I know I've left you waiting forever for this chapter so I hope you enjoy it!
"Robin, this really isn't a good idea," Regina murmured as she stared up at him in shock, she was worried about what he was going to do and she was feeling just a little bit sick at the idea of everyone knowing that they were together. She liked to keep a low profile and this was the complete opposite of that. She could feel her chest start to tighten as anxiety brewed up inside her, this was a bad, bad idea.
"Regina, trust me," he reassured, grabbing her hand and holding it tight, "okay, so the reason I got your attention was because I need to tell you all something. I know that you've all probably noticed that Regina and I have been sitting together, the reason for that is she's my girlfriend, so you're all going to have to deal with it and if you have something to say, say it to my face because there's nothing I hate more than people talking behind my back. Have a nice day folks."
She was officially mortified. Was that really the best way to go about telling everyone they were together? She glanced up at him and saw the proud as punch grin on his face as he sat back down again, tucking into his waffles. He was just so cute and she couldn't be angry at him for not asking her about revealing their relationship, she had never imagined that he would be wanting to show her off and boast about them being together, but clearly, that was what he had been wanting to do. "You didn't have to do that."
"I did," he grinned, reaching over and taking her hand in his, "I wanted everyone to know that you're my girlfriend and that we're together. I also wanted to be able to hold your hand without people speculating, so I figured why not just tell them the truth so they don't have to come to their own conclusions."
"Okay," she sighed before letting out a little chuckle, "you're pretty crazy, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know that, although some might say it takes one to know one, so I don't think I'm the only crazy person at this table. Plus, I'm not the one who goes around smelling people's sweaters."
"Oh my god, will I ever live that down?" Regina groaned, her foot nudging his under the table as she shook her head.
"I think I might be using that one for a while, it was just really funny."
"Robin." Regina glanced up and saw Ruby standing beside their table, eyeing up the both of them before rolling her eyes and focusing on Robin. "how long have you two been dating?"
"A few days, but its been a long time coming, hasn't it Gina?"
"You're telling me," she chuckled, watching as Ruby's fake ass smile fell from her face, replaced with a scowl as she glared at Robin, it was clear that she wasn't happy about their relationship.
"I've had a crush on Regina forever but was just too chicken to ask her out, then on this trip we finally got together," he grinned. Regina felt her heart pound in her chest, it was one thing for him to say those things directly to her but to hear him say them to someone else was completely unexpected and she was a little blown away by his admission. "I'm just glad she wanted to go out with me."
"Well, any woman would agree to go out with you," Ruby scoffed, curling her hair around her fingers, "does Marian know that you're with Regina? What would she think about it?"
"Am I supposed to care what Marian thinks? It's not as though we are together or have even been together, I don't like Marian that way," Robin shrugged. Regina looked away from him and to Ruby who looked a little bit like she was about to have a panic attack, sure she and Marian were best friends but it wasn't that big of a deal, was it?
"She is going to be so upset though Robin, she thought you were into her the same way she was into you. Don't you think that you and her would make a better couple, I mean seriously, Regina isn't even in your league, she's so much lower on the spectrum than you. I don't even get what you see in her," she whispered, obviously trying to make sure that Regina didn't hear what she was saying, but of course she was useless at whispering and she heard every word.
"Goodbye Ruby," Robin stated, clearing his throat as Regina watched his expression fill with anger, he obviously wasn't wanting an altercation with Ruby and was trying to control himself. Regina was a little pissed off at the other girl's comments, but there was a part of her that knew that some of what she had said was true, she did feel as though Robin was out of her league most of the time.
"Robin, you're a ten and she's a four or five at the most, you should be with another ten, that's how things work…"
"Really, I didn't know that you made the rules on who is allowed to date who and I just happen to think that Regina is a ten, to be honest she's probably higher than that."
"The rank only goes to ten."
"Ruby go away, I don't want to argue with you. Regina is my girlfriend. Marian isn't. Nothing is going to change that so deal with it. Now, if we can eat our breakfast in peace, that would be great," Robin grinned when she walked away and he finally got back to his waffles.
"You didn't have to say all that," Regina murmured as she had some of her, now not so warm, pancakes. She didn't know how he could see her being above a ten, she wasn't, she was just plain old Regina, the awkward and unpopular nerd, she wasn't anything special.
"All what? The truth?"
"Robin, I am not a ten," she argued, "we both know that I'm not."
"You're joking, right? You're drop dead gorgeous, the most stunning woman I have ever laid eyes on."
"Robin…"
"Don't fight me on this one, you won't win. You're beautiful Gina, I don't know how you don't see it."
"You seem to be the only one who does," Regina whispered, she was feeling a little insecure after Ruby's comments, how was it that so many people could see her one way whilst Robin saw her in a completely different one. His compliments made her day, but sometimes she couldn't stop herself from doubting what he said.
"Stop it, stop putting yourself down, don't listen to what those jerks say, listen to me. I think you're perfect. Also, do you really think they would all be ranking me so high if they saw me in my reading glasses?"
"I love those glasses," she smiled, just thinking about him in those glasses made her whole-body shiver, he looked like a sexy librarian whenever he wore them, especially when he had his head in a book.
"I know you do," he grinned.
She smirked as she ate some more of her breakfast, she would have to get Robin to model those glasses again for her later so she could see him in them once again. She wondered if they would experiment with things like that when their relationship progressed and whether roleplay would be something they'd try out, with Robin as the hot librarian and her as the library user who talked too loudly and got punished for it. Regina bit down on her bottom lip and suppressed the moan that was trying to slip past her lips just thinking about it.
"Regina, seriously, don't ever doubt how I see you, you're an amazing person, inside and out and I wouldn't have you any other way."
She glanced up at Robin who was now watching her intently and felt her cheeks heat up, did he think that she had been doubting herself when she had actually just been fantasising having sex with him in a library, or maybe just against the bookshelf in her room, she wasn't sure if she was brave enough to do anything in public. What was she even thinking? She hadn't even had her first time yet and she was fantasising all sorts.
"You seem miles away."
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something, you distracted me the moment you brought up those glasses."
"Why are you blushing?" Robin grinned mischievously, she had a feeling that he knew that there were dirty thoughts swirling through her head.
"I don't think I can tell you the reason in public," she chuckled, finding a strawberry on her plate and taking a bite from it.
"Oh well, maybe you'll just have to tell me later in…"
"Well then, I think we know the reason that the two of you both came down with the flu earlier this week."
Regina and Robin were snapped out of their flirty banter and looked up to see Dr Hopper stood by their table with a less than impressed expression on his face. Regina swallowed heavily, she was nervous and had a feeling that they might have just been caught skiving.
"Cross-contamination, one of you has clearly given your flu to the other, do you know that kissing is the most common way of passing germs from one person to another?"
Regina looked at him in shock before biting on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing, it was just too funny and awkward, she also felt nervous and she tended to laugh when she got that way, not to mention the completely serious expression on the teachers face as he lectured them on the dangers of kissing.
"I know sir, I cannot believe that Regina gave me the flu," Robin huffed, offering her a subtle wink, one that earned him a kick under the table.
"Let's just hope that no other students come down with the virus."
"Oh don't worry sir, I don't intend on kissing anyone else so I think they'll all be safe," Regina smirked, she felt rather smug with that comment and the look on Dr Hopper's face was well worth any potential embarrassment, in fact, she was pretty sure that he looked more embarrassed than she did. "As for Robin, well, he better not be kissing anyone other than me."
"Of course not," Dr Hopper shook his head, "I didn't mean it that way."
"You said that the quickest was to spread the flu was through kissing Dr Hopper."
"Regina, you know full well that there are other ways of catching the flu, don't play games with me, young lady."
"I apologise sir, but if anyone else gets the flu you can rest assured that it wasn't either Robin or myself who gave it to them, not by kissing anyway."
"Okay, can we stop talking about kissing now," Archie scoffed as he ran his fingers awkwardly through his hair, "Robin, I think you might be in the stables today, but the two of you better not be trying any funny business because I will be keeping my eye on you both," he nodded, pointing at them before leaving them alone and walking back across the dining room to find his second coffee of the morning.
"I love nothing more than making Dr Hopper feel awkward," Regina confessed, her foot brushing against Robin's, "anyway, that's good news that you'll be with the horses today, I have been waiting to teach you to ride all week, its going to be brilliant and I am sure that you'll love it."
"Well, I'll have a good teacher," he nodded as he finished the last of his coffee.
"When everyone is finished eating please could you all make your way to your designated activities please," Dr Hopper requested as he tried to hurry everyone up a little bit, seemingly through the long days had been taking their toll and everyone was feeling a little sluggish, Regina was definitely including herself in that group. She was feeling the tiredness from the night before creeping up on her, after their argument, the whole situation with Daniel and the dog being hit, she and Robin had stayed up really late just talking so now she was exhausted.
She stifled a yawned as she finished the last of her pancakes before looking up at Robin, she wished that they didn't have to do the activities for the day and that they could just chill out in the room like they had been doing earlier in the week.
"Someone's tired," Robin quipped, putting his knife and fork down as he pushed his empty plate away from him and drank the last of his coffee.
"And you're not?"
"I am, its just you look like you could do with going back to bed."
"Oh thanks," she scoffed with a raised eyebrow, was that his way of telling her that she looked like shit?
"I didn't mean it like that and you know it, I just meant that you had a stressful day yesterday and I know that I could do with getting a few more hours sleep."
"I know and I certainly could, but you know what they say, there's no rest for the wicked," Regina sighed, standing from her chair and noticing that Ruby and all of the other girls who sat at their table were staring over in their direction. "They're all looking at us."
"Let them look, I don't care," Robin shook his head as he got up as well and reached for her hand, "ignore them, all that matters is you and me, okay?"
"Yes," Regina smiled as she gave his hand a little squeeze before remembering that today was the day, she finally got to introduce Robin to horses. "Come with me!" she instructed as she led him outside and towards the stables, she felt as though all of her energy had returned at the thought of sharing her passion with her boyfriend. It was still strange to call him that, but he had stood in front of the whole dining room and told everyone that she was his girlfriend so he was definitely her boyfriend. "Are you excited?" She asked as she opened the door to the stables and urged him to follow her.
"I'm a little nervous, to be honest, I've never been near a horse before and they all seem quite big," he confessed as she stopped outside of the dapple-grey mare's pen.
"Well, I'd been getting to know this girl whilst I've been here and I think that you'll be fine with her," she quipped, opening the door to the horse's stall and beckoning Robin inside with her, "come meet her Robin, she's very friendly I promise." She let go of his hand and reached out to the horse, "hey there girl, how are you," she cooed, chuckling as the horse came closer and she ran her hand over her nose, prompting the horse to shake her head. "I've brought someone to meet you," she grinned turning around to see Robin with his back pressed firmly against the stable door as he watched the horse dubiously, he looked absolutely terrified, to be honest.
"She's pretty big."
"She's beautiful," Regina grinned moving closer to him, "she won't hurt you, trust me," she reassured, reaching out to take his hand in hers before leading him closer to the horse and gently pressing his palm to the mare's nose, keeping her hand on top of his. "See, she's a big softy." The horse remained still as Robin's hand stayed where Regina's hand placed it, slowly she pulled her hand away and offered him a playful smile, "why don't you pet her a little, she likes to be fussed."
"Her nose is so soft," Robin chuckled as he stroked her gently.
Regina smiled as she moved to pat the horse's neck, "how about I go find a horse brush and you can have a go at that?"
"Okay, do you want me to come with you?"
"I think I can manage, you can keep her company whilst I'm gone," Regina hummed and pressed her lips to his gently before pulling back and looking into his eyes, she could see the uncertainty written all over his face, he was clearly nervous about being around horses and that was perfectly understandable considering he had never interacted with one before, she was sure that had she been untrained she would be feeling slightly on edge about it. Robin looked adorable though and she couldn't resist brushing her finger tenderly over his cheek, "you'll be fine Robin, I promise."
He just nodded and carried on cautiously petting the horse as she slipped out of the stall and into the main area of the barn where all of the grooming equipment was kept, the rest of the group hadn't arrived yet and she was grateful that they were the only ones there.
She rummaged around to find the correct brush, once she found it, she turned around and jumped out of her skin to find Daniel stood awkwardly in the doorway, "hey, sorry I didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't scare me," she cleared her throat as she played with the brush in her hands, there was a huge elephant in the room and she wanted nothing more than to ignore it and just get back to what she had been doing previously.
"I was hoping that you'd be in here today because I wanted to talk to you."
"Whys that?"
"The way we left things last night was awkward, to say the least."
"Yes well..."
"I wanted to apologise to you for my actions, I wasn't thinking straight and I'm sorry. I was supposed to be a friend to you but I took advantage and read the situation wrong," he sighed looking down at the dusty floor.
"I'm not going to lie to you and say that I wasn't taken aback by that kiss because I was, I'd just confided in you about what had happened with Robin. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I'm not available, Robin and I talked and we're good now, you kissing me could have really damaged my relationship. What I have with him is so new and vulnerable but I will do everything necessary to make sure that it works out."
"I thought you said yesterday that he was only with you because of some bet and that he was just using you."
"I was wrong and I hardly gave him chance to explain before I flew off the handle."
"How did he explain that, why would his friends just make it up?"
"I don't know, but they did because I trust him and he wouldn't lie to me," Regina huffed, crossing her arms as she stared him down, he was giving her this sympathetic look and she wasn't falling for it, she didn't need his pity because she was happy with Robin and she knew that he was genuine, she didn't need the judgment of a guy she had virtually just met.
"Regina, just hear me out okay, I don't want you to regret forgiving that guy if he isn't what's right for you, you seemed really upset yesterday."
"Yes, I was upset and you were the one who took advantage of that, not Robin," she scoffed, moving to push past him only for him to take hold of her arms, she looked up at him with narrowed eyes, "let go of me, Daniel."
"Just listen to me goddammit!"
"I have been listening to you and I'm not interested, get off!"
"Regina, you don't belong with a guy like that! He's a popular asshole and he's gonna break your heart! He doesn't even know the first thing about horses, I mean what do you even have in common."
"You don't even know Robin! Or me! Let go," she hissed, she was getting slightly freaked out because every time she told him to get off her his grip tightened, he had suddenly turned into a deranged psycho. "Daniel, I just wanted to talk and sort things out after you kissed me last night, please."
"Can't you see how right we would be for each other?" he asked, his fingers running over her arms in a way that made her want to curl up and disappear. "Regina, you and I are perfect for one another."
"I'm sorry I…"
"You haven't even given me a chance."
"Do you know how crazy you sound? Daniel, I have been in love with Robin for four years, so you don't stand a chance."
"I can change your mind, prove to you that you're making the wrong decision," with that comment he caught her off guard and lowered his lips to press against hers, she struggled in his arms, trying to push him off her. The panic was beginning to grow inside her as she realised how strong Daniel was, she kept her lips sealed and unresponsive to his as his hand moved to her waist and then down to her hips, her own hands pushing against his chest.
"Get your hands off her right now before I make you wish you had." Daniel finally moved away and turned around to look at Robin who was stood directly behind him, "Regina."
She scampered behind Robin, holding onto his shirt as she glared at the other guy, "I told him to get off and he didn't listen," she whispered.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Daniel scoffed, "mate, I hate to break it to you but your girlfriend was the one who came onto me."
"Oh yeah, because she totally looked like she was into that, she was trying to push you away, just like she told me she did last night," Robin seethed.
Regina could tell that he was angry, she had a horrible feeling that he was about to lunge at Daniel. Gently she placed a hand on his back, "come on Robin, let's just leave it please," she murmured.
"I can't believe that you just tried to force yourself on her again, it makes me sick."
"At least I'm not the one betting my friends that I'd be able to fuck her."
"You don't know what you're talking about, that's bullshit. Why would I ever do that? I care about Regina and I wouldn't ever hurt her, you're the one who did that."
Daniel took a step closer and glanced at Regina before raising an eyebrow and punching Robin directly in the face, Regina's eyes widened and she watched as Robin retaliated and hit Daniel straight back. Then that was it, the two of them began brawling, smacking each other. "Robin! Stop!" she screamed, watching as he fell to the floor and Daniel started hitting him, "Daniel! Stop it now! Leave him alone!"
She moved over to them as quickly as she could and tried to push Daniel off Robin, only to be elbowed in the stomach by his arm. She winced before pulling away and running as quickly as she could outside, she wasn't strong enough to physically break them apart but she could go and get help, no matter how much trouble it might get them into.
"Dr Hopper!" she yelled, spotting him coming out of the farmhouse, "Sir, please! Hurry! Help!"
The teacher rushed towards her with Mr Gold and some other students hot on his heels, "Regina."
"In there, you need to stop him, please!"
Before she even knew what was happening, Dr Hopper and Mr Gold hurried into the stables, she followed close behind them along with the other students who had been following. Daniel and Robin were still on the ground and she could see that the latter was struggling to fight back. Daniel was older and taller which meant that he had the upper hand, clearly, Robin didn't stand much of a chance.
Dr Hopper and some of the boys from their school managed to pull Daniel off Robin who was laid on the ground with blood gushing from a cut above his eye and Regina sprang into action. "Oh my god," she gasped, falling to the floor beside him and cupping his cheeks gently, "look at you," she breathed, a tear rolling down her face as she observed what Daniel had done to him. "I can't believe he hit you," Regina breathed, trailing her fingertips just above the cut by his eyebrow.
"I'll survive," he chuckled dryly, his hand coming up to brush over her arm. Regina could hear a commotion going on behind them as Daniel was pushed out of the stables, "he's insane Regina, like really insane."
"How did this even happen, I don't understand."
"It sounded like he was obsessed with you, when you'd gone he was saying all these things, things that I can't even repeat."
"That's crazy, I've only known him for a few days, how can he possibly be obsessed with me, it doesn't make any sense, I didn't even really say anything to him, up until yesterday we only talked in passing."
"What on earth was going on there Locksley?" Dr Hopper asked as he re-emerged from escorting Daniel outside, he moved to the floor to look at the wounds on Robin's face. "You know we have zero tolerance to violence…"
"Daniel hit him," Regina scoffed, "Robin was merely defending himself, you can't punish him for that."
"He tried to force himself on Regina sir," Robin groaned as he tried to sit up, Regina helping him do so, moving behind him to make sure that he didn't hurt himself further, "then when I confronted him, he snapped and hit me."
"Regina, is that the truth?"
"Yes," she nodded, she was sad that it had come to this because she had thought that Daniel wanted to be friends with her, clearly, she had been wrong about his intentions, she had realised that last night, but today was when it had really hit home that he wasn't her friend and she couldn't trust him. "Daniel was kissing me and I didn't want him to, then Robin shouted at him and Daniel punched him."
"Regina, accompany Robin back to the house and find Miss French, she is the designated first aider," Dr Hopper instructed, "I think I'm going to have to ring both your parents."
"No, sir you can't do that," Regina shook her head, just the thought of her mother finding out that she was having boys fight over her made her feel nauseous, not to mention the effect news like this might have on Robin's mother, "Robin's mother is sick," she whispered so that only the teacher could hear what she was saying, "she doesn't need the stress of this, please sir, she's in the hospital and Robin is trying not to think about it, please don't call her and make her worry even more."
Dr Hopper looked at her for a moment before nodding in agreement, "alright, I suppose under the circumstances I can keep this between us, but one more thing from either of you and you will find yourselves on your way back to Storybrooke quicker than you can blink."
"Yes sir," she nodded, she was just glad that she had prevented things from escalating, should her mother have found out about what happened she would be in serious trouble, her mother severely disapproved of her having any relationship, to be honest it worried her a little when she thought of her mother finding out that she and Robin were together, she didn't think that she would be very accepting of that and knew that she would most likely have to hide their relationship from her. "How do you feel?" she asked, her arm wrapping around him as she helped him up from the ground and back towards the farmhouse.
"My face hurts like a bitch."
"I can imagine, but at least he didn't break your beautiful nose," Regina grinned, trying to lighten the mood a little, reminiscent of what Robin said to her on their first day when she had accidentally walked into the wall.
"God, I can't believe he whooped my ass like that, like seriously, I thought we were evenly matched."
"You idiot," she rolled her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder as they headed inside and found Miss French almost immediately, "Miss French, we need first aid."
"What happened?" she asked with Granny close behind her.
"Daniel attacked him."
"What?" the older woman gasped, "that boy, I will have his hide! I am so sorry, I don't know what's gotten into him lately, ever since your group arrived earlier this week he has been acting off."
"Yes, well he needs to learn to keep his hands to himself," Regina huffed as she took a seat on the couch in the entrance hall and Robin perched beside her. Miss French left to get the first aid kit leaving them alone. "So, did he punch you anywhere else?"
"Not really, luckily I was shielding most of my face so I don't think its that bad."
Regina sighed, his face was pretty bloody and bruised so of course, it was bad, "why did you hit him back? We should have just walked away."
"I know, I just… he pushed all the wrong buttons and before I could even think about what I was doing I hit the guy, he is such an arsehole, promise me that you won't go near him again Regina and don't think that this is me being possessive or anything like that because it isn't. Some of the things he said to me when you'd gone were fucked up and I really don't trust him."
"Okay," she nodded, "don't worry, I won't be going near him again." She snuggled into Robin's side, her fingers moving to run through his hair as she played with it gently, "I'm so sorry, this was all my fault."
"No, it wasn't you who hit me was it."
"No, but you were arguing over me and…"
"Regina, this wasn't your fault, I don't blame you," he whispered, moving his hand to her cheek and stroking it gently, She was just moving in to press her forehead against his when Miss French returned with the first aid kit.
"Well then, lets get you patched up shall we," she smiled kindly as she opened the box and took out some alcohol wipes, Regina knew that was going to sting like crazy and she really didn't envy the position Robin was in, her hand moved to find his and she squeezed it reassuringly, watching as the teacher wiped the blood from his face before tending to the nasty looking cut by his eye.
Robin winced and Regina cringed, she could tell that it was hurting him and she just wanted to take his pain away, "how bad is it, Miss?" Regina asked, peering at Robin's face, it didn't seem to be that bad but she could tell that there was a little bit of swelling.
"Not too bad, there might be some bruising, but other than that you should be fine Robin. I want you to rest for the morning and then see how you feel later on as to whether you join in the activities."
"Damn, I was looking forward to horse riding," he sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you another day," Regina reassured, her hand coming to play with his hair, she really wanted to stay with him and just cuddle in their bed for the rest of the day.
"Well, I should be getting back to the other students, rest Robin."
"Regina." She closed her eyes before turning to see Dr Hopper coming through the doors, "we need you back outside, Daniel has gone AWOL and now we need someone to lead the session in the stable with the horses. Granny has called someone in but they won't be able to get here until this afternoon, I thought that maybe you might be able to help out."
"I was going to stay with Robin and…"
"Robin will be fine, now, prove to me that you want to be on this trip and go lead a session on how to handle horses, just get them to do things around the stables or something."
Regina groaned, she hated things like that, she didn't think that she was a very good teacher, but it was clear that Dr Hopper wasn't giving her much choice, the tone in his voice was telling her that it wasn't an option to refuse after what had just happened. "Fine," she scoffed, standing from the couch and adjusting her sweatshirt, or rather Robin's sweatshirt. "I hope you're feeling better this afternoon and come to save me from this torture," she groaned, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to Robin's cheek.
"You'll smash it, I believe in you."
She chuckled and smiled at him, she was so tempted to tell him that she loved him but she didn't want to scare him by saying it too soon, instead, she just squeezed his hand gently before leaving him there and heading back to the stables. This was going to be hell.