Trigger Warning. Physical Violence and reference to abuse.

"How dare you!" Billy came rushing towards Emma from a sea of jocks as Emma was walking back into the school from her break out on the bleachers. "You worthless piece of-" Emma didn't hear the last part because her back thumping onto the ground was much louder.

Emma quickly picked herself up. "I'm no good?" Billy questioned as he swung another punch, luckily it missed. "I'll show you no good." He lunged at Emma and tackled her to the ground.

Emma fought back. Soon enough the two had a crowd of cheering and booing students around them.

"You're disgusting." Billy yelled but Emma was the only one that could hear him. "My girlfriend doesn't like you, can't you get that through your thick skull."

Emma didn't say a word. She just fought the fight she clearly couldn't win. She had got in a few good shots but Billy was much bigger and stronger than she would ever be.

Finally Billy was pulled from her by an intervening Coach Phillips, his muscles large enough to hall Billy off with one arm.

"Billy, you'll head straight to the Headmistress's office." His voice was stern and unwavering.

Coach Phillips then extended a hand to Emma. She took it after pushing through her pain and extending her own arm.

"You'll all head to class now." He ordered firmly to the swarm of students circled around Emma and himself.

As the crowd thinned out Emma saw Regina's face. Regina looked shocked, sad even but before Emma could call her name she was gone.

…

"What happened to you?" Mary-Margret asked as she rushed to her bruised –and still bleeding- daughter that was sprawled out on the couch.

"Billy Nolan happened." Emma groaned, as talking hurt.

"Oh," Mary-Margret's face dropped. "I knew you two weren't friendly but I didn't think he do something like this."

"It's in his DNA to hate me."

"Well-" Mary-Margret stopped herself, and for a while she was lost in thought. "I've never told you this because, well, it's something I'm very ashamed of, Em." Mary-Margret's tone was hollowed and it scared Emma. "Your father is David Nolan."

Emma sat right up, she gasped at the pain but kept her position. "What?" There was no way in hell David Nolan, Billy Nolan's father, was her father.

"We fell in love in our early twenties. But he was with Abigale… he was ready to leave her," Mary-Margret smiled for a moment as she remembered the happy days. "But she fell pregnant and he was forced to stay, forced to marry her."

Emma was shocked and it took her multiple times to get her words out. "But Billy and I? We're the same age."

"I realised that I too was pregnant not long after David married Abigale. I never told him, because I knew he had a chance of being happy."

"So Billy is my half-brother?" Emma knew the answer but she could help but ask it out loud, she needed a confirmation.

"Yes."

…

Emma didn't insult Billy at all the next week and it had taken Ruby until Friday to comment on that unusual fact.

"Not a single insult, not even a grunt of displeasure." Ruby said as she and her friend watch the after school football training from across the sports field. Ruby found Emma's silence about Billy odd, especially after what he had done.

"Huh?" Emma mumbled after a while.

"Billy- You don't hate him anymore?" Ruby inquired.

"Not worth it anymore." Emma corrected as she gestured to the still healing bruise around her eye.

"Oh," Ruby mouthed as she took in the bruise, again. It had gotten better, Emma had gotten better- walking was no longer a task- but Ruby figured that it still hurt mentally. "You've been quiet all week, this why?" She figured that she'd get a yes but perhaps it was a good idea to keep her friend talking.

"No one worth talking to." Emma muttered as her cigarette hung from her lips.

…

Emma walked through her front door and rushed towards her bedroom. She passed the dining room and kitchen on her left, the lounge room and her mother's bedroom on her right and down to the back of the house to the old den that had been converted into her bedroom. It was nice enough, though sometimes it did annoy her that her mother had to walk through her room to get into the bathroom.

Emma collapsed onto her bed with a loud sigh. Holding herself up all day had been a task so she was happy to finally be able to sleep.

Emma woke up to a tap, tap, tapping in the dark. Her body told her to ignore it, it was probably just a possum. Emma's mind on the other hand wondered, she was too curious. Emma rose form her bed and across to sliding glass door that led to the back patio.

"Regina?" Emma questioned as she flicked the back light on.

"Hi," Regina waved rather sheepishly.

"What are you doing here? Its-"

"Past 3am," Regina cut in.

"Yeah."

"It's the only hour that you'll talk to me." Regina smiled hopefully. Emma had ignored Regina all week.

Emma opened the door a little further and walked outside. It was brisk enough for Emma to be able to see her own breath. "What do you want?" She asked as she continued on towards a chair that she comfortably sat herself on.

"I want to talk." Regina offered as she followed Emma's example and took a seat. "Why haven't you spoken to me all week?"

Emma almost laughed at that, almost. "Why should I?" She snapped.

"I thought we-"

"You thought what? We were friends?" This felt all too familiar.

"You thought that too."

"Thought. Past tense."

"Emma,"

"No 'Miss Swan'?" Emma cringed at her own title, it was far too formal.

It took all Regina had to muster the strength to say two small words but finally she was able to push them from her tongue. "I'm sorry." Regina didn't have to say what for, Emma knew.

"I don't believe that." Emma sated firmly.

"I am-"

"Why'd you let him do it then? What's that saying? Actions speak louder than words."

"I-" Regina's whole face fell. Emma had never seen her portray so much emotion- good or bad. "I couldn't stop him."

Emma's lie detector was going off. "You could have."

"I couldn't be seen protecting a greaser." Regina admitted softly, she was truly ashamed of how she had acted in that situation. Regina had told Billy because, because why? It was a stupid idea to tell him and there was no good reason as to why she had done it. When Billy attacked Emma there was no way to stop him without making herself look bad.

"Yeah, right." Emma nodded, as she bit her tongue in hopes to stop her tears.

"It's not what you think."

"It isn't?" Emma growled. "Then what was it?"

"Some of my friends-"

"You're friends?"

"Some of the other cheerleaders saw me get into your car that Friday. I had to ignore you or I'd lose-"

"Lose a worthless social status?"

"Everything." Regina corrected. "I'd lose my position on the cheer squad. I'd lose my friends."

"'Friends'" Emma repeated with air quotes.

"I'd lose everything I built."

Emma snorted, this women was so superficial. Regina Mills was- "You're heartless." Emma spat.

"Emma-"

"I think I'd prefer 'Miss Swan.'" Emma retorted. "So you ignored me, insulted me and let your boyfriend beat me up because you could have lost your cheer position, and what? Some people in this hell hole would think differently of you?"

"Yes- No. Kind of." Regina was a nervous wreck. She was never this jittery; nothing, no one, ever got under her skin like this. Her mouth opened and closed a thousand times as she tried to string a sentence together.

"Speak!" Emma growled.

"My mother…"

"Your mother?" Emma questioned after a moment of silence.

"She would be very unhappy to learn that I spent time with a greaser. That I'd possibly consider a greaser a friend."

"So you did all that because your mother would be unhappy?" Emma's voice was very snippy, but she couldn't help it, how in the hell was that a proper excuse?

"You don't understand." Regina said softly- sadly even. "She's a monster." Regina's eyes filled with tears and she did nothing to stop them from spilling over. "This is because I got a B on my character analysis." Regina said as she pulled up her blouse to reveal a large black bruise across her ribs and stomach.

"Regina," Emma was quickly off her chair and kneeling beside Regina. "I'm so sorry." Emma had figured Cora was that of an unpleasant mother but this, this was way too extreme.

Regina wiped her teary cheeks with the cuff of her blouse. "I know." And with that she lifted herself from her chair and disappeared into the black night.

Emma was left in the night with her own thoughts. All feelings of anger towards Regina now gone- Emma hadn't forgiven Regina but lord she couldn't be angry, not anymore. Her heart was sinking in a sea of tears.

Please let me know your thoughts :)