The strange girl next door

Chapter 9

HEY!!! I'M REALLY SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG BREAK, I'M STILL NOT WRITING AS MUCH, BUT I'M STILL HERE!!

Emma followed Regina into the kitchen. Regina took out a tub from the fridge, and opened it revealing home cooked tomato and basil pasta.
"I had it last night but its still alright, do you like tomatoes? If you don't I've got other stu-"
Emma put a hand on Regina's shoulder and took the pasta out of her hand. She saw a couple of bowls in the draining rack, and took them and dished up for the both of them. Emma looked over at Regina and smiled,"this looks amazing, Gina."
Regina looked at her hand and blushed.
"you're cute when you blush, you know that?"
Regina's skin turned a deep shade of red, as did Emma's.
"Uh, I mean, i-"
Regina looked at the stuttering blonde, and her confidence flowed through her veins. She raised an eyebrow. "Well miss Swan, I would say the same thing to you, cutie". She walked with an extra added sway of the hips past the mesmerising blonde, and placed both bowls in the microwave.
The air was thick with a heart warming tension, neither wanting to ruin the moment, but knew it would still have to end.
As they stared deep into each others eyes, the shrill high pitched tone of the microwave, a distant wind to them both. So indulged in each others presence to notice.
Eventually, the microwave sounded again, and the pair returned to reality.
Neither could wipe the smile plastered across their faces.

Emma's POV.
We took the bowls and sat in the sitting room.
This house is so big. I, don't know if I'm ever going to get used to the size. Ever.
I can feel eyes boring into the side of my head, so I turn slightly and my eyes briefly stare in deep brown pools, but are quickly gone. I smile, she's nervous.
I take my phone out and look in Snapchat. I'm a mess.
I stand up. "I'm gunna head to the bathroom. Be back in a sec" I say with a smile. I walk out of the room and down a hall, and open the door. I walk in and try to find the light, when my hand touches hair.

Regina's POV.

"I'm gunna head to the bathroom. Be back in a sec".
I stare at the space she disappeared from, and laughed. That's not the right way.
I sit, and anticipate her to come back through.
Then I hear a scream.
And then something hit the floor.
I run through the hallways of the house, not knowing where to look.
"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THIS HOUSE?!?"
I run towards the noise.
Finally, I can hear her properly. I look in front of me and chuckle slightly.
"I SAID - WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!?"
I open the door, and fall to the floor in a fit of laughter.
Emma looks at the hair in her hands, and turns red, for the second time that night.
Its a mop.
Emma silently stands up, and walks over to Regina, who is still crying on the floor.
" hey Gina, I kinda still need to toilet. I dont think I got the room right.."
Regina slowly stops laughing, and stands and hugs Emma. She pulls away and walks towards the bathroom, not storage closet.

As Emma goes to the toilet, Regina walks back to the sitting room, still chuckling from the prior events.
As she sits down to finish her food, she glances outside the house. It started lightly drizzling outside, just enough to coat the garden in a light mist, but nothing more.
She sits and stares out into the now dark garden, only lit by the lighting in the house, and the moon.
She hears footsteps and looks up at Emma, who definatley no longer looks like a mess.
If Regina's being honest, she's always thought Emma was cute,
But not anymore.
No, Emma is so completely beautiful.
She was taken aback.
Emma had changed aparantly, and was now in a pair of black leggings and a tank top, with her yellow blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her hair was down, and fell beautifully around her face.
The mascara tracks that were once there were gone, and she looked more beautiful that Regina could ever remember.
"sorry, didn't pack anticipating wanting to look presentable" Emma murmers into her blanket.
"oh don't be silly dear, I'm sat here in a fluffy grey dressing gown, pyjamas and slippers. You don't have much presentable competition" Regina smiles back.
Emma laughs and sits next to Regina, dinner forgotten, shoulders just touching on the couch, looking out at the garden.
After a while, Regina breaks the silence.
"you know, Emma, Ruby and I used to be inseparable. I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I feel like I need to."
Emma went to interrupt, but Regina just continued.
"back at the very beginning of primary school, my parents and I moved here, to Storybrooke. My mother ran for mayor immiditley and was elected for 5 years. My father just stayed at home and looked after my sisters and I.
When I was 10, my mother and father got a divorce, and my mother moved away with one of my sisters, and the other sister moved out of the house.
My father didn't handle that well. He began to drink. He never sexually abused me, but I would remember walking home from school dreading him being in the sitting room drunk again. He never hit me himself, but he would throw things at me, and although he was drunk, he rarely missed.
I learnt how to clean, how to cook, I did everything.
He used to go on regular trips to Vegas and LA to gamble, and would leave me alone.
Then I met Ruby at school. She was an escape for me. She would come round when my father was away, and we became inseparable.
When Ruby hit puberty, guys became more interested in her, and she got more friends, and left me behind.
She was the one that put the letters around. I expect even you remember those."
Emma listened silently, not being able to begin to comprehend the amount of heartbreak there, so she took Regina and pulled her into a hug. She placed one hand on the back of her head, and one around her waist.
She was just there.
There's not really much else you can do.

!!
SO, YEAH!!
I really wanted a little bit where Regina just admires Emma, becuase in a lot of fics Regina's admired, but Emma is bootyful too 🥺

El 💓