Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and channel 5.
First off, let me just start by apologising for this late update, I had a fully written chapter but then my computer went retarded and deleted. The whole. THING! So I had to re-write it.
Second of all, I also had to make some modifications to chapter 9, so now instead of the Royals football game starting a week after the Fairytale College exams END, the football game is a week after the exams START. You'll see :)
Anyway, said my piece, on with the chapter.
Once Upon a Time: Schools Out! The Sequel-Chapter 13
"H-he was with h-her!" Belle sobbed, he words barley legible from the strength of her tears "H-he w-was with her in his r-room and...and..." another wave of emotion stole her ability to speak, and she dissolved into tears on a comforting shoulder.
Snow White stroked Belle's hair while the heart-broken beauty sobbed a damp spot on her t-shirt. She had been in her own room-which wasn't too far from Belle's-and had heard the whole scene between her and Rumplestiltskin, once he had left, she had gone to her friends room to find her strewn face-down across her bed, crying uncontrollably into her pillow.
"That son of a bitch" Snow White murmured darkly. The next time she saw Rumplestiltskin Gold, she was gonna kill him! (shouldn't be too hard to do, in her current state all she'd have to do was sit on him)
"H-how could he, Snow?" Belle wept "H-how could h-he d-do that to me? I l-loved him so much!" she wailed, and Snow White held her tighter, starting to rock her gently while she comforted her poor friend.
"Because he's a bastard, Belle" she said, and Belle hiccupped "He doesn't deserve your love, not if he wants to go after bitches like Milah-oh jeeze!" at the mention of Milah's name, Belle had started crying even harder, now completely incapable of speech. Snow White started to hastily apologise but at that moment there was a timid knock on the door, and before anyone could answer, it fell open to reveal a sniffling Ruby stood at the door, her dark eyes rimmed with crimson.
"Belle, I'm sorry for d-dropping by like this but-oh" she caught herself when she saw the situation at hand. Belle still hadn't stopped crying, and Snow White noticed that Ruby herself appeared to be holding off her own tears. She sighed.
"Peter?" Snow White said wearily, and as she expected Ruby fell into floods of tears.
"Yes!" she wailed, sobbing almost as uncontrollably as Belle as she too rushed to the bed where Snow White and Belle were sat and fell into the comfort of Snow White's already outstretched arm.
"Wanna talk about it?" Snow White asked her, and when Ruby shook her head against her shoulder she sighed again, wondering what the actual hell was wrong with the boys in this college.
OUAT
Three days later, and it was the day every pupil of the school had been dreading, the darkest day on the Fairytale College calendar, a day that inspired intense feelings of panic and fear.
Exams Day.
Now, Daniel Hay couldn't say that he'd been dreading this day as much as some other students had (just last night Hansel Tillman had completely flipped out, running out of his dorm room in nothing but his pyjamas screaming that he was too dumb to pass anything!) but then again, he couldn't say that he'd been looking forward to them either, and despite the months of studying he'd done, he still felt that small flicker of fear as he headed towards his Politics exam.
"Hey! Daniel!" called a voice on his left, and Daniel turned to see Jefferson Hatter, a friend of Regina's he'd gotten to know. And who, for a reason that was a complete mystery to everyone, was taking Politics too.
As he drew up next to the bus-boy, Jefferson gave him one of his cocky little smirks "So, freaking out yet?" he said, and Daniel rolled his eyes.
"Not really, unlike some people I've actually been doing some studying for a few months" he looked at Jefferson pointedly, and the Hatter let out a laugh.
"Oh please, I am gonna walk this thing! You know me, Daniel, I've got a little trick up my sleeve" Jefferson said, slyly tapping the sleeve of his long trench coat. Daniel was just about to say that, while it was true that he was freakishly resourceful-or, in this case, an exceptional cheater-he doubted any exam board would miss cheating if it was going on, literally right under their nose. He was stopped however, when a small, brown haired girl with hunched shoulders bumped into him from the opposite direction, knocking his bag from his shoulder.
"Oh damn" Daniel cursed, and he bent to pick up his scattered books, glancing after the girl who had bumped into him. Her hands were stuffed into her pockets, her head was bent towards to the floor, and she was walking so fast that Daniel almost missed the small glimpse of her face when she turned the corner into the French hall, and was surprised to see that he recognised her as Belle French, the girl he met last semester when Regina had been blackmailing her boyfriend, Rumplestiltskin.
"Poor girl" he heard Jefferson mutter, and he looked up to see that he was staring after her too, but he had quite a different look on his face. Daniel stood up, frowning.
"What do you mean?" he asked, and his friend sighed wearily, looking at him in an almost pitying way.
"Didn't you hear, boy? About her and Rumplestiltskin?" Daniel shook his head and a small smirk came to Jefferson's face "They broke up on Firday!"
"W-seriously?" Daniel said, surprised, and Jefferson nodded vigorously.
"Yeah, rumour has it that Gold cheated on her...with his ex!"
"No way" Daniel glanced down at the path Belle had taken, feeling a small swell of empathy. Weird to think Jefferson was talking about the same boy who, three months ago, had tried to strangle Regina for almost getting Belle pulled out of College.
"Yeah, I know" Jefferson sighed sympathetically, but when Daniel turned back he saw that the sly grin was still in place "How Gold could ever give up someone with that personality, and that ass-"
"Oh my God, Jeff!"
"I'm just saying, if Gold's no longer interested..."
"Really Jefferson, do you always have to be such an insensitive prick? Can't you see the, poor girl, is in pain?"
Daniel almost sighed in relief when he heard Regina's mocking voice coming towards the duo, finally wiping the arrogant smirk off Jefferson's face as she approached.
"Regina" he nodded in acknowledgement. Regina nodded back at him with a smirk at her own, her own designer schoolbag, which was full of exam equipment, was slung over her shoulder, and she looked at the two boys with a glint of anticipation in her eyes.
"So" she said, nodding towards the hallway that led to the Politics lecture halls "Are we ready for the torture?"
OUAT
"Stop freaking out"
"I'm not freaking out"
"No, really Ella, stop freaking out"
"Snow, I told you I'm not freaking out!"
"I know exams can be daunting, and even a little scary, but the key thing to remember is to not freak ou-"
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SNOW I AM NOT FREAKING OUT! DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD KNOW IF I WAS FREAKING OUT I AM NOT FREAKING OUT SO WILL YOU PLEASE TELL ME TO STOP FREAKING OUT?!" Ella screeched, breathing heavily and ignoring all of the staring eyes that were on her as they waited outside the Childcare lecture hall. Snow White smiled softly.
"Feel better?" she asked gently, and Ella nodded submissively.
"Yeah" she then leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling "God, I'm freaking out"
Snow White couldn't help it, she laughed, and after a moment Ella giggled along with her, not noticing when Ms Gohrm came into the hallway until she called out to the awaiting students, her clear voice carrying across the crowd:
"Alright students we are ready for you, so if you would all like to quietly enter the lecture hall the examination can begin"
Ella made a soft whimper of fear and Snow White took her damp hand, hoping that, as they followed their classmates towards the door, she wouldn't notice that her own pale hand was just as clammy as Ella's.
OUAT
Five minuets had passed in his Business exam, and Rumplestiltskin had yet to write a single word. His pen seemed to be in a permanent state of elevation above his paper, and try as he might, he couldn't seem to force his brain to concentrate on the task at hand.
Because he couldn't stop thinking about her.
All weekend she had refused to talk to him, to respond to his calls, to even answer the door to him (he had been forced to stop that particular activity when Ruby Lucas had answered the door and screamed that he was a "Cheating bastard" that needed to "Just leave Belle the hell alone!")
To make matters worse, Milah had been unbearable. Every time she had seen him as he went about the College, selling illegal discs to panicked students (it never ceased to amaze him how easy it was to get those computer-hacking programmes) she had looked at him with a smug little smile on her face, and he'd had to resist the urge to throw something very hard at her when she'd lifted her hand and rubbed her thumb and three of her fingers together in front of her, clearly gloating about her payment...
God, he hated his father, and he knew-he just knew-that the man was going to be full speeches about how right he waswhen he came to see his son on Saturday for Visitation.
The sound of a page turning next to him pulled Rumplestiltskin out of his bubble of rage and misery, and he realised that he had no idea how much time had passed during his inner-babble.
He checked his watch, and almost yelped out loud. Fifteen minuets had passed!
Forcing himself to push his problems to the back of his mind, Rumplestiltskin bent his head over his paper and forced himself to concentrate, scribbling answers as fast as he could.
OUAT
Snow White was half an hour into her Childcare exam when she first felt it. She was just about to answer the seventh question when, out of nowhere, a sharp pain had hit her in her lower back, causing her to suck in a small breath. Automatically, a hand reached out to her lower back, but almost as soon as it had struck, the pain had disappeared.
Well, that was weird She thought, shrugging off the incident and turning back to her paper.
But once again, just as she was about to start writing, the pain hit her again. It was stronger this time and spread to her belly.
"Ow!" Snow White hissed as quietly as she could, her hand flying to her stomach, what the hell?...
Distantly, she felt an elbow nudge her arm, and her pinched face turned to see Ella, who was sitting next to her, staring at her, her features arranged into an expression of sincere concern as she mouthed the words are you alright?
Another shot of pain reverberated through her stomach and back, and Snow White shook her head as she bit her blood-red lip in an effort not to cry out. What the hell was going on?!
Then, an idea of an explanation slithered into Snow White's mind, making all the blood run out of her face and turning her paler than ever before. No, it couldn't be...she wasn't even six months...
She gasped loudly as yet another shooting pain spread through her, and Snow White could feel everyones eyes on her as she bent forward and clutched her belly, dimly aware that Ella was now raising her hand and frantically calling for their exam invigilator:
"Ms Gohrm! Ms Gohrm!"
"Ella Boyd!" Ms Gohrm snapped from the front row, looking up from the student she was hovering above "This is an examina-"
"Something's wrong with Snow White! She's in pain!" Ella called, and immediately Ms Gohrm took on a look of great concern. Within two minuets she was stood next to the pained girl.
"Ms Blanchard? Is everything alright?" the lecturer asked softly, and all Snow White could do was shake her head "Do you need to leave?" a nod this time, and the blue-clad woman copied that motion as though in understanding, gently prying Snow White out of her chair and leading her out of the room.
It took Snow White a moment to realise that, after they had left, Ms Gohrm was leading her, not in the direction of the first aid room, but rather to the doors that led to outside of the campus.
"W-where're you taking me?" Snow White asked through yet another wave of pain.
"To the hospital" Ms Gorhm was tight lipped as she answered, briefly glancing down at the pregnant teen "I think you need a doctor"
"Oh God..." Snow White whispered, her hands wrapping protectively around her stomach, around Emma, if anything happened to her baby...
"Someone needs to tell Char-James Nolan, where I am!" she said as they reached the doors, and Ms Gorhm nodded stiffly.
"Don't worry, Snow White, I'll make sure that someone lets him know"
OUAT
For the first time in her life, Ruby Lucas walked out of a History lecture hall feeling confident. She had sat in that exam, opened that paper, and she had argued, she had supported, she had made her point and she had concluded! And best of all, she had actually known what she was talking about. That hour and fifteen minuets had just...flown by!
"So" said a voice on her left "How did you find the exam?"
Ruby glanced to her left and smiled when she saw Jiminy Hopper walking next to her down the hall. She shrugged modestly "It was kinda hard, but not so bad"
Jiminy snorted, not fooled for a second "Oh, come on, Ruby! I was in the same room, remember? Steam was practically coming off your pen!"
Ruby couldn't help herself, she grinned "I guess so...but I don't wanna get my hopes up or anything" she said, chuckling nervously.
Jiminy shrugged "Well yeah, I guess that's true" he said, not missing the way Ruby's face fell, just a little. He waited.
And eventually "Although...I guess there's nothing wrong with getting my hopes up a little" she said, and Jiminy burst out laughing, dodging Ruby when she swatted a hand at him.
"Sorry! I'm sorry!" he apologised quickly, still chuckling away, Ruby glared at him, but there was a soft, amused smile on her face, and for a minuet they walked down the corridor trading witty banter, until Jiminy accidentally brought up an uncomfortable subject:
"You know, I'm getting kinda hungry, do you wanna go to Stable Eating or do you have another exam?"
"I don't think so" Ruby said, picking her bag up from her hip and rummaging around inside it "Let me just check..."
She pulled out her crumpled exam timetable, and was just about to confirm that she was indeed examless for the rest of the day, when she happened to glance at the next day's list, her words forgotten when she saw the thin text next to the bold, black date.
"Ruby?" Jiminy's voice cut through her thoughts, and when she looked up at him, he saw the sad look on her face "What's wrong?"
Ruby sighed, stuffing the paper violently back into her bag "Tomorrow...I've got Animal Studies, with Peter...just made me think of him, that's all"
"Oh" was Jiminy's response, Ruby shook her head, shrugging it off.
"It's no big deal, Jim. We go to the same College, I'm gonna have to see him sometime"
"I know, but..." Jiminy trailed off, as though carefully choosing his next words "Don't you miss him?"
"What, as much as he misses me?" Ruby said, her eyebrows raised "Jiminy...he hasn't even talked to me, all weekend. All he did after our fight was send me this" she pulled her phone out of her pocket and made a few buttons, she then passed the phone to Jiminy so he could read the words: I'm sorry
Oh Peter...
"But other than that, nothing!" she said, and Jiminy was surprised to hear a slight catch in her voice. Oh God, she was gonna cry.
Uncomfortable around weeping women, Jiminy quickly tried to think of something to say that would make her feel better:
"Well...maybe he was just giving you some time to cool off? I mean who knows, he might even come and see you tonight!" Even if I have to drag the idiot there myself!
Ruby looked at him as though questioning his sanity "Yeah right, Jiminy" she said.
"Ruby! RUBY!"
"Huh?" the scorned girl and the Cricket looked up to see someone small and blonde running through the crowd, occasionally shoving people out of the way and screeching Ruby's name:
"Sorry Grumpy!" she called as she sent him crashing into the girls bathroom, he re-emerged amidst a swarm of high pitched, female squeals:
"HEY! Watch it, Blondie!" the short boy yelled.
Still running until she finally got to the stunned red-head, Ella stopped in front of her and Jiminy, her breathing heavy, a look of panic on her pretty face as she fought for breath.
"My good God-Ella, what the hell is wrong?!"
"It's...Snow White!" she gasped, clutching a stitch in her side ""Pregnancy pains...during Childcare...exam...she's in...hospital!"
OUAT
"God, I am in so much pain!" Gaston whined, and the laughter of the other boys reverberated around the locker room. The complaining teen scowled "Yeah, because I'm the only one who's feeling sore after that exam!" he said sarcastically.
"For Gods sake, Gaston" sighed James, pulling a t-shirt over his damp hair "It was just running laps!"
"Yeah!" Thomas chipped in as he buttoned his jeans, he then grinned "You don't need to be such a Drama Queen!"
Gaston smirked good-naturedly as laughter sounded in the locker room once again. He muttered something that sounded a lot like 'Homophobe' under his breath before slamming his locker door shut and walking out of the locker room, winking at Thomas before he left, and James couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face.
"You know, he does have a point though" Thomas acknowledged, buttoning up his shirt and reaching back into his locker for his shoes "I mean, I know it was just laps, but I'm gonna be feeling sore for weeks"
"Well, as long as you can still play on Sunday you can bitch about it as much as you want" James chuckled. Thomas rolled his eyes, but as soon as their captain mentioned the game against the Sirens, it was like a cold bucket of water over their good mood, and all of the laughter and jesting fell quiet.
A few seconds ticked by. James looked around at the tense faces of his team mates, and then spoke into the silence:
"Oh come on, boys" he said, running a hand through his shower-wet hair "We've taken on the Sirens before, we've beaten them before, so what's the worst that could happen?"
""You could make out with one of the Siren cheerleaders?" came Arthur Pendragons voice.
"Again?" added Philip Night, reminding everyone of James' first game at the college before he'd gotten together with Snow White. James groaned, rolling his eyes as the locker room erupted into laughs once again, the general mirth returning. The football captain turned back to his locker with a soft smirk on his face, picking his own shoes out of the small compartment and not noticing the locker room doors opening until someone spoke his name:
"Nolan!" said the voice of Coach Kai, a thin, mean hearted man with a pale face who treated all those who came under his wing like cattle, and James Nolan, captain of the Royals football team, was no different. Sighing, the boy turned to face his football coach and P.E instructor. As usual, he was looking at him in a way that suggested the teenager was nothing more than something unpleasent on the bottom of his shoe.
"What is it, Coach?" James asked warily. Coach Kai's nostril's flared at his tone, and he jerked his head towards the locker room doors:
"Ms Gohrm wants to talk to you, so get your smart ass out there, Smartass"
Suppressing a groan, James sent a long-suffering look in Thomas' direction-which was returned with a sympathetic eye-roll-before walking out of the crowded locker room, where he found Ms Gorhm waiting for him, standing formally with her hands folded in front of her stomach, and James didn't like the look on her face.
"Ms Gohrm?" he said tentively, a feeling of dread suddenly swirling in his stomach, which was made no better when the English Lit teacher breathed out a sad sigh.
"James, it's Snow White..."
OUAT
"And time! Pens down!" called the exam vigilator, and Belle quickly scribbled down a few last-minuet answers as the invigilator-Mr Boss-came to her row in the lecture hall and collected it. Her brain had never felt so...drained!
Quickly after the papers were collected, the students were let out of the room, and as Belle made to walk back towards her dormitory, her head bent towards the floor so that she didn't see the dark-clothed boy until she smacked right into him:
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" said Belle, shaking her head at her clumsiness while looking up to see who she had walked into "I wasn't looking where-oh" she stopped when she saw the face of whom she was speaking, the eyes on the face were wide with surprise, and Belle silently cursed whatever god had decided to truly crap on her day.
"It's you" she said, her azure eyes flickering to the floor as she was unable to keep eye contact with the boy who had broken her heart. She heard Rumplestiltskin cough uncomfortably.
"Uh, yes" he said "H-hello Belle"
No other word was exchanged after that, discomfort filling the air, and that alone drove an ache into Belle's chest. There used to be days where she and her Rumple would talk for hours on end about any little trivial thing that came into their head, never seeming to grow bored or tired even when dawn started to break. But now...it was like they couldn't even say one sentence to each other.
Not that that was her fault. She hadn't done anything wrong.
"How've you been?" Rumplestiltskin asked, and then cringed at the stupid words coming out of his mouth. Belle's eyes narrowed as she finally looked up at him.
"'How've I been?'" she repeated increduously, and then let out a sharp, irritable breath "How do you think I've been, Rumplestiltskin? This has hardly been the best week of my life!"
"I know, I know..." he groaned, his eyes closing in shame "That was-"
"Stupid" she finished for him shortly, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with a wide eyed glare. He sighed.
"If it's any constellation" he said slowly "I've...not exactly been having the best time of it, either"
Belle arched an eyebrow, her eyes raking his impeccably pin-neat form. No matter what the situation, it seemed, Rumplestiltskin never lost his class.
The beauty snorted "Well, I'm sure your beloved Milah can comfort you" she spat, and Rumplestiltskin stiffened, looking insulted.
"Belle, there is nothing going on between Milah and me-"
"Oh, so I imagined everything that happened on Friday, did I?"
"Will you just listen to me? Please?!" he said, his voice rising just a little with desperation. Raising her brows expectantly, Belle waited for him to continue, he took a deep breath before speaking:
"We were right, Belle" he said, and she frowned in confusion. Until he said his next words:
"My father, he...I suppose employed would be the right term...Milah to come here, and come between us. He promised her fifty thousand dollars"
"Oh my..." Belle breathed, barely able to comprehend that anyone could actually hire someone to do something so horrible to their child, and in that moment she felt a flicker of pity for her ex boyfriend. A brief flicker of pity.
"Belle..." he said, making to move towards her, but she pushed her hand out, stopping him from coming any closer.
"That doesn't change what you did, Rumple" she said, her voice toneless, and she tried not to react at the broken look on his face. After another moment of uncomfortable silence, Rumplestiltskin let out another deep breath.
"I know I hurt you, Belle" he said softly, the chocolate brown eyes she used to get lost in never leaving the blue ones that still dazzled him "But...I still love you, more than words can say, and I hope that, in time, you'll come to trust me again"
Belle sighed helplessly, blinking back the wetness that suddenly pricked her irisis and swallowing back the lump in her throat "Rumple...I-"
"BELLE!"
"Eh?"
Belle and Rumplestiltskin looked ahead of the corridor to see both Ella and Ruby rushing towards them, the frantic looks on their faces changing to ones of intense distaste when they saw who she was talking to.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ruby snarled aggressively at Rumplestiltskin "Leave Belle alone, asshole!"
Rumplestiltskin cocked his brow in an amused way, briefly glancing at Belle, who didn't meet his gaze, before taking his leave. Belle released the breath she'd hadn't realised she'd been holding, stopping herself from watching his retreating back, and instead turning to her out of breath friends.
"Ruby, there was no need for-"
"Never mind that!" Ruby cut across her reasonable tone, patting Ella on the back as she doubled over, murmuring something about how she really, really hated running "Something's happened!"
"What?" Belle asked, her interaction with her ex forgotten (for the time being) at the look on her friends faces (well, Ruby's face, Ella was still bent over) "What's going on, guys?"
"It's Snow...White!" Ella panted, and Belle felt her eyes widen "She's...she had some pains in our...Childcare exam!"
"Oh God!" Belle gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth "What kind of pains?"
"Pregnancy pains!" said Ruby, still looking so worried about her pregnant friend "She's in hospital"
OUAT
"Braxton what?"
Snow White's doctor smiled good naturedly at her question. She was sat in an examination chair of his office with James Nolan sat right next to her, holding her pale hand in his own.
"Braxton Hicks Contractions" the doctor repeated "As the pregnancy progresses, they cause a slight uterine discomfort-"
"Slight?!" Snow White scoffed, her green eyes flashing "I thought I was in labour!"
"A common mistake" the doctor told her, his tone frustratingly reasonable "As I was saying, as your pregnancy progresses, the contractions will increase until you start to reach the end of your final term-"
"Fantastic" Snow White grumbled. The doctor gave her a look and she reluctantly let him continue:
"If the contractions are making you uncomfortable, there are some things you can do-"
"I don't want drugs!" Snow White cut across him once again, the doctor chuckled slightly, shaking his head.
"No, no, Snow White, not drugs. I was thinking more of things like taking long walks, a hot bath, and there are even some exercises you can do" he pulled a pamphlet out of his pocket held it out to Snow White, who took it "On the bottom you can find an address for a birthing class that should help you"
"Thank-you doctor" said James, and after that the doctor let them out of his office. When they got out of the hospital Snow White pulled her phone out of her pocket, and James heard her chuckle while they walked towards his car (Ms Gohrm had remained at the College to invigilate other exams) he watched his girlfriend curiously.
"What?" he asked, and Snow White showed him her phone screen: 14 missed calls, two from Belle, one from Ella, three from Ruby and eight from her father, along with 25 texts from all four.
"Oh my God" James laughed with Snow White, still smiling at him she poked his jacket pocket.
"Come on then, Charming" she said, and when James looked confused her smile changed into a grin "What? You don't think anyone's tried to call you? Like your mom?"
James' stomach plummeted to the bottom of his feet, and he hastily pulled his cell phone out into the open and switched it on. He groaned, and showed Snow White.
20 missed calls. Five were from his friends, and the rest...
"Your mom is so sweet" Snow White giggled. James pushed his phone back into his pocket:
"Man, she is so gonna kill me..." he muttered, and Snow White made a sympathetic sound before looping her arm through his, patting his hand. As they approached his car, James glanced down at the Birthing Class pamphlet still in Snow White's hand.
"So" he said, nodding at the pamphlet "Do you think we should go?" Snow White looked down at the little paper folds, seemingly deliberating, and then nodded.
"Yeah" and James nodded, opening the passenger seat of his car and helping his love into it "If anything, we need to be prepared, don't we?" she added, and once again James nodded in agreement as he started the car.
"Yeah, that, and it'll help with those Brason Hicks things" he said.
Snow White smirked "Braxton, sweetie"
"...That's what I said"
OUAT
"Bronson what?" said Ruby. On the other line of her cell phone, she heard Snow White laugh.
"Braxton, Ruby! Braxton Hicks Contactions" she said, and Ruby rolled her eyes.
"What's she saying?" Ella asked, nudging her. They, along with Belle (who had been dragged out by the other two so they could celebrate the end of her house arrest) had been in Stable Eating, waiting for Daniel to bring them their food when Snow White had finally called Ruby back.
"I dunno, something about Braxton Hicks Contractions" she said, and Belle breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank God" she said, only to be met with two confused expressions "They're a normal part of pregnancy...nothing to worry about"
"Oh good" Ella let out a gust of air while Ruby continued to stare at Belle.
"How do you know about that?"
"I read"
"Hello?" came Snow White's voice from the little red phone "Anyone there? HELLO?!"
"Sorry Snow!" Ruby apologised "So, you're O.k then?"
"Yeah, I'm totally fine. The doctor gave me the address for a birthing class so me and James are gonna check it out"
"A birthing class? Isn't that where they show you the footage of babies being born?" Ella said.
"Oh, gross!" Ruby laughed, quickly coughing at the looks she got from Belle and Ella. She looked down at the table "Sorry" she mumbled.
"...Yeah, anyway, I'll be back soon. See you guys later!"
"Bye Honey!"
"See you later!"
"Bye, Snow!"
After Snow White rang off, the girls cast around identical looks of relief, blowing air up towards their foreheads.
"What, a relief!" Ruby said, leaning back in her chair. Ella and Belle made sounds of agreement. A few moments after that their food finally arrived, and as they ate they chatted about their exams- "I swear, if I have to take another exam like that again, I'll slip into a coma!"- "Don't you have English Lit tomorrow?"-"Ah, dammit!"-laughing and joking until Ruby noticed that, rather than digging in like she and Ella were, Belle was just sitting back in her seat, twirling her spaghetti round and round her fork but never taking a bite.
Ruby leaned towards her, her brow creased "Come on Belle, you have to eat something"
"Yeah" said Ella, just noticing Belle's lack of appetite "You've barley eaten for two days"
"I know" Belle shrugged, still looking down at her full plate "I'm sorry guy's, I'm just...I'm not really hungry"
"Belle, you shouldn't starve yourself just because a some guy screwed you over" Ruby said, and Belle flinched "Come on, a full stomach will make you feel better"
Still looking forlorn, Belle hesitantly lifted the fork to her lips. She pushed it into her mouth and chewed on the pasta. After that she took another forkful, then another, and another, until eventually there was nothing left on the plate except a few smears of bolagnase.
"Yay!" Ruby clapped her, and Belle chuckled softly.
"You feel better?" Ella asked, and the brunette shrugged uncertainly.
"A little...I suppose...I don't know" she admitted, leaning back in her chair and staring out of the opposite windows "I...it's like I can't get him out of my head, guys!" she said, and the other two didn't even bother to ask who she was talking about "Seeing him today, it was like...it's like I'm two people. Part of me want's him back, but another part of me never want's to see him again. Is that normal?"
"Oh, sweetie" Ruby sighed, reaching out and taking one of Belle's hands in her own "Of course it's normal! Trust me" she said, suddenly getting a far away look in her eyes "I know"
"Oh God, that's right" Belle said, mentally kicking herself. How could she have forgotten? "How're you doing, Rubes?"
"You know, you haven't really talked about...you and Peter, since it happened" Ella said to her, Ruby rolled her eyes carelessly.
"That's because there's nothing to talk about" she said stiffly "These things happen, girls. Besides, if he really wanted me, he would've talked to me by now"
"Ruby"
"What?" she said, turning around at the mention of her name, and when she saw who had spoken, her breath caught in her throat, her expression freezing.
"P-Peter?" she said. He wasn't wearing his usual football strip, instead wearing a brown shirt and black pants, his equally dark hair was tousled and windswept, and the eyes that stared at her had violet shadows underneath them.
Ruby stared at him, stunned beyond belief. How had they not seen him when they came in?!
When it became apparant that she was going to do nothing more than stare at him, Peter licked his lips nervously "C-can I talk to you for a minuet?" his eyes flickered over to Ella and Belle, who were staring at him with twin looks of fierce apprehension. He turned back to Ruby and cleared his throat, jerking his head towards the outside of the Deli "Privately?"
Ruby glanced back at her friends, both of them had warning looks on their faces. Which meant she only had one option.
She stood up and nodded "Alright"
OUAT
"What do you want, Peter?" said Ruby, one hand on her hip as he struggled to come up with a response. After his P.E exam, Jiminy Hopper had run up to him and told him through an onslaught of gasps that he needed to talk to Ruby now!
"She think's your not interested!" he'd said, his hands on his knee's "Why haven't you talked to her all weekend?!"
"I-I was giving her time to cool off!" had been Peter's response. After James had turned up, he'd told Peter that the best course of action with Ruby was to give it a couple of days, and let things calm down. Peter hadn't been all to crazy about that idea, but James had insisted that it had been the best thing to do.
"That's the WORST thing you could've done!" Jiminy had cried "You've been ignoring her completely! She thinks you don't want her anymore!"
"What?!"
After that, he'd searched all over for his girlfriend (because she WAS still his girlfriend!...if he managed to get her to accept his apology) until he tracked her down to the Deli, he hadn't really planned beyond getting her on her own, and now that he had...
You've gotta say something! His brain roared while Ruby's arms folded over her chest look at her! She's gonna leave any minuet!
Peter sighed. Ah well, might as well go for the obvious:
"Ruby, I'm so sorry!" he said, which caused her to just roll her eyes "Everything that's happened...I didn't mean to ignore you-"
"You know what, Peter" said Ruby, looking just...bored "I am sick and tired of your excuses for being an ass" she said, her eyes hardening in a way that made Peter's chest ache, she pressed her lips together "Why can't you just tell me flat out that you don't like me anymore?" she said, her face turned away from him as though expecting a blow.
"Because I do!" Peter cried, ignoring her small protest when he pulled one of her hands away from her chest and held it in his own. He took a deep breath and swallowed, making sure Ruby's dark eyes were focused on him before he said his next words:
"In fact I...I more than like you" he said, his voice shaking with nerves "I love you. And I'm sorry it's taken me this long to-"
"Peter, stop" Ruby pulled her hand out of his grasp, and that flicker of hope that had risen inside him melted away as Ruby spoke again "I know why you're doing this, you're just telling me that you love me because you don't want us to break up"
"No" Peter shook his head in denial "Ruby, I-"
"But the thing is" she continued over him, blinking furiously "I don't wanna be with someone who tells me they love me, because they think they have to. I wanna be with someone who tells me they love me because they want to"
"And I want to!" Peter said, becoming desperate.
"How am I supposed to believe that?"
Peter frowned at her, agonized, a painful feeling welling up in his chest. God, had he screwed things up this bad?
He looked into her face, saw the unquestioned doubt in them, and found his answer. Yes. Yes he had.
All of a sudden, a new feeling came in him, quite unlike the one that had hit him moments earlier. It was a feeling of strength, of determination. He tried to take Ruby's hand again, only for her to pull it away from his grip.
"Ruby" he said anyway "I do love you. I know I should've said it on Friday but I didn't because I was a Goddamn idiot" he paused, letting her take in those words before continuing "But if you really believe that I'm just telling you this because I think I have to...then I'm just gonna have to prove you wrong" and with that he turned away from her, and started walking a path away from the Deli, new determination putting strength into his step. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number. After a few rings, the receiver picked up:
"Hello?"
"Jiminy. It's Peter" he said "I need your help"
Whew! Well, this is the longest chapter I have ever written! 17 pages people!
So yeah, once again I'm just gonna go ahead and apologise for the late update (almost two weeks. Yeah, I know) but like I said my computer went retarded. Have no fear though, because in chapter 14 I plan on making it up to you with Parent Visitation and...Peter. That's all I'm giving away! Stay tuned, and please read and review.