AN: I don't own the characters or OUAT.
All mistakes are mine.
This is the second of two chapters for an update because of the long wait. Sorry for the spam again.

Emma was the first to see Regina get closer to the table. 'God, it's been weeks since I have first seen her. It feels like she gets prettier every time she breathes. I can't believe I'm so smitten with the mayor's daughter.

"Hey, Emma."

"Oh, you're talking to me again?" she teasingly asked with a smile that's never-ending as long as Regina is close.

'I'm never gonna feel my cheeks again. But it's all good if she is the cause behind it.'

"No, I just thought I'd be polite before I continue to ignore you."

'Oh. That's a good one. But it feels like I'm the one that was ignoring you. I have been trying to distance myself while I tried to figure out my feelings for you.'

"Oh. How nice of you. You must be the mayor's daughter," Emma said which caused Regina to let out a throaty laugh.

'God, I love that sound. That laugh is perfect,' Emma thought, looking down at her lunch.

"Regina, sit. Eat. Stop staring."

'Who is she staring at?" Emma looked up to meet Regina's gaze. 'Oh. She's staring at me. Why me?'

"Zelena, shut up. Your advice sucks," Regina snapped without breaking the eye contact she held with Emma.

'I could get lost in those chocolate eyes. Wait. Did she say advice?'

"What advice?" Looking towards Zelena, the blonde asked, "What did you advise her on?"

Regina made a strangled noise right before Zelena answered for her. "Our darling Regina here has a crush."

'What? No! I will never be able to tell her I like her now.'

Emma could tell her voice cracked slightly when she asked, "On who?"

"It doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that Zelena's advice failed me at the moment."

Emma tuned out the best friends' bickering to think to herself. 'Maybe I could get Regina to tell me who it is if I offer to give her some advice. Would she fall for that? No, she's too smart to fall for my dumb ideas. It couldn't hurt to try, though.'

"Well, that sucks. Maybe my advice could be better? If I knew who it was, I could help?" Emma saw Regina think about her suggestion but ultimately saw the refusal in her facial expression. "Maybe you could just describe him. You know, if you don't feel comfortable admitting to me who it is."

"Um..."

"Actually, the person Regina has a massive crush on is a girl."

'A girl? Regina likes a girl? So, I can still be in the running! Yes! Maybe Daniel was right a few weeks ago...'

"Oh. Ok. What does she like?"

"Um..."

"Has my concern for your love life reduced you to 'um's', Regina?" Emma joked.

"No! I just have to think about the answer, obviously."

'She said that way too suddenly and forcefully. Is she nervous about something?'

"Right... but just so you know, 'um's' aren't very mayoral."

"Well, I'm not the mayor. My mother is. I'm just a class president."

'Really, Regina? You're not just anything.'

"Just tell me about the girl, Gina."

'Gina? Where did that come from? It felt good, though.'

"Ok. Well, the girl..." the brunette paused, thinking of how to explain what her crush was like. "She's a year older than me. Uh, she... she's not very out there, I guess. She mainly likes to keep to herself. She's very possessive of the things she likes. She-"

"You mean, she doesn't like to share?"

"No. She doesn't not like to share. She just prefers to keep things close to her. She doesn't like to lose those things she likes."

'I know I've been wanting her to have a crush on me, but that was mostly wishful thinking. I didn't actually expect her to describe me. The only thing left is to find out if she knows I like her.'

"Ok. I think I got it. But just one more question." At Regina's nod, Emma asked, "Do you know if she likes you back?"

Regina shook her head. "I can only be certain that she likes me enough to be my friend."

'So, she doesn't know. If she truly has a crush on me, maybe I can see how she tries to woo someone. Wait, woo? That's so old-fashioned. Maybe that's what she wants to do. I can't think anymore. This is hurting my head.'

"Oh! So, you want to woo her? Kinda old fashioned-like, huh?"

'Now, this is just more wishful thinking. It's not gonna get me anywhere.'

"Yes. That was Zelena's advice," Regina said, sounding defeated.

"Well, she was on the right track. Did she suggest what you should do?"

"No. Just sweep her off her feet."

'Really, Zelena? That's all you said to her?'

"Ingenious plan," Emma remarked sarcastically. "But how exactly were you gonna do that?"

"I don't know." Regina covered her face with her hands for a second, then looked back at Emma. "Any tips?"

'Wow, she really likes this girl. I'm kinda jealous of nothing I should be jealous of. Regina is not mine. I shouldn't be jealous of anything.'

"Yes, actually. You're gonna find something that has importance to you, give it to her, and say you want it back, in the same condition, after a certain amount of time."

"How is this me wooing her?"

Shaking her head, Emma replied, "It's not. This is to see if she likes you the same way you like her." When she saw that Regina didn't understand, she took a breath and continued, "If she likes you the same way, she'll never let whatever you give her out of her sight. If she's as possessive as you say, anything that has meaning to you will have meaning to her now. It's a part of you. And if she truly likes you, she won't want to lose you. Or hurt you in any way. Got it?"

"Yeah. I do." Finally meeting Emma's eyes, Regina teasingly asked, "Woo many girls from your different homes?"

"Not really. This is the first place that a girl has piqued my interest," Emma said gazing deeply into Regina's eyes.

'Wow, Emma. Can you make it any more obvious?'

"Emma." She looked up to see Ruby towering over her. "Why are you here?"

"I'm always at Granny's after school. Why are you here?"

"I work here. It's my job to be here. Also, you didn't give a real answer."

"After school, it usually quiets down quickly, so I do my homework. Also, Mary Margaret told me that she and David wanted to talk to me during his break. Now, where's my food?"

"Here's your damn grilled cheese and hot chocolate." Ruby placed the items on the table and turned to walk away, but not before Emma could see the smile that started to grow on the waitress's face.

Emma took her time eating her sandwich while she did her math homework. As she stuffed the last morsel into her mouth, she closed her eyes in annoyance. 'That little bell is going to be the death of me, I swear!'

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan."

Opening her eyes and swallowing the barely chewed food, Emma looked at the mayor. "Good afternoon, Madam Mayor. You could call me Emma if you'd like to."

"I could, but I'm not going to. At least not yet. I believe the Nolans are supposed to show up, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am, they are. They said they wanted to talk to me about something."

'Probably the adoption I overheard a few weeks ago.'

"Oh. That's right. Well, I need to talk to them about something, as well. When they get here, could you excuse us for a moment?" Nervous about possibly saying the wrong answer, Emma nodded. "Excellent." The bell rang for the second time in five minutes. "Here they are now. Excuse us, Miss Swan."

"Of course. I'll be... um... I'll be at the counter... talking... to Ruby."

'Come on, Swan,' she thought as she stood up and walked over to Ruby. 'Control your nerves around that woman. She's the mayor, and she's also Regina's mother. If Regina actually likes you, Cora Mills also has to like you.'

"Dude," Ruby drawled. "She's not gonna like you if you stutter."

"You think I don't know that, Rubes? I'm trying, but I become a nervous wreck every time I see her."

"Do you think it's because of you liking Regina?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby! Shut up!" Out of the corner of her eye, the blonde saw the mayor glance in the two young girls direction.

'Oh, God. She heard Ruby. Why can't Ruby keep her damn mouth shut?'

"I'm glad we had this chat, Mary Margaret, and David. We'll be delighted to see you three tomorrow." Cora stood up and walked towards the door. Without turning around, she said, "Have a good rest of your day, Miss Swan. I will see you soon." She was out the door less than a second later.

"Do you think she heard me?"

"If we did, she definitely did," Mary Margaret said confirming Emma's worst suspicions.

'Oh, God. She heard Ruby,' Emma continuously thought.

Emma was still sitting at the counter with wide eyes and a slack jaw when David dropped a stack of papers in front of her. "Em, do you remember that we wanted to talk to you about something?"

"Yeah. Adoption, right?" she asked, still stunned that the mayor now knew.

"Yeah. How... how did you know?"

"I overheard you guys talking about it once. But it's not as overwhelming as you thought it would be. Having the mayor of Storybrooke know that I like her daughter is twice as overwhelming."

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that."

"It's ok, Ruby. I'm just gonna will the ground to open up and swallow me."

"Um... you're gonna have to wait until after dinner tomorrow," David said.

"Why?"

"Mayor Mills invited us to dinner tomorrow night." After a brief pause, David continued, "Don't worry, it was before Ruby said anything."

"Don't worry? The mother of the girl I have a crush on knows I have a crush on her daughter! How do I do anything but worry?"

'Oh, God. She heard Ruby.'

"Gina? Are you ok?" Emma asked as she grabbed Regina's shoulders, stopping her from walking past the apartment.

"What? Oh. Hello, Em-ma."

'What has her so distracted? She missed the turn for school. Also, I never see her walking to school this late.'

"Are you ok? You seem a little out of it."

'Did her mom tell her that I like her? Oh, no. Does she know?'

"Yes, thank you, I'm fine. I'm just running a little late."

"Right."

'Oh, thank God. She doesn't know. Unless she's lying. I doubt it though.'

"But," Emma continued, "if you're not planning on skipping school, you should turn around."

"Why?" Regina turned but still looked confused.

'Oh. She's not used to being confused. That expression is so cute on her. I need to make her confused more often.'

"You missed the turn for the block that the school is on. You're lucky I leave at this time. I have no idea where you would've ended up, Gina," Emma laughed, trying to ease the tension she felt.

'Why am I being so nervous? It's just Gina. The most amazing girl I have ever met.'

"Wow. Where am I?"

"In front of my apartment. Come on. We have to get going if you don't want to be even later."

Even though the two walked to the school in silence, Emma's thoughts were racing through her head at a mile a minute. 'Why am I in this rush to get to school? When we get there I'll have a five-minute separation from her, then every class I have is with her. Am I able to do this? I don't even know if her mom told her about my crush. She hasn't said anything, but maybe that's because she wants me to tell her. I don't know... Now, my head hurt. Why is everything so confusing? Wait, why was she late?'

Stopping her thoughts from going any farther, Emma asked, "Why were you running late? Aren't you like... an hour early anywhere?"

Laughing at Emma's teasing, Regina answered, "No, it's closer to 20 minutes. But to answer your first question, my shower took longer than I thought it would and mother took forever to make breakfast."

"Ah. Ok."

'I need to change the subject now. I know she takes showers, but now I'm thinking of what she uses in there. She always smells amazing. Like apples. Always apples.'

"Well," Emma started, getting her mind away from apples, "did you figure out what you're gonna give your crush yet?"

"No. I was going to use the weekend to think of something."

'Why does it seem like she's lying? She seems kind of nervous now. She was so confident when she was talking about why she was late. If she doesn't want to tell me, she could just say that. I'd understand. Unless... I am her crush. Then she wouldn't want me to know if she figured it out yet. God, my head is starting to hurt again from all this thinking.'

"Got it. You have to weigh the meaning of everything, right?"

As Regina nodded, the girls walked up the steps of the school. 'Oh, great. School. Wait, don't we have a math test today? Crap.'

"Well, I'll see you in class, Regina. I have to get to my locker." Emma turned to walk away.

A hand grabbing her wrist caused her to turn back around. "Before you leave, I have to ask you something."

'Don't sound too eager, Emma. Play it cool.'

"Sure. Anything."

'Nice job, Swan. You sounded eager and excited. Way to play it cool,' Emma mentally scolded herself.

"I'm going to have to work on my campaign for junior class president soon. I was wondering if you could help me take care of my apple tree."

'No wonder she smells like apples all the time. Does she make her own shampoo? Damn it! Stop thinking about the damn shower!'

"You have an apple tree!? I love apples. What type of apples are they?"

"They're Red Delicious apples. Can you help me or not?"

"Obviously. Apples are the third best thing to eat."

'After pizza and grilled cheese, obviously, because they are 'amazing'!'

"I could pick some, right?"

"Yes, as soon as they're ready."

"Sweet." Emma smiled but quickly bit her lip to hide her excitement. "When should I report for duty?"

'Remember, I can't seem too eager.'

"Did Mr. and Mrs. Nolan tell you about dinner tonight?"

'Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. I'm legally a Nolan, now. Mayor Mills was there. Oh, God. She heard Ruby. No! Focus on Regina!'

At Emma's nod, the brunette continued, "Great. I'll explain everything after we eat."

"Cool." Emma started to walk away, but a thought stopped her this time. "Uh, just one question. What time should we be there? David didn't say anything."

"Mother usually gets home around 5:30, so dinner will be ready around 6. I guess, anytime between then would be fine."

"Got it," Emma nodded. "See you in class."

"See you soon."

Emma walked to her locker as quickly as she could. Thankfully, her first class was a few doors from it. She opened her locker and put whatever books she needed into her bag. Closing it, Emma heard Ruby and Belle. "Hey, guys! I have a quick question!"

'Hopefully, they know if we have a math test today.'

"What's up, Nolan?" Ruby smirked.

"Firstly, shut up, Rubes. Secondly, do we have a math test today?"

"Wait, I thought your last name was Swan?" Belle asked.

"I was legally adopted yesterday, but I'm still keeping my last name. Now, will one of you answer me?"

"Fine! Yes, we have a math test. Does Regina know?"

"No, Ruby. We were gonna tell them tonight during dinner. Although, I think Regina's mom already knows."

'Oh, God. She heard Ruby. No! Damn it! Stop thinking, Swan!'

"Well, the mayor has to sign all adoption papers."

"Oh. Makes sense. I have to get to class. See you at lunch!"

"Bye, Nolan!"

"Shut up, Ruby!"

'Emma Nolan. It sounds easy... natural. I guess this really was meant to be.'