Pauley: Red Beauty, Captain Charming, Swan Queen & ORIGINAL PRINCE JAMES!/Snow
Ruby smiled as she slid the drink across the counter, taking the proffered money with a nod of her head.
She cast her eyes out over the crowd, spotting her friends in their usual tight knit group.
She wasn't meant to be working tonight, she was meant to be out there with them, drinking herself into a stupor and having a good time. But someone had pulled out the last minute and she was already here, so they asked her to step in.
Her eyes zeroed in on her best friend, Mary Margaret, nicknamed 'Snow' for her skin tone, who shot her a smile before she was readily distracted by her boyfriend.
"James, stop." Mary Margaret chuckled as she swatted at the man's hand as it inched it's way up her shirt. He didn't withdraw the offending appendage, but did stop moving it. She rolled her eyes and leant up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
"Not here, okay?" She said in her firmest tone and at this he rolled his eyes.
"Fine. Spoilsport." He did withdraw his hand as he spoke, spinning her round with ease and lifting her up. She let out an undignified squeal as he carried her back towards their table, easily settling himself in a seat and keeping her on his lap.
She didn't mind really, but the complaints were made as she huffed and slapped his arm, before finally rolling her eyes and relenting.
"Honestly James, you manhandle the poor thing too much." David said, laughing as his twin flipped him off.
"She's delicate." Added on David's boyfriend from next to him, though he didn't look up, focused down on his guitar with single minded determination. Well nearly single minded.
His concentration was broken when David ran a hand up his back.
"Alright, alright." James rolled his eyes yet again. "Don't worry Killian, I won't break your precious sister."
"I'm not the precious one." Mary Margaret commented with a laugh as she pressed her lips to James' chin in an attempt to distract him.
"Speaking of which, where is she?" Killian asked, finally fully rejoining the conversation, one arm draped casually on the back of the booth, his hand resting near David's shoulder, which, of course, made the blonde shift a little closer.
"Last I saw she was dancing with some guy." Mary Margaret said, slapping James' hand away once more and frowning at him. He held his hands up in surrender, before wrapping them back around her, holding her close.
No-one quite understood how the mild mannered Mary Margaret and the frankly lewd and violent James worked, but worked they did and most people chose not to question it.
"I'm sure that'll go down well with the Queen." David commented, the laugh clearly present in his voice, though he did have the good grace to avoid actually doing so.
"Does she know?" Everyone was fully aware that Regina, or the Queen as they more often referred to her, had some pretty strong feelings towards the youngest member of their group. But she was in total denial.
And Emma, who so obviously returned the feelings, knew and therefor spent most of her time riling the other woman up.
A loud cry from across the club, closely followed by a laugh they all knew answered that question easily.
"Now she does." Killian said with a grin, watching as Regina dragged Emma back towards them by her arm, forcibly making her sit next to her older brother.
"Hi guys~!" Emma greeted, still grinning from ear to ear as she leant against Killian, her beam only growing as he kissed her head.
Regina slid in next to her, still frowning slightly as she prodded Emma just beneath the ribs, causing her to jolt and let out a girly scream.
"Don't do that!" She snapped with a huff, shoving Regina just that little bit too hard, which made her fall from the seat.
"Get a Room." James stated, lifting his head momentarily from where he'd been kissing Mary Margarets neck.
"Like you can talk Nolan." Regina answered near instantly, which made Mary Margaret feel her neck as she routed for a mirror.
Mary Margarets loud cry of "James!" alerted even Ruby to the fact the man had bitten all up her neck.
She chuckled as she hung her apron up, glad the actual replacement had finally arrived.
"Stick around Ruby, we've a new performer in." Her boss said as she slipped from behind the bar with a cocktail, heading over to her friends. She had no plans to go anywhere. They all spent most of their time here because Killian played guitar for nearly all the acts. And if Killian was here, so was David, and Mary Margaret. Which meant Emma and James came too. And Regina tagged along because... well actually no-one was entirely sure why they kept her around, but they did. And Ruby had been Mary Margarets best friend for nearly as long as thy could remember, so of course she tagged along too.
Finally getting to their seats, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, greeting everyone with a smile and a slight wave.
"Remind me not to wear heels here again." She complained, lifting her feet to gently massage at them.
"Give 'em here." David said, shuffling round so her was near her. She didn't mean to grin the way she did, but David had wonderful fingers and her feet really did hurt.
"You're an angel." She commented as she handed over her poor abused foot, still in it's shoe.
"Don't I know it." Killian commented, delivering a sweet kiss to his boyfriends cheek before he had to leave.
"See you soon." David waved him off before returning his attention to Ruby's feet.
She couldn't help the near obscene groan as his fingers started to work their magic.
"Oh if only you were straight." She teased and he laughed, gently slapping her leg in scolding.
"I know, I know. Not gonna happen. Your boyfriend is one lucky bloke." She commented, turning her attention to where he was on the stage as he fiddled with his guitar.
"I think we'd all die of shock of both of them were straight. Especially considering how that one acts." Regina commented, motioning to James, who was sulking since Mary Margaret had removed herself from him and situated herself on the other side of Emma, between the blonde and David.
"Good point." Ruby commented with a laugh, which of course made David pinch at her foot, making her squeak in shock and swat at him.
"You're meant to be helping me David!" She whined and this time he laughed as he resumed his ever wonderful massage.
"Introducing, Lacey!" The announcers voice rang out as he stepped back from the microphone. Ruby froze, mid sip of her drink as she watched the girl approach the stand.
She was tiny, her hair a light brown and tied back with loose curls. She stepped... no, swaggered up to the microphone with clear confidence and motioning to Killian. He winked at her before he started to play.
Her voice was strong, one of the strongest Ruby had ever heard and she was entranced, entirely.
As the song ended, she finally came back to herself and heard James speak.
"I think our Ruby's got a little crush." She reached over and smacked him, having only just noticed that David had left her feet.
"Do not, shut up." She mumbled childishly, though she watched as Lacey stepped down from the stage and headed towards the bar.
"Anyone want another drink, I'm off getting them." She said with a grin and everyone declined, though the way Regina was smiling indicated she knew exactly why Ruby was off to 'get another drink' when hers was still half full.
Approaching Lacey at the bar, Ruby's confidence faltered for a moment, before she regained it and tapped the girls shoulder, smiling slightly as she turned.
"Can I get you a drink?" She offered before wincing internally, having realised quite how creepy that sounded.
"I'm Ruby." She quickly added on, still smiling hopefully.
"S-sure, I'd like that." Lacey replied and Ruby did her best not to show her shock. She was so different off stage. There was still the tinge of the accent, which made her smile, but there was the stutter. A hint of fear.
"What'll you have?" Ruby asked, waving the bartender over with a smile.
"J-Just a beer..." Lacey mumbled and Ruby ordered a refill of her own drink, and a beer, handing the bottle over.
"Just a beer for Lacey." She said with a playful smile and Lacey ducked her head, though Ruby could see the hint of smile on her lips.
"Belle..." Lacey said and Ruby frowned.
"Pardon?"
"My name... it's Belle."