I find reviews quite funny. They'll say what they hope to see, and either they've predicted quite accurately, or they've missed the mark by a mile :)

You're getting another update because this is already written, and if I don't update today, you won't get anything until next Monday.

It's a difficult thing, trying to avoid one's parents.

Emma had thought she had mastered it back when she was nine in Ellsworth, but she hasn't needed to avoid Marian or Robin or any foster parent since she was fourteen. She must be out of practice, or something, because this morning, this weekend, she wanted nothing more than to avoid both of them, and it seemed like she just couldn't.

Emma woke up much earlier than she typically would for a Saturday morning. She dressed as quickly as she could and found her way down the stairs. She went into the kitchen to grab the keys, hoping to get out of the house before anyone would see her, but as soon as she entered, she froze at the sight of both her parents. Robin was sitting at the table, nibbling bacon, and Marian was cooking some more breakfast foods for her and Roland. Emma's eyes shifted from Robin to Marian, trying to decide if there was any tension between the two, but couldn't find any. That only meant that Robin hadn't told Marian yet.

When Marian heard Emma's footsteps, she turned around. She set down the plate and walked over to Emma, giving her a big hug. Emma's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out why Marian was hugging her when she heard her say, quietly by her ear, "I'm so sorry to hear about Walsh." Her foster mother pulled back, and Emma was speechless. "Robin told me you two broke up last night after you went to bed."

Emma shot Robin a glare, which he responded with a shake of his head. He clearly hadn't told Marian about his affair with Regina, but he told her about breaking up with Walsh when it had barely been 12 hours ago? "Uh, thanks," she said, and hadn't realized her voice would sound so sad.

It made Marian's face melt. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Emma gave a noncommittal shrug. "I guess I just want to forget about it and get on with my everyday life." Her voice cracked towards the end, causing her cheeks to redden.

"Okay, well, do you want to come to the pool with Roland and me when he wakes up? I know you've been doing that a few times…"

Emma immediately declined, wanting to get out of this room and situation as quickly as possible. "No, I just want to go over to Ruby's."

Marian nodded at that, giving Emma the personal space she's always appreciated. Without saying anything else, Emma headed towards the door. "Goodbye, Emma," Robin said, and it caused tears to fill her eyes.

How dare he act like nothing has happened? Like she couldn't look at him without seeing Regina's leg hitched on his hip? How could he act like a perfect husband and father when, in reality, he was a cheating bastard willing to risk losing the only family she'd ever had?

Emma ignored the sentiment and left for the garage. Her eyes glanced up at Marian's gardening supplies, pain shooting through her heart knowing what was behind it, before getting into the car and putting it into drive. She needed to get to Ruby. She needed to confide in her friend.

It was only 9:30 in the morning on a Saturday when she pulled into Ruby's driveway, although she texted her friend ahead of time to make sure she was awake. Ruby had been waiting at the front door – already looking perfect for the day – and said something behind her before running to Emma's car and getting in.

"Oh, Emma, you look terrible!" Ruby said. "What happened?"

"Not here…" Emma replied, backing out of the driveway and turning down the road onto Main Street. "We're not talking anywhere in Storybrooke." Ruby gave her a concerned look, but nodded in agreement, leaning back in the seat and waiting for Emma to find a place for them to talk.

Emma felt like she was driving forever when she pulled up to a playground in front of Atlantis Elementary School. She hadn't planned on coming here – hell, she didn't even know where she was driving at the time – but since it was so early in the morning, and the weekend, the playground was deserted, and she knew she'd be alone.

Well, at least deserted from the citizens of Storybrooke.

The two zipped up their fall jackets as they made their way over to the only two swings, right next to each other. It was probably a little cooler than Ruby liked, but it was going to be one of the last times they'd be able to get outside before it started to snow.

Ruby didn't pry, she just sat on her swing next to Emma and waited for when Emma felt ready to talk. Just as she was starting to dig her feet in the pebbles, Emma blurted out, "Walsh broke up with me."

When had Emma become a crier? She was tough, she had walls, she didn't cry with sob stories. But, as soon as Ruby jumped off her swing and came around to hug Emma, tears fell from her eyes. Once more, Ruby didn't say anything, just held Emma like any good friend would do, until Emma pulled back. "When?" she asked, in a quiet voice.

"Last night."

Ruby gave her another pat on the shoulder before going back on her swing. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Emma honestly didn't want to talk about it, but she knew she had to if she had any chance of feeling normal again. "God, Ruby, yesterday was a disaster."

Emma started to swing, hoping that the movements would make the tightness of her chest relax. Ruby, taking the hint, began her own swing. "What happened?"

"What part? The whole fucking day sucked." Ruby's head shot over to Emma, surprised by her friend's language. Emma shook her head. "It started Wednesday night."

Ruby gave a nod as she continued to listen.

"Well, I went back to the pool after Roland's swim lesson – I accidently left my phone there – and Killian was there, swimming alone. One thing led to another and he kissed me." Emma looked over to Ruby, but she was staring at the ground, concentrating on listening to Emma's story. "To be honest, it was kind of romantic how it happened, but then I almost drowned trying to get away from him."

Ruby turned to look at her. "I knew about the kiss," she admitted, and Emma drew in a breath. "I was waiting for you to tell me."

"How'd you know?"

"You were acting weird on Wednesday, and I knew you had seen Killian at Roland's swim lesson, so I had an idea that it had something to do with him. I demanded Killian tell me, and he did. He seemed pretty beaten up about it."

Emma waited a bit before continuing. "I wish I had known you knew… It might have made everything easier." Emma and Ruby were in perfect sync with their swings. Neither were swinging too high, just a simple back and forth until they were able to comfortably swing and talk at the same time. "Well, with everything bottled up, I accidently told Walsh right before my scheduled tutoring session with Killian on Friday. Ruby, I'd never seen such fire in his eyes, in anyone's eyes – not even Mr. Jafar. Remember the foster father I told you about before I came to live with Marian and Robin?"

"Yeah, I remember," Ruby said, and her voice was quiet.

Emma swallowed. "Walsh went into Mr. Spencer's room and he and Killian started yelling at each other, and then they started fighting. Walsh ended up with a broken nose – he was so pale when he left with Mrs. Ozland from losing so much blood, and Killian ended up with a broken hand and a bruised jaw." Emma turned to look at Ruby, who had slowed down her swinging slightly. "Killian's in a cast and can't swim for the next seven weeks."

"Ouch," Ruby added before waiting for what Emma was going to say next.

"Well, when Walsh got home from the ER, I went over to him to talk about the afternoon and make sure he was okay. Instead, he broke up with me." Emma had kept it pretty together until then, but the memory of Walsh telling her he didn't love her anymore and that she lied was too much. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes until she saw black, hoping that would make the pain go away. "I didn't want to break up with him last night, Ruby. I love him."

Somewhere in her confession, Emma had stopped swinging, and she felt Ruby's hand brushing up and down her back. "That sounds like a terrible day, Emma…"

"It gets worse," Emma choked out, looking over at her friend. Ruby was frowning, but continued her ministrations. "Well, Robin was working late at the store, so I thought, "Hey! I can talk to Robin!" because don't dads usually help their girls during a break up? I had assumed he was going to just, you know, hug me and comfort me and offer to go kick Walsh's ass or something."

Ruby gave a short chuckle. "He'd never do that. He's too sweet…" Ruby's face dropped when she saw Emma's eyes on her. "What happened there?"

Emma took a deep breath before divulging into this part of the tale. "Well, the store was clearly closed, even though he had told us that he was working, and when I got into his office, he was kissing my social worker – Regina – and I'm sure if I hadn't shown up, well…" Emma looked at Ruby, trying to get Ruby to figure out what she was hinting at. When Ruby's mouth went into an "Oh" shape, Emma continued. "I ran out of there as quickly as I could…"

"I'm so sorry. I was up until midnight last night! Why didn't you come over and talk to me?"

Emma shook her head. "That's not the end of the story." Ruby bit her bottom lip before nodding, waiting for whatever Emma had to say next. "I didn't want to go home and face Marian, and I don't know why I didn't want to come to you – I remember thinking I didn't want you pitying me or something – but somehow, I had ended up at the community center."

"Oh, Emma, what did you do?" Ruby knew exactly who would be at the community center, and her tone indicated that she knew Emma must have done something stupid.

Which, Emma admits, she did.

"I don't know why I thought I should go to Killian, but I did. And Killian was being super sweet and apologizing for the kiss, and, I don't know… I ended up kissing him in the men's locker room… And kissing him, a lot."

Ruby closed her eyes, and Emma could tell she was in physical pain listening to the story, but Emma trudged on.

"I… I wanted to forget everything that happened today, and for some reason, I thought sleeping with Killian was the answer."

"Please tell me you didn't," Ruby cut in. "Emma, don't tell me—"

"Don't worry, I didn't…" Emma started making the same circles in the pebbles that Ruby had earlier. "We didn't even get close – he refused to go to second base. I had my shirt off and his shirt almost unbuttoned, but he wouldn't even leave my eyes, and he kept stopping and trying to think of my feelings and then finally, he told me he wasn't ready to do anything, and that's kind of when I realized how stupid I was being and I had to get out of there."

Ruby sat silently.

So did Emma.

"I wonder if I would have really gone through with it, if Killian hadn't stopped me."

Ruby shrugged next to her.

"I mean, we really didn't do anything other than kiss, and we probably would have just had this heavy make out session or something…"

Ruby shrugged again.

"Well, I went home and crawled into my bed, and Robin came in to talk to me. And he said that he hadn't broken up with Regina yet, but planned to do so today, and he said he "had to do the honorable thing" and tell Marian. Although, that's total shit, because he told me it's been going on for two years and he never told us. I told him he had by Wednesday to tell Marian or I would do it."

"I hate your social worker," Ruby spat.

Emma let out a sigh. "I do, too."

"Is that everything?"

"I mean, I took everything in my room that reminded me of Robin or Walsh or Regina or Killian and threw it in a duffel bag and tried to throw it out, but I couldn't go through with it and ended up shoving it up onto the top shelf of that big shelf we have in our garage." Emma shook her head, her eyes filling with tears once again. "Killian's not my math tutor anymore and if I don't get an A on my math quiz on Monday, there's no possible way I'll be leaving Mr. Jefferson's class by the end of this trimester. How did my whole life fall apart within the matter of five hours?"

Ruby and Emma stood up and walked over to the sole bench outside of the playground. Ruby leaned Emma's head on her shoulder and used the arm behind her to give her a side hug and held her there. Emma's pocket vibrated, and she reached in to see who had texted her this morning.

I'm grounded, but I have access to my phone. Can we
talk about last night?

It was Killian. She turned off her phone and tossed it away from them, into the playground's pebbles. She knew her phone would be okay – Robin had bought her one of those indestructible cases when she got it for her sixteenth birthday. However, now she didn't know if he was just compensating for something. In the end, she didn't really care if it was broken because she didn't want to talk to anyone, except Ruby, and she was sitting right next to her.

"All Killian ever wants to do is talk. Can't he just leave me alone?"

"He cares about you, more than you know," Ruby gave Emma a squeeze. "Victor told me how much Killian likes you."

Emma somehow let out a laugh. "Yeah, well look how great that worked out for me."

"Emma…"

Emma sighed. "What am I going to do?"

Ruby and Emma were looking out at the playground. Their swings were still moving back and forth from when they were on it mere seconds ago, and the entire playground looked deserted.

It was funny, how similar this playground was to her life at that moment. No one there, the mere existence of people supporting it simply a pleasant memory. Clouds were above them, causing a darkness to cover each part of the park. It's almost as if it was just there, existing because someone built it, for no other reason.

"Well, I see that you only have two options."

It was Emma's turn to wait and listen to what Ruby had to say.

"You can either sit here with me, wallowing in your sorrows and pitying yourself, or you can take these obstacles and face them head on."

Emma turned to Ruby. "What do you mean, face them head on?"

"Well, you can figure out what to do to make things right again. Do you want to get back together with Walsh?"

Emma thought about it for a moment. Did she really want to get back together with Walsh?

Walsh was perfect for her, and she really did love him. But, he had his faults, and maybe this break up was a good thing. She had been feeling less and less of a connection to him, and maybe he was right when he said that she ended the relationship a long time ago. Maybe they weren't meant to be together – maybe she had just gotten so used to him being around that she thought she was supposed to keep him.

"No," she said, and it felt like a tiny weight had been lifted off her chest. "No, I don't think I do."

Ruby nodded, and continued. "I guess with Robin, you have to just wait and see if he tells Marian on his own, but there are other things you can do to make sure he's through with your social worker."

"Like what?" Emma asked, turning to Ruby with a confused glance.

"I don't know… You could tell Regina's boss about what happened, what you witnessed, and maybe she would be relocated to another state, or something."

"I think she'd probably lose her job."

"Frankly, she should."

Emma thought about it for a second. Regina should lose her job. Emma didn't know which one of them started this dalliance, but it was completely inappropriate for her to get involved with one of her case's – two of her cases' – foster parent. "I don't think I could do that." She didn't want Regina around them anymore, but she did put Emma into a good home, a home that she wasn't afraid she'd be mistreated.

"Why not? Grow some balls, Emma, and take your life back."

Emma smiled at her friend's bluntness. "I—"

"Honestly, Emma, I'm so pissed at her that I'm going to do it if you don't. But, I really think it needs to come from you."

"You're right. A social worker is supposed to make you feel safe, and knowing that she did those things with Robin just makes it… I don't want her in my life anymore." Emma decided right then and there. "As soon as I get home, I'm going to report her."

Ruby gave her a pat on the back, then went on to say, "And Killian…"

Emma closed her eyes at the name. Her ex-tutor… The one who took her life and flipped it upside down.

"I really think you should talk to him… Hear what he has to say."

"But—"

"Seriously, Emma. At least, think about it."

"I'm not making you any promises, and it may take a while before I do."

"I know."

I'm grounded, but I have access to my phone. Can we
talk about last night?

She didn't respond

Why was his first major crush so damn infuriating?

He didn't have a wink of sleep last night – all he could think of was Emma and her kissing him in the locker room or losing his three jobs or how now he has to go see a therapist or how every damn time he lies on his right side, his pillow hits his face just enough to make him whimper in pain, and that's not even including the constant shooting pain in his hand.

And now, all he wants to do is straighten this… thing… out with Emma, but she's cutting him out again.

His mind is going nuts.

Maybe she's sleeping…

No. If she's anything like him, there's no way she's sleeping after what happened last night. After she practically threw herself at him and he just rejected her, like he didn't care about her. He tries to think what he should have done differently, though, but he keeps coming up blank. Killian was just being a decent person, he was doing the right thing…

God, she's a good kisser.

Granted, he doesn't have anyone to compare her to, but he can't imagine it gets much better than what she was doing to him. He brought his hand up to his mouth again, remembering the feeling of her lips sliding over his, how soft and warm and nice it was to be kissing her.

He then sighed.

What is he even doing thinking about their kisses? Frankly, he should be forgetting about it altogether. She clearly doesn't want to see him, doesn't want to talk to him. She's probably sitting with Walsh, right now, rubbing his back and taking care of him because he's her damn boyfriend and Killian didn't meet her first.

Killian stood up, shaking his head. He's just so angry all the time, and his life… His life is just…

He hates his life right now.

There really isn't anything else to say about it.

His phone buzzed from the nightstand, and Killian rushed over to see it, hoping beyond all hope that it was Emma.

It wasn't.

So… My dad told me an interesting story last night.

Oh, god. He hadn't even thought about what he was going to say to his friends, let alone Victor. It was his dad that saw him yesterday and, while it was slightly comforting having someone he knew take care of him, Killian hadn't really thought about the afters, the when his doctor got home.

Oh yeah? What'd he say?

Just that you stopped by the ER yesterday, nothing else – I don't know, something about doctor-patient confidentiality.

Killian didn't respond, hoping Victor would drop it but, being Victor, he didn't.

Everything okay?

Physically? Broken hand and bruised jaw.

As Killian saw the three dots of terror signifying Victor typing back, he could only imagine what Victor must be thinking right now. Victor was smart – one of the smartest in their grade – and with a doctor for a father and his desire for a pre-med major, he knew that Victor would figure it out with the snap of his fingers. He knew Victor would figure out he got in a fight, and probably that it was against Walsh.

His response wasn't what he was expecting, though.

And if I asked about everything else in your life, I'm guessing
you'd tell me you're fine?

It was a slap in the face.

Had he really been this distant and cold to his friends?

Killian should text him back, text him everything that's been going on in his life. But that's not what he did.

Why lie?

He could see Victor's face reading his text – see how irritated, frustrated, and betrayed he must feel. Victor, Phillip, and Killian had been the three amigos since freshman year, and, even if they've added a few friends to the posse, they'd dealt with a lot together.

Phil and I were going to go see a movie today. Want to
come? Or are you too busy swimming?

They're pissed.

They should be.

It doesn't make it any easier knowing they should be.

Killian's dad grounded him as soon as he and Liam got home from the doctor, and went on to have a long, long, long one-on-one conversation about how stupid he was acting and how he was better than that. Killian had always been his father's good child – Liam was always a bit of a trouble maker – and so when the disappointment that flooded through his father's eyes, the ones he saw when Liam skipped school, was directed at him, he knew he screwed up. Big time.

He didn't want his friends to know he was grounded. In fact, all he wanted to do was make sure they never found out about the suspension or the kiss or anything else.

So he just made something up.

No, I'm on too many painkillers. Probably not a good
idea to leave the house. Have fun and don't spoil
it for me.

He placed his phone back on the dresser and decided to do the one thing he could do to make his life normal.

He did his homework.

Most people would find it boring, to do homework on a Saturday morning, and Killian was no exception. In fact, he usually made a point to save Saturdays to himself.

But today? It relaxed him.

There was no deadline, no jobs he had to get to, sleep wasn't clouding his brain. He was free to do his homework, do it thoroughly, and do it well.

He missed this.

The easiness of simply sitting at his desk and simply doing his homework.

Ruby and Emma were sitting in Ruby's room. "Are you sure I should be doing this?" she asked, looking down at her phone and Regina's business card. Regina had given it to her when she first became her social worker in case of emergencies.

"Absolutely," Ruby said.

Emma took a deep breath and called the agency number at the bottom. After three rings, a lady with a sharp voice picked up. "Hello? This is Cora Heartson. How may I help you?"

Emma gave Ruby scared eyes as she sat up straighter. "Hello, Ms. Heartson. My name is Emma Swan and I am one of this agency's foster cases."

"Hello, Emma. How can I help you?"

Emma took a deep breath, uncertainty running throughout her whole body. "I'd like to make a report against my social worker, Regina Mills."

There was a slight pause before Cora said, "Alright, Emma. You have my full attention. What happened with Miss Mills?"

Emma gave Ruby one final look before saying, "She broke up my family."