Chapter 2: Poetry and Mean Spiritedness

Emma stood in the middle of a near empty store, she sighed, stringing up the lights around the small tree in the corner of the reading area. She gazed around at the few children and their parents looking around at the books before leaving without spending a dime. Jones Books had opened at the beginning of the week and sadly had affected the customer turnout for the week.

While it was upsetting, Emma was trying to stay positive, determined that business would pick up once the shine of the new bookstore wore off and the children begged their parents to return to the store that spent time and effort to bring the stories to life that they had known and loved.

"This bloody sucks!" Will complained as he closed the register for the evening.

"We'll be out of business before the end of the month at this rate." Ruby whispered in his direction.

"No one is going out of business." Emma assured, patting Ruby on the back. "It will pick up after they get tired of the terrible customer service they are getting at Jones crappy bookstore."

"I hope so because I have rent due on the 5th."

"Please, you're still living in a place with rent control. I'll be out on the streets with the amount they rip from my hands each month across town."

"No one is going to be out on the streets. Think positive. We'll be fine." Emma tried to calm the nervousness in the room.

"It's like working in a tomb here." Will moaned.

"Wow Will, way to be positive." Ruby teased with a groan.

He shrugged and Emma skipped away from them, trying to ignore the negative concerns from her employees. She wasn't going to be put out of business from Jones Books!

When she arrived home that evening, her positive attitude was threatening to wane on her. The store had barely made enough money to be in the black that evening, she stepped in a puddle before entering their apartment, and the zipper in the dress she wanted to wear to the dinner this evening snagged and broke as soon as she put it on.

Groaning she sat down at her laptop as she waited for August to get done with his shower. She read the message from JR10 and her smile returned momentarily.

Lonelygirl: I find that sometimes you are the one person I want to talk to at the end of a difficult day. Is that weird? If it is, just skip over that part. I pride myself in being a positive person, but lately I'm finding it harder to find that little piece of joy before I get swallowed into a black hole of sadness. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for being that little piece of joy I needed tonight.

She closed her laptop as August emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist. "I thought you were getting dressed?"

"My zipper broke." She frowned, holding up the dress in front of her.

"So, wear that one with the flowers."

"I hate that dress."

"So, wear the plaid one or the one with stripes. Or the red one is nice." He paused, looking at her closet. "Any of these is fine."

"Yeah ok, the red one is good."

An hour later they were in the elevator and heading to the penthouse for a publication party. They were generally dry and boring but a great opportunity to meet other writers, artists, and people in the book business.

"Maybe you can find some people to assist you in your plight tonight."

"My plight? And what would that be?" She waited on an answer from August.

"From Jones Books, if things got tough perhaps you could find an ally to help rally support."

"It's not going to get to that. My store is doing just fine." Emma replied angrily.

"I know, I don't know why I said that, of course it's fine."

"There's enough business for more than one bookstore. We're fine."

He kissed her cheek. "You're more than fine, you're absolutely fine."

"Yeah, exactly, we're fine." She repeated as they stepped into the party at the top of the building unsure if she was trying to convince August or herself of the state of her business.

Killian and Milah had arrived early to the party, a friend of the family who was hosting a publishing event had invited them to join them that evening. His father told him more than once that these events were the perfect time to rub elbows with people in the book business. Free advertising, he used to tell him.

"Oh, I can't believe that August Booth is here. I listen to him on the way to work, he is so inspiring." Killian nodded without actually paying attention as he scanned the room, his eyes settling on a familiar face in the back corner.

Emma Swan.

His eyes grew big, and he leaned over to speak into Milah's ear. "I'm going to get a drink." She nodded and he slipped out of view of the woman from his rival bookstore before she could turn in his direction.

"Havana Club Rum, neat." He gave his order to the bartender, glancing around the room to find Milah.

"Malibu and Cranberry." He recognized her voice before he turned toward her. When he did she smiled, and her eyes grew wide. "Hey! Remember me? From the bookstore?"

"Yeah, yeah of course I remember you."

"How's your brother?"

"He's good, really good." He grabbed his drink and held it up in front of him. "I have to get back to my date, very thirsty, would hate to see her wither from dehydration." He joked.

"You're Killian right?" She continued and he felt the sweat start to gather at the back of his neck.

"Yes, and you're Emma." He said with a smile before ducking into the crowd to escape.

Emma sipped her drink as she made her way back over to August, sliding up beside him as his conversation ended.

"I can't believe you were talking to Killian Jones."

Emma turned toward him, "Jones, as in…"

"Jones Books." He nodded but Emma was already making her way across the room toward the man standing at the food table.

"Jones, your name is Killian Jones?"

"Last I checked, Aye." He shrugged, turning back to the food, and filling his plate.

"You were spying on me!" She declared loudly. "You probably don't even have a brother."

"You wound me Swan. Of course I have a brother. Why exactly do you think I would spy on you?" He said as if he didn't have a care in the world who she was, which angered her even more.

"I'm your competition, which you already know or else you wouldn't have played that little charade in my store." She had her hands on her hips, chewing angrily on her bottom lip.

"Competition?" He said with an annoying laugh that made her blood boil. "The only reason I came into your store was because I was spending the day with my brother. I like to buy him gifts when I take him out because honestly I have no idea how else to keep his attention. At the time there was only one place in the neighborhood to buy children's books, though as I am sure you are aware of now, all of that has changed." He shrugged, "So I ended up in your store, and it is a charming little store. You probably sell $250,000 worth of books a year…"

Her eyes widened as she stepped toward him. "How did you know that?"

"I'm in the book business, obviously." He said arrogantly.

"No, I'm in the book business, you are simply the Costco of books."

"Ah I see, and so you think that I needed to sneak into your tiny bookstore and steal your financial ledger because I'm afraid you'll put me out of business? Give me a break, love." He snorted and Emma felt flustered, angry, but frozen in place.

"What?" He asked as he watched her standing in front of him, mouth agape, saying nothing.

"Killian Jones, corporate scum, destroyer of small-time virtues, enemy of the hardback novel, how do you sleep at night?" August joined her at her side and Emma forced herself to close her mouth as she stared between them.

"I sleep wonderful at night, mostly from the pills though." A woman interrupted and jabbed her hand toward August. "You're August Booth, aren't you?" she paused. "I'm Milah Gold. And I loved your podcast last week about how Amazon is taking over the world." She turned toward Killian. "This man is a literal genius." Emma narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"Wow thank you; you have no idea how much that means coming from someone as talented as you. So often I wake up and worry that people will think I'm a fraud or a failure. But this…this is truly inspiring." August seemed to suck the air out of the room as he continued to praise the woman standing next to her enemy.

"We need to talk more. Have you ever considered writing a book?" The woman continued and August began to shift excitedly on the balls of his feet. Emma stood stoically as her eyes made contact with the man who was trying to destroy her business. He held her gaze, not wavering from the contact until she shifted her eyes back to her boyfriend. She breathed a sigh of relief when Killian and the woman excused themselves from the conversation.

Emma couldn't concentrate the rest of the evening. Why did she say nothing when he provoked her? Instead of standing up for herself she froze, completely shut down.

"I really liked that Milah Gold. Sure, I know she's completely driven by money, but anyone who listens to my podcast can always be turned around."

Emma rolled her eyes, tossing down onto her pillow and staring at the ceiling while he continued to ramble on and on about the evening.

"I can't believe we met August Booth. He's so interesting, don't you think he's interesting?" He turned over in his bed, staring at the floor. "His ideas are just so ahead of his time. No one is saying the things he's saying."

Killian flipped the covers off his body and stood from the bed. He was feeling uneasy, angry, guilty. Why was he feeling guilty?

"Where are you going?"

"Bloody hell woman, I'm just not tired."

JR10: Have you ever woken up and realized that you have become the worst part of yourself? Like when someone provokes you, every arrogant, self-absorbed, condescending piece of your personality comes springing to life and attacks. Who am I kidding, you wouldn't know what that is like? I'm the dark asshole here.

He stared at his screen, almost needing to talk to her, hoping that she was online. His heart soared when it showed she was typing.

Lonelygirl: I completely understand. I'm honestly jealous, I wish I had that in me. When I'm provoked, I freeze like a fish gulping for air, only to spend the rest of the night tossing in bed trying to think of things I should have said instead.

He laughed; he couldn't believe how opposite they were. She was a breath of fresh air.

JR10: Perhaps I could lend you some of my retorts and you could give me your silence. Though I must warn you, when you finally provide that perfect response that digs into the subject of your attack, you will learn a new trait. Remorse.

He paused, staring at his screen, and thinking about doing something really stupid. Or possibly brilliant. He wasn't sure which it was.

JR10: Do you think we should meet?

He hovered over the enter button, did he really think it was a good idea to meet this woman? Before he could change his mind he punched the button sending the message and closing the lid of his computer.

"He wants to meet you?" Emma groaned and leaned against the counter, Ruby staring at her from her spot in front of the shelves. "What did you tell him?"

"I wasn't going to answer him on an empty stomach. So, I made breakfast and then chickened out and ran straight to work."

"That'll show him." Will joked as he nudged her with his shoulder. "Left him on read."

"Oh stop." Emma whined. "I'll answer him, later." She sighed, walking back to her office, and staring at her invoices. Sales were down by 30% since Jones books had opened. She was never going to survive at this rate. She needed to do something drastic.

"It's a shame you don't know anyone with a voice to the public. Someone who knows how to tug at the heartstrings of America's bleeding heart."

Emma looked up to see Mrs. Lucas entering the room. "You aren't suggesting…"

"That man candy of yours."

"Don't call him that." Emma scrunched her nose and shuffled the papers in front of her.

"Come on, he's nice on the eyes that man of yours."

"I guess."

"If you can only guess, then maybe you're looking up a different tree."

Emma's mouth dropped, "Grans! That's completely inappropriate."

The woman shrugged and left the room. "I'll take him if you're done with him." She hollered back as she left.

Emma was being completely unfair to August, there was no way she should meet this JR10. Things were perfect just the way they were. She loved August, he was good to her, and all she was doing was having a conversation with a computer screen.

That's all.

Nothing more.

As soon as she got home she opened her laptop, determined that this was the right decision.

Lonleygirl: I don't think we should meet. Why would we ruin what we have? I enjoy talking to you, you enjoy talking to me, why mess with that? Please don't ask again.

Killian sat with his dog in his lap and his laptop sitting beside him as he read the incoming message.

"Good job Jones, you scared her." He patted the dog's head. "I'm officially an idiot."

He slammed the laptop shut, unsure how to reply to the woman.

The days went by in a flurry as the store picked up steam. Every time he walked through the expansive store, it was buzzing with customers, passing over credit cards, picking up bundles of books at an affordable rate. He was saving them money, he was a goddamn hero, he thought.

But as he was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, waiting for any sign of movement in the past ten minutes, his sour mood was making him feel anything like a hero.

"Can you believe this woman?" The man in front of him complained to his wife. "She's trying to pay with a credit card in the cash only line."

Killian leaned to the side, trying to see who was causing the delay when he spotted the golden hair, angry face, and an ass that would make any man's groin twitch. He laughed, cursing his luck, but stepping forward toward her anyway.

"Do you need cash?"

She turned toward him and groaned. "Definitely not, thank you." She growled.

"Hi, Ashley." He smiled at the cashier. "This is Emma, I'm Killian. This is a credit card machine, is it not, Lass?" The woman stared at him, nodding with her mouth agape. "It's the night before Thanksgiving, people are hungry, tired, and I'm sure you would prefer everyone go home so that you can get off your shift, am I right?"

The woman smiled. "It's cash only."

"But you have the ability to run it through. Zip zip." He said as he pretended to push the card through the machine.

The woman took the card and groaned, "Fine." She said as she ran it through the machine.

"Everything good now?"

"Just great." Emma replied rolling her eyes.

"Happy Thanksgiving." He said with a fake smile, turning his back and inserting himself into the line to a swell of cheers and pats on the back.

Emma found that she was running into Killian everywhere she went to her utter dismay. Suddenly he was at her coffee shop, grocery store, and even the gas station. When he pulled up on his stupid motorcycle she wanted to comment about how he must be overcompensating for something, but that would mean having to speak to him. So instead, she found herself hiding anytime he showed up. Sure, it was ridiculous, but she just didn't want to face him again after the credit card incident.

As much as seeing Killian was causing her sour mood, she knew that wasn't the only reason. She hadn't heard back from JR10 since she told him she didn't want to meet him. She supposed it was for the best, she never intended for it to go anywhere in the first place.

But everything seemed to be going wrong lately. Killian, JR10, her store. Emma wanted to feel happy, especially during the holidays, but instead she just felt depressed.

She stood at the store display window, watching the children walk by with their parents, snow falling softly in the background, and normally this would bring her all the joy she needed to keep from missing her mom during the holidays. Instead, the little yellow "Jones Books" bags in the hands of the happy children only brought her sadness.

When she got home, she did the one thing that had made her happy recently. She ignored the awkward feelings, sat down with her cocoa, and opened her laptop to message JR10.

Lonelygirl: I miss my mom. The holidays aren't the same without her. I don't think I ever told you, but my mom passed ten years ago. Fuck cancer. She always made the holidays special and I'm just really feeling down this year and I guess nothing feels special anymore because nothing is going right in my life anymore and I could really use her advice.

She got up and stood by her window, tears falling onto her cheeks. She laughed as she watched the snow falling. "Suddenly I'm a mess, mom. I miss you."

A sound alerted her to a new message, and she wiped her face, slowly taking a seat in front of the screen.

JR10: My mother passed when I was 4. Holidays are always difficult. It was a car accident that took her, my father never really knew what to do with two young boys. Intimacy wasn't exactly his thing. I miss her most around Christmas. She loved the snow. I don't remember much about her, but I remember that she looked like an angel in the snow. What kind of advice do you need? Maybe I can help.

Emma smiled, happy that he had responded so quickly and didn't mention anything about the previous awkwardness of her declining to meet him.

Lonelygirl: I don't think you can help me.

JR10: Is it man trouble?

Lonelygirl: No definitely not. My business is in trouble.

JR10: I'm a great businessman, what kind of business do you have?

Lonelygirl: That's rule #2 remember! No specifics.

JR10: Well, it's going to be difficult to help without specifics, but I guess the best advice I can give you is that nothing in business is personal. It's not personal, it's business. Don't go down without a fight. A man, or therefore woman, unwilling to fight for what they want, deserve what they get. You told me that you worried about not being brave in life. This is your chance. Fight to the death.

Emma closed her laptop and looked in the mirror. "It's not personal, it's business." She narrowed her eyes. "It's not personal, it's business." She said louder as August walked into the room.

"What's not personal?"

"Jones Books." She announced. "I'm going to war. And I want you to help me fight them." August walked over and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around.

"There's my girl. Let's take it to the man."

"You are what you read, save your soul, boycott Jones Books." Killian glared at the poster attached to the window of his store. Ripping it from the glass he stormed into the store, marching to the back and into Belle's office. "What is this crap?"

"They're all over the streets, I'm finding them on the back of the registers, on my car. That little bookstore that none of you cared about, means business. Did you know they got that podcaster, August Booth to devote an entire hour of his next show comparing us to sharks that attack children on the beach?"

"Of course she did, I believe she's dating the man."

"Who is?"

"Emma, the owner of Golden Swan Books."

"You know her?"

"Might have met her once."

"Oh God." Belle recoiled and reached for her remote on her desk, turning the volume up on the television above their head.

"I'm here with Emma Swan, owner of the quaint children's bookstore Golden Swan Books. The store is struggling to remain open under the constant attack of the new super store Jones Books that opened down the block. Emma how are you?"

"Thank you for having me, you know I just want to say that Jones Books may have cheap books and wonderful coffee selections, but most of their employees have never even read a book in their life."

Killian groaned. "She's a real pain in the ass."

"Is she now?" Bell mused. "I'm sure she's not nearly as beautiful in person as she is on television." She smirked.

"Oh no, she's gorgeous, but a bloody pain in the ass."

"You don't feel bad that you are basically destroying her livelihood?"

"It's not personal…"

"It's business." She finished for him.

"Besides, I'm not physically doing this, it's the company. I'm not this big bad guy here. I'm just doing my job." He complained. "I sell discounted books. So, sue me. Because of me, more people get to…OH MY GOD…buy books." He dramatically paced the office, his hands flailing as Belle looked on with a smile. "What?"

"Nothing." She shrugged, looking back down at her computer.

When Killian left the store an hour later it was to a line of people holding signs and screaming in his face. "One, two, three, four, we don't want this superstore."

Emma stared at the papers in front of her. "Wait, so it made no difference at all?"

"Sorry, dear, doesn't look like it. In fact, we've lost more this month than we did the previous three before their store even opened."

Emma exhaled loudly. "So, we lost?" Her shoulders hunched and she felt the air inside of her deflate. "What would mom do?"

"I don't know, dear, but the store looks lovely."

Emma smiled weakly as the woman left the office, slumping against her desk, she cried softly. She walked home in the rain, not even bothering to shield herself from the conditions. By the time she reached her apartment her clothes were soaked to her skin, her hair dripping onto the tile floor, and her tears were drowned by the moisture.

Sinking down at her desk, she opened her laptop and typed.

Lonleygirl: I need help. Do you still want to meet?

Emma tapped her nails on the keyboard, waiting anxiously for a reply. It didn't take long for her to get one.

JR10: I'm happy to help. Do you know the Diner on 83rd? Friday, 7pm?

"Wait, you're meeting him?" Ruby gaped.

"Like in person? That's bloody dangerous, Emma." Will scolded.

"You both are being ridiculous. We're meeting in a public place. It's fine." She folded her arms across her chest and turned toward the older woman in the room. "Tell them Grans."

"There are worse ways to meet men." She laughed.

"Did you tell August?" Ruby inquired.

"No." She said as she lowered her head. "He's out of town this weekend. Some podcast convention in Los Angeles."

"Aye, so that makes it alright to meet strange men you've been chattin' with online?"

"I'm not going to stay long; we're just eating food. That's all." She protested as Will made a gesture that indicated a sexual act. Emma groaned and punched him in the shoulder. "You're disgusting. It's just dinner. That's all. 45 mins, an hour, tops."

"I'm not even going to stay that long." Killian protested as he and Belle walked the darkened streets.

"So how does this work? How are you going to know who she is?"

"She said she'll have a book with a single rose."

"A book, are you sure she doesn't already know who you are?"

"It's a common thing, from a book or something." He mused and Belle rolled her eyes. "Do you think this is ridiculous, am I purposely trying to destroy a good thing with Milah?"

"Well, you do have a tendency to ruin things that could possibly lead to a future." She laughed. "But I haven't quite figured out why you and Milah are still together, honestly."

"I love her."

"Do you? Because I kinda think if you did, you wouldn't be meeting up with random women you've been talking to online."

Killian stopped walking and looked up at the door to the restaurant. "I can't do this." He started to turn away before spinning back toward the restaurant. "God, why do I need to meet this woman so badly that I can't walk away?" He looked over at Belle. "Go look. Tell me if you can see her."

"Oh, for goodness sake, Killian. Do you want me to go in and have dinner with her too?"

"Only if she's horrid." He teased. "Please, Belle." She climbed the stairs, peering through the window. "Do you see her?"

"Oh wow, she's gorgeous." Belle grinned. "Oh wait, no flower. Sorry."

"Lass, this woman is a marvel. Even if she looks like her smiley face icon on discord, I may have no choice but to upend my life and marry her tomorrow."

"Wait, I see a book." Belle squealed, "And a flower…" She moved around the window. "The waiters in the way." She peered again through the window. "Oh. Um…"

"What is it? Blonde, Brunette…is she a red head?"

"She's gorgeous."

"Bloody hell, I knew it." He yelped.

"Yeah, definitely. I would say she's as beautiful as Emma Swan."

"The bookstore woman?" He asked confused.

"You said she was attractive."

"Why are we even talking about Emma Swan right now?"

"Because, if you don't like Emma Swan, you're definitely not going to like this woman."

"Why not?" Killian growled.

"Because she is Emma Swan." Killian ran up the stairs, pushing himself against Belle and peering into the restaurant.

"Bloody hell." He watched as Emma sat at the table, a soft smile across her lips, adjusting the book and the flower on the table as she nervously watched the door. Killian sighed and turned away from the door, walking back to the sidewalk.

"Where are you going?" Belle said loudly. "You're just gonna let her sit there alone?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"But she's lonelygirl, you were desperate to know who she was just ten minutes ago."

"Goodnight Belle." He said sadly, walking back toward his apartment.

Emma stared anxiously at the door, inspecting every person who walked through the entrance. When a tall man entered, smiling at her as he turned the corner, she stood up to greet him only for another woman to rush toward him, pulling her into his arms. Emma sat down, feeling dejected, her stomach tied in knots from disappointment. She couldn't believe JR10 stood her up.

Maybe he was too good to be true.

"Ma'am, do you want your check?"

"No, can I have another glass of wine, please." The waiter smiled and nodded sadly at her.

"Excuse me Ma'am." Emma looked up excitedly at a young man standing next to her table. Ok he was a little younger than she expected, but age didn't matter, right? "Are you using this chair?"

Emma narrowed her eyes as he started to remove the other chair from her table. "Put it down." She bit her lip. "Sorry, I'm using it, I have a date, he's coming." The man apologized and Emma hollered after him. "He's late." She groaned as the door swung open and she felt like everything was moving in slow motion until it came to a screeching halt.

Killian Jones. Are you fucking kidding me?

He walked past her table, and she saw him react when he recognized her. His hands traced her table before picking up her book and making a face. She grabbed it from his hands and placed it back on her table. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." He said, taking a seat across from her.

"I'm sorry, but that seat is taken."

He looked around with an air of arrogance, "Is he invisible? Do you have an invisible friend now?" He stood and apologized to the chair.

"Would you please leave."

He had the nerve to bow, which made her blood boil. But instead of walking away, he took the table behind her, sitting down and leaning closer to her. "You know I've read that book."

Emma looked down at her book. "You've read Pride and Prejudice?"

"I think you'd find a lot of things surprising about me, if you actually knew me."

Emma glared at him, "If I got to know you I bet I'd find a cash register instead of a brain and instead of a heart, a bottom line." Her mouth dropped.

"What's wrong?" He replied after seeing the look on her face.

"I just did something I've never been able to do before. When confronted by a terrible and insensitive person, I knew exactly what to say, exactly at the right time."

"I must agree, congratulations, it was the perfect mixture of poetry and mean spiritedness."

"Mean spirted? I beg your pardon?"

"Don't be offended, I was paying you a compliment, lass."

"Please leave, I beg you." She said on the verge of tears.

She reached into her purse, pulling out her handkerchief and dabbing the corners of her eyes.

"You know what that reminds me of? The first time we met." He said reverently.

"You mean the day you lied to me when you were spying on me."

"Hey, I never lied to you."

She snorted. "Yeah whatever helps you sleep at night."

The door opened and they both turned toward the door. A short man with an angry face entered the room. "I'm going to venture a guess that this is not him either. Who could your mystery man be? Will you be mean to him too?"

"Of course I won't because the man I'm meeting is nothing like you. He's kind and sweet and a much better man than you."

"Except that he's stood you up, it's bad form to leave a lady waiting."

"If he's not here, then he has a good reason. Because there isn't a mean bone in his entire body. But you wouldn't know that because you're just a jerk in a leather jacket who thinks he's better than everyone else." She turned away from him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And that's my cue to leave." He said softly, in a voice that sounded almost disappointed. But Emma didn't care, all she wanted was to be alone.

"Somewhere inside that hard exterior must be the same woman who writes to you online, maybe underneath it all she's just…"

"A real bitch." He replied to Belle. "Can we not talk about Emma Swan? I'm going back to the office." He said with annoyance, walking out of the back office and slipping out of the store onto the street. He hated that this woman was still driving him mad. She was a thorn in his side, infuriating, and troublesome and yet all he could think about was the way she wrote to him, the way he waited anxiously just to see that message pop up on screen.

More than anything, he missed her.

"So, he stood you up?" Ruby said angrily.

"Or he got injured." Emma interjected and Will laughed. "Seriously, what if he had an accident on the way to restaurant? What if he's lying in a hospital bed right now?"

"What if he's a bloody murderer and he was meeting up with you to kill you?"

"Will!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I'm not bloody kidding, remember that murder at my apartment a few weeks back? They caught the guy, last night!" He pulled out his phone, searching for the information and holding up the screen to show them a picture of the man who was arrested the previous night.

"Oh my God." Emma said cupping her hand over her mouth.

"Emma, that's not him." Ruby said rolling her eyes.

"But what if it is."

"You're making excuses, so you don't feel sad about getting stood up, I get it, I do."

Emma frowned; she knew her friend was right. She was sad, and maybe a little bit angry at JR10 for standing her up. Even though he hadn't sent her a message since last night, perhaps she needed to let him know how she felt.

Lonelygirl: I'm thinking about you. Last night I went to meet you and you didn't show up. I wish I could understand why. I feel like such a fool. But while I waited for you to arrive, another man showed up. A man who has effectively been trying to ruin my professional life. But the most amazing thing happened, for the first time in my life, I was able to say exactly what I wanted at exactly the right time. But just as you said, I immediately felt regret for saying them. I was mean, and I'm never mean. And even if it didn't hurt him, because honestly, he just thinks of me as a bug to crush under his feet, but what if it did hurt him? I behaved badly and that made me sad. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I consider you a dear friend, and I hope you had a good reason for not being there tonight, but if you didn't and we never speak again, then I want you to know how much this time with you has meant to me. How much it has meant just to know you were there.

Emma shut down her laptop, wiping the tears from her eyes and crawling into bed.

Killian paced in front of his desk, reading the message from Emma again. He stopped for a moment, glaring at the screen before walking away and getting a bottle of rum from his kitchen. He poured a glass and took a sip. He wasn't going to reply to her. He would just let it end this way and be done with this charade.

He poured another glass and walked toward his desk, turning sharply, and heading to the living room. Sitting down on the couch he turned on the television and his vision blurred to the sounds of some mindless television show playing out ridiculous scenes on screen.

Sipping his glass, he swallowed, the warm liquid coating his throat as it slid into his belly. "Fuck." He cursed, standing up and walking back to his desk. Looking at the screen he re-read the message from Emma for the fourth time that evening.

Fine, he thought. I'm actually going to do this.

JR10: I'm in Vancouver.

He laughed and hit the backspace button, deleting what he had written.

JR10: I was stuck in a meeting; a microburst took out the entire block so there was no way I could reach out.

"Ridiculous." He said out loud, erasing the message again.

JR10: I cannot explain what happened last night, but I feel terrible, love. I wasn't there for you and instead I caused you more pain. I'm sure that whatever you said last night was provoked, even deserved. You expected to find someone you trusted and met the enemy instead. I truly am sorry; the fault is mine alone. I hope that one day I will be able to explain to you what happened, in the meantime, I'm here for you. Please talk to me.

"So, he didn't tell you why he didn't show up?"

"Nope, just that he would explain another time."

"Sounds like a scam to me." Ruby said, biting her lip.

Mrs. Lucas cleared her throat. "What have you decided, dear?"

Emma frowned, sipping her tea slowly. "I don't think we have a choice. We're going to have to close."

"Emma, I'm so sorry." Ruby offered beside her.

"I feel like such a failure, like I'm just giving up, letting him win. It feels like mom is…"

"Oh, sweet girl, closing the store doesn't keep her alive. No matter how much you want it to."

Emma cried that evening, staring at empty shelves, barren walls, a darkened store that would forever be gone. She imagined her mother, looking down at her while she danced in circles around her legs. Had she really lost or was this just her being brave? Maybe trying something new was the brave thing to do? Letting go of the past, her safety net.

As she sat across from August, staring at him while he spoke between bites, she realized that for the first time in her life, she could be anything that she wanted.

"I have an Amazon prime account." She announced.

He paused, "What?"

"I know, I know, they are evil incarnate, but when I buy something, I get it the next day and that's pretty awesome and I should have told you, but I didn't." She let the statement hang in the air.

"Since when do you shop online?"

"I know, I suppose you could never be with someone that buys items online from large corporations."

He laughed. "Forget about it, I forgive you. It's fine."

Emma glared at him. "You forgive me?" She took a long drink of her wine while August stared at her with concern growing on his face.

"What's wrong Emma?" Suddenly the dam burst, and tears started to stream down her face. "Hey, don't do that. Emma, it's alright. This has been a tough week with the store closing."

"It's not that though, August, I need…"

"That was insensitive of me."

Emma sniffled. "What was?"

"To bring up the store, when you're having a hard time and I'm the one who's…" He took a quick drink and reached out to take her hand. "Emma I don't know how to say this. I think you are an amazing person, and honestly I'm so honored that you chose me because I know that means something to you and…"

"You don't love me." She said suddenly realizing what he was trying to tell her. He frowned, squeezing her hand and Emma burst into a fit of giggles. "That's wonderful news, I don't love you either."

"But we're so right for each other." He mused.

"I know, it doesn't make sense. Is there someone else?"

"Nothing that's happened, but there is a woman, I don't know. What about you? Is there someone else for you?"

Emma sighed sadly. "No, but there is the dream of someone else."