A/N: Okaaaayyyyy - this is my very first multi-chapter Outlaw Queen fic. I'm going out on a limb with an AU for this one... it's, very AU. So um, yeah. I'm not too sure how people are going to feel about it. Please go easy on me on the Highschool details. I've tried to keep it set in the US, however I don't live in the US nor have I ever so what I know of the American schooling system is pretty much from TV and movies. Remember this is just fiction - so things don't have to be accurate.

This chapter is mostly 'setting up the scene' hopefully the set-up of the relationships etc is clear. If not, please ask questions.

And also don't worry - Henry is appearing in this fic too.

Her last first day of high school.

'Finally.' She breathed out to herself at the thought as she smoothed out the pleats of her blue tartan school skirt and straightened the blue tie they were forced to wear as part of the uniform.

The countdown until she finally moved away for college had started for real. Three hundred and sixty-five days from now and she would be moving from under her mother's roof.

'Hurry up, I'm going to be late for my meeting.' Cora said, rapping her knuckles on Regina's open bedroom door.

Regina sighed and picked up her bag. It was heavy with books. They wouldn't receive their time-tables until homeroom that morning, and seniors were assigned lockers in a special sectioned off corridor, so she was stuck lugging around all her books for the day until she could dump them in her locker.

Finding her centre of balance again with the weight of the bag shifting her centre of gravity, she headed down stairs.

Her mother impatiently tooted the horn from the driveway. Regina rolled her eyes and headed out the door. Why her mother insisted that she go to school with her when Regina could easily catch the bus was beyond her. But Cora would never hear of it.

They'd had the argument several times. But Regina had yet to win - even though her younger step-sister had a luxurious extra thirty minutes sleep and caught the bus into school (Regina knew for a fact the girl spent the whole trip making out with her boyfriend, and surely there would be no way Leopold would continue to allow his daughter to catch the bus in if he knew what was really happening).

Robin

-where r u?

Regina's phone lit up as soon as she received the message. She grinned at the familiar name. The one little light that existed in her life.

Regina

-just left. B there 10

Robin

-kk

Cora spent the drive to school lecturing her about it being her senior year. This year counted, apparently. It would determine which school she went to (Harvard, it had always been Harvard). So she had to work hard, be invovled in as many extra curricula's as she could, keep her GPA up, and study for the SATs.

Over summer Cora had her practising her essay submissions for when the time came. Which was not exactly an activity Regina found thrilling to spend precious summer hours doing.

She mostly zoned out, as she usually did whenever her mother started talking, and agreed when her tone suggested she should. They got to school quickly as the morning traffic wouldn't quite pick up for another half an hour, Cora parked the car in her designated spot in the staff parking.

'I've already arranged for Belle to keep the library open until 4 for you as that is when I will be leaving.'

'Ok.' Regina didn't have anything else to say, so she left it there as she hopped out of the car and entered the school building.

He was sitting at the bottom of the staircase - back to her, so she walked down as quietly as the polished floor would allow her too. He was playing on his phone, so didn't look up at all.

Regina grinned as she reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders.

'Hi Gina.' he said, completely unfazed.

She frowned. 'You knew I was here?'

'I could hear you trying to be quiet. Yes.'

'You're not fun.' She said, as she manoeuvred to sit next to him.

'You know that's not true.' He said.

'Yeah, whatever.'

'How was Cora this morning?' He asked.

She shrugged. 'Same old. Senior year, it's important. I have to basically run myself to the ground while still getting perfect marks. So… I might not make it college after all because I'll be dead.'

'If anyone can handle it, it's you.'

'The whole college thing is still on right?' she asked.

'What do you mean?'

'You, and me. Harvard?'

'I would have it no other way.'

'Good.' She smiled, and he smiled back at her. She had decided at the age of ten, whilst watching Legally Blonde, that she wanted to go to Harvard. Her stubborn ten year old self demanded Robin that he come to Harvard with her, because she didn't want to go there alone. She would never admit it to anyone, not even her best friend, but she was secretly hoping she should meet her Emmett whilst studying there and she could live happily ever after.

Robin would mock her mercilessly if he knew that. Which is why she would never tell him.

They sat on the stairs all morning. Occasionally other students would say hi. Mostly to Robin. People didn't really like her. Robin told her people just didn't get her, but if she would just open up like she did with him they would. She preferred to blame her mother. Everyone knew Cora, deputy-head of the school was her mother. It didn't help that her mother had gone and married Headmaster Blanchard.

That also unfortunately made Mary-Margaret, world's most stuck up princess, her step-sister.

'Hi Robin.'

Regina glanced up, and scowled. Smiling coyly at her best friend was Marian. She was without a doubt one of the most popular girls in the school. With her long, chocolate hair, olive skin, and expressive brown eyes. She was rarely without a male suitor chasing after her.

Marian had been after Robin for the past year. He said he wasn't interested. But Regina caught how his gaze lingered on the girl from time to time.

He could do better.

'Hi Marian. How was your summer?'

Regina didn't even bother concealing her eye roll. Why would he initiate conversation?

'Oh it was amazing. We spent three weeks in Portugal, their beaches are just incredible. How was yours?' The girl had the audacity to sit herself down on the other side of him, and Regina was suddenly completely ignored. She pulled her phone out, pretending like she wasn't listening. But she definitely was.

'It was good. Spent most of it just hanging out at the mall and the park with Gina. We took a couple of beach trips. It was a lot of fun.'

'Oh. Cool.'

'Yep.'

Regina rolled her eyes again. Pathetic. The both of them.

'Well, I have to go and meet up with my friends. It was nice talking to you.'

'Ok, bye.'

Out of the corner of her eye Regina watched him watch her leave and had to suppress her sigh. Pathetic.

'I've said it before, there's better for you out there. But if you insist, why don't you just asked her out?' Regina asked him.

'I've told you I don't-'

'You forget I can read you like a book.'

'Now is not the time to be starting anything. Harvard next year right?'

Regina suppressed a grin. Of course he would be thinking of the long-term.

'Harvard.' She agreed.

'The bell is about -' he was interrupted by the shrill ringing. He stood up and held his hand out to her. 'Shall we milady?'

'If you insist sir.' She placed her hand in his and he pulled her up. Once she was standing she let go of him quickly, and they walked to home room together.

After roll call was taken, their schedules for the year were handed out. Robin swiftly plucked Regina's schedule of out of hands and laid it side by side with his own.

'I wasn't done with that.' She said.

'We have Gold for English.'

'Great. I'll just kiss Harvard goodbye then.'

'It'll be fine.'

'At least you're in my social studies class as well.' Regina said. 'I can't handle Cora on my own.'

'Your mother hates me.' Robin reminded her.

'And I hate her.'

'Don't say that about your mother, Gina. You don't mean it.'

Regina glowered at him. Because he knew, better than anyone, what her mother had put her through. And knew that hate wasn't far off what she felt towards her mother. Yes, she hoped one day Cora would redeem her actions. But until the time came… their relationship would be strained at most. Full of resentment.

'I almost do.' She said. 'Who else do we have?'

They both ran through their classes and teachers. It turned out that despite quite a lot of crossover in the subjects they were taking, English and Social Studies were the only two classes they were actually sharing for the year. Regina wouldn't have even been surprised to find out that Cora had some sort of hand in the arrangement.

English happened to be their first class of the year. They filtered into the classroom, Regina and Robin securing seats together. Regina rolled her eyes when David Nolan chose to sit on the other side of Robin. Great. She should have known it was going to happen. Robin and David (or, as she personally called him, in her head, most of the time anyway, Uncharming) had been friends for a long time. She never did like the boy. Nor did she understand how Robin could ever be friends with someone like him. But she appeased the friendship by staying silent about it. No matter how irritating it was that he was over every, single, day, to mack on her step-sister.

'Hi Regina.' Uncharming said with a smile.

'Hi.' She glowered.

Robin nudged her with his elbow. 'Be nice.' He muttered.

'I'll be nice when he stops being irritating.' She said.

Regina saw Robin shrug at him, but chose to ignore it.

'Good morning Seniors.'

The general chatter of the class stopped immediately as Gold walked into the room. He swung the door shut with his foot and strode to the center of the room.

'Well, well. You are the ones who have made it.' He said.

Gold had a way of commanding the room, of forcing every single student to listen to him. They knew he was capable of a lot. So no one was game enough to push him.

'This year, you no doubt will have college on the brain. And with that, pranks, goofing off… partying.' He paused. 'I have high expectations of my senior classes. Unless you have been rushed to hospital with a missing limb you will hand every assignment in on time. No exceptions. And you will fail if you don't. If your assignment does not meet my expectations, you will get one more chance to do it over. You must complete the work in the given timeframe and if it is still not up to standard you will fail that piece of work. Fail three times and you fail my class. In the event of that happening, I'll see you again next year.'

His eyes scanned the classroom, as though he were boring into the souls of every student. Regina shifted uncomfortably. Despite the fact that she had known Gold since she were child, due to his weird, questionable relationship with her mother, he always unsettled her. The silence dragged on.

'Right, now that that's out of the way let's get started.' He picked up a piece of chalk - for some reason Gold's classroom was the only one still using a chalkboard when the rest of the rooms had upgraded to whiteboards years ago. 'Shakespeare. A literary great. To start off this year we will be looking at three of his works. Hamlet - the classic. Othello, and Twelfth Night. You should have received these in your book packs. If not, you should track down copies to bring to tomorrow's class.'

He continued, and Regina continued making notes. She ignored that she could feel Robin peering over her shoulder to check on things he missed. Gold was the one teacher guaranteed to be watching her as closely as her mother would. And he would report on anything that distracted her. The last thing she wanted was gold telling Cora Robin was a distraction.

Cora already didn't like Robin. Some sort of old feud with his parents. But for now she had yet to be 'forbidden' from seeing him (excluding a period of several months when they were thirteen and someone had told Cora she and Robin had been making out behind the school grounds… a blatant lie).

'That wasn't so bad was it?' Robin asked as they were leaving room. He slung an arm around her shoulders. An awful habit he had, though Regina did nothing to stop it. It did nothing to quell the dating rumours that would occasionally float around (thankfully never reaching her mother's ears). But Regina liked to believe it was that habit of his, and that habit alone, and scared off any potential male suitors. It had nothing to do with the fact that her mother was the one teacher as the school all students feared. Or… worse… that she was just truly undesirable.

'You say that now, but after lunch we have Cora.'

'Well, thanks for reminding me. That's ruined my mood.' Robin said. His arm dropped from her shoulders and she immediately missed the contact. Not that she was about to say as much.

'You don't have to live with her. Just remember that.'

'How could if or get when you remind me every day.'

Regina flashed him a sarcastic smile. 'You love how much I complain about life at home.'

'Oh yes, you really know how to charm a guy with horror stories of your mother, and exaggerated tales of how awful your step sister is.'

'She is awful!' Regina exclaimed.

'Ok.' Robin hummed. Though they both knew his agreement was only verbal to appease her. He got along quite well with Snow actually. And David 'Uncharming' Nolan. Much to Regina's distaste.

Sometimes she wasn't even sure how she and Robin were friends.

'Come on, off to hell we go.' He looped his arm through hers (another one of those habits) and the comforting squeeze he gave her was reminder enough.

The fact that Cora was her social studies teacher had nothing to do with how much Regina hated the subject.

… Maybe deep down it had a little to do with it.

The class were ushered in. All of them already far too familiar with how Cora (or Mrs Blanchard as she was known these days) preferred a silent classroom, and demanded nothing less. They found their seats, and Regina was grateful at how Robin instinctively moved his seat closer to hers. A safety net between herself and her mother.

'Don't get comfortable.' Cora said. 'It is your senior year, and I expect only the best from every one of you.' Her gaze lingered on Regina. 'Therefore I have taken the liberty to remove any distractions from you, by arranging a seating chart.'

Regina slumped. She already knew she was going to be separated from Robin. In fact, she wouldn't out it past her mother to have orchestrated the whole thing just so she and Robin wouldn't be sitting next to each other. She could feel him glance at her, but refused to meet his gaze. She was furious.

'Right, Marian Dubois over here.' Cora started moving students around the room.

'Robin Locksley, over next to Marian.'

Regina wasn't sure how she stopped the exclamation of 'No!' That so nearly escaped her lips. She watched in near horror as Robin took a seat next to the girl, who smiled brightly at him.

She didn't know how, but she was certain her mother did it on purpose.

Regina didn't pay attention to much else her mother said. She wasn't moved. But Jefferson Stan was seated next to her. That alone only depended her scowl. When they were thirteen and in seventh grade, Jeff had tried to shove his tongue down her throat during a game of spin the bottle and she had yet to forgive him for it.

Their relationship wasn't quite that black and white though. He might have been the person she first got really drunk with. And he was her first point of call if she needed a revenge plan on someone.

But hey would never be anything close to friends.

Because at thirteen his tongue was in her mouth and she had not enjoyed it one bit. (It took several years for him to brave approaching her again. Robin never told Regina exactly what he'd said to him at the time once he found out. But it was enough to have Jeff stop talking to her for a long time)

Jeff tried to strike up a conversation, but Regina had silenced him quickly with a scowl. She silently fumed the whole class, refusing to look over at Robin and Marian, and instead focused on taking as many detailed notes as she could. Cora, unsurprisingly sprung several questions on her - thankfully all of which she got right.

As soon as the class ended she picked up her things and was the first to be storming out of the room, where she headed straight to the library to study until 4pm when her mother would finally finish up for the day and take her home.