"I have to apologize, but I'm afraid the budget approved by the Board is not enough to cover your salary and the expenses of another teacher. So unless Locksley is willing to do this as a volunteer, I don't think he'll be able to be a part of the school trip."

As soon as the words came out of the school principal's mouth, Regina's entire world stood still. There was a moment of pause in everything: her breathing, her heartbeat, her good humor… For a moment, she was even sure that half of her senses stopped functioning as well because yes, she could see Blanchard's lips moving, but she couldn't for the life of her understand what he was saying.

The only thing that her mind could grasp in that moment was what he said before: that he wasn't giving Locksley the green light to tag along with her. Why? She wasn't sure, but the news definitely didn't settle well with her.

That was why, forcing her brain to unfreeze and her limbs to move, she lifted an open palm in the air, her face a mask of contained shock. From then on, everything started moving at full speed.

"Wait," She hissed, her hand gesturing for the old man to halt his babbling. "You said that I could ask another teacher to accompany me and the kids on this trip. You were the one who suggested it."

Without blinking and apparently with not a care in the world, Blanchard cleared his throat. "Yes, and I meant that- but only as a volunteer. I was very specific when I mentioned the budget was going to barely cover your salary, Regina. Trust me, I wish I could give you more, but the truth of the matter is that we don't have funding for more than what I offered at first."

Unbelievable, she wanted to say. But she was sure that if she let that word roll out of her tongue, her tone was going to come full of venom, and that was not the approach she wanted to take. She didn't want to be accused of being hysterical by the man sitting in front of her, that's why she needed to play things smart.

"Alright-" She started to say, calmly. Yes, she was mad about the way the man was trying to sabotage the trip before it even started, but she tried not to let it show. Quite the contrary: she wanted to act with the same composure that had always characterized her in her field of work.

Unfortunately, she didn't think she was doing a good job with that with her appearance. Her jaw was clenched, her eyes felt too wide on her face, and she was sure that the vein in her forehead was popping in that annoying way she hated so much.

Still, she didn't let that stop her from what she wanted to say. "I will talk to the Board. I'm sure that if I explain why it is so important that I don't take these kids on my own all the way to New York, they will understand." Actually, if she talked to them, maybe she could get a couple more teachers for the trip. She knew the school's higher-ups were extremely strict when it came to safety protocols, and in her mind, this was a matter of keeping those kids safe and well-kept.

At her words, Blanchard moved forward in his chair, his face distorting in a way that was almost funny. It didn't tickle her humor though, so instead of feeling satisfied with the way he seemed disturbed by her intentions, she just lifted her chin, waiting…

"No… no, there is no need to bother them with these simple matters. We can solve it here, alright? I mean-" He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "They were not too fond of releasing the money for this to begin with, so I don't want them to cancel the trip for this little inconvenience. I think we can both agree on that."

Regina wouldn't call what was going on a little inconvenience, but the man was right about one thing, she had already told the kids about the trip and by then, they were all on their way home, excited and with their permission slips ready to be signed by their parents. She would hate to give them the news that the trip was cancelled, so she was willing to resolve the issue right then and there.

"How do we solve it?"

Puffing out a breath, the man looked everywhere but directly at her face. "Well, we can compromise. Instead of sending you on a plane, we can send you on the school bus."

"To New York?" Regina gave emphasis to her words, her eyebrow arching. "I don't think that old thing will get us out of Storybrooke safely, so how do you expect it to get us past Maine?"

"We still have money left in the budget for any repairs the bus needs, so I'll make Leroy check it over first thing in the morning and tune it up. This of course still leaves us a little tight with resources. What we save in plane tickets, we'll spend it on Locksley and now someone to get you all there. That's without mentioning the extra time you will waste driving back and forth, so once again… my offer still stands. I can go and it will not affect the budget in any way because I'll cover my own expenses. Actually, I already booked a room in my name. It's a suite, big enough for two people so we can share. The ones the Board was able to afford were a little below standard. I'll email you the details."

Regina tried to keep her reaction neutral and not show the cold shiver that rose up her spine as soon as he suggested such a thing, but for all her efforts, the corner of her lip still quivered. Her eyes were blazing too because really, if he thought she was going to let him take over this trip he was very wrong. Sure, the room sharing comment threw her up in ways she couldn't explain, but she didn't want to believe he meant it in the way her mind was warning her against.

Just in case, she decided to make things a little more clearer for him: she didn't want him on this trip, in any capacity. "That won't be necessary, we'll take the bus. Oh but don't worry, you still have time to cancel that reservation. Most hotels give you a refund if you do it with enough time."

Chuckling nervously, Leopold Blanchard tapped his fingers on the desk. "I'll keep it, just in case you end up needing me to go."

"I doubt I will." Her lips curved in a sneer as she spoke, her tone firm and decided. If things got really bad and she lost Locksley to this inconvenience, she would rather go alone. "Anyhow, I'll be expecting the email with the details of the hotel and the rest of the arrangements. The sooner I have this information, the better. I want to start making a schedule."

Leopold's expression morphed, his eyes darkened and his jaw clenched. "Of course. I'll tell the secretary to send you all the information."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me." With that said, Regina got to her feet and without sparing the man another glance, she walked out of his office.

She moved out of instinct, her legs taking her down the corridor automatically. It was a good thing that school was over for the day and the building was pretty much deserted, because the last thing she needed in that moment was for students or worse, the other teachers to see her so riled up. Luckily for her, that didn't happen and she was able to move unseen.

When she finally got to her classroom, she slammed the door shut and ran her hands through her hair, her nails scratching her scalp a little too hard.

She couldn't help it, despite the fact that her mind was trying to calm her down by telling her that things actually turned out better than what Leopold probably intended, she was furious. She rarely reached such high levels of anger, but after her meeting with the school principal, she was overcome with a sense of repressed rage boiling within her that was hard to control. It was even making her tremble, and as she paced the length of the room, all she could think about was how the man was making things even more difficult for her. Not only that, but he had actually expected her to share a room with him as well!

With the shock of the moment gone and her head hot, her mind wanted her to be on the lookout, because what if his intentions went beyond him simply wanting to control the trip? What if he was expecting something more personal with that offer?

She didn't know what kind of game he was trying to play with her, but just thinking about his possible wretched intentions was enough to make her stomach turn.

Maybe she was reading too much into things because really, he couldn't be planning to make a move on her on a trip where his daughter was going to be, right? No, he couldn't… it would be sick and despite all the reservations she had when it came to him, she didn't want to believe he would sink so low. Still, it took her at least half an hour to lower her revolutions.

Even though, when the knock on her door came, her blood was still simmering as it ran through her veins and her temples were pounding.

"I swear that if it's him..." She hissed under her breath, turning on her feet and opening the door harshly. "What?" She snapped before she could even get a look at the person standing on the other side.

Now, as soon as the word was blurted out, Locksley, who happened to be the one knocking, cringed. For this, Regina closed her eyes, taking a deep breath that was supposed to calm her even more.

"Is this a bad time?" He asked.

Regina wasn't sure if his tone was amused or tentative. Something in the timbre of his voice made her almost sure it was the first one, which didn't sit well with her. She let it go though, as this was definitely not the time to start a rift with the only possible ally she had in this situation.

Calling him out could end up being counterproductive, so lifting a hand and rubbing her fingers to the bridge of her nose, she opened her eyes. She kept her stare down though, for some reason focusing on his watch.

"No, it's fine, I just…" Cutting her words short, she moved aside, a clear invitation for him to walk in. He did, allowing Regina to close the door again.

"I won't take much of your time. I just felt like I needed to let you know that our dear principal sent his secretary to tell me I had been scheduled to help the senior class with some kind of activity they have this Saturday."

Regina couldn't help it: as soon as Locksley said that, she turned to him, frowning. She was sure her face fell as she did this, leaving herself raw and exposed.

For a second, all she could do was look at him, her eyes lost in the blue of his stare. Now sure, she might be caught up looking at his face, but the reality was that her mind was on a journey outside her body. She was trying to digest this new development, her mind trying to decipher why the hell was Blanchard so adamant about ruining this trip. What was he really trying to do?

Before she could find an answer to that question, Regina shook her head and went back to reality, snorting and walking to her desk. In that moment, her walls went high up again and she tried to hide the wave of disappointment that wanted to wash over her. "Of course he did."

Sitting down, she watched Locksley sigh deeply. He was still standing in the same spot, his eyes still fixed on hers. "I obviously sent a message back telling him I couldn't do it, as my entire weekend was compromised with Ms. Mills' advanced chemistry class."

Her back straightened, and despite her lingering bad humor, she chuckled. "You did?"

The history teacher shrugged, walking to her desk and sitting on a chair by the side of it. "I mean… it's not like I'm ecstatic about jumping on a plane with a bunch of adolescents and parading them around New York City, but I'm a man of my word. I told you I was going to do it and I will. The only thing I ask in return is that you give me a heads up and tell me if I'm stepping into the middle of a feud here. You know, between you and Blanchard. I don't want any trouble."

Pushing herself to the back of the chair, Regina blinked, the weight of the question falling hard on her. Her instinct was telling her to say no, because there really wasn't a feud… but the truth was that she wasn't so sure anymore.

Who knew? Maybe Blanchard was aware of her intentions of getting his position and was now trying to sabotage her? That wouldn't surprise her, he most likely than not had someone else in mind to fill his shoes and because she was the strongest contender in the school, he probably wanted to make her fail this. The Board would know if she did so there it was: a motive. It sounded ridiculous but damn it, what he was doing to prevent the trip's success was starting to feel personal and this was the only logical explanation.

"Of course there is no feud. Why would there be?"

Locksley's blue eyes widened as he tapped a finger to his lips. "I don't know. I mean, I don't want to pry, but sometimes these things happen."

"What things?" She asked, her voice low and kind of throaty. It was strange, but she wasn't sure if they were on the same page anymore.

"Well… you know, things?" His brows furrowed, and for once, he looked a bit uncomfortable.

Clearing her throat and feeling like they were going in circles, Regina leaned forward. She could see in his posture that he was hesitant and maybe regretting signing up for this, so she was going to be honest with him and then let him decide. If at the end he chose not to go, then so be it. There was not much to lose anyway.

"Listen. There is no feud per se, but I won't lie. For some reason, Blanchard is pulling his strings to make this trip turn into a nightmare for me. Among other little details, he is making us go on the school bus now, which means it won't be as smooth as I first told you . So, if you don't want to go I'll understand."

Robin sucked in a breath, his fingers moving down his jaw. "A school bus? Wow, it will take a good five hours to get to New York in one of those wretched things."

"I googled it. It's seven hours and seventeen minutes. Taking into consideration that our bus is falling apart, I estimate that it will take longer." Regina admitted, much to her regret.

"I see," Robin replied, letting his hand drop over her desk. Regina watched the movement expectantly. "And you have Killian Jones in your class?"

Knowing where this was going, Regina lifted an elbow to her desk and then pressed her forehead to the palm of her hand. She tried not to be biased with any of her students, but the truth was that the boy was a little shit. He was problematic, arrogant, and more often than not, confrontational. "Yes."

Laughing, Robin leaned a bit forward. "How? Isn't your class advanced chemistry? That lad can't possibly be a talented genius… or is he?"

Regina couldn't help it; she chuckled, her head moving from left to right. It was weird, but all of a sudden, she didn't feel as mad as she had been before. Yes, her anger was scratching the surface, waiting to be released, but she was able to push it down and concentrate instead on the easiness of this man's laugh. "I'm pretty sure he cheats on his exams, because in class he is a disaster. It's too bad I can't for the life of me prove it."

Flashing one of his dimpled smiles her way, Locksley bit his lips, his eyes shining as he looked at her straight on. "I'll go. It has always been my dream to go on a school trip from hell. It will keep me on my toes wondering what could go wrong. Will the bus break? Will there be a fight? Will we forget one of the kids at a rest stop and then have to go back for him? Because if that actually happens, it will be Jones, I know it."

Before she could hold it back, a groan erupted out of her. "That's not going to happen, Locksley, not if I'm there."

Humming, he smiled again. "You never know."

Regina wanted to smile back, the relief she felt by the fact that he was still going too latent to ignore. But she didn't want to come off as desperate, so she kept her usual composure. Besides, he was wrong about this, and smiling could make him think that she didn't trust her own ability to control each and every single detail of this trip. "Trust me, I know."

"Alright then, I'll trust your word and take this will be the perfect boring trip then. Shame."

Regina narrowed her eyes, trying to decipher if he was joking or not. He probably was, after all he was smirking, his eyes warning her with a mischievous glint that he could be trouble if she let him. He was too charming and he knew it, and since experience had taught her that a man with those assets was a threat to her peace of mind, she decided she needed to be careful.

"It will be a perfect, and very safe trip."

Locksley nodded, the smile still in place. "Anyway, do you need help with anything? I can make myself useful now that I'm here."

Blinking slowly, Regina was about to tell him that she could do this on her own, but the truth was that she wanted to be done with this before going home to Henry, so sure, why not accept the extra pair of hands?

"Actually, I was thinking of doing something with the kids once we were there. The ceremony at the museum ends early, so that means we can take them around to do some sightseeing in the evening. Some of them have never been out of Storybrooke so they'll probably enjoy it. Any ideas about what we could do? I haven't been there myself in years so I might be out of the loop."

"Well… there are quite a few things to do there…"

For the good part of the next half hour, the two of them exchanged and rejected some ideas. Locksley remained on point for the most part, but every once in a while he would throw out a random comment about how the trip could end up being less than perfect, making her lips purse and her eyes narrow.

In reality, Regina didn't mind much. After being so pissed off earlier on, the easiness that he had to make her forget about Leopold's shenanigans was refreshing. But because she was not going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that she was not as annoyed as she wanted him to believe, she brushed each and every one of those comments away.

It was only when she was about to call it a day that the conversation started to drift from simple planning and onto other things.

"You know, I've been hearing a lot about the great and terrible Ms. Mills for a while now, but from this angle, the terrible moniker seems somewhat of an understatement. Focused and a little fervent maybe, but not terrible."

Lifting her eyes to him, Regina hummed. "Well, I'm not exactly feeling in my element today. But don't worry, by the next time you see me, you won't like me that much."

"No? And why is that? Are you going to make me drive the bus?"

Taking a deep breath, Regina covered the smile that wanted to break out of her lips with a grimace. "No, I won't. But as soon as Lucas and Blue know you are tagging along with me on this trip, they'll fill your head with even more tales. That is if they haven't already. Maybe I'll be cranky too, and that won't help."

"You mean, there's a superior level of cranky to you than what I saw today? No offense, but I thought you were going to bite my head off when you opened that door."

Scoffing and maybe a bit ashamed of that behavior, Regina pushed the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue. "Well, that was a nine on my scale of cranky. It could be worse, I can get to a whole ten."

"Oh, no… please not a ten, that's scary."

"It is." She said, her voice low. It wasn't true though, because despite her reputation, she rarely got as angry as she was earlier, let alone on school grounds, but Locksley didn't know that. He probably bit into all the rumors running around about her so why not throw more wood to that fire.

It didn't seem to work though, because after her words were said, he looked anything but thrown off. Actually, she was pretty sure he was amused.

"And here I was thinking that maybe Blue had it against you because you ate her yogurt once."

At this, Regina snorted, her intentions of playing to her reputation crumbling. She let it go with a shrug. "To tell you the truth, I don't know why Blue or any of the other teachers have it against me. It's just the way it is. I don't mind, I don't like to mingle anyway."

For several seconds, Robin studied her, tapping his fingers over the wooden surface of the desk. If she didn't know any better, she would say he was debating whether or not he should speak. At the end, he did. "If you want my opinion, from what I've gathered, they act like that with you because they think Blanchard favors you, and that you have some sort of advantage over them because of it. Their grudge comes out of pettiness."

"Now that's ridiculous! Come on, I wouldn't call what Blanchard puts me through an advantage. I have more classes than anyone in this school for the same salary, my lab hasn't been updated in I don't even know how long, and yet I am the one he pressures to no end, so how is that having any kind of advantage over them?"

Locksley lifted his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying what I've heard. I don't have any opinion on whatever relationship you and Blanchard have or had, and how it plays in your work, alright? It's not my business."

Opening her mouth to reply but unable to utter a word, Regina gasped. Her mind was out of control, going at full speed and making it impossible for her to think straight. When she was able to gather her wits and form a coherent thought, she closed her eyes, one finger pointed at him because no- he couldn't mean what she thought he meant, right?

"What do you mean by relationship?"

"I didn't mean anything. Like I said, it's not my business, I don't want to pry in your personal life."

Her eyes opened, letting Regina notice how Locksley looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but there. "No it isn't, but it is my business and I want to know what you meant. Do you think I have some sort of relationship with Blanchard?"

Scratching hard behind his ear, Locksley twisted his lips. "It's not what I think, it's what people say."

Sucking in a breath and shaking her head no, Regina pressed her knuckles to her lips. Her brain was telling her that she should be mad about this, that she should stand up, walk into the teacher's lunch room and riot, because who in their right mind could be spreading such horrible rumors? It was disgusting.

She should be raging, but instead she was overcome with a sudden coldness that left her exhausted. She could even swear she was feeling her blood turning into ice.

"Who is saying that?"

Breathing in, the British native just looked at her, his eyes no longer shining with mischief. She didn't give him time to reply before she was speaking again.

"Because it's not true. I mean… the man could be my father… and he's disgusting… and creepy. Oh my God. It was Blue, right? Or Lucas… I know it was one of them. They are unbelievable."

Not exactly knowing what she wanted to do, Regina got to her feet. She even started walking, her eyes set on the door. However, before she could get there, she felt someone grabbing her elbow and making her turn around.

"Hey, wait… hold your horses right there. Whatever you want to do, I can tell you right now, it's not a good idea."

Regina blew out a breath, her eyes digging into the ocean blue staring back at her. "I'm going to tell them."

"No. Come here," he said, guiding her back to her chair and making her sit. "I won't let you get to your scary ten. It's not worth it. They'll talk no matter if it's true or not, so let them, because whatever they say, the fact remains that your work speaks for itself."

Regina wanted to refute him, to tell him that this was not how things worked. But the truth was that he was right. If she went to those two witches and told them she was not sleeping with Blanchard and that she never will, she would just be feeding into the rumors. She didn't want that. She didn't even want to think about this anymore.

"You know what? To tell you the truth, I never really bought those rumors. It seemed highly unlikely anyway."

Turning her face toward him, Regina blurted out a dry chuckle. "You're lying."

Locksley clicked his tongue and sat back on the chair he was in before. "Well, maybe a little. But I didn't want to believe it. That must count for something, yeah?"

Feeling an incomprehensible need to hear why someone could feel the same sense of incomprehension at the thought of her being involved with a vile creature like Leopold Blanchard, Regina searched his eyes. "Why didn't you want to believe it?"

"Oh, I don't know… for reasons, I guess."

"What reasons?"

Clearing his throat and smiling once again that smile of his that had no right to make her feel better, her fellow teacher crossed a leg over his knee. "Well you know, just reasons. Good reasons, sensible ones. I don't think you need to hear it. Especially not now."

"Maybe I do."

For a fraction of a second, Regina could swear she detected a slight blush on the man's features. It could be the lighting though, because he didn't seem to miss a beat as he replied. "I just thought it wasn't right that an old creepy bastard scored such a beautiful woman. But what can I say? I've seen worse things happen with these eyes."

This time, it was her who blushed. She felt the heat run from her neck to her forehead. "You were right, I didn't need to hear that."

"I told you."

Straightening her back and leaning forward, Regina looked away from the intensity of his stare. "So, Locksley… are you going to make yourself useful or what? Tell me what there is to see in Central Park that the kids would like."

"You can call me Robin. If we are going to dive into this… perfectly safe trip together, I'd rather not be hearing Locksley this and Locksley that. Makes me feel old."

Chewing the inside of her cheek a little too hard, Regina sighed. She wanted to say that she would rather keep things professional, but something in her brain betrayed her and instead of keeping the walls she had fought so hard to keep in place when she was working, she did something awful and yet so simple. "Regina… just not in front of the kids."

As soon as she said it, she regretted it because seriously... they were going to always be in front of the kids so what if he was now thinking she was implying otherwise? God, she was sometimes so stupid!

"Alright then, Regina." Robin smiled, but then going back in business, he took his phone out and started to talk about their options.

Regina watched in silence, her senses on edge as he pulled his chair closer to hers. She tried not to get too wrapped up in his closeness though, or in the lingering scent of his cologne as it hit her nose. She focused instead on other things: for example, as she tried to act nonchalant, her eyes got invested in the way his fingers worked on his phone. Because of this, when he unlocked the device, she got a glimpse of his background picture, which was him with a boy who couldn't be more than five. She couldn't take a good look because he was quickly browsing things to show her, and she couldn't lie, she was curious.

Was that his kid? Was he married? He had no ring, but that didn't mean much...

These sudden and senseless questions stirred something in her, she wasn't sure what it was, but it prompted her to lift her eyes to his face, letting herself take on his features as he talked: from the way there was a light stubble covering his jaw, going on to the shadow casted by his eyelashes over his cheekbones, and ending with that distracting habit he had of sinking his teeth to the bottom of his lip.

It was then that she confirmed her previous intuition: yes, she needed to be careful with this one, because he could end up being trouble for her...