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: School's Out! The Third One-Chapter 17
Early the next morning, Snow White, Ruby and Ella sat in the Dame house lounge discussing their Parent Visitation visits. For some of them, like Snow White, the day had gone pretty well (albeit one, ah, tearful hormonal breakdown) for others, the day had gone...less than satisfactory.
"She did what?!" Ella gasped before bursting into peals of laughter, pressing her face into the couch cushions to muffle the sound. Even Snow White was giggling, and Ruby just sat there, stone-faced, waiting for them to finish.
She sighed "It's not that funny!"
"Your Grandma threatened to shoot off your boyfriends balls!" Snow White laughed, feeling like she was going to go into labour from her giggles "I'd say that's pretty hilarious!"
"See, this is why boyfriends need to say the L-word first" said Ella, lifting her head from the cushion with a grin "Otherwise they'll have crazy-ass granny's coming after them!"
"Hey! My granny's not crazy!" Ruby exclaimed, outraged "She's...protective"
Ella giggled "All the same, I bet Peter's gonna think twice the next time he-" but what Peter might do, they never found out, because at that moment a petite, brown haired shape appeared in the lounge and flopped down on the sofa next to Snow White, propping her elbow up on the sofa arm and holding her head up with her fist. She was still in her pyjama's, and her unbrushed hair was tousled about her face.
After an awkward silence, Snow White was the first to speak "Uh...Belle?" the girl lifted her head but offered no comment "Are you O.k?"
Belle shrugged, her expression anything but happy "I...I'm alright" she said softly, but she didn't look at any of them. Ruby rolled her eyes.
"What did he do?" she said, as blunt as ever, and Belle didn't have to ask who she was referring to. She shook her head after lifting it off her hand.
"He didn't do anything to me, Ruby. It wasn't Rumple's fault"
"What wasn't his fault?" Ella asked curiously, and Belle breathed out heavily through her nose, resting her tired blue orbs on each of them in turn. They were all staring at her, waiting for her to speak.
"Come on, Belle!" said Ruby impatiently "We don't have secrets!"
"*Secret Boyfriend!*" Snow White coughed, causing Ella to giggle again. Ruby ignored her.
"Belle? Talk to us, Sweetie" she said gently, and Belle's lips turned up in a small smile, deciding to just tell them. When it came down to it, wasn't that why she was down here anyway?
"O.k then" she submitted, sitting up straighter in her seat, and her friends leaned forward to listen "Do you remember yesterday, how I was gonna meet Rumple's mum?" they nodded, and Belle released a deep, tense breath "Well, a few minutes before Visitation hours were over, she asked me if she could talk to Rumple alone for a few minutes. I agreed, and went to wait in here. You guys weren't back yet so I waited in my room.
"After Rumple came back, I asked him what his mum wanted, and..." she broke off, looking sadder than before. Snow White made a sympathetic sound and reached out to clasp one of Belle's hands in her own.
"Oh Belle, what happened? Did she not like you?"
Belle shook her head "No, it was...something else..."
OUAT
The previous night, half an hour after Visitation has ended.
Belle looked up from her book when her door opened and Rumplestiltskin walked into the room. She smiled sweetly, happy at his arrival, until she saw the look on his face. He seemed...distressed.
"Rumple?" Belle sat up and put a hand on his shoulder as he sat on her bed. He didn't look at her "Rumplestiltskin? Is something wrong?" when he didn't respond, she felt something within her tense "Did...did she not like me?" she cursed herself, she thought it had all gone so well!
Rumplestiltskin laughed softly, finally turning to look at her. A smile was on his face, but his brown eyes were sad "Oh no, Belle. My mother simply loved you. I'm willing to bet that if she had her way, we'd be married right now!"
Belle blushed scarlet at this. Because of course it was too soon to be thinking about that...they were far too young and...well, if he asked she didn't think she'd say no...
Belle shook herself back to the present. Rumplestiltskin still looked troubled, so she locked her ridiculous thoughts away and focused on him "Then...why are you so sad?"
Rumplestiltskin hesitated before answering her, as though choosing his words carefully "Sweetheart...do you remember my mothers court case? The divorce?"
Belle swallowed, and then nodded. He'd told her the night they'd...well, gotten back together...
"Yes. What about it?" Belle asked, Rumplestiltskin continued in a begrudging voice.
"Well, while they got the divorce settled...there's still the matter of my brother, Baelfire" he explained when she still looked confused "Belle they...they couldn't come to an agreement. There's going to be a custody hearing in a few days"
"Oh my God" breathed Belle, a great swell of sympathy rising in her for little Baelfire, that poor boy being forced into some sick 'Tug of War' between his parents, all because his father was too much of an anal prick to leave his ex-wife alone..."Rumple, I'm so sorry-"
"That's not all" his voice was like stone, and immediately halting Belle's words. He turned his torso to her properly so that one of his knee's was resting on the bed, held a hand out to her "Belle...my mothers terrified she's gonna loose Bae, and she's stressed out of her mind trying to keep him with her"
Belle nodded, understanding completely "Well of course. He's her son, your father can't just take him away-"
"Belle" again, her words were cut off by his halting tone of voice, and instead she watched silently as conflicting emotions ran across his face until it finally settled on...tense "My brother...he's been having a hard time lately, with the divorce, and now he's got to go through a full blown custody battle. My mother thought it would be...better if Bae wasn't alone while she testifies against my father" he paused, as though reluctant to voice what he had to say next, but with a gentle prompting from his girlfriend, he continued "Belle, she's asked me to come too"
At this, the beauty didn't really know what to say. He was...leaving? "But...what about your classes? Your exams?"
Rumplestiltskin shrugged "I'll be back before my exams start, and I can always catch up on my classes" she must have looked surprised at his careless tone, because his expression softened, and he gently took her hand "Sweetheart, I can't let my brother go through this on his own. I've got to go!"
"No, no. I understand!" Belle assured him, gently cupping his cheek "I understand completely. When...when do you leave?"
"Tomorrow" said Rumplestiltskin "I need to leave tomorrow"
OUAT
"Tomorrow?!" Ella exclaimed, then her blue eyes widened "Wait a second, that's today!"
"You don't say?" Ruby rolled her eyes, and Snow White squeezed the hand she was still holding, offering comfort. Belle smiled gratefully.
"I don't know why I'm getting so bothered anyway" she shrugged, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear "He'll be gone less than a week, and we can always talk on the phone-"
"Oh, for Gods sake, Belle!" Ruby groaned, but was looking at her with kindness "Look, if you wanna be sad that you won't see your boyfriend for a while, then be sad!"
"Yeah" Ella nodded "You don't alwayshave to be brave!"
Belle gasped lightly at the blondes last words, in one way it was incredibly insulting to the principals she lived by, but in another it was exactly what she needed to hear.
"Thanks guys" she said shakily, and with a watery smile and a lump in her throat she leaned forward to embrace her two friends. They clung onto her tightly before they realised they could hear a small sniffling sound.
Ruby made a sympathetic sound and rubbed Belle's pyjama-clad back "Oh, it's gonna be O.k, Sweetie. Don't cry!"
"I'm not" said Belle, and when she pulled back Ruby and Ella could see that her eyes were, indeed, dry.
Ella frowned "Then who-?" her half-asked question was already answered when they all heard a tremendous sniff and turned to see Snow White, her hand pressed up against her mouth as she tried to control her tears.
"I-I'm s-sorry!" she blubbered "I-it's just s-so sad, B-Belle's boyfriend i-is g-going away, a-and she's g-gonna miss him s-so m-m-much-" the rest of her speech was stolen from her by a fresh wave of tears that had her sobbing into her hands. Simultaneously, the three young women sighed, knowing the devilish hormones had struck once again.
"Oh, come here, Snow" Ruby soothed, quickly rolling her eyes before pulling Snow White into a gentle hug as she wept.
"It's so sad!" Snow White's muffled voice came through her fingers.
From beside her, Belle felt Ella gently pat her hand "Don't worry, Belle" she said when the brunette turned to her. She nodded at Snow White "No matter how bad it gets, at least you won't turn out like that"
OUAT
Rumplestiltskin had most of his essentials already packed. His lock box (there was over six grand in that box and he was NOT leaving that where anyone could get it!) some clothes, a few trinkets and...the white teacup with a little blue pattern on the side. It had been part of his late grandmothers tea-set and for some reason his mother felt he should have a piece of it. He'd thought otherwise, but hadn't had the heart to justthrow it away.
The cup was in near perfect condition, except for a small chip in the rim. Rumplestiltskin picked it up, a small, nostalgic smile forming on his face as he remembered how it had gotten that way. Belle had been transferred to English Lit in the third semester of the previous year (her lecturers thought she had potential for the subject, even though she insisted that, while she loved to read, Lit wasn't really her sort of thing) and they had been paired for a project. She'd come to his room that day and insisted that they study, refusing to take no for an answer. After he'd begrudgingly let her in, they'd gotten to talking and he'd made a dark little quip- something about skinning children-hand she'd dropped her huge Lit book on his beside table, knocking the cup to the ground.
Oh, how scared she'd been, apologising profusely and looking at him with those massive, captivating blue eyes of hers with such fear. He still remembered what he'd said to her that day:
"Well, it's just a cup"
But of course, Rumplestiltskin thought as he turned the cup over in his hand, it was so much more now. So into the bag it went.
"Hey" said a sweet voice, and he turned to see the woman herself, his Belle stood at the door, dressed in a pretty tartan dress with her curls partially pulled back off her forehead and temples.
"Hey" his smile was directed at her now, just as hers was directed at him. He gestured to his luggage (if a small leather bag could be called that) "Come to help me pack?"
Belle huffed a small laugh and walked until she was stood by his side "Sure. Although it looks like you're pretty much done!" she lifted the flap of the top of the bag, and when she saw the chipped cup, her brow furrowed slightly and small, surprised smile found it's way to her lips.
"You still have it!" she said, pulling out the cup and grinning at Rumplestiltskin "The chipped cup!"
"Of course I do" said Rumplestiltskin, taking it from her and holding it in his hand, running his thumb over the chip "I may have accumulated a lot of trinkets in my time, but this is the one thing I truly cherish"
"Why?"
He smiled "Because it's a testament to how we fell in love"
Jesus, had he really said that? That was slushy, even for him!
Belle, however, didn't seem to mind. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her, burying her face in the crook of his neck and almost trapping the cup between them. Luckily, Rumplestiltskin moved it out of the way.
"Careful-"
"God, I'm going to miss you!" she mumbled, and Rumplestiltskin released a heavy breath before wrapping his arms around her back, chipped cup and all. He kissed the crown on her head.
"My darling Belle...I'll miss you too"
OUAT
Daniel usually had the morning off on Sundays, so when Regina woke up she headed straight to his room, intent on asking him why he didn't pick up his phone last night. But, for some strange reason, he wasn't in there.
Moving out of the room again, she turned around and spotted a boy walking out of his room. It took her a second to recognise Jefferson Hatter without the hat.
"Hey, Hatter" he looked up at her, already looking bored before she'd even spoken "Have you seen Daniel?" she asked, and Jefferson shrugged.
"Eh, I think I saw him headed to the library half an hour ago" he said, and Regina didn't even bother to thank him before she headed towards the stairs. However, before she could descend, she heard the Hatter's voice behind her:
"Hey, Regina?"
"What?" she turned impatiently, not in the mood for Jefferson's usual crap today.
But, he surprised her "Are you...O.k?"
Regina frowned in confusion "Yes. Of course I am" she answered briefly, and then started to walk down the stairs again.
But Jefferson called out "It's just that you look a little out of sorts!"
Regina paused, her hands gripping the banister. Forcing herself to keep up a calm facade, she turned back to the Hatter again, fixing him with an icy glare "Well, maybe that's because I'm trying to find my boyfriend, but I keep being detained by a hat-obsessed idiot" and with that, she flounced down the stairs.
OUAT
When Regina got to the library she quickly discovered that, while annoying, Jefferson wasn't completely useless. She found Daniel right at the back of the library, tucked away in the Graphic Novel section and sitting at a table with his attention focused on what looked like a thick comic book in his hand.
He didn't look up when Regina approached, apparently not noticing when she did. After a moment, she coughed to announce her presence:
"A-hem!"
Daniel jumped at the sound before lowering the book to see her standing there. She put a hand on her hip, staring at him accusingly "I called you last night. Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Regina waited for him to answer, but instead of giving her an explanation, he rose up out of his seat, his face was completely blank, and his eyes never left hers. The intensity of his stare was staring to...scare Regina a little bit. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, her hand dropping from her hip.
"Daniel?"
He cocked his head towards the exit "I need you to come with me" he started to walk away from her, Regina watching him in complete confusion. He was so...hard. What was wrong with him?
When he realised she wasn't following him, Daniel turned back to Regina, his facial expression unchanged "Regina. Come on!"
"What-" she started, but he was already walking away again, and Regina had no choice but to follow.
OUAT
No.
No.
This couldn't be happening, not again. No, it wasn't possible, they couldn't be here, those things on Daniel's bedspread could not be there!
Pins. A syringe. And a bottle of Propofol.
"I found them yesterday" her love's voice was toneless, completely devoid of emotion, and Regina tore her gaze away from the needle, pins and...poison to look at him. He wouldn't look at her "When I was looking for your necklace yesterday, I found them in your room. They were in your drawer"
"They're not mine!" Regina shook her head vehemently "I swear to God, Daniel, I have no idea where that stuff came from! H-how could I even get that stuff, anyway? I'm not even allowed in the Science labs on my own anymore! Daniel!" he still wouldn't look at her, and Regina felt like a large hand had closed over her neck, constricting her throat. Her chest was tight with fear, fear of him not trusting her...and fear for herself.
"Look at me..." she breathed, begging him while forcing back some treacherous tears.
To her relief, he slowly turned to face her. When he saw the look of undiluted anguish on hers, he sighed, some of his trademark kindness coming into his eyes when he saw her tears "Regina...how could this have happened?"
Regina swallowed, running a hand through her hair "I-I don't know" she choked out, not letting herself look at what was on the bed "I-I don't know how this could have happened!"
"You added locks to your door. No-one was supposed to be able to get in! Do you know what this" he held a hand out towards the bed "Is gonna look like if anyone finds out?!"
Regina sniffed down her tears, glaring at him though watery eyes "Yes. I know exactly what this looks like, I am not an idiot!" she snarled.
"Then what do we do?" Daniel said, but Regina though his tone was almost demanding. She clasped her elbows, looking down at the ground.
"We have to find out who's doing this. Before it goes to far" she said, expecting him to agree with her. When he did not, she looked up at him, and saw that his eyes were still on the pins, syringe and Propofol. A terrifying thought ran through her, chilling her blood, and she drew herself up to full height, surprising herself when her voice came out steady.
"Unless of course, you think it was me"
Daniel shook his head "I'd never think it was you" he said, but Regina saw through the lie.
"But you do" she stated "You think it was me, and now you want to send me back to the damn, nut-house!" her tone grew angrier with every word, her voice ripping through a couple of octaves at the last two words in an effort to hide the fear that threatened to swallow her whole. Daniel surged forwards, gripping her forearms in a gentle but firm hold and looking straight into her eyes.
"No, Regina!" he said fiercely, so she knew he meant it "I swore to you that I would never let the woman I love be taken away! And I intend to keep that promise, even if it kills me!"
Regina let out a sob, and then fell forwards so that she was wrapped in his arms. She let the tears fall, hoping to God that he spoke the truth, praying that he did believe her, that he wouldn't stop trusting her. She clung to him, weeping her fear into his shoulder. Who was doing this to her?
She didn't know, but as she fought to control her tears enough to help Daniel dispose of the incriminating equipment, she made an oath to herself that, when she found out, she was going to make whoever it was wish they'd never been born.
OUAT
As Rumplestiltskin dumped his bag in the passenger seat of his Cadillac, he thought that the afternoon had come around far too quickly for his liking. It wasn't just the thought of leaving his girlfriend on her own with a possibly psychotic Regina lurking about (Belle had told him after the 'Apple Incident') if he was being completely honest with himself, he was...tense, about the court case. Katrina Gold was a good mother, he would swear his life on it. But he also knew that Mordred Gold was a manipulative bastard, and with the right words said in the right way, the whole court room could become putty in his hands.
"Hey" said a chastising voice from next to him. Belle. Her delicate brow was furrowed with concern "I know that look. What're you worrying about?"
"The custody case" he replied, wearily shutting his car door and leaning against it. Belle made a sympathetic sound, reaching out to take one of his hands.
"Rumple, your father is not gonna win!" she said emphatically, and Rumplestiltskin snorted.
"Well, he's gonna damn well try!"
"And he'll fail" Belle said simply, and she let go of his hand and reached up to press her lips against his. Rumplestiltskin sighed into her mouth and lifted a hand to cup the back of her head, loosing himself to the feel of her sweet lips.
Too soon she pulled away, but stayed close enough that their breaths mingled "Don't give up before the fights even started, Rumple" she whispered, before pulling back completely. Rumplestiltskin sighed, running one of his hands through her hair and taking both of hers in his own. God, he was going to miss her...
"Bell...I so wish you were coming with me!" he said, his soft voice filled with longing, and she smiled, the gesture sweet, but also containing traces of the same longing he felt.
"So do I, but...it doesn't matter"
Rumplestiltskin frowned "Why not?"
Belle grinned, squeezing his hands "Because your mother will win this case, and then you'll be back. And I'll be right here" she stood up straighter on the pavement "Waiting for you to come back, and tell me all about it"
Her words caused a warm glow to fill inside Rumplestiltskin, so that he felt reassured and hopeful at the same time. Leaning his head down he captured her lips with his again, wrapping his arms around her back the same time hers draped around his neck. Their lips and tongues moved together passionately, and when they pulled apart Rumplestiltskin pulled Belle's body towards him, crushing her soft form to his.
"I shall miss you, my love" he whispered in her ear, nuzzling her neck. He felt her soft laughter rumble up from within her chest. Pressing a kiss to her neck, he added "Just do one thing for me?"
"What?"
"Stay away from Regina" Belle stiffened in his arms, slightly pulling away from him with a great look of apprehension on her face. Rumplestiltskin sighed "Just until the whole...insanity thing is finished!" he wildly waved a hand about. Personally, he thought someone was probably just screwing with the Student Body President, probably a former victim of hers. But when Regina felt that she was threatened, she was at her most dangerous, and he didn't want his Belle getting caught in the middle of that "I don't want anything bad to happen to you, love"
Belle rolled her eyes, making a dismissive sound "Rumple, Regina doesn't give a damn about me, nothing bad is gonna happen to me!" she tried to reassure him, but Rumplestiltskin did not look reassured.
"All the same, just...be careful"
The beauty rolled her eyes again, softly kissing his lips before nodding "I promise"
"Thank-you" he cupped her cheek, bringing her face up for one last kiss "I love you"
"I love you, too" Belle whispered "Good luck"
After that, Rumplestiltskin got into his car and drove away from the College, with Belle only returning to the buildings bricked depths until she could no longer see the expensive car's gleam.
OUAT
Regina was laying back on her bed, completely alone with a pillow pressed up against her face. She didn't want to see anyone and she didn't want to talk to anyone, not her friends, not Daniel, she just wanted to be left alone!
Ring, ring! Ring, ring!
Well, evidently God decided to piss on her day...
She tried to ignore her cell phone's incessant ringing, but for some reason the damn thing would not shut-up!
Go away. Go away. Go away. Regina thought over and over, but still the phone rang. Whoever was on the other line obviously had a death wish!
"Oh, for God sakes!" she threw the pillow off her face and lurched to her left for her phone on the bedside table, not bothering to look at the caller I.D before receiving the call and pressing the cell to her ear.
"What?!" she snapped.
"...Regina?"
Regina's mouth fell open in shock "M-Mother?!" she stammered in disbelief. For the two years she had been at College, Cora Mills had never called her (except for that time she'd gotten a C- in Science. She was pretty sure everyone had heard that particular conversation!) "H-how-why are you calling me?!"
"Because I wanted to talk to you, darling" said Mrs Mills, sounding a little wounded "What other reason does a mother need?"
When her mother spoke in that tone of voice Regina immediately felt guilty. As usual "I-I'm sorry, Mother" she apologised, pinching the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger "It's just...it's been a long day!" she sighed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Mrs Mills, her voice layered with concern, and Regina paused, suspicion rising within her.
"Since when do you care about my problems?"
"Regina, don't take that tone with me" ordered Mrs Mills, sounding like her usual commanding self. Then she became soft once again "I just...I worry about you, darling, and from the sound of things, you're not having the best time right now" Regina sighed. She had to give her that one "Regina, I know I haven't always been the...easiest to approach, but I am here for you if you need me"
The teenager felt something tighten in her chest, her well-manicured hand gripping her cell phone tightly as she felt all of her problems rush to the surface, just begging to take her mother up on her offer, her fears for loosing her popularity, her fears for her sanity, her terror for loosing Daniel...it all seemed to squash up into a lump in her throat, begging to be released.
"Oh Mother..." her voice cracked as she released a shaking breath, leaning her head back on her headboard and closing her eyes. Her mother's voice filled her ear:
"What is it, Sweetie?" Mrs Mills asked gently, and Regina took another deep breath before succumbing to her plea. She wouldn't tell her everything, of course, just what had been bothering her the most...
"It's Daniel" she said, her voice loosing her cracky quality and coming out as even as it had when the boy who was supposed to love her asked her about the terrible devices "I don't think he trusts me"
"Oh? Why ever not?"
"I don't know!" Regina exclaimed frustratedly, her fingers running through her hair "I-I've always been honest with him! I've never lied to him and...and I've shown him sides of me that I would never show to another living being!"
"Yes. Well, I don't think I want to know about that, Regina"
"Oh, not like that, Mother!" Regina cringed "I-I mean...for months, after the Blanchard thing I had to put up with people treating me like I was a bomb about to go off, but with Daniel..." she breathed out a small sigh, while Mrs Mills remained silent on the other side, listening and waiting for her to go on "I don't know, I guess I thought he was different"
"Oh, Sweetheart, I feel terrible for you" Mrs Mills sighed. Regina sniffed, moisture starting to collect in the corners of hey dark eyes.
"Mother...what do I do?"
"Well, my darling, I don't think there's anything you can do"
Denial slammed through Regina "No. There has to be something" she argued, a daring feat for her against Cora Mills.
"I'm sorry, Regina, but I don't think there is. If he loves you like he said he does, then he needs to have faith in you, and if he doesn't trust you" she paused to take in a long but shallow breath "Then you have to ask yourself this: is he really worth your time?"
"What?!" Regina cried, bolting upright in her bed "Of course he's worth it! I love him!"
"Oh darling, I know" said Mrs Mills, her voice gentle "I just don't want him to hurt you
Regina's jaw locked, and she replied with a stiff "He won't" before hanging up. She threw the phone down so hard on her table that it caused a dent, telling herself that her mother was wrong, that Daniel would never hurt her, and she would get him to trust her.
She just had to prove that she was innocent.
OUAT
It was on Monday morning that Regina's whole life went to hell.
Her third period Science class had just ended, and she had been walking through the College halls when she noticed something strange.
As she walked through the long halls, dozens of eyes were following her.
Regina wasn't one of those stupidly modest idiot girls, she knew that with her flawless skin, blood-red lips, dark brown eyes, night-like hair and sizzling hot body that she was a beautiful woman (in fact she had been considered the most beautiful in College until that irritating Blanchard girl had shown up) and was therefore used to eyes following her as she walked, glazed over with desire and envy alike, but these stares she was getting now...they were different.
These eyes that were staring at her, following her as she walked down the tiled halls, were apprehensive. Judging, and every time she deigned to meet a pair they immediately snapped away from her, their owners pretending to be deep in conversation with whoever happened to be standing next to them. But not before Regina saw the faint traces of fear in their staring eyes.
And all of these people, she noted, hurrying her steps a little, were clutching wads of paper in their hands. From the small amount of lettering and pattern she could see, they all looked to be holding copies of the Daily Mirror.
The stares increased as she walked, so that by the time she reached the doors that led outside, it was like every single person was ogling at her as though she was some sort of freak. She quickened her steps further until she all but burst out of the doors, immediately spying Maleficent and Abigail sat on the wall that lined the pathway, both of them staring avidly at the copies of the Daily Mirror in their hands.
As she walked up to them, Abigail looked up, gasping loudly as Regina approached and shaking the curly-haired blonde next to her "Maleficent. She's here!"
Maleficent snapped her head up, and when saw the frustrated brunette coming towards them, a dark smirk curled her wide lips. She held up her copy of the Mirror "Well, if it isn't Miss Headliner herself!"
"What are you babbling about?!" Regina snapped, causing Abigail to flinch.
"What're you doing?! Don't piss her off!" she hissed to Maleficent. She ignored her, focusing on Regina, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"See for yourself" she grandly held out her copy of the Daily Mirror, and Regina snatched it from her hands.
She looked down at the front page. There was a picture of her shaking hands with the College headmaster, and above it, there was a headline. As she read it, and the article that followed, her mind went completely blank, her breath stopping in her chest, and her palms started to sweat. No...it couldn't be...
Relapse Mills: Will She Strike Again?
Regina Mills, Student Body President and most popular girl in school. But also, the most deadly.
It is no secret that last year Miss Mills suffered a serious mental breakdown, poisoning a certain new student who shall not be named to the degree that she ended up in a week long coma. After this breakdown, unstable Miss Mills spent the remainder of the semester and summer in a mental institution, returning to Fairytale College for the start of the new year, completely reformed.
BUT WAS SHE?
This reporter has recently uncovered interesting rumours that Miss Mills might not be as level-headed as she appears. Tales of poisoned apples and concerns for her mental health have risen, and according to a reliable source, Miss Mills has actually been seen with the coma-inducing drug, Propofol, the same chemical she used to poison her previous victim.
A student of the College, who shall remain nameless for his/her safety, spoke to this reporter: "She's been acting very strange lately. Very jumpy and snappy"
Another nameless source says: "I saw her going into the Knight House with Jiminy Hopper. Rumour has it she went in there for a mental assessment or something"
A third nameless source says "I heard that S***w W***e found a poisoned apple in her room, and apparently it was exactly like the one she got from Regina!"
Could this be the dreaded comeback of Crazy Regina Mills? Could our College no longer be safe? How long before another young beauty feel's the brunt of Relapse Mill's uncontrollable jealousy? Is anyone safe?
This reporter certainly hopes so.
This couldn't be real. This couldn't be happening. This had to be some kind of a sick joke. This couldn't be happening to her!
And yet, when she looked up, she saw all of the surrounding people staring at her like they used to, like she was some sort of out of control freak, and she knew it wasn't a trick, nor was it a joke. To her horror, she felt tears well up in her throat, her breathing coming through again but heavier and laboured, she fought with everything in her to control herself. She would not break down in public like some pathetic child!
Who could have done this? Who could have known this?
Well, the answer to that particular question, Regina realised, was in her hand. Ignoring Maleficent's un-hindered smirk and Abigail's badly-hidden look of fear, she raked her eyes down the article until she reached the end, where two words spelling out the writers name were tucked away.
Regina's blood boiled in her veins, her teeth clenched together, and her eyes darkened with rage until they were almost black. Her whole body started to shake, her fingernails gripping the paper leaflet so hard that it ripped in her hands. She dug her nails in deeper, ripping her hands apart and tearing the article into shreds that scattered to the ground.
"Hey!" Maleficent exclaimed angrily "I wanted to keep that!"
Regina barely heard her, her breath was coming out in hard, harsh pants, her fury so great she was nearly blinded by it. Her mind was clouded with rage, and was focusing on just one thing:
Destruction. Complete, satisfying, destruction.
Turning away from the two silly girls on the wall, Regina marched through the campus and headed towards the dormitories, her fists clenched, her hurt and rage so intense it almost burned her skin as it coursed through her blood.
Within one of her fists, a little scrap of paper was caught between her fingers from where she had torn the newsletter apart, and on it were the two words that spelled out the name of the damned author.
Belle French
I wasn't expecting to be able to update this fast, but meh, I guess those creative juices just got flowing. Or maybe it was due to a certain someone's virtual kisses magically healing my poor bleeding fingers...you know who you are! ;D
So, please tell me what you think. Looks like Belle's pretty screwed, huh? Would she really be so stupid as to write something like that about Regina Mills? Hmm...anyway, please R+R!