Author's note: As promised, I'd post a ch for every ch I finish writing. So here's another one

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is a draft of a college essay that I should really be working on instead of this. Oh well...

Chapter 5

The first things Emma felt the next morning were her splitting headache and nausea. Thankfully someone had closed the curtains, blocking out the bright glare from the sun that would surely entice a colorful array of curse words from her dry mouth.

Coffee. I need coffee. She thought. She stumbled clumsily out of bed, leaning against the wall for balance. Briefly, she wondered who'd taken off her jacket and boots and tucked her into bed right now, but her head was pounding like a bass drum and didn't leave much room for thoughts. She was so out of it that she didn't notice the glass of water and huge bottle of Advil on the nightstand.

"Why's it so bright in here?" She grumbled as she made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a huge ass cup of coffee, shielding her eyes from the sun that was coming in through the open window in the kitchen.

"Someone's finally up." Her roommate (Emma didn't know whether to think of her as Mary Margaret, Snow, or Mom) commented. Emma jumped, not expecting anyone to be there. Usually at this time her roommate was already out, for she was an early riser while Emma was the opposite. She turned around and saw her parents and Henry, seated at the table with a huge breakfast laid out.

"Why don't you join us?" James/Charming/David/her dad suggested.

Emma merely grunted in response and sipped her coffee, glaring out with red rimmed eyes.

"Emma's not really a morning person." Mary Margaret answered for her. As Emma threw back two Advil, she tried to hide her annoyance that her roommate knew her so well and spoke for her like, well, a mother would. It occurred to her that if it weren't for the revelation last night this exchange wouldn't bother her at all.

"How did I get back here last night?" She asked no one in particular. "The last thing I remember was passing out at the station."

"Graham brought you back." Her mother replied, a knowing smile on her face. At the mention of Graham, James's face darkened, but he remained silent.

At the mention of Graham, Emma suddenly felt worse. She put down her coffee cup and started to massage her throbbing temples. Memories of last night came flooding back in bright clarity. She shut her eyes, trying to block them out.

Just then, her phone buzzed on the kitchen counter. Emma leaned over to read the caller ID and groaned loudly. "Ugh. Speak of the devil."

"What's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked, instantly concerned. Emma ignored her as she grabbed her vibrating cell and walked down the hall for some privacy, away from the prying eyes of Mary Margaret, James, and Henry.

"Hello?"

"Hey." His thick accent spoke through the phone. "Just wanted to see how you're doing."

God, how she loved that voice. It made her want to curl up with him and breathe in his woodsy scent. It made her long for the feel of his arms around her and his lips on hers. Above all, it made her knees weak, her head spin, and feelings stir inside, feelings she hadn't felt for about 11 years. And that was scaring him senseless.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. No. This was not the time to be thinking about that. She reminded herself that every time she fell in love, she only ended up heartbroken.

"I'm good." She said brusquely, trying to keep her tone diplomatic.

"Want to grab some breakfast, um brunch now I guess, at Granny's?" He suggested hopefully.

Emma was about to decline when it occurred to her that it would be a great time to set him straight, to tell that him that last night was nothing but a mistake.

"Sure. See you there in twenty." She hung up the phone, feeling as if she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.

Emma reached Granny's relatively quickly, heavily dreading each step she took. When she reached the doors, she saw Graham already sitting at a booth, two mugs in front of him. Without looking, she knew that one of the mugs was hot chocolate with cinnamon, her favorite. He really was sweet. Which was exactly why she needed to do this.

She took a deep breath, and then pushed open the glass doors. Graham spotted her immediately and waved her over, a cheery smile on his face.

"Hey." He said. "You're just in time to order. So you like grilled cheese right…?" He was cut off.

"I'm not here to stay." Emma said as she wrung her hands under the table. God, why was this so hard? She'd never had any trouble doing this in the past.

"Oh." Graham cocked his head to side adorably. "Why not? Too hungover?" He teased.

Emma ignored him. "Look, I'm just going to say this once. Last night was…a mistake." She began, casting her eyes down to avoid looking at Graham's eyes, which were slowly filling with confusion.

"But…" He started to protest, but she cut him off again.

"I was drunk." She stated.

"No, but…"

"Which is why I kissed you. That's all." She finished, getting up to leave.

Graham shook his head petulantly. He grabbed her hand in his, stopping her. "Emma." He said firmly. "Look at me."

Emma kept her eyes down. If she looked at him she would start crying. And that could not happen.

"Look at me. Look at me and tell me that you feel nothing for me. That everything that happened last night and before the curse was broken was nothing." He repeated. She looked up, struggling to keep her face placid.

"It was nothing."

Graham looked stunned, but he released her hand. "All right." He turned towards the window and sipped his coffee.

Emma stood up and strode quickly towards the exit. She was grateful that her back was turned, so he wouldn't see the tears beginning to make their way down her cheeks.