A/N: Decided to skip over Fruit of The Poisonous Tree. Please forgive me and not judge me for that decision, but this is pretty much part of Skin Deep if you couldn't already tell by the title of the chapter and there will be a major and big conclusion in the chapter after this as a follow-up to both the episode and what happens later on and in between what is my favorite season 1 episode of the show. That's about all I can say, and now... On with the chapter!
It was the middle of February in Storybrooke. Henry and Evie were both sharing some breakfast which was waffles with some syrup and fruit on them. Evie entered the kitchen as she stacked a pile of cards and envelopes that were going to be sealed and delivered as she and Henry finished up breakfast before getting ready for school that day.
"There, we have Valentine cards for all our favorite people." Evie smiled at her little brother.
"I even made one for Ms. Blanchard." Henry smiled back.
"Oh, that sounds nice," Evie replied even though Regina seemed to be annoyed about Ms. Blanchard being given a Valentine. "Do you remember what it says?"
"'Roses are red, Violets are blue, It's fun to be taught by you'." Henry memorized before he bit into his waffle.
"Did you write that?" Evie asked. "Ya know, it's more personal if you write a poem yourself."
"Nah, it was just on the card," Henry shrugged. "I'm not good at writing or making stuff up."
"Well... That's okay. You'll find it in your heart someday when you're older," Evie said with a small smile. "You haven't forgotten anyone?"
"Nope, I've checked my list," Henry said with a nod. "I guess the easy thing about Valentine's Day when you're my age is that everybody must get a card no matter what."
"That's true," Evie said softly. "I hope you have a good day in school at least."
"I hope you do too, Evie," Henry replied. "Without the teenage drama at least anyway."
Evie smiled and nodded as she stacked up her cards while Henry did the same as they finished up their breakfast.
"You two better get ready for school." Regina suggested.
"We're on our way, Mom," Evie smiled. "We'll see you later."
"Yeah. Bye, Mom." Henry added.
"See you later," Regina nodded to her children. "Have a good day."
Evie and Henry then took their cards as they stood up and grabbed their backpacks to head down to school as it was a weekday of course.
Meanwhile, Ben was shown to be visiting a certain place known as Game of Thorns which was Storybrooke's flower shop.
"Good morning, Ben." Moe French, the owner, greeted the boy.
"Good morning, Mr. French," Ben nodded with a small smile. "You have a very lush and wonderful looking collection today."
"Ah, indeed I do, gotta get ready for Valentine's Day," Moe chuckled warmly to the boy. "It's the biggest day of the year for my shop."
"I can only imagine." Ben nodded.
"Would you like a bouquet for the prettiest girl in school?" Moe soon suggested. "I hear you're quite the ladies' man in your school."
"Oh, uh, I wouldn't call myself a ladies' man," Ben said as he blushed sheepishly. "Though a lot of girls do like me."
"You think you might ever take a break from homework or working in your old man's store to find time to have a girlfriend?" Moe then asked him.
"Oh, uh, I don't know if I'll ever have a girlfriend..." Ben said bashfully. "I just don't think I have enough time in my schedule for one. However I would like to have one rose."
"Just one rose?" Moe asked. "Who's the lucky lady then?"
"Heh... I don't know about lucky lady, but I've heard that in the hospital that there's this woman who's been locked up for a very long time and hasn't had any visitors," Ben chuckled before he smiled softly. "I'd love to go down to see her, but I need to be escorted by an adult and Dad's too busy to let me go see her. I don't know who she is, but... I feel a little bad for her, ya know? Kinda like this one girl I keep seeing in my dreams."
"Well, you have a big heart and it makes me proud to see a young man like yourself thinking of others nowadays," Moe nodded as he went to get a rose just for Ben. "Also, you see a girl in your dreams? Is she pretty?"
"She looks beautiful... I'm not sure who she is when I wake up, but I know that I have to help her somehow," Ben nodded. "I feel like the answer's looking me right in the face, but I guess that's just one of life's mysteries. Though whenever I see her in my dreams, I make it my personal mission to help those in need since that girl always cries out for help to me."
"That's very good of you, Ben," Moe nodded. "Would you like a red rose?"
"Yes, of course," Ben replied. "Thank you, Mr. French." he then held out a dollar to pay for the single red rose.
"Well, I hope this mysterious patient at the hospital you keep trying to visit enjoys it," Moe said as he held out the rose for Ben and took the dollar. "Let's hope that it doesn't get tarnished while you're in school."
"Let's hope," Ben nodded as he traded his money for the rose and smiled as he took a sniff of the flower. "Ah, that smells so nice~"
"You have a nice day now, Ben, and get yourself to school." Moe then said as he put the money in his register.
"Yes, sir!" Ben said as he turned away and soon walked right into a certain girl and they both instantly fell on the floor together. He then groaned as he rubbed his head before looking over to see the fallen girl he ran into. "Oh, no! Sorry!" he then said.
"Meh... It doesn't matter..." Mal scoffed as she brushed herself off and looked over at him. "Say... You're Ben Gold from school."
"Uh... Yeah..." Ben smiled bashfully as he looked away from her. "And you must be Mal... Uh... Um... Erm..."
"Draconis." Mal said for him.
"Mal Draconis... Right..." Ben then said with a nod. "I knew that."
"Sure ya did, King of Storybrooke High," Mal smirked. "Do you always crash into girls on your way to school, Ben Gold?"
"No, as a matter of fact, I'm often self-conscious about that thing," Ben replied, trying to sound proud and calm in the situation. "And... Um... What are you doing here?" he then asked her.
"Just killing some time until school starts," Mal shrugged as she grunted and struggled to get up on her feet as Ben began to kneel on his knees to stand up on his feet. "Ugh... Shit..." she then muttered.
"Here, let me help you up." Ben offered as he bent down a little in his stance to hold out his hand to her.
"That's okay, I get myself up..." Mal said, though her actions seemed to tell otherwise.
"...I insist," Ben said before he reached out and held out his hand to Mal. "You're like a turtle on its back."
"Oh, gee, that's what every girl wants to hear. That she looks just like a turtle." Mal smirked before she grasped his hand suddenly anyway.
"Oh, no, I didn't mean it like-" Ben replied nervously as he took Mal's hand and he suddenly looked into her emerald eyes and he looked a little wide-eyed himself before he looked at her funny. "...That."
Mal just looked at him a little blankly, almost as though she had the same look in Ben's hazel eyes. The two were just looking at each other for a few moments before they stood up next to each other. It was almost as though they had the same thoughts in their minds. They had glanced at and seen each other around school and heard of each other obviously, but this was the first time they had properly interacted with each other. Ben soon looked over and picked up his rose and Mal instantly backed up.
"Oh, uh... I'm not into roses that much..." Mal said as she backed up and headed for the door.
"Huh? Oh! No, no, this is for-" Ben covered up nervously as he saw that she saw his flower for the hospital.
"I gotta get to school!" Mal said before she opened the door and rushed out rather quickly.
"No! Wait! Let me-" Ben cried out before it was too late as she just kept on running. "...Help you," he then finished with a sigh before shaking his head. "I just wanna help you, Mal..."
"Teenage girls... They can be rather tricky sometimes..." Moe said to Ben. "Don't let that one girl get you down though. You don't need to waste too much time with her."
"Yeah... I guess..." Ben said before he shook his head and straightened himself out a little. "Thanks again for the rose, Mr. French. I need to get to school."
"Very well," Moe nodded as he let the boy get going. "You have a good day now."
"You too, sir," Ben replied before he headed out the door and decided to run along to school. He then held his head as some images suddenly ran through his brain and he shook his head a little. "That was weird... Looked like I was just in that old fairy tale Dad used to read me about the beautiful girl and that beast that held her hostage."
"Beauty and the Beast?" Moe prompted the teen boy as he couldn't help but overhear that.
"...Nah, that's not it," Ben shrugged and shook his head before he headed right out the door. "Well, see ya later, Mr. French."
"Much later, Ben." Moe nodded as he let the boy run along then.
Ben held onto his rose and gave a small smile. "Let's hope you survive a day of school so I can bring you to that mystery, lonely woman after school today." he then said before he went to head over to his father's car.
Mr. Gold sat and waited before looking over to his son as he opened and closed the door before buckling himself in. "What took you so long?" he asked his son. "You told me you would be in and out in a minute so you won't be late for school."
"S-Sorry, Dad..." Ben replied bashfully. "I ran into this one girl."
"A girl, huh?" Mr. Gold asked as he started the car to drop off Ben at school before he would open his shop for the day. "You go to school with her?"
"Uh, yeah..." Ben nodded. "It was Mal Draconis."
"Mal Draconis... Sounds like a very interesting girl..." Mr. Gold nodded before he smiled softly with a light chuckle. "Just like your mother."
Ben looked over as that made him look thoughtful. "...Tell me something about her?" he then asked.
"Who? Your mother?" Mr. Gold asked as he drove them to the high school.
"Come on, Dad. You can't expect me to believe that the stork just dropped me off in front of your doorstop 16 years ago forever," Ben replied. "Tell me a little bit about my mother. I don't even remember her. First I have a mysterious mother and then a mysterious brother, so please... If you can't tell me about my brother, tell me about Mom."
Mr. Gold sighed before he gave his son a small look with a firm pout on his face. "Well, for one thing, you remind me so much of her," he then said with a small smile. "She was often braver than she thought she was or even needed to be. She was a firm believer of what she was doing was right and would often try to see the man behind the monster. The beauty behind the beast."
"Beauty behind the beast..." Ben repeated softly. "...Like that old fairy tale you used to read to me when I was little."
"Yes, that was always your favorite as a little boy," Mr. Gold chuckled warmly. "You used to always ask me 'Can I wanna read The Beast, Papa?'."
Ben smiled bashfully at his father's recollection of a childhood memory. "...Whatever happened to her?" he then asked.
"I... I don't know..." Mr. Gold said with a soft sigh. "...She disappeared on me sometime after you were born."
"Oh..." Ben said softly before he looked down at his feet a little.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, Benjamin," Mr. Gold told his son calmly.
Doug was soon shown to be finishing up something. It was a Valentine's Day card for a certain someone. It was a pink card that had a big red heart on it with a purple ribbon around the heart and he tried to adjust the ribbon as it looked wrong to him, though when he pulled on the ribbon, it messed the whole ribbon up, so he began to look discouraged suddenly and it even fell on the floor.
"Oh, crud..." Doug mumbled to himself before he bent down to pick the ribbon up to fix it up a little.
"Hey, Doug!" Evie smiled as she came up behind the boy.
Doug yelped as he dropped his card and tried to pick it up before he quickly hid it behind his back.
"What do you think of these?" Evie asked as she showed a couple of boxes to him and inside was a rather large heart-shaped cookie with different colored icing hearts in the cookies.
"T-They're very nice, Evie..." Doug said nervously and bashfully.
"But which do you think Henry would like the best?" Evie asked him.
"Well... Uh..." Doug just stammered in response.
"This one with the red icing or this purple one?" Evie then asked him.
"Uh... Um... I think he likes red." Doug then said as he kept trying to hide his card away from her.
Evie then glanced at the boy curiously. "...Doug. What are you hiding?" she then asked as she tried to look behind his back, but he kept trying to keep her from taking a look at what he had.
"Um... Uh... Nothing?" Doug replied before he backed up against his locker. He then gasped as he dropped his card on the floor and now it was in front of Evie's feet.
Evie giggled a little with a small smirk. "Who's that pretty Valentine for?" she then asked him innocently.
"Oh, it's... Uh... Well..." Doug stammered nervously as he quickly picked it up and ran away from her. "I need to go to the bathroom!"
"Oh... Okay..." Evie said to him before nodding. "See ya later then, Doug," she then looked at both desserts before nodding. "Yes, I think Henry would like red too actually." she then decided before she walked off.
Ginger smiled as she saw Evie and the two girls talked to each other a little bit as Evie bought the dessert for her little brother as a special Valentine's Day treat.
"How do you feel about that pie contest in Culinary Class?" Evie asked.
"Still very nervous," Ginger replied. "Thank you for having faith in me though."
"What're friends for?" Evie smiled warmly. "I know you'll do just fine, plus Nicholas and Ava are also there to support you now too."
"Thank you again, Evie," Ginger smiled back. "You're such a good friend."
"I try to be anyway." Evie nodded.
Mal narrowed her eyes as she watched Evie and Ginger interact and even looked grossed out about Ginger calling Evie "a good friend". She then lingered back into the hallways and kept to herself a bit, sticking her tongue out as everybody else was under the schoolwide epidemic that was Valentine's Day. She was given a black rose in her locker though from someone who called himself 'Mr. Z' and she just rolled her eyes as though she already knew who that actually was, but decided not to act on it. She just wanted this stupid holiday to be over with already and wasn't sure why everybody was making such a big fuss over it. Besides, it wasn't a whole lot of fun like Halloween as she loved that holiday and would much rather prefer it over this one any old day.
Doug was still fumbling over himself a little over his Valentine as he was trying to wait for the right time and place to give it to Evie. He also hoped that it would probably help her get over Chad and his charmless behavior of just using her for homework and test answers and secretly, he really hoped and wished he could be her Prince Charming instead of that blonde mophead. "Roses are red... Violets are blue... Sugar is sweet... Evie Mills is too," he muttered to himself before smiling as he closed the card in his hands. "Oh, I hope that she loves it."
Chad was soon shown before he chuckled right behind the rather geeky boy.
"Oh! Chad!" Doug gasped and hid the Valentine behind his hands nervously.
"Oh, if it isn't the Romeo of Storybrooke?" Chad smirked.
"Uh... What are you doing here?" Doug asked him.
"What does it look like?" Chad scoffed as he took out his phone. "I'm trying to get a good signal so I can post some selfies before lunch break. There's never enough bars in this old dump..." he then just glanced at the bespectacled boy who just stood there. "Well, are you just going to stand there or are you going to give it to Evie?" he then asked with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Oh! I-I could never do that!" Doug gasped and panicked instantly. "What if she sees me?"
"Derek... You're in trouble..." Chad teased.
"It's Doug... You know me... We all know each other, we all grew up together in Storybrooke!" Doug corrected and reminded firmly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever..." Chad rolled his eyes as he decided to try to take some pictures on his phone as he grinned as handsomely as he could before he turned over and heard some giggling. He then looked over and saw that Evie was coming out of the girls' bathroom and was heading over to her locker. "Hmm... I could use some revenge after getting kicked off of my teams..." he then paused before smirking once he saw the girl who was responsible for his grades slipping and getting him in trouble even though we all know that was just some karma doing its work.
Doug was shown to still be looking and feeling unsure as he held onto his card, trying to remain calm. He still stammered a bit and really wanted Evie to like this gift.
"Ah... I was thinking, Doug..." Chad said as he soon stepped over to the rather nerdy boy. "I might just be able to help you out with that Valentine.
"Oh... Would you?" Doug asked, sounding very hopeful.
Chad smirked and nodded before Doug then handed over the Valentine and Chad went to walk on away with it. "Hey... Can I talk with you?" he then asked once he saw Evie go to her locker.
"Go away, Chad!" Evie complained and firmly pouted. "I'm not helping you with homework anymore or having any more study dates with you ever again."
"Oh... Too bad..." Chad shrugged as he began to turn around a bit. "You won't want this then."
"...What?" Evie asked as she glanced at him while getting her books ready for her next class.
"Hm? Oh... Nothing." Chad shrugged as he held onto the card.
"What? Chad! Show me!" Evie said as she came to take a look.
Chad smirked before he decided to show her the card. "It's a Valentine!~" he soon told her.
"A Valentine? ...For me?" Evie asked softly before she put her hand to her heart, sounding rather surprised.
Chad chuckled before handing it to her then. "Why not?" he said sneakily. "Friends do nice things for each other and we've known each other such a long time."
Evie accepted the card and began to take a look at it, blushing at the poem written inside. Soon, Chad simply walked away and he came back over to Doug who was rather frantic.
"What did she say? Did she like it? Does she know it was from me?" Doug asked Chad rather rapidly.
"Yes... She liked it..." Chad replied slyly.
Doug gave him a bit of a look. "You don't sound sure." he then replied.
"Well... I think she was expecting... More than just a Valentine." Chad said, trying to sound casual.
"More than a Valentine?!" Doug yelped before he sighed and shrugged. "But... Well... What?"
Chad smirked as he still looked sneaky. "Douglas, my friend... It's your lucky day. Just leave it all to me." he then said as he put his arm over Doug's shoulder and decided to take him for a walk.
Later on, Evie was walking along as she was looking over the Valentine again and again with a lot on her mind after getting it from Chad, especially after what happened between them. "He must be sucking up to me to get me to help him again after what happened," she scoffed herself a bit. "It just doesn't make any sense."
"Maybe he just likes you..." Mal spoke up, startling Evie a little bit making her look over to the other girl. "I'm not sure why... Even if you're both smart and beautiful which is rare in high school."
"Um... Thanks, I think, Mal?" Evie replied.
"Learn to take the compliment, Blueberry!" Mal scoffed and crossed her arms. "You just always gotta have your way, don't you, Evie? Being The Princess of Storybrooke since your mother is The Queen of Storybrooke?"
"...My mother is not a queen," Evie said softly. "Mal, why do you have to pick on me? I never did anything to you."
"You know what you did," Mal glared. "I bet you're not even brave enough to go out to that Teen Night that Carlos is gonna host while Jane and the nuns go out for the night. Probably too scared about getting in trouble with Queen Mommy."
Evie narrowed her eyes. "Well, maybe some people don't need to get their way by getting in trouble all the time and insulting people." she then retorted.
"You don't scare me, Evie... Your mother might be in charge of Storybrooke, but that won't change what you did to me." Mal glared.
"Just tell me what I did and I'll say sorry!" Evie told her.
"You know what you did... You figure it out..." Mal glared. "I'm surprised you even want to go to a party with me."
"I can't apologize for something I never did unless you tell me." Evie then defended.
Mal shook her head as she glared. She then stormed right up to Evie and leaned over the other girl's shoulder to whisper coldly into her ear. "You know what? You figure it out on your own... Use that brain of yours. It'll come back to you before you know it," she then said firmly. "Come to Carlos' Hell-Raiser if you have the guts if I don't see you this weekend at that silly Sweetheart's Dance."
Evie shuddered and flinched as Mal whispered right into her ear before she firmly pouted. "Fine, Mal. You won't tell me what happened 10 years ago, I'll try to see what I can find out." she then said.
"Fine then." Mal glared.
"Fine." Evie glared back.
"Good~..." Mal then said with a rather scary smirk on her face.
Evie groaned as that disturbed her a little bit. Mal then shook her head and rolled her eyes before she decided to leave Evie alone with her thoughts then. Ben soon came into the hallway and looked over at Mal and looked hopeful about something. He then took out the rose he was going to give to the lonely patient in the hospital who had no visitors before he looked at the rose and took a deep breath before he decided to pursue Mal with it instead. After all, he could always get another rose from Mr. French as it was only one dollar for a single rose as opposed to a bouquet filled with roses.
Meanwhile, as the children were away in school, it was time for the adults to work. Moe was now unloading flowers out of his delivery van as two other men were watching him from the sidewalk.
"Well, this is just perfect," Mr. Gold smirked once he leaned on his cane at the sight of the other man. "I've been looking for you, Mr. French."
Moe quickly tensed up and looked nervous at the sight of him. "I'll have your money next week." he then said rather quickly.
"The terms of the loan were fairly specific," Mr. Gold retorted before facing the man by his side. "Take the van." he then commanded.
The man then went over to get into the driver's seat of the van, going to drive it away from the kindly and paternal florist.
"Wait! No! Tomorrow's Valentine's Day! It's the biggest day of-" Moe cried out, but his pleas only fell on deaf ears. "I've got a grand in roses in the back! Stop! You've got to let me sell them."
"I'm going to leave you two to continue this conversation." Mr. Gold retorted coldly.
"Oh, this is no way to do business, Gold. You are the lowest!" Moe complained. "People aren't going to put up with this! Why can't you be more like your son?"
Mr. Gold gave a steely-eyed glance in response to that. Moe then attempted to block the van, but was unsuccessful and soon, Mr. Gold's lackey drove away which prompted Mr. Gold to cross the street to run into Regina who had seen the whole thing.
"Mr. Gold. That was quite a show back there." Regina noted.
"Well, Mr. French is just having a bad day; happens to the best of us." Mr. Gold replied casually.
Regina nodded before she looked right at him. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something." she then requested.
"Yeah. And the moment you have something I want to discuss, we'll have that little chat." Mr. Gold replied firmly.
"No, we're going to do this now," Regina demanded. "It'll only take a moment."
However, Mr. Gold still wouldn't budge. "Is there something eating you, dear? Something you need to get out in the open? 'Cuz it's going to have to wait. Please." he then retorted, dangerously soft in his tone of voice.
Regina then suddenly backed down as Mr. Gold then decided to walk past her.
After school, while everybody was getting ready for the dance, Ben had other plans and in fact, he was told to run an errand for his father after school with some money for him to pick up a couple of things. He had to pick up some duct tape and rope which concerned Ben, though he knew better than to question whenever his father would ask him to do something for him. Once he found the items, he took out the money he got from his father and was about to go and check-out before looking over to see that David had a couple of Valentine's Day cards before he came to stand in line behind the boy.
"Good evening, Ben." David greeted.
"Huh?" Ben asked before he looked over. "Oh, good evening, Mr. Nolan."
"Good to see you, but isn't there a party that you wanna go to at school?" David smiled.
"Yeah... There is..." Ben said softly before he looked like he was sadly smiling.
"...Well, aren't you going to go?" David then asked.
"I can't," Ben explained. "Dad wants me to help out at his shop."
"Tonight of all nights?" David asked. "You should be allowed to go out and have fun. You're only young once."
"Yeah, sometimes I think he never was though..." Ben replied before chuckling before he looked wide-eyed and nervous. "Don't tell him that I said that, okay?"
"Your secret is safe with me." David said with a light chuckle as he found it funny too as he looked down at his Valentine's Day cards.
"Yours too, I guess," Ben said as he looked down. "You have two girlfriends or something?"
"Oh, no. I-I just couldn't decide." David said, though he seemed to be covering up a lie.
"...Interesting," Ben said with a shrug. "I got some things for my dad which I wanna ask about, but I'm also afraid to ask about."
"You probably shouldn't then," David suggested. "You know how your old man can be. Sorry you can't go out and enjoy Valentine's Day like other kids your age though."
"Ah, it's okay..." Ben shrugged. "I never really cared for it anyway."
"Hmm..." David paused as he wasn't too sure that Ben really thought that and was probably covering up his sadness about not being able to go out and enjoy Valentine's Day with his peers.
"I'll be okay, really," Ben told him. "Maybe next year... Or the year after... If Dad ever lets me go and have fun."
"Hopefully," David nodded. "...Is there anyone in school that you like?"
"Uh... It's... It's complicated..." Ben said before looking away.
"Ah..." David then said, taking that as code for something. "Don't wanna tell an uncool old man like me? I understand."
"No, no, it's not that," Ben smiled sheepishly. "It's just confusing... Girls, I mean... Sometimes."
"Oh, indeed," David nodded. "I'd say you'll understand someday when you're older... But I'm not sure if I understand them either."
Ben chuckled warmly. "I guess that's a good point, Mr. Nolan. Thanks for the talk though, it was nice talking to you." he then said.
"Nice talking to you too, Ben," David nodded. "Just remember to try and have a good day."
"I'll see what I can do," Ben said before it was time to check-out. "Talking to you was nice though. It's been complicated talking to my dad sometimes."
"I bet it was," David replied. "Well, maybe we can do it again someday."
"I think I'd like that." Ben said with a small smile before David came to check-out first.
David then came to the cashier who then sneezed. "Oh, bless you." he then told the man in charge of the pharmacy.
"Ah, thank you." Mr. Clark then said before blowing his nose.
Eventually, Ben soon came over to his father's shop with a bag from Dark Star Pharmacy. "Here you go, Dad," he then said as he gave the stuff over. "Any reason why you needed duct tape and rope?"
"That's on a need-to-know basis, Benjamin, and which by that I mean you don't need to know until you're older," Mr. Gold replied, being mysterious as always before he took a look at the time. "Hm... Just a little after 5:30."
"Yeah..." Ben nodded as he went to go to the broom. "I know, I know... I'll get to work until closing time, Dad, then I'll go back home and study my new vocabulary words."
Mr. Gold nodded to his son and was about to agree to that. He then thought about something and hummed thoughtfully. "...Benjamin?" he then called.
Ben took a hold of the broom handle before looking over. "Huh? Yeah, Dad?" he then answered.
Mr. Gold paused before he took a deep breath. "...You have something going on at school tonight, right?" he then asked.
"Ah... Yeah..." Ben nodded. "The Sweetheart's Dance. It seems a little cheesy, but a lot of kids wanna go hang out there. Probably just for free food and drinks..." he then shrugged. "No big deal."
Mr. Gold looked thoughtful. "...Why don't... Why don't you go out and join that tonight?" he then suggested.
"Huh?" Ben blinked. "You're letting me participate in a fun social ritual in school that doesn't involve studying until my brain leaks out of my ears or staying here to sweep up and dust the family shop?"
"...Yes," Mr. Gold said softly with a small smile and nod. "Why don't you just go out and have fun tonight? Y-You're... You're only young once after all."
"...Wow, Dad," Ben replied, sounding surprised and touched. "Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't offer if I wasn't sure," Mr. Gold told his son calmly before tossing him the house keys. "I-I'll lock up here after a while. You go out and have some fun with your friends and wear something nice. It's not dark outside yet, so you should be able to make it and make your way to school before it gets too dark."
"Oh... Cool... Really?" Ben beamed as he caught the house keys before he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "...Is this reverse psychology?"
"I promise, Benjamin, I want you to go out and have some fun with your friends," Mr. Gold reassured. "You stay out of trouble now."
"Okay, Dad..." Ben smiled before he hugged his father instantly. "Thanks!"
Mr. Gold smiled back as Ben did a little victory dance and he soon went to head out the door, rushing a bit in eager excitement. Ben even let out a big cheer and felt quite an aplomb as he went to get ready to go out tonight with some friends of his from school as he hadn't gotten out much ever since he became a teenager and his father was pretty much whipping him into scholar shape. He knew just what to pick out to wear as he often had fancier clothes than other students due to him and his father's reputation and looked very hopeful about going out and hanging out with friends and he also looked slightly hopeful about getting to know Mal better as there was something rather interesting about her to him.
Soon, Doug was shown to be thinking very long and hard about how to impress Evie while everyone else talked about The Valentine's Day Dance. A lot of the girls were very excited and some guys were eager about going too. However, no one was more excited or eager about being Valentines with just anyone in school except for maybe Doug who looked hopeful about being Evie's Valentine or vice versa. He also decided to put Chad's advice into good use about giving Evie more than just a Valentine, though he wondered if he would be able to afford a bouquet of roses from Mr. French's flower shop or not.
"I think I only have enough with one rose..." Doug pouted as he looked at his pocket money.
"Well, if that's all you can afford..." Chad shrugged with a small smirk.
"Oh... But won't Evie be expecting more than just one?" Doug then asked, sounding sick to his stomach. He then paused thoughtfully. "...Maybe I can give her a nice tag to go with it and I could draw a heart or something."
Chad seemed to just scoff and roll his eyes slightly.
Meanwhile, Carlos was looking over the Bake Sale's treats similar to the cookies that Evie was looking over to give to Henry. "Which would Jane like better? The one with the blue icing or the one with the green icing?" he then wondered to himself.
Doug soon took out a slip of paper from his notebook, tearing it out, and took out a red pen to sign his name and add a little something nice and extra.
"Doug!" Carlos called out as he rushed over with two cookie boxes, startling the other boy instantly.
"Oh!" Doug yelped and dropped the pen, leaving a rather sloppy mess on the tag over the heart he was drawing and his name at the bottom.
"Which of these do you think that girl Jane would like best?" Carlos asked Doug as he showed the boxes, bringing back a feeling of deja vu to the other boy suddenly. "The one with the blue icing or the one with the green? ...Oh." he then said as he looked over a little.
"Uh... Um..." Doug stammered a little, having a hard time answering that question properly before feeling even more nervous of what Carlos said next.
"Ooh... Is that for your sweetheart?" Carlos asked as he took a look at the rather messy tag.
"Uh... Um... Oh... Erm..." Doug stammered nervously.
Carlos chuckled a bit. "Well, okay. I won't tell anyone," he then said before he looked a little shy and bashful. "...I just hope I have a chance with mine... And maybe you with yours... So... Who is yours anyway?" he then asked.
"Erm... I can't tell you that..." Doug said nervously.
"Ah... Wanna keep it a secret until the party, huh?" Carlos suggested with a wink.
Doug gulped before shrugging. "Erm... Sure..." he then said. "It's a secret."
"All righty then..." Carlos nodded and winked a bit. "Whatever you say..."
Doug smiled nervously and bashfully as he tried to hide his tag away from anyone else as he just hoped and wished he could impress Evie somehow. He then looked over and sighed as it seemed easy for anyone else who had Valentines in mind around school. One of the students had even arranged for a candlelit lunch and reserved a table for the girl of their dreams.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gold was walking up the walkway to the front door of his house, where he saw that the door is ajar. He then pushed it open and entered the house. Inside, he drew and gun and slowly moved farther into the house as the floor creaked behind him. He then quickly turned around and saw that Emma was there with her own gun drawn and pointed at him. "Sheriff Swan." he then greeted the blonde woman.
"Your neighbor saw your front door open; they called it in." Emma stated her business.
"It appears I've been robbed." Mr. Gold replied, referring to the shambles that surrounded him.
Emma looked nearly suspicious. "Funny how that keeps happening to you." she then remarked.
"Yeah, well, I'm a difficult man to love." Mr. Gold replied patiently.
"Bet your son agrees with that a little." Emma murmured.
Mr. Gold glanced at her, almost looking surprised until he then remembered something. "Ah, right... Benjamin," he then said. "My son respects me. I tend to give him tough love."
"That sounds about right based on what I've seen between you two." Emma nodded.
Sheriff Swan, you can go now," Mr. Gold soon suggested. "I know exactly what was taken and who did it. I've got it from here. At least it seems that Benjamin's own valuables are safe for another day."
"No, you don't and they may not be," Emma retorted. "This was a robbery; a public menace. And if you don't tell me what you know, I'll have to arrest you for obstruction of justice," she then warned. "I have a feeling you don't want to be behind bars."
"Indeed not," Mr. Gold agreed before he soon gave in. "Alright, his name's Moe French. He sells flowers. He recently defaulted on a loan. A short time ago, we had a little disagreement over collateral." he then informed.
"Okay. I'll go get him," Emma nodded. "Check him out."
"I'm sure you will, assuming I don't find him..." Mr. Gold replied, sounding mysterious as always. "Let's just say, bad things tend to happen to bad people."
"Is that a threat?" Emma demanded.
"Observation. Good luck." Mr. Gold nodded at her.
Emma glanced at him and soon left the house suddenly.
Much later on, the two soon met up at the station after some work was being done and taken care of.
Emma soon pulled back a sheet, revealing several items on her desk to Mr. Gold. "You're welcome. You were right; your man Moe ripped you off. It was all still at his place." she then said to the older man after a few moments.
"And the man himself?" Mr. Gold soon asked.
"Closing in on him." Emma replied.
Mr. Gold just glanced at her. "So, job well 'half-done', then." he then replied.
"In less than a day, I got everything back," Emma defended before giving him a look. "...Is something wrong?"
"You've recovered nothing," Mr. Gold shook his head. "There's something missing." he then turned away and suddenly decided to leave.
"I'll get it when I find him." Emma reassured.
"Not if I find him first." Mr. Gold muttered on his way out.
Emma watched him go and sighed a bit as Mr. Gold was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack.
And so, as the final school bell rang and the sun was about to set, the students were getting ready for the big night. Girls got their hair and make-up done while getting their best dresses out while guys were dousing themselves in either body spray or cologne and wore their best suits. It was going to be a night to remember for all of them, but before Evie would head out for the night, she had something to share with her little brother.
"I know this can't replace your book after what Mom did, but I thought it would help make your heart glow and fill your tummy tonight while I'm gone," Evie told her brother as she showed him her surprise treat for him with red icing. "I hope that you like it."
Henry took a look with a small smile before firmly pouting and looking at Evie once he saw a few bites taken out of the dessert.
"Sorry... It was a long day of school... But Ginger made it nice and fresh..." Evie smiled. "I hope that you like it."
"Thanks, Evie..." Henry said. "It won't replace my book though."
"I know and I understand," Evie nodded. "I will help you no matter what and you can always talk to me... Just try not to disturb me tonight because I have important teenage business to take care of."
"Right... Your Valentine's Day dance..." Henry said. "Do you have a sweetheart?"
"Apparently so," Evie nodded before taking out her card. "Chad gave this to me."
"Chad?" Henry asked as he wrinkled his nose. "You don't really think Chad left that for you, do you?"
"Well, he gave it to me himself... But I have my suspicions." Evie then said.
"Great! You're not blinded by your crush this time," Henry said in relief. "Only... Who could the card be from?"
"I'll find out tonight," Evie told Henry with strong determination. "Tonight will be a night to remember."
"Have a good one then and please, for the love of Mother Goose, do not marry the son of Cinderella even if you're the daughter of The Evil Queen." Henry then said, sounding desperate as he didn't want anything to do with Chad anymore, especially after those horrible study dates he and Evie would have.
"I promise, Henry," Evie said sweetly before hugging her little brother. "You never have to worry about Chad coming over here ever again."
"Good," Henry nodded. "I don't know who your sweetheart is either, Evie, even though Mrs. Doug seems to think that it's Doug."
"Right... Like in your storybook... The son of Dopey the Dwarf..." Evie memorized. "I'm really sorry about your book, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay..." Henry said softly. "I'll just hang out here while you take a break from Operation: Cobra."
"Sounds good." Evie nodded with a small smile.
Soon, there was a rapid knock at the door. Henry and Evie looked over.
"Did you ask for an escort to the dance?" Henry asked.
"No..." Evie shook her head before she soon got up from the couch and walked away for a few moments and soon came back with a single red rose with a sloppy and dripping pink tag with it as she came back over to her little brother.
"Lemme guess... That's from Chad?" Henry then asked, rolling his eyes a little.
"It's hard to tell from the tag," Evie shrugged as she showed him the tag. "Though I don't think so. Even Chad's smart enough to spell his own name. Henry? I think I smell a rat."
"Bust his butt, Evie." Henry smirked a little.
"I'll see what I can do," Evie smirked back. "He can't get away with stuff like this."
"Evie?" Regina spoke as she walked on over.
"Hi, Mom." Evie said softly and nodded.
"Hi." Henry added.
Regina nodded at them. "Are you ready to go to your party?" she then asked Evie, seeing her dressed and ready to go.
"Oh, hold on, Mom. I just need one more touch of lipstick." Evie then said before opening her compact mirror.
Henry rolled his eyes slightly before smirking.
"Henry... Do you like your new video game I bought for you?" Regina then asked as she fondly shook her head at Evie.
Henry didn't answer right away before he shrugged a little. "It's okay." he then said softly.
"Just okay?" Regina asked.
Henry decided to get up off of the couch. "Oh, Evie! Before you go..." he then said, mostly to escape from the room and avoid Regina's questions.
Regina pouted as she gave her son a small look for doing that.
"It's probably just a good luck charm," Evie shrugged with a small smile. "Just a little Valentine's Day treat from brother to sister."
"Hmm... All right, but that's no reason to be rude and ignore my question like that." Regina said thoughtfully.
"He's going through a lot right now, Mom," Evie said with a deep sigh. "I'll talk to him about it though. I promise."
"Hm... Since when does he love you over me?" Regina then asked with a small teasing smirk.
"Uh... I think you already know the answer to that question, Mom," Evie smirked back. "When you first brought him home to meet me."
"Hm... And I wonder where Henry gets these mischievous ideas?" Regina chuckled as she smirked a bit.
Evie just smirked back in victory.
"This is for you," Henry said as he walked back over to his sister with a paper rose which was colored a powder blue. "It's from Dee Dee."
"Oh... Oh, well, that's sweet..." Evie said as she accepted the rose and smiled before playfully smelling it.
"It won't smell like a real rose, Evie." Henry chuckled as that was a little funny to him.
"Oh, I know," Evie smirked a little before she decided to take out a band and wore the paper rose on her wrist like a corsage. "Tell her I said thank you and that I love it a lot."
"I will," Henry nodded. "We made paper flowers for Art Class to give to Mr. French because his business isn't doing too well."
"Oh? I wonder what happened?" Evie replied softly.
"I'm not sure, but the teachers say that it's grown-up business," Henry said before shrugging. "They're not the same as real flowers and they can't replace them either, but the teachers thought it would be nice."
"That is nice," Evie said with a nod. "I just hope that Mr. French will be okay."
"Especially after dealing with Mr. Gold." Regina added with a low mutter to herself.
Evie seemed to overhear that, but didn't say anything while Henry didn't seem to notice or pay attention at all.
"All right, Henry. You stay out of trouble and remember not to answer the phone and keep the doors locked," Regina soon said to the boy. "Do you understand?"
"I do." Henry nodded.
"Good," Regina replied. "Come along, Evie. I'll take you to your dance."
"Thank you, Mom," Evie said as she stood up before looking down at Henry. "How do you think I look?"
Henry gave a small sincere, legitimate, and appropriate response that he knew was true and would also make his sister very happy to hear. "Like a princess." he then said to her.
"Aww..." Evie smiled before hugging her brother one last time. "Thank you so much, Henry. You're such a wonderful and special little boy."
"Thanks, Evie," Henry said as he hugged his sister back. "Have fun."
"I'll try." Evie smiled and nodded before she came to follow her mother out the door.
Regina then shut the door behind them and locked it, trusting Henry to behave himself on his own. She also hoped that he wouldn't sneak out to go and see Emma while she and Evie were gone otherwise there would probably be trouble.
It was a bit of a long car ride, but they soon made it over to the school where other cars were either parking or dropping off students in them. Evie soon took out the rose she got from the door and decided to hold onto it and join the others out.
"Hold it!" Regina said before looking over. "Where did that rose come-"
"Sorry, Mom, I gotta go! Love you! See you! I'll call you for a ride back home! Won't be after midnight! Promise! Bye!" Evie said rather quickly before she suddenly rushed out the door.
Regina blinked before she sighed and shook her head. "Kids these days... Always so impatient just to answer a few questions from their mother..." she then muttered before she decided to just drive back home.
Evie soon stepped out and looked around as she began to make her way over to the other students who were already on their way to the party.