Rumplestiltskin walked to his Potions class. This was so frustrating. He had so many things that he had to work out he didn't have time for another one. He had to figure out how to get them even on the board with the house points as they had been slipping lately and how to get Belle to tell the headmaster her ordeal for the past four years and come live with them in the slytherin house. He did not have the time to figure out how to ask her to the atrocity that was this ball. Besides, he was really rusty at this. It had been a long time since he'd asked anyone out on a date. And with Belle, oh, with darling Belle, he really didn't want to mess it up.
He looked at her going over her potions book with that little blacklight of hers as she aimed to please Professor Snape. Her hands turned each page carefully as she knew how much power those words carried. He couldn't help but feel inadequate. She deserved someone better than him to take her to the dance. He'd fed her so many lies. He'd made her believe things that hadn't been true. She loved freely, unquestioningly, with everything she had. He couldn't give her that. He couldn't give her his whole heart as most of it hid and built the walls he couldn't lose. She deserved someone that could give her as much as she wanted. That wasn't him.
"Class take your seats," Professor Snape told them as he made his way to the front to begin his lesson.
He sat down next to Belle and listened to the Professor as he talked about how to a memory potion. He watched as Belle sat there attentively, even though she knew how to do this already. He released them to go get their ingredients but before he could, Belle stopped him by taking the sleeve of his uniform. "Um, before we start, I have something I wanted to ask you," she told him. She couldn't quite look him in the eye for too long before looking back down at the ground.
"Sure," he said as she let go of his sleeve. "What's on your mind?"
"Um, This is going to sound, um, a little weird," she fidgeted with her hands. He hadn't seen her this nervous since they met for the first time. Had he done something to make her feel this way again? He hadn't tried to. Maybe he had been a little forward this morning but she'd seemed fine. "So the dance is coming up and as you know, I've never been to one because of, let's call it my history. But I'd really like to go this year and, um, I was hoping, maybe, that you could accompany me. I'd gladly trade something for it but I'm not sure what you would want from me. I could probably do some research for a paper or I could help you with something else…"
She would have kept going if he'd let her. She was adorable, trying to bargain with him into going to the dance with her. He'd been so nervous about asking her to this thing and here she was doing it for him, letting him hold all the cards. He was now able to control this situation. "Sweetheart," he stopped her. He hadn't meant to call her that. He shouldn't call her that if he wasn't going to continue down the path like he'd planned. "I'll do it in exchange for a secret."
"A secret?" she asked him, not understanding the significance.
"Not just any secret, oh no, one that makes you so scared that you don't even want to say it out loud for fear that it will come true," he specified. He watched her face change. This was the best way to get the secret she'd been keeping from them. If she didn't, well, he wouldn't have to go and dance.
"Why this?" she asked him. Something dug into her heart when he asked her for that. She thought that maybe he would want to go with her. Perhaps he didn't view her like that.
"I told you, next time the price would be steeper," he reminded her. He suddenly regretted asking her for that. The way she looked at him just made him feel squirmish. It was too late for that though. The deal had been struck. He had to stick to his guns. Even if he felt like they were pointing at him. "Besides, if I'm going to look like a fool at this thing, I could use a little compensation."
She looked down at the table as she tried to decide what to do. She obviously couldn't tell him a certain secret but maybe she could admit something else. Something possibly just as painful. "Get your half of the ingredients and I'll tell you," she promised him.
He did as she requested as he gathered his ingredients he wondered if he'd gone too far this time. He didn't want to scare her away but he also didn't want her to get as attached to him as he feared he would get to her as he couldn't give her what she truly deserved. He knew he'd botched this and that this was an unbelievable failure on his part. He walked back over to where Belle was sitting already as she lit the fire under her cauldron.
"The thing I am most afraid of, is coming home to my father and my step-mother and they'll see me as nothing but a failure," she told him simply.
"What?" he questioned her. That was definitely not what he was expecting. He expected anything but that. "How? You are passing every class with flying colors, you are friends with Professor Snape, you have a glowing resume. Why would you even think that you could be a disappointment?"
She looked into the cauldron as she finished grounding the first ingredient. "You know of my father and of my step-mother," she began explaining. "He led the charge against the ogres and she is one of the most powerful witches in the world. My father wanted me to do great things like he did. Yet I haven't done anything. I'm a no one and when they see that all I amount to is potions," she stopped for a second, "I'll be a failure."
Rumplestiltskin put a hand on her shoulder to have her pause for a second. She turned to look at him in the eyes. "Never apologize for being who you are. There's no need. You may not be doing things like winning wars or showing off how powerful you are but you are doing something far more important than I think you even realize. You gave my friends and I something we haven't had in a long time. Care."
She looked at him with an open heart as he sat down to continue explaining what he meant.
"You know that we were all cast outs," he proceeded. "We were all angry, self-loathing, insecure people that turned our flaws into weapons. We made enemies for fun because it was far easier than to make friends. Our own house was afraid of us. Then you came and sat down at our table. You saw us all for who we really were. Scared, afraid, desperate people who believed that power was the only way to be safe. You listened to us. You gave us encouragement. You gave us hope. You cared for us. My friends and I haven't had someone do that for us in so long. Now, we're actual friends who hang out together and talk to each other instead of planning revenge on the other. You've taken all our hearts and rebuilt them stronger than we knew they could be. I don't think your father or step-mother could have done that."
She was looking at him so deeply as she held every word he'd said in her close to heart. Her eyes spoke volumes of gratitude that words could not express. She looked around the room for a second before she took his cheek in her hand and pressed her lips to his. Her bravery caught him off guard but he was in no position to oppose. It lasted only a few seconds before she pulled back and said in the kindest voice he'd ever heard, "Thank you, Rumple."
"You're welcome," he told her, still reeling from a few moments ago. She went back to fixing up the potion they were making as he stayed still for a minute. That certainly hadn't been what he expected either. How was it that he couldn't seem to find that happy medium? He knew that perhaps it was his selfish subconscious that wouldn't let him be what his brain and his heart told him to do. It could have been that his soul couldn't let her walk away when he knew all too well that somehow this beautiful woman loved a man with an ugly heart. In the midst of all his wonderings, he realized that he ought to ask her, "what time would you like to leave for the dance on Friday?"
"Seven perhaps?" she posed the option as she placed the final touches on their potion and let him do his magic to complete the assignment.
"Seven it is then," he agreed as he looked at the woman in front of him. A heart he wouldn't dare hold for he promised himself he would never break it. Oh, what was a fool like him to do?
Belle said goodbye to Rumple before heading to her next class where Zelena was waiting for her. She couldn't stop thinking about what he told her. She'd never seen herself like that before. She'd always just seen it as them rescuing her not the other way around. She was glad that he had her open up. Granted, it was probably a little unorthodox but that was always something she carried around with her and felt so good to get that off her chest. She slipped into the seat next to Zelena who smiled at her when she came through the doorway.
"What's going on with you?" Zelena asked her as she saw a glow coming from Belle.
"Hmm?" she asked as she took out her textbook.
"Something's changed," she would elaborate. "You're in a better mood than you were this morning, which, I thought was impossible but clearly it wasn't. Spill."
"Fine," she agreed. "Rumplestiltskin is taking me to the dance on Friday." She didn't tell Zelena about the other bits because she wasn't sure how public he wanted to be and she figured that he liked his privacy.
"Really?" Zelena asked. She had not expected him to work that fast. It was obvious that Belle really liked him. She knew Rumplestiltskin really liked her too but he had a problem of denial that had been getting worse lately. She was getting worried. The two of them were good friends of hers and she didn't want to see either one of them get hurt.
"I can't wait," she smiled with so much excitement. "I've only read about these sorts of things in my books. I'm so excited."
"Well, I think you are going to need a dress. You should come with me, Regina, Maleficent, Cruella and Ursula. We're all going to get the full treatments on Friday and go shopping tomorrow," she explained.
"I'd love to," Belle accepted her invitation.
"Wonderful," Zelena said as their professor walked into the room. "We'll go over the plan later today with all the girls after classes."
Belle nodded excitedly as their teacher retold them the same story from the first day. Professor Nagadom was incredibly boring but the class seemed to zip right by as she imagined her first school dance. It was going to be so wonderful. There would be some talking, some punch, some laughter, but most importantly, there would be lots of dancing. When she was six-years-old, her step-mother had her take lessons. At six, she wasn't a very graceful person so learning to dance was quite a challenge. Her step-mother wouldn't stop until she'd learned any dance that an eligible prince could want to do. As of course, her step-mother wanted to preserve their royal bloodline. If she could see her now, dating someone who's lineage she had no idea about.
She'd grown into her now graceful movements over many many years. Once she'd hit her growth spurt, everything had started fitting into place and now she could dance as graceful as the princess she was. She should probably brush up on those skills since the last time she'd danced was at her family ball when she was twelve. Before her life had blown up in her face. But now, she had the opportunity to dance again and she wasn't going to waste it.
She'd been daydreaming a little too much as it seemed because when Professor Nagadom called her name she was caught completely by surprise.
"I asked you a question, Ms. French. Now, what is the answer?" he asked her harshly, knowing full well that she hadn't been paying attention.
"Yes, you did indeed ask me a question," she stalled as she tried to think of what he could have possibly even have asked. "And the answer to your question," she looked over and saw Zelena had written something down and was subtly pointing at it, "is an inferius, sir."
"That," he sighed as her humiliation was unachieved, "Is correct."
Belle breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Thank you"
"I've got your back," she smiled as she reminded her. "Pay attention for now. We'll talk more about the ball later." She nodded her head and went back to paying attention.
"Rumplestilskin are you coming?" Hook called to him as he was trying to finagle his cufflink on his non-hooked hand. "I'm supposed to pick up Emma at the Gryffindor housing in two minutes and I can't get my dang cufflink to go in!" When he'd picked out his three-piece suit, no one had mentioned how stupid the cufflinks would be for a man with one hand.
"Well I'm still trying to figure out this blasted tie," Rumplestiltskin told him as he exited his room to see if Hook's problem was any easier. His rather blue suit was the easy part. He'd managed to do all the essentials that came with it with the exception of the aforementioned tie.
"I got mine on and I've only got the one hand," he shot back. "Plus, we wear a tie to every one of our classes. How are you unable to tie that one?"
"I've always used the same one. Somethings wrong with this one," he retorted. How indeed could he not get this blasted thing to work? "Here, I can do a cufflink no problem."
Hook rolled his eyes as he handed the cufflink to Rumplestiltskin. He was going to be so late. What would Emma think of him? He was really in for it now.
"Can I give you a hand?" they heard Belle's voice ask.
They turned around and, sure enough, there she was. She'd gone out with the girls that day to get their hair and makeup done so her hair was made into a lovely bun with certain curls coming down to frame her face. She'd gone the less is more route with her makeup and she looked absolutely divine. Her dress was fit for a queen. It was sun yellow that had a bit of a poof to the skirt. The sleeves landed delicately off her shoulders. It had a beaded pattern along the bodice that led into the skirt. She must have been wearing flats because she wasn't any taller than usual.
Rumplestilskin couldn't move for a minute. All he could do was stare at the angel in front of him. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He slipped Hook's cufflink in without even looking before he walked over to Belle. He couldn't quite decide if she was real or not. "Belle?" he asked her.
"Yes?" she asked him back. Rumple looked very dashing in his suit. It was a nice deep blue suit jacket and pants. He wore a silvery grey dress shirt and on his lapel laid a red rose. "You look handsome this evening."
"I can assure you, darling, you leave me in the dust," he told her with complete honesty.
She blushed as she looked down at her feet and then back up to him. "Thank you," she said. They stared at the other for a moment or two before she turned her attention to Hook. "Hook, do you have everything you need for when you pick up Emma?"
"I think so," he told her. He was starting to get really hot. Unreasonably hot for that matter. "Is it normal to be this hot? You don't think I'm getting sick do you?"
Belle laughed before telling him, "No, no I think your nerves are starting to get jumbled a bit. So long as you remember your corsage…"
"Oh! I left it in the fridge!" he told them as he ran to the refrigerator. "Why in the world do flowers go in refrigerators? That makes no sense?" He came back out with the flower pin in hand.
"Hook," Belle started. He turned to look at her. Everything was starting to go haywire for him. "You and Emma are going to have a wonderful time. You'll talk and laugh and dance and you both are going to remember this for a very long time as a wonderful time."
"Thanks Belle," Hook came over and hugged her. She returned the hug as she knew her friend was going to be okay. "Belle, I really owe you. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for giving me this."
"You don't owe me a thing," she told him. "Now hurry. She is going to start wondering where you are."
"Yes of course," he agreed as he let her go and straightened himself out. "I'll see you all at the dance."
"See you later," Rumplestiltskin told him as Hook opened the door to exit to find Robin Locksley, dressed in his black suit and red tie, about to knock on the door.
"Good evening all," Robin greeted them as Hook slipped out the door. "I'm here to pick up Regina. Is she ready yet?"
"One moment!" Regina told them from in her room.
"Come on in Robin," Belle told him. "I'll go check on her."
"Thank you," he told her as he walked into the common area. It was another two minutes before Regina came out the door. She was wearing a lovely red satin dress that almost touched the floor. It had lovely white stitching of tiny leaves on curly vines that stretched from her long draped sleeves to the end of her dress. A white ribbon lined her waist that tied into a small bow in the back. She had a five silver line headband that disappeared into her hair that almost reached her shoulders. Her silver and ruby earrings dangled delicately from her ears. Her sly smile got a little bigger as she watched Robin's jaw drop. "I must be dead because, I swear, angels are only found in heaven." Regina brought her hand as she laughed "M'lady," he offered her his hand.
"Kind sir," she returned as she took his hand. They headed out the door and to the dance.
Belle sighed and leaned against the doorpost. "Love is a beautiful thing isn't it?" she asked Rumplestiltskin.
He took out the red rose corsage he'd gotten for her and slipped it on her wrist before saying, "Love hurts everyone. Sometimes early on, sometimes down the road. Either way, it's deadly."
Belle smiled and shook her head before taking both hands in hers, "Come on, you know love is a precious thing that if treated right can be one of the most wonderful things in the world."
"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to find that out for myself," he told her as he placed one of her hands in the crook of his arm. She smiled and hummed in agreement as they headed out to the dance.
Well there's chapter 12. I hope you all enjoyed. The dance will be next and they'll get a surprise visitor. Don't forget to review! :)