A/N: This is my first fanfiction for any fandom ever. CS AUs give me life and I wanted to attempt writing one myself.
I am not a native speaker, and this story hasn't been beta'ed by a native speaker, either. Feel free to point out any mistakes.
It is a sunny day, which is a very welcome change from the storm that had been going on for the last two days. Most of the students are out on the quad, soaking up the sun they very much missed.
Not Emma Swan though. Emma Swan is bent over books, as she always is, cramming for finals. Her goals are far too important, the bar she set for herself far too high for her to do anything else. She has her every step mapped out and she'll be damned if she lets an exam she was too lazy to study for keep her from achieving her goals.
She stays at the dorms on campus because she can't afford an apartment near campus, and she doesn't want to waste any precious time on commuting, which means she has to share a suite with another girl. She loves her roommate, she really does. But when she asks her repeatedly if she'd like to join her and seven other people out on the quad (seriously, how does she know so many people?), determined not to take no for an answer, she snaps at her. She regrets it afterwards, but she knows Ruby will understand.
Ruby Lucas is a very lively person, living through life with the energy of twelve toddlers. She is the epitome of model-like beauty with mile long legs, fair skin, dark hair, and green eyes. Ruby can wrap any guy around her little finger in under five minutes with minimum effort.
Emma envies her from time to time. Not that she is any less beautiful than Ruby is. In fact, Emma has a toned physique (courtesy of years of training), eyes of emerald green, a flawless complexion, and hair resembling a golden halo tumbling down her shoulders. What she envies is how free of inhibitions Ruby can be from time to time. Compared to Ruby, Emma is a much more reserved person. She learned it the hard way that letting your guard down is rarely a smart thing to do.
Ruby majors in Journalism and it's evident she'll be good at it. It's like she can smell a good story, which she has proved time and again in the two years she's been writing for the school journal. Emma's major is Law; she would like to help children in the foster care system after she graduates. She still remembers the seven kinds of hell the system has to offer and she's determined to make sure she keeps as many kids as possible from being its victim.
Emma is almost done with her revisions when the door opens and a slightly anxious Ruby takes a peek inside the room reluctantly. (She did throw her out of the room a few hours ago, so it's understandable why Ruby is being cautious). Before she sets foot into the room, the brunette holds out a hand through the slightly ajar door, a hand that's holding takeout bags from Emma's favorite Chinese restaurant just outside campus. Emma smiles to herself, thankful to whatever deity that has decided to grace her with such an amazing friend.
"You can come in Ruby, I won't try to bite your head off, I promise," Emma says, "Plus you brought takeout, and I'm starving, so you are pretty much my favorite person right now."
Finally stepping into the room, Ruby throws a crimson painted smirk her way and retorts, "I wasn't so sure you wouldn't have bit my head off this morning, but anyways, there's no need to kid ourselves, we both know I'm your favorite person any day of the week."
"Yeah, whatever," Emma says, even though she still has a smile on her face, "Just get your self-confident self, and more importantly the takeout bags, to the living room, I'll be there in a minute."
The suite they live in consists of two bedrooms, a living room with an adjoined kitchen (which they use on very rare occasions because, let's face it, despite having worked at a diner for years before quitting, Ruby is an awful cook and Emma has more important things to do than cooking) and a bathroom. They settle on the couch, which is in the middle of what they call their living room.
Emma pulls containers out of the takeout bags and looks through them. Ruby has brought egg rolls and Kung Pao Chicken, Emma's favorite. "Oh, you know me too well," the blonde says as she digs in without further ado.
Ruby grins and picks an egg roll from the container. "By the way, we are going out on Friday to celebrate the finals being over." Emma opens her mouth to object but Ruby beats her to it, "Before you try, you can't talk your way out of this one, you've been making me go out alone all semester."
Emma sighs as her shoulders slump in defeat, she knows better than to try to argue with Ruby once she's made her mind up about something.
"Fine, I'll go, but you are not allowed to dress me up or else I am not setting foot outside this suite," she retorts, she's been Ruby's friend long enough to have been a victim of her enthusiasm for making people over, multiple times.
"Oh, you are no fun," Ruby whines, mock pout in place.
"I am not letting you put me in one of your dresses, and this is final," Emma replies with as much determination as can muster, and she sees Ruby physically deflate in resignation.
"Well, lose some, win some," Emma thinks to herself as she stands up. She turns to her friend to say, "Thank you for the food, I'll buy next time," which she answers with her best why-are-you-even-mentioning-this look. Emma snorts before continuing, "I have to go finish my revisions. You better do some as well, seriously Red, I don't know how you manage to pass with all that partying you do."
Ruby smiles at the nickname; it originated from the red streaks she had in her hair (and probably from her vibrant personality) and just stuck even after she dyed them brown.
"It's because I am very intelligent, in fact, I border on genius so I don't have to study as much. It just comes naturally to me," Ruby teases; there's no way she's going to admit she stays up late studying for hours after Emma has gone to bed.
Finals come and go; it is a very trying week for everyone involved. Emma lives through the week in a caffeine induced energy and, much to Ruby's misfortune, crankiness. So when Friday evening comes, all Emma wants to do is lounge on the couch in her sweatpants and marathon the third season of Fringe for the umpteenth time, (She thinks it's the best season of one of the best sci-fi shows ever) but Ruby fixes her with a stare that says "Don't you even dare" loud and clear.
"Fine, I'll go but you can't make me have fun," Emma retorts.
"Trust me, I know by now that no one can make you do anything you don't want to," Ruby says and then she adds in a singsong voice, "But I'm sure there'll be plenty of hot guys there!"
Emma sighs, "Ruby you know I don't have time for that sort of thing in my life."
All playfulness leaves Ruby's voice as she replies, "Emma I'm not telling you to jump into a serious relationship right away but you've got to give yourself a break every now and then. Flirt with a cute guy, break some hearts."
Emma can't help but snort at her friend's words, "You must have mistaken me for yourself Ruby, you know I'm not capable of wrapping guys around my finger as you do."
Ruby outright laughs at that, "Emma, have you not looked at the mirror in the last decade? You are more than capable of doing that and a lot more. Now quit stalling and get ready!"
With that, they both retire to their respective rooms to get dressed. As she made clear before, Emma has no intentions of wearing a dress. Instead, she puts on her black skinny jeans with rips on its knees, a grey V neck t-shirt, (which she knows will please Ruby, since it gives way to a decent amount of cleavage) and lastly her pair of black four inch heeled Chelsea boots, which leave the closet on special occasions only. The entire process takes only ten minutes, since Emma decides to let her hair fall in its natural curves.
She knocks on Ruby's door and the next thirty minutes are spent with Ruby insisting she does Emma's makeup (She ends up with a lot more makeup than she usually goes for). When she looks at the mirror, she has to admit that Ruby did a splendid job with the best smoky eye makeup ever and the perfect amount of dark red lipstick. Once they are both dolled up enough to satisfy Ruby, they make their way out. Ruby is amused to see that Emma has grabbed her black leather jacket from the coat rack by the door and she can't help but tease her about it, "I see you've brought your armor."
"Oh, shut up," Emma says, but there is no venom behind it.
Despite Emma's relentless inquiries about where they're headed, Ruby refuses to tell her. (Where's the fun in that, she says). After a five minute walk they find themselves in front of a hip looking bar named Rabbit Hole. "Really?!" Emma says.
Ruby just shakes her head and retorts, "Quit being cynical and follow me to Wonderland."
"Red, we both know you are nothing like the white rabbit, in fact, you are the big bad wolf on your best day." This makes Ruby laugh.
As expected, they make their way into the bar without any trouble, apparently Ruby knows the bouncer. (Why is she not surprised?) The bar is full of students, (She and Ruby are not the only people in need of a good drink and some fun after the finals) Emma even recognizes some of the faces from the classes she takes. To her surprise, the bar is playing good music, which is a very welcome change from all the top 40 playing clubs Ruby has dragged her to in the past.
"I need a drink before I can even begin to tolerate any of these people tonight," Emma says to Ruby before she heads straight to the bar.
Getting to the bar proves to be a challenge since most of the people are well on their way to being drunk of their asses and Emma has to even forcefully push a few out of her way. When she finally reaches the bar, she settles on one of the stools and asks the bartender for a beer.
Not long after she's taken her first sip, a body collides into her, making her spill half of her beer. She turns around, anger boiling in her veins, ready to vent about how no one watches where they are going in this fucking place and they should not be drinking if they can't handle it, but the words die in her throat as the man, who almost threw her off her stool, looks at her apologetically and says, "My apologies, love, I lost my balance for a second there. Allow me to buy you another one."
Even in her angry state, Emma can't help but admit the guy in front of her is extremely handsome with broad shoulders, dark hair, well-kempt stubble and blue eyes glazed slightly with alcohol. To top it off, he has a British accent. Not that Emma has a thing for guys with accents, she most definitely does not, but even she has to admit the accent adds to the mystery guy's charm.
The guy's apologetic look gives way to a smirk when he notes Emma's reflective state and blatant staring. "Like what you see, love," he drawls.
Emma huffs indignantly, "In your dreams," she retorts. Of course a guy as good looking as this one is an arrogant asshole. "To answer your offer, no, I don't need you to buy me another drink. I just need you to go to the other side of the bar where I can't see your face and let me drink here in peace," Emma says.
He bows down very low and replies before turning around to leave, "If the lady insists."
She scoffs and downs the rest of her beer and asks for another one. When she reaches into her purse to pay for it, the bartender cuts her off, "This one's already paid for."
Emma looks at him quizzically, "Paid for? By whom?"
The bartender points to the other side of the bar, where the guy from before raises his glass to her in salute. "By that guy over there, his name is Killian. Killian Jones."
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