Chapter Two
Emma and her parents sat at the kitchen island for a few hours, exchanging stories, drinking coffee and sharing new life lessons that they had experienced while they were away from one another. Mary Margaret told Emma how she had spilled her coffee, then tripped and fallen in front of Regina twice while walking out of Granny's Diner, both times were equally as embarrassing. She had gotten that evil smirk of Regina's for weeks after those two incidents. Mary Margaret was positive that she would never live those two instances down. Emma, David, and Mary Margaret swapped unique stories and happenings but they were cut short. Unfortunately, both David and Mary Margaret had to get ready for work at around seven-thirty. David still worked at the animal shelter part-time as well as at the sheriff's station and Mary Margaret worked full-time at the school. They had to end their conversation and head to their bedroom to prepare for the day. Emma took that as her cue to leave and maybe hit up a few of her old friends to see how they were doing. "I'll call you guys once I get everything settled at the new apartment. Talk to you later," Emma yelled as she walked out of the door. Once it was closed she heard a faint "Love you!" from both David and Mary Margaret.
First on the list of people Emma wanted to visit was, of course, Ruby. Emma and Ruby had been the best of friends for as long as she could remember. Every day after school they spent time at the beach or by the docks doing homework or playing games until they got old enough to work at the diner. Even then they spent almost every waking moment together. Sometimes Belle tagged along as well as August or Jefferson. When the group of them got together, all hell would break loose. They always did the craziest things and they made the best kinds of memories together. That was definitely something Emma sincerely missed.
Emma opted out of driving her bug around town to avoid gossip. Instead, she walked to the diner. It felt good to stretch her legs considering she was driving in a car for a good twenty-four hours. This way, she also got to smell all of the budding flowers and see the new growth on the trees. On her way to the diner, she noticed something odd. The mayor's car was parked outside of the library, but since when did Regina ever even set foot in that dusty old place? Another thought to be stored in the back of her mind for later. Emma looked up and realized she was about ten feet away from the Diner door. She could see Ruby cleaning tables through the windows and suddenly a huge smile was set upon her face. Slowly, she approached the door and opened it ever so slightly as to avoid having all of the diners' eyes on her. She gently closed the door and said "Hey Rubes, long time, no see, huh?" Immediately Ruby turned around and sprinted for Emma. They held each other in a tight embrace until they couldn't breathe anymore. "Oh my goodness! Where have you been? I can't believe you're back I've missed you so much! When did you get back? You have to tell me absolutely everything!" Ruby kept on rambling until Emma finally spoke up.
"Whoa there tiger! Slow down! I missed you too. When are you free? We can sit and eat at my new apartment and talk about everything that's happened since I left."
"You got a new apartment" Ruby said questioningly. "I guess we really do have a lot to talk about! I get off at five, can I come over then?"
"Of course you can Rubes. Is Granny here? I'd love to see her."
"Is that little Emma I hear? Come give Granny a hug." Granny said as she opened her arms wide to hold Emma in a tight embrace.
"You haven't changed a bit Granny."
"Neither have you kiddo. Now stop distracting Ruby from her work, it's almost time for the breakfast rush and I will not be losing any customers this morning!" And with that, Granny walked back off into the kitchen. Both Emma and Ruby snickered as they watched Granny walk away. "I'll text you my apartment number okay? I'm gonna be at Gold's Apartments down the street."
"You're living there? Isn't that crazy expensive?"
"Yeah, it kind of is, but it's all I could get for now."
"Why not move in with your parents?"
"Ew, no thanks. I'm old enough to know what they do at night and I would rather not be subjected to that anymore than I already have been in my lifetime."
"Gross Em's TMI."
"Sorry," Emma chuckled, "I'll see you later on Rubes." Emma said as she began to walk toward the diner door.
"Don't forget to text me."
"I won't!"
From the diner, Emma planned on heading to see Belle. She figured the first place she should check was the library. Belle had been a bookworm ever since they met, but now that Emma was thinking about it, she couldn't even remember when they had met. Yet again, another thought to be stored in the back of her mind. On her walk to the library, Emma literally bumped into August. "Holy hell, Emma is that really you?"
Emma looked up with wide eyes. "August? Man, come give me a hug!" The two held each other for a long time. They had a special relationship even when they were younger. August was the only person Emma really remembered meeting.
Emma was about five years old when they met. She was running around the school playground when an older student had pushed her down and told her to play in the corner where the rest of the young children were playing. Immediately, August stepped in and punched the other child in the face. Once he was satisfied with his work, he turned around and faced Emma. She only had a few scrapes and cuts, one on her knee and the others on her right hand and the side of her face.
"Are you okay? I saw that kid push you down. Are you hurt" August asked as he held out his hand to help Emma up off of the ground.
"I hurt my knee bad" was all Emma could say. All three of them were sent to the nurse to be checked and cleaned up and then they were sent to the principles office. August was praised for helping the five-year-old Emma out on the playground but the other boy was sent straight home to be punished for what he had done. From then on, August became a big brother to Emma. He was always there for her, no matter what happened.
"Where have you been Em's? How long has it been since you left, I can't even remember you've been gone so long. You look great!"
"Thanks August. I don't even remember how long it's been. I just kind of up and left from this place but I'm glad to be back. Hey, why don't you come over tonight? Ruby is coming over for food and probably some drinks, wanna join? We can catch up."
"That sounds great Em. Aren't you living with your parents though?"
"Nah, I got an apartment right there," Emma said as she pointed to Gold's Apartments down the street, "I can text you what time and my apartment number later once I get settled in."
"Sure, sure, that sounds great!"
"Okay, cool. I'm on my way to see Belle so I gotta run but I'll see you tonight?" Emma began to walk off toward the library, still looking August's way.
"Yeah, I'll uh,,, see you tonight!" August said as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, turned around and kept walking toward the docks.
Once Emma was back on task, she noticed that the mayor's car was gone. She decided to push that thought out of her mind and go seek out her good friend Belle. Emma nudged the library door open and stuck her head inside of the building. The little bell on top of the door made a jingling sound which roused Belle from her imaginary world in the book she was reading. "Emma? Is that you?" Belle said as she set down "Alice in Wonderland" By Lewis Carroll and tentatively walked toward the door. "Well I'll be. You look amazing Emma." Belle reached to open the door more as Emma stepped fully into the library and gave Belle a tight squeeze.
"How are you doing Belle?"
"I'm well, and I will assume you are the same, you look fantastic."
"Thank you! I just got back to Storybrooke this morning and thought I would catch up with everyone today. Do you want to come to my apartment later on tonight? Ruby and August will be there! I still have to find Jefferson and invite him but we are going to have food and drinks and all catch up, just like old times!" Belle looked around the room awkwardly before answering, "sure, I would love to come, but I don't think you'll be able to find Jefferson."
"What do you mean? I know he used to love Hide-N-Seek but he can't be that tricky to find-"
"No, Emma, you don't understand. He was taken in to the hospital a few months after you left Storybrooke."
"Is he okay? Belle tell me what happened!" Emma demanded.
"Nobody knows. He wanted to run after you because it just wasn't the same here without you but once he left, he just became… weird. Ruby and I watched him walk past the Storybrooke sign but when he turned around, he just continuously mumbled about fairytales and capturing the Evil Queen. He repeated the phrase 'the savior will save us,' until we called someone to come help. He was brought into the psychiatric part of the hospital and he has been there ever since."
"That's awful… are you sure he wasn't joking? You know how he used to joke around with all of us."
"No, not at all, he was completely out of it. Ruby and I were scared to death. I'm sorry to dump such awful news on you the second you get back home but I would love to join you all tonight."
"I'm glad you told me now instead of finding out later, thanks… I'll um…. I'll text you with the details later okay?"
"Sounds great Emma, and again, I'm sorry."
"It's no big deal, I'll see you tonight Belle," and with that, Emma walked out of the library and on to the sidewalk. Now her mission was to set her apartment up, catch up with her friends, and figure out what was going on in her hometown.
