A/N: I would like to thank you all so very much for the lovely reviews! Here's another chapter up and ready for you to read! I do hope you enjoy, and please, tell me what you think!

Emma's mind was a whirl of emotions by the end of her journey to Mr. Glass's classroom. She felt terribly bad about what she had done, she concluded. Hopefully Ms. Mills didn't construct her behaviour in a negative way. Although, the blonde wouldn't exactly blame her if she had. After all, she left without another word upon speaking her thoughts, and releasing more information about how she felt towards the brunette. The last thing that she wanted to do was make the English teacher feel uncomfortable. She felt, though, that she had gotten too far, and went beyond where she had originally intended upon sitting with her teacher during lunch hour.

She knew how the rest of her day was going to be by just this moment, or so she thought as she slid into her seat next to Belle. Emma's mind was going to be working over the subject for the rest of the day, contemplating different outcomes for the day's events. Because if she did this differently, or had done that a different way, or perhaps handled a situation in an entirely different manner, she might not be so goddamn distracted. Belle was saying something beside her, but Emma wasn't paying attention.

After all of the events of the day, it all ended on just one simple image. One small scene that Emma just could not, for the life of her, get out of her head. After all, it was the entire reason why she had fled the room prematurely. And for some reason, it just scared the hell out of her. Something inside of her just sparked and told her to get away. Something was just not right about any of it. That look on Ms. Mills' visage had Emma completely taken aback. The reason was slowly coming to the blonde the more she gave thought about that particular moment.

The look in the brunette's eyes had only been given to Emma twice in her life, and as independent and isolated as her life had been without the usual general kindness, it was quite rare. So, that it had happened again only left the blonde baffled as to why Ms. Mills would give her such a look.

The first time she received such a look of admiration was when she was old enough to remember it. She was two. Of course, many would say that it would be such an impossibility to remember something, especially a look, at such a young age. And, yes, it was uncanny, but Emma remembered it. Around that very age were the years that she had remembered the most. Every other year of her childhood had been a blur. But then, at that age, she remembered most vividly. At that time, she was loved. It was the first time that she had ever been loved- or so she thought since her parents had given her up- and it was the last time. That was, until she had met the Nolans. That would be the second time she would have received such a look of love and admiration as a brand new addition to a small, young family.

And, now, she had seen such a similar look on Ms. Mills' face after she had said those words. Perhaps it wasn't love, but it was enough to scare the hell out of Emma. It had happened when she had first had a connection with the Nolans. That look shot dread throughout her entire body and she wanted to just turn and flee. And, of course, she had. She escaped to her own bedroom.

The reason for that being was quite a simple, yet so complex, explanation. Being loved and showing love was just not something Emma was used to. But there were the people in her life that drew these feelings out of her and pushed towards her that showed that she was indeed capable of loving and being loved.

But her feet weren't on steady ground. She still hadn't trusted any of it. And the blame would be pushed to the very first family that she had been fostered by. That sweet, young couple with smiling faces and loving eyes. They gave Emma every ounce of their love, which the little girl would remember like any child should. But that was not Emma's case. She remembered, alright, but she remembered for entirely different reasons. That family just tossed her aside like some old toy that a child didn't want to play with anymore after receiving a brand new one. The woman got pregnant, and Emma still didn't quite understand why, but they decided to send her back. Even at three, Emma knew it wasn't right, and even if she hadn't, the kids at the orphanage teased her every single day until she knew that it wasn't. Until she knew that she wasn't wanted. She was a reject. She would never be loved. And Emma grew up believing that.

The very next home she was sent to proved such to her. The wife was never around and the husband was a drunk, who had gambled away the money that was supposed to go towards the foster children. They didn't love her. They never loved her. And Emma knew that, even with a young mind. She wasn't good enough, and the man had made a constant reminder of that every time she did something wrong, or didn't do a chore correctly. She had been sent back to the teasing older kids just shy of a year later.

Her life consisted of just that, being sent into homes until they found that she wasn't good enough, and sent her back. That was, until she had arrived into this town and was taken under the Nolan's wings. It wasn't the longest she had lived in one particular home, but it was one that she was comfortable in. Of course, she had expected the worst and had been waiting to be sent back for being an unlovable kid once again, but to her surprise, they treated her like an actual human being and had shown her as much love as they could. Sometimes Emma thought it was too much, since they smothered her with hugs and constant reminders of how much they loved her. But, Emma soon had grown used to the affection from those two, and slowly began to appreciate it to its full capacity.

Every single day, though, Emma was always on edge. She expected that one of these days, the two would wake up and realize that they don't actually love her and they never had. And that they would send her back to bounce from house to house until she was eighteen.

The overall intensity of her fears had dissipated and those irrational thoughts only happened on occasion- particularly when she was having a bad day. But the Nolans always banished her fears with a gesture of kindness and of love.

And now that she had seen this look in Ms. Mills' eyes- on her face- all of Emma's fears had come rushing back and hit her like a freight train. She was brought back to that very first family and all of the memories following. She was stuck on that day that the social worker had come to pick her up, as well as the bags with her belongings in it. Little Emma hadn't known what was going on at the time and when she looked out the window towards the couple that didn't even give her a second glance, she had assumed she wasn't going to be back. It took all of the cogs in her brain to do very little spinning before she realized that, yeah, she wasn't going back because the way they had been painting her room and replacing her things had been implication enough.

She was angry before she was sad. Her anger based upon how they could just let her go like that and how they never even bothered to look at her as she was driven away. And the sadness that had soon followed were encompassed by the same reasons, as well as another. Did they ever love her? More questions were asked to herself as she grew when the kids at the orphanage had taken their own grief out on her. Was she really unlovable? Was she really unworthy of love? Was she… useless?

Those questions- to this day- she still asks herself. They were much like scars. At first, they cut so deep and had been so painful to learn, but as time went on, the words weren't as foreign nor effective as they had been. They only left a dull sadness within her aura and gave her an unforgettable mark.

That's why she was so terrified. Because how if, yeah, Ms. Mills did feel something for her- whether romantically (which was unlikely, she thought) or not- she would only be filled with a certain gnawing dread in the pit of her stomach and the voices of the foster children chanting like distant ghosts in her ears. What if the teacher had decided she really wasn't worth the effort? That, perhaps, she wasn't worth all the time that they had been spent talking and that it would just be better to either move on to another, or ditch her altogether, because she was getting quite boring. Or maybe she was getting too bothersome? Or even to the point of being a constant nuisance?

Of course, those were Emma's fears talking and the blonde couldn't be sure what exactly the teacher would think, come the future. She tried her best not to think about it, knowing that it would only ruin the time that she did have. But the more time that she had with the teacher would only cause more pain later on. Emma had seriously debated on whether or not to face the woman again. But that was rather hard when she had her as a teacher. No, she couldn't do that.

Right now, Emma just needed to clear her mind. She needed to not think about this. At least not for a few hours. The blonde was starting to get a headache with all of these thoughts consuming her. She was drowning and there was no way to escape the sea of worry in her head.

"Are you sure that you're alright, Emma?" Belle asked the blonde quietly.
Emma looked up from her current project in the art room. She hadn't said much to her friend last period, and for most of this one, since the class was nearing its end. She had only responded with a few grunts or short one-worded responses- both positive and negative- when her friend had asked her questions. The petite brunette must have figured that the blonde wasn't in the talking mood, for she had backed away from speaking to focus on class.

"Yeah," she finally answered. "I'm just thinking, I guess. I have a lot on my mind."

"It seems like it." Belle didn't pry. Instead, she gestured towards Emma's wrapped knuckles. "I've been wondering about that, but every time I asked you, you just grunted at me."

"Oh. Sorry." Emma self-consciously hid her hand.

"What happened?"

"Got into a fight." she murmured vaguely. She wasn't about to tell Belle the reason why and the other teenager seemed to have known that, because she only nodded. She knew that she wasn't going to get any more than that out of her blonde friend.

"Did you win?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, since they ran out after I punched 'em." Emma only shrugged, playing with a strand of her hair. "I'm a badass, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. You're tough, Emma." Belle gave her a friendly smile and lightly nudged the blonde with her shoulder. "I'm proud of you."

"You don't even know why I did it."

"Yeah, but you won. That's something to be proud of." The brunette shrugged. "And even if you didn't, I'd still be proud of you because you were brave enough to fight whoever that was. They must have done something to piss you off. You wouldn't risk anything for no good reason. You stood up for something that you believe in. I'm proud of that."

Emma gave Belle a watery smile. Boy, was she glad that she could handle her emotions well, because if not, she'd be leaking water works all over the place by now. Belle was a great friend, despite her snoopy tendencies. She was one of those people that, once friends with someone, would be a genuine friend and would take pride in their companions. The brunette always seemed to know the right thing to say, of course, that was only when she really wanted to say it. She reminded her of Ruby, sometimes, and she suspected that the waitress had rubbed off on her with the general snarky and teasing tendencies.

But Belle was booksmart and she had a whole different kind of wisdom that Emma could sometimes stare in awe at. Sometimes she even forgot that the brunette was only her own age, a goddamn teenager. It was those wise thoughts that brought the two together. That, and the library that they had both been visiting at the time. It had been a particular down day for Emma and Belle had taken notice to the solemn way the blonde had sat alone at a table, books surrounding her. They had talked and hit it off quite well, especially once Belle had given Emma her first pep-talk.

And here she was again, cheering her up like she always did. Sometimes she felt that she wasn't enough for Belle, but the brunette had always told her not to mind that. Emma's friendship was enough. It baffled the blonde, for she was never used to such sincerity, but, just as she had with the Nolans, she soon learned to accept it.

"Thanks, Belle." Emma said quietly. "You really are a great friend. I don't deserve you as one, honestly."

"Oh, don't think that, Em!" Those words had caused a frown to take place on Belle's face. "You deserve far better than me as a friend. Now, look… Your thoughts are dragging you down again, yes? Why don't you go to the library after school? I know how much reading helps you. You need it."

The blonde tilted her head. She hadn't thought of that. Well, not recently, anyhow. Going to the library sounded like a dream. She loved to go there and forget about reality as she got lost in books. It always seemed to help ease her mind.
"Yeah, I need that. Thanks, Belle. You know just what to say." Emma smiled and hugged the other girl tightly. She rarely ever hugged anyone, and when she did, she had no other words to show her gratitude. Belle knew this and gratefully accepted the hug.

"That's what friends are for, Em." She returned the smile and moved away once Emma had released her. "Now, go. I'll clean your things up for you."

"You don't have to do that." Emma frowned, her fingers fumbling with a pencil on the table. "I can stay the extra five minutes."

"Emma." Her voice was stern and showed no room for argument. Emma could only oblige because her friend has done so much for her already and she couldn't sit here and argue when she had offered to do something so kind.

"Fine… But I owe you." The blonde popped up from her seat, grabbing her bag as she stood. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." Belle chuckled softly and nodded.

"Alright…" And then Emma left the room, one foot in front of the other, as fast as she could. Instead of the worrisome thoughts of today, she had been thinking about which book that she should read first. There were so many that she hadn't read yet that sounded quite appealing, but there were also a few favorites that she wanted to reread. Whatever it may be, she would decide upon getting there.

Emma had arrived into the library, which had already ultimately relaxed her. The silence was welcoming and, from that, she knew that this was a brilliant idea. It didn't take long for her to select a few books and find an empty table. There weren't many people here, which made Emma frown. That was quite unfortunate. Books were fascinating and they could take you into a whole different world. But, then again, Emma always loved to escape reality while others lived their lives. She didn't mind. Less noise and more books for her to stuff her nose into.

Once Emma's eyes scanned over the first sentence, she was entranced. Time had seemed to fade away as she read page after page. She always did enjoy a good book, and this one was one of her favorites. She read it every chance that she had and always seemed to ease through it with fresh eyes and a creative imagination.

Being so enthralled by the book, after reading a great chunk of it, she hadn't noticed the pair of black pumps that had stood in front of her table. It wasn't until a husky voice had pulled Emma from her alternate world, did she look up.

"That's one of my favorites."

Wide, green eyes met warm, brown orbs.

"Yeah, it's mine, too. I read it whenever it's in the library."

"You have excellent taste in literature." The other party commented, a soft smile forming on plump lips. "Mind if I join you?"

"I suppose there's no harm in that." Emma shrugged and gestured to the wooden chair across from her. "Take a seat."

"Thank you, dear."

"Of course, Ms. Mills." The blonde offered her a smile in return, anxiously plucking at her sweatshirt as all of the worrisome thoughts had started to return. Goddammit. Perhaps she should just leave before she does something stupid. The woman that had been harassing her thoughts all damn day was now here, in Emma's place of escape, not ten feet in front of her.

"Do you come here often?" She politely asked, looking for a conversation no doubt. The brunette had placed a book in front of her. A title that was foreign to Emma upon taking a glance to the title.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It helps me get my mind off things."

"Reading is a marvelous escape, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Emma fumbled with the pages of her book, eyes drifting across the line that she had left off on. It would be etched in her memory by the end of this.

"Oh! I am so terribly sorry. This was quite rude of me, intruding on you like this." Ms. Mills had frowned, pulling her book closer. "I should leave you to your reading."

"It's alright. I-I was just leaving…" She fibbed, scooting her chair back so she could stand. As she did, she quickly picked her books up. Emma just couldn't do it. She needed to leave before her mind broke. It was so hard to look into that concerned face and not panic once again. How she was ever going to survive another glance towards the woman without every bad thought coming to mind. It may have seemed rather silly, and sure, Emma wanted to laugh, but she also wanted to just cry at the same time. This feeling might not ever go away. It was so hard with the Nolans. Their reassurances helped her- as well as their shows of affection- once they had realized how she had been feeling and that really helped Emma through her fears with them. But that was because they knew those fears. This was Ms. Mills. She didn't know and she couldn't know.

"I understand, dear." The brunette smiled warmly at the blonde, her head inclined to look at her. But Emma didn't miss the look of sorrow in her eyes. "I suppose until tomorrow?"

"Yeah." The blonde nodded tightly before quickly turning to leave so she wouldn't have to feel the guilt of rejecting the brunette. She couldn't handle that look.
"Goodbye, Emma." she heard behind her, as well as the movement of the chair against the floor.

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her collected books against her chest. She couldn't stop seeing that face. Not the one from before in the classroom- although that was still fresh in her memory. No. It was the look of rejection that Ms. Mills had tried so hard to hide, but her eyes had shown it all.

Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it.

She got halfway towards the front door before she spun around to head back. It was only a few strides towards the table she had been seated at- and where Ms. Mills was still standing- before she had reached it. The look of surprise on the brunette's face and the smile that soon replaced it caused Emma's heart to flutter.

Then begin to pound as the fears and voices flooded her mind.

You're not worthy.

You're unlovable.

No one wants you.

Don't you see the way they just give up on you?

"Are you alright, honey?"
Emma heard the voice break through the others, so familiar and sweet, and so very concerned. She opened her eyes to peer up into brown orbs. Oh, God, what was she going to do? Should she just tell the woman about these thoughts? Should she try to resolve them? Could that even be possible?

"Emma?"

"Y-yeah…" Then she shook her head, slumping back down into her chair. "No."

"No?" The brunette frowned, soon slipping into the spot next to Emma. "What's wrong, dear?"

Emma's only response was a soft grunt that she wasn't sure if Ms. Mills had heard. Her mind was elsewhere by now. She was too conflicted upon whether or not she should tell Ms. Mills. Should she confide her fears into the woman that she had grown quite close to over the past few months? How would she even begin? It was far too difficult and it only made Emma's head whirl, causing her to become lightheaded.

"You're right. Books are a nice escape." she started, turning her body to face her teacher. "I've never told this to anyone. Actually, I haven't really talked about my past to anyone. I've been too afraid to."

Ms. Mills nodded with furrowed brows. She was listening, and by the sharpness in her eyes, she was carefully analyzing every word that Emma had said. She looked so genuinely intrigued, and no doubt would archive all of this.

"Uh…" Emma looked to her hands. How should she start? The library, perhaps? Or should she start from the beginning in hopes that Ms. Mills would catch on? But, then again, the teacher didn't know of any thoughts that ran through Emma's head, so that meant that she didn't know how much the blonde had been scared from earlier that day.

So she began in hopes it would all fit together. Maybe this puzzle that she had been confronted with would be finished by the end of the conversation. She surely hoped so.

"When I was a kid, I discovered a book. It was at one of my foster parents' house, I think it was the third one. I was old enough to read and really grasp things then. But, uh… Well, I was really bored that day. This family wasn't too bad, but there were a couple other kids living there as well, and let me tell you, they weren't the nicest. They never let me play with them, so one day, I decided to explore the house and I stumbled across this bookshelf. It was dusty and I'm sure it hadn't been used in years. There were few books on it, which they had been used as stands for the knickknacks on there.

"But, that's besides the point. There was this book sitting all by itself and that really caught my attention. I grabbed it from the shelf and dusted it off so I could read the title. It was a copy of the one I was reading earlier, actually. So, I went to the room that I shared with one of the family's biological daughters, and hid under my blankets to read this book. I got really interested in it and, for the life of me, could not put that thing down. I never got to finish it, because the daughter told her parents that I stole it from them and then they took it away. Of course, I was quite devastated. It was my temporary trip out of the hell that I lived.

"I knew of a library that was only a few blocks away from the house and went there everyday after school for a few hours. Some of the time, I never read. I just enjoyed the quiet, serene atmosphere and lounged in chairs and couches for hours. But I found some pretty good titles to read, mind you, they were for younger librarian eventually helped me pick out ones that were more advanced, and then, did I really enjoy reading. They were far more intriguing than those…" Emma shook her head and chuckled softly. "Those damn books that inform kids that bears are brown and cats are furry.

"My foster parents got really angry, though, that I went to the library everyday. They accused me of lying when I said that I had went there and assumed that I had been staying out with some friends or something. I never had any, though, but they didn't care. But.. uh… e-eventually, they had social services come and take me back to the orphanage. I started to get used to it, though, because I knew they never loved me in the first place. I never understood why they would take a kid in, only to send them back. It baffles me, honestly."
The blonde bit her lower lip, avoiding the myriad of emotions flashing across Ms. Mills' visage. She played with the book on her lap for a moment before continuing.

"Ever since then, though, I have kept books with me and used them as a means to escape. I usually visited local libraries for hours on end. Most of the foster parents didn't really care where the hell I was half the time, so I usually stayed until the library closed. I could forget where I was and how hellish my life was, you know?"

Emma closed her eyes, swallowing thickly.

"The kids always told me that I was unworthy and that I could never be loved, because the proof was in being sent back to that damned place. I was scarred with those words and, eventually, I had come to believe them. No one had ever loved me. The only ones that I had thought did… They sent me back. Every time I tried to find hope for myself in searching for the loving smiles and kind eyes only lead to heartache, because I realized that I'm not with them. I am here. I'm where I'm not loved." she then paused, backtracked, and corrected herself. "I mean, back then. Now, I am loved. And I finally have friends and ones that care for me."

Here it comes. Here's the part that she had dreaded because she didn't know how to explain it if her teacher didn't get where she was heading. Perhaps, she didn't, because that expression was quite unreadable.

"It took me a while." Emma whispered anyways. "It took me a while to believe that they genuinely cared and wanted me. I get so… terrified. Every time someone shows the least bit of kindness towards me, I have an absolute panic attack because I am so very afraid of being rejected again. I carry the name 'Swan' as a reminder to never trust anyone and to doubt their love or kindness."

And there she said it. The words had finally left Emma Swan's mouth. Thinking back, she had never said those very words aloud. She had thought of them many, many times, because she knew of her emotions. But she never admitted them, and now that she had- and to someone else- she felt… lighter. A new weight, though, was holding her down. The reaction from Ms. Mills would be the turning point, she knew for sure. It could go one of two ways, and Emma hoped that it would be in the positive direction.

"Emma, I…" Ms. Mills was at a loss for words. Her lips were left parted as her brain tried to come up with a logical response. "I honestly do not know what to say…"

"Yeah…" Emma felt her shoulders slump, but the added weight to her right one made her blink. Her eyes flicked over to spot Ms. Mills' hand on black. Green soon traveled up her arm towards the face that held conflicting emotions.

"To say I know what you've been through would be ignorant, because I do not know. But I do understand, because I had lived a life somewhat similar. A life of solitude and escaped realities in books, that is, without friends nor trust towards others." The older woman's voice held a sort of understanding that allowed Emma's tense muscles to relax. Her eyes met with brown pools and her heart melted. There was a dark, distant emotion that must have been result of remembrance in those eyes, but what overcame them was what made Emma's mind whirl back towards the end of lunch, earlier that day. It was that look that had terrified Emma to no end, but now it gave her an entirely different perspective. It eased her, for an odd reason. Perhaps it was the sincerity in them or what she had said next, because both reassured the blonde to the point of serenity.

"Perhaps it would be quite silly of me to say this, but you can trust me. I would never lead you on in any way and every emotion that I have towards you are nothing but genuine. I hope that you will be able to see that. I have… already opened myself up to you, dear. I can say that I do trust you, Emma. I can only hope the same for you."

"I do…" Emma found herself saying. It was so quiet and slightly hoarse with emotion, but the brunette had heard it with the smile that broke out across her face. "I probably wouldn't have told you this if I didn't. I… It sounds probably stupid, but I was afraid of you earlier. Or, well, at least right before I left, because I saw that look in your eyes. That's why I'm here. I was trying to get all of the negative thoughts out of my head."

"I'm sorry that I had made you feel like that, Emma…" she frowned, the hand on Emma's shoulder moving up to cup the blonde's cheek. "I promise you that I never meant to hurt you."

"I know. It was my own fault. I let my fears get the better of me and I really shouldn't have. I really shouldn't have doubted you." Emma closed her eyes, the warmth of the older woman's hand infused through her and it just felt wonderful. It left her entire body tingling and every fear had left at that moment. "Thank you for listening to me."

"You don't need to thank me, dear." Ms. Mills smiled softly, her thumb lightly caressing Emma's cheek before she had realized what she had been doing. She had quickly pulled her hand away. "I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to say."

"Thank-... Okay." Emma licked her lips subconsciously before leaning into her seat now that the teacher had detached herself.

"What time is it?" The blonde asked after a few moments of silence.

"About six, dear." Ms. Mills looked away from her watch to glance at the blonde. "Do you need to be somewhere?"

"No. I planned on staying until the library closed." Emma shrugged. She didn't know how much time they had spent talking and hoped that she would get enough time to read, or perhaps talk more with the English teacher. "Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Not exactly, dear." The brunette chuckled. "I had only planned on reading at home. But, seeing as to how it's quiet here and I have company, I can stay. If that is alright with you, of course?"

"That's perfectly fine. I'd enjoy the company." Emma's grin was wide, reaching her eyes with ease. "What are you reading?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest…" And Emma swore she could see Ms. Mills blush as she held up the book in her hand. It was a copy of the romance novel "The Rogue Hunter". Emma blinked. Romance novel? She hadn't noticed the couple on the cover the first time. It looked like a red and black design from the distance. "It's a guilty pleasure."

"You like… romance novels?"

"Paranormal romance. Vampires and such." Ms. Mills was quick to correct, although the darkening blush on her cheeks was evident to her mortification. "These have an interesting storyline that doesn't just revolve around, well, romance and sex."

Emma smirked. "I've read a series like that before, actually. They have these… shifters in them as well. I'm not going to judge you, you know that? You're allowed to read what you want."

"I… know." But she coughed awkwardly and set the book down. "You've read them before?"

"Yeah. I actually like them, believe it or not. They can be quite humorous, and they aren't really sappy like some romance novels. They have a plot, you know? More meaning to them than, just as you said, sex." It was Emma's turn to blush, but she hid it well. Almost enough to pass it off as rouged cheeks. "What's your series like?"

"Oh, well… The vampires in this aren't exactly… They're genetically engineered and had originated from the lost city of Atlantis…" And that had Emma intrigued. She leaned forward and listened in on how Ms. Mills had explained the series without giving too much away. The blonde definitely had to pick them up some time.

"Wow…"

"Now you can see why I like them."

"I do. Now I have to spend more time at the library, huh?" Emma chuckled softly and reached over to grab the book that Ms. Mills had checked out.

"I suppose you could." The teacher shrugged and Emma could tell she was hiding something. She could see that untold sentence in her eyes. So the blonde stared at her expectantly.

"Or…" she mumbled.
"I do own the entire series." The teacher shamefully admitted. "But I had lost this book and it was my next one, so I decided to check if the library had a copy."

Emma shook her head, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the expression that Ms. Mills now had on her face. She looked tied from somewhere between pained and embarrassed.

"You… can borrow them if you wish. But I do expect to receive them back how I had given them to you."

"You can trust me. I handle books carefully." Emma smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry."

"I'll bring the first couple with me tomorrow."

"Thanks." The blonde grinned with appreciation, handing the book over to Ms. Mills. "What other genres do you like?"

That question had sparked an entire conversation that had left them with no time to read their books. Ms. Mills had first explained that, besides her guilty pleasure in romance, she did also quite enjoy a good mystery and sometimes horror. But most of the times she picked classics, in which Emma had announced that she enjoyed most of the ones that the brunette had named, except for a few that she hadn't quite heard of. The question was soon reciprocated and Emma said she liked just about every genre as long as it had taken her to a whole new universe and away from the real world.

It wasn't long after until they were discussing their favorite titles, some of which were similar, while others were highly recommended to one another. Emma wasn't sure how it was possible to find someone that had the same fascination in books as she did, but the proof was right there in front of her. She knew that if they were to get into another discussion about books, there was no stopping them. And they probably would have went on for plenty hours more if it weren't for the librarian. She had politely told them that it was closing time, and to their astonishment, they had been talking for three hours straight.

Both obliged the librarian's wishes and left the building with their books in tow. Emma had her own stuffed into her backpack by the time they were outside and standing by the curb.

"I suppose I should really be getting home." Emma mumbled, backing a distance away from the library to catch a peek at the time on the clock tower attached to it.

"I should, as well," the teacher concurred, her hand rummaging around inside of the purse slung onto her arm. She soon pulled out a set of car keys and smiled. "It's quite cold out here, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Emma readily agreed. As if on cue, she felt a shiver course down her spine from the cool night's air. "The only reason why I dislike nighttime. It gets colder."

"It does, indeed." Ms. Mills chuckled. She looked around them before gesturing towards her Mercedes. "Why don't I take you home? It's too cold and late for you to walk alone, don't you think?"

"It's a small town." Emma shrugged and about hit herself for that. Here Ms. Mills was, being polite and offering her a ride home- which would no doubt be much warmer- and she was passing it off like an idiot.

"I wouldn't want you to catch a cold, dear."

"I wouldn't want to intrude."

"I insist." And then she flashed that brilliant smile of hers, which made Emma give in with a soft huff at herself.

"Thank you." Emma followed behind the brunette as they headed towards the readily awaiting car. She bit her lip, waiting as Regina had unlocked the doors, and got in. Quickly, she put her seat belt on and waited. "I don't live far from here. It's just a few blocks down. It's that old apartment building."

Ms. Mills nodded and pulled away from the curb to head towards their destination. The only words spoken were Emma's, during the drive, as she gave the directions towards her home. It wasn't long before they had arrived and the brunette put the car into park outside of the building.

"We're here, dear." She turned to look at Emma and the blonde blushed.

Why the hell was she blushing? Perhaps it was for the fact that the brunette had just drove her home. And that they were just sitting there outside her apartment like they were supposed to do something.

"Yeah…" she lamely muttered, unbuckling her belt. "Thank you for the ride. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome, Emma." Regina offered her a warm smile. They locked on and held each other's gazes for a few seconds, and then Emma found herself leaning forward.

She didn't know what was possessing her to do so, but there she went. The proximity of the two was enclosing and the warmth only grew. She swore she saw the brunette teacher lean in closer as well, and soon enough, they weren't far apart.
Emma's breath caught in her throat at the closing distance, her green eyes locked on the older woman's tempting lips, and that little pink tongue that came out to lick them. They stayed those few mere inches apart for quite some time and Emma wasn't sure if she was fucking something up right now or not. Her head was raising towards the clouds, she was sure, and the heavy breath she was now having along with the way her heart was fluttering rapidly in her chest did not help any. She was quite sure Ms. Mills could hear it.

Then she heard the faintest of noises escape the brunette's parted lips. Emma wasn't quite sure what that was, and she didn't care, because that had led to what happened next. And what happened next was something that she would never forget.

Both had leaned in to close the space between them. Emma nearly groaned as she felt the older woman's soft lips brush tentatively against her own. Her entire body was buzzing with pleasant shocks and she was sure no kiss had ever felt like this before. This felt almost… magical.

She had confirmed it all upon kissing the woman back, her lips pressing slightly harder against the plump ones in an intimate caress. She heard the faintest noise of pleasure from deep within the brunette's throat once again, and that had made Emma turn into putty. Dear Lord, the sound shot straight to the blonde's core. It was wrong, yes, but did she really care? No.

Then there was a hand snaking through her hair, which she had luckily released from her ponytail just hours beforehand. The feeling of fingers delving between each golden lock caused shivers to course down her spine and pleasant little goosebumps to form on her skin. Her own hand had found purchase on the older woman's right as she leaned in closer, enjoying the close proximity to the fullest it could get in a cramped little car.

She felt a tongue slide across her lips before the two had finally pulled away prematurely, albeit for lack of oxygen. Both stay a close distance with lips parted, breath shallow, and pupils blown wide with desire.

It was Emma who was first to speak, muttering. "Sorry…" because she hadn't known what else to say and didn't exactly trust her mouth in that moment. Her head had felt like it was literally in the clouds.

"Don't be," was the English teacher's breathy response.

Emma's pale lips curled into a helpless smile at those two simple words. She didn't mind at all that they had just kissed. She certainly hope that this didn't come as a problem in the future, but then at the same time, she hoped that it wouldn't be forgotten, either. The blonde knew that she would never be able to forget it.

She tasted like apples and caramel coffee.

It wasn't until the brunette had cleared her throat, did Emma break from her mused thoughts. She pulled her hand from the other woman's hip- in which she had just remembered- and reached for the door handle.

"Thank you… for giving me a ride." Emma whispered, pulling the handle to pop the door open. "Goodnight, I hope you have a good one."

"Any time, dear. And, thank you, Emma. And goodnight, dear." The words were much lighter and airy than they had been all night. And they had made the blonde smile.

That smile hadn't left her lips, even as she reached her bedroom after a few questions from Mary Margaret regarding her trip to the library. The woman never protested her hanging out there for hours on end. It had become something of her thing when she had a busy mind. Her foster mother didn't want to keep her from it, and had learned that it was better to let her go, rather than keep her unhappy and locked up.

"Goodnight, Emma!" she heard both voices chime from downstairs.

"'Night!" she replied, flopping onto her bed.

If there had been any other night that she had dubbed the best, this would easily surpass it. Because this night- and that very moment- had been the best in her entire life. Despite the way the day had started, of course, she still didn't really like that bit. But she would do it again if it were to end as it did tonight.

And with a smile spread wide across Emma's face, she closed her eyes and let the darkness take over. Tomorrow was going to be a good day, she was sure. She would float on a cloud the entire time. She couldn't wait to see the English teacher once again. Hopefully slumber would approach quickly.