A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback so far! I've never enjoyed writing Emma as much as I am in this story. Which kind of speaks to what a meanie I am.

Emma seriously considered getting on the bus when it stopped in front of her, but she stayed on the bench, her indecision keeping her in place. There would be another bus in 15 minutes. She could still bail out.

It wasn't that she was nervous, or at least that's what she told herself. It was just that pursuing girls wasn't her style. She preferred to let the Rubys of the world come to her. It was safer that way, not putting herself on the line, not making advances that could be rejected. She'd had enough of that as she was shuffled from home to home, and she'd learned early on that hearts and commitments couldn't be trusted.

Over the past few months with Ruby, she'd found herself craving something more, but she'd thankfully pushed those feelings down. Maybe she could have loved Ruby, but just like the whole litany of foster parents, the girl had run when things got messy.

But here she was, sitting across the street from the iron gates of the school, waiting to make a fool of herself.

Emma watched as students began to trickle out. She hadn't been expecting the uniforms, so she had to look extra hard to try to identify Regina. She looked so different than the girl she'd met that weekend, smaller and younger and infinitely more herself. The brunette had her hair down and a headband that matched the blue in the plaid skirt that fell to just above her knees. She had her arms crossed tightly over her white shirt, and it was that posture that gave her away. She walked, just as she had on prom night, as if something was after her and she was afraid.

As Regina crossed the street, Emma noticed the boy who was pursuing the brunette, and she rose to her feet warily. Regina kept her eyes on the ground in front of her, not seeing Emma as she passed.

"You humiliated me," Leo said as he came close to the blonde. Emma waited, silent, and then Leo grabbed Regina's arm and yanked her roughly back towards him. "You are not running away from me again."

The fear in Regina's brown eyes was all the signal Emma needed. She strode up to Leo with the confidence of a girl who'd been in and won many fights. "Let her go," she said firmly.

It was almost too easy. The boy instantly pulled his hand back, not used to such a direct challenge. "We were just…"

"I don't care what 'you were just,'" Emma snapped. "But you're going to leave her alone."

Leo backed away and headed down the street in the other direction, leaving a shocked Regina staring at Emma. "Hi," she said quietly when the blonde finally looked her way. "What are you doing here?"

"I seem to have misplaced my jacket," Emma said with a grin. "Maybe you can help."

"It's at home. Just a few blocks." Regina nodded for Emma to walk with her. "And thank you."

"You're okay?" Emma asked. Given how easily she'd dispatched Regina's pursuer, she was surprised by how shaken the brunette looked.

"He's been going at me all day," Regina said quietly. At least the tension had gone from her shoulders, her body relaxing at the proximity of the girl she somehow trusted. "He was my date the other night. He's mad that I left early." Regina left out the other reason Leo was mad, not sure she could form it into words.

"Well, now I can see why you left."

"You were much better company," Regina admitted, and Emma was unable to hold back a smile. Regina was so different than the girls she was used to, blushing at even such an innocuous statement. As the brunette unlocked her front door, Emma was shocked to realize that she didn't feel that burning need to slip up to the girl's room and make out with her, the need she felt with Ruby and the whole string of love interests before her.

They did slip up to Regina's room even so, the brunette listening carefully to see if her mother was home before they went up the stairs. Emma laughed when they stepped into the bedroom, taking in the overwhelming pink of the walls and furniture.

"Not my choice," Regina said quickly, setting her bag down.

"Crazy mom thing?"

"Very."

Emma paused by a case filled with trophies and certificates, everything from equestrian competitions to perfect attendance. Regina smiled uneasily, hating her mother's constant need to showcase the achievements that never seemed to be enough for her. She went to her closet, finding the jacket in the back corner where she'd hid it from Cora's prying eyes.

Emma walked past the desk, glancing at the acceptance letter from Columbia. "So I guess you're kind of good at everything, huh?"

"Hardly." When Emma looked up, Regina was hugging the jacket against herself in a way that made the blonde really wish she could let her keep it. If she only had another jacket, she would, but the past few nights had been cold without it. Regina reluctantly handed the garment over, her eyes lingering on Emma's. "I could drive you home," she suggested, almost afraid that Emma would leave now that she had what she wanted. She couldn't bear the thought, but she also knew she had no answers to the inevitable questions Cora would ask if she found the blonde there.

Home. Emma bit her lip at the word. "I really don't mind taking the bus," she said after a long pause.

"And I really don't mind driving you." Regina smiled, and Emma couldn't help but smile back. "It's the least I can do after you rescued me. Please?"

It was the please that got her, the flicker of hope in Regina's dark eyes. "Um, yeah, I guess," she said slowly.

She followed Regina down to the garage, to a car that looked almost new and impeccably clean. Emma almost felt guilty getting in, sure she'd mess up something. She gave Regina directions to the foster home where she no longer lived.

"Maybe I'll see you again?" Regina's voice carried the same mixture of worry and hope that Emma was feeling.

"I'd like that." Emma leaned her head back against the seat and watched the brunette drive. Regina glanced back out of the corner of her eye.

She pulled up to the curb outside of Emma's most recent home, grabbing a piece of paper from her purse and writing down her number. She handed it over shyly, and Emma gave her a reassuring smile as she took it, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss the girl.

Once Regina drove away, Emma began the walk back to the train station where she'd camped out the past couple of nights.

Regina stretched out on her bed, her history textbook lying untouched beside her. She was never one to ignore homework, but suddenly there were so many other things she couldn't ignore. Like the fact that she hadn't gotten as much as a text since she dropped Emma off that afternoon.

Waiting by the phone wasn't something she'd ever done before. She'd always been something of a solitary creature despite her mother's constant encouragement for her to make friends or go on dates. And she'd been on a lot of dates, none by her own choice. She had even had something like a boyfriend during her sophomore year, but they broke it off after a particularly bad groping session in his basement.

It was after that incident that Regina had come to the conclusion that she wasn't attracted to guys at all. Yet there were no girls in her life that she could imagine being even the slightest bit interested in, so she'd filed sexuality away as something to handle in college and practically forgotten about it.

She had to admit that it seemed pretty ridiculous to be just weeks away from graduating high school and only now experiencing her first crush, but she couldn't fight it away. Instead, she played her afternoon over in her head, somewhat disappointed that she didn't still have Emma's jacket.

Emma touched a hand to her hip yet again, feeling for the paper she had folded in her pocket. Regina's number, as if that would do her any good. She'd never had a cell phone, and now she didn't even have a home number.

Maybe she'd try a payphone, but that seemed silly when she had nothing at all to say. Instead she adjusted the backpack she had under her head and resigned herself to another sleepless night.