A/N: Hello again everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews/favorites/follows! They make my evil heart all a flutter! C: I'm glad you're liking this story, and if you're not, let me know why! Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon a Time, but I do, in fact, own this story. Points for song title reference, etc. Hope you like this chapter!

OH P.S.- I'm trying to make chapters longer. I just feel all self-conscious and rant-y when they're long, but I'm trying! Cheers~

XX

Emma groaned, slamming her fist down on the alarm in an ever present reminder of her daily routine. The weekend had gone by entirely too fast, and here she sat glaring at Monday yet again as it punched her in the face. She quickly shrugged off her temptation to throw the alarm out the window, pulling off her sleep clothes and hopping into the shower. She counted her lucky stars that the contractors who had built this particular apartment had constructed bathrooms just off of both bedrooms so that she could have her privacy, as she was certain her foster father, David, would have a coronary if he caught her naked. She giggled quietly at the thought of his embarrassment before stepping out of the shower and toweling off. Emma quickly brushed her teeth and hair, throwing on clothes and grabbing her backpack before heading downstairs.

My life is entirely too boring, Emma thought to herself, to have such a routine every day..

Emma shouted goodbyes to her foster parents before heading out the door to class, another boring day as usual.

XX

Emma could not have been more wrong about how boring her life was. First period was first period, as usual; students were tired and irritated, as it was first thing Monday morning, and there were more than a few times when their normally patient art teacher had to reprimand students half halfheartedly, as she too nursed a giant thermos of coffee. Emma quickly packed her arts supplies, eager to get the day over with as quickly as she could before rushing her way to mathematics. Mathematics, of course, was as boring as ever, and Emma was sure everyone could hear her stomach grumble. The bell had scarcely shrilled through the otherwise quiet air before Emma shot to her feet, grabbing Belle's hand and roughly pulling her through the throng of people in the hallway. Emma gulped a breath of fresh air as the friends slowed their walk, walking through the door of Granny's. Ruby shot her best friends a happy glance, and as the two made their way to their usual booth, Ruby sauntered over, her eyes never leaving Belle.

"Hey Rubes, can you take a break? I want to talk about something important."

Ruby nodded quickly, a confused look on her face, and ran to tell her Grandmother that she was taking ten. Granny didn't seem too happy, but the woman had long since learned that attempting to control the free spirited brunette would surely be her undoing, and as such knew to leave well enough alone. Ruby smiled gratefully at Granny before quickly grabbing her friends' usual from the older woman, making her way back to the booth, and sitting beside Belle, who blushed slightly as Ruby quickly intertwined their hands together under the table. Emma looked around conspiratorially before leaning in and whispering to her friends.

"Okay, so, you guys have to swear not to repeat what I'm about to tell you, okay?" She smiled softly when her friends both nodded earnestly in reply. Emma had lived her entire life more or less on her own, bouncing around from foster family to foster family, never really trusting anyone, and now that she had been in Storybrooke for three years she continued to be amazed at the trust that had painstakingly developed between her, Ruby, and Belle. Shaking her sentimental thoughts away, Emma continued her quiet story.

"Something's going on with Miss Mills and Glass," Emma quietly continued, looking around once more. "Friday I was talking to her after her class, and that douche stormed in. She pushed me behind her desk, like she was protecting me, I guess. I had to text the boys, who came running in at the last minute, cause she seemed so.. I don't know, scared, I guess."

Ruby nodded along with Emma's story, while Belle held her mouth agape. Emma toyed with her sandwich before taking another bite, seemingly to clear her thoughts.

"What did he say to her Emma?"

"He said 'you know what I want, and you're damn well gonna give it to me' or something like that. I don't know, I think he meant business." Ruby's eyes widened before leaning in even closer.

"Emma, if he threatened her, you have to tell some-"

"No, Rubes! I can't, I... I promised Miss Mills I wouldn't." Emma ran her hand through her hair haphazardly, wincing as her fingers tangled in the windswept strands. "I know, it's dangerous, but I promised her and I have to keep it.."

Ruby and Belle gave each other another one of those all too knowing glances that Emma continued to miss, before Ruby quietly sighed and grabbed her friends arm with her free hand.

"We'll back you on this, Emma, but please, be careful, alright? If he does something to hurt you, I'll have to kill him, and I am entirely too pretty for prison."

At this, Belle snorted and Emma gave Ruby a goofy grin, nodding in agreement before Granny called her granddaughter back to work. The pair quickly finished their lunch before making their way back, slipping inside their classroom just as Mr. Glass went to shut the door.

XX

So much for boring! Emma mentally chastised herself for almost wishing away the monotony of her usual day. Mister Glass had spent the entire first twenty five minutes of the class muttering angrily to himself, yet again, and Emma wondered for the thousandth time that year how in the actual fuck that man had managed to gain employment around minors. Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, Mr. Glass shot her a dirty look, dripping with what Emma assumed could only be pure hatred. Emma sat frozen in her seat, ice dripping through her veins. She was vaguely aware of Belle casting a curious glance her way, but as she tried to speak to her friend she found her tongue lodged deep in her throat. Sidney took this exact moment to announce a pop quiz, and a collective groan from the class snapped Emma out of her thoughts. She pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and a pen as Glass rattled off questions one by one. Emma responded to her civics teacher's questions to the best of her abilities, but the man didn't give the students much of a chance before moving on to the next question. A student off to her left raised his hand, waiting patiently while Glass continued to ignore him. The boy grunted, irritated, before he took a calculated risk.

"Mister Glass, could you please repeat number five?"

Sidney, startled out of his very irritated reverie, glared at the boy. "No, James, I won't. If you weren't paying attention then that's your own fault."

Emma tried to hold it in, she really did, but every word from Sidney pissed her off further and further until she exploded.

"Are you kidding me, Mister Glass?"

Her teacher narrowed his eyes at her, and a deathly silence echoed throughout the room.

"Excuse me, Miss Swan?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Emma replied, venom dripping from her words, "but you're asking the questions too fast, and it's very difficult to keep up."

"Miss Swan, leave my class room and do not return. You are no longer welcome here."

Emma's eyes widened; surely he wasn't serious? Unfortunately, however, the evil half smile displayed proudly on his face proved that the man was, in fact, serious, and Emma made a great deal of noise slamming her books. James shot her a grateful, if not remorseful, smile, and she left the class room without a word, making sure to slam the door as hard as she could. Emma made her way to her English teacher's classroom, angrily kicking lockers every step of the way. It simply wasn't fair; she couldn't figure out why Glass had an issue with her, and now, with only nine days of class left before she would become a free woman, the bastard had kicked her out of his class, effectively ruining her chances. Although she was proud that she hadn't given in to the man, Emma couldn't shake her emotions. Emma neared her English classroom, continuing to kick lockers until her foot hurt, not even giving a damn. Everything up to this point had been for nothing. All the countless hours of studying, covering up the bruises from her previous homes so that she wouldn't be forced to leave school, everything had come down to this very moment, and Emma was angry, angry beyond words.

"GOD DAMNIT!" She yelled, ignoring the sting of tears welling up in her eyes and kicking one last locker ferociously, before a door to her right opened and a very harassed looking Miss Mills barged into the hallway, an irritated glare plastered on her face.

"What the HELL is going on?"

XX

End notes: OH NOES, Emma's in trouble! ;D I know it's all like super dark at the moment, but I promise it'll get lighter as we continue on in our adventure. I hope you guys continue to like this, please let me know?