She'd known him her whole life but they had never spoken. She should have guessed something was up when he asked her to the dance, after all, boys like him and girls like her didn't exactly travel in the same social circles. Still, Belle was twelve and it was her first dance. So when Charlie Pace, one of the most popular boys in her grade asked her to go with him, she said yes without giving it any thought. She had gone to the mall by herself, her Dad too busy working and her Mom long since departed from this world, and picked out a dress, shimmery, gold, modest. She had spent hours practicing her hair and make-up in the mirror until she had perfected it.

She was ready and Charlie was late. She kept telling herself not to worry, that he would be there soon, but half an hour passed, then an hour, and then two. Belle blinked away tears as she walked quietly back upstairs, thankful her father worked late nights. She couldn't bare the thought of a witness to her humiliation. She changed into pajamas, washed the make-up off her face, and pulled her brown hair out of the curled up do and into a pony tail. She was thankful it was Friday, leaving her two days to figure out how to deal with the rejection and inevitable teasing she would endure once she got back to school on Monday.

Pushing back her curtains while clutching a book, Belle saw her neighbor Garrett walking quickly from the sidewalk to his front door. The street light did little to illuminate his features and she couldn't tell if he was angry or just in a hurry. Their bedroom windows faced each other so Belle chose to wait and see what was going on. When they had been children they would talk back and forth using signs and markers. He had been her only friend growing up, until two years ago when girls began to find Garrett attractive and he had kind of put her to the side. He still said hi to her, but it wasn't like it had used to be.

Garrett opened his blinds and peered out, a piece of white notebook paper in his hands. When he saw her sitting on the window seat he put the paper up. It read, "Where were you tonight?"

She put up her index finger and dug through her things until she found a notebook and a fat black marker. She didn't want to admit to Garrett what had happened, so she lied and wrote, "Didn't feel like going."

Garrett frowned and then began writing. He paused re-reading his words, and then held his notebook up for her to read: "Weren't you going with Charlie?"

Belle's heart sunk. So he knew. Charlie and Garrett were friends so it made sense Garrett would have heard that Charlie had asked her. She didn't feel like talking anymore so she shrugged and offered him a smile before holding up her book. Garrett scowled and walked away from the window, leaving her alone with her book, and her thoughts.

Belle decided to go with David, Mary Margaret, Jefferson, Dr. Victor Whale, and Emma to investigate the caves. David still wanted everyone to move there but Emma had declared she wasn't going anywhere until she saw them so they had formed a small party. Jefferson was unhappy with Belle's decision to stay on the beach, even unhappier when he discovered Gold was building her a shelter. He wanted her to change her mind and invited her to join them. Belle couldn't deny she was curious about what they contained and wondered briefly if maybe it would be safer to move to the jungle with everybody else. She was torn and decided she would make a concrete decision today.

Everyone had brought along water bottles to refill as well. She hadn't told Nicholas she was visiting the caves. She had nothing to feel guilty about, but she felt guilt all the same. Belle's impression of him was of a man who had not had a lot of friends or people to care about him. It was obvious in the way he carried on around her, building her a shelter, going into the jungle with her, asking her to read to him. He never said it and she doubted he ever would because he was unaware of it. Belle was more perceptive and in touch with her emotions to know when someone was reaching out. He could have gone to anyone, instead he came to her, found some kind of comfort in her and she did not want to take that away.

"Here we are," Mary Margaret said, drawing Belle out of her thoughts. Belle, along with everyone else, looked around at the series of caves hidden in the leafy jungle. The air was cool, much more pleasant than the humidity of the beach. It was tranquil, she thought, closing her eyes to revel in the silence. She had almost made up her mind to stay, to convince Nicholas to come with her, when Victor noticed something that disturbed Belle. Corpses. Two of them, in a cave, lying side by side.

"Oh no," Belle said once she got a look at their decomposed bodies. Belle had a very low tolerance for death, the lowest out of any of the survivors. Jefferson looked at her in alarm, catching her wrist as she made to flee.

"They have been there for a long time, Belle," Jefferson told her, attempting to be reassuring. Victor picked up a small pouch as he continued to examine them.

"Probably forty, fifty years," he said lightly. He opened the pouch and pulled out two stones, one black and the other white.

"What are those?" Emma asked. Victor handed the stones and pouch to David who shrugged.

"No idea," he said, finger the stones lightly before slipping them into his pocket.

"So, outside of Adam and Eve here, this isn't a bad set up," Emma declared, looking around. Belle moved away from the bodies, wanting to get back to the beach where she was safe from corpses and polar bears and jungle monsters.

"This is great," Mary Margaret agreed, looking towards the small water fall pouring water into a clear pool. Belle ignored them all, walked to the water and began filling up the bottles she brought.

"We need to bring the rest of them here," David said, following suit.

"Not all of them want to leave," Victor commented.

"Killian won't, and neither will Nicholas," Mary Margaret told them.

"Big tragedy," Emma said under her breath.

"I will talk to them but no one has to do anything." David's tone was final and no one argued. All they had left was their choices.

"Where were you?" Belle was waiting up when Garrett stumbled in at seven in the morning. Garrett looked up at her through his drug induced haze and Belle felt the urge to vomit. He was ghostly pale, a slick sheen of sweat glazed on his face. His inner arm sported a large purplish bruise and his nose was bleeding.

"Baby..." He seemed confused, and Belle waited for him to gather his thoughts. "Baby? What're...why...you're awake?"

"I was worried about you," she said, her disgust turning into anger. "You said you would be home before midnight. I called you."

"Lost my phone," he mumbled, walking past her to go to their room. He and Belle had bought this house after the success of his first -and last- single with his band Night Swords. She had been fresh out of college and doe eyed with the magic of it all. Engaged to her childhood sweetheart, buying a house, starting their lives together. She had gotten her dream job, working for a collector of rare books. Everything seemed to be working out for them, until the drugs. She hadn't noticed it at first, he hid it better. A couple missing twenties here, some bruising there, all easily explained away. The over dose had been her wake up call, and she tried to get him into a program that stuck, but she could only do so much. She couldn't do this anymore. The money was gone, the band wasn't doing anything anymore, she couldn't afford this house on her own or Garrett's constant theft of the money they did have. She would be short for the bills this month and would have to ask her Dad to make up the difference as it was. This wasn't what she wanted.

"Garrett," she said, walking after him into the bedroom but he was already passed out. She sighed and began to get ready for work. When she got home Garrett was up and sitting at the kitchen table. He almost looked normal, handsome with his dark hair tousled, his brown eyes watching her carefully as she came in.

"So." She said, setting her keys down. "You're awake."

He stood and walked over to her. She could still see the shadows under his eyes, the slight paleness to his skin, the way his hands shook slightly. "

Baby, about last night. It was just too much alcohol with the boys-" She didn't think about it, it was just a reaction to hearing the same lie over and over. She slapped him so hard her hand hurt. The same stinging hand immediately flew to her mouth as he touched his cheek in shock.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered before walking past him to their bedroom. "

Belle, I'm so sorry. I need help." Garrett followed behind her and gathered her up in his arms. "This isn't what I want for you. You deserve better. I'm going to get help this time. I promise." Belle just nodded through her tears as he stroked her hair. She couldn't stay with him, no matter how much she loved him. She had to leave.

"Where were you?" Gold asked when Belle got back. She was depositing the water bottles in the cooler, her thoughts still on Adam and Eve.

"The caves," she said guiltily. His eyes darkened for a moment and his mouth formed a light line.

"Ah. And how was that?" She opened her mouth but David over rode her with more loud rhetoric about moving into the caves. Everyone listened as he brought up good points. They would be safe from the glaring sun, there was fresh, uncontaminated water there, and they would have the protection of the caves.

"And what about rescue?" Killian asked lazily after David concluded his speech.

"There is no rescue," David responded patiently.

"How do you know? I am an American citizen, they will be looking for me," Anastasia said, her voice rising in panic.

"They don't know where to look," Emma snapped.

"I'm not leaving," Ana said, standing next to a smirking Killian.

"Well I am," Ruby declared.

"Me too" Archie followed behind her. Nicholas snorted but stayed firmly where he was as people began making their final decisions. Belle watched Victor, Mary Margaret, Ruby, Archie, David, Emma, Henry, an African American man named Lance, Jefferson, and Sean all decide to go to the caves, leaving her, Nicholas, Killian, Magnolia, Ana, the nun whom everyone called Mother Superior, Ashley, the elderly Italian man Marco, and Granny Lucas on the beach.

"You're really not coming?" Jefferson asked her one last time.

Belle shook her head no. "I'll visit though," she offered. Jefferson cast a look over her shoulder and then walked away. She watched him go and then turned to find Nicholas watching her.

"You sure you want to stay?" He asked her. Belle gave him a soft smile.

"I don't really belong there, with them." He looked sad as she walked past him to her half built shelter.

"You don't really believe that?" He asked, following her.

"Believe what?" She asked, fingering a leaf.

"That you don't belong with those people?"

"Oh, well yeah. Besides, I can't live with corpses."

He just stared at her for a long moment. "Here, I have something for you." He ducked into his hut and came back out with a book and handed it to Belle.

"Treasure Island?" Belle asked, laughing. "How appropriate." He seemed pleased at her delight.

"Found it," he told her gruffly.

"Well thank you. We can start it tonight." He nodded.

"Belle?"

"Yes."

"You don't belong here, in this place, with these people. You shouldn't be here."

She smiled sadly, touching his cheek gently for a moment. "But I am here."

"Belle, are you sure about this?"

Belle looked up at her friend Emily.

"Yes. Yes, I think so."

"Here," Emily pressed several documents into Belle's hands. "Your work visa, all the documentation you'll need to stay in the United States. You need to meet a man named Gold; he has a book for you. Sell it, buy a place, get a job, start over. Belle, are you listening to me?" "

Yeah, a book, a man named Greg, got it," Belle said distractedly.

"I wrote it all down," Emily said in exasperation. "Please call me when you get settled."

"I will," Belle promised, "And you'll let my father know that I am fine?"

"Yeah. You know, you can call him yourself. You're not going into witness protection."

"No," Belle said firmly, finally shaking herself out of her thoughts. "I need a clean start. I love my father but he will try and convince me to come back. This is the way it needs to be."

Emily nodded as Belle slipped all the papers in her suitcase.

"Belle!" Garrett's voice shouted from their living room. "Would you hurry up?! Do you want to miss our flight?!"

"Go," Emily said. "I'll talk to you soon, and visit too. This isn't good-bye forever." Belle nodded and rolled her suit case out to where Garrett was waiting with a duffel bag and guitar.

"Here," Garrett pressed something small into Belle's hand. "Don't know why you keep forgetting to put the damn thing on. Don't all women love their engagement rings?" Belle slipped the diamond on her finger. Garrett was on edge, his legs jerking up and down in irritation. Rehab had been more money wasted, although it had taught him how to hide it a little better. It didn't matter. He would always love Heroin more than her and she couldn't do it anymore. She was twenty five now, she needed a change.

"Bye," she hugged Emily, grabbed the handle of her bag, and walked out. This was Belle's fresh start, the beginning of her new life.

It was dark and David had left with everyone who wanted to live in the caves. The beach was subdued, especially after the argument Ashley and Sean had had hours earlier. Belle didn't care; she had been waiting for David to leave. Her hut wasn't done so she had moved in with Gold for the time being. He had made her up a little mat by the door and was using some of his stolen batteries to light a flashlight so she could read. He had moved his own bed space back to give her space. Currently he was sitting on it cross legged, listening to her read.

"You know what's crazy?" She said after a pausing for a minute.

"No," he said. "Please, enlighten me."

"I was going to America to start over, and here I am. I know you said I don't belong here, but maybe I do. Maybe this is the fresh start I asked for."

He stared at her. "Be careful what you wish for?"

"Exactly."

"Belle, I don't think-"

"It's okay. It will be okay." Somewhere in the distance Belle thought she could hear someone playing a guitar. Everything was quiet and almost peaceful as she picked up her book again. The ocean broke on the shore softly and Belle smiled. As she began to read again she knew she was right. Everything would be okay. She would be okay.