A/N Hey y'all! This is my first AU (Alternate Universe) Rumbelle (Or as I like to call it, GoldenBeauty) fanfic. So please be kind. Reviews are much appreciated!

Enjoy, and Please R&R!

Arabella French listened half-heartedly to her Fathers sermon. Trying to look around without the town gossips noticing, she scanned the room for the only person she knew she wouldn't find.

Sydney Gold.

He was the town drunk and everyone knew it. While almost every other man was off making a living for a wife and children, Sydney was at home drowning his sorrows in whiskey. For some reason, Belle (as she preferred to be called) couldn't stop thinking about him. Every night she got down on her knees and prayed for him. She wanted to invite him to church herself, but she could never gather the courage.

He often visited the bakery that she and her mother ran together and she knew what his favorite pastry was: apple turnovers with extra cinnamon and a cup of coffee, black.

He was always so kind and funny and made her heartbeat go nearly as fast as the mixer she used for preparing baked goods. Belle honestly felt bad for Sydney. Nearly everyone in the town despised him. Women turned away from him and the men wouldn't give him work. Belle was the only person in the whole town (small as it was)who offered him a kind smile and talked to him as if he were a normal person and not some sort of disease that had to be avoided at all costs.

She pushed open the door to the bakery and immediately went to the sink where a pile of dishes waited for her to wash them. She scrubbed vigorously and waited for her cell phone to ring. Her mother should call any minute, making some excuse for why Belle would have to run the bakery on her own today. The sign in front should really read "Arabella's Baked Goods" instead of "Martha's Bakery" since Belle always ended up doing the majority of the work.

Sure enough, her phone rang that familiar country song that she loved.

Here we go with the excuses. She thought as she dried her hands off on her jeans and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Belle, it's Ruby. You know that guy you have a massive crush on. The Scottish drunk?"

Belle was silent for a long time, a bit annoyed at how her best friend was talking about Sydney.

"I. do. not. have. a. crush. on. him. Just FYI. Anyway, what about him?"

"Oh nothing. Just that he stopped by your house to see you."

Belle's heart almost jumped out of her chest.

"He...He did what?"

"Yeah. He wanted to ask you about something I guess. But your Dad told him that you were gone."

"He didn't tell him I was at the bakery?" She could almost see Ruby shrugging.

"Naw. He told him that you were gone and that it would be best if he found someone else to talk to."

First tears threatened to spill, but then Belle grew angry.

"Thanks Ruby. Can I call you later?"

"Sure thing. Talk to you later."

She pulled the drain out of the sink, wiped her hands on a towel and went to turn the We're Open! Sign to Sorry, we're closed.

She didn't care if they lost money. She needed to talk to her father right that instant and over the phone wouldn't suffice.

She ran the entire half mile to her home and nearly knocked the door down by beating on it so hard.

Martha opened the door with a surprised look on her face. "Arabella, what are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at the bakery?" She drawled in her syrup-like southern accent.

She looked at her watch. "Closing time isn't for two hours."

Belle took a deep breath. "It was a slow day and I just felt like I should come home. Is Daddy here?"

"You just missed him." Her mother replied . "He'll be back in an hour or so."

Dejected, Belle decided to take a walk. She passed by the watchmaking shop that Sydney Gold owned, but rarely had open. Surprisingly, the light was on so she pushed open the door, hearing the ting of a bell as she did so.

Gold was so engrossed in his work that he didn't look up to see who was there. He stared intently at the watch, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose (which Belle found quite adorable) .

She cleared her throat and Gold looked up abruptly.

"Miss French, what brings you here?"

"I. Uhm. I heard that you stopped by my home to talk to me."

Gold colored a bit. "Ah yes." He said. "It was nothing, really."

"But your father told you I came by? The way he acted it seemed that he-"

"No." Belle said, cutting him off. "My father didn't tell me you came."

He nodded understandingly and sighed. "I figured as much. Can't have the drunkard talking to the preachers daughter, now can we?"

Belle's eyes watered but she forced herself not to cry in front of him. Don't embarrass yourself. She thought.

Straightening her shoulders, she asked in a stronger voice, "So, what did you come to see me about?"

His eyes darted back and forth around the room. Finally they rested on hers.

"I. Um. Well, I noticed that the watch you were wearing a few weeks ago at the bakery, it was broken. It was a rather nice watch and deserves to be fixed. And frankly I need the business."

Belle was silent for a few minutes, distracted by the fact that this was the most he had ever talked to her, and the delicious sound of his Scottish accent.

"Oh yes. My...watch. I'll bring it in tomorrow. Does that work for you?" She said, knowing all too well that she never wore anything from her fingertips to her wrist because her hands were in dough all day, but she did have watches and would just bring one of those in.

He must have been mistaken. She thought. He must have only thought he saw me wearing a watch.

She collected herself and bid him goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, before she left.

"Tomorrow sounds lovely."

Was she dreaming, or did he almost look excited about seeing her again? She smiled sweetly and left his shop, resisting the urge to skip all the way home.

She wasn't looking where she was going and she ran smack into one of the ladies who ran the salon across the street.

"Well bless my heart, if it isn't Pastor French's daughter. Excuse me for asking, but were you just leaving Gold's Watch Repair?"

"Y-Yes." Belle stuttered. "Because I have a watch...that needs repair." She hated how guilty she sounded.

The woman nodded. "Well you best be getting home, Honey. I'll see you on Wednesday for mid-week service."

Belle's heart was not as light as it was five minutes ago. She walked slowly all the way home, dreading having to confront her father about not telling her about her...Ahem. Visitor.