One Fine Day (Sort Of)

CHAPTER 1, Day 1

Kyle swerved off the road, coming to a stop just in front of a green and slightly rusted town limit sign. She stared in confusion before glancing down at the screen on her phone. Google Maps was working, but there wasn't any trace of a town anywhere on the screen. She looked back at the sign, briefly wondering if the app simply needed to be updated. Do "new" towns just appear? Kyle shook her head at that thought. New towns didn't just appear and by the looks of the town limit sign, it had been there for quite some time.

"Storybrooke?" Kyle let the word slip out in the empty truck, eyebrows furrowed at the, borderline, unbelievable name. "Where the fuck am I?"

Looking back down at her phone, Kyle touched the screen. Taking the app back to the main page she quickly typed in the name of the town, getting zero results. She didn't know why it mattered whether or not the supposed town showed up on any map. There were plenty of towns that weren't big enough to be on the map. What concerned Kyle was the fact that somehow her GPS had taken her off course and she had no idea where she was. But unless she wanted to turn around and backtrack an hour, Kyle was about to find out exactly where she had gotten herself lost. Glancing back down at the zero results on the screen Kyle sighed, dropped the phone onto the passenger seat and pulled back on the road.

After ten minutes of winding roads surrounded by nothing but forest, finally signs of life started to slip into view. Signs of buildings, anyway. Whether or not there were people remained to be seen. Coming to a stop, Kyle saw a sign that said Main Street and looked both ways. To the left, there looked to be a shop or two and to her right there appeared to be a lot more options. Right it is. Kyle thought to herself before pulling out. Having no idea where she was going or what she was going to find, Kyle crept down the road well below the speed limit all the while hoping to find that there were actually people in the town that time forgot. Just as she looked out her right window, Kyle happened to see a couple coming out a door and down a set of steps. She hit her brakes and looked at the sign above the door.

"Granny's?" She mumbled to herself. "Of course there's a Granny's."

Kyle pulled the truck over to the curb and grabbed her phone. It was 8:30 in the morning and she'd been driving since three. If this was a place to eat, she was going to get some food. As she walked, Kyle looked at her phone and clicked on the little envelope in the top left corner that told her she had messages waiting. When the screen popped up, Kyle realized she was looking at Twitter. The messages were from Catherine. She quickly read over them, laughing to herself as she walked up the short path. Clicking the bottom line, Kyle was typing out a response as she walked up the steps and through the front door, not once looking up. She'd gotten quite adept at walking and typing, managing to never run into anything or anyone. But just as she hit the send button and looked up, Kyle ran right into whoever had been standing just inside the door.

The woman stumbled back, quickly holding her arm away from her body, putting distance between them as Kyle looked up. She was holding a to-go cup of coffee and sporting a seriously pissed off look on her face. But damn, she was hot. Kyle's mouth fell open, intending to apologize, though nothing was coming out but stuttering and she watched helplessly as the other woman appeared to grow angrier at her lack of manners.

"I- uh...Oh my god, I'm so-"

"Sorry?" It was one word, but Kyle nearly melted on the spot. This woman's voice was slightly raspy and sounded like pure sex. "I believe the word you are looking for is sorry. But you apparently have no manners or the ability to speak and function like a normal human being."

"I'm so sorry." Kyle finally spit out the apology, looking the woman over to make sure she hadn't spilled any of the drink from her cup. "You didn't spill your- I mean, I didn't make you spill your drink, did I?"

"You're still alive, are you not?" The woman's attitude was through the roof. She was clearly a bitch, but for some reason it just wasn't registering in Kyle's brain. As a matter of fact, Kyle was suddenly wondering if she'd left her brain in the front seat of her truck. Or in my pants. She thought to herself. Yeah…definitely in my pants. "There really is something wrong with you, isn't there dear?"

"Yep." Kyle mumbled under her breath, suddenly finding the floor more interesting than the rest of her surroundings. When she looked back up the brunette was staring at her with a look of disbelief and Kyle did the only thing she could think to do. Holding out her hand she said, "I'm Kyle, by the way."

If it was possible, the woman's eyes nearly rolled out of her head and it was suddenly clear to Kyle that she would not be getting this gorgeous woman's name. Staring down at the hand she'd extended, Kyle quickly realized that she would not be getting a friendly hand shake either. So much for first impressions. The brunette stared at her a moment longer before she shook her head and finally responded. "That's a man's name."

Had Kyle been less dumbfounded, she would have laughed. Kyle was roughly 5'7", about 150lbs with short brown hair that she kept styled in a boyish undercut that fell over her forehead and swept to the side. She was used to be being mistaken for a guy and even more used to adverse reactions to her name, but something about this woman's ballsy attitude had her attention. Kyle had always been attracted to women with attitude, but the attitude was usually directed at someone other than herself. This instant attraction was downright masochistic, so it was a good thing she was only passing through. Not to mention, this woman was way out of her league. Kyle couldn't help but glance down at her battered but most comfortable pair of jeans and plain black t-shirt. And this woman in front of her, wearing a pair of black pinstriped pants with a white button down and matching pinstripe vest... Yeah she was definitely in a completely different ballpark kind of league. Just as Kyle was about to respond, her phone started blaring a notification sound and before she could stop it, the woman in front of her quickly brushed past her, making sure to bump her shoulder. The action knocked Kyle slightly off balance and she laughed to herself as she turned to watch the brunette walk out the door.

When Kyle turned her attention back to the diner, she realized that the entire restaurant had been silent, but quickly went back to minding their own business now that the brunette was gone. Weird. Kyle thought to herself as she approached the counter. She sat down at the bar and responded to the message as she waited for the waitress behind the counter to make her way to where Kyle was sitting. She watched the younger girl out of the corner of her eye as she lazily scrolled through the missed messages in the group chat that she was a part of. When she saw the girl headed her way, Kyle sat her phone aside and smiled at her as she came to a stop.

"I see you survived your run-in with Mayor Mills." The girl laughed and shook her head. She held out her hand and Kyle took it. "I'm Ruby. You must be new here."

"I'm sorry. Did you say Mayor?" Kyle shook her head in disbelief. It wasn't even nine in the morning and there was no way this day could get any better. "That is your Mayor?"

"Yeah. Her name is Regina. She's kind of a hard ass. Not as much as she used to be. But it happens from time to time." Ruby sat a cup in front of Kyle and poured it full of coffee. Kyle hadn't asked for it and she wasn't exactly supposed to have the caffeine, but she wasn't about to turn it away. "Don't tell anyone I said so, but I think it's all just an act."

"Kyle." Kyle glanced back at the door even though the brunette was long gone, then turned back to the waitress. "I'm sorry. My name is Kyle."

"I heard." Ruby smiled as she handed Kyle a menu. She winked at Kyle as she was about to walk away and said, "It's a man's name, remember?"

Kyle shook her head and laughed as she turned her attention to the menu. It was simple, which Kyle appreciated. Too many choices made for a hard decision. By the time Ruby made her way back to where Kyle was sitting, she had thankfully decided what to order. As interesting as it seemed to be, she didn't want to be in this town any longer than she had to be. Once she was through with her breakfast, Kyle was waiting on her change when Ruby came back and decided to make more conversation.

"So you're not from around here?" Ruby asked as she handed Kyle the money she owed her.

"Just passing through." Kyle answered, finishing off her coffee and standing up from the stool. "Kind of...on a road trip."

"Alone?" Ruby looked at Kyle as if that was the saddest thing she'd ever heard and Kyle laughed.

"Yeah. Alone..." Kyle shrugged. "Sometimes it's nice to just get in your vehicle and go. But, I wasn't exactly supposed to be passing through here. I didn't even know this town existed. But my GPS got me lost somehow, which is exactly the opposite of what it's supposed to do."

"GPS?" Ruby looked at her in confusion.

"Yeah. GPS. You know... GPS?" Ruby just stared at Kyle. No sign that she had any idea what Kyle was talking about. How is that even possible? "You know... Global Positioning Sys- Yeah, you have no idea what GPS is. How is that even possible?"

Ruby just shrugged.

"Anyway...It was nice to meet you." Kyle said as she headed for the door. "Breakfast was great and...yeah...good luck with your Mayor."

Kyle headed for her truck, a white Xterra sitting by the curb a few yards up the sidewalk. She looked around as she made the short trek and thought to herself that the town just seemed off. Something about the whole place was giving her the creeps and she couldn't wait to get back on the road and on with her life. She got settled in the driver's seat and buckled up before putting the key in the ignition. When she turned the key, nothing happened. Taking a deep breath, Kyle turned the key again and still...nothing happened.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Kyle nailed the steering wheel with both hands before calmly reaching for the key again. Nothing happened. The engine wasn't even trying to turn over. No clicking sounds signaling that it was probably a dead battery. No nothing. "Fuck. Just...fuck my actual life."

Frustrated, Kyle hit the steering wheel a few more times before running a hand through her short brown hair. She was about to pick up her phone to call someone when she realized, there was no one to call. Kyle nearly jumped out of her skin when there was suddenly a tapping on her passenger side window. When she looked up, there was a blonde standing there staring at her. What now? Kyle thought to herself as she hit the button to roll down the window. When nothing happened she remembered all over again that her truck wouldn't start and therefor had no power. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled. Stepping out of the truck, Kyle walked around the front, meeting the blonde stranger half way.

"Is there a problem?" The woman asked, crossing her arms and taking a stance that almost looked defensive.

"Ah...no." Kyle shook her head, wondering how much of her breakdown the woman had seen and wondered why she even cared. Kyle gave the blonde a once over and on the way back up, her eyes locked on the shiny gold badge stuck to the woman's belt. "You're a cop."

"The Sheriff, actually." The blonde cocked her head to the side, waiting to see if Kyle had anything to say and Kyle couldn't help but wonder if this whole situation was about to go downhill. The Sheriff pointed to the driver's side of the truck. "So, uh, what was that all about?"

"Look, Sheriff...I'm just passing through and-"

"Yeah, that's not what I asked you." The Sheriff took a step closer to Kyle and instinctively, Kyle took a step back. What the hell is in the water here? Kyle held up her hands to show the Sheriff there was no reason for her aggressive behavior, but she just held her ground. Pissing off the Mayor and the Sheriff both in the same day. What were the chances?

"Yeah, uhm, my truck won't start." Kyle hesitantly propped herself against the front of the truck with one hand before she realized that she was one hand away from being in a position for the Sheriff to needlessly frisk her. Which she honestly believed the Sheriff looked like she might do. Kyle stood back up and stepped away from the truck nonchalantly and shoved both hands into her front pockets. "Is there someone I can get to come take a look at it? I really need to get back on the road."

The Sheriff looked at something over Kyle's shoulder and then back to Kyle's truck. Kyle turned to see what the woman had been looking at only to find an auto garage across the street that read Michael's Auto and Marine. "Well that's convenient."

"I didn't catch your name." The Sheriff spoke up, drawing Kyle's attention back to the situation she was currently in. Kyle sighed, wondering if this was going to go anything like her run in with the Mayor.

"Kyle." She offered her hand and unlike the uppity Mayor, the Sheriff accepted it. "And yes, I know it's a man's name. Your Mayor made sure to inform me of that. Like I didn't already know."

"Ah. You met Regina, then. Let me guess, you pissed her off?" Kyle nodded and the blonde laughed. "Not surprised. I'd congratulate you, but you're not the first. That's typically my job. I'm Emma. Swan."

"Nice to meet you Sheriff Swan." Kyle ran a hand through her hair again and glanced down at her phone to check the time. "I guess I need to go see...Michael?"

"Yeah. Tell him I sent you over." The Sheriff said as she stepped back onto the sidewalk and headed in the direction of Granny's.

"Thanks, Sheriff." Kyle called after her as she went the opposite direction to see about getting her truck fixed.

. . .

"Well it's not a dead battery, that's for sure." The man, Michael, said as he dropped the hood on Kyle's truck. "I'll get a couple of my guys to give it a push over to the shop and we'll take a look at it first thing in the morning."

"In the morning? It's only ten in the morning. Today! I need to be on the road. An hour ago!" Kyle's voice was rising in pitch. Her disbelief of the situation frustrating her. "You seriously can't do anything until tomorrow?"

"I already have a couple of cars in my shop as it is." Michael shoved his dirty rag into his back pocket, looking at the stranger while she took a moment to calm down. "Looking at it tomorrow is me doing you a favor."

Michael held out his hand and Kyle looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "I'll need your key, ma'am."

"Ma'am? Really?" Kyle shook her head and laughed as she worked the truck's key off of her key ring. Do I look like a ma'am? Kyle thought to herself. She slapped the key into his hand. "Is there a place I can stay? A hotel or motel or...something?"

"You'll want to go see Granny. She runs the Inn as well as the diner." Michael informed her as he turned to head back to the garage.

Kyle took a deep breath and tried to reason with herself. She wasn't on a schedule. She actually had nowhere to be and as long as she could get a room, she'd just stay in it to avoid running into any more people. Opening the back end of the truck, Kyle dug out her back pack and another duffle before shutting it a little harder than necessary. Stuck in this fucking town... Kyle was shaking her head as she headed back toward the diner, paying attention this time as she headed through the doors.

"You're back!" Ruby's cheerful voice echoed through the diner as the door slipped shut behind Kyle. The waitress came to a stop at the end of the counter where Kyle remained standing. "And you have bags. Did you decide to stay?"

"More like, held hostage." Kyle said before realizing how it must have sounded. "My truck won't start. The guy who owns the garage across the street is going to take a look at it in the morning. He said I needed to speak to someone named Granny about a room?"

"Or me!" Ruby's bubbly personality was almost contagious Kyle realized as she couldn't stop herself from smiling. If she didn't speak to anyone else in this town, at least meeting Ruby had made her time less painful. Before Kyle realized what was happening, Ruby had taken off her apron and was yelling at someone who must have been in the kitchen. "Granny, we have a guest! I'm just going to take her over to the Inn and get her checked in!"

Kyle followed Ruby back through the front door and into the diner's courtyard. She was attempting to make idle conversation with the cheerful waitress as they walked through the gate and onto the sidewalk. Ruby slowed her steps and allowed Kyle to walk first through the archway. Kyle turned to look at Ruby who was close behind as she continued to talk and unexpectedly she felt herself bumping into something warm and slightly soft. Kyle cringed as she heard Ruby gasp and slowly turned to see exactly who she'd bumped into this time.

"You." Regina spoke through clenched teeth. The disdain in her voice was ever present.

Ruby spoke up first but her words were quickly interrupted by the woman she was attempting to speak to. "Madam Mayor, I was just taking-"

"Yourself for a walk?" Regina suggested firmly and Ruby's shoulders slumped as she turned and started up the sidewalk without even questioning the woman. Regina turned back to Kyle, a mask of indifference falling over her features.

"Ruby! I-" Kyle watched her walk several feet away and wasn't sure if the younger woman was going to stop and wait on her or not. Turning back to the Mayor, Kyle had no idea what to do. "But she- I- We were just- I mean...I need to follow her. She-"

"You have bags now." Regina raised an eyebrow as she waited for any form of response. "Why are you still in my town?"

Kyle looked her in the eyes, deciding right then that she didn't know this woman, so she sure as hell wasn't going to put up with her attitude. "Well, you know...I ran into you earlier, met Ruby in the diner and then after breakfast I ran into, although not literally, your extremely gorgeous Sheriff and decided this town was clearly full of hot woman with attitude and hell, that's right up my alley!"

Kyle winked at the Mayor who stood there with her mouth just short of hanging open and promptly turned and started walking in the direction of Ruby. Ruby, who had decided she'd gotten far enough away from the woman who had told her to leave. When Kyle caught up with her, she hadn't bothered to look back as she'd walked away from the Mayor, but Ruby couldn't help herself and took one last glance as she pushed off the fence and led them both towards the Inn.

"I don't know what you said to her, but I could see the vein on her forehead from here." Ruby laughed. "That wasn't very smart, you know?"

"Eh. I'll be gone tomorrow." Kyle laughed with her and shrugged. "Why not have a little fun today?"

Day 2

Kyle was slowly coming to as the morning sun had begun to filter through the blinds in the room Ruby had put her in the day before. Rolling over, Kyle reached for the night stand and grabbed her phone to look at the time. The numbers on the screen read 7:45 and Kyle groaned and dropped the phone to the bed. She definitely hadn't meant to sleep so late. And she really needed to get a shower and go find out just how long it was going to take before she could get on the road again. Rolling out of bed, Kyle grabbed her charger and rolled it up before shoving it into her backpack. After rifling through her duffle and digging out a new set of clothes all she had to do was hit the shower and get the hell out of this place.

Showered and dressed, Kyle was resisting the urge to run from the Inn. Bags in tow, she was hopeful she could just leave her stuff in her truck, grab some breakfast and be gone before noon. When she reached the sidewalk in front of the Inn and took a right, Kyle looked up to find her truck parked next to the sidewalk where she had left it the day before. Thank god! Maybe he got it fixed already! Kyle couldn't help being a little more than happy with the prospect of skipping breakfast altogether and getting the hell out of dodge. Honestly though, she wouldn't be skipping out on food. When she reached the truck, Kyle opened the back, dropped her stuff amongst the rest of her things and shut the door more carefully this time. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Kyle clicked on the dialogue bubble first and brought up the group convo and typed out a quick message to her friends.

Morning ladies! Still stuck in the town that time forgot, but woke up to find my truck all fixed and ready to go! Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Stepping away from the truck, Kyle headed toward Granny's with her face still glued to her phone as she read her morning messages from Catherine. Smiling to herself as usual, Kyle clicked on the blank line and began to type out a response as she walked up the path. On the top step, Kyle continued typing with one hand and reached for the door with the other.

I'm guessing you're probably still on your Saturday morning walk! Hope you're having a great day so far. It's 8:30 here already and I can't wait to get the hell oughebabi

Kyle looked up and couldn't help but laugh. How in the hell had she managed to run into this woman three times? Clearly Regina was not amused and Kyle's laugh quickly died down as she realized she should probably apologize. She was standing back, holding her arm away from her body just like the day before and luckily, she hadn't spilled anything on her clothes. Clothes that Kyle suddenly noticed were exactly the same as the day before. She didn't know this woman at all, but Regina did not look like the type of woman to wear the same outfit in a month, let alone two days in a row. The pissed off look on her face oddly mirrored the one she'd taken on the day before as well. Kyle smirked again, trying her best not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Clearly, there was a higher power at work that was determined for Kyle's path to keep crossing with the gorgeous Mayor's.

"I, uh... I'm really..."

"Sorry?" Regina was quick to finish the sentence for Kyle once again. "I believe the word you are looking for is sorry. But you apparently have no manners or the ability to speak and function like a normal human being."

Kyle was feeling a serious sense of déjà vu and looked around to see if someone was possibly playing a joke on her. Ruby was standing behind the counter watching the interaction and the rest of the diner's patrons had stopped what they were doing as well. All eyes on Kyle and the Mayor. Something weird was definitely going on in this town and all Kyle wanted to do was get in her car and leave it behind her.

"I'm so sorry." Kyle apologized finally and couldn't help but give the woman another once over. She didn't want to repeat herself from the incident the day before, but had no idea what to say to smooth over the situation. "I didn't make you spill your drink, did I?"

"You're still alive, are you not?" Regina responded just like the day before. There's something seriously fucking weird going on here. Kyle pinched the bridge of her nose and ran a hand through her hair. "There really is something wrong with you, isn't there dear?"

"Okay. I'll play." Kyle nodded her head, completely over the joke they were trying to pull on her. She realized she had thoroughly pissed this woman off the day before and Kyle honestly hadn't thought she'd ever see her again. But clearly Regina had a routine and Kyle had stepped on her toes. Metaphorically, so far. And now they were all paying her back for showing up in their town and throwing off the cycle of boredom and uniformity. Kyle held out her hand. "I'm Kyle. It's nice to meet you."

And just like the day before, Regina looked at Kyle like she'd lost her mind and promptly rolled her eyes. The only difference today was that she already knew Regina's name. But now she wondered if Regina would keep up the charade or actually be polite and give her name as well. Regina stared down at Kyle's hand like she had a disease and Kyle got her answer. Dropping her hand, she shoved them both into her back pockets. So much for third impressions. And as if on cue, Regina finally responded. "That's a man's name."

"Depends on who you ask." Kyle mumbled to herself. And even though this whole ordeal was annoying as hell, Kyle couldn't help but find it amusing. Also, the brunette in front of her was still hot standing there in her black heels, pinstripe dress slacks with her white shirt and pinstripe vest. Yesterday the situation hadn't been so funny. Today, Kyle just wanted to laugh. Definitely a masochist. "You know-"

Kyle's words were interrupted by her phone going off. Despite knowing it was the Mayor of this town she was dealing with, Kyle smiled and held up a finger silently asking Regina to give her a moment. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and silenced it. Just as she was about to speak again, Regina completely dismissed Kyle, brushing by her and knocking her off balance. Regaining her composure, Kyle laughed and shook her head as she watched the woman storming through the courtyard. Once she was out of sight, Kyle turned back to find everyone suddenly minding their own business.

"It's like the fucking Truman Show around here." Kyle said to herself. She might as well talk to herself. She was the only one making any sense since she rolled out of bed. Approaching the counter, Kyle threw her hand up at Ruby hoping to catch her attention. While she waited on the upbeat girl, Kyle turned her attention back to her phone. The notification had been from Catherine.

What the hell is oughebabi? And hopefully you won't be stuck there too much longer. Just remember, you're not on a timescale and try to play nice with the locals.

Oh. And don't feed them or they might try to follow you out of town.

Kyle laughed out loud at the messages. When she looked at the one she'd been typing before she had run into Regina, Kyle realized she must have touched a bunch of buttons and managed to hit send as well. She'd just add that to the list of all the goofy shit they said to each other all the time and move on with her life. Knowing she could talk to her friend about anything, Kyle quickly shot her another message to explain.

First...remember what I was telling you yesterday about running into the hot Mayor? Yeah, well...it happened again. How in the fuck, I have no idea! And that's where oughebabi comes in.

I was trying to say OUT. As in I need to get the hell OUT. OF. THIS. TOWN. There is some seriously weird shit going on here. Because I walked into the diner and ran RIGHT back into the Mayor. Just like yesterday.

Kyle decided to wait on elaborating until Catherine responded. She put her phone to the side just as Ruby walked up with a coffee cup and a pot of coffee in hand. Ruby laughed and shook her head. "I see you survived your run-in with Mayor Mills. I'm Ruby. You must be new here."

Kyle dropped her head into her hands right there at the counter, leaving Ruby to stare at her in confusion.

"Not you too." Kyle mumbled in a whiny tone. Taking a deep breath, Kyle looked back up at Ruby and had no idea how to proceed. Fifteen minutes into this game and suddenly she was over it. "The Mayor."

"Yeah. Her name is Regina. She's kind of a hard ass. Not as much as she used to be. But it happens from time to time." Ruby sat the cup in front of Kyle just like the day before and poured the coffee almost to the top. Thank god she left enough room for sugar. Or alcohol. Is it too early for alcohol? "Don't tell anyone I said so, but I think it's all just an act."

Kyle looked around the diner to see if anyone was paying attention. When she realized that everyone was still minding their own business, she glanced back toward the door before facing Ruby once more. "Kyle. My name is Kyle."

"I heard." Ruby smiled as she handed Kyle a menu and winked as she was about to walk away. "It's a man's name, remember?"