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Emma had had enough as she drunkenly walked barefoot back to her dorm from the frat party where she had caught her (now ex) boyfriend Neal hooking up with Tamara in an empty room upstairs again. She clutched her heels tighter in her hands and felt a few more tears stream down her face. How could she have been so stupid to think Neal wouldn't cheat on her again? Why had she let Mary Margaret talk her into staying with Neal after the first time she caught him cheating? Emma sniffled and swiped her keycard to get back into her dorm building wanting nothing more than to get out of her tight party outfit and into some sweatpants and watch Disney movies for the rest of the weekend. She passed the tiny communal kitchen on the way to the stairs when she stopped and inhaled the scent of chocolate chip cookies. She opened the door and swayed in the doorway, watching the guy using the kitchen take the tray of cookies out of the oven.
“Why are you making chocolate chip cookies?” she asked drunkenly.
“Why are you holding your shoes in your hand?” he asked, placing his cookies on a plate to let them cool.
“They were uncomfortable and I walked from Greek Row,” Emma said.
“Well that sounds fun,” he turned and looked at her for the first time and his very blue eyes filled with concern, “Or perhaps not, are you alright lass? Did something happen?”
Emma felt her eyes fill with tears again and tried to blink them back, hoping to not cry in front of a total stranger, “No, I'm fine,” she choked out, never sounding less fine in her life.
“No you're not,” he said picking up a cookie from the tray and handing it to her, smiling softly.
“How do you know?” she asked taking the cookie and taking a bite.
“Well for one, you're an open book; more so than you think. And you're drunk and you're crying, most people who are fine don't drunkenly barge into the kitchen at 2 in the morning and then cry,” he shrugged.
“You never answered my question about why you were making cookies at two in the morning,” she said wiping her eyes.
“I couldn't sleep, I had a pack of the place and bake cookies so I figured why not indulge in a very late snack?” he smiled, “I'm Killian by the way,” he extended his hand for her to shake.
“Emma, Emma Swan,” she shook his hand.
“Well Swan, how about we get you a glass of water? Should help prevent that headache you might have in the morning,” Killian said filling a glass with water from the tap.
“Why are you taking care of me, I'm just some pathetic drunk stranger who interrupted your time with your cookies?” Emma asked after taking a sip.
“I'm a gentleman and you look like you had a rough night. It's really no trouble,” he said scratching behind his ear.
“Rough doesn't even begin to describe my night,” Emma said with a bitter laugh.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked carefully.
She took another drink of water before telling him, “I caught my boyfriend cheating on me... again.”
“Again? Well he has to be a complete arse to cheat on you,” he said placing a hand on her shoulder.
“He really is, I just feel so stupid,” she said slamming the now empty glass on the counter, “The asshole cheated on me once and I still gave him the benefit of the doubt and stayed with him and I just,” her words got caught in her throat as tears burned in her eyes again, “I just can't stop fucking crying!” she leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor and frustratedly brushed the back of her hand to wipe away her tears.
“Hey it's okay. You put your trust in him and he broke it, multiple times from what it sounds like. You are not stupid for trying to fix your relationship, he's the stupid one for betraying you twice,” Killian said earnestly handing her another cookie and joining her on the floor.
“Thank you,” Emma said a small smile at the corners of her lips, “for everything.”
“It's nothing,” he shrugged “Just the right thing to do. Now it's late and I have some cookies to eat, how about we get you to bed?”
Emma nodded and went to stand up but swayed on her feet. She took a few steps to balance herself.
“Woah there Swan,” he chuckles and caught her by the arm to prevent her from crashing into the counter, “Here I'm going to walk you up to your room, is that okay?” Emma nodded and he put his arm around her shoulders and held her to his side. She leaned on him, letting her head fall on the space between his shoulder and neck.
“Don't forget the cookies,” she slurred.
“You got it love,” he chuckled and grabbed the plate with the cookies in his other hand and steered them through the door and towards the stairs, “What floor are you on?”
“The fifth,” she answered.
“Bloody hell, well let's get started. Come on Swan,” Killian said and they began the laborious journey up the stairwell.
“Where are you from? That accent isn't from here,” she asked.
“London, I'm here for foreign exchange,” he said ensuring that she didn't fall backwards down the stairs.
“I like the accent,” Emma mumbled.
“Thanks, now come on. We're at your floor, now which room is yours?”
“517, it's down that way,” she pointed and he lead her to her room and opened the door. Thankfully Ruby, her roommate, was still out. Emma felt bad for leaving her at the party but she just needed to get out of that sweaty uncomfortable frat house. Killian gently lead her to her bed and deposited her onto it.
“There we are love, now get some sleep and remember: 2 Advil and a full glass of water when you wake up,” he said as she flopped onto her pillow.
“Wait,” she called as he started to get up, she reached and grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled him to her, his face now level with hers. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You're a good person,” she mumbled before her head hit the pillow and she fell asleep.
Emma awoke the next morning feeling like her brain was too large for her skull. She groaned and dug her face deeper into her pillow hoping to fall back asleep but her head was pounding and her mouth felt like it was coated in sand. She lifted her head and reached to try to open her mini fridge for a water bottle without getting out of bed. She managed to grab one and she was guzzling it down when her roommate Ruby came into the room.
“Hey where did you go last night?” she asked.
“I don't want to talk about it, I'll tell you later when my head stops hurting,” Emma moaned, “Where were you by the way?”
“With Victor,” Ruby smirked and sat down on her bed and began taking off her shoes, “When did you make cookies?”
Emma looked over to her desk and saw the plate of cookies that Killian had made along with a note, she crawled out of her bed and grabbed the note.
“Dear Swan, I figured something sweet might help your broken heart. If you find yourself needing more just give me a text at (815) 227-8246 -Killian”
Emma smiled, “I didn't make them, a friend did.”
“Well good pass me one I'm starving,” Ruby said holding out her hand. Emma handed her one already composing in her mind the perfect text to send Killian once she ran out of cookies.