Hey, everyone! Remember last chapter when I said that Red Beauty was on the horizon? Well, by 'on the horizon', I meant in the next chapter, aka this chapter. ;)
Oh, just a quick note to the guest who didn't like Red Beauty: I'm sorry if I disappointed you, but you clicked on a story with Red Beauty in the description as the main ship. Sorry if it offends you that I ship them as a lesbian couple, but I'm sure that there are at least a few brotp Red Beauty fics out there that you can read. This, however, is not one of them.
So, without further ado, here is the Red Beauty meeting!
Chapter 3
Her first morning is one of the last rainy days of the year. You're running a bit late today. Mary Margaret usually picks you up in her car on mornings like this, but Emma forgot to text you that she was sick today until ten minutes after her foster sister usually arrived. Emma said she could give you a ride, but it's been a week since August's party and she's been picking up Regina in the mornings, so you avoid the awkwardness and decline. It's ok, though. You're a good runner with a good raincoat and your school is only five streets away. Still, you aren't too thrilled at your predicament once a great, fat, cold raindrop hits your face with three streets to go. One street to go and the sky opens up. You would have been soaked in an instant if it weren't for your raincoat. You'll have to remember to thank Granny for it, even if it does make you look like a duckling.
Not surprisingly, you aren't in the best of moods when you open the door to the school. You're still streaming water, even though you shook off like a dog under the awning over the door. You take one step inside before slipping in the tracks of the other students. Luckily, you catch yourself on the door handle, but it doesn't help your mood. Your glare burns a path through the crowd of people all the way up to your locker. Any other day, it would make you uncomfortable-you aren't the easiest person to like on the outside, and this isn't helping your reputation-but today you're just glad you don't have to deal with anyone.
You reach your locker and open it, putting the books you need in your backpack and taking out the ones you don't. It's then that you realize that your math homework is sitting on your desk at home. You let out a loud groan of frustration that just about sums up your entire morning. You believe in omens, and this morning is a bad one, signaling a very bad day.
How very wrong you are.
Out of the corner of your eye, you see someone jump back at your groan. You turn and see a girl you've never seen before-an oddity in Storybrooke-start to walk away.
"Wait!" you yell, feeling bad. The girl turns, looking nervous. She's got curly brown hair and the bluest eyes you've ever seen and she just seems to draw you in. All you can do for a minute is stare at her.
"Yes?" The girl is looking confused now. You blink, a blush creeping up your face. You just stared at a girl you'd never met before without even knowing her name.
"Sorry," you say, all the morning's hostility gone from your voice. "I just wanted to apologize for that-scaring you, I mean." Oh gods, you're stumbling over words. This is not a good sign. "It's just not been a great day so far." You give her a weak smile. "Did you want something?"
She smiles back. "Um, yes, I was wondering if you could tell me where I might find the counselor's office. It's my first day and I have to pick up my schedule. The front office didn't give very good directions, I'm afraid..."
So you were right. It is her first day. She also has an adorable accent. Wait, adorable? Where did that come from? "Oh, sure! Just give me a minute to get my stuff and I'll walk take you down there!"
"Thank you..."
"Ruby," you say.
"Belle," says the other girl, extending her hand. You shake it, noting how it fits into your own. You actually have to use will power to tear your hand away from Belle's, and you're starting to get worried. You're not quite sure what you're feeling. You're also not sure that you want to know quite yet. It would probably just be easier to not address that right now.
As you shake out your raincoat, you notice her looking at the library sign with a smile on her face. "You like books?" you ask as you close your locker.
"I love them!" Belle exclaims, a fire lit up in her eyes. "How could you tell?"
"You were looking at the library sign."
"Oh, well, yes. Reading is my favorite thing to do!"
You giggle a little and gesture down the hall so you can take her to the counselor's office. "What kind of books do you read?"
She wastes no time thinking when she replies, "I like to read about adventures the most, but I like other books too." She smiles a content smile. "Do you like to read?"
"Well, sometimes," you say, "I like to read fiction books. Nonfiction books can get boring sometimes."
"They can, but maybe you just haven't found the right kind! See, memoirs are nonfiction, but they're still a story!"
You chuckle. "Do you dislike any kinds of books?"
Belle thinks for a moment, biting her bottom lip. You find yourself thinking again that she looks adorable and wondering why you think that. "Well, I don't like to read dictionaries..." she tells you, grinning.
You burst out laughing. "I was not expecting that!" you say, "So, anything but dictionaries?"
"Pretty much. Dictionaries and thesauruses! Oh, and atlases. I don't like reading maps." You're both giggling by this point, and you find yourself wanting to spend more time with her.
"What grade are you in?" you ask.
"I'm a tenth grader. A sophomore, I believe, it's called," she replies. "And you?"
"Same!" You're ecstatic. "Maybe we'll have some classes together!" Seeing as Storybrooke has only two small classes per grade, it would be almost impossible not to have a class together.
By this point the two of you are outside the counselor's office. You push open the door and the pair of you step inside.
Mrs. Nolan, David's mom, looks up from her desk. She's the school counselor and you like her a lot better than you like David, though you think that David would be fine if it weren't for the, uh, complications with Mary Margaret.
"Ah, hello, girls. What can I do for you?" she asks.
"Hey, Mrs. Nolan," you say, "I was just taking Belle down to your office. She's new."
"Yes," Belle says. You realize that maybe you should have let her talk for herself, but she doesn't seem too put out by it. "I'm Belle French. I just transferred here and Principal Spencer told me to come here to pick up my schedule."
"Ah, yes. I received an email from him this morning. I have it ready here for you," she says.
She holds out a piece of paper that was next to her computer and Belle takes it. "Thank you," she says.
"Bye, Mrs. Nolan!" you call as you open the door to leave.
"Goodbye, Ruby! I trust you'll help Ms. Belle to find her classes."
You smile at her. "Of course!" Ruby Lucas never deserts her friends, and Belle is your newest friend. Leaving her to search door numbers in a school while people stared at the all-too-rare new girl is out of the question. "C'mon," you say to Belle, "What's your first class?"
It turns out that you have five out of seven classes with Belle. The only two classes you don't have with her are classes that Emma has, so you know that someone will be able to show her where they are. You joked with her all throughout the first half of the day, before it was time for lunch.
You lead her into the lunchroom and sit at your usual table. Generally, you would be joined by Mary Margaret, David, and Emma, but Emma's spending every other day now holed up with Regina in the library for lunch and Mary Margaret's absent, so you'll be sitting with David and Belle. To distract yourself from unpleasant thoughts of David, you ask Belle what she's brought for lunch.
"Brought for lunch? Don't they feed you?" Belle looks confused and worried.
"You didn't bring food?" you ask her. You have a lunch line with somewhat decent food, but Belle seemed to think that the school just fed them for free. "Did you bring any money?"
"Money? No, I didn't think I'd need it!" She's biting her bottom lip now.
"Oh, well, don't worry!" You fish a five out of your backpack. You always keep one in there for emergencies, and getting Belle food seems to be a noble enough cause for it. "Here you go! David can take you through the line when he gets here. When Mary Margaret's here, she always has a big lunch he mooches off of, but she's sick, so he'll buy his lunch." You'd take her through the line yourself, but you don't have to buy anything. Granny packed you a good lunch today, and you'd offer to share, but it's not enough to feed two people.
Belle seems apprehensive about taking your money. "Ruby, I can't take this," she says.
"Of course you can!" you say, maybe a bit too enthusiastically. Catching yourself, you say "If you're that worried about it, you can pay me back tomorrow, ok?" She nods, still uncertain, but takes the bill from your hands.
Just then, David walks up. "Hey, Ruby, new girl..." he trails off and squeezes his eyes shut in concentration. "Becca?" You roll your eyes. He's only had three out of the previous four classes with her, the least he could do is remember her name.
"Belle," she says, smiling at him. You don't know how she can stand him forgetting her name. Then again, maybe you're just being hard on David. It's hard not to judge him for holding Mary Margaret's heart, but you've got to try.
"Yes, Belle. Sorry about that." He seems sheepish about his mistake. You decide to forgive him. "So, how are you two doing?"
"Fine," you say. Belle also tells him she's fine, and you bring up that David should take Belle through the line. They stand up to get lunch and you realize that you'll be sitting alone while they brave the long lunch line. To keep yourself busy, you pull out your phone to send Mary Margaret a 'get well soon!' and try and think of something funny.
You: So, the history test over colonial era South Africa was a real Boer.
Lame. You start over.
You: Here's a digital flyswatter. You can use it to kill the bug you have right now! ;)
What? No.
You: Did you hear the one about
You stop yourself before this particular travesty can get out of hand. There's something pulling at your thoughts, a smell that you're subconsciously trying to identify. It's pleasant and floral and mixed with the clean smell of freshly washed laundry. It's a specific person's smell, Belle's actually, and you just can't think of the kind of flowers she smells like. You always notice people's smells. Emma smells like soap and shampoo, Regina smells like vanilla body spray, August smells like wood, almost like a new chair. You even know David's smell: cologne mixed with some sort of fresh scent. Mary Margaret's scent, however, is your favorite smell: cinnamon. You think that Belle's scent may be a close second.
Belle and David return with their food, pulling you out of thoughts of your over-sensitive senses. Belle holds out her change. "Here you go," she says. You take it from her, trying to let her know that she doesn't have to feel so awkward about it.
"No problem!" you say, giving her a smile. Still looking a little awkward, Belle smiles back before picking up a poor excuse for a sloppy joe, examining it with a look of mild disgust, and taking a small bite. The taste doesn't seem to be all that appealing either judging by the look on her face. Not, though, that David seems to mind, as he's just shoved about the last third of it in his mouth and is chewing noisily. You shoot him a look. "Whart? Is's gud!" he manages to say. You roll your eyes and open your lunch box to pull out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of grapes, a yogurt cup, a bag of pretzels, and a water bottle.
Belle has abandoned her sloppy joe in favor of a plastic container of half-frozen lettuce that the cafeteria passed off as a salad. You rip your sandwich in half and hold out one half to Belle. "Want some? Frozen lettuce isn't much of a meal."
Her cheeks are about as red as yours as she answers. "No, thank you, I can't take your money and your food."
You wave it away as no big deal, but you retract the sandwich, realizing that you are embarrassing her. In order to break the tension, you clear your throat and say "So... I haven't seen you in Storybrooke until now. Did you just move here?"
Belle nods. "Yes, I did. I used to live with my parents in New Hampshire."
"Used to live with your parents? Are they not here?" asks David.
"No, I'm living with a family friend," she says.
"What brings you to Storybrooke?" you ask, because her situation is interesting. You wonder why someone your age would leave her parents to come live in an obscure small town in Maine. Belle doesn't seem like a trouble maker, but you've only known her for half a day, so you can't really go with anything other than your gut on this one.
"Well," Belle hesitates, "that's a long story."
"We have time," you say, and she smiles at you.
"Ok," she starts, "Well, before I came to Storybrooke, I lived with my father. He has this huge house in the woods, which sounds really nice until it almost becomes your prison. My father is really protective, so when I was little, I was kept in the house or out on the lawn. He hired tutors and home schooled me until middle school. I hated it. The best and worst part is that he bought me books to read. I love books and loved all of the stories, but the books they bought me showed me what I was missing. Imagine reading Harry Potter or Anne of Green Gables or really any book about kids and realizing that your only friend is your English tutor. That was me in, I suppose, elementary school." Belle bites her lip, looking at you and David to see if you're judging her. You're not, and it doesn't look like David is either, so you nod encouragingly for her to continue. She starts talking again. "During the summer that I turned 11, my father invited all the kids of all his friends to come to my birthday party. When they got there, I tried to talk about the books I had read, but they weren't interested, and I didn't really know how to interact with them, so I just sat there while they ran around. After the party, my father asked me why I didn't play with the other kids and I said that I didn't know the games they were playing. He signed me up for boarding school that fall so I could get to know kids my age."
She breaks off and looks worried again, worried that you will judge her. Her story is an odd one, like one out of an old book, but you don't judge her for it. If you're judging anything about it, it's that her father doesn't seem to be too in touch with his daughter. You nod again for her to go on. "Well, at boarding school, which was all girls, I made a few friends and learned what to say and what not to say and basically how to just be. I was quiet for the most part, but I got sort of... outspoken about things I felt strongly about. I also sort of stood up to one of the bigger cliques and they would play practical jokes on me, like hiding my shoes right before class or stealing my homework, and I may or may not have sunk to their level on a few occasions. Then, at the end of eighth grade, I got into a heated argument with my English teacher, an old hag who I hated, and the clique and my teacher went to the headmaster and I was informed that I would 'not be invited back the next year.'" Belle held up her fingers as air quotes before continuing. "That summer I went on vacation with my father and two of his friends and their families. Both families had an only son around my age, so I hung out with them. I grew closer to one than the other, because I saw the good in him even when no one else could. When it came time to go back to school, my father told me that I would be home schooled again, seeing as boarding school didn't work out. I fought it all year and begged to go to an actual school until the next summer, when we went on vacation again with the same families. I hung out with their sons again, but the golden boy left me and the other boy alone most of the time because we made it clear that we thought he was a jerk. I started to date the other boy that summer and when I told my father, he looked into his school, Storybrooke high school, found that he knew Principal Spencer, pulled a few strings, and got me enrolled here." Belle bites her bottom lip but smiles nervously at the same time. Your heart shouldn't have plummeted when you realized that she was still dating him. You're in love with Mary Margaret! You decide to ignore the organ and just focus on her words. "See?" she asks you, "I told you it was a long story."
You grin. "Well, you've certainly had a different life than most of us here, but hey, I'm not judging. I've never left Storybrooke! Well, except for that one field trip to the state capitol, but that's besides the point..." Shit. The rambling may or may not have been a side effect of drowning in Belle's blue eyes, and you're pretty sure she thinks that your face is just perpetually red. Maybe you can say that you just have rosy cheeks or something.
"I'm going to agree with Ruby on this one," David says. You actually had forgotten he was even here. You are grateful for his input for once because it takes away the attention from you and your embarrassing rambles. "I'm not judging."
The bell rings as you ask Belle "So, who is it that you're staying with?" Before she can answer, however, Emma rushes into the cafeteria (she and Regina make sure to leave a little before the bell for subtlety's sake or some nonsense Regina made up). The next class period is one that you don't have with Belle, so Emma's taking her there.
"Hey, Ruby, David, Belle," she says, before turning to Belle. "Sorry, but we have to rush a little. I left my homework in my locker which is on the complete opposite side from chemistry."
"That's alright," Belle says, gathering her things. "I'll see you after chemistry, Ruby!"
"Bye!" you call as she leaves with Emma. You gather your belongings and notice David looking at you funny. "What?" you ask him.
"Huh-nothing," he says, fighting laughter. You study him for a second.
"Well, I'll see you in chemistry," you say, and leave him giggling to himself.
You don't get a chance to ask Belle who she's staying with during school. Fifth and sixth period are classes you don't have with her, and when you get to 7th period, which is German, she's seated on the opposite side of the room from you. Honestly, you've sort of forgotten about asking her when she follows you back to your locker, asking you what you've learned in German. You grab your stuff and get her up to speed (she's actually further along than you are) before showing her the way to the front of the school. It's stopped raining, so once outside, you wait with her without thinking about it, telling her different things about Storybrooke.
"We only have one casual restaurant, and that's Granny's where I work. My Granny owns it."
"Really? I'll have to visit sometime!"
"That would be great! I'll let you know, I make a mean pancake!"
The two of you laugh and you're looking into her eyes again, so much so that you don't notice the guy walking up to the two of you until he puts his arm around Belle and plants a kiss on her cheek. You freeze, not only because you weren't expecting him and because Belle doesn't pull away, but because of who the guy is. Rupert Gold. Gold is a senior with a reputation of being the sharpest guy you will ever meet. He makes deals in everything from school basketball tickets to extra pencils, but you never, ever cross him. The last person to try to cheat him out of his money was hospitalized with marks that looked suspiciously like someone had beaten him up with a cane, and Gold had a limp.
Belle must have seen the look of shock on your face because she looks slightly embarrassed and says "Ruby, this is my boyfriend, Rupert Gold. He's who I'm staying with right now."
All you can do is nod your head and try to keep your jaw from hitting the ground. Gold nods back to you before saying. "Belle, are you ready? We should probably start heading home now."
Belle nods, concerned about the look on your face. You're still standing there dumbfounded with your mouth slightly open. "Yes. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" she asks.
"Wha-Yes! See you tomorrow!" The words are more awkward at lunch.
"Thank you so much, Ruby!"
"You're welcome!" She smiles at you and Gold pulls her away, hand on the small of her back, looking back at you with a sneer when her head is turned.
What was that about? you wonder, but you think you know. There's been something building in the pit of your stomach ever since Gold walked up, something that only shock had repressed: jealousy. But why are you jealous? After all, you're in love with Mary Margaret! But, when you think about her, the warm, fuzzy feeling you usually get is weaker than usual. As you ponder this, the person in your head changes, the short, black hair changing into long, chestnut curls, the blue-gray eyes replaced with eyes of a deeper blue, an adorable smile gracing her features-and you realize that just now was the only time you've really thought about Mary Margaret all day.
Uh oh.
So, how did the Belle back story work out? Or the Gold back story? Did they work? Were they weird? Did Ruby react weird (I'm not as worried about Ruby's reaction)? I was having a hard time writing the back stories, so they may be a little, shall we say, odd or unrealistic. Please review with your thoughts on them!
