I Do Not own OUAT. Everleigh is my own creation!

Chapter 1

"I can't believe you're making me come here." I grumble to Amanda, my social worker, as I glare at the quaint, brick buildings lining the street we're driving down.

"Come on, it won't be that bad." She grins over at me as I groan. "It's actually kind of cute." She admits nodding over toward a huge clock tower.

"Exactly, it's a tiny, little town where everyone knows everyone and there's no such thing as privacy." I complain as we pull up to a small shop which apparently has an apartment above it. "I bet they have potlucks."

Amanda flat out laughs at my statement and asks, "What's wrong with potlucks?"

"They're unsanitary and gross." I inform her.

"They are not!" she exclaims as she kills the ignition in car and pops the trunk.

"They so are!" I argue. "You have no way of knowing who prepared a dish and whether or not they washed their hands before doing so. Not to mention, everyone serves themselves and gets their germs all over everything."

Amanda just shakes her head and climbs out of the car. She makes sure to put the keys around her neck knowing I'm not above stealing her car to get the hell out of dodge. I reluctantly follow her out of the car, grabbing the backpack from between my feet.

"You know, it's not too late to make a run for it." I inform her as I grab my duffle bag from the trunk and she grabs the manilla envelope containing the past three years of my life; the only three of my seventeen years of life I can remember. "I heard Canada is nice this time of year." I state as we climb the stairs leading to the apartment above the bookshop. At least I'll have reading material close by.

"Ever, I understand where you're coming from." Amanda says, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze. "But I promise you that the Charmings aren't going to be like the other families. Give them a chance."

"The Charmings?" I ask with one eyebrow raised. "Seriously?"

She just rolls her eyes and knocks on the door. Immediately, my heart drops into my stomach as I hear heavy footsteps approaching the door. "I bet they have Christmas cantatas."

Before Amanda can respond the door opens to reveal a young, blonde man in his late twenties to early thirties. Well, he definitely doesn't look like the older, greasy haired perverts that are typically my foster dads. I'm still not comfortable with the intense way he's looking at me though.

Amanda clears her throat before shooting me a look telling me to be on my best behavior, "Mr. Charming?"

"Please, call me David." The man smiles politely while shaking Amanda's hand.

"I'm Amanda Singer, we've been speaking over the phone the last few weeks." Amanda smiles warmly at him. "And this is Everleigh." David's attention shifts back to me and the same awestruck look fills his eyes.

"It's nice to meet you." I try to offer him a smile but it comes off more like a grimace.

"Oh, um, come on in. My wife is anxious to meet you, Everleigh, and i'm sure there's paperwork that needs to be filled out."

"Of course there's paperwork. I'm giving you a kid." Amanda jokes and I'm tempted to roll my eyes but decide to hold off on the teenage angst until she can't see it.

"Let me take your bags." David reaches for my backpack and duffel and I immediately take a step back on instinct.

"I can handle it." I state, unable to keep the icy bite from my words.

"Of course." He smiles gently and gestures for Amanda and I to enter the apartment. Amanda smiles politely as we enter.

"Be nice." She whispers in my ear as we enter the open layout apartment. The apartment itself is spacious but it's lacking the one thing I appreciate most: privacy. The first floor appears to be one big, open room. The kitchen and living room are connected and there appears to be a bedroom sectioned off with curtains. The only doors in the whole space is the one I entered through and the one to the bathroom- and even that one has a frosted window in it.

I have to admit that the apartment does have a cozy, lived in feeling to it. It's not trashy like most of the homes I've lived in nor is it so pristine that it looks like a museum. It's, for lack of better words, what I imagine a real home to be like. My examination of the apartment is cut off as three people make their way down from the top floor.

A small statured, brunette woman approaches me with a huge smile, "You must be Everleigh."

I'm taken aback when she pulls me in for a tight hug. My entire body tenses up and I can feel my fight or flight instincts kicking in; right now they're screaming at me to run. I look desperately at Amanda for help.

However, it's David who comes to my rescue.

"Mary Margaret, let's give Everleigh some space." He says gently as he pulls his wife away from me. I instantly cross my arms over my chest protectively.

"I'm so sorry." She instantly apologizes. "My excitement got the better of me."

"It's okay." I can't help but offer her a reassuring smile since she seems genuinely upset. "I'm just not big on hugging."

There's a brief, awkward silence before David clears his throat and nods his head over to the tall, blonde woman and child who had came down the stairs behind Mary Margaret. "This is my wife's sister, Emma, and her son, Henry."

"It's nice to meet you both." I greet them, warily watching the kid who is beaming at me with a 100 watt smile.

"Now, on your application you stated that it's only you two living here." Amanda states as she glances between David and Mary Margaret, searching for any sign of deception.

"Henry and I actually live in the apartment next door." Emma quickly explains. "We were just helping get Everleigh's room ready and time got away from us."

Amanda smiles approvingly at this.

"Emma, Henry," Mary Margaret claps her hands together. "Why don't you two show Everleigh her room while David and I go over the paperwork with Mrs. Singer."

"That sounds great." Amanda agrees before noticing the look I'm giving her. "It's okay. You know I won't leave without letting you know." She assures me.

"Come on!" Henry jumps up and down excitedly. " I'll help you with your bags. "

I notice both Amanda and David glance at me, clearly thinking of my earlier reaction when David tried to take my bags.

"Thank you, Henry." I give him a small smile and allow him to take my backpack since it weighs next to nothing. Being in the foster system, I'm quite adept around younger children. Besides, I could totally take him if he did try to take off with my bag. I throw a quick glance back at Amanda as I follow Emma and Henry up the stairs and she offers me a soft smile.

"Go ahead, you know I won't leave without telling you." She assures me as she follows David and Mary Margaret over to a well worn sofa set. Holding back a frown I follow the others up the stairs.

"This is mine?" I ask once we get to the top of the stairs and I can see the large space. Once again, there is a lack of walls and doors. However, it is completely separated from the rest of the apartment which is nice.

"We weren't sure what kind of stuff you like so we left it pretty bare and figured you could do the decorating yourself." Emma explains as I take in the empty, bricks walls and sparse furniture.

"It's nice." I assure her, sitting my bag down on the double bed. I'm not lying either. In the three years of my life that I can recall I've never had my own room so this is a considerable upgrade.

"So, do you like hot chocolate with cinnamon?" Henry asks as he jumps into the middle of my bed. Emma gives him a reprimanding glare but he just smiles cheekily at her. "Mom, Mary Margaret, and I all love it. It runs in the family."

"Can't say I've ever tried it." I inform him as I cross my arms over my chest; a natural defense mechanism I revert to whenever I'm feeling uncomfortable.

"With cinnamon?" He questions, looking a little crestfallen. "I guess it's not the common."

"Actually, I've never had hot chocolate." I admit feeling a little embarrassed that I haven't tried a drink most people have before they're five.

Henry is shell shocked, "Never?"

"Nope, at least not that I can remember."

"Don't worry, we'll make you some and you'll love it. I promise!" he assures me and I can't help but smile.

"We should probably head back down." Emma says as she gestures back toward the staircase and my stomach drops. I always dread the moment Amanda leaves because that's when a foster family's true colors come out. I reluctantly follow Emma and Henry down the stairs and see Amanda gathering up a stack of papers. It also doesn't escape my notice that David has the manilla envelope containing my file. I hate it when foster parents request my file, not that there's much in it to see. David notices my gaze and shifts so that the file is out of my view.

"So it looks like we're all set." Amanda says as she stands from the arm chair and tucks the stack of papers under her arm. "How's your new room?"

"It's nice." I inform her as I cross the room and stand beside her "I guess it's time for you to go."

Her mouth is set in a grim line as she glances over to where the Charmings are watching us, "Can we have a moment?" she asks gesturing between the two of us.

"Of course!" Mary Margaret exclaims as she starts herding everyone away from us. "We'll just be in the kitchen."

I have a really hard time not rolling my eyes as they literally only take five steps to the kitchen and I can still see her and David glancing over at me out of the corner of their eyes even though they're trying to look busy.

"Please don't leave me here." I mumble as I follow Amanda to the door and she sighs heavily.

"Evy, please give David and Mary Margaret a chance. You know they asked about adoption?" She informs me and I'm instantly panicked.

"You told them no, right?" I demand. "Why would they even want t adopt a seventeen year old? I'm out of the system in a year anyway."

"I told them that the adoption would be up to you." She assures me and I'm instantly relieved. "But seriously, Ever, give them a chance. They're different, I can feel it."

"We had tacos for lunch. What you're feeling is indigestion." I deadpan and she holds back a snort of laughter.

"What am I going to do without your smart mouth?" she grins at me and I roll my eyes.

"Take me with you and you won't have to find out." I offer with a grin of my own and it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"You have my cell phone number, call me if you need anything." She says seriously. "I'll be checking in with you every week and I won't hesitate to come back here if you miss a call."

"I know." I give her a genuine smile as she offers me her pinky and I wrap my own around it. I've never been fond of hugging so this has become our standard "goodbye."

"I'll see you later." She promises and gives me pinky a squeeze with her own.

"See ya." I say as we release one another and she quickly makes her exit. I take a deep breath before turning around to face the Charmings only to find every single one of them already watching me. Awkward.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Mary Margaret asks, coming around the counter and clearly ready to comfort me.

"I'm fine." I say as I take a half step back from her causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Well, if you're hungry, we could go to Granny's diner going in town. We thought you might like the chance to meet some of our friends from around town." David suggests and I have to hide my grimace since I have zero interest in meeting anyone from this town.

"Sounds great." I offer a fake smile. At least it's not a potluck.