When she moves in to the dorm, it's thankfully a little bigger than what she expected. There are a few things on the far side of the room, closer to the window, with a view of the greenery and mostly clean pathways that lead to the quad, so Emma drops her duffle bags on the bed closer to the door with a sigh. She doesn't have much else, but she has a couple boxes waiting in her car and she really doesn't like the thought of having go back for them.

It was a long four hour drive from Boston to Maine. She's been on the road for a few hours in slow traffic, hasn't had much to eat because she needed to spend her money on gas to get her there, and she honestly thinks a nap laid out on the mattress would be perfect right about now. Also, she can't get over the fact that she was supposed to be moving on to much warmer weather than what Maine had to offer.

Tallahassee was the plan. Her boyfriend's father lived around the area with his new wife and Neal made arrangements to work at a locksmith while Emma tried to pursue whatever path she so desired. They were going to pack up their shitty lives and make a better one in the Sunshine State together.

But then Neal got into an argument with his father on the phone, called him a coward because apparently he didn't want to risk upsetting his boss—who also happens to be his ex-wife—by taking a day off of work to help them set up in the new place, and when Emma woke up the next morning she was alone in bed at his apartment without even a note to explain where or why he'd left. She'd sent texts and later called multiple times. It took Neal a week to get back to her and apologize for just taking off, but he couldn't sit still any longer and he wasn't going to Florida so he just got in the car and drove. Drove to New York.

Thankfully, Emma had a couple of months to come up with a new plan. Her grades were good enough and she applied for every kind of scholarship and financial aid program available short of any involving physical or mental disabilities because she didn't have any. Plenty of the responses to her applications said that she didn't qualify for that kind of assistance, but plenty of them were also approved.

So she graduated high school with honors and a near full ride to a university in Maine that was a good school but not quite a dream school. It was enough of a dream for Emma though, so she happily left the group home after graduation and drove off in the only stable thing in her life: her beat up but reliable Volkswagen Beetle she inherited from her almost adoptive mother Ingrid who unfortunately became too ill to care for her in any capacity. That's how she'd ended up back at the group home.

It's fair to say she's had a tough year, but she's ready to put it past her for the opportunity to earn a degree and do better for herself than anyone—including herself—thought she could achieve. The weight of recent months, however, adds to the exhaustion from her trip to the university and she can't decide what she needs most first: food, sleep, or a shower. Her body makes the decision for her when she spins and falls backward onto the uncovered mattress. Her eyes are on the ceiling for only a second before she closes her eyes and starts to drift off to the sounds of move-in day that filter in through the partially open room door.

Although it seems like sleep isn't going to happen when there's a crescendo of voices and then laughter and people close enough to be inside the room. When Emma opens her eyes and turns her head she sees her assumption about people in the room is accurate. The laughter also immediately stops when her eyes land on the girls who have just entered.

One of the girls is a brunette and the other is blonde. The brunette has a little color to her skin the blonde has fair skin like herself. The blonde's hair is loosely curled while the brunette's is naturally wavy, but their expressions match and are less than ecstatic as they focus on Emma. Emma knows right then that nothing good will come of this meeting.

"Hey," Emma greets them with a hint of a smile and sits up. "I'm Emma. I'm guessing by the way you guys came in that one of you is my roommate."

"You're the roommate," the blonde asks with a disgusted look on her face.

Emma furrows her brow and cocks her head to the side then gives an amused little laugh.

"I thought that much was obvious by the bags, the fact that I'm on the bed, and that I just indirectly asked which of you is my roommate," Emma replies. "You got a problem with me living here?"

The blonde scoffs and looks to the brunette.

"I thought they screened new students before admitting them. She looks like she has…fleas or something," the blonde tells the brunette.

"Excuse me," Emma angrily asks and immediately stands up.

With a quick glance, Emma recognizes the designer label clothes the other two wear and sure, Emma's wearing accidentally ripped jeans with a few paint stains on them and her shirt is a faded blue with a tear in the bottom left side above the hip. She sees how she could be so easily and nastily judged by these two girls, but that doesn't mean she has to take it.

"You heard me," the blonde challenges, and Emma abruptly steps closer to her like someone ready for an altercation.

"Tell me something," Emma starts in. "If you're so much better than me, how come you're at the same school as me? How come you're not somewhere like Yale or Princeton? Or how come you don't own your own business already? Because you having money means absolutely nothing if you don't have anything except attitude and overpriced clothes to back it up."

The blonde huffs and turns to the brunette again.

"Regina, are you going to let her stay here? She's rude and filthy. I'm sure the R.A. can do something about her."

"It's the first day, Mal," Regina, as Emma's learned her name to be, says to the blonde. "I just want to get settled and move on. There's a lot to do before classes start."

Mal sighs and concedes, "Fine. I'll be downstairs grabbing a snack. Meet me after you at least make your bed and I'll come help you decorate the rest of your space. That is, if she's gone by then."

Mal glares at Emma before she gives Regina a peck on the cheek and leaves.

Regina closes the door once Mal is in the hall and Emma doesn't let silence take over the room. This is apparently her roommate after all. They should probably talk if they expect their cohabitation to work.

"So, your friend is a blast," Emma dryly comments.

Regina crosses the room and starts to unpack her things.

"She's…abrasive, but you didn't have to rile her up like that," Regina responds while she places her bed sheets, still nicely sealed up in the plastic bag it was bought in, on her mattress.

"Wait, you think I'm in the wrong after that?"

Regina unzips the bag and starts laying out the pillow cases and shams and fitted sheet.

"Well, you could have just dropped it."

"Seriously? She said I have fleas!"

Regina looks Emma over from head to toe and asks, "Do you?"

Emma rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"Unbelievable," Emma mutters and grabs her keys off the nightstand. "I'll back in a few minutes so don't call your friend to tell her the rodent problem is handled."

She heads down to her beloved Bug and lifts one box on top of the other, the only things she has left to take up to her room, before she slides them out of the trunk. It's a struggle to climb the stairs to the third floor with the stacked boxes weighing down her arms and blocking her vision. She's successful no matter how long it takes, but her return to the room is more of a struggle than the trip to her car and back.

Regina's dressed her bed in its proper sheets and when Emma walks in she's just straightening out the covers and fluffing her pillows.

Emma puffs out a heavy breath as she dumps her boxes at her feet. She rolls a hair tie off her wrist and pulls her hair back in ponytail.

They don't talk for a time while Regina organizes her desk space and Emma curls up on her uncovered mattress. She keeps her back to Regina and faces the door like that'll help her make a quick escape if needed. Just before she can drift off, Regina decides it's the best time to start up another conversation with her.

"Why do you insist on sleeping on that gross mattress? Do you not have any sheets?"

Emma takes in a deep breath and releases it in a frustrated sigh.

"Because if you don't have any sheets I'd be willing to buy them for you. I won't have you sleep like that and I won't let my friends see this room with only one side of it made up. You not having bed sheets is just uncivilized."

"Oh my god," Emma groans and rolls onto her back. "I have sheets. I'm just tired. I drove almost five hours in traffic to get here after a crappy night and haven't had much to eat so I haven't quite gotten around to putting them on yet. Where do you even get off trying to buy me bed sheets? Guess you're just as much of a bitch as your friend. That relationship must have been a match made in Hell."

"That was uncalled for," Regna stops what she's doing and stares at Emma, unhappy and with her arms cross at her chest.

"Was it really? You just offered to pay for my bed sheets because you just jumped to the conclusion that because I haven't put them on yet that I can't afford any."

"And?"

"And?! You don't see what's wrong with that," Emma states the question, doesn't actually ask it because she knows the answer.

Emma grabs her keys again then shoots daggers at the brunette.

"Enjoy the room for tonight," Emma says and then flees the room, absolutely pissed.

She sleeps in her car, something she's done before when it was needed to avoid the more perverted boys stuck in the group home with her, and while she only clears out of the dorm room for the first night, she and Regina don't talk at all for the next month. The month after that isn't much better, but the glares are minimal and less intense and they acknowledge each other every so often. Plus, their petty, non-confrontational fights of messing with the A/C or playing movies too loudly while the other tries to sleep or study ended a few weeks prior. Not to mention that if being in the same space as Regina Mills was too much for her, Emma had a few friends to stay with now.

Most nights she stays with Mulan and Ruby, her two best friends—which is new territory for her, but when she doesn't want to impose on them after three consecutive nights, or even three nights in two weeks, she stays with Mary Margaret and Aurora. She's thankful for and equally likes all of her friends, but she connects more with Mulan and Ruby. Mulan's a fighter, knows marital arts, and Ruby likes a little adventure, enough to entertain herself and keep things exciting but not enough to be completely reckless or get into trouble.

Mary Margaret plays it safe and Aurora's waiting for her prince like life is a fairy tale and his kiss, True Love's Kiss, will wake her up from whatever nightmare she's living that week—apparently, she has a lot of bad days but thinks the good days will be great days once she finds someone who appreciates her. They're the people who make Emma feel like she should still be doing more if she truly wants to be better, but they never say anything of the sort to or about her. Emma just spends time with them and feels like she could be more like them if she tried, but without compromising herself to believe in fairy tales in any way or being too cautious for comfort.

Last night she was fortunate enough to not get into a fight with Regina and was able to use her bed for the first time in six days. Her back thanks her profusely for not having to lay on the hardwood with limited padding from the sleeping bag she bought herself five weeks ago when she realized how often she might be relegated to her friends' dorm room floors. So the next morning she leaves her own dorm in a good mood and heads to class—which isn't all that thrilling—but the conversation she soon becomes a part of after the class is dismissed is the highlight of her happy day.

Marian, a third year who lives in an apartment off campus, is having a small party—invite only—and asks Emma to come. Emma met Marian on an odd day when Robin Locksley almost broke her heart when she realized he might not love her as much as she loves him. They had a complicated history together and for a time, Robin was off in another city doing something or other and the long distance wasn't what either of them wanted so they split. He moved back to Maine and suddenly they were attending the same university. There was a time they decided to remain friends even though they were in the same zip code once again, but Robin vowed to stay with Marian now that they had a second chance at their relationship.

Well, Emma caught Marian crying in the bathroom with an aching heart the woman claimed was going to be the death of her soon. Robin was supposedly being distant and she feared he had his eyes on another girl so Emma did the only thing she knew how to do in that situation. She yelled at Marian to get over it because Robin making a vow to make the most of their second chance or not, her life shouldn't revolve around his every move. She and Marian instantly became friends after that because Marian agreed with Emma and soon afterward dumped Robin. Marian's never felt better.

It was the second week of class and Emma was giving a complete stranger some pretty tough love, but Marian responded to it very well. The next thing Emma knew, she was getting notes from Marian for classes the older girl had already taken and Emma was currently drowning in. They went out for dinner a few times, but mostly when they had the chance to hang out they stayed in at Marian's place with movies and low budget meals.

Now, two months into Emma's first semester, the dark haired woman wants a sort of apartment warming party celebrated with good drinks, good food, good fun, and good friends.

"You can bring a friend if you want," Marian extends Emma's invitation to a plus one. "I know you mention a couple of them, but I don't have a whole lot of space."

Emma nods because she knows. She's been there before and she completely understands that it's Marian's party and Marian's place so she'll go solo if she has to, but she's allowed one friend to keep her company. She's okay with that opportunity. She only has one friend that would actually go to a party anyway so that's the only person she needs to join her.

"I just want my personal savior to have someone there in case we get separated from each other," Marian smiles and explains.

Emma chuckles and nods again.

"Thanks," she says. "I'll ask Ruby and she'll probably get us there early because she'll be so excited."

Marian laughs.

"I can't wait to meet her."

They part ways after Emma scribbles down the information about the time, date, and what Marian wants her to bring and heads back to the dorm. Regina's at her desk typing away on her laptop—something Emma still hasn't invested in with some of her stipend provided by financial aid, but she's working on it—and she manages a "hey" before she plops down on her bed.

"Hey," Regina responds, but keeps her eyes glued to the computer screen.

The rest of the night offers no further conversation and the only sounds that fill the dorm are chewing, typing, and music from Emma's generic brand MP3 player while both of them keep to themselves.

Nothing notable happens the day of the party except Ruby's eagerness nearly leading to a sprained ankle due to a few dance moves done mid-walk across campus without looking where she was going. Emma doesn't even see Regina that day for more than a few seconds when she comes back to the dorm to grab her clothes and head over to Ruby's room to get ready.

Then everything changes at that party.

The music is loud and the guests are already having a good time. There are plastic cups scattered along tables, banisters, and in lots of people's hands. Depending on where Emma walks, she can strongly smell Sharpie in the air and sees the handfuls of permanent markers left out for the party-goers on the tables where they can serve themselves alcohol of their choosing.

Ruby's at her side and they look around at the college students, mostly older than them, in the open layout of the living room that leads into a quaint kitchen. In that kitchen, there's a counter in plain view that's lined with bottles of hard liquor, plenty of variety.

"Damn," Ruby says with a grin and nods as she looks at the drinks. "It's gonna be a good night."

Emma laughs, a sound mostly muffled by the music, and Ruby bounces over to the booze. Emma stays close behind her friend and keeps an eye out for Marian, but in the process she spots a familiar face enter the room.

"Hey, looks like there's a pretty girl who likes to read that's standing all by herself across the room," Emma says to the lanky brunette when she stops beside Ruby.

Ruby turns and it takes a moment, but the other woman's eyes land right on who Emma pointed out to her. Immediately, Ruby starts to blush and next thing she and Emma know is that she's over-poured her drink and now her hand is covered in a mixture of whiskey and soda.

"Shit," Ruby hisses and sets down her cup while Emma chuckles.

"Should I talk to her first? Get her to come over here," Emma asks.

"Are you kidding? What's more embarrassing? Me going over there like stuttering, clumsy fool to ask her to hang out with us or you bringing her to me like I'm completely incompetent?"

Emma just laughs more and shakes her head.

"Well, act fast because I'm sure she'll either wander off or someone else will drag her away from the door and help her look more comfortable. She looks a little lost so I'm sure you're the only person she knows here."

"All the more reason I should go to her," Ruby says as she finishes scrubbing her hand with a dry paper towel then balls it up and throws it on the table next to her cup.

Emma watches Ruby stride over to the light auburn haired woman with bright blue eyes dressed in a blue top and a black skirt complete with black tights and two inch black heels. Belle French. She spends most of her time in the library, even works behind the desk a lot of the time, and usually has her nose buried in a book or two. Emma's only seen her read a few select books for leisure like a romance or mystery book, but everything else is the history on one thing or another. One time Emma even asked for Belle's help on the material for one of her classes instead of going to Marian first. Belle's never steered her wrong when correcting her ideas on a few topics Emma just didn't understand about ancient civilizations and the like and Belle didn't even have to leave the counter to find a textbook to explain it all to her.

Belle's a second year and Emma's known her almost as long as she's been enrolled at the university, which isn't a long time but it's more than a couple of weeks. Ruby's known her for the half the amount of time Emma has because Ruby hardly wanders into the library, swears by Google searches and other, more respected, Internet databases because sometimes the books—though very rarely—and the information she needs that she could get from the library are actually online. But Emma's forced her to come to the library with her a lot more recently and Ruby's never regretted it except for the way she's speechless in front of Belle. According to the wolf lover, her mind goes blank and she can't think of a single thing to say around Belle and that's apparently new territory for her.

"Two boyfriends in the last three years, Emma," Ruby explained why it was a new experience when they first talked about it. "And I didn't really date freshman year of high school or even sooner. I flirted, but that was it. So two boyfriends ever. I've never once flirted or considered dating a girl."

As Ruby guides Belle over to the table where Emma waits for them, guarding Ruby's mess of a drink, she's happy to know that Ruby got over her insecurities about never having felt this way about someone of the same sex.

"Hi, Emma," Belle smiles as she and Ruby stop in front of the blonde.

"Hey," Emma greets with a matching smile. "I didn't know you knew Marian."

"Well, I work at the library so I know a lot of people at the school," Belle nods as she talks, like a nervous habit but it still manages to help her move the conversation along.

"That's true," Emma agrees. "But I definitely didn't peg you as a party kind of girl?"

"I'm usually not, but it's Marian. She's nice and I wanted to see her place. And it's hard to say no to her."

Emma laughs and nods as she concedes, "Oh yeah."

Ruby asks if Belle wants a drink and the bookworm shies away from alcohol so Ruby scrawls Belle's name on a plastic cup then pours her a soda without the liquid courage. They start talking and Ruby somehow manages to steer the conversation away from books and studying, though both are content to talk about classes and curriculum. However, Belle's the one that changes the subject to something unrelated to school.

Belle asks Ruby about the red streak she wears in her hair and the clear wolf key chain Ruby has on her car keys, which are lumped together with her dorm key and the key to her Granny's house because that's where she lives when she's not away at school and that's where she'll go during their breaks unless she and Emma make plans. Ruby tells Belle about how her favorite fairy tale is Little Red Riding Hood, but as much as she liked Red she sort of felt a connection to the wolf.

"Not because I want to eat girls," Ruby says. "Oh. No! I don't want to, like, eat girls like eat them out. Oh god."

Ruby smacks her hand against her face and shakes her head.

Emma's grinning because as much as she loves Ruby, watching her friend in this tragically beautiful train wreck is so far the best thing about tonight.

Belle chuckles and pulls Ruby's hand away from her face.

"It's okay. I know what you're trying to say. You don't necessarily feel a connection to the wolf in the fairy tale, but to wolves in general."

"Yes. Thank you," Ruby blushes. "That's what I meant, but I guess I have an undiagnosed case of foot-in-mouth syndrome."

As much fun as it is for Emma to see how many more times Ruby could slip up when talking to her crush, the blonde feels out of place so she excuses herself from the group. Ruby and Belle continue to talk and Emma's off trying to find Marian again because she has no one else to talk to here. While she scans the room from Marian, her eyes yet again find familiar faces. Neither of them are Marian.

Her roommate struts into the apartment like she owns it. She's dressed to the nines in a black corset-like top that hugs her chest and fans out a little bit over her torso that she pairs with dark skinny jeans. Her heels are at least three inches high and the shoes fasten around her ankles. Her eye shadow is a smoky dark purple while her lashes are thick and her black eyeliner is dark. Her hair is teased and pulled back into a fashionable ponytail. She looks tough and beautiful and suddenly Emma's wondering if she can no longer hate Regina because now she's a little attracted to her.

Standing next to her, however, is her bitchy blonde friend. She decides she doesn't hate Regina, but she still doesn't like her because of the company she keeps. She's also still attracted to Regina, but that's okay. She can always imagine angry sex with Regina as a nice compromise to her somewhat conflicting feelings.

She doesn't imagine angry sex though, because before even a flash of her pushing Regina against a wall can enter her mind she sees Marian. Marian's smiling as she and Regina hug. Well, I don't know what I expected, Emma thinks. If Regina's at this party she's clearly been invited by the host, which means Regina knows Marian. She guesses it's better than Marian being friends with Mal, that malicious crow.

Marian politely nods and smiles a tight-lipped smile at Mal, which to Emma screams that Marian isn't fond of the woman either, and that makes Emma smirk.

Just then, her view is obstructed by a guy wearing a more devious grin on his face and guy liner. Emma's smirk immediately disappears. Once his face comes into focus, she's pissed and tries to walk away before he can start a conversation with her. Unfortunately, the scumbag reaches out and grabs her before she can get more than a step away from him.

"Where are you going, Love," he asks with an accent that Emma's unfortunately associated solely with the smarmy jerk she refers to as her stalker.

"Not talking to you, Killian," Emma answers. "That's for sure."

"You never talk to me," Killian responds and turns her around so they're facing each other. "Why not try something new for a change?"

"Uh, I did. I dropped our only class together just to get the hell away from you. Is that not enough change?"

Killian cocks his head to the side with a glint in his eyes that Emma never wants to see from him ever.

"Who the hell invited you anyway?"

"David Nolan. He seems to know that Marian lass because she invited him and he didn't want to come alone."

"What is with the people around here making questionable friendships," Emma mostly asks herself.

Killian chuckles.

"Opposites attract," he answers her question even though it was rhetorical. "Like you and me."

He closes his eyes and leans in and Emma tries to yank herself out of his grip, but he just holds on tighter.

"That's good. I like them feisty," he lustfully growls and continues to lean toward her for what Emma can only imagine will be a sickening kiss.

"Let go of me," Emma yells, though it's not all that loud considering the volume of the music.

In the blink of an eye, Emma's splashed with a cold drink, but most of it lands on Killian.

Killian's eyes pop open and he lets go of Emma's arm before he turns to see who's responsible for his unexpected bath. Killian isn't surprised when he sees the woman with an empty cup in her hand glaring at him, but Emma certainly is.

Apparently her words hadn't been louder than the music, but they'd been loud enough to get someone's attention.

Regina's eyes are narrowed in a sharp and loathing glare directed at Killian as she stands with a hand on a cocked hip, her cup level with her chest in her other hand.

"I believe she said to let her go," Regina tells him.

"And I believe this is none of your business," Killian replies.

They have the attention of everyone in the living room as the music plays on and they have a standoff like this is a reenactment of shootouts in an old Western and Regina Mills is hands down, no contest, John Wayne in this scenario.

"I don't know who brought you," Marian speaks up as she walks over to them, "but you're going to leave. Your friend, whoever that unfortunate soul is, can stay, but you've got to go."

Killian laughs. It's a typical asshole laugh that says he doesn't want to leave until he gets what he wants because he thinks he's entitled.

"If I leave, I'm taking Swan with me."

"You're really not," Emma argues.

"Oh come on, Love. You know you want me. You're just fighting it because you think your friends wouldn't understand even though our connection is undeniable."

"Let me be perfectly clear with you. Again," Emma says. "I feel nothing but disgust when I look at you. I would never sink so low and sleep with you. Any girl that does is either drunk, insane, or has very low standards. Maybe she's also using you like you use all women because she's got a few things she needs to work out and you're just there. An easy and convenient lay.

"But that girl will never be me. I will never come to you. I will never touch you, even in a friendly gesture. You will never have me and you need to leave me the hell alone because you're one strike away from me getting a restraining order against you. Is that understood?"

Killian scoffs.

"After a certain point, playing hard to get isn't all that attractive," Killian tells her and moves in again like this time will get him what he wants.

Instead, Emma knees him in the groin and when he keels over in pain she grabs his shoulders and shoves him aside and down to the floor.

"Strike three, douchebag," Emma says and walks right past him and toward Marian and Regina.

Regina's grinning out of twisted enjoyment and Emma likes that look. It's evil, but it's sexy as hell and Emma thinks the brunette deserves a proper thank you.

"Can I get you a refill," Emma asks as she holds out her hand for Regina's cup.

Regina opens her mouth and her chest rises as her eyes flick over Emma from her green eyes to her shirt—just her shirt—and then back up to her eyes again.

"Please," Regina almost purrs, her voice smooth and low, while she offers up her cup.

Emma takes the cup and heads over to the drinks.

The party starts up again as David peels Killian off the floor and apologizes to Marian for the guy's behavior as he escorts his aggressive friend out of there.

When Emma returns to Regina with her new drink, she notices Marian's knowingly grinning at her and Mal is displeased. The curly haired blonde glares at Emma like she has no place in even serving Regina a drink, but Emma doesn't care.

Regina gently places a hand on Emma's bicep, almost on her shoulder, and guides Emma away from the remaining prying eyes still fixated on the aftermath of the altercation. They go off into the hallway and stand near the door that leads to the patio, and other than the short line to the bathroom several feet away there's no one else around them.

"I didn't get you too wet, did I?" It's the first thing Regina says to Emma when they're alone and Emma tries her hardest not to feel the flush of arousal low in her stomach and between her legs. "With the drink?"

"Uh, yeah. Right, the drink," Emma sputters out. "Um, no. I'm fine. It's not too bad."

"Good," Regina gives a short nod. "I know what it's like to be…pursued when you don't want to be."

"Really?"

"There was this guy who graduated from here last year. I was on a campus tour, getting a look at what my potential university could be, and he kept pestering me throughout the day. My mother encouraged me to befriend him because it would be better to be in his good graces if I came here.

"He invited me to a frat party and my mother pushed me to accept because he's from a very wealthy family and expects me to marry well. I accepted the invitation and at the party, he mostly ignored me. Then he came to me when he was drunk and tried to take me up to his room. He was almost successful because he's physically a lot stronger than I am, but David Nolan was pledging so he was there and saw what Leo White, infamous among the Greek system here, was doing. He stepped in, got a black eye for fighting Leo off, and took me back to the hotel my mother and I were staying at."

"God, that sounds horrible."

"It was. I told my mother when I came back to our room and she was furious about it."

"How sick is your mom, because seriously? That's messed up."

Regina chuckles and says, "Indeed."

"But…David Nolan. He's the guy that brought Killian here."

"He always seems to find trouble, but he's a good guy. He actually used to look up to Leo until that night. I doubt he'll be friends with Killian much longer."

"Well, the nightmare's over," Emma says. "Guess we can all breathe easier now and enjoy the rest of the party."

"I thought that's what we were doing," Regina replies and she doesn't look or sound confused by Emma's statement at all. The brunette looks and sounds like she knows exactly what she's doing and when Emma locks eyes with Regina for a long, long moment she muses that Regina does know exactly what she's doing.

"Won't your friend be mad that you ditched her, especially to spend time with me," Emma asks and looks over toward the doorway where Mal is watching them intently with evident disdain for Emma.

When Emma turns her head to look at Regina again, she sees Regina already taking a swift step closer to her.

"Forget about her."

"Um, okay, but…you and I have barely said more than three words to each other in the two months we've been living together."

"Exactly. Tell me about Emma Swan. I want to know who I'm living with."

Emma breathes out a little laugh.

"We probably should have figured that out a little sooner, don't you think?"

Regina shrugs.

"We have plenty of time to catch up. How about I start," Regina suggests. "I'll be nineteen in February. I'm an only child. I adore my father and almost despise my mother. I used to ride horses between ages ten and sixteen and though I'm Latina, I sadly don't know a whole lot of Spanish. Your turn."

Emma takes a deep breath and hesitates, but soon enough complies.

"I turned nineteen this past October. I don't actually know if I'm an only child because I don't know who my birth parents are so I've got mommy and daddy issues. I grew up in the foster system and had to work twice as hard as anyone else to make ends meet both financially and academically so you can tell your friend to fuck off."

Regina laughs and Emma continues.

"I've never been on a horse and I actually kind of find the thought of being around that big an animal to be scary beyond all reason. I'm also ridiculously white and struggle to tan. Mostly I just burn. So if you and I ever decide to hit the beach together, you'll need a pair of sunglasses unless you like being blinded by my whiteness."

Regina laughs again and Emma smiles.

The conversation heads into favorite TV shows and favorite actresses then somehow ventures into what their majors are and why. At some point they talk about pet peeves and discuss the air conditioning war they'd already ceased, but laugh at how stupid the whole thing was.

After an hour, Emma gets into bragging territory about what she does best and that, of course, is scarf down food like it won't be there for more than a minute or two if she doesn't act fast.

Regina brags that she's good with her hands and for the second time that night, Emma fights off the arousal the implication of that statement creates. Regina clarifies that she can braid hair in several different styles and do it in record time. That's when Emma visibly relaxes and Regina grins as evilly as she had when Emma kneed Killian in the balls earlier.

"I've also been told I'm good with my hands in other ways," Regina suggestively says.

Emma's heart starts to beat wildly and her blood boils in her veins with the look in Regina's eyes and that teasingly seductive voice as she speaks words on the risker side of a PG-13 rating.

"Care to find out for yourself," Regina asks, and Emma gulps.

Emma's chest almost breaks out in hives because she's so red there and the heat on her chest itches more than it burns. She's turned on and though she's not completely uncomfortable about it, they're still in Marian's apartment with way too many people in attendance. Not to mention, they're roommates and there's a line that should be drawn. Roommates can flirt, sure, but it can't lead anywhere. It shouldn't. If it does, it can create so many problems in the future.

But Regina takes another step closer and Emma's breathless. They're so close that all Emma has to do is dip her head the tiniest bit and their lips would touch.

They have a lot in common and a lot not in common and it just works. She doesn't really understand it, but she knows that if nothing transpires from Regina's come-ons and their current proximity that they can be friends. Good friends. Except being friends is almost immediately thrown off the table when Regina moves in and eliminates the remainder of space between them.

Emma's brain short circuits when Regina's lips press against hers and for a second, she just stands there and lets Regina kiss her. She doesn't kiss back until Regina starts to pull away a moment later and when she reciprocates the kiss, she grabs the back of Regina's neck like she's afraid of losing her and losing the moment.

Regina hums now that Emma's responsive and after a few seconds, Regina slides her tongue over Emma's lips. It takes a few swipes, but Emma parts her lips and welcomes Regina's tongue into her mouth. Then Regina's surprised by Emma's initiative after a round of heated tongue wrestling when the blonde turns them and pins her against the window embedded vertically in the center of the door to the patio.

Emma slips a thigh between Regina's legs and both of them softly moan at the contact.

"Fuck," Emma pants between kisses.

"Yes," Regina exhales and rolls her hips into Emma before their lips melt together again.

Regina's hands slide down Emma's sides and clutch her hips as she starts to rock against Emma's leg.

Emma pulls away from the kiss to gulp and bites her own bottom lip before she leans in lower and starts to kiss Regina's neck. She places one hand on the glass behind Regina and the other cups the side of Regina's left breast, placed just under Regina's bicep as the brunette keeps both of her hands on Emma's hips.

Regina tilts back and turns her head to give Emma better access and grinds down on Emma's thigh. She sighs and quietly whimpers and claws Emma's hips a little harder while she stays pressed up against the door like that for a somewhat short, but seemingly long, period of time.

"Get a room," Marian teasingly interrupts.

Regina and Emma slowly break apart panting and look at Marian who's smirking, a little too happy about all of this.

"It'll be our pleasure," Regina says and takes Emma's hand before they start to head down the hall and toward the front door.

Marian continues to smirk, but rolls her eyes at Regina's predictable and joking response, though her words are true. It will be their pleasure and Marian has no doubt about it.

Emma breaks from Regina at the archway between the hallway and the living room and says, "One second" before she goes over to Ruby and Belle who are still just talking, but have gotten much bubblier and closer in the last hour.

Emma asks Belle if she drove to the party and Belle nods so Emma suggests Ruby should get a ride with her after the party. She explains that she and Regina are leaving and she's taking the Bug so Mal can take Regina's car in case the other blonde doesn't find another friend at the party that might later offer her a ride back to her dorm.

"Have fun," Ruby says and winks then lifts a hand and looks over Emma's shoulder at Regina and wiggles her fingers in a wave to the brunette waiting across the room.

Regina gives a quick wave back then cuts Emma a look that tells her to hurry up. Emma wastes no time and rushes over while throwing a quick "bye" over her shoulder to Ruby and Belle.

Back at the dorm, Emma backs Regina up against every available surface, door and desk and end table alike, until they land with a small bounce onto Regina's bed. By the time they reach her bed, Emma's shirt is halfway off her body and Regina's heels are hooked onto the index and middle fingers of her left hand because the brunette, efficient as she is, removed her shoes in the car.

As tight as both of their jeans are, they each make quick work of each other's and it isn't long before they're stripped down to their underwear and bras.

Regina pulls her hair free from its ponytail and Emma smiles down at the brunette before she takes in the sight of Regina in a strapless black bra and matching black lace underwear. She licks her lips as her eyes come back up to Regina's face and she watches as Regina takes her own moment to look over Emma.

Emma runs a hand through Regina's hair and Regina props herself up on her elbows before she initiates another kiss.

Regina reaches out and curls her fingers into the waistband of Emma's underwear. She plays with it by pulling it down then back up, almost to the place where it originally rested against Emma, before she gently snaps it against the blonde's skin.

Emma unhooks Regina's bra and she tugs it down and away from the other woman's chest.

Regina gasps and Emma instinctively refrains from kissing Regina anymore as she presses her forehead to Regina's.

"Is this okay? Do you want to stop," Emma asks, and a second later she feels Regina shake her head.

"Keep going," Regina breathlessly insists.

And she does. Slowly, Emma rids Regina of her bra and then her underwear and waits for Regina to return the favor. When she does, they stop and just stare at each other. They're naked and in Regina's bed and they're really about to do this.

"Are you…um," Emma awkwardly starts to say. "Are you a virgin?"

"No, I...I had a boyfriend in high school. Daniel. I was with him for three years and…we knew we were going to different colleges and we loved each other, but the distance wouldn't have worked. So on prom night…" Regina leaves the sentence unfinished and Emma nods. "Are you?"

Emma shakes her head.

"This guy—Neal—really understood me. We both went through some stuff before we met and then we went through some stuff together. He took off before I came here though. Left me."

"Okay," Regina accepts the information.

"But…okay, I like girls, but I…I've never gotten this far with them before," Emma confesses.

"Marian and I were a little drunk after we talked through her break up with Robin. I don't really remember what we did, but I know there was kissing and affection touching," Regina shares as a way to show Emma she's basically just as new at this as the blonde is.

"You and Marian," Emma asks with a hint of laughter in her expression, though she stifles the laughter so she's not outright laughing in Regina's face. "Damn!"

Regina rolls her eyes, though there's a tiny curl to her lips in the form of a grin.

"Shut up and kiss me," Regina non-threateningly demands.

And they kiss. The kiss starts with their lips touching and their tongues dancing then escalates to Emma's mouth on Regina's neck and then the kisses trail down to her chest.

Regina closes her fist around her sheets as Emma swirls her tongue around a nipple then runs the flat of her tongue over it. She arches into Emma and Emma doesn't hesitate to suck the nipple into her mouth.

As Emma licks and kisses and sucks and nips all of her chest, Regina sighs and gasps and moans and the sounds she makes start to crescendo the more Emma touches her like that. Her hands are all over Emma while she encourages the blonde and Emma moans against Regina's body before she makes her descent to Regina's navel.

She dips her tongue into Regina's belly button, but she kisses her way back up Regina's body. She doesn't ever kiss any lower just yet and instead kisses Regina on the lips again. She brushes their bodies together as Emma starts to settle between Regina's legs and while they kiss, Emma places a hand on Regina's stomach. She slowly slides her hand lower and Regina's breath hitches mid-kiss when her fingers slip into wet heat.

Each touch makes them feel like it's their first time all over again, and in a way it is. It's their first time together, with each other, and the sensations are incomparable to anyone or anything else they've experienced before because it's different. It's still sex and generally speaking it's not the first time for either of them, but it's different. It's new and it's exciting and it doesn't belittle what they had with Daniel or Neal, but it's like they've stepped into this whole other world. And they like it.

Emma starts slow then incrementally pumps faster into Regina the more she builds up the other woman's impending orgasm.

Regina pants out words of encouragement like "yes", "more", "please" and moves on to sounds of pleasure like "nhn", "mm" and "uhn" when single syllable words become too hard to form.

Emma's thumb slides and circles over Regina's clit when she feels Regina tighten around her fingers and Regina gets louder and breathier.

When she reaches her peak, Regina gasps and holds her breath for a moment before she feels hazy pleasure and the relief of release. When it's Emma's turn, Regina gives as good as she got and the orgasm count far exceeds two over the course of the night. There were a few less-than-sexy moments when their fingers and wrists cramped and their limited experience with pleasing a woman other than themselves was an issue once or twice when they struggled to find what would satisfy their partner, but overall it was a damn good night.

Completely exhausted, they try not to graze any sensitive areas on each other's bodies while they calm themselves, but they're on a twin size mattress so it's hard to not lay almost flat against each other without falling onto the floor. Somehow they manage while they pant until they can both regulate their rapid, shallow breathing and before they give in to sleep they get a few last words out.

"That was incredible," Emma says as her breath puffs against the top of Regina's head and blows against a few strands of hair.

Regina chuckles and says, "I can honestly say that's the most satisfying way of getting to know you."

Emma laughs and drapes an arm across Regina's torso and chest and within minutes, they fall asleep in each other's arms in their shared room.

For the next two days, they stay curled up together in their room. They only take breaks from talking and having sex and occasionally taking a nap after falling asleep watching TV to go to the bathroom and get the closest, cheapest food they can in the least amount of time.

Their new relationship happens so fast, but it feels right. It is right. Because even when they're moved to second year dorms a year later, they're granted their request to be roommates. Still together and going strong, they do more than sleep together, but the passion, the fire, the spark, between them burns bright even as they go through their ups and downs.

It's after class one day closer to the end of their second year that Regina waits for Emma outside. When she sees the blonde, she smiles and Emma smiles back.

"Hey," Emma greets.

"Hey," Regina replies. "Walk to you to our dorm?"

Regina holds out her hand and Emma happily takes it as she answers, "With pleasure."

"Our pleasure," Regina asks with a teasing tone.

"Fuck yes," Emma assures with a smirk.