Chapter 21: Meltdown

She tried talking to Henry at school but he completely ignored her which she wasn't too surprised. She really wanted to make amends with him though. He was her best friend, other than Ava of course. She only had two friends really and she didn't want lose one of them. Sure, people liked her at school but they were just acquaintances. And then there was Rachel.

When Henry ran into school as soon as he got out of the car, she rolled her eyes and thanked Regina for the ride. She walked into school and was greeted by a bunch of glares but her fellow classmates. She had no idea what was going on or why people were staring at her. She walked through the halls as kids whispered things to each other.

She was getting her books out of her locker when someone shut it abruptly. "What the hell?!" It was Ava.

"It's not true, is it?" She asked eagerly.

"Is what true?" She asked confused.

"The rumors. Everyone's talking about it." Ava looked to her friend who still had a bewildered look on her face. "You don't know, do you?" Rose waited for her to explain what 'everyone' was talking about.

"Apparently, you were seen hooking up with a whole bunch of guys. They're calling you a slut and that you steal girls' boyfriends." Rose was horrified. "Why are they saying that? It's not true!"

Ava looked at her sympathetically. "I didn't think it was. I know you better than that. But it's all over the girls' bathroom. I'm sorry."

Rose shook her head. She couldn't believe this was happening. "Who would do this?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" Ava arched her eyebrows.

Rose realized who she was referring too. "Rachel." She growled. She saw her down the hall laughing with a bunch of girls.

She was not going to let Rachel make a joke to the entire school. She stormed over to her, ignoring Ava's pleas to stop. She grabbed Rachel's arm and spun her around. "You had no right to start those rumors about me!" She yelled as Ava rushed to her side.

Rachel scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about, little Rosie."

"Oh I think you do!" She took a step closer to her. "Tell everyone you lied about all those horrible things you said!"

"Now, Rosie, you don't want me to lie, do you?" She asked with a pout on her face as she played with Rose's dark hair.

She swatted her hand away. "Stop acting all innocent because that's the only thing you aren't."

"You're causing a scene, little Rosie, more so then you already were. I'd just sat on the DL for the time being." She patted her head.

"Stop calling me little!" Rose yelled. "Just because you're taller than me doesn't make you the one with the power!"

Rachel stepped closer to her, now towering over Rose. "Doesn't it, though?" She whispered. "I told you to watch your back. You can quit the tough act now, I won."

She smirked at Rose before turning around to join her friends. Ava could see how pissed off her friend was. "Just forget about her, Rose. All this will blow over in a few days."

Rose shook her friend off. She wasn't going to let Rachel win, it wasn't like her. She began running after Rachel. She pushed her forward, making her stumble. Rachel turned around to see Rose standing there with clenched fists.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She yelled.

"Causing a scene. I thought that's what you wanted?" Rose smirked.

Rachel lunged forward, grabbing her hair. Rose began throwing punches left and right to get her off of her. Everyone crowded around them screaming, 'Fight! Fight!' Henry pushed through the large crowd to see what was going on. He couldn't believe Rose was in a fight. He found himself cheering with the crowd, encouraging the fight.

Rachel got in a good punch to her left jaw. That's gonna hurt later.

She quickly shook it off and grabbed Rachel by her shoulder's, slamming her into the lockers. Rachel kneed her in the stomach making Rose vulnerable. She then pushed her to the ground. Rachel thought she had won, yet again, and wasn't paying attention.

Rose kicked her feet out from under her, making her fall to the floor. She quickly climbed on top of her and began punching her in the face. Rachel kept screaming. "Not the face! Don't touch my beautiful face!" But that's exactly what Rose was going for.

She felt herself being lifted off of Rachel yet she kept kicking and fighting. "Enough!" She heard a loud voice yell behind her. She looked up to find that it was a teacher who pulled her off. "Ugh oh."

"Did you see what she did to me, Mr. Lambert?" Rachel screamed, still on the floor. Ms. Blanchard began helping her up. She locked eyes with Rose and she noticed Mary Margaret looked disappointed in her. She put her head down as Mr. Lambert led her to the Principal's office. She knew she was in trouble.

She was right. She found herself in a whole lot of trouble, with the school, with her mother. It just wasn't good. Diane had to leave work to talk to Rose's principal and she was not happy. Rose was glad her mom talked the principal out of suspending her but she wasn't allowed to play softball anymore, which put her into a depression. That was the one thing where she could channel her anger and actually use it for something productive.

She was grounded until further notice. Diane had to get back to work as quickly as she could so she didn't have time to listen to why the fight started in the first place. She knew her mother would be back for dinner so she decided to blast music and dance around since she had nothing better to do. But this could only keep her in a good mood for so long.

Later that night Rose locked herself in her room even if her mother wasn't home for she was working the night shift. She took the phone off the hook and turned her cell off. People from school kept calling and telling her what a slut she was and a whole bunch of nasty things. Apparently, someone put her phone numbers all over the bathroom stalls.

She didn't want anyone or anything distracting her and she didn't feel like hearing those mean comments. She held the golden compass in her hands, feeling like she has done this before. She took a few minutes just studying the design and symbols trying to get a feel of how it works.

She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. She focused her energy on the symbols and held a question in her head. It was like she knew what to do. Her eyes shot open and she looked completely terrified. What the hell? Henry was right….she is the Evil Queen. She did cast that curse that brought everyone here. She killed so many people but why did I feel safe with her?

She couldn't take all this questions anymore. She was tired of feeling in the dark all the time. She threw her pillow knocking over a lamp in the opposite corner of her room. As soon as that happened there was a loud rumble of thunder. She looked out her window to see that it was pouring and lighting was lighting up the sky.

She then began throwing a fit, screaming and smashing things all over her room. She needed to get out the frustration she was feeling and it was working. With everything she broke, she felt better but she was still pissed she was left with more questions than answers.

Rose got up early the next day and headed to Henry's castle. She still hadn't made amends with him about the other day and she had a feeling he would check on his castle after the storm. She walked up the slight dirt hill towards the castle, the wind still crazy from the storm, and saw that it was completely destroyed. Henry is gonna be devastated.

When she got closer she surveyed the damage. It wasn't looking good. She looked out towards the ocean just waiting for Henry. He heard his bike coming up the hill about 15 minutes later. She waited until he was off his bike and closer to the castle before coming around to the front.

"Henry, just hear me out!" She said when Henry's face turned to shock when he saw her emerge from behind the castle.

"I'm sorry for yesterday and I'm sorry about your castle. I know how much it meant to you." He was about to speak but she cut him off. "Just let me finish. I believe you about Regina being the Evil Queen and casting the curse and such but there are some things still missing. Please believe me when I say I'm sorry."

A smiled spread across his face. "What made you change your mind?"

She walked closer to him so she wouldn't be shouting. "I tried that golden compass thing out and it let me see back to the Enchanted Forest."

"How did you get it working?" He asked eagerly. "What did you see?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I just kinda knew what to do, I guess. I saw Regina in her Evil Queen glory, ripping hearts out and such." She shuddered. "It really happened, Henry." What she didn't see was all the good Regina had done and the time she spent with her. She was feeding off of her negative energy from earlier that day with her fight with Rachel so of course she saw Regina in a negative light.

"I'm glad you believe me again." Rose smiled and ruffled his hair. "Me too."

"I saw you nail Rachel in the face yesterday!"

Rose blushed. "Oh, you saw that?"

He nodded with a grin. "You totally kicked her ass!"

She laughed. "I did, didn't I?" They heard a car drive up and Emma got out of the car. "Hey, kids."

"Hi, Emma." Rose waved to her.

Henry looked up to the ruined castle. "I can't believe the storm did this."

"Don't worry, we'll rebuild it." Emma said putting her arm around his shoulder. "I'll talk to Marco."

"Do you think it's still here?" He then asked as he began to dig.

"What are you looking for?" Rose asked bending down to help him.

"My book! I buried here so my mom couldn't find it."

"Hiding it under your mattress wasn't good enough?" Emma asked crossing her arms in front of her.

"First place the Evil Queen would look, followed by you then Rose. I had to hide it here." He replied as he lifted the box out of ground and opened it, relieved to see his book was still there.

"So your mom doesn't know about the castle?" Emma asked confused.

Henry looked up to her and smiled. "No. This is our secret. Me, you and Rose."

Emma smiled. She liked that Henry included Rose. She had a soft spot for the girl and couldn't help feel somewhat protective of her like she was with Henry.

Henry began covering the box back up with dirt. "Henry!" Regina screamed making all three whip their heads around.

Regina was walking towards them so Rose helped him cover the box before she saw it. "Henry!" Regina yelled again. They stood up and faced her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! You know you have a session with Archie this morning." She looked at Emma and rolled her eyes. "I should've known he was with you. Henry, car. Now!" She commanded and he went running without another word.

She looked to Rose and saw the dark bruise along her left jawline. Henry told her about the fight she had gotten in at school. "Rose, you too!" She commanded.

Rose crossed her arms and gave her a defiant look. "You're not the boss of me, Regina."

Emma arched her eye brows and her jaw dropped. She was shocked this 14 year old was disobeying the mayor. Regina had a similar look as the blonde. She didn't think she would disobey her. "Rose, get in the car this instant." She said more firmly.

Rose was about to say something but Emma stepped between them not wanting them to go any further. She would rather have Regina mad at her than at Rose. "Look, Rose's mother sent me to look for her so it would be better if I took her." Rose extended her hand waiting for Emma to hand her the car keys as she glared at the Mayor.

She stormed off to Emma's police car and sat in the front seat as Regina watched her the entire time. She couldn't believe yet another kid was picking Emma over her. "I could've taken her home, Sherriff Swan." Regina growled.

"I'm not taking her home. I'm taking her to the hospital." Emma saw the confusion and pain on the mayor's face. She felt like she owed her an explanation. "Her mother called saying she completely trashed her bedroom and that she got in a fight at school yesterday. They think she's having a total meltdown."

Regina remembered she was on anti-depression and anxiety pills but she didn't know the extent of it. She knew Rose wasn't crazy but how could she do anything in her position? She could possibly step in as mayor but she didn't know how that would go. She decided to wait and see how it all played out. "Yes, I heard about that fight. She decked the girl, didn't she?"

Emma smirked. "Mary Margaret said she was on top of the girl. It was pretty obvious Rose won."

Regina was secretly proud that Rose could hold her own and come out on top but she quickly remembered who she was talking to. "I can't believe you let them play here!" Regina snapped as she looked at the ruins behind the blonde.

"The storm hit it hard but we can fix it." Emma reassured her.

"Well, can you fix a cracked cranium? Because that's what you'll have on your hands if one of these boards collapses under their weight. You're not thinking about those kids or their safety, just when their around me."

"Rose isn't your kid, Madame Mayor." Emma reminded her much to Regina annoyance.

"Miss Swan, don't let your feelings cloud your judgment. People can get hurt." She crossed her arms eyeing the blonde up and down.

Emma furrowed her eye brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the Sherriff now. It's time to be responsible." Regina shot her one last glare before heading back to her car. Emma rolled her eyes at Regina's comment.

Emma stormed over to her car and slammed the door shut behind her. "Don't let my feelings cloud my judgment? That's all Regina does!" She mumbled to herself as she started the car.

"What did she do now?" She asked aggravated.

Emma shook her head not wanting to get into it. She then remembered where she had to take Rose and her face became very serious. "So your mom said you've been acting out lately. Anything you wanna talk about?" She was hoping the teenager would open up to her and maybe she could stop all this.

"That stupid fight at school?" Rose asked angrily. "The girl had it comin. She spread a rumor that I was a slut, wrote my number all over the bathroom stalls and just made everyone hate me. I got kicked off the softball team because of it."

Emma gave her a sympathetic look. "Henry told me how much you loved softball and it sounded like this girl was asking for it." Rose gave her a devilish smile. "That doesn't mean I condone fighting."

She began driving down the road. "You're mom also said you broke everything in your room."

Rose looked away and sunk down in the seat. "Oh, that."

Emma nodded. "Yea, that. Did that have anything to do with this fight?" She asked trying to get to the bottom of things.

Roses shrugged her shoulders. "One of the things…"

"Are these visions one of the other things?" She guessed.

Rose put her head down trying to hold back her tears but she couldn't. Emma heard soft sobs coming from the seat next to her. She looked over and saw Rose wiping tears away. "Awe, kid. Don't cry."

Rose sniffled. "I'm sorry, it's just…I feel like the biggest freak. Everyone already hates me at school, I can't play softball anymore, my mom and Dr. Whale think I'm crazy…everything just sucks."

Emma wanted to tell her that everything would get better but how could she when she was taking her to the hospital because they thought was in fact crazy. Emma was really torn. If she wasn't the Sherriff she wouldn't be taking this girl to the hospital but she had to.

She squeezed the young girl's hand to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Rose. I didn't know things were that bad."

Rose squeezed her hand back, thankful Emma was there for her and not judging her. "As long as I have Ava, Henry…and you I think I can get through it."

Emma gave her a weak smile. She was going to hate her after she dropped her off at the hospital. They drove in silence for a few minutes then Rose realized this wasn't the way to her house.

"Emma, my house is in the other direction." She told the blonde

Emma closed her eyes briefly. "I know."

She looked over at her confused. "Then where are you going?"

They were just around the corner from the hospital. Emma kept her mouth shut. Rose began to panic as the hospital building came into view. "Emma, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" She saw her mother, Dr. Whale and a couple make nurses waiting out front for her.

Emma stopped the car in front and turned to the now hysterical teenager. She grabbed her hands. "Rose, listen to me. I know you're not crazy and I will do everything to try to prove that, just be on your best behavior." She said quickly before they yanked the door open and began pulling her out. "Emma, how could you?!" She screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Emma watched as she tried to fight them off. They sedated her and she fell asleep in their arms. She watched until they disappeared through the hospital doors. She slammed her hands against the steering wheel because she was so mad with the situation. She needed to get that girl outta there and fast.

Rose opened her eyes, blinking a few times in order to see clearly. She looked around and realized she was in the hospital. She tried t0 sit up but realized her wrists were bound to the bed. She began pulling and screaming but it just left her wrists bruised.

A nurse came in and pushed her back down on the bed. "Don't do that, Rose, or you'll hurt yourself."

"Why am I here?" She asked in a raspy voice as if she hadn't talked in days.

"You're here to get better. I'll go get you mother." She told her before she left.

Rose huffed. This is ridiculous. "I'm not a threat to anyone!" She yelled.

Diane came through the door, her eyes red from crying. "Mom, what's going on? Why am I chained to the damn bed? Why am I here anyway? Why are you…"

Diane stood by her side and shushed her. "Honey, please calm down."

"How can I when I have no idea what's going on?!" She cried. "How long have I been here?"

"Almost two days, you're having a slight breakdown and we are trying to get you stable." Diane said calmly.

There were so many things going through her head. "Since when am I having a breakdown?" She shouted. "Just because I'm slightly acting out? Hello, Diane, I'm a teenager! It's what we do!"

Diane wasn't a very strong person when it came to emotions. "Dr. Whale!" She called trying to control herself from crying.

"No! Mom, don't call him. Just get me outta here. I promise I'll be good!" Rose was crying now.

Diane wanted to believe that desperately but the doctor said her daughter was losing it and given her recent behavior, she had to believe him. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do! You can tell them to stop." She pleaded.

"Is she acting out?" Dr. Whale asked as he came through the door.

Rose tried to sit up. "Whale, I'm not crazy! This is all a misunderstanding!"

"I'm sure it is Rose." He said as if he didn't believe her. "But now that you're up we are going to run some tests ."

To see if I'm crazy or not. Great, my life couldn't get any better.

She went through a multitude of tests and tried to act as normally as possible. They didn't sedate her afterwards but still kept her bound to the bed. This is so freakin uncomfortable!

She was alone in her room trying to stop herself from freaking out. She hated feeling confined and trapped. She began crying lightly. She felt like the world was against her, like no one was on her side. She was stuck and she was hoping to be rescued. Her cries got louder and they were hard to hide.

She had been trying to escape the bounds for the past hour and growing frustrated. Her wrists were raw from the strap rubbing against her skin. Her hand hit the bedside guard with a clang. She noticed she was still wearing her butterfly ring. She remembered it always gave her hope. She wanted to take it off and look at it closer but the bounds confined her. She threw her head back and let out a whimper.

"Rose?" Her head shot up to see who it was; desperately hoping it wasn't a doctor or nurse.

"Henry!" She put on a weak smile.

He went around to her bedside. "I can't believe their doing this to you."

"I just wanna get outta here, Henry." She began to cry again. "I'm not crazy, I'm not!"

He gave her a serious look. "I know! I'm gonna get you out, well my mom is working on it."

"Emma's gonna get me out?" She asked hopeful.

He shook his head. "Regina." Rose looked confused. "After I found out Emma took you here, I was furious. She promised me she was going to get you out. She tried but the best she could get was not give you sedatives unless absolutely necessary. She sucked up her pride and asked my mom to intervene; thinking she could get more things accomplished."

"I hope she can!" Rose put her head down. "If she's the Evil Queen, Henry, why would she help me?"

He smiled. "You're her daughter, Rose Red, remember?" Oh right…that. Still don't know if I fully believe that one.

"Can you take my ring off for me and see what the inscription says? I can't seem to remember but I know someone special gave it to me." She asked. Regina lingered in the hall, just outside her door, when she heard Rose ask that question.

"It says, 'My Little Butterfly'." Henry read before slipping it back on her finger. "Does it mean something?"

"I believe it does. Someone used to call me it, I think." Regina closed her eyes, remembering saying that to Ally the first time back in the Enchanted Forest.

Once she composed herself, she appeared at the door. "What the hell did they do to you?" She asked storming over to her bedside opposite Henry. She looked down and saw her bound wrists. "Ohh, no!" She said pissed off. "Someone get in here and unlock these at once!" She yelled out into the hall.

She noticed Rose had been crying and lightly wiped her tears away. "I'm trying to get you outta here."

Rose was so overwhelmed she couldn't speak. A nurse came in and quickly unlocked her restraints and after receiving a glare from the mayor, she left.

Rose instantly began rubbing her wrists. Regina noticed and lightly took the teenagers hand in hers, inspecting the bruises. She ran her fingers lightly over them. She shook her head in disbelief. "This is unbelievable! I can't believe they did this to you!" She was clearly pissed.

Rose sat up on her knees and looked up at Regina, making sure she was looking directly into her eyes. "Thank you for saving me." Without hesitation she wrapped her arms around the older brunette's waist and laid her head slightly below her shoulder.

Regina looked at Henry who only shrugged his shoulders before hugging her back. "I didn't save you yet, dear."

"You did enough for now." She whispered. "And I am truly grateful!"

Regina squeezed tighter. "Well I'm not going to stop until you're released."

Rose didn't want to let go. "I'm not crazy, Regina. No one believes me and I'm stuck in here. Once you leave they'll put those straps back on. Please don't leave me!"

Regina felt so bad that she couldn't really do anything. She stroked the back of her head and rubbed her back. "Shh, calm down, dear. I won't let that happen."

Henry couldn't stop staring at Regina and the way she comforted Rose. He knew they were connected, the way Regina comforted her and the way Rose clung to his mother. He knew Regina wouldn't just do that with any child but would fight like hell for her own.

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