It did not take long for Rumald to drive them to the Rabbit Hole and pull up at the entrance of the bar, allowing them to get out of the car before he drove into the parking lot to park the car. Belle wanted to wait for Rumald, but Ruby insisted that they went inside without him, as she laced her arm with Belle's and took her inside. The bar was heaving with people, most of the tables had been taken and people lingered around the bar. It seemed karaoke night was a popular night in the Rabbit Hole.
"Belle! Ruby!" Someone called to them over the din. Ruby spotted whoever it was and dragged Belle in the direction the voice had come from. They excused themselves through the people mingling, side stepping their way through, to come to the table Mary-Margaret and David had claimed for their group.
Mary-Margaret waved her hand towards the bar, saying loudly. "Ashley and Sean are getting the drinks."
"Oh." Belle searched the sea of heads, trying to spot them at the bar.
A hand touched her lower back, instantly finding the spot it always touched, as Rumald came to stand beside her, frowning at the crowd. "We had to choose the busiest night to have this night out?"
"Would you rather we go to the old folk's home for bingo?" Ruby asked Rumald, giving him a cheeky smile over her shoulder.
"As long as they have blue jello." Rumald pulled a disgusted face as he replied to her question. "I hate it, when they serve the red jello."
Ruby laughed edging round the table to take a seat. "I prefer green."
"Rumald, Ashley and Sean have gone to the bar already to get drinks." Belle informed him, pointing towards the bar.
"Ashley and Sean Herman?" He questioned following her finger in the direction of the bar.
"Yeah." She replied leaning into him, selfishly taking a whiff of his aftershave.
Rumald turned back to them to ask. "Okay, so what do you and Ruby want to drink?"
"Woo-woo cocktail!" Ruby said loudly, already in a festive mood.
"Sweetheart?" Rumald beckoned her attention.
She frowned in thought, as she said to him. "Just get me… a… Yeah, get me a rum and coke."
Nodding his head, Rumald merged into the crowd and filtered his way to the bar. Belle lost sight of him the further he got to the bar. Taking a breath, she slipped onto the bench seat beside Ruby, shuffling round the circle table until her hip brushed up against Ruby's hip. The two shared a smile, as Mary-Margaret leant over David to tap the table in front of Belle.
"Belle," Mary-Margaret called. "I don't think you've met my husband, David."
David extended his hand towards Belle. "I think we've seen each other, but no formal introduction."
"No, no formal introduction." Belle said shaking David's hand. "I think I served you once or twice in the diner. Black coffee with two sugars."
"Good memory." David smiled at Belle, as a bottle of beer was placed onto the table between his arms.
Sean gave Mary-Margaret her drink, as he said. "That was good timing."
"What was?" Mary-Margaret asked and then attentively sipped at her brimmed drink, leaning over the table so she did not get it down her dress.
Ashley shifted around the seat to sit close beside Belle, as Sean sat onto the end of the bench seat saying. "Mr Gold just came over and paid for our drinks."
"Really?" David questioned after taking a swig from his beer.
"Yeah," Sean wiped his hand at something on the table in front of him, as he said. "Came over and told me to put my wallet away, as he pulled out his wallet."
"He can be nice." Belle threw her comment into the mix, while a small amount of annoyance with their comments weighing down on her eyebrows.
Ashley noticed the tone in Belle's voice, reaching under the table for Belle's hand, as she said. "Hey, we're just talking."
"He's never been nice to me." Sean commented and drank from his beer. The look Ashley shot to Sean was a look only a spouse or a partner would understand. At receiving the look from his wife, Sean held his hands up before placing his beer back down onto the table.
While they had their exchanged, Belle was breathing deeply and counted mentally in her head, easing her instinct to defend Rumald. It was not the first time and she knew it probably would not be the last time, when she would hear comments about Rumald and felt the need to protect him. No one knew him as she did. There were a few in town, who remembered what he was like before Milah broke him, but none of them knew the hurt he carried in his heart.
The glasses Rumald carried chinked as he carefully placed them down onto the table, the noise brought Belle's gaze up to his face. He smiled warmly at her, as he stretched across the table to place her drink in front of her. Belle reached out to her glass, her fingers brushed over his as they left her glass, the usual tingle travelled up her fingers when they touched. She needed to feel it, needed the strength he gave her. Rumald hung over the table, sensing something was wrong with a quizzical look on his face, beseeching her for an answer. Dismissing his concern with a shake of his head, she picked up her glass and sipped from it, holding his gaze as he gave Ruby her cocktail.
"So, who's going to be signing up for the karaoke?" Ruby asked everyone, thanking Rumald with a nod of her head, while she collected her drink from the table and slurped on the straw in her glass.
"David will." Mary-Margaret nominated her husband, touching his leg under the table. "He can't help himself."
"Neither can you." David laughed grasping his wife's hand on his leg and raised her hand up to kiss the back of it. Chuckling at Mary-Margaret and David, Belle observed Rumald asking a nearby table for the empty stool at their table. The person Rumald had asked jumped out of their skin and quickly offered the stool to Rumald. It saddened her to see the way people reacted to him.
Sean nudged Ashley, causing Ashley's shoulder to knock into Belle's, as he said. "You should see if they've got that shoop shoop song you like."
"No way, am I getting up there!" Ashley exclaimed shaking her head and sipped her drink.
"Oh, come on, Ashley." Ruby encouraged and then gestured to Mary-Margaret. "Me and Mary-Margaret will get up there with you. Might even get Belle to join us." She added nudging her elbow into Belle's side.
"I'm with Ashley, there's no way I'm getting up on that stage." Belle told them, while Rumald positioned the stool opposite her and sat down onto it, parting his waistcoat to his sides.
"What" Ruby smirked looking from Belle to Rumald across the table, who was sipping at his whiskey. "Even if Mr Gold was to get up there?"
Rumald lowered his glass from his lips, gracing his lips with a smile, as he said. "As much as everyone in this bar, would love to see me make a spectacle out of myself, I've no interest in gracing that stage myself either."
"Oh, come on, Mr Gold." Mary-Margaret cheered.
"This is supposed to be a friendly night out with Belle's friends." Rumald told them, placing his glass down onto the table. "You can call me Rumald."
Belle smiled over the table at him, delighted with the gesture he offered to everyone. Unbuttoning another button of his shirt, Rumald opened his collar out further, showing the skin on his chest was flushed. Her smile wavered slightly, realising Rumald was nervous being surrounded by her friends.
"I'm surprised, seeing as Belle says you sing." Ruby said after slurping on the straw in her cocktail.
"Did she now?" Rumald asked narrowing his eyes on Belle, making her blush with the intent of his gaze.
Mary-Margaret reached across the table to Rumald, but fell short of reaching his hand and laid her hand onto the table near him. "What are you into Rumald? Rock? Pop?" She paused in thought and said. "I bet you're into classical and opera."
"A mixed collection." He replied to her question, cocking his head to the side to look at Mary-Margaret from the corner of his eye.
"I'm a rock man, myself." David interjected and swigged his beer.
Sean sniggered. "And musicals."
A chorus of laughter erupted from the table, but Rumald remained stoic with his gaze returning to Belle across the table. Belle met his gaze, loving the openness he shared with her in that one look: love.
"Hey, boys and girls!" The waitress called to them, laying some pieces of paper down on the table, as she looked down at Rumald beside her. "Mr Gold, I'm surprised to see you here."
Rumald angled his head to look up at the young woman. The woman did not shy away from the cold look he gave her. Sean and David were both slyly eyeing the young woman, dressed to show off her assets to encourage the men to buy more drinks. Unflustered by her attire, Rumald picked up one of the sheets and began to read the list of songs, lifting his glass of whiskey to take a drink from it. Without knowing it, Rumald had given her the reassurance she needed to flick the demon off her shoulder, who was about to whisper into ear.
Ashley pointed to one of the songs on the list, angling herself to show the piece of paper to Sean, who was watching the waitress walk across to the next table. "Look, they've got our wedding song."
"Which song?" Ruby asked grabbing one of the lists.
"Aerosmith." Ashley replied, gushing at Sean beside her. "I don't want to miss a thing."
Whilst Ruby and Belle rolled their eyes at each other, Mary-Margaret awed their song choice and said. "Ours was John Lennon, oh my love."
"I like that song." Rumald commented, as he twirled his glass on the table.
"What was your wedding song, Rumald?" Sean asked with his bottle of beer hovering near his lips. Everyone around the table, apart from Rumald, shot a pointed look at Sean, which he ignored, as Rumald slowly turned his head to look at Sean. The look Rumald gave Sean worried Belle, tensing her shoulders.
Rumald turned his gaze away from Sean and lifted his glass towards his lips, as he said. "Joe Cocker, you're so beautiful."
"I find that such a sad song." Mary-Margaret commented.
Ashley sighed before she said. "I bet it was perfect for your first dance."
Belle did not like the direction that the conversation had taken. Thinking of Rumald with Milah gave an invitation for her demon to rear its ugly head. As they chatted about which song was the best wedding song, Belle gulped down the majority of her rum and coke, leaving only a mouthful in the bottom of her glass. Swishing the last of her rum and coke around the bottom of her glass, she ignored the conversation, as they shared stories of how couples met, and downed the last of her drink.
"Belle, do you want another one?" Rumald asked across the table, interrupting the conversation.
"Actually, can you get me a beer and a whiskey chaser?" She said back to him, disowning her glass to the table.
Rumald stood from his stool, asking the table. "Anybody else?"
A chorus of 'same again' came from everyone before Rumald excused himself to go to the bar. A lot of the crowd had dispersed, crowding around the stage area, waiting for the first victim of the karaoke. Belle was able to see Rumald at the bar, his back to her, as he stood waiting with his hand in his pocket and the other rested on the bar. She noticed his hair was greyer than when they first met, but she did not mind it. Looks were not important to her, but she did have to admit he looked very dashing where he stood at the bar.
Ruby knocked her elbow into Belle's side, as she shifted to get her ringing phone out of her bag. The knock drew Belle away from admiring Rumald to watch Ruby answer her phone.
"Hey, where are you?" Ruby asked, her eyes searching the bar. "Yeah, I see you." She waved at someone and smiled at whoever it was. Trying to follow Ruby's gaze, Belle leaned forward to see a guy coming towards their table. Belle presumed it was Will, Ruby's date for the night. He did not look like Ruby's usual type. Normally they were the bad boys, covered in tattoos or piercings. Apart from his leather jacket, he looked more like the type of man Belle would date, rather than her best friend.
"David, let me out." Ruby ordered, scooting towards David on the seat, persuading him with a push in his ribs.
"Hi." The man greeted with his eyes on Ruby as she smiled up at him, finally freed from the table when Mary-Margaret and David had gotten out of the way. They all watched as Ruby kissed the man and smiled at him.
"Everyone," Ruby slid her arm around the man's waist, saying. "This is Will."
Will turned his face into Ruby ignoring everyone's hellos to whisper into Ruby's ear to make her giggle. Seeing their interaction made Belle raise an eyebrow at them. In the months she had known Ruby, she had never known her to introduce her boyfriends to her friends. The only reason Belle had met a few of them, was when they had awkwardly met in the morning when they had been leaving Ruby's room, bumping into Belle in the hallway. He must mean something to Ruby for her to introduce him to her friends.
"Belle." Ruby gestured towards Belle over the table. Hearing her name, Belle smiled and stood as much as she could with the table in her way, offering her hand over the table to Will. He took her hand and shook it, leaving Belle's hand clammy. Sitting back down, Belle covertly wiped her hand on her dress whilst Will moved on to shake David and Mary-Margaret's hands.
The waitress from earlier excused herself through Belle's friends, sliding a tray of drinks onto the table. Belle frowned as the waitress placed a beer and shot glass in front of her, and held a folded napkin towards Belle. Taking it from her, Belle thanked her and unfolded it to find it was a note from Rumald.
'Need some fresh air. I won't be long. I love you.'
A chorus of cheers and applause came from the stage area, as someone took to the stage and a song started to play from the speakers, which were dotted around the bar. Clutching Rumald's note, Belle picked up her shot as Mary-Margaret slid along the seat to sit beside her. She knocked back the shot, cringing at the after taste of whiskey and the singing that escaped the speakers. Squinting her eyes at the pain of listening to whoever it was singing, Belle was glad she did not feel compel to embarrass herself like the fool on the stage.
"I didn't realise we would be strangling cats tonight." Belle commented to everyone, placing her empty shot glass onto the table.
"Don't be so hard on them." Ashley defended.
Mary-Margaret leaned over to Belle. "I think its Doctor Hopper."
"Really?" Ashley questioned raising herself up to try and see who was on the stage.
Belle swigged from her beer, watching Ruby and Will whispering to each other, smiling and chuckling. The two were behaving as though they were the only ones at the table. Smiling at Ruby's obvious happiness, Belle hoped Ruby would be able to find something similar to what Belle had found with Rumald. As she thought about Rumald, she found herself missing him. She opened her hand to look down at the napkin he had sent her and unscrewed it to stare at where he had written 'I love you'. Those three words had been thrown around so much that week, they had become as normal as sleepily greeting one another in the morning.
Looking round the table, she knew she would rather be outside with Rumald, than sat with her friends listening to whoever was singing. She grabbed her beer from the table and excused herself to Ashley, gesturing that she wanted out from the table. Ashley touched Sean's arm, who was entranced by whoever was on the stage, making him jump before she told him to get up. They moved out of the way and Belle scooted out from the table, smiling her thanks to them as she wandered off to find Rumald.
She stuck her head out the door to the outside sitting area, finding Rumald sat on top of a wooden table, his feet on the bench seat attached to the table, as he stared up into the night sky. Ambling her way to him, when she was near enough to him, she slid her hand onto his shoulder and swung round the bench to stand in front of him.
"Hey, sweetheart." He said glancing from her to the door into the bar, and back to her. "You didn't need to come out here. Go back and be with your friends. I was going to come in soon."
"I'm not stupid, you're not enjoying yourself." Belle told him.
Rumald smirked at her, as he twisted to get his glass of whiskey behind him. "It's not about me. They're your friends. Go and enjoy yourself."
"That's the thing, you see," Belle knelt onto the bench seat between his feet, as he drank from his whiskey. "I'm not enjoying myself." She told him, reaching over his leg to place her bottle of beer on the table.
"I'm sorry I just needed some fresh air. I'm not used to being social." He apologised putting his glass beside her beer.
"Rumald, you've got nothing to be sorry about." She informed him, clasping her hands either side of his face.
A confused look swept over his face, as he studied her. "I feel I should be, since we're supposed to be out with your friends and now you're out here with me."
"I'm out here with you, because I'd rather be with you." Belle told him, brushing her thumbs over his cheek.
"You'll never know, how much it means to me, to hear you say that." He muttered dropping his head down to look away from her face, feeling sorry for himself. She raised his face up and kissed him softly, mixing the taste of his whiskey with the taste of her beer. His hands glided over her dress, one travelled up her back to press between her shoulder blades while the other hovered over her backside. The dull ache from her knees disturbed her, but she would not allow it to ruin her moment with him. He needed her as much as she needed him.
Songs mentioned: Aerosmith – I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
John Lennon – Oh My Love
Joe Cocker – You Are So Beautiful
