Week Three:
Emma-
The dreaded Tyra mail had finally arrived. Emma had known it would be coming, but the girls acted shocked. Emma had rolled her eyes. Every cycle of America's Next Top Model had makeovers, it was no surprise.
If you don't dye, you may be cut. Fierce and Love -Tyra
The mail had been obvious. Emma just wondered what they would do to her blond locks. A lot of the girls were emotional about their hair, but Emma didn't care. She would let them dye it any color or shave it all off if it gave her a chance at winning this competition.
The day after elimination, the girls were taken to a salon downtown. The Seven Dwarfs was one of the hottest places in LA. People from all over the country came to get their hair done here. Emma was super excited to get her hair done.
"So, were here in this fabulous salon, are you ladies ready to hear what we're doing?" Tyra asked. The girls all answered excitedly.
"Emma, your beautiful blonde hair," Tyra began. "We don't want to take away from it's natural beauty, but we want to give you a little more to play with, so your getting some extensions!"
Emma was a little glad they weren't doing anything too drastic. Even if she would have let them get rid of it, Emma really did love her hair. Tyra kept going down the line. Mary Margaret was getting her long locks chopped into a pixie cut. Mal's hair was being lightened and cut a little shorter. Ruby's red was coming out and was getting extensions. It kept going until Regina was the last one left.
"Such beautiful long, raven hair." Tyra complimented. "That is not at all versatile. We are chopping you up to here, baby."
Regina gasped when Tyra gestured to above her shoulders. Emma knew how much Regina loved her luscious locks, and she couldn't believe she was going to lose them. Emma knew, if Regina wanted to stay in the competition, she'd have to say goodbye to her beloved hair.
They were sent off to different stations. Emma was glad that she was seated near Regina. It was a little unsettling to see Regina completely stone face. Emma knew she was having an internal battle, but she had the poise and composure of a queen.
"You okay?" Emma asked. "I know that this is like, your worst nightmare."
"It's just hair." Regina stated. Emma couldn't figure if Regina was talking to her, or trying to convince herself. "It'll grow back."
"You'll rock short hair." Emma tried to encourage. Regina offered a weak smile.
The stylist came and began to prep the girls for their hair transformations. Emma was distracted by what the lady assigned to her was doing. She didn't have another chance to check on Regina. When she turned, they had whisked Regina off to have her hair shampooed. Emma hoped she'd be okay.
Emma was finished with her makeover and her post photo they'd taken. She was quickly eating some of the catered food they had brought in. It seemed like they'd been in the salon forever, and some of the makeovers were nowhere near complete.
"Uhm, Emma?" Emma looked up to see Ruby. "Regina is crying in the bathroom. Mal is with her, but I thought she might want you."
Emma forgot about the food in front of her and hurried off. She pushed past some girls trying to eavesdrop on Regina. She would tell them all off later. Right now she had more important things to do.
"Regina, get over your hair." Mal was saying. "Cora would have-"
"Get out." Emma told her. "Now."
Mal looked at Emma in shock. Emma could see that Mal wanted to argue, but she wasn't going to. The look in Emma's eyes were enough to send the Dragon Lady rushing out the door.
"I-I know it's just hair." Regina cried looking to Emma. "But, I-"
"Hey, sh, you don't have to explain." Emma soothed, moving to pull Regina into a hug. "I get it."
"I don't feel like myself anymore." Regina explained tearfully. "I don't feel beautiful and confident like I did before."
"Regina, you are without a doubt, the most beautiful girl here." Emma insists, giving Regina a tissue to wipe her tears. "I know its a big change, and that can be scary, but you are going to rock this haircut."
"At least they didn't cut these." Regina states, twirling one of Emma's blonde curls between her fingers. "You have such beautiful, golden hair."
"It's going to be okay, Regina." Emma tells her softly. "Now, let's get out there and watch Mary Margaret sob when they give her a pixie cut."
Regina laughs and follows Emma out of the room. They find seats and watch the rest of the makeovers and meltdowns. Emma knew Regina still had doubts, but she hoped that she had helped her feel a little better about the situation.
After the whole makeover fiasco, Emma and Regina spent even more time together. They had pretty much isolated themselves from the other girls. The drama and the negativity was just not appealing to Emma or her new found best friend.
They had finally gotten another Tyra mail about their weekly challenge. It had been about styling, and Emma had a suspicion that it would be all about being able to work their new looks.
The next morning, the group is taken to a studio. A camera is set up ready to take pictures of them. Emma can tell from the way that everything is set up that it will be a beauty shoot.
"Hey ladies." Tyra greeted them. They were shocked to see that Tyra was giving them their challenge today. "Today, I am going to take your beauty shots! The girl who does the best will win the challenge. She will get 50 extra frames at this weeks photoshoot, which we all know can be crucial."
They were sent off to get their hair done. For this shoot, Tyra had wanted to exaggerate their natural beauty, so she was having them all go without makeup. Emma was excited. She had been waiting for a beauty shoot, and she wanted to redeem herself to Tyra after last week.
Emma and Regina were the last two girl to go. Regina was before her, and Emma got to watch Regina's shoot. Tyra complemented Regina's beautiful skin. Emma was proud of Regina. When her shoot was done, Tyra called Emma over. Emma refused to let her nerves take over.
"Look at these lovely blonde extensions." Tyra compliments.
"Thank you." Emma grinned. "I love them."
Tyra got behind and the camera and Emma starting falling naturally into the poses. Tyra gave her little tips along the way, and Emma found them extremely helpful. This was her favorite challenge so far.
"Your eyes are so beautiful, you don't even need a lot of makeup." Tyra told Emma.
After Emma was done, the girls gathered around. Tyra told them that she had been impressed by how well they had all done. She gave some feedback to each girl. Regina was told to work on softening her mouth a bit, and that she shouldn't feel self conscious about her lip scar. Tyra told Emma to just be more confident with smiling during a beauty shoot.
"So the winner." Tyra smiled at all of them. "Is Belle."
Emma was happy for Belle. She was one of the quietest girls in the house, but she was really kind. And there was no doubt that Belle was a real beauty.
*EMMA CONFESSIONAL*
"This has been such a busy week and it's not even over yet. I have never been so exhausted in my life. We are on the go all the time, but I wouldn't change a thing. I am so fortunate to be here, and I am living for every moment. I don't know who will go home this week, but I just really hope it isn't me or Regina. We need to do well and prove that we deserve to be here. As much as I want this, I know if I don't win, it should be Regina."
Regina-
Regina and Emma were hanging out in their room. Regina was reading a book and Emma was playing solitaire with a deck of cards. Ruby came in and dragged them down stairs. The girls were all playing truth or dare and they wanted Emma and Regina to join them. Regina felt like truth or dare was something thirteen year old girls did at slumber parties. She had no interest in playing, but they didn't seem to have much of a choice.
"Good you got them." Tink grinned. "Come join the circle."
Regina sighed and took a seat next to Mary Margaret. Emma sat on Regina's other side. Mal went first and she chose to ask Mulan which judge she hated the most. It went around for a while before it was Emma's turn.
"Okay, uh, Ruby, truth or dare?" Emma asked.
"Dare." Ruby smiled.
"I dare you to...uh….let's see." Emma thought about what to dare her roommate to do. "Okay, I dare you to jump into the pool in all of your clothes."
The girls muttered that Emma's dare was lame, but Ruby went for it. She ran and jumped into the pool on their patio. She came back into the room dripping wet, but she grabbed a towel and sat back down.
"My turn." Ruby announced. "Regina, truth or dare."
Regina knew everyone wanted her to pick truth. They probably had a bunch of questions about her mother and such. She had no interest in having to answer them, so she decided to surprise them all.
"Dare." Regina announced.
Ruby grinned. She had hoped Regina would be ballsy enough to pick dare. She had known that Mulan was a lesbian since the first week. She was hoping that if she dared Regina to kiss her, it would make Emma jealous enough to finally make a move. Anyone could see that Emma and Regina had actual feelings for one another.
"I dare you, to kiss Mulan." Ruby smiled.
Regina turned bright red. Mulan shrugged, clearly not caring if Regina kissed her or not. Emma looked down at the ground, annoyed by this dare. Regina took a deep breath and moved across the circle to where Mulan was sitting. Mulan pulled Regina to her and placed a kiss on her lips. It was an innocent, chaste kiss, but Regina felt a twinge of guilt.
"This game is for kids." Emma declared, rising from her spot. "You guys are so immature. I'm going to sleep."
Emma stormed off. Regina wondered why the blonde was so upset all of the sudden. She couldn't possibly be jealous, right?
The girls had gotten Tyra mail not long after Emma had gone back to her room. Regina had fought the urge to follow, knowing Emma wouldn't have wanted her to. It was clear Emma wanted to be alone.
So you wanna be on top? -Fierce and Love, Tyra
Regina had been too tired to try and solve the riddle. She went up to her room. Emma was either asleep or pretending to be in order to ignore Regina. Regina figured she would figure things out in the morning. She had a hard time falling asleep, but when she did she had the strangest dream. It was exactly like the game of truth or dare they had played, but in the dream, Regina was kissing Emma.
Emma had avoided Regina all morning. At the shoot, Emma stood far away from her friend. Regina was having a hard time not talking to Emma. She wished they had never agreed to play that stupid game last night.
"Okay, today we have a wonderful opportunity to model top hats made by the Mad Hatter himself, Jefferson Wonder!" Jay explained the girls.
They all clapped in excitement. Anyone who was anyone knew about the Mad Hatter. He had began making hats to keep food on the table for his daughter, and soon they were a hit. Now he was in fashion magazines all around the world, and people from all sorts of places were ordering his hats.
"Each of you have been assigned a special hat to fit you, and you will be modeling in front this Wonderland-esque backdrop." Jay continued.
Regina wanted to talk to Emma, but they needed to get ready for the shoot. Regina didn't want to distract the blonde so she decided to focus on the shoot. She would talk to Emma when they were finished.
Regina's hat was tall and black with a lace veil that went over her face. There was a red apple with a bite take out attached to the brim. The apple made Regina smile. She had definitely made an impression when she had been the Evil Queen during the first shoot just two weeks ago. Emma had a white hat that was shorter than Regina's. It was simple, but there was a swan placed on top of the hat. They already had Emma dressed in a short white dress with her curls laying softly over her shoulders. She looked beautiful.
"She's jealous, you know." Ruby stated from beside Regina.
"Who? Emma?" Regina replied. "No way."
"Uh, yeah, way." Ruby rolled her eyes. "That kiss with Mulan may have been innocent, but it broke Emma's heart."
"Emma doesn't like me that way." Regina insisted.
"Of course she does." Ruby said with a laugh. "Anyone can see it."
"But-"
"But what, Regina?" Ruby asked. "You obviously feel the same way. Put the poor swan out of her misery and make up. I can't take the sulking anymore."
With that Ruby walked off to get dressed. Regina realized, Ruby was right. Regina did have feelings for Emma, but she knew she couldn't voice them. Emma, if she did feel the same, had to focus on the competition. Regina refused to be the reason Emma got distracted.
Regina was called to set. She made it through the photo shoot and felt like she did a pretty good job. They told her she did great working through the veil, and she just needed to remember her angels. She hoped Emma had a good shoot, but the blonde still wasn't speaking to her. She supposed they'd see at judging.
When they got to panel, all of the judges were wearing top hats. It was cool to see them interacting with what the girls had been doing all week. Regina knew a lot of Jefferson's earnings went to a charity that helped starving children. Her mother had bought a collection from Jefferson a while back even though Cora never wore hats.
"Hello, ladies." Tyra greeted. "How do you like our hats?"
The girls laughed. Tyra chatted with them for a bit about why the Mad Hatter collection was so inspirational. She reminded them that the winner of the competition would have an opportunity to also make a difference in the world. After she was done, she began calling the girls up to examine their photos.
Ruby was first and her picture was gorgeous. She definitely set a high bar. Next up was Mal and she had a decent picture, but Tyra said they were still concerned about her attitude. Finally, they called up Emma.
"This is stunning." Tyra complemented. "You look so soft and surreal."
"You look like your in love and thinking of your lover." Another judge told her.
Regina tried not to blush. She wondered if Emma had been thinking of her during the shoot. It made her grin a bit. She had to remind herself that she wouldn't let Emma get caught up in a relationship with her and risk her chances of winning.
"Next up is Regina." Tyra announced. Regina walked up to the judges as her photo came up on the screen. "Your face is killer! I love, love the look in your eyes."
"I agree." Nigel said. "Work on your angels and this could have been a ten out of ten."
Soon, the judges were done with the looking over the photos. The girls were dismissed so the judges could decide who would be going home.
The girls came back and Tyra stood in front of them with the photos in her hands.
"I only have twelve photos in my hands, and these photos represent the thirteen of you that will still be in the running toward becoming America's Next Top Model. The girl that I do not call must immediately return to your house, pack your bags and go home." Tyra told them. "This week, best photo goes to, Ruby."
Regina smiled, but she was surprised. Ruby did have an amazing picture, but Regina had been sure that Emma would be called first.
"Runner up, Emma. Belle. Ella. Regina. Mary Margaret. Mulan. Tink. Ursula. Aurora." Tyra called. "Marian and Mal, please step forward."
Regina watched as the two, very different, women walked up. She wondered who would stay and who would leave. Truthfully, she hoped Mal would be sent packing finally.
"Mal, you are here because the judges are concerned about your meanness. We need a winner that little girls can look up to, not be afraid of." Tyra explained. "And Marian, you are fading. I find myself forgetting who you are. A personality is the most beautiful thing a model can have, and we have yet to see yours. So who stays in this competition? Mal."
Everyone was surprised. Marian had been nice, and she was very beautiful. It was sad that the judges had chose to keep Mal over her.
*REGINA CONFESSIONAL*
"It's been a rough week. I need to figure things out with Emma. I miss her, but I don't want to ruin things for her. She deserves to be here more than anyone. How can I stand in the way of that?"
A/N here it is! :) -Kaila