AN: Hello everyone! I recently got hooked on OUaT and SwanQueen and decided I must contribute to the fandom. So here's the first chapter of my first Swan Queen fic. Hope you'll like it!

WARNING FOR TRIGGERS! This might start out rather light but it won't stay that way. I will warn at the beginning of the chapters concerned so keep your eyes open!

PS. I had to re-upload the chapter cause I realized I had missed to put in one of the canon lines I had planned for Regina. I'll give a gold star to whoever first figures out which line I added ;) *giving my beta an expectant look*

I was new in town, without a job, without money, and my parents were paying my bills. When I thought things couldn't get any worse I accidentally drove into someone's car and of course that someone wasn't just anyone. Of course it was the gorgeous business woman who lived just a few blocks away. We seemed to bump into each other strangely often, and quite literally.

The Curse

The tires of my yellow old Beetle screeched in protest as I hit the brakes, hard. The black Mercedes-Benz had come out of nowhere and there was no chance I would be able to avoid driving into it. At least the impact wasn't too forceful, thanks to my quick reflexes, and when stillness ensued I mostly felt a bit shaken. The other driver, though, spared no time dwelling in the driver's seat and came rushing right back to inspect the damage I had caused to her vehicle's rear end. She clenched her fists and inhaled deeply, jaw muscles tensing, then turned toward me and froze momentarily. Her expression briefly shifted to a more surprised one and then back to indignant again as she exhaled.

"You!" she mouthed, or hissed, I couldn't really tell since I was still inside my car and it muted her voice.

Within seconds she had walked up to me and impatiently rapped at the window. I gulped and opened the car door, cause winding down the windows in this old thing took just about half a day, and evasively peered up at her with what I hoped would look like a regretful and disarming smile.

"Hi," I said with a small voice, "...again."

"Well well, who is it if not Miss Klutz herself, I should've guessed," she said and smiled sarcastically, apparently not impressed by our previous encounters.

Yeah, that's right, we had met before. Quite a few times actually and for some reason I seemed to always make a fool out of myself, which was highly unfortunate since she was drop dead gorgeous. Very typical, just my luck. Had I believed in magic there would be no doubt, I was cursed.

The first time we met had actually been my first day here in Storybrooke, and this particular day had also happened to be exceptionally rainy. To no one's surprise – well not mine at least – I hadn't dressed accordingly so on my way to buy some groceries to put in my empty fridge I had been running. Stupid, I know, since it doesn't really help. Like, at all. Anyway, she had crossed the street in front of me and unlike some others – that would be me – she was sensible enough to actually use umbrellas. Her elegant figure had immediately caught my eye and I had slowed down my pace to be able to take a closer look at her. But of course the curse had struck and the very moment she noticed me and met my curious stare I had stepped off of the sidewalk, onto the street, and stumbled right down into a nasty puddle. You know, the kind of puddle that's more like an ocean of dirty water mixed with trash. It had splashed loudly, stained my pants up to my thighs, leaked into my boots and totally ruined the moment.

There had been that time at the mall where I accidentally bumped into her and dropped all my stuff. Or that time at Granny's Diner, where I had spilled hot chocolate all over myself in my eagerness to give up my seat for her. It had been really crowded and I had almost finished my drink anyway, with emphasis on almost. We had also collided a couple of times on the street, mostly cause I'd been in a hurry and not looking where I was going. Perhaps I had just become really clumsy since I moved here but then why was it always her and never anyone else? Like I said, cursed.

It hadn't taken me long to figure out she must be living nearby. It was the only sensible explanation for our numerous encounters, especially when you added the fact that I'd seen her walk past my window regularly ever since I moved in, a month ago. It wasn't like I was stalking her or anything, but I was one of those poor people who didn't have a job and therefore usually stayed at home all day doing nothing of importance. It wasn't even my apartment, really, it was my parents'. Because I didn't have an income they were the ones who paid the majority of my bills. Almost twenty six years old and living off my parents, what a disgrace. No wonder I spent most of my days moping and watching TV shows. It was definitely safer to stay inside though, if I'd just stayed at home today I wouldn't have crashed my car into that damned Mercedes-Benz of hers.

"Whenever someone bumps into me I can be sure it is indeed you," the angered driver said venomously. "Stepping it up a bit, aren't we? I take it running into me all the time wasn't enough anymore, you obviously had to destroy my car as well. If you didn't look so remorseful I would suspect that you were trying to get me killed."

She had a point, a valid point. My heedlessness was getting both annoying and dangerous. But I hadn't exactly destroyed her car, mine actually looked a lot worse, and I hadn't broken any traffic rules. I was quite sure I hadn't even been speeding ever so slightly and strongly believed she was in fact entirely to blame for this accident.

"I-I'm sorry."

"You should be!" she snapped.

"I didn't see you," I tried to excuse myself, but she didn't look impressed.

"That's what your eyes are for, to see!"

I couldn't help searching for her gaze at the mention of it. I had never really had a chance to examine her eyes before, always leaving as fast as possible while throwing an embarrassed apology after myself, but this time I forced myself not to look away. I swallowed visibly, quite intimidated by her intense stare. Her eyes were a rich chocolate brown, matching perfectly with her light, but not pale, skin tone and dark brown shampoo commercial hair. That hair. I had always found it appealing but in today's sunlight it appeared particularly lustrous, bouncing gracefully around her face as she looked back and forth between me and her car.

"You're gonna pay for this," she demanded, pointing firmly at the once spotless, but now defected, Mercedes-Benz.

"It's not that bad," I tried, knowing it was probably to no use. "It's still drivable..."

The other woman looked at me like I was out of my mind.

"Excuse me?" she said with quizzically raised eyebrows and took a step closer, put her hand on the top of my Beetle, and leaned down so that we were at the same level. "Are you serious?"

Well, wasn't she just the typical upper class citizen who wouldn't accept anything less than perfection. Who always wore classy clothes and the right amount of makeup, making it look natural yet flawless. Who right now looked dangerously sexy, leaning into my car and basically threatening me with her very presence. To manage the sudden closeness without my imagination spinning off into wild – and highly inappropriate – fantasies I focused on the fact that I despised that kind of people. Actually, I felt quite annoyed. Resisting the temptation to look down her neckline I instead threw her a challenging look.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I am serious," I answered coolly. "I'm also pretty sure that I am not the one to blame for this."

Her jaw dropped with an insulted huff and I realized my response had come out a bit more accusing than I intended it to. But I knew I was right and therefore stood my ground. Well, sat. The brunette pursed her lips together and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You are aware that the speed limit here is 25 miles per hour, right?" she asked knowingly and waited for my reaction.

I felt my face lose colour and then regain it again as I blushed heavily. 25 miles per hour, in that case I had been speeding, quite a bit in fact. Dammit! How embarrassing, and what if she reported me to the police? Now I couldn't tell her to suck it up and pay herself, I was undoubtedly responsible for this as well. My silence and sudden redness gave me away.

"No?"

I gulped. No.

"Why am I not surprised," she sighed, indeed not sounding even the slightest bit surprised. "So, this is what we're gonna do. You're gonna give me your contact information and when my car is reconditioned I'm gonna send the check to you. I expect you to pay without a fuss."

"But I can't!" I exclaimed with a hint of desperation in my voice.

"And why is that?" she inquired, tilting her head in an intimidating way.

"Cause I'm broke and I can't find a job. I don't even pay my own bills!" I confessed.

"Then why on earth aren't you driving more carefully?!" she questioned unbelievingly.

She eyed me closely with an almost concerned expression, as if there was something seriously wrong with me, and I almost felt offended. Was that pity in her eyes? Pity for the poor and stupid? She pulled back and looked over at her precious ride, her jaw tensing once again.

"We're still exchanging contact information," she asserted. "You'll just have to find a way to pay me back."

Her tone didn't invite to objection so I didn't object, even though I had no idea how to solve this troublesome money problem of mine.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said and gave me a threatening stare as she walked over to her car. "And don't you dare try a 'hit and run' on me, cause I will find you."

...and destroy me with your evil powers, I continued silently in my mind. No thank you. I held my palms up in a disarming gesture, attempting to escape from this would be nothing but foolish. I didn't doubt for a second that she would find me, considering my habit of running into her at all times possible and the fact that we were practically neighbours.

While the vindictive brunette reached into the passangers seat of her car I looked at the surroundings for the first time since the incident. The two of us had been arguing for quite some time but the streets here in the outcast of town appeared strangely empty this Sunday afternoon. A few cars has passed and I could distinguish someone walking their dog further down the road but that was about it. Maybe they were all down at the beach? No, it was still too chilly. Storybrooke and its inhabitants confused me, and one of said inhabitants was now on her way back to me.

"Here's my card," she said and handed me a stylish business card, followed by a pen and a piece of paper. "Just write down your details so I know how to get in contact with you."

I accepted and glanced at the card, one particular word catching my attention. The world stopped for a moment – or maybe it was just my heart – and I stared up at her in disbelief.

"Mayor?" I asked. "Really?"

"Yes, dear, I'm the mayor," she confirmed impatiently, flashing a false smile. "Now, if you could just-"

She interrupted herself and pointed at the piece of paper I held in my hand. I obeyed and wrote down my address and phone number, then hesitated for a moment. It was a silly idea but against better judgment I decided to do it anyway. Suppressing a smile I handed the paper and pen back to the brunette.

"There you go, Madame Mayor."

She suspected something was up because of the way I was acting and closely examined what I had written. It took her just a second to find out why I was trying not to laugh.

"Miss Klutz," she read out loud, an almost genuine smile finding its way to her rouged lips. "Are you sure this is your real name?"

I did a mental gesture of victory, not regretting my decision to follow through with the idea of putting her nickname for me on the paper instead of my own name. It had made her smile and now she was joking back. I hinted at her to flip the paper and she looked pleased with what it said: "Just kidding, I'm Emma Swan :)"

"Well, Miss Swan, I can see that you are a creative person. Just use that creativity to make yourself some money and you'll be fine."

Because of her obscure tone I couldn't figure out if she had just complimented or insulted me but decided to go with the positive option cause it made me feel better. I gave her a nod of acknowledgement and she began to turn away.

"But," I interrupted with my index finger raised, and she stopped, "I have already been asking around in town for a month and there doesn't seem to be one single vacancy. I mean, I've offered to scrub toilets, sweep floors, do dirty dishes, mow lawns, everything! But no one needs any help."

The mayor stood quiet for a while, evaluating me with her gaze, and I tried my best to not look like a complete loser.

"Scrub toilets and sweep floors, you say?" she finally asked, igniting hope in me.

"Mhm!" I nodded eagerly. "And it certainly doesn't have to be full time, anything will do! Anything is better than nothing."

She sighed.

"I can't quite believe what I'm about to say but...we're a little short on cleaning staff at the office. I guess I could offer you a temporary part-time employment until we find someone more qualified for the job."

I stared at her, astonished and momentarily speechless. Crashing into the mayor's car and getting a job because of it? Did those things really happen in real life? Maybe I wasn't so cursed afterall? Right now it felt more like a blessing.

"For real?" I wondered, trying to contain my excitement in case it was just some kind of mean joke.

"Of course. I'm the mayor, I don't joke around."

"Of course you don't," I said sheepishly and mentally slapped myself for my stupidity.

"But I don't want any trouble and that's all you've been to me so far. Do I need to be worried about you, Miss Swan?"

"Absolutely not."