Ruby rolled over onto her side, her arm wrapping around Belle's waist. She smiled to herself when she felt Belle snuggle back into her body. She couldn't argue with the fact that sleeping here was much better than being stuck in a claustrophobic dorm room with Ashley. It had been weeks since she had slept there and she was pretty sure her roommate didn't mind.

The only problem she had was sneaking back to the dorms before Emma or Mary Margaret woke up. It was getting hard to come up with reasons on why she was up so early. Her brain barely functioned for class before nine a.m. Trying to come up with an explanation of why she was running around the dorm so early was a process.

Ruby felt Belle shift and knew that she was finally waking up. "Good morning, beautiful," she whispered, kissing her shoulder.

"Good morning." Belle turned in her love's arms so she was facing her. She kissed her lips lightly. "What time is it?"

Ruby's eyes danced over her features. She brushed her fingers softly over Belle's face, brushing her hair from her eyes. "It's six thirty." She pouted. "I was just about to get dressed and go." A mischievous smirk crossed her lips. "Unless you wanna call out sick and we can spend the whole day here."

Belle smiled at her suggestion. "As wonderful as that sounds, I have two exams to grade and a staff meeting." She kissed her one more time before sliding out from underneath her and off the bed.

Ruby flopped down onto the mattress. "Fine," she groaned, pulling the covers from her body. She sighed then reluctantly stood from the bed. "I'll get dressed and go."

Belle walked to her, wrapping her arms around her neck. She pouted a bit. "Don't you want to shower first?"

The smirk spread adorably across Ruby's face. She wrapped her arms around Belle's waist, locking her fingers together behind her. "I should really get going." She scrunched her face as the words fell from her mouth.

Belle looked at her in disbelief. "You're turning me down?"

"Believe me, I don't want too." Ruby pulled her closer. "But it's probably best if I get back before there is any chance of my friends waking up and seeing me."

Belle was disappointed, but she understood what Ruby was saying. Her hands slid down, resting on her shoulders. "Well, at least let me walk you to your truck."

Ruby touched her chin. "Of course." She leaned down, kissing the tip of her nose. "I'll get dressed really quick so I don't hold you up."

It took Ruby longer to get dressed than she expected. Belle decided they had a few extra minutes to spare and pushed her down on the bed. Almost a half hour later, she found herself hopping on one foot trying to put on her jeans while Belle laughed at the chaos she had caused. Ruby muttered a curse as she hurried down the stairs, almost tripping as she tried to put her boots back on.

"Slow down," Belle requested with a chuckle as she followed her down the stairs. "It's still early. I doubt very seriously that Emma will get out of bed anytime soon." She glanced at her watch. "I'm surprised she even makes it to class on time."

Ruby adjusted her jacket. "Yeah, but you don't know Mary Margaret." She checked her pockets for her keys. "She's always up early and, I swear, she gets to class before her professor." She hurried toward the door and opened it.

Belle chuckled and followed her out the door. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

She closed the door behind her and followed her to her truck. The sadness of Ruby leaving her suddenly settled in. She knew she would see her around campus, but everything was so much different when they were at the school. Ruby climbed inside, closing the heavy door behind her. Belle placed her hands on the door, frowning slightly.

"Maybe we can meet up later?" Ruby asked hopefully.

Belle nodded. "But not in my office. That might be getting a little obvious."

Ruby scrunched her brow in question. "Then where?"

Belle bit her lip. She thought for a moment, but had no answer. "Let me think on it and I'll text you later."

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled as she leaned in close. "I love you." She kissed her, the warmth of her words coursing through her body. She slowly pulled back and smiled at the way Belle lingered in their moment. When she finally opened her eyes, Ruby released a small chuckle. "I'll see you later."

Belle's smile widened. "Bye." She stepped away from the truck as Ruby attempted to start it. She turned the key, but nothing happened. Belle furrowed her brow. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby turned the key again. Nothing. "It's not starting." She frantically turned the key again and again. The panic taking over the warmth that once filled her. "Shit ... shit ... shit!"

Belle stepped forward, placing her hand on the door again. "It's okay. I guess—" She took in a deep breath then slowly released it. "I'll just—drive you back to the college."

"Oh, no, Belle. That's kinda risky, don't you think?"

"Well I'm not going to let you skip classes." She patted the door. "It'll be fine. We'll call a tow truck and have you car taken to the nearest shop and then I'll drive you. We'll just…" She paused, thinking of a logical place to drop her off. "Park behind your dorms. It'll be fine."

Ruby felt awful. She hated her truck sometimes. "I'm sorry about this."

"It's okay." Belle tried her hardest to keep her smile and mask her fear of them being seen. "It'll be fine." She opened Ruby's door and walked her back inside.

They stopped behind the dorms doing their best to stay out of sight. Ruby looked around to make sure no one was nearby. She leaned in, placing a quick kiss on Belle's lips then stepped out of the car. She closed the door, leaning into the window.

"Text me," she requested, smiling brightly at her.

Belle returned her smile. "I will." She always found herself becoming lost in her girlfriend's eyes. Her smile. Everything about her was mesmerizing. "I love you..."

Ruby's smile widened. "I love you too." A playful, puppy-like expression overtook her features. "You know, my offer on ditching today still stands."

Belle raised her hand, pointing her finger toward the dorms. "Go," she ordered, her voice laced with laughter.

"Okay, okay." She blew her a kiss and hurried off.

Ruby ran as fast as she could down the hall toward her room. She slowed her steps when she passed Mary Margaret and Emma's door. She didn't want anything to wake them. She hurried toward her room, praying that Ashley was already gone. She opened the door, taking a quick peak inside. She could see Ashley's bed was empty and she sighed in relief.

She opened the door further and jumped back at the sight of someone sitting on her bed. She placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. "Christ, Emma, how the hell did you get in here?"

Emma laid on her bed, her arms crossed against her chest. "Ashley let me in when she was leaving," she explained, raising an eyebrow. A small smirk played on her lips. "Where have you been?"

Ruby swallowed nervously, closing the door behind her. "I, uh..." she stammered, running her hand through her hair. "I was in the cafe. I woke up pretty early and decided to go down there and—"

"Bullshit," Emma interrupted. "I was actually in the cafe looking for you." She held out her hands. "Surprise, you weren't there." She crossed her arms again. "So, let's try this again. Where have you been?"

Ruby found herself fidgeting. She shifted from one foot to the other. She had no clue what to say. Her only explanation was shot down before she could even get the words passed her lips. "I was out," she stated flatly. She walked toward her desk and dropped her bag down on it. "Can't we just leave it at that?"

Emma raised her hands giving up. "Alright. Fine. Keep your little love affair a secret."

Ruby made a face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Emma stood from the bed. "Ruby, it's super obvious that you're dating someone you don't want us to meet just yet." She placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. She offered a sincere smile. "Just know, if he or she is makes you happy then that's good enough for us." She patted her shoulder. "Now, get changed out of your sex clothes and let's grab breakfast before class."

Ruby pressed her lips together. She felt guilty the minute Emma expressed her approval without even knowing who the person she was dating happened to be. "Um, okay. Just give me a minute."

"Sure. Just come to our room when you're ready." She patted her shoulder again and walked out of the room.

Ruby closed her eyes, releasing a heavy breath as she dropped limply onto her bed and screamed into her pillow, frustrated with the entire situation.

Ruby, Aurora, Ashley and Ariel had been sitting alone in the small room for hours. As always, the three assholes were being unnecessarily loud, gossiping about boys and talking about all the girls they were convinced were whores. Ruby was surprised her name hadn't come up. But that didn't matter. She was already ready to strangle them.

All she wanted was to study. For the first and only time in her life. If she wasn't so determined to impress Belle, Ruby would be watching TV right now. She tried to focus on the words, but finally, a familiar name was brought into the conversation, and she could no longer shut them out.

"Did you hear about Emma and Regina yet?" Ariel asked gleefully.

Ruby ground her teeth together, telling herself to just ignore it.

"Of course. Everyone knows Emma's head-over-heels for that bitch," Ashley laughed.

"No, I mean, did you hear that Jefferson caught them making out under the bleachers?"

Aurora and Ashley squealed with delight. "When?"

"Yesterday night, after the soccer game."

Ruby faltered at that. Surely Emma would have told her if she had made progress with Regina. Although, she was keeping secrets from her friends too, so maybe not. She really didn't care one way or the other. Whatever made her friend happiest was what she supported, and she could not understand how these three girls could be so ignorant.

"And what did he do?"

"Well, you know how much Jefferson hates Regina. He took a picture on his phone, and he's waiting for the perfect moment to show it to the whole school."

"Did he show you?" Aurora asked.

"Of course."

"I can't believe they could do that," Ashley said with a disgusted face.

"I know. It's sick," Aurora said.

Ruby could not hold her tongue anymore. "Oh shut up, Aurora. Everyone knows you fuck Mulan when Philip goes home for the weekends," she spat. "And Ariel, we all know Killian's cheating on you with every girl he sees. But you're either too horny and desperate to leave him or too stupid to notice."

Ariel looked ready to kill her, but Ashley spoke up first. "Don't pretend you're such a saint, Ruby," she stood up with a glint in her eyes.

Ruby faltered for a moment at the expression on her face. For a moment, she was almost afraid Ashley knew. But she couldn't know. They had been so careful.

Ashley raised her eyebrows. "You're lucky I haven't told anybody."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Ruby rolled her eyes.

"You're despicable. You act like you're so cool just because you're not like us, because you're an outsider. You put those red streaks in your hair and think that makes you tough, but all it is is a mask, so no one can see how stupid and worthless you are. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

Ruby punched her. Hard. She punched her right across the face, her eyes narrowed as she resisted the urge to punch her again.

Ariel and Aurora leapt to their feet to help Ashley up. She turned to Ruby, blonde hair hanging over her eyes. "I saw you this morning." She paused, shrugging off her friends' hands, ignoring the looks on their faces. "I saw you in the car." Ruby was certain her heart had stopped. "You are so lucky I haven't told anyone. Do you have any idea what could happen if I do?"

Ruby clenched her fist, stepping forward and looking her right in the eyes. She wished she had something to say, but she didn't. She just looked at her, and Ashley knew. Ruby turned around and walked away, slamming the door behind her.

Belle rubbed her exhausted eyes as she put a red C- on Emma's paper, placing it on top of the large pile that lay on her desk. Only a few more and she could go home. It was already midnight, and as much as Belle longed to take her work home with her, she knew it would never get done. Still, her eyes were blinking shut, staying closed longer and longer the more they did. She was almost asleep when there was a sudden knock on the door.

There was one tap and then, exactly three seconds later, there were another two. Ruby.

Belle was out of her chair as fast as she could manage, practically running to the door, throwing it open and yanking Ruby inside.

"What the hell, Belle?" she whispered harshly as she fixed the sleeves of her jacket.

"Ruby, it is way way way past the time you should be here," Belle mumbled as she closed the door. "What were you - " But as she turned around and met Ruby's eyes, she found herself unable to finish the sentence. "Ruby, what happened?"

Ruby bit her lip, staring determinedly at her feet. "We have a problem," she muttered.

Belle faltered, taking a step closer. "What kind of problem?"

"It's - it's Ashley." Ruby ran her hands through her hair, tears welling up in her eyes. "She knows."

Belle had never had a heart attack before, but she was almost certain this was what one would feel like. "She knows about us?" Belle asked, hoping she had misheard, had misunderstood, that somehow Ruby was playing a very cruel joke on her.

But Ruby didn't shake her head or laugh; she nodded. "She said I was lucky she hasn't told anyone. She asked me if I knew what would happen if she did."

Belle was still trying to wrap her head around the whole thing. "Look, it's - it's okay. We can figure this out," she stuttered.

"Belle," Ruby's voice was strong, determined to get what she wanted, "what happens if we get caught?"

"Ruby..."

"What happens if we get caught?" Ruby repeated.

Belle didn't want to tell her. She knew it would scare her away, and she knew it should scare her away. It should scare both of them away. Ruby was staring at her with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.

"If we get caught ... you get expelled, my reputation is destroyed and I lose my job."

"Oh..."

"Oh," Belle repeated, trying to get across how serious this all was.

Ruby nodded, slowly gaining animation. "Okay, okay, so I go back and tell Ashley I'll do anything to stop her from telling the truth." She started walking past Belle, but a hand wrapped around her upper arm.

"Ruby, you don't have to do that."

Ruby hung her head. "You're right. This is stupid." She took a deep breath. "Then we should ... we should just call it quits, huh?"

"What are you talking about?" Belle asked.

"I'm - I'm not worth it," Ruby said quietly. "I'm not good for you. I'm too young; I'm not smart enough; I'm not worth losing your entire future. I'm not worth it."

Belle shifted herself so that she was standing in front of Ruby. She ran a hand gently through her hair. "Ruby ... I have spent my entire life looking for something. I have been curious from the moment I was born. As soon as I was on my own, I never stayed in one place. I spent years travelling the world. I became a teacher to learn more, to look for new things. And then you happened." Belle gripped Ruby's hands tighter. "And I stopped wanting to look. I stopped needing to look."

"What does that have to - "

Belle placed her finger lightly over Ruby's lips. She ran her thumb over Ruby's bottom lip slowly before kissing her, one hand sliding into her hair.

A soft moan of surrender left Ruby's mouth as her fingers curled around the collar of Belle's jacket. She pulled back after a moment, and Belle whispered, "You are worth everything."

Ruby bent her head, her forehead pressing against Belle's as she laughed softly, her cheeks turning pink. "Everything, huh?"

Belle smiled, her hand cupping Ruby's cheek. "Everything," she repeated.

Ruby walked up to her door, not quite sure if she was ready for this. But she had to do it. She would not let Belle lose anything for her, no matter how much her professor pretended not to be afraid of the consequences.

She pushed her door open slowly. "Ashley?"

She wasn't there. Ruby immediately started to panic, turning out of her room and checking every inch of the dorms. Her last stop was the bathroom. She peeked her head inside and heard nothing. And then someone sniffled quietly, and Ruby closed the door behind her and called out one more time, "Ashley?"

Ruby walked further and further into the bathroom, past the sinks and the mirrors, and it was only at the very back, past the mirrors, showers, and sinks, that Ruby found Ashley sitting against the wall, her arms wrapped around her knees, tears streaming down her face.

She looked up, and her eyes went wide when she saw that Ruby was there. She quickly wiped her cheeks and asked, "Are you here to punch me again?"

"No," Ruby replied softly, moving to stand next to her. After Ashley did not make her go away, she slid down the wall and wrapped her arms around her own knees. "Are you … hiding in the bathroom because I punched you?"

Ashley shook her head, and Ruby wasn't sure what to do. "Look, I'm sure you don't want me here, so - "

" - I'm pregnant," she whispered, her voice shaking, her knuckles white as they clenched her knees.

"Oh … that's…" But she didn't know what it was. "How long have you known?"

"Yesterday," she mumbled.

"Does … does he know?"

"No."

"And why are you telling me this?" Ruby asked. "Do you want me to get Ariel for you?"

Ashley laughed, the chuckle laced with tears. "They won't understand. The minute they find out, I'm off the squad."

"Some friends you've got," said Ruby, leaning her head back against the wall.

"They're not so bad…" Ashley protested, though she put little into her defense.

"Yeah, they are," Ruby laughed, "and you know it. Why do you hang out with these ass clowns?"

"Those ass clowns are my friends."

"No, they're ass clowns. What is so great about Ariel? Has she tried to sleep with you yet?"

Ashley itched the back of her neck and laughed uncomfortably. "Actually … yeah. She got drunk a few weeks ago after the game."

Ruby just nodded. "Yeah, your friends sound amazing."

"Shut up, Ruby," she said, now very serious.

Ruby rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the wall. "Fine, Ashley, I'm gonna go. Maybe you can talk to your friends. I'm sure they'd understand."

"Wait…"

Ruby couldn't believe herself. She could have kept walking but she stopped. Why in the hell did she stop? "What?"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, one tear slowly working its way down her cheek.

"Tough," Ruby shifted, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall on her side.

"No, I'm sorry about what I said. You're not stupid. And you're not worthless. And … and I'm not gonna tell anyone what I saw. I never was; I just - "

"You're scared," Ruby said matter-of-factly, and Ashley looked down again. "Son of a…" She trailed off as she went and offered a hand to her roommate. "Come on. We're going back to our room before someone walks in here."

"Ruby, you don't have to - "

" - Yes I do. Now shut up and come on," she tried a smile, feeling unnatural as it fell on the girl she had been sure she hated.

But Ashley took her hand, and Ruby pulled her up. God, she was light. She could only have weighed 100 pounds. Typical cheerleader, she thought spitefully, though all that was about to change.

"I don't understand you," Ashley said. "I have been nothing but rude to you and your friends. Why are you helping me?"

Ruby shrugged and replied, "Because I'm not an ass clown."