"I shall destroy your happiness...if it is the last thing I do."

"Hayley. Her name is Hayley."

"Find us."

Chapter 1: The Boy

The minutes ticked by as Hayley Norwood sat in the back of the cab on the way to her date. She began fidgeting a bit as they sat there, stuck in yet another traffic jam. Figures. She was already running behind before the cab even came to pick her up, and she had forgotten how much the streets of Boston on Saturday nights absolutely fucking sucked.

Despite having rather low self-esteem, Hayley thought that night she actually cleaned up pretty well. She wore a low-cut black sweater dress that showed off her slim figure, along with black wedge heels — one of only two pairs of shoes she owned. Her long, auburn red hair was tied half up half down, and she wore a bit more makeup than usual. The smokiness of her eyeshadow nicely complimented her golden-brown eyes.

After about another ten minutes or so, the cab finally pulled up to the restaurant. Fantastic, Hayley thought. Only forty-five minutes late. As soon as they pulled up to the nearby curb, Hayley immediately opened the door and stepped out before the driver even had a chance to put the car in park. She then stopped and turned around, reaching into her purse. She grabbed the first wad of cash she found to tip him with, not even caring at that point how much was in it.

"Thanks," She said as she quickly handed it to him through the open window. She then turned and hastily walked into the restaurant, looking around for her date. "Nick" she recalled his name was. The place was fucking huge, and way more swanky than she was used to. She felt incredibly out of place as she looked around, not seeing anyone who matched the picture of this "Nick" guy she met online. Just my luck, Hayley thought as she sighed. The guy probably either left or is a straight-up catfish.

The urge to give up and leave almost won Hayley over completely before she turned the corner and finally saw him. He was sitting by himself, smiling and standing up as Hayley's eyes met his. Hayley blushed as he did so, seeing he was even better looking than in his pictures. She approached nervously, though trying to appear somewhat confident as she smiled back at him. He held out his hand for her to shake once she was close enough.

"Hayley?" He inquired as she shook his hand.

"Nick?" Hayley inquired back, trying not to sound as nervous as she was. He nodded and smiled warmly at her. That was a good sign...hopefully.

"Did you have trouble finding the place?" Nick asked as they both went to sit down, clearly referring to her tardiness. Hayley could feel herself blush once more in embarrassment.

"I, uh...took a cab actually," Hayley replied. "I'm so sorry for getting here so late. Traffic was nuts, and I should've given myself more time…"

"It's okay," Nick assured her. "I totally get it."

"Cool," Hayley said, nodding. "Well, thanks for waiting. I definitely thought you were gonna ditch."

"I was thinking about it," Nick replied flirtatiously as he looked her up and down. "But...I'm very, very glad I didn't."

Hayley laughed nervously at this, looking away as she tried to come up with something clever to say back. But of course, she couldn't, and an awkward silence followed instead.

"So…" Nick began, finally breaking the silence. "How long have you lived in Boston?"

"All my life," Hayley said. "You?"

"I actually just moved here," He replied. "I'm from Cambridge, originally."

"Oh," Hayley said, nodding. "I've never been. Did you like it there?"

"It was alright," Nick told her. "That's cool you were born and raised here in the city, though."

Hayley stopped for a moment upon hearing him say that. Her throat tightened as she knew what he was going to ask about next.

"Is your family all from here, too?"

There it was...her trigger word. Family. The thing that made her so fucking different from everyone else. She had no parents, no relatives...no one. Her heart began to race as she debated on how to go about answering the question. Should she act as uncomfortable as she felt about the topic so he would hopefully just drop it, or should she try to act cool and collected so he wouldn't think she was a fucking weirdo?

"I, uh…" Hayley began, looking down. "I don't really have a family." Nick's brows immediately furrowed in confusion upon hearing her say that.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"Well, um…" She continued, trying to find the words to say. "I was sort of…abandoned when I was born."

"Huh," Nick replied, listening intently.

"Yeah…" Hayley continued, looking away once more. "I, um…I was put in the system. Just hopped around from family to family, but none of them actually really adopted me. So…yeah. No family."

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Nick told her, sounding genuinely sad for her. She knew she should've felt flattered by his concern, but she hated making people feel bad for her. It was uncomfortable as hell.

"Yeah, well…" Hayley began again before attempting to change the subject. "H-how do you like Boston so far?"

"It's nice," Nick replied, nodding.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I like it here a lot,"

"That's cool."

"Yeah. I mean, I liked Cambridge and all, but I just wanted a change. My family's actually all from Boston, but...to kind of relate to your situation, I lost both my parents when I was really young."

Hayley's expression immediately dropped when he said this.

"Oh…" She responded, trying to sound polite, though she could feel her face getting hotter and hotter as he continued.

"Yeah, they were, um…in a car accident when I was nine. It was terrible."

The room felt like it was spinning at that point, and Hayley could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists as she tried to hold back her emotions, but she didn't think she could do so for much longer.

"So, I don't wanna say I know how you feel because I can't imagine. But…I do kind of know how hard it is to grow up without parents."

That was it. Hayley knew she couldn't do this anymore. She had to leave.

"I'm sorry…" She told him as she quickly stood up, her voice cracking.

"No…" Nick said, shaking his head in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Y-you're fine," Hayley told him, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "I just...I think I'm just gonna go…"

He was about to speak again as Hayley pulled out her wallet and threw some money on the table. They hadn't even ordered anything yet, but she figured at that point it was more for the inconvenience than anything else.

"Here," She told him. "I'm sorry, thank you…" She then quickly walked off, feeling almost lightheaded from all of the emotions running through her brain. She could feel Nick staring at her as she walked off, and it made her feel even more like shit. She could only imagine what he thought of her at that point, but oh well. Better save him the trouble now. She was a hot mess.

Hayley then exited the restaurant and walked down the block to an empty street corner where she could finally be alone. After looking around to make sure there was, in fact, no one else around, she then held onto the street light as she finally let loose. She began to cry quietly, still trying not to make too much noise in case anyone came walking over to where she was.

But just then, someone did. Someone she wasn't expecting at all.

"Hey!" An oh-so-familiar voice called out. Hayley turned to see him...Nick...her date. He was practically running over to her. She quickly dried her eyes with her sleeve once more as he approached, trying to make it seem like she wasn't just bawling her eyes out, but she knew it was all too obvious.

"Oh, hey…" Hayley said to him, trying to maintain her composure. "Hi…"

"Hey," Nick replied as he finally reached her. "Look, I'm really sorry I brought that up. I should've known it was a sensitive subject for you."

"It's okay," Hayley tried to assure him, sniffling.

"No," Nick told her, shaking his head. "No, it's not."

"Look," Hayley told him, burying her face in her hands briefly before looking back up at him. "I just…I think I've ruined things bad enough at this point, so I'm just gonna go home, okay?" She turned on her heel to walk away, but was surprised when she quickly felt his hand on her shoulder.

"No!" Nick insisted. "You didn't ruin anything, Hayley! I promise."

"Agree to disagree," Hayley replied as she turned to face him.

"Hayley, look…" Nick began. "I know we just met and all, and...we barely even spoke for five minutes. But, I like you."

"Why?" Hayley asked, genuinely confused.

"Well," Nick replied, gesturing down to her. "I mean, look at you, first of all."

"You're so full of shit," Hayley said as she rolled her eyes.

"Am not," He told her as he began to inch closer to her. "Plus, if I'm being honest, I'm kind of weirdly glad we have the whole 'orphan' thing in common, too. You know?"

Hayley then noticed how close he was leaning in towards her. And not only that, but she also realized that he had never taken his hand off of her shoulder.

"It just kinda…" Nick continued, looking her up and down. "Makes me feel a little closer to you."

"Really?" Hayley asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She knew what this guy was getting at, and she was not into it.

"Yeah," Nick told her, continuing to lean in. "Don't you wanna feel closer to me?" He then leaned in so far that his nose briefly brushed up against hers, and that's when she finally pulled away before he could get any closer.

"Alright, look…" She began. "It was nice to meet you, Nick, and I'm sorry about your parents, but...I'm not interested in what you're trying to do right now."

"What am I trying to do?" He asked as he put his arms out, clearly playing dumb.

"You know what you're trying to do," Hayley told him, giving him a look.

"I'm sorry?" Nick replied, though the upward inflection he used at the end of the word implied he wasn't sorry at all. "I thought you were interested in me."

"I was at first," Hayley admitted. "But now you're kinda giving me a bad vibe."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, sounding increasingly irritated. Hayley rolled her eyes at this.

"I'm not gonna argue over this, alright?" Hayley told him. "Date's over. I'm going home." She then turned to walk away again, and again, she felt him grab her shoulder. Only this time, it was with a lot more force.

"I don't think so," He retorted in an angry voice. He then forcefully pulled her back toward him and locked both of his arms around her.

"Hey!" Hayley exclaimed, immediately trying to pull away.

"Don't fight back, gorgeous," He spoke into her ear. "You won't win."

Hayley then pushed herself off of him as hard as she could, which shockingly worked well enough to make him let go. She then turned to face him, giving him a menacing look. He simply laughed in response.

"Damn," He said to her. "You're stronger than you look."

As expected, he went to grab her once more, but Hayley was too quick. She kicked him hard in the groin, causing him to fall to his knees. After, she used every ounce of her strength to punch him in the face as hard as could. The impact itself was enough to knock him to the ground...unconscious. And weirdly enough, Hayley's hand was completely fine.

"You got that right," She said, responding to his earlier remark as she looked down at him. She then looked up toward the street before going to walk away, stepping over him.

"Asshole."

Hayley awoke the next day to the oh-so-lovely sound of her alarm. She hit the snooze button a couple of times before finally forcing herself to wake up. It's not like it was super early, mind you. Her super fancy and important job as a waitress had her working late shifts mostly. The earliest she would even start was 4:00pm, but she still slept until the last minute.

Upon looking down at her phone, Hayley made another realization. It was her birthday. Or rather...the-day-she-was-found-as-an-abandoned-baby-on-the-sidewalk-and-taken-in-by-the-system day. For that reason alone, she really couldn't give a shit. Who the hell knows when her actual birthday was? And more importantly...who the hell even cared?

After a few minutes of procrastination, Hayley finally woke up and went to hop in the shower. Once the water started, she was quickly reminded that her hot water wasn't working. But she couldn't tell the landlord because she was behind on rent...again. It was the shittiest apartment building in a 100-mile radius, and she couldn't even afford it. Being dirt poor and completely on your own was the best sometimes.

Once her freezing cold shower was over, Hayley then got changed into her usual work attire: a black v-neck top, jeans that were ripped at the knees, and her black combat boots. She tied her hair half-up half-down and put on a bit of eye-makeup to make herself look more awake than she actually was...despite sleeping almost all day. After that, she grabbed her brown leather jacket and was out the door.

She hopped in her old 2002 Honda Civic, a car she had actually stolen a long time ago. It was during an...interesting time in her life. One that she didn't like to think about a whole lot. But lo and behold, she was always reminded of it every time she looked at that car.

Her job was luckily just a few minutes down the road, which was nice because she was already running late. She parked next to the curb and got out, sighing as she mentally prepared herself for another busy night.

After walking in, she hurried around behind the bar to clock in. She noticed her co-worker, Kayla, was behind the bar as well and wiping it down.

"Hey, Kayla," Hayley greeted her. Kayla looked up at her, smiling.

"Hey, birthday girl!" She said to Hayley, quickly reminding her of what day it was.

"Oh, God…" Hayley said. "That's right."

"Sucks you've gotta work tonight," Kayla said as she went back to cleaning.

"Well," Hayley began, sighing as she leaned against the wall with her arms folded. "Don't really have much else better to do. You manning the bar?"

"Yeah," Kayla replied. "Jim's been a real hard-ass."

"Of course he has," Hayley said, rolling her eyes. She didn't expect much less from her boss, but still. She really didn't want to have to deal with his shit that night.

And just as her luck would have it, she heard a voice call her that could only belong to yours truly.

"Hayley!"

She sighed heavily before leaning her head out from behind the corner to see him approaching from across the way.

"Speak of the devil," Kayla said. Hayley playfully hissed in response, making her giggle. Jim then approached and Hayley came out to face him...begrudgingly.

"You clocked in yet?" He asked her.

"Yes sir," Hayley replied. "What's up?"

"There's a table requesting you," Jim informed her. Hayley immediately felt confused by this. Who could possibly be asking for her specifically to serve them?

"Me?" Hayley asked Jim, wanting to be sure what he was saying was true.

"Yup," Jim said, nodding before gesturing his head back. "It's that kid over there by the window."

Hayley looked up from behind him to see that there was, in fact, a little boy sitting alone at a table. He didn't look familiar to her at all, though. Weird…

"Chop chop," Jim told Hayley, throwing her an apron. She just barely caught it as her eyes stayed locked on the boy, looking at him in awe. After a moment she sighed and put the apron on before approaching the boy. He was looking down at a large book spread open in front of him, seeming to be reading it intently as he didn't even notice her approaching.

"Hi!" Hayley politely greeted him, smiling. "How's it going?"

The boy looked up at her from under thick, shaggy chestnut brown hair. His eyes were the same color as hers, golden brown. It was a bit odd, considering it was a rather uncommon eye color.

That should've been her first hint as to who this boy was.

"Oh…hi!" He said back to her, quickly closing the book and putting it on his lap.

After a couple of seconds, he then leaned in closer and spoke to her quietly, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.

"Are you…Hayley Norwood?"

Hayley was immediately taken aback by this. Why was he acting like he didn't want anyone else to hear her name? And more importantly, how did he know it? Who was this kid?

"Uh…yeah," Hayley informed him. "I-I am."

The boy then proceeded to drop the biggest bomb on her that anyone ever could.

"My name's Henry. I'm your son."

Hayley's polite smile quickly faded upon hearing those words. She felt her eyes widen in shock and horror. No, she thought. No fucking way...

"I…" Hayley began, her voice shaky as she struggled to find the words to say. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm so glad I finally found you!" The boy, whose name was apparently Henry, exclaimed in happiness. "I've been looking everywhere!"

Hayley couldn't relate at all to the boy's delight. She felt light-headed and her stomach was in knots, even worse than last night.

"I, uh…" Hayley began again, trying to find the words to say. "I think you've got the wrong person, little dude. I don't have any kids."

"Ten years ago, when you were 16, did you give up a baby for adoption?" Henry asked her.

It took Hayley a good 30 seconds to respond to this. How the hell did he know about that?

"Yeah…" She admitted.

"That was me," Henry responded.

Hayley was in utter and complete shock at what was happening. She knew she couldn't stay out there for a minute longer.

"Will you excuse me for a sec?" She asked Henry, who nodded in response.

Hayley then turned on her heel and practically sprinted for the ladies room. Once there, she entered and shut the door behind her, her eyes bigger than saucers. This could not be happening right now. It just...it just couldn't be. She had to sneak out the back and leave. But, no...she would be fired for sure, and she couldn't afford that! Not only that, but the kid...where were his parents? Why was he there alone? It made no sense.

After a moment of pondering through her thoughts, Hayley knew she at least had to go back out there and find out where the kid's parents were. Once she took care of that, she could just explain the situation to her boss and hopefully not get in too much trouble for dragging her personal shit into the workplace. Not that it was her fault, anyway. She had no idea how the kid found her. Or…"her" kid, rather.

Fuck...Hayley thought as she exited the bathroom. I can't believe this shit.

She walked back over to the table, but found that it was now empty. A feeling of relief washed over her upon seeing that, hoping the kid had left. But the feeling was quickly short-lived when she turned to see Henry now standing at the door, looking like he was ready to leave. Hayley walked over to him and he turned to look up at her.

"You know," He began. "We really ought to get going."

"What?" Hayley asked him, bewildered.

"I want you to come home with me!" Henry told her, smiling. She sighed and crossed her arms, shaking her head.

"Look, little dude," She began. "I can't do this right now, alright? Where are your parents?"

"Not here," Henry informed her, matter-of-factly.

"Great," Hayley said, pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket. "Then I'm calling the cops."

"And I'll tell them you kidnapped me," Henry snapped back at her. She looked back down at him in astonishment.

"Excuse me?"

"And they'll believe me because you're my birth mother."

Hayley scoffed in disbelief. Smart kid, but still. Who the hell did he think he was?

"You wouldn't do that," Hayley challenged him.

"Try me," Henry snapped back once more.

Hayley pursed her lips as she looked down at Henry. He was full of shit. He had to be. She decided to lay down the law and let him know she wasn't messing around.

"You're pretty good, little dude," Hayley told him. "But here's the deal. I may not be good at, like...anything in life. But there is one thing I'm pretty freakin' decent at. I can always tell when someone is lying. Whether they look away, bite their lip, whatever their tick may be. Even if they don't have one, I always know. And you, kid...are a dirty, dirty liar."

Henry didn't respond that time, and Hayley knew she had him. She went back to dialing 9-1-1 on her phone but was then interrupted once more.

"Wait,"

Hayley looked back down at the kid, who was now giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Please don't call the cops," He pleaded. "Please? Just come home with me."

It was a bit difficult for Hayley to pinpoint what motivations this kid had for wanting her to "come home" with him. He was clearly saying it that way for a reason, almost like he didn't want her to leave when she did take him back. Despite all of that, Hayley knew at that point she pretty much had no choice if she wanted to ensure the kid got home safe. He was allegedly her flesh and blood, after all.

"Fine," Hayley told him, putting her phone back into her pocket. "You win, little dude. Where is home?"

"Storybrooke, Maine," Henry told her. Hayley's eyebrows contorted once more in confusion.

"Story...brooke?" She clarified, wanting to make sure she heard correctly.

"Mhm," Henry confirmed, nodding.

Hayley sighed. Maine? This kid came all the way from motherfucking Maine? She had no idea how far away that even was from Boston, but despite that, she knew she had to get the kid back home.

What she didn't know, however, was that she was on the way to her destiny.

"Okay, then," Hayley said to Henry, removing her apron. He smiled up at her as she said the next words, clearly having anticipated this moment for a very long time.

"Off to Storybrooke."