A/N: So it has definitely been a while too long since I updated this story, but I am back none the less. I just had to take a couple days to finish out with the last of my final exams. Don't forget to comment as always! The songs that inspired this chapter were: The Coolest Girl from A Very Potter Sequel, Harry Freakin' Potter from A Very Potter Sequel, I Wanna Be a Starship Ranger from Starship, and Reflection from Mulan.
"So, what exactly is your plan here?" I ask, running down a back road right on Graham's heels. He had literally taken off at a dead sprint half way through our 'saving Graham's hide' meeting. I knew exactly where he was going. And there was no way to stop him, but to wait him out.
The cold air beat against my face. My head and arms throbbed. Every muscle in my body was screaming for me to stop. I had been at a dead sprint ever since I had taken that flying leap from Mary Margaret's window, in a desperate attempt to keep up with Graham. Why I didn't just take my car was beyond me, but it was more than a mile away at this point; no turning back now, "Surely you know what you're going to do!" I yelled, and as if on cue, it began to snow, and the snow burned my cheeks and my knuckles.
"I am going to make her rue the day she was born!" Graham practically screamed in my face, eyes ablaze, coming to an abrupt stop in front of the mayor's house. I could only imagine what that meant for her. If a trained huntsman, who also happened to be a policeman wanted you dead, you were just about as good as a stuck pig, "She killed me, Emma! Twice! Now, she's going to pay."
"Is this really the way you want to do it?" I asked, reaching out to caress his forearm and attempt to take him out of his blind fit of rage, "We can find another way. You don't have to hurt her."
"Damn it, Emma!" he screamed, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me furiously. He was honestly scaring me at this moment, and not much actually managed to scare me, "Don't you get it? If I don't do this, she is going to kill you and me both and maybe even Mary Margaret and Henry, too. Because this is her happy ending! Watching us try so hard, when we all know, if you take a step back and look at the facts, we all know how this is going to end. We are going to be stuck here forever in Storybrooke, Maine. I know with confidence that I'm not making it out of here, so the least I can do is make sure she won't either. You and Henry deserve a chance. I am giving you that chance. Won't you just take it?" He gave me a pat on the shoulder as I stood there, stunned. He silently walked up the stone path and in through the front door. Regina wasn't home. God knows where she was nowadays. Now that she had outlasted her use for Graham, she probably found some other guy to latch on to. And we all knew Henry never left his room anymore. Graham was as good as on his own in that house.
I could only imagine what the anger was about to fuel him to do. Images flashed across my eyes of Graham stabbing Regina to death…with a butter knife. With his level of skill, I was confident that he would've been able to tear her to shreds with a letter opener, should he have been furious enough. He had more than enough knowledge at his expense, being put into his position of power by none other than the wicked witch herself. I felt compelled to go to the window and see what he was doing. There, I saw him furiously shoving anything that seemed to be of value into a garbage bag.
After only a moment, Graham disappeared up the stairs. The only rooms up there were Regina's personal chamber, and Henry's room. I knew exactly what he was headed for. With only a moment's hesitation, I pushed through the front door and followed him up the steps, pushing past the door to Regina's room to see him rifling through drawers and clearing tabletop by tabletop into the trash bag.
"She isn't going to hurt me," I finally managed to squeak out, pressing a hand to his shoulder, trying to sound reassuring, "What's your plan, anyway?" I asked, finally gathering up more courage, "Are you just going to run around town playing Robin Hood until we figure something out? Tell me you have a better plan than that!"
"Well, you know what," he whispered, whirling in my direction, a look of complete and utter desperation on his face, "This is my norm. This is what I'm good at, so this is my plan."
"What? Stealing makeup products and wall clocks?" It almost seemed comical to me how hard he was trying.
"This is thousands of dollars worth of junk right here." He answered, motioning to his bag, "One thing I did always find odd about Regina; she's a pack rat. Half of this stuff is age old and solid gold. So, I'm going to pawn this stuff off and give the money to the animal shelter."
"Graham, do you honestly think Mr. Gold won't be suspicious when you come in to his pawn shop with thousands of dollars worth of Regina's stuff in a plastic garbage bag?"
"Of course he will," Graham let out a chuckle as he went back to filling his bag, "And I know that he is going to go tell Regina, which is exactly what I want him to do. He's playing double's advocate here, so that he comes out on top no matter what. I want Regina to know that I'm still out here and I'm still just two steps ahead of her."
"I just don't want you to be too hasty. I just know how this is going to end. And you are probably going to die. You know what, I've seen this before with one of my foster dads." The memories came flooding back and I couldn't help the sensation of the white-hot iron in the back of my throat, "It starts with petty theft. Then the thrill kicks in and the extra cash is nice, so you start to become more daring with it.
"Before you know it, everything you used to care about is gone and you're just a shell of the person you used to be." I felt tears prick the corners of my eyes, as I took a deep breath and pursed my lips to control myself.
It was to no avail, as my shoulders began to convulse. He dropped the black garbage bag by his side, features lightening as he pulled me into another one of his Class A hugs. I couldn't even imagine why my emotions went so berserk. The thoughts of my former foster dad (the one I had actually liked) overdosing on Dilaudid was something I tried to keep as far out of my mind as possible for obvious reasons.
When I pulled away from Graham's hug, I managed to make some sort of eye contact that was not full of fury for the first time that night. I couldn't even manage to form a coherent sentence before his kiss. Before I even knew what I was doing, I kissed him back. It took me a good minute or so before I realized that we had shifted. All the way over to the bed. That's when I had to swallow my pride and push him away, "Wait, wait, wait." I whispered, sounding more like I was trying to convince myself than I was trying to convince him.
There was utter disappointment and humiliation in his eyes, his body still hovered over mine though. And I couldn't blame him. I didn't exactly want him to move either, "You don't want-"
"No, no, no." I cut him off, "Listen to me, I do. I really, really do. Just, not like this. Not with my child in the next room over. Not in this room. I mean, you were with Regina in here God knows how many times. I know it's weird, I just-" why couldn't I just form a damn sentence?
"Well, then," a devilish grin spread across his face, "Would you come back to my place?"
I sucked in one more breath, pushing myself up on my elbows and then off the bed for good, "Uh huh." I answered hastily, practically running out the door, with him on my heels this time. I knew this wasn't going to end well, but I didn't give a damn this time around.
A/N: So there you have it! The first mildly relationship-esque thing in any story I have ever written in the history of the world! What do you think? Yes? No? Maybe so? Leave a comment and let me know you opinion on my latest chapter!
