Once Upon a Time: School's Out! The Third One

by MissiB

The Schools Out! Gang have returned once again, and after the events of their previous semester, they think the drama is finally over. Little do they know, it's only just beginning...

4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me! All characters and references to the show belong to ABC and Channel 5.

Once Upon a Time: Schools Out! The Third One-Chapter 4

When Regina woke up on Monday morning, she knew something was wrong.

Bleary-eyed, she looked around her lavish bedroom. The mirror was still in place in front of her bed, her oak-wood wardrobe was undisturbed, and the few possessions she kept on desk-her hand mirror, laptop, essay folders, and apple paperweight-hadn't been touched.

But something was wrong. Something had been...changed. She could feel it.

Slowly, her dark eyes roving around the room, she climbed out bed and tried to find the disturbance, her keen sight picking up on every little detail as her sleep-fogged head cleared until she finally discovered what was wrong:

Her clothes.

They were missing.

Regina stared at the door where she usually hung her outfits. She was an organised young woman, and liked to always make sure that she was prepared for the day-a habit her mother had driven in her when she started junior high-and one of the things she made sure she did, every night before she went to bed, was hang the outfit she planned to wear the next day on the back of her bedroom door.

But she was looking at it now, and all she could see, instead of the violet silk blouse and black pencil skirt she'd chosen, was bare wood. The outfit was gone, and a glance at her cream carpet told her that it hadn't fallen off in the night.

It was just...gone.

Frowning, Regina pulled on the handle of the door. Still locked up tight, as she made sure it was every night. Eliminating the possibility that someone could've slipped in and stolen her clothes.

So where are they? She wondered. She looked around her room again, just to be sure, but to no avail.

"Well, this is just ridiculous!" she muttered crossly, deciding to just pick out some different clothes from her closet and try to solve this mystery later. She could only think of one person who was crafty enough to do this, and if she ever found out how that imp did it she was gonna-

Immediately, she forgot whatever form of torture she was going to send Rumplestiltskin's way. Her mind went completely blank, and her hand gripped the wood of her closet door-which she had just opened-in such a tight grip her knuckles nearly broke through the skin.

Hanging in her wardrobe-the very first item of clothing on her clothes rail-was the violet silk shirt, hanging there as bold as brass, as if it had never even left it's confinement in the first place.

Feeling incredibly confused, Regina pulled the shirt out of the closet and then turned to the shelf inside it where she kept her skirts and pants. On it was her black skirt, neatly folded and resting at the top of the pile.

Regina pulled that out too. Holding both garments in her hands. She frowned down at them while she wracked her memory. She definitely remembered putting these clothes on a hanger, and then hanging them on the back of her door before she went to bed last night. So what the hell were they doing back in her wardrobe?

She stood there for a long time, staring at her clothes rather than putting them on while trying to figure out how they could've possibly ended up back in her closet, because she had put them on her door!

...hadn't she?

Her hands started to shake, she swallowed hard. Her laptop, Golds $20, and now this? She was forgetting things. Just like-

Knock Knock!

"Regina! Are you ready yet? We're gonna be late for Lit!"

Controlling the yelp of surprise that tried to jump out of her throat, Regina cleared her throat and called back to Abigail:

"I-I'm actually not ready yet, Abigail! Go on ahead, I'll catch up!"

"O.k!" she called back, and when Regina heard the sound of her walking away she started to dress, trying like anything to make her hands stop shaking.

OUAT

For today's class, Ms Gohrm had deviated from her usual teaching style-lecturing her English Lit class whilst the students took notes-in favour of watching the film version of Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'

"While watching this movie" the blue clothed lecturer explained to her class "You are to take notes on the literary devices used, so look for things like as symbolism, wording used in the speeches, or-"

SLAM!

Ms Gohrm groaned, oh, my favourite part of the day... "Mr Gold!" she called to his retreating back as he walked to his seat. Slowly, the boy turned, and she tried not to react to the blatantly, irritatingly bored look on his smug little face "You're fifteen minuets late for my class, and once again, you have disrupted my class with your arrival. Would you care to give us a reason as to why?"

"Hm" raising a finger to his lips, Rumplestiltskin seemed to contemplate her words. After about a second, he shrugged "Nah!"

"Oh, just sit down, Gold!" Ms Gohrm snapped, exasperated by the titters Gold's insolent response had created. With a cocky smirk the boy took a seat.

"Alright then" Ms Gohrm continued as calmly as she could "Now that Mr Gold is comfortably seated, perhaps we can-oh, for goodness sake!"

The sound of a cell phone ringing sounded through the room, interrupting Ms Gohrm's lecture yet again "Whoever's cell phone that is, please turn it off!"

"Sorry, love" said Rumplestiltskin, and what a surprise, it was his little black cell that was making all the racket. He started to get up out of his seat "Important call, I'm afraid. Unavoidable"

"Mr Gold, you switch off that phone and sit back down right now!" Ms Gohrm ordered. Rumplestiltskin cocked an eyebrow, a small smirk on his lips, before heading back down the row of chairs, apparently deaf to his lecturers growing-in-volume protests:

"Gold! I said sit. Down!...Gold, get back in your row!...do not move any closer to that door!...don't you dare leave this class!...Gold! Get back in this class!"

OUAT

Once outside, Rumplestiltskin leaned against the wall of the hallway and pressed his phone to his ear "Hello?"

"...Rumple?"

Immediately, a huge smile lit up Rumplestiltskin's face as the voice of his favourite person in the world filled his ear "Bae!" he said delightedly "Shouldn't you be at school right now?"

"I got sick" Baelfire Gold, Rumplestiltskin's six year old brother, sniffled.

"Oh Bae..." Rumplestiltskin sighed, assuming that this was the reason Bae was calling him. Before he went off to College, he'd always been the one to take care of Bae whenever he got ill "Go and get Mum, she can make you some soup-"

"N-no she can't!" said Baelfire, and Rumplestiltskin immediately picked up on the fear in his younger brothers voice. It was shaking, like he was about to cry.

"Why not, Bae?" Rumplestiltskin asked him, slowly, his voice harder with concern. He heard Baelfire sniffle again:

"S-she and Daddy are fighting again. They're really mad at each-other, Rumple!" Baelfire squeaked.

"Why? What happened this time?"

"I-I don't know! I j-just heard lots of yelling a-and bad words and then I heard something smash and I got r-really scared so I hid under the desk in Daddy's office but th-they're still y-yelling Rumple and I keep hearing things break and-"

"Woah, woah, Bae! Calm down!" Rumplestiltskin interrupted him. The poor boy sounded almost hysterical with fear! "Take a deep breath, and just listen to me, O.k?" he said, softening his voice to soothe him.

He heard Baelfire take the breath, a sniffle, and then his shaky voice: "What do I do, Rumple?"

Before he could answer, there was a huge CRASH! From the other end of the phone, which was then followed by a screaming voice that Rumplestiltskin knew belonged to their mother:

"YOU'RE A PATHETIC BASTARD, MORDRED GOLD!"

"HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU STUPID BITCH?!" the roar of his father's voice quickly followed, and then a shattering of something being thrown.

Rumplestiltskin could hear with a heart-breaking realisation that Baelfire had started crying.

"Bae-"

"Please come home, Rumple! Make them stop it!"

"Oh God..." Rumplestiltskin groaned. At that moment he would've given anything to be home to stop his idiotic parents from fighting. But he couldn't. He was stuck here and there was nothing he could do.

Except comfort Baelfire.

"Bae, I can't come home, I'm sorry, but I am gonna help you. You have to listen to me now, O.k?"

"O.k"

"Good. Now, do you still have your I-Pod?"

"Uh-huh"

"Good. This is what I want you to do, you're going to hang up the phone and go back into you're room, then you're gonna plug your I-Pod into your ears, and turn up the volume until you can't hear then fighting anymore" he instructed. He'd done that often enough as a child with an Mp3.

"They'll stop eventually, they always do, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember" said Baelfire, and Rumplestiltskin was relieved to hear that the boy was starting to sound a little calmer.

"Go do what I said now, and I'll call you later tonight" he said.

"Promise?"

Rumplestiltskin smiled softly "I promise, Bae"

"O.k. I love you, Rumple"

"Love you too, Baelfire" he said and it was with a great reluctance that he hung up the phone before placing it, carefully, into his pocket.

And the he punched the wall, hard enough to make the knuckles on his right hand bleed knuckles.

Breathing heavily, he punched it again, and again, and then again, a rage burning inside him it was almost impossible to control, only the pain building in his knuckles being enough to make him stop. He then leaned back against the wall, hitting the back of his head on the brickwork and not caring when it hurt him, he pressed his hand over his face, letting another deep breath flow through it.

Fighting. Not the usual, screaming match fighting, but what had sounded like some sort of violent explosion! And Bae-their six year old son!-had been there to overhear the whole thing!

Were they bloody insane?!

"Bastards!" Rumplestiltskin hissed, slamming his other fist-the unbloodied one-against the wall, and it was then that Ms Gohrm bust into the hallway to furiously tell him that everyone in the class could hear him, and if he was, as suspected, having some sort of mental breakdown then could he please go and do it somewhere else?!

"But of course, ma'am!" Rumplestiltskin snarled, and, too wound up by his parents latest actions to give a damn about the consequences, he started moving down the corridor in a furious walk.

Ms Gohrm stared blankly after him. When she had asked him to go somewhere else she hadn't actually meant..."Gold! Where're you going?!"

"Isn't it obvious, Ms Gohrm?" turning around, Rumplestiltskin didn't stop walking, and he smirked in delight at Ms Gohrm's gasp of horror when she saw his bloodied knuckles "The nurses office! I think I might need it!"

And he continued on his way, unconsciously keeping his uninjured hand on the cell phone in his pocket.

OUAT

Belle's forehead slammed down on the table and she groaned loudly. From next to her, Ella blinked in surprise.

"So...you're still thinking about it?"

Belle groaned again.

Ruby, who was sitting with Peter next to Snow White and James, laughed sympathetically "God, Ella, how long have you been nagging her?"

Ella gasped, insulted "I haven't been na-"

"Two days" Thomas, who's arm was wrapped around Ella's shoulder, put in, earning himself a glare from his girlfriend.

James, meanwhile, looked confused "But, I thought you said she had a week?"

"Thank-you!" Belle suddenly shot back up, throwing her hands out to James gratefully, she then turned to Ella "See, Ella! I've still got five days" she spread the fingers of her right hand and thrust it into Ella's still-pink face "To decide whether or not I want to be a cheerleader! So can you please...just...?" she trailed off, struggling for a way to end on a polite note.

"Stop with the nagging?" Ruby suggested, and Belle nodded to her gratefully. Ella scowled at them both causing the rest of the table to laugh. But before she could say anything, Ruby suddenly gasped delightedly and started frantically waving at someone who'd just walked past her with a tray full of food.

"Jiminy!" she called to the bespectacled red-head. At the sound of his name, Jiminy Hopper looked up, and upon seeing Ruby waving to him he smiled and moved to join the table, nodding politely to Peter-who nodded back-as he did so. Although Jiminy was the renowned, shy smart guy of the College, and Ruby was the popular, bouncy cheerleading co-captain, the two were actually good friends. This had been due him being assigned as Ruby's History tutor the previous semester when her low grades had threatened her place at Fairytale College. The two had gotten quite close, but Peter's jealous reaction to their friendship had nearly broken the couple up. Fortunately, thanks to a football pitch, a microphone, and Jiminy's quick thinking, the two had stayed together, and ended up broadcasting their love to the entire student body.

"Hey Jiminy!" Ruby greeted him warmly as he sat down.

H-hey" Jiminy smiled back, but his eyes were darting around to the other occupants of the table, as though waiting for a rebuke from the others.

But none came.

"Hey, Jiminy Hopper, right?" said Thomas. Jiminy nodded and the football jock responded with a kind smile and an outstretched hand, which he took "Don't think we've offically met, I'm Thomas Herman and this" he squeezed Ella's shoulder "Is my girlfriend Ella"

"Hi" Ella smiled, and he responded with a shy one of his own.

"You're the guy who gave Pete the idea for the I Love You Baby thing, aren't you?" asked James, grinning at Peter. Ruby laughed at the flush that came to her boyfriends cheeks and kissed the one facing her.

"Um, yeah" Jiminy responded, and everyone was surprised when Belle, calm, collected Belle French, squealed like an eight year old girl and stared at Jiminy with huge azure eyes.

"That was you?!" she cried, and nervously, Jiminy nodded. Belle grinned like the Cheshire Cat "Oh My God, can I please interview you for the mirror?! It would be such a great story!" she splayed her hands in front of her and looked into an imaginary, faraway headline "Jiminy Hopper: The Man Behind The Madness!"

"Hey!" Peter protested. Belle ignored him, now watching the red-head with great anticipation.

Poor Jiminy himself was becoming very flustered "I...uh...no thank-you!" he blurted out.

Belle's face fell "Why not?"

Jiminy bit his lip "I'm...not great with the whole 'Public'" he lifted his fingers for air-quotes "Thing"

"I know just how you feel" Snow White sighed "Being in the public eye, it just..." she exaggerated a shiver "Terrifies me!"

An awkward silence followed that, in which everyone at the table was staring at Snow White. Eventually, James was the one who broke it:

"Uh, Snow? You were a cheerleader" he gently reminded her. Snow White pursed her lips, an embarrassed silence falling on upon her

"Oh. Yeah"

"Head, cheerleader" Belle added. Fatally.

"Speaking of which-!"

"Not now, Ella!"

"But-"

"Can we talk about something else?!" Belle begged, scanning the table for assistance "Please?!"

"O.k!" Ruby jumped forward, slamming her hands down on the tables surface and apologising to Jiminy when the action made him jump but quickly turning her attention back to Belle "Let's talk about you. Belle, when are you going to start dating again?"

Everyone in the group fell silent, and with baited breath they watched as Belle, her pretty face more serious than any of them had ever seen it, folded her hands over each other on the tables surface, and answered her question:

"I honestly don't know, Ruby" she said, quite calmly "I'm still-"

"Grieving over that asshole Gold, I know" Ruby finished for her, but her tone had softened "But you know...the best way to get over a guy? Start dating another one! Hey!" she nudged the boy next to her "You could go out with Jiminy!"

Jiminy, for his part, choked on his drink and spat a mouthful of soda across the deli floor while turning bright red from a sudden coughing fit. Ruby patted him on the back, looking at Belle expectantly.

Belle sighed "Rubes. No, offence, but I really don't want to date anyone right now" her voice was toneless, and without warning she rose from her chair, despite her food being only half finished "I think, uh, I'll walk back to campus"

Automatically realising she had done something wrong, Ruby reached out to the retreating brunette "Belle, wait, I was just kidding!"

"Oh, I know" Belle nodded, a curtain of brown curls shielding her face as she bent to pick up her bag "I just...don't wanna be late for French class. I'll see you guys back at campus" and with that, she walked out.

Ruby groaned, slapping her palm against her forehead "Did I go too far?"

"What do you think?!" said Snow White, staring disbelievingly at her friend "Seriously, Ruby, what the hell?"

"Of course she's not over Gold yet!" Ella chided her, and Ruby groaned again "She really loved him, you know that!"

"Seriously?" Peter raised an eyebrow, to which Snow White pressed a finger to her lips and shushed him.

Sighing, Ruby leaned an elbow on the table and ran her hand through her hair "Should I go apologise?"

"Not yet" Jiminy advised, recovered from his coughing fit "Give her some time to cool off" Ruby sighed again, looking regretfully out of the deli door.

At that exact moment, the sound of the deli backroom door crashing open silenced the building's inhabitance, and everyone watched as the Student Body President of Fairytale College, Regina Mills-a look on her face that could rival the fiercest of storms-marched across the tiled floor. Behind her, the Stable Eating bus-boy (and her boyfriend) Daniel Hay appeared in the backroom doorway, a regretful look that was similar to Ruby's on his face.

When Regina got to the deli's entrance, she punched the door open and barrelled through it, the door clicking shut behind her. After which Daniel groaned softly, moving back into the backroom.

The following silence was heavy, in which all diners were staring at the door. The Belle situation momentarily forgotten, Ruby's table continued to stare after Regina even as conversation started to pick up again.

"What..." Snow White breathed "In Gods name...?"

OUAT

Fifteen Minuets Earlier

"Mmm!" Regina moaned as Daniel's hands massaged the back of her silk shirt, dipping to her waist before sliding up between her shoulder blades, pressing firmly to keep her body against his. Regina's own hands were tangled in his brown hair, keeping him fixed in place as her red lips devoured his pale ones. Her nails softly scratched his scalp and he released a moaned into her mouth, backing her up until she was crushed against the wall of Stable Eating's backroom. Regina giggled through her nose, her left hand trailing to his shoulders as his tongue slipped past her lips, exploring every crevice of her mouth before warring with her's. She moaned again, her nails digging into his shoulder blade and making him shiver.

"Y-you should come to my work more often!" Daniel gasped, briefly breaking away from her lips for only a moment before she pulled him back down to her hungry lips.

"Wish I could!" she breathed when they broke for air. She grinned "But then...how would we ever get any work done?" she had barely gotten the whole sentence out before Daniel had pulled her in for another passionate kiss.

"I think I'd cope" he mumbled against her lips, and Regina smiled.

"I...know you would" she panted through kisses, gasping when his hands travelled downwards to cup an area past her waist. He grinned at her devilishly and she giggled again "Aren't you...blowing off a class for...work?"

Daniel shook his head "Nope. I've got a free period after lunch"

"Well, that's alright then" Regina shrugged, fusing their mouths and tongues together once more.

When they broke apart again, breathing heavily, with Daniel resting his hands on either side of the wall for support, he gazed into her face. She was truly beautiful, her softly tanned skin flushed from his ministrations, her red lips swollen and darkened from their kisses, her huge, brown eyes still glittering with passion. He smiled softly.

"So...do you want to tell me what's wrong now?" he asked, and when Regina immediately tensed he knew he'd guessed right. All morning she'd been acting weird. Still commanding and fierce like she always was but still...distant. Like there was something on her mind.

But, of course, now that he'd called her on it, she was going to deny it.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she said, her guard immediately up. Daniel suppressed a sigh.

"I know that's not true, Regina" he said, pushing away from the wall and leaning back onto the sink, which was filled with plate's he'd been ordered to clean before Regina came and...distracted him.

Regina's eyes narrowed, one hand going to her hip "And what would make you think that?" she questioned, her voice hard.

"The way you've been acting all day" Daniel responded, and not unkindly "You've been...distracted, Regina, so why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Because there's nothing wrong!" said Regina, her hand leaving her hip and falling to her side "Daniel, I'm fine, I'm just...tired"

"Tired?" the bus-boy cocked an eyebrow "Come on, Regina, I know you better than that"

She glared at him "Could you not patronize me?"

"I'm not patronizing you!" Daniel protested "I just want you to tell me the truth"

"I am telling you the truth!" Regina snapped, and her features twisted until she was almost sneering at him "But then, I guess you feel you've got good enough reason not to trust me, don't you?" she said darkly, and before Daniel could respond to that, she barged out of the backroom, and he watched her as she walked out of the deli, uncaring for all the staring eyes upon her.

He wanted to go after her, but the mood she was in right now, she most likely bite his head off (and he didn't know if that would just be metaphorically) so instead, he moved back into the backroom and started on the neglected dishes. He knew Regina was hiding something, no-one reacted that extremely unless they had something to hide, and whatever it was, he knew it was big.

And he also knew that, no matter how huge the situation was, he was going to stand though it with her.

D'awww! I love Daniel! I don't know how many readers of this fic live in Britain, but I finally got to watch "The Doctor" on Sunday, and I nearly cried. So I felt they deserved a little make-out sesh ;)

So please read, review, and I'll get on with the next chapter (I have got BIG plans!)