A/N: Sorry this is a little later and a bit shorter than usual too, I've been ridiculously sick all week Thanks so much for all your comments, they really make my day! Can't wait to know what you think of this chapter and I haven't even decided where to go next, so feel free to put your input in if you have any ideas ;)
Chapter 6.
"Darling, come on, wake up," Regina tentatively placed a hand in the teenagers blonde hair as she groaned.
"Weekend," Emma mumbled into her pillow, not opening her eyes.
"I know it's the weekend, but it's one in the afternoon. Weekend or not, you should get up," Regina said gently.
"Mm," Emma merely grumbled quietly, refusing to move.
Regina rolled her eyes, "Such a teenager," she muttered, but with a smile on her face.
Emma twisted around in her blankets to face the brunette, "I am a teenager though," she pouted, finally opening her eyes, "It's what we're meant to do. Sleep in."
Regina laughed quietly, "Yes, but you're sleeping the day away, silly, why don't we go out for lunch?"
Emma yawned, still groaning as she stretched, "Okay," she nodded, "Five minutes," she crashed her head back onto the pillow.
Regina chuckled again and kneeled on the bed, "Not five minutes," she said sternly, "You'll just go back to sleep."
"I like sleeping," Emma declared, pulling the other pillow over her head to block Regina out.
Regina couldn't help laughing; sometimes the blonde really was just a teenager, "Trust me, I know you do. But," she pulled the other pillow off Emma, making her squirm around to try and pull it back, "if you don't get up now, I'm going to make you."
Emma spun around to look at her, tilting her head, "Nah-ah," she played, "Can't make me. Bed is warm, bed is good, yup," she nodded.
Regina nodded slowly, "Bed is warm, huh?" she smiled somewhat evilly.
Emma nodded, looking up at the older woman suspiciously. Apparently with good reason, as the blanket was ripped straight out of her hands.
"Hey," she exclaimed, pouting, "That's mean," she pulled her knee's up to her chest.
"Know what else is warm?" Regina asked pointedly, "The shower."
Emma sighed, "Fine," she grumbled as she crawled out of bed, "Hey, but know what else is warm?" she asked suddenly, eyes shining.
Regina narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Hmm," she hummed, "What would that be?"
Emma bit her lip for a moment, giggling to herself, before throwing herself into the older woman's arms, "You," she offered.
Regina's eyes widened in shock but she smiled, returning the sudden show of affection, "Aw, you big softie," she said quietly, one hand running through blonde hair until the younger woman pulled back.
Emma shrugged, "You are though," she yawned as she rifled through her drawers, "I shall go have a hot shower, then we can go out."
Regina smiled as the teenager walked out of the room with her clothes in tow. It really had been nice having someone else around, even if it was stressful at times. They'd got past the awkward phase quickly, though it had returned briefly when they'd argued, but mostly, the teenager was very easy to be around and Regina had to remind herself that not only was she a teenager, she was still her student.
"What is so interesting on your phone, dear?" Regina asked as she shovelled another piece of lasagne into her mouth; always disappointed, hers was yards above this rubbish. Even Granny's was better than this, but it would raise questions if the two ate there together.
Emma looked p guiltily, "I'm sorry, it's Belle. She's being cryptic," she frowned.
Regina furrowed her brow, "Is everything okay?"
Emma sighed, "I'm not sure," she admitted, tapping out a text back to her friend.
"Belle? Belle?" Ruby sighed and prodded her girlfriend in the ribs.
"Ouch, why did you do that?" Belle snapped, putting her phone down temporarily.
Ruby frowned, "Because you've been on that thing and ignoring me for the last hour."
Belle rolled her eyes, "I'm not ignoring you," she muttered.
"You are," Ruby said firmly, seriously, "Belle, what's going on?"
Belle looked up from her cell phone into her girlfriend dark and concerned eyes, feeling guilt flush through her body, she hesitated, "Nothing," she faked a smile, "It was just Em, we were raving about this book we read the other day, that's all," she lied and put her phone down.
Ruby blinked, staring at her girlfriend for a few moments before nodding, "Okay," she accepted, "So you're still reading to her?" she asked neutrally.
Belle nodded, "Yep, just like old times. It's been nice to reconnect with that part of our past."
Ruby quirked an eyebrow, "Oh," she sighed, "You never read to me," she pouted.
Belle laughed loudly, "You'd hate it," she teased, "We read classics and dissect them, we talk about sentence structure and the writers true agenda. It's very analytical."
"You're right, I'd hate it," Ruby shrugged, placing a kiss on her girlfriend's lips whilst swiping her phone off the couch at the same time. She didn't want to be jealous of that stupid thing, or of Emma, but sometimes she couldn't help it.
Emma squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the noise until she realised it was a knocking. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, turning her lamp on and looking at her clock, it was 2am, she rolled out of bed and gasped.
"Belle?" she asked incredulously at the brunette crouching at her window.
Emma opened it and helped the girl climb in, "What the hell are you doing here?" she whispered, "I taught you something after all, huh," she tried to joke lightly as she closed the window against the cold night air.
Belle bent her head into her friend's chest and remained silent.
Emma frowned as she put a hand in her hair, "Hey, it's alright. Belle, what's going on?" and when the girl still refused to answer, "Have you and Ruby had a fight?" she didn't know what else to assume, but it must have been pretty serious for Belle, the perfect child, to sneak out of her house at 2 in the morning.
"No," Belle shook her head and that was when Emma realised she was crying.
Emma panicked; she wasn't good at this comforting thing, she was so used to being on the other end of it, "Belle?" her own voice sounded shaky, "What is it? Please, tell me. Can I do something? Please, tell me what I can do," she begged.
Belle finally pulled out of her friend's chest, wiping her eyes and sniffing, not looking at Emma.
"I got into Columbia," she said softly.
Emma's eyes widened before her eyebrows knitted together, "Belle, that's good news. That's amazing news, why are you so sad?"
Belle was wringing her hands as she looked up at her friends, "It means I have to leave," she explained, still speaking quietly, "I don't want to leave…you."
Emma frowned, "Or Ruby," she stated, confidently.
"Yeah…," Belle moved her head up and down, "But the dream…"
Emma closed her eyes, "I know, we were going to go together, but you've known that's been out of the question for a long time, Belle. I could never get the marks for an Ivy league school, you know that."
"I don't want to go without you, though. I can't," Belle insisted, eyes still shining with mist.
Emma chewed on her lip; she wasn't used to seeing her friend so distraught, "Belle," she put a hand on her friends arm, squeezing it, "You can do anything," she whispered, and she meant it.
Belle shook her head, "But what about you?"
Emma felt the shame course through her veins; she was holding her friend back, she could see that as clear as day, "I'll be alright, Belle," she swallowed hard, "I swear I will. We can catch up all the time, once I get a car... "
'It's over five hours, Em," Belle said, "Don't you even care?"
The blonde looked hurt, "Of course I care," she replied, her voice cracking, "Belle, you're my best friend. I'm gonna miss you like hell, but we're growing up," she got mad at herself for letting the tears gather in her throat and her eyes, "You have to do this, you're going to do amazing things and I'm just going to take a while to catch up. But hey, technology, right?" she offered a weak smile. Of course, she couldn't imagine life without Belle, but her friend had a much bigger destiny than this town; she was meant for more, for the perfect high-end school with the best education the country had to offer. Yeah, it would suck, but she wouldn't be the reason Belle didn't go after her dreams.
Belle just stared back at her friend sadly.
"Have you talked to Ruby?" Emma tried to compose herself, studying her friend's face.
Belle shook her head, "No," she whispered, "I just wanted to talk to you," she lifted her eyes to meet Emma's and they held a silent gaze for a moment.
Belle moved forward and bent up on tiptoe to kiss her best friend's lips. Emma's mind went blank as her hand found itself on the brunette's waist as their lips moved as one.