I had to get back to Storybrooke. Three days in New York City had shown me that this life was absolutely not the life I wanted to be living. Sure, there was no longer a daily threat to my existence, but there was also even less happening here than there. It wasn't just Evan that I missed, it was the whole sense of adventure. I wanted to know what was happening with those three evil ladies, if there were other threats, what the royal family was up to-a royal family! That was something I sure as hell was not going to find in New York. But Mom's mind was made up. She was not going back. Which meant I had to find a way to get back on my own. I did have magic... but this was a land without magic, so that didn't really do me any good. What could I do? How could I get back to my town? My town... it was weird to call it that. I had only been living there... what, a few months? I had spent longer in the Enchanted Forest than Storybrooke! But I had felt more at home in Storybrooke than I had ever felt in any other place in all my life (which, admittedly, wasn't very long); I felt that I fit right in with the magic and the royalty and the crazy shenanigans that went down there. And I wanted to get back. Back home. I just didn't know how.
When I got home from school one day, Mom wasn't home from work yet, and I got a completely crazy idea. A terrible idea, actually. The kind of stupid thing that only an insane person would do. Good thing I was a little bit insane. Grabbing my coat and enough money for a few cab rides and a bus ticket, I scrawled a quick note, left it on the counter, and walked out the door. I didn't really intend to run away, of course. When Mom got home, she would see the note, and she would follow me to the bus station. She would conveniently catch me before the bus left. And I would convince her how much I loved Storybrooke, and how much I wanted to go back. Then, hopefully, she would agree for us to go back there.
The plan almost worked.
"Elle, you're insane! You're grounded for... three months! At least! Maybe longer!"
"Mom, I just wanted to show you that I was serious about wanting to go back to Storybrooke."
"I know you were serious! But it's dangerous there, and I want you to be safe!"
"So you don't care if I'm happy?!"
She frowned. "Elle, your safety is the primary concern to me. I would hope that you can find happiness here."
"Well, Evan, my other friends, and everything exciting is back in Storybrooke, so how exactly am I supposed to do that?!"
She shrugged. "Figure it out."
I went up to my room and sat down on the bed with a sigh. Maybe I should just have really run away. Maybe I still should. Whatever it took, I would find my way back to Storybrooke.