Hey guys, so this is just an idea I randomly started writing. Hope you'd like to see more. Enjoy :)
The Magic of the Internet
Belle sighed as she knew this day wasn't going to be interesting. She was sitting in her boyfriend's house, all dressed and ready for the day. She played with the straw sitting in her iced tea and twirled it around. After a few moments of boredom, she blew huge bubbles in it, causing some to spill on her dress.
"Ugh!" Belle sighed out loud.
A very alarmed Mr. Gold entered the dining room with a distressed look on his face. Belle saw him come in and just smiled.
"You're going to be the death of me someday" he let out a long sigh.
"I was only entertaining myself. I don't know what to do today" she answered.
"Why don't you go out with Red?" he asked.
"No, she's too busy for me on the weekdays" Belle sighed.
"You could always stay home. I have quite some work to do in the shop, though" he offered. Belle looked down at the floor and then rested her hand on her cheek. Gold knew that she always did that when she felt like no one wanted to be with her. "Come here, sweetheart" he opened his arms. Belle walked towards him and hugged him tightly. Every moment of the day, she never forgot that this man was Rumplestiltskin: The Dark One. Whenever he got soft on her, she always liked it.
"Go on, work. I'll read some books, perhaps" she smiled at him with her blue eyes.
Rumple smiled at her and took her hand in his hand. He lifted it to his lips and gentle kissed it. It was the greeting back in Fairytale Land that was given to a woman of royalty. Belle would always be his Queen to him. Once he left, Belle gulped down the last of her iced tea and went back to her bedroom. She loved that everything was blue and gold, which were her two favorite colors. She opened her laptop and began to scroll through Facebook, out of boredom.
"Oh! It looks like Ruby posted something today!" Belle jumped in her seat. When she looked closer, it was only a link to something called Tumblr. Belle hadn't been an internet geek, since she didn't spend too much time on it. She clicked Ruby's Tumblr account and gazed at her page. It was so much different from Facebook. Her background was black and red with a few cute wolves here and there. As Belle scrolled, she looked through all the pictures Ruby posted and a few songs. "What on Earth are these?" Belle asked herself as she looked at the moving picture. "'When Granny says I should stop looking like a slut.' The picture says: 'ain't nobody got time for that'" Belle read aloud. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, unable to contain the giggles. This was all true whenever Belle hung out in the diner. "I have to get me one of these accounts" Belle bit her lip.
Rumple sat in his shop feeling sorry about leaving Belle like that. There were many customers in the morning, but it got slow about this time. He decided he could surprise Belle by coming home early. He smiled at the thought and locked up his shop for the day. When he got home, he found no one in the living room or the diner. She must be in the library or fiddling with the spinning wheel. She always liked to do that when he wasn't around. As Rumple was about to head to their room, he heard a soft cry coming behind the door. He paused and listened more carefully. It sounded like his Belle. He knocked and called out her name.
"Belle? It's me. Are you okay in there?" he was worried.
"No! All of my feels are being destroyed!" Belle yelled.
"Wait, what is a feel?" he asked astounded.
"They're my feelings!" she emphasized the last word.
"Can I please come in?" he asked in a light voice.
"No, it's very messy in here" she sniffed.
Rumple rolled his eyes and came in without her consent. His jaw dropped once he discovered she was telling the truth. There were tissues everywhere. He couldn't see a spot on the ground that wasn't covered with them. He looked to his Belle, who appeared exactly the same when she first gained her memories back. Her beautiful brown hair was disheveled. He saw that her cheeks were red and tears were helping make them like that. She stayed curled on the bed with her laptop in front of her. Rumple could make only one connection between all of this and that device: someone must've hurt Belle's feelings.
"Belle, did someone say something mean to you?" he clenched his teeth.
"Well, no. It's just...you wouldn't understand" she simply answered.
"You would tell me if someone did, right?" he asked.
"Obviously!" Belle shouted at him and quickly realized she wasn't herself.
"I don't know what has happened to you, dearie" he thought out loud.
"Wait" Belle sat up. "Say dearie again" her eyes lit up.
"Is this going to help?" he asked first and she nodded. "Okay, dearie" he smiled back.
"Storybrooke Confession number 1,384: when Rumple says, 'dearie'" Belle recited.
"What was that?" Rumple was confused.
"Oh nothing. Thanks for helping me, dearest. I'm off to go visit Ruby" Belle jumped out of the bed.
Rumple shook his head and just laughed to himself. Belle had such a unique personality, and it was obvious when she showed that. Seconds later, Belle dressed and cleaned up to go tell Ruby about Tumblr. She skipped happily down the road and into Granny's diner. She had never been more excited in months. She saw Ruby and gently waved to her.
"Hey, Belle! What's going on?" she asked.
"Are you busy? I need to tell you something that's so awesome!" Belle squealed.
"Did you just say awesome?" Ruby asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, I did! I learned all the internet lingo in one hour, bro" she giggled.
"Wow, great! Is that what you wanted to tell me?" Ruby asked.
"No way! I also discovered Tumblr. Thanks to you, I made my own account" Belle smiled brightly.
"That's great! I'm glad you're getting social outside Storybrooke" Ruby nodded.
"I have a few questions though. Some of the stuff on Tumblr, is totally confusing me" Belle explained.
"Shoot" Ruby snapped her gum.
"So what exactly is an OTP? What is a brOTP? What is a ship? Why is everyone flipping out over somebody called Rumbelle, Swan Queen, Captain Swan, Red Beauty, and Snowing?" Belle quickly rushed through the questions.
"Okay you have many questions. Let's sit down in a booth and we can get started. I'll go get some paper and crayons" Ruby gave her a booth.
"I am ready to learn, master" Belle smiled.
"Okay an OTP stands for one true pairing. It is a pairing, most likely a couple, that you like being together. Anyone who is a couple in Storybrooke is an OTP, for an example" Ruby finished that section.
"Ah, I see! Well, that's cool! I wanna learn more" Belle fiddled with her fingers.
"Let's move on to a brOTP. It's kind of the same as an OTP, but a pairing that you like being friends. For an example, you and I can be a brOTP" Ruby smiled.
"WE HAVE A BROTP?" Belle got really excited.
"Shh! Yeah we totally have one" Ruby smirked.
"Totally, bro. What's next?" Belle asked.
"A ship can be used as a noun and verb. It depends on what you're saying. Shipping means you are pairing two people together. Shipping is infinite 'cause it can be anyone! A ship is mostly the same as an OTP"
"So, could I ship you and me?" Belle pointed at her.
"Well, you could, but it's more romantic" Ruby half laughed.
"Oh! Sorry" Belle got a little red.
"Now, it's time to explain what types of ships there are around here. Let's start with Snowing. It's a ship that ships Snow and Charming. This is an obvious one because Snow and Charming are obviously canon, and..." Belle stopped her.
"Wait, what is canon?" Belle shook her head.
"It means that something is true and not just an idea or ship" Ruby took out a crayon and piece of paper. She wrote down a list of ships which were canon and not. Under "Canon" she wrote Rumbelle and Snowing. Under "Non Canon" she wrote Swan Queen, Captain Swan, anything with Emma, and anything with Regina.
"Is this it for both of them?" Belle was surprised.
"Well, these are just some of the main ships. There are way more, but that's because they are not canon" Ruby answered.
"Now, can you explain to me each of these ships?" Belle was giddy.
"I've already touched on Snowing. Next, we have Red Beauty. This is a ship of you and me in a romantic relationship" Ruby expected the worst.
"WE HAVE A SHIP TOO?" Belle exclaimed.
"Yep. But it's one involving us in a romantic relationship" Ruby told her.
"No offense, Ruby, but I totally wouldn't ship it. A brOTP sounds cool for now" Belle admitted.
"Yeah, I agree" Ruby was trying hard not to get too upset. She did ship Red Beauty, but shipped Rumbelle even more. A brOTP doesn't sound too bad for now.
"What about Captain Swan? It seems to be really popular" Belle was intrigued.
"It's a ship of Emma and Hook. People started to ship it because of that time they spent in Fairytale Land" Ruby explained.
"Eww! I mean, Emma and Hook aren't even alike in certain ways. How can people ship this?" she asked her friend.
"Some people do it, Belle" Ruby clenched her fists. She was a hardcore Captain Swan shipper. Someday, she'd make Belle into one of her own. Then, she'd see what is so great about both of them being together.
"Swan Queen. Why do people dig it?" she asked.
"It has got to be the hugest ship that did sail. It's a pairing between Emma and Regina. There are so many reasons why this ship should become canon" Ruby nodded.
"Seriously? I guess I can see why Emma and Regina should belong together. They're both sassy. They both want to raise Henry in the right way. Oh my Gods, the feels are coming back. I think I ship this so much" Belle started to cry.
"Don't worry, honey, we can ship it together. You're not the only one" Ruby pat her friend's arm.
"We have one more right?" she tried so hard not to cry.
"The last one is Rumbelle. Oh girly, you are going to flip. This is a ship between you and Rumplestiltskin" Ruby smiled.
"WE HAVE A SHIP?" Belle was more than excited.
"Ruby! If you can't contain the girl, take her outside" Granny warned.
"Sorry Granny!" she told her grandmother. "I know! Isn't that so exciting? It's as big as the Swan Queen ship" Ruby smiled.
"I have to go home and tell Rumple! He'll be so thrilled! Thank you for explaining, brOTP" Belle hurried to slide out of the booth.