AN: I don't own the characters or OUAT.
All mistakes are mine.

"No, it's ok. Another time."

Emma responded with a nod, as she placed her head on the table.

'She seems out of it. Did she hit her head when she fell? She would've said something to the nurse though. If she falls asleep, I'll wake her for Mrs. Nolan's lesson.'

"Bye, Emma. Do you know where Regina lives?" Zelena asked as the big group stopped in front of Granny's Diner.

"No," Emma shook her head not even glancing towards Regina.

'At least she's not a stalker.'

"It's not that hard from here, actually. Turn down this street, and it's the last house on the block. If you forget that, it's also the biggest one. It's 108 Mifflin Street."

"And why do I need to know?"

"Just in case you want to stop by after your chat with the sheriff," Zelena responded.

"Oh... yeah... sounds perfect." Emma headed to the door of the diner. She turned back to her new friends, "If I don't stop by, I'll see you tomorrow." She took one last glance at Regina and smiled.

"Why do I have the feeling she's not gonna show up later?" Ruby asked after Emma disappeared through the door.

'That's probably because she's not going to come.'

"Come on. Let's get to my house before my mother gets there as well."

"This would be a lot easier if Emma was here. We could just tell her what she has to do for the project."

"Z, we still have to tell Mr. Booth what we're doing. And Emma has to agree with our idea."

"But she said she was fine with what we chose."

"Yes, if we had already chosen something already, Z. We had only just picked something."

"Fine, I'll run it by Emma tomorrow before Mr. Booth's class."

"Thank you. If I see her first-"

"KILLIAN! PUT THAT DAMN BOTTLE DOWN!"

Regina groaned. 'I thought having Jefferson here, Killian wouldn't drink so much.'

"Regina!" Ruby stormed into the living room, with Killian stumbling behind her. "He found your mom's liquor cabinet."

"I figured he did with you yelling at him a second ago," Regina flatly said.

"Yes, well. You are going to do something with this idiot, right?"

"He's going to leave. Now."

"But this party hasn't even started yet!" Killian slurred. "All I did was open the rum. I didn't even get to the hard stuff yet."

"That's all you're going to open, Killian. Leave. Now. Before I call the sheriff on you." Regina heard the door open and close as she was speaking.

"Fine. Fine. But remember this, Miss Bitch. You. Are. A. Bitch."

Daniel walked into the living room, laughing. "How drunk are you, Killian? It's barely 4:30."

"It's five o'clock somewhere, buddy!"

'Buddy? Daniel hates Killian after what happened. Why are they so chummy?'

"Hey, babe." Daniel leaned down to give Regina a kiss on the cheek, but she pulled away. Every pair of eyes in the living room widened in shock. "Is something wrong? Are you mad at me, babe?"

'Does he really not remember this afternoon? How he treated Emma? And now, how relaxed he is with Killian? It's like he's a completely different person.'

"Why did you act like that at lunch?"

"Like what? I didn't do anything abnormal."

"Are you kidding me? You punched Emma! How is that normal? That's everything except normal!"

Daniel laughed. "Oh, come on, babe. That was a little hazing thing that Killian and I came up with. It didn't mean anything."

'Hazing? He really is a completely different person.'

"You shouldn't have done that. That was the last straw. I'm done. You and your new buddy can leave."

"You're done?" Regina nodded. "With what? What are you done with?"

"You. Us. I'm done with this relationship, Daniel. You don't listen to me. You've changed. It's like you're a different person! I... I can't stay in this... this relationship. You... you're not my boyfriend anymore."

"I don't accept this, Regina," he whined. "You're my girlfriend! You will always be my girlfriend! You can't... you can't... you can't! You just can't break up with me! I won't allow this!"

"Hey! Do you want me to push you against the wall again, Daniel? If not, back up and stop yelling."

"Damn it, Ruby! Stay out of this!" Daniel yelled back.

"Daniel, get out," Regina said, oddly calm.

'I thought I would feel something if this happened. Anything but relief. This feels kind of natural, though.'

"Don't do this to me, Regina."

"Get out, please. And take Killian with you. I don't want him killing my mother, as well."

"Let's go, Killian." Daniel headed to the front door with tears filling his eyes. "Miss Bitch doesn't want us."

"Agreed, buddy. I got my fake ID. Let's get more alcohol. I feel too sober."

The door opened and closed again. Regina took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. 'I wish Emma was here. Somehow, she calms me down. Even when I don't know I need to.'

"Regina? Are you ok?" Jefferson asked.

'When did he enter the living room?'

"Yeah." Regina opened her eyes again. "I think I need to go lie down. Can you get me at 5:30? I just need some quiet."

Zelena nodded. 'When did Belle come in? I think I need a break from all human interaction.' Regina walked towards the stairs to her bedroom.

"I guess you drew the short straw for comforting me?"

"Of course not. I'm a waitress. The best at Granny's. It's like my second job to comfort people." As an afterthought, Ruby added, "I should charge for this. I wouldn't have to work another day in my life."

"Then, you wouldn't be comforting people if you don't have your waitressing job at Granny's."

"How did you get so smart, Regina?"

"It's a gift," Regina laughed.

Ruby laughed along. "Ok, but seriously. Why do I have to comfort you? You were so distant after lunch, that it seemed like you knew what you were doing with Daniel."

"I did. I was. It's just... there was this time when I was able to picture the rest of my life with Daniel. Now... something has changed, and I can't do that anymore. I would love to be able to keep that pictured future, but I can't now."

"Do you know what changed? What made it impossible for you to imagine that life now?"

'God, why does Ruby start with asking the hard questions? It's not that I can't answer it. I know the answer. I just thought there'd be more of a build-up.'

"Yes. No. Yes. I don't know. Everything has just gotten too hectic these past few days."

"So, you do know, you just don't want to admit it. I think I could figure it out if you give me some time. You won't have to admit to anything if I get it right."

"No! Don't guess, Ruby! Don't guess! Don't try to figure it out!" Regina pleaded. "Please, Ruby, please!"

Groaning, Regina counted the seconds of silence in her head. 'Thankfully, I have a clock in my room. Why does she always have to bug me about these things? Thirty seconds. This isn't fair. I can't tell what she's thinking. She could give my mother a run for her money with the stoic expression she has on. Forty-five seconds. How does Belle put up with this lunatic? Ruby is usually so easy to read. Is she getting lessons from my mother? She's probably better than me, right now. Sixty seconds. One minute. Wait. Is that...? It is. A smile. She's getting somewhere. That's not good. She might be close. If Zelena was able to read me that well from one interaction between Emma and I, then Ruby can definitely get it from three. Ninety seconds. One minute and thirty seconds. Now, she's smiling at me. Great. She got it in less than two minutes while it took me all of yesterday and today. How is everyone able to read me better than I am able to understand my own emotions?'

"I think I got it. Remember, just look embarrassed if I get it," Ruby chuckled.

"Just get on with it. I want to prove you wrong."

"But if you prove me wrong, then I'm not a good friend. That means I don't care."

"No. I know you care because you are trying to figure it out. If you don't get it, that just means you're not that good at deductive reasoning, Sherlock."

"Huh. Ok. My theory is-"

"Hypothesis."

"Shut it, smarty. My theory is Emma."

Pretending to be confused, Regina asked, "Emma? Why is your hypothesis only one word? It's not even a word. It's a name."

"Emma. She's the only explanation. You said it's been hectic these past 'few days.' Emma is the only new thing these past few days. You were also completely enamored with her when she arrived. Then, today, Daniel was even more of an ass than usual, especially to Emma. And now, you broke up with him. I mean, it was a long time coming, but still."

"Wait, what do you mean 'a long time coming?'"

"Everyone thought Daniel was an ass 99% of the time, and he never remembered anything you told him, which is one of your pet peeves. Also, you're changing the subject. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Is there a third option?"

"Yeah. It's 'am I right?'" Ruby laughed.

Regina shook her head at Ruby's playfulness. 'Why can't she let this go? I really don't want to talk about this. But I guess I have to get it off my chest. Especially since I didn't want to talk to Zelena.'

"You are so..." Regina paused, wondering if she should lie, but decided not to, "right. There's something about Emma that makes me notice all the crap that Daniel has done and how... idiotic he can be at times."

Ruby smiled at Regina. "I knew it. You couldn't stop staring at her the second you walked into Granny's the day she came into town. You're not that subtle in your staring, you know? Maybe that's why Daniel got pissed at lunch."

"What do you mean?"

"For someone who is so smart, you can be stupid. Everyone knows that Daniel is... was... your first boyfriend but not the first person you dated. Don't you remember Mal?"

"No, actually. Since we drifted apart naturally, she kind of disappeared from my mind."

"Well, whether you remember her or not, Daniel didn't forget. He probably got jealous over the way you were staring at her."

"No. Impossible. I do not stare at Emma."

"Regina, darling! You have to hurry up if you want to eat breakfast and get to school on time!" Regina's mother called down the hall the next morning.

"Coming, mother!" Regina finished getting dressed and walked towards the kitchen, after going down the stairs. She saw her mother standing by the coffee pot pouring a cup. "Mother, is it alright if I skip breakfast here and eat at Granny's?"

After some thought, Cora said, "Sure, but remember to tell Granny to make something healthy. None of that greasy foods."

"Of course, mother," Regina smiled sweetly. "Nothing greasy and everything healthy. I'll see you after school, mother. I'll stop by the office."

"Alright, I will see you then," the mayor said as Regina got to the door.

Rounding the corner, Granny's Diner came into Regina's view. 'I left earlier than normal, so I can sit down and eat. Sorry, mother, but I asked to come here because I want greasy food every once in a while.' Regina reached out to grab the door's handle. Pulling it open, she stepped into the diner, hearing the little bell ring. 'Every time! I forget how annoying that bell can be.'

"So, who, exactly, do you like?"

"Regina!"

"Ruby!" Emma yelled, grabbing Regina's attention.

"Hi, Regina. What are you doing here?" Ruby said, causing Emma to look over her shoulder.

"I thought I would get something to eat from here. Something my mother wouldn't approve of."

"I know exactly what you want. To stay or to go?"

"To stay. I have time."

Ruby nodded as she started to get up. "You're always being a waitress, Rubes," Emma said.

"It's second nature. I've been doing this for years, practically. Granny, we need one BLT to stay!"

"Oh! Is Regina here?" Regina heard from the kitchen. She tried to stifle her laughter as she saw Emma smile at her.

'Damn it, Ruby! Now, all I can think about is if and how I'm staring at Emma. This isn't cool!'

"Wait. You don't have to tell me anymore, Em. I think I figured it out." Regina looked over at the sheriff sitting next to Emma. As she sat on the other side of Emma at the counter, Regina kept wondering when he appeared.

"No, you didn't, David," Emma said, adamantly shaking her head.

"Yeah, he did. If I did, he definitely did."

"Neither of you know! That's not fair. Stop figuring things out before I actually have a chance to tell you."

'What are they talking about?' Thinking back to the small snippet of the conversation she heard when she walked in, she realized. 'Oh! Emma like someone. Good for her. Wait! Who does she like? Ruby knows who she likes. And Ruby knows that I like Emma! I don't think I could handle Emma liking someone. Could she like me? No! That's impossible. She still thinks I'm dating Daniel. I'm technically unavailable in her mind.'

Ruby pulled Regina out of her thoughts by placing the sandwich on the table.

"Thank you, Ruby."

"Of course. Eat up. Today's gonna be a long day," Ruby said with a knowing smirk.

'What is that supposed to mean?'