AN: I don't own the characters or OUAT.
All mistakes are mine.
Ruby, Belle, and Killian walked ahead of Regina and Emma.
"Do you wanna sit with us or with Regina?" Belle asked, looking back at the pair.
"You don't sit together? I thought since... the majority of you were friends, you'd sit together," Emma said hesitantly.
'She's been awkward. Belle usually listens to Ruby about keeping quiet. Did Killian say anything? Is Captain Guyliner a blabbermouth as well as a drunk?'
"Well, Regina's boyfriend doesn't really like Killian, as well," Belle said.
"He used to be my friend, but then he started dating Miss... Stick-Up-Her-Ass."
'Why does Emma look so sad? Probably because she doesn't know that he does this all the time.'
"Hey, Regina. How much does food usually cost here?" Emma asked.
"Average, $5. Could be more, could be less. Depends on what you get. Come on, I'll show you around in there."
"Thank you, Regina."
"Bye, Ruby, Belle, and Killian. See you later, maybe."
"Later, Emma!" Ruby said back, while she led her friends to their table and Regina brought Emma over to Jefferson and Zelena.
"Z, Jefferson, this is Emma. Emma, this is Zelena and Jefferson."
"Oh. So you finally found the balls to talk to her, huh?"
"Shut up, Jefferson," Regina snapped, sitting down. She patted the space next to her, silently telling Emma to sit down. She shyly sat down, while trying to hide her laugh, but Regina saw her lips twitch.
"Isn't that seat usually reserved for your boy toy?" Zelena asked with a smirk on her face.
"Who?" Regina slowly shifted her gaze to Zelena. "Daniel? No! He can sit wherever he wants!" Regina quickly came to her senses when she saw the smirk. "He's not my boy toy. He's my boyfriend."
"Is there a difference?" Regina nodded. "Ok. Whatever you say, Regina." Zelena aimed her next question to Emma," Why did you move here to Storybrooke?"
'I didn't even think of asking her that. I didn't really care where she came from.'
"Well, I'm a foster kid. Well, technically, an orphan. My parents died in a car crash when I was 2 months old. I've been living from home to home since. I most recently moved from Tallahassee, Florida."
'She's an orphan. I don't really have a reason to complain about my dad then. At least I still have my mother.'
"I'm sorry, Emma. If there's anything that you need, we're here for you."
"Thank you so much, Reg-"
"Hey, baby," Daniel said walking up to the table. When he realized someone was in his seat, he angrily spat, "Who are you, and why the hell are you sitting in my seat?"
"I'm Emma. It's nice to meet you," she replied confused at his anger. She slowly started to move from the space she was in.
"Well, I've never seen you before in my life. Get away from me and my friends! Get the hell out of my face!"
"Daniel!" Regina yelled. "Why are you being so rude to her? She's the new girl. The one I was giving a tour to. I told you this morning. Don't you remember?"
"Well, she's in my seat and hasn't moved," Daniel whined.
"If you had given me a chance, I would've moved," Emma said, fully standing up. "Idiot," she added under her breath.
Everyone looked at Daniel expectantly while Emma sat down and tried to eat her pasta. "What? Do you want me to apologize? That's not gonna happen! She was rude, too!"
'What the hell is going on in his head? She wasn't rude to him. She might've talked back, but that was because he yelled at her.'
"I'm gonna go sit with Ruby. She'll walk me to my next class. See you then, Regina. Bye, Jefferson. Bye, Zelena." As Emma walked away, Regina frowned. After she saw Emma sit down at Ruby's table, she focused on Daniel and glared.
"Finally, she's gone. What? She was in my seat! Who the hell let her sit in my seat in the first place?"
"I did, Daniel. And if you weren't such an ass all the time, you would know that this isn't YOUR seat. Anyone could sit there. Stop being so selfish." With that, Regina stood and walked over to Ruby's table, Zelena and Jefferson not far behind. "May we sit with you?"
"Yeah, her boy toy is being an ass, as usual."
'Could Zelena stop calling him that? He's not going to be my boyfriend for much longer if he keeps acting this way. And Emma doesn't seem comfortable when Zelena calls him my "boy toy." She kind of seems disgusted. Why is that?'
"Of course. Mi table es su table," Ruby said with a laugh to the three just as Daniel walked up.
"You," he said, pointing to Emma, "leave. I need to talk to MY GIRLFRIEND. Alone."
"Look, Daniel. I don't know what your problem is, but I would just like to eat my lunch in peace. You can't be that much of an ass to stop someone from eating," Emma calmly said back.
"You can eat. By yourself. In the corner. Where you belong. Surely, you'll get some peace there."
"I think I'm good here."
Regina didn't know how the next part happened, but suddenly Emma had pasta sauce all over her face and shirt. In another second, Emma was on the floor with Daniel punching her arms as she defended her face. Ruby grabbed Daniel by his collar and pulled him off Emma.
"If you lay another finger on my friend, Daniel," Ruby growled when he started squirming in her grasp, "you won't have any fingers left. Got it?"
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
"Good. Now walk away before I end you." After he walked away, Ruby turned to Emma and helped her up. "Are you ok? Oh, my God! You're bleeding!"
"It doesn't feel like it. It could be the sauce from when he threw my plate at me," Emma tried to reassure Ruby and everyone else.
'That looks like blood right under her eye. I should take her to the nurse. And let Mrs. Nolan know. She's probably Emma's guardian now. That explains why she was in Gold's office earlier.'
"I'll take her to the nurse. Ruby, could you tell Mrs. Nolan that I'm taking her there?" Regina asked, trying to keep her calm in the situation, just as her mother taught her.
"Of course. I have her right after lunch."
"I thought you did. Thank you. Come one, Emma. Let's get you to the nurse."
"I'm fine. I don't think I'm bleeding," she protested but still allowed Regina to drag her along. "I still didn't get to eat."
20 minutes into the class, Regina walked in with a note from the nurse. She handed the note to the teacher, then walked to the back of the room to her desk next to Zelena.
"So... how is the object of your affection?" Zelena asked with a permanent smirk on her face.
Without thinking, Regina replied, "Emma is doing ok. Daniel's ring broke the skin right under her eye, so Ruby was right. She was bleeding."
"I knew you liked her," Zelena accusingly said.
"What?" Thinking back to what Zelena had said, Regina responded, "Oh, no, no, no. No. No. That... that's not what I meant. I wasn't thinking when you asked your question before. I'm distracted."
"Right. Because the person you like is in the nurse's office."
"Exactly. Wait, no. No! Well, yes, but no. Of course, I like her. She's a good person, from what I've seen. But I don't like her like that."
"Zelena! Regina!" the teacher called out to them. "Would you like to stop talking and pay attention to the class?"
"Yes. Sorry, Mr. Booth. It won't happen again," Regina replied. Quieter, she said to her best friend, "Shut up. My mother won't approve if I get in trouble."
"Sorry."
'Zelena shouldn't be able to read me this easily. It's not fair. Mother has also taught me better than that to hide my emotions. I think I should break up with Daniel. He's not the same person. He changed when my dad died. It's like he's guilty about something, and he's acting out about it.'
Emma walked into the class with a note and handed it to Mr. Booth.
"Glad that you could finally join us, Emma. Take any open seat."
"Thanks." Emma quickly glanced around the room and headed towards the open seat next to Zelena.
'Zelena probably doesn't want to get into trouble with Mr. Booth again. Emma must be miserable. Her left cheek is starting to bruise up.'
"Don't forget, you and your partner have to come to me with your idea for your project by Friday. One pair will now have three people. Emma has to join a group. Get going to your next class now," Mr. Booth said, dismissing everyone.
"Hey, Emma, why don't you join me and Regina?"
"Um, sure, if you're ok with it, Regina."
"Well, are you ok with it?" Zelena asked her smirk still there.
"Yes, yes, Miss Swan. I'm perfectly fine with it."
"Who are you? Your mother?" Zelena questioned jokingly.
"Why? What did I say?"
"You called me Miss Swan. Your mom called me that when I officially met her," Emma responded. "It felt... completely normal, yet weird all at the same time."
"Sorry, about that. I tend to get extra formal when I'm distracted. We should get to study hall. It's a free period. We can talk our project over."
"Sounds perfect, Regina. As always, lead the way."
'Poor Emma. Now her eye is starting to bruise because of the trauma she received. I'm done with Daniel. I can't date someone who readily punches someone they've just met. She didn't even fight back which means one of two things. One, Emma didn't want to fight back and hurt him. Or, two, Daniel attacked someone who couldn't fight back. Either one shows Daniel negatively or Emma positively. I'm pretty sure it was the first one because she defended herself quite easily. I've made my choice. I'm breaking up with Daniel.'
"Hey, guys," Jefferson said sitting next to Emma. Looking over at her, he winced, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, he got in a lucky punch. It's getting kinda hard to see out of my left eye now, though. It's probably bruising now, right?"
"Let me see, Emma," Ruby said gently grabbing her chin.
'Let go of her chin. Don't get too close to her. I should be the only one doing that.' Regina thought jealously. Mentally chiding herself, 'No. I'm not dating her. I don't even know if she likes girls.'
"Yeah. It's getting slightly black and blue. Do you want me to go to the nurse and get ice?"
"No. If I need it, I'll get it. I know where she is."
"How about we stop talking about the past? Let's focus on the future an see what we're gonna do after school," Zelena suggested.
"Good idea. I was thinking that we could go to my house. My mother is not coming home until 5:30 tonight," Regina said, getting a nod from Killian.
"We don't have shifts today, so we can go too," Ruby said with a nod from Belle.
"We're usually at your house anyway. There's no need to ask us," Jefferson said for himself and Zelena.
"Of course. Emma, what about you?"