"Hey," Belle greeted her friend shyly, scraping at the concrete beneath her feet with the toe of her shoe as she looked down.
"What's the matter?"
"I just miss you. I miss when we were together almost every night."
"Hey, look... I know I've been spending a lot of time with Regina, but I still care about you. It's not that I don't want to be around you. I just don't want to be around them, you know? My foster family."
"They're not so bad."
"Yeah, whatever. Just wait."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Emma started, "that they're doing it for the money, and it's obvious. It was really nice of them to let you move in with me, but that's basically the only nice thing they've ever really done for me. When I was in the hospital, they barely gave a shit, and-"
"I should have been there," the brunette interjected suddenly, looking up into her friend's eyes.
"Belle," the girl sighed. "It's really okay. I just..."
"It's not okay. I should have been there with you. More than that, I shouldn't have said those horrible things to make you want to... to..."
"None of that was your fault," the blonde cut in sharply. "It was my choice, okay? My fuck-up."
"You didn't fuck up! You just..."
"I did. I almost took myself away from the two people I love most."
"What...?"
"You and Regina. She might be my girlfriend, Belle, but you're the best friend I've ever had."
"Emma..."
"I know 'friends' isn't what you're looking for. I get that. But it's all I can give you. And that friendship means the world to me."
"Oh, Em," Belle sighed, wrapping her arms around Emma's neck and holding her tightly. "You're so wonderful."
"Nah," the blonde laughed. "I just fake it real well."
The brunette laughed, "Oh, shut up," before taking her friend's hand and pulling her into the building.
They found their seats, right in the middle of the theatre and chatted about school as they waited for the movie to start.
"So... We haven't studied together for a while..." Belle said slowly.
"Yeah, I know. Things have just been-"
"How are you doing? I mean, are you getting your work done? I know you're really busy, but if you need help, you should ask me for it. You know I'm more than happy to go over anything you're struggling with."
"You're too good to me, Belle," Emma sighed with a smile, ruffling the girl's hair.
"Hey!" she snapped, swatting the blonde's hand away. "Don't mess up my hair! That took hours!"
"Oh, my God. Why would you ever spend hours on your hair?!"
"I... I wanted to look nice for you, you know? I mean... Shit."
"Belle..."
"Can we please forget I said that?"
"Belle."
"Please?"
"You always look nice."
There was an awkward silence before the lights dimmed, interrupting their conversation and signaling that the opening credits of the movie were about to start. They'd agreed on a horror flick, and they made it through half of the movie before, finally, at the signature 'boo' moment, they both jumped and grabbed each other's hand.
"Shit," Belle swore. "That was-"
"Fuck this movie," Emma said suddenly, staring at the screen as one character faced off with a gigantic tarantula.
"Fuck!" the girl replied in agreement, seeing what Emma was referring to. "You wanna go?"
"No, no. It's cool. Just... Just tell me when the spider's gone, yeah?"
Emma covered her eyes with her free hand as the other girl continued to watch the scene. Normally, she would have been the one with her eyes shut, but this time... she was protecting someone she loved. Belle kept her eyes open to keep Emma from experiencing one of her worst fears as she faced one of her own. When the scene was finally over, and the spider was gone, the brunette nudged her friend, signaling for her to uncover her eyes. A few more 'boo' moments kept them on their toes throughout the movie, until the very end, when the film went out with a corny yet surprisingly horrifying end, leaving them both shaken and frozen in their seats as the lights came back up while the end credits rolled.
"That was a trip," Emma finally laughed, standing up and grabbing her bag.
"Yep. That... is definitely going to keep me awake tonight."
The blonde nodded as she followed her friend out of the theatre and back out onto the sidewalk where they waited for her foster mother's car to appear. Not to Emma's surprise, the woman was twenty minutes late to pick them up, but the two didn't seem to mind. They continued their conversation while they waited and simply enjoyed each other's company. Emma couldn't deny that, despite the small amount of bad blood that had built up between them, it was wonderful to be spending time with her friend again.
Back at the house, though, as soon as the lights went off and they each shut their eyes while lying in bed, there was a dark, heavy silence. Only the sound of footsteps, creaky floor boards, and each other's breathing made it to their ears.
Finally, Belle said, "Dude. That shit fucked me up."
"Gosh, potty mouth. Guess I'm rubbing off on you, huh?"
"Oh, shut up. Besides, I'm being serious. That was kind of... terrifying. The way that guy just-"
"Hey," Emma cut in. "Don't think about it, okay? Go to your happy place and ponder or process the movie tomorrow when it's daylight."
"Easier said than done."
"Why?"
"Because I'm already in my happy place, but I'm still scared."
"I... Yeah. I don't get it. Sorry. What?"
"Forget it."
"But, Belle, I-"
"Drop it. It's fine."
A little startled by the girl's reaction and not wanting to make it worse, Emma went quiet and shut her eyes again. Belle, though, found herself unable to close her eyes. Instead, she visually searched the dark room for monsters and serial killers and psycho aliens. Finding none but not completely convinced of their absence, she turned her head and looked at Emma.
She was about to ask, 'Are you awake?' but decided to refrain, just in case, not wanting to wake the girl with her words. She looked peaceful. Gorgeous, really. Stunning. Belle quickly shook her head, hoping the thoughts would leave, but they did not. They remained stuck in the front of her mind, mixed in with the ones inspired by the horror film she'd seen that night. Now, though, what she saw was the soft shine of Emma's lips in the moonlight.
"You okay?" the blonde asked softly, eyes still shut as she reached out and squeezed the girl's hand.
Belle almost gasped, having thought the girl was asleep, and swallowed hard, then managed to answer, "It's... It's stupid but... I'm... I'm still kind of scared. As old as I am, I shouldn't be scared of anything, but that-"
"It's okay, hun," Emma yawned, rubbing her eyes with the back of one hand as she let go of Belle's with her other and wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her against her side. "I got you."
She could sense that something was wrong, and that Belle was still awake, even without opening her eyes. Perhaps it was something in the girl's breathing that tipped her off. Perhaps it was just instinct. Either way, Emma could tell.
Heart pounding, as though counting down to something horrible, Belle leaned in and pressed her lips against the girl's cheek. The blonde's eyes opened instantly. It wasn't as though they'd never kissed each other's cheeks before. They were good friends. It was normal for them to be affectionate. But something was different. Emma shifted awkwardly, saying nothing, until the hand of her closest friend reached up to touch her face, rubbing her cheek with a gentle thumb.
When Emma's lips parted, Belle's breath caught in her chest. As soon as she felt the girl's weight shift while leaning in, the blonde's breath caught too. Before Belle could get closer, though, Emma placed her hand firmly against the front of her friend's shoulder.
"I know what you're thinking, Belle... I know what this feels like..." Emma said softly, still putting pressure on the girl's shoulder. "But don't. Don't do it."
"Emma, I..."
"Please, Belle. Don't do this. Don't ruin our friendship over a stupid little crush that's going to go away."
"It's not a crush!" Belle cried, sitting up in bed as tears flooded her eyes.
"Belle-"
"I'm in love with you!"
"You're not," the blonde sighed. "I promise you're not. I promise these feelings will go away. Just... trust me, honey. Believe me. Don't throw away our friendship over this."
"I don't want to lose you," her friend sniffled, wiping her eyes. "But more importantly, I don't want to push myself on you and hurt you in the process. I'm... I'm not this person... I'm not this person that doesn't seem to understand the word 'no.' I wish you could believe me when I say that, but I know my actions tell a very different story, and I'm really sorry for that. I just... I wasn't... I wasn't thinking, when I... I was just feeling."
"I'm not upset with you, Belle. You stopped. But you have to understand that if you keep pushing these boundaries, or if you cross a line, I'm not going to be able to spend time with you anymore. Firstly, because you know that's not how I see you and that I don't want a romantic relationship with you. Secondly, because I'm in a romantic relationship with someone else."
"I know... I know. I just... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Emma..."
"I don't want to lose you either. If Regina ever made me choose between being with her and being your friend - which she never would - I'd choose being your friend."
"What? But why?"
"Because - and I already told her this - anyone who makes me choose isn't worth my time, and because you mean the world to me."
"I love you, Em. No matter what, even if you ever did magically change your mind about your feelings for me, we're friends first, before anything else."
"Of course we are. I promise."
"Me too."
Both wearing small, tired smiles, the two fell asleep beside each other, just holding hands and feeling happy for each other's company and friendship.