Hey guys, I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've written a new chapter, I've just been really busy with school and homework and whatnot. I've been trying to write more every time that I can, but I don't seem to have much time to write anyway. This chapter is going to take place the day after Regina's encounter with her mother.
~8Ball
Henry had come home from his grandparent's house after dinner and was extremely tired from his long day. He hadn't talked much about what he had done that day because he kept falling asleep during the car ride home, so Regina just assumed that he had a good time. However, he had been acting a little strange the next day before school. Regina assumed it was because he probably heard her and her mother arguing.
"Alright come on, we've gotta go." Regina was hurrying the little boy out the door to school. He was having trouble getting out of bed the morning so he was late. He was still putting on one shoe as he hopped out the door to the car. Regina locked the door behind him and then quickly drove him off. She was going to be a little late for work, but that wouldn't matter since she was the boss of the company in the first place. She was just hoping that her assistant was able to keep everything in order while she was away.
"Did you know that plants do photosythesis to get food?" Henry asks from the back seat. Regina chuckles under her breath, just soft enough that Henry doesn't hear her.
"Photosynthesis honey." She smiles and looks back at him through the rear view mirror. He has his army men again today and Regina isn't too pleased with that.
"That's what I said." He squints at her and then turns back to playing with his men. "We're here!" He says happily before climbing out of the car and going towards the school without even saying goodbye. Regina can't shake the sadness that has washed over her so she fakes a smile and watches him run into the school. Once he's inside, she sighs and stops smiling.
Theres a tapping sound against her window, she looks up and sees Emma standing there smiling at her. She rolls down the window.
"Hi." Emma says, noticing the look of pain on Regina's face.
"Jeez Emma, you scared me." She takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "You work here?" She says, completely changing the subject. She hopes that Emma didn't notice the state she had been in before. Regina could lie about anything, she was just naturally good at it.
"Uh yeah, I teach 8th grade math. My office is in the middle school building." She explains. "Are you ok?" She asks curiously, a trace of worry in her tone. She had a feeling that Regina was just going to change the subject, but she could see the hurt all over Regina's face.
"I'm fine." Regina says, trying to convince her against the obvious. She looks down at the steering wheel and realizes that she's holding onto it like her life depends on it. Her knuckles had turned white. She attempts to loosen up a bit. "Eighth grade." She looks back up at Emma and smirks. "I'll remember that." She says, realizing that she just got another answer out of Emma. She had been trying so hard not to start crying right then and there, but she was having trouble keeping it back now. Tears started to fill her eyes.
"Regina, talk to me. I know we've only known each other for a small amount of time now, but I can tell you're hurting from something, and I want to help you." Emma says, trying to get something out of Regina.
"Thank you, Miss Swan, but I can't. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." With that being said, Regina pulled out of the school parking lot and headed off towards work. It was the soldiers that had gotten her, as soon as she saw them, she lost it. "Dammit!" She yells at herself once she gets to a stoplight. She slams her hands against the steering wheel and takes a deep breath, knowing that she'll have to calm down before going into work.
Emma had stood in the parking lot for a couple seconds after Regina had left to get herself together. She walked into the building and headed to her classroom. A student was already there, waiting for her and everyone else to join him.
"Miss Swan, are you ok?" He asks her. Emma smiles softly at him and nods.
"I'm fine. Something strange happened to me this morning, that's all." It was most of the truth, besides, it's not like she was going to tell the student everything that had happened. Saying all of that reminded her of Regina and for some reason, she found herself feeling even more lost and sad. Students started to fill the room and instead of telling them to be silent, she wondered why she was so concerned about Regina when she had only met her a few days ago. Before the bell rings, she takes out her phone and types a quick message:
-I hope the rest of your day is better than your morning.-
Sent
Once Regina had arrived at work, she had fully calmed down. Quickly, she fixes her makeup and heads inside. She takes the elevator up to the top floor and when she steps off, she's greeted by her personal assistant.
"Good morning Miss Mills." She says, handing Regina her coffee and tells her about all the recent updates while they walk to Regina's office.
As Regina walks towards her office, she can hear people whispering about her. Obviously, she was used to it by now, people were always whispering about her, different rumors and gossip. Most people feared her, but it was a kind of respectful fear, and she liked that. It made her feel powerful, which indeed, she was. Sure, she could be kind of a bitch sometimes, but she had to, it was part of her job, and hell, it worked. She was at the top of the food chain, and almost no one stood taller than her.
Regina sat down in her chair once she had made it to the office and spun it around to face the huge glass wall that overlooked the town, it was a beautiful view of the town that had grown into more of a city. It closely resembled New York, but it would still be the small town it once was if Regina hadn't come along. She made it a huge tourist attraction because of her business. She provided energy to more then half of the nation. She was pretty important. Her assistant steps inside and closes the door behind her. After Regina hears it click shut, she puts her hands in her lap and lays back in her chair. Her assistant knows that Regina usually needs a moment to build up her walls again, she was used to it by now. This is when the day starts.
"Ok then, shall we begin?"
Emma's days always went by slowly, but today her mind kept drifting off and she found herself thinking about Regina more than anything else. She kept getting simple problems wrong, and the kids were having a wonderful time joking and laughing about it. One kid even asked if she had some guy on her mind and she couldn't focus because of that. She had just shook her head and said: If you only knew.
When lunch time had came around, she was glad to have a moment without having to do all those math problems on the board. Instead of going and eating with all the teachers like she usually would, she decides to stay in her room and eat there instead. She wasn't really in the mood to socialize with any of the other teachers right now.
Regina's work day, unlike Emma's, goes by fairly quickly, she's good at shutting everyone else out and just focusing on work. It's one of the many things she learned how to do after 'the incident'. She gets all her work done early and leans back in her chair to relax for a moment. Unlike many days, she feels tired. She closes her eyes for a moment to think, but quickly opens them again when the thought of Emma pops up into her head. Thankfully, her assistant walks into the room.
"Would you like me to take these papers for you?" She asks her, walking over to her desk.
"Yes, thank you." Regina hands the papers to her and then watches her leave the room again. A few seconds after she's gone, Regina decides to check her phone, since she hasn't all day. She sees the text from Emma, and without thinking about it, she smiles faintly.
-Thank you Miss Swan, I appreciate your concern-
Hearing her phone ding from inside her desk, Emma decides to check and see who texted her.
-Don't you know I'm trying to work?-
Emma sends it, knowing that Regina will understand the sarcasm she's using.
-I assume you're eating lunch, aren't you?-
Regina hadn't even noticed that her assistant had come into the room.
"Well, Miss Mills, isn't that just a sight for sore eyes." Regina looks up, a little startled by the sudden break of silence.
"What?" She asks, confused of what her assistant is talking about.
"You're smiling." Without another word, her assistant sets some new papers on Regina's desk and leaves the room, leaving Regina to realize how long it's been since she has actually smiled for a reason other than Henry. No one has made her smile in a very long time, six years to be exact, and she still doesn't understand what makes Emma the one to finally do it.
-More like I'm eating while I work. What is the big and bad Regina Mills doing?-
Emma had only now realized that she didn't actually know where Regina worked. She knew that Regina worked at some big shot company, but she didn't know which one. It's not like they had many big companies in Storybrooke, but there were a few.
-Well I've finished all of my work for now, and I'm waiting for my assistant to process some files.-
Actually saying what she was doing made her job sound boring, but Regina liked what she did so it didn't really matter to her what anyone else thought about it. After all, it payed her bills quite nicely. Not many people had the job opportunities she had in her life, but it's not like they were just handed to her, she had to work her ass off for them. It had all been worth it because now, no one could stand in her way. She was practically on top of the world.
Not too long after sending the text, Regina's assistant walks into the office carrying the stack of papers that she needed. It hadn't taken her very long to do it at all, that's what Regina really liked about her, she could get things done quickly and efficiently.
"Here you go, Miss Mills." She says, setting the papers down on Regina's desk. Regina takes a moment before looking up at her.
"Yes?" Regina asks, squinting at her. She just smiles and shakes her head.
"Still texting huh?" She asks. Regina could tell that she was happy, she just wasn't sure why.
"Yes...why?" Despite the fact that Regina usually teated everyone cruelly, her and her assistant, Kathryn, tended to get along fairly well. Kathryn sits down in the chair on the other side of Regina's desk.
"Who is it?" She asks. Regina still doesn't understand why she's making a big deal out of this.
"Why are you so interested?" Regina asks, squinting at the woman sitting across from her. She just smirks and shakes her head.
"You really are oblivious, aren't you?" She asks, sarcastically. Without adding any comment, she stands up and walks towards the door.
"You do remember that I could fire you at any moment, right?" Regina taunts. Kathryn turns back around.
"But I know you wont." She says bluntly, a smirk still plastered across her face.
"And why wouldn't I?" Regina leans forward and raises an eyebrow. Kathryn shrugs.
"Because you like me." Regina sighs and leans back in her chair. Kathryn smiles, knowing that she's right.
"Well, you got me there. Still, what are you saying? About all of this." Regina asks again, not giving up.
"He's a lucky man...whoever he is." Without another word, she leaves the room. The air feels heavy, and it dawns on Regina, what she really means. She thinks Regina is texting a boyfriend. She thinks Emma is her boyfriend.
I'm just now realizing that I don't think I ever told you what the girl's user name was, that I wrote this with. Anyway, it's _evilduckling_ on instagram. I think that's all for now, sorry this took so long ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
~8Ball