Emma sighed as her adopted mother kissed her forehead and smiled at her kindly. She returned the smile, not as warmly, but hugged her back when she pulled Emma into a hug. She wasn't going to see her for two weeks, and figured she might as well be polite and make her mother feel better and less guilty about leaving. One week before Christmas. Emma sighed as her mom walked out the door, looking at Liam Jones. Before she left, she hesitated.

"Take care of my baby," She told him with an anxious look on her face. He smiled and nodded.

"You'd need not worry, lass, your daughter's safe with me. " He assured her with another nod. She mumbled a thank you, and was on her way. Emma sighed once again and looked at Liam. She smiled halfheartedly at him. They had been neighbors for a while, and him and her mom had just started to talk, he was nice enough to let her stay for Christmas. He returned the smile and tilted his head a bit.

"Come on Emma, I'll show you your room," He paused and looked at the ground, "Oh! I forgot, you've never met my little brother, Killian. He'll be pleased to meet you, darling. I already told him about how you'll be staying. " She didn't know he had a brother. He obviously didn't go to her school, and she had never even heard of him. Although, to be fair, she had only ever been over here once. She was five, and Liam was 17. He was 12 years older than her.

"I didn't know you had a brother. How old is he?" She asked him curiously, gazing at him. She was now 17, and he was 29.

"He's 18," He replied casually. She nodded. "And he used to live with his girlfriend and her parents," He replied slowly, almost.. cautiously. She nodded once again.

They arrived at a room with a white door.

"This is the guest bedroom." He told her, "I'll send Killian up to meet you shortly." He smiled somewhat awkwardly and walked away. She opened the door to find an neat little room with a light shade of gold walls. The bed was made and the whole room was made of golds, greys, and whites, and she smiled and sat her bag down on the bed. She laid down and pulled her knees up to her chin and closed her eyes. She soon fell asleep.

/

"Killian," Liam knocked on the door lightly.

"You can come in, brother." He told him. Liam opened the door and saw Killian on his computer.

"She's here, and I'd like you to go meet her," Liam paused as he saw Killians confused face. "They girl who is staying for Christmas, our neighbor." He nodded and sighed.

"Alright, mate, I'll go meet the bloody lass." He stood up, and Liam smiled and went to his room. Killian stood at the guest bedroom door. He knocked lightly a few times (With no answer) and opened the door. He slowly walked in. Thats when he saw her. She was in a red leather jacket, and blue jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and she was breathing slowly and deeply. He assumed she was asleep, based on her position and breathing patterns. He started to back out of the room, but he stepped on a plastic bag, which made a lot of noise. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at him sleepily.

"You must be Killian," She mumbled and slid her hands under her head. He looked at her for a moment, speechless.

"Um, uh.. Aye, I am. Whats your name, love?" He asked her, a tad nervous, which was odd for him, he had a way with women that he was very much aware of. His accent helped all the more. She sat up and raised a brow at him. He had the same accent as Liam, but he was much more attractive.

"I'm Emma. Emma Swan. I've lived next to you since I was five. " He grinned at her and tilted his head.

"Well, in my defense, I have been away for quite some time." He told her and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Hmm.. When did you get back?" She asked him.

"About a three years ago, love. " A small smile escaped her lips, and she took her hair out from the ponytail.

"Well, I've lived here that whole time." He grinned again. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked at the door.

"Had I known my neighbor was this beautiful, I'm certain I would have met you much, much sooner." He smiled flirtatiously and raised an eyebrow. She felt a small blush heating up her cheeks.

"I..." She paused and rolled her eyes. "I should probably get unpacking.." She told him and looked down, to Killian, she looked slightly nervous. He nodded.

"Right, well I'll see you later, Swan." He shut the door on his way out. Emma sighed and got up. She started to unpack her things. About an hour later, Liam popped his head into her room.

"Hello, lass, how's it coming?" He asked her, looking (much to emma's surprise) genuinely concerned. She smiled a real smile at him.

"Its fine. What's up?" She questioned him. He shrugged a bit.

"Well, Killian and I are meeting," He paused, "with.. a friend.. Anyways, it matters not, we just wanted to know if you'd like to come." He told her, stammering a bit in the middle of his sentence. "We'll get food while we're there." He informed her.

"Okay. Hang on, let me change. I'll be down in a second. " She loved Liam like a brother, and practically grew up with him.

/

Killian sat on the couch and rested his feet on the coffee table. Liam walked down the stairs, and glared at Killian.

"Brother, how many times do I have to tell you, get your feet off of the table." He told him in a firm voice. Killian grinned lopsidedly. Just then, Emma walked down the stairs. She wore a burgundy dress, and a jean jacket. Killian licked his lips and smiled at her. She smiled a little at him.

"You ready, love?" Killian asked her. She nodded and grabbed her bag off the counter. Liam grabbed his keys and they went out to his car.

They went to a local diner and got a table. Killian was such a flirt, and it really got on her nerves. Just then, their 'friend' walked in.

"Hello, Neal." Liam greeted politely. Killian and neal glared at each other.

"I don't believe we have met before, I'm Neal." He said to Emma. He smiled and stuck out his hand for her to shake. She reluctantly took it.

/

Killian Didn't know why, but he felt extremely jealous as Neal shook Emma's hand. Of course he had to try it with her too, why not, he did it with everyone Killian liked. Not that he did like her, well maybe he did, but it was too early too..

He pushed the thought out of his mind. He didn't like her. He had only just met her.

As he got lost in thought, he looked over at Emma, her eyes were on him, and she mouthed

'help' as Neal sat next to her and flirted with her. He smiled sympathetically at her, and she rolled her eyes. She got up, saying she had to use the bathroom, and walked back a minute or two later. Instead of sitting next to Neal, she sat next to Killian.

"I hope you don't mind," She whispered as she leaned close enough for him to feel her breath on his ear. His breath caught in his throat.

"Your fine, Swan. Sit by me anytime you'd like to." She rolled her eyes at his flirtatiousness and looked at the menu.

If he wasn't sure, now he was.

He liked her

Maybe he had just met her, but he already feels more connected to her than anyone else, and it had only been a few hours.