Chapter 27

                                    

                                          
"I already knew this rehearsal was going to be awful. I was so bad," Emma said, and chuckled lightly. She was walking away from the classroom, together with Philip, the boy who played Mercutio.
                          
"At least you were much better than me. Ms. Fox seemed to be completely done with me," he said.
                          
"I honestly think that's because for the second time in a row, I was completely unmotivated," Emma said. "That's why she got annoyed with everyone."
                          
Apart from the fact that Emma hadn't rehearsed her lines at all, though she'd promised she would, her mind had been elsewhere the entire day, making it much harder for Ms. Fox and Mrs. French to get through to her.
                          
In her mind, she was still at the beach, Regina leaning against her. It almost seemed like a dream, now that she thought about it, but the sand that she kept finding everywhere, showed just how real it had been.
                          
Emma stopped walking when they arrived by the exit of the school. "I'm sorry, I promised Regina I'd wait for her," she said, and smiled sympathetically.
                          
"I see you two are becoming real friends?" Philip said, and Emma nodded, somewhat uncomfortable. He didn't seem thrilled about that.
                          
"Yeah, we're getting along quite well," Emma said. "Something wrong with that?"
                          
Philip shrugged, with a grimace plastered on his face. "You.. seem like a nice girl, and I would hate for you to feel bad, that's why I just want to say that Regina may appear very nice, sweet and so cool, but she really knows how to hurt people. She can hurt anyone in ways they least expect. No matter how close you are to her. Don't get blinded by her appearance and the way other people speak about her."
                          
Emma smiled uncomfortably, not even being able to pretend as though she appreciated the unsolicited advice. "Thanks, but I think I'm okay."
                          
"I thought that too. Regina and I used to be best friends, until she shamed me for having a boyfriend. Now, everyone is afraid of having a public queer relationship. She's got a big influence."
                          
Emma realized she'd heard that story, but she never knew who it was about.  "Woah, uhm.. I.."
                          
Fortunately, Emma didn't have to say anything, because Regina joined their conversation. Emma had absolutely no idea as to what she could say in response to Philip, but she knew she didn't have to, given the way the tension had changed, now that Regina was with them.
                          
"Thank you for waiting," Regina said, and then she turned to Philip. "Hi, Phi.."
                          
"I'm going. Thanks for the conversation, Emma," he said, and turned around.
                          
"Philip, please wai.." Regina couldn't even finish her sentence, because the boy had left the school. She turned to Emma and sighed. "It wasn't because he was in a relationship with a boy," Regina said, as she started walking.
                          
Emma followed her, and together they exited the school. "What do you mean?" Emma asked.
                          
"I bet he told you the story about how I broke him and his boyfriend up?"
                          
"I already knew that story."
                          
"And you didn't tell me?"
                          
"Not the point. What's the truth?"
                          
Regina sighed. She put her hands in the pockets of her coat, and pursed her lips. "He had a boyfriend, who was eight years older, and forcing him to do things I knew he wasn't ready for. He changed completely; started drinking and doing drugs, had sex. He'd told me explicitly that he wasn't ready for all those things, right before he got into a relationship with that boy. The boy who was twenty three at that time. I outed my concerns, but everyone took it the wrong way and started accusing me of homophobia," Regina said. "You must believe me, Emma, the fact that he was with a boy wasn't the reason I broke them up. I'm not that horrible. My accusations did lead to them breaking up, though, showing just how "strong" their relationship was."