Down the rabbit hole…
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Brenna sighed and leaned into her chair, stretching. Back to school night was always hectic, this year had been significantly more disorganized then last year. Coordination had been far off resulting in a lot of confused parents and teachers. Thankfully the chaos had calmed until the bell rang to change rooms.
Hearing her name she turned and saw the Claire Morris, the school's principal. Claire had dark skin and short black hair. Always the professional, she looked stunning in a skirt and jacket combo. Lowering a portfolio to her side, she looked impatient and flustered. Brenna`s green eyes met Claire`s dark brown ones. "Yes Mrs. Morris?"
"Why aren't you in your room?"
Claire walked across the hall, her heels clicking against the floor.
"My room?" What did she mean by my room, I`m a substitute. No one had told her to cover for anyone tonight, just to monitor and point confused parents in the right direction.
Claire angled her head to the right, "Evelyn spoke to you didn't she?" Brenna felt her stomach drop, Evelyn Norton was trouble. Nothing good ever came from speaking to her, especially because she played favorites. She shook her head no in response.
Claire`s face went from confused to angry. "I told her to specifically talk to you yesterday. She did not find you and do so?"
"No ma'am, she never spoke to me yesterday. What is this about?"
Claire sighed angrily, "Come on, hurry up." She began to walk down the hallway. Brenna snatched up her papers, shoving them into her side bag. Grabbing her jacket and scarf she ran after the taller woman, trying to move carefully in her high heeled boots. Black pants and a gold colored shirt completed the outfit. The gold complemented her strawberry-blond hair and pale skin.
She almost had to run to catch up with the older woman. Claire stopped at a door and peered into the window. Her face turned angry, Brenna instinctively backed up, moving her jacket and scarf in front of her, not that it made much of a barrier. The black peacoat went with everything, the scarf not so much. The scarf was made of multiple patches of animal fur, she lost count each time she tried to count them. It was deceivingly thin and she could actually unfold it to almost have a small blanket, but folded up it worked well as a scarf.
Glancing at it she wondered why she never managed to throw the ugly thing away. It looked like something possibly from the 70s. Yet it was priceless to her. Somehow it made her feel safe. She shoved the thought from her mind just as Claire knocked and swiftly walked into the room.
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She instinctively followed before pausing and waiting by the door. Peering inside she noticed they were at one of the art rooms. The art teachers practically hoarded their rooms, each one was different. This room belonged to Ms. Parker. It seemed rather empty though, the only art on the walls were two posters of Renaissance era paintings.
She spotted the short haired platinum blond who could only be Lisa. Lisa was her exact opposite, super thin, tall, and tanned. At 5 foot 3 she wasn't fat, but had some extra weight. Certainly more of a normal weight, she was working hard on it though.
Lisa looked just as baffled as she felt, she may have taken some pity on the girl, but she tended to be the target for Lisa to make fun of. Almost on cue Lisa looked past Claire and glared at her. She managed a half smile in return.
"Excuse me for the interruption parents and students but there seems to have been a major miscommunication here. Lisa, who told you to be here?" Claire was always direct and to the point. Lisa managed a laugh that sounded horribly faked, "Claire,"- Brenna cringed, you never called Claire by her first name unless she had given you permission, she was one of the few who could, but in a professional setting it was always Mrs. Morris.
"Evelyn told me that I was taking over for Ms. Parker."
Wait, what? She was gone? Did she retire?
Claire took a moment before responding, "Mrs. Norton apparently got you girls confused."
Not likely.
"Lisa you are going to Mr. Graham's old room."
"Civics?" Lisa`s tone was disgusted, Claire did not care. "Yes, you were assigned to Civics. What was your major?"
Busted…
Lisa`s face flushed red, "Political science."
"Brenna?" Claire turned around to notice her by the door. "Brenna, get in here!"
"Yes ma`am" she hurried into the room, clinging to her belongings over her arm.
"What was your major?"
She felt her face flush and glanced towards the desks and quickly back. "Bachelor of Fine Arts."
Claire nodded for her to continue, moving her hand in a circular motion.
"Bachelor of Fine Arts, concentration in studio art, with a minor in art history."
Claire nodded and smiled, "I specifically stated that Brenna was taking over this art room with good reason." The floor spun, she heard her voice cry out in unison with Lisa's, "What?"
Claire pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "With your past few year reviews and knowledge, I can`t think of anyone better for this position."
Her vision went blurry for a second; her stomach felt like there was a rock in it. What? She had been subbing for two years; no one had mentioned any possibilities of a classroom.
Lisa shot another glare in her direction, her voice was high pitched and whining. "Ms. Morris, I must protest, I was told-"
"You were told incorrect information." Claire cut her off, her voice was getting angry. "What are the differences between the two pictures on the wall?"
Lisa looked back and forth before responding in an overly confident tone, "Well, they`re from two different times, and the one on the left is more morose as via the darker coloring.
"Brenna?"
She looked up to study the paintings closer. "Actually, they`re both from the same time period. During the Renaissance era. The one on the left is Dutch. You can tell by the darker colors and elongated limbs. They hadn't exactly figured out anatomy yet, they did not have Da Vinci. The right is in much brighter colors, also depicting a story from the bible."
Claire smiled at her and nodded. "Lisa, wait for me outside NOW."
Lisa`s face tuned an angry red but she didn't argue. Walking to the desk she grabbed several things before storming out, making sure to slam into Brenna`s left side on the way out, she would have been knocked over but turned her body to mirror the movement, and ending up facing the door. Turning back around she used her foot to push the door shut.
Claire shook her head, looking completely done. She sighed and faced the desks. "I am so very sorry for this disruption, and waste of your time." Glancing at the clock she noted somehow it had only been five minutes. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the middle of the room.
"This is Brenna, she will be taking over as the new art teacher this year." Feeling her face go red again she turned to look at Claire. Claire nodded her eyes full of support and approval. She had always been kind to her, observant. She nodded again in approval, their eyes locked. Glancing at the room full of people she managed a small "hi", and wave with her right hand.
"Because you were not given the correct notice, I assume you do not have a syllabus?"
She shook her head no. "Again I apologize for the confusion, we are not exactly prepared for this but Brenna is a hard worker and will get everything ready in time. I`ll leave you to it."
No, no, no, shit, you are NOT leaving me here...she felt her stomach drop again but forced herself to nod. Walking behind the teacher's desk she glanced over it before putting her coat in the chair and bag on the floor. I`m 29, I can do this. I think I can do this. She wouldn't have done this is if I couldn't. This mistake was not my fault; I'm not the one in trouble. What if the parents hate me?
"Miss Brenna!" a familiar voice cried out. Looking up as she walked back around the desk her eyes met with a small pair of brown eyes. The young girl smiled excitedly in her chair. "Hi Grace," she responded with a smile.
"You`re going to be our new teacher this year Miss Brenna?"
"Apparently so Grace."
The girl glanced down and back up, a huge smile on her face. "This year is going to be awesome."
She felt her mouth tug into an immediate smile. Grace wasn't quiet, but she always seemed to be thinking before she said something. Mentally older than her years, they got along well. She had come to love the little girl like a daughter. As usual she seemed to know the perfect time to say things. For a few seconds her nerves disappeared, and then she looked at the full classroom.
"`Um…" what could she do? The kids looked horribly bored. They had an hour; Storybrooke liked keeping parents informed of everything. An idea went through her mind and she almost ran around the desk. Picking up her bag she opened it and pulled out several packets.
"So, I`m Brenna, I just go by Ms. Brenna. I apologize as I am really not prepared, would everyone be okay if I give the students something to do as a sort of introduction? That can you get an idea of how I teach, and ask me questions if you want." She saw mostly nods and voices of approval.
There was a table used to demonstrate to students various projects in front of the teacher's desk. It looked large enough to fit all of the kids, well, teenagers.
"If all of the students would like to bring their seats up to this table, that would be great."
As chairs moved around, she saw a stool and pulled it over next to the table. Making sure all of the students were comfortable, and started opening the packages of air dry clay she had bought earlier. Counting the students she started breaking equal pieces and handed them around the table.
"This is a really easy exercise, its very simple, but it can really show a lot about how people think." Holding the one piece left she smiled reassuringly at the students, she recognized most of them. "So to not confuse anyone too much, let's pick a subject. Start naming things."
Lots of voices responded excitedly; shoes, football, boats, soccer, and fairytales. She pointed to the last voice, she quickly recognized Henry. The kid loved fairy tales, but it really worked well with the project.
"Let`s go with fairy tales." A few students groaned. "Hey, its an easy assignment right?" Grumbled agreement responded. "Okay, pick a fairy tale."
Again lots of voices shouted over each other "Anna, hulk, snow white, aurora, merlin." The boy sitting next to her was just watching her, very shyly. He had adorable curly brown hair and huge brown eyes. She smiled at him, "do you have any ideas?" The little boy looked away quickly, before glancing back at her. She continued to smile warmly at him, nodding in encouragement. He grinned back, then leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Alice?"
She leaned back and twiddled her thumbs for a moment, feigning deep thought. "What about Alice in Wonderland? Does everyone know that one?" Some kids laughed and others smiled, but they all nodded yes.
"Okay, last one, pick a character." Again the voices, each trying to should over the other ones. Thinking quickly she thought about which character could give them the most different ideas. Caterpillar and rabbit were usually simple. Hearing one name she nodded to the group. "Hatter? Did you say Hatter?" One of the girls nodded. "Okay, let's go with The Mad Hatter." She heard an annoyed noise, followed by a giggle from the parents section. But when she glanced over no one appeared to be making any faces.
Feeling more and more confident her wording was falling into place. She felt comfortable, this was her element.
"So, we`re going to use The Mad Hatter, the idea here is everyone think of the character, it can be any version of your favorite."
"What about the video game one, The scary one?"
"You can use that, but no knives and no violence, school rules." She saw one of the boys fist pump in excitement and then groan.
"Sorry buddy, school rules, you know that."
He smirked at her.
"Okay, I don't have tools yet so sorry, just do what you can, you`ll be be graded on effort. So when I say a name or character most people think of an object, or image. Some people think of the same image, like a hat. Everyones vision is usually a similar hat, but each one is different. I want you to think of the character, and think about making an object to symbolize the character. Okay?" Nods. "Go ahead."
She started separating and rolling the clay in her hands while watching the students. She glanced back over to the parents. "So, I like hands on, I like people to be creative. In some cases it can be overwhelming to try to decide on anything you want to do, thus the idea of categories like this. It enables the students to still be creative and use their own imagination and interpretation while giving a structural basis. I`d be more than happy to answer any questions, as I'm sure this is rather confusing."
"What sort of art do you teach and how is it beneficial to the students?"
Looking up she saw a pale dark haired woman who she recognized as the former mayor, sitting next to her was a blond woman she also recognized as the town sheriff, both women were Henry`s parents. One biological and one adopted, Henry spoke about both of them often. Both had a male sitting next to them. She had seen them in passing but never met.
"Really Regina? That`s just rude to mock someone's profession as not being professional." A voice she didn't recognize belonged to a man she had never seen. Glancing over she found herself looking at a man with short dark hair, wearing a long black coat with a scarf. She caught her breath for a moment. He was very handsome.
"Jefferson, I'm not insulting her, it's just a question."
"Right." The man turned his head back towards the front of the room giving a rather exaggerated eye roll in the process.
"No, no," she quickly cut over both of them before any more arguing could start. "It is a good question."
Regina looked at her and smiled, she always looked so pretty. "I did not mean that as an offensive question, if it came off that way I apologize."
"Oh no, it wasn't. I get asked that a lot actually." She returned the smile to Regina and shot a quick one to the man who had been speaking. She caught him giving another hilarious expression at Regina, one that looked like she may have been an impostor. Molding the clay she continued to speak.
"I`m going to have to see what the specific lesson plans are for this grade as I`m not sure what they are for this year off the top of my head. I teach studio art which is hands on. So building, carving, creating using forms versus just drawing or painting. Art is very valuable, it teaches a great deal more than people realize. Colors can be used to create patterns, effect moods, and optical illusions even. They teach the brain to connect visual patterns, spaces, depth. It helps cognitive and physical skills. Hands respond better and faster, they get stronger. It's a very good way to express emotion when words fail to.
I like to start off with an exercise like this because it's very simple, its soothing, it helps me get an idea of both skill and thought patterns which helps me create a more efficient plan for the students. Some may be more literal in their interpretations while others not, it helps me to learn who is who and how to best develop using the skills they learn by. This grade is always very complicated and stressful for students. I think I`m going to be teaching ways to vent their emotions in a non dangerous method. There is a lot of bullying, which I will not tolerate in my room. There are a lot of social changes, hormonal changes, just going though finding themselves. Art really helps to cope and find things out about you.
I plan to be teaching sculpture, various methods; clay, carving, building. Some drawing and painting. Hopefully some field trips to museums, historical sites, to see how various forms are used throughout history and culture. I`ll plan more and be sure to get you a more detailed response for the year as soon as possible."
Regina nodded and smiled, "Thank you, that is the most detailed response I think I`ve ever received. It really changes how I think I thought about the subject." She smiled back and nodded. Is she making fun of me? Is she mocking me? Regina appeared sincere in her response; she even looked thoughtful about it. Brenna tried to bury her anxiety and focus.
The dark haired man next to the Sheriff, Emma, raised his left hand. She nodded in response for him to speak.
"I'm sorry if his sounds a bit strange, but what do you mean by venting emotions in a non-destructive manner?"
"That is a very good question as well. It's not a nice topic but it's an important one. A lot of kids in this year and moving forward, they deal with an extreme amount of emotions. Learning who they are, dealing with others, finding their places, clicks, groups etc. Some end up depressed or having self destructive behavior; acting out, hurting others, hurting themselves. Things that we want to protect them from, and that take a long time to heal. I've found that art is a really good outlet for their emotions. Instead of being destructive towards themselves or others, they can break away at plaster. They can express themselves in ways that help them cope, not just make something pretty. They could make something meaningful. Essentially it gives them a healthy way to express more angry emotions as well as good ones."
The man smiled and nodded in thanks. He's pretty cute too. He's with Emma though. They are adorable together.She saw them a lot together walking around town.
Smiling and nodding in return she looked back to the kids. "So how's everyone doing?" A chorus of voices responded. Finishing the cylinders she continued on the lids. "So does anyone want to start talking about their piece?" As usual the response was silence. "Okay…. Lucy. Please tell us about what you are making, and if people are still working that's fine, just talk about what you are making."
The girl held up a teacup. "I made a teacup because they have tea with Alice. I made the handle a rabbit and the bottom a clock." She held the cup up to show the others. The cup was uneven and lopsided, but the rabbit on the side looked amazing, the saucer was much the same, very detailed. She`s good with sculpture, she just needs to learn more about rolling and building, or the wheel if possible. "That`s great Lucy, I really love the idea. So you made a teacup that represents the tea party itself?" Smiling the girl nodded and sat back down. "It's beautiful, that rabbit looks like it could jump off the cup and hop around the room." The girl beamed in response.
"Mike?" The boy had been the one asking about the game. He picked up his piece, what in the world had he made? Multiple pieces of rolled clay formed an odd box shape. Noticing the design she turned her head a bit to the side and laughed at the boy's ingenuity. "Mike, is that a guillotine?"
"It`s broken! It doesn't work! There's no blade either." They boy responded defensively, as though trying to convince her that his piece fit the subject. She couldn't help but laugh at the boy's creativity of working around the school rules. This kid was going to be interesting. A few of the parents laughed as well.
"Okay, tell us about your broken guillotine. Wouldn't that be more of the Red Queen?"
"No! It`s hatter. Its because the queen wants to take off his head but shes killed so many people it broke. So he escapes. Then the queen is mad."
Well he doesn't lack enthusiasm. The piece was crude but surprisingly well made; the poles were supporting the top. Raw, but he put a lot of thought into how to make it stand up, smart. She could tell this kid was going to be a builder of some kind in the class.
"Well that is a very interesting take on it, but that also shows being able to look at the story from a different perspective. You did a really good job on building it; it's hard to make things in clay stand up like that."
The boy blushed and sat back down. A few unsure laughs came from the parents.
"Grace?" The girl looked up and smiled, holding up a heart shaped box. "I made a heart because he is a great person. He protects Alice from the evil queen and takes care of her. He needs a lot of love too. I made it a bowl so I can put things in it."
"Great. Good job, you did a good job with the coil building there."
"Thank you." She smiled and sat down.
"Henry?"
The boy stood up and smiled. He held up a small top hat.
"It`s The Mad Hatters hat. It`s magical, he uses it to travel."
"Good job kiddo. I like that you made the price tag on it, it looks like real hat, really good job."
They continued around the room seeing lots of little pieces with variations. Finally the kids finished and she held up her own. Two small jars with colors scribed on the side.
"I made dye jars. The historic theory to the mad hatter based on science, is that he went `mad` due to mercury in the dyes. So by using all of the dyes he essentially got mercury poisoning. It`s similar to the theory that Napoleon died from arsenic poisoning from the chemicals on his green wallpaper.
While using it to stabilize materials, it left hatters with erethism, a neurological disorder. Symptoms included difficulty being social, usually shyness, social phobia, headaches, pain, and shaking."
Nodding she looked up; it was weird having parents in the room, but everything seemed to be going well. Glancing at the clock she noted they were out of time.
"So if everyone could take a piece of paper and write their names on it put your piece on the paper and leave it on the table. They will dry over the weekend and we can paint them on Monday. We`re out of time but I will still be here for a few hours and am more than happy to answer any questions. I`ll make sure the syllabus has my email for contacting me. It`s been nice meeting everyone and I`m really excited about this year."
A loud female voice spoke from the front; "I have a question."
Just the way the woman looked at her, she knew this was not going to be good. She had an extremely haughty posture and was glaring at her over glasses.
"Yes ma`am?"
"Are you going to be teaching them anything actually useful? I heard your speech but you`re dealing with fantasy, this is not meant for the real world. How will this be useful? At least sewing or something, art is not a skill."
She felt her throat tighten hard. Yeah lady, go through my degree and say that.
"Well, it's just an exercise. We will be working on a lot more things. Art really is everywhere, someone had to design your coffee tumbler, your ring, and your scarf pattern. It looks handmade, that would be a skill with weaving. Sewing is taught in home ec . Things like your home and décor; it's all different forms of art. People use it almost daily just by acknowledging and responding to the things around them."
The woman continued her glare, "Well, someone has to be at the bottom of the chain I guess, at least home ec is useful. I don`t see why we fund this program."
She felt like she had been slapped, but before she or anyone else could respond the bell went off on the overhead speaker making her jump. Everyone quickly got up and began moving, they only had a few minutes to get to other rooms and the school was very strict on its timing. The woman was gone almost within seconds.
A few people introduced themselves but it was a blur, the room was almost empty and she had sworn some of the kids had given her hugs, but couldn't remember. The last people were walking out; she turned to see Regina smiling at her.
"Thank you very much, I look forward to seeing the fun the students have this year. Please let me know if you need anything, especially anything involving Henry."
"Thank you." She smiled and shook Regina`s hand.
"Anything at all." Regina handed her a business card as she walked away, the tall person with her followed, nodding a smile in her direction. Then Emma, and the dark haired man, she shook hands with both of them.
"Don`t let that witch trouble ye lass, she`s just being difficult. Emma and I can tell, the kids are in great hands." He smiled and nodded to her in approval. Emma gave her an encouraging smile, "Yeah, I`m pretty sure you`re smarter than she is, so I`m not worried."
The comment made her laugh and smile. "I'm Emma Swan, I'm Henrys biological mother. This is my boyfriend, Killian."
"It's nice to meet you both." She liked these two, they seemed genuinely nice.
"Here." Emma handed her a card with her sheriff`s information. Killian and my cellphone are marked on the back, feel free to contact either of us if you need anything, anything about Henry, or have any further harassment problems.`
She couldn't help but smile again, "Thank you, I will." The two walked out as new parents walked in. Harassment problems, the words lingered in her mind uncomfortably. This was going to be a long night.
A few hours later, everyone had finally left and she was arranging all of the clay pieces to fit on the table to dry. She had just gotten the last one in place when she heard shuffling outside the door, a quick knock, and someone come running in.
Brenna had a split second to turn and catch the girl flying at her, into a hug. "Gracie! What are you doing here? I thought you would have left by now."
"I wanted to come see you! I missed you!"
"I missed you too!" She let go of the girl then measured the top of her head against her own body.
"You got bigger."
Gracie laughed, `No I didn't. `
"Are you sure? You grew like a foot." Brenna looked down at her, a playfully suspicious expression on her face.
Grace laughed in response, "No I didn't!"
"Does that mean I`m shrinking? That's not good." Grace laughed at the joke, "No! Here, I made you this!"
Brenna bent her knees to get a bit closer to the girls height, she liked to be eye level with her students when possible. Grace handed her a picture of a classroom, with smiling students and a smiling teacher.
"It's the class and how everyone's going to love you and the fun we`re going to have." She felt her throat tighten again, and quickly blinked back some forming tears. She had needed to hear that more than anything else tonight. She carefully set the paper on her desk.
"You making me some magic Gracie?" She smiled at the girl. "I love it, it gets to be the first student piece on the walls!" Grace smiled and grabbed her hand, suddenly pulling her. "Come meet my Papa!"
Grace pulled her to the door, where a tall man was leaning against it, a smile on his face, watching them. She recognized the scarf and black coat from earlier.
Grace stopped short in front of him, turning to look excitedly back and forth between the two. "Miss Brenna this is my papa, papa this is Miss Brenna. She's who I told you all about."
She couldn't help but smile at the girl's enthusiasm, then blush slightly. The man looked adoringly at Grace and up to her. He couldn't have been much older than her. He had a kind smile that was almost mesmerizing, and striking blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you," he held out this hand and she shook it, "I'm Jefferson".
She smiled and prayed not to say anything stupid. "It`s nice to finally meet you Jefferson, Grace talks about you all the time."
"Really?" He glanced at his daughter, "what kinds of things?" He crossed his arms loosely and leaned towards her, shifting his weight in her direction. His smile appeared playful.
She felt her face go slightly red at the sudden closeness and quickly looked down to try to hide it.
"Just daily life; adventures in the woods, learning to cook, all the pretty things you make, all good things of course." She looked back up and nervously smiled at him again.
His head was nodded in her direction and she couldn't tell if he was amused or just being pleasant. Did I say something weird? "I`m glad to hear it, I was, well gone for a bit. But I`m back and things are back where they should be."
She smiled and nodded, "I remember she was looking for you, I`m glad you got home quickly."
He sighed quickly, glancing back down and up. Shit, I really hope I didn't just offend him…
"Me too." He shrugged. "So how long have you been here? Oddly, I can`t recall you, and you seem like someone who would be difficult to forget."
She felt her face flush again but his eyes were making it impossible to look away. Is that a good or bad thing, I'm not sure right now…"I've been here about two years, substituting. I don't get out a great deal; it's been kind of crazy since I got here."
"I can understand that, this is a special place. Where did you come from originally?"
"Virginia."
"That's not too bad distance wise. Not too horribly far from home."
"No, it's not, though I'm still trying to get used to the weather."
Jefferson laughed, smiling at her. "It doesn't get too bad here."
"That's good."
"Well, I think we will leave you to it, its getting late and I'm sure you want to get out of here."
She returned his smile and shook his hand again "It's nice meeting you Jefferson." I said that already, damnit brain.
"You as well." She leaned down so Grace could give her another big hug.
"I'll see you Monday kiddo."
She nodded and continued smiling as they left, anxiety filling her. Why was he so nice to me, is it a game? No, stop that, he was just being polite. I really hope I didn't offend him. I think that's the most attractive man I've ever seen in my life. Okay really, stop. Just, stop..Will.
Sighing she threw her jacket on and wrapped the scarf around her neck. Pulling the strap of her bag over her shoulder she turned and left the room.
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If this was a big city Granny`s would be the major club. But it's a tiny town and it's the diner, and local hot spot. As usual for a Friday everyone was here.
Brenna quickly snuck into the back; she smiled and waved at Granny as she passed. "How did it go dear?"
"I survived." She laughed and found a spot to sit. Putting her jacket and scarf next to her she looked around. Most of the parents were here, she even spotted Jefferson with Grace. She looked around for someone specific. A loud British accent rose over some voices over by Regina.
That shouldn't be surprising, should have checked there first, that guy did look really familiar.
Moving quietly she ducked behind a few tables and around Ruby who just smiled. Ruby knew what she was up to, she was her best friend.
Will was seated at the end of a table, across from Regina and the man she had been with earlier.
Waiting a few seconds into whatever they were talking about, she could tell Will was about to respond to something in his iconic manner. Sneaking right behind his head she leaned up and mimicked his accent, saying "bloody hell" at the exact same time he did. Seeing him jump, she laughed turned, just getting out of the way of his hand grabbing her. She ran back around the diner, falling into her seat laughing as she heard Will swearing at her. It was a game they played, back and forth. They could really act like kids together, they always joked they were making up for lost time.
Pleased with herself she couldn't stop laughing at making him jump. Jerk deserved it for how much he did it to her. Looking at the table she noticed a water and coke waiting for her. Gratefully she grabbed and drank the water. Hearing shuffling she looked up to see Will run around the corner, looks around, spot her and yell at her. "Bloody hell woman, what was that?"
She laughed harder, putting her head down on the table for a moment as her stomach hurt.
Will glared at her, and she found herself trying to make a serious face in response. They both held the false expressions for about ten seconds before Will started smirking and laughing, he gave up and let himself laugh at her, she quickly did the same. "Oy, move over." Without waiting for an answer, Will grabbed her waist and pushed her over in the stall, sitting next to her. He leaned over and tickled her side for a moment, resulting in her shrieking and trying to punch him. He stopped quickly; he knew she was hypersensitive and tickling hurt. She could stand it in small doses though, which he used to his full advantage.
Ruby came around the corner and gently smacked him upside the head. "Knock it off, you`re upsetting the customers."
"Bollocks." Will tried to duck and missed, earning another gentle smack to the back of the head. He complained as Ruby smiled and winked at her.
"Anything to eat?"
"I'm okay for now, thanks." Looking around embarrassed she noticed several people staring at her. She looked down at the table.
Ruby walked off ignoring Will. He laughed, and threw an arm around her, pulling her next to him.
"So, you're still alive. Told ya you'd be just fine."
"I guess you could say that."
"What happened? You get nervous? Lisa being a git again?"
"She tried, and failed."
"Good. You okay?"
Feeling Wills arm tight around her helped her relax, she rested her head on his shoulder.
"Knackered."
He laughed at her, she had the American accent where he had the British one, but she had been repeatedly picking up his slang terms.
"So I got a promotion and someone tried to keep it from happening, ended up getting quite embarrassing."
"Congratulations! Damn now I have to buy you a drink. Wait, what?"
She leaned against him, and told him about the events of the evening. He rubbed her upper arm with his hand in a comforting gesture, making faces every now and again but listening intently.
"Sounds like I need to go talk to some people."
"No, no! Not, not necessary."
"Okaaay. So you like your kids this year?"
"Yeah, I think it's going to be fun."
"Don`t worry about that lady, she can bugger off for all I care. Emma and Hook have the right of it, you`re great with the kids."
"Hook?" She looked up confused.
Will made a funny expression for a moment, "Uh, Killian, there we go. Killian Jones. We…uh…we all give each other some weird nick names. All out of fun of course, Killian is Hook because he`s got a hook for a hand. He also loves the sea and ships, we jokingly call him Captain Hook sometimes."
"That's kind of mean."
Will shook his head, "Ah, no its all in good fun. I think he quite enjoys it sometimes. He calls Leroy Mr. Smee."
She laughed. "Do you have a nickname?"
He sighed and made a face at her, looking away his expression turned distant for a moment, but then snapped back to her. "Knave."
"Knave? I thought you were trying to stay out of trouble."
"I am it just stuck."
"Do I have a weird nickname yet?"
He laughed at her, "Not from the town yet, but to me you're pint-size and pain-in-my-arse."
"Love you too jerk." She carefully planted her elbow into his ribs, yelping he laughed harder.
He tugged her tight against him, pinning her arm. He planted a quick kiss on her forehead. Looking into her eyes his expression became sincere.
"You`re going to do great, the kids love ya. I know you, you`re smart. You`ll stay ahead of it all, if anyone's mean then you get to call me."
"Thanks William."
"Oh," he let go over her and pushed himself out of the booth. "I wanted you to meet some people."
"Oh hell no. People overload, people overload."
He grabbed her arm and pulled, sneaking his other arm around her waist and pulled her out of the seat. She planted her feet and shifted her weight as soon as she could reach the floor.
Making a frustrated noise, Will wrapped his arms around her and looked down.
"What's a matter?"
"I don`t want to meet anyone else, my people limit is in negatives."
"Nonsense, this is the first time I've gotten a chance since you moved here. It's bloody pathetic is what it is. I owe you drinks too, remember?"
He tried to pull her again and she struggled back. He let go and gently cupped her face, pulling her close.
"What's wrong? Really? Are you scared they won't like you?"
She found herself unable to answer, a lump in her throat. All the people today, so many expressions, she had no idea what any of them though, how many times she had messed up talking and looked like an idiot. She felt tears in her eyes thinking about it all.
"Hey, none of that now." Will gently wiped her eyes and kept hold on her face. Leaning in he looked her in the eyes.
"They're gonna love ya. It's impossible for them no to like ya. They deal with me on bloody basis, I mean come on, you're and angel compared to my crazy arse."
The comment made her smile a bit, but she still felt unsure.
He tried to tug again with her resisting. "Gods... bloody ...hell.. woman.., you're as bloody stubborn as Alice!" She raised an eyebrow in confusion at him.
Will leaned closer, putting his forehead to hers. "You are an amazing, intelligent and lovely girl, they'll see that. They already met you and like you. You just haven't met one of em officially yet. He`s a good friend from back home. I won`t let anything happen ya know that."
"Thanks William." She finally found herself able to smile. Before she had a chance to change her mind she found herself being lifted off of the floor and hauled across the diner.
Will stopped back where he had been sitting and she looked around, realizing how many people she had seen earlier. Grace and Henry were talking while Jefferson sat with his back to Emma`s both, both of them commenting to each other while watching their kids.
The man with Regina laughed, "Will, I thought you'd run off and gotten lost somewhere."
"Ya aint getting rid o' me that easy mate."
She noticed Jefferson and Emma both turn to look at her and she tried to move, but Will kept his arm around her waist and wouldn't let go.
"I want you to meet someone, she`s very important to me. You too Emma, I know you all saw her earlier. I don't know how I haven't introduced her to you yet. Woman's bloody busy as hell. It's quite a disaster it's taken this long."
The man next to Regina looked interested while Regina flashed a polite smile. Oh shit, they think that we're...
"This is Brenna. Brenna you've met Regina, this is Robin. He`s one of my best mates from back home. You met Emma over there earlier, and Killian. That's Jefferson next to her." They all smiled politely towards her, Jefferson nodded his head.
Robin stood up and shook her hand a warm smile on his face. "It`s very nice to meet you Brenna. Um, Brenna-?"
"Scarlet", she answered quickly and loudly. "Brenna Scarlet." All of the expressions turned to sudden confusion. Making a concerned face she looked at Will.
"She's my little sister." Will quickly cut in. "I haven't seen her in a long time, but she moved here with me a few years ago. Everyone's just been so busy; I never got a proper introduction going."
"Your little sister?" Robin looked confused.
"His other sister, Penelope was our younger sister." She responded quickly. Robin nodded a serious expression on his face. "Right, I'm, I'm terribly sorry for your loss."
"Thanks." She smiled back, nodding solemnly.
"I know we're rather confusing." She continued, "Our parents divorced when we were young, Will went with dad and Penelope to England, I stayed with mom in America. He looks like dad, and I'm a clone of our mother."
Robin took the information in, nodding. "That's very fascinating, I apologize, that I had not heard of you before. It's not like Will to forget things like that."
"It's nothing, there's been a lot going on. We were unable to get a hold of each other for a long time, so that complicated things. I'd a bit hard to talk about people you have not seen in years."
Will quickly cut in behind her; "Our mum passed away and we had some issues with dad. We don't like to talk about it. She just got out of a really rough time and I had her move in with me. Gotta take care of my little sis." He gave her an affectionate kiss on the top of the head.
"I'm not that little."
"I know."
"Well it's very nice to meet you." Regina cut in, with a warm smile. "I would have had no idea the two of you were related, so that's a bit of a surprise."
Brenna nodded in response.
"All right, we're gonna be going, I'll probably be back later. She's exhausted and had a long day."
Brenna laughed and nodded. Looking up she smiled, "It was really nice meeting everyone."
"You as well," Robin replied.
Will walked her back to her seat, she paid the bill and left a tip for Ruby. Gathering her belongings they went out the back and headed to Granny's Inn's rooms.
"You good for the night?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Just need some sleep." Thankfully the rent here was cheap enough she could afford her own room. Not much, but it was hers. She gave Will a big hug. "Thanks for everything."
"Of course. Sleep well."
"You too." She watched Will leave before going into her room and tossing her bag on the floor, definitely time for sleep.