Ch. 2
Lives went on. Students made plans for an evening at the beach. There wasn't much hesitation from Emma, as a typical weekend evening for she and Killian consisted of lame movies and lots and lots of popcorn.
Laughing and teasing each other playfully, Killian and Emma stumbled down to the ocean's shore, where they could see boys and girls splashing in the water or making out. Within the crowd of teenagers there was Neal, the most popular lad in their year. Most people thought he was quite easy on the eyes, but Killian could never tell what any of the girls saw in him. He saw him for what he really was: a douchebag.
Emma and Killian ran round the beach until the sun started to set, chasing each other like young siblings. It was Emma's favorite feeling when she was hoisted onto Killian's back and he carried her around.
Killian noticed after a while that Neal had pulled Emma to the side and was intently talking to her. What could possibly be so important that he couldn't say it in front of all his asshole friends?
"Just look at Neal right now," Killian instructed Emma later as they sat on a blanket next to each other. Neal was sitting amidst a crowd of girls and other seemingly attractive young men. "What a bimbo."
Emma looked nonchalantly away.
"He's invited me to the school dance."
Killian tried not to look affected. He merely scoffed and averted his eyes from looking directly at her.
"Er…and what did you say?"
"No, obviously!" she replied with a grin and a playful nudge. "I'm going with you."
Killian's spirit lightened immensely at this response. He hadn't expected her to break their pact about going to the dance together, but reassurance from her was always greatly appreciated.
"Hey, Killian," said a female voice.
Looking up, Killian saw none other than Ruby Lucas standing above him in a very short skirt…but he wasn't looking at that of course.
"I missed you in the library today," she teased, the hemline of her skirt occasionally blowing upward by force of the wind.
Killian looked up at her, "Yeah…uh, I…I had…nothing…I was a bit –"
Emma glanced toward him incredulously.
"Don't be a stranger," Ruby concluded as she sauntered back to her friends on the blanket across from them.
"Pathetic," Emma muttered.
"She is mine for the taking!" bragged Killian.
Emma let out a laugh. "You're lucky she didn't trip over your tongue dragging halfway across the ground."
"Whoa! Okay. Alright," he retorted, "give me some tips, then, if you're so clever. How do I go about seducing a woman who is apparently out of my league?"
She gaped at him momentarily.
"Is that a serious question?"
"Yeah! Absolutely."
"Hm. Well," Emma began jokingly, "you're at a bit of a disadvantage being a, you know," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "virgin."
Killian rolled his eyes as he turned bright red.
"You know what, forget it."
"No, no, no," persuaded Emma, "we can work with that! Now first, you have to be cool. Ignore her. Act like you could take it or leave it, right?"
Killian raised his eyebrows and nodded, indicating he understood.
She continued, "Second, you have to make her feel like you've seen something in her no one else has. Like her soul."
"While also ignoring her?" he interjected.
"Yes," she said plainly.
"Okay. And what happened to…the sex?" he asked coyly with his usual smirk.
"This is about the sex!" she reassured with a laugh.
"God! You are so fucked up," he told her.
She widened her eyes and gave a thin-lipped smile. "You have no idea."
They had been looking over at Ruby again, seeing her exchange words with her friends, looking totally flawless the whole time, even though the wind was blowing even harder than earlier, when Killian spoke again.
"She wants me to take her to the dance."
Emma's head whipped around to look back at him. She wasn't bothered by this was she?
"Really?" she wondered.
"Yeah, imagine," scoffed Killian.
There was a pause. Emma could do one of two things here.
She could tell him not to take her; she could tell him what she really thought, which was that he was so much better than Ruby was and that she, Emma, had truly been looking forward to attending the dance with him, even if it was only as friends.
Or she could lie because at this point, he seemed to want Ruby more than her.
She chose the latter.
"Take her, if it means that much to you."
Killian looked surprised. "Come on. You'd have no one to go with," he weakly argued.
"Er, I got asked by the fittest guy in our year, Killian. I think I'm fine," Emma shot back.
"What, so actually this is quite convenient for you?" he asked amusedly.
"Yeah."
Killian looked at her then back at Ruby.
Please don't ask her. Please don't ask her.
"Alright. Well…yeah I'll go ask her then!"
Emma swallowed her pride. "Go for it."
Killian stood up and made his way over to Ruby's blanket. Emma watched as Ruby's eyes lit up and she said yes to Killian' offer, kissing him on the cheek before tightly embracing him, while Emma stayed alone in the sand.
Several more weeks passed. Ruby and Killian had been hanging out more and more, making this the first real girlfriend Killian had ever had. Emma tried not to be bothered by it, but her weekends were being spent alone more than with him nowadays. She wanted to say something, but when she would go through the words in her head they always sounded so selfish. How could she just ask him to stop spending time with his girlfriend without sounding jealous? She couldn't, so she didn't.
The week of the dance, Emma and Killian sat in their computer class. Suddenly a message popped up on Emma's screen.
Killian
I've got news.
News, did he?
Emma
Me too. I need to concentrate so I can pass my exams and get a life.
She pressed send and looked across the room to where he was sitting, typing again, with a smug look on his face. She received another message.
Killian
Virgin boy is no longer.
Emma's face dropped. Dreading the answer she already knew at the back of her mind, she typed.
Emma
Who's the unlucky girl?
Send.
"Not Ruby. Not Ruby. Not Ruby," she muttered to herself, anticipating his answer.
Killian
RUBY
"Fuck!" she exclaimed audibly. The whole class looked up, Killian included.
"Right," their instructor said, "Emma Swan get yourself down to the headmaster's office."
Emma stood up from her chair, but Killian was quick to try and come to her rescue.
"No, no, no Mr. Simpson. I had something I needed to tell her," he explained.
"So I see, Killian," Mr. Simpson said, approaching his computer. "Congratulations."
With the push of a button, Killian and Emma's conversation was broadcasted on the board in front of the whole class. People began to snicker and applaud as Killian put his face in his hands, completely embarrassed.
Emma made her way out of the classroom and to the headmaster's office with Killian in tow due to his "profane messages". In any other situation, Emma may have felt bad for him, but today, after what he had just told her, she figured this was nothing more than karma. She knew that she didn't have any sort of right to Killian, but she always figured that she was the most important woman in his life. Of course, this was a bit of a double standard. She had slept with plenty of guys in the past four years and Killian had never complained once. She'd never had any emotional attachment to her previous hookups because that was all they were: hookups. They were one-night stands or boyfriends to pass the time, just knowing that in the long run, Killian would be there for her.
It had been different for Killian. He had never hooked up with anyone, and she supposed that's what had kept her going to so long; that's why she always had hope. She thought that he was saving himself for her. She truly believed that one day they would both come to their senses and something magical would happen.
She suddenly didn't believe in the sparks of a new romance, because it would never happen. Nothing was going to be blossoming between them. And she shouldn't feel sad over it, because it just simply wasn't meant to be. She could see that now.
Sorry for the major downer ending to a chapter guys. I thought about making it longer but I figured that was a good conclusion to this particular section. Hoping to update with a new chapter every week or so, though around the holidays and into January that may be tough with my schedule. But I will really try!
I thrive off of reviews so keep em coming! Thanks for reading!
