alert: assault and attempted rape. Read up to the double dash lines if you don't feel comfortable to read that content. Next chapter will still make sense, I promise :)

The whole ride back to campus she could feel the butterflies in her stomach after seeing Neal go crazy, but still felt guilt in her chest for making it weird and practically pushing Killian out of the restaurant . No matter how glad she was to see Neal again after so many years, or how she and Killian didn't really know each other so well, it was rude of her to have shunned him out when Neal got there. She may not be the nicest person there is, but she was certainly not rude. She was so lost in thought she barely noticed she had parked in the student housing lots, as if by instinct or habit.

"Finally." Regina groaned from the table where she was sitting with a bottle of water and a box of aspirins. "Where did you go? You took forever." She managed a smile even though the hangover was taking over most muscles in her body

"Uhhmmm..." Emma began taking out the boxed orders and handing Regina her coffee that had managed to remain warm. "Remember that guy Neal?" Her heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. Not sure how he still managed to make her feel like a child with her first crush, even after all those years. She shook her head to bring back her composure she was so good at keeping.

"Yeah, mystery guy who showed up out of the blue?" Regina said as she took a bite from her waffles. "What happened? Did he call you or text you or something?"

"Worse actually... I ran into him.." Emma signed out but was interrupted by a gasp from her friend, followed by 'what, where, when, how?' Emma could feel her heart beating right out of her chest when she described the whole encounter to her and how awkward it was as soon as Killian left.

"Damn.. that is crazy. And sweet. And a little creepy how you ran into both of them there." Emma stared at Regina as she responded to her little story, which really didn't help at all. "Well are you gonna go out with him?"

"With who? Neal? I don't know." Emma shrugged and looked down at her empty tray, not realizing she ate all her pancakes already. She was always lost on thought whenever Neal was the subject of the matter. "I really have no clean what the hell imma do."

"Well I am going to head over to Robin's in a bit. He said I needed some morning exercise to sweat off the hangover or something." Regina yawned and then laughed at the thought of her working out. Regina was never one who enjoyed working out and exercising much, she believed that eating right and not being lazy was enough to keep her fit and healthy. Which has been working for her for the past four and a half years.

"I think I'll join you. I should probably apologize to Killian for being rude earlier." She said as she picked up her disposable tray and fork from the table and threw them away. "It's the right thing thing to do." Regina nodded and finished up her breakfast while Emma left to get showered and dressed.

They were talking about exams and discussing the wedding on their way to Robin's building, laughing and thinking about every worse case scenario that could happen and how they could fix it. Mary Margret would never let them talk like that in front of her, she said it would only bring bad luck and stress her out more. They finally arrived to the guys' building and knocked on the door. Within a minute, Robin was at the door greeting the girls with his welcoming smile and invited them in. "Emma, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He said as he hugged Regina so tight, it seemed like her head would sink into his chest, causing Regina to giggle and even let out a small snort.

"Actually, I just needed to talk to Killian really quick... Is he around?" Emma said, her tone of voice seeming distracted and a bit off.

Robin smiled, looking confused since he has seen them only argue whenever they were together. "Uh, yeah, he is in the kitchen actually. Eating cereal." He nodded towards the hallway that led to the kitchen, Emma returning a smile as a thank you.

She made her way into the kitchen where Killian had headphones on and was singing along to some pop song, all while eating a bowl of lucky charms. She stood by the doorway staring as he got more and more into the song, when he suddenly looked up and saw her.
"Emma!" He practically shouted while throwing off the headphones and cleared his throat. "What the hell are you doing here? Were you watching me long?"

Emma laughed out her words "Not long enough. Was that- was that Taylor Swift?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"She- uh, I don't listen to that. She came up on pandora.." He said turning red as if he didn't know what else to say. "Anyways, lass, what are you doing here? Did you come for Robin or something?"
"You seemed to know the words to that song pretty well for not listening to her." She joked, only causing Killian to roll his eyes at her. "And I actually, weirdly enough, came to see you." Emma sighed crossing her arms as if holding up her pride. She didn't like apologizing much, but she knew it was the right thing to do and it needed to be done.

"Is that so?" He said wiggling his eyebrow and giving her a sly smirk. "Should we take this conversation to somewhere more.. private?" He obviously flirted as he points up to his bedroom.

"Seriously? Do you really have to be an ass? I came to apologize for being rude to you early at the pancake house. I know I made you feel uncomfortable and that was not cool." She almost had to force out the apology after him being such a pig. She had such a great conversation with him earlier in the morning, why did he have to make her change her mind again? It was annoying.

"No worries, love. It was obvious that you and your friend needed quite the talk. Didn't want him to get the wrong idea, so I thought it would be best for me to leave." Killian said as he played with his spoon and looked down at the bowl.

"Really? Thanks, Killian, that was very kind of you. Who knew you were such a gent." Emma said rocking back and forth on her feet and giving out a small laugh.

"Well, I'm always a gentleman. You just hardly give me the chance to prove it." He scuffed out while picking up his bowl and taking it to the sink. She stood there still feeling more guilty than she did going there in the first place. Once she looked up, she noticed he was standing within inches away from her, tucking a lock of her blonde her back around her ear to get it out of her face. "Maybe, some day soon, I will be graced with that opportunity to prove to you what a gentleman I can be." He was leaning in closer to her. His face only a couple inches away from hers, foreheads almost touching.

All these thoughts rushed through Emma's mind all at once. She was frozen in the moment that it seemed like time had stopped and she was able to go through each thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let him have a date or two with her? Maybe he really is that cool guy from the pancake house and not just the punk ass who doesn't have self control? He was a pretty good looking guy, maybe? But, maybe, he could also hurt her. Maybe he was that punk ass guy who could only flirt and annoy her. Maybe he could be just as bad to her as Neal was when he left her. Neal. Neal had returned to Boston and had wanted to hang out also, and he seemed different. More grown and mature. She remembered how she blanked out every time she thought about him and his return and how her heart skipped a beat when talking to Regina about it. She was finally able to snap herself out of her thoughts, which seemed like hours, but saw Killian's forehead had barely reached hers. Time, for once, seemed to be on her side. She was able to clear her throat and back up away from him. He sensed how she felt at the moment and didn't want to push her to get close to him again. "I think I should get back to studying." She managed in a small voice, as if talking to herself. "Again, I'm really sorry for today."

"I told you, love, no worries." He smiled as his left hand grabbed hers and lifted it up to his mouth, giving her a small kiss on her hand. "I should probably follow your example and study as well."

She smiled back and put her hand in her pockets. "Good bye Killian, I'll see ya around." her long blonde hair flipping around after her as she turned to leave, not giving him the chance to return the good bye. She quickly reached the living room by the font door, where Regina and Robin were doing stretches and warm ups and said goodbye. "I'll see you back at home." Regina exclaimed as she waved to Emma.

Get your shit together, Emma. She thought to herself as she was laying in bed drinking ice cold water to keep her focused on studying. She needed to get her mind cleared and stay focused. She needed to ace her exams and pass her classes with nothing lower than an 85. Even then, 85 was pushing it. The last thing she needed was a boy war going on in her head. An imaginary boy war? Neither had said they wanted her or anything, just that they would want to hang out sometime. Her emotions hadn't been so conflicted since Neal left her the first time. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she scorned softly at herself. She pushed any thought of any extent to this "boy war" out of her head, and focused on psychology. That is what needed her attention, and that is what she would focus on. She managed to study for three hours straight, switching from psychology to statistics, when Mary Margret called her up. "Hey what's up?"

"Hi Emma! I was wondering if you guys wanted to go out to dinner tonight? Like the whole group?" Mary Margret said happily, eager to hear Emma's response.

"Yeah, sure, uhm fancy or casual?" Emma yawned out, tired from studying.

"Casual, nothing fancy, maybe a nice pizza place." Mary Margret replied relieved Emma agreed. She knew how tense Emma got when it was time for exams and was glad to know she wasn't going to stay cooped up in her room studying all day and night.

"Regina isn't home yet, she's at Robin's. You can call her and let her know." Emma replied as she got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to get more water.

"Oh! David is on the phone with Robin right now, so he can let her know."

"Okay, awesome. I'm going to get ready then, I'll see you in an hour or when?"

Mary Margret giggled, Emma could hear David tickling her and messing around on the other side of the line, "I think two hours? Regina just said she is going to head home in a bit to get ready, so I think two hours will give us time and we won't rush."

Mary Margret was like the mother of the group. She was always making sure everybody was okay and happy and safe, especially Emma. They had known each other for so long that she felt the need to be over protective of Emma, and vice-versa. "Okay, that sounds perfect. See you the, buh-bye."

"Bye, Emma, see you soon!" Mary Margret's laugh was so contagious that it made Emma smile.

"Over here!" David waved to Emma and Regina to join where he, Mary Margret, Ruby, Robin and Killian were seated.

"Hey guys you are finally here!" Ruby said smiling, pulling out the chair for Emma to sit next to her and Mary Margret. Robin, being the gentleman he is, stood up to pull out Regina's chair for her to sit between him and Ruby. Once everybody was seated and comfortable, the waiter came by to take their order. "So I have three colas, a raspberry tea, a lemonade and two waters, two all meat pizzas, one having olives and mushrooms on half the pizza, one large cheese pizza, and one large classic pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. Awesome, my name is Gary and I will be right back with your drinks." He said smiling during the entire order and was off. The drinks came and the pizza soon followed. The gang was talking and joking and, to much surprise, only talked about the wedding once or twice. Throughout the meal Emma tried her best to avoid talking to Killian, only acknowledging him when needed to not be rude. He caught on very quickly because as soon as Emma tried to talk and make a point on the subject being discussed, he would quickly cut in or correct anything she managed to say.

Quickly growing tired of Killian's interruptions and the annoyance of having to to keep her cool, Emma excused herself from the table to use the restroom.

"Keep it together Emma." She stood in front of the bathroom mirror over the sink, trying to talk herself down from her anger. "You did try to avoid him, and he's not dumb. Just stupidly annoying." Once she was able to pull herself together, she decided to head back to the table, where she noticed everyone was getting ready to pay and leave. "We are all done? How much do I owe?" She said sitting down while grabbing her wallet to then take out the twenty dollars she owed for her part of the meal. The group paid and was heading out the restaurant, Ruby and her with their arms hooked together, when she froze in the middle of the sidewalk from a sight she was not ready to see.

Across the street, getting off a glossy, polished black car was Neal. Neal helping a petite, curly-haired blonde girl into the passenger seat. Mary Margret and Ruby quickly noticed and froze as well, not knowing whether to pull her away from everyone and everything happening and making it obvious that something was wrong, or to just quietly and quickly walk her away from the whole thing and to the cars that were parked just a block away. Realizing that Emma would never want anyone to see her show any type of weakness, Ruby starts to talk to her to distract her and pulls her away from the sight and closer to where Killian, David, and Mary Margret were walking. They finally reach the cars where they all stand around talking for a while more, but Emma can't seem to focus on a thing being said. Killian is quick to notice that Emma isn't saying anything and that she doesn't seem to want to be out anymore, and decides to end the talking and be the first to say good night, calling Robin over to leave with him. Regina joins them, giving Emma a good night hug and a quick "I'll see you tomorrow, call me if you need anything okay?"

Smiling, Emma assures her, "don't worry I'm a big girl. See you tomorrow."

The entire way home Emma is distracted with the thought that just that morning, Neal had asked her for her number, he had said he wanted to hang out together. Maybe he just found a better number to call and better company. Why was her mind so screwed up with the thoughts of Neal and how he was with another girl? She was a grown woman. She didn't need to be distracted by some silly, ridiculous guy from high school and some crazy crush she might still have on him. Exams. Focus Emma. Focus on your exams. You don't need this right now. She repeated over and over as she parked in her usual spot and walked to her home.

.

She was close to getting to her place when she felt someone grab her shoulders from behind and throw her against the nearest wall.

"Hey Emma, long time no see."

Emma's eyes were closed until the moment she heard the man's voice say her name. Walsh. She couldn't believe he would be capable of doing this to her until she saw him with his nose pressed up against her cheek and the smell of vodka attacked her senses.

"I missed you Emma. I want you. And today, I am not taking no for an answer."He said slurring his words. "You see, you don't really deserve a guy like me, so you are very lucky to have me actually want a girl like you again. Just for a night, of course." He said as his mouth crashed into hers, muffling out Emma's cry for help. She had felt so weakened from her entire day, she barely had any strength to kick and punch at his back and arms. "Stop fighting it, babe. Think about how lucky you are right now." The sound of him calling her babe screeched in her ears like nails on a chalk board. She could feel him getting more and more aggressive, yanking her hair and reaching up her shirt onto her chest. Emma couldn't stop the tears that were pouring down her face and could feel her stomach turning upside down.

All she could feel was his center digging into her thigh and his cold hands touching her body. Please. Please, God, help me. Please! She pleaded to herself. She had never felt so helpless in her life before, she was almost about to give up fighting.