CHAPTER 3

SCOTCHES

"I said maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me"-That amaaaaazing Wonderwall cover by Ed Sheeran

He stares at her for a long, long moment, telling himself not to take her words to heart. After all, she has no idea what she's talking about. Not after all the schotches he's bought her. Her eyes don't move away from his though. She's acting as if she truly means this. That she thinks he's her true love.

He'd be lying if he said she was the only one who'd ever thought this. But she was definitely the first one to confront it. He'd always pushed it to the back of his mind, not letting it get in the way of other things he has planned. But it was always there. The way she made him feel was unreal. He always found himself lying awake thinking of her, replaying things she'd said in his mind. But he never would have dreamed she felt anything but loathing for him after he'd taken her from her friends and amily as his prisoner.

"W-What do you mean to tell me?" he asks.

She blinks and her head falls to the side, but she catches it in the hand she's got propped up by her elbow. "Oh please," she says, "you can't honestly say you don't see the way I look at you...you must know what I'm thinking." she rolls her eyes as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

But to him it's not. His eyes grow softer and his brow furrows. "How on earth would I know what you're thinking? You've always been a mystery to me."

She laughs softly and trails her free hand up and down his arm. "Can I give you a hint?" she asks, leaning towards him.

It was true that he'd sort of intended to have his way with her after giving her this much to drink...but he'd never intended for her to confess her love for him, so even though he knows that he wants this, it feels wrong.

So he can't help but thank the Gods when a tall, dark haired girl in a red cloak bursts through the door of the tavern.

"Please, please! I need help," the girl says, "The Queen...she's here...she's going to take my friend! Will one of you please help me?"

Rumple can't help but giggle at Belle, who rolls her eyes at the girl and taps on her glass impatiently.

Hearing his laugh, her eyes dart towards him. "What?" she asks.

He looks away from her, painting a picture of innocence. "Hm?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes again.

Rumpelstiltskin glances around the tavern. There's a young man sitting by himself in the corner, looking utterly miserable. He's got curly hair and funny circular glasses and he's eyeing the brunette at the front of the room.

And apparently he's the only one doing so because no one is offering her any help. This wasn't very surprising to Rumple. There wasn't a soul in the entire realm crazy enough to go on her suicide mission against Regina as far as he was concerned.

The girl looks incredibly distraught. "Please," she says again, "Please help me."

A burly man sitting at a table in back with other burly men stands up and walks over to her.

"Who's this friend we're supposed to be helping, huh, Red?" he asks her.

The girl-Red's eyes grow wide. "Her name's F-Frosty," she stammers.

The burly guy snags a WANTED poster off the wall and waves it in Red's face. "Really? Are you sure it isn't this girl?" he demands, gesturing to the poster.

Red gulps. "Never...Never mind. I'll just go. I'm sorry."

She turns to leave but he grabs her hair through her hood. "You're not going anywhere," he growls.

Belle doesn't look quite so uninterested in the situation anymore. In fact, she's eyeing them intently, like it's a movie being played out in front of her.

Red forces his hands off her. "Please. I'll just go now." she tells him.

But he doesn't let it go. He yanks on her hair and spins her around to face him, cupping her face in his hands. "Why you wanna leave so soon?" he croons.

She struggles against him, but anyone can see that he's a million times stronger than her. Rumple shakes his head and turns back to him drink, trying not to let it bother him too much, but Belle refuses to tear her eyes away from them.

Rumpelstiltskin had never considered himself a protective man, but seeing this man torment Red that way lit a fuse in him. He tries to ignore it, sipping his drink and not looking at the look on that poor girls face, or the way he was touching her in front of all these people. But it's hard to ignore when he can still see Belle's reaction to it.

"Excuse me," a new voice says, "I think she told you to let her go."

Much to his dismay, Rumple's eyes dark up and he sees the curly haired boy in the funny glasses joining the craziness up front.

The burly guy sneers at him. "And who are you?"

The young guy shakes his head. "Please let her go. You have no right to treat her like this. It's wrong. She's done nothing to you."

The guy shoves Red away from him, and she collapses in a heap on the floor. "Well look at that, Red. Your knight in shining armor has come to save you."

I'm so sorry for the abrupt stop! I work on this every morning before I leave so it just happens that way sometimes, I'm so sorry! I'll have more on Monday, hold me to that! Thank you for all the amazingly wonderful reviews! You guys bring magic to my heart! ~RS14