Toward the beginning of class, Belle noticed something strange. Ever since they had first made eye contact, she had a feeling that Professor Gold was making sure to not let it happen again. By the end of the class, her cheeks were burning red. Now she knew she was right. Those brown eyes had looked over every single person except for her. She had even noticed him looking at Jefferson, but never at her. Why would he be angry at her for what happened?

She could feel Jefferson's eyes flicker over to her throughout the class. He had tried to say something a couple times but every time she had shushed him until he eventually gave up. He'd hold his questions until after class. That was if he got the chance. Belle fully intended on speaking with Professor Gold, even if that meant not giving Jefferson the chance to talk to her. She could always call him later.

Mr. Gold was an awkward speaker. It wasn't so much that he didn't have anything interesting to say. It was that everyone in the room could tell he really didn't want to be there. He also had a way of being patronizing to everyone who asked questions. The students quickly learned to keep their mouths shut.

"Well if that's all the questions you have for me…" he said, holding out his last word to give everyone a chance to raise their hand. No one dared. "Then I shall let you all go and see you on Wednesday." He said, picking up his cup and cane. How he managed to get out the door before half the students, Belle didn't know.

"Professor Gold!" She called, getting up quickly and following him out. She had to fight the sudden rush of students trying to beat her out the door. When she finally made it out of the crowd, she saw him unlocking the door to his office. "Wait!" She said, skidding to a stop just in front of the door as he slipped inside. He was carefully shutting the door as if to hide his movements. Was it just her imagination or was he doing everything possible to avoid her? "Professor Gold." She said a little breathlessly, barely managing to stick her foot in the foot.

He flinched at the sound of his name. "Sorry, dearie, I didn't hear you." He told her, trying to look apologetic. The look didn't reach his eyes. His eyes were wary. "I don't really have time have to chat."

"I understand, really. But if you could spare five minutes?" Belle asked, lifting her eyebrows quizzically. He opened his mouth to say something. "Two minutes! Two minutes tops I swear!" She amended quickly before he could object. "Please?"

Mr. Gold hesitated. The seconds grew to what seemed like at least a few minutes. She never dropped his gaze. He finally pulled the door open wide so she could come in. "If you must." He sighed.

"Thank you!" She beamed, stepping inside. He shut the door behind her. He turned from her and made his way back over to his desk. She noticed him leaning heavily on his cane.

He sat down behind his desk. "So what was it you wanted?" His voice was strained from what she could only assume was pain or annoyance.

"Well," she started. She took a step further into his office. "You see, I'm an English major. And I'm writing a novel…" She drifted off when she finally noticed the boxes after bumping into one. She glanced down and then her eyes slowly traveled over the rest of them. "Oh my god, what happened in here?"

"What?" He asked, meeting her eyes. She hadn't seen where he had been looking before but she got the suspicion he had been checking her out. She stood up a little straighter, not wanting to seem like the type he could just push over or treat like a piece of meat. He looked around the room. There were no signs of discomfort to hint that he may be uncomfortable with the mess. "Nothing, I'm just moving my things in."

To Belle it looked like a jungle created by boxes. "Do you even know where any of your things are?" She asked.

He pursed his lips. "Yes, of course I do."

She peeked at one of the labels on a box at hip level. "'Office things?'" she read, looking over at him with a pointed look. In fact, all of them had very vague labels. "How are you going to get organized for class?"

Clearing his throat, he sat up a little more. "We're not here to talk about me, love. I believe you had a question to ask me." He glanced at the gold wrist watch. It looked like an antique. "And I believe you have a minute and thirty seconds left."

"Right! Sorry!" She managed to make it over to his desk, sitting down in his chair. "Like I said, I'm writing this book. Well, trying to write this book." He made her nervous. "It's about a man who's an archaeologist. He's not charming or overly attractive. In fact, he keeps to himself. He prefers his artifacts over actual human interaction." Her fingers trembled as she brought one to her forehead and pushed some of her bangs behind her ear.

"Let me guess… The only trouble you're having is that you know nothing about archaeology?" His mouth was in a thin line. She could tell he didn't want to help her. "I believe after taking a semester of my class you will learn a few basics that may help you-"

"But I don't need just the basics." She cut him off. "I want to know what it was like to be in the field, to really use those skills."

"So what, you want stories?" he asked.

She hesitated for a moment. "Not exactly… but that would be helpful. Anything you'd be willing to tell me would be great."

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, dearie, but I don't have time to help you with your little… endeavor." His tone made it seem like her writing was beneath him.

She tilted her chin up defensively. "I could help you, you know."

"Oh really? And how is that?" A wicked smile crossed his lips as he questioned her.

Her heart jumped right into her throat. She gulped it back down. She hadn't meant for her attempt to sound like a proposition for sex. "Your office." To her dismay, her voice sounded startled. "I'm pretty good at organizing things. I could help you organize your office… I could be your teaching assistant."

His eyebrows furrowed as he thought over what she said. She couldn't tell if he was actually interested or if he was trying to think of a good way to tell her no. "And all I'd have to do is teach you a few things? Tell you some stories?"

"Yes," she said a little too quickly.

Mr. Gold seemed to mull over this offer. She hoped that he would realize he would never be able to get this all put away soon without any help. "Alright, you have a deal, Ms…?" He let the sentence hang in the air.

"French. Belle French," she told him, reaching her hand out to shake his. "You won't be sorry about this, Professor Gold."

Disclaimer: I don't own this show, the characters, etc. I'm not affiliated with the show. This is just one fan's take. I'm not even the first one with the Professor Rum and Student Belle idea.

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and the reviews! I love reviews. ^-^ I'm glad that everyone loves the broship of Jefferson and Belle. You will be seeing more of it! Don't worry! I'm not sure how long this story will be but I will keep writing. :) Or I'll try to. I have a few friends that are amazing at pushing me to continue to write.

I know there were other things I wanted to mention but I can't think of anything. I hope you all continue to read! If you have any questions feel free to ask me here or on my tumblr and I'll get back to you. :) .com

3 Laura