I gave Neal's hand a squeeze before we climbed out of the car, bags slung onto our shoulders. Neal immediately zipped over to my side, grasping my hand so tightly it felt like he would break it. Lena gave us a reassuring smile, but it did little to calm my nerves. Brandon pulled up a few seconds later, and everyone got out. We all headed to the entrance together, before Jesus, Mariana, Callie, Brandon, and Jude met up with their friends, leaving me and Neal to follow Lena to her office. She had already gotten our schedules from the principal. It was pretty simple. Each class was about fifty five minutes long, and there were seven. First I had science at 8:00, then history at 9:00, english at 10:00, a free period at 11:00, lunch at 12:00, gym at 1:00, and math at 2:00. There were five minutes in between each class. I glanced over at Neal's to see that his was pretty much the same, only our english and science classes were switched. He would be in a different part of the building though, until lunch at least. I smiled at the thought that we could have lunch together if we hadn't made any friends yet. I wouldn't care if he sat with me and my friends (the ones I haven't made yet and probably won't ever make, if I'm being 100% honest), but I think he would be a tad bit embarrassed if he was seen by classmates sitting by his older sister.

Lena began talking, so I shook myself out of those thoughts and listened. "During free periods, a lot of kids head down to the beach and hangout because our school is literally on it. Make sure if you do that, to take off your shoes and socks and wash your feet off as best as you can in order to avoid tracking as much sand inside as possible. Neal, because you're younger, you will be in a different part of the building from Emma until lunch. I know you're probably disappointed that you can't see her, and I would change that if I could. But I think it'll be good for you guys. Any questions?"

We shook our head in the negative.

Just then, I noticed a kid had come into the office. He looked to be Neal's age. "Ok then. Neal, this is Charles, but he goes by Charlie. I've put him in all of your classes so he can give you a tour."

Charlie had short, curly black hair, glasses, brown eyes, and a dimpled smile. "Hi! I'm Charlie! I can't wait till we become friends!"

"Hi Charlie, I'm Neal, and this is my sister Emma." I gave him a small wave, and he waved back. "I think I'd like to be your friend."

Charlie shouted, "Let's go! Class is going to start soon and I have so much to show you!"

Neal looked to me for encouragement, so I nodded, telling him to go ahead.

"Bye Lena," Neal said.

"Bye Mrs. Adams Foster!"

"Bye boys, have a good day!"

"Oh we will!" Charlie exclaimed.

And with that, Lena and I were left with a mystery girl waiting patiently outside of Lena's office.

"Ah, Belle, nice to see you."

"You as well, Mrs. Adams Foster. How has your day been?" She asked kindly.

I noticed she had an accent, Australian I think.

"It's only 7:55, ask me that later when I'm drowning in paperwork."

They both laughed, and Belle turned to face me. She was petite, had brown, wavy hair that reached her armpits, electric blue eyes, and a warm smile. By this point, I assumed Belle was going to be in all of my classes to show me around, like Charlie was with Neal.

"Hi, I'm Belle French," she introduced, holding out her hand.

"Emma Swan," I said, shaking her hand. "You're going to show me around?"

"Yes, and I'm in all of your classes. I hope that's ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Great, well we should get going before we're late."

"Alright." I turned to Lena. "I'll see you after school?"

She smiled brightly. "Yes you will. Have a good day girls."

"You too," we responded in unison.

I closed the office door behind me, hearing Lena's muffled thanks, and saw Belle was talking to another girl while waiting for me. She was a long-legged brunette, with bright red-streaks in her hair, dark, stormy blue eyes, and had what appeared to be a wolfish grin on her face. Belle explained something to her, and they both turned toward me. I cautiously made my way over when Belle called my name. The leggy brunette girl spoke before I had a chance to ask who she was, arm wrapped possessively around Belle's waist. "The name's Ruby Lucas, and this is my girlfriend, so paws off, alright blondie?"

Belle's face started turning red at her girlfriend's words. "I'm so sorry about her, Emma."

I waved her off. "It's fine." I turned my attention to the brunette who I now knew as Ruby. "And how do you even know I'm gay?" I challenged.

"My gaydar is never wrong."

"It's true," Belle said. "It's honestly kind of scary."

"Yes, well you're right," I admitted.

"Called it babe! You owe me $20!" Ruby exclaimed.

"You made a bet on my sexuality?"

"I thought you were at least bi," Belle admitted, the blush on her face deepening.

"Is that what you were talking about before I came over?"

Ruby's wolfish grin was all the answer I needed. The bell rang, signaling that it was time to head to our first class.

"Ruby is in all of my classes too, which in turn means she's in yours too. I hope that's ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Great, then let's get going before we're late," Belle stated.

"You heard the lady, let's get a move on, Ruby," I teased.

"You guys are no fun," she pouted. Belle took her hand and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, making Ruby's eyes soften and give the most cheesy smile I've ever seen to Belle.

"Alright, gag. I thought you were supposed to be taking me to class, not acting like love birds."

Ruby quickly turned to punch me in the shoulder, but I stepped to the side before she could, causing her to hit nothing but air. Belle and I both cackled. "Oh, you're gonna get it, Swan," she threatened.

"We'll see about that."

Before she could retaliate, we were at the entrance to our first class, and I could hear the chatter of the other students. I felt the nerves overtake me once more. My body started to tremble, and they must have noticed, for they gave me sympathetic smiles and Ruby gave me a gentle push into the room. The chatter ceased, and I felt all eyes on me—even the teachers—as I entered the classroom, causing a light blush to stain my cheeks. I hastily made my way over to an area with empty desks, near the back of the classroom, Ruby and Belle on either side of me. Conversation started up again. I then started to fidget with my hands, a nervous habit I've never shaken, and waited with bated breath for the bell to ring again, signaling the start of class. When it did, the teacher quieted everyone down. "Ok, settle down everyone. We have a new student. Emma? Would you like to introduce yourself? And maybe tell us two things about yourself?"

I found it pretty pointless to do so when A, he just said my name and B, it's not optional but he acts as though it is when he asked if I would like to. I bit my tongue to keep myself from voicing those thoughts, and instead said, "Hi, I'm Emma Swan. I have a lot of siblings and I moved here from Berkeley."

"It's nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Mr. Higgins. Here's the list of supplies you need for this class. Grab a textbook from on the cart at the end of class so I can write the number down. Try to get everything by the end of this week. Right now, we're watching a movie on National Geographic about the food chain."

"Ok," I said while taking the supply list from his outstretched hand. He then turned off the lights, and loaded up the movie. He pressed play, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing for the end of class. I stretched, grabbed my bag, and made my way over to the front near his desk and picked up a textbook. I told him the number so he could write it next to my name, thanked him, and wished him to have a good rest of his day. Belle and Ruby were holding hands, patiently waiting for me to exit the classroom. "History next, right?"

"Yep," Ruby said, chewing a piece of gum I didn't see her put in her mouth.

"Well by all means, lead the way, Red."

Her nose scrunched up at the nickname, and Belle was trying and failing miserably to hold in her laughter.

"Red?"

"Yeah. Have you seen what you're wearing?"

"It's true, you do wear a lot of red," Belle agreed.

"It's my favorite color," she stated with a whiny voice.

I simply laughed. "Well, as much as I enjoy teasing you, I really don't want to be late to my classes on my first day."

"She's right, we should get going."

"But that's what I call making an entrance!" Ruby said.

"Too late, we're here."

I was so caught up in our conversation I hadn't even realized we had arrived, much less started walking. This time, I didn't feel as nervous, knowing that Ruby and Belle were right behind me. It was that moment when it hit me, I had two friends that I clicked with almost immediately. I've never made any friends, so having two in the span of a little more than an hour, one's that I felt comfortable teasing, one's that I knew would have my back no matter what, and that they genuinely cared made my heart swell with appreciation. I now knew why people enjoyed having friends so much. The rest of my morning classes flew by, they were all pretty much the same. They had me introduce myself and gave me a list of supplies. I liked my english teacher the best by far. Timothy—don't remember his last name—is his name, but he tells us to call him Tim. He's pretty down to earth and funny too. I think I'll like him and his class the best. When we reached our free period, Belle asked me what I wanted to do.

"Is there a music room?"

"Yeah, why?" Ruby asked.

"Does it have a piano?"

"Of course it does. It wouldn't be much of a music room without one," stated Belle.

"I want to show you guys something. Will you take me? We can hang on the beach after for lunch if you want." I decided if I was going to have friends that trusted me, I wanted to show them one of my favorite things.

They had a silent conversation while I stood there nervously. They both turned to face me.

"Ok, but after we're showing you the beach."

"Thanks! I promise you won't regret it," I said sincerely.

Belle led the way, Ruby holding her hand and falling in step with her. I noticed they did that everytime we walked somewhere. I figured people knew they were together, or they didn't care. I found myself admiring them for it. I haven't had the best experiences with people finding out I'm gay, so I've never really flaunted it. Once we reached the door, Ruby pushed it open and Belle turned the lights on. It was pretty simple. Chairs on the floor, going back about three rows. Music posters of singers and instrumentalists, as well as music notes covered the walls. In the middle, stood the piano. I cracked my fingers before sitting on the bench, running my hands reverently over the keys after I lifted the lid. I started to play the opening notes of Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi. Belle and Ruby seemed to recognize the song, for they straightened up from where they were. Ruby was leaning against the piano, and Belle had pulled up a chair to sit next to her. I then started to sing, which seemed to surprise them both.

I'm going under and this time I feel there's no one to save me

This all or nothing really got a way of driving me crazy

I need somebody to heal

Somebody to know

Somebody to have

Somebody to hold

It's easy to say, but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you numbed all the pain

Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

I'm going under and this time I fear there's no one to turn to

This all or nothing way of loving got me sleeping without you

Now, I need somebody to know

Somebody to heal

Somebody to have

Just to know how it feels

It's easy to say but it's never the same

I guess I kinda liked the way you helped me escape

Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

And I tend to close my eyes when it hurts sometimes

I fall into your arms

I'll be safe in your sound till I come back around

For now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

But now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

I didn't even register the fact that my eyes were closed while I was singing and playing, so when I opened them, both of them were staring at me with identical faces. Eyes wide, mouths agape, astonishment shining on their faces. It was kind of creepy how alike they looked. I cleared my throat, and they seemed to come back to the present.

"Holy shit Ems! That was amazing!" Ruby exclaimed rather loudly.

Belle glared at her, silently telling her to bring the volume down a notch, and when Ruby gave her a sheepish grin, she turned back to me. "That was lovely, Emma. Where did you learn to play like that?"

I contemplated lying, but ultimately decided the truth was better. "One of my foster moms."

"Foster mom?" Ruby questioned, brow furrowed.

"Yeah, I've been in the foster system since I was born, shuffling from home to home every few months. The longest I've stayed anywhere was a year and a few months. I've never known my biological parents, and I don't want to meet or know them. After leaving me on the side of the road as a newborn, they gave up all rights on being my parents and getting to know me."

"I'm really sorry, Ems. That was a pretty shitty thing for them to do. But I'm also sort of glad, because otherwise, I don't think I'd have met you, and I don't want that," Ruby said honestly.

Belle nodded along with Ruby's statement. "I'm with Ruby. It was horrible that they left you on the side of the road, but if they didn't, you wouldn't be the person you are, and you certainly wouldn't have become my friend."

I cursed the tears that were forming in my eyes. I quickly turned away from them to gain some composure, then turned back to face them just as quick. "Thanks guys. You have no idea how much that means to me," I said truthfully. "Can we go eat now? I'm starving." As if trying to back up my statement, my stomach growled quite loudly, causing a blush to form on my cheeks as they laughed.

"Yeah, I think we should go feed that monster," teased Ruby. "What'd you think Belle?"

"I agree," she said, causing my blush to become more prominent.

"Oh, is it ok if my brother joins us if he wants?"

"You have a brother?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, his name's Neal and he's in 4th grade. He's got the same lunch as us, so I thought I'd ask. I understand if you don't want him too…" I trailed off.

"It's totally cool if he sits with us Ems."

"Of course it's alright, Emma."

They said in unison. I let out a laugh at the playful glares they were giving each other.

"Do you two lovebirds want to lead the way, or am I gonna get lost trying to find the area in which we eat?" Their heads turned in sync to stare at me, and I shuddered slightly. "Well?"

"We can either go to the beach, or the outdoor area where there are tables. I want to go to the beach, but the bookworm over here doesn't want to get sand all over herself."

"Hey! I'm not a bookworm!" Belle protested.

"You are too. You volunteer at the library, the public one and the school's, have read practically every book inside said libraries, you can remember what each one was about, and you know every single fact about every single author in existence. Therefore, you are a bookworm."

"Ok!" I said. "Why don't we eat at the tables then hang out on the beach? We can just walk so we only get sand on our legs." I offered as a compromise, mainly to get them to stop.

"Sounds good to me. What about you bookworm?"

Belle grumbled what sounded like an ok, but I couldn't tell. Ruby offered her hand to help her stand up from her chair, and she flashed a smile at her while taking it.

"Thank you."

"Welcome. Now let's go before Emma's stomach eats itself because she's so hungry."

"Hey! I'm not that hungry!" Just then, my stomach let out another growl, betraying me.

They both snickered and led the way. By this point, I had gotten used to their hands being intertwined. I thought it was kind of cute, if I'm being honest with myself, but I could never let them know. They'd never let me hear the end of it, and I would end up doing something drastic like cutting off my ears so I wouldn't have to deal with listening to their relentless teasing. When we entered the outdoor cafeteria, my eyes landed on Neal sitting with two other boys. One I recognized as Charlie, the eccentric child from Lena's office, and the other had black hair and what appeared to be hazel eyes. Neal hadn't spotted me yet, so I watched as he laughed at something the black haired boy said. I smiled at the thought that he was having a good day so far. Belle and Ruby noticed I wasn't paying attention to their conversation anymore, so their eyes followed where mine were staring.

"Which one is your brother?" Belle asked kindly.

"It's obviously the curly, brown haired one," Ruby answered sarcastically.

Belle smacked Ruby's arm, and she let out a yelp. "Damn woman, you're stronger than you look," she said while rubbing the spot Belle had hit. Belle just smiled smugly, and that's when Neal must have sensed eyes on him, for his eyes lit up when he saw me. He started waving me over, so I came. Charlie and the other boy were looking now, and Charlie started waving as well. He obviously recognized me from this morning. When I reached the table, Neal patted the spot next to him. He clearly wasn't embarrassed to be seen with his sister, I mused.

"Hey kid, how's your day been?" I asked while ruffling his hair.

He pouted while trying to fix his hair. "Good, and stop messing with my hair!" He whined.

"Never," I stated, ruffling it again.

"Hi Charlie, how has your day been?"

"Awesome! Neal and I are best friends, right Neal?!"

Neal nodded his head in confirmation. The black haired boy spoke up. "What about me?"

"You are too, Evan!" Charlie quickly amended.

Evan smiled shyly. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Emma, Neal's sister, and these are my friends, Belle and Ruby. You don't mind if we sit here, do you?"

Neal gave Evan and Charlie pleading eyes, and Charlie nodded his head enthusiastically. I swear that kid was on a sugar high every minute of every day. Evan blushed, for now everyone was looking to him for an answer. "I don't mind," he said so quietly I had to strain myself to hear.

"Great! Neal, did you know how awesome your sister is at piano! And her voice, my god!" Ruby exclaimed so loudly, a few people turned to look at the commotion.

Neal beamed proudly. "I know, she's so amazing!"

I blushed profusely from their praise. "Thanks, but I'm not that good," I protested.

"Not that good?! Ems, your voice is the most amazing one I've ever heard, it's even better than our teachers and adults I've heard sing! And with your piano skills?! You would get a standing ovation everytime!"

"Ruby, take it down a notch please?" Belle said, more telling than asking. "But yeah, Emma, your skills and the ease you performed with was absolutely astonishing!"

"I want to hear you play!" Charlie said.

"Me too!" Evan said, not quite so shy anymore.

"Tell you what, you guys can come over after school and hear me play. I'll play in front of you guys and our foster family, but only after everyone does their homework, alright?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't get in trouble with Lena and Stef for not asking their permission. A chorus of "Yeah!" and "Can't wait!" answered my question. I wrote down the address for all of them after I asked for a piece of paper and a pencil, split it into four pieces, then handed them each a piece. I took my lunch out and began to eat once I was done, listening to the conversation around me. When I was done eating, I tapped Neal on the shoulder.

"Neal, I need to go talk to Lena about something. Will you be ok here until I get back?"

"Yeah, but hurry!" he scolded.

"I will."

I asked Ruby and Belle to lead the way, since I had a general idea of where her office was, but not the exact location. When we arrived, I told them to wait outside. They responded in the affirmative, so I knocked. I heard Lena say "Come in!", so I opened the door then closed it behind me. She looked up, concerned.

"Emma? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just wondering, is it ok if Ruby, Belle, Charlie, and Evan come over after school?"

She looked relieved that it wasn't anything more serious. "It's not a problem. Is Evan a friend of yours or Neal's?"

"Neal's. I played the piano for Ruby and Belle during our free period, and they were gushing about it at lunch, so Charlie and Evan wanted to hear as well," I explained.

"Got it. Would you mind playing for us too?"

"No. I kind of told them I would already," I shyly stated.

Lena had a smile overtake her face. "As long as everyone does their homework first," she said in a firm voice.

"Kind of also already told them that."

"Well, you certainly are acting like a parent, aren't you?" She teased. "I can't wait to hear you play again, Emma," she said honestly.

I simply blushed. "I'm gonna go now, I'm sure you're busy and I promised Neal I would hurry."

"Ok, have a good day Emma. I'll see you after school."

"You too Lena."

I then walked out of the office, a grin on my face that didn't seem to want to go away.

"What did you want to ask her?" Ruby questioned as soon as I closed the door.

"If it was ok for you guys to come over."

"And? What did she say?" Ruby said impatiently.

I decided to confuse her a bit. "I guess you'll have to find out at my house later."

Sure enough, Ruby was mouthing what I said, trying to understand. Belle, having caught onto what I was doing right away, snickered as we linked arms and started to leave a confused Ruby behind.

It then dawned on her. "Wait a minute! Swan! I'm gonna kill you!"

By this point, Belle and I were full on laughing, picking up our pace as Ruby started to chase us. When we reached the cafeteria, I sprinted to Neal's table and hid behind him.

Ruby was puffing and huffing like a wolf from trying to catch me, and Belle was patting her back, telling her to take deep breaths. I egged her on a little more. "What's the matter, wolfie?"

She growled. "I'm not a wolf."

Neal backed me up. "But you're breathing like the one in the Three Little Pigs, when he tried to blow their houses down. And you just growled like one."

"Belle, help me out here!"

"Sorry babe, but they kind of have a point. You do sound like the Big Bad Wolf."

We all broke out into laughter at her face.

"Wow, maybe I should get a new best friend and girlfriend," she jested.

We all laughed harder.

"Emma?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"What did you need to talk to Lena about?"

"Oh, I was just asking if you all could come over."

"Did she say yes?" Evan asked.

"Yeah, but you all have to do your homework first. That includes you, Red."

"Hey! Why me?"

"Cause unlike you, Belle and I are responsible."

They were sitting down across from me now. "I swear to God, Ems. I'm going to get you for this one day."

"Go ahead and try. You won't succeed."

"It's true," Neal stated, another pout forming on his face. "I've tried to get her back a million times, but she always figures out my plan."

"Then we'll just have to work together, Neal. She'll never win if it's two vs. one," Ruby said, seeming rather proud of her idea.

Neal threw a smile at her, and the bell rang. "Ok kid, I'll see you after school. Have a good day."

"Bye Emma," He said, wrapping his arms around my waist for a quick hug, which I gladly returned. He then joined Charlie and Evan's conversation, following them to the next class.

I followed Belle and Ruby to our class as well. It was exactly like my morning classes. Introduce yourself, here's the supplies you'll need, and ask if you need any help whatsoever. Before I knew it, the school day was over, and I didn't have any homework, thank god. I double checked the address I gave them, and because Belle's dad was picking them up, he would drop them off at my house. Charlie's mom, and Evan's, would drop them off too. I told them I'd see them at our house, and they returned the sentiment. Neal and I waited at Lena's car, and soon enough, Lena came out, with Brandon, Callie, Jesus, Mariana, and Jude following her. I felt my palms begin to get sweaty and my heart was thumping so loud I thought everyone could hear it, knowing I promised to sing and play in front of them. I had already played in front of them, but they still didn't know I could sing, and that's what I was most nervous about. As they approached, I heard Lena tell them my friends and Neal's were coming over, and that I was going to play piano for them.

"Can we go? I want to know what Emma's gonna play for us!" Jude exclaimed.

We all laughed, got into the cars, and put our seatbelts on. Lena and Brandon started the cars, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed back to the house, this time with Brandon leading the way.