— ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ ɪɴ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏʙʀᴏᴏᴋᴇ.
Presley manages to park the rental wreck in a tight spot on the side of the main road. She harshly pulls on the handbrake to park the car. The teenager turns the vehicle off and pulls out the keys. She reaches behind to the backseat and pushes her bags down beneath the seats. What someone doesn't see, someone doesn't want to steal. Presley puts her phone in her pocket and steps out of the car. The door slammed shut behind her and she locks the vehicle with the keys.
The girl looks around town. She was on some sort of main street with shops on each side of the road. There were only a few people walking around, but none of them seemed to pay serious attention to her. Just a few quick looks in her direction and they would continue with their lifes.
Presley bites her lip. Where could Emma be? Or, perhaps the better question.. where could she find someone who knows where Emma is?
Then her eyes set on a diner. It was a little bit further back than the buildings around it, leaving room in front of the diner for tables and chairs. The front door of the diner opened and a tall woman, probably somewhere in her early twenties, walks out. She had her brown hair in a curly wave down her back while wearing a red top and dark jeans. The woman put a board down of daily specials by the side of the entrance to the terrace before heading back inside. Presley's eyes shift from the woman disappearing behind the glass door to the letters that were on top of the diner.
"Granny's. Seriously?"
Presley rolls her eyes but starts walking towards the diner. It was the best way to start in somewhere public, she thought to herself. She opens the front door of the place and gets inside. Most of the seats in the diner were full of people having lunch together. They were all chatting, but when Presley entered a silence fills the room. All eyes were on her. Doubtful. Hesitant. Wary.
As an outcast Presley was used to the stares and the distasteful looks that people give her. She learned to block those off with her own armour. Because there was one thing she wasn't willing to do and that was letting people hurt her. Presley reaches for the comfort of her black jacket with different military insignia on them. She holds the leather fabric in her hand and squeezes it.
She shrugs the looks off, pretending not to notice that she was drawing attention, and walks towards the bar. The brunette woman from outside was now standing behind the bar. She was filling a cup of coffee for a red haired man that was sitting on a barstool. The elderly lady next to her was cleaning used glasses. "Can I help you," she asks briskly. One eyebrow was raised at her as the woman eyes her up and down. She had a scrutinizing gaze that was amplified by her tiny glasses that rest on the tip of her nose.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Emma, Emma Swan. Is she around here somewhere?" The elderly woman and the brunette stop with what they're doing and eye each other. It was as if they were in silent conversation with each other. "Oh, well.. she's not here right now," the brunette explains. She crosses her arms, wearing her defensive pose as a shield against the stranger in Storybrooke. "But we can call someone who might know more about her whereabouts, if you'd like," the granny adds.
Presley nods. "Yeah, please, if you would." "Sure. Take a seat while Re.. Ruby here will phone someone. Would you like something to eat or drink while you wait?" The elderly woman sends the brunette off to get the phone and turns back. She was a little warmer when offering her something while she waits than when Presley first entered the diner. "You wouldn't happen to have pomegranate juice, would you," the blonde teen asks with half a smile.
The granny shakes her head. "No, sorry. Can I get anything else for you?" The teen reaches out for one of the menus and flips through the pages. "A hot coco with cinnamon sounds nice. And can I get a slice of apple pie as well?" Presley hands back the menu to the elderly lady. The woman waves her hand over the pretty full diner. "Take a seat somewhere and we'll bring your order shortly." The teenager mutters a 'thank you' and heads towards a booth besides a window. Quietly she slides onto the seat and waits for her order, blocking all the distrustful stares she received.
"How did she even cross the town line," Red asks her Granny when she enters the diner's kitchen. "I have no clue. Any word from Charming yet?" The girl glances at the old fashioned phone in her hand. "No, it's still going off. I guess he is busy with finding ways to get to Snow and Emma. Speaking of which, can't we just tell her that Emma is gone?"
"And explain she is in the Enchanted Forest with her mother, who is Snow White? What are you, insane?" Red bites her lip and looks down. It had irritated her that her grandmother thought her to be stupid, but she keeps her opinion to herself and waits for Prince Charming to pick up the phone. After perhaps half a minute he picks up. "David." She sighs deeply, happy he finally accepted the call, and puts the call on speaker. "Charming, it's Red. We need you here at the diner, quick." David catches up on his friend's worried tone and places his hands in his hips, halting on the sidewalk. Henry stops too and looks at his grandfather with raised eyebrows. "Is there something wrong," he asks calmly, though there was an undertone of worry.
"Maybe, we're not sure yet," Red answers honestly and she glances towards her grandmother. Charming glances at his grandson and tells him to wait for a moment. He walks away turns his back to Henry. "And what does that mean?" "Someone arrived a few minutes ago at the diner looking for Emma. A girl, I guess a teenager, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Does that ring a bell?" Charming shakes his head and mumbles a soft no.
"What do we need to say, Charming," Granny asks. "I'll be heading in your way and talk to this.. stranger." The prince ends the call and looks at his grandson, who was waiting a few steps ahead with perked eyes. The curious boy had obviously been trying to listen in to his phone call. "Change of plan, kid. We have to make a detour to Granny's." Henry raises his eyebrows questioningly. "Is there something going on?" "Perhaps, Henry. Anyway, let's go."
Charming and Henry arrived a few minutes later, just as Presley received her hot chocolate with cinnamon and a slice of Granny's apple pie. "Thank you," she mutters to the server named Ruby. "No problem," the girl responds as she tries to sound as cheery as usual. Unfortunately it didn't seem to get across. Presley grabs the little fork and digs in while her other hand was furiously typing away on her phone.
Ruby notices that Henry and David stepped inside and her eyes flash towards the occupied girl. She approaches the two, but Charming had already noticed the odd one out. "Is that the girl you were talking about, Red," he asks as his eyes were on Presley. Red Riding Hood crosses her arms and nods. "Know yet who she might be?"
Henry looks at the girl and his eyes widen. "I know who she is," he exclaims quietly enough so only the two adults next to him could hear him. They both look down at the boy with surprised expressions. "You do? How," his grandfather asks. "Because that is Presley, Presley Swan. Did my mom never mention her?" "Well, we.. we weren't reunited for long," David stutters as he tries to excuse himself.
The boy rolls his eyes. "She is Emma's foster child. I met her when I came to look for her." David raises his eyebrows in question. "But what is she doing in Storybrooke?" "And how did she even find it," Red adds. Henry shrugs his shoulders, not knowing the answer either. David puts his hands on his hips and eyes the girl. "Well, I guess we will need to get her out of town. A newcomer will only put more strain on everyone here." Red nods in agreement. "Let me pour you guys a hot coco while you.. deal with that."
Red turns around to get them their drinks while Charming sighs deeply and walks up to the girl. "Uh hi, you were the one asking about Emma, right?" Presley looks up, her bright blue eyes meeting those of the unknown man. "Yeah. Hello, my name's Presley. Who.. are you?" David takes the girl's extended hand and shakes it friendly. "David Nolan. I am the sheriff here." Presley raises an eyebrow. Why would the sheriff of this town come around to talk with her about Emma? Has she gotten herself into trouble?
David scratches his throat. His eyes travel everywhere but to meet her piercing blue gaze. The girl was waiting for an answer while David was trying to figure out what to tell her. "Well, Emma, she.. well, she was here but she is.. no longer."
Presley remains quiet. Her hands envelop her mug of hot chocolate tightly until her knuckles turned white. "So, Emma's no longer here, huh?" She remarks more to herself than to the sheriff. The blonde teen looks up to meet the sheriff's eyes and smiles. "Guess I have no reason to be here any longer. Thanks for the information." She put away her mug that was for a little more than the half full and wipes her hands quickly. Presley throws some money on the table and heads out. David watches her leave with a heavy heart. He approaches Red and Henry. The latter was still watching the door through which the girl left until his grandfather joined them.
"Something's not sitting right with me," David says. "Well, at least she will be heading out of town now," Red remarks as she looks through the window. They say goodbye to Red and head out of Granny's. As Henry and David turn around the corner of the street they find the girl leaning with her back against a car that seemed wrecked. She was just lightening a cigarette and releasing her first puff of smoke when they approach the girl.
"You know smoking is bad, right," David asks as he walks up to the girl with Henry in tow. "Do I look like I care about your opinion," Presley retorts sassily. "Besides, it's none of your business anyways," she remarks with a roll of her eyes. Presley throws the cigarette down on the ground and rubs it out with the front of her boot. Then she digs up a slip of paper from her coat and hands it to Henry. He looks at her with questioning eyes. "Here, kid. Call me when you need to." She reaches inside her jacket for her car keys. "For now, I'm on my way back to Boston." David rests his hands on his hips as he didn't know what to say or do. He felt like Presley was a little too uncaring about the situation.
However, he couldn't express that thought as the girl had already taken place in the car. David's facial expression twists into one of disapprovement when he sees she was not wearing a seat belt. She waves at them and drives the car onto the main street. Henry was holding one of David's hands and waves her goodbye. "Do you think she's going to be okay, grandpa," the young boy asks. David shrugs his shoulders. "I have no idea, kid."
°
"Fuck her! Fuck all of this," Presley curses aloud as she was once again driving the same lonely road back to Boston. She wipes her eyes and finds her hand covered in tears of frustration. Emma had promised to be back. She promised to do so, but she just abandoned her. Like people always do.
"Well, fuck her then," she growls lowly. Her blue eyes were piercing with anger, the tears causing a redness to the skin around her eyes. She digs up her phone and puts it in the phone holder again. While keeping her attention on the road she heads to her contacts and calls for a number all too familiar to her.
Seconds later, the phone was picked up. The background noise was loud and the person on the other side had to scream to let her hear what was said. "Hey, how did it go? Did you find Emma?" "She can go fuck herself. I don't care any longer." Felix was beginning to chuckle on the other side of the phone. "How come so," he asks. "She left, Felix. She fucking left that shithole town and didn't bother to come back home or even goddamn call." Presley takes a deep breath to calm her fury down and an idea is starting to grow inside her head.
"But if she doesn't want to follow the rules, then neither do I. Felix, tell the others that the party will be moving to my apartment. Bring all the good stuff you can find." The slouchy teen laughs aloud and calls out what she said to the other people in the room. She could hear them cheering through the phone. Then Felix puts the device against his ear again and speaks up. "Sounds like fun. But.. you alright, Pres?"
The teen let a small smile creep up her face. "I've never been better."