Chapter 1

AN: Hey! This is my first fanfiction, I hope you guys like it! I'm not sure how long it's gonna be, just until I get to where I want this story to go. I also don't know how frequently I'm going to update, I am on winter break right now so I have more free time to write, but as of now I have the first 3 chapters already written, so there's that. I will update as often as I possibly can, though. Hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis, the writers of Once Upon a Time.

Quote: "We have a strategic plan. It's called doing things." ~ Herb Kelleher

Emma Swan didn't know what was going to happen today. She was fourteen years old, and today was her first day of high school. She had lived in the same apartment in Boston with her parents for her entire life. Also, she was adopted.

Her real parents had died in a fire when she was just a baby. She never knew them, or their names. But government records didn't lie. Her parents were dead. And her adopted parents were about as far away from parents as they could be. She didn't know why they adopted her in the first place. Her best guess was that they needed someone to blame all of their issues on. They didn't feed her much, nor did they provide much clothing, but something is better than nothing, right?

Emma didn't feel like she had parents. In her eyes, she was still an orphan. She guesses that's why she has a certain look in her eye. A lost look. A broken look. Unfortunately for her, the other kids her age didn't want to be friends with someone lost and broken like her.

On her first day of high school, Emma walked through the school doors and took in the huge scene in front of her. Kids ages fourteen through eighteen rushed about. She could easily identify the cliques that had already been established. There were cheerleaders, jocks, thespians, band/choir/orchestra members, scientists, and the predetermined popular kids. Of course, Emma didn't belong to any of these cliques. She never had, and she knew she never would. But she'd gotten used to it by now.

She was on her way to her locker when a group of what she could only guess were senior football players, what with their team jerseys, lumbering heights, and several footballs in hand, came barrelling through the halls. Sparing no thoughts towards Emma (or frankly any of their surroundings, for that matter) they crashed into her, sending her tumbling to the floor. Still oblivious, they proceeded to quite literally walk all over her, leaving her sprawled on the floor, her books scattered around her, having fallen out of her arms.

Emma just sat there, wondering why in the world these things happen to her as often as they do. Strangely enough, she saw a hand grab one of her books and hand it to her. She grabbed the book and looked up only to be met by a pair startlingly beautiful blue eyes. They reminded her of the sea in a way so vivid she didn't think it was possible. She could see the calmness and serenity of still waters mingling with the sharpness and ferocity of raging storm waves. Beneath it all, though, she could see an undertone of lostness and brokenness that she saw every time she looked in a mirror.

She recovered from her shock only to find that this pair of eyes belonged to a boy. He looked about her age, with messy dark hair. Since she had lived in this part of town her whole life, she knew who everyone was, but she had never seen this boy before.

He collected the rest of her books and stood up, holding them in the crook of his left arm. He held out his other hand to her and gave her a small smile. She took his hand and he pulled her up to stand next to him. She noticed he wasn't very tall, the same height as her, and he was wearing a simple blue t-shirt and black jeans.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and she was startled to realize that he had a very heavy British accent.

"Yeah," she replied, "and thank you," she added.

He just shrugged in response and asked, "What's your name?"

"Emma Swan. What's yours?"

"Killian Jones."

/PAGE BREAK/

Killian Jones didn't know what was going to happen today. He was fourteen years old and today was his first day of high school. He had just moved to Boston from England and still wasn't familiar with the area. Also, he was sort of an orphan.

He had lived in England his whole life with his mother, his father, and his older brother Liam, who was now twenty-two. His mother had just died of bone cancer a year ago, because they didn't catch it early enough and started the treatment too late for it to help at all. A few days after that, Killian and Liam had woken up to find that their father had left, just walked out in the middle of the night with no goodbye. Liam was old enough to work so he had juggled three jobs for the last year so that he could make enough money to move the two of them to America, to start over. Killian and Liam loved each other more than anything, despite the eight-year age gap, and the events of the past year have only brought them closer.

Still, Killian was sort of an orphan. He guesses that's why he has a sort of look in his eye. A lost look. A broken look.

On his first day of high school, Killian walked through the doors and took in the huge scene in front of him. While there were some similarities, there were vast differences between this school in Boston and the uniform-requiring private schools he attended in England before he lost his mother.

He heard a loud noise and looked behind him to see a group of much older boys literally walking over a girl with long blonde hair, leaving her on the floor with her books scattered around her. He didn't know what inside of him made him do this, but he walked over to this girl, knelt down next to her, and picked up one of her books and held it out to her.

She grabbed it from him and looked up only for their eyes to meet. Hers were a startlingly beautiful green that looked like a compilation of many different precious gems. It was jade mixed with emerald mixed with peridot. Beneath it all, though, he could see an undertone of lostness and brokenness that he saw every time he looked in a mirror.

Killian picked up the rest of her books and stood up, then held out his right hand to her and offered her small smile. She took it and he pulled her up to stand next to him. She was the same height as him and she wore a purple and blue plaid flannel shirt with light blue jeans. She was beautiful in every way, even the ways he couldn't describe.

"Are you okay?" he asked, for surely that could not have been a pleasant experience.

"Yeah, and thank you," she replied.

He just shrugged. "What's your name?" he then asked, wondering if there was a name that existed that was as beautiful as this girl.

"Emma Swan." Ah, so there was. "What's yours?"

"Killian Jones."

Killian knew right then and there that he was in love.

AN: What'd you guys think? Leave lots of reviews! Constructive criticism is very much appreciated!