A/N : As promised!

First thing first : Did you notice the amazing cover this fic now has? It's beautiful, thanks again to my lovely Kseni 3

Some quick answers because there was a lot of questions and confusion in your reviews, and I can't leave you like this. Don't worry, all the explanations will come in time in the story ;-)

There's a good reason why Regina was mad at Robin, something I -of course- can't reveal yet :-P

I didn't write what Regina's secret is yet, trust me, you'll know when we get there ;-)

And I'm sorry if I made some people sad, but I'll make it up to you ;-)

I won't answer the theories though, but honestly, you guys really do have amazing ideas! (in a good way)

Thanks again for all your reviews, can't wait to know what you think of this chapter.

I'm taking a few days off from tomorrow to sunday, so the next update will be on tuesday.

The Grades

It's been two weeks, and Regina still stubbornly refuses to speak to him. Even in class, she avoids him. In the hallway, she disappears before he can catch a glimpse of her. At lunch, she's alone again, reading while she eats, or at least pretending to read. She doesn't seem to make a lot of progress in her new lecture, and he wonders if maybe she's as affected by this whole situation as he is.

He made a few new acquaintances now that he's not spending all his time with Regina, but even David's kindness is not enough to stop him from glancing at her whenever she appears in his line of vision. Seeing her back to her lonely and old routine is breaking his heart. She deserves better than that, even if she refuses to accept it.

He misses the smiles on her face, her laugh, genuine and deep in her throat. The way her eyes always lit up when she met his. Her warm skin when she was claiming his arms for a comforting embrace.

He misses her, all of her.

Their friendship.

The animated debates and conversations, the tutoring in math, the way she always had an answer to his questions, even the most silly ones.

He watches over her from afar, because that's all he has left now, the only thing he can do, because she's closed the doors between them and hidden the key, refused to talk to him when he tried to reconcile, apologize.

It's getting to him. Even at home, his parents noticed something was different in his behavior. The way he's not answering to his father's jokes anymore. How he keeps looking at his phone with the desperate hope to see her name on the screen. The long hours of solitude he spends in his room.

They asked, tried to figure out what had put him in that state, but he doesn't want to talk about it. How could he? How could he talk willingly to his parents, to people who will be eager to step in, of a young girl in desperate need of help, but who refuses it in fear of something, someone, he knows nothing about? How could he tell them that he fell in love with an angel whose wings have been tied up in her back? And that when he tried to set her free, she pushed him away.

So he spends his evening dinners looking at his plate, mechanically swallowing every good dish his mother cooked, even his favorite. Nothing has taste anymore. The loss is too strong for him to overcome it, to feel anything else. He has never fell in love before, never met a girl who made him feel this way. Of course, there had been some flirting, kisses on the lips, on the neck, hands wandering, and even more, with one girl back in London.

But it's never been this intense.

It never went beyond warm bodies and primal needs.

With Regina, he discovered a whole new world. One made of stars and butterflies, of blushing, cocky smiles and kind hands on the cheek. Without even realizing it, she opened his eyes, and he sees the world differently now. But without her in his, this world is empty, tasteless, futile. Without her in his life, he lacks the oxygen to properly breathe, and it's killing him.

They say heartbreak is one of the most awful pains ever.

And Robin thinks they're right.

Because as he watches her alone in front of her locker, and the way she flinches and stiffens when he walks behind her, his heart squeezes in his chest so tightly that if it wasn't for David's firm hand on his shoulder, he would have turned around and gone to her, talked to her, hold her, kissed her, whatever necessary to be close to her again.

But David senses it, leads him forward, whispering, "I don't think that's a good idea. You don't want to create a fight in the middle of the hall."

Robin shakes his head, sighs heavily, shakily, comes to a stop and looks behind, before turning to the young man again. "I know. But she's alone and-"

"And she's used to be, Robin." David reminds. "Things are going back to normal for her."

"It shouldn't be. She deserves-"

"She made her choice." In front of his scowling, David lowers his voice, looks at him square in the eyes. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two, but for as long as I've known her, she never tried to create any kind of relationship with anyone. She seemed pretty much content with her life. I think you should leave her alone."

But it's too hard, too much to ask, and Robin shakes his head. "You don't know her, David. You don't know her life, who she can be, who she really is. This," he says, glancing at her as she walks away, "what she shows, what you see, is just a façade. I've seen underneath, behind the mask, and it's beautiful."

"But she doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore, and you have to respect that. Especially if you care about her as much as you pretend."

"I know!" Robin repeats, slightly exasperated. "It's just not easy to let her go."

He tries really hard though, even in class. Especially in class, where they're not sitting side by side anymore, where he's struggling to understand on his own, not daring to ask for the teacher's help, nor for David's. Well, they're not always together, the guy is dating a certain Mary Margaret, and the girl is not mean, in any way, but she's not Robin's style, not that interesting. She has a blinded and candid vision of the world, an insufferable giggle always ready to emerge. So half the time, David stays with her, her friend Ruby, and Robin hangs with them, follows, sometimes answers a question or two. But most of the time, his mind is somewhere else, and he looks right through them, in her direction, wherever she is, even when he can't really see her.

But now, she's on the other side of the class, apparently listening to the teacher, but he knows her better than that. She's barely paying attention to what the man is saying, taking notes from time to time, but not as frequently as she's used to.

"So I graded your tests, and I got some surprises."

Robin's head snaps up at the words, and he gives the man his attention, watching him as he walks around the desk to hand them their papers. He takes his with a wince, the C+ not one of his best results, but what can he say, he's been more than distracted lately.

"I can give you some tutoring if you want," Ruby whispers to him, bending over her desk in his direction. "I'm free after school today," she winks, and he glances at her grade, spots the B circled in red, plasters a fake smile on his lips, saying as gently as he can "Thank you, but I think I prefer to work on my own."

She falls back on her seat with a sigh, chewing her gum, rolling her eyes.

"Regina, this is still a good result, but I was expecting better from you. A lot of negligence in your copy, you should check your answers twice, those were beginners' mistakes. And I wish to speak with you after class."

Robin looks at her the moment he hears her name coming from the teacher's lips, and she takes the paper from Mr Docky, an apology on her tongue, nodding her head, looking ashamed.

From where he is, he can't see the grade, but it's not the first time it happens. Since their fight, her attention in class has been lighter, her grades still great but not exceptional. He wonders if she studies less, or if she's just distracted. If it has something to do with him, maybe? With them. He hopes that it has, somehow. Not that it would do any of them any good.

She seems uncaring and unsettled at the same time, because she doesn't seem to pull herself together, doesn't seem to do anything to deal with this problem. He doesn't see her in the study room or the library anymore, nor in any of the places where she used to go. She leaves earlier on some days, right after class when she usually stayed an extra hour.

Like she's hiding, or running away.

Or being controlled?

Robin still has no idea of what is going on, doesn't dare to go back to the casino, he would be spotted immediately and she would never forgive him for that. Even though technically, given their ruined relationship currently, there's not much to save.

Title of the next chapter : The gifts