The School Play

Chapter 24

"So, you two are friends?" Ruby asked. Emma and she were leaving the classroom, and Emma knew Regina wasn't far behind them. Apparently, Ruby had seen them exchange a brief smile, and she wouldn't shut up about it.

"Yes," Emma replied.

"But you said you weren't, at my party," Ruby said, slightly confused.

"We weren't friends when you had your party."

"My party was last Friday. Today's Monday. What did you do this weekend?"

"Become friends with Regina," Emma explained. It wasn't all that hard. Ruby chuckled softly, and shook her head slightly. Emma waited for Regina to pass them, before she continued. "I know she's done horrible things to you and I haven't forgotten that. If you want me to stop being friends with her, I will. And I just want you to know that you're my best friend in this entire town.. or at all, really, so I wouldn't do anything to hurt you."

Ruby smiled. "I'm okay with Regina. I mean, I don't like or admire her anymore - Dorothy brought some sense into me, but I'm not stopping you from becoming friends with her."

"Thanks," Emma responded. "Dorothy's party is tonight, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes. Speaking of, she told me her dad had met up with Regina. Do you know anything about that?"

Emma nodded enthusiastically and started talking about the night. Well, the parts that she'd remembered and had witnessed, because most of the time she'd been asleep.

She talked, until they'd arrived at their usual table. "We should really hang out just the two of us, sometime," Emma whispered, before she started socializing with the others, and Ruby nodded agreed.

Emma loved her group of friends, though. They rest felt as though she'd known them her entire life, and though the rest of the school didn't want to be associated with them, she couldn't care less.

She could see Regina sitting across the room, with her own friends. Ivy saw her looking and waved briefly, so she waved back. She genuinely liked Ivy, and she wanted to hang out with the girl sometime as well, but not quite as much as she wanted to hang out with Regina again.

~~~~

Emma felt awkward, but she didn't really know why. She'd fallen asleep on Regina's lap, days before, but just walking beside her felt strange. They hadn't been so casual together, and it was very refreshing.

They'd just had another rehearsal of the play, and though things had gone much better than the week before, Ms. Fox and Mrs. French still weren't satisfied. They wanted everyone, but specifically Emma and Regina, to practice more, and because the girls both had an afternoon free, they decided they'd just do it immediately after the school rehearsal.

"How did things go with your dad? He left yesterday, right?" Emma asked, she hoped this would start a conversation, because the silence had become unbearable.

She saw Regina lit up. "I met my half sister, yesterday. It was so great," she said and looked at Emma. "And I got to meet Emily, who seemed so loving and caring." She sighed. "I got to see a part of a life I've always wanted, which was really strange, but.. nice, too."

Emma couldn't help but feel bad for Regina. She wondered why Regina couldn't have just gone with her dad, away from Storybrooke, away from her mother, but she knew that if Cora found out, it would be the end of the world.

"Regina, it's just one more year and then you're free. Then, you don't have to see your mother ever again," Emma said, but once she'd spoken the words she knew how truly horrible they were, so she quickly apologized. Regina just laughed it off.