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“CANDY CANES,” The jovial Santa costume clad student sang barging into the middle of Mr. Gold’s Calculus lesson, gift Sack full of candy canes throw over his shoulder, and a giddy, elf hatted librarian in tow
Agitation had been apparent on the teacher’s face. “Do you mind?” he snapped setting the worksheet he had been pulling example problems from on his desk. “I am trying to conduct a lesson Young Man,” Gold further explained hoping the kid would get the picture, and get out.
The student’s answer was blunt, “No sir, I don’t.”
With a loud plop Santa dropped the gift sack onto Gold’s desk with complete disregard for its original contents, sending papers and pens scattering across the floor.
This act earned him a few muffled snickers from the students present that day.
“Lighten up Rumple! It’s the Holidays!” Ms. French teased pulling out the list of students would receive candy, and handing it to Santa.
Upon closer examination Emma saw that is was Will Scarlett, the clown of the senior class, who dawned the red suit and fake beard.
Will began with all the ‘A’ names and made his way through the list in alphabetical order.
“Do you think Neal sent you any?” Mary Margaret whispered handing Emma one of the two candy canes Will had tossed her, both as always from her doting boyfriend David.
“I doubt it. Neal knows I don’t need him to send me stupid things like candy,” Emma insisted. Saying it more so for herself to hear than her friend.
Neal her… whatever he was, had never been big on holidays and gifts. He thought they were just some superficial tradition that they were ‘above’.
“Nobody needs it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not nice when he does anyway,” Mary Margaret replied.
“Did you read that on a chocolate wrapper?” The blonde joked hoping to change the subject.
While Emma and Mary Margaret had their Conversation Will had continued through the list rather quickly. One of the perks of living in a small town, she guessed. He’d already made it to the j’s
“12 for Killian Jones,” Will called. The normally prankish teen quickly checked the list again to make sure he’d read the list properly. Once sure, that he had in fact gotten the number right, he turned his attention to Killian who seemed equally surprised. “Bludy ‘ell mate, ya been busy this year ‘aven’t ya?” Will assumed plucking twelve candy canes from the deflating Sack, and setting them on the confused rapscallion‘s (as Killian had playfully deemed himself) Desk.
The dark haired boy eyed the pile of red and white currently sitting on his desk. He glanced over to Emma “No wise cracks Swan?”
“Can you take the sunrise and sprinkle it with dew being that you are now the Candy man?” She asked after a moment of thought.
Killian nodded in approval and went about his business.
From J they went to K from K to L and So on Emma’s hope rising with each passing letter
M
N
O
P
Q
R
And none for Swan.
It didn’t bother her when her name wasn’t called. She knew he wasn’t the Candy cane type. It’s not like she expected anything, or even wanted anything for that matter. I mean there were other people who didn’t get any it was totally fine. Perfectly 100 percent okay. It was just the school’s silly way to earn money.
A hand waved in front of her face pulling Emma’s attention from her thought spiral “Emma Love, are you alright?” Killian asked, dark eyebrow arched in curiosity.
“I’m fine,” She responded just a little too quickly for him to believe that she was in fact fine.
“I’m sure the reason he didn’t get you one is because he’s got something better planned,” Killian offered.
The fact that he was trying to cheer her up did make her feel slightly better. “You’re just saying that because your desk looks like Mount Saint Peppermint, but thank you for trying to cheer me up. It’s really sweet” Emma gave him a small smile.
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The next day…
Emma pulled her beat up yellow Bug into the high school’s poorly salted parking lot as Neal fiddled with the car’s ancient Radio trying to get something from it other than the blue grass station that had been driving them both to the brink of insanity.
Their mornings were normally pretty quiet with him, which Emma had grown accustomed to in the time that they’d been dating.
She removed the Keys from the ignition and stepped out of the car.
Once out of the car the two strolled into the school together just as they always did. His arm around her shoulders her leaning hear resting against his chest. Only to have him leave her and go to his first class of the day.
Emma walked on, and spotted Killian with his head resting in his locker “Good morning, Sunshine,” She greeted cheerily leaning her shoulder against the locker next to his.
He grumbled something sleepily into his locker as if she’d woken him from a nap. His dark locks stuck up every which way in a disheveled mess. His blue eyes normally bright with enthusiasm were now bloodshot and weighed down by his blatant tiredness.
“You look awful,” She stated reaching out to comb down one of his fly aways with her fingers.
“I have 11 secret admirers, and a David who beg to differ,” was his retort, which he accompanied one of his trademark smirks.
“Did you sleep at all?” Emma inquired with friendly concern.
“No,” he mumbled rubbing the sleep from one of his eyes with the heel of his. “The bloody neighbor’s dog kept me up all night. I didn’t sleep a wink.”
“That sucks. I’ve probably got an energy drink or something in my locker if you think that will help” Emma offered. Killian replied with a simple nod.
Laughter bubbled up inside her as she steered him toward her finding the half asleep junior to be quite amusing... but then she saw it, and stopped dead in her tracks.
Her Locker, normally painted the color of pistachio pudding, was now completely covered in candy canes. Every square inch had been taped over (they even taped a peppermint over her lock). It looked like an elaborate mosaic of sugary red and white goodness.
“Well, would you look at that,” Killian stated turning to glance back at the now grinning Emma who had moved her hands to her face in a failed attempt to hide her delight. “Told you he probably had something better planned.”
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Emma strolled over to Neal’s table trying to her cool. She was, however, very unsuccessful in doing so.
“Well aren’t you in a good mood,” Neal noted as she pulled out the seat next to his, and sat down.
She couldn’t fight the smile she felt forming on her face.
Look at him trying to be so coy
Emma leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips
“Thank you,” she told him, her smile still visible.
“What for exactly?” he asked in a manner that Emma assumed was meant to be playful.
“You know what for,” she replied, quickly growing tired of Neal’s playing dumb.
“I really don’t…” he confessed.
“Thank you for the candy canes, Neal” she explained, finally caving into his little game of ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ game, “When did you find the time to do it? Did you get help? There were a lot of them up there.”
“Em, what are you talking about. Those stupid candy gram things? I thought we agreed that it was stupid.” His confusion still present on his face.
“Wait, so you weren’t the one who taped the candy canes to the front of my locker?” Emma inquired backing away from Neal to look at him.
“No. Someone taped candy canes to the front of your locker?” He asked jealousy tinging the end of his question.
“Yeah,” She replied her words curt.
“Well, whatever it’s just some stupid candy.” Neal said letting out an amused laugh before attempting to drape his arm across her shoulders.
She ducked away from his hold and stood up “Y’know what Neal? It’s not stupid. I thought it was sweet, and I think you’re stupid."
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It didn’t take Emma long to figure out who was the one who had prepared her Christmas surprise.
She made her way to the school’s grossly under-utilized library where Belle sat behind the help desk book held in one hand as she sipped at her iced tea. “Excuse me, Ms. French, have you seen Killian today?” She asked nervously feeling slightly guilty for interrupting her lunch.
“Ummm I think he’s sleeping in one of the couches in the back,” Belle informed her. “I figured I’d let it slide just this once,” She further explained, her voice lowered as if someone would walk in and punish her for allowing a student to take an afternoon snooze.
With a polite ‘thank you’ Emma headed to the back of the library, and just like Belle had said, it was there that she had found him.
When she spotted, he was him lying down on one of the bargain purchased, vomit colored sofas that Belle kept in the library with the hope of making the reading area feel homier, his worn leather jacket resting across his chest as a sort of makeshift blanket. She tried to keep her steps somewhat silent as she walked over to the sleeping teem. She reached a delicate hand out to his shoulder and shook him awake.
“Hey beautiful,” He greeted, a sleepy smile plastered across his face.
“Hi,” Emma returned.
“What brings you round these parts Swan?” Killian asked pushing his jacket onto the floor, and giving his arms a stretch.”
“I came to ask you something?” Emma requested.
“Ask away,” he told her as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his finely lined eyes.
“The Candy canes, were they your doing?” she asked hopeful that it was him who had prepared her holiday surprise.
“Pfft what?” he said trying to brush it off as if it were one of the most preposterous things he’d ever heard. He was overselling it far too much, which Emma found absolutely hilarious.
Killian Quickly realized that Emma was not buying his bluff, he let out a defeated sigh. “Was I really that obvious?” he asked shamefully.
She held up a hand with leaving only a small amount of space between her index finger and her thumb as if to say ‘a little bit’. “Bloody brilliant,” he grumbled under his breath not looking at her eyes.
“Bloody brilliant,” he grumbled under his breath not looking at her eyes.
“Why’d you do it?” she asked him lowering herself onto the beaten coffee table that sat across from the couch.
He shrugged “You seemed upset when you didn’t get anything in class yesterday… I just wanted to see you smile.” He admitted sheepishly scratching behind his ear much like he always did when he was nervous.
“Well, thank you, Killian,” she told him happily.
A silent moment passed between them before he looked back up at her.
“Perhaps some...gratitude is in order then?” he teased tapping his lips suggestively. In a manner that Emma took only half seriously.
“Yeah… that’s the ‘thank you’ was for…” She responded deciding whether or not this was a game that she actually wanted to play
“Really? That’s it? I spent quite a bit of my car repair fund buying those Candy Canes, not to mention the time I spent taping all of them to your locker one by one, we’re pretty close to finals, Love, that is valuable time I could have spent on my studies” He continued.
Another silent moment passed between the two. Killian arched a propositioning eyebrow.
Why not...
Emma tucked one of her golden locks of hair behind her ear. Before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. Pulling away just far enough to look into his forget-me-not blue eyes.
She wet her lips before whispering “Merry Christmas Killian.”
“Merry Christmas Swan,” he replied completely content