Emma notices him the first day of class.

Saying she's exhausted is an understatement; she had begrudgingly dragged herself out of bed at six-thirty on a Monday, allowing just enough time to shower, get ready, and stop at the campus coffee shop before coming to American History.

You would think that as a junior she would have learned to register for classes in advance by now, but of course she'd waited until the last minute and had no choice but to take her required history elective bright and early at eight a.m., three days a week.

She arrives fifteen minutes early and takes a seat in the middle of the room. It's far back enough that she won't be a target for the professor to call on, but close enough to the front that she can leave somewhat quickly after class without being stuck behind a long line of students.

The lack of preparation hasn't given a chance to find out much about the professor, all she knows is that his name is apparently "R. Gold", thanks to a glance at the online syllabus the night before. The class size is normal for a gen ed, Emma guesses there's about eighty of them altogether. She recognizes Elsa's younger sister and her boyfriend sitting a few rows back, waving when their instructor shows up.

Mr. Gold (who she quickly learns is much more irritable than any professor should ever be, even on a Monday morning), starts the class precisely at eight, giving out an attendance sheet to be passed around the room while he explains the course guidelines and what they will be studying over the semester.

It's ten after eight when the classroom door swings open, Gold shooting a dirty look at the student who's come in late. One look at his wrinkled shirt and mismatched socks tells Emma he's clearly overslept as he mumbles an apology and makes his way over to the closest empty seat in the room, which is conveniently beside her.

He plops down in the chair and gives Emma a half-hearted smile that she can relate to considering the early hour. He doesn't pay her attention throughout the rest of class, but Emma has to force herself to concentrate on Gold instead of the guy sitting to her left. He's definitely attractive- blue eyes, dark hair and scruff, along with a jawline that could easily cut watermelon- but aside from that, she finds herself thinking about how he's sort of adorable. Adding to the state of his clothes, his hair is sticking up in several different directions, making him look more like a toddler that was woken up from his nap early instead of a college student.

She doesn't even know his name, but she finds her thoughts going back to him well after their class has ended.

-/-

Wednesday, he's late again, messy hair and all, and she discovers his name is K. Jones after seeing it written on the front of his notebook. Once again, he ends up in the seat next to hers, and she tries harder than ever to care about Gold's lecture on Colonial America instead of the way K. Jones apparently has a habit of doodling in the margins of his notes.

-/-

Friday, she's not surprised at the time of his arrival, nor at his appearance. It does, however, catch her off guard when he passes an empty seat in the third row to sit beside her. She tells herself not to think anything of it; he's probably only sitting there so Gold won't call on him, especially since she can tell their professor clearly doesn't like K. Jones and his lack of punctuality.

-/-

Emma first attributed his arriving late to effects from the first week of the semester, but the next Monday, he comes in at ten after eight yet again. She's never spoken to him, knows nothing about him besides his initials and the fact that he's the farthest thing from a morning person, but his smile is warmer than usual for some reason, and she can't help but return it.

-/-

It's the next Thursday when she first sees him outside of class. She's on the second floor of the library, combing through shelves to look for a sociology book she desperately needs, when they both round a corner at the same time, slamming into each other and knocking her to the floor.

She hears a mumbled "bloody hell", looking up to see the British accent belongs to the classmate she's yet to speak to. He looks much different at two in the afternoon, hair somewhat combed and wearing an outfit that doesn't look like it was selected from a pile of laundry on the floor.

"I'm sorry, love," he says, offering a hand to help her as she stands. "I shouldn't have been so careless."

Emma shakes her head quickly. "No, it was my fault. I was too busy looking for a book to pay attention."

"Perhaps I can help you…"

"Emma. Swan."

He shakes her hand lightly before she realizes he'd still been holding it. "It's nice to finally put a name with the beautiful face." (She does not blush, she does not.) "Killian Jones. I worked here for a few months my freshman year. There's a chance I could find whatever it is that you're looking for."

She lets out a sigh of relief. "I think you might be my hero."

He does, thankfully, find her book, and Emma somehow finds herself spending the next half hour with Killian as they share their mutual hatred for Gold's history class.

"The way he presents the material is so dry and boring. It's amazing that I'm actually able to stay awake for the whole class."

"Aye. You're right, although I shouldn't complain much about him since I've developed a habit of disrupting things when I arrive late for every class. You could say I struggle with waking up early for a class I loathe."

She finds out he's a junior as well, an exchange student studying pre-law who's stuck in American History for the same reasons she is. He leaves her with a kiss on the hand as they part ways, and for the first time, Emma looks forward to class on Friday morning.

-/-

Emma almost chokes on her coffee when he walks into their class room at five minutes before eight the next day, looking just as put together as he did when they met at the library. "Good morning, Swan." He takes his usual seat, ignoring the fifteen that are still available.

"Uh…hi." She looks around the room, noting their professor's absence. "I can't believe you made it here before Gold."

He chuckles and scratches a spot behind his right ear. "Let's just say I didn't exactly dread the thought of coming to this class for once."

She wonders if there's more to his words than he's letting on, but forgets it all when she sees Gold's expression as he realizes Killian beat him to his own class.

-/-

The two of them develop a friendship of sorts over the semester. They study for tests at coffee shops, and somehow manage to get away at texting throughout the class period whenever Gold becomes too monotonous for either of them. She won't admit to having feelings for him, but it's hard to ignore the way her heart beats just a bit faster when he smiles at her.

After weeks of what feels like torture, it's finals week at last. It's almost bittersweet in a way; they don't have any classes together next semester, and she's going to miss having him beside her three times a week.

He finishes their last exam a few minutes before she does, but both had promised earlier to wait for the other outside before leaving. She finds him leaning up against a vending machine, arms crossed at his chest, frowning.

She's confused. "What's the matter, Killian? Test harder than you expected?"

He shakes his head, scratching the spot behind his ear that she's learned is a habit of nervousness. "No, it was fine. There's just something I need to take care of that I should've done a long time ago."

"And what would that be?"

"This." She doesn't have time to react before he kisses her softly, cradling her face in his hands, her heart feeling like it's going to burst out of her chest.

He releases her after a moment, their foreheads touching. "I've wanted to do that since the first day I saw you in that horrible class."

She smiles, beyond thankful to know her feelings weren't one-sided. "Well, I'm glad you did now."

"You and I, both, Swan. I'd like to do that more often, if it's alright with you. Preferably with dinner included."

"It's a date."

Their first date of many took place just hours later, both of them thinking about how grateful they were to be stuck in American History at eight am a few months ago.