street.<p>

* * *

><p>When Emma arrived home, she checked on her phone. She have 5 messages registered and 3 missed calls. She opened the inbox to find 1 message from her mom and the rest were from Ruby.<p>

**Mom**: Sweetheart, I went to the grocery with Neal. If you need anything, just text me okay? We'll be home soon.

**Ruby**: Em! S.O.S! Call me ASAP or better yet go to the diner!

Worriedly, Emma tried to call her friend but she was not answering. She threw on a new shirt and then made her way to the diner really quick.

"Good morning Miss Emma," Marian greeted. Emma offered a small smile in return. "Hey, where's Ruby?" Marian pointed out the booth on the far most end of the diner.

"What happened?!" Emma asked her friend who seemed to not be under any form of emergency. "Relax, Em." Ruby said casually, grinning widely at the panting blonde. Emma glared at her and yelled. "What the heck, Ruby!" Other diners instantly turned their heads in their direction.

"Sssssh. Calm your tits!" The brunette said, brushing the blonde off with a sweep of her hand. "My tits refuse to calm!" Emma shook her head in response as she sat down. "You know what? You're crazy! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"But... did you die?" The brunette asked playfully, earning a scarier glare from the person across her. "Okay I'm sorry. I'm so bored and Belle just won't pick up her damn phone. "

"Bored?!" Emma yelled furiously again.

"Okay you're overreacting."

"God, you're one sick spoiled brat Ruby," Emma groaned.

"This is an emergency! I need company! Why can't you understand that?"

Crossing her arms, Emma pointed clearly, "That made no sense, therefore your argument is invalid. I refuse to continue this conversation."

Ruby sighed. "Okay fine. I'm sorry. How about I treat you a hot cocoa and anything you want? Sounds good, yes?" Rolling her eyes, Emma stood up and went to the counter. Ruby followed timidly behind. "Hmm..." Emma said, rubbing her chin. Finally, she decides. "I want that, that..." she said, pointing her fingers on the menu. "Oh, and that."

She ordered two stacks of pancakes, a plate of bacon and eggs and a slice of triple chocolate cake. "Are you freaking serious? That's a lot! You eat like a horse!"

"Well I haven't taken my breakfast because of you!"

"Fine."

An old woman with a scarf wrapped around her shoulders passed by. "Granny!" Ruby called out. The woman stopped and smiled at them.

"This is my friend, Emma Swan."

"Oh hello! I haven't seen you here before. Swan? I'm not sure I've heard that in this little town of ours. If you don't mind me asking, who are your parents?"

"Sheriff Nolan and Mary Margaret," Emma answered politely.

"The Charmings! Wait, are you-?" Granny asked but didn't push the words through. Emma only nodded. Granny smiled and tapped the blonde's back.

"Great to see you are finally together."

Ruby looked at her grandmother and her friend, clueless of what they're talking about.

* * *

><p>Watching her friend eat, Ruby asked out of curiosity. "Em, is it okay if I ask you something really personal?"<p>

"Sure," she answered calmly.

"Why do you have different last names?"

Emma almost choked. "Oh, that." Emma sighed and made a face. "It's okay! You don't have to answer. Just forget I asked."

Emma put down her fork and paused for a brief moment. "I know we rarely know each other but I have a good feeling towards you. I want you to know that I have very bad trust issues but..." she breathed in deeply. "I know I can trust you." Ruby smiled and nodded. "My parents..." Emma cleared her throat. "They gave me up for adoption. They said they wanted to give me my best chance."

The blonde shut her eyes close as those words left her lips. She felt a sharp tug in her chest. Emma had been in the foster system for as long as she could remember. She had been passed from family to family. Until she was adopted last year by a teacher in her previous school. Fate, as they call it; it turned out that her adoptive parents were her biological parents.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay Rubes." Emma said, giving her friend a lopsided smile. Ruby smiled back with sympathy.

Emma understood why they did that to her. It had already been a year since she reunited with her true family but she couldn't still get herself to open up to her parents. Emma loved them but there was something inside her that holds her back from letting people in.

"Yeah, that explains why I have Swan as my last name. My parents are still working on the surname issue though. And I find that really unnecessary. I mean, I'm their biological daughter, right?" Emma fake laughed and shook her head.

Curious that she was, Ruby wanted to ask more questions like when, where and how but decided it would be too much for her friend to answer. "That is crazy as shit."

"I know."

Breaking the awkward silence, Ruby spoke. "Well I'm happy they found you now. You should be happy you still have your parents." Emma creased her brows together but didn't voice out her question.

Ruby gulped before speaking. "I lost my parents when I was a kid. They were soldiers who died in the war... It just hurts to know that I will never see them again. I will never feel the warmth of their arms around me or see the smile on their faces. I can't have a complete family anymore." The brunette had tears rolling down her face and so did the blonde. "Granny is the only family I have left."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Emma mumbled. "But hey, I can be your family," she added making Ruby smile. Wiping off her tears, Ruby joked, "So what now? Should we go tell Oprah our life stories?" This made them laugh. "Can we please talk about something else?" Ruby asked. "Sure, what about... our next lesson in Chemistry?" Emma cheered happily, wiggling her eyebrows. Ruby's jaw dropped then rolled her eyes. "Emma Swan, can you not?"

Emma laughed. She knew Ruby hated talking about school stuff when they're outside the campus. Moments later, they forgot about these tragic incidents or whatsoever that comes in connection with their previous topic. Instead, their conversation shifted on how they would want to spend their next vacation.

The door chimed signaling a new set of customers would come in.

"Cut me some slack. It's Saturday and I get to see her?" Emma groaned as Kathryn entered the diner.

Noticing a bunch of teenagers took their spot, Kathryn made her way to the booth they claim as theirs and slammed her hands against the table. The teenagers flinch and quickly transferred to another booth, leaving a satisfied bully. Kathryn saw Ruby and Emma watching so she smirked at them.

The door chimed again. Emma gulped when she saw Regina walking through the entrance. She was dressed in a bright, neon pink skirt and a gray tank top. She was sure no one would be able to rock a neon colored outfit except Regina. Emma watched her as the brunette headed straight to where Kathryn was sitting.

Noticing that her friend was looking at something, Regina followed her gaze and saw Emma and Ruby looking back at them. Emma averted her eyes almost immediately but Ruby kept her glare. Being used to Ruby glaring, Regina glared back at her which started a death staring contest. Ruby was the first to back down with an eye roll.

Regina switched her gaze to the blonde and noticed the gray sweatpants and the running shoes the nerd is wearing and then realized it was Emma she saw jogging awhile ago.

Even though they sat at different tables, Regina and Emma kept exchanging glances and it happened for quite a while. The blonde just couldn't get her eyes off of the beautiful lady. She knew deep inside that she was more into girls but never would she have thought of having a little interest on the mean cheerleader. '_What? Of course not_!' she debated in her head.

Emma continued talking or rather listening to her friend talk about guys or whatnot as she watched Regina walk to the toilet room in her peripheral view. Keen that she was, she noticed something when the brunette came back to their booth. "Emma, are you even listening?" Ruby asked, a bit irritated. "I'm so sorry, what was that again?" Emma asked. "Forget it." Ruby pulled her cellphone and began texting someone. Emma sighed, feeling embarrassed for her rudeness.

Emma tried to tell Regina what it was discreetly through sign language so as not to humiliate her but the brunette just couldn't take the hint.

Eventually, giving up all pretence of not caring about Regina humiliating herself in front of the diners, Emma strode nervously towards their booth. Kathryn was on her phone talking to someone which left the brunette to glare at her as she walked. '_Okay, this is rather uncomfortable.'_ With her heart beating fast, she decided she would just go to the toilet room as she felt the need to release some liquid because of the hot cocoa and three glasses of water she took earlier.

Regina snapped sharply when the blonde reached their table. "Can I help you with something?" Her voice quite irritated for the hand signals she couldn't understand awhile ago. Emma took a big gulp and slipped a little note on the table swiftly. When the blonde was gone, Regina unfolded the paper carefully.

'You might want to take a look on your shoe.'

Regina's eyes widened in horror and her face flushed bright red when she saw a tissue stuck in her heel. _God_. She quickly crumpled the paper and shove it in her pocket.

When Emma came out of the toilet room, Regina was already storming out of the diner with Kathryn in tow.

"What's up with them?" Ruby asked. Emma just shrugged. The brunette leaned in and looked straight into the blonde's green eyes, trying to study her thoughts. Emma quickly looked away. "You're lying!" Ruby shrieked. "Spill!"

Emma took a deep breath. "She..." she began couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Even though she hated Regina for being such a bitch to her, she didn't want to humiliate her, most especially not to her worst enemy. Ruby raised her eyebrow and waited for an answer. "There... uhm..." Emma tried again, her face starting to blush bright pink. "Come on, Em!" Her friend was starting to grow impatient. Emma squinted her eyes and blurted out all at once, "There's a tissue stuck on her shoe." She let out a long exhale. The blonde regretted it once Ruby started laughing hysterically and slapping her hands against the table. She mentally slapped herself for telling it. Ruby grinned mockingly as Regina and Kathryn glare at them before going inside the black mercedez. On the other hand, Emma kept her eyes away from the cheerleaders. She was sure Regina had already killed her in her head a thousand times over. _God, she will never forgive me for this._

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Emma decided to head back home. Before leaving, she noticed a poster outside the diner.<p>

"Hey Rubes..." Emma said. "Yeah?"

She fidgeted her fingers and looked at it. "I uhm, wanted to ask about the post outside the door. You're looking for a waitress?"

"Yeah, why? Do you know someone who might be interested?"

"Yeah... me?"

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, and Emma nodded shyly. "Hmm... Could you please tell me why?"

"Well I want to save up to buy my parents a wedding gift. I need extra cash." Ruby gasped, couldn't believe how her friend can still manage to be sweet to her parents despite of everything that happened. The brunette hugged her friend tightly, the blonde squirmed. "That sounds wonderful!" Ruby pulled away smiling at her and said, "Okay. I'll tell Granny!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Okay now we know Emma and Ruby's backgrounds. Yay! _

_By the way, Happy Holidays! Hope you're all enjoying your Christmas vacation. Thanks for waiting patiently for my next update! Any thoughts about this story so far? __Don't forget to follow and leave a review! If you haven't yet, please do! Viva La Swan Queen!_


	11. Mondays Are The Worst

_I love Mondays!_ said no one ever. Mondays are the worst not only for Emma but almost for everyone. She never gets to enjoy staying up late on a Sunday night because she had to wake up extra early the next day because of the flag ceremony.

When she reached the school, murmurs roamed around. People looked at her differently than usual. She just shrugged it off and proceeded to the assembly line.

After the flag ceremony, students walked to their respective classrooms.

The overly energetic Neal jumped beside Emma. "Hey, Swan!" He looked like he has ADHD. "Hello," Emma answered politely. "Hmm, so far... How do you like StoryBrooke High?" he asked. Emma was taken aback by his question. It had only been a week. "Uhm, fine I guess?" she responded sounding quite unconvinced by her own answer. "I'm sure you'll like it here! I can show you around if you want."

The door swung open. "Good morning class," a semi bald guy with round eyeglasses holding a long umbrella greeted. "Later," Neal said, ruffling Emma's already wild hair before going back to his seat.

"My name is Dr. Archie Hopper, the school's guidance counselor!" he said too enthusiatically. He is one of those persons who's way too excited about their job. "Let me check your attendance first. When you hear your name, say 'present'!"

The class were in a fit of giggles. "Darth Vader is out looking for his light saber," one boy said, looking at the teacher in the eye then looked down directly at his crotch. Dr. Hopper realized his fly was undone, and heat rushed up his face. He quickly turned around and zipped up his fly. Then he faced the class again. "I'm terribly sorry about that. We shall continue with the attendance."

"Lucas?" "Present!"

"Nolan?" "Here."

"Pan?"

"Absent," a thin boy said in a British accent. "Pan?" Dr. Hopper repeated to make sure, hearing the voice sounded familiar. "Absent."

The counselor glanced up to see a smirking guy at him. "Peter, if you do that again, I will mark you as absent." Peter rocked his chair and placed his hands at the back of her head, whistling. _Oh, this boy is hardheaded_, Emma thought, scrunching her nose.

"Swan?"

"Emma Swan?"

"Present!"

"I called your name twice already," he said. "Sorry." Her classmates chuckled.

After the checking of attendance, Peter raised his hand. "Yes, Peter?"

"Can I go to the toilet room?" he asked.

"The class had just started."

"Well sorry doctor, I haven't planned out my pee schedule," he remarked sarcastically. Everyone snickered causing the boy to smirk. Peter didn't even bother to wait for his teacher's approval before walking his way out. The poor man sighed at the lack of etiquette of his student. "Okay, guys. We'll be having a little getting to know," Dr. Hopper announced. "Students seated on even columns, go talk to the person on your right."

Emma cleared her throat. Peter was on her right. She prayed for him to never come back but after three minutes, he entered the room again. "Okay class, go ahead." The blonde looked up and hoped everything would turn out well. "I'm Emma. I transferred from Boston Hills and I like reading books," she stated nervously, Peter rolled his eyes. A few moments later, it was his turn to tell something about himself but he just kept quiet and sighed deeply, obviously bored with the activity.

How will you be motivated when you have Guidance Counseling as your first subject for the day, and technically for the whole week? Not to mention she have a stubborn classmate named Peter Pan. _So help me God._

For second period, she had Literature Writing.

"I am Mr. August Wayne Boothe. Just call me Mr. Boothe or Mr. August or Mr. Wayne... or whatever you like."

"Okay, 'whatever you like," said one student. Emma groaned hearing the familiar voice. It's Peter Pan... _again._

* * *

><p>The blonde was restless during lunch time, her mind swimming in deep thoughts. <em>Will I<em> _make it? God... I want_ _to_ _be_ _in_ _the_ _team. But_ _what if_ _I_ _don't_? she thought to herself, staring at the food in front of her. "Em, aren't you going to eat that?" Ruby asked, pointing at the spicy chicken tenders. The blonde shook her head and pushed the plate towards her friend. The brunette devoured on the food aggressively.

"Ruby!" Belle scolded. "What?" Ruby shrieked annoyed. "She doesn't want it. Right, Em?" she asked unsure. Emma sighed as a response and Ruby dropped the food. "What's wrong? You seem pretty distracted." Belle asked with concern. With a long exhale, Emma said, "Nothing. Just..." she let out another sigh. "I hope I'll make it in the team."

"You will!" Belle exclaimed. Ruby nudged her. "I mean, we know you'll make it. You just have to believe in yourself," she said offering an unsure smile.

The bell rang signaling the end of the lunch break. Emma practically dragged herself to the room.

Mondays are the worst. Most especially for students who have seatmates like LeRoy. Emma's face was drawn with sheer terror when he saw LeRoy picking his nose and molding his booger into a circle. It was disguting and traumatizing for Emma that's why she kept a safe distance between them.

Emma's forest eyes kept glancing at the clock, watching every second tick. She tried her best to focus on what the teacher was saying but she couldn't. Her eyes wandered around the room and saw Ruby sleeping soundly on her desk. Belle was at the back row, giggling at what she's reading. The blonde's eyes soon darted to Regina, who was scribbling something on her notebook. The brunette caught her gaze and gave her a death glare in return. Emma quickly diverted her eyes to avoid the glaring. When her eyes met Killian's, the playboy winked at her. Emma shook her head and looked outside the window. To distract herself from thinking about the tryout results, she started doodling on her notebook, still listening to their teacher talk about American Civil War or whatnot.

The shrieking sound of bell interrupted her thoughts. She sighed gleefully, thankful that the period was finally over but her heart started beating fast with the realization of the tryout result posting.

When she got out of the room, hundreds of students were cluttered around the bulletin board which only meant one thing, the results were finally out. With sweaty palms, Emma pushed through the crowd. She sucked in a deep breath before peeking on the list. _Please let me in, please let me in,_she chanted in her head.

She finally had the guts and scanned the names. To her dismay, she didn't find her name.

"Emma!" Belle shouted as she jogged towards the blonde.

"Hey. Is there any problem?" the blonde asked. "Have you seen it?" Belle asked nervously.

"The results? Yeah. Well, I... I didn't make it," Emma whispered, her voice almost breaking.

"What?!"

Emma nodded. "I mean, no not that. This one," Belle said, showing her cellphone. Emma's eyes grew big after reading the words on the screen, tears starting to form on the sides of her eyes. Ruby came running with a huge grin on her face. "How is it?" Ruby asked excitedly. The brunette already knew Emma got in because the coach already told her who made it and who didn't.

"I didn't make it."

"What the! How come?" Ruby shouted and peeked at the results._How on earth did that_ _freaking happen? Graham said she_ _got_ _in._ She contemplated how her friend's name was not in the list. "This isn't right," she muttered. "Anyway, I have a good news for you!" Ruby exclaimed happily jumping up and down. Emma just looked at her unfazed. "Granny said you can have the job! Isn't it amazing?" The brunette cheered, hugging the blonde who's face was expressionless. "Yeah, that's pretty amazing," Emma responded coldly. Ruby's face shifted from a big grin to a look of concern. "Why don't you seem happy..."

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows in question. "No. Why?"

"How about this one?" Emma asked showing her Belle's phone. It showed an online article in a student website exclusive for Storybrooke High students. The headline of the article says, 'New nerd in town, Emma Swan: Adopted?'

"Emma are you accusing me?" Ruby shrieked, her tone hurt. "Believe me, I never said anything to anyone!" The students in the hallway turned around with alert eyes, Emma noticed this and felt like disappearing. She choked on her tears as she sobbed and yelled, "Can you blame me? You're the only person I told!" Ruby looked shocked, like someone had punched her in the stomach. "I can't believe you Emma. Of all people, you should know I can't do that because you are my best friend," she said reaching out to her friend but she pulled away.

Emma looked at her differently this time, with so much pain in her eyes. "I trusted you Ruby." Shaking her head, she ran away with tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Ruby ran away as well but on the other side of the hallway. Stuck between her friends fighting, Belle just stood there in shock taking alternate glances on opposite hallways. She finally decides to go after Ruby because she had been her friend longer than Emma.

* * *

><p>"Hi sweetie! Where have you been and how's school?" her mother greeted as she was cutting vegetables. "Great. I didn't make it in the soccer team," Emma said as a matter of factly.<p>

"There's always a next time honey." Her mother suddenly stopped cutting the vegetables and looked at her daughter. "Oh wait, what? You play soccer?" her mother asked with a tone of disbelief rather than surprise. Emma said or did nothing. "We didn't know you do!"

"I figured," Emma mumbled.

"Hey, that's not what I-" Emma cuts her off abruptly. "It's okay," she said with a sly smile. "Just need to take a shower."

Emma wasn't surprised her parents didn't know what she can and can't do. Standing in the shower, allowing the pulsating hot water to massage her body, she tried rinsing off the bad vibes but couldn't help but contemplate how terrible things could happen in a single day.

She had awful persons like Peter and LeRoy as seat mates. She didn't make it to the soccer team. Another thing is her mom not knowing anything about her. And lastly, her best friend betraying her trust.

Emotionally and mentally tired, she fell against the tiled wall. She tried to scrub the terrible memories away, hoping to forget it but then she couldn't. What started as soft wallows turned into an explosion of sobs.

Mondays, specifically today, is indeed the worst for Emma.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Author's Note: <em>**_God, did you see that coming?! Poor Emma! Okay please don't hate me..._

_Why do you think Ruby spread her secret? Hmmmmm... Share your thoughts! Don't forget to follow, favorite and review! _


	12. Fixing Things

**_A/N:_**_ Thank you guys for your support through voting and reviewing! :D How's life? Hope you're enjoying 2015 so far and hope you liked my first update for this year! Anyway, moving on..._

* * *

><p>Ruby and Belle were having lunch when Emma decided to sit with them. Ruby rolled her eyes before grabbing her tray and walking out. She wasn't ready to talk to Emma like nothing happened. She was still mad at her for believing that she could expose her secret to the whole school. Belle squinted her eyes and mouthed the blonde a "sorry" before going after Ruby. Emma was left at the table, looking down at her tray.<p>

_I must do something,_ Belle told herself.

Regina was watching from afar and is content with the destruction that's happening before her. She was grinning like a villain that she was. This is what she wanted, having the new girl lose her friends.

* * *

><p>Belle bolted through the Gazette Office in blind fury. "Sidney!" she shouted angrily. "Sidneyyyyy!"<p>

"What's the matter Belle? Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked with a straight face, coming out from the stock room, holding a pile of papers.

"What on earth were you thinking!" Belle screamed at him like he was insane.

"I can't seem to catch up with what you're saying," he replied in a monotonous tone as he placed the papers on a desk. Belle has certainly gone mad. "Don't play dumbass! I know you're the person behind this article!" she shouted, her eyes blazing with anger.

"What article are you talking about? You do realize I work on many."

"Cut the shit out Sidney! The article about Emma Swan, take it down!"

"Oh that... I'm afraid I can't," he stated coldly.

"Is that so? Well, I'm afraid I have to quit this organization of yours," Belle dared.

"No, you wouldn't," he pressed.

"If you won't take the article down, I swear Sidney, I wouldn't think twice!"

Sidney gulped knowing Belle would really do that if she has to.

"So will you take it down or-" Sidney interrupted her before she could speak another word. "I will..." he mumbled silently it almost sounded like a whisper.

"I thought so." The brunette started walking out but stopped suddenly, turning around to face Sidney again. "Wait. I just wanted to ask..." Belle began. "Who told you to do that?" she asked with a tone of suspicion. Sidney did not answer, instead he looked away and shifted his weight on his other leg. "Oh, why did I even bother asking? I know exactly who!"

She knew exactly who would do such a thing. There is only one person who could manipulate Sidney in doing such. "The real question is why?"

Belle saw how Sidney's face turned into different shades of pink. "Oh my god, Sidney! You like her! You have a crush on Regina!"

Though Belle hated the cheerleader just like the rest of the students in Storybrooke High, she didn't want to use it against her. Sure, she could probably take Regina down with that but she wanted Emma and Ruby to settle their issue by themselves, at least for now. Belle decided to just let it slip before making another step.

* * *

><p>While in class, Regina suddenly grabbed Emma's notebook, wanting to piss her off. She loves it when the nerd gets annoyed. "Give it back." Emma said calmly, laying her palm open. "Come and get it."<p>

Surprisingly, the blonde did not make another attempt to get her notebook. "Come on, fight back!" Regina taunted her. The blonde let out a long sigh in return and pulled an empty sheet of paper to write on. Emma didn't want to fight back. She didn't want to waste her energy on Regina. Besides, there was nothing she wanted to fight about, nothing felt more important at that moment than to make things up with her best friend. "You're so boring!" the bully said, rolling her eyes in disappointment and slammed the notebook on the desk.

After the last period, Emma stood there in the hallway, waiting for Ruby. When the brunette saw her, she took a turn to the next corridor. She wanted to go after her but then, what would she say? Sorry? She doesn't know how or where to start so she decided to give her friend a little more time to cool off.

That night, Emma had been tossing and turning in bed, unable to get any sleep at all. She still couldn't process why and what were Ruby's motives in doing that. At some point, she also hated herself for saying horrible things to her-words that shouldn't have been said. But all had been said and done, their friendship had been tainted because she let her judgment be clouded with accusation.

She decided to sit, open her laptop and read the article again. She felt tears acting up on her eyes but blinked it away.

It wasn't fair for Ruby or for anyone to be blamed for something they didn't. Especially when you don't have proof to back up your accusation. Emma decided she has to make things right before it gets worse between them. She promised herself to fix their wrinkle. Their friendship was different, and they were best friends after all. But still, she frowned at the thought of having her whole life exposed like that.

She started typing on the comment box...

_This is Emma Swan, yeah, the real Emma Swan... or should I say the new nerd in town? That would be much more appropriate right? Anyway, I don't know how my life had been exposed like this. But I know I shouldn't give a damn. I'm surprised a lot of you are interested. I read all the threads here and couldn't help myself but laugh at your arguments and conclusions. I was like okay what's the big deal about my life? Thank you to all who fought for me (through this comment box) though you don't know me personally. I can handle myself but yeah thanks. You guys are awesome!_

_Yes, I am adopted and I'm proud of that because that's what makes me. I don't owe anyone an explanation about my life story. Also, I feel bad for whoever did this. I mean seriously? Why don't you just open your books and study your lessons rather than waste your time gossiping about other people's lives? It'll be much more of your worthy of your extra time. SMH._

_P.S. Ruby, I know you are reading this or somewhat this message may will reach you. I couldn't contact you in any way. I know I am such an asshole for telling you bad things and I hate myself for that. You have all the right to hate me or curse me, I totally deserved it. But I really want you to know how sorry I am... Can you please give me a chance to apologize to you in person? Please? I hope we can talk tomorrow. I really miss you, Rubes. I hope we can go back to how we were before. :(_

She pressed send. Shortly after, endless notifications blared through her room. Within a matter of two minutes, her comment already had 400 likes. She scanned through the comment box and her heart almost fell when she saw the words from Ruby Lucas: _K, we'll talk tomorrow. JUST YOU AND ME._

For some reason, it made the blonde nervous. But still, she thanked the good heavens for answering her prayer.

* * *

><p>Emma fidgeted nervously, knowing that this confrontation had to be done no matter what. Her brain was starting to forget the apology speech she had prepared last night.<p>

"Hey," Ruby said, snapping her from her thoughts. "Ru-Ruby!" Emma gasped. "You came!"

Ruby sat down on the grass beside her. "I don't know where to start. I'm... I'm sorry."

"Okay."

"It's not okay! I'm such an asshole!"

"Yup."

"Wait let me finish, okay?" Emma asked. Ruby rolled her eyes but gestured her to go on. "I shouldn't have said that. I was just so mad and I let my emotions cloud my judgment. I should've listened to you instead. I should've find out the truth before accusing you. I know you still hate me and it sucks but I really deserve it. I'm really sorry Ruby... I _really_ am. Can you please give me a chance to make it up to you?"

"I'll think about it."

"What?" Emma frowned at her. Ruby shrugged. "Hmm..."

"I'd do anything," Emma pleaded. She wasn't sure what made her say it but nonetheless, she will do anything to mend their friendship. Ruby was taken aback. She was just trying to mess with Emma and wasn't expecting her to take the bait. "Really, anything?" she asked with a smirk. Emma's stomach began to turn. She could sense Ruby plotting something evil. There was something that forbids her to agree but her conscience tells her to say yes. She can't risk losing her best friend again.

With a sigh, she finally said, "Yes, anything."

Ruby's smirk began to widen into an evil grin seeing Emma's face with a nervous look. She paused and looked at the blonde for a moment, as if trying to figure something out. "Okay. I have one condition..." Emma gulped. "I'll dress you up for a week!"

"What? No way! That's ridiculous!" Emma protested. Ruby threw a fist of grass she pulled from the ground. "You said anything!"

"No! You can dress me up just for a day!"

"Aw, come on. Look at you, you look like shit!" the brunette snickered.

Emma looked at herself. She was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and sneakers. Her hair was wilder than usual. "I always look like shit!" she shouted.

"Give me three days! It's not like I'm gonna dress you up like a prostitute!"

Green eyes widened in fear. "No! Two! And it's final!" Emma protested. After a brief moment, Ruby gave in. "Fine!" she said with bravado.

"You're lucky I love you!" Emma slapped her lightly on the shoulder, laughing tenderly. Ruby laughed with her. "Love ya too, Em." The blonde then crushed her friend in a tight hug, the brunette squirmed in pain. "God, I missed you so much," Emma whispered, refusing to let go of Ruby. "Ouch. Em, I can't breathe..." Ruby complained playfully. The nerd rocked her in a bear hug. "I just really missed you Rubes Rubes!"

"Me too Em... I missed you a lot." Ruby looked up to meet green eyes. She remembered how sad it was to be without each other for a couple of days. They pulled away and smiled warmly at each other. The brunette wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder as they walked to the soccer area. Mulan came sprinting towards them. "Hey," they both said. "Hey!" Mulan spoke casually, still catching her breath. "Why didn't you guys show up yesterday at training?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I uhm... I had some things to run," Ruby said nervously. Mulan didn't buy her alibi and gave the second captain an eye roll. She then turned to look at Emma waiting for a reply. "Huh? What?"

"Where were you yesterday? It was your first day in the team!" she asked, sounding tersed and irritated.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" the blonde questioned, not sure where the captain was heading. The captain quirked an eyebrow in question. "Emma, you made it to the team!"

"That's not true," she said quietly, shaking her head.

"It _is_ true! You got the spot! Why don't you believe the captain?"

"Then why isn't my name on the list?"

"What?"

Mulan dragged the two and ran to the bulletin board. She was shocked to find that the blonde's surname was indeed not in the list. The team captain then remembered snapping a picture of the result before posting it. She pulled out her phone.

Looking keenly at the photo she took, she saw the name Emma Swan on the bottom. She then checked the printed out result and compared it with the one on her phone.

A wide grin appeared on her face. "Look! See I told you!" Mulan shouted. Emma ignored it but Ruby peeked to check.

"Look, there's an SW here. It's for Swan! Some shit cut the bottom of the paper together with her name!" Mulan explained. Ruby glanced over the photo in Mulan's handy. Her eyes widened with shock and happiness for her friend. "Yeah! It means you got in Emma!"

Emma walked to them with hesitation in every step, her blood was pumping with adrenaline. "I... I did it?"

Ruby nodded happily before shouting, "You did it! You're in! Yay!"

"Oh my god I really did it!" Emma grabbed Ruby and started jumping with joy. "I did it!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN:**__Oh so it wasn't Ruby... Of course it's not her! ;)_

_I intended to do that. Hihihi my bad. Special mention to: SailorMars009 who made a very nice conclusion. So close dear, so close! :D_

_Okay so Sidney was under Regina's charm! I mean who wouldn't be?! I swear Lana Parrilla will be the death of me :") Hahaha. And hurrah, Emma got the spot! Who's happy?!_

_Hope you liked how it turned out! Til next time! Leave reviews! It pumps up my energy. Haha x_


	13. The One On Top

Belle gasped seeing her blonde best friend. "Wow Emma! You look gorgeous!" she shouted, looking at her up and down.

Emma couldn't help but blush. "Thanks," she muttered shyly. "Thanks to me!" Ruby remarked with a laugh. "Right." Emma giggled.

Neal passed by the three and his eyes widened and had a twinkle as he saw the blonde. "Emma?" he choked out. He looked over her before taking a deep breath. "You-you look... amazing," he stuttered.

"Thank you."

"Wait I uh, can we you know... uhm... hang out later? Lunch? I'll show you around."

Emma shifted on her leg. "I actually know the way around alrea-" Belle nudged her and gave her a look. Ruby was stifling a laugh. "Come on, it's just lunch... Please?" he pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

Belle and Ruby nodded emphatically, and Emma forced a small smile. "Okay?" Neal smiled like he won in a lottery. "Really? Great!"

* * *

><p>Annoying murmurs filled the hallways. Most students were whispering and tapping on their mobile phones.<p>

"Regina!" Kathryn called out. "Yeah?"

"What's up with these peasants?" she asked, irritated. Kathryn bit her lip and asked, "Well uhm, have you checked the 'who's hot' page?"

Regina's eyes scrunched in question. She quickly tapped on her phone and checked their exclusive website. "What the hell?" she blurted out in fury, seeing someone took her spot at no.1 in the 'who's hot' page. Emma Swan on number one and her, on the second spot. Her blood was boiling and she could feel it pumping inside her temples. _How_ _dare_ _her_ _steal the position I had in years! _Everyone stared at her sudden outburst. She glared back at them, telling them to mind their own business. The gossips quickly turned their gaze away from her in response_. _

Quickly, Regina dialed on her phone with a clenched jaw. "Sidney!" she shouted over the phone.

"How the hell did this happen?"

"I suppose the comment she posted brought her to the top," he replied.

"Well then, do something about it! I can't be on number two! I am _never_ on number two!"

"I did what you told me, you still owe me a date, Regina. I can't do another-"

She cuts him off. "I don't care how you do it! Just bring me back to my position!" she shouted and hung up.

A few minutes after, Belle walked in. "Regina, can we talk?" she asked nonchalantly.

"We have nothing to talk about, dear," Regina indignantly retorted. "Don't call me dear, we are nothing of sort. I just want to talk to you." Regina rolled her eyes, completely ignoring the request.

"I know what you did," Belle said with a tone of accusation. This has certainly gotten the cheerleader's attention. "Excuse me?" the cheerleader snapped sharply with a raised brow.

"Don't play innocent Regina. I know everything and you know what I'm talking about. So if you may, I'd like to talk to you privately. Now."

Belle started walking to the girl's rest room with Regina in tow. When they reached the toilet room, she locked the door behind them. "Look, I know you did that to tear Emma down and ruin our friendship. But sorry to tell you, that's not gonna happen! By the way, everything's fine between them. They're good."

"Are you do-"

Belle interrupted quickly. "And one last thing... Once you hurt my friends again, I swear Regina you're going down."

The bully was taken aback. "Is that a threat?"

"No. I'm not that kind of person who threatens other people to get what they want. I'm telling you this because I care about my friends. I think you do this because you're just jealous. You don't even have good friends to teach you the right things."

Blood was pumping through her veins. Regina resisted the urge to slap the girl at that very moment. Maybe she's right, maybe she was jealous of the new girl because she gets all the things Regina wants without even trying. "Whatever!" she huffed, waving her off. "Are you done ranting?"

Belle was flabbergasted. She gritted her teeth. Regina was really tough and wouldn't back down. "What? Can I go now? Coz you're wasting your saliva and I'm wasting my time." Regina hissed before storming out of the girl's room with her head held high.

* * *

><p>"Is that nerdy Swan?" Kathryn asked in complete shock. Regina cocked her head and uttered an unsure "yeah?"<p>

_Holy shit. She looks so girly and... cute? _Regina didn't know what was happening... Why she suddenly felt attracted to the blonde. She looked so beautiful sporting black asymmetric culottes skort that shows off her long sexy legs matched with peach floral long sleeves. Her ponytail was replaced with a loose fishtail braid.

"What in the world? She's with Neal?" Kathryn asked with a laugh. Regina almost didn't notice as her eyes focused only on the blonde herself. Emma was hanging out with Neal in the playground. The blonde stood up from her seat and walked behind Neal, grabbing the rails and pushing the swing with all of her strength. Neal was laughing and shouting "That's it? Higher!"

Emma pushed another couple of times until the swing was very high. Neal was clinging onto the rails for dear life. With the last push, the boy flew out of the swing and landed on his butt. He stood up sweeping his hands across his butt to clean his pants as Emma laughed. They were laughing, laughing like they were having the time of their lives.

Regina felt a weird feeling seeing them together. _It can't be that she might have a crush on that nerd. No, never._ She shrugged the feeling off as they walked back to their room.

* * *

><p>Emma asked the permission to go out as she felt the urge to use the toilet. She placed her dull pencils on her desk and left.<p>

When she got back, she noticed her pencils were already sharpened. She glared at Regina knowing fully that it was her. Who else might it be? Of course it will always be Regina. "How dare you!" she yelled outrageously. _Oh she's back_. A wide grin curved on Regina's lips.

"No one sharpens my pencils except me!" The whole class whipped their heads around and stared at the blonde. Their teacher was frozen with her mouth dropped open. The blonde blushed furiously, muttering apologies under her breath and blaming her seat mate for making her life a big mess. The room went quiet for a moment before everyone bursted out in laughter.

Regina started cackling then stopped when she saw Emma still glaring at her. "You can't be serious, Swan," Regina snorted.

Emma's expression was unfazed. "Okay, you're serious..."

All throughout the class, Emma ignored her no matter how hard she tried to annoy her. She just won't budge even slightly. "Whoa," Regina muttered softly.

A few more moments, the French teacher called out partners one by one to check on their project. "Mademoiselle Mills et Mademoiselle Swan?" the teacher called out. The partners glanced up and looked at her in question. "Pouvons-nous parler après la classe? (Can I talk to you after class?)"

"Bien. (Okay)," Regina replied cooly. Emma cleared her throat and nodded. _Someone save me,_she screamed in her head_._ She knew what it will be about and she couldn't help but curse under her breath.

The bell rang, signifying everyone can go home. Well, everyone except Emma and Regina.

"Miss Swan..." the teacher's voice trailed off. "It seems to me that your grade in my subject is failing. And you Miss Mills, happen to be one of the best students in my class. Fortunately, since you are partners, it will be easy and convenient for you to take tutorial sessions. Miss Mills, you will teach Miss Swan."

Emma's jaw dropped open. "You're joking, right?" Regina asked and Emma looked at her.

_She has got to be kidding,_ Regina thought.

"Does it seem like I'm joking?"

Regina shook her head.

"You can settle your review schedule that would suit your free time. I want to see improvements next time I check on you. Alright? Have a good day." The teacher gathered her things and exited the room, leaving the two alone.

"We're not gonna do this, right?" Emma asked.

Regina rolled her eyes and huffed. Emma was surprised and looked at the bully. "You're gonna help me?" the blonde asked in a small voice. "It's not like I have choice," the brunette spat.

"You do have a choice," Emma said, to which she earned a glare. She sucked in a deep breath. "Okay."

"Wednesdays are for Cheerleading practice..."

"and Soccer practice," Emma interjected, earning another eye roll from Regina.

"Fridays are of course, Fridays. So that's out of the choices."

"I'm free Thursdays after class."

"Thursdays then."

Regina strutted her way out to change into her cheerleading uniform. While walking, she was debating with herself. _I'm going to tutor her. Teach the freaking nerd, Emma Swan. How did this happen? Oh god, why didn't I refuse?_

_Because you like her... and you want to know her,_a voice in her head tells her_. No! Because it's my project too. I just don't want to fail with her._She knew there was more into it than that_._She shook her head, feeling conflicted than ever.

* * *

><p>"What's up?" Ruby asked with a soccer ball in hand.<p>

Emma looked at Regina who was walking with her fellow cheerleaders to the gym. "She-she's gonna tutor me," she revealed as she blushed. The second captain followed her gaze and asked, "Regina?"

Emma nodded with her head hung low. Ruby shoved her hand over her mouth in response. "What?" she laughed. "Please tell me you're kidding," she asked with creased eyebrows.

Emma bit her lip and sighed. Coach Graham blew his whistle. Ruby shook her head smiling and patted her shoulder before sprinting towards the goal.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_**_I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. I wanted uhm to cut the chapter into two. Hehe so it turned out this was just a filler. Anyway... Who's ready for the first SQ encounter?! And oh, Regina might have a crush on Emma? OH GOD_

_Please leave your thoughts! Love ya SwanQueen shippers! x_


	14. Thursdays After Class

Emma woke up to the light blinding her eyes. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was Thursday. She closed her eyes and hoped there would be some kind of miracle so that she could skip Thursday and get right ahead to Friday but alas, when she opened her eyes, it was still Thursday. She groaned realizing that today will be the death of her.

The day rolled by too quickly. In her last class, she already had come to accept the inevitable. She was indeed to be taught by Regina, her bully and her... secret crush.

Emma was already sitting down at a small table in the library, waiting for Regina. To be honest, she wasn't expecting she would even show up.

The blonde bit her lip at the sight of the tutor walking towards her. She thought she was entirely too attractive to be considered legal. "You're late," she said cautiosly. The brunette raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow. "The Queen is never late. You're just a little early."

"But Queen Regina Mills made an exception." The blonde glanced over her wrist watch. "In fact, she's seven minutes late," she stated and grimaced.

"Shut up, talkie. Let's get down to real business," she said plopping down on the seat in front of her. Emma gulped, thankful to have a milder name given by the bully. "Right."

"First, let me set some rules."

"What?" she asked quickly, giving her a look saying that the idea was ridiculous. "Yes, you heard me right. Rules," the brunette grunted. "Rule number one: You do as I say, no complaints. Two: no distractions should interfere with our review. Third: personal questions are not allowed. Are we clear?"

"Are you serious?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"I said are we clear?" Regina snapped.

"Fine!" Huffing, Emma pulled out her notes and French book. "Good."

Regina opened the book to their current lesson and pointed at exercise 1.a. "Here. This one looks simple enough. I'll say it first and you say it next." There were a dozen short phrases to describe describe one's house, family, favourite past-times, and other mundane subjects.

"What am I? A toddler?" Emma objected strongly in a high pitched voice. She was having a hard time hiding her worry. "Oh Swan! Don't be so dramatic," Regina replied, not able to suppress a roll of her eyes.

"Je suis une telle douleur dans le cul," the tutor said effortlessly before biting back a grin.

"What the! I'm not a pain in the ass!"

Regina laughed. She forgot the blonde knows the language grammatically but just couldn't speak it. "Then why don't you just do what you're told? That way, we can go through this quickly!"

"But-" Regina cuts her off rudely. "If you don't want to learn, just tell me."

_How could she do that? Be loose then suddenly strict. This girl is so complicated._Emma sighed. She shivered when Regina's hand accidentally brushed against hers while pointing to the next sentence on the book. "Je vous téléphone parce que je suis à New York lundi et mardi."

"Ju.."

"No, no. Open you're mouth like this. Je..."

Emma felt a bit silly but she followed her instructions. She concentrated a lot to form her lips like Regina's with her eyebrows furrowed. It was hard to concentrate especially when you have a gorgeous tutor watching you closely. It was really uncomfortable.

The brunette couldn't suppress her laugh, Emma looked like a trout. The tutee looked down in embarrassment._There she goes again, being bipolar_. "Can you not? I'm trying my best here!" she said, giving her tutor a look. The brunette smiled. "Sure. It's just because you look like a fish..." Regina chuckled. "Okay, one more time."

"No! You're just making fun of me," Emma said, crossing her arms over her chest like a child having tantrums.

"I am not, dear. _You_are making fun of yourself," Regina said with a cackle. "Let's give it a last try."

Emma huffed. "Je vous téléphone parce que je suis à New York lundi et mardi."

"That's better."

She smiled as her tutor praised her. Finally, after hundred times of trying, she had produced the sound Regina had been waiting to hear.

30 minutes have passed. The blonde couldn't help but steal a few glances of her tutor sitting right across her, texting on her iPhone. Regina did the same when Emma was taking down notes. Her face was drawn with determination to learn. She had to admit, Emma was kind of attractive. If only she wasn't annoying and gets in her way, maybe she wouldn't have bullied her.

"Bonne fille (Good girl)," Regina said, finally happy her tutee learns the proper way of speaking the foreign language.

"Bonne fi-" _What?_ Emma shook her head and chuckled. She was getting the hang this French tutorial. As much as the blonde annoyed Regina so much, she was proud of her for learning fast. Emma's phone buzzed on the table, and the blonde quickly grabbed it. She stifled a laugh, reading the message.

"Is that Neal?" Regina asked, almost sounding like she was jealous. Emma suddenly glanced up to meet her tutor's gaze. The blonde pushed her eyeglasses up and said playfully, "I thought you said personal questions are not allowed during our sessions?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "I said no distractions! Which meant no cellphones!"

"Ssssh! Ladies! Keep your tone down!" the librarian scolded, glaring at the two of them from behind a bookcase.

"Sorry," they both apologized. "It's not Neal if that's what you're saying... It's my mom. Look," she said, showing the message to Regina.

Regina peered and read the conversation.

**Emma:** Mom, can you pick me up some jelly at the market?

**Mom:** K Y

**Emma:** No, Welch's.

**Mom:** K, Y?

**Emma:** No mom! I don't want KY Jelly! I need the jelly for sandwiches!

**Mom:** Honey, I was asking OKAY, WHY?

**Mom:** And for the record, I wouldn't want to buy you KY Jelly! Jeez.

Emma let out a laugh when she saw Regina smiling. There was something in her laugh that is really captivating for the brunette. Regina smiled back at her but then realized she shouldn't._Get hold of yourself, Regina_. "I'll just need to take a call. Once, I get back, we'll have our last topic."

* * *

><p>"Wow, someone is really getting comfortable in here," Regina said in her usual bitchy tone, noticing all the French notes replaced with Chemistry books and papers. Emma pouted, "Well. I just wanted to show you."<p>

"Show me your assignment? Did you hire me as your personal tutor?"

Emma creased her eyebrows in disappointment. "First, this is not my homework, it's _our_ homework. Second, you did not help me answer it so now, I'm letting you see it so we can make corrections. Lastly, no, I did not hire you but thank you very much for helping me though I know it's against your will."

"You're getting overly dramatic again, dear."

Emma gritted her teeth. She hated it when Regina says the word dear. It was so annoying. Regina eyed Emma suspiciously but said nothing and waited for her to continue.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, looking at Regina.

"Is it related to French or Chemistry?"

"No but-"

"Then the answer is no."

"Why did you do that?"

Regina was stunned. _What could she possibly be pertaining to? Could it be that... no, it can't be_. "Do what?" she asked innocently.

"Why did you do it? I overheard you in the toilet room," Emma murmured under her breath, looking down on the table.

_**Flashback**_

Emma just finished peeing when she heard someone come in. She was about to get out of the cubicle when she heard Belle shouting. "Look, I know you did that to tear Emma down and ruin our friendship. But sorry to tell you, that's not gonna happen! By the way, everything's fine between them. They're good."

Emma gasped. She didn't want to be nosey but they are freaking talking about her. She decided not to move and listen to their conversation.

"Are you do-" She recognized the voice. How couldn't she? It was low and sultry.

_What the..._

Belle interrupted quickly. "And one last thing... Once you hurt my friends again, I swear Regina you're going down."

"Is that a threat?" Regina asked annoyed.

"No. I'm not that kind of person who threatens other people to get what they want. I'm telling you this because I care about my friends. I think you do this because you're just jealous. You don't even have good friends to teach you the right things."

"Whatever!" she huffed. "Are you done ranting?"

There was a short silence before the bully spoke. "What? Can I go now? Coz you're wasting your saliva and I'm wasting my time."

When she was sure that the two were out of the room, she got out of the cubicle, completely shocked. She felt awful for blaming her best friend for something she didn't do.

_**End of Flashback**_

Regina suddenly felt a pang of guilt, realizing that Emma was there all along. She had heard everything Belle and her talked about.

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I even do to you?" A hint of sadness traced over her voice. Regina decided to look away, not bothering to answer her shot gun of questions. She did nothing to her but all she did was make her life miserable. Emma sighed deeply. "I blamed my best friend because of you..."

"But it's okay. I forgive you." Even Emma couldn't understand why she have forgiven the bully that easily. Maybe because she likes her? No, of course not. She can't like her like that. Everyone deserves a second chance, right?

The brunette looked back at her in surprise. "Who told you I'm even sorry?"

Emma looked at her dumbfounded, and the brunette looked back at her, not really sorry. "I swear, you're impossible!" she complained loudly.

"Uh huh," Regina smirked. Emma shook her head in disbelief. "No one... but then I forgive you," she muttered with a sincere smile. "Since you agreed to help me with French. It's a truce. Just promise me you won't hurt my friends."

_Why is she like this? How could she be soft hearted?_Regina thought. "Whatever. It's 4:30 already. I'm leaving," the brunette said gathering her things.

"Aren't you going home?" she asked when she noticed Emma was barely moving at all.

"I am. You can go first then I'll go after five minutes."

Regina looked at her like she had two heads. "Look, I may be stupid in French but I'm not that naïve. I know you're embarrassed to be seen with me and I don't want to make any more harm against your beloved reputation," Emma stated as a matter of factly.

She's right the bully doesn't want her reputation to be more tainted than it already was. Regina started walking away when Emma shouted softly. "Merci! Au revoir! The brunette answered with an eye roll. Emma smiled at her.

* * *

><p>It was Emma's first day to work at Granny's. Marian taught her how to take orders and punch it in the cashier monitor.<p>

Ruby walked in and sat on the high chair. "How was it?" she asked.

"Well I couldn't say for sure," Emma replied. "But I admit, it was better than I expected."

When Regina got home, she checked her facebook notifications. She wasn't surprised there were another set of friend requests from random people. She didn't care whom the rest were from, she clicked open the profile of Emma Swan.

She thought of denying the request or accepting it but she chose the latter. Regina didn't realize she was already stalking the blonde. After some time, she decided to delete her as a facebook friend. Just after, a message popped out on the bottom of the screen.

"You're so cruel... you added then deleted me? I just want us to be friends! :("

_Friends? Seriously? She wanted to be friends with me despite of everything?_ Her heart was beating triple times and her palms were sweaty. There is no way out of this mess... Regina turned off her chat settings, clicked the friend request button on Emma Swan's profile and quickly shut her laptop. She closed her eyes and tried to shrug the feeling off but all she could see were the happy and bubbly images of Emma Swan, the person who stood against her aside from Lucas, the nerd she bullied everyday, the girl who've chosen to forgive her despite of the horrible things she did and the one person who've made her heart flutter with just her laugh.

No, she couldn't like her, not in a million years.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN**__: Double update bc hell yes, I can. I know you're getting tired of Regina being such a bitch to Emma. It's just that I don't want to make sudden changes because it won't be believable. Just be patient with me! Haha. But on the brighter side, we saw a tiny chance of Regina softening around our savior in this chapter. Hihi. Comments? Suggestions? Please leave your reviews. Follow and favorite!_

_PS. If you don't know what KY jelly is, find it out yourselves. Hahaha and then tell me what you found out. _


	15. I'll Take Care of You

Two weeks passed by smooth and quick. Emma seems to catch up with her new school and her busy schedule with her soccer practice and tutorial sessions. Everything seems to be in place.

"Good morning class," the teacher greeted. The rest of the class looked horrified to see him. The looks on the students' faces were asking him what he is doing in Mr. Boothe's period.

"Your teacher has an important meeting to attend and so... I will be the substitute for Mr. Boothe! Isn't it amazing?" Dr. Hopper explained emphatically.

The whole class groaned. "Boo!"

"Quiet! Everyone quiet!" he yelled. The noise toned down a bit. "Get your notebooks and start taking down notes. Mr. Boothe left an activity for you."

"And Peter, kindly remove those earphones," he ordered at the troublemaker when he saw the white cords hanging on the sides of his face.

Dr. Hopper walked to him and opened his wrist. To his surprise, there was nothing attached to the earphones. He was just playing around to piss their teacher off. It was just another prank from no one else but the notorious Peter Pan himself.

Emma was listening intently to Dr. Hopper explain a story when she noticed a constant stream of crumpled notes were being thrown all over the room when the teacher wasn't looking. The class were quite noisy and generally terrible as well. It's like all of them were on drugs.

She bent down and picked up a crumpled note. Random funny stuff and insults were written on it. She smiled and threw the paper in her bag. When she was going to sit up straight, she was suddenly hit with something hard on the head. It was a pencil eraser, she figured. She groaned and rubbed her forehead. She glanced up to see Ruby laughing quietly. She decided to throw it back to Ruby but instead, the eraser made its way to Dr. Hopper. Just in time when he turned around, it hit him exactly in the crotch.

The whole class was to die of laughter. Emma's eyes shot wide. "Miss Swan! Did you start this chaos?" he accused angrily. Emma couldn't say yes because it wasn't her. It was her friends. Ruby stood up and Belle followed admitting they were the culprit.

"The three of you, stand outside the room and face the wall for the rest of the period!" he ordered.

They were given a detention slip and told to go to the principal's office after class. Emma sighed as she stepped out of the room in distress and bewilderment. "Sorry for getting you in trouble," Belle said to her apologizingly. Ruby muffled a sorry as well but it wasn't as sincere as Belle's. "But you know..."

"YOLO," Ruby and Belle said in unison. Emma shook her head and smiled. Ruby started singing quietly and soon both Emma and Belle joined. They sang and laughed outside until they period was over.

Walking all the way to the principal's office, Emma was sweating. She was nervous and drowned in fear. It was her first time to get a detention slip. Principal Ingrid approached them and said in a firm tone, "You may take a seat." Her body automatically obeyed her command.

She sighed and told them that it was unlady like for girls to throw notes and start a paper war in class.

"What would students from other school say?" she asked in a disappointed tone. "I've never thought I would see you in my office, Miss Swan."

"But since this is your first time, I will let this one slip."

"Really? Thank you Principal Ingrid! You're so awe-," she gulped and corrected herself, "kind!"

It turned out, she wasn't bad at all. She was cool. Emma remembered the pie throwing during the pep rally and couldn't help but grin. What a silly principal they have.

The bell rang and students ran in the hallways but all came to a stop. The rain was pouring hard. Most students were lined up on the building entrance, waiting for the rain to stop but it just wouldn't.

"Damn it! I need to get outta here!" Ruby shrieked.

Emma looked at her sadly and pushed her eyeglasses up. "Let's wait for the rain to stop a little," the blonde said. Ruby huffed impatiently then ran inside the school building again. "Ruby! Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back!"

Emma sighed, looking up at the dark sky watching the rain drop onto the pavement.

"Give me your bag!" Ruby demanded from behind. "What? Why?" Before Emma could ask more questions, her back pack was already being pulled by her friend. The brunette was placing a plastic around it. "What are you doing Ruby!"

The brunette wiggled her eyebrows and Belle laughed, doing the same with her bag. Once all their bags were covered with plastics, Ruby dragged her into the rain but she pulled back.

"Come on Emma! You only live once! Let's get wet under the rain!"

"What? Let's go!" Belle said, twirling around and looking up at the sky.

Emma sighed and smiled, "YOLO." The three laughed as they raced towards their bikes.

The following day, the trio talked about how fun it was it bathe under the rain.

Emma sat on her seat in their Chemistry class, waiting for the ring to bell. She noticed Regina coming in and she knew something was off. The cheerleader looked sick but damn, she was still a fashion goddess. She had black leggings, black roshe runs, a white v-neck and a black leather jacket. Her hair was tied in a messy bun.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked when her partner plopped on her seat. Regina's eyes were a bit swollen and her nose was really red.

"Do I look okay to you?" Regina snapped, sniffing a snot. She huffed when she ran out of tissue. Emma cleared her throat, pulled out her tissue and offered it to her seat mate. The brunette took it with an eye roll.

* * *

><p>Kathryn sent Regina to the clinic after she blacked out in the girl's toilet room.<p>

"What happened to me?" she asked the nurse.

"Nothing serious, you blacked out in the rest room. You just caught a flu. You'll be fine within a day or two. No worries, it's treatable."

"Being a bitch, though... nothing we can do about that," the nurse spat out and shuffled her way out.

Regina ditched the following class and Emma wondered why. She then received a text from her tutor.

**Regina:** Can't make it to our tutorial.

That's when Emma realized Regina wasn't feeling well and maybe went home after their Chemistry class.

Emma knocked on the the Mills' front door. Regina was wearing a red onesie and a pair of slippers with bunny ears.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked flatly when she opened the door to see Emma. "Didn't I text you the tutorial is off? I can't teach you like this!" she snapped.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy tiger! I didn't come here for tutorial."

"And how the hell did you know where I live?"

"I have my ways," Emma chuckled. Regina gave her a hard look. "Okay, okay. I may have looked into our class directory. I'm not a stalker if that's what you're thinking." Regina didn't speak but still maintained her mean look.

"I just wanted to give you this," Emma said, handing her a brown paper bag.

"What's this?" Regina asked, taking it gingerly in her hands.

"Medicine and some food." The brunette's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Is there poison in it?"

Emma smiled. "I wouldn't tell."

Regina tried her best to stop the smile that was forming on her lips.

"Get well soon and I hope you could go to class tomorrow." With that, Emma turned around to go.

"Swan, wait!"

"How about you take the first bite so we would know?"

"Touché, Mills, touché."

The brunette got two bowls and glasses from the dish cabinet. Regina looked real human that time, not that she doesn't. She just wasn't wearing any make up and she was just as beautiful.

"Why did you get sick?" Emma asked.

Regina looked at her like that was the most stupid question she ever heard of. "Because the rain is fucking stupid."

"You shouldn't have walked under the rain, you know, there's a thing called umbrella," Emma joked. Regina wanted to say a clever comeback but didn't. She just shot the blonde a death glare instead.

"Where are your parents?" Emma asked in concern.

Regina doesn't answer at first but then spoke flatly, "Not around."

"Okay." Emma thought that maybe her parents were busy at work.

After a while, the rain was starting to pour again. The thunder roared and Regina jumped in shock. "Shit!"

"You should go," she croaked.

"I'm not going anywhere," the blonde answered.

"The rain might pour harder."

"So?"

_Damn this stubborn woman._

"So I'm telling you you have to go home before my mother gets here. She's not really fond of visitors," Regina said as she walked to the sink and stumbled to her feet. Emma was quick enough to grab her. She placed her hand over Regina's forehead. "Oh my god, you're burning up!"

"I'm fine," she said. Emma didn't believe her. She'd never seen Regina Mills this vulnerable.

"You're far from fine. You're sick. Here, take the meds." The blonde handed her a pill and a glass of water.

Regina smiled weakly as a sign of thanks. Emma helped her stand up and walked her up to her bedroom. Regina slipped under the covers as Emma sat on the edge of the bed.

"You don't have to stay. I can look after myself."

"I'm not leaving until your mom gets home. What time does she gets home anyway?"

"Late at night. You better not be here when I wake up or else..." the brunette warned but her voice was less threatening than usual.

"Sssh... you need to take a rest," Emma cooed. Regina relaxed at her soothing voice. She closed her eyes, wanting to sleep the bad feeling away.

* * *

><p>She woke up feeling a little better than earlier. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw it was already 9:30. Her mouth felt dry. She walked up to her study table and drank from her tumbler that was sitting there. She felt hungry so sje went downstairs to get something to eat.<p>

"Hello, Regina. Feeling better?"

"I uh, yes... Mother, what time did you arrive?" she asked.

With her mother's demanding job as the town mayor, she was rarely home. Regina learned the hard way. She had to look after herself because her mother wasn't always there for her.

"Around eight o'clock. Why do you have a visitor staying up late?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, dear. The blonde girl. She said she waited for me so you wouldn't be alone."

Regina gasped and her heart fluttered remembering Emma bringing her medicine and tucking her in. "Her name is Emma Swan... We're partners in French and Chem class and.."

"Save your energy. I'm not interested with the rest. You should go back to sleep. You'll go to school tomorrow whether you like it or not. Good night Regina."

Regina swallowed hard and fought the tears starting to form in her eyes. She hated their mother-daughter relationship. All her mother cared about was power and riches. Did she forget she has a daughter to take care of? Of course she did. She could barely call their house a home. Regina felt alone despite her mother coming home. She wished Emma was still in her house, talking about nonsense and whatnot as they drink apple juice and eat soup. She had everything before her. She could get whatever she wants with just a snap. One could say she had almost everything. Everything except for what they call... a family.

Regina went back to her room disappointed. She glanced over her study table and noticed her French notebook. It wasn't like that before Emma came in. She knew how her things were placed. _Why didn't I notice this awhile ago?_ There was a pen inside her notebook. She opened to the page where her pen was placed and saw there were notes written. The handwriting wasn't hers and that was when she realized that Emma had written all the lessons she missed that day. She was smiling to herself until she read a note on the last page...

**So 50 Shades of Grey, huh? You're a very bad girl, Mills!**

**Don't worry, it'll be our secret! ;)**

Regina gulped and looked at the novel sitting on her bedside table. She could imagine Emma laughing mockingly at her. She immediately felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment. It was her secret. No one was supposed to know she reads such kind of literature. _I'm going to kill her if any of this comes out in school!_

* * *

><p><em><strong> Author's Note: <strong>Hey whatcha think about this update? Hihi REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS! :D _


	16. Swan Savior

"Calling the attention of Miss Emma Swan. Once again Miss Emma Swan, kindly proceed to the principal's office. Now!" the voice from the speaker announced. The students shot each other a confused look, thinking why would the nerd be called to the office.

Emma's heart began pounding like a bass drum. _What did I do this time?_"Why would you be sent to the principal's office?" Ruby asked worriedly. "I certainly have no idea," she answered. "I'll meet you in class." Ruby and Belle nodded even though their faces were plastered with worry. Emma turned her heels towards the office.

"Uhm... good morning?" the blonde asked nervously, stepping into the tidy room.

"Good morning to you Miss Swan. Please have a seat," Principal Ingrid motioned towards a chair in front of them. Beside her was their swimming coach, Coach Ariel. The principal turned to the coach and willed her to speak. "Miss Swan, we would like to give you an offer. The swimming team really needs another player. We're entitling you to a ten percent discount on your tuition fee should you accept this offer."

_Wow, that sounds like a good deal. But there would be a catch, wouldn't it?_

"Provided..." Coach Ariel began.

_There it is._

"You have to give up being part ofthe soccer team."

_That would be arrogant and ungrateful of me if I turn down my team. The only club who accepted me for who I am._

"Your deal was very nice of you but I'm really sorry Coach and Principal Ingrid... I can't let go of my soccer family." It wasn't just a club she was part of. She considered her teammates as family. Coach Ariel frowned in disappointment because she wanted and she needed Emma to be in her team.

Emma noticed the disappointment in her teacher's face and felt guilty for turning the offer down for the second time around. "Perhaps I could just be one of your substitutes?" The redhead's face lightened up. "Yes! I mean I'd love to have you as one of my best players but nonetheless, that would be lovely!"

"Okay, then. But how about the training schedule? I... uh... I have soccer training on Wednesdays, tutorials on Thursdays and some other personal things," Emma said unsure.

"Oh. Don't worry about it, I'm sure we can fix that. You are not obliged to join our training after class but maybe I could pull you from time to time? I mean if that would be alright with you?"

The blonde paused for a moment. "Okay."

"Great!"

* * *

><p>"What happened?" Belle asked. "Oh, they just offered me a ten percent discount in the tuition fee if I choose to switch to the swimming team."<p>

"And you did?" Ruby asked in worry. It will surely be a loss for their soccer team. Emma feigned a frown and nodded. Ruby shook her head in disappointment. Emma couldn't help but laugh noticing how sad the second captain looked. "I'm just kidding! Of course not! Soccer all the way!" Ruby swatted her friend's head and smiled. "Ow!" Emma winced, scratching the back of her head. The trio laughed before walking to their respective chairs.

The blonde was on her way to her seat, one of her classmates bumped into her. "I-I'm sorry, Emma! I'm really sorry," the girl muttered.

"It's totally okay," Emma said as she picked up the girl's books. Their hands brushed accidentally making the girl blush madly but Emma didn't notice it. She even offered to carry the books to her classmate's seat. "Thank you," the girl muttered shyly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"No prob," the blonde said before walking to her own chair.

The class began and Mr. Gold started giving out the results of their previous test.

"Mr. Locksley. You failed the science te-" Robin interrupted Mr. Gold. "The test. I know. The test didn't work on me." The Chemistry teacher was taken aback. Then the playful boy continued. "They call it Divergent."

"Is that so? Because I'm hundred percent certain they don't call it that. They call it... a failure who needs extra effort in studying." Everyone laughed except the British student. Robin shrugged and scratched the back of his head.

Emma didn't know why Regina was acting like a full blown bitch to her again, bickering and yelling at her._She's so bipolar!_ What she didn't know is that the real reason behind it is Regina saw her help that clumsy girl pick up and carry her books. Regina was hella jealous and Emma didn't have any clue.

The blonde offered to compare her solution to the exercises but Regina won't accept it. "Why do you keep yelling at me?" Emma snapped. "For once, can we please stop arguing?"

"I'm not arguing! I'm just explaining why I'm right!" Regina snapped back. The blonde groaned in response. They then proceeded with the lab experiment. "Mills, I uh.. I think that's quite a lot. It should be a few drops only right?"

"Well, I've followed the directions _step-by-step_, Ms. Know-it-all," Regina fired back. Emma frowned. "Hey, that's not what I meant."

The blonde felt unsure about what's going to happen with their experiment. "You think so?" Emma asked her lab partner scrunching her nose and pushing her eyeglasses up. "I don't think so... I _know_ so," Regina spat with a hair flip. The blonde sighed and shook her head. Regina poured the liquid into the test tube carefully and their experiment started boiling and then exploded. White smoke emerged from the test tube and the lab partners waved it off their faces. Emma sighed rubbing her forehead in frustration thinking they would have to repeat everything again while Regina rolled her eyes then looked away in embarrassment.

In her last class, Emma couldn't help but think about Regina. Why was she acting so strange? Yesterday, they were perfectly fine and now, she's acting like she told everyone her secret. _God, maybe somebody did. No. I'mpossible._ She shrugged it off and started making a list of questions about her secret crush. Questions she knew she'd never get the answers. She ripped the paper, carefully tucked it inside one of the pages of her binder and started day dreaming. She zoned out as their teacher lectured about the Civil War.

"Miss Swan!"

"Uh.."

"I said," the teacher growled impatiently. "Why did the North make as part of their war goals to control the Mississippi River?"

Emma didn't need to scan her memory. She knew it by heart. "Because the Mississippi River ran through the heart of the Confederacy. If the North could take control of it, it would split the south in two," she answered and smiled. "Tha-that's correct."

"Anything else Sir?" The whole class chuckled. "No. But I would appreciate it more if you would stop daydreaming and listen to my lectures instead."

* * *

><p>On her way out of the school grounds, she noticed someone bullying a poor student in the soccer field. She quickly ran to save the boy. As she came nearer, she realized the bully was Peter Pan.<p>

She tackled Peter without hesitation to keep him from beating up the already beat up boy. "Hey, are you alright? Here let me help you," Emma said giving the boy a hand. "What's your name?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me. I owe you. I'm Will Scarlett."

"You don't owe me anything," she said. "I'm Emma."

"No, I do," the boy insisted. "One day, I'll return the favor," he replied with a smile but shortly, his smile disappeared. His eyes grew wide in fear, looking at the person standing behind his savior. Emma turned to see who it was. Almost too abruptly, the boy grabbed her by her shoulder sleeve. Summoning all the strength and bravery she had, she took a step toward Peter and asked in a tough voice, "what?"

The bully inched closer and chest bumped her. "So you think you're cool huh? Saving this poor little pussy in here?" he asked annoyingly with a tilted head. "He can't even defend himself... what a baby!"

"That's why I'm defending him from people like you... People who don't know how to mind their own freaking business!"

Regina was walking her way home and noticed a scene not far away. She gasped when she saw the blonde face-to-face with Peter! She gasped. No one ever dared to mess with Pan, not even her. There was something that distinguishes Emma from everyone else. _You don't know what you're getting into, Swan!_

A group gathered around them and Peter's hostility grew tenfold. He wanted to give them a show. He knows she wouldn't fight him. No one ever tried to. "Oh, the _nerd_ in shining armor! So brave, I'm scared..." he mocked, taking another step towards her. He smiled and spoke, "Do I smell a sweet little love affair? The wimp and the nerd, what a good combination," he bickered, poking the girl on the shoulder. "Stop it," she said calmly but Peter continued to poke her harshly. Emma gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, trying to control her anger.

"I wonder where you got that bravery?" he paused. "When everyone knows you're adopted!" he shouted directly at her face and smirked. Emma's ears were ringing, her green eyes narrowed at the man. "And we know your father isn't even a good Sheriff for God's sake!"

_Okay, that's it. He crossed the line._

"Take it back!" It surprised him when she tackled him and he staggered a few steps back. She quickly lunged at him pinning him to the ground. Her fist connected with his nose which spewed blood. His cries sounded pathetic. "Son of a bitch-" Emma didn't stop. She punched him as hard as she could. Punching him felt stupendous. "You don't know anything about me! So shut your stupid mouth!"

"Go! Punch him!"

"Yeah baby! Show him what you got!" screamed the audience. No one ever cared to stop them.

Peter got infuriated and turned their position upside down. "Oh my god Swan!" Regina shrieked out. _This is not good!_

He punched Emma in the face and kicked her in the stomach. The girl clutched her throbbing gut as Peter walked to the bullied boy and started kicking the life out of him. Belle ran over to stop Emma from getting on Peter again but the blonde was quick enough to send a flying kick on Peter's back. The bully fell flat on his face to the ground with a resounding thud and blood started spurting out his nose.

Regina saw the whole event unfold but what can she do? She can't just go in between them. Her heart was beating triple times as Peter started to get up. He stopped when they heard someone scream. "Bloody hell. Swaaaan!"

Belle reached her friend and stopped her while Killian held onto a struggling Peter.

A whistle blew to stop them. "Stop! Stop!" a voice rang across the field. Coach Eric, the P.E. teacher sprinted towards the commotion.

"Why'd you do that?!" Belle shouted at her friend. Emma just pursed her lips and told her small words. "I did what I had to." The brunette helped her get to her feet. "You know you can be really stupid sometimes," Belle scolded, wiping Emma's bruised lip with her handkerchief. "Sometimes," Emma chuckled. "But damn girl, you got moves!" she joked and then they laughed.

"You two, come with me!" the teacher ordered sternly. Coach Eric guided them to the principal's office and let the principal decided what to do.

It was the first time Emma saw their principal that angry, she decided not to meet her disappointed eyes. She promised she wouldn't be in trouble and yet, here she is. "Now, tell me. Who started this fight?" Principal Ingrid shouted, slamming her desk as she looked at both of the students who sat at opposite sides of chairs. The blonde swallowed hard and felt a lump in her throat.

"You know what? Let's just get to the point," the woman said calmly, folding her arms over her chest. "What was the reason you both fought?" she asked but none of the students spoke a word. "You first, Mr. Pan," she pointed at him and sitted comfortably in her chair, wanting to hear his story.

"It was because... she tackled me first and I didn't know why!" Peter told her. _What a liar_, Emma thought.

She didn't believe what he said because of all the detention records he has. "I can't believe you Mr. Pan. Why would you fight with a girl?" she asked in a cold voice. "And frankly speaking, I can read through your eyes... You're lying to me."

Principal turned to Emma. "Miss Swan, you just moved here and had already been in a lot of trouble. I'm _so_ disappointed."

"But-" the student started off but was cut with a wave of her hand telling her to stop.

"So the reason you fought was because of a boy. Am I right?" Principal asked giving both of them a stern smile. Emma nodded while Peter huffed.

"Will Scarlett." Principal Ingrid called out to her door. "Come inside."

Peter froze in his chair, his heart was beating fast.

Will entered the room, looking fragile that he was.

"Could you please explain what really happened?" the principal asked.

"Emma is... ah... she saved me." Then he pointed nervously at Peter who was giving him a hard look. "He-he's my bully. He was kicking me and she-she stopped him."

"Thank you, Will. You may go now." the woman said with a smile and Will left.

"So as for your punishment..."

_Oh no._

"Ms. Swan, I expect you to go to school an hour and a half early tomorrow. You will report to my office first thing in the morning." Emma groaned. She hated waking up extra early. The principal noticed her pained expression and raised an eyebrow at her. "Violent reactions?" Emma shook her head.

"Mr. Pan, are you aware that this is already your third offense for the school year? You are suspended for one week. Aside from that, you have to serve lunch at the cafeteria tomorrow and the following day... with a hairnet." The principal smirked playfully, seemingly content with the idea of him having to wear a hairnet.

"No!" he protested. Emma chuckled, imagining the bully serving food. It was worse than her having to come to school earlier than usual. The principal shot Emma a look ordering her to stop.

"Sorry dear, I don't take no for an answer. If you get in trouble one more time, I'm afraid you will have to transfer to another school... and repeat your senior year."

"You may go home."

"Oh, and I must warn you," she smiled. "Don't think about skipping your sanctions! Goodbye!"

* * *

><p>Emma headed towards the Sheriff station instead of going directly home. She needed her father's defense from her mom. She could already imagine her scolding her repeatedly.<p>

"God, Emma! What happened?!" her dad asked worriedly. "I uhm.. kinda got into trouble," she said in a small voice.

"Well, stating the obvious, you did. Come here, tell me what happened."

"I'm sorry dad. It's just that... I saw him beating up a boy and you know how I am with bullying. He was kicking the life out of him so I tackled him..."

"Who's he?"

"Peter Pan."

"I'm going to break his neck next time he touches you."

Emma smiled. "And then he said you weren't a good sheriff but that's not true! You are the best sheriff Dad!"

"Honey, that was really brave of you to help that poor guy. And regarding my reputation, you didn't have to do that. We all know I'm the coolest Sheriff right?" they both chuckled. "I don't want you getting yourself into trouble again, okay?" David smiled fondly at his daughter. "Thank you. I'm proud of you, Emma," he said before placing a kiss on her forehead. "Now, let's go home."

David pulled to a stop in front of their house and looked at Emma. Her father squeezed her hand before opening the front door. "Honey! We're home!" David called out. Emma braced herself before she entered their house. She headed directly towards the stairs but her mother was already in the way. She looked down so her mom won't see her bruises. Her dad tried to distract her mom but it was too late.

* * *

><p>"EMMA! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?" her mother shrieked out horrified. Emma gritted her teeth and squinted her eyes.<p>

Regina felt a twist in her gut. _God, what is happening to me?_She didn't know why she suddenly cared about Emma. She paced back and forth in her bedroom, wanting to call Emma to make sure she was okay. But why should she even care? Emma was just a nobody, a loser in school. A loser who tried to save a poor boy and that doesn't really make her a loser anymore. She then decided to just text her.

_'Are you okay?' No, no, no. How about 'How are you?' No, it seems like I care a lot. Because I don't! Or maybe I do. Whatever._

She deleted the text and settled for a less emotional one.

**Regina**: What's up?

The brunette stared at her phone, waiting impatiently for a reply. Not more than a minute, Emma replied.

**Emma**: Hey. I'm feeling better, thanks for asking. Just got a detention slip and an aching stomach. Haha. How's your day? ㈴2

**Regina**: I could say it was better than yours.

"Emma Swan! You are grounded for two days! No cellphone!"

"Mom!"

"Emma, don't. Just don't," her mother warned, laying her palm open waiting for er phone.

"Okay, fine. Just give me a sec." She quickly sent a message to Regina.

**Emma:** That's cool. Anyway, my mom's taking away my phone. See you tomorrow! :D

The bully wasn't really expecting Emma to reply to her text. She found it unfair for the blonde to have her phone taken away. She didn't start the fight in the first place. She wanted to text Emma again but what for? She wouldn't be able to read it anyway. Regina couldn't wait for the next day to come.

Emma opened her TV because of boredom. She rarely watches the television. She only does when she gets tired of the usual things. After a while, she turned it off and opened her laptop, plugging her earphones on and clicking her iTunes. Facebook. Usual, SBHE .com

Her eyes widened. The top trending topic was #SwanSavior the following was #PETERsPANked

There is no other Swan in SBH. Her heart started pounding. She was the talk of the town again. She scrolled down and read different posts.

'Girl got moves! #SwanSavior'

'Hell yes Pan got what he deserves! #PETERsPANked'

Emma flinched when her door opened to reveal her Dad. She quickly pulled off her earphones.

"Oh that's why you can't hear your mother call," her dad said. Emma's eyes scrunched in question.

"Sweetheart, your mom's been calling you down for dinner a million times already. She has certainly gone mad."

"Oops!" she said through gritted teeth, jumping out of the bed.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

_Wow this is the longest chapter I ever wrote! I hope you liked it. Don't forget to follow and favorite if you haven't yet! Leave **REVIEWS! **I really like to hear what you think about this story. You can leave constructive criticisms, prompts, requests or whatever. Yeah. That's it! Love you guys so much x_

_#SwanSavior_


	17. Busted

Emma's fists hurt really bad. In fact, her knuckles were beginning to bruise. But nevertheless, remembering what an asshole Peter is, it was totally worth the pain.

She made her way to school and headed straight to the principal's office. The door was still locked so she sat on the cold stairs. After a few minutes, the secretary walked in, gesturing the student to follow her inside. She walked timidly behind, not wanting to engage in a conversation with the unprofessional woman.

"Sit there and don't make any noise. Principal Ingrid will come any minute," the secretary said, shooing her away from her.

"Good morning, Principal Ingrid."

"Oh, hello dear. Come inside!" she greeted with a smile. Once inside her office, the woman told her to sit down and make herself comfortable. "Coffee? Juice?" Emma shook her head and said, "Thanks."

The student scanned the room as the woman took her seat, stirring her coffee. "You know, Emma, you remind me so much of my niece."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're just like her, beautiful, smart and kind... She is just a little stubborn though. Just like you," she chuckled at the last word.

"Oh," she replied politely. "Is she studying here?"

"Unfortunately, no." The woman rolled her eyes and sipped her coffee. "I miss my Elsa so much."

They went on for minutes talking about the principal's niece. The woman was getting fond of Emma because of her similarities with Elsa. After a while, she decided to ask the student to fix her filing cabinet, considering it as part of her detention hours.

When the bell rang for the first period, the principal frowned in disappointment. She didn't want to let the blonde go. It was fun talking and spending time with the geeky girl.

* * *

><p>Emma walked through the hallways and the students looked at her with amusement in their eyes. Some tried to take a picture of her discreetly like a paparazzi but failed miserably because they were too damn obvious.<p>

"Swan Savior!" a boy called out. Emma froze. "Emma Swan!"

She replied with an unsure "Hi?"

"Can you please give me an autograph?"

"Uh... I... sure." The boy removed his jacket to show his personalized Swan Savior shirt with Emma's face on it. He turned around and tapped his upper back.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked a bit horrified. The boy nodded eagerly. She signed his shirt hesitantly. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!" he squealed as he ran off.

On her way to her locker, another group of girls blocked her way. "Can we take a selfie with you?" one of the girls asked excitedly. "Uh... okay."

"Big smile!" Emma smiled a forced one.

"Duck face!" Emma pouted her lips like the girls did but her eyebrows were creased together.

"Last one!" the camera clicked. "Oh my god! Thanks a bunch!" the girls giggled. Ruby and Belle grabbed her and quickly shuffled their way to the emergency exit door.

"God. Thanks for saving me," she said with an exaggerated exhale. Emma wasn't used to this much attention. Not that she didn't like it. Everyone wants a little attention once in a while but this? This is almost too much to handle.

"No problem, Swan Savior!" Belle teased. The blonde rolled her eyes.

Ruby pulled out her phone and showed the blonde several pictures on instagram with the #SwanSavior hashtag. There were candid pictures of her and videos of how she punched Peter aggressively yesterday. One picture caught her attention though. A picture where students were lined up in front of her locker waiting to meet her.

"Oh my God Emma. What have you done?" Ruby teased with a laugh. "Don't worry, we'll get your things. Just wait here."

Emma shook her head. _Crazy_. "Thanks guys."

Her friends left her in the emergency exit hallway. She heard giggles from the second floor and she realized the two students were doing something. She knew that spying wasn't a good idea but the voices sounded familiar. Curious that she was, she followed it.

She could hear them kissing and moaning as she walked closer to them. She could've sworn they were making out in school and it disgusted her.

"Stop it, Robin. Don't," warned a familiar voice. An involuntary gasp left her mouth as her world crumbled down. _Regina._

"Why not? Oh come on!" Robin snapped. _Asshole._

"No, don't! I'm not yet ready..."

He cussed angrily and stomped off. _What the hell is his problem?_Anger was boiling inside the blonde._He doesn't know how lucky he is to be having Regina and then he just leaves her like that?_

_This couple is surely the most complex one,_ Emma thought to herself. One second they're making out and then another second, they're arguing.

Emma heard Regina sobbed softly. She wanted to comfort her but then she realized her friends would be back anytime so she quickly walked upstairs just in time when her friends pushed the door open, panting for breath.

Ruby tossed her things to her. "Let's go!" Emma suggested before her friends would be able to hear Regina cry.

Regina entered the room a few minutes late. All eyes were on her. Her front was working, she don't look upset at all. The cheerleader had on her killer smile, the smile any guy would surely fall for. "Sorry, I'm late," she said charmingly. But despite that deceitful mask, Emma noticed how upset she really was deep inside. And she knew exactly why. It hurts Emma to see her crush unhappy. _What had just happen? They used to be so perfect together although she doesn't deserve that scumbag._

After class, Emma made her way over to the area where the cheerleaders are practicing for their routine as she waited for Belle and Ruby.

The blonde walked over the bleachers, taking a seat on the middle row. She observed the girls as Regina yelled different phrases in which the cheerleaders would react to. Some of the cheerleaders got tossed in the air while other did cartwheels.

Regina noticed Emma sitting alone in the bleachers, sipping her frappe. She gave her a smirk as their eyes locked with one another. The head cheerleader exaggerated her moves to impress the blonde.

"She's totally checking me out," one cheerleader said arrogantly. "Is she a lesbian?" another one asked.

Regina knew who the girls were talking about. Who else could it be? It's always about Emma Swan, the Swan Savior.

"I don't know? Maybe a bi or something. It's hard to tell but I swear I saw her gaze, she's totally checking me out."

The head cheerleader's ears rang with jealousy. "Get over yourselves. Now back to practice!" Regina ordered angrily, failing to hide the jealousy in her voice. She hated the way her stomach swirled, with the thought of Emma liking someone from the squad.

"If I wouldn't have known better, I'd think you were jealous!" The cheerleaders chuckled. "Positions! NOW!"

Regina knew that the blonde was more than a nuisance to her. She just doesn't want to admit but she thinks she might have grown a little admiration towards the nerd._It's not impossible right? Even Kathryn admire girls._

Emma couldn't deny it, Regina looked really hot in her outfit. She couldn't take her eyes off her. _Those tan legs, that perfectly toned abs, that beautiful face. God, she sure is the Queen of this school-oh, my god, I'm staring._

"Enjoying the view, dear?" Belle asked with a trace of malice in her voice, startling the soccer player.

"Please," Emma looked up and replied with a huff. The blonde turned back to the cheerleaders, trying to hide the blush in her pale face.

Belle sat beside her friend and together, they watched the cheerleaders do their routine. "That was cool," the brunette mumbled after the sluttiest looking cheerleader, Kathryn, did a flip off the pyramid and landed perfectly.

"Oh, come on, anyone can do that," Emma scoffed.

Belle turned to her and asked with a raised brow. "Really? Can you?"

Emma shot her a look. Belle chuckled as she scooted closer. "So you like her?" she asked, elbowing her. Emma looked at her in a quizzical way.

"How long have you had a crush on Regina?" Belle asked more specific this time, her eyes not leaving the performers.

Emma spat out her drink and looked at her. "WHAT?" she sputtered.

Belle laughed. She caught the head cheerleader staring at Emma and when she looked at her friend, the blonde was staring back at Regina. She smiled as she watched the two girls make eyes at each other. "Oh please, Emma. I can tell," she giggled.

_Well, crap._Emma thought, facepalming herself mentally.

"Uh... I... uhm..." Emma was completely at loss for words. She hated how she was caught off guard by one of her best friends.

"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone. It's just you and me, I promise."

"Well the last time I did tell my secret, the whole school heard it."

"Point taken." The brunette put on a serious face. "But you know, Ruby and I would never do that to you."

"Yeah, I know," Emma sighed as she looked down, feeling suddenly embarrassed, remembering the incident a few weeks before. She looked back at the cheerleaders and took a shaky breath. "I guess I do. Am I that obvious?" she whispered to Belle.

"No, no, no! It's just that I have a thing about it... like a sixth sense or something," Belle said, chuckling.

"Or something?"

"Yeah like a _gay_dar!"

"A what?"

"Hey you bitchachos!" Ruby shouted, cutting off their conversation. Belle winked playfully at Emma.

"Get your asses moving and prepare to be the big bosses of 'Ruby's!'" Belle gave her gothic friend an eye roll as she stood up.

Granny will be having a meeting with one of her new business partners in the adjacent city for the franchise of the diner, so Ruby and her friends were tasked to manage the diner for the night.

They walked to the flat surface on top of the hillside of the field. "Emma! Can you do this?" Belle asked before making a perfect cartwheel. She smiled and bowed before the blonde. Ruby played along and did the same thing. Emma raised an eyebrow at them. Belle shrugged her shoulders and did another, teasing her friend.

"Watch me," Emma said boastfully. Truth is, she doesn't even know how to do a freaking cartwheel. She raised her hands over her head and smirked at her friends. Things happened so fast. She landed her hands on the grass and kicked both of her legs up as her hands stayed put on the ground. She could barely lift her legs in a straight way, worse, lift it halfway through the air. She tried, she really did but she failed miserably. She ended up landing on her butt and looking like a hopeless retard. "Oops!" she said, scratching the back of her head.

Her failure caused them to burst out laughing their asses off that Belle accidentally snorted. It made them laugh even louder. Ruby gave Emma a helping hand and asked, "Remind me why we're friends again?"

* * *

><p>"Em, you don't have to work tonight. We're the big bosses, remembah?" Ruby said, making sure to pop the letter <em>b<em>.

"I'd love to but I can't. I have to work for my shift, Ruby. We both know that."

"No! I command you, thou shall take a day off!"

Emma grinned while putting on her apron. "So what, you're a God now?" she asked as she retreated from her friends. "I've always been a Goddess, you know that!" Ruby shouted, sticking out her tongue. Emma smiled as she walked over to a table.

Another moment later, bell chimed again. Marian walked to the door and greeted the new customers who just came in. It was Kathryn and Regina, regulars to the diner.

"Would you like a table?" the waitress asked them. Regina raised an eyebrow. "No, not at all. We came here to eat on the floor. Carpet for two please," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. The waitress blushed a shade of pink and led them to a booth.

Once in the counter, she asked the help of Emma. "Could you please cover for me?"

"Sure."

"Uh... Hi," she greeted Kathryn and Regina with an unsure smile. "What would you like to have?"

Kathryn smirked at her, trying her best to intimidate her but Regina saw how Emma wasn't affected at all. She looked confident with no trace of shame in working in such kind of place.

"The usual," Kathryn ordered.

"Sorry, I-"

"Oh right I forgot you're new and knows nothing about your regulars. So that would be mozzarella sticks and a strawberry milkshake. Thank you very much," Kathryn said with an eye roll. Emma quickly jotted down her order.

The blonde turned to Regina. "Chicken salad and apple juice."

"Okay. So that would be mozzarella sticks and strawberry milkshake and a chicken salad and apple juice. Will there be anything else?"

"No, that would be all," Regina answered. "Actually, can I have nachos supreme instead?"

"Okay."

In a minute or two, Emma came back with their orders.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you not to garnish it with guacamole. I'm allergic." Kathryn said with mocking smile. Emma gritted her teeth. She picked up the plate and started walking away. "And waiter!" _What could it be this time_? Emma rolled her eyes before turning. "Could you please get me a glass of water?" Kathryn asked with an evil smirk.

"You need help?" Ruby asked her. She saw the bitchiness of Nolan. "No, it's just the usual Kathryn. I can manage."

Emma came back with her order, a nachos supreme without the guacamole, and a glass of cold water.

"Oh god. Did I say I like my water with ice? I must have-"

"You know-" Emma started but was interrupted by a fuming Ruby Lucas.

"Excuse me, do we have a problem here ma'am?" Ruby hissed.

"Yeah, ask your stupid waitress!" Kathryn shouted back. Emma gritted her teeth. If there's anyone stupid in there, it's Kathryn herself.

"I'm sorry but we don't use such filthy language in here. I saw how you demanded awhile ago. Do you even realize the time wasted just by taking your orders? There are other customers too. It's you who've been messing up with my staff with your orders and if you keep that biatchitude, the door is open, you are very welcome to leave the diner."

Kathryn was stunned, her heart racing so fast. Everyone turned their attention to them, glaring at the bitchy blonde. Kathryn slumped into her seat like a child being scolded.

"Looks like you got the attention you want now, don't you?" Ruby whispered to her and smirked mockingly. "So yes, your order will be a nachos supreme _without_the _guacamole_, a strawberry milkshake and a cold glass of water _with ice_. Do you need anything else?" Ruby asked. Kathryn shook her head frantically.

Ruby noticed the other diners watching their scene. "My apologies. Please. You may continue with your food."

The staff were relieved when Kathryn didn't make any more of her stupid orders and stuff her mouth with the mozzarella sticks, taking one after the other. She and Regina rarely even talked because of the embarrassment she caused.

The two finished eating and stood up from their seats. Emma saw Regina's handkerchief fall as she stood up. She was about to walk and pick it up for her when one of the customers already told the brunette before she could even come close. Regina bent over to reach for her handkerchief in a sexy manner. Emma cleared her throat at the sight. The brunette's tight pants and crop top wasn't really helping. It also doesn't help that she looks so damn attractive.

Belle leaned into Emma when she saw her staring at Regina's ass and whispered, "Emma, please. Your gayness is showing."

The blonde felt her cheeks flare up and quickly diverted her gaze. She felt embarrassed at being caught.

The following day, Kathryn called Regina and told her about her make out session with her latest boytoy. She told her everything except his name. She always leave that part saying it's not important. She told her details after details, like how they started kissing and how far they went.

"Too much information," Regina said in disgust.

"You're such a prude, you know."

"I'm not a prude," the brunette snapped back.

"Really? Then why haven't you done it with Robin yet? How long have you been together again?"

"Five months..."

"Five months and nothing?" Kathryn groaned. "That explains why..."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. Do you love him?"

"Of course! But having sex with your boyfriend doesn't prove you love him! There are so many other ways."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Regina didn't say anything at all. _Stupid mind, why won't my brain work when I need it!_

"That's what I thought. Anyway, you going out with us tonight?"

"No, I think I'll pass."

"What? Why?"

"I have a review with Swan."

"Are you choosing to spend time with that pathetic loser over us?" Kathryn practically yelled over the phone. "What the hell's happening to you Regina?"

"Whatever! Byeeee!" Regina hung up the phone and sighed.

She doesn't know what was happening to her. Her mind was juggled with random thoughts which finally ended up with her argument with Robin the day before. If he really loves her, he would respect her no matter what. She could feel the tears acting up on her eyes when suddenly, her cellphone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts.

**Emma:** On my way, Mills! Please don't kill me when I get there!

Regina smiled at her text. She hated her, well she used to hate her... the nerdy Emma Swan, who gets in her way all the time. She loathed being with her. But now, things have changed. She was always one to look forward to having their review sessions. She couldn't help but smile, imagining the blonde scrunch her nose and push her eyeglasses up.

Their doorbell rang and she practically flew down the stairs to open the door. She breathed in a few times and put on her queen bee mask before twisting the knob.

"Hi," Emma greeted with a cute smile. Regina was trying hard not to smile back.

"Why were you late?" she deadpanned.

"I'm really sorry. I got lost around the block because I used the other street. The street sign was also almost unreadable," she said, shaking her head. "I also dropped by the store to get us some-"

"Okay! I get it, you can stop rambling," Regina said, cutting her off.

"...cinnabon. I got us cinnabon," Emma finished with a chuckle to which Regina rolled her eyes.

The brunette walked in and stopped midway. "Are you just going to stand there?"

Regina smiled as she made her way to her room with Emma on her tail.

After a round of oration, Emma decided to have a break. "I'm hungry!" she said with a groan, pulling out the cinnabon boxes. "Do you prefer classic or chocobons?"

Regina cleared her throat. Her mouth was watering at the sight of the cinnamon roll. "None. I prefer none. I don't eat sweets."

Emma looked at her almost instantaneously with a shocked look. "What? You're missing half of your life!"

"I'm not missing anything, dear. You can take it home."

"But I bought one for you," the blonde said with a pout.

"Just take it home, thanks."

They walked downstairs and headed to the kitchen. Emma devoured on the cinnabon while Regina made herself a healthy sandwich. After eating, Emma noticed an open door. She saw a grand piano inside. "Mills, you play?" she asked with a gleam in her eyes.

Regina closed the door and sighed, "I used to."

"Why did you stop?" Emma asked her, surprising her by her sudden impulse. "It's a long story."

"I'm here to listen. You better start telling so we could finish it," the blonde joked.

"I'm still not going to tell." Emma frowned. "Okay, I respect that."

_I respect that. I respect that. I respect that._ It keeps echoing in Regina's mind. Respect is something Robin wouldn't understand but it was almost bounded within the girl beside her. Her heart was racing with her thoughts. Why is she comparing Robin to Emma? _This is weird. As in really weird._

"Earth to Mills! Hello?" Emma said, waving her hands in front of her. "If you don't want to tell me, that's totally fine. But could you at least play a song? I just want to hear it. I haven't heard the music from a grand piano in a while." Regina shook her head. Emma clasped her hands together and used her puppy dog eyes. "Please? Just a snippet? Please? Please?"

Regina smiled and shook her head once more. "Fine." Emma beamed widely and clapped her hands like a seal.

They walked towards the grand piano with a deafening silence. It's quite dusty like it haven't been opened for year.

"But I must warn you, I haven't played for a while so my fingers are kinda rusty." Emma just smiled at her.

Regina sat down and opened the top of the piano, her fingers trailing the keys. Emma was standing with her elbows propped up on the piano case, staring at her, smiling. The brunette sighed deeply before pressing the keys.

Emma closed her eyes and listened to the melody her tutor was creating. It was a wonderful music to hear, especially when it's your crush playing. In the middle of the song, Regina stopped playing.

Emma opened her eyes to see Regina closing the lid. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

The blonde didn't want to push more buttons so she just let it slip. She sat down beside Regina and told her, "Hey. Whatever the reason you stopped playing was, I don't know and I can't do anything about it. But there is one thing I'd like you to know," her voice trailed off as she smiled. "That you are an amazing pianist! I mean, that was really beautiful! I hope one day you can find your inspiration to play again. Don't waste your talent, Mills, you can go way too far with that."

Regina's face happily lit up and they were smiling at each other for what felt like forever when suddenly, Emma's phone rang, breaking their moment.

"Hey!" Emma answered. "What, he's there already? ...Yeah I know but it's just four o'clock!"

"Yeah yeah... Okay, fine let him wait. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Emma turned to her tutor and asked with squinted eyes. "Uhm... Mills? Can we continue our review next time?"

"And why is that?"

"Personal reasons," she replied, smiling, knowing Regina wouldn't be able to counter it.

Regina tried to swallow her disappointment that Emma wanted to leave early. "Fine," she said, but she didn't want her to go. Emma dashed to Regina's room to grab her things as the brunette waited for her downstairs.

"Thanks for teaching me," the blonde said. "And playing for me."

Regina blushed. She knew Emma meant it as a joke but for her it kind of wasn't since she really did play for Emma.

The blonde walked towards the front door.

"Swan wait!"

Emma turned around. "You forgot this," Regina said, handing her the cinnabon box.

"Are you sure you don't want it?" Emma asked.

_Why does she have to be annoyingly adorable? _"Yes."

Emma walked a few steps before turning around and smiling, "Hundred percent sure?" Regina rolled her eyes and pushed her through the door.

"Okay. Thanks for teaching me!" Emma yelled from outside.

The brunette promised herself she'd buy cinnabon that week. She headed back to her room and watched Emma from her window. She noticed the blonde make a stop on the sidewalk and removed her backpack. She pulled out the cinnabon box and handed it over to a homeless guy. She even gave him her tumbler. Her actions melted Regina's heart.

When the blonde disappeared at the end of the street, she opened her phone. She saw Neal's tweet on her timeline. 'Waiting for the beautiful hero...'

_Hero? Could it be that he meant... the Savior? Swan Savior?_She remembered Emma saying_'What, HE's there already? Okay, fine let HIM wait.'_

It made perfect sense.

Her blood turned into a boil, jealous as hell. But why would she be jealous? She doesn't have a crush on Emma and she is straight as hell. Well, that's what she was trying to tell herself for the past two weeks. She can't be gay. It was ridiculous. Her mother would kill her and her friends might disown her. Every nerve in her body recoils against that thought.


End file.

Once Upon a Time, Humor, Romance