Thank you so much to the guest, Dazedand, who let me know that a name in my story was cut out! This website can be really buggy sometimes. And to answer your question yes Regina can only see the flash once :)
Emma's a really horrible tour guide. Majority of the spots we visited she didn't know the name of so she would settle for labeling it as "the place where people do shit"; those were literally her exact words. A portion of my mind has this lingering thought that the only reason she's doing this is to spend time with me because, honestly, she easily could have pointed me in the direction of someone who could do a better job.
"You're really bad at this." We're inside a part of the building where there are various stands put out advertising different clubs and organizations.
"It's my first day on the job, give me a break." She grins. One thing I have to give her credit for is her ability to withstand my bad habit of being blunt or what others have called it from time to time, rude. "Now, this is where the activities fair takes place. And here, you're most likely to receive multiple paper cuts on your arm from people shoving flyers at you. Beware."
"Thanks for the warning." I rotate my shoulder, wincing slightly at the strain my one strap bag is putting on it.
"You want me to carry your bag for you?" Somehow Emma caught sight of my pained expression which is surprising for me. Majority of the time my feelings go unnoticed by those around me.
I opened my mouth to reject the offer but Emma had already stopped walking, her arm extended and awaiting for me to hand her the bag.
"Sure why not." I shrugged the bag off my shoulder, immediately feeling the great relief at the loss of the weight.
Emma took it and adjusted the strap so that it rested on her shoulder, across her chest. "I can definitely rock this."
"Rock it?" Truthfully, I've never heard that phrase before in my life.
"Yeah. Like, I can wear this in an awesome way. You never heard the term before?" She questioned as we continued to walk.
"Remember when I said I'm not in the friendship making business?"
"Ah." From the corner of my eye I watched her play with the strap of the bag. "Well, one of these days I could teach you all the different phrases that exists. All you have to do is ask."
At that, a small smile appeared on my face. Though her eyes were on me, I continued to stare forward. Why she wants to befriend me, I have no idea but I can't deny that her discreet attempts are cute. In the distance I spot the girl from the other night; Ruby. "Here comes your friend." Is my only reply.
Emma watches me for a moment then lets out this short breathy laugh almost in slight disbelief but mostly genuine amusement before shifting her attention to her friend nearing us. "Hey, Ruby."
"Hey." Ruby elongates the greeting, languidly draping her arm across Emma's shoulders.
"You remember Regina, right?" My eyes watch Emma's arm encircle Ruby's waist and I'm finding it difficult to believe that they're just friends.
"Oh, yeah. Hey, freshman."
My mouth twisted to the side. People referring me by a label instead of my name is one of my biggest pet peeves. "I was born with a name for a reason. Do use it."
Although Ruby continued to smile I could tell by the way she glanced over at Emma, eyebrows raised and mouth agape, that she was taken aback by my boldness. Emma, on the other hand, had the biggest grin on her face.
"My bad, Regina." Ruby pressed her lips together and looked forward to contain her amusement. Once she did she let out a small huff as her eyes zoomed in on something. "Heads up, Em, straight ahead."
Emma squinted then let out an over dramatic groan. "Flyer coming your way, Regina."
My mouth opens to question her only to be interrupted by a girl half my size, wearing a pastel green dress, stepping directly in my path forcing me to come to a slow stop. Clutched in both of her hands are a stack of neatly decorated flyers.
"Hi." The girl beamed, bright blue eyes shining and auburn colored hair bouncing as she slightly swayed the upper half of her body. Her thick accent rang through my ears. "Would you be interested in joining our sorority?" She extended a flyer for me to take. I almost took the piece of paper but soft fingers gently pushing my hand back down prevented me from doing so.
"Unless you're interested in being hazed," Emma interrupts with a thin smile directed at the girl. The girl's eyes dart sharply to glare at Emma, a scowl in place. "Don't fall for her act."
"Emma. Ruby." She shifts so that she's no longer facing me. She tilts her head to the side and plasters a fake smile on her face. "Didn't see you there."
"Belle. Now you do." Emma and Ruby both match the facial expression simultaneously.
Belle's eyes narrow. "I see they allowed you back in the university. Who did you sleep with this time?"
My eyebrows raise in surprise. She seemed so nice.
Emma lets out a dry laugh. "Since you want to mention sleeping with others-how's Gold? Is he dead yet?"
I frown as I watch Belle's face gradually darken at the comment. Emma definitely struck a nerve. Perhaps she's not as sweet as I first assumed.
Belle exhales loudly through her nostrils, eyes falling close for a moment seemingly collecting herself before turning back to me, flyer in hand. "You can think about it. Recruitment dates are all 'll meet some really nice people, people who aren't bad influences." She emphasizes.
"Come on, Regina, let's finish our tour." Emma says, taking me by my hand and encouraging me to walk away once I accept the paper. She waits until we're out of earshot to continue talking. "You're not seriously considering that are you?"
"Do I honestly look like the type that would enjoy living in a house with a bunch of arrogant girls who pretend to be nice?" I question, arching an eyebrow at her, whilst crumbling the flyer in both of my hands before turning away to toss it in a nearby garbage.
Emma's lips curl upward. "Damn." The curse comes out low, husky almost. I've never heard a word sound so attractive. It made me look at her once more and, of course, those earth colored orbs are studying me in a way that makes my heart skip a beat. "It really sucks that your friendship business is closed."
I swallow visibly and turn away. This was such a bad idea. Why did I let her give me a tour? Why did she have to be so charming and endearing? I blink a few times, clearing what can't be taken back out of my head. What I can do is change the subject. "So, what's Belle's problem with you two? And who's Gold?"
Emma smiles slyly. No doubt because she picked up on how I dodged the friendship topic for the second time today. "Let me just say, Belle has never liked me or Ruby."
"And it may or may not have something to do with us egging her sorority house, while drunk, during freshman year." Ruby adds with a hint of pride.
With a grin, Emma lightly nudges Ruby in the side using her hip. "To answer your other question, Gold is Belle's a billion years old boyfriend. Ergo, making him her sugar daddy. She think she's such hot shit because he's paying her tuition."
"Isn't that exaggerating just a bit? I'm sure he's not that old."
"Dude walks with a cane." Emma laughs. "He looks like a limping heart attack."
"One day, Em, she's going to hear you saying that and make use of that threat." Ruby's joke caught my attention.
"Threat?"
"Oh, yeah." Emma remembers nonchalantly and waves her hand as if to push the memory aside. "She screamed something about making sure I never get a chance to come back to this university. But here I am. Back for a second year."
My gut starts to twist again causing me to unintentionally look down and grimace. It seems that I have just found Emma's possible murderer and she's completely oblivious. This only brings me back to my reasoning for not befriending people. Watching them happily live out their last remaining days, weeks, months, without knowing their time is running fast and not being able to tell them leaves a pit of guilt in your gut. I find my hand settling over my stomach, fingers twisting the thin fabric of my shirt. I come to a halt, bringing Emma and Ruby to a stop a few inches before me. "I just remembered I have to do something. Back in, um, my dorm." I murmur.
Emma's eyebrows furrow downward. "You don't want to conclude our tour?"
"Let's conclude it here. You were a lot of help, Emma, thank you." I flash her a weak, half smile. "My bag."
Emma detaches herself from Ruby to move toward me whilst taking the bag off. "Do you have index cards or sticky notes in here?"
The out of the blue question confuses me but I find myself answering anyway. "Smallest pouch." I watch Emma fish through the pouch before taking out the pack of sticky notes along with a pen. She then proceeds to scribble something down and I try not to notice how her tongue peeks out from between her lips or else the quirk will add to the already too long list of things I'm starting to like about Emma Swan. When she finishes, her fingers neatly fold the small note into an even tinier square before handing it to me along with my bag with a smile. Not her usual side smile, this one is more sheepish.
"I know you're sick of hearing me mention this so this will be my last time bringing it up. That note is for if or when you decide to open up that business of yours." I glance down at the paper held between my fingers tips. "I know a customer who will love to chat about it with you over coffee."
She seems so hopeful. This is going to kill me. "I don't drink coffee." I avoid eye contact to make this easier. "Sorry." It comes out soft and low and then I'm walking away without another word. Saying sorry is something that I rarely do. It feels weird on my tongue. I look at the paper again and despite my mind being against opening the note, I do it anyways to find that she wrote down her number. Right next to the number is a smiley face.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I force my hands to rip up the note.
September weather is weird. Today marks my fifth day at college and it's already pouring down rain. On a regular non-college day I wouldn't mind; the atmosphere is great for sleeping in but those days are long gone. Being in a library for an hour, rain beating against the large fogged up windows and a textbook laid out in front me is what I have to look forward to for now on. Slumped over in my chair, my face resting in the palm of my hand, I continuously tapped my highlighter against the book that's making me drowsy just by reading it. I made sure to tap it loud enough to keep me awake but low enough so that it didn't disturb anyone in the library. I glance over at the large clock that reads the time 2:00. If I could just close my eyes for a second...just a second...one second...two second...three sheep...four sheep...
My eyes pop open. I'm laying face down on my textbook practically drooling on the pages. Cringing, I use the back of my hand to wipe my mouth whilst sitting up slowly to look at the time. 2:30. In front of me sits a white, lidded brown cup that usually contains coffee in it. That definitely wasn't there when I fell asleep nor was it there when I sat down. On the side of the cup is a yellow sticky note. I narrow my eyes but turn the cup sideways to read it anyway.
Don't worry, it's not coffee. It's tea.
-Em
Almost immediately after reading who it's from I crane my neck to search for her. Right by the window, not too far down from where I'm sitting, I spot her hiding her face behind a book; the blonde hair in a ponytail being a dead giveaway. She slowly tries to sneak a peek at me from over the top of the book only to quickly duck back down when she discovers that I'm looking. Turning back around in my seat, a smile breaks out on my face despite my attempts of holding it back by biting down on my lower lip.
This girl is going to drive me insane.
I gather my belongings in one arm, sling my messenger bag over my shoulder, grab the tea in one hand and make my way to where she's sitting. Even when I plop down in the chair across from her, making my presence clearly known, she still remains hiding behind the book as if it's some invisible cloak.
"I can see you, Emma."
Emma moves the book, revealing her flushed face. "Please don't think I'm creepy. I'm not stalking you I swear. It just so happens that I came in this library like 30 minutes ago and I saw you fighting sleep and I know what it's like being a college freshman, sleep deprivation sucks by the way, and I wanted to help..."
"Emma." I can see that she's rambling or panicking, perhaps both.
"I was going to get you coffee but then I remembered that you hate coffee so then I thought I was totally out of options but then I remembered my mom used to scold me about drinking coffee all the time and that tea is a healthier substitute so I went and got you tea because, honestly, you look like a tea person..."
"Emma." I try again to stop her. I'm starting to get concerned because I'm sure that she's not taking breaths in between her sentences. Is she turning red? My head tilts to the side.
"So I was considering just leaving the tea there for when you wake up but then I realized how skeptical that is. Like who would drink a random cup of tea placed in front of them? That's when I got the idea of leaving the note so you would know that it's not poisoned with a date rape drug or anything because let me tell you college boys don't care what time of the day it is-"
"Emma." I say firmly, placing my hand over hers, successfully making her stop. A small chuckle breezes past my lips at her flustered appearance. "Hi." Not bumping into her for the past 2 days left me conflicted. On one hand, I was grateful for not having to deal with the discomfort that came along with rejecting her for simply wanting my friendship, also not to mention knowing that a sweet girl like her is not only going to die but get murdered. On the other hand, she wouldn't stay off my mind and that made it all the more difficult not to miss her. See why she's driving me insane?
Although Emma's clearly out of breath, the fast rising of her chest providing evidence, she smiles at me and musters out a small "Hi."
"I didn't think you were stalking me. I don't think you're creepy." I soothe, squeezing her hand with each sentence to emphasize my point. "Stop thinking that."
Emma nods, absentmindedly stroking the skin on my knuckles with her thumb. Each brush the pad of her finger provides left this tingling feeling on the spot it left; radiating throughout my entire hand. "Oh. I guess you want me out of your hair." She takes back her hand to start packing up and I find myself frowning at the loss. That feeling...I want to experience it again. This is all so confusing.
"Emma, wait." Oh how the tables have turned. Emma halts all actions, lips parted in question, body turned to the side but her eyes are on me; gleaming. I have to know if she's worth it. "What's your interest in me?" Too many people have used me too many times.
Emma's lips come together to curve into a genuine smile. She fully faces me, hands coming to rest on the table that's separating us. "You want me to be blunt?"
"Please do." Should I prepare for the worst? Is this all a dare? Like one of those movies where the cool kid gets paid by a group of friends to pursue the first freshman they see?
"Alright. Honestly, Regina, I just want to know you. Like your hobbies, your favorite movie, why you seem to have a vendetta against coffee." She grins making me smile in return. "I can't shake the feeling that everything you might tell me about yourself will always peak my interest. I don't know how to put this without sounding cliché so I'll just flat out say that you're different."
"Maybe it's just that you haven't met a variety of people."
"True." Emma nods. "But in comparison to the people I have met throughout my adolescent years, I can genuinely say I have yet to met someone quite like you. You're a mystery without a filter, one of those people that everyone needs to have in their life. And plus you're really cute with an awesome scar." She added the last part with a light laugh.
"Emma," I shake my head. "You may be very disappointed in what you find. Trust me."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"
I squint at her, tilting my head to the side. "Who says that I want to be your friend?"
"You wouldn't be sitting here talking to me if you weren't considering it." Emma counters.
"Touche, Swan."
I must admit, I've never met someone who would strive this hard to get to know another person. I guess that's what makes Emma different. Maybe Emma is one of those people that I need to have in my life. But at what cost?