Hey, everyone, I'm thereforebucket! This is a Red Beauty fic, but Belle hasn't actually come to Storybrooke High School yet. That's third chapter, but until then there is some unrequited Red Snow as well as Swan Queen. It's also my first Once fic, so reviews would be very helpful! Enjoy!


Master List of Characters and Grades:

Freshmen: Ashley Boyd, Sean Herman, Sidney Glass,
Sophomores: Ruby Lucas, Belle French, Regina Mills, Emma Swan, Mary Margaret Blanchard, David Nolan, Kathryn Noble (Kathryn Nolan), Jim Smith (Frederick), Graham Humbert
Juniors: Dawn Dormir (Aurora), Maggie Lin (Mulan), Phillip Smith (moved away)
Seniors: Rupert Gold, Jefferson Summers, Vic Whale
Fifth Graders: Henry Mills, Paige Summers, Ava and Nicholas Zimmer

Anyone not listed is an adult. List will be updated if necessary.


Chapter 1

A faint smell wafts across the breeze. You take a deep breath, filling your lungs with it. You've always had better senses than anyone else (well, besides Granny) and today you are grateful for them. As you breathe out, you open your eyes and turn in the direction of the breeze. Your eyes settle on her and you smile. Mary Margaret.

You and Mary Margaret have been best friends since kindergarten, when Regina teased you about the red hood Granny used to make you wear and she stood up for you. About a year ago, you realized that, while you both loved each other, your love had transformed into something else, something definitely less... sisterly. You're still learning to cope with it, but you do have a secret picture of David Nolan that you tack to the dartboard in your basement when you get angry enough. As she draws closer, you push away thoughts of David. It's one of the things you do best.

You greet each other and walk to school, you totally ignoring how the October wind ruffles her hair, or how her face lights up when you pass Dr. Hopper walking his dog, Pongo. Or how Mary Margaret loves animals. In fact, you've learned to cope so well that you don't even notice how adorable her laugh is on the autumn breeze. Not even then.

Of course, this magical spell of denial ends the moment you walk into first period and she finds her seat by David. David and Mary Margaret's relationship is one of the reasons you don't usually drink at parties: you don't want to end up hurting David. You're more than a little protective when it comes to your friends, and when it comes to someone you love, well... Let's just say it would suck to be David.

You sit down next to Emma Swan. Emma is a foster kid who's lived with Mary Margaret and her dad for three years. You're not sure if they're going to adopt her or not, but Emma and Mary Margaret act like sisters, so you wouldn't be surprised. If Mary Margaret is your best friend, then Emma is your next best friend. Still, you haven't told her about your feelings. You actually haven't told anyone. It's eaten you up for a year now, and you still haven't got the guts to say "Mary Margaret, I'm in love with you," or tell someone else. It's eating you up inside today especially because it's Mary Margaret and David's one-year anniversary. So, in what may very well be a fit of madness, you open your notebook and scribble a note to Emma:

You: Can I talk to you after class?

Emma looks at you, puzzled, before scribbling a reply:

Emma: Sure. Anything wrong?

You: No, it's just that I need to ask some advice on something and I can't ask Mary Margaret.

Emma: Shoot.

You: After class? I'd rather not have to write it down.

Emma: That's worrying...

You: It's nothing to worry about, honest.

Emma is just scribbling a reply when a shadow falls over your books.

"Ruby, do you have something to share with the class?" asks your teacher.

God, no, you think. You shake your head. You're pretty sure you've never been this red.

"Emma? What about you?"

Emma looks up, calm and cool. "I can't say that I do, sir."

"Then kindly do not pass notes in class, especially when I'm asking you a question!" You break your record as the blush creeps up to your ears. "Now, Ms. Lucas, could you please tell me what happened during the Seven Years War?"


When the bell rings, Mary Margaret leaves with David, leaving you and Emma to walk alone. Most days, this irritates you slightly, and you try and walk with them, but today you are perfectly fine with her walking ahead. In fact, you prefer it.

"So, what's this thing you need to ask me about that you can't write down or talk to Mary Margaret about?"

Trust Emma to get straight to the point.

You gulp and brace yourself. "Well, I can't tell Mary Margaret because it's about her, and I can't have it written down because I'm paranoid."

You reach Emma's locker. "Paranoid about what?" she asks, looking concernedly at you. You look into her eyes, hoping to convey utmost seriousness. You're worried about her reaction, but take a deep breath and say quietly "I'm in love with Mary Margaret."

Emma gets a smug look on her face. "Henry owes me ten dollars."

"WHAT?!" you shriek, drawing more than a few eyes to you. You blush and lower your voice. "You knew?"

"Well," Emma says smugly, closing her locker, "I picked up on a few things at Graham's party at the beginning of the year," and that's why you don't drink at parties anymore, "and after that it was easy to notice the looks you gave her. You're not as subtle as you think, Ruby."

"Really?" you ask, "Am I that obvious?" If Emma has picked up on your feelings for Mary Margaret, then who else had? Besides Henry, of course. Henry Mills is Emma's friend who's in fifth grade. The two are inseparable. He's Regina Mills' cousin, and whenever Emma and Regina get into fights (every other week) Regina tells Emma to stay away from Henry, which Emma ignores. It's quite funny, actually.

"No, you're not that obvious. You've got the stealth glance down, it's just that there are too many stealth glances being shot in her direction for a good friend not to notice. That, and anyone who saw you trying to cuddle with her at Graham's party could easily pick up on the signs, unless they were as thick as that Gold kid is sharp."

You breath a sigh of relief as you walk into English, but the question of what you should do is cut short by August Booth walking up to you. "Hey, Emma," he says, and then, as an afterthought, "Ruby." He turns back to Emma. "How are you?" You're not surprised he hasn't noticed you, as he's been asking Emma out since day one of Freshman year.

"Speaking of thick people," Emma says to you under her breath, before putting on a tight-lipped smile for August. "Hey, August, I'm fine."

"That's good. Listen, my dad's out of town this weekend on a trip, and I was planning a party. Want to come?" Again, as an afterthought, he turns to you. "You can come too, if you'd like."

"I'll see," says Emma, "Who else did you invite?"

"Oh, just about everyone in Sophomore year, plus some Juniors and a few seniors. No freshmen." August looks very pleased with himself.

"I'll think about it," Emma repeats, before sliding past him. She turns to you before sitting in her assigned seat. "We'll talk after class, okay?"

You nod. To August, you say "I'll think about it, though Granny's friends with your dad, so I may have to tell her I'm at Mary Margaret's."

August shrugs. "Well, hope you can make it," he says before finding his seat.

English is the one class where you can't sit near your friends. Since the seating chart is in alphabetical order, you have a weird kid who smells in front of you and Regina Mills in back. Mary Margaret is in the front of class, too far to talk, and Emma is in the back, leaving you smack dab in the middle of the room. You hate your seat. Technically you could talk to Kathryn Noble, but you don't know her all that well and she's too busy making eyes at Jim Smith who sits next to her to take notice of anyone. Talking to Regina is out of the question. She only gives you the "bitch please" face and smirk as the you fall back into your seat.

Today, however, you are perfectly content to lose yourself in syntax and diction without someone to giggle with. The grammar keeps your mind off of the elephant in the room and without Mary Margaret or Emma nearby, you don't have to worry about anything accidentally being let slip.

Alas, even dangling participles can't keep the bell from ringing, and zipping up your backpack, you follow Mary Margaret and Emma to Algebra.


Due to a series of only sort of unfortunate events involving Regina's head, an excellent perch in a tree, and some spitballs, you don't get to talk to Emma at lunch or the rest of the day. Since it's Tuesday, the day Mary Margaret volunteers at the elementary school, you walk home by yourself. You're debating texting Emma about meeting you somewhere to continue your chat when something hits the back of your head hard.

"OW!" you yell, spinning around. You find yourself facing a bouncing basketball. "Who threw that?!"

"Dawn! Be more careful!" yells a girl in the driveway across the street. You look over as you see a junior run across the street to get the ball. Oh, it was an accident, you think as Dawn Dormir catches the ball mid-bounce. Everyone knows that Dawn isn't the best at sports, but keeps trying, much to the displeasure of anybody nearby. It's not the first time someone has gotten hit with runaway sports equipment, or will be, you suspect, the last.

"Sorry, Ruby!" says Dawn, an apologetic smile on her face, "I couldn't catch the ball," she turns to her friend, "because someone threw it too hard!"

"Sorry, Ruby!" says Maggie Lin, also a junior and Dawn's best friend. Everyone is pretty sure that the only reason Dawn keeps trying to get into sports is Maggie, just like they know that Maggie couldn't care less if Dawn could shoot a basket. "And I did not throw it too hard! It went right to you!" Their words are angry, but the two girls are smiling.

"It's alright," you say, "Don't worry about it."

Maggie looks at you, her smile replaced by concern. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, perfectly fine. See you around!" You like Dawn and Maggie, but being around them can get a little awkward after a while.

As you walk away, you can hear the two of them play-fighting.

"Right to me my ass! That went over my head!"

"You could have jumped!"

"It was five feet over my head!"

You roll your eyes and keep walking. You aren't sure how subtle you are, but if Emma was right and only if you thought about it could you tell your feelings, then you can easily say that Maggie and Dawn are obvious as hell.

Speaking of Emma, you take out your phone and text her to meet you at the Toll Bridge. Mary Margaret and David are both busy this afternoon, so there would be no interruptions from them (it's their special spot). A few minutes later, you get a text saying that she'll be there after detention. You decide to get a head start. You may be a fast walker, but Emma has a car.


You've been waiting all of ten minutes before the yellow bug pulls up to the bridge. Leo, Mary Margaret's dad, had gotten both Emma and Mary Margaret cars for their birthdays, and though you know that Emma is grateful, she's still wary of strong ties like that in a foster home, even if she's been there for three years. You take out your earphones and gave a nervous wave, Florence and the Machine abruptly cut off. You may have been able to talk to Emma earlier, but you still aren't used to talking about your feelings for Mary Margaret.

"Hey," you say.

"Hey," says Emma. An awkward silence fills the air for about thirty seconds, Emma looking at you, you looking at the bridge before Emma prompts "So, you wanted to talk about Mary Margaret?"

You nod, looking up. "Yeah, it's just hard to talk about, y'know?"

"Well, you could start at the beginning."

"Ok." You take a deep, steadying breath. "Well, as you know, Mary Margaret and I have lived in Storybrooke our whole lives. We met in kindergarten and became best friends after she stood up to Regina for me. She was teasing me about this red hood Granny used to make me wear. So, during the summer before freshman year, you, Mary Margaret, and Leo went on a camping trip for a week. I couldn't see Mary Margaret for that whole time, and we sort of get inseparable during the summers, so it was weird for her to not be there. About four days in, I realized that I was nervous about seeing her again. At first I waved it off as a sort of human-withdrawal symptom, but the next day, when it wasn't two A.M. and I was thinking clearer, I realized that I was being stupid and I was nervous for another reason, I just didn't know what that reason was. I wracked my brains for a couple of days but still hadn't found my answer by the time you all got back, so (and you probably remember this, Emma) when you got back I made some cookies and brought them over. I remember walking to your house and noticing that I got more anxious and got more butterflies in my stomach the closer I got. At that point I just passed it off as excitement at seeing two good friends after a week. But once I walked in the door and saw Mary Margaret, the butterflies increased and my heart was pounding. She smiled at me and I felt like melting. Then she hugged me and wherever we were touching, I just felt like I was on fire, but in a good way, and as soon as I realized this, I tensed up. Mary Margaret noticed and she asked me what was wrong. I told her I didn't feel very good and I guess I didn't look too good either, because she sent me home soon afterward to rest. Pretty soon afterwards, I realized that I had a huge crush on her. You've got to remember, Mary Margaret and I tell each other everything, so it was weird keeping a secret from her, still is. I planned on telling her after we started freshman year. 'Before Christmas,' I told myself, but then she met David and I just kept pushing back when I was going to tell her and now it's been a year and she still doesn't know. In fact, you're the only person I've told, Emma." You look over at the blonde, who looks sad.

"Really?" she asks. You nod, tears, some from relief, some from hopelessness, filling your eyes. Emma opens her arms, and you crawl into her embrace, crying into Emma's shoulder. You stay like that for a good five minutes before drying your eyes and sitting up, shaking yourself out of Emma's arms. "Thanks," you say, "I've just been stressing over it for a year now and I guess it was too long."

"No problem," says Emma, "I know what it's like. Well, to some extent."

You're confused. "Wait, do you mean you know what it's like in that you've liked someone you couldn't be with or... y'know..."

"Well, yes, and yes, but the first one only because they're stubborn and she second one only to some extent. I'm bi."

"YOU?"

"Yeah!"

"How could I not have known that? I mean, I see you every day! I've had sleepovers at your house!"

"Answers are given to those who ask, Ruby, and you didn't ask." She's grinning. Calmly grinning. You don't know how she does it, or how she's pulled this off. You're an observant person.

"But- Then who's the first answer?"

"I'm not actually allowed to tell you that, seeing as 'her majesty' would rather not make it known that she's a lesbian."

"'Her majesty'? Alright, nevermind. Wow. Well, at least I know that I'm not stuck on some metaphorical island alone with Dawn and Maggie."

"Yeah, that would be awkward."

"Super awkward." The two of you giggle a little while imagining Maggie and Dawn alone on an island, before you turn back to Emma, a pained expression on your face. "While it's good to know I'm not alone, what should I do about Mary Margaret?"

Emma thinks for a minute, then says "Well, I think that you should tell her how you feel. Just tell her what you told me. I'm not saying it will help you get the girl, but I think that her knowing and accepting you would be better than you being miserable all the time."

"But what if she doesn't accept me?"

"Ruby, you know Mary Margaret better than anyone, including me and David. If you mean you being gay, think back through all of your conversations and ask yourself if she has ever given you the impression that she was a homophobe."

"She's not, that much I know. But was was wondering if it would change our friendship if she knew my true feelings."

"Well, that one's tough. You two'll just have to figure that out on your own. It will definitely change your friendship, but it may be for the better. The truth is important to Mary Margaret, and she'll like it that you've decided to be honest with her. I think it all comes down to how strong your friendship is. If you two are really as close as you think, then this probably won't do as much damage as you think it will."

"You really think so?"

"I do. Just think of the Mary Margaret you know and ask yourself if she would ever stop being friends with you because you loved her."

You think for a moment, then nod. "Thank you, Emma," you say, laying your hand on her arm, "This makes me feel a lot better."

"Happy to help!"

"Hey, if you ever need to talk about 'her majesty', then let me know. I won't ask for names!" The two of you laugh. "However," you say, "I will figure out who this is."

"I would tell you right now if she would let me, but I'm afraid she'd ignore me for a week if I did, and not just out of trying to keep the secret," says Emma. You chuckle, thinking through all the girls in your class.

"It's not Kathryn Noble, is it?" you ask.

"I'm not going to play the 'guess all the girls in the school until we get it right' game, but I will tell you that it is NOT Kathryn Noble." Emma's face scrunches up in a grimace. Kathryn is a nice enough girl, but it's pretty easy to see how different she and Emma are. "On a different note, do you want a ride back into town?" she asks you.

"Sure," you reply. The two of you get into the bug and drive back to town, each feeling better than when you had arrived.