Regina raced up the stairs, two steps at a time, to get to her bedroom. She flung her door open and bolted over to her bed, skidded to a stop and hurled herself onto the floor, not caring about her dress. Crawling under the bed, Regina dug around miscellaneous objects until she found what she was looking for. The small red book was still there, covered in a coat of dust that made the girl sneeze. She inched out from under her bed, sat up on the floor and dusted off the cover. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for but she knew it had to be there. Forcing herself to remain calm, Regina slowly turned through the pages, looking for any sort of clue.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Regina turned the last page when she noticed it. There, written on the bottom of the inside cover, in tiny, cramped writing was a name:

'Emma'

That one name caused Regina's entire world to crumble. It couldn't just be a coincidence that her best friend and the person that owned this journal had the same name. This was a small town and there weren't that many Emma's.

Regina couldn't take her eyes off the four letters. How something so small could make such a large impact was astounding to the young girl. Time passed in a daze as Regina continued to sit there, hands shakily holding the damnable book.

"Hey, Regina, do you want to-" Emma came bounding into the room, unaware as to what her friend had just discovered. "Woah, what's wrong, Regina? Are you ok?"

The blonde hurried over to where her best friend was sitting and sat next to her.

Regina sniffled once before answering, her voice hard even when she appeared weak. "Do you know what this is?"

"What what is?" Emma asked before looking down. The color drained from Emma's face, skin going paler than it already was. Slowly, she lifted her eyes back up to take in Regina. "How-how did you find this? Where did you get it?!"

"That's not important right now." Regina's voice was hollow. "I want you to tell me what this is, is it yours?"

"Umm," Emma hesitated, unsure of how to answer.

"Tell me!"

Emma hesitated again before replying in barely a whisper. "Yes, it's mine."

"How… how even, did you live here or something? Why is it in my house?!" Regina's attitude seemed to come back. Her eyes were bright with anger, the muscles in her neck worked to contain an outburst.

"It's… kind of a long story." Emma was no longer able to look her friend in the eye, instead she kept her head downcast, fingers idly tracing patterns in the worn wooden floorboards.

"Well don't let that stop you, I have time! Do you see me doing anything else other than sitting here trying to comprehend what's happening right now?"

"Regina… I don't really know how to talk about it."

"Talk about WHAT?! Quit dancing around the edges and just tell me!"

Emma sighed, resigned that there was going to be no distracting her from the truth. "The answer to your question was yes."

"What question, Emma? I've asked many in the last few minutes, be more specific."

"Yes, I did used to live here."

"What? Why? Why would you just move next door, is there something wrong with the house? Is it dangerous?" Panic filled Regina, if her and her mother were in danger she wanted to leave right away, forget about packing. Even with her rocky relationship with her family, she still cared and didn't want anything bad to happen.

"No, nothing like that. The house is fine."

Before Emma could continue, Regina butted in again, "Then why move just next door, that doesn't make any sense."

"Because…" Emma paused, someone tracing patterns on the floor even more ferociously, like she was trying to wear a hole in the wood. "Because, I don't really… live there…"

"What?" Regina didn't even have the words for what was happening.

"I lied to you, I don't live next door."

"Then where do you live? Why would you lie about something like that?" Regina tried to remain calm, she didn't want to explode at her best friend but nothing was making sense and she was losing her patience.

"This isn't easy for me to answer, okay!" Emma curled herself up into a ball, arms wrapped protectively around her legs. She tried to meet Regina's eyes but the look her friend was giving her was too intense and she went back to staring at the ground. "I don't really… live… anywhere."

"You mean like you're homeless? Have you been homeless all this time?! Do you need somewhere to stay, why didn't you tell me sooner?! Maybe I can convince mother to-"

"No! Regina you don't understand." Emma cut her friend off. Finally gathering the courage she needed to tell the truth. "I don't live next door because I don't need a place to live."

Emma could tell Regina was about ready to jump in again so she mustered all of her strength and revealed the full truth. "I died."

Silence filled the room around the two girls. Emotions charged the atmosphere around them.

"What… do you mean… you died?" Regina asked in complete shock. Her mind couldn't even begin to comprehend what she had just heard. This had to be some kind of joke; it didn't make any sense.

"I mean, I'm dead. I'm no longer living with the living. I'm sorry, I wish I could put it better but I've obviously never done this before and I'm not sure-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" It seemed as if Regina's shock had passed into the anger phase. Regina hardly ever swore so Emma knew the girl was genuinely upset.

"No, I'm not kidding you Regina. I wouldn't do something like that." Emma tried to rest her hand on Regina's arm but Regina recoiled, a look of horror clear on her face.

Everything in Regina's head was spinning. Nothing made sense, everything they'd been through together had been a lie. Regina felt like she was suffocating, her breaths clawing at her throat, begging to be released, but her body wouldn't let them. She could hear gasps in the background, not realizing they were her own.

Emma panicked, desperately wanting to help the girl that she so deeply cared for but she didn't know what to do. Again she reached out to try and hold Regina but this proved too much for the other girl and as soon as Emma's fingers briefly gazed warm skin, Regina was up and sprinting from the room, leaving a torn Emma in her wake.

She couldn't believe that Emma was the girl she was doing her report on. Her mind flashed back to a conversation they'd when they were just getting to know each other.

"And they were never found? How could a whole family just disappear?"

"I don't know. Like I said, it was before I moved here. You'd probably be better off asking someone who's lived here longer." There was a strange edge to Emma's voice and Regina was growing increasingly annoyed at having people give her half answers.

"But I want to know! Why does no one talk about it?"

"I can't help you, Regina! I'm sorry but you know as much as I do." With that, the blonde made her way back down the tree and landed with a thump on the ground. "Look, from being around here a little bit longer than you, I can tell you that it's a touchy subject. Just be careful who you ask, okay?" Emma moved closer to Regina, holding eye contact. "I'm sorry but I should get home. My parents don't know where I am and I don't want to get in trouble."

Emma had lied to her… blatantly lied. Anger fueled her motivation and she wouldn't let being upset stop her from finding out exactly what happened. She would get answers.

She walked into the police station with her head held high and demanded to talk to the sheriff once again. "I really need to talk to you about this, I need to know or Mr. Gold-"

The sheriff's eyes widened. "Oh, did you say Mr. Gold wanted the files? Of course, ah, let me get those for you. Just one second…"

The sheriff left the room and not two minutes later, came back with a thick manila envelope filled with papers. She thanked the man and left his office with him still stuttering apologies to Mr. Gold.

Regina left the police department with the thick files bunched under her arm. She had calmed down considerably, but that didn't mean she was ready to face Emma again. She needed a safe place to look at these files in peace, without getting disrupted.

She walked down Main Street until her eyes fell upon the old clock tower. Making her way over to the building, she looked around to check if anyone was watching her and quickly slipped inside. She made her way up the spiral staircase until she reached the top and sat on the dusty ground. She laid out the files in front of her and stared at them. One finger traced the outline of the file folder as she debated if she wanted to take this step. She could switch projects; she would get Mr. Gold to understand. Tell him she couldn't find enough information to do a decent piece.

But Regina knew she wouldn't be able to resist. Her curiosity would win out. Before she could second guess herself, she flipped open the first file.

Hours had passed and Regina didn't even realize it. Tears silently streamed down her face as she closed the last file. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she tried to take in everything she had just read.

She had bounced from foster home to foster home since she was a baby. Never knew a parent's love and concern. The homes that she did stay in for more than a few weeks turned out to be abusive and neglectful.

She had no idea her best friend's life had been so miserable. She didn't act like it; Emma seemed happy enough.

"Oh, Emma," Regina sighed, so heartbroken over everything she had just read. At this moment, she didn't care that her friend had lied to her. She wanted to be there for the blonde, the only one who had ever truly cared for her and not asked for anything in return. She needed to see her.

An idea popped into her head and she almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it, but by now, how much more crazy could it get?

Regina sat up straight and gathered the files into a neat pile. She remained cross legged on the floor, her hands rested on her knees and she called out, not really expecting a response.

"Emma?"

Tense seconds passed as Regina waited. Suddenly a voice from behind greeted her.

"Regina?" The blonde was standing in the doorway, cast in shadow but her bright hair illuminated her silhouette like a halo. The sight took Regina's breath away.

"Emma, oh god!" Regina was up off the ground in a flash and raced to her best friend. Without a second thought, she flung her arms around the other girl and enveloped her in a strong hug. Emma hesitantly wrapped her arms around Regina and they remained silent while they each found comfort in the others embrace.

Regina was the first to pull back and look up at the older girl. "I'm so sorry for everything, Emma. How did you even stand being in that house again?"

"It was easy, you were there." There was a pause as Regina fully took in the meaning of those words. Emma turned a light shade of red and quickly back tracked. "Sorry, I-I shouldn't have said that. I don't know why-"

Regina hushed her. "No, it's okay Em. I understand."

Regina let a small smile grace her lips. They remained silent for a minute as both took in each other's features, memorizing every inch. They both seemed to realize they were still holding the other and broke apart, taking a step back.

Regina gave her head a small shake and walked back over to where she had been sitting. Emma followed after her, hands shoved deep in her pockets. Regina had already sat back down by the time Emma reached her and she bit her lip before making the decision to join her.

The two girls sat across from each other, not saying anything. Regina was hoping Emma would give in and be the one to break the silence but that didn't seem likely.

Regina sighed, "Emma, I'm still mad that you lied to me… but I understand why you did."

Emma usually avoided talking about emotions at all costs but she knew this had to be done. "That doesn't excuse what I did, Regina. I'm sorry for that. I just, I really liked you and I was afraid if I said something it'd scare you and you'd never talk to me again. That first day we met, do you remember? I was standing outside your house?" Regina gave a nod. "You're the only person that's ever been able to see me. It freaked me out but I was so curious about you."

"You mean, I'm the only one that's ever talked to you since you died?" Regina couldn't believe it, how had she gone so long without any form of contact.

"Yeah, almost two years and you're the first one."

"I wonder what that means. Why can I see you?"

"No idea, and it's not like I can exactly google the answer. What would I say? 'How can human see ghost?'" The two laughed at the corny joke, eager to break the tension that's resided among them.

"That is true. I wish we had someone we could ask. And how can you touch things? Can you do anything else?"

"I have no idea! It's not like I've been a ghost before. I didn't receive Ghost Training 101. I must have skipped orientation." Emma let a smirk pull at her lips, delighted that she'd made Regina laugh.

Regina let her head fall back as she laughed at Emma's joke. It felt like forever since she had smiled and it felt wonderful to let some of the stress leave her body.

Emma remained silent as she watched the younger girl. The blonde couldn't get over just how striking Regina was. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose braid that had mostly come undone in all of the commotion over the past few hours. Pink gloss-covered lips, parted to show just a hint of teeth and the tip of a tongue.

Emma had tried to control her feelings around Regina but every day they just continued to grow stronger. She wasn't one to pine after someone, especially if she had already been rejected, but something was different about her. It didn't matter that Regina didn't return her feelings; she just wanted to be close to her and make her happy.

Finally, Regina's laughter died down and she noticed how intensely Emma was staring at her. She swallowed hard and let out a soft breath, "Emma?"

Emma was still lost in thought and didn't hear Regina call her name. So she tried once more, this time putting her hand against Emma's cheek, leaning closer to her. "Emma… you in there?"

Once Regina's hand was pressed to the cool skin, Emma snapped out of it. Her eyes focused on the girl in front of her and they both simultaneously realized how close they were to each other. Emma noticed Regina's eyes dart down to look at her lips before again meeting her gaze. Emma's eyes copied the move and her tongue peeked out to wet her suddenly dry lips. The blonde moved a fraction closer to the other girl and hesitated, waiting for a response. When Regina's body mimicked hers she knew she had permission. She moved closer until she could feel Regina's soft breath on her lips, eyes locked until Regina felt a feather light kiss against her lips and her eyes closed.

Regina pressed closer to the blonde, needing to feel connected to her. Her hand was still on Emma's cheek and she caressed her thumb over the smooth skin. Their lips moved together, tasting each other. Emma's skin left Regina's lips tingling, whether from the kiss or because she was a ghost, she didn't know. Her whole body felt like it was filled with butterflies. Before she knew it, Emma was pulling away, both girls breathless.

"Regina? What was that? I thought-"

"I was wrong." Regina quickly blurted. "I realized that Daniel isn't who I wanted and I was just fooling myself, trying to be normal."

"You mean-"

"Yes. It's you, Emma." Regina nodded and she bit her lip as a small smile tried to break free.

Emma didn't give her a chance to prepare before she was kissing her again. Emma pulled Regina's braid free and tangled her fingers in the thick locks, pulling the girl ever closer. Regina's hands found the blonde's hips, holding on for support as she was pushed backwards by Emma's weight. The girls' legs tangled together as Emma brought her body on top of Regina's and Emma smiled into the kiss as Regina let out a sigh of satisfaction.

They broke apart only because breathing was a necessity, both chests heaving in unison. Emma broke the comfortable silence, "Regina, you know I love you, right?"

Regina nodded her head before speaking. "Yes, and I think… I think maybe I love you as well."

The biggest smile Regina had ever seen plastered itself across Emma's face. Emma had never felt loved, by anyone in her life and she was amazed that this girl could even begin to feel the same way towards her.

Emma rolled off of Regina, grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers and laid down next to her. They basked in each other's company until a gasp broke the silence. Regina turned her head to look at the blonde.

"What? What is it, are you okay?" Concern filled the brunette's eyes.

"I-I don't know. Something feels off. I don't know what it is…" Emma quiets, her face scrunched up in confusion. "I feel funny… Like something is pulling me."

"Pulling you where?! You mean like away? Like leaving?"

Emma turned to look at her beloved, eyes sad. "Yeah, I think so. It feels like love… and home; or what home should be."

Regina felt hot tears fall down her cheeks but they didn't stay long before Emma wiped them away. "I don't want you to go, Em. I don't want to be alone here."

"I'll always be here for you, even if you can't see me, alright? I won't leave you, not really." Emma's own tears were starting to fall but she didn't care. Regina was the one person she didn't mind crying in front of. "I'm not sure how much longer I can resist, it's starting to burn."

Emma's eyes clamped shut, fighting an internal battle to remain behind.

Regina watched, desperately wanting to help but knowing that there was nothing she could do. They were not meant to be together on this journey but their time would come, one day.

"Don't fight it, Em. I want you to be happy. You deserve a happy life, even if it is in the next one. But if this is my only chance, then… know that I will always love you, Emma. You deserve to be loved and I promise to find you again one day to do that."

Her words said, Regina squeezed their fingers together, part of her still unwilling to let her go. She continued to hold their locked hands until two became one and her own fingers curled into a fist.

Emma was gone.

If she really focused, she could just barely make out the faint whisper of an "I love you" before it was gone and she was once again the only girl in the clock tower.

Author's Note: Well, there you have it, I hope you enjoyed! Please, don't hesitate to comment and review if you liked it!