A/N: I did promise you all another chapter and I couldn't go to bed until that happened, so... Here you go! :) I will keep this author's note on the short side, just quickly letting you all know that if any of you do recognize which series this is based off of, to please keep spoilers to yourselves. Especially when I will be going in a completely different route. Thank you all who are reading this, and stay tuned for more.
Don't forget to drop a review! That would be much appreciated.
Chapter 2: How They Met
"Are you sure you have them?" Regina asked Kathryn, both rushing through the crowded mall.
"Oh, no!" Kathryn fakes a gasp as she stops to search in Regina's large portfolio that she was asked to keep since last night. Her blue eyes stare widely at her. "I must have left them at my house!"
"What?! How could you forget-?" Regina's eyes mirror Kathryn's as she snatches the portfolio from her best friend's grasp and searches inside as if looking for a tiny diamond.
Kathryn grins once Regina's relieved eyes find hers.
"Kathryn, I am going to kill you!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Kathryn laughs, throwing her head back. "It was just a joke to relax you."
Regina's eyes glare menacingly. "Well, your jokes aren't funny. I'm serious," she breathes. "Don't ever do that again. Please."
"Okay-okay. I'm sorry." Kathryn frowns to show she's serious. "I mean it." Her hand gives Regina's shoulder a light, supportive squeeze. "I'm sorry. It was a horrible joke."
Regina chuckled, feeling the weight of worry lift off of her shoulders now that her sketches were safe and sound inside of her portfolio. "It's alright. Don't worry about it. I suppose it was kind of funny."
"Hey, I know how important this is to you," Kathryn eyes Regina's drawings as she checks over them, counting the loose pages out of pure habit. "Trust me, I would cut off my own arm before I allow anything to happen to those drawings."
Regina allows herself to smile this time. "Thanks, Kathryn. It means a lot to know I have someone who supports my life's ambition."
"Of course." Kathryn's head tilts. "You know, you should at least tell your father about what you're doing. I mean, this could be something big- a huge step for you."
Regina shakes her head, "No." She hesitates a moment. "I will but… not now. And with my mother around, it's a little tough to talk to him about what I want in my life." She frowns. "You know how she is- she just wouldn't understand."
Kathryn's frown mirrors.
"But enough about that!" Regina gives her best smile. "Come on," she links her arm to her best friend. "Let's get this over with, shall we?" Her heart was pounding inside of her rib cage from the excitement.
"Lead the way, Picasso!" Kathryn grinned proudly, following alongside Regina into a small art shop.
A packet of papers all stapled neatly together is placed before Emma's desk. Her pencil dances along her long pale fingers manifesting her nerves to possibly every soul in this room.
"You all have an hour to complete each section of this test," A professor announces, passing along the last test packet to someone up front. He stands before the entire class. His hands positioned up front. "One hour," he lifted a single digit. "You may get started."
Emma taps the sharp tip of her pencil along her desk, taking a deep long breath before signing her name and last name along a single line along the first page. She flips through, her eyes reading her first question.
You got this, Em! She encourages herself. She studied for two straight weeks for this test just to get her engineering degree. She could do this! She had to.
Her green eyes look over to a fellow classmate, seeing him shift in his seat as his lungs release a much needed cough. Out of nerves, too, she supposed. Everyone had their quarks. Emma's eyes turned back to her dancing fingers, giving her pencil one more twirl before she touched the page with its sharp tip. Ready and willing to ace the final step that would determine her future ahead.
Kathryn looked quietly around the mini-gallery at many paintings from various people that called themselves artists. Honestly, Regina's work was too good for this place. But everyone had to start somewhere, she supposed. Her head turns to look over her shoulder at her best friend as she laid out one drawing after another on top of each other.
"And these are all the ones you've done so far?" A tall, thin man asks Regina, his eyes watching her expectadly.
"No," Regina assures him. "I have more. So much more. These are just a few I brought with me, and you can keep them. I can always re-draw them." She grins proudly, so sure of herself and of her capability around a pencil and paper.
Picking up a whiff of that certainty, the man's brow lifts straight up into a perfect arch, "You could recreate this," he holds one of the drawings up. "By pure memory again?"
Regina nods, "Yes, sir, I can. I can show you-" she shuffles through her portfolio, ready to pull out a pencil she always keeps in there as a spare and a clean sheet of 24x36 sheet of paper.
"No, no," the man holds out his hands above Regina's eager ones. He could see the eagerness in them to work. He holds up the drawing once more, studying the life-like details. His eyes look up from behind the drawing, directly at Regina as he sighs. "Alright. I'll give you a chance."
Regina's smile blooms. Her eyes sparkle. Kathryn rushes to be at her best friend's side, eager to hear more.
"I have a feeling about you," He grins. "I have a show about two months from now. I'll email you the details. Do you think you can bring more of your work in… say… tomorrow?"
"O-of course!" Regina attempts to not sound too excited, quickly composing herself. "You can count on me."
"Good. I'd like to have them here by ten tomorrow. Sharp." His eyes narrow with a little doubt, all from bad past experiences with other people claiming to be artists. "You don't show up. My doors won't open to you again."
Regina shakes her head, "I'll be here. Ten, sharp." She promised.
Kathryn watched the man walk away, turning to Regina with wide eyes as soon as he was out of earshot. "Oh, my God! You did it!"
Regina's smile positively grew, her arms welcoming Kathryn's embrace.
"You actually did it! You are going to knock these other mediocre portraits off these walls tomorrow!" Kathryn grinned, ignoring the pair of eyes that looked her way from passersby's.
"Just let me catch my breath first." Regina breathed out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding since she walked into this place. "I actually thought he was going to turn me away."
"Regina," Kathryn links her arm with Regina's, escorting her out of the gallery. "How many times have I told you? They'd be crazy to-"
"Turn me down," Regina nods. "Yes, I know it all too well." She grins, her eyes lighting up like the lights above their heads. "I just can't believe it's actually coming true. Slowly but surely."
Kathryn shrugged a single shoulder, "I still say you could have done better than this place," her eyes study the gallery disapprovingly.
"Kathryn." Regina's eyes glare.
"I know-I know," Kathryn holds up her hands. "I said I'd be supportive and I am. It's just- Regina as your best friend- I am also obligated to tell you the truth. And the truth is… you're too good for this place. You deserve something better. Something bigger."
God bless Kathryn's big heart. She always looked out for Regina.
"And I will get there, Kathryn." Regina assured her. "Step by step. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, remember?"
Kathryn rolls her eyes, "That applies for everything now?" She asks, walking alongside Regina, who chuckles.
Both friends look down at their purses at the sound of a ringing cell phone.
"It's mine-" Kathryn quickly pulls her phone out, swiping left on the call button to answer. "Hello?"
Regina watches as in the span of a nanosecond, Kathryn's smile is erased from her lips.
"Yeah… Okay…" Kathryn nods slowly to herself, keeping her phone glued to her ear. "I'll-I'm on my way." Her phone clicks as the screen shuts off. Her phone goes back into her purse as her eyes meet with Regina's.
"What's wrong?" Regina frowns. She watches Kathryn walk away from her, up to the nearest bench, and plops down. "Kathryn…" She joins her along the seat. "What just happened?"
After a moment of hesitation, Kathryn's blue eyes gloss over as they finally dare to look at Regina. "My parents…" She murmurs.
Regina waits, her eyes wide. My parents just died in a car accident. Mentally, Regina shakes that awful thought away. It can't be that. She waits patiently until Kathryn finds her voice again.
"My parents have just filed or divorce."
A divorce? Regina couldn't imagine how hard that was for Kathryn. She hated the thought of her own parents filing for divorce someday, although she also thought that sometimes, her parents would be better off if they both went their separate ways for a change. Regina couldn't even recall the last time she ever saw any sign of affection toward her mother and her father toward one another.
She couldn't even remember when was the last time she ever saw her mother kiss her father with a kiss after a hard day's work, or just because she missed him. And she vowed herself that if she were to ever meet someone- have that spark that everyone always talked about having when meeting the love of their lives- she would never be like her mother.
Shaking herself away from her many thoughts, seeing as they would not help Kathryn in this tough situation, Regina just pulled Kathryn into the tightest hug she could offer her. Her friend's body shook with quiet sobs that only Regina could pick up as Kathryn broke.
After a while, Kathryn pulled herself together and walked out- arms linked- with Regina by her side. Supporting every step she took. "I guess I always knew it would happen, you know?" Kathryn brushed away a single strand of hair that the summer wind brought near her cheek. "I just knew they weren't happy, I just… Always hoped it wouldn't end this way."
Regina stopped their walk, along a bus stop for mere shade from the beaming sun. "I'm really sorry, Kathryn. If there's anything I can do, you know you can always call me."
"I know," Kathryn nods. "I'll call you tonight anyway. No matter my little dilemma, you have to tell me everything about tonight's dinner." She tried for a smile, and God did she try.
Regina's own lips stretched out for mere encouragement. "I promise."
"Well…" Kathryn sighs. "We should get going. I'm sorry we couldn't do some actual shopping, but I should probably get home before I arrive home with the entire house bulldozed to the ground."
Regina shakes her head, "I understand. You should go. Don't hold back because of me. You have more important matters right now."
Kathryn's frown deepened. "What about you? How will you get home? You didn't even bring your car."
"It's fine. I can take a cab," Regina shrugged. Her head turned over her shoulder at the sound of a transportation bus. "Ah!" She grins. "Problem solved!"
Kathryn's brows hit her hairline. Her eyes flicking toward the bus behind her lunatic best friend. "Regina, no. That thing is probably filthy! You don't know what kind of maniac you can encounter on that thing. You could get mugged or worse."
Regina rolled her eyes, "God-you're starting to sound like my mother-I'll be fine, Kathryn."
"But it's…" Kathryn's neck cracks to the side, her nose scrunching up at the sight of the bus. "So big."
Regina chuckled, "Well, I should hope so. Otherwise, I'd have to sit on some poor stranger's lap."
Kathryn gasped, her blue eyes growing in horror at the thought. "You think?" She whispered.
Regina couldn't help throwing her head back and laughing.
"I'm glad I amuse you, Regina, but this is no laughing matter!" Kathryn blinks. "You could get groped or worse!"
"Kathryn, I'm going to be fine." Regina chuckles, shaking her head. "You'll see. I'll call you tonight with my horrific experience."
"Are you sure?" Kathryn hesitated in moving a single muscle.
Regina turned to the last person boarding the bus. "Yes. I'll be fine." She moved toward the bus, placing one foot along the first step of it and grabbing on. "I promise. I'll call you!" She backs away as the doors suddenly shut.
Regina grabs onto one of the poles as the driver steps on the peddle a little too rough for her liking.
"Stop the bus! Hey! Stop the bus, please!"
Kathryn's eyes horrifically follow a crazy blonde as she runs past her, brushing her shoulder a little too roughly with hers. She turned to apologize- at least she assumed she did before continuing on her hunt for the bus that eventually did stop. After the woman's hand pounded on the side of it a few times.
Regina's eyes widened at the sight of someone running along the speeding bus. "Hey, stop the bus!" She demanded the driver, her grip tightening along the steel bar as the brakes were given automatically, jerking every passenger's head in the process.
Emma hopped right through the flying doors, hearing them immediately close behind her. "Thank you," she breathed heavily, attempting to catch her breath.
Regina almost wanted to say 'you're welcome' to the poor girl, but she was certain that thank you wasn't meant for her, but the driver for stopping. Not to mention, the blonde's attention was directed at the bus driver the entire time her hand fished out for her wallet out of her back pocket, pulling out a card of some sort and swiping it along a steel looking box that Regina had never seen in her life. All she knew was, a little green light went on when the girl's card was passed through the sensor.
Emma pulled on the shoulder strap of her backpack, adjusting it as she passed right along, her eyes spotting Regina's as she passed right by. Regina froze as she spotted the woman's eyes. They were green. The purest green she had ever seen on any living human being. She watched as she calmly took one of the empty seats. The only empty seat in fact, looking away as soon as Emma's eyes looked to her from across the bus.
Regina could feel her cheeks instantly blush at being caught. Great! She was gawking! Next thing she needed was for this woman to think she was crazy for staring.
"Excuse me! Ma'am!" The bus driver hollered a little too loudly for Regina's liking. She was standing right next to him for goodness' sake.
"Yes?" Regina blinked, forcing her eyes to look away from the woman.
"Your card." The driver demanded.
"My card?" Oh, no. Were only people who carried cards allowed on the bus?
The bus driver rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed with today. "You have change on you, sweetheart?"
"Change?" Regina looks down at her dress, expecting the driver to know that her dress doesn't come with pockets included.
"Lord," the man shakes his head. "Look, either pay your fare or get the hell off my bus, huh?"
Regina's cheeks turned beet red as the other passengers on the bus stared right at her. Including the blonde woman, who sat calmly at her seat, reading her book. Only her beautiful green eyes were staring directly past the top pages of the book. She had to do something. Certainly she had to have some loose change somewhere along her purse.
Only when Regina's hand went further into her purse, it turned up empty. All she could feel within it and see as she held it open was a tube of lipstick, a few Kleenex tissues, and her house keys. She didn't think of carrying any cash today because her plan wasn't really shopping. Maybe next time, she should plan better. Or at least carry some loose change inside of her purse. Let that be a lesson to you, Regina! She scolded herself.
"Lady! We're wasting time here, I have a schedule to keep." The driver's rough and rude voice interrupted Regina's thoughts again.
"Excuse me." Another voice, a softer voice captured Regina's attention. Far more than the driver's. It was her. The woman with the green eyes. "I believe this is yours," Regina looked down at the woman's pale palm, holding out a wrinkled dollar bill and seventy cents in total.
Regina blinked, staring up at the pair of green eyes before her. Her head dipped down again at the feel of a warm hand, cupping her own while the other pale hand placed the money right into the center of her own palm.
"It must have fallen out of your purse back there while you were waiting for the bus. You ought to be careful with that." Said Emma.
Was she serious? Was this woman- who for all she knew- could be an ax murder willing to give up some of her own money just to help her out?
Emma had just had enough. She couldn't stand misery, no more than she could stand a beautiful woman in distress such as Regina.
Regina would never accept anything like this from someone who's name she didn't even have the privilege of knowing first-hand. But given the unfortunate and embarrassing circumstance, and not wanting to waste anymore of these angry-looking people on board's time- all Regina could say was, "Thank you." In the smallest voice possible.
And in that moment, for what felt like an eternity to both Emma and Regina… the green and brown color of their eyes mixed in a sea of something new that happened right inside of them.
Where they were didn't matter.