Chapter 1
Scouted
"Time for you to go home now Emma" Granny said firmly as the blonde waitress let out a huge yawn,
"I'm fine Granny" Emma insisted failing to suppress a second yawn "At least let me see the morning rush through before I leave" she smiled brightly, green eyes glassy with exhaustion,
"Emma sweetheart" Granny spoke with a gentler yet equally firm tone, as she reached out to place a tender hand on the Emma's arm and gave it a gentle squeeze "you've been on the front desk in the B and B all night and here all morning, you've done more than enough already, besides the morning rush is almost over, now do as I say and get yourself home, and before you go to bed, kick my lazy granddaughter out of hers and tell her to get her backside down here for her shift, she should have been here almost three hours ago" Granny said eyes flashing with irritation,
"Are you sure?" Emma asked hesitant to leave the older woman to manage everything alone,
"Of course, I'm sure, I'm perfectly capable of getting these out to David and Mary-Margret when they're ready" Granny insisted as she waved her hand over the two small stacks of pancakes that were sitting on plates waiting to be topped off with the bacon that was crisping in her frying pan and some maple syrup "I may be old but I'm not past it yet. Now go, before you pass out on me and don't forget to kick Ruby out of bed before you turn in" her concluding tone was so firm and resolute that Emma knew that there was no sense in arguing any further and she really was very tired.
She moved into the tiny staffroom without further comment, removed her apron and hung it up before grabbing her bag, then stopping in the kitchen Emma said a final goodbye to Granny who proceeded to shoo her out of the diner repeating her instructions for Emma to go home and wake Ruby up, until the back door of the diner had swung closed behind Emma leaving the old lady to return with a satisfied huff to dish up the bacon.
With one final brief glance back at the diner Emma put her earbuds into place, hit play on her iPod briefly closing her eyes as she felt the music that filled her ears wash over her, then lost in the music she began to make tracks home, feet pounding the pavement as she walked briskly, pulling her red leather jacket tightly around her body in an attempt to stave off the chill in the air on what promised to be a bright, clear but very cold day in Storybrooke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma had loved this little town almost from the second she had stepped into it fifteen years earlier, she had been thirteen and had spent her life up until that point growing up in the city, moving from one group home to another with brief stays with foster families in between, but she had never felt like she truly belonged until she had come to Storybrooke.
When she had first been told that she would be moving to this small town in the middle of nowhere, leaving her friends, the city and everything that she had ever known behind she was sure that she would hate it but anything she reasoned had to have been better than going into Juvi which is where she would have been sent if it wasn't for the security guard that had been hurt when Emma had tried to out run him after being caught stealing one to many times, pleading her case to the judge and presenting an alternative.
Jake had suggested that a change of scenery away from the bustle of the city and the pull of friends that led her astray might help Emma to turn her life around far more successfully than a stint in juvi hall would, he told of his aunt who lived in the tiny fishing town that was Storybrooke, he had explained that she had fostered before and was currently raising her own granddaughter who was around Emma's age and she was more than willing to take Emma in too.
The judge had reluctantly agreed telling Emma that she was a very lucky girl and how one wrong step would land her straight back here with no second chances, Emma had nodded and had left the court feeling more than a little apprehensive as Jake had approached her on the steps outside, her experiences had taught her that men didn't do girls like her favours for nothing.
"Don't look so scared" Jake had smiled warmly while maintaining a safe distance from the young teen so as not to make her feel any more uncomfortable "Granny is firm but fair, you'll be just fine with her, she fostered back when I was a little delinquent and look at me now" he laughed "Now I'm the one chasing the delinquents instead of behaving like one, you're a good kid Emma, I can see that you deserve a proper chance" unable to speak through the emotions that had suddenly taken a hold of her, Emma had nodded mutely then followed her social worker to her car where she had placed the clear sack that had contained the few belongings that she owned on the back seat and slipped in beside it.
When they had arrived at the court it had been with the certainty that Emma wouldn't be leaving the same way that she had come in, no one had foreseen the turn that events would take in the court room, and as she sat in the back of the car that day watching the scenery speed by, the landscape changing as they left the city far behind them thirteen year old Emma had, had no idea that she was finally going home, and she owed it all to Jake, who on a number of his many visit's had always insisted that she had more than paid him back by grasping the opportunity with both hands and turning her life around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hairs on the back of Emma's neck rose as a sudden feeling of being followed flooded though her filling her with dread, she simultaneously pulled her earphones out without pausing to silence the music still playing through them and spun around to find a black SUV with tinted windows slowing to a stop beside her, startled, Emma jumped back as the door swung open and a tall slender man with messy grey curls that gave the impression of having had hands run through them many times stepped out of the back seat.
Emma backed away a little more to create more space between them, the exhaustion from moments before suddenly forgotten as she became hyper alert and prepared herself to run should the need arise, she waited in anticipation as sharp blue eyes looked her up and down, shifting slightly as the intensity of the man's gaze made her feel, if possible, even more uncomfortable,
"My name is Guy Pearce" he introduced himself finally breaking the silence offering Emma a small black card, which after a brief hesitation she reached out and whipped from his hand quick as a flash earning herself a humorous smile from the man in front of her, "It's always good to air on the side of caution Miss…?"
The question hung in the air unanswered as Emma countered it with one of her own,
"What can I do for you Mr Pearce?" She asked
"Please call me Guy" the man smiled kindly "I'm a talent scout" he explained indicating towards the card in Emma's hand as though it held all the answers, when she didn't take her eyes off of him to look at it, he shrugged and continued "I'm looking for actors to star in an up-and-coming show that's soon to start filming in this very town, and you my dear, look perfect for the part of one of our leading ladies, tell me have you ever done any acting before Miss…?"
There it was again that question, enquiring as to what her name was, slipped so seamlessly into their conversation, Emma ignored it for the second time opting instead to answer his other question,
"Not since the plays at school" she admitted "I always loved it though, nothing more fun than slipping into another person's skin for a while" she smiled fondly at the memories, pretending to be someone else had always proven to be such a great escape from her own reality, when she was on stage she didn't have to be Emma the care kid anymore, she could Emma the super hero, Emma the rich Victorian lady with a rich Victorian husband and two chubby babies, Emma the angel or even in one very memorable play Emma the super spy, yes those plays really had been a great way to escape, at least for a short while she thought with a sigh,
"So, you'd be interested then?" Guy asked eagerly interrupting her train of thought,
"Well, that depends" Emma replied without missing a beat,
"On what?" Guy countered curiously,
"One if it's legit and Two what it involves" she held up her empty hand and counted off her points on her index and middle finger as she spoke,
"One it is one hundred percent legit and two it's a very intriguing storyline about two women who meet on a train and fall in love"
"I'll think about it" Emma said, playing her cards close to her chest, she didn't want to admit just how intrigued she was by this offer just yet,
"You do that love" Guy replied cheerfully "Call me if you decide you're interested, only don't leave it to long auditions are next week" and with that he turned back towards the car,
"You know I'm going to look you up on the internet when I get home don't you Mr Pearce" Emma called after his retreating back
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't" he laughed throwing her a mischievous wink over his shoulder as he lowered himself back into the car.
As soon as the car was out of sight Emma looked down at the little black card in her hand, it was emblazoned with gold script depicting Guy Pearce's name, profession, contact number and company, there was also a gold star printed at the top in the centre, so cliché she thought as she tucked it away in her back pocket, turned her iPod off, placed her now silent head phones back into their little case and continued her walk home.
~~~~~~
"Rube's" Emma called as she pushed the door of the loft closed behind her with a gentle thud "are you up" a muffled groan told her that her best friend was still in bed, "you need to get up" Emma insisted as she approached the foot of Ruby's bed and tried unsuccessfully to pull the blanket down while Ruby stubbornly clung onto it, "you've over slept Rubes, you should have been at the diner over three hours ago and you know how Granny gets when you're late for work"
"Shit" Ruby replied finally sitting up with a much louder groan than before, "she's doing her nut isn't she?"
"Yup" Emma smiled and trudged back out to the kitchen to grab two glasses of water and tapped two painkillers out of their bottle and into her open palm,
"don't worry too much I covered the morning rush, so you aren't in too much trouble" she said offering Ruby who was sat up in bed holding her head in her hands by the time that Emma returned to her sleeping quarters one of the glasses of water and the painkillers,
"Thanks, Em you're the best, I knew I shouldn't have had that last shot" she grumbled as she gratefully accepted both offerings threw the tablets down her throat washed them down with the water casting the empty glass to one side leaving it on top of her bedside unit before gingerly getting out of bed and proceeding to pull clothes out of her closet, tossing them off into a heap on the bed until she found something she was happy with,
"No problem" Emma replied slightly raising her own glass in Ruby's direction as she reached the foot of the rickety old steps leading up to her room "I'm off to bed see you later"
Yawning widely Emma began to ascend the steps the exhaustion that had all but vanished only twenty minutes earlier had rushed back in hitting her at full force now that the perceived danger had gone, as soon as she had made it to her little room at the top of the steps she placed her now half full glass of water onto her bedside table and pulled off her clothing letting it fall to the floor where she stood until she as standing in nothing but her knickers, then she all but threw herself down onto her bed pulling the blanket around her and falling asleep the second her head hit her pillow, she didn't even hear the door slam behind Ruby as she left.
She didn't how many hours had passed when she eventually woke up but judging by the sunlight filtering through the window above her she guessed that it was mid-afternoon, groaning she rolled over picked up her jeans and rifled in the pockets in search of her phone, the little black card she'd been given that morning catching her eye as it followed her phone out of the pocket and fluttered to the ground, where it rested briefly until she grabbed it and placed it on top of her bedside table barely giving it a second glance before returning her attention to her phone as the screen flared to life showing that it was a little after two pm and her battery was dangerously low, leaving the phone to charge Emma grabbed a couple of towels and headed for the bathroom, Intent on taking a long hot shower to wash the smell of the diner out of her skin and hair.
Forty-five minutes later she was sat on the sofa in hers and Rubies shared living space, with her old fluffy robe wrapped around her body and her hair pulled up into a towel, nursing a steaming cup of coffee between her hands watching her shiny new laptop power-up, she still marvelled at the speed it loaded when compared to her trusty old machine that she had so aptly nicknamed Sloth and having been unable to bring herself to throw it away still had tucked away in the bottom of her wardrobe upstairs, her phone was plugged in at arm's reach and the little black card rested next to the mouse pad of the laptop, the keys of which had just lit up.
One of the perks of agreeing to share the loft with Ruby was the amount of money that Emma had been able to save which had enabled her to indulge in this her latest purchase.
She let out a gentle hiss of satisfaction as she took a deep sip from her coffee mug enjoying feel of the hot liquid sliding down her throat before placing it to one side, to free up her hands so that she could input her login password when the box popped up.
Her internet search window popped up almost instantly when Emma clicked it, she hit enter after carefully copying out the company name on the card and watched with bubbling excitement as the results of her search loaded revealing links to a website and multiple articles about the company, now she had confirmation that it was a legit company but ever the pessimist Emma needed a bit more than that before she could allow herself to believe that the offer was legit, she needed confirmation that Guy Pearce was truly who he claimed to be and that the offer he had extended to her was indeed genuine, so she scrolled through the website until she found a number for the company, it was different to the one emblazoned onto the card because that one was a direct line to the self-proclaimed talent scout and this one was for local offices of the company itself, she tapped the number on her computer screen into her phone, hit the call button then waited impatiently tapping the little card on her leg as the phone rang.
When the call was finally answered a jolly female voice announced the name of the company and introduced herself as Ashley,
"Hi" Emma replied "I was wondering if you have a talent scout by the name of Guy Pearce in your employ, tall guy, slim build, wild curly greying hair" she reeled off the description then waited for the reply,
"We certainly do" Ashley replied brightly "you must be the blonde girl from Storybrooke that he spoke to earlier, the one who wouldn't give her name"
"Yeah, that would be me" Emma replied rubbing the back of her neck a little sheepishly,
"Mr Pearce said you might call, so are you interested in the role Miss..."
"Swan" Emma supplied "Emma Swan and yes I am"
"that's great Miss Swan" Ashley continued her tone always professional and never losing that jolly edge, "We can fit you in for an audition in the middle of next week if you can come down to the studio, our nearest branch to you is in Vancouver"
"That shouldn't be a problem" Emma replied still hardly daring to believe it,
"Fantastic, if you could just give me your email address Miss Swan, I'll arrange for everything to be sent over to you"
Emma supplied Ashley with the information that she was asked for, said goodbye, and hung up the phone, then picked up her mug drained its remaining contents and took it into the kitchen for a refill.
By the time she had returned to her computer with a fresh steaming coffee in hand a new email was waiting to be opened in her inbox, within it she found a short message reiterating what had been discussed over the phone and a file attachment that contained a brief description of Emma's character and a short scene for Emma to learn.
Leah, Emma noted wasn't too dissimilar to her, with her quiet reserve, unwavering loyalty, and history of growing up in the foster system that left her alone in the world for a time, she
found it easy to identify with her and felt quite confident that she would be able to portray the character with the justice that she deserved.