Chapter 25:

January

"Shit, I have so much shit." Emma sighed as she threw the last box done and collapsed on the couch. Ruby laughed and collapsed next to her. They decided to move into an apartment this semester since their dorm building had major water damage.

"Is it bad that I want to be back on the cruise?" Ruby looked at Emma and they laughed.

"Not at all. I miss the sun, it is too damn cold here for me." They sat and looked around the apartment. It was covered with boxes and furniture, there were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Ruby's parents agreed that they would pay the monthly rent as long as Emma and Ruby paid for the water and heating bill.

"What do you want to order?" Emma pulled out a bunch of takeout menus that they collected last semester.

"How about pizza, since all we have is beer in the fridge." Emma nodded and ordered a large pineapple and ham pizza. After she ordered she grabbed two beers and collapsed on the couch again.

"Have you heard anything from Victor?" Ruby shook her head.

"Nope, I haven't heard from him since he left for Ireland. Anything from Killian?" Emma shook her head as well.

"Nope, just from Liam time to time. He also hasn't heard that much from Killian."

"How is Liam?" Ruby spread out on the couch, putting her feet across Emma's lap.

"He is great. He has a new girlfriend, Elena. She is from another town, Mystic something."

"That's great. I still can't believe that you and Liam are such great friends after dating and all that drama." Emma laughed and shook her head.

"I can't believe it either. He is like a big brother to me now which is nice to have." The buzzer by the door rang and Emma stood up.

"Hello."

"Pizza is here."

"Alright, I will be done in a second." Emma and Ruby still had to get the buzzer fixed so that they could open the gate without having to go downstairs. She quickly pulled on her Uggs and threw her hair into a messy bun as she walked down the flights of stairs.

"It will be $15.25." Emma nodded and pulled out the money.

"Thank you." She took the box and walked back up the stairs.

"Swan!" She spun around and her mouth spread into a giant grin. Killian was running up the stairs to catch up with her.

"Killian! What are you doing here?!" She moved the pizza box to the side so that she could hug him.

"Victor and I live here. We live on the fourth floor. What about you?" His eyes looked up and down her body. Even in sweats and a tank top, his Swan looked as beautiful as ever.

"We just moved in on the third floor. When did you get here?" Emma looked at him, smiling at how hot he looked. His hair was unkempt but in a sexy way and his jeans hugged his hips with a white t-shirt.

"Last week. Ow, what the bloody hell." Emma punched him as hard as she could in the arm.

"And you didn't call?!" He chuckled and gave her a half smile.

"I love it when you are worried about me." She smirked at him and laughed.

"Do you want to have pizza and beer with Ruby and me?"

"Of course. Come upstairs to our apartment and we can walk down together." Before Emma could answer, Killian took the box and started walking up the stairs again. They walked up to his apartment, talking about their vacations.

"Victor!" Emma shouted to Victor, he looked up and smiled.

"Hey girl!" He pulled Emma into a hug and pulled back to look at her. "You look great."

"Shut up, you know I don't." She quickly punched him in the arm, same as she did to Killian.

"Ow! Why did you do that?"

"That is for not calling Ruby. You're lucky I got to you first." He chuckled and looked at the box in Killian's hands.

"You got pizza?" He reached for a slice but Emma swatted his hand away.

"It is for me and Ruby but you guys can join us." Killian chuckled at the scene in front of him. Victor and Killian followed Emma down to her apartment. When she opened to the door, she signaled to the guys to be quiet.

"What the hell, Emma?! How long does it take you to get pizza?!" Ruby yelled from the living room. Emma guessed that she hadn't left the couch.

"Sorry I got distracted." They walked quietly into the living room, Ruby was laying on the couch watching some show on TV so that she didn't see the guys. Emma placed the pizza on the counter while Victor and Killian stood behind the couch. Emma watched the guys signal to each other as she chewed on a slice of pizza. When Victor's fingers got to the number 3, they howled and jumped over the couch. They landed on top of Ruby, their stomachs pressing her into the couch. Ruby let out a scream and started to try wiggle out of their hold. Victor and Killian then took this chance to tickle her, her screams turning into laughter. Emma was standing off to the side, laughing at everything going on.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ruby said, laughing in between each word.

"Hello, darling." Victor pressed his lips against hers and Killian stood up. He walked back over to Emma and the pizza, grabbing a slice.

"Ouch!" Emma let out another laugh when she heard Victor yelp in pain.

"You didn't freaking call!" Ruby shouted, pushing Victor for her and pretended to be mad as she got a slice of pizza. Victor came over and wrapped his arms around her as he grabbed some food and nuzzled her neck. Emma grabbed some beers from the fridge and passed them around. She walked over to the couch and sat down, Killian followed and sat next to her casually throwing his arm around her shoulders. Ruby whispered something to Victor and they ran off to her bedroom after taking some more pizza.

"Guess I won't be getting sleep tonight." Emma groaned. Killian chuckled and pulled her close.

"It is ok, Swan. You can stay with me upstairs, we can have a sleepover." She looked at him and he winked at her. She stuck her tongue out and he chuckled.

"Have you talked to Liam?" Killian nodded, taking a sip of beer.

"Yeah, I just called him this afternoon. He was pissed, like you, that I didn't call sooner. He is coming to visit this weekend with his new girlfriend." Emma giggled and took a bite of pizza.

"Why didn't you call sooner?"

"Too busy. I got a job as a mechanic nearby and I have been moving into the apartment. How is your family?" He asked her, looking at her with worried eyes.

"Fine. My sister took my job at the Jolly Rodger and my dad is doing amazing. He still can't live on his own but he is planning on visit me soon." Killian loved how her eyes filled with happiness as she talked about her family.

"That's great. I talked to your father a couple of times and he mentioned something about a visit." Emma spun around so that her legs were across his lap.

"You talked to my dad instead of me?!" She looked at him, pretending to be mad but failed.

"I didn't tell, your dad and I are going steady now." Emma stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled. Emma remembered that her father and Killian had a great friendship after he was released from the hospital. Even after Emma left for the trip, Killian still visited her father till he had to leave for Ireland. It bothered her a little on how close they were but it was good for her dad to have a friend after everything that happened.

"What do you want to do?" Emma asked, they were just sitting on the couch staring at each other.

"Well, I have one idea that doesn't involve clothing." He winked at her and she playfully hit him in the arm.

"How about a movie?" She turned the TV to Netflix.

"That is fine too I guess." He mumbled, they started watching The Breakfast Club. Emma was leaning against the arm of the couch with her feet on Killian's lap. He was massaging her feet and watching her more than the movie. After the movie they went to Killian's apartment, once noises started coming out of Ruby's room.