Hey guys, I've had a lot of free time today so I was able to write a couple chs. I wont always be able to get them out this fast :)
Chapter Seven: Lunchtime
Tick tock. Mr. Gold looked up the clock, which read 11:45, fifteen minutes until lunchtime. A smile crossed his face. As a surprise, he had packed a special lunch for Belle, which consisted of her favorite foods from this world. He loved her so much. He never felt like this about anyone, not even his first wife Milah. If she was willing to return his love, then he was going to do everything in his power to make her happy and feel special. He turned the sign in the pawnshop to closed, and locked the door behind him. He had to leave a little early to stop at Granny's to get Belle an iced tea.
Mr. Gold stepped into the diner. Ruby was behind the counter folding napkins. She noticed out of the corner of her eye who was approaching her and she chose not to look up or acknowledge him. Mr. Gold stood there with his both hands resting on his cane. After a minute he cleared his throat.
"Can I help you?" Ruby said still not looking up from her task.
"Yes, I'd like a large iced tea to go please," replied Mr. Gold.
Without glancing up, Ruby made the tea and sat it on the counter in front of Mr. Gold. He pulled the money out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Is there a problem Miss Lucas?" he questioned.
Ruby kept her head down but glanced up at him for a second and replied in a slightly accusatory tone, "No. No problem at all."
Mr. Gold stood there a moment staring at her, waiting to see if she was going to say anything else. No words came. "Good day to you then." Slightly confused by Ruby's attitude, he picked up the iced tea, slowly turned, and walked out the door.
'Why was she acting like that?' he thought to himself as he walked toward the library. He knew Ruby didn't like him. Honestly he couldn't think of anyone who did. However, since Ruby and Belle had become friends, Ruby had at least tried to be nice to him.
He arrived at the library right on time, opened the door and walked in. Belle was organizing books on one of the shelves across the way. Instantly Mr. Gold realized something was wrong. He set Belle's lunch down on the desk and walked over to her. "Belle? Are you ok?" he asked while placing a hand on her upper arm.
She didn't look up at him immediately, "Yes I'm fine," she said quietly.
He noticed there were tears in her eyes. He leaned his cane up against the shelf, put his hand on her other arm, and turned her toward him. She still wouldn't lift her eyes up to meet his gaze. "Belle, your not fine. You've been crying…"
"I don't want to talk about it right now."
"Did someone hurt you?"
Belle shut her tear filled eyes, "I'm not ready to talk about it."
There was a moment of silence, "Have I done something to offend or anger you?"
Belle finally looked up into his eyes, "No, not exactly. But Rumple please, I'm really not ready to discuss it. I promise we will talk about it, but now is not the time nor the place."
Mr. Gold reached up and wiped the tears from her face and stroked her cheek, "Ok, sweetheart. We can talk later. Will you join me for dinner at my house tonight?"
Belle gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded yes in reply.
"I…uh…brought you lunch, some of you favorites, and an iced tea," he gestured toward the place where he set the food down.
A more genuine smile crossed Belle's face, "Really? Thank you! That means a lot."
He smiled at her in return, "Anything for my Belle."
"Stay and have lunch with me?"
"I really wish I could…but I have to get back to the shop. I'm meeting someone at 12:30." He saw the look of disappointment in Belle's deep blue eyes, "I will see you tonight though, lets say around 6:30? Do you need me to pick you up?"
"6:30's fine. No, I'd rather walk. Besides, your house is not that far anyway."
Mr. Gold looked down into Belle's eyes. He could still see a little disappointment and a tremendous amount of sadness. He did not want to go and leave her like this. Tick tock. "It's only 12:05, I can stay with you for a few minutes if you like?"
A smile formed on Belle's face again. She reached up and gave him a small kiss, "That would be nice."
After their short lunch, Mr. Gold left to return to the shop. On his way back he made a short detour at Granny's. He stepped back inside and Ruby looked up. She let out a loud sigh, "You again."
Mr. Gold stepped forward, "Miss Lucas, if I may have a word."
Granny was standing next to Ruby and she looked at him suspiciously.
"Alone," he finished.
"Fine, I will meet you outside in five minutes."
Mr. Gold nodded and stepped back outside to wait for Ruby.
"Ok, what do you want?" Ruby stood there with her arms crossed.
"I just came from lunch with Belle. She seemed very upset and she wouldn't tell me why. I gather from your attitude earlier and now that you know something."
Ruby paused for a moment, "I just assumed you knew. It's quite the talk around town today. There was big ordeal this morning when Belle was in here for breakfast."
"What happened?"
"Ashley…came in to eat."
A scowl formed on Mr. Gold's face and he tensed up a bit. He braced for what was coming.
"Well, it was partly my fault…I knew Belle didn't have any friends besides me, so I thought it would be ok to introduce them." Ruby paused. By the look on Mr. Gold's face, she thought he might strangle her.
"Continue."
"It went well at first, but then Ashley found out Belle's…association with you, and she flipped out."
Mr. Gold frowned. He knew Belle usually didn't let other people's comments or opinions affect her. It was strange Ashley could change that. Perhaps Ashley told her what he tried to do. That most likely would upset Belle. "What did she say to her?"
"She yelled at her, and told Belle your attempt to take her child. That got to Belle, but what I really think upset her was when Ashley told her that she was a monster for being with you."
Mr. Gold was filled with both anger and sadness. 'How could Ashley say something like that to Belle?' he thought. "She actually called Belle a MONSTER?!" he said through gritted teeth.
Ruby was a little frightened by the amount of emotion she could see in Mr. Gold's face, "Yes she did…I'm sorry I introduced them. I never would have if I had known how Ashley would've reacted. I just thought…I wanted to help Belle find some friends."
There was a long pause before Mr. Gold finally spoke, "No…Miss Lucas…I don't blame you. You can't control the actions of others. Thank you for telling me this." He motioned to leave but was stopped by Ruby putting her hand on his arm.
"Please…Belle is my friend…I hate seeing her hurting like this. Please find a way to make it stop," she pleaded.
Mr. Gold never made eye contact with Ruby, "I hate it too, and I will." He turned, walked back to his car and drove away.