Hi guys!
So, I wrote a prompt a couple weeks back, and when I happened upon it again last night, my muse went crazy and my hand slipped...and I started writing it! Oops.
This is a CS Celebrity!AU, and I've never written anything THIS AU before, so I hope I do okay!
The first chapter is just basically setting up background for Emma. The second chapter will focus on setting up background for Killian and we'll go from there. So stick with me, I'm just laying the foundations now!
I have no idea how long this will be yet, but I have a rough plan in my head. Until Hannah inspires me and I end up adding new plot twists in, of course!

Ps, reviews feed my muse. Don't let her go hungry! ;)

Lilac Wine

Chapter One

There were certain aspects of fame that Emma Swan, international popstar, knew she would never be okay with. Despite the fact that she loved making music and some parts of the lifestyle weren't exactly a hardship (never having to worry about money was certainly a perk), she'd considered making a clean break and giving it all up on more than one occasion.

She never knew whom she could and couldn't trust, so there were very few people she'd ever fully opened up to, Because of this, her intuition was very finely tuned and she became very good at reading people. She had two best friends, Ruby and August, whom she swore knew her better than she knew herself. She could be herself around them; no façade, no fake smiles, no pretence.

Another thing Emma found difficult about life in the public eye was the lack of privacy. She didn't cope well with people prying into her personal life or splashing speculations all over magazine covers. She'd grown up in the foster system until she was twelve years old, when Eva and Leopold Blanchard had taken her in, so privacy was something she'd always treasured. It was a luxury in a group home, but it was something all the kids there clung to.

Mary Margaret, her adoptive sister, had become the person she was closest to out of everyone in her life, and Mary Margaret's high school sweetheart, David, had always been like a big brother to her. The two girls had been amicable when Emma first arrived, but it was only really when their mother passed away in their late teen years that their bond had strengthened. Their father had spiralled into depression for a few years following Eva's death and the two had leaned on each other for support. Since then, they'd remained inseparable and had moved together from their small town in Maine to Southern California for college.

At nineteen, just a few weeks shy of her twentieth birthday and the third anniversary of Eva's passing, Emma had decided on a whim to take part in a college talent show that the Music and Performance majors were putting together. Mary Margaret – who was majoring in Education – had encouraged her, though neither had known that a talent scout was sitting in on auditions and that her last minute decision to take part would lead her to being signed, just weeks later, to a big name record label in Los Angeles.

From there, her rise to stardom was a whirlwind and, at first, Emma struggled to adjust to people recognizing her in the street or accosting her at Whole Foods. She found herself hiding away in the recording studio more and more, just to avoid the inevitable recognition by well-meaning fans on the street. It wasn't that she disliked people being starstruck and gushing over how much they loved her music, quite the opposite in fact. It was simply a case of feeling awkward and uncomfortable in a situation she hadn't yet been schooled on how to handle.

For most of her childhood in the system she'd been used to being ignored, and now everyone knew her name. She'd been a little ugly duckling that nobody wanted, and now she'd blossomed into a beautiful swan and people were falling over themselves to be near her. It was more than a little unnerving.

So locking herself away in the studio and immersing herself in songwriting became her safe place. It also meant she spent a lot of time with her manager, Neal, and they became very close, very quickly. He wasn't phased by the screaming fans or how much money she made, because he'd grown up in the industry, with his father owning the record label Emma was signed to.

She felt safe with Neal. Even if it was something as seemingly minor as him fending off the paparazzi cameras shoved in her face, or sheltering her from people who didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with manhandling her, Neal became someone she relied on to guide her through her newfound fame and all the tricky situations that came along with it.

Mary Margaret and David had repeatedly warned her to be careful when it came to Neal. He was her manager, and if things went south, it could become very difficult for her to separate her private life and her work life. Not that there was very much separating the two anyway. Emma had waved away their concerns and changed the subject, but she'd known the topic would be raised again before long.

Ruby and August visited regularly, and even Ruby, who was usually quick to see the good in everyone, had her reservations about Neal. August had always been overly protective of Emma, since they'd grown up in the same group home, so he'd had reservations about every guy she'd ever dated.

"I don't know, Ems. I just don't trust him. He's been great showing you the ropes of being a hot shot popstar and all, sure…but I just think it's a bit of a risk getting involved with him."

Ruby had warned her as they'd sat eating Chinese food curled up in front of the TV in Emma's living room one evening. She'd turned and assured the brunette that they were not, in fact, involved. They were just good friends.

"Well, you know who really obviously wants to be more than just good friends with you? And who also seems like a really great guy who wouldn't have the option of ruining your career if things went bad? Graham."

Emma's eyebrows had shot up at Ruby's suggestion and she'd almost choked on her noodles. Graham was her guitarist. He was sweet and quiet and extremely talented…and his accent was almost as cute as he was. Emma shook her head. She told Ruby, in no uncertain terms, that she didn't want to get involved period.

She was quite alright on her own. It was much easier that way, especially considering how much media attention had surrounded her the one time she'd just grabbed lunch in Downtown LA with August. The following day, she'd been in all the magazines, with lots of speculation over her "mystery man".

She'd laughed about it with Ruby, August and Mary Margaret over breakfast, but Neal had stormed into the studio later that morning and yelled at her for being 'careless' and 'provoking unwanted media attention'. He'd made her cry and left to cool down, returning an hour later with apologies for overreacting and her favorite slushee.

Things had remained tense between them for a couple days, but it was all quickly forgotten when Emma's first hit went platinum and he turned up at her place with a bottle of champagne and a huge smile.

When he'd tentatively leaned in and kissed her on her sofa that night, her head fuzzy with the alcohol and high on the adrenaline of her achievement, she'd ignored all the alarm bells and warnings from her friends sounding at the back of her mind and kissed him back.

They'd slept together and in the morning she'd found him in her kitchen, pancakes, fruit salad and a steaming cup of coffee ready for her. He'd kissed her neck as she ate breakfast and then they'd showered together, both avoiding the question of where exactly things would go with them from there.

She kept their night together a secret from her sister and her friends, knowing exactly what they'd say and unwilling to sit through a lecture or see the concern and disapproval on their faces.

She told herself that they didn't know Neal the way she did. They hadn't spent much time with him, so of course they were wary. He didn't have the best track record with women, but she tried not to be bothered by the fact that he'd dated almost every one of his artists over the years.

At first, they kept their relationship between the two of them, both agreeing to tell no one. That was working fine until Ruby – who Emma had totally forgotten had a key to her place – had turned up for a surprise visit and caught them in the pool together…minus their swimwear.

After that, they had no choice but the come clean to her friends and her sister about the fact that they'd been sleeping together for the best part of two months. Ruby tried to be positive about it, but Mary Margaret had been more than a little angry, mostly with Neal.

"You're taking advantage, Neal!" she'd accused, "She's barely twenty one and you're ten years older than her. She's naïve, and she trusted you to look out for her. I trusted you to look out for her. You're taking advantage of that trust and this is all gonna end in tears."

Mary Margaret and Emma hadn't spoken for weeks following the altercation with Neal, and with Ruby and August returning to the East coast, she'd felt particularly isolated. Neal had assured her that it would all blow over, and after a while, it did. Things got better and Mary Margaret grudgingly agreed to be civil with Neal, though she made it very clear to her sister that she didn't like him.

It took a little longer than any of them had expected for the media to get wind of the relationship between Emma and Neal, but when the story broke, they'd had plenty time to brace themselves for the sheer amount of attention it generated. Emma found herself shrinking even further away from the spotlight, passing on most of the premieres and award shows she was invited to.

That was, until Mr. Gold, Neal's father and the owner of the record label Emma was signed to, paid her a visit one afternoon at the recording studio. He was polite and professional, but he told her, in no uncertain terms, that she would attend award shows and she would get used to being in the spotlight. It wasn't good for the image of his label if its stars were so 'antisocial'.

She'd reluctantly agreed, and had turned up to the next red carpet event with pre-prepared fake smiles and Neal on her arm. She'd spent most of the evening with her nails digging into Neal's arm through his tux, trying her best not to flinch when a thousand camera flashes blinded her at once.

She'd been more than relieved when the evening was over, and had retreated to the comforting, quiet safety of her house. Neal had accompanied her home, of course, but had made excuses as to why he wouldn't be staying the night.

The first time she thought nothing of it, but over the following couple of months he began disappearing more regularly. At first he'd had a variety of excuses. He was up early for a meeting. Or he was scouting new talent and had lots of paperwork to get on top of. Or simply, he was tired and wanted to get home. Over the months, she began to expect the excuses, until he finally gave up the effort and simply kissed her goodnight.

Part of her was angry and frustrated at the way he blew hot and cold with her, but there was a small part that was too fearful of losing him to challenge his behavior. They'd ended up in blazing arguments the few times she'd brought it up, and it took a while for her to agree with her sister when Mary Margaret told her she deserved better.

On their second anniversary, when Neal stood her up at the restaurant he'd booked for them a week previously, Emma had reached her breaking point. She'd made enough excuses for him over their two years together. Leaving the restaurant and narrowly avoiding a gaggle of photographers hanging around on the corner waiting for her, she'd ducked into her car and headed for home, determined that she was done with it all.

She didn't know where he was, or whom he was with, and she didn't want to know. All the magazines would answer those questions anyway, because they seemed to know more about her love life than she did.

The only thing she had on her mind as she headed for home was booking the first flight out of LA and going off the grid for a little while. She'd find a place no one had heard of, somewhere quaint and out of the way, and she'd disappear until her name was just a vague memory and her face was no longer plastered all over every magazine in the city.