As time passed, People began to leave the party. When the house grew empty Emma and Henry left. On the car ride home Henry sat in the passenger seat of his mom's old-school yellow Volkswagen Beetle. The same moment that he had just shared with Esther kept looping in his head and that's all he could think about.
After Emma and Henry arrived home, Henry went up to the attic where his dad had an office to do work. Henry would go up there a lot to lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling when he would need alone time. When he got up to the attic door he turned on the small light bulb in the middle of the room.
He gasped and flinched as he saw his dad's body hanging from a noose. "Mom!" Henry shouted in terror. He then fell to his knees and began to ball his eyes out. "Why!" He cried out not understanding what the purpose of suicide his dad would even have. He never saw any signs of depression or suicidal thoughts coming from him before.
"Henry, is everything all right?" Emma ran upstairs into the attic as she began to hear her son weep. Cara filled her mind when she arrived at the scene. She stared at Neal's body hanging from the noose in disbelief for 30 seconds before kneeling to comfort her son.
After a couple minutes, Emma stood up quickly and ran down to the kitchen to grab a knife. She came back upstairs and cut down the noose. She then checked Neal's pulse, "He doesn't have a pulse!" whimpered Emma. His skin was pale as if he had been hanging there for a while.
Due to the trauma that ensued Henry, he distanced himself from everyone, his friends, his family, including his mom, and Esther. For the rest of the summer he went through counseling sessions to help his mental health.
As summer came to a close he decided to take a couple months off from school to improve his mental health and he continued the counseling sessions instead.
~Once Upon a Time Loop~November 9, 2017A couple months into school, Henry decided to return. Henry left the home he lived in with his adoptive mother mayor Mills and grabbed his bike as he hadn't had the chance to get his driver's license due to his mental health. He was wearing a black peacoat which was significant to his style.
As he was riding through town to get to school he noticed signs put out all around the town which showed a picture of a teenage boy who had short dark brown hair and bright green eyes. Under the picture was a text which stated, "missing persons case, Chat Lucas announced missing last night. There will be a reward of 10,000 for the person who can locate him.
It also had a list of his age which is 17, his eye color which is green, his hair color which is black and that he was wearing a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans at the time of his disappearance. Henry arrived at a large brick building with a large parking lot in front of it. On the building in white capital letters it said Storybrooke High School.
He parked his bike and walked inside. Like any old school there were rubber roof floors and the walls were white. He walked up the stairs to the lockers and situated his belongings. The sound of the intercom starting up filled the air and a female voice began speaking through it.
"All students report to the gymnasium." The voice repeated that four times. Henry then walked towards the gymnasium along with many other students as he got stuck in a crowd. Once he made it to the medium sized gymnasium, Henry searched for his friends. Once Henry spotted Liam and Esther, he walked quickly towards them as it had been since the day of his dad's suicide that he had seen them.
"Henry!" Esther gasped. The two of them shared a hug. "What happened Henry? You disappeared for months after the dinner party." "Well, I went to a summer program at a boarding school that is out of state and I chose to stay for a couple of months during the beginning of their fall semester this year," Henry explained not wanting to tell her what really was going on.
Henry took a spot to the right of Liam and Esther. Henry looked at Liam and Esther as they shared a kiss. Henry's heart dropped at the sight of it. A woman with as white as snow and short hair as black as night walked up to them. "Liam and Esther!" She shouted at them and folded her arms.
Liam and Esther stopped kissing and looked at her awkwardly. "No kissing during school hours!" "Sorry Ms. Blanchard," Liam apologized. As she walked away from them, Liam and Esther started laughing quietly. Ms. Blanchard stopped in her tracks and turned around. She walked back up to them. "You think I'm playing!" She said in an aggressive tone. Liam and Esther grew terrified. Ms. Blanchard then walked away.
Esther then realized Henry saw them kiss. She looked at him with guilt. "Hey Liam, can we switch spots?" She asked as guilt continued to ensue her. "Sure," Liam replied as they switched spots.
"Henry, I'm sorry." Esther began to tear up knowing she wronged someone who she cared deeply about. "I just thought you needed space." Henry turned away from her as he couldn't look at her. He began to tear up unsure if she actually cared about him.
Ms. Blanchard walked out on the court and stood in front of the microphone. "Please welcome your school principal, Kathryn Nolan." Her voice amplified through speakers. She then walked away as Kathryn took her spot.
"Hello students, I won't take too much of your time. We are here due to the disappearance of Chad Lucas," she stated. "If anyone has any information on his whereabouts, please contact the main office. Now I hope everyone has a great day at school. You are now dismissed to go to your regularly scheduled 1st period classes."
As Liam, Esther and Henry left the gymnasium, Elliott caught up to them in a quick fashion. "Hey Liam, are we still going to the caves tonight?" "Yes we are Elliott," Liam replied. "Henry, you should come." "Why are you guys going?" It was strange to Henry that his friends were going to the caves of all places. "Richard Lucas told us that his brother Chad stashed some weed down there before he went missing," Liam stated. "We're going to check it out," Esther added.
"We're not just going to check it out, we're gonna take the weed," Elliott smiled. "What?" Henry questioned with concern. "You know what, I will go," Henry stated as he made a serious look on his face.
~Once Upon a Time Loop~Henry was putting his peacoat on as he was standing at the front door about to leave his house. "Henry, where are you going?" Regina I asked him concern as she walked up to him. "You know it's after dark, it's 7:00. Don't you want to eat dinner with me? I know you want to spend time with me and I know I'm too busy when you're available."
"See mom, that's just it." Henry grew annoyed as he always did every time this conversation came up between his mom and he. You see, when you're available I am never available and when I am available you're always too busy with your job. It's like when I ask you to Spend time with me you're preoccupied, but then when you're ready to spend time with me I am busy. And this Moment is a great example because I am not able to stay for dinner tonight."
"Well, where are you going Henry?" Regina questioned in confusion as to why her son wouldn't be available at 7:00 PM on a school night.I am heading off to the caves that connect to the nuclear power plant with my friends," Henry explained. "The power plant caves?" Appalled at the fact that Henry chose spending time at the caves instead of with her, she slammed a glass bowl filled with a serving of her lasagna casserole which she was holding, on the ground making a mess.
Henry glared at his mother with a sense of anger. "I'm staying at my other mom's tonight!" Henry turned and walked out of the house, slamming the front door behind him. Regina sighed with a sense of guilt as she walked back into the kitchen.
Henry hopped on his bike and began to ride down the Street towards the woods where the caves are. He rode a few blocks until we arrived at a red bridge. He stopped for a minute so he could see if his friends had arrived.
Again, he was startled by Esther who showed up alone. "Esther, don't do that!" He shouted with a smile. "You get me every time!" The two of them then hugged tightly. "I missed you so much Henry," Esther whispered into his ear. "I missed you too Esther." Two of them smiled at each other while they were hugging and began to make out.
"Esther!" Elliot shouted as he and the rest of the group showed up. Henry and Esther quickly let go of each other so that Liam wouldn't see anything. "Are you guys ready?" Alice asked. "Yes."Henry nodded in agreement. "Alright everyone, let's go!" Liam shouted in command. The group of teenagers began walking through the woods in pitch black.
"Why is Baelfire with us, he's only 11?" Henry asked. "Alice's and my stepmother Nila asked us to watch him for the night," Anica replied. Baelfire was wearing a bright orange hoodie and red sweatpants.
The group stopped at a large opening which led inside the caves. So Richard said his brother stashed the weed here?" Liam asked in curiosity. "Yes, so we better get started on searching for it!" Elliot replied loudly. Teenagers all turn on their flashlights. As they shined the light into the cave, their flashlights began flickering as a roar inside the air from inside the cave.
Out of fear the entire group began running for their lives back to the red bridge where Henry left his bike. Annika, Alice, Liam, Esther, Grace, Liam, and Elliott ran far up ahead as Henry and Baelfire were dragging behind. Henry looked at the young 11-year-old boy for a split second as they kept running. A few seconds later he looked back again to check on the boy and noticed he was out of sight. He looked around and around but didn't see him anywhere in the woods. His flashlight flickered once more and he just ran for it.
When he arrived back at the bridge the rest of the group was waiting for him, Elliot asked, "where is Baelfire?" Henry stood there speechless in shock of what just happened. "Are you going to speak, where is Baelfire?" Elliot walked towards Henry getting aggressive with him. "Whoa, Elliot calm down!" Henry shouted in annoyance. "He was right next to me running by my side until all of the sudden he was out of sight nowhere to be seen! I didn't know where he could've gone, plus it was just a bunch of trees on top of grass for miles and miles in every direction I was looking.
Elliot and the rest of the group left in anger. Esther stopped and made eye contact with Henry. After standing there speechless for a few seconds she walked away following the rest of the group. Henry stood there on the red bridge thinking to himself, "This is my fault," as tears began to fall down his face.
Another chapter done! I hope you guys are enjoying this story and let me know any tweaks that you have in mind or anything that I need to work on.