"Shit!" Emma Swan was cursing up a storm, trying to get her best friend out of bed. "Ruby, get up! We're going to be late to the diner. Granny will kill us both."
"Ugh," came the reply from the hung-over girl.
"Seriously? Come on. You knew we had to work today. You shouldn't have drank so much. Hell, I shouldn't have drank so much. Ruby, get up!" She finally lost her patience and shoved the other girl into the floor.
"Ow," Ruby whined. "That really hurt, Em." The girl jumped to her feet, now fully awake and in panic mode since she had glanced at the clock. "You're right though, Granny is gonna kill us"
The brunette shamelessly stripped down and then pulled on clean clothes right in front of Emma. They'd long ago dropped any sense of privacy, having been friends since Emma was 15. Still though, it sometimes still surprised Emma to know that her friend was comfortable enough to do so when she knew that Emma was attracted to women.
Ruby Lucas was attractive, and she knew it. She was tall, lean and had long brunette hair, with streaks of bright red through it. She deliberately wore almost nothing, telling Emma that it got her more tips at the diner and more drinks at the bar.
"You know Granny hates that you wear that stuff, right?" Emma asked her friend as she hastily ran a brush through her blonde curls, and put on her usual skinny jeans and tank top.
"Says the girl wearing a tank in Maine when it's almost October," Ruby shot back at her.
"I'm wearing a tank because we have a show tonight at The Rabbit Hole and I don't plan on coming home before then. Neither are you. I've got to call David and Lily on the way to work. We are practicing before the show. Besides, I'm gonna wear my jacket." She rolled her eyes at her friend while picking up her red leather jacket and heading for the door.
"Em, you're gonna kill your vocal chords, not to mention mine and David's fingers. We just had a show last night. Don't you know what overkill is?" Ruby asked, rushing to follow her friend.
"It's not overkill. Something good is about to happen for us. I can feel it, and I just want us to be ready." The blonde told her friend as they got into her little yellow bug and headed off for Granny's Diner.
On the way she called David, their bass guitar player and Lily, their drummer to ensure that both of them would be at band practice later that afternoon. After some fuss from each of them about the overkill, they'd all finally agreed to meet at 5 o'clock that afternoon in David's garage.
"You two are late," Granny huffed as they rushed into the diner ten minutes after their shift was to start.
"Sorry Granny." They replied in unison.
She looked at them pointedly, over the rim of her glasses. "Yeah, well don't make a habit of it. You may be my girls, but I won't show any favoritism and I can still fire you."
"We won't, Granny. I promise." Ruby told her, going to hug the aging woman that had raised her.
"Alright, alright. Get to work. Ruby, you've got tables 1-7 and Emma, you have 8-14. Mary Margaret is cooking today."
The work day passed rather smoothly for the girls after that and soon enough it was 4:30 and time for their shift to end.
"You girls be careful tonight. It's a full moon. All the crazies will be out," Granny joked as she hugged both girls tightly.
"You aren't gonna come to this one?" Emma asked.
"Nah. I'm getting too old to be going to every show. You will be as great as always. I should know, I've been listening to the two of you for 7 years now."
"We will make you proud Granny," Ruby told her sincerely.
"I know. You already do. What are we calling the band now? Have you settled on a permanent name yet?"
"Eh. We don't know if it's permanent yet or not, but right now we are Yellow Beetle." Emma laughed.
Granny scrunched up her face at that. "I suppose the name doesn't matter. I'd listen to you no matter what."
"The look on your face says otherwise Granny. We will probably change it again soon." Ruby chuckled. "You know Em never stays satisfied with a name for long."
"That's true. By the look Granny gave us, this one won't last much longer." Emma replied nudging her best friend in the ribs with her elbow.
"You two better get to practice. Be safe." Granny hugged them once more and then returned to work.
Twenty minutes later, the girls were setting up their gear in David and Mary Margaret's garage. David was a handsome, sandy haired guy with a strong build and charming personality. Mary Margaret was his longtime girlfriend and she worked at the diner with the other girls. She was short and had dark hair cut in a pixie style. They were joined shortly after by Lily, their Chinese drummer and her girlfriend, Aurora, a light haired beauty that always followed wherever Lily went.
"Now that everyone is here, we have something to discuss." Emma said, calling everyone's attention. "Granny hates our name."
A collective groan sounded through the room.
"Again, Emma?" David sighed. "How many times are we going to change our name?"
"As many times as it takes for all of us to agree on one that sticks," she replied. "Now, we need suggestions."
"Ball of Yarn," Aurora said laughing. She suggested it every time this occurred, causing everyone else to laugh too.
"The Howlers?" Ruby suggested, her love for wolves showing through.
"What about The Charmings?" David asked.
Emma thought them all over. "Well, as much as we love you Aurora, I really hate that name." she laughed. "I like The Howlers and The Charmings though. Let's vote. Who likes The Howlers?" Ruby and Lily raised their hands. "The Charmings?" David, Mary and Aurora raised theirs. "Charmings it is, sorry Rubes."
"No worries," she replied sliding her guitar onto her shoulders. "We all know that it won 't last forever."
"Right, well, we were kind of rough on a few of the songs last night, me especially, so that's why I insisted on practice today." The blonde told them as she drank down her first bottle of water for the afternoon.
"Emma, you were great last night," Lily insisted, while pulling her dark hair into a ponytail and seating herself at her drums.
"I agree Em. You're pushing yourself too hard," Mary Margaret stated.
"I want to be ready. I have a really good feeling guys. Just bear with me." Emma told them before she began to warm up her voice.
"Absolutely not Mel," Regina insisted to her friend.
"Come on Regina. It's been forever since you got out," Tink piped up.
Regina rounded on her other best friend. "How dare you side with her Tatelyn," she yelled, her frustration causing her to use the woman's real name.
Tink just rolled her eyes. "It's not a big deal. Just come to the Rabbit Hole with us tonight. Will said he'd let us in free."
"And what about Henry? Have the two of you forgotten that I have a child to care for, unlike either of you?" She said in a sharp tone.
"I haven't forgotten," Mel responded. "I called your parents and they agreed that he could stay with them tonight."
"Maleficent! You didn't! Do you want my mother to corrupt him?" She was yelling again and the people surrounding them in the restaurant were beginning to stare.
"It will be fine. You know she won't treat him like she did you. You two are trying to fix things darling. She will be good because of that." Mel insisted.
"I will make a deal with you. If, and only if, Henry wants to go see his grandparents, then I will go with you."
Tink smirked at Mel and turned to Regina. "Well then, it's a good thing I already asked him. I figured you'd try to con him into saying no. He already agreed."
Regina sank into her chair. "Fine. Pick me up at 8. I will have enough time to take Henry to my parents and get ready by then."
AN: I'm pretty excited for this story and I hope you all like it. Just to be clear, Lily is Mulan. Mulan means Wood Orchid, and Fa or Hua means flower, so I named her after a flower. Just thought I'd let you know so you can put a face to her. :)