Regina didn't hear from Robin that night and that left her with a bitter taste in her mouth, it pissed her off that he couldn't even be bothered to even text her and make sure that she was alright, even Poppy had messaged her. She didn't get it, didn't understand why, all of a sudden, he didn't care about her, didn't even think to just take a few seconds to send a text, or a snap, anything.

She glanced in the mirror, straightening her red cheer outfit, it was game day, which meant that she was having to wear it. She was beginning to loathe it, it was strange, as if all of a sudden, she just hated who she was before. Her long hair was slung back in a high ponytail and to be honest she did look sexy, she just felt like shit.

With a sigh she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs, she could smell toast in the kitchen and ducked her head around the door, "hey mom, I'm heading off now."

"Okay darling," Cora nodded, taking a bite out of her slice of toast and turning her head to look at her, "you're wearing your cheer outfit?"

"Hmm, its game day."

"Oh."

"What?" Regina asked, decided to move into the room and steal the other slice of her mother's butter covered toast.

"Nothing, I just haven't seen you in it in a while that's all, I thought maybe you'd decided that you didn't want to do it anymore."

"I love it, I really do..."

"I sense a but coming here," her mother quipped, taking a large swig from the coffee mug in front of her as she rose an eyebrow at her daughter. "Regina, talk to me, you know you can tell me anything."

"I know, I just don't feel like talking at the minute."

"Regina Maria Mills, sit and start talking. There's no point going to school when you clearly have a lot on your mind."

"This… it just doesn't feel like who I am anymore," she stated, pulling on the hem of her cheerleading outfit as she sat down on the free bar stool beside her mother and she stared down at her clothes with a solemn expression on her face.

"You're not a different person honey, if you enjoy cheerleading then do it, if you don't, then quit. If it's making you miserable, quit, don't put up with that shit. Why doesn't it feel like you anymore?"

"That's the thing, I don't think it was ever me," Regina sighed, burying her face in her hands, "I thought it was, I thought I enjoyed being that person, being popular, but the whole time there was something nagging me, in the back of my head and I ignored it, I kept telling myself that it was me being stupid, but I don't think it was and I don't think I like being popular very much."

"So, what you're saying is?"

"I love cheerleading but I just hate what comes with it, I hate the expectations this outfit brings. I don't like popularity, it's so strange, my head must have been up in the clouds since freshman year," she sighed laying her head down on the table.

"And you're certain this doesn't have something to do with a book-loving nerd that you've become friends with?"

"I'm not feeling this way because of Robin, I'm feeling this was because of me."

Her mother cast her a poignant look and she rolled her eyes, "Okay, maybe Robin opened my eyes to the part of myself that I was ignoring, but he hasn't changed me, I think secretly, I was always this way."

"Well, if that's how you feel why are you still wearing your cheer outfit?"

"Because I love cheerleading."

"Darling you are really confusing me now."

"I just don't want all the attention but I still want to cheer," she groaned standing from her seat and grabbing her bag once again, she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "I'm heading to school anyway, I'll see you later."

The drive to school was a quiet one, Regina flicked the radio on to try and fill the deafening silence. She glanced at the empty passenger seat and sighed to herself, it was the first time in a while that she'd had to drive into school alone, he was usually with her. She missed his awkwardly cute attempts at sparking up a conversation and the way he would get passionate about something and talk about it for the entire car journey, it was only the day before that he had been with her.

He'd better have a good excuse for not keeping in touch with her, she was eager to find out why he had been ignoring her since yesterday lunch. Nothing had happened then that was any different from what usually happened when they hung out in their secret spot, they'd had a brief argument but it had been quickly resolved and they'd made up, so for the life of her, she couldn't understand why he wasn't getting in touch.

Maybe he was sick of her presence and didn't want her around anymore, she certainly hoped not, she was beginning to love their time spent together and it would be an awful shame to spoil that. She didn't want to lose him as a friend, not when she was so uncertain about where her own place was within the ranks of the high school social groups.

Before she had time to dwell on it any longer, she was pulling into the parking lot and finding a spot. The first thing she noticed was the cheer squad and football team all stood around the main entrance. She sat in her car for a moment just watching as people tried to pass them in order to get inside, they acted like an intimidating barrier, looking down on anyone who wasn't within their ranks. She'd never even noticed it before, never really seen it from this direction, she'd stood there with them many times and not thought much of it, but now she could see and she didn't like it.

She took a deep breath and tried to shake off what she was feeling before getting out of the car and heading in their direction. Some of the guys hollered "Millsy!" when they spotted her, pushing her girls to turn and seek her out also. Plastering a fake smile on her face she moved closer to them, spotting how some of the other students around them stared at her, watching her every move as she approached the 'populars'.

"Hey, Regina!" Tink smiled, coming up to her.

"Hiya."

"You okay?"

"Of course," Regina nodded, even though she knew that Tink was probably the only one of her friends she could actually talk to about what she was feeling, she just didn't feel in the mood to talk and the best way to make sure that she didn't have to was by pretending that everything was fine. "Hey, guys! Why don't we go chill out in the canteen until first lesson?" she suggested, trying to make them move from the front of the school, aka their throne of intimidation.

"I'm down for that," Daniel grinned, slipping off the perch he was sat on and coming over to her with Graham hot on his heels as always. Of course, wherever Daniel went, the rest followed. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder in a completely platonic way.

"Are you ready for the game tonight?" she asked, looking up at him before glancing at Graham who was on the other side of her, the two of them really did act like her personal bodyguards sometimes and she couldn't work out for the life of her why they did it, sure they were her friends, but at times it was a little much.

"Hell yeah, we're gonna kick some ass. How about you girls, are your routines sorted?"

"Pretty much, yes." She glanced behind her to see the entire group that had been clustering on the steps now making their way down the corridor and towards the canteen.

She felt people's eyes on them as they all came through the doors to the dining room and flocked to the tables that always seemed to be reserved for them. She was pretty certain that she hadn't ever seen anyone else sit there, she found a seat and slumped down in it, Daniel and Graham perching on the table either side of her whilst Tink and Emma occupied the chairs beside her.

"Where's Robin? I thought he was attached to your hip these days," Emma chuckled, twirling one of her blonde curls around her finger as she spotted Killian coming through the doors.

"I don't know where he is, I'm not his babysitter," Regina huffed staring at the clock and wishing that she hadn't arrived so early, that way she would have been able to go straight to her lesson and avoid whatever this was.

Tink was watching her and she knew that she was probably wanting to talk to her about what happened, but she didn't want to do it in front of everyone, Regina didn't want everyone knowing her business. She wanted to keep some things private and Robin was one of those things, mainly because she didn't want him getting hurt because of her and that had already happened once, she'd be damned if she let it happen again.

"I'm surprised you're even sitting with us, I thought we were below you," Kathryn hissed as she slumped in the chair beside Emma, "too dumb for Regina Mills and her nerdy sex slave, I bet he's willing to do just about anything you ask, isn't he?"

"Kathryn!" Tink yelled, glaring at her across the table, Regina just rolled her eyes. She was sick of her supposed friend talking to her like she was trash, like she was her worst enemy, it didn't make sense and she didn't like it one bit. "What the hell is wrong with you! We talked about this yesterday."

The blonde groaned and nodded, "yeah, sorry Regina, we just all miss spending time with you that's all."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that today."

"Why?"

"Robin isn't talking to me at the minute, I don't know why," she shrugged, she didn't want to go further into it than that. "So, it looks like I'm yours all day," she stated, forcing a smile onto her face. The prospect of spending the day with her friends shouldn't make her feel the way she was feeling, but at the minute Tink was the only one of them who she actually cared for.

"Why isn't he talking to you?" Daniel asked with furrowed eyebrows, "the two of you looked to be having a good time at the party, well, before Marian pestered you."

"Did I hear my name being called?" Marian asked as she approached the table with a cup of coffee in her hand. Her hair was straightened to perfection and like the rest of the girls, she was wearing her cheerleading uniform. Regina felt her skin begin to prickle just from being in the same vicinity as that girl, she wanted to stand up and leave as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, its probably the devil calling you back to hell," Tink tutted, earning a chuckle from Regina, the first one of the day as she grinned at her friend. "Quick, you don't want to be late for his satanic ritual."

"Very funny bitch," Marian huffed as she sat down bumping into Emma, causing the blonde to scowl at her and push her back.

"Why are you even sitting here?"

"Because I was checking that Regina was actually going to be leading the routine at the game tonight."

"Which I am," she sighed, here we go. This is where it starts.

"Oh wow, I'm so happy to hear that."

"Good."

"By the way, I saw your weird boyfriend lurking in the corridors being a creep."

"Robin is here?" Regina asked, straightening in her seat, she knew that she should probably take Marian's word with a pinch of salt, but if Robin was actually there, she really needed to talk to him and clarify what the hell was going on. His phone better be broken, or lost, or something which meant that he couldn't contact her.

"Hmm."

"Guys, I promise I will see you at break and lunch but I…"

"Just go Regina," Kathryn rolled her eyes, "go talk to him, we'll see you later."

"Thanks," she nodded, grabbing her bag and standing from her chair, catching Nottingham's eye as he watched her from the other table. She shuddered slightly before hurrying to the exit and down the main corridor where Marian said that she saw him. He wasn't at his locker and there were about ten minutes before class, she had a feeling that she had already missed him.

She opened the door to the janitors closet just in case, but he wasn't in there, closing it she sighed before she spotted a wisp of blonde hair from the corner of her eye and turned her head to see that Poppy was stood with a group of girls further down the corridor. "Hey, Poppy," she called, the younger girl turned her head and grinned at her.

"Hiya Regina! I'm so glad you got home safely, I was really mad at my mum for not giving you a lift last night," the younger girl sighed, her shoulder slumping somewhat.

"Don't worry about it Pops, my mom came to pick me up, it was all okay. I was just wondering, you wouldn't happen to know where your brother is would you?"

"Robin? No, he was in a mood all night and this morning he didn't want to come into school, when mum dropped us off he stormed inside, but I don't know where he went."

"Okay," Regina breathed, the tension in her chest only tightening. She was at a loss for what to do and she really didn't think that she would be able to concentrate on anything until she talked to Robin and made sure that she wasn't the reason for his bad mood, that everything between them was okay. "Well, thanks, I'll see you later."

"Regina, are you okay?"

"I'm just worried about Robin that's all, don't worry, have a good day." With that she walked off, hearing how all the girls who had been with Poppy were gushing about her talking to the head cheerleader, saying how cool it was, at least someone appreciated her.

She took her phone out of her pocket, no messages or missed calls, he was still avoiding her and now it was time for her to go to lesson.

Regina had been distracted all day, unable to focus on anything and anyone around her, she'd spent break and lunch with her friends, but although she had been there physically, her mind had been elsewhere, she couldn't stop thinking about everything that was going on and it baffled her. The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became, because it wasn't fair for him to act this way, for him to just treat her like shit. It wasn't Robin.

She shoved her stuff in her locker and looked down at her feet, she had a bit of time to kill before the game but had no idea what she was going to do with it. Everyone else was down at the football pitch sorting things out, but she didn't feel like lending a hand as she usually did. Instead, her feet took her to the library, maybe she could attempt to get a little bit of studying done, she had been slacking lately and she didn't want to fall any more behind than she already was.

It was quiet apart from the odd rustling of papers, people clearing their throats or soft music coming from headphones that were obviously blaring into someone's ears. She let out a sigh and walked down the history aisle, her fingers running over the books as she looked for one on the topic she was studying. Finding one, she picked it out and moved towards an empty table, her eyes scanned around the room. No Robin.

There had been a small part of her that had been hoping he would be there so she could talk to him, but apparently, she was having no such luck. Her eyes scanned over the words on the page, but none of it was going in, she couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate and the more she tried to read it, the more confused she became. She remembered Robin throwing away the book she had been looking at during their first study session and telling her that she was revising in the wrong way, apparently all it took was one day without him for her to fall back into her old studying habits.

Leaning back in her chair she ran her hands over her and took a deep breath, she just wanted to go home and cuddled up under blankets whilst eating ice cream. She didn't want to have to perform or pretend to look happy as she cheered on the football team, she just wanted to go home. She couldn't bail on her girls, they would be furious, she was already on thin ice with them and all it would take was her leaving them for the ice to break and she would drown. She had to do it, she had no other choice.

Her phone pinged in her pocket, earning her a customary shush from the librarian, but she couldn't get to it fast enough, whipping it out of her pocket and staring at the screen, only to find a message from her mother.

Hi baby, hope you've had a good day at school. I'll be working late tonight, there's leftover takeout in the fridge if you want it. Love you sweetheart. xxx

She felt like crying, she really did, the last thing she wanted tonight was to be alone, she wanted to be able to talk to her mother, or just sit with her watching stupid movies. Now it seemed she would be watching the movies on her own.

Regina closed her book and stood from her seat, reluctantly she moved back to the history aisle and put the book back where she found it. Once it was back in its place, she glanced down at her phone again before giving in and opening up Robin's messages, there were five that he still hadn't replied to and she knew that adding to that number only made her look desperate but she couldn't help it.

I miss you. x

She waited until the message had sent before slipping her phone back into her pocket and making her way towards the door, she needed to get to the pitch and warm up. Walking out of the door she nearly bumped straight into someone who was seemingly far more absorbed in whatever was on their phone screen than making sure there wasn't anyone coming out of the room.

"Why don't you try looking where you're going and…" she stopped still, her eyes widening as he looked up from the device, his mouth falling open in shock. "Robin," she whispered, "I've been texting you, I left you a voicemail, you didn't reply. I've been looking for you all day."

"I… I gotta go," he shook his head, turning his back on her and starting off down the corridor.

"Robin! Robin stop, I want to talk. What have I done? Talk to me please."

She tried to follow him but he picked up the pace, moving away from her.

"Hey Regina, come on, we need you to lead the warm-up," Kathryn stated as she appeared from what seemed like nowhere.

"I'm coming," she nodded. Watching as Robin disappeared out of the main entrance, the large doors slamming behind him, causing her to flinch.

Reluctantly, she turned around and followed Kathryn to the football pitch. She wanted to scream and cry and chase after Robin demanding answers, but she couldn't do any of those things. Her heart was breaking in two and there was nothing she could do to stop it.