Chapter 4

                                    

                                          
Emma didn't need to ring the doorbell. She'd been to many parties in her life, but none quite like this. In High School films, parties always looked big, with loads of people where no one really knew each other and that was exactly what this looked like.
                          
Though it was a cold evening, a few people were seated outside, or walking around with drinks in their hands. The front door was open, so Emma could just walk in. Though she felt really insecure.
                          
She had purposely arrived about an hour late and she'd come alone. Ruby really didn't want to join her and the rest of Ruby's friends were either busy or too insecure to go to the party. Emma had thought about not going, but she actually wanted to get to know more people.
                          
Emma looked around the hallway. It was huge, but she couldn't really appreciate the design, because too many people were blocking her view. She didn't even know Storybrooke had this many inhabitants.
                          
"Emma, over here!" Emma was surprised she could recognize Ivy's voice over the loud music, but she smiled relieved when she saw the girl.
                          
Ivy looked stunning. Her purple dress shone, despite the lack of bright light. Her hair was done impeccably and she was wearing purple eye shadow that matched her dress. It fit her really well.
                          
"Thanks for coming. Do you want anything to drink?" Ivy asked as she grabbed Emma's hand and moved her along through some doorways to an improvised bar. Emma looked a bit confused, but nodded.
                          
Ivy released Emma's hand and Emma wondered how her hand had been cold. Emma had been inside the house for three minutes and she was already sweating like crazy.
                          
"What do you want?" Ivy asked. Her hair was curled and tied into the perfect messy bun, with some loose strands. She tucked one of those strands behind her ear and gestured at the bartender.
                          
"I'd like a soda, doesn't matter what kind," Emma said. She saw that Ivy was surprised, but the brunette didn't say anything. "I don't drink alcohol," Emma explained curtly, knowing that these parties were the place where people got drunk and consumed alcohol, but Emma wasn't planning on doing either this night.
                          
"That's okay, I don't judge," Ivy said. "I mean, we aren't even legally allowed to drink. You're only following the rules."
                          
Emma chuckled and smiled at the man behind the bar as she accepted the soda. She felt like she appeared to Ivy as a nice girl who didn't dare doing anything she wasn't allowed to. That wasn't true, but it wasn't necessary for Ivy to know that.
                          
"The rest of my friends is over there, let's go," Ivy said and Emma followed her through the mass of people. She figured Regina would be standing by Ivy's friends, but she was nowhere to be seen. Much to Emma's relief.
                          
Ivy's friends were crammed up in a corner of the room. She recognized half of them, but she only knew a few names. "Everyone, this is Emma!" Ivy said loudly, introducing Emma to the group. "She's the new girl, remember?"
                          
Emma smiled uncomfortably and sipped her drink. The stares of the people were long and she didn't quite know how to act in front of them.
                          
"This is Ashley, but you know her already," Ivy said, pointing at a beautiful blonde with bright blue eyes. She was wearing a cute, blue cocktail dress and her usually straight hair was curled.
                          
"This is Mulan and this is Aurora," Ivy continued. The girls smiled at Emma. The way Mulan's arm was wrapped around Aurora's waist made it seem as though they were more than just friends, but Emma wasn't sure.
                          
"Here's Peter, Jack, Sam and Nicholas," Ivy said pointing at four boys. They were brunette and Emma wondered why there were so few blonde boys around. Then she remembered Ivy had mentioned a "Peter".