First of all, I want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone that has followed, favorited and reviewed this so far! It really means more to me than words can express. You're all wonderful. Getting feedback is what gives me inspiration to keep going. Which brings me to my second of all - here you go, chapter 2 of Where Our Horizons Meet. I hope you'll all enjoy where I'll eventually take this story. There is much more to come!
May 25th
Emma had read the post by R. Mills over and over again, weighing the words in her head. She was still reading it now that the clock rang 11:00 am. This woman, whoever she was, claimed to have been saved by one of the songs that Emma herself had written. For the life of her, Emma couldn't comprehend this. She read the post once again, chewing on her nails.
Dear Skyfires.
Dear Miss Swan.
I wanted to express my gratitude. Now that I'm turning the words over in my head, I realize how crazy I actually sound. But I'll continue nonetheless…
This song, 'Ice water', saved my life. Last night I found myself in an ambulance, fighting for my life. At one point I was sure I was going to die. But then this song came on the radio… I can't explain to you what happened, but for some reason, listening to these words and the voice of you, Miss Swan, saved me from letting go. It touched me on a deep level that literally made my life call from underneath.
There. I said it. Now you may laugh if you want to, but every word is true and I would rather risk you thinking I'm nuts than not telling you how much this song now means to me. I will continue to listen to your other songs. Consider me one of your biggest fans.
Thank you. Thank you for saving my life.
R. Mills.
Emma blinked as tears filled her eyes once again, and she rubbed angrily at them, refusing to get this emotional. What the hell. The three words that had been roaming around in her head for over an hour. She was stunned. Stunned beyond any other words and she was still having trouble actually believing that this R. Mills wasn't indeed, full of shit. But there was something in the careful choice of words and how she pictured this woman writing them that made her believe the sincerity in them. She shook her head. Don't get ahead of yourself, Swan.
Emma finally jumped off the window frame and stretched her aching body. Her head was only pounding a tiny bit now, so the worst of her hangover had already passed. She decided she would take a shower before answering the Madame behind the post. She needed to clear her head. But she wouldn't discuss it with either Ruby or August before answering her. Even though they were the rest of the band. It did seem like her post was directed mostly at Emma anyway…
As the cascades of scolding water soaked her hair and body, Emma couldn't help but wonder who this woman was, how she looked like. Based on the post, she pictured her as a pretty up-tight rich bitch. But then again, all she did was be polite and use fancy words now and then. Emma felt like there was something more to her. The whole situation about her "being saved by the song" suggested that she was a pretty serious dreamer. Creative. Passionate. Intelligent. Funny. Beautiful.
Emma shook her head again and mentally slapped herself. What the hell was she even doing, standing in her shower, fantasizing about a complete stranger. She could be a fat, forty-year-old woman with a mustache and twenty-five cats. She sighed deeply and wrapped herself in a towel as she got out of the shower. As she got dressed and dried her hair she thought about what she could respond to her secret admirer. Shut up, Swan.
"I can't believe you actually wrote the band, Regina. You're insane."
Kathryn stroked Regina's hair with the brush again, before starting on the French braid. After yesterday, the girls had decided that old-fashioned hair braiding should be their deal for a little while. Belle spoke up next.
"I don't think it's insane. It's quite amazing, in my opinion. I mean the fact that this song... Did something to you. It's like..."
"Like magic," Regina said, finishing Belle's sentence and earning four very raised eyebrows before loud laughter filled her room.
"Not literally! I just mean... Whatever." Regina clucked her tongue and shook her head at her still laughing friends.
The face of blonde locks and emerald eyes popped into her mind again and made her shiver. She closed her eyes for a brief moment. What is going on with you, silly? You don't even know her. All she knew was that she was a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice and a beautiful name that was most likely laughing her probably beautiful ass elsewhere over Regina right this second. She chuckled silently before looking up at her laughing friends and pinning them with a stare. Huh. Payback was due.
"Well, if it weren't for you two I wouldn't have had any reason to contact them, would I now?"
Both young women clammed up instantly. Kathryn looked as if she was a puppy that Regina had just kicked furiously. She even saw a tear linger in the corner of the blonde's eye. Belle put a comforting hand on Kathryn's shoulder and avoided eye contact with Regina.
"That was a low blow," said the brunette.
Regina swallowed thickly.
"No, I'm... I'm sorry. That was not fair. Not at all. I'm sorry."
They both continued keeping their eyes down. Regina felt her stomach knot up as she was overflown with guilt.
"I'm sorry girls, please. You know my mouth is sometimes faster than my brain and I have this horrible bitch bone that shows now and then." Regina fiddled with her hands, feeling horribly uncomfortable. "You shouldn't feel guilty. None of you could have foreseen what happened. Please stop looking like this. Show me your beautiful smiles."
That earned her two very small but visible smiles. She mentally squealed with glee. She wrapped her arms around both women in a big bear hug. Soon, giggles and broad smiles were all shared between the three of them. They continued to chat away about meaningless stories about school, make-up and boys.
What was going on inside Regina's head was a different story. Her thoughts were occupied by a certain Emma Swan. Even though Regina tried being present and enjoy the conversation, Emma kept popping back into her mind. She had no idea as to why. This unnerving feeling had settled within her ever since she'd seen the face of her savior. And even as she tried telling herself it was just admiration and gratitude, a voice inside her head kept screaming that it was something completely different. But what…
She watched the clock closely as the hours passed. For some reason she couldn't wait for her friends to leave. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. And see if Emma has replied. She shook her head at herself once again. This is crazy. You're crazy. Nonetheless, after dinner was served by her parents and both Belle and Kathryn had left, Regina found herself skipping steps on the stairs towards her room, rushing in to start up her laptop.
As it came to life and she opened her email-account, she caught herself holding her breath. And as she saw the email from Emma waiting to be read, her heart leaped into her throat and she swallowed thickly. Jeez. Calm down. She clicked it with trembling fingers. She really had to get a hold of herself, because this was far out of line. But she'd solve that later.
Hi R. Mills.
Madame.
After staring at your post for like forever, I finally thought I'd better answer you.
First of all, I'd like to thank you for this. My music is everything to me, and the fact that 'Ice Water' basically saved your life, well that is pretty fucking amazing. So yeah… thanks and all.
I didn't laugh and I won't laugh. You've earned my respect. And I have to say, I'm intrigued by you. Which brings me to my second of all – what other music do you listen to?
Emma.
Regina furrowed her brows. She read the message again; just to be sure she'd gotten it right. Emma didn't find her insane. She believed her. And she respected her. This alone was enough to make Regina smile broadly. And as she read the blunt question again, she laughed. Loud and carefree, and she didn't know why. She wasn't laughing at Emma though. She just felt happy, like she had to laugh simply because emotions were bubbling inside her and had to spill in some way.
Then she started thinking. What music do I even listen to? Suddenly she felt like she didn't have any taste in music. Not that she had bad taste – she just didn't have any. And it bugged her immensely because she wanted to give Emma a good answer. Just think of something. One artist. In a moment of desperation she opened up her iTunes and scrolled through the mess it was. After too many minutes of nothing, she stumbled upon an orange cover. Ed Sheeran! I adore him. She jumped in her chair and clapped her hands together eagerly. With renewed hope she typed in her answer.
Dear Miss Swan.
Thank you, for your kindness. I'm beyond happy that you think so, that you feel like this. I really did fear that you would find me utterly insane. My friends seem to think so of me… So, you're very welcome.
I just realized how bad I am at answering questions like this. Which is why I don't have much of an answer to offer you. But anyhow – I love Ed Sheeran. His lyrics are almost as beautiful as yours.
May I ask you the same question?
R.
Regina bit her bottom lip and stared at her message. She debated whether to send it or not. She felt anxious as well as excited and she couldn't decide which feeling was the cause of the flips her stomach was doing. She closed her eyes and pressed send. There. What harm can it do anyway?
Emma jumped high as Ruby's words echoed in the microphone, making them even louder than they would have been were they not in their practicing studio.
"You did what?" Emma clammed her hands over her ears as the volume of Ruby's voice made the microphone screech.
"Calm your tits, Rubes. I said I answered this girl on YouTube already. She was very polite and very thankful and since she wrote 'Miss Swan' I figured I didn't need to talk to you guys about it."
"Don't you tell me to calm down! I have a reason to be mad. Emma, we're a band. We should make these kind of decisions together," she swung her bas onto her back so she could cross her arms over her chest, "This is so typically you."
Emma was about to protest but the rapid sound of drumsticks hammering against drums cut her off. August stopped his hammering when he had both women's attention.
"You two," he pointed one drumstick in their direction, "better stop this or I call it quits on today's practice. I've got things to do and places to be. I'm not gonna sit by while you bitch-fight. Em, under other circumstances we should discuss this beforehand, but since this girl seems to have a lesbian crush on you, all is good. Rubs – step away from the mic if you wanna be unreasonably loud. I plan to use my ears in the future."
Emma had to smirk at August's comment to Ruby, but as soon as the words directed to herself sunk in, she spoke up.
"Hey! Not cool, Gus. This has nothing to do with crushes or lesbians. I just felt like she deserved a personal answer… from me."
Ruby laughed contemptuously.
"Oh please," she walked over to the dusty computer standing in the corner of the room and read the post again, "Did you read this? 'Listening to these words and the voice of you…it touched me on a deep level.'" Ruby turned towards Emma again and placed her hands on her hips. "This is a whole new kind of gay."
"Shut up," Emma pushed Ruby out of the way and exited the post. She walked towards her own microphone, "Let's just practice."
Ruby and August shared a knowing look and chose to let it go for now. But they both knew there was more to this story. Either Emma refused to acknowledge that or she just didn't want them to meddle. Ruby was convinced that this girl had already been staring in a dirty dream of Emma's, though.
Emma grabbed her guitar and instantly started playing the intro of the song they were about to play before Ruby had a terrible fit of overreaction. Emma could still feel the rage bubbling in her veins, but as the others joined in on the song and she started singing, everything faded away and was just background noise. The only thoughts still loud enough for her to hear were the thoughts of the mysterious R. Mills. I've gotta ask for her first name. Or is that too stalkerish? What's not Swan, you asked a perfect stranger a personal question. Lost in her head, she hit the wrong note entering the refrain and August had to drumbeat everyone correctly in again. She gave her band mates an apologetic smile. Damn this Madame. But Emma couldn't help it. Her curiosity concerning the other woman was enormous, and no matter how hard she tried telling herself to drop it and leave her alone, she couldn't. What are the chances that our song played in the radio anyway. There's gotta be something else at work here...
They continued to practice and Emma continued to screw up for the next hour. When it was late at night and time to do things and go places for August, Emma drove home faster than intended. David was out on a business dinner, but Mary Margaret was alive and kicking at home, eager to have a long chat with Emma about her day. Emma on the other hand, just wanted to duck into her room and check her email.
"How was your day, honey?" Mary Margaret gave Emma a wet kiss on her forehead.
"Good, fine, just right." Emma desperately tried to avoid any further digging into a conversation.
"What about practice? You did meet with Ruby and August today, right?"
"Yes, yes I did and it was just fine as well. All the same."
"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" Mary Margaret furrowed her small brows and looked at Emma with worry in her eyes. Emma instantly felt guilty.
"No, nothing at all mom, it's just been a long day and I still have this lesson plan I want to go over even though it's not until Tuesday."
Emma swallowed thickly. She hated lying to Mary Margaret. She was such a kind and amazing person and it felt like stealing candy from a kid. Nonetheless, she really wanted to see if the Madame had answered.
"Oh of course, honey. I'll let you go then. Did you eat?"
"Yes," Emma lied again, walking towards her room. She closed the door quickly behind her and exhaled. As the guilt slowly faded, she made her way to her laptop and started it up. Ten minutes later it was still not fully ready. This damn thing is so slow and old. I should buy a new one. She chewed on her nails as she waited for all the icons and stupid warning messages to pop up. When all was clear, she opened her email. And sure enough, there was a message from "R". She read through it and couldn't help but smirk. For some reason she'd thought Madame Mills wouldn't answer. I guess I'm quite the charmer. She read the compliment directed to her again. Whoa. She really does think my music is beautiful. Emma felt somehow proud of herself, which didn't happen often, but when it did, Emma knew it could get ugly. Don't turn into a smug ass on her, Swan. She felt even more intrigued by this woman now that she had shown some interest in return. So she cracked her fingers and started typing her answer.
Hello '"R" (I feel like there should be a few more letters following here, or is it just me?)
No need to thank me. I'm simply speaking the truth. And I have to say, if that's true then those are some pretty shitty friends you have. No offense.
Anyway. It just so is that I fucking love Ed Sheeran, too. We've got something in common there.
But other than him… well, I listen to a lot of music. It's kinda my thing, but I guess you already figured that much. I like Daughter, The Neighbourhood, Ben Howard, Lauren Aquilina. I could pretty much go on, but I don't want to bore you.
Next question – Do you dance/like to dance?
E. (You already know the following letters.)
Emma looked at her message, again feeling pretty proud of herself. But also excited. Nervous, even. For some reason she really wanted this woman to like her. She was afraid she might be too blunt and weird or shit. But she didn't want to be pretentious either. So she just had to settle for being herself and hope for the best. Which was mostly destined to fail, given her experience. Before sending her message, she hit "private". The whole world of YouTube didn't need to see their conversation. She had the feeling this would go on for some time.