A/N: Warning for a little het kissing with Emma and a male OC, but it's short and it's necessary to drive the plot further... you'll see ;)

Chapter Eleven

After dinner, the family retired to the living room to watch TV, and Regina grew concerned that Emma still hadn't come back down. She started to wonder if she should have followed her up in the first place, knowing that's what Emma likely would have done, if she'd been the one who left upset.

She excused herself politely, and started up the stairs, quietly, trying to decide what she should say. Her mother would have never tolerated this amount of insolence and disrespect from her, and she just couldn't understand how the Charmings could react so calmly to the whole situation.

When she got upstairs, she saw that Emma was asleep, laying diagonally across the bed. She hesitated for a moment, and then walked over, shaking her lightly on the shoulders.

"No, I don't want… please," Emma whined in a sleepy slur, "ugh… Regina?" Emma finally blinked up at her.

"Hi," Regina said, tentatively.

"Was I asleep?" Emma asked, sitting up and making room for Regina to sit down.

"Yes."

"Did I miss dinner?" Emma smirked.

"Yes."

"Are they pissed?"

"Does that mean angry?" Regina asked, looking at Emma with confusion in her eyes.

Emma laughed. "Yes. Are they angry?"

"I don't think so," Regina shrugged. "I think your mother is just sad. She saved a plate of dinner for you, for whenever you want to eat. She loves you, you know."

Emma shook her head. "I don't care. She doesn't even know me. I'm going out tonight."

"Emma," Regina sighed.

"You don't have to come. I want to get that book back, from the library. The magic one," Emma explained.

Regina hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "Will you be upset with me if I don't come?"

"No. I'm used to being on my own. Don't sweat it," Emma said, flopping back onto her back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

Regina paused for a moment, and then laid back beside Emma. "I wish you would just stay here."

Emma turned to look at her, green eyes meeting wary brown ones. "I can't. This place is suffocating me. I need to get out. If you don't get it, it's cool. I don't expect you to understand me, okay?"

"I'll come with you."

"Regina… you don't have to. It's okay," Emma insisted.

"If I don't, I'll just worry about you the whole time you're gone," Regina said, with a small smile. "And I might miss you."

"Yeah?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow. "And what if I told you I was going to stop at your mansion and raid your liquor cabinet, too?"

"Well, if you're going to my house I most certainly must accompany you," Regina said, in a teasingly serious tone.

"Well," Emma said, trying to replicate Regina's tone, "if you are going to accompany me, you most certainly must have a drink with me, princess."

"And if I don't?"

Emma shrugged. "I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't. Can you?"

"I suppose not," Regina admitted. "I have wine when we attend dinner parties. I'll be fine."

"So you do like to live on the edge, you badass," Emma laughed.

"Is badass-" Regina started to ask.

"It's a compliment," Emma interrupted, "trust me."

After getting Henry to show her how to reheat food, Regina took Emma's dinner up to her, and then came back downstairs, spending the rest of the evening downstairs chatting with Snow and David about the Enchanted Forest, while Henry came upstairs to check in with Emma. After convincing him she was fine, and so over it, she got him to show her how her iPhone worked, and she set an alarm for 1:00am.

She shook Regina awake when it went off. "Ready, princess?" she asked.

Regina inhaled deeply, calming her nerves, and nodded. The girls got up and got dressed in absolute silence. Emma put the phone and the keys to the city in her pockets, and they tiptoed downstairs. Emma grabbed her car keys and the two headed back out the door, just like they had the night before.

"Maybe one day I'll teach you how to drive," Emma said, as she started the car and they headed off down the road towards Regina's mansion.

"I don't think I could do this. I prefer riding horses," Regina admitted.

"A horse is a million times scarier than a car. A car doesn't kick or bite or spit at you," Emma pointed out.

"Horses don't spit!" Regina exclaimed.

"Oh, right, yeah. That's camels I think. I don't know. Animals aren't my thing," Emma shrugged. "This town is so weird. Like it's only one and there is literally no one on the streets at all. You think maybe they don't have any bars here or something?"

Regina looked around. "Normal people sleep at this time," she reminded Emma.

Emma laughed. "I never claimed to be normal," she insisted, as they pulled up into Regina's driveway.

"Shit," Emma said, as she pulled out the ring of keys from her pocket.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it never occurred to me that we don't actually have a key to your house," Emma sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh. So, no liquor then?" Regina asked.

"Please," Emma laughed. "Backdoor. We're getting in."

She headed off around the house, Regina following right behind, until she found the back door and tried the handle. "Figures you'd be the type to lock your house like Fort Knox!"

"What's-"

"Never mind." Emma pulled off her light hoodie and wrapped it around her hand before punching a hole in the window next to the door, and reached in to unlock the handle from the inside. "Don't kill me for this when you're back to normal."

"Please, don't say that," Regina said, quietly.

"Sorry. I was kidding," Emma said, as she pushed the door open and set off looking for Regina's alcohol supply. It didn't take long. "I'm like a bloodhound," Emma laughed, as she began pulling down bottles. "Shit, Regina, you've got, like, everything!"

Regina looked at the bottles in confusion. "What is all this? I've never seen bottles like this," she admitted.

Emma grinned and shook her head, as she scooped up a couple bottles. "Let's go."

"I thought you wanted to have a drink?" Regina reminded her.

"When we get to the clock tower. Grab some glasses," Emma said. Regina complied, and followed Emma back to the car. Emma put the liquor in the backseat, and Regina held the two glasses in her hands as they headed towards the clock tower.

"What if you make more fire?" Regina asked.

"I won't."

"What if you do and you set the sprinklers off again?"

"I won't!"

"How do you know?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't."

Regina sighed and stopped asking questions as they pulled up in front of the clock tower. Emma grabbed the bottles from the back and put them on the ground as she started fiddling with keys, trying to find the right one.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" a voice came from behind them. Emma and Regina both spun around to face a boy, who looked about fifteen, staring at them.

"Who the hell are you?" Emma asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was not about to be intimidated by a boy.

"My name's Cody and my dad does maintenance on the clock tower and you're not supposed to be here," Cody insisted.

"Your dad does maintenance, so why are you here?" Emma challenged, a small smirk on her face.

"What? I asked you first!"

"No, you asked what I was doing, and that's none of your business," Emma retorted.

"Well, from back here it looked like you were trying to break in," Cody replied, dryly.

"Do I look like the kind of girl who breaks into buildings?" Emma asked, feigning surprise as she held her hand to her chest. In spite of herself, Regina let out a small giggle, which caused Emma to laugh as well. "Listen, dude… if we give you one of these bottles, will you run along home and not tell daddy?"

Cody looked down at the alcohol and met Emma's eyes again. "Are you gonna burn down the clock tower?"

"No," Emma shook her head. "I just left something there earlier, and I'm gonna grab it and go home."

"Well, give me that vodka and I might go home, but it's gonna take more than that to buy my silence," Cody said, with an unmistakable glint in his eyes.

"One kiss," Emma offered, "and you keep your mouth shut."

"One kiss from each of you," Cody said, smirking.

"Not a chance," Emma said, without even looking at Regina. She didn't have to turn around to know that her eyes just got wide with fear. If she had to guess, she would guess Regina had never kissed anyone. "One kiss, from me."

"With tongue," Cody said, "or no deal."

"Fine," Emma sighed, rolling her eyes, before stepping up and giving Cody what she promised. Regina bit her lip and looked away from embarrassment. Emma tried to keep it short, but when she tried to back away, Cody grabbed her neck to try to keep her close.

Emma pushed him back, hard, and he staggered a few steps. Emma reached down and held up the bottle of vodka. "One kiss, and here's your vodka. Now get the fuck out of here."

Cody grabbed the bottle, roughly, and stormed off.

"The clock maintenance man needs to reign in his son," Emma scoffed, as she grabbed the keys and tried three more, before finally finding the right one. "We're in!"

Regina stayed quiet as Emma picked up the remaining two bottles, and they headed inside. Neither of them said a word as they ascended the stairs.

"Rum or whiskey?" Emma asked, holding up the two bottles as she slid down the wall into a seated position.

"I… don't know," Regina said, as she sat down to join her, and handed her the glasses.

Emma shrugged and opened the rum, pouring two shots. "Cheers," she said, clicking her glass against Regina's.

"Oh!" Regina cried, as she choked down her shot. "It burns!"

Emma laughed. "Hell yes it does!"

"I don't like it," Regina said, shaking her head and handing the glass back to Emma.

Emma shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, as she took another shot, straight from the bottle, and then picked up the magical book discarded earlier that day.

Regina watched her as she flipped absently through pages, and in spite of herself, found her gaze moving from the pages to Emma's hands and up to Emma's mouth. She felt herself start to blush, and she was glad, for the moment, that Emma wasn't looking at her. She waited a few minutes to get herself under control before speaking.

"Emma," she finally said, tentatively, as she looked down and played with the hem on her shirt. "How… how did you know what to do? With that boy?"

"What? You mean kiss?" Emma asked, smiling at the innocence on Regina's face.

"Yes," Regina nodded.

"You've never kissed anyone before?" Emma asked.

"No," Regina shook her head, solemnly. "What is it like?"

Emma grinned. "You never even practiced on your friends?"

Regina scrunched up her nose. "I didn't have friends," she reminded Emma.

Emma nodded. "Right, I forgot. Well, if you wanna know what it's like, it's easier to show than tell. You remember that woman we saw at the diner that first night? The one who knew me? When we were fourteen, we spent a night in her parents' cottage, and she taught me how to kiss. I could teach you, if you want," Emma offered.

Regina's cheeks flushed, and she picked at her hem for fervently. "I… I don't know. I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's fine," Emma laughed. Kisses are just kisses, they don't mean anything. A kiss isn't a big deal, it's just, like, nothing."

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, finally looking up again.

"Yes," she said, shifting up to her knees so she could turn to face Regina. "Just relax, close your eyes, and follow my lead."

Regina nodded and closed her eyes, as Emma cupped her face in her hands and leaned in, brushing her lips softly against Regina's at first, and then a little harder. She could hear Regina's breath quicken as she guided her lips open a little and slid her tongue in. In that moment, she started to feel the now-familiar spark of magic again, only this time, it wasn't in her fingers, but her lips. She broke the kiss of quickly, and stared at Regina, wondering if she felt it, too.

Regina's eyes fluttered open, and she gaped at Emma for a moment. "That is what you call 'nothing'?" she asked.

Emma shook her head quickly. "You felt that too? That spark? On our lips?"

Regina nodded. "Is that not normal?"

"That was magic," Emma said. "That was definitely not nothing!"

"It felt nice, though," Regina said, and immediately began to blush, again.

Emma grinned. "Yeah, it did. Wanna do it again?"

Regina drew in a sharp breath. "I… um…"

Emma laughed. "It's just me, Regina. You don't have to be nervous. Just say whatever you want to say."

"I don't know what to say. Everything I've ever been taught tells me what we just did is so wrong, but…"

"But it didn't feel wrong, did it?"

"No, it didn't," Regina admitted. "And I think I want to do it again."

Emma smiled. "Your wish is my command, your highness," she laughed, as she leaned forward to kiss Regina again. They were both more relaxed this time, and the magic was less of a sudden spark, and more of a warm, tingling sensation, like nothing Emma had ever felt before.

After more than a few long moments, Emma broke away again, looking into Regina's dark eyes. A smile danced over her lips. "Did you feel that, too?"

Regina nodded, solemnly. "Does that make me bad?"

Emma laughed and leaned forward, putting her forehead against Regina's for a moment, before leaning back again and looking at her, seriously. "No, it doesn't. I don't know the rules of the Enchanted Forest and I'm sure your fucked up mother wouldn't approve, but this is the real world and your mother's not here. It's just us."

"Are you sure it's just us?" Regina asked, as they heard a noise coming from downstairs.

Emma cringed. "Shit! That asshole Cody must have told his dad!" she whispered. "We gotta hide."

"Where?" Regina asked, looking around, incredulously.

Emma gathered up the bottles and the book and headed towards the darkest corner. Regina picked up the glasses and followed her quickly. They huddled in close and Emma clamped her hand over her own mouth, to try to force herself to stay quiet.

"Emma! Regina!" they heard David's voice yelling from downstairs.

"It's your father," Regina whispered.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Emma said, moving her hand from her mouth. "Someone must have called the cops. And he's the cops."

"Should we just reveal ourselves?"

"Hell no," Emma said. Realistically, she knew it was the best option, but making good choices was not really her strong point. She wanted David to have to search for her. She wanted him to be mad when he found her. Experience had taught her that acting out was the way to get attention, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous of the attention Regina was getting from these so-called parents of hers.

She had been disappointed when they didn't catch her sneaking in the night before. Tonight, they didn't have a choice. They knew she was out. Maybe David would know she was drinking, too, and he could see how fucked up she really was. Maybe then they would see how abandoning a baby creates a screwed up kid, and take a little responsibility for once.

Or maybe it was wishful thinking on Emma's part.

Either way, she wasn't going to make it any easier for David, since he had made nothing in life easy for her.

"Emma! I know you're here! Your car's outside!" David yelled. Emma could hear his heavy steps on the stairs now, and she knew it wouldn't be long. She grabbed Regina's hand and squeezed it, partially in apprehension and partially in excitement. She felt the magic again – warm, tingling – moving through their hands. The way Regina's eyes met hers told her Regina felt it, too.

Emma watched the harsh white light of the flashlight search the floor as David made it to the top of the clock tower. It was mere moments before it landed on the girls, huddled in the far corner, clinging to each other. Regina's eyes were wide and terrified. Emma's her mischievous as an impish grin spread across her face, almost of its own volition.

"Sneaking out, taking your car without permission, breaking and entering, and drinking? Emma, what the hell were you thinking?" David asked.

Emma supposed she shouldn't be surprised that the blame would fall completely on her. Her father was well-aware that none of this was Regina's idea, and that was fine, since Emma had already sworn she'd take all the blame if they ever got caught.

Emma simply shrugged. "I was bored."

"Not good enough. Get up, I'm taking you both home. We'll talk about the consequences there," David said.

Regina got up quickly, and since she still had a death grip on Emma's hand, she pulled her up, too. Emma rolled her eyes at her father. "What, are you gonna ground me?"

"At this point, I honestly don't know, Emma," David said, exasperated. "But this reckless behavior is completely unacceptable."

Emma laughed. "Well, sorry, but I didn't have any parents to teach me right from wrong," Emma spat, as she dropped Regina's hand and pushed past him, heading for the stairs.

David grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "How long are you going to hold that over us? I told you, we didn't have a choice."

"How long? Well, let's see: I spent sixteen fucking years of my life being tossed from home to home to home because no one wanted me. Even my own parents didn't want me. Do you know how that fucking feels? For sixteen years I've wondered why I wasn't good enough. What was wrong with me? What made me so unlovable that my own parents tossed me like garbage on the side of the road?"

Emma paused, watching David's expression for a moment. "So, sorry if it makes you feel bad, dad," she continued, "but I've had sixteen years of feeling like a worthless piece of trash, because of you, and you're going to tell me that my behavior is unacceptable? What you did is unforgivable!"

"Emma!" David cried, stepping over to block her as she tried to walk away again, "it was either send you away or let Regina kill you."

Emma eyes went wide, and she stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

David sighed. He knew Snow didn't want the girls to know any of this, but he couldn't take Emma hating them anymore. Something had to give. "Girls, sit down," he said, "it's a long story."

After calling to check in with Snow, and let her know the girls were fine, David joined them on the floor and gave them the condensed version of the Evil Queen and curse story. He skimmed over a lot of details, mostly to shield Emma and Regina from the horrors that Regina had caused in the past.

When he was finished, he turned to Emma. "Do you understand now?"

Emma looked at him, and then to Regina, who had been silently crying for most of the story. "Can we go home, now?" Emma asked, refusing to answer his question. She needed time to process.

David nodded, and started leading the way back down the stairs. For once, it was Emma who was first up to follow, and she reached her hand down to Regina. Regina looked up, surprised, but took it.

"Don't you hate me now?" Regina asked, quietly.

Emma squeezed her hand, reassuringly, and felt that increasingly familiar surge of magic between them. "No. That story sounds like a load of crap to me. I mean, come on? Evil Queen? Snow White? That's some Disney bullshit right there. This guy's clearly unhinged."

Regina nodded, and followed Emma back down the stairs. She didn't understand what 'Disney bullshit' meant, but if it meant Emma still liked her, then she didn't really care.

The short car ride back to the loft was awkwardly quiet, as Emma and Regina sat in the back of the cruiser together.

"Would you believe this is actually my first time in the back of a cop car?" Emma asked, trying to break the uneasy silence. "Apparently, not my last though, since I had Henry in prison. How did you guys honestly not know how fucked up I was if even the kid knows I was in jail?"

"You took the fall for someone else's crime," David said, flatly. "You were innocent."

"Well, then I clearly was at least cavorting with criminals. No one is innocent," Emma said, rolling her eyes. What did these people think of her? She wondered what the adult version of herself was like, since her parents seemed to expect a perfect angel from her sixteen-year-old self.

David glanced at her in the rear view mirror, but didn't reply. Emma had to wonder if the thought had never crossed his mind that innocent people don't just find themselves in prison one day. She didn't know what this crime was that she took the fall for, but even she was smart enough to know that she had to at least be associated with the criminal to take the fall for the crime.

No wonder her parents thought they were Prince Charming and Snow White. They were living a fucking fairytale. Asking Emma to believe in magic was one thing – she had witnessed it, more than once. She could even get passed grown ass adults calling themselves Tinker Bell and Captain Hook. What she could not accept was that her parents put her in a magical tree because the sweet girl next to her was trying to murder an infant.

It was too much.

Suddenly, the urge to run was strong than it had ever been for Emma. Only this time, she knew she had to take Regina with her. They had to get the hell away from these people.