It was a day that Henry got excited because of the Christmas Festival on Main Street. That's how Emma grew up in a small town to celebrate Christmas with her family but it was her dysfunctional mother who got over in her head to decorate everything festive and took over the first grand opening of the Christmas Festival many years ago.

It was all Mary Margaret's doing to have it for the years. From the previous mayor before Regina's father took over as a mayor of Storybrooke, she approved on the proposal for the event on Main Street. It caused the townspeople to get excited about it. Despite every religion, they believed in their own beliefs in whichever religion they took but got themselves to enjoy different holidays through those days.

Most of the people understood their beliefs and didn't judge on them even though they believed in different ways. Again, it was Mary Margaret's doing over everything that she took for her people to be generous toward herself. To Emma, she didn't mind to celebrate Christmas and it was her favorite time of the year since she got invited to the Mills Mansion one time many years ago.

It was a bittersweet moment when Emma started to enjoy herself through Christmas after complaining on her mom's decorations around in her house. Her father didn't mind but went to support on his wife's decision. Everett and Amy just shrugged off and went to their friends' houses for the entertainment. It caused her to be grumpy on that day before she got an announcement from her mother about the Mills Mansion.

Her retort about Christmas things went away as she got excited to see her best friend, Regina Mills. It was that memory when she came to remember that day. She smiled at herself when she saw her son getting excited about something on the table while they strolled through the stands and greeted some people they knew for years. Emma looked away at her son who was drooling on the toys from Marco's stall and retorted.

"Is that Marco?"

"Yes, it is him. He never retired from working on these beautiful handcrafted toys. Do you remember that Neal got his first handcrafted train set from him?" Amy continued while snuggling with her oldest sister's arm. It caused the blonde diva chuckling at the memory when Neal was six years old and he always brought the train set with him everywhere he went.

"I remember."

"So, I guess that others went on their own. Why not I take Henry to Marco's while you go away mingling with those people you knew from your life? Please?"

"Sure. Don't get him out of your sight and I hate to argue with you over again." Emma sent a mild glare at the redheaded sister who was rolling her eyes with a nod. Amy finally got excited and tugged her nephew to Marco's stall. The golden-haired woman shook her head and walked away to leave them alone. She looked through different tables, the people gathering their interests of the hobbies such as the jewelry, toys, clothes and everything else that donated away.

Emma smiled at the owners and decided to buy something for her family that was simple to do. She enjoyed herself while mingling with some stuffs that she was interested until the last one was the food stall. It was Granny's diner. The golden-haired actress sighed and felt starving after searching for something that she really liked to buy for her parents as a thank-you gift.

The blonde superstar finally sat in the empty booth and gathered herself to read through the menu. She remembered herself when she was with her friends from high school before the graduation. It was perhaps a last day of school but Emma didn't remember which day it was. The waitress came upon her table and asked.

"Hello. What could I get it for you?"

"Um, just a bacon cheeseburger with extra chipotle mayo. And, small fries with cheese dip sauce. Also, I will like a large iced tea with lemon and honey on side. Thank you."

"Ok, it will be about 15 minutes to get your order. I will be right back with your drink. Thank you for staying at Granny's Diner." The waitress sent a smile and gathered the menu then left back to the kitchen for a new order. Emma nodded with a satisfaction and took a look around in the building. Every details went same since she grew up in that town and always get her breakfast before the school started. The memory took herself to remember that day when Regina was there with her on the last day of school before their graduation. They were completely alone in the back booth which it was in the corner.

Flashback – Summer 2000

It was a beautiful day outside. Emma was sitting in the back booth while she was waiting for her best friend, Regina to have a breakfast together. It was their favorite routine of the day while they were in school for the years. Their mothers decided to approve their morning routines when the girls had a chance to talk it out about everything.

The blonde teenager was 17 years old at this time and other was 18 years old. She was wearing a bow-tie look with her fishtail braid on her right side. Also, Emma wore her red eyeglasses on her face with a bold red lipstick. Her clothes went rad when she had her white blouse with the red bow tie and khaki pants. The bottom line was that Emma wore the masculine dress shoes in the black style.

She was reading a book called 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger and enjoyed it for a while. From outside on her window, the cars were passing through and the people chattering aloud. The birds were chirping and singing a song. The flowers already bloomed and the bees were buzzing everywhere. Emma was in her book as she was fantasized in the book but didn't notice Regina coming in the front door.

The brunette teenager waved her hand at Granny with a good morning greeting. The oldest woman waved her back with a smile and informed her that she has her breakfast to be ready in five minutes. Regina nodded with a smile and almost skipped toward her usual booth with Emma but paused when she saw the blonde teenager nosing in her book. She went slack-jawed while seeing Emma in her nerd clothes as she called it.

Regina really liked the look on her best friend's clothes and even though, she couldn't resist the red glasses that looked so sexy on Emma's face. The brunette girl cleared her throat and kept her cool while sitting on the opposite side and dropping her backpack away on her side. Regina wore a blue summer maxi dress with a cozy light jacket and black heels. Her hair looked fantastic when she let her hair down and very curly. She looked like Jennifer Lopez somehow as Emma mentioned it away.

The breakfast plates were delivered on their table. Emma finished her book away and looked up at her brown-haired best friend with a surprise. Regina slowly smiled at her with a greeting. The waitress asked her right away before serving others. Emma told the waitress that Regina could have same as hers. Others nodded. The golden-haired best friend looked back at her and continued.

"You look like Jennifer Lopez."

"Hah. Very funny. And, thank you for a beautiful compliment."

Emma blushed with a chuckle. Regina rolled her eyes and dug her breakfast right away. The blonde woman shook her head and ate it quickly as the waitress served her another iced tea. The auburn-haired best friend chuckled when she saw the red glasses slipping on Emma's nose and shoved it away. Emma exclaimed with a gasp and retorted.

"How dare you!?"

"Your glasses are slipping so I did it. We got even for now."

"What now?" The blonde girl whined after drinking hers. Regina chuckled and explained about her day from yesterday's event. They didn't get their classes together and went separated because Emma was very smarter and had her APs classes every day. Regina took the regular classes with honors. The ladies always chatted about their classes and classmates who checked them out with the lust but they always got each other's back if they need the dates.

After the breakfast routine, they walked together to the school and waved to their classmates until they took themselves to the classes all day. The ladies didn't see each other till the school rang out for the summer break. From their last day of school, they had their graduation practice afterward and they finally saw each other then caught up with their days.

Flashback

Emma was eating her fries while looking at the window. It was an exactly place when she remembered the beginning of their breakfast routine. She smiled at herself when it came to Regina's face in her opposite side of the booth. The clarity of the brunette woman's face was like a shining water drop. The blonde diva emptied her basket for a burger in five minutes and decided to call the waitress to get another one of the iced tea.

It was quiet in the diner. The golden-haired woman took a note when it came to the silence. The customers were still chattering about their days. Some snored while the sun was burning their time. Others were reading the newspapers or writing something on the papers. Few of them were the students of the high school where Emma attended in her old days.

The blonde woman chuckled at herself when the iced tea was served and her plates were clearing away by the waitress. She told her to get her check and smiled. The waitress nodded and walked away to gather others.

Emma leaned against the cushions that almost caused her to groan. She looked at the window again and watched the rain pouring outside. The people were scattered to get inside before they got wet. Some of the kids laughed and played with the puddles near the sidewalks. The owners who were yelling for the sale or shooed some kids who tried to steal fruits on the market.

The golden-haired woman chuckled at herself and got signed on the check by the waitress with her thanks. The waitress nodded and sent herself to clean up on the customers' tables while the owner whipped the chefs to work up on the delicious food. Emma wondered how she got here since moving out of the small town for ten years. Her son took a liking to this town and she hoped that they wouldn't stay longer as she excepted it to be.

With a sigh, she leaned forward to grasp her chin with her right hand while looking out in the window. She didn't hear the ringing bells by the front door of the diner and didn't look around either to see someone who came in to get food. Her thoughts subsided in her mind as she drank her iced tea. Emma didn't notice that Regina was standing beside her and she kept focusing on the kids who were completely wet with the rain.

The voice rang her thoughts out as Emma turned around to face her long-time best friend who was standing there in front of her eyes. It caused her to be surprised that Regina was staring at her emerald eyes. The waitress came upon their table and asked Regina if she should need anything to eat or drink. The brunette woman answered.

"Coffee, black. Please and thank you."

"Coming up." Other replied with a smile and left them alone. Regina didn't look away at the waitress' retreat from them and indicated toward the empty seat in front of the blonde diva. Emma looked down across her seat and waved her dismissal hand. The brunette woman nodded and gently unbuttoned her raincoat out then sat down nicely.

Emma swallowed a lump in her throat and stared at her former friend but realized that she was sitting with the mayor of Storybrooke since she got the news from her family that she didn't know about her entire life in Storybrooke. The blonde woman gently smiled at her and intertwined her fingers while waiting for Regina's drink to arrive.

To be honestly, the ladies didn't know how to begin the conversation between them. It was an awkward moment to see each other for the first time in their approach. For their knowledge, they didn't know that everyone in the diner were pleased that they finally reunited at last. It left the ladies to wonder about their life at this time. But Emma was the first person to open the conversation and tried to break their tension anytime.

"It's a surprise to see you here."

"It is. It is nice to see you again since you…"

"Left ten years ago." The blonde actress replied with a sorrowful smile. Regina nodded and looked up at the waitress who was bringing her coffee drink then left without interrupting their conversation on the table. The brown-haired mayor looked back to the emerald eyes she once knew from her childhood and looked down at the black coffee in her hands with a shaky voice.

"How long will you stay here?"

"After New Year's Eve."

It went in silence. The customers felt the tension between the ladies while they were glimpsing in Regina's busy life being their mayor of town. Emma looked around at herself but found nothing interesting in her perspective but back to the caramel eyes she once knew on her first day of their childhood. Regina sipped some and spoke in a mayoral voice.

"I don't know what to say since I saw you few days ago. To be honest, I felt a little scared."

"Um… I understand how you feel. I felt overwhelmed when I got here as well. So, my family told me that you are a mayor in this town. And, I feel bad that I didn't send you my congratulations for your new position."

"Oh, thank you. So, what about you?" The brunette mayor chuckled with a retort. Emma gently rubbed her hands while looking at the window. Regina stared at her a bit longer as she studied on her face. It was not same as she recalled on her old days back in the college.

The blonde woman was bony in her facial structure. Her body was hidden with a beauty but showed some muscles. Regina assumed that Emma worked out in her days as well. The golden-haired diva stood her up as she was sitting on her throne like a queen. Her voice sparked her out when she remembered her old days in high school.

"Well, I became an actress and moved out to Los Angeles."

"Actress, I wondered. You got better on your acting skills since I saw you in 'Les Misérables' and 'Chicago'."

"Oh, where was that?" Emma raised her brows as she asked the mayor in front of her. Regina chuckled while answering her questions.

"It was in New York City when I came to take my business meetings over there. You were amazing in Les Misérables on Broadway. For Chicago, it was a movie."

"Thank you. I didn't see you there when I was on the Broadway stage like four years ago."

"No, I was sitting way back in the orchestra stage and watched you like four times in a week."

"Oh." Emma said while thinking back in her old days in a Broadway. Regina tilted her head while sipping her coffee and asked.

"Well, I am curious about your well-being. But I'm more interested in your life as well. I hope you don't mind to tell me about your fantastic life in Los Angeles."

"Well, I don't mind too about your life. But it seems like a long time to not talk or see each other for ten years. Do you think it's a right time to reunite together and be okay with that?" The blonde diva questioned her right away with a confused look. The brunette mayor opened and closed her mouth like a fish in the tank but realized that they hadn't reunited together after ten years. But in her mind, she didn't know what happened to them after they fell apart in their college days and she felt sorry for both of them.

It left Regina to be surprised. Emma stood up and smiled at her in a sorrowful way then informed her right away before leaving the diner. The brown-haired woman felt an urge to get Emma back to her seat and have a deep conversation alone in the privacy. But it won't let her do that when it came to her chance to see her again.

"I'm sorry, Regina. I have to go."

"Wait! Before you leave, may I have your phone number? You know, to talk about what you need to know what happened to us?" Regina asked with a frown. The golden-haired actress almost turned around to face the door but decided to write down on her phone number on the napkin with a pen. She finished her task and looked up at her with a reply.

"You may call me whenever you want to be free and let me know if we could do that in our privacy. I will be pleased if you do that. So, have a gloomy day." Emma nodded and finally left the diner. It left the brunette mayor to hold the napkin in her hand and look down on the number. It was not same one as she tried to call her on other night. She realized that she had her new number and it was located in New York City.

Regina didn't realize that she was completely alone and watched Emma stalking away on the sidewalk on her way to The Nolan's mansion outside on the Main Street. She sighed and put the napkin away in her purse and drank her cold coffee then purchased it right away before leaving for the office on the rest of the day.

A/N: It's coming up... Please review.