A/N: So yeah, I realize that I'm uploading a bunch of chapters at once, but I have quite a few written, and I'd at least like to get them out there so they have a fair chance at being reviewed. Once again, I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or related characters, but the story is mine. Please please tell me if you do or don't like this, constructive criticism helps a lot!
Emma ripped open the door in a huff, slamming it shut and stomping her way up the stairs. She threw her backpack against the door, ripping off her shoes and throwing them, before settling on her bed and pulling out her cell phone. She immediately searched her phone for J, having put his entry as Jackass, shooting it a deathly glare before sending Killian a text.
Emma: Killian, you dick!
Jackass: LOL HOW DID IT GO?!
Emma: You know how it went, you bastard! She caught me, and threatened to have me expelled. Did you KNOW it would ruin her paint job?
Jackass: ...No?
Emma: Killian I swear to god, don't you dare lie to me.
Jackass: So what, Emma? The bitch deserved it!
Emma: Just fuck off, dude.
Emma was unsure why it unsettled her so to see Killian refer to Miss Mills as a bitch. She assumed it was fair; Killian had, after all, gotten into several altercations with the teacher, and as such it was no secret the two hated one another. But still, Emma could not stop thinking about that passing look of sadness in Miss Mills' eyes.
"EMMA SWAN!" Emma groaned. Just what she needed, Mary Margaret on her case, as well. She mentally chastised herself, just as another shout of "Get right down this instant!" met her ears.
"I'm coming!" she yelled back, sighing and jumping off her bed before heading downstairs. Surely Miss Mills hadn't contacted her foster parents? She thought it would remain between the two of them, but then again, she had been wrong before. She quickly glanced around and, not seeing her foster mother, went into the kitchen where she knew she'd be. Upon entering, the first thing she noticed was her foster father, David, sitting straight back in his chair, holding hands with her foster mother. She knew she was in some sort of trouble, due to the faces they both made, so she grimaced and quietly pulled a chair out from the table before dropping herself rather ungracefully into it.
"What's up?"
Her parents glanced at one another before Mary Margaret finally opened her mouth to speak.
"We need to talk, honey."
Emma groaned internally. Oh boy, she thought to herself. I guess Miss Mills did tell them. Damnit.
Emma nodded firmly, waiting for them to speak, but neither seemed to know how to start. Emma glanced every so often at the clock, and after five, ten, fifteen minutes became slightly more than irritated.
"Look," she began, but was quickly cut off by Mary Margaret.
"You know we love you, right, Emma?" Emma forced herself to nod. After spending her entire life in foster care, being tossed from abusive family to neglecting family, back and forth, back and forth, it was still difficult for her seventeen year old mind to wrap around the possibility that she could actually have parents that loved her.
"I know. I love you guys, too. Is everything okay?"
Mary Margaret's eyes started watering at her admission, for it was rare that her foster daughter ever told her she loved her, and she vowed to cherish each and every time it happened. David, for his part, allowed a small smile to grace his lips before carrying on for his wife.
"Why didn't you tell us, Emma?"
Emma shrugged, having no idea what in the hell exactly her parents were talking about. David pulled a thick envelope out from behind him, throwing it her direction, and she easily caught it, eyes going wide as her fingers trailed across the embossed logo of the unopened envelope, which blared University of Maine at her in rich colors. She looked up at her parents, who quickly nodded, before she tore into the envelope with fervor and began to read aloud.
"Miss Emma Swan, we are happy to inform you that you have been accepted-" Emma did not make it much farther into the sentence before she was quickly engulfed in a bone crushing hug on either side by her parents. She smiled softly as Mary Margaret's tears dripped down onto her face, tickling her nose. She tried not to be embarrassed by the display of affection, because she knew that this family was unlike any other, and that they truly loved her despite the voices of the past that plagued her thoughts daily, deeming her unworthy of love. She cleared her throat before answering her parents' previous question.
"I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want you to be disappointed when I didn't get in."
Admitting that made her feel very small, but she was proud of her new found ability to be somewhat more forthcoming with her feelings. At this, however, Mary Margaret scoffed, turning Emma's face in her hands to place a kiss on her forehead.
"We're so proud of you, honey, and we'd never be disappointed in you. We're your parents, Emma, and we love you no matter what."
Emma's throat constricted, watching her foster parents dote on her, and she simply nodded. David must have realized that she was feeling emotional, because he quickly pulled Emma up, declaring a celebration was in order. Emma ran upstairs, pulling on her shoes and a jacket to bundle up against the chilly Maine air. Even though it was Springtime, she knew that the nights could become brutal in an instant, and didn't want to waste this opportunity.
The trio made their way to Granny's, Mary Margaret and David holding hands and Emma walking silently behind them, grinning from ear to ear as she thought about telling her best friends, Ruby and Belle, her wonderful walking into the diner, she pulled a hand through her tangled blonde locks, thinking of how her day could go from terrible to wonderful so quickly.