Emma Swan knew she shouldn't have let Ruby drag her to this party. She fucking knew it was a terrible idea. But Ruby had turned on her puppy dog eyes and told Mary Margret that Emma was being mean and that was that. Emma was dragged along to yet another frat party. But what Ruby had somehow failed to mention was that it was Walsh's frat. Walsh, the guy she'd been dating for eight months before she caught him fucking that Jane Goodall wannabe.

But of course Ruby hadn't felt the need to tell her about that. And then promptly abandoned her twelve milliseconds after they arrived because she'd seen her latest crush, Mulan, over by the keg. So now Emma was left looking completely pathetic, standing alone by the back wall refusing to make eye contact with anyone. She was trying as hard as possible to blend in. If only she'd thought to wear camo print. No one could see you if you wore camo print.

"Emma?" She tensed for a moment as she heard Walsh's voice call her name. She considered pretending that she didn't hear him. Which could have possibly worked if he wasn't literally two feet away from her.

"Oh Walsh," she feigned surprise, "fancy meeting you here." She gave a small, insincere smile before looking away from him.

"You know that this is my frat. You've been here a thousand times. Did you come to see me?" Emma's gaze shot back towards him in shock. He really thought she wanted to see him again?

"Look I know things between us ended on a bad note," Walsh continued, ignoring the expression on her face, "but you really need to let me go sometime Emma."

What the actual fuck was wrong with this man? He thought she still wanted him? Seriously? She hadn't even wanted to date him in the first place but she'd been lonely and he'd been there. Her literal thoughts on the matter had been 'eh, why not'. They weren't really a romance for the ages. Yet he someone had convinced himself that she was still upset about him?

"Actually," she cut in, coming up with a plan of attack as she went, "I came here with someone and didn't realize this was your place."

"Who'd you come with?" Emma noticed a flash of jealousy in his eyes. She'd planned on just telling him about Ruby but this opportunity to knock him down a peg was just too good to pass up. She quickly scanned the crowd to find a willing target. Literally anyone male who wasn't a brother here would do.

"Uh…" she willed her eyes to move faster, find anyone who would fit, "him." Emma gestured vaguely at a cluster of guys who'd just entered the room. Surely one of them would help her. "Just give me a sec, I'll introduce you." She gave Walsh her sweetest smile as she sauntered over to them. She really wasn't drunk enough to think this was a good idea but she'd come this far and hell if she'd stop now. She would not give Walsh the satisfaction of knowing that she was still single.

Emma inspected her chosen prey as she drew closer to them. She really really hoped that one of them would help her. All she needed was a kiss to get Walsh off her back. There were a couple actually really attractive guys in the group. If they agreed, any one of them would do nicely to spurn Walsh's jealousy.

When she was nearly upon them, her resolve began to dwindle. Letting Walsh know that she was single was embarrassing, sure. But telling a bunch of strangers that she was so pathetic she needed someone to pretend to like her? That was embarrassment on a whole other level. She was about to chicken out when one of the men spotted her. He was probably the most attractive out of all of them. He had tussled black hair, piercing blue eyes, and a bad-boy/rocker vibe.

"You look like a lass on a mission." Emma felt her face flush as he spoke. He was gorgeous and he had an accent.

"I… uh" she stumbled over her words as she felt his eyes upon her.

"Yes love?"

"Well, you see…" she glanced up at him, not really sure how to proceed. But then she looked back at Walsh who had a self-satisfied smirk while he watched their interaction. He seemed to know exactly what was going on. Emma's temper flared, she would not let him win. She turned back to the handsome stranger with her resolve fully intact.

"I need you to kiss me." She pulled herself up to her full height and looked him straight in the face as she spoke. As if challenging him to turn her down. He seemed taken aback by her request for a moment before he moved closer.

"Well if the lady insists," he practically whispered to her before he fused their mouths together.

She was momentarily frozen. Partially with shock, she hadn't actually expected this beautiful specimen of a man to agree to kiss her. But she was also frozen because of the sensory overload. From the moment his lips touched hers she felt like she was burning.

She felt his lips move against her and it pulled her back to reality. She snaked her arms around him, one on his back and the other fisting his hair, and she pulled him closer. Their entire bodies were pressed together as she deepened the kiss. Distantly she could hear the whoops and whistling of his friends, but she was more focused on the man who was wrapping himself around her. She practically moaned as his hand slipped under the back of her t-shirt and rested on the bare skin of her lower back. The contact was sending sparks up her spine. But when her hand drifted down, wanting to do the same, she remembered that she was in public. Remembered that this was a complete stranger. And she broke their kiss.

Both of them were silent for a moment, she was glad to note that she wasn't the only one with a dazed look on her face. She watched as he slowly reached up to touch his lips, like he couldn't believe what had just happened.

"That was…" he looked at her as if she was the only thing in the world. Embarrassed she glanced away. She was unceremoniously forced out of the post-kiss bliss when she noticed Walsh making his way over toward them. Did he actually want to be introduced?

"Shit."

"Really?" she looked back at the man she had just practically mauled, he looked a bit devastated.

"Oh, shit, sorry, I didn't mean you or… that." She gave him a small smile. "It's just that my ex is on his way over and I sorta told him that we came here together so he wouldn't think I was pathetic."

"That guy?" the man raised his eyebrows questioningly as he glanced over at Walsh, who had thankfully been pulled into conversation by one of his frat brothers.

"What?"

"He looks like a monkey, not really something deserving of a woman as beautiful as you." He gave her a flirtatious grin and Emma felt her face heat up.

"It wasn't my best decision, let's leave it at that."

"But it did lead to me being able to kiss the lips of the lovely…" he looked at her expectantly.

"Uh," she debated telling him her name, but she did kind of attack him so he probably deserved it, "Swan, Emma Swan."

"So something good did come of it after all," he finished with a smile.

"And you are?"

"Killian Jones."

"Well, Jones…" she was cut off by Walsh joining their conversation.

"Now Emma, why don't you introduce me to your little friend." Walsh gave his most sickening smile as he spoke. As if expecting to catch Emma in a lie.

"This is Killian Jones, Killian Jones meet Walsh."

Walsh seemed almost disappointed that she knew the man's name but reached out his hand anyway. Killian looked at it as if it were a rotting fish for a moment, not even bothering to hide the distaste on his features. Emma stifled a laugh before lightly elbowing him in the side. He sighed and met Walsh in a handshake. Emma could see a 'manly' struggle for dominance occurring as she watched the muscles in Walsh's hand tighten. He had always done that, tried to prove his strength by cutting off circulation in the other man's hand. But there was no sign of pain on Killian's face. And when the men broke apart, it was Walsh who had to rub feeling back into his spindly fingers.

"And how do you two know each other," Walsh glared.

"Couldn't you tell, mate?" Killian cut in before Emma even had a chance to answer. "She's my lovely girlfriend." Killian's arm went around her waist and pulled her into him. Emma stiffened for a second before relaxing into him embrace. If this freaking gorgeous man wanted to pretend they were dating, she would enjoy it while it lasted.

"And how long have you been together," Walsh's eyes were narrowed to slits, not believing them for a second.

"Now, Walsh," Emma cut in in a falsely sweet voice, "I know that we didn't end on the best of terms but at some point you're going to have to realize that I've moved on and get over me." She gave him a sugar coated smile as he sputtered in rage.

"Did she tell you why we broke up?" He turned to Killian, practically yelling, "that she was the most lifeless lover I'd ever seen and always had one foot out the door! I was doing her a favor when…" He was silenced by Killian's fist in his face.

"Bad form to speak ill of a lady, mate." He sneered at Walsh's prone form before he tugged Emma out of the room.

"What the hell was that for?!" she screamed at him as soon as they made it outside the house.

"He was being a bloody bastard, don't tell me he didn't deserve it."

"You don't know a thing about me."

"Well, Swan, I happen to know how you kiss. And if that 'man' thought you were a lifeless lover than it was obviously because he didn't know how to handle you."

"No one handles me."

"You know what I mean," he ran his fingers through his hair while letting out an exasperated sigh. "He's an arse who obviously was incapable of giving you what you need."

"And let me guess, you could."

"Your words not mine, love." He grinned at her. "But I did have you making bedroom eyes after just one kiss."

"Well aren't you modest."

"Why would I need to be modest when I'm devilishly handsome?"

"Seriously? You're insane. Of course I picked the craziest person in there."

"Hey," he cried out with feigned annoyance, hitting her softly on the arm as he did so. "I'm not the one who made out with a stranger to hide from an ex."

"No you're just the one who made out with a stranger for no reason."

"There was a damsel in distress, who am I to deny her." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so you're a gentleman?"

"I'm always a gentleman." His voice was low and she noticed how close the two of them had gotten while they argued. She could feel his breath on her face as she gazed up into the depths of his blue eyes. Those were eyes she could drown in.

Neither of them spoke and neither of them broke eye contact. They just stood there, nearly chest to chest, breathing each other in. Emma was the one to break the connection, to step back.

"Well, it's late, I should…" she didn't look at him as she spoke.

"Love, look me."

"I…" Emma turned to leave but felt a hand grasp her wrist and tug her around to face him again.

"Can I see you again?" All hint of flirtation was gone from his voice. He was being sincere.

"Why would you want to? I'm just some pathetic girl who didn't want her ex to know she was still single."

"The only pathetic one I saw in there tonight was him." The caused Emma to look up, to see the truth in his eyes.

"But I…"

"You didn't want that wanker to think you were still hung up on him, I get it."

"How?"

"You're a bit of an open book, love." He gave her a small smile, "and one I would like to keep reading. If you'd let me." She could see the hope in his eyes. It was guarded, like he thought she'd say no. All of his previous cockiness was gone as he gazed down at her earnestly.

"Okay," she breathed softly and watched as that one word transformed his whole face. He was positively beaming at her.

"Okay," he smiled back at her before he brought his mouth to meet hers once again. This time with no ulterior motives between them.