The driveway was empty, and all the lights were off, which made the enormous, elegant house a target. Emma wasn't exactly careful when she chose her adventure, but she wasn't careless either. That being the case, she came prepared with pepper spray and a pocketknife, as well as her trusty lock-picking kit. This made entrance into the quiet house an easy feat – at least for someone as experienced at breaking and entering as she was.

In and out, she told her herself with a confident smile as she jiggled the handle on the back door. Grab the goods and go.

Once she was inside, her eyes widened. The inside of the building was even more lavishly adorned than its outside, and when Emma tried to make an assessments of the value of the items she could see, her head spun. Everything looked expensive. But hey, if everything left out looked expensive, the real goods must have been hiding somewhere exciting. (Hopefully… not in a locked, fireproof safe.) Against her better judgement, the young blonde decided to ascend the stairs and investigate further, rather than counting her blessings and making a run for it with what she could find downstairs.

Oddly, though there were many elaborate, decorative trinkets surrounding her, there were no pictures of the homeowners anywhere that she could see. Her victims remained anonymous as she cautiously walked their halls. Before she could reach the first door, a loud creaking noise erupted from the floorboard beneath her right foot as she stepped forward.

"Oh, shit," she cursed under her breath, frantically looking around in the dark.

After a period of silence, the girl relaxed, assuring herself that – just as the empty driveway suggested – no one was home to discover her act of trespassing and burglary. Well… Technically, she hadn't burgled anything yet, but it was certainly in the plans. As she proceeded down the hall, she opened the first door on her right. When she found only a large, glass shower with multiple showerheads, a sink, and a toilet inside, she sighed and continued walking. As her eyes watched her right side for the next door, she stepped slowly forward, until, once again, the floorboard beneath her creaked loudly. As a shadow appeared beside her, she heard a high-pitched yelp before everything went black.

"Ughhh," Emma groaned as she came to, rubbing her temples as her brow furrowed to express her pain. "Where am I?"

"You're at 108 Mifflin Street," the other girl said, staring down at her. "You broke in and-"

"Oh, holy shit!" the blonde cried. "Regina?"

It was dark, but the face was unmistakable. It was her beautiful, popular, intelligent, over-achieving classmate, Regina Mills, a girl who had seemingly been handed everything she owned by her wealthy family. Everyone loved her. Everyone except Emma.

"If I knew this was your house-" Emma started, staring up at the gorgeous brunette.

Before she could continue though, the pressure of the dizziness caused her to collapse on the floor, once again losing consciousness. When she stirred from unconsciousness, Regina was kneeling beside her, looking horrified, but also seriously concerned.

"Unnnggg," Emma groaned, trying to open her eyes fully but finding herself unable to do so. "God, you hit hard. What was that even?"

"It was a metal baseball bat," the girl replied simply. "You broke into someone's house! What did you expect to-"

But darkness washed over the blonde again before Regina could finish scolding her. This time, when she woke, Regina was lifting her head and helping her to sit upright.

"We have to get you to a hospital," she sighed, looking sadly at Emma, who was completely drained of color (except for the black bruise on her temple that had quickly formed from the impact of the blow).

"No F'in way," the girl snapped. "I'm not-"

"You passed out three times, and the last time you were out for three minutes. You have a concussion."

"I'm f… f… fine?" the blonde tried, but her muscles gave out, causing her to fall backwards into Regina's grip. As she was gently held upright by her classmate, she finally continued, "If you hadn't tried to kill me, I wouldn't be… wouldn't…" When the words seemed to escape her, she simply ended the sentence with, "You're a fuckin' twatwaffle, you know that?"

She had no idea how she could remember the insult 'twatwaffle,' but not the end of her sentence. Everything was foggy, except her anger. Mostly, she was angry at herself. Not for getting caught, but for choosing the wrong house entirely. She would have rather been caught by anyone else on the planet, even if it meant getting shot. This entitled little shit is- she was thinking –such a-

"Excuse me?" Regina snapped, loosening her supportive grip on Emma as the look in her eyes darkened. "You broke into my house, not the other way around. You had it coming. I should have known you'd be the type to pull something like this. I always thought you were a-"

"Hey, shut up, man. I-"

"Pardon me, but you are in my house, and if you don't want me to call the cops, we're-"

"Fucking call 'em. I don't care."

With a heavy sigh, Regina said, "We're going to the hospital. I'm not pressing charges, but I'm also not gonna let you die from brain injuries."

"Well, isn't that kind, little miss goody-two-shoes. Aren't you heroic?"

"You know what? You should just shut your mouth."

"Where are your parents, anyway?"

"They're away on business, as if that's any of your concern at all."

"How exactly do you plan to get me to a hospital?"

"I'm calling an ambulance, obviously."

"And telling them what?"

"That you are my close friend, who I'd forgotten was coming over, and that I got scared that I was being robbed, and accidentally nearly killed you."

"You didn't 'nearly kill me.' I'm… fine…"

"You're dizzy, and obviously confused. You have a concussion, and if you're not seen by a doctor, you could die."

"That's… horseshit," Emma said slowly, but didn't sound convinced of her own words.

"It is not 'horseshit,' thank you very much. It's medical fact."

"And what are you, a doctor?"

"No, but I'm going to Harvard Medical School next year, after I graduate."

"Well aren't you a hoity-toity god-like smarty-pants," the blonde grumbled, rubbing the side of her head.

"I'm calling," Regina told her, pulling her cell phone out of her left pocket.

"N-No!" Emma cried, reaching out for Regina's wrist but falling short of reaching it. "Listen, seriously…. I can't… I don't have… health insurance, and I-"

Regina froze, and Emma trailed off when she saw the girl's mouth drop open.

"Hey, come on," the young criminal protested. "Don't look at me like that, alright? Not everybody's family has-"

"I'll cover it."

"Regina, what the fuck?"

"We need a gardener."

"S-Sorry…?"

"My parents and I need someone to tend the gardens over the summer. You clearly have muscles… and you look like you've done your fair share of physical labor. You work for us this summer, and I'll cover your hospital bills."

"That's not a fair trade, and I-"

"God dammit! Do you have to be such a stubborn little shit?"

"I'm not a-"

"Shut up. I'm calling."

As Regina's fingers began to type the numbers, Emma screamed, "WAIT! I'M SCARED OF AMBULANCES!"

Again, Regina froze, the hand with her phone in it dropping to her side. She let out a long, heavy sigh as she stared down at the girl who was still sitting on the floor.

"Emma."

"What?!"

"There's nothing scary about an ambulance."

"People DIE in there!"

"You're not going to die."

"You said-"

"I said you could die if you don't get treated! And you know how people who don't have a way to get to a hospital get treated? THEY RIDE IN THE FUCKING AMBULANCE."

"Hey, shut up, man! I don't need your shit, okay?"

"I am not a man, thank you very much, and you're lucky I didn't already kill you. I'd be perfectly within my rights to defend myself against-"

"Against what? And eighteen year old looking to steal your parents' diamonds?"

"Oh, my god. You are so juvenile."

"Yeah, well… You're… What does juvenile mean?"

"Infantile."

"Uh…"

"IMMATURE, Emma! It means you're fucking immature."

"HEY!"

"You broke in to my house! And I'm sure it's not the first time you've pulled something like this."

"Well…"

"Well?"

"Well, no, but… usually I… don't… get… you know…"

"Caught?"

"Yeah. That."

"Well, maybe you should think twice next time."

"You're right," Emma told her, suddenly wearing a mischievous grin. "I need to choose my…uh… houses? Yeah, that's it. Houses. More carefully."

"Emma! That's not what I meant!"

"Yeah, yeah, Barbie. Whatever."

"EXCUSE ME?"

"You h-heard me."

"Oh, my God."

"It's not too late. You could still kill me and call it self-defense. I'll sit still, if you'd like." When Regina stared at her in disbelief, she added, "Wanna get one more shot in?"

"Why would I-"

"I dunno. Maybe you've g-got… anger issues?"

"You're unbelievable."

Emma started to smile again, almost to the point of laughter, but dizziness struck her once more, and her body started to wilt backwards. Of course, Regina caught her, her hand once again cupping the back of Emma's neck to support her head.

"You shouldn't break into people's houses," the brunette told her slowly. "It's not right."

"Easy for you to say," the thief mumbled. "You have everything you could ever want."

"Not everything."

"What?"

"Nevermind. I'm calling. Just…"

But Emma was too dizzy and disoriented to hold herself up, so Regina – needing to use her hand to make the call – moved around behind Emma and leaned the girl's back against her chest.

"Wait! I-"

"Shh. They're gonna think I'm murdering you if you keep yelling like that."

Emma wanted to pull away. She wanted to. But her body was weak – a feeling she wasn't familiar with – and she couldn't remain sitting up on her own. Instead, she reluctantly allowed herself to relax against her classmate until the paramedics arrived. Regina watched as they loaded her into the ambulance, until the blonde shot her an absolutely terrified glance, silently begging the girl not to let them take her.

When the brunette saw Emma's mouth open in what she assumed was an attempt to speak, she turned away quickly and grabbed the arm of one of the paramedics.

"Sir," she said slowly. "Would I be able to join her in the ambulance? I don't have a car at the moment, and I don't want her to be alone in the hospital."

"Sure, kid," the man said with a soft smile. "Hop in."

The look of relief on Emma's face as her classmate climbed into the back of the ambulance and sat beside her was overwhelming. It made Regina blush and look away. The paramedics began to treat the girl's wound, cleaning some of the still-flowing blood away from her cheek, and when Emma felt the touch against the side of her head, she whimpered in pain. But there was more than that in the sound. There was panic and fear that Regina had never heard coming from her before. Emma had always been the tough kid. Always talking shit. Always in trouble. Never 'weak.' Now, as she was laying on the gurney, she looked both miserable and horrified. Even as the paramedics told her, 'It's gonna be alright, sweetheart. We're almost there,' the blonde continued to look increasingly panicked, until Regina finally put her hand on the girl's shoulder. Emma's hand flew up to grab it immediately, out of pure, terrified instinct.

"It's… It's okay…" Regina told her slowly, her voice suddenly void of confidence. "You're not alone. Can you give me your parents' numbers? I'll call them and tell them that-"

"No! Don't!" Emma cried, sweat covering her forehead. "Don't tell them!"

"They're gonna know when you go home with your head bandaged anyway."

"Just… Just wait until the doctors are done with me."

"Emma, I… I don't think that's a good idea."

"Regina, come on. I-" the blonde protested as she tried to sit up.

"Miss Swan," one of the paramedics said, putting light pressure against her other shoulder to hold her down. "You need to lie still." Then, he turned to Regina and said, "Keep her talking. She shouldn't fall asleep."

"Regina!" Emma whined. "Please!"

"Alright, alright," the brunette sighed. "I'll call them later, then."

With a sigh, the girl replied with a soft, "Thank you," before shutting her eyes, a look of relief washing over her face.

"Emma…" Regina said cautiously, pushing against Emma's shoulder with her palm. "You need to keep your eyes open."

"It hurts."

"Please, Emma. You need to stay awake."

"I am awake."

"Emma."

"Fine," the girl groaned. "Whatever."

After receiving a look of encouragement from the paramedic who had just advised her to keep Emma talking, Regina offered, "Let's… Let's talk, okay?"

"What?"

"Tell me about you."

"Ha!" Emma blurted. "That's funny. Like you give a shit about-"

"Emma," the brunette hissed sternly, squeezing the girl's shoulder to emphasize the warning.

Currently, the paramedics believed that Emma was her friend, and that the wound had been a complete accident. When she'd spoken, Emma wasn't thinking about the consequences of her words. The last thing she wanted was to get caught for trespassing, though, or even worse… burglary.

"Right. I grew up on a farm in Montana, and-"

"Emma!"

"Ugh. What do you want to know?"

"What's… your… favorite color?"

"What? You don't know already, hun?" Emma asked playfully, playing along with the façade that they were actually good friends. "It's red."

"Oh, right. I knew that. I was just joking."

"Look, why don't you just tell me something I don't know about you?"

"But, I-"

"Anything."

"I think you should go first."

"I failed chemistry last semester."

Regina burst out laughing, completely unsurprised by the confession. Emma was the last person in the world to pay attention in class, and she was more than certain that the girl hadn't studied for ten minutes over the span of the entire semester.

"What?!" Emma snapped angrily, once again trying to sit up in order to more successfully and directly scowl at the girl she considered to be so pompous and elitist.

"I'm just not surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Before Regina could reply, the driver of the ambulance announced, "We're here. Let's get her to the E.R."

To Emma's shock and horror – she'd never been admitted to a hospital before – the doctors did not allow Regina in the room with her. She was alone.

"Regina..." Emma said as the nurses began to wheel the gurney away.

"I'll be right here," Regina assured her with a sigh. "I won't leave." When the girl looked panicked once again, she added reluctantly, "I promise."

Only then did Emma lie back, once again wearing a look of relief.

An hour later, one of Emma's doctors appeared in the doorway to the waiting room and announced, "Miss Mills?"

Regina stood up immediately, rushing over and asking, "Is she going to be okay?"

"The impact damage is serious. She should definitely be monitored closely over the next few days for any symptoms, but the ones she's experiencing now – the dizziness, mild confusion, and vomiting – should go away within the next twenty-four hours. She should also be woken up every few hours that she sleeps, in order to-"

"Vomiting?! She's vomiting?!"

"A few times, yes."

"But doesn't that mean-"

"She'll be alright, Miss. I don't believe that the damage will be permanent. As for the bruise and the pain, that will be there for quite some time."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course. Come with me."

Once she saw Emma on the hospital bed, looking pale and fragile, Regina's a wave of guilt shoved her stomach down until she thought she might vomit as well. Emma was probably the strongest girl she knew. In gym class, she excelled and impressed everyone – even the boys – with her athletic abilities. (It was probably the only class she ever got an A in). Seeing her so weak made the impact of her actions all too obvious.

It was her fault, Regina assured herself. She broke into my house! Still, the way Emma had completely collapsed on the floor after the blow stuck with her, and as much as she tried to justify her actions, she continued to feel badly about what she'd done.

"Emma," she said softly, once the doctors had left the room.

The girl's eyes fluttered open as she glanced at Regina. She didn't look angry or irritated, and she certainly didn't look as though she was about to make one of her signature smart-ass comments. She looked like she was in a daze, failing to fully register her surroundings.

"R…Regina," Emma managed. "I-"

"I'm sorry," the brunette blurted out, her words quick and pressured. "I was just frightened, and I-"

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have broken into your house."

"You shouldn't have broken into anyone's house!"

"Yeah, well… That's never stopped me before."

"Well, my baseball bat certainly should."

"It won't."

"What?!"

"I've gotta pay you back somehow, and I'm sure as shit not doing manual labor for you and your well-to-do parents."

"Sure you are."

"And what makes you think that? I never agreed to your little proposal."

"Because if you don't, I'll tell your parents the truth about what happened."

'Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?!"

"You heard me."

"Regina, come on! That's bullshit! I'll pay you back! Why does it matter how?"

"I won't accept someone else's money. It's wrong. You need to learn to work for what you have."

"I have two jobs."

"What?"

"I…"

"What?"

"Nevermind," Emma sighed. "Just don't tell me I don't know how to earn my money."

"Why would you steal, then?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders and looked out the window to avoid Regina's gaze.

"No, really," the brunette pressed. "Why?"

"It's fun."

"What?"

"It's the only thing that makes me feel alive."

"That's ridiculous. Why don't you just go sky-diving or something?"

"It's not that simple."

"Emma-"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Then explain it."

"I can't. It's just something I feel."

With a sigh, Regina rubbed her temples and looked down at the frail-looking figure lying on the bed in front of her.

"You're going to do it, or I will tell your parents."

"Ugh! Fine! God! You're such an entitled little brat!"

"Shut up, okay? You don't know anything about me. I'm-"

"How are you ladies doing in here?" a doctor said loudly, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Regina shot Emma a glance, so the blonde said, "Doing just fine, doc. When can I get out of here?"

"We're going to have to keep you here overnight for observation. We'll likely discharge you in the morning, barring any complications."

"Ugh," the patient groaned. "Great."

The doctor turned to leave, and Regina pulled her phone from her pocket, announcing, "I'm calling your parents. What are their numbers?"

"I'm not telling you," Emma said simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Stop it. Just let me call them. We'll explain that it was an accident."

"How are you going to explain that I snuck out?"

"Would you rather get in trouble for sneaking out to hang out with a friend, or would you rather get in trouble for breaking and entering?"

"Whatever," the blonde groaned, then rattled off her parents' home phone number.