Chapter 2: Say Something
Ruby opens her door with pursed lips and Emma immediately cringes, knowing full well that when she was upset, there was hell to pay. Dawning her sweetest of smiles, Emma tried to charm her dear friend out of any scolding.
"Hey Rub, you look gorgeous as usual." Ruby rolls her eyes at Emma's attempts to save her own skin, and Emma can't help but giggle at her own pathetic-ness. Ruby gives her a big wolf-ish grin in kind.
"Really Emma, that was pathetic."
"Yeah, I know." She laughed again, "Something held me up on the way back from Dr. Hopper's class."
"Something huh?" Ruby's smile was even bigger now.
"Yeah. But I'm here now." She tries to brush Ruby off, but she knew she was doing a terrible job. Once this girl caught a scent, there was no shaking her.
"Was this thing about 5'11, accent, eyes as blue as the sea, covered in sexy scruff?" At Emma's face, Ruby just shook her head. "Man Emma, you're so hung up."
"WHAT? I so am not." She snapped.
"A little too defensive aren't we?" She smiled. Emma just looked at her for a second. Before thinking of a calmly formulated response.
"Rub, I have eyes, he's not too bad to look at, but in case you've forgotten, I've been with Neal for over a year now and this whole 'make-over' thing is to impress him, not Killian. He's my friend."
" 'NOT TOO BAD TO LOOK AT?! Emma! Just admit that he's ridiculously hot. He's practically dripping with sex and if you didn't think so you wouldn't be blushing right now." Emma curses under her breath and Ruby continues, "On top of that, you can look while you're with someone, it isn't a sin to acknowledge the opposite sex. Not that it makes a difference in your case. You practically light up when you're around him. Just jump his bones and get it over with." She winks.
"Ruby oh my God you're ridiculous." Emma's face turned redder with each point Ruby made but her temper matched her embarrassment. "Can you for once just stop pushing me away from Neal just because you don't like him- how about you let me be happy for once. Now I'm trying to wow MY BOYFRIEND so are you going to help me with that? Because I can just go to Mary Margret." With that, Ruby burst out laughing, shocking Emma at the sudden change in momentum.
"Your brother's PG, animal cuddling, musical singing, girlfriend? Are you planning on wearing a tiara and singing with dwarves because that's what you'll get. Good luck getting laid with her help." With that, Emma was smiling too, anger quelled completely.
"Okay fine. Let's just get the shopping part over with." Emma stretches.
"Planning to run there?" She asks, nodding her head at Emma's now raised arms.
"Come on, you and I both know that shopping with you is a work out. I'll probably be borderline power-lifting the piles of clothes you'll be throwing at me."
"But you'll be thanking me by the end of the night when they can't take their eyes off you." Emma made a direct effort to avoid Ruby's use of "They" because she knows this whole match making thing with Killian is unavoidable. She's just too stubborn. Her hope is confirmed when Ruby drops it. For now, at least. Though she was trying to feign disinterest, something in the back of Emma's mind that felt her heart quicken at the thought of Killian looking at her like she's to be desired, but she buries it quickly. Nope. Not going to happen Swan. You and Neal have something going.
"Let's go. Time to get my girl laid." Emma just shakes her head.
They're in the shop nearest to campus, clothes about to fall off the hook in the dressing room from all the options Ruby found and Emma can't help but smile that her prediction was confirmed. Emma is in the process of taking off the littlest red dress she's ever seen when suddenly she can't lift her arms. Shit. She was stuck. Damn Ruby and her little outfits She thought to herself. She struggled for a few minutes, panic starting to set in. She had to do this alone. If Ruby came in she was screwed. It would be all over. She wiggled a little more.
"Everything okay in there, Emma?"
"Yeah!" She shouted a little too enthusiastically.
"Umm, are….are you sure? You sound a little weird. If you need help I can come in." More panic. No no no no no. Can. Not. Happen. She closed her eyes and relaxed, grabbing onto a part of fabric she couldn't reach before and getting the garment off. Thank God she smiled to herself, swelling with pride.
"WHAT IN THE HELL." Ruby shouted from behind her. The panic came back like it had never left and all the color drained from her face. Emma turned around quickly and put her back to the wall, putting her very best smile on.
"Rub I told you I was alright. I just got a little stuck. I'll put on this black one next and show it to you in just a sec."
"Emma." Her heart sank. She knew what was coming, but she couldn't bring herself to give up her act.
"What Ruby? If you don't like the black, I can try this green one."
"I'm not worried about the stupid outfit and you know it." Ruby's look was intense. Too much so. Emma felt like she couldn't look her in the eye. Her heart was beating too quickly. The silence was stretching on and she was starting to wonder if Ruby could hear her heart racing. She certainly could. Her ears were practically throbbing. Her throat was getting dry and the dressing room seemed to get smaller and smaller with each passing moment. Emma wasn't going to budge. Suddenly, Ruby's voice was too gentle. Emma could hear the sympathy when Ruby asked her what she was hoping her friend wouldn't.
"Emma…what happened to your back?" Everything stopped. She couldn't hear the top forty music on the speakers anymore. It was just her breathing and her heartbeat and it was maddening. She replaced her shock with a laughing face and it was Ruby's turn to look surprised.
"Oh, is that what you were freaking about? I got those a while ago…Neal and I were hooking up and my back hit the corner of a wall a little hard." Ruby looked like she almost bought it…almost.
"You never tell me direct things about your sex life," Her voice almost a whisper now, "Emma did Neal hit you?"
Now she was pissed. She knew she had no right to be. Ruby was completely right, but Emma had made Neal mad. She had set him up. Maybe it was her being defensive, and she knew that Ruby would be able to tell, but her face turned red anyway. Emma put her clothes on, grabbed one of the dresses she liked, threw money on the counter and stormed out, Ruby hot on her heels.
"Emma! Wait up! You know I can help you. I'm not going to judge or anything! We can get you away from him." Emma turned so fast she was almost a blur.
"You have NO RIGHT to make assumptions about Neal like that!" There were tears in her eyes and her throat was already raw. People were looking but at this point she couldn't care less. "He LOVES me and he would never do anything like that so how about instead of accusing Neal of something based on one weird mark in a dressing room, you focus on finding someone who you don't have to screw 24/7 to keep interested." Her words were like a slap to the face and Emma knew it. But Ruby was taking it surprisingly well-
"I'd rather be 'screwing 24/7 to keep a man's attention' than getting slapped around to even get any." Okay, maybe not... ouch. But this is what she wanted. If She were mad then they wouldn't have to talk about it. Ruby looked up at her, face red in anger and it suddenly softened. Damn,she could always see those little signs in Emma's eyes as to what she was really feeling and right now, she could see shame for defending Neal, guilt for what she had said to her friend, and hurt for how her friend got her back- no matter how much she had deserved it. The tension was radiating off of the two of them in waves and Emma was hoping, no praying that Ruby would leave.
She didn't.
"Emma... you don't have to tell me about it because if this was any indication of what went on, I already have my answer. But God, look what you're trying to do."
"Just what is it you think I'm doing?!" Emma snapped. Angry tears were prickling at the corners of her eyes.
"Trying, and failing to push me away." She couldn't breathe. Why was she trying so damn hard?
"Because you're like my sister and no matter how hard you try to push me away, to hurt me, I know that you're really just hurting yourself." Shit, I didn't realize I had said that out loud. Her tears were turning from angry to sad really quickly. Emma needed a change in subject, and she needed it quickly. Maybe Ruby could see that too. She always pushed Emma to the precipice of her limits and then backed off.
"Anyway, I still need to get you looking fabulous for this party, but don't think for a second that I'm going to let your roomie let that slime in your place again." Emma sighed, I guess that's better than nothing.