Chapter 3:

The pair stood out on the Nolan's balcony in silence for a moment. Regina walked up and leaned on the railing. The balcony wasn't very large. It had two smaller beach style chair. The railing surrounded it connecting it to the side of the house. A mild breeze blew by and she finally relaxed, breathing in the fresh air. It was a great break from the smell of sweat and beer that occupied the inside of the household. She looked over to the blonde who was leaning on the side of the railing facing Regina. She was watching her with a cool smile. Regina smiled back.

"It's so nice out here." Regina commented trying to fill the silence.

Emma nodded wistfully. She looked up at the stars. There were only a few out so far. And she knew the real beauty stood in front of her.

Regina was watching her with a curious gaze. She was used to being able to analyze everyone but for some reason this girl in front of her was a mystery to her.

They stood in comfortable silence for a moment longer. Until Emma reached into her pocket pulling out a glass pipe and a small bag. She motioned with her pipe towards the brunette.

"Ever smoked?" she asked.

Regina debated lying for a moment. She didn't want to seem lame in front of this girl, but something about her made Regina feel comfortable to be honest. The thought terrified her for a moment but she decided to stick with honesty.

"No, I have not." Regina hyperaware of every word. Emma let out a soft laugh at the brunette's use of perfect grammar. Regina suddenly felt self-conscious, but all her fear were subsided when Emma stepped towards her. She couldn't think of much else besides the blonde's proximity.

Emma leaned in and for a moment Regina thought she might kiss her. Instead she whispered in Regina's ear, "Would you like to?"

Regina looked back into Emma's eyes. They were so kind and inviting. She wondered all the reasons why she had never smoked in the first place. She'd never really been offered. Looking into the hazel eyes in front of her she nodded slowly.

Everyone typically assumed that she was a goodie goodie because her mom practically ran the PTA. She'd broken that label in the past years from coming to parties and such, but most people still held onto that image of her. This girl on the other hand didn't seem to see her this way. She was treating her like a normal person. It was refreshing.

Regina watched mesmerized as Emma packed a bowl. She did so with such ease. It intimidated Regina slightly by the action. She knows she's an amateur and she doesn't want to embarrass herself in front of this girl.

Emma raised the pipe to her lips, she lit the side of the bowl and took a deep breath. She held it in closed her eyes blissfully and then let out the smoke in a swift breath. She noticed the brunette's look of amazement and smiled at her.

The blonde motioned the pipe towards Regina for her to grab it. She merely just stared at it realized she had no idea what she was doing. Emma saw the brief look of panic on Regina's face and remembered she was new to this.

"Right, sorry, I forgot you're new to this," Emma shook her head, internally chastising herself for assuming everyone knew how to work a pipe. Emma took a step towards Regina and stood right in front of her, both of them leaning against the railing, "Let me help you." She began to raise the pipe to Regina's lips, but stopped when she say Regina's rigid stance. Assuming her nervousness was due to the drug she was about to take Emma lowered the pipe and said, "You don't have to if you don't want-"

But she was interrupted by Regina who grabbed her wrist and quipped, "No, I want to." They held each other's eyes a moment and Regina broke into a nervous smile causing Emma to smile back.

"Alright, you'll need to clear your lung first. Aka just exhale deeply," she instructed. When Regina had finished she brought the pipe to the brunette's lips and continued, "Alright so I'm going to light it here and you'll breathe it in. Then try to hold it in but if you feel like you're going to cough breath out first then cough otherwise it'll hurt," she smiled reassuringly to Regina, "Ready?"

The brunette nodded eagerly. She followed all of Emma's steps but when the itch in her throat got too strong she didn't get the smoke out fast enough. She quickly brought her hand up to cover her cough. Emma just smiled at her, "Don't worry about, this is a cough safe zone. Let it out!" So Regina did.

Emma lit a few more bowls for herself and Regina took a few more tokes. She got better at the process every time. Of course the words of encouragement from a pretty blonde were definitely helping.

Once they were pleasantly feeling the buzz they stood side by side leaning on the balcony railing staring out at the night. Below them they saw a two people smoking cigarettes by the Nolan's fence. A neighbor walked by with his dog and shook his head at them. Emma had waved to him inciting a scoff from the elderly man and a giggle from Regina.

Looking up at the blonde, Regina came to realize she didn't even know her name. Emma turned and looked back at her. Regina hadn't realized she'd said it aloud.

"Emma, Emma Swan." Emma smiled at the Regina, she could see the girl was really feeling. "Do people call you anything other than Regina? Like a nickname?"

Regina was momentarily taken aback by the fact that the blonde knows her name. Most people did but this girl she just felt differently. She felt so exposed, everyone knew her. Meanwhile the blonde in front of her held an air of mystery.

"Gina, I guess." She finally answered.

"Just Gina? What about Reg?" the brunette shook her head in response. "Nobody calls your Reg?" Emma sounded mildly shocked at the revelation. Reg was a great nickname.

"Oh God no, my mother would have their head." Regina laughed.

"I guess I'll need to be avoiding your mother, Reg." Emma cocked an eyebrow and nudged Regina gently with her elbow.

"Honestly most people just call me Regina."

"Well I'm not most people." she smiled at the brunette. And all Regina could think was, ain't that the truth. She had never met anyone like Emma. She had somehow felt instantly comfortable with the blond. There was no explanation for it and Regina didn't even care to look for one.

It was at this moment that Emma's phone buzzed. She looked down and frowned.

"Looks like my ride home is fed up with the party, so I gotta bounce." Emma started walking towards the screen doors. Before she got there she turned back to Regina, "I had a good time. Maybe I'll see you around."

Regina nodded, "Have a good night." She gave the blonde a small wave which she returned. As Emma left Regina couldn't take her eyes off her. She watched her walk with, whom she assumed was her friend, to the car. There was something about this girl. She needed to see more of her. Tomorrow she'd have to ask Sydney what he knew about her.

She made a mental note to attend whatever the next big party was. She had to see Emma again.

AN: Sorry for the hella long time between updates, I'll try to be better with the next one. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter and the story so far. Thanks :D