"Come on, pick something slutty," Ruby says to her friend over the phone as Emma searches through her closet for something to wear for their girl's night out.
"I can't Ruby," Emma says, pulling out a few outfits to examine with her phone under her chin.
"Why not?" her friend whines.
"Because first of all, I'm a mother and I don't want to scar my son permanently. Second, I'm more self-conscious than you are and third I'm not looking to hook up tonight."
"Right because 'Mr. Perfect' has already swept you off your feet."
Emma blushes and lets out a small giggle.
"How did David and Mary Margret react to him?" Ruby asks.
"They liked him, Mary absolutely adores him and David is warming up to him."
"It's good to know that he's liked. So, when are you going to introduce him to the rest of us?"
"Never," Emma says with a smile.
"Never? Why?"
"Because there's a 100% chance that you will scare him off by talking about my sex life and mortally embarrass me."
"Come on, you said he's a hot guy. You know that I love hot guys."
"That's another thing, it'll be less than a minute before you try hitting on him and try to take him for your own."
"Is he that good looking?"
"You'll never know," Emma smirks.
Ruby moans and Emma hears people chatting and plates being stacked in the background.
"Are you still at work?" Emma asks.
"Yeah, the only way I could get Grandma to agree to let me go out was that I work until after seven thirty and clean the back room before I left."
"That sucks,"
"Well, at least I've already got my outfit picked out."
"Let me guess, it's in red?"
"Is there any other colour that turns men on?"
Ruby, like her namesake, was obsessed with the colour red. She says it draws all the attention to her and highlights every angle of her body.
"I wish I was in your position," Emma sighs,
"Just wear that black dress I bought you for your birthday," Ruby insists.
"You mean the one with the slit up the left leg and a neckline so low that it practically splits the dress in half."
"Yes, that one."
Emma rolls her eyes.
"Come on Em, it hugs your curves and highlights your ass."
"Ruby, I don't need to draw attention to myself that much."
"Well find something and then go pick up Anna, Elsa, and Regina. I've got Aurora, the birthday girl, MeyLing, and Zelena."
"Alright, see you then," Emma says hanging up.
She takes another look in her closet trying to find something decent to wear. Eventually, she settles on a dark blue dress which skirt came down to her knees and hugged her curves nicely. She added a black cardigan to it and wore short heels so she would be able to walk if they were going bar hopping. She grabs her purse, applies minimal makeup and pulls her hair up into a simple bun. Once she's satisfied, she walks out to find Henry on the couch texting.
"You look good, Mom," Henry says.
Her son wore a collared plaid shirt and dark pants with sneakers. It was neat and not too dressy for his party.
"Thank you and you look handsome yourself," Emma says, reaching over to fix his collar. She then starts brushing his bangs out of his face. Henry ducks from his Mom's hands to avoid any more prepping.
"You nervous?" Emma asks.
"A little," Henry swallows.
"Just be yourself, stay close to Violet if need be and if anything goes wrong call, David."
"I know Mom," Henry sighs. He shoves his phone in his pocket.
"Violet's sister is picking us up at about 8 to go to the party," Henry says.
"Okay, well have fun and be safe," Emma says, hugging her son for a long moment.
"I will Mom, I promise," Henry says earnestly.
Emma kisses the top of her son's head and gives him one last smile before grabbing her keys, coat, and purse and heading out the door.
The night air is a bit brisk and Emma was glad she wore a cardigan. She slips into the driver's seat when her phone buzzes.
Killian: Have a good night
Emma smiles and texts back, Thank you. Want a selfie of what you're missing out on tonight?
Emma poses with her camera, snapping a quick picture and sending it Killian.
Her phone buzzes back.
Killian: You're torturing me, Swan.
Emma: Glad to know I still turn you on.
Killian: You will always turn me on. Good night Swan.
Emma: Good night.
Emma puts her phone in her purse and drives a couple of neighbourhoods over to pick up Regina. She's wearing a very skimpy, sparkling black dress that puts emphasis on her chest and butt. She wears sharp black heels that look almost lethal. Emma is entirely surprised considering Regina was often more the conservative type. She also wore diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, very heavy and much darker make-up, which included deep purple lipstick. Could she flaunt her wealth anymore? She looked like a model instead of the plain old Regina she's used to. It was clear to Emma that she wanted to score tonight, the craving companionship of any type and hopefully, the sparkly objects would attract a mate.
"Wow," is all Emma can say as her friend climbs into the car.
"Didn't think I still had it did you, Emma?" Regina asks in a very snooty voice.
"Not what I was thinking at all. I'd be more concerned about being robbed," Emma says, starting the car up.
"These diamonds were a gift from my first ex-husband and it's not often that I get to wear them,' Regina says.
Emma is surprised by her friend's tone, it's as if Regina has become a completely different person, and not necessarily in a good way.
The two drive in silence towards the further end of town where the two sisters lived.
Anna and Elsa had been inseparable since they were kids. They definitely weren't twins, with Anna having fiery red hair and Elsa platinum blonde, but they did things together and always had a great time. Elsa worked full-time at an ice cream parlor while Anna was trying to make it as a singer. She mostly performed in lounges or at special events and was struggling to get a CD together. Anna had big ambitions about moving to L.A. and becoming a star. Elsa, of course, tried to get her sister to set more realistic expectations, but Anna was very stubborn and quite impulsive. Elsa was more sensible and practical, a lot quieter than compared to Anna's feisty personality. Emma had met both girls at a party that Ruby had forced her to come to. Emma helped Elsa take her sister home at the end of the night when she became too tipsy. Emma was closer to Elsa because of Elsa's more laid back nature, much like her own, but Anna was fun to be around too, always making jokes and not always the best decisions.
Tonight, both girls came down the path of the house they shared together with Anna's long term boyfriend Kris. Kris was a veterinarian by trade and always had animals roaming around their property, including husky named Olaf and a reindeer named Sven. Anna wore a striped green dress that barely came past her thighs, while Elsa wore a sky-blue dress that shone a bit and had long sleeves. It was clear that Anna was being more daring with her outfit, even though she had a boyfriend. Emma had expected that Elsa would be the one trying to get a date tonight, but the more Emma learned about Elsa, the more likely it seemed that she didn't have any interest in having a companion. She was perfectly happy with her sister and her friends. Anna enters the back seat of the bug, hugs both Regina and Emma happily and scooting over to allow her older sister in.
Anna talks non-stop the entire way into the downtown area, asking about when Mary Margret's baby is due, where is Henry tonight and all the subjects in between. Once the women are greeted by the flashing lights advertising the casinos and 2 for 1 pints of beer, they go in search of their other friends through the packed Friday night crowds.
They had agreed to start in Lacey's favourite bar and see what happened next. Emma parks her car in a back alleyway and they walk to the bar, Anna still talking all the time.
"So Henry's going to a party?" Elsa says quietly, finally getting to ask Emma a question.
"Yes he is, he's going with a girl that he met at the swimming pool."
"Do you think that's safe?" Elsa gives a concerned look.
"Oh Elsa, you're such a worry wart," Anna chirps happily. "As long as he's with his friends, he'll be fine. It's really great that he has a girl that he likes." The red head then disappears into the blue lights of The Blue Diamond Bar.
"The problem is, Henry doesn't have many friends," Emma mutters, following her friends inside.
The bar is already packed almost to the maximum with Friday night partiers, a few under-age drinkers, some co-workers meeting to take a break and many young people looking for hook-ups, which included the other half of their circle of friends.
Zelena waves them over to a table. Zelena wears a bright green dress that was even shorter than Anna's and that sparkled in the blue light. Her red hair is falling around her shoulders in waves of curls and she even colour coordinated her makeup with green eye shadow and lipstick with a greenish tint. MeyLing is dressed a little more conservatively, in a floral dress that reached her ankles and had tinted sleeves. Aurora has on a light pink dress with a matching shawl to go with it and she had crystal earrings dangling from her earlobes. Lacey is dressed in a navy-blue dress with several layers to the skirt and was wearing a crown to indicate it was her birthday. Ruby who put everyone to shame. Her dress barely covers her body at all. The bright red dress barely came below her butt and the front part of the dress was so low, it was clear she couldn't wear a bra with it. She wore bright red lipstick, had her streaked hair styled in the fanciest way imaginable and she wore red earrings to go with it. Her heels were also 3 inches high, making her tower over everyone in the group.
The ones at the table had already ordered starting martinis and smiled when their friends came up. They all hugged one another and wished Lacey a happy birthday. Emma orders herself a Rum Swizzle while Elsa kept to water with ice as she was going to be the designated driver. Regina orders a Black Velvet, Anna, a Frozen Sangria, Zelena, after her martini, had an Emerald City, Aurora, a Sleep Cycle, MeyLing had a Porcelain Warrior, Lacey a Belle of the Ball and for Ruby, a Ruby Tuesday.
The friends begin laughing and talking about their lives and current events. Emma is trying to drink as little as possible in order to not have a massive hangover the next day. She was having fun but having Henry around made her think more carefully about how much she drank, to set a good example and be responsible. She used to party and drink a lot when she was younger and she ended up doing things she regretted. Apparently, everything went out the window as the evening grew later.
"Come on Emma, it's my birthday," Lacey screams over the music when Ruby orders shots all around. She reluctantly did a round with her friends.
A dance floor is formed when the DJ came on the speakers. Ruby, Anna, Zelena, Lacey and surprisingly, Regina all went out on the dance floor, looking for some male interaction. Emma knew she wasn't drunk enough yet to even consider dancing. She stood by Elsa, Aurora and MeyLing, the more conservative and mature of the group.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for Ruby to start grinding with the first stranger she met, someone way younger than her, screaming her lungs out to the music the entire time. Anna also begins mashing with another guy. Elsa eyes her sister and sighs heavily. She thought that her sister would be more mature than this and think before she started to drink. Elsa had to make sure her sister did not go home with anyone and remained faithful to Kris. Emma had a similar dilemma, trying to make sure no guy came on to her. She had a few guys grab her ass and a few tried to persuade her to dance, but she turned them down flat. She was much more an observer.
Soon, the music begins to pick up so much that Lacey comes and grabbed Emma and the rest of the group to come and dance. They reluctantly join in, dancing in a group, trying to keep on the beat. Aurora tries to take a few pictures with her phone, but the lighting and constant movement made it hard. The heat is becoming intense and Emma is doing her best not to be bumped or being grinding with random strangers.
…
It is Ruby who suggests they try to find a place that had karaoke and almost all of them were starting to become intoxicated, if not already. They walk along the street together, bumping into strangers and laughing at the top of their lungs. Emma is still sane enough to watch where she was going but after another Rum Swizzle and a Save Me cocktail, she is leaning dangerously. The rowdy crowd eventually finds a more Western style bar that had karaoke blasting at full volume. Ruby orders more shots around and Anna immediately begins singing her heart out, mostly Celine Dion songs and a few Whitney Houston. She is trying to show off as much as possible. It took a lot of convincing, but Elsa got up and sang with her sister Don't Go Breaking My Heart. Lacey sings Purple Rain and Ruby belts out the most unusual version of It's Raining Men. The entire group then sing Happy Birthday to Lacey, even though Emma mostly stands in the back harmonizing and felt relief when the song was over.
Then the free drinks start coming around. Emma eventually takes some time to sit at the bar in the far corner to gather her bearings. Her head is swimming in booze and she is covered in sweat. She sees Elsa trying to convince Anna to stop hogging the microphone for karaoke, Zelena has her tongue half-way down a guy's throat, with another one feeling her up. Aurora and MeyLing are sitting together chatting with a few other girls and guys and Lacey is on the other side of the bar, waiting for her turn to throw up. To Emma's surprise, Regina is talking to a brown-haired man who had been the DJ for karaoke. He had given Regina his hat to wear and they seem to be hitting it off. Ruby, who was the most intoxicated of all, was chatting with a girl in a corner booth, surrounded by several other strangers. Emma wasn't sure if Ruby was trying to talk them into doing a threesome or something.
Emma lays her head against the bar and shut her eyes, trying to gather her bearings again. The music is pounding in her head and she wishes that there was some cure for the hangover she would have in the morning. She starts thinking about Henry and what he might be doing. She fumbles for her phone, digging through her purse, completely oblivious to a man who walks past her and switched drinks with her. Emma feels like she needed some air and drank the last of her cocktail before heading outside to make a call.
The cool air bit at her face as Emma steps into the shadows behind the bar to get away from the loud music and bright lights, deciding to call David to ask if he'd picked up Henry yet. She is in the middle of dialing the number when she began to feel extremely dizzy, a lot more so than before. Emma tries shutting her eyes to get rid of the feeling, but it only made it worse. Her body begins to tingle unnaturally and Emma knew that this was not from being drunk. She sits down on the pavement and tried to gather her bearings. The sounds of the crowds in the bar were becoming muffled and Emma could hear her own heartbeat. Her head is spinning, or maybe it was the world. She can't hear or see anything anymore, it was all one big blur.
Emma hears a muffled sound and she can barely see and outstretched hand, obviously trying to help her. Emma assumed that it was the bouncer, here to make sure she was okay. She can barely stand at this point as the person was trying to guide her, but where she couldn't tell.
The last thing she remembers was a cold breeze and the sound of a car engine before blacking out completely.