AN: I don't own the characters or OUAT.
All mistakes are mine.
I've updated all of the previous chapters because I forgot which ones I actually changed a little. Sorry for the spam emails.
This is the first of two chapters for an update because of the long wait.

"Ruby, I need to talk to you," Regina whispered.

"Ok, so talk," Ruby said just as quietly.

"Privately."

"We can't get any more private than the only two people in the library. So, like I said before, talk."

Regina hesitated, but finally gave in, "Fine. I want to talk to you about that thing you found out a few weeks ago."

"What thing? I find out a lot of things. For example, I found out that Leroy has a crush on a nun. Sister Astrid," Ruby nonchalantly said. "Oh, crap. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Oh, well. You're not much of a gossiper, right?" Ruby continued saying to a confused Regina.

"I meant the thing that you found out about me."

"Oh, you mean that you like Emma," Ruby smirked.

"Not so loud," Regina chastised.

"Regina, we're the only two in here." Just as Ruby finished talking, Belle entered the library with Zelena. "Well, four, now."

"See, I told you I'd find your girlfriend, Belle. For some reason, my best friend chats with Ruby more than me, recently."

"You know that's not-"

"It's totally true," Ruby said cutting Regina off. "Ever since, I figured out that you like Emma, even though everyone can tell, you've been hanging out with me more. You've actually been avoiding Emma a little."

"Wait. If everyone can tell that I like Emma, does that also mean Emma?"

"No," Ruby assured.

Zelena something along the lines of clueless that caused Belle to laugh. Regina decided to ignore her best friend.

'Ignoring her makes her mad, and then, she doesn't talk to me for a while. That's what she gets for calling me clueless. At least, I think she called me clueless. Well, who else would she call that?'

"Ok. Good. Do you know who Emma likes?" Regina tested, already knowing part of the answer.

"Emma likes someone? That's news to me." Zelena and Belle nodded after Ruby's words.

'That sounded convincing. I almost believed her. But I know she knows. I was there when David figured it out. Ruby confirmed it.'

"Why does it feel like you're lying?"

"Because I could be. Also, it could be because you want to believe that if Emma likes someone, that someone could be you. Your thought process isn't that hard to follow. There's only one thing I can't figure out, though."

"And what's that, Ruby?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! Can I say it, babe?"

"Sure, Belle," Ruby nodded with a little smirk.

"Ok. Why haven't you asked her out yet?" Belle questioned lightly, knowing Regina's temper.

"Why?" The three girls nodded in response. "Because I don't know if she likes me." Zelena opened her mouth to say something that Regina could guess. Before a sound left her mouth, though, Regina said, "I meant likes me as more than just a friend. I don't know how I'd feel if she rejects me. She's only been here a few months. The school year is almost over. I don't want to lose her if she doesn't like me back," she ended sadly.

"Then there's only one thing to do. You make her like you in the way you like her. You have to sweep her off her feet. You make her feel as special as you see her as. You have to woo her."

'Wow. I didn't think about that. I have to show her that I like her. Zelena is right. I have to woo her. I have to do everything that Daniel do for me.'

'Why am I nervous? It's only Emma, the girl I have a massive crush on. Oh, God. She makes me so nervous. I am Cora Mills' daughter. She doesn't do nervous. I can't do it either if I'm going to follow her into office.'

"Hey, Emma." Regina stood next to the lunch table.

"Oh, you're talking to me again?" Emma teased with a growing smile.

'Why is she so adorable? God, I never felt this way around Daniel. She's going to overload me with cuteness.'

"No, I just thought I'd be polite before I continued to ignore you," Regina teased back.

"Oh. How nice of you. You must be the mayor's daughter."

Regina couldn't hold back her laughter at Emma's words. 'Why are our friends staring at us as if we're crazy. We usually do something like this.'

"Regina, sit. Eat. Stop staring," Zelena smirked, which caused Emma to look up at Regina and smile as she patted the spot next to her.

"Zelena, shut up. Your advice sucks," Regina snapped.

Confused, Emma asked, "What advice? What did you advise her on?"

Before Regina could open her mouth, Zelena responded. "Our darling Regina here has a crush."

"On who?"

"It doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that Zelena's advice failed me at the moment."

"It's barely been a day."

"Doesn't matter."

"Well, that sucks." Emma paused for a few seconds. "Maybe my advice could be better? If I knew who it was I could help?"

'Oh. My. God. This girl is super thoughtful. But I can't tell her that I like her. It was too difficult to admit it Ruby a few weeks ago, and it didn't get much easier to admit it to Zelena and Belle earlier today. I can't tell her.'

Due to Regina's inner monologue, Emma suggested, "Maybe you could just describe him. You know, if you don't feel comfortable admitting to me who it is."

'Why is she so sweet. God, she's too good for me.'

"Um..."

"Actually, the person Regina has a massive crush on is a girl," Zelena said.

'Oh. I didn't even realize that she made that mistake.'

"Oh," Emma said shocked.

'God, she's disgusted. Damn it. I'm going to lose a really close friend. Crap.'

"Ok. What does she like?"

'Wait. Is she not repulsed? Is she really fine with it? With me?'

"Um..."

"Has my concern for your love life reduced you to 'um's', Regina?" Emma teased.

"No! I just have to think of the answer, obviously," Regina tried to play off.

"Right... but just so you know, 'um's' aren't very mayoral."

"Well, I'm not the mayor. My mother is. I'm just a class president."

"Just tell me about the girl, Gina," Emma said with a small smile.

'Gina? Nobody has ever called me that before. It sounds good coming from her. I could get used to that.'

"Ok. Well, the girl... she's a year older than me. Uh, she... she's not very out there, I guess. She mainly likes to keep to herself. She's very possessive of the things she likes. She-"

"You mean, she doesn't like to share?" Emma said cutting off Regina.

"No. She doesn't not like to share. She just prefers to keep things close to her. She doesn't like to lose those things she likes."

'I hope she kind of figures it out. I hope she pieces it all together and gets the right person. Her: Em-ma.'

"Ok. I think I got it. But, just one more question. Do you know if she likes you back?"

"I can only be certain that she likes me enough to be my friend."

"Oh! So you want to woo her? Kinda old fashioned-like, huh?"

"Yes. That was Zelena's advice," Regina said defeatedly.

"Well, she was on the right track. Did she suggest what you should do?"

"No. Just sweep her off her feet."

"Ingenious plan," Emma replied dryly. "But how exactly were you gonna do that?"

"I don't know. Any tips?"

"Yes, actually. You're gonna find something that has importance to you, give it to her, and say you want it back, in the same condition, after a certain amount of time."

"How is this me wooing her?"

"It's not," Emma smiled. "This is to see if she likes you the same way you like her." Noting Regina's confused look, she continued, "If she likes you the same way, she'll never let whatever you give her out of her sight. If she's as possessive as you say, anything that has meaning to you will have meaning to her now. It's a part of you. And if she truly likes you, she won't want to lose you. Or hurt you in any way. Got it?"

"Yeah. I do." After a brief pause, Regina added, "Woo many girls from your different homes?"

With a small smile growing on her face from Regina's teasing, Emma said, "Not really. This is the first place that a girl has piqued my interest."

'Emma does like someone! But who could it be? It would suck if it's not me.'

Regina was pacing her room, talking out loud to herself. "What do I give her? Mother doesn't give me much that I hold dear to me. But... dad did give me my apple tree. I can't entirely give that to Emma... but I can ask her to take care of it for a bit. I usually do it myself, so I would need an excuse for being busy. What can I make myself busy with?"

Regina heard the front door open. "Regina! It's 5:20! I was able to leave earlier than normal today! Do you have any preference for dinner tonight?"

Regina came out of her room and walked down the stairs before answering her mother. "Mother, I was wondering if I could make dinner tonight?"

"Someone must be in a good mood, hmm? Sure, dear. I'll be in the study, then, if you need me." As an afterthought, Cora added, "I doubt you'll need my help, though. You're perfectly capable."

"Thank you, mother," Regina quietly said after she heard the door to the study close. She turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. "I'll make the thing I make best. Lasagna. Maybe I'll make extra for lunch."

Cora came into the dining room to see Regina with books and the timer on the table. "Are you doing homework while waiting for dinner to be finished?" she asked causing her daughter to jump slightly.

"No. I finished my homework a while ago. I was thinking about campaign slogans for junior class president."

"Don't you have all summer to think of those?"

'I do. They don't even allow us to promote ourselves until October. But Emma doesn't know that.'

"Yes, mother, but anyone else that is planning to run will be thinking about it soon. I should get a head start on it. They would probably want to beat me."

"But they wouldn't, of course. You're obviously a shoe-in," Cora smiled sweetly. "I'm glad you have taken a liking to run for office. I know how distasteful it was for you before. You're clearly a natural."

The timer went off signaling the pair that the food was finished. "Mother, will you set the table while I check on the lasagna?"

"Surely. Do you want me to clear your books as well?"

"Yes, please," she said as she brought the timer to the kitchen. After checking the food in the oven, Regina set the timer once again. "It'll be ready in another five minutes."

'Now, how do I get Emma to water my apple tree without it being obvious that she's the one that I like? Ruby lives closer, so she should be the obvious one I ask. Zelena is my best friend, so I could always depend on her to help me. Jefferson lives too far, so he can't. Belle doesn't like to get her hands dirty unless she's dusting off books in the library. So, Emma's excuses for not doing it are Zelena and Ruby. What could I have as my reasons for not asking them? A-ha! They're late for everything!' The timer went off pulling Regina from her thoughts.

"Mother! The lasagna is done! You could come in and take some!"

"Thank you, dear. I happened to glance at your campaign proposals. They're not as amazing as this lasagna will be, but I could help you work on them."

"Thank you, mother. I will work on them some more after dinner. I'll ask for your opinions over the summer when we're both not as busy."

'That's probably the nicest thing she's ever said about my campaign proposals. Also, she complimented me on my food. That's actually another first.'

Regina and her mother ate dinner in silence, though Regina couldn't help but notice the looks of confusion her mother was sending her way. 'If she wants to talk to me about something, she'll mention it. She's not a shy woman.' Just as they finished their dinner, Cora stood up and grabbed the plates. Right before Regina disappeared up the stairs with her books, Cora announced, "I invited the Nolans and Miss Swan to dinner tomorrow. Make sure you're on your best behavior."

The next morning, Regina woke up with her alarm. 'Wow, I know I spent last night worrying, but I didn't realize how tired I was. I kind of have to rush through my routine now.'

"Bye, mother!" Regina yelled running out the door and headed towards Granny's five minutes later than usual.

'So many things made me late. First, my shower took too long. Second, mother took way too much time making the simplest breakfast, oatmeal. Now, I'm late and I'm not used to being late. I feel like Zelena and Ruby.'

Regina didn't realize she was stuck in her thoughts until someone stopped her from walking by grabbing her shoulders. "Gina? Are you ok?"

"What?" Regina shook her head and focused on the person standing in front of her. "Oh. Hello, Em-ma," she continued, still distracted.

"Are you ok? You seem a little out of it."

"Yes, thank you, I'm fine. I'm just running a little late."

"I can see that. But if you're not planning on skipping school, you should turn around."

"Why?" Regina asked confused but still turned around.

"You missed the turn for the block that the school is on. You're lucky I leave at this time. I have no idea where you would have ended up, Gina," Emma ended with a little laugh.

"Wow. Where was I?"

"In front of my apartment. Come on. We have to get going if you don't want to be even later."

The pair walked the next block and a half in silence until Emma spoke, "Why were you running late? Aren't you like... an hour early anywhere?"

Laughing, Regina responded, "No, it's closer to twenty minutes. But to answer your first question, my shower took longer than I thought it did and mother took forever to make breakfast."

"Ah. Ok. Did you figure out what you're going to give you crush yet?"

Lying, the brunette said, "No. I was going to use the weekend to think of something."

"Got it. You have to weigh the meaning of everything, right." Regina nodded as they walked up the school steps. Stopping in front of the school doors, Emma turned to Regina. "Well, I'll see you in class, Regina. I have to get to my locker."

As she turned to leave, Regina lightly grabbed Emma's wrist. "Before you leave, I have to ask you something."

'Before, I lose my nerve.'

"Sure. Anything."

"I'm going to have to work on my campaign for junior class president soon. I was wondering if you could help me take care of my apple tree."

"You have an apple tree!? I love apples. What type of apples are they?"

'And I thought I was going to have a problem with this. She didn't even ask if someone else could do it.'

"They're Red Delicious apples. Can you help me or not?"

"Obviously. Apples are the third best thing to eat." After a brief pause, Emma asked, "I could pick some, right?"

"Yes, as long as they're ready."

"Sweet. When should I report to duty?" Emma asked, biting her lip to keep her smile from showing.

'She is so darn cute. I'll explain everything after dinner tonight if she really is coming.'

"Did Mr. and Mrs. Nolan tell you about dinner tonight?" Emma nodded. "Great. I'll explain everything after we eat."

"Cool. Uh, just one question. What time should we be there? David didn't say anything."

"Mother usually gets home around 5:30, so dinner will be done around 6. I guess anytime between then would be fine."

Emma nodded once again. "Got it. See you in class."

"See you soon."

"You really like her, huh?"

Regina jumped and turned to see Daniel behind her. "What are you doing here?" she asked angrily.

"I was walking into school and couldn't help but overhear. Your mom likes her better than she liked me. I can't say that's hard to do. She is a very likable person. Have you asked her out yet?"

"No, and I'm not discussing this with you, Daniel. Please, leave me alone." Regina ended the conversation by walking away.

'I can't believe his nerve! But this is the first time that he actually seemed sincere. Does he want me to be with Emma? The first class is going to start soon. I have to hurry up if I want to make it on time.'