When the taxi stopped outside the apartment building, Kelly Swan paid the driver and thanked him before getting out. With a handbag in her left hand and a coat draped over her right arm, she found it difficult to get in through the front entrance, but managed as she usually did. Kelly ignored the elevator and took the stairs, as she had done for the past three years, after she had been stuck in the elevator one time for almost five hours. It had been an experience that Kelly wasn't keen on going through again. When she opened the door to her apartment, Kelly saw Chad sitting at the kitchen table, typing away on his laptop. She greeted him with a kiss on the forehead, which made him remove his glasses and look up at her.
"How was work?" he asked.
"More or less the same," Kelly replied, setting down her bag and coat onto a nearby chair. "I had a couple of newbies come in, so I had to teach them the ropes. Is Emma back from school yet?"
"She didn't go today," said Chad, leaning back in his seat. Kelly frowned at him.
"Why not? This isn't about those other girls, is it?"
Chad nodded. "I didn't get much info out of her, but she told me that much. Maybe she'll talk to you."
Kelly looked across the kitchen to Emma's bedroom door, which was closed, and sighed.
"I'll talk to her later," she said. "Right now, I'm exhausted. What's for dinner?"
"I was hoping you'd have an answer to that," said Chad, his eyebrows raised.
Kelly shrugged. "I guess we could always just order pizza."
"Pizza?" Chad responded with a light chuckle. "The woman who works at the gym wants pizza?"
"Pizza never hurt anyone," replied Kelly with a wry smile. "It only matters how much you eat."
Chad conceded with a nod, before something buzzed in his shirt pocket. Hurriedly, he withdrew his phone and answered it.
"Hello? Hmm? Oh, yes, thanks for calling back. I see... No, I don't have those documents at the moment. Sorry. I could go and retrieve them if you want and then walk you through the whole thing. Okay? Okay. I'll call you back in about an hour. Bye."
"Who was that?" Kelly asked.
"New assistant at work," Chad said, rolling his eyes. "She's totally useless. Just the other morning, we had a meeting with some new clients. One of them asked for a white coffee. Five minutes later, she comes back and asks me where we keep the white coffee beans."
Kelly smiled at that. "So, does that mean you have to go out now?"
"Yeah. I won't be long, though. Just have to pick up some folders. Want me to pick up some dinner on the way back?"
"Sure," said Kelly, nodding. "See you soon."
Chad gave her a peck on the lips before leaving. When he was gone, Kelly looked once again at Emma's bedroom door, before approaching it and knocking.
"What?" came a voice from inside.
"It's me," Kelly answered. "Can I come in?"
When there was no answer, Kelly decided to take that as an invitation and entered anyway. Within, Emma was lying on her bed, doing something on her phone.
"Dad told me you didn't go to school today."
Emma looked up at her. "I wasn't feeling well."
"You look fine to me," replied Kelly. "Why do you hate school so much? Is it those girls you told me about before?"
After a moment of hesitation, Emma gave a nod. "Yesterday, Tasha Morris told everyone that Ryan and I hooked up."
"Why would she... lie about something like that?" Kelly asked, giving Emma a searching look. "It... is a lie, I presume."
"Of course it's a lie!" snapped Emma. "Ryan's a moron. I don't know what her problem is, but I'm close to just punching her in the face."
Kelly sighed. "Well, that would be a terrific way to get yourself in trouble, wouldn't it? Look, I get it. Being at a crappy school like that one isn't fun, but your Dad and I couldn't afford to send you anywhere else. Believe me, I want you to get the best education you can."
"But I don't care about education, or being a straight A student," Emma said. "I just want friends. I've never even been to a party!"
"Parties are a waste of time, though," said Kelly. "And friends... well, friends only get in the way. You're better off without them. That way, you learn how to get through life on your own. If you don't need to rely on anyone to get what you want, then you'll go far in life."
Emma shook her head. "You don't get it, Mom! Did you even go to high school?"
"Of course I did," Kelly replied, frowning.
"And did you have friends?" Emma wanted to know. For a few seconds, Kelly only stared at her.
"A few," she said, finally. "But they weren't real friends. I didn't need them, and I never kept in touch with them after school finished."
"Yeah, well," replied Emma, "you're just weird. I actually want friends, but I'm not going to get them at that hellhole."
After several moments of silence between them, Kelly spoke up. "I'll order us a pizza."
She left Emma's room and went over to where her handbag rested, before fishing through it with her hands. When she couldn't find her phone, Kelly's eyes widened, then she searched all of her pockets.
"Crap." I must have left it at the office.
"What's wrong?" Emma's voice came from behind her. Kelly turned around.
"I left my phone at work," said Kelly. "I need to go back and get it. I'll be back shortly, okay?"
Emma shrugged. "Okay then."
"We'll talk more about school later," Kelly promised, before picking up her coat and leaving. When she was gone, Emma returned to her bedroom and threw herself onto her bed with a loud sigh. Emma had no intentions of going back to school. At least, not the school she was currently enrolled at. Her thoughts drifted to the prospect of a school where people sat with her, laughed with her, asked her how she was doing. Then, she snapped out of it.
Keep dreaming, Emma told herself. She went to pick up her phone, when there was a knock on the apartment door. Sitting up suddenly, Emma looked through her open doorway to the door in the kitchen. Did Mom or Dad lose their keys? When there was another knock on the door, Emma got up and found herself walking over to the door, despite having always been told that she shouldn't answer the front door when her parents weren't at home. She was seventeen years old, however, and figured that she'd have to answer the door at some point in her life. After unlocking the door and opening it, Emma was mildly surprised to see a boy standing there. He was a few years younger than her, but looked vaguely familiar.
"Can I... help you?" she asked, brushing a strand of blonde hair over one ear.
"Are you Emma Swan?" the boy wanted to know.
"Yeah," replied Emma. "Who are you?"
The boy smiled. "My name's Neal. I'm your brother."

Emma frowned, looking the boy up and down. He was wearing a school uniform that wasn't familiar to her at all. The logo on his sweater had the words 'Storybrooke High School' on them. His dirty blond hair was tidy, but it was his eyes that struck Emma as being the most familiar.
Where have I seen them before? Emma tried to recall.
"Nice try, buddy," she responded, after an awkward silence. "I don't have a brother."
Emma went to close the door, but Neal stuck his foot in the way. "Ow!"
"Newsflash, kid. That's what happens when you stick your foot in a closing doorway," said Emma, rolling her eyes.
Neal looked up at her, determination etched onto his face. "Are your parents named Chad and Kelly?"
"Maybe," Emma replied. "What are you, some kind of stalker?"
"I told you, I'm your brother!" Neal insisted. "Your parents aren't really your parents."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Your real parents are Mary Margaret and David Nolan," said Neal, "who are also my parents. Chad and Kelly took you away with them, but they're not really your mom and dad. Your real parents are in Storybrooke, and they need you!"
"Storybrooke?" said Emma, reading the logo on Neal's sweater again. "Never heard of it."
"It's a small town in Maine," Neal explained. "It's where you were born."
This kid is all the way from Maine? Emma looked at him, narrowing her eyes.
"Is this some kind of prank?" she demanded. "Who are you? Tasha's little brother?"
Neal was starting to look annoyed. "No, I already told you! I'm your little brother!"
At that moment, a door across the hallway opened, and an old man poked his head out.
"What's going on?" he snapped. "What's all the noise about?"
"Nothing. Sorry." Emma said, before looking down at Neal. "Alright, come in before one of the neighbors calls the cops."
She stepped aside, and closed the door when Neal had entered the apartment.
"This is a nice place," Neal remarked, looking around. "Cozy."
Emma crossed her arms. "Alright, kid, you have five minutes. You say you're my brother, and that I'm adopted? Prove it."
"Mom told me," said Neal. "She told me that before I was born, she and my Dad had a daughter named Emma, but Dad had an accident and went into a coma. During that time, Mom struggled to look after you, so she gave you away to a girl named Zelena. Not long after that, Zelena and her boyfriend - whose name is Chad - left Storybrooke. Nobody knows where they went. Apparently, it was like they'd disappeared from the face of the earth. You're seventeen, right?"
"Yeah," said Emma. "Why?"
"Mom said this all took place seventeen years ago," Neal replied. "Now do you believe me?"
"That's... a great story, kid," Emma responded. "But my mom's name isn't Zelena. It's Kelly."
"Zelena's mom was named Kelly," said Neal. "And changing your name is easier than you think."
Emma sat down and cleared her throat. "Did your mom remember what this... Zelena, looked like?"
"She kept some old school photos," Neal replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small square of paper. He handed it to Emma, who looked down at it. The girl in the photo did resemble Mom quite a bit. She was even a redhead. Emma noticed that her heart had started racing when she handed the photo back to Neal.
"Okay," she said. "That does look like my mom. But what reason would they have to disappear?"
Neal shrugged. "I don't know. They took Mom away before she could tell me."
Emma frowned. "Who took her away?"
"After Mom gave you away, she never really got over it," replied Neal. "It's haunted her ever since. Over the years, she's had a few... breakdowns. You know, like mental breakdowns. A while ago, it got really bad, so she had to be taken to the hospital. I haven't seen her since."
"Well, if she's being kept at the hospital until she gets better, isn't that a good thing?"
"The only reason she's in there is because she misses you," Neal said. "Come to Storybrooke, see for yourself. Our parents just want to see you again."
Emma shook her head. "No. This isn't possible."
Suddenly, the door opened, and Dad walked in, carrying a stack of pizza boxes.
"It's pizza time!" he announced, then froze when he saw Emma and Neal. "Oh... hello. Who's this?"
"Uhh..." Emma looked at Neal, then at her Dad, then back at Neal.
"I'm Neal. It's nice to meet you, Mr. Swan."
Though confused, Dad still put down the pizzas on the table and smiled.
"Nice to meet you too-"
He stopped suddenly, and Emma saw that Dad had found the school logo on Neal's sweater.
"Well, I better get going," Neal said, turning to Emma. "Think about what I said. Until then."
Neal gave Dad a smile, before walking out of the apartment. Dad watched him go, before closing the door and looking at Emma.
"Who, uh... who was that?" he wanted to know.
"It was, um, Tasha's brother," Emma said. "He just wanted to... apologize about his sister's behavior at school."
"Oh. I see. And does he live around these parts?"
Emma shrugged. "Not sure. Tasha's parents are divorced, so... I think he's just visiting."
"Right," Dad looked at her for a while, with an expression Emma had never seen before.
"So..." she said, eager to change the topic. "What kind of pizza did you get?"
Dad turned to face the pizzas on the table, and smiled. "I got one Hawaiian, one margarita, and one vegetarian."
"Sounds good!" Emma exclaimed, returning the smile. "I'll get the plates."

That night, after Kelly had come home and pizza had been had, she and Chad sat in the living room watching TV. Emma had returned to her bedroom. When the show they were watching ended and commercials came onto the screen, Chad turned his head to face Kelly.
"Sweetheart," he said, keeping his voice low. Kelly looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"We had a visitor today, while you were gone."
Kelly frowned. "A visitor? Who?"
"A boy named Neal," Chad replied. "He came around while we were both out, but I came back before he left. Emma said that he was Tasha's brother, visiting from the town."
"Really?" said Kelly, curious. "What did he want?"
"Emma said that he came to apologize on his sister's behalf..."
Kelly smiled. "Well, that's nice of him. And quite promising"
"But I don't think she was telling the truth," muttered Chad.
"What makes you say that?" asked Kelly, arching an eyebrow.
"He was wearing a different school uniform."
"Oh, well," Kelly said, "maybe he just goes to a different"
"The logo on his sweater said Storybrooke High School," Chad said. Kelly's eyes widened.
"Story... brooke...?"
Chad nodded, a grim look on his face. "Now, why would a boy from Storybrooke have a sister in Boston?"
Kelly knew what he was getting at. They had kept tabs on Storybrooke for a while after they'd left, only stopping around ten years ago.
"Neal..." whispered Kelly, trying to remember the name of Mr. and Mrs. Nolan's second born child. "Could it be?"
Chad gave a shrug. "I can't say for sure, but we should find out. If it's him... we may be in a bit of trouble."
Kelly slowly turned back to face the TV screen, a dark expression forming on her pale face. Meanwhile, Emma stopped pressing her ear on the bedroom door. She had been eavesdropping on the people she thought were her parents, and she had heard every word.