Somewhere Down The Road

Chapter Ten

Storybrooke: 17 years old

"I'm so excited," Kathryn squeals, stuffing her backpack with a pillow and an extra blanket. "I'm sharing a tent with Neal."

"Go ahead," she says indifferently, tugging Emma's hoodie over her head, on top of her long sleeves, because she's already freezing and she knows camping tonight is going to be a living hell for her.

"Are you and Emma going to share one alone?" Her best friend teases, rubbing her shoulder obnoxiously against hers with that evil twinkle in her eye.

Regina rolls her eyes. "Not likely. I'm sure Emma will plan to have someone share a tent with us, just so nothing happens that could ruin our friendship," she bitterly snarks, her words dripping in disdain because here she is, another year, another summer and Emma refuses to do anything but make-out.

"I don't know how Emma is holding back because if I were gay, I would be all over you. You're so gorgeous, like stupidly beautiful that it's really unfair and I don't know how Emma keeps her cool around you."

Regina tosses her hands up in frustration. "Hell if I know but I'm over being the only virgin left in our school."

"Oh come on, you don't know that for sure. I guarantee half our school are still virgins."

"Whatever," Regina scoffs, scooping up her sleeping bag, pillow, and blanket.

Kathryn rushes to catch up to her but before they leave Regina's room in her summer home, Kathryn stops her. "So, like...what would you consider losing your virginity to Emma?" Regina blinks, long and hard as she tries to wrap her head around the question. "It's just...like I considered losing my virginity to Jim when we had sex, penis inside and all." Regina's nose scrunches from the tasteless explanation. "But I still considered myself a virgin when we fooled around, like when he went down on me or I went down on him."

"Why are you like this?" Regina deadpans.

"What? It's a question! Does girl on girl action count as losing their virginity with fingering? Eating out? Do vaginas have to touch? What is it?"

Regina's head jerks back from how crass Kathryn's explanations are or maybe it's because she's always been so open and free to discuss whatever while Regina has been plagued with anxiety all her life.

"I-I don't know..."

"You don't know? Have you ever googled-"

"No!" Regina harshly interjects. "I've never googled anything."

"What, really? Aren't you curious? I google shit all the time. Once, I googled how to give a good blowjob because I wanted to make sure I was doing it properly."

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. What's wrong with you?" Kathryn easily fires back, a teasing smirk upon her face.

Regina laughs against her better judgment and shoves her best friend out the door because she knows Kathryn will zip her lips knowing parental ears could be lurking around any corner. They climb down the stairs, out the front door where Cora and Henry are sitting and relaxing.