Hey guys!

I'm so sorry about the long wait for this chapter. My mac charger broke and I, being the budget bitch that I am, ordered the cheapest one which took over 2 weeks to arrive. Without further ado, let's get back to it! Enjoy.

10am

Knock. Knock. Knock. Emma shot up, all the blood rushing to her head at once, causing it to pound mercilessly. She pushed the heels of her hands into her forehead to try and calm the throbbing. It didn't work. She glanced around the room, a familiar weak feeling in her stomach. Man, she was hungover. What the hell happened last night? She thought, glancing around her. Her eyes widened when she saw Mulan asleep beside her. Oh god. She groaned internally, cursing herself. The door to her room knocked again. She would have to deal with Mulan later. She threw off the covers, grabbed a t-shirt from the back of her desk chair, shoved it on and walked over to the door, still in her underwear. She opened it a little more forcefully than she meant to, her stomach dropping when she came face to face with Regina, who's eyes widened when she looked down and was greeted by a pair of red lace panties and Emma's long, toned legs. Regina swallowed and focused on keeping her eye line above neck level. Emma blinked a few times, still drowsy from sleep, but the memories of their kiss the previous night flooded back instantly. Her face flushed as she awkwardly pulled her t-shirt down in an attempt to cover herself.

"Regina uh… What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice husky due to lack of hydration.

"I came to drop off the book I told you about last night." She stated, still a little shocked over Emma's appearance. She handed the book over, the blonde reached out and took it slowly.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, I forgot all about that." She replied. Regina regarded her with a bemused smirk.

"Rough night?" She asked with a raised brow. Emma opened her mouth to reply when a voice sounded behind her.

"Emma?" A soft voice called out confusedly. Regina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Emma closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Ms. Swan. I didn't realise you were… indisposed." She said awkwardly, clearing her throat.

"I. Uh." She attempted pathetically.

"I best be going, enjoy the book." She added quickly before turning on her heel and striding off down the hallway. Emma stared after her, then closed the door slowly and leant against it, sighing.

"Was that?" Mulan asked, sitting up. Emma looked up at her.

"Yep." She stated.

"Oh, god." Mulan groaned, collapsing back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. "Did she see me?" She asked.

"No." Emma shook her head, walking over to her desk, grabbing a pair of sweats and pulling them on.

"Are you okay?" Mulan asked carefully.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry. Hungover." Emma managed.

"Me too." Mulan breathed. "Why was she here?" She asked curiously.

"She came to drop off a book."

"Oh." Mulan paused, glancing at Emma. Emma slowly turned round to acknowledge Mulan, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.

"Um… Did we..?" She asked, trying and failing to remember what happened last night after they had gotten back to her dorm room. The only thing that cut through her hazy memory was that she had tried to kiss Regina. The one thing she wished she could forget.

"Oh. Ha. No." Mulan replied, running a hand through her hair. "Probably a good thing, it sounds like you've got enough drama going on in that department." She finished, laughing slightly. Emma stiffened. Had she told Mulan about Regina? God damn it. She cursed herself for getting so drunk.

"What uh. What do you mean?" She asked carefully. Mulan looked at her with an amused smile.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" She asked. Emma shook her head.

"Not a thing." She laughed awkwardly.

"So, we got back here, you drank two thirds of that bottle of tequila and then you told me about what happened with your friend Belle." She explained. Emma felt her shoulders relax slightly. Telling Mulan about Belle was less mortifying than Regina.

"Oh. God. I did? I'm so sorry." She groaned embarrassedly.

"It's fine, Emma, seriously." Mulan laughed.

"You must think I'm an asshole." Emma sighed, sitting on the end of her bed.

"Not at all. You just got caught up in a shitty situation. It happens to all of us." Mulan shrugged.

"Really? You've slept with your straight best friend who's in a relationship with another friend, who is desperately in love with her, before?" Emma asked sarcastically.

"Well… no." Mulan resigned. "But I've made my fair share of bad decisions." She offered.

"Like what?" Emma asked curiously.

"That's a conversation for another drunken evening." Mulan smiled.

"Hey! No fair! I told you about my shitty love life." Emma whined. Mulan laughed. Emma paused and glanced at her.

"Did I… Talk about anything else last night?" She asked carefully.

"I don't think so." Mulan frowned. "Why? Did you miss out a chapter of 'Emma's dramatic life?'" She grinned.

"It sounds like I only scratched the surface." Emma replied, exhaling loudly.

"Well, now I'm intrigued." Mulan grinned.

"Well, that's a conversation for another drunken evening." Emma grinned back. Mulan grabbed a pillow from under her head and hit Emma with it lightly.

"Careful. Two lesbians plus a pillow fight could only end in disaster." Emma laughed. Mulan laughed back heartily.

"You're right, if I'm not careful I might feature in a chapter of 'Emma's dramatic life.' She mused.

"Please don't make that into a thing." Emma whined.

"Too late. It's officially a thing. I might even try and get it published." Mulan grinned.

Emma chuckled lightly.

"Anyway, I should probably get dressed and head home." Mulan continued, glancing around the room for her dress, which was draped over the back of Emma's desk chair.

"Oh yeah, sure." Emma replied, walking over to retrieve Mulan's dress.

"Thanks. For cheering me up last night. I had fun." She smiled.

"Any time." Emma grinned.

10.15am

Regina closed the door to her office and slumped into her desk chair, her head falling into her hands. She began to massage her temples. What the hell is going on with me? She thought to herself, the humiliating events of 15 minutes ago still at the forefront of her mind. She never let herself get this worked up about anyone, let alone a student, a female student. She absentmindedly brushed her fingers over her lips, remembering their brief kiss last night. What are you doing? She thought, quickly pulling her fingers away. You didn't let that kiss happen for a reason. But now she was beginning to wonder what that reason was. She had intended to go over to Emma's dorm room, give her the book and explain her reasons for not letting it go any further the previous night. What she wasn't expecting was a half-naked Emma, and how she'd feel seeing that she'd spent the night with someone. Probably that airhead Ruby Lucas. She felt… jealous. It wasn't a feeling she was used to. She was Regina Mills after all, The Evil Queen, as her students had so aptly named her. And Emma was her student. She had, had plenty of opportunities to sleep with students before, but had never acted upon it. She knew professors that did, plenty of them, but she had always thought it to be wildly inappropriate, morally wrong, reckless and irresponsible. But Emma… There was something about her. She was so different to her other students, she was smart, incredibly smart, mature, confident, sexy… Regina groaned. This was bad. She knew she was partly to blame for letting it go this far, for having coffee with the blonde, opening up to her, flirting with her. But she couldn't help herself, there was something about her that was so inviting, so easy to be around, so attractive. Images of Emma in the black dress she was wearing at the gala raced through Regina's mind, she had practically had to force herself to stop her mouth from falling open at the sight of her. When Emma had leaned in to kiss her, Regina had wanted to let it happen, she almost did, but she couldn't. It was wrong. She knew she had to talk to Emma, tell her that they couldn't go on the way they had been. It was the only way.

10.16am

"Bye, Em." Mulan gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking off down the hall.

"Bye." Emma smiled, about to close the door when she noticed David leaving Belle's room, staring after Mulan.

"She's cute." He grinned, glancing at Emma, who rolled her eyes internally. Not now. She thought. The last thing she needed was a conversation with David, which would inevitably wind up being a conversation about Belle.

"Did you meet her last night?" He asked, walking over to Emma, who folded her arms and leant against the doorway, she hoped Belle couldn't hear their conversation.

"We're working on Professor Mills' project together." She replied coolly.

"Ah. I've heard about her. Apparently she's a real hardass. Doesn't she have a nickname? Ice bitch or something?" He asked.

"Evil Queen." Emma smiled. David laughed.

"That's it. You're working with her?"

"Yep."

"Is it awful?"

"No. She's actually pretty cool once you get to know her." Emma shrugged. David raised an eyebrow.

"You're getting to know her, eh Swan?" He grinned. Emma laughed and glanced at the floor.

"I wish." She said under her breath. A wave of humiliation crashing over her at the remembrance of last night's and this mornings events. "You heading back to your dorm?" She asked, wanting the conversation to be over.

"Yeah, got some work to do. It's hard to leave Belle though." He replied, smiling. His eyes gazing wistfully into the distance. Emma suppressed a snort.

"I bet." She quipped. He paused and stared at her for a moment.

"You two are close. Does she ever talk about me?" He asked. Emma swallowed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Uh. David. I don't think Belle would like it if I-"

"Oh, no. I know, you're right. Sorry." He sighed. "It's just, I know you guys are close, so I thought I'd ask… It's so hard to get a read on her sometimes, you know? Like, sometimes I think she's really into it, us, I mean. And then other times it's like she's distracted. I don't know. I really like her, you know? I just don't want her to get bored of me." He said sadly. Emma felt guilt creep over her.

"I. I don't know David. She's never really spoken to me about it. I'm not really anyone's go to for boy problems." David laughed. "But, she seems really happy with you. So, I wouldn't worry about it." She finished, attempting a smile, but feeling hideously guilty.

"Okay. Sure. Thanks, Em." He smiled. "I'll see you later." He said with a wave, walking off down the hall. Emma let herself into her room and collapsed onto her bed, groaning. Her phone buzzed beside her, she reached over to her bedside table and picked it up, reading the message on the screen.

Hey. Sorry about last night, had way too much tequila. What happened to you?

It was from Ruby, Emma sighed, unlocking her phone and typing a response.

Same, left just after you I think. I hear you went home with Neal? ;)

I can neither confirm or deny this accusation. The real question is, who did you go home with? ;)

A true lady does not kiss and tell.

:O So you did go home with someone?

I can neither confirm or deny this accusation.

Ha ha. I'm coming over later, we have much to discuss.

Sure, I could use the company.

I'll be there around 5?

I await your arrival with bated breath.

Loser.

Emma was growing quite fond of Ruby, her inappropriateness aside, she was really fun to hang out with.

5.05pm

"So. Dish." Ruby grinned, bounding past Emma and flopping onto her bed. Emma closed the door.

"Hi to you too." She said sarcastically. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, how are ya? Good, great. Now spill." She said, sitting up, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. Now it was Emma's turn to roll her eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You first."

"Nu-uh! I asked first!" She huffed, folding her arms.

"I'm not telling you anything, unless you give me something good."

"Okay, fine. I went home with Neal." She shrugged.

"And?" Emma asked, sitting down next to the brunette.

"And nothing." She shrugged again. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, right. Come on, I want the dirty details." Emma replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Perv." Ruby grinned. She bit her lip. "Seriously though, nothing happened." Emma's eyes widened.

"What? Was he too drunk to get it up or something?" She asked.

"No, nothing like that. He was…" She paused, thinking for a moment. "It was weird, any guy in that situation would have totally taken advantage, I mean, I was pretty wasted and obviously DTF. Like seriously, what guy turns this down?" She said, gesturing to her body. Emma snorted.

"Laugh all you want, you couldn't say no." She snapped playfully. Emma gave her a slight glare and punched her lightly on the arm. She had a point.

"So, what happened?" She asked.

"He undressed me, put me in a pair of pyjamas, tucked me into bed and left." Emma let out a short laugh. Oh Neal, who said chivalry was dead? She thought to herself. "Seriously, I was half expecting him to read me a frickin' bed time story." She complained. Emma smiled.

"Sounds like a gentleman to me. Did you get his number?" She asked.

"He left it for me. But I'm kind of embarrassed to call him. I mean, I was pretty forward and he turned me down. What does that even mean?" She asked confusedly.

"It means he's a nice guy, and you should call him. Seriously, I've seen the guys you go for and they're all assholes. Neal is smart, handsome, nice, cool. You should totally go for it." Emma said. The brunette stared at her for a moment, her mind wandering.

"Maybe I will." She resigned. "Okay." She continued, the grin returning. "What happened to you last night?" She paused. "You know… I saw you talking to the Evil Queen, it looked like a pretty intimate conversation. Is there something going on between you two?" She asked eagerly. Emma stared at her for a moment, wondering if she should tell her about what had happened between her and Regina. Honestly, she was desperate to talk to someone about it, and Ruby was probably the only person who would be honest and not judgemental. But could she keep it a secret? Ruby had a pretty big mouth, but Emma weirdly trusted the brunette. She took a deep breath.

"I kissed her." She blurted. Ruby's eyes widened and the the gleam in her eye shone brighter than Emma thought possible.

"No. Fucking. Way." She stated. Emma nodded.

"But she pulled away."

Ruby frowned.

"Damn, that's cold." She resigned.

"Right." Emma sighed.

"Okay, woah. Back up. Start at the beginning please, how long has this been going on?" She asked, sitting up excitedly.

Emma explained their mild flirtations over the past month or so, their conversation at the coffee shop, their interactions at the gala, the many intimate looks. Ruby was listening so attentively Emma was worried she might get a migraine.

"Holy shit." She breathed when Emma had finished.

"I know, I feel like such an idiot." Emma groaned.

"Dude no, from what I'm hearing it sounds like she's totally into you."

"What? But she pulled away." Emma said confusedly.

"Yeah, okay, but you were at a university event, anyone could have seen you. And I highly doubt the Evil Queen is into having affairs with her students, bending the rules does not seem like her style, she's way too uptight to do anything mildly exciting" She said, rolling her eyes. "She's probably torn between her attraction to you, and doing something she thinks is wrong." Emma blinked. That actually made sense.

"But how can I be sure?" She asked.

"You can't, it's up to her to make the next move. I wouldn't push it any more, Em." Ruby resigned.

"You're right. You know, you're surprisingly good with advice."

"I watch a lot of TV dramas." Ruby shrugged. Emma laughed.

"Thanks. For being so understanding." She smiled.

"Anytime. But if you guys ever have sex, please take videos and send them my way." She winked. Emma laughed despite herself. And she's back.

"Hey, Emma did I leave my-" Emma and Ruby looked up at the intrusion and saw Belle had entered Emma's room unannounced. She halted mid sentence and stared between the two of them. Oh shit. Thought Emma.

"What is she doing here?" She asked, glaring at Ruby.

"Excuse me?" Ruby responded. Her voice sounded annoyed, but Emma could tell from her expression that she was amused.

"Did she stay here last night?" Belle snapped. Ruby looked at Emma as if to say what the fuck? Emma gave her a pointed look and turned back to Belle, standing up.

"No, she just got here like 10 minutes ago." She said carefully.

"Why?" Belle asked, as if affronted by the concept.

"Because she wanted to hang out with someone who doesn't constantly have a stick up their ass." Ruby said dismissively, casually collapsing back onto Emma's bed.

"Ruby, don't." Emma said warningly. Belle was looking at Ruby like she might stab her at any moment.

"Oh, so she chose to hang out with a two faced slut instead?" Belle spat. Emma's eyes widened. Ruby sat up, her eyes narrowed at Belle.

"What did you just call me?" She asked incredulously, standing up.

"Okay, enough." Emma demanded. Both brunette's looked at her, then glared at each other.

"What is your problem, princess? I know you're pathetically in love with Emma, but it's none of your business if we hang out." Ruby snapped. Belle's face flushed.

"Ruby. Stay out of it." Emma said through gritted teeth. Ruby looked between Emma and Belle for a moment before her eyebrows raised and a short exhale escaped her lungs.

"Oh, Emma. You didn't." Emma closed her eyes. Belle's eyes were glued to the floor, her arms folded. Ruby shook her head and reached for her bag. "I am not getting involved in this shit storm." She stated, brushing past Emma and Belle. "I'll call you later, Em." She said sympathetically before letting herself out. Emma walked tentatively towards Belle.

"Belle-"

"I can't see you anymore." She whispered, her eyes never leaving the floor.

"What?" Emma asked, dumbfounded.

"I can't be around you, it's making me crazy." She said, looking up at her finally, her eyes swimming with tears. Emma felt a lump form in her throat.

"Belle, please don't do this." She pleaded.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly before rushing out of her room, leaving Emma to stare at the door in shocked silence. She stood there for a minute or so before slowly walking over to her bed and picking up her phone, dialling the only person she needed to speak to right now.

"Emma! How are you, honey? I miss you." Her mom called brightly down the phone. Emma smiled at the sound of her voice. She hadn't spoken to her mom in a few weeks, and had really been missing her lately.

"I miss you too mom." She managed, her voice catching.

"What's the matter, honey?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just." She choked, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Emma, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come get you?" She asked desperately.

"No, mom. I'm fine. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying." Emma sobbed, wiping at her cheeks.

"What is it, baby?" Her mom asked soothingly. Emma huffed in frustration and flung herself back onto her bed.

"Everything is just a little out of control at the moment." She sniffed.

"Is it your school work? Are you taking on too much?" She asked.

"No, no. Well, I mean, yes I'm really busy with school work, but that's not why I'm upset."

"Is it a girl?" Mary Margaret asked calmly.

"No. Yes. Kind of." Emma attempted.

"Talk to me honey, tell me what's going on."

Emma explained the situation with Belle, including the bits about Ruby and conveniently leaving out the drama with Regina. Though she usually shared everything with her mom, somehow she didn't think she would be too thrilled about her attempted make out session with her Professor.

"Well, Emma. You've certainly found yourself in a bit of a pickle there." Mary Margaret offered.

"Gee, thanks mom." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Emma Swan." Her mother stated. Emma rolled her eyes again. She always knew.

"Look, honey. I know you're hurt, but there's not a lot you can do right now. It sounds like Belle is very conflicted, but she's told you what she wants and you need to respect that and leave her alone for a while so she can sort out whatever she's dealing with herself. It's not your fault, sweetheart. She made her choice, it's not up to you to save her, or her relationship. She's the only one who can decide whether or not she tells her boyfriend. And as for your friendship, I'm sure she will realise, in time, that she doesn't want to let it go. You just need to give it time, sweetheart." Mary Margaret said calmly.

"I don't know, mom. You didn't see her face. She looked so… Broken. I feel so guilty for putting her in this position, and now I feel like if I try to help I'll just make it worse. I should never have… But she…" Emma sighed. "Her boyfriend… He's a nice guy, you know? We're all friends. I can't bear to look him in the eye." She said sadly.

"I know sweetheart, that's a horrible position to be in. But, like I said, whether or not she tells her boyfriend, it's her decision to make, and you just have to live with it."

"I know." Emma grumbled. Her mom was always right. "What if I've fucked everything up between us?" She asked miserably.

"Language, Emma." Mary Margaret sighed. "Honey, I'm sure everything is going to work out just fine, and even if it doesn't, you'll be okay. Even though it seems like the most dramatic thing in the world right now, eventually it will all blow over, these things always have a way of working themselves out. Belle sounds like a nice, smart girl. She's obviously very taken with you and I'm sure she doesn't want to ruin whatever is between you any more than you do. In the meantime, just try to carry on as normal. You have friends and other things to keep you occupied. Speaking of, how's the project with Professor Mills coming along?" She asked. Emma sighed, she knew the topic of conversation would come back round to her studies at some point.

"It's going well, mom."

"Is Professor Mills still happy with you?" Emma had to suppress a snort.

"I doubt it." She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Her mom asked.

"I said, I think so."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I'm so proud of you, honey." Mary Margaret said warmly. Emma smiled.

"Thanks mom." She said quietly.

"I'm so excited to see you, sweetheart. Counting down the days!"

"Me too mom, only 5 weeks now." Emma smiled.

"Did you ask Professor Mills if she was available for lunch when I visit?"

Emma's stomach dropped at the thought of having lunch with her mother and Professor Mills, especially after their incident last night. But she knew her mother wouldn't leave the subject alone until she'd given her the answer she wanted.

"I'll check with her closer to the time, mom. I'm sure she'll be free at some point."

"Don't leave it too late, honey. I'm sure she's a busy woman."

"Yes, okay, mom. I'll ask her." Emma sighed.

"Okay sweetheart. I have to run, my take out is here."

"Okay, mom. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, honey. And remember, everything will work out."

"Bye mom."

"Bye sweetheart."

The phone clicked and Emma placed it on her beside table, sighing.

Okay, so, that's chapter 8! Let me know what you guys think! More SQ action to come in the next chapter. Stay tuned!