Before story note: Holy crap an update. Now I know you guys think I'm ignoring the story, but I swear I'm not. It's just hard to find time to update between work and culinary school. Basically I work 70 hour weeks right now so please bear with me here. I'm not doing it on purpose, and I write whenever I can. Also, I just want to say that the last few episodes have really been breaking my heart. Like no bodies business.
"Can someone please remind me why girls have to through so much pain to look beautiful?" Mary-Margaret said, squirming in her pedicure chair.
Ruby on the other hand was completely relaxed in her chair, both eyes closed. Slitting one open, she leaned her head to her friend. "Because you don't know how to chill. Just sit still and relax."
"I just don't understand how you can be so comfortable with people poking at your feet." She responded grumpily. "How about you Belle? Do you agree with this nonsense?" Mary-Margaret turned to her friend who was of course, engrossed in a book. "Belle?"
"Don't even try. You know how useless it is talking to her when she's reading." She leaned forward and smirked at her oblivious friend. "Besides, she's probably reading 50 Shades of Gold or something." Ruby laughed as she saw Belle's cheeks redden.
"You are just the worst!" Belle said, shutting her book firmly.
"We were only trying to get your attention." She responded innocently. "Mary-Margaret was trying to engage you in conversation and you were rudely ignoring her."
"Oh stop being such an instigator Ruby. She was only reading a book."
"I know that look. The last thing, besides us maybe, she was paying attention to, was that book. That right there, is the look of a girl in love."
"I have no idea what you are talking about Ruby." Belle winked at her friends. "No idea what so ever."
"As my date tonight darling," Ruby began, "I expect you to be on your best behavior. I shant be having you make googily eyes over my shoulder while I hold you close on the dance floor. Tonight you are mine."
"Don't worry snuggily bear. I only have eyes for you tonight." Belle batted her eyelashes at her friend, while Mary-Margaret tried to convince the pedicurist that she was not here with the two girls.
"Oh don't worry Mary-Margaret. I'll be sure to steal you from David and bring you into our date." Ruby put on her best seductive face. "You know you can't resist this."
"So you can make the moves Ruby, but heaven forbid that I have "googily" eyes?" Belle scoffed and playfully crossed her arms. "I don't think I want to be your date anymore."
"Come one Belle! There is more than enough of me to go around." Ruby pouted. "Don't leave me!"
"Oh Lord." Mary-Margaret groaned, aware that the whole salon was watching the spectacle, luckily most with amused grins on their faces.
"Ok darling." Belle gushed back. "We'll be together forever." Reaching over their poor embarrassed friend, she grabbed both of their hands.
"Yes baby! All three of us! They will accept our love!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I can't take you girls anywhere can I?" Mary-Margaret looked from friend to friend, finally giving in to their charade.
Both girls grinned ear to ear before they responded at the same time, "Nope!"
With freshly pedicured and manicured hands and feet, the girls made their way back to Ruby's grandmothers house to get ready for their big prom night.
"So what time is David coming to pick us up?" Ruby called over her shoulder to Mary-Margaret in the back seat.
"He said he'd be over by 5 to pick us up for dinner. He made the reservations at Arpeggio's." She told her two friends.
"Sweet. I love that place!" Clearly excited for the night ahead, Ruby could hardly sit still while Belle drove. "You know, you've been awfully quiet since we left the salon Belle. What gives?"
"Nothing... Just thinking is all."
"What about?" Mary-Margaret piped in.
"Just that, we only have like a month left after this. We graduate in May." Belle said.
"And we will be free motha-fuckas!" Ruby screamed into the car. "Mary-Margaret back there can run off and elope with David if she wants, I can backpack across Europe if I want, and you girlie," She poked Belle in the arm, "Can screw the brains out of the history teacher, which we all know you want."
"Must you be so vulgar?" Belle rolled her eyes.
"Yes bitches, I must be so God-damned vulgar." Ruby laughed. "God tonight is going to be awesome."
"You know, we haven't talked about what is going to happen when Mr. Hopper sees you in that dress tonight." Belle side glanced at the black haired girl sitting next to her.
"That's because there is nothing to discuss." Ruby said, her smile faltering slightly. "I can't always get what I want."
"What? Why not?"
"Because it would never work out." Ruby stared down at the floor boards.
Belle looked back to Mary-Margaret who shrugged her shoulders, before continuing. "This whole time you've been goading me into this thing with Mr. Gold, and now you are telling me it couldn't work?"
"That's because you both like each other. There is no way Mr. Hopper would go for a girl like me."
"You never know until you try. Let him know how you feel. What's the worst that can happen?" Mary-Margaret asked.
"He doesn't like me like that at all, and the remainder of school will be awkward as fuck?" Ruby said bitterly.
"It would only be like a month. And what if he does like you, then like you said you'd have a foundation to grow on after graduation." Belle said, parking the car into the driveway. "It's up to you really, but I think you have more of a shot than you think."
Ruby had nothing to say to that as they exited the Oldsmobile. Going up the steps to the house, she unlocked the door and was greeted with silence. "Granny went out of town this weekend. Her sister is sick, so we have the whole house to ourselves. Too bad I didn't know sooner. Can you say par-tay?"
"My dad is out too this weekend. Leroy needed him at a new store they are opening up a few towns away." Seeing Ruby's hopeful eyes she quickly said, "No, no par-tay at my place either."
"You are such a buzz kill. But I still love you anyway." Ruby joked.
"Are we going to get ready or what girls?" Mary-Margaret said, standing impatiently by the stairs. "We only have like 4 hours to get ready."
"Coming mom." Ruby said stomping her feet and Belle following close behind.
Over the next few hours, the three girls carefully styled their hair into perfection, applied make up like Revlon professionals, and used enough beauty product to make over the whole army. Finally once 4:50 came along, they heard the front door open and a man's voice echo throughout the house.
"Where are my beautiful girls?" David called from the entryway of Ruby's house. "Quick I need my entourage!" They could hear the smile in his voice from Ruby's room. All three girls were ready to head out, just putting on the finishing touches of make up.
"Hold your damn panties!" Ruby called. Sashaying her way down the steps in her black and red prom dress, she made her way to David. "If you think I look good, just wait for our next two contestants." Hearing Belle's heels click upstairs, Ruby dramatically flung her arm towards the staircase. "And next, ladies and gentlemen, we have the one and only beauty herself, Belle French sporting a lovely blue gown. She pulls it off quite nicely doesn't she folks?"
"Hey Belle, you look great." David smiled politely, but was eager to see his girlfriend come down the stairs.
"And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, drum roll please, Miss. Mary-Margaret Blanchard!" Slowly a figure cascaded down the stairs in a flowing snow white gown, with a silver sash in the middle. "Now now gentleman, put that tongue back into your mouth. Save it until after the dance."
"Oh God baby you look amazing!" David walked over to her and kissed her on the hand. "And of course, here is your corsage." He showed her the small, clear box he had brought with him, with the white flowers inside.
"Thank you David." She quickly kissed him on the lips and set about to putting the flower on her wrist. "It's so beautiful."
"Not half as beautiful as you darling." David responded.
"Alright you two lovebirds." Ruby said, effectively killing their mood. "Let's get a move on. I'm starving over here."
"How do you put up with her all day Mary-Margaret?" David asked, only slightly kidding.
"Honestly I don't know how I put up with either one!" she said playfully.
"Hey! What have I done?!" Belle asked defensively.
"Do I really have to bring up the salon?"
"You know you love us." Ruby said, as they started to walk through the door, then to David's car. "Where would you be without us?"
"Probably at Arpeggio's by now." She laughed as everyone got in the car.
"Alright listen up." Mr. Graham said to an unwilling roomful of listeners. "Prom night. A night full of horny teenagers rubbing up against each other to todays top 40. A night full of punch bowl spike attempts. A night full of fun that we are too old to have, so instead we have to be the responsible ones and make sure things don't get out of hand. I know everyone in here is up to the task, so I'm counting on you. Everyone knows their duties and their stations, so please don't leave them unless absolutely necessary. Any questions?"
Mr. Gold had sat through enough of these pre-prom speeches to know the drill. This year, just like every other, he was to man the punch bowl. It was one of the only stations that didn't require constant movement, and it was relatively out of the way. He was pretty grateful too because it was always set up in the corner of the gymnasium and it gave him a clear view of the party going on. Any other year he wouldn't have given a rat's ass about it, but this year, he had to watch out for his beauty.
After a moment of silence, Mr. Graham gave a few last words of encouragement, and then sent the teachers off to their designated spots. At seven, the doors would open, and until twelve when they closed, he wanted to make sure that everything went off without a hitch. The last thing he wanted was to be handing out detention slips first thing Monday morning.
Taking a short detour, Mr. Gold limped his way to the men's restroom. Making sure he was alone in the bathroom, he took a hard look at himself in the mirror. "Now Gold," he whispered to himself in his thick Scottish voice. "Belle will be here tonight. Belle will be beautiful tonight. Belle will be off limits tonight. You must contain yourself. One more month, and you will be home free, and she will be all yours for the taking. Just pull yourself together, keep the dirty thoughts hidden, and just focus on that punch bowl." Straightening his blue tie, that coincidentally matched a certain girl's blue dress, he gave himself one last stern look in the mirror, hoping to scare himself into compliance. Leaving the restroom, he made his way to the gymnasium, running into Mr. Hopper on the way there.
"Taking care of the punch bowl again Mr. Gold?" his friend asked, knowing full well what the answer was.
"Aye, I am. Best job in this whole spectacle if you ask me. Where are you stationed at?"
"Ticket booth." Mr. Hopper grumbled, knowing it was the worst place to be stationed at. Not only do you have to deal with teenagers complaining about how much the tickets where, even though they knew purchasing them months earlier would have cut the cost in half, you also had to be on the look out for sneak ins. Contraband mostly, but of course college boys try to sneak themselves in, looking for an easy score. "It's going to be a long night."
"That it will be. Good luck Mr. Hopper. It would seem we have arrived at my stop." Before he could push through the doors of the gym, he could have sworn he heard his friend say 'I think you need it more.' Sighing, he limped his way across the dance floor, about 10 minutes left to spare. Finding his seat next to the refreshment table, he sat down, and looked around at the rest of the chaperones. Miss. Swan was up next to the dance floor with Mr. Graham, no doubt supervising the closeness of the dancers. The woodshop teacher, a man named Jepetto, was hovering along the outskirts of the gym, just looking for general trouble Mr. Gold assumed. Next to the entrance was the advanced English teacher, August, and the drama teacher, Sebastian. Noting quietly to himself, he noticed that the dear Regina Mills was no where to be seen. No doubt a perk of sleeping with the principal. However looking back at the front of the gym, it would seem that she didn't choose wisely as Miss. Swan and Mr. Graham were standing rather close to each other, hands almost touching. He didn't have long to spectate, however as the hour of seven had finally come, and the gym doors were finally opening. As if they came in a herd, teenagers started to pour into the dance room, almost impossible to tell who was coming in. Trying not to be obvious about it, Mr. Gold made sure to keep one eye on the doors as to not miss his Belle's entrance. As far as he could tell, she had not yet made it, but he scanned the crowd over and over. Slightly disappointed, he gripped his cane and willed himself to be patient.
The initial rush had died down by about 7:30 and it was much easier to see who was coming and going. He saw Belle's ex come in with a petite blonde girl under his arm. She was laughing much too readily at what he was telling her, and Mr. Gold knew that she was hoping to get lucky with the jock. 'Just as long as he keeps his hands away from Belle.' Mr. Gold thought to himself as he dismissed the pair. Turning his head back towards the door, he thought he saw a familiar face in the crowd, but not someone he knew readily off hand. Watching the figure make their way to the back to the restrooms, he lost track of the person in the crowd. Before he could speculate on in further, he had a shiver run down his spine. Looking back at the entrance, he saw her come through the double doors. She wasn't flashy about her appearance, but for him, she owned the room. Belle's blue gown flowed seamlessly around her, like she was wading through water. Catching her eye for a second, he faintly smiled at her, only enough for her to see it. She however beamed back at him, no one being the wiser at who she was smiling at.
After smiling at her history teacher, she followed her friends to the tables next to the dance floor. Almost immediately, David and Mary-Margaret took off into the mass of people dancing, leaving Belle and Ruby by themselves at the table.
"Don't think I didn't notice that" Ruby prodded her friend. "You just lit up the whole gym with that smile you gave him."
"Once again Ruby, I have no idea what you are talking about."
Before Ruby could come back with something, someone interrupted their conversation. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I would love to have a dance with you." the question directed at Ruby.
"Well it's rude to not give a name." She mocked, but was clearly interested in the guy.
"My apologies. My name is Gus." He smiled genuinely at her.
"I don't know if I should." Ruby hesitated, looking at Belle.
"Go on Ruby." She shooed her off. "I think I'm going to go get some punch." She winked at her friend who didn't need any more invitation. Taking Gus's hand, he led her to the dance floor.
Looking back at the refreshment table, she made sure to wait for a break when no one was around. Spotting her opportunity, she walked over to the punch bowl. Being careful not to keep too much eye contact with Mr. Gold, she swung her hips slightly so he could at least have a show.
"You'd best be careful love." He warned without looking at her. "This old man doesn't have as much self restraint as he likes to let on."
"I don't see any old men around here." She responded, eyes the only thing focused on the task of pouring punch. The rest of her senses where keyed in onto the Scottish man next to her. "I only see a sexy history teacher in a very nice blue tie."
"I do quite like this tie. It goes well with everything." He grinned, enjoying their banter.
"I bet it has quite a lot of uses too." Belle blushed slightly, and tightly gripped her solo cup. "Like keeping things tied up in a pinch." She left him with that thought as she sauntered back to her table.
'She is going to be the death of me.' Mr. Gold thought to himself, thanking God that black was very useful for hiding hard ons.
The hours came and went, and so did David and Mary-Margaret around nine. They were all ready to spend the rest of their prom night like teenagers should, so neither Belle, nor Ruby had any qualms with letting them leave, insisting that they would find rides home. At around ten, Gus came back to their table, telling them of an after party at his friends house and they were invited to come along.
"Oh I'd love to go." Ruby gave a devilish grin. "How about you Belle?"
"Actually, why don't you go on without me Ruby? I'm pretty tired, and I'm not really feeling up to a party."
"Beeeellleeee" Ruby whined. "It's prom. The one night of your high school life that you are allowed to go bat shit crazy and never look back."
"Ruby, you have a great time. You know parties aren't really my thing. I know you want to go, please don't let me stop you."
Sighing, Ruby decided not to pester her more about it. "How are you going to get back? I'm sure Gus wouldn't mind dropping you off."
"Oh no, that's fine. I'll just call a cab. Dad left me some money so it's not a problem."
"Belle, are you sure?" Ruby asked again.
"Yeah, I can drive you to your place. Not a problem at all." Gus chipped in, eager to make Ruby happy.
"It's fine really. You guys go on and have fun. I'm going to use the restroom and be out of here myself." Belle said honestly.
"Ok Belle if you insist. Text me when you get home alright?" Ruby said before kissing her on the cheek and left with Gus.
Picking up the last bits of trash and her small clutch purse, she deposited the waste in the can, and walked by her favorite teacher. Knowing no one was paying attention to her, she quickly kissed her palm, and caressed his face with it while she walked by. He had to fight the urge to keep his seat instead of reaching out and grabbing her, but enough time had passed and she was well out of his reach. His eyes, however, stayed glued to her as she walked towards the restrooms in the back. After she disappeared behind the door, he almost turned his head too fast, but once again he saw the familiar figure. And this time he knew exactly who it was.
Victor Whale.
The son of a bitch snuck past everyone and was now stalking his Belle. Seeing the scumbag walk right into the womens restroom, Mr. Gold was not having any of this. Getting off his chair, he made a B line towards the bathroom. Which is easier said than done when your bum leg is stiff and you have to cross a sea of gyrating teenagers.
Exiting the stall, she almost didn't see him there. Almost.
"Hello Belle. I told you I'd be back." Victor said to her, his voice a low growl.
"What... what are you doing here? Get out!" Belle yelled.
Removing his tie, he tied the door handle and the nearest sink faucet together, forming a crude lock. "No one can hear you over the music Belle." He slowly advanced. "Everyone is too distracted to help poor little Belle." He reached out for her and caught her sleeve, the rip echoing in the bathroom as she tore the fabric out of his grasp.
"Don't come any closer." She backed up against the stalls. Quickly, she slipped into the handicapped stall, and locked the door. "Someone will be in here any minute! You'd better get out of here!"
"Oh no Belle, I've waited for this for a long time. Even since before you started going out with that idiot Gaston." He stood outside of her stall. "You know, you aren't like other girls. You are beautiful Belle, but you don't flaunt it. That is so fucking sexy. You have no idea." He banged on the stall hard, and right away Belle could see that the lock wouldn't last long on the door before it gave way. "God Belle, why do you have to make this so difficult." Another bang, and the stalls rattled. Tears started to stream down her face, praying that someone could help her. Looking around, she searched for anything that could be used as a weapon. All she could find was either a roll of toilet paper, or the lid off the tank of the toilet itself. She chose the latter, and poised it over her shoulder, waiting for him to try and take her. "I'm so hard Belle, I'm going to come from this game alone." Once again a bang, but this time she could see the wood splinter. One more good hit and that door was gone. "But I'll be sure to come in you too, don't worry about that. She readied herself for the final hit, and when it came, the door flew back, revealing the beauty trapped inside. Taking one look at her and her weapon he laughed. "And what are you going to do with that?"
He never got an answer because someone hit him hard with the back end of a cane. One good whack was all it took for Victor to go down, and stay down for the count. "Love?" Was all Mr. Gold could get out before she dropped her weapon and ran to him, crying. "Ssssh. It's ok. It's ok. He's gone and he won't hurt you."
"How... how did you get in?" Belle asked, between sniffles.
"When the idiot tied his 'lock,' he left too much give and it was easy to undo it from the outside." Mr. Gold petted her head. "Now, am I correct in assuming that all of your friends have gone home by now right?" Meekly, Belle nodded her head yes. "Ok, listen closely love. I want you to go out to the parking lot and go wait by my car. I will be out there shortly and I will escort you home ok?" Belle didn't put up any fight. Giving him one last squeeze, she left his side and left the restroom. The music was still up full blast, so not a soul had heard the commotion from the restroom. Keeping to the sides of the gym, she didn't make eye contact with anyone, and slipped out through the entrance, and towards Mr. Gold's Cadillac.
After Mr. Gold also exited the bathroom, he made his way to Emma Swan, who luckily was no where near Mr. Graham. Tapping her on the shoulder, he led her outside through a side door where it was much quieter. "It would seem I need to call in that favor." Getting no vocal response, only an eyebrow quirk, he continued. "Victor Whale made his way into the dance tonight and attacked and threatened a student."
"Oh my God." Emma said, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Where is he? Who did he attack?"
"He's unconscious on the girls bathroom floor. And he attacked Belle." Mr. Gold had to keep his voice in check, as to give himself away. "As you can imagine, the girl is shook up. I'm going to take her home."
"Do you think that is the best course of action here?" Emma recoiled a bit, narrowing her eyes.
"This is where you come in. I need you to tell Graham that she took a cab home. She's very unstable right now, and I'm the only one still here that she trusts right now. Her friends have all left. But you can see this doesn't look quite right does it? Me taking her home that is."
"Why don't you let me do it?" Emma suggested.
"Because she doesn't know you. Look at her." He pointed towards his car. "The poor girl is about to fall apart. She needs someone that she knows and trusts right now, at least to get her home where I will turn her over to her father."
He could see Emma battling with herself with the decision, but she reluctantly gave in. "Ok. I'll go in and take care of the situation. What do you want me to tell Graham what happened to you then? You knocked a kid out, and what ran off?"
"What are you talking about dearie? I didn't knock anyone out. You did. I had already left because my knee was acting up."
"Oh so now I'm lying about everything then?" Emma held her hands up in defense.
"This is the best way that everyone comes out clean. Miss. Swan, the window of opportunity is closing." He even added on a word he didn't use very much. "Please Miss. Swan."
Throwing her hands in the air, she agreed. "I thought you said I wouldn't have to do anything illegal."
"It's not so much as illegal dearie, but more as a slight bending of the rules. Some characters were swapped around is all." Mr. Gold responded, always having an answer for everything. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get her home and away from this mess. If Graham has any questions, it will just have to wait until Monday when she isn't so shaken." With that, he turned on his heel and walked to his beauty.
Opening the door for her, he made sure she was safely inside before shutting it and getting inside the car himself. "Alright love, let's get you far away from this." Throwing the car into drive, he drove her away from the real monster inside the school.
TEHAUTHORS NOTE: Updates make the world go round. Well there ya go. I'm hoping to update again tomorrow, but no promises. I'm almost done with school, thank God, so my schedule will be a lot freer. Huzzah. As always leave the reviews. They make me happy.
