Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or any recognizable characters.

A/N: Hey everyone. So this is the first chapter of many hopefully for this story. It is a college AU which means no curse or anything and is set when everyone was younger. I hope you like it and reviews are more than welcomed since it's my first attempt at this and I will more than likely need some advice.

Thanks for reading!

StolenDance -xox-

Dangerous Attraction

Chapter 1

105, 106, 107 and finally... 108. Emma Swan was finally there. A new year was about to start: her second year of college. She had already spent a year in this university, whose reputation was highly ranked on the list. Being a sophomore meant that she already knew what she was signing up for. She was familiar with most of the buildings, so she had one less weight on her shoulders for which she was grateful for. However, she was only there on a bursary which was making her stick out from her fellow extremely rich classmates. Emma did not care though, because she only wanted to get her diploma and go as far away from this place as she possibly could. Plus, it wasn't that bad since she had made a new friend in Mary Margaret, a young woman she was rooming with last year and who unexpectedly, wasn't as bad as the others. Sure, she came from a rich family but she did not let it get to her head. She was down to earth and Emma admired that about her.

The blonde had arrived moments earlier to acquire the key to her dorm and was apparently assigned the 108. For some reason this number seemed familiar but she could not recall why. As she was walking in the hallway that led to her room, she found herself wondering who would be her roommate. She had been late to fill in the papers to ask for Mary Margaret to be her roommate again this year and had been mad at herself ever since. She could only hope to cohabit with a person who considered school as a way to shape one's future and who would allow her to work peacefully.

Emma continued her walk down the large hallway which led to her new room. It was still early in the morning and the dorm was quiet since no classes were scheduled before a couple of days and students usually liked to spend their last minutes of summer enjoying the freedom of the outside world. However, Emma had nowhere to go; Mary Margaret would not be in for another couple of hours and Emma had no family or other friends to say goodbye to. She only wanted to get a head start on her class subjects, having already read all the books assigned for the year.

Emma finally got to her room, her heart racing a bit from the excitement of meeting her new roommate. She took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door. She waited for a response but received none. She took out the small key and opened the door. She released a sigh of relief as she took in the view of her dorm. She was apparently the first one to arrive which meant the first one to choose which side of the room she wanted. The right side seemed perfect; it had a nice view of the campus' football field and a decent bed. Emma dropped her bags on her bed and began unpacking them. She did not have much to unpack and it took her less than an hour to settle in her new room. Emma looked at the clock: 11:30AM. She had around four hours to kill before her friend would get there so she lay down on her bed with her psychology book to revise for her first class. She started reading and had not realized she was extremely tired from the travelling until she dozed off to sleep.

Emma had only been asleep for what seemed like a few minutes, when loud noises awoke her. She fought against them until the noises turned into voices. She then pulled herself from sleep, wondering who the heck would cause so much noise. Apparently more students had arrived to the dorm because it seemed like the whole building was on fire. However, her roommate was still nowhere to be seen. Emma sat on her bed, ready to get up to see what was going on, when she heard a key turn in the lock. Her heart skipped a beat, anticipating who was about to walk through the door. She quickly glanced at her reflection in the mirror across the room to make sure that she was presentable; she did not want to make a wrong impression on the first day. She scared herself, her hair was a mess, her clothes were wrinkled and she had drool on the side of her mouth. She wiped away her mouth but was not quick enough to clean herself further as the door finally opened revealing her new roommate.

Emma's head started spinning, this had to be a nightmare; she had to still be dreaming because this could not be true. If it was not a bad dream, then it had to be a very bad joke because this was the worst person that could ever be assigned to her room and also the only person that could cause such an outburst by her mere entrance in the dorm. Why didn't she think about it in the first place when she saw that she was assigned room 108? Of course it had to be hers; everyone knew it was hers. With the amount of people she brought back to her room every night, it was only natural that everyone on campus ended up knowing the exact location of her room. And she undoubtedly would have asked for it again this year. Emma was about to faint when the sound of heels clapping on the hard surface of the floor snapped her out of her interior panic. Regina Mills had just walked in the room. Regina Mills: the most popular girl on campus, captain of the cheerleading team and also the biggest partyer to have ever attended this school.

"Excuse me but I believe that you somehow found a way to get lost and ended up in my room," said the brunette while moving her suitcases in the room.

"You're sitting on my bed, please move your filthy person out of my room and close the door on your way out."

Emma still could not believe it, "Hey! This is my bed, I got here first and I didn't get lost, see?" Emma answered, showing Regina her key to the dorm.

"I beg your pardon? This is most likely my bed; I need the view on the football field so I can monitor the team," said Regina, looking at the weird girl sitting on her bed with disdain.

Emma had heard too many stories about the brunette's lifestyle. She hated Regina not only for her snarky character, but also for her lack of interest in the school. She had average grades and had gotten into school mostly on her father's money. She was one of those people for which life was easy, no matter what they did; their future was assured because of their family name. They attended posh schools like this one and could allow themselves to party and do whatever they wanted during their studies. That last characteristic Regina took more than advantage of; she had dated most of the boys on the football team and had her own clique of cheerleaders.

"Oh yeah, can't let the boy toys have too much fun without their queen," Emma mumbled beneath her breath.

"Now would you please be so kind as to move your stuff or will I have to do it myself? And just a small reminder, the closet is mine; my clothes are too expensive to be mixed with dirty thrift shop clothes. I mean they are designers after all," concluded the regal woman before turning her back to Emma and moving to the next room to greet what Emma could only guess to be another of those pesky cheerleaders that Regina hung out with.

This was too much for Emma; she could not let her chance of having a proper future be ruined by a daddy's girl who lived in a Barbie world. She had to get out of there and clear her mind if she did not want to end up completely crazy. She looked at the clock: 4:00PM. Surely Mary Margaret had finally arrived and could calm her down. The blonde did not care if her friend was still unpacking or was busy; she needed someone she could complain to and that could give her some advice on what to do. Therefore, Emma stormed out of the room with her cellphone, racing down the hallway and texting her best friend for her room number, not even noticing Regina's evil glare directed at her.

"How dares she?" Emma yelled in her best friend's room, "I can't believe that out of the hundreds of filthy rich ignorant idiots here, I have to be paired up with this one!"

"Emma, just calm down, it can't be that bad," Mary Margaret answered, while unpacking her thousandth pair of shoes.

"NOT THAT BAD? She's already complaining about a room side and where were you last year when she slept with the whole football team and had them lift her up and carry her around the field as if she was some kind of queen?"

"Well she was elected homecoming queen and you have to admit that she is kind of the queen around here," shrugged her best friend while putting away another shoe box in her side of the closet.

"Or that time when one of her squad bases made a wrong move which caused Regina to fall and twist her ankle? She was injured for less than a week but had the girl kicked off the team! People make mistakes especially in these kinds of sports, that's what practices are for: to fix the mistakes. Injuries do happen but at least it wasn't during an actual game! But oh no not with Madam the queen, how dare a normal human being make a mistake? I feel so sorry for the girl," Emma complained while letting herself fall on her friend's bed.

"You shouldn't be. I turned out just fine," said a voice by the door.

Emma and Mary Margaret both jumped at the sound of another person in the room. They turned to see a tall girl with red streaks in long light brown hair. She was wearing a red beret, a plaid vest over a leather jacket, dark jeans and black high heel boots.

"Hey I'm Ruby by the way, which one of you is my new roommate?"

"That would be me," answered Mary Margaret while walking up to the new girl. "Mary Margaret Blanchard. Lovely to meet you, I'm sure we'll get along just fine. I took the liberty to choose the right side of the room, I hope you don't mind. Oh and I left you half the closet space too," she continued while offering her hand.

The girl instead pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm sure we will. And left side suits me just fine, I'm not a picky person. My old roommate didn't even leave me a space in the closet so thanks; I really appreciate it."

"By the way, this is Emma Swan; she's my former roommate and my best friend. Sorry for her ranting she's not fond of her new roommate," said the short-haired girl as she pointed to the occupied space on her bed.

"Hey," Emma answered. "Sorry 'bout earlier I had no idea that you were gonna walk in, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough for me to hear your complaints but it's alright," Ruby sighed. "I know my story travelled through the whole school. My reputation was a harsh price to pay for one wrong small flick of the wrist."

"Believe me I couldn't agree more," agreed the blonde. "But hey, Mary Margaret and I don't really care about reputation or society status. I'm here on a bursary and she spends most of her time hanging out in the classes working."

Ruby's entire body seemed to relax at this last answer. She let out a sigh of relief before opening her mouth again "Wow I was so scared of who I would end up with but you two actually seem nice, that'll be a change. Let me guess, Emma you're Regina's new roommate"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Emma asked surprisingly.

"Heard you complaining about the room side earlier, had the same problem last year. Plus I heard Regina complaining about some blonde girl taking up her side of the room in the hallway so I put the pieces together," Ruby answered while moving to her bed.

"Oh great now I'm the center of the school's gossip," sighed Emma desperately while rolling on the bed.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Mary Margaret who had stood silently next to the blonde, letting her new roommate and her best friend talk, finally spoke up. "Wait a sec here, you said you had the same problem last year and you're a former cheerleader... Does that mean that you...?"

"That I am Regina's old roommate? Yeah but when she kicked me off the team, she also kicked me out of the room and I had to crash in whatever room I could for the remainder of the year," said the tall girl, uninterested.

Emma jolted herself up in a sitting position after learning exactly who her best friend's new roommate was. The both of them stared at the brunette with the red beret in a total different manner that came close to incredulity before looking back at each other, completely shocked.

Ruby, Emma and Mary Margaret had been hanging out for a couple of hours in the room when Emma finally remembered why she had really come to her best friend.

"Sorry to change the subject here people, but I still have the same problem as before... I still have the same roommate and as much as I'd like to stay here with you, I need my own room," said the blonde as she was sitting back up on the bed.

"Right," said Mary Margaret. "Why don't you go talk to the people in charge of the dorm, there might still be a way that you could switch rooms."

"Yeah, that's a good idea because, trust me, you don't wanna be stuck with the Queen of sass all year. The things she does, you don't wanna see," Ruby added while getting up to unpack.

Emma walked down the long hallway that lead the coordinator's office. She genuinely did not like to cause disturbance of any kind, preferring to keep a low profile due to her already too big of a reputation and this is why she avoided this place as much as she could. She did not want to be a burden to anyone and asking to change rooms was total torture for her but she had to do it. She could not stay stuck with Regina. Emma was not a gambler when it came to her studies and she was not ready to risk her future over the little princess that was her soon-to-be ex roommate. The beat of her heart seemed to increase with the footsteps that brought her closer to the office to the point where she thought it would burst out of her chest.

Her footsteps came to a stop in front of an imposing wooden door that read COORDINATOR'S OFFICE. Here she was, she could not back away now… Think about your future Em, you don't wanna end up being stuck here forever, she kept telling herself but it did little to calm her already shaky hands as she raised one to knock gently on the door. No sound came from the inside. She checked her phone: 8:00 PM, they should be opened until 9:00 PM. As Emma was putting her phone away it vibrated to signal an incoming message. You can do it Emma! Love you –MM- Her best friend clearly knew when to give the blonde some much needed support. It made Emma smile and gave her enough courage to raise her hand again and knock a little bit louder this time to signal her presence. She heard an imposing voice yell "Come in" and she sighed letting some of her stress go as she opened the door.

The door opened on an old furnished room that incorporated both a small waiting room with comfy chairs and an office, both separated by a small door. The room was brightly lit which made Emma feel quite exposed, a feeling she did not appreciate. Not that she had anything to hide but she was more of the private type and not many people could get close to knowing the story of her small pitiful existence.

A man in a dark suit and purple tie was sitting at the desk and greeted her with what looked like a superior smile.

"Oh Miss Swan, what brings you here this late in the evening," demanded the man as he struggled to get up, relying much on his cane.

"How do you know my name?" responded Emma, surprised that one would acknowledge her existence, let alone know her name. She was somewhat intimidated by this classy looking man, but what did she expect, she was in a posh school after all.

"One would remember the name of one of the best students in school, Miss Swan. But pardon me, where are my manners. Let me introduce myself, the name is Mr. Gold, I am the dorm coordinator and your man to solve any problem that you might encounter here," said the man, offering his hand as an introduction.

Emma shook it firmly before responding "Wow thanks… Eh it's nice to meet you and I came here, eh, because I did encounter a problem."

"And what might this problem be?" questioned Mr. Gold while staring directly at Emma.

The blonde took a deep breath to try to calm herself down a bit. Her heart was still pounding and it resonated in her head and she had trouble staying focused on the question. Come on Em, you can do this, she remembered Mary Margaret's message, and what's the worst that could happen? Off with it at once.

"Well you see Sir, I met my roommate and-"

"Regina Mills in room 108 is it?" interjected Mr. Gold. "Quite an impressive team you two make."

This man was definitely giving Emma the chills, first he remembered her name and now he even knew her room number and her roommate. Was this guy a psychic or what? No, Emma thought, but the guy fits perfectly with the stalker profile.

"Yes, you see, I don't believe that 'this team' as you say is gonna work, so I was wondering if there was any possibility to change rooms. I don't mean to be a burden and will gladly accept any other room available."

Mr. Gold took a moment to check his papers before raising his head up again and starting on a deceptive tone "I apologize Miss Swan but it appears that all the rooms are already taken. This is why there is a deadline on those room request papers that you apparently forgot to fill in."

Emma's mouth twitched upwards at the arrogant tone the man in front of her was using. She really had trouble with this type of people that liked to poke at already hurting wounds. She usually tried to stay away from people like him and Emma only wanted to leave this place as soon as she could. This man clearly had no intention of helping her and she would have to find another way to escape her tragic fate.

"Well that's too bad. Anyways thanks for your help and if there is anyone requesting a roommate, could you please contact me? I would gladly agree to change at any time," answered Emma, hoping that it would conclude the conversation.

"Very well, Miss Swan; if anything comes up I will personally look into it and have a great evening," answered the man in suit with a fake smile as he once again got up to squeeze Emma's hand.

"You too, bye," said Emma quickly as she got up to leave. She was irritated, if there is one thing she could do was tell when people were lying and this man definitely was. He had no intention of helping her and clearly followed the majority by being on Regina's side. Of course she would have charmed all the school including the staff; she was Regina Mills after all. How could Emma have been so dumb to believe that she could stand a chance at escaping her? No one ever escaped her and Emma was no different, she held no power against her. She quickly ran back to her best friend's room, hoping to find a little bit of comfort there and hopefully a solution to this issue.

Emma entered the room and threw herself on Mary Margaret's bed once again as Ruby and her were discussing their respective schedules for the next week.

"And I'm guessing it didn't go as well as you had thought it would," said the red head as she looked up just in time to see the blonde fall onto the bed.

"Don't worry it's just a nightmare and I'm gonna wake up in a second and have a proper roommate," Emma mumbled through the pillow.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Emma but I'm afraid you'll have to face reality. Plus it can't be that bad, Regina is still a human after all, I'm sure she has some good sides you just haven't seen yet," said Mary Margaret as she tried to comfort her friend.

Ruby opened her mouth to oppose this statement but shut it closed again when she saw the glare her roommate threw her.

"Right," she said submissively. "Just try not to drop her and you should be fine."

Emma was in no mood for joking. Did Ruby think that she had not seen her eyes roll and the sarcasm in her voice? And Mary Margaret was being her forever optimistic self as always. It usually did work on Emma but not tonight. It had been a big day for everyone and she was dead tired and had no intention of being fooled into thinking Regina wasn't as evil as her reputation pretended she was. One thing that Emma did have hope for though was that morning would bring her a new light on the subject and she would see more clearly. For now, her judgement was still tainted by the anger her visit to the coordinator's office had triggered and this same anger had led her to believe that she could stand up to her roommate just for tonight.

Emma had already decided that sleeping in her own bed was a much better idea than camping on the floor of her former roommate's floor and all her things were in her room anyways. Therefore, Emma stood back up, said her goodbyes to her friends and headed back to room 108.

As she was walking down the hallway that led to her room, Emma was mentally reviewing her strategy. She would got in her room, grab her pyjamas, lock herself in the bathroom without even throwing one look at the brunette, come out, climb into bed and sleep. Tomorrow would be another was all pumped up and ready to execute her plan as she turned the doorknob. She wasn't prepared for what she saw when she opened her door. The brunette was already asleep which would have made Emma quite happy had Regina not been asleep on the right side of the room. All Emma's belongings had liberally been thrown on the left side of the room and her clothes were all in a bunch on her bed. Apparently, like Ruby, Emma had not gain the right to have access to a small place in the only closet in the room. Gosh was this woman impossible and Emma would not let her win that easily. But it was late and Emma had another big day ahead of her tomorrow trying to find a solution to this situation. Therefore, Emma threw all her clothes on the floor and disdainfully settled for the left side of the room only for the night. As soon as Emma's head touched the pillow, sleep overtook her. She was exhausted and drifted into a deep sleep.