Earned It- Introduction

You Make this Look like its Magic,

There were dozens of teenage girls scrambling about in the shared dressing room inside the school building. Fake tans, several pounds of makeup and eyelashes were being applied to every girl in the room as they all prepared for the Storybrooke Beauty Pageant that was going to start in several hours. Dresses and sequence littered every surface rendering it unavailable and the brunette sighed to herself. She was carefully applying a nude shade over plump lips, if she could get it right her scar wouldn't be noticeable. Mother always said beauty was in perfection and while she never voiced her displeasure with Regina, the teen could tell she wasn't what her mother wanted her to be.

Several different scents hung heavily in the air from the perfumes that were being sprayed and it was giving her a massive migraine. A violet purple went over nude, followed by a dry tissue to collect any unwanted lip stain. It took her a while to realize that lip stick isn't for everyone, it would smudge at the slightest contact and you would have to reapply it often. Since then she had bought ever shade of Mac lip stain available in the La La Luce boutique. Her makeup was done perfectly, smokey eyes with a hint of violet to tie into her lips, her cheekbones were accented wonderfully giving the eighteen year old the look of a woman well off into her late twenties. Everything was perfect.

Yet it wasn't. What was the whole point of this if she couldn't be happy with the young woman in the mirror? She had no doubt her mother was in the crowd along with whatever tag along she could find for Regina for when she won. It was most likely the son of some well off man, waiting to shoot his load off in the heiress of the Mills Fortune. Cora knew of her sexuality and her preference, surprisingly she didn't make a big deal about it...as long as it was a private matter. In public Regina was expected to act like a first class citizen with a big open heart. She had to volunteer for several charities, graduate valedictorian of her high school at sixteen, and was expected to be married in exactly three years and have a kid no more than two after that. Cora never physically said these things but Regina knew what was expected of her.

The problem stemmed from three things, one Regina was not attracted to the male species in a sexually derived way. Sure she could see the attraction in strong muscles and sharp chiseled features but she preferred something a bit softer. However if she wanted to she could always find a butch, lord knows some of them strongly resemble men these days anyway. Her attention was quickly snatched to the left when she saw a girl no older than thirteen eating water soaked cotton balls. This was where she drew the line. Pushing herself off the table, she stalked towards the younger blonde before snatching a drenched piece of cotton that was on its way to her mouth.

"What's your name?" Regina asked throwing the piece of cotton into the garbage that was beside them. She had gathered the attention of everyone in the dressing room by stopping the young girl. At eighteen she had never lost a competition and that had garnered respect and envy alike. Long story short everyone was always watching her.

"G-Grace Hatter" The girl looked up at her fearful brown eyes but Regina forced herself to remain firm. It was habits like this that ruined little girls, and she knew Grace had picked it up from watching the older girls prepare for a pageant.

"Grace...How old are you?" Regina questioned the scared girl.

"I'm twelve." Grace answered dutifully.

"I see. Why are you eating that?" Regina pointed to the bag of cotton behind the girl.

"I need to fit into my dress. Cotton doesn't make you fat." Grace shrugged.

"How long have you been doing this?" Regina raised an eyebrow looking down on Grace.

"About a week now." Grace licked her lips nervously when she realized all of the attention was on her and Regina.

"Okay..." Regina nodded testily before turning towards everyone.

"Listen up everyone! If I catch anyone doing anything like this again, I will make sure you are done with pageants for good. Your body needs nutrients to survive, starving yourself isn't going to make you any better. There is not a girl in here that is too fat to be beautiful. This is your first and last warning." Regina glared at everyone before turning towards Grace who had her head hung with shame.

"You're coming with me!" Regina grabbed Grace by the wrist and led the girl over to her locker. Putting in the code she grabbed a lunch box before thrusting it at the young girl.

"I want you to eat it all, if you can without getting sick." Regina order watching the girl pull out half of a peanut butter and jelly, an apple and a protein drink.

"But-but this is your food." Grace shook her head protesting.

"Now its yours. Eat it, I know you're hungry." Regina pushed the lunch back towards the girl. She directed the pre-teen to a stool and watched as the girl nibbled on the food it until it was all gone.

"I meant what I said Grace. I don't want you doing this again, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Put on your dress and get ready for the Petite section." Regina said before walking off towards her chair.

"That was a nice thing you did, Gina." The irritating voice of her ex piped into her ear. Tink Kendrick was the typical Gretchen Wiener of Storybrooke High and unfortunately it took Regina a lot longer to catch on.

"Is there a point to this conversation? Or is this just mindless chatter?" Regina response was brisk to the point of being almost biting.

"Well, I was just wondering what you were doing after this whole shebang?" Tink feigned innocent.

"Well I can tell you what I won't be doing...You." Regina slightly glared at the blonde in the mirror before she began to put on her eyelashes.

"Surely you can't still be angry over that whole Rapunzel thing? I apologized for it twice already, I'm not sure what more you want from me!" Tink pouted slightly, wanting to have the brunette's full attention on her.

"Look I don't care who or what you do, that is none of my concern anymore. I shall ask you once to leave me be before I press harassment charges!" Regina snapped, quickly losing her patience with the girl.

"God, your such a bitch!" Tink scoffed before stalking off. Regina ignored the off handed comment before she began to mentally prepare herself for the pageant. Warming up her voice and stretching out before she slipped on her beauty dress, which was an all white floor length princess style dress, with a sweetheart neckline. Everyone knows that white always takes the crown, unless you could pull off Red like Marilyn Monroe. She traveled through the motions throughout the competition, smiling when needed, answering all of questions with the grace of a Mills and class that her mother had instilled in her. Talent came and Regina had chosen to sing, something she knew her mother wasn't going to approve of. Yet that was the whole point of this. Her question from earlier in the night rang in her head.

"What is your aspiration in life?" She told the announcer her goals for the future, when all she really wanted to do was scream that she wanted to be happy.

"Mama said you're a Pretty Girl, what's in your head it doesn't matter. Brush your hair, fix your teeth, it's what you wear. It's all that matters. Just another stage pageant the pain away, this time I'm gonna take the crown, without falling down down down!"

Regina gracefully moved across the stage, remembering to keep the microphone several inches away from her mouth, so she would get that offhanded screeching sound. She purposely avoided her mother, but made eye contact with each judge that was sitting at the panel. One man and three women, all of their eyes started to gloss over when they heard the brunette girl sing with so much passion.

"Pretty hurts, they shine the light on whatever's worse, Perfection is a disease of a nation. Pretty Hurts. They shine the light on whatever's worse. Trying to fix something but you can't fix what you can't see, it's the soul that need's surgery."

She could see her mother grit her teeth from where she sat in her chair next to Robin Lamont, the son of a partner at her old firm. Rolling her eyes, she tried to ignore her pissed mother and Robin who looked like a bitch in heat. Why could her mother only except that her daughter preferred the company of woman over a man's behind closed doors?

"Blonder hair, flat chest, T.V says bigger is better. South Beach, sugar free Vogue says thinner is better. Just another stage pageant the pain away, this time I'm gonna take the crown without falling down down down. Pretty hurt, they shine the light on whatever's worse, perfection is a disease of a nation . Pretty hurts Pretty hurts. Pretty Hurts they shine the light on whatever's, trying to fix something but you can't fix. what you can't see."

"Ain't got no doctor or pill that can take the pain away. The pain's inside and nobody frees you from your body. Its the soul, its the soul that needs surgery. It's my soul that needs surgery. Plastic smiles and denial can only take you so far. And you break when the paper signs you in the dark. You left a shattered mirror and the shards of a beautiful girl. Pretty Hurts!" Regina finished just as the tempo finished out. She could hear the faint clapping but all she could focus on was the frantic beating of her own heart as she left everything she had on the table. She didn't want to do this anymore. The make-up and fake attachments, the overly expensive dresses. All of it was becoming too much as it began to slowly suffocate her, driving her to hate her own skin. She didn't want to be just another pretty girl.

She had changed back into her beauty dress just as her mother came back into the dressing room with a pinched face. Parents weren't supposed to be back here, but nobody had the balls to tell that to Cora Mills.

"Darling, you're sweating." Cora chided gently, and Regina wondered if her mother knew how to say a proper greeting.

"It's very hot back here with no circulation." Was all Regina offered as she pinned her hair into an elaborate up do.

"Still, it is very unbecoming of a lady. You'll ruin your dress." Cora clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, her patience wearing thin.

"Mother is there something you want to tell me? I know you didn't come back here to talk about perspiration.

"I want to know why you didn't stick to the song you have been practicing for weeks on. I spent a lot of money on that vocal coach, and I do not like the end results." Cora shook her head as she looked down at her daughter who scoffed.

"Please, you wouldn't have liked the end results had I sung Ave Marie." Regina clipped in a pair of earrings just as they began calling the girls to the stage.

"I expect nothing but 1st place since you insist on playing these childish games." Cora patted her daughter's cheek before leaving the dressing room. Regina walked to her spot and stood on stage, trying hard not to catch the overly bright light so her eyes wouldn't burn.

"In the Miss Junior Petite category; Best dress! Our first place is...Contestant number 8, Alice!" Regina tried hard to contain her surprise as the little girl in a bright yellow dress accepted the trophy placed at her feet. Talent! We have contestant number 3 Ava! And your first runner up for the entire competition is contestant number 6...Grace! Your Junior Miss Petite goes too...Contestant number 3 Ava!" Regina couldn't contain her grin when she saw Grace won first runner up, the little girl didn't even look said that she didn't get a crown.

,

"Your Miss Petite category. We have Best Dressed going to contestant number 9 Tink Kendrick's! In the talent competition we have contestant number 11, Regina! Our first runner up for the title Miss Petite goes to act number 17 Lilith...I mean Lily!" The announcer corrected when he saw the death glare he received from the girl.

"And out 2015 Miss Petite goes to contestant number 11 Regina!" She could feel the pointy tiara being placed on her head, and the sash being tied around her body. Streamers and confetti fell from the ceiling as all of the girl carefully walked in their heels off the stage. Regina quickly stripped herself from all of her makeup and slipped off the three thousand dollar dress.

"I'm glad to see you didn't make a complete fool of yourself." Cora took the trophy from her daughter as the younger brunette rolled her eyes.

"You have your trophy, may we leave now Mother?" Regina faked cheeriness as Robin walked up.

"Hello Regina, may I say you looked absolutely exquisite on stage." Robin kissed her hand before leering at her.

"You may but that doesn't mean I'm going to cream my panties and want to have a half a dozen babies with you." Regina smiled throughout her comment watching both her mother and Robin's flustered faces.

"Yes, well I was hoping for a date first." Robin chuckled awkwardly.

"I don't know exactly what my mother has told you but seeing that you're at...half mast or maybe it full in your case, I can tell you I am certainly not interested." Regina smirked looking down at his crotch before she looked back up at his blushing face.

"I don't understand." He coughed looking back and forth between the mother and daughter duo.

"I prefer a hole to a pole." Regina shrugged but Robin's confused expression still remained.

"Let's just say me and you have the same preferences." Regina tried again but Robin's face didn't change.

"My goodness, I bet my strap on is bigger than you dick! I can probably make a girl cum faster than you using nothing but my tongue an fingers. I can steal your bitch!" Regina exclaimed watching the light bulb go off in Robin's head.

"Regina!" Cora hissed effectively stopping her daughter from continuing.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know." Robin scratched his head embarrassed.

"Didn't know, now you know now." Regina shrugged, before stepping away from her livid mother who was apologizing for her "crass behavior".

Stepping out of the school building, she was hit by a gust of fresh air. Loving the way the sun practically licked her skin, she missed a group of girls running down the sidewalk until she stepped into their path. By then it was too late, and she was knocked over by a blonde in a leotard and tights.

"Damn it Em, look what you did!" An older girl pointed to the now dirty costume the girl was wearing.

"I am so so sorry!" The blonde on top of her apologize but she still didn't move from on top of her.

"Will you get off of me?" Regina hissed, rolling them over before she scrambled up. The blonde jumped up right after her, before sending her a sheepish smile before running in the direction she was headed in. The older blonde turned to her, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry about that. We are just in a hurry to make curtain calls at the play up at Tournet's. I can pay for your dry cleaning." The blonde told her.

"That won't be necessary Miss-" Regina trailed off dusting off her pants.

"Katherine, you can call me Kat. The girl who practically trampled you is my little sister Emma. She was a bit excited, she got the part of the White Swan." Katherine held out her hand for Regina to shake.

"Well I'm sure you have something to do, I won't keep you waiting." Regina sniffed ignoring the hand. She couldn't get the other girl's bright green eyes out of her head, or the way her body pressed against a softer paler one.

"At least let me give you a ticket to the show. It's the least I can do. Maybe Emma can apologize to you properly. It doesn't start until eight tonight." Katherine pulled a couple of tickets from her bag and handed them to the brunette.

"I'll think about it." Regina accepted the tickets anyways just as her father pulled up.

"Darling are you ready to go?" Cora asked, firmly pulling Regina away from the blonde.

"I supposed I have no choice!" Regina sassed but kept a firm grip on the tickets. Maybe she would see those captivating green eyes one more time.

Any thoughts?