A/N: This story has been wanting to get told for quite sometime. It does start with CS, but Swan Queen is always endgame.

Friday October 3rd

"So, how'd it go?"

Emma washed the last of the blue and gold Storybrooke Knights war paint off of her face and pulled her long blonde curls up into a messy ponytail.

Leaning against the bathroom door frame her boyfriend Killian half shrugged, "It was fine, Swan, really." He paused to admire her slender body, "But there are other things I'd rather," he paused for effect, a wolfish grin spread across his face, "discuss since your parents aren't home-"

"Down, boy. You aren't staying. I just wanted you to stop by so I could hear how it went at the house tonight," Emma said, brushing off his blatant attempt to get in her pants. Again.

"Always about the house with you, Swan," he deflated and turned away.

The "Lend a Hand" haunted house has been running since before Emma could remember. The charity was founded to raise money to assist foster kids to participate in extracurricular activities they normally wouldn't be able to afford. As a foster kid herself, Emma Swan had been "lent a helping hand" a few times for soccer, softball and one misguided attempt at playing the flute.

When she was a kid, she would walk by, frozen in fear at the blood curdling screams coming from within the walls. As she grew up, she found herself drawn to the house, but even after braving it a few times, decided she wanted to be on the other side of the make-up. Once she was old enough to volunteer, she was quick to sign up to work in the haunted house. Halloween was easily her favorite time of year and she wanted to do her part with the charity to pay it forward. Her last three Octobers were dedicated to cleaning, building, painting, decorating, and eventually scaring the crap out of people in that house. Well, trailers. The "house" was actually five semi-trailers connected to form a maze, and the inside was a dark labyrinth with various horror scenes depicted throughout.

Her first year, she just showed up, had her face painted like a zombie and was told where to stand and jump out at people. Weekend after weekend she came back to scare the pants off the locals. Maybe it was the drama geek coming out in her, but dressing up and making people jump, scream, and cry was addictive. She was hooked. Soon she made her best friend Ruby join her. They, along with a handful of other area misfits, quickly became the backbone of the cast in the house.

Leroy Rafter, also known as Grumpy, was actually in charge of running the entire house. He and his brothers did the heavy lifting of the set building, and were the security at the house when it was open. They were considered the "responsible adults" in charge. If the sheer number of empty beer cans were any indication, the term "responsible" was questionable at best. Throughout the years Emma put in extra time over the summer to help design and build new scenes with the Rafter brothers. Her hard work and dedication didn't go unnoticed and Grumpy decided this year she would be in charge of the cast.

"What do you mean you have to miss opening night?"

"Grumps, I'm sorry. I'm a senior, it's the big Homecoming football game. I just kind of feel like I should go."

"Kid, I put you in charge so I don't have to deal with the delinquents."

"Good to know that's what you really think of us. Trust me, it will be fine. Ruby can take over for me that night. She can handle it. You won't even know I'm not there."

"With your big mouth? Doubtful."

Duties as HBIC include, but are not limited to:

- placing volunteers in scenes throughout the house

- costume and makeup decisions

- dealing with minor cast issues

- keeping the general fuckery in the house to a minimum.

Ruby is her right hand girl and helps her a ton, especially with makeup. Hollywood special effects artists have nothing on her. That girl can dust a mug to look like a corpse, zombie, vampire, ghost or ghoul. You name it, she can paint it. Killian helps out, too, although, Emma's 99% sure he is just there to try and make out in the dark, but hey, help is help…

Killian sighed, knowing this wasn't going where he'd like, "It was opening night. You really should have been there."

"I know. I know. Shit, Killian, you don't think I feel bad enough as it is? But, it's my senior year. The homecoming game is just one of those things I'm supposed to do."

"I never did…" he shrugged.

"Yeah, well, I was trying.. nevermind," she let out an exasperated sigh. "Trust me. It wasn't worth it. I just kept thinking about the house and wishing I was there all night. So come on, just fill me in already." She brushed past him and plopped down on the couch, tucking her legs up underneath her.

"It went fine," he joined her on the couch, crowding her just a bit. "Everyone followed the instructions from your meeting last week to a T. Ruby assigned the returning vets to the better scenes, newbies went to the crap scenes, and anyone that showed any promise got paired up with a vet for the later part of the night. So relax already." He scooted even closer and put his arm around her. "And you will be there the rest of the year to make sure the podunk, volunteer haunted house, in small town Maine goes off without a hitch."

"You're not funny," she shrugged his arm off of her, crossing her arms defensively. Maybe it was stupid that she took the house so seriously. It was just a small, volunteer run haunted house, but it was the only thing she really felt a part of. Grumpy, his brothers, Ruby, and the rest of the friends she's made over the years there, felt like family to her. Other than Mary and David, her foster parents for the last 5 years, it was the closest thing she had to family. And try as they might, Mary and David just didn't get her. Not like her house family did.

Dejected, he leaned his head against the back of the couch. He was used to Emma rejecting his advances, but it didn't mean he had to like it. They had been dating for months now and he hadn't gotten past second base with her. Maybe she just needed some convincing that he was a prized catch.

"You know, there was this one new girl there… Regina, I think her name was. Petite, dark hair. Cute... She would not leave me alone."

Emma turned back towards him and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He feigned nonchalance and shrugged. "She was just chatting me up before it started, hung out with me on break and was kind of lingering around after the house closed. I explained I was with someone and that she'd meet you tomorrow, but she didn't seem phased."

"Well, who is she?" Emma knew she sounded jealous, but she had every right to be, didn't she? In girl world there were rules. Guys that were taken were off limits. And it was her job as the girlfriend to defend what was hers. "I mean, how did she hear about the house?"

"Oh she came with Robin."

Emma rolled her eyes. Robin started coming around the year after she did and was a total pain in her ass. He meant well, he really did, but he just tried way too hard. They were friends, sort of, but he acted like they had a really close friendship when in reality, she could barely tolerate him.

"Yeah, well, maybe she was playing wingman. I'm pretty sure Robin is into you," she teased elbowing him in the ribs, but it came out flat as she tried to convince herself.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's it. I've known Robin for years, so chances are that he is just now sending beautiful girls to try and pick me up for him," he snarked right back.

The words stung more than she wanted them to. Why did he have to act so smug? So a pretty girl thought he was hot. He was. She knew she was lucky. Tall, dark and handsome, Killian was classically good looking. But he also wore a black leather trenchcoat and a bit of guyliner, so he had that air of bad boy mystery. Exactly the kind of guy her friends thought she should be into.

Maybe this was his way of telling her to put out or get out. He clearly wouldn't have a problem finding someone else. Maybe someone that was less of a prude. It's not that she was a prude exactly. She could talk and joke about sex, but couldn't seem to make the walk match the talk. There had only been one guy she had actually slept with.

Sex with Neal hadn't been bad, per se, but she didn't see what the big deal was. It was awkward and uncomfortable. Mostly, she remembers wishing she was anywhere but there at the time. He was a good guy, but still a horny teenager. After she started making excuses to avoid alone time with him, he got the hint and moved on.

Truthfully, Killian probably wasn't too far behind. She knew if she wanted to keep him around she had to try harder. And that's what girls her age do, right? Regardless, there was no way was some newbie at the house going to steal her man right out from under her.

"Or maybe she's after something she can't have," she crawled onto his lap and kissed him. It's not like she had to sleep with him right this minute, right? Maybe just a decent make out session would be enough to hold him over for a while.

Saturday, October 4th

"Thirty minutes until doors open. Everyone should be here by now." Emma paced in the clearing behind the haunted house where they got ready and congregated on breaks.

"Ems, relax. You know people are hit and miss with volunteering. We have enough people to open," Ruby reassured her as she put the finishing touches on one of the newbies. "There," she held up a mirror for Graham to see. "You are now a terrifying clown."

"Holy shit, Ruby, this makeup is insane! I'm sort of scaring myself."

Emma looked over proudly at her best friend, "Since Graham will obviously be in the jack-in-the-box tonight, maybe you should take the car scene so you will be close. That way you can give him a hand if he needs it," she winked at Ruby.

"You know, that's not a bad plan, Em. Good idea."

It was a terrible idea and they both knew it. The car scene was just the front end of a car rigged up on the wall that stayed shadowed in darkness until whoever was working in it hit the lights and horn. The hallway cut right in front of the car, so if it was timed just right, it was a great effect. It wasn't unheard of for people to piss themselves in front of the car.

It was a bullshit scene to work though. It was boring and unimaginative. Inexperienced newbies, late comers, or people that pissed off the cast leader were often stuck there, begging for a trade.

Ruby was already in full vampire make-up and loved the acting aspect of the house. She was an experienced veteran who relished at the chance to interact with guests. The first scene, the vampire's lair, was her favorite. She worked magic there; setting the tone for the house and making people continue on with a feeling of unease.

But it was evident to Emma that something was starting between Ruby and Graham and who was she to stand in the way of young love? Or maybe it was just crush and they could use the darkness to their advantage to explore the possibility. Or at least each other's bodies. As long as they didn't get caught.

The rest of the cast started to circle up.

"Ok, guys, sorry I missed last night, but I heard we had a good night. Let's keep the energy up! For those that don't know me, my name is Emma. I help Grumpy and the boys with you lot so they don't have to deal with us. If you have a problem or need a break, I'm the one to talk to. If someone gets too aggressive you can call me or any member of security." She lightly started jogging in place, the others mimicked her. "It's early in the season, but word of mouth travels quickly," her arms stretched up over her head, again everyone mirrored. "So let's get in there and scare the crap out of these people. They pay good money to walk through our house and have a terrifying experience. Let's show them what we've got!" She cracked her neck. Other people in the group started chiming in.

"Hell yeah," Killian piped up.

"Let's do this," Belle, a 3 year vet, called out.

"Make 'em cry," Ruby howled.

"FIRE IT UP!" Arthur, yet another vet yelled.

"Fire it up! Fire it up!" The whole group was chanting. The air was electric.

Emma scanned the group. She had pretty much met everyone there, but a girl walked up alone during the huddle. The late comer was short with dark hair, and was pretty. Very pretty. Bingo.

"Alright, alright. I think most of you have your assignments. A couple changes - Killian, you are taking first scene tonight." He smugly grinned at Ruby, thinking he won the coveted first scene from her, completely ignorant of Emma's plan to try and hook her up with the newbie, Graham. And keep him away from a certain brunette.

"New girl, uh, sorry, I'll catch your name later," she pointed at the brunette, who was obviously Regina, "you can go to the morgue scene with Arthur. It's in the back, he can show you." Arthur did not look upset to be working with the hot new girl.

"Normally, I kind of roam the house to help out as needed, but we are a little shorthanded tonight, so I will be in the cage. For those that are unfamiliar, it's right in the middle of the house, next to the emergency exit, if you need me." The cage was a four foot by four foot jail cell built out of the wall, so there was a natural, narrow hallway around it. A soft blue light hung at the top, casting an eerie glow into the space.

There, Emma could flex her theater muscles a bit, playing a deranged inmate. She would reach through the bars, screaming, getting oh so close (but not too close) to grabbing (but not touching) a (hopefully) terrified guest. Sometimes, she even escaped through the trap door and chased her poor victims a bit. It was a decent scene to work, but it kept her immobile, which she hated. But Grumpy hated people roaming. If he needed to get around the dark hallways, he didn't want to be bumping into kids trying to bullshit and flirt with each other between customers. Luckily for Emma, being in charge of the cast gave her immunity to that particular rule. Emma usually wore a security headset and hung out around the emergency exit. It was a good corner to lurk and scare, but also made it easy to get to another part of the house quickly if she was needed.

"You guys ready?" she smirked at the zombies, vampires, clowns, and ghouls around her.

"FIRE IT UP!"

They continued hooting and hollering as they entered through the exit door, filtering through the house and taking their places. Emma entered last and walked the dark halls by memory, making sure everyone was in place. When she got to the front door, she cracked it open a bit to let Grumpy know that they were ready to go.

"Give me a minute to head back to the cage and we are good, Grumps."

"Hey, Swan," he called out, holding the door open, letting some light in. She spun back to face him, a sliver of light brightening her face, "Now that you are actually here tonight, are you going to officially open the house? One thing was missing last night. Made it feel like a dress rehearsal."

An impish grin proudly spread across her face.

"Sure thing Grumpy."

"Hell yeah, kid. Let's do this!" The swung the door shut, cloaking her in pitch black darkness.

Stomping through the house like it was her runway, she got similar words from vets she passed.

"Do it, Swan."

"Fire it up!"

"C'mon, Swan…"

The dark halls twisted and turned until she ended up back in front of the cage. She banged her heavy mag flashlight against the metal outer wall three times and the house went silent. Taking a full, deep breath, Emma threw her head back and let out an ear-piercing, blood curdling, horror movie scream.

A buzzing clicked in her ear through the radio before Grumpy's voice rang in, "The house is officially open, guys. Sending the first victims your way."