Chapter 10

Emma didn't think she'd be spending her Monday eavesdropping, but she stands with her ear pressed against Belle's office door. Well, not exactly pressed, but she has no business lurking outside, listening to the voices from the other side. She wouldn't have even thought about eavesdropping, but she caught sight of Belle walking into the office, flustered, angry, with a smirking Isaac at her heels. She's willing to bet on what he's happy about.

She's already got her cover sorted. If anyone asks what she's doing, she's waiting for Belle, to ask her a few questions about the new scripts. The very same ones she holds in her hands.

"I mean, how did you think you could get it by me?" Belle asks. Her voice is strained, like she's on the verge of exploding.

"I didn't need to get it by you," comes Isaac's reply. "I needed to get it by the network and they happened to approve."

"This is ridiculous. We didn't agree on this when we had that meeting. I thought you'd already told me your plans for the show — all your plans for it. I didn't think I'd open the script to see this on the first page."

"The seventh page, unless I'm mistaken."

"I don't give a damn about what page it's on," she snaps. Emma blinks in surprise. She hasn't heard Belle talk to anyone like this. Ever. "All I care is that it didn't go through me." There's the sound of skin hitting wood, like a fist on a table.

A pause.

"Forgive me, Miss French but you don't get the final say here. I do. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have to tell you anything. And if you continue to act so… rudely… in the future, I think you'll find that I won't tell you a thing."

There's a silence. A long one. Emma feels a bubble of anger in her chest. How dare anyone speak to Belle like that.

When Belle breaks the silence and her voice is calm and logical. "You can't just break up Alexander and Rose. They are the main couple. There are millions of viewers invested in this relationship. The love they get… it's astounding. They're the main reason this show is still afloat and you want to get rid of that?"

"Well, according to the network, they are the sole reason ratings have been dropping."

Emma's heart catches in her throat. She hadn't known that. She had thought that perhaps the ratings were dropping because they'd moved onto another season. It's always the case with longer shows.

"I'm not sure I can believe that," Belle says, echoing Emma's thoughts.

"Are you calling the network liars?"

"No, I—"

"I think you best remember your place, Miss French, and remember why I'm here."

"I—"

"And let me tell you, we're not going into this blindly. We're going to keep an eye on the figures. We'll be watching them closely. And if they start to drop even more, we'll bring back Alexander and Rose. But until then…"

Not sure she can hear anymore, Emma turns away from the door. Her heart is hammering in her throat, her hands slick against the scripts. They're getting rid of Alexander and Rose. She should have expected it — shows change up their relationships all the time — but she's not sure why it leaves her with a strange emptiness.

But all hope is not lost. With a little flicker in her heart, she remembers Belle's words. Belle is still fighting their corner, and she's willing to bet that Grumpy will be too. Shaking the feeling of emptiness away, she takes a few steps away from the door, eyes cast down, not looking where she's going.

She walks straight into August.

She looks up just in time to see him flash his phone in her face, and then it's gone. She blinks. "What was that for?"

"Contact photo," he says, typing on his phone. "For you, obviously. I mean, since we're gonna be working a lot together, we should probably have each other's numbers."

She shakes her head. "Yeah, sure. Good idea."

"What's your number?"

She reels it off from memory, watching as he types it into his phone. When he's done, he beams at her.

"I'll be in touch."

"Ominous."

"I'm an ominous guy." They both laugh and then he looks up at her again. "Do you wanna… take a selfie?"

She folds her arms, scripts still in her hands. "I don't do selfies."

"Not just this once?" She laughs and shakes her head. "C'mon, for me? I kinda wanna make it look like I have friends."

"That's sad."

"I'm a sad guy." Then he winks.

Emma sighs. "Alright, fine. But if it comes out blurry, I'm not taking another one."

"Noted."

She steps close to him as he raises his phone above their heads. She puts on her best smile, catching a glimpse of her face in his phone before he snaps the picture. Then he's lowering it back to eye-level and handing it over for her so she can see.

It's not bad. They're both in their costumes, so they look cool enough for photos. And she doesn't look like she's in pain when she smiles, as she often has done in most of her photos. Mostly because she hardly ever takes photos. Ever.

She watches over his shoulder as he types in a caption— something about making new friends, and posts it for everyone to see.

"You know what?" he says when he's done. "You should get an Instagram."

She's already shaking her head. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I don't do social media."

He looks at her for a moment, and she looks back. Then he says, "Lunch?"

She raises her eyebrows at the abrupt change of topic. "Sure." She's not meeting Killian for lunch today. He's doing a few scenes with Elsa, so their schedules are a little all over the place.

They begin to walk next to each other, arms brushing, as they weave in and out of crew members.

"The way I see it," August begins. "Having social media is a good thing. It gives you a chance to control what's going on. Instead of the fans searching for some image of you, or some video, you get to decide what to post. It keeps them satisfied, especially if you keep it updated regularly."

"Huh." She hadn't thought about it that way.

"What about Facebook?"

She wrinkles her nose. "I'm not really a Facebook person."

"At least get twitter."

"I'll think about it."

She makes a Twitter account later in the day when she's on her break between scenes. She sits in her trailer, cross legged on the sofa, and decides to download the app onto her phone. Part of it is boredom— she's waiting for Killian to show up. The waiting makes her restless. And now she's had time to reflect on what August said, it makes sense. She likes the idea of being in control.

The name 'Emma Swan' isn't available, so she just adds a 'Real' on the front, like she's seen other people do.

The first person she follows is Robert Downey Jr. She manages to find the other cast members easily; first Killian, then Elsa. Henry even has a twitter, but most of it is made of out retweets— he's more of a Tumblr person. She likes August's picture of them, which he also posted on Twitter. After that, she sends a kiss emoji to Killian.

He replies fast — too fast — with a "I'm on my way to your trailer love, right now ;)". She laughs out loud, shaking her head. She should have seen that one coming. That's when the tweets start flooding in, and her phone vibrates every two seconds. Hundreds of them stream in at the same time, and she scrolls down them, out of curiosity more than anything.

OMG EMMA HAS A TWITTER.

I can't believe emma finally made a twitter lol it took her long enough

Emma welcome to twitter 3

Hang on guys, he said he was going to her trailer. hE IS GOING TO HER TRAILER

#CAPTAINSWANISBACK

#CAPTAINSWAN IS REAL.

They are going in there to make out, don't me

#CAPTAINSWANISREAL I TOLD YOU

To that one, someone else replies, 'ummm…. No. just bc he's going to the trailer, it doesn't mean that they're together. They are good friends.'

To which that person replies, 'they ARE together. Look at all the evidence. They were on a date last week'

'Or maybe they were going out as friends? I'm p sure killian has a girlfriend'

Emma decides, in one moment of madness, to like all the tweets. She knows she could just put a tweet out, ending the madness, confirming their relationship, but it's fun to see them argue. Not because she likes arguing, but because it's interesting to see how much people can read into things. One fan says that she has never seen Killian look at anyone else the way he looks at Emma. This pleases her. She wonders how they'd act if they knew that it was merely yesterday that Killian had told her he loved her.

She tweets back, 'Bring me coffee.' And then, 'And chocolate.'

Again he's quick to reply. 'Darling, your wish is my command.'

That's when her Twitter explodes again:

'He called her darling omg'

'HE CALLED HER DARLING'

'They are together don't even talk to me'

'I can't with these two'

'#married'

'SELFIE PLS'

'Pics or it didn't happen'

Emma is still scrolling through Twitter when there's a knock on her trailer door. She tells him to come in and he does, carrying two coffees. His hair is dishevelled, like he's been in a rush, and he's grinning from ear to ear. He places the coffees on the table and pulls a few chocolate bars from his pocket, throwing them at her.

"For you, my love."

"You are too kind."

She jumps up from the sofa and crosses the room, taking his face in her hands, placing a kiss on his lips. He returns the kiss and when he emerges, he's smiling. "What was that for?"

"I'm just really happy you're here."

His eyes crinkle. "As am I."

"C'mon. You gotta show me how to use Twitter properly. I keep liking everyone's tweets. Is that the done thing?" She takes his hand and leads him over to the sofa.

He chuckles. "If you want to give them heart attacks, then yes."

"They're mostly about us." She falls down on the sofa and pulls him with her. He throws his arm around her.

"Ah, well they would be. They think we're together."

"What gave them that impression?"

He chuckles again, and presses a chaste kiss to her forehead. "They're smart, love."

"Tell me about it. They want a picture of us, otherwise apparently they don't believe we're together?"

"I'm not surprised." He raises an eyebrow. "So how should we do this? Should I lay out seductively on your couch, should you cover me in lipstick kisses?"

She gives him a look. "C'mon, Killian."

He yanks his collar back. "A bite mark to the neck?"

"Killian."

"They'll love it."

She's sure they would, if their reaction to him coming into her trailer is anything to go by.

In the end, they decide on a normal selfie. Emma smiles but Killian puts on the most sullen expression she's ever seen.

"Why?" she asks with a laugh as they stare back at it.

"I've an image to maintain, Swan." He flashes her a grin.

She doesn't say anything, but just shakes her head and posts the photo. Then her phone is blowing up again, vibrating every second. She tries to keep up with the notifications but she only gets through a few before she gives up. She turns to Killian, eyebrow raised. "So how do I stop this happening?"

They spend the majority of their time together talking. And it feels good to talk. After their week of hardly speaking to each other, she finds the words bubble out of her and she can't stop. That's when she remembers Belle's conversation with Isaac. She's quick to open up to him about it.

Killian frowns."I must admit, I find that odd," he says when she's finished. "They say the ratings are dropping?"

"Isaac says the ratings are dropping. And I don't trust him."

"Nor do I." He pauses, scratching his chin in thought. "As you know, I have a Tumblr account. Most of the people I follow are huge fans of Alexander and Rose."

"You're not gonna follow people who aren't fans though, are you?"

"No." He chuckles, then his face turns serious again. "Other things get reblogged onto my timeline, but they don't have nearly as many notes as we do. The love is astounding. And I'm not just saying that."

"That's the impression I got."

He frowns. "Never mind. The ratings will prove them wrong."

"I hope you're right."

They still have a few more weeks before the first episode of the new season airs, before they can find out what the ratings are like. Isaac takes full advantage of that. Through the door come more scripts and in the scripts are more scenes between Rose and Edmund and less between Rose and Alexander.

Emma doesn't mind too much— she enjoys August's company. He makes her laugh a lot, the throw-your-head-back kind of laugh that brings on stitches and stomach aches.

The thing that does annoy her is the new director, Cruella. She parades around the set in her six-inch heels, smoking her cigarette, blowing smoke in everyone's faces. If that's not bad enough, it's like she's permanently drunk. Emma's seen her pull a flask from that ridiculous coat a few times. Maybe she needs it to be able to stomach Isaac. Emma certainly would.

But the most annoying thing about Cruella is her reactions to the scenes Emma and August film. They film a particularly long one on location. The weather has turned— it's nighttime and it's cold. Edmund and Rose are supposed to be taking a walk in the gardens, before the castle.

With the camera rolling, August leans down and picks a flower from the grass. He rises and holds it out for her. "For you," he says, with a warm smile.

Emma hesitates — Alexander is still on Rose's mind — but she accepts the flower anyway, with a slightly shy smile. "Thank you." She breathes in the scent. "It smells beautiful." It smells like dirt to Emma.

"But it does not compare to your beauty."

It sounds like something right out of a romantic comedy. She's heard it done a million times before, the flower scene. Obviously Isaac can't think of any original ideas.

Emma leans forward and kisses August on the cheek. He smells pleasant. Not Killian nice, but nice enough. "Thank you," she repeats. "Shall we go back up to the castle?"

"Yes but… I'd like to spend some more time you with, Rose. If you'll allow it."

"Why me?" She looks away from him, down at the grass, frowning. "I'm just a servant."

"You are so wrong."

She looks back up at him and they hold eyes. August smiles, but Emma doesn't.

"Cut," calls Grumpy. Emma looks over to see him checking his watch. "And that's a wrap for tonight. Great job, guys."

"Wonderful," Cruella piques up, clapping her hands. "Beautiful. Beautiful, darlings. Your chemistry is delicious."

Emma would be pleased, if she hadn't heard it a million times before. She wouldn't have been surprised to think that Cruella has been paid by Isaac to say these things. But she doesn't have the energy to dwell on it tonight. She could collapse right here on the grass and go to sleep.

By the time she gets home, Henry is in bed. There are a few more scripts on the table. He must have picked them up from the mail. And with them, are a shooting schedule. Her eyes run over it, and she sighs. Bar one scene with Killian, all of them are with August.

Hey guys - thank you for reading! I'm sorry I took so long but I needed a break. But I am back in business! And I have my Captain Swan feels. I hope you liked it :)