Prompt: I'm a traditional painter who has to take a basic Photoshop class, you're a graphic design major sitting next to me and getting sucked into helping me out because Im so shitty at this

Fair warning: I'm not normally a writer, and I haven't written fic in ...years. But, I stumbled upon this prompt and I just had to write it, y'know? I've also been musing a Design Agency AU, and decided this was a perfect prompt to flex my writing muscles with first before committing to something larger. I intended this to be a one-shot but it grew and now will be in four parts.
Thank you to Kaitlyn (spartanguard) for the quick beta & the words of encouragement.


Chapter 1: Contrast
Contrast: Making elements different increases understanding.

It was a truth universally acknowledged that Emma Swan did not like computers, and computers did not like her. Okay, that may be a bit dramatic, but tell that to the damn spinning beachball of death that mocks her pain. Emma tapped her fingers against the top of her desk impatiently as she slumped back in her swivel chair. Her blonde, wavy hair was piled high on her head in a messy bun, and her glasses perched on the edge of her nose. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she waited for Photoshop to finish loading.

This is why I prefer paint and canvas, Emma fumed, glaring at the screen as if she could simply will it to operate faster with her mind.

"Stare any harder at that screen, love, and you might burn a hole through it," came a familiar voice, interrupting her silent cursing. Emma sat up straight and turned to meet a pair of perfect blue eyes and knowing smirk.

It was mid-day on a Wednesday in the computer lab at Storybrooke University. The lab was practically empty, save for the petite brunette lab assistant, Belle, which is why Emma tended to visit only at this time. It was also the only time she's able to visit the lab, between all of her other classes and working at Granny's.

Emma all but rolled her eyes, as Killian Jones plunked down in the seat across from her. He was a graphic design major, two years ahead of her, with a British accent and permanent scruff, that one would describe being attractive…or devilishly handsome, as he liked to point out. Emma pointedly ignored him as he unwrapped the earbuds hanging from around his neck, and took out a USB drive and sketchbook out of his bag.

Instead, she had begun to aggressively click her mouse, in the hopes that somehow that would make her Mac load faster.

"Y'know, most men would take your silence as off-putting." Killian amused by her impatience, as he started up his computer, and plugged in his USB. "But I do love a challenge," he smirked looking up from his monitor.


"This thing is taking forever to load," Emma complained, crossing her arms as she leaned back, to look up at him.

He wore a blue flannel shirt that brought out the color of his eyes, paired with jeans just tight enough that had Emma calling him a "hipster" when they first encountered.

"Not a hipster, love; it's called having a style."
"It's called trying too hard. And don't call me 'love.'"

She assumed he was a fellow student, but in actuality he was her teacher's assistant in her GD 101 Class: Introduction to Visual Design, taught by Professor Gold, apparently one of the hardest graphic design professors at Storybrooke U. Emma Swan was a freakin' painting major. She was stuck in the class as part of a stupid prerequisite, however; all of the other basic studio (read: easier) design classes were closed by the time she was able to register. This left only the 2-D Visual Design classes left, and because of the rules of the program, she wasn't allowed to take classes in her own medium. So, Emma figured she's a modern woman living in a digital age, she could figure out a few keystrokes and mouse clicks, and registered for the introductory graphic design class.

On the first day of class, Gold singled her out, knowing she was just in the class for the credit. Apparently, it was his MO to be overly harsh and critical in order to weed the weakest links out of the Graphic Design program, which left a select few that he is able to mold and groom to his liking. However, Emma Swan never backed down from a challenge. She had chose this class, despite her technological overconfidence, and she was going to get her credit, even if she had to fight tooth and nail with her computer and through Gold's sneering.

"Is that the project for Gold?" Killian asked, glancing over her screen. Emma nodded.

"The one that's due tomorrow." His lip twitched into something like a smile.

"Of course it is, what else would it be?" Emma snapped, then softened and shook her head, looking back at her screen. "I don't know what I did, Jones. It's been like this for the past five minutes."

Her dark-haired TA gave a deep chuckle, one that caused a tell-tale shiver running down Emma's spine that she ignored. He leaned over her to reach her mouse and keys, the scent of his cologne intoxicating to her, smelling vaguely of rum and leather—this too she also ignored. Emma switched her scowl from the screen to him, as she scooted away to give him room.

"Well your first problem here, Swan, is that your file size is like 80 megabytes. How the bloody hell did you even get it to be that large? You're only using three layers. What are you even trying to attempt here?" Killian looked perplexed, a look that rarely crossed his handsome features.

"I just needed to cut the background away from this image…" Emma trailed off, she really didn't know what she was doing. She was honestly just messing around, trying to come up with something to hopefully show in class tomorrow.

Professor Gold was teaching them the Principles of Design, which Emma thought she knew already, being an art major who has gone through the basic classes already. But of course, this was graphic design, and as pretentious as it can be, so it had it's own set of rules. Mixed with the "Synectic Trigger Mechanisms" (God, how ridiculous does that sound?), she needed to learn a new set of terms and how to apply the principles she already knew, and in unfamiliar territory. To say the least, it's been a struggle, receiving sub-par scores and disapproving looks from Gold during crit days.

The final project of the semester seemed like an easy one when he first presented it to the class.

"You are to take an object that's meaningful to you and present it conceptually by applying one of the synectic triggers we've discussed this semester."

Emma chewed her lip, stumped. Having grown up in the foster system, she had very few objects that she could call her own: her Bug, and a box full of childhood memories she'd rather forget, and her art. But it was her last project, and then she'd be free and never had to touch a mouse and keyboard ever again.

It made no sense to her. Whenever she used Photoshop, it felt like she's painting a Picasso, when she wanted to paint a Vermeer. It was too precise but abstract at the same time. Nothing turned out the way she envisioned it. It wasn't just simply feeling the brush work under hands, letting herself become one with it, as if it's an extension of her arm. The harsh click of her mouse, along with having to maneuver how her hand works over her keyboard and recall the hot keys that her Introduction to Photoshop book offered, just wasn't natural.

Killian clicked around a few times on the screen, checking the layers pallette. "Swan, where's the original artwork of this layer?"

Emma blinked out of her reverie, was he not listening? "Um.. I erased it."

"With what tool?" Killian rested his elbow on the desk, and turned to look at her.

"The eraser, of course." Emma said, smugly, as if it was obvious.

Killian groaned, resting his forehead in his palm. "Gods, Swan... this isn't MS Paint."

"Yeah because if it was, I would be amazing at it." Emma said, exasperated. Killian shook his head in dismay, but he was grinning.

"These tools don't even make sense! What's the point of an eraser tool anyway if I'm not supposed to use it to y'know… erase things? What's so funny?!" Emma gestured towards the computer, in a wiping sort of motion.

Killian was laughing silently now, "It's called non-destructive editing, Swan. It's the second cardinal rule of Photoshop."

"Oh yeah.. And what's the first?"

"Always save your work." And as if by some twisted sort of fate, at that exact moment—her Photoshop decided to quit.

"You did save, didn't you?"

Emma looked peevishly at Killian and shook her head.

He sighed, while running his hand through his already disheveled hair. "I have work to do in here anyway, if you have any questions…" He swiftly rolled back to his computer, and patted his lap, "Just roll on over." He offered her a wink, but Emma didn't respond. Instead, she rolled her eyes and adverted her gaze back to her computer. Resigned, she restarted the program back up again.

Silence fell over the computer lab, every so often, you would hear a few keyboard taps and mouse clicks over the humming of computers. Emma's knee bounced with excess energy, musing that maybe she should cut back on the caffeine. She glanced over at Killian. Appreciating his looks while he was focused on the screen in front of him. He had put on a pair of glasses, that were seemingly unnecessary if the quickening of her pulse was any indication, and not helping his whole "not-a-hipster" stance.

He caught her staring at him and Emma recovered, asking, "So… are you going to explain this… non-constructive editing?"

"Non-destructive, and sure." He indicated for her to move closer to his computer. She rolled over to him, gaining a disapproving look from Belle, before settling next to his left to see what he was working on. It looked…well it looked like a mess. There were cyan and magenta lines everywhere, and it didn't look exactly like Photoshop.

"What are you working in?"

"This, love, is Adobe InDesign, the bane of all graphic designers' existence…well, at least until they realize how amazingly useful it is." He chuckled, turning off the guides allowing her to see the layout he was working on.

It seemed to be a book of some sort, displaying various different types of projects ranging from logos and business systems to a publication layout. It was clean, but it was bright and colorful. The elements were all neatly aligned, and while it seemed a bit corporate, there was something distinctively Killian Jones about it.

"There's another program." Emma groaned. Photoshop was hard enough; what the hell was this? It looked similar to Photoshop, but the toolbars were different and there seemed to be a whole lot more palettes opened on the side.

"Yes, Swan. In fact, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are what I like to call the Holy Trinity of Graphic Design. Graphic design's mirepoix, if you will." Emma rolled her eyes at his extensive vocabulary; of course a graphic designer would have their ways with words.

"Photoshop and Illustrator are basically two programs that you use to create, and InDesign is for layout." He summarized the best he could. "You can do everything in one program, but that's just making things harder on yourself, you see."

"I see…" She really didn't see, but at the same time, she was more interested in what Killian was working on.

"And so this is…?" She leaned over and stole his mouse, to quickly scroll over his workspace,

"My portfolio… basically. The applications for the Fine Art program is due at the end of the month, and this is just a part of it." Killian replied nervously. "I'm just laying out my work that I've done over the last three years."

Emma stopped scrolling on a particular page, it seemed like a painting—but not. It was all digital. It was a simple scene of a pirate ship in a bay at sunset, but it was so real, Emma wanted to feel it. "You did this with a computer?" Emma asked, disbelieving.

"Um, yeah…with Photoshop, actually" Killian chuckled.

"Wow, Killian…this is actually pretty good. I'm…impressed." Emma gave a small laugh, "That's something I never imagined saying."

The tips of his ears and cheeks reddened, as he saved and minimized the document. "Thanks; it's been a long time coming."

"I'm not even sure how you do it…It's just so much easier with paint and brushes… so much more...freeing, y'know?" she muttered, as he opened up a new document on his screen.

"You're an artist, love… and Photoshop is just another tool an artist can use. Once you learn the basics, it's almost second nature. Besides, none of it counts anyway—it's your idea that matters when it comes to designing. Once you have your concept nailed down, well...that's when the real fun begins," he said with a devilish smile.

It was in this moment that Emma realized how close she was to him, leaned over his lap to reach his mouse. She cleared her throat, and straightened back up in her seat.

"So, did Gold teach you that?" She asked while she crossed her arms and rolled back a bit to give herself some distance. If Killian noticed, he didn't comment.

"Not exactly, Swan. I'm actually surprisingly good at research." He smirked, "It's actually my favorite part of designing. Learning about the world and how people interact with it. It's always good to design with a purpose."

He opened a new photoshop document and explained the basic steps of using mask and adjustment layers. As he described the process, he spoke with a passion, one that was similar to how Emma felt when she spoke about painting. That passion made him different than the other pretentious artists that Emma had encountered before.

Though they both came from two different worlds—his was digital, and hers was traditional—she felt a connection with Killian that she hadn't felt with anyone before. He was sort of a kindred spirit in a way. However, this connection also made him dangerous.

Emma never had the best track record when it came to her love life. First there was Neal Cassidy, her first love and her last real relationship. Quickly after graduating high school, she decided to run off to see the world, and live as starving artist. She met Neal while attempting to lift some paint out of a small art supply store. He helped her obtain her materials by pretending to be her husband, while she faked being pregnant with the help of cleverly hidden canvas and went into "labor."

Neal was also an artist; a photographer traveling across the United States, capturing scenes of urban and rural life. He was charming and idealistic, with bigger dreams than her own. It seemed as though Neal wanted the world, while Emma just wanted a place to belong. During that time, they mainly lived out of her old, yellow Volkswagen Bug, trunk full of film, canvases, and painting supplies. It was a romantic dream of a life, but it ended quickly. One morning, Emma woke up to find him gone, with no note or trace of where he went.

Now that she was alone, she picked up work at Granny's Diner to pay for her materials and gas. Granny Lucas, the proprietor of the diner, would make sure she was fed and had a bed to sleep on—but Emma prefered the open road. She would travel up and down the Eastern seaboard, one eye on the landscape and another looking for the love that scorned her. However, the colors she had painted that were once so bright—had turned dull and lifeless.

Tired of seeing Emma waste her potential, Granny encouraged Emma to enroll at Storybrooke University, where her granddaughter, Ruby, attended. The creative environment breathed new life into Emma's art. She thought she was able to make it on her own, with nothing but the pavement and her paintbrushes. But she never realized how much creativity is fostered from being with other creative people.

It wasn't as though Emma was an outsider, she had a few friends that she had gathered from her time at Storybrooke U. She met Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan through Ruby. They took her under their well-meaning wings, becoming a sort of surrogate siblings. Mary Margaret majored in recreation administration, while David was studying pre-veterinary science. Her best friend and current roommate, Elsa Arendell, was an architecture major, whom Emma happened to have sculpture with, and they suffered through it together.

It was also here that she briefly dated and talked to a few men, but they left her disappointed. There was Graham, who was nice but their relationship only lasted a semester before he went back home to Ireland. Next came Walsh, a graphic design major, in the same year as Killian. He was really using her as a rebound to get back at his girlfriend, Zelena, a fiery redhead in the same major.

It was then Emma decided that she would focus on her painting, rather than trying to mend a broken heart. Perhaps her last relationship with Walsh was the reason why Emma resented the graphic design department so much, and Professor Gold certainly wasn't helping the matter.

The graphic design majors at her university seemed to be at each other's throats, as they tried to out do each other at every chance in order to get into the Fine Art program. The Bachelors of Fine Art program was a prestigious two year program, and you're almost guaranteed a job upon graduation. And with being in any art major, jobs didn't just fall from the sky. It almost seemed like selling out to Emma. While she didn't believe in "art for art's sake," she still believed in integrity.

However, Killian was different. Or rather, he seemed indifferent—like he wasn't there to compete with the others because he knew his worth. He didn't seem to be trying to vy for the favors of Gold, despite being his TA—it was almost as if he hated the position. She knew Walsh was jealous of him for that very reason. While he came off arrogant, it also seemed as though he was tired, as if he had lived years beyond what his age actually was.

Emma mused about this as she nodded and took notes as Killian showed her how to use the pen tool to clip out images. His infuriating cologne wafted in and out of her consciousness, as if to remind her to keep her distance. Yes, Killian Jones was bad news and it was best to stay away.


Thanks for reading. Faves/Reviews are appreciated! You can find me on tumblr: shipsxahoy