A/N: This fic was written with love as a birthday present for proudblueeyesthings. Happy birthday, my dear!

"Emma!"

Emma let out an annoyed groan when she heard her father call her name. She had been sitting behind her laptop for a few hours now, but she could hardly be blamed for that – it was the first day of summer break.

She got up from her computer and walked in the direction of her father's office, her eyes glued to her cell phone as she made her way into the room and leaned her back up against the solid mahogany door.

"Emma, honey, why don't you have a seat?"

Emma's head snapped up when she heard her mother's voice; Karen usually worked from nine in the morning to six in the evening – what is she doing home now?

"Mom," Emma started nervously, cocking her head to the side as she tucked her phone into the back pocket of her jean shorts, "what are you doing home? It's only three o'clock."

Karen heaved a deep breath before she motioned to the chair in front of her husband's desk. "Why don't you have a seat, sweetheart?"

"What's happening?" Emma looked back and forth between her parents as she sat down in one of the plush armchairs in her father's office.

"Listen, Princess," Jack rubbed his face tiredly before putting on his glasses, poising them on the bridge of his nose. "Your mother and I are sending you away for the summer."

Emma stared at her parents for a moment before she erupted into a fit of giggles. "Oh my god, Dad, that was a good one!" She reached into the back pocket of her shorts and pulled out her cell phone. "I just have to tell the girls about this one."

She was halfway through her text message when her mother walked around the desk and took the phone from her hands. "Emma, we're serious."

Emma felt her heartbeat begin to pick up as she swallowed hard and looked at her parents. "What? Why?"

Jack sighed heavily before getting up from his seat and walking around the desk. He leaned up against it in front of Emma, crossing his arms over his chest. "Emma, you're going to be starting college in the fall. You barely do anything aside from hanging out with Ariel and Belle, and you have no concept of the world outside of New York City. I would feel like a failure as a parent if I let you leave the nest so unprepared for the real world."

"The real world, Dad?" Emma shot back, standing up from her chair and moving to stand behind it, crossing her arms to mirror her father's stance. "We live in New York! This is about as real as it gets!" She looked at her mother and quickly walked over to her, gripping her by the shoulders with a pleading look in her eye. "Mom, talk some sense into him. Don't let him do this to me!"

Karen sighed and shrugged out of Emma's grip, taking both of her daughter's hands in hers. "Emma, he's right. This will be good for you, we promise."

Emma started to breathe heavily as she ran her hands through her hair. She gripped her hair in both hands as she sat back down in the chair and closed her eyes. "This is bullshit."

"Emma!" Both her parents shouted her name in unison, equally displeased with her foul language.

"No, guys, it is! You're shipping me off to Nowhereland, USA for a whole summer and you expect me not to be upset?"

Her father sighed as he stood from his leaning position and put his hands on his waist. "Well, that's no excuse to—"

"She has a point, Jack." Karen put her hand on Jack's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze before she walked over to Emma and knelt on the floor in front of her. "Sweetheart, I know that this is going to be hard for you, but it's only for a summer. Just do this for us, Emma. We need to know that you'll be able to survive without us when you go away to college in the fall."

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head at her mother's words. "Where are you sending me?"

"Maine? They're kidding with that, right?" Ariel took a sip from the iced coffee she was drinking as she pushed her sunglasses off of her nose and into a resting position on the top of her head. "Emma, this is the last summer before we become official college students! You can't let them take this away from you!"

"I agree with Ariel," Belle chimed in, not even bothering to look up from her phone as she spoke to her friends, "this is a total gyp."

Emma sighed as she looked at her two closest friends. She'd known the girls ever since her family moved to New York, and she had no idea how she was supposed to survive a whole summer without them. "I'm gonna die, you guys, and I'll be nowhere near Fifth Avenue when I draw my last breath."

Both Ariel and Belle sucked in shocked gasps and Belle moved her chair closer to Emma's on the other side of the round café table. "Oh, Emma, don't talk like that! You're going to make it through this, and the second you come back, Ariel and I will take you on a shopping spree! Anywhere you want! Won't we, Ariel?"

The redhead smiled and nodded perkily before giving a quick, "Yep!"

Emma smiled weakly at her friends before reaching for her mug and taking a tentative sip of its scalding contents.

"It's June, Emma, why are you drinking hot chocolate?" Belle asked with an air of incredulity in her tone.

"Lay off, Belle," Ariel elbowed the brunette in the ribs, "you know it helps her relax, or whatever."

Emma tuned her friends out as she swiped her finger through the whipped cream on her drink and then wiped it off on her tongue.

This was going to be the longest summer ever.

Karen approached Emma's bedroom door and gave a tentative knock on it. She waited for Emma to answer before she opened the door but remained at the threshold, leaned up against the doorjamb. "You're going to have a great time with Ruby, Emma. Remember how well you two got along when you were kids?"

Emma had grown up with Ruby back when she and her parents live in Portland, Maine. After her father had gotten his current job as a stockbroker, her family moved on to a new life in New York City, and she'd never seen Ruby again. A few months after her family had settled into the city, Emma received a few letters from Ruby, but she never thought to reply to them, since, by then, she'd already made new friends.

"Seriously, Mom?" Emma shook her head as she began to place her folded clothes into her suitcase. She only had a few days left to pack before she had to leave. "I last saw her, what, eight? Ten years ago? We have nothing in common anymore, and I wouldn't be surprised if I just spend the whole summer sitting in my room."

"You'll probably be sharing a room with Ruby."

"Well, doesn't this whole thing just keep getting better and better?" Emma remarked with a sarcastic laugh as she flopped the top of her suitcase down and attempted to zip it closed.

Karen walked into the room and nudged Emma's hip with her own, indicating to her daughter that she wanted to help. "Why don't you sit on it like you used to when you were little?"

Emma couldn't fight back a smile at her mother's suggestion as she climbed up onto her suitcase and sat on it, crossing her legs Indian style beneath her. "This whole arrangement is totes unfair, Mom."

"Emma, you have- to un- derstand," Karen grunted as she tugged at the zippers on the large suitcase, using her body weight to pull it along, "gimme a sec. Lemme just- close this first." She sighed and blew her bangs out of her face after she sealed the luggage. "You have to understand why we're doing this. We want to know that you'll be able to survive without us when you go to college next year. It's nothing personal."

Emma hopped down from the now-closed suitcase and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. She bit her lip as she tried her best to keep tears from falling from her eyes. "But I'm gonna miss you so much, Mom."

Karen smiled weakly as she hugged Emma back, stroking the back of her hair as she gave the girl a kiss on top of her head. "I know, baby. I'll miss you, too."