Regina and Emma had kept their relationship private, but they couldn't help looking happier than usual. Neal had noticed that he was not the center of Emma's life anymore. Rather than looking forward to spending time with him, now she was usually busy doing her homework with some rich brat as a tutor, he hardly got to see her at all. Regina's father correctly interpreted her daughter's new radiance as the result of seeing a lot of Emma and having someone her age to share everything with, although he had no idea how deep their connection went. At school, Regina hid her happiness by being extra bitchy, and as she had never been so radiant, she had the boys at her beck and call more than ever, all of them dying to be chosen as her date to prom night.

Prom, it seemed, was the only thing that really mattered to Regina's mother. Her daughter would be elected Prom Queen and finish high school in a haze of social glory. However, to make her obvious superiority effective, Regina first had to exert her skills by picking the perfect king to ornate her arm on prom night and have him elected along with her. After all, the photographs of that teen social triumph would last a lifetime, the boy had to be chosen carefully.

Regina knew her mother only lived to see her drive away in a limo with some handsome jock, and if she hadn't met Emma she wouldn't have minded. This was the role she had been intended to play since she was born, but she knew it bothered Emma, whose prom was just the same night, and who was ashamed of asking her to go with her to her dingy public school ball instead.

Regina didn't know what to do. If she invited Emma to her prom, the young blonde would probably feel uncomfortable around all those snobby rich kids, who at best would ignore her, and at worst would patronize her as Regina's "charity case" because of their tutoring hours in the library. She wouldn't be able to spend much time with Emma anyway, between the photos being taken, the line of boys waiting to dance with her and the crowning of King and Queen. What if she went to Emma's prom instead? Supposing that was even possible with her mother being so hell-bent on Regina being crowned that she had volunteered as a chaperone to make sure she missed nothing of it. There was no way she could get away.

If Regina was being completely honest with herself, both scenarios included openly taking a girl on a date to the most significant social event in a teenager's life, and the idea gave her pause. She would probably get away with it more easily at Emma's school though, where nobody knew her. Coming out as a lesbian was something she had never had to think about before, and now that she had to...

It wasn't that she was ashamed. Regina was proud to be with Emma, and felt infinitely lucky to be loved back by her. But she knew that having a gay daughter was not part of her mother's plans. Cora's number one rule was to always have the upper hand over men and be able to seduce them in any circumstances. She was bound to consider Regina's coming out pure sabotage after so much hard work laying the foundations for her domination.

How would Cora react if Regina just told her "Great news Mother, I already have a date for the prom, her name is Emma." Even if she kept from adding "She's a poor orphan girl living in a social services shelter, but I don't care and I love her", there was no chance this would end well. Her mother would probably lock her in her room until Regina behaved the way she was expected to. There was also a good chance that Cora would take her frustration out on Emma, and Regina was afraid to think about what her mother could do.

Indeed, Regina was already on edge because of her mother, who was breathing down her neck more than usual on account of the prom, harassing her to shop for the perfect dress and combing through her last yearbook for the perfect date. "Mother!" protested Regina, "Will you let me handle this, please! I'm perfectly able to take care of this myself!"

"My dear Regina, success doesn't just happen in one's life. One has to work for it. Even if you're a Mills –"

"…A woman has to work twice as hard to succeed!" recited Regina. "I know, Mother! Listen, I promise that by the end of the week, you'll have your dress and your perfect date, all right? Now will you please let me do my homework?"

When her mother finally left, Regina sighed and took her sketchbook from one of her desk drawers. Her mother's constant presence had made it impossible to see much of Emma these last few days, and she missed her. They texted each other and had studied together in the library for an hour after class, but they wanted to touch each other so badly that it was all they could do to stop short from having sex in a bathroom stall. Regina had her standards, but god, she had been sorely tempted to lower them today!

The next day, when Emma was finally able to come back to the house, they barely had time to lock the bedroom door before they started undressing each other and pushing each other against the walls. Only for round two did they make it from the carpet to the bed. After a cat nap and round three, Regina pulled the quilt over Emma's purring body, put a t-shirt on, and fetched her yearbook. "Now," she said, "help me pick the boy I have to pretend to be dating at the prom. Maybe Graham, what do you think?"

Emma stopped purring, and her eyes turned dangerously grey. "Oh", she said, "you're going then."

"Darling", said Regina. "My mother would kill me if I didn't."

"In that case", said Emma, gathering her courage, "I'll go with you. I'll be your date."

Regina's heart tightened. If she didn't think about Cora, this was what she wanted. To go to that stupid prom with the girl she loved, and the rest of the world be damned.

"Then my mother will probably kill you, darling", she said, stroking Emma's bare shoulder.

"I don't care. I just want to be with you."

"Emma, this is serious. I can't go with you. You don't know what she's capable of."

"Seriously? You'd rather go with some random guy than stand up to your mother for me?"

"I'm really sorry", said Regina. "I'd rather go with you, but I'm trying to protect you. It's for your own good."

Emma's eyes had definitely turned a slate, angry grey. "Really? Or are you just ashamed of me because I'm that poor orphan girl?" Hurrying off the bed, she gathered her clothes to get dressed.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Regina protested.

"Or maybe you're afraid to let everyone know that you're a lesbian?"

"That's not what I'm afraid of -"

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to think you loved me!" Emma hissed, getting dressed as fast as she could.

Emma's words were like a slap, and left Regina dumbstruck. What the hell was happening?

Getting no answer to her last statement, Emma turned and reached the door. "Let me know if you figure out the place I have in your life." she said. And she left without looking back.