Two weeks after getting back from New Orleans, Emerys sat in the food hall with Ruby, Regina and Zelena and noticed something was off about Regina.
With Ruby and Zelena occupied with their own conversation, Emerys took it upon herself to find out what was wrong with Regina.
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.
"I got myself into a pretty bad situation, Em..." She sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair, clearly stressed out.
"What happened?" Emerys frowned.
Regina looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance.
"Do you promise to not tell anyone or get mad or anything?"
"Of course." Emerys nodded.
Regina hesitated, sighing once more.
"I may or may not have kissed Mr Watkins..." She finally said. "And he may or may not have kissed me back... And now we may or may not be starting up a relationship."
Emerys' eyes widened.
"Oh... Wow..."
As though it were a script, Mr Watkins walked into the food hall and instantly found Regina's gaze.
Emerys couldn't help but think about her own situation. Her and Killian had been going strong for nine months and had somehow kept it secret.
She found herself looking from Mr Watkins over to Killian, who was looking between Mr Watkins and Regina.
'Had he been told?' Emerys thought. She knew Killian and Mr Watkins were really good friends outside of school, but Killian was anxious about telling anyone about this, so Emerys thought it would be odd for someone as socially awkward as Mr Watkins to come out with a secret so unethical.

Just before lunch ended, Killian found himself in his class, going through his students' work when a knock on the door came.
He looked up to the window to see his brother.
He beckoned Liam in with a friendly smile.
"Hello brother. What brings you here?" He greeted.
"You asked me to pick you up Beignets from the bakery, remember? I would've brought them sooner but traffic was Hell. What's with the Beignet obsession recently, anyway?" Liam chuckled, placing the bag down on Killian's desk.
"I went to New Orleans with Emerys a couple of weeks ago, didn't I? She showed me her favourite bakery and the Beignets there were incredible and it made me think that maybe I should be eating them on a semi-regular basis." Killian chuckled. "Thank you, by the way."
"Semi-regular, huh? You'd best sign up for a gym then, brother. Wouldn't want you ruining that charming figure." Liam smirked.
"Oh hush." Killian laughed, just as Emerys entered the classroom.
"Oh shit..." She gasped. "Hey Liam..."
She shied away instantly.
Liam looked between the two inquisitively.
"Little mouse. What are you doing here?" He frowned.
"Uh, I came to speak to Killian. But if you're busy, I can come back later." She began to panic.
Liam couldn't help but spy the backpack over her shoulder.
"If you could, love. Come to mine after I'm done with work." Killian quickly said.
Emerys simply nodded, then vacated as fast as she could.
Liam scowled at his brother.
"So that's why you haven't told the boys her name." He said. "You're dating a student."
"Liam... I can explain..." Killian sighed.
"Oh, this had better be good." Liam folded his arms across his chest, perching on the student desk behind him.
Killian sat down in his desk chair, wiping his face stressfully.
"When Emerys and I met, I didn't know she'd be a student here and she didn't know I was a teacher. We developed... Feelings. As soon as I discovered she was a student, I tried to break it off. But seeing each other every day, neither of us could keep our feelings at bay. I love her, mate. I can't help how I feel any more than she can." He told him.
"How old is she, exactly?" Liam raised an eyebrow.
"Seventeen..." Killian mumbled. "Though she's eighteen next week and she graduates in May. We just need to keep it quiet until then and it'll all be fine."
Liam didn't exactly know what to do or think.
"You've gotten yourself into some shit in the past, Killian, but this is taking the piss." He huffed. "You'd better know what you're doing."
"I know exactly what I'm doing, brother. I love her and she loves me. As soon as she graduates, there'll be no more hiding, no more sneaking around. The only thing I'm worried about is her parents..."
Liam frowned. "What about her parents?"
"Her mum is the Sherriff and her dad is the Principal here." He said a little more quietly than everything else.
Liam's eyes widened.
"You have got to be joshing me."
Killian simply shook his head.
"But it's not just Emerys and I that you have to be aware of now..." He started. "I hear-tell that Kristian has started up a relationship with a student called Regina Mills. One of Emerys' best friends."
Liam looked as though he was about to have a heart attack.
"And what the Hell caused this?" He almost shouted. "Is there something in the bloody water that makes teachers ditch all morals and ethics for bloody teenagers? Do either of them know about you and Emerys?"
Killian shook his head.
"Though I was thinking about inviting them both round to my house tonight so that everything could be out in the open and they could be reassured that they know we can be trusted."
"You've really done it this time, Killian." Liam huffed.
"Just a few more months. That's all we need. Please, brother. Promise me you'll keep this to yourself." Killian begged.
Liam sighed, heavily. "Fine. But if anything fucks up between now and May, I'm staying completely out of it and I do not count on me to step in and save you when Emerys' parents find out and come fully armed to your door."
Killian simply nodded.
"That sounds reasonable..." He said.

Later that evening, Emerys found herself pacing Killian's living room.
"Love, could you settle down, please? You're making me nervous." Killian sighed.
"I'm sorry..." Emerys moaned. "It's just, this is going to be so weird."
"I know. But I'm sure everything will be fine." He replied, just as there was a knock on the door. "I'll be right back."
Emerys heard the greetings from Killian, Mr Watkins and Regina, everyone seeming just as awkward as she'd anticipated.
But when they walked into the living room and saw her, their faces turned to that of complete shock.
"Em? What are you doing here?" Regina gasped.
"All will be explained..." Emerys gave a small, nervous smile.
"Wine?" Killian offered, going to the kitchen.
"Yes, please." Mr Watkins said.

With everyone sat down in the living room, an awkward silence befell the four of them.
No one really knew where to begin or what to ask first until Regina piped up.
"Okay so, Emerys is here. Please explain." She said.
Emerys gave a small, pleading glance to Killian, who simply nodded.
"To make a long story short, Emerys and I have been in a relationship for nine months now." He told them.
Regina's eyes widened immensely, as did Mr Watkins'.
"So... All those times Liam referred to your mystery girl as 'little mouse', he was referring to Emerys?" Mr Watkins clarified.
Killian nodded.
"I asked him to keep her name out of all our conversations because of how distinctive her name is. I knew that as soon as you heard it, our cover would be blown."
"That makes sense..." The Geography teacher sipped his wine.
Regina looked slightly offended.
"I'm really sorry I never told you, Regina." Emerys mumbled.
The dark haired girl looked to her best friend.
"It's okay, Em. I get it. More than I ever thought I would now." She gave a humourless chuckle.
The four fell into a silence that wasn't as awkward as it was the first time, but still had a thick layer of something in the air.
"So how did you two... You know." Killian raised an eyebrow.
Regina smiled at Mr Watkins, him giving her a look to take the lead.
"I've had my eye on Kristian for a few months now. I was struggling with my homework last week and he helped me. Things got a little closer and then... We kissed. Things simply escalated from there, really. What about you guys?"
Emerys giggled into her wine glass as she took a rather big gulp, earning a side-eye and matching smirk from Killian.
"Just after Emerys moved here, I found her sitting on the docks and we got talking. Neither of us knew that we were a teacher and student until the first day of school." He told her. "Honestly, I tried to end it for ethical reasons, but she'd already got me wrapped round her little finger. I was too far gone to quit on her."
"Aww, that's sweet." Regina grinned. "I'm happy for you both."
"Likewise, 'Gina." Emerys smiled, leaning over to give her friend a hug.

The four sat around Killian's table eating the spaghetti he had prepared for the evening, finding themselves mostly discussing the relationship between Killian and Emerys, as there's had had the most time to blossom.
"So you're telling me that when you told me you were going to New Orleans a few weeks ago, it was with Emerys and none of us had any bloody clue." Kristian almost pouted. "Damn, this all makes so much sense now."
"Hold on... Em, your dad's Killian's boss." Regina gasped.
"Yeah..." Emerys sighed.
"Have you thought about every possibility? Including someone finding out about you two and telling him?" Kristian asked.
Killian and Emerys shared a glance.
"I think we'd rather cross that bridge if or when it comes to it. But we have spoken a little about what's going to be said after Emerys graduates."
"And what did you come up with?" Regina wondered.
"Well," Emerys started. "My parents know I'm in a relationship with someone, they just don't know who. My plan is to say that I've broken up with said person and remain single in their eyes until after graduation. After that, we're going to sit down like adults, have dinner or something and explain that Killian and I are 'now' together."
"Oh, I bet they're going to love that." Regina laughed.
"Well, we can't exactly sit down and say 'hey mom, hey dad, this is Killian. He was my English lit teacher and we've been dating basically all of my senior year.'" Emerys smirked.
"No, I suppose not." Regina shrugged.

Later that evening, Emerys walked through her front door with a faked miserable look on her face.
"Hi sweetie!" Her mother sang before actually looking at her daughter. "Oh my God, what's wrong?"
"My boyfriend and I broke up tonight..." Emerys sighed, slumping down on the couch.
"Oh no..." Jocelyn sat next to her and engulfed her in a hug. "I'm so sorry, honey. I know you really liked him."
"It's okay. It's done with now." The teen mumbled, looking down at her hands as she picked at her nail polish.
"Tell you what. I'll go to the store right now and get some ice cream and some wine and you can tell me all about it, okay?"
Emerys gave a humourless chuckle. "If it's alright with you mom, I think I just wanna go to bed."
Her mother looked at her with sympathy in her eyes.
"Okay, sweetie. I love you." She said.
"I love you too." Emerys kissed her mother's cheek and moped her way upstairs.

After getting into her pyjamas, Emerys laid in her bed and called Killian.
"So, how'd it go?" He answered.
"Oh, mom bought it like a discounted purse." She smiled. "I am officially single in the eyes of my parents."
"Good." He chuckled. "Only two more months and then we can go public. No one can tell us what to do."
"Yeah, but you just know that those two months are gunna feel more like two years." Emerys sighed, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"I know... But it won't be forever, love. We'll be free."
"I can't wait." She giggled, biting the tip of her index finger playfully.
"Me either. Now come on, it's late and you sound exhausted. Get some sleep and I'll see you in class tomorrow." She could practically hear his eyebrow raise.
"Mm, yes sir." She smirked.
"Less of that, Miss Taylor. Or detention will be in my bedroom after school."
"Promises, promises." Emerys sighed. "I love you."
"I love you too." Killian smiled, then hung up the phone.