Chapter One

A/N: Welcome welcome to the first installation of Model Behavior! I can't wait for everyone to read this. I started this story right after I found out I was pregnant, so hopefully everything makes sense, as parts of the story were written during heavy morning sickness and very little sleep. I am due at the end of September, so be prepared for a few weeks of no updates while I tend to my new little one! I am so thankful to CSBB during this experience - as my third FF, it was amazing to get feedback and have so much support.

Special shout out to Monica (acaptainswaneternity) - the artist with this story. I have loved everything she has done for me - so make sure to check her out!

Links to her art will be posted once she makes her own posts - so check back for an update!

Another huge shout out to Nicola (alocin209)- who beta read everything and tried to keep me on target (she had to deal with a lot of random sentences as my pregnancy brain really went into effect). Without her, the story wouldn't be the same!

As always, reviews are wonderful and really help!

For someone who seemed to have her whole life together, everything seemed to be falling to shit. She had been getting enough steady gigs lately that she was able to quit her job as a waitress and focus fully on her modeling. Being a model in LA wasn't the easiest job in the world, mostly because you never actually had a steady paycheck. She loved modeling though. She loved the friends she made and she actually really enjoyed being in front of the camera. Yet even though she had a job she loved that was now bringing in a steady paycheck, her life was falling apart.

Just last night, she walked into her apartment, the one she shared with her boyfriend Neal, the one that she actually paid for, to find him in their bed with Tamara, another model they knew. The scene she had walked into made her physically ill. Never in her life did she ever expect to be betrayed in the way she was. She spent that night at Ruby and Lacey's apartment, drinking multiple bottles of wine and deciding that in the morning, while Neal was at a shoot, she was going to get his shit out of her apartment and wash her hands clean of him.

However, now that she was packing up the apartment - well, throwing his crap in garbage bags and ignoring the hundreds of texts she was getting from him - she knew for a fact that if she didn't get out of LA for a while, she was just going to forgive him and things would stay the same as they are now. She always had a feeling that Neal was cheating; they had been together for two years and throughout the whole relationship she never felt like he was being truthful with her. She never thought that she would physically catch him in the act. But even knowing what happened, she still knew that she would eventually go back to him. He was all she knew. She had to clear her head in order to get over him and over his shit.

"I can't believe you are really going to go back home," her best friend Ruby said from her closet. It was seriously the best part of her apartment. She would sleep in there if her bed wasn't so comfortable.

"I have to get away from all this bullshit Rubes. If I don't, then it will happen all over again." Emma never thought she would be the one to stay with a cheater, but something inside of her told her she would forgive Neal if she didn't give herself room to heal.

"Emma, you know you could just go to Palm Springs or San Diego. You don't have to schlep all the way to Virginia to get away," her friend pleaded.

"Mom's been bugging me to come home. Plus Henry's graduating from high school in a few days and I haven't seen him since I moved out here. I wasn't going to go - you know I hate home - but it really is the best place for me to be," she replied.

She knew Ruby wouldn't really understand it. Lacey would never cheat on her, not in a million years. Ruby would never know why Emma needed the distance she needed. Plus, maybe it was finally time to go home, to truly face what happened six years ago.

"Alright babe, but I'm gonna miss you!" Ruby smiled as she placed a few more outfits in Emma's suitcase.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" Emma asked, trying to change the subject. She was done talking about Neal and her trip. She was done - period.

"Lacey and I have two gigs, but other than that I've picked up some shifts at the diner," Ruby said, a secret look flashing across her face.

"Why? Does Granny need help?" Emma asked. Ruby's grandma runs the diner they all used to work at. Emma didn't really want to quit the diner, but at the same time, she didn't want to be a waitress for the rest of her life; she wanted to focus on her career. Ruby had quit a few months before her. They had a few other friends who worked there, but none of them were as successful in their careers as Emma had become. She didn't quite understand why Ruby would be needing to work again at the diner.

"No, I'm actually trying to save some extra money," she said shyly. Ruby was never shy.

"Why? Ruby, what's going on?" she asked. Ruby was never this coy about something.

"I am going to ask Lacey to marry me!" With Ruby's confession, Emma's jaw dropped. She had known Ruby and Lacey each for almost six years, since she moved out to LA. They had been a couple for four of those years, but Emma never thought she would see them get engaged and married. Their relationship was new for the both of them; they had only had boyfriends before. Emma could see the love they shared for each other though. It was just Ruby and Lacey had both said marriage wasn't something they wanted in their lives.

"Oh my God?! Really?" Emma couldn't hide the shock from her voice.

"Yes! I never thought I would feel this way. We've actually been talking about it for a while now. I just feel it's time. There is no one else in the world for me." Ruby's voice cracked at her admission, the love pouring from her mouth.

Emma couldn't help but start to cry at her friend's love. She thought that one day that would be her and Neal. She thought that she had the same thing in her life. She was excited for her friend - 100% - but she was still really upset over what had happened. She knew it was petty, but she also knew Ruby would understand.

"Oh Emma, I'm sorry!" she apologized, even though no apology was needed.

"No, I'm sorry Ruby. I am so excited for you! You guys are the perfect couple! I'm just still angry over Neal. I mean, we were all just talking about when Neal and I would get engaged," Emma cried - for the last time she swore to herself.

"Hey, if I ever see Neal again, I will crucify him. I literally want to take every knife and fork and just graze them over his body until he slowly bleeds to death. I hate him for what he has done to you!" her response got a well deserved laugh from Emma - finally brightening the mood she had been stuck in.

"God Ruby, you are way too descriptive!" Emma laughed.

"Granny always said I should have been a writer," Ruby added cheerfully. "Come on, let's get your perky ass packed so you don't miss this flight. The sooner I drop your ass off, the sooner you'll be back here."

Emma's flight was leaving at eleven, which meant she needed to be there before nine. It didn't leave her a lot of time to pack up Neal's shit, pack her bag and drive to LAX from West Hollywood. All of this on a Thursday morning as well! It definitely wasn't going to be easy but Emma felt good now that they were traveling in Ruby's bright red mustang, top down and her hair floating in the wind.

Fate must be paying her back for the shitty night she had, because traffic was light and they made it to LAX with almost 30 minutes to spare.

"Alright so Lacey is meeting with the locksmith now. Neal's shit is on the front porch so when you get back, all of this will be history," Ruby reminded her as they unloaded Emma's suitcase onto the curb of the terminal. Emma took her friend into a tight embrace.

"Thanks for everything Ruby," Emma sighed. She wished that even though she was running from her problems again, she could bring her best friend along.

"Of course Em. Besides, this getaway will be good for you. Now, get your ass on that plane and have a good time. We both know you're going to be back in three weeks, you have no choice!" her friend winked.

Ruby had spilled her plan for the proposal as they were speeding down the 405. She was going to propose to Lacey at Ruby's grandmother's house, a month from now. She already had the ring picked out - she just needed the down payment, which was why she was working those extra shifts. She told Lacey she was just helping Granny out since a girl quit. Ruby wanted everyone they were close with to be there and of course a huge party would follow.

Ruby and Lacey were so similar. Both girls were the quintessential party girls; they knew how to hold their liquor, knew how to dance til the early morning hours and knew how to have a good time. When they first got together, Emma remembered the whirlwind year that followed the start of their relationship. They were all out till the wee hours of the morning almost every weekend. However, in the last few years, things have calmed down. They were still both hilarious and filled with life though.

But there was something else that Emma had to come back to LA for. Emma was taking a huge loss in pay thanks to this extended trip home (she made a mental note to try and get some rent money out of Neal for this shit). She had a lot riding on her upcoming go-see two days after she gets back. It would be her biggest one yet. Ruby and Lacey were also going on the go-see. Emma couldn't help but be nervous - this would make or break their careers - or at least it felt like that.

Emma had been a model for a few major companies over the past two years, but it was her newest contract with Michael Khors and Monique Lhuillier that had allowed her to take a break from waitressing. Now, she would have the opportunity to actually walk a runway. It was something that had alluded her in the past. Sure, it wasn't during fashion week, and yes, it was for the Victoria's Secret fashion show but, she still saw it as a step ahead for her career. She was pretty sure they would give Ruby the job over her, but she was still excited for the opportunity.

"I'll see you in three weeks. You know I'll be texting you every day, keeping you updated on my crazy family," Emma replied, with nothing but the truth. Ruby lived for Emma's crazy stories about her family, especially Emma's eccentric (the only word Emma could nicely use) step-grandmother. If you could even call her that.

"Oh thank God you are seeing the Evil Queen! That woman is off the charts!" Ruby yelled, pulling Emma back in for another hug.

"Alright, alright. Let me go. Besides, I think you are about to be ticketed," Emma said, looking at the cop who was walking towards the women. Ruby just flashed her a smile.

"Please, you know I could get out of that ticket easily!" she said in a suggestive tone, but returned to her car.

As she pulled away, Emma waved goodbye to her friend. At least one person in her life was happy.

She always loved traveling, which was a major perk of modeling. Emma couldn't explain the thrill she got when flying, but she loved being up in the air. The whole experience was amazing, from the check in, to the boarding, to the actual flying, Emma just loved traveling.

When she checked in, she did get a bit of a laugh from the face of the ticket agent. Yes, Emma was a model, and yes, she was good looking, but Emma prided herself on being a strong and independent woman. So when she lifted her giant suitcases onto the scale, the ticket agent was so surprised that Emma lifted the 70 pound bags with ease, especially when he had issues moving the baggage to the conveyor belt. The surprise on the attendant's face was just what Emma needed to lift her spirits back up after Ruby drove off.

It took her about an hour to get through the TSA line, even with her pre-screen pass. She didn't mind the wait. Instead of being angry at the lines and inconsistency of the TSA, she took the time to people watch. She spent a few minutes watching a family on their way back home from Disneyland. Emma really loved when parents allowed their children to continue to dress up as their favorite characters, even in public. There was a little girl with her hair in a long, thick braid, wearing her Rapunzel dress proudly while she walked around with her parents. It had been a long time since Emma had seen a set of parents as happy as the parents who were with the girl. They were beaming at their daughter who was singing "I see the light".

She also watched a couple in a fight. It hurt at first to watch them, reminding her of what she had dealt with for years. She hadn't wanted to think of Neal during this trip, yet watching the couple bitch over their friends involvement in their personal lives made Emma's mind wander to her own relationship.

How could she have allowed herself to be in a situation like that for so long? She started out happy, enjoying getting to know Neal and just having fun. She wasn't sure when things started to get bad, but all she remembered was one day she woke up and she wasn't quite happy anymore. They had started fighting a lot, over stupid shit too. She remembered one distinctive fight, where Emma was pissed he wanted to wear sweatpants out to dinner with their friends. They spent the night apart, with a drink being thrown on her head and Neal calling her a bitch. Why they even stayed together after that was a mystery, but for another year she put up with his shit, until she had had enough. As she looked back to the couple while she moved through the line, she hoped they wouldn't see the same fate her relationship had.

By the time she made it to her gate, she had an hour before boarding, so she got a bagel (a bit of a splurge on her end, since she mostly kept a strict diet) and decided to catch up on her newest book. She loved reading, but she especially loved reading those poorly written smut books. It was like putting her brain in a coma. She got peace from reading the plotless and poorly written words. To her, it was like watching horrible TV shows; she was able to just read it and forget everything that was going on in her world.

It worked, and before she knew it, they were calling first class boarding.

Normally, she wasn't one to travel first class. When she traveled for work, they always put her in coach with the other lower models. There were only a few times that the companies would splurge for first class seats, but Emma didn't care either way. She still got frequent flier miles, which she was using today to get home. Seeing as how she was traveling home, not exactly her first choice of destination, she might as well splurge and be nice and relaxed on the flight.

As she boarded, she noticed she was the only one seated in the area, which was an additional bonus. She could drown out everything around her, get lost in her book, and try not to have an anxiety attack about why she was going home.

"Ms. Nolan, would you like some champagne? Maybe a Mimosa before we take off?" the leggy stewardess asked as Emma took off her jacket and handed it to the woman. It was the one thing Emma constantly wished she had. She was tall, but not as tall as some other models, which made entering the runway world difficult. She would kill for long gorgeous legs like her stewardess had.

"Yes, please," Emma replied, as she slid into her seat to watch the baggage carriers load up the luggage into the plane.

It had been six long years since Emma moved out to LA and left her life in DC behind. Six years since her heart had broken. Six years since she ran from her troubles.

Six years ago

Graduation day was supposed to be one of the best days of her life. She thought it would be a day she would look back on years from now and remember all of the good times she had in high school. She wasn't the most popular, but she had friends who meant the world to her and who supported her.

Her mother was excited to throw this party for her. Any chance for her mother to throw a party, she took. She swore that her mother was a queen stuck in a different time. The woman lived for parties and events like this. Their backyard had been transformed into a summer soiree. The ladies were required to wear giant hats and dresses and the men were to wear seersucker suits. Yes, this was supposed to be a party for Emma, but her mother had once again gone way over what Emma wanted.

Emma wasn't so excited for the party, but she was excited for who was going to be attending the party. She looked over at a couple who were standing next to her mom and dad. Both of them tall with dark brown hair. Adelaide and Brennan Jones had moved into the house next to the Nolans when Emma was eight. They had two sons and one daughter. Their eldest son Liam was over near the swingset that the Nolans had put up for Emma's younger brother. Their daughter, Aibhilin, was sitting down at a table eating the chicken her mother had catered for the event. However, Emma wasn't excited to see them. She was excited to see their middle child.

Killian was 4 years older than Emma and had been away at college during Emma's run at high school. She would be lying if she said she didn't have a bit of a crush on the guy. He was gorgeous, but his heart and soul were what attracted Emma to him for the past few years.

Normally every Christmas Killian and Liam came home for, the two families would get together for a Christmas Eve meal and White Elephant game night. For the past three years, Emma had always sat next to Killian and he was always so interested in what she was doing and how her life was going. Conversation between them always flowed easily. Emma loved hearing his stories of college in the crazy city of Vegas. She was enthralled with his tales of college ball and his team's road to victory at the previous year's college World Series. Emma remembered the year before when her dad gave Killian the cold shoulder a bit because his team had beaten her dad's team in the finals by one run in overtime.

This year though, Killian was unable to come home for Christmas. It gutted her to see the seat normally reserved for him empty next to her. Yet, she was relieved when she got a message from him on AIM a few days later apologizing for missing what he called "one of the best things about coming home". He didn't explain why he wasn't able to come home, just that he missed her and he hoped her year was going well. He asked about her plans for after graduation and asked how Henry was doing. They spent about 3 hours that night just talking about things they would have talked about at dinner and it was amazing.

They had spent the past five months having conversations every other day; just talking about anything and everything. He helped her with college applications and she helped him write his final for his Shakespeare class. She knew he was surprised when she gave him insight into A Midsummer Night's Dream; she could tell even though they were miles apart. Their conversations started innocent at first, but about a month in, they turned a bit flirty.

Killian would ask her about her love life and when she said she didn't have anyone special, he said something that had Emma thinking. A friend wouldn't just tell another friend (one who grew up next door to you) that you deserved someone who would devote their life to you, someone that knew how amazing you were. It was during that conversation that things began to change, at least on her end. However, she didn't think it was one sided. Whenever she flirted, he flirted back.

About two weeks ago, he dropped the bomb. He was actually going to be coming home for her graduation. He almost didn't get the weekend off, since his team was in the World Series again and it was during the semifinals, but the schedule worked out so that he was able to take a two day trip home to see everyone. He had some big news he had to tell her and she had been on pins and needles ever since.

Her nerves didn't really get the best of her until that day and her friends took notice. Of course they already knew a bit of what was happening, but they didn't really understand how Emma had fallen in love with a guy who lived thousands of miles away, while only talking over the internet.

"Emma, come on, we are going to sneak over to the Jones' yard and do some shots," her friend Lily whispered to her.

"You know I can't leave," Emma retorted. Yes, she wanted to have a good time with her friends, but she didn't want to miss Killian's arrival. He had told her two days ago he would arrive around noon, but it was now 12:30 and Emma was getting worried.

"Come on Swan, he isn't showing up," she heard Lily's boyfriend Victor say. She hated it when he used her nickname her friends gave her when she was young. She had always thought that name was reserved for her closest friends and Victor was not one of them. He was just some fuck boy that Lily was screwing around with until she left for college.

"Shut up Victor," she said under her breath.

"Emma, he isn't going to show up in the two minutes we take to sneak over and do a few shots," Lily pleaded.

Emma looked at her friend, who had been with her since they were young. Lily knew Killian, knew of Emma's crush on him, but she didn't know that Emma was head over heels for Killian, didn't know that Killian had something to tell her. And even though Emma wanted to stay in her yard, with her eyes trained on the backdoor, she decided that maybe if she didn't focus on Killian, he would show up.

It's like when you are at a restaurant. If someone gets up to go to the bathroom, your food will come quicker. However, if everyone waits at the table and stares at the waitress, the food seems to take forever to come.

So off they snuck into the Jones' backyard to have some shots. Emma wasn't really a drinker, but she found herself drinking more when Lily was around. It started out small enough, a drink before the homecoming dance the previous year, a few drinks at a party after junior prom, but this year the drinking with her friends had been taken to a whole new level. Normally, Emma didn't really participate, willing to be the DD while everyone else got shitfaced, but today was different. Today, maybe she needed the liquid luck.

Lily was right - they were only gone a few minutes and Emma was hopeful that Killian would be waiting in the yard when they got back. She was heartbroken to find out he still wasn't there.

The rest of the party went in similar fashion. Emma waited and waited for Killian to show up. About once an hour Lily begged Emma to come and have another drink. She again said she didn't want to miss him, but by 4, she realized something. He wasn't coming. It was in that moment that she said fuck it and decided to get drunk. It was the first time Emma actually got drunk and it was in the tree house Killian used to play in as a child.

If her parents knew she was drunk, they didn't say anything. But that didn't stop her mother from patronizing Emma every chance she got. "Emma you really should mingle with your guests", "Emma, stop sitting around and smile", "Oh Emma is moving to Los Angeles at the end of the week, she is going to study at UCLA." She loved how her mother completely ignored her real reason for moving; to pursue her dream of a modeling career. But to her mother, modeling was a silly hobby. The only way her parents would help her move was if Emma also enrolled in college. At least her father kept trying to get her mother off her back.

If anyone knew anything, they didn't say it. Instead, most of the party guests just ignored Emma and her friends. She knew Lily was trying to lighten her mood, but Victor was just being an ass. By 6 Emma was done, done with the life she was living, done with her mother's condescending tone, done with her friends, and done with Killian Jones.

As she entered her packed room though, she knew she wasn't really done with Killian. He had hurt her by not showing up. He didn't call her to tell her he would be absent from the party. However, maybe he did try to message her. Her computer was thankfully still unpacked, so she turned her away message off and took a look at their running messages.

Her heart dropped when she saw that there was nothing. He hadn't cared at all. Sure, the thought passed through her mind that something had happened to him, but his parents didn't seem concerned. Truthfully, it didn't matter to her in that drunken filled moment. All that mattered was he had promised her that he would be there and he had broken that promise.

She started typing out the message. The final message she would ever send to him.

"Jones, why aren't you here? Why didn't you show up? What the fuck is going on? You promised me you would be here, promised that I would have some support today, yet you couldn't bother to show up. How dare you play with me like this. Screw you asshat, don't bother talking to me ever again."

She hit send before she could talk herself out of it. She ended their friendship in that moment, unwilling to hear any apology he had to offer. She promised herself in that moment that never again in her life would she allow herself to feel this heartbroken again.

She hadn't thought about that moment in a long time, but the mimosa she had just chugged forced her to relive that horrible day six years ago. She had allowed herself to feel something for someone and that person broke her heart. It took her four years to rebuild herself after that devastating day. Sure, she hadn't been in a real relationship and sure, Killian wasn't her boyfriend, but she felt so betrayed that day. She had allowed herself to depend on him, allowed herself to believe in him and all it brought her was disappointment.

And now, here she was again, running away when something bad happened. Neal had played with her heart and emotions just as Killian had. Neal had definitely done worse by sleeping with a whore, but it still reminded her of the pain she felt with Killian.

She also knew it was stupid for her to even compare the two. Killian had never really played her, at least not truly. But he never did reach out to her again, never tried to apologize. She had always felt really stupid for even hating Killian the way she did, but he had become her best friend in a matter of months, then suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth. Didn't she have the right to be pissed, to be heartbroken, to hate the jackass that made her question the other relationships she had in her life?

Thankfully, the stewardess brought her another mimosa. At least she was pretty sure Killian wouldn't be home for the summer. Her mother did let it slip once last year during their mandatory monthly phone call that Killian hadn't been home since that last Christmas meal they all shared together.

Normally, Emma steered the conversation with her mother away from the going ons at home to what Emma was doing, even if it meant that Emma had to hear the disappointment in her mother's voice about Emma's job choices. As long as she didn't have to hear about the Jones family, she didn't care.

The boarding procedure had passed and the stewardesses were beginning to close the cabin door when she heard someone yell out "Wait!"

For the first time since getting on the plane, Emma actually watched what unfolded in front of her. A man rushed aboard the plane, sunglasses and a baseball cap covering his face. He was dressed in dark washed jeans and a leather jacket, which seemed stupid considering the LA heat. The hat was of course the local team's hat, almost everyone wore one once in their life if they lived there. He handed his ticket to the attendant who motioned him to to sit down across the aisle from Emma.

Shit, she thought to herself, she was hoping to be alone up here and now someone else was joining. He was across the other side of the plane but still, she didn't want to have a discussion with some stranger on a plane.

The man shrugged out of his jacket, showing off an amazing set of arms in a dark t-shirt and sat down next to the window. His hat and glasses were firmly attached to his face.

Looking at his profile, Emma suddenly felt different. It was like she knew him from somewhere. Maybe she modeled with him once, maybe he had been a customer at the diner. She couldn't really tell or place him. But something in Emma's gut was telling her that she knew the man in the glasses.

The stewardess made one more round as the plane backed away from the gate. It was as the woman was passing by her fellow first class flyer that she was finally allowed to determine where she knew him.

"Mr. Jones, is there anything I could get you?" the stewardess asked, prompting the man to remove his glasses and hat, revealing the man she hadn't laid eyes on in over 7 years.