Collide

Chapter 1

"Is there anything else I can get you Miss? Miss?" the waitress asked the blonde whose attention had already returned to her book. "Miss?" the waitress, dead on her feet, asked once more.

"What?" the blonde asked when the light tap on her shoulder startled her from her concentration.

"I'm sorry but my shift ends in five minutes and I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything else?" the grey haired woman asked again.

"Oh, no I'm okay. Thanks." Emma replied before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a wrinkled ten for her bill. "You can keep the change." Emma said setting the money on top of the check on the table.

The waitress smiled down at the generous tip but when she looked up her smile was met with the back of the blondes head as she was already lost in her reading once again.

The diner was usually quiet this time of night which was what Emma Swan needed. She had been searching for a place to escape the chaos that was her overly crowded dorms. Architecture was her passion and she was delighted that she had the opportunity to study at one of the finest schools in the country. However, none of that helped with the fact that she found the dorms to be suffocating most of the time.

"Excuse me; my boss is insisting I fill the ketchup bottles."

Emma continued to read her book unaware that another woman had approached her booth.

"The appropriate response would be, 'No problem, you're just doing your job.'" Regina laughed as she slid into the booth across from the blonde and began to open the lid for the glass bottle.

Emma looked up from her book when she saw a figure in front of her and gulped when her eyes took in the sight. She had never seen this waitress before because she knows she would not have forgotten that face.

"Hello there," the waitress smiled at Emma as she began to pour ketchup from the larger bottle into the smaller one. "That must be a good book."

"Oh, um hi...yeah, it's okay..."

"Okay? Dear you didn't even hear me speaking to you. I would think it's much better than okay." Regina smiled at her.

"Oh, sorry about that, I tend to get caught up in what I'm doing. What did you say?"

Regina laughed, "Nothing important, I was just letting you know that I had to fill this bottle, and I am done now so I will let you get back to your okay book." Regina winked at Emma and stood up to leave the table.

Emma smiled as she watched the woman walk to the next table and begin to do the same thing. Table after table the waitress filled the ketchup bottles and table after table Emma noticed her at each one. Emma noticed the way she scrunched her eyebrows when she twisted the cap off. Emma noticed the way she bit her bottom lip when she poured the condiment in. Emma noticed and hoped Regina didn't notice her noticing. Needless to say she didn't get any more reading done that night.

......

It was another cold winter night and Emma was making her way back into the diner book in hand. She brushed the snow from her leather jacket and stomped her boots on the mat below her. As she made her way to her favorite booth in the back right corner she spotted the waitress again from last night taking an older gentleman's order. She truly had a radiant smile.

Emma slid into the booth setting her book on the table and rubbing her hands together to warm them when the waitress approached her table.