Isabelle was having a bad day. In fact she was having a horrible day. It started off fine, she woke up said goodbye to her roommate Ruby and left the apartment to go and open her library. It was a normal day, that is, until the town's mayor Regina Mills walked in and began arguing with her about the library's standing in the town. It was hardly Isabelle's fault that people no longer wanted to read a hard copy of anything anymore. People could access whatever information they needed on their phones, or read what they wanted online. It didn't help that shortly after Regina had left the hospital had called her. Apparently, her father had been found passed out in the middle of the road this morning and was taken to the hospital to be treated for possible alcohol poisoning. Isabelle's dealt with that enough times to know what it means, stomach pumping, her father apologizing profusely and promising not to do it again. Though, they both know that he would be drinking again by the following week. Isabelle sighs in relief as she turns the corner and runs into the shelter of Granny's diner. Oh yeah, and on top of all that it was pouring down rain and she didn't have her umbrella.
"Goodness Isabelle, are you alright?" Granny runs over, seeing Isabelle running in. "You poor dear, you're soaking wet."
"Yeah, who knew rain did that to you." Isabelle growls and shakes her head as if she were a dog. She looks up and sees Granny's concerned face and immediately regrets her sarcasm. Granny's always been so good to her. "I'm sorry Granny, hell of a day."
"I understand dear." Granny smiles sympathetically and hands her a dry dish towel.
"Thank you so much Granny." Isabelle smiles gratefully taking the towel from her and washing her face. "And…I'm sorry again."
"It's okay dear, I heard about your father." She pauses at the downcast look on Isabelle's face. "If there's anything I can for you, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you Granny, but I think I'll be okay."
"Why don't you sit down Izzy, I'll get you some hot tea." Granny suggests taking the towel from her and holding it up. "And another one of these, sorry I don't have anything bigger."
Isabelle laughs. "Granny its fine, I'm grateful for everything you and Rubes have done for me these last few years." Granny merely smiles and kisses her on the cheek before disappearing into the kitchen. Isabelle shakes her head, truly not believing small fortune with finding friendship with the Lucas family and turns around to the very nearly empty diner to find a place to sit. There was only one other occupant in the diner and it was someone she knew, well, everyone in town knew who he was. Mr. Gold. He was sitting in the farthest booth away from the door, wearing one of his signatures three piece suits, with a small stack of papers sitting in front of him, and a cup of, what she assumes, is coffee. Wondering what on earth he was doing in Granny's she opens her mouth to at least say hello when he looks up at her and she chokes. Instead she smiles warmly at him, before moving over to sit in one of the other booths and start to at least make an attempt to salvage what she can out of her soaked bag. She looks again up at Mr. Gold, who had returned to his work and cocks her head in thought. She's never understood the town's fear of him. He owned the town, but it wasn't as if his rent prices were outrages. She and Ruby had always been able to pay their rent, sometimes a week early, but he didn't need to know that and wen people went to him for help with something Gold's price certainly wasn't unreasonable. Isabelle is distracted from her thoughts by a cup being placed on her table. She blinks and looks up to see Granny smiling at her.
"It's on the house Izzy."
"Thanks so much." Isabelle smiles again at her.
"No worries." Granny kisses her on the top of her head and hands her another dry towel, before waking back behind the counter.
Isabelle sighs deeply, managing to find a clip in her pile of mess and putting her hair up into a messy bun, before taking a sip of the drink, not caring that it burned as it slipped down her throat. She bites her lip and begins to make an attempt at separating the items she can save from the items she can't. This wasn't going to be easy. She was in the middle of making an attempt to read an old receipt when a paper plane lands on her table. She blinks in surprise. Granny was in the kitchen and the only other person in the diner, besides possibly the cook, was Mr. Gold. She looks up but only sees him with his head down in his notes. She shakes her head and makes an attempt to ignore it, but her curiosity get the best of her, as it always does. Isabelle grabs it and unfurls the paper.
-You look very beautiful with your hair up like that.
She can't help but blush and moves the paper away. She knew it was Gold. It had to be. She looks up briefly at him and sees he still has his head in his books. Surprisingly, she finds a pen in her mess and has to think a moment before writing her response.
-Are you saying I don't with my hair down?
She wasn't trying to be rude, it was a simple quip and she knew he would understand that. Isabelle folds the plane back up the best she can and making sure he isn't looking before flicking the plane over to his table. Satisfied when it lands just in front of him, Isabelle smirks and goes back to her pile. A few moments later the plane returns. She looks up and sees that he's still looking at his notes. She smiles and opens it up.
-I think you know exactly what I meant.
Isabelle giggles silently and looks back up at him. The longer she looks at him the more she can see the allure. He was attractive, in his own way. He certainly had the whole authority figure going for him, and there was an air of…mystery to him. She blushes again, realizing she's staring at him, and finds her pen.
-You're not so bad looking yourself you know.
She sends it back over to him and leans back in her seat. It was still raining outside; the light pitter patter on the window was soothing as she takes another sip of her tea. It didn't seem as though the rain had plans to stop anytime soon. Somehow, she found she was alright with that. Isabelle closes her eyes for merely a moment and when she opens them again the plane was back.
-Though I know you aren't serious, thank you very much.
Isabelle scoffs and quickly sends back a reply.
-I don't lie Gold.
-I'm sure you don't Miss French.
-I don't
Isabelle swears she hears him laugh before the plane is sent back over to her.
-So what on earth brings you to Granny's on a day like this?
-Regina, my father, my lack of direction. Honestly, you can take your pick.
-Ah yes, I heard about your father, my apologies.
-Hardly your fault. It isn't as if he hasn't done this kind of thing before. It's Regina I'm more worried about.
-What happened?
Isabelle blinks at the question and finds she can't answer without asking a question herself.
-You really want to know? No offense, but…aren't you supposed to be the owner of Storybrooke? Why on earth do you care if something's wrong with me?
It takes a little longer for the plane to return to her and she opens it up and almost finds it funny that they are nearly running out of room. Either he was going to have to use another piece of paper, or walk over and actually start talking to her.
-I told you, you're beautiful. That, and every time we see one another you look at me with curiosity, rather than fear. It's curious, but it makes me happy all the same. You're an extraordinary woman Miss French and if there's something I am able to do in order to get a smile back on your face I will.
Isabelle is speechless. There are not a lot of people in town who genuinely like her. She's the odd girl, always with her nose in a book, her father is always drunk, and half the town thinks she's sleeping with the Sheriff, even if he is sleeping with the Mayor and thinks of Isabelle as a little sister. She looks back down at the paper. Those problems she could handle herself and have been handling for years. Besides, it was Regina who had caused her the most trouble today. Biting her lip, she writes back her response.
-No one comes into the library anymore and Regina doesn't think it's worth keeping open. I don't really understand what she wants to do with it. I'm scared that she'll just lock the doors one morning and tell me that the library is now closed. I don't want the library to close Mr. Gold, I love that building.
Isabelle re-reads her note several times, knowing that she used the last bit of available space on the small paper. Taking a deep breath and wondering what he was going to do, she sends it back over to him. Mr. Gold apparently didn't care much about her seeing him open it either. She turns her head away and actually finds herself shaking with anticipation. She looks up again briefly and sees that he's on his phone. Slightly hurt, Isabelle turns to stare out the window again and is sad to see that the rain is easing up. She's surprised that a moment later another plane lands on her table.
-It's done
Isabelle blinks in surprise and sends her reply.
-Pardon?
-Regina won't be able to touch your building.
-How-? What did you do?
-I double as a lawyer remember? It's not that I'm defending you as one, but I can guarantee that Regina does not have the power, or authority, to shut down your Library.
Isabelle is once again speechless and can't help but hold her hand over her mouth to hide the fact she's smiling like an idiot. He helped her. He had actually done something and helped her out. She just couldn't believe it. Isabelle is shaking and laughing softly as she writes her reply.
-I can't…I can't thank you enough Mr. Gold, thank you! Thank you, truly.
-It's really not a problem Isabelle-
She smiles, reading her first name and continues.
-I told you, anything is worth doing as long as it makes you smile.
She blushes again, staring out the window, and smiling softly to herself. Isabelle stays like that a moment, admiring the evening sun finally peeking out from behind a cloud. She knew that with the rain finally stopping people would start coming out of their homes. She writes her reply.
-It's almost a shame the rain is letting up.
-Ah, so it is.
-Not very observant are you?
-Not particularly, especially not at the moment.
-Why are you in here anyways?
-I like being out when the rest of the town is in hiding. It's a lot more comfortable in here when you're alone, well nearly alone, rather than it being rowdy and people bustling around.
Isabelle smiles at that. She can't really blame him. It was nice to be out of your house for a bit, especially by yourself. A thought occurs to her.
-I'm not bothering you am I?
-Hardly, I'm the one who started this whole thing. Though, I must say, I didn't expect this little exchange to last this long.
-I didn't expect it in the first place, so thank you.
-You're very welcome.
Isabelle looks up and sees that Gold seems to be on the verge of packing up to leave. If she was going to do anything now would probably be the time to do it. She thinks about writing down her question, but finds she can't. She vaguely hears the bell to the diner chime, alerting the diner of a customer. Isabelle opens her mouth to say something, but is tackled and sent farther into her booth by something, well someone, Isabelle realizes, seeing her roommate's red streaks. "Ruby." Isabelle tries to smile, but finds she's just annoyed at her friend's terrible timing and quickly crumbles up the paper plane that she had still been holding.
"Geez Izzy, I was getting worried about you." Ruby pouts. "I tried calling, but you weren't oh-" Isabelle tosses Ruby her soaked phone and Ruby tries turning it on-to no avail. "Well that explains that, are you alright?"
"Of course." Isabelle shrugs in unconcern. "You know I'm alright. It was just a bit of rain and I didn't have an umbrella, so I thought I'd hide at Granny's."
"Makes sense." Ruby cocks her head and laughs.
"Speaking of which, aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your shift?" Isabelle smirks, knowing how forgetful her friend could be when it came to actually working.
"Well yeah." Ruby scoffs. "Why do you think I'm here? I couldn't get a hold of you so I thought I'd come and ask Granny if she'd seen you before coming into work."
Isabelle narrows her eyes and starts putting her things back in her, now somewhat dry, bag. "No you didn't, you assumed I was at Granny's and completely forgot that you had to work today." Ruby opens her mouth to argue but Isabelle beats her to it. "You run in here not wearing your uniform and you don't have any bags with you. I know you don't have an extra one here because Granny would throw it away, or burn it because she doesn't like the way you dress."
Rub throws her hands up in exasperation. "Alright, you win. How do you always-?" She sighs and leans back in the booth. "Look Izzy, you're easy. You're always either at the Library, home, or here. You're also out in the forest a lot, which I don't understand, but, it was raining so I assumed it was either here or the Library."
"Well…" Isabelle sighs. Her friends was just worried about her. "Thanks Rubes I-"
"Ruby!" Granny walks out of the kitchen and places her hands on her hips angrily. "I am willing to accept that you're late because of the rain, but when you got here I expected you to be ready to work!"
Ruby rubs the back of her head. "I uh…don't exactly have my uniform with me at the moment."
Granny groans. "You forgot that you worked today didn't you?"
"I-"Ruby purses her lips as her grandmother almost growls at her. "I really don't have my uniform." Ruby murmurs. "I mean really, do you mind if I wear what I have on? I'll be wearing an apron the whole time."
The glare Granny is giving Ruby actually manages to make Isabelle uncomfortable. Finally, she cocks her head towards the kitchen. "Fine, just get in the kitchen and grab your apron."
"On my way." Ruby jumps out of the booth and turns to face Isabelle quickly. "See you at home?"
"Yeah." Isabelle waves. "Good luck."
Ruby only smiles and runs into the kitchen. Granny walks over to Isabelle and whispers. "He went out the back door, I'm sure you could still catch him, if you hurry."
Isabelle clutches the paper plane, still in her hand, tightly and smiles nervously. "You saw that?"
Granny smirks. "Sweetheart, besides the cook I'm the only one in here. It wasn't hard to see what was going on."
"It was just a fun way to take our minds off of the rain." Isabelle laughs, quickly waving her hands in front of her face, in a weak attempt to pretend it meant nothing to her.
Granny simply sighs and sits across from her. "Izzy how many times have I told you, begged you, to stop settling and go for the things you want. You know the people who love you most won't judge you." She purses her lips. "Well, Ruby might, but she'll get over it." She grins. "Besides, there was no way that was simple bantering. I've known both you and Gold for a while and I've never seen either of you as happy as you just were, sending those little messages to one another." Isabelle gives her an incredulous look and Granny waves her hands up in defense. "I'm serious, you should've seen the looks he was giving you whenever he actually saw you reading the note and you were doing the same thing you know."
Isabelle allows Granny's words to sink in a moment and nearly jumps out of her seat in order to move over and hug the woman. "Thank you so much Granny, I love you."
"I love you too dear, now go!" She nearly pushes Isabelle over to the back entrance. "And good luck."
Isabelle runs out into the back parking lot and looks around. It wasn't quite twilight, the sun was still sinking, so she was able to see the whole lot. She walks down the steps with a heavy heart, angry with herself for not saying what she wanted when she should've. Isabelle unrumpled the page in her hand and re-reads the words exchanged between the two of them and smiles. It was a small town it wasn't as if she couldn't go and visit him in his shop the next day. Isabelle tucks a bit of hair behind her ear and steps down off the stairs, when something hits her in the back of her head. It can't be. She turns around cautiously and starts laughing, seeing a paper plane on the ground next to her shoes. She picks it up and looks around, with, she knows is a goofy smile, and sees Mr. Gold appear from out of nowhere and smile weakly at her. Isabelle walks over to him and unfolds the plane.
-Miss French, would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner tonight?
Isabelle reaches him. "It's funny." She notes, kissing his cheek. "Back in the diner, before Ruby came in I wanted to ask you the same thing."
"Oh did you now?" He smirks.
She laughs softly to herself, reminded that this is the first time the two of them have actually spoken a word to one another since she entered the diner. She smiles warmly and continues. "I was, and I would be delighted to join you for dinner Mr. Gold." He doesn't say anything, but he offers his arm out to her and she accepts it, gladly. The two of them walk out to the main road arm in arm and Isabelle can't help but think that maybe this day isn't so bad after all, thanks to a small paper plane.
I honestly have no comment on this one. I ended up watching that short 'Paperman,' you know the one before Wreck it Ralph and I don't know that night…this popped into my head and hasn't left. I mean, it's done and I think it's cute. I hope you all did as well. Thank you for reading.
p.s I feel as though I need to put this here. This story has nothing to do with either of my other stories, it's a stand alone one.