Ruby's Point of View
It wasn't often that a wanderer comes into town; maybe once in a blue moon does this happen. Sure, the bus stops by twice a month but these people don't stay long. Emma seemed different. She seemed rough and tired but also beautiful and warm. That was one way to describe her: warm. Ruby wanted to make a friend out of this girl. Something in her gut told her to make it happen, she couldn't put her finger on it just yet but she could tell there was something there. Ruby was preoccupied with her job but tried her best to be the most accommodating towards the girl. She couldn't be much older than seventeen or eighteen.
With Granny gone for the week, maybe longer, Ruby had more responsibilities to do while she was gone. In the diner, they had about seven employees at a time, sixteen people in total were employed. It was a small establishment. Three cooks in the back, four people running the floor. It was simple enough, with the size of the place, they couldn't fit another waitress in the mix. The only downside is that the high school kids that were hired were not very stable and reliable, making it very hard to keep a staff. Tonight, was no different, Ariel, one of the high school girls, decided to quit a little earlier she anticipated, walking out of the establishment in anger and frustration after her double shift she asked for. Ruby didn't have time for hiccups in the schedule and had begged anyone to come in and replace the girl. Out of luck, she assumed the position of taking the floor by herself the next morning, hoping the people of Storybrooke would be understanding.
Ruby finally crawls into bed around eleven but couldn't sleep. It was a full moon, her moon; it was like she could get her energy from it when it is in full view. She could walk the streets, the park and beach with it as her only light source and get away with it. Sometimes she would just sit outside and bask in the cool night air, other times, she would walk. That's when her thoughts turned to the girl from this morning. Emma Swan. She was beautiful. A girl who probably would pass like the moon would go into its next phase, she would be many miles away. Ruby longed for friendship that wasn't superficial, someone who was like a journal in the sense that she could tell her secrets, fears and desires to and be the same person back to her. If she was at the diner tomorrow, Ruby would try to be a good friend to her, regardless on if she would stay in town or not. It was like it was her duty to be there for this girl who is down on her luck. As Ruby kept walking, she notices the yellow bug, a new sight to the town no doubt. She looks in the car and sees the girl, Emma, in a blanket in the back seat. How inconsiderate Ruby now felt that she didn't offer the girl a place to stay. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the window.
She wasn't asleep long before she's startled by someone tapping on the window, it's Ruby. Emma jumps almost out of her skin but hops to the driver's seat toget out of the car, "You scared the shit out of me Ruby." She says. "What time is it?"
"Just a little past midnight; what are you doing out here?"
"Me? It's midnight, what are YOU doing out here at this time of night?"
"I like walking in the moonlight. Now answer my question."
"Trying to sleep. Is that illegal?"
"Well no, but there's Granny's Bed and Breakfast just on the other side of the diner, come get a room."
"Ruby, I can't get a room."
"Why?"
"Because."
"That's not a real answer, Emma, come on, I want to be your friend. Friends help each other."
Emma's heart skipped a beat at the sound of the word friend. "I cant afford it. I need the money for a bus ticket. I can't go to some inn." She says downheartedly.
"You can if I say you can, help me open in the morning and I'll call it even."
"What would your Granny say about that?"
"She's out of town visiting her sister. She won't know, and Ariel just quit last shift, really, you'd be helping me out."
With a reassuring smile, Emma gives into the girl's deal. With a bag of her things, Emma gets out of the car and walks with Ruby into the inn where she gets handed an old-fashioned key.
"It'll be room number We come downstairs at six, I'll see you then." Emma looks at the room. Flowery wallpaper and all, it was a room. Four walls and a roof, she was sleeping on a mattress, not the bench seat of a car, not a cot, a mattress. Emma walks into the bathroom where she sets her clothes down. Plush towels are folded on the rack by the shower, something Emma had wanted to use for days. She takes her hair out of the greasy ponytail it was in and starts the water. She waits for it to be the right temperature and steps in the tub. Warm water begins going over her body, washing away the dirt and filth. She didn't know how long she was in the shower and frankly, didn't care. It was nice to get clean. She puts on some of her cleaner clothes and sets some jeans and a t-shirt out to work in tomorrow. After setting the alarm clock for 5:40, she combs and dries her hair and crawls into bed where she gets the best night's sleep she's had in a while.