To Regina's disappointment, Emma had prior engagements the next day during lunch time. It had been wonderful to wake in her lover's arms – as it always was – but eating in the dining hall alone was not exactly her idea of a fulfilling afternoon. After putting together a meal from the salad bar and finding a table in the back corner, she was startled by the sound of someone's voice saying her name.

"Hey, Regina," Belle greeted her with a confident smile.

"Jesus, Belle! You scared the shit out of me," Regina laughed nervously, pushing some of her hair out of her face as she set her fork down on her tray.

Belle chuckled an insincere, "Sorry," before leaning against the table and asking, "Can I sit?"

"I, um… Yeah. Sure. Of course."

Part of Regina felt obligated to be polite. Part of her was too nervous to be alone with Belle to say yes. And the other part of her was terrified by what she knew Belle would ask next.

"Sweet. So, how'd it go?"

Belle was grinning, knowing all too well by Regina's blush that things had gone better than Regina could ever have expected.

"It was… Um…"

"It's alright, hun. You can tell me. Whatever you say is just between us. I won't tell Em. Was it horrible?"

Of course, Belle had to tightly close her lips to keep herself from laughing, knowing that things hadn't been 'horrible.'

"Belle…"

"Don't lie, princess. Now, tell me. Was I right, or what?"

"Well, um… I mean… I suppose so."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what happened?"

"I'm not giving you details!" Regina blurted defensively, her hands clenching anxiously into fists.

"Well, I don't want details. I just meant, how'd it go?"

"It was…"

"Did you like it?"

"Y-Yes."

Averting her eyes, Regina focused her attention on her salad, without taking another bite.

"And did she?"

"I… I think so."

"What do you mean you think so?!" Belle cried. "Did she cum or not?"

Head jerking around to see if anyone had heard, Regina snapped, "Belle! Shh!"

"Well? Did she?"

"Belle! Stop it!"

"Don't be such a pussy, Regina. It's a normal part of any relationship, right?"

Covering her face, totally ashamed to be discussing her sex life with someone she didn't even really consider to be a friend, Regina mumbled, "Oh, my God."

"Oh, my God is right. What a pansy."

That being the last straw, Regina dropped her hands to the table with a loud bang and scathed, "I certainly don't think Emma would say I'm a pansy."

"Oooh," Belle cooed happily. "So it did go well."

"You know what? Yes, it did. And yes, she did cum."

At this, Belle burst out laughing.

"Fuck, man. I knew it! I told you so."

"Shut up, Belle," Regina hissed. "You might've been right, but that doesn't mean you get to brag."

"Sure it does."

"I'm about to wipe that fucking smirk right off your face."

"Don't be so pissy. You should be thanking me!"

Regina paused at this and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. After some thought, she realized that Belle, in a way, was quite right. Sure, she didn't have to brag, but she certainly had been right. And she only had Belle to thank for it.

"I'm sorry," she finally mumbled. "You're right. Thank you."

With a warm, forgiving smile, Belle told her, "No biggie. I know you're just embarrassed. Anyway, how'd the blow go?"

"What?"

"The blow…? You know… The coke?"

"Oh. Oh. Right… Yeah. I mean… It was good."

"Good?"

After some hesitation, Regina finally confessed, "It was really good…"

"But?"

"But she doesn't want me to do it again. Like, ever."

"What? Why?" Belle gawked, stunned.

Sighing, Regina replied, "I don't know… I mean… I think it scared her, me being so… out of control. Well, not out of control, but… you know. Without any inhibitions. And she doesn't want it to become a problem."

"A problem?" Belle laughed, shaking her head. "She doesn't seem to have a problem when she does it."

"Yeah, I know, right?! I don't see how it's fair."

"It's not, really. You should put your foot down. Tell her you can do what you want. You're not a baby, and she's not your mom."

"Exactly! That's what I told her! But she got all weird and pushy about it."

"So, you're into it then?"

"Um… Yeah. I guess I am."

"She's not in charge of you, Regina," Belle asserted. "Listen… Just… Let me know, okay?"

"Let you know what?" Regina asked, confused.

"If you want me to hook you up."

"Belle… I, uh… I appreciate it… But she'd get really pissed…"

"What, are you scared of her? Just because she gets into fights all the time?"

"No! Of course not! I just… I want to make her happy."

"She is happy with you."

"She won't be if I keep… you know."

With a shrug, Belle replied, "Look. In my opinion, you should do what you want. What makes you happy. But hey… that's just me. Anyway, I'm going out again tonight, if you guys want to come. I mean, you'll probably cum anyway, but…"

"Belle!" Regina gasped, staring. "Jesus!"

Cackling, Belle added, "Just kidding! Jeez. Just kidding…"

Regina rolled her eyes at this and turned her attention back to her salad, taking a few more bites of it without engaging Belle in more conversation. Belle did the same with her meal – a burger and fries – and stayed surprisingly quiet for a while.

Then, she broke the silence between them, smiling and saying, "You know… I kinda like you, kid. You're not as much of a skirt as I thought you were. You've got spunk."

Rolling her eyes again, Regina chuckled, "Yeah, right."

"No, really. You're not so bad. A little bit of a prude, but-"

"Real nice, Belle," Regina commented, letting out a slightly bitter laugh. "Way to compliment someone."

"Yeah, well. Just sayin'."

When she looked up and saw the smile Belle was sporting, Regina couldn't help but smile back and say, "Thanks, though. I appreciate that."

"You really should come out tonight."

"I dunno… I have to study, and-"

"C'mon, Regina. Don't let me down!"

The grin on Belle's face made Regina laugh, but she shook her head anyway, looking down to hide her smile.

"So… Wait. You're telling me you want to go out with Belle again?" Emma asked, gaping in disbelief.

"Well… I mean. I don't know. I was just… asking…"

Brow furrowing as she looked at Regina seriously, Emma asked, "Are you sure it's okay?"

"Do you want to go?"

"Do you?"

"Stop it. I'm asking you."

"Well… Kinda, yeah. You know I like going out," Emma confessed. Then, she added with a laugh, "Go hard or go home, right?"

Regina rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that spread over her lips.

"Okay. Then let's go."

[LINE BREAK]

Not too far into the night, Emma noticed a change in Regina's behavior.

"Regina… What's wrong with you?" Emma asked, when the girl tried to hook her fingers in the waistband of Emma's tightly fitting denim shorts.

"N-Nothing," Regina stammered, laughing. "I just get a little silly when I'm tired…"

"No, you don't, Regina. And you're sweating."

"We're at a club! We were dancing!"

"Problem, ladies?" Belle cut in, putting a hand on one of each of their shoulders.

"Yeah," Emma announced, turning on her friend. "What did you give her?"

"What?!" Belle gasped. "Who, me?!"

"Yeah, you," the blonde snapped, shoving Belle's shoulders. "I told you she's done with that shit!"

"You don't own her!" Belle snapped boldly, turning to Regina. "Does she?"

"N-No," Regina stuttered. "She's right, Emma. You don't."

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Emma gaped. "Is this really happening? You're going to pick a fight because you want to get high?"

"It's not your choice!" Belle cried. "She's an adult. If she wants to get fucked up, she can. Right, Regina?"

When Regina started to feel dizzy, her eyes glazing over as her vision blurred, Belle stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"She's fine," the brunette told her friend. "Aren't you, honey?"

Regina could only nod, allowing herself to lean on Belle for support.

"S-Stop trying to control me," she finally told Emma. "You don't own me."

"Oh, my God," Emma gasped. "This is for real right now. You're really doing this. You're really choosing drugs over me?"

"I just wanted to have fun!" Regina shouted, as Belle gripped her hand for encouragement. "Why can't I have both? Why do you always feel the need to control me?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? This is the only thing I have ever asked you not to do! And I asked because I care about you!"

"You asked me to stop," Regina said. "And I'm saying no."

Gaping at her lover and her friend, Emma found herself at a loss for words.

"Come on, Regina," Belle said carefully. "Let's go forget about this party-pooper until she comes to her senses."

As they walked away together, Emma felt a pit form in her stomach.

The next morning, seven or so missed calls later, Belle finally answered Regina's phone.

"What?" she asked groggily. "She's fine."

"What the fuck, Belle! Where the fuck is she?"

"She's asleep."

"Where?"

"At my place, obviously."

Hearing the smile in Belle's voice, Emma gritted her teeth and scathed, "Is this you trying to get back at me for not fucking you?"

"Whoa, there, skippy. Settle down."

"Is it?"

"Why, of course not, Emma. This is me standing up for Regina and her right to make her own choices. You say you're not controlling, but you are."

"Why the fuck do you think it's ok to butt your stupid, nosy ass into my-"

"I'm just protecting a friend."

"Wipe the fucking smirk off your face, or I'll do it for you. She's not your friend." When Belle said nothing, only laughing in response, Emma added, "I mean it. Wake her up and send her home. Now."

"And if I don't?"

"What?"

"What will you do if I don't?"

"I'll come get her myself."

"Oh, I don't think you want to see that."

"See what?"

"See your girl in bed with me."

Emma almost froze, but her rage and adrenaline allowed her temper to snap, and she instantly ended the call.

"Belle!" Emma shouted, banging on the girl's door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Settle down," Belle replied loudly from behind the door, holding back a laugh. "I just gotta put pants on."

"BELLE!" Emma roared, furious and ignited by Belle's words.

"Jesus, kid," Belle chuckled as she opened the door. "Chill out before you break my door down."

"I don't give a flying fuck if I break your door down!"

When Emma shoved past her friend in search of Regina, Belle grabbed her by the arm and held her still.

"Emma," Belle said sternly. "She's fine, okay? She's asleep. Leave her alone. She needed space. The last thing you want to do is smother her and push her away right now."

Stopped dead in her tracks by these statements, Emma froze and stared at Belle for a long while, before her friend added, "Look, I was just trying to piss you off, okay? You deserved it. I slept on the couch, and she slept in my bed. Nothing happened."

"That was not funny!" Emma roared, shoving Belle's shoulders and causing her to stumble backwards.

"Cool it, Em. You're gonna wake her up."

"Fuck you, Belle. You think it's funny to joke about being in bed with my girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah. It kinda was," Belle confessed with a grin. "She is a hot piece of ass, after all. Wouldn't mind tapping that… A few times…"

Flames erupted behind Emma's eyes, and in her haze of red, all she could see was the blur of her own fist flying forward, toward Belle's face. Luckily for them both, Belle caught her hand. Usually, Emma would have landed the punch, but her rage took away her concentration and left only clumsiness.

"Emma!" Belle finally shouted, in an attempt to snap the girl out of her wrathful frenzy. "Jesus Christ! What's wrong with you? I'm just fucking around."

"You think it's 'fucking around' to give her drugs?"

At a loss for words, Belle stared at her friend and felt the tiniest pang of guilt.

Eventually, she said, "Don't make this my fault. She's an adult who can make her own choices. Stop trying to control her."

"I'm not trying to control her! I'm trying to protect her!"

"You should leave, Emma. It's going to look really bad on you if you push her right now."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you love something, let it go, right? Give her her freedom. You needed yours, didn't you?"

"And look where the fuck it got me. I'm this close to failing out of art school."

"Does Regina know?"

"Well, I mean… She knows I don't care about most of my classes…"

"Yeah, but does she know you're close to failing out?"

"I don't… I mean…"

"Go back to your room and chill out, okay? Do some homework or something. And think about telling her."

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what I should do?" Emma snapped, suddenly remembering her anger.

"Your best friend, remember?"

"Best friends don't-"

"Look, we can discuss this later. If you don't stop yelling, you're going to wake her, and she really needs to sleep this off. And you really need to chill out anyway."

With a sigh, Emma reached up and rubbed her temples, looking away from Belle.

"Okay. Alright. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have joked about her being in bed with me. Or about fucking her. But you need to trust me right now. It'll all be fine if you just let her make her own choices."

"You're such a dick," Emma huffed, then turned and walked out.

Emma stayed in the room all day, subconsciously hoping that Regina would walk in at any moment. But she went to bed alone, fighting the urge to text the girl and ask one the of many, many questions she felt boiling over.

In the morning, she also woke alone. When she looked over anxiously at Regina's side of the room and found the bed empty, her stomach dropped, and the urge to message her returned full-force. She resisted, though, thinking of Belle's words.

It wasn't until late that night that Regina returned, and oddly enough, Emma was asleep, despite the fact that she was usually up until at least two in the morning.

When the door cracked, spreading a small splash of light over Emma's face, Regina paused in the doorway and watched for a while as the girl simply breathed, her chest rising and falling. Eventually, Regina shut the door behind her, filling the room once again with complete darkness. Of course, this worked out badly, as she could see nearly nothing and promptly stubbed her toe on her desk chair on the way to her bed.

"Gina?" Emma's quiet voice asked sleepily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Shit," the girl cursed, holding her foot and looking in Emma's direction. "Sorry. I…"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"I…" Emma tried, slowly sitting up in bed. "Regina…"

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep."

"But…"

Regina said nothing. Instead, she simply made it the rest of the way to her bed and slipped under the covers, rolling to face the wall. Despite the tension between them, Emma was calmed by the sound of Regina's slow breathing, once she was asleep. Still, it took the blonde a while to join Regina in sleep, but eventually, her body's exhaustion won over.

After waking, Regina sat up in her bed and looked over at Emma, who was sleeping on her back with her lips slightly parted. Though Regina couldn't have known it, the peaceful expression on Emma's face was in sharp contrast with the inner chaos she was feeling, even in her sleep. It was only when Regina shifted her weight on the bed slightly, causing it to make a loud creaking noise, that Emma's expression morphed from one of contentedness to one of conflict and tension.

As soon as she saw the new look of discomfort on Emma's face, Regina whispered, quite involuntarily, "Emma? You alright?"

"Mmmf," was all the brunette received in response as Emma gripped the bed sheets tightly in her fists, her brow furrowed.

When Emma began to look even more distressed, Regina finally stood and made the few quiet steps over to the girl's bedside, saying softly, "Em?"

Despite the previous two nights' events, Emma was still the only one who made Regina's heart feel lighter. The only one who made her nerves relax and release her from her anxiety. The only one who gave her butterflies. The only one she truly cared about. Thus, it was impossible for her to ignore Emma's discomfort.

"Emma…" she repeated, in a softer tone, reaching out, without really meaning to, to stroke Emma's cheek with her thumb.

Regina was startled when the girl sat straight up in the bed and sucked in an audible, gasping breath, so she jumped back slightly, until Emma opened her eyes.

"It's okay," Regina quickly told her. "It's me."

"Fuck," Emma cursed, wiping the sweat that had formed suddenly from her brow.

She drew several shaky breaths before she was capable of saying anything else.

"Are you alright?" Regina asked her, reaching out hesitantly and stroking some loose hairs behind the blonde's ear.

"Yeah," Emma grumbled, lightly swatting Regina's hand away. "Fine."

Without saying anything else, Emma laid back down and rolled to face the wall, rejecting any expression of Regina's concern or kindness.

"Emma… Listen… I heard what Belle said to you on the phone. I wasn't really asleep. She just thought I was… And I just want you to know that-"

"I'd prefer if we could just pretend this whole thing never happened, if it's all the same to you."

"It's not 'all the same' to me," Regina told her lover, her tone sharp. "I don't want to pretend anything with you. I want to be honest. And-"

"I don't want to know, okay? It's fine. Whatever hap- Whatever… It's fine."

"It's not fine. And I'm sorry, okay?" the brunette pressed, daring to place a gentle hand on Emma's shoulder, which was quickly shaken off. "Emma."

But Emma's heart had already stopped. If she was sorry, then… that meant…

When Regina recognized that any words Emma wanted to say were firmly lodged in her throat, she quickly told the girl, "Wait. Emma. Nothing happened."

Still, Emma could not speak. And what could she say anyway? I don't believe you. Are you sure? Why did you do this?

None of those questions seemed fitting, although they were all running through her mind, spinning around and repeating like a shrill record. All she could do with the thoughts was to allow them to push hot tears from her eyes, onto her cheeks.

"Emma."

"Stop saying my name!" the blonde finally shouted, jerking the covers up over her shoulders and gripping them tightly.

She shut her eyes then, attempting to block it all out. Everything. The confusion, the pain, the stress. Even Regina. But all she could picture was their first kiss, and the way they'd pulled each other closer and confessed their love for each other.

"Stop it," Regina finally said firmly, after a brief moment of silence. "Stop acting like I-"

"It's fine, okay?" Emma sighed. "It's fine. Whatever happened is fine. I don't want to talk about it. Belle's right, anyway. You should just do whatever you want."

"Wait. That's not-"

But Emma was already pushing the covers down and swinging her legs out of the bed, and before Regina could speak, Emma had grabbed her shower towel and was closing the door behind her as she left the room.

When Emma returned, Regina was sitting on her own bed, clearly waiting for her, with her hands folded in her lap.

"We need to talk about this," the girl said seriously. "It's imp-"

"No, we really don't. You're a big kid, just like you said. You can make your own choices. Who the Hell am I to stop you from doing coke and sleeping with my best friend? You can do what you want now, alright? I'll never bring it up again. Let's just let it go, okay? Belle was right; I was wrong. That's all there is to it. And… And if you don't want to see me anymore, because of what I said and how I acted, I'll understand. I get it. I'm pushy. I'm-"

Regina cut her off there, saying, "No. She wasn't right." When Emma offered no response to this and simply continued to gather up her things for the day, Regina added, "You were just trying to look out for me." Still, no response, so she continued, "And nothing happened between me and Belle."

"You were high as a kite. How could I possibly believe you? You probably don't even remember it."

This left Regina's mouth hanging slightly open, and once again, as she found herself at a loss for words, Emma gathered the rest of what she needed for the day and left the room.

"What's up, kid?" Belle greeted the other brunette in the dining hall, smiling slightly. When Regina simply looked up at her blankly, looking mostly lifeless, Belle asked, "That bad, huh?"

Choking up as she felt the knot form in her throat and in her stomach, Regina could only nod.

"It's gonna be fine," Belle promised. "She'll come around. She won't stay mad forever."

"She's not mad," Regina managed to squeak out, her voice cracking. "She's hurt. Really hurt. She thinks I slept with you, but she won't talk to me about it. She just… said it was fine, and that she didn't want to talk about it, ever, then bolted out of the room."

"Oh, shit," Belle gaped. "That's… That's not what I was expecting you to say."

"Yeah, well… That's what happened."

"I guess she really does love you."

"What…?"

"Emma's got… uh… anger issues. She might not stay mad forever, but she can certainly hold a grudge. If she told you it was fine… and really doesn't want to talk about it… that means she can't stand to face the fact that you might be interested in someone else. The thought would hurt her more than she could stand, so she just… pushes the possibility away and wants to pretend it never happened."

"But I'm not interested in someone else!" Belle cried. "I want her!"

"Oh, honey," Belle sighed, placing her hand gently on top of Regina's. "I know that."

"Why did you have to instigate? Why did you have to say something that you knew would set her off and hurt her? She's never going to trust me again!"

As upset, angry, confused, and hurt as she was, Regina was grateful for the touch of a friend, and the feeling of Belle's hand on top of hers comforted her slightly.

"She will," Belle quickly countered, offering Regina's hand a careful squeeze. "And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I always fuck with her. It's just… what we do. Our relationship is…. volatile. I can't explain it, but we just… love to set each other off. I think both of us feed on the drama, honestly." There was a pause, during which Regina stared at her in disbelief of her blunt confession, before Belle added, "That's probably the realest thing I've ever said in my life. Anyway… Let's pretend I didn't say it and move on… The point is, she loves you, and this is basically all my fault. Still, she shouldn't try to control you, you know. You need to be free to make your own choices."

Rolling her eyes, Regina huffed, "Well, look where my choices have gotten me!"

"C'mon, kiddo. It's not that bad. She'll come around soon enough, and-"

Belle turned her head when she saw Regina staring over her shoulder. Then, both of them were looking directly at the blonde who had appeared close to their table. It was all too obvious that the girl was staring at their hands, which were still touching. Before Regina could jerk her hand away and stand to explain, Emma was turning and bolting: her usual way out.

"Emma, wait!" Regina shouted, finally recovering from her shock enough to pull away from Belle and rise to her feet.

"Sit," Belle said quickly, pushing down on Regina's shoulder to get her to sit back down. "I got this."

Leaving her tray on the table in front of Regina, Belle ran across the dining room to follow Emma around the corner. By the time she reached her, Emma was at the tray return, standing by the exit and covering her face with shaking hands.

"Em," the brunette said gently, pulling Emma's hands away from her face. "Look at me."

But Emma refused to raise her gaze, and her tears refused to stop. She was too embarrassed, angry, and ashamed to look her friend in the eyes.

"It's not what it looked like, okay?" Belle told her, stroking her arms. "I swear, Emma. We were just-"

"Don't," Emma croaked, roughly pulling away.

Then, she pulled her typical run-away move, hurrying out the exit into the lobby, but Belle was quick enough to follow her out and grabbed her arm to pull her back when she tried to run.

"Listen to me!" Belle cried. "You've got this all wrong, okay? Nothing's going on with us. She was upset, because you were upset, and I was just reassuring her that things would be alright between you two."

Emma responded by bitterly laughing, "Yeah, right. I know you, Belle. That line's not gonna work on me."

"Look. I know I'm a slut, okay? I know. But it's not like that with her. Nothing happened. Yes, I gave her some coke. Yes, she slept in my bed, but not with me. I carried her to bed and let her sleep. I was looking after her is all."

Feeling even more broken and confused, Emma finally met her friend's gaze and stared into her eyes, searching for the truth.

"She's madly, insanely, crazy in love with you, Em. I'd never do anything to get between you."

"Except making jokes about sleeping with her?!"

"Okay, yeah. That was fucked up. I'm sorry. But I was just fucking with you! We always do that, don't we?"

"This is different."

Sighing, Belle replied, "Yes, it is. You're right. I should have known better. I know how much you love her. How important she is to you." When Emma said nothing, she continued, "And I know you were just looking after her."

"She probably hates me now," Emma choked out. "She thinks I'm a control freak."

"She just wants to explore things, Em. That doesn't mean she wants to explore them without you. None of this has changed how she sees you. She's just worried about you. And upset because you got hurt."

"This is all your fault!" the blonde sobbed angrily, her voice echoing through the hallway. "How could you-"

"I know. I know, baby girl," Belle sighed, wrapping her arms tightly around the crying girl. "And I really am sorry."

Emma shut her eyes and let her head fall to Belle's shoulder, not caring that every person passing them by was staring. Her silence – save for the painful sobs that wracked her body – lasted until a shadow appeared beside them, at which time Belle shook her shoulder lightly to get her to open her eyes.

"Em," Regina said, pain filling her voice. "I'm so sorry. Please, don't cry."

Gently, Belle gave Emma a small push into Regina's arms, and Regina welcomed her warmly, wrapping herself around Emma's torso and holding the girl there as she cried.

"I'm sorry," Emma sobbed. "You can do what you want. I won't stop you anymore. I won't try to control you. I'm so sorry."

"Shh. Em. It's alright. I shouldn't have been doing… that stuff… and I should have gone home with you. I should have listened."

"I don't want to control you, Gina, I just wanted you to be safe."

"I was safe, Em. Belle took care of me. And nothing happened between us. I promise you that."

Exhausted from arguing and doubting the relationship she'd worked so hard to protect, Emma simply buried her face in Regina's neck and let the girl stroke her hair back as Belle patted her on the back, then left them alone in the hallway.

Eventually, Emma pulled away, wiping her eyes, and told Regina, "I gotta get to class."

Regina quickly replied, "I'll walk you" and followed the girl to her locker.

When it was time to say goodbye and let Emma enter her classroom, Regina took the girl's hand and hesitated.

"What?" Emma said, sniffling slightly.

"Can you come here for a minute?"

Tilting her head slightly in confusion, Emma took a slow step forward, which allowed Regina to give her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Have a good class, okay?" Regina whispered.

When she pressed her lips to Emma's cheek, Emma froze, feeling her stomach drop, this time in the wonderful butterfly-filled rush that she had missed so much over the past couple of days. She still struggled to speak, to instead of saying goodbye, Emma just leaned in and kissed Regina's cheek in return, then entered the classroom with her head spinning.

"Everything okay?" Belle asked into the phone's receiver.

"Yeah, it's alright," Regina sighed on the other end of the line. "She let me kiss her cheek goodbye after I walked her to class."

"Good! That's good. See? I told you she'd be alright."

"But she's hurt."

"So are you."

"Well, yes, but…"

"I think you two need to just talk it out, real upfront and honest, ya know? Just… put it all out there. Em hates doing that, obviously, but if you can get her to talk… I think it'll help."

"So how do I get her to talk?"

"That's on you, princess. You're the magic-maker here. No one else has ever turned Emma to mush the way you have."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am. Now, go pick her up from class."

"But I didn't-"

"Surprise her. Trust me."

"Alright… Thank you, Belle."

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. Okay?"

"It's alright. I get it. You two are rough with each other. It's just… a sensitive situation."

"I know. I'm sorry. But go! Go. You're gonna miss her. You got like seven minutes to meet her."

"Thanks again. Talk to you later."

"Regina?" Emma gaped, stepping out of the classroom and into the hallway.

"Hi."

"I… What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I could maybe walk you back to the dorm, if you wanted."

"You're not hungry?"

"Nah. I had a few bites of food earlier."

"A few bites…?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Well, no… I'm a little too stressed to eat, honestly. I think I'll be sick if I try to eat anything."

"Alright then. Let's go back to the dorm."

"Are you sure you want to be around me…?"

"Emma! Of course I do! I always want to be around you."

"Even after I-"

"Shh. Come on. Let's go."

With that, Regina took the girl's hand and tugged her along, back to their dorm room.

Once they were inside, Emma sat down in her chair, dropping her heavy load of books onto the desk, and sighed.

"You got a lot of homework?" Regina asked, touching Emma's shoulder.

"Yeah… I'm supposed to paint a… I don't even know. I wasn't paying attention last class, to be honest. And I'm… Gina…"

"What is it, love?"

"I'm… I'm starting to fail stuff again. Like, a lot of stuff. I just keep… getting distracted… and… It's so hard. And my teachers are all… Fuck."

Regina was about to comment on this when she noticed Emma's eyes spilling over with tears.

"Oh, honey… Come here," she cooed. "Come here."

Emma pulled the brunette onto her lap and squeezed her hard, holding tightly as she buried her face against Regina's shoulder.

"Love you," Emma mumbled, sniffling.

"I love you too, precious girl. No matter what."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Regina smiled softly before wiping Emma's tears, then told her, "And I promise I'm done getting high, okay? Never again."

"Gina, you don't have to-"

"Shh. Just hold me."

With a nod, Emma resumed her spot, this time letting her head drop against Regina's breast.