"Emma! Get your fine ass over here!"
Ruby Lucas's holler cut across the bustling cafeteria with ease. And despite some of the smirking looks she received, Emma Swan was grateful for it. She had been staring at the masses of people in the room, awkwardly searching for her friends. They had apparently been pushed from their usual table. Normally, the room was plenty big for the student body, especially in the spring, when it warmed up enough to sit outside and for juniors and seniors to want to use their off-campus privilege. But today, even the band geeks had decided to leave their sacred music room to eat with the rest of their class, because today was the beginning of prom season.
Cutting through the crowd, Emma slid onto the sliver of bench that had been saved for her, rotating her tray to fit.
"Thanks, Rubes, I was worried there wouldn't be anywhere to sit."
"You can always sit on my lap, love."
Killian Jones spoke up from across the table, leaning forward to catch Emma's gaze.
Emma just rolled her eyes and laughed as the small, curly haired blonde in the pep squad uniform next to him threw what looked like a powerful sucker punch into his arm.
"Thank you, Tink," Ruby praised, "You put that pompom arm to good use!"
Emma picked up her sandwich and scanned the area as the two girls fell into good-natured teasing while Killian complained, waving to a friend from track nearby. As she spotted more and more people to greet though, she noticed the two that were missing from her own table.
"Hey, where's MM and David?"
"You just missed them," Ruby explained, throwing a chip in her mouth. "Mary Margaret went to go set up for the announcement and David just insisted on helping her even though he's got no time to actually be on the committee."
Emma hummed in agreement, continuing through her lunch. Thinking of the missing pair, she was struck once again by what an odd bunch they were—and catching a glimpse at some of the other tables—how lucky she was.
Emma hadn't always been this popular. Moving from school to school made it impossible to maintain any gains she made, and the new kid welcome often wore off when her peers would realize her situation. Or the holes in her clothes. Or her anger. But her fresh start at Storybrooke High had ended up a blessing.
The summer before her sophomore year, after a particularly bad freshman year in the city, she had been shipped off to the small town and her new foster dad. Archibald Hopper. Though she would've never admitted it to anyone, she had been beyond scared, particularly of the kind of man who could want to and find a way to foster a teen girl on his own. The minute she met the sweetly bumbling ginger who she felt pretty confident in thinking she could take down in a one-two punch, however, it all fell away. That wasn't to say she liked him though. She wasn't much for the psychobabble that came with living with a therapist, but as it turned out, Archie was really good at his job. She hated it, but he helped her. And with help, she found she didn't want to fight against him anymore, particularly when everyone in town seemed to trust him—and when he had been so nervous to introduce his boyfriend to her because he had wanted her approval.
By the end of that first summer, she was verging on normal. He introduced her to everyone they saw, explaining their situation with confidence and poise, so at the start of the school year, she wasn't even an anomaly. He got her to join cross-country and track as an outlet and got her some respectable clothes. A few months in, she ended up…popular. She was a beautiful blonde athlete, smart enough to be funny but not enough to be intimidating, and her occasional moods and aggression apparently just added to her charm.
The rest of her group was just as unusual to be at the top of it all. Well, David, quarterback of the football team in the fall and captain of the lacrosse team in the spring, and Tina Bell, sassy, adorable cheerleader fit the mold pretty well, but then there was Ruby with her red streaks and clothes that constantly broke school code, and Killian with his apparent leather fetish. Emma's best guess was that their looks and easy-going attitudes carried them most of the distance. No matter how far she had come over almost three years, Emma would always be jealous of Ruby's cheery confidence and ability to ignore an insult. Plus, Killian was an exchange student with an accent, which got him a pass in his more sleezy moments.
Mary Margaret was perhaps the strangest "cool kid" of them all, with her conservative look and bleeding heart—since preciousness normally wasn't big with teens, but she and Ruby had been best friends since they were little, and David actually loved her, loved loved her, even if it still came across as the puppiest of crushes. Then David was friends with Killian from football, because the foreigner's experience in rugby had him playing wide receiver and winning game after game running hook after hook. David and Killian both knew Tina, or Tink as she was better known, from her cheering, and despite his mouth, Killian really did care about her in a way he didn't seem to care about anyone else. Tink had worked at Granny's with Ruby over the summer in preparation for college, and Ruby had been Emma's very first friend in town, drawn to the girl with the dark streak.
All together, they had a good command of the school as the ruling seniors, and Emma often shocked her self with wishes they could all be together just a little longer. Never had she wanted to stay so bad.
"So, Ems, what do you think it'll be?" Tink asked, knocking Emma out of her thoughts and into the conversation.
"Do people actually care what the theme is?" Emma questioned.
"Don't you dare say that around Mary Margaret, or her vicious streak will come out in full-force," Ruby scolded, half-joking about their gentle friend's ability for violence.
"Noted. I care very deeply about the theme and everything else prom-related."
"Good," Ruby sanctioned her performance. "Now pay attention because MM is trying to get everyone's attention and it's adorable."
Emma turned to see Mary Margaret standing next to the table she had set up, barely visible over the heads of the student populace. David stood next to her, trying to nudge her up onto the chair instead of commanding the room himself. Finally, she took the hint and accepted his help up, clearing her throat with a grace that Emma felt befit someone much older.
"Excuse me, everyone! If I can have just a few minutes."
Her voice rang out surprisingly well over the room, and bizarrely enough, people settled without much fuss. They were all there for the same reason, anyway.
"My name is Mary Margaret Blanchard, and I'm the head of this year's Student Government Prom Planning Committee. As you all know, it's officially a month away, and it's time to start getting ready! Tickets will be on sale next week, right here in the cafeteria before school and during lunch. If you're interested in helping the committee, or if you have any questions, come to this table after my announcement. You can also come up to submit nominations for Prom King and Queen, which will be voted on from the submissions the week before." Mary Margaret's smile seemed to grow as she continued, no longer able to hang onto the secret.
"Those nominations may be particularly important this year, considering our theme." She was practically bursting at the seams as she motioned to her fellow committee members to prepare the banner for its reveal.
"I hope you all believe in fairytales and happy endings, because this years' theme is… Once Upon A Time!"
Mary Margaret was by far the most enthused in the room, but there was a general murmur of approval. It was conventional, but a classic, and particularly appropriate for a town named Storybrooke.
Despite Mary Margaret's efforts to regain everyone's attention, people had returned to their own discussions, finishing their lunches and moving to the table to sign up and submit names.
Ruby stretched her hand across the table, palm up.
"You owe me $5, Killian."
"Dammit, Ruby, she must've told you beforehand."
Emma scoffed. "Sorry, Jones, MM may be terrible with secrets but she kept this one. Besides, it's really not surprising if you know Mary Margaret."
"I think it's cute."
"You would, Tinkerbell." Killian scowled as he handed over a five to a grinning Ruby.
"Hey." Tink landed another punch on Killian's soon-to-be-bruised arm. "I've made my peace with the abbreviated nickname, but I'll not be teased because my parents had a cruel sense of humor naming their small, blonde daughter something starting with T."
"You know, it's only a matter of time before we get Hook to catch on, Tink, then he'll leave you alone," Ruby teased.
"I'll not be compared to a cartoon with a bad nose and a worse perm, thank you very much. And if we're going fairy tale themed, that makes you Little Red Riding Hood."
"Maybe," Ruby replied, still wearing her winning smile, "But I think we all know I'm more like the wolf."
"Speaking of fairy tales," Emma paused, considering the parallels, "I think MM and David are going to have to win Prom King and Queen."
Ruby turned more thoughtful. "I'm nominating them both for sure, but I think they're more prince and princess. David will definitely win—"
"Hey!" Killian interjected. "What about me?"
"David will definitely win," Ruby continued, ignoring him, "But I don't know about MM."
"Aw, c'mon, she could be queen if we helped her."
"Oh, Emma," Ruby laughed, "So beautifully naïve in the world of high school politics."
"Seriously," Emma asserted, "It's going to be someone we're friends with. Why not Mary Margaret. You planning on running, Rubes?"
"Um, no thank you. I do not need that kind of responsibility," Ruby joked.
"How about you, Tink?"
"I'd rather Mary Margaret won. She certainly would want it more. Besides, I've already been relegated to fairy status."
"So there. MM will win," Emma confirmed.
"I'll win what?" Mary Margaret asked, sidling up to their table with David close behind.
"Hey, MM! Nice theme!" Mary Margaret blushed under Ruby's praise. "Emma was just saying you're a shoe-in for Prom Queen."
Mary Margaret's smile dropped just a little. "No, I'm not. I can't be submitted because as the head of the committee, it might look fixed if I won." Her enthusiasm returned as she looked to the boy at her side. "But David can still win! I can't wait to campaign for you, sweetie." She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "And which ever one of you ladies would like to run!"
"Well, Tink and me have already decided that it's not our scene, so I guess that leaves …Emma!"
"Me?" Emma looked at her friends, gaping. "No, I don't think so."
Ruby's smile had never seemed more wolf-like. "You said it yourself, Ems, someone who's friends with us is gonna win, and if it's not gonna be Mary Margaret, and me and Tink both campaign for you…"
"Hey! C'mon, don't gang up on me!"
"Why not, Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, confused by her friend's reluctance. "I think you'd make a lovely Queen."
"I'm not saying I'm going to win, but it'd certainly be more fun if you were crowned with me, Emma," David added.
"I—" Emma desperately didn't want to tempt fate. She may have had good standing for the past three school years, but she couldn't shake the feeling it would all go to pieces in a minute. "I just don't think it's a good fit for me, MM. Much more your style."
"Tink, c'mere, I need to talk to you privately for a second."
Tink was surprised by Ruby's sudden request but got up to join her a short distance from the table. The remaining friends looked confusedly at each other, wondering what the two could possibly be up to. That wonder only grew when Tink briefly looked at Emma before the two girls turned back seemingly in complete agreement.
"So Emma," Tink began as they reached the table, "you think anyone we're friends with can be Queen."
"Well, yeah," Emma replied, trying not to feel threatened by their matching smiles and the fact that now almost everyone was standing over her.
"And you don't want to be Queen, but me, MM, and Tink have already decided to conspire against you," Ruby continued.
"Right, 'cause you're super friends."
Mary Margaret was a little upset to have been grouped into Ruby's plan, but the other two girls didn't falter.
"What if I told you that Tink and I have agreed to offer you a way out?"
Emma grew even more suspicious. "I'd like to hear it."
Ruby paused. This was the sell. "Me and Tink will choose a girl in this room. If you can get her into the final voting the week before Prom, we will campaign for her instead of you."
"Any girl?" Emma considered. Most girls would die for the chance to be Queen, right? Just because her group of friends was a little off didn't mean that everyone else was. She looked around. Most people had cleared out, now that the announcement was over and there were only five minutes until the next class. She recognized a bunch as girls she was friendly with. She could handle having another friend. And it would be like passing on the wealth.
"All right," Emma confirmed. "You have one minute to pick any girl in this room, and I will make her into Queen material."
Ruby and Tink practically squealed at her agreement and the thought of their sometimes reserved friend having to reach out to someone of their choosing, or at the very least having to accept their campaign for her without argument. They stood side to side, scanning the remaining girls as their minute ran.
Just then, a swish of brown passed quickly towards the vending machine. Loafers, khakis, a turtleneck sweater, and a packed old JanSport topped with a French twist entered money and hit the button for a bottle of water.
Spotting her, Ruby and Tink instantly looked at each other. They couldn't believe their luck.
"We pick her!" Tink whisper-shouted, pointing at the direction of the machine with Ruby nodding furiously.
Looking over, Mary Margaret's pale skin grew even whiter.
Emma turned to find where they were pointing, feeling the dread settle in her stomach. What had she gotten into?
Just then, the brunette turned, water bottle in hand, and walked out the door as quickly and quietly as she came.
Emma had to stifle a gasp.
"Regina Mills," Ruby confirmed with glee. "You have three weeks to turn Regina Mills into someone people will vote for."
A/N: I had no real intention of writing this...but I was just struck by how many HS AUs have Regina as the popular girl when I feel there are so many reasons she wouldn't be and so many reasons why Emma might. Anyway, I hope you like it, at least enough to find someone more talented to give it a go. But if you'd like me to continue, please, let me know.