The first time she saw Killian Jones, she was running late.
As Emma slipped out of her dorm, she sent a quick text to Mary Margaret as she slid her keys into her backpack.
I know, I'm late, I'm sorry. Meet me in the caf in 10?
After hitting send, Emma looked up and realized the hallway was not as empty as she originally thought. Two people were in an obviously heated discussion, pressed up against the wall, completely oblivious to the fact they had an audience.
"I don't understand why you're so annoyed, Killian," the girl was saying softly, but obviously agitated. "I gave up a lot for you. I'm not asking for much in return."
The man had his back to Emma, but she could see him shift as he sighed, running his hand through his hair before saying in a low voice, "I don't think I deserve the lack of trust you've shown in me since the semester started. Why did you-" he started, but was quickly shushed by the girl when she noticed Emma coming down the hall.
Feeling very uncomfortable, Emma tried to quickly but quietly make her way towards the stairs. As she passed the couple, the girl glanced up at her and tried to smile, even though it looked more like a grimace. Emma nodded in acknowledgement, and looked over her shoulder to glance at the man as she passed him, preparing herself to try and act like this was not incredibly awkward. They made quick eye contact and Emma was immediately floored by how handsome he was. He nodded at her and also attempted a smile, slightly more genuine than the girl's, and raised his hand in greeting. Quirking up the corner of her mouth, she looked ahead and shoved the door to the stairs open, hiking up her bag and plunging down the steps, away from whatever was happening outside room 227.
Emma practically ran to the cafeteria and threw her bag on the dinner table, startling Mary Margaret out of her studying. She blinked up at Emma in surprise.
"You okay?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Yeah," Emma deflected, "Just hungry. And late. Sorry."
"Not a problem," Mary Margaret shook her head, easily letting Emma off the hook. Pulling her pass out, she followed Emma towards the hot line. "Just catching up on some reading for tomorrow."
Emma sighed, and started piling her plate with chicken fingers. "I need to catch up, too. If we have a quiz in Ethics tomorrow, I'm screwed," she said, and fell into an easy conversation with her friend as they filled their plates and ate dinner together, distracting Emma from the awkward encounter with the gorgeous man and his… whatever… in the hallway.
Hopefully not girlfriend.
But Emma definitely didn't acknowledge that thought.
The second time she saw Killian Jones, she had actually managed to momentarily forget about him. But as she made her way back to her dorm later that night after studying with Mary Margaret and Ruby, she passed him by as he was leaving her dorm building. His obvious sex hair mocked her as he walked down the sidewalk, totally oblivious as he checked his phone.
"Oh, sorry, love," he muttered when he accidentally bumped into her.
"Yeah, just watch where you're going," Emma said. The end of her sentence softened as they made eye contact, and his mouth quirked up in a sardonic smirk.
"My apologies. Next time I'll be on my best behavior around the lady," he quipped, and made a mock bow. Emma quirked her eyebrow.
"Next time?" she asked.
"Of course. We've met twice in an evening. We're fated to see each other again, Miss…" he trailed off, clearly wanting her to supply him with a name.
Emma paused, debating if she would tell him. "Emma," she finally said, and he smiled at her.
"Emma. Pleasure to formally meet you. My name is Killian Jones." He walked away backwards, giving her a slight salute before spinning around and continuing his way towards the parking lot.
The third time she saw Killian Jones, he was fighting with his girlfriend outside 227 again.